Hey everyone…Good morning, it is so good to be here and talk about something that I am certain that not a single person here has any experience with…failure. But, before we do that we want to send out our kiddos to their class where you have the opportunity to learn about God in a way that makes sense to you. You guys are always out so quick it is amazing to me.wow, that is a testament to how much our kids love the teachers that they get to go back to back there… If you are a teacher, then I want to thank you for serving with your amazing gifts on a regular basis. Many of you serve for a month at a time, and others serve all year round as Sunday School teachers. That is just such a blessing to our kids and to the parents here to know that their kids aren’t just hearing stories, but they are hearing how these stories actually connect with Scriptures and how these stories are meant to help them make better decisions in life as they grow in their own faith. Then of course we also want to welcome those of you joining us online, etc.

You know when you keep doing the thing that you don’t want to do, but you keep doing it anyway…even though you know that’s not who you are and you know that’s not what you are supposed to be doing? Let’s say that you are drawn to communicating with your spouse in a way that is not beneficial, you know that’s not healthy, but that is what was modeled for you and so that is just what you do kind of automatically. You know it’s wrong, but you do it and many times even in the middle of doing it, you are already regretting it, but you do it anyway. Maybe it’s at work and the way that you respond to your clients or to your boss, and you know you shouldn’t be dishonest, but it just kind of happens. You know lying is wrong, but there’s just something about mom and dad asking you questions that you don’t want to answer that leads to you lying. You don’t really want to, but you do it. Actually Paul talked about this in

Romans 7:15 (ESV)

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

Paul was clearly a Christian that was saved by the blood of Jesus Christ through the grace of God, but here he was talking about failing in his actions…Well, what I want to talk about today is Jacob’s, now Israel’s failure…year he’s gonna do it again even after this amazing life changing moment just like you have failed after the amazing life changing moment that you had when Jesus saved you from your sin. But before we can really get there I want to remember where we have been…Specifically I want to remember what we have been learning through this series that has been taking us through Jacob’s life. In the life of the trusting Christian, there are no accidents, only appointments. Thats right, in other words, in the life of the Christian, God is in control and you can trust that what is going on in your life is being overseen by the Father for your good. Now…some of you have had this realization this week due to the things that you have been going through. You have been struggling to trust that God is actually in control, or at the least that God is going to work out this crazy stuff for your good. Well, listen, Jacob has been learning this his whole life, and so don’t think you’re gonna learn in all in one week, but I promise you the faster you will accept this teaching into your heart and simply trust that God is working in and through everything that is going on in your life, and trust that God will in fact work these things out for your good, the faster you will experience the peace and joy that only comes from trusting the Lord. But…sometimes it just takes us a while to get what we believe in our heads…into our hearts, ya know. It’s been said that

“He who trusts in himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.” — Saint Alphonsus

Well, this morning we are going to look at what happened when Israel met Esau after last weeks midnight wrestling match. Unfortunately we are not going to see him stand up in faith the way we expect him to after such a powerful encounter…Actually we will see the opposite. We will see Jacob attempt to stand, but ultimately crumble at the weight of his own guilty past and looking to a fearful future, instead of Israel standing on the promises of God like the old hymn reminds us to do. Now this morning we are going to contrast four different ways that Jacob, now Israel fail to stand in faith the way he was empowered to do.

Failure to Stand in Faith

So as a reminder of where we have been, Jacob had lifted up his eyes and seen the angelic armies of the Lord. Jacob had seen God face-to-face. Now, Israel is about to see something that is going to push back all of that amazing growth as he struggles in his faith with the Lord. Here’s the deal…it’s one thing to be blessed by God on the mountaintop and a whole other thing to carry that blessing down into the valley with you. Today we are going to see Jacob fail himself, his family, and his God in several ways…Let’s open up our Scripture to

Genesis 33:1–20 ESV

And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Thus he urged him, and he took it. Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead of you.” But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

So how did Jacob fail his new name Israel? First of all we see that

Instead of Trusting, he Schemed:

Jacob was just renamed into Israel and turned into a “Prince of God”…Immediately he stopped reigning and started scheming again didn’t he. Many of us do this today though don’t we? Maybe you’re asking how did he scheme here, I don’t get it, wasn’t he just being wise. Well, let’s take a look at what he did here. Immediately when saw Esau coming he split his family into not two groups, but three…He placed first the slave women and their children. Then he placed Leah and her children. Last he placed Rachel and Joseph. This created a new problem at home, and it’s no wonder how later Joseph’s brothers all hated him. Everyone, women and children, knew where they stood in Jacob’s household. Jacob has immediately reverted to his ways of dividing and scheming and hoping for his best outcome. The thought here, at least Rachel and Joseph will be able to get away if things go badly.

This isn’t all though…we also see that

Instead of Limping, he Bowed:

There is a culture in the Ancient Near East, that is what that time period and location is called. Well, in that culture the way that you would great someone would be a bow and they would exchange a greeting of “shalom”, or something similar. However, this was not tradition for Jacob at this time. He is bowing multiple times. This is not a mutual greeting with a bow..this is Jacob placing himself subservient to Esau. A place that God has already said was not to be. As a matter of fact, prior to Jacob leaving, he was blessed and it was said that the elder would serve the younger, so why would the younger place himself in a subservient place? Because of his guilt and fear…that’s why.

Jacob’s limp was a reminder of God’s power in his life. It was a reminder that God had conquered him and that he could actually trust the Lord more than he could trust himself. Esau didn’t bow to Jacob…no, he ran to his brother, fell on his neck and kissed him…welcoming him back into relationship.

Limping would have led to another opportunity had Jacob chosen to take that route. However,

Instead of Witnessing, he Plead:

Honestly, the fact that Esau ran to Jacob, hugged him, and kissed him is plenty of evidence to show the change in his heart towards Jacob, but Jacob was to focused on his own guilt and fear to see what God had already done in Esau’s heart. Had Jacob not been so self-focused he could have seen that God was giving him an opportunity to share everything that God had done for him which would have opened the door to clear up family matters. Here’s what would have happened had Jacob come limping up to Esau instead of getting off the horse bowing to Esau, this would have been his opportunity to tell him all about how God had blessed and protected him while he was in the midst of ungodliness. He would have been able to share about his wrestling match and how God gave him this limp as a way to tell him that he was in control of what would happen with Esau, and while you know that they left things rough, you also know that God is bigger than they are and you know that God has softened his heart and then there would have been reconciliation. After-all, remember, God’s Angelic Armies are hanging out with Jacob just to make sure there is no reason to fear. However, instead of confessing his sin to his brother and witnessing about God’s grace in his life, Jacob spent the whole time begging Esau to accept the gift he had sent him.

Instead, Jacob said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God”. Jacob had seen God face-to-face, but he said nothing to Esau about it! “God has been gracious to me,” he added, but he didn’t tell his brother the facts and give God the glory. He didn’t tell Esau that he had a new name, probably because he wasn’t living up to it at that time. He was made a prince, but he was acting like a servant.

Lastly I want us to look at that fact that Jacob continued this pattern of deceit

Instead of Truth, he Lied:

Esau graciously came out and met Jacob and wanted to walk with him and with his family. Not only to protect them, but also to welcome them to the area, to spend more time with them, to talk and catch up, after all they have been apart for 20 years. A couple of weeks ago Beths brother came to town for a few days and stayed with us to visit and Beth stood outside for like 10 minutes waiting for them to drive up so she could meet them at the car so she could walk up to the house with them. This wasn’t so that she could get them, it was so she could see them sooner. That is the heart that it seems Esau had towards Jacob. However, Jacob had no desire to spend any more time with Esau that was necessary. Esau wanted to welcome him into his home, but Jacob wanted to leave him where they were. Just like with Laban, this farewell was not a reconciliation, it was a truce.

However, Jacob lied, like was so easy for him. He gave the impression that he was in fact heading to Mount Seir where Esau lived. He offered excuse after excuse saying that the kids walked slow and the animals walked slow and he didn’t want to keep his men out unnecessarily, the whole time actually simply trying to get rid of his brother Esau. Jacob kept referring to Esau as “my lord” shows Jacob’s continued groveling towards Esau…For sure Jacob is back to his deceptive ways that he has grown to be an expert at.

Well…Esau goes back home to Mount Seir, and Jacob heads to Succoth and then on to Shechem where he will purchase land and build a home. There is no more record of them interacting with each other except for a brief interaction at Isaac’s funeral

Genesis 35:27–29 ESV

And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. Now the days of Isaac were 180 years. And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

That was the last recorded interaction between the brothers. Did they ever actually reconcile? I doubt it, otherwise there would most likely be a record of it…although, the story of Scripture is not the story of Jacob and Esau…It will soon be time for Jacob to pass on the story to the next generation just like his father before him and his fathers father did before him.

You know…that is something that we all have in common don’t we. Our stories are not actually our stories, but they are all God’s story that we get to be a small part of. Soon it will be time for us all to pass it on to the next generation and allow God to use them the same way that God used us. I can imagine that Abraham would have yelled at Jacob for the things that he did, but those were the things that God used to bring you and I here today. We won’t necessarily agree with everything that the next generations will desire to do in the future, but we must allow God to use them in the same way that God has used us when that time comes, and maybe part of that time is coming as we are working with the Purpose Discovery Team to attempt to see what God is calling us to in the future.

However, there is more to this story than allowing the next generations follow God the way that God is leading them. That is true, but there is also the truth of Jacob not trusting God and living up to the identity that God gave him…just like you and I do not always live up to the identity that God has given to use as his children. So what do we do about that? Well, the first thing we do is repent of ignore our identity as a child of God and repent of living a life of sinful selfishness, just like Jacob was doing. The next thing we do is start to take a step to trust the Lord into whatever it is that God has called us to do. Listen…I know there are some that are struggling to read Scriptures on a regular basis and you need to repent of your laziness. There are some of you that are struggling here today to serve in a way that God has called you to serve, and you need to repent of your selfishness. There are some who are struggling to give sacrificially and cheerfully the way God has called you to give and you need to repent of your greediness. Whatever it is that God is calling you to, you need to remember that you literally have the Holy Spirit of God living inside of you which means you have the power of the living God working inside of you to protect and provide for you…there is nothing for you to be afraid of as long as you obey him…

Let’s Pray: Pray that we would all listen as God calls us to various areas of service and life and that we would have the courage to be all in with him.