Never Alone!
Genesis 28:10-22

At one time or another most of us have known what it felt like to be alone.
It could have been when you moved to a new city.
It could have been when you started at a new school.
It could have been when you started a new job.
It could have been in the middle of the night while you were waiting alone
in a hospital waiting room.
It could have been when you were excluded from something your friends were doing.
It could have been after a death or a broken relationship.
It could have been when you were all alone in a big crowd but still felt invisible and unnoticed.
Most of us have had times like this in our lives.

Many new advances in technolgy create loneliness such as in communication.
We can send an Email almost instantly around the world.
We can chat with someone in another country on our computer.
We can see world events as they are happening in our living room.

But our interpersonal contact has diminished.
We are spending more of our time with impersonal machines rather than with people.
The age of technology promised us more free time, but what has happened is that
less time is spent in building relationships and more time is invested in using
those conveniences such as television, cell phones, and the Internet.

Medical advancements have increased the length of life, while we have lost the meaning of life.
Even with all our medical advances, our generation has been dependent on antacids
and antidepressants in an effort to calm our distressed spirits.

Our Scripture passage in Genesis teaches us something about loneliness.
Loneliness is not new.
It is not true that "People who need people are the luckiest people in the world".
What is true is that people who need people are the only people in the world.

In Genesis we see that Jacob was a very lonely man.
The deceit to receive the blessing from Isaac was a great success in one sense
but in another sense, it was a terrible failure.
Jacob was forced to leave home to escape being killed by his furious brother.
So, Jacob gets the blessing, but he has to leave the inheritance with his brother.

Jacob is sent to his uncle's home to find a wife.
The journey to Haran was a long one.
When he was about 70 miles from home, he came to Bethel.
It is surprising that we find Jacob outside the city apparently sleeping in the wilderness.
It was a common practice that visitors in a city would be extended hospitality for the night.
So, Jacob either arrived after the gates were closed, or he was so depressed
that he didn't want to be sociable.

Of course, we can't imagine what Jacob was thinking that night.
Was he filled with regret over his actions toward Esau?
Was he mad at his mother, his brother, or his father?
Was he feeling sorry for himself?
Did he feel that God had deserted Him?

We don't know, but any or all of those things are possible.

Jacob may have felt like Joe Bayly who wrote this "Psalm of My Life:"

A Psalm In a Hotel Room
"I'm alone, Lord, alone,
a thousand miles from home.
There's no one here who knows my name
except the clerk,
and he spelled it wrong,
no one to eat dinner with,
laugh at my jokes,
listen to my gripes,
be happy with me about what happened today
and say that's great.
No one cares.

There's just this lousy bed
and slush in the street outside
between the buildings.
I feel sorry for myself
and I've plenty of reason to.
Maybe I ought to say
I'm on top of it,
praise the Lord,
things are great;
but they're not.
Tonight
it's all
gray slush."
[Joseph Bayly, Psalms of My Life]

If you have ever experienced a lonely time in your life, and maybe you are lonely even now,
you can learn something positive from Jacob's experience.
Jacob was sleeping, and he had a dream while he was sleeping.
Immediately Jacob knew that God was communicating with him.
This was not a typical dream.
It was a message from God.

Jacob saw a ladder or a stairway that went from the earth to Heaven.
Angels on the stairway were going up and down.
The Lord stood at the top of the ladder.

Jacob heard the Lord say, " 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.
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.
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." (13-15)

God gives Jacob several messages.
In Jacob's day it was common to think of God as being territorial.
In other words, there was a God who oversaw your city, but only your city.
Many believed that other gods governed other cities.
So, for Jacob, it might have seemed that he had literally left the presence and protection
of Almighty God.

God is reminding Jacob of His presence.
Here God is affirming His "omnipresence."
He is present everywhere.
We are never outside of His presence.

David wrote about this in Psalm 139:7-10:
"Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast."

Jesus told his disciples, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the earth."
(Matthew 28:21)?
There may be times when you may feel alone, but you are not alone.
We must always rely on the words of God, and not our feelings when we are lonely.

The Lord tells Jacob that "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. . . .
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 promised."

Jacob may have felt that God had forgotten Him, but God is still at work.
Jacob doesn't see that God is really molding his character.
Even in the wilderness God is preparing him for the work that He has for him to do.

Angels are going up and down on the ladder.
It was believed that the angels going up were bringing the needs and requests
of the people to the Father, and the angels coming down were bringing God's answers
and provisions to people.
God is not ever absent!
God is always involved, and He is at work in your life even now.

If you are a child of God, you can be assured that He has not forgotten you.
He has told us that He will "never leave us or forsake us."
Just because we don't see what He is doing, doesn't mean He isn't doing anything.
God is working in our lives.
We see the difficulties, and we don't understand them.
We might even think that God is trying to harm us.
But He is really bringing depth and character into our lives.

God tells Jacob that He will be with Him, and He will keep His promises.
This is incredible because Jacob has lied and deceived his father and brother,
and now he is being chased from his home.
And in this setting, and under these circumstances, God still says,
"I'm going to help you through this."

Paul wrote "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion."
(Philippians 1:6)
Maybe you feel all alone because you have failed.
You have done foolish things, and feel as though you don't deserve any friends.
And that may be true.
You certainly don't deserve to be loved by God.
And neither do I.

But the message is simple, God will still be with you and help you even though
you may be faltering in your commitment to Him.

So, the ladder that God shows Jacob going from earth to Heaven is telling Jacob
that God is still accessible.
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place,
and I was not aware of it."
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." (Gen. 28:16-17)

So we see that that Jacob is strengthened.
His eyes are opened.
He realizes that he is not alone after all.
Now, I know that it is important to know that God loves us.

We learn also that God will never leave us -- like some of our friends will.
God will always listen to us -- even when our friends are too busy for us.
God always knows what to do and what is best for us.
His guidance will always be just what we need.
God will always love us even when we don't act the way He wants us to.
He will never leave us alone.

This becomes a time and place of worship for Jacob.
Jacob said "this is none other than the house of God."
Jacob realizes that he is on Holy Ground.

When we are on holy ground we become aware of our sin.
Jacob knows he deserves nothing from God's hand.
But God has, in His mercy, given him life.
In response to this blessing, he sets up a monument from the stone he used as a pillar,
and uses the stone as a reminder of His encounter with God.

That stone became a reminder that God has not given us what we deserve;
He has given us His mercy and His love.
When we realize this we bow in worship.

So Jacob vows to serve God.
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 so that I return safely
to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God 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."

The point is clear: If we understand God's promise to us and receive it, then we should love Him
and serve Him for the rest of our lives.
Jacob knew that in response to God's love, He should give His love and devotion in return.
He would worship Him.
He would acknowledge him with a tithe of his income.
He would honor Him with His life.

His response should be our response.
God comes to us in our loneliness, and He deserves the best we have to give in return.

If you have received Jesus as your Saviour, you will never be alone.
You may not see Him.
You may not feel Him.
But He is always present.

In Matthew 28:20, Jesus the Saviour of the world promised that He would be with us always
until the end of time.
Jesus made this promise to the disciples because He realized they were scared and confused
and needed comfort in their moment of uncertainty, so He assures them that neither death,
nor life, angels, or principalities, powers and wickedness can keep them from His love.

This amazing promise provided comfort for the disciples and energized them to go forth
and to be witnesses of the good news of the gospel.
This promise provided them with the strength they would need to overcome adversity,
to face wicked men, and to triumph over difficulties for the sake of the Gospel.
This promise provided them with the hope that they will see the Master again.

This same promise is what keeps us from losing our minds when trouble knocks on our door.
This same promise is what keeps us keeping on when the going gets tough.
This promise is what helps us to endure hardships.
This same promise will enable us to withstand betrayal from our friends,
and to suffer set-back after set-back even as we wait for our come-back.

Just to know that Jesus is with us gives us a confidence and assurance
that non Christians cannot understand.
Just to know that Jesus is with us gives us everlasting peace.
People around us cannot understand how we can stay cool, calm, and collected
when our world has fallen in on us.
We have the peace of God which surpasses all understanding knowing that we are not alone.
Our great God who has all power is with us.
He is always with us!
He never leaves us alone!

When David Livingstone, the dedicated missionary, returned to England for a brief visit towards
the end of his life, he was honored by Queen Victoria.
The cities and universities held him in high esteem.
During his short stay he was asked to address the students at Cambridge University.

Very simply and very quietly he said to those students:
"Gentlemen, shall I tell you what it was that kept me true to my resolve through
all those years in the Dark Continent of Africa?
It was the words of Jesus: ' Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. '"
David Livingstone was never alone!

Never Alone!
Christians store those words in your heart.
Keep them fresh in your memory.
Bad times will come, but you will find nothing so comforting as these words.
Nothing could be more assuring than knowing that God is with you.

Repeat that word, "never."
It is worth its weight in gold.
Cling to it as a drowning man clings to a rope for God has said:
"I will never leave you, nor forsake you."

Never Alone

"I've felt sin's breakers dashing, trying to conquer my soul;
I've heard the voice of Jesus telling me still to fight on;
He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone.

The world's fierce winds are blowing, temptations are sharp and keen;
I feel a peace in knowing my Savior stands between--
He stands to shield me from danger when earthly friends are gone;
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone.

When in affliction's valley I tread the road of care,
My Savior helps me carry the cross so heavy to bear;
Though all around me is darkness, earthly joys all flown;
My Savior whispers His promise, never to leave me alone!

He died on Calvary's mountain, for me they pierced His side.
For me He opened that fountain, the crimson, cleansing tide.
For me He waiteth in glory, seated upon His throne.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!

Chorus
No, never alone! No, never alone!
He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone;
No never alone! No, never alone!
He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone."
-- Lyrics by Ludie Pickett.

Sermon adapted from many resources by Dr Harold L. White