In this sermon, we are invited to reflect on the New Covenant—a promise of personal relationship and transformation that God makes with His people. Drawing from Jeremiah 31:27-34, Genesis 32:22-31, and Luke 18:1-8, Tabi explores how God’s covenant moves from being collective to deeply individual, from something inherited to something experienced.
Through Jeremiah 31, we see God’s desire for a new kind of covenant—one no longer written on tablets of stone, but written on human hearts. Unlike the old covenant, which Israel inherited through their ancestors, this new covenant calls each believer into a personal relationship with God. It is no longer about belonging to a nation but about belonging to God Himself. “I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
The story of Jacob in Genesis 32 then becomes a living picture of this new covenant. Jacob had long lived under the blessings of his fathers’ covenant, but not under his own encounter with God. At Bethel, he experienced the house of God; at Peniel, he met the God of the house. There, alone and broken, he wrestled through the night and refused to let go until God blessed him. Tabi explains that every believer must reach this point—a moment where faith moves beyond inherited religion into personal encounter. When Jacob’s hip was touched, it symbolized the breaking of self-reliance. From that night onward, Jacob limped, but he walked with God. His name changed from Jacob, the deceiver, to Israel, “one who prevails with God.”
The sermon challenges us to recognize that the promises of God’s house—peace, prosperity, and protection—are good, but they are not the destination. God calls us to more: to meet Him face to face, to move from comfort to calling, from religion to relationship. Like Jacob, we must be willing to lose our “hip”—the thing we most depend on—to gain a deeper walk with God.
Finally, through Luke 18, we learn that this covenant life is sustained through persistent prayer. The widow’s relentless cry before the unjust judge mirrors our need to “wrestle” in prayer—faith that refuses to quit until God’s presence and purpose are revealed. Tabi reminds us that a Christian who does not pray is a believer who cannot wrestle, and without wrestling, there can be no blessing.
Key Takeaways:
- The new covenant is personal—God’s law written on your heart, not just inherited from tradition.
- Jacob’s story shows that every believer must move from knowing about God to encountering God.
- True encounter requires isolation, wrestling, and surrender.
- God often breaks our strength to make us dependent on His grace.
- Persistent prayer is the believer’s way of wrestling until blessing comes.
- When God changes your name, He aligns your identity with your destiny.
- Returning to Bethel—“El Bethel”—means no longer just living in God’s house but knowing the God of the house.
Reflection: Will you stay content with just dwelling in God’s house, or will you dare to wrestle until you meet the God of the house?
