WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.640 We're in a series right now, we're calling the pivot. 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:09.919 And really what we're talking about is um like what what do you do when plan A doesn't work out? 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:16.079 Uh all of us at some point in our lives have had a vision of where we were trying to go. 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:32.399 When you have something in your mind's eye, a place or uh a situation you're trying to work your way to, and you come up with a plan, and as you come up with that plan and you start um pursuing that, uh often plan A doesn't work out. 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:38.560 In fact, um it's guaranteed at some point a plan A won't work out, whether it's in your personal life or your professional life. 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:43.200 And our ability to pivot throughout life is really critical, it's super important. 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:57.600 I've seen oftentimes people that have become so emotionally connected to plan A or even a specific destination often have a very hard time letting go, have a very hard time accepting reality. 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:08.879 In fact, often they don't even really not willing to pivot uh until it's absolutely completely essential, like they have no other option. 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:24.319 And sometimes, even in that situation, they are unable to really accelerate into a new season because of how crushed they are, their heart's broken, they're uh overwhelmed with grief and pain, and it's hard to even latch on to something new. 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:31.680 And I think this is an important conversation for us because we're gonna have to do this throughout life, and so we're trying to learn everything we can. 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:36.719 Um, last week I started talking to you guys about a guy named Joseph, Old Testament Joseph. 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:43.680 Old Testament Joseph is a guy who he has this dream at a young age, he's 17 years old, and it's this sort of abstract dream. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:50.959 He's he wakes up and he's like, you know, I think this isn't wasn't just like the Rem cycle, I think this was something God was trying to show me about me. 00:01:51.519 --> 00:02:02.000 And it was like, at one point, it was like these these bales of grain were like like a bunch of them were bowing to him, and it was the same number of grain that was bowing to him was the number of brothers that he had. 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:07.439 And then he had another dream uh in the same vein, but again, abstract and weird. 00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:10.960 It was like he had the sun, moon, and stars were bowing to him. 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:17.360 And so, in a sense, he didn't know exactly what it meant in the real world, but it was like I think I'm being elevated above my family. 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:20.960 And then he made a you know, like a 17-year-old type of mistake. 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:24.319 He told them all about it, you know, and they didn't appreciate that. 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:31.039 And so it ended up actually taking what was already a dysfunctional family and and really turning it into hate. 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:36.000 And so you see, from there within his life, he takes several pivots. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:43.360 There are these pivotal moments, and they the dream goes from this like uh dream of elevation to actually this dream of going down. 00:02:43.439 --> 00:03:05.759 He he his dysfunctional brothers sell him into uh slavery, and so he goes to Egypt, and he's a slave in Egypt, and he's trying to learn a new language and adapt to a new place, and it's foreign territory, and now he's gone from being a favorite son to literally being owned, and so he's there, but it's in that place that um there's something about his trust that, like, no, I think God put this in my head. 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:40.560 Dream ownership, this belongs to God, and so I'm going, he he developed a buoyancy and a flexibility that took him there, and then when there were false accusations and his reputation was was um you know obliterated, and he ends up going to prison, and so it just like goes from bad to worse to worse, and yet we see over a 22-year period, in the high highs and the low lows, he just kept pivoting and he maintained this sense of identity, security, confidence, and purpose, even though it was like this really, really unorthodox path. 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:42.400 And so that's Joseph. 00:03:42.560 --> 00:03:46.719 I want to kind of lay his story next to the story of his father, his father Jacob. 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:49.120 A little backstory on Jacob. 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:52.879 Jacob was born a fraternal twin. 00:03:53.360 --> 00:04:00.479 Um, Jacob was born seemingly from the moment he was born, he was on trial for his value. 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:06.000 Uh as a fraternal twin, he was born second, so his brother Esau was born first. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:12.159 And um, when he was born, he was so close behind his brother, it was like he had his hand on his foot. 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:16.319 And so they named him Jacob, which means grabbing at the heel. 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:18.800 Grabbing at the heel. 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:22.480 And so uh it's kind of like this sort of cute thing, right? 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:24.319 He's like, he's born like, oh, he's grabbing at his heel. 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:26.240 It's like, oh, cool, let's name him heel grabber. 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:27.600 You know, I was like, oh, okay. 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:29.360 But think about that. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:32.399 Like if you're grabbing at someone's heel, that means you're second place. 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:42.160 You're grabbing at somebody's heel, it means if the heel is behind, like you're behind them, and it's down here, you're underneath, you're underneath and behind from day one. 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:44.399 And man, that was true. 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:51.439 He came in second on day one, and his whole life was like a trial. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:59.040 He was on trial for his value, and the first person making the case against him was his own father. 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:06.000 Imagine being on trial for your value, and the person making the case against you was your own parent. 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:11.199 Everything about his fraternal brother was what his father preferred. 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:28.720 His brother looked like what he wanted his son to look like, his brother uh acted like it, he was good at the stuff his dad wanted his son to be good at, and Jacob seemingly in every natural way didn't look, didn't act, um, wasn't good at the things that pleased his father. 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:29.519 So here you go. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:32.399 The evidence is starting to stack up. 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:40.800 And and when you are in a place where you feel like you're on trial for your value, and it's up to you to prove it. 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:42.079 I've got to prove. 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:46.399 I have to stack evidence because I'm already underneath and behind. 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:56.800 I have to stack evidence to prove to myself, to prove to you, maybe even to prove to God that I have any value at all. 00:05:56.959 --> 00:05:58.720 So this is what happens with Jacob. 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:07.040 And so you see that Jacob he uses his his wits and his talents to outmaneuver his brother and his dad. 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:08.560 Oh, you think he's so great? 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:09.519 Watch this. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:19.439 And so his brother Esau, you know, who looked strong, one day he comes in from uh uh hunting and he's famished, he's hungry, and he's like, Oh, I'm so I'm so hungry. 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:21.439 Uh, you know, I'm gonna die. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:23.920 You know, I'm I'm just I'm I'm dying of hunger. 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:27.120 And so Jacob, you you know, he's looking, he's like, you know what? 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:29.439 I'm so sick, everybody thinking this guy's strong. 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:38.639 You know, just because he's got a hairy chest, you know, just because he's a hunter, he looks like an alpha male, you guys have no, I'm gonna show you how weak he is. 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:47.360 As the firstborn, Esau was what's called the behor, which means um he gets a double portion of the estate when his dad dies. 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:49.920 It's a responsibility, okay? 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:51.040 Um, so it's like this. 00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:54.639 If there are two boys, when dad dies, they divide it into three. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:59.920 They divide the family estate into three, and the bohor gets two shares, and the younger brother gets one. 00:07:00.079 --> 00:07:06.879 And so it's it's it's obviously you're more effluent, you have you have leverage, but you have responsibility. 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:11.920 And it says that essentially Esau kind of didn't even really value it that much. 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:14.000 Jacob wanted it. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:16.800 Esau had it, but didn't even really seem to care about it. 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:20.240 In fact, in some of your translations, they'll say he despised his birthright. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:21.600 Despise, what does that mean? 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:23.120 Does it mean he he resented it? 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:23.680 Maybe? 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:27.040 Maybe it does, or maybe it's just like he just didn't value it. 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:42.560 But long story short, he comes in, he's in a moment of vulnerability, and Jacob says, you know what, I'll give you this bowl of stew for your birthright, and he makes the trade, and he leverages his brother's weakness, and he gets more shares than he's supposed to have in the family estate. 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:44.800 He pulls one over on his dad. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:54.000 And so he goes from Jacob, who's just like this cute little literal heel grabber, to someone who's actually a supplanter, a deceiver. 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:57.279 His name's kind of starting to morph into who he's becoming. 00:07:57.600 --> 00:07:59.759 Why is he becoming this deceiver? 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:04.079 Why is he becoming this strategist, this manipulative strategist? 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:04.800 Why? 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:08.240 Because he's on trial for his value. 00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:11.199 And his dad's been making a case against him. 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:21.360 So it's up to me to work my way out of this insecurity with a mountain of evidence as to why I'm not beneath and behind. 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:28.720 And so if you keep reading in the story, his next 14 years is just kind of more of the same. 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:44.799 But after, as he's kind of growing into a man, he gets to this place where now he, because of this internal insecurity, he is a driven guy, he's a wily guy, cunning, but he ends up with tons of stuff. 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:47.440 I mean, he is wealthy, okay? 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:54.720 He's got money, he's got a big business, he's got a huge family, he has more than he he really needs. 00:08:55.039 --> 00:09:00.399 But he gets to this moment where he comes to a pivotal moment because he he thinks he's about to die. 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:01.279 Here's what's going on. 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:09.120 When he schemed, outschemed his brother Esau, his brother said, Look, when dad dies, I'm gonna kill you. 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:12.559 I'm not gonna kill you while dad's alive, so I don't want to do dad like that. 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:15.360 Once dad dies, though, you're dead. 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:26.559 So, 14 years later, his dad dies, and word comes to Jacob, hey, your brother has a few hundred guys and they're on their way. 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:29.679 So he prays. 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.240 Lord, you gotta help me. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:38.240 All of a sudden, dude, all this stuff doesn't really mean much because I may not make it through tomorrow. 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:42.159 So he's in this like pivotal moment. 00:09:42.879 --> 00:09:48.879 And then at the text in chapter 32, it's uh it's a hotly debated text as to what exactly happened. 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:56.799 But uh a man, he came in contact with a man, so he prayed, God, I need you, I need, I need you to, this needs to be a defining pivotal moment. 00:09:56.879 --> 00:09:58.399 I need you to save my life. 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:02.559 And he comes in contact with a man, it's a little bit unclear, is it a theophany? 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:04.720 Is this a connection to is this God? 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:05.840 Is this an angel? 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.559 Is this a human being empowered by God, sent by God? 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:20.240 But he ends up in a literal, he gets his hands on this guy, they're wrestling, and in the course he gets injured, and he's like, he sees this this is a divine encounter, a def a divine moment. 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:24.879 And so as he's wrestling uh with him, he says, I'm not letting you go until we break through. 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:27.039 I'm not letting you go until you bless me. 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:34.320 And so his his hip has come out of socket, he's in physical pain, but his emotional pain is greater than his physical pain. 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:36.320 And so he's he just keeps holding on. 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:42.159 And it says, Look at this, verse 27 of chapter 32, it says, The man asked him, What is your name? 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:45.039 Jacob, he answered. 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:48.559 Then the man said, Your name will no longer be Jacob. 00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:53.519 But Israel, your name will no longer be Jacob. 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:59.440 From this pivotal moment on, your name will no longer be heel grabber. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:07.200 You're not supplanter, you're not deceiver, you are not underneath people, you're not behind people. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:09.120 He said, You are now Israel. 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:16.240 Israel meaning he who rules with God, he who's straight up with God, he who walks through life, arm in arm with God. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:18.559 God is with you, you're with God, okay? 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:20.000 And now look at the next part. 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:26.080 He says, Because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:32.159 In other words, my man, you have been trying to prove it since you came out the womb. 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:51.759 You came out the womb second, your dad made a case against you for your value, you're on trial for your value, and you have been scheming, and you've been plotting, and you've been working, and you've been getting the education you need, and you've been doing whatever you need to do to outmaneuver, outleverage everybody to prove that you have your value. 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:53.759 And he said, Congratulations. 00:11:55.360 --> 00:12:07.840 You have struggled against yourself, you've struggled against people, and you've struggled against God in this grand trial, and today I slam the gavel and declare a verdict. 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:12.960 You are Israel, he who rules with God. 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:18.240 No longer are you underneath anybody, you're not behind anybody. 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:19.840 Nobody's better than you. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:22.000 You're not better than them, they're not better than you. 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:27.840 You are totally defined today by your relationship with God and who God says you are. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:34.240 So you've you've been trying to prove it all your life, and today, chapter 32, it's proven. 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:36.799 Congratulations, not guilty. 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:41.360 I wish the credits rolled right there. 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:44.399 It'd be a great sermon. 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:52.000 Most times people preach it, they stop there and go in there, and you're Israel, and the rest is history. 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:55.519 Now it's uh live happily ever after. 00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:59.360 But unfortunately, that's not how it goes. 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:06.159 Chapter 32, he has a pivotal moment that wasn't as pivotal, uh pivotal as it should have been. 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:11.120 Because the pivotal moment is only pivotal if you pivot. 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:16.000 Dog on it for the rest of his life. 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:18.799 Jacob isn't sure if he's Jacob or Israel. 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:20.879 He's not sure. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:22.960 In fact, you know what's weird? 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:31.759 Is the scripture in Genesis calls him Jacob 83 times after Genesis 32. 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:35.279 I thought he got a name change. 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:38.320 But the text keeps calling him Jacob. 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:41.440 I think it's like 32 times it calls him Israel. 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:45.759 Way more it calls him Jacob. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:48.159 And he keeps acting like Jacob. 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:50.159 And he keeps thinking like Jacob. 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:58.960 And for the rest of his life, he takes 13 kids and four wives through his confusing journey as to who the heck he is. 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:01.440 Are you Israel? 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:03.360 Or are you Jacob? 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:12.799 You couldn't order up a more profound moment than Genesis 32. 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:20.480 It was a full, complete immersion of physical and metaphysical. 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:22.639 It was literal. 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:25.360 He's wrestling, his hip is out of socket. 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:30.720 In fact, it says later in chapter 32, from that day on, he literally had an injury. 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:31.840 He limped. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:32.799 Okay? 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:39.519 So he had physical, he had a physical carryover from that moment that lasted with him forever. 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:41.200 So it was physical. 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:46.720 It was metaphysical, though, because he named the place Penil, which means I've seen God face to face. 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:49.039 And I lived to tell about it. 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:56.399 And so for him, this was a divine encounter, and it was so physically real, there was no denying that something happened. 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:00.960 Which I think is a bit of a cautionary tale that I think we need to really look at. 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:12.080 Because that means that you could have something that's physically and metaphysically profound and real and legit, and you could still walk away and not change. 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:18.960 The rest of his life, the pivotal moment that he was supposed to have in 32, didn't take like it could have. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:25.440 And the next 18 minutes and 42 seconds are about helping us make more out of our pivotal moment than he did. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:26.799 Okay? 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:34.320 Think of it like this: when you think about a pivotal moment, a defining moment, you're driving in your car and you get this aha. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:39.039 Some you hear somebody talk, they say something, it's like they're reading your mind, and it's like God sent them. 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:45.039 You're sitting in a service like this, and you feel the presence of God, and there's too much, it's not coincidence. 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:46.879 No, this was a divine intersection. 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:49.519 Okay, we often think that that now is a breakthrough. 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:54.799 We use that language, breakthrough, which means like, boom, I broke through and I'm done. 00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:56.879 But you got to reframe it actually. 00:15:57.039 --> 00:16:03.360 Often those breakthroughs are the beginning, it's the start of something. 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:13.840 And if I don't carry it all the way through, if I don't follow it all the way through, if I don't keep rolling with it, if I don't take the full journey, then often that just becomes a cool story. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:17.759 Not a defining moment, not a pivotal moment. 00:16:18.720 --> 00:16:25.600 It's this process of think, do, become. 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:27.279 Think, do, become. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:44.399 We've talked about this before, but I'm never gonna stop talking about it because I'm really um it breaks my heart when I see people have a pivotal moment and not fully pivot and not even understand the expectation of what it takes to get all the way like from Israel to Israel from Jacob. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:46.799 Because think about this. 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:50.480 God renames him. 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:54.639 You're Israel, you're he who rules with God, but nobody else knew that. 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:57.679 God didn't send out a memo to everyone. 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:00.240 Hey guys, don't call him Jacob anymore. 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:01.919 This is not the same guy. 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:03.120 Call him Israel. 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:08.240 No, the man gets up limping, and the first person he sees who knows him calls him. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.319 He'll say, Oh, Israel, good to see you. 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:13.680 They don't know. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:32.079 So throughout your life, right, you have these defining moments, and as I'm trying to live it all the way out, as I'm as I'm trying to figure out what it even means to be he who rules with God, as I'm trying to become this new person, often you have voices that are still calling you Jacob. 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:38.640 And frankly, often a thought or a belief and a feeling are not congruent. 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:43.119 Like sometimes I think and believe something, and it takes a while for my feelings to catch up. 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:52.880 Like once I have the revelation that I've been declared righteous by God, it's not like I just wake up the next day feeling like super holy and righteous. 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:55.039 I feel quite unrighteous at times. 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:00.160 I find myself tempted by the same stuff, I find myself with the same flesh that I'm contending with. 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:06.960 And so often the feelings behind, so I have my own internal feelings that I kind of still feel like Jacob, and everybody keeps calling me Jacob. 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:15.920 And this is this is the first major liability that if I get up from Genesis 32 and I don't start thinking like Israel all the time. 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:19.519 Thinking I am Israel, I am he who rules with God. 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:23.119 I am not beneath anybody anymore, I'm not behind anymore. 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:25.359 I'm not still trying to prove the case anymore. 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:26.720 The case has been proven. 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:28.960 I've been declared Israel. 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:45.599 Until I embed that into my thinking, I am prone to what Jacob did, which is to leave chapter 32 with this metaphysical, physical reality that he does not live into all the way up to the end of his life. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:58.240 And so you have to begin the process of rewiring, rethinking, building new brain grooves around who you are and aligning who God said you are with who you think you are. 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:01.759 Isn't that wild that it's not enough that God just thinks it about you? 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.720 But if you don't think it about you, it doesn't take. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:12.000 I mean, I can't think of a better story than God saying, you're Israel, you're he who rules with God, but he doesn't act like it. 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:15.279 You got to do your part, and it starts with thinking. 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:19.359 This is this is um absolutely reinforced in the New Testament. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:22.799 Romans 12, 2, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed. 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:24.079 How am I transformed? 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:28.960 How am I transformed from Jacob to Israel by the renewing of your mind? 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:30.880 Colossians 3.10. 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:32.799 Put on your new nature. 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:38.799 In some of your translations, Colossians 3.10 says, put on your new self. 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:41.759 Your new self, put on your new self. 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:42.720 Put on your new self. 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:43.200 How? 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:43.839 How? 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:48.160 And be renewed as you learn to know your creator and become like him. 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:53.519 As you learn to know your creator and become like him, renewing your mind. 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:58.240 Ephesians 4, 23, 24, be renewed in the spirit of your minds. 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:00.400 How do I go from Jacob to Israel? 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:02.160 I got to begin thinking like Israel. 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:07.759 I got 43 years of thinking like Jacob, and today I begin thinking like Israel. 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:13.440 Be renewed in the spirit of your minds and put on, again, this is an action, it's proactive. 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:17.119 Put on the new self, created to be like God. 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:18.960 So I've got to do different things. 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:23.359 I've got to think different thoughts, do different things, and become a different person. 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:29.119 You have to fundamentally change how you see yourself, and you gotta dig deep. 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:38.079 Um, I've shared this story before, so if you've heard it before, um I apologize for being redundant, but I think it really, I think it really accentuates the point. 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:48.640 Um my wife Shaylin, when she was a little girl, her she was having some physical issues, and they started running tests on her and they couldn't figure out what was wrong, and they thought that she had leukemia. 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:50.880 They thought she had childhood leukemia. 00:20:51.119 --> 00:21:00.720 Um she had a traumatic experience with a friend a couple years ago who died of childhood leukemia, and so when she heard leukemia, she thought, I'm going to die. 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:02.400 I believe she was seven. 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:03.200 How old? 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:04.559 Huh? 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:06.079 Ten years old. 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:09.680 She was ten years old, she thought she had childhood leukemia. 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:16.720 So she tells a story about she's like, I'm not gonna be here next year. 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:19.440 She's coming to peace with that at 10. 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:30.480 So she had saved her money, and at Christmas, she emptied her piggy bank and spent all of her money on gifts for her family and bought the best gifts she could buy. 00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:32.160 Because she thought, why would I save money? 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:33.759 I'm not even gonna be here next year. 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:37.200 So she bought everybody the best gifts she could possibly give them. 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:39.680 And she memorized the look on their face. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:41.039 This is my last time. 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:43.680 When the snow fell, she went out and stared at the snow. 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:45.440 That's my last time I'm gonna see snow. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:52.559 She tried to look at it as closely as she could to see the to see the snowflakes because she believed this is it for me. 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:59.279 At the during that time where they're running tests and trying to figure out what was going on with her, her mom gets pregnant again. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:07.759 And in her little ten-year-old mind, she concluded that they got pregnant intentionally to replace her. 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:12.559 So I'm totally replaceable. 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:15.200 I thought I was special. 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.440 But I'm about to die. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:19.599 And they're just going to make another one. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:25.839 And so in her mind, what it created was a thought that turned into a belief. 00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:28.880 You're replaceable. 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:33.119 So now I'm on trial for my value. 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:40.160 But the evidence against me is that once they think I'm going to die, they just go make another one. 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:46.880 All throughout life, in our marriage, there are times I would be telling Shaylin how valuable she is. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:50.640 I'd be talking about, oh, this is so great, but it wouldn't mean anything without you. 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:52.960 And she's like, she was saying, oh no. 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:56.400 If something happened to me, you'd be remarried in 10 minutes. 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:01.359 If something happened to me, you'd find somebody else. 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:03.839 I'd be like, no, you don't understand. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.480 Like this, nobody can replace you. 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:08.480 Like this is so much better with you. 00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:08.960 Nah. 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:12.720 And it didn't matter how poetic I was, it didn't matter how I said it. 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:19.759 And there were times, by the way, that in my naivety, not connecting all those dots, I would make jokes, especially when we had kids. 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:23.200 You know, we had kids, and I was like, this man, I can't take care of these kids. 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:29.279 If you're if you're on a you know, stranded on a boat, hang on, because if you die, I'm gonna be married within a week because I can't do this by myself. 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:30.799 Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:32.079 She's like, huh. 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:38.079 I had no idea the damage I was doing. 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:44.000 I didn't know I was driving this haunting belief deeper into her heart. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:56.160 And so here she is in a place where now the belief, the evidence that's been stacked against you in the court of law, in the in the trial for your value, is that you are completely and totally replaceable. 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:58.160 If you're gone, we'll just make another one. 00:23:58.400 --> 00:23:59.599 And so, guess what? 00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:13.279 She was in a thousand sermons, she was in a thousand worship sets, she'd been in thousands of Bible studies, she had heard all kinds of words, and the presence of God was there, and there was all this you know stuff, but it stayed in there. 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:19.599 And it wasn't until she got into so much pain around my value. 00:24:19.839 --> 00:24:20.559 What in the world? 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:22.480 Why do I feel like I'm worthless? 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:37.920 That finally she dug deep enough to see that thought, to see that Jacob attitude, to see the evidence that had been made against her, even though she knew, no, it's anyone who's in Christ is a new creation. 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:42.880 And you're made in the image of God, and you're God's masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus. 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:47.119 It didn't matter how many times I said it or you said it or a preacher said it, it didn't matter. 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:51.279 It had to be a journey of going and seeing, oh, that's why I feel that way. 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:59.279 And I'm gonna see that thing, I'm gonna see that thought, and I'm gonna reject it as a lie, and I'm gonna begin thinking like I am valuable and I'm irreplaceable. 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:00.559 Okay, you see what I'm saying? 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:01.359 It's thinking. 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:08.880 Otherwise, you just come away from a great scripture about your God's masterpiece created in Christ Jesus and still think you're totally replaceable. 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:13.519 So the pivotal moment doesn't lead to a pivot because I still think. 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:15.839 I still think like this. 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:20.559 And so it's it starts in your thinking and then it's in your doing. 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:24.000 You got to think different thoughts, and then you gotta do different things. 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:25.279 Um, you know what's crazy? 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:28.559 You keep reading the story in Genesis 32. 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:39.759 He he leaves this profound experience and he immediately does the same type of stuff to his brother Esau that he had been doing the whole time. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:46.160 So for he thinks Esau's coming to kill him, but Esau's coming to apologize and forgive him. 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:51.039 He thinks Esau's coming to kill him, Esau's coming to forgive him. 00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:58.400 And when Esau sees him, you know, Jacob's like he's come up with a wily scheme to fool his brother. 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:07.200 And Esau shows up and he's smiling so big later it says that Jacob said, Your smile looks like the face of God. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:09.039 That's how big Esau's smiling. 00:26:09.119 --> 00:26:12.880 He goes, Listen, he basically says this look, we were young. 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:14.160 That was stupid. 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:15.359 I forgive you. 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:17.119 It's just stuff. 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:18.319 It's just stuff. 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:19.440 It's a double portion. 00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:20.160 You can have it. 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:20.960 I don't even care. 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:22.880 His brother, Jacob's like, No, take it, man. 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:23.359 Don't kill me. 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:23.680 Take it. 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:26.319 He's like, I don't want it because I got more than I need. 00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:27.279 I'm good. 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:29.359 I just want to be brothers. 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:31.200 Let's be brothers. 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:32.720 Let's go through life together. 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:34.960 Let's let's move into the future together. 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:36.319 Let's be brothers. 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:38.960 And Jacob's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, let's be brothers. 00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:40.319 He's like, come on, let's go together. 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:46.799 He goes, I'll tell you what, my kids are small and my cattle's small, and it's like if I push them too hard, they're gonna die. 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:49.279 You go up at where do you want to meet me? 00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:50.559 Oh, I'll meet you here. 00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:51.279 Cool, cool. 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:51.759 Go ahead. 00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:53.920 Yep, yep, yep, I'll be there. 00:26:54.160 --> 00:26:54.960 Just wait on me. 00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:56.720 Went the other way. 00:26:57.839 --> 00:26:59.680 He didn't do anything different. 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:02.559 It did the same stuff to the same people. 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:04.559 Staying in the same patterns. 00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:08.319 Not only is he still thinking like Jacob, he's still acting like Jacob. 00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:18.400 So even though God said you're he who rules with God, you've proven it, he's still doing the same stuff. 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:20.400 And at some point it's got to change. 00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:23.839 You know what's interesting is uh Genesis 35, 9. 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:27.839 So, okay, back to Genesis 32 is the original wrestling match, right? 00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:32.400 Three chapters later, Jacob is still doing Jacob stuff. 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:34.000 He's not thinking like Israel. 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:35.279 And look at this verse 9. 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:40.640 It says, After Jacob returned from Paden Aram, God appeared to him again. 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:43.440 God appeared to him again and blessed him. 00:27:43.599 --> 00:27:44.240 Verse 10. 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:49.920 God said to him, Your name is Jacob, but you are no longer to be called Jacob. 00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:51.839 Your name will be Israel. 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:53.279 So he named him Israel. 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:55.519 In other words, he comes and does the same thing. 00:27:55.680 --> 00:27:58.720 I'm trying to remind you of what happened in chapter 32. 00:27:58.880 --> 00:27:59.920 Don't forget who you are. 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:06.240 Jacob, it looks like you got up from the place and said, I saw the face of God, and yet you're still thinking like Jacob. 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:08.240 So I'm gonna do it again. 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:09.920 I'm gonna do it again. 00:28:10.079 --> 00:28:20.640 I'm gonna remind you of who you are because there's still a discrepancy between who you think you are and who I say you are, who you see when you look in the mirror and who I see when I look at you. 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:23.759 And we've got to get aligned to who God says you are. 00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:29.839 And so he gives them the same, the same experience a second time, a second chance. 00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:43.359 But Jacob continues throughout life and he drags a whole bunch of people into it, and all of his life he's trying to prove a case that's already been decided. 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:48.240 We got to do better, you and I. 00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:52.319 So I want to give you three things on how do I know if I'm changing? 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:59.200 How do I know if I'm going from Jacob to Israel or if I'm staying Jacob? 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:04.319 I'm gonna give you some red flags or some things that you can, some litmus tests you can ask yourself. 00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:06.799 The first is this uh how do I know if I'm changing? 00:29:06.960 --> 00:29:09.599 You stop striving and start seizing. 00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:12.319 You stop striving and start seizing. 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:22.160 If we juxtapose Jacob and Joseph, Joseph, although his life took all these crazy twists and turns, he lived in a sense of confidence. 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:25.440 Look, I don't know what the sun, moon, and star dream means. 00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:27.599 I don't know what the grain stuff means. 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:30.240 I didn't think I was ever gonna go to Egypt. 00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:33.680 I didn't expect to be in bondage with Potiphar's house. 00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:39.519 I certainly didn't calculate in prison when I was thinking about my plan, but he was able to pivot. 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:44.240 And then when everything came to fruition 22 years later, he seized it. 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:46.319 I'm gonna be ready when the time comes. 00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:49.759 But in the in the meantime, I'm gonna be flexible and confident. 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:57.839 Jacob, on the other hand, because he was born with this belief that I'm beneath and behind, he's striving. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:00.079 If I don't manipulate it, it won't happen. 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:02.319 If I don't prove it, it'll never get proven. 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:09.680 And so he's always operating from this place of proving something, trying to validate himself. 00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:13.599 And it and he lives with this fear that if I don't do it, it'll never happen. 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:17.599 He never quite gets his confidence in the hand of God. 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:23.759 And because of that, he's desperately striving instead of patiently seizing. 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:25.920 Both of them were proactive, by the way. 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:28.880 When I say patient, I don't mean go take a nap and hope it all works out. 00:30:28.960 --> 00:30:31.839 I'm sorry, they both were working, they both were developing. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:36.000 Joseph was working hard, he was developing skills, he was educating himself. 00:30:36.160 --> 00:30:38.079 So this wasn't like just sit back. 00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:45.759 But he was patient in the work, he was patient with the years, and when it came time to seize, he seized. 00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:47.759 So stop striving and start seizing. 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:50.160 The second, uh, how do I know if I'm changing? 00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:53.119 You go from full of yourself to free of yourself. 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:59.759 I think this is one of the misconceptions about what it means to be blessed by God and what it what God's intentions are with your life. 00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:02.079 You know, I mean, just think about it logically. 00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:15.920 Like if your visions and your life is all about you and it's and it's self-indulgent, and you think God is the mechanism to take your self-indulgent tendencies and to overindulge them, God's not gonna do that. 00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:24.000