We all need to be left alone with God at times.

Pastor/Teacher
John Farley
Wednesday,
November 18, 2009

We all need to be left alone with God at times.

Paul’s new name was a sign of his personal sense of destiny.

GEN 17:5 “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.”

Abraham will always have his eyes on the Giver, and therefore will not only enjoy the gift, but also have the security of loving the Giver.

GEN 18:14 “Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Abram had achieved a measure of spiritual growth and was now ready to venture out and live in his personal sense of destiny.

If you live in your personal sense of destiny, you will have to overcome a lot of facts and odds that seem to be against you.

MAT 19:26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Jacob had his name changed to Israel. When?

It is not until Jacob is left alone with the Lord that his name is changed to Israel, a “prince with God.”

To be left alone with God is the only way of arriving at an accurate knowledge of ourselves and our ways.

God is infinitely creative in finding ways to ensure that we spend time alone with Him!

Sometimes He allows us to fall so badly and become so unattractive that NO ONE ELSE wants to be anywhere near us!

PSA 27:10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the Lord will take me up.

He may put us in a prison situation.

He may allow difficulty and disappointment to drive us to spend time with Him in prayer.

He may throw us a curve ball so unexpected and severe that out of shock and desperation we seek the solitude so we can get a handle on our life again.

Early on after he had his encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus, he spent three years alone with the Lord in the desert situation of Arabia.

Later in his career he would spend four years in prison. It would be during this time that he would write the most amazing and astounding letters of all - the prison epistles: Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon.

He put Moses out of commission tending sheep for 40 years.

He put Jonah in the belly of the giant fish.

He got rid of all the legalists by writing on the ground until finally He could be alone with the woman caught in adultery.

Jesus in His humanity would climb up a mountain at night so He could spend time praying alone with His Father.

However, the Lord is going to intervene and reveal some very serious problems that Jacob has.

He must be stripped of his own strength, and even given a permanent limp.

1. Jacob needed to have his human strength beaten out of him.

2. Jacob has been relying on human strength, power, viewpoint, and gimmicks to try to obtain blessings in life and solve his problems.

3. Jacob needed to be made conscious of his standing with God so that he would stop conniving, plotting, and scheming.

If you are an unbeliever, the Holy Spirit wants you to be made conscious of your need for a Savior.

If you are a believer, the Holy Spirit wants you to be made conscious of the fact that you are perfectly righteous with God.