Is Control a Problem?
Control is at the core of that which is opposite the cross—-Self-Rule.
The Lord desires to increase our faith if we will continue to ask, trust and believe.
* “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.”
2 Timothy 2:13
“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.” The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip” Genesis 32:30-31
*Jacob was broken to be Blessed; crippled to be Crowned!!!!
*God is the Potter and we are the clay. He will shape us according to His design for us.
When God puts us on the wheel, He begins to apply the pressure of circumstances–sometimes gently caressing the clay and often more firmly. The Potter may even have to break us and start over.
Jacob was a man who was a controller. He connived and manipulated his way to get what he wanted.
It was a generational stronghold passed down through his mother, who encouraged her son to play a trick on his father, Isaac, by pretending to be Esau.
This trick led Isaac to give the family blessing to Jacob, which meant Jacob would eventually inherit the land God had promised to Abraham’s seed.
Jacob also learned control from his uncle Laban who caused Jacob to work for 14 years to take Rachel as his lifelong mate.
One must ask which was more ugly in God’s sight, the self-centered nature and worldliness of Esau, or the control and manipulation of Jacob?
Control is a problem for men and women. As an example some women use sex to control their husbands. Many men use power and force to control their wives.
** Control is at the core of that which is opposite the cross—-self-rule. “The ME”
What delivers us from this fleshly nature of control?
*************A crisis!!!!!
* Jacob’s crisis came when he was faced with the prospect of meeting a brother who said he would kill him the next time he saw him.
* Esau had built his own clan and was about to meet Jacob and his clan in the middle of the desert. Jacob was fearful, so he retreated. There he met a messenger from God who wrestled with him.
*Jacob clung to God and refused to let go of this angel.
* It is the place where Jacob was given a painful but necessary spiritual heart transplant.
**From that point on, Jacob would walk with a limp, because God had to dislocate his hip in order to overcome Jacob’s strong will.
For believers, God often has to “dislocate our hip” through failure and disappointment.
Sometimes it is the only way He can get our attention. Our nature to control and manipulate is so strong that it takes a catastrophic event to wake us up.
Yet God did not reject Jacob for these character traits. In fact, God blessed him greatly because He saw something in Jacob that pleased Him. He saw a humble and contrite heart beneath the cold and manipulative exterior of Jacob’s life, and it was that trait that God needed to develop.
*God did this by bringing about the crisis in Jacob’s life that led to total consecration.
This event was marked by Jacob getting a new name, Israel.
* For the first time, Jacob had a nature change, not just a habit change.
* What will God have to do in our lives to gain our complete consecration to His will and purposes?
*As we cry out to the Lord repeatedly concerning our situations, we shall see Him move on our behalf.
A new day dawns! Jacob–Israel–walks on the rest of life’s journey with a limp. *Every step was a painful reminder of the transformation in his life.
* Each step was to be a step of faith and not self-reliance.
**He was broken to be blessed; crippled to be crowned.
That painful circumstance in your life, the frustrated plans, the family strife, the financial struggle, the physical sickness–it could be a host of things–pressures you have prayed and asked God to remove. You think your prayer is unanswered and the blessing has been withdrawn. Well Maybe– It might be that your prayer is being answered in a better way and the blessing you desire is coming disguised as a burden.
**The darkest night in your life may yield to the dawn of your brightest day! It did for Jacob.
Watch for the temptations that suck you back into an old spiritual condition, particularly that of fear or obsession. You will recognize it when it comes because you will feel restricted by it. Refuse to allow anything to cause you to retreat emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. Maintain your liberty. The price has been paid for your freedom at the Cross.
* Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
The Christian faith operates through love; and the measure of one’s love is demonstrated by the extent to which one keeps Christ’s commandments. “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (Jn. 14:23). The Father’s love is conditional; it is based upon our obedience to His Word.
A similar hope is given to us in the sixth beatitude: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Mt. 5:8). Let us therefore cry out as David did in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
After this experience with God, Jacob became lame because the Lord had touched him in his thigh.
Jacob was originally very strong-willed and independent, but from this time onwards he had to “depend on the Lord”.
This dependency upon the Lord is also seen in the Song of Solomon 8:5, “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?” Certainly, the purpose of the wilderness is to bring us to that place of holy dependence upon our Beloved.
Also, Isaiah 33:23 is a wonderful promise to those who are so afflicted. It declares: “the lame take the prey.” This verse implies that those who have been weakened by God can win the battle and obtain the spoils.
Isaiah 33: 22 For the LORD is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save us.
If you feel that your far from God, pray to God and ask him to give you a new heart.
Guard your heart with; Prayer, hearing the truth and reading the Bible.
I need to learn how to repent like David but not just repent but do my very best not to repeat the same sin over and over. I need GOD to take control and for Him to help me take control of my flesh and learn not to let my flesh defeat me, but I must learn how to defeat my flesh.
Prayer Today: Read and meditate on Psalms 51….Amen