No More Wrestling // Judah Smith

hey first of all thanks so much for tuning in today and you're about to watch a message that obviously I'm really hoping helps you and encourages you what's the point of preaching if it doesn't help people so again thanks for taking time to tune in if you haven't heard we've just announced that we have started church home college we've had a training program now for years in fact I graduated from it and just recently we have given it a brand new name church home college and I'm super passionate about empowering people to live the life that Jesus has called you to live ultimately we're all called to live as storytellers telling the story of Jesus his goodness and His grace so if you'd like to grow more in your relationship with Jesus and learn more about the teachings of Scripture that's what church home college is all about so actually there's a link here you can click on right now as you're watching this to find out more information about church home college but for now we'll go right into the message thanks so much for watching go to Genesis chapter 22 and as I'm going there I am a passionate about art passionate about the artists in our community and I've always loved art took art classes growing up and did a lot of sketching and drawing and that's kind of I just I love kind of artistic expression and so it's been seven years in the making my father-in-law sitting right over here Chelsea's mom and dad who I love so much who lived with us only when it's sunny I might add that's very convenient mom and dad they're very committed to Seattle when it's 80 degrees and nicer but it was seven years ago or so my father-in-law said you know you should make some of your art projects available for people just to be inspired to put in their home so at the risk of sounding kind of like like a like a like a Salesman we we've purchased paint baidu.com and I'm doing collaborations with artists in our community starting with Tanner Wendell who actually came to this church didn't even know my dad but was named the name Wendell and he's an amazing photographer and so I'm painting on some of his photos we're gonna make him available starting in August this is the first one we did inspired kind of by when my heart is overwhelmed lead me to a rock that's higher than myself and so we're titling this one perspective so we're gonna make some paintings available you're gonna have art in your home anyways might as well have some art that is connected to Scripture and to give you perspective so we're gonna make more and more of those available I I was gonna share it at Hillsong conference and pastor Brian kept telling me to but I got shy so I came home and I'm like why would I not be proud of what we're doing and let the community know so what's what's really cool is it'll it'll tanner is a very very very gifted photographer who you're gonna see more of his photos and you kind of check out paint by Judah calm and to see his stuff get out more and more would be pretty awesome so anyways that's that's a new project I'm pretty excited about and if you're an artist let's be artistic together Genesis 22 are you ready hey if you're new to our community my name is Judah and along with my wife Chelsea of 18 years and her mom and dad and our three kids we get to lead here at what's called church home we named a church home because we believe that we're we're a family and church should be like a home and you're welcome here our doors are open to you no matter what you believe about God no matter where you are in your spiritual journey this is a place where you're gonna be loved and valued and respected and honored and I pray listen to and cared for so we're really glad that you're here I'm gonna take the next several minutes and then the band will join us again and then we'll sing some more and then we'll dismiss and we will go about a perfectly crisp blue brilliant sunny day in Seattle I meant on hopefully your golf and later okay Genesis 32 and verse 22 this is the same night he arose that is Jacob it took his two wives his two female servants and his eleven children and crossed the Ford of Jobbik or however you say that is it okay for me to stop and say lord thank you that I don't have two wives and eleven children I just yeah I'm good with one wife and three kids so just I just already am feeling encouraged this morning just to be honest we're one person and I'm like oh I got a lot to thank the Lord about so a verse way three he took them and set them across the stream and everything else that he had and Jacob was alone and a man capital M wrestled with him until the breaking of the day when the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob II touched his hip socket Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him then he said let me go for the day has broken but Jacob said I will not let you go unless you bless me and he said to him what is your name and he said Jacob then he said your name shall no longer be called Jacob but Israel for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed then Jacob asked him please tell me your name and he said why is it that you asked me my name and there he blessed him so Jacob called the name of the place Peniel or penny ole or however you pronounce that same for I've seen God face to face and yet my life has been delivered the Sun rose upon him as he passed that place limping because of his hip I love I love english-speaking preachers who we don't really know how to say these words we just try to trick you but therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh I want to speak to you this morning from the subject now no more wrestling no more wrestling in fact can we go to Philippians chapter 3 verses 1 to 11 let me read this to you in in the message and again I'm talking on this subject no more wrestling and that's about it friends be glad in God I don't mind repeating what I have written in earlier letters and I hope you don't mind hearing it again but better safe than sorry so here it goes steer clear of the barking dogs those who those religious busybodies all bark and no bite all they're interested in is appearances knife happy circumcised that's if you don't understand what that's the long story I call them the real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at his ministry at this ministry filling the air with Christ praises as we do it we couldn't carry this off by our own efforts and we know it even though we can list what many may think our impressive credentials you know my pedigree illegitimate birth circumcised on the eighth day and Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin a strict and devout adherent to God's law a fiery defender of the purity of my religion even to the point of persecuting the church a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law book the very credit DS very credentials these people are waving around is something special I'm tearing them up I'm throwing them out with the trash along with everything else I used to take credit for and why because of Jesus yes all things I once thought were so important are gone from my life compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my master firsthand everything I once thought I had gone had going for me is insignificant dog dung to be exact I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and bring him be embraced by him I didn't want some petty and fear your brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ God's righteousness I gave up all the inferior stuffs like it know Jesus personally experienced his resurrection power be a partner in his suffering and go all the way with him to the death to death itself if there is any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead that's what I wanted to do no more wrestling we join me in prayer God thank you for the moments that we share this morning where we thank you for your grace Lord for every single person who has made the effort to be here today and lord I pray that you would meet us in a real genuine and authentic way thank you for the beautiful sunshine lord I thank you that that jet lag is not real and I deny its reality in Jesus name Amen amen amen amen growing up my dad was a larger-than-life figure and I bring up my dad because today would have been my dad's 68th birthday today pastor window would have been 68 and I don't know how that works maybe he's still turning 68 in eternity but he looks like he's 25 I don't know how the glorified body and and all that works and I don't know if he's golfing today but if there is golf which I believe there is I'm sure he is with pastor Don with Pastor Aaron their pastor Aaron's probably not playing a lot but he's there to talk and hang and pastor Don's probably driving the cart which he once rolled several times down a hill but dad would have been 68 I always thought I'd be taller than my dad but as life would have it he he was a half inch taller than me his hands always slightly bigger than me and a bit stronger than me my dad was my hero I looked up to him in every way and I can remember some of the earliest memories of growing up with dad where we would wrestle and you know as I would grow and mature I'm really not a wrestler I don't even wrestle that much with my boys I'm just not a I'm not a fighter I'm a lover and but I have an older sister like I just you know I don't have any brothers and so I don't really prefer Bo I don't like flatulation 's I don't like wrestling that's just not my thing I'd rather go to the mall and look for deals but but growing up my dad and I've wrestled quite a bit and of course when you're young and if you had the opportunity to have a father or a father figure in your home or an uncle or a grandfather and you had that experience of wrestling you you actually think when you're young you're making a difference like you think you can almost wrestle and of course growing up now being my own being a father I the boys think that they're actually like swaying you moving you wrestling you but you have dad's strength the dad's strength is real right but but you let your kids feel like all you got me I would pin my dad and back then I was in a WWF and Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior come on somebody Andre the Giant the rock he's running for president you know and but so you know we do that the three-count I bet yeah but I'll never forget one time well it wasn't only one time but let's just go with one time I'll say this one time where I talk back to my mom and I I specifically remember the response to my mom was whatever and all I remember I don't remember my dad even being in the room until I felt him I was 16 years old and my dad lifted me from the earth with one arm and before I knew it I was in my bedroom where he was threatening me and my life and I think the story went something like I can take you out because I brought you in and I can make another one all right but I'll never forget that feeling at sixteen just being truly manhandled by my father just carrying me in to the room and it it was one of those moments again that I realized yeah I'm not even close to as strong as my dad he just carried me with one arm into the room now why is that relevant because we have a passage and I'd like to really make sense of Genesis 32 we have a passage where it is said that Jacob wrestles with a man now the man is mysterious and much has been made of who this man is but I think it is very safe to say that this is a incarnate probably a pre-incarnate christ sufficient to say I believe this is God this is God wrestling with Jacob now the text leads you to believe that Jacob is one scrappy guy the the story leads you to believe that Jacob really had quite a night and he actually gave God a match but I want to make it abundantly clear to you that is not what's going on here God has not come down to wrestle with us supplant or wrestle with a man who's a manipulator by name Jacob he is a manipulator remember Jacobs story Jacob is a twin with a brother Esau Esau Harry Jacobs not he saws a hunter Jacobs a homemaker but remember Esau comes out the womb first and Jacob grabs his heel Jacob gets his name because it's indicative of his character his personality and his approach he gets what he wants by manipulating and striving and grabbing and laying hold this is this is Jacobs trajectory his tendency this is his weakness this is who he is in the text leads us to believe that while Jacob really must have had some awesome wrestling moves Bible says they go all night wrestling and then Jacob and then the man says it's almost the break of dawn let me go which would lead you to believe that the man the god man that's wrestling Jacob can't go and tell Jacob lets him go but I'd like to prove to you that's not true because Jacob says I won't let you go and tell you bless me and the Bible says even before that that the man who had had a match a match with Jacob simply touches the socket in his hip and Jacob is immediately hamstrung if you will it's the first hamstring injury in Scripture so hold on a second if this was a match how can this man with one touch injure Jacob this is no match this is the choosing of God to wrestle with Jacob but Jacob is no match for God now why is that important because much has been made of this passage over the course of the church history in centuries we're led to believe that this passage ought to teach us that we got to wrestle with God sometimes I'm gonna tell you that the wrestling is over in fact I'd like to go as far to say even this wrestling match wasn't really a true match this is the graciousness of God God is not going Wow Jacob I can't shake you man where did you learn that one you're Jacob's like jumping off the ropes you know just like I mean look look at this passage it says and Jacob was left alone wrestled he saw he did not prevail against Rick he touched his hip socket Jacob's hip was put out of joint instantly put out of joint instantly so this man who I believed to be a pre-incarnate christ has the power at any moment to just by a touch to jacob but he doesn't why why does he choose to engage just like my dad used to wrestle with me to lead me to believe that I could pin him no there was dad's strength in there all the time and at 16 I got confronted with it in a very real way so it is with God this is not a match but God has a purpose in this wrestling can I say it like this just as realistic as you and I can keep a list of do's and don'ts to be acceptable before God specifically for those that understand Christian language just as realistic as it is for us to keep the law so it was realistic that Jacob was a match for God it is completely unrealistic that this is not a match let's call this a moment where God wants to do something in Jacobs life this passage does not serve up for us credence so that we wrestle with God I'm here to say according to what Jesus has completed you're wrestling with God days are over there is no need for us to strive to strain or to stress to receive what we want from God or more specifically to receive God at all our wrestling days are over and the truth is your wrestling was a farce anyways let's call this a wrestling match just as much as I had wrestling matches when I was an eight-year-old with my dad if you walked into our house and there's my dad and I'm like hey you walked in and I said I'm wrestling my dad you go you're not that's so cute that you think you are that is truthfully what's happening this passage God has yielded himself to a match because he wants a moment to change Jacob that's what's really happening and that's why Paul it when he writes to the Philippians Church in which we just read he seems to have like a braggadocious moment and in the message Bible is a little bit clearer but like some other translations Paul just goes on and on about how sensational he is like he's like I'm in the best tribe I'm the smartest guy I know more than anybody else but what I'm what I'm doing is I'm not gonna remember that even though I commemorated it in Scripture right he's high but he's telling us something he's saying all of my wrestling all of my achievements have become obstacles if I don't let them go so that I can embrace Jesus some of us today are fighting but the wrong thing you are rebuking the devil as you should you are saying in Jesus name every force of the enemy that's come against me as you should but oftentimes we don't realize that in some seasons our greatest obstacle is maybe not specifically the devil but it is our jeev minh ception that we have earned or deserved something from God and the reason sometimes we would rather wrestle with God than receive from God is because it appeases our flesh and it makes me feel good I mean this is first John chapter 5 15 16 and 17 right it says this is what the world don't love the world things in the world what's in the world in the love of the father's not in them verse 16 it says for all this in the world is the desire the flesh desires of the eyes and the pride in possessions one translation says the pride of life here's why we like to pretend wrestle with God because it feeds our pride of life and all of us one of the greatest obstacles in receiving the goodness of God and the finished work of Jesus and the favor of God and the blessing of God is we only like to receive what we perceive we have earned one preacher told me he said Judy you've got to be careful when you preaching the gospel because if you deviate even a little bit people are looking for a deviation because it appeases our flesh tell me how to earn it and I'll take it every time because it makes me feel like I did this which leads me to by definition to a pharisaical lifestyle and the reason many of us in this room including myself struggle with putting people in a lower category than ourselves is because we have a perception that where we are in life is because we have earned it deserved it because we wrestled for it and so that's why you end up looking at somebody else and I'm just being honest with you this morning I hope you I hope this is okay you're like man he comes back from Sydney with some intensity it's it's jet lag I've never loved you more we we think well III wrestled with God oh you're so cute no you didn't no no no I did no well you know like God engaged with you Jacob but even under up under the Old Testament and the Old Covenant Jacob you you you gotta admit you actually didn't you didn't you he he just touched you in you like he has all the power clearly here this is this isn't what you think it is and of course we know now according to Paul's writings of the Philippians that what Jesus has ushered in is an entirely new era and let us remind that the Old Testament has been done away with that is it has been fulfilled by Jesus God does not relate to human beings anymore like you did according to the Torah and the Old Testament that relationship with man is dead and gone the new relationship with man is according to the free gift through Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of every err wrong and sin you've ever committed and it cannot be earned it cannot be deserved it can only be accepted and received but our obstacle becomes we persist in attempting the trivial which is to earn it and deserve it why because it makes us feel good it just does we have to admit that it makes us feel good in the same way I'll say like this negativity has how should I say we have an appetite for it a friend of mine recently said Harvard did a recent study and they've discovered that negativity has seven times more on your brain and body than positivity because of the fallen nature we have an appetite for negativity I don't know Judah just look at the news they this is in Los Angeles I have talked to news anchors and producers and writers and they say our problem right now is earnest doesn't sell honesty duck positive doesn't sell we want to know the nitty-gritty and the negativity because we have proclivity we have a bent towards that we have an appetite towards that it releases adrenaline in our body when we hear have you heard and when we hear have you heard about so-and-so who did this we feel better about this and so it is and that's why we're prone to religion that's why we're prone to formalities that's why we're prone to tradition that's are prone to exclusivity that's why we're prone to not liking people who don't live up to our particular standards and by the way we don't live up to all our standards just our pet standards right so so and that's how the church becomes institutionalized and ceases to become a living organism that welcomes anyone and everyone because we're all on the same playing field and they're amazing how the gospel levels the playing field remember remember we talked about it a few weeks ago remember remember Simon invites Simon the Pharisee invites Jesus over for a meal and they're so rudely interrupted by a prostitute a woman of the night and humor the juxtaposition of this story Simon's laying on his side and he thinks in his mind if Jesus knew what kind of woman this was he wouldn't let her wash his feet and wipe it with her hair and spill her perfume because she is a she is a she is a sinner she is a sinner she is a sinner what are you Simon she's a sinner what about you Simon she's a sinner Simon laid on his side as one who he believed he had earned and deserved and there was a woman in the same scene who was at the feet of Jesus who was broken and grateful and Jesus says whoever's forgiving little loves little which is also to say but this woman who know she has been forgiven much loves much this perspective of wrestling with God also robs us of our desire and passion for Jesus and it turns us into religious robots who attend service because it's the right thing to do and that my friend will only last so long where do we recover raw passion and desire for Jesus where do we recover gratitude and perspective where is the passion where is the desire where is the gratefulness where it it gets back to we read passages like Genesis 32 and we're like I'm gonna I'm gonna wrestle with God you can no more wrestle with God than Jacob wrestled with God that's that's actually not really a thing Jesus has finished the work even if there was an era and there was where we attempted mankind attempted to relate to God by their own nobility and ability and performance it has been passed away it is done and what remains is simply to accept and receive the finish work of Jesus this is what we've been called to do now I want to I want to take you back to Philippians chapter 3 because I want it emphasized in Philippians chapter 3 verses 1 to 11 if we can go to maybe verse 3 it might be see if it's verse 3 or verse 4 or 5 let's go to 6 this is so exciting this is amazing there it is there it is oh yeah and I think it's the next verse I don't know what I'm doing this guy's the pastor yeah look Paul says he says I dumped it all in the trash here's why here's the motivation so I can embrace Jesus and be embraced by him I don't know it's Paul saying when you hold all this stuff in your arms it's really hard to embrace Jesus when you keep up all these pretenses of all these things that we believe we have achieved and you can't let it go this this illustration is gonna fall flat but I want to tell you that I have a hole-in-one in golf so I'm gonna tell the story anyways but the true story about the one hole-in-one I got in my whole life for those of you this again this is a golf analogy if you don't like golf you shouldn't come to church home in the summer but I'm out there and playing out in Sammamish plateau and I don't know I'm probably 20 22 23 and the truth is I'm plainly my buddy Matt and my buddy Brian and I went to swing on this par 3 and my buddy Matt said do yelled do it and I hit the ball and I turned around was like really bro and all i remembers matt goes look turn around and sure enough the ball was tracking perfectly towards the hole bounce twice boop and all I remember Matt who's a firefighter by the way tackled me was horrible I hurt really really bad I'm not a fighter but you know it's crazy my dad bought the marble whole sign bought it in it made the country club I have to buy that like sir the signs aren't for sale it has to be for sale so so my dad so that big marble sites it's honestly probably 50 pounds it's in my garage right now and when people like what's out of my uggs hole one I got a hole in one guess what I don't tell them it was an accident which is just a small nod doesn't even begin to scratch the surface on the accomplishments of this life we lead people to believe yeah yeah pretty amazing teacher the number one barista yeah honestly Oh stay-at-home dad I raised champions for kids I mean is raising kids the most faith-filled endeavor of all time have you run into these parents who are the best parents ever and they have like a kid that gets weird and you're like no God how is that even possible and then if you have you met people you're like I don't think you're great parents but God just gave you great kids right it's the results oh that's right their gods their gods I mean if we're really honest about this life and all of our accomplishments and all of our wrestling matches and all of our endeavors and all of our efforts well Paul says they don't mean anything it's Jesus that means everything and I got a hunch it was all him remember what Paul says it's like one of the most confusing verses ever he's like and I labored more abundantly than you all but it might not have been me it might have been Jesus through me but my point is and you're like I'm sorry what'd you just say that's confusing I know I'm confused too like I'm gonna be diligent by no means are we in any ways lessening excellence diligence faithfulness I can throw in timeliness because that's something I need to work on it's overrated but it's not I'm kidding relax but not underestimate any of those things that we instill into our children but but at some point we've got to let our young people know that life is not a collection of wrestling matches with God where you get from him what you want so you can stand on your own merit no it is not a wrestling it is a life of receiving receive you remember what Jesus said he says your work your work your work is to believe and how many know that does take some work sometimes I'd like to say sometimes it takes more work to simply receive than it does to attempt to wrestle because it's so obvious sometimes I'm just gonna wrestle this out I am just gonna I to handle this I'm gonna take care of this and that's why the Bible says hey we don't wrestle against each other we don't wrestle against coworkers we don't wrestle against your boss we don't wrestle against each we we we we any wrestling we do it's invisible what do you mean oh you you you fight the good fight of the flip fight the good fight of faith the bad fight is the fight of the flesh that's why another translation Philippians 3 says put no confidence in the flesh anything that makes your flesh feel better in terms of your spiritual journey in terms of pride and self accomplishment oftentimes is not sustainable and will lead you to a place where your misappropriating the goodness grace and sufficiency of Jesus we are to be people who are constantly telling our flesh it wasn't you it was him now this eventually will relieve some of the stress and striving and worry and anxiety that for many of you this summer is haunting you you're exhausted in fact history records that many people who decide to follow Jesus upon deciding to follow Jesus end up experiencing extreme emotional exhaustion because they are not told repeatedly that's all we gotta renew our mind right in the finished work of Jesus they're not reminded repeatedly that is by trusting and receiving and believing and resting that you continue to follow Jesus it is not by wrestling and that's why we've got to be careful even in our Bible studies in our applications that we don't take portions of scriptures like Genesis 32 and misappropriate and apply them and lead people to believe that you too must wrestle with God the wrestling is over is over your work is not to wrestle your work is to receive and one of the most powerful ways to how should I say calm your flesh down is by receiving the goodness of God how do you receive the goodness of God we could go on and on but when you start to sing about him when you start to speak about him when we get together about him that's why in moments like this that's why the writer scripture says don't don't don't stop getting together Hebrews chapter 10 y'all need to get together and hear you talked to each other about Jesus remind each other how good he is right the person you believe most in the world is you did you know that and you believe yourself when you hear yourself and so speak out hey man Jesus is so good he's so faithful he's made me righteous I'm so grateful for what Jesus has done His grace is sufficient what I'd like to do in conclusion is take Genesis 32 and one of the great ways to understand Scripture is the Bible we're told that the interpretation of Scripture is this work called hermeneutics and what what the cross becomes I don't mean to confuse you is what we like to call a hermeneutical filter which is to say you take everything in scripture and you take it to the cross and through the cross and so Genesis 32 cannot be left it on its own you have to take it to the cross and through the cross so how does Genesis 32 relate to me now because I have accepted the death of burial and resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ and I am now seated in heavenly places with Christ on high his work is finished he is now seated at the right hand of God how many know at the cross six hours he hung there suffocating in his own blood and his last statement was what it is finished and so it's finished it's complete all the rules and regulations of the Old Testament in which Jacob was up under have been completely done away with they have been fulfilled they have been finished they have been completed and all that it's left for all who believe is simply to receive what Jesus has done on our behalf what does that do to Genesis 32 how then so I can't now go to Genesis 32 and say I - I'm gonna wrestle with God and I know we mean well but in church we use these terms you know the other night I was wrestling with God no you were you were praying and God was talking to you you're probably mulling over some things but don't even let yourself say that you were wrestling with God because that'll let your body know something that's not true we're not here to strive the only the only application for strive and you remember what it says strive to enter rest how ironic is that that's the only striving you're allowed is to strive to enter the rest which ultimately speaks of the eternal rest with Jesus and speaks of the rest that he gives for our soul according to Matthew chapter 11 so no striving allowed except striving to rest in the finished work of Jesus so what does Genesis 32 mean to me well here's what we can pull out if Jesus has completed the work remember Jacob says I won't let you go tell you bless me it insinuates that somehow he had earned his blessing we now know that Jesus has earned once and for all the blessing for all who simply believe I am blessed and I cannot be cursed for what God has blessed no one no man no devil in Hell can curse the blessing of God is upon you and it maketh rich it and adds no saw to it the Proverbs say you are blessed so number one I can read this passage and say because Jesus has finished the work I don't have to wrestle I just need to receive that I am blessed do you know you can be blessed but because you don't accept that you can blessed you can live like you're not even though you are even though you're even though you are blessed you can live like you aren't you've got to accept the fact that you are blessed contrary to circumstances situations seasons extended seasons finances lack of finances bankruptcy divorce disease sickness we are blessed and eternity will prove that we are blessed we're blessed on my dad's birthday you know somebody came up after he passed away from cancer and they said you know are you mad at God I don't know when it happened but it happened very quick that all sudden it dawned on me how could I be mad at God when a lot of men and women never even have a father and I had a model father for 30 years how can I not stop and say I am blessed and more that che that helped me in the grieving process wasn't they wasn't there let them mean there's a lack of grieving but that helped me change my perspective even in death and what seems like defeat we can see the perspective of heaven and realize we are blessed know I'm blessed it says it says God blessed Jacob I'm blessed one of the main points of the whole passage is not a wrestling match or perceived wrestling match it's that God came to give Jacob a moment because he wanted to change Jacobs nature and he says you got to bless me and notice God says what's your name and he says supplanter manipulator Stryver that's who I am see what's happening to Jacob is what happens to all humanity when they believe in the finished work of Jesus apart from God we are left to our own devices apart from God all of us are a Jacob all of us will only get anywhere in this life to the degree that we strive and stress and fear and worry and work and sweat and strain and manipulate and work it's not what you know it's who you know and I'm working it and I'm connected and I'm networking and then wrong with connecting and networking but when it comes with a spirit of striving and straining and working and earning and deserving though the Bible says that is who I used to be that is my Jake I'm not Jacob anymore he says I know I'm Jacob yeah you are since the day you were born for all born in sin the Bible says he was born trying to grab for what wasn't his he was born that way and he says well your new name is gonna be Israel for you've wrestled with God and prevailed how gracious is God did he really prevail no it was just a picture of Jesus Jacob didn't prevail but Jesus would and Israel means Prince Israel means Prince it this passage would lead you to believe that at first glance that Jacob earned his new name but we know based on the power of the one he wrestled with it was actually just all the doing of the man he wrestled with he said I'm gonna give you a new name you are Prince your prince and you're going to there's going to be a nation that's gonna come out of you this is all I've got a new nature hey hey you got a new nature and you didn't wrestle for it and you didn't earn it you just received it receive your blessing and receive the new nature I am a new creature I am a new natured person the old has passed away behold all things are new I have a new nature some of you you you're diligent you work hard but I want to remind you that to get ahead in this life with God you do not have to manipulate you do not have blood sweat tears pull up your bootstraps none of those things are in the Bible no we're we're to be like the priests and the old test of who wore linen garments and the linen was to remove the sweat we're to be those people whose yoga's easiest burden is light we're supposed to have confidence that all we do use the gifts that God's given us but the results those are up to God in the meantime I'm faithful with every day that he gives me and that leads me to the last take away from the redemptive perspective of Jacob wrestling with God not only do I have a a and not only am i blessed I'll do have a new nature I have a new wok I have a new wok because I'm blessed because of my nature I walk in a different way and Jacob left with a limp Oh God help the church with this one we don't want anybody to see our limp because we get ahead in this life by having it all together of all people group on the planet believers are supposed to be fundamentally different we are supposed to be the group that says here's my weakness here's my challenge here's my shortcoming here's where I'm not very strong here's where things have kind of shrunk in my life here's my limp and in my weakness his power has been perfected boy if we would show everybody our limp everybody would show us theirs and we would realize that the Church of Jesus Christ is not made up of perfectly put together people but the story of God's goodness and grace and the finished work of Jesus is he takes broken people and he uses them even when they still limp so now my walk is a walk of dependency in the old way of relating to God my lip disqualified me in the new way of relating to God my lip qualifies me for if I wasn't broken I wouldn't need to save you to put me back together again no no no what what what allows me to tell the gospel today is because I'm not just a dealer I'm a user now you this is I got a limp just like you do and the sooner the church can get comfortable with the fact that we all got limps and we all and there's a line of course for leadership where if you go a little bit too far you got to be sat down and get healed and restored and all of those things but we all have proclivities and propensity and this passage wants to make it clear Jacob we don't know if Jacob always limp but he left that scene with a limp my new walk is not to conceal my limp how much have we exhausted selves trying to pretend hey man you okay oh yeah I'm good I'm good everything's great really uh you look like you're limping no no no no I'm good man I'm just you know I'm good it's not it's not a limp it's not knob nah man guys good faithful amen I'm blessed whoo highly favored huh yeah no everything's good and it becomes an old-fashioned Western standoff it's Christian to Christian Church to church we all play pretend because of the pride of life why can't let down let anybody know that I'm struggling so and so instead of walking in the new walk which is a walk of transparency which is a walk of weakness and a walk of brokenness which gives us the strength and power to sustain the walk we play pretend and I look in the future of our church and we just got to get a whole lot more comfortable with people who have a limp you say well Jude I'm gonna pray about that God's gonna know sir ma'am you just need to remember you have one too you don't get Oh God give me compassion for broken people you could just Prioleau give me compassion for me cuz you is broken we are all a work in progress made perfect righteous which gives us the platform to continue to walk but the walk of power is a walk of weakness it says oh god I I can't do this I know I know but I'll do it through you and for you God's gonna do extraordinary things through your weakness and you know what's amazing about your weakness some of you've been so paranoid this summer about your weakness but you know what your weakness does and the devil will try to trick you but the weakness will remind you that you need him everyday and isn't that wonderful oh god I'm limping today which reminds me I can't even do this day without you for the Bible says Romans 8:14 for as many as are led by the Spirit of God these are the sons and daughters of God that word led its root word at times means to pick up and carry it's got a dual meaning sometimes it means that you're held by the hand but other times it means that the individual holding your hand sees the pain and picks you up and carries you if you've been around Jesus long enough you know there were seasons where your limp was so bad he picked you up and carried you carried you this is the life of God let not one of us leave here today saying yeah I've been pretty faithful and look what it's resulted in I think we mean well but we end up telling each other you know brother if you'll if you'll do this this and this you'll get this this and this I don't know about all that there are some of that that I'm sure that is very very true but what I do know is what Jesus has granted II and every one of us without a doubt you are blessed and you cannot be cursed you have a new nature you are no longer obligated to function like Jacob you are now Israel and you are prince or princess in the family of God and now you finally get to lay your masks down and you don't have to play cover-up anymore you can recognize when I am weak then I am strong and the power of Christ rests upon me Wow whom the Sun sets free is free in D there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus no matter what you did yesterday or what you'll do tomorrow his power is made perfect in your weakness you are forgiven you are blessed you have a new nature and you have a new way of walking and a new way of living there my wrestling striving straining days I believe are lessening and lessening to the degree that they will be over no more wrestling Jesus we thank you we thank you for all that you have provided for us we're so overwhelmed when we consider who you are and what you've done again I just declare over church home today and we are blessed and cannot be cursed that we have a new nature that we have gone from manipulating and straining and striving to resting in the position of Prince and Princess that you have granted us and as a result we have confidence to walk even in our weaknesses and shortcomings we know that your glory and your goodness will be seen in our everyday lifestyle we thank you for that today we thank you for that today I pray for confidence and assurance to grow in the heart of your people we love you so much Jesus so much Jesus if you here today watching in any one of our locations and he said Judah I'd like to become a follower of Jesus for the Bible says God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him receives him accepts him will not perish but have everlasting life if you want that everlasting life that only Jesus offers I'm gonna ask you on the count of three lift up your hand and put it right back down you know who you are God loves you so much he has such an extraordinary plan and purpose for your life one God loves you too you'll never be the same three if that's you would you shoot your hand up all over the auditorium and say man that's me that's me that's incredible thank you for the hands that's me that's me Jesus you see every one of these hands which represents an eternal soul that is forgiven forever and ever we thank you for the greatest miracle of all the miracle of salvation transformation we love you Jesus we love you Jesus we love you Jesus we love you Jesus thank you God for your grace in Jesus name in Jesus name if you're physically able and willing would you would you stand with us and together let's sing out passionately what we know to be true about our God come on church [Music] subscribe if you press on it you subscribe to our You Tube channel then you get to watch it and we get to have fun and we get to be friends I love you

Channel: Churchome

Views: 36,107

Rating: 4.9034691 out of 5

Keywords: Churchome, Judah, Judah smith, church, message, anxiety, depression, how to, elevation, Steven, Hillsong, oceans, sermon, the city church, church home, Chelsea smith, bobby Houston, td jakes, pastor, pastor preaching, carl lentz, Jesus, conference, guest speaker, sermon jam, worship, Justin Bieber, la Hillsong, Selena, preaching, Judah message, performance

Id: HZ8jewFHweI

Length: 52min 27sec (3147 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 16 2018