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The God Who Loves Bad People Made any mistakes today? Have you lied, cheated, stolen, conned or broken the law? Do you think that God would never lift you into spiritual leadership because of your lack of faith or doubt? Think again. God changes bad people into leaders all the time and that’s exactly what he has planned for you. God knew you from the first interplanetary star dust and he chose you to lead his people. This is not because of anything that you did but because God chose you. You have been given unique skills and a life history that uniquely prepares you for spiritual leadership. If you will look at all of the great leaders in the bible you will find a lot of bad boys. Moses was a murderer. David was a murderer and adulterer. Isaiah was a man of unclean lips. God chose murderers, cursers, conmen, liars, cheaters, stealers, and adulators and made them great. The word Jacob means trickster. Jacob was a bad boy, conman and thief. He lied to his own father stealing his brother’s birthright. Yet in the end, God changed his name to Israel and named his family after him. Genesis 27 1When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." "Here I am," he answered. 2Isaac said, "I am now an old man and don't know the day of my death. 3Now then, get your weapons--your quiver and bow--and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die." 5Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, 6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7`Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.' 8Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: 9Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. 10Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies." 11Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "But my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a man with smooth skin. 12What if my father touches me? I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse on myself rather than a blessing." 13His mother said to him, "My son, let the curse fall on me. Just do what I say; go and get them for me." 14So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it. 15Then Rebekah took the best clothes of Esau her older son, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins. 17Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made. 18He went to his father and said, "My father." "Yes, my son," he answered. "Who is it?" 19Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing." 20Isaac asked his son, "How did you find it so quickly, my son?" "The LORD your God gave me success," he replied. 21Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not." 22Jacob went close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. 24"Are you really my son Esau?" he asked. "I am," he replied. 25Then he said, "My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing." Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come here, my son, and kiss me." 27So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, "Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed. 28May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness an abundance of grain and new wine. 29May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed." 30After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, "My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing." 32His father Isaac asked him, "Who are you?" "I am your son," he answered, "your firstborn, Esau." 33Isaac trembled violently and said, "Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came and I blessed him--and indeed he will be blessed!" 34When Esau heard his father's words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me--me too, my father!" 35But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing." Genesis 35 9After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10God said to him, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel. There is wicked in the best of us and good in the worst of us. We may wonder what God can do with the bad girl or bad boy in me. God takes murderers and changes them. He takes the wicked and makes them prophets. And if God puts his hand on you nothing in the powers of hell can take away the anointing. So don’t think you are too bad for God. God loves bad boys and bad girls. He lifts them up to glory.
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