When Jesus Stops By: Don't Let Go
When Jesus Stops By • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro:
26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
Today, I want to continue our series entitled, [When Jesus Stops By]. The subject of my message is, [Don’t Let Go].
Letting go of something or someone is not always an easy process. I have discovered this watching our son turn into a toddler.
There are times he won’t let go of his toys, his books, or his milk. Anyone with a toddler has experienced this— let me have that, then they turn and run in the opposite direction, refusing to let go.
I remember of the last time I saw my grandmother before she passed away. By this point, dementia had take full control and she laid in bed, not knowing any of us and unable to talk.
But she happened to get ahold of my brother’s hand and she refused to let go. It was as though she had super human strength, and it was hard for my brother to get her to let go.
I thought of these two experiences and noticed a similarity between my son and my grandmother. One is not full developed mentally and the other had a disease that took her mental faculties.
Both of them just couldn’t let go.
But truthfully, many normally functioning adults are similar, having a hard time letting go.
There was a TV show on for thirteen seasons called Hoarders. It focused on people whose homes were so jam packed with stuff that it was effecting their health.
Psychologists and family members would work with the person to teach them to learn to let go.
Then there are those who might have an organized home, but still have trouble letting go. They just can’t seem to let go of:
hurts
habits
disappointments
addictions
People have a tendency to hold on tight and refuse to let go. But not letting go of the wrong things can cause problems for us— Jesus knows this.
As we noticed last Sunday, we know that Jesus is close to us. Though His earthly work seemed to begin at Bethlehem, there were instances in the Old Testament when He stopped by to help.
How can we say Jesus stopped by?
We believe in One God, made up of three Persons— Father, Son, and Spirit.
If in the Old Testament God appeared to someone, it couldn’t have been the Father, for no one can see His face and live.
It couldn’t have been the Spirit, for Jesus said we do not see the Spirit, but we feel Him.
Therefore, it was Jesus, in His preincarnate state, who came around to help those who desperately needed Him.
Today, I want us to see what happened when Jesus stopped by to see Jacob. Through Jacob’s encounter with the Divine, we will see that when Jesus stops by, He does so to help us let go.
BUT, does this mean we are left empty handed?
I once saw this picture and thought it summarizes this point— when we let go of what this world offers, God will give us something better and we will never want to let go.
So let’s look at when Jesus stopped by to see Jacob. But as we do, we need to establish, there are two events taking place at the same time, the public and the private.
On the surface, Jacob’s problems centered on his relationship with his brother Esau.
But privately, Jacob needed God’s help, so the Lord sent His Divine visitor.
Jacob describes the type of person that Jesus stops by to visit. When He does, don’t let go of Him. Let’s look at the type of person Jacob was, [A Person of Division], [A Person of Desperation], and [A Person of Destiny].
Let’s begin
1. A Person of Division
1. A Person of Division
6 Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
7 So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.
8 And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”
Jacob had a lot of division in his life, especially on the surface. He was a twin and was born only seconds after his brother. His parents were very descriptive people.
Their first born was hairy, so they named him Esau, which meant hairy.
Their second of the two held onto his brother ankle/heel, so they named him Jacob, which meant heel grabber.
Jacob was deceptive and he had seemingly eternal division, especially with Esau. He was an awful younger brother.
He found his brother starving and offered him a bowl of stew IF his brother would give up his birthright.
When his father was near death, Jacob conspired with his mother to deceive his father and steal Esau’s inheritance. It worked and Esau promised to kill his brother after Isaac, their dad, died.
When he was on his own, he had division in his house. Because his father-in-law, Laban, tricked him, he had two wives, Leah and Rachel.
They constantly fought and disagreed. And his father-in-law did all he could to take advantage of Jacob.
His life faced intense division and everyone who know him could easily see this. Finally, it was time to return home, leaving Laban’s land, and on the way, Jacob knew he would have to go through Edom, which was the land that belonged to Esau.
He sent messengers ahead of him to see Esau and they came back with a message— Esau is coming and he has 400 men with him.
Anyone who was with Jacob would have panicked. They knew the deep tension that divided these brothers. Now, they are about to meet.
Jacob decided to divide up his family, flock, and servants in two groups, hoping that when and if Esau kills them, maybe some of them could escape.
This was the public division, but lurking beneath the surface, was Jacob, who faced inner turmoil and division.
He carried the guilt of how his life had turned out so far. He knew the sting of shame that consumed him over the way he deceived his father and stole from his brother.
He suffered with internal division over the decisions he made in his life.
Imagine how he felt dividing up everything that belonged to him, hoping that SOME would make it out alive. No one could truly grasp the internal division that he felt.
He had trouble letting go of all the wrong he did in his life.
When we face this type of division, be it relationally or emotionally, we can have hope that Jesus is about to stop by!
2. A Person of Desperation
2. A Person of Desperation
9 Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’:
10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.
11 Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children.
12 For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”
After dividing up his family from his servants and flock, Jacob prayed— he was desparate.
The word desperate means, willing to do anything to improve one's situation.
Anyone who could see Jacob knew he was willing to do anything. He was a wealthy man, he had cattle, camels, donkeys, and servants.
He was willing to give ALL of that too Esau, hoping that he could keep his wives and children alive. But that was the public desperation. People would have noticed this.
But what they could not see was the internal desperation. Jacob called out to God and reminded the Lord of His promise to allow Jacob to return home.
When did God promise this?
After Jacob stole Esau’s inheritance, he ran for his life. He finally grew tired and fell asleep with a stone for a pillow. While he slept, the heavens split open and he saw a ladder/staircase coming down from heaven, and the angels ascended and descended.
Then God spoke to him:
15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
Now, Jacob desperately prays for God to fulfill this promise. And God answered.
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.
23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.
24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
25 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.
26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
He sent his children and wives ahead and he spent a little bit of time alone, when suddenly a Man shows up and they began to wrestle.
They wrestled all night and when the sun began to rise, the Man told him, LET ME GO.
Notice what Jacob replied— I WILL NOT LET YOU GO UNTIL YOU BLESS ME.
What would cause Jacob to make such a bold statement?
He was desperate. He could tell there was something different about this Man, evidently this Man had the power to change Jacob’s life.
He just prayed for God to remember His promise to let him return home. He declared God’s word and promise. The promise sounded good years before when Jacob was on the run for his life.
Now, he is trying to get home and his arch enemy possibly stands in his way, so Jacob was desperate.
Notice the difference between the public and private.
Publicly he had division with Esau and he was desperate to get through Esau’s land.
But privately, his spirit was wrecked because of the division he had caused and when he was all alone, he privately called to God in desperation.
This was the perfect setting for Jesus to stop by.
3. A Person of Destiny
3. A Person of Destiny
27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.”
28 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.”
29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
31 Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.
Jacob explained to the Man, you don’t understand, I am desperate enough to refuse to let go until you bless me. To which the Man replied, what is your name?
Jacob told Him and the Man revealed, your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have fought with God and have won.
Names meant something in Scripture. His entire life, he was known as a deceiver and a cheater, that is what Jacob meant.
Imagine if our names were indicators of our attitude or actions:
What is your name?
Complainer
Griper
Gossip
Cheater
Liar
Everyone in public would know about us!
Once Jacob recieved a new name, he had understood his destiny. God truly did have a plan for him. He desperately wanted to know the Man’s name, but He refused to tell him.
But, that night, he declared, I have seen God face to face!
Who did he see?
The Lord. Jesus stopped by to visit with him and to change his life.
Why would Jesus stop by a man was deceptive and brought division everywhere he went?
Because the Lord knew it was time for Jacob to LET GO. He needed to LET GO:
of his past
of his shame
of his deception
of his division
But letting go of the past did not mean he would move forward empty handed. He just changed what he held onto in life.
Now, He would hold onto:
His destiny
God’s promises
God’s plan
God’s love
Everything changed for Jacob because Jesus stopped by. BUT all of this happened privately, but it didn’t stay private for long.
The next morning, everyone would have noticed a difference. First, he limped, physically he was different. Second, his name was new, He was now named Israel.
He now had a destiny that was exciting and hopeful.
All because Jesus stopped by.
Close:
Notice the difference between the public and private in Jacob’s life.
Publicly he had division with Esau and he was desperate to get through Esau’s land.
But privately, his spirit was wrecked because of the division.
Publicly he was desperate to get past Esau and safely return home.
But privately when he was all alone, he called to God in desperation, holding onto Hir promise.
Publicly, he had a new name and he walked with a limp.
Privately, he knew how he got that, one night, the Lord came and reminded him of his destiny!
Life got some better for Jacob after his encounter with the Lord. He did reconcile with Esau. Forgiveness came to his family.
He lost his favorite son for a while, assuming Joseph was dead. But what the devil meant for evil, God meant for good, as Jacob’s son was pivotal ensuring the survival of Israel and his family.
Eventually, it was time for Jacob to die, and notice how the writer of Hebrews described this:
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
I find it fascinating that that thousands of years later, when the writer of Hebrews wrote about it, he did not reference the ladder from heaven or wrestling with the Man all night.
He mentioned his staff?
Why the staff?
Let me reread:
Genesis 32:10
When Jacob prayed in desperation for God to help him return home, he reminded the Lord of His promises, then he acknowledged, I am not worthy of your love, but I remember what you promised me when I left home, with THIS STAFF.
10 I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps!
When Jacob left home as a young man, all he had was his staff , his walking stick. Now, he was an old man, and he still had the staff.
He just couldn’t let go of the staff. Why?
Perhaps people in public looked at the staff as some sort of security issue. Like a kids who can’t go to school without their stuffed animal or blanket.
As he aged, people who did not know him would have saw the limp and thought, I guess the staff is used to help his balance. They might have thought, poor old guy, he doesn’t walk very well.
But Jacob knew better. That staff represented his destiny. Near death, he leaned on his staff and he began to worship.
Perhaps he worshipped God, remembering:
Bethel, when the ladder came from heaven and angels began to ascend and descend. He had his staff there when God spoke to Him and promised to be with HIm.
Maybe, holding onto that staff, he remembered:
Walking near the Jabbok River, when the Man wrestled with him and changed his name to Israel.
It could be that he gripped his staff in intense grief when his sons held the blood stained coat of many colors and he assumed that his favorite son, Joseph, had been mauled by wild animals.
It may be that he thought of the strength his staff gave him as he journeyed through the desert to get to Egypt to see that his son Joseph was indeed alive and that it was all a part of God’s plan.
He just couldn’t part with his staff. He wouldn’t let go, for it was a constant reminder of the time the Lord stopped by to forever change His life.
His staff represented letting go of the past, but also it gave him strength as he limped into his destiny.
Now, seventeen years after his arrival in Egypt, it is time for him to depart, and he grips his staff. He just couldn’t let it go, and he began to worship God, reflecting and praising Him for all He accomplished in His life.
Then, Jesus stopped by once more. This time, Jacob went with Him. And oh the sights he saw when Jesus stopped by.
Maybe he saw the city whose builder and maker is God
Maybe he saw the gates that had the names of the twelve tribes of Israel
Maybe he saw the river of life that was pure and clear as crystal
Maybe he saw the tree of life that will bring healing to the nations
I cannot say for certain, but ONE THING I KNOW, he saw the Man, the one who stopped by. The one he clung to until He blessed Jacob.
He saw the one who forever changed His destiny. He saw Jesus face to face!
All because he wouldn’t let go.
Today, I feel prompted by the Lord to tell each of us, it is time to let go of whatever might hold us back, and grab onto Jesus, and DON’T LET GO until He blesses.
He sees our private division and desperation, even if everyone in public assumes that everything is going great in our lives.
And He calls out to us, let go of this life, hold onto me, and don’t let go.
Let’s hold onto to Him, and when our journey is completed, we can lean upon Him, worship Him, and thank God that we placed our faith in Him!
So let go of this past:
the hurts
the trials
the pain
the questions
the dissapoints
Then latch onto Jesus, and DON’T LET GO!