Open God’s Gates of Plenty (Jacob Leads the Way)

It is a world full of deadly confusion.  Because God’s Holy Bible has been cast off by society, men “stumble at noonday…” (Isaiah 59:10).  Once God’s absolute truth is rejected, confusion is the only reasonable outcome—and the confusion is breathtaking:

• America’s academics debate when God-given life begins and go on to kill the most innocent amongst us—while the baby is still in the mother’s womb. Nearly 60 million in the U.S. have been butchered.
• Men and women have rejected the male-female relationship established by God in Genesis Chapter 1.  Spiritual death and social mayhem is the result.
• Boys and girls can no longer tell whether they are boys and girls.
• Today, men marry men and women marry women as they stand and clamor for rights that God never gave.

A host of examples could be cited, but let this suffice: Utter confusion reigns, but it doesn’t have to be this way.  Are you born-again?  Do you feel anchorless and confused?  Would you like to know the truth—a truth that will set you free? Jesus said in Luke 6:47-49:

47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like:

48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Leave your confusion, sin, and shame behind.  Build your house upon the Rock.  Click onto “Further With Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Genesis 32:26:

And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

GOD SAID, I Peter 5:8:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

MAN SAID: According to R. Bozarth in The American Atheist, “Without a doubt, humans and civilization are in sore need of the intellectual cleanness and mental health of atheism.”

Now THE RECORD: This is the second feature in a short two-part series addressing the laws of physical/spiritual engagement—the principle of the blessable place and how to contend successfully in the all-powerful realm of the Spirit. A short review of Part One, “Close Satan’s Secret Door,” follows:

There is a physical realm and a spiritual realm and there are rules of engagement that each must observe.  The spiritual realm has a host of players, good and evil.  The two camps have two leaders: God’s Holy Ghost, whose purpose is to lift up Jesus Christ and minister to the faithful, leads the camp of the saints.  Satan, whose purpose is to kill, steal, and destroy, heads up the camp of the lost.  The Holy Ghost who dwells in the Spirit-filled also heads up God’s holy angels on the earth.  Angels are spirits.  Hebrews 1:7:

And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

Satan heads up the fallen angels.  Revelation 12:9:

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The Holy Ghost seeks out those that are lost and draws them to Christ.  Satan strives to keep the lost bound by the shackles of sin and death.  A war for the souls of men is engaged and each of us are central to it.

In the rules of physical/spiritual engagement, there is a very real blessable or cursable place that is very visible to the spirits participating in the battle for the souls of men.  Several features on GodSaidManSaid discuss the subject. From the feature “Life Series—Part Three—A Blessable Place,” you’ll find the following discussion concerning Job’s Hedge—a mysterious barrier that Satan could not and cannot breach:

Is there such a place as Job’s Hedge? Is there a place that Satan recognizes as the hedge of protection—a barrier he cannot breach? I Peter 5:8 reads:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Note Job 1:7, Satan’s response to God when he was asked of his situation:

From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Satan is searching for those “he may devour.”

Is there a condition in which you or I might find ourselves that Satan may devour?  If Satan knows what this hedge of protection looks like, it’s critical that you and I do, too.

A believer once framed the idea of Job’s Hedge in the term “a blessable place”—a place that God can bless. God defines Job’s Hedge in Job 1:8-10 when He said to Satan:

8 Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

If I place myself in a blessable place, God will bless me.

Dominant victory requires being in a blessable place.  It requires the hedge of protection that Satan recognizes.

Job’s Hedge is God’s blessable place. To access dominant victory, I must strive to dwell there.  Following is the recap of what we have discovered concerning this place of protection and blessing:

1. There is a blessable place known as Job’s Hedge.

2. There is a place that Satan recognizes as the hedge of protection—a barrier that he cannot breach.

3. If Satan knows what this hedge looks like, it is critical that you and I do, too. 

4. God mentions four attributes of Job that He found admirable:

a. Job was perfect.  (Remember the apple.)

b. Job was upright.

c. Job feared God.

d. Job eschewed evil.

5. Our days can be like the days of heaven upon the earth.

6. The blessable place requires faith and obedience to the Word of God.

There is a blessable place where today can be the best day of my life and where tomorrow can be better. [End of quote]

Yes, there are good and bad angels who must observe the laws of physical/spiritual engagement and that surely function in the affairs of men.  There is such a thing as a blessable or cursable place.  Next week, God willing, will illustrate how to function in the midst of contradiction with Holy-Ghost authority. Jacob will show the way. [End of quotes]

Nearly 4,000 years ago, God’s Word speaks of Jacob, the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham.  Jacob’s name was changed by God in Genesis 32:28 to Israel, which means “…for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” Jesus delivers the magnificent message of “living water” (John 4) at Jacob's Well, which is located at Sy-char, a city of Samaria.  Jacob’s Well can be visited today and you can drink from the well. Jacob’s body is buried in the cave of Machpelah with Abraham and other saints of old.  This cave is located in Hebron in Israel and can be visited this very day.  The famous breed of Jacob’s sheep still exists and they are called just that: “Jacob’s sheep.”  The critics challenge in vain.  This Jacob is a living part of history and had several documented encounters with angels—even wrestling with one and prevailing. Genesis 32:22-32:

22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.

23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

25 And 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 wrestled with him.

26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob''s thigh in the sinew that shrank.

How does a mortal wrestle with an angel of God—or the devil—and prevail?  Angelic beings have enormous strength and sundry abilities far superior to those of mortal men.  How could Jacob—and furthermore, how can we—successfully contend in the invisible realm of the Kingdom of God?  The answer will be so childlike simple.

Hebrews 11:6:

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Just as money—whether gold, silver, or green and other colors of paper—is the medium of commercial exchange, it is faith which is the means of exchange in the Kingdom of God.  With faith, all things are possible, but without faith, no eternal purchases can be made.  Faith has always been the standard for success.  In the very beginning, Adam and Eve believed God’s Word, were immortal, and dwelt in Paradise.  In Eve’s act of unbelief and disobedience, and Adam’s acquiescence, the glories of immortality and Paradise were lost.  Conversely, when men receive salvation, it requires faith in Christ Jesus.  Romans 10:9-10:

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

God did not choose as His standard of acceptance beauty, power, wealth, strength, or intellect—He chose faith.  Without it, you cannot please God.

The laws of physical/spiritual engagement are clearly defined in Jacob’s encounter with God and His angel. A few childlike principles of the faith are:

1. It is impossible for God to lie. (Hebrews 6:18)
2. God’s Bible is the inerrant truth preserved for us by His Holy Spirit.  Every Word is true and righteous altogether.
3. All of God’s promises are backed by the full faith and credit of His Godness—remember He cannot lie.
4. God’s promises, such as in the following verses, are entirely true and God, who cannot lie, desires to honor them:

• Mark 11:22-25:

22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

• Mark 16:17-18:

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

• James 5:14-15:

14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

God’s promises to His children are absolute—and remember, He cannot lie. 

Jacob was preparing to meet his brother Esau, whom he had not seen for over 20 years. When they originally parted company, Esau had vowed to kill Jacob over the issue of his birthright and his blessing.  As Jacob contemplated the meeting with his brother Esau, he feared for his life and for the life of his family.  Jacob’s fear was intensified when he heard that Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men.  Jacob entreated God in his time of great trial and recited promises to God that God had made to him.  It was in the same night that Jacob wrestled with the angel.  During this wrestling match, we encounter this conversation between God’s angel and Jacob.  Genesis 32:26:

And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

How was Jacob able to prevail? Why must all angels, good and bad, yield to the spoken word of faith?  Five simple, childlike points reveal this amazing secret:

1. Faith demonstrated by faithful Abraham is the only standard God will accept. 
2. Galatians 3:16 tells us that the faith in Abraham was Christ.
3. Revelation 19:13 speaks of Jesus Christ and says, “…and his name is called The Word of God.”
4. God created all things by Christ Jesus whose name is “The Word of God.”  Colossians 1:16 speaks of Christ: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: Angels, just like you and me, have been spoken into existence.
5. All of God’s creations must yield to the spoken word of faith—and that certainly includes all angels, and even Satan himself.

Jacob wrestled with God’s angel and prevailed because he demonstrated the standard God will accept: childlike faith in His Word.  All of God’s promises are yea and amen—especially when we say “…I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” 

GOD SAID, Genesis 32:26:

And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

GOD SAID, I Peter 5:8:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

MAN SAID: According to R. Bozarth in The American Atheist, “Without a doubt, humans and civilization are in sore need of the intellectual cleanness and mental health of atheism.”

Now you have THE RECORD. 

 

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

GodSaidManSaid, “Close Satan''s Secret Door”

 

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