WEBVTT

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I am Pastor Nathan, and this morning we are going

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to be talking about how, you know, after those

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big life -changing moments that we can have with

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God, right, those times where they seem like

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big major crossroads of growth or something,

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how after those moments, we still wrestle with

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our old nature. You know, we've been talking

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a lot about sanctification as we've been looking

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at the life of Jacob. And I've said it a couple

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times, but sanctification, it's a process that

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we go through. You know, it would be nice. if

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salvation was just a one and done thing, right?

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Boom, you're saved, you're without sin forever.

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Wouldn't that be amazing? You know, never having

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to struggle with the old nature again, but that's

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not quite how it works. And some of the biggest

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struggles we have as believers here in this world

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is reconciling the two realities that I'm saved

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and yet I still sin. And so Jacob, as we've been

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studying him, we're going to be in chapter 33

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this morning. And at this point, he had just

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experienced one of the biggest moments in his

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life, in his walk of faith, as he wrestled with

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God up on the hill of Peniel. And that was the

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place where God had finally broken him from his

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total self -reliance, his scheming, I'm going

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to plan it, I'm going to do it my way, nature.

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had broken him of that and when i say broken

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It's quite literal because God had dislocated

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his hip after this night of wrestling, and really

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it was a picture of practically and symbolically

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removing Jacob's last out. The one thing that

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he would always go to in his own means of working

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things out his own way, and that was to run when

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his plans didn't pan out. God was literally taking

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that away from him to place Jacob in a place

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where he had to depend on. God. He had to trust

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God, and although at that point he was forever

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changed by the crippling grace of God, and he

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would forever bear the mark of that crippling

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in his dislocated hip, it didn't mean that he

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was perfected on earth. It didn't mean that he

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was complete and without sin. In fact, his wrestling

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with God, this major, major crossroads in his

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life was just simply one more, albeit major,

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but one more step in his personal process of

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sanctification. And so this morning, what we're

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going to see is that strange mix, that strange

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dichotomy of a person who is saved, who's in

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the process of change, who's growing in their

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spiritual walk, growing in their relationship

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with God, while simultaneously taking steps according

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to the old nature. It's a thing that we all deal

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with. It's a thing that we all struggle with

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and we're going to learn some very important

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lessons today about what to watch out for as

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we continue through our own personal process

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of sanctification here in this world. But before

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we get into that, we want to worship God. You

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guys want to worship God this morning? Yeah.

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God, I mean, this is what we're going to be doing

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in heaven forever is just praising him. And I

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just can't wait because it's going to be like

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a heavy metal concert for eternity. That's my

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heaven, sorry. You know, it's just going to be

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awesome. And I just, we get a glimpse of doing

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that here when we gather together, when we worship

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in our own devotional times. And it's such a

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beautiful thing to be able to do that. So let's

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pray and then we'll worship God Almighty. Father,

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we love you so much. Lord, you are amazing. You

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are almighty. You are sovereign. You are light.

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You are love. God, you are just everything. Everything.

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You created everything, including us, Lord, and

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we are so grateful. God, one, that you created

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us in your image, and two, Lord, that as we were

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born into sin because of Adam, That you did the

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work to restore that image into our lives. That

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we would have the opportunity for our spirit

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to be born again. Lord, that through your sacrifice

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on the cross, your great love for us, that you

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chose us, Lord, which in and of itself is a mystery.

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But it's your great love, God. And Lord, so many

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of us that know you, Lord, we're still here on

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earth. And God, there's a reality that we still

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struggle with our old nature. Lord, sometimes

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we may ask the question that, God, why don't

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you just take away the old nature when we get

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saved? And Lord, I think there's an answer in

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your word about that, God, that, Lord, you want

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us to choose to love you, not be forced to, not

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be made to because we have no other option, but

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to choose to love you, God. And the very fact

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that our old nature is still with us here on

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earth, Lord, causes us to live a life where we

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have to choose you, where we get to choose you.

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And so, Lord, we know it's through your spirit

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dwelling within us through the process of sanctification

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that we get stronger and stronger in that each

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day. But, Lord, as we wrestle with these two

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natures that we have, God, our old nature and

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our new nature, Lord, may we remember that, God,

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we are saved by faith, that we are not saved

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by our actions or our lack of actions. We are

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saved by faith, Lord. And that is the process

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of sanctification to become more and more like

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you, that your spirit rots in our life. But God,

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you love us through all of it. God, we want to

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praise you this morning. We want to worship you

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this morning for all that you are, all that you've

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done, the amazing changes in our lives because

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of you and your great love. Lord, we thank you.

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We thank you for everything. It's in Jesus' name

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we pray. Amen. All right, we are in Genesis chapter

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33. And we're going to be covering the whole

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chapter today. But just to kind of bring us up

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to speed, you know, after the night of wrestling

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and the gracious breaking and the gracious renaming

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that Jacob experienced up on that hill called

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Peniel, he was now ready to meet his brother

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Esau. His brother had been traveling. Jacob sent

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some people forward to kind of... smooth the

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road, if you will. And they told him that Esau

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was coming with 400 men. And that made Jacob

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nervous because the last time Jacob had seen

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his brother, his brother wanted to kill him because

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of what Jacob had done in stealing the birthright

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and stealing the family blessing. And so, but...

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The time had come. Now, Jacob was here about

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ready to meet his brother with a brand new nature

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that he was given when God touched him up on

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the hill of Peniel. He had a new greater dependence

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on God, a lesser dependence upon himself. But

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still, like I said, for all he knew, the 20 years

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that had transpired had only made Esau more murderous

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and more angry. And so he had met the Lord. He

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had prayed. He had been humbled. And really this

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was all a factor of his own growing peace with

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God. As Jacob's relationship with God was deepening,

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as he was growing to know the Lord more and to

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be more at rest in who God was in his life, he

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really understood that he had to reconcile with

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his brother as he was going to be going back

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to the promised land and really stepping into

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what God had for him. You know, as Jesus said,

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you know, if you come to the altar of worship

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and you have something against your brother or

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sister, Go reconcile with them first and then

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come worship God, you know, because God is a

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God of peace and he desires peace between us

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and him, which is the work he did. And then we

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get to extend that work in maintaining peace

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between us and our brothers and sisters. And

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so now his crippling up on Peniel had taught

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him that it wasn't his plans, his scheming, his

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own ideas, his own trying to handle the issues

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that kept him, that protected him. It was God.

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That he learned as God dislocated his hip that

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it was through surrender that he would find victory.

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It was through dependence that he would find

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strength. It was through weakness that he would

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win. And that's what that moment was all about.

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But, you know, as Paul asked, then why do I keep

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doing the things I don't want to do anymore,

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right? We come to these situations in our life,

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we have these major moments with God, one, obviously,

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our salvation. And then throughout our walk with

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God, we have these major crossroad moments, if

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you will, those times where we have a special

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revelation of God or our understanding deepens

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in a significant way. And, you know, they're

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kind of like those, we look at them as signposts,

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places where we kind of took major steps forward

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in our faith. And yet we have these moments and

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then right after we find ourselves still wrestling

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with our old nature, still wrestling with the

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things we used to do, still struggling with the

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same methods or, you know, really wrestling with

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the flesh. And we ask that question, you know,

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how come I have these great moments with God

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and my faith is deepening and yet I'm still doing

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the same old stuff? I'm still going back to it.

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And, you know, the reality is what we see here

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in this chapter is that Jacob was now both a

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broken man, and a blessed man at the same time.

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And that is a picture of humanity in Christ.

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That here on this earth, in God's infinite wisdom,

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that we come to the place of being saved. We've

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put our faith in him. We've been accounted as

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righteous through faith. And we are set free

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from the power of sin and death. And yet, our

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old nature is still here with us. And we still

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wrestle with this. And this is what we see in

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Jacob. His old nature is still with him. A tempting

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force that was constantly trying to lure him

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away from dependence and obedience on God. It

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was constantly trying to draw him back to himself.

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And it was something he would wrestle with until

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the end of his life. And so that brings us to

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Genesis 33. Read with me in verse one. It says,

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now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming towards

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him with four. So he divided the children among

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Leah, Rachel, and the two slave women. He put

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the slaves and their children first, Leah and

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her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last.

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He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the

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ground seven times until he approached his brother.

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And then, so Jacob has had this big moment, this

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big crossroads, he has a new nature, he's growing

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dependence on God, and now the crisis is upon

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him. And that's often how God works in our lives,

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right? It's right after that major moment of

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growth, that major moment where the truth hits

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us, the application lands, and it's right after

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we go into the fire. It happened with Jesus right

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there at his baptism. This wonderful moment where

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the Father appeared, you know, and the Holy Spirit

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came down, or the Father spoke and the Holy Spirit

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came down, and he said, this is my son. You are

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my son whom I love. Well, pleased, right? What

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an encouraging moment, right? Just for all who

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were there to witness, and it had to have meant

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a lot to Jesus, too, in his humanity. Right after

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this, he is... taken out into the wilderness,

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to be tempted by Satan. And that's often how

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things can work out in our lives. And so the

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crisis was here, the opportunity to apply what

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he had been learning, what he had learned up

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on that mountain wrestling with the Lord, it

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was now. And so he frantically arranges his family

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for this formal presentation to his brother.

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And yet we still see favoritism. We still see

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Jacob treating parts of his family better than

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the others as he takes the two slave women who

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technically weren't his wives, they were concubines,

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and their children, and he puts them up front.

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And then behind them is his wife Leah and her

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child, or her children, and then at the very

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back of that procession is Rachel, his favorite,

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and her son Joseph. Now, it doesn't tell us here,

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but I can imagine... The chatter going on amongst

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the kids, right? Why is Joseph in the back? I

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mean, Esau's coming to kill us all, right? You

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know? Sucks to be you, right? You know, it's

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like, I don't know how they were talking and

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how they felt about this, but Jacob is still

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wrestling with his favoritism. In case there's

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a slaughter, at least Rachel and Joseph could

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get away. It tells us that even though Jacob

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has come to this crossroads and he's had this

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big change in his life and this deepening dependence

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on the Lord, he's still being influenced by his

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fear. He's still being influenced by worry. And

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then it says he goes out and he bows. Now, this

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whole bowing seven times thing, this is understood

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to be royal protocol. There's these tablets called

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the Tel Armana tablets, which have been found,

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and they kind of... talk about how this bowing

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seven times is what you would do when you were

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approaching a king, okay? So you take this with

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all the animals and the gifts that Jacob had

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sent forward to his brother Esau, and now he's

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bowing seven times, you know, even though Jacob's

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like, okay, the Lord's with me, and I trust God

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and everything, he's still laying the flattery

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on a little thick here, okay? Now, Despite the

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fact that we still see his favoritism, despite

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the fact that we still see him being influenced

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by his fear a little bit, we see a major point

00:13:33.299 --> 00:13:36.480
of growth in him. And the fact is, is that he

00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:39.700
stepped out front. It tells us that he himself

00:13:39.700 --> 00:13:42.000
went on ahead and then bowed on the ground seven

00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:46.139
times. He's out front now, leading instead of

00:13:46.139 --> 00:13:49.990
hiding behind. He's now out front in humility

00:13:49.990 --> 00:13:52.669
instead of hiding in the back and trying to scheme

00:13:52.669 --> 00:13:56.570
and deceive and handle things himself. He's out

00:13:56.570 --> 00:13:59.570
front now living the lesson that God told him

00:13:59.570 --> 00:14:01.710
that, look, you can't run because I've dislocated

00:14:01.710 --> 00:14:05.350
your hip. Just surrender your ways and be humble.

00:14:06.250 --> 00:14:08.490
And so he's doing this, and it's a big change

00:14:08.490 --> 00:14:10.210
in his life. There's still some calculating.

00:14:10.289 --> 00:14:12.909
There's still some scheming, still favoritism,

00:14:12.970 --> 00:14:16.679
but he's out front. You know, I read this as

00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:18.419
I was studying for this, and it really was a

00:14:18.419 --> 00:14:22.039
great picture of what we've been talking about

00:14:22.039 --> 00:14:24.320
in sanctification, right? Sanctification is a

00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:26.539
process. And this is what I read. Someone said,

00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:29.220
sanctification is not a light switch. It's a

00:14:29.220 --> 00:14:32.740
dimmer switch. Right? Sanctification is that

00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:35.000
you're unsaved, poof, you're saved, and you're

00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.720
perfect without sin. It's a slow fade as we live

00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:40.940
our life here on this earth with the Holy Spirit

00:14:40.940 --> 00:14:43.899
in our lives. One commentator said, it is one

00:14:43.899 --> 00:14:46.440
thing to be privileged with a special visitation

00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:49.639
from or a manifestation of God to us, but it

00:14:49.639 --> 00:14:53.159
is quite another to live in the power of it.

00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:57.539
And that's the struggle we all face. That's the

00:14:57.539 --> 00:15:00.460
root of the question, why am I saved and yet

00:15:00.460 --> 00:15:04.879
I keep sinning? And we try and reconcile these

00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:06.700
things, and then the devil does a good job getting

00:15:06.700 --> 00:15:09.320
in there and trying to say, well, if you're sinning,

00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:13.220
you must not be saved. Or if you're really saved,

00:15:13.299 --> 00:15:16.080
you wouldn't be sinning at all. You know, and

00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:18.799
all these things are issues we wrestle with when

00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:21.799
the reality the Bible makes very clear is that

00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:23.919
here on earth, as a Christian, as a believer,

00:15:24.019 --> 00:15:26.460
we live in this two -nature kind of reality.

00:15:27.159 --> 00:15:29.259
It's what Paul talked about throughout Romans,

00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:32.080
that our new nature, our born -again nature,

00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:36.850
exists simultaneously with our old nature. And

00:15:36.850 --> 00:15:38.950
Paul does a whole lot of talking about like,

00:15:39.049 --> 00:15:41.909
hey, you want to answer the question, why is

00:15:41.909 --> 00:15:43.850
one stronger than the other at any given time?

00:15:44.850 --> 00:15:47.490
He says, it's because of which one you're feeding.

00:15:48.570 --> 00:15:50.470
You feed your spirit, your spirit's stronger.

00:15:50.649 --> 00:15:52.110
You feed your flesh, your flesh is stronger.

00:15:53.690 --> 00:15:56.250
But these issues of wrestling back and forth.

00:15:57.730 --> 00:16:00.250
They aren't salvational issues. Now, they can

00:16:00.250 --> 00:16:02.429
be, right? The Bible talks about very clearly,

00:16:02.529 --> 00:16:04.269
you know, we know people by their fruits and

00:16:04.269 --> 00:16:06.750
stuff, but I'm talking about you and the Lord.

00:16:06.789 --> 00:16:10.509
You know. You know if your faith is in God. And

00:16:10.509 --> 00:16:12.350
if you're still wrestling with these things and

00:16:12.350 --> 00:16:14.250
wrestling with issues, the Bible is very clear.

00:16:14.450 --> 00:16:17.789
Your old nature exists with your new nature.

00:16:19.230 --> 00:16:23.860
So don't let the enemy condemn you for it. This

00:16:23.860 --> 00:16:26.100
isn't a license to sin. Paul dealt with that

00:16:26.100 --> 00:16:29.419
too in Romans. But for those of you who are constantly

00:16:29.419 --> 00:16:31.840
bouncing back and forth, but I trust God, I love

00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:36.000
him so much. Oh no, God hates me, I'm lost. Stop.

00:16:38.340 --> 00:16:40.379
God's word tells you that there is now therefore

00:16:40.379 --> 00:16:43.679
no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:47.059
and called according to his purpose. No condemnation.

00:16:47.059 --> 00:16:50.779
You are not condemned when you sin as a believer.

00:16:52.690 --> 00:16:58.750
And I say when because you will. But God took

00:16:58.750 --> 00:17:00.610
that into account when he died on the cross for

00:17:00.610 --> 00:17:05.069
you. God knew that when he died on the cross

00:17:05.069 --> 00:17:10.069
for you, and he still did it. Jesus didn't go

00:17:10.069 --> 00:17:12.170
to the cross and be like, well, you know, Nathan's

00:17:12.170 --> 00:17:15.650
going to sin five times the day after he gets

00:17:15.650 --> 00:17:17.710
saved, and so I'm not going to do it. He didn't

00:17:17.710 --> 00:17:22.609
say that. What he said as he looked upon all

00:17:22.609 --> 00:17:26.490
of us is there's nothing they could do to stop

00:17:26.490 --> 00:17:29.349
sinning. There's nothing they could do to be

00:17:29.349 --> 00:17:33.329
righteous. And you know what? I love them so

00:17:33.329 --> 00:17:36.509
much that I want to pay the price for all the

00:17:36.509 --> 00:17:38.430
sin that they've done and all the sin they haven't

00:17:38.430 --> 00:17:41.130
done yet for the rest of their life so that we

00:17:41.130 --> 00:17:43.130
can have a restored relationship. And when you

00:17:43.130 --> 00:17:44.789
put your faith in that, that moment he goes,

00:17:44.829 --> 00:17:49.250
now I start. The slow process of sanctifying

00:17:49.250 --> 00:17:52.250
you for the rest of your life. Don't let the

00:17:52.250 --> 00:17:56.170
devil condemn you. Doesn't mean you want to sin.

00:17:57.710 --> 00:18:03.829
But when you do, stand in the grace of God. Plead

00:18:03.829 --> 00:18:05.730
the blood of Christ and know you're forgiven.

00:18:06.890 --> 00:18:11.730
Now, verse four. It says, Esau ran to meet him,

00:18:11.750 --> 00:18:13.609
hugged him, and threw his arms around him and

00:18:13.609 --> 00:18:17.450
kissed him. And then they wept. Put yourself

00:18:17.450 --> 00:18:23.329
in Jacob's shoes. Relief? Confusion? What's going

00:18:23.329 --> 00:18:28.309
on? Right? He was expecting violence. I can imagine

00:18:28.309 --> 00:18:30.690
the moment, right? Esau appears. Jacob's like

00:18:30.690 --> 00:18:33.410
bowing. And then Esau starts running at him.

00:18:33.730 --> 00:18:36.430
He's like, oh no, here it comes. He's going to

00:18:36.430 --> 00:18:40.430
kill me. And then boom, hug. Throws his arms

00:18:40.430 --> 00:18:43.289
around him. The very thing he prayed for. He

00:18:43.289 --> 00:18:46.150
wanted favor. He wanted acceptance. He wanted

00:18:46.150 --> 00:18:48.730
love, right? This is what he had learned that

00:18:48.730 --> 00:18:53.930
God had for him. I love you. You're my kid. You're

00:18:53.930 --> 00:18:56.009
my beloved. You're in my family. Stop questioning

00:18:56.009 --> 00:18:58.970
that. And then he's like, God, please. He prayed,

00:18:59.089 --> 00:19:01.650
you know, please save me from my brother. I just

00:19:01.650 --> 00:19:05.650
want favor with him. And he gets it. God answers

00:19:05.650 --> 00:19:07.470
that prayer, the very thing he was praying for,

00:19:07.529 --> 00:19:10.509
their reunion. It was tearful. It was filled

00:19:10.509 --> 00:19:16.529
with emotion, joy. And for Esau, the implication

00:19:16.529 --> 00:19:19.650
here is Esau's like, I'm so happy. My brother

00:19:19.650 --> 00:19:24.230
is back. I haven't seen him for 20 years. And

00:19:24.230 --> 00:19:29.250
Jacob is, I'm still alive. He didn't kill me.

00:19:30.730 --> 00:19:33.779
Whatever it was Esau intended, Because there

00:19:33.779 --> 00:19:37.200
are some commentators that speculate that on

00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:39.880
the way, Esau's intent when he left Seir was

00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:42.180
to kill Jacob, right? That was the point of the

00:19:42.180 --> 00:19:45.200
400 men, the malicious -sized army. But on the

00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:47.359
way, God softened his heart, right? There are

00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:49.819
some commentators that say that. That's possible.

00:19:50.579 --> 00:19:53.039
You know, the gifts, some people say, oh, the

00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:55.539
gifts had their effect and whatever. Some even

00:19:55.539 --> 00:19:58.000
speculate that it wasn't until the moment Esau

00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:01.849
saw his brother that he was like... I'm not gonna

00:20:01.849 --> 00:20:03.509
kill him. That's my brother. I'm so glad he's

00:20:03.509 --> 00:20:05.190
back, right? There's all these speculations.

00:20:05.269 --> 00:20:08.250
It doesn't say specifically here. But whatever

00:20:08.250 --> 00:20:11.210
was intended, the sight of his long -lost, separated

00:20:11.210 --> 00:20:14.369
brother, it broke him. And it's just a neat picture

00:20:14.369 --> 00:20:16.829
because for Jacob, it's instead of the sword

00:20:16.829 --> 00:20:20.829
that he was expecting, God gave him a hug. And

00:20:20.829 --> 00:20:23.789
so verse five. When Esau looked up and saw the

00:20:23.789 --> 00:20:25.509
women and children, he asked, who are these with

00:20:25.509 --> 00:20:28.849
you? He answered, the children God has graciously

00:20:28.849 --> 00:20:31.259
given your servant. graciously given your servant.

00:20:31.559 --> 00:20:33.460
Then the slaves and their children approached

00:20:33.460 --> 00:20:36.460
him and bowed down. Leah and her children also

00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:39.019
approached and bowed down. And then Joseph and

00:20:39.019 --> 00:20:42.279
Rachel approached and bowed down. And so the

00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:46.420
hug, the tears, the reunion, the relief, and

00:20:46.420 --> 00:20:48.819
now the family is introduced to him. Who are

00:20:48.819 --> 00:20:51.619
all these, right? Family was a huge deal in the

00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:55.559
culture. Having sons was a huge deal in the culture

00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:57.460
because that meant the family was going to continue.

00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:00.869
And so Esau. Who are all these? And so they give

00:21:00.869 --> 00:21:04.009
the family introductions, the honor, the respect

00:21:04.009 --> 00:21:06.430
is given. I imagine Jacob is like, you better

00:21:06.430 --> 00:21:09.710
bow because we don't want him to kill us, right?

00:21:11.130 --> 00:21:14.829
But what do we see here Jacob doing? He says,

00:21:14.869 --> 00:21:17.549
these are the children that God has graciously

00:21:17.549 --> 00:21:20.910
given me. Jacob's giving full credit to God for

00:21:20.910 --> 00:21:23.259
the blessing of his family. There's no mention

00:21:23.259 --> 00:21:25.779
of Laban. Who are all these? Oh, let me tell

00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:28.200
you the story about Uncle Laban. None of that.

00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:31.960
It's just God did this. God has blessed me. Brother

00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:37.140
Esau now has been introduced to Israel. He has

00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:39.839
been introduced to the genesis of God's chosen

00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:43.420
people. And so verse eight. So Esau said, what

00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:46.440
do you mean by this whole procession I met? And

00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:48.500
he's referring to all those animals, the waves

00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:51.390
of gifts he had sent on ahead of him. Jacob says,

00:21:51.509 --> 00:21:53.809
to find favor with you, my lord, he answered.

00:21:54.349 --> 00:21:56.930
I have enough, my brother Esau replied. Keep

00:21:56.930 --> 00:22:01.730
what you have. But Jacob said, no, please, if

00:22:01.730 --> 00:22:05.430
I have found favor with you, take this gift from

00:22:05.430 --> 00:22:08.250
me. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it

00:22:08.250 --> 00:22:11.369
is like seeing God's face, since you have accepted

00:22:11.369 --> 00:22:15.019
me. Please take my present that was brought to

00:22:15.019 --> 00:22:17.500
you because God has been gracious to me and I

00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:20.500
have everything I need. So Jacob urged him until

00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:25.380
he accepted. Now Jacob here is fully recognizing

00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:29.339
that seeing God's face at Peniel and wrestling

00:22:29.339 --> 00:22:33.900
with him and seeing Esau's face here are connected.

00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:37.059
Jacob is connecting the dots. He's going, oh,

00:22:37.099 --> 00:22:39.920
I see the lesson here. Everything is coming together.

00:22:40.700 --> 00:22:43.099
See, the reality is that Jacob was not ready

00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:47.299
to face Esau until he faced God. Jacob was not

00:22:47.299 --> 00:22:51.180
ready to interact with Esau and receive what

00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:53.839
was going to take place here until he had interacted

00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:56.720
and received what God had for him up on the hill.

00:22:57.519 --> 00:23:02.400
Jacob had seen the face of God and lived. Right?

00:23:02.460 --> 00:23:04.900
That's Peniel. He's like, I saw God's face and

00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:08.740
I'm alive. And then he sees Esau's face and he's

00:23:08.740 --> 00:23:13.579
alive. Jacob was crippled by God, and that was

00:23:13.579 --> 00:23:17.500
his humbling, and that had to happen before he

00:23:17.500 --> 00:23:20.819
could be reconciled with Esau. God blessed Jacob

00:23:20.819 --> 00:23:25.660
before Esau forgave Jacob, before Jacob received

00:23:25.660 --> 00:23:27.619
that forgiveness, and it's this principle that

00:23:27.619 --> 00:23:29.740
we see throughout Scripture where it's always

00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:32.880
God first, man second. It's a very significant

00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:35.940
principle in the language of love throughout

00:23:35.940 --> 00:23:38.769
Scripture. In fact, when you look at the Ten

00:23:38.769 --> 00:23:42.670
Commandments, the first four are about loving

00:23:42.670 --> 00:23:46.450
God. The second six are about loving humanity.

00:23:48.289 --> 00:23:51.730
Jesus himself said, all the commands are summed

00:23:51.730 --> 00:23:53.329
up in this. Love God with all your heart, mind,

00:23:53.349 --> 00:23:55.430
soul, and strength. Love others as yourself.

00:23:56.470 --> 00:23:58.750
That's always the process. That's always the

00:23:58.750 --> 00:24:02.430
structure. It's always the order. Get right with

00:24:02.430 --> 00:24:04.369
God, and you're going to be able to effectively

00:24:04.369 --> 00:24:08.200
get right with everybody else. That was very

00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:09.819
the thing that was happening in Jacob's life.

00:24:09.920 --> 00:24:12.160
He's getting right with God. He's experiencing

00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:14.900
peace with his creator and then suddenly he's

00:24:14.900 --> 00:24:17.599
like, oh my gosh, I'm not at peace with my brother.

00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:21.579
But he was able to pursue this peace effectively

00:24:21.579 --> 00:24:25.279
and appropriately because he had been getting

00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:28.339
right with God first. You see, if he was not

00:24:28.339 --> 00:24:30.180
right with God first, I don't know that he would

00:24:30.180 --> 00:24:32.720
have been bowing seven times and humbling himself

00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:36.329
before Esau. He might have had a last moment

00:24:36.329 --> 00:24:40.910
of, wait a second, I have the birthright. Speculative,

00:24:41.029 --> 00:24:44.750
of course, but the idea here is that Jacob had

00:24:44.750 --> 00:24:47.009
learned the lesson of grace, and it was very

00:24:47.009 --> 00:24:50.710
large on his heart in this moment, right? That

00:24:50.710 --> 00:24:53.470
he said, these are the children that God graciously

00:24:53.470 --> 00:24:56.809
gave to me. Esau says, what's up with all the

00:24:56.809 --> 00:24:59.630
gifts? And he's like, they're meant to find favor

00:24:59.630 --> 00:25:02.009
with you, favor. Another way you could say favor

00:25:02.009 --> 00:25:06.960
is grace. And then he insists. Esau's like, no,

00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:09.480
no, no. And he's like, no, really. God has been

00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:13.180
gracious with me. Jacob had learned a great deal

00:25:13.180 --> 00:25:18.059
about grace. Right? We know what grace is. Grace

00:25:18.059 --> 00:25:22.680
is getting what you don't deserve. Mercy, that's

00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:25.980
the opposite. Not getting what you do deserve.

00:25:26.420 --> 00:25:30.200
You guys understand the difference? We deserve

00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:37.789
judgment. We did not get that mercy. We definitely

00:25:37.789 --> 00:25:40.730
don't deserve to be adopted into God's family

00:25:40.730 --> 00:25:42.589
and to receive salvation or forgiveness, but

00:25:42.589 --> 00:25:48.230
that is exactly what we got, grace. And Jacob,

00:25:48.329 --> 00:25:50.650
he's learning all about getting what he doesn't

00:25:50.650 --> 00:25:53.430
deserve. He's coming to that place where he's

00:25:53.430 --> 00:25:56.349
beginning to understand my ways don't work. I

00:25:56.349 --> 00:25:58.849
can't depend on myself and my scheming and my

00:25:58.849 --> 00:26:01.069
lying and all of this stuff. And so he's just...

00:26:01.369 --> 00:26:03.630
Grace, God's been gracious, and God graciously

00:26:03.630 --> 00:26:08.069
gave me these kids, and he's getting it. Now,

00:26:08.150 --> 00:26:10.269
this back and forth between him and Esau, you

00:26:10.269 --> 00:26:12.089
know, Esau going, no, no, no, I can't take the

00:26:12.089 --> 00:26:15.630
gifts. This is probably a cultural etiquette

00:26:15.630 --> 00:26:19.170
thing. I learned a long time ago in Middle East

00:26:19.170 --> 00:26:22.519
culture. There's a process of etiquette that

00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:25.079
takes place when somebody offers you something.

00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:27.960
I was told a story once. I can't remember if

00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:30.480
Pastor Gary told me the story or Pastor Emil

00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:33.559
Haddad told me the story or someone else. Honestly,

00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:35.720
I don't remember. But the story was this. In

00:26:35.720 --> 00:26:38.059
the Middle Eastern culture, if someone offers

00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:42.019
you something, you cannot accept it on the first

00:26:42.019 --> 00:26:44.539
offer. You have to say, oh, no, no, no, thank

00:26:44.539 --> 00:26:47.789
you. And then the etiquette is, is the person

00:26:47.789 --> 00:26:52.470
must go, no, please, I insist. And then you're

00:26:52.470 --> 00:26:55.829
supposed to go, no, really, I'm okay, right?

00:26:55.930 --> 00:26:57.490
There's this whole little back and forth thing

00:26:57.490 --> 00:27:00.069
that is supposed to happen. Now, both parties

00:27:00.069 --> 00:27:02.549
know I'm offering, I'm going to accept, right?

00:27:02.630 --> 00:27:04.650
That's how it works. But you have to do this

00:27:04.650 --> 00:27:06.829
back and forth thing. It's honor and all this

00:27:06.829 --> 00:27:09.940
kind of stuff. And the story I heard was there

00:27:09.940 --> 00:27:11.740
was a pastor or somebody from the Middle East

00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:14.220
that had come to America, and they were at an

00:27:14.220 --> 00:27:17.220
event, and it was an American pastor that was

00:27:17.220 --> 00:27:20.460
hosting the event or somebody American hosting

00:27:20.460 --> 00:27:23.000
it. And so the Middle Eastern guy had just come

00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:24.680
straight from the plane, had been traveling a

00:27:24.680 --> 00:27:27.019
long time, and the host is like, oh, hey, are

00:27:27.019 --> 00:27:28.819
you hungry? Do you want anything to eat? And

00:27:28.819 --> 00:27:30.940
the Middle Eastern guy goes, no, no, no, no.

00:27:31.059 --> 00:27:35.839
And he went, cool. And the Middle Eastern guy

00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:39.339
is like, I'm starving to death. Why is he not

00:27:39.339 --> 00:27:41.220
offering, right? It's one of those cultural,

00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:45.859
you know, things. And so, you know, oh, no, no,

00:27:45.900 --> 00:27:47.799
no, and yes, please, and yes, please, and stuff.

00:27:48.859 --> 00:27:51.299
But there's also the possibility that Jacob still,

00:27:51.579 --> 00:27:53.099
you know, because he has this lingering fear,

00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:55.619
this lingering fear that caused him to, you know,

00:27:55.619 --> 00:27:58.539
lay out his family in a certain way, that he's

00:27:58.539 --> 00:28:02.900
just wanting to make extra sure, right? And as

00:28:02.900 --> 00:28:05.160
we grow in our walk with God and we're going

00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:06.940
through our sanctification process and we have

00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:08.900
these big moments where we move forward in our

00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:11.500
faith, sometimes we'll still have those lingering

00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:13.799
old nature elements in us that are like, well,

00:28:13.900 --> 00:28:17.380
just in case. You know, it can't hurt to add

00:28:17.380 --> 00:28:20.980
this little extra, you know, and, you know, cults

00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:23.160
are built around that. Jesus plus, right? Oh,

00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:24.880
yeah, Jesus, Jesus, but you have to do these

00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:28.230
works. You have to stand outside the... you know,

00:28:28.230 --> 00:28:30.750
steel craft with your pamphlets and stuff on

00:28:30.750 --> 00:28:32.730
Sunday morning as they do. And, you know, you

00:28:32.730 --> 00:28:34.690
have to do all these things or you are not saved.

00:28:35.569 --> 00:28:40.009
And, you know, it's just, we don't know exactly,

00:28:40.230 --> 00:28:43.089
but he insists. And so Esau will accept the gift.

00:28:43.250 --> 00:28:45.769
And then, you know, in this process, again, culturally

00:28:45.769 --> 00:28:50.500
accepting the gift meant. It was an affirmation

00:28:50.500 --> 00:28:53.920
that we are friends. The friendship is sealed,

00:28:54.079 --> 00:28:56.279
right? Kind of like a wedding ring at a wedding,

00:28:56.380 --> 00:28:58.559
right? It's like that is the sign that we are

00:28:58.559 --> 00:29:01.220
married. Well, in the accepting of gifts in the

00:29:01.220 --> 00:29:04.059
culture, as soon as you said, I accept the gifts,

00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:08.420
what you were saying is any beef we had is squashed.

00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:12.180
We're good now. So Esau is communicating to his

00:29:12.180 --> 00:29:14.319
brother, look, the old score, it's settled. We're

00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:18.019
good, right? So Esau then invites Jacob to come

00:29:18.019 --> 00:29:20.539
to his home in Seir, and there was a problem

00:29:20.539 --> 00:29:24.200
with that. The problem was that Seir was outside

00:29:24.200 --> 00:29:27.480
of the promised land, the land that God had told

00:29:27.480 --> 00:29:31.380
Jacob to go back to. So again, I didn't have

00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:34.220
a chance to make graphics, but, you know, here's

00:29:34.220 --> 00:29:38.079
a map, okay? And here's the Mediterranean Sea.

00:29:38.500 --> 00:29:41.579
Here's Israel. Right in the middle is the Dead

00:29:41.579 --> 00:29:45.279
Sea and the Jordan River. Can you see it? All

00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:48.940
right. South, the southern part of Israel is

00:29:48.940 --> 00:29:52.740
the Negev region. This is where Bathsheba was.

00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:58.140
Not Bathsheba. What's the name of the city? I

00:29:58.140 --> 00:30:02.859
forgot. Beersheba. So many Shebas, right? Beersheba.

00:30:04.140 --> 00:30:08.190
And then over here was Seir. Okay, so this was

00:30:08.190 --> 00:30:10.170
the land that became known as the land of Edom.

00:30:10.329 --> 00:30:12.670
It was outside the promised land. Effectively,

00:30:12.710 --> 00:30:15.049
the Jordan River was kind of everything west

00:30:15.049 --> 00:30:16.930
of the Jordan River was the promised land. And

00:30:16.930 --> 00:30:19.930
so Esau's like, hey, come home with me. You know,

00:30:19.970 --> 00:30:23.349
come visit. Jacob is now in a conundrum, right?

00:30:23.470 --> 00:30:25.650
He's wanting to appease his brother. He's wanting

00:30:25.650 --> 00:30:28.769
to be very compliant. And yet God said, go back

00:30:28.769 --> 00:30:31.609
to the land I promised you, which is definitely

00:30:31.609 --> 00:30:36.009
not in Seir. Now, here is the moment. Jacob.

00:30:36.750 --> 00:30:39.970
who is now Israel, new relationship with God,

00:30:40.089 --> 00:30:44.069
dependence, trust, yay. This is the opportunity

00:30:44.069 --> 00:30:47.549
for him to be very Israel in how he responds

00:30:47.549 --> 00:30:50.390
to his brother, but unfortunately, he responds

00:30:50.390 --> 00:30:52.569
in a very Jacob -like manner. Read with me in

00:30:52.569 --> 00:30:56.170
verse 12. Then Esau said, let's move on and I'll

00:30:56.170 --> 00:31:00.190
go ahead of you. Jacob replied, my Lord knows

00:31:00.190 --> 00:31:03.609
that the children are weak and I have nursing

00:31:03.609 --> 00:31:07.039
flocks and herds. If they're driven hard for

00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:09.819
one day, the whole herd will die. Let my Lord

00:31:09.819 --> 00:31:12.640
go on ahead of his servant. I will continue on

00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:15.460
slowly at a pace suited to the livestock and

00:31:15.460 --> 00:31:18.519
the children until I come to my Lord at Seir.

00:31:19.140 --> 00:31:21.480
Esau said, well, just let me leave some of my

00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:24.799
people with you. But he replied, why do that?

00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:28.640
Please indulge me, my Lord. You know, again,

00:31:28.900 --> 00:31:32.650
Seir was outside the promised land. It had been

00:31:32.650 --> 00:31:34.869
well known that God had said, look, my chosen

00:31:34.869 --> 00:31:37.009
people, the ones under the blessing, are going

00:31:37.009 --> 00:31:39.609
to be separated from all other people. They're

00:31:39.609 --> 00:31:41.589
not supposed to intermarry, all this type of

00:31:41.589 --> 00:31:44.130
stuff. This was well known. And so Jacob trying

00:31:44.130 --> 00:31:47.049
to disengage from Esau is a very appropriate

00:31:47.049 --> 00:31:50.869
thing here, right? But the problem is, is Israel

00:31:50.869 --> 00:31:54.250
should have simply spoken the truth in love.

00:31:55.490 --> 00:31:59.960
Bro, I appreciate the invite to your house. But

00:31:59.960 --> 00:32:05.160
God has said this. So I have to depart the other

00:32:05.160 --> 00:32:07.880
way. But thank you. So glad we're together, right?

00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:10.119
You know, handshakes and all that. But we're

00:32:10.119 --> 00:32:13.500
going to separate. But that's not what happened.

00:32:13.859 --> 00:32:18.579
Instead, Jacob declines the invitation with excuses

00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:24.839
and exaggerations. Oh, the kids. The poor kids.

00:32:25.559 --> 00:32:29.230
They're so weak. They couldn't possibly travel

00:32:29.230 --> 00:32:32.829
with you to Seir even though they've traveled

00:32:32.829 --> 00:32:35.069
with me from Haran. But we're not going to talk

00:32:35.069 --> 00:32:37.950
about that. Oh, and then the flocks too. The

00:32:37.950 --> 00:32:43.670
flocks, they're breeding. They can't even though

00:32:43.670 --> 00:32:45.750
they also have traveled with me from Haran. But

00:32:45.750 --> 00:32:47.769
we're not going to talk about that either. And

00:32:47.769 --> 00:32:50.490
so he's basically just kind of dancing around

00:32:50.490 --> 00:32:53.009
the issue without just saying, no, God said that

00:32:53.009 --> 00:32:54.970
I'm supposed to do this instead. And then he

00:32:54.970 --> 00:32:58.480
straight up lies. You go on ahead. I'll catch

00:32:58.480 --> 00:33:03.019
up. That never happened. That never happened

00:33:03.019 --> 00:33:06.240
until the end of Jacob's life. Now Esau, whether

00:33:06.240 --> 00:33:08.380
he was kind of something's weird here or just

00:33:08.380 --> 00:33:11.220
being a friendly brother there, he's like, oh,

00:33:11.240 --> 00:33:12.779
yeah, I'll leave some of my people behind. They

00:33:12.779 --> 00:33:14.119
could help with the weak kids and they could

00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:17.039
help with the flocks. But Jacob insisted. Why

00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:22.779
do that? You know, and I mean, every time Jacob's

00:33:22.779 --> 00:33:24.819
words are here, that's what I see. You know,

00:33:24.819 --> 00:33:27.269
the... The shoulders, come on, you know, the

00:33:27.269 --> 00:33:29.869
shady guy's shoulders. And why do that? Please

00:33:29.869 --> 00:33:31.970
indulge me, my Lord, right? He's still laying

00:33:31.970 --> 00:33:35.990
on the stuff. But this shows us something, that

00:33:35.990 --> 00:33:38.809
Jacob indeed was reconciled with his brother,

00:33:38.990 --> 00:33:43.289
but Jacob didn't want to be too close to his

00:33:43.289 --> 00:33:49.430
brother. And the possibility here is Jacob maybe

00:33:49.430 --> 00:33:52.509
wasn't fully sure that we're good meant we're

00:33:52.509 --> 00:33:56.400
good, right, Jacob? Was a deceiver. Lived his

00:33:56.400 --> 00:33:59.740
whole life that way. He had lived for 20 years

00:33:59.740 --> 00:34:03.680
under a deceiver. Being deceived and taken advantage

00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:07.960
of. And what does a deceiver expect everybody

00:34:07.960 --> 00:34:12.519
else to do? Deceive. So there's the possibility

00:34:12.519 --> 00:34:16.460
that Jacob was like, I mean, we're good, but,

00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:18.940
you know, maybe what if we're on the way and

00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:20.880
then he, you know. kills me and my family on

00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:22.139
the way or something, right? There's a possibility

00:34:22.139 --> 00:34:25.019
there. And we've already seen him catering to

00:34:25.019 --> 00:34:26.980
his old nature, his old fear a little bit. And

00:34:26.980 --> 00:34:28.960
so it's very likely that that's why he was like,

00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:32.760
uh, you know, and wasn't real ready yet to just

00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:35.239
stand up for righteousness and truth. I can't

00:34:35.239 --> 00:34:39.500
do that. See, one of the most uncomfortable times

00:34:39.500 --> 00:34:42.219
in my life after I got saved is my old friends

00:34:42.219 --> 00:34:45.500
going, hey, let's go do the thing. And, you know,

00:34:45.500 --> 00:34:47.300
when I first got saved, I was, oh, I'm a little

00:34:47.300 --> 00:34:48.699
embarrassed to say I'm a Christian. So it's,

00:34:48.699 --> 00:34:50.760
oh, I'm busy that night. I got to wash my hair.

00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:54.760
You know, all the normal excuses. And then finally

00:34:54.760 --> 00:34:57.039
coming to the point where, you know, hey, let's

00:34:57.039 --> 00:34:58.659
go do this or go to this party, do that. And

00:34:58.659 --> 00:35:01.960
I said, no, I don't want to do that. Well, why

00:35:01.960 --> 00:35:07.059
not? I'm a Christian. I don't do that anymore.

00:35:07.340 --> 00:35:12.760
Oh, you think you're better than us? No, actually.

00:35:13.519 --> 00:35:17.519
I'm exactly one of you, but God saved me. That's

00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:20.719
the difference, and I want to honor him. And

00:35:20.719 --> 00:35:22.460
I went through that just even a few years ago.

00:35:22.480 --> 00:35:25.880
Some old high school friends, you know, we're

00:35:25.880 --> 00:35:28.179
all old now, and they're still doing backyard

00:35:28.179 --> 00:35:30.579
parties with kegs and red cup beer, and I'm like,

00:35:30.619 --> 00:35:32.460
when are you going to grow up, you know? But,

00:35:32.460 --> 00:35:37.460
you know, I had run into one of them at a store,

00:35:37.480 --> 00:35:40.500
and... she's a Christian now. And I was like,

00:35:40.539 --> 00:35:43.159
oh. And she was like, you do what? And I'm like,

00:35:43.179 --> 00:35:45.699
yeah, I'm a pastor. And, you know, there's this

00:35:45.699 --> 00:35:47.940
cool moment of just kind of, hey, cool, I'd love

00:35:47.940 --> 00:35:49.659
to get together and talk and stuff. And then

00:35:49.659 --> 00:35:53.780
so, you know, a few weeks later, she was holding

00:35:53.780 --> 00:35:55.219
a party at her house. And it was all old high

00:35:55.219 --> 00:35:56.619
school friends. It was like all of a sudden all

00:35:56.619 --> 00:35:58.800
of our old high school buddies were all running

00:35:58.800 --> 00:36:01.280
across each other again. And I couldn't make

00:36:01.280 --> 00:36:05.300
it to the party. And then I see pictures on Facebook.

00:36:07.210 --> 00:36:10.309
That's high school all over again, right? You

00:36:10.309 --> 00:36:13.010
know, and I remember like, oh, why didn't you

00:36:13.010 --> 00:36:14.849
come? Why didn't you come? And at this point,

00:36:14.849 --> 00:36:17.789
I was just like, guys, that's not who I am anymore.

00:36:18.329 --> 00:36:20.989
Like, I don't want to go and, you know, drink

00:36:20.989 --> 00:36:23.150
the bad beer in the red cup out of a keg, and

00:36:23.150 --> 00:36:25.070
I don't want to pass out in the bushes like so

00:36:25.070 --> 00:36:28.530
-and -so was in that picture. That's not me anymore.

00:36:29.110 --> 00:36:31.530
And then I privately went to the person. I was

00:36:31.530 --> 00:36:35.010
like, hey, what are you doing? What do you mean?

00:36:35.230 --> 00:36:37.869
I'm like, you know, we're Christians, right?

00:36:38.030 --> 00:36:40.190
You know, I'm like, you know, you're saved and

00:36:40.190 --> 00:36:43.030
I fully believe that, but you know, why are you

00:36:43.030 --> 00:36:45.590
living the old life still? And that turned into,

00:36:45.710 --> 00:36:47.809
oh, Nathan thinks he's better than everybody.

00:36:48.070 --> 00:36:52.150
And I was just like, no, not at all. You know,

00:36:52.150 --> 00:36:54.070
because you get the opportunity to tell people,

00:36:54.090 --> 00:36:55.610
you're like, no, I wanted to be at that party.

00:36:56.110 --> 00:36:58.230
And that bush looked really comfortable. I wanted

00:36:58.230 --> 00:37:02.170
to pass out in it too. But that's not who I am

00:37:02.170 --> 00:37:05.360
anymore. I want to honor God with my life, not

00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:09.079
cater to my flesh. And, you know, anyways, I'm

00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:10.739
not sure how I got on that whole tangent there.

00:37:11.239 --> 00:37:16.480
But, oh, yeah, there we are. Okay. Jacob's still

00:37:16.480 --> 00:37:21.260
going, I'm not sure, right? He was both Jacob

00:37:21.260 --> 00:37:23.659
and Israel at the same time. This is the dichotomy

00:37:23.659 --> 00:37:25.460
we're seeing here. This is the issue that we

00:37:25.460 --> 00:37:28.559
have, right? We're both our new person, our new

00:37:28.559 --> 00:37:31.319
nature and our old nature at the same time. Israel

00:37:31.319 --> 00:37:35.619
would have spoken the truth in love. Jacob rationalized,

00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:38.179
right? Oh, well, maybe I'll go to see her one

00:37:38.179 --> 00:37:41.440
day. I'm not technically lying. But it's hard

00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:43.639
to try and be Jacob and Israel at the same time.

00:37:43.820 --> 00:37:45.960
And there's maybe some of you in this room that

00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:48.780
have been trying to be Jacob and Israel at the

00:37:48.780 --> 00:37:50.699
same time, right? You're trying to live your

00:37:50.699 --> 00:37:52.380
new nature and your old nature at the same time,

00:37:52.400 --> 00:37:55.280
and it's tough. And you feel terrible inside

00:37:55.280 --> 00:38:03.820
because there's conviction. And stop. Stop. Stop

00:38:03.820 --> 00:38:06.159
trying to live both. You can't live both. And

00:38:06.159 --> 00:38:08.840
as we're going to see, trying to do both only

00:38:08.840 --> 00:38:12.800
leads to more difficulty. Verse 16. That day

00:38:12.800 --> 00:38:16.119
Esau started on his way back to Seir. But Jacob

00:38:16.119 --> 00:38:18.460
went to Sukkoth. He built a house for himself

00:38:18.460 --> 00:38:20.760
and shelters for his livestock, and that's why

00:38:20.760 --> 00:38:24.739
the place is called Sukkoth. Esau and his 400

00:38:24.739 --> 00:38:27.079
men, they kind of march off the pages of history,

00:38:27.340 --> 00:38:30.639
save for a brief appearance at their dad's funeral

00:38:30.639 --> 00:38:33.400
and then one mention in another genealogy. But

00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:35.940
this is kind of the last we hear of Esau, right?

00:38:36.699 --> 00:38:40.239
Esau was not a part of the story of redemption.

00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:42.980
And as we've gone from Adam, we keep narrowing

00:38:42.980 --> 00:38:45.599
down and narrowing down into the story of God's

00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:48.280
people through whom which the Messiah came. This

00:38:48.280 --> 00:38:51.360
is the biblical story here. So instead of going

00:38:51.360 --> 00:38:54.960
back to Seir, like he said, Jacob then goes to

00:38:54.960 --> 00:38:57.699
a spot that's back north across the Jabbok River.

00:38:57.960 --> 00:39:01.159
So again, here's our map, right? Dead Sea, Jordan

00:39:01.159 --> 00:39:04.300
River. They're meeting up here somewhere, and

00:39:04.300 --> 00:39:06.139
there's this river called the Jabbok that goes

00:39:06.139 --> 00:39:10.460
west into the Jordan River. Jacob follows that

00:39:10.460 --> 00:39:12.760
back, and he stops at this place called Sukkoth.

00:39:12.840 --> 00:39:14.719
Now, it wasn't called Sukkoth when he got there.

00:39:14.780 --> 00:39:16.619
It was called Sukkoth because of what Jacob did

00:39:16.619 --> 00:39:20.199
when he got there. That word Sukkoth means booth,

00:39:20.340 --> 00:39:25.070
stalls, huts, or shelters. So this place, and

00:39:25.070 --> 00:39:27.710
there's archaeological evidence today, people

00:39:27.710 --> 00:39:29.190
think they know where it is, and it's basically

00:39:29.190 --> 00:39:31.949
when you enter into the Jordan Valley, that was

00:39:31.949 --> 00:39:34.150
very fertile. You remember the place Lot decided

00:39:34.150 --> 00:39:37.150
to go to when Abraham gave him a choice? This

00:39:37.150 --> 00:39:39.309
is where he stopped, this very fertile valley,

00:39:39.429 --> 00:39:43.230
possibly to rebuild his flocks from all the stuff

00:39:43.230 --> 00:39:45.730
that he had given to Esau as a gift, but there's

00:39:45.730 --> 00:39:49.050
a symbolic thing going here. You see, Sukkoth,

00:39:49.130 --> 00:39:53.170
the area, It's not quite in the promised land,

00:39:53.369 --> 00:39:59.130
but it's real close. The fact that he built booths

00:39:59.130 --> 00:40:02.710
and shelters here, there's a symbolism here.

00:40:02.789 --> 00:40:07.409
Booths and shelters are compromises, right? Tents,

00:40:07.530 --> 00:40:09.849
they typically lived in tents. Tents were temporary.

00:40:10.110 --> 00:40:11.949
You set up the tent, tear it down, you keep moving,

00:40:12.070 --> 00:40:17.349
right? Sukkoth, boot. Booths, stalls, huts, shelters.

00:40:17.590 --> 00:40:21.210
These are dwellings that are not quite tents,

00:40:21.349 --> 00:40:26.389
but not quite permanent. What we see here is

00:40:26.389 --> 00:40:31.690
Jacob going, well, I'm doing what God said, right?

00:40:31.750 --> 00:40:35.789
He said, go to the promised land. But he's stopping

00:40:35.789 --> 00:40:39.769
right before he gets there. There's a partial

00:40:39.769 --> 00:40:43.110
obedience here that he is involved in. It's a

00:40:43.110 --> 00:40:45.880
compromise. Well, I'm doing what God wants, but

00:40:45.880 --> 00:40:47.860
I'm doing a little bit my way still. You see,

00:40:47.900 --> 00:40:50.960
Jacob has gone from my way is the only way to,

00:40:51.000 --> 00:40:53.559
okay, God, I'm going to do your way, but I'm

00:40:53.559 --> 00:40:55.539
going to mix in a little bit of my way, and it's

00:40:55.539 --> 00:40:58.920
called a compromise. And compromises are often

00:40:58.920 --> 00:41:01.760
worse than direct obedience. We know what Jesus

00:41:01.760 --> 00:41:04.599
said in Revelation, right? I'd rather that you

00:41:04.599 --> 00:41:06.380
were hot or cold, but if you're lukewarm, I'm

00:41:06.380 --> 00:41:11.159
going to vomit you out of my mouth. Obey or disobey,

00:41:11.199 --> 00:41:12.960
but don't play this stupid game in the middle

00:41:12.960 --> 00:41:14.679
where you're like, I'm obeying you, God. And

00:41:14.679 --> 00:41:18.320
you're like, no, you're not. Partial obedience

00:41:18.320 --> 00:41:24.099
is still disobedience. And so God had told Jacob,

00:41:24.139 --> 00:41:27.820
come back to the promised land. And the reason

00:41:27.820 --> 00:41:29.940
this is being pointed out here is because the

00:41:29.940 --> 00:41:33.380
next place he gets to is Sukkoth. Shechem, which

00:41:33.380 --> 00:41:36.239
is in the promised land, but this whole episode

00:41:36.239 --> 00:41:40.199
here in Genesis 33, it took place over eight,

00:41:40.320 --> 00:41:43.400
nine, ten years. So it wasn't like he just went,

00:41:43.440 --> 00:41:45.880
boop, stopped in Sukkoth, refill, and then got

00:41:45.880 --> 00:41:48.940
to Shechem. That he spent time there in Sukkoth

00:41:48.940 --> 00:41:51.219
before entering into the promised land as he

00:41:51.219 --> 00:41:55.070
was supposed to. And God had called Jacob back

00:41:55.070 --> 00:41:56.829
to the promised land. As we're going to see,

00:41:56.909 --> 00:41:58.730
it was most likely that he called him back to

00:41:58.730 --> 00:42:01.530
Bethel specifically. But again, this suggests

00:42:01.530 --> 00:42:06.369
that Israel is still walking in a little bit

00:42:06.369 --> 00:42:10.110
of the Jacob in his life, where he's still giving

00:42:10.110 --> 00:42:12.170
in to his old do -it -my -own -way nature. So

00:42:12.170 --> 00:42:15.929
verse 18. After Jacob came from Paddan Aram,

00:42:15.969 --> 00:42:18.369
he arrived safely in Shechem in the land of Canaan

00:42:18.369 --> 00:42:20.489
and camped in front of the city. He purchased

00:42:20.489 --> 00:42:22.449
a section of the field where he had pitched his

00:42:22.449 --> 00:42:24.949
tent from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father,

00:42:25.050 --> 00:42:27.769
for 100 pieces of silver. And he set up an altar

00:42:27.769 --> 00:42:32.110
there and called it God, the God of Israel. Now

00:42:32.110 --> 00:42:35.449
again, if you look at the map, right, Jabbok

00:42:35.449 --> 00:42:37.889
River, here's Sukkoth, here's the Jordan River.

00:42:38.409 --> 00:42:41.190
If you travel this way another 20 miles, you

00:42:41.190 --> 00:42:44.019
get to what's called Shechem. Now that's a straight

00:42:44.019 --> 00:42:45.880
shot. If you follow the river, it's more like

00:42:45.880 --> 00:42:48.159
30 miles. But the point is, is Shechem is now

00:42:48.159 --> 00:42:52.340
in the promised land. And it says that he arrived

00:42:52.340 --> 00:42:57.260
there safely. Safely likely means he arrived

00:42:57.260 --> 00:43:01.119
in peace, right? There was no war, not being

00:43:01.119 --> 00:43:04.460
chased. It was just, he arrived in peace. Finally,

00:43:04.460 --> 00:43:07.789
he's back inside the promised land. Now it says

00:43:07.789 --> 00:43:10.570
he pitched his tent, so his at least initial

00:43:10.570 --> 00:43:13.929
intent was to stay there temporarily, but we're

00:43:13.929 --> 00:43:16.210
going to see in the next chapter that that wasn't

00:43:16.210 --> 00:43:19.969
the case. But his crossing over the Jordan, finally

00:43:19.969 --> 00:43:21.750
coming into the promised land, that should have

00:43:21.750 --> 00:43:24.929
been an occasion of great fanfare. This has been

00:43:24.929 --> 00:43:28.349
the moment where the trumpets, and Jacob's doing

00:43:28.349 --> 00:43:30.130
the thing, and he's in the promised land, and

00:43:30.130 --> 00:43:34.050
hallelujah, everything's so wonderful. But it's

00:43:34.050 --> 00:43:37.550
just strangely just glossed over. And he got

00:43:37.550 --> 00:43:42.849
to Shechem. Why is that? It's because like Sukkoth,

00:43:42.869 --> 00:43:47.969
Shechem represents a halfway obedience. He didn't

00:43:47.969 --> 00:43:50.230
go all the way back to Bethel, which I'm going

00:43:50.230 --> 00:43:51.829
to tell you why I believe that's where he was

00:43:51.829 --> 00:43:54.170
supposed to go in a moment. He definitely didn't

00:43:54.170 --> 00:43:56.150
go all the way back to his father's house like

00:43:56.150 --> 00:43:59.849
God had specifically told him to. And so instead

00:43:59.849 --> 00:44:02.809
of this fanfare and this celebration, look, Jacob

00:44:02.809 --> 00:44:05.909
did what God wanted him to do. It's kind of just

00:44:05.909 --> 00:44:10.610
this muted, facts -only description of his movement.

00:44:12.469 --> 00:44:14.949
Now, before we get into the other stuff, even

00:44:14.949 --> 00:44:17.909
though it was halfway obedience, we still see

00:44:17.909 --> 00:44:22.349
that Israel is still faithfully believing in

00:44:22.349 --> 00:44:25.429
God's promises because he purchases land when

00:44:25.429 --> 00:44:27.650
he gets there, and that parallels what Abraham

00:44:27.650 --> 00:44:29.630
did. You remember when Abraham got to the land

00:44:29.630 --> 00:44:32.510
there, and he purchased the land at Machpelah.

00:44:33.320 --> 00:44:35.219
purchased that to be a burial place, and there

00:44:35.219 --> 00:44:37.420
was this symbolism that Abraham said, look, I

00:44:37.420 --> 00:44:40.300
believe God's promise so strongly that this land

00:44:40.300 --> 00:44:42.739
is gonna be ours that I'm putting an ownership

00:44:42.739 --> 00:44:45.059
stake, I'm putting my flag down here, even though

00:44:45.059 --> 00:44:47.940
it's technically not ours yet. And so Jacob is

00:44:47.940 --> 00:44:50.139
doing the same thing where he's purchasing some

00:44:50.139 --> 00:44:54.320
land there, and it's him declaring his belief

00:44:54.320 --> 00:44:58.420
in the promises. But again, we still have this.

00:44:59.309 --> 00:45:02.730
saving, believing faith mixed with partial obedience.

00:45:03.070 --> 00:45:07.090
And so he builds this altar, this wonderful altar,

00:45:07.170 --> 00:45:09.789
right? It tells us in verse 20, he calls the

00:45:09.789 --> 00:45:13.989
altar God, the God of Israel. Israel, it's El

00:45:13.989 --> 00:45:17.429
Elohi Yisrael. It means the mighty God is the

00:45:17.429 --> 00:45:20.469
God of Israel, right? Do you notice he didn't

00:45:20.469 --> 00:45:23.550
say the mighty God is the God of Jacob? Interesting.

00:45:24.750 --> 00:45:28.429
Jacob was... using his new name. He was declaring

00:45:28.429 --> 00:45:31.130
his new nature, publicly acknowledging God's

00:45:31.130 --> 00:45:34.650
power and grace in his life. Right? Pretty awesome.

00:45:34.730 --> 00:45:39.230
When he left the promised land 20 years, or left

00:45:39.230 --> 00:45:41.730
his home 20 years earlier and he stopped in Bethel.

00:45:41.809 --> 00:45:43.289
You remember in Bethel, you know, he had that

00:45:43.289 --> 00:45:45.389
vision of God and the angels going up and down

00:45:45.389 --> 00:45:47.590
the ladders. And then Jacob immaturely said,

00:45:47.869 --> 00:45:49.690
God, if you do everything you said you were going

00:45:49.690 --> 00:45:53.030
to do, then you will be my God. And now he's

00:45:53.030 --> 00:45:54.690
back in the promised land and what does he do?

00:45:56.150 --> 00:46:00.329
publicly proclaims, God, you are my God. God

00:46:00.329 --> 00:46:04.610
had done mighty things for him. God had just

00:46:04.610 --> 00:46:06.869
blessed his life over the course of his life.

00:46:06.949 --> 00:46:11.130
But here's the problem. The altar should have

00:46:11.130 --> 00:46:16.269
been built in Bethel, not Shechem. The altar

00:46:16.269 --> 00:46:18.550
should have been built in Bethel, the house of

00:46:18.550 --> 00:46:21.809
God, where God reiterated the promises to him.

00:46:22.409 --> 00:46:24.449
The reason I believe is he was supposed to go

00:46:24.449 --> 00:46:28.230
to Bethel. In Genesis 31, 13, when Jacob is reiterating

00:46:28.230 --> 00:46:31.269
the dream to his wives to convince them that

00:46:31.269 --> 00:46:34.630
they should leave, God says this to him. I am

00:46:34.630 --> 00:46:37.010
the God of Bethel, where you poured oil on the

00:46:37.010 --> 00:46:39.170
stone marker and made a solemn vow to me. Get

00:46:39.170 --> 00:46:42.030
up, leave this land, and return to your native

00:46:42.030 --> 00:46:44.750
land. So it seems to indicate there that where

00:46:44.750 --> 00:46:47.010
God was specifically calling Jacob to come back

00:46:47.010 --> 00:46:49.849
to, at least maybe his first stop, was Bethel.

00:46:50.539 --> 00:46:53.820
Now, instead of going there, Jacob stops in Shechem.

00:46:53.920 --> 00:46:55.920
It's a partial obedience, and as we're gonna

00:46:55.920 --> 00:46:59.099
see in the next chapter, his stopping in Shechem

00:46:59.099 --> 00:47:02.619
ends up being disastrous for his family. We're

00:47:02.619 --> 00:47:04.559
gonna see in the next chapter that his only daughter

00:47:04.559 --> 00:47:08.639
is raped. We're gonna see that his sons go on

00:47:08.639 --> 00:47:11.559
a murder spree, just slaughtering people, wreaking

00:47:11.559 --> 00:47:14.019
out vengeance for that, and then Jacob himself

00:47:14.019 --> 00:47:19.079
succumbs to fear again. Then after those events

00:47:19.079 --> 00:47:22.619
in chapter 34, God specifically commands Jacob,

00:47:22.739 --> 00:47:27.719
get up and get to Bethel. So we put those details

00:47:27.719 --> 00:47:29.659
together and it's like Jacob was supposed to

00:47:29.659 --> 00:47:32.420
go to Bethel. That's where that altar was supposed

00:47:32.420 --> 00:47:34.579
to be built. Why? Because that's where Jacob

00:47:34.579 --> 00:47:36.159
declared, if you do everything you said you're

00:47:36.159 --> 00:47:38.719
gonna do, you are gonna be my God. And now he's

00:47:38.719 --> 00:47:40.420
building the altar, he's declaring, you are my

00:47:40.420 --> 00:47:43.340
God, but it's in the wrong place because it's

00:47:43.340 --> 00:47:47.690
partial obedience. And you'd think, well, Why

00:47:47.690 --> 00:47:51.150
did Jacob do this? I think it was because of

00:47:51.150 --> 00:47:54.570
when it tells us that he arrived safely, that

00:47:54.570 --> 00:47:58.309
he arrived in peace. Everything's well, nothing's

00:47:58.309 --> 00:48:00.989
going wrong. You see, we often mistake present

00:48:00.989 --> 00:48:05.190
protection for broad approval. When everything's

00:48:05.190 --> 00:48:08.030
going well and going right in our lives, we can

00:48:08.030 --> 00:48:10.730
easily think, oh, God's happy with me. I must

00:48:10.730 --> 00:48:14.699
be doing good, right? because we interpret the

00:48:14.699 --> 00:48:16.820
opposite, right? When things are bad, oh, God's

00:48:16.820 --> 00:48:21.059
mad at me. He's striking me down, which the Bible

00:48:21.059 --> 00:48:25.320
mixes all that up constantly, but he came safely

00:48:25.320 --> 00:48:28.900
to Shechem. There's no problems, no conflict,

00:48:29.019 --> 00:48:31.260
no nothing. I'm in the promised land, right?

00:48:31.340 --> 00:48:33.719
This is what God wanted me to do. Let's not talk

00:48:33.719 --> 00:48:36.280
about the stop in Sukkoth, but I'm here. I'm

00:48:36.280 --> 00:48:38.760
being obedient. Praise the Lord, right? And God

00:48:38.760 --> 00:48:41.000
must be with me because nothing bad is happening.

00:48:42.389 --> 00:48:45.090
But just because he arrived safely doesn't mean

00:48:45.090 --> 00:48:47.909
God was approving of his location and his timing.

00:48:48.530 --> 00:48:50.989
God had told Jacob, I'll protect you if you do

00:48:50.989 --> 00:48:55.789
what I say. You don't do what I say, you're on

00:48:55.789 --> 00:48:59.289
your own. And you go, wait, but God always protects

00:48:59.289 --> 00:49:01.130
his people. Yeah, but when we don't do what he

00:49:01.130 --> 00:49:02.909
says, he lets us experience the consequences.

00:49:04.650 --> 00:49:07.469
You know, it's like that's what counseling has

00:49:07.469 --> 00:49:10.139
become for me over the years. My younger years

00:49:10.139 --> 00:49:11.960
of ministry, I used to think, oh, no, I've got

00:49:11.960 --> 00:49:13.659
to have the answers, and I'm not a psychologist,

00:49:13.699 --> 00:49:16.880
and I'm not a therapist. And as the years have

00:49:16.880 --> 00:49:20.500
gone on, God's like, you don't need to be. Because

00:49:20.500 --> 00:49:23.139
the answer to almost every single question that

00:49:23.139 --> 00:49:25.159
comes up in counseling is do what the Bible says.

00:49:27.920 --> 00:49:31.019
Yeah, but, well, then you're on your own. Good

00:49:31.019 --> 00:49:35.960
luck. And guess what? Guess what, guys? You ready

00:49:35.960 --> 00:49:38.809
for this? Every time someone does what the Bible

00:49:38.809 --> 00:49:45.070
says, it gets better. Every time. Every time.

00:49:46.090 --> 00:49:48.090
My marriage has fallen apart. Do what the Bible

00:49:48.090 --> 00:49:52.289
says. Marriages are fixed. I'm having relationship

00:49:52.289 --> 00:49:54.809
struggles. Do what the Bible says. Relationship

00:49:54.809 --> 00:49:57.750
struggles cease. I'm having issues at work dealing

00:49:57.750 --> 00:50:01.070
with people. Do what the Bible says. I'm having

00:50:01.070 --> 00:50:03.510
this issue with this person at church. Do what

00:50:03.510 --> 00:50:10.739
the Bible says. Every time. And so, but we can

00:50:10.739 --> 00:50:13.719
mistake these times of peace and protection as,

00:50:13.840 --> 00:50:16.679
oh, even though I know I'm being partially obedient,

00:50:16.920 --> 00:50:19.519
it must not be that bad because God's with me.

00:50:20.599 --> 00:50:24.920
And that is not at all the case. It was like,

00:50:24.920 --> 00:50:29.519
be careful, Jacob. Because your present situation

00:50:29.519 --> 00:50:33.300
of peace and safety doesn't mean that you're

00:50:33.300 --> 00:50:36.269
being fully obedient. And we're really good at

00:50:36.269 --> 00:50:39.730
lying to ourselves, right? We're really good

00:50:39.730 --> 00:50:42.349
at minimizing that. I know I'm not doing everything

00:50:42.349 --> 00:50:46.289
God told me to do, but we'll bury that. Oh, look,

00:50:46.409 --> 00:50:49.210
everything's great. Jacob is doing what we all

00:50:49.210 --> 00:50:52.150
do. He's making an attempt to follow the Lord,

00:50:52.269 --> 00:50:55.750
and at the same time, he's not fully obeying

00:50:55.750 --> 00:50:59.510
the Lord. He builds his altar, right? Lord, thank

00:50:59.510 --> 00:51:02.269
you for bringing me to safety, publicly proclaiming

00:51:02.269 --> 00:51:05.559
to the world. God is the God of Israel. I am

00:51:05.559 --> 00:51:07.719
his. I'm a new person. I have a new nature. Praise

00:51:07.719 --> 00:51:12.480
God. All of that was true. I proclaim you as

00:51:12.480 --> 00:51:15.059
my God. But the reality was is he didn't go all

00:51:15.059 --> 00:51:18.579
the way to Bethel for whatever reason. It could

00:51:18.579 --> 00:51:22.019
be this lingering fear of Esau, right? Here's

00:51:22.019 --> 00:51:25.219
Sukkoth directly west of Shechem. Esau is way

00:51:25.219 --> 00:51:27.800
down here in Seir. Well, I don't want to get

00:51:27.800 --> 00:51:30.280
any closer to Esau. It could be that. Some commentators

00:51:30.280 --> 00:51:34.199
speculate that. But the idea is that he was still

00:51:34.199 --> 00:51:38.139
catering to his flesh. He was still catering

00:51:38.139 --> 00:51:41.300
to that old nature while he was simultaneously

00:51:41.300 --> 00:51:44.719
walking and proclaiming that he was Israel. You

00:51:44.719 --> 00:51:46.260
see, we all know the scripture that says God

00:51:46.260 --> 00:51:48.280
wants obedience. Obedience is better than sacrifice,

00:51:48.519 --> 00:51:52.280
right? Well, I'd like to add to that, not that

00:51:52.280 --> 00:51:53.639
I'm like, oh, you're adding to the Bible. No,

00:51:53.659 --> 00:51:57.440
no. Full obedience is better than partial obedience,

00:51:57.579 --> 00:52:02.550
okay? And we think, oh, partial obedience is

00:52:02.550 --> 00:52:05.030
better than sacrifice. I'm right with the Lord

00:52:05.030 --> 00:52:08.369
right now. There's going to be great consequences

00:52:08.369 --> 00:52:12.989
as we'll see in chapter 34. But he was the new

00:52:12.989 --> 00:52:16.730
man Israel and simultaneously the old man Jacob.

00:52:17.369 --> 00:52:20.289
We all have that same struggle. We all have that

00:52:20.289 --> 00:52:23.730
same struggle. And we have to take care. We have

00:52:23.730 --> 00:52:26.969
to... We have to be diligent to be aware of that,

00:52:27.050 --> 00:52:29.190
right? Like I said, this chapter likely covers

00:52:29.190 --> 00:52:31.690
eight or more years from the time that he meets

00:52:31.690 --> 00:52:35.010
Esau to Sukkoth and then to Shechem, but God

00:52:35.010 --> 00:52:39.829
was still moving. He was in the slow, dim process

00:52:39.829 --> 00:52:43.909
of sanctification that we're all in. And we don't

00:52:43.909 --> 00:52:47.010
see God being like, Jacob, I'm going to smite

00:52:47.010 --> 00:52:48.690
you in Sukkoth because that's not where you were

00:52:48.690 --> 00:52:52.730
supposed to stop. It's the same in our lives.

00:52:52.769 --> 00:52:56.789
God wants us to obey, and yet we still struggle

00:52:56.789 --> 00:52:58.889
with bouncing back and forth between our new

00:52:58.889 --> 00:53:02.670
nature and our old nature. I agree with Paul

00:53:02.670 --> 00:53:05.269
when he said, what is the answer? Praise God

00:53:05.269 --> 00:53:09.530
for Jesus Christ. Praise God that I'm saved by

00:53:09.530 --> 00:53:12.449
faith and not what I do and don't do. Praise

00:53:12.449 --> 00:53:15.710
God that he loved me enough for whatever reason

00:53:15.710 --> 00:53:20.400
to die for my sins. and to claim me as his and

00:53:20.400 --> 00:53:22.920
to mark me with the Holy Spirit, the seal as

00:53:22.920 --> 00:53:26.280
Ephesians says. And then in the process to go,

00:53:26.400 --> 00:53:30.920
okay, that's not what I told you to do. There's

00:53:30.920 --> 00:53:32.679
gonna be consequences and they're not gonna be

00:53:32.679 --> 00:53:35.739
good ones. I still love you. You're still my

00:53:35.739 --> 00:53:41.159
kid. I'm still with you. We have to understand

00:53:41.159 --> 00:53:43.619
that in our choices, even though God is with

00:53:43.619 --> 00:53:46.610
us and God is there, Our choices, especially

00:53:46.610 --> 00:53:49.449
our compromises, no matter how small, they have

00:53:49.449 --> 00:53:52.630
long -term compounding effects, consequences

00:53:52.630 --> 00:53:57.329
in our lives. That is why when we come to the

00:53:57.329 --> 00:54:00.409
crossroads of choose God, choose flesh, choose

00:54:00.409 --> 00:54:02.030
to do what God wants, choose to do what I want,

00:54:02.090 --> 00:54:05.469
when we come to that crossroads, it's not a saved,

00:54:05.489 --> 00:54:12.329
I'm not saved situation. It's a God, be glorified

00:54:12.329 --> 00:54:14.610
in my life, or don't be glorified in my life.

00:54:15.789 --> 00:54:18.789
And really, I think God, because God knows that

00:54:18.789 --> 00:54:21.510
we're not as altruistic as we think, right? Wouldn't

00:54:21.510 --> 00:54:23.650
it be awesome if we were just all like, it's

00:54:23.650 --> 00:54:26.030
just because God, that's why I'm gonna choose

00:54:26.030 --> 00:54:30.590
to be right. None of us are that selfless. God

00:54:30.590 --> 00:54:32.769
knows that, I love it. So God says, tell you

00:54:32.769 --> 00:54:37.670
what, there's rewards in heaven. Really, rewards?

00:54:37.949 --> 00:54:40.250
He knows that about us. You might go, that's

00:54:40.250 --> 00:54:42.590
kind of selfish. Bible talks about the rewards

00:54:42.590 --> 00:54:45.840
in heaven. He also says, Consequences if you

00:54:45.840 --> 00:54:48.840
do the bad thing. So we come to these crossroads

00:54:48.840 --> 00:54:51.239
and we have the free will choice, God says, to

00:54:51.239 --> 00:54:53.960
choose us and be rewarded or to choose disobedience

00:54:53.960 --> 00:54:57.460
and there's consequences. And I think that we

00:54:57.460 --> 00:55:00.420
have these stories of consequences and this wrestle

00:55:00.420 --> 00:55:03.000
because the struggle is real and we wrestle with

00:55:03.000 --> 00:55:05.119
these things and it's not a salvational issue

00:55:05.119 --> 00:55:07.059
if you've truly put your faith in Jesus Christ,

00:55:07.179 --> 00:55:11.380
but it is a consequential issue that you will

00:55:11.380 --> 00:55:14.360
bring. difficulty and tragedy upon your life

00:55:14.360 --> 00:55:17.360
and your family's life if you choose disobedience.

00:55:18.980 --> 00:55:22.719
And partial obedience is still disobedience.

00:55:24.420 --> 00:55:26.820
But here, this story, chapter 33, we see the

00:55:26.820 --> 00:55:30.769
struggle of a two -natured person. Israel and

00:55:30.769 --> 00:55:34.809
Jacob, his flesh, the scheming, the favoritism,

00:55:34.829 --> 00:55:38.090
the flattery, the deception, the fear, all of

00:55:38.090 --> 00:55:41.170
this stuff, this partial disobedience as he's

00:55:41.170 --> 00:55:45.070
learning to live with this new nature and master

00:55:45.070 --> 00:55:47.710
his old nature through the power of the Spirit,

00:55:47.929 --> 00:55:51.099
and then you have his faith. Prayer, going out

00:55:51.099 --> 00:55:54.239
front instead of hiding behind, confessing grace,

00:55:54.400 --> 00:55:57.159
God did this over and over, worshiping God as

00:55:57.159 --> 00:56:03.219
Israel and not Jacob. You go, what's the point?

00:56:04.460 --> 00:56:07.860
The point is, is this is us. Every single one

00:56:07.860 --> 00:56:13.000
of us. Massive spiritual moments don't erase

00:56:13.000 --> 00:56:18.449
our old nature overnight. So don't let the devil

00:56:18.449 --> 00:56:23.869
condemn you. Again, this isn't licensed to sin

00:56:23.869 --> 00:56:25.829
and oh, I can do whatever I want. No, not at

00:56:25.829 --> 00:56:28.650
all. But when you mess up, don't let the devil

00:56:28.650 --> 00:56:30.730
condemn you because God knows you're wrestling

00:56:30.730 --> 00:56:34.070
with the two natures. God knew that. That's why

00:56:34.070 --> 00:56:36.150
he gave us the word. That's why he gave us Paul

00:56:36.150 --> 00:56:38.570
the Apostle who wrote Romans and said, hey, why

00:56:38.570 --> 00:56:39.849
do I do the things I don't want to do and why

00:56:39.849 --> 00:56:41.789
do I don't do the things I want to do? And oh

00:56:41.789 --> 00:56:44.670
my goodness, oh my goodness, I discovered a law.

00:56:46.110 --> 00:56:51.050
There's two of me in here. Well, when's that

00:56:51.050 --> 00:56:56.730
gonna change? When I'm dead. So in the meantime,

00:56:56.949 --> 00:57:00.889
there's two of me in here, right? We all have

00:57:00.889 --> 00:57:05.090
a default mode when it comes to dealing with

00:57:05.090 --> 00:57:07.130
our flesh, right? For Jacob, the default mode,

00:57:07.210 --> 00:57:09.849
the old nature was scheming. For Abraham and

00:57:09.849 --> 00:57:12.530
Isaac, it was lying under pressure, right? Things

00:57:12.530 --> 00:57:17.900
got tough for them. Oh, she's my sister. Moses,

00:57:17.900 --> 00:57:21.079
strong action in the flesh. I'm going to be the

00:57:21.079 --> 00:57:23.400
man of God. Boom, kill that Egyptian. God's like,

00:57:23.400 --> 00:57:29.079
I didn't tell you to do that. David, women, lust.

00:57:32.000 --> 00:57:35.639
It's when we're drifting from God, when we're

00:57:35.639 --> 00:57:38.670
not clinging to him the way we should be. When

00:57:38.670 --> 00:57:41.570
he's not filling everything within us, the void

00:57:41.570 --> 00:57:43.409
that is left, the devil's going to try and fill

00:57:43.409 --> 00:57:47.889
it with whatever he can. Power, control, money,

00:57:48.150 --> 00:57:53.889
sex, pleasure. And all of those things that are

00:57:53.889 --> 00:57:56.590
part of our old nature, as soon as we stop clinging

00:57:56.590 --> 00:57:58.809
to the Lord so desperately, and that's what we

00:57:58.809 --> 00:58:00.829
can find ourselves doing when we think everything's

00:58:00.829 --> 00:58:03.050
good, there's no struggles, there's no problem.

00:58:03.750 --> 00:58:07.400
We don't cling desperately. And the devil's right

00:58:07.400 --> 00:58:09.739
there to say, sweet, boom. I'm gonna fill in

00:58:09.739 --> 00:58:13.639
that gap in your heart right now with that temptation,

00:58:13.800 --> 00:58:17.119
that old thing you used to turn to. And now you're

00:58:17.119 --> 00:58:19.079
gonna find yourself in a pressure situation and

00:58:19.079 --> 00:58:21.139
instead of clinging to God like you've been learning,

00:58:21.280 --> 00:58:24.800
you do the old thing again. I gotta go drink.

00:58:26.440 --> 00:58:31.679
I've gotta go do whatever. Stay in the word.

00:58:32.679 --> 00:58:36.159
The Bible says to be washed by the water of the

00:58:36.159 --> 00:58:39.039
word, cleansed by it. When you're in the word,

00:58:39.099 --> 00:58:43.019
when you're reading, God's spirit, he's speaking

00:58:43.019 --> 00:58:47.239
right to you. How do I cling to Jesus? He's not

00:58:47.239 --> 00:58:51.559
here. Keep his words in your hand, in your mind,

00:58:51.559 --> 00:58:55.179
in your heart. Cling. Don't mistake God's present

00:58:55.179 --> 00:59:00.710
protection for permission. Your compromises will

00:59:00.710 --> 00:59:05.449
affect you and your family. Stop justifying partial

00:59:05.449 --> 00:59:10.190
obedience. An altar in Shechem is still wrong

00:59:10.190 --> 00:59:14.250
if God wants you in Bethel. Now, I did read this

00:59:14.250 --> 00:59:17.829
quote, and I love this quote. I don't know who

00:59:17.829 --> 00:59:21.570
said it, but it says, God loves you just the

00:59:21.570 --> 00:59:25.469
way you are, but he loves you too much to leave

00:59:25.469 --> 00:59:30.880
you that way. I love that. I love that. See,

00:59:30.900 --> 00:59:33.739
every moment of our life is another opportunity

00:59:33.739 --> 00:59:35.619
that God's going to use to mold us and to shape

00:59:35.619 --> 00:59:37.760
us, to bring us in that process of sanctification.

00:59:38.199 --> 00:59:42.920
And so as you stand in the security of your salvation

00:59:42.920 --> 00:59:46.480
and there's no condemnation, still work. Identify

00:59:46.480 --> 00:59:48.059
the areas of your life where you're trying to

00:59:48.059 --> 00:59:50.599
be both Jacob and Israel. Identify them. You

00:59:50.599 --> 00:59:54.500
know. Nobody else might know. But God knows and

00:59:54.500 --> 00:59:58.579
you know. And right now, as I said that, that

00:59:58.579 --> 01:00:00.539
thing that popped in your mind, that's what God's

01:00:00.539 --> 01:00:04.159
talking to you about. And God is saying, you

01:00:04.159 --> 01:00:07.619
need to stop. You need to stop trying to do both.

01:00:08.739 --> 01:00:12.639
Which partial obedience in your life might become

01:00:12.639 --> 01:00:15.860
a larger obedience if you don't deal with it?

01:00:16.559 --> 01:00:19.199
What partial obedience might turn into a huge

01:00:19.199 --> 01:00:21.300
negative effect on your family if you don't deal

01:00:21.300 --> 01:00:26.409
with it? You have to listen to what the Lord

01:00:26.409 --> 01:00:29.769
is saying. Is there an Esau in your life that

01:00:29.769 --> 01:00:31.690
you know you need to reconcile with as God is

01:00:31.690 --> 01:00:33.829
working peace into your life and you have this

01:00:33.829 --> 01:00:35.969
relationship, you're like, I need to make it

01:00:35.969 --> 01:00:42.530
right, but no. Is there a thing that you're to

01:00:42.530 --> 01:00:47.949
do or to not do? Or is there a place you're supposed

01:00:47.949 --> 01:00:53.110
to go or not go? And you're kind of like, well,

01:00:53.130 --> 01:01:00.800
I'm in Sukkoth. I'm getting there, Lord. My challenge

01:01:00.800 --> 01:01:05.820
to you today is to stop playing both sides and

01:01:05.820 --> 01:01:08.920
do whatever it is God is telling you to do today.

01:01:10.440 --> 01:01:13.420
Don't let the sun go down today until you've

01:01:13.420 --> 01:01:15.900
done what it is that God has been telling you

01:01:15.900 --> 01:01:20.619
to do or to stop doing or whatever. God loves

01:01:20.619 --> 01:01:23.380
you so much. God's given you the power to overcome.

01:01:23.519 --> 01:01:25.380
The Holy Spirit lives within you if you're his

01:01:25.380 --> 01:01:31.320
child. And yet we settle so often for what is

01:01:31.320 --> 01:01:37.880
less than best for whatever reason. We got the

01:01:37.880 --> 01:01:40.900
two natures, yes. There's no condemnation, yes,

01:01:40.940 --> 01:01:43.900
hallelujah. But that doesn't mean we don't take

01:01:43.900 --> 01:01:47.760
the steps to say, I gotta guard myself. So that

01:01:47.760 --> 01:01:50.739
I choose yes more than I choose no. Amen? Let's

01:01:50.739 --> 01:01:55.579
pray. Father, we love you. God, we're so grateful

01:01:55.579 --> 01:02:01.340
for you. We're nothing without you. We have no

01:02:01.340 --> 01:02:06.639
hope without you. And yet, God, I know that there's

01:02:06.639 --> 01:02:08.739
maybe some in this room this morning or watching

01:02:08.739 --> 01:02:11.000
online or those that may be watching this later

01:02:11.000 --> 01:02:14.110
in the future, God. That are wrestling with that

01:02:14.110 --> 01:02:16.909
very thing. I have two natures. I'm saved. I

01:02:16.909 --> 01:02:20.010
believe in God. I love him. And yet I still find

01:02:20.010 --> 01:02:22.469
myself taking steps according to my old nature.

01:02:22.630 --> 01:02:25.550
And Lord, the devil is beating them up with the,

01:02:25.630 --> 01:02:28.369
you can't possibly be saved if you keep doing

01:02:28.369 --> 01:02:31.389
that. And back and forth, Lord. And I pray, God,

01:02:31.409 --> 01:02:36.849
today, as they hear your word, that they would

01:02:36.849 --> 01:02:40.179
understand. That if they have put their faith

01:02:40.179 --> 01:02:42.739
in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, trusted

01:02:42.739 --> 01:02:48.500
in his death on the cross, that they believe

01:02:48.500 --> 01:02:53.300
he rose again from the dead, seated now at the

01:02:53.300 --> 01:02:54.960
right hand of the Father, Lord, that as they've

01:02:54.960 --> 01:02:56.880
put their faith and their belief in that, they

01:02:56.880 --> 01:03:02.760
are saved. They are forgiven. They have received

01:03:02.760 --> 01:03:05.059
the mercy of God. They have received the grace

01:03:05.059 --> 01:03:09.980
of God. And that, Lord, today, As that truth

01:03:09.980 --> 01:03:11.760
penetrates their heart, they will be able to

01:03:11.760 --> 01:03:18.119
walk in the victory you've given them. Rebuking

01:03:18.119 --> 01:03:22.219
the condemnation of the devil. The Lord at the

01:03:22.219 --> 01:03:27.519
same time. Lord, we're not called to just let

01:03:27.519 --> 01:03:31.780
our flesh run amok. That God, we need to be able

01:03:31.780 --> 01:03:34.619
to identify those areas so that we don't compromise.

01:03:36.269 --> 01:03:39.190
And God, that might mean confessing with a brother

01:03:39.190 --> 01:03:41.849
or sister. That might mean telling somebody we

01:03:41.849 --> 01:03:44.969
care about, hey, I have this area of compromise

01:03:44.969 --> 01:03:49.530
in my life. Please help me overcome. That Lord,

01:03:49.590 --> 01:03:51.610
through prayer and the body being the body and

01:03:51.610 --> 01:03:54.369
us ministering to one another and supporting

01:03:54.369 --> 01:03:56.369
one another the way we're supposed to, God, that

01:03:56.369 --> 01:03:59.530
we would find the victory that you have for us.

01:04:01.299 --> 01:04:03.860
But Lord, our goal wouldn't be sinless perfection

01:04:03.860 --> 01:04:05.900
here on earth, Lord, because you're very clear

01:04:05.900 --> 01:04:08.920
that that's not going to happen. But that doesn't

01:04:08.920 --> 01:04:10.659
mean we give up. That doesn't mean we don't try.

01:04:10.719 --> 01:04:14.579
That doesn't mean we quit. Quite the opposite,

01:04:14.679 --> 01:04:17.519
Lord, that because of what you've done for us,

01:04:17.559 --> 01:04:23.199
God, we want to honor you. And yes, God, we want

01:04:23.199 --> 01:04:26.099
to be rewarded in heaven when we stand before

01:04:26.099 --> 01:04:29.210
you. Lord, I believe your word when it says we're

01:04:29.210 --> 01:04:30.690
going to throw our crowns at your feet anyways.

01:04:32.610 --> 01:04:35.190
But God, for some of us, the reality of consequences

01:04:35.190 --> 01:04:38.809
might be the very thing that dissuades us. And

01:04:38.809 --> 01:04:43.650
Lord, may we learn from people like Jacob. May

01:04:43.650 --> 01:04:45.690
we learn from your word, these stories you've

01:04:45.690 --> 01:04:47.969
included for us, God, that we would learn the

01:04:47.969 --> 01:04:51.369
lessons they learned and apply the right responses.

01:04:53.949 --> 01:04:56.070
God, I pray your spirit falls upon this place.

01:04:58.250 --> 01:05:00.570
Lord, that your spirit even now fills every single

01:05:00.570 --> 01:05:02.469
person hearing this message, Lord, from your

01:05:02.469 --> 01:05:05.389
word. That they would know and recognize the

01:05:05.389 --> 01:05:07.329
power of the spirit that dwells within them.

01:05:08.969 --> 01:05:13.530
And that, God, you would empower them. That you

01:05:13.530 --> 01:05:17.610
would sanctify them. That you would cause their

01:05:17.610 --> 01:05:23.889
lives to glorify your holy name. That we would

01:05:23.889 --> 01:05:27.809
walk in humility. That we would walk in dependence.

01:05:29.469 --> 01:05:31.809
That we would cling to you, God, and let the

01:05:31.809 --> 01:05:34.730
peace that you bring into our lives cause us

01:05:34.730 --> 01:05:38.730
to seek peace in others' lives, Lord. To seek

01:05:38.730 --> 01:05:40.969
reconciliation with those that we're estranged

01:05:40.969 --> 01:05:45.190
with, Lord. To share with them what you've shared

01:05:45.190 --> 01:05:49.989
with us, God. We love you. We thank you, Lord.

01:05:51.489 --> 01:05:54.929
May your name be lifted high in all things. It's

01:05:54.929 --> 01:05:56.769
in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.