DAY 34: WHAT IF GOD STOPS WHAT YOU CAN’T?

What if God stops what you can't? Good morning, all. Good morning. Good to have you all. What if God stops what you can't? Let your mind go there a minute.

Let your mind go there a minute.

What do you do? What do you do when someone comes after you? What do you do when the past catches up to you? Your past. You've been running from it. You've been running from it. And so far, you made it through. You've been alright.

But it caught up to you. It caught up to you.

And if we're being honest, you knew it would. You prayed it wouldn't, but you knew it would. What do you do? What do you do when obedience?

We hate that word.

We hate that word. What do you do when obedience moves you forward? But the old system still wants control. Then you say, well, I did what I was supposed to do. I took the step. I left the place that was crushing me. I obeyed God as best I knew how. And then the conflict followed you anyway. It's where Jacob is. He's left Laban's house. He's moving toward the promise. But behind him comes Laban. Seven days of pursuit. Seven days of pressure. Seven days of the old life closing the distance. And Jacob can't control Laban. He can't control Laban's anger. He can't control Laban's story. He can't control what Laban might do when he arrives. When he catches up, he cannot control that. Look, Jacob is not a war fighter. Good morning, Tammy. Good morning. Jacob isn't a war fighter. He's he's not a tough guy. Yeah, he's conniving. But I have to tell you, Jacob, as much as it's hard work, incredibly hard work, what he does, he doesn't have it to throw down. Throw hands. He's going back to where Esau is. Esau said, I'm gonna kill you. I think to some degree he was resigned to that. I don't know his life. I do a little, but can you imagine? Pressure's closing in. It's all coming to a head. And and Jacob has no control.

No control over what Laban's gonna do.

I mean, let's let's be real here. He's kinda out of options. He's fleeing with now his two women, daughters of Laban. Laban has no claim to them. Laban has well and truly. I don't even want to say what. I want to say but well and truly mess these folks up. These two daughters. We talked about it yesterday. I don't want to belaben the point. Get it? Belabin the point. That one hurt me right there. He has Jacob has no control. Really, the girls don't either. They have no control. They've been pawens in their father's life. They've been their whole life has been channel. Um transactional. He monetized their their minds, their hearts, their bodies, their future. For his good. We reject the idea that we're powerless. We do. We use well, I have no power over this. Strategically. To get out of responsibility, to get out of consequences, to accountability. We just we use it strategically. We never like to say. We never like to say it. How's the sound, by the way? Music too loud, music too quiet? I don't know. My voice. I don't know. Look, we never like to say that we're powerless over our lives, our situation. We want to have agency. We want to be, we we somehow or another, we want to have exert influence over what our situation is, right? We do, we want that. We want that terribly. Until it comes time. And in this situation, now everybody's tied up in it. Thank you, Nicole. Everybody's tied up in this thing. And nobody has control. But God does. And somebody needs to hear that today. Somebody out there, you need to hear this today. No fooling. No fooling. God can stop what you can't. God can speak where you can't reach. God can restrain what you can no longer manage. You thought you could manage it. God can guard what you can't control. So here's the question for your heart today. This is the question for your heart. Believe me, as I write these, sometimes the tears just stream down my face. Sometimes my arms lift to heaven. And my face falls to the floor. I've answered these questions for me. Now's time for you. Here's the question for your heart. Where are you facing something bigger than your strength? Where are you facing something bigger than your strength? And you need God to step into the dark, cold night before whatever's chasing you reaches you. God bless you all. I pray for you all. You are all a blessing. I'm going to tell you, this is this is true word, faith for life with Dr. Sean. Welcome back to Through the Bible in a year, walking the story of God. I'm Dr. Sean. That's who I am. Nobody special. And today we're walking through Genesis 31, 22 to 55. It's a chunk. This episode is brought to you by my book, True Word Faith for Life. You can find it in the store at TrueWordFaithforLife.com. Use it as a resource. You want to grow? You want to grow as a true disciple of Yeshua, a follower of the way? Great tool. Today's passage is confrontation. By the way, um my dear friend, Pastor Uh Russell Wright and Virginia Creek Ministries in Surf City, North Carolina, are they in the midst of revival. Big revival. It's a big deal. My friend Joe is heavily involved in it. Everybody's heavily involved in it there. And it's amazing what they put on. It is amazing. And I'm going to be there this Sunday, just supporting them. I'm not speaking or anything, but I'll be there supporting them and encouraging them. And uh so yeah. Lovely, lovely people. It's a lovely bunch over there. You'd never, you'd never even know it was there. Just down a long drive and you ride up into this RV park. And there's this beautiful building, and you're like, hmm, I wonder what's in there. Church. Church, the chapel's in there. But they're gonna have it in the tent, as I understand it. Big giant tent. Yeah, it'll be fun. It's gonna be fun. I'd encourage you to come. And by the way, if you've bought any of my books and you come, bring them with you. I'll sign them. Instantly worth half. So, are you ready? Is your heart ready for this? Because this is coming at you. This one today is you're gonna need tomorrow as a break, and then we're back on uh Sunday at 6 30 to sum all this up. That's gonna be intense. I've rewritten that already five times, uh four times. But today's today's passage is something we don't love. It's confrontation. You love it? I don't know. Are you a person that loves it? Most people don't. Underneath the confrontation, though, it's protection. In this case, it's protection. It's what God does before the meeting, before the accusation, before the conversation you dread. Before Laban ever reaches Jacob, God's already working. That's mercy in this text. Not that Jacob avoids the confrontation. By the way, let me let me just bring this up right quick. Somebody sent me a message. And they said, You're all the time holding up that one Bible, but you have a green one. This is a Mooseworks deal. And they said, You never open up the inside. We don't know what the inside looks like. How about that? Isn't that beautiful? Double stitched. Now, this this everything here is hand done. Melissa's at Mooseworks Bible. She's on Etsy. Just up, just an artisan. Look at that. That's a work of art right there. Here's the comment. But they say you never show the green one and you never open it up inside. Well, there you have it. Mooseworks Bible, Etsy. She's amazing. Melissa's amazing. Then I have to ask her about the name. I don't, I don't fully understand the name of her business. I want to understand it, but I don't. Isn't it beautiful? I've got three more there that she's working on. Wow, she'll be working on it a few weeks. She's, as you might understand, somebody with that level of artisanship is in high demand. And she works in her shop and she does it all by hand. It's amazing. She puts her love into it. That's what I love. She puts her creativity. Just an amazing person. Anyway, not for nothing. If you have a Bible, you really want to make it last, you it's just something very special to you. Send it to her, contact her through Etsy at Mooseworks Bible, and she'll dialogue with you. She's super nice, super nice person. I've never met her in person. Never. Anyway. Look, there's mercy in this text. Not that Jacob avoids the confrontation. Look, you know, Jay, I don't want to paint him as a wuss, because I don't think he's a wuss. But he doesn't throw down. As evidenced by he didn't stand up. He just kind of rolled out, middle of the night. You ever do that? Things ever be so bad for you? You hit that eject button and you say, I'm out. I'm out. Jacob doesn't avoid the confrontation. He doesn't. And it's not that Laban suddenly becomes safe. He doesn't either. The mercy is this. God puts a boundary around what could have destroyed Jacob. Has God ever done that with you? Because He's done it with me. I haven't deserved it. When I created the thumbnail picture, if you're watching, you're not just listening on Playback or on any of the bazillions of uh podcasts, audio podcasts we're on. By the way, however you're listening, click on uh subscribe or follow or have whatever the language is, click on the little bell for all notifications. And and if you would come over to our um YouTube, True Word Faith for Life with Dr. Sean, S-H-A-W-N, and click on like, subscribe, and hit the little bell. Appreciate that. That's all I ask. Everything here's free. That's all I ask for. So on the, if you're seeing it, you're seeing that, you know, I try to depict the um the wall of the glory of God holding back Laban and his sons and whoever else rolled up with him. Anyway. Has God ever put glory to God? He has put boundaries around me to protect me when I deserve it. I don't deserve it. I don't know if you can testify that. I can. I've been there. Genesis tells us that Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. Third day. Imagine that. Imagine he didn't know for three days that Laban and or that uh Jacob and and uh Rachel and Leah have have left. They're gone. Three days. Three days. So Laban gathers his kinsman and pursues Jacob. He doesn't go alone. Listen, folks, this is household power in motion. This is this is this is exerting power. It's showing, okay, we here. This is who we are. We here. Because family honor, daughters, grandchildren, livestock, inheritance, household identity, and household gods, they're all tangled up together. This is all wired up in it. And Laban's seeing it going by. Laban is seeing his, his, he doesn't, look, I don't think he cares about his daughter. I don't know. I can't speak for him. I don't know his life and know some of it. But I can tell you this: I don't think he cared about his daughters. I think he cared about what his daughters, what came out of his daughters, if you know what I'm saying. Sons. I think that's what he wanted. He wanted that power. He wanted that influence. He's not, he's not, don't get it twisted. He's not merely a victim. He's not merely offended. Hi, Lynette. Be in prayer today for Joey. Oh my God. Oh, honey. Be in prayer today. Okay. Listen, we're gonna pray right now. We're gonna pray right now. Heavenly Father. Our dear Joey, we love him so much. What a shock, what a surprise. I'm stunned, but you knit his heart. And as he's in surgery now with open heart surgery, save his life. We ask for that. Impact and influence him in a way that only you can supernaturally move the hands of the surgeons. For all those who love him, who are waiting, waiting on word, we ask that you move. We ask that you move and give them comfort. Let them know from whom the healing comes. I pray that you will be glorified in all of this. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for telling me that. Was Jesus a victim of white violence? Come on, man. Don't be stupid. It's dumb. Stuff people do, they occupy their time, they invest their time so poorly. Look, Laban isn't merely offended. Laban believes something that belonged to him has escaped him. Escaped him. I chose that word with great intent. Didn't slip out my mouth. He he feels like, hey man, you took something that belongs to me. You ain't taking something that belongs to me. Mm-mm. And I'm s you know, he might have come up in there with, you know, after all I did for you, after all I did for you. After all I did. But sometimes that's us. Sometimes we're on the wrong end of it. We do the wrong thing. And we claim victimhood. But we've been victimized. We've been wronged. A lot of times that's that's that's absolutely not what happened to us. That's absolutely not what happened to us. But we claim it. Has that ever been you? I don't know which side of it you're on. I I don't know which side of it. I've been on both sides. I have been so wronged. Some of the things that people did and some of the lies that they told, horrifically, horrifically damaging and complete lies. And then others, not so much. Laban believes y'all took something from me. He doesn't he don't for a minute think, he does not for a minute think that he did anything wrong. Hey, you ain't taking my stuff, you ain't taking my future, you're not taking my power. And all this matters because Laban has spoken like an owner. I I chose that word intentionally, an owner. My daughters, my children, my flocks, my household, my control. And now Jacob is gone. So Laban pursues. Jacob is vulnerable. There's no doubt about that. He has women. Remember, he doesn't just have women, he has their children. He has their children with them. He's rolling out with children. This is wilderness. This is hard stuff. Good morning, Pedro. Good morning. Listen, I'm gonna, I'm gonna just I wanna point something out really quick and then I'm gonna go right back to this. In in the live chat here, we we have we have some rules that we do. We're kind to each other, we don't use profanity, we don't do any of those things. Satan worshippers, go somewhere else. You're not welcome here. You're not. I'm not gonna spend this time preaching to you. You've chosen not to hear. You've chosen, you've chosen not only to turn from God, you've chosen to turn against God. In your claim that you don't believe in God, you're proving very clearly that you do. But the attempt to derail the folks that are in live chat that are listening to this very important message, not important because of me. There's no importance that I bring to it. But the fact then, oh, you're welcome to stay and you're welcome to listen. You all are. You're welcome to stay and you're welcome to listen. But derailing the chat, ban. Coming with a bunch of satanic crap, ban. Profanity, banned. Just so we're clear. And good morning, wherever you are in the world. Good morning. Good afternoon, good evening. Could be either. So Laban pursues, and Jacob is vulnerable because he's rolling up with women, children, flocks, servants, and possessions. This is a slow-moving caravan, and yet Laban, he's not labored with that. He's not labored with that. He's moving with force. And from the outside, Jacob looks ex uh uh justifiably so. He looks exposed. But exposure isn't the same thing as abandonment. Pressure isn't the same. It's not the same thing as defeat. Pressure isn't the same thing as permission.

God is all ready there.

Who's your laban? Who's your laban? What laban is coming after you? What hurt habit or hang up is chasing you down? And you've had no success. So far, no success. You're running from your laban. But God is already there. The Genesis gives us the beautiful turning point. God comes to Laban, the Aramean, in a dream by night, and says, be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad. That's a divine boundary. God has set a boundary, and he'll set whatever boundary he wants to set. We have nothing that we can do. He sets a boundary, and that boundary is solid. Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad. Jacob. Jacob can't get inside Laban's heart. He can't. Jacob can't manage Laban's bad motives. Can't do it. Jacob can't even soften Laban's anger, because Laban is angry, but he's angry for what he lost. Doesn't matter what the reason is. It doesn't matter what the reason is. Why is he angry? It doesn't matter. And it doesn't matter when you're looking at the things coming after you. Don't try to explain it. Don't try to understand it. I used to teach these courses, um, it's called Looking Forward to Being Attacked and Anticipating Attack. And I taught them to women, and I would explain to these women, listen, um, thousands of women at one time. Listen, if you're being attacked, first of all, I teach them how to avoid those things. And then the mindset. If you're being attacked, if you're being attacked, you cannot spend your precious time. Why? Why? Why are you doing this? Trying to talk the person out of it. Don't question their motives, you can't manage those. You can't soften their anger, you can't rewrite their intentions. Jacob cannot rewrite Laban's intentions. They were bad. But let me tell you something. And this is so important that you understand this. There's nobody like God. There's nothing like God. Nothing. God can speak to Laban in the night, just like he spoke to Jacob. Come on, somebody, just like he spoke to Jacob. He can speak to Laban in the night. God doesn't remove Laban from the story. No. God doesn't remove your hurt habit and hang-up from you. God doesn't remove the people chasing. Sometimes God doesn't even remove the consequences. God restrains Laban inside the story, and that matters. Sometimes God doesn't cancel the confrontation. He limits the damage. We say, well, God didn't protect me. God didn't protect me. Oh, he protected you. There are so many times where I've paid a massive price for decisions, for choices. And there are times where I've thought, man, oh man, I'm getting slammed here. But God has protected me. He's limited the damage. Sometimes he doesn't make the person safe. It's a wilderness out there. Until he comes, until he splits that veil. Yeshua, Hamashiach, Jesus the Messiah, until he splits that veil, until he just splits the sky from east to west. Until then, we are in a wilderness. But we have him. He sets a boundary around what they're not allowed to do. That's not absence. That's active protection. And you need this in your bones right now. You need to take this not just into your heart, not just into your flesh, but into your bones, into your very bones. Let it make you stronger. Let it make you stand straighter. God can speak where you can't reach. God can restrain what you cannot manage. God can guard what you cannot control. God can limit the hand raised against you. God can shut a mouth. God can expose a motive. God can turn a meeting. That doesn't mean you become careless here. That doesn't mean every relationship becomes healthy because they always, always are what they are. And we have to acknowledge them for real, for real. But it certainly doesn't mean you can ignore or abandon wisdom, safety, counsel, or boundaries. It means this. Laban rewrites himself as I said he would, as the wounded, affectionate father. He makes it sound like Jacob robbed him of a beautiful goodbye. But that's not the Laban Jacob lived with. This is the man who changed his wages multiple times. This is the man who manipulated marriage, swapped out daughters. This is the man who used family for advantage, and now he's I'm the victim. Bible's not naive. The Bible's not naive. Genesis understands manipulated narratives. People can mistreat you for years and then act shock when you finally leave. Come on. Somebody's living that right now. Somebody out there, you are living that right now. I want you to understand. I want you to understand. God's not surprised by any of that mess. Look, people can mistreat you for years, manipulate you for years. All of those terrible, terrible things. They can do it for years, and then they will act shocked when you leave. They can pressure you. They can use you. They can drain you. They can redefine the rules and then tell the story as if, well, I only wanted peace. A controlling person often wants access without repentance. They want closeness without honesty. They want loyalty without accountability. But God.

But God. But God sees the whole story.

The whole picture. The whole sad, sorrowful tale. Ben Laban says the quiet part out loud. You ready for this? I kind of laugh about it in my, you know, combat-oriented, not combat, but. Anyway, if you knew my past, you'd understand. Laban says quiet part out loud. He says, it is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night. Oh, oh. That's the whole episode. That's the whole episode. And and look, don't get it twisted. Laban had power. Oh, he had power. But God set the limit. Laban had anger, but God intervened. Laban had pursuit, but God had authority. Jacob is still standing. Not because Laban became righteous, he didn't. Not because the relationship became safe. It wasn't. Not because Jacob controlled the meeting perfectly, he didn't. Jacob is still standing because God restrained what Jacob couldn't control. And that's you. That's you right now. You're watching right now and you're choking back to tears. You've got your fist clenched so hard. You're trying so hard to hang on. Sometimes the reason you survived what you what absolutely was in pursuit to destroy you and was fully capable to destroy you isn't because the other person changed suddenly. It's because God drew a line around you and said, not my daughter, not my son, not my child. Mm-mm. You ain't touching my child. Then Laban asked this question. Laban asked this question. Why did you steal my gods? Somebody remember. Somebody tell me you remember when I emphasized that point and I said uh an episode and and and a little bit the episode before, some, hey, I said, this is gonna come back. Remember, she, you know, took, daughter took the little, little thing, little whatever, amulet, whatever, whatever it was, we don't know. It's a little thing. It's one of their gods, because remember, they're pagan. Why did you steal my gods? A god that can be stolen is no god, first of all. Now the text turns. Rachel has taken her father's household gods. These are household gods. They're often called terraphine. They were connected to family, remember, family religion, household identity, protection, authority, and possibly inheritance claims. They weren't nothing. To them, they were a lot. We don't know the motive in Rachel's heart. We can't know it. We can know it. But we know this. We know this. She left the old house with something from the old house hidden under her.

Why did you do this?

Why? Why do we take things that were so jacked up back there and we go, I'm just, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna take I'm gonna take this, and I'm gonna I'm gonna take this and then and then I'm gonna take this, and that's it. I'm that's it. Well then I'm gonna take, then I'm gonna take, then I'm gonna take this, and this is what I'm gonna take. That's it. Why? You can leave the place and still carry the attachment. How sobering is this that first of all that Laban knew. Because I'm sure he once he realized they were gone, it seems like to me, let me check and make sure my household gods, my terrafine is still there. Rachel took something from a terrible situation that didn't belong to her. Belonged to him. Yes, they were taking the the sheep and the goats and livestock and things like that because they'd earned that. Jacob earned that. He may have been sneaky, conniving so-and-so, but he earned what he earned. You can leave the place. You can go to the foot of the cross with your bag of hurts, habits, and hangups draped over your shoulder. You're you're barely walking. Because the weight of your hurts, habits, and hangups is so heavy. That memory of when you were jacked up, and you made the bad choice, and the and and and it it's it's weighing you down, and you get to the foot of the cross, you climb up, and you say, Lord, take this from me. Please take this from me, and you lay it down.

We all do it. We all do it.

And then we turn around and we take a few steps, and we say, Oh, I'm I just gotta go back and get my blanket. I need my blanket. I need that habit right there. I need that pain right there. I'm used to it. I'm used to it. I don't know how to act without it. I don't know how to move on without it. You can leave the place and still carry the attachment and leave it at the cross. A little bit I'm gonna give you, in just a few minutes, I'm gonna give you an opportunity to come to the foot of the cross and lay your burdens down. But when you do, leave your burdens at the foot of the cross. You can look, you can move in the right direction and still have old loyalties hidden inside. You can obey God in one area of your life and still need another. You still need a cleansing in other areas. Listen, we are a moving target. And we got a lot going on. It's a process. Following God is never just relocation, folks. It's allegiance. It's not just leaving Laban, it's belonging to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Take a breath. You'll need it. Jacob answers Laban. And he says, Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. That isn't paranoia, that's history. Jacob knows Laban. He knows the pattern. He knows what manipulation feels like. Fear isn't always proof that you lack faith. Sometimes fear is the echo of what experience taught you. You learned the hard way, the painful way, the sorrowful way. And then Jacob says something dangerous. You ready? Jacob says, anyone with whom you find your God shall not live. Jacob didn't know that Rachel has them. The one that he loved so much he was willing to work for seven years and watch her and never get to have her. Rachel has them. And he doesn't know it. And that line raises the tension. Hidden things. Hidden things can endanger a household. What is concealed can still create consequences. That's why integrity matters. It's not image. Integrity. Not performance. Integrity. Not looking clean. Not looking clean. Being clean before God. It set up tents. Laban searches the tents, Jacob's tents, Leah's tents. The servants' tents, nothing. And then he enters Rachel's tent. Rachel has hidden the household gods, the terraffine, in the camel saddle and sits on them. Laban searches and doesn't find them. The immediate threat dissolves, but the deeper issue remains. The family's moving toward promise with unresolved issues, still inside that camp. Isn't that true of us? Isn't it true of us? God protects us while he's still forming us. God guards us while he's still cleansing us. God shows mercy while he's still exposing what has to go. Protection doesn't mean there's nothing left to address. It means God is kind while he works. Glory to God. God is kind while he works. Thank God, thank God, thank God he is kind while he works. Jacob finally speaks. For twenty years. Twenty years, did you know that? For twenty years he's endured Laban. This is twenty years on of his life. He's endured Laban's schemes, and now the truth comes out. What is my offense? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me? Jacob recounts the years, fourteen years for Laban's daughters, six years for the flock, changed wages, hard labor, heat by day, cold by night, sleeplessness, losses, pressure. Then Jacob says, If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had not been on my side, surely now, you would have sent me away empty-handed. That is spiritual clarity. Jacob doesn't pretend the injustice was imaginary. Oh, he names it because he's living it. But he also doesn't pretend the injustice was ultimate. Oh no. And that's this next step is what you need to do. If you're in the midst of this and Laban has messed you over and messed you over, confront, name it. Jacob names God's protection. He says, God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night. God saw, he knew. He knew. God saw. God saw Leah when she was unloved. God saw Rachel in her pain. God saw Jacob under Laban's pressure. God saw the labor. God saw the affliction. God saw what others would have edited out of the story. Oh, that's why this is this book, this library of 66 books, is so dependable. It's so trustworthy. This would have been edited out of the story, folks, but it wasn't. God rebuked Laban in the night. That is mature faith, and mature faith doesn't deny wrong. Mature faith doesn't baptize abuse. Mature faith doesn't pretend pain was small so everyone else can feel comfortable. You know how it is in some houses. Come on. Some families. Some families. You know exactly what I am talking about. No, we don't talk in this family. We don't call things what they are in this family. Mature faith tells the truth. Tells the truth about ourselves first.

And then our family.

That cost me, that hurt, that damaged me, that embarrassed me. That wasn't okay, but mature faith also says this. God was with me. God saw me. God preserved me. If you only see the injustice, the bitterness can eat you alive. If you only have eyes for injustice done to you, if you're perpetually aggrieved, and that has become your identity and your persona and your character, it will eat you. The bitterness will eat you alive. If you refuse to name the injustice, bondage can keep you trapped. But you but when you can say, but when you can say that was wrong, and God was with me, wisdom is beginning to rise. Freedom is coming for you. But then Laban answers with one of the most revealing statements, and I have to hurry, I apologize. I'm blah, blah, blah, and on. I got breakfast to run to. I got some fellows waiting on me, my buddies. That's okay. We'll finish this. Won't rush it. This is important. Then Laban answers with one of the most revealing statements in Genesis 31. And by the way, when we're doing this, I encourage you to have your Bible out. If you don't have a Bible, I can help you get one. But have your Bible out. Maybe a notebook and a pen or pencil. This is going to help you. Got a bunch of resources over at all free over at TrueWordfaithforLife.com. Use a, I work my tail off on it. So then Laban answers one of the most revealing statements of Genesis 31. It's crushing. The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks. And all that you see is mine. Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine. That's Laban's heart on display. Control speaks the language of ownership. Control doesn't bless people, it possesses them. Control doesn't release people, it claims them. But after all that claiming, but after all that claiming, Laban says, What can I do this day? That's limitation. He's still claiming ownership. Even through all this, he's still claiming ownership. But he can't act on it. Why? Why? Because God has already drawn the boundary. Laban's mouth still. His mouth still sounds powerful, but God's already removed his power to destroy. So they make a covenant, they set up a stone, they build a heap, they establish a witness and a boundary. This is not some sweet family, sentimental family moment here. When Laban says, the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of one another's sight. He's not even writing a dollar store greeting card. Look, this is accountability, it's separation, it's a boundary between two parties who do not rightfully do not trust one another. Look, I've said all I'm gonna say about Laban, maybe not. Laban's a junk person. But so is Jacob. Really? He was a conniver. Sneaky. Terrible tricks. And yet, Jacob is in the line. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We worship the God of Abraham. Isaac and Jacob. And some would point to Jacob and go, you're a fool for following the God that he follows. We're messy, he was messy. We're dirty, he was dirty. We are connivors sometimes. The heap says that they built, the heap says, you do not cross this line to harm me, and I do not cross this line to harm you. Sometimes peace requires boundaries. Not because you hate people, but because trust has been broken. Not every relationship is healed by more access. Oh, we gotta hear that. Not every relationship is healed by more access. Sometimes it's solved by putting a boundary up. Not every conflict is solved by yet another conversation. Listen, folks, you've talked it to death. It's time to sever that relationship. It's time. That toxic relationship, that toxic association. Sever it. Can't talk. You've said all the words. This next one is. We'll gut you. Forgiveness doesn't always mean renewed access. It's hard for us because forgiveness is so hard, it's such a hard thing to come to. But we have to do it. But that doesn't always mean that we stay exposed to the one that we're forgiven. Sometimes, most of the time, we have to say, I forgive you. But we can be no longer. That might even be family. Might even be close family. Peace doesn't always mean closeness, folks. It doesn't. Love doesn't require you to hand unsafe people the keys to your life. Laban rises early. He kisses his daughters and his grandchildren. He blesses them. And then he leaves. The conflict ends. The conflict ended. But not because everything is emotionally repaired. It's not because Laban fully repents. He didn't. Not because Jacob's family is suddenly whole. It wasn't. Conflict ends because God restrained what easily could have escalated. Laban could have had his men kill Jacob in the middle of the night and snatch his daughters up and snatch all the livestock and all the servants and say, I took what was mine. You ain't messing with me. God restrained what could have escalated. Jacob walks away. Laban goes home. The boundary stands. And God's promise continues. The family's still complicated. The people are still flawed, but God is still faithful. Somebody needs to hear that today.

God is still faithful. God is still faithful.

So what does Genesis 31, 22 to 55 say to us? In the quiet of the night. In the early of the morning. What does it say? It says God can restrain what you cannot control. God can restrain what you cannot control. It says conflict doesn't always end because people change, but most often they don't. Sometimes it ends because God intervenes. It says people can manipulate the story, but God still knows the truth. He knows the truth about you, and he knows the truth about the situation. And all the people in He knows the truth. Nothing's hidden from him. It says hidden attachments still matter. Remember, Rachel snuck the terraphine and it caused a problem. Don't carry your attachments. Don't carry your hurts, habits, and angles with you. It says boundaries can be necessary for peace. Come on, somebody. Somebody needs to be setting some boundaries out there. It says God's protection can be active even when you feel exposed. Some of you are in Genesis 31 right now. You're living in it. You feel pursued, misrepresented, pressured, outmatched, outnumbered. Maybe somebody still wants control over you. Maybe someone is rewriting the story right now. Maybe you've been rehearsing every possible outcome because fear has convinced you that everything depends on you. Hear me. Hear me now. Take a deep breath. You're not God. I'm not God. And as much as we might go. Fact of the matter is that's good news. Walk in integrity, tell the truth, set the boundary. Obey God. Trust the God who can work in the dark of night. And this, all of this, points us to Yeshua, Jesus Christ. Because our deepest conflict isn't only with the people that hurt us. Sure. We'll label that easy because they're a thing. They're in a meat suit. We can point to them. We can name them. Our deepest conflict. Our deepest conflict is with sin, death, judgment, and separation from God. That's our deepest one. We'll look at all the other stuff and we'll say that's the thing. That's the mountain I'm climbing. No. The mountain you're climbing is the enemy you're fighting is sin, death, judgment, and separation from God. And Yeshua doesn't merely set a boundary at a stone heap. He becomes the mediator. He makes peace through shedding his own blood through torture and death. And entering a borrowed grave and rising on the third day. He doesn't merely restrain destruction for a night. He defeats sin and death once and for all through his cross. In his resurrection, he comes near to you. He bears the cost for you. He reconciles sinners to the Father. He reconciles you and me, undeserved as we are, unmerited favor to God the Father. He gives us hope where we could never have hope. He gives peace we could never produce. That is the greater protection. Glory to God. That is the deeper deliverance. Glory to God. That's the true shalom. Come on, where do you need to trust God to handle something you can't control? Name it. Lay it out. Put it in comments if you want. It's up to you. But I tell you what I have. I have for you today a challenge and a choice, and it's a tough one. Are you ready? Here are the questions. They're real.

What are you trying to control? What are you trying to control?

What belongs to God? It's not yours to control. Hand it to God. Where are you rehearsing outcomes you can't manage? Where are you calling it wisdom when it's really fear? Where are you avoiding a boundary because you're afraid someone will be angry with you? People pleaser. Here's the choice. Choices, I mean. You can try to control everything and lose your peace. Or you can can look, look, you can try. You can try. Doesn't work. Trust me on this. Ask me how I know. You can try to control everything and lose your peace. You can lose your shalom. Or you can trust God and walk in integrity. And then nothing in that is easy. You can let fear make you frantic. Oh, absolutely you can. Or you can let faith make you steady. You can keep handing unsafe people unlimited access to you. Or you can set a boundary with a clean heart. You can believe that conflict means God is absent from your life and absent from your situation. No, no, no. Or you can believe Genesis 31. Come on, somebody. Come on, somebody. God works in the night. God speaks where you cannot reach. God restrains what you cannot manage. God Guards what you cannot control. Lord, help me to trust you in the situations. Come on, pray this with me. Lord, help me to trust you in situations I can't control. Give me wisdom where there is conflict. Give me courage, where there are boundaries that are needed desperately, desperately need to give me peace. Please, God, give me peace where the pressure is rising. Give me integrity when I'm tempted to panic. God, please guard what concerns me as I walk in obedience to you. As I walk in obedience before you. And look, maybe this is where salvation becomes personal for you today. Maybe this is where.

Maybe this is how.

Because sin teaches us to live by control.

Control the outcome. Control the image. Control the story. Control the people. Control the fear. But we can't control our way into peace with God. The most important thing in our lives. We can't.

Oh, we're deluded to think that we can. But we can't. Look, we can't control our way into peace with God. We can't manage our guilt away.

We can't explain our sin away.

We need rescue. We need mercy. We need a mediator. We need Yeshua. Jesus came to save us from our own sin. He came to reconcile us to the Father. He came to give us peace we could never produce on our own. Prayer is not asking for an easy journey. It is asking for a strong back. And if you've never placed your faith in Christ, do it now. Don't delay. Not one more minute. Don't put it off. Do it now. Pray this prayer with me. Father, I know I've done wrong things and I need your mercy. I believe Jesus died for me, was buried, and rose again today. I turn from my sin, my hurts, my habits, and my hangups, and I place my trust in Him as my Lord and my King. Please forgive me. Please make me new and fill me with your Spirit. From this day forward, I want to follow you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Oh, glory to God. Glory to God. Thank you, Father, for all those out there, wherever they may be, live or on playback, wherever they may be, whatever life they're living, whatever challenges, whatever mountains they're trying to climb. Thank you, Father, that they've surrendered to you. It's the only reason I do this. Look, if you're going to feel alone. You're going to feel like, oh man, I have created a bunch of enemies among my family, my friends that maybe don't believe. I want you to reach out to me through true word, faithforlife.com slash contact. It's the little button there. There's a little thing on the side. And you can click on that and you leave a voice message, two minutes. I pay for it for so you don't you don't have to pay for it. I I pay for it. Dinah Sower says, Would I go to hell if I don't believe in the Bible? Yes. I'm sorry to say yes. It's a choice. It's a choice that has an eternal consequence. Just keep listening. There's the only thing I can encourage you to do is keep listening here. Look, contact me through true wordfaithforlife.com. Do that. I'll help you take your next steps and I'll walk with you in the way. Listen, God can restrain what comes against you. God can guard what you can't control. God can speak where you can't reach. Don't confuse pressure with defeat. Don't confuse pursuit with abandonment. Don't confuse conflict with the absence of God. Walk in integrity. Set wise boundaries. Trust the God who watches through the night. And when the old life comes chasing after you, oh and it will. Remember this, Laban may pursue you. Fear may rise. The story may be twisted, oh, 100%. But God isn't asleep. God's already in the night before you arrive. Remember that. Listen, Sunday. I encourage you to join us on Sunday. We go far deeper than just summarizing. Sunday at 6 30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. I want you to think of one person, one, who needs hope, truth, courage, or rescue. Send them this link to this message today. Post the link. Share it. Might be the very thing that saves their life. Saves their eternity. You're not responsible for the results. You're just responsible to plant the seed. Until Sunday at 6 30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Shalom Bishem Yeshua. Shalom Alaikum.