1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:03,040 Welcome to the Illuminate Church podcast. 2 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:05,640 We hope today's message is encouraging to you. 3 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,080 Such a joy to be in this house. If I haven't had the privilege 4 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:13,920 of meeting you, my name is David Narvaez. 5 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:16,960 I get to serve as the high school and young adults pastor 6 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,520 here at Illuminate Church. Do we have all three young 7 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:22,400 adults in the 9:00 AM service? Anybody. 8 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,480 Young adult. Oh, wow. 9 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:27,560 OK. That's like 1520 people. 10 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:29,960 Usually it's like 2. So I'm grateful to have you 11 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,600 support, but I'm excited. Thank you, brother, for this 12 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:35,440 message. If you have your Bibles, I want 13 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:37,000 to open up now. Actually, we're going to be in 14 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,960 Genesis chapter 32. I love the Word of God. 15 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,040 I love this series that we're on talking about where faith 16 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,440 begins. The story of Genesis is such an 17 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:51,160 important story to our faith. And so when we we want to 18 00:00:51,160 --> 00:00:55,120 understand the Bible, we have to understand this story of 19 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,400 Genesis. I want to take you back about 20 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:02,240 probably 15 years or so ago. I was 18 years old and I was 21 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,480 about to get baptized. And there was a lot of wrestling 22 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,200 behind it because I got saved when I was about 10 years old. 23 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,920 But I kind of wrestled and struggled with my faith. 24 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:12,640 I did not have an easy upbringing. 25 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:16,480 And so it was a challenge for me to really make a commitment. 26 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:20,000 I had to let go of some things. And so I remember going back and 27 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,840 forth, should I get baptized? Should I not get baptized? 28 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:25,720 And it was a big decision. I said, this is what I'm going 29 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,000 to do. And I remember stepping into the 30 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,160 pool. It was the water was cold. 31 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:31,360 Y'all OK? I'm going to be honest. 32 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:33,600 I, I was like frigid. I'm like, Lord, I don't know if 33 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:35,600 that's your presence, but I'm freezing right now. 34 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:37,800 And I remember stepping in the water. 35 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,240 It was a beautiful moment. The pastor was there, my dad was 36 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,400 there as well. And I remember going under the 37 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:48,000 water and when I come came back up, it was almost like 38 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:50,920 electricity shot through my soul. 39 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,160 It was like a moment I'll never forget for the rest of my life 40 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:59,000 where I encountered the manifest presence of God. 41 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:03,760 And I remember after that moment saying there's no other greater 42 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,640 purpose, no other greater desire, nothing else greater 43 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,240 than following Him. He is so worth it. 44 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,360 And then I also remember years after that. 45 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,240 Because if you follow Jesus for any length of time, you know 46 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:19,920 that things aren't always smooth. 47 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:21,720 Can I get a witness? Y'all know what I mean? 48 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:24,360 For some reason we got this picture of faith where I get 49 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,040 saved and man like God is good and life is good but but life 50 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:29,520 smacks you in the face sometimes. 51 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:34,280 And I remember five years later being in one of the darkest 52 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:38,760 moments of my life. I remember I was in a bathroom 53 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:45,120 stall, not at home crying my eyes out because I was so broken 54 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,000 and I was so defeated. And in that moment of praying 55 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,560 out my heart, the God of compassion and his presence 56 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:56,560 just. Rested on my soul. 57 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,320 And in that moment I realized there's no one more 58 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:03,040 compassionate, no one more merciful, no one more loving 59 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,360 than our God. And those two moments for me 60 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:11,240 marked me for life. And there's more that I could 61 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,320 share, but those are two specific ones where I remember 62 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,720 it was a high point in my life and the lowest point in my. 63 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:19,600 Life. And guess what? 64 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:24,320 God was there for both. He was there for it all. 65 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,880 And maybe you've experienced moments like that in your life 66 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,440 that you can turn to and, and, and you think on maybe it 67 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:34,680 happened this year, a few years ago and you can just imagine 68 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,880 that moment. Or maybe you're in this room. 69 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,520 And if you were to be honest, you would say, I've never 70 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,200 experienced that. I've never had that moment. 71 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:47,280 I've I've been living through life trying to understand this 72 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,800 thing called faith and if this God is really present and you 73 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:52,240 say. I don't know if I have. 74 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,960 Had something like that. And for both of you, this 75 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:00,760 message is for you. And it begins in this life of 76 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:04,240 this character named Jacob. Now, now Jacob is such an 77 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:08,240 interesting person and there's no smooth sailing for Jacob. 78 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:11,600 And so Jacob had a brother named Esau. 79 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:14,760 Him and his brother were born around, are born at the same 80 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:18,560 exact time Jacob came after. And there was this moment where 81 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,360 they were being born where Jacob tried to grab the heel of his 82 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,800 brother Esau. And that's how he got his name 83 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,360 Jacob or Heel Grabber. And so from the RIP, there was 84 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:29,960 like this little bit of a competitive nature between the 85 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:32,280 two. And then and then a few years 86 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:35,760 later when they got older, there was this moment where Esau was 87 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:39,040 hungry and he was starving and he was like, Jacob, man, I just 88 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:41,440 need something to eat. Can you give me some of your 89 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:42,560 food? He was like, yeah, I got you, 90 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:44,320 brother. Just one thing. 91 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:49,000 Give me your birthright. And Jay and Esau was so hungry 92 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,360 that my man was like, I'm that's not a problem at all. 93 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,880 So Jake Esau literally gave over his birthright. 94 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:56,840 And when you think of birthright, that's your 95 00:04:56,840 --> 00:04:59,160 inheritance. Like that's the four O 1K, 96 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:01,120 that's the Roth IRA, that's the house. 97 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:04,600 And for a literally some like soup, my brother was like, yeah, 98 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:06,440 you can have it because I'm starving in that moment. 99 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:10,360 So in that moment, Jacob actually took the birthright of 100 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,160 Esau. And then years later when Isaac 101 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,520 was getting older and he was struggling to see, he wanted to 102 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:20,840 bless his son Esau because he loved Esau more, to be honest, 103 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:24,480 than Jacob. And so Jacob and his mother came 104 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:29,480 up with this plan to to sneak in and pretty much make Isaac 105 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:33,760 believe that Jacob was Esau. And so Jacob walks into this 106 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,600 room while Esau's out somewhere else, and Isaac ends up blessing 107 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,760 Jacob. And so not only did he steal his 108 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:44,520 birthright, he also stole his blessing. 109 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,480 Not only did he steal like the the inheritance of the land and 110 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,320 the property and whatever else he built up, he even took away 111 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:54,640 the blessing of God that would be carried. 112 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:56,240 With him for the rest of his life. 113 00:05:56,840 --> 00:06:00,040 And so Esau shows up and he's like, wow, I just love you, 114 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:01,720 Jacob. No, no, no, that's not not the 115 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,040 story at all. Esau shows up and he was so 116 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:06,840 angry. He literally wanted to kill his 117 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:09,520 brother. So Jacob did the smart thing and 118 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:11,160 he booked it. He's like, I'm out of here. 119 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,360 I ain't doing this no more. And so Jacob is now running away 120 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:16,720 from home. He has an encounter with God in 121 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:19,840 a place called Bethel, meaning the House of Lord at the House 122 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:21,880 of the Lord. And he has his beauty, this 123 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:25,280 incredible vision of this ladder going up to heaven. 124 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:30,280 And then God affirms the covenant promise that he gave to 125 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:36,520 Abraham and he gave to Isaac. In the midst of a broken period 126 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:40,920 of time in Jacob's life, God affirms the covenant promise 127 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,520 that he gave to his forefathers. And then years go on. 128 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:48,280 And then this story be from Laban and he has two daughters 129 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:52,920 and he gets deceived for working 14 years to marry one of his 130 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,480 daughters. He's having years of prosperity. 131 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,880 And then all of a sudden in this moment in Genesis 32 where he 132 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:05,200 has to confront Esau and this is where we pick up in the story. 133 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:09,160 But I was kind of imagining this person of, of, of Jacob. 134 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:11,640 I remember going through my interview process here at 135 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:15,320 Illuminate Church and it, it, it takes like 6 months, OK, It's a 136 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:18,280 very, very long time. I jokingly remember telling the 137 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:20,600 staff I was like, am I applying for the CIA? 138 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,080 Like, is that, is that what's going on right now? 139 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:25,760 Because, because this is kind of intense, like 6 months long. 140 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:28,840 Like my man, I what could have, you know, children be born. 141 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:30,840 I mean, so many things could have happened. 142 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,600 I mean, got Chick-fil-A, not on Sundays, you know what I mean? 143 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,120 Like there's so much that could happen, but it was a six month 144 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:41,440 long process. And and I was imagining Jacob 145 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:46,080 having an interview or a position on staff at Illuminate 146 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:48,200 Church. Like Jake was shows up, he's 147 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,040 applying and this interview, you know, and they're like, all 148 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:53,080 right, well, well, well, tell me you know your story. 149 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:57,360 And he's like, well, you know, you know, I have a brother and I 150 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,960 might have manipulated him out of his birthright and like, OK, 151 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:05,920 so you're manipulative and you know, I I might have deceived my 152 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:10,480 father to steal a blessing. OK, Dishonest and a thief and 153 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,560 he's like, well, and my brother wanted to kill me so you know, I 154 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:15,080 ran. He's like, all right, so you're 155 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,720 a coward and you avoid conflict. And he's like, and I I spent 156 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:21,720 years trying to outmover my uncle is like, all right, 157 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:25,360 controlling and a little bit shady and I played favorites and 158 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:27,960 my family definitely dysfunctional. 159 00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:31,920 And then when I thought Esau was coming, I split my family into 160 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:35,320 groups in case some of them died and they went ahead and and said 161 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,840 of me fear driven and definitely selfish. 162 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:42,840 That's the interview process. I just want to tell you, is 163 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:45,720 Jacob getting the job? Absolutely not. 164 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:49,240 Like my man Jacob, if he walks in Illuminate church, he is not 165 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:52,360 on staff. And here's what's crazy is that 166 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:57,840 we can place biblical characters in a different atmosphere. 167 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:01,240 So we do not have to bear the responsibility of courage, 168 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:05,200 character or calling. We say they're so special, but 169 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:09,080 the fact is Jacob was just as broken, if not more broken than 170 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,040 you. And so we we cannot look at the 171 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:14,040 Bible and look at these characters and say, well, 172 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:16,840 they're just this special. We think of faith begins and 173 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:20,680 they're in this special category when God in this story is 174 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:23,080 talking about this person named Jacob. 175 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,760 So the question that I have for Jacob is what can God actually 176 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:31,120 do with him? What can God actually do with 177 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:33,760 Jacob, with all of this dysfunction and all of this 178 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:36,280 brokenness and all of this chaos? 179 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:38,480 And I want to ask you a question. 180 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:43,280 What can God do with you? What could God? 181 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:48,520 Actually do in your life, that's different than just being normal 182 00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:52,480 and different than just a routine and different than just 183 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:54,880 going. By the wayside and and working 184 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,120 and eating and sleeping and pooping and all the things that 185 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:01,640 happened in the cycle of life and retiring and then we end our 186 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,200 life and then we're just like, well, that was life. 187 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:08,480 What could God actually do with your life? 188 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:12,440 And that is the struggle that we have is we serve, and I want you 189 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:18,000 to get this, we serve a good God that made promises to not good 190 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,480 people. We serve a good God who made 191 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:24,960 promises to not good, not with good people. 192 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:28,040 And there's an old thing that says well don't make a deal with 193 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:32,200 the devil, But the fact is God made a deal with the people that 194 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:35,360 many times act like the devil. And Ephesians chapter 2 in 195 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:40,520 scripture it says that we are children under Satan or children 196 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:44,960 of. Wrath, that was Jacob 2 but yet 197 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,800 he was still chosen. But yet he was still chosen. 198 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,120 So what will God? Do with him. 199 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,240 So Jacob was freaking out. He's learning about having to 200 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:59,440 meet his brother Esau, who has about 400 men, mind you. 201 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:03,120 So a little bit of an attempt, a tense situation, and this is 202 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,240 where we pick up here in verse 22. 203 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:11,440 It says during the night Jacob got up and took his wives and 204 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,080 his slave woman and eleven sons and crossed the forward of 205 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:16,520 Jabek. Now this is really important 206 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:20,640 because this is something that Jacob could have done the next 207 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:23,720 day, right? This is what Jacob could have 208 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:25,480 done. This is in the middle of the 209 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:27,000 night. And so you have to think that 210 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:31,640 Jacob is literally so scared of Esau, he could not sleep. 211 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:34,760 Anyone had this before where you're just so anxious about 212 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:36,960 something that you just keeps you up all night no matter how. 213 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:38,000 Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. 214 00:11:38,040 --> 00:11:40,720 No matter how hard you try, you just cannot get rest. 215 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,120 And so he's anxious. It leads to his insomnia. 216 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:46,920 And so his only response is, well, I got to do something 217 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:49,640 because obviously I'm not getting any sleep. 218 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:54,400 And I would argue this that many times our anxiety levels, many 219 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,560 times or in the life of Jacob, his anxiety level is in 220 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:02,600 correlation with his faith. Let me put it this way, is when 221 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,800 we are anxious, we are worried about things that are to come 222 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:08,480 and we are stressed out because we're not going to know the 223 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,400 outcome. But faith is the assurance of 224 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:14,760 things hoped for, the conviction of things not yet seen. 225 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,760 So the greater our faith, the less we are worried. 226 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:22,680 I would say this, if you would actually trust God with faith 227 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,520 that He could deliver you from that situation, your worry level 228 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,080 and your anxiety level would just decrease. 229 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:31,160 One of my favorite stories in the Bible. 230 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:33,520 I just think, by the way, Jesus is hilarious. 231 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:36,560 OK, if you've never read the gospels, I love Jesus. 232 00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:39,760 He is just like so incredible. He's, he's just, he's so witty 233 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,240 and so funny. This is one of my, my favorite 234 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:44,320 moments is in actually in Mark chapter 4. 235 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,360 And there's this moment where they're on the boat and they're 236 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,120 crossing over the waters. And then this, the storm 237 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:51,880 happens. And of course, you know, if 238 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,000 you're on like raggedy boat and this storm hits you, you're 239 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,760 freaking out like, you know, you're on a cruise ship, except 240 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,480 the cruise ship is like probably like a 10, 10 by 10. 241 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:03,080 And so you're freaking out about this storm. 242 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:06,280 And so the disciples come up to Jesus after this great 243 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:08,360 windstorm. And this is what happens in in 244 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:12,520 Mark 438. It says he meaning Jesus was in 245 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,440 the stern sleeping on the cushion. 246 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:22,680 Jesus is in the boat by raging storm and getting the best sleep 247 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:25,280 of his life. OK, that's my Jesus. 248 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:28,960 And so the disciples say they woke him up and said, Teacher, 249 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:31,840 don't you care that we're going to die? 250 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:34,400 They're acting out of their anxiety. 251 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:39,440 But the fact is for Jesus, he has so much trust in his Father 252 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,200 that even the greatest storms can't shake his peace. 253 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:47,800 Even the greatest storms, he is getting rest because he has 254 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:53,280 faith in his Father. But as much as we should have 255 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:59,320 faith, like Jesus and unlike Jacob, it also creates A 256 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,480 catalyst for this moment. So here's the point I'm trying 257 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:06,000 to make here is just as God, just as much as God wants you to 258 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,400 be free from worry, anyone going to say Amen to that? 259 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:10,360 God wants you to be free from worry. 260 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:14,720 We also serve a God that can encounter you. 261 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,640 Through your worry. So in other words, there's a 262 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:21,640 life and a principle we should live by, which is by faith, 263 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:24,480 which is the antidote to worry and anxiety. 264 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:29,120 But yet our God is so good that he can actually work through 265 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:32,040 that. And so our focus should not be 266 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:35,360 on the faith of Jacob. It's easy to think that faith 267 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,600 begins and we think of Jacob. Really. 268 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:40,520 We should think about the faithfulness of God. 269 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:44,640 It's his goodness, it's the fact that he steps in, it's the fact 270 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:48,080 that he decides to do what only he will do based off his 271 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:51,400 character, regardless of the life that we're living. 272 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,080 So what happens then as we continue on in Genesis chapter 273 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:59,880 32 it says here in verse 23 it says he took them across the. 274 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:06,160 Stream along with his possessions and Jacob was left 275 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,600 alone. Jacob. 276 00:15:10,720 --> 00:15:15,120 Was left alone. We cannot overlook the power of 277 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:18,880 these 3 words. All throughout scripture we only 278 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,520 see examples of this idea of people. 279 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:25,640 Getting alone with God And what about in? 280 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,840 Genesis and Abraham's Covenant Encounter In Genesis chapter 12, 281 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:32,880 the Lord speaks to Abraham, the original promise. 282 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,640 Because Abraham was alone, he speaks in this covenant promise. 283 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:40,840 In Genesis chapter 15, the Lord creates A binding covenant with 284 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:44,360 Abram when he was alone in Hagar in the wilderness. 285 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:48,840 In Genesis chapter 16, she was alone and abandoned, and God 286 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:52,040 meets. Her and she calls him Elroy the 287 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:53,720 God. Who sees me? 288 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:57,040 Isaac in the field in Genesis chapter 24. 289 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:59,480 He's alone, meditating in the evening. 290 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:01,760 And God provides a wife named Rebecca. 291 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:04,400 You singles out there? I'm just saying, get along with 292 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:05,760 God. He might provide a wife. 293 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:06,960 All right. Can I get a witness in the 294 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:08,640 house? He sometimes does that. 295 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:11,240 OK, He's out in the fields and. Oh shit, you're looking pretty 296 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:13,400 good, all right. The Lord provides. 297 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:17,120 And then there's this moment with Jacob at Bethel when he's 298 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:21,840 alone, fleeing home from from Esau and God. 299 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:26,680 Reveals his covenant promise. And it does not end there. 300 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:30,920 In Exodus chapter 3, the burning Bush God encounters Moses and 301 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:35,280 and calls him to the ministry. In Exodus chapter 19, God Moses 302 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:39,080 goes up to Mount Sinai and receives the laws of God. 303 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:43,280 And for the story of Elijah in First Kings 19, he encounters 304 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:46,240 the God the the voice of God which gives him the 305 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,400 encouragement that he needs. In Matthew chapter 4, Jesus goes 306 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:53,360 to the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights before he starts 307 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:56,240 his ministry. In John he literally writes the 308 00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:01,040 Book of Revelation on the Isle of Patmos because he was alone. 309 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:06,040 The point I'm trying to make is that isolation often becomes the 310 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,960 best setting for revelation if you want to receive a revelation 311 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,240 from God. There is something that is so 312 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:16,880 unique about closing the door. When we close the door when we 313 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:21,040 get alone with God, it's crazy. The door is shut, but a window 314 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,040 from heaven is opened. It's so beautiful. 315 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:27,800 There's something so powerful about when we get alone with 316 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,560 God, and Jesus says it best when he says in Matthew 6/6, He says, 317 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:38,160 But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door and 318 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:42,080 pray to your Father who? Is in secret and your Father who 319 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:48,000 sees in secret will reward you. And I would say this, the reason 320 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:52,400 many of us do not encounter God's presence is because we do 321 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,840 not create a setting in which His presence is welcome. 322 00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:59,520 When was the last time you invited God into your car? 323 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:04,680 You invited God into your house? You invited God into your walk, 324 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:07,120 You invited God into your work day. 325 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:11,520 Do you actually create a setting to host the presence of God? 326 00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:15,400 Maybe you should start, because here's what Jesus says in 327 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:17,160 Matthew 7/7, he says. Ask. 328 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:22,160 And it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find knock, 329 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,640 and it will be open to you. How can you ask God if you're 330 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,080 always talking to someone else? How can you seek? 331 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,360 God, if you're always. Seeking something else? 332 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:34,840 How can you knock on the? Door of God's. 333 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:36,960 Heart. If you're always at someone 334 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:38,280 else. 'S door but his. 335 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,080 And here's the sad thing is, some of us can actually use 336 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,920 community as a guise for the lack of satisfaction in your 337 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,760 soul. It can happen like that where we 338 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:51,560 think, well, I'm going to keep keep being around God's people, 339 00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:55,160 But the fact is you actually use that as a crutch so you don't 340 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:56,600 have to spend time with the Lord. 341 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:59,840 And yes, God is with you and God is with us, but there's 342 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:01,840 something special about getting along with God. 343 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,600 And at the same time, we can also say, well, I'm alone A. 344 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,080 Lot. But the fact is, just because 345 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:11,160 you're isolating yourself from people typically means you're 346 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:12,680 also isolating yourself from God. 347 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:15,960 The goal is an isolation. For the sake of being alone, 348 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:20,000 it's isolation, For the sake of meeting with someone special. 349 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:24,480 And the Lord desires a people that desire him. 350 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,120 The Lord wants the people that love him, that want to meet with 351 00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:31,080 him. And how do we just show that 352 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:34,200 desire? We must be willing to get along 353 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:36,680 with God. It's not an option. 354 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:40,080 It's not a suggestion. It's something we have to be 355 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,440 willing to do. And here's what's crazy Jacob's 356 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,920 greatest encounter with. God was a result of a moment 357 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,920 alone, and I would say this, if you would just take this week 358 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:55,920 and say for whatever block of time I'm going to get along with 359 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:58,200 God, you'll be surprised how God shows up. 360 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:03,680 You just create one setting and God will invade your space. 361 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:06,240 He will. So then what happens as we 362 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:11,360 continue the story in verse 24? It says Jacob was left alone and 363 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:15,600 a man, by the way, pops out of nowhere and a man wrestled with 364 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:20,280 him until Daybreak and when the man saw he could not defeat him, 365 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:25,480 he struck Jacob's hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his 366 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:26,280 hip. So. 367 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:29,760 So Jacob yet again, he is not expecting this moment 368 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:32,520 whatsoever. Like it's not on the calendar. 369 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:36,040 Jacob might have been physically ready for this moment, but I 370 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:37,800 know. For a fact that his heart was 371 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:39,480 not. And so we have to ask the 372 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:42,280 question, what does it mean to wrestle with God? 373 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,840 I'll talk about the identity of the man later, but later it says 374 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:49,240 that he's seen the face of God, so he's talking about wrestling 375 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:50,520 with God. What does it mean to wrestle 376 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:52,600 with God? Well, in the Hebrew, it means to 377 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:54,480 grapple. It means to wrestle. 378 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:55,840 But I also think it's interesting. 379 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:59,920 It has this connotation of getting dusty or dirty has this 380 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:02,360 connotation of like, you're not clean anymore. 381 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,040 And I think that's interesting because I, I remember when any 382 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:07,280 baseball fans out there, I, I love playing baseball. 383 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,240 I, I love this sport. And I I remember I I was on this 384 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,040 this team, this Little League team, we were bad. 385 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:19,200 Y'all OK, all right, I was not, just to be clear, but this is 386 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:21,080 some pride coming out. But our team, our team was 387 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:22,800 terrible. Like at least 80% of the team 388 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:23,920 should have been in the right. Field. 389 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:26,760 That's just the way it was. Like our team was so bad. 390 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:29,520 There were some years like we didn't win a game, OK? 391 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:32,960 Like, like we were like, oh, and 17, like now, like one in 16, 392 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:34,800 like, oh, and 17, we were garbage. 393 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,760 And, and so I remember as a kid, the, the like, when you would 394 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:40,760 come home, like your uniform would get dirty, right? 395 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:43,240 You'd, you'd have this nice uniform, you'd be nice and neat. 396 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:46,960 And then typically I would get, I would get tired of kind of 397 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:48,720 washing my clothes. You know, it's like, I got to 398 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:50,080 get all the dirt out and everything. 399 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,360 And so, you know, if it was a game that we were losing, like 400 00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:56,920 I'm probably not going to slide, you know what I mean? 401 00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:59,080 Like, I don't want to get my I don't want to get my shoes 402 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:00,320 dirty. I don't want to get my clothes 403 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:02,320 dirty. So if we were losing the game, 404 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:03,960 like I'm not going to try that hard. 405 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:05,920 Like I was kind of running to the base hay side. 406 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:07,480 I'm like, Oh yeah, let me not do that. 407 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:09,040 You know, I'm just going to stay right here. 408 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:10,720 Nice and pretty. Didn't want to do it. 409 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:14,400 But then there are some games where I was like, we could 410 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:16,960 actually win. Like we could go from like, oh, 411 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:19,480 and 14 to 1 and 14. I'm so excited. 412 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:22,800 And so I remember also those times where I would play 413 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:26,680 baseball and I would go all out. I would be sprinting, I would be 414 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,040 sliding. I would do everything I can. 415 00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:32,120 If I was out in the outfield, I would die for catches to do 416 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:35,440 everything I could to win the game because I valued it, 417 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:36,480 because I thought it was important. 418 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,640 I thought we could actually win. And so it, when I would come 419 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:43,600 back from home, my mom always knew it was a good game because 420 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:47,600 of The Dirty of my outfit, that my devotion to the game is what 421 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:51,240 led to the, to the dirtiness of my outfit. 422 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,880 And I would say this, that our commitment to God is a 423 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:58,600 willingness to get dirty, to get in the dirt, to get messy, to 424 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:02,120 figure things out, to to not be satisfied just looking straight 425 00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:05,680 and pretty, but really posture our hearts in such a way in 426 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,520 which whatever God wants to do, I'm ready. 427 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:12,280 And I'm available. For to wrestle with God is to 428 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:17,480 get Dusty and think of this with Jacob, it's dark, he's isolated, 429 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:21,400 he's exhausted, probably he's a little bit messy. 430 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:25,720 He's anxious, he's fearful, he's frustrated, and he's probably 431 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:29,360 still guilty from stealing his brother's birthright and 432 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:31,800 blessing. That looks like to. 433 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:37,960 Me a messy life. The moment is messy, but so also 434 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:39,960 is his life. And I would ask you, does anyone 435 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:43,240 here have a messy life? Anyone, if you be honest, people 436 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:44,720 like, oh, I don't, I'm like, I know you do. 437 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,280 Don't play. It's a it's a messy life. 438 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:48,880 Like like, I don't know about you, but. 439 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:53,160 Marriage can sometimes be messy. Like till death do us part. 440 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:54,960 And then you get into your arguments. 441 00:23:56,120 --> 00:23:58,760 You know what I mean? Oh, after the honeymoon phase 442 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:00,960 and all of a sudden I'm like, well, why didn't you wash your 443 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:02,240 clothes? You know what I'm saying? 444 00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:03,760 Or why don't you pick up after yourself? 445 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:05,440 Or why do you like it's, it gets messy? 446 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,880 Or what about finances, right? The the best thing is when you 447 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,400 finally save up money and then your car breaks. 448 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:15,080 I'm just like, brother, can I just get like a moment here to 449 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:16,920 save up some money? Anyone I'm talking about, if 450 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:18,640 you're a young adult, you definitely know what I'm talking 451 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:20,600 about. OK, I'm like, come on, brother. 452 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:22,760 Or what about relationships in general? 453 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:25,680 Like you start this relationship and, and you think it's going to 454 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:29,320 go well and all of a sudden all this complex things happens. 455 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:32,760 Or even our faith walk in general, Like when you think of 456 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:36,920 our faith walk, it's not like a, a, a straight line going up. 457 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,760 It's kind of like a a, a. What are these things like? 458 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:41,880 Not a heart thermometer. I don't know what I'm trying to 459 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:43,320 English right now. You know what I'm saying? 460 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:44,440 Well, they, they they test your heart. 461 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:46,040 I can't think of the word. Someone help me out. 462 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:48,840 What do you what AKG or something like that? 463 00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,280 Or when when you're in the. Hospital room and like they want 464 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,240 to make sure your heart's OK and they test. 465 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:54,640 I don't know. OK, someone help me out. 466 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:56,800 Live stream is probably long, long at me right now. 467 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:01,000 I'm sorry by the way. My dad is watching, so I love 468 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:02,280 you Dad. Just want to throw it out there. 469 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:05,200 Love you so much. And so like, you know, they, 470 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,040 they, they would, they would test your heart to make sure 471 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:09,000 it's OK. Like, like our life is kind of 472 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,600 like that words. It's like, it's like this, like 473 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,000 we think it's like we get saved. And all of a sudden I'm going to 474 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:15,880 turn this way. Is that OK? 475 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:19,440 Like we get saved and it's like, wow, I start here and it's just 476 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:23,200 like, get to heaven. Anyone had that picture? 477 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:26,520 I know I did when I was younger, but here's life as you start 478 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,360 here. And all of a sudden you go up 479 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:35,000 and down and up and down, down, down and up, up, up and down, 480 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,640 down, down, and it's. Like this jagged edge, but 481 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,080 ultimately it does lead to glory. 482 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,760 This is the walk. This is our spiritual life. 483 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:47,760 Many. Of us have had so many plans 484 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,600 that just did not work out. They just didn't. 485 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:55,800 You had a plan for your life, a plan for your marriage, a plan 486 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:59,160 for your finances, and if you were to be honest, the plan 487 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,600 isn't your current reality. There's this famous quote by 488 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,040 Mike. Tyson, he says this, Everyone 489 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:07,280 has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. 490 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,120 It's like that. Like we all have an idea for our 491 00:26:12,120 --> 00:26:15,560 life until life happens and we get punched in the mouth. 492 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:18,760 Like that's what life happens. And I'm sure Jacob's plan, if I 493 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,160 were to ask him, it wasn't to end up alone. 494 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:25,560 It wasn't to end up exhausted. It wasn't to end up terrified of 495 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,920 his past catching up to him after a lifetime of striving, of 496 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:32,920 scheming, of trying to control every outcome. 497 00:26:33,120 --> 00:26:39,240 But here's what's so cool is that God chose a man with a mess 498 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,240 to give a message about his mercy. 499 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:42,920 I want to say it again for someone in the back. 500 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:50,960 God chose a man with a mess to give a message about his mercy. 501 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:54,000 God isn't scared of your past. He's not scared of your 502 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,280 brokenness. He's not scared of your fears. 503 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,920 And if you think your life is too messy, then you don't know 504 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,960 my God, because my God works through the mess. 505 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:06,840 But I would say. This we have to be honest with 506 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:09,600 it we have. To be willing to be honest with 507 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:13,200 what's going on in our lives and that provides space and 508 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:17,520 opportunity for God to work and so to wrestle with God. 509 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:23,240 Is to endure, to endure through the mess, to continue pressing 510 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,880 on, to continue to. Believe that God can and will 511 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:31,760 deliver you. I remember going to it was 512 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,200 Animal Kingdom literally for the first time like a month ago. 513 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:38,280 OK, I haven't been to the Disney parks I went to. 514 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,160 I rode Guardians of the Galaxy like a few months ago. 515 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:43,880 Have I'm so new to this whole thing. 516 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:45,720 And so I had a friend. I was able to get us in. 517 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,000 It was a great time. ID group. 518 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:49,480 We met up and it was like our last end celebration. 519 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,800 And so I was able to ride the the Yeti roller coaster thing. 520 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,200 You know, I'm talking about with the with the, OK, you know, OK, 521 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,800 we're Disney people. It's the roller coaster. 522 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:01,040 It's pretty cool, right? I gave it a 7 out of 10 and then 523 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:02,920 I found out how much they spend. I'm like, alright, I'll give it 524 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:04,800 an 8 out of 10 because that's a lot of money. 525 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:08,040 But I remember rating in line and I'm sitting here like, and 526 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:09,320 we're having a great conversation. 527 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:12,080 It's a great time, but we're just waiting, you know, it's 528 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:14,720 like an hour and 40. 5 minutes and then you do one of these, 529 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,440 you know, another 15 minutes, you do one of these and I'm 530 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:20,080 like, man, all these people do this. 531 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:22,600 Like is this, is this like a common occurrence? 532 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:25,720 We're just sitting here waiting in line and, and, and I, I get 533 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:27,960 it right? Because we got to the ride, it 534 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:29,400 was exciting. We were to get the front row 535 00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:31,320 seat. They go up and you hit the end 536 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:33,760 of the track and then it's a broken track and you head 537 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:35,120 backwards. It was, it was a cool 538 00:28:35,120 --> 00:28:38,840 experience, but I was thinking about like, why do we spend so 539 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:40,680 much time doing this? So if you want to ride like a 540 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:43,120 couple of rides at Disney, unless you have like a fast 541 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,240 pass, you're probably spending at least like 4 hours, right? 542 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:49,120 If you want to ride a few of them and I was like wondering 543 00:28:49,760 --> 00:28:52,760 like, why are we doing this? Like why, why are we actually 544 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:54,280 waiting here? And, and to be honest, it's 545 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:57,720 because we enjoy it like it's a great time, like we love the. 546 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:01,640 Experience and and I was thinking about this is the 547 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:04,080 reason people wait this long for a ride. 548 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:07,120 Because they believe on the other side, there's joy, there's 549 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:10,720 experience, there's fun, all of these other things that they 550 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:12,200 say. I'm going to sit here for an 551 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,920 hour and a half. And here's what's crazy is will 552 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:20,080 wait longer for Guardians of the Galaxy than for the one who 553 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:24,520 created the Galaxy. And don't get me wrong, it's a 554 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,600 great ride. Like, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not 555 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:29,160 knocking. It's probably one of the coolest 556 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:34,280 rides I've ever read in my life. But nothing, and I mean nothing 557 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:39,200 in this. Life compares to him and if you 558 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:43,080 would just wait on him. And be willing to spend that 559 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:45,520 time and be willing to take part of your. 560 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:49,160 Calendar, I promise you, on the other side of that is a glory 561 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,080 you've never experienced before. That's the God that we serve. 562 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:56,640 And then you will wait in line for him because he is worth it. 563 00:29:57,160 --> 00:30:00,240 And so what's on the other side of this endurance, this enduring 564 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:05,160 type of wrestling with God? It's prayer, it's in the Word, 565 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,520 it's serving. I want to encourage someone in 566 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:11,680 this house that you're being burnt out on serving and don't 567 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,160 quit now before you've seen the fruit of it. 568 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:15,720 There's some of you I know in this. 569 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:17,880 Space that you like you've. Been like I'm kind of getting 570 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:19,880 worn out. But don't quit now. 571 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:22,080 Before you see the fruit of what God's going to do. 572 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:25,960 Because on the other side of these things is the abundant 573 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:29,440 life that Christ offers that a season pass can't give you. 574 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:34,600 It's on the other side of it, and only He can offer it. 575 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:39,880 Jacob wrestled with God for hours because he believed in 576 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:43,960 what God could do. We must be willing to wrestle 577 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,880 with God. All of the mess, all of the 578 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,920 brokenness, all of the chaos. We must be willing to wrestle 579 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:53,720 with God. So then what happens here in 580 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:58,280 verse 25? So he dislocated his hip and 581 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:02,320 then he said to Jacob, let me go for it is Daybreak. 582 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:08,160 But Jacob said, I will not let you go until you bless me. 583 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:12,560 So Jacob's wrestling with God, his hip socket gets struck and 584 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:16,120 now he's like kind of limping. And he's like, well, I, I, I 585 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:18,600 don't know if I can go on anymore or to put it this way, 586 00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:22,320 like my man is cooked, right? Like and and by the way, cooked. 587 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:23,840 Does not mean he started cooking food. 588 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:25,240 All right, this is a I'm still learning. 589 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:28,840 I'm the young adults pastor. I also oversee youth to cook is 590 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:30,160 to. I don't even know how you define 591 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:31,600 it. This is a weird word message, 592 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:33,440 part of the message. I don't know, I'm just I'm 593 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:36,200 learning these terms, but he's like, in other words, yeah, no 594 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:37,800 shot anymore trying to translate. 595 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:39,800 Someone will correct me later, but he's good. 596 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:44,320 Like he's got no no longer any other option, but instead of 597 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:48,400 fighting with God, the only option he has is to. 598 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:51,400 Surrender to God. And I want you to think about 599 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:53,960 this, that his whole life for Jacob. 600 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:58,360 Jacob tried everything his way. I'm going to try my plan. 601 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,600 I'm going to try my solution. I'm going to try my way. 602 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:06,560 And for the first time in Jacob's life, there's no escape 603 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:08,720 route. Like there's no time for him to 604 00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:11,800 run away. There's no other point to do 605 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:15,960 except to surrender. Jacob had to surrender his 606 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:19,640 ideas. Had to surrender his plans and 607 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:24,880 had to surrender his sins. He had to let go of it all. 608 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:31,400 I remember years ago, my wife and I were very, very low 609 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:32,760 income. We had just moved to Tampa, 610 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:35,120 newly married. Like that's when the car 611 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:36,920 problems really affect you, if you know what I mean. 612 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:41,160 And we were living in an RV because we couldn't afford rent 613 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:43,760 at the time. And this RV that we had 614 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:48,160 purchased, unbeknownst to me, had hidden water damage, which 615 00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:50,360 means it had developed black mold. 616 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:53,080 And if you've ever had. If anyone had slept with a black 617 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:55,240 mold before and you know what affects your respiratory system, 618 00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:58,040 I almost developed a little bit of of an asthmatic response. 619 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:00,600 Almost permanently, actually, because of it. 620 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:03,000 And this went on for six months. Like when? 621 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:05,240 I mean, it was some of the most miserable time of my life. 622 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:08,000 At this point, I was a youth pastor serving at a different 623 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:09,880 church. I was not able to sleep. 624 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:13,360 I didn't want to eat. I had no motivation to pray, to 625 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,120 get in the Word, to do anything. I was just so tired. 626 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:20,320 It got so bad. I would sometimes sleep at the 627 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:23,480 church to get relief. That's how bad it was. 628 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,720 And the frustrating thing is, I was doing everything right. 629 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:31,000 Like I was serving the Lord, I was building up this youth 630 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:32,880 ministry. I was staying faithful. 631 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,360 Like I was doing all of the right things. 632 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,840 And I and I remember asking. Why? 633 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,560 Like I, I don't even understand. It doesn't even make any sense 634 00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:45,200 to me. And there's a, there's a 635 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:46,560 picture. I don't know if we have it. 636 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:50,000 I, I wrote this in my journal. I want to see if we have it up 637 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,040 on the screen here. This is from. 638 00:33:53,040 --> 00:34:00,160 My journal, hopefully. Maybe not, I don't know. 639 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:06,760 So imagine there's a journal entry up there that looks so 640 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:07,800 great. I'm so glad. 641 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:12,560 OK, so I'm so this is a journal entry from me. 642 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:17,480 It was the end of 2023 and I was writing the just the lessons 643 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:21,400 that I had learned in my life, just like for that year. 644 00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:25,159 And I remember writing this down. 645 00:34:25,159 --> 00:34:32,840 Word for word, and it says this Sometimes faith is just holding 646 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:37,360 on to Jesus. I used to think having faith is 647 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:41,679 marching up a mountain, but sometimes it's just holding on 648 00:34:41,679 --> 00:34:44,239 to Jesus as you're about to fall down. 649 00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:49,800 And I don't know what's going on in your life that's causing you 650 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:52,840 to fall. But I do know a solution. 651 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:57,640 And his name is Jesus. Sometimes success in this 652 00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:02,360 Christian life is not doing all the things, but holding on to 653 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:06,320 the one that can and just pressing in and saying. 654 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:09,880 Lord, no matter what happens, I don't know that I don't see an 655 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:11,720 end insight. I don't see a solution. 656 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:14,200 I'm not growing in this season. Nothing makes. 657 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:16,480 Sense. But what does make sense is 658 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:17,560 this. I'm a hold on to you. 659 00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:21,400 We must be willing to hold on to God. 660 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:26,560 When Jacob was broken, when he was bruised, when he was 661 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:31,480 exhausted and he wanted to quit, his only solution was to hold on 662 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:35,680 to God. So what happens in verse 27? 663 00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:41,120 It says, what is your name? The man asked Jacob. 664 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:46,640 He replied, Your name will no longer be Jacob, he said. 665 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:52,400 It will be Israel because you have struggled with God. 666 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:58,440 And with men and have prevailed. And then Jacob asked him, Please 667 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,640 tell me your name. But he answered. 668 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:06,320 Why do you ask my name? And he blesses in there. 669 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:10,400 This is a moment that's very similar to the Garden of Eden. 670 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:14,360 If you remember in Genesis chapter 3, right after Adam 671 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:18,040 sins, God is walking. Through Eden in the cool of the 672 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:20,200 day. And if you remember, he asked 673 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:25,080 Jacob, or he asked Adam, where are you Now this is important 674 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:29,520 because God very much knew where Adam was. 675 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:34,040 But we know that the reason that God asked Adam this question is 676 00:36:34,040 --> 00:36:37,240 because Adam needed to confess where he was. 677 00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:41,120 And here's what I want to say. Does God know Jacob's name? 678 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:46,040 Yes, he created it, but he wanted Jacob to admit it. 679 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:49,360 And no, this is so important because earlier in the Bible, in 680 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:54,640 Genesis chapter 3027 and verse 36, there's this contention with 681 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:58,040 Esau after he had been cheated from his birthright and his 682 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:00,280 blessing. And this is what Esau says to 683 00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:03,360 Jacob. He makes a declaration to Jacob 684 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:07,240 of his identity. And so he said, isn't he rightly 685 00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:13,040 named Jacob? Esau says you have the right 686 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:16,080 name, for he has cheated me twice now. 687 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:19,200 He took my birthright and now he has. 688 00:37:19,200 --> 00:37:24,080 Taken my blessing. And then he asked, Haven't you 689 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:27,520 saved a blessing for me? He was talking to Isaac in that 690 00:37:27,520 --> 00:37:30,800 moment. This is so unique and so 691 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:37,280 interesting because Jacob's name was a definition of who he was. 692 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:45,680 And so Jacob's confession of his identity created space for God 693 00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:48,360 to change it. This is so important, this 694 00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:52,320 moment of confession. When he was finally honest, like 695 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:54,680 all of the mess in his life, he said, You know what, that is my 696 00:37:54,680 --> 00:37:56,480 name. That is who I am. 697 00:37:56,480 --> 00:38:01,720 In a moment of confession, Jacob goes from Jacob to Israel. 698 00:38:02,040 --> 00:38:05,720 Jacob goes from heel grabber to the one who wrestles with God. 699 00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:10,080 Jacob goes from the name that defined his past to a name that 700 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:13,240 declared his future. Jacob went from being marked by 701 00:38:13,240 --> 00:38:17,240 deception to being marked by surrender, being marked by the 702 00:38:17,240 --> 00:38:19,480 encounter. Jacob went from shaped by 703 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:26,320 striving for everything to being an identity shaped by God, and 704 00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:30,320 what he's been called to do is to follow him, and that's the 705 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:33,480 God who calls is. Jacob is no longer defined by 706 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:37,640 what other people say or even by what he says about himself. 707 00:38:37,840 --> 00:38:43,120 Jacob is now defined as to who. God calls him to be, and Jacob 708 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:47,840 realized that this truth, that the end of yourself is the 709 00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:51,040 beginning of God. This is so cool. 710 00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:57,840 It was only when Jacob was at the end of Jacob did God give 711 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,040 birth to what was the beginning of Israel. 712 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:05,560 And by the way, that Israel is the same line, the same seed 713 00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:09,200 that gave birth thousands of years later to this man named 714 00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:12,560 Jesus who would save us from the sins of the world. 715 00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:16,920 All from a moment of confession, all from a moment of God 716 00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:22,360 changing his identity. So why must we be willing to get 717 00:39:22,360 --> 00:39:25,680 alone with God? Why must we be willing to 718 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:29,200 wrestle with God? Why must we be willing to hold 719 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,120 on to God? Because when our lives are 720 00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:36,840 touched by God, we are forever changed and forever saved. 721 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:40,920 Just that one moment. Those moments I referenced 722 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:44,440 earlier and baptism in those dark moments and and so many 723 00:39:44,440 --> 00:39:46,840 others moments. Because those moments carry. 724 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:50,400 With us for the rest of our life and I'm forever changed by those 725 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:54,160 moments and the promise of that change is the promise for my 726 00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:56,840 salvation. Yes, I believe in Philippians 727 00:39:56,840 --> 00:40:00,320 1/6 that he who began a good work in you will bring it to 728 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:03,080 completion of the day of Jesus Christ, That if God started the 729 00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:06,840 work, I believe because of his character, he will finish it. 730 00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:09,360 I'm so grateful that. That I don't have to constantly 731 00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:12,680 worry about my performance and I can just rest. 732 00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:15,800 And know that it's in God's hands because He has touched my 733 00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:20,320 life, He has changed my life, and He is and will always save 734 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:22,640 my life. So how does this story? 735 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:27,240 Conclude with Jacob what happens at the end in verse 30. 736 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:32,760 Jacob then named the place Pineal, for I have seen God. 737 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:36,680 Face to face and he said this is so interesting. 738 00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:43,640 He says my life has been spared. My life has been spared. 739 00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:48,720 Now this is so cool because earlier God. 740 00:40:48,720 --> 00:40:52,320 Said that you prevailed, but last time I checked he just 741 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:55,320 lost. Like Jacob does not respond to 742 00:40:55,320 --> 00:41:00,000 his experience saying I almost won, you know, like I was right 743 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:01,920 there. Like I almost made it. 744 00:41:01,920 --> 00:41:06,320 Like that's not how he responds. He responds by recognizing he 745 00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:11,360 literally almost died because he was face to face with the living 746 00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:13,080 God. Now, this is more, this is so 747 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:16,480 important because we know this man is identified as God, but 748 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:21,160 also the Father tells Moses that if you see my face, you will 749 00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:23,640 die. So what's going on here? 750 00:41:23,720 --> 00:41:26,000 How is this possible? There's this character in the 751 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,880 Old Testament called the Angel of the Lord. 752 00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:31,480 And, and this is what most theologians believe 753 00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:35,720 Christophanies or pictures of Christ in the Old Testament, 754 00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:39,120 because if God says you can't see my face or you'll die and 755 00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:41,600 they're seeing his face, that means there's a different 756 00:41:41,600 --> 00:41:44,040 person. Jesus is declared to be the 757 00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:48,360 image of the invisible God. And so here's what happens in 758 00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:52,000 this moment is Jacob does not even realize it, but he's 759 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:54,960 looking the face in the eyes of his future Savior. 760 00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:59,440 Jacob was looking into the eyes of pure grace. 761 00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:03,040 And when he says my life has been spared, it literally means 762 00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:10,240 in Hebrew my life has been. Saved all of this his whole 763 00:42:10,240 --> 00:42:15,520 story face to face with God and he says my life has been saved 764 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:23,880 and God saved Jacob not just for his sake, but for yours, not 765 00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:27,000 just for him, but for you, because God made a promise to 766 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:32,760 Abraham that one day the whole world will be blessed through 767 00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:36,440 this seed. And we have the same opportunity 768 00:42:36,440 --> 00:42:40,520 to receive that blessing and the sit in the man of the eyes that 769 00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:43,880 he looked in God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. 770 00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:49,360 And Jacob was broken and bruised and burdened by sin. 771 00:42:49,720 --> 00:42:52,040 And if you live long enough, you will be as well. 772 00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:57,920 And we can look into the eyes of the same one that Jacob looked 773 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:00,480 into. And so it's easy to think that 774 00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:04,480 Jacob's success. Jacob's strength in Jacob's 775 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:06,440 salvation was because of his skill set. 776 00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:10,200 Because of his gifting, because of his endurance, because of his 777 00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:12,080 faith, because of all these things. 778 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:17,680 But Jacob knew my last point, that his blessing was tied to 779 00:43:17,680 --> 00:43:20,200 his encounter which led to his surrender. 780 00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:24,520 He knew it, this encounter with God. 781 00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:28,960 All of this led to a place of surrender in which God changed 782 00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:32,320 his life. And so we said, success is no 783 00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:35,200 longer my way. Strength is no longer my way. 784 00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:40,280 Salvation is no longer my plan. My success is my surrender. 785 00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:42,920 Jacob was successful as soon as he surrenders. 786 00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:46,680 Jacob was strengthened as soon as he surrendered. 787 00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:52,320 Jacob was saved as soon as he was, as soon as he surrendered. 788 00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:57,280 And for you, it's time to make a decision to mark it on the 789 00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:01,720 calendar to add a reminder. To start walking in the woods to 790 00:44:01,720 --> 00:44:05,840 pitch a tent, to get a get a babysitter, whatever it means to 791 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:10,360 meet with him. And you say, Lord, I'm not 792 00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:14,480 leaving until you bless me like I'm I'm not going to leave. 793 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:17,080 I'm not going to leave until you meet with me. 794 00:44:17,520 --> 00:44:20,240 I'm not going to do I'm going to sit here in this room. 795 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:23,240 And here's the thing and whether that's an answer to prayer. 796 00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:27,320 It could be a new revelation. It could be a change in heart. 797 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:29,800 It could be a removal of the burden of sin. 798 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:32,160 It could be deliverance for something. 799 00:44:32,280 --> 00:44:36,480 Or here's the thing. It could just be more of Him and 800 00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:38,160 the question I have is that enough? 801 00:44:40,280 --> 00:44:43,600 And for those of you that really know God, it is enough. 802 00:44:44,320 --> 00:44:50,080 He is enough. I wasn't planning on telling the 803 00:44:50,080 --> 00:45:02,520 story. It was a few months ago. 804 00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:05,800 I remember the moment so clearly. 805 00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:08,120 My wife and I. I'll say a couple years ago my 806 00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:11,080 wife and I bought a house. We just moved to Lakeland, FL 807 00:45:11,640 --> 00:45:15,760 and it was an old house and, and I saw like the vision for our 808 00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:17,960 family. I saw like this is where I have 809 00:45:18,080 --> 00:45:20,200 a little son. This is where my my son Joshua 810 00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:22,080 was going to grow up. And while my wife and I are 811 00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:24,400 going to raise our kids and this is going to be our home. 812 00:45:24,400 --> 00:45:28,440 And so we, we spent 10s of thousands of dollars to renovate 813 00:45:28,440 --> 00:45:30,080 this house. It was old, it was raggedy. 814 00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:32,240 And we said this is going to be our forever home. 815 00:45:33,320 --> 00:45:36,560 And three months ago I remember the Lord said, I want you to 816 00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:39,080 sell it and move closer to the church. 817 00:45:39,800 --> 00:45:41,960 You know what I said? Absolutely not. 818 00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:45,920 I am not doing that. Lord, you don't understand. 819 00:45:46,200 --> 00:45:50,080 We invested all this time, all of this energy, we invested 10s 820 00:45:50,080 --> 00:45:53,280 of thousands of dollars. Like it is a terrible financial 821 00:45:53,280 --> 00:45:55,520 situation. And so for the course of the 822 00:45:55,520 --> 00:45:59,040 next few months, God and I literally wrestle this out. 823 00:45:59,440 --> 00:46:01,520 I would walk, I would pray, and I would say God. 824 00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:03,200 Well, This is why it's a bad reason. 825 00:46:03,280 --> 00:46:04,920 And This is why it's a bad reason. 826 00:46:05,040 --> 00:46:06,840 And we don't know about our finances. 827 00:46:06,840 --> 00:46:08,000 And he's like, what do you trust me? 828 00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:10,680 I'm like, well, God, yeah, I trust you and I love you. 829 00:46:10,680 --> 00:46:13,440 But like so like we just made this place and and this was 830 00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:14,280 this. Was, you know, this was a 831 00:46:14,280 --> 00:46:16,120 blessing. From you and why would I give up 832 00:46:16,120 --> 00:46:17,880 my blessing Yeah, but but do you trust me? 833 00:46:18,600 --> 00:46:21,720 And I remember saying well, God, you know all this money that's 834 00:46:21,720 --> 00:46:24,800 going to be wasted if if we move is that who gave you the money 835 00:46:25,920 --> 00:46:27,760 wrestling with God. It doesn't work out well for me 836 00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:30,840 and SO. We had this back and forth for 837 00:46:30,840 --> 00:46:33,880 literally months until I said, you know what? 838 00:46:33,880 --> 00:46:35,960 We're just going to do it. I'm going to sell the house. 839 00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:38,760 We're going to trust God. And there was a house that was 840 00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:43,600 literally on the block 2 houses that had been sitting for six 841 00:46:43,600 --> 00:46:46,480 months and eight months. So just sitting. 842 00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:48,360 And so you know what I said in my pride? 843 00:46:48,720 --> 00:46:51,760 Well, God if. You want us to move, you got to 844 00:46:51,760 --> 00:46:54,560 find a buyer. And so I sat there and my 845 00:46:54,560 --> 00:46:57,680 pompous, my pompous self just saying, well, God, you got to 846 00:46:57,680 --> 00:47:00,480 show up. One person saw the house. 847 00:47:00,680 --> 00:47:02,400 It was under contract in 13 days. 848 00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:11,280 And, and, and here, here is the result of it. 849 00:47:11,560 --> 00:47:15,040 I remember that week I had a group of people, one of them is 850 00:47:15,040 --> 00:47:18,480 right here, Mr. Nordby, and a group of other friends that 851 00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:20,800 helped me move. And I remember moving into the 852 00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:27,760 new house and being in that room and surrounded people that loved 853 00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:29,440 me, that cared for me and that I loved. 854 00:47:30,560 --> 00:47:34,600 And I remember asking God, how could I do anything else but 855 00:47:34,600 --> 00:47:40,520 surrender to your will? The joy of obedience is the 856 00:47:40,520 --> 00:47:44,280 greatest treasure because on the other hand of that obedience is 857 00:47:44,280 --> 00:47:47,080 so many blessings. And the on the other end of that 858 00:47:47,080 --> 00:47:49,560 is him. It's just more of him. 859 00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:55,000 And I would say this is if you give the Lord access, he won't 860 00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:58,080 just change some of your life, He'll change all of it. 861 00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:02,360 You'll begin to hear and believe what God says about you when he 862 00:48:02,360 --> 00:48:05,800 calls you son, when he calls you daughter, when he calls you 863 00:48:05,800 --> 00:48:08,640 free, when he calls you redeemed, when he calls you 864 00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:12,480 chosen, when he calls you found when he calls you forgiven, when 865 00:48:12,480 --> 00:48:15,680 he calls you accepted. And there might be some scars 866 00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:19,240 and some wounds. Jacob left with a limp for the 867 00:48:19,240 --> 00:48:22,280 rest of his life. He was permanently partially 868 00:48:22,280 --> 00:48:25,640 disabled. But he left saying that I was 869 00:48:25,640 --> 00:48:32,440 blessed because his limp was a testimony of the God who saves 870 00:48:32,760 --> 00:48:35,360 and if I know my God. He can save you too. 871 00:48:36,480 --> 00:48:39,480 He can save you too. He can save you too. 872 00:48:41,480 --> 00:48:45,160 Let's pray. Heavenly Father. 873 00:48:46,720 --> 00:48:48,920 I thank you, Lord, for the wrestling of hearts that are in 874 00:48:48,920 --> 00:48:53,120 this room right now. There's the back and forth 875 00:48:53,120 --> 00:48:56,720 between the ways of this world and what you're calling them to. 876 00:48:57,960 --> 00:49:03,920 The wrestling was sin of brokenness, of broken identity, 877 00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:10,960 Lord, and you're saying? Come home, you're saying. 878 00:49:10,960 --> 00:49:15,320 Come home. This is an. 879 00:49:15,320 --> 00:49:19,520 Opportunity for you to give your life to the Lord, to surrender 880 00:49:19,520 --> 00:49:23,080 to him as Lord and Savior. In Romans 10/9 it says if you 881 00:49:23,080 --> 00:49:26,880 confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe your 882 00:49:26,880 --> 00:49:29,920 heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 883 00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:34,160 That the eyes of mercy is the Son of Jesus Christ, living a 884 00:49:34,160 --> 00:49:39,360 perfect life, dying on the cross for your sins being and bruised 885 00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:45,280 for your sins put in the grave, rose again on the third day so 886 00:49:45,280 --> 00:49:49,640 he can give you new life. So he can set you free, so he 887 00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:55,720 can change your name to not an enemy of God, but my son, but my 888 00:49:55,720 --> 00:49:59,600 daughter and the Lord is giving you an opportunity this morning 889 00:50:00,120 --> 00:50:02,000 and so on the count of. Three, if you believe. 890 00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:05,400 The Lord is calling you to surrender your life to Him. 891 00:50:05,920 --> 00:50:11,160 I want you to raise your hand 123 Be bold. 892 00:50:11,560 --> 00:50:14,000 Keep the hands raised. Our ushers have a gift to give 893 00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:16,600 you. Once you receive that gift, you 894 00:50:16,600 --> 00:50:18,720 can put your hands down, keep them raised. 895 00:50:18,720 --> 00:50:21,320 It's an act of faith of saying, Lord, I surrender to you. 896 00:50:23,200 --> 00:50:27,440 Thank you Jesus. Rest in this moment, Church. 897 00:50:30,720 --> 00:50:32,320 The Lord is saving people in this moment. 898 00:50:33,240 --> 00:50:35,440 Thank you Jesus. Keep those hands raised. 899 00:50:35,440 --> 00:50:36,880 Once you have that, you can put your hand down. 900 00:50:37,160 --> 00:50:42,920 We're coming to you. Thank you Lord, thank you Jesus. 901 00:50:44,560 --> 00:50:46,680 And if we can say this as a church and for you, those of you 902 00:50:46,680 --> 00:50:51,200 that raise your hand, say this in faith, say Heavenly Father, I 903 00:50:51,200 --> 00:50:55,080 recognize that I am a Sinner and needing of saving. 904 00:50:56,720 --> 00:51:00,600 I confess that I've been living my own life. 905 00:51:01,920 --> 00:51:09,240 Apart from you and I believe that Jesus died and rose again 906 00:51:09,240 --> 00:51:16,320 the third day, conquering sin and death, and I confess that. 907 00:51:16,320 --> 00:51:23,920 Jesus is Lord and Jesus as my Savior and I commit myself to 908 00:51:23,920 --> 00:51:26,640 following him for the rest of my life. 909 00:51:27,520 --> 00:51:32,520 In Jesus name, Amen. Thanks for joining us today. 910 00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:35,560 We hope God is speaking to your heart through this message. 911 00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:39,560 If you'd like to connect with us, you can text Connect to 4:07 912 00:51:40,040 --> 00:51:45,080 588-0115 or visit Illuminate dot Church. 913 00:51:45,560 --> 00:51:46,800 Have a great week.