Scripture Reference: Genesis 28:10-22
The House of God Is a Place Where People Are Pointed to Heaven
When Jacob had his vision at Bethel, he found himself pointed to heaven. “Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” That is what Jacob saw. He saw heaven: “And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’”
That is what the church is about. The church is the house of God that points men and women to heaven. The church is like a ladder that leads people from earth to heaven. The church is the finger of God pointing men and women to eternity. That is the main task of the church, to point people to heaven and to Jesus Christ standing at the right-hand of the Father.
Michelangelo, the great artist and sculptor, lingered before a rough rock of marble. As he stared at the stone block, one of his students asked, “What are you doing?”
Michelangelo responded, “I’m looking at this block of marble. There is an angel in it, and I’m going to liberate him!” That is what the church is doing. We see a man or woman who is down and out and say: “There is an angel in you. You realize you are a sinner. God wants you to be a saint. Inside of you there is a part of God Himself.” The church is in the business of pointing men and women to heaven to bring out the best.
The House of God Is a Place Where the Promises of God Are Repeated
One of the wonderful things about coming to church is that in church we hear the promises of God repeated. That was Jacob’s experience at Bethel: “And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: ‘I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.’”
Studying this passage carefully we notice that in verse 12 there is evangelism, and in verse 13 there is discipleship. In the church through evangelism we are taught how to become a Christian. Then the church disciples us, teaching us how to be a growing Christian. That was Jacob’s experience.
The church must always major in evangelism. The church indeed is to be used of God, showing people the ladder that leads them to heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Peter preached, “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
But when a person becomes a Christian, that is not the end of the pilgrimage. The Bible tells us that we are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That was Jacob’s experience as found in verse 13. Here we find teaching, as God instructed Jacob on what took place in the past and what would take place in the future. He also was promising He would be with Jacob.
Evangelism tells us how to become a Christian. Then we are taught how to be a good Christian. When Paul wrote to the young preacher Titus, he stated, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). That is evangelism through the grace of God. Paul went on instructing Titus, “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:12).
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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