It's very difficult to know, really, what one
should say to a congregation, an audience, that
you'll never see again until we get to
heaven.
That thought has been impressing itself on my
mind today.
Probably my last opportunity to speak in the
name of the Lord Jesus to you here
in this beautiful place.
What shall I say?
I've asked God about that, and I believe
He has directed me to a particular portion
of His Word way, way back in the
dawn of human history.
You know, there's nothing I enjoy doing more
than reading biographies.
Perhaps that's because I'm a curious sort of
person.
I like to know about people, don't you?
And I like to pick up a biography
and read it.
And you always get to know people that
way.
The only thing is this.
When you read a biography about someone, there's
always one fact, at least, about the person
that the biographer was unaware of.
You never can get to know everything about
anybody in a biography, except in the Word
of God.
It never flatters its heroes.
It always tells the truth about them, never
seeks to polish them up, just shows us
human nature in the raw, people as they
really are, and the scars of them, whose
character is revealed to us in the Word
of God.
I'm not particularly speaking about this, but you
remember that amazing passage in the book, Hebrews
chapter 11, which is a sort of picture
gallery of tremendous fellows who lived long, long
ago.
You know, I used to think that that
was a record of the greatest men who'd
ever lived, and they were, in my mind,
way up on a picture gallery, miles above
anybody.
And I sort of gaped at them and
thought, well, they must be tremendous men.
I could never be like them.
And then it suddenly dawned on me, they
weren't the greatest men that ever lived, they
were the weakest men that ever lived, as
actually, Hebrews 11 is a rogues gallery.
That may shock you, but listen.
Noah was among them, and he was an
alcoholic.
Jacob was among them.
He's the biggest swindler the world has ever
known.
Moses was among them.
He committed murder.
David was among them.
He committed adultery.
Samson was among them.
Oh, his morals don't bear looking at.
They were the weakest men who've ever lived,
but they all came to one moment in
their lives.
They came to it in a different way,
in different circumstances, but they all came to
one moment when they recognized that they simply
hadn't got what it takes, and that life
was too big for them, and they came
to the end of themselves.
And when their impotence was linked by faith
with the omnipotence of God, they became men
whom God could use.
Now, I'm going to tell you, in simple
language, the story of one such man tonight.
You'll forgive me, or perhaps I don't need
to ask for forgiveness, if I put it
to you in 20th century language, but I'll
read it, first of all, at least an
extract from it, as it appears in the
Word of God.
This will be familiar language, maybe, to some
of you here.
This is the story of Jacob and a
crisis in his life.
Genesis chapter 32, and listen to it.
Perhaps you have your Bible.
Genesis 32 and verse 24.
Here's what it says.
Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a
man with him until the breaking of 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 you
go except you bless me.
And he said to him, what's your name?
And he said, Jacob.
And he said, thy name shall be called
no Jacob, but Israel.
For as a prince hast thou power with
God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Now then, here's a fascinating little story, which
is absolutely so relevant and up to date
that it's almost not funny.
You think of this man to whom God
said one day, your name shall be no
more Jacob, but Israel.
Now what's in a name?
Tremendous lot in a name.
When you recall the names of people you
know, you recall not only the name, but
the character behind the name.
Men like Eisenhower, men like Winston Churchill, immediately
there comes to your mind the character that
made them what they were.
And if that's true today, it was much
more true in New Testament times.
Thou shall call his name Jesus, for he
shall save his people from their sin.
There is none other name given among men
under heaven whereby we must be saved.
What's in a name?
Everything in the name, for it stands for
character.
And if that's true in the New Testament,
it's much more so in the time of
the Hebrews.
Your name shall be called no more Jacob.
What's that mean?
Cheat, swindler, deceiver.
Your name shall be called Israel, prince with
God.
Good night.
What a change in the man's name.
From a cheat to a prince with God.
That man had his name changed.
And this is symbolic of the fact that
he had his character changed.
Now listen.
If Christianity is incapable of changing anybody's character,
shut your Bible up, close your churches, go
home, and have nothing more to do with
it.
For it is the biggest farce and the
biggest deceiver of men in history.
If Jesus Christ is not what he came
to be and claims to be, pack up
the whole thing.
Stop playing church.
Don't merely be content to sort of have
a Sunday huddle with your family at a
place of worship.
It means absolutely nothing unless Jesus Christ can
change character.
A fellow said to me not so long
ago, you'll never have another world, a better
world, with human nature as it is.
Course you won't.
He's dead right.
Dead right.
All our problems are centered in human nature.
Marvellous discoveries we've made.
I understand, I think it's Time magazine or
Life or News Report something said the other
day, 80% of scientific technological information, facts
that we know now, nobody knew anything about
20 years ago.
Tremendous discovery.
There's nothing wrong in nuclear energy, of course
there isn't, but when it's in the hands
of a man that's selfish, that's greedy, that's
ambitious, it's dangerous.
Oh yes, the trouble with the world after
all these years of advanced scientific discovery is
the trouble of human nature.
It's never changed.
It's always the same.
Therefore, therefore we face expulsion point as I
speak to you.
Human nature in the raw, basically selfish, basically
ambitious, basically proud, basically wanting its own way.
I don't know whether I talk, you know
I've got an awful memory these days, I've
got a wonderful forgettory.
Do you find that if you get a
bit older?
Terrible, like a silk, terrible.
I can't remember when I told you this,
I don't know, but I can't help telling
you again, so laugh, just to be, you
know.
But some time ago I was up in
Scotland and there's a little island on the
River Clyde and I was having a holiday
on this island and I was standing one
day on the pier, I was waiting to
go out for a cruise on a steamer
and I noticed a ship had come in
and it was unloading 400 sheep and I
watched this operation fascinated.
A British railway porter put a ladder up
the side of the ship and waited for
the sheep to come down the ladder.
Well, I mean he looked at them and
they looked at him, they were very sheepish
looking sheep and they just didn't move.
So he thought he'd better do something about
it after all his pay, trade union rates,
so he went up the ladder and he
got hold of the first lady by the
horns and pulled her down the ladder.
Well when she got to the bottom she
rushed across the pier and dashed off and
of course number two came and then number
three and number four and there was a
whole whirlwind of sheep.
But the thing that interested me was that
sheep number one as she rushed across that
pier at that town suddenly was confronted with
somebody's baggage.
So a sheep after all, what can it
do?
It couldn't turn sideways, it couldn't divert, couldn't
take an alternative route, it couldn't go back.
There was only one thing to do, it
was to take a colossal leap up into
the air and jump right over the whole
thing and it did, made a masterful jump,
high jump.
And number two came to the same spot,
did exactly the same and number three up
he went and number four all went like
this, all of them one after the other.
And you know, you know really British Railway,
Porter, tremendous.
He was looking at this and he thought
well without being paid overtime I suppose I
can help him and he went up to
this baggage and he got hold of it
and he pulled it right to one side.
Well do you know, now look here, I'm
not kidding you, I saw three hundred and
ninety sheep come to that same place where
the baggage had been and up in the
air and down again in the other side.
Oh yes they did.
Isn't it strange, but isn't it much stranger
that the Bible as I say never flatters
anybody but dares to tell us that all
we like sheep have gone astray.
We've turned everyone to his own way, that
is what the book calls S.I.N.
and there you have the whole trouble in
the world, human nature in the raw.
Now what about this man Jacob, look at
him for a minute with me in the
raw.
You know I suppose the biggest effect on
a man's life, on your life is your
environment, is your home.
What sort of a home did he come
from?
Well it started off well, his parents Isaac
and Rebecca fell in love at first sight,
that's a great thing to do.
Immediately he saw her, he said that's the
one for me and she said he's the
one for me and so they fell in
love and they were married and we're told
in the book that Isaac loved Rebecca, that
was a good start.
It didn't seem however that they were going
to have a family so he prayed for
her and God answered his prayer and shortly
twins were about to be born and those
twins began squabbling before they were actually born
and they never stopped fighting till they died
and presently the twins appeared.
One was a, I think a bit like
a hippie type, perhaps I don't know, perhaps
I'm doing him or you, some hippie and
then just as anyhow long hair and he
rather was a wild sort of fella you
know, he was obviously a man who wasn't
prepared to be with it, anyway he wasn't
a conformist, oh no he wouldn't conform and
from the moment they saw the light of
day there was trouble in that home because
Isaac loved Esau and do you know why
he loved him?
Because his old dad Isaac had got an
obsession for venison, he loved food, he ate
like nobody's business, he absolutely loved eating and
Esau was trained to be a man who
could get him meat and he loved Esau
but Rebecca and that's the first time you
hear of a but in the home, she
loved Isaac, she loved Jacob so the two
had favourites.
Now when parents start doing that sort of
thing there's trouble in the wind and sure
enough there was.
One day the old dad said to his
son Esau, look he said I'm sick of
life, I'm about to die I think, he
said as a matter of fact he lived
30 years after this but he said I'm
about to die, isn't it strange, isn't it
strange how many people stop living before they
die, just quit, hand in the resignation, take
it easy, they just stop living before they're
due to die, this man lived 30 years
but he said Esau I'm about to die
and he said I want to pray for
you but you know I can't pray until
I've had a good feed so go and
get hold of me a nice big meat
of that lovely venison which I love and
then I'll pray for you after you've given
me a good feed so off he went.
Meanwhile his mother had been listening to this
conversation and she said now's my chance and
she got hold of Jacob and said look
here Jacob just dress yourself up like Esau,
put his clothes on and just go in
and steal his blessing and ask your father
to bless you.
So Jacob thought good idea so he went
in, he tricked his old dad who was
by that time a bit sort of stupid,
you know just it was a story of
a good man going downhill, he'd eaten so
much he couldn't distinguish between goat meat and
venison and the whole man was a bit
sort of blotto with food, I don't know
about drink but certainly with food and he'd
just gone down.
Oh isn't it sad to see a man
who starts well going down.
I'd rather be a man who starts badly
and go up, that's what Jacob did but
his father began so well.
Why don't you remember the first introduction to
him in the bible?
He offered himself on a mountain of Moriah
with his father Abraham as a sacrifice, tender
-hearted youth, really right with God, really prepared
to do anything but now as an old
man oh he's going downhill and so when
Esau came home he heard what had happened,
that Jacob had got the blessing he'd got
his father's blessing and the promise of his
father of his possessions and all this and
Esau just blew his top, he was absolutely
hopping mad and so Jacob got scared and
his mother said look the best thing for
you to do is take three weeks holiday
and go and see your uncle Laban and
so Jacob said okay and off he went,
three weeks vacation turned out to be 21
years, he never got back and saw his
mother, he got back just in time to
bury his dad but follow me with him
will you as he for the first time
in his life left home on his way
to meet his uncle.
By the way I suppose, oh that frightens
me but I suppose it's true, there may
be some theologians here, dreadful thought but perhaps
you are and theological students, well listen I'll
put a question to you, how old was
Jacob when he left home?
I don't know, I should think sort of
a cool 70 but as such may I
tell you he'd got a long way to
go, he lived to be 147.
Thank the Lord I won't do that, oh
thank God that he shortened the lifespan but
I would regard Jacob at the age of
70 just as a nice sort of youngish
middle-aged fella who was in the prime
of life and setting out from home for
the first time, what do you think of
that?
70 years at home and now he's off,
he's let loose for the first time in
his life, fancy that, having been 70 and
brought up be a mother all that time,
it would drive me around the bend, it
really would, goodness no wonder he was a
bachelor and when he left home aged 70,
I tell you that man against the background
of that unhappy home with the wrath of
Esau breathing down his neck with the memory
of his cheating and deceiving, he went out
from the first night away in the desert,
he lay down have a sleep, got a
stone put it for a pillow, no motels
and so there he had to lie and
my his stone must have been a very
uncomfortable pillow and he had a dream that
night, I'm not surprised he had a dream,
you always dream when you're worried, very frequently
anyway and Jacob dreamt and as he went
sound asleep he dreamt and in his dream
there are three great exclamation marks, behold a
ladder reaching down to earth and the top
of it to heaven, behold the angels of
God ascending and descending and behold at the
top of the ladder the Lord and Jacob
in his dream saw this and the Lord
spoke to him and said Jacob I'm going
to make you a promise that all of
this land will be yours and in your
children all the families of the earth will
be blessed and I promise you I'll never
leave you and I'll go with you everywhere
and I'll never forsake you until I've accomplished
all that I've told you to do and
I'll never leave you alone and Jacob wakened
up and we read he was terrified and
said surely this is the house of God,
this is the very gate of heaven and
for the first time in his life he
built an altar speaking of his prayer and
worship and he said Lord if, there were
no ifs on God's side but on Jacob's
there were, if you look after me, if
you watch over me, if you'll take me
to see my uncle safely and if you'll
bring me safely home I promise you I'll
tithe every tenth of what I get and
you will be my God.
Now just a sec, let me get you
with me again, you may accuse me of
stretching a point but I don't think so,
I would say in New Testament language at
that moment Jacob was converted, he had a
confrontation with the living God and there were
two marks that are always present in a
genuine conversion that were present in his life
that day, one a sense of sin, two
a sense of the holiness of God and
nobody's converted unless that happens, a sense of
your inadequacy, a sense of God's holiness that
he's almighty and you haven't got what it
takes and the backlist of life is too
big alone so he'll be my God and
the two motives of it may have not
been pure, questionable about the real depth of
it but nevertheless at that moment he had
an impersonal encounter with God.
Now let me ask you, have you had
that?
Have you really met personally the Lord Jesus
Christ although I speak to a few of
you, many of you who are just comfortable
church members, never met God, never experienced a
living Christ in your life, never had an
encounter with Jesus?
I think when I was here three years
ago I told you I went right back
into the pages of memory of younger days
obviously and told you about an incident that
occurred to me in my life once on
the football field.
By the way I don't quite understand this
Australian rules business, I'll need a bit of
education about this.
I do understand rugby league but I'm much
more interested in rugby union because that's the
game I play and I used to play
for one of our counties in the north
of England and remember one year playing for
Northumberland against Yorkshire and this was the final
county championship match of the season and it
depended, everything depended on the results of that
game as to which of us would be
the champion country.
Well there were about 30,000 people there
and I tell you it was a fight
from beginning to end.
When you get somebody from Newcastle against somebody
from Yorkshire there's no mercy, they're absolutely tooth
and nail tearing each other apart and we
were, oh it was a terrible match but
two minutes from the end we were losing
by four points to nil.
That was in those days a drop goal
to nothing but just before the finish of
the game the ball came out the back
of our scrum and our scrum half got
hold of it and flashed it over to
his out half and who sent it across
the through his backs who one of whom
cut down the middle passed to his wing
three cue who dashed down the line and
scored right at the corner flag as he
was pulled down.
Yorkshire four Northumberland three.
Now I'm not here to give you a
lecture on football but I may just say
to you that that try has to be
converted and it's done by bringing the ball
back 25 yards at right angles from the
place at which it was scored and there
kicking it between the uprights and the centre
over the centre bar of the goalpost and
if you're successful two more points if you're
not nothing.
Everything depended on that kick.
If the fellow got it over Northumberland five
Yorkshire four if he didn't Yorkshire four Northumberland
three.
I was terribly sorry for the fellow taking
that kick especially it happened to me and
I remember going back 25 yards and putting
that ball in the ground and it was
right over here and the goalposts were right
over there the angle was so narrow that
it seemed an utter impossibility and I stepped
back about six yards and I just paused
for a moment and the silence was just
like that.
You could have heard a pin drop.
30,000 people 60,000 eyes glued on
me at that moment.
All I could hear was my heart beating
and after I couldn't wait any longer I
took a deep breath and ran forward and
gave that ball a tremendous root and it
soared straight up into the air between those
goalposts and I heard the crowd roar he's
got it it's a goal but just as
it came down it slightly veered off course
and I watched it breathlessly as it hit
one of the upright bars and came down
on the wrong side.
I do appreciate your sympathy.
You're about you're about 35 years late.
But do you know when we went back
to Newcastle on fire in that evening in
our special reserved coach on the train our
halfback who once tatted the nights for reasons
which I needn't go into was rather talkative
and that evening he never stopped talking and
he looked across at me and he said
I'm putting this in evangelical language he said
to me why didn't you miss the rotten
thing altogether why did it go like that
why didn't you fall on your back or
or didn't you kick it into the grandstand
what a nurse the use of getting so
near as missing it by half an inch
you see it didn't make any difference for
if I had missed it or kicked it
into the grandstand the result would have been
just the same because almost means failure.
Again I say you'll remember my story but
again I say have you encountered Jesus Christ?
You can be almost a Christian but not
one and it doesn't make any difference whether
I'm attending church twice a week or will
I never go near the place and every
Sunday I'm out on the beach if I
haven't met the Lord Jesus personally and yielded
my life to him and said Lord you'll
be my God and received his life into
my heart.
I'm not a Christian but that night in
Bethel there Jacob met God.
Well when a man meets God there's a
tremendous difference to be expected is there?
Better ask ourselves about that is there?
Isn't that the trouble?
Well to be expected may be but I
want to tell you that for 21 years
Jacob was just the same.
The same man he got up from Bethel
and he went to the country where his
uncle lived and he got to know one
kettle of fish after the other.
He married the wrong girl to start with
and then he formed a partnership with his
uncle Jacob Laban and co incorporated and the
thing was doomed to failure before it began.
They hadn't any common faith the one was
a believer the other wasn't and one after
another it was ding-dong they went for
each other and outwitted for each other and
swindled each other till after 20 years Jacob
was absolutely at his wits end.
He touched bottom couldn't be a Christian live
like that.
That proves your first point is wrong no
it doesn't.
It simply speaks to the experience of your
heart and mine.
My friend how long have you been a
believer?
How long is it since you first confronted
Jesus Christ and he met you and came
into your life?
Tell me has there been a difference?
Is there any change?
20 years having within me Jesus and yet
being mastered by the old life all the
time never growing up never becoming any different
no change.
That's the experience of masses of people within
our churches today who really have met God
but somehow or other it hasn't worked and
Jacob for 22 years was like that just
in the same old mess until he touched
rock bottom.
I want to say to you very thoughtfully
that sometimes God lets you and me out
on a long loose rein but he holds
the reins in his hands and there comes
a time when he starts pulling the rein
in and says I've had enough of this
and maybe he's brought you to Unley town
hall as a fellow or girl man or
woman who's just about reached rock bottom.
There's nowhere nearer to God than you because
when you touch rock bottom Jesus is right
there and maybe that's exactly where you are.
He's had to let you out on a
long leash and you've just tried to live
without him and forget about him but somehow
or other things have gone from bad to
worse.
Need it have happened?
I don't think so.
It didn't happen to need it happen to
Jacob.
I wonder why it did.
I don't know.
When I get to heaven I'm going to
ask him but I think without blackmailing him
I think I can tell you one reason
why it happened.
Listen.
Supposing Jacob when he had met with God
before he went another step on his vacation
had gone right back home and said Esau
I'm sorry and pardon me is there somebody
outside a Christian church would never dream of
coming near who wouldn't attend a service who's
not a bit impressed by your Christianity who
is not prepared even to talk about the
Lord and what they are because of your
treatment of them and mine and we've never
gone back and said sorry I wonder maybe
ask yourself that question but look here let
me hasten came to an end God got
hold of Jacob and pulled him in he
went back home on his way back home
had a news had a tele cablegram sent
to him and the cablegram said watch it
watch it Esau's coming oh Esau that's after
21 years he hasn't forgotten yet no he
doesn't you know if family squabbles sort of
last and this one had lasted 21 years
so Esau's coming look out look out so
Jacob said all right and he sent his
wives and cattle and all the rest he'd
got on in front of him and he
went and he went and he got alone
and he began to pray and as he
prayed oh God save me from Esau Lord
I'm not worthy of the least of all
your mercy mercies I've lived like a rutter
I've lived like an absolute cad I'm not
worthy of anything but Lord for goodness sake
for the Lord's sake save me from my
brother and my bible tells me I read
there wrestled a man with him till the
breaking of the day no time to elaborate
on this but unquestionably this was one of
the many pre-incarnation appearances of Jesus Christ
our Lord who didn't begin to live at
Bethlehem but he lived always all through eternity
and there he met Jacob again and there
wrestled with him a man till the breaking
of day until God said to Jacob let
me go and Jacob said to him I
won't let you go till you bless me
oh my I would give my right hand
and I need it if there was somebody
in this audience who's speaking like that to
God tonight Lord I've made so much of
a mess of it I've absolutely messed up
my life I've chosen my own path as
a child I made some sort of contact
with you and I met you and I
believe then I was converted maybe but I've
tried to forget and I've just lived like
I like like I can and everything's gone
wrong and I'm at wit's end corner I'm
down to the very bottom I struck rock
bottom Lord Lord what this fellow was saying
at Unley town hall I've never met him
before and he's got a funny English accent
and I don't understand all he's saying but
but but what he's saying I can see
this is what I need I can't let
you go Lord till you bless me and
then came the answer what's your name what's
your name do you mean to say God
didn't know of course he knew of course
he knew he'd been watching him for 22
years holding the reins watching him play the
fool calling him in pulling him in he
knew who he was what's your name God
wasn't asking Jacob for information he was calling
upon him for confession and I hear that
man in my mind I can see him
just looking up to the man who was
wrestling with him and saying sorry Lord it's
still Jacob I'm still exactly the same all
right you've told me that you've made your
confession listen your name shall be no more
Jacob but Israel for as a prince you
power with card and prevailed and from that
moment Jacob was a changed man oh there's
a lot more in the story that I
haven't time to go on to tell but
this was the crisis of his life the
change didn't come in an instant the Israel
character developed the Jacob character died out and
at that moment as the man came to
God desperate and broken and confessed to him
Lord my name is Jacob the Lord said
to him all right thank you for telling
me I've known it but I wanted you
to tell me your name shall be no
more Jacob listen what's your name what's your
name Jacob cheat swindler deceiver excuse me but
hypocrite what's your name don't tell me tell
the Lord for the wonderful thing is tonight
for the Nunley Town Hall the God of
Jacob is right here and he's able if
I'm willing to acknowledge that I am Jacob
and I can do a thing about it
he's able to get into my life and
make me Israel as I hand over my
life to him completely and he enters and
takes control would you let Jesus get into
the life-changing business in your heart this
night just acknowledge to him you can't do
it yourself acknowledge to him that you're really
desperate face reality don't pretend anymore you're just
desperate and you can't go on anymore in
this condition Lord Lord it's Jacob and I
can't do a thing about it right just
you come to me and let me come
in and change the Jacob to the Israel
will you let Jesus do that let's pray
I don't know a thing about you but
God knows everything about you so I'm leaving
the issues of this meeting with him and
you your name shall be no more Jacob
but Israel no more self but Jesus tonight
you can come to him and tell him
the truth and acknowledge what you are and
enter into a miracle the life-saving and
transforming power of the indwelling Spirit of God
who is alive today and with us now
to do this very thing will you ask
him out of yourself into Jesus just a
moment's prayer it's the blood of Jesus Christ
that cleanses from sin it's he who died
on the cross who can do this for
you it's he who lives today and save
and keep you if you ask him Lord
Jesus Christ we recognize that how desperately we've
failed because of the kind of people we
are we've been selfish and unkind and cruel
and critical and censorious and proud and self
-righteous oh Lord it's all such a mess
we acknowledge this is all the Jacob in
us and we come to you at the
end of our tether and we say to
you Lord I won't let you go except
you bless me Lord tonight do thou just
come in and step over the threshold of
some life here and make thyself real your
name shall be called no more Jacob but
Israel Lord Jesus thank you that you're a
prayer answering God and thank you tonight that
in answer to our faith and trust and
commitment you're able to do for us exceeding
abundantly above all that we can ask or
think we praise you for it in your
dear name amen