We're on. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the throne of God. We are now in the presence of Jesus. Facebook family, it would be good for you to be in a place where there are two or three. Say, well, I'm there. I'm looking on a Facebook and I see all those other people. Something better happens when you're with two or three. believers and tonight we're gathered in here and there are many of us here we're going to start off with greater is he that is in me everybody stand up we're doing a cappella tonight we need to pray for brother Paul and the needs that he has to be taken care of tonight greater is he that is in me greater is he that is in me Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. Greater is He that is in me. Greater is He that is in me. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. Satan's like a roaring lion. Roaming to and fro Seeking whom he may devour The Bible tells us so Many souls have been his prey To fall in some weak hour But God has promised us today His overcoming power For greater is he that is in me Greater is He that is in me, greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. On that day of Pentecost, a rushing mighty wind Blew into that upper room and baptized all of them With a power greater than any earthly foe And I'm so glad I've got it too I'll let the whole world know For greater is He that is in me Greater is He that is in me. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. That just blows my mind. You may be seated. Let's have prayer. Father, we come before your throne this evening so that we can belong to Jesus. We know that He bought us. We know that we are His. We know we're no longer our own. And we want to belong to Jesus. We want to know that He's in charge of us, that He has control of us, that He's the Pantocrator, the God who has His hand on all that belong to Him. Lord, put Your hand on us tonight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're going to offer up this song, I'd Rather Have Jesus. than anything. I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. I'd rather be His than have riches untold. I'd rather have Jesus than houses or land. I'd rather be led by his nail-pierced hand Than to be a king of a vast domain And be held in sin's dread sway. I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today. Verse 3. He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom. He's sweeter than honey from out of the comb. He's all that my hungering spirit needs. I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead than to be the king of a vast domain and be held in sin's dread sway. I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today. Amen? How many of you want to say, I'd rather have Jesus? All right, so let's offer up in the garden. I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses, and the voice I hear falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses. And he walks with me and he talks with me And he tells me I am his own And the joy we share as we tarry there None other has ever known. I'm going to tell you something, brothers and sisters. We're going to sing another verse. We're going to sing the last verse, verse 3. I'd stay in the garden with him. But there's joy to share tonight. But only if you claim it. If you say, oh, I don't know. I don't really need that stuff. That's too bad for you. Because I'm claiming joy unspeakable. I am, and ask Him to make it full of glory. Amen? Let's sing that last verse. I stay in the garden with Him. Though the night around me be falling, But He bids me go through the voice of woe, His voice to me is calling. And he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own. And the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known. I almost got choked there on that last word. We're going to offer up it as well here in a few seconds. A few things from the bulletin. First of all, are there any guests or visitors in our congregation? Now, if I ask you a question and say, point out the person who's the strangest among us, don't anybody point at me. everybody's pointing at me anyway you try to take it away no that's that's not good all right so anyway uh in the bulletin there's a we're having a this friday night we're having a very special fellowship some of you might say well i'm not too sure i need to do that yeah you do how long has it been since you've been with a group of people that actively sought out joy. You need to come. It's all in the bulletin. It tells you about where it's going to be. It's going to be at the educational building, which is the elementary building in case you don't know. That one right down there next to the gymnasium. and it will be at 6 p.m. this Friday. So you need to be aware of that. There's a ladies meeting this coming Wednesday in the morning at 11 o'clock and it's going to be in the library. There is another ladies meeting this coming Saturday at 10 a.m. and it's going to be in the elementary building. down here where we'll be having our fellowship and our fun time on this Saturday evening. We're going to have a special service on Sunday, August the 7th, and we will be having Craig Abla, who will be preaching, making sure everybody knows. Then a week from tonight, we'll be having the Sunday night, a week from Wednesday night, or is it this coming Wednesday night? It's this coming Wednesday night. Have I made you totally confused here? Does it seem like maybe I'm confused too? I'm strange, aren't I? Keep pointing at me. All right. So anyway, this coming Wednesday night, we'll be having the Lord's Supper slash the Blood Covenant here. Invite everybody that you can think of to come to the Lord's Supper. And if you say, well, I want to know more information, look for a piece of paper like this right out there. And it says Liberty Baptist Church. And you can read all the details right here. OK, we're going to sing it as well with my soul, because I'm going to guarantee you there's a lot of things that are not well. but it is well with my soul. When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight. The clouds be rolled back like a scroll. The trump shall resound, and my Lord shall descend. Even so, it is well with my soul. It is well with my soul. It is well, it is well with my soul. A little Babbage White Lightning. That'll help a little bit. in moments like these we all need to stand because we're in moments aren't we sometimes it's good moments sometimes it's joyful moments sometimes it's twisted moments sometimes it's sad moments but we're in moments and guess who's always with us In moments like these, I sing out your song. I sing out a love song to Jesus. In moments like these, I lift up my hands. I lift up my hands to you, Lord. love you Lord singing I love you Lord singing I love you You, Lord, I love you. One more time. In moments like these, I sing out a song. I sing out a love song to Jesus. In moments like these, I lift up my hands. I lift up my hands to you, Lord. Singing, I love you, Lord. Singing, I love you, Lord. Singing, I love you, Lord, I love you. Amen. Y'all may be seated. I don't know what the next song is until I get to it, and you may want to stand back up. Like the woman at the well I was seeking for things that could not satisfy. And then I heard my Savior speaking, draw from my well that never shall run dry. Fill my cup, Lord. I lift it up, Lord. Come and quench this thirsting of my soul. Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more. Fill my cup, fill it up, and make me whole. Just the chorus again. Fill my cup, Lord. I lift it up, Lord. Come and quench this thirsting of my soul. Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more. Fill my cup, Fill it up and make me whole. I'm enjoying singing with y'all tonight. Whenever I'm not here while the song service is going on, I can't hear you. And tonight I'm hearing all of you singing. And it's a glorious sound. The next song we're going to offer up is entitled, All the Glory Belongs to Jesus. All the glory belongs to Jesus. All the praise belongs to Him. All that I am or ever hope to be, all the glory belongs to Him. One more time. All the glory belongs to Jesus. All the praise belongs to Him. All that I am, or ever hope to be. All the glory belongs to Him. All the glory belongs to Him. And the truth of the matter is, in the not-too-distant future, He's going to come back with all of His glory. No one has ever seen it yet, but we will. And His glory will be amazing in what it does to us. Thank you for that right now. Everybody stand back up, one more song. And then after that, Jacob's going to come and bring a marvelous message for us this evening. You are beautiful beyond description, too marvelous for words. Too wonderful for comprehension, like nothing ever seen or heard. Who can grasp your infinite wisdom? Who can fathom the depths of your love? You are beautiful beyond description, majesty enthroned above. And I stand, I stand in awe of you. I stand, I stand in awe of you. Holy God to whom all praise is due. I stand in awe of you. Just the chorus again. And I stand, I stand in awe of you. Yes, I stand, I stand in awe of you. Holy God to whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of you. Thank you, Father, for being with us this evening. Thank you for allowing us to worship. Thank you for giving us grace. Thank you for letting Jacob come this evening and bring a word of life, hope, relief, deliverance, healing upon each one of us. In Jesus' name, and the church says, Amen. Does anybody remember birthdays or anniversaries? Happy birthday to you, sir. Stand up. Happy birthday to you. Only one will not do. Born again in Christ Jesus. Happy birthday to you. OK, are there any anniversaries or other birthdays? Thank you. Ask him last week to be able to take care of this for me tonight. And God has worked it out well. Everything is in place. He has a way of doing that. Yes, he does. Although sometimes it takes us getting to the end of it before we realize it. I pray for me to recognize it more often at the beginning instead of at the end, but unfortunately I'm not always the brightest man. Before we go ahead and start into the scripture and into the message tonight, I want to pray. I know you just prayed, but no such thing as too much prayer. So if you guys would bow your heads with me. Lord, we thank you so much that you have given us this blessing and this opportunity to gather here together, to worship you and to hear your word, Lord. And I want to ask that your spirit would move mightily tonight, that the words that come out of my mouth and the words that have already come out of Phil's mouth, Lord, they wouldn't just be our words, God, but they would be you using us. Because if you're not doing something, we're basically wasting away. It might sound nice, but Lord, it can't cause any change in anyone. It's only you who can do that. So Lord, we invite you here tonight. This is your house, and you're obviously welcome. But we want to be welcoming of you tonight as well. So we ask that you prepare our hearts for what you have to say. And it's in your name we pray. Amen. So, we're gonna be in Genesis chapter 32 tonight, and we're gonna get through most of it, at least that's the hope and plan, I sure hope we do, because otherwise I'll have to go a little bit faster. But, before we start into it in full proper, there needs to be a little bit of a backstory. I'm sure you guys have probably heard this before, but just in case you haven't, or if it's been a while, maybe you forgot some details, we're gonna go over it again. We're talking about this guy named Jacob. Not me, Jacob. Another Jacob from the Bible. And Jacob is a twin. He's the second born twin. His twin brother is named Esau. And Esau is born and he's hairy. And they name him Esau because he's got red hair. And so they name him Esau. But Jacob When Esau is being born, Jacob's grabbed his brother's heel. And so they named him Jacob, which means heel grabber. But the problem is the word heel grabber came with a certain connotation at that time. It meant you were a deceiver and a plotter and a schemer. Now, just because that's your name doesn't necessarily mean that you are, but for Jacob this ends up being very true. And so he grows up and he learns how to scheme and to plot. And God has told both of his parents that I'm going to give my birthright that I gave to Abraham, the promise of blessing that I gave to him, that I passed down to Isaac, I'm going to give it to Jacob. And the whole family kind of gets into a little bit of a twist, and Isaac tries to give this blessing to Esau, and Jacob, through his cunning and his scheming, steals this birthright from Esau. And when Esau finds out about this, it says that Esau comforted himself with the thought of murdering his brother. So, Jacob now has a twin brother who wants him dead. And not just kind of dead, like very dead. And so his parents send him off to his uncle named Laban. And while he's there, he falls in love with one of Laban's daughters. He gets married to his other daughter because he's tricked by Laban. And then he gets married to the daughter he fell in love with. And he's there for 20 years throughout this whole time because he's working for Laban, both for both of his wives, one of which he was wanting, one of which he wasn't wanting, but he ended up with anyways. And Laban ends up proving to be a deceiver as well. And so Jacob is fought and taught through this school of hard knocks what it's like to be on the receiving end of being a schemer. But he also learns this other really important lesson. Because 10 times the Bible tells us that Laban changes Jacob's wages and each time God blesses Jacob through it. And so after 20 years when Jacob finally leaves and there's this kind of a big hubbub with Laban as he's going, Jacob's leaving. He came over into the land with nothing but a staff. He's leaving now an extremely wealthy man. But there's a problem. He's going back home. It's been 20 years. But he hasn't seen or heard anything of his brother in 20 years. And the last time he heard about him, he was ready to kill him. So he's a little worried. And so what we're picking up in chapter 32 is Jacob is just about to cross over the Jordan River. He's about to enter into the promised land proper. And he's worried. He's really, really, really nervous. He's a schemer. He's a plotter. He's a manipulator. He likes to have plans. He likes to know what's coming, and now he's terrified because he doesn't know how to plan for this. So he finds himself worried. So in verse 1, God gives him some encouragement. And Jacob went on his way, away from Laban and from his household, and the angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, this is God's host, or God's camp. And so he named the place Mahanaim, or God's camp, or God's territory. So he finds himself, as he's going in, surrounded by the angels of God. What more of a comfort could that be to know that as you're about to go face someone who you're terrified of, one of your greatest enemies ever, that God is like, I'm with you with all of my host. It would be very comforting. But Jacob takes this information and he has this surge of confidence and courage. And so it says in verse 3, and so Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau, his brother, unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. And Jacob decides that he's going to take a very specific tact here. He says, thus shall you speak unto my lord Esau. Your servant, Jacob, says this. So first things first, part of the issue was Esau was supposed to get the birthright, Jacob got it instead, which meant Jacob's getting all the benefits of being the firstborn child, which means socially, he's above his brother. Also, it means all the wealth that his father had accumulated would go to Jacob, or not all of it, but most of it. And so Jacob is like, I do not want any problems with my brother Esau. So instead of showing up and saying, I'm back, brother, and I'm above you, he's saying, my lord Esau, your servant Jacob has come back, right, from the land of Laban. So he's being very humble here. He's trying to be as close to the ground as possible. He's like, I do not want any trouble. It's all good. I'm not seeking to come against you at all. I have sojourned with Laban and stayed there until now. And I have oxen and donkeys, flocks and men and women servants, and I have sent to tell my Lord that I might find grace in thy sight. So the second thing he says is after I'm beneath you is, I've got plenty. I have lots of money, I have lots of wealth, I have tons of flocks, I have tons of servants, I don't need anything. So all of those things that you were concerned about, don't worry about it, we're on good terms. So he sends this message in confidence and humility trying to put an end to the struggle now before it happens. So it says the messengers went out and they returned to Jacob saying we came to your brother Esau So we found him and he's coming to meet you him and 400 men So Jacob hears this first first thought My brother's coming to meet me. He's not bringing any like just normal traveling stuff. He's bringing 400 guys with him and It sounds like he's coming to kill me, to circle me, to take all my things and kill me. And all of a sudden, all that fear and anxiety and building up in Jacob's stomach that had kind of gotten dispersed when he saw the camp of God, right back. And he's like, I'm going to die here. And so he starts doing what Jacob does best. He starts scheming. He starts plotting. How can I get out of this to try to make sure I'm not completely killed and overrun? So then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. And he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds, and the camels into two bands. And he said, if Esau comes to the one company and smites it, then the other company, which is left, shall escape. So he decides this whole tactic, if I just split everything, he may take half of my stuff, but I'll still escape with half. And then I can just get out of Dodge, and I don't have to come back here, I can just avoid him for the rest of my life, and it'll be fine. And this is his first reaction, which is a very human reaction. I think it's fair of us to have some sympathy for him here. But it's still this reaction of fear, because where was he just a little bit ago? He was in the place that he called Mahanaim. This is God's territory. What does he have to fear? He's surrounded by the whole host of the Lord. But this is his brother we were talking about, and he's been afraid of him for a while, for 20 years now, and so he reacts poorly. But then, there's this wonderful thing that happens. After he's separated this out and he's sitting there plotting and planning, he's like, okay, I have two bands, he looks out at it all, and he sees how much there is. And it causes him to pause for just a minute. And Jacob then does this wonderful prayer that he gives. And he says, and Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which said unto me, return to your own country and to your kindred and I will deal well with thee. I am not worthy of the least of all these mercies, and of all the truth which you have shown unto your servant. For with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two bands. Deliver me, I pray you, 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. And thou said, I will surely do good unto you and make your seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. I love this prayer so much because this is Jacob in a pure moment of faith. This is this moment of after 20 years of seeing how God has taken care of him and how God has been faithful day in and day out. Jacob has now been, has this faith here. Because he sees it all and the first thing he says is, you have been faithful to my grandfather. You have been faithful to my father. And you've been faithful to me. And not only that, but you are the one who called me to come here. And so that you would take care of me. And he mentions two different promises that God has given him. This is a wonderful way to pray, especially when we have fear and doubts of, God, you've told me this specifically. So why wouldn't you? Because you always have kept your promises in the past. So I'm going to choose to trust what you have told me." And he responds to this, but he also prays this prayer with full honesty. Because I think sometimes we think, the Bible says, do not have a spirit of fear, but of courage and of power. And so sometimes I feel like we can sit there and go, oh, I'm not afraid. No, no, no. I'm pushing this out. I'm not afraid, Lord. I'm trusting in you. But the truth of the matter is he's going, I'm afraid. I feel fear. This is where I'm at, God. In my human flesh, I'm afraid of my brother Esau. I'm afraid he's going to take me in his hand and do with me what he will, and I will suffer greatly because of it. And because I'm afraid, I'm going to choose to trust you anyways. And that's a really important place to come to. Because we shouldn't be wrapped up in fear. But it's okay for us to say, Lord, I'm feeling afraid. Because that happens. Sometimes we feel doubt. Sometimes we feel fear. And it's in those moments that we have to be reminding ourselves, what has God promised to us? And saying, Lord, in the midst of all these feelings, I'm going to choose to trust you anyways. So he says this awesome prayer that's like worthy of making him a patriarch almost in and of itself. And then right after this, it says, and he lodged there that same night. And then he took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau, his brother. So now that he's starting to trust in God, he still has this fear. And so he decides to start doing something that he thinks might help appease Esau. So he starts taking out of all his flocks and he starts sending them in these waves to Esau. And it says he took 200 she-goats and 20 he-goats, 200 ewes and 20 rams, 30 milch camels with their colts, 40 kine and 10 bulls, 20 donkeys and 10 foals. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, and everyone drove them by themselves. And he said unto his servants, Pass before me, and put a space between you, drove to drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau, my brother, meets you, and asks you, saying, Who are you, and where are you going, and who are these before you? Then you shall say, They be your servant Jacob's, and it is a present sent unto my lord Esau, and behold, he is also behind us. And so he commanded the second and the third, and all that followed, saying, On this manner you shall speak unto Esau when you find him. So he does this other thing, and I think this is a really interesting point of he's had this wonderful prayer faith, but now he's like, I'm gonna trust you God, but I'm also going to hedge my bets. So I'm gonna see if I can't smooth things over with money with my brother. My brother liked money last time I saw him, 20 years. That probably hasn't changed that much. I'll send him a bunch of stuff. It'll be good. And so he's still acting out of this fear and doubt. But he's got this in the back of his mind, this faith that he's holding on to. Even if it's only a little bit at a time, he's holding on to this faith. And so... And he said, moreover, behold, your servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face. Maybe he will accept me then. Right? So he's thinking, maybe I can fix this, which is the same issue he had when he was younger, when God had said, I'm going to give the birthright to Jacob. And him and his family said, how are we going to make this happen? The guy was like, you don't have to make it happen. I'm the one who gets to give the birthright, not Isaac. But they tried to make it happen their way. And it didn't go so well because now his brother wanted him dead. So he still kind of not fully learned this lesson. So, after this, he sent the present before him and he himself lodged that night with the company. And he rose up during the night and he took his two wives and his two women servants and his eleven sons and passed over the ford. And he took them and sent them over the brook and sent over all that he had. And I think this is a really important moment because this is jumping from, he seems to be jumping from doubt to faith to doubt to faith. Because here in this last moment, he's like, okay, I sent that over, maybe that'll work. And he goes, God told me to go into my own country. I'm going no matter what happens. And if Esau decides to kill me, That's all that can happen. I've done everything I can. So he puts all his stuff on the other side of the river, which if you know anything about a military retreat, going over a river is not a good idea. In other words, he's not giving himself retreat. He's putting himself in a corner. All that he has, his women, his children, everything that's important and dear to him is now on the other side of the river, and if Esau just decides to come in and start killing them all, they're not going to make it out. And so he's going, I'm going to be faithful in this, but it's just a small little faith. It's only a little. But we all know what Jesus said about a little faith, don't we? It only takes a little. And God can do a lot with it. So he sent over everything else, but he hasn't crossed himself yet. And so he's alone in the camp. And this is the part I really want to focus on. And so Jacob was left alone. all by himself, with just his fears and his prayers, and who knows what he's thinking at this point, but he's alone. And all of a sudden, this random guy shows up and starts wrestling with Jacob. It doesn't say. It just says, there was a man. Now we, I know, I'm sure you guys probably know at this point. If you don't, you can probably take a pretty good guess. But all of a sudden, there's just this man there. And he starts wrestling with Jacob. And it's really interesting. It doesn't say that Jacob wrestled with the man. The man wrestled with Jacob. So Jacob's sitting there in his doubts, his fears, maybe his prayers, we're not sure what he's doing, and this man shows up and just starts wrestling with him. He's like, I've got a bone to pick with you. And they start wrestling back and forth. And when the man saw that he was not prevailing against him, this man seeing he's not prevailing against Jacob, the man touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh. And the hollow of Jacob's thigh was then out of joint as he wrestled with him. So, really quick, in case you guys haven't picked up on it yet, for anyone who's listening at home, or just in case you haven't heard this story in a long time, this is Jesus. This is the pre-incarnate Christ. And I love this because this is God who's seen Jacob go back and forth, day in and day out, throughout his entire life. And he's been slowly learning to accept that God is going to take care of him. Because on his way to Laban's, God came to him in his dream. And Jacob was like, if you do all this great stuff, then I'll do all this. And he's trying to make this contract with God. And God's like, I'm trying to bless you here. Why do you keep getting in my way? Jacob throughout his whole life has slowly been learning to trust God, but he keeps getting in the way of it. He keeps trying to do his own thing. And finally Jesus, I used to imagine going like, okay, I'm done with this. Come here. Give it all to me. I'm done playing around. You and I are gonna have to work this out tonight. And so he starts wrestling with Jacob, and he starts fighting him. And when it says that Jesus wasn't prevailing over him here, I don't think this means that Somehow Jacob was stronger and he was able to pin Jesus a few times and he was barely able to get out of it. I think it has more to do with the fact that Jacob just wouldn't give up. When you're wrestling, how do you know you've won? When they say, mercy, I surrender, I give up, I've been beaten. And I just feel like Jesus is constantly holding him down, and Jacob's like, no, I'm not done. I'm not gonna give up. And he keeps struggling and struggling and struggling. He's like, I think I can win this, because I've always been able to win things in my life. I've always been able to struggle, and eventually I find my victory. And I feel like Jesus gets to the point. He's like, listen Jacob, I think you have this misunderstanding of reality here. You can't win. And so he touches his thigh, and all of a sudden his thigh is just out of socket. And now there's no physical way for Jacob to win. He's not going to win this battle at this point. And Jacob is all of a sudden very aware, I'm weak. I have nothing to beat this guy. with all my wealth on the other side of the river, all my servants, everyone who could ever protect me, I'm alone with this man, and he's fighting with me, and all of a sudden I'm weakened, and I cannot win. I just can't win." And at this point, Jacob still holds on with all the stubbornness that men are capable of, and he won't let go. until the morning breaks, and the sun starts rising, and it says, the man said, Jesus, let me go for the day's breaking. He's like, enough of this. We've been wrestling all night. I'm done. Let me go of me. And finally, I feel like Jacob gets it, because he responds with this. He says, I will not let you go unless you bless me. It's this beautiful picture of Jacob finally getting it. I've never had anything. There's nothing I can bring to you. I can't overcome against you. All I can do is ask you not to leave me and to simply bless me, to give me what you will. I feel like in this moment, Jesus got this big grin. He's like, about dang time, dude. Like, come on, man. And so, Jesus, but this is specifically what Jesus says, and he says this wonderful thing. And so Jacob says, I will not let you go unless you bless me. And Jesus said, what is your name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel. For as a prince has power with God and with men, you have prevailed with me. And Jacob asked him and said, Tell me, I pray thee, what is your name? And the man said, Wherefore is it that you ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And then, after the man's gone, Jacob called the name of the place, Pineal, for I have seen God face to face, and I have not died, for my life was preserved. So it feels like, finally, at the very end, Jacob's like, who are you that you were able to overcome me and be stronger than I? And he's like, you know who I am, Jacob. Like, I'm not going to answer that question, you know. And then he blesses him and leaves, and that's when Jacob realizes, I've seen the face of God. And in his great mercy, I have lived to tell about it. And I love this because after this he crosses over the Jordan and he eventually meets his brother and things go pretty well for him actually. But this is where I want to stop tonight because this is the important moment. This is when Jacob stops being Jacob and becomes Israel. He stops being this schemer, this plotter, this manipulator who's always trying to get an advantage over his opponents, that way he can come out on top, and becomes this man who can say, I don't have to struggle in a worldly way to find victory, because my God is greater than I am, and He is greater than any other, and I can simply trust in Him. Now, I would love to say at this point that Jacob slash Israel's life went really well after this, and there was no other problems. But interestingly enough, as you continue to read through the book of Genesis, sometimes the Bible calls him Jacob. Sometimes it calls him Israel. Because he doesn't always act like Israel. He still falls into his old ways. As we all do. We all do sometimes. But it's really important because he's not the same anymore. He's never Jacob again. He's Israel acting like Jacob. But he has become Israel. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17, it says this, For all who are in Christ have become a new creation. The truth of the matter is, if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, if you submitted to Him, you're not the person you were before. There are some times you may act like it. There are some times people might look at you and say, oh, I know you. You're that person. But the truth of the matter is, our eyes don't see reality all the time. But God's do. And God says you're not the same that you were. You have been made a new creation. But sometimes we still find ourselves kind of switching between that doubt and that faith, that rebellion, the stubborn willfulness that all humans possess to do things our own way. And I really, really, really want to encourage you that when Jesus shows up in the middle of the night and starts wrestling with you, Let him win. You will much prefer it. But also don't let him go until he's blessed you. Because the truth of the matter is, that's what Jesus was wanting to do from the beginning. He just wanted to bless Jacob. Just like he had blessed Isaac and Abraham before him, and Jacob kept getting in the way of it. But God wants to bless us. That doesn't mean in the same way that Isaac and Abraham and Jacob had with great wealth and power and influence in their areas. But God wants to bless you. Preferably with something greater than some of the things that Jacob got because his family life was rough. But also, the other thing that I want to mention is Jacob's hip gets put out of place. After that night, it never goes back in. He walks with a limp the rest of his life. Now some might say that's just the price it took for him to finally learn that Jesus was in control. But on the other hand, what was the greater blessing? Was it his wealth and his riches and his great big family? Or was it the limp that caused him to walk with a staff, leaning on it every single day, knowing that he had to rely on someone else? We all need to remember, day after day, we cannot walk through this life, this crazy, hectic, terrifying life sometimes, on our own. If we do, we will find ourselves crushed. Every time. It might take us a while to get there, but we will. But we have the God of the entire universe who loves you. And not just the general you. I'm talking to you specifically. To each and every one of you. He knows your name. He knows how many hairs are on your head. He knows all the pain and hurt that's been done to you and all the pain and the hurt that you've done to yourself. And he loves you anyways. He says, let me take it. Let me have you and I will bless you with things greater than you can begin to imagine. And sometimes we say, no. I want to do things my way. And so he wrestles with us. And our God is a great wrestler. Because he can be gentle and kind and he knows when to whip out a two by four and hit us upside the head with it when he has to. But our God is a good God who seeks to bless us. So, let's end tonight with a word of prayer. I'm going to have Matt pray for us real quick, and I'm going to step down. But let us remember that as we go from this place to pray that God would just bless us and that we would stop getting in his way of doing it. So, Matt, if you want to come down here and pray for us. We're going to have an invitation song, so go ahead and let him pray and then we'll do that. Amen. You've been given a challenge tonight by Jacob. You go ahead and be seated, Matt. You've been given a challenge by Jacob. Jacob, you need to be right here. I'm sorry. You don't get to be seated. You've been given a challenge by the Word tonight to give up, to let God be in control. When you're your weakest, then God wants to come upon you. And guess what? From that moment on, God walked with Jacob wherever he went. We sang a song tonight in the garden. We're going to offer it up again. Let's all stand. If you have never walked in the garden with Jesus, and you've been fighting and scrapping and scratching to get where you're going, You need Jesus. You'll get weaker and weaker and weaker. Guess what? He's not chasing you down to beat the living daylights out of you. He's chasing you down to transform and change you. You may say, well, I thought I was being transformed, but I haven't got there yet. All right. I'm sorry that you feel that way. Jacob didn't always feel that way either, but he was Israel who was acting like Jacob. You are a new creation, and Jesus wants to walk that out with you. And he walks with me, and he talks with me, and he tells me I am his own. and the joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known. One more time. And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own and the joy we share As we tarry there, None other has ever known. One more time, remember Jacob that night. He didn't know what was getting ready to happen. He had done everything he could and he kept saying, if only I could do something else. And Jesus came and said, now just be still and know that I'm God. Sing it one more time and we'll close out. Are you ready to be still and know that he's God? And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own. and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known. Father, I want to thank you for this message. To some of us, it has spoken on a deep level. To each one of us, we have tried so much to make a way, we've tried so much to impress God, We've tried to be the man that God wants us to be, and we can't be it without Him doing that work in us. Thank you for speaking to our hearts and our hopes and our souls tonight. And if we are a new creation, don't let us always get away with acting like the old man when we're a brand new creation. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.