What Is Your Name?
Pastor Tan Thai · Jun 1, 2023
This sermon explores the Jacob story in Genesis 32:24-32 to teach that God transforms the identity and name of believers through humiliation and repentance. Jacob, the deceiver who grasped at his brother's heel, was wrestled by God all night to break his reliance on his own strength, then renamed Israel. The sermon emphasizes that only by truthfully confessing one's true name (acknowledging the sinful nature) can a believer receive God's blessing.
The sermon begins by explaining the meaning of names and how names reflect personal identity, parental hopes, circumstances of birth, or personality traits. The pastor emphasizes that the name Jacob means "heel-grabber" or "deceiver", accurately reflecting his behavior throughout life—from deceiving Esau to obtain the birthright for a bowl of stew, to impersonating Esau before Isaac to receive his blessing. Jacob could not obtain the birthright through strength or talent because it was the natural right of the firstborn; therefore he had to use deception and trickery. The sermon also points out that Esau despised the birthright and sold it to Jacob, just as many people sell their status as God's children for trivial things.
Next, the pastor recounts Jacob's 20 years living with his uncle Laban. During this period, the "heel-grabber" became himself the victim of another "heel-grabber"—Laban continuously deceived Jacob, changed his wages ten times, and exploited his labor. This is God's teaching: "Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Galatians 6:8). However, when Jacob speaks to Laban, for the first time he invokes God's name powerfully, acknowledging that God protected him and executed justice. This shows that through injustice from Laban, Jacob began to recognize his need for God—not his own deception or strength.
Finally, the sermon focuses on the night Jacob must face Esau. After separating from Laban by setting up a covenant pillar, Jacob knows that before him stands Esau and the past full of his own deceptions. In this fear and anguish, an angel of God appears at night and wrestles with Jacob all night long. The pastor emphasizes a crucial point: Jacob does not wrestle God to obtain blessing; rather, God Himself is the active opponent who exhausts Jacob and breaks his self-will. When God asks Jacob's name, Jacob must confess, "My name is Jacob"—I am a deceiver, I am a heel-grabber. Only when Jacob admits this truthfully, at the moment when he is completely weak and helpless, does God bless him and rename him Israel—meaning "God rules" or "God prevails". Jacob is saved, but bears a hip wound for life—a reminder that only God is sovereign, not his own strength. The sermon concludes by applying this to believers' lives: each person must confess their true name to God, repent, and completely surrender, in order to receive God's renaming and status as God's people.