If you were going to try to get on top of a tall building you would have to have an extension ladder.  A step ladder won’t do you any good.  You have to have a ladder that is right for the job.  We know there are fiberglass ladders, aluminum ladders…. there are all types of ladders.  But today we won’t be talking about a physical ladder as we know it. 
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As we see in the word of God here is Jacob, tired on his travels, and he lays down, taking some stones for a pillow.  As he lays there he goes to sleep and then as he is sleeping Jacob has a dream.  In this dream Jacob sees a ladder that’s extending from earth to heaven.  

Maybe you're familiar with "Jacob's Ladder" - maybe as a child you learned this Old Testament Bible Story.  But maybe we should look at "Jacob's Ladder" in the New Testament......

Each one of us got up this morning and we prepared ourselves to come to work. We didn’t just jump out of bed and jump in our cars or trucks.  We didn’t just come on to work with our PJ’s or whatever.  We had to prepare ourselves by getting dressed and other things getting ready to get here.

A beautiful city is being prepared right now.  We must be prepared to go there.  Are you ready?

 ​Jesus here is talking with this woman of Samaria.  At that time the Jews and the Samaritans didn’t have any dealings with each other.  The Samaritans were a mixed race of people and the Jews didn’t have anything to do with them.
 
But at this time Jesus “being weary in His journey”, as we read in the scriptures, said to this woman “Give me to drink”.   The woman said, to paraphrase, Hey, you are a Jew and you are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for something to drink?

We can learn some things about faith from Abraham.  In Genesis 22 God is speaking with Abraham, telling him take your son - your only son.  Abraham take the son, that you really love, up to Mount Moriah.  God says to Abraham I want you to offer a sacrifice.
 
We know that when they got to Mt. Moriah Abraham told the young men that were with them - ya’ll stay right here with the donkey.  Me and the lad are going to worship and we will come back.  Then we see Abraham and Isaac going up the mountain and Isaac asks his father a question.  He said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the sacrifice; where is the lamb? 

David is crying out to God.  He says “Create in me a clean heart”.  

​David knew his heart wasn’t right because he had taken a man’s wife.  Not only had he taken a man’s wife, he had his military leader Joab to put the man on the front lines and had him killed. 
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I mean he did that, and here we see him asking God to create within him a clean heart.  

Will God hear this sinner's prayer?
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​When we talk about “Walking with Him”, of course the “Him” that we refer to is our Lord, Our Savior, Jesus Christ.  In thinking about Walking with Him, it reminds me of a story you all have probably read or heard: “Footprints”. 
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As the story goes one day this man was walking along the beach and he was communing with the Lord.  He looked back and he saw two sets of footprints as he walked along the way.  

Later he looked back and he saw only one set of footprints. That’s when he questioned the Lord saying Lord where did you go?  Where were you?  

​There are people right now that don’t have patience; that don’t believe in waiting.  Makes me think about the prodigal son - he couldn’t wait on his inheritance from his father.  He told his father – “Father give me my portion that falleth to me now”.  He couldn’t wait for a will or wait for his father to pass, he wanted his stuff now.
 
This made me think also about Abraham and Sarah, who also couldn’t wait on God.  God had promised them a son, but they wouldn’t wait on God. They wanted to get ahead of God and got Ishmael by Hagar.
 
This land and country is filled with people who don’t believe in waiting.  You got young people that don’t believe in taking the time out to go to school or go to college.   They want instant gratification - they want what they want right now.
 
There is a message for us about waiting in the word of God. 

Today people have this disease called HIV/AIDS.  If you know somebody that has HIV/AIDS a lot of times we are skeptical about even embracing them.  We know you can’t get it by shaking somebody’s hand or embracing them - we have learned that.  But there are people that are still afraid to even come in contact with somebody if they know that they are actually HIV positive.
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This man had this disease and he cried out to Jesus: “Lord if thou will thou can make me clean”.  Jesus reached out with His hand and Jesus touched this man. Now just think, here it is, this man has leprosy.  If I touch him, I’m going to be infected just like him.  But we see in this passage that Jesus puts forth His hand and touches this man.