Not Worthy

Introduction

Genesis 32:9–21 NKJV

Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother: two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ” So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

•     Last week we started a new series titled “What is Your Name”

•     The series is based off of the question that God asks Jacob when he is hiding from his brother Esau in a cave… that question is asked right after the scriptures that we just read… Jacob wrestles with God and God asks  Jacob inv verse 27 “What is your name?”.

•     Now why would an all knowing, all powerful God ask Jacob what his name was?

•     It wasn’t a question of Identification, it was a question of Identity… God was asking Jacob “Who are you?”

•     And last week God began to ask us that question… who are you.

•     We had one of the best services I can remember in a long time as the Holy Spirit moved in this place calling people out of fear, out of worry, out of distress and anxiety… and calling them into faith and boldness knowing that we are not who our fear says that we are… we are who God says we are… we are protected by God and angles… what can man do to us?

•     We’re gonna’ continue this series “What is your name” this morning by looking at the good and bad sides of humility…

•     Jacob is a mighty man of God… he has been brought into an abundance of wealth… dare I say, an abundance of prosperity.

•     He has wives and children and servants and camels and donkeys and sheep and rams.

•     He has become a powerful patriarch… and he is headed back to his home country… but on his way he finds out his old rival, his twin brother Esau, is coming to meet him… and with Esau is 400 men…

•     So now the mighty Jacob is fearing for his life… Esau threatened to kill Jacob 20 years ago, and now Jacob fears the day has come…

•     Even though Jacob was literally camping with angels… even though Jacob KNEW God was with him… Jacob was afraid… we dealt with that fear last week…

•     This week I want to deal with Jacob’s communication to God and Jacob’s communication to Esau… from the verses we just read…

•     And just so you know my thought process, God gave me this theme “What is your name” for Genesis 32 and 33… and so what I did was I went through I highlighted every place Jacob describes or identifies himself in these chapters… every place Jacob says “I am this” or “I am that”… and in these verses we read this morning… verses 9-22 a theme arose… a theme of humility.

•     Jacob tells God “I am not worthy”… that is Jacob identifying himself as something… that is humility before God…

•     But after crying out to God and praying, Jacob decides his plan that he made to seperate into two camps and just let one camp be killed by Esua… maybe that wasn’t a good plan… (remember that from last week?)… so he modifies the plan and decides to send messengers and gifts to his brother ahead of himself… and he tells his messengers a different Identity… he tells his messengers to say “These gifts are from “Your servant” Jacob”.

•     So on one hand you have Jacob being humble before God “God I am not worthy of any of this”…

•     But on the other hand you have Jacob showing what I think is false humility to his brother Esau… saying “Esau, I am your servant Jacob”.

•     And really I think there are two kinds of people who need to be corrected this morning, two kinds of people who need to be rebuked… two kinds of people who need to be encouraged to grow… and I would bet that you, just like me, fit into one of these two camps… so God has a word for you this morning…

•     You are either in Camp A… You think too highly of yourself… you think God owes you something… you think you are hot stuff… and God wants to humble you before His awesome power, goodness, and grace this morning…

•     Or you are in Camp B… You think to lowly of yourself… instead of carrying around pride, you carry around a false humility, denying what God says about you… denying who God says you are… because you are so afraid of the greatness that God has called you to that you prefer to grovel in pity and call it “humility”.

•     And I don’t know what is more damaging to the faith… pride, which precedes destruction… or false humility… which is pitiful, debilitating, and quite frankly… for mighty men of God like Jacob… it is emasculating.

•     So which are you, Camp A, driven by pride… or Camp B, crippled by false humility… either way, let’s deal with it… starting with Camp A… If you are driven by pride… here is a name you need to take on for yourself, and it is our first point this morning… “Not Worthy”.

Point One – Not Worthy

Genesis 32:9–12 NKJV

Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

•     How many of y’all know Dave Ramsey from Financial Peace University? Have you ever listend to his radio show or podcast… whenever he is asked “How are you?” or “How’s it going?”, he almost always answers the exact same way… “Better than I deserve”.

•     This is a man who is worth around a billion dollars… this is a guy who went bankrupt in the 80’s… he built up hundreds of millions through hard work and wise investments…

•     Yet he always answers when asked “how are you”, “Better than I deserve”.

•     Because Dave realizes it wasn’t really hard work and wise investments… hard work and wisdom had a part to play for sure… but really it was God’s grace, and mercy, and favor, and giftings…

•     None of which Dave, or anyone deserves… “Better than I deserve” is a Godly identity.. and it is the exact sprit that Jacob is showing in this prayer.

•     “God I don’t deserve all you have given me… if it wasn’t for you I would have nothing… I would be nothing… You took Your servant Jacob and you turned him into a people, into a nation… God I am better than I deserve because of You… so even though I don’t deserve deliverance from the hand of my brother, none-the-less I ask for it… I am afraid God, help me.”

•     Man that is a prayer that God is going to LOVE to answer… because it is a prayer that gives God all the glory…

•     Is that your heart this morning… is that YOUR identity… is that your name?

•     Or are you a self made man… or woman?

•     Do you fancy yourself as important… powerful… wise…?

•     When you count your blessings do you count all that you have done for yourself… or all that God has done for you?

•     When you are facing a crisis… do you rely on your own strength and wisdom… or do you rely on God?

•     You see in Genesis 32 and 33 Jacob does a LOT of stupid stuff… He makes stupid plans… He says stupid things…  But it is not all bad… and this prayer right here is one of the best moments in these chapters… the other we will talk about next week… but here we see Jacob in a moment of clarity, fearful, yes, desperate… probably… but still faith filled.

•     And let me tell you something… fearful but faith-filled… God can work with that.

•     Fearful and prideful… that is a recipe for disaster…That was the downfall of King Saul… he was afraid that if he waited on God he would lose the battle, in  1 Samuel 13, so instead of waiting on God like he knew he should, he took matters into his own hands… It says his men where trembling and Saul says “You know what, I will take care of it myself… I don’t need to wait on God any longer”. That fearful-prideful decision of king Saul was his downfall and lead to his ultimate destruction…

•     Faith over fear… that’s the goal. Fear plus Faith… that is workable… but Fear plus Pride… that is a recipe for disaster… ANYTHING PLUS PRIDE IS A RECIPIE FOR DESASTER.

Proverbs 16:18 NKJV

Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

•     If you find yourself in a place of fear this week… maybe you came to the altar and dealt with it last week… but there is still a problem in front of you… there is still a crisis to be dealt with…

•     Maybe you were delivered from fear… but not from the Crisis… now what do you do?

•     Do like Jacob… humble yourself and pray… Don’t take the crisis on by yourself… take the Crises to God…

•     What is your name… who are you? I am not worthy God… but I trust you…

•     Now, one last note before I move on to what I think God is SHOUTING this morning…

•     When you look at the earthly ministry of Christ… there where only two people who Jesus proclaimed had “great faith”… and it wasn’t his disciples he said this too… it was to two outsiders, two foreigners, who approached Jesus with great humility… The first was a Roman Centurion in Matthew 8 and Luke 7…

Matthew 8:8 NKJV

The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.

Matthew 8:10 NKJV

When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

•     The other person who Jesus said had great faith? A Canaanite woman whom Jesus called a dog… and the woman accepted the title in humility, but still made her request known…

Matthew 15:25–28 NKJV

Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

•     Listen church… pray the prayer of faith with humility… you don’t deserve it… but you know God promised it and will do it… pray the prayer of faith with humility and watch God do it… amen?

•     Now that brings me to point two this morning… and maybe the stronger rebuke this morning…

•     What is your name? Who are you? I Am Who God Says I Am…

Point Two – I Am Who God Says I Am

Genesis 32:17–18 NKJV

And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ”

•     I’m sorry… what?

•     Did you catch this the first time you read these scriptures? I sure didn’t…

•     What did you say Jacob? WHO IS WHO’S SERVANT?

•     Jacob’s first plan was to split into two camps… so if Esau and his 400 men came against one camp, the other camp could escape… it was a bad plan… only half of his people and half his wealth would survive… and it would only give him a 50/50 shot at survival… it was a bad plan… so Jacob, now that he has had some time to think and pray about it comes up with a new plan… a way to increase his odds…

•     He is going to send presents to Esau… He is going to send groups of servants ahead of him with gifts to try to appease his brother… try to make his brother calm down a bit… and with his servants he sends a message…

Genesis 32:17–18 NKJV

And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s…

•     HERESY!!!!!!!

•     Do you see how heretical Jacob’s statement is?

•     When Esau asks “Who sent this” in other words “What is the name of the one who sent this? What is your name” respond with “My master’s name is “Esau’s Servant”… THAT IS HERESY!!!!

•     Well pastor… settle down… he is just being humble in front of his long lost brother…

•     NO! He is not being humble… he is being heretical… you don’t get to call my God a liar and claim it as humility!

•     What do you mean calling God a liar? WELL THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT JACOB IS DOING… if I saw Jacob in this moment I would give him the Willy Wanka treatment…

•     “What is you name?” “I am Jacob… I am Esau’s servant”… WRONG SIR… WRONG!!! Under the prophecy given in Genesis 25 subsection 23b it states quite clearly that ESAU IS TO BE YOUR SERVANT JACOB! You can read it for yourself in this God breathed copy…

Genesis 25:23 NKJV

One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”

Etcetera Etcetera

Genesis 27:29 NKJV

Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you.

Etcetera Etcetera

Genesis 27:37 NKJV

Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants…

Etcetera Etcetera

Genesis 27:40 NKJV

By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother [Jacob];

•     IT IS ALL THERE, BLACK AND WHITE, CLEAR AS CRYSTAL.

•     God said ESAU WOULD SERVE  JACOB.

•     So for Jacob to identify himself as Esau’s servant is to make God out to be a liar! It is heresy, and I WON’T STAND FOR IT CHURCH.

•     I won’t stand for it when God says YOU ARE MORE THAN A CONQUEROR and you say “I AM JUST DEFEATED” I am sorry, what? Did God lie?

•     “I just feel so alone”… I’m sorry… did God stutter when He said He would never leave you or forsake you?

•     “I just feel so worthless… I am a mistake”… Do what? How dare you call God’s workmanship a mistake!

•     “But pastor you don’t know who I am… you don’t know what I have done… you don’t know my past”… BLAH BLAH BLAH… My God breathed, inherent, perfect and complete word of God Bible says “There is therefore no condemnation in Christ”… so for you to try to condemn yourself for your past actions is to call my God a liar and I don’t think my God lies…

•     What… is… your.. name?

•     You are whoever God says you are… nothing more and nothing less…

•     And the real problem with this false humility… is that it leaves you cowering in a cave when you should be out MORE THAN CONQUEORING NATIONS.

•     Instead of going into the enemies camp you are dividing yourself into two camps…

•     Satan is supposed to be under your feat but really you are just bowing down calling yourself less than even satan calls you!

•     You think you are being humble but really you are just being weak and pathetic… ENOUGH SAINTS… You are who God says you are.

•     Invite worship team up (Really feel like this series is brining revival in this place… let’s keep it going)

•     What I want to do is read some verses where God says who you are in Christ… this is your identity… there should be no argument… no false humility… be humble before God, yes! Absolutely… but humility does not be tearing yourself down and denying all God has done for you and made you to be… You are who God says you are, amen?

•     First of all, you are Justified and Forgiven.

Romans 5:1 NKJV

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

•     You are free from condemnation.

Romans 8:1 NKJV

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

•     You are not your old self, you are a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

•     You are not broken or incomplete, you are complete in Christ…

Colossians 2:10 NKJV

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

•     You are not just a conqueror, but you are more than a conqueror.

Romans 8:37 NKJV

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

•     you are chosen, you are royal, you are holy, and I mean this with absolutely no sense of sarcasm or irony… you… are… special.

1 Peter 2:9 NKJV

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

•     And church…I don’t know your earthly parents… maybe they abused you, hurt you, tore you down, or abandoned you… but that is not who you are… you are not THIER child… you are a child of God.

Galatians 3:26 NKJV

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

•     And if you are a child of God then you are an Heir of all this is God’s…

Romans 8:17 NKJV

and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

•     And not just child, but friend… something even I have a hard time accepting sometimes…

John 15:15 NKJV

No longer do I call you servants… but I have called you friends…

•     Not just child of God, not just friend of God, but also… this one is huge… if you are in Christ then you are God’s Masterpiece!

Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

•     The word here for workmanship is the Greek word poy-ay-mah (ποίημα)… it implies a masterpiece… it is the greatest piece a master craftsman can make… it is strong and beautiful and expertly made… poy-ay-mah… where we get the word Poem from… You are God’s poetic masterpiece… don’t sell yourself short…

Conclusion

•     Now listen, I want to conclude with the Gospel and just a short time of ministry… let me conclude with this one verse… if you have been struggling with humility… not having enough, or showing too much… this verse is for you…

1 Corinthians 15:10 NKJV

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

•     I am what I am by the grace of God! All my laboring has been through God, for God, and by God… and I would not be any of this if it was not for Christ who saved me when I was 16 years old… if you are not saved, you are none of the things I listed… I could make a whole list of scriptures that describes us before Christ… but it would not be a nice list… the good news is that God offers us a new life, a new identity in Him if we would but come to Him, repent from our sins, and confess Him as Lord.