Living Hope

Pastor Philip Miller: And you don't have to scheme. You don't have to manipulate. You don't have to strive or endeavor or grasp after all these blessings of God. In fact, if you do, you will never have them.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Welcome to Living Hope with Pastor Philip Miller. I'm Pastor Larry McCarthy, and we're so glad you've joined us for this series called Identity Traps. Now, Pastor Philip, we've been looking at the life of Jacob, and I'm really struck by how often all of his manipulations fail to give him the things of God. Why is it that our attempts to grasp God's blessings in our own power just always fail?

Pastor Philip Miller: Well, God is a God who moves toward us in grace, right? And grace by definition is a gift. It's something we have to receive with open hands. And so when we grasp for control and power and manipulation, that's a closed-fist sort of reaching, grabbing, holding, controlling, and manipulating. Our hands are tight and they are unable to open wide in surrender and actually receive by grace the blessings and the presence of God.

And so what works so often in this world, which is just powering up, actually is a liability when it comes to our relationship with God. And that's what Jacob's going to find out today. The identity he's tried to build to gain significance through power is just unraveling. It's not working for him. But there's a better way, and in God's grace, he's going to wrestle Jacob to the ground and teach him to receive by grace an identity and the blessings and promises of God—something he could never grasp for, but he can now receive through open hands.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Stay tuned after the message because, Pastor Philip, we're going to discuss the true meaning of brokenness and surrender. But now, let's go to the pulpit of the Moody Church for part three of the sermon, Jacob: Seeking Significance Through Power. We're looking at the story of Jacob in Genesis, primarily chapters 25 through 32. Here, Jacob hears that his brother is coming to meet him with a small army, and he's scared.

Pastor Philip Miller: You know, they say there are no atheists in the foxhole, right? And Jacob all of a sudden gets really religious. He's in trouble, and he cries out to God. Notice that he cries out to the God of his father Abraham and the God of his father Isaac, but he does not yet claim God for himself. Very important. And yet his tone is different from Bethel. Instead of demanding that God prove himself, he says, "I'm not worthy of the least of the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness you've shown to your servant." And he begs, "Please, please deliver me from Esau, for I fear him."

Do you see? Something is happening to Jacob. He's afraid. He's scared. He's in a crisis, and he's starting to sound almost humble, isn't he? And yet the schemer in Jacob is still alive. So he decides he's going to send a series of gifts to Esau—herds of animals, wave after wave in sequence. He does this to butter up Esau, maybe he'll treat him better, but also to encumber Esau. He's got all these animals to take care of. That's a big chore. It's going to slow Esau up and it's going to prevent a sneak attack. You can't sneak up when you've got a whole herd of cattle with you. And this way, if there is a fight, Jacob's going to be more nimble. So you see, Jacob's still working the angles here. He's still trying to manipulate the outcomes. He's still trying to use power to get ahead in life.

But all that's about to change. Genesis 32, verses 22 to 24: "The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day." So Jacob makes this strategic crossing of the stream to put the watercourse between himself and Esau. He sends his family first and he'll join them shortly.

And here he is all alone. He's stressed. He's worried. He's done everything he can to kind of weasel his way out of this mess, but deep down he knows it's not enough. He's outmatched, he's outnumbered, he's out of options. And then, bam! Out of nowhere, he's ambushed in the night. This wrestling match ensues, and this 97-year-old man is now wrestling with everything he's got. And they wrestle, these two, all night—not because Jacob's so strong. He's 97 years old. But because God is wearing him down to the very end of his strength.

Friends, God is wrestling Jacob to the end of himself. But Jacob is self-reliant to the core. He doesn't back down. You hit him, he hits back harder. He doesn't get mad, he gets even. And Jacob is a tough old bird, and he won't admit defeat. Genesis 32:25: "And when the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him." Jacob won't give in. And so finally God flexes his strength and with a simple touch, wrenches his hip right out of socket.

And friends, God wounds Jacob's body to mend his soul. God wounds Jacob's body to mend his soul. God wrenches his hip to bring Jacob to the very end of himself, to bring him to a place of weakness and brokenness and powerlessness. And as Jacob lays there—defeated, wounded, helpless, powerless, can't wrestle anymore—he still won't let go. He won't let go of the God-man. Genesis 32:26 through 28: "Then he said, 'Let me go, for the day has broken.' But Jacob said, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.' And he said to him, 'What's your name?' And he said, 'Jacob.'"

Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed." So Jacob knows he's been bested here, and he knows this is some sort of supernatural being because his hip was wrenched out with just a touch. But even in defeat, Jacob is still working the angles. Do you see this? He's still trying to stay on top. He's still trying to stay in control. "I won't let you leave unless you bless me." And friends, Jacob wants God's blessings on his own terms, you see? But God will not be manipulated. God will not be manipulated.

That's why God changes his name. Naming is the right of superiors. Parents name their kids. Kids name their stuffed animals, right? God changes Jacob's name, and friends, Jacob submits to the name change. This is huge. He finally submits. He finally yields. God says, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob—heel-grabber, cheater. That's not your identity anymore. Your new name will be Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and you have prevailed." Israel means God-striver. God-striver. What a great name is that?

And there's ambiguity in the name itself in the Hebrew. It's unclear in the name who the subject is and who the object is. So the question is: is it Jacob who strives with God, because that's certainly been his past, he's been striving and wrestling and grasping? Or is it God who strives for Jacob? Which is what Jacob desperately needs if he's going to have any future, any life. He needs God as his defender, his protector, his power. See, in the name of Israel is an invitation. Will Jacob keep striving with God, grasping for power, or will he finally surrender, trusting God to strive powerfully on his behalf? That's the question.

Genesis 32:29: "Then Jacob asked him, 'Please tell me your name.' But he said, 'Why is it that you ask my name?' And there he blessed him." Jacob's not quite ready. The heel-grabber makes one final attempt to balance the scales. He asks for his victor's name, presumably so he can change his name. "You changed my name, now I'm going to change your name, God." But God won't play his game. He skirts the question, asking why, and then, friends, God blesses Jacob. Helpless, broken, weak, powerless Jacob is finally blessed by God.

Genesis 32:30 through 32: "So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, 'For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.' The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh." Jacob calls this place Peniel, the face of God. And as the sun rises, Jacob sets out, and he's limping. He's limping.

And friends, Jacob's limp is grace. Jacob's limp is grace. Because as Jacob limps his way toward Esau, he can't fight, he can't flee, he can only limp. Limp and trust. Limp and trust. Friends, the birthright, the blessings, the future, Jacob's own life, his family—all of it is beyond his control at this moment. He is powerless to do a thing. Do you see? And with every flinching step, Jacob discovers: I am weak, but he is strong. I am inadequate, but he is sufficient. I am powerless, but he is powerful.

And friends, Jacob limps into his transformed identity as he now finds significance in surrendering to God. Do you see that? And God comes through for Jacob. God will strive for Israel. And the miraculous thing happens: Esau welcomes Jacob home with open arms because God has gone before Jacob. And from this day on, God is not just the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac, but he is the God of Jacob, the God of Israel. And Jacob learns that he can only inherit the blessings of God—not through power, but through frailty; not through control, but through surrender; not through strength, but through weakness; not by striving, but by grace.

Jacob discovers the truth of what the apostle Paul says when he writes, "For when I am weak, then I am strong. For his power is made perfect in weakness." See, in this moment, Jacob learns that instead of living as an orphan, trying to use power to make himself significant in life, there is a significance that can only be received by the grace of God. The very blessings that Jacob strived so hard to obtain through manipulation, power, and control, God intended to give to him as a gift of grace that would be received in childlike faith.

And as Jacob's orphan heart is coming to the very end of himself, friends, right here Israel's childlike trust is coming to life. It took a wrenched hip to align his soul. It took brokenness to make him whole. It took surrender to finally have significance. You see that? And friends, the significance our souls desperately need is found in surrendering ourselves to our Father. Do you realize that in Jesus Christ, your heavenly Father has crowned you with glory and honor? He has seated you with Christ in the heavenly places.

He has adopted you as a son and daughter forever. He has given you an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade that's kept in heaven for you. And you don't have to scheme. You don't have to manipulate. You don't have to strive or endeavor or grasp after all these blessings of God. In fact, if you do, you will never have them. These blessings of God can only be received as gifts of grace. By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The true significance our souls long for comes not through power, but through frailty; not through control, but surrender; not through strength, but weakness; not through striving, but by grace.

Friends, true significance comes through childlike trust. For his power is made perfect in weakness. And when I am weak, then I am strong. So if you want an identity that is chock full of significance, remember this: Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: This is Living Hope with Pastor Philip Miller. I'm Pastor Larry McCarthy and now, before we start today's discussion, I wanted to let you know that faithful partners like you make this program possible each day. And as our way of saying thanks for your gift today, we have a resource we'd be thrilled to send you. Go to livinghopeoffer.com or call us at 1-800-215-5001. We're so glad you've joined us today as we disarm Jacob's trap and we're going to disarm our own today. So Pastor Philip, what's the difference between the significance God offers versus the significance that we seek through our own power?

Pastor Philip Miller: The significance that we try to gain for ourselves through our own power, our own control, our own manipulation—being large and in charge in life—all of that power and the significance tied to it is contingent, right? We feel significant as long as we feel in power, in control, and those things are working for us. But the moment that stops—and it can stop for a variety of reasons. All of a sudden we come up against someone more powerful and we feel threatened and then we don't quite know who we are. It kind of shatters our sense of place in the world.

Or something in life that we thought we were in control of is all of a sudden not in control. The stock market takes a downturn and all of a sudden we feel like we've lost control. Or our kids make choices we wish they hadn't and we lose a sense of control. Or our health, we get a diagnosis and all of a sudden we realize how vulnerable and weak we are in the universe. We just all of a sudden have this moment. And so to the extent that we've built our significance around our sense of control in the world and power, as soon as that's threatened or fragile or it starts to break apart, then our significance that's tied to it is equally threatened and all of a sudden our whole sense of identity starts to unravel.

It's really a vulnerable place to live, even though it works for us for a long time. As soon as it stops working, it actually is a huge problem for our whole sense of identity and place in the world. And that's why the significance that God is offering us is so beautiful, because it's contingent not on us and our performance or our sense of control, but it's tied to his character. And of course, God is eternal and he's more real than the universe we live in. He spoke and this universe came into being. So his truth, his reality, his being is more grounding than even gravity and this planet. It's deeper than all of creation, which means if our significance is tied to resting in his hands and his power, his sovereignty in the universe, and we rest in his care, that means no matter what happens to us, he's got us. It's rooted in a character of God that can never be thwarted because God is on his throne. And so that's a way more durable, way more lasting, deeper sense of significance that's tied to being really helpless and resting in the hands of God as he takes care of us, he watches over us, he protects us, and he holds our life into eternity. That's a really great place to be, and no one can take that away. That's a significance that just goes all the way down.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Yes, sir. So why do we keep making this so hard on ourselves? Why can't we just receive our identity as a gift from God rather than constantly, continuously trying to achieve it on our own? We're making it hard on ourselves.

Pastor Philip Miller: We are. And it really is our automatic settings of self-reliance, self-dependency. We want self-promotion. We want to be the ones that give ourselves a sense of significance at the end of the day. There's a pride thing in us. We don't want to have to just collapse and rest in grace. Like, I've got to bring something to the table, right? But that impulse to control and to stay in charge and try to keep running my life and have ownership of everything—at the end of the day, we're actually in our own way, as you point out. We're our own worst enemies.

And that's what Jacob found out, right? God in his grace wrestled Jacob down to the ground to the point where he couldn't do anything. He couldn't run, he couldn't fight. He just had to limp forward and trust that God would fight for him. And it was a whole new identity. That's his name change and everything. God will strive for him as he limps into the future. And so that limp is actually grace, isn't it? That limp of humility, dependency, reliance on God. As Paul will say, "My strength is made perfect in weakness." Jesus says that to Paul: "My strength is made perfect in your weakness." So Paul will say, "When I'm weak, I'm actually strong." Which is, of course, paradoxical, but that's exactly what the gospel does.

It humbles us into the ground and it teaches us to have a significance that's actually way better than anything we could strive for or grasp in our own hands. And really, what we're seeing in Jacob's story is that open-handed living is just the opposite of heel-grabbing. You can't get the blessings of God in any other way than to open your hands and receive them by grace. And there's an identity available for us, a significance not through our own power but through the power of God, and it's right there for us to live into because we're children of God. That's what Jesus has made possible by reconciling us to the Father. So this is a whole new way of life and it's beautiful.

Pastor Larry McCarthy: Amen. Won't you open your hands to God's grace today, beloved? What a paradox of the gospel that when we're weak, we're strong. That the blessings of God come not by grasping but by receiving them with open hands as children. That's a whole new way to live. Our newest book, Marks and Moody, holds up that very contrast. The important and timely book tells the story of two contemporaries who came from very different backgrounds. Marks came from an upper-middle-class family, while Moody came from extreme poverty.

You'll discover the contrast is much greater as one man reached for power to change the world and the other was changed by the grace of God. You'll see the very different legacies they left behind. Now, you can be among the first to receive your copy this month. To request your copy of Marks and Moody, simply go to livinghopeoffer.com or call us at 1-800-215-5001. That's livinghopeoffer.com, 1-800-215-5001. You can also write to us at Moody Church Media, 1635 North LaSalle Drive, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Power isn't the only thing we can clutch too tightly. Sometimes it's the things we own. And next time, we'll talk about Zacchaeus and his identity trap. Thanks for joining us for Living Hope, where you'll always find gospel truth for the journey of a lifetime. Living Hope is a production of Moody Church Media and is sponsored by the Moody Church.