Andrew Musch - As a boy I began to tell people that I was saved. I did this so the people around me who loved me would quit being so worried about me not being saved. I also tried to convince my own heart I was saved, forgiven and on my way to Heaven.
Memory Verse: Ecclesiastes 12:14 Memory Verse Text: God shall bring every work into judgment.
Point 1: Years after tricking his parents and stealing from his brother, God told Jacob to return to the land, and that there, he was going to meet Esau again. Before he does, however, Jacob had to with God in order to be the man that God intended him to be, as well as to free him from his own devices. Point 2: God sent messengers to Jacob who told him that Esau, the one he feared, was coming to meet him with 400 men. Fear fell upon Jacob despite God's promise in Gen. 32:12. As a result, he divided his people and sent a large present ahead. Jacob was still plotting. Point 3: Jacob was left alone one night after the others passed over the brook Jabbok, reminding him of the previous night when he had found himself alone. There, he wrestled and prevailed with a man, but he won't let go without a blessing. Jacob's name was changed to Israel, which means, "A Prince of, or with, God." What a change! Only God could bring it about. Jacob was marked for the rest of his life by his experience at Peniel. (Peniel means "seeing God face to face.") Point 4: The reunion that took place was far different than Jacob had imagined. God had worked in Esau and changed his thinking so that he was gracious and forgiving.
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Andrew Musch
