Hello everyone!
It’s been quite some time since I’ve written something, however, the Lord revealed something to me that I am going to post here. It’s actually something that is widely preached in churches across the globe, including a preaching by my old pastor. However, I’m going to point out two different things in the story. The first is to fight for your blessing, even if you think it’s a losing fight. The second, the significance of names. You can find the story in Genesis 32:22-32.
The Bible speaks of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Earlier in history, Abraham was promised by God that his children would be ‘…as the dust of the of the earth..’ (Gen 13:15) Jacob is the heir to this blessing, and God often times would speak to him and constantly remind him of this blessing. Ah yes, a side-note. The meaning of the name “Jacob” is ‘he who grabs his heel’ figuratively meaning ‘he deceives.’ Jacob was fleeing from his father-in-law, Laban, because the Lord had ordered Jacob to return to the house of his father, Isaac, and his brother, Esau (who, earlier in Genesis, he deceived and took his birthright as the firstborn, and with it the inheritance of his father, which was the blessing given to Abraham) Esau wasn’t happy about this. Imagine that your father willed all of his property, all of his power and authority to you because you were meant to received the blessing as the firstborn. Imagine that your younger brother were to go into your fathers room the night before his death and changed his will to his name. That was the story of Esau and Jacob in simpler terms. Jacob was in utter terror of the wrath of his brother, who was waiting across the river, and he split his possessions and his family into two groups and sent them across the river to camp for the night. In the night, a man came out of nowhere and began to wrestle with Jacob. The battle was so fierce that they wrestled together until the breaking of dawn! Jacob was lifting those weights at home alright! Now who would like to be as strong as Jacob?! Just kidding.
Finally, the man dislocated Jacob’s hip, but Jacob still refused to let go. Finally, the man asked Jacob to let him go, and Jacob refused to let him go until he blessed him! Jacob obviously knew that this random man who had come from nowhere and started wrestling him was someone from the Lord. Do you know who this random someone from the Lord is? Some think it was an angel. I strongly believe it was Jesus. The first thing you need to do is identify who, what, or why you’re fighting someone. The minute Jacob locked into battle with this man, he knew who he was, he knew what he wanted, and he was fighting for this reason. The Lord chose to fight against him to test Jacob and his determination to follow Him. Do you know what the Lord asked Jacob? “What is your name?” That’s a silly question to ask. “Jacob.” Then the man said “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” From that day forward, the people of God, God’s chosen people, were now called Israel. Israel literally means ‘wrestles with God.’ Jacob then asks for the name of the man, who tells him “Why is it that you ask my name?” and then he blessed him. Why would Jacob need to ask the name of the man when he knew who he was going against? Jacob called the place “Peniel” which means “Face of God,” and then crossed over the river limping because the Lord has dislocated his hip.
Something about the hip that my old pastor told the congregation that I found was interesting is that when one has their hip dislocated where Jacob did, the person is forced to drag the leg which was dislocated. When Jacob walked, he had to drag his leg behind him, leaving a trail where he walked. When you fight for and with the Lord to gain your blessing, no matter what you’re fighting to gain in life, you leave a trail. You may leave several trails. Perhaps one for others to follow in your footsteps, perhaps one on the hearts of people’s lives, perhaps in a place, or perhaps in the entire course of history. Regardless of where you leave your trail, no matter how small it was, from cleaning a single stroller for a child to enjoy their day in Walt Disney World, or something as large as leading a congregation of people to Christ, your legacy will be one that will forever mark peoples’ lives here on earth, and wage war in the spiritual realm against spirits of dark forces for the Glory of His name. I encourage all of you to do everything that you do in excellence, as if you were to be doing it for the Lord. Always remember that “from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Matthew 11:12) You have to fight for the blessing the Lord has for you, no matter what it is. You have to be violent! In the spiritual realm, the demons will not move out of your way if you say “Mr. Demon, can you please move out of my way.” You have to fight him! Jacob did not rest until he was blessed, and although he was wrestling with the Lord, he was forceful to take his blessing. In the same way, we have put aside our fears and trust in the Lord, our Rock and our Salvation. In Him you will find victory, not matter how difficult the battle.
It’s ironic that recently I have been studying American history, because this quote just entered my mind. “The summer soilder and the sunshine patriot will shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” Thomas Paine – The Crisis. People will rise against you, your faith, you’re actions; but God is more powerful than anything that can stand against you. And as long as you are walking in Christ, He will open doors for you that you thought were walls. He’ll level a mountain if you cry out to Him with the faith and ask. The gates of hell can open up outside your very home, and when they try to seize everything you have, will they find a worshipper in spirit and a warrior who takes the Kingdom of Heaven by force? I’d like to have everyone listen to a song..
With Everything – Hillsong United
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUsLF0305UM
The funny thing about that song is that it’s live. It’s amazing how the singers, the crew, the audience, everyone was all in perfect unison. Do you know how difficult it is to get twenty people to sing in unison? It’s bordering impossible. Do you know how many people were there? Twenty thousand people were at that gathering. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20) I think I’ll save the significance of names for next week. I have to do a little more research for it, and it’s going to take some time to go over the story of Jacob and the story of other men of the Lord that I’m going to find. I’m going to try to post something at least once a week, and I would like it if everyone tries to post something weekly as well. Remember, as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Also remember, do everything that you do for the glory of Christ’s name. Not for James, not for Billy, not for Pablo the Penguin, but for our Lord and savior. God bless =)
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Luke 20:17-18
"Then he looked at them and said, 'What then is this that is written:
"The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone"?
Whomever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."
Luke 20:17-18
Hello everyone! I haven't had a chance to post anything recently, although I've been inspired of the Lord to deliver this message. I've been thinking about what to post for quite some time, and actually this verse was the first verse to come into my mind. And I said to myself, "No.. This verse was difficult for me to understand, and it was difficult for me to grasp what it truly meant, how am I going to even post such a thing on a public blog to others?" And I thought of other things to write about. Ironically, as of late my laptop has failed me, and along with it's failure all of my documents, all of my writtings that I have written for myself in the past, and I could not find the other writing I had in my notebook. And I simply could not come up with anything else to speak of. This is something completely new, something I have not writen about in the past, although I believe the Lord had revealed it's meaning and a few things I can leave you all with.
These words were spoken by Jesus himself. You can find them in the verse I wrote of at the beginning. Anyways, in His preaching he quoted a Scripture that leads back to Psalms 118:22, a prophecy of what the Jews would do to the coming Messiah. "The stone the builders(the priest) rejected.." leading up to say that he would become the Chief Cornerstone. Why the chief cornerstone? What is it? So I went on Google and googled the term 'cornerstone' and came up with this on yourdictionary.com:a stone that forms the corner of the building; especially a foundation stone of this kind often inscribed, laid at a ceremony that marks the beginning of a building. Keep that in mind for later on =)
What struck me the most when I first read over this verse a long while ago was why are there two negatives when this cornerstone is supposed to be Christ? To be broken or ground to powder.. That's lovely! At first I didn't let it bother me, but later in my life I stumbled on the verse again. Still, didn't let it bother me, but by the third time it appeared I knew that I needed to learn something. So I sat down and I thought about it.
In my church they always mentioned the notion of being broken by Christ. Losing your pride, setting aside your goals and dreams in life, letting your desires become secondary... To me it seemed like such a gorgeous thing. Something I thought would be either too difficult for me to attain or something that was only meant for those crazy pentecostal people who found themselves in front of the alter collapsed before the Presence of the Lord. That wasn't me. And I knew that this verse was not speaking about a brokeness to utterly destroy a person, but simply to rebuild them.
In the hands of the Lord we are like clay. Jeremiah 18:6 "O, House of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter? says the Lord. Look, as the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O House of Israel!" We are being formed and crafted into something precious. Something that the Lord can use to fill with His Spirit and pour out on the nations! Every day the Lord molds you, whether you know it or not. Every day the Lord rises early in the morning, looking at His creation, formless, unshaped, in essence, still useless. He takes you into His massive hands and sifts you, creating the mouth of the pot, the handles, the edges. Every time He sticks His finger into the clay to create and indentation, it hurts. And once He is finished molding the clay, He puts it through the Fire. He tests the clay in the heat, watches as the product firms into perfection. And in the end, if He is not satisfied with how the clay came to be, He breaks it, and he starts over.
Remember what I spoke about earlier in the post? About the cornerstone, which is Christ? These pots that he breaks, the clay He molds and fits to perfection.. He breaks them on the cornerstone. The shards of broken pottery, the pains and trials you suffer, the teachings you learn, the people you save for Christ.. They remain on the cornerstone. The beginning of a building. And you know what else? The Lord uses those pieces of broken pottery, and the finished product to build His church, on which it's foundation is Christ. Isn't that amazing?
And now.. I encourage every one of you to come with me. Let's build a church together in the Lord.
"The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone"?
Whomever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."
Luke 20:17-18
Hello everyone! I haven't had a chance to post anything recently, although I've been inspired of the Lord to deliver this message. I've been thinking about what to post for quite some time, and actually this verse was the first verse to come into my mind. And I said to myself, "No.. This verse was difficult for me to understand, and it was difficult for me to grasp what it truly meant, how am I going to even post such a thing on a public blog to others?" And I thought of other things to write about. Ironically, as of late my laptop has failed me, and along with it's failure all of my documents, all of my writtings that I have written for myself in the past, and I could not find the other writing I had in my notebook. And I simply could not come up with anything else to speak of. This is something completely new, something I have not writen about in the past, although I believe the Lord had revealed it's meaning and a few things I can leave you all with.
These words were spoken by Jesus himself. You can find them in the verse I wrote of at the beginning. Anyways, in His preaching he quoted a Scripture that leads back to Psalms 118:22, a prophecy of what the Jews would do to the coming Messiah. "The stone the builders(the priest) rejected.." leading up to say that he would become the Chief Cornerstone. Why the chief cornerstone? What is it? So I went on Google and googled the term 'cornerstone' and came up with this on yourdictionary.com:a stone that forms the corner of the building; especially a foundation stone of this kind often inscribed, laid at a ceremony that marks the beginning of a building. Keep that in mind for later on =)
What struck me the most when I first read over this verse a long while ago was why are there two negatives when this cornerstone is supposed to be Christ? To be broken or ground to powder.. That's lovely! At first I didn't let it bother me, but later in my life I stumbled on the verse again. Still, didn't let it bother me, but by the third time it appeared I knew that I needed to learn something. So I sat down and I thought about it.
In my church they always mentioned the notion of being broken by Christ. Losing your pride, setting aside your goals and dreams in life, letting your desires become secondary... To me it seemed like such a gorgeous thing. Something I thought would be either too difficult for me to attain or something that was only meant for those crazy pentecostal people who found themselves in front of the alter collapsed before the Presence of the Lord. That wasn't me. And I knew that this verse was not speaking about a brokeness to utterly destroy a person, but simply to rebuild them.
In the hands of the Lord we are like clay. Jeremiah 18:6 "O, House of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter? says the Lord. Look, as the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O House of Israel!" We are being formed and crafted into something precious. Something that the Lord can use to fill with His Spirit and pour out on the nations! Every day the Lord molds you, whether you know it or not. Every day the Lord rises early in the morning, looking at His creation, formless, unshaped, in essence, still useless. He takes you into His massive hands and sifts you, creating the mouth of the pot, the handles, the edges. Every time He sticks His finger into the clay to create and indentation, it hurts. And once He is finished molding the clay, He puts it through the Fire. He tests the clay in the heat, watches as the product firms into perfection. And in the end, if He is not satisfied with how the clay came to be, He breaks it, and he starts over.
Remember what I spoke about earlier in the post? About the cornerstone, which is Christ? These pots that he breaks, the clay He molds and fits to perfection.. He breaks them on the cornerstone. The shards of broken pottery, the pains and trials you suffer, the teachings you learn, the people you save for Christ.. They remain on the cornerstone. The beginning of a building. And you know what else? The Lord uses those pieces of broken pottery, and the finished product to build His church, on which it's foundation is Christ. Isn't that amazing?
And now.. I encourage every one of you to come with me. Let's build a church together in the Lord.
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