Happy Fathers Day 2008
This is the second spiritual encounter of Jacob’s life. The first was at a place called Bethel, Gen. 28:10-22. At Bethel, Jacob saw a ladder, as Jabbok, he saw the Lord. At Bethel, Jacob became a believing man, at Jabbok, he became a broken man. At Bethel, Jacob became a son of God, at Jabbok, he became a saint of God. At Bethel he died to his sins, at Jabbok, he died to self. He left Bethel with a spring in his step, he left Jabbok with a lasting limp but with a forever changed heart.

Now, all men (Fathers) need a Bethel experience. Every person in this room needs to be able to recall a time when you met God personally, you received Him and became His child. Isn’t salvation wonderful? However, many never go beyond that experience. They get saved and that’s as far as they go. They never seem to be able to produce anything for the glory of the Lord. While we must have a Bethel experience if we expect to get to Heaven, we also need a Jabbok experience if we ever hope to be useful to the Lord.
The very thing that happened to Jacob needs to happen in the life of every believer in this room