I Have Met God

Study Notes

What Is Your Name?  I Have Met God

Genesis 32:22-32

    Today’s message can be boiled down to this: Life changes when you have a personal encounter with God.

     There are few things more important for you today than to come to grips with whether you have met God genuinely and personally – and whether meeting him continues to shape your life.  Jesus came to introduce all who place faith in him to God.  Jesus makes us alive to our Creator and opens up a life-transforming relationship to God as your Father.  Are you experiencing that? 

     To guide us this morning, we come to the well-known story of Jacob’s encounter with God.  Of course, Jacob was quite a scoundrel.  Have you noticed that?  So, let me tell you that the way the Bible tells the stories about its main characters is different from the way other religions do it.  Usually the purpose of stories in world religions is to tell us of their characters’ virtues so that we might emulate them.  But, in many Bible stories, we see no one living an exemplary life.  The Bible does not hide the flaws of its main characters.

     So, make careful note of this: The intent of the Bible is not to call you to emulate the people in the narratives but to show you how imperfect people meet God and – and begin to find a new life through faith in him.  The stories help us see ourselves and our need of grace and salvation.  The story of Jacob is probably the most vivid example of this.  He almost never did what was right.  But, God never gave up on him.  Today, we see the night when Jacob’s life was turned around.  It happened as it always does, i.e., when Jacob met God personally.

Setting of the Encounter: A Time of Trouble

     20 years earlier, Jacob had swindled his brother Esau out of the family inheritance.  When Esau had found out, he vowed to kill Jacob.  So, 20 years before the fate-filled night we consider today, Jacob had fled for his life to his mother’s brother Laban. Since then, he had gotten married and become wealthy. But, he had also run into all sort of problems with Laban and this part of the family too. So, Jacob decided to head back home – taking with him a lot of cattle, servants and family members.  You can read about this in Gen 30-32.

     As Jacob and his entourage get closer to home, he began to send messengers to Esau to see if he was still angry after all those years. The only response he got was that Esau and an army of 400 men were only a day away.  So, Jacob did what he always did, i.e., turned to scheming and planning.  He wondered what he might do to minimize the damage.  http://home.insightbb.com/~biblestudy/GenesisPhotos17.htm

     He decided to divide his caravan into two groups and send them across to the west side of the river to locate at two widely separated places.  But he stayed on the east side of the river so that if Esau arrived and wiped out one group, Jacob would join the other and save, at least, have of his wealth and, with it, could start a new life.  What a scoundrel!  He was willing to have ½ of his entourage killed in order to save his own neck!

     But, to add to that plan, he decided he might appease Esau with extravagant gifts.  He sent 220 goats – bleating and uncontrollably wandering all over – with instructions to tell Esau they are a gift from his brother to make up for what he had done.  Then, later, he sent 220 sheep with messengers giving the same message.  And then he sent yet another group with camels – followed by cows and then bulls and then donkeys.  He sent these extravagant gifts in waves with the hope that they would take away Esau’s anger.  On this day before meeting

Esau, Jacob he was doing everything he could think of to solve his mess.

     So, as we come to our passage, it’s almost nightfall.  Jacob sends everyone away -- and he’s alone.  It’s the night before the battle.  It’s so much like the musical, Les Misérables, and the song, “One Day More”:

“One night more -- Another night and then, my destiny -- This never-ending road to family.
This brother surely knows my crime – He will not spare my life this time.  One night more…”

     Can you put yourself in his shoes that night?  Can you relate to Jacob at all?  Have you ever found yourself in a mess – and, although you might blame others, you know deep down that you have done things to get you where you are.  You try to figure out how to get this behind you. You might even promise God that if you get out of this mess, you will never do wrong things again. That’s where Jacob was – alone and in the dark of night.

Part 1:  Our Encounter with God: “I saw God face to face (32:30).”

     As Jacob was sitting in the dark – thinking, strategizing and maybe even praying – a man rushed in, grabbed him and began a ferocious battle.  Who was this man?  I imagine Jacob must have thought it was either Esau or one of Esau’s strongest warriors.  Of course, Jacob was an incredibly strong man.  He had been able to lift a stone that it usually took three men to hoist.  He was used to winning battles in his own strength.  But, he could not defeat this man.  Who was the man?  Hosea 12:4 says it was an angel.  Whether angel or God in flesh, Jacob knew that, without question, this fighter was the one through whom God was meeting him personally.  And, this meeting turned his entire life around.  Again -- Life changes when you have a personal encounter with God.

     There are several things about Jacob’s meeting that seem to me to be true of every encounter like this:

1. It is always personal -- Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak (32:34).

     Let’s remember that Jacob’s grandfather Abraham in Gen 12 and grandmother Sarah in Gen 18 had met God personally.  Jacob’s father Isaac and mother Rebekah had met God personally.  It’s true that Jacob had once had an unforgettable dream at a place he called Bethel.  Jacob had even seen angels in 32:1 and tried praying in 32:9-12 – though, as I read his prayer, it is more of an attempt to get God to further his own schemes than to surrender his life in faith to God.  It’s clear that Jacob was still in control of his own life.  He was still the grabber, schemer, deceiver that he had always been.  He needed a personal encounter with God in which he would say personally, “Without you, O Lord, I can never find blessing, i.e., I can never really live.”

     I still remember my first personal encounter with God.  It was in Beckley, WV at a little Calloway Heights Community Church.  http://www.callowayheightsbaptist.com/About_Us/

     Pastor Hayward Lough was preaching.  A few months before, first my Dad and then my Mom, had met God through faith in Jesus. But, that Sunday, as the preacher was preaching (and I was probably squirming as a 6-year-old), I suddenly felt as I was the only one in church.  I was painfully aware of a number of Jacob-like things in my life: deception and scheming, at a first-grade level -- but deception and scheming nonetheless.  I knew I needed forgiveness.  I surrendered by faith to Jesus and God entered my life.  It was real.  It began the journey that I’m still on.

     I’ve had a number of those kinds of encounters with God over the years.  More often than not, they have happened in times of silence and solitude, just as this one happened in Jacob’s life.  But, the meetings have always been personal and required from me a conscious act of faith, of re-commitment to trust the Lord.

     At this point, I think an ancient Bible passage like this one becomes very relevant to those of us who have gone to church much of our lives.  We don’t know God simply because our parents do.  You and I need to have our own personal time of entrusting our lives to the Lord.  Have you?  As John wrote, “No one has seen God at any time, except God the one and only Son – He makes God known (Jn 1:18).”  Perhaps God is breaking into your life right now and saying, “Today is your day of salvation.”  If so, turn to him – turn your sins over to him and entrust your life to him by trusting Jesus.  An encounter with God is always individual and personal.

2. It almost always happens in times of weakness – The man touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man (32:25).

     As he sat alone that night waiting for the meeting with Esau, Jacob had always thought he could fix things on his own.  Even though he had always been a man who was trying to find something to fill his inner being, he had also rarely lost a battle of intellectual planning or physical fighting.  But then, seemingly out of nowhere, a man assaulted him who has greater strength that Jacob had ever faced.  Jacob still thought he could win until, with the simply touch of the man’s finger, Jacob was crippled.  Anyone who could do that could do anything. 

     It seems to me that this first acknowledgement of weakness was the beginning of Jacob’s transformation.  It happened at a point of pain, of need and vulnerability.  This is why those who have always been successful find it hard to come to faith.  As Jesus said to the disciples, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich and successful to enter the kingdom of God (Mk 10:25).”

     I confess to you that most of my most profound experiences with God have come at times of weakness, uncertainty, or failure.  As I have thought about my times of encountering God, I’ve remembered my anger and doubts at the death of my daughter, my many days in hospital over a three-year period because of pancreas disorders, and my times of struggling with failure.  In his book The Problem of Pain, C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.”

      If right now you feel like you are in the dark as Jacob was; if you feel the Lord has touched your life with pain as Jacob did; then perhaps God is telling you to turn to him and to trust him as you never have before.

3. It happens when God becomes the center of life -- a man “jacobed” with him till daybreak (32:24).

     I’m quite sure that, if you had asked Jacob that night what the biggest problem in his life was, he would have said it was Esau.  It had always been Esau:  In the womb as the two fought. In his standing as the ignored 2^nd child in his father’s eyes.  In his fleeing from his home because Esau wanted to kill him.  And, now, as he sat in the darkness, he was sure that his main fight was going to be with Esau.  If he had been in a 21^st C counseling room, he would have said, “My inability to find any kind of blessing in my life has always been Esau. I’ve been wrestling with him all my life.”  Jacob’s whole focus was on Esau.

     Then, this man came and, the Hebrew literally says in v. 25, “Jacobed” with him.  This man grabbed him.  Wrestled with him.  Tricked him, toyed with him and then, with a touch, took away his strength. 

     Essentially, what God was saying was this, “Jacob, the one you have been fighting with your whole life has not been Esau.  Your fight has been with me!  You thought that tomorrow you would be meeting the one you had been wrestling with all your life.  No, your real meeting is now.  I’m the one you have to be right with.  You’ve been trying to resist me your whole life.  I promised to bless you and make you a blessing – but you decided that you have to find that blessing your own way – through trickery and plotting.  The problem beneath all your problems is that you’ve been trying to fight me out of your life. You’ve wanted to be your own Savior and Lord.  Until you understand that, you will never really live.

     This is what is at the heart of genuine relationship with God. Jacob had been having interactions with God up to this time – but only as a means to an end.  If God was a way to get him what he thought he really had to have, then, he’d be willing to say that he believed in God.  But, in this struggle, he learned that what he really needed to experience blessing was not anything that God might give.  No, he needed God.  So, at last, he holds on to God and God alone.  Jacob thereby changes from a man who knows something about God – to knowing God. In spite of the weakness, the pain, the danger he held on saying, “I will not let you go until YOU bless me.”  If I don’t have you – your blessing, then I don’t have anything.”

Part 2:  God’s Encounter with Us

     We dare not leave this part of God’s Word without pausing to see that it says some remarkable things about God himself.  I want you to make note of these things – and I want to ask you to ask honestly whether you have discovered them to be true.  I want to tell you three things about God that have become very precious to me over my many years of walking with him.

1. God alone blesses -- Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me (32:26).”

     This is our 6^th week of learning from the life of Jacob and what we’ve seen each week was that what Jacob most wanted was blessing.  All his life he had been striving for blessing.  He thought he could find it if he grabbed the 1^st son’s blessing away from Esau.  He probably grew up not being convinced of his own value – of the significance of his life.  He was the child who felt he had to get the blessing himself.  He was always trying to fill some kind of vacuum inside.  But, that vacuum could not be filled by grabbing Esau’s birthright, or by marrying the beautiful Rachel or by becoming rich.  But, that night he learned it at Peniel he learned life’s most important lesson – He was made for God.  He learned that God knew him personally and wanted to bless him.

     And, I love this part of the story, i.e., After Jacob got a new name, he asked what the man’s name was.  The man did not answer. It wasn’t the time for him to tell Jacob because, in their culture, to know a name was to gain some control over the person.  No, Jacob would still have to learn to let God be in control. But, what God did was bless him.  In doing so, he was saying, “I am the one who blesses you.”  We are made for God.  No one and nothing else can bless us in this way.  To fill your innermost longing, you need to give your life to God.

2. God alone can change our lives – Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (32:28).

     Do you see that there are bad patterns in Jacob’s life that have been there for years?  His grabbing and deceiving have been set and reinforced by years of grabbing and deceiving.

     I know that we sometimes give up hope of things in our lives being different.  We give up hope that our spouses could ever change – or that our children could ever change.  And, let’s face it, we who are human do not change easily.  And, change does not happen in a moment.  But, if we give up hope that we can change, we give up the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Zacchaeus changed from a greedy man to a generous man.  Paul changed from a hater of Christians to a lover of all people.  Life changes when you have a personal encounter with God.

    Jacob would have a new name – no longer grabber (Jacob) but one who overcomes with God (Israel).  He would have to own up to the fact that he was a “Jacob” – and we have to own up to who and what we are too.  But, God is God and God can change things.  Jacob would also have a new limp.  He might have beaten Esau without the limp – but, with that limp, he would have no hope. But, he was no longer Jacob alone.  The days of him empty and losing in spite of using all his craft and power are over.  The days of success through weakness have begun.

     We will think about this more next week.  But, now, I simply want you to grab hold of the hope that God can and does change lives – grab hold of him by faith and do not let go.

3. God alone is willing to empty himself and enter into our weakness -- When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched (32:34).
4. V. 34 is the most baffling part of the story, isn’t it? This man could render Jacob helpless by a touch of his finger but is, at the same time, in a position in which he says he cannot overpower him.  How are we to understand that?  I’ll give you both an imperfect and a perfect illustration of how to grasp it:

     The Imperfect Illustration – When my children, Heather and Brandon, were little, I would come home from work and they would pile on me in a mock battle.  I would get on my back and they would jump on me and wrestle with me.  But, I was sure to put myself in a position in which I couldn’t step on them or roll on them.  The stronger they got, the harder it was.  But, I made sure I never put my full weight on them.  It was a real wrestling match – but one in which I made sure they were not hurt – but, instead, had joy.  I think that, what God did, was something like that.  He had the power to disable Jacob with a touch but God’s intent was always to bless – never to destroy.

     The Perfect Illustration – When we see Jesus crucified, we see the one through whom all things were created willingly surrendering to death on a cross.  Why did he do it?  The Apostle Paul helps us to understand what God did for Jacob and what Jesus did for us when he said, Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness… He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross (Phil 2:6-8)!

     This is the kind of God we worship.  One who is willing to empty himself and enter into the life of Jacob. He is one who is willing to enter into our lives, carry the punishment for our sins, bless us, and give us a new name – a new script for our lives.  The sun rose above Jacob... (32:31).  It was a new day. A new life.

     Jacob remembered this encounter by calling the place Peniel – the place he met God.  We remember it by going to the communion table…

Chinese Study Notes

“你的名是什麽”系列講道：我遇見了神

創32：22-32

                  今天的信息可以歸結為這樣一句話：當你親身遇見神時，你的生命就會改變。

                  對你來說，今天最重要的事情，莫過於明白自己是否真實並親身遇見過神，以及與祂的相遇是否在繼續不斷地塑造你的人生。耶穌的到來是為要使所有信靠祂的人認識神。祂使我們活在神的面前，並且開啟了我們與天父之間改變生命的關系。你有過這樣的經歷嗎？

                  今天早上，我們一同來看一看眾所周知的雅各與神相遇的故事。當然，雅各不是一個君子。你註意到了嗎？聖經講述        其主要人物故事的方式，與其它宗教不同。通常來說，世界上其它宗教的故事旨在告訴世人其中人物的美德，以使大家效仿他們，然而在許多聖經故事中，我們看到，沒有任何人是完美無缺的典範。聖經並不隱藏其主要人物的缺陷。

                  所以請大家留意這點：聖經的目的不是要讓你效法故事中的人物，而是向你展示，不完美的人們如何與神相遇，並藉著信靠祂而找到新的生命。這些故事幫助我們看到自己以及我們對神的恩典與救恩的需要。雅各的故事可能是所有故事中最生動的例子。他幾乎從來沒做過正確的事情。但是神從未放棄過他。今天，我們來看看雅各生命轉變的那個夜晚。雅各與神的相遇，就這樣一如既往地發生了。

與神相遇的背景：患難之時

二十年前，雅各騙取了他兄弟以掃長子的名分。當以掃發現時，他發誓要殺死雅各。因此，在我們今天所看到的這個決定他命運的夜晚的二十年前，雅各已經逃到了他母親的兄弟拉班那裏。從那時起，他結婚生子，並且日漸富有。但是他和拉班以及這個家庭也有各種問題。因此雅各決定回到家鄉，他帶走了很多牛羊、仆人和家眷。你可以在創世紀30-32讀到這個故事。

當雅各與隨行的家人離家鄉越來越近的時候，他就派遣使者前往以掃之處，看看他這麽多年之後是否仍然生氣。他所得到的唯一回應是，以掃和他的四百名兵丁離他只有一天的路程了。因此，雅各發揮他一向所長，開始精密的策劃。他在思考如何行才可以將傷害減至最低。http://home.insightbb.com/~biblestudy/GenesisPhotos17.htm

他決定將隨行家人分成兩隊，並將他們送到河的西側，分別安置在兩個相隔很遠的地方。但是他留在河的東邊，以防萬一以掃到達要消滅那一隊人的時候，他至少可以與另一隊人在一起，也可以保存財富，開始新的生活。這個人真是糟糕，他為了保全自己，寧願讓另一半人被犧牲掉。

但是，為了確保這個計劃安全實施，他決定用貴重的禮物安撫以掃。他送了220只山羊，這些羊咩咩叫，無法控制地四處遊走，他同時派人告訴以掃，這是他兄弟的禮物，為要彌補他從前的過失。接著，他又差派信使帶著220只綿羊送去同樣的信息。然後他又派了另一隊人帶著駱駝，跟著奶牛、公牛和驢。他分批送去這些昂貴的禮物，為要使以掃消氣。在面見以掃的這一天之前，雅各在盡他所能收拾自己多年以前留下的爛攤子。

所以當我們讀到故事的這裏時，已是夜幕降臨了，雅各把所有人都打發走了，一人獨處。這是戰鬥前的一個晚上，與音樂劇“悲慘世界”之中的歌曲“再多一天”很像。再多一個晚上，再一個晚上，然後就是我的劫數，這一條回家的路，永不到頭。我的兄弟對我的過錯了如指掌，他這次一定不會放過我。再一個晚上……“

你可以身臨其境地想一想那個晚上嗎？你能把自己與雅各聯系起來嗎？你有沒有如此陷入混亂的狀態過？雖然表面上你責備他人，但是在內心深處，你知道這一切都是你自己所造成的。你試圖想辦法補救，你甚至可能向神保證，如果你擺脫了這種混亂的局面，你就永遠不再做錯事。雅各此刻就是在這種狀況之中，獨自一人在夜晚的黑暗之中。

第一部分：我們與神的相遇：“我面對面見了神（32：30）

當雅各坐在黑暗之中思考、計劃可能也禱告的時候，一個人突然出現了，那人抓住他，開始和他摔跤。這個人是誰呢？我猜雅各一定以為那是以掃或者以掃手下最勇猛的戰士。當然，雅各本身也是一個非常強壯的人。他曾經自己擡起一塊需要三個人才能舉起的石頭。他習慣於以自己的力量贏得戰鬥。但是他無法戰勝這個人。這個人是誰呢？何西阿書12：4說他是個天使。無論是天使還是神，雅各都確切地知道，神在藉著這個戰士親自與他會面。這個會面完全改變了他的一生。再說一次，當你親身遇見神的時候，你的生命就改變了。

第一，這樣的相遇總是非常個人化的 ---- 只剩下雅各一人，有一人來和他摔跤，直到黎明（32：24）。

讓我們回想一下，在創世紀12章中雅各的祖父亞伯拉罕，和創世紀18章中的祖母撒拉，都親身遇見了神。雅各的父親以撒和母親利百加也親身遇見了神。雅各曾經在伯特利做過一個難以忘記的夢，32：1記載他看到了天使，32：9-12敘述了他的禱告，但是當我讀他的禱告時，我覺得他更多的是想讓神進一步推行他自己的計劃，而不是靠著信心把他的生命交托給神。很顯然，雅各還是在掌管著自己的生命。他還是一如既往地是一個抓取者，一個謀劃者，一個欺騙者。他需要親自遇見神，如此他才可以說：“主啊，沒有你，我永遠找不到祝福，也永遠無法真正地生活。“

我仍然記得我第一次與神相遇的時候，那是在西弗吉尼亞的百克利的卡羅維崗社區教會。 http://www.callowayheightsbaptist.com/About_Us/。

那天正好是Hayward Lough 牧師講道，在那之前幾個月，先是我的爸爸，然後是我的媽媽，藉著相信耶穌遇見了神。但是那個主日，當牧師在講道的時候（那時我是一個懵懂的六歲小孩），突然之間，我覺得教堂裏只有我一個人，我痛苦地認識到，在我的生命中，有一些和雅各非常相似的事情：欺騙，詭計，當然是在一年級小孩的水平，但仍然是欺騙和詭計。我知道我需要得赦免。我藉著信心把自己交托給耶穌，於是神進入了我的生命之中。這是真實發生的事，直到如今我仍然在這個旅程之中。

在過去的年月中，我與神有幾次的相遇。這幾次都發生在沈默和孤獨之中，就像這一次發生在雅各生命中的相遇一樣。但是，這些相遇都是個人性的，都需要有清醒的意識與信心的行為，並要重新委身於信靠主。

在這一點上，我認為與此類似的古聖經經文與我們這些一生中大部分時間都去教會的人非常相關。我們不僅僅是因為我們的父母而認識神。你和我需要有個人的時間將我們的生命交托給主。你有沒有這樣做？就如約翰所寫的那樣：“從來沒有人看見神，除了父懷裏的獨生子將祂表明出來（約1：18）。”也許神正在介入你的生活，對你說：“今天就是你得到救恩的日子。” 如果是這樣的話，你要轉向祂，將你的罪交托給祂，藉著信靠耶穌而將你的生命托付給祂。與神的相遇永遠是單獨與個人性的。

第二，與神的相遇幾乎總是發生在一個人軟弱之時 ---- 那人將他的大腿窩摸了一把，雅各的大腿窩正在摔跤的時候就扭了（32：25）

                 

                  那天晚上，當雅各獨自坐著等待與以掃會面的時候，他一直認為他可以憑借自己的力量解決問題。他總是盡力填補內心的空白，他很少在智力與體力的戰爭中失敗。但是那時，不知從哪裏冒出來這個人，他攻擊雅各時的力量，是雅各從未見過的。雅各還是認為他會贏，直到那個人的手觸摸到他，雅各就瘸了。任何能做到這一點的人都可能做到任何事。

                  在我看來，他所意識到的這第一個弱點，就是他生命改變的開始。這個改變始於痛苦、需要和軟弱。正因為此，那些一直很成功的人總是很難信主。正如耶穌對門徒所說的，“駱駝穿過針的眼，比財主進神的國還容易呢（可10：25）。“

                  我承認，我與神最深刻的經歷都是在我軟弱、疑惑和失敗的時候。當我想到自己與神相遇的時候，我就會想起我的女兒去世之時我心中的憤怒與懷疑，並且我因為胰腺異常而在醫院的三年的時間，還有我處於掙紮與失敗之中的許多時候。魯益士在他的著作“痛苦的問題“中寫道：”神在我們快樂的時候向我們耳語，向我們的良知講話，卻對我們的痛苦大聲疾呼。“

                  如果現在你覺得你像雅各一樣處於黑暗之中，如果你感覺主藉著像雅各那樣的痛苦觸摸了你的生命，那麽也許神是在告訴你，要轉向祂，並且要像從未有過的那樣去信靠祂。

第三，當神成為你生活中心的時候，你就會與神相遇 ---- 一個人和他摔跤直到黎明（32：24）

                  我很確定，在那個夜晚，如果你問雅各，他生命中最大的問題是什麽，他會告訴你，是以掃。一直以來都是以掃：在他們兩個在母腹之中爭鬥的時候；在他作為次子被父親忽略的時候，因以掃要殺他，而他不得不離家出逃的時候都是如此。而現在，當他坐在黑暗之中，他知道自己主要的爭戰對象還是以掃。如果他來到二十一世紀的心理咨詢室，他會說：“在我的生命中無法找到任何祝福的原因，就是以掃。我一生都在和他爭戰。“雅各全部的關註都在以掃身上。

                  然後，這個人來了，在25節中，希伯來原文說，那人和他“摔跤“，這個人抓住他，和他搏鬥，戲弄他，然後摸了他，使他力氣全無。

                  從本質上講，神的意思是，“雅各，那個你一生都在與之爭戰的人並非以掃，你是在與我爭戰！你以為明天你要與那跟你爭戰一生的人相遇嗎？不是的，現在才是你真正的相遇。我才是那個你必須要和好的人。你的一生都在拒絕我。我答應祝福你，並使你成為他人的祝福，但是你決定要以自己的方式來找到祝福----通過欺騙和謀劃。你所有的問題的根源就是，你努力想要讓我脫離你的生命。你想要成為你自己的救主。除非你明白這一點，否則你永遠不會真正的活著。

                  這就是與神真正關系的核心。此時的雅各才開始與神有互動，但這只是他達到目的的手段。如果神是他獲得某種渴望得到的東西的一種途徑，那麽他也是會願意承認他相信神的。但是在這個爭戰之中，他認識到，他所真正要經歷的祝福，並不在神所給與他的任何東西裏，不是的，他所需要的，是神自己。於是，雅各從一個聽說過神的人變成了一個認識神的人。盡管他面對著的是弱、痛苦和危險，他還是堅持說：“你不給我祝福，我就不容你去。如果我沒有你，沒有你的祝福，我就什麽都沒有。“

第二部分：神與我們的相遇

                  我們不敢不停下來思考這一段經文之中關於神自己的內容。我希望你能記下這些事情，我也想讓你誠實地說，你是否真的相信這些話。我想告訴你關於神的三件事情，它們在我過去的許多年月中，是十分寶貴的經歷。

第一，唯有神賜下祝福 ---- 雅各回答說：“你不給我祝福，我就不容你去。（32：26）“

                  這是我們學習雅各的人生的第六周。我們每周都能看到，雅各最想要的，就是祝福。他終其一生都在努力爭取祝福。他以為自己只要從以掃那裏得到長子的名分，就一定能夠得到祝福。他可能在長大的過程中從未相信過自己的價值，也就是他生命的意義。他覺得一定要靠自己去爭取到祝福。他總是在努力填充著內心的空虛。然而，那種空虛卻無法通過騙取以掃的名分、和美麗的利百加結婚，或是變得富有而得到填補。但是那個夜晚，他學到了人生最重要的一課：他是為神而生的。他知道神認識他，並且要祝福他。

                  我喜歡故事的這個部分，在雅各得到新的名字之後，他問那人的名字。那人沒有回答他。那還不是告訴雅各的時候，因為在他們的文化中，要知道一個人的名字，是為要獲得對那人一定的控制權。當時還不是時候，雅各仍然需要學會把主權交給神。然而神祝福了他，並且告訴他說：“我才是那賜你祝福的人。“我們是為神而造的。沒有任何人和事物能如此祝福我們。你若想要填充自己內在的渴望，就需要把你的生命交托給神。

第二，唯有神能改變你的生命 ---- 你的名不要再叫雅各，要叫以色列（32：28）。

                  你有沒有看到，在雅各的生命中，有一些不好的模式一直延續了很多年？多年的抓取和欺騙在他的人生之中成為了惡性循環。

                  我知道，我們有時會因為一些生命之中的不同而放棄希望。我們因著配偶不能改變、或者因為孩子無法改變而放棄希望。讓我們面對現實吧，人類不會輕易改變，而且任何改變也不會在一朝一夕之間發生。但是，如果我們放棄改變的希望，我們就放棄了耶穌基督福音的核心。撒該從一個貪婪的人變為一個慷慨的人；保羅從恨惡基督徒的人變為一個愛世人的人。當你與神相遇的時候，你的生命就改變了。

                  雅各將有一個新的名字，他不再叫抓取者（雅各），而是叫與神較力而得勝的人（以色列）。他必須要承認這個事實：他曾經是“雅各“，我們也應當承認我們曾經是誰。但是，神就是神，祂能改變一切。那時，雅各瘸了。在沒有跛腳的情況下，他可能會擊敗以掃，但是他瘸了以後就沒有希望了。然而他也已經不再是雅各了。他使用各種計謀和能力卻仍然空虛失敗的日子結束了，他藉著自己的軟弱而取得成功的時候開始了。

                  我們下周會更多地談到這一點。現在，我希望大家抓住神能改變生命的希望，藉著信心抓住神，不要放手。

第三，唯有神願意清空自己並進入我們的軟弱之中 ------那人見自己勝不過他，就將他的大腿窩摸了一把，雅各的大腿窩正在摔跤的時候就扭了（32：24）。

                  第24節是整個故事中最令人費解的部分。不是嗎？那人可以用手指觸摸雅各而使他無助，但是同時，他又說自己勝不過雅各。我們如何理解這一點？讓我給大家一個不完美和一個完美的例子，來解釋這件事：

                  不完美的例子：當我的孩子們還年幼的時候，我下班回到家，他們都會撲上來和我玩打仗的遊戲。他們會跳到我身上，和我搏鬥。但是我肯定會讓自己不踩到他們或者撞到他們。他們越是強壯，我就越難做到這點。但是我確定自己不會和他們用盡全力。那是真正的摔跤，但是我會確保他們不受傷，而且很開心。我想，神所做的就是如此。祂有能力摸雅各一下就使他無法動彈，但是神的意念總是祝福，從不毀壞。

                  完美的例子：當我們看到耶穌釘十字架的時候，我們看到那創造一切的人甘願在十字架上受死。祂為什麽要這樣做？使徒保羅在腓利比書中說：祂本有神的形象，不以自己與神同等為強奪的，反倒虛己，取了奴仆的形象，成為人的樣式。既有人的樣子，就自己卑微，存心順服，以至於死，且死在十字架上（腓2：6-8）。這段話能夠幫助我們理解，神為雅各做了什麽，以及耶穌為我們做了什麽。

                  這就是我們所敬拜的神。一個願意清空自己並進入雅各生命的神。祂也願意進入我們的生命之中，為我們的罪背負刑罰，祝福我們，賜給我們新的名字，那是我們人生嶄新的篇章。日頭剛出來的時候，雅各經過毗努伊勒（32：31）。那是新的一天，新的生命。

                  為了紀念與神的相遇，雅各把那個地方叫做毗努伊勒 ---- 遇見神的地方。讓我們藉著聖餐來記住它……

榮耀歸給神，

Greg Waybright 博士

主任牧師