Lori Graham | Growing Pains |

We all long for healthy relationships, but often struggle with our own flaws, fears, and failures. 

Through the story of Jacob, we see that God specializes in transforming imperfect people. Jacob spent much of his life striving and relying on himself, yet God saw beyond his mistakes to the person he was becoming. 

This message reminds us that true transformation comes not from trying harder, but from surrendering more. While we see our limitations, God sees our potential, and He is still in the business of taking people from Jacob to Israel. 

Reference: Genesis 32:24–30

Enjoy listening!

Transcript

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Welcome, New Life Church. How's everybody doing? Isn't it great to be in the house of the Lord? There is nothing like it, like being all together, brothers and sisters, and worshiping our God. Amen. We are in a series right now called My Family and Me. And when Pastor Selvin started off this series, he said it reminded him of all of the families that we used to see on television back in the 80s. All of the 80s sitcoms. So Pastor Selvin and I have that in common that we watched a lot of television growing up in the 80s. And Pastor Selvin started the message. His first message was Family Matters. And we all remembered that sitcom with Steve Urkel. And he mentioned other sitcoms like Family Ties and Full House. And it got me thinking about sitcoms that I would watch in the 80s. And one of the ones that I watched a lot of in the 80s, and maybe you'll remember it, is Growing Pains. Anybody remember Growing Pains? Yes, it had a Canadian in it, Alan Thick. He played the dad. And of course, the star of that show was Kirk Cameron. You know, he was a real heartthrob back then. Ladies had a crush on Kirk Cameron, and I will not say whether or not I had any teen magazines in my house with his face on it, but I'm just saying Kirk Cameron actually went on to become a Christian while he was shooting that show. And he went on to star in and produce all kinds of Christian content. He was in Left Behind and Fireproof, all kinds of great uh shows and movies. And that was Kurt Cameron. But I love the title, Growing Pains, because we all know that family business can be messy, right? Now don't elbow the person you're sitting next to, don't look at them. But we know that family life can be messy business. Family life is messy because these are the relationships that we have with the people we are closest to. Often the people that we live under the same roof with, the people that know us most intimately so they know what buttons to push. Am I right? And maybe you're feeling a little bit discouraged today because of family dynamics happening in your house. But I just want to say that you are not alone. That no family is perfect, that every family has its share of drama. I mean, we just have to look at the families in the Bible for drama, right? And we just look at the very, very first family in the Bible, Adam and Eve. I mean, they had this blissful existence for like a second, and then Eve starts to fall for lies of the enemy. She starts to doubt God's goodness. She deceives Adam. Adam is confronted by God. He panics, he throws her under the bus. They feel shame over their disobedience, they get evicted from the Garden of Eden. They go on to have two children, Cain and Abel, model children. Cain ends up murdering Abel. And this is all in the first four chapters of the Bible. I mean, chapter one, God creates the earth, he creates man. Chapter two, he creates woman. Chapter three, they mess up. Chapter four, the kids are killing each other, literally. And they say the Bible is boring. I mean, it is anything but. And they're not the only ones. We look at the story of Abraham and Sarah. You know, God promised that Abraham would be the father of a great nation. But Abraham and Sarah, they took matters into their own hands. And we know how that went. Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham. They had Ishmael, their firstborn, and God said, that's not how I intended things to be. I mean, we look at the story of Joseph. Joseph, he was totally overlooked by all of his brothers. He was hated by his brothers, sold into slavery by his brothers. Look at the story of David. David overlooked by his father and all of his brothers. Look at Jesus. I mean, Jesus was perfect. He was the Messiah. And his brothers and sisters didn't think that he was. You know, and sometimes I wonder, could you imagine what it must have been like growing up with Jesus as your older brother? I mean, really, just imagine what that must have been like. You know, there are family squabbles happening, and someone goes, hey, Jesus started it, and Mary's like, No, he didn't. You know, Jesus stole my sandals. No, he didn't. Jesus is perfect. Why can't you be more like your older brother Jesus? Right? Imagine how tough that must have been growing up with Jesus as your older brother. I mean, we do know that at least two of Jesus' brothers became believers because they ended up writing two books in the Bible, but this was after he died and was crucified. But talk about wild family dynamics. And some people say that, you know, there are certain relationships that we can have that are like spiritual sandpaper, right? They just rub us the wrong way. Anyone relate? Mm-hmm. And we can think, like, why does God allow this? Why, Lord, do you allow this? But sometimes the question I find myself asking more often is, why do I still get caught up in the conflict and the drama, even though I feel like I should know better? Why? The Apostle Paul said it best in Romans 7 when he said, And I know that nothing good lives in me. That is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what's right, but I can't. I want to do what's good, but I don't. I don't want to do what's wrong, but I do it anyway. And maybe you can relate. Have you ever felt that way? You want to do what's good, but you don't. You say the wrong thing. You overreact. You respond with a sharp tongue, with sarcasm. You lose your temper, you're judgmental, maybe you gossip. And sometimes all of that can make us feel frustrated. You know, we think, oh, I'll try harder tomorrow. But sometimes that frustration can turn into shame, maybe even cause us to pull away from God a little bit, and it's this cycle that repeats. And I think welcome to the process of sanctification, right? We all know that when we receive Christ, we receive Christ, we go from having head knowledge of who he is to having an actual relationship with him. That is salvation, and that happens in an instant. We accept Jesus, we make him Lord and Savior of our lives, we confess with our mouths, we believe in our hearts, and we are saved. We are saved. He has a plan and purpose for our lives, he has a future home in us for us in heaven. And I think of myself when I developed that relationship with Jesus. I shared my testimony here a year ago, last June, how I thought this is gonna be great. Like I have Jesus in my life now. Thank you, Jesus. It's like having you in the passenger seat of my car, like we'll just go everywhere together. Jesus, you just follow me and you bless my life. It's gonna be great. Until God convicted me, saying, Yeah, I think we have that a little bit backwards. Right? You follow me, not the other way around. And sometimes I wonder if that's really what keeps people from surrendering their lives. It's this idea of giving up control. I remember I thought I was gonna walk around being like, praise the Lord, and hallelujah. I don't know why I thought I was going to develop a southern accent, but you are still you, complete with your personality. You're still you. You know, yes, God takes us from death to life, but He also wants to make us into who He created us to be. Amen. And that is sanctification. It's the process of becoming like Jesus, and it is a lifelong process, it is a refining process. I love it. Leighton Ford said, God loves us the way we are, but he loves us too much to leave us that way. I love that. God loves us just as we are. There's nothing that we could do to make him love us more, and there is nothing that we could do to make him love us less. He loves us just as we are, but he has a plan and a purpose for us. A.W. Tozer said it this way: He says, God takes us as we are, and he makes us what we could never be without him. He takes us just as we are, but he makes us what we could never be without him, because in and of ourselves we're limited. But with God, all things are possible. Amen. He can do immeasurably more than anything we can think or imagine. The Bible says that he can do exceedingly and abundantly beyond, but we go through this refining process, and sometimes it can hurt. And it's like, how does God take us through this process of sanctification? How does this happen? Well, sometimes it's through our circumstances, but more often than not, it's through our relationships, right? God tests us with the people that are closest to us. He gives us lots of opportunity to see if we're gonna respond in a godly way or in an ungodly way. And when we look at the source of conflict, I think most people believe that conflict is something that begins somewhere out there in the world. And yes, it does. But most people believe that the source of conflict is always out there, that it occurs somewhere in the world and it has this sort of trickle-down effect that it trickles down into our societies, our social circles, our families, and then eventually to us. But more often than not, the source of conflict happens on the inside, inside an individual, in the heart. And then it's what goes on inside of us that has an impact on our families, on our friends, on our social circles, on our society, and so on. It's like someone taking a pebble and putting it in a pond and seeing that ripple effect. So we need to examine our hearts, the sources of our hurt. And Pastor Selvin mentioned that last week when we looked at the story of Joseph. That there are certain things, yes, that we inherit because of our family of origin. Our circumstances, for sure, they change us, but we also change the people around us. Sources of conflict when we look at them. Yes, we have the world, we have an enemy, a very real enemy, but we also have our own sinful nature. But fortunately, we have a loving God and Father who reaches down and steps into our hurt, our pain, and our brokenness. That God takes us as we are. He takes us as we are, and he makes us what we could never be without him. And today we're gonna look at the story of transformation, one of the stories of one of many in the Bible, the story of Jacob. Now talk about growing pains. So we're gonna look at the story of Jacob. Jacob was a very complex character, and just to give you some context, you know, we have Abraham and Sarah. So God promised that Abraham would be the father of a great nation. Abraham and Sarah wait and wait and wait, and they finally give birth to that long-awaited son Isaac. Isaac marries Rebekah. And then Isaac and Rebekah have children. They have Jacob and Esau. They are twins, and Esau is the firstborn. And when we look at the culture of that time, it said that the firstborn would be the one that would inherit the birthright and the blessing. So, what does that mean? Well, the firstborn would become the heir, they would become the leader of the family, they would receive a double portion of the inheritance. So, yes, there were material benefits, but there were also spiritual benefits. And because of the Abrahamic covenant, the blessing, the spiritual blessing would pass down through that son that would obtain the birthright and the blessing. And so, even though Esau is the firstborn, God has another plan. And we often see that in the Bible. I mean, just go back one generation, Abraham and Sarah, they had Ishmael. He was technically the firstborn, but God said, mm-mm, you didn't do it my way. So the blessing is going to go to Isaac. This is the son that I had promised. So God has another plan. And it starts when Jacob and Esau are still in Rebekah's womb. The Bible says that Rebecca feels the twins jostling within her. And so she's wondering what is happening. So she goes to inquire of God, and this is what God says in Genesis 25, 23. The Lord said to her, Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger. Society says this, but the sovereign Lord says something else. And we see that repeated throughout the Bible. God says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts, and my ways higher than your ways. We pick up the story. When Rebecca gives birth to these twins, the first to come out is red, and it says his whole body is like a hairy garment. So they name him Harry. Not Harry, Harry. That's what Esau means. Literally, Esau means Harry. And then after that, his brother comes out with his hand grasping at Esau's heel. So they name him Heelcatcher. Heelcatcher. That's what Jacob means. It means to trip someone up, it means deceiver. So here you have Harry and Heelcatcher. Great pair. Harry and Deceiver. And it says Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. And as the boys grew up, Esau became this skillful hunter. He became this man of the open country. So Isaac had an affinity for Esau. Whereas Jacob tended to be more mild-mannered. And he would hang around with the tents, presumably where the women would hang out. He would cook with mom. And so Rebecca developed this affinity for Jacob. And as the boys grew up, even though God had promised that Jacob would inherit the birthright, Jacob decides to take matters into his own hands. And we pick up the story in Genesis 25, verse 29. It says, Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. And he said to Jacob, Quick, let me have some of that red stew. I'm famished. Jacob replied, First, sell me your birthright. He says, Look, I'm about to die, Esau said. What good is a birthright to me? But Jacob said, Swear to me first. So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Fair trade. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread, some lentil stew. He ate, he drank, he got up and left. And Esau despised his birthright. Now we might hear that story and think, aha. So that's where Jacob gets his name from, deceiver. He deceived Isaac, deceived Esau rather, out of his birthright. But when we look at the story a little more closely, I don't know. Esau in this situation was a willing participant. Right? He comes in, he's famished, Jacob says, Hey, I got an idea, a trade, lentil stew for your birthright. What do you say? And Esau goes, Great. He didn't care about his birthright. All he cared about were his immediate needs. He was so short-sighted, he didn't care about his birthright. So he said, Sure, trade's on. And Jacob took the birthright. So there was no deception really in this story, but there will be deception when it comes to the blessing. Some 40 years later, now Isaac is 137 years old. He's going blind, he can barely see, and he thinks, before I die, I want to confer the blessing on my son. But not the son that God has chosen. The son that I choose. Now, if anybody would understand, you would think it would be Isaac. Because the same thing happened to him. And so he says to Esau, he says, Listen, son, why don't you go out into the open country, hunt some of that game that you know I like, make some stew, bring it into me, and when you do, I will give you my blessing. And Esau says, Great. Well, Rebecca overhears this and she thinks, Oh my goodness, what is my husband going to do? So she grabs Jacob and she says, Jacob, we need a plan here because your dad is going to give Esau the blessing. And Rebecca springs into action. She says, I know what we're gonna do. I am going to whip up a stew just the way your dad likes. I know how he likes it. And what you're gonna do is you're gonna put on your brother's clothes. You're gonna go in, give him the stew, and he's gonna think it's you, and he'll give you the blessing. And Jacob's like, Mom, that's a crazy idea. That's a crazy idea. My brother, he's a hairy dude. Like, if dad touches me, he's gonna know that it's not Esau. And she says, I've got that taken care of. We're gonna get some goat skin. I'm gonna put that on your hands, I'm gonna put it on the soft part of your neck. So if he does touch you, he will think that you are Esau. Anyone still think the Bible's boring? This is like a Netflix series. So Jacob is like, okay, let's do it. Jacob goes in to see his father Isaac, and we pick up the story in Genesis 27, verse 18. He says, He went to his father and said, My father. Yes, my son, he answered, Who is it? Jacob said to his father, I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing. Isaac was puzzled. He asked his son, Well, how did you find it so quickly, my son? The Lord your God gave me success. So not only is Jacob lying here, but he's involving God in his deception. He's using the name of the Lord in vain. Then Isaac said to Jacob, Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not. Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands, the hands are the hands of Esau. He didn't recognize them, for they were hairy like those of his brother Esau, so he proceeded to bless him. But he still doubts. He says, Are you really my son Esau? He asked. I am, he replied. And then he said, My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing. Jacob brought it to him and he ate, and he brought him some wine and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, Come here, my son, and kiss me. So he went to him and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of the field that the Lord has blessed. May God give you heaven's dew and earth's richness, an abundance of grain and new wine. A nation serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be Lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed. So he gives him his blessing. But what about Esau? Esau comes in now from the open field with the game, with the stew, and there he is, ready to see his father. And when Isaac realizes what has happened, the Bible says Isaac trembled. And we have to wonder whether Isaac trembled because he realizes that Jacob deceived him, or if it's because he tried to deceive God and it didn't work. In any case, Esau is mad. Like that is an understatement. Esau is so angry that he vows listen, once our father dies, I'm going to hunt you down, brother, and I am going to kill you. When Rebecca hears that, she's so worried about Jacob, so she says, Listen, Jacob, you have to flee. I'm worried for your safety. Go back to my land where I'm from, the country of Padan Aram, and go live with my brother Laban, your uncle. Stay there until the coast is clear, until Esau calms down and all this blows over, and then I will send word for you and you can return. Another plan. Now, Jacob heads off, he does as he's told. And they think maybe he'll be gone for a few days, a few weeks. And what they think will be a few days or a few weeks turns into 20 years. And Rebecca will never see her son again. And I think of that line: oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. One of the ways that God sanctifies us is He tests us. And one of the ways God tests us is often by making us wait. And oh, how we love to wait, don't we? I know you guys are looking at each other right now, like, oh, how we love to wait. I mean, and notice that when you pray for patience, what is the one thing God does? Is he puts you in situations that test your patience. You know, you want to test your patience. I have two words for you: Montreal traffic. Construction zone. La Fontaine Tunnel. Is that ever going to be finished? Right? Red light. I mean, some of us don't even have the patience to sit at a red light and we pray to God, give me patience. Like it's, we can just go to the store and grab ourselves a helping of patience. But patience is something that is developed over time. I mean, you look at patience, look at Abraham and Sarah. They waited 25 years for their promised son. God said, Abraham, you're gonna be a father of a great nation. He was 75 when he got that promise. Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born. 25 years of waiting. Same thing with Isaac and Rebekah. Isaac prays to God. Give us children. Give us children. Bless us with a family. Isaac is 40 years old when he prays that prayer. And he's 60 by the time Rebekah gives birth to Jacob and Esau. That's 20 years of waiting. Look at David. David was promised that he was going to be the next king of Israel. And David waits 20 years before becoming the next king, before being crowned. These are long seasons of waiting. And I think of all of us, I think, how much more challenging is it for us today to wait? Life moves so fast. Look at our technology today. We're so used to instant gratification. How much more challenging is it for us to wait? Some of us are in God's waiting room right now. Maybe some of you are waiting for a spouse, a husband or a wife, and you're praying to God because you want to start a family. Maybe some of you are waiting for a child. Praying to God. Just like Isaac did. Maybe some of you are waiting on a job and you're waiting for God to open doors. Maybe some of you are waiting for answers. And sometimes, if we're honest, I think in those waiting seasons, sometimes we can start to doubt God's goodness. Like we can think, God, have you forgotten me? Do you see me? How many of us have said those words? God, are you there? Are you with me? Have you forgotten me? Do you see me? And God says, can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has born? And even though she may forget, I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. That's how much he loves us. That he bears a permanent reminder of his love for us. In those waiting seasons, God has a purpose. There's purpose to the waiting. In the case of Abraham and Sarah, God wanted to demonstrate his divine power. He wanted to show that what looks impossible for man is possible with God. He wanted to establish God's divine timeline. He was establishing his divine timeline with the birth of Isaac and Jacob. So their birth was not just about building a family, but about establishing the lineage of the Messiah. There's purpose there. When we look at David's waiting, he wanted to build David's character. He wanted to prepare him for the responsibility of becoming king. That during those seasons of waiting, God has a purpose. He is preparing a person. He is preparing you. And what do we do in those seasons of waiting? It can seem so long. But the Bible tells us very clearly: the Bible says, number one, we need to look up. We need to look up to God. We need to fix our eyes on Him. Micah says, As for me, I will look to the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. So we look to God. We also need to look back to remember all the ways that God has blessed us in the past, the way He's shown us His goodness. The psalmist Asaph says, I will remember the deeds of the Lord. And we also need to look ahead to the promises of God. It says in Psalm 130, I wait for the Lord. My soul waits, and in his word I hope. So while we wait, we wait in the word. This is where we get our encouragement. This is where God builds our character and our faith, is in his word. This is what we do in the seasons of waiting. We look up to him, we fix our eyes on him, we look back to all the ways he has blessed us, and we look ahead to the promises of God. Jacob spends 20 years in the land of his uncle, Uncle Laban. And what's amazing is that while he's there, his uncle Laban ends up cheating him. The deceiver is deceived. The trickster is tricked. Oh, what a tangled web. And I think the Bible says it clearly, right? We we reap what we sow. But what's even more amazing is that God promised to be with Jacob. Despite his mistakes, God promised to be with Jacob, and God blesses Jacob. He blesses him with a large family. He blesses him with descendants, with riches, he prospers Jacob. And after 20 years, God says it's time for Jacob to go home. Now keep in mind, he has not heard from his mother Rebecca. She has not sent word for him. But God says it's time to go home. Jacob, it's time to go back. It's time to face the music. And Jacob obeys. It's another way that God tests us through obedience. Now God promised to be with Jacob, and he shows that he is by sending angels to meet him on his journey. Once again, Jacob has a promise from God. So Jacob decides to plot and scheme, anyways. And what he does is he sends messengers on ahead of him. Messengers to go and meet his brother Esau. He says, Look, you guys, you go on ahead. When you meet Esau, you tell him I'm coming, but tell him, God has blessed me. I have descendants, I have riches, I have livestock. I am not coming to take anything from you, so don't worry. So they do. The messengers go, they meet Esau, they return with word. They say, Yes, we saw Esau. And Esau is coming this way. Oh, and by the way, he's got 400 men with him. This is the brother that wanted to kill him, and he's coming toward him with 400 men. The Bible says, in great fear and distress, I could imagine that Jacob experienced great fear and distress. And obviously, when we do experience great fear and distress, this can cause us to act in a way where we want to take matters into our own hands. And I don't know about you, but I think if I were Jacob, I would be like, Uncle Laban, guess who's back? I'm coming home. But Jacob doesn't do that. But he does have a plan. He decides he's going to split his family into two groups. So he'll send one group on ahead, and the other group will follow behind. So in case Esau attacks this first group, maybe the other group will have a chance to escape. And the Bible says, in fear, Jacob prays. And this is the first time in the Bible, in the whole story of Jacob, where we see Jacob pray. It's the first time that Jacob actually goes to God. And we saw that when we looked at our series on prayer, how when we are stuck between a rock and a hard place, how all of a sudden our prayers can become passionate, right? And Jacob prays and he says, God, I know I do not deserve anything from you. I don't deserve a thing. But I need your help. My brother is coming at me, and I need you to deliver me. You have promised that you would give me descendants as numerous as the sand in the sea, and I need you to deliver me. And after he prays that prayer, he gets up. And instead of just resting and trusting in that prayer, nope, he's right back to his plotting and his scheming. And he thinks, okay, I've got another plan. I am going to send gifts to Esau. And when we're talking gifts, I mean this is an extensive list of gifts. This isn't like a polite fruit basket. Like, hey, I'm coming home, have a fruit basket. No, this is the list that he sends: 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 female camels, and their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, 10 male donkeys. He thinks, I'm gonna kill them with kindness. So he sends all this livestock on ahead. There is his family, all of his riches, they've gone on ahead. And he says, Don't forget to tell Esau that I'll be picking up the rear. Like what he's essentially doing is using his family as human shields. And I think, oh Jacob. But then I also start to think of my own life. And how many times, instead of trusting God, are we tempted to help God? Right? Just in case maybe I didn't hear correctly, or just in case God doesn't come through for me. Or just in case God doesn't come through for me in the way that I expect. How many times are we tempted to do that to just help God? And then I look at the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham waits 25 years for his son Isaac, and God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. And what does he do? He marches him up that mountain, no questions asked. He doesn't have a sheep or a goat or something to sacrifice just in case. He marches up that mountain, no questions asked. I mean, that is trust that whatever happens, God, that you are going to use it to further your plan and your purpose for my life and your glory. That is trust. So now for the first time, Jacob is alone. He sent off his family, he sent off all of his riches over the Jabbek River, and Jacob is alone. And now God comes to meet Jacob. And we pick up the story in Genesis 32, starting in verse 24. It says, So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. And 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 the man. Then the man said, Let me go, for it is daybreak. But Jacob replied, I will not let you go unless you bless me. The man asked him, What is your name? Deceiver? Jacob, he answered. And the man said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome. And Jacob said, Please tell me your name. But he replied, Why do you ask my name? And then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Penyel, saying, It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared. Here is Jacob, all alone, and God comes to meet him. This is God in human flesh. This is the pre-incarnate Christ coming to meet Jacob, and he wrestles with Jacob. Jacob wrestles with him, and Jacob is persistent. Jacob is persistent. He wrestles till daybreak. And I think how many of us have found ourselves in these wrestling matches with God where we are fighting God, where we're fighting against God. And God touches his socket and says, Jacob, enough. Stop. Be still and know that I am God. Jacob is broken by God. And he surrenders his life to God in that moment. And not only does he surrender, but now Jacob is hungry for God. For the first time we see that Jacob is hungry and he says, I will not let you go unless you bless me. He is clinging to him, he is desperate for him, that he finally humbles himself and comes to the realization that he is there to serve God, not the other way around. And it's then and only then that God changes his name from Jacob, deceiver, to Israel, one who fights victoriously with God. And here's Jacob with a new name. And that name would become synonymous with a nation. Jacob has a new name. He has a new character. And so now when he goes out to meet Esau, this is a new Jacob. This is a humbled Jacob. He doesn't hide in the back anymore. He steps out front. In front of all of his family, all of his possessions, he steps out front. He takes responsibility. He assumes the role of a leader. And the Bible says he approaches Esau. And he bows to the ground seven times as he approaches his brother. In repentance and humility, he bows down. And how does Esau respond? The Bible says that he ran to meet Jacob, that he embraced him, that he threw his arms around his neck, he kissed him, and they wept. God can do immeasurably more than anything we can think or imagine. What seemed impossible for man is possible with God because only God sees the heart. Only God can change the heart because only he sees the heart. So he changed Jacob's heart, and clearly he changed Esau's heart. Only God can change the heart because only God sees the heart. And I think of the story of David when the prophet Samuel is appointed with a job to go and look for the next king of Israel. And he goes to the house of Jesse, and Jesse parades all of his sons in front of Samuel. And there's Eliab, big, strong man, just like Esau. And Samuel sees him and he thinks, surely this must be the next king of Israel. I mean, look at him. But God says, don't consider his appearance or his height. The Lord does not look at the things that man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord, the Lord looks at the heart. And he says, I don't choose him. In fact, I don't choose any of them. The one that I choose, he's not even here. I choose the boy. The one who's out in the field, the one who's tending the flock. I choose the shepherd with the servant's heart. That's who I choose. Because I see what you don't see. That God uses. The foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God says, I am going to take this kid that everybody has overlooked, and I am going to make him into a king. And maybe you felt overlooked. Maybe you felt overlooked by your family, by friends, maybe your parents. People saying that they didn't believe in you. Maybe you felt overlooked, but God says, I see you. God sees you. And we could argue, well, I mean, yeah, that was David. David was a man after God's own heart. But this is Jacob we're talking about. Jacob. I mean, Jacob lied. He was a deceiver. Why would God choose him? Jacob. He made mistakes. Yep. Just like you, and just like me. That he makes mistakes. And God chooses him anyways. That is God's amazing grace. He made mistakes, but Jesus said, let he who is without sin cast the first stone. The Bible says God demonstrated his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Did we deserve it? But he came to seek and to save. He came to rescue us. He came to save us from ourselves. That God uses broken people. He uses the people that the world doesn't expect. He uses flawed people because he can make beauty out of ashes. The rest of the world, when they looked at Jacob, they saw a deceiver. But God says, I don't see him the way that you do. I don't see him just as he is. I see who I have created him to become. That's what God sees. God knew that Jacob cared about spiritual things, that he cared about the birthright and the blessing, even though he went about getting it in the wrong way. We see Jacob the deceiver. But God sees Israel. And notice it's not about trying harder, it's about surrendering more. That as we submit to God, He is the one that does that transformational work within us. He's the one that does it. As we submit to Him, but are we willing to submit? Are we willing to wait on God? Are we willing to wait in God's waiting room? Are we willing to obey? Are we willing to do it God's way? Jacob finally submits to God. And we see what God does in his life. He redeems, he restores Jacob. He rescues him from himself. And just look at the impact that that has. Just like that stone being dropped into the water, the ripple effect that it has. Because Jacob ends up reconciling with Esau. His sons become the 12 tribes of Israel. And from then on, when people speak about God, they are going to talk about the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. That is his legacy. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that is what our God can do. And that's what he wants to do in each one of our lives. That is his amazing grace. That yes, when the world sees a kid, God sees a king. When the world sees Jacob, God sees Israel. And when he looks at you here today, he doesn't just see you as you are. He sees what you are becoming, what you can become because of him. Our God can redeem, can restore, can bring things back to life. He can call into being that which does not exist. That is the God we serve. And he is calling forth greatness in each one of us if we are willing to submit. Church, can we stand to our feet? What a God we serve. We sang it earlier. There is no one, no one like you, Jesus. That is the God that we serve. That He can redeem and restore, that He brings beauty out of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. That's who our God is. Nothing is impossible with Him. What looks impossible to man is possible with God. You may be broken. Maybe your family is broken, but we have an unbreakable God. You may have walked in here today feeling discouraged, looking at your flaws, your failures. But we have a faithful God, a faithful God who wants to redeem and restore, that he can do immeasurably more than anything we can think or imagine. That he wants to heal us because he wants to use us. He wants us to have impact. He has a legacy for each one of us. God takes us as we are, and he makes us what we could never be without him. And it's not about trying harder, it's about surrendering more. And so we pray today, Jesus. Jesus, thank you. Thank you that you love us. Thank you for your amazing, overwhelming love for us. Father, we couldn't earn it, we couldn't deserve it, but you love us anyway. And yes, your love is the kind of love that would leave the 99 to go after the one. Father, thank you that you don't just leave us the way that you found us. Father, you came to seek and to save. You came to make beauty out of ashes. You came to turn our lives around. And we know that you can do immeasurably more as we submit to you, as we put our lives in your hands. And maybe some of you today are running from God. Maybe you're wrestling with God, you're fighting with God, and he is saying, Enough! Stop! I love you. Just run into his arms. Let him love you. Let him change you, let him heal you, let him restore you. There is nothing that he cannot do. Search me, O God. Search me and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me into the way everlasting. Thank you, Jesus, that you come to heal and restore. Thank you, Jesus, that you have a plan and a purpose for my life. One that I could never even imagine. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. There is no one like you, none beside you. And so we pour out our praise to you today. We pour out our praise.