Disciples Wrestle with God

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What Disciples Do  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  21:09
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Disciples will wrestle with God!

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How many times have we been in that situation where we think we know better than God? Quite a bit has Humanity continues.

In this scene. I kind of go back to the scripture that we read this morning the scene where Jacob is mad at God and Bruce Almighty here said smite me Almighty smiter, right? How many times have we gotten frustrated or upset with God? Upset at our situation upset with life as a whole and I can tell you as we read our scripture this morning as we talked about it we dive into it. I bet you most people who are in Ministry or serving the church can relate to wrestling with God. I wondered the first time that we wrestled with God was when we moved up to Illinois after all who wants to move up to the snow anybody from Illinois. There are a couple times it's cold and why in the world would God want us there? I wondered why God would put us as tool teachers and then put us back in the ministry. I always wondered why would God blank. Now, I'm sure I'm not the only one here unless I'm the the biggest Center in the room, which is possible. But why would God do this to me?

I think as disciples it is healthy for us. To ask God why I think it's healthy for us to wonder throughout the Bible Amanda and I were talking about this last night. I said it was there anybody in the Bible who didn't question God?

We started thinking perhaps knock may have not question God. I don't know. But throughout the scriptures, I can't think of a single person they didn't question.

It is healthy it is okay to ask God the hard questions. now I don't want to get in a wrestling match with God, but sometimes we have to We wrestle with God often because we follow our own desires.

He took them and everything they belong to him and I help them across the river. But Jacob stayed apart by himself and a man arrested with him until dawn Brooke.

In the story. Commands Jacob to go home, but because he's afraid of his brother. Just as Bruce was and the clip earlier he begins to question God and his intentions. And I wonder what Jacob's words were the god. And it's strange When A Man shows up. And begins to fight him one of them one of the many right where he just fights and fights and fights and he's he's there for survival. He's there for a title. And they fought and fought until dawn. And I wonder how many of us have been in a fight that takes that much endurance.

I think for many of us it's because we're stubborn. That we get into fights in the first place and I got to think of those family fights that happened and nobody can remember why they started in the first place, but we're fighting now just for the sake of it, maybe like the Hatfields and The McCoys.

fighting and fighting But throughout the scripture we see how Humanity has always fought with God. from Adam and Eve

to Cain and Abel the Abraham and Sarah We as the people of God never seem to get it, right. And I believe that's because of our own desires our own selfishness. And this is why the Cross of Christ is so vital to us as Believers as Humanity as a whole without the cross. We're going to get it wrong. There's nothing we're going to do. Because we get scared. and sometimes this means not following the will of God the way he desires us to we try to take shortcuts. And figure things out for ourselves rather than putting our faith in God.

And I'm sure that I'm not the only one in here that can relate to this. Perhaps at the job or another major life decision. And often we forget to go to prayer to start it off. God what do you think about this? God show me the path for my life.

But I learned my lesson here. I got a prayer for decisions I have to. We have to follow God first. And sometimes when necessary. We have to spend some time wrestling with God in the wilderness. We have to spend some time apart from our families for the people we work with. the ask God the hard questions Because I truly believe God blesses us thrush Ruggles. When the man saw that he couldn't defeat Jacob wrap Jacob's thigh and sore muscle. And Jacob Styles he wrestled with him. And the man said let me go because the Dawn is Breaking. But he's surrendering the fight. I've been fighting all night. Jacob said I won't let you go until you bless me.

That's kind of strange. This whole story is strange. The whole Bible can be strange. I made it just tears our whole life upside down every time we read it.

And he said Jacob and then he said your name won't be Jacob any longer but Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and one. And Jacob also asked and said tell me your name. But he said, why do you ask for my name and he blessed Jacob there? the Royal head on this the name Israel literally means to struggle with God. He changes his name's and I believe that this name Israel. Is a defining moment for who we are as Believers of Christ and for the Jewish people. God doesn't desire blind obedience from his children by Most states. No. Desires for us to be in an active relationship, Wisconsin. To have struggles with him. Ask the hard questions with him. And I believe too many times the church and Christian leaders have set the people will that's just the way it is. But stories like this encouraged me that that is not the truth. That God blesses us for our thoughtfulness and are active relationship with him. That he's not just the mean kid upstairs, right? He's not just a wrathful God trying to make our life miserable. No, no, no. God wants us to ponder and to think because life is hard. And I can't tell you through the years how many times someone comes to me and ask me the hard question? Why? Why did it happen? Why does good things happen to bad people who actually did a study. That's a good book Why by Adam Hamilton? And would ask that hard question.

Again, God doesn't make horrific things happen. But we certainly grow. And now I think I'm deaf in particular and I know for some people that is a very Now situation so I don't want to to bring up hard memories of people act strange during a funeral picture of a funeral that I did but a year ago little over a year ago my bad with dates, but it was 4 weeks after Mother's Day and I had a lady come into my office and she said my son died on Mother's Day. Would you do the funeral? And he died of a drug overdose and so on Mother's Day and he didn't have a church home, but he wasn't Christian. He was believed in Jesus. And until we had recovery Church come into the funeral with me. But the point of that story really is the aftermath the following week's people Recognize my face. They recognize what church I was a part of and I was able to have conversations with people about faith in a way. That would have never happened. Because they experience death now, I can't God didn't cause this young man to die again. He left 5 children behind.

God open the door for his friends the perhaps at least have a seed of Faith planted in their hearts.

God

blesses us through our struggles now. I am sure if we were to go around in this room. Each of us have had at some point a struggle and your life struggles and challenges are not exempt from anybody. It doesn't matter how rich or poor or what you look like or what language you speak. It happens life is hard. But I really believe we wrestle with God so that we will grow.

Jacob name the place pineal gland because I've seen God face to face and my life has been saved. And the sun rose at Jacob past limping because of his thigh. now who is emperor when they were a kid remembered having growing pains?

Anybody anybody remember that Ricky Lee's had a few growing pains and I tried to look up a picture for growing pains, but it was just the TV show Growing Pains.

growing pains hurt

But you know what the make your follower thank you. I wish I could still be growing a little bit cuz my stomach would go away right? It's a great thing. So but I really believe that the snake slide, right? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I don't think that's in the Bible. It's not out of the whites not a Bible passage, but I believe that in our wrestling every day with god with life. That indeed we are stronger. You know, I got I am not an academic at all. And when I graduated high school, I don't know how I did it. And Amanda was how I did it and when I got the college my second semester at we took a class about Christian doctrine. And I passed the course with a D.

And then I I I I got an A in research and writing. It's only class. I failed in my whole college career and let you know it made me stronger and it made me work harder and I didn't have scholarships or anything of that. So I had to pay for those courses I failed. All of it still paying for it and I had dyslexia. I mean it is it's hard to be a student and have a learning disability and when you get the college, it doesn't get any easier and so but I fought the good fight and now as I move forward in education, I'm addicted to the stuff. I really love learning I really do and I will always be a lifelong learner. I might not always get the best grades and that's okay. I believe you for us as Christians, even if we think we're going to fail As I did those courses we have to be moving forward in our relationship with God. We can't just sit still and not participate in our relationship. We have to be in the word of God. We have to be in conversations with the creator of the universe and we have to be learning for ourselves. Who got it? So you can't get all of your learning of God through Sunday morning worship. It's just a true statement, you know, this is a great time for us to worship. But this is not a time for real discipleship. It really isn't that week leading up to church is when you really need to be in the word of God. You really need to be focusing on what God is doing in your life and where guy needs to grow you.

We all have to be kind of training as Christians. It is not a I'm baptized. I'm confirmed and it stops we have to struggle. But we have to be like Jacob. There's life times in life where it's hard and and faith is a struggle and that's okay. I have friends that are pastors who are really struggling with their face. Are they really Christians? So no one's exempt from struggles of faith. We have to stop pretending like we have it together all the time. We have to be honest with God. Now I got here's another just found out myself about him student of us. So in high school. I took a drafting class. Does anybody know how to draft I was I was kind of horrible. I can do the computer ones, but I couldn't do the hand drafting we had this teacher and I wish I would remember his name. He had to be over 6 foot 8.

Massive big big big hands like double the size of mine and he said, you know, some of you boys are going to get angry. And instead of getting in a fight. I want you to come to me and I will let you punch me. And he meant it and he would stand there and let you hit his hand cuz they were just massive. But the point here is is he understood and wanted to help the students do well he knew at some point. We're going to get angry and I could tell you I had my fair share of times in high school. I just wanted to hit somebody right cuz you're a kid. That's the first reaction for someone some of us. And I didn't fight too much but that teacher math a lot for those kids. I wish more teachers were like him.

God can take our punches. That's the point. I can take it. It's okay. God can take our frustrations. He can take our our pains. We're not in this alone. We don't have to pretend that were in this alone. So you have God you have the church. God cares about you and so the question is here. Are we sitting on the bench?

Just being caught up passive watching the game of Faith from the sidelines, right? Are we growing are we blooming in our faith? And so this morning that's my challenge for us. Is that we get off the bench? We stopped acting like we got it all together. And again, maybe I'm sermons on preaching in myself. I mean tell you I really am.

And are we moving forward or are we in that wrestling match? Are we asking God the hard questions are we searching within ourselves to say? No. I need to grow in my face. I need to be closer to God and if you're not your stale if you're still if you're the same Christian as you were 20 years ago or a year ago 6 months ago. Then it's time to get up. It's time to get moving at time. Is that Rocky picture? I showed up there to take some punches. So that's my challenge this morning. Let us pray together. Almighty and merciful god

we are called as your people to grow in faith.

God we

We value that we can meet in. Perfect kits.

that we we value that you can take the punches when we're struggling. God you could just Kill us right there, but instead you're with us wrestling through the trenches. You're with us in the hard times of life. It wasn't a good time celebrating all the wonder that you give us as human beings. Help us as your family of God here in Chiefland. 3 better disciples Do not sit on the bench about to grow I asked the trees grow as

As your children grow help us have some Growing Pains. Help us.

We thank you for loving us for who we are and meeting us where we are. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

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