SERMON: PSALM 65 -- SAVIOR, SOVEREIGN, SUSTAINER

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Psalm 65:1-13

 

Psalm 65

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

1 Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;

    to you our vows will be fulfilled.

2 You who answer prayer,

    to you all people will come.

3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,

    you forgave our transgressions.

4 Blessed are those you choose

    and bring near to live in your courts!

We are filled with the good things of your house,

    of your holy temple.

 

5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,

    God our Savior,

the hope of all the ends of the earth

    and of the farthest seas,

6 who formed the mountains by your power,

    having armed yourself with strength,

7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,

    the roaring of their waves,

    and the turmoil of the nations.

8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;

    where morning dawns, where evening fades,

    you call forth songs of joy.

 

9 You care for the land and water it;

    you enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

    to provide the people with grain,

    for so you have ordained it.

10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;

    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.

11 You crown the year with your bounty,

    and your carts overflow with abundance.

12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;

    the hills are clothed with gladness.

13 The meadows are covered with flocks

    and the valleys are mantled with grain;

    they shout for joy and sing.

 

            -- this morning, as we lifted up our praises and prayer concerns before God, one of the things that we praised God for was sending us rain

-- as everyone knows, we’ve been caught in an exceptional drought – it just has not rained like normal – and all of nature has been suffering – the grass is dying – trees are shedding their leaves – fruit is not setting – seeds are languishing in the soil because they don’t have the moisture to germinate – and the farmers have been kicking the dust and looking at the sky for answers

– we haven’t been this dry in over 20 years – and with the dry vegetation and all the debris from Hurricane Helene, our forests are a tinderbox – that’s why we’ve had those two massive wildfires in our region over the past several weeks – over 50,000 acres burned and almost 200 homes and businesses lost

-- so, the rain that we had yesterday was a much-needed blessing from God

 

-- a similar drought occurred in Ohio back in 1853 – and just like us, they were in trouble – in fact, they were in worse trouble than us – the farmers were in danger of losing their entire livelihood of crops and livestock because they didn’t have the ability to irrigate and to draw water from the ground like we can today

            -- things got so bad with the drought, the farmers decided the only thing they could do was to ask God for His help -- they reached out to the famous evangelist, Charles Finney, and asked him to come and pray for rain – they believed that if God would listen to anyone, He would surely listen to the prayers of this Godly man -- Finney agreed, and on the day he was scheduled to arrive, the whole community gathered in the town square to greet him and to join him in prayer

            -- he took his place behind the podium that had been set up in the town square, and looked out at the crowd of anxious people who were trusting his prayers would move God to bring much-needed rain to their community -- he gazed at them for a few moments, and then said, “I see I am the only one who brought an umbrella”

            -- although everyone there claimed to be seeking God’s help and proclaimed that they believed God could bring the rain, only Finney truly believed, for only Finney had brought an umbrella with him to this prayer service

-- he preached a short sermon on faith, then set his umbrella down by his chair and began to pray, “Lord, we do not presume to tell you what is best for us. You invite us to come to you as children to a father and tell you all of our wants. We need rain. Unless you give us rain our cattle will die and our harvest will come to naught. It is an easy thing for you to do, O Lord, send us rain.”

            -- the rest is history -- God immediately answered the prayer that Charles Finney offered up on behalf of the people that day – and the rain poured down on them, even as they were gathered there in prayer – Finney’s umbrella was a reminder that God hears the prayers of the faithful, who truly trust in Him and look to Him for their salvation and survival in this dry and dusty land

 

            -- anyone who depends on the land for sustenance would understand the effect that drought has on a community – and how such times of drought drive us to our knees before the throne of God for help

            -- certainly, King David understood it, for we see in this psalm David’s reliance on God and God alone for salvation and survival

            -- commentators are unsure as to the inspiration for this psalm that David wrote, but several believe it was in response to God’s sending of rain after a drought, such as the one we have been experiencing – and that the abundance of fruit and grain that followed this blessing from God caused David to lead the nation of Israel in joyful praise to God for hearing his prayer and pouring out abundance upon His people

-- in this Psalm, we see the heart-felt response of David to God as he praises and worships for who He is and what He does in answer to our prayers and our needs – David looks beyond the immediate and the material – the momentary troubles of this life -- to the eternal blessings that only come through God        

-- so, as we come together in a similar situation today to celebrate the rain that God has sent and as we look forward to God finally breaking this drought, let us turn together to David’s psalm of praise and worship and see how David’s words might inspire us to reverence God in this time in the same way

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (Psalm 65:1-13)

            -- verse 1

 

Psalm 65

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

1 Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;

    to you our vows will be fulfilled.

2 You who answer prayer,

    to you all people will come.

 

            -- this psalm opens with the declaration that “praise awaits you, our God”

            -- the word that is translated as awaits or awaiting here comes from a root that means to be silent – by using this word, David is evoking two common emotions

            -- the first is the emotion that we feel when we are anticipating a great act – for instance, think about being in a darkened concert hall, waiting for the opening notes from a great singer or from an orchestra – there is a feeling of heightened anticipation – everyone in the place is on the edge of their seats – straining forward – waiting for the first notes to fill the hall – there is a moment of collective energy – and then, when the first notes escape into the atmosphere, the entire hall erupts in applause and praise

            -- that is what David is trying to express here – Zion has gathered in anticipation of the coming of the Lord – all creation is waiting for the moment the Lord appears – their eyes are straining to see into the heavens – their ears are listening for that first trumpet – and everyone is eagerly awaiting the sight of the Lord – that is the moment David is trying to capture here – that moment of eager anticipation

            -- the other emotion that David is capturing in this phrase is the moment after the praise has ended – the moment when there is nothing but silence – and you sit in that silence in awe of what has just happened

 

            -- several years ago, I went to a Promise Keepers event in Atlanta – these were two-day events – and the second day was supposed to start about 8:00 in the morning – I arrived early – along with most of the people – we got there about 7:00 – and we gathered in the dark of the arena and found our seats – there was quiet talking among everyone – and then in the darkness, the worship band started to play “Holy, Holy, Holy,” from the stage

            -- every man in that place stood up and sang in praise and worship together – one mighty voice ascending to the very throne of God – and when the last note was played – when the song ended – there was just silence – we sat there in that moment, overwhelmed by what we had just experienced – that is the other meaning and emotion that David is expressing here

            -- after we have lifted up our praise and worship to our God – when the last note is sounded and our voices are hushed – we just stand in His presence in silence – experiencing the moment we have shared

            -- that is what David means here when he tells God that praise awaits you – he’s capturing our emotions as we sit in silent anticipation of the moment and as we bathe in the silence of the glory of praise that we shared in

 

            -- notice who it is that is praising God here – it says in verse 1 that the “vows will be fulfilled” – these are the vows of praise and thanksgiving that God demands – that were written into the laws of Israel

-- this tells us that these are the people of God who have gathered to wait in anticipation to praise Him – those who know Him and have pledged themselves to Him

            -- if you’ll notice in verse 2, it says, “to you all people will come” – the term, “all people,” refers to all mankind

– we talked before about how the majority of the Bible was written solely to the nation of Israel – and how we should read and interpret the Bible with good exegesis to see what God was saying to them before we try to apply the passages to us in a more general way – that we don’t try to appropriate promises or blessings that were intended only for the nation of Israel

-- this is not one of these passages – this Psalm was written as a call to praise for all the people on earth as we worship and praise God for His blessings that He pours out on all mankind, not just on the nation of Israel

-- David’s intent here is for all the peoples of earth to gather in praise of God – for all creation to cry out to Him in worship

            -- I think this Psalm may be pointing towards the future manifestation of kingdom of God on earth – when this old earth will have passed away and there are new heavens and a new earth – when there is no longer any sin or shame or guilt – when all evil is purged from the land and sin and death cast into the Lake of Fire

-- at that time, all the people will come -- all the redeemed from the entire history of the world will gather together in Zion as the people of God – one nation – one people – one kingdom – one church – one bride – praising God’s holy name on Zion before His throne, just as we see described in the Book of Revelation

 

            -- finally, I don’t want you to miss David’s description of God here in verse 2 – he calls God, “You who answers prayer” – David sees God as our sovereign Lord who knows His people and who cares for each and every one of us – God hears our prayers – and not only does He hear our prayers, He answers them – not because He has to – but because we are His and He is ours

            -- this name for God – You who answers prayer -- recognizes both the relationship between us and God and His grace in hearing and answering our prayers because of it

 

-- verse 3

 

Psalm 65:3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,

    you forgave our transgressions.

 

            -- so, why do we praise God? – what causes us to wait in eager anticipation for His coming so that we might pour out our praises before His throne?

            -- first, David reminds us that God is our Savior – here in verse 3, we read that God forgave our transgressions – literally, God atoned for our transgressions and sins when we were overwhelmed and overcome by them

 

            -- I read a news article this week that said, for the first time ever in our 250 year history, the US national debt surpassed 100% of the nation's GDP – the Gross Domestic Product – our country owes over one trillion dollars in interest payments to investors – roughly 120% of our GDP – which means that the interest on our debt exceeds the entire annual economic output – this has been driven by high spending, rising interest costs, and an aging population

-- to put this in terms that we can relate to, this means that we owe more money than we take in – for us, it would be like our bills being bigger than our paychecks, with no way out

-- crushing debt – debt that we can’t ever hope to pay

 

-- that is what our sin debt was like – as David says here, we were overwhelmed by our sin – it was greater than we could pay – we had no hope of every atoning for our sin on our own – we couldn’t do enough good works – we couldn’t make enough sacrifices – we couldn’t do enough good things to pay our way out of the sin and transgressions that we had accumulated

-- we were bound by sin and death and were hopelessly trapped – that’s why Paul cried out in Romans 7:24, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”

-- but thankfully, our story doesn’t end there – for Paul goes on in verse 25 to say, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

 

-- that is what David is saying here – when we were overwhelmed by our sins and transgressions – when there was nothing more we could do – God delivered us – He forgave our sins and made atonement for us through Christ Jesus -- God Himself provided the atonement – the covering – the sacrifice – that paid the blood debt for the sins that we committed – Christ became sin for us and died on the cross to save us

            -- because God has so graciously atoned for our sins – removing the guilt and lifting off the burden – we find peace with Him – and we come before Him in praise – pouring out our joy as we praise God for the hope we have in Him and in Christ

 

            -- verse 4

 

Psalm 65:4 Blessed are those you choose

    and bring near to live in your courts!

We are filled with the good things of your house,

    of your holy temple.

 

5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,

    God our Savior,

the hope of all the ends of the earth

    and of the farthest seas,

6 who formed the mountains by your power,

    having armed yourself with strength,

7 who stilled the roaring of the seas,

    the roaring of their waves,

    and the turmoil of the nations.

 

            -- next, David says, we praise God for He is Sovereign – He is our Lord – He is our God – He is our King

            -- we have been chosen by Him and brought near to live in the very courts of His throne – in Ephesians 1:4, we read that God chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight – and as John wrote in John 1:12-13, for those of us who have received Him – who have believed on His name – He gave us the right to become the children of God – born not of man or of human decision – but born of God

            -- we are His children – the people of His name – the heirs of the inheritance of Christ – filled with the good things of His house – blessed, as Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:3, with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms

           

            -- David says that God our Savior answers our prayers and our praises with awesome and righteous deeds – He is our hope to all the ends of the earth – in Him and through Him we have the promise of eternal life – and we see His power and sovereignty poured out and displayed in His creative power

            -- for it was God who formed the mountains by His great power – with just a word, they came into being – He armed Himself with all strength and power and greatness – He stilled the roaring of the seas – He brought peace to the nations – turning aside the division and chaos and turmoil and uniting all people under His banner

 

            -- verse 8

 

Psalm 65:8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;

    where morning dawns, where evening fades,

    you call forth songs of joy.

 

9 You care for the land and water it;

    you enrich it abundantly.

The streams of God are filled with water

    to provide the people with grain,

    for so you have ordained it.

10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;

    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.

11 You crown the year with your bounty,

    and your carts overflow with abundance.

12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;

    the hills are clothed with gladness.

13 The meadows are covered with flocks

    and the valleys are mantled with grain;

    they shout for joy and sing.

 

            -- God is our Savior – He is our Sovereign – and, finally, we praise Him because He is our Sustainer – He blesses us and sustains our life – both here and forever more

 

            -- we recognize God’s providential hand to all creation and to all mankind – even now, as this world walks in darkness – God has not turned His back on us, but continues to pour out His grace and sustenance on everyone – saved and sinner alike

            -- the Bible tells us in Matthew 5:45 that God causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good – and He sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous

            -- He continues to bless all peoples so that His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – can be seen and experienced by all and might draw people to His saving embrace through the atoning death and resurrection of Christ

 

            -- as David describes God here, He is the One who shows that we all may have confidence in Him – that we can trust Him – that we can depend on Him – on the earth and on the sea – He is the one who makes the mountains firm – He is the one who stills the noise of the waves – He is the one who blesses His people and calls them to salvation

            -- the whole earth sees the hand of God – in the rising of the sun and the setting of the same – in the days and seasons and the times marked out by the courses of the stars and heavenly bodies

            -- in the rain and sunshine that provide food for all creation -- His power and presence is seen and felt throughout all Creation – and our hearts and souls respond with songs of joy

 

            -- in verse 9, David points out that God cares for the land – there are some who believe that God just created the heavens and the earth and then stepped back, allowing them to run on their own without any interference or participation – I’ve seen many articles that say our founding fathers were deists like this – men who believed in God, but did not see His active involvement in the affairs of man

– but this verse says otherwise – David says that God cares for the land – that implies active involvement – that implies that He is aware of the condition of the land – as Jesus said, He sees the sparrows when they fall – God is aware of His creation at all times – and He is actively involved in taking care of that which He has created -- He pours out His providential blessings upon the earth and all its inhabitants

            -- when creation needs water, God provides the rain – when the grain in the field needs water, He provides it – so that He might take care of His creation and His people

            -- when we’re caught in the grip of exceptional droughts, God sends the rains as He wills – drenching the furrows and leveling the ridges – softening the hard and dry parched ground with showers and blessing the crops upon it

 

            -- as our Sustainer, God pours out blessings and abundance on His people

            -- David says here that God crowns the year with His bounty – this literally refers to a year where the abundance of God’s blessings is poured out on all creation – a time of abundant goodness and kindness and production

 

– when I was in school, we studied habitat management – taking care of the forests and the fields in such a way as to provide for the wildlife we were managing – we were taught how the wildlife depends on fruit and mast – the nuts and berries and other food that animals get from nature

– and we were told that nature is very fickle – some years, there is enough food and mast for the animals to survive – but other years, like this year here in south Georgia, times are hard – the drought affects the trees and the vegetation – and they don’t produce enough food for the animals to survive – in those years, we were told that we needed to step in and provide when nature couldn’t – so that the animals would persist

-- but every so often, there will be a year when all the trees produce an abundance of fruits and nuts – and when that happens, it is amazing to see -- it’s like the trees and bushes are just making as much fruit and mast as they are capable of making – I have seek oak trees with their limbs literally drooping on the ground from the number of acorns on the branches – I’ve seen fruit trees just bending over from all the fruit

-- we can’t predict those years – they happen as God wills them – and when they happen, all of creation rejoices – the animals gorge themselves on the goodness – they eat until they almost burst -- they are overfilled with the blessings of abundance – and in these years of abundance, the animals cache food and store up food for the future – it is just a time of super abundance – as the musical Porgy and Bess says, “It’s summertime and the living is easy”

-- that’s the picture – the image – that we are given in this verse – David describes for us a season of plenty – a season of super abundance – a season of extravagant fruitfulness and faithfulness – however, this season will never end – it will last for eternity

 

            -- in verse 12, we read that “the grasslands of the wilderness overflow” – and we picture that in our minds

            -- a lot of us dream of going over to the Holy Land – of seeing the nation of Israel and the land described in the Bible – we want to go and see where Jesus walked – we want to go and see all the places described for us in the Bible -- we want to go and see the grasslands of the wilderness – the green pastures beside the still waters we read of in the psalms

-- but ask anyone who has gone over there and they’ll tell you the same thing – there are no grasslands in the wilderness in Israel – there might be some areas that has a little grass where the dew and the runoff from the mountains provide enough water to support grass or around the streams – but most of the land is a dry and desolate area – this is the wilderness of the Bible

 

-- but this is not what it will always be – in the future, David reminds us that God will bless the land – that the grasslands of the wilderness will overflow – it will be as Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 35:1-2, “The desert and the parched land will be glad – the wilderness will rejoice and blossom…it will burst into bloom”

            -- God’s kingdom is always a kingdom of abundance – whether that is an abundance of crops of grain or meadows or fruit – or whether it is an abundance of God’s grace and mercy

            -- God brings beauty from ashes and creates grasslands in wilderness – and when we experience the abundance of His sustaining grace – we cannot help but respond with shouts of joy and praise

– this is a picture of the hope we have in Christ – of the hope for the future Kingdom – when we will dwell with God forever in times of overflowing goodness and abundance

            -- it is a promise to us who walk through the wilderness of this life that there is a better future in store – that although we may experience the dryness and dustiness of exceptional droughts from time to time, the rains will come – God will provide – His salvation and sovereignty and sustaining hand will see us through -- and we should praise God for this promise – for the hope we have in Him – who alone can provide this to us

            -- this Psalm reminds us that we should always look to God and praise Him because He is our Savior – our Sovereign – and our Sustainer

 

III.  Closing

            -- let me close this morning with yet another example of a difficult time from history – this time, it’s not a drought, but an economic depression – in 1893, things weren’t going well in America – we had come through the devastation of the Civil War, but we had settled into a depression that put one out of every five Americans out of work

            -- things were hard – the bills were bigger than the paychecks, for those lucky enough to have one – and no one had any hope of the future getting better

            -- it was during the summer of this year that Katharine Lee Bates, a young English teacher who had taken a summer teaching job in Colorado, left her home in Massachusetts and traveled across the country by train to her new home

            -- as she rode through the forests of the eastern U.S. – as she crossed the Mississippi River in all its greatness – as she saw the enormous wheat fields in Kansas – Bates saw hope for this nation who had been through so much

            -- it all came together when she took a trip to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, and looked out upon the countryside that lay before her

            -- she was only up there for 30 minutes, but she never forgot what she saw – she later remarked, “It was then and there, as I was looking out over the sea-like expanse of fertile country spreading away so far under those ample skies, that the opening lines of the hymn floated into my mind”

            -- that night in her hotel room, Bates wrote a letter to her friends in England and remarked that countries such as England had failed because, while they may have been “great,” they had not been “good” – she added that “unless we are willing to crown our greatness with goodness, and our bounty with brotherhood, our beloved America may go the same way”

            -- based on her experiences on that trip, she wrote a poem that was published in a church newspaper for their 4^th of July edition two years later – it was eventually put to music, and the beloved hymn, “America the Beautiful,” was born with its amazing opening stanza:

 

            “O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!”

 

         -- in this hymn, Bates captured what David was expressing so vividly in this psalm – an attitude of appreciation and gratitude for our nation’s extraordinary physical beauty and abundance – and a recognition of God’s hand in our nation’s history

            -- through God and through His abundant blessings, Bates proclaimed that we could overcome anything – from economic depression to civil wars to exceptional droughts

            -- the same thing that David is saying in this psalm – through God – who is our Savior – our Sovereign – and our Sustainer – we enjoy His many blessings and we look forward in eager anticipation for the end of days – when the trumpet will sound and Christ will return – and we join together in praise with all people from all nations to worship the King in Zion

 

            -- even though, we find ourselves on this side of the promise – even though we still walk through a land that is affected by the fall and that still experiences the consequences of sin – even though we are not yet experiencing the abundance of the everlasting kingdom -- let us be inspired and remember to praise God for His manifold blessings – for His hand that protects – and for His Son who saves and sustains

            -- for our God is a Great God – and it is to Him that we owe all our praise and worship – forever and ever -- Amen

            -- let us pray

 

------------------------------------------------

1 Modified from illustration at http://www.chaimbentorah.com/2017/02/word-study-former-rains-%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94/?print=print

2 Sermon Illustration modified from David Holwick sermon, “Bounty and Abundance,” https://www.holwick.com/sermons/Holwick_2013.html?Psalm65BountyandAbundance.html

 

SERMON: WRESTLING WITH GOD

 

NAYLOR COMMUNITY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Genesis 32:22-32 [read Genesis 32:22-32]

 

Genesis 32:22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

 

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

 

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

 

“Jacob,” he answered.

 

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

 

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

 

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

 

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

 

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

 

            -- on the anniversary of Prince’s death earlier this week, I posted the famous opening line to his song, “Let’s Go Crazy” – “Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life” – and that’s really what it’s all about

            -- and even though Prince pointed out in his song something that all of us as believers in Christ would agree with – that life is forever – that there is an afterlife that we are looking forward to – a world of never ending happiness – we still find ourselves just trying to get by in this life day by day

            -- every person on this planet – every person in this country – and every person in this room is just trying to get through this thing called life

            -- we’re all just trying to find our way, the best we can – and sometimes the way is easy – sometimes the path is smooth – but other times, the road is rocky and difficult – and it is a chore to make it through

            -- sometimes we find ourselves on these rocky and difficult paths because we live in a fallen world – a world that has been cursed and corrupted by sin since the fall of man in the garden of Eden

            -- but sometimes we find ourselves walking the difficult path because we have strayed from the path God wants us on – from the way God would have us go – we try to do this thing called life on our own and in our way and in our own strength – and it never goes well

            -- and there are times in our lives when God steps in – through His prevenient grace – the grace that goes before – the grace that prevents us from getting too far away from Him – God steps in and points us in another direction

            -- as Kim so poignantly learned while driving the wrong way down a country road one way, God allows U-Turns – which is what she read on the sign at a little country church that finally convinced her to turn around

            -- but sometimes, even when God sends a sign – we ignore Him – and because He loves us so much, He manifests Himself in our path – using people and places and events to get our attention and help us to see Him and to see the path we should be on

 

            -- I had a friend who was running from God once – she was in a bad place in life – drinking – doing drugs – having random hookups – but God was calling her – and she knew it – she saw the sign – she heard His voice – but she kept on running – she chose to go in another direction

            -- but God stepped in and got her attention in a major way – she wrecked her vehicle in a single car accident one night – she actually flipped it – she shouldn’t have survived – but she got out without a scratch

            -- I’m not saying God caused the accident, but I do believe He saved her life that night –He used that accident to finally get her to see where her bad choices were leading her and what was going to happen to her if she continued on the path she was following

            -- she wrestled with God’s call for a little while longer, but finally gave in – she turned her life around – she turned to Jesus in faith for the forgiveness of her sins – and she’s a pastor here in south Georgia today

 

            -- when we’re heading down a wrong path, we often find ourselves wrestling with God and with His call to turn around and come to Him – just like my friend – and just like Jacob in this story from Genesis 32

 

II.  Background on Jacob’s Life

            -- it seems like Jacob began wrestling with God early in his life – he always wanted to go his way and not God’s way – and he wrestled with God and he wrestled with his parents and he wrestled with those around him -- if you look at the story of his life from the Book of Genesis, you can see that quite clearly

-- it all started when Jacob was born -- Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah -- the grandson of Abraham and Sarah

            -- now, Isaac and Rebekah had difficulty conceiving -- but after twenty years of marriage, God blessed them and Rebekah became pregnant with twins

            -- apparently it was not an easy pregnancy -- the Bible says that the babies jostled within her and she cried out to the Lord seeking answers as to why this was happening to her -- in response, God told her that the descendants of the two sons she was carrying would become two mighty nations -- that they would be separated from each other and that one would be stronger than the other and the older would serve the younger

            -- her difficult pregnancy was the result of her sons struggling and wrestling with each other in her womb -- and she was told this struggle would continue throughout their lives and be carried on by their descendants

            -- and, as God had prophesied, when the time came for the babies to be born, they came out of the womb in the midst of conflict -- Esau, Jacob’s older brother, came out first, the stronger of the two, with Jacob grasping his heel in a portrait of who he was to become

            -- from the very moment of his birth, Jacob tried to grasp that which was not his own -- and he used any means possible to do so, including lying, cheating, and deceiving -- in fact, that's what a literal translation of the name Jacob means -- "he deceives" -- and over and over again, we read in the Bible of how Jacob’s deceit and scheming led him into trouble

 

            -- when Jacob and Esau were young men, Jacob connived a way to get Esau’s birthright -- the birthright belonged to the older son -- it included the family name and titles and a chief portion of the inheritance, "but it was more than just a title to the physical assets of a family -- it was also a spiritual position" -- and in the case of the people of God, "the birthright was the one through whom the covenant promise" made to Abraham and Isaac would be realized [http://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-genesis-25-29-34.htm]

            -- but Jacob’s brother Esau didn't care about all of that -- he considered himself a self-made man -- he didn’t want to be seen as needing anyone else’s help in life -- so, the Bible tells us that Esau "despised his birthright" -- he didn't want it -- he didn't care about the promise of God -- in fact, it appears that he didn't care about God at all – he wrestled with God, too – but in the end, he ended up rejecting God and going his own way -- in Hebrews 12:16, Esau is described as "godless,” which is the state of all of us who turn away from God’s offer of grace and mercy and forgiveness

            -- Esau’s only concern was in getting what he wanted the moment he wanted it -- and when Esau came back from a hunt famished and found Jacob cooking a stew, he let himself be deceived and tricked by Jacob and willingly gave up his birthright in exchange for a bowl of stew

 

            -- the struggle between the twins came to head when Isaac was dying and it was time for him to give his blessings to his son -- as the oldest son, Esau would receive that blessing, which was all he had left since he had been tricked out of his birthright by Jacob

            -- a blessing in the Bible was a tangible blessing -- it carried with it great power and changed the lives of those who were blessed -- the blessing was considered the most important thing a father could pass on to his children

            -- Esau should have been the one to receive the blessing from Isaac, but Jacob and his mother Rebekah conspired against Esau and came up with an elaborate scheme that involved covering Jacob in goat hair and having him wear Esau's clothing so that Isaac thought Jacob was Esau

-- in this disguise, Jacob ended up with the blessing from Isaac -- but he got a lot more in the bargain -- when Esau found out what Jacob had done, he swore to kill Jacob -- so Jacob fled the land of Canaan and went east to the land where his mother was from -- Jacob’s deceit and trickery caused him to run away from home in fear for his life

            -- Jacob ended up in the home of his uncle Laban -- Rebekah's brother -- where he fell head-over-heels in love with his cousin Rachel -- he ends up marrying both Rachel and her sister Leah as he continues his deceitful ways in Laban’s household -- over and over again, he gets into conflict with father-in-law Laban because of his deceit and scheming -- eventually, the conflict reached the point where Jacob realizes it’s time to run away again

            -- as he’s struggling with the question of where to go now, God speaks to Jacob and tells him it is time for him to return to the land of Canaan -- the only problem with returning to Canaan is that it means he’ll have to face Esau and the trouble he left behind

            -- in the first part of Chapter 32, Jacob does what God says and heads home with his wife and family and all his possessions -- but before he gets to Canaan, he learns that Esau is coming with 400 soldiers to meet him, presumably to make good on the promise from Esau to kill him

-- Jacob gets scared and separates his family and possessions into two separate camps, in the hope that at least one camp will survive if Esau attacks the other -- and he comes up with a plan to turn away Esau’s wrath by bribing him with a gift of livestock and other possessions

-- as this passage opens, Jacob is at the ford on the river Jabbok and is getting ready to enter the land of Canaan -- he sends his wives and family across the river with all his possessions and has them split into two camps, each heading in different directions, while he stays behind to contemplate his situation

 

III.  Jacob Wrestles with God

 

-- so, let’s pick up the story of Jacob in the first part of verse 24 [read Genesis 32:24a]

 

Genesis 32:24a -- So Jacob was left alone

 

-- for the first time in a long time, Jacob was alone -- there was no one there with him -- no people -- no family -- no possessions -- nothing but him -- standing there on the bank of the Jabbok River

-- the Bible doesn’t tell us why Jacob chose to be alone that night -- perhaps he wanted to prepare himself for his meeting with Esau -- perhaps he wanted a moment of peace before conflict came -- perhaps he wanted to meditate or spend time with God -- we don’t know for sure, but we do know that being alone is sometimes the best place to be

-- you see, when we are alone, then there is nothing between us and God -- and it is in these moments of aloneness that we can experience God and hear from Him in ways we simply cannot in our regular lives that are so filled with noise and busyness and chaos

-- being alone helps us find and hear God

 

-- Jesus modeled that for us in the gospels when we read that He left the crowds and the disciples behind and went up on the mountainside by Himself to spend time with the Father

-- and we see that same spiritual discipline of getting alone with God practiced by the early church fathers and spiritual leaders throughout history -- getting alone with God is something that is highly encouraged in the Bible if we are to be who He has called us to be

 

            -- this biblical truth still resonates with us today – we talked about this in our sermon series on the spiritual disciplines and the spiritual gifts -- in order to fully engage with God -- in order to fully experience Him in the depth of your soul -- you must be alone with Him -- you must put yourself in a place where you are alone and quiet and still and there is nothing between you and Him -- a place where you can hear His small still voice -- a place where you can experience His presence and nothing else -- a place where there is nothing but you and God

-- that is the heart of the instruction in Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God”

 

-- when you are struggling in life -- when you are struggling with a decision or with spiritual issues or with anything else – when we’re wrestling with a decision or with trying to find a way to do this thing called life -- it can be helpful to follow the pattern of Jesus and Jacob

-- find a place where you can get alone so you can seek answers and peace -- comfort and blessings -- from being in the presence of God without anyone or anything else to distract you

 

            -- read verse 24 again [read Genesis 32:24]

 

            Genesis 32:24 -- “So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak”

 

            -- now who is this man that came to Jacob while he was alone? -- where did He come from? -- and why did he wrestle with him?

            -- as we’ll see later on in this passage, this man was no mere mortal -- this man was God Himself -- God appeared to Jacob on the banks of the Jabbok River in human form

-- an appearance of God in human form in the Old Testament is what we call a theophany [spell theophany]

-- a theophany is the physical appearance of Jesus in the form of a man in the Bible before the incarnation and the birth of Jesus in the New Testament -- usually, when Jesus appears before men in this way, the Bible writers refer to Him in the text as “the Angel of the Lord” -- if you ever run across that phrase -- “The Angel of the Lord” -- in the Bible, that’s a reference to God Himself in human form

-- for instance, when God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, it says in Exodus 3:2 that this was “the Angel of the Lord” who appeared to him in the flames of fire – and further on in that passage, it says that when Moses went over to the bush, that God spoke to him – it’s obvious from that passage and many others in the Old Testament that the Angel of the Lord is the appearance of God in the flesh – and since the Father is described as being spirit – this can only be Jesus

-- so, here in Genesis 32:24, we read that a man appeared to Jacob while he was all alone on the banks of the Jabbok River and wrestled with him until dawn – this man was the Angel of the Lord – this man was the preincarnate Jesus – this man was God

 

            -- we’ve talked about this a little in our introduction to this passage, but what does it mean to wrestle with God?

-- when we say we’re wrestling with something, it means that we’re struggling with something in our life -- usually a decision or a direction or something else that we are going over in our mind and trying to figure out what we should do

-- to wrestle with God means the same thing, but in this case, it means that we are struggling with God about something spiritual

 

-- generally, we find ourselves wrestling with God in three main ways

            -- first, a lot of us have wrestled with God during a time of spiritual doubt or spiritual drought -- a time when we’re questioning your faith -- when we’re questioning the truth of what you believe -- when we’re just not sure anymore and we have to make a decision as to whether to continue to believe and trust in God or not -- we wrestle with the reality of God and of spiritual things in our minds

            -- another way we wrestle with God is when we’re facing a difficult task or trial -- maybe things are going really bad -- maybe you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom and you just don’t know how you can continue -- you don't know what to do -- you don't know where to go -- you see no way out and the promises of God seem far away – you’re facing a difficult and rocky path -- and in that moment of doubt and despair and brokenness, we find ourselves wrestling with our faith and whether we trust that God is actually capable of seeing us through – that there is light and hope on the other side of what we’re facing

-- finally, a major time we wrestle with God is when He is calling us to change direction in lives -- it might be a situation where He is leading you and telling you to go somewhere that you don’t want to go -- or maybe He’s telling you to do something or to quit some sin or habit or activity, and you don’t want to do it -- and, so, we’re struggling with the decision -- we’re struggling with accepting God’s will and Lordship in your life

 

-- ask any pastor what it felt like when they were called into the ministry -- and I guarantee you that most of them will tell you it was a time they felt they were wrestling with God -- it was a struggle whether they were going to follow God down that path or continue doing their own thing -- and that happens with a lot of spiritual decisions

-- that’s what we mean when we say someone is wrestling with God -- it’s those moments in life when our will comes against God’s will -- when we have to choose whether we’re going to submit to Him as our Lord and Savior or whether we’re going to do what we want to do regardless of God’s command

 

            -- that's where we find Jacob that night on the banks of the Jabbok River -- he was coming to grips with who he was and he was seeing that he was not who he should be -- all his life he had been a deceiver and a schemer and cheat -- and now he’s about to face the consequences for his actions – because Esau is coming – and Esau promised him that the next time he saw him, he was going to kill Jacob

-- it’s time for Jacob to face the music – so, we see him standing there on the bank of the Jabbok River – he’s wrestling with who he is and what he has done -- at the same time, he finds himself wrestling with God as God is calling him to fulfill his birthright -- to fulfill the promise given to Abraham -- to become the type of person who God wants him to be – as God is calling for Jacob to change direction in life

-- and that’s why we read that Jacob wrestled with God on the riverbank until daybreak --he was working out all his frustration -- all his character flaws -- all his deception and lying and cheating -- he was re-living what he had done to Esau and was having to make a decision as to how he was going to deal with the consequences of the past and live the rest of his life from this point on -- whether he was going to continue to be who he had been or whether he was going to allow God to change him for the better

 

            -- verse 25 [read Genesis 32:25]

 

Genesis 32:25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.

 

            -- what an interesting verse -- the Man – the Angel of the Lord -- God in the flesh -- wrestled with Jacob but could not overcome him -- what is this verse saying? -- what are we supposed to get from this? -- that Jacob was stronger than God?

            -- no, what this is saying is that Jacob was fighting God with everything he had and he was refusing to submit himself to the Lord -- God was telling Jacob what He wanted Jacob to do and showing him who He wanted Jacob to become and Jacob was saying, "No -- I don't want that -- I want something else – I want to go my own way – I want to live my life how I want to live it"

            -- some people are tough cases, and it takes a lot to break them -- it takes a lot to get them to surrender their will to God’s – and that was Jacob – he was refusing to give in to God

 

-- God was wrestling with Jacob to bring him to submission -- to bend his will into alignment with God’s will -- God was wrestling with Jacob to get him to quit trusting in his own strength and scheming and plans and to trust and obey God in all things

            -- as Jacob wrestled with the Man by the river that night, Jacob thought he was fighting for his physical life -- in reality, this was a fight about his spiritual life -- Jacob’s body and will were strong -- and he fought with God until daybreak -- he refused to give up

-- eventually, God touched his thigh and put it out of joint -- touching the thigh was to humble him and make him powerless and aware of his own weakness -- at any point during the fight, God could have done that

-- God could have destroyed Jacob at any moment with just a touch -- He could have reached out and broken Jacob’s body and spirit and will -- but God didn’t want to overpower Jacob in that way -- He wanted Jacob to voluntarily submit and yield to Him in humbleness and faith, the same way He wants us to come to Him on our own free will

 

            -- but God did what He had to do to get Jacob to the point of decision -- you see, God had a plan for Jacob's life that was greater than Jacob’s plan -- He had a plan for Jacob's life that would affect the spiritual life of all creation for all eternity

-- the Messiah – the Savior of the world – was going to come through Jacob -- but to make this possible, Jacob had to change -- he had to submit -- he had to follow God and God’s will -- he had to change who he was -- so, finally, God reached out and touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of socket

            -- God will do what He has to do to reach us and to change us into the people He wants us to be -- and if that means we have to suffer pain in our lives -- if that means we have to go through trial and tribulation in order to turn to God like Jacob or grow more mature in our faith, then God will do it

            -- He will never force His will upon us, but He will lead us to the point where our choice becomes clear -- just as He did with Jacob here in this passage

 

            -- verse 26 [read vs. 26-29]

 

Genesis 32:26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

 

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

 

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”

 

“Jacob,” he answered.

 

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

 

29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

 

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

 

            -- we read that the Man told Jacob to let Him go, because it was almost daybreak -- God will not contend with us forever -- He will wrestle with us and lead us to the point of decision, but eventually we have to make a choice whether to follow Him or not

            -- when God showed Jacob his true weakness by touching his hip, Jacob reached that point of decision -- he finally submitted to God and realized that true blessings don’t come through our own scheming and planning -- they don't come through deceit and cheating – true blessings only come from God – and anything else is a temporary façade

 

-- when God broke Jacob’s reliance on self, his fear of failure in life gave way to faith -- by surrendering to God, Jacob realized that he had actually won -- by putting his faith and trust in God for his life and his future, Jacob realized that he was going to be okay -- that things would work out -- and, so, Jacob clings to God and won’t let Him go

-- these verses reminded me of the way Mary Magdalene held onto Jesus after the resurrection and refused to let Him go -- she was so in love with Him and so happy to see Him again that she just could not bear to be parted from Him -- she grabbed Him and held Him close and refused to let Him go until Jesus finally had to see, “release Me, for I have yet to ascend to the Father”

 

-- when you come to know God in a real and personal way, you can’t help but hold onto to Him with all that you have and all that you are -- Jacob had known God for twenty years, but God had never reigned in his life until this moment -- and now Jacob is holding on to God for dear life

-- as Dave Guzik put it, “Jacob was reduced to the place where all he could do was to hold on to the LORD with everything he had. Jacob could not fight anymore, but he could hold on. That is not a bad place to be.”

 

            -- Jacob says he won’t let God go until He blesses him -- and God looks at Jacob and asks a curious question, "What is your name?"

            -- several years ago, we had a Major who was working temporarily in our squadron -- he came through the Environmental section one day and walked up to me and said, “Who are you?” -- I told him who I was and what I did -- and he turned from me to my coworker and said, “and who are you?”

            -- it was all rather strange -- but it was his way of getting to know us -- not just our names -- but who we were -- what we did -- how we contributed to the squadron and the military mission

            -- God looks at Jacob here and asks him that same question -- “Who are you? -- What is your name?” -- and Jacob is forced to reply, “My name is deceit -- my name is schemer -- my name is heel-grabber” -- it was God’s way of getting Jacob to confess who he had been -- it was God’s way of getting the truth into the open -- of leading Jacob to the point of true repentance so that forgiveness could flow

 

            -- and as soon as Jacob confessed his past sins by telling God his name, God poured out His grace into Jacob’s life -- God said, “that is who you were, but your name will no longer be Jacob -- instead you will be Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome”

            -- when Jacob wrestled with God and eventually submitted his will to God, Jacob began the process of repentance and forgiveness and sanctification -- he began to change into the person God had called him to become

-- and, as a result, God’s blessing was to change his name to reflect this spiritual change in Jacob’s life -- he goes from being "the deceiver" to becoming "Israel" -- one who struggled with God and who is on the way to righteousness

            -- with that blessing, Jacob was no more -- Israel had been born -- a new name -- a new life -- a new person -- a new future

 

-- in verse 29, Jacob asks God, “tell me your name” -- this is significant, because at this point, Jacob was desiring more of God, not more from God like he had in his earlier life -- he wants to know who God is

            -- but God doesn't give His name to Jacob -- the name by which we know God comes through experience -- and God didn't want Jacob to define Him only through this one event

-- God wanted Jacob's walk with Him to be one of revelation and discovery, not one of tradition -- He didn't want Jacob to only know Him as the God of Abraham and Isaac, but to come to know Him as his own personal God

            -- in my own life I have known God as provider, protector, savior, king, lord, leader, creator, and many more -- it was up to Jacob to come to know God in a personal way as God led him down the path of righteousness -- just as it is up to us to learn who God is as He leads us each down our own paths

 

            -- verse 30 [read vs. 30-32]

 

Genesis 32:30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

 

31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

 

            -- Jacob recognized this site as a holy place -- as the place where he wrestled with God and saw Him face-to-face and lived -- and as the sun rose above him, Jacob crossed the Jabbok River and began a new life with God

            -- one thing to note here is that as Jacob left, he limped because of the hip that was stricken -- although Jewish scholars say God eventually healed him, we are not told this in the Bible, and we have to assume that Jacob limped the rest of his life -- a physical reminder of an inward and spiritual grace that changed him forever -- and a testimony to all who saw him

            -- we always bear the scars of our paths in life -- some are physical, like Jacob's, while others are hidden and emotional or spiritual scars -- but they serve as reminders to us of God's presence and of His grace and that He doesn't give up on us when we fall and fail and head the wrong direction in life

 

IV.  Closing

            -- although Jacob began as a deceiver -- although he cheated and lied and did whatever he could to get ahead -- still God did not give up on him -- and that's encouraging to me -- because if God can reach down and change a deceiver into an overcomer like Jacob -- if He can reach down and change a murderer into an evangelist like Paul -- if He can reach down and change a denier of the faith into an apostle and elder like Simon Peter -- then He can reach down and change me into the person He wants me to be, too -- He can do the same for you

            -- the path to blessings comes through repentance and forgiveness -- it comes with a searching of the soul and wrestling in the dark of the night -- it comes when we finally can say and mean the words Jesus spoke in prayer that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will, but thine be done”

 

            -- as we leave here this morning, I want you to take a moment and consider where you are with God -- are you where you need to be? -- are you the person God wants you to be? -- are you struggling and wrestling with Him about your faith or about a decision or direction He wants you to take?

            -- let me encourage you to get alone -- to find a place where you can be quiet and alone with God -- whether that’s high on a mountainside or by the banks of a river or in your quiet place at home -- find that place and cry out to God -- wrestle with Him if you must -- but seek Him and find Him and come to know Him and obey Him as Jacob finally did

            -- let us pray