being seated and God help us to trust Jesus right just to keep our eyes on him our hearts focused upon him and praise him again for his faithfulness to us Genesis chapter 32 is where we're going this morning into that story about Jacob, Genesis chapter 32. 2023, as we've come into it now, it started with some little trials for our church in some ways. We didn't expect a couple months ago that we were going to lose our location and that that was going to affect us as far as where we're meeting. We've had to move a couple times. We've had some health difficulties. We're still praying for some in our church to get well. and just to get past those things and that prevents us from meeting together a little bit and so that hindered us a little bit. There's economic uncertainty that as we enter into 2023. A lot of people looking at the cost of living crisis and Things are expensive and the 10% inflation and cost of petrol and things. It's nice to see some of those things maybe coming back down now. But that's a test of our faith to see how those things are going to work out for our families. Some in our church had to flee war in their home country to come over here and to reset their lives. And certainly we've looked with concern at what's taking place over in Europe and the war that is there. And to be honest, we don't like trials. I mean, if we could choose trial or no trial, we'd probably choose no trial every time. But the fact is that Even God's favorite children face trials at times. We know that from the Word of God. Some of God's great men of God face severe tests of their faith. You've got David, and we're studying David in Sunday School. We'll get back to that after we're done watching the film Sheffie. But David, you know, he's fleeing from King Saul. He's out. His life's threatened. But he's the anointed king. that throne, and he's a man of God's own heart. You can look at it and say, why is he going through such a tough time? But he's right there in the will of God, and it's happening. Daniel was a slave as a teenager. He's sold into slavery. He goes to Babylon. He's raised in a foreign place. His family's maybe not there with him. He is, at one point, the king threatens to kill all the wise men, and he's part of that group. He gets thrown into the den of lions, you know? And again, he's just a great man of God, but he's going through trials. Job, that man that, when we think about trials, we think about Job, and that book in the Bible, this righteous man, yet God allowed him to go through severe health tests, and death and bereavement tests, and these things were, again, happening in his life, but he was a godly man. So the fact is that even though God loves us and we're special to God and we can be very close to God, yet the reality is that there are going to be times in our life that we go through a time of testing. That is certainly true in our text this morning, Genesis chapter 32. And as we go through a time of testing, what we see in Jacob's life is what I want us to focus on. And that is that in the time of testing, God can use that trial to really make us the prayer voider that he desires us to be. Because if I were to say, who are some great men of prayer, great prayer warriors, you would probably say David, you'd probably say Joe, you'd probably say Daniel, and you'd be right. And these men had powerful prayer lives because in part, their prayer life was fashioned as they went through those difficulties and those trials. And again, that's what we see as we come to Genesis chapter 32. We see Jacob wrestling with God, but as he's wrestling with God, he's in a very difficult place. He's on his way back, from being in a foreign country for the last 20 years. He had left his homeland and gone to work for Laban. He'd married his two daughters and now he's coming back. He's got his kids, he's got his wives and traveling back to the place that he had left. But he had left because his brother Esau hated him. He had stolen Jacob and robbed him of the blessing that he was supposed to have. And so Esau had sworn that he was going to kill Jacob. Now Jacob's on his way back, and he's a little bit scared about that. He sent out some of his servants to find out kind of what's going on about his brother. And the messengers returned, it says in verse 6, okay, of our text. It says, the messengers returned to Jacob saying, who came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him, then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed." Okay, Jacob is a great man. He is a man's man. I mean, for 20 years, he has been the shepherd out in the wilderness. I mean, he's a pretty strong guy, but it says that he is greatly afraid and distressed. because he's facing something that's life-threatening. He's facing something that is outside of his control. And so verse 7, Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed, and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks and herds and the camels into two bands, and said, If Esau come to the one company and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape. All right, he's so afraid, he divides his family, he divides his If Esau captures and kills this group, this group is going to get away. That's how afraid he is about what's happening. But even though he's afraid, he's distressed. Jacob has every reason to believe God, okay? And I wanna point out that Jacob was actually walking with God as he faced this situation, like, I'm afraid, I'm distressed, but he's walking with God, he's got a real relationship with God. Verse nine, it says, and Jacob said, oh God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac. Okay, so he's crying out to God and he's acknowledging God, you are my God. You know, praise God today if you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you have a relationship with God as your Father. And the Bible says in 1 John, I'm sorry, John 1 12, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. And so Jacob was a man that was walking with his God. He's in obedience to God in verse nine. Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the Lord which sent unto me, return unto thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee. All right, Jacob had been there with Laban, and God had said, it's time for you to go back to your homeland. So here goes Jacob, he's walking right where God said to walk, and he's walking, he feels like, right into a very bad trial that he's gonna face. You know, there's times where God puts us out into a situation very directly, but it is a testing time. The disciples on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus said, go out onto the Sea of Galilee, but as they did, they went out into a storm. And here's Jacob, he's in obedience to God, he's got a relationship with God, but he's gonna face a time of testing. It says, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast shown unto thy servant. For with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands. Okay, as Jacob looks at his life, even though he's facing a trial, he can look and go, you know what, but I know I've got God's blessing. I came out with just a staff to this land where Laban was. Now as I return, I've got all these Christians, it might not be that we have tremendous wealth or something like that, but if we've got a relationship with God, we're in obedience to God, we ought to be able to look around and say, you know what, I see the blessing of God upon my life. I know that God is blessing me. but then he's also independence upon God. Verse 11 says, deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me and the mother with the children. So Jacob's afraid, but he knows where to go with that. He goes to God and he says, God, I am afraid. I need your help. I need you to meet my need. And so he's doing everything right. He knows that God is the source of his strength. Just like David said in Psalm 18 verse one, he said, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler and the horn of my salvation and my high tower. So he is in dependence upon God. He is trusting in God and he believes the promises of God. Look at verse 12. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. Okay, Jacob knew God has promised to bless my family. Okay, I'm scared we're all gonna get killed, but God has promised to make us into a mighty nation. And he was saying, I believe God. You know, Adam Aaron Judson had that statement, that's such a great statement about the promises of God. He said, the future is as bright as the promises of God. doesn't matter what I feel like, what matters is what has God said, I'm going to trust what God has said. Okay, so Jacob, he's on great praying ground, and it's ground that we can be on, all right? So I gotta make sure I'm related to God by faith in Jesus, make sure I'm saved, right? But then be in obedience to God. Okay, I'm here because God said to be here, and then look around and go, you know what, I see the blessing of God, I see God taking care of me, I'm depending upon him, I'm confident in his promises, And then we face that trial. And as we face that trial, let God take that trial and make you a better prayer warrior. Is that familiar? All right. It just means somebody that does battle and prayer. You know, praise God, back in the day, I would say this, 60 years ago, there were a lot of people in our churches that knew what that term meant because they were doing that. They were a prayer warrior. I look at my grandparents. My grandparents, on one side were dairy farmers, on the other side, they were upholsterers. But I'd say this about both sets of grandparents, they were prayer warriors. They knew how to labor in prayer. They knew how to win something in prayer for their family or their community or their church. I want to challenge us this morning. We need prayer warriors. We're coming into 2023. One of the greatest things that we can have for our church, for our church families, or for individuals in our church, is to have everybody in our church really understand what it is to be a prayer warrior. And by God's grace, I want to be that person that wrestles with God. I want to be that person that battles in prayer and sees God answer my prayers. And so let's pray, ask God to bless, and we'll look at some points about being a prayer warrior for God. Father, I pray that the spirit of God will give us grace this morning as we come to the word of God. Thank you already that we've been able to gather together as a church. It's so refreshing to sing the hymns and worship our God together to unite as a church should unite. Father, I just love our church family. And Father, I'm grateful for how you're working in the individuals and the families in our church. Spirit of God would really speak to our hearts about being a prayer warrior, somebody that would do battle for God and wrestle with God for God's glory. And so Father, help me as I speak. I can't preach without your enablement. I pray for the enablement of the Holy Spirit. I pray for the guidance of God in my thoughts, my heart, my mind. I pray, Father, that you give us ears to hear, give us grace and Lord, I'm thankful for everybody that's here. I just pray that we could attend upon the Word without distraction, that He'd magnify your need. It's in Christ's name we pray, amen. All right, to be that prayer warrior, first of all, you have to get alone with God, all right? You gotta have that time alone with God. So look at verse 22. It says, and he arose up that night, he took his two wives and his two women servants and his 11 sons, and he passed over the fort of Jabbok. And he took them and sent them over the brook and sent over that he had. and Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him. So, they're on this trip, Jacob's with his family, he's with all the livestock, all the servants, and everybody, but they get to this fort, Jabbok, and he goes, all right, everybody else goes over. The Bible's very clear, he's there alone, and as he's there alone, a man comes, and a man wrestles with him. And you might wonder, what is the Bible speaking about here? Who is this man? Christophany, all right? How many know what a Christophany is? It's a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus. So Jesus hasn't been born yet, but it's Jesus appearing in the Old Testament to his servants. We read about it in stories like Joshua, when Joshua's heading out to battle and he looks at a man and that man is described as the captain of the Lord's hosts. It's a Christophany. And so Joshua 5.13, Says and it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho They lifted up his eyes and looked and behold there stood a man over against him with his sword Drawn in his hand and Joshua went unto him and said unto him art thou for us or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and he did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot to the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. So Joshua, when he stands before this man, The Bible says he understands that he's the captain, the Lord's host. The Bible says that he worshiped him. And that that man said to him, take off your shoes because this is holy ground. Who was speaking to Joshua? It was God. And that's this case in our story here. It is God coming personally to Jacob. after Jacob was by himself, then he met with him. I was a camp counselor back in 1997 at the Wilds Christian Camp in North Carolina. And there, we had something called God and I time. And every day, we would take our campers and we would spread out, everyone would get their Bibles, maybe a notebook with some devotionals in them, and the kids would read them. And we would have time alone with God. You know, we need to get alone with God. God and I time is not something that's just for Christian camp. God and I time ought to be something that you and I practice in our life every day that we would take time to get alone with God. When I was a counselor, it was very busy. We had our campers with us 24-7, and we would have to, you know, care for them from the time they got up until the time they went to bed. And I had to find time as a counselor where I could get alone with God. And so we had some music practices that would take place, and I was a part of that music group, and I would just leave my campers early, and I would run off into the woods, and I would take time to get alone with God. You know, again, if you want to be somebody that has a real prayer life, then you've got to find that place alone with God. Matthew 6, 6 says, But thou will not prayest, 4 Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. All right, somebody that's gonna see God answer their prayers is somebody that's gonna get into that place alone and spend time with God. Again, I would just say to us as a church, church, we need a prayer wires. We need people that would say, hey, we gotta make a difference. And so we gotta spend time alone with God. Then secondly, you have to spend time wrestling with God. You have to spend time wrestling with God. You know, to really get connected to God, it takes time. It's not something that you can do and say, I'm just going to take five minutes here. It's going to take a little bit more than that to really get charged up with God. Electric cars are supposed to be the future. It's kind of scary, because there's not a lot of places where you can plug them in and charge them up. But an electric car takes time. You've got to get it connected to that power source. You've got to wait for it to have that time of connectivity that the power gets in there, it gets generated so that you can go. If you don't take the time, then you don't have the charge and you're not going to get to where you need to go. Your prayer is not like a petrol or a diesel car. Petro or diesel car, you just come up to the pump, fill it up, and I mean, you are on your way. But our prayer life is not like that. It's not something that you could just say, well, I want a prayer life on the quick. Well, that's not something that we can have. We've got to be able to take time and spend that time with God. The Bible says in Philippians 4, 6, it says, be careful for nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God. You know, just think about this. How much of your life do you pray about? How much are you asking God about? Do you pray about 5% of your life, 10% of your life, 20%? You know what I mean? The Bible says in everything, by prayer. Ephesians 6, 18, it says, praying always with all prayer and supplication of the spirit and watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Do you ever find yourself driving a car and talking to God? You know, just spending that time and just kind of whatever you're doing in life, just be able to be able to breathe that prayer to God and talk to God about whatever's going on. 1 Thessalonians 5, 17 says, pray without ceasing. We're not always being that spirit of prayer that we can go to God immediately and say, God, I need your help. I need your guidance. I need your wisdom or your grace. And so we have to spend time resting with God. We have to spend time, even if it takes a long time, Verse 24 says, and Jacob was left alone and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And verse 26, and he said, let me go for the day breaking. We don't know how long this was, but it was a long time. Sometime during the night, they started wrestling and this is ongoing. And finally, I mean, daylight is coming. It's maybe been an all night, a time of wrestling with God. Jesus often spent extended periods of time in prayer. Luke 6 verse 12 says, it came to pass in those days that he went out into a mountain to pray and he continued all night in prayer to God. Jesus spent a whole night in prayer. 135 another text in the morning rising up a great while before a day he went out and he departed into a solitary place and there he prayed Jesus would often do that remember that night on the garden of Gethsemane as he's there with his disciples he says to them what could you not watch with me one hour and he went away and he prayed again and he went away and prayed again and probably for three hours that night the Lord Jesus in prayer, taking extended time with God? Don't answer out loud, but what's the longest you've ever spent in prayer? What's the most time, either with a group or by yourself, that you've just spent in prolonged prayer to God? And if I were to ask you as well, how much time do you normally spend in prayer? How much time do you daily spend in prayer? Would it be five minutes? maybe only just at mealtimes or would it be, hey, 10 minutes or 15 minutes or 20 minutes or maybe more than that, if I have that time that I can seek God and pray to God. Praying Hyde, I mentioned him recently, John Nelson Hyde, and he was a missionary over in Indian areas, Pakistan. In 1904, a group made up of Indian converts and American missionaries led by John Hyde united at Sialkot, now known as Pakistan, for the first annual convention of the Punjab Prayer Union. Participants set aside half hour each day to pray for revival. And the result was a stunning anointing that fell upon them all. Each year thereafter, the group gathered to fast and fervently pray for the lost. And they just challenged each other and said, hey, we need revival in our field. Let's take a half hour every day. and let's pray, and if you'll do that, sign up. Imagine what that'd be like, and I'm not saying that as a church, I'm gonna do this today, that I'm gonna put a sign-up sheet at the back table and say, if you'll pray for one half hour every day for revival for Scotland, You know, sign your name, but just imagine in your heart and your mind, is that something that you take on? Is there anything in you that says, hey, I want to be a part of that. I want to spend some real time in prayer. And OK, it may not be a half hour, but I'm going to commit myself to saying I'm going to pray more and seek God more in 2023. Why? Because we need prayer warriors. We need people that really understand the importance of spending time with God in prayer. And so spend time, even if it takes a long time. And then spend time, even if you are uncomfortable, even if you're uncomfortable. It says in verse 25, and when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him. And he passed over Penuel, the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh," verse 31, then verse 32, therefore the children of Israel eaten out of the sinew would shrink, which is upon the hollow of the thigh unto this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh, and the sinew that shrank. And as Jacob took a hold of God, and this is amazing that God allowed this, but he's wrestling with God. In a sense, if you were Jacob, you're like, I am strong. I have grabbed a hold of God. But God touched the hollow of his thigh and put his thigh out of joint. Have you ever had a bone out of joint? My kids have. Our kids had something called nursemaid's elbow. And if you were walking with them when they were little and they dropped down, oftentimes they would pull their elbow out of joint. When they did, it was extremely uncomfortable. I'm sure that until we put it back in, they were in misery. And so if you think about Jacob, Jacob is very uncomfortable, but he doesn't go, I'm uncomfortable, so I'm gonna let go of God. All right, so he knows his strength. I took hold of God. He knows his weakness. making him know his human weakness. You know, the Apostle Paul had a similar experience where he saw the glory of God. And he tells this story about being taken up to the third heaven and seeing God. But then he says this, lest I should be exalted above nature. Through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above nature. It's kind of an interesting story, because you think, wow, he went up and he saw the glory of God. Why did God then allow him to have this affliction, maybe something to do with his eyesight? Well, Paul explains why in the next verse. He cries out to God and said, God, take this affliction away. God says to him, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. And so you got the Apostle Paul humbled by God to know his weakness, even though he's given an incredible experience with God. That's where Jacob is. Jacob's wrestling with God, In his strength, wrestling with God, God makes him know that he is very weak by touching him in his thigh. You know, if you really give yourself to prayer, you need to be prepared to have feelings of weakness. You might feel like, man, I just, I feel so weak here wrestling with God. David said it like this in Psalm 8, verse four. He said, what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visitest him? David, a great man of God and a great prayer warrior, looked at himself and thought, I am nothing compared to God. Psalm 103, 13 and 14 says, like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him, for he knoweth our frame. He remembereth that we are dust. And so God knows that, who we are, but it's good for us to recognize too. You might say to me, Pastor Ben, I just feel very weak in prayer. I mean, I get on my knees, I just feel like I'm getting nowhere. I have no strength really to wrestle with God, but that's okay as long as we don't let that stop us from praying. Jacob didn't go, oh, you know, I've spent all this time and I'm weak and so I'm gonna give up. you know what about you again are you quitting prayer easily because I you know you just feel weaker are you gonna go through that weakness and say I'm just gonna trust God despite that weakness and then third you have to refuse to let go of God refuse to let go of verse 26 And he said, let me go for the day breaking. And he said, Jacob said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. All right, so here Jacob is wrestling with God and God says to him what? Let go, all right? I mean, what are you gonna do if God says to you, let go? So Jacob looks at that and says, you know what? I'm not gonna let go. He trusted in the grace of God. He trusted in the mercy of God, and God said, let go, and he goes, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. It reminds me of that posture, reminds me of another story in the Bible about a man of God, his name is Elisha. And Elisha is with Elijah, the great prophet. Elisha is kind of a son in faith to Elijah. He's walking with him and Elijah says, go away. And Elisha refuses. 2 Kings chapter 2. It came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by whirlwind. that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. Okay, so he says, let me go, all right, stay here. And Elisha said unto him, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yea, I know it. Hold ye your peace. And Elisha said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. Okay, so he says, let me go. And Elisha responded, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha and said unto him, knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, yea, I know it, hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, tarry I pray thee here, for the Lord has sent me to Jordan. And so he says again, let me go. But Elisha responds that, I will not leave thee, and they too went on. All right, so it's like our text. God says, let me go. In that text, Elijah says to Elisha, leave me, all right? And he goes, I will not leave thee. I will not leave thee. And Jacob says, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. You know, sometimes, I'm going to God in faith, I'm praying to God, but it's almost like God is going, I'm not listening, and just stepping away a little bit. You know, sometimes God will do that to test our faith. There's a woman in the New Testament that was a Gentile. And this Gentile woman had a daughter that was demon possessed. And she came to Jesus and she cried out to him. And she said, have mercy on me, oh Lord, thou son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed with the devil. heard not a word, all right? How would you feel if you came to Jesus and said, Jesus, I've got a need, and he doesn't even respond? And then the disciples said to Jesus, send her away, she's troubling us, she's bothering us. And again, it's like, man, I'm going to God, and why doesn't God care? Why doesn't God meet my needs? And it's like, it's like, go away, go away. And then when Jesus does speak, He says, I'm not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. All right, again, I'm not here to help you. You're a Gentile, not a Jew. Then came she and she worshiped him saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, it's not mean to take a children's bread and to cast it to dogs. And I mean, how would you feel if that was you being called a dog by the word Jesus Christ? And he's just saying that, you know, you're not the children, you're not a Jew, you're just a Gentile. And she says, truth Lord, yet even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the master's table. And this lady, though God said, go away, Go away, go away. Finally, Jesus turns to her and he says, be it unto thee according to thy faith. Oh woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee according to what she has. And her daughter was healed. And again, it might be in our prayer life, we just feel like, you know, Pastor Ben, if I'm honest, it's like the heavens are brass. I get on my knees and it's like, it doesn't, it doesn't do anything. But I would just say to a person like that, just stay on your knees. Just continue in faith. Just go to God. Why? Because somebody that is gonna be a prayer warrior has to refuse to let go of God. I'm gonna grab hold of God, I'm not gonna let go. And then fourth, you have to prevail with God. You have to prevail with God. Verse 28, and he said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel. and has prevailed." Jacob determined, I'm not gonna let go of God, and because he refused to let go of God, the Bible says that he prevailed with God. There was blessing to obtain, and he attained it. He overcame, and he got the blessing from God. You know, Jesus in a scripture in the New Testament, Matthew chapter five, or chapter 11, verse 12, says, and from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. And you might read that scripture and say, what does that mean? What that means is that there are blessings that are New Testament Christian blessings that the church can have, but if they want it, they've gotta go, like they're gonna go up and overtake a city and take it, in a sense, with violence. I'm gonna get that blessing from God. The commentator, Barnes, said this. And from the days of John, that is from the days when John began to preach, it's not known how long this was, but it was not probably more than a year. Our Savior here simply states a fact. He says there was a great rush, or a crowd, pressing to hear John. Multitudes went out to hear him, as if they were about to take the kingdom of heaven by force. So he says, it has continued. Since the kingdom of heaven or the gospel has been preached, there has been a rush to it. People have been earnest about it. They have come pressing to obtain the blessing as if they would take it by violence. There is illusion here to the manner in which cities were taken. In other words, that's how you get the blessing of the New Testament. You go to God earnestly and say, I've got to have that blessing. And so, oh God, would you give it? In the old days, they called it praying through. People would get on their knees. There might have been a health need or a financial need or a community, a spiritual need, and they would get on their knees and they begin to pray and seek God to have him meet that need until they prayed it through to the point where they knew that they had the blessing that they desired from God. Is there anything in your heart that knows what that's like in prayer, to pray it through to the point where you know that God has heard and that God has answered? 1 John 5.15 says, if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desire with Him. There ought to be something in our heart that can just grab ahold of God and say, God, we've got to have this. We've got to have this blessing. We've got to have you meet our needs in this area of God. I'm just, I'm not going to let go. I'm going to continue in faith and pray. And I'm going to prevail by the grace of God with God. You have to prevail with God because you have to obtain God's blessing. Verse 29. It says in Jacob asked him and said, tell me, I pray thee thy name. And he said to Christophe and he said, wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. Okay. He said to God, I will not let thee go except thou. And the Bible says what? He blessed him there. He got the blessing because he prevailed with God. He received that which he desired. Remember that story again, I was sharing about Elijah with Elijah. And Elijah keeps saying, go away. And Elijah says, I'm not gonna leave you. I'm not gonna leave you. I'm not gonna leave you. Why? Because he also wanted God's blessing. And so the story goes on in 2 Kings chapter two, verse nine. It came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said unto Elisha, ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me when I'm taken from thee, it shall be stolen to thee. but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, and they still went on and talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven, and Elisha saw it. He saw it because he said, I'm not gonna leave you, I'm not gonna leave you. And so he saw Elisha go up in the fiery chariot. And he cried, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and he rent them in pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him. And he went back, he stood by the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him. And he spoke the waters and he said, where's the Lord God of Elijah? And when he had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither and Elijah went over. All right, Elijah had done the same thing on their way to that place. And Elisha had looked at him and said, I want a double portion of your spirit. And he said, you've asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I go into heaven, you'll receive it. And he got it and he walked back to that Jordan River. And the sign of the power is that he took that mantle and he hit that water and that water parted. Why did he have a blessing of God? Because he said, I'm not gonna leave you. Why did Jacob get the blessing from God? He said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. And so he received it. And again, I just say to us, listen, as individuals, you need the blessing of God. As families, you need the blessing of God. As a church, we need the blessing of God. Our community needs the blessing of God. So where are those that'll be prayer lawyers that'll grab ahold of God and say, I will not let thee go except thou We need it all. We need people that will grab a hold of God and receive the blessing from God. Thomas Paine, he wrote a book called Prayer, The Greatest Force on Earth. And he said this, whenever there are limitations and we fail to reach the highest possibility in prayer life, We get a remarkable picture of this. He says, and he uses that story where Elisha said to the king, take the arrows and knock them on the ground. And the king took the arrows and he only knocked them three times instead of like six or seven times. And Elisha looked at him and said, oh king, if you would have gone six or seven times, God would have destroyed your enemy Syria. But now God is just gonna give you victory three times. what he's pointing out is that that's the way it is for us a lot of times in prayer it would be like this pastor it's okay five minutes in prayer is enough for me that's enough of God's blessing but what would God do desire to see saved, that we're not seeing saved because we don't have the power of God like we need. I mean, what about those people? Is it okay for us just to go, well, I'm just content with this? Because what Thomas Paine is pointing out is that prayer is not hindered on God's side. Prayer is hindered on our side. We have access to God. We can see God do great things if we'll just grab ahold of God in faith. And so he goes on to say, Beloved brethren, is not this the cause of much of the failure and disappointment in our prayer life and revival effort of the present day? How often has it happened that when a splendid opportunity has been given for the winning of some glorious victory for Christ and His kingdom, through the lack of perseverance, for the want of knowing how to make the most of the victory, we have failed to rise to the occasion? Let us endeavor always to have a clear and definite aim in our petitions to the throne of heavenly grace and look for a victory such as is worthy of God. And he's just saying the church needs to rise up and pray. Because God can do awesome things in our family, God can do awesome things in our church, God can do awesome things in our community, but where are the believers that will trust God for that and say to God, oh God, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. God, we've gotta have your blessing. You know, Psalm 126, five. says this, they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. And you might have heard preaching in the past and that preacher was preaching on soul winning, you know, they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. And I believe that to be true, that if you're doing evangelism and you're weeping and saying, dear God, give power, you know, that God will work in that way. But those verses are in the context of prayer. Somebody that is broken in prayer, weeping in prayer, let me ask you, when's the last time you wept in prayer? When's the last time your heart just broke? God, I have a blessing. My family's got the blessing. Our church needs the blessing. God, I am just so in tears. The Bible says, they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. And there ought to be something to our prayer life where you can testify. and say, pastor, I've obtained it, God did it, and I just want the church to know I've been praying about this, I've been burdened about this, and God has answered, I got the blessing that I was seeking from God. A prayer warrior is somebody that succeeds in going to God and attaining the blessing. And then lastly, you have to boldly meet with God. You have to boldly meet with God. It says in verse 30, and Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. All right, if you were wondering, is Pastor Ben right? Has he got the story right? Is Jacob really wrestling with God? Okay, in that verse, what does it say? I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. I wanna ask you a question this morning. Do you have direct access to God? I mean, we see this story of Jacob wrestling with God. Do you as an individual have direct access to God and praise God through the blood of Lord Jesus Christ? The answer is what? Yes. It's amazing that you and I have that privilege and to think that we can go to God. And so the Bible tells us in Hebrews 4, verse 16, it says, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy. and find grace to help in time of need. There ought to be something in our hearts that said, I'm going to get to God because I can go to God. If you had a financial need and I told you that the Bank of Scotland was open and they have said that they're going to give you whatever you need. And if you've got a legitimate need, you can just go there and have your need met. If you believe me, you'd go to the bank, right? I want to ask you, do you really believe that the bank of heaven is open? Do you really believe that you have access to God? Because surely, if you did, you've got legitimate needs, you've got legitimate burdens. Our church has things as well that we need God to answer. And if we really believe that God is available, then what will we see? We'll see people that, by the grace of God, say, I've gotta get along with God. I've gotta seek God. Because I can go directly to the greatest being in this world, the great God Almighty, and I can ask Him to meet my family's needs. I can ask Him to meet my church needs. I can ask Him to meet my family needs. And so you have to boldly meet with God. You know, God's work has always needed prayer warriors. And if you read in history about what God has done in the past, understand this, God has done it in answer to believing prayer. James O. Fraser, the great missionary to China, said this, it seems a big responsibility to be the only preacher of the gospel within a radius of about 150 miles. He wrote to his former class leader, he said, I feel my weakness very much, yet the Lord seems to delight in making his power perfect in weakness. May I ask you then to remember me especially in prayer, asking God to use me to the salvation of many precious souls. So he says to them, will you please pray for God's power? He was feeling more and more that the prayers of God's people were what called down blessing on the word. It didn't matter whether those people were directly engaged in the work or not. England and he just he looked at the church in England he said hey one of the greatest things you can do is pray and I'll just tell you this as a church listen there are some great things that you can do to help our church be strong but there's nothing greater you can do than to be a person that says by God's grace I want to be a prayer warrior I want to be somebody that is going to labor in prayer and so to do that what do you need to do you need to get along with God You're not going to be a prayer warrior if you never have that time where it's just you and God. Are you spending real time in prayer to God? You know, I want to challenge you. Here's a specific challenge. Okay, 2023. I want to challenge you to spend real time in prayer every day with God, whatever that is. And just to say, I'm not going to let a day go past. in prayer with God, so I'm gonna get alone and I'm gonna speak to God personally in prayer. Are you somebody that refuses to let God go and prevails with God and say, God, I'm not gonna let you go except you bless me and boldly grab ahold of God? Again, as we look at this text, we see a man, he had a trial, right? We don't like trials. There's things that we're facing even right now as a church that we might not like it, but let it, to himself through that and say okay that's tough but I'm just going to get with God because God knows my prayer life needs to be strengthened and I'm going to let God strengthen me as a prayer warrior for him. All right let's pray. Father I just pray that the Spirit of God would take the truth of what we consider this morning and put it into the hearts of God's people. And Father as we pause right now I pray that Father, the Spirit of God would speak very clearly. I pray, God, that you'd encourage our people to make a definite decision. And I pray that you'd be glorified. Just keep your heads down and eyes closed. I just want to say this. I'm going to give you a challenge, okay? And don't feel like you have to raise your hand. I'm not going to think that you're not spiritual if you don't raise your hand. But this is all I want to challenge you with. Just this statement. Pastor Ben, God helping me, I'm gonna spend real time in prayer every day. Whatever that means, if that means 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, every day I'm gonna seek to spend time in prayer to God. If you're willing to take that challenge and God spoke to your heart about it, would you just raise your hand? Anybody like that? Praise God. Praise God in this grave. Anybody else say, I'm gonna take that challenge, I'll spend real time in prayer with God. Anybody else? We're just gonna wait a couple minutes, or a minute longer here. Anybody else, say, I'll take that challenge. I'm gonna spend real time and prayer with God. Whatever that means, I'm gonna spend some time every day with God. All right. Let's continue in prayer. Father, you see in the hands, and I pray, Spirit of God, that that decision would be kept before God. And Father, I pray that you'd remind people if they forget that they get out of bed, if they've got to get out of bed and go to a place and spend some time in prayer. And Father, that's going to be a tremendous blessing to them and their family. and our church and our community and so thank you for that. I pray encourage each one in that decision. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. Let's stand please. We'll conclude just with a hymn of invitation here this morning. I'm trying to find my hymn, my bulletin here. And stand with me please as we sing 2-5-1, Jesus keep me near the cross, there a precious fountain. Jesus keep me near the cross, there a precious fountain, free to all the healing stream. flows from Calvary's mountain, in the cross, in the cross, being my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river, near the cross a trembling soul. Love and mercy found me there, the bright and morning star. around me. In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find Rest beyond the river, near the cross, O Lamb of God. Bring its scenes before me. Help me walk from day to day with its shadows o'er me. Cross ye the cross, be my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river. Hear the cross, thou watch and weep. Trusting ever, till I reach the golden strand. Just beyond the river, in the cross, in the cross. be my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river. Amen. Praise God. Thank you for coming out this morning. I really appreciate