Would you turn back to Genesis
chapter 32? The psalmist said, blessed is
he that hath the God of Jacob as his refuge. I pray that every
one of us will be able to enter in to what that means to have
the God of Jacob It's how God identifies himself more than
any other way in the scripture. The God of Jacob. I don't see it. Excuse me. Oh, I left it back there, sorry. Uncomfortable silence. In Genesis 32 verse 6, And the messengers returned to
Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh
to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was
greatly afraid and distressed, And he divided the people that
was with him and the flocks and herds and the camels into two
bands and said, if he shall come to the one company and smite
it, then the other company which is left shall escape. And then
we have this first recorded prayer in scripture. We looked at this
last week. And Jacob said, O God of my father, Abraham, and God
of my father, Isaac, the Lord, which said unto me, return into
thy country and to thy kindred, and I'll deal well with thee.
I'm not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the
truth, which thou has showed unto thy servant. For with my
staff, I passed over this Jordan, and now I'm become two bands.
Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from
the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and smite me
and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely
do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which
cannot be numbered for multitude. And he lodged there that same
night after praying for the Lord to deliver him. He lodged there
that same night and took of that which came to his hand a present
for Esau, his brother. Had all this planned out, 200
she goats, 20 he goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 milk camels with
their colts, 40 con, and 10 bulls, 20 she asses, and 10 foals. Now that's a lot of animals,
that's a lot of wealth. And he was seeking to buy his
brother. Yes, he prayed for deliverance,
but he's covering all of his bases. That's the way Jacob always
was. He prayed for deliverance, and
I believe he was sincere, and yet he tried to cover all of
his bases. And he delivered them into the
hand of his servants. Every drove by themselves and said unto his
servants, pass over before me, and put a space between which
drove and drove. And each one of these groups of animals came
to Esau, and he commanded the foremost, saying, when Esau,
my brother, meet thee, and asketh thee, saying, whose art thou?
And whither goest thou? And whose are these before thee?
Then shalt thou say, Thou be thy servant Jacob's. It's a present
sent unto my Lord Esau, and behold also, he's behind us. And so
commanded he the second and the third, and all that followed
the drove, saying on this manner, Shall ye speak unto Esau when
ye find him? And say ye moreover, behold,
thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I'll appease him
with the present that goeth before me. In other words, he's trying
to buy him off. And afterward I will see his
face, peradventure he will accept of me. Now I think this is interesting.
He prayed for the Lord's deliverance. And then he appears to do everything
he can to manipulate this situation. Sound like anybody else you know?
I'm not being critical of him. How many times have I done this?
Was this prudent? Was it manipulation? Yes. Yes
to both. That's Jacob. Aren't you glad
God loved Jacob? Jacob have I loved. So went the president over before
him and himself lodged that night in the company and he rose up
that night and took his two wives and his two women servants and
his 11 sons and passed over the Ford Jabbok. And he took them
and sent them over the brook and sent over that he had and
Jacob was left alone. The best place Jacob or you or
me can be alone with Christ. Oh, I pray that he meets each
one of us tonight alone. You know, even in public worship,
he speaks individually. Oh, that I might be alone with
him to where he will deal with me. Just like that woman taken
in adultery, after he causes the accusers
to leave in shame and Jesus was left alone and the woman standing
in the midst. The Lord always deals with us
alone. Verse 24, and there wrestled
a man with him until the breaking of the day. All night long, this
wrestling match continued. And we know who this man was
who wrestled with Jacob. Look in verse 30. And Jacob called
the name of the place Pen-el, for I have seen God face to face. And my life is preserved. He was wrestling with the Lord
Jesus Christ. And I want us to notice who initiated
this wrestling match. You know, I've heard so many
sermons about Jacob, this great man of faith, how he wrestled
with God. Well, that's not given the story.
God wrestled with him. And he did this for the purpose
of blessing him. He is the one who initiated this. Not Jacob. The Lord Jesus Christ
initiated this with Jacob, the one he loved, in order to bless
him. Now don't you cry out in your
heart, Lord, do that with me. Don't leave me to myself. Bless
me. And this wrestling match went
on all night. Can you imagine how exhausted
Jacob was after this? Now, the Lord wasn't exhausted.
Jacob was. A wrestling match that went on
all night, and I have no doubt that he was brought to the place
of being without strength. You know, when someone is drowning,
I've heard that the best thing to do is let them flail until
they lose all strength, and then you can rescue. I believe that
is where Jacob was brought to at this point, wrestling all
night. He was left without strength. And let me remind you, this wrestling
match was not a match. This is the Lord Jesus Christ
blessing Jacob. 25 and When he the Lord Jesus saw
that he prevailed not against him Now we know he's omnipotent
and we know this is him allowing this to take place When he saw
that he prevailed not against him. He touched the hollow of
his thigh He dislocated the femur from
the hip in the ball and socket joint, and I have no idea how
painful that must have been. He was already tired, but now
he's in great pain, and he's without physical strength. When he saw he prevailed not
against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow
of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him. And
now let's consider what Jacob says at this time. And he said,
let me go. This is the Lord. And he said,
let me go for the day breaketh. And here's Jacob's response.
I will not let thee go. Presumption? No. I will not. let thee go, except thou bless
me. I cannot be left to myself. I have to have you do something
for me. I will not let you go, except
thou bless me. I think of Bartimaeus crying,
Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And the crowd told
him to hold his peace. You know what he did? He cried
the more. A great deal. Jesus, thou son
of David, have mercy on me. I must have your mercy. The Syro-Venetian woman. Lord, have mercy on me. My daughter
is grievously vexed with the devil. Thou son of David. She
knew who he was. Thou son of David, have mercy
on me. My daughter is grievously vexed with the devil. You know
what the scripture says? He answered her, not a word.
You can read about this in Matthew chapter 15 and Mark chapter seven.
He answered her not a word. He ignored her. He kept moving. Well, what did she do? Did she
say, well, what's the use? I might as well give up. He's
not even answering me. She continued to cry. Have mercy on me. She didn't stop. Listen, anybody
who wants the Lord's mercy, they'll never stop asking for it. It's
not going to happen. She didn't stop. She continued
to cry. And the disciple said, send her
away. She crieth after us. And then
the Lord made this statement. I'm not sent, but to the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. Now there's only one way that
that can be taken. I've only come to save the elect.
You hear that? That's what Jesus Christ says
to this woman. I have only come to save the
elect. I'm not sent for everybody. I'm
sent for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. You know what scripture says
she did after that? Then came she and worshiped him. Now this issue of worship, is
to be settled, whether he does anything for you or me or not.
He's the Lord. Then came she and worshiped him,
saying, Lord, help me. If you don't help me, I won't
be helped. I must have your help. I'm not gonna let you go, except
you bless me. What did he say then? It's not
meat. It's not appropriate. It's not
right to take the children's bread, my gospel, and throw it
to dogs. Now can you see where she would
spin around at that time and say, all right, I've done all
I can. I don't think this is right in
the first... No, she didn't do anything like that. You know
what she said in response to the Lord saying, it's not right
to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs? Truth, Lord. If I ever heard the truth, that's
it. That's the truth. I'm a dog. I know that. And as a dog, I'm
not looking for a place setting with the children. I'd be so
grateful for any crumbs that fall my way. The dogs eat of
the crumbs that fall from the master's table. And the Lord
looked at her and said, oh woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee. even as thou
wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour. You see, she said, Lord, I will
not let you go except you bless me. You know that scripture,
the kingdom of heaven suffer violence and the violent take
it by force. This is it. This is it. I think of the publican in the
temple. God be merciful. Be propitious, do something about
my sin. That's what he's saying. He's
not talking about what he's gonna do. He's not talking about what he
promises he'll do. No, there was no bargaining going
on. I'm desperate, I got nothing else. Be propitious to me, the
sinner. If you don't do something for
me, there's no hope for me. I think of David saying the same
thing. God, be merciful unto me according
to thy loving kindness, according to the multitude of thy tender
mercies. Blot out my transgression. Wash
me throughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Do
something about my sin. Have you ever prayed to the Lord
to do something for you about your sin? Because you can't do
anything to make it go away. Do something for I will not let
thee go except thou bless me. I will not let thee go. except thou bless me. I can't stand on my own. I can't be left to myself. If
you don't bless me, it's over for me. I will not let you go,
except you bless me. Verse 27, and he said unto him, What is
thy name? And didn't he know what his name
was? Of course he knew what his name was. He gave him that name. What's
your name? What your mom and dad named you?
They didn't really name you. You were named before the foundation
of the world by the Lord himself. He's the one who gave you the
name you have. Lord knew his name, but there's something that
that name means. Would you turn with me to Genesis
chapter 27? This is after Jacob had swindled
his brother. And here's what his brother had
to say. Verse 34, and when Esau heard the words of his father,
he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his
father, bless me, even me, O my father. And he said, thy brother
came with subtlety, with deceit, and hath taken away thy blessing.
And he, Esau said, is not he rightly named Jacob? For he has
supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright. Now
behold, he hath taken away my blessing. What's your name? Jacob. Deceiver. Supplanter. Fraud. phony, cheat, hypocrite,
that's my name. What's your name? Jacob. Now, what this is as much as
anything else is the confession of sin. Jacob's my name, Jacob's what
I am, Jacob's what I do. Sin's my name, sin's what I am,
sin is what I do. My name is Jacob. This is a true and a genuine
confession of sin. Now understand this, confession
of sin is not just articulating sins you've committed. That's
a good thing to do. I wouldn't in any way speak against
that. But if you simply articulated
the sins you committed, there's not enough time in the day. And
as far as that goes, most of them, you don't even know what
they are in the first place. You don't even know that they're
sins that you've committed. You know, if I say it, it's sin.
If I breathe, it's sin. That's because I'm Jacob. What's
your name? Jacob. Verse 28, that's the beginning
of the blessing. That's the beginning of the blessing.
When you say your name before him, and confess what you are
before him, and say who you are before him, confession of sin
is agreeing with God. It's taking sides with God against
yourself. And until you do that, you've
never known your name. My name is Jacob. Verse 28, and he said, this is
the Lord speaking to him. Thy name shall be called no more
Jacob, but Israel. There's the first time We hear
that word, Israel. Jacob is named Israel. And what's that mean? For as
a prince hast thou power with God and with men and have prevailed. How? As a prince, this Jacob, as a
prince, he has power with God, where God, the living God, the
holy God is moved by what he says, and he has power with God,
and he has power with men, and has prevailed. How can that be? Well, hold your finger there
in Genesis 32. This is a familiar scripture, but I want you to
see it in black and white. 1 John chapter four. This is how
Jacob has power with God. This is how Todd has power with
God. This is how every believer has power with God. Now, that's something I want.
I want him to hear my prayer. I want him to respond to me.
I want it to mean something to him, to actually have power with
God. Well, here it is in John chapter
four, verse 17. Herein is our love made perfect
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because
as he was, so are we in this world. I didn't read that right,
did I? As he is. Does he have power with God? Oh, yes, he has power with God. Oh, God hears everything he says. God loves him. He's altogether
lovely. Oh, the power that Jesus Christ
has with his father. As he is, so are we in this world. Now, I wouldn't dare think that
unless God said it in his word. But because God said it in his
word, I see how I have power with God. And with men. Romans 8, 28 says, all things
work together for good. All men, all events, all happenings,
every person, Somebody would be my enemy? They can't be. They're all a part of the Lord's
purpose and providence for his people. And everything they do
is for my good and his glory. And that's the same with every
believer. Now, what does this mean, thou
hast power with God? Well, remember Bartimaeus. Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me. You know what scripture says?
Jesus stood still. He was on his way to the cross.
He'd set his face like a flint. He would not be denied. But Jesus
stood still. and commanded him to be called. And they said, rise, Bartimaeus,
be of good cheer. He calleth thee. And he threw
that garment away and came to Christ. And the Lord said, what
wilt thou that I should do unto thee? He had power with God. Now, this thing of power with
God, that publican. First, let's talk about what
doesn't have power with God. God, I thank Thee that I'm not
as other men are. You know how much power that
has with God? Negative. Zero is not enough. Negative.
Negative. No power. God, I promise I'll
do this. No power. None. I'll start doing this. No power. I'll change. No power. Here's what has power with God.
God be merciful to me, the sinner. And what did the Lord say? I
tell you. I tell you. That man went down
to his house justified, cleared of all guilt, with a perfect
standing before me. That has power with God. That
Syrophoenician woman had power with God. Help me. I say to you, O woman, great
is thy faith. What about the leper? The leper
had power with God. He said, Lord, if you will, you
can make me clean. Listen to the Lord's answer.
I will. Be thou clean. Now that has power with God. You know, when religious people
talk about their power with God, I just want to hold my ears to
the things they're saying. But this does have power with
God and prevails. Israel, as a prince, as a prince,
thou hast power with God and with men and hast prevailed. Verse 29. And Jacob asked him and said,
tell me, I pray thee thy name. Now, wouldn't you do the same
thing? It's interesting, everything I've read about that, they said,
you know, he was prying into business he had no business getting
into. Well, I don't know that. I would
want to know his name too, wouldn't you? Tell me thy name, but I
love the way the Lord answers him. Wherefore is it that thou dost
ask after my name? When Manoah said, what's your
name? The Lord says, what are you asking
my name, seeing it's secret? It's wonderful. You know what
the Lord is letting Jacob know and me know and you know at that
time? He's God and we're not. And there is so much we'll never
understand. And we're fine with that. He's
God. I'm not. No man knows the Father save
the Son. And he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal Him. His name is wonderful. His name
is secret. We love His name. And there's
much that we'll never truly understand with regard to Him. You know,
even in glory, when I see Him face to face, it'll still be
a glimpse. For eternity, there'll still
be more. There'll still be more. There'll
still be more. What are you doing asking my
name? And he blessed him there. That's where he blessed him.
There. What's your name? Jacob, the
blessing has begun. You're not Jacob anymore. You're
Israel. This is true of every one of
God's Israel. Every believer, Israel. As a prince, thou has power with
God and has prevailed and he blessed him there. So Jacob called
the name of the place Peniel. And here's why he called it Peniel.
For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. Couldn't
help but think of 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6, but God, who commanded
the light to shine out of the darkness, has shined in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. And as he passed over Penuel,
and I don't know why there's a different spelling. It's the
exact same word in the Hebrew as Peniel, same thing. And as he passed over Penuel,
the sun rose upon him. You know, there's a lot of thought
to that, isn't there? That's when the sun rose. That's
when he could see, when he saw God face to face. And as he passed over Penuel,
the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh." As a
matter of fact, he walked with a limp for the rest of his life. Now, I have heard people say, that means Jacob's
life was changed, and you could see it. Now let me say this about
that thought. I want people to see that Jesus
Christ is my all. I do want people to see that.
I want people to know that I love him. And I want people, I want
to honor him in my conduct. I want to honor him in my character.
I want to honor him in the way I treat you. I want to honor
him in the way I deal with adversity. I want to honor him in every,
I want to honor him. You do too, just as much as I
do. Every believer in here wants
to live for the glory of Christ. My conduct does matter. My character
matters. I want to honor him. Don't anybody
say, well you don't, it matters. But let me tell you this, that
was a limp in his walk. And whenever you find out who
God is, you are going to be conscious of a continual limp in your walk. And you know why? The Lord God
in his mercy is making it to where you don't have anything
but Christ. And you realize that. And you
remember that. You do not have anything but
Christ. I love the way a woman said to
a preacher, if all you have is Christ, is that enough? Good question. And the wise preacher
replied, it is if he's all you got. If you have anything else, you
don't have him in the first place. But if he's all you got, you
have all he requires, all you need, and all you want. He had that limp the rest of
his life. Now here is something that is
very interesting. He halted upon his thigh. You
could see that limp. Therefore, the children of Israel
eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the
thigh unto this day because he touched the hollow of Jacob's
thigh and the sinew that shrank. You know what growing in grace
is? Shrinking. If I'm not shrinking, I'm not
growing. When I'm shrinking, I'm growing. He shrank. He walked with that
limp. But let me remind you something
about Jacob. Christ loved Jacob. Christ died
for his sins. Christ gave him his very righteousness. Christ preserves him eternally. He's in glory right now with
Christ. He doesn't have that limp anymore.
No. He's perfectly conformed to the
image of Christ like every believer. is waiting for, but I pray God
makes me shrink. That's the only true growth,
is that of shrinking in my own eyes and having a higher view
of Him. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that you will wrestle with us and bring
us to strengthlessness and cause us to say, we will not let thee
go except thou bless us. For Lord, we have no other options.
We have nowhere else to go. We will not let thee go. except
thou bless us because we must have your blessing. Bless us
for Christ's sake as we prepare to observe the Lord's table. We ask that we would be enabled
to do this in remembrance of you. In Christ's name we pray,
amen.