Deliverd by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III
Sermon February 16, 2025

Genesis 29: 31-35 NKJV
When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. 34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

I.                              INTRODUCTION

1. It has been said that life itself is the greatest teacher. We believe that to be true, because the events in our lives always come with lessons and blessings.
   1. When you look at the things that God allows, the mountains, valleys, and the challenges, you begin to realize that God will give you a PHD in adversity.
   1. God will sometimes allow us to go through a variety of experiences, because He knows that we will come to a place of self-realization.
   1. Self-realization is an important part of our maturing process as believers. You have to let people come to revelation on their own, sometimes. This is why it is important to be patient.
   1. God is long suffering towards us. He doesn’t want any of us to perish. We are all on a journey trying to figure out what God’s desire and standard is for our lives.
   1. We do crazy stuff and make wrong decisions, then something finally clicks where we realize that we need something better.
   1. God is not going to stop you from dating that person or taking that job. He’s not going to interfere with free will, but He is going to put you in a position where you will discover for yourself, what you deserve.
2. In Luke 15 is the story of a prodigal son. It is about a son who takes his inheritance, before his father intends to give it to him. He goes out and lives a rowdy lifestyle with it. He is the life of the party until he finally hits rock bottom. He finally finds himself in a pigpen situation and there, covered in mud and smelling like pig slop, he comes to himself.
   1. In this place, he comes to himself and realizes that he is living like a pig, when his father has a big house that he could stay in. He decides that he will go back and just be a servant at his father’s home. He decides that he will go back home as a servant, instead of going back in a position of entitlement. It is a wonderful story about how we come to ourselves.
   1. Self-reflection is important. When you think back over your life, you may remember coming to the point where you said to yourself, “I deserve better than this”. Have you ever been on a job and just realized that you deserve better?
   1. This word is going to allow us to see the power of our decisions and the power of our destiny. This story is about Jacob, Leah, and Rachel. It is a complex story. It is not only a story about love and relationships.  It is a story about things we connect with. It is a story about our motives. When you understand who you are, you will understand what you deserve.
3. The scripture tells us that Abraham has a son named Issac and Issac has a son named Jacob. Jacob is the grandson of Abraham. He is the twin brother of Essau. When they were born there was a conflict that took place between them, even in the womb of the mother. While they are being born, Essau is being born as the firstborn and Jacob grabs his heal inside the womb, to pull him back in, so that he would be the firstborn.
   1. Jacob takes advantage of Essau out in the field one day. Traditionally, the firstborn received the birthright. Because Essau is hungry and Jacob knew it, Jacob tells Essau that he would give him a bowl of soup, in trade for his birthright. Because of Essau being so hungry, he sold his birthright for a bowl of soup and crackers.
      1. How many of you have given up your destiny for soup and crackers? You have given up all that God wants to do in your life, for immediate gratification.
   1. There was a moment that Essau realized that he had been tricked by Jacob, and he began to pursue him, to kill him. Jacob began to run, because that is what you do when you don’t have integrity, you are a trickster, and a conniver. You run from city to city, job to job, person to person!
   1. When you begin to run, you will finally realize that you will run into yourself.  When Jacob runs, it is important to know that biblical times can’t necessarily be compared into modern times contextually meaning you can’t just copy and paste scenarios into today’s standards. We tell you this so you can process what you are about to read.
4. Jacob runs to a place of familiarity. He runs to his uncle Laban house, and when he gets there, he sees his uncle’s daughter Rachel and falls in love with her.
5. I know what you are thinking. If Laban is his uncle, isn’t Rachel his cousin? This would be true but remember what we said about the copy and paste. You could do this back in these times.
6. Rachel is very attractive, and she knows it. To put it in old terms, she would be a brickhouse.
   1. Jacob is locked in on Rachel. He goes to Laban and says he wants to marry his daughter. Laban says that Jacob has to work for him for 7yrs to be granted her hand in marriage. In those days, you had to work for it!
   1. Jacob works Laban 7yrs, trying to get Rachel’s hand in marriage. The night of the consummation of the marriage, he had gotten a little tipsy and when he began to pull the veil off Rachel’s face, he realized that it wasn’t Rachel. It was Leah. He had been tricked.
   1. Leah, unlike Rachel, is not as appealing to the eye. The bible says she was tender-eyed. Jacob was furious and ran out of the tent, because he realized that he had been tricked.
   1. When he confronted Laban about the situation, Laban informed him that the oldest daughter had to be given in marriage first. He told him that he would have to work 7 more years in order to marry Rachel, so he has to work 14yrs to get what he wanted.
      1. In those days, they could have more than one wife.
   1. Fast forward 14yrs, Jacob is excited, because he finally got Rachel.
   1. Rachel is beautiful, but she was barren. She could not help pass down a generational blessing, because she could not have babies. Whenever you were barren in those days, it was viewed as a test from God.
   1. Leah, though not as attractive Rachel, has an open womb from God.
   1. One woman has position and the other has function.
      1. People will put you in a place because you serve their purpose and others will put you in a position, because you make them look good, but will later hide you, because all they want from you is function.
   1. How did this affect Leah? She had Jacob first, but Jacob doesn’t want her. How do you process not being wanted or being rejected? This private pain.

II.                              PRIVATE PAIN

A.    IT’S HARD WHEN PEOPLE DON’T SEE WHO YOU REALLY ARE

1. Everyone has had to deal with private pain. This can be difficult, because we have learned how to act like everything is ok, but we cry on our way home.
2. Jacob can represent not only a person. He can represent a career or an institution too. It’s hard when people don’t see who you really are.
3. Why is Jacob rejecting Leah? It is because of her external attributes. He hasn’t taken time to get to know her inside.
   1. People do us the same way. They will pass over us, because they are looking for something on the outside, not knowing that what they need is on the inside of us. Beauty is vain.
4. She is hurting because of the shallowness. How people view us, make people miss the greatness that God has placed inside us.
   1. There is more in us than people can see.

B.    REJECTION IS HARD TO HANDLE

1. Rejection can cause you to question your self worth. It can cause wounds that heal slowly. Leah wounds are rooted in something she can’t help. We can’t control where we are from.
2. It’s hard when you realize that you’re with someone that wants something or someone other than you.
   1. This can be relationship or on the job.
3. When you try to make it work, it often pushes them to something else.
4. Theres a blessing on the other side of your rejection. The rejection was for God’s redirection.
   1. Jesus was even rejected but became the chief cornerstone.
   1. Joseph was rejected, but later became second in command.
   1. David was overlooked by his own family but was later anointed as king.
5. When people rejected you, they made you available for God’s next in your life.
6. A lot of people have gotten rejected on the job or maybe even as a date for the prom. You have to think, if these things hadn’t happened, you wouldn’t be where you are today.
7. If you don’t deal with your rejection, it will deal with you.

III.                              PROBLEMATIC PURSUITS

A.    Rejection is magnetic.

1. How many times have you chased what you didn’t want?
   1. It just kept pulling you back in.
2. We chase after what is rare, because we need validation.
3. When Leah realized she was rejected, she started having babies by Jacob.
   1. Rachel was barren, Leah was not. Her ability to have babies was a gift.
   1. Instead of using it for God, she tried to use it to try and manipulate a player.
4. Be careful who you fall in love with, because you might become as they are. Leah is a giver and doesn’t get anything in return. It’s like putting water in a cup, with a hole in it. Whatever you do, is never enough.
5. You have to ask yourself, are you filling or are you funding someone else’s emptiness?
6. This cycle will cause you to end up back where you were.

B.    THE DYSFUNCTIONAL PLEAS FOR ATTENTION

1. How does she seek attention? She starts having babies. She is having babies trying to get Jacob to want her.
2. She thinks by having babies for Jacob, it will change his heart.
3. Jacob kept laying with Leah, knowing he didn’t love her. She thought it would change his heart, but it never did.
4. Just because she’s willing doesn’t make it right. We can’t act in dysfunction and be surprised when brokenness’ shows up. If you don’t see a future with someone, don’t make one in the form of a child.
5. How many times have you poured your love out, hoping that it would finally make your mate see your worth?
   1. Give out cookies may doesn’t work like you think. There’s all kind of cookies out there and he might like different kinds of cookies.
   1. You might find out that you’re just feeding a cookie monster.
6. Leah kept having babies thinking it would make Jacob love her. Giving more to someone that doesn’t love you, doesn’t make them love you more.
7. She named the children out of a dysfunctional plea.
   1. Reubenmeans to see. What is your Ruben? What are you posting trying to get people to see?  It doesn’t work
   1. Simeon – She named the second child Simeon.  If he doesn’t see me, maybe he will hear me, she thought. What are you using to make people hear you?
   1. Levi – She named the third one Levi. She thought , “He’ll finally be joined to me”. We are looking for people to like us. Stop living life by asking for people to like you. You have to know how God made you.
8. Cultural says you are failure, but you are fearfully and wonderfully made. You got to know who you are.
9. They may hate you but know that God loves you.

IV.                              PROVIDENTIAL PROVISION

A.    THEY MAY HATE YOU BUT GOD LOVES YOU

1. Jacob may have hated her, but God loved her. Just like Leah, God loves us.
2. Don’t allow Jacob to cause you to miss what God has for you.
   1. Why when it comes to your enemies, you post paragraphs, but when it comes to what God is doing for you, you only give a couple of words? Y
   1. You’re putting all your energy on the negative.
3. Think about negative stuff that happens at work and all you have to say about that, but when you get a promotion, all you say is, “We’re about to level up”.
4. Healthy relationship vs toxic Ex’s.-  Meet someone amazing, all we get is “We excited about this new chapter”. When your talking about the toxic Ex, we get 3 min reel of you going in.
5. We are so consumed with people, we miss where God is trying to take us.
   1. Story: Bishop tells the a story of how he and friends used to go to the Boys Club to shoot basketball. He knew they had to get there on time to get the full hour to play. They only did basketball from 4-5 and then they would change it to dodgeball.
   1. One guy would always have an issue with the barking dog and he would hold them up trying to make the dog stop barking at them. How are  you going to undog a dog? He was preventing them from getting to their destination on time. The only reason he is barking is, because they moving. Dog’s bark, because that’s what dogs do. Don’t delay your destination trying to make a hater stop being a hater.

B.    GOD HAS FAVORED YOU WITH POTENTIAL

1. God has favored Leah. He has placed something inside her that others covet, but she is focused on someone that don’t even like her.
2. Don’t be upset about who likes you. Birth what God has for you to birth.
3. The favor of God is on the life of the rejected.

V.                              PRAISE WITH PURPOSE

When you realize who you are, that’s when you realize what you deserve.

There comes a moment when you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. If you’re fed-up act like it!

A.    WHEN YOU ARE FED UP, ACT LIKE IT

1. Leah had 4 children. She didn’t name the 4^th one like she did the others.
2. She births the others for Jacob. She named the 4^th one Judah. She births this on for God. Judah means praise.

B.    PRAISE OVER PEOPLE

1. You’ve been waiting for other people praise and affirmation. When you birth this one, now it has to be for God’s glory!
2. All the time you’ve been rejected, it was because the devil knew that you were carrying something special.
3. Leah was the rejected one that didn’t fit in cultural norms. She didn’t know what she was carrying until she came to herself .
4. She named the 4^th one Judah, who begot the royal bloodline.
   1. Perez was the son of Judah and Tamar – Genesis 38:29 NKJV says ²⁹ Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called Perez.^[a]
   1. Perez begot Hezron – Ruth 4:18 NKJV says¹⁸ Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; , 1 Chronicles 2:5 N NKJV says ⁵ The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
   1. Heron begot Ram(Aram) – Part of the lineage of Ram is found in Ruth – Ruth 4:19 NKJV ¹⁹ Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab;
   1. Amminadab was the father-n-law of Aron the high priest – Numbers 1:7 NKJV says  ⁷ from Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab;
   1. Nashon became the leader of Judah’s tribe – Numbers 2:3  (NKJV) 3 On the east side, toward the rising of the sun, those of the standard of the forces with Judah shall camp according to their armies; and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be the leader of the children of Judah.”
   1. Salmon who was one of the spies that went in when jezebel fell in love with Salmon –Matthew 1:5 NKJV says  ⁵ Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,
   1. Boaz begot Obed- Ruth 4:21 NKJV ²¹ Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed;
   1. Obed begot Jesse- Ruth 4:22 NKJV ²² Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
   1. Jesse  begot David – 1 Samuel 16:1 NKJV 16 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have ^[a]provided Myself a king among his sons.”
   1. David became king and begot Solomon –  2 Samuel 7:16 NKJV ¹⁶ And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before ^[a]you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”
   1. Solomon
   1. Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) – Matthew 1:11 NKJV ¹¹ Josiah begot ^[a]Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
   1. Zerubbabel – Haggai 2:23 NKJV ²³ ‘In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
   1. Joseph – Matthew 1:16 NKJV ¹⁶ And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
5. Revelation 5:5 NKJV ⁵ But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and ^[a]to loose its seven seals.”- his name will called the lIon of Judah. How, because a woman way back that was rejected, would be in the bloodline of that which was rejected (stone).
6. Now unto who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly… This next praise is my Judah praise! Open up your mouth and give this one to God. Now is your turnaround. Now is your time!