Closing Spiritual Open Loops

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Closing Spiritual Open Loops</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id585.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Violent Action, A Violent Overreaction"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="21"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>“Closing Spiritual Open Loops,” </B><A HREF="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch.php?passage_request=Genesis 35:1-15&tniv=yes" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch"><U><B>Genesis 35:1-15</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, February 5, 2006</B></div> <bR> <div>      An “open loop” is anything undone in your life, that needs fixing or needs your attention or action. Allen Ross says this is a chapter about <I>completion</I> and <I>correction</I>. In preparing for communion, it is a good time to make sure things are all up-to-date with God. <I>Completion</I> might include your plan to get out of debt or getting involved in serving Christ. <I>Correction</I> might include dealing with a lustful heart, or a critical, unthankful heart, or a selfish heart, and the related behaviors.</div> <div>      John Ortberg points this out in <I>God is Closer Than You Think.</I> In Exodus 8, God sends a plague of frogs on Egypt to motivate them to release the people of Israel from slavery so they could go and worship their God. So these frogs are everywhere, in the palace and the bedroom and on the bed, into the houses, their ovens and kneading troughs. In Exodus 8:8-10, “Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the LORD." Moses said to Pharaoh, "I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile." "<I>Tomorrow</I>," Pharaoh said.” If God has been trying to get your attention about some incomplete matter between you and him, or some thing that needs to be corrected, the right answer is <I>today</I>, not tomorrow.</div> <div>      Please look at <A HREF="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch.php?passage_request=Genesis 35:1-15&tniv=yes" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.tniv.info/bible/passagesearch"><U>Genesis 35:1-15</U></A>. In this chapter, Jacob leaves Shechem and returns south to Bethel, and then moves on to his father's region. Jacob had returned to the Promised Land, and he had taken a vow to return to Bethel, where God met him when he was leaving the land. But he settled down near Shechem for 10 years, and trouble came along.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1. Obey God's clear will and keep your vows to God (vs. 1).</B> </div> <div>      Any area in which you are <I>not</I> obeying God? Any vows or promises to God that you have forgotten? Notice that Jacob had experienced a real disaster in his family. It was a wake-up call. Now that he was on the path toward obedience, God gave him special protection to help him fulfill his vow, in spite of his fear (vs. 5). The safest place to be is in the center of God's will.</div> <bR> <div> <B>2. Get rid of idolatry (AKA a divided heart; vss. 2-5). </B></div> <div>      Is your heart or your loyalties divided in any way? You cannot worship God and be playing around with idols (or any disloyalty) at the same time. To truly worship God demands loyalty to God. Colossians 3:5-14 contains language of putting off the old way of life, and putting on, like new clothes, a new way of life.</div> <bR> <div> <B>3. Review and claim God's promises for the near and distant future (vss. 11-13).</B></div> <div> <B>     </B>Following this, Rachel died given birth to Jacob's final son Benjamin. Then Jacob's first-born son, Reuben, slept with Jacob's concubine, Bilhah, the servant of Rachel. In doing so he illegimately challenged the authority of Jacob and ended up not having the rights of the firstborn. Jacob joins with his brother Esau in having to bury their father Isaac, who died at the age of 180. But notice, the twelve sons of Jacob are listed (vss. 23-26) – they are poised to become a great nation, in fact, a family of <I>nations</I>. </div> <div>      God is working out a big picture story around your life. Stay connected to those promises.</div> <bR> <div> <B>4. Give thanks for the journey so far (vs. 3 (5); 7, 14-15).</B></div> <div>      If God has kept his promises and blessed you along the way, give him the credit, give him praise. Worship him today and every day.</div> <bR> <div>      Of course, his greatest gift is Jesus Christ, and the forgiveness, eternal life and relationship with God we can experience because Jesus died for us and for our sins.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2006, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>