Genuine Worship:
Wrestling with the living God. Getting
In Touch.
Ted
Malone, whose radio show came on early in the morning, told of the Idaho
shepherd who wrote: "Will
you, on your broadcast, strike the note 'A'?
I'm a sheepherder way out here on a ranch, far away from a piano.
The only comfort I have is my old violin.
It's all out of tune. Would
you strike 'A' so that I might get in tune?"
Malone
honored the request. Later he
received a "thank you" note from the distant shepherd saying,
"Now I'm in tune."
One
of the purposes and responsibilities of personal and public worship is to
enable the aspirant to keep tuned to the Great Shepherd. One of the joys of
the Christian life is to help others recapture the missing note!
Jacob and the angel wrestled
through the night. Can worship of
the Lord transform you into a new person?
Intimate worship of the Lord our God is an intense experience that will
change you into a new person. So
much of our worship is business as usual.
We have gone to church so much that it becomes too familiar.
We can begin to take it for granted, and the intimacy of the
transforming experience is lost to familiarity.
Jacob had an intense worship experience with the Lord that transformed
him into a prince of God or Israel as we have come to know him.
Let’s hear the story.
Scripture Text:
Gen. 32:22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his
two women servants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. 23
And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the
breaking of the day. 25
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of
his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled
with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I
will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What
[is] thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called
no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with
men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked [him], and said, Tell [me], I
pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore [is] it [that] thou dost ask
after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the
place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted
upon his thigh.
The purpose of this message is to show how we can
grow in our intimate worship of the one true living God.
1. Who is
invited to come to worship or know the Lord?
Jacob was the crafty one or the deceiver became Israel.
God invites all to worship and know him. Whoever we are or whatever we
have done. He wants you to know
him intimately. Worship is the
avenue to see Him face to face. Will we go that way today?
2. Make
Time and plan for Worship: Preparation
is important and not to be overlooked. V.
22-24 Jacob planned to get
together with the Lord and he made preparation toward that end.
What plans and preparations do we make before worship?
Do you have a time alone with the Lord?
3.
Alone with God Time:
The first step of growth is deciding to get together with the Lord.
Will you get alone with the Lord?
Don’t allow the distractions of life or the church rob you of the
power found in the intimate worship experience.
God is real. Will you get alone with Him and lay hold on Him today?
Hideyoshi,
a Japanese warlord who ruled over Japan in the late 1500s, commissioned a
colossal statue of Buddha for a shrine in Kyoto. It took 50,000 men five years
to build, but the work had scarcely been completed when the earthquake of 1596
brought the roof of the shrine crashing down and wrecked the statue.
In a rage Hideyoski shot an arrow at the fallen colossus. "I put
you here at great expense," he shouted, "and you can't even look
after your own temple."
4. How
far will you go? What would
you be willing to do to get to know Him better?
Would you even wrestle with Him? How
far have you gone? Can you go on
a little farther? If you
want to get to know him then we must decide to go with Him.
This is a step of obedience. Get
intimate with the Lord. He is
real so treat him as he is. Why
the wrestling match? When God
comes into your life to become your God, He challenges you.
Generally speaking we tend to resist his desires for our life.
That resistance is like the wrestling match that Jacob had with the
Lord that night. Who will give in
first? Will God give up and let
you go? Will he continue to try
to bring you to his side of the line?
5. Stay,
persistent, and don’t quit. Go
after Him with your whole heart. Let
him be the desire of your heart. Many
times we give up to soon. Continue
to strive to know Him and to be blessed by him.
Don’t let go until you know.
6. Prepare
to be touched and changed by the Lord.
Some may think you are touched in the head because your experience will
differ from theirs, but it is your experience and yours alone.
He will pound you and you will be changed forever by his touch.
Jacob becomes know as a prince of the Lord.
Israel is one who struggles with the Lord and prevails.
Israel’s life was forever changed by his intimate experience with the
Lord. His life was spared but his
hip was out of joint and he walked with a limp for the rest of his life.
Every step he remembered the Lord who wrestled with him that night.
He will change your name. Also,
He will change your character and your life. Jacob was the crafty one or the
deceiver became Israel. Israel
was a prince of God and men.
Move up and Ask for the blessing of the Lord.
Why? For his honor and
glory. For your help and
strength. Find out who He is. What
is his name?
Have had you a face-to-face experience with the Lord.
You will become a new person for the Lord and with the Lord.
Peniuel means face to face with the Lord.
People will remember someone who has been touched
by the Lord. Your experience will
change the life of others who see your experience with the Lord.
Jacob walked away with a limp from that experience with the Lord, but
he was transformed in his character as indicated by the new name that the Lord
gave him that day. Have you been touched in the heart by such an experience with
the Lord? Your faith will grow,
your spiritual life will grow, your love for the Lord will grow, your witness
to others will grow, your testimony will grow, your dependence and trust of
the Lord will grow, you will grow in your strength with the Lord.