In this 9-part series, Dr. Michael Youssef walks you through the life of Jacob—demonstrating how the grace of God overrules in the lives of His people. The Almighty God is able to bring His perfect will to bear, even in the midst of our mistakes and shortcomings. Therefore, to Him be all the glory, honor, and praise!

in Mark 16 15, Jesus said. Go in to all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. There is never a moment of the day when the sun sets on the ministry of leading the way 24 hours a day in every time zone on the glow. God’s truth is going forth through our outreach, from broadcasting the gospel to on the ground field teams from here at home in the West, all the way to the Middle East and Asia. We are proclaiming the gospel around the world, the secret power of the Christian life. It isn’t Christ be informed in us where the group that’s cutting the hole in the ceiling and lowering their friend down to Jesus because we’re going to find a way in to get people the message of truth. You will never hear on the news that somebody left that limit faith to receive Christ. But through our broadcast on follow up efforts, we are seeing a constant stream of men and women risking their lives and the lively hoods as they make the decision to follow Christ. For more than 30 years, we have seen the Lord call and equipped leading the way to go into the most challenging parts of the world. We have been called to the front lines 24 hours a day, seven days a week in 28 languages across six continents. Leading the way is passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth about 20 years ago. So the Lord began to teach my wife and I to study and practise what he said in Matthew Chapter 18 versus 19 and 20. Now, of course, known as the prayer of agreement. I have to tell you at the outset, So you understand. I do not know everything to be known about this. So you know, to this day I still don’t. So let me read it for you. If two of you on Earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my father in heaven. In context, this promise comes after ensuring that we must come clean with God and with men. In other words, there has to be purity of motive. Before we can pray this prayer of agreement and claim the promises that are here, there has to be purity in the desire to pray according to the will of God for his honour and for his glory, not for our own vanity. I began to learn that when a husband and wife unite in prayer regarding something that is consistent with the word of God, consistent with the will of God bringing honour to God and glory to God and become totally in agreement. I don’t mean one says, Well, can you pray with make some agree with, say, I’ve seen that also the manipulation take place where you agree with me on this. Now I’m talking about total agreement. I’m not just going to go along with you, but this is a total agreement that I am as committed to it as you are that somehow somehow don’t ask me how that in the economy of God, God will answer their prayer. Turn to Genesis 27. I’m going to show you this biblical principle was missing between Isaac and Rebecca in their life, together as husband and wife. Unity and prayer and unity in purpose was a nun existent and because of the lack of unity, lots of heart ache, lots of pain followed. Now, in the last message, we began a new series of messages on how fear deceives and bring his deception but the grace of God freeze. In the last message from Genesis 25 we saw Isaac and his wife and I hinted at that Rebecca in total disunity, Isaac and his wife, Rebecca, did not fully obey God’s revelation. God’s word to them, Isaac and Rebecca had tension and dissension in the relationship, and that is why, because they did not trust in the promise of God, they did not anchor their unity in the promise of God. That marital tension exasperated the tension between the two boys turn to Genesis 27. Here we see this lack of unity between Isaac and Rebecca blown up in their faces, I mean, is blown all over the place. Now, let me remind you, that guard gave them a special revelation for that family doesn’t mean every family will have to abide by. That. Now is the lessons we learn from them, and the special revelation was ast follows. Listen carefully. God will fulfil his promise that he gave to Isaac’s father, Abraham, that the blessing and the birth of the Messiah that’s really what the blessing is all about. It’s about the line of the birth of the Messiah Jesus that the land of the Messiah will come through, Jacob and that s O that the Messiah will be from the descendants of Jacob, not Isha, which actually, as I said again, this is a reversal of the cultural norm. The cultural norm is the older is the one who gets a blessing and that the younger but God reverses those norms. And then we saw Isaac and Rebecca operating on their own feelings in their own emotions. One favourite one on one favour. The other Isaac favoured Issa and Rebecca favourite Jacob. When we saw also that Isa had a very cavalier attitude toward his birthright that he decided for a moment of of desire, a moment of hunger that he sold it for a bowl of soup to his brother Jacob. Then he complains, This biblical saga is filled with very important lessons in every aspect of our lives. As Isaac gets old and it begins to lose his sight. Unfortunately, he was not losing his hardness of heart. How come you ask that he had the stubborn attitude because he was determined to pass the blessing to the wrong son? against the very clear direction of God. Now beloved is a problem. Some of you going to disagree. So I’m telling you up front in all of our dealings, and I’m including myself with everybody. In all of our dealings, we tend to be more like Isaac. We often act on our emotions instead of acting on the truth of the world Guard. Thank you. We often respond with our feelings. Not what did God say. We often allow our impulse is to get the best of us instead of what God wants. And his words said, we often act in favour of our desire and our preferences rather than the truth of the word of God. Isaac was doing his transactions in secret. Instead of being up front with the whole family, Isaac makes a secret deal with Isa. Why? Because he knew that he was going against God’s revelation. God’s oracle! To his wife, Rebecca. Listen, even the great patriarch ever him. I mean, every writer in the New Testament talks about the faith of Abraham, the faith of everyone, even the ever ahead. I tried to convince God that smell should be the son of promise. How many times I tried to twist the arm of God convinced God to go with your way. Everyone was doing that. And now his son of Promise Isaac is trying to circumvent the promise of God on the revelation of God instead of submitting to the will of God again. Thank God, thank God, thank God for his overruling Grace. Let’s say it again. We said it last Sunday. I don’t know where I’ll be without the overrunning grace of God beloved, the grace of God can overruled even our worst failure. Listen to me. It is tragic when a man is at odds with his family, it is even far more tragic when a man is at odds with the word of God. But it is the good news. He’s the good news of our hard guard overrules how his grace overrules defined that good news. Nothing Genesis. But in the New Testament, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse 20. Here’s the marvellous grace of God. This verse can give anyone one person revival. Look at it with me. Verse 20 of Chapter 11 of the Epistle to the Hebrews calls Isaac a man of faith We’re just reading about this guys. Short cuts and doubled deception and everything else. But he processed a man of faith. Isaac was a man of faith. You say, How come? How come he was bent in disobeying God’s revealed will? And word is a reason for this. If you look at Verse 33 of Genesis 27 when Isaac got caught in the deception, you know what the Bible said? He trembled. He trembled, I think the trembling and that just because you got caught in the survey in guard. But it’s a tripling of repentance that he knew he was going against the will of God, and it came under conviction. At that moment, he was filled with good guilt. There’s a bad guilt is a good guilt. This is the good guilt that led him to repentance. And that is why 2000 years let us is a man of faith. And finally, he does the right thing. He blessed Jacob again, and he sent him on his way. Finally, finally, God is not looking for perfection, but he’s looking for a heart that is broken in contract. I’m going to say more about that in the next message beloved The grace of God, not on Lee overrule and overwhelms our worst failure. But when we repent, he gives us a credit. He does here. Isa Crip ended 2000 years like in the Bible, called a man of faith. They’re amazing. What an amazing God we have. What an amazing guard we have. Every have failed so many times. And yet there’s a model of faith. And that is why it’s called Amazing Grace. What about Rebecca? Well, through the years, people wanted to defend Rebecca. They really did. They say. Well, you know, wasn’t Rebecca using Jacob’s deceiving of her husband, Isaac was really doing the will of God. After all, Rebecca is the one who received that oracle from God, and therefore she was not merely looking at for her favourite son, Jacob, but she was trying to save the day. I mean, she was trying to stop her husband from making a terrible mistake. After all, this disagreement between her and her husband was not a simple thing, like buying living room furniture or what sports the kid’s a play or it’s not a disagreement on money and finances. It’s not a disagreement just on on what school to send the kids to. This is a biggie. Please understand that once the blessing regarding which line the Messiah will be born from there is no going back. Time is short. What does the believing wife do under the circumstances? Don’t the end justify the means? And in the end, what is a little fib? A little white lie? Just a little deception among family, right? Hello. Let me ask you this. Are you able to see Satan’s deception, Satan’s lie and Satan’s temptation here, Can you see? You know, if you didn’t, that’s okay. I’m going to I’m going to show what you In fact, I’m going to blow it up so you can see it. It is exactly the same temptation that side and uses over and over and over and over again with all of us, including your pastor. It’s called doing the right thing the wrong way, and the reason I call it sightings. Favourite temptation. It is one of his favourite temptations. You know why? Because he used it on Jesus, who used it on Jesus, and it’s called Short Cut. And here’s is it. With every one of us. He does. Satan comes to Jesus in the wilderness and says, Now, here’s a use of translation. You’re not going to fight in your Bible, Okay? I told you I’m going to blow it up so you can see it. Jesus, you know, and I know that you’re going to be the sovereign king of the universe. Jesus. I know. And you know, you’re going to be the great judge of the universe. Now, let me show you an easy way to your destination. Jesus. There is a simple a way to achieve your goal and actually make you avoid the horrors of the cross. Didn’t we take you there, isn’t it? Sweet isn’t safe and sweet. He’s going to take you there. He’s going to help you out. My beloved friends always, always, always, always, always be leery of sightings, Shortcuts? Be leery of sightings, shortcuts. Here’s a good question. You can ask yourself if you find yourself in that situation. Here’s the question. You’re ready for it. Can God fulfil his purpose and his promises without me? Oh, that gets our pride, isn’t it? Can he do it without me? Sure. Then why on earth would I do the right thing the wrong way. Beloved. You cannot overcome one send by committing another. It’s never God’s way. Is never God’s way. It’s never got sway. So what should Rebecca have done? Listen carefully, please. I’m going to get putting it in modern context. She should have gone to her husband, Isaac, and she should have said to him. Zeke, my buttercup. Zeke, my sweetie park. Zeke, my darling. I overheard you talk about what you’re about to do. Have you forgot me? God’s revelation. Have you forgotten what God said? Have you for gotten the special article that I received from the Lord? Have you for gotten how God supernaturally answered your prayers on my behalf and gave us us two boys? Have you for gotten how God kept his promises to your father and your mother and gave them you at a very old age? Even they waited for 25 years. She would have been like the man who said that last night I had words with my wife. I didn’t get to use mine. And they will be fine. As it didn’t have to use his. Now whether Isaac would have repented or not. That’s not the issue. Rebecca most likely convinced herself that Isaac had not on. Lee has hardening of the arteries in his eyes side, but he’s having hardness of the heart, and he would not listen. I personally believe there’s more than that. I think Isaac and Rebecca have stopped communicating with each other a long time ago. Years earlier, there stopped communication. Beloved, Hear me rod on this one. This is very important. It’s a very sensitive subject. I know that when meaningful communication between husband and wife ceases to exist, sin is always on constantly, readily available when good, healthy unity of purpose and prayer between husband and wife fail. Satan is always waiting in the wings with the short cut. When unity and prayer and intercession breaks down, it is replaced with power struggle, deception and self will. Not only that, but Rebecca went about it the wrong way, but they both Isaac on Rebecca, set a terrible example for the boys. Beloved a long, long ago, their Children on that, listening to our words as much as they’re watching our action. Ah, what a missed opportunity for Isaac and Rebecca. What a missed opportunity to instruct in the Children in God’s way. What a missed opportunity to teach our Children to trust in the promises of God. What a missed opportunity to use this as a lesson to remember the faithfulness of God to every him and how he waited for 25 years. And yet God kept his word. But instead Jacob learnt the art of deception, which actually uses later on again and again and again on diesel land, the hardness of the heart and rebellion. But let me stop here and say something really important. Adult Children. You cannot live the rest of your life blaming your parents. It does not mean that we continuously say, Well, it’s because they did. This is what I am. Adult Children who blamed their parents failure for their own failure will never get the first base in their Christian walk. And in their relationships, they’re like someone was tied to change. Beloved friends listen to may. I have no doubt that many parents most parents, made terrible mistakes, including myself, but it is never an excuse for our failure as adult Children, blaming of the parents continuous anger with parents on forgiveness of parents, all of that will not wash and will not pull you forward. We will keep you running in place. You have to let go start looking inside and look up. You have to let go site with me. You have to. Many years ago, I knew a man who’s died now, but back then he was in his eighties. He inherited a prosperous business from his father. Yet every time I’ll talk with him, he just talks with anger on with bitterness about the all the things that his father did, who’s been dead for a long time ago. Beloved whatever mistakes and failures our parents made in the past, when we’re growing up, whatever paying their caused you growing up whatever hard eggs they brought about in those early days, you need to forgive them and determined to be a better parent, a man, because God’s grace rules and overrules, because God’s grace washes and cleanses. Because God’s grace heals and restores, because God’s grace is ready to bless. You are fresh. Are you ready to be blessed? You can do that today, and so I finish what I started the power and the blessing of unity and prayer and purpose between husband and wife. Had Isaac and Rebecca become united in prayer, had Isaac and Rebecca being united in purpose? Had Isaac and Rebecca been united in awaited stood guard. The storey of the brig written differently. The hard egg, the pain. It would have been avoided. But remember this. They did not have a Bible. They did not have 2000 years of Christianity. They did not have a church on every corner. So before we start pointing the finger, I’m talking about myself. That’s why the Bible. It’s not sanitised and given to us. And so we said. Here, here, perfect people imitate them. No, the Bible is revealing to us the incredible overruling grace of God. Thank God for the stable. I should remind you of the cost of a saying that he carried on that cross and he continues to invite us. Come to the stable on purpose in your heart that you gonna unite with your spouse, unite with your parents, unite with your siblings, you not with whomever you have broken a relationship with. And that’s the good news of the Gospel. No matter how far you wandered off, no matter how much hardness of heart you are in right now. No matter how frustrated you might be feeling at this moment, no matter how much guilt and shame you carrying from your past come to the table of the Lord. Dump all of that that the cross of Christ you know, this is the most unusual title of any book that I’ve ever written. If God is in control, what is my last such a mess? I know I’ve said that in my own life in the past, and I’m sure some of you have said that to get this book is going to help you understand how God works. It’s human to have questions. Why are we here? What is their purpose in life? Why does suffering exist? If God is so good, why do bad things happen? Have you found yourself asking those questions? When tragedy strikes and good people are beaten down, we’re tempted to wonder if God really is in control in his book. If God is in control, why is my life such a mess? Doctor Yousef explains God’s sovereignty, no matter how wicked or dangerous or victorious the world around us. Macy, in the midst of the struggles and challenges that we all face. Be encouraged with this practical and enlightening book and gain a better understanding of God’s compassion for the spiritually exhausted. For your gift of any amount, leading the way will send you a copy of If God is in control. Why is my life such a mess? Visit us online today at lt w dot or visit lt w dot board today to grow your relationship with Christ, Strengthen your faith as you watch, listen to and read Sound Biblical teaching from Dr Michael Uses received encouragement as you hear miraculous storeys of God moving here it home and around the world through vision 2025. Take a quick break and receives spiritual refreshment. As you read one of Dr Yusef’s daily devotionals visit lt w dot order today and join our global gospel movement passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth. Leading the way with Dr Michael Yusef, Thank you for your faithful support through your continued prayers and gift