LORD, I NEED A BLESSING

In Genesis 32, we recognize this is where Jacob Wrestles With God (or the Theophanies of God – that being “God in the form of something . . .”)

²² And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. ²³ And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. ²⁴ And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. ²⁵ And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. ²⁶ And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. ²⁷ And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.  ²⁸ And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. ²⁹ And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.”

Can I ask you a personal question?  Why are you reading this blog?  I mean, there are a lot of places that we could be right now – you could be eating out, or going to a movie, or relaxing in your lazy boy, watching your favorite show or reading your favorite book – yet you are here, reading this blog.  I think it is safe to say that you are not reading this blog because some guy named Joe Moore is dazzling you with his great literary skills, rather, I think you simply want God to bless your life.

Now Genesis 32 is not the first time Jacob has an encounter with God.  The first was back in Genesis chapter 28, and the place was called Bethel.  Bethel, in the Hebrew, means “House of God.” Bethel was the first time that Jacob encountered God.

• At Bethel, he saw a ladder.
• But at Jabbok, he saw the Lord!
• At Bethel, he became a believer;
• But at Jabbok, He became broken.
• At Bethel, He became a son;
• But at Jabbok, he became a saint.
• At Bethel, he died to sin;
• But at Jabbok, he died to self.
• At Bethel, he had a spring in his step;
• But at Jabbok, he left with a lasting limp!

And every one of us understand that this is the process of the Christian life. all of us need a Bethel experience.  You need to know when you have meet God for the first time.  You may not remember the date, you may not remember the time, you may not even remember what the preacher was preaching on, BUT, you should remember the experience you had when the Lord Jesus Christ came into your life and changed you.

I remember, when the God of the Universe crammed Himself into this little heart of mine – when, at the age of 6 years old, I ran smack dab into the Amazing Grace of Almighty God, in a Sunday School class at 4^th Street Baptist Church in Hartsville, South Carolina.  And folks, I will never forget that experience.  WHY?  Because that was my Bethel experience.

• How many remember the first time you meet God?
• How many remember when He saved you?
• How many remember when God changed your life?
• How many remember the time in your life, when you were bound for a devils hell, But you meet Him at Bethel, and He saved you and changed you forever?

Aren’t you glad for the day that you came to Bethel????

Oh friend, every one of us needs to have a Bethel experience!  But here is the funny thing about Jacob, you will learn about Jacob that he had to go “back to Bethel” many times.

Listen, there are going to be times when Satan is going to come after you, and he is gonna try to convince you that you didn’t get anything.  I promise you, he is going to jump up on your shoulder every chance he gets and try to discourage you and convince you you didn’t get it.  But why don’t you just look him straight in the face and say, “Devil – let me just take you back to Bethel.” Everybody needs a Bethel experience.

He came to Bethel – and then he went to Jabbok.  And the simple message is this – God will never be able to use you until he breaks you.  So many people are trying to rely on themselves, their own talents and their own abilities to get through their problems.   But you are gonna have to learn to come to the place where God can empty you of YOU.

You know what causes us the most problems in our lives?  (POINT AT YOURSELF!).  It’s us.

• We cause ourselves the most heartache;
• We cause ourselves the most pain;
• We cause ourselves the most trouble;

And why?  Because we can’t come to grips with the fact that we need to turn it all over to God.  We are still trying to handle it all on our own.  Well let me ask you, in the words of a good friend of mine, Keith Blanton, “How’s that’s working out for you?”

Let me show you something I believe we need to do if we are going to have the blessing of God on our lives.  If We are going to have the blessings of God on our lives, WE WILL HAVE TO GET ALONE WITH GOD.

Jacob understood he was going to have to get alone with God:

• This was a time of Testing;
• This was a time of Trials.

You have to understand where Jacob was coming from.  20 years prior to this, Jacob had tricked his brother out of his inheritance.  The word Jacob actually means “Trickster,” or “Surplanter.”

• His entire life was made up of lies.
• His entire life was made up of deception.

And just around the corner in the next chapter, he was going to have to come face-to-face with his brother Essau, and he didn’t know if Essau was going to kill him or what.  So, Jacob had to come to grips to who he was.  He came to the realization that after 20 years of being a “trickster,” after 20 years of being a “surplanter,” it has now caught up with him.  And so now here he is – Alone With God.  And my friends, you will never get ahead until you get alone with God.

You say, “Well brother Joe, does anyone get alone with God anymore?”  I would say there’s a few, but not many.  You know how I know – look at your cellphone.  Don’t get me wrong, we want to get alone with God, but as soon as we start praying – “Ding.”  I was at a stop light the other day coming home from work and I counted 9 cars that went in front of me – EVERY SINGLE PERSON, IN EVERY SINGLE CAR, was on their cell-phone.

We can’t get alone with God because we feel like we always have to be connected to somebody or some thing.  And do you know why nobody wants to get alone with God?  Because when you get alone with God, you have to deal with yourself.  Can I tell you the best times I have had, by far, in my Christian life is when I have been alone with God.

You ever wonder how the earlier church (and I’m talking about the churches in the 40, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s) when they didn’t have cell phones and the internet, had the power of God on them?  The reason they had the power of God is because they spent time alone with God.  They knew where to find God’s Wine Cellar.  When they came to church, they didn’t need somebody to “work-up” the spirit for them – they came in three sheets in the Wind already! Because they spent time alone with God!

You ever wonder why people come to church daring you to bless them?  I tell you why – because they haven’t spent time with God alone!  I’m just saying that the greatest times I have had have been when I have spent time alone with God.  When I’ve been able to cry out to God – not some eloquent prayer – but just cry out to Him – God I need YA!  God I need Your help! And that only happens when you get alone with Him!

• You want some changes in your life?
• You want some changes in your family?
• You want your church to turn your world upside-down for Christ?

Then get alone with God, grab a hold to Him and don’t let go until He blesses you!