The Foundational Four // Jacob the Pretender

A series a couple weeks ago called The Foundational Four.

The Foundational Four, the people that God used to form a nation.

So I want to kind of catch us up a little bit, and I want to do this by way of a question.

Does any of you remember we've talked about two characters who are one of the two characters we've talked about that are a part of the foundational four?

Abraham.

That's right.

We talked about Abraham.

And we also talked about Isaac.

Now today we're going to talk about a character that doesn't seem like he would fit in.

He doesn't seem like he's qualified.

Like he's like he's good enough.

Have you ever felt like you're not good enough?

Have you ever felt like you don't measure up?

Like you're inadequate?

I I remember this experience I had on a Sunday night many years ago when I felt deeply inadequate and I felt like I just wasn't enough.

I had just interviewed to be a pastor at the home church that I was raised in.

People that had heard me teach, people that had seen me lead, people that had been around me, and I got a call from a friend of mine later on.

Somebody that was on the team, and he called me and he said they voted no.

They're gonna go on to somebody else.

And in that moment, here's what I heard: you're not enough.

Now, I was in my 20s, I was young, I was inexperienced, I get it.

But the message that I got was I'm not enough.

I'm inadequate, I don't measure up.

And we're gonna study a character today that, like many of us, felt that way.

And what we're gonna see today is a really important truth, and we're gonna unpack it.

And here's the truth is that when we believe that we're not enough, we often spend our lives pretending to be someone we're not.

When we believe the lie, when we believe the lie that we're not enough, we often spend our lives pretending to be someone we're not.

Have you ever been in that place before?

If you're human, the answer is probably yes.

Maybe there's some AI out there, but if you're human, the answer is yes.

And I want us to go to Genesis chapter number 25, where we see the beginning of this man's Jacob of his life and his home of origin that was dysfunctional, that caused him to believe from a very early age that he wasn't enough.

And we're gonna see the results of this from Genesis chapter 25.

Genesis 25 · chapter mention

If you're ready for it, would you say amen?

Genesis 25, verse 24.

Genesis 25:24

It says, When her time came to give birth, this is this is this man, his name is Jacob.

Everybody say Jacob, ready?

This is Jacob, this is mom, Rebecca.

She came to give birth.

There were indeed twins in her womb.

Poor Rebecca.

But hold on, it gets worse.

Verse 25.

The first one came out red looking, covered with hair like a fur coat.

Can we stop there?

A fur coat?

I don't know exactly how they like what they were expecting, or if they were planning on doing baby pictures, or you know, but baby came out.

It's like, oh, we have Chewbacca for a child.

Cancel the baby pictures.

We're not telling anybody about Chewbacca, right?

Verse, verse 25.

Verse he came out, his name was Esau.

Everybody say Esau, ready?

So we have Esau, we have Jacob.

We're gonna read about Jacob.

Verse 26.

After this, his brother came out grasping Esau's heel with his hand.

So he was named Jacob.

The word Jacob literally means heel grasper.

They were really creative with that name.

He grasped the heel, we're just gonna name him Jacob.

That's what it means.

Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

Now, if it was in today's society, it'd kind of be like a joke, like, oh, when I was born first and you were grasping my heel, blah, you know what I mean.

But in this day, it was a big deal because if you were the oldest, it meant you received the birthright and the blessing.

Birthright meant you got double the inheritance.

That's a big deal.

Blessing meant that you had God's hand of prosperity and multiplication on your life.

So it was a transfer of leadership and authority unto that son, and Jacob didn't get it just because Esau got through the birth canal before him.

And the boys, as they grew up, Jacob and Esau, they were very different.

I don't know if you had a sibling that you grew up with, and maybe you and your sibling were very different.

You liked one thing, they liked the other.

Jacob and Esau, they were just like that.

In fact, verse number 27 tells us the differences in them.

When the boys grew up, Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman.

Translation: Esau's a manly man, four-wheel drive truck, camo.

Somebody said amen.

Camo.

Cowboy boots.

Favorite store, sportsman's warehouse.

Jacob?

Not so much.

But Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.

Translation.

Esau liked ESPN.

Jacob liked HGTV.

Esau's like, let's go to the rodeo.

Jacob's like, let's go to Disney on ice.

They're very different.

They're very, very different.

And because of their differences, favoritism started happening in the home.

I don't know if you've ever experienced this.

But this is what happened here.

In fact, in verse 28, it says Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game.

But Rebecca loved Jacob.

From an early age, Jacob is told, well, Dad's favorite is Esau.

Esau gets the attention.

Esau gets celebrated.

Esau gets recognized.

So what Jacob from an early age, he learned that he was gonna have to pretend so he could be enough.

And we see in this text why Jacob pretended.

Some of us know exactly what it's like to have a sibling favorite over you.

Maybe nobody said it out loud, because that would be weird.

But a parent, a coach, a teacher gave them recognition and not you, affirmed them and not you, celebrated them and not you, they could do nothing wrong and you could do nothing right.

This is Jacob's life.

And somewhere along the line, it's really easy to start believing whether it's spoken or unspoken, to start believing this idea that you are not enough.

And because Jacob starts believing this, he resorts to a life of pretending, he resorts to a life of manipulation, he responds, he resorts to a life of pretending and lying.

Because after all, Jacob, as he is, in his mind is not enough.

So he pretends and is pretending to produce some things.

That's what I want us to see here.

In chapter 27, Jacob actually pretended to be his brother Esau, and he pretended and he lied to his father on what seemingly was his father's deathbed.

Now, can you imagine this?

Can you imagine lying to your dad on his deathbed?

This is what Jacob did.

Jacob pretended he was Esau.

In fact, in chapter number 27, I want us to see at verse 18, it says, Then he, that's Jacob, he came to his father, and he said, My father, and he answered, Here I am.

Who are you, my son?

Isaac was old, he had lost his eyesight.

Jacob replied to his father, I'm Esau, your firstborn.

I have done as you've told me.

Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me.

You see, in chapter 25, a couple chapters before, Jacob had already lied to his brother Esau and had already gotten the birthright.

He made a trade for a bowl of soup.

It's a crazy story.

You should read it.

Now he's like, I already got the birthright in pocket.

Now I gotta get that blessing too.

But to do it, Ma makes the suggestion, hey, you just have to pretend and act like you're Esau.

Verse number 20.

Isaac said to his son, How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?

How'd you find the game so quickly?

He replied, Because the Lord your God made it happen for me.

Y'all, he he lied and he used God's name to lie.

God provided, he's a way maker.

As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had left the presence of his father, Isaac, his brother, Esau arrived from his hunting.

He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father.

He said to his father, Let my father get up and eat some of his son's game so that you may bless me.

But his father Isaac said to him, Who are you?

He answered, I'm Esau, your firstborn son.

Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably.

Who was it then?

He said, Who hunted game and brought it to me?

I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him.

Indeed, he will be blessed.

When Esau heard these words, when he heard his father's words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, Bless me to my father.

But he replied, Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing, strategic deceit, repeated lies, intentional manipulation.

This is something that was a pattern in Jacob's life for years of his life.

He grew up hearing that he's not enough.

He grew up being in an environment where Esau has this, Esau did that, Esau did this.

Jacob doesn't get that.

Jacob gets this message that he's not enough.

So what does he resort to?

Manipulation, lying.

He resorts to pretending so he feels like he can be enough.

Pretending to the point where on his dad's deathbed, he's willing to lie bold face to his dad and deceive his dad so he can get the blessing so he can feel like he's enough.

That's crazy.

That's a lot.

And it's easy for us to pick on Jacob.

But before we're too hard on Jacob, we can do a lot of other things too to make us feel like we're enough.

She said, Why do you feel this way?

I said, Well, I feel like I like I gotta I gotta have the answers.

I'm the pastor, people come to me.

I gotta have the answers.

When I don't always have the answers.

I gotta always know this and know that for people when they come to me and I don't always know this or know that.

But I feel like I do.

So I have this, I feel this pressure on me.

And and I kind of reverse engineered this and I started thinking, why do I feel this way?

Why why do I feel like I have to have the right answers all the time?

Why do I feel like I always gotta like like be like I can help this person fix this problem?

Why?

Like, why can't I just admit that sometimes I'm human?

And I don't always have the answers.

Why can't I just admit that?

Like why don't like why is it so hard for me?

And and I started thinking about it and I asked the question why, which if you ask yourself that enough times, beware, because the answer might come to the surface.

Here's why.

Because if I have the answers and I'm able to help everybody and all their problems, then it makes me feel like I am enough, I am strong enough, I am spiritual enough, and I feel this pressure because I feel like I have to be God, I can't be God, I'm human.

I have this pressure, and the reason being is because these things make me feel like I am enough.

And can I say there are things that all of us do and can struggle with?

And the root of it is if we can do these things, then it makes us feel like we're somebody.

For some of us, what it is is it's it's achievements in life.

If we could just get this job or get this promotion or make this amount of money, then we'll feel like we're somebody.

We'll feel like we're enough.

For some of us, it's appearance.

If we can look a little younger, if we can lose a little bit of weight, if we can do this and it will make us feel like we are enough.

For some of us, for some parents, it's if my kid can just be this good at athletics or get this good a grades, or if they can just make it in life, then I will feel like I am enough.

For some of us, it's people pleasing.

If everybody can look at me and be happy with me, because I did all this stuff, then that makes me feel like I am enough.

For many of us, it's hard to admit that we're struggling.

It's hard to admit that we have limitations, it's hard for us to admit that we have weaknesses, it's hard for us to say, man, I just feel like as a human, I'm not enough.

So we resort to pretending to be Esau.

We resort to all these different things to make us feel like we are enough.

But can I just be honest with everybody in the room?

It's just us today.

Every one of us has struggles and limitations and weaknesses.

We can look around the room and be like, ah, nobody else has problems.

Their life is perfect.

Are you kidding me?

We all got this thing called flesh on us.

We all live in the same world.

We all have struggles and we all have limitations and we all have weaknesses.

And the more you understand yourself, the more you will understand God's love.

And the more you understand God's love, the more you can be honest with yourself.

So when I understand that I have weaknesses, that I have limitations, that I have struggles, it helps me understand God's love because I see that even though I have limitations and weaknesses and struggles, I'm still loved by God.

And then the more I understand God's love, that He still loves me, the more it allows me to be honest with myself that I have weaknesses and struggles and limitations.

And some of us in the room, like, we're so scared to be honest about our limitations and our struggles and our challenges.

So instead, we suppress a way or we ignore a way or we deny things or we medicate ourselves on all these different things rather than taking things to God and letting God deal with them.

You say, Man, I don't like to admit that I struggle.

I don't like to admit that like I have issues.

Guess what?

Jacob, one of the greatest characters in all of the Bible, had issues, big ones.

He had a dysfunctional home that affected him.

He had daddy issues, he had baggage, he had brokenness, he lied, he manipulated.

And it wasn't until he came right before God and God said, Who are you?

And it wasn't until that he actually said, I am Jacob, and he stopped pretending that God could give him victory.

Because God can't bless who you pretend to be.

God can only bless who you are.

There's a passage in chapter 32 of Genesis where theologians describe the time where Jacob wrestled with God.

And it's in this passage where Jacob finally comes face to face with God and says, God, this is who I am.

This is what it says.

What is your name?

The man asked.

God coming in the form of man.

Jacob, he replied.

It was I'm coming before you as I really am.

Your name will no longer be Jacob, he said.

It will be Israel because you have struggled with God, with men, and have prevailed.

Then Jacob asked him, Please tell me your name.

But he answered, Why do you ask my name?

Look at the end of the text.

And he blessed him there.

When Jacob stopped pretending, when Jacob stopped acting like he had himself together, when Jacob stopped looking to all these things, and Jacob came before him, and God said, Who are you?

He said, I am Jacob.

That's when God said, Bless you.

And what God did, number three, is God confronted his pretending.

God pursued Jacob while he was still running and pretending and doing his own thing because God loved Jacob too much to let him do his own thing.

And some of us in our lives, like we're running proverbially from God and we're trying to do our own thing.

And like Saul in the New Testament, like we're kicking against the pricks as far as the Spirit of God's trying to work in us, and we're like, no, we're resisting it and we're running it, we're running away.

But can I say God loves you too much?

God loves you too much to not pursue after you.

God loves you too much to not confront you with your pretending.

God loves you too much to let you do.

Your own thing.

He confronts pretending.

And then look what happened, number four, when Jacob stopped pretending.

Let's go right to the text of chapter 35.

God said to him, Your name is Jacob.

You will no longer be named Jacob, but you'll be named Israel.

So we named him Israel.

And God said to him, I am God Almighty, be fruitful and multiply.

A nation indeed, an assembly of nations, will come from you, and the kings will descend from you.

And I will give you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, and I will give you the land to your future descendants.

Jacob stopped pretending, and God said, Actually, I'm gonna bless you, and my promise is my promises are gonna go through you, and you're gonna be a great nation, and I'm gonna multiply you.

Kings are gonna come from you.

And God said this.

God said, Hey, for years you have trying to, you have been trying to pretend to be Esau, for years you've manipulated the system, for years you've pretended, for years you've tried to present yourself a certain way.

But now that you come and you're like, no, it's just me, it's Jacob.

God said, Okay, now I can bless you, and you're going to be Israel.

You realize that for those of us that have trusted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, that we have a new identity, and with this new identity comes God's presence and God's power and God's protection.

It says in John chapter 1, verse 12, but to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God to those who believe in his name.

John 1:12

That you have, if you've trusted Jesus, you've given him your life, you have God's power with you, you have God's presence with you, you have God's provision with you.

Like that is who you are.

That's who you are.

You don't have to act like Esau.

You don't have to act like you have yourself together.

You don't have to act like you're perfect.

You don't have to act like you don't have any issues.

You can be real before God because you are who God says that you are.

You can be open about your struggles because your identity is not based on that.

You can be real about your tendencies towards sin because Jesus can give you victory over sin.

You can be real about limitations because those are opportunities to trust God.

Friend, you can come to God just as you are.

And here's what I want to invite you to do this morning.

It's very simple.

Bring your true self to God.

Bring your struggles, bring your limitations, bring your doubts, bring your questions.

You don't have to act like you're Esau.

You don't have to come in a church building acting like you're all spiritual.

Most of us aren't.

My hand goes up first.

And bring our true selves to God.

And this is what we'll see when we bring our true selves to God.

If we're a child of God and we're we have these struggles and we have this, this is what we'll hear the voice of God whisper to us.

You're not those things.

You are my child.

You are who I say that you are.

And if you are who God says that you are, then you can be real about your struggles because those things might describe you, but thank God they don't define you.

So here's my question: What thing in your life have you been hiding, denying, or ignoring that you need to bring before God?

Maybe some of us need to be honest for the first time in a long time.

Maybe we've been hiding, denying, ignoring, and running to this thing over here to medicate ourselves.

Because it's easier to medicate than be open and admit our struggles, our weaknesses, and our limitations.

So I just invite you this morning to be real before God.

Real about your challenges, real about your family issues and struggles, real about your self doubt.

Because you don't have to pretend to be Esau, you can be Jacob just as you are, because God can't bless who you pretend to be.

Let's all bow our heads and close our eyes.

Let's just have a moment with God right now.