Summer In The Sand – Week Two
The First Step Is the Hardest / Genesis 12:1-9
Lesson 2: When the Fight Finds You - Genesis 32:22-32
Genesis 32:22-32 - The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children,and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.
The Wilderness Confronts our Identity to Reshape our Future
1. Isolation Before Transformation
Genesis 22:22-24 - The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
It’s in that isolation that the transformation begins.
1 Kings 19:11-12 - Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
It is impossible to hear the whisper when you are overwhelmed by the noise.
The Wilderness Confronts our Identity to Reshape our Future
2. Wrestling With God, Not Just Life
Genesis 22:24 - And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
But what if the fight that found you is actually God drawing near?
It’s not just about what’s happening around us—it’s about what God is doing in us.
The Wilderness Confronts our Identity to Reshape our Future
3. God Wounds to Heal
Genesis 22:25 - When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
The Wilderness Confronts our Identity to Reshape our Future
4. A New Identity Through Encounter
Genesis 32:27-28 -And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
God often waits for us to get real about who we are before He reveals who we’re becoming.
Lesson from Jesus' Wilderness
The Wilderness Confronts our Identity to Reshape our Future
Genesis 32:22-32 - The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children,and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.
The Wilderness Confronts our Identity to Reshape our Future
1. Isolation Before Transformation
Genesis 22:22-24 - The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
It’s in that isolation that the transformation begins.
1 Kings 19:11-12 - Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
It is impossible to hear the whisper when you are overwhelmed by the noise.
The Wilderness Confronts our Identity to Reshape our Future
2. Wrestling With God, Not Just Life
Genesis 22:24 - And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
But what if the fight that found you is actually God drawing near?
It’s not just about what’s happening around us—it’s about what God is doing in us.
The Wilderness Confronts our Identity to Reshape our Future
3. God Wounds to Heal
Genesis 22:25 - When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
The Wilderness Confronts our Identity to Reshape our Future
4. A New Identity Through Encounter
Genesis 32:27-28 -And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
God often waits for us to get real about who we are before He reveals who we’re becoming.
Lesson from Jesus' Wilderness
The Wilderness Confronts our Identity to Reshape our Future