Sermon for Sunday December 28th, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR - JACOB’S WAY by Bruce Ball

Romans 5:1-5:1


Someone once describe insanity as doing something the exact same way over and over again, but each time expecting to get a totally different result.

Most people use that exact same method when it comes to wanting a better life; they continually live in the hope of things getting better, but never actually get around to making things better by doing anything different - even for a happier new year.

Speaking of Happy New Years, something very special is going to happen again this week. In that smallest sliver of time, between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the year 2008 is going to quietly disappear and 2009 will magically appear to take its place.

And once again, we will use this division of years as a place to mark a new beginning. We will do what millions of people have always done; we will make all kinds of promises to ourselves that we will do whatever it takes to get a better life, or to have a happier New Year.

But we will also do what millions have already done before us; we will forget those promises, or new years resolutions, before the first month is out.

We forget things just as quickly as the elderly couple who met in a nursing home. They became friends and then it became even more. They starting spending a lot of their time around one another and pretty soon fell madly in love.

One night, he decided to pop the question and ask her to marry him. She smiled that wonderful smile and said, ‘Yes.’

The next morning, they both found themselves very upset. He was upset because he remembered proposing, but couldn’t remember if she accepted or not, and she was upset because she remembered accepting the proposal, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember who it was that proposed.

So, in hopes of helping us to remember how to get those better things in our lives that we want, I thought we would take a lesson out of the Bible that will show us what we have to do to actually get them!

And since we are going into the first of a new year, I thought it only appropriate that we find our lesson towards the first of the Bible. We are going to study a passage in GENESIS, but I want to set this up for you first.

There was Abraham, the father of the Jewish Nation. He walked with God and God said that he would bless all those who blessed Abraham and God would curse all those who cursed him.

If you remember Abraham’s story, he had two boys; the first being Ishmael and the second being Isaac. It was Isaac who was born naturally to Abraham and his wife Sara, and therefore, it was Isaac who God blessed by letting him inherit all of Israel.

Going down a step further into the gene pool, we find that Isaac had two sons. In fact, they were twins. The oldest boy was named Esau and his younger brother was named Jacob.

Now, Jacob was much like us in that he had a lot of problems in his life. And, like us, most of the problems he had was caused by his own decisions and actions. In GENESIS 32, we find the story of Jacob, and in that story, we find that;


1. JACOB WAS NOT A NICE PERSON

Let me describe these two twin brothers for you. Esau was the oldest, and he was a true outdoors man. He spent a lot of time in the desert hunting for food. Jacob, the youngest twin, was more of a farmer and he grew grains and tended to the livestock.

One day Esau had spent the day hard at work hunting for food in the desert and when he came home he was as hungry as a bear. That is when he saw Jacob cooking up a big pot of stew. As I said, Esau was very hungry and he demanded that Jacob give him some stew.

Now this is where we see Jacob’s conniving heart show through. Since Esau was the oldest boy, he got the first inheritance from his father’s estate. But Jacob wanted the inheritance instead, so he told Esau that he would give him some stew, but he first had to sign over his birthrights to Jacob. Do you see how Jacob manipulated others for what he wanted, even if he had to do it in a very shady way?

And then we also see how much Esau thought of his birthright, because he did it. He signed over his entire eldest birthrights for a single bowl of stew. And then, when he had finished eaten, he just got up and walked away without giving another thought to what he had done!

Later on, Esau realized what he had done and did everything he could to get his birthrights back, including crying to his father. But what is done is done and cannot always be undone. Sometimes, there is just no way to repent enough to get back what you chose to give away.

And that lesson runs parallel to how careful we must be when dealing with the salvation afforded through Jesus Christ. To my observation, most people who claim to be Christian feel pretty much the same about their inheritance given to them by God, as Esau did his birthrights. They do not hold on to them and certainly do not see just how precious their birthrights are. And when we do not care about something, we rarely do anything to keep it or to protect it.

So when Jacob tricked Esau out of his birthrights, he also tricked him out of the rightful blessings Esau should have had. And this would end up causing much friction between the two brothers as time passed; enough friction to where Jacob was afraid Esau would end up killing him.

How many times have we done things out of selfishness that came back to haunt us? I want us all to realize that when we do these things, we always run a very high risk of hurting someone else, and that someone else is generally someone who is very close to us – someone’s feelings we should strive to protect and not to hurt.

Jacob ended up moving away and later got married. His father-in-law tricked him into marrying the wrong daughter, and then kept him there as a hired hand for several years until he was able to also marry the other daughter, the one he loved. And then Jacob, our conniving little friend, ended up cheating his father-in-law out of livestock.

To say the least, Jacob seems to be the same type of person that each one of us knows somewhere in our lives. His main thoughts were on what would do him the most good, or what he wanted at the time.

What I am trying to point out is that when we react in such ways, we hinder any good that might end up coming our way. And if we want our new year to be full of good things, we need to start understanding how we need to change our thoughts and actions today so those good things can come our way tomorrow.

So now we know that Jacob was only focused on his desires. And any time a person is like that, they are not focused on what anyone else may need or want. I have painted a less-than-perfect picture of Jacob, but did he have any saving grace at all? Yes.


2. IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, JACOB RELIED UPON GOD

Years later, we find that Jacob was taking his family and all of his possessions and servants and fleeing from his evil father-in-law. He was going back to his original land to meet his older brother Esau; the same one he had cheated so many years ago.

And Jacob was afraid. And so he began to pray.

In GENESIS 32:9-12, we read what he prayed:

‘You, Lord, are the God who was worshiped by my grandfather Abraham and by my father Isaac. You told me to return home to my family, and you promised to be with me and make me successful. I don’t deserve all the good things you have done for me.

‘When I first crossed the Jordan, I had only my walking stick, but now I have two large groups of people and animals as my own. Please rescue me from my brother. I cheated him years ago and now I am afraid he will come and attack my wives, my children, and me. But You have promised that I would be a success and that someday it will be as hard to count my descendants, as it is to count the stars in the sky.’

Jacob was like all of us in that he had made some very bad decisions in his life and now he was afraid of paying the consequences of those decisions. So he did what all of us do; he went to God and asked for help. The decisions he had made showed that he wasn’t the smartest man in the world, but his prayer showed that he did know God and he did rely upon God – especially during the tough times.

It was time to set up camp for the night, so Jacob selected hundreds of cattle, sheep, goats, camels, bulls, and other animals as gifts for his brother Esau. He sent men in charge of each herd on ahead, telling them that if Esau asked who they belonged to, they were tell him that Jacob was sending them to his brother as a gift.

He did this as a way to appease his brother in case Esau was still mad enough to kill Jacob. And we have all tried to soothe those we have hurt with bribes of different kinds, too. Do we ever stop to think that if we didn’t act like we do, we wouldn’t have to do things like that in the first place? And how can we not act that way? The only way in which we can refrain from acting selfish and hurting others is to realize what we have through Jesus Christ, and that is the loving Spirit of a loving God.

Let’s get back to Jacob and see if we can learn anything else from him.

Starting in GENESIS 32:22, we find out just how far into a trying time fear of your past will put you.

The Bible goes on to say that in the middle of the night, Jacob moved his wives, eleven children, and everything else he owned across to the other side of the Jabbok River so they would be safe from any attacks. And then he went back to spend the night alone where he had been. And that is where Jacob came face to face with who he really was.

Let us begin reading from GENESIS 32:24,

‘A man came and starting fighting with Jacob. They fought all night until just before daybreak. When the man saw that he could not defeat Jacob, he struck him on the hip causing it to be thrown out of joint. They still kept wrestling until the man said, ‘Let go of me! It’s almost daylight.’

‘You can’t go until you bless me,’ Jacob replied. Then the man asked, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob’, he answered. The man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have wrestled with God and with men, and you have won. That’s why your name will from now on be Israel.’ At that point, Jacob said, ‘Now tell me your name.’

‘Don’t you know who I am?’ he asked. And then he blessed Jacob.

Jacob said, ‘I have seen God face to face, and I am still alive.’ So he named the place where they had wrestled ‘Peniel’. The sun was coming up as Jacob was leaving Peniel. He was limping because he had been struck on the hip, and the muscle on his hip joint had been injured.’

Now, don’t get this passage wrong. God did not wrestle with Jacob to see who was stronger physically. We all know that God could have won that kind of match very easily. But God wrestled with Jacob as a way to get Jacob’s spiritual house in order, for him to realize the real importance of his walk with God.

We see that Jacob was determined to persevere in God. God told Jacob to let go of Him and Jacob refused, saying not until God blessed him. How many of us today have ever held on to God so tightly that we just refuse to let go until we have received His blessings? I think the lesson here would be that if we want a better New Year, we need to understand it won’t happen without holding on tighter than ever to the Lord.

And if we have a more dependent relationship with the Lord in the New Year, we shall also have more peace in our lives.

ROMANS 5:1 tells us how to do this.

‘It is only by our faith in God that we have been made acceptable to Him. And now, because of our faith in Him through Jesus Christ, we are able to live in peace with God.’

HEBREWS 12:14 gives us a stern warning about having peace in our lives.

‘Try to live at peace with everyone! Live a clean life. If you don’t, you will never see the Lord.’

Jacob learned a valuable lesson when He wrestled with God. When he finally made true peace with God,


3. HE WAS ABLE TO EXPERIENCE PEACE WITH HIS BROTHER

For years, Jacob had been a scoundrel, taking advantage of everyone around him so he could get what he thought he wanted. He cheated his brother out of his birthright, he had cheated his father-in-law, and he probably took advantage of everyone else who crossed his path, too.

Jacob was afraid his brother would kill him for the deeds he had done. And the night before he saw his brother, he ended up fighting with God. And when he showed God that he was not about to let Him go, God blessed Jacob. What can we learn from that?

I think the lesson is that it doesn’t really matter where we were in the past with relation to God, but where we are right now. Our future with God is not determined by our past decisions, but by the decisions we make today.

After receiving God’s blessings, Jacob met his brother.

GENESIS 33:4-15 tells us how his brother received him.

‘But Esau ran toward Jacob and hugged and kissed him. Then the two brothers started crying. When Esau noticed the women and children he asked, "Whose children are these?’ Jacob answered, "These are the ones the Lord has been kind enough to give to me, your servant.’

‘Then the servant women and their children came and bowed down to Esau. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down; finally, Joseph and Rachel also came and bowed down.

‘Esau asked Jacob, ‘What did you mean by sending those herds I met along the road? Jacob answered, ‘I sent them so that you would be friendly to me.’ ‘But, brother, I already have plenty,’ Esau replied. ‘Keep them for yourself.’

‘No!’ Jacob said. ‘Please accept these gifts as a sign of your friendship for me. When you welcomed me and I saw your face, it was like seeing the face of God. Please accept these gifts I brought to you. God has been good to me, and I have everything I need.’ Jacob kept insisting until Esau accepted the gifts.

‘Let’s get ready to travel, Esau said. "I’ll go along with you.’

‘But Jacob answered, ‘Traveling is hard on children, and I have to look after the flock that are nursing their young. If my animals travel too much in one day, they will all die. Why don’t you go on ahead and let me travel along at a slower pace. We can meet again later.’

‘And then Esau offered something else, ‘Let me leave some of my men with you so they can help you.’


We see that after Jacob had his encounter with God, things began to improve rapidly. The brother he thought might kill him actually came to him with tears of joy in his eyes, happy to be reunited with him.

By presenting his entire family to Esau, Jacob was showing a humble heart to his brother, probably for the first time in his life. This showed that he cared greatly for his brother.

Esau, in turn, cared so much for his brother that he offered to continue the journey with him, and when Jacob explained that he had to go slower, Esau was kind enough to leave his servants to help Jacob.

Here we have two people who have treated each other with disdain and disrespect for most of their adult lives. There was obviously no love lost between these two men and there were even serious doubts about whether they hated each other enough to kill each other. In case you missed it, let me tell you that these feelings are the only kind of feelings that can be found in the world. Anything better can only be found through trusting in the Lord.

These two men found that the hatred they had for each other had turned to peace and love. How could this have happened?

GALATIANS 5:22 tells us.

‘It is only through God’s Spirit that we can be loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. And the wonderful part is there is no law against behaving in any of these ways. And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have been able to kill our selfish feelings and desires. It is only through God’s Spirit that we have true life, and so we should follow the Spirit.’

COLOSSIANS 3:15 tells us to let the peace of God rule in our hearts. And EPHESIANS 4:32 reminds us to forgive one another just as God has forgiven us.

So let me ask you a question. I know we all want a better year ahead, but have we really given any real thought as to how we can actually have it better? Remember that nothing ever happens without someone first being willing to make it happen.

Jacob found that, with a change of heart,


4. A NEW DAY HAD DAWNED

Once Jacob figured out that he had to ‘let go and let God’, he was able to see a new future. But this could never have happened without making his peace with God first.

A once selfish and sinful man finally became totally dependant upon God and ended up being listed in the Hall of Faith in the book of HEBREWS.

HEBREWS 11:20-22 talks about having faith in God.

‘Isaac, the father of Esau and Jacob, had faith and he promised blessings to both of his sons. Later, when Jacob was old and about to die, he leaned on his walking stick and worshiped the Lord he loved. Then because of his great faith, he blessed each of Joseph’s sons. And right before Joseph died, he had faith that God would lead the people of Israel out of Egypt.’

What we find is that when one develops real faith in God, their whole life changes and becomes better. But there is another benefit that we are blessed with, too. When we submit ourselves to the Lord in faith, it has a ripple effect, going down to bless our children and their children alike.

So we come back to the original question of this message: Do you really want 2009 to be better for you than 2008 was? And if so, what do you need to do to make sure that happens?

My suggestion is for you to read and study HEBREWS 11:1 until you fully understand its meaning.

‘Faith makes us sure of what we hope for, and that same faith gives us the indisputable proof of what we cannot see.’

When you can learn to trust God so much that you literally put your very life in His hands, you are walking by faith, which is the confident expectation that God knows what is best for you even more than you know what’s best for yourself.

Just as Jacob had to make peace with God before he could find peace with his brother, we must make peace with God before we find peace in our lives.