Dr. Frank A. Thomas Have You Ever Been to God's Face? Trinity UCC

I want to read this text and that you would raise your spiritual antenna because they are tremendous subtleties and sensitivities in this text with which we hope you'll be familiar at the end of the sermon so Jacob this is the 24th verse of the 32nd chapter of the book of Genesis reading from the NIV version so Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him till daybreak when the man saw that he could not overpower him he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man then the man said let me go for it is daybreak but Jacob replied I will not let you go unless you bless me the man asked him what is your name Jacob he answered then the man said your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel because you have struggled with God and humans and have overcome Jacob said please tell me your name but he replied why do you ask my name then the man blessed him there so Jacob called the place Peniel saying it is because I saw God face to face and yet my life was spared I want to preach something this morning entitled have you ever been to God's face have you ever been to God's face in many times at many places as mala in my life as a Christian I have heard people say that they want to and need to get in the face of God I've said it myself I'm going home to get in God's face or I need to get away for a minute to get in God's face usually this is a declaration of an intense desire and thirst for the presence of God and often it is assumed that in the presence of God there will be sweetness there will be joy there will be peace and there will be clarity and in fact ultimately there is in the presence of God sweetness joy peace and clarity but what we do not often acknowledge is that we come to sweetness joy peace and clarity by often a process of struggle most often a huge awesome and almost overwhelming struggle Jacob wrestled with God and prevailed and when Jacob finished he called the place Peniel meaning God's face or I have seen the face of God and survived I want to ask you one question this morning have you ever been to God's face I'm working on what Joan's sister calls in her book scarred by struggle transformed by hope she calls it a spirituality of struggle she argues that a spirituality of struggle moves beyond the spiritual life as a matter of simply doing good works earning a good reputation practicing social virtues or being regular in church attendance and church participation if we are not careful she says from these practices we will develop easy and cheap answers to life with our cheap answers are cheap our religion and our surface spirituality we tie life into a nice and easy Bowl we develop our clerks at church cliches and our spiritual responses like when praises go up blessings come down we develop spiritual cliches and Pat spiritual responses like God is good and everybody says all the time but why we are quoting are cliches while we are operating in our surface spirituality and our cheap religion sister says something happens she says there is a blow that is so momentous so sudden so unexpected and so unwanted that there is no way to prepare for its coming it comes out of nowhere and it makes our hearts tremble and our knees buckle she says the struggle threatens to take us down into the pit of life where we are forced to live with whatever we cannot imagine living without we're forced to live without money we're forced to live without status we're forced to live without love we're forced to live without acceptance we're forced to live with our public approval we find ourselves wrestling in the middle of the night with unknown forces powers beyond our ability to control or to even know and the easy answers in the cliches don't work and all of a sudden you realize that you're just like Jason Jacob wrestling in a life-and-death struggle in the middle of the night you remember Jacob he's the son of Isaac and Rebecca the grandson of Abraham and Sarah you remember Jacob he's the twin brother of Esau you you you remember Jacob he's married to Rachel and Leah and has 12 sons and several daughters you you remember Jacob his name means trickster his name means he'll his name means leg puller he operates as a manipulator and a trickster and a leg puller he tricks his brother out of his birthright with his manipulating mother he tricks his father for his brother's blessing he's a trickster he's a heel he's a leg pulling he's a manipulator he's a sucker and a job he's a two-timer he's a he's sneaky when he tricks his father for his brothers birthright Esau walks in and assumes that he is to receive the blessing that is he is and he asked his father for the blessing and the father says I've already given the blessing that wasn't you that I gave the blessing to and Esau says father hast thou no blessing for me and the answer is I have no blessing for you and Esau is the one who is tricked and jacob has the blessing and so the Bible says that Esau was angry with Jacob and Esau hated Jacob for his trickery and so the tension in the family was high hatred between brothers was high the father was angry the mama set the whole thing up in motion so to let the heat die down mama since Jacob - uncle Athens house Mama's trying to let the heat die down she sends him to Uncle Evans Jacob leaves Beersheba and sets out - uncle Laban 's house in Haran it was a long journey from Beersheba to Haran and he found - placed a place to sleep at night because the Sun went down the Bible says he takes one of the stones and uses it as a pillow the Bible says he dreamed that there was a stairway set on the ground and the top reached up into heaven the Bible says there were angels going up and down on a ladder that was set on the ground and the top was in heaven as Jacob was dreaming he saw at the top of the ladder God and God spoke to him and said to him that he would receive the land on which he was sleeping God said not only will you receive the land that you're sleeping on right now but God said I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth in the North the sound the East and the West and all of the families of the earth will be blessed in your family God said I will protect you and I will not leave you and I will be with you and I will bring you back to this land and I will not leave you until I have done all that I have told you and every word that I have said unto you in this dream will come true Jacob wakes up from the dream and says my god let me name this place something surely this must be the house of God he names it befell and right there at buffet right there at the house of God with angels going up and down in the ladder and God speaking a promise to Jacob the Bible says that Jacob vowed a vow saying God if you spend by me and God if you protect me on this journey in God if you keep me with food and clothing in God if you bring me back in one piece to my father's house that I'd had to run from and flee from because I was a trickster and a manipulator and a leg puller then surely you will be my god even unto death Jakub leaves befell and continues the journey to uncle Levin's house ultimately after being tricked and misused by uncle Laban it's a fascinating story don't have time to go into it in the matter of Rachel and Leah he was tricked he was a trickster but he was out tricked by his uncle Laban which means trickster is Imran in a family uncle Laban tricked him and he received Rachel and Leah end up working for years and years and years he decides to trick and misuse uncle Laban but uncle Laban don't have time you got to read it when you go home uncle Laban becomes wise and uncle Laban sets out to kill Jacob on his way to kill Jacob the Lord speaks to uncle Laban and says now don't touch him don't lay a hand on him I know he's a heel I know he's a manipulator and I know he's a trickster but he got a promise I'll get to that in a minute don't lay a hand on him uncle Laban catches up to Jacob ER because the Lord spoke not to harm him they reconcile make peace Jacob then departs and crosses over into Canaan to return to his father as he crossed into Canaan the Bible says angels met him he returns back to make peace with his family angels met him Jacob when he enters Canaan to return to his father since word to his brother Esau that he wants to reconcile the report comes back that Esau is headed his way with 400 men and Jacob is fearful for his life and his family he decides to send peace offerings to Esau in waves hoping to placate him he organized 200 female goats 20 male goats 200 sheep and 20 Rams 30 camels with their nursing young forty cows and ten bulls 20 female donkeys and ten male donkeys he puts a male servant in front of each herd and says keep a healthy distance away from the one in front of you he instructed them to say when Esau comes close and says who owns these you are to say they are a gift from your servant Jacob to my master Esau in other words the easy answers are not working anymore in other words to make peace he separated out all these groups so that Esau would see wave after wave after wave of offering and blessing in the attempt to evade and Asajj esau jacob is worried jacob scared jacob is fearful for his life the Bible says that saying night after he sent those gifts he arose he sends his two wives and his two main servants his eleven children and they cross the river along with his family he sent everything that he owned cattle and all his possessions so if Esau is coming to kill him Esau would kill him and his family and his possessions would be across the river and safe so Jacob is alone fearful afraid scared for his life and desperate because of his past and all of a sudden out of nowhere he's ambushed he's attacked he's waylaid he's trapped he's ensnared he's assaulted something comes out of nowhere so sudden so momentous so overwhelming so unwanted and so surprising that he has no way to prepare for its coming his first thought is he's being ambushed by Esau but he realizes no this foe that I'm wrestling with is much more powerful than he or Esau in other words he's wrestling with something that's more powerful than he is he's wrestling with something from another realm he's wrestling with something that is bigger and stronger and more powerful than he is a full made all the more powerful by the fact that the attack is an ambush at night Minster ket's Jacob unaware with the elements of darkness and surprise to overcome him quickly subdue him and make a hasty exit the struggle threatens to take him down into the pit of life where he's forced to live without what ever he could not imagine living without he's forced to live without money forced to live without status without love with our family without acceptance without public approval or any material things he's alone this is a life and a death struggle for his sanity this is a life-and-death struggle for his identity for his hope for his for his very soul ever been there ever been there have you ever been to God's face have you ever been to God's face have you ever had to struggle and late in the midnight for your Saturday for your hope for your very soul have you had to struggle have you ever been there have you ever been to God's face a young woman sits with lines of cocaine on the table trying to decide to do cocaine now is to lose everything she knows it will result in a weekend binge and her husband will abandon her because she has broken so many promises and the husband will take the children she knows that if she does this cocaine she's gonna lose everything but she also knows if she does it she feels better temporarily so she's wrestling if she does it she loses everything but if she does it she feels better and so she sits wrestling like Jacob with unseen forces that are more powerful than she wrestling like Jacob for her sanity for her identity for her hope and for her very soul a young preacher sits with a gun he has broken the marriage vows once again it has been discovered and it's public now it's in the newspapers now it's on the television now the scandal is of epic proportions now he fears that he will lose everything he looks at the gun and he looks at the Bible looks at the gun he looks at the Bible he looks at the gun he looks at the Bible struggling for his sanity struggling for his hope and ultimately struggling for his life wrestling like Jacob with unseen forces more powerful than he is he looks at the gun he looks at the Bible he looks at the gun he looks at the Bible wrestling for have you ever been to God's face have you ever been the God's face have you ever had to wrestle for your sanity have you ever had to wrestle for your soul have you ever had to wrestle for your life have you ever been to God's face the tech says Jacob wrestled all night a more powerful opponent with the element of surprise in his favor but Jacob wrestled all night he did not quit he did not give up he did not give out and he did not give in he's a trickster he's a letter he's a manipulator he's a heel but his trickster ways would not give him the power to last all night for the first time in his life he's got the deal straight up no tricks no manipulation no stealing birth rights no manipulating help from his mama no dreams no cheap answer's no cliches no surface spirituality for the first time in his life he has to deal straight up sometimes you got a deal straight up he's struggling for his life he's struggling for his sanity he's struggling for his soul he's struggling for his hope sometimes you got a deal straight up sometimes you gotta just tell the truth sometimes you gotta fess up and you gotta own up and you gotta take responsibility and tell the truth sometimes you can't go around it or you can't go over it or you can't go under it sometimes the only way that you can have your sanity and your soul is to go straight through the middle of a thing I love this sometimes truth is my only hope and sometimes to tell the truth is my only hope to live is to die the truth is my only hope he deals straight up I've been a trickster I've been a heel I've been a leg pull up I've been a two-timer I've been a conman I've been a manipulator that's who I've been but in the middle of that back there sleeping on that ground god gave me a promise when I saw the ladder into heaven God said I will give you the ground on which you're sleeping right now to you and your descendants but I was laying on the ground God said I will protect you and I will not leave you and I will be with you and I will bring you back to this land and I will not leave you until I've done everything that I've told you your descendants will be like the dust of the earth he tells the truth about himself he's a trickster he's a heel he's a leg puller he's all of that with a promise it's one thing to be a trickster and a manipulator and a heel it's another thing to be a trickster a manipulator and a heel with a promise he holds on to the promise and it's the power of the promise that gives him the ability to struggle all night you can't struggle all night with tricks lies manipulations you can't pimp prostitute and two times and last all night you can't do drugs and last all night you can't have illicit relationships and last all night the only thing that will keep you all night is a promise from God you see when it is a real struggle like this there's not always a clear winner he's grappling with an opponent that is stronger than he he is and sometimes when you're grappling with an opponent who's stronger than you are it's enough to prevail it's enough to last it's enough to be in the fight to the end it's enough to keep up to keep on to carry on to persist to endure and to survive sometimes it's enough to say as a songwriter said I'm still here I made it through how about you've been through the fire been through the flood but I'm still here in other words our society is in the winners and losers we're trying to win we think that we have to win everything we have to win but in this text there is no clear sign that Jacob won the Bible says he prevailed the Bible said he lasted sometimes victory is to last sometimes victory is to make it to the pulpit to preach for one more Sunday may not be your best sermon may not be the best word that you can deliver but sometimes when you've had to wrestle all night to stand up in this pulpit well whatever piece of sermon you could pull together is victory in other words to steal preacher to steal hold on sometimes it's enough to make the bill payments for one more month sometimes it's enough to get to church for one more Sunday sometimes it's enough to get the kids off for school one more days sometimes it's enough to get up out of the bed one more day to say I'm still here don't miss this don't miss this don't miss this text they're in mortal kombat it's it's a it's a WWF battle for his soul sometimes you in WWF for your sanity for your very life for your soul your wrestling that this was a wrestling match and so they're grappling and wrestling and grappling in many he's grappling and all of a sudden the the the the the the man picks him up and body slams him down on the ground and it takes his breath away from him but he looks up at the stars and he remembers the dream whereby he saw the ladder going up and down and angels and when he looks at the Stars he remembers the ladder and he remembers the promise and when he remembers the promise he surfaces all of his strength and throws the man off of him for one more time the man comes back because he's bigger than he is and more powerful he picks him up from crushes him this way and slams his face down and turn it into the dust and he eats the dust in his mouth and he almost wants to give up but as he's eating the dust in his mouth he remembers that God says I will make your descendants of like the dust of the earth and when he remembers the promise he throws off he's wrestling for his sanity and for his soul it's the promise listen to what this text says it says the one that Jacob wrestled with saw that he could not prevail so he struck his hip and threw his hip out of joint sometimes the enemy sees that he can't defeat you so he wounds you in the hope that you'll quit because you won't it sometimes when you get wounded that's not a bad thing that's the enemy's recognition that he can't overcome you so he won't you in a hopes that you will quit that you'll stop because you won't it you'll stop because they hurt your feelings you'll stop because they cut up your person you'll stop because they talk about you it hurts your little feelings I know I've been in church I had a whole lot of my feelings hurt in church I now almost wanted to give up god I almost like they don't want to stop quick this thing's too many hurt it's too much hurt in this thing and in all this Christian language we throw on top of all this hurt all this Jesus and blessing Jesus in the name of Jesus and then we're malicious and we're unkind when you go home at night and you think about that they shouted and they ran and they danced in service and then on Monday they run you down they talk about you take us clown gossip and act a fool they hurt your little feelings they hurt my little feelings and so the devil wants to make sure that you give up up but let's look at Jacob he's wounded but he's still wrestling he's hurt but he's still in the game I can't make it but if you don't have a spirituality of struggle that's beyond cliches I have to make you aware that you gonna pick up some wounds and you gonna pick up some scars in Peniel that is in God's face you will get your feelings hurt you will be disappointed you will be betrayed but even though his hip is out of socket he's still wrestling even after his opponent throws his hip out up and now he can only wrestle with a lip he's still wrestling steel tusslin his opponents a hiss man this is more difficult than I thought and day is coming so let me go you attacked me but you asked me to let you go you jumped me you surprised me you ambushed me you attacked me but you got to go he's wounded but his opponent asks to let him go for dawn is breaking and Jacob says you can't leave until you bless me I'm almost done with what I can do with this I'm almost done you see the word bless literally literally means a transfer of strength oh I wish I had somebody when you bless somebody you transfer them your strength this struggle you can't leave until you transfer me your strength I in other words I don't know the struggle you in but I can tell you that this struggle that you in can transfer it your strength you can't leave until you transfer me some of your strengths devil you sent this to kill me but transfer me your strength in the attack you sent this to depress me but transfer me your strength in the attack you sent this for me to give up to quit to get disgusted but transfer me your strength in other words God will make your enemies bless you and transfer you their strength I know you here and I know you got something that you wrestling with I know you in God's face I know you've been disappointed I know you've been hurt I know you got something you've been praying about it it ain't happening I know that I know you're wrestling I know I know it I know it and I just want to let you know that that what you're wrestling with can bless you all you got to do is ask for a transfer of strength you can't go until you bless me you can't leave until you bless me no you can't get out of here until you bless me cancer you've got to bless me lupus you got to bless me a heart attack you've got to bless me stroke you've got to bless me members walking away from me you got to bless me death you got to bless me you cannot leave until you transfer me your strength which means I'm stronger after you leave because I started with my strength but now I got you oh I wish I had somebody up in here I'm double strong now I'm really built up now I'm really strong now why because I've got my strength and I've got some of yours the man asked Jacob his name what's your name and he said Jacob and he said you no longer shall be called Jacob but you are now called Israel for you have striven wrestle with God and with human beings and have prevailed in other words he gets blessed with a new name Eugene Peterson translate the name Israel to a god wrestler you see I used to be a young preacher but now I'm a God wrestler listen I used to be a young pastor but now I'm a God wrestler I used to be a seminarian but I'm a god wrestler I got a new name you see he has dealt straight up he's lost it he's still struggling still fighting and still holding on he's not won but he ain't looking for victory he understands that he's only looking to last one more day this is hope that's hard fought this is hope that's hard won this is hope that real not cotton candy not cliches but hope that is hard-fought hard-won and real Jacob has received the transfer of strength but he wrestled for it and he got a new name the change of Jacob's name presupposes the establishment of a nation he was a trickster a leg pull of a nip y elated but now he's the founder of a nation he was a heel an elect Paulo now he's the father of 12 sons who give rise to the 12 tribes he was a wimp but now he's a man he used to shake but not he married her he used to let the woman pay his bills not he paying his own bills and every now and he pays a little bit of hers here's a man he's responsible he's the father of a nation and the promise that he saw on the ground is now in the fulfillment stage and the Bible says Jacob then calls the place Peniel he calls the place God's face youyou mean preacher that that that the place of my deepest struggle is God's face you mean the place of my biggest disappointment where I've had to wrestle at night for my sanity and my hope is God's face Jacob says for I have seen the worst in survived I have a definition of maturity that I you know maturity in church is seeing what you don't want to see and knowing what you don't want to know but still not losing your joy I know more than I ever wanted to know I know more than I ever want and I've seen more than I ever wanted to see believe me I've seen enough to quit but maturity is to see all of that and still not lose your joy in other words I've seen the worst of church people and I still have my joy I've seen the worst that life has to offer but I still believe I'm still wrestling I'm still in here I'm still praying I'm still singing I'm still tithing I still read my Bible I still pray I still praise God I still glorify God I have a hope that is hard fought hard won and it's real I'm a god wrestler let me close this thing I mean you see God's face is the place where a traveler who had a terrifying experience of a hostile attack ended up wrestling a blessing from his opponent in other words I know this is out of order but let's let me get it so I get our God's face it's a place where we have to deal straight-up no tricks no cheap Bible verses you got a deal God's face is a place where Grandmama's testimony is just that Grandmama's testimony you got to get a testimony for yourself God's face is a place where victory is not always winning it's not always winning sometimes the victory is to last God's face is a place where you get a limp and even though you're limping you're still on the battlefield God's face is a place that you learn to ask for a blessing ask for a blessing to ask your words for the best aha a transfer of strength God's faces where you get a new name God's face is a place where you remember the promise where you remember the promise and God's face is the place where you see the promise fulfilled and they name the place Peniel cards face for he has seen the face of God and survived have you ever been the gods face I've been to God's face have you ever been the COS face I've been the gods face I've been ambushed I've been attacked but from that situation I wrestled a blessing from the chaos and the mess and the tears and the pain I snatched a breakthrough I remembered the promise that God said to me on the very day which I was ordained in this place February 22nd 1981 that I would receive the land on which I was sleeping and God would make my ministry able to touch people in the north the South the East and the West and many families would be blessed because of my ministry God said to me February 22nd 1981 I will protect you and I will not leave you and I will be with you and I will bring you back to this land I will not leave you until I have done everything that I have told you and I told God on February 22nd 1981 the date of my ordination by Reverend dr. Jeremiah Wright Jr at 4 o'clock in the afternoon that this God will be my god forever and ever this God will be my god have you ever been the gods face up into God's face have you ever been to God's face I've been the gods face and I've been able to call God's phrase Peniel Memphis with god's face for me and some stuff happened to me in members i had no idea but i'm able to bless memphis because it's God's face matter of fact I'm leaving Memphis because I can bless Memphis sometimes you can't leave until you blessed it but you're struggling with you ain't listening to me and I leave with hope that his hard fought hard one and real I leave to see the next fulfillment of the promise that was given to me February 22nd 1981 have you been the gods face I asked pastor Moss if I could have a God's face altar call just in case there might be somebody in the room that when you put your face down into the dust of this carpet you will remember the promise that has been given to you through the preaching of dr. Otis Moss the the ministry of the choir or if I don't know or if you come and you you you you you you you lay your head back up on the altar and you look up and you look and you see and you see an Aladdin with angels it's just in case them there might be somebody who forgot the promise or maybe maybe you ain't forgot the promise but but maybe you you you you you you're naming the the place of your struggle today Peniel you see I can't predict what's gonna happen which means I've done my part which mean I think the very best I could to break down give me extra Jetix did my homework I structured it write it very best I could and now the Holy Spirit is coming center stage I can't predict you nobody may come to the altar everybody may come to the altar a few people may come to the altar somebody may stretch out at the altar I don't know what getting ready to happen oh but I know this is befell this is the house of God so somewhere in my spirit is ringing this I will lift my hands in total adoration unto you you reign on the throne for you or God and God alone in other words at pineal you you you say stuff like I Love You Jesus so wherever you are in this building I don't mind your own business don't look who's coming up here don't make any judgment it ain't none of your business somebody might be wrestling for a sanity right now the child reading a paper whether a young football player when it shot the woman at us and then went to the went to the training camp got to got to got the and shot himself people are wrestling with their sanity they're wrestling for their hope when I say you look at the Bible and you look at the gun that's real it ain't nobody's business why people come you just mind your own business and I love Jesus more than anything why do I love Jesus more than anything because he kept me sane because of Jesus my cloudy days are gone and I will sing to you this song I just want to say that I that's my testimony I love you Jesus I want you to take a neighbor take a neighbor by the hand take touch somebody's hand I love you Jesus you just want to tell you why don't y'all help us sing you adamant y'all help us sing it somebody's wrestling for the hope somebody's trying to remember the promise I love you Jesus I worship Lord I just just want to tell Lord I love you you see come on let the praises ring god I love you more than anything if you're sitting out in the pew I want you to take a neighbor by the hand door just want to tell the Lord on I love the Lord more than anything I want to speak some words of blessing over your life I want to bless you in transfer you some of my strength not that is my strength but it's God's strength I want on I want to bless you I want to tell somebody that no weapon formed against you shall prosper I want to tell somebody you are the head and you not the tail you not a borrower and a lender I speak wealth in your mouth I want to tell somebody that weeping may endure for the night but joy cometh in the morning I want to tell somebody this has only come to make you stronger so take your authority and demand a transfer of strength the devil minute for evil but God meant it for good everything works together for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to God's purpose can I transfer it you some of my strength jesus said in this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world God in the name of Jesus I snatched the gun away from somebody in the name of Jesus I flushed the cocaine down into the toilet in the name of Jesus the alcohol bottle goes into the sink poured out in a bottle into the garbage can in the name of Jesus I come against the spirit of poverty and debt in the name of Jesus I tell you that you are God wrestler you have Russell with God and human beings and you have prevailed you've lasted you made it one more day you've made it one more night you got a new name waiting on you somebody said my name is victory that's my real name I used to be depressed but not my name is victory my name used to be pimp but now my name is preacher my name used to be prostitute but now my name is prayer warrior my name used to be addict but now adoration is my name and I don't know about you but I love Jesus I worship and adore him I just want to tell you God I love you more than anything I love you Jesus and because I live because I loved you I'll lift my hands in total adoration I lift my hands in total adoration raise your hands everybody lift your hands unto God to you you reign on the throne for you a God who you are God and God because of you my cloudy day they're all gone I can't see to you this soul I just want to say I just want to say that I love you more than anything come on y'all we bout to finish this so let's just get this why don't why don't you get what you need don't go home the same way why don't you just reach for WordPress for it go ahead and stress for it you don't have to go home the same way God is it this atmosphere if you just stretch if you just worship Him you just sing this song I don't know you can sing it to the top of your lungs but just press on press on get what you came for it's available to you but you gotta wrestle for it you gotta snatch it you gotta take hold to it it just won't happen to you got the you got to flip some backflips you got to go ahead I Love You Jesus more than anything you got to declare it you got to speak it you got to say it you got to take your authority you got to stand up something on the inside of you gotta stand up and you gotta say I don't care what's goin on I Love You Jesus more than anything I love your God don't care how much money I got don't care how many times the trials have failed I've messed up I love you Jesus

Channel: Frank Thomas

Views: 19,120

Rating: 4.8468084 out of 5

Keywords: God (Deity), God's Face, Genesis 32, Trinity, Jacob

Id: F3OzGIe5-bM

Length: 56min 49sec (3409 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 30 2013