Name Your Experience
Pastor Joel Urshan 3/8/2026
Loading…
0:00
46:49
Summary
Pastor Joel Urshan explores the life of Jacob to demonstrate that naming our experiences is a spiritual act of dominion. He encourages believers to reject the labels of the enemy and embrace the new identity and victory found only in the name of Jesus.
Key points
- •Naming is an act of dominion and authority; whoever names an experience controls how that experience defines them.
- •The enemy (likened to Laban) uses our past mistakes to keep us in a cycle of condemnation, trickery, and broken promises.
- •Like Jacob, believers must reach a point of 'holy frustration' where they refuse to allow the accuser to define their worth or their future.
- •God desires to transition His people from 'Jacob' (the heel-catcher/trickster) to 'Israel' (the prince who prevails), replacing labels of pain with labels of power.
- •True deliverance requires establishing a 'Galead' - a permanent heap of separation between our past identity and our promised future.
Scripture
Identity
Authority
Deliverance
Victory over the Past
Spiritual Warfare
Life application
Refuse to agree with the enemy's labels of 'failure' or 'hypocrite' this week; instead, specifically name your current struggles 'opportunities for joy' and your future 'victory in Jesus.'
Reflection questions
- What labels have people or past circumstances placed on you that you are still operating under today?
- In what ways have you allowed 'Laban' (the accuser) to change your wages or dictate your worth?
- What would it look like for you to 'flee' your current captivity and establish a permanent separation from your past sins?
- Are you willing to wrestle with God in prayer until your identity is fully aligned with His name rather than your mistakes?
Have a question about this sermon?
Ask our AI and get an answer with citations.
Full transcript
0:00the Lord is so good to us uh to bring us
0:00all together for his name's sake. I will
0:00hasten to the word of the Lord this
0:02morning. I'm reading from the book of
0:03Genesis and I'm going to be reading from
0:06the 31st chapter of the book of uh
0:10Genesis. And I'm reading uh a few verses
0:13of scripture beginning with the 36th
0:16verse. And I'll read through to the 48th
0:20uh verse. Genesis chapter 31
0:24beginning with verse 36.
0:26The word of the Lord says this. Jacob
0:30was wroth and choed with Laban.
0:36And Jacob answered and said to Laban,
0:38"What is my trespass? What is my sin
0:40that thou hast so hotly pursued after
0:42me? Whereas thou hast searched all my
0:44stuff? What hast thou s found of all thy
0:47household stuff? Said it here before my
0:50brethren and thy brethren, that they may
0:52judge betw twix us both. This 20 years
0:56have I been with thee. Thy you use, and
0:58thy shegoats have not cast their young,
1:01and the rams of thy flock have I not
1:03eaten. That which was torn of beasts. I
1:06brought not unto thee. I bear the loss
1:09of it. My hand did of my hand did thou
1:12require it, whether stolen by day or
1:15stolen by night. Thus I was in the day
1:18the drought consumed me and the frost by
1:21night. My sleep departed from mine eyes.
1:25Thus have I been 20 years in thy house.
1:28I have served thee 14 years for thy two
1:30daughters, six years for thy cattle, and
1:33thou hast changed my wages 10 times,
1:36except the God of my father, the God of
1:40Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had been
1:42with me. Surely thou hast sent me away
1:46now empty. God hath seen mine
1:49affliction, and the labor of my hands,
1:52and rebuked thee yesterday."
1:55And Laban answered and said unto Jacob,
1:58"These daughters are my daughters, and
2:01these children are my children, and
2:03these cattle are my cattle, and all that
2:06thou seeest as mine. And what can I do
2:08this day unto these my daughters or unto
2:10their children which they have borne?"
2:12Now therefore, come, let us make a
2:15covenant, I and thou, and let it be for
2:18a witness between me and thee. Jacob
2:21took a stone and set it up for a pillar.
2:23And Jacob said unto his brethren,
2:24"Gather stones." And they took stones
2:26and made an heap. And they did eat there
2:28upon the heap. And Laban called it
2:32Yagar, say Hadutha, but Jacob called it
2:35Galilead. And Laban said, "This heap is
2:39a witness between me and thee this day."
2:42Therefore was the name of it called
2:46Galilead. I want to speak to you on this
2:50subject. Name your experience.
2:55In our text, Laban wanted to call it
2:57Yarhadutha.
2:59Jacob wanted to call it Galed
3:03and it was called Galilead. My message
3:05to you is name your experience. Could we
3:08lift up our voices unto God and ask his
3:10blessing upon the preaching of his word?
3:12Lord, I thank you for this day. For
3:15every soul that has gathered into this
3:17house. Help us, I pray, to receive at
3:20your hand the bread of life. God, I pray
3:23you'll let our hearts and our minds be
3:25opened unto you. We give you thanks and
3:28praise for your many blessings. And we
3:30pray a special anointing upon the
3:32preaching of your word that the delivery
3:34of your word will be such that the word
3:36will go forth, that it will find good
3:39ground. Lord, let let there be fruit to
3:42grow from the seed that is planted
3:44today. We thank you and give you all
3:46praise in Jesus mighty name. And
3:49everyone said in Jesus name.
3:52>> Everybody said amen.
3:54>> Amen. The Lord bless you. You may be
3:55seated in the name of the Lord.
4:06Name your experience. The idea of
4:11ascribing a name to a thing, to a place,
4:17to an event, an experience, or even a
4:21person has in it the connotation of
4:26dominion and authority.
4:30As a matter of fact,
4:32when the Bible opens up and we begin to
4:35catch our first glimpses of God and
4:38understand his nature, we see some
4:41things about him that help us understand
4:45who he is. Bible says, "In the
4:47beginning, God created the heaven and
4:49the earth, and the earth was without
4:52form and void, and darkness was upon the
4:56face of the deep, and the The spirit of
4:59God moved upon the face of the waters
5:02and God said, "Let there be light." And
5:05there was light.
5:07>> We see God moving. We see God speaking.
5:10And when he speaks, things begin to
5:13happen. God made man in his image. In
5:18his likeness made he man. And man who is
5:22made in the image of God as he is
5:24created and is formed of the dust of the
5:27ground and into his nostrils is breathed
5:32the breath of life. Man becomes a living
5:35soul. And and as soon as he begins to
5:39become a living soul and live and act
5:43and move and operate as he who was made
5:46in the image of God, he does what what
5:49we see God do. He starts to speak just
5:52as God said, "Let there be light." Man
5:55opens up his mouth
5:57>> and he begins to speak. And he does this
6:00because he is made in the image of God.
6:04But but what he was saying was very
6:06specific. He began to speak in the in
6:09the manner of naming the animals that
6:13God had created. The Lord had created
6:15fish. The Lord had created fowl. The
6:17Lord had created the beasts of the
6:19field. And now man is beginning to name
6:23those creatures that God created. And
6:25the reason he did this is is because God
6:29had given him dominion over the works of
6:33his hands. And he said that the dominion
6:37and the authority would belong to man.
6:39And and so man in order to assume that
6:42dominion, he begins to name the very
6:46creatures that God had given him
6:48dominion over. And that is what happens
6:50when things are named. The name takes
6:55dominion over the things that are named.
6:58This is one of the reasons why in the
7:00ancient days kings of old when they
7:03would conquer and and and take captive
7:07the peoples of a land they would bring
7:09them under their subjection and would
7:13rename them and in so doing they were
7:16making them subject to their kingdom. We
7:19see this in the Bible. Uh for instance
7:23uh you may not be familiar with the name
7:26Belta Shazar but you may be more
7:30familiar with the name Daniel.
7:32>> Daniel who was in the famed lion's den
7:36uh was brought into captivity and
7:39Nebuchadnezzar promptly renamed him a
7:43Babylonian name Beltazar.
7:46It was a subtle or not so subtle way of
7:49him trying to assert dominion over the
7:54Hebrew captive. And this also occurred
7:56with other examples. For instance, uh
8:00you may not realize the prominent role
8:02in scripture that Queen Hadassa carries.
8:08Uh you may know her more by the name
8:11given her upon her uh ascension and in
8:15the process of being a captive but but
8:17you may know her more as Queen Esther
8:20>> and and Queen Esther though that was not
8:22her original name. There was a name
8:24imposed upon her and that was Esther.
8:27Her original name was Hadassa. And you
8:30may not remember the bold, courageous,
8:33faithfilled stance taken by the three
8:36Hebrew children, Hananiah, Mishel, and
8:40Azariah.
8:41You may know them more by their
8:43Babylonian names, Shadrach, Mach, and
8:46Abednego. But but this again was an
8:49effort to take authority, to take
8:51dominion, to take charge. I will I will
8:54pause and say that this is why we are
8:57baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
8:59One of the many reasons
9:03we are surrendering our name to God and
9:08all of the sins associated with it and
9:11the record against our name. We
9:14surrender that and say, "Lord, I'm going
9:16to assume I'm going to take your name."
9:18What a gift of grace that is that he
9:21would put his name. We just saw it
9:23happen. He would put his name upon us.
9:25You know what that means? That means
9:27when I stand before that judgment seat,
9:30I'm not standing there as Joel with all
9:33of my past record that is so so
9:36indicting of me. But instead, I stand
9:39with the innocence and the blamelessness
9:41of Jesus Christ, the spotless lamb of
9:44God. [cheering]
9:46Hallelujah. No wonder we shout and
9:49praise and dance and sing songs of joy.
9:54Ah, he's been so good to me. I just
9:56can't tell it all.
9:58[applause]
9:59Thank you, Jesus.
10:01Thank you, Jesus. And and so it gives
10:04we're giving the Lord dominion. We're
10:06saying, "You are my Lord.
10:09>> You are my Lord and my God." and and uh
10:12and so this is this is also why parents
10:15have the responsibility of naming their
10:19children when children are born into the
10:21world. We just had this happen this past
10:23week with our little Holland Valor
10:26Glasco. Zach and Anna gave birth to
10:29their third baby, our third grandbaby.
10:32And uh we were all the buzz with
10:34excitement this week because little our
10:37little grandbaby entered the world. And
10:39and of course with all the happenings
10:41that surround that special experience,
10:44one of the very important matters is is
10:47settling on a name and they come to the
10:50parents to to find that information out.
10:53It is their responsibility to name that
10:57child and in so doing they are assuming
11:00dominion. They are assuming authority.
11:03They are now the caretakers and the
11:06guardians, the parents of this little
11:09child that God has entrusted into their
11:12care. And part of that authority
11:14involves naming that child.
11:17>> And so it involves authority and it
11:20involves uh charge and and dominion. And
11:23and we see in this passage of scripture
11:25a man by the name of Jacob. And and the
11:28Bible even gives us uh understanding of
11:31when he was born. Not every figure of
11:34scripture do you get the luxury of
11:36watching them from birth until death.
11:39You don't really see that in every case.
11:42But with Jacob, you do. There there are
11:44details surrounding his birth and there
11:46are details surrounding when he passes
11:48off the scene. And you get to see kind
11:50of everything in between. And it's it's
11:52remarkable. You really get to know this
11:54individual just by the narrative of
11:57scripture. But he was a twin brother and
12:00and and as he's born, he and his brother
12:02are coming forth from the womb. And
12:04there is a struggle to be the firstborn
12:08because though it's just seconds in
12:11difference, whoever comes first into the
12:14world, they receive the birthright, they
12:16receive the blessing. This is a
12:18significant advantage that the firstborn
12:21gains in ancient times. And so they are
12:24struggling for their place and their
12:28standing as in the birth order. And and
12:31as they come forth, Esau comes first
12:33first and then Jacob follows, but not
12:36without a struggle. Jacob's got a hold
12:37of his brother's heel as he enters into
12:40the world. And mom and dad are standing
12:43there trying to decide, well, what
12:44should we call him? And they said Esau
12:46had kind of a red tint to him. He had a
12:48lot of hair on his body. And they said,
12:50"We're going to call him red. We're
12:51going to call him Esau." And then and
12:54then the next one comes out holding on
12:55to Esau's heel. And they said, "Look at
12:58that little heel holder.
13:01>> What's he Look at that. That's just the
13:02craziest thing." You know what? Let's
13:03call him that. Let's call him
13:04heelholder. We'll call him heelholder.
13:06It means suppler. It's cute. We'll call
13:08him heelholder. Little Jacob. And so
13:11that's what his name was, Jacob.
13:13Heelholder. Suppler. and and he lived up
13:16to it and he he became a heelholder in a
13:20variety of different senses throughout
13:23life. In other words, he was continually
13:25jockeying for position trying to put
13:27himself in an advantage even if it meant
13:31taking advantage of other people's uh
13:34condition and situation. And the the
13:36most the most uh uh the most prominent
13:40part in which this took place was when
13:42Esau who had the birthright had the
13:44blessing had gone out to hunt. He was
13:47going to hunt and gather. He was a
13:49skilled and avid hunter. Jacob was not
13:51so much a hunter but uh but he was
13:54smart. And Esau was a hunter. He was
13:56such a gifted hunter that he never
13:58dreamed that he would go out and hunt
14:01and come back with nothing to show for
14:03it.
14:03>> Right? because he didn't do that. That
14:05didn't happen on Esau's watch. He if he
14:07was going out, he's getting something.
14:10>> But on that day, that thing he prided
14:12himself in doing and being. And we've
14:15got to be watchful and careful about
14:16what we pride ourselves in because
14:19that's usually where our downfall will
14:20be.
14:22>> And it was Esau's downfall. His pride
14:24got him to the point where he just never
14:26dreamed he'd come home empty-handed. And
14:28yet, here he was empty-handed. and he's
14:31lumbering and laboring back to where
14:33Jacob was famished, feeling like he's at
14:36the verge of getting up the ghost. And
14:38and there's Jacob who is making homemade
14:42pottage soup and and you know what it's
14:45like when you've been you've been
14:47involved in a hard day's work of
14:49anything and you walk into the house and
14:52food is a preparing
14:56>> and you're just you're just it's the
14:59hand of God. It's the favor of God.
15:02>> And Esau said, "Man, I'm going to need
15:04you to give me some of that soup." And
15:06Jacob said, "I'd be happy to. You're
15:09more than welcome." He said, "Thank you
15:10so much." He said, "It is going to cost
15:12you."
15:14>> Cost me. He said, "What's it going to
15:15cost me?" And he said, "Everything.
15:18>> You have no idea
15:21how advantaged I'm about to be." But
15:24Esau said, "It's worth it. It's worth
15:25it. I don't care. You can have the
15:26birthight. Whatever. just give me the
15:28bowl of soup to satisfy this hunger I
15:30have right now. And Jacob gladly took
15:33the birthright and gladly gave him the
15:35bowl of soup. And Jacob is sitting now
15:38with a a birthright that he did not
15:41earn, nor did he deserve, but he tricked
15:44his way into it or or took advantage, I
15:47should say, took advantage his way into
15:49it. And and it didn't sit well with
15:52Esau, but oh well. That wasn't the last
15:54time. The next time it happens again.
15:56And Esau now is uh is going to get the
16:00blessing from his father Isaac. And he
16:02he prepares to do so. He goes out again
16:05to hunt. He's going to hunt. And he's
16:07going to bring back venison to to
16:09prepare for his father. But meanwhile,
16:11Rebecca, Isaac's wife, who loved Jacob,
16:14Isaac really loved Esau. Rebecca really
16:17loved Jacob. And Rebecca prepared Jacob
16:20and said, "This is your only chance.
16:22You've got to dress up like Esau. You've
16:23got to get hair on your arms like Esau.
16:26I've already got the venison prepared
16:27like Esau would prepare it. We've got to
16:29make your dad think you're Esau. And the
16:32problem with it was that Isaac, his
16:35eyes, the Bible said, had waxed dim. His
16:37vision was was was nearly gone. That
16:41every other faculty was in order. He
16:43could smell the smell of the field when
16:46Jacob walked in. He heard his voice so
16:48well. He said, "You sound like Jacob."
16:52>> But but he could touch and feel. He
16:54said, "I feel your your arms." and your
16:56arms feel like they're Esau's arms with
16:58hair on them and and you smell like the
17:00field and he tasted the venison. All of
17:02his other senses and faculties were in
17:05proper order, but he could not see
17:07correctly. And this is why we have to be
17:10careful that we don't confuse the
17:12blessing of man with the blessing of
17:15God.
17:17>> Because you can actually fool men into
17:19blessing you. I'm talking about good
17:21men, godly men who who have all working
17:25senses and faculties in order and may
17:27have just a little bit of human error
17:30associated with how they see things and
17:32they may end up blessing somebody who's
17:35not the one qualified for the blessing.
17:37And then you can walk away saying,
17:39"Well, the man blessed me." But I'm
17:41going to tell you, if you want the
17:42blessing of God, you're going to have to
17:45receive that the way God gives that
17:52So, Jacob, now this is this is
17:54unforgivable to Esau. Jacob walks out
17:57with the blessing. Now, he's got the
17:58birthright and the blessing, both of
18:00which he was not deserving of. And Esau
18:03vowed, I will kill him.
18:06>> Rebecca hearing it said, "You got to get
18:08out. You've got to leave." Jacob leaves
18:10and a great bit of drama unfolds in his
18:13departure. He is running for his life.
18:15He is fleeing from Esau. And the Bible
18:18says he comes to a place where he really
18:20can't run anymore. He has no place to
18:22go. He grabs a stone and sets it up as a
18:25pillow and and he lays his head down on
18:28a pillow and and which is a stone in
18:30actuality. But but but there's a ladder
18:33in his dream that ascends into the
18:35heavens. And at the top of the ladder is
18:37the glory of God. And angels are
18:39ascending and descending upon this
18:41ladder. And Jacob awakes from the dream
18:44having heard God announce himself as the
18:46God of Abraham and of Isaac. And and the
18:49blessing of the Lord is promised to him.
18:52And he wakes up saying, "Surely the
18:54presence of the Lord is in this place.
18:56Surely I'm at the gate of heaven
18:59>> and and his life is about to take a
19:01turn. He sees Rachel." And Rachel, he
19:05immediately loves her and wants to marry
19:08her. And the Bible says something
19:10interesting. You know, moments ago he
19:12was fleeing from he was fleeing from
19:15Esau,
19:16>> but now he sees Rachel. And the book of
19:18Hosea says it this way. It said said
19:21Jacob fled from Esau, but for a wife
19:26Israel served, and for a wife Israel
19:29kept sheep. So he, as Jacob is fleeing
19:33from Esau, he's running from his past.
19:35That's that's the Jacob in him. The
19:37heelholder is just running from his
19:39past. But that that that promised one,
19:42that Israel of God, that one he's
19:45destined to be. He's not even Israel
19:47yet. But he's already showing signs of
19:50gravitating towards his destiny. And for
19:53a wife, Israel served and kept sheep.
19:56When he saw Rachel, he wasn't running
19:58from his past. Now he's pursuing his
20:01future.
20:03And so, so, so Jacob now comes to Laban
20:06and says, "I want to marry your daughter
20:08Rachel." And Laban, if Jacob thought he
20:11knew what taking advantage of was and
20:13what tricking folks into things was, he
20:16was about to meet the master trickster
20:20in Laban. "I want to marry Rachel," he
20:22said. Laban said, "Perfect.
20:25You work for me seven years and you can
20:27marry Rachel and we'll get it all set
20:29up. It'll be fantastic. to have a great
20:31wedding, great reception, and uh it's
20:33going to be great to have you part of
20:34the family. And so Jacob just just
20:36believes him and serves for seven years
20:38and marries Rachel. And and so he
20:42thought, but in the morning he learned
20:44it's Leah.
20:45>> Yes.
20:47>> And Leah is a far different story than
20:49what Rachel was.
20:50>> And Jacob was not pleased. He was not
20:53pleased. And he went back to Laban and
20:55said "Hey wait wait wait wait
20:56wait, wait, wait a minute. I served
20:58seven years and you've given me Leah and
21:01we were agreed it was going to be
21:03Rachel. He said, "Oh yeah, there was a
21:04little uh there was a little uh fine
21:06print there that we should have gone
21:07over and u and said it's not going to
21:10work that the that the younger
21:12daughter's married first. So you're
21:13going to have to you're going to have to
21:15serve seven more years and uh and and
21:17I'll give you Rachel if you'll do that."
21:19And so so he serves for 14 years and
21:23then he works an extra six years. And it
21:26is it is one deceptive trick after
21:29another. Laban changes his wages 10
21:32times. Meaning that Laban would promise
21:35him something and then he would not
21:37deliver on it. He would get him to work
21:39for a a particular price, but then he
21:41wouldn't give him what he said he would
21:43give him. And Jacob is just taking it.
21:45He's just dealing with it. He's just
21:47rolling with the punches. And here's
21:49here's why. I want to tell you why.
21:51Because when you have done some trickery
21:54yourself and when you've made mistakes
21:56of your own and when you have exploited
21:58people for your gain also you start
22:01believing you deserve to be tricked and
22:04to be cheated and to be exploited
22:07yourself. That's the way of
22:09condemnation. And there are people
22:11sitting under the sound of my voice that
22:13you have made mistakes. You do have
22:16failures in your past. There are things
22:19you did not do correctly and you know
22:23that there are certain things you're not
22:25worthy of. And then the enemy enters the
22:27picture and he's going to join in that
22:31chorus and remind you over and over
22:34again of every rotted deed you've done,
22:38of every mistake you've made, of every
22:41every trust you've broken, and then tell
22:44you that's why you should let him accuse
22:47you and abuse you and change your wages
22:5110 times. You don't deserve anything
22:53better than that. you don't deserve
22:55anything good in life. You're you're
22:57nothing. You're and and you you begin
22:59believing it. I want to remind you that
23:01the Bible says that the devil accuses
23:04the brethren day and [screaming]
23:06night. He accuses the brethren.
23:10>> It's all day long.
23:12>> It's all [screaming] day long.
23:14>> He's accusing the brethren.
23:16>> And if you think you're going to get
23:17some rest when you go to sleep, no. No.
23:20He'll be right back in your ear while
23:21you're sleeping. accusing you, accusing
23:24you, accusing you, accusing you. And
23:26that is a constant stream of the devil's
23:30lies. Because I do need you to know the
23:32devil is a liar. So if he speaks it, it
23:36is untrue. I'll go a step further. If he
23:39says it, the opposite is true. So if he
23:42tells you you're destined to lose, it
23:45means you're destined to win. If he
23:47tells you you're destined to die, it
23:49means you're destined to live.
23:51Hallelujah.
23:53The devil is a liar. And here's the flip
23:55side. God [screaming] cannot lie. So
23:58when the word of God comes forth, it is
24:01absolute truth. [cheering]
24:04[applause]
24:06>> Oh, I'm thankful that when we're talking
24:08today, we're not telling fairy tales or
24:10cunningly devised fables. We're speaking
24:13the way, the truth, the life, the word
24:17that is forever settled in heaven.
24:20>> Hallelujah.
24:21>> Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
24:23>> Hallelujah.
24:25>> Hallelujah.
24:26>> Jacob is just dealing with this
24:28condemnation. He comes home from one
24:32from one another day of just of just
24:36cheated, being cheated and being lied to
24:39and and and and his trust broken and
24:42defrauded and he's just what's he going
24:43to do? It's Rachel and Leah's dad and I
24:46don't know what I'm going to do about
24:47it. I guess I don't I guess I've had it
24:49coming to me for some time. and I've
24:51worked 14 years and I got cheated and my
24:54wages changed and and I worked six years
24:57more and I've got all this cattle and
24:59but I'm I'm I'm just stuck and and and
25:02then all of a sudden one day it just
25:05just changed just shifted. Something
25:07shifted and Jacob said, "I'm not doing
25:11this anymore.
25:12>> I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done
25:16with being cheated.
25:18>> I'm done with being abused. I'm done
25:20with being accused. I'm done with being
25:22defrauded. And I would to God that
25:25somebody today would make up in their
25:28mind, I'm done. I'm done with being lied
25:32to. I'm done with being defrauded. I am
25:35done with being cheated and having
25:38promises broken over and over again by
25:42my adversary. I'm not. No, I'm sorry. I
25:45know I did what I did. And I know I went
25:47where I went. And I know I made the
25:49mistakes I made, but [screaming] I'm
25:51done.
25:53[cheering and applause]
25:56Hallelujah.
25:57>> I'm [screaming] sorry, but I believe
25:59there's a God in heaven who has a plan
26:01for my [screaming] life, and this ain't
26:03it.
26:06This is not it.
26:11Ah, no. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of
26:13it. Rachel Leah. I'm tired of it. I'm
26:16tired of wondering whether tomorrow's
26:18going to be hopefully different. I'm
26:20tired of fearing of whether I'll be able
26:22to take care of my family. I'm tired of
26:25wondering what the next day is going to
26:27hold. I'm tired of wondering what
26:29cutthroat tactic Laban is going to use
26:31again. And I'm done. Do you hear me? I'm
26:33done. I'm done.
26:37[applause]
26:38And he said, "Y'all, we got to go get
26:39the kids. Get the kids. Get the cattle."
26:41and he arranged and organized his
26:43families and his livestock and they left
26:47in the middle of the night. Hallelujah.
26:50Sometimes you got to get up from your
26:53sin.
26:54>> Get up from your captivity.
26:57>> Hallelujah. Come on, prodigal son.
27:00>> Come to yourself. Come to yourself. The
27:03Bible says when he came to himself,
27:05pastor, I believe that's a little
27:07reference to the incarnation, when God
27:10was manifest in the flesh, when God when
27:13God became a man that he made in his own
27:16image. But this prodigal son, he came to
27:19himself and he he started realizing,
27:21wait a minute, what am I doing here?
27:24Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Surely the
27:26servants have it better in my father's
27:28house. Why am I stuck in this misery? I
27:32will get up. That's what he said. He
27:33said, I will arise and go to my father's
27:37house. Hallelujah. I want you to know
27:39something. I know there's some people
27:41that want to go to the father's house,
27:43but you got to arise. Get up. Get up. I
27:47said get up. Chains and all. Mud and
27:51all, broken spirit and all, get up
27:55and make your way to the father's house.
28:03Hallelujah.
28:05>> Hallelujah.
28:07>> Thank you, Jesus.
28:09>> Jacob left in the middle of the night.
28:11He's on his way. And folks, this was a
28:14big decision. This was a major step of
28:17faith. He has no idea what the future
28:20holds. He just knows that I'm going to
28:23believe. I remember I remember a dream
28:27where an where a ladder ascended to the
28:29heavens and that the Lord of my father
28:32Isaac and the God of Abraham
28:35stood at the top of that ladder and told
28:37me that he has a plan for my life and
28:40Laban I I just got to get out. So he
28:43leaves and he's wondering what's going
28:44to happen. Well, I tell you what's going
28:45to happen. Laban's going to get mad.
28:48>> Yes.
28:49>> And he's gonna come for him.
28:50>> And it's exactly what he did. Laban
28:53Laban. Laban lashes out. He gathered up
28:56his servants and he said, "Let's go." I
28:58don't know who he thinks he is
29:01>> running off with my daughters and my
29:03grandchildren and my cattle and my
29:05livestock. Who does he think he is? And
29:08Laban takes off after him and finds him.
29:12And he comes he comes he comes up to him
29:15with a confrontation.
29:18Laban comes marching in. Jacob sees
29:20Laban coming and it's kind of like, "Oh,
29:22here we go. Here we go. It's now or
29:24never. It's it's it's it's crunch time."
29:26And Laban comes up to him and said,
29:27"Hey,
29:29who do you think you are
29:32>> running off with my daughters and my
29:34cattle?"
29:36Jacob said,
29:39"These are my wives, and these are my
29:41children, and this is my cattle, and I
29:45worked for you for 20 years, and I was I
29:48was good to you, and you were not good
29:50to me in return, and I I'm done, Len.
29:54I'm done. I'm not doing this anymore.
29:57And you you you've cheated me for the
29:59last time, and you've deceived me for
30:01the last time, and you've changed my
30:04wages for the last time. and I'm never
30:06coming back. And Laban, Laban said,
30:08"Hey, these daughters, they're my
30:10daughters." He said, "No, those are my
30:12wives." He said, "Those children are my
30:14grandchildren." "No, they're my
30:16children." That cattle's been, "No,
30:17they're my it's a battle. It's a
30:19struggle." Jacob made the decision to
30:21leave, but there's a there's a battle
30:23underway over how this is going to turn
30:26out. Finally, Laban realized, okay, he's
30:29serious. He's gotten some gumption.
30:32I don't know what happened, but he he
30:34somewhere in this little this little
30:36departure thing, he he developed some
30:38kind of fortitude. So So Laban said,
30:40"All right, how about we just chill, sit
30:44down at the table, and let's talk about
30:46it." He said, "You had a little episode.
30:50You decided you needed to get out. You
30:52decided you want to go be free."
30:56And so you did. And now let's talk about
30:59what are we going to name this little
31:01episode. The master trickster knows that
31:06whoever names it controls it. Whoever
31:09names it has authority over it. Whoever
31:12names it takes dominion over it. And so
31:15the master trickster says, "Sit down at
31:17the table and let's let's come up with a
31:20name." He said, "I I've got a good one.
31:23We could call it Jagar Hadutha."
31:27And Jacob said, "Ya say what?"
31:31>> Jagar say haduth. It's a perfect name.
31:34And and and he said and and what it
31:36means is is it means to gather together.
31:39And and essentially he was saying we'll
31:41just go we'll just all come together
31:43Kumbaya and then we'll all go back to
31:46the way things were. That's what that's
31:49what Laban was suggesting. And Jacob
31:52sits there for a moment and says,
31:55"I've got a better name. I want to call
31:58it Galilead.
32:00Galilead."
32:02Which means a heap of stones.
32:05A continual rolling heap of separation
32:10between you and me forever.
32:14>> What he was telling him was, "We're
32:16never going back to the way it was.
32:19You will never be my abuser again.
32:22>> You will never be my accuser again. You
32:24will never be the cheater who changes my
32:27wages ever again. You have no more
32:31authority over my life.
32:36[applause]
32:39I'm telling you, there's somebody today
32:41that the Lord is giving you freedom.
32:43He's giving you liberty. Where the
32:46spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
32:49He's calling you to rise up out of the
32:52pain. Rise up out of the brokenness.
32:55Rise up out of the shackles. Rise up out
32:58of [laughter and screaming] all the
32:59broken dreams and step away from the
33:02accuser of the brethren, the adversary
33:05of your soul.
33:07[applause and cheering]
33:07>> Hallelujah. And that's what we're
33:09feeling here today. We're feeling that
33:11freedom. We felt it when we began to
33:14sing those beautiful songs. You know the
33:16old songs of Zion. There's power in the
33:18blood. There's power in the blood.
33:21Wonder working power in the blood. In
33:23the name of Jesus, we have the victory.
33:27You could feel your faith rising as you
33:30sing with people of like precious faith.
33:34Tell me who can stand before us when we
33:38go in his great name.
33:41Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We lifted up our
33:44hands and said, "God, I'm just grateful
33:46for you. I'm just grateful for you.
33:50You've been by my side all of my life,
33:53and I'm just grateful for you." You
33:56could feel the peace of God surround you
33:59like a sea. You could feel an angelic
34:02hedge surround you. You could feel the
34:05encampment of God's presence here in
34:08this house. We saw it when the precious
34:10children of God stepped into these
34:12waters baptized in the name of Jesus
34:15Christ. Sins washed in the precious
34:17blood of the lamb. And every soul in
34:20this house was lifted with a rapturous
34:24joy. Hallelujah. You know what I'm
34:26talking about when I tell you God's got
34:29some better thing for you.
34:35>> [applause]
34:35>> But do not kid yourself because when you
34:38walk out of this place
34:40>> and you have made a decision,
34:43>> you're going to walk the straight and
34:44the narrow path.
34:46>> You want to be in this presence
34:48continually.
34:49>> But I'm going to tell you, when you walk
34:50out of here, make your way back home.
34:53>> You're going to find Laban sitting in
34:55the living room,
34:57>> sitting at the dining room table.
35:00>> All right. Come on now. Let's
35:05let's name this little episode because
35:07that was really cute. The way you were
35:09crying tears of joy. It was really that
35:12was really special how you were dancing
35:14before the Lord and waving your arms and
35:17shouting for joy. Yeah. Yeah. That was
35:19that was really cute how you were doing
35:21all that. But I know you and you know
35:23you and we know who you are and what
35:26you've done and the things you've said
35:29and then and you're being a hypocrite
35:31right now by pretending that you could
35:33actually ever change. The devil is a
35:36[screaming] liar. I said the devil is a
35:39liar.
35:41Hallelujah. [screaming]
35:43[cheering] He's going to give you some
35:44suggestions. He's going to say I think
35:46we call it hypocrisy. I think we call it
35:49got a little too emotional. He's going
35:51to say, "I think we call it temporary."
35:54And then return to the usual. He's going
35:56to give you some suggestions to which I
35:59suggest you grab that table and flip it
36:02up on top of him and say, "No, I'm
36:05calling this forever. I'm calling
36:07[screaming] this victory. I'm calling
36:09this deliverance.
36:12I'm calling this liberty. Liberty.
36:14Liberty in the Holy Ghost. [cheering]
36:19Hallelujah. Come on, name that
36:21experience. Hallelujah. I said, name
36:24that experience.
36:26>> Hallelujah. [applause and cheering]
36:28I thank God for this precious Bible that
36:31I'm preaching from today, pastor. I
36:34thank God for my heritage and yours and
36:37and so many others, people of of great
36:40faith who charted a path that helped us
36:43be where we are today. I thank God for
36:45every testimony. I thank God for every
36:48biblical account, for every biblical
36:50prophecy. But I'm going to tell you
36:52something, ladies and gentlemen. I have
36:54a personal experience.
36:57Hallelujah. It's not something that I
36:59just read about. It's not something that
37:02somebody told me about. It's not
37:04something that I've heard about. I know
37:07it because it happened to me. It
37:09happened in me. He filled me with his
37:13spirit. He washed me with his blood.
37:16[laughter]
37:16He spoke words [screaming] of love and
37:19encouragement into my soul.
37:23>> And nobody can take that away from me.
37:28>> I'm naming that experience. Hallelujah.
37:31I'm naming that experience. No. No.
37:35Yeah. He'll point to how many times
37:36you've repented and fallen back into
37:38sin. He will. He will. But you tell him,
37:41"This is my experience. I call it real
37:44repentance. I call it real joy. I call
37:47it real hope. I call it real faith.
37:51>> Hallelujah.
37:53Jacob did break free from Laban. He
37:55walked away from him
37:57>> permanently. In fact, when Laban said to
37:59him "Mispa,"
38:01it means, "she between me and thee when
38:03we are absent one from another." It's a
38:05it's a beautiful little word, but and we
38:07sometimes will use it if we are going to
38:09be apart from one another for
38:11considerable amount of time. Maybe we
38:13won't see each other for several months
38:14or something. And you might occasionally
38:16hear someone say, "Mispa, the Lord
38:19watched between me and thee when we're
38:20absent from one another." Just a
38:21reminder that even though we're not
38:22together, the Lord is with us.
38:25>> But that's not all Laban was saying.
38:27Laban was saying, "Because I know I will
38:29never see you again. I will never see
38:32Rachel, Leah. I will never see these
38:34grandchildren ever again.
38:37Mispa, the Lord watched between me and
38:39thee when we are absent from one
38:41another. And they parted ways, never to
38:44be reunited.
38:46Jacob walks on his way and he's going to
38:47step into the destiny of God. And as he
38:51as he prepares to do so, he reaches out
38:53to Esau, sends him a text message,
38:57says, "Hey, bro. How's how you doing?
38:59Would love to catch up sometimes."
39:02and finds out Esau is going to meet with
39:05him. The problem is he's bringing 400
39:07warriors with him. The very last words
39:10Jacob heard Esau say were, "I'm going to
39:14kill him."
39:16So, Jacob is rightly concerned by this
39:19information that, "Yeah, Esau's coming.
39:21Great. I can't wait to see. He's got 400
39:23warriors with him, a battalion of
39:24troops." Well, that doesn't sound great.
39:27So, Jacob goes out into the night sky,
39:30leaves Rachel here, leaves Leah there,
39:32separates his family, so to where if one
39:34is attacked, at least some will survive.
39:36And he goes out into the night sky, and
39:38he's he's just trying to clear his head,
39:39clear his mind. And things are pretty
39:41bad right now. He took a step of faith
39:43and tried to step into God's destiny.
39:47But out of the shadows of eternity leaps
39:50an angelic an angelic figure that that
39:54tackles him, throws him to the ground
39:57and and Jacob is in a fight now for his
40:01very life. And and the Bible says that
40:04he was he was fighting until the
40:06breaking of the day and that the that
40:08that that that figure touched the hollow
40:11of his thigh essentially fractured his f
40:14femur and he's he's fighting for his
40:16life in the throws of the Jebok River
40:19struggle against this this theophony or
40:23an angel something. He had seen God face
40:25to face and and he's trying to figure
40:27out what what in the world is he going
40:28to do. as he's as he's fighting for his
40:30life, this angelic figure says, "Let me
40:34go, I pray thee." And Jacob says
40:37something you got to learn how to say. I
40:40will not let go until you bless me.
40:44>> You know why? Because I know this fight
40:47is not just so I will be wounded
40:49irreparably. This struggle I've been in
40:52did not just happen so that I will be
40:54forever maimed and injured and have
40:57nothing to show for it. No, there is a
41:00blessing cuz I remember when he told me
41:02he would bless me. I remember when he
41:05told me he would put the blessing of my
41:06father Abraham on me. Now listen,
41:08listen, Jacob. I know man has blessed
41:10you. I know Isaac has blessed you. I
41:13know the blessing of man came upon you
41:15because you were able to fool him and
41:18trick him and weasle your way into the
41:20blessing. But at some point, you're
41:21going to have to get the blessing the
41:23right way. Well, here is that point. Let
41:26me go. No, I will not let you go until
41:29you bless me. I'm not leaving with
41:32merely a limp to show for this fight.
41:35I'm getting the blessing of the Lord.
41:37And then the angel of the Lord said,
41:38"What is your name?"
41:41>> This is a point of truth because he
41:43could have He's a trickster in his past.
41:45He could have just made something up,
41:47but he needed to be honest if he wanted
41:49to be blessed.
41:52>> So he told him, "You want to know the
41:54truth? I'm a heel holder. I'm a I'm a
41:58suppler.
42:00I'm Jacob.
42:02And he said, because you have said
42:04you're Jacob, you are no longer Jacob.
42:10>> But you are Israel.
42:12>> Heel holders who you used to be,
42:14supplanters who you used to be,
42:16>> but you've got a new name now. This name
42:19is not heelholder.
42:21Israel is your name. For as a prince,
42:25you have prevailed with God. You have
42:28wrestled with God. Hallelujah. And and
42:30and and and his name was changed. I want
42:33you to know that you've got some labels
42:35that have been put on you throughout
42:37your life. Schoolyard bullies have put
42:39labels on you. Schoolmates have put
42:42labels on you. Relationships with
42:45people, they put labels on you. You've
42:47had employers put labels on you. You've
42:49had family members put labels on you.
42:52You've lived your life living under this
42:55influence of this identity. And I'm
42:57going to tell you that the only one who
43:00has the authority to put his name on you
43:03and to put a name on you is your father.
43:07[cheering and applause]
43:09>> And I'm going to tell you, he puts his
43:10own name on you. And there is another
43:13name under heaven given among men
43:15whereby we must be saved. [applause]
43:20>> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. No, it's time
43:23for the name to change. The name that's
43:25been in place for so long, it's time for
43:26the name to change. God wants to change
43:29it. In fact, when Rachel was giving
43:31birth to the second son, she finally was
43:34able to bring forth children, and she
43:36had given birth to Joseph. Now, she's
43:38giving birth to who we know as Benamine
43:42or Benjamin.
43:43>> That's not what she named him. She named
43:46him Benoni.
43:48It was a last gasp of pain and it meant
43:52the son of my pain and she died in
43:56childbirth. And that baby is born with a
43:59name on it, the son of my pain. And
44:03Israel looks over at that baby that
44:05belongs to him. And Rachel and his
44:06beloved Rachel had just passed away
44:09>> and he takes that baby
44:11>> and says, "I know what it's like to live
44:13with a name that you have a hard
44:16[laughter] time
44:17dealing with. He is not the son of her
44:20pain. He lifted up that baby and said,
44:23"He is the son of my right hand. He is
44:25the son of power. He is the son of
44:28power." I want you to know, I know it's
44:31a painful experience, but don't fall to
44:34the temptation of naming it what the
44:37enemy wants you to name it. Let God put
44:39his name on it. Give it the name that's
44:42above every name. The name that has
44:45healing in it. The name that has victory
44:47in it. The [laughter] name that has
44:49salvation in it. I know. I know you've
44:53got some lost loved ones. And the devil
44:55would like to name that and say they're
44:57lost forever. Come on, pick up that
45:00table, throw it over on [screaming] top
45:01of Laban and say, "You don't get to name
45:03this experience. This is my experience."
45:06I call them saved. I call them coming
45:09home. I call them the liberty of God
45:13being established in their life.
45:15>> [cheering and applause]
45:17>> Come on, somebody lift up your hands and
45:19your voice unto the Lord right now.
45:23>> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
45:26Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
45:32Hallelujah. [screaming]
45:33Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
45:37>> Come on, somebody lift up your voice
45:38unto him right now.
45:40>> There's some things you've been going
45:42through.
45:44You've called it depression. You've
45:46called it anxiety. You've called it
45:49fear. But I wonder if you could let the
45:51Lord in on this. Say, "Lord, what do you
45:54call this?" Because I'm going to tell
45:55you what he said. He said, "Count it all
45:57joy." Count it all joy. Whenever you
46:00fall into diverse temptations and
46:02struggles, count it all [screaming] joy.
46:04Hallelujah. Because what the devil means
46:07for evil, God's going to turn it for the
46:09good. that the devil calls it evil,
46:11God's going to turn it for the good.
46:14[cheering]
46:15>> I wonder if we could stand to our feet
46:16right now with uplifted hands and an
46:18uplifted voice of praise unto God.
46:22>> Hallelujah.
46:25>> Hallelujah.
46:28>> Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
46:32>> Hallelujah.
46:33>> Hallelujah.
46:35Hallelujah.
46:36>> I I I wonder if there's some people here
46:38today that'll come to the front that
46:39have made some mistakes. If you've never
46:42made any mistakes and this doesn't apply
46:44to you, but if you've got some mistakes
46:45in your past, Hallelujah. and you need
46:48God to step into