Jacob's trouble

Luke 21:26
Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and
for looking after those things which are
coming on the earth: for the powers of
heaven shall be shaken.

The Lord is telling us that people's hearts will
be failing them through fear.

heart attack, anxiety and worry

The Lord is also telling us that people's hearts will be failing
them as they are looking at what is happening in this world.

We are seeing many of the so-called
conspiracy theories, now coming into play.

We are seeing leading powers of this world coming
together to infringe on your God-given freedom of choice.

And seek by force to control people's
consciences.This is where it's all heading.

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which
standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of
trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same
time:
Daniel 12:1

And it's pretty
much looking like
we are the
generation to see
this.

And it's causing fear.
It's causing worry.
Just as the Lord
accurately
describes.
“Men's hearts failing
them for fear and
for looking after
those things that are
coming on the
earth.”

Fear has always seemed to me to
be the worst stumbling block
which anyone has to face,” wrote
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, wife
of Franklin D. Roosevelt, United
States president during the
turbulent times from 1933 to 1945.
“It is the great crippler. Looking
back, it strikes me that my
childhood and my early youth
were one long battle against fear.”

Fear doesn’t discriminate among
age, gender, race, or economic
status.Whether we’re young or
old, male or female, rich or poor,
highly educated or with limited
educational opportunities, fear
has a way of creeping into our
lives.

COVID-19 has brought fear closer to all of us. It’s possible that we didn’t
become infected, or that our response to the virus was mild and
manageable.The economic fallout of this pandemic, however, will be felt
by all. Unemployment is soaring around the globe. Stock markets are
down. Brands familiar to many of us are fighting for their survival.There
are enough reasons to keep us awake at night.

Now, does the Lord want us to fear those things the
things that the wicked are planning?
Does the Lord wants us to fear men?

No!
Christ tells us:
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell.
Matthew 10:28

So we are not to fear men, we are to fear God who can kill both the
soul and the body.

And He continues (this is where we see the love of God coming into play)
Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not
fall on the ground without your Father.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

In other words, the Lord is telling us that He loves and cares for the
sparrow and not one perishes without Him knowing and He is telling
us are we not more valuable to Him than the sparrow? He actually
even knows the number of hairs on our head ?

The third angels message commands us in Revelation 14:7,
Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and
worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of
waters.

What is “to fear God” means?To fear God is to revere Him.To recognize
His sovereignty and your unworthiness. Solemn reverence to one greater
than. Not fear as in fright. Fear as in honor.

Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and
arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I
hate."

So the Lord wants us to focus on Him, to fear Him and not the world.

Now if you are just focusing on the negative, just looking at what the
wicked are planning, then you will have the fear of men.Your heart
will be failing you for fear.
But if you are balanced and you spend more time understanding who
God is, His character and seeking His righteousness and praying, you
are doing your devotionals, having a sincere repentance of sin,
then you will not fear men, you will fear God.

And what we should fear is sin.
Fear if we are holding unto and cherishing any sins in our lives.
We are told that our hearts, the natural human heart
is wicked.

That's why Martin Luther tells us,
I am more
afraid of my
own heart than
of the pope and
all his cardinals
for I have
within me the
great pope,
self.

Now a very good example I can use to illustrate this, is with Jacob.
We know how he deceived his father so he could obtain the blessing.
How he lied.And because of that lie, that sin, it led to him living as a
fugitive in fear of his brother for years.To the point where he never
saw his mother again.

And it haunted him
until he came face to
face with God during
that night of
wrestling when Esau
was coming to meet
him with a band of
armies.
He sought the Lord
face to face.

Solitary and unprotected,
Jacob bowed in deep distress
upon the earth. It was
midnight.All that made life
dear to him were at a
distance, exposed to danger
and death. Bitterest of all was
the thought that it was his own
sin which had brought this peril
upon the innocent.With
earnest cries and tears he
made his prayer before God.
Patriarchs and prophets 196

Suddenly a strong hand was
laid upon him. He thought that
an enemy was seeking his life,
and he endeavored to wrest
himself from the grasp of his
assailant. In the darkness the
two struggled for the mastery.
Not a word was spoken, but
Jacob put forth all his strength,
and did not relax his efforts for
a moment.

While he was thus battling
for his life, the sense of his
guilt pressed upon his soul;
his sins rose up before him,
to shut him out from God.
But in his terrible extremity
he remembered God's
promises, and his whole
heart went out in entreaty
for His mercy.

That was his worry. More than
anything else. It was his own
sin.
So he was worried about
his sin more than anything else.
And as he was praying, seeking
God that night, he encounters
the angel.And that angel was
Christ.

The struggle continued until near
the break of day, when the
stranger placed his finger upon
Jacob's thigh, and he was crippled
instantly.The patriarch now
discerned the character of his
antagonist. He knew that he had
been in conflict with a heavenly
messenger, and this was why his
almost superhuman effort had not
gained the victory. It was Christ,
“the Angel of the covenant,” who
had revealed Himself to Jacob.
PP 196.3

The patriarch was now disabled
and suffering the keenest pain,
but he would not loosen his hold.
All penitent and broken, he clung
to theAngel; “he wept, and made
supplication” (Hosea 12:4),
pleading for a blessing. He must
have the assurance that his sin
was pardoned. Physical pain was
not sufficient to divert his mind
from this object.
PP 196.3

His determination grew stronger,
his faith more earnest and
persevering, until the very last.
The Angel tried to release Himself;
He urged, “Let Me go, for the day
breaketh;” but Jacob answered, “I
will not letThee go, exceptThou
bless me.” Had this been a
boastful, presumptuous
confidence, Jacob would have
been instantly destroyed; but his
was the assurance of one who
confesses his own unworthiness,
yet trusts the faithfulness of a
covenant-keeping God. PP 196.3

So Jacob was praying to the Lord in
agony asking for that forgiveness of
sins.That's what he wanted. And he
succeeded.That's why we are told,
Jacob “had power over the Angel,
and prevailed.” Hosea 12:4.Through
humiliation, repentance, and self-
surrender, this sinful, erring mortal
prevailed with the Majesty of
heaven. He had fastened his
trembling grasp upon the promises
of God, and the heart of Infinite
Love could not turn away the
sinner's plea. PP 197

The error that had led to
Jacob's sin in obtaining the
birthright by fraud was now
clearly set before him. He had
not trusted God's promises,
but had sought by his own
efforts to bring about that
which God would have
accomplished in His own time
and way.
PP 197

So we see how Jacob prayed. He
sought the Lord genuinely and
cried. And the Lord forgave him.
And God showed him this by
changing his name to Israel.

As an evidence that he had
been forgiven, his name was
changed from one that was a
reminder of his sin, to one that
commemorated his victory.
“Thy name,” said theAngel,
“shall be called no more Jacob
[the supplanter], but Israel: for
as a prince hast thou power
with God and with men, and
hast prevailed.” PP 197.2

Now, note this part.
Jacob had received the blessing for which his soul had longed. His
sin as a supplanter and deceiver had been pardoned.The crisis in
his life was past. Doubt, perplexity, and remorse had embittered
his existence, but now all was changed; and sweet was the peace
of reconciliation with God. Jacob no longer feared to meet his
brother. God, who had forgiven his sin, could move the heart of
Esau also to accept his humiliation and repentance.
Patriarchs and Prophets, 198

So immediately, he'd
experienced the blessing of
God. He saw God face to
face. He understood his
sins were forgiven.
He was now
ready to meet Esau.
He was ready for whatever
he had ahead of him
because he knew he was at
peace with God.

While Jacob was wrestling with the Angel, another heavenly
messenger was sent to Esau. In a dream, Esau beheld his
brother for twenty years an exile from his 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
the God of his father was with him.

The two companies at last approached each other, the desert
chief leading his men of war, and Jacob with his wives and
children, attended by shepherds and handmaidens, and
followed by long lines of flocks and herds. Leaning upon his
staff, the patriarch went forward to meet the band of
soldiers. He was pale and disabled from his recent conflict,
and he walked slowly and painfully, halting at every step; but
his countenance was lighted up with joy and peace.

At sight of that crippled sufferer, “Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and
fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.” As they looked upon the scene,
even the hearts of Esau's rude soldiers were touched. Notwithstanding he had
told them of his dream, they could not account for the change that had come
over their captain.Though they beheld the patriarch's infirmity, they little
thought that this his weakness had been made his strength. PP, 198

And it's the same thing with us, the only way we're going to get
through the time of trouble is being at peace with God. Knowing
and trusting that our sins are forgiven if we confessed them and if
we are living in accordance with the light that He has given us.
This is to be our experience and when we have this experience, we
won't fear men.We won't fear those men who are in higher
powers and what they are planning.
We will fear God.
We will all be passing the same state as Jacob at the end of the
world, because we are told,

As Jacob was threatened with
death by his angry brother, so
the people of God will be in
peril from the wicked who are
seeking to destroy them. And
as the patriarch wrestled all
night for deliverance from the
hand of Esau, so the righteous
will cry to God day and night for
deliverance from the enemies
that surround them.

So this is how we overcome. It's
through prayer, it's through seeking
to ensure that our life is right.That
we have our sins confessed because
if we are holding on to any sin then
we will be lost, we will be in fear.
At the moment Jacob recognized
the Lord
had forgiven him, he was at peace,
he didn't fear men.
EGW continues,

Satan leads many to believe that
God will overlook their
unfaithfulness in the minor
affairs of life; but the Lord shows
in His dealing with Jacob that He
can in no wise sanction or
tolerate evil.All who endeavor to
excuse or conceal their sins, and
permit them to remain upon the
books of heaven, unconfessed
and unforgiven, will be overcome
by Satan.
PP 201

The more exalted their
profession, and the more
honorable the position
which they hold, the more
grievous is their course in
the sight of God, and the
more certain the triumph
of the great adversary.
PP 201

So again just confirming what we just
read,
If we are holding on to sin like if I'm
unfaithful in this, it's only a little thing, it's
not important.
But God shows us that one sin, the effect
he had on Jacob's life is tremendous.
So we shouldn't play with sin.
It's so serious. It's what led to the death of
Christ.
as long as we are right with him we have
nothing to fear.

Yet Jacob's history is an assurance
that God will not cast off those who
have been betrayed into sin, but who
have returned unto Him with true
repentance. It was by self-surrender
and confiding faith that Jacob gained
what he had failed to gain by conflict
in his own strength. God thus taught
His servant that divine power and
grace alone could give him the
blessing he craved.Thus it will be
with those who live in the last days.
As dangers surround them, and
despair seizes upon the soul, they
must depend solely upon the merits
of the atonement.

We can do nothing of ourselves. In
all our helpless unworthiness we
must trust in the merits of the
crucified and risen Saviour. None
will ever perish while they do this.
The long, black catalogue of our
delinquencies is before the eye of
the Infinite.The register is
complete; none of our offenses are
forgotten. But He who listened to
the cries of His servants of old, will
hear the prayer of faith and pardon
our transgressions. He has
promised, and He will fulfill His
word. PP 202

That's His assurance.
That's His promise and
when we have the
victory over sin
John 4:13-14

We can claim Psalm 27:1-5
The promise God gives us that He will protect us from the wicked
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is
the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to
eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear:
though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may
dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the
beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of
his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

The reason why many of us are fearing is because we know we don't know
God.We don't have an experience with Him. And that's dangerous, that's
worrying. For us, we really need to have the experience
we need to see God face to face.

In our prayer time, trust
Him, trust His promises and
then we can deal with what
we have ahead of us.
But if we are living in sin, if
we are not praying, then we
will be overcome.
It's a battle.

Unfortunately, many lose their
battle. Look at the times of Noah.
It's always been the remnant.
Why? Because not many want to
sacrifice. Not many want to trust
God and give all to God. But want
to live for
self. Self is our biggest enemy.We
need to die to self. Die daily. And
when self is dead, there's no fear,
there's just peace and love and joy
in Christ.
And that's what we need.

Jacob prevailed because he was
persevering and determined. His
experience testifies to the power of
importunate prayer. It is now that we are to
learn this lesson of prevailing prayer, of
unyielding faith.The greatest victories to
the church of Christ or to the individual
Christian are not those that are gained by
talent or education, by wealth or the favor
of men.They are those victories that are
gained in the audience chamber with God,
when earnest, agonizing faith lays hold
upon the mighty arm of power. PP 203.1

Those who are unwilling to
forsake every sin and to seek
earnestly for God's blessing, will
not obtain it. But all who will lay
hold of God's promises as did
Jacob, and be as earnest and
persevering as he was, will
succeed as he succeeded. “Shall
not God avenge His own elect,
which cry day and night unto
Him, though He bear long with
them? I tell you that He will
avenge them speedily.” Luke
18:7, 8. PP 203.2

Jacob's trouble

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Jacob's trouble