The Occult vs Hard Work

Introduction

•     As you turn to Genesis 31 verse 17 let me warn you… we are about to read 48 verses. I timed myself reading these verses, it takes 5 minutes to read these verses aloud… and that 5 minutes can feel like an eternity… but I think we can give 5 minutes to the Word of God this morning, right? Can we do that this morning?

•     If you need to sit I won’t be offended, but if you can stand I encourage you to do so…

•     Now what I really want you to take not of as we read this is the odd events of the stolen household idols… because we are about to read about Jacob running away form Laban… and Rachel stealing this idols from her father as they run… and I also want you to really key in to Jacob’s defense to Laban… how hard Jacob worked for Laban…

•     Alright, you guys ready for all of this?

Genesis 31:17–55 NKJV

Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s. And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gilead.

And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.

And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now you have done foolishly in so doing. It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?”

Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them. And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.

Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”

And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? Now therefore, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”

So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. And Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, also Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”

Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

This is the Word of the Lord, Amen?

•     Did you guys follow what happened there? I know it was a TON of Scripture, but this finally brings the saga of Laban and Jacob finally to a close.

•     This also will bring our series “The Source of Prosperity” to a close.

•     The Source of Prosperity Title Slide.

•     This is what we have been talking about for the last few weeks.

•     Jacob desired prosperity for his family, for his wives and children and grandchildren… I think it is perfectly acceptable to desire a healthy level of prosperity for your family…

•     In fact I think it would be odd for a father to say “Man I just want my children to have to beg for bread when they grow up”… no, no one wants that…

•     So Jacob becomes exceedingly prosperous… that is what we read in Genesis 30:43 and the start of the quesiton we ask in this series”

Genesis 30:43 NKJV

Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

•     So the question becomes, if one can become exceedingly prosperous, then what is the source of that prosperity?

•     In our first sermon, Spilling Cups and Stealing Sheep we saw that for a time Laban was exceedingly prosperous because Jacob’s blessings overflowed onto Laban’s household…  Jacob’s cup runnethed over, so to say, resulting in prosperity for Laban.

•     But then Laban showed his true colors and stole Jacob’s wages he had JUST agreed upon, and we learned that theft is a source of poverty not prosperity, as in the end Laban is left basicly with nothing, but Jacob is exceedingly prosperous.

•     In last week’s sermon, Wordily Wisdom Vs Godly Wisdom we talked about Jacob’s trick with the wooden rods with strips cut in them.

•     We learned that he was trying to use “Maternial Impression” to influence what kind of livestock was born, something the scientific community at the time believed would work… of course we know it is nonsense now, because the wisdom of the world time and time again is proven foolish by the wisdom of God.

•     So wordly wisdom is not the source of our prosperity… instead, of course, God is the source of our prosperity, as Jacob found out, it was not the rods of poplar and almond that made Jacob prosperous, it was God.

•     Finally today, in our final sermon in the series, we are going to talk about the Occult and Hard Work

•     ***Pray against the Occult before moving on to point one

Get the Occult Out of Your Camp

Genesis 31:19–20 NKJV

Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father’s. And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee.

Genesis 31:26 NKJV

And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword?

Genesis 31:30–32 NKJV

And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you steal my gods?”

Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ With whomever you find your gods, do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

Genesis 31:34–35 NKJV

Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them. And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.

•     Let’s talk about these household idols or household gods… what were they and why did Rachel steal them?

•     The answer to the first question is easy enough, they were carved figurines shapped to look like humans or human like gods. They were somewhere in size ranging between a chess piece and a barbie doll.

•     These figures where sometimes worshiped, sometimes thought to bring favor and good fortune, and sometimes they were used in divination…

•     Laban was a fan of divination himself, the act of asking false gods to communicate to you through physical means like “Oh spirits show me why I am so good looking” and then my Mario toy falls from my shelf into my coffee… “I have learned through divination that coffee is the secret to my good looks!”. Remember this verse?

Genesis 30:27 NKJV

And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.”

•     This I have learned is a terrible translation of this verse… the word for experience there should be “Divination”. I have learned by divination…

•     I have no idea why the KJV and NKJV use “experience” here but nearly every other version uses the word divination.

Genesis 30:27 ESV

But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.

Genesis 30:27 NIV

But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.”

•     I mean of the 56 English translations, 45 of them translate this as “I have learned by divination”… In other words “I prayed to my household gods and they showed me that I am blessed because of you”.

•     That’s what these household gods are, that is what these gods are used for… and the true and living God HATES IT.

Deuteronomy 7:25–26 NKJV

You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.

•     That *Point to screen* should be our opinion of false gods… I mean, God cares so much about this that he made it the second commandment! Don’t make or bow down to any carved images.

•     Now Rachel stole these gods… maybe she thought it would bring her favor… maybe she wanted to try divination… maybe she thought holding on to these idols meant she got to inherit all that was her fathers… whatever the case, she thought these idols would bring her prosperity…

•     But the occult is not a source of prosperity, it is a source of destruction. Jacob said “Take the life of whomever you find with your household gods”… well, she sat on them and said she was on her period… a clever trick against Laban… but not that clever against God… God knew what she did, and soon God would do what Laban was instructed to do… God takes Rachel’s life in childbirth… but we will talk more about that when we get there in Genesis… for now I want to talk about the idols in our lives… the occult some of us have brought into our own camps…

•     I have heard this preached many a times about TV, and Video Games, and Work… “Anything you put above God is an idol” preachers say… “You have made netflix an idol”… well meaning pastors say… and maybe to some extent that is true… but that kind of talk has always given my spirit a little bit of pause… becuase it is so secular… so spiritually sterol… because it removes the spiritual side of things… the fact that false gods are not just hobbies or obsessions… they are what they are… false gods… false religions… evil… demonic… occult…

•     And I think we like to pretend that we don’t have any occult in America… but that mindset has opened the door for little false gods to make their way into our lives, our camps, and even sometimes our church… so let’s call it out…

•     First and foremost… YOU DON’T HAVE A LUCKY NUMBER… YOU DON’T HAVE A LUCKY PENNY… OR A LUCKY TEDDY BEAR… OR A LUCKY ANYTHING…

•     You don’t need luck for prosperity… you need FAVOR!

•     I was at a connivence store and my total rang up to 16. 16 and the cashier said “You should buy a lotto ticket! That’s is such a lucky number!”

•     I said “Excuse me?” she said “Seriously, Google the spiritual significance of double 16”… I’m sorry? Who are you talking to? I am a child of God, you telling me to Google some occult blasphemy?! No, my Favor comes from the LORD not from hapenstance!

•     Listen church, lucky objects like coins or horseshoes or rabbits feet… lucky objects are one of the oldest occult practices in human history. Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and ancient Romans all worshiped lucky objects. GOD HATES THEM! STOP THAT NONESENSE.

•     Lucky numbers started back when Pythagoras taught that numbers were the basis of all spiritual reality… he put a spiritual epmphasis on numbers… and then other cults took that practice and spread it…

•     Yes some numbers in scripture cary spiritual meaning, but that is not the same as spiritual value… my value comes from the Lord… I can tattoo 777 all over my body, but to what ends if I have no relationship with the living God…

•     So no I don’t have a lucky number, I have favor from God.

•     You know what else I don’t car about? Horoscopes.

•     Man looking at the stars won’t tell me nothing except whether it is cloudy out tonight.

•     I was born on January 23rd, BUT I AM NOT AN AQUARIUS… I am not a Cancer, or a Scorpio, or an Aries… NO! I AM A CHILD OF GOD.

•     This is ancient Babylonian religion… AND GOD HATES IT… Get it out of your life.

•     Not only am I not an Aquarius, but I am not a “3” personality type. I am not “The Achiever” or “The Optimist” or “The Challenger” or any other Enneagram heresy! Instead I am a Royal Priest, I am more than a conqueror, I am a child of the true and living God, I am not whatever this occult personality test wants to say I am…

•     But passstooorrrrr.… I learned my enneagram number in my past church.… blah blah… pastors and churches get it wrong sometime, and I know of churches that have gotten this one wrong…

•     Hear me and hear me clearly, THE ENNEAGRAM IS NOT OF GOD. THE ENNEAGRAM IS OCCULT. GOD HATES IT. AND I HATE IT TOO.

•     It started back in the late 1800’s in a cult called “The Fourth Way” and that this Enneagram would one day reveal the mysterious of the universe and awaken the soul of those who worship it.

•     Then in  more modern times this guy names Oscar Ichazo said that a spiritual being named Metatron reveled to him that the Enneagram would reveal ancient knowledge… he then said that that Metatron forced him to write the 9 personality types and that each personality types was connected to one of the 9 points of the devil… That’s his own term…

•     If you have ever taken an Enneagram personality test or identified by one of it’s number, take some time to repent of that, apologize to God, you didn’t know what you were doing, and ask Him to cleanse you of anything you may have been opened up to.

•     You are not a number, YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD.

•     Here are some rapid fire Occult things you may have brought in unknowingly…

•     Yoga is one of the six orthodox schools of Hinduism, each pose worships a Hindu God… don’t do it.

•     Crystals and Crystal healings is occult. The idea that some stones or minerals carry metaphysical energy or healing powers comes from ancient paganism and Hinduism. Rocks are not your healer, GOD IS  YOUR HEALER.

•     The idea that the body has negative energy that needs to be removed with magnets or copper bracelets… yeah that nonsense and it comes from Taoism and other occult sources. Okay, so throw out your power balance bracelet… don’t bring it into the camp.

•     The Secret that Oprah promoted, which is the idea of manifestation or the law of attraction… that’s nonsense… get it out of the camp.

•     Tarrot Cards, Oracle Cards, Fortune Tellers… Guy’s I don’t even read the little slip of paper that comes in my Chinese dinner’s dessert… because it is occult.

•     Ouji boards, palm reading, water dowsing… Feng Shui, dreamcatchers, burning sage to cleanse a room… even some aspects of the esential oils craze… occult… I don’t want them in the camp.

•     I am not celebrating Freemasonary and I am not celebrating Halloween… they are occult and I don’t want them in the camp.

•     I don’t even like the Easter Bunny and Easter Eggs because the MIGHT be occult, though the evidence on that one is thin… I can certainly celebrate Easter without those things.

•     Listen church, you can be prosperous with God’s favor… I really believe you can prosper… I really want you to prosper with an overflowin cup runneth over prosperity… but bringing the occult into your camp is not the way to do it… it didn’t work for Rachel… it didn’t work for Achon… and it’s not going to work for you!

•     I guess what I am trying to say is this: “Be a Christian, worship the true and Living God, seek Him for your source of prosperity… since when was God not enough?”

•     Now, one final thing to address… we talked a bit about this last week, so I wont belabor the point… but just because you have favor… just because God’s hand is upon you… that does not excuse you from hard work… so, for the final point in the series “The source of Prosperity” is this: Favor Doesn’t Excuse Labor.

Favor Doesn’t Excuse Labor

Genesis 31:38–42 NKJV

These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”

•     Jacob knew that God was the reason for his prosperity. God told Jacob in a dream as much. Jacob has proclaimed it to his wives saying “God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me”…

•     Even here, as Jacob is defending himself to Laban, Jacob gives God the glory.

•     Jacob knows it was God who brought him prosperity… but it was prosperity that God brought fourth through hard work.

Genesis 31:42 NKJV

God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”

•     God has seen my affliction AND THE LABOR of my hands… Favor doesn’t excuse labor.

•     You don’t get to claim the favor of God, then do nothing and expect prosperity to show up.

•     You don’t get to go out into a field and pray “God bring in a plentiful harvest” and then completely neglect to plant the seeds and pull the weeds…

•     God is not a get rich quick scheme, He is the living, breathing, thinking, ever working and interceding God of the universe.

•     Even God worked at creation 6 days and then rested on the 7th… and you think you can rest all 7 days and find prosperity from God? That is foolishness!

•     Proverbs has a lot to say on this subject, here are a few verses…

Proverbs 10:4 NKJV

He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Proverbs 13:4 NKJV

The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

Proverbs 20:4 NKJV

The lazy man will not plow because of winter; He will beg during harvest and have nothing.

•     In the New Testament church charity became a big deal… and some took advantage of it, refusing to work and instead just living off of whatever the church would provide. Paul was having none of that nonsense.

2 Thessalonians 3:10–12 NKJV

For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.

•     Then of course there is that terrifying verse we read last week.

1 Timothy 5:8 NKJV

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

•     These verses seem really abundantly clear… yet as a pastor I have meet people who sit around, not working, and simply claiming “Well the Lord will provide” as if that was some great statement of faith.

•     “I know I don’t have a job… but the Lord will provide”

•     “I know I am being a burden to litterally everyone around me… but the Lord will provide”

•     “I know my children are hungry and not getting enough food… but the Lord will provide”

•     BUT BRO!!!! Why are you not working “Well I am just waiting for the Lord to provide the right job…”

•     Bro McDonalds is ALWAYS hiring, at least you will have something to buy your kids food “No no no, I am better than that… I will wait for the Lord to provide something better”.

•     Bro KwickStar is hiring assistant managers “And work at a gas station? No I am believing the Lord will provide something better”.

•     Listen, Jacob was a shepherd… this was the McDonalds worker of his time… he was working on someone else’s flock building someone else’s wealth… it was a dirty job, it was a hard job… freezing nights, blistering days… sleeping outside… but HE WORKED HARD…

Genesis 31:40 NKJV

There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.

•     He said “I was cold at night and burning up in the day… and bro I WAS TIRED… I NEVER GOT ENOUGH SLEEP! 20 years I worked for you… HARD WORK… HONEST WORK… you changed my wages 10 times… BUT GOD SAW MY LABOR AND HE BLESSED ME.

•     Listen church, somebody needs to hear this… GOD CAN’T BLESS YOUR LABOR IF YOU ARE NOT ACTUALLY LABORING.

•     Get a job and start working… God can bless you while you work at McDonalds… God can bless you while you work at KwickStar… He can give you raises and promotions and make your money go farther than you thought it could go… But God can’t bless your laziness…

•     Now that doesn’t mean overdo it, we talked about it last week… Don’t think overworking is a source of prosperity either… but for this sermon I just want to be clear… Favor doesn’t Excuse Labor.

•     God showed Noah favor, but he still had to build the Ark.

•     God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, but they still had cast the giants out of the promised land.

•     God granted favor to Nehemiah and Ezra, but they still had to rebuild the walls and the temple.

•     God sent down power from on high at Pentecost… but the apostle still had to go out and do the hard work of making disciples.

•     Favor Doesn’t Excuse Labor, amen?

•     Alright, let me close this sermon and this series down… the Source of Prosperity…

Conclusion

Genesis 30:43 NKJV

Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

•     The man became exceeding prosperous… why?

•     Because he worked hard AND was favored by God.

•     God is the ultimate source of prosperity… things like the occult, laziness, man’s wisdom, and theft are obstacles to prosperity…

•     But working hard while remaining in the will of God… yeah that’s the secret to prosperity… being blessed, highly favored, and obedient to the will and comands of God… yeah that’s how we become prosperous…

•     Letting God direct your path, every single step… that is a way of life that leads to prosperity.

•     God is the source of our prosperity, our job is to serve Him, follow Him, obey Him… and to do it all with zeal and hard work… in the end, it produces a pressed down, shaken together, overflowing… table prepared in front of my enemy, cup running over… so much blessings the storehouses can’t hold it all in… kind of prosperity!

•     That’s the kind of prosperity that I want… and I am always going to seek it from the source… but maybe you don’t know this source… maybe you don’t know God like that… well today you can, you can know the source of prosperity by knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior.