ITS TIME TO CHANGE YOUR NAME

TEXT : GENESIS 32:24-28

24. And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

25. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him .
26. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me .

27. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

28. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed

We all know the story of Jacob in the bible. He got the blessing and ran away. Despite the fact that he forcefully got the blessing ,yet his life never reflected it until he had encounter with God in the above passage of the scripture.

His brother who lost the blessing seem to be better than him. When they met again, he pleaded with him to take The gifts he brought for him, but he declined. He said the lord has blessed him.

Jacob was blessed but never became it. He struggled all his life till he encountered God. As long as he remain Jacob, the blessing remain a promise.

But a day came, he decided to wrestle. His identity as Jacob expired long ago. Until he became Israel, that blessing never reflected in his life.

The bible says God send his word to Jacob, it lighted upon Israel.

That word of God will only remain a promise to Jacob, but will be fulfilled upon Israel. So the manifestation of that blessing is waiting to come upon Israel, not Jacob. So until he became Israel, he never entered into the fulfilment of that promise.

Transformation from Jacob to Israel requires a wrestling. A wrestling alone. A battle he needed to fight alone.

Because, dominion does not come by pronouncement but by the sword.

Isaac told Esau in Genesis 27: 40

40 You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck. ”

Our transformation seasons, when identity is changed, never happen by accident. It’s something we are to be deliberate about.

We wrestle to become the new us. The devil is not afraid of who you have become, he is more afraid of who you will become. He is afraid of the Israel in you, not the Jacob you are.

The devil knows that the emergence of the new you is a threat to him. So he is also doing everything to stop you from emerging.

Elijah told Elisha, what you are asking for is a hard thing, but nevertheless if you can see me when I go, then it is done.

Elisha wanted to change identity to Elijah in seven fold. He wanted to change his identity to a hard thing. Because What was awaiting the people of his days, requires a HARD THING man to confront it.

We can claim the blessings of Abraham everyday of our lives. We can claim the benefits available for us in Christ Jesus, but as long as we the heir remain a child, we can’t fully access what is available for us.

Jesus came as a child hut he grew. The devil fought him at the cross, because his death is his transformation. He was highly exalted by the father and was given a NAME that nothing must resist.

That was the emergence of Jesus. He moved from the son of a carpenter to the saviour whose name gives answers.

There is a new you ,your world is waiting for. There is a new you, your generation needs to see. But there is a battle to fight to emerge.
It doesn’t happen by change, we grow into it, we walk into it deliberately. Until Jacob stayed alone, he couldn’t step into the provision of the true blessings for his life.

We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers.

Elijah told Elisha you are asking for a hard thing because what you want to become is a hard thing. Seven fold of my spirit is not a joke, its a hard thing. You will have to wrestle for it. He said you shall be called Israel for you have wrestled…

A change of identity does not come with just folding your hands, there is a battle to fight. It’s time to wrestle for a change of name.

Written by thevictorial