NOTES FROM THE SERMON:
You are a wrestler - what are you wrestling with?
Many are wrestling with rejection.
“Rejection”, Latin roots = to throw backwards
It’s a wound to the soul. Soul wounds are different types of wounds because the bleeding is invisible.
Jeremiah 6:14 - you are putting bandaids on something that needs stitches.
Wounds that are not cared for properly can lead to infection.
Rejection can lead to infections.
Some people—timidity isn’t their identity, it’s an infection.
apathy, people-pleasing, approval-addiction
Your history does not have to be your destiny! What has happened to you, does not determine what can happen for you!
God wants to introduce you and me, to a you and me, we haven’t met yet!
stronger, more focused, wiser
That becomes unlikely and sometimes impossible, when we don’t wrestle to win.
Wrestling is unpredictable.
Jacob’s story is inundated with rejection. His father blatantly shows favoritism toward his brother. All rejection isn’t created equal.
Sometimes you feel like you’re on top of things, and sometimes the things are on top of you.
And Jacob was left alone, and he wrestled.
All isolation isn’t evil.
There are times when God uses isolation for our transformation. An opportunity to do some soul-searching.
In vs 24, he thinks it’s one thing. In vs 28, he sees it’s God.
God doesn’t always show up looking like God.
Sometimes God shows up opening doors….sometimes God also shows up closing them.
He is the same, and GOOD, in both.
Could it be that Jacob was also wrestling with himself?
I will not let you go until you bless me.
I will not stop putting forth my best effort, until I become my best self.
There are times that we all suffer from “fate fatigue” and we wanna give up on US.
His request was not to receive something, his request was to become someone.
There was a place in him that was wounded so deep, that noTHING had been able to fix.
The wrestler always had an advantage when he knew the other’s moves:
Rejection can be a result of people’s vision, not your value.
The issue is not always you and I. Sometimes the issue is other people’s eyes. You’ve been created in the image of God. Just because they can’t see value, doesn’t mean it’s not there.
Rejection can be a result of people’s issues, not yours.
Rejection is God’s direction.
“I called it unfair then, I call it God now.”
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. If you can make it through the night, morning is coming for you!
It’s a fixed fight, and you will win if you don’t quit.
DISCUSSION:
Read Matthew 7:1-5. Do you think we can ever really get rid of the log in our own eye? What do you think Jesus was trying to say here?
If you began to think of your own hardships in your life as God’s redirection instead of rejection, how do you think that would change things?
Do you have regular times of soul-searching in your life? How do you do it?
STUDY AT HOME:
Notice what Jacob does when threatened (or at least, when scared) in verse 9. What promises do you remind yourself—and God of—when you feel threatened? Make a list.
Notice that Jacob used wisdom next, verses 13-21. Think about any hardships you’re facing right now. What might change if you asked God for wisdom?
Some fights change you, verse 28. Can you envision what positive things might come out of the hardships you are facing right now?
Read this verse in context, meaning, read the rest of Jeremiah 6. If you need help understanding Jeremiah, watch this video.
What do you think would give the people actual peace, instead of superficial treatments? What would give you actual peace?