The title of the message today is ‘A Blessing in the Wrestling.’ How many of you are familiar with that, right? That there's a blessing in the wrestling - there's a blessing where when we wrestle in prayer and we begin to push and we don't stop praying, we don't stop pushing until God blesses us and brings us into something new with Him. We don’t stop praying, we don’t stop pushing until God comes through and breaks open the heavens. That wrestling is a wrestling sometimes in worship as we begin to speak to the Lord, we begin to shout, we begin to remind Him of His goodness. We begin to remind Him of His promises, and we don’t stop until the darkness is broken. The darkness that wants to stop our families from the presence, that wants to stop this church, but then God breaks through – hallelujah, there is a blessing in the wrestling!

God wants to come and to bless His people. And what is that blessing? You see, God's blessing is that we would come out of maybe some religion today – and to come into something real and deep with God. God, His blessing is that maybe for some of us we would be done with the old way of living - in our selfishness and our distance from God, just dead to God and the things of God and today that we would realize and recognize that He IS the King of glory, Amen! Is somebody ready for a blessing in the wrestling?

You see, many Christians have mistaken the Christian life to be about coming to Jesus and just getting the ticket to heaven - kind of just going along and living happily ever after, right? Some believe Christianity to be about God making my life nice and comfy. That God would just bless me - there would be no trials, no discomforts, no need to exert myself, no need to push in passion, no need to push through. But I want to declare today, that by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ we are called to be those who wrestle down the darkness, who wrestle down the flesh, and come into the true blessing and the wholeness of God, amen.

You see, I'm not talking about a fleshy way of trying to accomplish anything in our own strength, but what I am saying is this - is that if the Lord Jesus Christ be in me, the same Jesus that wrestled down the powers of the devil, the same Jesus that wrestled down all the powers of hell - if He be in me, if He be in you, then hallelujah Church, we are called to do the same!

So today, my hope is this - is that we realize that God is looking for some man, He's looking for some woman, He's looking for some teenager. He's looking for some college kid, right? Somebody, even a child - that He can bless. But see the blessings of God, they don’t just fall into our laps. See the blessing of God, the presence of God, is reserved for those who are longing for Him. Who are pushing for God, who are looking to do and say, “Father you know what, whatever it takes God. I may not be my strongest, I may not know what to do, but God I’m coming after you. Strengthen me, help me to find you God” - looking to do whatever it takes to come into His blessing.

I ask today, is anybody ready for the blessing that comes in a wrestling? I would like to share - and we’re gonna get into the Scriptures as we go on - a story about Jacob. Some of us are very familiar with Jacob, but see Jacob found a blessing with God in his wrestling with God. We’re gonna take off in a point in Jacob's life today where he was at a huge crossroads with God. Jacob was the son of Isaac, right? The son of who was also the son of Abraham. Abraham, the father of faith. Abraham the one who God had called out to follow, to serve Him, and to be blessed. So Jacob being in this lineage was also destined to receive the blessings of God, but up until this moment that we’re about to read about, Jacob's life had been just a whirlwind of troubles. Sound familiar to anybody today? Some of his troubles, they were caused by people and other things on the outside, but even some of Jacob's troubles were caused by his own doings. Right? But as we begin to go into The Word of the Lord today, we’re gonna find a moment of Jacob wrestling with God. But see Jacob is about to come into something different, something was about to change in him, he was about to be transformed and bottom line, he was about to come into a blessing. God was about to bless him like never before. Are there any Jacob’s in the house of the Lord today?

Church, God wants to do something incredible and God wants to bless our lives. He wants to bless our families and our generations, but He also wants to show us the way. So my question today is, what does it require to receive God's blessing?

So if you have your Bibles, we’re gonna look in Genesis chapter 32 – and it will be up on the screen. We’re gonna look at Genesis 32 verses 22 to 24 and we’re gonna keep reading from there as we go through the sermon, so we could kinda stay there.

But the first thing that we must realize in order to receive God's blessing, is that it requires us to let go. To receive God's blessing it requires us to let go. Let's read – it says; “that night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his 11 sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all of his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.” Now we know this man - some of you may be wondering, ‘Who is this man, is he a stranger, is he an enemy?’ We know this man to be God – and whatever form He had come, He had come physically to literally wrestle with Jacob. So as we look at this story, we realize that we are required to let go, to let go of our ways. You see Jacob this night, he was in a very, very tough predicament. He had a habit of doing a lot of things his own ways. See Jacob, he was cunning. He knew how to plan things really good. He knew how to kinda plot and scheme his way - and if we remember, right, it was Jacob who was able to trick his brother Esau into taking his blessing, into taking his birthright. Up until now, it seems that all of a sudden the ways that Jacob has been living is now catching up to him.

"We cannot receive the blessing of God until we are ready to let go."

Listen church, the way that we live WILL catch up to us. If we live in God ways, it WILL catch up with us and we will be blessed. But if we choose to walk in our own way it WILL catch up with us one day, it will show up. See in this time, Jacob was on his way to a land that God had promised - he was on the way to God's promised land. But even now, he was gonna have to come through Esau. On this path, Esau was gonna be there waiting. Esau who was angered with Jacob - the last Jacob knew, Esau wanted to tell him. So Jacob at first - you know as we come to this night, before this night, earlier that day, earlier in the days coming up to this time - Jacob was still trying to kinda do his own thing, trying to work things out his own way. Before he would show up before Esau he was sending gifts over to him. He was sending all sorts of gold and all sorts of good stuff to maybe appease his anger. So maybe when Esau saw Him things will be okay. Even at this point, Jacob had taken his family who he was traveling with and broke them up into two groups, so that way if Esau was so angered and attacked one group at least one would survive. But here goes the thing Church, none of it was working. You see Esau was on his way even at this point with 400 men. Now I don’t know about you, but if somebody's coming to meet me with 400 other men, it doesn't sound like it’s gonna be a peace meeting, right?

So we look at the situation and we look at Jacob and we see where he's at in this night, and I ask ourselves, can we relate? To doing things our own way? Where times in our lives, rather than following the instruction, that word that God had given us, we kind of feel like our plan might be a little bit better. Before we pray and seek the Lord, we figure - you know I’m going to try to work this out myself and do it my way, and all of a sudden it catches up. You see, we cannot receive the blessing of God until we are ready to let go, to let go of our ways.

So here in the night, something different begins to happen in Jacob. We see a change. In the Scripture right here it says that he sends his family away. He sends away all of his possessions. It’s important to think about this - his family, the possessions, was Jacob's way of saying, ‘you know what, I'm not gonna leave room anymore to rely on anything else. Now it's just gonna be me and God. Now it's just gonna be me and Him, face-to-face.’

See that's how we approach God. We can't rely on mom, we can't rely on dad. There’s not gonna be time to rely on our finances or our job or anything else, but to come to God is to come face-to-face. There's no other way to the blessing of God! We can’t come to Him still with the “Plan B” thinking – ‘you know what, I’m gonna try this Jesus thing. I‘m gonna listen to the Lord but listen if it doesn't work, I can still go back to my old way. I still have something else.’ No! God is calling us to let go! Could it be that some of us today have missed a blessing from God. Could it be that some of us are not in His blessing? A blessing of a breakthrough, whatever it may be because we still have a few things that we’re relying on besides the Lord. Because we’re still waiting to get it our way, we’re not liking the way that God is calling us to do it and we’re just sitting there waiting.

I say today Church, we’ve got to let go. We’ve got to let go of our abilities. You see what struck my heart as I was reading the story, was how long that wrestling went on. It says that they wrestled until daybreak - that’s the entire night. Now listen, I don't know if any of you have ever wrestled on a team or even wrestled with a few friends. But I remember when I was younger every now and then, some of my friends and I, we would be in the living room and push the couches aside and have a few wrestling bouts. If I'm honest with you, I think within a minute your strength was zapped. It was over, it was done. I can't help but think that Jacob in this time, ‘til daybreak wrestling the entire night, must've been drained. There must've not been much left in his life, but hallelujah Church, this is the wrestling that we are called to! The wrestling for us as we begin to wrestle and proclaim the goodness of God in our lives. We begin to wrestle it out and remind God of His promises. Father, you are my deliverer! God you are my hope! God you are my strength! Father help me, I have nothing but you God!

See as we wrestle there are forces that come against us. Many of times, it’s a heavy force of truth. The truth of our denials, the truth of our sin, the truth of our past, the truth of the way that we’ve been doing things. The truth of all the generations and wickedness and godlessness that we have come from - and as we wrestle these things out, listen it may zap all of our strength, but then comes the power of God who comes and delivers those – delivers those who let it all go and trust in His power! See the Word of the Lord says that, “when I am weak, God is strong.” Jacob, are you ready to let it go and let God do what He needs to do in our lives?

"God is not going to bless us until we come to a point where there's nothing else."

When we look at Christianity in our nation, we see thousands of dollars being put into wonderful Christian concert with big flashing lights. They pay people to have big organizations in order to keep the music nice and keep everybody's attention - and they call it a blessing. But so many go home after these big events and all the flashy lights and the wonderful music, and they yet have never been touched by God. They yet go home to being the same. See Church, nothing can replace the power of God. Man's ability can never replace only what the Lord Jesus Christ can do. Maybe God is calling us to wrestle some abilities down today. Maybe God is saying, it's time for you to let go of the horses and the chariots. It’s time for you to let go of the, ‘God I can do it. my way is better’ - and let it go so that God can bring a blessing to His people!

Listen, I’ve gone to Bible college as many of you know. I’ve graduated. Studying in a degree to study the Hebrew and the Greek and all the languages of the Bible. I studied, you know, the best ways to do worship, the best strategies on how to preach and taken every possible course on ministry that you can take - but none of it had given me the blessing of the true power of the Lord Jesus Christ for ministry! I declare today that all of us would know that the only way that I discovered was to wrestle it all down, to let it go and come to the true power of the Lord, the only power to truly minister.

See God is not going to bless us until we come to a point where there's nothing else. ‘Father, there's nothing else. Nothing else is gonna do it for me. Mom can’t do it. Dad can’t do it. All my own little ways of doing things is not gonna work. Father I need you! It’s you and you alone’ and to let everything else go!

Church, what have we held on today? What have we been relying on? What ways have we been following? If it’s been anything but God’s way in our life, there is no blessing. But He's calling us for bigger things. I pray today that we would repent for staying so comfortable sometimes. For sticking with what we know we’re capable of doing. For sticking with what we kind of feel okay doing and turn to God. To finally let go of everything else and declare and boast in the Lord who is my strength and my strength alone.

We've got to let go of our defenses, Church. You see Jacob, in this time, I love it! He wasn't looking to plot anymore. He wasn't looking to make any special plans in his own strength anymore. Something was happening. As he wrestled and began to push, every other method of defending himself began to fall away. See prior to this moment, when an issue would come Jacob would - before he would even pray and seek the Lord – kinda figure out, ‘what am I gonna do’ and he would figure out his planning and his scheming. When he sensed danger he would do everything he possibly could to keep himself safe. Does this sound familiar? See the flesh, it doesn't like to be disturbed. It doesn't like to hear the truth, and it raises up excuses - lies to defend itself. It’s where maybe you're confronted by God or maybe somebody else, and you know that you're wrong, but rather than receiving the blessing of God - the truth and the instruction, we begin to put up defenses of lies. We make excuses, ‘I’m like this because of that’ - and we make excuses of why we did and why we didn't do it, all the while we missed the blessing of God and, God is saying, let it go! How can we come to God and expect Him to defend our children? How can we come to God and say, ‘Father, defend my house’ when we don't even trust Him to defend us?

Church this cannot be. You see God's blessing comes when we let go of our evil defenses - holding onto all the demonic coverings and everything else that we cling to and like Jacob, come to God, letting it all down face-to-face in order to wrestle it down so that God will be able to be glorified. The Word of the Lord says, “that those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.” In other words, those who have God as their defense. God will defend you. He will keep you strong. But in order to receive His blessing we’ve got to let everything else go.

Secondly, in order to receive the blessing of God, it requires us to be determined. It requires us to be determined - let's look at verses 25 to 26. It says, “When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak” - and I love this – “But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” You see church, we’ve got to be determined, determined to press in. Jacob, when we look at him wrestling, you know the man that he wrestled saw that he couldn't overpower Jacob. In other words, Jacob was so determined to press in. He was not gonna take “No” for an answer. He was not gonna back down, and so God blesses Him. Listen, God loves to bless the one who presses in. He loves to bless the person that comes to Him in prayer and looks to seek Him and keep going and they will not turn away until they receive a touch of heaven, until they come face-to-face with God. The one who refuses to make seeking God a secondary thing in their household.

You see for me, church, and for my family, we have no other choice but to press in.There is no other option. I ask you today, is there another option for you? Is there another option where if it doesn't work out, if I can't press in then maybe I'll just go elsewhere and let it be?

Are we like Jacob? Are we those who press in even under pressure, not willing to take a “No” but pleading humbly with God saying, ‘Father, you gotta let me in. Father, I'm not gonna let go. God I can't walk away without a touch. Father, I can’t go back the same. I can’t go on in sin. I can't go on in my selfishness and my wickedness, Father I need to press in until I meet with you God. Father, you are my hope, you are my salvation!’

For some of us, is it that we walk away from our Bible reading? Maybe we walk away from our time of prayer, just settled to say “At least we tried.” Determined to now, rather than go after God, determined to kind of fold our hands and sit back. If this be us today, we have missed the blessing. Now listen, I'm not saying that we get to push God around. But what I am saying is this, is that God loves the determined person. No matter your age, no matter your background, no matter where you’re from - if you set your heart upon the Lord, if you remain determined to press in, you will be blessed. But how often are we so determined to win the heart of a boyfriend or to win the heart of a girlfriend? How often are we so determined to lose 10-15 pounds and we do whatever it takes? You know we stop eating certain things, we do whatever it takes. How often are we so determined to make sure we get the best deal on our brand-new car? But then we’re not all at determined to press into the presence of God. What does it matter if I have the nice car? What does it matter if I have a nice house? What does it matter if the boss loves the way that I work, but I don't have God?! Church, we are to be determined to press in, otherwise we die! Apart from the Lord we remain in wickedness but He is calling us, Church, to be blessed. To be those who would nonstop press in, to be determined to let go.

We are to be determined to persevere with the Lord. As I read through this verse again, I have to point out how this man that Jacob is wrestling brings the whole situation to an end. He sees that Jacob wasn't going to stop - and so, right, he touches his hip, kind of puts his hip out of the socket and then he says the Jacob, he says, “Let me go, for it’s near daybreak.” Why is this significant? See, Jacob wrestled again the entire night. I truly believe with all my heart that Jacob persevered in this wrestling match to the point of complete exhaustion. The man had to stop it. He had to stop the fight because it was near daybreak. I believe if Jacob were to go any further - he knew he had to stop him because he probably would've given up his life. That's how much he was giving out in this match, but hallelujah the word of the Lord says, ‘blessed are those who persevere to the end.’ You see Jacob, he made it to the end. He held on even if it meant his entire life, that's how precious God was to Him. That's how precious the blessing of the Lord – see it was worth the struggle. It was worth some of the things that he was gonna have to go through. It was worth some of the battles. It was worth some of the trials because ‘although weeping may last for a nice, hallelujah, joy comes in the morning!’

"God blesses those who are determined for victory."

You see God's blessing does not come upon those who just serve God and wrestle things out when all things are well. See that’s good, but that's not completely what God is about. See God's blessing, the fullness of His blessing and His presence comes upon those who are WILLING to hold to the end. Where you may stumble and fall, but then you get up and go a second time and say, ‘Father, it didn't work out but I'm back again.’ And if the second time didn’t work, then there’s gonna be a third time, and if the third time doesn't work out for you then hallelujah, may the fourth or fifth, but God I’m not stopping! I’m going to hold on even if I die in the process! Lord Jesus, where else shall I go? There is no other name I know by which men are saved. Therefore God, if I fall on the ground, then I will dust myself off and get back up again. I’m coming Lord!

Determined! Determined to persevere! See those who persevere will receive the blessing of God. Those who come to God and say, ‘Father, even though I have a little bit of strength. Even though I don't know how I’m gonna do it anymore. God even though I've tried for millions of times. Even though this seems like it's never ending. Father, I'm coming back again. I’m coming back again.’ See, the blessing is in the determination. God blesses those who are determined for victory. See Jacob, he didn’t come to this place, he didn’t come to this walk to walk away in defeat. He didn’t approach God thinking, ah maybe this will work out – he didn’t approach God thinking you know, know if it doesn't go the way that I thought, maybe I can just throw in the towel, you know sometimes we lose. No he said and he wrestled. He wasn't gonna stop until there was a victory. What is the victory before God? You see for us, we’re not looking to win something for ourselves, we’re not looking to win a better reputation, we’re not looking to win something so that we can be comfortable. But it is to win and to find victory in the blessing of God, in the presence of God - the Lord Jesus Christ is my victory. The Lord Jesus Christ is my goal. The Lord Jesus Christ is the reward for this life that we walk and we walk and we walk and we walk and we do not stop until we meet with Him, even as we go and we go, we look for victory! We are determined to win.

I know some of us can look at some of the things in our lives and sometimes we see small successes in our lives as small victories. You know sometimes we look at the interview that we hope to get as a small victory. We got the diploma, right, that we worked really hard for we consider it a victory. Now listen don’t get me wrong, those things are all great but there's one type of victory that I'm looking at today, it's coming into the Lord Jesus Christ. How can we declare victory for anything else but not be in God? How can we care for victory in anything else, in our jobs, our workplaces, our homes – yet have no clue who the Lord Jesus Christ is? Wrestling to get the best deals and prices for our homes and the things that we want. Wrestling for everything else, but see our wrestling is a wrestling that God will be magnified in our lives. Our wrestling is a wrestling that God would find victory, that His name will be exalted in our community, exalted in our lives, and exalted in our families! See this fight wasn't just about a fight to overcome darkness, but really was a fight to finally settle with God.

Is there anybody today that’s in a wrestling? You're looking to finally get settled with God. To no longer live the old way, to no longer be on the outside defeated, but looking to settle with our God, to settle with our Lord and hallelujah, today maybe God is about to relieve and to pour out a blessing. See we face a lot of battles in this life, but if you have victory with settling with the Lord, listen every other battle will fall into place. That's why as Christians we only go from glory to glory. We only go from victory to victory, because as we walk each and every day we go closer and closer unto God as we remain determined. Determined to win, determined for victory.

See, we receive God's blessing when we’re determined for that victory of being in His blessing. Again, what is that blessing? What is the blessing for you? What is the blessing that you have left behind for your children this day? What is the blessing that we see in our house? Listen, if it's only a nice trust fund, if it’s only leaving behind a blessing of a nice car, if it’s only leaving behind a nice blessing of a big bank account - I want to say today, that is not the blessing of God that He is looking for today. They may be okay, but the blessing that God is calling for the church to leave - not just for ourselves but for the generations - is the of blessings of God, the blessings of His love, the blessings of His power, this blessings of His goodness, the blessing of breaking the powers of hell, that God will be honored.

Church, we got to take this seriously. This wrestling that God calls us to is a match for everything that we have. Our success is not only a success for ourselves, it's a success for our children and every other one that comes after. Unless we win and unless we step into victory, we either perish in our ways of sinfulness, or God breaks through and says, ‘Make a way, these are my people and I will bless them and they shall receive my blessing and they will walk in my power and they will walk in my glory. So in order to receive His blessing, God calls us and requires us to be determined. Determined to seek Him, determined to press in. Not determined to remain soft and cuddled in the corner, but determined to say, ‘Father, I'm not looking to remain the same. I’m not looking to pray with my family and just kind of call it a day after a few minutes. Father I’m looking that as my family and we begin to pray that the powers of hell begin to shake. That something begins to break, the old generations fall off. Father I’m determined that my children would know you. I am determined that I will come closer. I am determined God, that I will have no other but you. God there is nothing else that matters. We are determined to live in the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So lastly, in order to receive the blessing of God, it requires us to encounter God. To encounter the Lord, let's look at verses 27 to 30. It says, “The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob”, he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, yet my life was spared.”

Oh what a blessing. What a blessing in the wrestling. He wrestled throughout the night and he kept going and going and finally encountered God. See, in order for us to come into that blessing just like Jacob, it requires us to encounter the Lord, it requires us to encounter the transforming power of the Lord. See here, this man asks Jacob his name. Now listen, we all know that he knew Jacob's name, but he wanted Jacob to know it. Really think about this for a second. Jacobs original name - the meaning of his name meant deceiver. It meant plotter, you know schemer. You think of that – isn’t it interesting how sometimes God will look at you and go, “What’s your name again? What did you do? What do you understand about the situation?” Then you come back to God and go, “God yea, I’ve been evil. I've been a liar God. I've been far from you, I’ve not cared” - and we look at these things, see this is exactly what we are apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. But hallelujah, now Jacob would have a name change, no longer Jacob but Israel. Israel, God's beloved. The one who’s God's desire, the apple of his eye. Israel, beloved of God. See the blessing of God is just that. He may not change your circumstance or situation but hallelujah, He will transform you in it. Hallelujah, you may still be going through some trial, you may be still going through some things, you may be still wrestling, but praise God that in the wrestling there is a blessing, there is a change, there is a transformation!

"But there is a transformation in the power of God, there is a blessing - a blessing to come closer and to be changed and touched!"

Maybe somebody today, you came here a John, you came here a Mike, you came here a Suzanne - whatever it may be, but you're about to leave ‘Israel.’ See, to be blessed is to encounter the power of God. Have you encountered Him this day? Have you received the blessing of God? Now remember, what the man did to Jacob’s leg, to his hip, he dislocated it. While he was wrestling and he brought it to an end, he touched his hip, it dislocated – and we look at this. Some people would think, ‘You know that’s pretty bad, he tore his leg up.’ But I want to say, no it wasn't bad. You see, there was a transformation that night. Jacob was so blessed by God that God even transformed his walk. See, there's a change when you come into the blessing of God. You're not so proud and arrogant anymore. See, when you encounter God, a true blessing comes - all of a sudden your walk begins to change and it's a walk that cannot be denied, it's a lifetime thing. I ask today, are you still standing strong and proud? Are you still standing without a touch from God? If so, I pray today that we would turn to God. That we would repent and truly encounter Him. That we would repent for not walking in His blessing. That we would repent for being so up and tall and stiff-necked and stubborn in our ways and that today we would come back to God.

To receive God's blessing requires for us to encounter Him. See, you can’t encounter God and not be changed. We can’t encounter God and come back the same. We can't meet with God and encounter His presence and go home and curse my wife and curse my children. See, I can’t encounter God and then still go back to my wickedness, still carry it away by all the other wicked things that carry my mind and my heart away. I can’t come into the presence of God. You cannot encounter Him and still remain the same! But there is a transformation in the power of God, there is a blessing - a blessing to come closer and to be changed and touched!

I thank God today, you know I said it before but it was really hitting my heart that I can limp a little bit. Listen I’m praying with the injury to my leg that God would heal it, yes. But I'm just thanking God right now because as I’ve been limping, I’m so reminded of the walk, the blessing of God. We don’t walk and look at God saying, ‘God this is how we’re gonna do it, my way right away.’ But we look at God and say, ‘Father, you are God. Father, to encounter you is life-changing. Father, touch my life. Father, don't let me walk away without a blessing of coming and coming into the presence of God. Don't let me sing this song until I find the One that I’m singing about. Don’t let me read the Scriptures until I come into the Lord who has spoken the Scriptures into existence. Father, I need to encounter you. Father I’m bowing, I’m walking, and I’m looking to you God!’

Maybe some of us today need to begin to wrestle. Maybe some of us today have not truly walked in the blessing, the transformation of God. I’m praying today that there would be a wrestling that begins to stir up in your spirit. I pray that somebody would begin to wrestle and say, ‘No more’ to the flesh. Somebody would begin to wrestle and say, ‘Father I see what I am. I see what I've done, but God I know that there's more. I know that you’ve called me to a bigger standard. I know that you’ve called me into your son.

See, in order to receive the blessing of God, we’ve got to encounter God face to face. Jacob names this place Peniel, meaning face-to-face. He had seen God face-to-face and lived. He came to know the Lord, and would now live to tell about it, to speak about it. This is the fullness of Christianity, to know the Lord. This is why the Lord Jesus Christ gave His life, so that we would be blessed. Not blessed to do my own thing. Not blessed to kind of walk about, and go about, and just mind my business and keep to me. But no, blessed to know God. Listen, there are times for miracles and signs and wonders. There are times for healings, all those things are great things that God does, but the one true blessing of God is to know Him!

"The blessing is to know God and to know His ways - to be prepared for His returning."

This is eternal life: to know God and His son the Lord Jesus Christ. Now to some of us this sounds wonderful, but I ask today, are we truly blessed? What does it matter if we get rich? What does it matter if we make a name for ourselves, but never encounter the living God? What does it matter if I come to church - if we come to church and we do a few good things, but never encounter the touch of God? Have we been blessed to know Him? Have our friends or family been blessed to know Him? Listen, I can’t call my child blessed if they have no clue who the Lord is. I can't say my household is blessed if we walk about and just go about our jobs and to school but, do not know who the Lord is. That is not a blessing. The blessing is in knowing. The blessing is coming to know the Lord. The blessing is coming to know God.

God is not concerned with you being at the top of your class, yet dead to His Word. God is not concerned with our children knowing how to navigate every single computer system, preparing for college, but yet having no clue how to navigate the Word of the Lord. And if He were to return today being completed unprepared – on the way to hell. This is not the blessing of God. It is not a blessing. The blessing is that our children would know Him. That our children would come into salvation. The blessing is to know God and to know His ways - to be prepared for His returning.

Shame on me, shame on this church in any way that we have failed to bring our children and our families and our friends – our brothers and sisters that we live with - into the blessing of encountering God because we’ve never encountered Him. And even when we kind of do, we just walk away, unwilling to walk it out and willing to just take a little bit, not go all the way. God is calling for more! But we cannot receive His blessing until we encounter Him.

I’m so thankful. Sometimes I think about this - I think almost every day and I seriously praise God for this. For my parents who didn't lead me to just be a better me. I praise God for my parents who didn't lead me to build my own little kingdom that means nothing, but they led me to an encounter with God. Because they encountered Him. Because they knew there was nothing else to give me that would compare. Because they did whatever it took, because they knew the sweet presence of God was better than money. The sweet presence of God was better than making sure they’re on the team. The sweet presence of God was better than making sure that the homework’s done – listen do the homework, I’m not saying not. But I'm saying there’s something bigger than the homework, there’s something bigger than the schooling. They said, ‘Jeff, you need to come into Christ. Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.’ I praise God today, and I will never turn it back. I never have any regrets but I praise the Lord today for parents that led me to an encounter with the living God. The living God who my children one day will also have an encounter. Who my friends, my wife, and all those around me I pray that as I encounter Him, I would have something sweet to give. I would have something better than gold and silver. Gold and silver I do not have, but what I have I give you in the name of the Lord Jesus. Life! Life! Life! An encounter with God!

But have we done that in our lives today? Have we made everything in our life being about encountering the Lord Jesus Christ? Have we truly understood the blessing of God, that the real blessing doesn't come until we come into the real Jesus? That the real blessing doesn't come until we get real with God. Not religion, not just doing things, but into the presence of Jesus. Knowing that our search for Him, our search for His blessing is to come to know Him. If not today church, may we repent for making this about everything else. For living a lifestyle - listen you may not be going to the bars, you may not be going to the clubs, but yet we’re not going into the secret place of God. Failing to go into the presence of God and to take our children. Listen, even if you can't take anybody there yet but to say, ‘Father, I need to enter in, so that I can bring others.’ Yet we’ve pursued everything else. We’ve pursued the money, we’ve pursued a reputation before our bosses and everything else.

I pray today that we would wake up and realize the true blessing of God that He is calling us into today. There is a blessing that God truly wants to pour out. But the blessing is in the wrestling. There is a blessing for those who are hearing His word and decide - you know what, just like Jacob I don’t want to let you go. Father, I don't want to stop until you bless me. I don’t want to stop until I truly encounter you God. I don’t want to stop Lord. Again, you may stumble and fall but then you get back up and say God, here I am again. Not willing to let go, not willing to go and grab on to the Lord. Keep holding, keep pushing until His presence comes. Until God is glorified! Church there is a blessing in the wrestling.