11 Traits of The People of God – Part 7

Christian Shields

11 Traits of The People of God / Tribes of Israel / Genesis 29:31–30:24

Going over Gad which has two meanings (Troop ). Christians are called to work together as a living army. Asher meaning happy, what makes us happy as Christians? It should not be comparison!

Notes

Forsake not the gathering of the brethren. WHY? because when you forsake the troop you are also forsaking a lot of strength and good fortune.

Introduction

Please stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Genesis 30:9–13 NKJV

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad. And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher.

•     This is what we have been going over as we examine the first 11 sons of Jacob, the birth of the first 11 tribes of Israel.

•     Each son has a name that corresponds to the circumstances of his birth and the way his mother was feeling at the time, and what God showed me as I prepared for this sermon was that these names have some prophetic value to them, so eternal meaning… God intended us for us to find purpose in these names, so what we have done is we have looked at each name as it pertains to the Christian walk… because these 11 sons are the first 11 sons of Israel, God’s chosen people… and we as Christians have been grafted into the vine, we are God’s people and thus these names should be important to us as well, amen?

•     So quickly let’s catch up to where we are today.

•     Leah was the first to give Jacob sons, and she gave Jacob 4 naturally born children.

•     Reuben—( Reu’ Ben – See, a son)

•     We are seen by God.

•     Simeon—(Shamah – To listen, consider, and Act)

•     God hears our prayers and acts.

•     Levi—(Lavah – Joined)

•     We are joined to God like a husband and wife are joined together (even more so).

•     Judah—(Yadah – vocal public praise)

•     We put praise over problems, we praise first, our praise perseveres, we hail the Lion of Praise!

•     Rachel, Leah’s sister, was baren and frustrated that she was not able to have sons, she envied her sister… they were both married to Jacob, but Rachel felt like it was her right to have the sons, and she was angry at Jacob and ultimatly God for not giving her sons, so she takes matters into her own hands and gives her maidservant to Jacob as a wife… Bilhah, the maidservant, then has two sons which Rachel adopts as her own.

•     Dan—( Din – Judment, Vindicator)

•     God is our vindicator, but He is also our judge.

•     Naphtali—(My Wrestling)

•     We ought not wrestle with our brothers and sisters, but instead wrestle against evil.

•     So three women, two of whom are sisters, all giving Jacob sons. Now when we last saw Leah, she was praising God. She was Yaddahing God, but now things have changed… now her sister Rachel is having children and boasting about prevailing over her… and for some reason, Leah has stopped being able to get pregnant…

•     So what does she do? Does Leah, who already has 4 healthy boys, continue to praise God for the family He has given her? Does she live a content life, knowing that her boys and subsequent generations of grandchildren would bring about kings, and preists, and ultimatly they would bring in the Savior of the world, Jesus?

•     No… of course not! SHE CAN’T BE BEAT BY HER SISTER! She thinks “If my sister can have sons through her maidservant, then by golly I can have sons through my maidservant!”

•     So Leah gives her maidservant, Zilpah, to her husband to take as a wife, and shortly thereafter Zilpah has a son, Gad, and then another, Asher… and those two names are what we are going to look at and apply to our lives as Christians this morning… you guys with me? You ready for this action? Let’s start with ol Gad… meaning “A Troop” or “A company of soldiers”.

Gad – A Troop

Genesis 30:9–11 NKJV

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad.

•     Now let’s get this out of the way first thing… the name Gad comes from the Hebrew word Gadad, which can have two different meanings… it can either mean “A troop”, like a military troop or a military company…

•     Or it can mean “Good fortune” or “Good luck”.

•     Your Bible will translate it one of those two ways… and it is difficult to know which way Leah intended… the translators of the New King James version thinks that Leah meant “A troop” and I tend to agree with them, specifically because of Jacob’s prophecy over Gad in Genesis 49:19

Genesis 49:19 NKJV

“Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, but he shall triumph at last.

•     Everyone translates the word here to mean troop, or army, or group of soldiers, or group of raiders.

•     Not a single translation translates the word here as good fortune…

•     So either it is just an extreme coincidence that Jacob would use the word Gadad to mean troop and he was not at all referencing the origin of Gad’s name… or, I think far more likely, Jacob knew that Gad’s name meant troop and was referencing that through his prophetic words to his son.

•     So I am going to stick with Gad’s name coming from the Troop meaning of the word Gadad.

•     גָּדַד gâdad

•     To gather

•     To form a crowd

•     To form a troop

•     Now I think Leah was boasting over her sister when she named her son Gad… I think she was saying “Oh yeah, you had two boys? You wrestled with me and prevailed… OH YEAH?! WELL GUESS WHAT?! Two can play at that game! And now I have a FIFTH SON! I have a whole little troop of sons over here, you only have two! WHAT NOW SIS?!”

•     Now obviously that attitude is ungodly, and I am going to address that when I get to point two… but for now, I want to focus on the actual meaning of the Name Gad, a troop… because I think as Christians we are intended to work together as a troops, we are to work together like a military force, ready to face the enemy…

Philippians 1:27–28 NKJV

Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.

•     Paul is addressing the church in Philippi, and he is saying to all of them “stand fast in one spirit and have one mind”… in other words, work together as a troop!

•     And what are you going to do as a troop? You are going to strive…

•     Now, remember last weeks sermon? Naphtali Neged Ha’Ra! My wrestling… my striving is against evil…

•     So last week we learned that we should be striving against evil, and this week we learn that fight we don’t do alone!

•     Listen all of Christianity is the army of God, each of you are soldiers… and right here we have the Soutwest Schaeffer Drive Brigade… we are a troop of soldiers ready to do battle with sin, ready to do battle with the evil culture around us, ready to do battle with Satan and his minions.

•     Find someone who is free from an addiction and ask them if they did it alone,  find someone who over came meth, or alcoholism, or pornography and ask “how did you do it”… I bet you don’t find a single person who says “Well, you know, I just got down next to my bed and knelled and prayed, and poof, I was free from 20 years of alcohol abuse”.

•     Everyone I know who is free from addiction did it with the help of a troop… often times an accountability group or recovery group that churches host and help run.

•     But it’s not just for the addicts, any kind of sin you are wrestling with, any kind of evil… Naphtali Neged Ha’Ra… when we wrestle with evil, wrestle it as a troop!

נַפְתָּלִי עִם גְּדוּדִי נֶגֶד הָרָע

Naftalí im gadad neged ha-ra
My wrestling, with my troop, is against evil!

•     Whatever evil you are wrestling, big or small, personal or public… maybe it is sin you are overcoming, maybe it is persecution you are facing… whatever evil you are facing… FACE IT WITH YOUR TROOP!

•     Because we are stronger, saints, when we are together!

•     We are more effective in battle, Christians, when we are together!

•     We endure longer and are far less prone to giving up, church, when we are together!

•     As a troop we DESECRATE the enemies camp, and when the enemy comes against us, my brothers and sisters in Christ, when the enemy comes against us, and he finds us standing together as a troop, then he finds out the hard way that we are not easily broken!

Ecclesiastes 4:12 NKJV

Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.

And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

•     Now, I am going to preach to the choir just a little bit here, ok… because all of you are in church this morning, so what I am saying may seem a bit redundant… maybe not to somebody who only watches on the youtubes or the livestreams… but you guys are the faithful, you are here this morning!

•     So this is going to sound like I am preaching to the chior, but I am not… because at some point, at some time in your life, you are going to want to stop going to church… you are going to want to stop serving, stop  giving, stop being involved…

•     Life is going to happen, you are going to get busy, or tired, or someone at church will offend you… it will probably be me because I play too much… but listen, set in your heart right now that no matter what you will NEVER be without a church home… you will never be without your troop… you will never forsake gathering together with other believers…

Hebrews 10:23–25 NKJV

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

•     Decide now church, that you will never, no matter what, forsake the gathering of the brethren… If this church disappears tomorrow, find another one to join… and if you can’t find one, start one… don’t ever let the devil catch you trying to fight evil alone, amen?!

•     Alright now that brings us to point two this morning, and it is all about being happy…

Asher – Happy and Blessed

Genesis 30:12–13 NKJV

And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher.

•     Asher’s name comes from the Hebrew word Ashar…

אָשַׁר (ashar)

•     to be happy

•     to be blessed

•     So the verses we just read really reads like this:

Genesis 30:12–13 NKJV

And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, “I am ashar, for the daughters will call me ashar.” So she called his name Asher.

•     So we are in the sermon series 11 Traits of the People of God, and I don’t think it is a stretch to say the people of God should be happy and blessed!

•     But we need to make sure our happiness comes from the right source… because pursing the wrong kind of happiness can lead to ruin…

•     I think it was Theodore Roosevelt who said “Comparison is the thief of joy” and Leah is about to find that out the hard way… the happiness she is proclaiming in this verse… it lasts for… well… one verse… because the very next verse we see Leah complaining to Rachel and desperately buying a night with her husband… actually paying off her sister so that she can sleep with her own husband. Not exactly what I would call “Happy”…

•     And this is sad, because the last we say Leah she was praising God… she was Yaddahing God, that public vocal praise. She had forgotten all about her rivalry with her sister… she had put aside that her husband hated her… and she was just blessed to praise God….

•     Now, on the other hand, she sees her sisters having sons, and she has to fight back… so she gives her husband another woman to have kids with and he starts having sons, first it is a troop, now she says she is happy…

•     But why was it not good enough like it was? What changed to take her away from praise? The only thing that changed was that her sister was having sons… she started comparing, and she determined the only way she would be happy was if she had more sons. She was wrong. She had more sons, but as we will find out next week, she wasn’t really happy. Not with a lasting happiness.

•     So as Christians, we are supposed to be happy, but we must make sure that our happiness comes from the right place… so let me share with you from scripture where not to get happiness from, then I will share where you SHOULD be finding happiness and joy.

•     First, as I just explained, the Bible makes it very clear that envy or comparison will not bring you happiness…

Proverbs 14:30 NKJV

A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones.

James 3:16 NKJV

For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

•     That’s pretty clear cut… you don’t need to try to keep up with the Jones… your calling is your calling, don’t compare it to others… your anointing is your anointing… to compare it to others… Don’t worry about weather someone is a better preacher than you, a better singer than you, weather they have more followers than you on instabook or facegram…

•     If God gives you 4 children and your neighbor 12 children, well praise God, thank Him for those four children and the fact that you get to sleep at night.

•     If God gives you a steady Job that pays the bills, praise God! Why does it matter if your brother gets paid more than you? What business is that of yours?

•     You be who God has made you to be, where God has made you to be, and let your neighbor be who your neighbor is, your brother be who your brother is, your sister be who your sister is… the second you start trying to “win” over people, guys, I have seen it… the joy will be sucked out of your life and rottenness will begin to grow in your bones, it is a nasty thing.

•     So what is the opposite of comparison or envy? It is contentment. And that is a great place for Christians to have joy!

1 Timothy 6:6–10 NKJV

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

•     I love this verse because it covers so many aspects of finding happiness as a Christian.

•     First we need to live in contentment… but not just any contentment, but contentment in godliness… if you are living with a great relationship with Christ… then it doesn’t matter what anyone else has, you have Jesus!

•     And Paul goes out of his way to make it clear, money doesn’t fix joy issues… it doesn’t bring happiness… Teddy Roosevelt says comparison is the thief of Joy, but Paul makes it even more plain… Seeking to be rich will destroy you, it will not bring you joy.

•     So as Christians I think we should be happy, but our happiness doesn’t come from money, it doesn’t come from keeping up with the Joneses, it comes from contentment in Christ.

Philippians 4:11–13 NIV

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

•     Paul knows what it is to be rich, he knows what it is to be poor. He has lived as a free man, a Roman, a politician of great influence and power… and he has lived as a prisoner, homeless and helpless apart from Christ.

•     And Paul says… the secret to being happy, the secret to ashar in all these situations is being content in Christ… if you are content in Christ, the you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you… no matter what you are called to, no matter what situation, you can be ashar… that is what that line “I can do all thing sthrough Christ who strengthens me” means, not that you can fly, or win the supperbowl, or whatever… it means that no matter your situation you can be blessed, and happy, and content.

•     Now I am spending a lot of time on contemntment becaus that is such a key to happiness for the Christian… but I want to turn to the book of Psalms for one final peaice of instruction about happiness… because the very first word in the book of Psalms… the VERY FIRST WORD is ashar! And it tells us how we can actually be happy and blessed, not like the comparison and competiion based happiness that Leah was feeling, but true ashar… true happiness and blessing.

Psalm 1:1–3 NKJV

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

•     This is such a good reminder to me… because sometimes I just don’t feel happy… have you ever been that way…

•     But for me at least, when I get that way I start thinking “If I just had a new car” or “Maybe a bigger house” or even “I just want to buy a bunch of junk from Amazon to feel better”.

•     Sometimes it’s not something I want to buy, instead I think “If I just had more time to play chess” or “I can’t wait until my kids are old enough to watch themselves, then I will have some free time” or “Man I really need a vacation, maybe that would make me happy”.

•     But you know, as I take inventory of my life and my feelings, I don’t think I ever am like “Man, I am just having way to much quality time with Jesus, I wish He would just leave me alone… that would make me happy”…

•     I am never like “You know, maybe if I read my Bible less, then I would have more time for video games… that would make me happy”

•     Now don’t get me wrong… MINISTRY bogs me down sometimes… church work can wear on your soul… but never delighting in the LORD… delighting in the LORD never get’s old, if it did… then heaven is not going to be that great… but it doesn’t get old, it is when I am distracted from delighting in God that my soul get’s heavy and I start to feel hopeless instead of happy… abandoned instead of blessed… And I don’t think that is how God intended us to live… I think as the people of God we should be happy and blessed.

•     A troop of happy and blessed people… Gadad and Ashar… Gad and Asher…

•     Now let me conclude by pulling out just one more Ashar verse… because I would love it if I pastored a happy and blessed church, amen? But if Christ is the source of our blessings, then we must know Christ well to be blessed… so take a look at this powerful verse starting with the word ashar…

Conclusion

Psalm 32:1–2 NIV

Blessed is the one  whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Ashar comes when our sins our forigiven… this is the start of true blessings and happiness. Paul actually quotes this verse in Romans 4…

Romans 4:5–8 NIV

However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”

•     So how do we get this blessing? Because Paul makes it clear, no amount of works, no amount of good deeds will result in your sins being forgiven… you can not earn this ashar… you can not earn happiness and blessings by working really hard and doing really good… so then, how do we find happiness? How can our sins be forgiven? Paul tells us…

Romans 4:23–25 NIV

The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

•     IN other words… if you would believe in God… if you would give your life to Him and be born again, trusting in Jesus, who died and rose again… then your sins would be forgiven, and you would experience true blessings and happiness… I know that was my experience when I gave my life to Christ when I was just 16 years old…

Gospel Call