The Wrestle You Must Win
The Wrestle You Must Win
Life presents us with constant battles - relationship conflicts, career uncertainties, financial pressures, and personal struggles that can feel overwhelming. Many people try to overcome these challenges through their own strength, manipulation, or worldly wisdom, but there's a better way. The secret to victory lies in learning to wrestle with God through spiritual persistence, refusing to give up in prayer and seeking His face with unwavering determination.
Jacob's encounter with God in Genesis 32 provides a powerful blueprint for this kind of spiritual wrestling. Facing an uncertain future and a potentially dangerous reunion with his brother Esau, Jacob found himself alone with God. During this divine encounter, Jacob declared he would not let go until he received a blessing. This determination led to three significant outcomes that apply to our lives today.
First, Jacob experienced incredible breakthrough when his feared confrontation with Esau turned into a joyful reunion. Second, Jacob was completely transformed - his name changed from deceiver to Israel, and his character shifted from self-reliance to God-dependence. Third, Jacob carried a permanent limp that reminded him his victory came from God's strength, not his own. When we wrestle with God, we tap into unlimited resources and discover that our weaknesses become opportunities for His power to be displayed. The beautiful truth is that God wants us to win this wrestle, and victory is guaranteed when we commit to persistent prayer and surrender our self-sufficiency to embrace His all-sufficient strength.
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The Wrestle You Must Win: Finding Victory Through Spiritual Wrestling
Life often feels like a constant battle. We wrestle with relationships, career decisions, financial pressures, and personal struggles. But what if the key to winning these battles isn't found in fighting harder on our own, but in learning to wrestle with God?
What Does It Mean to Wrestle with God?
When we talk about wrestling with God, we're not referring to a physical fight. This is about spiritual persistence - refusing to give up in prayer, seeking God's face with determination, and holding onto Him until He moves in our lives.
The apostle Paul understood this concept when he wrote in Philippians 3:12: "Not that I've already attained or I'm already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that, for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold." Paul was describing this spiritual wrestling - grabbing hold of God and not letting go until we see transformation.
Jacob's Wrestling Match: A Blueprint for Victory
The story of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32 provides us with a powerful example of what happens when we engage in this spiritual battle. Jacob was alone, facing an uncertain future and a potentially dangerous reunion with his brother Esau, whom he had deceived years earlier.
The Setup for the Wrestle
Genesis 32:24 tells us that Jacob was left alone, and a man came and wrestled with him until dawn. This wasn't just any man - this was a divine encounter. Sometimes our most significant spiritual breakthroughs happen when we're alone with God, away from the crowd and the noise.
The Determination to Win
When the mysterious wrestler tried to leave, Jacob declared: "I will not let you go unless you bless me." This is the heart of spiritual wrestling - refusing to give up until God moves in our situation.
Three Things That Happen When You Wrestle with God
1. You Will See Incredible Breakthroughs
When Jacob finally met his brother Esau after wrestling with God, something miraculous happened. Instead of the violence Jacob feared, Esau ran to embrace him. The breakthrough came not because Jacob manipulated the situation, but because he had wrestled with God first.
This principle applies to every area of our lives. Whether we're believing for restoration in relationships, direction for our future, or breakthrough in our circumstances, wrestling with God positions us to see supernatural intervention.
How This Applies to Major Life Decisions
Before making significant decisions - about relationships, career moves, or life direction - we should wrestle with God first. When we seek His face and refuse to move forward without His blessing, He opens doors and creates opportunities we could never manufacture ourselves.
2. You Will Be Changed and Transformed
God didn't just give Jacob a blessing; He gave him a new identity. Jacob's name, which meant "deceiver," was changed to Israel, meaning "one who wrestles with God." This wasn't just a name change - it was a character transformation.
From Self-Reliance to God-Dependence
Jacob had spent his life manipulating situations to get what he wanted. But after wrestling with God, his approach completely changed. Instead of trying to sweet-talk his way out of trouble with Esau, Jacob humbled himself and bowed seven times before his brother.
When we wrestle with God, He doesn't just change our circumstances - He changes us. He transforms our character, our approach to problems, and our understanding of who we are in Him.
3. You Will Carry a Limp
During the wrestling match, God touched Jacob's hip and dislocated it. Jacob walked away with a permanent limp. This might seem cruel, but it served a crucial purpose - it reminded Jacob that his victory came from God's strength, not his own.
Strength Made Perfect in Weakness
The apostle Paul learned this same lesson when he wrote: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). Our weaknesses aren't obstacles to God's power - they're opportunities for His strength to be displayed.
When we recognize our limitations and lean into God's sufficiency, we discover that He is "El Shaddai" - the all-sufficient one who provides everything we need.
Why Wrestling with God Is Better Than Wrestling with the World
Many people try to find their sufficiency in other things - relationships, career success, financial security, or even their own abilities. But these sources of strength are temporary and unreliable.
The Problem with Self-Sufficiency
When we rely on ourselves to make things happen, we're limited by our own strength and wisdom. We can only go as far as our abilities will take us. But when we wrestle with God and acknowledge our need for Him, we tap into unlimited resources.
God Wants You to Win
Here's the beautiful truth about wrestling with God - He wants you to win. Unlike wrestling with worldly systems or trying to overcome challenges in your own strength, when you wrestle with God, victory is guaranteed. He allows you to "win" because your victory is actually His victory working through you.
How to Start Wrestling with God
Recognize Your Need
The first step is acknowledging that you can't handle life's challenges on your own. This isn't defeat - it's wisdom. When we recognize our limitations, we position ourselves to receive God's unlimited strength.
Commit to Persistence
Wrestling with God requires persistence. It means continuing to pray when you don't see immediate answers, continuing to seek God when circumstances are difficult, and refusing to give up when the process gets uncomfortable.
Embrace the Process
Remember that God is more interested in changing you than just changing your circumstances. Be open to the transformation He wants to work in your character, your attitudes, and your approach to life.
Life Application
This week, identify one area of your life where you've been trying to create breakthrough through your own efforts. Instead of continuing to wrestle with the problem, commit to wrestling with God about it. Set aside time each day to seek His face, pray persistently, and refuse to let go until you sense His peace and direction.
Ask yourself these questions:
What breakthrough am I trying to create in my own strength that I need to surrender to God?
How is God wanting to change me through the challenges I'm facing?
Am I willing to embrace my weaknesses as opportunities for God's strength to be displayed?
What would it look like for me to make God my "El Shaddai" - my all-sufficient one - instead of looking to other sources for my needs?
Remember, when you wrestle with God, you're guaranteed to win - but the victory might look different than you expected. It will involve breakthrough, transformation, and a beautiful dependence on His strength rather than your own.
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A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.
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I've titled today's message the wrestle you must win. The wrestle you must win.
Who likes a good wrestle? Few. All right. My daughter used to like a good wrestle when she was young and. And Narelle couldn't wrestle her because she was too strong.
Her legs were like fire. And it was just like she. She didn't just. She was going for. She was going for the jugular, man.
She was going for it. She would go on the bed, she'd be there, and if she would, she'd try and fly kick you, and literally she's trying to take you out. And it was like she's laughing and carrying on. It's like, this is getting dangerous. And so eventually I had to stop there because she did say to me, dad, I think I could beat you.
And I think she was right. I had another encounter with a wrestle when I was younger. Cause I'm not a fighter. But we got forced to fight when I was at a kids camp, of all things, and they took the boys, and the boys said, we want to have wrestle matches. So they took us into the basement and we don't do this here in our church and we never will.
All right? Because it's not safe. Parents. It's okay. All right?
This is what happened to me. I'm still scarred by it. There's like a 10 year old kid. And they took us down and said, we're gonna have wrestle matches. We're gonna pair you up against each other and we're gonna, you're gonna have like a minute or so and whoever's got the other person on the ground, they win the match.
And then you progress to the next round and we'll see who wins. And so I'm standing there, I'm like, shy kid at the time, and. And I'm like, okay. And they paired me up with this other kid who was like a friend of mine. And we're both like nerd kind of kids, we're both quiet kids.
And we're like, we're looking at each other and said, look, everyone form a circle and you two get in the middle and you have to fight. And we're just staring at him like, I've never fought anyone in my life. And they said, and we're gonna turn the lights off. And so they turned the lights off and then went, fight. And I'm like, what do you do?
And something came over me, I'm like, well, I have to fight. He's the same thing, the same. So we grabbing hold of each other, grab. And I must have just got into that. I must win.
I must win this fight. The wrestle. I must win. I've got to win. The lights are going to go on soon.
I've got to win this fight. So I'm grabbing him, I'm trying to grab him, and at some point I just grabbed a hold of him and I'm like, I'm going to get him. And it was like a couple of seconds and I realized in the dark, I'm like, I think I've got his neck. I'm like, I'm like, I'm gonna kill him. And I just let go and I'm like, what am I doing?
I've turned into like a killer in a second. I was in shock and I just stood there and he realized I let go and he literally, his legs went under. He took me out, he jumped on top of me and he grabbed and he held me down and the lights went on and I lost the wrestle. I'm sorry, Ella, you're right, I lost and I was a loser and I couldn't win. All right, so that's the wrestle I lost.
But today I want to talk to you about the wrestle. You must win, right? And it's good because it's not a physical wrestle. Thank the Lord, because I would not do well in those, I don't think. But we see this in the Bible.
It talks about wrestles, wrestles that we must win. It's quite violent, but it's talking about a spiritual battle. It's talking about the spiritual kind of wrestle that we must fight. And we see this in Ephesians 6. We'll start there in Ephesians 6.
We'd cut straight to verse 12. But it says this in Ephesians 6:12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand.
We're in a spiritual battle, aren't we? And we must win that spiritual battle. It's a tough battle. How do you go about fighting against dark powers, evil powers? Right?
Because you actually don't have the strength to do that. You don't have the ability to do that. The Bible gives us a clear idea. And I want to talk about the wrestle we have by how do we wrestle spiritual powers and. And the enemy and evil?
We wrestle that by another kind of wrestle. And it's the wrestle we have with God. It's the wrestle we have to grab a hold of God. And the Bible talks about that as well. Philippians 3, verse 12.
The apostle Paul talks about this. He says, not that I've already attained or I'm already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that, for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold. There's this idea in the Bible that Paul is talking about, of grabbing a hold of God and not letting him go. Just like God has grabbed a hold of you. And it's this wrestle with God, this grabbing a hold, to say, God, you need to do a work in me.
You need to do something in me. God, I need you. God, I want you to do something that transforms me and change me. Until I've seen that come to pass, I'm not letting go. Paul says, I press on that I may lay hold of God.
And so I want to talk to you about that battle. And I want to go to a passage of Scripture that maybe Paul was thinking about when he talked about this. In Philippians 3, in Genesis 32, we see an actual wrestle that took place. And it's a wrestle that Jacob had thousands of years before Jacob had this wrestle with God. It was a wrestle with God.
And this is the reality my Brothers and sisters, we're going to read through this scripture, and I want to take some points out of that about what happens when you wrestle with God and you win, because God wants you to wrestle with him. He wants you to lay a hold of him. He wants you to lay a hold of him, not the things of the world. And he wants you to hold on and keep going when it's. Who knows?
It's tough sometimes to hold on and keep fighting. You know what? We've been on the 21 days of prayer and fasting. All right? We're a week to go.
All right. It has been tough. All right, it's tough. And people have asked me, how's it going? And I'm like, oh, it's tough because I've been in a grumpy mood and my mind's a bit of a cloud, and I don't have energy, and I've got to keep doing the things I'm doing.
And it's like, you just. Sometimes you don't have the. I got to the door. Ella came to the door the other day, and I went to get it, and I was like, sort of walking like this. She goes, what's wrong with you, dad?
You look like you're an invalid. I'm like, because, Ella, I'm fasting. I don't have energy. And I was like, leave me alone, all right? It's not fair.
She's like, okay, dad. It's all right. It's okay. It's tough. It's hard to wrestle with God.
It's hard to go and seek God and pray. And when I'm talking about wrestling with God, what I'm talking about is this idea of saying, God, I'm gonna put you first. I'm gonna seek your face. I'm gonna keep going. You know what I'm talking about?
I'm gonna keep going after you. I'm not going to just pray or go to church once or seek you once and then go, oh, it's all too hard. I'll go do. I'm going to keep going. I'm going to keep resting.
I'm going to lay a hold of you, God, until I see you move in my life and do all the things that you want to do in me. And this is what happens when you wrestle with God. We're going to read this story, Jacob and Esau. Many of you know it. Jacob and Esau were twins.
And Jacob became the father of. Of the Israelite people of the Jewish nation. But before he did, he was a twin. And he was on his way to go see his twin brother. But him and his twin brother had had a big issue with each other.
And Jacob had actually stolen Esau's firstborn birthright off him years before. He deceived him and sort of convinced him to sell him, give him his birthright in exchange for a bowl of soup. And sometimes, I know if you're fasting, you might know what that feels like. Give me food. I'll give you anything for some food.
Well, that's how Esau felt. And he exchanged his firstborn birthright to Jacob. And so then there was enmity between them. Esau was very angry at him. Jacob didn't know what to do.
And so Jacob was on his way to go see Esau after many years, and he didn't know what was going to happen. He thought he might die. And the night before he goes to see Esau, we get to this passage of scripture. In Genesis 32, verse 24, it says, this left Jacob all alone in the camp, and he's sent everyone else that way. And I want to tell you this about wrestling with God, all right?
It's good to do stuff with community and with your brothers and sisters in Christ. But sometimes when you wrestle with God, you got to do it yourself. You got to do it alone. You got to do it. You and God.
Pastor can't do it for you. Mom and dad can't do it for you. A friend can't do it for you. It's you who have to wrestle with God. And it says this.
Jacob was left alone in the camp. Everyone else had gone over the river, and he was going to meet him the next day. And it says this, a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. And when the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of its socket. We'll get to that later.
It's a bit painful. And then the man said, let me go, for the dawn is breaking. But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. Bit like Paul. I will lay hold of you, and I press on.
I won't let you go unless you bless me. What is your name? The man asked. And he replied, jacob. Your name will no longer be Jacob.
The man told him, from now on, you will be called Israel because you've fought with God and with men and have won. Please tell me your name. Jacob said, why do you want to know my name? The man replied, we'll get to that later, too. And then he blessed Jacob there.
And Jacob named the place Peniel, which means face of God. For he said, I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared. And the sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. It's a very interesting story. It's a very out there story that Jacob fought a man.
And we know nothing about this man except that he's referred to as Jacob fighting with God. Wrestling with God. And so scholars are like, well, who is this man? Who is this man? Some of it.
Was it an angel? Was it a representative of God? Some scholars believe that it was the pre incarnate Son of God. Before Jesus Christ came to this earth, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity has always existed. And maybe this was a, this is somehow him wrestling.
Either way, this is a spiritual example for us to realize what it's like when someone wrestles with the Lord. It's a wrestle. We're supposed to learn some spiritual lessons out of it. What happened to Jacob when he wrestled with God? Jacob said, I'm not letting you go unless you bless me.
And we see this, that Jacob only won this wrestle because God led him. Isn't that true? You'll only win the wrestle with God because he wants you to win. And he wants you to. So this is the truth.
You gotta, when you wrestle with God, he wants you to win. When you lay hold of God, when you seek after God, he wants you to seek him. And he says, you will find me, but you gotta seek me with all your heart. You know what he's saying, you gotta wrestle until you see the win. You gotta not give in.
And too many of us, we're used to giving in. We found it hard. I find it hard to read my Bible. I find it hard. Oh, I'm too tempted by all the world.
I get it, yes, seek God anyway. Stop feeling like you've failed and so then give up. So I'm going to keep seeking God. So we're going to talk about what happens when you wrestle with God, because these are the things that God wants to do in you. And my prayer is that every single one of us, whether you're a brand new Christian, whether you're just discovering about God, or whether you've been a Christian your whole life, like I have, like many people have, that we will be inspired to say, God, I'm going to wrestle with you until I win.
I'm not letting you go. The first thing that happens and we See this. In this scripture. The first thing that happens is that you will see incredible breakthroughs. When you wrestle with God.
You will see incredible breakthroughs in your life. Some of us are trying to break through in our lives, ourselves. It's a tough, tough ask. Jacob had been doing that. Jacob had been trying and doing a lot of that.
And it was very tough. He'd lived a tough life. He'd had to work very hard. And we're gonna talk about some of the things he did in a second. But he'd had to work that out himself.
Cause he'd relied on his own strength and his own abilities. But when you seek and wrestle with God, that might be tough. But I want to tell you, it will bear fruit and see results in all other areas of your life. Because look what happens when he goes to see Esau. He goes the next morning after this battle.
He's just. Battle. He must have been tired. He was hurt. His hip socket's been pulled out of joint.
And he's in pain. He's limping. But he goes to see Esau. And the first thing that happens. We see this in Genesis 33.
3. Jacob went on ahead. And as he approached his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times before him. And what happens? He thought Esau might try and kill him.
But then it says, Esau ran to meet him and embraced him. Threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they both wept.
He saw breakthrough because he'd wrestled with God. I believe that with all my heart. There are things that you'll see breakthrough in. Not because you made it happen and you fixed it. And you were smart enough and clever enough.
But because you wrestle with God. And things in the spiritual realm break and shift. I just got told by someone in our church that there was someone in their life. I won't go into the details, but someone in their life. That they'd wanted to see in their family for many, many years.
And they hadn't. And they'd been longing and praying and asking God. And they said, you know what, Adrian? This is. Last week they said, the first week of the fast, they contacted me and said, can we come around your house?
We want to see you. And they said, adrian, that's a miracle. That's a breakthrough I've been asking for from God. I say, thank you, God, because we've put aside this time. I want to say, because she wrestled with God.
And she said, God, this is my design. She's been praying and seeking him. God did something that she could not do. In the natural, I want to tell you, in our relationships, in our futures, in things we want to see happen, you will be far better off to seek God and bring those things to the Lord and wrestle with the Lord in your life than trying to make those things happen yourself. Some of us young people, single people, I'm going to give you the Adrian lesson on dating, Adrian lesson on dating.
Because I'm an expert, a brilliant expert. Had one real girlfriend in my life and that is my wife. And I'll tell you, this is how I see dating. This is what I've done. And you might think this is too full on, but I've chosen this in my life and it's.
And I believe God honours it. I said to the Lord when I was young, right, I was like, I was a bit of a nerd kid, but I wanted to get married one day. And as every young person does who's single and wants a partner, they're looking, they're wondering is the person I'm sitting next to in church, is this the person Young adults is on tonight? They're looking, going, who's a man of God? Who's on fire for God?
That's what the, hey, young men, that's what women in our church, young women are looking for. They're not looking for the coolest dress, right? They're not looking for the most muscles. They're looking for a man of God who loves the Lord, who's soft hearted, who wants to pursue God anyway. That's what I hope they're looking for.
I think that's true, isn't it? Right ladies? Right? They're looking for a man of God. And young women, the best thing you can do is be a woman of God.
And they're thinking, going, who's God brought me? Who could be the one? And that's what I was thinking when I was young and there was a bunch of, I was in a big church and there was a bunch of people and I'd hang out and be like, oh, could they be the one? I want to serve you, God, I want to be a minister. Maybe they're going to be the one.
Maybe they. And you're thinking about these things. I made a decision. You know what I decided before I ever went out with anyone, I said, God, I'm not going to go out with anyone, I'm not going to ask anyone out on a date unless I believe with all my heart that you've drawn me and you've said yes to that person and that that's Someone that I should be with. And I'm going to seek your face.
I'm going to wrestle with you first. I want to tell you, brothers and sisters, that's a good thing to do in big decisions in life. Say God. I'm going to wrestle with you and get your direction before I just go ahead myself. It's been a blessing to my life.
And so I did that. And I remember one time, it was a Friday night, and my friends had gone out, and I'd felt this drawing to stay at home and seek God. And I didn't do that all the time, but this time, I did it. And I said, I'm not going out. I'm going to stay home.
And I went into my room, I put the worship on, and I spent three or so hours in the presence of God. It was beautiful. And I didn't intend to spend all that time, but it was just like God drew me in, and I was just there. That's what I'm talking about. Wrestling with the Lord in his presence.
It's not a. It's like God. There's beautiful moments in that. And so I was there, and I remember being in the presence of God, and I felt the Holy Spirit put on my heart. Not his tangible voice, just the prompting in my heart saying, why don't you ask me about something that's important to you?
God's like, wink, wink, all right. He knows what's important to me. As, like, a 17, 18. I was thinking, how old was I? 18 years old?
19 years old, right? And so I said, God, at that stage, Narelle and I were at Bible college together, and I started liking her. And I was like, oh, but I can't do anything because I don't know. And so I said, God, is Narelle someone that you've got for me for my future? Would you like us to be together?
And I asked the Lord that question in his presence. And you know what? The Holy Spirit spoke into my heart. They've got this. I'm not trying to be too spooky, but I got this passage in my mind straight away.
He said, go to Ecclesiastes chapter four. Justin, chapter four. Thank you, Justin, for being the only person who corrected me. I said it was Ecclesiastes 3. But Justin has been studying this for himself as a single man.
And so he knows all he knows. He knows the passages. So it's Ecclesiastes. I felt the Lord prompt me and said, go to Ecclesiastes chapter four, Chapter four. And I thought, to myself, oh, no, Because Ecclesiastes.
I hadn't read it for many years, but Ecclesiastes is like that. Everything's meaningless. You know, don't pursue things because it's all pointless. And, you know, it's just like. It's pretty depressing.
I was like, oh, no. So I opened it up, and, you know, the first words I read in Ecclesiastes 4, two are better than one, for they have a good reward for their labor. Then it goes on and says, and a threefold cord is not easily broken. And I didn't realize this at the time, but that's the passage of scripture that many people use at their weddings to talk about God bringing them together. And a relationship with two people together is strong, but a relationship with God, with them, threefold cord is stronger still.
And I read that scripture, and I can still remember. It was like. It was like. I was, like, in shock. I'm like, he just spoke to me like that.
I didn't even know that was there. And, God, you've just spoken to me. Narelle's the one for me. Narelle's. And I got on the phone.
I'm like, narelle, you won't believe it. No, I didn't do that, man. Don't do that. Don't do that. I've heard guys, they have a dream, they think it's from God, and they go up to this girl they like, and they go, God gave me a dream about you.
You're going to be my wife. And you just made sure that will never, ever happen. No, I kept it in my heart. I wrote it down. I said, thank you, God.
And then I went through the normal processes of. When I got up enough courage, I asked her out on a date, and we went on a date, and we got to know each other a bit more. But I was like, God, thank you for showing me. And then I had to go through another wrestle because I asked Narella, and she said to me, the goal. I said, God's spoken to me.
That's when I told her. I said, I felt like this. And I go, I've been praying about this. And she goes, well, I like you, too, and that's nice. But she goes, but I can't go out with you yet.
She goes, because God told me that I need to wait until this point, and I need to go and pray about this and seek him myself. And I was like. I tried to do a Jacob. I tried to convince her and manipulate her out of it, and she Wouldn't budge. She wouldn't budge.
I was heartbroken for five weeks. She said, I'm going to go seek God, and you just stick to yourself, mate, and leave me alone, and I'll go see God. And so you know what I did? I went back and I wrestled again. It was hard.
Oh, wrestling with God is hard. And I remember I got down this time. It was in the lounge room one night, and I still remember it. I got down on my knees on the couch, and I said, lord, this is my exact prayer. I said, lord, I haven't asked you for much.
That's what I said, haven't asked you for much, Lord, but, Lord, if you give me anything, please let Narelle say yes. I begged God. I begged God for Narelle to say yes to going out with me. And five weeks later, we classed it up and we went and met for breakfast. Because I didn't want to wait any longer.
We went for breakfast to Macca's and at the McDonald's having breakfast, Narelle told me that she, too, felt like this was a good thing and a God thing, and she said yes to going out with me. And 20. Isn't that awesome? So thank you, Narelle. Thank you, honey.
We've been married now for 24 years. So I want to tell you this, right? Marriage is hard. And it doesn't mean that we haven't had the battle. You ask any married couple, there's the ups, the downs.
There's the good times, the bad times. And we've gone through all of those things. But the whole time, I can say, you know what, God, you called us to be together. I hold onto that. When you wrestle with God, he gives you breakthroughs, and then you can hold onto those breakthroughs forever.
It's the same in this church. This church. Sometimes in 10 years, it's been hard for us to be pastors and lead and go through all the ups and downs and everything that's happened. But do you know what? Never have I questioned, this is where God called us, because I wrestled with him and he spoke, and he drew us here.
And I want to tell you, friends, when you wrestle with God, he will. He will direct your paths, and he will show you, and he will open up doors. He will give you breakthroughs. He will lead you to the right people, the right place at the right time. And when things get tough, you hold on and you say, God, this is where you drew me.
That's what God wants to do in your life. And I know some of Us, we go, well, Adrian, I didn't have that experience, and maybe I'm not in the right place or the right relationship. You know what? You start now. You start now when you're married.
You say, okay, God, this is the person. God can make that work, and he can bring healing and restoration and transformation. You say, God, I'm going to be in the right place from now, going forward. Because we all make mistakes. We've all made times when we haven't followed what God's will is.
But I want to tell you, you wrestle with him now and say, God, what have you got for my future? And you watch what he does in your life. Relationships, place, time, breakthroughs, healing. God's the one who will do it. Do you believe that?
I want to ask you, what breakthrough do you need from God? What breakthrough are you believing for in your life? Stop trying to make it happen yourself and go and seek God and say, God, you bring the breakthrough. Your business, your children. It all comes from God speaking.
The greatest things I've ever seen, the greatest ideas for this church that I've ever had have not come from Adrian's experience and his mind. They've come from when I've been wrestling in the presence of God and he's spoken and said, do this. And when I obey those things, God moves. That's why we need to do it. That's the first thing that will happen.
The second thing that will happen is you'll see breakthroughs. First one, that you'll see incredible breakthroughs in your life. The second one is this. You will be changed. You will be changed.
You'll be transformed. You'll be. Isn't that the purpose of God in our lives? Says we are supposed to be becoming more and more like Christ, changed into his image. This is the purpose of God.
What I find interesting about this passage is Jacob said, I will not let you go until you bless me. But God had a deeper purpose than just blessing him. He did bless him. He became the father of a great nation. He was blessed in a reconciled relationship with his brother.
He saw great blessing. But God had a greater purpose, and it was to change Jacob. We see this in this passage. He says to him in verse 27 of Genesis 32, 27, says, what is your name? And Jacob says, it's Jacob.
Says, your name will no longer be Jacob. The man told him, from now on, you will be called Israel because you fought with God and with men and have won. There's very great significance in this. In that passage, Jacob, his name meant first of all, it meant heal. And the story goes that when Israel and Jacob were born, they were twins and Esau came out first and Jacob had a hold of his heel and was second, but was holding onto his brother's heel.
And his parents were very creative and said, well, let's call him heel, let's call him Jacob. And so they called him that. But the sad thing about the name Jacob is it can also mean deceiver. It can mean someone who's bit manipulative. And actually that's how Jacob lived his life.
He deceived Esau, he manipulated Esau to give up his birthright. And that caused enmity in the family.
He was used to working out how to manipulate and do things his own way. You know, we all do that at times, don't we? How do I get what I want? You know, kids become very good at it very early. How do I say what I need to say to get what mum and dad need to do for me?
And we all do. And some people are better at it than others. You know, Narelle was never very good at manipulating because she was like a goody two shoes and she just did everything. And so she's like, it's not fair. Because she says that to me sometimes.
She says, it's not fair. You win all the arguments, it's not fair. And it's like, yeah, well that's a good thing, but can also be a bad thing if you sometimes being good with words, good at manipulating, getting what you want and saying, and I'll go, Jacob was brilliant at it. And what it made him do is it made him rely on himself and do things his way. And so God comes to him in that moment and says, Jacob, you've been.
Your name means heal. You were second. You were the second son. You weren't as important, even though you wanted to be the first. You're a deceiver and you've had to manipulate to get what you want to get ahead.
But now you shall be known as Israel. Israel means one who wrestles with God. To wrestle with God and win, to contend with God, to see. And Jacob talks about, he said to see God face to face, to have the honor. Imagine that, that God says to him, you will have the honor of having your name changed to be one who wrestles and contends with God himself.
You're changed. You're transformed. I'm changing you. And what happens to Jacob? He doesn't just get a name change.
His character is transformed because Jacob, the self sufficient one, Jacob the one that was prideful Jacob, the one that wanted to get ahead of his brother. Jacob had a plan to go and meet Esau. Do you know what his plan was? He was going to try and sweet talk him into accepting him. And then he was going to give him a bunch of gifts.
Here's a bunch of servants, Here's a bunch of sheep. And he was going to try and win Esau's favor. That seems like makes sense, doesn't it? In the natural. That's a smart thing to do.
That was Jacob's plan. What does he do instead? The next day, he goes to meet Esau. And it says this in verse 10 of chapter. Oh, sorry, verse.
What verse is it?
Verse 3. Genesis 33, verse 3. Then Jacob went on ahead, and as he approached his brother, what did he do? He bowed to the ground seven times before him. Do you know what happened?
Esau's running, going to see his brother, and he's. Oh, here he goes. He's gonna sweet talk me. He's gonna try and do this, what, manipulation? What's he gonna try and take from me this time?
And instead, he sees his brother, and the first thing his brother does is bow to the ground seven times in submission, in humility, in sorrow. And Esau sees his brother do that. And what does it cause in his heart, he says he's changed. He's a changed man. Something's happened to Jacob, and he runs to an embraces, and they weep together.
And that's why they reconcile. Not because God just did a supernatural breakthrough that didn't make sense, but because God changed his heart. Do you know, some of us are believing God to break through in situations. But do you know what God actually wants? He wants to change you.
Some of us, we're fighting battles with our partner, battles with our kids, battles in our workplace, battles in our church, even who knows whether we feel battle battles. And God's allowed that battle. He's like, will you let me change you? Some of us are God. Change them.
Change my husband. I heard Narelle praying that the other day. I was like.
And there's truth in that. Sometimes we need to see change. We need to see softening of heart. That's true. That's a good prayer, many times.
But I think God will always. You know what? He'll always bring it back and say, but what about you? Will you let me change you? Will you let me humble you?
Because maybe you're the key to bringing breakthrough to that relationship. Maybe your cha. Maybe in your marriage, maybe your Partner is being a pain in the neck. And maybe it's wrong, but maybe your grace and your love is gonna cause their heart to soften. And you're gonna be the key to breakthrough.
Because God changes you before he changes them. And I wanna tell you, God's had to do this in me so many times. I've had, oh, I've had so many clashes in my life where they were. And I felt like they were unfair. People were, it's unfair.
That's not fair. They're treating me. And every time I go to God, what would he do? He didn't go, you're right, Adrian, you go. You smack.
He'd go, adrian, what about you? Humble your heart. And I'll go, every time I've humbled my heart and I've gone back in love, God's done a work in me first. And sometimes that results in doing a beautiful work in others. I go, what does he want to do in you?
He wants to change you. Jacob went and bowed down. He wants to transform you. He wants to revolutionize your life. He wants to do something.
And it's hard, brothers and sisters. Change is hard. It's hard to see happen, isn't it, missy? It's difficult. You go, am I gonna be changed?
Is anything gonna happen? But I promise you, if you go and wrestle with the Lord, he will break through in areas of your life. Some of us, we're looking at the world and we've got insecurities. Cause we feel like we're second best and we're comparing ourselves. When you go and wrestle with God, he will show you who you are.
He will show you who you are. And he will show you that those fights, those battles, you don't need to fight them. Because you can't win a battle of comparison. You realize that I've had battles of comparison with pastors in my own head, comparing myself to what is good and what success look like and what should I be and what should be happening. And I lose them every time.
Either because I think I end up getting pride because I think I'm better, or many times I look and go, oh, yeah, you're doing this. But look what they've done. They're far more holy than you. They're far more. Don't we do that sometimes?
They're far more right. They must have sought God far more than you. Because look at the breakthrough they've had. Look at what they've done. And I lose that battle every time.
But God never asked me to fight that battle. He didn't ask me to fight the battle of comparison and insecurity and fight and read a self help book till I believe something else. He asked me to go wrestle with him. And when I wrestle with him, the Lord teaches and shows me and changes my character. He says, you are my son.
Why are you comparing my sons and daughters with you? We don't do that with our children, do we? They might compare themselves. Because I love all of you. I hope that's true.
As parents, that's what we. They're all different, but we love them. That's who God is. He will change you when you wrestle with him. He will get rid of your insecurities.
He will give you confidence and boldness. He'll give you forgiveness. Are you letting God change you? Where does God need to change you? So that you can be the person of breakthrough, Be the person who wrestles and wins.
They're the first two things. And now I want to bring you to conclusion, the third thing. So the first one is, you'll see incredible breakthroughs. Not because you did it, because God does them. You will be transformed and changed.
And that is the purpose of God in your life. And many times the hard things we face are because he's wanting to transform us. Because he cares more about you than what you do. And the third thing is this. And it comes out of those two things.
It flows from them. You will carry a limp.
When you wrestle with God, you will limp. Jacob fought with God. And what happened when he wouldn't let go? God reaches in, touches his hip socket and dislocates it. Oh, that's painful.
How dare you do that? God. God made it hard. God made it hard to keep on wrestling for him. And what did he say?
Let go. Let go. Give up. Jacob says, I will not let you go unless you bless me.
When you wrestle with God, you will always. All the men and women of God, I know they carry a limp because God wants. What's the purpose of that? Because God likes hurting people. No, some people think that he doesn't like hurting people.
But what happened to Jacob when he walked away from that wrestle? He says, what was he saying to himself? I only won this because God let me win. So God's in control the whole time. He caused me to fight him because he wanted to get in close with me and he wanted to teach me some things.
And now I. I don't have the ability to go wrestle in my own strength because now I've realized I'm weak. He could have just decimated Me like that. I could have been overcome like that. Now I realize how much I need him. It humbles you.
It makes you realize. When you wrestle with God, you'll realize it's hard to serve God, isn't it? Young people on fire in the Bible study worship. Oh, this is awesome. This is awesome.
And then your studies go awry. Something wrong happens in your family, in a relationship, you're still struggling with depression or anxiety, and you're like, hang on a second. And the word of the Lord to you is, keep wrestling.
Because Jacob had to learn this lesson. Your weakness becomes your strength. You realize this. We gotta be Christians of people who know they are weak. But he is strong.
That's where your strength. This is where. How do you keep going in the face of pain and hardship? Because I am weak. But he is strong.
The apostle Paul learned this lesson. He had a thorn in his flesh. The Bible says it was a. We don't know what the issue was, but it's something. He says, get rid of it.
What's the thing in your life? I wish that wasn't part of my. I wish I didn't have to put up with this. Some people think it was a temptation. Other people think it was like he had blindness of his eyes, like he couldn't see properly.
They don't. We're not sure. But it was something that we would have been better off in the natural without. And he says, I cried out to God to remove it from me. Three times he asked God, and God comes back to him.
And what did God say? Some of you know this scripture. He says, my grace is sufficient for you. You. For my power is made perfect in your weakness.
Hey, Paul, guess what? You've got a limp. I want you to have a limp. Because everyone's got a limp. And you've got to be aware of your limp sometimes.
Because when you're aware of your weakness, then you rely on his strength. Some of us are relying on our strength. Your strength is not going to see you through. Missy said it. She said, I thought I'd be a great mum.
And then I realized, oh, I'm not as good as I thought. This is tougher than I thought. I don't have all the answers. That's right. Not because you're a bad mum, but because you're a human being and you carry a limp.
And God's answer to you is perfect. Because now my power can come and fill your life. Oh, I've been on many times where I've gone, God, I can't Be the person I can't be the man of God you called me to be. I can't be the pastor. I can't be the preacher.
I can't be the leader. Oh, God, I've felt like a failure so many times when I've looked at what could be possible and then what I'm capable of.
And then I go to the Lord and he says, how many times do you need to learn that lesson? I said, obviously, again, Lord, I am weak. He says, that's right, Adrian, because I am strong. Because I don't want to build my church on you, son. I want to build my church on the foundation that will never, ever, ever be covered by sand and wash away the foundation of Jesus Christ.
The strength of the Lord, the strength of his might and his power. For the Lord says, I love this verse. It says in Zephaniah, says, not by might nor by power, says the Lord, but by my spirit, says the Lord. It's not by your might, by your strength, by your ability, by your gifting. It is by my power, says the Lord, by my spirit, my strength that flows through you.
When you limp, you realize that you need God. Some of you are limping right now. Some of you have struggled in the fast. Some of you feel like failures. Some of you say, adrian, you're talking about being a mighty man or woman of God.
I don't feel like that at all. That's right. That's your limp. That's your weakness. You don't run into failure and back into the world, and back into that.
You run to God. Let me give you this truth. Let me finish this off.
You'll notice in this passage that Jacob asks. He gets his name changed. And he asks God for his name, what's your name? And notice he doesn't get an answer. God doesn't tell him.
He wasn't ready to hear it yet. God was still taking him on the journey. And so he goes and he reconciles with Esau. He goes to the place of Bethel, which is the place of God's presence, and he commits his selfish family, his future, to God. And in chapter 35 of Genesis, a couple of chapters on God has another encounter with Jacob, but this time he tells him his name.
And it's very powerful because he says, now Jacob had returned. And he. It says, he does the same thing again. He says, your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on, you'll be Israel.
So God renamed him Israel. We're like, yeah, we've already Heard that?
But then God said in verse 11, what's your name? God? What's your name? Maybe you're not going to tell me. I am El Shaddai.
God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply. You will become a great nation, even many nations, kings will be among your descendants. I am El Shaddai. Do you know what El Shaddai means? It's one of the many names of God.
But when God gives you a name, it's showing a part of his character, it's showing a part of who he is, it's showing part of what you must rely on. So God was saying, here you go, Jacob, you can call me El Shaddai. El Shaddai means all sufficient one, that everything that is needed is found in him. He is El Shaddai. He is all in all.
He is everything you need. He is everything that ever shall be. And he is the one you need. And that's why God says, I am El Shaddai. And you will be fruitful and multiply and you will become a great nation, even many nations and kings will be among you.
When God says I am all in all and I'm your all sufficiency, then everything becomes possible.
And he wasn't just speaking it for his generation, he was speaking it for his children and children's children and children's children's children. Even to today, when God says I'm your all sufficiency and I want you to wrestle with me till you win, he's not just thinking of you, he's thinking of all the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your life, the fruit of what you will produce, the spiritual fruit you will produce. When God wants to do a work in me, he wasn't just thinking about Adrian, he was thinking about my daughter. He was thinking about the people. He was thinking about all the people in Connect Christian Church and all the people to come.
And here's his key. Adrian, you have a limp. You have a limp. Margaret, Steve, you have a limp. Jen, you have a limp.
We've all got a limp. But I'm your all sufficient one. I am El Shaddai. And everything you need is found in me. Everything.
Everything. Every anxiety you have, its answer is found in him. Every pain, its answer is found in him. And Christians, we are found wanting because we go to the world for our sufficiency. When he's not your all sufficient one, you will find something else.
And some people have found themselves to be their sufficient one. Oh, I have the answers within. If I can just think of Them and believe them and think. I talked to a Bible college student this week and she was doing Buddhism and reading self help books, grew up in the church. But she said, I've started listening.
If I believe it, I can do it. If I believe and have enough confidence, I can bring it to pass because the universe will open before me. There's a lot of that talk going around, isn't there? There's something to be said for positive thinking. But I'll tell you right now, if I'm relying on me, I know me, if I'm relying on me to make everything happen, we're going to be in a bit of trouble.
I'm going to get to the end of myself because I realized something. You know what fasting taught me? Just take food away from me for a day and I can't function very well. That's how weak I am. That's how weak I am.
And it's not just that I've got weaknesses all over the place. I don't want to rely on me to make things. I need to rely on the one who will always be sufficient and has all power and authority.
Because if you don't, you're going to go to a relationship and say, they're going to make me happy, a future partner, they're going to provide my needs. Oh, I'm joyful. And it works for a while and then it stops working, doesn't it? The honeymoon phase wears off and everyone says it and people go, won't happen to me. Then it happens and then you got to find another source.
You think your body is strong and you do your weights and you think you're all strong and then you get sick or cancer comes and then you realize you rely on your parents. Then your parents get old and then they start and then you have to look after to them.
You start thinking, oh, well, I can go party. And people go, they make their sufficiency, alcohol. And they know that it sounds dumb, but it's what they do. They go, I need this to feel better. I need this to be happy.
I look forward to young people, older people. I look forward to partying because that's where I can forget about my problems. Sexual sin, because it helps me, I feel better and it satisfies me. It's your sufficiency and it doesn't work. It doesn't work.
And I go, the only one that works, the only thing that works is El Shaddai. So Christian, when you start wrestling with the world by engaging with it and embracing it, you lose when you wrestle with the Lord, you win. That's the truth. Every person who wrestles with the law wins. Every one of you.
Every one of you. But you got to keep wrestling. You got to keep wrestling. Some of us have lost because we stopped wrestling with God and we went and wrestled with the devil and we got entangled with a bunch of rubbish. There's peace and there's forgiveness and there's joy.
And you know what he does? You go, I'm not strong enough. He goes, no, you're not. I got ya. I've got you.
I'm your all sufficiency. That's what Jacob learned. Wrestle with God and you're guaranteed to win. But you got to put. You got to go through the heartbeat, you got to go through the humbling.
You got to go through the realization that you don't. You're not strong enough, you're not good enough. And I need your Lord. You get what I'm saying? I want every single one of us in this place and so many more.
That's all I want. I just want you to wrestle with, with the Lord, to fall in love with the Lord, to say, God, I'm not letting go of you. You know, the thing that breaks my heart the most is watching so many people over the years. And I get why. I know the world grabs a hold of us and tries to shift us and sift us and destroy us, but it breaks my heart that so many people that I've done church with, I've done life with, that have served God, are no longer wrestling with God and they've walked away and they're struggling and their sufficiency is coming from someone else.
And I'm believing that many of them are going to come back and find God again. I believe that with all my heart. We don't give up. We never give in. But you don't have to leave in the first place.
Come on, some of you have been in that boat. You don't have to leave again. Don't leave again. Keep wrestling. You're going to get hurt.
It's going to be painful at times. There's going to be stuff. Wrestle with the Lord. I will not let you go until you bless me. And the blessing isn't material.
The blessing is transformation. The blessing is coming to know him as your all sufficient one, El Shaddai. That's who we're going to be. That's who we want to be. And so I want to pray for us today and I'm going to pray we're Going to pray together and say, lord, will you be my all sufficient one?
I'm going to wrestle with you. Whatever stage of that you're in, God, I'm gonna wrestle with you and I'm not gonna stop and I'm not gonna give in. Maybe someone's here and you're giving it a go for the first time. Engage now. This is your start, this is the start of the wrestle.
This is the start of coming in close to God. It's pretty heavy message, but that's alright. God's got big plans for you. That's what that means. Maybe some of you felt like, I've given up, I'm just here, I've been there in church or I've just been going through the motions.
Say God, he understands when you're weak, he is strong. Lord, I'm here for you. He says, I'm here for you. What do you need to wrestle with the Lord in? Holy Spirit?
Come on. All over this place. Why don't we close our eyes?
Lord, I'm praying for every person in this place, every person watching. Holy Spirit, you would grab a hold of us, Lord, it's like the man came and wrestled with Jacob when he needed you most. Lord, you come into our lives in the deepest moments, God, and you say, here I am. Will you grab a hold of me? Will you lay hold of that for which Christ has laid a hold of you?
Lord, I'm praying for your people that they would grab a hold of you, God, and you know what they're going through. But God, you can see them through. You're the victor, you're the overcomer, you're the everything that we need. Lord God, you are El Shaddai and I pray you would reveal that to your people and they would seek you and find you when we seek you with all our heart.
In the name of Jesus we pray.
Please lead me on. It's not me I'm leaning on. Lead me on oh Jesus, keep leading me. Lead me on. Lead me on.
Lead me on. Please lead me on. It's not me I'm leaning on. Leave me.
Oh Jesus, keep leading me. Some people in this place just with our eyes closed for a minute. There's some people in this place and when I was talking about it being hard, you're like, yeah, yeah, it's been hard. Maybe it's been hard because you've been away and maybe you haven't been because you go, hey, I've been hurt, I've been distant. Maybe some of you have been pressing in but you go, hey, this has been a battle, and I feel like I haven't gotten where I need to be.
And I feel that God doesn't want you to feel condemnation, doesn't want you to feel shame, because that's of the devil. That's the tools he uses to try and destroy you and distance you from God. Do you know what he wants to use your weakness for? That you feel like you've failed or you've been distant or hurt, he says, let it draw you closer to him and say, God, that's just a sign you need him more. That's just a sign that without him, we fail and we lose our way.
And so if you've been struggling, the Lord's here for you today. He's always here for you. Maybe if it's you with eyes closed, can I encourage you? This is a sign before the Lord. Maybe you say, lord, I want to open my heart afresh and say, God, I'm going to fight this fight with you, Lord, I'm going to accept your grace and your love.
My grace is sufficient for you, says the Lord, for my power is made perfect in your weakness. And you say, lord, I'm receiving that today. Why don't you just lift out your hands before the Lord and say, lord, I receive that. I'm going to wrestle with you again. Thank you for your grace.
Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for your strength. Thank you, Lord, that when I wrestle with you, you always make me stronger. That, Lord, you will never let go of me, God. And I'm not going to let go of you, God, I'm with you.
I'm fighting this good fight for myself, for my children, for my health, whatever it is. God, Holy Spirit. Come and minister to your people, Lord, with your love and your grace. Because the. Wrestle, Lord.
God is not for people who are violent, but it's for people who are. Who, God, are hungry and thirsty for you.
So come. Fill us, Lord. Fill us, Lord. Fill us, Lord. Fill us, Lord.
There's some more people in this place, and God's speaking right now, and he's saying. He's saying this. As you fight. Listen to me. As you fight.
You're fighting for the generations to come. As you fight, some of you look forward and you say, I want to make a difference in my children, in the generations, in the young, in the teenagers, young adults, in the others, in my generation. I want to make a difference. God says, you want to make a difference. Seek my face, wrestle with me.
And as I do a work in you you watch what I do at others around you. You watch what I do. It's going to change generations. Parents. It's going to change generations.
And Lord, I pray you draw us in. Not just for our generation, but for those to come. We pray it in Jesus precious name. In Jesus precious name. Come on in this place.
As we finish today, why don't we stand to our feet? We're gonna sing this song. Make it your prayer today.
Oh Jesus, keep leading me.
Please lead me on.
Thank you, Lord. Lead me on oh Jesus, keep me lean Lead me on Lead me on Lead me on Lead me on.
It's not me I'm leaning on Leave me on O dear Jesus, keep leading me oh Jesus, keep leading me oh Jesus, keep leading me. Thank you, Lord.
One last thing. We're gonna say a prayer together this morning. And if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, you've walked away from me. You've been backslidden. He's drawing you back.
It's time to come back into relationship. It's time to enter relationship. He forgives you. He died for you. He wants to be your Lord and Savior.
Why don't we all say this prayer together? Dear Lord Jesus, I want to follow you. I believe you're the Son of God. And you died on the cross for my sin. And you rose again from the dead.
So forgive me Jesus. Be my Lord and my Savior. I give my life to you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Amen. Come on. Why don't we give those people a hand? If you said that prayer, we got a Bible we want to give you by the bookshop there. We want to help you in your walk with God.
Make sure you go get that. God bless you, church. We love you. You guys are amazing. We'll see you out there for morning tea.
God bless.
Related Bible Verses
Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
Click here to read Ephesians 6:12 on Bible.com
Ephesians 6:13 (NKJV)
"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
Click here to read Ephesians 6:13 on Bible.com
Philippians 3:12 (NKJV)
"Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."
Click here to read Philippians 3:12 on Bible.com
Genesis 32:24-31 (NLT)
"This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, 'Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!' But Jacob said, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.' 'What is your name?' the man asked. He replied, 'Jacob.' 'Your name will no longer be Jacob,' the man told him. 'From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.' ... The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip."
Click here to read Genesis 32 on Bible.com
Genesis 33:3-4 (NLT)
"Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times before him. Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept."
Click here to read Genesis 33:3-4 on Bible.com
Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NKJV)
"Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor."
Click here to read Ecclesiastes 4:9 on Bible.com
Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NKJV)
"Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
Click here to read Ecclesiastes 4:12 on Bible.com
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."
Click here to read 2 Corinthians 12:9 on Bible.com
Zechariah 4:6 (NKJV)
"So he answered and said to me: 'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," Says the LORD of hosts.'"
Click here to read Zechariah 4:6 on Bible.com
Genesis 35:10-11 (NLT)
"God said to him, 'Your name is Jacob, but you will not be called Jacob any longer. From now on your name will be Israel.' So God renamed him Israel. Then God said, 'I am El Shaddai (God Almighty). Be fruitful and multiply.'"