That is, he was privileged to be in a place where the Lord Jesus Christ decided to manifest Himself in a personal manner. As Jacob prayed that night, it appears that he experienced a Theophany. 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”Ī. You and I should never fear being alone with the Lord. He took time to be alone with the Father – Matt. The value of a daily quiet time is clearly demonstrated in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we Christians are going to be strong in the Lord, then we must find time to be alone with God. Many sinners tend to fill their lives with busy work so that they can avoid the voice of God.)ĭ. When we are alone and still, it is easier for us to hear from the Lord when He is speaking. When we are busy, we can occupy the heart and the mind. 27:3-5! People fear that kind of intimacy with the Lord! Yet, the very thing they fear is the very thing they need the most in their lives.Ĭ. The reason? When we are alone and unoccupied, then we have to come face to face with God.
#In christ alone powerpoint full#
Many people fear this kind of loneliness! People structure their time to be as full as possible. Jacob was forced to face God all alone!)ī. Family, servants, livestock, wealth, everything. As he entered this time of prayer meeting, Jacob found himself very much alone. The fact that Jacob spent the night in prayer is evident from Hosea 12:4. At this juncture in his life, he needed to seek counsel and direction from the Lord. He had left his home behind and he was about to face an angry brother (Esau) he had wronged many years earlier. Jacob was facing a serious time of testing.
Let’s spend some time this evening looking into these verses and see what transpired during Jacob’s talk with the Lord.Ī. I would venture to say that 99% of all Christians in the world today need to have a little talk with Jesus like old Jacob had. He (Jacob) spent the night talking with the Lord and He was never the same. The very thing that happened to Jacob needs to happen in the life of every believer in Jesus Christ this evening. While we must have a Bethel experience if we expect to get to Heaven, we also need a Jabbok experience if we ever hope to be useful to the Lord. They never seem to be able to produce anything for the glory of the Lord. They get saved and that’s as far as they go. Isn’t salvation wonderful? However, many never go beyond that experience. Every person in this room needs to be able to recall a time when you met God personally, you received Him and became His child. He left Bethel with a spring in his step, he left Jabbok with a lasting limp but with a forever changed heart. At Bethel he died to his sins, at Jabbok, he died to self. At Bethel, Jacob became a son of God, at Jabbok, he became a saint of God. At Bethel, Jacob became a believing man, at Jabbok, he became a broken man.
At Bethel, Jacob saw a ladder, at Jabbok, he saw the Lord.
The first was at a place called Bethel, Gen. This is the second spiritual encounter of Jacob’s life in the Old Testament. 22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.Ģ3 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.Ģ4 Then Jacob was left alone and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.Ģ5 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.Ģ6 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”īut he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”Ģ7 So He said to him, “What is your name?”Ģ8 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”Ģ9 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”Īnd He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.ģ0 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”ģ1 Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.ģ2 Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.
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