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Empowering multimedia ministry for bold Christian living: Weekend Messages, Deep End Podcast, Deep Dive Bible Study. Tim Hatch, Lead Pastor, Waters Church, 26 years of pastoral ministry, book author.
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0:00 You are listening to Waters Church podcast. Waters Church is a multisite, multigeneration community of faith on the East Coast of America. Now for a message from our pastor.0:18 The title of my message this morning is where is your limp? Where is your limp? I wanna talk about that point of no return that we0:30 reach as Christians. It happens to us several times, those of us who've been walking with the Lord for quite a few years. But the first time is the most important time. And when I say0:41 point of no return, I mean K N O W. That point where you know after supernatural encounter with God, which God initiates, by the0:53 way, even though you think you desired it, you realize afterwards that he's the 1 who orchestrated it and initiated it, and you come to a place that you just know that you1:05 know that you know your god. And so I wanna look at a great example in the old testament of somebody who has this experience.1:17 Genesis chapter 32 verses 22 to 31. And he arose that night and took his 2 wives, his 2 female servants, and his 11 sons,1:29 and crossed over the ford of Jabbok, or the river. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had, his possessions. Then Jacob was1:41 left alone, and a man wrestled with him, man, capital m, wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when he saw1:52 that he did not prevail against him, when the man saw he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as he wrestled with him.2:05 And he said, let me go for the day breaks. But he said, Jacob, I will not let you go unless you bless me.2:18 So he said to him, what is your name? He said, Jacob. And he said, your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel for you2:29 have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed. Then Jacob asked saying, tell me your name, I pray. And he said,2:41 why is it that you ask about my name? And he blessed him there. And he blessed him there. So Jacob called the name of the place2:52 Peniel, for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. Peniel means the face of God. Just as he crossed over Penuel, the3:04 sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. He's physically changed. Therefore, to this day, the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on3:16 the hip socket because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip in the muscle that shrank. The backstory that prepares us for this, that leads up to this,3:28 is Jacob, who is known by his name when he was born, and his parents gave him the name supplanter. It literally means somebody who grabs3:40 another's heel or takes somebody else's possessions because he came out of the womb after Esau, and he was holding onto Esau's ankle. And the story of Jacob is that3:52 Jacob is a schemer and a deceiver and a very clever hardworking guy, but basically is a manipulator just4:03 like you and just like me. And Jacob spends his life scheming and planning to get what he wants4:15 his way on his terms in his time. Just like you, amen? Just like me. And my wife said,4:27 amen from 500 miles away. Now Jacob, what the situation was is that God had called Jacob to go back to his homeland, and he had to pass through a4:38 territory that belonged to his brother Esau, who had sworn to kill him. He was hunting for Jacob for years and years because Jacob had stolen his birthright and then the4:50 blessing which their father was supposed to give to his brother Esau and Jacob finagled and schemed, and he got the blessing instead. Esau was furious, and so Jacob5:02 is terrified of meeting Esau. And he spends quite a bit of time arranging his family, his servants, all of his possessions, and he sends them ahead of5:14 himself, and he's prepared to give half of everything that he owns to appease his brother Esau, who Jacob's spies have told him is coming towards him with5:25 400 fearsome men. So Jacob thinks Esau's coming to wipe me out and my family. And so what happens is, after everybody,5:37 including his family, the last lot have passed across the river Jabbok, he finds himself alone. He's fearful. He's confused. He's uncertain.5:49 He doesn't know what his brother's going to do. He's expecting the worst. You can imagine that in his mind, he's had all sorts of imaginary conversations of what he's going to say to Esau.6:02 I don't know if you've done that. How many times have you been in the shower yelling at your boss or family member, come on people, this is church, you can't lie to me. And then6:14 you get there and you're like, hey, dude. What's up? But 6 hours, you go like, well, I'm gonna tell you exactly what I think of you, bro. And then you seem like, hey. Would you like some coffee? So Jacob6:25 was going through all sorts of versions of this. And then suddenly suddenly, it says in verse 24, Jacob was left6:37 alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. So we're probably talking at least 6, 7 hours. God in6:49 God intervenes in Jacob's life without Jacob asking him. He steps into his destiny and changes7:00 everything through a supernatural encounter where literally in the form of a human man wasn't an angel because you can see in the story, and we find out in other7:11 references in scripture, that at first Jacob thinks it's a man, and so he begins to wrestle. Remember, he's a fighter at heart. He's a very diligent, hardworking guy as much of a schemer. He got what he7:23 got through not just being weak. And so he's wrestling with this man, and after a while, it begins to dawn on him, this is not just the man. I'm7:35 striving. The word wrestle in this context literally means I'm struggling. I'm striving with God. And something begins to change7:47 in his heart. But the interesting thing is he's never done this before. He's heard about Abraham and Isaac and, you know, he's7:59 heard about the forefathers and the great things that God had done with some of the leaders of Israel, but it's never happened to him personally. There are 2 times8:10 that Jacob has an interaction with God. The 1 time is he's in the desert. He has a dream and he sees a ladder going up to heaven and angels descending up and down. And Jacob meets8:22 God, at a place called Bethel, which literally means the house of God. And I think it's relevant for us because Peniel means the face of God. So the first time that8:34 Jacob hears about God or has an understanding of him is in the house of God. It's in a larger corporate setting. And I don't know how many of you over the years have come8:46 to meet Jesus or first heard about the Lord in a setting much like this, whether it was another church or at school or whatever it is. It might have been even at a concert or something. But, you know, it's a corporate8:58 thing. You you won amongst many people. And although your journey began that day when you surrendered your life to Christ, the journey God takes us on9:10 is to individually bring each of us to a point where we truly meet God face to face for ourselves, where we have our own9:21 experience. You know, friends, this story is not really about Jacob wrestling with God. It's about God9:33 wrestling with Jacob. It's about the Lord showing up at a time of real need in Jacob's life where he's self focused.9:45 He has reason to be afraid. He doesn't know what tomorrow holds. He thinks there's an excellent chance that he's gonna die. And at the last moment when he's alone, and that's the key, when9:57 it's just him, God intervenes. And this is the message that the Lord has sent me to share with all of us today. I told the early service, I'm10:09 literally in the midst of my own wrestling experience right now. December November last year, I'd I'd known the Lord for 42 years. And10:21 can I tell you that on the 1 hand, the longer you walk with Christ, the better you get to know him, the more time you spend in the word and prayer and everything? But because of our wretched sinful nature,10:33 I don't know if you're like me, I'm assuming you are. I think most human all of us are actually very similar, not just most of us. You know, you get used to stuff. And about 6 weeks ago, I confessed10:45 to the Lord in a moment of it wasn't desperation. Honestly, it was embarrassment and sadness. I I wasn't sinning or anything, but I was just so bored with my quiet times and with church. And I10:57 just reached the place where I was like, it's summer. I'd rather go boating. Not that I have a boat, but my friend does. My my11:08 friend does. And I'd rather go with him on the lake than go to you know? And then my wife's like, well, you can't because you're on worship this morning. I was like, ah, somebody else can play. And then I remembered how11:20 much I love pretending I'm a rock and roll star on Sunday morning playing guitar. By the way, the worship is phenomenal. Anyway and so, you know, I'm saying this with a little bit of humor, but it was deeply serious.11:32 And I just committed to doing this. I committed to a Jacob thing. I said, Lord, I'm gonna set myself apart, and I'm gonna strive11:44 with you. I'm gonna struggle with you in prayer and in fasting, which I'm doing, and I'm gonna seek your face until you bless me again.11:57 I'm not seeking the blessing. I'm seeking God. I want that deep connection again. I'm not bored because God is doing anything wrong or even the12:08 churches. I'm bored because I'm a sinner and have allowed laziness and lack of diligence to creep into my life. You know why? Because I was making the same12:20 mistake again in spite of how long I've been saved. I was make my flesh was making the same mistake again that Jacob made where I thought, again, I've got this.12:33 I know enough. I know I'm going to heaven. I know enough. I'm just going to do enough. Go to church. Sit in the12:45 service. I started baking recently, gluten free, awesome bread. I'm happy to sell you a loaf. No, I'm kidding.12:57 And I'm sitting in church thinking about, true story, about 7, 8 weeks ago, should I put egg yolk or olive oil on the13:09 loaf where there's 10 minutes to go and put it on broil so that I get a nice crust? Because that'll make a really nice picture, which I can put on Instagram, which I did, by the13:20 way. Please follow me. And you know what? The Holy Spirit didn't even have to convict me. My own spirit was saying to my brain,13:32 what the heck is wrong with you, bro? You've just been playing in the worship team. The dude's preaching the word of God, and you're thinking about baking bread. How old13:44 are you? And, you know, your heart can be wicked. Well, God still loves me. I mean, the Lord knows. No. I don't have13:56 that much time left. I've got to use every moment to make sure that I'm focused on Jesus and that he is the center of everything. And so he finds14:07 himself wrestling with God, struggling with God, and the result of it by the by the morning is a complete life change.14:20 Because God, a, touches him physically and changes his physical appearance so that he limps for the rest of his life. Can you imagine that?14:32 That for the rest of his life, every moment he takes a step is a reminder physically, outwardly, that inwardly, God had changed his14:44 heart. And so it's a simple, easy reminder daily that God is the source of his transformation and his blessing.14:56 Because God not only touches him physically, he gives him a new name. He goes from Jacob to Israel, and the rest is history. Not only does his family's life change with the blessings of15:08 God, not only does he from then on walk with God daily, but literally the whole world gets impacted because it's through the people of Israel that15:20 the lineage of our savior comes. And here's the key. Jacob had no idea that night that any of this was gonna happen.15:33 And encouragement is friends. If we give ourselves to striving with the Lord, if we set aside our own clever my15:44 my 5 year old grandson has just discovered quotation marks. So he'll be he goes like, that was really funny, Nono. Dude, how old are15:56 you? And he literally goes, 5. That was really, you know. And it's the same like, my own plans, my own decisions that I think are actually gonna end16:08 up with me doing better instead of simply surrendering those and coming to a place of intimacy that I've never had before so that God can speak16:20 his blessing, his will, and his purpose into my life. Now here's the beautiful thing. I16:31 started several years ago, I think I may have mentioned this when I was here last time, praying this prayer every day. I do it every day. Father God, in the name of16:43 Jesus, by your sweet almighty holy spirit, let your kingdom come. Let your will be done. Have your way in my life. And after about 6, 7 months of16:55 praying that, I realized 1 day, that's a really dangerous prayer for my flesh, but it's a really wonderful prayer17:07 for my spirit, for the eternal part of me, for the immortal part of me. Oh, if I can get to heaven and say, Lord, you know what? More often than17:19 not, you actually had your way in my life. I actually bowed the knee, and I chose to surrender myself to you so that you could have your way through me. I imagine God17:31 saying, and I I just wanna show you the results of this. You see those 63 people there? Because you listened. You see those 43 people there? Because you listened,17:43 etcetera, etcetera. And so Jacob discovers in that night that his life can no longer be about himself. It has to17:55 be about the destiny and purpose that God had always intended for him. But for him to live that, he had to know God intimately. Because remember, friends,18:07 again, if you take nothing else from this message today, remember this when you leave this place. God initiated the wrestling. Jacob was alone at his wits end,18:19 and God steps in. I also love, by the way, that it was at night because I think if God did it in the morning, really practically, realistically, you've got so much going on during the18:30 day. It would be very hard to say, I'm just going to stop all of that and just spend time with God. God knows the moment to intervene in your life, But the key is that when Jacob18:42 understood that it was God, he held on to him. He held on to him. I mean, he must have known in his brain, I'm never18:54 gonna win this wrestling match. I'm never gonna out wrestle God. And at some point, he says when God says to him, listen. The morning's coming.19:06 We're done here. You need to let me go. Isn't that stunning? And Jacob says, I will not let you go until you bless me. Because19:18 he knew from the stories of his forefathers and his previous experience with God, he knew in that moment, I believe the Holy Spirit reminded his spirit that when God blesses you,19:30 man, that's different level. That's next level life life live life living life. And so he says, want and god is so touched and so moved by his19:42 desire for Jacob to have him touch him that he does, but not in the way that Jacob expects because he first disables him.19:54 He gives him a dis what we would call a disabilities. How many know that what we consider disability, God often uses as an ability to extend his kingdom20:06 because God's ways and thoughts are not ours. Right? God looks at the heart. We still look at the external. And in today's world where the external is everything, God's like, forget that20:18 nonsense. I want your heart. I see your heart. I'm gonna bless you and use you. And so Jacob begins to realize that he cannot go on without20:30 God. And the point of the story is this, is that God strives with us and wrestles with us to take us from where we are to where he20:42 has always intended us to be. Let me say that again. That's a word for somebody here this morning. God meets us where we are but doesn't leave us20:53 there because the goal of intimacy with him is for us to be able to hear and understand and live out what he has always intended for us.21:05 But it doesn't happen automatically. It has to come from a deep, intimate, personal relationship with him. Just a funny moment,21:17 but there's some truth in this too. How did the sport of wrestling come about? Like, think about it. It's21:29 2 sweaty men, right, grabbing each other's bodies in public, they're half naked, the dude's face is in the other guy's armpit.21:42 No, it's disgusting. I'm sorry if you wrestle. God bless you. I'm very impressed. Never in 1000 years like, imagine Tim and Shane, 3, 4000 years ago, they're in21:54 Greece or something, and Tim come Shane comes to Tim and he goes, hey, Tim. I've got a great idea. You know what? We we're gonna grow like our community. In today's world, it would be the church.22:06 And I wanna start a small group. Oh, tell me about it. Yeah. It's just for guys. What are you gonna do? Well, we're gonna strip down basically to our underwear, and then we're gonna grab each other. And22:18 the goal is for 1 guy to put the other guy on the ground, flat on his back, lie on top of him, and the other guy hits the mat 3 times, and then he's the winner. And Tim goes, that's a great idea. Our church will explode.22:31 Like, come on, people. You can laugh. It's okay. Jesus is good with this. But, you know, wrestling is not a struggle. It it is intimate. There's an intimacy22:42 about it that you can't escape. And so although I thought anyway that that was quite a funny illustration, Tim and Shane. Somebody said to me after the early service, man,22:54 the thing I'm going to remember about your message is the wrestling story. I was like, no, don't remember that. Remember that you're supposed to struggle with God. Anyway, but it is intimate. It is23:06 work. It does take effort. It does take holding on. It does take not letting go. And so Jacob discovers 3 things. He23:18 discovers God for himself. And friends, the journey of every Christian, of every 1 of us in this room, the journey I'm going through personally right now as somebody who's been saved and filled with the spirit23:30 for over 4 decades is again coming to that place of, Lord, I know that I need more of you, but more importantly, I want more23:42 of you. Lord, you're infinite. I want to know things about you that you've never revealed to me yet about yourself. I'm not23:54 even asking you for things. I'm not even asking you for a job or a house. It's I'm not even asking for these uneternal things. Lord, I just want to get to know you better.24:06 The second thing, what comes out of that intimacy is that Jacob discovers God's will for his life. Because Jacob was moved from24:18 leading flocks to leading a nation, which he could never do in his own strength because if he could've, he would've already been doing it.24:30 Who knows what God has for you and me in our lives in the future? The blessing, the, responsibility, the24:41 task that he has for us, but it'll only come from a place of intimacy with him. That's how you discover his will for your life. And then he discovers his24:53 true identity. He he said, it was because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared. And and he discovers that, you know what? He's not only a deceiver.25:06 Actually, actually, he's a very creative person. He's not just a crook. He's actually a very hardworking, outstanding planner.25:18 He discovers it's not even the negative and positive side. There are parts of him that can only be exposed once they've been in the mirror of the face of God.25:32 And there are things in you that God placed in you in your mother's womb, even if you're in your sixties like me, it's a breath for the Lord, 60, that now you are ready25:44 for God to bring those things to light. And by the way, it has nothing to do with experience. It has to do with the favor and call and ability of God. I shared with you last time I25:56 was here, this is this is a Christian's life equation mathematically. 0 percent Lorenzo, hundred percent Jesus.26:07 That's the goal. It's true in the heavenlies. My job is to make sure that it's true on earth, lived out in my life. I'm learning again and again26:19 to just relax in the Lord. He has it all under control. That also comes from a place of intimacy. The closer26:31 you get to the Lord, the less stressful your life becomes, even if it becomes more difficult. Can you imagine if somebody said to you said to Jacob, hey. You're gonna26:43 meet with God, but you know how you're physically strong at the moment and you're good to go? The result of it is that you're gonna have a limp for the rest of your life. You're gonna be26:55 slightly debilitated. Now, outwardly, anybody could say, well, what kind of a god is that? Isn't the goal of life to be as fit and strong physically and as27:07 healthy as possible even into your old age, Jacob could look at them and say, This is nothing. This is flesh and bone. This is 72 percent water. This is all27:19 going to go away 1 day and make some worms happy, you know, or or not, depending what food I ate that day. But anyway, he's like, no. No. You don't understand. Spiritually and in27:31 my heart, I'm the person that God originally intended. Do you understand what joy I live with and what sense of purpose and destiny that I27:42 live with now? Let's prepare our hearts and and let's be thoughtful, because this is27:54 the encouragement. What what do you need? What do I need? And I'm literally I told you, I'm I'm right in the middle of this. You know, when when Shane texted and messaged me and said, hey. Can you come and and share the28:06 word? Of of course. I replied immediately, and and I knew that this is the message I have to preach because I'm living it. I love it when God does this. I'm right in the middle of it myself. And what you28:18 need is, first of all, to be alone with God. Friends, listen. I get it. Life is busy. Some of you have massive28:29 responsibilities more than others maybe. And like every minute of your day is taken, I implore you, go home today. It might happen28:41 in an afternoon, but it might take weeks or months, and just make the decision now this morning that you are gonna wrestle with God, that you're gonna you're gonna do the Jacob thing. You28:53 are gonna set yourself apart. And I mean, physically, go into a room like the Bible says in the New Testament, lock the door when you're praying. You know what the real test is?29:05 If you can turn your phone off. I'm not joking. Huge struggle. I'm 62, but you'd think I was 16. My phone goes, it's not a I had to work29:17 through this. Like, where I was I'd be nervous. If I was what if somebody called and it's an emergency? And God rebuked me, and he was like, I'm a little bit bigger than your phone. You know? Hallelujah.29:29 And to not think about anything but come and open your Bible at whatever passage you love. Start in the Psalms and begin to pray and keep praying and meditate until the distractions go away and be29:41 alone and see what God does when he breaks through and he intervenes. Because, you know, the glory of this story is that g God initiates the encounter.29:53 He makes the encounter happen, and he ends the encounter. He's in full control. That's why I say, it took me years to understand. This is not about Jacob wrestling with God. This is about God30:05 wrestling with Jacob to intervene because he loved him so much. Jacob, I've got such better things for you. The second thing is you need to persevere. Jacob says,30:17 I will not let go until you bless me. And you know what? These are the words that I use almost daily. I'm, it's me again, Lord.30:29 Look at my notes from what happened yesterday. Okay, we're dealing with this. We're dealing with that. Lord, I will not let go until you bless me, and I'm not determining for30:41 you what the blessing looks like. It's your blessing to give to me. And the third thing is, you need30:53 to limp. There must be something that happens to you. It obviously doesn't have to be a physical thing. It could be mental, spiritual, emotional, whatever.31:04 But when God's mark is on your life, when he has touched you, when he's changed your heart and touched you in such a way that you're you're forever changed after31:16 that, you know what? Everybody else sees it too. Everybody else knows. People start making comments like, there's something different about you.31:28 Can't put my finger on it, but something seems to have changed. Have a seat. Get your coffee. Let me tell you. Amen. And my prayer for you and for me, honestly, as31:40 well, is that everyone of us leave today with a desire to go home and to decide, I'm not letting God go until he's blessed me.31:52 I'm gonna go and make a place just for him and for me, and I'm gonna invite him to come in, and I'm gonna do it again and again and again and again until the Lord grabs a hold of me, and I know32:04 that I have had my own supernatural encounter and my own life change, and then I will take that, and I will bless everybody that I come into contact with32:16 in the name of Jesus and for the glory of God. Amen? Amen. God bless you guys. Thank you.32:24 Thank you for listening to this message from Waters Church. For more information or to visit 1 of our local assemblies, please visit Waters Church dot org. God bless, and have a great32:36 day.
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