TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED

INTRO

Good morning! My name is Ryan, I’m one of the pastors here at Georgianna.

It’s so good to be with you in worship today…

[MENTION LIVE STREAM AT 9:45]

Pastor Corky spent the last 6 weeks on a really great sermon series called Yoked about how we can learn to take of easy yoke and the light burden of Jesus… and find some ways to slow down so we’re not working ourselves into the ground...

And very poetically… this week… He’s on vacation.

I think you should be proud of your pastor :)

Here’s how you know he’s really serious… if you emailed him this past week… you got an “out of office reply”

Now he’s not a totally changed man because really Deedie and I collaborated and made that happen… but he ALLOWED it…

So that’s a step!

Anyways… just pray that that is a restful and restorative time away for the 2 of them...

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And today we are starting a new sermon series called “Things Jesus Never Said.”

Now before you get too uncomfortable… let’s just acknowledge in the room that we’ve all done this right?

We’ve assumed that certain things were in the Bible… or may have been the words of Jesus… but maybe we’ve gotten Scripture confused with Poor Richard’s Almanac or Aesop’s Fables or old adages your grandmother used to tell you.

And I’ll tell you how I know we’ve all done this… and if you read our weekly email you might know what I’m about to say...

****There was a study done by George Barna which found that “the most widely-known Bible verse among adult and teen believers is ‘God helps those who help themselves.’”

Church, “the most widely-known Bible verse” isn’t even in the Bible!

I don’t even know what to do with that!

Now here’s why this is important…

Best-case scenario: we might just be getting it wrong.

Worst-case scenario: we might be confusing or even losing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So the Apostle Paul writes to his protege Timothy in the New Testament… and in the face of false teaching and losing the Gospel, Paul writes:

2 Timothy 2:15 NIV

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

This is what we’re after in this series… to be a people who correctly handle the word of truth.

So let’s all just start off and admit that we’re guilty, right? We’ve all taken the shortcut… maybe we’ve assumed that we know what the Bible says without REALLY devoting ourselves to it.

So today… and for the next several weeks… please don’t hear this series in a judgmental fashion if you’re guilty of one or more of these phrases...

But let’s just all agree together that we’re drawing a line in the sand and we will not settle for bumper sticker theology… but we want to correctly handle the word of truth.

Amen?

OPENING PRAYER

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight… O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

ME

The other day Zoe and I were riding around in the car and a song came on the radio that she wasn’t a fan of…

And she responded, as any teenager in training would… and she said… “ugh… I hate this song.”

And I thought, hate? That’s a bit strong right?

And it got me thinking about some of those words that we toss around pretty often… and they end up kind of losing their meaning.... sometimes it’s a deep meaning…

Zoe hates this song...

But I also hate murder so…

It’s the same word, but it doesn’t really mean the same thing.

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Or how about this…

I LOVE my wife…

But I also really love hamburgers.

These things don’t really mean the same thing right?

Allie really hopes not…

WE

Here’s a church-y one...

I was BLESSED with a good parking spot at Publix....

But then we also sing a song about blessing that says, “May His favor be upon you for a thousand generations and your family and your children and their children and their children...”

And these 2 blessings can’t possibly mean the same thing.

Good parking spot… generations of God’s favor.

In the Bible God blesses Abraham and says that He will make His family into a great nation…

But then Bruno Mars sings a song about all of his money and all of his talent and he says that he’s “hashtag blessed.”

And I wonder if we toss around the word “blessed” a little flippantly, without realizing the deep and rich and full idea of God’s blessing.

And it’s this tension right here that takes me to our first “thing that Jesus never said.”

We have to acknowledge that somewhere along the way we have lost the gravity of a blessing of God… and while we do that… we should probably be aware the Jesus never said we are...

TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED.

Now might be a good time to point out that this series might step on your toes.

Let’s remind ourselves that we’re all guilty of stuff like this… I know some of us love this phrase… and I still love you… even if you’re wrong :)

But seriously… this is not judgment… but this is a chance for us to do a little course correction and better understand God’s Word… and specifically, this really big, amazing idea of God’s blessing.

And Jesus never said we were TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED.

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Now here’s the struggle with this sermon… or probably with this whole series.

It’s easy work to point out the problem.

You probably know a lot of people who are really good at telling you that you’re doing it wrong… without ever providing any solutions.

Don’t you just love those people?

Anyone can point out the problem.

And it’s not hard to deconstruct a modern cliche… like too blessed to be stressed.

Here, I’ll go ahead and do it...

I think the world is more complex than that.

I think God is more complex than that.

I can deconstruct it…

But here’s what’s difficult… church, can we RE-construct what God’s true blessing really means?

For His people back then… and for His people now?

GOD

So you don’t have to look far in the Bible to begin seeing God’s blessing on the pages of scripture.

You will literally find it in the first chapter.

God creates animals and he creates humans and He has something similar to say to both.

It says:

Genesis 1:22 (NIV)

22 God blessed them

[THIS IS THE ANIMALS IN THE SEA AND THE BIRDS IN THE SKY]

22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”

And then he turns to us and it says:

Genesis 1:28 (NIV)

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

A few chapters later God blesses Noah and says almost the same thing… be fruitful and multiply.

A few chapters later God blesses Abraham and says almost the same thing… his family will multiply and be a great nation.

And God blesses his wife Sarah and says almost the same thing… she will multiply and the be the mother of a great nation.

I think you get the idea...

One of my favorite books about the whole story of the Bible is called The Drama of Scripture and in it the authors say:

***The dynamic word “bless” expresses God’s purpose to give his creatures all they need to fulfill their lives in his creation as he intends for them.

And I think that phrase “as he intends for them” is key to this understanding.

So this is about more than Bruno Mars’ money and talents… this is about more than stress-free living.

This is about doing things God’s way and seeing our lives bear fruit because of it.

Let me say it a different way:

***A true, Biblical blessing is about the goodness that comes from God when we are within His will.

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So here’s how my sermon preparation went for this.

I really did want to build a responsible, Biblical view what blessing means.

And truly, you start seeing on the first pages of scripture.

But here’s the weird part… I couldn’t even get through the first book of the Bible without encountering a problem.

Honestly it’s what makes the Bible so fun and so frustrating all at the same time.

From the very beginning there is the beautiful and rich and deep concept of God’s blessing and fruitfulness and goodness...

But then right about halfway through Genesis… you have a blessing stealer!

Like… how does this happen?

Can you even do that?

What does God think about all of this!

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The story of Abraham’s grandson Jacob is kind of hard to know what to do with…

At times it has inspired the imagination.

There is a movie called Jacob’s Ladder… a title taken from an episode in Jacob’s life.

Don’t watch it… aside from the title it has pretty much nothing to do with Jacob.

There is a song called Stairway to Heaven… also from a story about Jacob.

Again, the title is where any similarities end.

Honestly I have no idea what that song is actually about.

Jacob has a pretty famous son named Joseph who is known for his very colorful dreamcoat. :)

But even with all of these cultural and artistic depictions… It’s Jacob’s actual story that really fascinates me.

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Here’s just a few highlights:

*From the very first mention of Jacob, you know this story is going to be good. When my Bible tells me about his birth with his twin brother Esau… it says that Jacob is born second, technically making him the younger brother… but that he is grasping at the heel of Esau.

*My Bible also has a footnote, and yours might have the same, that says the name Jacob means heel-grabber… which would have been a Hebrew idiom for a deceiver.

Who names their kid this?!

So right away you know that something is a little different with Jacob.

As you go through his stories you begin to realize that deceiver is pretty accurate. Jacob is ambitious and conniving and will do anything to get ahead.

These aren’t typically the characteristics you think of when we think of the Old Testament patriarchs. After all, the rest of Israel served the God of Abraham, Isaac, and ____________ Jacob.

But how does this guy get included?

Jacob cons his twin brother twice… out of things that should have been his.

As the older brother, Esau was entitled to their father’s birthright… which had to do with his inheritance...

And also their father’s blessing… which was more about a prosperous future.

And through a couple of stories that you may have heard before… one that has to do with a bowl of soup… the other that has to do with a hairy costume of sorts…

Jacob steals both of them.

And so as I’m studying about blessings in Genesis, truly I’m wondering… how do we go from the blessings of the first man and first woman… to faithful people like Noah and Abraham and Sarah…

To this con-man?!

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But it doesn’t stop there. Obviously there is going to be some family tension here and so Jacob goes on the run.

And in exile Jacob starts a family… but the deception continues.

Jacob himself is deceived... but then he returns the favor later...

Because, of course 2 wrongs make a right… (don’t write that down)

And now Jacob is on the run from his in-laws, as well as his own family… but he just wants to go back home.

And this is really a very incomplete summary the Jacob story… you should read it- it’s wild… start at Genesis 25.

But Jacob wants to head home and he realizes that he’s on a collision course with his brother Esau.

Go to Genesis 32, starting at verse 24 with me…

A collision course with his brother...

So he stresses and he agonizes about it… and because he has plotted and planned ahead his whole life… he tries to come up with the perfect plan to pacify Esau so he can come home.

And a part of that plan is dividing his family up and putting some distance in between in case things go bad.

And I know it’s taken me a while to get to our text this morning… but this is now the scene… the night before Jacob and Esau meet again.

He’s fearful.

He’s anxious.

He’s alone.

And then the weirdest thing happens…

PASSAGE

Genesis 32:24–31 NIV

24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

REFLECTIONS

I mean, the Jacob story is already dramatic and crazy enough… and then where does this come from?

What do you do with this?

There’s a wrestling match in the middle of the story… with some guy?

I have so many questions… you probably do too!

I think this is one of those stories that we sometimes read and go “That was weird,” and then move on...

But honestly… this derailed my whole study on blessings in the Bible right after it had begun and so I had to figure out what was going on.

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Probably the biggest question on all our minds is… “WHO IS THE GUY?”

Who is this man who just goes around in the desert picking fights?

Fights that apparently he doesn’t always win!

I mean it’s one thing if you’re Jay Johnson/Bill Kennedy/Barry Oldaker’s size… but I’m not sure that was the case…

So you have a few options here about the identity of “the man.”

You may notice that he is just called “the man” a few times in the story.

Toward the end though both the man and Jacob talk as though he has actually wrestled with God.

Later on the prophet Hosea recounts this story, but he says that it was an angel.

But if it was a man… why does Jacob say he saw God?

If it was God, why can he not overpower Jacob?

And if it was an angel, then why don’t we see that at all in the original story?

Can we just have a moment of honesty this morning and just say out loud, “I don’t know.”

Say that with me… “I don’t know.”

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I would be lying to you if I told you that I understood every word, and every verse, and every story in scripture with perfect clarity.

There are some things that I just don’t know. And you don’t either.

And as people of faith, we get ourselves into trouble when we claim to know things about God… that just aren’t clear in scripture.

And it might be better to admit those times when we just don’t know.

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And so man… God… angel… we just don’t really know.

But here is a question that always helps me… and maybe it will help you too.

When you encounter these things that are really just impossible to know… ask yourself this: “What is the point of the story?”

“What is the point of the story?”

I don’t know who Jacob wrestles with… but what is the point of the story?

Here’s what we DO know… whether Jacob wrestles with God or an angel or a man… it is clear that he has encountered someone who is a carrier of God’s blessing.

Go back to verse 26:

Genesis 32:26–29 NIV

26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

Whoever this is… he is a carrier of God’s blessing.

And here is why the stolen blessing isn’t a problem… because it wasn’t God’s.

You can’t steal God’s blessing

You may able to steal your dads…

but you can’t steal or manufacture God’s blessing

Jacob cons his brother out of his birthright and he steals his blessing from their father.

And sure that’s not great behavior… but that blessing is also not the promise of fruitfulness that comes from finding yourself in God’s will.

And we know this because Jacob’s life after that blessing is NOT really a whole lot different.

He’s still conniving and deceitful… and he’s scheming to get ahead… and he’s still making enemies.

But as Jacob will find out… going after God’s blessing is quite a bit different than striving to ensure your own success and wealth… and making sure that you prosper.

But after wrestling with… whomever… Jacob’s life is changed…

Here’s the point of the story… after a lifetime of scheming and plotting and doing anything to get ahead and ensure his own blessing… Jacob finally has an encounter with God’s blessing.

And because God’s blessing is altogether different… Jacob is altogether different.

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You see the difference immediately.

Remember it’s the night before Jacob encounters his brother again.

Esau who he has deceived and conned and really done wrong.

And Jacob is rightfully scared.

And then comes the all night wrestling match.

And listen to how the next day goes: (this is Genesis 33:1-9 if you still have your Bible open… )

Genesis 33:1–9 NIV

1 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 2 He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. 4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. 5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. 7 Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down. 8 Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?” “To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said. 9 But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”

Jacob has tried to do things his own way his whole life… and chapter 33, right here is where he finally looks like a man who is actually blessed by God.

If we go back to our definition of blessing as “the goodness that comes from God when we are within His will”… I look at this meeting of Jacob and Esau… knowing the backstory and I think… this would only be possible with God’s blessing.

This doesn’t happen outside of God’s goodness.

APPLICATIONS

Have you had those times in your life that you KNOW would not be possible without God’s goodness and God’s deep and rich and full blessing?

I would imagine you’re thinking of something more significant than a good parking spot :)

Has someone experienced a healing… that would have been impossible without God’s goodness?

Has someone overcome an addiction… that would have been impossible without God’s blessing?

Sometimes I look at Allie and Zoe and wonder… why does God love me and bless me so much?

It’s stuff like this where we see God’s blessing.

Church, these are the moments where you have encountered the man who picks fights in the desert!

You have encountered the One who carries God’s blessing.

THIS is God’s goodness on display in your life.

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Or maybe you have a story similar to Jacob?

Have you reconciled with someone… where only God could have made it possible?

It’s such a touching scene when Jacob is preparing for battle and Esau runs to embrace and kiss him instead.

And then it gets even better when Esau realizes that his brother’s family has grown… and he says who are all these people with you?

I can imagine him looking at his nephews and his niece and thinking about truly rich both of their families have become.

And maybe that scene has happened with some of us… You forgive and reconcile and then maybe you have the joy of meeting their family that has grown in the meantime.

It is truly a scene of God’s blessing.

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The story of Jacob is a complex story.

But I think it’s a better match for what blessing might mean for a complex God and a complex world and a complex people.

We might be tempted to look at his story and wonder how this guy made it into the Bible.

Sometimes you read the story of Jacob and it’s hard to find a whole lot of redeeming qualities about him.

Sometimes you read the story of the people of Israel and it’s hard to find a whole lot of redeeming qualities about THEM.

Sometimes you might look at my story or your story… and if we’re honest, we may think… gosh I can look a whole lot like Jacob and a whole lot like Israel.

Like sometimes I do okay… and sometimes I’m probably just looking out for myself.

And yet still God chooses to bless Jacob… and bless Israel… and bless you and me.

And as complex as we all are… I don’t know that “too blessed to be stressed” is going to capture it.

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Jacob was blessed and injured at the same time… he took a punch to the hip and limped as he walked away.

And even after the blessing… the stress wasn’t gone.

Jacob’s only daughter is assaulted.

But then his sons take overwhelming, murderous revenge.

Then Jacob’s wife Rachel dies in childbirth.

And after that his son Joseph is betrayed and sold into slavery in Egypt…

I don’t know… I’m not sure if Jacob would say that he was too blessed to be stressed!

Jacob HAS been blessed… we had front row seats to the fight!

And you can clearly see afterwards that he is a changed man… but his life isn’t stress free.

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Here’s the reality about correctly handling the word of truth. We may want to look for helpful and memorable, rhyming phrases to put on t shirts or bumper stickers, but they’re not always going to be there.

Because sometimes you feel “too blessed to be stressed,” but then again sometimes you just feel stressed.

And the unintentional (listen I KNOW it’s not on purpose)… but the unintentional thing we might be communicating is that if you have stress then you must not be _______________.

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Alright you get it.

this is a “Thing Jesus Never Said.”

So what DID Jesus say?

Jesus said things like

“Blessed are the poor in spirit...”

“Blessed are those who mourn...”

“Blessed are the meek...”

“Blessed are the persecuted...”

Jesus tells us to “bless those who curse you...”

He also said, “In this world you will have troubles...”

I don’t know about you but I’d have a hard time buying these bumper stickers.

And Sure enough… Jesus never said we would be too blessed to be stressed

But here’s what Jesus ALSO says

John 14:27 (NIV)

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

Matthew 28:20 (NIV)

20 I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

John 16:22 (NIV)

I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

Matthew 11:28–30 (NIV)

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

I think I’ve heard that last one before…

The words of Jesus and the blessings of God are far deeper and richer and truer and more beautiful than anything we could come up with on our own.

WE

Here’s the mistake we make… we go after our own blessings and what we THINK God’s favor means… and church our imagination is far too small to compare with God has in store.

And so we think being blessed means no stress...

Or maybe we think like Bruno Mars that our money and our talents make us hashtag blessed.

Or maybe we think like Jacob that we manufacture our own blessing by scheming and stealing and doing things our own way.

Have you been there before? Trying to just make things happen on your own?

But then the words of scripture remind that this is what blessing actually looks like:

Numbers 6:24–26 (NIV)

24 “ ‘ “The Lord bless you

and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace.” ’

And it looks like this:

Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV

9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

And it looks like this:

Psalm 103:17–18 (NIV)

17 But from everlasting to everlasting

the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with their children’s children—

So church are you looking for a stress free life?

Or do you want the Lord to bless and keep you and make His face shine upon you… and for His favor to be upon you for a thousand generations…

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So what does it look like to be a church that doesn’t settle for platitudes and bumper stickers… but a church that goes deep and tries to correctly handle the word of truth?

What does it look like for us to bypass the stress free life and instead go after the life that God intended for us?

Stress or no stress.

Because Jesus said in this world we WILL have trouble… but He also said that He has overcome the world.

And it IS possible to be blessed AND stressed at the same time.

Church when God’s blessing is on you…

It’s there in the joy and in the pain.

It’s there in the light of day and in the dark of night.

It’s there when you find that parking spot and it’s there when life really sucks

It’s there when you’re winning the wrestling match and it’s there when you get punched in the hip.

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So church...

I hope you are not just too blessed to be stressed… because that just isn’t possible.

But instead I pray that you are simply blessed.

Church… I hope you meet the man who picks fights in the desert.... even if you walk away limping.

CLOSING PRAYER

Numbers 6:24–26 (NIV)

24 “ ‘ “The Lord bless you

and keep you;

25 the Lord make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace.” ’