The Blessing Of Letting Go

Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.

I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast.

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I hope you're blessed today.

I do want to just take a moment and say to each and every one of you, you know that I don't wear a red hoodie for just anything. Fall season, holiday season. God is going to give us a very strong end to this year.

How many are believing for that? How many you.

Got some catching up to do because this has been a really weird year so far. We're gonna believe God that every blessing that you haven't received that you're supposed to receive this year, God would compress it into these next few weeks for you. I'm believing that He's going to give you supernatural guidance, wisdom, his reflexes, his response. In fact, that's what I want to preach about today. I want to preach about the blessing that God wants

Genesis chapter thirty two.

Had a hard time deciding how much of this to read to you, but I decided that we should go from at least verse seven. So buckle in, and this passage of scripture. Wow, it's really for those of you who are wrestling with something and you've been struggling because you're wrestling. You've been struggling to rest in what you have and who you are because of what you're wrestling with.

You know. But Jacob is doing that because it said.

In verse eight that Esau was coming to attack him his brother. But look at verse nine, this kind of a turning point in the passage. Then Jacob prayed, so watch this verse eight, he thought. Verse nine, Then Jacob pray, You know, the devil shouldn't have let you get here today because he's had you in your head and you've been thinking about the attack. But the moment that you started braising God today and lifted your eyes to him, come on, I declare a level.

Change in your situation.

Then Jacob prayed, Oh, God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord you who said to me, go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper. I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. Save me, I pray from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid that he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children.

But you have said, but you have said.

I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted. He spent the night there, and from what he had with him, he selected a gift for his brother Esau. I'm gonna read you the whole list, all right, just so you can see how blessed Jacob was. Two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred us and twenty rams, thirty female camels with their young, forty cows, and ten bulls.

Oh boys, doing pretty good, he said a few verses ago.

I started with just a staff, look what God gave him, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.

He put them in the care of his servants.

Each heard by his health, and said to his servants, go ahead of me and keep some space between the herds.

He instructed the one in the lead.

When my brother Esau meets with you and asks who do these belong to? Where you go and who owns all these animals in front of you, then you are to say they belong to your servant, Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us. He also instructed the second and the third and all the others who followed the hers. He's covering all his basis for this thing that he's got

Is coming behind us.

For he thought, I'll pacify him with these gifts I'm sending on a head later when I see him, perhaps he will receive me. So Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him, but but.

He himself spent the night in the camp.

That night, Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons that would keep you up all night, all of it, the eleven sons, the two wives, all of it that would give me indigestion, and then saw me they don't make a little Nesta strong enough for the situation, and your brother might want to kill you.

This is what he's dealing with.

He took all of that and crossed the ford of the Jabe. After he had sent them across the stream. He sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. And when the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. And I'll stop here for now. Then the man said, let me go, for it is daybreak. But Jacob replied, I will not

You deserve it.

In Jesus' name, Amen, on your way to your seat, tell your neighbor, yes, I'm blessed, Yes, I'm blessed.

Say it convincingly.

Now that first time you sounded like you were saying it under compulsion. You sounded like I sent you to apologize, like your mom.

Made you say that I'm sorry.

I just won look at them like you need to sell something to eat tonight and say yes, I'm blessed, because I mean, even the most basic reading of this Bible story is confusing.

You don't even have to get.

Into all of the nuances of wait a minute, God broke a guy's hip.

You don't even have to get into that to be confused. You could be just confused. Okay, there's one verse in that.

This one verse is confusing just by itself, the one that I stopped on where Jacob says to this guy who turns out to be like an angel of God or an appearance of God, but he doesn't know that at the time, because it's not always obvious that it's God when you're going through things. I said, it's not always obvious that it's God when you're going through things.

Whatever he's wrestling with, that he doesn't really know what it is yet. He says verse twenty six, I will not let you go unless you bless me. Isn't he already blessed? Just asking the obvious? How many donkeys was it? Were you counting them? I wasn't counting them.

There were so many donkeys I lost count so much livestock, I mean Hebrew culture, the proof of blessing was life, so having eleven sons which would later go on to be the tribes of Israel. Benjamin isn't born yet, but after Benjamin, it completes the roster, the starting lineup for the nation of Israel, and all of that is traveling with him, and he's blessed.

If you were to ask Jacob is he blessed? He'd say yes.

He even said to God when he was praying, you know you've done so much for me. I don't deserve it. I'm looking at a life that I couldn't imagine, and now I'm living in something that I never would have imagined through the lens of my past. It reminded me of a conversation that I had with a great entrepreneur. He was sharing with me about the pressure that he faces on a daily basis, and his solution was, I just need to be more grateful. God has given me

I said, you keep saying.

That you're not as grateful as you should be for everything that God has given you. But I wonder if what you're calling a lack of gratitude in your life really isn't just the load of pressure that you feel because of the blessings that God has given.

And so I don't think it's necessarily.

That you aren't grateful for everything that you just listed that you know God has given you. I think it's that at times you realize that, yes, I'm blessed. But and so look at your neighbor again and say yes, I'm blessed, but say it in that little high voice like that. Look at him again, look at him again, say yes I'm blessed. But I wanted to call this message.

Mine.

It's amazing to me how Jacob could be so blessed that God has done so much, that God has given so many things. But the Bible says he was terrified, he was threatened, he was uncertain, and on the same prayer that he's telling God, you promised me that you're going to create something great out of my life, he's reminding God that he has a brother named Esau who's about to kill. So he looked up one night and he saw all of the blessings God had given him,

Do you know about Esau. Esau is the brother who was the first born of Isaac, who was supposed to rightfully.

Carry the birthright to bring forth the nation of Israel. But Jacob tricked his father into giving him the birthright and the blessing because Isaac was going blind.

So Jacob dressed up like he was Esau.

It was his mom's idea to do it, and she's like, I got some of his clothes, I can make some food.

We can take it into Isaac and Isaac.

Won't know the difference, and we can get him to bless you instead, because she kind of liked Jacob and Isaac kind of liked Esau, and so they switched it up and bamboozled Isaac to get Jacob bless And that is the background of this story, is that Jacob is blessed, but.

Blessed. But it's been twenty years since he's seen.

He saw, He's been a lot of places, He's seen a lot of things. He lived with Uncle Laban for most of those twenty years in a foreign land.

He got two wives.

He read about that in the text, Rachel and Leah.

Rachel was beautiful, Leoh.

Was had a good personality. And now he's going back with everything that God has blessed him with.

But I'm gonna preach this. I'm gonna preach this. I'm anapreach this because I feel it. He's blessed, but.

He's got a thousand reasons to be thankful. He's got a thousand reasons to be confident. He's got Exhibit A, A, B, C, D, E, F, G H, I JK that God keeps his promises. But he knows the story how God told his father, well not his father, his grandfather Abraham, I will bless.

You and you will be a blessing.

He knows all of that so well that he can rehearse it in a prayer back to God in perfect prose and remind God of how far he's come. It is not wasted on him what God has done for him.

He's very blessed.

But it is important for us to realize as we bring God our praise for.

The blessings that we have received.

And I need all the blessed people to take a moment, clap your hands.

And thank God that He blessed you, because.

If He hadn't a blessed you.

You probably wouldn't be here. Three people, If.

He hadn't blessed you, kept you, fed, you led, you sown, you crowned, you clothed, you walk you through you wouldn't be here if you.

Weren't so blessed. High fire. Somebody say, yes, I'm blessed, but but i'm blessed. I'm blessed. God gave me kids. We struggle through infertility for three years. God gave us kids. I'm blessed. Children are blessing.

But can't talk to you about this in church. We talk about it later, talk about later. In fact, I don't talk to anybody about it because.

I don't want anybody to.

See my butt. You cain't talk about my butt. I'm gona cover my butt. I'm gonna show you my blessing. I'm'a cover my but I'm gonna post my blessings. I'm'a cover my butt all up on Instagram. It's all my blessings.

You will see my butt on Instagram.

Now.

The thing about the passage that I need you to realize.

Is that the presence of the blessing does not mean the absence of pressure. Sometimes we get confused about the things that we feel. Sometimes we get confused about the thoughts that we have. Because I'm blessed, and I know that I should trust God, because I know that I've seen him come through before. I am blessed. I have seen so many times that He came through for me. But I'm waking up lately at three in the morning,

I'm blessed.

I mean, don't get me wrong, man, I'm not in here to complain to you. I'm blessed. But I got to go back to the doctor next Wednesday. And he's my healer. God is my Jehovah rapha. But I still kind of wonder what this doctor is gonna say to me when I go see them on Wednesday.

I'm describing scenarios. These aren't my scenarios. These are just these are the butts.

You brought to church, the man who told me, I'm so grateful that God will allowed me to open this restaurant. But I've got this pain in my shoulder right now, and I'm coming in and I'm getting here at four in the morning, And will you pray for me, pastor, because I trust God, but my shoulder.

And God has.

Blessed me with so much, but this hurts. I'm waking up with this pain in my body. I'm not able to sleep at night. Would you just pray for me? Because I love God, I trust God. I'm blessed, and don't get this confused. The load that I carry does not mean that I don't love God, nor does it mean that I doubt his love for me. I'm blessed. Yes I'm blessed, but this addiction is kicking my butt.

And yes, I'm blessed, and I'm not.

Complaining because I know that there's somebody somewhere who doesn't even have food to eat. So I'm not comparing myself and saying that I don't appreciate what God gave me. And I know that overeating is kind of like an American blessed people problem anyway to have, but I still have it. I'm blessed, but I can't control this and I don't know how to control it because I'm wrestling with something I can't see. And I'm forgiving of my sin,

I'm blessed, but but you probably want to hear about this. I'm blessed but and this is what I feel sometimes when people.

Say, boy, it must be wonderful to know that God uses you to help thousands of people through your preaching.

That must be a blessing. It is a blessing, y'all. Don't want to hear about that.

No, it's just the Holy Spirit just flows and I just let him say what he wants to say, because it's his work, not my work, and it's his way not my way.

And I believe that. But sometimes I want to get up and say what I said last week, do it and walk off the stage. You like that, Lord, I like that. The Lord said he liked that. Now about this wrestling match.

Let me give you another verse that to me, it's not confusing, but it just really shows what Jacob is going through in this passage. It says that when verse twenty four comes around and he's, you know, sent everything across the stream because he's got to deal with Esau, and he thinks Esau is the enemy that he.

Has to face. And so what happens is he has.

A fight that he didn't plan for as he's getting ready for the fight that he's not going to have that he thinks he's going to have.

This is kind of what worry does to you.

It gets you fighting battles that probably aren't even going to happen, to deplete you of the strength that you need to do the things that you can do to affect what you can affect, to impact what you can impact. But the Bible says that after Jacob was separated from all of these blessings, donkeys, camels, what else did he have use and Rachels and Leah's and Simeon's and Levi's and all of these tangible expressions of blessing After those

Now, I have been in an.

Nostalgia hole all week watching nineteen ninety one, nineteen ninety two, nineteen ninety three wrestling matches. I don't mean the kind where they compete on a collegiate level. I'm talking about the Four Horsemen. And I'll be honest, I even went past because I quit watching wrestling when I was about

I'm talking about.

The source of the issue, and the source of the issue determines the strategy for the battle. So if you live your whole life thinking, oh, well, I'm wrestling against them, I'm fighting against them, I need to convince them if they would just appreciate me, you are.

You are making them the source of your struggle.

If they are the source of your struggle and they are a person, if they're external, if it's an issue, if it's the source of your struggle, then the source of your strength is also external. Because the source of your struggle will determine the source of the strength.

That you need to defeat that struggle. I'm going to make it plain in.

Just a moment when I'm fighting with something that I can see, I need to fight with things that I can see. If I'm fighting against something that is visible, I need to fight with something that is visible. But what do I do when the fight is happening at night? What do I do when the fight is happening in a place in me that I can't even really tell.

You about it?

And I'm not even really sure you want to hear it anyway? Because I'm blessed, but I'm thankful, but.

I've come so far. But and I told God.

I didn't want to preach this message to you because the yes, I'm blessed thing works so much better on Sunday without the plot. But when you come to this church, as long as I get to be the pastor, you can bring your bliss. But in this church every single Sunday, what does that mean you could come I'm in confused? What does that mean? You can come in conflicted? What does that mean? You can come in crying? You can

You don't have to have a highlighter. You don't have to know thirty five scriptures.

You don't have to know how to quote the apostles creed.

You don't have to be born in the right place at the right time.

You can be conflicted and still come in this church. You can bring your blessed, but you can come in here with questions and not even leave with answers, but throw up your hands and say, I'm.

Met with God fresh and the Angel told me it's gonna be ay.

You're blessed, but you're blessed, but you struggle. You're blessed, but you wonder. You're blessed, but you're still not completely healed from it yet. It happened fifteen years ago. I'm blessed, but there's a part of me that still can't forgive what they did to me. I'm blessed, but I still replay it in my mind. I'm blessed, but I still run back to it when the pressure's on. I'm blessed, but I still can't make sense out of it. I'm blessed, but I still don't feel ready for it.

I'm blessed, but I still feel exhausted when I go to it. I'm blessed.

God has given me so much, but I spend so much time wondering can.

I keep it up?

Because God gave it to me, but I can't keep it up.

But here's the good news.

If he started it, then the pressure is on him to finish it. You need to remember that the source determines the strategy, and if the blessing comes from you, then it's on you to keep it going.

But if it comes from God.

So I learned this in my life. When I give Him praise, it takes off pressure. Somebody said to me, y'all praise God at Elevation Church very externally and very openly, and it's kind of shocking. And I'm like, why is this shocking? The world is crazy externally and verbally. So if it's crazy externally and verbally, then when I'm fighting back against the craziness.

I need to fight it externally and verbally.

So if the devil is telling me Esau is gonna kill you, I need to speak back and say to God, you promised I have your word on this, I have your assurance on this.

I'm in the middle of your purpose.

And so Jacob, who I love, the story is so amazing because Jacob, all of his life has been blessed by grabbing on.

To what he wanted. Oh, he's a go getter. Jacob sets his mind out to do something. This is how ambitious Jacob is.

When he was born, Esau was coming out first, and he came out.

Y'all, don't run the punchline for me. Oh, your bible nurse.

He came out grabbing the heel of his older brothers so he could be first.

And so they saw him doing.

That, and they're like, we need to call him Jacob because Jacob means heel grabber. What amazing creativity. And then secondly, what an amazing picture of the way he lived the rest of his life and the way so many of us do, grabbing for something that God wants to give him. And you be honest with you, we live in a time where it's very easy to confuse.

Christianity with discipline.

To be a good Christian in many of our minds means that this is how much I'm gonna read the Bible, this is how much I'm going to pray. And I hope that you read the Bible and pray a lot and more and more every day. And I hope you do, and I hope I do, and I hope we all do. That isn't what makes you a Christian. That isn't what makes you a better Christian. That isn't even what makes you a strong Christian. Just by how much you pray, how much you read the Bible. That is not how

How to be serious.

About my relationship with God whilst being surrendered to the God who I'm in relationship with. This is not as easy as it seems, because you will find yourself often really really committed to trying to get God to bless you. Committed to I'm really gonna get my life together, committed to I really want to be free from these patterns.

Committed to. I want to be an.

Example, make a difference, have an influence, make a mark, fulfilled purpose, really committed to that. But then commitment becomes control, and you cannot follow Christ and have control. I'm sorry. I want it to be where you can. I want it to be where Jesus lets you code him, where you get to give in the commands and you get to give in the thing.

But every time I read in the Bible, He's given the commands.

Every time in my life he brings me into something new, he takes me through something scary. Every time in my life he sets me free from something that I don't want to give me something that I do want. I cannot reach toward what He's giving me without letting go of what I held.

And there are a lot of us who.

Are not going to get what we need from God in this season until we let go of what we held to in the previous. There are some blessings that only come through holding on. I'm telling you sometimes you have got to get around a promise from God and say, I don't care how many things blow against it.

I don't care how many things shake it up. I don't care how many years pass. I am holding on to what God said.

There are blessings that only come from holding on. That's Jacob. He's like, no, you're not leaving until you bless me. I need a blessing. I got a fresh battle, resh blessing.

I got a fresh test. I need a fresh blessing. You are not leaving. I am not going to let you go unless you bless me.

And then God says, but I cannot bless you unless you let go, let go of the way you thought it was supposed to go. Let go of your comparison to other standards that have nothing to do with who.

The sovereign God called you to be let go.

Of the expectations of perfection that you have for yourself that can only be satisfied through the perfect work of Jesus and has already applied to your account.

Let go.

There are some blessings that you can get by holding on. Oh yeah, Jacob was blessed. His blessed him. He got the blessing of the firstborn, double inheritance, the blessing of the firstborn, the naming rights of the children, the patriarchy of the whole nation. He got blessed by Isaac. But he didn't get blessed yet. Ask who he really was. So you say, wait a minute. You read me a scripture and you said that the key to being blessed

Hearts, that you will be speaking about for years to come. But watch this.

There is a blessing that comes from holding on persevering. There's a blessing that comes through tenacity. Then the man said, let me go, for it is daybreak, but Jacob replied, I will not let go unless you bless me.

Now, watch this.

On the surface, so far, it seems like that Jacob got this blessing the way that he got every other blessing. And maybe right now you're trying to do it like you always did it and it's not working. And you're trying to face it like you always faced it and it's not working.

But watch what the angel said, and this is.

The turning point in this trans transformative experience for Jacob and for you. But Jacob replied, I will not let you go.

Unless you bless me. And the man asked him, what is your name? Jacob? He answered.

Then the man said, your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.

When he said what is your name?

It reminds us of twenty years ago in Genesis twenty seven, when Isaac called his son to bless him. He thought he was talking to Esau because he was blind, and he said, who are you, And the voice came back saying, I am Esau.

But it wasn't Esau, it was Jacob.

In two days there will be enraged Christians on social media arguing about Halloween. Is it right or is it not right to celebrate Halloween. We will not discuss that in this pulpit today. That is not the purpose for which God sent me. But I will tell you one thing that God is very concerned about. Anytime you dress

It's never a treat.

And God says, I don't need you to be Esaul to bless you, because when I bless you, I'm gonna.

Bless you the real you, the short you, the tall you, the old you, the knew you.

Godsend.

When I bless you, you won't have to pretend about anything. You'll get dressed.

Brace me, He goes the source of your strict and the strength of your life.

High five three people say yes, I'm blessed.

Yes, I'm blessed.

And so Jacob was already blessed, but he didn't know who he was.

And God said, after all I've done for you, do you still not know who you are?

You're my child, You're the heading off the tail. You're blessed, you are redeemed from the pit. You are blessed. You are chosen in love, that's the apple of his eyes. You are blessed. You are an overcomer, you are blessed. You are the purchased of God. You are blessed. You are blessed. You are blessed to be a blessing. And now sound like you.

Know who blessed you, because when you know who bless.

You, you know who to go back to when you need some thought of it.

Thank God, here's to me.

Here's your boy, here's your daughter, here's your sap.

I need you.

I five eleven people say yes, I'm blessed. Not bragging, but I'm blessed. I'm not perfect, but I'm blessed. I'm not one hundred percent honest all the time, but I'm blessed.

Let me, just be real with you.

He has blessed me with every blessing his spiritual places.

I got it into heavenly realm. Now I just gotta bring it in my life.

The Bible says he blessed him there in the place of his real name. You know what God wants to give you today, a surrender of who you thought you were, so you can receive who you really are. I wonder, is anybody ready to receive who you really are? I got warn you, See, man, I gotta warn you. It's not like changing your name to Hollywood Hogan. It's not like changing your name on wrestling. It's not that kind

God, I won't let go till you bless me.

I hear the Holy Spirit saying I can't bless you until you let go.

You hear it, You hear it, you hear it.

When God showed me that, it was like, oh, I don't want to really admit that that's the way it works, because this goes against my control free Christianity that I invented that is nowhere in the Bible.

I want to achieve this thing. I want to earn this thing.

And that's why God gave us the New Testament example of Paul, because he said, man, I was stacking stuff that I did. I was stacking successes and a spiritual religious realm that amounted the status that you wouldn't imagine. A Pharisee of pharis Hees, a Hebrew of Hebrews, of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the eighth day, I studied under Gamelia. What all these things I count as lost?

To buffet me.

You'll always have a buff but to buffet you, and the bigger the blessing, the bigger the buffet.

To keep it in balance, so you know where your source is.

As a matter of fact, Paul said, I had this storm in my flesh, and three times I asked God to take it away. Three times I asked God to do it. You've been asking God to change something in your life, and he won't do it. This is your verse right here, Tewod Corinthians twelve nine. But he said to me, Paul, the great apostle, who took the mission of Jesus.

Christ to sites that had previously.

Seemed to distant, who spoke with eloquence and yet simplicity, Christ crucified, but did it in a way that the philosophers were confounded. Paul said, I was given a thorn in my flesh along with all my blessings. I'm blessed, don't get me wrong. I saw Jesus on the road to Damascus. I preached with such power that people were converted, that people that cities went into riot. I was so blessed to be able to do that. Yes, I'm blessed, but I had a thorn, and I asked God to take it away, and he said.

No, but my grace is sufficient.

That's the blessing of letting go of the way you thought it was supposed to be, is that you get the grace to accept what it is. And that's where the transformation is. That's where the power is, that's where the revelation is. What is your name? He said, Jacob, I'm not pretending to be something else anymore. I'm not striving to be something anymore. I'm not gonna dress up like anything anymore. For all of you that think you need approval from a person, you don't need approval from

Can take it.

But if you get it from God, it can never go away. Let them say what they want, think what they want, do what they want, write what they want, take what they want what they want. I'll never be alone, not when God is with me. I might look alone, but I'm not alone.

The blessing of letting go is grace.

Can you imagine all your life like Jacob, you have been running to chase something that you thought.

You needed to be to be successful, that you thought you needed to be to be whole that you thought you needed to be to be worthy, that you thought you needed to be because your father didn't give it to you, that you thought you needed to be, because nobody ever spoke it over you.

Can you imagine the moment of release when the Angel said, all I.

Want is you. What's your name? And when you say your name, When you say your name, you receive his nature.

Today I came to call you to some and it isn't awfully popular in pulpits where the message is hold on and you'll be blessed. I came with a little different twist for some of the things that you're staying up at night about, for some of the esaus that you're facing. The only way God can really bless you.

Let go. Let go quit trying to live out your high school quarterback career through your kid. Let go. He's good at video games.

You can make money on that now, because I'm gonna show you in the text something that you never expected to see.

You're up all night worrying about it. You're up all night thinking about it. You're devising different ways to get out of it.

You got lists on list on list on lists, and if it does that let's do that, and you're all in your head.

And then he prayed, and guess what happened when God blessed him.

Verse thirty three says he got up the next morning he saw Esau coming toward him.

He thinks he's gonna kill me. Now. Oh, I hope that prayer worked.

I don't know.

I hope that sermon worked. That pastrophretic preached, I mean he preached real hard. He preached as hard as he could. I hope it works. And Genesis thirty three, verse four, I want you to see this will help me illustrate this. Here's Esau, the one he was so intimidated by, the one who for twenty years he's been thinking, if I

Watch what God did while Jacob prayed. Verse four, Esau.

Ran to meet Jacob and embraced him. Wow, the thing that he was afraid of was waiting to embrace him. He threw his arms around his neck first time, like he's slow violin, and we're not gonna act all this out and worry, but.

You get the picture.

And Jacob said, hey, he saw he bowed down on the ground seven times, putting on a big show. All the things we do to try to make the situation better that God never told us to do, all the ways we wear ourselves out when we could really just worship twenty years. He worried about this moment, and yet Esau says something very powerful. Go to overs five, Jacob said. Esau said, what's all this stuff you brought? Jacob said, oh, this is my kids that God graciously gave your children.

Probably should have stopped at ten. And then Esau looks up and he sees all this stuff for six, for six, have female served their children inproach and bowed down?

For seven?

And lean her children came about down last all Joseph came Rachel did they two bowed down? Jacob put the pretty wife behind the other one.

I don't know why I did that. Look at verse eight. Now this is the point. We could edit this out later. What's the meaning of all this?

Flocks and herds said, what's all this stuff you're trying to do to make peace with me? To find favor in your eyes? My lord, he said, and watch this. Esau said, oh, hold on. But Esau said, here you have letty brother keep what you have for yourself. Esau was already blessed. If he would have spent twenty years in bitterness, he wouldn't have been. But he said, you know what, I let go, and you can't too. Now bring it in, bring it in, bring it in, bring

Go, Let it go. God is not against sheep. Let it go. He's fighting for you. Let it go. He's not abandoning you. That's him you're wrestling with.

You're coming forth stronger, You're coming forth staple.

Let that thing go. Hug at least three people say let that thing go, Let that thing go. This is your day of grace. This is your moment to let go. And when you let it go, lift your.

Hands and expect a blessing that you will not have room enough to receive.

I declare the blessing of peace coming to your house in the place of the shame that Christ took away.

I declare new relationships, new favor, new opportunities.

In the place of your let go. Here comes the grace of Almighty God. Yes, I'm blessed. Yes I'm chosen. Yes I'm sealed, Yes some anointed.

Yes I call Let's gives, Yes praise, we gave it all day.

Yes I'm bless Yes I'm yes I am.

Aren't you so afraid of if you got angels? This is the blessing of let go.

I pray that this, this letting go today for you would take you into a place of freedom tonight when you lie down to sleep, your sleep will be sweet because God is dealing with Esau, because you have met with him God. God's given a word to somebody right now, How do I deal with it? How do I deal with the anxiety? How do I deal with the panic? How do I do it?

Okay?

Every time, God says, every time you think about what you've got to deal with that you can't get over. Every time you think about Esau, pray to me. Every time you think about bills, pray to your provider. And then when you pray, expect him to direct you to the next step. Every time you feel the hurt, every time you feel the old offense, you pray and thank God for his forgiveness for you, and that person, and you open your arms because for what God has for

And because I'm blessed, I accept up every space in between.

So no, now, Lord, we come to you, the blesser of our coming, the blesser of our going, the blesser when we rise up, the blessing and we fall down, the blesser of our in between. We declare now that your face is turning toward your children. I know that for some today this will be a good reminder.

For others, it will be a life changing revelation. Let go, let go, God says, it's me.

I'm here with you. You're not alone, Jacob. I'm changing your name, I'm changing your life.

Let go. Yeah, I like that. L j ah.

Sorry, that's good.

That's good.

That's good.

That's good.

I sirreander, oh I sorreyor oh.

Mm hmmm, oh h.

Hey you Jesus, let go, he's got it.

Let go, Let go, h.

Out with your heads about your eyes closed. I want to give an invitation for those who need to give your life to Jesus Christ. You will never get to him by climbing. You will never get to him by trying, only through receiving His grace.

Right now, in this moment, I think there's probably a lot.

Of you who need to make this your day to receive God's grace for your life, to turn from your sin, and to realize that there is a God and you are not him, that there is a Savior standing ready and willing to forgive you cleanse you give you a brand new life. So right now we're going to pray as a church family those online as well. And if this is your moment, and you know this is God calling me, Pastor Stephen, while you were preaching, I realized I need to let go of my life my way.

Now, pray with me.

If you mean it, God will hear you, and this will be your new beginning. Repeat after me, Heavenly Father. I am a sinner in need of a savior, and I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the savior of the world. And today I make Jesus the lord of my life. I believe he died that I would be forgiven and rose again to give me life.

I receive this new life. This is my new beginning.

On the count of three, shoot your hand up if you prayed that one, two, three, I'm celebrating with him.

Now, that's amazing. That's amazing, man, that's amazing seeing God sees you.

Come on till we thank God for everybody who just made that decision to.

Let God, to let God. Oh man, beautiful, beautiful.

Let's thank God one more time for the great work he did in.

Our lives today.

Amen, Ron. So all of our campus pastors, you can take it right now. They're gonna close. Can I bless you here at Valentine? You stick with me for just ninety more seconds. I want to bless you because you've been saying I don't know if I can hold on much longer. God says, you don't have to you weren't the one who grabbed me to begin with?

I got a script for you.

This is a Valentine nine point thirty only special. Nobody else will see this. Y'all fight through the parkin you get the cherry on top.

Let me tell you how blessed you are? You ready for this?

Oh, great googlymoglie, You're not ready for this.

Praise be to the.

God and Father of our Lord, Jesus.

Christ, who has blessed us.

Somebody say, yes, I'm blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ, for he shows us in Him before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace. Everybody say, glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the one he loves. In him, we have redemption through his blood.

Giveness of sins, in accordance with.

The richest of God's grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect when the times reached their fulfillment, to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In Him, we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything.

Oh, he's working it out right now, take a nap today.

He's working it out in conformity with the purpose.

Oh, He's will everybody shall. Yes, I'm blessed. You're dismissed. I see you soon, Pap the Blest Week.

Yes, I'm blessed, and I hope you enjoyed the podcast, And if you did, make sure to share it and subscribe so we can get you all of these new messages as soon as they're available. I also want to take a moment and thank all of you who are a part of Elevation. Whether you support us financially, or serve with us, or just share these messages, it's because of you that we're able to reach.

People all around the world. And if you want more information on how to be a part of Elevation, click the link in the description. Thanks again for listening. Make sure to leave a review share the message and subscribe. God bless you.