a number of years ago there were some researchers that were researching about resilience and researching about hope now often these researchers will do their research on experimental animals and so they were doing research on rats and they took two tubs of water and as they took those two tubs of water they put one group of rats in one tub of water and they wanted to find out how long those rats could survive and within one hour every one of those rats died they drown they took another group of rats and they put them in a tub next to that and they waited like five or ten minutes and they took put their hand in and pulled the rat out then they put it back in the water pulled the rat out put it back in the water those rats swam for 24 hours not one of them drowned and so the researchers began asking why did this happen and this is the conclusion that they came not because the rats were given a rest but because suddenly they had hope the animals hoped that if they could just stay afloat for a little longer somebody would reach into that pan that tub and pull them out now if hope holds such power for unthinking rodents what a greater effect should hope have on our lives no matter what circumstance we're going through the director of a medical clinic told the story of a terminal terminally ill young man this young man came in to have his regular treatment he wasn't expected to live very long but he was not aware of that as the young man left he was the treatment his head was in his hands he was just crying it was just sobbing so the director of the medical treatment said well why are you sobbing so much you said well when the doctor came in the doctor said this you don't know this but you have about a year to live and as the young man left he stopped by the director's desk and he wept and he said that man took away my hope i guess he did the director said but you better find a new hope or else you won't live commenting on this experiment a psychologist by the name of louis meredith wrote is there a hope when hope is taking away that's a question to raise when all your hope is gone is there's still hope is there hope when the situation is hopeless i don't know what situation you're facing today maybe it's with your health maybe it's with your children maybe it's with your marriage maybe it's with your finances is there hope for you when the situation appears hopeless now that question leads us to the christian hope for in the bible hope is no longer a passion for the possible it becomes a passion for the promise now i don't want you to miss that see in the bible hope is not some passion for the impossible hope is a passion for the promise it leads us to cling to and believe in the promises of god now the bible is filled with hopeful promises i'd like you to take your bible and turn to romans chapter 15. romans the 15th chapter and we're looking there at the fourth verse romans 15 verse 4 for whatever things were written before that's he's speaking about the old testament whatever things were written before romans 15 what verse everybody is it for for whatever things were written before were written for our learning that we through the patient and comfort of the scriptures might have hope so the purpose of the stories of the old testament is to give us hope that as we study them and see the experiences that the old testament giants of faith went through sometimes they walk through valleys sometimes they sang on mountaintops sometimes they went through storms sometimes the days were fair sometimes their lives were engulfed in darkness other times the light of grace was shining upon them but as we read those stories our hearts too can be filled with hope now notice carefully the experiences of the old testament believers were recorded for one reason to give us hope one of the most discouraging yet hopeful stories in all of the old testament is the story of jacob now jacob's story is a story of hope amidst failure it's a story of hope amidst defeat it's a story of deceit lies anger and broken relationships but it's a story of repentance confession forgiveness new life and joy it's a story of fleeing from god and meeting god it's the story of turning what appeared to be a disaster into a blessing it's a story of jacob now it's particularly relevant for an end-time people who will pass through what scripture calls jacob's trouble we're going to study that a little bit later but let's go back and look at a biography of joseph of jacob's life and in that life we see five phases of jacob's life in every one of those phases we see lessons lessons that jump out at us lessons that shouted us lessons of defeat and victory lessons of sorrow and joy lessons of hopelessness and hope let's go back to the birth of jacob jacob and isaac jacob and esau were the children of isaac and rebecca they were twin brothers esau was born shortly before jacob now they're twins but esau was born just a little bit before and as the result esau was the rightful inheritor of the birthright blessing yet at jacob's birth god gives his mother rebecca a promise now you're going to re read that promise with me genesis 25 verse 23. here there is the birthright promise now remember which of these two children were born first which one was born first esau so which one should have been the rightful inheritor of the birthright promise who should have been esau but who was jacob you got it genesis chapter 25 we're looking there at verse 23.
so god gave a promise right at the birth of esau and jacob and here's the promise genesis 25 verse 23 and the lord said to her to whom who's the her to who rebecca the mother of jacob two nations are in your womb who are those two nations jacob and esau two people shall be separated from your body one people shall be stronger than the other the older shall serve the younger so the older one esau would serve jacob in other words jacob would receive the birthright now as the boys grew esau loved hunting he loved adventure he didn't like staying around the tent with his mother very often so he was out in the fields hunting game bringing the game back to his father esau was isaac's favorite unfortunately there was sibling rivalry in the home the jacob stayed around the home he often would prepare meals with his mother and j and jacob had more of a spiritual leaning more of a spiritual inclination rebecca especially wanted jacob to have the birthright so she often lobbied with her husband isaac and she lobbied him to give the birthright blessing to jacob isaac wasn't buying it he knew that esau was born first and by the way esau was a man's man he was out there hunting he was adventuresome he was like his father the birthright was going to go as far as isaac was concerned to esau now what did rebecca know from the birth of jacob what did she know she knew that god had promised jacob the birthright she knew that what did jacob know he knew about the birthright one day rebecca overheard a conversation with isaac and her son esau and the conversation really troubled her genesis chapter 27 rebecca makes a serious mistake at this juncture she overhears a conversation and she feels that she has to go into action she has to step into action genesis 27 we're looking there at the fifth verse what did she under what did she overhear ladies be careful what you overhear your husband saying to your children god can have a way to solve that problem without your influence lady all right genesis chapter 27 we're looking here at verse 5. rebecca was listening what was she doing she was listening rebecca was listening when isaac spoke to esau's son and esau went out to the field to hunt game to bring it so rebecca spoke to jacob her son saying indeed i heard your father speak to esau your brother saying bring me game and make me savory food that i may eat it and bless you with the presence of the lord before my death now therefore my son obey my voice according to my command you go out to the flock bring me two choice kids of goats and i'll make food and then you go into your father so he can bless you what was rebecca doing here taking god's work into her own hands rather than trusting god she overheard a conversation between isaac and esau esau goes out to hunt the game and what happens rebecca says look look he's going to get the blessing i'd better help god out here i better help god out here i better do something have you ever been impatient mama and you thought you better help god out here you better help god out here that's what happened to isaac and rebecca and in their family and that's what happened to jacob and that's what happened to esau so esau goes out into the field to get the favorite game now i should add this so we understand when a jewish father was going to give the birthright to his son it was ordinary that they would have a feast for the entire family and that feast then at that feast the birthright would be given to the son but here isaac was going to have a private meal with esau and bestowed the birthright blessing on him at that point now rather than waiting for god's timing rather than allowing god to solve the problem in his own way rather than trusting god by faith jacob and his mother resorted to deceit lying and misrepresentation urged on by his mother rebecca jacob deceived his father and lied about his identity he desired the birthright that was soon to be given to his older brother esau now what was the root of jacob's problem if you really boil this down what was the root of jacob's problem the root of jacob's problem was really lie in two areas one was lack of faith that god could accomplish what god promised that was one problem but the other pro root of the problem was self pity self pity esau does not deserve this birthright i do rebecca's problem self-pity my husband is moving faster to give the birthright to esau this is not right and both jacob and his mother believed that they were being treated unfairly they believed that they would be being treated unjustly they believed that things should not be like that and as the result of that they took their lives out of the hands of god and acted in ways that later brought them great disaster now was jacob more qualified than esau to have the birthright absolutely see the inheritor of the birthright had three specific responsibilities number one the firstborn who received the birthright had preeminence over the entire family so they were like the the father of the family secondly the firstborn who received the birthright was the spiritual leader of the family so they became the spiritual leader of the family uh jacob was much more spiritual in his inclinations than esau was thirdly the firstborn who received the birthright was the inheritor of most of the father's wealth that's what he saw wanted esau wasn't concerned about leading the family he wasn't concerned about the responsibilities that he would have to lead the family and be a council guide he wasn't concerned about spiritual leadership esau wanted the wealth of his father because isaac had a lot of flocks the problem with rebecca and with jacob was that rather than trusting god they pitied themselves they said look this is not fair this is this this is not just this is not right now ellen white writes in patriarchs and prophets page 180 this insightful statement jacob and rebecca succeeded in their purpose but they gained only trouble and sorrow by their deception god had declared that jacob should receive the birthright and his word would have been fulfilled in his own time had they waited in faith for him to work for them when the situation in your life appears hopeless do not take yourself out of god's hands and do something rashly when the situation in your life appears hopeless trust god that he is going to fulfill his promises for you now i continue god had declared that jacob should receive the birthright and his word would have been fulfilled in his own time had they waited in faith for him to work for them but like many like like like who what's that what's that word but like who many and many as many like many who now profess to be children of god do we profess to be children of the god sure they were unwilling to leave the matter in his hands there are some times that the best thing you can do is nothing you missed it did you get it this there are sometimes that the best thing you can do is nothing and leave your life in god's hands and watch what god is going to do living a life of dependence living a life of trust living a life of faith but many i'm continuing to read patriots and prophets 180. but like many who professed to be children of god they were unwilling to leave the matter at his hands rebecca bitterly repented of the wrong counsel she had given to her son it was the means of separating him from her and she never saw his face again when jacob fled from his home he left for 20 years and his mother never saw him again she made a rash decision and because of that decision she suffered for the rest of her life but what about jacob from the hour when he received the birthright jacob was weighed down with self-condemnation he had sinned against his father his brother and his own soul and against god and in one short hour he made work of lifelong repentance there are times when the situation appears hopeless in your finances you make some crazy decisions there are times when the situation appears hopeless in your health and you make some foolish decisions there are some times when the situation appears hopeless in your marriage or with your kids and you make some foolish decisions you look back on that you say god why did i ever do that why did i ever do that and you live in lifelong sorrow lessons echo and re-echo down the centuries from an old testament story that speaks to an end time people in this generation now jacob believed that the birthright should be his not his brothers he who felt left out and unjustly treated his attitude was summed up in these words poor me my brother's receiving the birthright and it's mine i shouldn't be treated unjustly i found an amazing quote by stephen fry he makes this insightful statement about self-pity and that's what he says self-pity will destroy relationships ill to destroy anything that's good it'll fulfill all the prophecies it makes and leave only itself and it's so simple to imagine that one is hard done by that things are unfair that one is unappreciated that if only one had a chance at this only one had a chance at that things would get better you'd be happier if only this that one is unlucky all those things and some of them may be true but to pity oneself as the result of them is to do oneself an enormous disservice self-pity led jacob to lying in deceit lying a deceit led to a fractured relationship with his brother esau it led to separation from his father and his mother it led him on a 20-year journey from home now when he saw a return from his hunting expedition and learned that jacob had gotten the blessing esau was so incredibly angry that esau made a decision to kill jacob his he was furious his one desire was to kill his brother so now rebecca overhears his plans again and urges jacob to flee sin has its consequences filled with guilt jacob flees as a fugitive he would never see his mother again the relationship they once had was over forever driven by a condemning conscience he began the long arduous journey from beersheba to heron the home of his mother's brother laban see rebecca's brother was laban and therefore she felt that jacob would at least have some protection and some comfort there so she said you must go he left had his head headed for heron it was a 500 mile journey beersheba is in the south of israel and heron is on the border of turkey jacob's heart is heavy he wanders alone 500 miles now can you imagine it he's wandering 500 miles after two days of traveling through the barren desert it probably took him a month to get there he's ever on the lookout for bandits he's on the lookout for hostile tribes he's exhausted his heart's heavy he's consumed with guilt he's weary he lied to his father deceived his brother he's separated from his family he's distant from everything that is familiar now you can imagine this he's walking through the desert it's hot he's sweating the sand blows he's dirty his head is down his head is swirling he travels for two days alone he has to travel for a month weary alone exhausted guilt-ridden too tired to take another step jacob lays down on the cold ground with a rock as a pill when he goes to sleep but god breaks through his dream and gives the fleeting fugitive reassurance of his presence take your bible genesis 28 now notice something absolutely critical in this story at this point jacob was not seeking god god was seeking jacob at this point jacob is not seeking god god is seeking jacob god looks down on jacob's hopelessness god looks down on jacob's despair god looks down on jacob's guilt and we look here at genesis 28 verse 11 and 12.
genesis 28 verse 11 and 12. so he came to a certain place this is jacob he's tired he's weary he's exhausted he's guilt-ridden so he came to a certain place and stayed there all night because the sun had set and he took one of the stones that place of that place and he put it in his head and he lay down in that place to sleep then he dreamed that he dreamed and behold the latter was set up on the earth and its top reached to heaven and there were angels of god ascending and descending and behold the lord stood above it and said i am the lord god of abraham your father and the god of isaac the land on which you lie i will give you in your descendants now let your eyes drop down to verse 15. behold i am with you god makes four promises to jacob jacob is filled with despair jacob is filled with guilt jacob is hopeless jacob is alone and god makes four promises to him it is not that jacob is coming to god it's that god is coming to jacob the latter reaches where you are wherever you are on life's journey today christ comes to you he descends down the ladder of heaven jesus meets you where you are in your hopelessness he meets you where you are in your grief and god made four promises to jacob and he makes four promises to you here's his promises verse 15 behold i am with you jacob i'm with you and your guilt jacob i'm with you in your sorrow jacob i'm with you in your disappointment jacob i'm with you in your hopelessness promise number one you see what a reassuring promise to jacob what a reassuring promise to jacob jacob is wandering alone he's away from his father away from his mother he's away from his descendants he's tired and exhausted and god says jacob you may be alone and you may feel hopeless but i am with you promise number one promise number two i will keep you wherever you go in other words i'm gonna preserve you jacob i'm gonna preserve you your life is not for nothing your life is not invade jacob hold on promise number one i'm with you promise number two i'm gonna keep you promise number three i will bring you back to this land jacob years may pass jacob decades may pass but jacob i'm gonna bring you back to this land because i have a purpose for your life now notice the last one until i have done what i have spoken on to you in other words jacob i'm with you jacob i'm going to preserve you jacob i'm going to bring you back to this land jacob i have a destiny for you and i'm not going to let your life collapse in hopelessness god is speaking to somebody here today god is touching somebody's heart today god is saying to you i have a destiny for you god is saying to you i have a plan for you god is saying to you i have the latter descended right where you are now what came up and down that ladder what came up and down that ladder everybody what came up and down angels jesus is the latter he meets us where we are the latter of course represents jesus the one who links fallen humanity with the eternal delights of heaven's perfect world jesus reaches you where you are whatever your circumstances angels go up and down that ladder because of christ and minister to our hearts broken relationships fractured friendships hurting marriages the latter reaches where you are failures mistakes guilt condemnation assorted past that haunts you the latter reaches where you are weakness spiritual frailty complacency lukewarmness the latter reaches where you are can you say with me the latter reaches where i am say it together the latter reaches where i am again the latter reaches where i am god says to you where are you today i'll reach you where you are jacob's dream jacob continues to flee despite jacob's failures despite his lying and deceit despite his selfishness and greed despite his lack of faith in misplaced trust god still had a plan for jacob's life the latter reached where he was now he named that place bethel was the place jacob met god it was the place that he began again see when he left home exhausted tired weary filled with guilt and shame he was down-hearted and discouraged and hopeless but he comes to bethel he has the dream god speaks to him in that dream and jacob has new hope again the next morning jacob heads for heron with a new spring in his step a new resolution in his heart he had met god at bethel and that made all the difference the journey didn't seem as long anymore when we travel life's road with jesus the most challenging journey is easier now arriving at heron jacob meets rachel and although it's love at first sight he has that stirring in his heart he senses this is the one for me he makes a decision that she's going to be his wife but the interesting thing is he has to labor for her love is patient and jacob's love was patient seven years laboring for rachel now you may have courted your wife for seven years and she may have said no six times but the seventh time all right you've been so persistent now it's very fascinating though jacob deceived his father and his future father-in-law deceived him labor is seven years for rachel he gets leah and he has to labor seven more years for for leah i want you to think about the law of sowing and reaping in the bible the law of sowing and reaping in the bible when you look at scripture very often bible characters reap exactly what they sow for example you got three hebrew worthies that are thrown into the fiery furnace but the people who throw them in are consumed and burned up daniel's cast into the lion's den but those who cast him in are eventually eaten by the lions haman makes gallows to hang mordecai on and he's hung on those gallows asa places a prophet in prison and then he he puts chains on the prophet's feet and asa gets a foot disease david commits adultery with bathsheba and has her husband uriah killed and the child of david dies jacob deceives his father and has a conflict with his brother his father-in-law deceives him and he has terrible conflict with his own children galatians 6 7 galatians 6 7 what lesson for an end-time people are we learning from an old testament biography the decisions we make have repercussions far beyond those decisions galatians chapter 6 verse 7.
galatians 6 verse 7 although jacob was forgiven the consequences of his actions were not immediately changed so our actions have consequences galatians 6 verse 7 notice do not be deceived god is not mocked for whatever a man's or woman sows what's going to happen they are going to reap we reap what we sow we reap more than we sow and we reap after we sow in the future ralph waldo emerson said this sow a thought and you reap an action so it acts and you reap a habit so a habit and you reap a character so a character and you reap a destiny now the question is this though our actions have consequences the sins of our past although forgiven and we are changed often haunt us today that's what the bible means when it says visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the third and fourth generation it does not mean that the fourth generation has the guilt of the fathers in the first generation what it does mean is that there are genetic predispositions that there are habitual shaping of character that passes down from generation to generation so here is the question that we need to raise and it's a critical question can you ever break the generational cycle if in past generations there's the law of sowing and reaping and if you look back in those past generations and you see that law of sowing and reaping and you see the consequences of that in your own family today can you break that generation cycle the traits of character developed in one generation are often passed to the next but here is the incredible good news we can break the generational cycle wherever we find ourselves in the cycle of life we can begin a new legacy through the grace of god we can have a new beginning our families don't have to repeat the cycle of the past because jesus breaks the cycle of dysfunctionality he heals our brokenness so we become channels of love and ambassadors of grace if the bible teaches us anything it teaches us that we are not locked in generational cycles of the past actions have consequences they're passed from one generation to the next but there can be generations that say by the grace and power of god if there's any man or woman in christ he is a new what creation all things are made new jacob was learning that lesson and he was learning that lesson and it took him 20 years to learn it seven years labor's for rachel gets leah seven years labor is for leah my labor is now rather for rachel seven more years 14 years then he stays with laban another six years so 20 years goes past and in those 20 years he's learning faith he's learning dependence he's learning confidence in god he's learning to break the generational cycle of the past and god says okay okay jacob it's time to go home it's time to go home now and get your inheritance it's time to go home to be with your family it's time to go home jacob i have a promise for you i have a destiny for you jacob 20 years ago when you fled and i met you at bethel i promised that you would inherit the land jacob you are ready now after serving laban faithfully for 20 years jacob sensed it was time to go home although he was fearful of what esau might do he knew that he had to return to the land of his childhood every mile of the long 500 mile journey back created greater anxiety he feared his own safety and he feared the safety of his family he was going to meet esau genesis 32 verse 7. he's coming back home now how is esau going to receive him genesis 32 7 whereas 20 years before jacob took things in his own hands now in spite of his fears now in spite of his anxiety now in spite of his worry he is trusting god god said go home he had a fairly comfortable life with laban he had flocks and goats and god said go home genesis chapter 32 verse 7 describes his journey home so jacob was greatly afraid now it's interesting how the bible puts it isn't it doesn't say he's afraid what does it say he's greatly afraid and distressed and he divided the people that were with him and their flocks in their herds and the camels in two companies now you can really understand jacob's strategy he says okay esau is going to come esau is a war like man now jacob's company has no weapons he has no trained soldiers he has just his family and they're with his flocks and herds and they're coming as they come he says okay i'm going to divide us into two companies because if esau attacks one at least one of us can get away jacob though knows after he divides them into companies that he needs to spend time alone with god and so jacob is facing the greatest test of his life we go to genesis chapter 32 here he's about ready to meet esau he gets the word that esau's armies are coming genesis chapter 32 and you're looking there at verse 24. this passage is one of the most critical passages and how you can turn around a hopeless situation it was written centuries ago but it echoes and re-echoes down the corners of time to us today genesis 32 verse 24 then jacob was left alone esau's armies are coming esau's warriors are coming esau's mighty men of war are coming then jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day what led jacob to that experience of being alone you read it in the 10th verse genesis 32 verse 10.
jacob repents he perseveres he prevails genesis 32 verse 10 notice what jacob says i am not worthy of the least of all your mercies and all the truth which you have shown your servant for i crossed over this jordan with my staff and now i become two companies jacob now recognizes that the primary fault is not with esau but it's with him you will never have change in your family if you blame your children for the problems you'll never have change in your family if you blame your wife for the problems you'll never have change in your family if you blame your husband for the problems jacob came to the point in his life of hopelessness and despair where he had to take responsibility himself and he took the responsibility on himself and what does he say i am not worthy of the least of your mercies jacob says whatever esau has done that's with esau i can't deal with that but i can only deal with jacob and my heart is weak it is desperate i am not worthy of the least of your mercies of all the truth which you've shown your servant god you've been so good to me and i'm the one that failed you on his knees as he prays he wrestles with god christ comes down now it's interesting now when he saw that he did not prevail against him he touched the socket of his hip and the socket of jacob's hip was out of joint he wrestled with him you know i don't know why i chose this sermon this week but you know this week i think i was lifting something and i pulled a muscle in my thigh here couldn't walk for most of the week even today man i'll tell you it's so much pain and i had ended up in the emergency room because i had to find out what was going on here but anyway jacob wrestles with god and god touches his hip and so he goes back to esau you know he's limping like i am you know he's living back he's i'm saying oh god touch my hip and you know do something good for it don't don't don't you don't bring in any more pain but you know it's really interesting and so you go back here jacob perseveres with god so what does jacob do he he repents of his sin he he acknowledges his guilt he prays to god he holds on and god promises i am going to bless you jacob now there are four lessons from jacob's night of wrestling that i want you to see for but before we do that we should look at the statement in patriarchs and prophets 197 here it is patriots and prophets 197. this is really insightful through humiliation repentance and self-surrender now this jacob through humiliation repentance and self-surrender this sinful earring mortal prevailed with the majesty of heaven he had fastened his trembling grasp on the promises of god and the heart of infinite love could not turn away the sinner's plea in other words jacob did not come with a litany of things that his family did wrong for him jacob came with his own repentance his own humiliation now four things jacob does what does he do one jacob acknowledges his own faults two jacob seeks god in repentance three jacob preserves until he prevails he doesn't have a three-minute prayer and give up four jacob receives strength to face his brother because he looks into the face of god now what happens as the result of that what happens as the result of that look genesis 33 verse 4 gen when jacob acknowledges his own failures what happens genesis 33 verse 4 he's been separated from his brother for for for 20 years but something happens something happens genesis 33 we're looking at verse 4 but esau ran to meet him to jacob and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him and wept think of it god brought the broken relationships back together again now when jacob was praying what happened one of the great advantages that seventh-day adventists have is the unique spiritual insight that comes through the writings of the gift of prophecy so jacob's wrestling with god all night but what happens look at patriarchs and prophets page 198. while jacob was wrestling with the angel another heavenly messenger was sent to esau in a dream esau beheld his brother for 20 years in exile from the father's house he witnessed his grief at finding his mother dead he saw him encompassed by the hosts of god this dream was related by esau to his soldiers with the charge not to harm jacob for god the god of his father was with him jacob is praying don't miss this jacob is on his knees he acknowledges his weakness and his sin as he prays his prayers ascend to heaven god sends an angel to esau god sends an angel to esau and the angel comes to esau and the angel says look this is god's anointed don't touch him and the angel shows esau jacob praying in his prayer and the angel says to esau you now go to your soldiers and tell them don't don't don't touch god has a way of divinely solving problems that we cannot recognize there are divine solutions to our problems at times of hopelessness when we trust and depend on god jacob had learned a vital lesson that he had not learned 20 years before and that lesson was not to rely on his own strength but to trust the promises of god now i want you to picture this scene esau's warriors are approaching jacob fear fills jacob's heart this is before he wrestles with god he wrestles all night with the angel of the lord jesus christ this is the time of jacob's trouble an enemy army approaches he has no might against them everything around jacob spells defeat every earthly support is cut off the future look looks brief death appears certain now the prophet jeremiah who writes a thousand years from the time that jacob writes takes this experience and projects it to the end time to the last generation of people that live on earth and talks about jacob's trouble you find that in jeremiah 30 verse 5-7 jeremiah 30 verse 5-7 and we find it there and here we find coined the expression for an end time people of jacob's trouble jeremiah 30 verse 5 to 7.
