
Well, I’m back talking about Jacob again. I just can’t leave this fellow alone. And I’m looking at the book of Genesis chapter 32, and I’m going to start reading in a moment at verse 22. But before I do, it’s important that I sort of set this up and help us catch up. We know that Jacob’s grandfather was Abraham. We know that he knew him personally. And that tells me that Abraham had to have imparted to Jacob’s heart and life, the promises of God. Richly he would have ported into Jacob’s life. Jacob even had his own birth.
Something was going on in his spirit because he was reaching out and hanging on to Esau’s heel. He saw being the firstborn. Rightfully would be the inheritor of all of his daddy’s belongings. But he also would be by the fact that he was the firstborn. He would have been carrying on the lineage that had the promise hanging over it. All the nations will be blessed because of your seed. There’s no question in my mind whatsoever that he had an understanding that he was a man of destiny. And you all are people of destiny. God had a plan for his life.
God has a plan for my life. And he was aware of that plan. But I have a question in my mind how much of it resonated in his spirit, in his soul? When Sarah sat down or when his own mother, Rebecca would have sat down and chatted with him about these things, I think he would have been dismissive. Yeah, yeah, I know all that, Mom. Yes, I’m very much aware. Yes, yes. Okay. Okay. I really believe that that was his presence of mind because it didn’t bother him whatsoever
to negotiate with his brother at an awkward moment in his brother’s life. Give me the promise that’s hanging over your head being where the descendants of Abraham and I’ll give you some lunch. It doesn’t make sense to me, but I don’t know how famished Esau was when he said, I’ll give you anything. I need to eat right now. I don’t think I’ve ever been at the point where I’ve been so famished. Now, I almost, I’m always trying to convince April. It’s five o’clock. I think I’m going to drop any moment. Where’s my supper?
There’s just something. There’s just something that suddenly triggers and I become like a bear. And if the food isn’t ready, I’m into the rich crackers and she says, don’t do that. I’m dying. So I guess I laid a little bit to Esau. But did Jacob really know what he was doing? I think he did. But this was not a true, pure spiritual dynamic in him. He wanted that promise. He wanted everything that he could possibly get. Not just his portion, but he wanted his brother’s portion. He wanted that double portion. He wanted to be special in God’s eyes and he wasn’t going to leave it up to the Lord to make that happen. And then it didn’t seem to bother him that he tricked his own father with the help of his mother. He stole something from the whole family.
And as I’ve already mentioned several times, it cost everybody in that family dearly. Whatever kind of the relationship might or may not have been with Jacob and Esau, they’re now bitter enemies and you read that Esau has it in his heart. When my dad’s dead, my brother’s going to be dead, I’m going to see to it. I’m not putting up with this.
His own mother, the last thing that she did for him was to pack him a lunch and say, you better run, your brother’s going to kill you. And Mama never saw her favorite son again. The favorite son, Esau, he was on the else with his own dad, begging dad. Come on Dad. You’ve got to take that blessing away from my brother and give it to me. And there was this spiritual dynamic where the old papa would have said to his son, I gave it to him before God. It was a prayerful moment. It was a sacred moment. I can’t take it back.
And so Esau did not understand in his own mind, it says in the Word, he saw it bitterly with tears, but there was no recounting, there was no opportunity. Now Jacob is running for his life and he’s a fugitive. And he ends up in a place that was familiar to his father and to his grandfather. And there he made it a place of sleep. And you know the story in the middle of the night. He dreamt. It was a dream. It was real to him and dreams can be real. But the reality was a spiritual thing and it resonated in his heart, but he slept through the whole thing.
And when you woke, he was very, very enamored with what went down. And so he chose to build an altar right there. And that’s a spiritual moment in his life. I don’t doubt that. What was his, what was his theme? What was he really trying to do toward God when he made that offering? Well, I think he was kind of trying to bend God’s arm just a little bit when he built that altar because he had spoken lies to his father. He had robbed a blessing. And yet that blessing was a blessing that was coming from God. This is a weird triangle.
God is determined to bless the sons of Abraham. Jacob has stolen that blessing and God is going to honor that blessing because he promised it to Abraham. So I see this fellow now who’s a deceiver, a liar, and a cheater. And quite frankly, he’s a loser and I believe he’s trying to placate God. I believe his spirituality was about 40 miles wide and about half an inch deep. I’ve met a lot of people like that in my journey in life. I pause for a moment to tell you about a friend of mine. I don’t have to worry about him listening in this morning. I doubt that very much. I don’t have to worry about that.
I’ll just tell you his name was Bob. This was my first encounter with someone who was playing a religious game. And it really threw me off. I had lots of friends from my home church. It was Hamilton Bethel. I had lots of friends. And I knew that some of them weren’t walking as closely to the Lord as they might. But none of them were playing games. Bob, however, I got to know when I got a job at a grocery store. And it turned out that he and I, we were the same age. We had lots of likes together.
And we just hit it off. And I found out that he was in the Salvation Army. I dare to say this. If he was Pentecostal or Baptist, I would have spoken it out. He was Salvation Army. And his dad was high up in rank in the Salvation Army. Highly esteemed. So, Bob, I would think in order to placate to impress his dad, did everything that he should have done. But on the side, when we were working in the grocery store and taking a few moments together, he was telling me what was really going on in his life.
He had a girlfriend. And if his dad ever knew what was going on between Bob and his girlfriend, I don’t know. I think his dad would have taken away his French horn. Bob was living a double life. And he was so blatantly upfront with me about it. And I said, but how are you functioning as a Christian? Oh, don’t worry about that. Don’t worry about that. That’s a compartment of my life. Here we go. You know, he’d be up on the, maybe on the platform playing his instrument along with
the others and shining with his little halo and carrying on. But underneath this guy was a, he was a loser. He was a faker. And he was my very best friend for about a year and a half. And then we part a company. I had it, I left town, left home, went to Bible college, and never saw him ever again. I hope that he and that sweetheart of his, I hope they had a happy, wonderful life. And I hope that he got his life together. But there was a guy that was showing up, but I want to use this word. He was showing up when it was time to be religious, but in his heart, he wasn’t present. He was there, but he was not engaged.
I believe that that was Jacob. He was there, but he wasn’t engaged. He was going to do whatever it took to get what he wanted, what he craved from the Lord. But there was no real sense of oneness between Jacob and the Lord. He did whatever he needed to do, or so he thought. It’s interesting though, let’s look at it from God’s side. God desires a relationship with every one of us. God desires this. And so although Jacob was not pursuing God, he was pursuing the benefits of being godly, but he was pursuing it in the wrong way, and it was costing him much. Had to run away from home.
Do you know how long he was away from home? Over 20 years. We know that he worked for Laban, his uncle, for 20-plus years. By the time he left Laban, he had two wives and all kinds, he was wealthy. He had done extremely well. It says he had camels, he had donkeys, he had sheep, he had goats. He had quite a company. He’d have all kinds of servants. When he left Laban, they were a big company of people. And he sent word ahead to Esau to tell him, look, I’d like to make amends for the difficulty. Let’s let bygones be bygones.
Can we be friends again? By the way, I’m going to send you some gifts because, in essence, he’d robbed Esau blind. So now he’s going to send some nice trophies and some gifts. He sent the word, and said, look, we’re on our way. My wives and my children, it’s going to be great. The cousins can get to know each other. He’s kind of pretending like it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay. He gets the word back from the servants he sent, saying, go and tell Esau, and the word comes to him. Oh, Esau is excited to see you all right.
And he’s bringing 400 muscle boundaries with him, 400 people. Jacob’s a very broken man. He’s ostracized from his family. He’s done well for himself. But what good is that going to be if Esau lifts his head off of his shoulders? This is the last thing that he knew of Esau. He’s going to kill me. He’s a very broken man. And so he had a plan. He’s going to send his family ahead of him, hoping that when Esau sees all of his family, sees the wealth, sees these nephews and nieces, it’ll maybe soften up his heart.
And he divided them into two companies, two large groups. And he said, I want one group to go on ahead and I want the other to go on maybe a couple of days lagging behind so that if the first group gets wiped out, maybe some of my family will survive. Here he is still acting mischievous. Here he is still playing games. He’s going to, he had two wives. One was his favorite, his least favorite.
He sent ahead. Go and see if they’re going to bloodlet. You know, like this is a game. This is what this guy’s all about. And by the way, he prayed about this. So these people who are half an inch deep and 40 miles wide, you’ll find them praying. You might even find them reading their Bible. You’ll see them functioning sort of in a Christian way. And yet there’s no depth. God is after people like that, not to bludgeon them and hurt them, but God is after people because God is about relationships. He’s not like in the days of the Pharisees when Jesus came and started ministering among the people of Galilee. The Pharisees were very religious and they had everybody functioning and trying to placate
God. It was the picture of the Jacob thing all over again that they had learned how to docidoe with the Lord. They’d learned how to pray the right prayer. They knew, they knew, can I use this? They knew the Christian ease. They might have walked into the church and it’s a good morning brother, good morning sister. They had in the same seat, the same chair, the same pew forever and ever and somebody led them in their favor at him and then they graciated each other as they left the place and nothing had really taken place.
They’d done their spiritual duty. I believe that Jacob was on what I wrote in my notes as I’ve been preparing this now for two weeks. I wrote in, that Jacob was on autopilot. You’ve got that in your car, some of you. Be careful where you use that. I have got a motorcycle and it’s got crews on it. I seldom use that. When you’ve got crews on and if you’re not paying attention, your level will run into trouble. I had a situation like that which April is going to hear about now for the first time.
You notice there’s about 20 feet between us here and she’s got a lot of weight in that purse and it’s not gold. So I was on a ministry ride. I looked for every excuse to ride my motorcycle and I’m still in that category I was towing a little trailer because in my trailer I had my churchy clothes. This was incredible. I literally pulled into a churchyard one night and a deacon of the church saw this motorcycle guy all dressed up in leathers, whatever and he ran in to tell the pastor, there’s a motorcycle guy and I think he’s coming in this church. The guy was scared to death that one of these terrible motorcycle people, you know how they’re all filthy.
Do you know the difference between an upright vacuum cleaner and a guy who rides a Harley Davidson? With the upright vacuum cleaner, the dirt bag is tied to the handle. I just lost all my Harley friends. And then this guy’s looking through a window. I saw all this happening. He’s looking through the window in the door of the church. This is on Vancouver Island and he sees me open up the lid of this trailer that I had rigged up towing behind my motorcycle and it pulled out a suit bag and I saw that guy disappear now. He’s gone in and found the pastor and said, Dear God, the motorcycle is a preacher and
I went to church to church all over British Columbia out in the mountains. I did it all and I was having the time of my life. This was my invitation. I was at these churches. So now I’m in a particular area of the Rockies and I’m going up a very steep highway. It’s ascending this big mountain and the most beautiful view was over here on my right. Now it’s a sharp drop down, you know, the first step is a lulu. Like it’s going straight down. But at the bottom, I’m ascending. That lake was bad, you got to get your picture out. You’re coming.
You got to take a picture. No, no, you got both your hands on the steering wheel. And so here I am looking at this lake and I’m taking it all in. And in front of me is the rear end of a humongous truck like a transport trailer truck. And I’m looking down and I’m loving it and I’ve got it in cruise control, of course. And at the last moment, I guess I looked up and there’s the taillights and the rear end of that truck. I slammed on brakes as I came within a moment of getting dentures and a rearrangement of, you know, I was close to meeting my maker. So here’s the deal. Was I riding my motorcycle?
I was. Did I have a license? I had a license. Was my motorcycle all lined up with appropriate stop lights and there it was? I was present, but I was not engaged. And that’s a serious offense for a motorcycle that you got to be on your guard and you got to be watching all the time. I have to watch out for people like you because you sometimes you drive and you’re not engaged. You change lanes and there I am putting on the binders trying to stop like it’s a scary thing. And you’ve seen the signs up on the highways, right?
Look all over the place. There are riders out here. It’s saying these riders are idiots. We got to look after these silly guys. You’re present, but you’re not engaged. It can happen in every compartment and department of your life. When I was a youngster, I wasn’t doing well in school. And so the teacher said to me, David, I’ll meet you in the library tonight. We got to figure out what’s going on with you. This actually happened. I sat down on the desk.
She brought me, this teacher brought me a book and she said, all right, you start reading at this page right here. And I’ll give you a half hour. Let’s see how you do. I want you to read and then I’m going to ask you what you just read. I sat there and I read. This is a true story. I don’t have an explanation. A real teacher, a psychologist could probably give you a quick answer and I wouldn’t look very clever if she did. I sat there and I read.
She only left me for about maybe 10, 15 minutes and when she came by, I was still on the page that she directed me to. Where are you, David? I said I’m right there at that word. I was almost at the bottom of the page, all this time, almost at the bottom of that page. She said, now, what did you learn when you read that page? And the answer was, I don’t know. Here’s what I was doing. I was reading every word. I was not connecting them. I was not gathering thoughts.
I wasn’t seeing what the writer had seen. I wasn’t hearing what the writer had heard. I didn’t understand. I wasn’t capturing anything that the writer was trying to communicate with me. There I was. I was reading the book. I was silent as I was supposed to be in this library room. I was doing exactly what I was told. I was present, but I was not engaged. Now, there’s another problem I still have and that is that I drive far too many miles on the stretch between St. Catherine’s and Vineland. Do you know why? I’ll say this even to April and bless her heart. She’ll say, well, I wondered what you were thinking. She doesn’t ask. I wondered what you were thinking because you see, I’m an autopilot and I’m coming down the Queen Elizabeth way and there’s a sign up there that says, Victoria, I don’t look at it. I don’t read it. And the next thing I see is a sign that says Ontario Street. There is no Ontario Street in Vineland.
And I go, I did it again. Do you ever drive your car? You’re present? Are you aware of the traffic?
You’re steering your car? And all of a sudden you realize I missed my turn.
You’re present, but you’re not engaged. So I have a question for David here. I’m not up here to put anybody down. Please don’t misunderstand me. Because at my ripe old age and having preached like this for over 50 years and done all of these wonderful, wonderful things, I’m just as capable of living a spiritual life in autopilot as anybody else in this room. It’d be interesting. Somebody asked you this afternoon, did you go to church this morning? Yeah, I was there. How was it? Oh, the people were great and Joan had a brand new yellow shirt on. It was wonderful. You know, what did the preacher preach about? Ah, do you know how many people will leave churches today? And if somebody asked them, what was the sermon about?
What was the pinnacle moment? What happened in that church service that set you free, that did something for you? And they’ll say, well, I don’t know, it starts at 11, it closes at 12. I think you could rather say, we always start sharp at 11. That’s never the case here. At 11 o’clock, I’m usually like this and I’m grinning because you people are. I’m not going to ask. I’m not going to ask. It’s like an auction and you’re all bidding. I’ll take that right. But in so many churches, the church service starts sharp at 11 and
it ends dull at 12. And we’re fine with that. Oh, I went to church. I did my duty. I lit my candles. I said my prayers. I counted my beads. I did whatever I was supposed to do. 40 miles wide and a half inch deep. That was Jacob. He arose that night after he sent his family away.
Two companies, one ahead of the other. Let’s see who survives. He rose that night and he took his two wives, his two female servants, and his 11 sons and he crossed over a brook. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. Then Jacob was left alone, right where God wanted him. Jacob was totally alone. He was totally alone the night that he experienced the latter and he had a dream. This is where God wanted him. Jacob is alone and this is how it reads, there are no extra words in here. And a man wrestled with him how long until the sun rose.
When I was in my teens, I was being bullied all the time and I had to get my way out of this. I was black and blue. I got bullied all the time. I’d had enough of that. So I joined a wrestling team and I got pretty good at it. But I’m going to tell you what, I’d go to wrestling matches and you were on the floor and on the mat there for about three minutes, and all of a sudden you heard a whistle blow. If you didn’t overcome the fellow, he didn’t overcome you, they’d stop the match and they had to because within three minutes, you’re sweating like a racehorse and you’ve given it everything that you’ve got and you’ve got nothing left to give.
How Jacob wrestled until morning is beyond my comprehension. He must have eaten a lot of butter tarts to give him that kind of strength. He wrestles with a man. When he saw that he did not prevail against him, this was the one who was wrestling with him. The one who was wrestling with him did not prevail. He did not conquer him. Now this one that’s wrestling with him, I’ve done so much reading on it and there’s so much argument out there by, you know, you hear about politics, the lefties and the righties? It’s in the church as well. There are the left-leaning theologians, there’s the right-leaning theolog, there are the liberals, there are the conservatives and near the twain shall meet. And so there are people who actually, I’ve read this. I’ve been working on this for a few weeks in fact. There are those who say he thought he was wrestling his enemy Esau. No, he thought he was wrestling his dead, his dead, who in fact was already dead. The poor fellow was all mixed up. It doesn’t say that. It says it was a man who came and wrestled with him and that man becomes identified as the Lord God himself. So I’ve also spoken about this and if you’ve been safe for very long, you’ve heard this wording before.
It’s a theological term, a theophany. That is God, let’s say in the Old Testament, God is spirit. He’s not flesh and blood. But when God shows up at the tent of Abraham, he speaks to him as a man with man. So that’s a theophany when God appears in a physical form. And I found some righties, some conservatives, some guys who are in my camp who say that was none other than Jesus who was wrestling with him. So I haven’t heard from anybody. I didn’t read anyone that said, well, I believe that God didn’t overcome him because that’s nobody answers that. Nobody wants to deal with that.
But I want to deal with it. I just can’t read on how God did not prevail because God did not plan to prevail. God was lengthening out this wrestling match on purpose and why, you know, the Apostle Paul cries out, oh, but I might know him. God was wrestling with a man whose religion was 40 miles wide and a quarter of an inch deep and God wanted the heart of Jacob because you see, God was counting on the descendants of Abraham that even in this dark hour of world history, God would be able to speak to Israel and be able to minister to God made a promise. He was going to wrestle with Jacob until he got Jacob where he wanted him. And I got news for you, Bunkie. He just might pick a wrestling match with you soon because he wants to get through to you as well. And wrestling with God, it’s a real tussle. It’s such a unique moment. He’d heard the stories about great grandpa Adam and how he lay motionless on the floor of the most beautiful garden ever. And suddenly there was a shadow came over him and it was the Lord God. And it says the Lord breathed into his nostrils. Well, I get very picture-oriented. I see Adam almost scared to death because God face to face is coming closer and closer and closer. And in my mind, I think that Adam gasps out of fear.
And as he does, God blew into his nostrils the breath of life and that man became a living soul. What a unique picture. What a unique story to be able to tell your two sons, Cain and Abel. And of course, they would have gone on and said, Mom, you didn’t have that experience. How did you come? And Adam would have lifted his shirt and said, she came right from there. She’s bone of my bone, flesh up by flesh. Here’s Jacob wrestling. Come on. It’s the middle of the night in the darkness.
This is the one that came down and blew into the nostrils of Adam. This is the same one, but this is in physical form. The disciples saw him in physical form when he would sit down. John would come and lead against his breast. They touched him. A woman touched the hem of his garment and was immediately transformed. There’s Jesus in a manly form wrestling with Jacob, wanting a relationship. Jacob, don’t give me your religious hoopla. Don’t tell me you want to church for the last 30 years. Don’t tell me how many times you read the book. You don’t know me.
You know about me, but you don’t know me. And therefore I can’t say, I know you. Adam is going to argue and say, David, God knows everything. That word, no, is gino so. There’s actually a K in there, Gino Sco. It means intimacy. That’s what it means. And Adam knew his wife, intimacy. Hold on, I might know him. Hold on, I might smell his breath. Hold on, I might feel the warmth of his presence.
Hold on, I know in the middle of the darkness, I don’t know what the doctor meant when he said, I’m concerned about your future. Hold on, I might know this one who would comfort me in the most difficult hours of my life, but my friend. You’ll never know him like that unless you’re willing to wrestle with him. I want to turn this story this way and tell you. If I were to give my message to another title, I would not say, the night that Jacob wrestled with God. The night that God wrestled Jacob.
God initiated it because God wanted intimacy with Jacob. And why?
For the same reason, the first time that April gave birth to a little baby, I’ve told you this before, I picked her up at the hospital in Peterborough, got her back to our room at the college where we were living and I was studying my third year. She’s been, she’s had some difficulty, right? She gave birth. I thought it was killing her. I ran into the classroom during the birthing process, left the hospital, ran in, broke up the whole third-year class, and said, you better get on your knees and pray for April. She’s dying. And the teacher said, David, she’s giving birth. No, she’s dying, I tell you.
I was beside myself. So you know what April went through, just like all the rest of you. Well, like I went through when I had a kidney stone. So she’s bedraggled. She’s worn out. But at 6. 30 in the evening, church starts at 7. I’m fixing my tie. I say, what dress are you going to wear? What are we doing to? We’re going to church. No, no, no, I’m worn out. We have to go to church. Did I want to go and meet with Jesus? Did I want to go and pray at the sacred altar? Nay, nay. I wanted to show off my new, brand-new little baby girl. That’s what it was all about. It was about the baby. Poor. What I ever apologized for that. I will give you something next Valentine’s if I remember.
The moment I saw that brand new child, you know what I wanted? I wanted intimacy. I counted her toes. I did. They’re all there. I counted her little fingers. I sat staring into her eyes. I wanted to say to her, baby, talk to me. Give me a goo goo. Give me something here. We long for intimacy.
And it’s not the child’s responsibility to seek out love, approval, and intimacy with the parent. We all know this. It’s normal. The parent initiates. God initiated a wrestling match with Jacob. And what was God trying to do? He was trying to get Jacob to the point where Jacob would be real with himself. There was going to be a name change at the end of the wrestling match. Jacob was never the same again. He was already wounded in his spirit.
His mother was dead. His father was dead. He’s facing maybe death with his brother. And he’s been reminding God. You promised. You promised. You got to look after me. You can’t let something bad happen to me. You made a promise. He’s cashing in on the promise. Hope, hope, hope, hope, hope.
His pockets were full of rabbits’ feet. Poor little rabbits all over the place with no feet. He’s doing whatever it took to try and placate God to try and get on the winning side. Four-leaf blovers, whatever it takes. He’s desperate. Desperate. Now he’s in a wrestling match with God and God holds him down. And Jacob cries out, can we be done with this? And God says, what is your name? He didn’t want to answer. God means trickster, and liar.
It means loser. He didn’t want to admit it. Do you know how old he is? This isn’t a message for young people. Do you know how old he was at that moment when God said, Jacob, I’m calling you to be real. He was 90 years old. I have 12 years to go till I get real, I guess. 90 years of age, and he still hasn’t grown up. What’s your name? Jacob. Good. You know what that means. But I’m going to change you now. Simon, I’ve chosen to call you Peter, which means rock. Satan wants to shift you and destroy you, but I’m praying for you, I’m on your side. Jesus initiated that commitment. And Jesus, in this moment with Jacob, initiated it at a little river called J-Bok.
New families heading towards an army of 400 defenseless women, camel herders, and sheep herders heading in toward a formidable force. And Jacob encounters God. And God said, no longer are you, Jacob, from now on, don’t listen to Hamas, and don’t listen to those world leaders who say, you don’t exist. I call you Israel, which means he who wrestles with God and wins. Neat now, whoever you are, you’re not listening in, but I’m proud of you, sir. You are on the side of Jehovah God, and you are in Israel. You are a chosen Son of God. You are one who wrestles with God. And why do you wrestle with God? Because Neat now, who God is wrestling with you. That’s what’s going on in the Far East right now. God has picked up and is wrestling with Israel one more time. Do you know the percentage of Israelites?
They’re now Jewish people who actually identify as spiritual Israelites. It’s pathetic, but they’re going to come around and they’re going to win. They’re going to win. But this morning is not about Israel or anything else. It’s about you and me. It’s about David. You know who you are, David? God wants to wrestle you. And if you will entertain that thought, God’s wrestling with some of us now, we don’t like the wrestling mat. We don’t like the testing. I love so much what Joanne spoke to us about last Sunday. If you missed it, go on the internet. She’s still there. You go to our TonyValleychurch. ca and you’ll find Joanne Goodwin. She was here last Sunday. Those of you who are here, remember it. Well, I’m sure. She talked about it, and she didn’t give us all. She never went into the long story that she’s had that battle with cancer. She’s lost 140 pounds, but she’s winning.
But she talked about, as a Christian, how come this is all happening to me? I’m putting it in my own words. This is what I heard in my head. How come I’m facing this? She actually did this on the platform. She was facing this and then she was facing this and then she was facing this. How come? Turn those things, what she called, into memorials where she chose not to hate these things and not to despise these things. And don’t ask God anymore why, but she chose those places, those things as a meeting place with God to allow God to wrestle with her.
The woman that you saw last Sunday is not the woman that I have known in the past two years. That woman on the platform last Sunday. She’s a princess in the eyes of God, but she had to go through this problem and this God wrestled here, God wrestled, and she won. She won the day and she came here. She’s a trophy of grace. She chose to come and tell us life is hard. God will wrestle you, but if you will wrestle with him and work until the morning when you’re totally wiped out, you will win. Because when God chooses to wrestle you, he’s setting to bless you. Do you know what it says?
I got too close. It says, and God blessed him. I love it. What does that mean? When the wrestling match was over, God knelt. Not going to break his arm or beat up his hip now. God took him in his arms. God blessed him. From that moment on, Israel formerly Jacob knew. God truly was on his side. Not just for Abraham’s sake, Abraham, Isaac, but now Jacob.
Jacob, I chose you. It took 90 years to get your attention. 90 years. God, I finally got your attention. Wow. You know what I like about stories? They don’t hide anything. You see all the warts and the moles? Do you smell all the rotten smells? It leaves out the dirty language, thank God, but everything else is there. The pornographic images are really in word form. God doesn’t hide any of it. David, a man after God’s own heart, chases another man’s wife. Dear Lord, God doesn’t hide the facts because he knows that we live in the real world and he knows our fabric.
He knows that we are just dust. And in order to bless me, He chooses to wrestle me. He holds me down and I beg. Let me go. Let me go. I’m not letting you go. You’re here for the whole tournament, David. So suck it up, buttercup. I want you. I want to know you and I want you to know me. So I just have to crowd you as I finish now. Your spiritual appetite and your relationship with God, how does it compare with? How long have you known the Lord? Ten years, twenty years, fifty years. Your relationship with him is at tighter or is it looser? How are you doing? You mustn’t answer me. You need to talk to yourself.
You can fake it with me. You could say, I’m fine, Dave. You can’t do that with him. The people who were with Joe during that last election bid down in the cave, where everyone was in the basement, they knew the truth. You can’t hide from God. It’s really important that you compare me with me. Where was I ten years ago in my walk with him? Am I wearing out this book the same as I used to? Is my prayer life still on the edge? Is my passion for Him still warm and a glow?
Am I still a man of integrity? Can I say I know him? Intimacy. I know him. I was going to close and I will, but I just got another thought. And with this, I might close. If we were to go back in the time of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, and we’re going to take a TV camera with us and a microphone, and we roam throughout all of that area, and we’re looking for people who knew this mysterious man whose name is Jesus. You’re going to find thousands of people saying, I know him. You’re going to find at least 5,000 people who say, oh, know him.
I had lunch with him. He served bread and fish. It was fabulous. There was food enough left over. I knew him. He raised my son from the dead. Another group, 70 of them. All of us, all 70s, he sent us out. We were his ambassadors. We knew him. But 12 will show up and say, oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah, they had lunch, but we were actually doing the serving of the lunch. We saw the miracle manifested. We were in the front row there. We saw it all. It would be a couple of fellows that stand up and say, but of the 12, I was up on the Mount Transfiguration. You’ll read it in the record later on. It’ll be there. I was there when Jesus was transformed for that moment. And I heard the voice of God. This is my son here, him.
I got so excited. I said, hey, Jesus, we should pitch a 10 here and stay here. He felt like Jacob. I found the house of God. Here’s the ladder. Let’s stay here. I was there. Then you’d have John, who quietly and in most humble ways say, it’s recorded. I’m the disciple that he loved. How well did you know him? You know, I thought I knew him, but it’s recorded in the first chapter of the book of Revelation.
My experience. I was on the Isle of Patmos. I was ostracized from society. I was being punished for being a Christian. And I saw him, the one who I would serve. Master, here’s a cup of water. Don’t let me look after that for you. I always sat right beside him. Nobody ever took my space. That was my place. But you read my story.
Revelation chapter 1, when I saw him, I felt like a dead man. I thought I knew him, but they’re face to face. I saw him. Was an incredible moment. How well do I know him? Some of you might know him better than me. This is not a contest. I want to know him. I want Paul the Apostles’ Prayer to be my prayer. Oh, oh, that I might know him. Oh, I want to know him.
There’s more to that verse, and it’s another whole sermon. I’m stopping there. Oh, that I might know him. Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus. And thank you for the man Israel, who’s now one of the most powerful, notable nations in the whole world. Thank you that you pursued a loser, a trickster, a liar, a deceiver. You pursued him. You chose him.
And you initiated that wrestling match. You were not there to hurt him. You were there to bless him, but you had to get his attention. Lord, I don’t know what it’s going to take for you to get my attention. I’m saying words here today, but do I know you as I should, and is our relationship as you would have it. So, Lord, I pray for these my friends that they will know you. They will know they will sense your smile. They will know that you are with them.
Lord, I’m with you always. We want to know you deeply, and passionately. I ask that we will find a way to submit to you and not be afraid of a wrestling match with God. In Jesus’ name, amen. It’s a good chance.
God bless you.