PENIEL- FACE TO FACE

I. A BRAND NEW WORLD - JACOB’S LADDER

Gen. 28:12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!


I have been thinking about Jacob’s dream about the ladder that went into heaven ever since last Sunday. Jacob saw angels coming up and down the ladder showing a connection between the two worlds. When Jacob awoke from his sleep he realized he was in the presence of the Lord. He called the place Bethel which means the house of God. Last Sunday it seemed as if we had unusual access into the presence of God all throughout the day. There was a greater than usual awareness of heaven in the house. That is how Jacob felt after seeing his vision, God was there and history was taking place.
Adam Clarke says that this dream speaks to us about three distinct things. First, he says it speaks of the sovereign plan of God. The Lord was showing Jacob that he had him in this life changing moment. For Jacob, his future was in the hand of the Lord. Secondly, Clarke says that this speaks to us about the connection of the two worlds by the ministry of angels. Christianity is supernatural. Times of visitation like Jacob was experiencing confirms that. The open portal we are experiencing at Victory Fellowship also assures us of the supernatural involvement of the Lord in the details of our lives. Finally, Clarke said that this ladder is a type of Christ. This is how Clarke expresses that;

“Nothing could be a more expressive emblem of the incarnation and its effects; Jesus Christ is the grand connecting medium between heaven and earth, and between God and man. By him God comes down to man; through him man ascends to God. It appears that our Lord applies the vision in this way himself, 1st, In that remarkable speech to Nathanael, Hereafter ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man, secondly, in his speech to Thomas: I am the Way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”

So God is amongst us, revival is in our midst. God’s timing is perfect, Summer Saturation should be very powerful beginning this Sunday.


1. DISCOVERING THE SOVEREIGN PLANS OF GOD


Eph. 1:11,12 - ¶ In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.


WHEN HE FOUND US ON THE LAKEFRONT

WHEN I WAS PUSHING CHICKEN MANURE

WHEN WE LIVED IN THE MOUNTAINS

WHEN WE STARTED THE CHURCH AND HAD PICKETERS

WHEN I WAS LAYING ON THE FLOOR IN ROCKWALL TEXAS



DICK MILLS WORD TO PARRIS

Eph. 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.


2. DISCOVERING THE WORLD OF THE SPIRIT


Eph. 2:4-6 - But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,


JACOB HAD TASTED THE OTHER WORLD AND THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING FOR HIM

Henry

He expressed a great surprise at the tokens he had of God’s special presence with him in that place: Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not. God’s manifestations of himself to his people carry their own evidence along with them. God can give undeniable demonstrations of his presence, such as give abundant satisfaction to the souls of the faithful that God is with them of a truth, satisfaction not communicable to others, but convincing to themselves. 2. We sometimes meet with God where we little thought of meeting with him. He is where we did not think he had been, is found where we asked not for him. No place excludes divine visits; wherever we are, in the city or in the desert, in the house or in the field, in the shop or in the street, we may keep up our intercourse with Heaven if it be not our own fault.


3. DISCOVERING CHRIST

John 1:51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.


Clarke on Christ being Jacob’s Ladder

“Nothing could be a more expressive emblem of the incarnation and its effects; Jesus Christ is the grand connecting medium between heaven and earth, and between God and man. By him God comes down to man; through him man ascends to God. It appears that our Lord applies the vision in this way himself, 1st, In that remarkable speech to Nathanael, Hereafter ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man, secondly, in his speech to Thomas: I am the Way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”


A. THROUGH HIS BLOOD WITH HAVE ACCESS

B. THROUGH HIS MINISTRY AS BAPTIZER IN THE SPIRIT WE EXPERIENCE HIS GLORY


II. PENIEL - TOTAL TRANSFORMATION


FACE TO FACE

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying,
“It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared”. Gen.32:30

We saw Jacob’s journey begin as a young man at Bethel. It was the place of Jacob’s ladder that marked the beginning of God’s plan for Jacob. God’s plan was more than just Jacob meeting God, the Lord would not be satisfied with anything less than face to face. The Lord wanted total transformation. That first awakening in Jacob’s life revealed to Jacob how much he needed the Lord, it wasn’t until years later that Jacob began to reflect the change that God was after in his life. The Lord met Jacob as he was in his youth, a plotter and schemer trying to gain his inheritance by his own striving and trickery. After years had passed with God dealing in Jacob’s life the transformation was beginning to show. There was something of a completion that night as Jacob wrestled with God and saw God face to face. Here are some thoughts from Andrew Murray on today’s text.

“How often Christians complain that they have little experience of what it means to meet with God in prayer and feel the light of His countenance upon them. They have tried their best, but it seems to no avail. Their thoughts in the inner chamber bring only self-reproach and shame. And yet your Father in heaven is not only willing but strongly desires that the light of His countenance shall rest upon you. Perhaps the words of this text may help to assure you of God’s desire. Yes, your inner chamber can also be called Peniel, because it is the place where God wants to meet you face-to-face. Only there will you realize what it is to meet with God, to see His face, and to feel how certain and blessed it is that His love rests upon you.”

At first, Jacob saw God just as his source of provision. That’s good, but not good enough. The Lord wants to be more than that. Our prayer becomes more powerful when it becomes a passion to seek Him and not just to get what He can give us. It is that kind of wrestling with God that leaves us changed. We begin to see that our life itself can become a prayer. Jacob left that place with a new identity, he was now called Israel, the prince of God. He also left with a limp, he would never be the same again.


1. BRAND NEW IDENTITY - FROM JACOB TO ISRAEL

Gen. 32:25-28- When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”


2. FINALLY CHANGED - MARKED WITH A LIMP


Gen. 32:28-31 - Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.