Wrestling for a Blessing
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Introduction
Introduction
And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Brian Miller describes in a 2018 article about the power of being imprisoned in the realm of the mind. His article is entitled “Trapped in an unlocked room.”
He says, “I recently met up with a friend in the speaking business class to chat about our world views, and he noted that simply shifting your mindset is enough to affect real change.
In other words, the key to unlocking our potential and succeeding in our personal and professional lives is gaining new perspectives.
It reminded me of this quote (paraphrased) from the great 20th century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein:
"A man is trapped inside a room with only one door that is unlocked and opens outwards, if it never occurs to him to push instead of pull."
Our minds are like Wittgenstein's unlocked room, and our own limited perspectives will keep us trapped inside of it forever, IF it never occurs to us to push instead of pull.”
I know and understand that some may not agree; however, if we’re honest with one another I believe that what Brian Miller is describing in his article is a representation of whom many of us have become in the house of God, and that is living life locked forever inside of our minds with a door unlocked but only opens if we push instead of pull.
To take it one step further I am concerned. My concern is based on the premise that many in the house of God are very similar to the man in this story and leads me to asking a question. How do we get out of the imprisonment of our own minds?
A concern with the church is that a memory is power and a prison
Paul says I’m a slave to the Gospel because my mind has been transformed to conform to this belief of slavery (bondservant) to Jesus … well in Jesus all men have been made free from the bondage of the law, and in Him all men are made free … so he’s conformed to that bondage system freedom in Jesus
We too are in prison, but it’s a prison of what we believe and how we think …
if I have a memory that makes me miserable, then we subcumn to misery
If I have a memory of life in poverty and don’t see a way out of poverty, then I reduce my life living in poverty
If I have a memory of life in abusive relationships, and I don’t see a way out of the relationships, then I relegate my life to abuse in my relationships
The Philosopher Renee Descartes says, “Cogito, Ergo, Sum … I Think Therefore I am”
Speaks to the power of the mind, and how belief in what we think can empower or emasculate the perception of whom we are
This is why there is a generation that identifies as plurals and objects … we’ve become locked in the prison of world views instead realizing what the Word of God speaks to about whom we are
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.
And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,
The text brings us to a place where Jacob’s life is coming to a head where is history and memory are coming to a place a maturity. If you can recall Jacobs history is unique, because it’s a history that’s riddled with conflict:
First it starts at birth with his name. Jacob means supplanter an he’s known as a heel catcher
trickster
manipulator
liar
Secondly, Jacob steals his brothers birthright
this is the headship of the clan
double share of the inheritance
Lastly, he steals his brothers blessing
divine decree
bloodline runs through Jacob
Authority over family affairs
Due to Jacob’s ways his brother threatened to kill him the next time he saw him. Things got so bad, that Issac and Rachel had to send Jacob away so that Esau didn’t harm his brother.
Jacob gets to a place of desperation where he’s allowed his situation to create a moment reflection
And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.
Desperation ought to create and opportunity for one to come to a place of deliverance
reflection allows us to recognize our flaws
reflection allows us to recognize our limitations
reflection allows us to analyze the mirror of whom we are and admit that we need God’s grace
Grace
Grace
the pleasure of God … the favor of God …
That which brings joy
A token, gift or benefit of covenant
The covenants you make determine the type of benefits you’re going to receive
If i make a covenant with a gossip, then all I’ll receive is the gossip
If I make a covenant w/ a drunk, then I’ll receive their drunken decisions
The paradox of grace
perverting what is made perfect
my perversion comes in with pride when we say grace cannot be perfect
we take on the mind that our God, whom is perfect, can’t prepare or perfect something to overcome my proclivities
if he cannot then he is not a perfect God and all of my belief in him is vain. If he can and has then I have to change the way I believe on him
4 Types of Grace
Saving grace - you don’t get good to get to God, you get God to get good
It doesn’t speak to do doo do something, it speaks to done done done
Justifying grace - it’s grace that speaks just -if- I never done what I did
teaching grace - grace that teaches you how
enabling grace - grace that enables
The key to grace
all people who believe in Jesus receive His Grace
all people who believe on him receive it
they’re opened to receiving the keys to the kingdom of heaven
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost
Grace is a perfect promise for imperfect people
We must wrestle
We Wrestle in Flesh
We Wrestle in Flesh
When we recognize the grace of God upon our lives we have to wrestle to over come the enemy (inner me)
And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
the word wrestle comes from the hebrew word Abaq (Ah Vak)
Means to get dusty
We must kill our flesh
When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
Don’t stop fighting when you’re wounded
you stop fighting when you win
We Wrestle with God
We Wrestle with God
Grace helps us to overcome the truth of whom we are
Grace helps us to overcome the truth of whom we are
It speaks to whom God says that we are and not the perception of whom we’ve become
And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
wrestle also means to a form of bed dust as to the fight in a sleep
Jacob fought both in the physical and in the spiritual realm
Philosophy teaches on the subject of substance dualism
it’s where the mind and spirit meet the flesh
whatever you feed will win
Wrestling with God is the wretling of growth and elevation
we aught to be able to bounce back after a wrestling match with God
Story of the boxing dummy
When we box with God it’s to serve as a reminder of what he has called for us to be
It’s like the story of the eagle that finds itself in the moping place
when an eagle flies to a valley it’s known to potentially stay so long that it forgets who it is and what it was created to do
when an eagle mopes it’s acting outside of the realm of what they were created to be
in order for them to remember who they are other eagles that see them stagnant and stale will fly in close proximity
they fly in close proximity, because they’ve learned that if the moping eagle can just look up, it will remember what it was called to be
Look up and remember what you have been called to be
We Wrestle in Purpose
We Wrestle in Purpose
When we wrestle in our perspectives we wrestle for a pivot
When we wrestle in our perspectives we wrestle for a pivot
Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
When Jacob wrestled with God, it introduced him to God’s teaching grace and God’s enabling grace