WEBVTT

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- Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons Podcast.

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This is where you can find audio

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from Sunday morning messages and more.

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Make sure you're subscribed

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so that you don't miss future episodes

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and thanks for listening.

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- Hey, good morning.

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If you've got your Bibles and I hope you do,

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please join me in Genesis chapter 32.

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As you turn there, a couple of things.

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Number one, saw a lot of you stopping by

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and having conversation with Tim Stewart.

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Tim Stewart is the author at Willow Ridge Church, right?

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He's not the author of Willow Ridge Church,

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but he is the author at Willow Ridge Church.

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And Tim has written several books

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and he has recently completed his latest book.

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And he is selling copies of that book out there

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in the lobby and he's got some copies

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of some previous books as well.

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And so I'd encourage you to stop by, pick up one of those.

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I've got the privilege of having it.

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It's a wonderful book, you will definitely enjoy it.

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And so stop by there on your way out the door.

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Also to echo, we do have our new discipleship studies

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that are happening.

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We would love for you to sign up

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and be a part of those in the coming weeks.

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Next week, our very own Tim Shull,

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he's gonna be sharing his testimony

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during the nine o'clock discipleship hour.

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So all of our, if you've been coming to a study,

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or if you haven't been coming to a study,

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you wanna be here.

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Tim's got a powerful story, powerful testimony of God's work.

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And so we wanna invite you to be here,

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to be a part of that during the nine o'clock hour

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next week as well.

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Also, the hurricane that came through,

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there's not a, probably a person or a family in this room

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who hasn't been affected by that.

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We appreciate you guys allowing us the flexibility

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to do what we can do today.

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So we apologize if you were looking forward

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to the discipleship time.

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I know that I was, but this seemed like the best way

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as we've got volunteers without power,

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for all of us to be able to come together

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and worship this morning,

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and hopefully so many people online joining us as well.

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We're processing through as a staff,

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the best way that we can continue to respond.

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We know we are grateful for, and I wanna give kudos to,

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and I know there's a lot of other churches

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that have done this,

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but because we're all on the same team, we can celebrate.

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I know First Baptist Lexington,

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I know Northside have come instantly

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and been doing some meals for our community,

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and that's just so fantastic and so awesome.

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And so while a lot of those things are happening,

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we're also recognizing that more work

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is gonna need to be done in the next few days,

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weeks, and months, as we walk through this time together,

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not only in our community,

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but in the communities that surround us.

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So we are grateful for our denomination.

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We're grateful for the Southern Baptist Convention.

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We're grateful for the South Carolina Baptist Convention

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and our disaster relief teams

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that have been mobilized all over the state,

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helping people, helping them to salvage

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what they can for their homes.

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And so we're looking at what we can do.

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One of the things, just kinda help us with this right now,

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if you wouldn't mind,

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if you are currently without power at your home,

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or so like, or if maybe you're running on a generator,

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or maybe you have no power at all,

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if that is your situation,

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would you mind raising your hand this morning

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so we can kinda see?

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Okay, okay.

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All right.

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Thank you, thank you.

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So also, maybe you have power at your house,

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but there's needs that you have as well.

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After the service is over with,

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I'm gonna be in the back here,

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the back corner, and super informal.

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We don't have an online thing to sign up for all this,

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right, like just, if you could come back

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and share that with me,

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I'm gonna see if maybe we could have a couple of our elders

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and staff back there with me as well,

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and we're gonna see what we can do the best that we can

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to help get you guys either connected with,

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or what we can do.

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We're just, like I said,

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this is all a little bit overwhelming for all of us.

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There's definitely been, not only within our area,

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but areas outside of our community

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that we're gonna be looking at and helping as well.

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And I know that you've got those areas

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that are special to you,

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especially if you're from the upstate of South Carolina.

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There are those, you guys know

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that I'm from the Augusta area.

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I love Augusta.

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It's my hometown where I came from,

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and it devastated, devastated.

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And so we wanna continue to remember those areas

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and those people as well.

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And if you are familiar

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with the missions partnership that we have,

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I do wanna give you guys some updates

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about our friends at Black Mountain Children's Home.

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So first off, what I wanna say is,

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is every child, every host family,

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every worker at Black Mountain Children's Home,

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God kept his hand on them,

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and they are safe and they are good.

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I know some videos came through through social media

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that a lot of our students and a lot of our adults saw

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where down at the area where the thrift store

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that comes through,

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and there's the women's prison that's right there.

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It looked like a river running through

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because the amount of flood water that came through there.

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Very, very devastating of what's happened,

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but we can celebrate that all of the people are safe

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and they're okay.

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But there was a lot of damage done,

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especially to the West Campus area

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where we've largely done a lot of our work that's there.

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And so we have been in communication with them.

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There's a continual line of communication back and forth

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of what can be done, but also remembering,

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there's certain areas where you can't even get to

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in Black Mountain area right now

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in the Asheville, Hendersonville area.

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So, but we're gonna continue on with that.

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So please, please continue to be in prayer.

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I guess here is the most logical,

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biblical strategy I think that we as God's people can do.

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And this is what this is.

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This is what we've tried to embrace as our family.

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And I know that you guys have done that as well.

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And I just wanna encourage this with you.

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If you see a need over the next few days, weeks, months,

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if you see a need and you can meet that need, meet it.

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Meet it.

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Love people.

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When there's a guy violently giving hand gestures

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to you at the gas pump, just love him.

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Right, just love him.

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You know, situations like this

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can bring out the worst in humanity.

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Which gives situations like this opportunities for us

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to show in a greater need who Jesus is.

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And that's what we need to do.

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So if there's a family that you can, feed 'em.

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If there's people that you can share with, share with 'em.

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If you're fortunate enough and can open up your home,

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open it up.

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As we go into our message this morning,

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I wanna read to you Genesis 32, verse 28.

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Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob,

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"but Israel, for you have striven with God

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"and with men and have prevailed."

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Let's pray.

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God, we come to you this morning.

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We're thanking you.

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Thanking you that today in the midst of storm,

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in the midst of destruction,

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you are God and you are holy and you are on your throne

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and you are in control.

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God, I pray for the many friends and families

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this morning who are without.

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God, I pray that we can rally around them

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to support them and encourage them.

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Lord, but I pray more importantly that they would know

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as they wait wondering if the power of company

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has forgotten about them, Lord, that you have not.

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Lord, and that you are with them.

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Lord, I pray for areas that I've just heard of this morning

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with friends that have church members who have family

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in Augusta, in Hendersonville, in Fletcher,

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in all the places that have been devastated

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worse than what we've experienced, Lord,

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would you give them comfort and peace as well?

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God, I pray for our friends in Black Mountain.

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I pray in the midst of those children

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who have literally lost everything in so many instances.

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Lord, but I pray as these families care for them

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and minister them and comfort them.

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And God, above all of this,

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Lord, that your name would be made known.

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And so God, may we, whether it's through the work

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of a chainsaw, whether we through the hospitality

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of a casserole, whether we through an opportunity

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of opening our home so that someone could come in

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and find a cool place to sleep.

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Lord, may we be the men and women

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that you've called us to be for your name

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and for your glory.

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And this in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

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Very, very interesting passage that we have

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for ourselves this morning in Genesis chapter 32.

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As I read through and studied it this week,

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we knew that a hurricane was coming.

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We knew that this is what was going to take place

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in this part of our country.

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I don't think we, we didn't, definitely didn't expect

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the path that it was going to take.

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We definitely did not expect the magnitude

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in which the destruction would come.

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But as I read this and as I began to think,

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the word that I kept coming to in my mind

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in Genesis 32 was this concept of being prepared.

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Being prepared.

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If we all went back and said to ourselves,

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if I knew today, or I'm sorry, if I knew Wednesday

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what I now know today, we probably would've done

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some things differently.

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Maybe you were super prepared,

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but maybe you were like many of us

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and you felt that you were underprepared

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to face what was coming.

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Well, you know what, that's not just when

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a storm or a hurricane comes, but that's in life.

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And more importantly than thinking about drinking water

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and generators and all those things,

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it's when we face the battles and the situations

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to look at and see what God is doing in that

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and then what God is doing in me through that.

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So two questions I want you to think of right now

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with where you're at in whatever circumstance of life

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that you're facing.

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When you face difficulties, I've found that it is beneficial

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to ask these two questions.

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Question number one, with whatever it is

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that you're facing right now, here's the question,

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what is God, I'm sorry, how is God preparing you?

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How is God preparing you?

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Spiritually speaking, what muscle is he working on

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a little bit harder than the other?

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What area is he trying to tone up

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and prepare you more for right now?

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How is God preparing you?

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And then number two, what is God preparing you for?

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What is God doing right now to prepare you?

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And then an expectation as you look forward

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to the next day, week, month, season of life,

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what is God preparing you for?

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You know, when God works and moves in our lives,

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it's not just in these instances where God comes

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and says, all right, Bo, you're my project for today.

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And then tomorrow I'm gonna jump to Joel.

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And then tomorrow I'm gonna jump to Tim.

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And then tomorrow I'm gonna jump to Dawn.

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And then tomorrow I'm gonna jump to Grayson.

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Right, God is constantly working in us and through us

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and preparing us and doing a work in us, a current work,

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because of what he is preparing us for.

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Now as we look through this and we see this morning

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in the life of Jacob, we can find these things.

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We can see the good and all the bad that he's been in

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because we stand on this side of the story.

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But you've been on that side of the story before.

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You've been in the midst of the chaos, of the storm,

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of the crisis, of the event, and it's hard to see.

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But God's still working.

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So where Jacob finds himself, and as we come into chapter 32,

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he finds himself in a mess, get this,

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that he has created as he seeks to follow God.

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Both of these can be true at the same time.

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You can find yourself in the consequences of your sins.

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You can find yourself in the consequences of your reality

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and the struggle of life while at the same time

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you look to trust, follow, and obey God.

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It's not like when the obedience switch

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comes on in your brain that all the difficulty

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of your life disappears.

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Oftentimes where our faith is strengthened the most

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is when we're walking through the difficulty

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of what we're facing, we're walking through

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the consequences of our actions,

00:13:33.480 --> 00:13:34.760
we're walking through the valley,

00:13:34.760 --> 00:13:36.040
we're walking through the storm,

00:13:36.040 --> 00:13:37.560
we're walking through the crisis,

00:13:37.560 --> 00:13:39.640
and we're walking through it

00:13:39.640 --> 00:13:43.320
because we're seeking to obey God.

00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:45.480
And that's what we find with Jacob.

00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:48.880
And if you've been dialoguing and working through us

00:13:48.880 --> 00:13:51.120
with this, I wrote this in my notes,

00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:54.360
this is kind of the tale of two Jacobs.

00:13:54.360 --> 00:13:55.720
It's kind of the tale of two Jacobs

00:13:55.720 --> 00:13:59.800
of what we've seen before and what we're gonna see today.

00:13:59.800 --> 00:14:03.720
We see the Jacob who went to Laban.

00:14:03.720 --> 00:14:06.120
And without going back and spending a lot of time

00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:08.720
to recap all of that, this is the Jacob

00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:10.720
that stole the blessing from his brother

00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:14.480
even though God promised to give it to Jacob.

00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:18.000
He didn't trust in the timing and what God was gonna do

00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:23.000
so instead he cons, he tricks, he steals.

00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:27.520
And then when it gets exposed,

00:14:27.520 --> 00:14:30.400
Jacob instead of facing his brother, what does he do?

00:14:30.400 --> 00:14:32.520
He runs from him.

00:14:32.520 --> 00:14:38.840
He runs from him and ends up running into the arms

00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:44.220
not of just the ladies he will marry,

00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:47.760
but he runs into the arms of Laban

00:14:47.760 --> 00:14:52.800
where we looked at last two weeks

00:14:52.800 --> 00:14:58.660
of where Jacob says, "No more, no more."

00:14:58.660 --> 00:15:02.280
We talked about Laban being toxic.

00:15:02.280 --> 00:15:03.740
We talked about Jacob saying,

00:15:03.740 --> 00:15:05.760
"This is not where I'm gonna put myself.

00:15:05.760 --> 00:15:07.220
"This is not where I'm gonna put my family.

00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:08.380
"This is not who we're gonna be.

00:15:08.380 --> 00:15:10.120
"This is not what we're gonna do."

00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:12.280
And Jacob takes his eyes and he locks on God

00:15:12.280 --> 00:15:14.720
and he says, "This is what I'm committed to do."

00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:16.520
So what we find when we really look at

00:15:16.520 --> 00:15:18.040
what we talked about the last two weeks

00:15:18.040 --> 00:15:21.160
is we find a toxic man in Jacob

00:15:21.160 --> 00:15:26.160
who sees the toxic dynamic in his father-in-law Laban

00:15:26.160 --> 00:15:29.860
says, "No, this is not gonna be who I am anymore either.

00:15:29.860 --> 00:15:31.540
"This is not where I'm gonna stay

00:15:31.540 --> 00:15:33.040
"and so this is where I'm gonna go

00:15:33.040 --> 00:15:35.320
"and this is where I'm gonna return."

00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:39.800
And so before when we saw Jacob go to Laban,

00:15:39.800 --> 00:15:42.640
this was a man who knew of God but who did not know God

00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:47.160
and now we see a man who is coming back from the situation

00:15:47.160 --> 00:15:50.040
who both knows God and is desiring to grow

00:15:50.040 --> 00:15:54.120
and to mature in his relationship in the Lord.

00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:56.400
So which means he's gonna agree to do difficult things

00:15:56.400 --> 00:15:59.360
because God's gonna require difficult things from him

00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.960
in order so that he can be obedient to him.

00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:07.080
So we saw an immature little boy go off

00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:11.400
and what we're seeing is a maturing man come back.

00:16:11.400 --> 00:16:14.440
So let's look at Jacob's situation.

00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:16.000
Verse 32 starting in verse one,

00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:17.640
we read verses one through eight.

00:16:17.640 --> 00:16:20.920
Jacob's situation.

00:16:20.920 --> 00:16:25.920
Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met him

00:16:25.920 --> 00:16:31.840
and when Jacob saw them, he said, "This is God's camp."

00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:36.240
So he called the name of that place, Manhaim

00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:38.240
and Jacob sent messengers before him

00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:41.920
to Esau, his brother in the land of Sire,

00:16:41.920 --> 00:16:46.240
the country of Edom, instructing them.

00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:49.600
Thus you shall say to my Lord Esau,

00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:52.480
this says your servant Jacob.

00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:56.360
I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now.

00:16:56.360 --> 00:17:00.480
I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants

00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:02.600
and female servants.

00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:07.120
I have sent to tell my Lord in order that I might find favor

00:17:07.120 --> 00:17:12.120
in your sight and the messengers returned to Jacob saying,

00:17:12.120 --> 00:17:16.400
we came to your brother Esau and he is coming to meet you

00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:19.240
and there are 400 men with him.

00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:23.920
Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed.

00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:26.400
He divided the people who were with him

00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:29.800
and the flocks and herds and camels into two camps

00:17:29.800 --> 00:17:34.720
thinking if Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it,

00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:38.480
then the camp that is left will escape.

00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:41.200
So Jacob has been through the wringer,

00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:43.640
spiritually speaking, emotionally speaking,

00:17:43.640 --> 00:17:46.360
mentally speaking, physically speaking.

00:17:46.360 --> 00:17:49.320
Don't miss the fact that he's been in the midst

00:17:49.320 --> 00:17:52.760
of an abusive, terrible dynamic in his life

00:17:52.760 --> 00:17:54.160
for the last 20 years.

00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:57.040
This wasn't for a minute, this wasn't for a week,

00:17:57.040 --> 00:17:58.360
this wasn't for a season.

00:17:58.360 --> 00:18:01.120
20 years of his life, this is where he finds himself.

00:18:01.120 --> 00:18:03.120
He's been through it, he's got the scars,

00:18:03.120 --> 00:18:05.600
he's got the wrinkles, he's got the stress face,

00:18:05.600 --> 00:18:08.040
he's got it, but he's like, I'm following God,

00:18:08.040 --> 00:18:10.920
I'm gonna do what God's called me to do.

00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:13.280
And instead of looking to where I can run from,

00:18:13.280 --> 00:18:16.760
he says this is what I must do to follow God.

00:18:16.760 --> 00:18:19.440
This is the difficult spot, this is the hard spot,

00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:23.120
but this is the sweet spot, the sweet spot.

00:18:23.120 --> 00:18:26.000
You see, the beauty is not found in the difficulty,

00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:28.600
the beauty is found in the God that he's following.

00:18:29.880 --> 00:18:31.880
Jacob in this.

00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:35.080
Jacob realizes that he's wronged his brother.

00:18:35.080 --> 00:18:36.440
This is a different Jacob.

00:18:36.440 --> 00:18:39.280
He refers to Esau as his Lord.

00:18:39.280 --> 00:18:41.760
He's not saying Esau is his God,

00:18:41.760 --> 00:18:44.960
he is saying that you are superior to me.

00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:49.040
He's showing respect, he's showing reverence,

00:18:49.040 --> 00:18:50.880
and he says I, Jacob, am your servant.

00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:53.560
Now remember, this isn't manipulative Jacob.

00:18:53.560 --> 00:18:56.560
This is Jacob seeking to follow God.

00:18:57.660 --> 00:19:01.120
This isn't Jacob that would twist the words

00:19:01.120 --> 00:19:03.140
and try to con of what he can do.

00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:05.840
This is Jacob that's trying to follow God.

00:19:05.840 --> 00:19:09.060
He wants Esau to know that he has come

00:19:09.060 --> 00:19:11.080
so that Jacob can make it right.

00:19:11.080 --> 00:19:14.000
Jacob's broken from being toxic.

00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:16.640
Now let's think about Esau here for a moment.

00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:21.940
I hadn't heard from you, I hadn't seen you,

00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:27.820
and in 20 years, what's been brewing

00:19:27.820 --> 00:19:32.620
and festering within him could be,

00:19:32.620 --> 00:19:35.220
man, look at who you are, look at what you've done,

00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:36.460
this is what you deserve.

00:19:36.460 --> 00:19:41.380
Do you think Esau believed these words from Jacob?

00:19:41.380 --> 00:19:44.140
I don't, I don't.

00:19:44.140 --> 00:19:47.100
I think the narrative kinda shows us that.

00:19:47.100 --> 00:19:49.760
I don't know if you've got conflict with someone,

00:19:49.760 --> 00:19:52.540
but if you've got conflict with someone

00:19:52.540 --> 00:19:54.740
and you send a messenger to go find them,

00:19:54.740 --> 00:19:58.300
and they come back to you and say,

00:19:58.300 --> 00:20:01.240
"Hey, they know you're coming,

00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:04.460
"but there's 400 people that are gonna be with them."

00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:08.700
Probably not a good day, right?

00:20:08.700 --> 00:20:13.300
So here's Esau's out to get him.

00:20:13.300 --> 00:20:15.940
He follows God, he thinks strategically,

00:20:15.940 --> 00:20:18.080
he divides his camp.

00:20:18.080 --> 00:20:20.060
This is how terrified he is.

00:20:20.060 --> 00:20:21.980
This is the situation.

00:20:21.980 --> 00:20:23.580
He takes half and says, "Come over here."

00:20:23.580 --> 00:20:26.060
He takes half and says, "Come over here."

00:20:26.060 --> 00:20:29.420
And his point of doing that is if Esau finds one,

00:20:29.420 --> 00:20:31.340
the other can escape.

00:20:31.340 --> 00:20:36.340
He's preparing in his obedience to the Lord to lose half.

00:20:36.340 --> 00:20:39.140
Half of his property, half of his money,

00:20:39.140 --> 00:20:42.340
half of his family will lose.

00:20:42.340 --> 00:20:46.340
You ever been at the bottom where you feel like

00:20:46.340 --> 00:20:47.580
that's your choice?

00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:52.860
It's hard to see the victory,

00:20:52.860 --> 00:20:54.720
but you've gotta be obedient to God?

00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:57.460
What do you do?

00:20:57.460 --> 00:21:01.080
What do you do when that happens?

00:21:01.080 --> 00:21:02.580
Let's look at what Jacob does.

00:21:02.580 --> 00:21:04.640
Look at Jacob's prayer.

00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:07.040
Look at Jacob's prayer.

00:21:07.040 --> 00:21:13.160
And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham,

00:21:13.160 --> 00:21:16.700
"and God of my father Isaac,

00:21:17.940 --> 00:21:20.080
"O Lord who said to me,

00:21:20.080 --> 00:21:24.520
"return to your country and your kindred

00:21:24.520 --> 00:21:28.760
"that I may do you good.

00:21:28.760 --> 00:21:34.980
"I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds

00:21:34.980 --> 00:21:39.780
"of steadfast love and all the faithfulness

00:21:39.780 --> 00:21:42.420
"that you have shown to your servant.

00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:46.340
"For with only my staff I crossed this Jordan

00:21:47.640 --> 00:21:50.720
"and now I have become two camps.

00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:54.500
"Please deliver me from the hand of my brother,

00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:57.280
"from the hand of Esau,

00:21:57.280 --> 00:22:03.140
"for I fear him that he may come and attack me.

00:22:03.140 --> 00:22:07.320
"The mothers with the children.

00:22:07.320 --> 00:22:12.420
"But you said, I will surely do you good

00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:17.020
"and make your offspring as the sand of the sea

00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:20.160
"which cannot be numbered for multitude."

00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:22.340
I love this.

00:22:22.340 --> 00:22:28.760
Jacob in the midst of hearing of this is what awaits,

00:22:28.760 --> 00:22:31.060
he acts strategically.

00:22:31.060 --> 00:22:33.800
Let's divide the camps.

00:22:33.800 --> 00:22:37.780
But then he doesn't act with vengeance.

00:22:37.780 --> 00:22:40.820
He doesn't even act in protection.

00:22:40.820 --> 00:22:45.960
He doesn't go, we're my best fighters.

00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:48.840
Let's get our swords and our spears.

00:22:48.840 --> 00:22:51.640
There may be only 50 of us and 400 of them,

00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:54.260
but God will protect us.

00:22:54.260 --> 00:22:59.560
Instead, in the midst of all that's there,

00:22:59.560 --> 00:23:01.840
he thinks strategically and then he prays.

00:23:01.840 --> 00:23:06.120
And the words are so beautiful

00:23:06.120 --> 00:23:11.120
because it shows the heart of how Jacob comes to God

00:23:11.120 --> 00:23:14.040
in the midst of this situation.

00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:19.000
A situation created by his sin,

00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:24.380
a situation that he is in as he seeks to follow God.

00:23:24.380 --> 00:23:28.680
Jacob comes to God first

00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:31.420
by means of relationship and promise.

00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:32.680
Look back at verse nine.

00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:37.840
Oh God of my father Abraham and my father Isaac,

00:23:37.840 --> 00:23:40.040
of the Lord who said to me,

00:23:40.040 --> 00:23:42.400
return to your country in your kindred

00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:44.120
that I may do you good.

00:23:44.120 --> 00:23:46.880
Jacob comes to God because of his,

00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:49.440
through his relationship with him.

00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:50.840
You are the God of my grandfather.

00:23:50.840 --> 00:23:52.440
You are the God of my father.

00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:55.040
You are my God and here's the goodness

00:23:55.040 --> 00:23:56.240
of your promise to me.

00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:59.880
You see, this promise that he says in this prayer

00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:01.840
is not shaking his fist at God,

00:24:01.840 --> 00:24:03.520
saying this is what you promised.

00:24:03.520 --> 00:24:05.920
It's raising his hands to the goodness of God,

00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:08.640
saying God, this is what you promised

00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:09.840
and this is who you are.

00:24:09.840 --> 00:24:13.240
He comes to God humbly.

00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:14.280
He comes to God humbly.

00:24:14.280 --> 00:24:18.880
In verse 10, I am not worthy of the least

00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:22.440
of all of the deeds of steadfast love

00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:25.840
and the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant.

00:24:25.840 --> 00:24:28.560
With only my staff I crossed the Jordan

00:24:28.560 --> 00:24:30.220
and now I come with two camps.

00:24:30.220 --> 00:24:33.320
Jacob's coming in humility before the Lord.

00:24:33.320 --> 00:24:34.680
He's saying here's what I know.

00:24:34.680 --> 00:24:36.800
Before you I had a staff.

00:24:36.800 --> 00:24:41.120
I had a staff but with you I have everything.

00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:45.640
In his words, when he says I am not worthy,

00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:48.440
I love this word in the Old Testament

00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:50.320
for not having worth.

00:24:50.320 --> 00:24:54.040
What he's saying is God, you were big and I am small.

00:24:54.040 --> 00:24:56.940
I am small.

00:24:56.940 --> 00:25:00.720
God, who am I?

00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:03.640
Lord, I am nothing compared to you

00:25:03.640 --> 00:25:06.640
but you still fulfill your promises.

00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:11.120
Jacob comes to God in praise.

00:25:11.120 --> 00:25:13.080
God, this is what you've brought me through.

00:25:13.080 --> 00:25:14.400
This is who you are.

00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:15.800
This is how you're working.

00:25:15.800 --> 00:25:17.120
This is what you're doing

00:25:17.120 --> 00:25:20.520
but Jacob also comes to God in total honesty.

00:25:20.520 --> 00:25:24.360
He says in a moment in verse 11,

00:25:24.360 --> 00:25:26.720
in the rawness, in the realness of this,

00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:30.600
please deliver me from the hand of my brother.

00:25:30.600 --> 00:25:34.320
God, Esau is going to kill me.

00:25:34.320 --> 00:25:38.400
He's gonna kill the mothers of my children.

00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:40.840
He's gonna kill my children.

00:25:40.840 --> 00:25:42.960
He's going to attack me.

00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:45.920
God, I fear him.

00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:47.240
Here's the thing with our prayers.

00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:50.000
We're gonna see Jacob here at the end of this passage

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:52.080
as well at the very end of chapter 32.

00:25:52.080 --> 00:25:55.480
I mean, I think you and I are so concerned so many times

00:25:55.480 --> 00:25:58.640
like coming to God all neat and buttoned up,

00:25:58.640 --> 00:26:00.720
all neat and figured out,

00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:03.480
all neat with eloquent words,

00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:05.480
all neat with a God, here's the plan

00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:07.100
and this is what I've got going on

00:26:07.100 --> 00:26:07.940
but I'm just gonna tell you,

00:26:07.940 --> 00:26:10.800
in the grossness of the bluntness of the words

00:26:10.800 --> 00:26:11.840
that I'm about to use,

00:26:11.840 --> 00:26:13.740
so please give me grace within this

00:26:13.740 --> 00:26:16.480
but I think we need to come to God sometimes

00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:18.320
with that cry that's so deep,

00:26:18.320 --> 00:26:19.600
the snot bubbles there,

00:26:19.600 --> 00:26:21.360
that the tears are pouring from our eyes

00:26:21.360 --> 00:26:22.920
that we don't know what else we need to do

00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:24.560
because the reality of our situation

00:26:24.560 --> 00:26:26.420
is beyond what we could imagine

00:26:26.420 --> 00:26:28.560
but we know that God's in control

00:26:28.560 --> 00:26:29.800
and he's got us in our hands

00:26:29.800 --> 00:26:31.760
and we gotta be honest and we gotta be real

00:26:31.760 --> 00:26:33.720
and we gotta be vulnerable before God.

00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:39.080
He comes and he says, I'm gonna die, they're gonna die.

00:26:39.080 --> 00:26:41.880
I can't imagine, I got my kids sitting here this morning,

00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:44.560
I can't imagine going to bed tonight

00:26:44.560 --> 00:26:47.080
thinking that what they can ensue in the morning

00:26:47.080 --> 00:26:48.760
is a spear to the chest

00:26:48.760 --> 00:26:50.600
but that's where Jacob is.

00:26:50.600 --> 00:26:56.600
I feel like he didn't just say,

00:26:56.600 --> 00:26:58.560
hey God, if you got a minute,

00:26:58.560 --> 00:27:02.520
if you could save us, that'd be good.

00:27:06.560 --> 00:27:10.480
But Lord, Lord, I'm afraid.

00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:13.080
God, I don't know what to say,

00:27:13.080 --> 00:27:15.960
I don't know what to do but I trust you.

00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:22.440
In the midst of this, he comes to God in confidence.

00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:25.480
He says, verse 12, the first three words,

00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:28.160
but you said, but you said.

00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:30.880
And again, again, this is not God you said,

00:27:30.880 --> 00:27:32.160
this is God you said.

00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:35.900
There's a difference, there's a difference.

00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:40.420
That we know God's words so that we can come before him.

00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:43.260
God, your word says you will never leave me or forsake me.

00:27:43.260 --> 00:27:48.820
God, your word tells me that you love me

00:27:48.820 --> 00:27:51.060
and that you are working for me.

00:27:51.060 --> 00:27:54.260
God, your word says that you are in control,

00:27:54.260 --> 00:27:56.820
that no moment is too big for you.

00:27:56.820 --> 00:28:00.180
God, in the storm of the life that I'm living in right now,

00:28:00.180 --> 00:28:01.540
God, I need to cling to this

00:28:01.540 --> 00:28:03.580
and I need to look and see how you're moving

00:28:03.580 --> 00:28:05.440
and how your word says that you're going to.

00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:07.700
God, I trust you in how you're going to move.

00:28:07.700 --> 00:28:10.860
You see, that's not but you said,

00:28:10.860 --> 00:28:15.820
that's not but you said, that's God but you said.

00:28:15.820 --> 00:28:17.840
God but you said.

00:28:17.840 --> 00:28:21.700
And so in the midst of this,

00:28:21.700 --> 00:28:24.620
he comes before the Lord and he prays.

00:28:24.620 --> 00:28:28.340
Next thing that we see as God's preparing

00:28:28.340 --> 00:28:31.140
of what God's doing in Jacob,

00:28:31.140 --> 00:28:34.460
we see Jacob's gift, we see Jacob's gift.

00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:37.640
In verses 13 through 21.

00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:42.760
So he stayed there that night.

00:28:42.760 --> 00:28:46.980
And from what he had, he took a present

00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:49.120
for his brother Esau.

00:28:49.120 --> 00:28:55.580
200 female goats and 20 male goats.

00:28:55.580 --> 00:28:59.000
200 ewes and 20 rams.

00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:02.380
30 milking camels and their calves.

00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:05.420
40 cows and 10 bulls.

00:29:05.420 --> 00:29:09.040
20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys.

00:29:09.040 --> 00:29:14.120
These he handed over to his servants.

00:29:14.120 --> 00:29:18.320
Every drove by itself and said to his servants,

00:29:18.320 --> 00:29:23.940
pass on ahead of me and put a space

00:29:23.940 --> 00:29:26.420
between drove and drove.

00:29:26.420 --> 00:29:29.800
He instructed the first.

00:29:29.800 --> 00:29:33.380
When Esau my brother meets you and asks you

00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:36.880
to whom do you belong, where are you going

00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:39.380
and whose are these ahead of you?

00:29:39.380 --> 00:29:44.160
Then you shall say, these belong to your servant Jacob.

00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:46.840
They are a present sent to my Lord Esau.

00:29:46.840 --> 00:29:51.080
And moreover, he is behind us.

00:29:51.080 --> 00:29:54.680
He likewise instructed the second and the third

00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:57.320
and all who followed the droves.

00:29:57.320 --> 00:30:01.400
You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him.

00:30:01.400 --> 00:30:04.420
And you shall say, moreover, your servant Jacob

00:30:04.420 --> 00:30:06.300
is behind us.

00:30:06.300 --> 00:30:11.300
For he thought I may appease him with the present

00:30:11.300 --> 00:30:17.020
that goes ahead of me and afterward I shall see his face.

00:30:17.020 --> 00:30:21.080
Perhaps he will accept me.

00:30:21.080 --> 00:30:25.140
So the present passed on ahead of him

00:30:25.140 --> 00:30:29.340
and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

00:30:29.340 --> 00:30:33.040
So let's explain a little bit of what's going on here.

00:30:33.040 --> 00:30:38.620
So Jacob takes what he has, divides it out.

00:30:38.620 --> 00:30:44.080
And he calls some of his servants and he says,

00:30:44.080 --> 00:30:48.140
listen, we're not gonna show up to Esau

00:30:48.140 --> 00:30:51.720
with everything at once, right?

00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:55.240
We're gonna show up in droves.

00:30:55.240 --> 00:31:00.240
Droves of presents, droves of sacrifices,

00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:05.840
droves of offerings over and over again.

00:31:05.840 --> 00:31:12.160
And you're gonna show respect and you're gonna show honor

00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:15.900
and you're gonna show dignity about what you're doing.

00:31:15.900 --> 00:31:21.820
Because Jacob's desire here is atonement.

00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:25.560
His atonement.

00:31:25.560 --> 00:31:30.240
Verse 20, look back at that.

00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:35.600
About midway through, it says, for he thought.

00:31:35.600 --> 00:31:40.600
So this is showing Jacob's inward desires

00:31:40.600 --> 00:31:43.120
of why he is doing these actions.

00:31:43.120 --> 00:31:48.920
He says, for he thought I may appease him

00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:51.720
with the present that goes ahead of me

00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:57.560
and afterwards I shall see his face.

00:31:57.560 --> 00:32:01.760
Perhaps he will accept me.

00:32:01.760 --> 00:32:09.040
The word appease here in verse 20 is the word kapur.

00:32:09.040 --> 00:32:14.800
If you've recognized that but you don't know

00:32:14.800 --> 00:32:17.760
where you recognize that from, the word kapur,

00:32:17.760 --> 00:32:20.560
it's where we get the phrase later on

00:32:20.560 --> 00:32:22.640
in the Old Testament, yam kapur.

00:32:23.640 --> 00:32:24.740
The day of atonement.

00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:30.040
Kapur means atonement.

00:32:30.040 --> 00:32:36.200
What Jacob is doing here is the word appease

00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:40.140
can kind of make it sound like he's trying

00:32:40.140 --> 00:32:42.120
to manipulate the situation again.

00:32:42.120 --> 00:32:48.080
Maybe I can just make him through these blessings

00:32:48.080 --> 00:32:51.480
of what's there, through this inundating

00:32:51.480 --> 00:32:55.640
with gift after gift after gift,

00:32:55.640 --> 00:33:00.640
maybe I can appeal to that selfish side of my brother

00:33:00.640 --> 00:33:07.280
who's always wanted this and this is what I can do.

00:33:07.280 --> 00:33:09.560
But that's not what this verse is saying.

00:33:09.560 --> 00:33:13.360
What Jacob is acknowledging in this,

00:33:13.360 --> 00:33:17.240
in his heart of hearts, I may appease him

00:33:17.240 --> 00:33:20.120
with the present that goes ahead of me

00:33:20.120 --> 00:33:23.040
and then afterwards I shall see his face.

00:33:23.040 --> 00:33:25.200
Jacob's saying listen, listen, my brothers

00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:27.960
may have done some wrong things but that's not relevant

00:33:27.960 --> 00:33:29.640
to where I'm at right now.

00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:32.200
And where I'm at right now is because the sin

00:33:32.200 --> 00:33:34.520
of which I've done against him.

00:33:34.520 --> 00:33:36.880
And so what I'm gonna do is sacrifice

00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:39.520
after sacrifice after a sacrifice.

00:33:39.520 --> 00:33:43.600
I'm gonna atone for the things that I've done wrong

00:33:43.600 --> 00:33:48.400
and I'm gonna send the means of atonement ahead of me.

00:33:48.400 --> 00:33:51.160
I'm not gonna carry it because someone else

00:33:51.160 --> 00:33:53.160
needs to carry my atonement.

00:33:53.160 --> 00:33:55.520
Someone else needs to carry my sacrifice.

00:33:55.520 --> 00:33:58.600
Someone else needs to carry this that I'm responsible for,

00:33:58.600 --> 00:34:01.560
that I caused and that I did and that hopefully

00:34:01.560 --> 00:34:04.520
as they take it ahead of me that afterwards

00:34:04.520 --> 00:34:07.320
this relationship will be restored

00:34:07.320 --> 00:34:10.840
and that we will be face to face and then the goal,

00:34:10.840 --> 00:34:14.160
perhaps he will accept me.

00:34:17.940 --> 00:34:19.360
That's the gospel.

00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:22.120
That's the gospel.

00:34:22.120 --> 00:34:29.260
But you see, you and I have sinned

00:34:29.260 --> 00:34:34.800
not just against one another that can be worked out

00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:38.060
but we've got sin against a holy God

00:34:38.060 --> 00:34:41.740
that you and I and of ourselves that we cannot fix.

00:34:41.740 --> 00:34:47.840
And the difference here with us is that in our atonement

00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:50.780
is not found in what we can sin

00:34:50.780 --> 00:34:53.680
but the atonement that we need against the holy God

00:34:53.680 --> 00:34:56.480
that we've offended, that we've attacked in his very core,

00:34:56.480 --> 00:34:59.220
of his character, of his nature, is who he is,

00:34:59.220 --> 00:35:02.320
that he and his love and his compassion for us

00:35:02.320 --> 00:35:03.560
says here's what I'm gonna do,

00:35:03.560 --> 00:35:05.280
I'm gonna send the sacrifice.

00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:06.920
And his name is gonna be Jesus

00:35:06.920 --> 00:35:08.760
and Jesus is gonna go ahead of you

00:35:08.760 --> 00:35:10.000
and here's what's gonna happen,

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:11.840
that he's not gonna bring a sacrifice,

00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:13.640
that he is gonna be the sacrifice

00:35:13.640 --> 00:35:15.920
and he's gonna die and he's gonna pay the price

00:35:15.920 --> 00:35:18.080
for every single thing that you and I

00:35:18.080 --> 00:35:20.120
in the history of the humanity has done

00:35:20.120 --> 00:35:22.120
and that when we are found in him

00:35:22.120 --> 00:35:25.000
that he has gone ahead of us, that he has done the work

00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:26.960
and that now what we can cling to

00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:29.640
is that one day we will see God face to face

00:35:29.640 --> 00:35:32.840
and we don't have to wonder if the sacrifice is sufficient

00:35:32.840 --> 00:35:36.120
because we know that he accepts us

00:35:36.120 --> 00:35:37.720
through Christ and Christ alone.

00:35:37.720 --> 00:35:45.360
We know, so you and I, we cannot atone for our sins.

00:35:46.360 --> 00:35:48.240
But the one who went ahead of us can.

00:35:48.240 --> 00:35:52.640
And one day we too will seek his face.

00:35:52.640 --> 00:35:55.360
Man, I love that verse.

00:35:55.360 --> 00:35:59.560
If you're here this morning, if you're watching online,

00:35:59.560 --> 00:36:04.940
then whatever it is you're trying to send ahead of you,

00:36:04.940 --> 00:36:07.360
whatever it is you're trying to do

00:36:07.360 --> 00:36:09.480
so that God will love you more,

00:36:09.480 --> 00:36:11.640
so that God will accept you more,

00:36:11.640 --> 00:36:13.800
so that God will bless you more,

00:36:13.800 --> 00:36:15.920
so that God will care for you more,

00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:18.640
so that God will invite you in more,

00:36:18.640 --> 00:36:22.960
know that it is not worthy and it is not capable.

00:36:22.960 --> 00:36:25.720
But there's only one way and that's Jesus.

00:36:25.720 --> 00:36:30.540
And that in him atonement is there.

00:36:30.540 --> 00:36:34.440
In there forgiveness is granted.

00:36:34.440 --> 00:36:36.880
In there favor is restored.

00:36:36.880 --> 00:36:39.280
In there relationship begins.

00:36:41.640 --> 00:36:43.540
Close verses 22 through 32.

00:36:43.540 --> 00:36:46.320
We're gonna see Jacob struggle.

00:36:46.320 --> 00:36:52.040
It says that same night,

00:36:52.040 --> 00:36:56.200
he arose and he took his two wives,

00:36:56.200 --> 00:37:00.660
his two female servants, and his 11 children.

00:37:00.660 --> 00:37:03.680
He crossed the ford on the Jabba.

00:37:03.680 --> 00:37:08.120
He took them and sent them across the stream

00:37:08.120 --> 00:37:10.760
and everything else that he had.

00:37:11.600 --> 00:37:15.840
In verse 24, and Jacob was left alone.

00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:20.360
And a man wrestled with him

00:37:20.360 --> 00:37:24.360
until the breaking of the day.

00:37:24.360 --> 00:37:31.420
When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob,

00:37:31.420 --> 00:37:34.200
he touched his hip socket.

00:37:34.200 --> 00:37:39.080
And Jacob's hip was put out of joint

00:37:40.060 --> 00:37:41.260
as he wrestled with him.

00:37:41.260 --> 00:37:47.260
And then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken."

00:37:47.260 --> 00:37:52.100
But Jacob said, "I will not let you go

00:37:52.100 --> 00:37:53.420
"unless you bless me."

00:37:53.420 --> 00:37:57.880
And he said to him, "What is your name?"

00:37:57.880 --> 00:37:59.040
And he said, "Jacob."

00:37:59.040 --> 00:38:02.100
And then he said, "Your name shall no longer

00:38:02.100 --> 00:38:05.160
"be called Jacob, but Israel.

00:38:05.160 --> 00:38:08.820
"For you have striven with God and with men

00:38:08.820 --> 00:38:10.740
"and have prevailed."

00:38:10.740 --> 00:38:14.780
And Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name."

00:38:14.780 --> 00:38:19.780
But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?"

00:38:19.780 --> 00:38:21.780
And there he blessed him.

00:38:21.780 --> 00:38:26.240
So Jacob called the name of the place Penel,

00:38:26.240 --> 00:38:29.860
saying, "For I've seen God face to face,

00:38:29.860 --> 00:38:32.640
"and yet my life has been delivered."

00:38:32.640 --> 00:38:37.640
The sun rose upon him as he passed Penel,

00:38:37.640 --> 00:38:39.780
limping because of his hip.

00:38:39.780 --> 00:38:44.040
Therefore, to this day, the people of Israel

00:38:44.040 --> 00:38:48.920
do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket

00:38:48.920 --> 00:38:52.200
because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip

00:38:52.200 --> 00:38:53.560
and the sinew of the thigh.

00:38:53.560 --> 00:38:56.360
Really quick, before we look into this

00:38:56.360 --> 00:38:57.400
so we see what all's happening,

00:38:57.400 --> 00:39:00.920
Jacob, he sends his wife, his family, his servants away,

00:39:00.920 --> 00:39:04.920
his belongings away, he's alone in the wilderness, right?

00:39:04.920 --> 00:39:07.040
I want you to think about like alone in the wilderness.

00:39:07.040 --> 00:39:10.680
This is not like alone at a campground, right?

00:39:10.680 --> 00:39:12.860
This is the desert, this is the animals,

00:39:12.860 --> 00:39:14.800
this is the wilderness of what's there.

00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:19.040
And then out of nowhere, a man appears.

00:39:19.040 --> 00:39:24.720
I believe this man is Jesus,

00:39:24.720 --> 00:39:27.920
and he wrestles with Jesus.

00:39:27.920 --> 00:39:34.200
And there's some language that is used here,

00:39:34.200 --> 00:39:36.600
Jacob prevailed, and I'll talk about that

00:39:36.600 --> 00:39:37.760
for just a little bit.

00:39:37.760 --> 00:39:42.240
My wife is at home today.

00:39:42.240 --> 00:39:45.320
We've got family that's driving up that are without water,

00:39:45.320 --> 00:39:47.320
and so they're loading their trucks

00:39:47.320 --> 00:39:49.080
and things down with coolers

00:39:49.080 --> 00:39:50.520
so they can come to our house and fill them up

00:39:50.520 --> 00:39:52.840
so that they can have water at their home,

00:39:52.840 --> 00:39:54.280
so that's why she's not here.

00:39:54.280 --> 00:39:58.520
But very early on, when we began to realize

00:39:58.520 --> 00:40:02.240
that there are some areas that we parent different, right?

00:40:02.240 --> 00:40:05.080
There's ways that she parented,

00:40:05.080 --> 00:40:06.600
there's ways that I parented.

00:40:06.600 --> 00:40:09.040
I forget how old our kids were.

00:40:09.040 --> 00:40:10.940
I'm gonna guess they were about three.

00:40:10.940 --> 00:40:13.120
And Aaron was in the kitchen,

00:40:13.120 --> 00:40:14.480
the house we lived in in Aiken,

00:40:14.480 --> 00:40:17.120
it was a one-story house,

00:40:17.120 --> 00:40:20.160
and you walked in, and the living space that was there,

00:40:20.160 --> 00:40:21.520
it was a kitchen, it was a dining room,

00:40:21.520 --> 00:40:24.280
it was a living room, just all one big open area

00:40:24.280 --> 00:40:26.140
with like an eat-in kitchen there,

00:40:26.140 --> 00:40:28.040
and then the kids' bedrooms were on this side,

00:40:28.040 --> 00:40:30.560
and our bedroom was on the other side.

00:40:30.560 --> 00:40:33.200
And like our kids, they slept with us

00:40:33.200 --> 00:40:35.160
until they were like six,

00:40:35.160 --> 00:40:37.600
so we didn't even need that side of the house, right?

00:40:37.600 --> 00:40:38.480
They were just there.

00:40:38.480 --> 00:40:40.840
Aaron was in the kitchen doing some things,

00:40:40.840 --> 00:40:44.960
and then she heard like destruction

00:40:44.960 --> 00:40:49.500
happening in our bedroom.

00:40:49.500 --> 00:40:50.480
She knew that I was in there,

00:40:50.480 --> 00:40:52.480
she knew that the kids were in there,

00:40:52.480 --> 00:40:55.700
and she came in concerned about what was going on.

00:40:55.700 --> 00:40:59.500
Well, I'm gonna tell you what was going on,

00:40:59.500 --> 00:41:02.520
because I had two of the best wrestling partners

00:41:03.240 --> 00:41:04.900
that the world had ever known,

00:41:04.900 --> 00:41:10.960
and I had tombstone pile-driven, both of 'em, right?

00:41:10.960 --> 00:41:12.480
Boom!

00:41:12.480 --> 00:41:14.300
On the ground.

00:41:14.300 --> 00:41:16.520
It was two versus one.

00:41:16.520 --> 00:41:19.880
I'm Andre the Giant, they're the Rock and Roll Express,

00:41:19.880 --> 00:41:21.480
right?

00:41:21.480 --> 00:41:24.000
Some of you just got that reference,

00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:25.720
some of you didn't, all right?

00:41:25.720 --> 00:41:27.560
If you didn't, Google it.

00:41:27.560 --> 00:41:30.360
That's where we're at, right?

00:41:30.360 --> 00:41:32.240
I'm lifting 'em up, I'm choke slamming 'em,

00:41:32.240 --> 00:41:33.720
boom!

00:41:33.720 --> 00:41:34.560
They're down.

00:41:34.560 --> 00:41:36.720
I'm picking 'em up, I'm pressing 'em over my head.

00:41:36.720 --> 00:41:38.280
Every time that I would do that,

00:41:38.280 --> 00:41:40.480
Emma would hit this belly laugh

00:41:40.480 --> 00:41:43.280
that would make me almost drop her

00:41:43.280 --> 00:41:45.520
because I would laugh so hard,

00:41:45.520 --> 00:41:48.400
as I would body slam her right onto the bed, all right?

00:41:48.400 --> 00:41:49.400
Not on the ground.

00:41:49.400 --> 00:41:53.120
But you know what happened every time

00:41:53.120 --> 00:41:55.760
in the battle of Emma and Grayson

00:41:55.760 --> 00:41:58.360
versus their dad who literally weighed 10 times

00:41:58.360 --> 00:42:00.040
as much as they did?

00:42:00.040 --> 00:42:01.960
Do you know what happened?

00:42:01.960 --> 00:42:04.160
I would dominate.

00:42:04.160 --> 00:42:05.600
I would dominate.

00:42:05.600 --> 00:42:08.240
And then I would win.

00:42:08.240 --> 00:42:11.240
And I'd point at their face

00:42:11.240 --> 00:42:13.560
and I'd say, "You're weak."

00:42:13.560 --> 00:42:16.480
No.

00:42:16.480 --> 00:42:18.920
No.

00:42:18.920 --> 00:42:22.440
Always would happen.

00:42:22.440 --> 00:42:26.480
Something like Emma would come in with a people's elbow.

00:42:26.480 --> 00:42:31.280
Grayson would climb onto the top of the bed

00:42:31.280 --> 00:42:33.280
and in all 23 pounds of him,

00:42:33.280 --> 00:42:36.080
he'd land right on top of me.

00:42:36.080 --> 00:42:37.960
One,

00:42:37.960 --> 00:42:39.680
two,

00:42:39.680 --> 00:42:41.400
three.

00:42:41.400 --> 00:42:43.040
They'd win.

00:42:43.040 --> 00:42:45.240
They didn't win.

00:42:45.240 --> 00:42:47.880
They didn't win.

00:42:47.880 --> 00:42:50.440
Verse 24.

00:42:50.440 --> 00:42:57.240
And Jacob was left alone

00:42:58.800 --> 00:43:01.520
and a man wrestled with him

00:43:01.520 --> 00:43:04.080
until the breaking of the day.

00:43:04.080 --> 00:43:09.080
I don't know if you've ever been in a real fight.

00:43:09.080 --> 00:43:11.080
It's exhausting.

00:43:11.080 --> 00:43:14.960
Whether it's wrestling, whether it's boxing,

00:43:14.960 --> 00:43:17.800
whether it's a moment with you and someone else,

00:43:17.800 --> 00:43:20.000
it's exhausting.

00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:22.120
And from the middle of the night

00:43:22.120 --> 00:43:25.160
to the breaking of the day, Jacob wrestles.

00:43:26.280 --> 00:43:30.520
And the beauty of what we find going on here

00:43:30.520 --> 00:43:36.760
is watching Jacob wrestle with God.

00:43:36.760 --> 00:43:41.840
And Jacob wins

00:43:41.840 --> 00:43:45.080
not because he was stronger,

00:43:45.080 --> 00:43:49.080
not because he was mightier,

00:43:49.080 --> 00:43:53.960
but Jacob won because he wrestled,

00:43:55.560 --> 00:43:56.880
because he got dirty,

00:43:56.880 --> 00:44:00.040
because he persevered,

00:44:00.040 --> 00:44:01.360
because he fought through.

00:44:01.360 --> 00:44:04.720
Have you ever wrestled with God?

00:44:04.720 --> 00:44:11.560
Wrestling with God and fighting against God

00:44:11.560 --> 00:44:14.080
are two different things.

00:44:14.080 --> 00:44:19.240
Sometimes we fight against God.

00:44:19.240 --> 00:44:21.200
God, you don't know.

00:44:21.200 --> 00:44:22.120
God, you don't understand.

00:44:22.120 --> 00:44:23.200
God, you're confused.

00:44:23.200 --> 00:44:24.400
God, you're not doing what's right.

00:44:24.400 --> 00:44:25.680
God, you're not doing what's loving.

00:44:25.680 --> 00:44:27.880
God, I know what's best in all of these things.

00:44:27.880 --> 00:44:29.040
God, I know more than you.

00:44:29.040 --> 00:44:31.120
God, why did this happen?

00:44:31.120 --> 00:44:32.160
Why did they die?

00:44:32.160 --> 00:44:33.480
Why did this take place?

00:44:33.480 --> 00:44:37.480
God, you are not good, you are not right,

00:44:37.480 --> 00:44:39.840
you are not loving, you are not kind,

00:44:39.840 --> 00:44:41.080
you are not compassionate.

00:44:41.080 --> 00:44:44.240
God, I'm gonna rebel, I'm gonna pursue,

00:44:44.240 --> 00:44:47.280
I'm gonna chase all that I have and all that I want.

00:44:47.280 --> 00:44:48.680
That's fighting with God.

00:44:48.680 --> 00:44:51.120
But wrestling with God,

00:44:52.600 --> 00:44:54.720
going through the struggle with God,

00:44:54.720 --> 00:44:58.880
having this moment with God is different.

00:44:58.880 --> 00:45:04.320
He said, "I'm not letting go," is what he says.

00:45:04.320 --> 00:45:07.440
"I want more of you, I need more of you,

00:45:07.440 --> 00:45:09.520
"I desire for more of you.

00:45:09.520 --> 00:45:12.280
"God, bless me," it's what he wants.

00:45:12.280 --> 00:45:15.200
Jay was done trying to live a life

00:45:15.200 --> 00:45:17.840
where he has blessed himself.

00:45:17.840 --> 00:45:20.040
This, he has met his end in.

00:45:20.040 --> 00:45:25.040
And it's okay if I lose my life,

00:45:25.040 --> 00:45:27.000
because I want God.

00:45:27.000 --> 00:45:33.720
Church, experience the beauty of wrestling with God.

00:45:33.720 --> 00:45:40.440
I want more, I need more,

00:45:40.440 --> 00:45:43.640
and what I want more of, what I need more of,

00:45:43.640 --> 00:45:45.760
what is blessed more of,

00:45:45.760 --> 00:45:47.840
is to be found more and more in you.

00:45:49.360 --> 00:45:50.720
But understand this,

00:45:50.720 --> 00:45:53.800
sometimes the blessing of God

00:45:53.800 --> 00:45:55.440
is gonna come with a little limp.

00:45:55.440 --> 00:45:57.960
Sometimes the blessing of God

00:45:57.960 --> 00:46:00.160
is gonna come with a little limp.

00:46:00.160 --> 00:46:02.080
Sometimes in your life,

00:46:02.080 --> 00:46:03.760
as you walk through the difficult seasons,

00:46:03.760 --> 00:46:04.960
and you walk through these pieces,

00:46:04.960 --> 00:46:06.520
and you walk through all that's there,

00:46:06.520 --> 00:46:07.880
in all that you've gotta battle,

00:46:07.880 --> 00:46:09.920
sometimes, man, God's gotta touch that hip,

00:46:09.920 --> 00:46:11.240
God's gotta touch that shoulder,

00:46:11.240 --> 00:46:12.760
God's gotta touch that elbow,

00:46:12.760 --> 00:46:14.040
God's gotta touch that wrist,

00:46:14.040 --> 00:46:16.040
God's gotta touch whatever that part is for you,

00:46:16.040 --> 00:46:17.600
maybe physically, maybe spiritually,

00:46:17.600 --> 00:46:18.600
of wherever you're at,

00:46:18.600 --> 00:46:21.000
and create within you a little bit of a limp,

00:46:21.000 --> 00:46:22.880
a little bit of a piece of what's there,

00:46:22.880 --> 00:46:24.600
God's gotta cause a little bit of pain,

00:46:24.600 --> 00:46:26.360
God's gotta cause a little bit of suffering,

00:46:26.360 --> 00:46:28.840
so that he can remind you of who he is,

00:46:28.840 --> 00:46:31.640
so that he can remind you of how he's gonna grow you,

00:46:31.640 --> 00:46:33.480
so that he can build into your story,

00:46:33.480 --> 00:46:34.840
so that he can pour into you,

00:46:34.840 --> 00:46:36.440
so the difficult part of your story,

00:46:36.440 --> 00:46:37.280
when you're sharing it,

00:46:37.280 --> 00:46:38.240
that limp that you've got,

00:46:38.240 --> 00:46:39.600
that battle that you went through,

00:46:39.600 --> 00:46:40.920
that scar, that what's there,

00:46:40.920 --> 00:46:42.400
it's the power of your testimony

00:46:42.400 --> 00:46:43.720
when you're sharing it with other people.

00:46:43.720 --> 00:46:44.800
James, I'm gonna be walking up one day,

00:46:44.800 --> 00:46:45.640
why are you limping?

00:46:45.640 --> 00:46:47.840
Let me tell you about the story that I have with God.

00:46:48.840 --> 00:46:51.760
Let me tell you about what I walked through

00:46:51.760 --> 00:46:53.360
in this experience in my life.

00:46:53.360 --> 00:46:55.760
Let me tell you about the time

00:46:55.760 --> 00:46:57.840
when I was at the lowest point in my life.

00:46:57.840 --> 00:47:00.360
Let me tell you what God brought me through,

00:47:00.360 --> 00:47:01.280
let me tell you what God did,

00:47:01.280 --> 00:47:02.640
let me tell you who God is.

00:47:02.640 --> 00:47:07.680
And that's what it looks like to wrestle with God.

00:47:07.680 --> 00:47:10.080
You see, we want the blessing of God,

00:47:10.080 --> 00:47:11.440
but we don't want the limp.

00:47:11.440 --> 00:47:13.960
So many times, the blessing of God

00:47:13.960 --> 00:47:15.600
and the limp, they come together.

00:47:17.240 --> 00:47:22.240
But lastly, in order to be blessed by God fully,

00:47:22.240 --> 00:47:28.680
not us, but God needs to change who we are.

00:47:28.680 --> 00:47:33.800
And Jacob went to Laban.

00:47:33.800 --> 00:47:39.600
He went on that journey a deceiver,

00:47:39.600 --> 00:47:43.680
a manipulator, toxic.

00:47:45.120 --> 00:47:49.840
He comes back humbled, he comes back on a journey.

00:47:49.840 --> 00:47:53.240
He went as a man who would have avoided

00:47:53.240 --> 00:47:54.960
anything difficult in his life.

00:47:54.960 --> 00:48:00.200
And he comes back a man willing to face anything

00:48:00.200 --> 00:48:04.880
that awaits him because God's on his side.

00:48:04.880 --> 00:48:08.040
In order for that to happen,

00:48:08.040 --> 00:48:11.120
God needed to change who he was.

00:48:12.280 --> 00:48:15.240
I love in the Bible when God changes people's names.

00:48:15.240 --> 00:48:19.840
We saw Abram became Abraham, Sarai became Sarah.

00:48:19.840 --> 00:48:21.880
We see here Jacob comes Israel.

00:48:21.880 --> 00:48:24.720
Later on, we'll see Simon becomes Peter,

00:48:24.720 --> 00:48:26.560
we'll see Saul becomes Paul.

00:48:26.560 --> 00:48:33.160
And when you come to God, he changes your name too.

00:48:33.160 --> 00:48:38.920
He didn't change it from David to Timothy,

00:48:40.320 --> 00:48:45.200
Samantha to Julie, but he changed your name.

00:48:45.200 --> 00:48:48.920
More importantly, he changed your identity.

00:48:48.920 --> 00:48:52.400
He changed you from enemy to friend.

00:48:52.400 --> 00:48:58.320
He changed you from object of wrath

00:48:58.320 --> 00:49:01.400
to son or daughter of family.

00:49:01.400 --> 00:49:07.560
He doesn't just change your future standing.

00:49:09.040 --> 00:49:12.360
Some of you people think that coming to Jesus

00:49:12.360 --> 00:49:17.320
is simply changing where you'll spend eternity.

00:49:17.320 --> 00:49:20.800
But let me say this to you.

00:49:20.800 --> 00:49:25.720
When you come to Jesus, your eternity is changed.

00:49:25.720 --> 00:49:27.960
But so is your today.

00:49:27.960 --> 00:49:30.840
So is your tomorrow.

00:49:30.840 --> 00:49:33.520
So is your next week.

00:49:33.520 --> 00:49:38.900
Because God changed your name.

00:49:39.900 --> 00:49:41.460
He changed who you are.

00:49:41.460 --> 00:49:45.220
In the middle of it all,

00:49:45.220 --> 00:49:48.060
in the midst of all that you're going through,

00:49:48.060 --> 00:49:49.500
in the midst of every battle,

00:49:49.500 --> 00:49:52.180
God's there and he's working.

00:49:52.180 --> 00:49:55.780
I wanna start back off with those two questions

00:49:55.780 --> 00:49:56.740
that we began with.

00:49:56.740 --> 00:50:02.860
I feel when Jacob was running from Esau

00:50:02.860 --> 00:50:06.620
because he stole from him,

00:50:06.620 --> 00:50:08.620
'cause he deceived him,

00:50:08.620 --> 00:50:10.140
because he manipulated him,

00:50:10.140 --> 00:50:13.020
man, he wasn't thinking,

00:50:13.020 --> 00:50:15.660
how do I need to be better?

00:50:15.660 --> 00:50:19.220
He's thinking, how do I need to get away?

00:50:19.220 --> 00:50:23.700
How is God preparing you right now?

00:50:23.700 --> 00:50:26.220
How is God preparing you?

00:50:26.220 --> 00:50:32.340
You might be walking through the most difficult season

00:50:32.340 --> 00:50:33.400
of your life.

00:50:33.400 --> 00:50:35.820
How's God preparing you?

00:50:35.820 --> 00:50:38.020
Number two.

00:50:39.020 --> 00:50:42.060
Stop asking why.

00:50:42.060 --> 00:50:47.140
Start asking, God, what for?

00:50:47.140 --> 00:50:49.340
God, what for?

00:50:49.340 --> 00:50:52.060
What's next for me?

00:50:52.060 --> 00:50:55.660
God, how are you gonna take this and use this

00:50:55.660 --> 00:50:59.900
for your name and for your glory?

00:50:59.900 --> 00:51:02.140
Would you pray with me?

00:51:03.020 --> 00:51:05.780
[pages rustling]

00:51:05.780 --> 00:51:11.340
God, I thank you.

00:51:11.340 --> 00:51:17.300
[exhaling]

00:51:17.300 --> 00:51:23.460
God, we create

00:51:23.460 --> 00:51:28.420
these messes.

00:51:31.340 --> 00:51:33.300
And in the mess that we create,

00:51:33.300 --> 00:51:37.820
where we respond like a toddler sent to their room,

00:51:37.820 --> 00:51:41.300
trying to clean up the mess,

00:51:41.300 --> 00:51:46.460
trying to clean up the destruction that we've brought.

00:51:46.460 --> 00:51:50.140
God, we see pictures

00:51:50.140 --> 00:51:53.420
on social media.

00:51:53.420 --> 00:51:57.780
We see stories on the news.

00:52:00.180 --> 00:52:03.540
We see trees torn in half.

00:52:03.540 --> 00:52:07.780
We see roofs caved in.

00:52:07.780 --> 00:52:13.340
We see interstates gone.

00:52:13.340 --> 00:52:20.220
We see downtowns that now look like raging rivers.

00:52:20.220 --> 00:52:23.380
And God,

00:52:23.380 --> 00:52:27.460
it's so hard

00:52:29.380 --> 00:52:31.060
when we see those pictures

00:52:31.060 --> 00:52:34.140
because we wonder, God,

00:52:34.140 --> 00:52:36.900
where do we begin?

00:52:36.900 --> 00:52:39.460
Where do we begin?

00:52:39.460 --> 00:52:44.020
A shovel can't fix this.

00:52:44.020 --> 00:52:50.700
A chainsaw will just scratch the surface.

00:52:50.700 --> 00:52:56.940
But we know

00:52:56.940 --> 00:52:59.520
[gentle music]

00:52:59.520 --> 00:53:02.980
blue skies are gonna come.

00:53:02.980 --> 00:53:05.980
Work's gonna happen.

00:53:05.980 --> 00:53:09.540
It's gonna be long, it's gonna be grueling.

00:53:09.540 --> 00:53:12.460
But we will rebuild.

00:53:12.460 --> 00:53:16.740
And God, we praise you for that.

00:53:16.740 --> 00:53:20.740
But God, I think sometimes we look at our life

00:53:20.740 --> 00:53:24.420
and what we just described,

00:53:24.420 --> 00:53:26.860
while it's the aftermath of a hurricane,

00:53:26.860 --> 00:53:30.780
it can also be the aftermath of the destruction

00:53:30.780 --> 00:53:32.900
and our depravity that we leave behind.

00:53:32.900 --> 00:53:37.980
And we can have a mindset, Lord,

00:53:37.980 --> 00:53:41.340
of how do I make this right?

00:53:41.340 --> 00:53:43.420
What do I need to do?

00:53:43.420 --> 00:53:46.380
How do I need to make myself right and good again?

00:53:46.380 --> 00:53:49.940
God, I thank you

00:53:52.820 --> 00:53:56.260
that the grave answer is

00:53:56.260 --> 00:53:59.700
there's nothing that Bo can do

00:53:59.700 --> 00:54:03.020
to fix the mess

00:54:03.020 --> 00:54:09.540
of what my sin has created.

00:54:09.540 --> 00:54:14.980
There's not enough good works that I can do

00:54:14.980 --> 00:54:19.140
to bring these dead bones back to life.

00:54:21.260 --> 00:54:22.900
There's not enough good deeds

00:54:22.900 --> 00:54:26.060
that I can perform

00:54:26.060 --> 00:54:29.620
to make this heart new.

00:54:29.620 --> 00:54:34.900
There's not enough kindness and compassion and love

00:54:34.900 --> 00:54:37.180
and mercy and empathy in me

00:54:37.180 --> 00:54:41.380
to make my standing before you

00:54:41.380 --> 00:54:44.300
worthy.

00:54:44.300 --> 00:54:49.900
So God, you sent your Son

00:54:50.660 --> 00:54:52.860
to make this world a better place.

00:54:52.860 --> 00:54:54.660
And on the cross of Calvary,

00:54:54.660 --> 00:55:01.180
he paid every payment.

00:55:01.180 --> 00:55:05.540
On the cross of Calvary,

00:55:05.540 --> 00:55:09.340
he offered every sacrifice.

00:55:09.340 --> 00:55:15.420
For all who call

00:55:15.420 --> 00:55:18.540
upon the name of the Lord

00:55:18.540 --> 00:55:21.900
shall be saved.

00:55:21.900 --> 00:55:26.660
And God, we thank you for that.

00:55:26.660 --> 00:55:31.020
God, I pray for us this morning.

00:55:31.020 --> 00:55:36.100
The burden that we're carrying,

00:55:36.100 --> 00:55:40.740
the mess that we've left behind,

00:55:40.740 --> 00:55:45.700
God, we would just bring it to you this morning.

00:55:47.460 --> 00:55:50.700
God, once again, we pray for those

00:55:50.700 --> 00:55:53.380
without power,

00:55:53.380 --> 00:55:56.140
without food,

00:55:56.140 --> 00:55:59.140
without shelter.

00:55:59.140 --> 00:56:04.740
Lord, may we help.

00:56:04.740 --> 00:56:09.020
Lord, I pray for the linesmen,

00:56:09.020 --> 00:56:11.420
the workers,

00:56:11.420 --> 00:56:13.700
the men and the women

00:56:13.700 --> 00:56:16.580
who would travel all over

00:56:17.580 --> 00:56:22.580
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina,

00:56:22.580 --> 00:56:26.340
Georgia, Florida,

00:56:26.340 --> 00:56:28.380
or keep 'em safe.

00:56:28.380 --> 00:56:32.820
Or to turn 'em to their families.

00:56:32.820 --> 00:56:37.060
Lord, I pray for our first responders.

00:56:37.060 --> 00:56:40.300
I pray for

00:56:40.300 --> 00:56:44.420
them as they go

00:56:45.660 --> 00:56:46.980
into the danger.

00:56:46.980 --> 00:56:50.340
Keep them safe as well.

00:56:50.340 --> 00:56:54.300
Lord, may we love 'em

00:56:54.300 --> 00:56:57.580
and we pray for 'em.

00:56:57.580 --> 00:57:02.180
Lord, today,

00:57:02.180 --> 00:57:06.780
more so than ever before,

00:57:06.780 --> 00:57:10.020
may we leave from here

00:57:10.020 --> 00:57:14.100
with a smile on our face

00:57:15.100 --> 00:57:16.460
and hope in our heart

00:57:16.460 --> 00:57:19.580
because of who you are.

00:57:19.580 --> 00:57:23.420
And send Jesus in to pray.

00:57:26.020 --> 00:57:29.940
- Thanks again for listening.

00:57:29.940 --> 00:57:32.980
And be sure to check back next week for another episode.

00:57:32.980 --> 00:57:36.780
In the meantime, you can visit us at willowridgechurch.org

00:57:36.780 --> 00:57:38.700
or by searching for Willow Ridge Church

00:57:38.700 --> 00:57:40.900
on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

00:57:46.080 --> 00:57:48.140
you