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Show Your Faith · the new Jerusalem

0:13
SPEAKER_00: Today I want to start with talking to you about the book of Hebrews.
0:21
SPEAKER_00: And I'll tell you that the book of Hebrews is written by Paul to the Hebrews, and there are various uh versions of how he's not written it, and how it might be written by someone else, but I'm not getting into that.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: I know the book is written by Paul to the Hebrews, and the book starts with Jesus, the name that's above all names, and the beautiful savior that he is, the good shepherd, the one who laid down his life for us, and how important it is to put our complete faith and our trust in Jesus.
1:01
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: And the book also talks about faith, the book of Hebrews.
1:08
SPEAKER_00: And I'll tell you, it's a beautiful book to read.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: It's it's a little deep, but it's a beautiful book to read, and you should read it in your own time.
1:20
SPEAKER_00: Meditate on it, make some notes.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: And I can tell you this, it'll help you increase your faith.
1:31
SPEAKER_00: And I'll start with one of the amazing scriptures in this beautiful book.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: And as I said, I know it will help you in your walk of faith.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: Faith is not an easy walk.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: Because if you ask me, the walk of faith is opposite to the walk of real life, because what you see in real life and what you believe in faith are opposites.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: So I'm going straight into it and I'm sharing with you from the book of Hebrews, the sixth chapter, the twelfth verse.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews, the sixth chapter, the twelfth verse says, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherited the promises.
2:21
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: So that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
2:36
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you the Bible is filled with promises.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: The Bible is filled with blessings, and a promise is a blessing.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible, and the book of Hebrews, the sixth chapter, the 12th verse, is telling you and me this morning that don't be sluggish, but instead be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
2:58
SPEAKER_00: And I want to tell you that don't be sluggish in this verse means don't rest.
3:06
SPEAKER_00: In other words, don't rest towards being blessed.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: You have to have a different attitude towards getting a blessing from God.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: It's like a person on a mission.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: And we have to stand firm in faith, coupled with patience, to inherit the promises of God.
3:30
SPEAKER_00: You know, this beautiful passage of scripture is actually a key, it's a secret to unlock the blessings of God.
3:39
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
3:41
SPEAKER_00: And just for you to fully understand, let me tell you that where the scripture mentions imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises of God, I'll tell you the upcoming chapters actually have their names in it.
3:58
SPEAKER_00: Not all names, because that list would be really long.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: But the book of Hebrews has a few names mentioned in it, and these are people who live their lives on this planet, documented in the Bible with amazing, excuse me, undeterred faith.
4:17
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: And I'll tell you some of those names this beautiful morning.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: As I said, it's in the subsequent chapter of Hebrews.
4:31
SPEAKER_00: And it talks about these people in the Bible examples of living their life through faith, an epitome of faith.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: And I'll just name a few for you because all of them have beautiful stories behind them, and the only reason why they have that story behind them is because they lived in faith.
4:57
SPEAKER_00: There's Abel, there's Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and so many prophets.
5:20
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
5:21
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you these names.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: If you get to know the stories of all these people and what they did, actually, what God did for them, you'd understand the book of Hebrews and why faith is so important.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: And which is why it says, don't be sluggish.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: And then it mentions these people's names, which means they were not sluggish towards faith, they were not sluggish towards their blessing that they knew they will get from God.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: Let me tell you something.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: Enoch was taken up by God.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: He was so pleasing to God that God took him.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says that a man will be born and a man will die, and then there's Enoch.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: And Elijah, of course.
6:09
SPEAKER_00: Rahab was a prostitute, in case you didn't know.
6:13
SPEAKER_00: But she's mentioned in this book for somebody who had faith.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: She had one job given by God.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
6:21
SPEAKER_00: Some of these stories are beautiful, but today I want to leave you with, not leave you actually, give you this passage of scripture to start with and help you to take a few steps towards faith this morning.
6:37
SPEAKER_00: And as I said, read this book in your time, meditate on it, understand it.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: And today, with this passage of scripture, always keep it.
6:50
SPEAKER_00: I'll do it.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews 11 6 it says, and without faith, it is impossible to please him.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: For he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: The book of Hebrews says that don't be sluggish.
7:20
SPEAKER_00: And then it goes on to say that without faith it's impossible to please God.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: Without faith, it's impossible to please God.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: We can go through our lives on this planet.
7:33
SPEAKER_00: You can have a little faith.
7:37
SPEAKER_00: But Hebrews is telling you and me this morning that's impossible to please God if you don't have faith.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: For you, if you go to God, you must believe that He is.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: And He's a rewarder of those who seek Him.
7:51
SPEAKER_00: Which means if you seek Him no matter what, He will reward you.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: Well, then it it's equal to do you have the faith that He can do it?
8:00
SPEAKER_00: Which is why it says, Don't be sluggish towards the promises of God.
8:04
SPEAKER_00: Oh, hallelujah! What a beautiful secret.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: So without faith, it's impossible to please God.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: And today I'm going to share two stories with you.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: And before I get into those, I want to tell you that when you stand in faith, I can tell you 100% assurance it will happen.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: It's the word of God, it's not me.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: And some of these names that I mentioned to you just had faith so strong.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: By the way, Joshua's name is not even in this.
8:38
SPEAKER_00: But Jericho is mentioned in the book of Hebrew, which is an act of Joshua.
8:42
SPEAKER_00: And as I said, these it's just people who just knew, stood firm by the fact that God is going to do this for them.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: And some of the things that God did for them, you and I will not even fathom or you would not even imagine.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: But he is a rewarder of those who seek him, the Bible says.
9:03
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to my first story this beautiful morning.
9:07
SPEAKER_00: And the first story that I'm sharing with you is from the book of Mark.
9:11
SPEAKER_00: It's at a time when Jesus was on this planet.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: And I'll come back to Hebrew, but without faith, it's impossible to please him.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: Because when you go to him, you must believe that he is God.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: That he can do anything, in other words.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: And I want to share with you the story is a time when Jesus is on this planet.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says uh it comes from Mark the second chapter.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says that Jesus is in this place called Capernaum.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: It's actually the place of his own home, he's in his own home.
9:51
SPEAKER_00: And by now, Jesus has already got these followers, and people are following him everywhere, and he's healing people.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says that he's at home, and there are already crowds gathered there, so much so that there's no room there, there's no place available.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus, as he would always do, is teaching.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: Even outside the door, people are gathered.
10:20
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says Jesus was speaking the word and people are listening to him.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
10:27
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible talks about these four friends.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: Some of you know the story, some of you don't.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: It talks about these four friends who had a paralytic with them.
10:40
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says these four friends were carrying the paralytic in something which is called a pallet.
10:49
SPEAKER_00: The definition of the word pallet is a mat.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: It's a mat made of straw.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: And if you ask me if it if a mat is made of straw, I think you should picture the fact that it's not four people holding the four ends of the mat.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: It's probably this person who's paralyzed, who's wrapped in the mat.
11:08
SPEAKER_00: Because he's he's something like a limp body, he can't move, he's paralyzed.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: And any of you who know this who have ever had a been in a possible chance where you had to lift somebody who's limp, it's a very different weight, dead weight is a very different kind of weight to carry.
11:25
SPEAKER_00: So coming back to the story, four friends and a paralytic, and they go there with expectancy.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says they are unable to reach Jesus because there's so much of a crowd, and they have their friend who's paralyzed, he's in a pallet.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: And I want you to understand what they did.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says they go up on the roof, and for those of you who have imaginations, go for it.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: These four friends are carrying a paralyzed man in a mat, and they go up on the roof.
12:00
SPEAKER_00: Don't ask me how they did it, but you can only imagine how they did.
12:04
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says they removed the roof from on top of Jesus.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: So you should understand this.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: There are four people, they're carrying this guy in a mat, and they're probably trying to find the spot where Jesus would be under.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: The exact spot where Jesus would be under them on the roof.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: I don't know that, I don't even know how they figure that out.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: And when they figure the spot that Jesus is under that, they break the roof.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: Four guys carrying a paralyzed man on the roof of a house, and these are olden days houses, so these are probably thatched roofs or these are tiled roofs, and they break it.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: And then the Bible says they lower their friend in front of Jesus.
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SPEAKER_00: Oh, hallelujah.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: The Bible doesn't mention the height of the ceiling, it doesn't mention how far, but I can assure you that they didn't throw him down.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says they lowered him in front of Jesus, which means they probably tied him on a rope.
13:12
SPEAKER_00: I don't even know if they managed to lower him parallel to the ground or perpendicular to the ground.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
13:19
SPEAKER_00: But the Bible says that they lowered him to the ground in front of Jesus, which means now, hallelujah.
13:28
SPEAKER_00: They've probably tied him on a rope and figure out a way where four of them are going to maneuver that rope that he goes down gently in front of Jesus.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: That must have been a difficult task, but I want to tell you.
13:52
SPEAKER_00: They did all this because they believed that Jesus is the only chance for their friend.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: They believed it, which is why they went there with their friend, they carried him in a mat.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: They saw they couldn't reach Jesus, they climbed up on the roof, they broke the roof.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: This is Jesus' house, by the way.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: His own house.
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SPEAKER_00: They broke the roof, they tied their friend on a rope and they lower him down in front of Jesus.
14:21
SPEAKER_00: And you have to listen to this now.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: Mark 2.
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SPEAKER_00: The fifth verse says, and Jesus seeing their faith, hallelujah, said to them, Son, said to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven.
14:43
SPEAKER_00: Oh, hallelujah.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: Jesus saw their faith.
14:51
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you that, as I say, those of you who have imaginations, go for it.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is standing there in the crowds, releasing the word of God, releasing the word.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: People are listening to him, and you can only imagine stuff falling from the roof in front of him.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: And he probably looks up, so what's going on?
15:11
SPEAKER_00: And he sees a broken roof, and he sees these four guys probably struggling, lowering down this person on a mat who's dead weight, a paralyzed friend.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus says, He sees their faith, hallelujah, and he says, Son, your sins are forgiven.
15:31
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: And I'm reading it to you in the words of Jesus, the beautiful Savior, I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: Oh, hallelujah.
15:45
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says, and immediately he got up, he picked up the pallet, and he went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, We have never seen anything like this.
16:01
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: We have never seen anything like this.
16:05
SPEAKER_00: They have not seen anything like this because of the faith of the four friends.
16:11
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you this beautiful morning.
16:13
SPEAKER_00: None of this would have happened without the faith of those four friends.
16:18
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was the faith of one that built into the others, and then now all believed.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: Even the paralyzed guy might have believed.
16:25
SPEAKER_00: Maybe he could not speak.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
16:30
SPEAKER_00: But because of the faith of the four friends and the act following it, the act following it.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: Jesus heals their friends.
16:41
SPEAKER_00: He sees their faith.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
16:47
SPEAKER_00: He sees their faith.
16:49
SPEAKER_00: Son, I say to you, get up, pick up your palate and go home.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
16:57
SPEAKER_00: What a life-changing experience for the paralytic.
17:00
SPEAKER_00: What a life-changing experience for the paralytic because of the faith of his four friends.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to the second story.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: And the second story I want to share with you.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I forgot to tell you, one of the stories was from the New Testament, the other one's from the Old Testament.
17:14
SPEAKER_00: And this one I'm sharing with you from the Old Testament.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: And I love this story.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: It's literally something else.
17:22
SPEAKER_00: And it comes from the book of Genesis.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: At the time in the life of Jacob.
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SPEAKER_00: And for those of you who don't know, Jacob is someone who stole the birthright of his brother Esau from him.
17:37
SPEAKER_00: He tricks his father Isaac into believing that he is Esau.
17:40
SPEAKER_00: I'm not getting into that story because he does so much just to trick his father.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: And he takes his blessing.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: In those days, the eldest son would get a blessing from the father.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: And he tricks his father into blessing him.
17:53
SPEAKER_00: And then Esau is angry with him.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: And now after that, Jacob is running for his life because Esau wants to kill his brother.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: Because he took his birthright from him.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: Don't try to understand it, don't get into it.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: It's just, it is how it was.
18:09
SPEAKER_00: The father would release a blessing on the eldest, and that's how the eldest would be blessed.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: Period.
18:15
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
18:18
SPEAKER_00: And now Esau is angry with him.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: Oh, you know what?
18:24
SPEAKER_00: Let me just tell you that Jacob was actually born as a twin.
18:29
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says that when he was in his mother's womb, he tries to come out of his mother's womb before his brother Esau.
18:36
SPEAKER_00: So when he's born, he's born grabbing onto the heel of Esau because he was trying to come out before him so that he'd get the blessing of the firstborn.
18:44
SPEAKER_00: And so they name him Jacob, which means, in other words, it means cheat, because he was trying to cheat his brother into coming out before him.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, so now Jacob has stolen his brother's birthright, and Esau is extremely angry and wants to kill him.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: And Jacob is on the run from his brother.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: And Jacob is afraid and distressed.
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SPEAKER_00: Esau wants to kill him.
19:23
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says, in fact, Esau has followed him with 400 men just to kill him.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: And I'll tell you that Jacob didn't have it easy.
19:34
SPEAKER_00: After he was born, the second, the second, for some reason, third, fourth, fifth, I have no clue, but the second had no had no importance.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: But he goes on with his life.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: And I want to tell you that after all this, he runs away from home.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: And he earns a living by living uh working for one of his uncles, whose name is Laban.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says he ends up working for him for his daughter for seven years, and Laban cheats him.
20:08
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if his name was cheat, I think all he attracted in life was cheat.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: So Laban cheats him and gives makes him work for seven years.
20:16
SPEAKER_00: He tells him, You work for me for seven years for taking care of my stuff, and I'll give you my daughter in hand.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: And he cheats him and he gives him the other daughter.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: And then he tells him, You cheated me, you gave me the wrong daughter.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: He said, Work for me for another seven years, I'll give you the other daughter, the one that he wanted.
20:31
SPEAKER_00: So, in all, he works for Laban 14 years, the Bible says.
20:36
SPEAKER_00: And Laban cheats him.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: But Jacob doesn't give up.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: He does these things, these scheming things.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: But he doesn't cry.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: Jacob does not cry, considering his situation that he's already learning for his life, his brother's after him, he's in his uncle's home, and his uncle has cheated him for 14 years.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: He's been cheated and he's being sought after by his brother to kill him.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: But he never cries.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: The Bible never talks about Jacob crying.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: He just finds other ways of cheating his uncle back.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: And he becomes very rich, rich in livestock through Laban.
21:18
SPEAKER_00: And I'm coming back to the story now.
21:20
SPEAKER_00: And as I said, Esau was after him with 400 men.
21:23
SPEAKER_00: And where I'm sharing it with you, it comes from uh the book of Genesis, the 32nd chapter.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says now that Jacob is scared, and he's scared for his wife, he's scared for his 11 kids.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says he prays to God out of fear to save his life.
21:40
SPEAKER_00: It's a normal human nature.
21:42
SPEAKER_00: And I think most of us have been there sometimes in life.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: But Jacob prays to God, and I want to tell you this, and you should know it before I get into the story.
21:51
SPEAKER_00: Jacob was promised a blessing by his father, Isaac.
21:56
SPEAKER_00: Of course, he was fooled into blessing him, but he blesses him.
21:58
SPEAKER_00: And I told you the birthright blessing just had to be released by mouth, and it was a blessing.
22:03
SPEAKER_00: And the blessing said, I will make your generation as much as the sand on the seashore.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: And since then, Jacob has, by the way, cheated his brother into the blessing.
22:14
SPEAKER_00: He's been cheated by his uncle Laban.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: He's running for his life.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: And this time he gets down on his knees, he prays to God, and he tells him, Lord, I am afraid.
22:26
SPEAKER_00: My brother is after me for my life, and I'm afraid, but you promised me a blessing.
22:38
SPEAKER_00: And he basically prays to God out of fear to save his life from his brother.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says, and this is just for your information, he was so rich that he chooses a peace offering for his brother: 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 milking camels and their coals, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: And he gives it to his servant and says, Send it to Esau as a peace offering.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: So before I meet him, he's a little appeased with my peace offering, and maybe he'll spare my life.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: And then after that, he takes his two wives and his 11 kids, he grows across the river and he lets them go, saying, Go into this part of the land and basically live there.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: I will have to go and beat my brother.
23:29
SPEAKER_00: But now Jacob is alone.
23:37
SPEAKER_00: What I have to share with you next is absolutely amazing.
23:39
SPEAKER_00: It's from Genesis, the 32nd chapter.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: It's in the book of Genesis, the 32nd chapter, the Bible says he's alone, he's prayed to God, he has nowhere to go.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: And there's a man the Bible says who wrestles with him all night.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says he could not win with Jacob.
24:18
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says he could not prevail against Jacob.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: So you know what he does?
24:23
SPEAKER_00: He touches this the thigh, he touches the socket of his thigh that he breaks his hip that weakens Jacob because Jacob is so strong in the fight.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says he dislocates his hip while he was wrestling with him.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: And Genesis 32, 26.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: I'm reading to you from the word of God.
24:44
SPEAKER_00: Genesis 32, 26.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: And he said to him, I will not let you go unless you bless me.
24:55
SPEAKER_00: Oh hallelujah.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: I will not let you go until you bless me.
25:05
SPEAKER_00: Jacob is telling this man who's fighting with him.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: And I won't tell you what happens next.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: You listen to it, it's it's amazing.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: The story is just amazing.
25:17
SPEAKER_00: And he said, I will not let you go until you bless me.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: And then he said to him, What is your name?
25:25
SPEAKER_00: Of course he knows his name, but he's just asking, What's your name?
25:27
SPEAKER_00: And he says, My name is Jacob.
25:31
SPEAKER_00: And he said, Your name shall no longer be Jacob.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: But it shall be Israel.
25:40
SPEAKER_00: For you have striven with God and with man, and you have prevailed.
25:46
SPEAKER_00: Oh hallelujah! What's your name?
25:53
SPEAKER_00: My name is Jacob.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: Your name shall no longer be Jacob.
25:59
SPEAKER_00: Your name shall be Israel.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: For you've striven with God, and you've striven with man and we prevailed.
26:09
SPEAKER_00: Oh hallelujah.
26:12
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you there's a part in this time when they're fighting and they're wrestling, and this person gets to know that Jacob is not going to let him go.
26:22
SPEAKER_00: He pleads him, let me go.
26:25
SPEAKER_00: Daybreak is about to happen.
26:30
SPEAKER_00: But Jacob believed so strongly in the blessing that was released to him that he was fighting for it.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: Oh, hallelujah! That's what I want to bring to you this beautiful morning.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: He fought for the faith that he had in his blessing.
26:45
SPEAKER_00: He fought for it.
26:46
SPEAKER_00: He fought for it so much that this person who he's fighting with could not win.
26:56
SPEAKER_00: Let me tell you something.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says Jacob named the place Penny Hell, which is called I have seen God face to face, and my life has been preserved.
27:11
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
27:13
SPEAKER_00: I have seen God face to face and my life has been preserved.
27:16
SPEAKER_00: Do you know who he was fighting with?
27:21
SPEAKER_00: I have seen God face to face and my life has been preserved.
27:27
SPEAKER_00: I'd like to believe that he was fighting with God.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: It still says he was a man.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: But I want to tell you this beautiful morning.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: He made an altar there and he called it Penny Hill, and he said, I have seen God face to face and my life has been preserved.
27:46
SPEAKER_00: He fought so hard for his blessing.
27:49
SPEAKER_00: He fought so hard for his blessing.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: And he wanted to leave before daybreak.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: So he doesn't leave because daybreak is happening.
28:01
SPEAKER_00: Let me go.
28:02
SPEAKER_00: And he says, I won't let you go till you bless me.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: He was not an angel of God.
28:09
SPEAKER_00: I won't go till you bless me.
28:12
SPEAKER_00: I won't let you go till you bless me.
28:16
SPEAKER_00: And what's your name?
28:17
SPEAKER_00: He asks, My name is Jacob now.
28:18
SPEAKER_00: You know, your name's not Jacob anymore.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: You're a nation after this.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: Your faith is so strong that you fight me for it.
28:27
SPEAKER_00: Oh hallelujah.
28:32
SPEAKER_00: That's your faith, maybe even out of desperation.
28:35
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you, Jesus Jacob spoke to God.
28:37
SPEAKER_00: I just told you, he spoke to God that night.
28:40
SPEAKER_00: And he said, I'm afraid, Lord.
28:42
SPEAKER_00: I'm afraid.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: But you have told me that my descendants will be as much as the sand on the seashore.
28:49
SPEAKER_00: That was your promise to me, Lord.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: And I'm afraid and you bless me.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: And when this man comes to him, he fights with him the whole night.
29:00
SPEAKER_00: Can you believe that?
29:01
SPEAKER_00: This is a beautiful story of faith.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: Faith so strong that he was not willing to give up, he was willing to fight for it.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: So much so that after this, I want to tell you.
29:13
SPEAKER_00: God tells him, You fought with me and you fought with man and you've prevailed.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: And after that, by the way, let me tell you the twelve tribes of Israel come out of Jacob.
29:26
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
29:28
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
29:29
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews 11:1 says, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
29:35
SPEAKER_00: Jacob knew it.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: Jacob knew it so strong that he he was not willing to let go of that person.
29:41
SPEAKER_00: He was not willing to let go of God.
29:43
SPEAKER_00: He was holding on to him and wrestling him with him.
29:46
SPEAKER_00: Saying, Bless me, I will not let you go till you bless me.
29:55
SPEAKER_00: Do you have faith like the four friends with the paralytic who absolutely knew?
30:00
SPEAKER_00: That their friend's life would go back to normal.
30:03
SPEAKER_00: Do you have the faith like Jacob, who clung on to his birthright blessing that was released upon him?
30:10
SPEAKER_00: So strong was his conviction that he was willing to fight for it and not give up for it.
30:17
SPEAKER_00: Hebrews 11 6 without faith it is impossible to please God.
30:22
SPEAKER_00: For he who comes to God must believe that he is, and he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
30:28
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you, the paralytic got saved because of the faith of his four friends.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you, Jacob was a man who was running for his life and became Israel after that, after this altercation, after his perseverance through faith that pleased God.
30:52
SPEAKER_00: Don't miss it.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: Without faith, it's impossible to please God.
30:57
SPEAKER_00: Jesus would have been so impressed by those four guys because the Bible says he saw their faith.
31:03
SPEAKER_00: Maybe the paralytic didn't have that faith, but he saw their faith, he was pleased with their faith.
31:08
SPEAKER_00: I can only imagine Jesus smiling, looking at the roof and smiling and saying, You guys are unbelievable.
31:15
SPEAKER_00: Pick up a mat, go.
31:18
SPEAKER_00: I can only imagine the altercation with Jacob, where God says, Wow, let me go.
31:28
SPEAKER_00: You're so strong in your faith that I have to ask you to let me go.
31:32
SPEAKER_00: There are so many stories I can share with you, just not enough time to do that.
31:36
SPEAKER_00: But I want to tell you, Jacob became a bloodline after that.
31:40
SPEAKER_00: He became a nation after that.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: And do what kind of faith do you have?
31:45
SPEAKER_00: I want to tell you that I believe when Jesus said that there's a 30, 60, and a hundredfold blessing, I believe you choose which fold of blessing you live in based on the faith that you live in.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
31:56
SPEAKER_00: And today, this beautiful morning, meditate on his word.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: Read Hebrews the 11th, chapter the 6th, verse.
32:01
SPEAKER_00: Without faith, it's impossible to please God.
32:04
SPEAKER_00: And Hebrews 11:1, which says faith is the assurance of things hoped for.
32:08
SPEAKER_00: Whatever you hope for.
32:09
SPEAKER_00: This beautiful morning, this beautiful day, get into a room, sit down, close that door, write it down.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: It's something you hope for.
32:18
SPEAKER_00: The moment you say hope, there are certain things that will come to your head.
32:21
SPEAKER_00: Write it down.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: And faith is basically being sure that what you are hoped for is going to come to life.
32:31
SPEAKER_00: The four paralytics, the four, the paralytics, four friends knew it.
32:36
SPEAKER_00: And Jacob knew it.
32:38
SPEAKER_00: And which is why it was accounted with them as a blessing.
32:42
SPEAKER_00: And it came to life.
32:43
SPEAKER_00: Hallelujah.
32:44
SPEAKER_00: That is pray, dear Lord.
32:46
SPEAKER_00: I thank you for this beautiful time, Lord.
32:48
SPEAKER_00: I thank you for your beautiful word.
32:51
SPEAKER_00: I thank you, Lord, for your double-edged sword that does not go back until it has achieved what it has been set out for.
32:57
SPEAKER_00: I thank you for this beautiful two stories that you've given us this morning, Lord.
33:03
SPEAKER_00: Your word says, faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of God.
33:08
SPEAKER_00: And I thank you for releasing this beautiful word that those who hear will increase.
33:13
SPEAKER_00: I thank you, Lord, for your beautiful blessing that's already upon us that says our descendants will be as much as the sand on the seashore, Lord.
33:21
SPEAKER_00: And as you proved it to Jacob, I thank you, Lord, and I pray that you help your people increase their faith to be sure of the things, to be assured of the things they hope for, to be assured of the evidence of the things that they don't see, but know that will come to life only through you.
33:44
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful time.
33:46
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for releasing this beautiful word into our life.
33:51
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for your word in Hebrew itself, which says that the word is living and cuts through bone and marrow and sinews, even to our spirit, and will breathe life a hundredfold.
34:08
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for this beautiful time, Lord.
34:10
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name I pray.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: Amen.