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!

Galatians 67 says do not be deceived. God is not mocked, whatever a man. So’s he will also reap Jacob was deceived by Rachel’s father just as he deceived his father. God has forgiven me. All of sins are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ or not forgiven. Yes, but consequences can live on up next on leading the way. Question, have the problems in your life become bigger than your God. Do you long to have unwavering faith in the midst of pain? Now, we live in troubled times. Yes, but we serve a victorious and soon coming Lord, I’ve written a book to show you how you can live fearlessly. No matter how overwhelming the circumstances may be, it is called Fearless Living in troubled times. It’s a timely message about the hope that we have in christ return. Get your copy today. When you think about the state of the world today, what fears and concerns do you have for the future? How can you live out your faith in an age of crisis and instability with constant headlines of global disasters, persecution and economic turmoil? Fear as originally envisioned by God when he created it in us, is that we may fear God. But what happened when Adam and Eve fell in the garden, we inverted that wonderful gift and we ceased to fear God and we fear men. We fear people. We fear circumstances in his book. Fearless Living in troubled times. Dr Michael usage guides you through 1st and 2nd Thessalonians and shares how you too can live fearlessly in today’s world. Fear is natural. Even some of the great men and women in the bible experience Fear, it’s what you do with that fear. And that’s really the theme of my book Fearless Living in troubled times. I even caught myself saying, you know, I’m fine, I’m going to heaven. It’s Children that I worry about their future. That’s the flesh talking in me, not faith. That whole concept of saying I fear for my grandchildren should be eliminated from our vocabulary. And I’m starting myself doing that in this book. You’ll find encouraging answers to life’s greatest challenges and find an overwhelming hope in christ’s return. Faith is believing in God’s word. Even when the world is falling apart. Faith says no matter what happens around the God will keep his word. Uncover the true nature of the End times and why you should not panic. I think the most important message is that you are not a victim, you are a victim and it is the will of God for you to live victorious. And therefore when this book comes into your hands and you read it, you will be lifted up regardless of what circumstances you might be facing. So I hope you’re gonna get it Fearless Living in troubled times is available. Now for your gift of any amount, visit us online at L. T. W. Dot org to request your copy. Today. We have begun a series of messages from the life of Jacob when titled that fear deceives but grace freeze or sets us free. But before I get there, I want to tell you that in the new testament because there’s a distinction, but then the new testament when you come to jesus christ, surrendering to him and receiving him as the only savior and the lord of your life. All of our sins, past, present and future sins. All of sins are covered by the blood of jesus christ and are forgiven. Amen. Yet often the scars of sins or the consequences of what we have sown in the past. Those cars sometimes not only stay for a long time, sometimes for life and here’s where many christians are confused and I found this through my years in ministry and I wanted really I’m gonna harp on this one because I’ve seen that confusion in the mind of many. They confuse the scars or the consequences of the reaping of what they’ve sown for lack of God’s forgiveness. They confuse what they’re reaping as a result of what they’ve sown with the lack of love on God’s part. And they say if God really forgave me, why are these cars that I’m carrying? It would be like a a little boy whose parents have said to him on numerous occasions, Don’t touch the stove, don’t touch the stove, don’t touch the stove. But then he decides to experiment and do it for himself and he gets burnt and here they are sitting in the ambulance taking their son to the hospital and the boy was saying, mom, dad, I’m sorry, forgive me, what will they do? Of course they forgive him, right, can they remove the scars? Most likely not. I’m saying all of this to beg you. I am begging you whether you’re watching or you’re here in this sanctuary, not to confuse the scars or the natural reaping of what have been sown with God’s love and forgiveness and the grace of God that is available to his Children. I want to challenge you today. I want to challenge you to do something. And it’s this every time you see the scars in your life, the scars of reaping whatever it’s been sown that you remind yourself of the love of God and of the forgiveness of God and of the overruling grace of God. Amen. In this episode of Jacob’s life, we see the deceiver is deceived. It’s not amazing. Probably a more romantic preacher than me, although I think I’m romantic love, don’t you think? I mean? But but I think a more romantic preacher would just focus on the love story between Rachel and Jacob. Well, I’m gonna get to it, but I’m not gonna focus on it. And it is a truly a great love story. It’s an epic love story. It’s an amazing story. You see today Jacob reaches his destination, We saw in the map how he two days walking and he got from beersheba, which is modern day Gaza and he got to Bethel and there he saw a vision of God put on altar. And then he continued in his walk to Haran this modern day south of Iraq after loneliness and pain and suffering in the desert all alone at night and in the daytime he reaches his uncle’s house after receiving a great vision from the Lord, a great revelation from the Lord that he and his seed will be through whom the messiah will come. He sees a vision of the re encountered jesus on top of the stairs going up to heaven at Bethel. Now he is home away from home. Here he is in his mom’s hometown, Rebecca’s hometown and he comes face to face with sowing and reaping. Let me tell you again as I distinguish between the grace of God that overrules and the consequences of sin. Now as again, I’m harping on it because I’ve seen it in my personal experience of talking to people and ministering to people. There’s some believers who might have been christians for years and yet they keep on living under false guilt and false guilt is very different from conviction. When we get convicted of sin. We repent of our sins and turn to the Lord and receive his forgiveness on a daily basis. But false guilt is different and those who fill their minds with false guilt. They cease to grow in the Lord and it ceased to be fruitful for the Kingdom of God. Why? Because they cannot distinguish between the grace of God and the consequences of their sins, because they cannot distinguish between God’s forgiveness and the lingering scars because they do not understand or do not want to understand that at the cross, all of our sins are forgiven regardless of the scars. So when Jacob arrives, Haran and he sees his cousin Rachel man, he is smitten you see, for Jacob Rachel love at first sight, my goodness, I’m in poor old Jacob, He fell in love hard, I mean, he, he fell head over heels for Rachel. He even tried to show a superman strength normally that stone on top of that, well it takes several men to move it, but he was going to show off. So he went in there and pulled it all by himself, probably busted something like the man who sucks his stomach and every time you see a good looking woman come by, that’s what we do today, right? Nothing change but listen to me. There is nothing more beautiful and pathetic at the same time than seeing a man in love. It really is. He will do things that nobody is able to get him to do some, even lose the rationale and rational thinking when they’re in love, it’s like this guy who said to his girlfriend, he said, he said I love you, I love you, I wanna marry you, I’m madly in love with you, no matter what I wanna marry you. She said oh no no no no one day you’re gonna meet and marry a beautiful girl. In his enthusiasm. He said no I don’t want to marry a beautiful girl, I wanna marry you. Jacob. His love for Rachel made him irrational but also made him irrationally patient, irrationally patient. I’m gonna explain this to you, He would do whatever it takes, including 14 years of hard labor. Now don’t miss the next verse. It’s very important this my beloved friends is what you call a Middle East bargaining or negotiating at its best. Jacob wanted the girls so badly that he was willing to go to any links to marry her. Oh but listen tricky dicky uncle Laban father of the girl you see, he sensed it, he saw it in his eyes. I mean he can feel it, he can feel that incredible love and he milked it for all he can get out of it. It was customary back then for a guest house guest can come and stay three or four days maximum as a guest and then move on. In fact that’s how it was in Medieval England, you know somebody stayed past four days as a houseguest, they served him a cold shoulder and that’s where we get the cold shoulder, give him the cold shoulder from when you get served the cold shoulder, you better pack your bag and keep going. And so he was willing to work his heart out. But manipulative uncle verse 15, he said, well, just because you’re my nephew, it doesn’t mean that I I shouldn’t pay you something for your labor. Watch out. This is a negotiated. This is a bargaining in the bazaar, This is my friends. What is really, really well, you can call the art of the deal. This is really the art of the deal. Look at what happens next. And please please please feel free to compare this with the instant gratification culture in which we live. Jacob said, I would be willing to work for seven years to have the privilege of marrying your younger daughter Rachel. He was probably thinking that because even the custom of the day, this is excessive. Normally a year or two. And he was hoping probably that his uncle would say, oh, this is too much. One or two years will be enough. But his tricky dicky Uncle Laban jumped all over this offer. Look at Verse 20, here’s what you can underline in your bible that seven years seemed like only a few days to him because he was in love with Rachel. Listen to me, listen to me. There is nothing like making your wife feel valued and treasured and appreciate it today. In our headed culture. We don’t take time to value and cherish and nourish our wives. Now husbands again, if I can only speak to you as a husband and a man. Now wives, you can eavesdrop, but no elbows flying. Please guys, I want to tell you something if you take time and at least once a day, at least once a day and tell your wife how important she is to you, how valued she is by you, How blessed you are to have her, how thankful you are to the Lord for her and how much she means to you once a day. I promise you I make you a promise in one month. Even if you’re married to the Iron Lady herself, she’ll melt. Can I get an amen has come from the ladies, Jacob adored Rachel and his tricky uncle knew it. Albert, the plot thickens. See Rachel had an older sister, poor Olia. And so on the night of the wedding, when it’s bad luck to see the bride boy, they played that one in the darkness of the tent at night. All tricky. Uncle Laban gives him leah instead of Rachel. After seven years of hard labor, After seven years of patiently waiting. After seven years of sweat and blood in the dark knight labor and switches and he gives him leah obviously leah must have dressed like Rachel must have smelled like Rachel must have the same built as Rachel and that is why when Jacob gets up in the morning and discovers what happened. He freaks out. I mean basically you see it, even in his words, I mean he freaks out. This is to put it mildly. He goes to his father in law slash uncle and he had it out with him, Verse 25 Why have you deceived me? Wow! The chickens come home to roost. The deceiver is now being deceived and the tragedy is, this is not the last time Jacob becomes a victim of deception, we’ll see it as we go on for the next few messages, forgiveness. Yes, grace, yes, scars, they linger on consequences. Yes, Jacob deceived his nearly blind father, Isaac. Now he is deceived by his uncle by marrying a nearly blind woman whom he did not love. Although Jacob managed to marry the love of his life seven days later, but he had to work seven more years. There are a whole bunch of ironies here and I do not believe the scripture. The holy spirit who authored the scripture would waste words, I believe with all my heart, the Holy Spirit wants us to see these ironies, irony number one essa was supposed to serve Jacob for that was the vision that God gave their mother that the older shall serve the younger here, Jacob serves his uncle, irony number two By getting Leah 1st. Then Rachel Jacob felt what ISO must have felt when he lost his birthright Iron Man. No three, Jacob was deceived by Rachel’s father just as he deceived his father beloved God is not mocked what man says. He also shall reap is that God has forgiven me. Absolutely God has redeemed me. Yes, without a shadow of doubt God has even forgotten my sins. Yes, he did the scars or the consequences can live on. But don’t let that keep you back. Don’t that hold you back Because these things are set in motion. There are three things I want to share with you today and don’t don’t panic. This is not the three point someone that I’ve just begun. Because as you know, he just began with the three point. These are fast points. Okay And I hope you write them down. I want you to remember them. They’re very simple, but they hopefully Help you as you walk with the Lord Very Quick three points. Whatever we saw, we reap in kind Galatians 67 says do not be deceived. God cannot be marked. A man reaps what a man says. So let me ask you a question. If you plant wheat, what do you get cotton? You can wait, right. If you plant corn, you don’t get rice, you get corn. So when you plant love, you reap love. When you plant friendship, you read friendship. When you plant piece, you read piece and become a peacemaker. 2nd point is this the same proportion with which you so it’s the same proportion that you reap. Now don’t give me credit. I’m not that smart. I did not make it up, jesus is the one who said that. Okay, so before you get mad at me, I’m only telling you what’s in the scripture because you cannot so sparingly and you expect a bumper crop, Here’s what Jesus said, Luke 6 38. Give and it will be given to you for by the major you use it will be measured back to you as jesus’s words. In fact, the Apostle paul affirms this in second Corinthians chapter nine. He said Whoever so’s generously will reap generously. The third point that I want to share with you this morning is this no matter how long it takes, no matter how long is the delay, No matter how many crop failures you may get along the way. If you keep on sowing consistently in due season, you will get a harvest. So let me ask you, have you prayed for something for so long and you haven’t received yet an answer. Keep on planting. Keep on praying, keep on sewing. Keep an interceding in due season in due season. Say that with me in have you been faithful to the Lord and faithfully giving of yourself. But you have not seen the abundant harvest yet. Don’t give up. Don’t you dare give up. Keep on planting, Keep on praying because the harvest is coming. It’s a matter of time. Just as in sowing and reaping in Jacob’s case it worked in the negative in the Churchill family’s case it worked for the positive, beloved listen to me sowing and reaping can go either way, it’s neutral, It goes both ways. Well, someone here might say, well, you know, I have some scars and they’re keeping me from sowing good seeds. Let me tell you this. The Grace of God will overrule the Grace of God will overrule the very fact that God has overruled in Jacob’s case, will overrule in your case. Don’t let the scars keep you from reaching for the stars. This is not a cliche, it is an absolute truth. Claim the overruling power of the Grace of God. Don’t ever forget that the overruling Grace of God can write his straight purpose with a crooked pencil, that his Grace can take a twisted instrument and use it powerfully. God’s Grace is more powerful than all of your past scars. God’s Grace can polish the roughest of diamond. God’s Grace can call the unworthy. God’s Grace can love the unlovable God’s Grace uses the unusable God’s Grace can make the dullest of gold to shine. God’s Grace is more than amazing. That kind of preparation compelled him that as soon as he heard from the apostle paul, that the messiah came that he lived, that he died, that he rose again. That is ascended into heaven and that he soon coming back as judge timothy put his faith in jesus christ, I would do whatever it takes to encourage you. You can partner with dr Yousef in his vital work around the world by becoming a frontline mission partner as a frontline mission partner. Your monthly gifts will help dr Yousef expand leading the ways outreach through every form of media equipped believers to impact their communities for christ as well as reach the unsaved and unreached around the world. Brand new frontline mission Partners will receive special ministry benefit, including the on the front lines photo booklet, as well as exclusive ministry updates and a 20% discount on all resources at L T W dot org. In addition, for a limited time, only new partners will receive a complimentary copy of Dr Michael Yousef’s popular book, Life changing prayers, become a frontline mission partner today by committing to give financially each month and you’ll be joining with dr Yousef as he proclaims the gospel all over the globe. Sign up today at L T W dot org slash frontline. When you think about the state of the world today, what fears and concerns do you have for the future? How can you live out your faith in an age of crisis and instability with constant headlines of global disasters, persecution and economic turmoil. Fear as originally envisioned by God, when he created it in us, is that we may fear God. But what happened when Adam and Eve fell in the garden, we inverted that wonderful gift and we ceased to fear God and we fear meant we fear people, we fear circumstances in his book Fearless Living in troubled times. Dr Michael Yusuf guides you through 1st and 2nd thessalonians and shares how you too can live fearlessly in today’s world. Fear is natural. Even some of the great men and women in the bible experience. Fear, it’s what you do with that fear. And that’s really the theme of my book Fearless Living in troubled times. I even caught myself saying, you know, I’m fine, I’m going to heaven. It’s Children that I worry about their future. That’s the flesh talking in me, not faith. That whole concept of saying, I fear for my grandchildren should be eliminated from our vocabulary. And I’m starting myself doing that in this book. You’ll find encouraging answers to life’s greatest challenges and find an overwhelming hope in christ’s return. Faith is believing in God’s word. Even when the world is falling apart. Faith says no matter what happens around the God will keep his word uncover the true nature of the end times and why you should not panic. I think the most important message is that you are not a victim you are a victim and it is the will of God for you to live victorious. And therefore when this book comes into your hands and you read it, you will be lifted up regardless of what circumstances you might be facing. So I hope you’re gonna get it. Fearless. Living in troubled times is available now for your gift of any amount, visit us online at L. T. W. Dot org to request your copy today passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth. Leading the way with Dr Michael Yousef thanks you for your faithful support through your continued prayers and gifts.