All Christians struggle. We just don’t (want to) admit it.
Sermon Title: #THESTRUGGLEISREAL
Sermon Text: GENESIS 32:22-28
Sermon Series: #HASHTAG
By: PTR. BRYAN MAYUELA
Sermon Notes:
Genesis 32:22-28 NLT
22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. 23 After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. 24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. 25 When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.” 28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”
Three Ways We Struggle
- We struggle with other people
- We struggle with ourselves
Romans 7:15 NLT
15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
Romans 7:23a NLT
23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind…
- We Struggle with God
Two Reasons Why We Struggle with God
- We Doubt His Wisdom
- We Want to be In Control
Hosea 12:3b NIV
3 …as a man he struggled with God.
Hosea 12:3 NIV
3 In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God.
Genesis 32:23-24 NLT
23 After taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions.
24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break.
Genesis 32:25-26 NLT
25 When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket.
26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
God loves it when we wrestle with him.
Genesis 32:27 NLT
27 “What is your name?” the man asked.
He replied, “Jacob.”
Genesis 32:28 NLT
27 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”
ISRAEL
Struggle with God
Prince with God
Genesis 32:29-30 NLT
29 …Then he blessed Jacob there.
30 Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.”
1 Peter 5:7 NLT
7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Lament
It’s an act of worship when you complain to God.
It’s an act of rebellion when you complain about God.
The Biblical Pattern of Lament
Job 13:3; 6 NLT
3 As for me, I would speak directly
to the Almighty.
I want to argue my case with God himself.
6 Listen to my charge;
pay attention to my arguments.
Job 13: 17-19 NLT
17 He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment;
wise judges become fools.
18 He removes the royal robe of kings.
They are led away with ropes around their waist.
19 He leads priests away, stripped of status;
he overthrows those with long years in power.
Job 23-24 NLT
23 Tell me, what have I done wrong?
Show me my rebellion and my sin.
24 Why do you turn away from me?
Why do you treat me as your enemy?
Psalm 13:1-6 NIV
1 How long, Lord? Will youforget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer,
Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say,
“I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he is good to me.
Jeremiah 12:1; 3-4 NLT
1 Lord, you always give me justice
when I bring a case before you.
So let me bring you this complaint:
Why are the wicked so prosperous?
Why are evil people so happy?
3 But as for me, Lord,
you know my heart.
You see me and test my thoughts.
Drag these people away like sheep
to be butchered!
Set them aside to be slaughtered!
4 How long must this land mourn?
Even the grass in the fields has withered.
The wild animals and birds have disappeared
because of the evil in the land…
Psalm 88:3-5; 9; 14-15,18 NLT
3 For my life is full of troubles,
and death draws near.
4 I am as good as dead,
like a strong man with no strength left.
5 They have left me among the dead,
and I lie like a corpse in a grave.
I am forgotten,
cut off from your care.
9 My eyes are blinded by my tears.
Each day I beg for your help, O Lord;
I lift my hands to you for mercy.
14 O Lord, why do you reject me? Why do you turn your face from me? 15 I have been sick and close to death since my youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.
18 You have taken away my companions and loved ones.
Darkness is my closest friend.
Psalm 142:1-3 GNT
1 I call to the Lord for help;
I plead with him.
2 I bring him all my complaints;
I tell him all my troubles.
3 When I am ready to give up,
he knows what I should do…
What are you tired of tolerating in your life?
Complain in Faith
Psalm 55:17 GNT
17 Morning, noon, and night my complaints and groans go up to him, and he will hear my voice.
Acknowledge God’s Nature
Remind God of His Promises
Genesis 32:9 NLT
9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’
Genesis 32:10-12 NLT
10 I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps!
11 O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children.
12 But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”
Express Trust in God’s Wisdom
Job. 13:15a KJV
15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him…
Habakkuk 3:17-19 NLT
17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted
as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.
Genesis 32:31 NLT
31 The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip.
God is going to touch you at the place of your greatest strength.
What have you been running from your entire life?