Converted Heart Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

Guest (Male): Welcome to Converted Heart Church. Whether you're joining us for the first time or are a valued member of our community, we're delighted to have you with us today. As we continue to navigate through these challenging times, we believe that every person who enters our virtual doors is guided by the Lord.

Though we may be apart physically, we greet you with a smile and embrace you with a virtual hug. On behalf of our pastor, Dr. Darryl and First Lady Burton, and the entire Converted Heart family, we joyfully welcome you into our spiritual home. We are Christ-centered, preaching messages of love and hope, community-minded, being aware of the needs of the community, cultivating relationships, partnering with businesses who have the same vision and caring heart, connecting the heart of God with the heart of the people. Thank you for being with us. We're thrilled to have you here and look forward to sharing this journey of faith and fellowship. Please enjoy the service.

Dr. Darryl A. Burton Sr.: God's presence is here. Let's go ahead and give God some praise this morning. Glory to God. We thank God for this day. This is the day that the Lord has made. He said, let us rejoice and be glad in it. I'm glad and happy to be back from the general conference that was in Dallas, Texas on this past week. I'm excited to be back with you. I missed you guys. I hope you missed me. Because I missed you.

We thank God. We were traveling on Friday, and I was sharing with those who are watching that we had a tremendous time getting back home because of the storm. To make a long story short, I'm grateful to God that God granted us traveling mercy. He grants traveling mercies, and for that, I'm grateful for the traveling mercies that God allowed us to make it back safely through the air, through the storm. God can bring you through some storms. He can help you through the storms and help you through the rain and the wind and all of those things that we face in life. I'm so grateful to God that He made it possible for me to be back with us on this morning.

Let us jump right into what we're here to do today, and that is to praise the Lord. Let us give God praise and honor today. That is to worship the Lord. We come here for no other reason but to be refueled with more fuel in our tank so that we can continue our journey of worshipping and serving the Lord. My call to worship this morning is going to lead us to Psalm 131.

My heart is not proud, O Lord. My eyes are not haughty. I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul. Like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore. Let the people of God say amen. I read for us this morning Psalm 131. Good morning, Sister Claudia. Good to see you, my sister. God bless you. We’re going to start this morning with giving thanks to God. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Are y'all ready to worship this morning? Are you ready to worship? Come on, if you're able to, put your hands together and help this brother sing this morning. We love the Lord. We honor the Lord this morning, and we’re going to give Him our best praise. The song goes like this.

Guest (Male): Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good.

Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good.

Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good.

Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good.

Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good.

Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. Worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good. For He is worthy, worthy, for He is good. Yes, He is good.

Dr. Darryl A. Burton Sr.: I’m working up a sweat already. Amen. Don't you know we have a friend in Jesus? We have a friend in Jesus, and we are grateful this morning to come before you knowing that all our sins and griefs to bear, He is one that we can take everything to the Lord in prayer. How many of y'all believe that on this morning? What a friend, what a friend, what a friend. Does anybody need a friend today? What a friend we have in Jesus. I hope you can join me in singing this this morning as we lift up the name of the Lord.

Guest (Male): What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.

Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer. In His arms He'll take and shield thee, thou wilt find a solace there.

Dr. Darryl A. Burton Sr.: Amen. Come on, let’s give God some praise. We thank God for those selections as we enter into this time of praise and worship on today. Let us pray.

Father God, we want to thank You. We want to thank You for this day that You have made. We want to thank You for last night's lying down and this morning's rising up. We ask, O Lord God, that You come now and fall fresh upon us. O Lord God, instill in us Your Spirit that we still our spirits to hear from You today. Whatever happened last week, last night, Lord God, we pray right now that You would give us comfort, give us strength, allow us to bask in Your presence right now.

Send Your Spirit down, Lord God. Fall fresh upon us right now. We need You, Father. We thank You for this wonderful opportunity to come and to worship You today. O Lord God, we thank You that we woke up this morning still clothed in our right mind. We thank You that we have our health and our strength in these bodies You've given us. We thank You that we can come through Your throne of grace, bowing down on our knees and asking that You forgive us of our sins. Cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

O Lord God, look beyond our faults and see our needs. Lord God, we ask that You gently place us on Your divine operating table and create in us a clean heart and renew in us a right spirit. Lord God, come right now. Work on us. Help us. Lift us up. We need You. We need to be healed by You. We need to be restored. We need to be reconciled to You. Then, Lord God, once we are in right alignment with You, allow us to stay close to You, to keep our hands in Your unchanging hand.

Lord God, to continue to look to the hills from which cometh our help, because we know our help comes from You. Now bless us now as we go higher in this worshipper's experience. May the words of my mouth, the meditation of our hearts be found acceptable unto You. O Lord God, bless this nation in which we live. Bless our communities that are hurting right now. Bless those mothers and fathers who are trying to raise their children. Bless those who are dealing with mental health challenges.

We pray that You would heal our land, for Your word says, if my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from our wicked ways, then You will hear from heaven, heal our land and forgive us of our sins. We need You right now. We need You in our lives individually and collectively. We need You, Lord God, to touch these men today, even the ones that are here among us. Touch these fathers and those who are watching near and far. You know who they are.

O Lord God, we don't know why men won't step into these doors of this church, but Lord God, You know. We pray that You would touch these hearts of these men, young men, men who are trying to become men and fathers. We ask, O Lord God, that You would touch them in a special way. O Lord God, we make time for everything else. Allow us to make time for You, particularly on Sunday morning as we come together as a family. We thank You that You will be with us as we go higher in this worshipper's experience today. Lord God, we ask hearts would be open near and far, and that You would continue to bless us and keep us. This is Your servant's prayer in Jesus' name. Let every heart say amen.

Our affirmation of faith is found in our program on this morning. After the affirmation of faith, Sister Sharon, I ask that you would read our scripture this morning. It comes from Genesis chapter 32, verse 22 to 32. That gives me a moment to recalibrate myself before we go into the sermon selection and the preached word. But affirmation of faith is printed in our program. Church, what is it that we believe?

Group: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. The third day He rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Dr. Darryl A. Burton Sr.: Sister Sharon, you can come and share our scripture lesson on today.

Sister Sharon: What was the scripture again? Genesis 32:22-32. Morning, church. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers, the dads, and however you categorize yourself. I'll be reading Genesis 32 verses 22 through 32, and it reads as follows:

And he rose up that night and took his two wives and his two women servants and his eleven sons and passed over the ford Jabbok. And he took them and sent them over the brook and sent over that he had. And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him. And he said, let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me.

And he said unto him, what is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel. For as a prince hast thou power with God and with men and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him and said, tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Peniel, the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. Therefore, the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh unto this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank. May God add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His words. Amen.

Dr. Darryl A. Burton Sr.: Let the church say amen. Let the church say amen again. Just a few announcements before us on this morning. First of all, again, it's good to be back from a long, grueling week in Dallas, Texas. Oh my goodness. But it was a wonderful, wonderful experience at the General Conference. We did elect three new bishops to our Zion. Bishop C. Harry Thurman, who was out of Georgia, he is going to be presiding over the third district of Zion of the CME church.

Then we elected Bishop-elect Robert Shaw. He'll be presiding over the second district of our great Zion. Then we elected Reverend Dr. Leon C. Moore, who previously served as the General Secretary of Evangelism and Mission. He's one of my cohorts. We were in the same seminary doing our doctoral degree at the same time. He's a few semesters in front of me, but he's a really good brother. He's going to be assigned to the tenth episcopal region, which is comprised of Ghana, Liberia, Togo, and a few other countries in Africa.

So we may have an opportunity, my brothers and sisters, to go to Africa because of our relationship with Dr. Leon C. Moore. Can we give God some praise? We are looking forward to see what the Lord is going to do in the upcoming months. Then we lost Bishop Walker because he has served his time here. We now have Bishop Ricky D. Helton as our presiding prelate of this particular New York, Washington, and the Carolina regions here in this area. Let's give God praise for our new bishop.

So we are excited to see what the Lord is going to do in this upcoming next four years of our journey together. Matters of the Heart was going to resume on tomorrow, but I have a meeting, so we’ll push that back to probably the following Monday.

Guest (Female): Can I ask one question? Is Bishop still over Israel?

Dr. Darryl A. Burton Sr.: No. Israel will have their own at the annual conference. They will have one. Amen. Back to our regular scheduled program. That was a commercial break. For those who, if I am so blessed to come back to be the pastor of Converted Heart at the beginning of that time, we'll have our new members' orientation for a few of y'all who have been with us just recently. We'll bring y'all together and explain how all of this works. It's not complicated, but it can become a little difficult to understand the very nuances of how the CME church works. We’re not a Catholic church, we’re not a Baptist church, we’re not a non-denominational church. We are a Methodist church. The Methodist church have methods. That's why it's called a Methodist church, because it operates under a method.

The annual conference, speaking of that, that will be June 29th through July 3rd at the Hilton Landing in Arlington, Virginia, or Crystal City. Most of y'all know it as Crystal City. So we’re going to be there June 29th through July 3rd, and on July 3rd, which is the Friday, that's where we will hear all the announcements of who's been assigned to whatever church they're going to be assigned to for the next four years. So y'all need to be praying that the Lord would see fit for me to come back here. I don't take it for granted that I’ve been here for 11 years, but the Lord may have something else to say. So we’ll see what the Lord has to say.

Journey through the word will be also probably taught by Reverend Kim on Wednesday. We'll see. The Converge Conference is going to be at First Baptist Church of Glenarden. Bishop Snowden, Teresa Snowden, who is our first female bishop of the CME church, she has invited me to be part of the Converge Conference this week. So I'll be spending some time at First Baptist Church of Glenarden for their Converge Conference. Many leaders from around the country that will be there doing some teaching and training, and I hope to be able to bring some of that information back to you. The Converge Conference is a conference of all leaders concerning church planning, church revitalization, and all of those different things. I don't have all the details in front of me, but I'll share that with you later.

Back to our regular scheduled program. On Friday, let me thank Sister Kareen, and I think it may have been Sister Sharon too, that led us in our prayer call on Friday. Thank you for leading us. Thank you for leading the prayer team on Friday. Every Friday, for those who don't know, we come together to pray. We pray as a family. We engage you. We want to engage you and invite you to join the prayer call at 7:00 PM. The number should come up on the screen, 605-313-5682 with access code 75343 pound. Come and join us for a time of prayer, and we certainly are praising God and thanking God for every answer that God sends our way, which is yes and amen. In fact, that's the answer that God will answer our prayers with. So let us be patient with the Lord as the Lord continues to work through whatever prayer that you lift up before Him.

And again, we want to thank all the wonderful bishops. Bishop Walker has now become the senior bishop. I failed to say that. He's become the senior bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. What that means is that everything that goes out nationwide would have his signature on it that relates to whatever the issues that's plaguing or going on in our country and around the world, for that matter. He is the person who will be writing letters and writing comments and what have you to express where the CME church stands on particular issues that plague our society. So you'll see more of that coming to us and to the nation and to the world with his signature being the primary on the documents coming forth in the future.

Let us keep in prayer our sick and shut-in. Speaking of our sick and shut-in, we’re glad to see Sister Claudia here on today. Claudia was in a major, major accident a few weeks ago down in South Carolina. Claudia, it's good to see you. She was all bandaged up, braced up and neck braced and all kind of things was happening with her. But look at how God has healed her to be here with us on this morning. Look at how God has made a way for her to be here on this morning. Claudia, do you have anything you want to say to us?

Sister Claudia: I’m just glad to be walking again and getting around.

Dr. Darryl A. Burton Sr.: Glad to be walking again. And she’s getting around with that cane in her hand. She’s getting around. Amen. Come on, let's give God some praise. God is a healer. Can somebody testify to that? That God is a healer, and we thank God for Him being Jehovah-Rapha, our healer. The Bible says that by Jesus' stripes we are healed. So we thank God for you being here. I hate that you have missed Reverend Kim today. She’s not with us, but I’m glad that you made it here anyway. Thank you for coming on today.

Those are all the announcements that we have before you. Certainly, we want to thank God for, if I’m blessed to live a few more days, I’ll be celebrating another birthday on June 30th. Amen. y’all pray for me because I can be silly sometimes, most times, often times, I can be silly. But y’all pray for a brother. I just like having fun, and I like to laugh, and I like to just have a good time. Amen.

I gave my son a song to play for us this morning, and I think it's "How Great Is Our God." Before I do anything else, let me wipe my face. Let me clear my throat, and let me see if I can get myself together here. I want to thank those who are joining us on our YouTube channel and our Spice Source and onewordplace.com platforms. Thank you for being with us on today as we seek to just worship the Lord in this time of worship and praise. We are in the midst of summer, as y'all can tell, because it's really warm not only in here but it's warm outside. So I encourage churchy and ask that you drink your water and stay hydrated. We’re grateful to God for this opportunity. I don't take it for granted. In fact, I always look forward to coming before you to worship and give a word unto the Lord. Amen. All right.

Guest (Male): The splendor of the King, clothed in majesty, let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice. He wraps Himself in light, and darkness tries to hide, and trembles at His voice, and trembles at His voice.

How great is our God. Sing with me, how great is our God. And all will see how great, how great is our God.

Age to age He stands, and time is in His hands, beginning and the end, beginning and the end. He wraps Himself in light, and darkness tries to hide, beginning and the end, beginning and the end.

How great is our God. Sing with me, how great is our God. And all will see how great, how great is our God. How great is our God, how great is our God. Hallelujah.

How great is our God. Sing with me, how great is our God. And all will see how great, how great is our God.

Dr. Darryl A. Burton Sr.: Amen. We want to thank Sister Sharon for reading our scripture this morning. Again, we want to thank all of you for being with us on this day of worship. Let us pray.

Dear Lord God, we have come before Your presence with thanksgiving. We have entered this place with praise. Now, Lord God, we open our hearts to You. We ask, O Lord God, that the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart be found acceptable unto You, and that as this word goes out to Your people, that they may be encouraged, that they may hear something, Lord God, that will allow them to keep walking the walk of faith.

We’re living in some difficult times, Lord God, but we know that You are able. You’re able to keep us, Lord God. You’re able to sustain us, Lord God, and for that, we’re grateful and we say thank You. Now, Lord God, come fall fresh upon Your servant as I stand behind the sacred desk to preach this word to Your people. This is Your servant's prayer in Jesus' name. Let everyone say amen.

Again, I want to thank God for being with me on today and being here on today as we say Happy Father's Day. Happy Father's Day. Men who are listening and watching, Happy Father's Day to you as well. We’re grateful to have this moment to give a word for our fathers. I, many of you know that I’ve been in a sermon series called Living in the Power of the Spirit. So for obvious reasons, Sister Kareen, we’re going to have a message for the fathers today. Is that all right?

Turn back to Genesis chapter 32, verse number 28. It says from the NIV, then the man said, your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome. Then the man said, your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome. For this Father's Day, I wish to entitle this sermon topic, "I am a Changed Man. Now I Know Just Who I Am." I am a changed man, now I know just who I am.

A few months ago, I was doing one of my Brother Mike, one of my Transformational Tuesday moments, and a man sat down in my barber's chair looking worn down by life. His clothes were wrinkled, his beard had grown long, and his shoulders were slumped. You could tell that life was hitting him pretty hard. You could tell that he had been through some things in life. He sat down and he began to share his struggles. He began to share his bad decisions. He began to share broken relationships and where he had failed in life and failed in opportunities that he did not take advantage of. He spoke as though his mistakes had become his identity.

When I finished cutting his hair, I brought up my phone, because I use my phone as a mirror. I don't have a mirror on the wall, so I bring up my phone and I take some photos of his haircut and I show him the photos. He said something had changed. He stared at himself, and then he smiled. Then he said, "Man, I haven't seen myself look like this in years." The haircut didn't change who he was. It simply removed everything that was hiding behind who he was. His hair had become a cover keeping him from seeing who he was.

The overgrowth of hair symbolically can sometimes leave us carrying so much disappointment, so much guilt, so much fear and regret that we no longer recognize ourselves. Genesis chapter 32 serves as a mirror of Jacob's life. Jacob had a chance to look in the mirror to see himself for who he was. God brings Jacob to a place where everything has obscured his identity and stripped away everything. For the first time in Jacob's life, he sees who he really is.

I need to move us on a little further down the road, but I want to do it carefully so I can lay out the context of how Jacob arrived at this point in his life. Those of us who study the word know that Jacob stole his brother's birthright. Isn't that right? And with the help of his mother, Rebecca, Jacob stole what did not belong to him. His name means trickster. For much of Jacob's life, he pursued his goals through manipulation, through deception, and through self-effort. He stole a birthright. He stole a blessing. It wasn't his. He deceived others. If you know the story, Jacob becomes deceived by his own kin, Laban.

Jacob, perhaps like some of us here today and watching, has been years running from our past, avoiding who we are, hiding it from others, covering up our past through manipulation, deceptions, and lies, and all for the sake of carrying an image you want your family and friends to see. How do we cover up our past? I'm glad that you asked. One way we cover up our past is through what I would call image management. Our social media pages are platforms for image management. You have an opportunity to project the image you want somebody to see on your social media page. How the public sees you, how revealing you want to be to desire some for somebody to get in touch with you, unfriend you, if you will.

Jacob was a master of image management. In Genesis chapter 27, he literally dresses like Esau to receive his blessing. He changes his image to project an image of someone he was not. Worst of all, he did it to deceive his own father. My father who assisted him, his father who assisted in raising him, teaching him, providing for him. Jacob, with his mother's help, deceived his father of obtaining a blessing. That was the beginning of Jacob's disguising himself as something that he was not.

Here's the question for us on this morning, if I can ask this. What disguises are you wearing this morning? Who do you want me to see when you walk into those doors? Another way of covering up our past is blaming others. Sister Valerie said it this morning in our Sunday School when she talked about blaming others. I thought she was getting ready to preach my sermon. She said blaming others. What I mean by that is that many people will avoid dealing with their failures by focusing on somebody else's past, somebody else's issues. We deflect what is happening to us by looking and pointing out somebody else's failures.

I believe it's right here in Matthew chapter seven, verses three and five. If I can sum it up this way, it says, why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? In other words, you're looking at what somebody else is doing, the issues somebody else has going on, instead of looking at your own problems, your own issues, your own shortcomings, and all the things that's going on with you. You refer, you deflect and look at somebody else and start blaming other people instead of looking at yourself in your mirror.

As we examine our text on this morning, laying the foundation of how Jacob becomes a changed man, he had lived his life managing perceptions, maintaining appearances, protecting his reputation, and controlling the narrative. We see that coming from the White House. We spend so much energy protecting the image that we never address the reality of what's going on in our lives. The reality we observe in this text is that Jacob faces the most difficult moment of his life, not by facing his brother Esau, but facing himself.

It starts right here in verse number 22 and 23 of Genesis chapter 32. That night, Jacob got up, took his two wives, took his maidservants, took his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions, the Bible says. Notice that Jacob does a couple of things. He crosses the Jabbok. The Jabbok sounds very similar to the word Jacob. It was a place of emptying when you empty something. It was a place where you let some things go. It was a place of releasing what you have been carrying around. It was a place where he released his wives. He released his maidservants. He sent over his sons after he crossed the Jabbok. He sent them over. He released some things out of his life.

The river, the Jabbok River, was a tributary of the Jordan. In other words, it was a stream before you got to the Jordan River. It's a little stream that you had to cross over in order to return to Canaan. Don't miss this. On the surface, it's simply a river crossing, but symbolically, it becomes a place of transition. It was just a river that he had to cross, but it was more than just a river to him. It was a place where he was being transitioned and transformed by God.

In just these few verses, Jacob finds himself in a wrestling match. But he first must release and let go what he's carrying all this time. What does Jacob release and let go? I'm glad you asked. He sends his possessions across. He sends his servants across. He sends his wives across. He sends his children across. The Lord calls sometimes on your life will require you to strip away what you are carrying. What are you carrying this morning? What are the things that you've got carrying in your suitcase, in your bag, on this morning? There will come a time, there will come a time that some things and some people must be stripped away from our lives.

Today, the issue facing men and fathers makes Genesis 32 incredibly relevant because many men define themselves by what Jacob released and let go. Men and fathers today are defined by their paycheck, they’re defined by their position on their job, their possessions, and their performance. Listen, when any of those disappear, they no longer know who they are. What do I become when I lose my paycheck? What do I become when I lose my position on the job? What do I become when I lose all of my possessions? What do I become when I am unable to perform?

Jacob had wealth. Jacob had wives. Jacob had children and Jacob had servants, and yet he still felt unsettled. You can have all of these things, but success cannot answer the question about your identity. We must release and let go. That brings me to verse 24 because verse 24 gives us a divine moment in Jacob's life. The verse says, so Jacob was left alone. He got rid of everything. He stripped away everything. And the man wrestled with him until daybreak.

Notice that God brings Jacob to the Jabbok moment. It's a Jabbok moment, a place where distractions are removed and you and he must confront the reality of who he is. This moment can frighten us because we no longer have the security blanket of stuff and people to hide behind. Before God can transform Jacob, He gets Jacob alone. I love this because God wants to transform him. Before God can transform you and me, He must get us alone.

Jacob is alone, and the Bible says he wrestles with the man until daybreak. In other words, our desperation will keep us from letting go until we get something in return. He says, I want to bless you. He says, I won't let you go until you bless me. You know the story. The man could not overpower Jacob, and perhaps our why in this passage can point to the fact that Jacob had nothing else to hold on to. Listen to the tension in the text. Verse number 26 says, I will not let you go unless you bless me. He's hanging on for dear life. Why is he hanging on? Because he has let everything in his life go, his wives, his children, his possessions, his performance. He has nothing to hide behind, and the only thing that he has right now is the hand of God, the wrestling match that he has with the man of God there at midnight.

He says, I won't let you go unless you bless me. I'm hanging in there. I'm not going to let you go. The man goes on to ask, what is your name? And Jacob said, I'm Jacob. And the real question in the text seeks to identify is who you are. That's the real question. The question is not so much his name. The real question is, who are you? And this is where I make my first observation on today. And that is, before you can know who you are, you must confront who you've been. Before you know who you are, you must confront who you've been. God wasn't interested in gathering information. God was demanding honesty. We see that Jacob had become through his years of working and gathering. God cannot transform the version of you that you keep hiding from Him.

Many fathers won't change without confession, but growth begins when honesty begins. I call it soul searching. That requires a deep dive into who you are. But we cannot get there without being honest or doing an honest assessment of where we have been. Some men need to admit, I'm exhausted. Some men need to admit, I'm angry. Some men need to admit, I'm wounded. Some men need to admit, I am afraid. Some men just need to admit, I am struggling. Listen, the breakthrough begins when you're honest with yourself. The breakthrough begins when you just can be honest with who you are. When you are honest with yourself, that is when God can free you up and begin to really use you for His glory.

As I move quickly through the field of this text, my second observation I believe is seen here in this text is that God will often break what you've been leaning on. God will often break what you have been leaning on. Sister Claudia, you've got that cane right now in her hand. She's leaning on it. But God wants to straighten her up. If He's going to straighten her up and get her right, she's got to let that cane go.

The man saw Jacob. The man saw that Jacob was not letting go, y'all. So the man touched Jacob's hip. And many of us are leaning upon our own strength, especially men, because most men are wired to handle things on their own. We are self-sufficient. We want to fix it. We want to make sure it's working. And the breaking point occurs when we no longer rely on ourselves. The breaking point occurs when we no longer rely on ourselves but on God. That's when the breaking point begins. Can we rely on God when we are laid off from our jobs? Can we rely on God when illness comes knocking at our door? Can we rely on God when divorce is knocking at our door? Can we rely on God when financial hardship is knocking on our door? Can we? Rely on God, or are we going to try to fix it ourselves?

The crisis we face daily aren't always punishment. Sometimes it's transformation. God must weaken our dependence on ourselves so that we can be strengthened by our dependence on Him. The Apostle Paul discovered this when the Bible said that he had a thorn in his side. Y'all know the story. But the Lord declared in Second Corinthians chapter 12, verse 9, "But He said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect how? In weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me." Did y'all get that? Paul is saying that God said that my grace is sufficient for you, that my grace, my power is made perfect in our weakness. No matter how weak you are, God's power can give you what you need to make it, what you need to overcome, what you need to break through the situation that you find yourself in. The Lord extends grace in our weakest moments of life. Why? So that we can see the power of God working through us to make us who He created us to be.

Whatever you're leaning on, God may choose to break it. And when He breaks it, don't worry about it, because He's going to uplift you and elevate you in due season. As I close, let me remind you. First observation is before you know who you are, you must confront who you've been. The second thing you must also understand is that God will often break what you've been leaning on, whether it be something like a cane or whether it be a person or whether it be a job or whether it be something else. God will break it.

And third and finally, when God changes your identity, your walk changes. When God changes your identity, your walk changes. Let me say it one more time for the people in the back. When God changes your identity, your walk changes. To sum up verse 28 and 31, Jacob struggles with God and lived. God gave him a new name. He gave him the name Israel. His new name represented his new identity. Jacob leaves limping because God touched him. The limp is important because the limp becomes evidence of the struggle with God.

And sometimes we will find ourselves struggling with God. But the blessing is that for Jacob and for us, our walk becomes different. Every step you take is a reminder of meeting God. Every step you take is a reminder that you are not what you used to be. Let me say to the fathers listening on this morning, a mature father is not a man who never struggles. A mature father is a man who learns to walk with God through his struggles. Because amen, you’re going to have some struggles, isn't that right? You’re going to have some disappointment sometimes. Things are going to happen which is out of your control. When they are not in your control, who you going to look to to help you in your struggles?

The struggle is real because God is real. Children don't need a perfect father. They need a father who walks with God. They need a father who knows how to pray. They need a father who knows how to get down on their knees. They need a father who knows how to come and wrap their arms around them and encourage them. They need a father who will help them in their most desperate time of need. They need a father who knows how to walk with God. Your family doesn't need a flawless man. They need a faithful man. God is looking for some faithful men. God is looking for some faithful men and women, particularly men on this Father's Day. He's looking for some faithful men to be faithful to His word, to be faithful to the call that God has called them to.

My call to action this morning to all the fathers and men in general is to stop running. Stop pretending. Stop carrying yesterday's labels. Stop identifying yourself by the worst mistake that you ever made. For the Jacob out there that's listening, let God speak over your life. The greatest gift a father can give his family is not a bigger house. It's not more money in the bank account. It's not a better career. The greatest gift a father can give his family is a transformed man who knows he is in God. And when a father knows who he is, he can help his children discover who they are. Jabbok was a place of separation. Jacob was stripped of everything he leaned on. Wrestling was a place of confrontation. Jacob faced God and lived. Peniel was a place of transformation. Jacob received a new identity.

So I want to encourage the fathers today. Don't worry about the struggles, because you're going to always have some struggles. But in this life, keep on looking to the Lord who is the author and the finisher of your faith. No weapon formed against you shall prosper. You are more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. I want to encourage the fathers, I want to encourage the men. You’re going to have some struggles, but know where your help comes from, because our help comes from the Lord. God is faithful. God will never leave you nor forsake you. But He's calling you today to be the man, a changed man. Now you know who you are.

I’m being really transparent and honest with you today because today, my brothers and sisters, I’ve had moments of struggle. I’ve had moments of struggle. I’ve had moments where I wanted to throw in the towel, Sister Claudia. I’ve had moments where I wanted to give up. But I thank God that in my weakest moments, I called on His name. Lord, I need You. I need You to help me. I'm struggling to understand. I'm struggling trying to figure out life. I'm struggling trying to understand the call that You have on me. And sometimes I get it right, but often I get it wrong. But I'm glad that God has grace. His grace and His mercy, it keeps me. It keeps me going. When I want to give up, He won't let me give up. When I want to throw in the towel, He won't let me throw in the towel. When I want to give somebody my last piece of mind, He won't let me give them my last piece of mind. Thank God for that. Oh my God. There's some things I would want to say to you, but because of how God has moved on my life, I’m able to tame that and keep that under control. Hallelujah.

The doors of the church are open for those who are listening out there, wherever you may be. To the fathers, I want to invite you. You may stand if you're able. To the fathers, I want to invite you into a relationship with Christ. Let me say this to you fathers and men who are out there listening. You do not have to have it all together before you come into a relationship with Christ. You don't have to have all the boxes checked: the money, the home, the family. You don't have to have all the boxes checked. In the place where you are, God can meet you there. In the situation that you're in, God can meet you there.

What He wants from you is for you to strip away everything that you hide behind. Jacob was hiding behind 20 years worth of working for Laban, 20 years of all these things that God was still in his life, but he was hiding. He was still trying to manipulate even if you go back and I ask y'all to go back and read Genesis 32. Even when you go back and read the chapter, you will still see that he still seemed to be kind of scheming the outcome of what was going to happen because he was coming to a place of having to meet his brother. In other words, he was coming to a place of having to meet his brother Esau, who he stole his birthright from. He had to come face to face with his past. Y'all missing it.

We got to deal with our past, past traumas, past hurts, past disappointments, past failures. We had to deal with that. Jacob would have to deal with it, but the only way that he could deal with it, he had to release some things. He had to put the children in front, put his wives out there, his servants. He had to let everything go and have his own personal moment with God. And the Bible says he wrestled with the man to the breaking of day. We got to wrestle with God. And I don't know what that's going to look like for each of us, men and women. We got to wrestle with God. Stop hiding behind your stuff.

I’ll say more prayerfully about this on Wednesday for Bible study, because there's some things I had to move out. I couldn't get to. But if you are there, we want to invite you to accept Jesus as Lord. You know Romans 10:9 says if you confess with your mouth and then you believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead, the Bible says that you are saved. If you would like to come into a relationship with God, text the word JOIN to 240-269-5193. Text the word JOIN to 240-269-5193. I'm waiting to hear from you. I hope to hear from you. I hope that we can engage in a conversation that will lead you to come to be part of our fellowship so that we can grow together.

We're growing together. We're moving together. Amen. We're moving together. Some of us moving faster than others, but we're moving together. Amen. We’re moving together. And so if that's you, please reach out. Again, text the word JOIN from your mobile device to 240-269-5193. Amen. Y'all may be seated in the presence of the Lord. God bless you for being here today. Amen. Did the word touch you today? Come on, let's give God some praise. I enjoyed this word today, and I pray that it meant something to you, men and women. I hope that you got something out of this. As I labor each week in preparing and preparation of bringing the word out, my prayer is that God may touch somebody today. If it touches one person, the angels in heaven rejoice. That means that that word has gotten to the heart of that person and now there's a change, a changed man. I finally know who I am. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen.

Let us prepare to, I think what I’m going to do today is just prepare a benediction today for us. Amen. And the benediction actually comes from the book of Numbers. And we sing it. I want to thank my son. Most of y'all who are watching don't know this. My son is working our camera and our sound system. He's been doing it for a long time. And what it does, I’m not going to say it. I don't want to embarrass him or anything like that. I’m too late. Anyway, I love him. I love all our children. I spend 99% of my time with him. I see my daughter and my other son occasionally. Amen.

But it's a blessing when a father can spend time with their children. And so Aaron, I’m publicly saying that I love you. I think the world loves you. He's doing great things. I know the Lord has something special for him, and I'm grateful to be around to be able to pour into him. Still, I'm able to pour into him, and he's an open vessel to receive what I'm pouring into him. Some of our children sometimes don't want to hear what Mom and Daddy have to say because they think they've been here and have lived longer than you. Y'all know what I’m saying? That's another sermon for another time. Amen. So anyway, come on, bring what you got, and then we will sing. Thank all of you for joining us, coming and being with us on next Sunday as we continue to lift up the name of the Lord in this worship setting. Hallelujah.

The Lord bless you and keep you. Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

The Lord bless you and keep you. Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. To the only God our Savior be majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all ages now and forevermore. Let the people of God say amen. Amen. Amen. And praise the Lord. Hallelujah. God bless you. Until we meet again, have a tremendous Father's Day, all of you. Amen. God bless you.