God Of The Struggler

Thank you so much for inviting me, to be able to stand behind this desk and try to minister to you today. Moses said, "Lord, I want to see your glory." He said — well, he didn't say it like this, but, and probably the revised Osborne Edition — he said, "If I show you my glory, I have to kill you." So I pretty much conquered Moses' desire. You know, "Do you have any second ways that I might be able to see your glory?" He said, "Well, there is a place up here by me. You know, it's a cleft and a rock up here. It's a mountain cave." And so he put him back up there on that mountain cave, and didn't put his hand over him — because he's got big hands, you know. Because he measured the Waters of the world out upon his hand. "Here's the Atlantic Ocean, and here's the Pacific Ocean, and all the oceans." So he's got big hands. And nobody can ever pluck one of his children out of his hands. So he holds all of his kids in his hand. So I'm just trying to get you to know: he has a big hand.

So when he put his hands over the, over the, the mouth of that cave — you know, because he always put you in the dark before he shows you something — so he put him in the dark, so his eyes would be sensitive. He said, "Now, you can't see my face. So I can't let you see where I am. Glad you can't schedule to see my face, because I don't want you to see where I'm going. But I will let you see my behind her Parts. I will let you see my back parts. That's all that you'll be able to see. Because that's where my glory is at. My glory is not where I am. My glory is not where I'm going. But my glory is where I've been. So look behind me, and see where I've been."

All you need to do to worship God is to look behind yourself, and see where he has been in your life. Got you up when you couldn't get up by yourself. Healed your body when you couldn't heal yourself. Took care of you when you could not take care of yourself. Comforted you when you could not Comfort yourself. He said, "Just look behind me, and see where I've been in your life. And that's where my glory is at, is behind me." He's like a bride coming down the aisle. She has her face Veil, so you can't see where she is. Can't see where she's going. But she looked behind her, and see where she's been, because that, because that train is behind her. That's where she's been, as she pulls it down. You know, the Bible said his train filled all the temple. Upstairs, Downstairs, choir loft, praise teams — they fulfilled all the temple. Has trained us where he's been in your life. And he's been in most of your lives.

How do I know he's been in your life? Because you're still here. Some of you should have been dead already. You know, you should have gone the way of the Grave already. But God was in your life, and you look behind you, and you can see where he's been. That ought to be enough for you to give him a little 10-10, and a little worship and praise, and drag your ragged himself up on Sunday morning, and drag yourself to the house of God to worship God. Because he's been in your life, done things for you you could not do for yourself. Government couldn't do it for you. Wealth couldn't do it for you. He said, "Just look behind me. That's where my glory is at, where I have been in your life, taking care of you when you couldn't take care of yourself, to got you to where you are today."

I'm going to read a couple verses of scripture for you, because that's what you're supposed to do if you're going to preach. It's nice to have a point. The book of Acts, the seventh Chapter, 30-32. Go ahead and stand with me. If you're going to preach something, you need to be willing to make the emotional investment in the sermon that requires to give it enough unction and power, to be able to touch people's lives. If the preacher is not willing to make the emotional investment in the sermon, then you shouldn't preach it. I'm just saying. So I said it. The book of Acts — you think about the book of Acts, it's going to be something about upper rooms, and holy ghosts, and early church. But Luke is just going to give us a little, a little preview of what has happened in the past, in Acts, the seventh chapter, verses 30 and 32.

I mean, "40 years were expired." As he said, "40 years have expired," when he was in, in Egypt's land, Pharaoh's house. "When the 40 years had expired, there appeared to him, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel of the Lord, in a flame of fire, in a bush. And when Moses saw it, he wondered at the site. And as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying, 'I am the god of thy fathers, the god of Abraham, the god of Isaac, and the god of Jacob.' Then Moses trembled, and thus not behold." When you recognize the voice out of the bush, he had to stop looking at it. And he began to tremble. And it could not behold what was happening. Um, we'll try to make an emotional investment in you, by my own emotional investment in this subject. The god of the struggler. Sift our hands, and love the Lord.

Thank you, dear God, for your mercy and your grace, that is sufficient for every need. Touch our hearts and our lives today. Minister, dear God, to men and women who have a need in their lives. You're the Lover of My Soul. Whom do I have in heaven but you, God? Just you. You are all there is. Therefore, I will give you all there is in me, for your Kingdom's sake, in your glory. We beseech you right now, in Jesus' name. Let the word of God have spirit in it. Let it touch our lives and our hearts. I'll praise you for it, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

You may be seated. Your Bible's — your Bible. Your pastor is a great preacher, and I know you're used to that. And, uh, I just try to keep pushing myself to achieve some of that your pastor does every Sunday.

The Bible, after the first six days of creation, is basically a human drama. Its only concern with science or politics is how it relates to, or affects, the people that were alive at that particular time. It's a book about men and women, and children, and families, and husbands and wives, and their relationship to one another, and their relationship to God. It's a book about citizens of Nations, and countries, and cities, and towns, and tribes, and cultures. It's a book about real people, and the times of their lives. Sometimes the word will take you to a garden. And then, from a garden, you'll go to some Cosmopolitan City. Then it'll leave the city, and you end up in a cave, or a den. Then it leaves the den, and will take you to palaces, in King's Chambers. Then to bondage and captivity. But wherever the word takes you, it's all about people who were there, and how they responded to their circumstances. It's not a book about Theory, or a book about ideas. It's a book about people, and how they adjusted and lived to the circumstances that was in their lives. It's a book about imperfect people, living in an imperfect will world.

And I've lived long enough not to be so critical or hard on people of the scripture. You know, some will say, "Not me. I would never do that. I would never do that." They, they — we talk about people in the Bibles: "How could they have done that?" When I think — when I was young, and a young preacher, and, uh — I was once young, now I'm old. Some of the young people up here — you've never been old, you're just young. I got both sides of the coin going in my life. I would think, "What were they thinking, to do that?" Like Jonah: "What kind of a — are you?" He was in the bell of a whale, three days, before he even prayed. Who does that? Would it take three days in the belly of a whale before you would lift your hands, give God a little 10-10, maybe, and begin to pray, and ask God to help you? You know, but it's three days. And I think, "What kind of a guy is he?" You know, that it takes that long for you to pray. I would have been praying when they picked me up, and were swinging me, getting ready to — I would have created a holy ghost dispensation for myself, right there. I would have got the Holy Ghost supper, I'm not even knowing what it was. But I would have got close enough to God that he had let me speak in a few tongues.

And think about Solomon: you know, the wisest man that ever lived. What kind of guy marries 700 women, you know? And you're supposed to be wise. And 300 concubines, and all that. What kind of a goofball is he, you know, that — I mean, he's supposed to be the wisest man that ever lived, but he does things that are strange. You know, and it's easy to, to tell him that, you know. And even Samson: he's supposed to be the strongest man, you know. You got all this might, flex, and, you know, GQ, and all that kind of stuff, you know. And yet you put your head in the lap of Delilah, and, you know, get your head shaved. And what kind of a guy does that, you know? And it's easy — it's easy to pick the people apart in this book right here, because they made some strange decisions in their life. They did some odd things that are hard to justify. And if you just want to pick it to Pieces — pick it to pieces, and look at it, and tell how wrong it is, and how crazy everybody was that was in the Bible. But you have to understand: these were people living. They were not in the Bible. They were not living this in the Bible. They were living this in the circumstances that have been dealt to them, and the climate they were living in. They're human beings that made some bad choices, and bad decisions in their lives, that cost them dearly.

And God chose to put it in there, as kind of a warning for you and I: that you can be smart, still do dumb things, you know. And you can — you can be strong, and still do dumb things. And you can, uh, you know, uh, you could be Jonah, still do dumb things. You can be a preacher, and still do dumb things. So the word of God is Not hidden that. But this is about people. And, and when I was young, I'd be so — I was very hard on people that struggle, to seem like to, to live for God, and never could get their — never could get things going good in their lives.

You know, I understand young people are idealists. But you'll get over that. You can live in the ideal life, and you're going to drive the ideal car. And you're gonna — you're gonna marry the ideal mate. The problem with Marrying an ideal made is, he's looking for an ideal mate, and you're not that. So, you know, just — it's hard to link up, when you're both looking for the same thing, and neither one of you are that. You're going to live in the ideal home. And you're going to work at the ideal job. And you're going to raise the ideal children. You're going to get in ministering. You're going to pass through the ideal church. Because they're idealists. Now, I understand you can't help it, because that's the way of Mind of a teenager works. You haven't had enough experience yet, to understand: this is a rough world, and those that live in it will have rough times. And so, it's the idealist kind of thought. It's all virtual thinking. It's the stuff that fantasy is made of. It's the fiction that you've been fed, that there's a far cry from reality.

You know, so, after my life, I've come to realize, you know, that there are no real ideal marriages, and no real ideal mates, no real Ideal Cars, no real — and there's definitely no ideal children. You may think your kids are not going to be like that: "When I get my kids, they're going to be angelic. They're going to do everything I say to do. They're not going to be like all these rest of the kids running around here, you know. They're going to be terrorists. Going to be ideal, because I'm going to raise them right. Yeah, lots of luck to you.

You know, Elijah prayed one time, and closed heaven for three and a half years. In the Mountaintop, he had to pray seven times to get Heaven open. The rule is that heaven is seven times harder to open than it is to close. One prayer will close it. It takes seven prayers to open it. So keep Heaven open in your life. Don't close it up. Don't shut it down. Because it doesn't take much to close it, but it takes seven times more work and labor — put in your head between your knees, and praying on top of a mountain, and then getting on a little Cloud, about the size of a man's hand — to get heaven to open up again. So keep Heaven open in your life, on any given day, you know, at any given time.

I'll be a little transparent with you: I found myself playing one of the roles in this 200-to-5,000-year-old drama. Sometimes I feel like David: "I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord." You hear that quoted all the time, you know. "Man, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord." And sometimes I feel like that, but not all the time. Laughs. Sometimes I feel like Hannah: I go up weeping, and feeling bad, because I've been provoked by my adversary. A pastor for almost 50 years, and, uh, I'd have to say there have been a few times I dreaded the trip, because I was gonna have to face some things that I didn't want to face, you know. So it wasn't "I was glad." I said, "It's just time. I've got to go to the house of the Lord."

Sometimes I've felt like Solomon: I'm so full of wisdom and understanding that no problem is too difficult for me to solve. Just give me the problem, I'll take care of it. Then sometimes I feel like none of a, having to confess: I don't know my right hand from my left. Sometimes I feel like Elijah: well able to slay all the opposing prophets of the Living God. Then, after the confidence, I find myself sitting under a juniper tree, asking God, "Don't you just let me die?" Sometimes they feel like Joe: "My soul is weary of my life." Then I feel like David: "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever."

Next, I've been like Jeremiah: "Oh, that my head or Waters, and my eyes were a fountain of Tears." Then, when I weep for my people, both day and night — then I'm sick of crying over them. "Oh, that I had —" Jeremiah: "Oh, that I had a, a, a, in the wilderness, a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people, to go from them. For they, they are — they, they are adulterers, and an assembly of treacherous men." He says, "I wish I could get away from that." One day, I want to cry over them, because I don't have enough tears, and I wish my head were water of Tears, so I could just crying. Then the next time, I just wish I'd get a motel room someplace, and get away from, for a little while.

You know, I'm trying to get to understand: we're all human beings. And things don't always work out like you think it's going to work out. Things don't always turn out like you hope they would turn out. You know, I've never really been fully any of those people. But from time to time — if you'll be honest with the word of God — from time to time, you can see yourself playing out bits and pieces in your own life. In some ways, Our Lives seem to overlap and coincide with each other. I can relate, in some small way, to their feelings, and their emotions, and their fears. Their faults, their failures, are part and parcel of my own humanity. And we're all human. And we all have human feelings, and human conscience, and human — we get to get depressed. You can get down. You can be up, you know The ideal would be a standard of perfection, or a standard of Excellence — say, a model for imitation. And I must confess, in my own life, that I've not been that ideal perfect, or that, that is excellent, or a model for imitation. I've not been the ideal husband — sister of them will co-sign on that. I've not lived the ideal life. I have not been the ideal father. I've not been the ideal Pastor, or Saint. I've not lived up to my own standard of high ideals, the standard of perfection or Excellence. I've not been the model that, that would, that would tell everybody: "Everybody needs to be like me."

If the Lord was here to speak, how would he introduce himself to you? If you were the — I'm sorry — if you were the pastor, uh, being the pastor, and it was your job to introduce Jesus Christ, who is sitting beside you, how would you do it? What would you say? You gotta — got a little electronic machines there in your thing. Sure, you can look — "Ask Siri: how do I introduce Jesus?" You know, I don't know. It'd be a long introduction. It seems to me like service will be over, what time you got done introducing him. But Jesus — how would he introduce himself? He would say, "Praise the Lord, I'm —" What would he say? How would he introduce himself? What would he use? What would he say? How would he — what words would he use?

Well, we have a little example of that, you know, in my text. If you walked up to you, to do, and introduce himself — the Bible said, "When 40 years were expired, there appeared to him, in the wilderness of my son, and Angel of the Lord, in the flame of fire." And this fire — voice of the Lord said to him, "I am the god of thy fathers." See, I would have come up with something better than that. Like, "I am Elohim. I am El Shaddai. I am that I am. I am self-existent, that I have no root outside of me. I am my own will. I do not seek the will or counsel of another. I know everything, everybody, that hairs on your head. I am who I am. I have no Source outside of me. I do not lean on anyone. I lean on myself. I am all concerned with who I am. That's who I am." At least — "I'm the god of your fathers." Come on, God, let's get a little more. "I'm the god of thy — I'm the god of thy father. It's the god of Abraham, the god of Isaac, the god of Jacob." And, and he didn't bring Moses into that. See, that would have bothered me. Then Moses trembled, and does not behold.

All Through the Bible, God offers no excuses as to who he is — the god of — and he uses it. If he had business cards, that's what it would say. If he had let her head, that would be across the top of: "I'm the god of thy father, the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That's who I am." He chose only three, out of the entire world of millions, that he professed to be the god of. And that was Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Several times in scripture, he introduced himself in the same way.

Since I desire that same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to be my God, where do I fit into these Elite three? These three spectacular, extraordinary, best of the best members of God's exclusive Club. I have no Apostolic Heritage. I'm not a part of any Apostolic bloodline, any righteous bloodline. This seems to — very, very private, and very privileged — bunch of card carriers, that Jesus introduces himself as the god of these three, and not the rest of the world. How do I break into their ranks? I feel, and know, I am inferior. I do not measure up to these three. I'm an outsider, a stranger. I'm not one of them. And I have been excluded, and shut out of the private relationship with God. Is there a place for me among these spiritual Giants?

My father owned a little service station — neighborhood service station — Indianapolis. And, uh, it's the only job I've ever really had. Only a real job. My kids always thought that was great, that I really did have a real job, at one time. And, uh, that some Justified me being here, you know. Working in the service station, I just pumped gas. I call myself a petroleum transfer engineer. And that simply meant, you know, just pump gas. And, uh, has a piece of a mechanic, because I had to — I worked in my dad's service station all my life. And he had it for 36 years, and he never would get me a uniform. And that bothered me, because folks would come in the service — they said, "Do you work here?" "I guess I do. In fact, I'm the only one that works here. There's some other loafers around here, you know." But he wouldn't give me no uniform. So I felt like a guest. I just come in to use the restroom, you know. He would give me a uniform, and I begged him for one. "When you go to get me —" you know, "I want uniform." It's a standard service agent, had that flame, you know. And that, that my name over here on it, you know. And it was — it was — they were two shades of blue: yet, light blue shirt, dark blue pants.

You know, I just wanted to belong. I just wanted to be a part of things, you know. He had one, you know. And it was Osborne standard service. And I was an Osborne. But it's like I didn't work there, really, you know. I was just hanging around. And, uh, anything that needed to be done that was dirty, I had to do it. And, uh, you never would give me a uniform. Finally, after I wore him down — like children have a tendency to do — I wore him down to where he considered, and he got me a uniform.

I have never been so — it was like — it was like — I'm — you see a guy with joins the — when he, when he joins the military, first thing he does, get a picture of himself, you know, bring it home. And he's always carrying a big gun, you know, something. He's standing beside a tank, or something. He didn't want to be by, you know, place that sells Hot Pockets, or something. He wants — he wants a — he wants — he wants to look like he's somebody, you know. He, he, you know, Pizza Hut, or nothing like that. He wants to buy a tank, or some big gun thing out, you know. And he just joined, really, you know. But he wanted a picture of himself. That's kind of where I was. I wanted that picture. I wanted people to know me. And, and, and I'm not a general, or anything. I wouldn't be anything you want to take a picture of. But I do remember this: when I finally got my uniform, and I put it on, I looked in the mirror, kind of try to broaden my shoulders a little bit. And I walked to work, because I wanted everybody to see me, that I had a uniform. I didn't drive my car. I had a car, but I didn't drive me. I walked. I wanted many people to see me, that I belonged. Now, I did work there, you know. I am an Osborne, and that's what it says on the window out there. And, uh, I'm a part of this whole — I'm not a part of it. Well, I am apartment. I'm the major part. And I have a uniform. And you don't have to walk in the door. You don't have to ask me, "Do I work there?" It lets them know that I work here.

So I was so proud of the fact, you know, that I now belong to that. People want to belong to something. They want to — they want to be a part of something. I don't want anybody to say — you know, "Act like you go to church here. Don't have anybody ask you, 'Do you go to church here?' 'Well, I didn't know, because you don't act like you.'" Let me get off that. Something that's a little less — a little of meandered now, clear out of the pathway. I wanna — I wanted everybody to know that I belonged, you know. And, and usually, if you belong to something — if you're in college, and you belong to some sorority or fraternity, you got a little pin that you wear, let everybody know. People buy sweatshirts and t-shirts with a name on it, you know, because they want everybody to know: "I belong to something. I'm a part of something." But here, in this Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob thing, you know — how do you get into that? How do you join that club? How do you get a uniform? How do you actually get into that, and be a part of that thing, you know? Because I'm not like — you know. It's, it's hard to think that I could hang out with Abraham, because I'm not like him. You know, the Bible said, "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out to a place that he should have to receive for inheritance, he obeyed. Went out, not knowing where he went."

I can't imagine leaving home, and not knowing where you're going. I can't imagine — sister always been going with me — "Or, where are we going?" "I don't know. I had a dream last night. God told me to go." "But he didn't tell you where to go, you know." You can't even get on Surrey, and ask her. Sorry said, "What can I do for you? Tell me where to go, you know." Well, she don't know where to go. She'll tell you how to get to where you need to go, but she don't know where you're going. She — you can't put it in a GPS. You can't — you can't call up, you know. "I don't know where you go. I don't know what you do, when you don't know where to go." But God tells you to leave home. And nobody was looking for — he's looking for a city that has Foundation. His building maker was a God. But he didn't know what's north, south, east, or west. "Is it in Tennessee, or is it in Connecticut? I don't know whether it's in this — I don't know what state it's in. I don't know what country it's in. I don't know. I'm just going." So he packs up, as few people, long as any least. It's going to be hard for me to go with him. I need more information. I just need to know where I'm going.

You know, and if God speaks to me, and told me to offer up my only son, and doesn't tell me why — how come — I don't know, honestly, if I could do it. I don't know. I haven't been challenged with it. But if he told me to do that — or you say, "Yeah, I would do that, because God said do it." Yeah, you're the ideal. I'm not. It would be a difficult thing to do. So if I'm going to hang around Abraham, I've got to walk out, not knowing where I'm going. And I got to be willing to sacrifice my only begotten son, and kill him, and offering him up to God. And not sure I could do that. I don't know. I've not been faced with that challenge yet. But it sounds like it's an overpowering command, that I'm not sure I would be able to accomplish that, and hang around with Abraham.

Since Robert and I were in — uh, we went to Israel, and, uh, ended up in Paris. Had a stop there. And, uh, we stayed at a place called the Sofitel. It's a beautiful hotel. It had, with his, glass bubble elevators on the outside, you know. They're probably not glass — maybe plexiglass, or something. And it's all glass, a big bubble. And, uh, and, uh, I said, "I'm going to go inside, and ride up. Then, when I get to the top, I'm going to get my camera out, take pictures of the Eiffel Tower, and a lot of things from — you get a good view from way up high. It's like a 20 stories building." So I wrote up there, and got up there, and I pushed the button to come down. And, and this is — the door opens up. And when I looked out the door, and looked down through that plastic, clear plastic floor, my feet said to me, "I'm not going out there on nothing. I'm not stepping out on air, and looking out." And I backed up a couple of times. "Come on, Feet. Don't let me down now. Come on, brain, kick in. This, this thing is going up and down. People have ridden on it, you know. It's going to be okay." It's going to — try to convince myself it's going to be okay. But I couldn't convince myself it's going to be okay, because my feet are not stepping out on nothing. I need to Paw the ground a little bit, and make sure this thing will hold up. I know it was built by the lowest bidder. So I'm not sure what kind of investment he made, any, you know. He said, "This supposed to be two inch." And, you know, as well, "I can get a cheaper. I'll be an inch and a quarter," you know. I don't know. I don't know how sturdy this thing is. It might be time for it to fall. I don't know. But I could not get my feet to step out on that. And it closed up. And I got, and rode the other Elevate that down. And said — Tom said, "You get any pictures?" "No, I didn't get any pictures." "So how come?" I said, "I couldn't walk out on the elevators." "How come I don't have no picture, that we'll take one from down here, and all I guess is like the top of it, or something?"

But you know, there's sometimes in your life that you'd want to do something, but you can't make yourself do it, you know. And joining Abraham on his Trek through nothing, and going someplace where he doesn't know — he doesn't even know when, if he was there, when he got there, you know. So, uh, and calling, and going with him to offer your only begotten son, and stick a knife in him, and kill him, and offer him up to God — and you haven't been told why, or how come, or what's the reason behind that. I don't know. It just sounds like I can't hang with him. "I'd like to go with you, Abe, but I don't think you and I are going to do well together."

You know, it's, it's, it's the whole idea of me trying to belong. Isaac was a child of Promise. He's now born to — Abraham's body was dead. Sarah's womb was incapable of burying children. Isaac was born of a promise of God. There are 3573 promises in — of God — in the Bible. And, and I love the promises of God. But sometimes I find myself creating doubt, especially when it seems like they're never going to happen. You know, I love singing about them. Other: "Standing on the Promises of God." You know, all them good songs. Standing on them — it's easier to sing it than it is to do it, sometimes. I love them. I comfort others with them, when — you know, the promise of God, they're yea and amen. Because I said that the public — the Bible's easier to preach than it is to live. I testify, and preach about them. And nothing too hard for God. It's easy, you know, preach about them. It's like — easier to preach about faith. But it's harder to live by faith than it is to preach about it. Anybody can preach about it. Preachers are a dime a dozen. People that live by that are altogether rare. It's Rarity that gives you value. And I'm not sure that I could run with Isaac, and just down the promises of God, you know. It's, it's, it's, it's difficult to find yourself in these people's plates, and realize how they had to live their lives, and how difficult it would be you, to join them in the living of that life. It's easier to condemn them, and point your finger at them, than it is, sometimes, to live with them.

There's only one left from this exclusive Club, of whom God declares he's the god of. And I'm extremely glad to know that he is the god of Jacob. Because when I read about Jacob, I'm thinking: I can hang with him. I couldn't — I couldn't run with him. He's a liar. He's a cheater. He's a deceiver. He's a thief. He's a counterfeit. He's a heel Grabber. He's a trickster. He's a pretender. He's a charlatan. He's a fraud. He's an imposter. It's obvious to me that Jacob is a far cry from Abraham and Isaac. He's not like either one of them. He's not with Abraham's faith, and he's not of Isaac's promise. Because Isaac intrigued the Lord for his wife, because she was Barren. And the Lord was entreated of him. And Rebecca, his wife, conceived. And the children struggled together within her. The only attribute that Jacob has, to counteract the multitude of problems he has, and insecure his hands in his life, is that Jacob is a struggler. Jacob will struggle for what he wants. And to know that God is the god of the struggler helps me to think that I might be able to run with Jacob. Of all that he is, of all of his failures and faults, in all that he has gone through in his life — every mess up, and every problem, and every issue that he has — he has but one attribute: that is, he won't give up. He just keeps struggling.

And for me to know that God is the god of Abraham and Isaac — which I cannot join, because of my insufficiencies, and not feeling that I could actually do what they did — I, I'm pretty sure I can run with Jacob, and do what he did. Because he doesn't have many assets going on in his life. He's pretty much a loser. But if God will put him in there, and say, "I am the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," I find my place to fit in. I find a guy that I can hang with. A guy that I can walk with, and fellowship with. Because if God will be the god of Jacob, then I'm pretty sure I could go in there, and God say, "Yeah, I'm going to be the god of Osborne, too. I want to have to let him in the club. I'm gonna have to let him come in, and join us." Because Jacob has but one, I — I said, in his life, that he's a struggler. And God declares: he is the god of the struggler.

"Struggle," in Hebrew: refused to break, or crack into pieces. To bruise, and crush, and discourage, and oppress. To progress with difficulty. To contend. To fight. And to battle. And Jacob was a man who would simply not give up. He would not surrender to his circumstances, to a situation. A struggle: with someone, that you progress with difficulty. You, you contend. You battle. And you fight. Do we have any strugglers in here this morning? Anybody that understands what it is to have to fight for everything you give? Have to struggle, to be able to do what you know you need to do.

Now, if you're the Abraham kind, then join Abe, and going out, not know where you're going. Be willing to sacrifice your only begotten son. If you're like Isaac, then live by the promises of God, and never doubt, or never fail. But if you're like Jacob, and you are a struggler — uh, happy to announce to you today, that he is a part of the ones that God says "I am the god of." "I am the god of a man or woman who won't give up. I'm the god of a man or a woman who has had a death blow with a devil. I am the god of the man or the woman who is that, who is pulling with all of their might, to succeed in the kingdom of God. I am the god of the man, of the woman, who gets up in the morning, and it's difficult to come without your husband, but you're a struggler. It's a difficult for the man to come without his wife, but he is a struggler. He struggles. He won't surrender. He won't give in. He dresses his kids. Puts his little girl's ponytail cockeyed. But he still brings it to the house of God, because he's a struggler." He don't just give up, because "I can't do this," or "I can't do that," or "I can't do the other." He contends, and he struggles, in the battle for the life of his family. Now, "I am the god of the struggler." Not the god of the perfect man, or the perfect woman. "I'm the god of the man who doesn't have much going for in his life."

You understand: there are very few perfect Lambs, fit to be offered to God. Very few perfect — of a man had a — how many, how many lambs do you think a man would have in his life that was perfect? Didn't have a flaw. Didn't have a — there's a laundry list of things that the priest had to look for, running his hands through the wool of a sheep, to find out they had a mole, or you had a wind, or there was too fat, or too skinny. You know, King James uses different words, but that's what it meant. They had to be perfect. Didn't have a split hoof. Didn't have a blue eye, a brown eye. Nothing imperfect. How many perfect Lambs do you think there are, in a flock of a hundred? He'd be lucky if he had one. Fortunately, had one lamb that was perfect. And if you're going to kill all the — if you're going to kill all the Lambs that are not perfect, you will deplete your flock, to where you've got nothing left. Because most flocks have imperfect Lambs in them.

You come to understand: you don't kill the imperfect lamb, hoping that one day, maybe, out of that imperfect lamb, there may be a perfect lamb born out of that. So you don't kill the imperfect. God did not kill Jacob. He was hoping that out of Jacob, there might come something someday, that would not have all the characteristics of Jacob, but there might be a perfect lamb somewhere that could be born.

So don't kill Rahab. I know she's a home wrecker. I know she has illicit Affairs going on in her life. I know she probably doesn't deserve to live. But let her hang that scarred of thread out of her window. Maybe someday there'll come a wall falling, because a nation will March around it. But her house will stay firm, even though she's unworthy. She doesn't deserve it. She's done more damage that she's done good. But God won't kill the imperfect lamb. He's hoping that maybe, out of her, there may someday come a lamb worthy to be offered to God. As she married — she lived with — was a man named salmon. Until this day, the scripture says.

I guess, when you think about, uh, Naomi, and, and, uh, her daughter-in-law — she was moabite — you would think that, just kill the boy, but she'd have a chance. But when Naomi got up — she got up — let me say this to you today: if you're down, you need to get up. Naomi — the Bible said, I'm paraphrasing — she got up from where she was, because it's the only place she can get up from. You can't get up from where you Oughta been, should have been, could have been, might have been. You got to get up from where you are. And when she got up, her daughter-in-law got up with her. Because some people are going to get up, if you get up. If you get up, your kids and get up. If you get up, your husband will get up. If you get up, your family will get up. But somebody's got to get up. You can't just sit around all your life. Get up, for Where You Are.

She goes back, and marries Boaz. Boaz has been waiting on it, because Boaz is a product of Rahab. As Rahab, Salman's son, Boaz is — he's the blemish lamb, too. So the two blemish Lambs got together. They're going to have some Dandy kids. You need them in your Sunday School classroom. You got to hired as kids. And you gotta — incestuous relationship, born of her, of a bad relationship. And those kids are going to be dandies for your room. They had a little boy named Obed. 'N Obed had a little boy named Jesse. And Jesse had a little boy named David, that become the savior of the world. So, out of two blemish Lambs, God brought something out of it.

I'm telling you: I don't care how much you have to struggle, you keep struggling, and struggling. Because God is the god of the one who will struggle. It doesn't give up. He doesn't cash in. He didn't throw in the towel. He just keeps struggling, and struggling. In his life is nothing but a struggle. Nothing ever comes easy for Jacob. He marries a woman, because he works seven years for her. He paid top dollar for — that's sticker price. He didn't even try to Hebrew him down. When this is a Kinder word than — seven years would be sticker price. He said, "I'm going to give you — I'm going to give you four years for her." And Layman to come back, and said, "I'll take five." He said, "Good." See, shaved two years off. But Dickering with him. But he — he was so in love because love makes you crazy. You know, it's temporary insanity, to begin with. And so — because you'll wake up later on — but it's temporary insanity, you know. And he just paid top dollar for it, because he was in love with her. And then, when he got home, and on his wedding night, he ended up — he had — he had Leah, who was — Bible said she was tenderized, which is King James for "ugly." And she didn't see tend to ride. And, you know, say — worked another seven years, because nothing ever goes well for him. He struggles to even get the woman he wants, you know. He struggles his whole life. And Layman changed his wages 10 times.

What if somebody — what if somebody — you get to work someplace, and they told you, "We're going to give you 15 an hour, twenty dollars an hour, a hundred dollars an hour, whatever it is." And then they brought your wages down 10 times. Would you keep working for them? Oh, you'd bail out. You'd go to work any place, you know. "Thank you for shopping at Walmart." You can get more money for saying that, probably, and doing your work, you know. But, but Jacob is a struggler. He, he understands: if you want it, struggle for it. If it means something to you, don't give up on it. If you want it, work for it.

Well, thank you, Jesus. Nothing comes easy for him. He grapples in hand-to-hand combat. He's a wrestler, of pushing and shoving and fighting. Yes, I say this afternoon: he is the god of the struggle. Because nothing comes easy for him. He struggles for the birthright. He struggles for blessings. But he's flawed, and he's blemished. When he left home — because his brother was going to kill him, because he had beguiled him out of the birthright — the Bible said, "He lighted up on a certain place, and teared there all night, because his son was sick." He was not an Outdoorsman, you know. He was a tent boy. He lived in a tent with his mother, because his mother loved him, but his father didn't love him. So he never had any discipline in his life. It was a dysfunctional family — because all the Bible families were dysfunctional — has to help us today.

Two different love affairs going on: him with his mother, in the tent. And he was living in the tent, you know. His brother Esau was not a tent boy. He was an Outdoorsman, you know. He loved to go hunting and fishing. He was all that kind of stuff. He had a lot of air on him, you know. He's, he's very bold looking.

You know, when I was young, I didn't have a lot of aspirations. But I was skinny. I was built like a thermometer. And, uh, skinny jeans weren't in, weren't out — or, they weren't invented yet. So it has been ultra skinny for me. High, and arms look like two broom handles, hanging out of my sleeves, you know. They were just tiny. I had friends who were, who were strong. And, you know, I was short. And you'd buy a pair of Levi's — about the smallest you could get was like a — I don't know — 30 inch waist. And I had like a 26. It always looks cool when you put your belt on — you have to pull it all the way around, and it puts a big wad of Levi all around here. A big wad, looking stuff, you know. That's not cool. That's not cool. But I wasn't cool, you know. And my arms — little skinny arms — hanging out there, you know. And, and I was short, so I couldn't ride a 26 inch bicycle, because it's no cool. I wanted to stand flat-footed on a 26 inch bike. Now I have to have my leg up like that. Like, that's not cool either. That's not cool, when you stop, and there's a girl there, and you're late goes up like that. You look — it's, it's just — it's not cool. It's not cool. So, so, with the big wad's Gene all around my arm here, or around my waist, and my leg hiked up, and, uh, it was hard to get the attention. Girls looked at me, but it's kind of shady, you know. So, uh, I tried to fix my arms. I couldn't fix my legs. And so I took my t-shirt, and I wound it up underneath it. You take your sheet, you could wind it up, and get real tight around, and hold your arms down like this, walking around. Yeah, it's — somebody to come by: "Hey, you go." Your arm — your armpit — would all come Unwound, you know. Then that really looks cool, when you got a big wad of stuff. Now you got wads of stuff around your waist. You got wads of stuff under your arms. And that was me.

And that kind of reminds me of Jacob. He didn't — he wasn't cool, because he — he was the man out. He wasn't Outdoorsman. He wasn't — he lived in the tent, you know. He knew how to make Toll House Cookies, but he couldn't kill a deer, you know. He didn't know anything about camping outside. He was — he learned to walk by holding on to his mother's dress tail. Probably seven years old before he could reach it. Today — but he doesn't mean he did. He wasn't cool, you know. He wasn't cool. He, he was just one of the guys that nobody ever thought much about. He was a trickster and a jokester. And he wasn't Outdoorsman. He's having hair on his arms, or he didn't have to shave it, like, once every month, or something. And so, when he went out, and having to live by himself, he didn't know what to do. He wasn't Outdoorsman. He didn't know how he ended up — no 10, or knows how to do anything, you know.

So he got a rock for a pillow. I mean, who does that? He would think he would know a rock for a pillow. You wouldn't let — "I'll get rid of the Rocks." If you're going to Camp, simplist: get the rocks out of the way, so he can be comfortable, at least, you know. Get you a pine Branch. Get you something, Jacob, you know. He gets a rock for a pillow. But he's a dreamer. Because that's what's — that's what strugglers do. They dream about Better Days. They dream about the future. To dream about when things are going to be okay. It's having success. They dream about being loved, and cared about. They dream — preachers dream about full churches, and having the finances, you know. You can't afford batteries for your cordless mic, while other people are doing great, you know. And so, here you are, dreaming about how it will be when you have plenty of money. Some mothers — want-to-be mothers — dream about having children. They dream about future blessings, and relationships. A dream about joy, and peace, and hope. And they dream about getting some help from Heaven.

I — he dreamed that night, and God could see it. And I'm coming down the stretch here. Ain't gonna get no betterness. He's Dr — he's dreaming that night. He's a dreamer. His dreams about how things could be. How things might be. Things could just get better in his life. Like me. Just a dream that you could put on a few more pounds. I fixed my life by getting a 24 inch girls Mike. No more of that for me. I'm gonna be okay now. He dreamed. And God looked at him — listen to me, because I'm closer — God looked at him, and said, "This boy needs help. He needs help, and go make it by himself. He's a trickster, but his bag of tricks have run out. He needs help." So he gave him something that he never gave Abraham, and have a game Isaac. He gave him a ladder. Feet was on the ground, and the top of it went all the way to heaven. And their Angels ascending and descending on that ladder.

"I'm gonna take care of you, Jacob, because I see you've run out of struggling. You've run out of doing for yourself. You can't trick me any longer, you know." So he gave him that ladder, because God understands that a struggler needs help. Abraham didn't need no help. Isaac don't need no help. But a struggler needs some help. And God wants to help a struggle her. He wants to help a dreamer who dreams that someday — this might be someday. I might fall in love. Someday, somebody will come along. Someday, life will be different for me. Someday, I won't have to fight tooth and nail to get everything. I wouldn't have to fight for my job and fight for the income. And fight for a decent car. I won't have to struggle with flap tires, and running out of gas. Someday, it's going to be better. Than God said, "I'm, I'm going to take care of this boy, because he's a dreamer. But he's a struggler." And he give him a ladder, to reach all the way to him. Never give Abraham one. I don't know they ever gave another human being one. But he gave him a ladder that reached all the way up into heaven, and ministering Angels coming down. And the Lord stood above it. And this is what the Lord said above it: "Now, and behold, the Lord stood above, and said, 'I am the god of Abraham, and the god of Isaac.'" That's all he said. He didn't put Jacob in there yet. Beside: "The god of Abraham, and I'm the god of Jacob. I'm the god of your father, Isaac."

But he's letting Jacob know that: "I'm going to give you the wherewithal, that if you'll keep struggling — and you don't give up, and you don't cast in, and you don't say it's not worth the struggle — if you'll keep struggling, and I'm giving you ministering angels that are going to help you, that reach all the way to heaven, and all the way down to earth. And Jacob, if you'll keep on struggling, I'm going to put your name right in there, with Abraham and Isaac. And I'm going to add Jacob to the other side of it. That will give hope to the entire world, that they can be saved, if they'll just struggle for their lives, and struggle for living for God." Go and stand with me. "If I can just get a struggler not to give up, I'll give him something that will help him. And I'll add his name to my resume, of who I am the god of." Because before he gave me ladder, it's just Abraham and Isaac. Then, when he gave him a letter, said, "I'll add your name to it, if you won't give up. And I'm going to give you the wherewithal, that you will not ever fail, or falter, or have to do tricks." We have some music. Come with me, if you would, please.

It's an amazing — because I'm done. But at the very end: he sent his wives over. Sent his kids over. Sent his flocks over. His herds, his servants. He sent them all over the Jordan River. The Bible said, "Jacob's left alone." Here you are, Jacob. You're alone again. But he wrestles with a man. It's never going to be over. He wants something. "Jacob gonna have to wrestle me for it." And he wrestled with the man until the breakout day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh. And the hollow of Jacob's style was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, "Let me go, for the daybreaker." And he said, "I will not let thee go, except they blessed — except thou bless me."

You know, sometimes, when you're a struggler, sometimes you just have to hold on. Can't fight it anymore. Jacob's tired. He's wrestled all night. Now the sun's coming up again. Knocks his thigh out of joint, because that's the only way God can keep him from fighting. Now all he can do is just hold on. Just hold on. And he said to him, "What's your name?" He said, "My name is Jacob." And he said, "That name shall nobody more be called Jacob, but Israel. For as a prince, that has the power with God, and with men. And Jacob, you have prevailed. You win, Jacob. I give up. You win." For all of his life — and even in the end — he's still wrestling for a blessing.

God said, "All right, Jacob. I'm going to change your name. In the Lord, be called Jacob. We'll call you Israel. For as a prince, you have prevailed." Do you understand this? That when God decided to name his children, he did not call them the children of Abraham, or the children of Isaac. He called him the children of Israel, who was a struggler, who became a prince. Every one of the children of God will be strugglers. That God looks at you, and he sees a prince, and a princess. And he named his children after the man who had very little to offer in this life, except you just would not give up and surrender. Gospel: "Name all my children after him." Not Abraham. Not Isaac. But a struggler, that became a prince with God.

I just need to know this morning, if there's anybody struggling. I don't know what you may be struggling about. None of my business. I don't know you. Maybe you're struggling with loneliness. Size that can be, that your wife may have left you — left you alone. I'm sorry. If your husband has left you — left you alone — and you struggle with that. You struggle with your own value: "How can I have value, if they left me?" Maybe you're a child — children — and you struggle with parents that may not live for God, or come to church. I don't know what your struggle is. But at night time, you struggle with it. Struggling in school. You're struggling. You're feeling insufficient. You just struggle.

I wanted to encourage you: not to give up. Don't surrender to that. Be a dreamer. Dream about what it's going to be like. Because God's going to change your world for you, if you keep struggling. Because he is the god of the struggler. He's not the god of the one that surrenders, or gives up, or Cashes in, or says nothing can be done. He just keeps struggling, and struggling, and struggling. And God's getting ready to give you something that'll help you get through. He's got a ladder waiting for you. Feed of it on the earth. Top of it goes all the way to heaven. And their ministering Spirits, Angels ascending and descending, taking care of your struggles in your life.

I was just wondering if there's a struggler here. But go say something. We go sing. Give you an opportunity to come down the South, as a struggler. Not everybody's struggling. Some of you getting, maybe, on Easy Street. Things going well for you. That's fine. I'm glad for you. But there are folks that struggle. They struggle just to get here. It's a battle just to make it to the house of God. It's the battles: get up in the morning. It's a — it's a fight to go to school. It's — you just struggle with things. It's not easy. This is not Abraham and Isaac. This is Jacob. He's just the god of the struggler.

God wants you to know how much he loves you. How much he values you. He named all of his children the children of Israel — a struggler that became a prince. You're becoming something through your struggles. You are becoming something through your struggles. You are becoming something other than what you are. Don't give up. Don't give up.

Love the Lord right now. If you're struggling, lift your hands, and love him. Tell him how much you love him. You appreciate him. Let him give you that which will communicate with heaven in your life. If you've never been water baptized in Jesus' name, it is time for you to get baptized, washing away your sins. Who never receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost — you need the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It's essential to get you out of here. You need to seek God. "Change my life. Change my world, God. I'm struggling. I'm struggling as a young man. I'm struggling with my life. I'm struggling with my addiction. I'm struggling with the fact I can't seem to give it up. I have not enough discipline to walk away from. And I'm struggling."