Marcus Mecum - The Power of Going Beyond (12/14/2025)
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Drawing from Genesis 31 and Matthew 5:41, Jacob's twenty years of faithful, extra-mile service to the deceitful Laban—despite mistreatment and changed wages—showed God saw his diligence and affliction, blessing him richly; like Rebekah and Joseph, this second-mile spirit pleases God and leads to breakthrough, just as Jesus went further for us on the cross.
Going the Second Mile
Genesis chapter 31. Genesis chapter 31. Matthew 5:41. Jesus instructs us that when someone asks you to go one mile, you should dig deep and not just go the mile that’s requested. You should actually go a second mile. And that’s what I want to talk to you about. I want to discuss going the extra mile. Going that second mile. The miracle mile is what one preacher called it.
Jacob's Defense to Laban
Let’s look at verse 36, and we’ll check the screens. Yeah. All right. Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, «What is my trespass? What is my sin that you have so hotly pursued me? Although you’ve searched all my things.»
Basically, Jacob is telling Laban, his father-in-law, that he had accused him of stealing. And he’s asking, «So what of your household things have you found? Set them up here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both.» «These 20 years,» Jacob says to Laban, «I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young. I have not eaten the rams of your flock. That which was torn by a beast, I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it. You required it from my hand. In other words, it came from my resources. It was yours. Something out of my control did this. But I still made sure whether it was stolen by day or by night.»
«Watch this. There I was in the day; the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; my sleep departed from my eyes. I didn’t get any sleep. I was taking care of your stuff. Thus, I have been in your house 20 years. I served you 14 years for your two daughters, one of whom you snuck in on me, and six years for your flock. And you’ve changed my wages 10 times. You are sorry! Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands.»
The Backstory of Jacob and Rachel
The backstory here, if you’ll let me just tell it: many of you may be aware of it, but Esau was Jacob’s brother. They were twins. Jacob had deceived his brother Esau out of his birthright. Rightfully so, Esau was angry, upset, and wanted revenge; he had a vendetta. So, Jacob’s mom said, «Hey, you better get out of here. Esau is going to take your life. He’s going to kill you. He can see it. He’s going to get you, Jacob.»
So, Jacob takes off running for his life. At some point, after many days, he gets tired and exhausted. He sits down by a well. He’s there to get a drink of water, and out of the corner of his eye, unexpectedly, this woman comes walking by. Immediately he zeroes in on her. He loses his breath, and his heart starts to pound out of his chest. I mean, this girl was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He sees this woman and does what he probably shouldn’t have done: he kind of stalks her a little, follows her home, and finds out where she lives. He goes, knocks on the door, and asks her dad, Laban, if maybe he could get a job. So, he’s angling, right? He’s trying to find his way in. He says, «Hey, would you give me a job?» Laban’s like, «I don’t really know you. I don’t know your background. I haven’t looked at your resume. I haven’t done a reference check.» I’m adding some color to it; hopefully, you’re flowing with me a little bit.
But hey, listen. This is what Jacob says: «This is what I’ll do to prove myself to you. I’ll work 30 days. I’ll give you 30 days; you don’t have to pay me one cent. You don’t have to do anything for me, but I’m going to give it to you; 30 days, and I’ll show you the kind of worker I am.» Laban allows him to do it. After the 30 days are up, Jacob has proved himself. Laban says, «Sure enough, I think I want to offer you a job.» And Jacob says, «Hey, before you make the offer, this is what I’m asking for you. I’ve noticed your daughter over there, this girl named Rachel. She’s caught my attention, and I notice she’s single, and I’m single, and I’m just wondering if I work hard enough and earn your respect, maybe I could ask for your daughter’s hand in marriage.»
Laban thinks about it for a bit and says, «Okay, how about you work seven years? You don’t get one penny. I’ll make sure that your belly is full and you have a place to sleep, and that’s it. Seven years.» Jacob is so enthralled. He is so enamored with this girl that he just can’t stand himself. He says, «I’ll do it.» As unreasonable as it is— as outlandish as it is— we all know love doesn’t make any sense. He says, «Okay, seven years I’ll work. You don’t have to pay me anything, and I’ll do it.»
Seven years go by. The day he shows up for the wedding, there his new bride is, wearing a veil. He goes to the honeymoon, wakes up, and lifts the veil of this woman, but it’s not the girl he fell in love with. It’s not that girl he saw at the well. It’s her older sister, Leah. Jacob is upset. He runs to Laban and says, «You deceived me!» But he doesn’t want to go too far because he still wants a chance at Rachel. So he says, «It’s fine. Okay, fine. I’ll take care of this one. But what do I have to do to get Rachel?» Laban once again sees the vulnerability, sees that love-struck look in Jacob’s eyes, and says, «You’ll have to work seven more years, no pay. I’ll feed you. I’ll make sure you have a place to sleep.»
But as he begins to work for him and puts in his effort and excellence, giving it everything he’s got, he works like it’s his own company, like these are his own herds and flocks. The Bible says those flocks multiplied from just a few to hundreds and thousands. For 14 years he did this, never paid a penny. Ten times, the Bible says, Jacob’s wages were changed by Laban. That Laban would move the goal line somehow. He would make an agreement: «If you reach this quota, if you reach this goal, then I’ll give you this bonus, or I’ll pay you such and such.» But every time he got there, the Bible says Laban would come up with some excuse to break his end of the deal. Not once did Jacob show disrespect. Not once did he show dishonor. Although he was being wronged, the scripture says Laban was mightily blessed because of Jacob’s work.
The Deal for the Spotted Flocks
Finally, after 14 years, Jacob says, «Okay, I’m going to make a deal that I believe is fair. I believe it’s a deal that you should be able to keep. I’ve got two wives now, and I’ve got some kids coming up. Surely, you know I have to take care of my family, and these are your daughters and your grandchildren. So, this is what I’m going to ask you to do: I’m going to ask that of all your flocks and all your herds, if there are any lambs or cattle that are spotted, those belong to me; and any without spots belong to you.» Well, Laban looks out over all the flocks and herds and sees none that are spotted. He says, «This guy’s an idiot. This guy’s lost his mind. Of course, I’m going to take this deal.»
So, he takes the deal, and Jacob begins to work. He works for another six years for a total of 20 years. Suddenly, the Bible says one day they look up, and the number of spotted cattle and sheep and goats outnumbered the others. The Bible states that Laban and his sons got jealous and began to say to themselves, «How is it that he began with such a small number just a few years back? How is it that his have now?» They begin to think in their minds he’s doing something shady, something wrong. As a result, they get jealous of him. But no matter what their attitude was, no matter how they treated him, Jacob just had something about him. It’s called the principle of the second mile. Even though he didn’t have to do what he did, even though he didn’t have to keep going the extra mile, he kept doing it. The Bible says God noticed. God was watching. God saw. God was a witness to this scenario. No matter how unfair it was, no matter how he was mistreated, God was taking note. God was the one keeping score in this situation.
Jacob's Escape and Confrontation
The Bible says Jacob can see that things are about to go bad. He can see that his father-in-law is about to lose it. He can see that his brother-in-laws are turning against him. So, in the middle of the night, he decides to grab his two wives, his children, and all of the flocks that he had agreed with Laban would belong to him, and he escapes. He’s just trying to get away in peace. He wants no conflict and no trouble. He just wants to get away to find a place where he can raise his family. So, he escapes in the middle of the night. Laban finds out what he has done, and he is furious. He is angry. He cannot believe that Jacob has taken his daughters and grandchildren. He can’t believe Jacob has done this. So, he sets out with his sons to go find Jacob, convinced that Jacob has stolen from him and has been dishonest with him in some way.
Finally, he catches up to Jacob and accuses him of stealing. He’s attacking Jacob’s integrity. The Bible says there is Jacob. For 20 years he had never pushed back. Ten times his wages had been changed. Jacob kept his mouth shut. It didn’t matter what had gone wrong or what the mistreatment was; Jacob never spoke up. He just pushed it down. And now, after 20 years, he is being accused of stealing and of dishonesty. Jacob finally can’t take it anymore. He’s done being quiet. He’s done pushing things down. He says, «All right, I’m going to let this guy have it.»
He says, «For 20 years I’ve served you. For 20 years, I gave you everything I got. For 14 years, I worked for your two daughters and didn’t take one penny from you. One of those seven-year terms I didn’t even agree to. I never ate one of your sheep. I never saw one of your lambs or cattle killed by a lion and expected you to pay for it. If a drought came and killed off half your flock, not once did I take that problem to you. I replenished it out of my own pocket. I took care of it out of my own resources. I’ve never been dishonest with you. I’ve never wronged you in any way. The opposite is true. I always made sure your bottom line was prioritized. I always made sure you prospered. Not one year did I serve you when we weren’t adding zeros to your name. And you’ve got the nerve to come and accuse me of stealing!»
He makes this statement that we read: «If it had not been for God, you would have left me empty-handed.» God saw two things: He saw Jacob’s affliction, and He saw how diligently he worked. God said, «I see when you go the second mile. I see when you’re being treated unfairly. I see when you go the extra mile.»
The Power of the Second Mile
Not just that, but Jacob begins to teach us that there is incredible power that comes to a person who can somehow find the strength, courage, and internal fortitude to say, «I’m not going to do what everyone else does. I’m going to go the second mile.» And God said, «Jacob is going the second mile. I’m going to prosper him. I’m going to protect him. I’m going to provide for him.» The Bible says he went in with nothing but his rod or a stick and came out, after all that mistreatment, as a very rich man.
I’m basically saying that what Jacob understood is that it doesn’t matter how bad people treat you. It doesn’t matter how unjust the situation is. If you’ll do what is right, God sees your affliction. God sees the mistreatment. God sees your diligence and your ability to work in the midst of that. God sees when you’re able to find the strength to go the second mile.
Rebekah's Second Mile at the Well
This is the whole sermon: where did he learn this? This is a rare quality, is it not? I mean, how unusual is it for people to go the extra mile? How unusual is it when everyone else says you should have limits? You should have conditions. Again, I’m not saying you should be a doormat, but everyone’s saying you should have conditions. How unusual is it? And where did he learn this?
If you go meet his mother, you might remember the story in Genesis chapter 24. Abraham had his son Isaac, the promised son who one day would be that great nation. God said to Abraham, «I need you to find the right wife for Isaac.» So, He sent Eleazar out to scour the earth, going to wherever far reaches he had to, looking for the perfect woman. Abraham told him, «You’ll know when you find the woman because she’ll not only offer you a drink; she’ll offer your camels a drink.»
Eleazar sets off, traversing great deserts and finally coming to a place where his camels, ten of them, have traveled so far that they need to be replenished. They need nourishment; they can’t go any further. He stops at a nearby well, and he thinks that there’s this woman who shows up. He thinks she’s just going to give him permission to drink, but she doesn’t do that. She says, «Hey, listen. I can see that you’ve traveled a long way. I can see that you are exhausted and tired. I want you to sit down, and I’ll personally go and make sure that every single one of those ten camels is taken care of.»
Now, every camel can hold 30 gallons of water. So, what she’s telling Eleazar is, «I’m going to go and get 300 gallons of water and make sure everything’s taken care of.» Understand, she’s not going to find a spot somewhere and turn it on. She’s not going to grab a hose and pull it over to this camel and then that camel and that camel. She’s got to go personally grab a bucket, go fill it with gallons of water, and track it all the way over to where the camel is, and she’s going to give it to him.
I don’t know for sure; I’m just thinking out loud. This is just my thoughts on it. I think it’s very possible that after one, two, maybe three camels, she says to herself, «I don’t know if I can do all ten. My hands are tired, and my feet are aching. All ten? Isn’t that a little extreme? Isn’t that going a little far?» But she pushes through the pain. She pushes through the ache. She pushes through all the things going on in her mind saying, «You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to go that far. He’s gotten some rest; he could get up and help you. He’s a grown man.» She pushes through all of that, having no idea that on the other side of what she was doing would be her future husband.
Not only would it be her future husband, but she would also become part of the seed of Abraham. She would be integral in giving birth to the nation of Israel. Not only that, but she would also become part of the New Testament lineage of Jesus. You can go read her name; she is part—a great, great, great grandmother of our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. She had no idea because I believe what God knew, that if I’m going to bring my son into the earth, somewhere in the bloodline, there has to be the miracle, the ability, the strength, the courage—that in their DNA, in their genetics, is this thing that digs deep and says, «I don’t want to be normal. I don’t want to be average. I don’t want to be mediocre. I want my son’s lineage to have that second-mile push.»
I believe if God goes looking for greatness, if God seeks someone He can trust, He looks for someone willing to go the extra mile.
Joseph's Second Mile Spirit
See, the Bible says not only was it in Jacob, not only was it in Rebecca, but we can also read that it was in Jacob’s son, Joseph. Remember the story of Joseph, right? His brothers became jealous of him and decided they were going to kill him. Judah spoke up and said, «Hey, why kill him when we can make some money off of him?» So, they sold Joseph into slavery.
Now, you know what a slave does? A slave does exactly what his master tells him to do: no more, no less. He takes his orders, gets his instructions, and does enough to please his earthly master. But the Bible says Joseph not only went into slavery but became so effective that Potiphar put him over his entire house. He goes from being a slave to ruling the entire place he was in. The Bible says he became very successful in Potiphar’s house because of his work ethic. Something in him didn’t just do what’s normal or what’s expected. His owner recognized that he went a little bit further.
Potiphar’s wife, of course, accuses him of a crime he didn’t commit, and Joseph goes to prison. The Bible says in prison, what do prisoners do? They wake up, go to bed, eat, and do what’s required of them. They do their time to get out. But the Bible says anything that happened in that prison went through Joseph. He goes to prison as a prisoner, and now he is put in charge of the whole prison. The other prisoners say, «This is the guy we’re going to allow to make the calls and call the shots.»
He gets out of prison, ends up in Egypt, and works his way through all the bottom ranks and menial jobs until he’s the second in command of an entire nation. I’m talking about the second mile. I’m talking about how something inside you says, «I understand that everything is working against me. Everything is opposing me. Everything is trying to push me down. Everything is trying to keep me out. Everything in the world is trying to convince me of what I can’t be and what I’ll never be.» But something inside of Joseph refused to accept it.
It didn’t matter if he was enslaved. It didn’t matter if his brothers turned on him. It didn’t matter if he was wrongly accused. It didn’t matter where he was, what the task was—he kept going the second mile. Now God begins to bless the nation he was in. A famine hits where his family lives, so his brothers are forced to leave and go look for food. They show up, and there they are; Joseph sees his brothers once again.
Now think about it: he has to make the decision. These are the people that tried to kill him and sold him into slavery. Every bad experience he’s had in his life has happened because of these brothers. They don’t recognize him because many years have passed. The Bible says he says to them, «We’re going to have a dinner.» He goes overboard with this meal. He doesn’t just give them a little portion; he kills the choicest meats and lays it all out.
The Bible says Joseph has to leave the dinner and go to a back room where he begins to cry and weep. He breaks down because everything in him wants revenge. Everything in him wants to get even. Everything in him wants to respond to all the pain he’s been through. But he comes out to that dinner and says, «I want you guys to eat up.» And by the way, you haven’t recognized me, but I’m Joseph. Immediately fear hits them, and they think, «Surely he’s poisoned the meal. This is our last meal; we’re going to the execution chamber.» They begin to save face and try to make it right.
Joseph says, «Listen, listen, listen. What you meant for my evil, God meant for my good.» Jacob and Rebecca and Joseph all kept going the second mile. They kept doing extra.
The Difference Between First and Second Mile
If you love those who love you, that’s normal. If you’re kind to those who are kind to you, that’s average. If all you do is give to those who give to you, that’s not unusual. But if you love those who hurt you and persecute you, if you pray for your enemies and those who hurt you, if you’re kind to the people who have wronged you, you’re beginning to catch a glimpse of the second mile.
You see, the problem with being average is you’re as close to the bottom as you are to the top. But when you go the second mile, you make a decision: «I don’t care what this world is like. I’m going to be an A+ in a C- world.» Not because man requires it, not because a preacher preached about it, but because it pleases Him. Because it pleases God. I’m going the second mile because I have a God who has called me to do more than be normal and average.
A Call for a Second-Mile Church
I just want to say real quick: I didn’t go through all I’ve gone through, and I didn’t decide to pastor a church because I just wanted to be a normal pastor and pastor a normal church. I didn’t want to pastor a big church or a mega church or this church or that church. I wanted to pastor a second-mile church. I wanted to pastor a church that says, «No matter what is happening in this world, no matter how much they try to push the church down or push the church out, we’re going to make the decision to keep going the second mile.»
You do more than is expected. When you walked into this church today, you ran into people everywhere who made a decision: «I’m going the second mile. I’m not going to be an attender. I’m not going to just sit in a seat. I’m going to serve. I’m going to deal with the angry people in the parking lot.» That’s you, by the way. Not because they woke up feeling it. Not because they woke up thinking, «This is what I want to do today.» Not because the rest of their week was cleared up and today was the day they felt, «Oh, I’m going to go do extra.» They have busy lives like you do.
But this church is what it is because people keep going the second mile. They keep saying, «We’re not going to be normal. We don’t want to be normal. That’s not what God has called us to be.» They go the extra mile in generosity. They go the extra mile in their giving. They go the extra mile in their serving. They go the extra mile in reaching people. They go the extra mile in their homes. They go the extra mile at their jobs. They go the extra mile for their customers. They go the extra mile for their clients. They go the extra mile because it glorifies God.
Jesus Going a Little Further
Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane— this principle kicked in. The Bible says in Matthew 26:39 that He went a little further. I love that. Everyone was expecting Him to go so far, but the Bible says He went a little bit further. There He prayed a prayer that became so intense that His sweat became great drops of blood. His prayer was one we’ve heard many times: «Not my will.» I don’t want to go the second mile; it’s too far. What you’re asking of me is too much. To go any further is unreasonable. It doesn’t make sense. Like Jacob—remember, it didn’t make sense. He loved Rachel so much; it didn’t matter how unreasonable the first seven years were and then a second.
It was so outlandish what he was asked to do, but because of his love for Rachel— in the same way, Jesus is there in the garden saying, «Not my will; if there be any way, take this cup from me.» It wasn’t the fact that he wanted to go through the pain or the labor or the cross; it was just his love for us. It was so unreasonable; it was so outlandish that the Bible says He went ahead and said, «Not my will, but thine be done.» What was He saying? «I’m going to go the second mile. I’m going to keep going even though everything inside me is saying pull back.»
And my question is, how many times has He gone a little bit further with you? I mean, how many times have you said, «Man, I can’t believe it. He shouldn’t still be in this with me. I’ve done so much wrong. I’ve made such a mess of things. I know He’s all loving. I know all that. But surely there are conditions on my situation because of how much I’ve messed up.» And somehow, He went a little bit further for you.
I really do think that the reason I’m pastoring today is not because of some innate talent or gift. It’s because, somehow, when everything in me and everything in life said, «Give up on that one,» God said, «You know, I’m going to go a little bit further with that one.» That’s because that’s who He is. He’s the God of the second mile. And because that’s who He is, that’s who we are. So, we don’t show up at church and do normal church. We don’t show up and say, «Well, let’s just try to make sure this doesn’t go too far.» Where’s that in your Bible?
That’s the first mile, right? By the way, the first mile—that’s law. The second mile—that’s love. The first mile—that’s drudgery. When you decide to go the second mile, that’s when you find victory. The first mile is when the world is conquering you. The second mile is when you say, «You don’t have to worry about conquering me; I’m going to conquer myself.» The second mile is when you say, «I’m doing more than is expected. I’m going the second mile because I’m going to follow in the beautiful footprints of my Savior.»
He didn’t have to go to that bloody cross for me. He didn’t have to bleed and die for me. He didn’t die a normal death for me, and He didn’t live a normal life for me. He went the second mile. And I’m a miracle today because my God knows how to go the extra mile. Are you thankful for that today?
Worship and Prayer for the Second Mile
Hey, can we lift our hands at all of our locations? I want us to not be normal in worship. I want your worship to be a second mile moment of worship. So, whatever you thought about doing over the next three minutes, go a little bit further. Can we do that? You ready? I don’t know what that looks like at all our locations. Let’s go a little bit further. Come on, let’s lift our hands.
All my life, you have been faithful. All my life, you’ve been so good. All my life, you went a little bit further. All my life, you have been faithful. Thank you for saying, «I’ll drink the cup.» All my life, you have been so good. With every breath that I am able. Oh. Come on. Let’s break the mold today. Let’s go that extra mile. We bless you, Jesus.
We’re going a little bit further. This is my—hey, I want you to lay hands on yourself. Can you do that? I lay hands on myself all the time. I know that’s weird, but this morning I was on my prayer walk, praying for you. I prayed for every location. I prayed for all kinds of details through the service today. Then I laid hands on myself. «Lord, would you anoint me to go the extra mile today? Would you anoint me as a pastor? Would you anoint us as a church to go the second mile?»
So, just, you can lay there if you want. You can just keep your hand in your pocket and just lay your hands on your thigh. God forbid you’d have to do something that makes you uncomfortable. But Father, in Jesus' name, we’re having fun. What a beautiful thing to be in the presence of the God who goes the second mile. Thank you, Jesus. When you shouldn’t have gone any further, somehow you went a little bit further with us. Now I pray that you would anoint every man, every woman, and every young person in this room. Where the conditions have said, «Don’t go any further,» you’ve gone far enough—in marriages where in their minds they think, «I can’t keep doing this. I can’t go any further.»
In the name of Jesus, we pray anointing to hit that marriage. Today, they make the decision, «Not my will, but thine be done. I will go the extra mile. We’re going to make it work.» We will gain victory in our homes with sons, with daughters, at the job, with the employer, with the employee, with clients, and with customers. Father, with friends, with aunts, with uncles, with moms, with dads. Father, I pray for an anointing; like Joseph went to the back room, if we have to shed some tears, if we need to break and cry, if we have to suck it up and go back to whatever challenge we’re facing, whatever mistreatment we’re facing, and make the decision: «What that situation meant for my evil, God, you were watching. God, you were taking note. God, you saw my willingness to go the extra mile.»
I thank you for that, God. I thank you that in my life, I will not stop short. I won’t stop at the one mile. I’ll go the extra mile. Praise the name of Jesus. Praise the name of Jesus.
Altar Call for Salvation
Every eye closed, every head bowed at all our locations. You’d say, «Marcus, I’m not right with Jesus Christ.» Today, I believe this service was specifically for you. God’s going to go a little bit further. In your mind, you just don’t think it’s time, or you don’t think you’re ready, or you don’t think this applies to someone like you. You’ve been who you are, you’ve done what you’ve done, and you’ve thought how you’ve thought. But you’re in this service, and I want you to know He’s going to go the extra mile for you.
If you’re here today and you say, «Marcus, I need to get right with God,» and you want me to pray for you. You want a new beginning. You need forgiveness. Lift that hand as high as you can at all of our locations. One, two, three. Throw that hand up as high as you can. You want heaven as your home. You want to get ready for eternity. Keep that hand raised as high as you can. God bless you, young man. Thank you. Thank you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. Keep that hand raised as high as you can.
Keep it raised. Friends of mine are going to find you. God bless you over here. Is there anybody else? Anybody else? He’s going the second mile. He’s going a little bit further. Is anybody thankful that He didn’t just do what was expected? Because He should have given up on us. But He went a little bit further. And today He’s going a little bit further.
Let’s all put our hands on our hearts and say this with me: «Jesus, thank you that you drank the cup, which was my sin — my judgment, the consequences that I should have borne.» You drank that cup on the cross and you gave me the cup of salvation, redemption, and a brand new beginning.
So today, I say thank you for going the second mile. Thank you for forgiveness. Thank you for dying on that cross in my place. You faced my judgment so I could have your life. I ask you to forgive me, cleanse me, wash me. I repent. I turn from the life I’ve been living, and I receive you now and all that that involves. I believe that you are God’s only Son and that He raised you from the dead. And I give you my life now. I surrender my life to you. It’s not mine anymore. I’m giving my life to you today, Jesus. And we all said a big amen. Amen.