THE MAN AND HIS DESTINY
Text: Genesis 32:1-2 " Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim."
Genesis 32:1-8
New International Version (NIV)
Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim.[ b ]
3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now.
5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’”
INTRODUCTION:
Today is father's day.
The title of our message is the man and his destiny.
But this is no just for the man.
This is for all of us: the man, woman, child, students and seniors.
At some point of life, we had to ask ourselves the questions: Where am I going and what do I need to do in life?
How do I have a successful future?
How do I have a fulfilled life?
What is my destiny and how far can I go in my Christian life?
Those are important questions for us to ask.
The father is the head of the family.
He, together with the wife, lead the entire household including the children for a successful future.
We want the best for them and we strive to grasp or struggle for it to be attained.
But of course, we don't know what lies ahead of us in the future.
We don't know what is beyond that mountain.
We only know of what is taking place at the present.
And we have been exposed to the success and failures of the past.
The past is done and these cannot be changed or altered at all.
We can only replay them over and over in our storehouse of memory.
Many times, we cannot move forward because of our past failures.
Somehow, along our life's journey, we had to do something to correct the past mistakes.
One things is for sure - Only God knows what lies ahead.
He knows our future destination in life.
God knows what is going to happen ultimately.
Our duty is to take one step at a time.
We had to seize every moment.
We must take that journey of life with confidence and let God lead the way for us.
Pretty soon, we will reach our destination successfully.
Later on, God's purposes will be fulfilled in us.
But as we take one step at a time, we have to make some major decisions along the way.
And every decision we make in life will determine our future circumstance.
This is what the verse talks about: "Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him."
That means he was at the crossroad of his life.
He does not know WHERE to go and WHAT to do next.
He has just left Paddan Aram and on his way to his home town where he grew up in Beersheba.
He had a lot of things bothering his mind.
He had brought along his growing family and his cattle and sheep.
And as he moved on, he remembered his brother Esau.
He was reminded how this man hated him because of the birth right he took from him.
This is the reason why he fled his hometown in the first place.
His brother wanted to kill him and he had to run for his life.
Now, he had to go back to the place where he came from.
And he has grown a lot since then both in experience and in wisdom.
And so, he had to curve his own destiny.
What would it be this time?
Will he be the same man that he used to be - a grabber, a deceiver?
Or will he be a different man this time - a responsible generous and blessed man?
Will he be a good example to his children?
The text says that he went on his way.
He took that step of faith.
And the angels of God were guiding him.
Today, we will learn two things from this chapter 32 of Genesis.
First, we will look at the issue on relationships.
Relationships are important in order to pursue our destiny.
Jacob however had a broken relationship with his only brother Esau.
How did he try to mend this relationship so that it would not be an obstacle to his future progress?
We will find out.
What do you do when you have a conflict in relationship with your loved one?
Secondly, we will look at the the issue of his personal transformation.
Our spiritual walk with God is important in order to go after your destiny.
Jacob had to learn that there is struggle involved in order to live a changed life.
He had to learn to fight to receive continuous blessings along the way.
He had to wrestle with an angel and prevail.
In the same manner, how can we grow in our spiritual walk and maintain our stand?
Our goal for this message is that we will consider fulfilling the purposes that God has given us.
Our goal is to purpose our spiritual destiny in Christ.
And so, let us learn from one another:
HOW TO SET THE COURSE OF YOUR DESTINY:
I. IT INVOLVES MENDING BROKEN RELATIONSHIP.
Genesis 32:3-5 " 3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’”
The first thing we can learn from this chapter is that Jacob had to mend his broken relationship with Esau.
This should be his initial course of action if he had to project a good future for his family.
His success in life lies in the way he handles his relationship with people, especially those who are close to him.
He should boldly face the past and correct his mistakes.
He should rectify with the people that he had hurt.
He should correct his faults and move on from there.
That is what it means to be a good father and a good husband.
And that is exactly where he tried to focus his energy when he came back from Haran.
The goal is to find favor or good will in the eyes of his brother Esau.
The task will not be easy.
It requires some bold steps to take.
It requires humility and sacrifice.
It requires commitment to the goal.
Because they parted with broken relationship.
How about you?
Is there some broken relationships that you left behind when you moved here to America that needs to be mended?
Are there some people that you have hurt in the past when you moved to a different City or different State?
It has been years that those conflicts have happened.
But the memories of the past still lingers in your mind.
You tried your best to forget about them but they still fresh in your memory.
You could replay the events as if it was only yesterday that those had happened.
Some words of accusations were said and the hurt has not been healed since then.
You separated with bitterness and unforgiveness that were never resolved.
What are you going to do about these?
You know that you cannot move forward if you are not able to handle these well.
You cannot have a successful future when the past has not been mended.
Let us learn from Jacob.
What did he do to correct the past mistakes?
He did several things such as:
Things to remember in correcting the past:
1. You will have to face your own fears. Genesis 32:7 "In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,[ c] and the flocks and herds and camels as well."
Jacob experienced fear and distress in facing the past failures.
Just to think about the hatred of his brother and the desire to kill him had brought anxiety, concern and dismay in his heart.
But in the midst of his fear and stress, he went forward to make restitution with his brother.
He had to take the risk because he knew that it is something worthwhile to do that.
He faced his fears well.
In the same manner, in correcting the past mistakes, you will have to deal and do something with your inner fears.
There will always be fears involved in mending broken relationships.
The problem is what we do with our fears.
There are people who are paralyzed with their fears that they cannot move forward in life.
They drag their entire family along.
I remember the story of a man whose father failed in a job interview.
He was so shaken by that fear that he had no courage to look for another job.
For many years, the entire family was not able to rise up from poverty.
Somehow along the line, we will have to make a decision on what we will do with our fears.
Because all through life, there will always be fears involved in taking that ladder of success.
You will have to face your fear if you want to take that job interview.
You will have to face your fear if you want to buy that house.
You will have to face your fear if you want your children to pursue their College education.
You will have to face your fear if you want to advance in your company's ladder of position.
Whatever decision we make in life requires overcoming our fears.
But the truth is, most of our fears are unfounded, baseless and unsubstantiated.
They are a matter of our own personal feelings and opinion that many times are not true at all.
And so, we must face our fears and overcome them if we want a wort while destiny.
2. You will have to be persistent in your prayer life. Genesis 32:9 "Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’
The second thing that Jacob learned in amending his broken relationship to Esau is to be persistent in prayer.
If he had to make a pleasant journey to a successful future, he had to do it with much prayer.
His prayer should include telling God how he feels about the situation.
He should also remind himself of God's unbroken promises.
That is what Jacob prayed about as he faced his fears in life.
And after he prayed that prayer, he received inner confidence and assurance that all will be well.
There was an inner peace that it will work out fine in his journey of life.
That is what we call the need for a persistent prayer life.
When we need wisdom in order to become a good father and a good husband, we should pray.
When we need guidance in order to be the best at work, we should pray.
When we need direction in order not to fall in the same trap of sin, we should pray.
When we need wisdom with regards on how to handle financial difficulties, we should pray.
Prayer can do that and more.
Why?
Because life is tough and hard.
Life is full of challenges and demands that we sometimes cannot meet.
And so, in order to correct the past and do good for the future, we must humble ourselves and pray.
Dr. Anderson, former President of Chicago University once told this story concerning the secret prayer life of President Abraham Lincoln.
There was a nurse who was employed in the Lincoln family.
She was there during the illness of the President's son.
One morning, she left the sick room for a few moments and was returning when she heard a voice in the room.
She was surprised to hear President Lincoln kneeling in the bedside of his son and engaging in prayer.
She heard him prayed: "O God, you know how heavy in my shoulders the affairs of our country.
I have not been the father I should have been.
O great father, I pray to you that you spare the life of the boy and forgive me for the sin."
Coming into the hall and seeing the nurse, he said: "You heard?"
"Yes, Mr. president." she replied.
"It is all right." and he passed on.
It was this kind of contrite prayer that had helped him to become a good father and a good President.
This is the same kind of prayer that we need to pray often.
3. You will have to learn to execute a good plan. Genesis 32:7,8,16 "7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,[ c ] and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, [ d ] the group [ e ] that is left may escape.” 16 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”
The third thing that Jacob did in correcting the past mistake is to execute or implement a good plan.
What was his plan to appease his brother Esau?
He sent messengers ahead of him to inform his brother that he is coming back home.
But he does not know whether the response is positive or negative.
He does not know whether the anger and bitterness is still there.
He already prayed to God about it and determine it is time to reconcile and move on.
Now remember, the plan came after he prayed to God, not before.
It was God who gave him the plan.
And so, while praying, God revealed to him what to do next.
Remember that he is a family man with children, wives, servants and cattle to protect.
And so, he divided the people in two groups, including the flocks, the herds and the camels.
He thought that if Esau attacks one group, the group that is left can escape.
In the same manner, the Lord will reveal a plan of action we need to take if we want to correct the past.
Without a plan, there will be no progress.
That is true in every situation.
Seek wisdom from the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
These three things are important in mending broken relationships.
We must face our own fears and look at life with courage and confidence.
We must be persistent in our prayers and let God lead us every step of the way.
We must execute a good plan and constantly correct our mistakes along the way.
Let me just say a few words regarding relationship building.
You see, every relationship with people should be developed, nurtured, and cultivated.
That means, there must always be a starting point for every relationship to develop.
We must desire to get to know an individual and make friends with people.
It should start with a smile, words of hello and how are you?
Then, after some preliminaries have been initiated, there must be a point when you begin to strengthen that friendship by a second follow -up through telephone calls, text or some other forms of gestures to nurture that friendship.
Afterwards, this should be cultivated further by constant contact and earnest desire of concern.
That is what we need to develop when we meet a first time guest or visitor in our church.
We have to get out of our way and meet new friends.
Don't just stay with your own set of friends every week.
Find new people to build relationships.
How do we make friends?
Here are some suggestions:
Make eye contact.
Introduce yourself.
Start a conversation.
Talk to people.
Initiate a get-together with new friends.
Pursue common interests.
Ask them out for lunch or coffee.
Don't pressure someone to be friends with you.
Be loyal to your friends.
Remember that relationships should be nurtured.
However, there are cases when conflicts arise in a relationship.
Inappropriate words have been said.
Negative gestures have been done.
People have been hurt and friendship have been lost in work.
What do you to resolve a conflict in the office?
Here are some suggestions
Handle conflicts sooner rather than later.
That means, do it as soon as possible.
Invite the other person to talk about the situation.
Have a listening ear.
Be gentle, ask questions if necessary.
Show your love and concern.
Pray and give advice if necessary.
Here are some Scriptures on Resolving Conflicts:
1. We must resolve to be peacemakers at all times. Matthew 5:9 (NIV) "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."
2. We must learn to forgive right away. Colossians 3:13 (NIV) "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
3. We must be honest and direct. Matthew 18:15 (NIV) "“If your brother or sister[ a ] sins,[ b ] go and point out their fault , just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over."
4. We must not judge. John 7:24 (NIV) " Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”
II. IT REQUIRES THE STRUGGLE FOR OUR TRANSFORMATION.
Genesis 32:24-26 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.”
In these verses, we find Jacob alone but wrestling with an angel till daybreak.
He gave all of his energy to win the fight.
He insisted: "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
Eventually, he won and his name was changed from Jacob to Israel.
He was no longer called Jacob - the "deceiver" or the "grabber."
He will now be called Israel, the one who contended and triumphed with God.
His new name was more appropriate now than before.
Because his inner life and direction was transformed and changed completely.
He had fought over his old sinful habits and triumphed.
He now had a new life, a new mission and a new purpose for living.
This is his new destiny that he will endeavor to pursue.
The old has passed, the new has come.
He acquired it through much effort, struggle and resolution.
In the same manner, if we want to set the course of our destiny in life to something better, there is much struggle involved.
There is a fight you have to go through when you want to live a godly life.
You will have to struggle hard if you want to be set free from the old life of sin and misery.
You will have to wrestle with your tongue in order to crucify those ungodly words and give way to pleasant and useful words.
You will have to contend with your mind in order to refuse those negative thoughts and think only of pure thoughts.
You will have to do battle with your concentration in order to reject worldly distractions and focus on God's Word.
You will have to do battle for your financial decisions in order to turn down those impulse buying so that you can give regularly your tithes and offerings to God.
You will have to wrestle with your conscience in order to say no to drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and habitual gambling offered by your ungodly friends.
It is a daily battle for godly living.
It is a daily fight for pure motives.
It is a daily struggle for personal holiness in a corrupt world.
Remember that there is sin and temptation all around us.
The devil is like roaring lion seeking someone to devour.
You will have to be persistent in prayer in order to fight the enemy of our souls.
This battle over sin can take much of your time.
It can take much of your effort.
It can take much of your energy but eventually in the long run, if you fight well, it is worth the fight.
The secret to spiritual transformation therefore is personal and spiritual discipline.
Discipline means to condition your mind, your soul and and body to be a consistent godly Christian living.
Just like an Olympic runner who needs to train daily in order to win, we must discipline ourselves daily in order to win.
Sometimes, we do not want it, but we have to keep on fighting.
Sometimes, we are sleepy, but we have to wake up.
Sometimes, we are tired, but we have to attend that Bible study.
That is what personal discipline is all about.
Tom Landry, the coach of Dallas Cowboys football team said: "The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do in order to achieve what they've always wanted to be."
In the same manner, our job is to discipline our mind, body and spirit so that we can grow in spiritual maturity.
If you want to excel in life, it requires spiritual discipline.
This is true for athletes, musicians, plumbers, accountants, and disciples of Jesus Christ.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, we should do what we have never done before.
We should do this by much effort, great struggle and plenty of striving.
This is the only way to become like Christ.
Through Spiritual disciplines, the person from within is transformed and renewed.
Here are some Scriptures on Spiritual Discipline:
1. Discipline has a purpose. Titus 2:12 (NIV) "It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled , upright and godly lives in this present age,"
2. Discipline is painful but with good results. Hebrews 12:11 (NIV) "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
3. Discipline shall be rewarded. 2 Chronicles 15:7 (NIV) "But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded .”
In closing, let me share to you the story of the most religious US President of all time.
Who do you think is he? Any guess?
Jimmy Carter.
Of course, we cannot be able to look deeper in his heart.
But historians tell us that in the 1976 Presidential campaign, he described himself as "born again".
He was frank about his religious beliefs throughout his presidency.
While in office, Carter attended church wherever he went, even while in the road.
In fact, he even continued to teach Sunday School when at home.
He prayed daily and read the Bible.
When he wasn't reading the Bible, he read the writings of famous theologians.
There was even some point in his life when he knocked on doors as a missionary.
He would address potential converts by saying,
"Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer. Do you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?"
Since his presidency, he has continued his Christian mission on annual trips for Habitat for humanity.
In 2002, when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, he spoke of Jesus Christ as 'The Prince of Peace."
His Secret Service codename was "The Deacon."
His one term presidency is remembered for the events that overwhelmed it - inflation, energy crisis, war In Afghanistan, and hostage in Iran.
Voters strongly rejected Jimmy Carter's honest but gloomy outlook in favor of Ronald Reagan's optimistic outlook.
In spite of all these, he confronted several national problems with steadiness, courage and idealism.
All of these because of the development of his Christian character through spiritual disciplines he practiced.
I hope and pray that we will have the same desire for spiritual discipline as him.
