God's Family - The Family Fight

Pastor Stephen explores the concept of God’s family by tracing the biblical lineage from Abraham to Jacob, emphasizing that believers are grafted into a divine inheritance through Jesus Christ. He contrasts Esau’s focus on temporary pleasures with Jacob’s persistence in seeking eternal blessings, illustrating that spiritual rewards must be treasured and fought for. Through the story of Jacob wrestling with a divine messenger, he defines a "family fight" not as interpersonal conflict, but as the unwavering commitment to sacrifice and endure for the flourishing of one's household. Ultimately, he centers on the victory of Jesus, who fought the definitive battle against sin and death to secure a permanent place for his followers. By surrendering to Christ, believers transition from an earthly reliance to a heavenly structure where God's presence and protection are guaranteed until His promises are fulfilled.

Transcript

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We're talking about God's family, and in God's family we find purpose. We find what we were actually created to do, what families were created for in the first place. We've been tracing God's family to the very beginning. We find God creating a companion for lonely man so man could accomplish the assignment given to him. We see this companion, even though it's called or she's called to help me, we see they're partners. They're partners in accomplishing the assignment that God has for them. They are teammates. We as a family, we've been called, we've been created, we've been put together to accomplish the instructions given by God. I was talking even with Dustin uh earlier this week. A lot of beautiful things can be created and designed, but if they're not used to fulfill the instructions that God has given us, they can be, they can cause a lot of destruction and a lot of harm. And we need to be careful. Families can cause a lot of destruction and a lot of harm, but unless you are using and following the instructions of our Almighty God. In our series, we've seen the construct of God's family from Adam to Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Tower of Babel. Then all of a sudden we get to the calling of Abraham. Abraham, come out of your father's household and step under the covering of your heavenly father. And that's what we've all done when we gave our lives to Jesus Christ. We've left the earthly ham the earthly family behind, and we've stepped into a new family, God's family. God's family takes on a new form through the calling of Abraham. And we see the family hierarchy of the Heavenly Father. God sets up a new structure, a whole new look of how inheritance flows. You're not depending upon your earthly family anymore. We're depending upon God. Amen. Amen. We see Abraham passing on the inheritance to his son Isaac. Isaac continues in his father example, and it's important, it's our surrender to God, and he's blessed even more than Abraham. Last time we talked or last week, we talked about the family trade that took place between Isaac's twin sons, Jacob and Esau, and it showed us an important aspect of God's family. And I hope that you followed. And if you didn't get to, you can go on the podcast or you can check on YouTube. Because you need to see, Esau did not realize what was headed his way as far as an inheritance. Could you imagine? He had a wonderful inheritance coming his way, a birthright and a blessing. But Esau does what many of us do. We get so caught up in the temporary of today. We get so caught up in the problems of today. Now I gotta go to work, I gotta do this, I gotta eat, I gotta do this, I'm hungry. And what happened to Esau is he lost sight of what was rightfully his. Jacob, on the other hand, and we saw this. Jacob treasured the idea of an inheritance. He treasured the idea, he treasured the idea of a birthright and a blessing. He saw this of value in what his father and his grandfather had been given. And even though it wasn't part of his future, he chased after it. Sadly, all it took was a bowl of soup, a bowl of stew, and some animal hair for Esau to lose sight and lose what was rightfully his. And when it was gone, and you read it, and it's sad to read, Esau so hurt, crying. That was mine, that was mine, that was supposed to be my inheritance, but Esau, just like the rest of us, we gave it away. We lost focus, all to fill a temporary pleasure. He let temporary pleasure hold him back from eternal blessings. Be careful of that, and I put that on the screen. Don't let temporary pleasures hold you back from the eternal blessings that God has. He's already got them marked out for you. But yet we trade them. Even today, people are so easy to lose sight of what's rightfully theirs. Even today, people trade their internal heritage for things that only bring temporary fulfillment. But when you are part of God's family, you need to realize the inheritance that belongs to you. Not only realize it, you need to treasure it. You need to treasure these things, that you need to treasure them as something special, something of value. You need to understand that your inheritance was so special, so valuable that it was paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ. Your inheritance was set in place when you surrendered your life to Christ and allowed him to stand as your advocate so that what belongs to Christ belongs to you as a son and daughter of God. As we continue tracing our steps through God's family, we find that although Jacob received the birthright and the blessing of his father Isaac, it wasn't an easy road for Jacob. And maybe you've read the story. But Jacob, if you look, Jacob had to fight for what he wanted. We're calling this message the family fight. Can you say family fight? And I'm calling it the family fight, not because families like to fight. And maybe you come from a family like that. I've seen families who just like to fight. They just yell and scream all day, and I'm just sitting there. That's not the kind of family that I want. Praise the Lord. We're calling this the family fight, not because families like to fight, but because those who have any experience with family know that sometimes you need to fight for your family. How many have ever fought for your family before? I know you have. I've heard the testimonies. And I'm not talking about throwing punches, I'm not talking about screaming at each other, although that happens sometimes. But when somebody fights for their family, they are persistent. Right? When somebody fights for their family, they don't give up. They are willing to sacrifice for their family. They're willing to face even the most difficult opponent to see their family come together and flourish. Amen. If you look at the journey of Jacob, you find somebody who is constantly fighting for his family. After Jacob deceived his father, stole his brother Esau's blessing, he was sent to the land of his mother, and we talked about that. That was the land that Abraham didn't even want Isaac to go to. But yet Jacob finds his way, escaping the anger of his brother and having to go there. Before he leaves, Isaac blesses Jacob with the same blessings given to him by his father, Abraham, which were given to him by God. And the blessing, if you notice, from God to Abraham, Abraham to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob, the blessing continues. The family of God continues, an inheritance of blessing, an inheritance of land, an inheritance of multiples of people, as many as the stars. As Jacob leaves, God confirms the blessings with the vision to Jacob. And if you read the story in Genesis 28, he sees a ladder set up on earth, reaching to the heaven. Angels of God were ascending and descending on it. In verse 13, then behold, the Lord was standing above it and said, I am the Lord, the God of your Abraham and the God of Isaac, the land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and all your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. So what do we see here? God is reiterating to Jacob what he already promised to his father Isaac, to his father, grandfather Abraham, reiterating the promises, the inheritance that was on his way. But you're gonna see in this next verse, God adds to Jacob's blessing, adds to the blessing of God's family, which you and I are grafted into today. He says this in verse 15, and you can read this one with me. Here we go. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. We're gonna unpack that. God says this, and I want you to receive this this morning. God says, I am with you and I will keep you. What does that mean? Whether from the danger of his brother Esau or the dangers that were ahead, God promised to keep. God promised to protect Jacob. Receive that this morning. God wants to protect you, he will protect you. You're part of his family. Not only that, it says wherever he went, God would take care of Jacob. God would bring Jacob back to the land that was promised to him. And although he would be forced to go to unknown territory, God would bring him back home. And to top it off, and I love this one, God says to Jacob, he would not leave Jacob until all that was promised is completed. Receive that this morning. He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it. God will not leave Jacob until all the promises are completed. All the promises in God's word, God is going to complete them in you. As you continue to chase after the, as you continue to be faithful to his instructions. Although Jacob would have to fight, an assurance was given to Jacob that, and it's the same assurance that has been given to the sons and daughters of God that in his family you are constantly in his presence. In his family, you are kept or protected by God. Wherever you go, he is in your midst. He is not going anywhere until all the promises that he has promised you are fulfilled. And really, he's not going anywhere. I was driving in the car with Emora the other day. And her finger was hurting, and she's saying, Daddy, daddy, daddy, my finger, it still hurts. She just wants a band-aid, really. That's what it is. Doesn't matter if it's bleeding, she just wants a band-aid. But she said, Daddy, daddy, it hurts. I said, Don't worry, Jesus is going to heal it. She said, Jesus isn't here. And I said, Yes, he is, Emora. And she goes, Where? And I said, He's right in the car. He's outside. Jesus is outside the car. He's in the car. He's at the house. He's everywhere. And she said, but I can't see him. And I said, even though you can't see him, Jesus is working, and Jesus is right here, and he's going to heal you. Because Jesus is God and God is everywhere. And she said, No, he's not. Jesus is in my heart, is what she says. Yeah. And she points to her heart. Yeah. And I realize I'm not going to win a fight with a four-year-old, so why am I doing it? And I said, Yes, Emara, Jesus is in your heart, it's true. Jacob needed the promises of God upon his life. He needed to know that God was going to be with him. As he was entering into a very trying season, and many of us have experienced very trying seasons. He knew he couldn't make it on his own. There was going to be battles to win. So Jacob receives the promises of God and honors God with his tithing. And it's important to see that. As he makes a commitment to God, watch this in verse 20. Jacob also made a vow saying, If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take and give me food to eat and garments to wear, this is his dependence upon God. And I will return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. And this stone which I have set up as a memorial stone will be God's house. And of everything that you give me, I will assuredly give you a tenth to you. And I think it's important for him to see because we see Abraham was really the one that set up this tithing and giving back to God what already belongs to him. And Jacob could say, I'm not continuing that. But he knew that it was important. He knew that the promises of God in his life, and he wanted to follow in the example of his father Isaac, of his grandfather Abraham, and so he makes that commitment to the Lord. If you know the story of Jacob from here, it wasn't easy for Jacob. He had to flee from his homeland, go to his mother's family. It was here he found a wife. And if you know the story, he actually found two wives. How does that happen? Because Uncle Laban took advantage of a hardworking young man. And I'm not going to go through the whole story, but after seven years of labor, Laban gave Jacob his older daughter Leah instead of the younger Rachel. So Jacob said, I'll work another seven years to be with the woman that I love. What is Jacob doing? He's fighting for his family. And things didn't get any easier. It was a crazy household. If you read it, the wives were jealous of each other. Arguments over who is having babies and who isn't. And that's why the multiple wives think it just doesn't work in the kingdom of God. You see it all throughout history. Arguments over who is having babies and who isn't. While living in his uncle's house, Jacob had 11 sons at the time. And when he wanted to leave his uncle Laban's house, Laban wouldn't let him go. Why wouldn't Laban let him go? We'll see that. But here again, we see Jacob fighting for his family in Genesis chapter 30, verse 27. But Laban said to him, If it pleases you at all, stay with me. I have determined by divination that the Lord has blessed me on your account. Laban says, Jacob, you're not going anywhere. I'm too blessed with you being in my house. He continued, Name me your wages, and I will give them to you. Laban's house was so blessed, he couldn't let Jacob leave. Jacob decided he would stay, but he made a deal with Uncle Laban that his wages would be, and you can read it more in detail, but the wages would be all the spotted and the speckled goats and all of the black lambs from the flock, and he could he could keep as his own. But as the goats and the sheep multiplied, there seemed to be more spotted, speckled, and black animals coming forth in favor of Jacob instead of Laban. In chapter 31 of Genesis, it says in verse 6, you know that I have served your father, he's talking to Rachel. You know that I have served your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. However, God did not allow him to do me any harm. It was part of the promises. If he said this, the speckled shall be your wages, then all the flock delivered speckled. And if he said, the striped shall be your wages, then the flock delivered striped. So God has taken away your father's livestock and given them to me. It didn't matter how many times Jacob was taken advantage of. Jacob fought for what he had, but God always blessed him abundantly. God always multiplied. No harm could come to Jacob, but I'm believing that for you. No harm could come to him. He was abiding, and it's an important word. He's abiding under the blessings of God's family. And the more that people tried to take advantage of him, the more Jacob was blessed. So when people try to take advantage of you, just know that you got more blessings on their way. Can I get an amen? Good. You need to receive that this morning. After 20 years, it was time for Jacob to head back to his father's house. And this is this is a scary part. It was time for Jacob after he stole the bless the blessings and the birthright. It was time for Jacob to face his brother Esau and face the result of the hurt he had caused. In Genesis 32, then Jacob sent messengers ahead of himself to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, and he commanded them, saying, This is what you shall say to my Lord Esau. And watch how humble he turns. Your servant Jacob says the following I have resided with Laban and stayed until now, and I have oxen donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants, and I have sent messengers to tell my Lord that I may find favor in your sight. After 20 years, what you see here, Jacob is shaken in his boots. He's thinking about what is awaiting him as he goes back to see his brother. On top of that, in Genesis 32, verse 6, it continues, and the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore, he's coming to meet you with 400 men with him. Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, the flocks, the herds, the camels, into two companies. For he said, If Esau comes to one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape. Have you ever felt like Jacob? You know the promises of God, but yet we're gonna tap into what people would call, well, this is reality now. And unfortunately, when we step into reality, the flesh starts to take over and we start to tremble in our boots and we forget of God's promises over our life and our and over our situation, over our healing, over our finances, or over our families, and we start to scatter everybody. Will you relax already? Will you realize that you're part of God's family? Turn to your neighbor and say, You're a part of God's family. I wish Rachel or Leah would have turned to Jacob and said, Will you snap out of it? You're part of God's family. You can see the fear in Jacob as he imagines revenge of 20 years in the making. The biggest family fight is about to happen. But instead of a fight with his brother, Jacob ends up wrestling somebody else. And in verse 24 of Genesis 32, and you can read this through more thoroughly, Scripture says Jacob wrestles with a man who would be revealed as a messenger of God. And in this wrestling, Jacob's hip is dislocated. Yet Scripture says he takes hold of the man in verse 26, and Jacob says, or no, the man says, Let me go, for the dawn is breaking. But he said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. Jacob knew that it was a messenger from God. I will not let you go unless you bless me. So he said unto him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. Then he said, Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel. For you have contended with God and with men, and you have prevailed. You have contended with God and with men, and you have prevailed. From the very beginning, we see Jacob's persistence. We see he his desire for more and more of the things of God, never satisfied with just what is being given to him. I hope that we never get to that place where we are just satisfied with what has been given to us. But like Jacob, we want more and more of God's blessing. We want more and more of what God has for us. We see the fight that is in Jacob. While his brother Esau despised his birthright, Jacob chased after it. When his uncle Laban took advantage. Jacob worked longer to receive what he desired. Even the blessing of God. Jacob would not let the angel go until he was blessed by God. Do you have that same fight in you? When things get scary, do you run away? When things get challenging, do you give up? Jacob wouldn't let. His family. Thrown away Jacob. The contender. Jacob was a fighter. In chapter 33 in Genesis, it says immediately there, then Jacob raised his eyes and look, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two slave women. Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, fell on his neck, and kissed him, and they wept. A full reconciliation takes place between Jacob and Esau. God had fulfilled the promises, Jacob had contended with God and man, and he prevailed because God's favor was upon Jacob. God changes his name to Israel, which we said we read the meaning of it. What does Israel mean? He contended with God. Contended with God. Some people who fight for their family and they lose. When you join in on your inheritance of being a part of God's family, you are victorious and you will always prevail because God is on your side. Some who fight for their family and they lose. When you step into the inheritance of God's family and you do think God's way under his instruction will prevail. As Jesus rides into Jerusalem at the start of Passion Week, that's where we're entering into Passion Week, the journey to the cross. And although the palm branches are being waved and the people are shouting, Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. It looks like a big parade. Looks like a big party. But little did they know a fight was about to break out. Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. Not for a big party. Not for a big celebration. To fight for his family. Jesus was coming to Jerusalem to fight for his family, for God's family. Zechariah chapter 9, verse 9. Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion, shout and triumph, daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and endowed with salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the fowl of a donkey. And I will eliminate the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bull of war will be eliminated. He will speak with peace to the nations, and his dominion will be peace from sea, will be from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. Jesus was coming to fight for his family. But Jesus didn't come yelling and screaming with his ugly face on. Like a pro wrestler. You've seen those. I never used to watch them. I would see other thick clips of them with the pro wrestling before the match, and everyone just looks ugly, right? Like they're going into fight, and they just the more uglier, the more, the more scarier they look, and it looks better. Jesus didn't come like that. Came with love in his eyes. Jesus came with truth on his lips. With love in your eyes, truth in your lips, peace in his hands. Jesus was on a mission to save his family. Jesus was on a mission to save his family, you and I, who believe in him. And with the favor of God upon him, Jesus contended with sin and death and he prevailed. Jesus contended with sin and death and he prevailed, and more than just a hip was knocked out of place. Nails were driven into his hands. Jesus was whipped and scourged and beaten, a spear in his side, a crown of thords on his head, the death of a thief, he died. On the third day, Jesus prevailed. Jesus prevailed. And I want to tell you this morning, because Jesus prevailed, because he won that fight. You and I, we prevailed. You and I, we prevail. We now have the victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ. See, when somebody fights for their family, they are persistent, they don't give up, they are willing to sacrifice, they're willing to face even the most difficult opponent to see their family come together and flourish. Jacob prevailed because God's promises covered him. You and I, we can prevail because we have been grafted into the Israelite blessing. Through the blood of Jesus Christ. We are the victors. Do I have any victors here this morning? Jesus took the fight, so you didn't have to. But what are you fighting? We fight against, we don't fight against flesh and blood. Against powers and principalities, but realize that we already have the victory through Jesus Christ. Listen, you're a part of God's family. You need to wake up and realize what that means. You can live today and every single day into eternity with the smile on your face and that stress that starts to lay on you. You can take it, surrender it at the feet of Jesus and be free in the name of Jesus. You can walk into that courtroom and know that you have the victory, you can take that phone call and know that you have the victory. You can receive that report and know that you have the victory. How many have the victory this morning? God, there comes our fighter. As they waved those branches, they didn't know, but there comes our fighter. He's gonna save us. Not just us, but our children and our grandchildren and for generations to come. Jesus is going to fight the fight that we cannot fight. And he's gonna do it for his family. For each and every one of us, God. We thank you for getting the victory for us. We thank you for winning the battle. We declare it over our families in the name of Jesus. We declare it over our home and our finances. You won the victory. We continue to live our lives. Sold out to you. We thank you when we pray. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.