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Against the Self Sufficiency - Great Sermon- Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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Speaker 1: We're working our way through the Old Testament story of Jacob,
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Speaker 1: the Old Testament story of Jacob under the title Faith
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Speaker 1: with a Limp. And we're 2,000 years before the birth
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Speaker 1: of Jesus. We have routed and followed our journey all
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Speaker 1: the way up into Mesopotamia, modern Mesopotamia, They turkey back
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Speaker 1: down into Israel. We're about 50 miles today from reuniting
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Speaker 1: Jacob with his homeland of Canaan. But first he must
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Speaker 1: cross the river Jabbok, which invites us to consider one
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Speaker 1: of the most mysterious and compelling stories in the entire Bible.
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Speaker 1: And we will do that right after we pray. Have mercy,
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Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, upon our teacher. His sins are many. Help
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Speaker 1: us to see Christ, just Christ. Through Christ we pray.
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Speaker 1: And all the church said. Reading from Genesis chapter 32,
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Speaker 1: and Jacob arose that night and took his two wives,
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Speaker 1: his two female servants, and his 11 sons, and crossed
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Speaker 1: over the ford of, say it with me, Jabbok, Jabbok.
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Speaker 1: And he took them and sent them over the brook,
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Speaker 1: and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone,
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Speaker 1: and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
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Speaker 1: Now when he saw that he did not prevail against him,
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Speaker 1: he touched the socket of his hip, and the socket
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Speaker 1: of Jacob's hip was out of joint as he wrestled
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Speaker 1: with him. And he said, let me go, for the
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Speaker 1: day breaks soon. But he said, I will not let
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Speaker 1: you go unless you bless me. And so he said
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Speaker 1: to him, what is your name? He said, Jacob. And
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Speaker 1: he said, your name shall no longer be called Jacob,
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Speaker 1: but Israel. For you have struggled with God and men
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Speaker 1: and have prevailed. And then Jacob asked, tell me your name,
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Speaker 1: I pray. And he said, why is it that you
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Speaker 1: ask about my name? and he blessed him there. And
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Speaker 1: so Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for
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Speaker 1: I have seen God face to face, and my life
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Speaker 1: is preserved. And just as he crossed over Penuel, the
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Speaker 1: sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.
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Speaker 1: I can remember the first time I read this story,
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Speaker 1: or at least the first time I paid attention to it.
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Speaker 1: I was in my early 20s, I'd recently returned to
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Speaker 1: the faith of my youth and decided it would be
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Speaker 1: good for me to read the Bible. So I started
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Speaker 1: in the book of Genesis and trucked right along until
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Speaker 1: I got to the story of Jacob. I found a
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Speaker 1: friend in Jacob. His story made sense to me. Having
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Speaker 1: been a scoundrel myself, having kept God at arm's length myself,
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Speaker 1: I could relate to Jacob. My prodigal path didn't take
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Speaker 1: me to Mesopotamia like his did, but it did make
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Speaker 1: a mess out of my life. Like Jacob, I'd broken
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Speaker 1: plenty of promises. Like Jacob, I'd met a few Labans
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Speaker 1: along the way, but I was back on track like Jacob.
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Speaker 1: So his story was easy for me to follow until Jabbok.
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Speaker 1: Jacob is alone on a riverbank when out of nowhere
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Speaker 1: a man attacked him. Who was this man? Why was
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Speaker 1: he coming after Jacob? The two went at it all
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Speaker 1: night long, flipping, slipping, dodging, wrestling. And Jacob held his
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Speaker 1: own until the man with one touch on the hip
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Speaker 1: left Jacob disjointed and hobbled. Jacob choked out these words,
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Speaker 1: I'm not going to let you go unless you bless me.
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Speaker 1: My mind was spinning. Who is this man? Who is
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Speaker 1: this attacker? If he is God, why did he let
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Speaker 1: Jacob prevail? And if Jacob prevailed, why the busted hip?
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Speaker 1: I had more questions than answers. Then came the dialogue.
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Speaker 1: God wanted to know Jacob's name. How could God not
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Speaker 1: know Jacob's name? And then God said, essentially, you've won.
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Speaker 1: And he changed his name from Jacob to Jacob. israel
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Speaker 1: jacob didn't win the guy was crippled he walked with
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Speaker 1: a limp for the rest of his life the story
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Speaker 1: made no sense it makes more sense to me now
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Speaker 1: chalk it up to four decades of experiences that have
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Speaker 1: passed since i first read the story but i have
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Speaker 1: come to see that the road to Canaan includes Jabbok.
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Speaker 1: And that Jabbok is more than just an event in
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Speaker 1: the book of Genesis. But Jabbok is a moment in
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Speaker 1: the life of every person who pursues God. Jabbok is
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Speaker 1: a moment in which you use all of your strength,
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Speaker 1: every ounce of it, only to find that your strength
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Speaker 1: is not enough. Jabbok is a parent in a hospital
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Speaker 1: waiting room. Jabbok is the alcoholic waking up in the
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Speaker 1: apartment full of empty liquor bottles. Jabbok is the habit
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Speaker 1: you can't break or the fear that you can't face.
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Speaker 1: Jabbok is the day that your strut is replaced with
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Speaker 1: a limp and you stagger forward to face your challenge,
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Speaker 1: your Esau, in God's grace, not your power. By this point,
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Speaker 1: Jacob had said goodbye to his father-in-law, Laban. Mesopotamia, where
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Speaker 1: he has been for 20 years, is in his rearview mirror.
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Speaker 1: He arrived two decades earlier. He was a man on
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Speaker 1: the lam, you'll remember, only his staff in his hand,
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Speaker 1: fleeing his behemoth brother Esau he left two decades later
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Speaker 1: with four women who have given him a total of
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Speaker 1: 11 sons and one daughter he's wealthy now he led
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Speaker 1: a tribe of servants and droves of sheep cattle goats
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Speaker 1: and camels now we're not told if if Jacob thought
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Speaker 1: of Esau during those 20 years but he must have
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Speaker 1: he surely wondered what kind of welcome awaited him Upon
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Speaker 1: his return, he had stolen the birthright from his older brother, Esau.
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Speaker 1: He turned Esau into the laughingstock of the clan. The
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Speaker 1: last time he heard Esau's name, it was couched in panic.
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Speaker 1: Jacob's mother had said to him, get out of here
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Speaker 1: before your brother kills you. And Jacob did. Esau would have.
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Speaker 1: Will he now?
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Speaker 2: No.
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Speaker 1: That was the question on Jacob's mind as he headed
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Speaker 1: south through the hills on the eastern side of the
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Speaker 1: Jordan River. He drew near to Jabbok. Jabbok, a tributary
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Speaker 1: that empties out into the Jordan River. To cross Jabbok
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Speaker 1: was to enter into Esau's county. There was no way
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Speaker 1: for Jacob to reach Canaan apart from going through the
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Speaker 1: homestead of Esau. And the moment he crossed Jabbok, he
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Speaker 1: was in Esau country. And he could not survive in
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Speaker 1: Canaan apart from Esau's forgiveness. Jacob was troubled then. So
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Speaker 1: God did something wonderful. Jacob went his way. Angels of
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Speaker 1: God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, oh,
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Speaker 1: God's camp. And he named it the place Mahanaim Mahanaim
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Speaker 1: when Jacob left Canaan 20 years earlier he had received
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Speaker 1: a vision of angels you'll recall as he slept on
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Speaker 1: the desert floor near the town of Luz with a
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Speaker 1: rock for his pillow he had seen angels ascending and
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Speaker 1: descending on a ladder and now as he returns he
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Speaker 1: sees angels again and he says God's camp. This is
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Speaker 1: a Hebrew word which is found elsewhere in the Old
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Speaker 1: Testament to describe a gathering of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
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Speaker 1: Above Jacob, in other words, was a galley of angels.
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Speaker 1: Rank upon rank, they moved in the sky like iridescent
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Speaker 1: ribbons of the aurora borealis. Perhaps it was their presence
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Speaker 1: that gave Jacob the courage to send messages to his brother.
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Speaker 1: He told them, Give this message to my master Esau.
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Speaker 1: Humble greetings from your servant Jacob. I have sent these
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Speaker 1: messengers to inform my Lord of my coming, hoping that
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Speaker 1: you will be friendly to me. Oh, ever so humble,
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Speaker 1: suddenly humble and kind Jacob, my master Esau. He says,
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Speaker 1: inform my Lord, hoping you'll be friendly to me. Jacob,
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Speaker 1: in language at least, came in humility, pleading for mercy.
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Speaker 1: Did his appeal make a difference? Well, read the next
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Speaker 1: verse and you answer the question. The messengers came back
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Speaker 1: to Jacob and said, we talked to your brother Esau
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Speaker 1: and he's on his way to meet you, but he
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Speaker 1: has 400 militia, 400 men with him. A militia of
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Speaker 1: 400 soldiers is thundering in the direction of Jacob. But
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Speaker 1: that's no problem, right? I mean, Jacob has just seen
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Speaker 1: a sky full of angels. Certainly he will turn to
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Speaker 1: his clan, turn to his family. Certainly he will speak
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Speaker 1: to them in words of faith and tell them to
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Speaker 1: move forward, right? Encourage, correct? Not quite. Jacob was scared.
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Speaker 1: Very scared. Panicked, he divided his people, sheep, cattle, and
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Speaker 1: camels into two camps. He thought if Esau comes on
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Speaker 1: the first camp and attacks it, the other camp has
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Speaker 1: a chance to get away. Oh, how Jacob could vacillate.
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Speaker 1: One minute, communing with angels. The next, frightened by soldiers.
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Speaker 1: The guy was back and forth, hot and cold, in
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Speaker 1: and out. He had more waffles in him than I hop.
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Speaker 1: I didn't like it either. Lest we be too hard
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Speaker 1: on Jacob, we hurry to read the next passage. Jacob,
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Speaker 1: for the first time at least in recorded history in
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Speaker 1: 20 years, offered a prayer. And it was a heartfelt prayer.
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Speaker 1: in which he essentially said, if you don't help me, God,
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Speaker 1: I'm burnt toast. Save me, please, from the violence of
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Speaker 1: my brother, my angry brother. I'm afraid he'll come and
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Speaker 1: attack us all, me, the mothers, and the children. Jacob
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Speaker 1: kicked into high gear. He began sending gifts, hoping to
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Speaker 1: avert a bloodbath. He sent some 550 animals. In six
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Speaker 1: different groups. As gifts. One right after the other. Within
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Speaker 1: short order. The gifts are delivered. He sent everyone. Across
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Speaker 1: the river Jabbok. But he stayed back. We are not
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Speaker 1: told why. Maybe to collect his thoughts. Maybe to write
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Speaker 1: a will. We are not told why. But he stayed
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Speaker 1: at the river Jabbok. Alone. Alone with his thoughts. Alone
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Speaker 1: with his fears. Alone. What happened next deserves a place
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Speaker 1: in the hall of holy moments. Right there with Moses
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Speaker 1: in the burning bush. Elijah on Mount Carmel. Jesus on
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Speaker 1: the Mount of Transfiguration in Mount Calvary. You make your list.
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Speaker 1: I'll make my list, but let's make sure both of
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Speaker 1: our lists of holy moments, let's make sure they include
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Speaker 1: this one. Jacob at Jabbok. Jabbok. Isn't that a great name? Jab-buck.
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Speaker 1: Even the name has a thrust to it.
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Speaker 3: Jab-buck.
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Speaker 1: All night long, Jacob is going to be jabbed and bucked. Jacob,
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Speaker 1: alone at the river, alone with his fears, all by
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Speaker 1: himself with just the sound of a rushing water and
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Speaker 1: the desert wind. Then out of the deep of the night,
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Speaker 1: a man came. But Jacob stayed behind by himself and
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Speaker 1: a man wrestled with him until daybreak. A man wrestled
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Speaker 1: with him until daybreak. daybreak who was this man who
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Speaker 1: was this stranger Jacob would later say I have seen
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Speaker 1: God face to face yet my life has been spared
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Speaker 1: so best I can tell he and God went to
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Speaker 1: the mat together he wrestled with God the stranger grabbed
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Speaker 1: Jacob around the neck and threw him to the ground
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Speaker 1: Jacob jumped up and jumped at him, driving his shoulder
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Speaker 1: right into the gut of the attacker until the two
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Speaker 1: fell flat. The stranger pushed him off and pounced on Jacob,
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Speaker 1: pressing his shoulders into the muddy bank, back and forth,
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Speaker 1: back and forth, Jabbok's water surging, the night wind howling,
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Speaker 1: the duo grunting, elbowing, scraping, clawing, straddling, wrestling, jowl to jowl.
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Speaker 1: Bodies slippery with mud. Skin wet with sweat. They said
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Speaker 1: no words. They panted like stallions. They leapt like gazelles.
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Speaker 1: Hours passed. And darkness gave way to a distant gold.
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Speaker 1: And sunrise was not far away. And when the man
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Speaker 1: saw that he would not win the match, he touched
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Speaker 1: Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of its socket what
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Speaker 1: is going on here did Jacob actually prevail against God
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Speaker 1: the answer is yes and that's not a good thing
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Speaker 1: Jacob was a fighter Jacob had his own resources Jacob
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Speaker 1: could claw his way maneuver his way trick his way
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Speaker 1: out of any problem all his life Jacob had relied
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Speaker 1: on Jacob and now in what seems to be a
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Speaker 1: scene pre-faded before it happened God let Jacob do his
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Speaker 1: best only to show Jacob his best wasn't much because
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Speaker 1: with one touch one touch on the hip God left
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Speaker 1: Jacob to limp the rest of his life. The hip
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Speaker 1: is the largest weight-bearing joint in the body. It engages
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Speaker 1: the strongest muscles. And with one touch, just a touch,
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Speaker 1: the stranger dislocated it. What's more, the hip in this
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Speaker 1: story Is more than the joint on the side. The
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Speaker 1: Hebrew word can be used to refer to Jacob's vital organs.
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Speaker 1: Thus the limp left his manhood redefined. The message of
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Speaker 1: the dislocation. Jacob you may think you're strong. But in
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Speaker 1: the end. You must depend upon the strength of God.
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Speaker 1: So my question to you, do any of you know
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Speaker 1: the mud of Jabbok? Have you been there? You thought
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Speaker 1: you had the wherewithal to save your career? Just work
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Speaker 1: a few more hours, call on a few more clients,
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Speaker 1: roll up your sleeves, put in more effort. For years,
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Speaker 1: your strategy has worked. But then the walls collapsed. The
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Speaker 1: economy nosedived. The company is going under and it seems
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Speaker 1: like it's going to pull you with it. All of
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Speaker 1: a sudden you feel your hip out of joint. Your
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Speaker 1: marriage has always been a challenge, but the two of
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Speaker 1: you have kept it together. Yet little by little, the
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Speaker 1: bridge has eroded. You're running out of cope. You're running
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Speaker 1: out of hope. And for the last few evenings you've
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Speaker 1: hardly spoken. You share the same house but you don't
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Speaker 1: share the same heart. It's a wrestling match, this marriage.
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Speaker 1: It's on life support. You've kept your addiction a secret.
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Speaker 1: You've mastered the ability to appear sober. You know which
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Speaker 1: vodka to drink and which mouthwash to use. You've prevailed.
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Speaker 1: You've told yourself. You can manage. You've told yourself. And
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Speaker 1: you have... But tonight you never saw that stoplight. And
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Speaker 1: now the cars are wrecked and so are you. You've
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Speaker 1: never known the inside of a jail cell before but
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Speaker 1: it looks like you will before the sun is up.
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Speaker 1: And when you walk out it will be with a limp.
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Speaker 1: Jabbok is the moment of truth. Jabbok is the inflection
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Speaker 1: point in life in which our self-sufficiency is shown to
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Speaker 1: be insufficient. Jabbok is that point in which we are
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Speaker 1: forced to see ourselves and God in an entirely new
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Speaker 1: way and we actually have no choice. There is no
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Speaker 1: plan B other than to rely upon God Do you
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Speaker 1: know the mud of Jabbok? Jacob did. He got the point.
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Speaker 1: Then the man said, let me go for the dawn
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Speaker 1: is breaking. But Jacob said, I will not let you
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Speaker 1: go unless you bless me. What's your name? The man asked.
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Speaker 1: And he replied, Jacob. Don't hurry past that. That's more
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Speaker 1: than an admission of his name. It's an admission of guilt.
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Speaker 1: You remember Jacob. that the name Jacob means trickster, supplanter,
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Speaker 1: heel grabber. It's not a compliment to be called Jacob.
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Speaker 1: And Jacob is saying to God, I've been a Jacob
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Speaker 1: all of my life. I've been a hustler. I've been
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Speaker 1: a trickster. I've been a Jacob. This is a confession.
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Speaker 1: And this confession results in a great grace. He gets
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Speaker 1: a new name. He needed no convincing. He said, bless me, please.
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Speaker 1: And he cast himself not on his shrewdness. He cast
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Speaker 1: himself upon God. He said, your name will no longer
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Speaker 1: be Jacob. This is God speaking. From now on, you'll
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Speaker 1: be called Israel because you have fought with God and
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Speaker 1: with men and have won. Please tell me your name,
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Speaker 1: Jacob said. Why do you want to know my name?
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Speaker 1: The man replied. And then he blessed him there. And
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Speaker 1: Jacob named the place Peniel, which means face of God.
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Speaker 1: For he said, I have seen God face to face,
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Speaker 1: yet my life has been spared. The sun was rising
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Speaker 1: as Jacob left Peniel and he was limping because of
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Speaker 1: the injury to his hip. Jacob was accustomed to contending
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Speaker 1: and prevailing, but one touch from God, he collapsed in pain.
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Speaker 1: For the remainder of his life, which is still several decades,
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Speaker 1: he will walk with a staff and always walk with
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Speaker 1: a limp. I found myself on the river bank of
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Speaker 1: Jabbok just a few weeks ago. A medical exam disclosed
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Speaker 1: that I have an ascending aortic aneurysm. I'm not great
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Speaker 1: with medical terminology. I love those of you who are.
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Speaker 1: I know just enough to know that aneurysm is not
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Speaker 1: a happy word. And I came to know that when
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Speaker 1: an aneurysm is on the ascending part of your heart,
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Speaker 1: coming out of your heart, that's not a good place
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Speaker 1: for an aneurysm, not on your aorta. I remember that
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Speaker 1: from middle school years. Biology, that's the most important vein
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Speaker 1: in the body. And mine was pretty big. The bulge
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Speaker 1: was large enough to get the attention of a good-hearted
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Speaker 1: heart specialist. And while awaiting the results of some tests,
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Speaker 1: I did something I should not have done. I got online.
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Speaker 1: How many of you know, don't research medical conditions online?
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Speaker 1: I read story after story of guys my age, one
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Speaker 1: leaning over to pick up the newspaper and he never
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Speaker 1: got up. Thanks for telling me that. I came to
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Speaker 1: believe I have a ticking time bomb in my chest.
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Speaker 1: If this thing ruptures, it's going to be a hello
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Speaker 1: Jesus moment. And for the first four days, I was
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Speaker 1: a mess. I mean a mess. I know I've written
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Speaker 1: a book on anxiety. I know I've written a book
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Speaker 1: on fear. I know I should have read my own books.
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Speaker 1: I was a mess. I was really... Wrestling with God
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Speaker 1: over this. I stated my case with him many times
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Speaker 1: a day those first four days. This isn't supposed to happen.
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Speaker 1: I'm still young. I didn't do anything to deserve this.
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Speaker 1: I've got things to do. I've got a family to love.
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Speaker 1: I've got dreams yet to fulfill. This isn't supposed to happen.
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Speaker 1: And on the fourth day, about mid-morning, as I was
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Speaker 1: sitting on a couch outside on our porch, God told me.
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Speaker 1: He said, in no uncertain terms, Max, you're not in charge.
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Speaker 1: And he's right. I guess I needed that reminder. Like Jacob.
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Speaker 1: I didn't have a white flag. If I had, I
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Speaker 1: would have waved it. I surrendered. And I said, not
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Speaker 1: my will, but your will be done. And an extraordinary
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Speaker 1: lift of the weight occurred. The condition was still there,
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Speaker 1: but the anger was gone. There was a surrender that
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Speaker 1: took place. The fight ended. For the next couple of weeks,
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Speaker 1: I was aware of the condition, but I wasn't defined
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Speaker 1: by it. And then the most wonderful thing happened. Dean
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Speaker 1: Lund and I went to the doctor when the test
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Speaker 1: results came in. And I was well aware that he
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Speaker 1: might say, Locato, this thing's bigger than we thought. You're
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Speaker 1: not leaving here today. We're going to crack open your chest.
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Speaker 1: But that's not what he reported. Would you like to
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Speaker 1: know what he reported? I'll tell you next week. Here's
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Speaker 1: what he said. Well, it's interesting. The earlier measurement was 4.9 centimeters.
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Speaker 1: This measurement is 4.4 centimeters. Now, Dillon is much faster
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Speaker 1: with math than I am. And so she said, you're
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Speaker 1: saying it's smaller? And he said, maybe this test is
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Speaker 1: more dependable. And in my mind, I'm thinking, or maybe
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Speaker 1: God in his kindness just reached around that bulge and said,
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Speaker 1: this far and no further. What I do know is
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Speaker 1: that when I finally quit fighting his plan and trusting,
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Speaker 1: everything changed. Jacob emerged from Jabbok at once stronger and
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Speaker 1: weaker than ever. He walked with a limp, but he
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Speaker 1: walked with God. Israel, his new name, Israel was buoyed
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Speaker 1: not by His shrewdness or success, but by God. What
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Speaker 1: about you? What I didn't know when I first read
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Speaker 1: this story some 45 years ago is every journey to
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Speaker 1: Canaan passes through Jabbok. Everybody. I don't know anyone who
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Speaker 1: doesn't know Jabbok. Maybe you just didn't know the name.
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Speaker 1: Or maybe you've not known it yet, but you will.
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Speaker 1: Jabbok is when we stop depending on self and learn
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Speaker 1: to cast ourselves entirely upon God. And that's a good thing.
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Speaker 1: That's a good thing. And we continue our walk toward
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Speaker 1: Canaan aware that there's a canopy of angels above us.
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Speaker 1: A good God to lead us. And though we have
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Speaker 1: our limps, in issues, we still walk as Israel, God's
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Speaker 1: new people. And that's a good thing. Amen. Heavenly Father,
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Speaker 1: we bless you now for your word, for your story.
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Speaker 1: And Father, we now ask your Holy Spirit to come
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Speaker 1: and minister among us and to us. Through the name
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Speaker 1: of Jesus, we pray.
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Speaker 2: Amen. You don't have to remember. You don't have to
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Speaker 2: stay close. As long as you're somewhere out there, that's
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Speaker 2: enough for me.
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Speaker 4: I don't need to hold you near me.
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Speaker 3: Don't need promises to keep. Just the thought that you
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Speaker 3: are breathing Somewhere in this world I see Even if
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Speaker 3: I'm not beside you Even if you never know There's
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Speaker 3: a quiet kind of comfort Just in knowing you still
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Speaker 3: glow I don't need forever I just need you to exist.
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Speaker 4: You don't have to stay with me.
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Speaker 3: You don't have to feel the same.
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Speaker 4: Just as long as you're still out there calling softly
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Speaker 4: through my days. You don't have to look my way.
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Speaker 3: You don't have to be my home. It's enough to
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Speaker 3: know you're living in a world I'm not alone.
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Speaker 1: I won't chase you through the distance.
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Speaker 3: Won't disturb your chosen life. I'll just keep you in
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Speaker 3: my silence like a star that shines at night. Through
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Speaker 3: the dark and through the blue.
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Speaker 5: I still think of you. You don't have to be
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Speaker 5: my home.
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Speaker 4: It's enough to know you're living in a world. I'm
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Speaker 4: not alone.
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Speaker 3: I don't need to be your light I don't need
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Speaker 3: to cross your mind All I need is just the
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Speaker 3: truth That you're somewhere Still alive You don't have.
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Speaker 4: To stay with me You don't have to feel the
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Speaker 4: same Just as long as you're still out there Calling
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Speaker 4: softly through my days You don't have to look my
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Speaker 4: way You don't have to be my home It's enough
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Speaker 4: to know you're living
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Speaker 3: In a world I'm not alone