Biblical manhood...

been thinkin' about pastor's sermon on sunday (dr. tony evans). he took it from genesis 32:24-32, the story of jacob and his wrestling with the angel. there was so much to the sermon, but here are a few points that resonated with me...

in jacob's old age, he blessed joseph's sons, and he asked to be buried with leah...
jacob loved rachel early on, yet at the end of his life asked to be buried with leah.

why? because at the end of his life he discoverd god's divine order of things, and not his fleshly desires. significance? leah was the mother of judah, from whom would come david, from whose line would come the christ.


also,

blessing vs. curse

blessing = a transference of divine favor (or the favor of god and his authority for the future = god's blessing)

curse = pain of not experiencing your divinely ordained reason for being.

many men are not walking in the blessing of god. when you accept christ you are blessed, however, unless you recognize and walk in god's authority, you are not in a position to receive your blessings. he said, this is not a cursed generation we are seeing, what we are witnessing today is the PRODUCT of a lost generation where men were not walking in their divine calling as men.

a BIBLICAL man = a male who has learned to function under the authority of god or divine authority...if you are not functioning under the divine authority of god, you're functioning under a curse. now, you may be blessed, but you are FUNCTIONING under a curse. a blessing always involved authority, and it always related to the future or where god was taking someone...hence god's being the god of abraham, isaac, and jacob.

the bible says the role of a man is to look after the future; a righteous man is one who looks after his children and his children's children (or g.children)...jacob was the son of isaac, who was the son of abraham.

he discussed jacob's wrestling with the angel and the angel changing jacob's name to israel (jacob means "trickster or deceiver" whereas israel means "one who struggles with god (i think)." in vs. 27 the angel asked jacob his name (trickster) and the angel then told him his new name. BUT jacob also asked the angel his name vs. 29 and the angel said "why is it that you ask my name?"---in other words, you know who i am in knowing who you are (remember, israel means one who struggles with GOD or "who did you just struggle with?")---many men do not know who they are and therefore cannot relay to the generations in the future who they are/need to be.

i am SOOOO not doing the sermon justice, but it was deep and thought provoking. contact my church (www.ocbfchurch.org) or call 972.228.1281 to order the dvd. it's worth it.

"lord, please bless our men to walk in authority under you that their children and their chidren's children will understand their identity, and that their sons will know how to lead their families, and their daughters will choose godly men to lead thier families. bless all who read this blog and guide them to a deeper understanding of you and know you as you TRULY are, and not who they perceive you to be. let your holy spirit direct my words and give you the glory in all that i say, for it is for you and through you that i live. in jesus' name i pray."