and that our conscience shall
be free. Our Lord said there in Luke 13 to His
disciples, strive to enter in. Now, we preach, I believe we
preach very clearly that salvation is by grace. not works. Salvation is of the Lord. God the Father chose a people
before the foundation of the world, wrote their names in the
Lamb's Book of Life, ordered everything concerning them, and
ensured their salvation is certain. He gave them to Christ who came
in time lived as a man for them, kept that law that they broke,
kept it perfectly. They couldn't keep it, and he
did. He did it for them. And that righteousness that he
worked out, established, charged it to them. And they're justified
by that. went to the cross and became
sin for them. He was made sin. And God Almighty
saw His people guilty and killed them. They were crucified in
Christ. And then those people in time
are regenerated. They are made alive
by the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit of God comes
in time through the preaching of the gospel. and calls them. It's the Spirit
of Christ. It's His voice. And quickens
them. Opens their blind eyes. Gives
them a new heart. Forms Christ in them. A new creature
is created that cannot sin, will not sin, and will be forever
saved with the Lord. If anyone is saved, God saves
them. If anyone is kept God keeps them. That's
what saved me. He gets all the glory. It's all
to the praise of the glory of His grace. However, our Lord said to His disciples,
if you don't strive to enter in, you won't enter. Now, I'm not going to try to
explain that. That's what our Lord said. He
turned to His disciples and said, I'll tell you if you don't repent.
Well, hadn't they already repented? Yeah. But it never stops. He said, strive. The word strive
means fight. Fight. Struggle. It's a struggle. Contend with. This message was
born, I was reading Revelation 3. All the letters to the churches
fly to all of us. And especially the one to, I
think it's, I'll write it down. I'm not sure which one it is. He said to the preacher there,
you strengthen the things that remain. And I began to think about some
who had left here. They're still leaving. And I began to worry about them,
about this church. The fact of the matter is, our
Lord said, if we don't repent, it's a lifelong thing. We never stop turning. That means
turn. And unless He turns us, we won't
be turned. But the fact is, He said that
you repent. Turn. Turn from. There are a lot of things to
turn from. If we don't call on the Lord, whosoever shall call
on the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's not years ago
and then you quit. No, no, no, no. Call. Call. Call. The story of the widow who kept
calling on the king by her continual coming, continual coming. He said, and he ended that by
saying, when I come to this earth, will I find faith like that?
Will I find anybody to keep company? The Lord looked down on the children
of man to see if there were any that he'd understand, any that
he'd seek. He said, except you seek the
Lord. Have you ever sought something? Really look for something. You don't stop until you find
it. That's what it means to seek. He said, if you'll seek me, search
for me, you'll find me when you search for me with all your heart. Except we ask. Ask continually. Continually. Our Lord said, pray without ceasing. What do we do in prayer? Ask. We're just asking, asking, asking,
begging, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me. Except we knock. He said, knock.
Have you ever been locked out of a house, whether intentionally
or unintentionally, and you want in? If you want in bad enough,
what will you do? Boom, boom, boom. Except we continue in the faith.
What does that mean? You keep coming. You keep coming
to Christ. You keep hearing. You keep believing. Paul said this. He said, I haven't arrived yet.
He said, but this one thing I do.
Forget those things that are behind, he said. toward the mark for the price.
He said, I've been apprehended, but I want to lay hold of him. I want my hands on him. That's
what Paul said, Nancy. I want to put my hands on him,
like Thomas, except I see the nail prints in his hand and his
side. I won't believe. I won't believe
I've made it. You haven't. You haven't. We're not there
yet. None of us. Not one of us is
there yet. We believe Brother Joe is. He
died in the faith, didn't he? Huh? I don't have any doubts
about him. I doubt myself. I vouch for you. Some that were here for years,
years, hadn't seen them in months. I've heard preachers say, except
we hold fast to the end, the beginning of our confidence.
We'll miss. We'll miss Christ. Right? That's
what Scripture tells us. We'll fall away. I've heard preachers,
false preachers say this. No, I've heard some true ones
say this. They said, trust the Lord as if everything depended
on Him. But work and act as if everything
depended on you. No, that's not true. You'll never
hear me saying that. Don't ever act like anything
depends on you. Oh no, you'll never hear me say
that. But here's what I will say. Lay hold of eternal life. Keep repenting, calling, seeking,
asking, knocking. Hold fast. Lay hold of the gospel
and never let go as if your life depended on it. For you and your children, support
this gospel. Ensure that this gospel is still
preached from this place. Because this is the only gospel
there is. I know that's a fact. And support it as if your children's
soul depends on it. And it does. God's Word says strive. That
means struggle. Some people just quit. It's easy
to quit. Fights. Strive means to contend
with an adversary. We're not wrestling with flesh
and blood. He says, lay hold. That means
to seize. Have you ever laid hold of something?
That means you grab it like, I am not going to turn loose
of this for dear life. Like a desperate man grabs hold
of a life. He's drowning and somebody throws
him a lifeline. Have you ever held on to something
for dear life? I have. Hold fast. That's what it says.
That means squeeze. Hebrews 11 says, these all embraced
the truth. That means they hugged it. Maurice
says, hug up. Squeeze tight. Hold on for dear
life. Because Moses wrote, these aren't
vain words. This is your life. It really
is. Genesis 32. Genesis chapter 32 is our story. It's the story of Jacob. Somebody's
wrestling with him. And he's wrestling back. He's
wrestling back with all his might. Somebody laid hold of him, buddy,
and he knew it. He knew it. From the rest of
his life, he knew it. And, buddy, he wrestled back.
By the grace of God, yes. Jacob is the story of all God's
peoples. How a living Lord, a real living
person lays hold of His people. This is not a cunningly devised
fable or some mere sermon by a man to get people motivated
and all that. This is real. This is really
it. Christ said, My sheep are going to hear My voice. is the
same yesterday, today, and forever. The same One who came and grabbed
hold of Jacob is to this day doing that to all the sons of
Jacob, John. Every one of them. Jesus Christ
comes through the preaching of the gospel. Grabs them. And buddy, they grab back. Jacob 24 says, Genesis 32, He
is left alone. And there wrestled a man with
him. till the breaking of the day. Jacob. Jacob's the one the Lord chose
to come wrestle with. Not Esau. Jacob, He said, have
I loved. That's who God said He loved. But if you're loved, you're loved
by God. With an afterlast, Jacob have
I chosen. I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. I'm the Lord, therefore, you
sons of Jacob. or not concerned. Fear not, thou
worm, Jacob, I have redeemed thee. Happy is he that hath the
God of Jacob for his help. Oh, thank God, Jacob, thank God
that the Lord came to him. He wouldn't have come to Jacob.
Jacob's running. Jacob's running from everybody
and everything. Jacob, chosen by God, loved by
God, redeemed by Christ, and wrestled with. That's how you
know he's one of the Lord. The Lord wrestled with him. And
he wrestled back. It says Jacob was left alone. A wrestling match is not between
two people. I mean, three people. Four people. It's not team, tag. This is one
man. This is a man wrestling with
a man. He was left alone. is when God Almighty comes to
a man personally, a woman personally. God Almighty brought Jacob to
Himself here. Jacob, everybody else is gone. It's just Jacob. He's alone with
his thoughts. He's alone with his fears. He's
alone with his worries. He's alone with his sin. He's
alone with his... His doubts. He's alone. He's
alone. He's alone with his feeling of
helplessness. He's alone. Jacob's alone. Salvation is coming to a man
or a woman when God Almighty brings them to themselves to
make them feel helpless, hopeless, scared. There's no one to help.
It's just me. Just you. And God's going to
deal with you. Tell me, every one of you who
feel like the Lord has spoken to you, was it not so that when
you first heard the gospel, did you not feel like you were the
only person in that room? Do you remember that? I do. I
remember distinctly. I remember the preacher looking
at me. I thought, he sees right through my soul. I remember thinking,
I'm the only one in here. And you know, that never ends.
Well, I don't know how many times I've heard various ones, every
one of you at some point, say to me after a message or someone
else you heard from, that was just for me. Good. Good. Because God saves people individually,
alone. He gets them alone. Him and the
Lord. Him and them. The Lord and them.
And it says, they wrestled a man with Jacob. A man. More than a man. Buddy, after
this struggle, Jacob knew the one that just wrestled with me
is mightier than I am. A man wrestled with Jacob. The
Lord Himself. Jacob later on is going to know
God touched me. That's who touched me. When a
son of Jacob is confronted by the living Lord, King of kings
and Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus Christ, they know a man has gotten
hold of them and wrestled with them. Not a wimp. Not a weakling. Not a pathetic little Jesus who
wants in their heart. One who broke their heart. One
who grabbed their heart in His hand and said, You're mine to
do with as I please. Savior damn you, lift you up
or cast you down, kill you or make you alive. A man wrestled
with Jacob. Not a frustrated Savior, not
a pathetic little wannabe Savior. A Savior! When Jesus Christ comes
to one of his own, a son of Jacob, and he begins to wrestle with
him, they know a man is wrestling with him. More than that, the
God-man. A man, Isaiah 57, 9 says, he
put on righteousness as a breastplate. He put on a helmet of salvation
on his head. He put on vengeance for clothing
and was clad with zeal as a cloak, him that is mighty to save, able
to subdue, the captain of our salvation. He said, I'm going
to get that boy. And buddy, when he lays hold,
you know, you know, salvation is up to the Lord. I'm in his
hands. Jesus Christ the God-man, a man
wrestled with Jacob, the living Lord. And the Lord does the same thing
today, though it's through His Word, whom having not seen, yet
He lays hold of you, no less really. He lays hold of you through
the preaching of the gospel. Have you ever grabbed hold of
your Mac, let me ask David, says, has your dad ever laid hold of
you? Did he get your attention? A big man. He's a man. That's
why you lay hold of somebody. Remember when Peter was asleep
between those two guards? He says, the angel of the Lord
smote him. Wake up. We're going out of here. This
man grabbed hold of Jacob. Wrestle with Him. The Lord Jesus
Christ, who wrestled with Him. God, through the preaching of
the Gospel, no less so, lays hold of His people, the sons
of Jacob, His elect, in time, in His good time. Until then,
a man can listen to all the messages he wants to. A woman, a child,
a young person can listen to all the messages they want to.
And look at the sky. Look at their watch and all that.
Boy, I'll be glad when this is over. But in the fullness of
time, if they're one of God's own... It happened to me. Oh, I'll be glad when I'm out
of here talking to you, son. Listen to me. The man wrestled with it until
the break of day. Until the day dawned. He said,
Peter, we have a more sure word of prophecy, where until you
do well to take heed, dead sinners ought to take heed to its words
of life. Perishing sinners ought to take
heed to the words of life. If they don't, they'll perish.
They ought to do well to take heed, listen to the preacher,
lest at any time we let them slip, lay hold of eternal life.
A sure word of purpose, until the day dawn in your hearts,
the Scripture says, until it dawn on you, until the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God shine round about you. And you wake up quickened, made
alive by His gospel. till the break of day. In other
words, this lasted all night long. This wrestling match with
Jacob lasted all night long until the sun came up. And the Lord
wrestles with His people and they wrestle back until glory. All the way to glory. If He ever
quits wrestling with you, if this warfare, if you ever quit
struggling, you either died in the faith or you're dead in trespassing
sin. It's a lifelong, through this
valley of the shadow and the darkness. We're not in darkness,
though, even as others. And when Christ comes, the warfare
is over. No more struggle. Enter into
rest. No need to struggle anymore.
But until then, it's all our life. It's all our luck. Oh, my. It says in verse 25,
when the angel, the Lord saw that he prevailed not against
Jacob. In other words, he's testing
Jacob. You know, the Lord speaks in
a language we can understand as men, because the Lord, he's
wrestling with Jacob. And he just touched his thigh
whistling. In other words, the Lord can't
beat him? Oh, come on. He touched him and
just immediately crippled him. What he's saying here is Jacob's
wrestling back. He didn't quit. There's no quitting
him. There's no quitting him. That's what he's saying. He wrestled.
Jacob wrestled back. There's not a wrestling unless
there's two of you wrestling. Unless there's two of you wrestling. It's not wrestling, is it? He
wrestled. When you wrestle, have you ever
wrestled anybody? I've done it. Actual arm-to-arm
wrestling, you know. It's awful. It requires every part of your
being. You cannot wrestle without letting
go of something. You've got to wrestle with both
hands. You can't wrestle with one hand tied behind your back. You wrestle with both hands.
You wrestle with your feet, your arms, your legs. And when it's
over, your hair hurts. I'm serious. Anybody ever done
it, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Back when I had
hair in high school. Honestly. And we were wrestling
and just watering all over that mat, and they're grabbing you,
and you're grabbing them, and you hurt all over. You have wrestled
with the whole man. I said, Jacob, wrestle back.
In other words, haul his heart all his mind, all his soul, and
all his strength. When it was over, his head hurt. His heart hurt. His feet hurt.
His hands hurt. When God Almighty deals with
you, you hurt all over. It hurts, but it's a good kind
of hurt. You're wounded and bruised from
a sole to your feet to the top of your head. There's no soundness
in you when God Almighty gets ahold of you. You know it. And you'll go away with a permanent
limp. It says the Lord, verse 25, touched
the hollow of his thigh. He went away with a permanent
limp. The hollow of his thigh was out of joint. It says unhinged. That's what the word means. Out
of joint. Unhinged. He became unhinged. It unhinged him. When the Lord
finally touched him, it unhinged him. He became completely... He fell apart! Buddy, when the Lord of glory... Your legs are your strength.
The legs are the strongest part of your body. The legs are your
manhood. Your womanhood. Strength. Holds
up everything. All your life. When your legs
give out, you're a goner. His legs is where his strength...
When the Lord touched him, his manhood's gone. His strength
is gone. His vigor is gone. His virility is gone. He's now viral. He used to be a strong man, but
now he's not as strong as he thought he was. When the Lord grabs hold of a
fellow, he who once was proud, now he's humble. He who once
was high, now he's low. He who thought he was somebody,
now he's nobody. He who thought he was somebody
going somewhere, realizes I'm a nobody going nowhere. He's
unhinged. And the rest of his days, he's
going to walk with a limp. He's going to know, I ain't much
of a man that tall. I got no strength that tall. And Jacob wrestled back. He's
trying to prevail. He's trying to come to grips.
Jacob doesn't know what's happening to him right now. He doesn't
know who's dealing with him at this time. He doesn't know who
he is. He knows afterward. He doesn't
know who he's dealing with. He doesn't know what's happening
to him. He only knows, I've got to have whatever it is that he's
here for. Are you with me? He knows, I
don't know who this is, but I've got to have what he's got. Between Brother Mahan and I,
we've told this story about my father-in-law so many times that
maybe somebody's tired of hearing it, but I'm not. My father-in-law reminds me of
Jacob, as do everybody. My father-in-law, Eddie, Ballard
was religious, moral, fine man, attending services all the time. Well, you know, he'd go there.
But after a while, the Lord made him restless. And he went to the preacher and
he said, I don't know what I'm not hearing, but I'm not hearing
something. I need to hear something. And
the Lord began to deal with it. And after a while, the fellow
wasn't giving him what he needed, so he went somewhere and somebody
told him to come hear this man. And he went and began to sit
and listen. And he listened. And he listened
and he knew. And he's getting it from the
Bible. What he's saying is, yeah, it's right there. It's true. He didn't know it. Somebody was
wrestling with him. He didn't know what was happening
to him. He didn't. But he knew, whoever it is and
whatever it is, this is what I need. Until one day, it dawned
on him. You remember, don't you? One
day, the Lord made himself known. And he laid hold. That's it. Like all of God's people. Yes!
I've heard. I believe. Jacob said to the
Lord, he said, verse 26, not knowing it was the Lord, but
he said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. The Lord said, let me go, the day
breaketh. And Jacob said, I will not let thee go except thou bless
me. I will not let thee go. Jacob
has a hold of him, and he said, I'm not going to let go until
you bless me. That's what it means to lay hold
of something. Our Lord said, I'm the vine and
you're the branches, except you abide in Me. What does that mean?
Lay hold, not let go. Yesterday I was out tending my
grapevine. I have a vine and a fig tree.
My own vine and fig tree that I plan on someday dwelling under.
Right now they're not too big. But I went out to tend that grapevine,
and I built a trellis for it to climb over. I got this strong
root that was planted, an old root. Christ said, I'm the vine,
you're the branch. Well, one of those vines, one
of those branches, had wandered out and laid hold of a chair
there. And Bud had the hardest time
getting that loose. It was just wrapped around and little tendrils
everywhere. It just had grabbed the hold
like, I'm here to stay. That's what it means. And I had
to just twist and trip. It wasn't going to let go. Our
Lord said, sit till you abide in me. Jacob said, I will not
let thee go except you bless me. So He laid whole with all His
might and all His soul and all His strength. If there's no wrestling,
there's no blessing. No blessing. We wrestle with
the Lord in prayer. We come here to hear that the
Lord has given us all these means that He's pleased to bless. Well, some may argue this. Some
argue this. I can worship at home. I can
seek the Lord at home. I can read the Word at home.
Yes, and you should. We should. But it pleased God
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. That's
what God said, and you know it so. How shall they believe in Him
whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher, except how shall they preach except they be sent? to please God by the foolishness
of preaching. And like the Ethiopian eunuch
was reading the Word, wasn't he? But he didn't understand.
The Lord sent a preacher. That's what you heard last Sunday.
The Lord sent a preacher. And he said, do you understand
what you're reading? I'm interested. I'm enjoying
it. But I'm not getting anything
out of it. How can I except some man tell me? And bless your heart
and bless his. The Lord put him up in that chariot
with him. And he saw Christ. And you tell
me, when did you hear the gospel? When do you really hear the gospel
still? Who among us, me included, is blessed at home as much as
you are here? Anybody? With the congregation. Our Lord
said, where two or three are gathered, that's where I am.
What's going on? Wrestling. Wrestling. Now, Jacob, he said, I will not
let you go unless you bless me. Jacob's already blessed and doesn't
know it. Or he wouldn't be wrestling. There is no wrestling match among
unbelievers. There's no wrestling match among
unbelievers. Very few struggle with sin. Very
few people struggle with self. No, no. There's no wrestling
match there at all. Few find the need for Christ.
There are very few people who really need to hear the gospel,
need a blessing from Christ. All of God's people do. All their
day. He's already blessed and doesn't
know it. The Lord wrestled with him. And he's wrestling back. That's how you know. He's wrestling
back. There's a war for it. Warfare.
You tell me. Is there not a struggle going
on within you? There will be to the day you die if you're
one of His. You'll say with Paul, old wretched
man that I am. The flesh lusts against the Spirit.
That's wrestle. The Spirit against the flesh,
lusting, wrestling. Did you read the article by Brother
Joe in the Bulletin? It's wonderful. Two men living
in the same body, wrestling. Get out! No, I won't. He's already blessed. He's wrestling. John, he's wrestling. Are you
wrestling? The Lord is wrestling with you. Oh, my. The Lord said He touched
his thigh as he wrestled with him. And then He said in verse
27, Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. And
the Lord said unto him, What's thy name? What's your name? The Lord knows his name. Whom
he did foreknow. Whom he did predestinate. Whom he predestinated, he called
and wrestled with by the gospel. Whom he called, he justified.
Whom he justified, he glorified. He knew Jacob. Jacob have I known
and loved. He knew Jacob, but Jacob doesn't
know Jacob. Here's the blessing. Here's the
blessing. He comes to us. worthless sinner
and says, what's your name? And they say, worthless sinner. That's the blessing. People think
we're manipulating my guilt and all of that. No, no, the Lord,
this is the blessing of the Lord to make of somebody who's nothing,
know it, to make not many wise men of the Pharisees, not many
mighty, not many noble are called. You see, you're calling brethren
how God has chosen the foolish things of the world, things that
are nothing, things that are nobody's. Why? Because they're
the ones that He came. I didn't come to call the righteous,
Christ said. I've come to call sinners. The
Pharisees said, we'll be not sinners. I'm not calling you
then. I'm not wrestling with them. That publican, that Pharisee
came into the temple and said, I thank you God, I'm not like
that fella. Yeah, you're not. You're not
my own. Back in the back, that publican,
God be merciful to me, the sinner. What? Sinner. You're mine. You're coming with me. I'm taking
you out of this place from all these good people. came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repent. This is a faithful saint and
worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save Jacob, the sons of Jacob, sinners. What's your name? Jacob
means supplanter, chief. That's what Esau, his brother,
said about him. That's his name. That's what he is. He's a cheat.
He's lied to me. He's lied to his father. He's
cheated me out of it. He's taken what's not his. That's
his name. The Lord comes and wrestles with
Jacob and says, What's your name? Jacob says, Jacob. I've been nothing but a Jacob
all my life. That's me. Jacob. Noah says,
No. No, not anymore. You see, that's the blessing.
The blessing of the Lord is to take a person who thinks he's
something and make them realize they're nothing. Most think pretty highly of themselves,
don't they? Most people. What's your name? Well, I'm somebody, or I'm Mr. Not-So-Bad, or I'm Miss Not-As-Bad-As-Others. But Christ came to save sinners
like a thief on the cross, like Mary Magdalene, like the woman
at His feet. All sinners are made saints.
I put that article in the bulletin by Brother Scott. It started
to put titles. I started to put Saint. That's
true, Brother Scott. Saint Scott. Saint Scott. They are made saints. All beggars
will sit as princes. All on the dung heap will sit
among princes. Ask Mephibosheth. All dead dogs
go to heaven and sit at the master's table like the king's sons. Oh no, he said, your name is
no more Jacob, but it's Israel. Prince, beloved, now are we the
sons of God. And I've said this before, I'm
quite sure that Jacob from that day forward didn't call himself
Israel. If you'd ask him what his name
was, he'd say Jacob. But God called him Israel, Prince. And we'll never think of ourselves
as saints. We'll never think of ourselves as anything other
than sinners, will we? But bless God, Oh, bless God, He calls them
sons and saints. He says, Your name is now Israel.
He says, for you have power with God and with men and has prevailed. And He blessed him. He blessed
him there. He blessed him. The Lord bless
thee. And keep thee. The Lord make
His face to shine upon thee. and be gracious unto you. The
Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace."
The Lord put His name upon you. He blessed them. And when the
Lord blesses, they're blessed. They're blessed. And when this
was over, in verse 30 and 31, Jacob knew who it was that touched
him. He knew who it was that blessed
him. He knew who it was that wrestled with it. And he called
that place the face of God. Pineum. I've seen God face to
face. That place where he lay down
and that ladder of the Lord, he called that Bethel, the house
of God. You know, this place is just a building. It really
is. Just a building. Wood, hay and
stuff. There won't be one brick left
standing on another. It's no more special or holy
than any other place. But I tell you what, it's pretty important
to you if that's where you heard the gospel. If that's where you
saw the face of God. And while it's not a holy place,
you call it God's house where God's peoples meet, and that's
where you want to be from then on. Jacob kept coming back to
Bethel. Back to Penn. He kept coming
back. He kept coming back. The Lord kept bringing him back.
And he said in verse 31, as he passed over Penuel, and the sun
rose upon him, he halted upon his thigh. Mac, he left. He walked on down the road a
little bit. Nancy, you can appreciate this. He never forgot. That pain never
left him. All his life, he had to deal
with that pain in that hip and that thigh. As a reminder, somebody
touched me. And when God Almighty wrestles
with you, it wounds you. You mourn over your sin. Like
I said, you hurt all over. And while you get some rest and
some peace and some joy and some happiness, you walk down the
road, the pain of your sin, the weariness
of labor and heavy laden. Your heart will hurt you. Your
head will convict you. You'll remember that you've been
touched. That's a good thing. It hurt
him, but it's a good kind of hurt. Do you follow me? Anybody? It hurt. Blessed are they that mourn.
It hurts, but it's a good kind of hurt. Jacob, he halted, ready
to halt, but he thought, the Lord did this. The Lord did. I'm sure glad. I'm sure glad. I wrestled a man with him. May
the Lord wrestle with every one of us. Alright, brother. Let's start with number 235.