Seeking The Blessing Or The Blesser!

King James Version (Genesis 32:24-31)

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 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. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 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. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

1. Jacob was always running after the blessing even right from his birth!

You see this even as he is being born!

King James Version (Genesis 25:24-26)

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

The birthright of a firstborn son in Israel consisted of the following major three privileges:

He had a double portion of the inheritance from his parents, whereas the other sons had only a single portion (Deut. 21:15-17)

He received a position of authority in the family, and also in the kingdom if he was the king’s son (Gen. 27:37; 1 Sam. 20:27, 29; 2 Chron. 21:3).

Priestly service. Besides the temple service given to the tribe of Levi, there was also a measure of priestly duty within the family given to the firstborn son. The record of 1 Samuel 20:27, 29 indicates that the (eldest) brother made arrangements for the family sacrifice.

2. He wanted the blessing so much that he would do almost anything to get it!

King James Version (Genesis 25:29-34)

29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

King James Version (Genesis 27:1-30)

27 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. 2 And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: 3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; 4 And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. 5 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. 6 And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 9 Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: 10 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: 12 My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. 13 And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. 14 And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. 15 And Rebekah took lgoodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. 20 And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. 21 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. 22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him. 24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. 25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 27 And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said,

See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath blessed:

28  Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, And the fatness of the earth, And plenty of corn and wine:

29  Let people serve thee, And nations bow down to thee: Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: Cursed be every one that curseth thee, And blessed be he that blesseth thee.

30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

i. Now, in one way i gotta commend him.

I have to commend him because we have some that are just satisified.

Blessed are those that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Ankle deep christians! There is depths. You should be seeking more from God!

ii. In another way I gotta critique him.

You see the thing I noticed was that it was not bad for him to want the blessing but how he went about to get it was.

He was willing to step over who he needed to get what he wanted.

He was willing to do it to those that were closest to him.

I believe there are a couple of problems that we have in our churches today. One of the first ones is this. We have those who don’t want any more because they either don’t relaize there is more or don’t care about there being more.

The second is that we have some who always wants what someone else got but oftentimes they dont even want it until they sees someone else with it and then they would do anything to get.

Someone else gets blessed. They slander their name. Someone else gets blessed they get jealous. Someone else gets blessed they are conspiring how they can stop the blessing in their life but gain it in their own and this is a serious problem.

You see there is something I noticed with regards to Jacob.

3. Despite all his efforts and the fact that he did take away the blessing from his brother Esau up to this point his name had not changed!

This matters!

Jacob - to supplant, supplanter, overreach ----- even he deceives

Israel - contended, Contends with God, Triumphant with God

King James Version (Genesis 27:34-36)

34 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. 35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing. 36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

It was not until he sought the blessing directly from the blesser that God actually changed his name!

King James Version (Genesis 32:24-31)

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 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. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 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. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

4. If you truly want the fullness of what God has for you you need to seek the blesser not try and take the blessing!

Don’t be down on someone else because the Spirit of God moves upon them. Don’t try and stop what God is doing in their lives. Don’t just sit back and wish that it is you. Go after it by going after God!

Because the closer you get to God the closer you’ll get to glory!

I am seeking my baptism! Well seek the baptizer. Don’t seek the pastor or the parishioner. Seek the baptizer. I can’t baptize you but I know someone who can!

King James Version (Genesis 32:24-31)

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 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. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 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. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

I can’t let you go until I get a touch! I can’t let you go until I get a healing! I can’t let you go until I get deliverance! I can’t let you go until I get the miracle! I can’t let you go until I get the fire again! I can’t let you go until I get fresh oil! I need a touch Lord! I can’t let you go!

People want power and position but I came to tell you today that what you truly need is the Person!

King James Version (Hebrews 11:6)

without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Draw close to God and He will draw close to you! Do we realize what that is saying!

I gotta grab hold of Him in prayer, in praise, in piety (reverence).

5. This often comes at great cost!

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 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.

Anyone ever wonder why this happened?

31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

The cost brings contant commitment because you will never forget the time you wrestled with God and got the blessing!

And there are times in this journey when you might be traveling along! The price you paid may be brought before you! And that price as hard as it may of been will cause you never to forget what happened on that faithful day or faithful night!

Never forget that there is a cost that comes with commitment!

Years ago when they walked through snowstorms. Was it because they were more holy? Or was it because they wanted something and came expecting to receive it and they were willing to do what it took to get there!