Marked

Marked

Introduction:

Riding on a plane to a conference called “Marked”. I already knew in my mind some of the things that would be declared over the young people that would attend. You will be marked by power, by destiny, by purpose, by anointing, etc. All true. All good words. All real. But as I was looking out the window, I heard the Holy Spirit say, “That is true, but I need to tell them that there is another type of mark that I place on people. It isn’t pretty, it isn’t popular and it doesn’t make for good preaching, but it is real and it is the rest of the picture.” So this morning I want you to know that you have been marked by power, by destiny, by blessing, by anointing. You are a chosen people. You are an ordained group of people. However, I would also like to complete the picture for you so that maybe your life and experience will make some sense.

Text: Gen. 25:29-33; 27:21-23, 41; 32:24-31; 37:1 (Chapter 25-33)

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!" 31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright." 32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" 33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not." 22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.

41Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.

25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the

socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." 27 The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. 28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.

II. Jacob’s Journey

He got what every young man dreams of the family inheritance. They didn’t operate with written wills like we do. They operated a little differently. The firstborn was given a birthright and a blessing. You must understand that in effect this had the same results as a will for the children in a family. Jacob was born into a family where the parent’s played favorites and with the help of a conniving mother makes his dream of having the birthright come true. For a bowl of beans he gets the whole bean field. He gets the birthright and the blessing (the keys to kingdom if you will). You need to go and read the powerful words of blessing that are spoken over this young man. They have implications for him for the rest of his life! And ultimately come to fruition by him coming back and setting up his residence in the promised land of Canaan.

He wanted the birthright because it meant:

a. A double portion of the father’s inheritance.

1) The amount would have been very great

b. He would rule and authority over other members of the

family

c. Patriarch and priest of the house on the death of his father

d. Chief of the chosen family, and heir of the promised blessing

e. Able to invoke the blessing of Abraham

"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

So this young man becomes marked by great wealth, great power, protection, position, and promise! He was marked!

But, interestingly enough even though he is now marked by these things he now finds himself looking over his shoulder. Living in fear of his past. A fugitive. A hated brother. An outcast. Unwanted. Being bested by his uncle at the very sleight of hand that he thought he had perfected. Excited about a wedding only to wake up the next morning to find someone he didn’t want in his bed. He finds himself having to work in a job in which the pay wasn’t what he expected and took more time than he anticipated. His life wasn’t exactly turning out like all the TV preachers said it would. In an outward display that was a metaphor for his life he finds himself limping . . . the result of a dislocated hip in a God dominated wrestling match! The runner is now a limper. Handicapped.