<TITLE>11. Par 37-39</TITLE>L-37 It was Jacob. He wasn't very concerned about how he had done his brother, until one night he wrestled all night. He was a little shyster, as I've often called him (excuse the expression). But he--he run always around his mammy. And Esau was--worked. And then he stole the birthrights from Esau and took off. And after while he wasn't concerned. He was prospering, doing all right.
But one night he come in contact with God. And he didn't let Him loose. He didn't say, "Oh, I feel it. Oh, I--I better get away from here." The difference between Jacob and many of the people today... The Holy Ghost will come down upon a sinner, and--or unbeliever, or critic, and try to convince him...
It would be like St. Augustine of Hippo. Instead of going on when he was there at Irenaeus' church, and receiving the Holy Ghost, he took off down to Africa, to Hippo, Africa, again. And he was the one that made the proclamation that it was all right to put Christians to death who didn't believe in the Roman church. And on the martyrology today stands sixty-eight million people who's been put to death by the church. See? Why? He had a opportunity to receive the Holy Ghost. He had an opportunity, but he wasn't convinced that it was the Holy Ghost. And you see where his concern went.

L-38 Judas had the same opportunity the rest of them did. But he wasn't convinced that that was the Messiah. So you see what happened. He wasn't concerned about it, about Him, because he wasn't thoroughly convinced whether He was right or not. Now. We must be convinced.

L-39 After Jacob had wrestled all night, instead of trying to war away that Man, Jacob held onto Him. Oh, I wish we had about a half hour on that, how that wrestling prince... He--he was able to hold on until he got what he was after. He held until... It took all night, but he stayed there. He wanted to be absolutely convinced. And when he stayed, until God changed his walking, he was convinced.
That's the trouble of it today. We don't stay long enough till we get our walking convinced. We don't walk like Christians. If we stay long enough with Him, He will make you walk different, talk different, live different, act different, sleep different, be different. And the reason is we don't stay long enough. We don't hold on. Jacob held on.
He said, "Let me loose. I've got to go."
He said, "I'm not going to leave You until I'm thoroughly convinced." Amen. Then when you take a promise of God and hold on to that un--don't let Him loose, just stay there until you see God come on the scene, then you're convinced. And when you're convinced then you're concerned about others. There's something about it that makes you concerned.
Jacob sent forth cattle, and everything else, to meet his brother. He was concerned about the welfare of his brother, after he was convinced that there was a God, after he'd had some wrestling with Him himself. We need that.


<A HREF="P12">Next Page</A>