Dying to live for God

Genesis 32:24-28  Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”

What is necessary to live for God?
Jacob was the grandson of the well-known patriarch Abraham and father of twelve sons who would be the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel.  In this chapter he is 96 years old and is getting ready to face a fear that he has been running from for over twenty years - his brother.  After receving word that his brother, Esau, was coming his direction with 400 men, Jacob responded and by the time we come to our text above, the Bible says: "Then Jacob was all alone".  As we will see, Jacob would learn that in order to live for God, something about himself had to die.

Self must die if we are to live effectively for God
Jacob was getting ready to experience a work of God that is daily necessary in the life of every Christian if they expect to move forward in their Christian walk - dying to self.  Self is that principle at work in our soul that fuels our sin nature to want what it wants, when it wants and how it wants.  Dying to self, or self denial, is fundamental to what it means in being a follower of the Lord.  Jesus states it plainly in Luke 9:23-24 - "And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24'For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." '

In order to over come his enemies, Jacob had to be overcome by God
This episode in Jacob's life is intriguing, for he wrestles with an individual that is identified simply as "a man".  Now scripture bears out that this was no ordinary man that met Jacob in the desert.  Hosea 12:3-4, written over a 1,000 years after our account here in Genesis 32, gives an inspired commentary on just who Jacob was wrestling:
Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
         He wept and sought His favor.
         He found Him at Bethel
         And there He spoke with us,
5Even the LORD, the God of hosts,
         The LORD is His name.

It was none other than God Himself that wrestled with Jacob in the form of this "unamed man".  Other scriptures will further clarifiy that this mysterious "man" who is really "God" is an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ.  Undoubtedly the Bible's dual identification of this figure in the Old Testament was foreshadowing what would be the complete revelation of Jesus Christ as fully God and fully man in the New Testament.  As they wrestle, the Lord asks Jacob for His name.  Quite simply, he was asking for Jacob's surrender, since the giving over of one's name was tanatmount to acknowledging the superiority of your opponent.  Jacob did that, and as a result he received a new name - "Israel". Why?  Quite literally, the Lord states that he had prevailed against men, and strived with God, and by grace accomplished both.  Jacob would never be the same again.

When you die to self, expect your walk with God to be different
When this epic battle was finished, it was clear that Jacob, formerly headstrong and strongwilled was now a broken man.  However that did not mean he was weaker.  If anything, Jacob had entered into a whole new realm of relationship with God.  The Bible tells us at the end of this fight, Jacob walked with a limp.  Jacob (Israel) was now more useful to God because he had to die to who he was as Jacob in order for the power of God to manifest itself.  The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 - "And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

How do you die to self?
Let me give you three principles from this text in Genesis 32 that shows how Jacob died to his old identity:
1. Get in order with what God said.  Genesis 32:24-29
2. Reckon your old identity to be dead.  Genesis 32:30-32
3. Only then in Good can you move ahead. 

The benefits of dying to self
By dying to self, Jacob was positioned to receive further illumination from God on the nature of his calling. (Genesis 35).  Additionally, by dying to self, the power of God could flow more freely through Jacob's life, the power Jacob was going to need to face tough tragedies such as the loss of his wife in Genesis 35:17 and his father in Genesis 35:29.  May you and I understand and apply this essential truth for living for God. 

The Two Doors of Faith and Obedience

Romans 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake

What does it mean to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  As the Apostle Paul begins his great letter to the church at Rome, the mark of genuine saving faith is demonstrated by the willingness to live out God's word.  When you see that phrase "obedience of faith", that little word "of" tells us that there is a relationship between "obedience" and "faith".  The relationship in this verse is that of a specific effect arising from a particular cause.  The effect in this case is obedience - willingness to follow Jesus Christ in what He says in His word.  So what is the cause?  Faith.  

Faith is the door opened by God that invites me to enter into His life
The idea of "faith" being desribed by the great Apostle Paul is that of "saving faith". Faith in the original language refers to "persuading someone of the truth of a matter".   Ephesians describes this saving faith as a gift, given by God as a result of His Grace.  We also discover from passages such as Psalm 19:7, Romans 10:17 and James 1:18 that faith is granted to us by the agency of God's word.  As God in His grace is affecting the interior of my heart- that is - my human spirit - He is setting up a door.  His work in the interior of my heart - which the Bible calls "grace", puts up a door of invitation called "faith".

Therefore faith is likened unto a door that God places before me.  The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 3:23 "But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed."  Once the Holy Spirit shows me what that door is, I act in response to His working and open that door, effectively entering or participating in the very life of God. (2 Peter 1:3-4)  It has been often said that we are saved by grace through faith alone, and that following our salvation we are ebing saved by a faith that is never alone.  Thus.... 

Obedience is the door I open to invite the life of God to enter into my own
Clearly God makes the first move in salvation, since He in His grace so moves in my heart to be firmly persuaded of His identity and claims through the gospel.  Following that work of grace, what demonstrates that I am operating by faith is in the obedience that issues forth from my faith.  When I choose to obey God, it is my way of putting an open door in my life, welcoming the life and power of God to affect that area. 

For instance, saving faith itself is a work of God that takes place apart from my effort.  I can't do anything to persuade God to save my soul - salvation is a work of grace, initiated by God on His terms.  It is based upon the work and life of another - Jesus Christ. Once that work has begun, and I respond, I discover that my faithwalk is characterized by a faith that works.  James 2:17 reminds us that "faith without works is dead".  Therefore as you grow in your faithwalk with Jesus Christ, every decision and event will be marked by whether or not you will take the saving faith you received and excercise it in obedience. 

Jesus is pictured in Revelation 3:20 as "standing at the door", knocking on the door of your heart, awaiting entry.  That's not a text speaking about salvation, rather it is addressed to believers who need to open the door of obedience so that Christ can come in and shine forth His life into their own so that they can have closer followship with Him. (Galatians 4:19)  May we be ever ready to open our life of Christian faith to obedience to the Lord.     

Why Thanksgiving gives confidence to do God's will

Finding pleasure in God and being thankful go hand in hand.  1 Chronicles 29:13 tells us - "¹³Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name." 

The word translated "praise" could also be rendered "to enjoy, have confidence, find pleasure".  If you are really enjoying something (like candied yams or honey glazed turkey), thanksgiving to the cook will come naturally.  The words that come from your lips will reveal what is in your heart. 

THANKFULNESS WILL GIVE YOU CONFIDENCE TO LIVE OUT THE WILL OF GODAs we saw in yesterday's blog, as Paul wrote those words in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, he was thinking and writing as a Jew.  In the context of his writing, Paul was encouraging His readers to focus all of their attention on living and pleasing God.  If God is the pleasure, the delight of my life, then the command to "keep on giving thanks" will not be a drudgery, but a delight.  Thanksgiving is the one activity that ensures me that I am in the center of God's will in that particular area.  Whenever my whole life is characterized by thankfulness, I am expressing my pleasure in God, and I have confidence that I am doing His will. 

A 100% guarantee for being in God's will

1Thessalonians 5:18 - ¹⁸In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

HOW THANKFULNESS MAKES STAYING IN GOD'S WILL AS EASY AS CANDIED YAMSWith tomorrow being thanksgiving, it is inevitable that before the day ends, my wife's cooking abilities will prove pleasant to my palate.  She makes the best honey glazed turkey you would ever want to eat.  I can even now taste her candied yams with a mountain of marshmellows blanketing the dish.  Things such as these make it easy to remain in the kitchen.  Thankfulness for the temporal pleasures like food points to the thankfulness we find in the goodness of God.  Thankfulness makes it much easier to desire to remain in the revealed will of God.    

HOW TO KNOW GOD'S WILL AND STAY IN GOD'S WILLWhen we gaze upon the goodness of our God, we will discover that staying in His will is a delight, rather than a drudgery.  How often do Christians find themselves wondering what the will of God is for their lives?  Not only that, but how often do you desire to remain in the will of God for your life?  These two questions have a surprisingly easy answer.  In fact, the answer is so simple that the Apostle Paul in the passage above explicitly says: "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  What is God's will for my life?  How can I ensure that I'm still in His will?  One word: Thankfulness.

THE LINK BETWEEN PLEASURE IN GOD AND THANKFULNESSThe command: "In everything give thanks" in the original language conveys the thought - "Keep on giving thanks".  Thanksgiving in the Bible was a Jewish concept that had to do with how people used their words to express pleasure with a person or object.  The Goodness of God is expressed by the concept of God's Glory.  To not glory (or deem most precious) God is to take away the root of thankfulness.  When I find pleasure in God by grace through faith in Christ, I am glorifying Him in the pleasure I find in Him.  Likewise, as I find more and more pleasure in the Lord, I discover more reasons to glory in Him.  In doing this, I find the true blessing of being guaranteed of being in God's will - by being thankful for Him, and to Him and through Him in all things. 

Why Boredom is the enemy of thanksgiving

Psalm 136:1 states - "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever". 

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

God's goodness - the source of Christian thanksgiving
There is a disease that is circulating in every home that is detrimental to the Christian walk -boredom.   In the above passages, we see that the motivation for thanksgiving is a command to come and behold the goodness of God.  Every event, every circumstance, is a window through which I can discover the goodness of God in all things.  

The link between thanksgiving and God's goodness
It is only by God's grace that we can see His goodness in all things.   The above two passages are commands.  Clearly whenever God commands us to do anything, the command itself will lie outside our ability unaided by grace.   For every command there is always a provision of grace. 

Why true worship and boredom cannot co-exist in the same heart
Even when people are prone to become apathetic and disconnected, there is still ample reason to see God's goodness, however difficult it may be.  (please compare Romans 8:28)
There is one human expression that is never justified in any circumstance - boredom. When we get "bored", we are assuming that there is no good or benefit to be gleaned from the event or situation.  Boredom is the first step, however passive, in refusing to see the goodness of God. It not only is the enemy of thanksgiving, it is the enemy of worship. Boredom's origin is nothing short of idolatry.

How to declare war on boredom
Whenever I get bored, that indicates that there is an area in my heart where I have set up an idol.  Boredom comes as a result of unmet expectations.  That toy, that television, the thanksgiving meal, lose their perceived goodness because I forget and ultimately refuse to acknowledge that all things come from the Lord.  Boredom is what occurs when I expect a created object to bring the same fulfillment as only God can bring.  This is why boredom is the seed of idolatry.  

As we enter into this season of Thanksgiving, lets declare war on boredom.  Lets not lose sight of the goodness of God.  Lets not forget that in all things, give thanks to Him, for this is His will in Christ Jesus concerning you.

The Bible Alone is Sufficient

Isaiah 41:23 Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together.

In this final installment on our blog series: "Defining God's Word", we will consider the issue of sufficiency.  We have considered three tests thus far in defining the marks of Divine authorship: inerrancy, infallibility and clarity.  When we consider all three of those headings, they come together under this last heading of sufficiency.  If a book can lead me into all truth, is free from error in all things and is clear in all of its meaning, then it demonstrates the qualities of divine inspiration and thus is sufficient for every rule and standard of faith and practice. 

Again we compare other would-be holy books to the Bible and ask the question: Which is the word of God.  In this final test, we are wanting to know whether or not any of these books are sufficient enough to live by, since Isaiah's final statement here has to do with actually living one's life by God's word in light of eternity. 

The insufficiency of other religious writings
When it comes to the Hindu writings for instance, Hinduism and all other forms of Eastern thought advocate conflicting ideas as part and parcel of understanding the meaning of life.  The concepts of "absolute morality and truth" are not prized in much of Eastern thought, since many versions teach for instance that evil is an illusion, and that we must escape consciousness of ourselves in order to achieve inner illumination. 

Islam claims that one cannot truly know who God ultimately is, even though in much of its teaching it claims to be the fullest revelation of God.  Now which is it?  

Mormons claim that God was once a man like we are, since we someday will be our own gods, having our own planets.  They also, every year, have statements coming from their leadership concerning God's will for their lives.  Jehovah Witnesses have a similar set up.  Even though they claim to believe in the Bible, yet much of what they believe comes from their head quarters in New York called "The Watch Tower and Tract Society."  In many cases, the proof that a religion's book is not the word of God or that a religion has added to or deleated from the scripture is when it has leadership adding statements to supplement already existing documents. 

Even many of the books written today that claim to be written by people that have seen visions of heaven or hell differ in their details.  Furthermore, such books are not authoratative for all people in all ages.  Sufficiency covers so much area that quite frankly - only one book has demonstrated that it alone is sufficient.

Only the Bible is sufficient
When it comes down to it, the Bible alone is sufficient. It alone tells me all I need to know about Heaven, Hell, God, Christ, salvation, man, life, marriage, children, church, government, science, philosophy and everything else.  Though it may not be a specific textbook about science for instance, yet every major assumption upon which science rests (belief in an objective, measurable world; belief in cause and effect) comes straight from the Bible. 

Unlike other would be contenders - the Bible alone tells me that it is not from good behavior that one is made right with God, rather it is by grace alone through faith alone. (Ephesians 2:8-9).  When I preach on Sunday, I don't bring a commentary (although they are helpful in studying the Bible) nor do I bring anything else.  I have my Bible.  And that is enough. 

I have seen the Bible heal marriages, convert sinners to salvation and prevent people from committing suicide.  I gave just one verse to a friend who owned a small business, and he learned how to run his business from that one verse.  Imagine what would happen if we took to heart the over 31,000 verse in the Bible.  The Bible is sufficient enough to run a church, run a business, talk to your teenager and revolutionize your prayer life.  It is enough. 

The Bible Alone is Clear

Isaiah 41:23a "Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods;"

Isaiah continues, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to issue the challenge to all other would be claims of Divine authority.  We have looked at other books in comparison to the Bible under the tests of infallibility and inerrancy.  Today we want to consider the test of clarity.  Is the given book clear in its meaning and consistent in its message?

The Miracle of the Bible's Clarity
The Bible is remarkable in the fact it was written by 40 different authors, over 1500 years period of time, living on three different continents (Europe, Africa and Asia) and writing in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek).  The Bible is composed of 66 smaller volumes called "books" which would had been originally scrolls.  The Bible has its own system of making plain its meaning, since you can take a passage (in context) and use it to shed light on another passage (in context). 

The Methods used in bringing out the Bible's Clarity
Though there are parts of the Bible that can be more difficult to interpret than others, yet the Bible is clear enough to where on major doctrines, there is full clarity of meaning.  The Bible as the inerrant and infallible word of God (see previous posts) is meant to be explained (preached or taught).  Whenever it is read, explained or taught, God is said to be speaking (compare John 6:66-70 and 1 Peter 4:11). 

Motives for appreciating the Bible's clarity
No other book has this quality of clarity like the Bible.  The Bible, being clear in its meaning, also makes clear issues that would be otherwise hidden from human understanding.  It alone can pierce into the depths of the human heart and soul (Hebrews 4:12).  Unlike man, who by reason alone cannot even fully comprehend his own heart (Jeremiah 10:23), the scriptures (The Bible) can penetrate the heart and bring about understanding (Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:15). 


As much as this quality of the Bible has been under attack in recent years, yet for millennia Godly men and women have been studying and coming away with clarity from God's Word.  it truly is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105).