V Camp Day 2
Beautiful
Pastor Lawrence
Psalm 107:8-9
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
It has always been God seeking you
In a crowded room, He only has eyes for you
Genesis 29:16-20
Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
Leah's eyes were delicate (had physical defect, weary), but Rachel as beautiful of form and appearance. [comparison between Leah and Rachel]
Now Jacob loved Rachel: so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter."
And Laban sad, "It is better that I give her to you than I should give her to another man. Stay with me."
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.
What are the statements that define who you are today?
The world will always compare us but don't let them tell you who you are
Laban thought that Leah would never marry anymore because of her looks
Genesis 29:23-30
Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob and he went in to her.
And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter as a maid
So it came to pass in the morning, that behold it was Leah. And he said to Laban. "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?
And Laban said, "It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn." [lie]
"Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years."
Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.
And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter as a maid
Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.
Leah was always being compared to her sister - disappointment that she felt
Genesis 29:31-35
When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
So Leah conceived and bore a son and she called his name Reuben; for she said, "The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me."
Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore give me this son also." And she called his name Simeon.
She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.
And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now I will praise the Lord." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
God understands and saw that Leah was unloved
He sees you in your unloved state and causes you to be fruitful
Leah tried to use her child to get the love, acceptance and approval of Jacob
If only she looked to God for this love, acceptance and approval for the love of a man will never satisfy
Genesis 49:29-31
Then he charged and said to them: "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
"in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place.
"There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.
Jacob gave Leah the honour and wants to be buried with her
He sees her as his wife (restoration)
Ruth 4:11
And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famour in Bethlehem.
Leah's name here is mentioned as a mighty woman - who built that house of Israel
Let your eyes be on the Lord
In the eyes of the Lord, Jacob and the Israelites, Leah was beautiful
In every way, God sees you as beautiful
Song of Solomon 5:10 - The beauty of Jesus
My beloved is white and ruddy,
Chief among ten thousand
Isaiah 50:6-7
I gave my back to those who struck Me,
And my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard;
I did not hide My face from shame and spitting
Matthew 27:27-31
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.
And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
Then they spat on Him, and took the reed [hard long stick] and struck Him on the head.
And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified
He was spat on - first by the temple guards then by the soldiers
Isaiah 52:14 - Beauty turned ugly
Just as many were astonished at you,
So His visage was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
Isaiah 53:1-2
Who has believed out report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord [Jesus] been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
John 15:2-9
"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
"You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
"I am the vine, you are the branches, He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
"As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
who once were not a people but now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy
God wanted you
He chose you
You are set apart
First time the word beautiful appears in the New Testament - beautiful pearls
Matthew 13:45-46
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
"who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it
Pearls: church
In and of ourselves, we are not beautiful
We are beautiful to Him
When was Jesus the most beautiful?
Pastor Lawrence
Psalm 107:8-9
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.
It has always been God seeking you
In a crowded room, He only has eyes for you
Genesis 29:16-20
Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
Leah's eyes were delicate (had physical defect, weary), but Rachel as beautiful of form and appearance. [comparison between Leah and Rachel]
Now Jacob loved Rachel: so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter."
And Laban sad, "It is better that I give her to you than I should give her to another man. Stay with me."
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.
What are the statements that define who you are today?
The world will always compare us but don't let them tell you who you are
Laban thought that Leah would never marry anymore because of her looks
Genesis 29:23-30
Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob and he went in to her.
And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter as a maid
So it came to pass in the morning, that behold it was Leah. And he said to Laban. "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?
And Laban said, "It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn." [lie]
"Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years."
Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.
And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter as a maid
Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.
Leah was always being compared to her sister - disappointment that she felt
Genesis 29:31-35
When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
So Leah conceived and bore a son and she called his name Reuben; for she said, "The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me."
Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore give me this son also." And she called his name Simeon.
She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.
And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now I will praise the Lord." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
God understands and saw that Leah was unloved
He sees you in your unloved state and causes you to be fruitful
Leah tried to use her child to get the love, acceptance and approval of Jacob
If only she looked to God for this love, acceptance and approval for the love of a man will never satisfy
Leah bore 6 out of the 12 tribes of Israel
NB: Caleb was sharing with me during lunch that Judah that Leah bore, became the tribe that Jesus would be born out of and what a great privilege and restoration that God gave to Leah. Leah may not have known it but wow, who would have thought? And my own personal revelation is that Judah, which means praise, allowed Leah to stop looking to Jacob for acceptance and love. When we praise Him, we stop looking to our circumstances and start looking to Him. That's also where Jesus came out from - praise. When we praise, we look to the finished work and His son. :) Praise really changes your perspective and causes you to see Him.
Genesis 49:29-31
Then he charged and said to them: "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
"in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place.
"There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.
Jacob gave Leah the honour and wants to be buried with her
He sees her as his wife (restoration)
Ruth 4:11
And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famour in Bethlehem.
Leah's name here is mentioned as a mighty woman - who built that house of Israel
Let your eyes be on the Lord
In the eyes of the Lord, Jacob and the Israelites, Leah was beautiful
In every way, God sees you as beautiful
Song of Solomon 5:10 - The beauty of Jesus
My beloved is white and ruddy,
Chief among ten thousand
Isaiah 50:6-7
I gave my back to those who struck Me,
And my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard;
I did not hide My face from shame and spitting
Matthew 27:27-31
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him.
And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
Then they spat on Him, and took the reed [hard long stick] and struck Him on the head.
And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified
He was spat on - first by the temple guards then by the soldiers
Isaiah 52:14 - Beauty turned ugly
Just as many were astonished at you,
So His visage was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
Isaiah 53:1-2
Who has believed out report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord [Jesus] been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
John 15:2-9
"Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
"You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
"I am the vine, you are the branches, He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
"As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
who once were not a people but now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy
God wanted you
He chose you
You are set apart
First time the word beautiful appears in the New Testament - beautiful pearls
Matthew 13:45-46
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
"who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it
Pearls: church
In and of ourselves, we are not beautiful
We are beautiful to Him
When was Jesus the most beautiful?
When He was hanging for you and for me on the cross
That is beauty
Beautiful
Beauty to Ashes
There at the foot of the Cross
Ashes to Beauty
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