Wrestling With God

We can learn from any story and anyone.

You can learn something from everyone, how to be like them or how to be different from them.

Every story points to Jesus and the need for Jesus.

Who is the greatest wrestler of all-time?

Andre The Giant?

Hulk Hogan?

The Rock?

John Cena?

Nacho?

Fear?

Me and pastor cole?

Grace often is best understood after grappling with it.

New International Version (2011) (Chapter 25)

Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram p and sister of Laban the Aramean.

21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.

23 The LORD said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you will be separated;

one people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. b 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. e Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

You have the Hunter vs the heel grabber….

Esau comes in from the field one day and is super hunger….jacob gets him to trade his birthright for a bowl of stew…

Jacob…prompted by his mother…tricks his father who cannot see well by disguising himself as Esau....

He steals the blessing….

Esau is not happy and threatens to kill Jacob….so Jacob runs…..

New International Version (2011) (Chapter 28)

“I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. p 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”

Jacob travels to the land of his mothers family and meets his uncle laban

Tricked into marrying leah when he wanted rachel…

Marries rachel

Prospers but never can really get ahead because of labans trickery

Decides to leave and wants to go back to

New International Version (2011) (Chapter 32)

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, k 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, q and he was limping because of his hip. 32 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

Desires will promise us deliverance but often lead us toward destruction.

Blessing is not a thing we earn, it is something we embrace.

Grace is something we can only encounter when we get close to God.

Paul had a similar story

Phillipians

New Living Translation (Chapter 3)

7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.

Faithfulness > Fame Abiding > Accomplishments Surrender > Success

Hessed

If we miss Jesus, we miss everything.

God honors His promises.

God uplifts the humble.