16/1/18 – Genesis 32, Genesis 33 Matthew 12:22-45 Proverbs 2:1-11

Gen 32:24-25 – So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.

We must understand – Answers to prayer do not always come easily. A lot of the time there is a struggle involved.

There’s tears, there’s sweat, there’s exhaustion. But the trouble is, we start to wrestle a little, then surrender and assume that the answer is no.

I’ve done this – I reckon we’ve all done this. And we wonder why there is no answer – we have no real FIGHT in us.

Have you ever prayed with a passion that made you mentally and physically tired? Have you ever been in a place so desperate – where you needed an answer so bad – that you felt like you couldn’t get up off your knees until you had a sense of relief or peace? This is hanging on. Digging in. Wrestling with the issue until you get an answer.

Jacob did not wrestle for 5 minutes, or a few hours, but all through the night. His name means “heel grabber” and thats what he did. He wouldn’t let go – when all he could grab was a leg, he held onto that leg tight.

Is your need great? Are you facing something difficult? Are you tired of being the way you are? Are you sick of the hold sin has had on you? You may have to fight for the victory. How bad do you want it?

You see, Wrestling isn’t something you do lightly. Nothing takes more energy and continual effort than wrestling does. It’s constant, it’s tiring and you can’t back down for a moment or the fight is over.

That is what our prayer life should look like – keep your ground, keep persisting, never letting go . When it feels like the battle is over, don’t let go. Persist. Hold on tight.

They wrestled the whole night, until the match came to an end. Not when Jacob gave in, but when God, dislocated Jacob’s hip with one simple touch.

This puts the whole wrestling into perspective. This wrestling match was not a struggle for God. He allowed Jacob to battle him, until the moment he chose to end it.

God was always in control of the situation. Whatever you are facing – GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL

Gen 33:3-4 – He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

How often have we done this? We build things up in our minds – we worry and worry about how something will go, only to find that it was not as bad as we thought it would be. Jacob had good cause to be concerned. Last time he saw Esau, his brother wanted to kill him. But a lot of time had passed and Jacob had come a long way. And crucially, God was at work.

When we’ve given a situation to God we can trust him with it.

But also, there are many who have gone away from the fathers house… many who have drifted from church. If you are one of them, then I know some of the feelings you may have about coming back. People will stare at me. People will judge me. You can build things up with conversations in your head that have not even happened. Jacob was expecting a frosty welcome. But what he got was a loving embrace.

Matt 12:33-37 – “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

We are known by our fruit. That’s what displays who we really are. We may think, that the person we tell ourselves we are, that’s the real us – but not so. The good person brings forth good, the evil person brings forth evil. It’s not who we are inside, but what we bring forth that displays our true self. Many selfish people think they are kind. Many impatient people think they are good listeners. What we do and what we say are so important. Every careless word – we will have to give an account for.

How’s your fruit? The evidence of that will be all around you in the impact you’ve had on others.