4. IN A PLACE OF REST.

5.  10 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.

6.  For years, scientists have wondered why massive stones – some as heavy as 250 pounds (113 kg) – seem to move themselves across the floor of California’s Death Valley:  They think that they now have an answer: that the stones move because of the sheer flatness of the area combined with thin layers of ice which form at night, the unique soft clay in the area, and 90mph winds.  The stones – which can move up to 350 yards (320m) a year – have been a mystery for decades.

7.  In the 1990s a study by a team of scientists lead by Professor John Reid, from Hampshire College, Massachusetts, attempted to explain the rocks' movement.  His study concluded that the rocks may be moved when they become embedded in sheets of ice forming at night on the surface of the sand.  As the sand melts Prof Reid said that the rocks were moved along by the ice and wind, thus forming the patterns.

9.  Jacob did what was normal in the condition he was.  It was dark, he was tired, and he wanted to rest and sleep. He found a stone and fell asleep.

10.  Jacob was going through the most difficult time of his life: he was afraid of his brother Esau and was running for his life; he had left his family, and the easy life in his father’s house; he was uncertain and afraid of the future.

11. STONES ARE HARD DESERTS ARE VERY SCARY DESERTS HAVE SCORPIONS AND SERPENTS THERE IS NO WATER IN THE DESERT THERE IS NO COMFORT IN THE DESERT THERE IS NO COMPANY IN THE DESERT THERE IS NO VISION OF FUTURE AND NO HOPE IN THE DESERT

12.  STILL Jacob found a stone, put it under his head and lay down to sleep. And he had a dream.

14.  12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the LORD, and he said: “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

17.  16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the House of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

18.  All of a sudden the frightful desert became an awesome place  It became a gateway to heaven  It became the House of God

19.  Because of God’s presence  Because the gates of heaven are always opened towards the earth  Because God is present in our lives  God revealed to Jacob that there is connection between heaven and earth and that there is a God who is on the throne and speaks to us and gives directions to our lives

20. THESE THINGS ARE NOT NECESSARILY BAD. THE BIBLICAL HISTORY SHOWS THAT GOD CONSISTENTLY TOOK HIS CHILDREN TO THE DESERT, TO MOUNTAINS TO REVEAL HIMSELF TO THEM

21. MOSES- HAD BOTH OF THEM: GOD SHOWED UP AND REVEALED HIMSELF, HIS GOODNESS, HIS POWER, HIS COMMANDMENTS. MOSES’ FACE SHONE WHEN HE LEFT GOD’SPRESENCE. EZEKIEL WAS IN THE EXILE IN BABYLON AND THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED AND HE SAW GOD’S GLORY AND HIS PORTABLE THRONE (EZ. 1)

22. ELISHA WAS IN THE MOUNT HIDING FROM JEZABEL AND GOD FOUND HIM THERE. IN THE MOUNTAIN THERE WAS A GATEWAY TO HEAVEN: HE HEARD GOD’SVOICE AND RECEIVED HIS INSTRUCTIONS FOR HIS LIFE. JOHN WAS IN THE EXILE IN THE ISLAND OF PATMOS, DOING FORCED WORK, WHEN HE SAW A WINDOW OPEN IN HEAVEN AND THE LORD INVITED HIM TO GO UP THERE. (REV.4:1-3)

23.  18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. Jacob heard words from heaven. He got directions. He then transformed the hard stone in a pillar and anointed it. His perspective of life was transformed by God’s intervention that he also changed the name of the place to Bethel: the House of God.

24.  He understood that wherever God’s presence is, wherever God speaks, its God’s House, even if the place is a desert, or a mountain, or a hard place in life.

25.  20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

26.  The stone was transformed in a pillow and Jacob rested.  The stone went to bed as stone and woke up as a pillar  The night dream transformed the situation and in the morning the whole perspective was changed.  Jacob made decisions then based upon God’s revelation.

27.  “and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house.”  “ They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”

28.  The awesome stone is a figure of the anointed Christ – the rock where the church is founded upon.  18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

29.  24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

30.  God invites us up to hear the noises and the words of heaven like Jacob heard.  God is saying: REST JACOB. Transform this hard stone in a soft pillow and rest in Me. I AM THE ROCK. Rest on the ROCK.

31.  GOD transforms deserts, stones, mountains in visions of God, in instructions, in promises, in prophecies, in gateways to heaven, in awesome places.  Change the name of your stone, the name of your city, the name of your season.  REST ON THE ROCK AND SEE THE HEAVENS OPENING TO YOU.

32. REST JACOB AND DREAM GOD’S DREAMS FOR YOU!

34.  He was alone and he was afraid in the middle of the desert and had only a stone to rest his head on.  A hard stone of the desert.