Christian Life Church
August 16, 2026
Psalm 36:5NKJV
- Firm Foundation (He Won't)
- Praise You Anywhere
- How Great Thou Art
- That's My King
- Fall Like Rain
- Lords PrayerBefore we begin today’s sermon would you join me in praying the words our Lord taught us to pray?Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: AmenDismiss Vanguard and NavigatorsIntroductionPlease stand for the reading of God’s Word.
Genesis 35:8 NKJV Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.Genesis 35:19–20 NKJV So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.Genesis 35:27–29 NKJV Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt. Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.Genesis 35:21–22 NKJV Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it.This is the Word of the Lord, Amen? You may be seatedPray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray PrayThree deaths and a scandal… that’s what we just read about… three deaths and a disgusting scandal involving some of the worst kind of sexual sin...In a chapter about returning to Bethel… about returning to that place of promise, and provision, and protection, and prophecy… we have three deaths and a scandal… why? What’s the coloration? What’s the connection? Why here, why this chapter, why so much hardship all at once, at the moment he arrives where God call’s him… why all this death and sin?Well, that is what we are going to talk about this morning as we continue our sermon series on Genesis 35 titled “Almost Bethel”.Almost Bethel SlideThis series has been a call to every Christian in this church who needs to return to living in the presence and the glory of God...To those of us who love God and serve God… but also have one or two or however manythings distracting us… keeping us just outside of being fully in His presence.Bethel, of course, is from the Hebrew “House of God” and it is the place where Jacob first heard from GOD one on one… where he saw a vision of Jesus… where he was comforted, and blessed, and encouraged...The vision that God gave him here, and the promises and prophecies… they so impacted his life that he renamed the place from Luz, to Behel… he said “This ios where GOd dwells, this is the house of God...”But that was 30 years ago, and a lot has happened… and even when God called him back to Bethel, he got distracted… And he built a house in Succoth, which is 30 miles from Bethel, and then bought land in Shechem which is 20 miles from Bethel...10 years after God told him to return to Bethel, God again says “Get up and get into my glory!”And that is what God is telling us in this series… He is telling us God fearing Christians… being close to Bethel is not enough… being in Almost Bethel is not enough… And He is telling us to get up and get back into the fulness of His glory.Now in this series we have talked about how the time to return to Bethel, the time to return to the fullness of God’s glory is NOW… then we talked about getting rid of anything that has distracted us from God or is pulling us away from God… we talked about how when we decide to return to God that no enemy will be able to stop us… and we talked about how living in Bethel… ALL THE WAY IN BETHEL… means that God must be God in every single area of our life… El Bethel… But this week we talk about the tragedy and we talk about the Scandal...Because in this chapter of Jacob’s triumphant return… we get these three deaths and we get this scandal… What encouragement could God have for us in all of this? Here is the word for the church this morning… you ready?Shechem's No ShelterNo matter who you are, no matter how Holy or how Righteous or how Just you are… you are going to face tragedy… no matter who you are, there are going to come times in your life, and hopefully it is not often, where people you love die… where scandals rip apart everything you thought you knew… there are going to be times of pain, and turmoil, and calamity… and sometimes anger and confusion over it all… it is the human experience, it is part of the fall, I don’t like it… I don’t think God likes it… there is a place we are all going where we don’t have to face it… but I am not there now… I am here on this fallen earth, surrounded by fallen people… and even sometimes the redeemed die… and even sometimes, God forbid… the redeemed fall into scandalous sin...The truth is as humans we face tragedy, and we face pain and we face loss… it happens to the most wicked of sinners and it happens to the most holy of saints… moments in our lives that are hard to understand and hard to deal with…The question this morning is simple “When the storms of life come… where will you find shelter? Because if you are living in Bethel then you can find shelter in the shadow of God’s wings… but if you are in almost Bethel… you have a problem… because Shechem’s No Shelter!Point One – Bethel’s a Better ShelterGenesis 35:8 NKJV Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.Let’s start with the death of Deborah… what do we know about her? Not a lot, but we can infer quit a bit… If we go all the way back to Genesis 24:59 we see where she likely came into the family...Genesis 24:59 NKJV So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men.That nurse was probably Deborah, we don’t know for sure, but most people think it was… So if she came with Jacob’s mom, Rebekah, to meet Jacob’s dad, Isaac… then this means that Jacob has literally known Deborah all of his life… This isn’t just some servant, this is the closest family friend you can have...And, knowing that Rebekah, Jacob’s mom, died sometime while Jacob was with his uncle Labon… this probably makes Jacob’s attachment to Deborah even stronger… which is why when Deborah was burried the place was named Allon Bachuth, which means “The Terebinth Tree of Weeping”.Clearly Jacob was torn up about Deborah’s death… Then comes the second death of the chapter...Genesis 35:19–20 NKJV So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.This is Jacob’s wife… he loved her so much that he basically served 14 years of hard labor for her… he was tricked into marrying Leah first, but it did not stop him from serving another seven years to marry her…The beautiful Racheal… not the weak eyed Leah… but the younger sister, the one Jacob loved… she dies in childbirth...I have lost a mother, and that hurts… but I can’t imagine the pain of losing a spouse… I know some of you have, and I think you can testify to the meat of this sermon… when that pain comes, I don’t want to be surrounded by the world, I want to be surrounded by the Glory of God.Finally, as if those two deaths were not enough… Jacob loses his dad in this chapter as well… the man we thought was going to die thirty years ago when he was blind and being tricked… he finally gives up the ghost...Genesis 35:28–29 NKJV Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years. So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.Now Jacob has lost the closest thing he still had to a mother, he lost the wife he loved… and now he has lost his father… all in the same chapter that God says “Arise and go to Bethel”.Can I suggest something to you church? I think maybe it was God’s mercy that He told Jacob a third time to arise and go to Bethel.God knew what was coming… God knew the storm that was brewing… God knew the pain that Jacob was about to go through… and God says “Arise and Go to Bethel… because Bethel is a better shelter than Schechem”.I know… I know that people I love in my life are going to die… I know there is going to be pain… a lot of pain… and mourning… and hurting… and maybe even confusion and some fist shaking at God, I am not naive enough to think that just because I am a pastor that I am immune to those emotions…But I will tell you this… when that pain comes, I want to be surrounded by God’s glory...Psalm 91:1–2 NKJV He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”Now I just want you to think about this… why would I call God my fortress if I am never under attack? And why would I call him my refuge if there are no storms to shelter from?Because I don’t need a shelter when I am lying down by green pastures… and I don’t need a fortress when I am resting by still waters...But the truth is sometimes the attacks come, and sometimes the storms come… and when the storms come I don’t want to be 20 miles away from shelter galivanting with the enemy in Shechem… because Shechem is no shelter...It’s not those who dwell near the Most High that find refuge in Him… it is those who DWELL IN the most High...Psalm 61:3–4 NKJV For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. SelahI want to live in Bethel because that is where the Strong Tower is… I want to live in Bethel because that is where the shadow of His wings are...Psalm 27:5 NKJV For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.Shechem’s no shelter… but Bethel is… Bethel’s a better shelter than the world could ever create… and church I have seen it first hand...As a pastor I have seen it first hand… I have been at the side of a lot of death beds… I have attended and officiated a lot of funerals...I have seen how the people of the world shelter the storm… and I have seen how the people of God shelter the storm...I have seen people of the world turn to drugs and alcohol as their shelter… showing up to the funeral of the one they love most smelling like a liquor store, unable to put together a sentence...And I have seen the people of God weeping tears of joy in the presence of their savior as they tell their loved ones “See you soon”.I have been to funerals where the people of the world tell lies about the dead to try to make them look better, or they tell stories that are not that nice and full of sin and debauchery… just to make people laugh as they remanese about their old pal…And I have been to funerals where there are testimonies after testimonies about the life and love of the person they lost...Guys I went to the funeral of a police officer who loved Jesus… she was a drug enforcement officer… and I listened to multiple people say “I gave my life to Jesus in the back of her police car… because even though she arrested me, she loved me enough to want me to be saved and forgiven”...Do you know what it is like to be in a funeral full of active duty police officers and to have ex dug dealers line up to say “My life was changed because this police officer lead me to Jesus”… I am telling you, we don’t mourn like the world mourns… because we have a shelter like Shechem’s never known!I have sang Hymns with the dying last breaths of brethren… and watched as the glory of the Lord filled the hospice…And I have been to empty. Cold. Dark hospital rooms as the unrepentant sinner went to see their judge...My question for you is this… when tragedy comes your way… and someone you love dies… what is your testimony going to be?Is it going to be “I don’t remember the funeral because I plastered”...Or is it going to be “Let me tell you how Jesus met me there in that hospital room, in that hospice center… in that funeral home… Let me tell you how God got me through… Let me tell you how God used it for His glory”...When tragedy comes, because it WILL come… will come out the other side of it closer to God or farther from Him?Let Genesis 35:1 be a prophetic and merciful command to you in your life today!Genesis 35:1 NKJV “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there...”Arise and go to Bethel, because Calamity is coming… and you want to be in the shelter of HIs wings when the rain starts to fall...Bethel is a better Shelter than the world can ever offer… and Bethel has a stronger foundation than Shechem ever did… that is my second point this morning… Bethel Remains Unshaken...Point Two – Bethel Remains UnshakenGenesis 35:21–22 NKJV Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it.You know the Bible is quite nice in the way it recorded these details… Reuben went in laid with Bilhah his father’s concubine… that’s the nice way of saying it… But think about this… Bilhah is the mother of Dan and Naphtali… those are Reuben’s half brothers…Reuben slept with his brothers mother… THAT IS A PRETTY BIG SCANDAL Y’ALL, in fact, if this would have happened after Leviticus was written, Reuben and Bilhah would have been put to death for this.Leviticus 20:11 NKJV The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.Not only did Reueben do this… but it says “And Israel heard about it”… Remember, Israel is Jacob’s name… Jacob heard about his wife sleeping with his son!DUDE… HOW MANY HITS CAN A MAN TAKE...So in this chapter Jacob loses the closest thing he has to a mom, Deborah… He loses his father, Isaac… he loses the wife that he loved, Rachel… and now, for all intents and purposes… He has lost his son Reuben… in fact at the end of Genesis we see that Reuben is stripped of all of his birthrights for this sin… it’s awful, and I hate it…Sometimes sin can hurt as much as death… but sin happens all around us, doesn't it?Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swagger, Ted Haggard, Eddie Long, Bob Coy, Bill Hybels, Andy Savage, Carl Lentz, Ravi Zacharias, Biran Houston, Mike Bickel, Robert Morris, and Michal Tate...All influential, powerful pastors, evangelists, and worship leaders...All fell into sexual scandal… sometimes with prostitutes, sometimes with other men, sometimes… God help them… with children...Now this sermon is not for them… I don’t have shoes pink enough for that kind of sermon… but this sermon is for those who are effected by the sin...Of course there are physical victims of abuse… and they need all the love and help and support they can get… no one deserves that kind of abuse...But there are also a lot of spiritual victims… some of you are have been those victims, and many of you will be effected by this kind of scandal at some point in your life…And you are going to come out of that Scandal either closer to God… or farther from God...Your faith will either stand firm on the foundation that is built in Bethel… or your foundation will shake and your house will fall...The New King James Version Chapter 7“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
And great was its fall… church, what if the fall comes not because of your sin… but because of someone elses sin...The storm comes to both houses… the Builder did not cause the storm… but when you build your faith in Schechem.. when the storm comes… don’t expect your house to stand...But when you build your house in Bethel… When you build your house on the Rock… on God and His word and HIs way of life… when you build your house in Bethel… no matter how big the scandal… no matter how deep the pain… your house stands… Because Bethel remains unshaken…If you build your house in Almost Bethel… and you base your faith around a man like Robert Morris or Mike Bickel...Well then your faith will fall when the man falls...But Jesus has NEVER fallen into Scandal.Jesus has NEVER failed His church… so when you build your life on Him and His word, it will not fall!I was ordained in a small Bapticostal church in North Carolina… The pastor there pulled my life out from a very dark place in a pivitol moment in my faith...When I wanted to run from God, this pastor prophetically reached out his arm, grabbed me, and called me back to the loving arms of Christ...This man loved me when I felt unloved, he prayed for me, he prophesied over me… he gave me a job, he ordained me, he trusted me with many ministry duties...It was during this time that I met Amanda, and God told us to get married… God then told me to move back to Seattle… where I had gotten saved and discipled… my very own literal Bethel… the place where I first met God.So I did… and within the first week or so of being in Seattle… the news broke… The pastor in North Carolina who had loved me and pulled me out of a spiritual pit...He had been stealing church funds to buy male prostitutes… and worse than that… I had helped him start an Alternative Highschool… and the pastor had Nude photos of a boy from the School on his phone…God called me to Bethel right before the tragedy hit… and there in Seattle was my Pastor, Pastor Matt, who helped me get through it… and Amanda’s pastor, Pastor Daniel Ong… who helped me get through it… and my Roomate who loves Jesus… who helped me get through it…I did not have a single voice telling me to doubt my faith, to be mad at God, to question this or that… I was sorrounded by other people who had built there house on the Rock… and because of that, my house was not shaken…So please… PLEASE… Head the word of mercy… ARISE AND GO TO BETHEL… not ARISE AND GO TO CHURCH AND GET INVOLVED… BUT ARISE AND GO ALL INTO BETHEL… So much more than this one church… so much more than one pastor or one preacher or one relationship… Because man will fail you, I hope it is not me who fails you… I do so much to make sure this church never falls into sexual scandal… but it will be SOMEBODY… so build your life on NOBODY but CHRIST… That is the all in Bethel Lifestyle…ConclusionTurn On Children’s Class LampsI want to close with this verse from Nahum… and then I just want to pray for you, because I know trouble is coming... Nahum 1:7Nahum 1:7 NKJV The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.Prophetic Prayer time...Gospel CallAaronic Blessingיאר יהוה פניו אליך ויחנך ישא יהוה פניו אליך וישם לך שׁלום"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.You are dismissed from this place but not from His Presenceye·va·re'·khe·kha' · Adonai · ve·yeesh'·me·re'·khaya·eir · Adonai · pa·nav · e·ley'·kha · vee·khoon·ne'·kahees·sa · Adonai · pa·nav · e·ley'·kha · ve·ya·seim · le·kha · sha·lom"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.You are dismissed from this place but not from His Presence Genesis 35:8NKJV
Genesis 35:19–20NKJV
Genesis 35:27–29NKJV
Genesis 35:21–22NKJV
Genesis 35:8NKJV
Genesis 24:59NKJV
Genesis 35:19–20NKJV
Genesis 35:28–29NKJV
Psalm 91:1–2NKJV
Psalm 61:3–4NKJV
Psalm 27:5NKJV
Genesis 35:1NKJV
Genesis 35:21–22NKJV
Leviticus 20:11NKJV
Nahum 1:7NKJV
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