Elevation Blakeney Sermon Notes Pastor Steve Furtick Sermon Title: You have Hidden issues. What are you Hiding Behind? Scripture: Gen 32: 19 31 and Gen: 33: 1 to 9 Extemporaneous thoughts and pre-sermon notes: See the new Elevation Bible App. See Pastor Steven s sermon New Net Worth from Luke 5 New song by Elevation Worship team: This Is My Confidence You Have Never failed Me Yet. You move mountains. You made a way. I believe that I will see you do it again. I will Never Forget. Per Pastor Steven: How many believe that God is able to move mountains? If you believe this, shout it right now. If you are an overcomer, raise your hands. Declare His faithfulness. Lift up the biggest shout of praise. Per Pastor Steven: My God is able. My God is faithful. So many battles are being fought on so many levels and in so many ways. We need to ask God for strength to help us to move forward. There might be someone in your row that thinks that they have come to the end of their best days where the best that they will ever experience is behind him. This is dangerous place to be. So, I am going to release you for 55 seconds: Turn to your neighbor and say something very simple: God s going to do it in your life, in your marriage, your soul, your body, your business. He is still a healer. His still a rescuer. He still sets free. He is still living and He is still able. Yes He will. Per Pastor Steven: Connect with this. Push through pain and disappointment. Praise the Lord. Per Pastor Steven: He is a promise keeper. God is going to finish what he started in your life. Per Pastor Steven: The very best is yet to be. Per Pastor Steven: I am excited about what God has in store for you. Genesis 32: New International Version (NIV): Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau: 32 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. 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. 6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him. 7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape. 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, 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted. 13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 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. 17 He instructed the one in the lead: When my brother Esau meets you and asks, Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you? 18 then you are to say, They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to Page 1
my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us. 19 He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, Your servant Jacob is coming behind us. For he thought, I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me. 21 So Jacob s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp. Jacob Wrestles With God: 22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 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. 27 The man asked him, What is your name? Jacob, he answered. 28 Then the man said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome. 29 Jacob said, Please tell me your name. But he replied, Why do you ask my name? Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared. 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob s hip was touched near the tendon. Genesis 33 New International Version (NIV): Jacob Meets Esau: 33 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 2 He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. 4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. 5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. Who are these with you? he asked. Jacob answered, They are the children God has graciously given your servant. 6 Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. 7 Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down. 8 Esau asked, What s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met? To find favor in your eyes, my lord, he said. 9 But Esau said, I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself. Gen 32: 19 to 23 Hidden Issues Say to your neighbor: You have issues. We need to study this relationship with Jacob and Esau and examine a thing called Hidden Issues. The new song by the Elevation Worship makes me want to jump up & down and increase my heart rate. Are you watching the presidential debates? They all have a platform and their ability to pivot is impressive. Some candidates have the incredible ability to take a topic and pivot towards a particular cause or platform. It is also amazing how Americans will come into a conversation or an issue where we are ignorant on the issues yet we are so entrenched in our opinions. This is both interesting and terrifying where we lack understanding of the issues yet we make a decision based on solely image and feelings. So you are going to pick a leader of the free world based on feelings without understanding of the issues? Valentine s Day advice: Never make a decision based solely on image and feelings without understanding the issues. When you marry without understanding the issues (the essence of marriage and understanding a covenant relationship), this is difficult place. Recall that we studied Jacob during the Death to Selfie series. Now available on Netflics. Instead on binging on House of Cards you can now binge on the word of God. Page 2
In our Death to Selfie series, we never addressed the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau. This is the same person Jacob was wrestling with in the womb. Before Jacob became aware of his manipulative tendencies, he was grabbing Esau s heel. Jacob is a great example how to reconcile with dysfunctional relationships. The most dysfunctional of all relationships was with his brother Esau. After 97 years of living, building alters to God, and becoming prosperous, Jacob has still not reconciled with his brother (Esau). He has still not made peace with Esau. Everyone has an Esau to make peace with. This can be an issue or a thing or fear and not necessarily a person. After a century of living, God has Jacob finally make peace with this one issue. Up until this point, Jacob would pivot and avoid. Jacob spent 21 years in hiding avoiding from Esau. What are you hiding from? For some, God is saying: Make peace with that thing in your life that is your Esau. You can only outrun your dysfunctional relationships for so long. You can only outrun your issues for so long. Now that he is rich, blessed, and married, Jacob must now address with the one thing that he has avoided. Naturally, Jacob is nervous about this forthcoming meeting. So he makes a plan to meet with Esau. Jacob now has to confront the one thing he has suppressed for so long. Life will bring you to a point where you have run all that you can run you have achieved all there is to achieve and you have accumulated all that you have accumulated and you have to now face your Esau. First Jacob presents gifts as a means for Esau to dispose favor on Jacob. He draws up his servants and develops a strategy. Did you not know that he Bible is brilliant not only in its historical narrative but also in its psychological congruency that dominates your life? The Bible is a remarkable story of the reconciled heart - from brokenness to defragmentation. Here Jacob demonstrates a common reaction when we a confronted with a complicated issue. When we are faced with the issues that we have been fleeing from and tried to hide, we surround and insulate ourselves with stuff. However, your gift will only get you so far. Just perhaps, Esau will accept me for my stuff? This same text was preached to pastors during the summer of 2015. When Pastor Steven preached it, there was awkwardness in the room. Because Pastor Steven was speaking to a group of people that had a public gift - who have something that they can do with a microphone that makes people like them on the surface level. And the message that Pastor Steven preached was: Your gift will only get you so far. What you have and what you have achieved will only get you so far. See Gen 32: 21 and 22: There will come a point in your life where you will have to separate yourself from your stuff. What I have accomplished, what I have achieved, will not produce real peace. Your gift will not give you lasting peace. If you get God s provision but do not have God s peace, it will not be a blessing in the truest sense of the word. If you get a husband and do not have peace, you will mess up the relationship that you prayed for because the infrastructure will not handle the weight a human interaction. You need peace to sustain a loving relationship. Page 3
It is the peace that you are after. Perhaps we should stop praying for God s provision and pray for God s peace. Say this: I want peace not possessions. Not just peace with God, you need peace with people as well. You want to engage the world as your true self. Desired state: I want to walk up with the confidence to know that there is nobody to win over and nobody to impress you have this when you have peace with God. God said that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (See Psalm 139:14). Go into the next season of your life with the peace and presence of God. But all of Jacobs living and wealth have not taught him that can t hid behind his herds forever. See 32:22. He sent is gift ahead of him. This is so perspective-bending. Isn t this is what we do when we think that we are not enough when we subtract all of the wealth, demeanor, sense of humor, our wealth, etc. We construct for ourselves a persona and hide from the issues. A likeability that wins favor to certain people - That really is not us. We identify our sense of worth with our level of success or likability by certain people. We hid behind the herd, stuff, religion and people. We construct barriers to hide our real self. However, this action keeps you from seeing you and seeing God. Because, deep down we all have been rejected by an idol. It keeps you from seeing yourself. Say this: I am alright because I have a destiny connection. A wrong decision: Instead of exposing my inside, I will give you my body (my gifts) to a man. You can t outrun and impress, out illusion or out-charisma you way out of this. I am not impressed with the mask that you wear when you show up at the costume party that we call church. You can t out run this one. Instead of dealing with the issue, we insulate ourselves from the issue by moving to a new environment. The same weeds that chocked you in the last season of your life will choke you again. The most empowering moment of your life is when you have the humility to say that the problem is you. For those that are married: Stop trying to fix her. God does not need to fix Esau to bless you. See 32:22: It is not a coincidence that Jacob had to cross over the ford of the Jabbok. It is not a coincidence that Jacob had to cross over. God says: Get over yourself. Instead of convincing others to see things as you see them, God says get over yourself. If I find the will in my heart to get over my own pride, insecurity, neediness, my own proclivities, and my own judgmental attitude, I empower myself to cross over just as Jacob had to cross over once he had the humility to fix himself. Say this: Get over yourself. Perhaps God brought you into this church to fix something in your heart. Here is why I know that God does not need you to fix anyone to give you peace: When Jacob finally got to Esau, he was surprised at what he saw. For Jacob had been running for 21 years to avoid the one thing that he feared the most. Sometimes the thing that you are hiding from or so worried about was already taken care of by God. Here is the desert. Are you ready? Page 4
See Gen 33:1 to 3: God is still working on my issues. Say this: I do not need a herd or a bull. Vs. 3: The pivotal point: He himself went on ahead (not his persona, not who he pretends to be) - In this moment, Jacob comes out from hiding and identifies himself. When you present yourself as you are, you can be received and be fully reconciled. For those that present themselves like you have your act together. Come out from behind all of that stuff that you are hiding behind so that you can present your true self to God and be received and reconciled. What you are hiding behind can t help you anymore. God can t help you while you are hiding. God can t heel what is hidden. Jacob can t pivot on a broken hip. Life will dislocate you so that you finally come to turns with your true weakness. Life will slap you down so that you have to deal with the true issue. Where the only posture left is downward and submission. Recall the story of the prodigal son. Esau ran to meet Jacob. Esau did what God does to anyone that is willing to humble himself say here I am God. Is it possible that Esau was never the real enemy? Jacob learned that God had already worked it out. Jacob finds the place of defragmentation. God often looks on our efforts to impress and says: What is this? Who is that? What is all this stuff that you have constructed as part of your inauthentic self? What is up with all of this crap? God says: Hey buddy, I do not need all of that. The one thing that Jacob had been hiding from was already handled by God. The one thing that suspended you in an inauthentic state of being was handled. Stop running. Stop pacifying. He provided it. Say it is handled by the blood of Christ. All that you have to is handle what is in your heart. If you will cross the Jabbok and address things that are in your heart, God will take care of it. If you expose yourself and handle in your heart, God will take care of it. When you strip away all of the wax and layers, you say, I am going to be me this year. When you arrive at this new reality, the first question that you ask is: why didn t I do this sooner? The bible says to Jacob: God blessed him and he had peace going forward. God blessed him in his place of need. When you come to God in this state, He finds you irresistible to embrace. Closing hymn: Thank You Lord. Page 5