Look at Revelation chapter 3
with me for just a moment. Revelation chapter 3. Here in verse 15, the Lord gave
the church at Laodicea these sobering words. He said, I know
thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert
cold or hot, so then because thou art lukewarm, neither cold
nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Now what would cause
a man or a woman, a professing believer, one who claims to know
Christ, to be so indifferent? so lukewarm. Well, here's what
the Lord told him, and this is what he's telling every professing
believer who is at best lukewarm. Verse 17, Because thou sayest,
I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. And knowest not that thou art
wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. By nature men and women think
that on their own they are spiritually rich. They think that they are
increased with the gifts of God and they think that they have
need of nothing until God reveals to them otherwise. And that's
the only hope that any sinner has of salvation, and that's
the revelation of God. They don't see that they're wretched,
that they're miserable, that they're poor, blind, and naked. Will we ever learn, I ask dear
friends, that God is going to bring His people to the end of
themselves. And He does so by showing chosen
sinners their state and their condition before Him who is holy
and righteous. As the Lord wrestled with Jacob,
He asked him, what is your name? What's your name? Did the Lord
not know his name? Well, of course He did. He's
making Jacob confess to who he is and what he was. What is your
name? Jacob. This revelation comes
before the blessing ever does. It's just the way God does it.
He shows the sinner who and what they are before he blesses them. What is your name? My name's
Jacob. He makes us see that we're deceivers,
that we're supplanters, that we're wrongdoers, that we're
sinners. And it's upon this confession
that God changes Jacob's name to Israel, which means Prince
of God. One who prevails with God. And I remember when God changed
my name. My names are mentioned here in
verse 17. Wretched. That's my name. A sinner who was once far from
God and dead in sin. Miserable. The scripture says,
in this world we are of all men most miserable. Poor, spiritually
poor with nothing, absolutely nothing to offer God. Blind,
no sight to see God, His Son, or their grace. Naked, we have
no covering of righteousness that would commend us to God. Then God changes His people's
name to Israel. He now calls me son. Dear sisters in Christ, He now
calls you daughters. God says, and I will be a father
unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the
Lord Almighty. My, what an encouraging word. We're heirs of God. Join heirs
with Christ. All that belongs to God belongs
to us. No longer a sinner, but a saint. Oh, and I still blush when someone
refers to me as a saint of God, but it's not because of anything
that I've done, it's because of who I'm found in. Saints of
God. I was once ungodly, but now God
calls me holy. And I was once unfaithful, but
now the child of God is called faithful. Not only has God given
His name, His people a new name, but also in Christ, He's given
them a new nature. If any man be in Christ, that's
the key. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature, a new creation. Old things are passed away and
behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. You
see, when the Lord blesses his people, he touches them and they
never walk the same again. And I'm still limping through
this life. But my limping is a constant
reminder of God's mercy and God's grace to me by his touching me
and blessing me in Christ. As we saw last time, my sinew,
which represents my strength, has now shrank. And I have decreased
because I must. And Christ has increased for
he must. Isn't that what John said? I
must decrease, he must increase. And friends, not only does the
child of God have enough in Christ, we have all things, all things. So let's pick our study up again
tonight in Genesis chapter 33. Genesis chapter 33, verse one. I pray that this will be an encouragement
to you who know Christ. And Jacob lifted up his eyes
and looked, and behold, Esau came, and with him 400 men. And he, Jacob, divided the children
unto Leah and unto Rachel and unto the two handmaids. Now keep
in mind that these twin brothers had not seen nor spoken to each
other in 20 years or more. At that time, 20 years previously,
Esau had swore to kill Jacob. And here he comes with 400 men
of war. Make no mistake about it. Esau
is coming with the intention of defending all that he has
accumulated in his lifetime. He would defend it unto death.
You see, he had sold the birthright and Jacob had stole the blessing.
And no sooner than he did, you know the story, Jacob went into
the house of Laban and remained there 20 years where he worked
14 years for his wives and then six years longer. And God blessing
him and the accumulation of his wealth. And here comes Esau,
400 men, and he's gonna show Jacob who's boss. Yet notice
that Jacob comes in humility. He comes willing to be Esau's
servant. We've seen that in the previous
studies when he sent these gifts out in Threes. He said, let thy servant, and
he called Esau Lord. Willing to be Esau's servant,
willing to humble himself to his brother, yet remember, that
Jacob is God's man. Jacob was the man that had received
the blessing, even though by deception, but also according
to the purpose of God, because God had said the elder, Esau,
shall serve the younger. Why? Because God had said the
elder shall serve the younger. That's why he would. But Esau's
not gonna have any part of it. Esau comes with murder in his
heart. But Jacob comes in love. Jacob
had sent gifts ahead. Jacob sought reconciliation. Jacob sought fellowship and friendship. And Jacob comes giving, Jacob
comes humbly, and Jacob comes in fear. That's how believers
come for forgiveness. Yet it seems as though Jacob
hopes for the best and prepares for the worst. You know, that's
what religious people do. They say they believe and trust
in Christ alone, but then they personally try to do all they
can to secure their salvation. And Jacob here acting more like
a religious unbeliever than a man who had just prevailed in wrestling
with God. He acts like a man with no faith. Had he really believed God? He
would have found no need to act so foolishly, but here's what
he did. Look at verse two. And he, Jacob, put the handmaids
and their children foremost, or in the front, and then Leah
and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. Now man's actions often display
the true affections of his heart. You can count on that. According
to his degree of love and his affection for them, he sets the
handmaids and their children in the front, and then Leah and
her children after them, and then Rachel and Joseph, who was
the only son at this time that Rachel had in the rear, because
he loved them the most. Now look at verse 3. And he passed
over before them and he bowed himself to the ground seven times
until he came near to his brother. Now it's an Eastern custom and
courtesy. It's a show of respect to bow
to another this way. But bowing seven times is a bit
much. Again, Jacob's heart's revealed.
He's scared to death of his brother. He'll do anything to find mercy. Jacob goes from clinging to Christ,
the divine wrestler, to prostrating himself before a man, his brother. And again, we see the sad inconsistencies
of even the saints of God. Sad inconsistencies. Instead
of trusting God to manage his affairs with Esau, Jacob again
resorts to his own old devising. Will we ever learn? I wonder
sometimes. I ask myself that question. Will
I ever learn? Will I ever fully trust in God
as I should? Motivated by fear, Jacob takes
the place of complete submission to his elder brother. Had God
not said, the elder shall serve the younger? Had God not told
him to go back home to his family? He said, I'll bless you and your
seed. You'll be as numerous as the
sand of the sea. You know, it's one thing to show
respect and honor. We should. to one another and
to others. It's one thing to conduct ourselves
in humility. We ought to. But it's another
thing to fear man more than God. That always leads to trouble.
That's always dangerous. To fear a man is unbecoming to
God's children. It'll cause a man to act less
than a man. And it'll cause a man to compromise
the gospel. The fear of man bringeth a snare,
the scripture says, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord
shall be safe. Proverbs 29, 25. And oh, may
we never forget that the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. He turns it however he pleases. Shouldn't that give us great
comfort that man cannot do unto us what God does not allow him
to do? Oh, that we might learn to rest
right there in the providence of God. You know, Elijah, he
faced the 400 prophets of Baal and soon after he ran in fear
from a woman named Jezebel. David went out and faced Goliath
fearlessly, and soon after ran and hid in fear of Saul. Jacob is anxious here to prove
to Esau that he desires no claim of authority over him. He's rather
willing to serve him. And was this the reason? Was this the reason of what happened
here in verse 4? Look at it with me. And Esau
ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and
kissed him, and they wept. Did Esau do this because of the
gifts that Jacob had sent ahead? Did Esau do this because Jacob
had told his servants to address Esau as Lord and to address Jacob
as his servant? Was Jacob's submission to Esau
the reason that Esau ran to him, embraced him, fell on his neck,
and kissed him? Absolutely not. No way. And it's here that we'll miss
a great lesson concerning the power, the goodness, and the
faithfulness of God. There's no doubt in my mind that
Esau's reception of Jacob would have been much different had
not God sovereignly intervened. You see again, the King's heart's
in the hand of the Lord. Esau's heart was in the hand
of the Lord. God turns it however He's pleased. God Almighty, according to His
promise, had decreed that envious heart of Esau to deal kindly
with Jacob. Don't miss that. Don't miss that. Yes, Jacob had prayed, but we
know that it's not prayer that changes things. It's the God
to whom we pray who changes things. And I was thinking today, we
may never, in this life, see all the things that God, by His
mercy and grace, spares us of in this life. He's working on
our behalf. Paul said he's working all things
together for the good of them that love the Lord. And we love
that verse and we rejoice in that verse, but let's never forget
it. It says all things, not just
good things, not just things that make us happy, but all things,
all things God works together for the good of his people. May
we simply trust in the God who works all things for our good
and for His glory. All that God might teach us,
that God might enable us to grow in the grace and in the knowledge
of Christ that we may walk by faith and not by sight. I want to walk by faith, don't
you? Absolutely. Now I want us for the remainder
of our time to consider what God is teaching us here. Esau and Jacob are examples of
something far greater than simply the sinful lives that they lived.
We have much more here than just an account or just a history
of two men and how they lived. Put your marker here in Genesis
33 and look back at Genesis chapter 25, if you would. We'll come
right back to chapter 33, but look at Genesis chapter 25. We
looked at this when we were in this chapter, but let's look
at it again. Verse 23. Genesis 25, verse 23. And the Lord said unto her, that
being Rebekah, Jacob and Esau's mother, he said, two nations
are in thy womb. You see that? And he says, and
two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels. And
the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the
elder shall serve the younger. So first thing we see here is
that Jacob and Esau represent two nations. They represent two
manner of people. The Lord is teaching us something
about salvation here. This is talking about much more
than just two boys and their individual lives. These two boys,
according to Romans 9, a passage you're very familiar with, they
were born Before they had done any good or evil, they were set
aside to teach us something of God's purpose of grace in election
or in choosing. First, we see that God does the
choosing. We can't choose if we're not
born yet. And it shows us that God chooses us based on nothing
but His own mercy and grace because the children not being yet born,
neither had done any good or evil. So we learn right off the
bat in the lives of these two boys that it's God who chooses,
it's God who calls, it's God who saves. Apart from anything
that the sinner themselves does. That's what election is about.
It's unto salvation. It shows us how God saves sinners. Through these twin boys, God
is going to teach His people that salvation is not of works,
but of Him, of God, who calleth. Have you learned that yet? Now back in chapter 33, Let's read a few verses here,
beginning in verse five. And he, Esau, he lifted up his
eyes and he saw the women and the children and he said, who
are those with thee? And Jacob said, the children
which God hath graciously given thy servant. Then the handmaids
came near, they and their children. and they bowed themselves. And
Leah also with her children came near and bowed themselves. And after came Joseph near and
Rachel and they bowed themselves. And Esau said, what meanest thou
by all this drove which I met? What was the purpose of all these
gifts that you sent out to me? And he said, these are to find
grace in thy sight, in the sight of my Lord. And Esau said, I
have enough, my brother, keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee,
if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present
at my hand. For therefore I have seen thy
face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased
with me. He said, Take, I pray thee, my
blessing that is brought to thee, because God hath dealt graciously
with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took
it. Now that's a very interesting
passage of scripture. Here we have two brothers who
are absolutely total opposites. We saw that in the beginning
when they were born. Both of these boys are great
sinners. God loves Jacob and he hates Esau. But it's not because
Jacob was good. Jacob was probably Worse than
Esau if you kept tabs on something like that. If you had a grading
system, he'd probably score higher than Jacob did. God has purposed
two different outcomes for these two men. Remember, though both
wretched sinners, they represent two manner of people. They represent
first those whom God has chosen and those whom God passes by. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. They represent those who are
believers in Christ, and they represent those who are not. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. They represent those who are
God's children, and then everyone else, two manner of people. When it comes down to it, we're
all sinners. Some are saved by grace and others
are passed by. Did you notice that both Jacob
and Esau claimed to have enough? They both had enough materially,
but I can assure you that both did not have enough spiritually
speaking. Believe me, friends, when I say
that God is teaching us here something about salvation according
to the doctrine, the teaching of election, of God's choosing,
God saving the sinner, God having mercy on whom He'll have mercy. We need to learn that. We need
to learn who is the author and the finisher of our faith. God
has purposed these things concerning Jacob and Esau. One of them is
loved, Jacob. The other one is hated, Esau. One of them is saved, Jacob. The other is deceived, Esau. One of them has enough. The other
doesn't. But Esau claims to have enough.
He's saying here that he doesn't need Jacob's pity. He's saying
here that he doesn't need Jacob's help. He has no interest at all
in the gift of grace given to him. He has enough. He's done all right on his own. No thank you. I'm doing all right on my own.
I'm doing just fine. But notice what Jacob claims.
Look at verse 11 again. Jacob said, take, I pray thee,
my blessing that is brought to thee because God hath dealt graciously
with me and because I have enough. You see, only those to whom God
graciously deals with truly have enough. Did you hear what I said? Only those whom God graciously
deals with truly has enough. Only those to whom God graciously
deals with truly are content. The scriptures do not say that
contentment is great gain. The scriptures are very clear
in saying that godliness with contentment is great gain. This is talking about being content
in and with the Lord Jesus Christ. This is talking about much more
than just about how many cows these two men had. When they say, I have enough. Oh, this is talking about much, much, much more than earthly
possessions. That may have been what Jacob
and Esau were talking about, but that's not what God's talking
about. There are many, many who profess to know Christ that seem
content and claim, I have enough. We all know folks who trust in some sort of God. They attend church, but they
don't attend the things of Christ. They claim to love Jesus, but
it's that other Jesus who begs for their love. This is another
Jesus altogether. They claim that Jesus died for
their sins, but they trust in a work of righteousness that
they do instead of the perfect work of righteousness that only
Christ could do. And they say, I've got enough.
I have enough. But they're weighed in the balances
And they're found wanting. Their assurance is a false assurance. Now I want to give you two things
in finishing. And I want you to take these
home with you and think about them. These two things are very
important for one of these twins was falsely assured. We know
who it was. They both said, I have enough,
but one of them is sadly mistaken. First thing, false assurance
comes from an ignorance of our condition before God. I can assure
you that Esau had never entertained the thought that he might be
hated of God. His father knew God. His mother
knew God. His grandfather and his grandmother
knew God, and now he discovers that his twin brother knows God. And I can assure you, certainly
Esau thought that he knew God too. Esau had sold his birthright
for a bowl of soup. He had disobeyed God in taking
Canaanite wives unto himself. He had shamed his father and
mother in doing so. He had separated himself from
God and His ordinances and His commandments. Yet, he's perfectly
content. Isn't that alarming? Oh, that's
so alarming to me. He says, I have enough. I have
enough. Don't worry about me. I may not
go to church. How many times have you heard
this? I may not go to church but I'm as good as those hypocrites
that do. I have enough. I have enough. Now listen, men
and women who claim to be a Christian and never attend the hearing
of the gospel, they deceive themselves into thinking that they have
enough. Esau would have told you that
he wasn't perfect, but he certainly didn't think himself to be a
child of wrath. I can assure you of that. Not a child of wrath as even
as others. And how damning, I'm telling
you, it's so damning, a lack of knowledge concerning our condition
before God. The problem with men and women
And their lack of any need for Christ is that they really don't
believe that they're dead. They really don't believe that
they're dead in trespasses and sin. Oh, I'm telling you, I'd
have you to know that the child of God who says, I have enough,
has enough only because they have Christ who is all. If you
have a marginal Bible here, you may notice there in verse 11,
When Jacob says, I have enough, the margin tells us that his
words could have been better translated, I have all things. Esau says, I have enough. And
Jacob says, I have all things. Child of God, you have all things. Matthew Henry said this, he said,
Esau's enough was much, but Jacob's enough was all. He that has much would have more,
but he that thinks he has all is sure he has enough. The man or woman who believes
and trusts in Christ has all things. Why? Because all things
are yours. And ye are Christ's and Christ
is God's. Child of God, God himself is
yours. You know, I read that verse of
scripture where the Lord God says, I'll be their God. And
I take that as far as I can. He's my God. He's my God. He said, I'll be their God and
they shall be my people. Even though all things are yours
in Christ, you can even get beyond that when you say that God Himself
is yours. The Eternal Father gives Himself
to His people with all His glorious attributes. God is on your side. God is on your side. Isn't that
a glorious thought? God's on my side, Larry. Why
should I fear man? Oh my, for the Father loveth
you because you've loved me and believed that I came from God,
Christ said. John 16, 27. The Son of God has
loved you and gave Himself for you. Greater love hath no man
than this, that he lay down his life for his friend. Do you hear what this gospel
declares? Do you really hear it? Do you
hear it with ears of faith? Do you rejoice in the fact that
Christ is yours? That God is yours? Oh, Christ
is mine. All the merit of His atoning
sacrifice is mine. When God looks at me, He now
sees perfection because of the work that Christ did on the sinner's
behalf. All the love of His heart is
yours. All the wisdom of His mind is
ours, for we have the mind of Christ. All the power of His
arm is ours. If God be for you, It can be against you. Who? If God be for you. His very life is yours, for He
says to you, because I live, you shall live also. Now if I
put any confidence in having eternal life because of something
that I do, then I have very little hope. But when I put all my hope
and confidence in what Christ has done for me, I can say because
He lives, I shall live also. What a blessing. Friends, in
other words, if you have Christ, you have enough. You have enough. You have enough because of who
you have. You have enough because you have
Christ. You have enough because Christ is all and in all and
Christ is all I need for in Him is found all that God requires. Isn't that a simple message?
Lord help me to believe it. And the second thing I want you
to see here is sinners have false assurance because they're ignorant
of the true character of God. God saves whom He wills. Men
say they believe that, but I wonder. God is sovereign and He has mercy
on whom He'll have mercy, and He has compassion on whom He
determines to have compassion. And that's something that Jacob
learned. Sadly, Esau never did. Who made the difference? Who made the difference? God
did. God reveals to some, and others,
He doesn't. And men say, or Paul asks, is
there unrighteousness with God? Men claim that there is. That's
not fair, they say. Oh, be careful what you charge
God with. God reveals to some, and others,
is there unrighteousness with God? Paul says, God forbid. Do
you remember Jacob's recent prayer? Look at chapter 32, verse 10. He says, I'm not worthy. He's
praying unto the Lord, and he says, I'm not worthy of the least
of all thy mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed
unto thy servant. Friends, salvation is by the
revelation of God. God's got to show it to you.
Verse 11, he said, deliver me, I pray thee from the hand of
my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he
will come and smite me and the mother with the children. Friends,
deliverance is by the power of God's hand. You see that in this
prayer? Look at verse 12. And thou says,
I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of
the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude." Friends, all
goodness comes to us by the will of God. I have good reason and you have
good reason to think that God loves you. You know why? Because he loved Jacob. And yet, on the other hand, we
should have great concern, especially when we, based upon our actions,
we should have great concern that God might deal with us as
He did Esau. But that's what makes God's sovereign
grace and mercy so beautiful, isn't it? What great mercy that
God doesn't give us what we deserve. I deserve eternal wrath, eternal
judgment, eternal condemnation. That's what I deserve. And what
great grace that God gives to me what I don't deserve. Christ. He gives me Christ. He
gives me His perfect righteousness. eternal life in Him. And I sing in my heart that song,
Christ the Solid Rock. I need no other argument. I need
no other plea. It is what? Enough. I have enough. It's enough that
Christ died and that He died for me. Oh, may God truly enable
you and I to say, I have enough. We do if we have Him, don't we?