Wrestling with God - Life Lessons from Jacob pt. 1

Wrestling With God pt.1

Life Lessons from Jacob

Survival of the Fittest
Though we may not believe in Darwin's evolutionary theories, we can still be influenced to a degree by hearing the concept's taught in school from young.  We may believe in God but only really turn to Him when all else fails.

We are born into this world separate from God as the result of the fall.  We are taught how to survive in the world, how to eventually be independent of others.  Life is about striving to get ahead, working hard by the sweat of our brow, to find success.  Most careers are highly competitive, we become good at something and soon find out someone else is better.   We may get on top, but then we deal with those below us trying to pull us right down.  It is obvious why so many of us struggle with stress, anxiety, and fear! 

The biblical character of Jacob should be one that most of us can relate with.

Stolen Birthright - Gen. 25:27As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home. 28Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.29One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry.30Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)31“All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”32“Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”33But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.34Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

Life Is Not Fair

In this fallen world we have disadvantages, we may feel it is our family line, race, physical appearance, disability, rejection, etc.  It is easy to find an excuse why we fall short.  Many people we can blame, many reasons we can point out.  People usually have much more to complain about than to rejoice in.    

Jacob was born in a time where the firstborn was favored above all others.  He was a twin but Esau came out first, yet it was prophesied that Jacob would receive the blessing.  The cultural tradition nullified Rebecca and Jacob believing the promise of God.

Favoritism

Have you ever had a parent show more favor towards another sibling?  This creates jealousy that leads to anger and rage.  Favoritism creates pride in the one receiving it and resentment in the ones that don’t.  It is easier to relate and spend time with those whom share common interests.  My oldest son Elisha loves basketball so the two of us play ball often which is a bonding time.  Israel and I share less interests so I have to make an effort to spend time with him doing something I don’t really enjoy.  

Jacob from the beginning had to try to earn Isaac’s love for Isaac loved Esau because Esau was a hunter.  Jacob had to plot and scheme to steal what was Esau’s for he was at a disadvantage.  Those whom feel they are at a disadvantage often do whatever it takes to get ahead, which bring with it shame and regret.

Stolen Blessing - Read Genesis 27 (Jacob steal’s Esau’s blessing)

Those who do others wrong to get ahead live in fear that it will come back to haunt them.  It is hard to enjoy something that came at the expense of someone else’s rejection.  Satan’s agenda is to steal, kill, and destroy for he has been cast out of Heaven, losing everything, so he has to deceive us so he can steal back what he lost.  We become pawns of Satan when we don’t trust God, we think we serve ourselves but we really serve Satan.

 Generational Blessings - Read Genesis 28 (Jacob dreams of the stairway to Heaven)

God had promised Abraham that He would bless His offspring continually.   God has a way of getting a hold of those who are running from His promises.  If we have a family member who seems to not get it regarding the call of God on their lives, just keep believing and confessing God’s promises in prayer.   They may not listen but God will reveal Himself in one form or another.

God revealed himself to Jacob through a dream.  God opened Jacob’s eyes to the reality of Abraham’s blessing that Jacob has direct access to heaven, that he is not alone, the angels of God are at his disposal, God will protect and provide for him, and be with him forevermore.  Jacob awakened to the reality of God and was forever changed.  He anointed the place naming it Bethel the house of God. 

Spiritual Awakening

Let us awaken to the reality that we are anointed by God and have become the temple of the Holy Spirit!

We too often operate like Jacob striving and conniving, operating in survival mode, rather than trusting and believing, operating in faith mode.   

Jacob made a vow to God if He would protect and provide for him, he would follow suit and serve Him.  He set up a memorial declaring everything you give me, I’ll return a tenth to you. Money is a determining factor regarding trusting God.  The tithe is an act of faith acknowledging God as the source of all.  If we limit our obedience to what is in our wallet, we will never have enough.   This world revolves around money, if we limit what we can do to our wallet, then we will be limited to the conditions of this world and closed off from the blessings of Heaven.

Abraham - Taking Hold of What is Promised

To Walk With God Series

Abraham - Taking Hold of What is Promised

Broken Promises

One thing we all have in common is broken promises.  People promise a lot but often fail to deliver, creating mistrust in the hearts of those affected.  The key to moving forward is who you’re connected with.  Fear because of mistrust cripples us from advancement.  We refuse to open up and share our heart and therefore stay distant.  God moves through His body so this isolation due to mistrust prevents us from moving forward with God.  Until fear which is the opposite of faith is removed we remain the same, for we stay disconnected from God’s body, the church.

The worst thing to do as a parent is promise something and then not follow through, for it leaves a scar, and each time it occurs, it deepens.  A scar not treated gets infected, becoming a disease, and what is infected spreads.  Hurting people, hurt others.

God unlike imperfect man, fulfills what He promises.  Yet, many don’t attain what He promised because of unbelief. For the necessary ingredient to taking hold of what is promised is Faith.  Abraham the father of Faith is the greatest Old Testament example to help us overcome fear and grow in faith.  Let’s study in depth His journey.

Faith Lesson #1 - Separate from ungodly attachments.

Gen. 13:8-9 Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have fighting between us, between your shepherds and my shepherds. After all, we’re family. Look around. Isn’t there plenty of land out there? Let’s separate. If you go left, I’ll go right; if you go right, I’ll go left.”

There are people in our lives especially family who will fight against us to keep us from moving forward.  We may lose something by going our separate ways but in time we will gain much more in return.  We will continue to have lot’s of unnecessary problems until we stop enabling those God is trying to teach a lesson. 

Faith Lesson #2 - Once we are free we begin to see.

Gen.13:14-17After Lot separated from him, God said to Abram, “Open your eyes, look around. Look north, south, east, and west. Everything you see, the whole land spread out before you, I will give to you and your children forever. I’ll make your descendants like dust—counting your descendants will be as impossible as counting the dust of the Earth. So—on your feet, get moving! Walk through the country, its length and breadth; I’m giving it all to you.”

Have you ever cleaned a room and discovered things you forgot you owned.  As we begin to become free from our past we begin to see how our future is.  God wants us to have a multi-generational vision.  He wants us to see so beyond our lifetime that we are no longer caught up in daily trivial concerns, for we see the bigger picture.

Faith Lesson #3 - Never let closed relationships go beyond recovery.

Gen 14:13-16A fugitive came and reported to Abram the Hebrew. Abram was living at the Oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and Aner. They were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken prisoner, he lined up his servants, all of them born in his household—there were 318 of them—and chased after the captors all the way to Dan. Abram and his men split into small groups and attacked by night. They chased them as far as Hobah, just north of Damascus. They recovered all the plunder along with nephew Lot and his possessions, including the women and the people.

God desires all people to be saved.  He will lead us to extend helping hands during crisis with the hope that salvation will occur. There is a time and season for everything.

Gen. 19:29 But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain. 

Faith Lesson #4 - What we cannot let go of has a hold on us. 

Gen.14:17-20After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and his allied kings, the king of Sodom came out to greet him in the Valley of Shaveh, the King’s Valley. Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine—he was priest of The High God—and blessed him:

Blessed be Abram by The High God,

Creator of Heaven and Earth.

And blessed be The High God,

who handed your enemies over to you.

Abram gave him a tenth of all the recovered plunder.

The tithe was established under Abraham not Moses, meaning it is a principle of faith not law.  We can argue all we want about giving, but bottom-line those who don’t give are not blessed.  Giving comes from an attitude of gratitude, in which a tenth is a good place to start.  We don’t give to man we give to God.  The hand of God is the living church.

Notice that Melchizedek was king of Salem. That is the city of Jerusalem. "Salem" comes from the Hebrew word meaning "peace." That would make Melchizedek the "King of Peace" (Hebrews 7:2). The Hebrew name Melchizedek itself means "King of Righteousness" (Hebrews 7:2). The same individual is mentioned in Psalm 110:4. Speaking prophetically of Christ, David stated: "The Eternal hath sworn, and will notrepent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." This verse is quoted again in Hebrews 5:6, 10.

Faith Lesson #5 - Faith means to “Just Believe!”

Gen. 15:1After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I’m your shield. Your reward will be grand!”

2-3Abram said, “God, Master, what use are your gifts as long as I’m childless and Eliezer of Damascus is going to inherit everything?” Abram continued, “See, you’ve given me no children, and now a mere house servant is going to get it all.

4Then God’s Message came: “Don’t worry, he won’t be your heir; a son from your body will be your heir.”

5Then he took him outside and said, “Look at the sky. Count the stars. Can you do it? Count your descendants! You’re going to have a big family, Abram!”

6And he believed! Believed God! God declared him “Set-Right-with-God.”

How far we go with God will be determined by how much we are willing to believe.  We are simply made righteous by believing.  Once we believe we can now receive.  

Faith Lesson #6 - What is done in fear creates a door for the enemy.

Gen. 16:9-12the angel of God said, “Go back to your mistress. Put up with her abuse.” He continued, “I’m going to give you a big family, children past counting.

From this pregnancy, you’ll get a son: Name him Ishmael;

for God heard you, God answered you.

He’ll be a bucking bronco of a man,

a real fighter, fighting and being fought,

Always stirring up trouble,

always at odds with his family.”

There are consequences to our actions.  Once we open the door to the enemy, we have brought forth an unnecessary war.  Peace will no longer come easy.  Every advancement will come with a great fight.  Fear and faith are at odds, the enemy will constantly throw arrows of fear, the shield of faith must always be in rightful position or great trouble will follow.  Just look at the history of Jews and Muslims.

Faith Lesson #7 - Remain in Covenant Agreement.

Gen. 17:1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. 2I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”

3At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him, 4“This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. 6I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!

7“I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”

The Mark of the Covenant

9Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You and all your descendants have this continual responsibility. 10This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. 11You must cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the covenant between me and you.

Covenant Understanding.

1. Remain Faithful, live blameless - free of guilt; not subject to blame; "of irreproachable character"; "an unimpeachable reputation.”
2. God guarantees to give us what He has promised.
3. Take on a new identity.  We now have the legal right to use the name of Jesus.
4. The covenant blessings are passed down to my descendants, in which God will confirm.
5. We are responsible to obey the terms of the covenant by being set apart.
6. The entire household.   Singled out but obligated to pass on.  

Gen. 18:17“Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. 18“For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”

Faith Lesson #8 - Our Faith Grows as it is tested, and with it comes promotion.

We must remember “it is only a test.”  Wherever there is lack of trust, lies fear.  To grow in faith takes removing fear.  Many of our tests are in the areas of what we have difficulty surrendering.  

Gen. 22:1Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

2“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

Gen. 22:15Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. 16“This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.18And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

Abram - Letting Go, Moving Forward!

Abram - Letting Go & Moving Ahead!

• Genesis 12:1 (MSG)

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Read Gen. 12:1

How far we walk with God will be determined by what we are willing to leave behind!

Whenever we seem stuck in one place we need to ask ourselves what do we need to be free from?

The less we carry the further we go.

The hardest area to be stripped from is family traditions and responsibilities.

We are now part of a new family, a new kingdom, we have given our rights to God, He is our Master, He is our Lord, He directs our steps. So if He says go we go! We can never run against our Heavenly Father and win. If we want victory in life we must run with Him.

Read Genesis 12:2-3

What we let go of cannot compare with what we gain.

I once wanted to be famous, live the American Idol dream. I thought pursuing an acting career would be the way. I longed to be in front of huge crowds where people basically worshipped me. I wanted fancy cars, gorgeous women, and huge homes. Is it worth it though to gain the whole world and lose our soul? We see so many famous people messed up, they didn't understand what they had to do to fulfill their dreams, many sell their souls to the Devil.

It is false humility to try to be so little that we never allow God to become great. God did not save us to remain hidden in the shadows. He has saved us to make Himself known. We may have a timid nature but when the Holy Spirit fills us we are bold. We need to stop holding back and holding onto our gifts. He has blessed us to be a blessing. We don't even have a clue how great God is until we start stepping out in faith.

Read Genesis 12:4-6

Have you ever had someone in your life you tried to help but then couldn't get rid of?

We cannot help everyone, we are only obligated to obey God. Who we are helping could be those who will only slow us down keep us from our ultimate destiny.

Some people come with a Lot of baggage that only God can strip away, when we interfere we are expected to do what only God can do, and we just simply can't. A lot of our headaches are from our own well doing. It is easy to let our emotions especially regarding family members to disguise the true voice of God. We must learn to submit everything to God and let Him guide us no matter how we feel.

Application: Ask Holy Spirit is there any baggage I need to unload?  Ask Holy Spirit if you have a Lot in your life you need to detach from?

Are You Any Different?

Are You Any Different?

• Genesis 6:5 (MSG)
• Genesis 6:6 (MSG)
• Genesis 6:7 (MSG)

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In the dating world, guys often try to convince girls that they are different than other guys, proving their sincerity by initially showing commitment. Yet, often it is just a front,to gain emotional attachment, to make it easier to get what they want.

In the Christian world, Christians often try to convince the world that they are different, "not like the other hypocrites." Yet, often it is just a front, for once the price of commitment is learned they begin to slowly back off.

We maybe good at acting, but God knows the heart whether it is good or evil, He sees through our charade. 

We are now going to look at the biblical character of Noah who was truly different from those in the world.

* Read Genesis 6:5-10

Has your life ever been so out of control, that you felt so sorry for yourself, you wish you didn't exist? From government research done in 2009, over 8 million people over the age of 18 struggle with suicidal thoughts, over 2 million planned to commit suicide, and over 1 million attempted it.

God, Himself got so tired of how out of control and evil people were, He was sorry He ever made them and planned to destroy them. But, God liked Noah for he was different. Noah was a man of integrity in his community for he walked with God. God can change his plans for just one person that is close to him and we are eternally grateful for Noah for God used him in his redemption plan. 

One of the required characteristics of a leader described in 1 Timothy is integrity in the community. We've all known people that are two faced, they are one thing in one place and another somewhere else. People can be good chameleon's they adjust to their environment. Employers are now using social networks to find out more of the character of the person they are considering to hire. Some people may think this is an invasion of privacy but these networks are public domain. It would be wise especially in church circles to assure someone is a good witness of integrity in their community before placing them in church leadership. Those who walk with God consistently reflect him in all aspects of life.

Read Genesis 6:11-22

I have heard stories from those involved in the restoration process from Super Storm Sandy where people are just now asking for assistance, but at this point it's too hazardous to even try, so they have to say, "sorry nothing can be done but to demolish the home and rebuild." 

This was the state of the earth in Noah's time, totally corrupted, beyond repair, the only plan was to basically start over. This is what was revealed to Noah in this passage, how God was going to use him to restore the earth. 

No matter how well we clean a room, even if we don't use it, with time, it will need cleaning again. There is something we don't see called dust that we can't keep from forming. Until the new heaven and the new earth comes and we receive our new bodies, sin will remain and restoring will be needed. Can God call on us as He did with Noah to be His agent in the restoration process as described in Acts 3:21?

God's plan He spoke with Noah was bigger than what the natural mind could perceive. There had not been a flood before, a boat had never been built, and to be able to gather two of every kind of creature is way beyond, yet what made Noah so different is he believed God no matter what He said. The more we get to know this Big God the more our faith grows and the bigger the plan's He reveals. 

I encourage every one of us to go closer, dig deeper, be different.