The Man Who Wrestled with God
A Sermon on Genesis 32:24-25
Scripture
24¶ And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he …
Sermon Description
How do we experience God? Chaos and confusion results among Christians as religious movements emerge based upon unique experiences. In this sermon on Genesis 32:24 entitled "The Man Who Wrestled With God", Dr. Marytn Lloyd-Jones desires to counter this confusion by discerning the essence of true Christian experience. He seeks to do this by looking at the great turning point in the life of Jacob in Genesis 32. While he acknowledges that any standardized Christian experience is unhelpful, Lloyd-Jones affirms there are broad elements which can be used to authenticate our experience. True Christian experience will penetrate the heart of the individual and therefore disrupt the person’s entire life. With true Christin experience the attitude of the person moves beyond general interest in religion to being dominated with the one thing that matters: knowing their Creator. All these things result in a changed person or a new man. They become someone who knows they have peace with God. Someone who is humbled by the presence of God. Hear this challenging sermon from Genesis 32:24 as you consider your own Christian experience.
Sermon Breakdown
- The Christian experience must be personal. Jacob was left alone when he wrestled with God. We must isolate ourselves to truly encounter God.
- We must be aware of God dealing with us. Jacob wrestled with a man, who was God. We must recognize when God interrupts our lives.
- We must realize that God's blessing is the most important thing. Jacob refused to let go of the man until he was blessed. We must be desperate for God's blessing.
- There are consequences to encountering God. Jacob was blessed, his name was changed, he was made lame. We will be justified, made new creatures, and humbled.
Itinerant Preaching
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.