All up to speed. We’re gonna spend some time today looking at the life of a guy named Jacob. And I’ll bring you all the way up to speed in Genesis cause I know many of you are new. Genesis is basically three different movements.

The first is creation: Genesis 1:2, “God makes everything.” Genesis 3: Our first parents, Adam and Eve, sinned. That brings the curse. So, it moves from creation to curse, and then the curse brings disorder and death and destruction into God’s very good creation, and it mars and stains and ruins and undermines everything that God had done. The story then continues for about 2,000 years until the end of Genesis 11 and the beginning of Genesis 12. And God’s answer to the curse is the covenant, and that begins with a man named Abram and his name is later changed to Abraham.

So, the thrust of the Bible is from creation to curse to covenant, and covenant is God’s language of relationship and love and forgiveness and mercy, and how God is faithful to us even when we’re unfaithful to him; how God takes away our sin; how he sends the Lord Jesus, and how God reconciles us to himself through his own merits and efforts. And that is the covenant. That’s our loving relationship with our perfect and good God.

And Abraham was the first generation of the covenant, and then the second generation was his son Isaac, and then the third generation was his grandson, Jacob. And so, that’s where we find it today. We’re looking at Jacob, who is the third generation of God’s covenant with his people. And what we’ve found thus far is that Jacob has a brother named Esau. They’re twins. Esau is not a believer. Jacob is a believer, but Jacob is a guy. He’s a coward. He’s a momma’s boy. He starts off as a trickster. He rips off his brother a couple of times. He’s a total coward. Rather than dealing with his problems, he runs for his life to his Uncle Laban’s house. There, Uncle Laban takes advantage of him for some 20 years through hardship, changes his wages ten times, rips him off. It’s a brutal season of his life, but God uses it to toughen him up.

At this point in the story, Jacob is about 100 years old, classic late bloomer. He finally started a family. He has two wives and a couple of maid servants/girlfriends on the side. They pumped out 11 kids – 11 sons rather and 1 daughter, 12 kids in seven years with 4 different women. Don’t do that, even though it’s in the Bible. I need to say that cause dudes are like, “Four chicks? This is a good church.” No, don’t do that.

Where we find him now, he’s been a believer for about 20 years. And God has spoken to him, and has clearly told him to leave Laban and to pack up his family and to go home back to his mom and his dad and his brother. The problem is that the last time he saw his brother, his brother was comforting himself by plotting his murder, and that’s not good. If you have anyone who, you know, let’s say they’re depressed and the way they cure their depression is determining whether they’re gonna whack you with a tire iron or run you over. That’s a bad relationship.

And so he’s worried about going home and having this conflict with his brother, and his brother might kill him, and who knows what happens? This is all the tension hanging in the air. Finally, though Jacob is growing in faith, he’s got a little courage. He stood up to his crooked father-in-law, Laban. Told Laban, “No, I’m not gonna serve you anymore. You have ripped me off. God has spoken. We’re gonna go home.”

So, he’s growing in faith. He’s maturing in masculinity. He’s taking responsibility, and now he is on his way home to deal with his most dreaded crisis, and that is the conflict with his brother, Esau. And on the way, you’re gonna see that he prays to and wrestles with God. And so we’ll pick it up right here, Genesis 32.

“Jacob also went on his way.” So, he’s on his way home after 20 years away from home. And the angels of God met him – which I don’t know about you – that just seems a little understated to me. “So how was your day?” “Good, the angels of God showed up.” “Anything else?” “Yeah. How do you know,” – I mean, that just seems peculiar. Like if the angels of God showed up in your cubicle tomorrow you’d get more than a sentence out of it. You’d – you know, and I don’t know how he knew they were the angels of God. I don’t know if they had buttons or badges or shirts, or I don’t know what. But the angels, “Hi, we’re the angels of God.” “Well, hi, I’m Jacob. Good to see you.”

“When Jacob saw them, he said, ‘This is the camp of God!’ So he named that place Mahanaim,” – which means the camp of God. So, God comes to Jacob again. “Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.”

Now, here’s the deal. He’s on his way home, and his brother might still be angry and want to murder him, so what you’re gonna see Jacob doing. He’s still a bit of a coward, and he’s still kind of the controlling manipulator. So, he keeps sending messengers and gifts out front thinking, “If I just keep hitting him with gifts and blessing and kindness, then by the time I get there with my tray full of cupcakes and my lemon yellow shirt and my nice demeanor, he won’t whack me.” That’s what he’s hoping is gonna go down.

So, “He instructed them: ‘This is what you are to say to my master, Esau,” – master. You notice the language here. Jacob is – he’s still kind of scared of his brother. How many of you are scared of your brother? Don’t raise your hand, wuss.

He’s kind of scared, so he calls him his master. Now I don’t know about you. I got two brothers, and they never called me master. He’s gonna call him master and lord – never heard that from my brothers. Your servant Jacob says, “Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now.” “So go ahead and tell my crazy, redheaded, furry, nutty brother that I’m on my way home.”

And here’s what you tell him. “I have cattles and donkeys, sheep and goats, menservants and maidservants.” Basically, “I have an Escalade. I have a big screen TV. I have a lot of bling and I have a whole posse that’s,” – this is like a Hebrew rapper. He’s got a lot of people with him and a lot of things, and here’s what he’s basically telling his brother. “I’m loaded, and if you don’t kill me, I’ll give you lots of things. You can have the Escalade. You can have the posse. I’ll put you in the video, and I made cupcakes.” That’s basically what he’s saying.

“Now I am sending this message to you, my lord.” Yeah, that’s a guy who doesn’t want to fight right there. You know if you meet a guy and he calls you lord, he doesn’t think he can take you, right? “You want a piece of me?” “Oh, no, my lord.” Oh, yeah, camp cupcake right there; good guy, yeah.

“That I might find favor in your eyes. When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, ‘We went to your brother Esau and now he’s coming to meet you with 400 men.’” That’s a bad day right there – 400 men. You know, it doesn’t say 400 flower girls. This is 400 men. How many of you, if your brother hated you, you’re going home? You’re already a coward, scared of him. God told you to go, and you heard 400 men are coming. “Oh, man, I’m not a good fighter to begin with.” And he’s 100 years old. That’s not a fair fight. A 100 year old guy can’t get a lid off a mayonnaise jar, let alone whip 400 guys, right?

So, now he’s gonna be worried obviously because is this a welcome party or a war party? He doesn’t know. “In great fear and distress,” – basically with soiled shorts and a case of the shakes – “Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and the herds and the camels as well.” He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the other may escape.”

So, he looks at his family, all these 12 kids, and all these women, and all his animals, and he says, “You know, I’m gonna divide them into two groups, and that way if he attacks one, then the other can run for their life.” And if you read Genesis 33:2, who do you think he put out front? Okay, the maidservants, the girlfriends, and then Leah, the wife he didn’t really like, and then Rachel, the hot girl. Good for her, bummer for everybody else.

Everybody else is like the human shield, you know. “Oh, they’ll kill the girlfriends and then wife. Rachel, then you run, okay? Run, run, run.” Good for her, bummer for everybody else. But he’s actually got a pretty good plan cause he’s trying to save some of the lives, and if they’re gonna attack and go to war, he doesn’t have the kind of soldiers to defend himself. He’s gonna get routed.

So the story continues. “Then Jacob prayed.” And this is where the story really settles in – very important season in Jacob’s life. This is a very significant event, so we’ll slow down here and we’ll pay attention to it. The reason it’s significant is because prayer is something that is not mentioned very often in Genesis. We saw that Abraham prayed for his crazy nephew, Lot. We saw that Isaac prayed for his barren wife, Rebekah. And we have seen Jacob on one occasion kind of pray, kind of try to negotiate with God. And here, he is going to pray.

In the prayers of the patriarchs of Abraham and Isaac, we didn’t get the words of their prayers. It doesn’t say what they said. Paul has a number of prayers in the New Testament. So does Jesus. But in the Book of Genesis the prayers are not usually recorded. This is by far the longest recorded prayer in the entire Book of Genesis, and it is distinct as well because up until this point every time that Jacob has contact with God, it is God who initiates and God who speaks to Jacob. Jacob now has been a believer and finally he is going to initiate with God. He’s going to talk to God, and he’s going to pray. That’s what’s important.

Okay. And for some of you, you are people that your prayer life isn’t very good. Jacob is a good lesson for us all. He’s a guy who is learning to pray out of necessity, but he’s learning to pray nonetheless. And for some of you, prayer might be something you’re not altogether familiar with. I understand that.

I was saved at the age of 19 in college, and I remember going to my first Christian prayer meeting, and they all knew what they were doing and I didn’t. I felt really uncomfortable. We sat in a circle, and they said, “Well, Mark, since you’re our guest, do you want to pray first?” I said, “No, cause I don’t know how to pray. You go first and I’ll watch.” And they’d pray, and I’d keep one eye open. I’m trying to figure out what we’re doing here.

Okay. Prayer is something that you learn to do. It’s like driving a clutch. The more you do it, the more natural it becomes, and the more habitual. It just becomes part of your life. Jacob is a guy who is not accustomed to first bringing things to God in prayer. He’s a deceiver and a manipulator and a controller, and he’s always trying to hedge his bets and work things out. And he’s trying to pay people off here, and he’s trying to make do with his own resources. And now he’s finally learning, “You know, I need to talk to God. I need to pray.”

And so, we’ll look at his prayer, and what we’ll see are some aspects of prayer that are important for us all to make note of and to learn from because he does pray well here. We’ll give him credit where credit is due. And additionally, his prayer life here is somewhat exemplary.

He starts off, “Oh, God of my father, Abraham, God of my father, Isaac.” Okay. First thing he starts with is a recognition that he is talking to God as God. It’s reverence and respect, and he notes the faithfulness of God. When you start your prayer, it is good to start by acknowledging the goodness of God, particularly in certain attributes of God.

In this case, what he’s saying is this. “You were faithful to my grandpa and you were faithful to my dad. And I am coming to you today because I know you are a faithful God.” And he needs God’s help, but before he just brings his laundry list to God, he acknowledges the God with whom he is communicating. And this is important because for many of us, I think prayer is seen as a stick and God as a pinata in the sky. And if we pray and then we whack God, then good things fall on us, and it’s not necessarily the way it works. Prayer is about us acknowledging first who God is and his character and his greatness so that he is respected and revered by us.

So he goes on – “Oh, lord who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives and I will make you prosper.’” Here he is praying the Word of God, okay. At this point, Genesis had not yet been written. Jacob could not sit down and read the Bible in the format that we have it today. I’m sure stories that are in Genesis were written down and recorded and such, but he didn’t have the Bible completed as we do today. And so he is working off of God’s revelation to him that had come prior where God told him, “Leave Laban and go home.” That was God’s word to him.

And so now here he is remembering God’s Word. And this is – I just cannot overstate the significance of this. Scripture and prayer go together. They go together very, very, very well and very vitally for you. Scripture is how God talks to us, and prayer is how we talk to God, and these are the means by which a relationship with God is built. Just like any relationship. God speaks to us. We speak to him.

And so for you and I to hear the Word of God, we go to Scripture. We read the Bible. And as we read, we hear about the character of God, and we hear about the commands of that God. So for us, we need to understand that reading the Bible is not sufficient apart from prayer. It is not sufficient to read Scripture apart from prayer because prayer is where we respond to God, and we make inquiry and request to God, and we work things through with God.

And some people I believe struggle in their prayer life because they don’t do well with their Bible reading. When you read Scripture, you will be convicted. You stop and repent of your sin. When you’re reading Scripture, you will be instructed, and you stop and you meditate and contemplate what it is that God is trying to teach you. Some of you read your Bible way too fast. Slow down. It’s not how much Bible you get through, but how much sticks in you that really matters. I would rather have you read slow and pray it through so that it sticks, as opposed to reading without remembering what it is you have read.

And also then, as you read some of you struggle with prayer saying, “Well, I don’t know if I can ask God for this, or I don’t know if I should ask God for that.” Well, if you’re reading your Bible and you’re praying according to Scripture, you’d know that you’re praying in according with the will of God – what the New Testament calls praying in Jesus’ name – praying in accordance with Jesus’ will.

If you’re reading the Bible – for example, and it says, “Forgive your enemies and do good to those who do evil to you,” – and you stop and pray. And you pray for your enemies, that God would change their heart and make them your friends, and that God would give you the grace to forgive them and to be like Christ to them.

If you’re reading your Bible and it says, “Husbands love your wives,” then men, we must stop and we must say, “God, you have commanded me right there. You have just spoken to me and told me to love my wife. Now give me the grace to do that. Give me the empowerment to do that, and today let me see the opportunities where you are providing for me the occasions in which I can love this woman.”

Likewise, with the wife. She’s reading and it says, “Respect your husband.” She must stop and pray – not just keep reading saying, “Well, I’ve read a lot today. That makes me a good godly woman.” No, God said to do something. He said, “Respect your husbands.” So, now would be a good time to close your eyes and fold your hands and bow your head and say, “God, you know my husband. I need help. I need a lot of help.” And you pray for God’s help. Same thing with parents – raising children. Stop and pray for your kids and pray for your parenting.

All of this works together. And when we read – I don’t know about you. This is gonna sound terrible. Don’t tell anybody I told you this, but I don’t read the Bible a lot. I read it and I pray, and I read it and I pray, and I go really, really slow. I go really, really slow. I read Scripture all the time, little bits at a time, because if I read it, automatically there’s something I’ve gotta talk to God about; I’ve gotta pray about; I’ve gotta confess; I’ve gotta work on; I need help with.

To me, it’s as if God were sitting there talking to me, and if he says something, I don’t want to just, “Okay, could you just talk for two hours? No, you told me to do something. Okay, now how do I do that? What do you want me to do? Can you help me out? What does this mean?” I want to know how to be obedient to what God is telling me, not just listening the Word, and as James says, “So deceiving myself,” – but actually doing what it says.

And so oftentimes people just listen to the Word of God, and they don’t obey it, and those are the people that are most prone to deception. I’m holy because I listen to a lot of God’s Word. But have you prayed a lot of God’s Word? Have you obeyed a lot of God’s Word? And I love the fact that here prayer comes out of the Word of God. I love that cause I’m a Bible guy. I love the Scriptures. God speaks to me through Scripture, but then I speak to God through prayer. God tells me to do things as I read the Bible.

And somebody say, “I wish God would talk to me.” Read the Bible and he will. And when he does, stop reading and start praying. Talk to him. Work it through. Apply it. Ask for the grace to obey, okay. And this is all hacked in to Jacob. Jacob says, “Okay, God. Here’s what I need to talk to you about today. You gave me a command in your Word. You told me to do something. I want to obey you, and I want to do that, but here’s the problem. I’m afraid and I could be killed, and you have called me into danger and harm. You’ve called me into risk. You’ve called me into faith and I want to talk to you about that, God.”

He’s not being reverent. He’s not telling God to change his mind. He’s asking God to enable him by grace to obey. That is a good prayer. A good prayer is someone who reads the Bible, hears God speak, stops and prays, and says, “God, I want to obey you. I’m gonna need your help.” That’s a great prayer. God told him to go home, and here’s what he says then in verse 10. “I am unworthy.” There is humility there.

When you’re speaking to God, you speak with reverence. When you’re praying to God, you do so with respect and humility. He says, “I am unworthy. God, you don’t need to listen to me. You don’t need to help me. You don’t need to serve me. You don’t need to put up with me. I’m not worthy. This is grace upon grace, mercy upon mercy, kindness upon kindness.”

And that’s why as Christians it’s good to pray on our knees. It shows that we’re not worthy, that we are humble, that we are standing before God, who is incredibly superior to us. “I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staph when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups.” He says, “I remember 20 years ago I was a 70-some year old homeless guy who had in his sum total of possessions a stick, which is not that impressive. There’s a lot of sticks and they’re free.” That’s not a big deal, right?

Somebody says, “Well, you’re 70. What have you got to show for it?” “I have this stick that I picked up.” “Anything else?” “No, I don’t even have two sticks. I just have one.” That’s not very impressive, is it? That’s not much of a resume. That doesn’t look like a guy who’s gonna bring the Lord Jesus into human history through his family life.

Here’s what he says. “God, before I give you a list of all the things I want – Jesus, I need a new car and a new wife. I need a plasma screen TV. And either my waist is too big or my jeans are too small, so we’ve gotta do something about that.” And before he goes down his whole to-do list, the first thing he does is he recognizes, “You know, God, you have already been good to me. You have taken good care of me. You’ve provided for me. You’ve put food on the table, roof over my head. I went from a homeless guy to a rich man. You have been exceedingly good.”

And this is important because prayer is not just the list of things that we request of God. It is oftentimes the list of things that God has already provided, and it’s gratitude. How many of you, before you ask God for something, you thank him for that which he has already provided, accomplished, done on your behalf? How many of you right now if you went home and your assignment was just make a list of all the things that you could thank God that he has done for you, done with you, done in you, done through you, given to you? How long would the list be?

I’ve gotten into this with my kids. I notice my kids it’s like, “Okay, it’s time to pray,” – and they’d all pray for things they needed. It’s not bad to pray for things you need, okay. “In all circumstances, by prayer and supplication, make your request known to God,” the Bible says. It’s okay to make requests, but it’s also good to stop and thank God for his previous provision.

I’ve done this with my kids cause I noticed when we go into prayer they’ll just get their to do list out for God. And I start asking questions like, “What have you to thank God for today? What has God done today? How did he provide? Who did he bring? What has he taught you?” And it changes the conversation. The kids all of the sudden learn to be looking throughout the day for the provision of God. As James says, “Every good and perfect gift comes from God.” You start looking for it so you can make note of it.

And I would tell you this. Don’t let time linger between God’s provision and your gratitude. If God provides, stop right there. “Thank you, God, for this friend or that experience or this opportunity or this provision. Thank you.” Get into the habit of thanking God.

I told my wife just recently. I said, “I do that a lot, but I don’t do it verbally.” And I said, “I’m gonna start doing it verbally so that the kids hear what’s going on in their daddy’s head. So don’t think I’m crazy when I’m like, ‘Hey, thanks, God, for not letting that car run us off the road cause that guy was talking on the phone.’ And, ‘Hey, thanks, God, that we have money to go out to dinner.’ And, ‘Hey, thanks, God, for this and that.’” I said, “So when I start talking out loud you’ll know I’m doing okay mentally. I’m just verbalizing what’s going on upstairs here.”

And the kids then, I want them to get used to hearing daddy regularly just thanking God and making note. And then I want the kids to get into the habit of doing the same thing. Like when God provides, we stop; we say thanks; we make recognition; we give gratitude, okay.

Jacob hasn’t done this a lot in his life. He’s finally learning to do it. “You are a good God. You’re faithful. I’m not a great guy. I have been 100 years of hard work and a pain in your neck. You have blessed me richly. I need you today, God, but before I tell you my needs, let me tell you my thanks.” That’s a good way to pray. It’s not that he doesn’t ask God for something, but first he thanks God for what God has already accomplished.

And here is his prayer – “Save me,” – that is a good prayer. Some of you need to pray that prayer. You’re going to hell. I’m not supposed to say that. I had a guy recently said, “I don’t believe in hell.” I said, “You will, you know. You will.” We’re not supposed to say this, but some of you need to get saved. You say, “What does saved mean?” Saved from God – that doesn’t scare you.

You know, you were made by God. You come from God. You’ve sinned against God. You’re separated from God. You will die, return to God, stand before God, give an account to God, and be crushed by God. God is not going to just wink at sin and sinners. We have two options. God becomes a man, Jesus Christ. He lives a substitute life and dies a substitute death in our place, therefore we are forgiven.

We cry out to God, say, “Save me.” Jesus says, “I already took care of that. I died for your sin. I’ll save you,” – or there is no salvation. Either Jesus dies on our behalf, or we die. Either he pays the penalty for our sin, or we pay the penalty for our sin. And since we have sinned against an eternal God that is an eternal sin, and either the internal God pays the price or we pay that price eternally. That is hell, okay. We believe in hell. We believe in hell.

Jesus talked about hell more than anybody else in the Bible. And what he said was this. “Don’t just fear people who can kill you.” He’s scared of Esau. I’ll tell you who’s tougher than Esau – Jesus. Jesus Christ told us not to just fear those who can kill us like Esau, but God who can kill us and throw us headlong into hell.

Some of you today, this needs to be your first sincere prayer. “God, I am a sinner. You’re gonna crush me. Save me from your own wrath and your own justice. Have your Son intercede on my behalf. Take away my punishment. Give me his love.” It’s a great prayer – “Save me.” Sometimes that is the prayer.

Today, if you are here and you are not a Christian, you can pray a very simple prayer, and if you mean it in your heart – “Save me,” – then God does and will. “Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, Esau.” He is terrified.

How many of you going into hardship and difficulty, the first thing you do is freak out and not pray? Somebody says, “I have anxiety.” Well, okay, some people have medical issues. I understand that. Some people have chemical issues. Some people also just have a crummy prayer life. Hardship comes. I am scared. I am gonna die. It’s a hard time. I don’t know what the future holds. I have to move. My life is before me, but I have no idea where it’s going.

Well, do you pray well? Prayer does diminish anxiety if you pray in faith. At this point, he could be just freaking out. “Esau is gonna kill me. Four hundred men are coming. I’m 100 years old. I would run for it, but I can’t. You know, this is a hard day. You know what I’m gonna do? Pray.” Sometimes – every time prayer is the right thing to do.

So many of us, though, like Jacob, we start thinking, “Who can I call? What can I do? How can I fix it? How can I manipulate it? What’s my solution? How can I remedy this? What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? What am I?” You know what? You need God. You’re in over your head because he’s already been here once, you remember? He ran away from Laban, and what did Laban do? Chased him with the intent of killing him.

And what did God do? Showed up at Laban’s camp and said, “You do not touch Jacob. You mess with Jacob, you mess with me. Got it?” Right? Pulled the Italian uncle line, right? And so then Laban shows up and doesn’t do him harm.

Well, now he’s gonna have conflict with Esau. Does he have access to Esau’s heart? No. Can he change Esau’s mind? No. Can God? Yes. What Jacob doesn’t need to do is take matters into his own hands. He really does need God, and he needs to pray. And he’s praying, I believe, in hope that God would protect him from Esau in the same way that God had protected him from Laban. He’s finally learning to pray.

So many Christians pray after they’ve done everything they can. “I’ve done everything I can. Okay, God. See what you can do.” Now I’ll call in for the junior varsity, see if they can do anything. Guys, we start with prayer. In the middle we pray, and we pray in the end. We pray all the way through because we do need God. And I don’t know what you’re going through, and I don’t know what your hardship is, and I don’t know what frightens you most today, but I’ll tell you what. Apart from prayer, you’re not gonna be doing well and things won’t work out at all.

Maybe God has allowed these things to come into your life to compel you to pray – to teach you to pray. He says, “For I am afraid he will come and attack me.” That’s an honest prayer. “God, I’m afraid I’m gonna die today.” And also the mothers with their children – finally Jacob is thinking about someone other than Jacob. “And God, we have these women and these children. And if Esau attacks, I don’t want to die today, but here is what I’m really burdened for, the women and the children.”

This is a profound change in his life. He was a totally irresponsible guy – no job, no business, no wife, no kids, no responsibility. Every time hardship came, he ran. He ran away from home. Now he’s leaving Laban. The guy doesn’t like conflict, doesn’t like hardship. God has put him in a place where because of his responsibilities he has to hang in there. He has to learn fortitude. He has to learn strength and courage. He has to learn to be a man.

And what he’s thinking about as a man is right. He’s thinking about the well being of women and children. And this is one of the great delights of being a man, to think of women and children and their well being, particularly your wife and your children. That’s why some of you guys – I gotta be careful, but probably not. Some of you guys have avoided responsibility all your life, and you’re like Jacob and you’re a late bloomer. You should have a business and a house and a wife and some kids, and right now you don’t. Some of you are getting married. Some of you are starting your companies. Some of you are having your children and you’re starting to feel that burden of responsibility, and it’s good. It’s good because character and masculinity is built through responsibility.

Jacob can’t just run for his life. He has his wife, his kids, and the command of God to take them into harm’s way. God has hemmed him in, as it were, forcing him to be an obedient man of courage and faith. But I love the fact that he is concerned about his wife and his children. Finally there is more to Jacob’s wife than Jacob. Some of you guys want to get married because you want a wife to take care of you like your mom did. No. You want responsibility so that you can care for a woman and children, and in that way, God would use that circumstance to make you more of a man.

And then he goes back to the promises of God, back to the Word of God. “But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea which cannot be counted.’” This is all the way back to the promises of the Abrahamic covenant given to his grandpa. He said, “Here’s the deal, God. You said to go into harm’s way. I’m going into harm’s way. Four hundred men are coming. I might die. What I’m most concerned about is the women and the children. But God, I am going to march headlong into harm’s way and potential death because you promised that we wouldn’t die, but that we would live, and that we wouldn’t cease to be, but that indeed we would flourish.”

Okay. When times get hard and we pray, we must go back to Scripture and the promises of God that he loves us, won’t leave us, forsake us; that he has forgiven all of our sins; that he goes before us; that he has filled us with his spirit; that our life is for meaning and purpose and that all things will work out for good. Whatever those promises are, we have to cling to those promises and walk ahead in faith. And he goes back to the promises of God.

This is a good prayer. “God, this is who you are, your character of faithfulness. God, this is who I am, a man who is scared and has dealt with things wrongly. And now I am at a place that I’m in over my head, so you need to save me. Save these women. Save these children. You need to work in the heart of my brother. God, I am at the end of myself. I’m the ultimate manipulator and schemer, but this is completely beyond my ability to fix. But God, here’s one thing I know. You’ve promised to do good to me, and I trust you today. And so tomorrow I will pack up and I will walk headlong into harm’s way knowing that you are a good God and that I trust you because you are trustworthy.”

This is the instance of his prayer life. And I want you to see that this is a man who is being honest with God in a very respectful and reverential way. “I am scared. I have concerns. I need you.” From this, we’re learning how to pray. We’re learning how to pray. The story then continues and I’d say this. At this point, you will find he prays. Does anything happen? Nothing happens. No confirming sign. No angel out of heaven. No word from God. He prays and then he just needs to trust that God has heard his prayer and that God will answer it. And he walks forward in silence and darkness.

Some of you say, “God, I’ve prayed and as soon as you prove that you got the mail and that you’ve answered in the affirmative, then I will trust you.” And God says, “You go first.” “He spent the night there and from what he had, he selected a gift for his brother, Esau, 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 female camels and their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys.” That is a magnificent effort at sucking up, correct?

Like that is huge – and an Escalade and a big screen TV and a new house and a new car. And tell him what he’s won, Johnny. He’s trying to buy his brother off. Now here’s the deal. God said, “Go home.” Jacob said, “Okay, God, I’ll obey you.” Jacob prays to God, “God, I need your help. Save me. Protect me.” Oh, and then God doesn’t say anything. So here’s what Jacob does, like many believers do. “God, I will obey you and cover my butt.” In the Hebrew, that’s kind of what it says.

So, that’s what he’s doing here. He’s covering himself. Just, “Okay, God, but what if you don’t show up? What if you don’t protect me? Then what?” “Well, then I’m not God and you’ve got bigger troubles than Esau, you know.” My God’s a loser.

So, here’s what he’s trying to do. “God, I’ll obey you and I’ll still take matters into my own hands. And if you provide, great – and if not, I’ll take care of it myself.” He’s still a guy who is growing in faith. He’s still kind of a coward. He doesn’t like conflict. He doesn’t fully trust God. He is praying to God. That’s good. His prayer is a good prayer, but you look at his actions after it. He’s still trying to manipulate his brother, sending loads of gifts and messengers, one after the other, call him lord and master, give him 550 animals. By the time I get there with my cupcakes and my lemon yellow polo shirt, he’ll be in a better mood.

See, friends, this is kind of how it works, right? We pray to God. He doesn’t say anything, so we try to figure out how we can protect ourselves and live our life without him. It’s faith. It’s a test of faith. He’s not doing so well. His prayer life is good, but his unbelief is abiding.

“He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, ‘Go ahead of me and keep some space between the herds.’ He instructed the one in the lead, ‘When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong and where are you going and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ Then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob.’” Kissing up, ripped of his brother, trying to buy him off now. “They are a gift sent to my lord, Esau, and he that is Jacob is coming behind us.”

“Here is the big screen TV. Jacob says hi.” Next guy – “Hey, here’s a new car. Jacob says hi.” Next guy – “Hey, how you doing? Here’s some food. You having a nice day? Jacob’s coming. He’s got cupcakes.” He’s still a guy who’s trying to control things instead of just trusting God in faith.

“He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: ‘You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind.’ For he thought” – and here’s the truth. “I will pacify him. I will calm him. I will buy him out.” This is still a manipulator, a controller – “With these gifts I am sending on ahead.” Later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me. “He’ll kiss me instead of run a shiv through me.” “So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.” He’s still a little scared. “I’ll let him play with the Xbox tonight and I’ll see him tomorrow, see if that helps.”

“That night Jacob got up, took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his 11 sons, as well as his daughter.” She’s not mentioned, but he at this point has 11 sons. He’ll have a twelfth son, Benjamin in Genesis 35. They’ll become the 12 tribes of the nations of Israel. They have one girl. Her name is Dinah. In two weeks, we’ll look at her in Genesis 34. She gets violated. Her brothers run off and just commit murder on every man they can find after a mass circumcision. That’s crazy. You don’t want to miss that one.

And after he – you think I’m kidding – “After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.” So, Jacob was left all alone. Okay. Now the scene shifts from Jacob’s on a journey. He’s taking matters into his own hands, but he is praying. He’s a man who is doubting and struggling. And so now God has got him literally all by himself. Jacob is all by himself, and sometimes God does this with a silent solitude. God gets us by ourselves to work with us. “And a man wrestled with him until the daybreak.”

This is one of the most peculiar stories in the Bible and that’s all we got, just one. Like how many of you guys – you know, you’re going, “Well, what happened?” How many of you guys – this is your worst nightmare? You’re 100 years old. It’s the middle of the night. You get up to go to the bathroom again, right? And you’re going to the bathroom again and some dude smacks you in the back of the head and jumps you, and there you are wrestling with that guy, fighting all night, right? And it’s dark and nobody’s around and you’re fighting all night.

How many of you guys have been in a good fight? Not one of those like – “Oh, and you don’t have any self control. You have a bad attitude.” Not one of those, you know, real world emotional tiffs. I’m talking dude to dude, tire iron to tire iron, man to man, somebody’s gonna die and they’ll never find the body fights. How many of you guys have been in a real good fight? Not with your wife, with a guy – some dude. Is fighting not the most exhausting thing?

I have been in some good fights. I grew up Seatac. This is how it works. We did it like this. It’d be night. We’d jump you, and then we’d whack you around. That’s what Jesus is doing here. It’s in the Bible. It’s biblical. And I just – I gotta think that Jacob was like distressed and Jesus just walked up and smacked him in the back of the head. I don’t know, but that would be cool.

And how many of you guys, when you’re fighting with a total stranger in the dark out in the middle of the woods all night? See, now Jacob, up until this point, he’s not much of a man. He doesn’t persevere. He’s kind of a coward. He doesn’t like conflict. Jacob is gonna – Jesus rather is gonna show up to Jacob, and he’s gonna beat him up and make him a man. Some of you guys, now your whole life makes sense. You’re like – I said, “Lord, God, please come,” and he beat me up. That’s what he does, all right.

The presence of God is not like going to the spa. “Oh, you missed a spot. Could you wax my elbow, and where’s the aromatherapy? And I like that tape, the sounds of running water. And can we do more chamomile tea?” That’s not God. That’s God. Jesus shows up in a muscle shirt and whacks you around. You’re dealing with the real God, not the sky fairy. You’re dealing with the real God. This is the real God. Jesus shows up for a fight. I love that. These are my favorite verses in the whole Bible.

Jesus shows up for a fight with a 100 year old man, which doesn’t seem very fair cause when you are picking on a 100 year old man, that’s sort of cruel and mean, but funny. And they wrestle all night. And what I love about it is Jesus – Jesus humbles himself just to be at the level that Jacob can’t win or lose, but he’s gonna wear the old man out. He’s trying to teach Jacob fortitude and courage and masculinity – “And you ran from your brother and you ran from your uncle and now you’re crying, ‘Oh, save me.’ Well, toughen up and fight, you little girl. Come on.” I shouldn’t have said that. There’ll be more.

But, you know, how many guys are like that? They’re just not good for anything. They’re just weak, cowardly. They just don’t know how to fight. Well, there’s a good way to fight and this guy – if he’s gonna go home and deal with Esau and found a nation and raise 12 sons, he’s gotta toughen up a little bit. He’s just not very tough. And some guys say, “Oh, but I don’t know.” Oh, it just kills me when God’s men have no stamina, no courage, no fortitude, no conviction – and here’s Jesus. “Man, I am gonna beat you up all night. You are gonna toughen up.”

How many dads do that with their sons? If you’re a dad, do this. Don’t walk up and cuff them in the middle of the night. CPS will take him and you won’t be a dad. You’ll be an ex-dad. But wrestle with your boy, right? I’ve got two sons and we wrestle. They’re different than my daughters. My daughters are like, “We need to cuddle.” My sons are like, “We need to pile drive.” They demonstrate affection differently, so I wrestle.

I’ve got a five year old and a three year old, and we wrestle. And you know what? I wrestle at their level. I get down at their eye level and I use as much strength as they have. So, the three year old and the five year old, what I’m trying to do is teach them to be tough, to hang in there, to fight fair, to win, to have courage, to be strong. They’ll be like, “I’m tired.” “Get back in here. There’s no crying in the Driscoll house. You’re Christians, you know.” If you want to do aromatherapy, you’ve gotta find another guy. We’ve got stuff to do here. And so we wrestle and fight, and it’s good and you toughen your boys up. And I don’t beat them up. I’m not mean to my boys. We wrestle and have fun, but I’m using whatever strength level they have to teach them how to be men.

And God’s doing the same thing here with Jacob. “Jacob, I’m gonna meet you face to face and I’m gonna push you around. I’m gonna make you push me back. We’re gonna wrestle here. We’re gonna get at it. We’re gonna fight. You’re gonna learn to fight. You’re gonna learn to be tough. You know, you’re gonna learn to hold your ground. Yeah, you gave it to Laban eye to eye, but only after he hunted you down. You didn’t have the courage to look him in the face before you ran away from home. And now you’re crying, ‘Oh, Esau’s gonna whack me.’ Well, go look him in the eye and have it out and be a man. And so what if he does raise his fist? Raise yours. Hold your ground.”

And Jesus is teaching him all of this. And I love this, cause men, we have to be strong. If you want to love a woman, if you want to raise some kids, if you want to serve Christ, you better have some courage, strength, and masculine dignity. And maybe somebody ripped it out of you. We’re here to give it back. We’re here to give it back. And I’ll tell you what. The beauty of this is this guy is gonna go from just a homeless, worthless coward to Israel. That’s where we’re going once he gets a little courage, fortitude, conviction, and strength.

And he becomes a man. He gets strong and it’s a good thing. It’s a glorious thing. And I love this too. I was talking to my boys. Here’s how the Bible studies go at the Driscoll house. I totally shouldn’t tell you, so I apologize in advance. But we were talking about this last night cause for Genesis this is a great Bible study for little boys cause you’ve got Cain and Abel. You’ve got Isaac and Ishmael. You’ve got Jacob and Esau. You’ve got all these brother stories and conflict.

So, last night my five year old is on the top bunk. My three year old is on the bottom bunk, and my three year old says, “Tell me a story about Jacob. Tell us a story about Jacob and Esau.” So I told them this story. And I said, “I’ll tell you the one where Jesus comes out of Heaven and he fights with Jacob.” “Really?” “Yeah.” “Okay, tell us the story.” It’s just like he can’t even breathe. He’s just mesmerized.

And I said, “They wrestled all night. Can you imagine how tired you’d be if you fought all night?” And my little son, Calvin, he says, “Oh, yeah, I fight with Zachie and,” – that’s his older brother – “And I get so tired.” And then they start speculating for quite a while on what moves Jesus might have used. And Zach’s like, “I think he stands up in his bed. I think he did a pile driver and he jumps down on his bed.” Calvin’s like, “I think he whacked him in the head and punched him in the neck.” And they’re back and forth. And this goes on for a while. I’m like, “Okay, guys. I gotta finish this story. Thanks for all the blow by blow – you know, all the hyperbole about the potential war.”

And I said, “They fought all night. You know why? God wanted him to be tough and strong, and God wanted him to hang in there and learn to persevere and be a man.”

He’s toughening the guy up, you know. And they wrestle all night, they fight, and here’s how it goes down. At this point, he doesn’t know it’s God. He doesn’t know who is is. Hey, wouldn’t this be terrifying, guys? Man, fighting all night. “When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hips so that he was wrenched and as he wrestled with the man.” So here’s the deal. And they said – “Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’”

Jesus comes over to Jacob and touches his hip. Jacob’s thinking, “I’ve hung in there. Man, I’ve fought all night. I’m 100. I’m a little crazy, but I held my own. I’m finally a man. I’m a dude of dudes, got my masculinity back, good thing.” And Jesus walks over, touches his hip. Oh, now he’s got a limp for the rest of his life. Oh, how many of you guys got that? Oh, I thought I was cool doing that thing. And oh, my gosh, I pulled everything.

Jesus does that to show Jacob, “I could have crushed you. I could have killed you, destroyed you, but I didn’t. I humbled myself to calm down and toughen you up and work with you and make you a man. You need to still respect me cause I could crush you at any minute.” But here’s the good news about Jacob. He spends the rest of his life with his masculine dignity intact. He’s a man now. He’s tough. And he’s got a limp, but every time he limps, he remembers, “You know what? The God who could crush me decided to make me a man. He definitely loves me. I’m his son. I’d much rather limp with my dignity than walk without any.”

“Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’” We’re done. The sun’s coming up. That’s a good fight right there. “But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’” God love that. Here’s what he says. “I’ve fought all night. You’re gonna bless me. I became a man last night and I don’t let people boss me around and tell me what to do.” I believe this is a test for Jacob. He looks at Jesus. “I need you to bless me.”

Guys, this is a man, a man who loves God, serves God, respects God, belongs to God, confesses his sin to God, goes to God, says, “God, I need you to bless me. I want to be your son. I want to be a good son. I want to be a faithful son. I want to be a fruitful son. You bless me. I need your blessing.” It’s one of the dominant themes in Genesis. It appears more than 80 times. It is hugely important that you and I live under the blessing of God.

And here’s what Jesus asks. I love this. “The man,” – we’ll get to that in a second. It should be like the big M, man, like the man that Johnny Cash sings about, you know – the man. It’s that man. The man asked him, “What is your name?” I love Jesus. He does this in the New Testament too. People come and ask him a question. How does he reply? With a question. He’s like, “I’m not going to school. I’m the teacher. Don’t ask me any questions.”

“What is your name, boy?” “Jacob,” he answered. What does Jacob mean? Deceiver, trickster, supplanter, control freak, not a very godly man. Previously, when his daddy asked him, “What’s your name,” he lied and he said, “I’m Esau,” and stole the blessing. Now he tells the truth. “My name’s Jacob. I’m a deceiver, a trickster, a supplanter. I’m a coward and a control freak. I haven’t prayed well. I haven’t served well. I’ve taken matters into my own hands most of my life. I’ve made a big mess and wreck of it, but here today I’m repenting. I’m gonna be a man and I need you to bless me.”

He’s been a believer 20 years. Some of you guys have been a believer a number of years. You’re still not a man yet. Okay, here’s the deal. Women birth males. God makes men, and he does it through hardship and he does it through conflict, okay. Men are forged by God through hardship and conflict. They’re birthed by women, but they’re made by God. God’s making them a man. I pray that for all you men that God makes us men, not just males. There’s more than enough males in the world. There are not enough men.

Jacob. “Then the man said,” – that’s Jesus. “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel because you have wrestled with God and men and have overcome.” He gets a new name cause he’s a new man, what Paul calls a new creation in Christ. Israel means one who wrestles with God and perseveres. “You are not Jacob. You’re Israel.” He’s on the brink of the Promised Land getting ready to go home. He’s gotta deal with Esau. His whole life is before him.

“Today you’re a man. You’re a late bloomer. You’re 100 years old. I’ve been working on you for a long time. Finally, we get to give you a new name cause you’re a new man. You’re not the trickster and manipulator, cowardly momma’s boy. You’re a man’s man. You’re God’s man. You’re Israel, one who wrestles with God and man until he prevails. You now have dignity and courage and strength. Yeah, you’ve got a fat lip and blood coming out of your nose. Yeah, you’re walking with a limp and you’re all dirty, but at least you’re a man.” I love that.

From this point forward, Israel becomes the name of the nation that his 11 sons and the 12th, Benjamin, that will be birthed in Genesis 35, found as the 12 tribes of Israel. “Through this man comes the Lord Jesus Christ who saves us.” Today, if you look at a map, you will find the nation of Israel there. That’s this man’s legacy. This name, Israel, from this point forward, appears more than 1,800 times in your Bible, both as the man and the nation. What does that tell you? A man wrestles with God and hangs in there, bloodied lip, broken nose, walking with a limp. God will bless him and Jesus Christ does bless him.

I don’t know how this works. I just get this picture in my mind of maybe Jacob kneeling in humility and Jesus just putting a hand on him and praying over him. That’s what I see. “Your name is not Jacob. It’s Israel. You’re a new man today. Things will be different. You belong to me. You serve me. You trust me. You listen to me. You pray to me. You follow me. And when it’s over, you’ll see me again.”

I tell you what, men, that’s what we all are, right? Man, guys, we want to get to the end and we want to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into your rest.” We want Jesus to put his hand on our head, gentlemen. We want our knee on the ground, and we want the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to walk him home as sons and knights. Jesus Christ blesses him.

“You’ve wrestled with God and men and overcome.” And here’s what Jesus is saying. “You started fighting with Esau in the womb. You fought with him your whole life. You ran like a coward. I brought you to Laban. You fought with him for 20 years. Now you’re running home and you’re fighting with me. Everybody in your life, they were working for me, Jacob. I’ve been trying to toughen you up since the womb.”

I’ll tell you what, friends. Sin doesn’t come from God, but it’s used by God. And everything and everyone in your life either comes from the hand of God or passes through the hand of God, and it is brought into your life so that you will be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. The most difficult obstinate circumstances and people are there by the decree of God. They are permitted by the hand of God. God uses people, jobs, circumstances, marriage, kids, hardship, poverty, homelessness. It’s all here in the story. He uses all of it. For what? For his glory and our good.

And here’s what he tells Jacob. “Jacob, you think that your life is a series of unfortunate, tragic events. They are not. They are all custom designed by me, your loving God, to make you into a man who’s worth something, who can die with dignity and legacy,” – and so it’s all for a good reason. That’s why Paul says, “We can thank God in all circumstances because whatever we are in is his will for us in Christ Jesus.”

Friends, you’re not fighting people. You’re fighting God. You’re not fighting circumstances. You’re fighting God. And now certainly the people and the circumstances are real, but behind them is God. And when you’re in them, you don’t ask, “God, how can I take matters into my own hands and take away my hardship?” You say, “God, how can this be used to make me more like you? I would rather limp with a blessing than skip without one.” And he’s just revealed all of the hardship in Jacob’s life. It’s from me for you. You’re blessed now – a new man. You’ll see. It was all worth it.

The story then continues. “But Jacob said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ And he replied, ‘Why do you ask my name?’” You notice Jesus doesn’t answer a lot of questions. “And then he blessed him there.” Jacob did indeed get his blessing. “So Jacob called that place Peniel saying, ‘It’s because I saw the face of God and my life was spared.’” Peniel means the face of God.

Okay. Now it said, “A man came and he didn’t know who it was.” This man blesses him, has authority over Jacob the patriarch, and he says, “I have seen the face of God in this man. This man is the face of God.” I tell you what, friends. The face of God is Jesus Christ. The face of God is Jesus Christ. And the Bible says that one day we shall see him face to face. You and I will be at a place called Peniel.

In the end Paul tells the Corinthians, “You and I will see this same Jesus face to face. It’s my prayer that he will have saved you because you prayed to him, and he has died for your sin and that his life would have been given for you that you would pray to him, wrestle with him, that in the end your knee would be bent, your head would be bowed, that he would bless you as his child in the place of Peniel where then you get to lift your face up and see the face of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.” But I’ll tell you what, guys. There’s bad hurt and there’s good hurt. This is good hurt, right? This is the guy who at every step says, “At least I’m a man. At least I’m a man.” He’s got his dignity. He’s got his relationship with God.

“And therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.” You say, “Why is it that the Jews have certain dietary laws and they won’t eat certain parts?” Well, it’s not just magic and superstition. It’s actually theological learning. It’s an opportunity for them to remember Jesus touched Jacob our forefather here, so we don’t eat that part of an animal. Why? Because we remember that that place is sacred and was touched by God.

Here’s the story of Jacob. He starts sinning in his mother’s womb, punching his brother in the mouth. Gets out, he’s a deceiver and a trickster and a coward and a momma’s boy, hiding under his momma’s apron. He’s a manipulator and a control freak playing favorites, steals his brother’s birthright and blessing. Rather than dealing with it, he runs to Laban. Laban is used by God to cause him to have 20 years of hard labor.

Laban rips him off, takes advantage of him, gives him a taste of his own medicine so that he reaps what he sows, but God blesses him with speckled and spotted sheep. Business takes off and he leaves. He’s doing really, really good financially, and then two things happen. He prays to God, but he still doesn’t have as much faith as he needs to. He’s still being the trickster and the deceiver and the manipulator and the controller. And so then Jesus comes and wrestles with him, toughens him up, bloodies his lip, busts his hip, makes him into a man.

Now he’s on the brink of the Promised Land. Now he’s ready to be the kind of father who can raise 12 sons to be the nation of Israel. Now he’s ready to take the land that God promised his grandfather, Abraham. Now he’s ready to be the kind of man through whom the Lord Jesus Christ could come. See, God tells us that even when we are faithless, he is faithful. That is the story of Jacob, 100 years of faithfulness to a difficult man until that man was transformed from Jacob into Israel.

Here’s the question though. Is everything resolved? Is everything resolved? It’s not. I’m struggling with the conclusion on this sermon. Last night I was sitting up with my lovely wife, and we were sitting by candlelight and visiting. And she asked something to the effect of, “Well, what’s your conclusion?” Cause I was telling her about the sermon. I said, “I don’t know. I don’t have a conclusion.” And she said, “Well, where do you think you’ll go?” I said, “You know, the problem is there’s no resolution in the text.”

At this point, yeah, he’s saved and he’s got his business under way. And he’s got his family. And he’s obeying God. And he’s obeying the Word of God. And he’s praying. And he’s wrestled with God, and he’s got his masculine dignity and courage. But he still hasn’t gone home. He still hasn’t claimed the Promised Land. He still hasn’t dealt with his brother Esau. He still hasn’t dealt with his past sin. The problem is that the story is not resolved. And I was thinking about it talking to my lovely wife.

And I think that’s the point. See, we live in this world where you watch TV and within 22 minutes minus the commercials whatever catastrophe happened is resolved. You watch a movie, and whatever drama has escalated, by the end of the movie some two hours in, it is resolved. And when you come to church, the pastor will put out some enormous issue, and within however much time he takes – definitely not as much as I take – it is resolved.

And the thing we are continually told is, you know, life is about resolution and if you give your life to Jesus, he’ll give you resolution. So if your marriage is bad, he’ll fix it. And if your health is bad, he’ll heal you. If your finances are bad, he’ll bless you. And if your relationships are strained, he will reconcile them. He certain can.

But here’s what I must tell you. You will not leave here today with everything resolved. You won’t leave here today with everything resolved. And I have two things that you must choose between – resolution or relationship. And I think that’s the point. Jacob’s life is not resolved. God doesn’t say, “Don’t worry. You won’t get killed.” God doesn’t say anything. God says, “You go.” “What if they kill me?” “Well, then you’ll be dead. Go. Your job is not to question me.”

Jacob still has questions for God. Does Jesus answer his questions? No. “Don’t ask me questions. Obey my Word. Go. Trust me. Trust me and go on with your life. You may die. Your kids may get slaughtered. The nation of Israel may not get founded. The Lord Jesus Christ may not come. You just do what you’re told.” You’re not God. I’m not God. We’re not God. We don’t need to know what God knows. We don’t need to do what God does, and we don’t need to second guess what God says, what God wants, what God does. Faith is all about trusting God, taking his hand, and walking blindly into darkness because we don’t know the resolution, but we do trust the relationship. And I believe that’s the heart of the story of Jacob. His life is not resolved, but his relationship with Jesus Christ is.

Friends, I bring you here today. God brings you here today, not to guarantee resolution to everything in your life in our hour and a half, two hours together, but to promise relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. You can pray to him. You can wrestle with him. You can read his Word and he will speak to you. You can take your sin to him, and he will walk patiently with you for 100 years if necessary until he gets you to the place where he can bless you, change your name, and cause you to be a new creation.

I am telling you that maybe it is not about things changing, but you changing. And I’m saying that perhaps God’s goal is not that it would all be resolved, but that with you he would have a relationship. And so today I invite you to confess your sins and ask him, “Save me.” For those of you that do know him, it is your day to repent of your ongoing sins of unbelief and control and manipulation and deception and wrestle with God metaphorically, in prayer, and in life until you get your blessing.

And if he should cause you to limp, and life is not perfect, and your health is not great, and your marriage isn’t perfect, and your finances aren’t good, here’s the thing. You have a relationship with the living God. And one day you will stand before him, and your goal should be to have him lay hands upon and bless you as he did Jacob. And you leave the details in the hand of the Sovereign God. I’ll pray.

Father, God, we love you. I thank you so much for your Word. And God, I thank you for the life of Jacob. We have seen him at his worst. We have seen him at his best. God, I pray for us all today. God, so many of us come in here wanting resolution, wanting you to just fix everything.

And God, thank you from the example of Jacob, that maybe more than working on things, you’re working on us. And more than straightening out life, you’re straightening out us. And God, maybe more than resolution, you’re seeking relationship where we would pray to you and not just take matters into our own hands, where we would listen to you and not try and protect ourselves just in case you are a failure.

God, I pray for everyone in this room that they would first pray, “Save me.” And God, that thereafter they would have a life of prayer where they grow in their prayer life with you. And God, I pray that when the hard times come, we wouldn’t run from them. We’d run to them. I pray for us all in general, and for our men in particular, Lord, God, your men, that you would wrestle with us like Jacob. That you would use people in our lives like Laban and Esau to make us strong men, courageous men, bold men, responsible men, masculine men, men with dignity, men with battle scars.