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Living Hope SDA Church

The Gift of Struggle

Christian Martin

01 The Gift of Struggle

You know, from ancient stories in the Old Testament to those found in the Gospels in the New Testament, Our key passage today certainly contains 1 of the greatest nights found in the Bible.

My message this morning is the first of a two-part series entitled, The Gift of Struggle.

Our Father in Heaven, our hearts have already been lifted up towards you through our song, through our meditation in your word, through testimony, through story.

And now Lord, we seek to hear a word from you.

Tune our hearts to be able to discern that still small voice that wants to, needs to speak to us today.

Tell us the message that you want us to understand.

I have come across this dramatic story several times in the reading of the Bible.

You know, the night that Jacob wrestled with an angel.

And it seems like time and time again 1 can glean fresh lessons from it.

You've read it once, you've read it 10 times, and every single time something, something speaks to the heart.

And though it becomes a familiar story, I still find myself coming back time and time again to this midnight encounter because it's so irresistible.

And there are numerous lessons that we can draw from this mysterious story.

Even if we don't ever fully comprehend exactly how it happened and why it happened and what happened, Nonetheless, nonetheless, I believe that there's something today that God will speak to us about.

And so this morning, I want us to take a close look at 1 of the darkest hours in Jacob's life.

And let's begin by recalling the events that led up to this midnight battle.

So I invite you to open your Bibles to the book of Genesis.

After 20 years, 20 years of hard labor and evidently accumulating many possessions during this period of time, Jacob left Paddan Aram, the home of Laban, his father-in-law.

And he returned to the land of Canaan, the land that he knew very well.

He had fled home in Canaan 20 years earlier with nothing but a staff in his hand.

He had to because a brother who was out to kill him.

But now 20 years later he's returning as a rich man.

A rich man with many possessions together with his wife, 2 wives in fact, and children with flocks and herds and camels.

And on the way back, the Bible records in the first verse of the very next chapter, chapter 32, There we find that he had a supernatural encounter.

The Bible says in chapter 32 verse 1 that angels of God met him.

Not just 1, not just 2, but angels, meaning many, met with Him right there and then.

In fact, He saw so many angels that he called that place, this is God's camp.

You know, a few days ago, in fact, just a couple nights ago, There was many who saw a marvelous sight.

How many of you, unexpectedly in fact, because I know I did, were able to actually see with your eyes the northern stars?

How many of you were able to do that a few nights ago?

I was coming back home from a church board meeting of all things and I got home thinking I'm gonna get home and it's been a long day I'm ready to go to bed.

But little did I realize that our attention would be drawn to go outside and sure enough what was fascinating is with the naked eye as I looked up into the sky towards the north I was like what's what's the big deal I I don't see anything I guess I see some pinkish tones, but do you see something?

And so I took my camera And I aimed it towards the north, where supposedly the northern lights were in full display.

And as I took my picture in night mode, I took the picture and the exposure began.

And in a few seconds, I was in awe of what I was looking at on my camera.

Because on my camera there in the screen was the most beautiful Northern Lights view I had seen, ever taken in fact.

The glow that I saw through my camera, Believe me, it was not the glow that I was looking with my naked eye.

The best way to see them was through the lens of the camera.

Now in a very similar way, God granted Jacob the ability to see angels through divine lenses.

The naked eye could not have seen what Jacob saw.

But God, in his mercy, permits Jacob to behold that in fact he is surrounded by angels of heaven.

He was able to see through divine lenses.

White writes in the book Patriarchs and Prophets, page 196.

It was a sight, all right, a sight of divine care.

As he traveled southward from Mount Gilead, 2 hosts of heavenly angels seemed to encompass him behind and before, advancing with his company as if for their protection.

Jacob remembered the vision at Bethel so long before and his burdened heart grew lighter at this evidence that the divine messengers who had brought him hope and courage at his flight from Canaan were to be the guardians of his return.

And he called the name of that place, Mahanaim, 2 hosts or camps.

Little did he realize how much, just how much he would need the visit of angels.

Little did he realize what he was about to encounter because as he drew near to his own country, as he traveled in the direction of Canaan, His mind began to do something that shouldn't surprise us.

Because he began to recall the journey out of Canaan and why he was running for his life.

It was during this journey back to Canaan, follow closely, that the memory of his old sin came back to frighten him.

He remembered how he had cheated his brother Esau, straight out, bluntly, boldly, and got from his father the blessing which belonged to the older brother.

He knew, he knew that his long exile was the direct result of a sin of deception.

And he pondered day and night And needless to say, it made his journey very, very sad.

As he pondered what he had done so long ago.

And As he approached his home, he knew that he would inevitably find himself encountering his brother, his brother Esau.

He knew that it was only a matter of time and afraid that his brother Esau would take vengeance on him, Jacob sent messengers before him.

And he said, listen, go, find my brother.

And he did so with this huge and generous gift.

I mean, it's like this massive amount of flock and livestock and animals.

But the only answer that he got as recorded in Genesis 32, verse 6, was that Esau was coming, all right.

And the record in verse 7, chapter 32, verse 7, reads that Jacob, Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed.

So Jacob divided his family into 2 groups, 2 of them.

No, you come here, you come here And you go over there.

And he instructed them that if Esau attacked 1, then the other would have time to escape.

02 The Gift of Struggle

You know, last week, in part 1 of our series, we discovered a God.

Yes, a God who is power, a God who is healing, a God who is life, a God who is well described by a poet in this piece of poetry entitled, Struggle.

We trust a shadowed God who ceases us in lonely places, who comes to us in travail, who births us only in great labor.

There is no struggle in which blessing is not unfolded in the mystery.

There is no tribulation in which God is not reworking the clay.

There is no wound without the power of healing.

Therefore the prayer of the faithful is not that our lives be easy, but always and only this, I will not let go Until you bless me.

Of the struggles life thrust upon you, do not let go.

Until you get from them a blessing and become, limping perhaps, a new person with a new name.

We're returning today to a lowly mountainous region near the Jabbok River.

It was there where a faithful patriarch had a dramatic midnight encounter, yet his story also represents an experience that the called, chosen, and faithful will have to endure just before the second coming of Christ.

We all struggle, we all struggle at times, but perspective makes all the difference.

My message today is the second of a two-part series entitled, The Gift of Struggle, Finding God in Our Own Time of Trouble.

Father in heaven, Thank you that you brought us to a place where we speak Jesus.

A place where the broken, the lost, those who are lonely, can experience healing, power in life.

And that's what we so desperately need today.

We've come in our struggle, but we know that you are here and we will look for you and find you as we search for you with all our hearts in Jesus' name, amen.

True are the words in this quote by James Lance Allen, adversity does not build character, it reveals it.

You know, ironically, it was a dark midnight encounter that brought light to the character of Jacob in the most revealing way.

We found Jacob battling for his life, literally, with an antagonist whom he soon came to realize that this is not any ordinary enemy.

He came to realize it was a heavenly messenger.

In fact, the prophet Hosea identified him as the Lord God of hosts.

And in the struggle, Jacob did not give up.

Jacob wrestled, struggled, struggled with God until he was blessed, until he was blessed.

And indeed in this instance, true is the quote, this adversity did not build Jacob's character, it revealed it, It revealed it.

But in this very moment, there in the midnight encounter, the greater revelation is That of a loving God.

A loving God reveals himself in this story.

A God who could not turn away the earnest cry of 1 who would not loosen up his grip for even 1 moment.

This man was agonizing, earnestly praying for a blessing.

You know, it reminds us, it reminds me of a statement that another man made.

His name was Jesus, but also known as Emmanuel, which means God with us.

And God with us had said these words later in John chapter 6, verse 37, his words would be recorded saying, whoever comes to me, I will by no means cast out.

And here back in this midnight encounter, but now as the morning breaks, this pre-incarnate Christ who spoke these very words was testing Jacob and he said, let me go, let me go.

But Jacob responded In essence, Lord, Lord, no, I need you.

I'm not gonna stop pursuing you until I have the blessed assurance that you are mine." In essence that was his prayer.

Deep in my heart of hearts I know that I am nothing without you and I need you.

It'd be good for you to ask the question yourself.

When have you found yourself praying at that depth, at that level?

Maybe someone is saying, but you don't understand.

For there in the darkest hour Jacob struggled and at the end he received the very thing that he longed for in the struggle, the very thing he longed for.

There in Genesis chapter 32, in verse 27.

And the record says, and he said to him, what is your name?

And he said, your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel.

For you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.

Then Jacob asked him, saying, tell me your name, I pray.

And he said, why is it that you ask about my name?

And when the sun had risen and the Lord God of hosts had departed, Jacob, Realizing the great change that had come upon him.

He called the name of that place Peniel, meaning face of God.

For I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved.

You know, and as we learned in part 1, it was the discovery of God that changed, which made the change in Jacob.

It was the discovery of God that he discovered how much he needed change.

It was the discovery of God that made the change in Jacob and thus his name was changed from deceiver to Israel.

1 who means 1 who has the power with God, the Prince with God.

And so discovering God is the greatest discovery that any 1 of us can ever make, as did Jacob.

And so out of this awesome story, we can find a second truth.

And that is this, that it is oftentimes the stranger, oftentimes the stranger against whom we struggle is really Christ in disguise.

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The Gift of Struggle

02 The Gift of Struggle

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Parts

01 The Gift of Struggle

35m

02 The Gift of Struggle

43m

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