A different kinda Mortal Combat

Growing up as an only girl with two brothers, I occasionally did what my brothers did i.e. play video games. To be clear, by playing video games what I mean is that I vigorously pressed a bunch of buttons with no particular rhyme or rhythm. There was certainly no method to it other than “hoping” something would happen and that somehow I’d win … surprisingly, I did. Howbeit very few and far in between.

One of the video games we played was called Mortal Kombat … my brothers and I watched the 90s movies so many times that we had most (if not all) of the lines memorized. Little did I know that God would use a couple of those lines (His version of them) to give me a game-changing awareness of Righteousness: The Finished Work of Christ 💖.

THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH

As mortals, combat is inevitable. That said, how we fight – dirty (as in a filthy rag) OR clean (by means of The One Whose Holy Name is Good) – determines where we land in the tug of war. While fighting might be seen by some as a “bad” thing, there’s actually a fight that is good i.e. THE Good Fight of Faith –1 Timothy 6:12. This Good Fight is won ONLY by Faith (the knowledge of God) AND it leads to Faith. Every other fight (any fight that is not based solely on Faith and that does not lead to Faith) is NOT good.

A scenario of this Good Fight of Faith can be seen in Genesis 32. Many refer to this story as one whereJacob fought with God and prevailed. In a sense, this is true but not in the way that it sounds or reads. To be clear, the “wrestling match” in question was NOT between God (The Commander of Heaven’s Army) and Jacob (the squirmy worm) who is no match for God in any contest. Instead, it was a tug of war between Jacob and Jacob (Jacob was beside his self). To truthfully understand the saying, consider seeing and hearing thewith Godpart of ‘Jacob fought with God and prevailed’ as Jacob fought via the knowledge of God. In other words: the means by or through which Jacob fought was Faith and (as such) he prevailed. Accurately speaking, Jacob fought with the knowledge of God … with Faith, and because he did, he prevailed.

I’ll share my HolySpirit-inspired transcription of Genesis 32. It is my desire that it (1) helps clarify what THE Good Fight of Faith is versus not, and that it (2) highlights the truthful meaning of the ‘Jacob fought with God and prevailed‘ saying.

Here it goes: Jacob was returning home after years of being away. His biggest fear at the time was fast approaching: Esau – the brother he supplanted twice! The second blow Jacob dealt Esau must have stung like a bee … so much so that Esau premeditated Jacob’s murder – it’s why Jacob left in the first place (Genesis 27). Years later … I mean two wives, two “side chicks”, 11 sons, and at least one daughter later, Jacob was returning home as instructed by God. At some point on his journey, Jacob panicked – he was afraid of what Esau (and his army of 400) might do to him and his family. Jacob prayed to God … he then tried to bribe pacify Esau by sending many a “peace meal offering” in advance of their meeting point. For fear of what might happen, he sent his family to a safe place. Jacob was then left alone, at which point a MAN came and wrestled with him until daybreak. By ‘wrestled with him’, I mean the MAN came to partner with Jacob in his fight. Romans 8:28 (AMPC) describes God as being a partner in our labor, including when we don’t know what to pray or how to go about it (Romans 8:26) – this, I believe, is what happened on the night in question.

Only God knows how many rounds there actually were. For the sake of emphasis, let’s go with Six-toTwo-Nine (629) 🙂. For the most part of the fight – we’ll say all prior 628 rounds, Jacob did NOT know that the MAN wrestling with him was God. Let me re-phrase that … Jacob did not know that God was the MAN who was with him as he struggled or went back and forth (as is the movement of those in the ring). For the most part of the fight, Jacob wasn’t still to know that the MAN was God. During this time, it’s accurate to say that Jacob did not know God or that he did not have Faith. For to HAVE it is to USE it – SeLaH.

This part of the fight (what I’m referring to as rounds 1 through 628) was NOT the Good Fight of Faith. So, how did this NOT Good fight turn into THE Good Fight of Faith? Well, something pivotal happened …

It matters to God and I that I take a moment to elaborate on Genesis 32:26 (and Genesis 32:25, especially given the way it reads in most bible versions). The MAN (of War, HASHEM, God Himself) was NOT trying to hide from daylight, neither was He trying to flee the scene – far from it. He is LIGHT after all. Plus, He enjoys being known … this (Faith) pleases Him. What the Breath of God showed me is this: God sent Himself to help Jacob and (same as it was with Jesus, and as described in Isaiah 55:11) He was duty-bound to work the finished works of The One Who sent Him (He was duty-bound to work His finished works) while it is Day – John 9:4 (AMPC). In essence, the MAN was saying: My time has come to go work the works … Let Me go.Release Me…Release The Word. Let Me go work it all out for good.

Side Note: Have you not noticed that God works in the Light, when Light is seen, or when there is Light? In Genesis (before the foundation of world, before time began, before God did His thing as described in the entire first chapter of Genesis), there first had to be light (Genesis 1:3). When you can, check out Isaiah 45:19, Psalm 46:5, and Matthew 4:15-17.

In response, Jacob said to The MAN: I will not let You go until You bless me. It’s unusual to ask someone you “fought” to bless you without there being a change of heart or perspective. This (in part) is why I believe the other thing that the HolySpirit showed me, which is that Jacob didn’t know all along that the MAN with him was Immanuel (God with him). If he did, he would have asked for a blessing early on and not spend the whole night toiling, tossing and turning, or relying on his own devices … on his ability to maneuver the situation or to wriggle and wiggle his way out by using the kinetic chain of his hip, knee, and feet. Understanding the connection between these three gives insight into why God dislocated Jacob’s hip and what Genesis 32:25 actually means (which is different from how it reads).

The MAN did NOT fight dirty – He is holy; there is no unrighteousness in Him. That said, I know how this verse reads and sounds BUT here’s what truthfully happened: when The MAN saw that He did not get the best of Jacob: the God-seeking Jacob (Psalm 24:6), the Jacob God loves, NOT the self-seeking supplanter, He dislocated Jacob’s hip. God, in His tender mercy, did not leave Jacob to his own devices (his worm-wiggling, wriggling, and self-reliant way). In stead, God (the MAN) hindered Jacob from standing on his own two feet such that he became disabled enabled to learn how to rely on God, to let God go be God for Him, to let God go be for him (to let God go before Him –Psalm 16:8, as He did with Moses –Exodus 34:6), SO THAT Jacob might know God (as He watched Him go/work) in the process.

Guess what? It worked!

Of course it did! God speaks words that work –Psalm 147:19-20(MSG).

After disabling enabling Jacob to hear by speaking to him, Faith came.

Upon hearing THE WORD (as he heard God speak), he who had not Faith now had Faith! This Faith (this Knowledge or Word of God) is the power that changed Jacob’s heart posture. With his renewed, yielding heart (Ezekiel 36: 26-27), Jacob had/used his God-given Faith. He believed God is a Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrew 11:6). Hence, his ask to be blessed (to be helped).

Asking to know a person’s name inherently acknowledges the person’s presence – it acknowledges that the person exists. According to Hebrew 11:6, this is the first step of an over-comer (of anyone who comes over to God … to His side) – this is what Jacob did. After God spoke and Faith came, Jacob knew God (he knew God’s PRESENCE was present … he knew Immanuel – he knew God was with him, he knew God’s Name was there with him), and so Jacob asked God for His Name.

HASHEM (THE NAME)

In other words:

WHY do you want(to know)My Name?

WHY do you want (to have) My Name?

WHAT do you want(to use)My Name for?

Side Note: To KNOW is to HAVE is to USE. Until you’ve used it, you’ve actually not had it to then know it. To KNOW a person’s name is to HAVE/USE their name. Moreover, you don’t really know a person until you know them by name – by their real name. What is your name?

It is important to understand what God does when He asks questions like the one He asked Jacob inGenesis 32:27…

… considering that He already knows the answers, I believe God asks these questions by way of a self-check mark or point for us to note (in relation to Him).

God’s question back to Jacob was NOT a “you need not know My Name” response. I know this to be true because God wants His Name to be known –Isaiah 52:6(AMPC). He is called the God of special revelation to Jacob for a reason –Psalm 146:5 (AMPC), He reveals things to Jacob, secret things … things He doesn’t even tell others –Psalm 147:19-20(MSG). Also, as I mentioned earlier, God enjoys the knowledge of God (He enjoys being known, even by Himself) … He enjoys Faith.

A part of what I hear when I listen closely to God’s question to Jacob is: WHY do you want (to know/have/use) My Name – for your own benefit or Mine (for My Name sake)? That said, I believe God asked Jacob this self-check mark and relative-to-God point of view (or vantage point) to highlight the IMPORTANCE of (knowing) His Name. Here’s but a few of what I’ve learnt thus far:

1️⃣ ALL God does (all of which He’s already done) is for His Name sake.Isaiah 48:11

2️⃣ ALL God has given to us is in His Name.John 3:34-35

3️⃣ God’s Name is HOW and wherein we are saved.Proverbs 18:10…Romans 10:13

4️⃣ God’s Name is HOW we go against any Goliath (including Goro).1 Samuel 17:45

5️⃣ God’s Name is HOW we overcome.Revelation 12:11…2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Weovercomesolely because of what God has done – all of which He does because of and for His Name. The Blood of The Lamb mentioned inRevelation 12:11 is a representation of what God has done/wrought for us by His very Own sweat and blood, literally! WHEN did God do all that He has done? Before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8) – WHEN the Lamb was slain. At this point, God’s handiwork was fulfilled in faithfulness and truth – Isaiah 25:1 (AMPC). He completed and fulfilled all of it in perfect faithfulness (in the perfect and full knowledge of Himself), a picture-perfect, mirror-reflection of this is seen on the cross when Jesus said it is finished. In other words, the Blood of The Lamb is a representation of Righteousness (God’s handiwork – all God has done): The finished work of Christ – this is what wecome overto. It is the finished line … the full stop … the fully-filled or fulfilling place of rest at God’s side – Psalm 16:11.

HASHEM is THE NAME IN and THROUGH which we overcome or come over in and to the finished work of Christ – there’s no other name/way. I heard HASHEM say so Himself in John 14:6. Surely, it’s NOT by might nor power BUT ONLY by the Spirit that God is. He is THE NAME by which God goes (RE:LET ME GO– Genesis 32:26).

It’s why prayers are done IN THE NAME of Jesus Christ, the SON of The ONLY True and Living God. Think of HASHEM as a tunnel, to come THROUGH it to the other side is to come IN it to the other side. We walk in this tunnel (Light) by Faith – this Faith, this knowledge of God, is our right of passage or right of way into all things pertaining to Life. It ensures a safe arrival to the Resurrection Life: the Life of the One Who calls us to Himself – Galatians 2:20B (KJV, AMPC), Who calls us to …

… the Faith of the One Who urges us to come over. 2 Peter 1:3-4 (AMPC).

COME OVER NOT DO OVER

When God gives us His Name, it’s an invitation to come over … it’s an invitation to come in and enjoy all that’s in His Name; it’s an invitation to enter into His Joy. It’s like giving someone your number or the key to your house – essentially, you’re giving them access to you or giving them permission to enter into your space.

There’s a part of the world where the term “come and do” is synonymous to the invitation to consensually do the do. The end expected by the parties involved is the experience of pleasure (howbeit short-lived, short-changed, or never lived). With two exceptions, the same is true in relation to God’s invitation to come over.

Exception #1: When God says come over … there’s no doing as it is with earning a living – you don’t have to work or toil for it. There’s ONLY all that God has done and keeps ready for us to enjoy (enter into). YET, time and again, many of us keep attempting to re-invent the wheel or make ends/means meet … we tend to want to make our means meet God’s end, forgetting that His Ways are NOT our own ways – His is righteous, our own is not – Proverbs 14:12, 16:15. Thankfully, because of all that God has done, we are made righteous (and the righteousness of God) in Christ.

It’s important to note that doing in God’s Name is NOT the same as coming over into His Name (PRESENCE). Matthew 7:22-23 shows us that it is possible to do signs and wonders in God’s Name YET not enter or come over into His Joy (His Name, His PRESENCE) or the pleasures forever more mentioned in Psalm 16:8. Speaking of, that right there wasException #2: When God says come over, the end expected by the righteous parties involved (including God Himself) is pleasures forever more –Psalm 16:11.Jeremiah 29:11calls it a future and a certainty – a hope that does NOT delude, disappoint, shortchange, or leave us wanting –Romans 5:5(AMPC, MSG). Therefore, just come in (and live) by Faith. Do NOT do (yourself) in, which by definition is to wear one’s self out.

I wonder if that was what Jacob was doing 🤔💭. For every round he felt he lost, perhaps he kept attempting a do-over without realizing that (1) God found no iniquity (wrong-doing) in him –Numbers 23:21, and that (2) God had already done all there was to do on his behalf. Think about it … Jacob is a representation of God’s beloved, he really should have been enjoying the sweet sleep that God gives His beloved. YET, in stead of entering in to God’s rest (His finished work), he was trying to DO himself in. But for God’s mercy, Jacob actually would have wore himself out.

How does one come over? How do we come in and NOT do ourselves in by wearing ourselves out of all that God has in store for us? I’ll answer this based on the truth told in Romans 10:14, the lessons learned from Jacob’s Good Fight of Faith, and what God patiently keeps teaching me.

1️⃣KNOWGod – know Who He is (Love) … know His Name –John 17:26(AMPC). Be still in order that you may hear and know Him. If you don’t readily recall His Name, ASK Him to tell you again. He will, like He told Jacob.

How do I know that God told Jacob His Name in the midst of the Genesis 32 saga?

2️⃣BELIEVEin God … be and live in God – John 14:1 (AMPC). I particularly enjoy the MSG translation of John 14:1-4, it’s a succinct transcription of what Jacob would have heard if he was still. Every Jacob needs to hear and recall this, especially in the day of adversity.

It is all ready, taken care of, and done. Don’t try to make a self-righteous filthy rag or self-made name for yourself by “doing”. Instead, walk in the reality of what God has done – walk the path of righteousness for His Name sake. Walk in God’s Name.

RECIEVEwhat God has done –John 16:33 AMPC – receive the finished work of Christ with thanksgiving and identify yourself by it NOT by your own actions.

3️⃣RELYsolely on God and NOT on your own two feet. It is not of him who willeth nor of him who runneth BUT of God Who shows Mercy – Romans 9:16 (KJV, AMP/C, TPT). Mercy is God doing it for us. When God shows Mercy in effect He is showing us what He has done for us in faithfulness and truth. Philippians 3:9 (VOICE) tells us that relying on the faithfulness of Christ (on the finished work of Christ) is true righteousness supplied by God and acquired by Faith – by our good confession of Faith: this is what victoriously overcomes the world. 1 John 5:4(CJB, AMP, KJV).

4️⃣SPEAKTHE WORD … speak, NOT strike – the weapons of our warfare are not carnal or physical (2 Corinthians 10:4). Speak the Merciful Truth of what God has done. Declare what God showed you that He has done. Release what God told you (words that work) … release THE WORD (THE NAME) God gave you … LET God GO! Let God work the works. Let God be for you … set God before you as your Banner and as a standard against the enemy who comes like an overwhelming flood, and watch Godfinish him… watch God make a public spectacle of the already defeated one – Colossians 2:15. Remember, you are NOT faced with or going through that which hasn’t already been overcome. Therefore, GO with YHWH Nissi and enjoy theflawless victorythat He brings every step of the way – Psalm 51:12 (TPT) … GO with YHWH Sabaoth and prevail in Jesus Name.