WEBVTT 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:06.240 Genesis thirty-two seven through eight and twenty-two through thirty-one. 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:10.720 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:22.879 He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels into two camps, thinking, if Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape. 00:00:23.679 --> 00:00:31.600 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabak. 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:36.320 He took them and sent them across the stream and everything else that he had. 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:38.640 And Jacob was left alone. 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:42.159 And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:51.039 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:55.439 Then he said, Let me go, for the day has broken. 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:59.600 But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:02.640 And he said to him, What is your name? 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:04.159 And he said, Jacob. 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:12.640 Then he said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:17.200 Then Jacob asked him, Please tell me your name. 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:20.079 But he said, Why is it that you ask my name? 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:22.079 And there he blessed him. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:30.000 So Jacob called the name of the place Penuel, saying, For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered. 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:34.640 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:36.239 This is the word of the Lord. 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:37.599 Please be seated. 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:41.680 Thanks, Zach. 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:42.959 Appreciate that. 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:45.040 Oh no, they sent the bass player. 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:45.840 Oh no. 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:49.920 You know really why they asked me to preach. 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:54.319 Um because they miss a guy that doesn't have hair, you know? 00:01:55.040 --> 00:02:03.519 For you that are new, uh the Russ, the pastor that was uh before um James, uh he had a chrome dome. 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:07.439 I think that you guys just really like ball-headed preachers, right? 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:12.639 How many think that James ought to, you know, do the chrome dome thing, huh? 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:13.759 It's unanimous. 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:15.360 James, if you're listening. 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:16.800 Oh man. 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:17.520 Okay. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:20.159 Uh seriously, uh, I love James. 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:21.199 I love Zach. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:23.919 Uh I know them very well. 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:36.000 Um, James was over at our house, James and Megan and their son JT was over at our house last weekend, last Sunday, and uh JT spent the whole time throwing sticks in the creek and watching them float down the river. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:37.680 That's a lot of fun. 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:42.080 Uh public service announcement to all you guys. 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:45.680 Next weekend is Mom's Day, okay? 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:46.400 You got it? 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:47.360 Mom's Day. 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:49.520 Yeah, Mother's Day next weekend. 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:52.000 All right, public service announcement out of the way. 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:55.840 All right, so um my name is Ed Eby. 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:58.400 Um many of you know me. 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:02.319 If you haven't friended me on Facebook, please do, or follow me on Instagram. 00:03:02.479 --> 00:03:03.199 That's cool. 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:06.080 Uh many of you know my wife Sue. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:09.840 Um, Ryan, can you show the yeah, right there. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:11.759 Everybody loves Sue. 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:18.479 Uh she's just sweet and kind and smart, and um everybody loves her. 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:20.400 Um, let's see here. 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:22.960 We've been married 32 years. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:27.520 Um she deserves the biggest trophy. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:29.439 There's no question about it. 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:31.599 And so uh let's see here. 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:33.840 Uh, just a little bit about myself. 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:39.919 Um for 20 years I was the network engineer for the Postal Service Engineering Center. 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:46.080 Yes, I'm a nerd, and yes, I enjoyed uh yesterday, Star Wars Day, May the 4th, be with you. 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:47.520 Thank you, a fellow nerd. 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:48.479 Excellent, excellent. 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:52.960 So if you're gonna watch Big Bang Theory, I'm probably Leonard, okay? 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:59.280 And um, so if you want to know a little more about me, Sue has learned so much about me by watching Big Bang Theory. 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:02.960 She's gone, she says, Oh, so that's why you do that. 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:04.319 I'm like, yeah. 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:06.319 Um let's see. 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:11.120 So uh 20 years at the engineering center, I was the network engineer there. 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:15.120 Uh I currently live, uh I'm sorry, currently live, yeah, I do. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:19.279 I currently work at uh World Venture, it's a Baptist missions organization. 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:20.959 I'm their IT guy there. 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:23.920 Uh and no, I don't want to fix your computer. 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:32.480 Um there will be a quiz at the end of the message before we do communion to see whether you have my resume down or not. 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:40.639 Um these so for while I worked at the engineering center, uh, these this is a picture of my boys in the alley behind our house. 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:47.040 While I worked at the engineering center, uh Sue and I lived and worked in the ghettos of Washington, D.C. 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:51.600 And uh we did a lot of uh street ministry. 00:04:51.759 --> 00:05:00.720 We'd close off the street and we'd do music concerts out on the street and bring lots of people to the Lord, and uh we did a lot of drug and alcohol intervention. 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:02.079 I'll tell you some of those stories. 00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:04.639 I got a thousand stories, oh my gosh, I mean. 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:08.560 Um but I'll tell you a couple of those stories today as part of the sermon. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:11.439 Uh, these are my boys uh when they were little. 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:16.720 The oldest is a uh sculptor and he's done some fantastic work. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:21.040 If I haven't shown you his uh the pictures of his art, ask me. 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:23.600 I'm a proud dad, I brag all the time. 00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:26.000 Uh my youngest is a musician. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:30.480 Um he's like really a high-class musician, a lot better than me. 00:05:30.560 --> 00:05:31.920 I just kind of play at it, you know. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:33.680 He's he knows what he's doing. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:37.120 Um so uh Washington, D.C. 00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:38.879 is 70% black. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:42.000 The areas where we lived were like 100% black. 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:44.959 Our kids were the only white kids in the school. 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:47.920 And um let's see. 00:05:48.079 --> 00:05:50.160 Okay, so a little more about me. 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:52.319 Uh put up the slide of my book. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:54.079 I am a published author. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:55.360 Thank you very much. 00:05:55.600 --> 00:06:03.600 I am actually uh I on February 5th I hit the Amazon top seller list, number 82 for my genre. 00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:08.240 Um it's uh the name of the book is Before the Memories Fail. 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:16.639 Uh my mom passed from Alzheimer's here uh back in December, December 7th. 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:22.319 And so I know quite a bit about uh dementia, and I've experienced it in my life. 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:29.759 So uh the story is about a woman who used to be a photojournalist in the Washington, D.C. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:30.639 area. 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:37.839 And um she had a lot of money, so she didn't need to make her uh her living selling papers. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:44.480 So what she would do is she'd collect dirt on politicians and basically blackmail them into going straight. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:47.519 Like, you know, if you don't clean up your act, I'm gonna publish. 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:55.680 And that went great until one time somebody murdered her husband and and uh daughter, and so she kind of loses her way morally. 00:06:55.920 --> 00:07:01.680 And then when we meet her at the beginning of the book, she has the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:11.279 And she knows she's got one more story she has to publish, but she can't remember what the story is, and she has notes hidden, and she can't remember where she hid the notes. 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:15.360 So we have to sleuth our way through her memories to try to find this prize. 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:17.519 So that's my story. 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:19.279 So uh you can find it. 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:20.399 Uh I'll give you a moment. 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:21.519 No, just kidding. 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:27.279 Uh you can find it on Amazon, or you can go over to Tattered Cover, or you can go to the Jeff Co Libraries. 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:29.199 Um, they all have my book there. 00:07:30.480 --> 00:07:33.360 Um, okay, so a little more about me. 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:35.519 Uh I got lots of hobbies. 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:37.759 I'm a really, really intense person. 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:44.480 Uh like I said, if you watch Big Bang Theory and you can figure out a little bit more about me, I've got a lot of hobbies. 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:50.000 Um I am a uh obviously an author. 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:53.439 I'm an amateur photographer, you know me as a musician. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:54.959 I love to do woodworking. 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:59.759 I like to make um uh uh like um rustic furniture. 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:04.879 I made it um I made a coffee table the other day that's like really nice. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:10.319 And um so my wife allowed me to redo our all the furniture in our living room. 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:15.920 And uh I'm a long distance shooter for those that like to do um riflery. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:18.319 I've hit a gallon jug at a mile. 00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:21.040 Um, and obviously I'm a novel writer. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:24.639 Okay, so let's get into our story today. 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:28.079 I am a storyteller, so I'm gonna tell a story today. 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:33.440 So the backstory on this story that we're gonna get into is this guy, Jacob. 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:35.519 Has anybody in here named Jacob? 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.279 Nobody named Jacob. 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:38.000 Okay, all right. 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:40.320 So if you have a friend, I'm sorry. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:44.879 I just have to tell it how the Bible is, how the Bible says. 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:47.279 The guy's name is Jacob. 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:51.519 And uh when he was born, he he he was a twin. 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:58.480 Jacob and Esau were twins, and when he came out of the womb, his hand was grabbing his brother's heel. 00:08:58.720 --> 00:09:02.159 And so they named him Jacob, which meant grabber. 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:04.960 Okay, and that typified Jacob's life. 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:14.559 So Jacob went through his life like grabbing and stealing stuff, and he he'd lie, and he was not an authentic person. 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:22.720 He he just he put on airs and he pretended to be people he wasn't, and he did all kinds of nasty stuff. 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:39.919 And now it is the day of reckoning, because he screwed his brother over big time, and he stole some stuff from his brother, and what he finds out is that his brother is headed his way with 400 strong men. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:48.639 So these guys with swords and spears, and Jacob's like, dude, I'm I'm dog meat. 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:50.000 I deserve this. 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:55.759 I know I did, I know that I screwed up, and it's it's pay up time, right? 00:09:56.320 --> 00:10:15.279 So the scripture says Jacob is greatly afraid and distressed, and he divided his people who were with him into and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two camps, thinking if Esau comes to the one camp and attacks, then at least the other camp is gonna survive. 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:24.320 So he he's like he knows that that it's doomsday for him, and he's just trying to figure out maybe some of my kids might survive, you know? 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:25.679 Maybe, I don't know. 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:29.279 And so um, let's see here. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:37.039 Uh uh, I did want to say he had no integrity, and so he gets up in the middle of the night. 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:38.639 Go to the next slide, thank you. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:49.679 And so he gets up in the middle of the night, and um he takes his two wives and his two female servants and his 11 children, and they cross the Ford of Jabok. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:52.080 How many know what a Ford is in this context? 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:54.000 About three of you. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:11:00.080 Okay, at our father's farm, when I I grew up on a farm, on my father's farm, we had a creek that ran down through the middle. 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:15.519 It was a beautiful place, a mountain on the one side, and um so there was a creek that ran down through the middle, and there was one area in the creek where we could drive, it was shallow and it had a good firm rocky bottom right in that area. 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:26.399 And we could drive our trucks or tractors across that area, or you could ride horses or or whatever, and it's a shallow area in the creek that you can cross. 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:27.759 So that's called a Ford. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:32.879 It's not in this context, it's not like you know, what you would go down to the Ford dealership and buy. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:35.440 It's it's a place in the river where you can cross. 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:40.480 And so he the name of the place is the Ford of Jabok. 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:50.000 Um and so he takes his family and his wife and his his kid, his wives and his kids, and he crosses the the creek. 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:53.600 And uh the scripture doesn't tell us why. 00:11:53.759 --> 00:12:01.120 Now, uh I'm gonna the scripture is very um vague here, and I'm gonna actually tell the story of what really happened. 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:05.039 And as as I tell the story, you'll go, oh yeah, yeah, I can see how that happened. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:08.399 So so he sends them across the creek. 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:18.399 It's like midnight, and he can't sleep, everybody's scared, and he takes them across the creek, and we don't know why, but he comes back across the river. 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:23.440 I think he forgot his game console, I don't know, uh his Wii or whatever it is. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:28.000 And um, but I mean the cat is like freaking out, right? 00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:30.159 You guys are young. 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:31.360 Do you know what a cat is? 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:35.120 Like, like back in the 70s, he'd say, like, the cat's freaking out, dude, right? 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:36.879 Ed knows what I'm talking about. 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:37.600 Yeah. 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:43.360 And so um so he's like, he's totally blown his mind about this. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:52.559 And and he sends everybody across, and all of a sudden, somebody jumps out of the bushes and attacks him. 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:54.559 Now, who does he think it is? 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:56.080 Come on. 00:12:57.200 --> 00:12:58.720 He thinks it's Esau, of course. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:13:02.399 He thinks that Esau's there, and what's he think Esau is gonna do? 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:06.000 He thinks Esau is gonna kill him. 00:13:06.159 --> 00:13:07.120 That's right. 00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:11.840 And so, what's what's Jacob trying to do? 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:14.879 Thank you, he's trying to run. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:27.840 So, this dude jumps out of the bushes, he attacks him, he thinks it's Esau, it's pitch black, he can't see his features, he doesn't know, he doesn't know who he is, he just assumes it's Esau, and he's trying to take off, right? 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:30.000 You with me so far? 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:38.480 Okay, so I told you that uh I got a lot of stories from the ghettos, and um so I'll tell you two stories. 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:52.000 And uh what would happen in the ghettos is like the drug dealer, he'd give drugs to his his um to his customer, and then the customer wouldn't pay up, right? 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:58.480 And that's a bad problem if you're in business and your customer's not paying up, you're not gonna stay in business very long. 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:04.720 So the drug dealer, he's gotta put out word on the street that he's a bad, bad dude. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:06.639 I said it in really good terms there. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:07.919 You notice that? 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:20.080 And so so he what he'll do, at least in Washington, what they would do is they'd hire a group of about seven guys, and they call them a posse, seven, ten guys, whatever. 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:28.080 And he'd hire these guys, and their job was to go hunt down the customer that owed the drug dealer money and beat the crap out of them, right? 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:30.960 So they still do that? 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:33.600 You you're saying yep, yep, yep, like you know. 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:34.799 I'm just asking, you know. 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:41.600 Okay, so so they'd they'd send this group of guys after somebody to beat the crap out of them. 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:50.960 And then the word would get around the street, hey, you don't, you know, this guy here, man, if you owe him money, you better pay up fast, because otherwise it's hospital time for you, right? 00:14:51.200 --> 00:15:07.440 So I'm watching one day, and um here comes like seven guys, and I was uh I was working at the mission at the time, and I was um I was the janitor, and so I was up on the third floor, and I'm looking out the window, and here come some uh seven guys. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.480 I'm like, dude, I know exactly what's gonna happen. 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:24.720 And they they did a pincer movement on this one dude, and they grabbed him and they grabbed his hair, and they took his hair, and they took his face, and they beat the side of a car in with a guy's face. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:27.200 Literally left dents in the side of the car. 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:30.159 Okay, that's pretty brutal, right? 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:43.840 Another time I'm watching, and uh again I was up on the up on the third floor of cleaning out one of the apartments at the mission where I worked, and um I saw some guys coming up the street, and I'm like, oh boy, here we go again. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:48.159 And but this guy was pretty smart, the guy that owed them money. 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:56.480 Uh it was rush hour, and 14th Street was just full of traffic, cars going just blazing up and down. 00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:59.200 I mean, everybody's speeding at rush hour, right? 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:01.759 And and so this guy's smart. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:07.919 He thinks to himself, he thinks, the people in the cars are trying to not hit me. 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:10.960 The people on the sidewalk are trying to hit me. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:19.360 So he ran out in the middle of the street and starts running them around the cars that are doing like 30, 40, 50 miles an hour, and he's doing great. 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:26.000 And then the light changed and the traffic stopped, and well, well, it was it was a bad scene. 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:34.639 Uh he did take out one of the other guys, but uh you know, you get seven or eight, ten guys, you you just don't survive that long, right? 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:40.799 So I'm telling you all this to say that's kind of how this fight was. 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:46.879 You know, the scripture says uh he was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:48.639 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:57.279 You gotta you gotta read between the lines here because he thinks it's Jacob, and he thinks that he's about to die. 00:16:58.080 --> 00:17:06.160 And so it's like you got sticks and rocks and teeth and blood everywhere. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:10.319 I mean, that's how that's how I'm gonna fight if I think I'm about to die. 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:12.640 I'm I mean, it's it's not gonna be pretty. 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:15.359 I'm gonna use everything I've got at my disposal. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:19.359 And so these two guys are fighting and fighting and fighting. 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:23.920 And then something changes. 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:27.279 Verse 25. 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:30.319 Uh I'm sorry, let me back up. 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:39.119 Uh they wrestled until break, daybreak, and when the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the uh socket. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:44.000 Verse 26, he says, Let me go, for the day has broken. 00:17:45.759 --> 00:17:47.359 Something happened there. 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:51.359 Do you see what happened? 00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:55.920 I thought Jacob was trying to get away, right? 00:17:56.160 --> 00:17:57.119 Isn't that what we said? 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:00.880 Jacob thinks it's Esau, and he's trying to get away. 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:04.720 But all of a sudden the guy says, Let me go for it's morning. 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:06.960 Something happened. 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:14.640 And when you get this, when you get what happened, it'll be a game changer for you. 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:20.400 I want to tell you, this is a message that I preach to myself at least once a week. 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:23.759 Because you'll see why. 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:26.640 I struggle with things. 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:36.640 And this message, this is this is the thing, there's only one logical answer as to what could have possibly happened. 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:42.079 Jacob was trying to get away, and now the guy's saying, Let me go. 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:44.960 What happened? 00:18:45.279 --> 00:18:47.599 There's only one logical answer. 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:49.279 Um, it's a game changer. 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:54.240 You remember last fall, Lowe's had this, um they had this advertisement campaign. 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:55.599 Oh, this is a game changer. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:57.200 They pull out this new paintbrush. 00:18:57.759 --> 00:18:58.640 This is a game changer. 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:02.160 No, no, man, you ain't got no game if that's a game changer. 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:04.319 This is a game changer. 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:07.920 Something happened. 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:20.400 Jacob realized in the middle of the fight that it wasn't Esau that he was fighting with. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:25.839 He realized that he was fighting with God. 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:32.880 That's why, that's why the guy says, Let me go. 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:36.720 Because Jacob was first fighting defensively. 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:38.400 He's like, I'm out of here. 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:41.359 And the guy's grabbing hold of him and tackling him. 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:46.400 And somewhere in the middle of the fight, this fight lasted all night long. 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:48.799 I mean, from midnight until the daybreak. 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:51.279 I mean, the dudes were exhausted. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:53.119 Blood everywhere. 00:19:55.119 --> 00:20:00.559 Somewhere in the middle of that fight, he realized that he was wrestling with God. 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:04.720 That's a game changer. 00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:12.559 So we wrestle with a lot of things. 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:16.640 Jacob thought he was wrestling with Esau. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:18.880 We wrestle with our boss. 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:22.720 We wrestle with our bills. 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:24.960 We wrestle with our spouse. 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:28.160 We wrestle with our kids. 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:54.880 You know, you're you're single, you're you're a mom and you're at home, and your judgmental mother-in-law is on- sorry, if your mother-in-law, your judgmental mother-in-law is on the way, and you know, the house is a wreck, and your six-year-old's jumping on the bed, and your three-year-old's painting the wall brown with his diaper, and your washing machine is broken, and your life is just insane. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:02.480 Oh, I worked at the US Postal Service Engineering for 20 years. 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:04.400 I hated every day of it. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:08.319 The office politics were just brutal. 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:18.000 Uh lying, cheating, backstabbing, uh sabotaging each other's equipment, uh, just all kinds of brutal stuff. 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:19.359 I hated it. 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:28.960 My biggest struggle that I deal with personally is depression. 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:34.160 How can a man preach who's got struggles? 00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:35.599 Well, guess what? 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:38.160 We all have struggles. 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:40.240 Every one of us. 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:51.039 We got a we have a problem with our church marketing campaign, and it says, um, got problems? 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:52.880 You need Jesus. 00:21:53.599 --> 00:24:03.279 And what we what we leave as an assumption is that the people in the church they don't have any problems anymore or at least they don't think they have any problems anymore but if you look at them from the you look at them from the outside everybody's got problems well that marketing campaign really it's it's a lie um and and what it leaves us feeling like is that we're the only person that struggles we think we're the only person that struggles every person in here has something that they struggle with you have something that you struggle with and you may say oh well depression that's easy I just I just turn on my Christian radio and listen to K Love and I'm happy happy happy uh yeah maybe that works for you but if you don't have that then you've got something else that you deal with we are not a group of perfect people we're a group of really really messed up people that have people to stand with them to help them get through the struggles I had to laugh man James got up uh the other day and several weeks ago and he says I'm starting to get to know you guys you're one really messed up group and I'm like yeah we are messed up every one of us is but we have each other and and we we struggle through our um our our we we wrestle with our struggles and we get through it because we have people around us that love us authenticity is the key to true community and the alternative to that is that we're a fake and a plastic people and we live a lie and there are a lot of churches that that's how they do they they live lies and and they put on airs when they come to church and I don't want to be I don't want to be a part of a group like that. 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:12.799 Kyle put up this the slide of my book again so so as an author every character has to have flaws. 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:22.319 So my protagonist Jackie she has this terrible guilt from things she did when she had lost her way morally. 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:30.000 Charles that's her son he tries to live his whole life pleasing his mother and he's immature. 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:35.599 Charles's wife Catrice starts out as a gold digger and she changes and nobody notices. 00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:47.200 Marna is a recovering alcoholic Warren was abused as a child and he subconsciously sabotages his relationships to avoid intimacy. 00:24:47.599 --> 00:25:32.000 Every one of us has struggles we might have rejection when I was a teenager the bullies came to my house I was bullied a lot the bullies came to my house and one day when mom was gone and murdered my dog beat her to death and threw her in the river I don't know if you have that kind of rejection in your life but other kinds of rejections we may be going through divorce infidelity some of us may be struggling with pornography we may have business or financial loss we may be single and wanting to be married. 00:25:33.359 --> 00:26:25.200 I know some people that are barren and just weep before God day and night um I don't think Zach said so a lot of you have been praying for me because I just came back from Florida because I had Lyme disease and um it's it's terrible it's a terrible struggle and Lyme disease isn't a disease that just comes by itself it brings along other diseases with it and uh it brought along for me it brought a disease called HSV6 which is a virus it's a fatigue virus so basically I was it's a cousin to mono so basically I was walking around with mono symptoms for 20 years. 00:26:26.160 --> 00:26:46.319 And it was just it was it was horrible and I was I I didn't even know how bad I was I used to be extremely introverted and Zach made a joke one day he says yeah man you're so introverted that on the end of the introvertion scale there's a dead guy and then there's you and another dead guy. 00:26:46.480 --> 00:27:00.880 So there was a dead guy that was more extroverted than me apparently but as I started getting better and having more energy I found myself relating more to other people and and enjoying that. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:05.519 Whereas before I was so miserable I just wanted the whole world to go away. 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:12.480 And obviously that doesn't work very well but um so that's that's what I struggled with. 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:47.920 You may be overwhelmed with life but when we're in the fight like Jacob was in the fight with Esau I mean sorry Jacob was in the fight with with God what we don't realize is that that moment right there when you're struggling the hardest you are chest to chest with God Almighty and we don't think about it we feel that we've been abandoned by God when we're in the middle of the fight. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:48.960 Am I right? 00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:54.480 In fact I I prayed this I said oh my God my God why hasn't you abandoned me? 00:27:54.640 --> 00:28:00.480 But you know there's only one guy that could ever pray that prayer honestly and that was Jesus. 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:12.799 When we're in the middle of the struggle we are chest to chest with God and and we have to have that revelation remember I said it's a game changer. 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:18.559 We've got to have that revelation to know that I'm in this thing with God. 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:32.720 And instead of trying to take off we need to turn around and press into that thing that that we struggle with. 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:35.519 I told you that I struggle with depression. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:29:35.440 And so I don't just lay there and go oh I'm depressed no I dig into my own psychology to figure out what in the world is going on why am I so different than other people if you remember Leonard from uh from uh Big Bang Theory you know he's different than other people I'm different than other people I'm different and I'm good with that you know and and I dig in to try to find what are the sources what are the things that I deal with that that are causing me to have anxiety I have mentors that I meet with regularly to help to speak into my life when you write a story I'm an author and you have a so you have a character and the character starts the book one way but by the time you get to the end of the story the character has to be different right otherwise there's no point to the story. 00:29:35.599 --> 00:29:47.440 It's called a character arc a character arc so the question is do you have a character arc in your struggle? 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:56.079 You're in the middle of this struggle and you're just you're you're pounding on it and it's pounding on you do you have any character arc? 00:29:56.319 --> 00:30:04.480 Or are you just the same you as you were five years ago ten years ago 20 years from now are you going to be the same? 00:30:04.880 --> 00:30:08.720 Or is there going to be an arc to your storyline? 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:20.240 The only way you can have a character arc is if instead of trying to run from the fight you turn around and press into it. 00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:30.559 And like Jacob you hold on to it and you tell God I'm not gonna let you go until you bless me. 00:30:34.160 --> 00:31:06.000 James meets with me regularly to talk about talk through problems and uh he has a definite character arc I was talking to him and he was over at our house Sunday and I said dude you are not the same person you were six months ago and he laughed and he said you are so right he turned around and pressed into his problem instead of trying to run from it. 00:31:07.440 --> 00:32:16.880 Oh you know we there are things that many of us need to seek forgiveness for we have things that we've done that we're ashamed of and you know we try to you know we try to do that crazy plastic church thing you know instead of being authentic with our issues we try to sweep them under the carpet and we we deceive ourselves we lie to ourselves now there's one question I know there's a a text uh message there it says to text questions to that number there's one question that I need you to make sure I need to make sure that you understand and if you don't get it even after this then please text the question and I'll address it at the end because you've got to get this I am not saying that the things that we're struggling against are actually God okay because there's there are many many struggles many many scriptures in the in the the Bible that says God doesn't tempt us. 00:32:17.200 --> 00:33:58.240 So that idiot boss you're working for or that mother-in-law or father-in-law or that child or that parent or that neighbor or whatever it is that you're struggling with in dealing with that is not God I'm not saying that what I am saying is that God uses those struggles to change our character so um Ryan put that scripture back up again I I know this is a little premature uh not that one uh go back to the um Genesis there we go thank you so much um so what happens here is it's actually in the later verses uh Jacob gets his name changed from Jacob to Israel so the name Jacob meant grabber and I told you that at the beginning that that's what typified Jacob that he just grabs stuff he steals stuff snatch stuff from other people but God changed his name from Jacob which meant grabber to Israel which meant chosen of God God's elect or you have overcome God not only changed Jacob's name in the fight he changed Jacob's character in the fight go back and put up those new New Testament verses again. 00:34:01.200 --> 00:34:21.039 Beloved do not be surprised that the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you but rejoice insofar as you share Christ's suffering that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:29.360 I struggled with um the Lime's disease for years didn't even know what it was and now I'm doing a lot better. 00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:42.800 And I'm telling you what it feels good to feel normal like a human being again and so I can I can rejoice but when you're when you're facing trials don't think it's strange. 00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:49.599 If you think that you're in a plastic church where nobody else is having any struggles then you're gonna think it's strange. 00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:51.920 You're gonna think oh I'm the only one going through it. 00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:53.840 But you're not we're all going through it. 00:34:54.000 --> 00:35:06.880 That's why we meet large and then we meet small because that way when we meet small we get to know each other that for those of you who don't know that we meet in small groups and that's what that means. 00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:33.199 So when we start meeting in small groups and we share our hearts and we share our struggles you know I'm driving down the road and I'm going oh yeah such and such is going through a really really tough time I need to pray for her right now and then I send her a text and say hey man praying for you after I pull over after I pull over I send a text saying hey man I was driving and I was thinking about you and I prayed for you. 00:35:33.519 --> 00:36:22.719 But the other thing that we have to know Romans 828 I know it's really popular and it's almost a cliche verse but it really really means something when you're going through the tough times for we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose we have to know that I mean we don't believe it when we're going through the tough times we really don't we think oh this thing is going to destroy me there's a uh there's a psychology thing uh if a lot of people here used to listen to Russ, the other bald guy and uh he talked about psychology a lot and there's a a thing called fight or flight. 00:36:22.960 --> 00:36:27.599 When you get in trouble you feel like you're gonna die. 00:36:27.840 --> 00:36:36.400 That's the way it is and it can be a small thing or it can be a big thing but you you have that same feeling like oh I'm gonna die I'm gonna die. 00:36:36.960 --> 00:37:19.760 But we have to know this for we know that all things work together for good oh I'm sorry and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose and we're called put Genesis 32 up again 26 through 28 thank you and then he said let me go for the day has broken but Jacob said I will not let you go until you bless me and the guy and he says to him and Jacob says to the guy what's your name and he said I apologize. 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:47.840 He said the angel says to Jacob what's your name and he says Jacob and then he said your name shall no longer be Jacob but Israel for you have strozen stroven striven with God and with men and have prevailed Jacob's name means grabber and you know what if you're honest with yourself there's a little bit of Jacob inside of you. 00:37:48.079 --> 00:37:53.599 And you've been going through life trying to grab what you could for yourself. 00:37:54.320 --> 00:38:09.039 Israel means he struggles with God may God prevail and chosen of God when Jacob stole his birthright from his brother he lied about who he was he put on heirs. 00:38:09.440 --> 00:40:50.719 After the fight after this fight he's authentic see when he stole his brother's birthright his dad asked him who are you and he said I'm Esau he lied he put on heirs he said he was somebody that he really wasn't after the fight he's authentic God didn't just change his name but he changed his character I remember one time uh when I was sick I was so sick and part of Lyme disease depression just comes with it it just does and um I was so sick that day and I was at work and I was like oh my gosh I can't can't even hardly go anymore and I was so miserable so miserable and I was reading through um the New Testament and I came across Matthew in the Beatitudes and I was reading and I and I came across a verse and it said blessed are they who are poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and I'm sitting there so miserable no hope at the bottom of my bottom of my bucket and I'm sitting there and I said to God oh my God you said blessed are the poor in spirit well I'm spiritually bankrupt and it wasn't an audible voice from God but I heard God say to me perfect you're right where I need you to be I tell you I'd never heard that interpretation before I did a lot of study on that scripture blessed are you who are poor in spirit you trace back to the monks back in the um like around in the late like the 900s the thousand years after the death of Christ a lot of monks would walk around with whips and they would beat themselves on the back and and they'd they'd do all kinds of things they'd live in poverty all because of this verse blessed are they who are poor in spirit but I didn't ever read anybody who interpreted the scripture like that but I feel like it's a valid interpretation. 00:40:51.039 --> 00:40:56.320 Blessed are they who are poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God. 00:40:56.960 --> 00:42:04.559 And I got thinking about it you know all these people that think they got their stuff together and I didn't say a bad word there right they think they got their stuff together and they think they got all the answers for life but God says blessed are they who are poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and God said perfect spiritually bankrupt sometimes and that's okay that's okay so when we're struggling when you find yourself in the middle of a fight and it is going everything is coming apart you feeling like oh my chest is just about to explode I'm so angry about this thing or this thing is going so wrong or you know you lose your business or or whatever it is that you're struggling with. 00:42:07.360 --> 00:42:18.000 If you can remember that you're struggling with God it'll change your whole perspective on what's going on. 00:42:18.400 --> 00:42:25.199 That's why I say I preach this sermon to myself at least once a week because I get through I go through all kinds of stuff. 00:42:25.360 --> 00:42:26.800 I'm a very intense person. 00:42:28.880 --> 00:43:21.440 But you gotta remember I'm in this with God and instead of trying to take off I encourage you to turn back into the fight turn back into the fight and change your character arc remember that God has us chest to chest and that we really really are in the arms of God when we're struggling we really are we don't feel like it we really are and Romans 8 28 he promises that he'll work out everything for our good he promised that and I know that if you stop and take a minute and look back over your life you can remember times that you thought you were gonna die because it was so tough. 00:43:22.079 --> 00:44:22.480 But God brought you through how do I know you're still sitting here right God brought you through very good all right so did we get any questions today Ryan no questions for today either I'm really good at explaining or I scared you to death all right well thank you so much for your word and for your promises that you will work all things out for our good and Lord I pray that as we learn to embrace the the fight that we'll learn to find you in ways that we hadn't before Lord I pray that this message would cause people to turn into community and be authentic with one another and share their struggles. 00:44:23.760 --> 00:44:33.679 And remember that it's in the times that I'm struggling the hardest that I'm chest to chest with God Almighty. 00:44:35.039 --> 00:44:38.000 We pray all this in the name of Jesus amen.