A Fight to Remember | Pastor Logan Wilburn | Purpose House Church

Today, I want to talk to you about struggling with God. How many of you have been in a hard season lately? Anybody been, you just, everything just goes wrong. This has been my family's year, it seems like. It just seems like anything that could go wrong has gone wrong. We've been walking through a difficult season all year. And I've been thinking and I've been praying about everybody else who's had it hard this year. Whether you've been hurt by a church, or maybe you're confused about a calling, what God wants you to do, or maybe it's that your experience with God doesn't match your expectation of God. If you've dealt with loss, if you've dealt with wayward children, it feels like maybe God has let you down and you don't understand why things are happening the way that they are happening. Maybe you're doubting God, you question God, you question his people. Maybe you're even running from God. Maybe you've given up on God and you've walked out completely. You have no idea why you're here or why you're listening to this sermon right now. Maybe you've given up on church. If any of this sounds familiar, then you have struggled with God. Maybe you're even still struggling with God.

So we're gonna look, our key passage today is Genesis 32, verses 24 through 32. And Jacob is wrestling with God. Now, when we read this, don't get confused. It says that he's wrestling with a man. This man that Jacob is wrestling with is actually God manifesting himself in the flesh. Okay, we know this because you will see that Jacob says that he saw God face to face. But you also see that this man renames Jacob in the midst of this battle. And there's only one person in the entire Bible who's ever had the authority to rename somebody. So let's dive in. Genesis 32, verses 24 through 32. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 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. Then he said, let me go, for the day has broken. But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. And he said to him, what is your name? And he replied, Jacob. 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. Then Jacob asked him, please tell me your name.

But he said, why is it that you ask my name? And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, for I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered. The sun rose upon him as he passed Peniel, limping because of his hip. Therefore, to this day, the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh. That's Genesis 32, 24 through 32. So back in 2013, I thought it'd be a great idea to start learning martial arts. I thought it was cool. And I go to this academy, and I'm there with a bunch of new guys. I'm in my early 20s, and my head was a whole lot bigger than it is now because it was way full of ego. So each of us new guys, we're taking turns, right? We're sparring with the professor of the academy, all right? This guy, he's, each match is going two, three minutes a piece. That's a pretty good time for a fight, right? Two to three minutes, and I thought I was doing pretty decent because I'm going two to three minutes with this guy who's got multiple world titles. I thought, I thought I was doing pretty good. But I started to notice something.

This guy's not stopping. One after another, student after student, he's just going. And I thought, he's gotta be getting tired. One of us is gonna beat him. Now, Thinking it and saying it are two different things. Saying it and saying it to him in his academy in front of his students, that's something else altogether. So my next turn, I walk out on the mat and I say exactly what I've been thinking. And he never said anything, he just smiled. And I should have left right then and there. But I didn't, because I got a big head full of ego. So we slap hands, we bump knuckles, because that's what you do when you're gonna fight somebody in an academy. And I grab hold of him and he proceeds to commit heinous acts of murder against me. And it only took about three seconds. But then he also did it to everybody who was in earshot of what I did. And suddenly I was no longer popular at this academy. I wasn't popular to begin with. But I realized something, we all realized something. The professor could have destroyed any of us at any time that he wanted. And there was absolutely nothing that any of us could have done to stop him.

He was in complete control the whole time, despite it might have looked like he was losing. But his job in this academy is to allow his students to struggle with him because he's supposed to be teaching us a better way to fight our battles. And as we move through this message today, I want you to hold on to that thought. There is a better way to fight your battles. So Jacob is wrestling with God, but how did it start? Usually when there's a fight, your first question is, who started the fight? How did this fight happen? Well, if you go all the way back to Genesis 25, we've got to do some backstory to get to this big battle. If you go all the way back to Genesis 25, you actually see that Jacob started fighting against God at the very beginning of his life. In Genesis 25, before Jacob's even born, you see God makes a promise to Jacob before he's even born that Jacob would inherit the blessing. This was a promise that God had made to Abraham, Jacob's grandfather, two generations ago. And this blessing is directly tied to Jesus Christ. Now they don't know that, but we know that because we have the final copy, right? It's directly tied to Jesus Christ, this blessing, and it would be passed down from generation to generation to generation. Now in Hebrew tradition, it should have gone to the oldest brother as part of his birthright.

That's where it should have gone, but it doesn't happen because God had already promised it to Jacob. Jacob is a twin, he's the younger brother, and God says he's going to be the one to receive this blessing. But we immediately see Jacob start fighting. Even in the womb, Jacob is already fighting against his brother. The Bible says that the older brother is born and that whenever they pull him from the womb, they say that Jacob came out and he had a hold of his brother's heel. Now what this looked like was that Jacob might have been trying to pull Esau back into the womb so that Jacob could be born first. That's what it looked like. And so they named Jacob, Jacob, which means heel grabber. Now this was a Hebrew figure of speech and it means supplanter, trickster. It means the deceiver. Jacob is literally named deceiver because from the moment that he's born, that's exactly how he lived his life, like the deceiver. Even despite being born into the blessing. So from this moment on, Jacob begins fighting his way forward in life. God's given him a pretty phenomenal promise, right? Jacob decides to do life his own way instead of doing it God's way.

Over the next few chapters, you see him manipulate his brother out of the birthright, which was a 2 3rd portion of inheritance from his father. Everybody else in the family would have had to split 1 3rd. Whoever receives the birthright, they get 2 3rds. And Jacob steals this from his older brother. He manipulates it from him. He manipulates his brother out of the blessing because he's trying to win it over by his own power. Then you see him literally steal the blessing from his father and his brother. Now, why did he have to steal it? God said it's gonna be his, but he decides that he's gonna work for it on his own power. Jacob didn't trust God enough to rely on him to work everything out. So he takes matters into his own hands. Rather than wait for God to work, he goes to work himself to better himself, to get ahead on his own. See, Jacob had a vision for his life. He still wanted the blessing, but he wanted it on his terms. He's trying to receive the blessing by his own power, but he was still trying to be Lord over his own life. He wants this from God, but he doesn't wanna put God first in his life. And that's not how it works. But I wonder, have you ever done that? You ever wanted something from God,

but you don't see it happening? It's not happening on your time. It's taking too long. Or maybe whatever blessing you do receive, it's not exactly the way that you want it. It's not exactly what you had hoped for. And so, because God isn't working the way that you want, maybe you abandon him. Maybe you completely walk out of the blessing that God had already promised would be yours, because it's taking too long and God's not doing it right. You see, this is exactly what happens to Jacob, because Jacob is living like the deceiver instead of living inside of the promise that God had for him. The people around him get hurt. They get mad. They get bitter. And rather than try to patch things up, Jacob runs away. Jacob goes into exile. He puts himself there. He literally walks out of the promise, but he doesn't know that God is still working, because God loves him too much to let him go. Genesis 28, we're gonna read verses 10 through 15 and 18 through 21. It says, Jacob left Beersheba, and he went to Haran. And he came to a certain place, and he stayed there that night because the sun had set.

And taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth. You shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. And in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. This is God speaking to Jacob after Jacob has just made a mess of things and walked out of the promise. But pay attention to Jacob's response to God. So early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head. He set it up for a pillar, poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel.

But the name of the city was Luz at first. Then Jacob made a vow saying if God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear so that I come again to my father's house in peace then the Lord shall be my God. Did you catch that? If God does this then he can be my God. Beersheba was the southernmost border of the promised land. Jacob is literally walking out of the promise. He's searching for something better. Now this passage it's known as Jacob's Ladder. It's significant to this big battle that's coming because what it's showing us is Jacob running away from God walking out of the promises but God is still pursuing Jacob in order to bring him back into the blessing. Bethel means house of God. So in this moment Jacob literally comes to the house of God. He experiences God but he doesn't submit to God. Now I want you to take note of something. All throughout the Bible God is usually introduced as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But look at verse 13. God says I am the God of Abraham your father and Isaac. Nothing is said about Jacob's God because Jacob hasn't made God Lord over his life. Now not only does God literally reveal himself to Jacob but he reiterates the blessing that Jacob is supposed to be receiving. It's like God's reminding him don't forget I have this for you. Don't forget I created you for something more. Not only are you going to be blessed but you're going to walk in purpose. You're going to bring others into purpose and the whole time you're doing it I'm going to be with you. But you are walking out of my promises. Hopefully by now you're starting to see some similarities between Jacob's story and your own story. Jacob's born into promise but he wants to be Lord of his own life. So he spends his life as the deceiver living in sin rather than submitting to God. Meanwhile before any of us were born Christ went to the cross and died on the cross to save each of us from the sins that separated us from God. Each of us every single person in this room watching online each of us were born into promise. The promise that our sins were paid for by Christ on the cross. All we have to do is submit to God and receive the blessing. That's all it takes. But do we do that? Or are we fighting against God? Because we want to be lords

over our own lives. Right? We want to rule over ourselves instead of letting God be God. We still want a blessing but only if we can have it on our terms. Because we're too busy building our own kingdoms in the land of our affliction that we won't submit to Jesus Christ. Odds are if this is resonating with you it's because God is working on you. God is most likely chasing you down just like he had to chase Jacob down because you're too busy focusing on other things than putting your eyes on Christ. God is chasing Jacob down reminding Jacob that there is something better for him. All he has to do is accept it. But instead Jacob gives God an ultimatum. If God stays with him and keeps him in the way that Jacob has chosen to go. If God meets all of his needs, provides for him, and then returns him to the blessing, then the Lord shall be my God. That's what he says. And how many of us treat God in this same manner? How many of us act like God isn't enough for us, like the death of his son on the cross in order to pay for our sins, like it's not cause enough? To see him as Lord of our lives. Instead, what we do is we give God ultimatums. I want your blessings, but only if you give me this. I want your promises, God, but only if I can keep this also. Don't take this person out of my life. Don't make me have to feel any pain. God, if you do all of this, maybe a little bit more, then you will be my God. But are we not supposed to boldly go before the throne of God and make our requests known? Absolutely.

That's what the Bible says. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, but what makes a righteous person? What makes a righteous person? Jesus. Full submission to Jesus Christ. It's someone, it's not someone who gives God ultimatums. Give me this and then you will be my God. It's somebody who's clinging to God with everything that they have. We put all of these things before God, but we still expect him to bless us. We put all of these things before him instead of pursuing God. But I've got good news for you. He loves you too much to let you go. And so God is pursuing you. You. He pursues us and he reminds us of the blessing, of the promise that he has waiting for us. But most of the time, we keep running. We keep fighting for this vision that we have for our lives instead of what God has for us, just like Jacob. Jacob keeps running. Over the next four chapters, he lives completely outside of the promise of God. He finds a wife, he finds another wife, he gets a couple girlfriends. Oddly enough, he winds up with a father-in-law exactly like himself.

This guy's a liar, a manipulator, a deceiver. Overall, he's a sinner. And together, Jacob and his father-in-law for the next 20 plus years spend it deceiving each other, trying to get ahead at the other guy's expense. And it's funny how God will use people exactly like you in order to break you down so that you can finally begin to see what God has been trying to tell you. Jacob deals with his in-laws for 20 plus years and he amasses a fortune at their expense and before long, he's in the same boat that he was in back home. Everyone's mad because they figure out what Jacob's been up to at their expense. Let's jump to Genesis 31. I'm gonna read verses one through three and 11 through 13. It says, now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, "'Jacob has taken all that was our father's, "'and from what was our father's, "'he's gained all this wealth.' And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before. Then the Lord said to Jacob, "'Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, "'and I will be with you.' Then the angel of the Lord said to me in the dream, "'Jacob,' and I said, here I am.'" And we're skipping a couple verses about goats. And he said, "'I am the God of Bethel, "'where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me.

"'Now arise, go out from this land "'and return to the land of your kindred.'" Jacob has been living outside of the promise of God for 20 plus years, but God is still calling him home. I don't care how long you've been saved. Separated from the Father, He is still calling you home. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, sir. God even reiterates. He's reiterating the promise. I'll still be with you. I've never left you. But notice what else God says. Notice what He says about Himself. I am the God of Bethel. There's no mention of Abraham. There's no mention of Isaac. There's definitely no mention of God being Jacob's God. Instead, God is reminding Jacob that He is the God that's already revealed Himself to Jacob before at the place where Jacob didn't submit to Him. I am the God of Bethel, the place where I revealed Myself to you, but you gave Me an ultimatum. He still hasn't submitted to God.

He's still fighting against men and against God in order to get ahead. But God's not done working. You see, Jacob's starting to come around because things are starting to fall apart. How much does it take for a person to finally see God for who He is? Jacob starts listening. He heads back towards home. But remember, there are people mad at him. They pursue him. God takes care of that. And afterwards, Jacob can't go back. He has to keep moving forward, and he's moving towards the promise. The problem that Jacob has is that back home in the promised land is his brother. God's calling Jacob back where there's pain, where there's heartache, where there is potential for Jacob to lose absolutely everything that he has been working for. If he continues on this path that God has put him on, there's a strong possibility his brother might kill him. So now, he can't go forward. He can't go back. The only place that he has left to go is to God. Sometimes, God makes us face our sins. Sometimes, we have to look our sin right in the face. We have to look at who we have been all in order to get to the point where God wants us

so that He can finally begin rebuilding us into who He designed us to be. And here's the thing. It's scary. It's scary because sometimes that transformation, this rebuilding that takes place, it feels an awful lot like dying. It can hurt. And right now, Jacob is staring death in the face. He's scared. He has nowhere to go, and so he goes to God. Genesis 32, verses nine through 12. Jacob said, oh God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, Lord who said to me, return to your country and to your kindred that I may do you good, I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant. For with only my staff, I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. But you said, I will surely do you good and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. Now notice the language again. Jacob says, God of my father Abraham

and God of my father Isaac. God still isn't Jacob's God, but Jacob is beginning to recognize all that God has been doing for him. He's still not fully surrendered, but he's starting to grasp at the promise that God made him all those years ago. Sometimes God will allow us to walk away from his promise, because it takes a long, hard journey to get us to a point where we are ready to surrender to him fully. Absolute surrender to him and him alone. Is this resonating with you yet? You've been living for yourself, doing life on your own terms, on your own power, looking to get ahead on your own strength, instead of trusting God to bring you into the promise that he has for you, the promise of Jesus Christ, that he already went to the cross and paid for your sins, and God is drawing you to him. You just have to submit. You see, there's a better way to fight your battles. The hardest battle that Jacob ever fought in his life was the one where he finally decided to make God Lord of his life. It's a battle that you've probably been fighting for a while but Jacob had to get to a point where he was willing to let go of everything else in order that he could cling to God. Maybe you feel alone. Maybe you feel like God isn't there. Maybe you feel like he doesn't care.

But let's go back to Genesis 32, verse 24. Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Jacob was alone and God is the one who initiates this encounter. Amen. Not only that, but the Bible says that Jacob fought with God all night long. Now listen, the only way that Jacob could have fought all night long is if God was sustaining him in order that Jacob had the power to keep fighting. God has kept his word this whole time and in the most pivotal battle of Jacob's life, God is not about to abandon him now. God keeps Jacob going just like he has this whole time because God is teaching Jacob that there's a better way to fight your battles. It says, 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 God. God brings Jacob to a point where he has to make a decision. This injury is pivotal, all right? Because now this man who has been fighting, trying to live life on his own strength doesn't even have the strength to stand on his own power. So he has to make a decision. He can either fall right now or he can let go of everything else in order to get a firm grasp on the person that he's been struggling with.

See, that's where God wants you. You've been running from him. You've been struggling with him. Maybe you've been living life on your own terms. We look at this story of Jacob and we see him receive this life-changing injury. And Christ tells us that in order to follow him, we must pick up our own cross and crucify our flesh. That sounds an awful lot like dying. Following Christ costs us the life and the vision that we've always had for ourselves. But we gain so much more because we gain the presence of God forever. But it requires empty hands. Because we have to have our hands emptied of everything in order that we can cling to Christ with everything that we have. And we have to decide if we're going to keep clinging to him or if we're gonna let him go. God says to Jacob, let me go, for the day has broken. And what I think is happening here is God's testing Jacob. See if you can relate to this. We hold on to God in our darkest moments. But as soon as we can see light, we let him go. You brought me out of the dark, that's all I needed in this moment. We have to hold on to him. We have to cling to him. We hold on to him until we're out of the darkness. And then we keep holding on to him.

Sometimes once we're out, we turn him loose so we can keep pursuing that life that we've always dreamed of. That life that we want for ourselves. Rather than the life where we're fully submitted to Jesus Christ. The one where we're clinging to him and allowing him to bring us into blessing. But Jacob says, no. He refuses to let God go. And that's where you need to be. You need to be in that moment, in that point in your life where you say, I will not let you go until you bless me. God, I'm not letting go of you. This isn't another ultimatum. This right here is reckoning. In this moment, God has become the most precious thing to Jacob. I won't let you go. That's where you need to get. I won't let you go until I hear the words, well done, good and faithful servant, enter into glory. I think right here, right here is where Jacob has finally realized the magnitude of God's love versus how he's been living his life. When God asks Jacob's name, who are you? I think this is God showing Jacob the weight of his sin. You've been living your life as a deceiver, as a supplanter. In short, you've been living like hell and the devil.

But God had so much more for Jacob than that. And he renames Jacob. That's not who you are. You are one who struggles with God and struggles with men, but you prevail. Amen. First John 1.9 says, if we confess our sins, that he is faithful and just to forgive us. Jacob acknowledges how he's been living, that he's been living up to the name that the world gave him, deceiver, manipulator, supplanter, in short, sinner. Jacob owns it, but God gives him transformation. God gives him a new name through the person that he is clinging to. So who's ready to let go of everything else? Whether you've been trying to do life on your own terms, whether you've been doubting God or running from God, if you've been living for yourself outside of his promises, maybe it's finally time to let go of everything else. Empty your hands so that you can cling to Jesus Christ. Now here's the thing, it might hurt. You might have to face things from the past. But that's okay. Because what looks like a limp to the rest of the world looks like a crown to heaven. This passage closes out by telling us that Jacob's struggle with God had generational impact. Did you hear that? For everyone who's got kids or grandkids, wayward kids, whatever it is, clinging to God had a generational impact. The Bible says to this day the Israelites still acknowledge Jacob's wrestling match with God and how it changed him. When you finally submit to God, it's not just your life that gets changed. When the world

begins asking your kids or your grandkids, why are they so different? Why are you so different? They can say, because I remember when dad struggled with God and never let him go. I remember when mom refused to turn loose of Jesus Christ. I know that my family wrestles with God and we prevail. Cling to God and keep passing on the blessing to the next generation. Our prayer teams are going to come. We're going to open up this altar. Now listen, don't let this be a Bethel moment. You've come to God's house. You've had an encounter with God and you can submit to him in this moment or you can keep running. Don't let this be a Bethel moment. Make this a Peniel moment where you decide to empty your hands and cling to God. If you need prayer, there will be somebody down here. If you want to pray on your own, you can still come. We're going to open this altar. Let's pray. Father God, Lord, help us to end the struggle. God, help us cling to you. Lord, we're asking right now that you change our identities from people who struggle with the world to your loyal servants who struggled with you and prevail. God, meet us in this moment. Help us to surrender. Help us to take this word with us when we leave, Lord. Help it to be on our hearts, in our minds, filling us up and overflowing. Lord, we thank you and we praise you for all that you're doing and we ask you to meet us now in this moment. In Jesus' name. Go ahead and click that Give button and join with us in spreading the gospel across the aisle, across the street, and around the world. We'll see you next time.