My Resurrection Story - Broken

Good morning, Crossgates family. What a blessing it is to be in the house of the Lord, to gather together this morning, to lift high the name of Jesus and to meet with Him today. So with all that we are, let us glorify His name and lift up our song of praise to Him as we worship. ♪ Bless our Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ All that's within me praise Him ♪ ♪ All that's within me praise Him ♪ ♪ For His grace is steadfast, Lord ♪ ♪ Will follow me all my days ♪ ♪ Bless our Lord, oh my soul ♪ ♪ All that's within me praise Him ♪ ♪ For His grace is steadfast, Lord ♪ ♪ Will follow me all my days ♪ ♪ So high is your steadfast love ♪ ♪ As far as the east from the west ♪ ♪ So wide is your faithfulness, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Bless the Lord, bless the Lord ♪ ♪ Lift Him up, for He is just ♪ ♪ Righteous in all His ways ♪ ♪ Constant, compassionate ♪ ♪ Worthy of all our praise ♪ ♪ As high as the heavens above ♪ ♪ So high is your steadfast love, oh my soul ♪ ♪ So high is your steadfast love ♪ ♪ As far as the east from the west ♪ ♪ So wide is your faithfulness, oh my soul ♪ ♪ Bless the Lord, bless the Lord ♪

♪ Oh my soul, bless the Lord, bless the Lord ♪ ♪ I won't forget how He forgives me ♪ ♪ I won't forget how He has healed me ♪ ♪ I won't forget how He has crowned me with steadfast love ♪ ♪ Oh, I will bless the Lord ♪ ♪ I won't forget how He forgives me ♪ ♪ I won't forget how He has healed me ♪ ♪ I won't forget how He has crowned me with steadfast love ♪ ♪ Oh, I will bless the Lord ♪ ♪ I won't forget how He forgives me ♪ ♪ I won't forget how He has healed me ♪ ♪ I won't forget how He has crowned me with steadfast love ♪ ♪ Oh, I will bless the Lord ♪ ♪ As high as the heavens above ♪ ♪ So high is your steadfast love ♪ ♪ As far as the east from the west ♪ ♪ So wide is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ As high as the heavens above ♪ ♪ So high is your steadfast love ♪ ♪ As far as the east from the west ♪ ♪ So wide is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Oh, my soul, bless the Lord, bless the Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, my soul, bless the Lord, bless the Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, my soul, bless the Lord, bless the Lord ♪ MAN, GOOD MORNING CHURCH FAMILY. HEY, SO WE ARE SO GLAD THAT YOU HAVE MADE IT THIS MORNING. WE'VE GOT AN OPPORTUNITY. WE KNOW LAST WEEK, OBVIOUSLY CELEBRATING A BIG WEEKEND WITH EASTER, AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO COME AND

HELP SERVE AND MAKE THAT SUCH A GREAT WEEKEND. BUT HEY, THIS IS THE NEXT WEEKEND. AND BECAUSE OF WHAT WE CELEBRATED, WE GET TO COME IN HERE ALL OVER AGAIN, AND WE GET TO WORSHIP OUR KING, AND WE GET TO BE REMINDED. WE WON'T FORGET HIS LOVE, HIS UNFELLING LOVE, OVER AND OVER ON SUNDAY, EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, WE GET A CHANCE TO SAY, LORD, DON'T LET ME FORGET. I LIKE TO TELL PEOPLE, I SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT, I DON'T FORGET WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR ME UP HERE, BUT IF WE'RE NOT CAREFUL, WE FORGET WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR US RIGHT HERE. AND SO THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO BE IN THIS ROOM AND GATHER TOGETHER TO HELP EACH OTHER REMEMBER, TO ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER, TO LIFT UP OUR KING AND CELEBRATE WHAT HE'S DONE FOR US. HEY, IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME DOING THAT WITH US HERE AT CROSSGATES, AND WE JUST WANT TO SAY, WE'RE SO GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE. WE LIKE TO SAY THAT YOU ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN THE ROOM. WE LOVE THE FACT THAT GOD HAS LED YOU HERE, AND THAT IS TRUE, TO WORSHIP WITH US THIS MORNING. WE WOULD LOVE FOR YOU, IF YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE, ON THE BACK SEAT IN FRONT OF YOU, THERE'S A CONNECT CARD, A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN GIVE US A LITTLE INFORMATION, AND JUST HELP US HOWEVER WE CAN FOR YOU AND YOUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, SO YOU CAN FILL THAT OUT. ALSO, YOU SEE THE BLACK TAP TAGS ON THOSE SEATS, IF YOU WANT TO FILL IT OUT DIGITALLY, YOU CAN DO THAT AS WELL. AND SO, ALSO ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE CONNECT CARD IS A PRAYER

REQUEST. AND WE WOULD SAY, HEY, THIS IS NOT JUST FOR THOSE WHO ARE FIRST TIME GUESTS. THIS IS FOR ANYBODY. IF YOU HAVE ANY PRAYER NEEDS AS WELL, WE MAKE A PROMISE ON TUESDAY MORNINGS, OUR CHURCH STAFF, WE GATHER TOGETHER AND WE PRAY FOR THOSE. AND SO, WE KNOW THAT WE, AGAIN, CAN COME ALONGSIDE AND JUST WHEREVER YOU ARE SPIRITUALLY AND THE NEEDS THAT YOU HAVE PRAYERFULLY, THAT WE CAN BE THERE WITH YOU DOING THOSE SAME THINGS, LIFTING THESE THINGS UP TO OUR GOOD AND LOVING FATHER. WHEN WE LEAVE WORSHIP, HEY, THERE'LL BE SOME PEOPLE WITH SOME RED BUCKETS. WE CAN, IF YOU HAVE A CONNECT CARD, YOU CAN JUST DROP IT IN THAT RED BUCKET, SO THAT WAY WE CAN DO WHATEVER WE NEED TO NEXT. HEY, LADIES, WE'LL REMIND YOU THAT ON APRIL 21ST IS OUR WOMEN'S DINNER, AKA THE GATHERING, BUT TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER FOR THAT. SO, IF YOU'VE NOT DONE SO ALREADY AND YOU CAN MAKE IT AND CERTAINLY WANT TO MAKE IT TODAY, MAKE SURE YOU GO AHEAD AND REGISTER. THAT WAY WE CAN, HEY, CHILD CARE IS AVAILABLE, DROP THEM OFF, GO AND SPEND SOME TIME WITH OTHER WOMEN, SPEND TIME IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. IT'S SO VITAL. THERE'S A WHOLE LOT GOING ON. YOU CAN GO TO EVENTS.CROSSGATE.ORG, YOU CAN GO ON THE APP, A LOT OF OTHER PLACES. BUT HEY, FOR NOW, AS MUCH STUFF IS AHEAD OF US, WE'RE STILL HERE

JUST FOR THE MOMENT TO WORSHIP JESUS. AND SO, LET'S JUST LIFT HIM UP THIS MORNING, AND JUST LIFT YOUR EYES UP TO HIM, WHATEVER YOU'VE GOT TO DO TO REMOVE ANY DISTRACTION IN YOUR LIFE, AND JUST FOCUS ON WHAT HE'S DOING. LORD, DON'T LET US FORGET. FATHER, DON'T LET US FORGET. THE WORLD WANTS TO GRAB AT US AND PULL US AND TAKE OUR MIND AWAY. WE'RE DISTRACTED. LORD, THERE'S THINGS. GOD, THIS MORNING, PUT US IN A NEW PLACE, LORD. WE DON'T FORGET WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR US. HOW GOOD YOU ARE. THE BLOOD THAT WAS SHED FOR OUR SINS, AND THE RESURRECTION THAT WAS PROOFING. YOU'RE ABLE. YOU'RE ABLE. FATHER, WE LIFT YOU UP THIS MORNING BECAUSE YOU ARE ABLE. YOU'RE WORTHY OF ALL OF OUR PRAISE, GOD. YOU ARE LOVING. YOU'RE COMPASSIONATE. YOU REMOVE OUR SINS AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST, LORD. AND WE BELIEVE, GOD, THIS MORNING, YOU HAVE SOMETHING FOR US BECAUSE YOU JUST LOVE US. YOU WANT TO DO THINGS IN OUR LIFE, LORD. YOU WANT TO DRAW US CLOSER TO YOU. YOU LOVE FOR US TO EXPERIENCE YOUR PRESENCE. LORD, I JUST PRAY THIS MORNING, GOD, THAT WE JUST DO THAT. HELP US TO BE IN ANY POSITION THAT WE NEED TO, LORD. TO HEAR FROM YOU.

TO KNOW YOU MORE. MAYBE KNOW YOU FOR THE FIRST TIME FOR THOSE WHO DON'T. SO BRING SALVATION THIS MORNING. LORD, BRING COMFORT THIS MORNING. BRING PEACE. BRING HOPE. LORD, EVERY NEED THAT WE HAVE, LORD, YOU KNOW IT. And we just ask you, Lord, will you fulfill those things up? And in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thank you for that. Church family, we wanna teach you a new song this morning that allows us to sing, to declare our own resurrection story, the testimony of what Jesus has done in your life. It's right out of Ephesians 2 that we were all dead in our trespasses and sins. And if you're a follower of God, we have each had that but God moment where God stepped in full of the richness of his mercy, gave us the free gift of his grace and brought us from darkness to light, from death to life. So learn this song with us and be reminded of what the Lord has saved you from. And let's praise him for it as we sing together. I was buried beneath my rebellion. Lost without hope of redemption. Blinding my need for a savior. Oh, but God I live. I was crushed by the weight of my failure. And live in the lie I created. Digging my grave without knowing. Oh, but God. Oh, but God. Rich in mercy, how you love me. Too much to let me stay lost.

My salvation sent from heaven. Nailing my sin to a cross. Oh, but God. You gave me a truth worth believing. And I traded my chains for your freedom. Cause you were the one that I needed. Oh, but God. Resurrected my heart from the wounds. My rescue came through like the morning. And this is my sure testimony. Oh, but God. Oh, but God. Rich in mercy, how you love me. Too much to let me stay lost. My salvation sent from heaven. Nailing my sin to a cross. Oh, but God. Oh, and all the wreckage of my choices. You have turned to life from ashes. Lifted from death and risen with him. And now I stand in confidence. Cause I know that all the wreckage of my choices. You have turned to life from ashes. Lifted from death and risen with him. And now I stand in confidence. Rich in mercy, how you love me. Too much to let me stay lost. My salvation sent from heaven. Nailing my sin to a cross. Rich in mercy, how you love me. Too much to let me stay lost. My salvation sent from heaven. Nailing my sin to a cross. Oh, but God. Oh, but God. Oh, but God. Oh, but God. Let's praise him this morning. He's our Savior, our Rescuer. Worthy of praise. I've sung so many songs. I've cried out at the top of my lungs. My heart's still reaching for something deeper, something more. So give me old or give me new. I just want to sing the truth. Here in these praises, let me see Jesus. And isn't he wonderful? And isn't he glorious? And isn't he powerful? And isn't he good to us? He's brighter than anything. ♪ Son, greater than any storm ♪ ♪ Faithful forevermore, let me see Jesus ♪

♪ We walk through the open door ♪ ♪ That leads to where you are ♪ ♪ Angels cry holy now, oh heaven bowing down ♪ ♪ And at the center, one throne, only one they belonged ♪ ♪ Holy Spirit lead us, that we would see Jesus ♪ ♪ Holy in us, and we worship Jesus ♪ ♪ And isn't he wonderful, and isn't he glorious ♪ ♪ And isn't he powerful, and isn't he good to us ♪ ♪ He's brighter than any sun, greater than any storm ♪ ♪ He's faithful forevermore, let me see Jesus ♪ ♪ And it's all for you, my heart's ovation ♪ ♪ It's all for you, heaven's procession ♪ ♪ It's all for you, the song of creation ♪ ♪ You are worthy of it all, you are worthy of it all ♪ ♪ It's all for you, my heart's ovation ♪ ♪ It's all for you, Jesus, heaven's procession ♪ ♪ It's all for you, the song of creation ♪ ♪ You are worthy of it all, you are worthy of it all ♪ ♪ And you are worthy of it all, and you are worthy of it all ♪ ♪ And isn't he wonderful, and isn't he glorious ♪ ♪ And isn't he powerful, and isn't he great ♪ ♪ Isn't he glorious, and isn't he powerful ♪ ♪ And isn't he good to us, he's brighter than any storm ♪ ♪ Greater than any storm, faithful forevermore ♪ ♪ Let me see Jesus, and isn't he wonderful ♪ ♪ And isn't he glorious, and isn't he powerful ♪ ♪ And isn't he good to us, he's brighter than any storm ♪ ♪ Greater than any storm, faithful forevermore ♪ ♪ Let me see Jesus, let me see Jesus ♪ ♪ Let me see Jesus, let me see Jesus ♪

And Lord, that is our prayer this morning. God, as we are in your presence, that God, would you just let us see your face, God. Through your word and through our messed up stories, God, you have your hand fully extended to your people with an ongoing invitation to just taste and see that the Lord is good. And so, Lord, I pray that as we open your word and we study your word, Lord, I pray that there are more resurrection stories to be had today on the heels of celebrating your resurrection, God. And so, Lord, be with us as we dive into your word this morning, and it's in your name that I pray, amen and amen. You may be seated, good morning. Hope all of you are doing well, pumped about today, because we are so excited about starting a brand new sermon series. We're gonna take a quick pause from 1 Corinthians and we're gonna jump into a three-week series just right off the heels of Easter weekend that we are just calling My Resurrection Story. You know, by the grace of God and the power of the resurrection, that same spirit for those who are in Christ, that exact same spirit is gonna raise us from the dead one day. Hallelujah, am I right?

But even on this side of eternity, the beautiful thing about it is, is it just isn't his story now, it's our story because that same spirit is not only going to raise us to life one day after we die, there is a reality that while we have given our life to Jesus on this side of eternity, then something in you has already come back to life. And coming off the heels of Easter, man, what a great time to talk about that and celebrate that and walk through those things, you know? Because we can give God the glory that he is still raising people from the dead. As a matter of fact, last week, 15 people through our Easter weekend gave their life to the Lord last week. Can we just thank God for that? I had a church member stop me in the lobby just a second ago and she was like, I brought two friends and both of them got saved. And she said, I was sitting there in the main lobby waiting on them to come out to meet up and she kept waiting and waiting and waiting and they never came and so she called them and said, hey, where are y'all at? Just making sure that y'all aren't lost. And their response was, oh, we're not lost, we've been found. Amen, that's pretty awesome. And so because of Jesus, if you're saved today,

something has come back to life in you. And it's just the story of a journey. Desires have died, new desires have been birthed, arose in all of that is a new journey and that is what this series is going to be about. It's about that story. It's about your story, how God took at some moment in your life, something that was broken, dead and buried and has now brought it back with purpose, power and hope. And over the next three weeks, we want everybody to come to understand your story and to encourage you that your story matters. And if we are going to call ourselves a soul winning church, if we are gonna fulfill our next 10 mission that's on that wall in the main lobby, then we have to create a culture of soul winning and one of the things that we must do to create a culture of soul winning is for you and I to know our story so we can share it out in a lost and dying world. The reality of where you've been, where you met God, the transformation that has taken place and the journey since then. Everybody has a story and it's so unique. To hear many of your testimonies that I've heard in my some 10 years here have been so awesome and everybody has a unique story, but the cool thing about it is there are three things in your story and my story that will always be the same.

There will always be brokenness, there'll always be belief and there'll always be becoming and that's where we're gonna be over the next three weeks. Our stories are different but those three things we will all share the same thing with. And so this morning, we are going to highlight the reality of what it is to be broken and what is brokenness and I would invite you if you have your Bibles to turn with me to Genesis chapter 32 and we're gonna be looking at the last 10 verses where we find the story of a man named Jacob wrestling with God. And I'm just gonna go ahead and tell you right now that I do not have all the answers to this story but as we read some of these verses, you're probably gonna have 20 questions around what in the world is happening and that is okay. I'm a pastor and I still have those questions but it's this story and it's this pinnacle moment in Jacob's life where he is wrestling with God but through Jacob's story this morning, I would like to attempt to get us to see a picture that God is painting, to get us to see a picture that God is working towards a final product but there are things that any painter of a picture, they must get in order before they get to the final product. You know, Bob Ross is a instrumental figure in our house right now because our son loves watching Bob Ross and while an episode of Bob Ross is on,

he's got his little paper there and his paint and he's trying to paint what Bob Ross is painting. And I'm just like, I've always thought that even the greatest of painters, there's no way you can keep up with that guy in those, because he's just like, ah, happy little tree here, happy little bush here. We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents and then crisscross, splish splash, and trees pop up everywhere. And he's like, you can do it. And I'm like, you are crazy. But my son loves to try, and he does. And so I guess that's why just in my image just thinking about this passage. It's like God is painting a picture in the life of Jacob. And so when you think of what this picture is, especially if like an artist could capture how Jacob was limping because of God touching his hip, which we're about to read, that one moment captured of Jacob's limp gives us a window into his whole story. And so I wanna talk about that with you guys this morning. And so let's read those 10 verses, and then we're gonna try our best to break this down. Picking up in verse 22, the same night he, Jacob, arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his 11 children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream

and everything else that he had. 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 is 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 said, 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 place or 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. Yeah, I told you, a lot of questions in those 10 verses. But there's a lot of good things in these 10 verses. It's interesting to me, and I'm sure you can resonate with this,

how God uses places on our spiritual journeys that we'll remember all of our life. For Jacob, there is this place etched in his memory for a variety of reasons, and that place is called Peniel. For us, you have a place etched in your memory for a variety of reasons, and I believe that's just how we were wired. And we see it time and time again in the Old Testament how something miraculous God would do, and there would be a big God moment, and what would they do? They would build an altar to the Lord as a stone of remembrance. Or Joshua, when they cross and they go into the land, they build these altars, they build these stones of remembrance to where when they look back or they see him again, they see that spot, that rock, that altar, and they're like, man, God did this specific thing right here. For me, my stone of remembrance or my place on a spiritual journey, I know it sounds crazy, is in the hotel room of the BJCC Complex in Birmingham, Alabama. And I'm telling you, that is when God came to life. I can't explain it, but I kept talking to my buddy about the Lord and my life was never the same at that moment in 2012.

And so in a lot of ways, that moment at the Complex in Birmingham there was my pinnial. And I know many of us have a pinnial moment much like Jacob, and I hope that there is one day when we get to heaven and we can sit down and ask all of these biblical heroes questions. I don't know, do you guys ever think about that? Like there's just this top five of people that when I get to heaven, I wanna go chat about and just ask questions and be like, wow, so that thing really did, your staff really did turn into a snake or just whatever. But I would love to get there, to ask these questions. of all of these heroes and the people of the Bible, and I'm sure that their answers and their stories from their perspective would absolutely blow our minds. And I feel like if we could talk to Jacob, and I feel like if you could ask questions about some of the absolute craziness that took place in his life from the moment he was born to the day he died, if you could talk to Jacob, he would tell us about all of those many encounters that he had with people. But most importantly, I believe that he would tell us about the place called Pineal.

And the reason that I think that story would stand out above all the other Jacob stories is because it was a defining moment in the life of Jacob. And it was a defining moment because Jacob came face-to-face with the reality that he was a broken man, that he was a broken man. And I want you to keep this definition close as we go through this story, but what is brokenness? And here's the definition of brokenness. Brokenness is the daily effect that the rebellion of sin has on our day-to-day lives. That's what brokenness is, okay? It is the rippling effect of sin that is in our personal life, that is in our marriages, our relationships, and the world around us, okay? That's why we can say something in a text that comes out absolutely wrong, and now you're in damage control for the rest of the day. That is brokenness. You can be riding down the road listening to your favorite worship song and somebody cuts you off and you wanna murder them right on the spot. And out of the same mouth, we're singing praises to the Lord and then in the same mouth, we're like, you need to run into the ditch. You know what I mean? That has a name and it's called brokenness. It's the miscommunication that turns the whole thing

into a full-blown argument with your spouse. But even deeper than that, it's the addiction that promises escape, but it quietly takes over your life. That's brokenness. It's the anxiety and the depression that leaves you feeling isolated in a crowded room. That is brokenness. And the reality of it is, we are never going to escape brokenness as long as we are on this side of eternity. For the believer, there's a measure of brokenness, and for the unbeliever, there is a measure of brokenness. And I feel like Paul really does articulate that. For the believer, brokenness, I believe, is something like this. When he writes in 2 Corinthians 4, 7, that we now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are what? Like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God and not for ourselves. So when this light is in our hearts and we're the fragile clay jar, and this light is shining through our scars and our brokenness and our warts, there's a light there. And it's that light that is allowing us to become more and more like Christ as we live this normal Christian life.

But on the flip side of it, there's a brokenness that's on behalf of the unbeliever that Paul too articulates quite well. And he says in 2 Corinthians 4, 4, he says Satan, who is the God of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the good news. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. And so there is an unbelieving brokenness that leads to more brokenness because people don't see sin as their greatest problem in their life. And it just slowly spirals, it slowly spirals. And until we get to the place where we see with our eyes that sin literally brought brokenness into every area of our lives, then we'll never see life from a spiritual lens. And so there's brokenness for the believer, but by the grace of God, he is there. But there's brokenness for the unbeliever that is slowly spiraling, moving away from a moment that their eyes could be opened by the grace of God. And so real quickly, back to Jacob. If you ever wanna read his story. story, it begins in Genesis 19, and I challenge you to go read it, because there's no way I can cover everything this morning,

or we'll be serving you Nuke sandwiches while I'm preaching. But Nuke's didn't pay me to say that, it's just the first restaurant that came to mind. Just want to throw that out there. But Jacob's story begins in Genesis 19, and if you remember, or if you're familiar with the story, if you're not familiar, you'll get a good little recap here, but Jacob came from a godly family. I mean, Abraham was his grandfather, I mean, that's pretty godly, if you ask me. But Jacob is from a godly family, Abraham was his grandfather, Jacob was the person that stole and claimed his brother Esau's birthright in chapter 25, because Esau was so hungry. And there's so many lessons that we could learn there, but in that story, we learn a lot about Jacob. In that story, we learn that Jacob is cunning. We learn in that story that Jacob is deceitful, to which Isaac, his own father, says to Esau, your brother came deceitfully to me and took away your blessing. And there was, I mean, Esau was devastated because Jacob, with his mom, created this plan to deceive Isaac, who was blind, to steal the firstborn son's blessing. And so that's a mark of brokenness, all right? And so the story moves on and Jacob leaves because Esau is so full of rage

that he wants to kill his brother for stealing his blessing. And so Jacob leaves his country at his mother's request to go find a wife. Now, really quickly, what is to be noticed here about Jacob's life, and this should be an encouragement for us today, that God's sovereign purpose is unfolding even in the deceitful actions of Jacob. God's sovereignty and God's providence is right there. And it should be an encouragement to us that even in our worst moments, God's plan is working out to get you to a place where he draws you to him. Friends, I don't know if you know this, but God is a pursuer. And God is pursuing you. In your utmost rebellion, God is pursuing you, okay? Even in your quietest moments, spending time with the Lord in the morning, guess what? God is pursuing you. God is a pursuer. And to the unbeliever and the person that may have just been rejecting Jesus all too long, any desire that you have ever had for God, it's because he's pursuing you. It ain't because you're going to him. Because Paul says that no man seeks God. And so any desire that you've had for God is because he is pursuing you. And the greater thing about that is that any desire from God, every single desire,

it's an invitation to step in. It's an invitation to step in to the relationship with the very God that is pursuing you even today. And so some time goes on, and Jacob, he has this crazy experience at Bethel. Everybody heard the story of Jacob's Ladder. Well, that's where this comes from. He has this crazy experience at Bethel in chapter 28 of Genesis, where he dreams of this ladder that reaches heaven. And he sees angels and all of these wonderful things going up and down the ladder, and he sees all the wonderful things of heaven. And God makes this declaration to him after Jacob has left his homeland. God says, I will go with you wherever you go, and I will one day bring you back to this land that you were leaving, and I will not leave you until I have done what I have done. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you. And Jacob's response was, surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. And that should have been a defining moment for Jacob. But based off of the next chapter it's evident that Jacob still, even God meeting him right there and ready, Jacob keeps him at an arm's distance, at an arm's length. Because the next chapter and the next part of Jacob's life is this intriguing story of him finding a wife. And he falls in love with this woman by the name of Rachel. And Jacob loved Rachel so much that he was willing to work and wait seven years to have her hand in marriage. And so he goes to

Laban, his future father-in-law, and says, basically, I love Rachel. And he says, well, if you want Rachel, work seven years for me and you can have her. And Jacob didn't debate, he didn't think, he said, all right. Which is a great lesson in and of itself that we don't have time to talk about, but what a beautiful picture of how love can wait seven years. Lust can't wait seven minutes. So know the difference. And so Jacob works and toils for his father-in-law. I'm sure that was an adventure, am I right? Don't say anything because you may get in trouble. If I would have gotten an amen right there, somebody would have really got in trouble. But he works seven years for his father-in-law, Laban. And I can't imagine, can you imagine Jacob waking up on that final day of seven years of completion? He's like, finally, I get the woman of my dreams. And he finds out at the end of this seven years, and I don't even can explain what I'm about to say, but he accidentally marries Rachel's sister Leah. I know. And so you have this moment where Jacob works seven years for Rachel. Laban deceives him. He marries Leah. Laban basically says, paraphrasing, that we don't give away the younger daughter before the older daughter. And so what does Jacob do? Jacob works another seven years so that he can have Rachel. So a total of 14 years this man works for his father-in-law, Laban, so that he can have the woman of his dreams, Rachel. And it's also such a small little plot twist because Jacob, the one that deceives and the Jacob that is cunning, is now being deceived by his father-in-law. So now the shoe is on the other foot. And then we get to Genesis 30, and this story of brokenness gets crazier and crazier. But we get to Genesis 30, and we discover God has providentially closed the womb of Rachel for a season. And then the greatest baby-making contest of all time happens between Rachel's concubine, Leah, and her concubine. Let me tell you something. If you have ever thought that your family gatherings were complicated, read Genesis 30 and take a deep breath. It ain't so bad, okay? So the next time you go to your family gathering, just say, at least it's not Genesis 30. And so it's crazy, and we can't explain everything, but the undercurrent there is brokenness. Everyone is trying to fix things their way. Everyone is trying to patch up deep wounds their way. And it's just a cycle

that just spirals downward. And now we flash forward. Several years have gone by. He finally gets to marry Rachel, accompanied by Leah, and he begins to make the journey back. to his own country just as God had promised him at Bethel. And this is where we're gonna spend the rest of our time because it's here in Genesis 31 and Genesis 32 where we are introduced to the fear that is overtaking Jacob's life. And that fear is him preparing to meet his brother Esau for the first time since he stole his birthright, left his country, and all of the water that has been under the bridge, this is the first time in years that Jacob was about to be face to face with Esau. And he has no idea what that's gonna be like so therefore naturally he thinks the worst. In verse 11 of Genesis 32, he literally comes to the conclusion while they're figuring out what to do as Esau and his massive camp is headed towards them, Jacob comes to the conclusion and he says, I am afraid that he will come and attack me and the mothers and their children. And so the night before Jacob is to meet Esau. All right, it says this in verse 22 of Genesis 32 which is where we're at. And it says, the same night he arose and took his two female servants, his two wives, his two female servants, and his 11 children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

He took them and sent them across the stream and everything else that he had. And then verse 24, if you ever wanna underline a verse for Jacob's life, verse 24 is the hinge verse. And that verse just simply said, and Jacob was left alone. Think about all of the crazy chaotic decisions that have been made over the course of his life. Think about the chaos of having two wives that are two sisters and then 11 children at this point between them two and the two concubines. Think about all the deceit. Think about all of the travesties that was taking place between Laban getting Jacob and then Jacob getting Laban back and vice versa. All the decision, the division, all of it is prevalent here in this moment. Esau makes an appearance and sees Jacob and Jacob meets Esau eye to eye for the first time in years. Esau wants to talk to Jacob. Jacob isn't sure how this is gonna go and so he tells Esau, you go one place and we'll meet you there. And Jacob, in his cunningness and his deceitfulness says, I'm not doing that. And so he sends his family one way and then he goes another way. And verse 24 sets the stage where it says, and Jacob was left alone. And aloneness still affects you and I in 2026. One of the things that people fear the most is being alone.

Like we're the most connected that society has ever been in the history of mankind and there is more isolation and anxiety from that than anything. That we're afraid to be alone. We're afraid to be alone with God. And that's why we indulge in so many things that keeps us connected and keeps us occupied. But there's an undercurrent of truth here that Jacob's life doesn't start changing until he gets alone with God here in Genesis 32. His life doesn't really begin shifting towards the latter half of Genesis, the book of Genesis until this moment here when he gets alone with God. Why? Because you can't heal what you won't slow down enough to face. We live at a blistering pace and we know it and we don't care and in a lot of ways our brokenness just seeps out and seeps out and seeps out and we don't fix it. And we don't fix it. because we resonate, I don't have time to do that. But brokenness here, you can't heal what you won't slow down enough to face. One of my favorite passages is in Psalm 16, seven, and I have it circled and underlined in my Bible because it just paints a little picture. And it says, I bless the Lord who gives me counsel, but here's what I love. In the night, also my heart instructs me.

I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand and I shall not be shaken. But I love that little spot there where it says, in the night, my heart also instructs me. Like think about a normal night, you know, lights are dim, the hustle and bustle of the day is done. Kids are in bed and it just paints a picture of quiet and it's the best time just to find yourself alone with your thoughts, if not for just a few moments before your eyes start getting heavier and heavier. But this Psalm just speaks to that small moment where it's quiet and it's dim and it's not loud anymore and you're alone right there. And it says, in the night, also my heart instructs me. Why, because I have set the Lord always before me. That I've set the Lord always before my heart because he is at my right hand and I will not be shaken. And it's in those moments of being alone, it's in your most private moments where God does his best work. God does awesome work in this worship center as we collectively and corporately worship him. But man, he does some individual special work when you find yourself alone. And so I have this truth here that brokenness grows in distractions but gets exposed in the presence of God. When we just slow down enough. Brokenness grows in distraction but gets exposed in the presence of God

and Jacob is there. Jacob is there and he finds himself in an encounter that he describes as wrestling with God. And in that wrestling, God was going to turn the ugliness of a man called Jacob into the beauty of a new person. And God was taking all the pain of Jacob's deceit and his cunning and turned it into a discipleship that spanned over years. And so the life of Jacob should be a great example to us about how God uses all of the journey, the good, the bad, the ugly, the beauty, the pain, the shame, the guilt over the course of a lifetime. And God met Jacob in a painful moment but the result was permanent for God and also for Jacob. Jacob met God in a moment, God met Jacob in a moment and the result was permanent. And that is the beauty of the gospel and the amazing thing about God. Is that he chooses to take the whole course of my 39 years on this life and he chooses to take this pile of broken called Ben. And then he sends Christ to my life to take this brokenness into something of worth and of value and make something beautiful for his namesake. And that's what he's getting ready to do for Jacob. Man, I tell you, my little prayer journal in the mornings or there's probably more,

I don't have a phrase in there more than Lord, forgive me. Lord, I repent, Lord, forgive me. But man, when God gives you a new purpose, it's like you just hear him in my spirit, it's okay, son, I know, I know. And he's so patient. And through Jacob's chaotic wife, he's still patient and he's here in the moment. And there's just a reality here that many of us, I genuinely believe we want the blessings of God, but not the process of God and it can't be that way. You got to have the. Process of God you must become you must come to the end of yourself utterly powerless And then God says now I can do something and that is what brokenness is deep in your heart You know, something is wrong. You know, something is broken and There is nobody on planet Earth that could ever hope to be a godly person unless you first admit that you are a godless person and If you are a godless person, there is a brokenness unto death that needs a resurrection And the only person that can do that is Jesus Christ There is no other way But yet it should be so encouraging that there is great hope and great freedom in Seeing sin and brokenness as your greatest problem There's a freedom in it Because Jesus is like I welcome that And so moving on quickly It says when the man saw that he didn't 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 Did you get that phrase because listen there is a lesson of brokenness that needs to be learned here But there is also a lesson of clinging God broke him and so many people walk the other way But Jacob clings to him with everything that he has and said I'm not leaving you until you Bless me and it was there that God gave Jacob a new name In his weakest moment in his most broken moment out of desperation I can just imagine the Pre-incarnate Christ trying to walk away from that moment and Jacob is wrestling him saying I will not let you go until you bless me and He says What is your name? And he said Jacob, I love how God just strings this alone I love the fact that God allowed Jacob to wrestle with him that long. I love how God asked. What is your name? He cares And he said 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 and 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 For I have seen God face to face And yet my life has been delivered Or you can go ahead and play but I would just like to ask you Have you come to that moment in your life where you have met God face to face and by his grace you have been delivered Because Jacob found himself At a place where not only he finally surrendered to God But he was given a new name and to me that's so significant here

Because it's funny because I don't know if you know this but Jacob the name literally means trickster So didn't know if you knew that or not That's what makes this so significant to me is that Jacob Jacob means trickster and to think for a moment all the people that he tricked His own father his brother his father-in-law and on down the line His life was defined by deceit and trickery which is the exact same thing that you and I are most defined by Deceit and trickery not being honest with ourself not being honest with our place before a holy God We are most defined by the things we hide the things we cover up and the things that we love to make appear better than they really are and All the while God is there waiting for you to come to the realization of your brokenness And so, Jacob overcame by the exact same way we overcome. He finally surrendered. He finally surrendered. He said, I will not let you go until you bless me. And he was utterly powerless. And it was in his powerlessness that he got a new name. And I'm just here to tell you this morning, some of you need a new name. Some of you need to be defined by something other than your sin and be defined by the one who took your sin, which is Jesus Christ. Use your new name if you let him. Verse 31 is the picture of the final painting that we talked about at the beginning. And it says, the sun rose upon him as he passed Peniel limping because of his hip. And I would imagine for the rest of Jacob's life, people would look at him and say, man, what a great man of God. Boy, it sure is a shame that he has to walk around with a limp. But if you could talk to Jacob, I believe that he would say that this limp that I have to deal with for the rest of my days. It's the daily reminder that I got a new name that day.

It's the daily reminder that this limp reminds me of my brokenness, but his righteousness. And so maybe this morning, it's been our prayer all week, but for somebody in this room, this is your Peniel. And this is the place where you could have a new name. And so would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, I just thank you for showing me my brokenness. And Lord, I thank you for saving me. And I know that there are people here that are at their wits end, God, because the world says you're just fine, you're just a little flawed. But your word says that we are dead in need of a resurrection. And so today, I'm just asking you, would you give your life to Jesus? You're never going to be able to fix it. No matter what strategy, way, whatever, you're not going to fix it, but Jesus can. And maybe he has brought to you your Peniel where you have wrestled with God, but he's ready to give you a new name. It's like I said earlier, any desire that you've ever had of God, it's an invitation. And so Heavenly Father, I just pray for our people in this room, Lord. I pray for believers that are living in brokenness, God, that they wake up every day proclaiming holy, holy, holy is the Lord. God, would you give them strength and endurance, God? Would you prompt them to forgiveness and repentance as they do this normal Christian life, but simultaneously, Lord, I would simply ask that God, would you allow the unbeliever in this room to see sin as their greatest problem and God, would you break them so that they may be eternally healed? And so Heavenly Father, I just ask that you have your way. And to anybody that has given their life to the Lord or any questions, would you please, we have set aside right here at the Next Step Center out there in the main lobby, a spot where a minister would be there to talk with you and pray with you about anything. And likewise, even right now, we have prayers, pastors and ministers here that want to take your prayers and pray for you about anything.

So Lord, just have your way. And it's in your name I pray, amen. You stand and sing with us. If your life's been resurrected by the war that Jesus won and you wait in expectation for a kingdom yet to come. All you citizens of heaven, sons and daughters of the King, come on church, lift your voice and sing. We will praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord forever. Come on, bless His name, let all within me sing. Praise the Lord forever. We praise you forever. For the one who's brokenhearted and it's hard to sing this song. Cause you've been walking through the valley and your faith is feeling small. Well I pray peace and love surround you from the God who understands. As the family all around you lifts your arms up when you can. We join the choir of creation with the song of the redeemed. Oh come on church, lift your voice and sing. Come on, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise the Lord forever. Oh bless His name, let all within me sing. Oh praise the Lord forever. We'll be down here as long as you guys need for prayer. There may be something that had nothing to do with the sermon today that you just need prayer for and we'll be down here. If you wouldn't mind just extending your hands out to receive a blessing and we're just going to close our time together. But Heavenly Father, I pray God that you bless this people of Crossgates by renewing to them the joy of their salvation. That God I pray even now as we have begun a journey of my resurrection story. That God they would embrace brokenness as the most freeing thing ever because you have fixed it for all eternity. So God would you bless these people. Would you keep them and hide them in your heart and give them peace this week as they go about their lives. And it's in your name that I pray, amen. You guys be blessed, have a great week. Amen.