THE DIVINE TOUCH FOR OUR FULL TRANSFORMATION
Genesis 32:24-30
The Lord will meet you where you are, and you will especially encounter the Lord in Jesus name. This is a story of divine touch and transformation, where God takes you higher, makes you better and puts a miracle in your life. “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.” (Genesis 32:24). The Lord will touch your body, soul and everything pertaining to you. Jacob had determination and expectation of a blessing from the Lord. You must have the same determination and expectation as you come before the Lord.
1. PASSIONATE IMPORTUNATE REQUEST FOR TRANSFORMING TOUCH
Genesis 32:24-26; Hosea 12:3-5; Luke 11:5-9
We see a man passionate and expecting to receive the incredible, marvellous and undeniable. He came with passionate importunity and prayer, making requests to the Lord for the needs of his life and knowing he would not be denied. Those are the people who receive divine transformation – their request before the Lord is passionate and importunate. “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” (Genesis 32:24). There comes a time in your life when you have to separate yourself from the crowd. Jacob had a large community following him and he couldn’t really express himself to the Lord in their company. You too should separate yourself from anything that will take your attention from the Lord. Sometimes, prayer is like wrestling, where your mind, Satan and other forces try to conquer you and dissuade your mind from the object of your prayer. The people who cannot pray and have their definite requests do not get much from the Lord. There is something to touch in your life and the hand of the Lord from heaven will touch you. As Jacob wrestled with the Lord, the Lord touched the hollow of his thigh, and there was a change in his life. He needed change and transformation from the hatred of his brother to love, the fear of his brother, the future, for life, to faith; lowliness and loneliness to fellowship, from cheating and stealing to being an honest man, from slavery to total freedom, to be reckoned with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, from being captive to being a conqueror of his sinful nature. He was desperate because he knew that without the touch of the Lord, the fear, slavery, cheating and captivity would continue. Jacob needed transformation through conversion, in his character, and from his captivity, and heaven recognized where he was that was why God sent an angel to wrestle with him. The angel did not need to ask where he was. Heaven knows where you are, and heaven knows the transformation required in your heart, life, character and attitude. Jacob was a schemer with Laban and Laban also schemed with his life. As he schemed with what belonged to Laban, Laban also schemed with what belonged to him. At the encounter with the angel, Jacob decided that enough was enough with the life of scheming, carnality and trampling on others to get what he wanted. The Lord will change you from negative attitude, behaviour, action and pride to the positive side of life. As Jacob encountered Laban, and he was cheated when he asked for Rachel and was given Leah, he was so strong-minded that he never cried but when he eventually met Esau he wept because his heart had been transformed and changed. “And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Luke 11:5-9). Esau was coming to Jacob with 400 men, so he passionately prayed, and Jesus also talked about someone who had a guest but didn’t have anything to offer to the guest, he came to the friend, but the friend didn’t want to be troubled but like Jacob, this man persisted in his request till his friend changed his mind and gave him all that he needed. He had nothing, but because of his importunity, he got everything. In your life, you will have a transformation from nothing to everything, from no bread to many loaves of bread, and from scarcity to plenty. When you come before the Lord and you come with a purpose, passion and importunity and you don’t just attend crusades and meetings without expectations, you will receive transformation from sin to salvation, sorrow to gladness and your impossibilities will turn to possibilities.
2. PRACTICAL IN-DEPTH REPENTANCE FOR TRUE TRANSFORMATION
Genesis 32:27; Acts 5:30-31; 17:30-31
Jacob had said, ‘I will not let you go except you bless me’, but he had something to do before the blessing came. “And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.” (Genesis 32:27). The question, ‘What is your name?’ was necessary because Jacob had claimed Esau’s name and identity to steal his blessing. The angel asked him this question because if he kept the stolen name and identity, the needed transformation would elude him. Now Jacob made a true confession and the lie of the old life. The old, natural man is a deceiver but to have the blessing of transformation from heaven, we must drop all the deceptions of the past. When you come to the Lord and you want a transformation and change from the Lord, you drop the past and take up the new. The Lord is touching you such that all deception in action, words, smiles, and nods will be practically taken away. “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 5:30-31). He wants to be the King, Lord and Saviour of your life, and save you from the penalty of hell because “the soul that sinneth, it shall die”, and to escape the penalty of hell and receive the provision of heaven, you must genuinely repent and turn from your sins. “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31). Jacob was ignorant of the method of getting a blessing, he did not want to wait for the Lord to fulfil the prophecy given to his mother before he was born. He wanted to get the fulfilment of the prophecy by his own effort, but he soon realized he could not enjoy the fulness of the blessing by his own effort. The transformation, salvation, activated faith and forgiveness can only come through repentance. Jacob did not realize that everything that was happening to him was his judgment. The Lord had promised him in Bethel that he would be blessed. As he got to Laban’s house, he was deceived by getting a woman he didn’t want as a wife, his duration of service was changed several times, and his wages were changed ten times. He kept receiving recompense for his actions until he encountered the angel. The Lord is calling everyone’s attention today so that they will not experience the final judgment. Christ died to bear your sin, He was buried and rose after three days to present salvation and give you a new life. The Lord wants you to believe in Him and understand that the divine touch, transformation and change of destiny come because of Him. As you come to the Lord and believe in Him, that divine touch and transformation will come upon you in Jesus name.
3. PERSONAL INCREDIBLE RESTORATION OF TOTAL TRANSFORMATION
Genesis 32:28-30; Psalm 51:1-12; Jeremiah 30:17,19
As you give yourself to the Lord personally and decide to follow Christ, there will be incredible restoration. The result of Jacob’s restoration was incredible, Jacob was now going to be joined to Abraham and Isaac, and God would be called the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob such that this name would be mentioned through the Old Testament and even in the New Testament. Jesus referred to the Father as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The change was eternal and for more than a lifetime. Healing is for the earth, but salvation is eternal. Jacob had blessing internal, external and eternal. The transformation affected his speech, name and attitude. He became humble as he limped, he lived a long life and eventually made it to heaven. As you receive transformation, you will eventually get to heaven. “And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” (Genesis 32:28). When he was with Laban, he had no power with him, Laban could dribble and deceive him but as he became transformed, he had authority with God and at his death bed he had prophetic proclamations for his 12 sons. “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” (Psalm 51:12). We need to ask for the restoration of the original salvation. God has only one type of salvation – the salvation that sets you free from sin and the past life, the salvation that upholds you so that you don’t go back to the old life. “For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.” (Jeremiah 30:17). God is bringing total healing to you in Jesus name.
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