How To Surrender To God (Jabin Chavez)

0:00:01.520 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:05.800 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:08.320 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:11.040 this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:13.560 gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:20.400 Enjoy the message while you're standing. While you're standing, I 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:28.760 just want to thank God for our amazing pastors. They're 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:33.920 the best. God is a god of people and places. 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:37.320 And then when you find your people, and you find 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:44.760 your place and never leave. And Pastor Stephen and Pastor 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:50.919 Hawley are my peoples, and Elevation is my place. And 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:53.840 God has used this house to change our lives and 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:59.200 impact our lives, and use this ministry to change us 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:02.160 and shape us. And I just want to take a 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:06.600 moment to thank God for the amazing leaders that He's 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:09.920 put in our life. Amen, can you clap your hands? 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:19.720 And God must really love you, and God must really 0:01:19.760 --> 0:01:25.760 love this region because he put such amazing gifts in 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:28.760 this place. And Pastor seven and Pastor Hawley, and I 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:32.560 just honor you guys. I know they're probably watching from 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:35.200 I don't know, a tour bus or whatever they're doing 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:38.479 right now. But we love you, we celebrate you, we 0:01:38.520 --> 0:01:42.240 pray for you, we pray for your kids. We bless 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:47.840 Abby and Elijah and Graham, and just thank God for them. 0:01:47.880 --> 0:01:49.720 And I thank God for this whole team, this whole 0:01:49.760 --> 0:01:52.600 staff that loves you and cares for you, and pastors 0:01:52.600 --> 0:01:54.480 you are. You're grateful for the team here at the church. 0:01:54.560 --> 0:02:00.440 That just amen. Amen, Amen, Amen, So to be here. 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:02.280 We're gonna go to God's words. I will let you 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:04.760 grab a seat. Just look at three or four people 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:06.200 as you're sitting down and say, it looks like you've 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:08.000 been losing weight. Come on, tell them, it looks like 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:14.600 you've been What are you doing? Look at your neighbors, 0:02:14.600 --> 0:02:16.840 say is that Ozmpic? What are you doing? No, don't 0:02:16.840 --> 0:02:27.360 say that, don't say that. Well, I bring greetings from 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:33.160 Las Vegas, and we just celebrated our seventh year of ministry. 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:38.240 And to God be the glory. And hey, if you're 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:41.560 ever in Vegas, to everyone here, every one at every 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:45.400 location Epham around the world, when you're in Las Vegas 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:57.000 doing ministry, Amen, witnessing to the blackjack dealers and blessing 0:02:57.040 --> 0:03:00.280 the bartenders. Amen. I'm not here to judge, but hey, 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:01.880 when you do come to Vegas, and I know many 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:04.040 of you do, please come say hi to us. We'd 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:07.440 love to see you. We are a portable church. As 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:10.440 of right now, we meet in a high school every Sunday, 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:14.120 but our church city like church next month will actually 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:17.240 be moving into our first building. And a man so 0:03:17.280 --> 0:03:23.880 grateful for that. And to God be the glory. Genesis 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:27.600 chapter thirty two. For some of you are very familiar 0:03:27.680 --> 0:03:30.680 passage of scripture. For others of you, maybe this will 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:32.799 be new. But there is a story actually in your 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:37.240 Bible about a man named Jacob who wrestles with God, 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:40.440 and we're going to talk about it today. Genesis chapter 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:45.840 thirty two. I am a preacher. Teachers tell it, Preachers 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:50.400 yell it, and so if I start yelling, just yell back, 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:53.880 it'll be less awkward. Amen, everybody, just give me an 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:56.720 amen every once in a while, give me an uh huh, 0:03:57.040 --> 0:04:01.800 give me a preacher, whatever you feel, and we're gonna 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.560 have a little We're gonna have a little conversation today, okay. 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:09.760 Genesis chapter thirty two. So Jacob was left alone and 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:13.360 a man wrestled with him till daybreak. And when the 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:16.160 man saw that he could not overpower him. He touched 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:19.159 the socket of Jacob's hips so that his hip was 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:21.600 wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:26.760 let me go, for it is daybreak. But Jacob replied, 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:31.359 I will not let you go unless you bless me. 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:34.240 Let's say that phrase together everybody. I will not let 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:38.360 you go unless you bless me. Then the man asked them, 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:44.279 who are you? What is your name? Jacob? He answered. 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:47.000 Then the man said, your name will no longer be Jacob, 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:51.640 but Israel, because you have struggled, You've wrestled, You've you've 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:56.640 faced God and humans and have overcomes here. Our life 0:04:56.760 --> 0:05:00.200 is like a cross vertical and horizontal, and we have 0:05:00.320 --> 0:05:04.520 to fight and deal with the God issue in life, 0:05:04.520 --> 0:05:06.800 but we also have to deal with the humanity issue 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:10.839 of life. We have to face God and ourselves. And 0:05:10.880 --> 0:05:13.920 I find that most people are running from God and themselves. 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:20.000 But if you would ever face God and face your 0:05:20.040 --> 0:05:26.479 own humanity, you can overcome and live such an amazing life. 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:30.240 Now now, now, Jacob says, why I told you my name? 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:32.520 Please tell me your name. But he replied, why do 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:36.599 you ask my name? Then he blessed him. There, so 0:05:36.800 --> 0:05:41.960 Jacob called the place face to face or penile, saying 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:44.279 it's because I saw God face to face, yet my 0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:48.320 life was spared. The sun rose above him as he 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:52.360 passed Pnial, and he was limping because of his hip. 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:55.960 And I want to talk just for a few moment moments. 0:05:55.960 --> 0:05:57.480 I really kind of want to just give you maybe 0:05:57.480 --> 0:06:01.359 a life verse and a life thought God, and maybe 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:04.560 less of a sermon and more of just how I 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:07.560 attempt to live my life. And I want to talk 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:11.840 about how to surrender to God. How to surrender to God. 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:14.480 Your life is going to be a series of surrenders. 0:06:15.360 --> 0:06:18.760 And the more God can get a yes from you, 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:23.160 the more he can do in your life. So let's 0:06:23.200 --> 0:06:24.960 just practice right off the bat. We're all going to 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:29.080 pray this prayer together. Everybody say yes Lord in Jesus' name, 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:35.119 Amen and Amen and amen. So we find Jacob now 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:39.680 in chapter thirty two, and Jacob is on the run. 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:47.320 He is stolen his brother Esau's birthright. He is lied 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:50.160 to his father in law Laban, and now both men 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:52.760 are chasing him down and they both want to kill him. 0:06:53.320 --> 0:06:55.400 They don't know this, but they're both in hot pursuit 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:58.200 of Jacob, and Jacob is on the run. He's running 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:00.680 from his brother, he's running from his father in law, 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:05.520 he's running from his decisions, he's running from his consequences. 0:07:05.560 --> 0:07:08.400 He's really running from himself. And ultimately, I would say 0:07:08.400 --> 0:07:12.160 that he's running from God. He's on the run. If 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:14.000 you want to know who Jacob is, let me give 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:15.880 you kind of Jacob one oh one. If you're trying 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:18.280 to figure out who is this Jacob guy in the Bible, 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:21.880 it can be defined in one verse. Excuse me. Genesis 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:25.600 chapter thirty one. Thirty one says I rushed away because 0:07:25.640 --> 0:07:33.440 I was afraid. That's just that's just Jacob discontent, unsettled, 0:07:34.440 --> 0:07:41.240 rushing away, on the move, scared, insecure, always trying to 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:46.240 cover up for his last lie, never settled where he's at, 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:51.280 always going somewhere. This is Jacob, And here's really the 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:54.040 good news of the text. We find Jacob in chapter 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:57.640 thirty two, really at his lowest point, in his lowest moment, 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:01.360 And the good news of the text is it is 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:06.920 here that God finds him. Oh I love this that 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:11.960 God doesn't meet him at his best place. M all right. 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:15.120 I thank God that he's the God of the mountain. 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:18.000 But I'm really grateful that he's the God of the valley. 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:21.520 He is the God of my strength, and he's the 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:23.720 God of my annoying and he's the God of my calling. 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:25.840 But he's also the God of my secrets and the 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:29.480 God of my weakness, and he's the God of my issues. Yes, 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:31.480 he's the God of my future, but he's still the 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:34.480 God of my past. He's the God of light, but 0:08:34.520 --> 0:08:37.679 he knows how to find me in the darkness. I'm 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:41.280 so grateful for a God that can find me at 0:08:41.400 --> 0:08:45.880 my lowest place. If you feel low today, I've got 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:48.079 good news for you. God knows how to go low. 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:52.080 David said. Even if I make my bed in hell, 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:54.440 You'll be there, even if I try to go hide 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:57.880 in the dark. Darkness is like light to you. God 0:08:57.920 --> 0:09:02.920 has a way of finding and pursuing and chasing down 0:09:03.160 --> 0:09:07.120 his people. My testimony after serving God now for twenty 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:10.040 six years is not how good I am, how faithful 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:13.160 I've been, how annointed I am, how gifted I am, 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:16.760 how holy I am. No, my testimony is God keeps 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:23.640 chasing me down. Anybody grateful for the mercy of God. Oh, 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:25.760 I know, I just started preaching like three minutes ago, 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:28.480 But can we take our first praise break and just 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:33.480 thank God that we're all here by the grace of God. 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:36.680 There's not a perfect person on your road. There's not 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:40.360 anybody who has it all together. We're all trophies of 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:44.680 God's mercy and God's grace. Oh, I told you two 0:09:44.720 --> 0:09:47.360 men were chasing Jacob. If there was a third man 0:09:47.640 --> 0:09:52.000 chasing Jacob, his name was God Almighty. And he has 0:09:52.080 --> 0:09:56.240 a way of chasing us down. He is a way 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:59.920 of pursuing us. See, he has a way of running 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:03.720 after us. And that's the beauty of what God can do. 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:09.240 And here's our response. Yes, Lord, our response to God's 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:12.680 hot pursuit, our response to God's love, our response to 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:17.000 God's grace is yes. And that's what I want to talk. 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:20.320 I want to talk about your surrender, because the more 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:23.920 God can get of you, the more God can do 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:28.440 through you. So let's talk about it a little bit. 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:31.200 If I'm going to surrender to God. Firstly, you have 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:37.240 to stop running. All right, It's gonna get better. I 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:39.599 promise gonna get better. You gotta stop. You got to 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:42.040 stop running. Verse twenty four that the text begins with 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:47.000 Jacob was left alone. Here's what you find when you 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:52.080 study Jacob, he's never alone. He's chasing Daddy's blessing. He's 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:54.240 hanging out with Mama. He's the first mama's boy in 0:10:54.280 --> 0:11:00.280 the Bible. He's in pursuit of his brother's blessing. He's 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:05.640 running after Laban's daughters. He's he's always busy, always moving, 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:11.920 always running, and always active and always around people. He's 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:17.040 never alone. And he finally gets alone. And I find 0:11:17.040 --> 0:11:21.680 that so many people have traded in fruitfulness for busyness. 0:11:24.520 --> 0:11:27.200 They think to themselves, as long as I'm busy and 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:33.120 tired and depressed and worn out, I must be holy. 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:40.839 Uh was that for somebody in this section? Amen? And 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:46.480 so so they're always active, but never growing, always busy 0:11:46.559 --> 0:11:51.920 but rarely fruitful, always running, so they never have to 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:56.320 face God or themselves. They never have to deal with 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:59.960 the God issue in their life. And so what Jay 0:12:00.040 --> 0:12:02.560 Jacob finally has to do is he finally has to 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:05.400 get alone long enough for God to do something in 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:09.280 his life. And and it's here that he finally gets alone. See, friend, 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:11.679 I've seen this. Now. I'm a rookie pastor, I've only 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:14.560 been pastoring for seven years, but I have seen that 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:18.600 that man. People just love to be moving, and they 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:24.200 go from job to job, career to career, guy to guy, 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:30.839 girl to girl, marriage to marriage, sometimes church to church, 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:39.319 city to city. They're always moving. You know what I've learned. 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:46.520 I've learned that wherever we go, there we are. You 0:12:46.600 --> 0:12:49.400 discovered that, yet you moved to Charlotte. You still you? 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:56.400 Ha ha. You married the man of your dreams and 0:12:56.440 --> 0:13:00.840 you still you. Sir. You were me single and you're 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:06.840 me married. We just need to have a baby. And 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:10.120 then you have a baby. And there you did that. 0:13:10.200 --> 0:13:12.880 Scare anybody else? When you had a child, You went, Jesus, 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:18.200 that's me. And then as they get older, they start 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:20.600 acting like you go, who raised you? Oh? My bad, 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:26.400 My bad, my bad? I thought. See a lot of 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:30.640 times we're running from things, but we're not facing things. 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:34.360 We're running from things, but we're not wrestling with things. 0:13:34.440 --> 0:13:38.079 We're we're running from ourselves. But it's not until we 0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:43.160 wrestle with God and with humanity that we can finally overcome. 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:47.839 Jesus has a better way, and it's it's actually called repentance, 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:51.400 he says in Matthew chapter four. He says, repent of 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:55.080 your sin, turn from your sins, repent of your sins. 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:58.760 But then he says this, and turn to God. See 0:13:58.760 --> 0:14:00.680 a lot of people don't like their sin. They don't 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:03.400 like their issues, they don't like their secrets, they don't 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:05.960 like their whatever they're going through, but they don't have 0:14:06.000 --> 0:14:07.840 any power over it. Here's why, because you haven't turned 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:13.880 to God. See, the issue is not disliking a part 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:18.600 of your life. The issue is loving God. See. God 0:14:18.840 --> 0:14:23.680 is the power of repentance, not remorse. God is the 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:27.760 power of repentance, not guilt. There are so many Christians 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:31.440 that hate themselves but don't have freedom. Why because they 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:34.840 have not learned how to love God. Yet the powers 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:37.280 in loving God. Here's what Jesus is really saying. It's 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:40.000 not as much of a sin issue as a God issue. 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:45.520 That what you really need is God. Well. Now, now 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:50.360 Paul goes further in Ephesians, and here's how he would 0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:52.360 say to me that same scripture. He says, don't get 0:14:52.400 --> 0:14:55.720 drunk with wine. Now, this is old King James, where 0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:59.800 in excess. That's just a fancy way of saying it's 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:08.320 an never gonna be enough. Whatever it is. The wine 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:10.560 will never get you drunk enough. The drugs will never 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:13.480 get you high enough. The sex will never be good enough, 0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:16.280 your husband will never be nice enough, the kids will 0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:19.240 never act good enough. The house will never be big enough, 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:23.840 the car will never be fast enough, the bank account 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:28.920 will never be full enough. What am I saying? I'm 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:35.440 saying anytime you get inebriated on a world system, can 0:15:35.480 --> 0:15:38.520 I talk to anybody? Maybe you've been drinking from the 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:41.480 wrong well. Jesus looked at a woman in John chapter four, 0:15:41.520 --> 0:15:43.200 and he said, you keep drinking from the wrong well, 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:44.920 and that's why you're always circey. But if you would 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:48.600 ever drink of the living water, you would never thirst again. See, 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:52.640 maybe the issue, maybe it's not what you think it is. 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:57.120 See I'm trying to fix my life with all these 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:00.440 temporal things. But maybe the craving is eternal. Because Paul 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:01.880 would go on and say, don't get drunk with wine 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:03.960 wearing excess. In other words, it's never gonna be enough. 0:16:04.000 --> 0:16:08.160 Instead be filled with the Holy Spirit. So what Paul 0:16:08.240 --> 0:16:10.720 is saying is he's saying there's a God issue. See, 0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:15.160 Jacob had had money, Jacob had family. Jacob had camels 0:16:15.200 --> 0:16:18.880 and donkeys and horses and cows. And that's like saying 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:23.480 Mercedes nbmw's and a Corvette and a four f one 0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:25.880 fifty Raptor and a private I mean he had everything, 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:34.320 yet y'all. He had wives. I didn't say a wife 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:40.560 and wives, he had kids, he had he had stuff, 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:45.680 but he was missing God. And C. S. Lewis says 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:47.840 that if if you have everything the world has to 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:51.680 offer and you still feel empty, maybe it's because you 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:56.840 were made for another world. Maybe it's Ecclesiastes chapter three 0:16:56.880 --> 0:16:59.400 that says eternity is in our hearts and so we're 0:16:59.400 --> 0:17:01.840 trying to fill with the temporal things of this life. 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:05.080 But in reality we need God. See Jacob had a 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:08.320 God issue. Friend, I got a God issue. We we 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:11.880 have a we need God. And Paul says, you're you're 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:14.400 trying to get drunk, You're trying to find peace, You're 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.280 trying to get inebriated on a world system that is 0:17:17.400 --> 0:17:23.399 never gonna be enough. You're always gonna need excess. But 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:25.919 instead you can be filled with the spirit. In other words, 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:31.280 it's it's God that you're looking for. Anybody know they 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:33.760 need God today? Man, I know I need God. I 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:39.760 need I need more of God. So so God is 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:42.200 creating in the Book of Genesis. He's he's the creator 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:45.960 in Genesis. He's he's the artist in Genesis. And something 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:48.320 very interesting happens. In the Book of Genesis. The Bible 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:54.560 says that God makes dirt. Okay, he doesn't make trees, 0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:58.359 he makes dirt, doesn't make flowers. He makes dirt. He 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.080 doesn't make grass, He makes dirt. The Bible said that 0:18:01.160 --> 0:18:06.159 he creates dirt, he creates land, and then he talks 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:10.600 to the dirt and he says, dirt, get to work, 0:18:10.640 --> 0:18:13.719 and the dirt says, yes, sir, And the dirt starts 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:19.960 producing trees and flowers and grass and bushes, and the dirt, 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:23.520 the dirt begins to produce. This is amazing. That's why 0:18:23.560 --> 0:18:27.000 whenever you remove a tree from the dirt, the tree dies, 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:34.240 because you've removed the tree from its source. Gentlemen, maybe 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:36.800 you've bought your wife flowers. Maybe it's been a while, 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:39.359 Maybe do that tonight. You buy your wife flowers, and 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:42.399 you give it the flowers and they're so beautiful, right, 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:44.320 and they sit in the kitchen and they're so beautiful. 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:46.480 And then after like three days, you walk downstairs one 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:48.200 day you go, oh, my god, what happened to the flowers. 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:53.360 They died. No, they were already dead. They were already 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:58.120 dead because you remove them from their source. Okay, then 0:18:58.200 --> 0:19:03.119 he makes water. He doesn't make fish. He makes water, 0:19:04.040 --> 0:19:07.960 and he tells the water water, get to work and 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:11.040 straight at him a wana two. That water says yes, sir. Sorry, 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:14.760 I got an eight year old. My bad. That water 0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:17.880 says yes, sir. And the water this is in your Bible, 0:19:18.160 --> 0:19:22.360 starts producing fish. That's why when you remove a fish 0:19:22.480 --> 0:19:26.840 from the water, the fish starts flopping and hopping, and 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:30.920 he's gonna die. It's gonna die because water is its source. 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:36.680 Water made the fish, and the fish needs its creator. 0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:43.040 I'm going somewhere. I'm not lost. But when God made 0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:47.359 at him, when God made you, when God made me, 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:50.320 he didn't talk to the dirt. He didn't talk to 0:19:50.359 --> 0:19:53.960 the water. He did not even talk to oxygen. When 0:19:54.040 --> 0:20:00.320 God created humanity, God had to talk to himself, and 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:05.320 he said, let us make man in our image and 0:20:05.400 --> 0:20:07.480 in our likeness. What am I saying. I'm saying that 0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:10.480 a tree needs dirt, and a fish needs water, and 0:20:10.600 --> 0:20:15.800 Jabin needs Jesus, and we need God. And anytime we 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:19.480 try to live our life separate from God. We gonna 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:22.520 be like a fish flopping on the ground. We're gonna 0:20:22.520 --> 0:20:26.280 be like flowers dying in the vase. Friend, we need God, 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:28.600 not just money. We need God, not just food. We 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:31.480 need God not just shelter. We need God. Man does 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:35.480 not live by bread alone, but by every word that 0:20:35.640 --> 0:20:39.520 proceedeth out of our creator, out of our souls. He 0:20:39.600 --> 0:20:43.800 is God. And I need God today. Oh, if you 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:45.800 know you need him, come on, just give him praise 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:50.480 for a moment. In him I live, and in him 0:20:50.520 --> 0:20:53.000 I move, and in him I breathe, and in him 0:20:53.040 --> 0:20:58.600 I have my bee. And just because life might be 0:20:58.800 --> 0:21:01.920 comfortable right now, Jacob, does not mean that you don't 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:07.720 need God. Oh it's easy to be reminded in the 0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:11.320 valley that I need him. But sometimes when things start 0:21:11.320 --> 0:21:14.000 working out, we start telling ourselves we've done this and 0:21:14.040 --> 0:21:20.439 we got this. We good. But I have to be 0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:26.560 reminded that every time I get a little bit prideful, 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:30.760 I just looked like that fish flopping on the side 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:36.240 of the river. I need God. I gotta stop running. 0:21:36.359 --> 0:21:42.040 The secondly, I have to admit that I have issues. Yeah, yeah, elbow, 0:21:42.080 --> 0:21:44.320 your neighbor, can he tell him? Don't judge me. Tell him, 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:47.760 don't judge me. Look at one more person say I 0:21:47.800 --> 0:21:50.000 could tell you're judging me. Stop it, just stop, just 0:21:50.119 --> 0:21:58.639 stop judging me. See, now that Jacob is finally wrestling 0:21:58.680 --> 0:22:04.000 with God, God goes, who are you? Who are you? 0:22:05.080 --> 0:22:08.720 This is an interesting question because God does not ask 0:22:08.800 --> 0:22:12.840 questions because he doesn't know the answer. Nothing's ever occurred 0:22:12.880 --> 0:22:20.760 to God. God knows who he's wrestling with. It's not 0:22:20.840 --> 0:22:25.760 that God doesn't know. It's that Jacob has to get honest. 0:22:25.960 --> 0:22:27.920 It's not that God's going to learn something new. It's 0:22:27.920 --> 0:22:31.240 that Jacob's about to learn something new. Anytime God asked 0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:33.400 you a question, it's not because he doesn't know the answer. 0:22:33.440 --> 0:22:35.240 It's because he's trying to reveal a truth to you. 0:22:37.240 --> 0:22:40.680 He says, who are you? And Jacob is finally going 0:22:40.720 --> 0:22:46.960 to admit I am Jacob. One theologian in one commentary 0:22:47.040 --> 0:22:49.800 said that Jacob probably had not used his name in 0:22:49.880 --> 0:22:53.720 ten to fifteen years. Well, why is that important? Because 0:22:53.760 --> 0:22:57.679 in today's world names don't mean a lot. We just 0:22:57.760 --> 0:22:59.760 kind of name our kids. We want name our kids, 0:23:00.160 --> 0:23:02.240 have a family name, but nothing is that significant. But 0:23:02.320 --> 0:23:05.040 in Bible days, you were given a name based off 0:23:05.080 --> 0:23:08.240 of the pregnancy, or based off of the season of 0:23:08.240 --> 0:23:10.159 the pregnancy, or based off of the birth, and so 0:23:11.040 --> 0:23:13.960 names were significant because the parents believe that these were 0:23:14.040 --> 0:23:18.959 prophetic declarations over the child, that the name was going 0:23:19.040 --> 0:23:22.000 to represent the character and the future of the child. 0:23:23.160 --> 0:23:27.320 So the Bible says that Jacob is a twin. There 0:23:27.359 --> 0:23:29.400 was a war that happened in the womb of Rebecca, 0:23:30.240 --> 0:23:34.359 and the scripture says that as Rebecca is giving birth 0:23:34.560 --> 0:23:39.920 to Jacob and Esau leaves the womb first, and as 0:23:40.280 --> 0:23:43.400 Esau is leaving the womb, the scripture says that Jacob 0:23:43.440 --> 0:23:47.480 reached out and grabbed the heel of Esau. This is graphic, 0:23:47.560 --> 0:23:51.640 this is Genesis, Amen, this is rated r. He grabs 0:23:51.680 --> 0:23:57.920 the heel of Esau, and Rebecca blurts out, oh, this 0:23:58.160 --> 0:24:02.520 is this is my Jacob. This is my heel grasper 0:24:02.640 --> 0:24:05.640 or subplanter, the one that knocks you off balance. This 0:24:05.680 --> 0:24:10.200 is my deceiver. She was basically saying, keep an eye 0:24:10.240 --> 0:24:12.960 out on the second boy. He's gonna be my troublemaker. 0:24:13.000 --> 0:24:16.399 He's gonna be our black sheep. He Oh, he's gonna 0:24:16.440 --> 0:24:21.640 be our problem child. He's he's a trickster. We gonna 0:24:21.640 --> 0:24:25.240 have issues with him, and guess what, everything Rebecca declared 0:24:26.520 --> 0:24:31.240 Jacob became side note, parents, this is why it's so 0:24:31.320 --> 0:24:37.280 important to protect the language of your house. Let me 0:24:37.359 --> 0:24:39.840 just talk about it for three seconds. Just really quick 0:24:40.440 --> 0:24:43.920 watch what you say around your child and to your child, 0:24:43.920 --> 0:24:48.040 because they are like spiritual sponges that are picking things up. 0:24:48.080 --> 0:24:51.159 And I'll move on from that, but it's important. And 0:24:51.200 --> 0:24:54.040 so she declares this over her son, and that's what 0:24:54.160 --> 0:24:56.919 Jacob became. He became a liar, he became a deceiver, 0:24:57.000 --> 0:25:00.840 he became a trickster, He became everything that she said 0:25:00.880 --> 0:25:02.879 he would become. So when God says who are you? 0:25:04.040 --> 0:25:06.400 God is trying to get Jacob to the place where 0:25:06.400 --> 0:25:08.640 he can reveal who he is so that God can 0:25:08.640 --> 0:25:11.560 transform him. Because God won't heal or change what you 0:25:11.600 --> 0:25:14.840 won't reveal. You've got to bring it into the light, 0:25:14.880 --> 0:25:18.639 as he's in the light. And so now Jacob is 0:25:18.680 --> 0:25:23.640 finally going to admit I'm I'm Jay, I am who 0:25:23.680 --> 0:25:28.480 Rebecca told me I am? Oh man, this is huge. 0:25:28.480 --> 0:25:33.679 And see, Jacob could have told God the truth kind 0:25:33.680 --> 0:25:37.399 of God could have said j J. God could have 0:25:37.400 --> 0:25:38.760 said who are you? And he could have said, I'm 0:25:38.800 --> 0:25:45.080 Abraham's grandson. I'm one of Isaac's kids. I'm one of 0:25:45.119 --> 0:25:51.359 Rebecca's boys. I'm one of Esau's brothers. I'm I'm one 0:25:51.400 --> 0:25:54.119 of Laban's son in laws. I see he could have 0:25:55.160 --> 0:25:59.840 he could have told the truth ish, but it would 0:25:59.840 --> 0:26:02.679 not have dealt with the real issue. Oh man, I 0:26:02.720 --> 0:26:05.840 see people every week they coming to church. Old praise God, Hallelujah, 0:26:05.840 --> 0:26:09.960 Glory to God. Everything good, blessed, so blessed. We're so good. 0:26:11.080 --> 0:26:13.960 We're just so good right now, aren't we. Babe, babe, 0:26:13.960 --> 0:26:15.800 babe baby. It's like blink twice if you're in trouble, 0:26:15.840 --> 0:26:17.800 you know what I mean. It's like, kids are so good, 0:26:17.840 --> 0:26:21.880 We're just so blessed. We're just so happy. Ah, We're 0:26:21.960 --> 0:26:24.080 just Oh. I love God, I love Church. I love 0:26:24.119 --> 0:26:26.439 waiting in that line out there. Man, what a blessing. 0:26:26.600 --> 0:26:34.919 Woo love it. Let me say something. You don't need 0:26:34.960 --> 0:26:37.040 to be real with everybody, and I definitely don't want 0:26:37.040 --> 0:26:41.000 you to walk around with a dark cloud of negativity, 0:26:41.080 --> 0:26:45.520 but somebody has to know the real you can we 0:26:45.560 --> 0:26:48.320 talk about it, and God ought to know the real you. Like, 0:26:48.359 --> 0:26:51.080 if you're gonna get honest and open with anybody, you 0:26:51.080 --> 0:26:53.840 ought to get honest and open with God. That's why 0:26:53.920 --> 0:26:56.399 we play the music so loud here at Elevation, so 0:26:56.440 --> 0:26:59.760 that while the worship's going on, you can just utter 0:26:59.760 --> 0:27:02.440 a prayer to the Lord, like, Lord, I still got 0:27:02.440 --> 0:27:05.080 some Jacob in me, I still got some mess in me. 0:27:05.160 --> 0:27:07.600 I still got some issues, i still got some trauma 0:27:07.680 --> 0:27:11.160 and some drama. I'm still carrying some baggage. But God, 0:27:11.160 --> 0:27:14.040 I'm inviting you into this space. I'm not gonna fake 0:27:14.080 --> 0:27:16.280 it around God. I'm not gonna I'm not I'm not 0:27:16.359 --> 0:27:19.560 just gonna smile around God. See, denial is not faith. 0:27:21.520 --> 0:27:24.120 Jesus did not say, deny the mountain and it'll eventually 0:27:24.160 --> 0:27:25.880 go away. No, he said you gotta talk to it. 0:27:26.280 --> 0:27:27.760 And if you're gonna talk to the mountain, that means 0:27:27.800 --> 0:27:31.320 you have to admit that it's actually there. Is. This 0:27:31.400 --> 0:27:34.240 is not just you know, smile and be positive till 0:27:34.240 --> 0:27:38.480 everything turns around. No, it's inviting God into your issues, 0:27:38.520 --> 0:27:42.720 inviting God into your brokenness. It's inviting God into your 0:27:42.760 --> 0:27:46.160 pain and saying, God, I'm inviting you into this space. 0:27:46.359 --> 0:27:49.919 Do something with my life. And God loves that. If 0:27:50.160 --> 0:27:52.040 if you think you have to be perfect to be 0:27:52.119 --> 0:27:54.720 a Christian. You have heard the wrong gospel. Friend, this 0:27:54.800 --> 0:27:57.359 is this is not a message for perfect people. And 0:27:57.400 --> 0:28:00.359 this is not a church for perfect people, he says, 0:28:00.359 --> 0:28:05.280 a church for people who know they need God. Oh 0:28:05.320 --> 0:28:07.239 are you grateful for that today? That we don't have 0:28:07.320 --> 0:28:09.879 to fake it with the Lord. We're not faking it 0:28:09.960 --> 0:28:16.520 till we make it. So he says, I'm I'm jacobing. 0:28:17.920 --> 0:28:21.400 Now God can finally do something. Oh but so many 0:28:21.400 --> 0:28:24.239 times we want to live in denial about where we 0:28:24.280 --> 0:28:31.760 are and who we are. And but now God, God knows, Okay, 0:28:31.800 --> 0:28:36.720 I can I can get involved in this moment. I 0:28:36.760 --> 0:28:40.320 can begin to move in this moment. I can begin 0:28:40.360 --> 0:28:44.600 to do something in this moment because I have revealed it. 0:28:46.920 --> 0:28:48.680 And so the third thing that you have to do 0:28:50.280 --> 0:28:53.040 now that you've stopped running and you've admitted that you 0:28:53.080 --> 0:28:58.600 have issues, well, now you got to hold onto God. 0:29:00.880 --> 0:29:03.560 Somebody say, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. 0:29:04.400 --> 0:29:09.760 Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you 0:29:09.800 --> 0:29:16.760 bless me. This is an amazing text. It's an amazing 0:29:16.800 --> 0:29:23.080 text because God picks the fight with Jacob. God begins 0:29:23.120 --> 0:29:27.680 to fight with Jacob, and then it feels pretty short. 0:29:28.480 --> 0:29:31.720 They're wrestling and all of a sudden, God taps out 0:29:31.720 --> 0:29:37.240 and goes, all right, I'm done, wrap it up, You're done. 0:29:37.920 --> 0:29:40.120 And it's kind of like, God, why you pick a 0:29:40.160 --> 0:29:42.800 fight with me and then leave me? Y'all ever felt 0:29:42.800 --> 0:29:46.360 that way? Come on this March right now, But in 0:29:46.480 --> 0:29:48.760 January got picked a fight with you and goes, gonna 0:29:48.760 --> 0:29:51.600 be my year. God's gonna do something awesome at twenty 0:29:51.640 --> 0:29:55.840 twenty five. I'm coming alive. I'm gonna thrive at twenty 0:29:55.880 --> 0:30:00.280 twenty five. And now it's March, and you're going, my God, 0:30:00.320 --> 0:30:03.040 my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Where? Where are Where? 0:30:03.080 --> 0:30:10.600 Where are Where are you? Jesus? Yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, 0:30:10.920 --> 0:30:12.800 That's what God's That's what God's do. You're not the 0:30:12.800 --> 0:30:17.200 first one to experience it. That's what God's doing with Jacob. God. 0:30:17.480 --> 0:30:19.920 God pursues Jacob and then he lets Jacob go and 0:30:20.000 --> 0:30:22.880 he goes, all right, we're done. And see, I believe 0:30:22.880 --> 0:30:27.400 that God was testing Jacob. I believe God was testing 0:30:27.480 --> 0:30:38.080 Jacob because Jacob always ran in moments of discomfort. He 0:30:38.240 --> 0:30:41.920 ran from his home, he ran from his brother, he 0:30:42.040 --> 0:30:44.440 ran from his father in law. He's always on the run. 0:30:44.680 --> 0:30:46.800 And here's what God saying, Jacob, go ahead and run, 0:30:46.880 --> 0:30:51.440 do what you've always done, and get what you've always got. Jacob, 0:30:51.480 --> 0:30:53.959 go ahead. I give you permission to continue the cycle. 0:30:55.080 --> 0:30:57.600 I give you permission to continue to do what you've 0:30:57.800 --> 0:30:59.840 go ahead, go ahead and run me go go ahead. 0:30:59.840 --> 0:31:04.040 And if you want to run, run and hear me. Friend. 0:31:05.000 --> 0:31:11.960 You can run or you can wrestle, but you can't 0:31:12.000 --> 0:31:20.000 do both. You can't run and wrestle. You're gonna have 0:31:20.040 --> 0:31:23.040 to make a decision. And, by the way, the life 0:31:23.080 --> 0:31:27.560 you want you will not get by running every time 0:31:27.600 --> 0:31:33.240 things get uncomfortable. The life you want is gonna take 0:31:33.840 --> 0:31:37.080 a wrestling match with God. See, you thought you came 0:31:37.080 --> 0:31:39.960 to church today, but this is a giant octagon in 0:31:40.040 --> 0:31:42.640 the Holy Gos. This is a heavenly octagon, and God 0:31:42.720 --> 0:31:46.560 is inviting you into a wrestling match with Heaven today 0:31:46.880 --> 0:31:49.880 where you can finally face God and face yourself and 0:31:49.920 --> 0:31:53.640 say I'm done running, I'm done being flaky. I'm done 0:31:53.680 --> 0:31:56.560 going from thing to thing and from life to life. 0:31:56.600 --> 0:31:59.880 I'm ready to finally embrace what God wants to do 0:32:00.280 --> 0:32:02.040 in my life. Let me just remind you, a church 0:32:02.120 --> 0:32:05.120 like this is not built by pastors who run every 0:32:05.120 --> 0:32:07.280 time it gets challenging. A church like this is not 0:32:07.400 --> 0:32:10.920 built by pastors who run every time there's a tension, 0:32:11.000 --> 0:32:13.840 or there's an attack from the enemy or there, or 0:32:13.880 --> 0:32:16.400 there's a different crisis is going on. No, no, no, 0:32:16.440 --> 0:32:18.520 A church like this is built by a man and 0:32:18.560 --> 0:32:21.760 a woman of God who say God has called us here, 0:32:21.800 --> 0:32:25.800 and we ain't going nowhere. We are wrestling with God. 0:32:25.960 --> 0:32:29.240 We're wrestling with each other. We're wrestling with our own humanity. 0:32:29.400 --> 0:32:32.760 Anybody grateful for that today that God has given you 0:32:32.840 --> 0:32:36.160 a fighter in this pulpit? And can I tell you 0:32:36.200 --> 0:32:39.080 the life you want, you're gonna have to fight for it. Oh, 0:32:39.120 --> 0:32:41.360 come on, somebody shall fight for it. Fight for it. 0:32:41.400 --> 0:32:43.920 The marriage you want, you're gonna have to fight for it. 0:32:43.960 --> 0:32:45.920 The purity you want, You're gonna have to fight for it. 0:32:46.000 --> 0:32:48.360 The season you're in, you're gonna have to fight for it. 0:32:48.400 --> 0:32:50.280 The business you're believing God for, You're gonna have to 0:32:50.360 --> 0:32:53.000 fight for it. The faith that you want to step into, 0:32:53.120 --> 0:32:56.360 you're gonna have to fight for it. And God goes Jacob. 0:32:56.440 --> 0:32:58.240 If you want to run, go ahead and run. But 0:32:58.280 --> 0:33:01.760 if you're ready to wrestle, I am ready to transform 0:33:01.840 --> 0:33:06.520 your life, change your name and do something amazing in 0:33:06.560 --> 0:33:08.880 your life. Oh come on, can I get a yes, 0:33:09.080 --> 0:33:12.960 Lord from somebody today that says I'm going all in 0:33:13.360 --> 0:33:22.880 this year? And it's here that you don't quit when 0:33:22.920 --> 0:33:26.960 you want to quit, You don't leave when you want 0:33:26.960 --> 0:33:30.520 to leave, You don't run when you want to run, 0:33:30.560 --> 0:33:35.680 and sometimes you do. Sometimes your humanity is strong, and 0:33:36.520 --> 0:33:43.840 sometimes you're saved, but your flesh forgets it. Amen. I 0:33:43.920 --> 0:33:47.760 didn't want forgot their save before anybody in traffic, anybody ever. Okay, okay, okay, 0:33:47.920 --> 0:33:51.680 just making sure I'm still talking to real people. A 0:33:51.680 --> 0:33:54.000 couple of months ago, I tried to quit. I'll just 0:33:54.040 --> 0:33:57.360 be honest with you. I walked downstairs, and I looked 0:33:57.400 --> 0:34:01.040 at my wife kind of just stared at each other 0:34:01.120 --> 0:34:03.080 awkwardly in the kitchen for a second, and then I 0:34:03.120 --> 0:34:04.880 turned around. I went to the freezer and I got 0:34:04.880 --> 0:34:07.520 a half gallon, A half gallon, not a not a pint, 0:34:09.680 --> 0:34:12.240 A half gallon of Blue Belt ice cream, A half gallon. 0:34:12.800 --> 0:34:14.600 People always ask me what flavor. I don't know why 0:34:14.640 --> 0:34:19.239 they want to know that, but Vanilla, like, thank you 0:34:19.320 --> 0:34:21.239 for telling me a little ozb about that I needed 0:34:21.280 --> 0:34:24.640 to know. So I got my half gallon of blue belt. 0:34:24.719 --> 0:34:27.839 And then I walked over to the to the countertop 0:34:28.040 --> 0:34:29.560 and my wife, I don't know what, ladies, why you 0:34:29.560 --> 0:34:31.680 do this? But she has a she has like a 0:34:31.760 --> 0:34:34.520 vase of like fancy spoons that we're not allowed to use. 0:34:36.560 --> 0:34:38.279 There's a spatula I'm not allowed to use, a pair 0:34:38.280 --> 0:34:41.520 of tongs. I'm not allowed to use it. And there's 0:34:41.560 --> 0:34:45.000 this like big slotted spoon. And I walked up to 0:34:45.040 --> 0:34:47.879 her and I grabbed it like I'm four years old. 0:34:47.880 --> 0:34:50.360 I mean, it's a giant spoon. Come on, somebody, I 0:34:50.400 --> 0:34:52.719 grabbed this big old spoon in this ice cream. And 0:34:52.760 --> 0:34:56.560 I looked at her and I said, I'm not leaving you, 0:34:57.760 --> 0:35:01.200 and I'm not leaving God with this shirt. I'm quitting. 0:35:01.360 --> 0:35:03.520 I'm gonna quit tomorrow. So if you want to be 0:35:03.560 --> 0:35:06.000 the pastor, go ahead, Women Empowerment, Amen, you could be 0:35:06.000 --> 0:35:09.600 the pastor. If you want to call pastor Steven, Pastor 0:35:09.640 --> 0:35:12.760 Howley make it Elevation Vegas, go ahead. But I'm quitting 0:35:13.200 --> 0:35:15.120 tomorrow and I'm gonna go eat my ice cream. And 0:35:15.120 --> 0:35:18.400 I turn around, real dramatic, beau, I'm a preacher. And 0:35:18.480 --> 0:35:21.719 I started walking up my stairs with my bluebell ice 0:35:21.719 --> 0:35:28.160 stream and my wife from the sink doing the dishes. Now, 0:35:28.200 --> 0:35:29.799 she says she's five foot, but we all know she's 0:35:29.840 --> 0:35:36.080 four eleven. Amen. She's four eleven, four eleven, Latina, Pentecostal, 0:35:36.160 --> 0:35:42.040 Holy ghost Field, wild woman. By the way, I quit 0:35:42.080 --> 0:35:44.120 when I was at least thirty feet away from her, Amen, 0:35:44.160 --> 0:35:45.960 because if she threw anything at me, I knew I 0:35:45.960 --> 0:35:51.000 could say, you know, I'm smart, Pentecostal and passionate. Amen. 0:35:51.080 --> 0:35:54.920 So so she's at the dishes and I'm walking up 0:35:54.920 --> 0:35:56.759 the stairs and I think she's gonna let me get 0:35:56.760 --> 0:36:00.160 away with it. And all of a sudden, half way 0:36:00.200 --> 0:36:05.600 up the stairs, this is all I hear. Wow. I 0:36:05.680 --> 0:36:08.320 turned around. Y'all got us by witness. I protected the 0:36:08.320 --> 0:36:10.640 ice cream like it was my child. I went, it's okay, baby, 0:36:11.480 --> 0:36:13.400 it's okay. Mom's mad right now, but we're gonna be 0:36:13.440 --> 0:36:17.720 a It's okay, it's okay, it's okay. Just it's okay. 0:36:18.840 --> 0:36:20.279 And I said, what do you mean? She said, you're 0:36:20.320 --> 0:36:23.760 not quitting. She said, so go eat your ice cream 0:36:23.800 --> 0:36:26.399 and have a pity party and then pray, and when 0:36:26.440 --> 0:36:28.840 you wake up tomorrow you're still gonna be the pastor. 0:36:34.400 --> 0:36:37.000 And I said, I'll pray about it. And I walked 0:36:37.080 --> 0:36:43.040 up the stairs and I ate a half gallon of Amen. 0:36:43.080 --> 0:36:46.360 You don't get like this without discipline. Amen, somebody what 0:36:46.520 --> 0:36:51.080 you talking about? This is a fight right here. Amen. 0:36:51.200 --> 0:36:58.680 To keep this waight up. In case you missed it online, 0:36:58.840 --> 0:37:02.880 I said, I ate that half galls wow, and I 0:37:02.880 --> 0:37:04.759 hate that half gallon ice scream. And I had a 0:37:04.800 --> 0:37:08.000 pity party, and then I prayed. And I woke up 0:37:08.040 --> 0:37:10.160 the next morning with a stomach ache, and I'm still 0:37:10.160 --> 0:37:12.799 in the ministry. Can I get a good Amen? Everybody? 0:37:15.480 --> 0:37:20.240 Sometimes you just got to wrestle. My mentor, Pastor Tommy Barnett, said, Jabin, 0:37:20.719 --> 0:37:22.960 be encouraged every time you want to quit. I said, 0:37:23.000 --> 0:37:24.680 why would I be encouraged every time I want to quit? 0:37:24.800 --> 0:37:26.479 He said, because that means you have something to quit, 0:37:28.360 --> 0:37:30.360 And then you get happy that you could quit, but 0:37:30.360 --> 0:37:33.360 you're not going to quit. You get encouraged that you 0:37:33.400 --> 0:37:35.439 could quit, but you don't quit, and then you keep 0:37:35.440 --> 0:37:38.440 moving forward. I said, Amen, I like that. So I 0:37:38.440 --> 0:37:41.680 thought about quitting and then I didn't quit. And this 0:37:41.719 --> 0:37:43.960 is what God is saying, Jacob. If you want to 0:37:44.800 --> 0:37:46.239 if you want to quit, go ahead, But if you're 0:37:46.280 --> 0:37:50.840 ready to wrestle. I want you to wrestle. I have 0:37:50.880 --> 0:37:59.520 the team come. And it's here that Jacob realizes I'm 0:37:59.520 --> 0:38:06.880 not wrestling with a man. This is God. And the 0:38:06.920 --> 0:38:12.839 Bible says that Jacob realizes, I'm wrestling God right now. See, 0:38:12.840 --> 0:38:18.080 when you choose not to run and you wrestle, you 0:38:18.160 --> 0:38:22.560 get to see a side of God you've never seen before. 0:38:26.680 --> 0:38:28.640 It's one thing to know there's a God, and there's 0:38:28.640 --> 0:38:32.960 one thing to sense God. But it's another thing when 0:38:32.960 --> 0:38:40.160 you can say I've seen God face to face. That's 0:38:40.200 --> 0:38:44.000 the invitation of heaven. And that's what happens when you wrestle. 0:38:46.320 --> 0:38:50.959 And as they're wrestling, Jacob says this, Okay, I told 0:38:50.960 --> 0:38:57.399 you my name. What's your name? I told you who 0:38:57.440 --> 0:39:03.640 I am? But who are you? Oh? This is the 0:39:03.719 --> 0:39:08.640 question every believer must ask, and if you'll ask it, 0:39:08.680 --> 0:39:12.960 God will answer you. It's the question Moses asked in 0:39:13.000 --> 0:39:17.200 Exodus three, who are you? It's the question David asked 0:39:17.239 --> 0:39:19.400 in Psalm eighteen, who are you? It's the question that 0:39:19.440 --> 0:39:21.799 the disciples asked in Matthew eight who are you? It's 0:39:21.840 --> 0:39:24.719 the question Peter needed to answer in Matthew sixteen, Who 0:39:24.760 --> 0:39:27.279 is Jesus? It's the question Paul would ask on the 0:39:27.320 --> 0:39:31.719 road to Damascus in next chapter nine, Lord, who are you? 0:39:33.400 --> 0:39:35.600 I've heard about you from my parents. I've heard about 0:39:35.640 --> 0:39:37.960 you from my pastor. I've heard about you from the preacher. 0:39:38.000 --> 0:39:40.680 I've heard about you from my praying grandmother. But God, 0:39:40.719 --> 0:39:41.319 who are you? 0:39:44.400 --> 0:39:44.560 Oh? 0:39:44.600 --> 0:39:48.040 You're the God of Abraham, and you're the God of Isaac. 0:39:48.080 --> 0:39:49.880 But I want you to be the God of Jacob. 0:39:51.080 --> 0:39:55.120 Who are you? And if you will ask, God will answer? 0:39:56.800 --> 0:39:58.960 And God answered, But I want you to watch this. 0:40:00.120 --> 0:40:07.280 He does not answer the way he normally answers. Moses 0:40:07.320 --> 0:40:09.960 asked who are you? And he said, I am that 0:40:10.080 --> 0:40:14.040 I am. Paul asked who are you, and he said, 0:40:14.080 --> 0:40:20.399 I am Jesus, the one you persecute. Abraham asked who 0:40:20.440 --> 0:40:25.200 are you? And God said, I am Jehovah. But when 0:40:26.120 --> 0:40:33.520 Jacob asks who are you, God doesn't answer him with 0:40:33.600 --> 0:40:37.560 a word. He doesn't answer him with a name. He 0:40:37.840 --> 0:40:48.799 answers him with an action. He blesses him. Please watch this, 0:40:48.840 --> 0:40:52.680 Please watch us. This word blessing is what a parent does. 0:40:52.760 --> 0:40:57.040 The Hebrew thought behind this is like a parent and 0:40:57.080 --> 0:40:59.719 the child is running towards the parent, and the parent 0:40:59.760 --> 0:41:04.759 gets on his hands and knees, and often his hands 0:41:04.800 --> 0:41:08.600 have a real wide and the parent gets on eye 0:41:08.640 --> 0:41:12.879 to eye with the baby. And this word blessing means 0:41:12.920 --> 0:41:14.920 to get on your knees, come face to face with 0:41:14.960 --> 0:41:20.960 a child, put your hands on the child, and speak 0:41:21.160 --> 0:41:31.760 affirmation and blessing over them. And when Jacob wrestles with God, 0:41:33.239 --> 0:41:40.359 God stops the wrestling, Maginie blesses him. It's like God 0:41:40.480 --> 0:41:49.000 was saying, I'm not Rebecca. I don't curse my kids. 0:41:51.719 --> 0:41:56.080 I'm not Isaac. I don't have just enough for you. 0:41:56.400 --> 0:42:01.680 Or he saw, I'm the God of more than enough. 0:42:02.560 --> 0:42:06.880 My name is hill Shade. I'm the everlasting God. And Jacob, 0:42:06.920 --> 0:42:10.120 I've got enough for you. And he saw and you 0:42:10.680 --> 0:42:15.000 and you and you and you and you, and I 0:42:15.040 --> 0:42:18.479 don't speak curses over my kids. I speak blessings over 0:42:18.520 --> 0:42:22.920 my children. And he blessed him there, and he blessed 0:42:22.960 --> 0:42:25.279 him there with a new name. He said, you are 0:42:25.280 --> 0:42:30.080 no longer your past. You are no longer what Rebecca 0:42:30.200 --> 0:42:33.920 said about you. You are no longer what Isaac allowed 0:42:33.960 --> 0:42:36.120 to be said over you. You are no longer your 0:42:36.160 --> 0:42:40.000 worst season. You're no longer you're past. You're no longer 0:42:40.719 --> 0:42:44.400 you're famine. You're no longer you're mistakes. You're no longer 0:42:45.360 --> 0:42:50.200 the pain you've been through. You're your longer the curse. 0:42:50.280 --> 0:42:53.759 You're no longer the death. You're no longer the divorced. 0:42:54.239 --> 0:42:58.480 You're no longer the addiction. You are no longer Jacob. 0:42:58.640 --> 0:43:05.520 You ah Israel. Somebody give God a massive shout of praise. 0:43:05.800 --> 0:43:10.920 In this place. You are left. You aren't healed, you 0:43:11.040 --> 0:43:14.640 aren't child of God, saved, redeem from the curse. You 0:43:14.719 --> 0:43:17.920 are holy, You are forgiven, You are free, you are 0:43:17.960 --> 0:43:25.160 well supplied, protected. Promise, you are no longer Jacob. Oh. 0:43:25.280 --> 0:43:27.319 You can have what God said you can have. You 0:43:27.360 --> 0:43:29.799 could be who God said you could be. You can 0:43:29.920 --> 0:43:39.080 do what God said you can do. You're Israel. Here Israel. 0:43:40.040 --> 0:43:45.600 You can let go of the names and take on 0:43:45.760 --> 0:43:52.279 His name for you. It is amazing. If you just 0:43:52.280 --> 0:43:55.200 said your name right now, every location online around the world, 0:43:55.360 --> 0:43:57.080 just you don't have to shout it loud, but just 0:43:57.320 --> 0:44:00.920 just say on count three, just say your name one, two, three, Jabin. 0:44:02.719 --> 0:44:13.320 Who That name comes with drama, bagage, history issues, family 0:44:13.520 --> 0:44:18.480 tree stuff. And you know what. One of my favorite 0:44:18.480 --> 0:44:21.399 scriptures is in the Book of Revelation, God says, when 0:44:21.440 --> 0:44:22.959 you get to heaven, I'm giving you. 0:44:22.920 --> 0:44:32.040 A new name. He gives Jacob a new name. And 0:44:32.080 --> 0:44:33.600 now and now Jacob. 0:44:33.480 --> 0:44:36.719 Is under this blessing, and watch what happens. He's who 0:44:36.800 --> 0:44:45.000 he's limping. He went from running to wrestling to limping. 0:44:47.000 --> 0:44:51.879 I don't trust anyone who doesn't have a limb. I'm 0:44:51.920 --> 0:44:54.240 not talking about swag or trip or riz or whatever 0:44:54.280 --> 0:44:57.680 the kids say. I'm talking about ow. I'm talking about 0:44:57.680 --> 0:45:00.600 God changed my walking, God changed my talking. God changed 0:45:00.600 --> 0:45:04.240 my life, and God changed my name. And I'm talking 0:45:04.280 --> 0:45:07.200 about I died with Christ in the water and I 0:45:07.280 --> 0:45:09.560 came out a new person. I'm talking about I've been 0:45:09.600 --> 0:45:13.480 born again. I'm talking about goodbye Yesterday. God has done 0:45:13.520 --> 0:45:17.919 a work in Oh. Anybody grateful for a new name. 0:45:19.640 --> 0:45:23.040 He's a limpid And then it doesn't stop there? Do sup? 0:45:23.120 --> 0:45:31.240 There does stopped there? I promise I'm almost done. He 0:45:31.239 --> 0:45:35.080 he's now limping. And then here's the next thing he's doing. 0:45:35.120 --> 0:45:39.080 This is now Hebrews Hebrews chapter eleven. He's watch us 0:45:39.080 --> 0:45:44.919 put it up on the screen. He's leaning watches by faith. 0:45:45.000 --> 0:45:50.279 Jacob was dying. That's number four. Because we we're all 0:45:50.320 --> 0:45:53.600 gonna die. I hate to say it. I don't want 0:45:53.600 --> 0:45:57.080 it to happen, but it's gonna happen. But as he's 0:45:58.000 --> 0:46:03.720 I want you to watch how he dies because because 0:46:03.760 --> 0:46:09.800 he died so different than how he was born. Sorry 0:46:09.840 --> 0:46:13.239 about that. That's called a Pentecostal shape. But I had 0:46:13.280 --> 0:46:14.719 to speak in tongues. I had to get it out 0:46:14.760 --> 0:46:16.400 of my arm. Amen, because I'm at I had to 0:46:16.400 --> 0:46:20.359 behave because I'm at elevations. I had to So wh's this? Sorry? Sorry? Sorry, 0:46:20.560 --> 0:46:23.480 I was rayed. Sorry, he's dying, but he's going to 0:46:23.560 --> 0:46:29.080 die so different than he was born. He's dying blessing. 0:46:33.200 --> 0:46:38.720 He's now doing the thing that God did for him. 0:46:38.760 --> 0:46:42.680 He's now on his hands and knees blessing his son 0:46:42.760 --> 0:46:54.080 and his grandsons. Wat's this blessing, worshiping, leaning on his 0:46:54.800 --> 0:47:03.000 leaning on his reminder of his God encounter. The Hebrew 0:47:03.040 --> 0:47:06.600 scholars tell us that the staff was a generational gift 0:47:06.600 --> 0:47:09.520 that you would give to your children, and it was 0:47:09.560 --> 0:47:13.640 a history lesson. You would actually carve into the staff 0:47:13.719 --> 0:47:16.800 different big God moments in the life of the family. 0:47:20.520 --> 0:47:25.160 So no doubt, as he's blessing his grandsons, I could 0:47:25.200 --> 0:47:30.799 almost imagine him looking at his grandson's going. If you 0:47:30.920 --> 0:47:36.239 knew me then and I could almost mention on his 0:47:36.239 --> 0:47:39.959 grandson's going, Papa Israel, Papa Israel, what do you mean? 0:47:42.239 --> 0:47:44.200 And he looks at that staff and he goes, let 0:47:44.200 --> 0:47:49.520 me take you here. I used to be Jacob. I 0:47:49.640 --> 0:47:52.000 used to be a liar, a deceiver, a taker. I 0:47:52.040 --> 0:47:54.680 was so full of fear, us, so full of insecurity. 0:47:54.719 --> 0:48:04.840 I was so full of But God, And he starts 0:48:04.960 --> 0:48:15.120 telling the story. The man who was born taking blessing 0:48:16.560 --> 0:48:23.960 dies giving blessing. The man who is born under Rebecca's 0:48:24.000 --> 0:48:28.080 curse dies under God's blessing. Al can I tell you 0:48:28.080 --> 0:48:31.440 you can die different, You can live a radically different 0:48:31.560 --> 0:48:35.399 life than what was predicted, than what they said, than 0:48:35.440 --> 0:48:38.840 what you thought, That you can live under the blessing 0:48:39.040 --> 0:48:41.560 of God. That you don't have to just repeat the 0:48:41.600 --> 0:48:44.960 cycles of Rebecca, that you don't have to repeat the 0:48:45.000 --> 0:48:48.040 cycles of family history. That you don't just have to 0:48:48.040 --> 0:48:51.799 repeat the cycles, but you can actually step into a 0:48:51.840 --> 0:48:54.880 new thing that God has for you. That when you 0:48:55.080 --> 0:48:58.040 tell the story to your family, they will look at 0:48:58.080 --> 0:49:00.319 you and go, you could have never been that way. 0:49:00.360 --> 0:49:02.560 Our family could have never been that way. And you said, Oh, 0:49:02.560 --> 0:49:05.960 that's who we were. But we met a man named Jesus, 0:49:07.200 --> 0:49:10.120 and he changed our life, and he changed our name, 0:49:10.200 --> 0:49:16.480 and he changed our walk. Oh, this is the story 0:49:17.200 --> 0:49:21.640 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That he could turn 0:49:21.680 --> 0:49:24.560 it around, that he could turn it around. That I 0:49:24.760 --> 0:49:29.200 sought the Lord and he heard me, and he answered me, 0:49:29.280 --> 0:49:33.080 and he delivered me from all of my fears. If 0:49:33.120 --> 0:49:35.520 you're grateful for that, can we just stand to gift 0:49:35.520 --> 0:49:47.200 God a massive shout of praise. Thank you for joining us. 0:49:47.480 --> 0:49:49.920 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:49:50.000 --> 0:49:53.480 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:49:53.960 --> 0:49:56.439 You can click the link in the description to give now, 0:49:57.040 --> 0:50:00.399 or visit Elevation Church dot org slash podcast for more 0:50:00.400 --> 0:50:04.000 information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. 0:50:04.480 --> 0:50:05.800 You can share it with your friends. 0:50:06.080 --> 0:50:08.360 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:50:08.440 --> 0:50:10.520 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:50:10.560 --> 0:50:11.440 Elevation Church. 0:50:11.480 --> 0:50:12.480 Thanks again for listening. 0:50:12.520 --> 0:50:18.080 God bless you.