WEBVTT

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I am Pastor Nathan, and today we are going to

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begin the final section of the book of Genesis.

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We're going to be starting the story of Joseph.

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Now, you know, at the very beginning of Genesis,

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when we opened this book, we saw how God summarized

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the entirety of creation in ten words. He said,

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in the beginning, God created the heavens and

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the earth. Pretty short to summarize something

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so magnificent, so huge, so big, right? Everything

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in the universe, every planet, every star, every

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atom, every molecule, every nebula, 10 verses.

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I made that. And that's really all God has to

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say, right? But what's interesting is 25 % of

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the entire book of Genesis is given over to the

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story of Joseph. More than the story of Abraham,

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Isaac, Jacob. And, you know, as important as

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the origin of all things is, God is ultimately

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more concerned with people than he is with origins.

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We all have an origin story. And, you know, some

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of us before Christ, our origin story led to

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us becoming superheroes or supervillains, right?

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But none of that matters because for those of

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us that know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior,

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there was a point in time where he entered in

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and changed our lives forever. And God doesn't

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care about where you were, who you were, what

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you did. What he cares about is you as a person.

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And if you know him as your Lord and Savior,

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man, he loves you with an everlasting love that

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you'll never understand. And that's beautiful.

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Now, in all of Scripture, there are only two

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men in which nothing evil is recorded about them.

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These two men are Joseph and Daniel. And incidentally,

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both of these men are images, pictures of Jesus

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Christ. But the story of Joseph, as we begin

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here, this will take us all the way through the

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end of this book. It is an absolute masterpiece

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of God's hidden hand in the everyday and the

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ordinary. You see, as we go through the story

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of Joseph, we're not going to see any miracles

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in his story. And what I mean by that is we're

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not going to see any any stories of God suspending

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the natural laws of the universe to do something

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mighty and awe -inspiring. God is simply going

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to work through the everyday events of human

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life. He's going to work through jealousy, favoritism,

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dreams, betrayal, just people. He's going to

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work through people and their everyday lives

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all to achieve his will, his plan, which is redemption.

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Now, we've seen God's providence in prior events

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in Genesis back when we were studying Jacob when

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he met his wife Rachel. And we talked about how

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it was just her happening to be showing up at

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the well that day and Jacob happening to get

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there at the right time and having one of those

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circumstances that we would call coincidental.

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And we talked about at that time how God's providence

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was working through those details. To remind

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us all, providence is simply God sovereignly

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arranging ordinary events for his predetermined

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outcome. And so when we think of a miracle, I

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want to define it this way. God acting supernaturally,

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unnaturally. That's a miracle, right? If God

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suspended the law of gravity right now and we

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all floated to the roof, that would be pretty

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unnatural, you would think, right? Can God do

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that? Absolutely, if he chose to. But providence

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is God acting supernaturally, Through the natural,

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through the everyday, through those things that

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we think are just results of our own decisions.

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And we're going to talk about what all that means

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today. So many of those moments that we might

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call coincidence, chance meetings, those things

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that just happen to happen or what are the odds

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of that coming to happen, we all experience these

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types of things in our lives. But the reality

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with the child of God is what is coincidental

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to us, what seems accidental to us is providential

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with God. And this includes even the hard and

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difficult stuff we go with, the sufferings, the

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traumas, the challenges, the difficulties. Through

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that lens, we are coming to Genesis 37 today

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to meet a 17 -year -old boy named Joseph, a very

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naive, sincere, favored, destined young man whose

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story begins in the midst of a deeply, deeply

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flawed family. So that's what we'll be studying

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this morning, but first we're going to spend

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time worshiping God because he's worth it. Is

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he worth it? Does he deserve all the worship?

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Right. He deserves all the worship all the time.

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And that's what we get to do here today. And

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so I just encourage all of us, you know, just

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let go of whatever's on your mind, work, family

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issues, challenges. Even let go of that thing

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that maybe is on your mind today that you said,

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I need to come and get prayer and seek the Lord

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on this. Because all of that is addressed from

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the altar of the Lord. And we want to start by

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praising his name in worship. So if you'll pray

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with me. Father God, we thank you so much for

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today. We thank you so much for this opportunity

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to gather together in your name and Lord, to

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worship you, to study your word. God, Lord, your

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word is life for us. Your word is the answer

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to everything. God, you gave us this that we

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would know you and who you are and what you want

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of us and how to get there. All of it, God. And

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so, Lord, I pray today as we begin this last

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part of Genesis, Lord, the beginning, and we

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start to study the life of this man, Joseph,

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Lord, that you would encourage us as you have

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been through this entire book, that you would

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speak to our hearts as you have been through

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this entire book. God, that you would draw us

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closer to you, Lord, especially as we learn really

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what it means to understand your sovereignty

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as it is expressed in the Bible. and its existence

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with our free will and our own decision -making,

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God, and how those things might reconcile together.

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Because, God, we do have a free will, and we

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make choices every day, and, God, we have things

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happen, Lord, that we simply look at and go,

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there's no way I could have planned that, and

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yet at the same time, God, we do know that you

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are sovereign and that you take a glance at all

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of eternity, every thought, every decision, every

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life in one snapshot, and you know. And through

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all of it, God, you work your will that we would

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know you and that when we leave this life, we

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would be with you in eternity. So God, we want

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to glorify your name today. We want to lift your

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name on high. We want to praise you for everything

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you've done in our lives, everything you're doing

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in our lives, and God, by faith, everything you're

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going to do in our lives. We love you. We thank

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you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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We are in Genesis chapter 37. We're gonna be

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looking at the first 11 verses this morning as

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we kind of lay the foundation for the beginning

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of this life of Joseph. But this chapter 37 comes

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in contrast to Genesis 36 that we studied last

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week, which was the family line of Esau. I remember

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when I had mentioned to somebody that we're gonna

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be looking at the family line of Esau, they went,

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Esau. Why are we looking at his family line?

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Isn't he kind of out of the story? And that's

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kind of what that chapter was all about. It was

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a picture of a man who had material success,

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political success, secular success, but it ultimately

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meant nothing in the big picture of eternity

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because you could have all the success in the

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world and you could be well -known in the world,

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but if your name is not in the Lamb's Book of

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Life, you die and it's judgment, right? The only...

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thing that matters is a relationship with Jesus

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Christ in this world. And that's what Esau showed

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us. He was the one who walked out of God's promise.

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He was the one that left the promised land. And

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he was the one that had a great life here on

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earth, but ultimately did not have that relationship

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with the Lord. And so Genesis 37 is now the contrast

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to that as we open with really the same line

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that we opened with in Genesis 36, where these

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are the family records of, but now it's telling

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us the family records of Jacob. and really the

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line that God's promise of redemption is going

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to come through. And so if you read with me in

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Genesis 37 .1, it says, Jacob lived in the land

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where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.

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And these are the family records of Jacob. So

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right up front, we are told that Jacob did the

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opposite of what Esau did. If you remember in

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chapter 36, Jacob got home, got to his father's

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house. Esau was there with all his flocks and

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family, and Jacob got there with all his flocks

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and family. And Esau said, whoa, this is, there's

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too much. There's not enough land. The land can't

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support the both of us. And so Esau voluntarily

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said, I will leave. And he actually exited the

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land of Here, in contrast, we're told right up

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front that Jacob did the opposite. He stayed

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in the land that his father had stayed in. His

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father Isaac, who is told of the promises by

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his father Abraham that this is a land that God

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has covenanted to our people, that he's going

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to give it to us one day, although at the time

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the land was still full of pagans and Canaanites

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and Amorites and all the other ites. But Jacob

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stayed. He stayed where God had told him to stay.

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And it was him and his family that really is

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doing something that we all do here on this earth,

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right? When we come to know Jesus Christ, we

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know that we're not of this world. We don't belong

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to this world. But we're in this world, right?

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We're in this land that is currently right now

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belongs to other people. It tells us that Satan

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is the prince of the power of the air and that

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he has a title deed to the earth. And so we're

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sojourning here right now to make a difference

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on this place. But we know ultimately in Revelation

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that everything's going to belong to God, that

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he's going to redeem it all. And so Jacob is

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living that in the world but not fully part of

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it. Problem is, is he's kind of a little bit

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a part of it still. And that's another problem

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we all deal with. That as he was living here

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in this world, we talked about this with Esau,

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that the closer we get to the world in behavior

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and all that, we start to adopt the values of

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the world. And that's one of the dangers of being

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in the world, right? We have to fight and we

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have to... to be very intentional about being

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separate people, of being holy and separated

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and sanctified as God's people. That's why we

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gather together weekly to worship together to

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get in the word. That's why we have community

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groups throughout the week. That's why we encourage

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the body to be and behave as a family because

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we need strength to resist the world. The temptation

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of the world can be very, very difficult or very,

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very strong. At this point in time, as we're

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going to see through the rest of Genesis, that

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Jacob's values are just not fully the way God

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wants them to be, that he's starting to resemble

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those that are in the land of Canaan more than

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those that... more than the values that he's

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supposed to have as a godly man. And for that

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reason, this story with Joseph is telling us

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how God is going to deal with that, how God is

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going to deal with insulating this family, how

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God is going to deal with protecting these people

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that he has called out to be his chosen people,

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as well as a story of how God is going to give

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the pagans in the land time and opportunity to

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repent. And so, verse 2, it starts with, these

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are the family records of Jacob. At 17 years

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of age, Joseph tended sheep with his brothers.

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The young man was working with the sons of Bilhah

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and Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought

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a bad report about them to their father. Now

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Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons

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because Joseph was a son born to him in his old

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age. And he made a long -sleeved robe for him.

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When his brothers saw that their father loved

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him more than all of his brothers, they hated

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him. and could not bring themselves to speak

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peaceably to him. So it's very interesting. These

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are the family records of Jacob. Let's talk about

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Joseph, right? Because again, God, from the very

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beginning of Genesis, has been narrowing down

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the focus of the narrative down to the people

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in the line that he's going to bring his promise

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of redemption through. Now sadly here in the

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family of Jacob, we're told that favoritism is

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still a big issue. You remember Jacob, he had

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four wives, but only one of them was his favorite.

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And way back in the day when that favorite wife

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couldn't bear children, she hatched a plan to

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make sure that she could have kids that were

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a part of her line, so she gave her maidservant

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to Jacob. We know that Leah was the first one

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to bear children, but she was the least favored

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wife, and so they had this big battle of babies.

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And at the time, the only son that had been born

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to his favorite wife, Rachel, was Joseph. Now,

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the family had endured his favoritism through

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years as he treated Rachel with the favoritism.

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It was very obvious he loved her and didn't love

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Leah. And so her son obviously got more attention

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than all the other ones. And this favoritism

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was a big problem in the family and it had caused

00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:55.860
a lot of problems in the family and would continue

00:13:55.860 --> 00:14:00.120
to cause problems in the family. It's interesting

00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:02.240
that Jacob should have known better because he

00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:05.360
had been a victim of favoritism himself. If you

00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:07.779
guys remember back with his story with his father

00:14:07.779 --> 00:14:10.419
Isaac, right? Esau was born, Jacob was grabbing

00:14:10.419 --> 00:14:13.460
the heel, Jacob was born. And Isaac very clearly

00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:17.000
favored Esau as the firstborn in the heir of

00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:20.019
the family. And we could just imagine how Jacob

00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:23.179
felt about that, being treated as lesser because

00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:25.980
the father favored the other one. So he should

00:14:25.980 --> 00:14:29.539
have known better. than to play favorites within

00:14:29.539 --> 00:14:32.580
his own family because he knew how it would impact

00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:36.899
a child, and yet he still did it anyways. You

00:14:36.899 --> 00:14:39.220
know, it's just a picture as can often happen

00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:43.360
that the sins of the parents can echo down through

00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:46.379
the generations. Now, I don't believe in generational

00:14:46.379 --> 00:14:48.679
curses. I don't believe that's a biblical thing.

00:14:49.399 --> 00:14:52.259
But I do believe that the way parents treat their

00:14:52.259 --> 00:14:55.519
kids can often affect how those kids then treat

00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:58.320
their kids. And there's all kinds of stuff when

00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:00.799
it comes to abuse and patterns of abuse. And,

00:15:00.860 --> 00:15:03.879
you know, it's just, it's sad. And, you know,

00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:06.120
no parent is perfect. But parents, you got to

00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:10.059
be very careful the way you treat your children.

00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:13.299
You know, because, again, some of that can affect

00:15:13.299 --> 00:15:14.980
and influence how they are going to treat their

00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:18.000
children. And here it is with Jacob, who had

00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:20.340
been affected by favoritism, now becomes the

00:15:20.340 --> 00:15:22.779
one exercising favoritism. And we're going to

00:15:22.779 --> 00:15:25.179
see the fruit of this. Now, we do know that,

00:15:25.179 --> 00:15:27.679
you know, God's grace can intervene in any of

00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:30.000
that. God's grace enters in and changes people

00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:32.399
completely. And that's always the point and the

00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:35.059
goal that we point people to. But still, we have

00:15:35.059 --> 00:15:37.220
issues here. Now, it tells us right off the bat

00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:41.080
that Joseph is 17 years of age. Now, if you go

00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:44.720
back in the math, that will tell us, you know,

00:15:44.779 --> 00:15:47.759
pretty closely what the ages of the rest of his

00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:50.220
brothers are. If you go back to the other chapters

00:15:50.220 --> 00:15:52.480
when they were born and which wife gave birth

00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:55.620
to who and all of that, we can speculate on the

00:15:55.620 --> 00:15:58.179
ages. And essentially, the four children that

00:15:58.179 --> 00:16:01.440
were born to Leah, Reuben, the firstborn, Simeon,

00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:04.600
Levi, and Judah, they're between the ages of

00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:09.429
21 to possibly 26 at this point. Bilhah, who

00:16:09.429 --> 00:16:11.750
gave birth to the next two, Dan and Naphtali,

00:16:11.950 --> 00:16:16.549
they're between 18 and 21. Zilpah, who gave birth

00:16:16.549 --> 00:16:19.350
to Gad and Asher, her children are between 17

00:16:19.350 --> 00:16:23.169
and 20. Leah, who then again gave birth to Issachar

00:16:23.169 --> 00:16:26.389
and Zebulun, they're between 17 to 19. And then

00:16:26.389 --> 00:16:28.710
you have Joseph here, who it tells us very concretely

00:16:28.710 --> 00:16:32.399
at this point is 17 years old. Benjamin, the

00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:35.039
final son, had been born on their way into the

00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:37.879
land, so it's speculative that he's between the

00:16:37.879 --> 00:16:39.960
ages of nine and 12 right now, but what you have

00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:42.299
is a story where you have one of the youngest

00:16:42.299 --> 00:16:45.019
brothers in the family out working with all his

00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:47.440
other brothers, and they're either late teenagers

00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:50.820
or all young adults. Now, all the boys are working

00:16:50.820 --> 00:16:54.299
in the family business, tending the sheep, and

00:16:54.299 --> 00:16:59.399
as little brothers do, Joseph tattles. You ever

00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:03.350
been tattled on? It's pretty infuriating, right?

00:17:03.889 --> 00:17:06.490
I got tattled on a lot. I was the older brother,

00:17:06.549 --> 00:17:09.329
and my younger brother liked to tattle on me.

00:17:10.109 --> 00:17:13.670
And then when he would see me after the tattling,

00:17:13.690 --> 00:17:19.170
he was like, oh, no, I tattled, right? And I

00:17:19.170 --> 00:17:20.849
just, you know, I met him with warmth and hugs.

00:17:20.930 --> 00:17:24.480
That's always how it went that way, right? Joseph

00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:26.059
tattles. It doesn't tell us why. It just says

00:17:26.059 --> 00:17:28.079
he brought a bad report to their father. So he's

00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:29.420
working with some of his brothers out in the

00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:32.140
field. Whatever happened, it doesn't tell us

00:17:32.140 --> 00:17:34.000
whether he lied or whether it was a true report.

00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:37.099
But the idea here is that Joseph is kind of a

00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:40.180
young, naive, sincere, honest kid, right? And

00:17:40.180 --> 00:17:43.099
so he went back to his dad and he said, you know,

00:17:43.099 --> 00:17:45.380
this happened, this bad report. And then the

00:17:45.380 --> 00:17:49.880
dad responds with just lavish love and more favoritism,

00:17:49.900 --> 00:17:53.140
right? He loved Joseph more than his other sons

00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:55.380
because Joseph was a son born to him in his old

00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:58.319
age. The idea there is he's one of his babies.

00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:01.220
right? He's one of his babies, and so he just

00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:03.720
loves him. And then, of course, he was born of

00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:06.839
Rachel, his favorite wife, and so, of course,

00:18:06.859 --> 00:18:09.700
he was favored. And then, so what he does in

00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:12.039
response to this report is make him this long

00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:14.420
-sleeved robe. If you have an older translation

00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:16.519
or you remember from older stories, it might

00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:19.180
be the coat of many colors, right? Joseph's coat

00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:22.539
of many colors. The idea here is that it wasn't

00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:27.369
a, like, work robe. It was a royal robe. It was

00:18:27.369 --> 00:18:30.349
a type of clothing you would give to like a prince

00:18:30.349 --> 00:18:33.490
in the court of his father, the king, right?

00:18:33.789 --> 00:18:37.950
What it did is it set up Joseph as not only special,

00:18:38.089 --> 00:18:41.750
but like authority -wise, he was special. Later

00:18:41.750 --> 00:18:43.630
on, when we get to the next part of this chapter

00:18:43.630 --> 00:18:47.589
next week, it's gonna tell us that Jacob says,

00:18:47.750 --> 00:18:49.529
hey, Joseph, can you go out and keep an eye on

00:18:49.529 --> 00:18:52.859
your brothers for me? And so this robe was really

00:18:52.859 --> 00:18:55.460
setting him up as like, you are now the supervisor

00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:57.779
of your brothers. And, you know, not only does

00:18:57.779 --> 00:18:59.500
everybody know you're my favorite, but now you're

00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:02.259
carrying a sign of my favoritism. And so this

00:19:02.259 --> 00:19:05.180
was a big deal. Now, dad may have thought I'm

00:19:05.180 --> 00:19:08.779
just rewarding my son's loyalty and honesty,

00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:12.319
which is very possible. But the result is it

00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:16.089
made Joseph a target. The favoritism that had

00:19:16.089 --> 00:19:18.529
plagued this family for years and years and years,

00:19:18.710 --> 00:19:21.809
and now Joseph going and tattling on his brothers,

00:19:21.910 --> 00:19:24.970
and now his brothers hating him, and now Joseph

00:19:24.970 --> 00:19:27.670
giving him this robe and setting him as supervisor

00:19:27.670 --> 00:19:30.170
over his brothers, even though he's the second

00:19:30.170 --> 00:19:33.230
youngest, that just put a target on Joseph's

00:19:33.230 --> 00:19:38.430
back. Now, parents, you know, again, you just

00:19:38.430 --> 00:19:41.599
understand favoritism is very dangerous. You

00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:43.680
know, I know we like to, you know, say, oh, we

00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:46.160
have a favorite. You know, like since my grandson

00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:48.519
James was born, I've called him my favorite.

00:19:49.059 --> 00:19:51.779
I said, you know, you're my favorite. And then

00:19:51.779 --> 00:19:53.759
when Annalyn was born, I was like, I need to

00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:56.140
change that. And so now I say, you are my favorite

00:19:56.140 --> 00:20:00.220
boy in the house. Because Annalyn is a girl.

00:20:00.259 --> 00:20:02.259
And I say, Annalyn, you're my favorite girl in

00:20:02.259 --> 00:20:05.019
the house, right? And, you know, we all like

00:20:05.019 --> 00:20:07.480
to think we're favorites. You know, I mean, I'm

00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:10.359
the favorite of my mom. I know that. because

00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:12.420
my brother's not here to refute that. So, you

00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:17.460
know, but this favoritism, it can breed resentment.

00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:21.279
It can breed insecurity, right? If you grew up

00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:24.359
under this type of situation, if you were a victim

00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:28.839
of favoritism, and you carry hurt from that still,

00:20:29.059 --> 00:20:32.309
because a lot of adults do, just know that God

00:20:32.309 --> 00:20:34.650
could redeem that. God wants to redeem that,

00:20:34.710 --> 00:20:36.890
and we're talking about that today, and so listen

00:20:36.890 --> 00:20:41.069
up. God wants to know that he's aware, but you

00:20:41.069 --> 00:20:43.150
don't have to carry the hurt and the anger and

00:20:43.150 --> 00:20:46.890
the frustration over these things. But we can't

00:20:46.890 --> 00:20:50.329
forget that God's hidden hand is always moving.

00:20:51.170 --> 00:20:53.990
And parents, this is a hope for you, that God's

00:20:53.990 --> 00:20:56.049
hidden hand is moving even when you make mistakes.

00:20:56.970 --> 00:20:59.210
Every parent wants to do their best. Every parent

00:20:59.210 --> 00:21:01.470
wants to raise their kids in the best possible

00:21:01.470 --> 00:21:04.490
way. But you're all human. We're all human. We

00:21:04.490 --> 00:21:07.250
all make mistakes, even in our parenting situations.

00:21:07.990 --> 00:21:11.609
But know that God's hidden hand is still working

00:21:11.609 --> 00:21:14.789
sovereignly through every situation in your life.

00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:18.200
So yeah, learn from your mistakes, pray that

00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:21.200
you do better, and then move on. Don't let the

00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:23.500
devil beat you up over those things. Just figure

00:21:23.500 --> 00:21:26.000
out how to do things better and keep going. But

00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:28.599
Jacob's blindness to the effects of his favoritism,

00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:32.319
they couldn't block God's larger plan. They didn't

00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:34.599
interfere with what God wanted to do. God works

00:21:34.599 --> 00:21:37.299
through all of these just happenings to his ultimate

00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:40.549
purpose, as we're going to see. That even though

00:21:40.549 --> 00:21:43.150
it was Jacob's choice to show favoritism and

00:21:43.150 --> 00:21:45.950
it was the brother's choice to hate Joseph and

00:21:45.950 --> 00:21:49.089
it was Joseph's choice to tattle on his brothers,

00:21:49.450 --> 00:21:53.069
what we see through Joseph's life and his story

00:21:53.069 --> 00:21:56.430
is that God was working through all of it and

00:21:56.430 --> 00:21:58.529
it was ultimately all according to God's plan.

00:21:59.410 --> 00:22:01.630
And when we say, how is that possible? We'll

00:22:01.630 --> 00:22:03.730
deal with that when we get there. But from the

00:22:03.730 --> 00:22:07.029
earthly perspective, the damage was done, right?

00:22:07.559 --> 00:22:09.359
The older brothers, it says, couldn't even speak

00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:12.440
peaceably to him. That means they couldn't even

00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:16.480
say, good morning. They couldn't say, hey, brother.

00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:20.420
They were so angry. They were so frustrated with

00:22:20.420 --> 00:22:23.079
him that they couldn't even say anything good

00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:25.319
to him, let alone anything bad. They just, they

00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:29.000
hated him. They hated him. And this is a fruit

00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:33.140
of what Jacob had seeded in his family through

00:22:33.140 --> 00:22:37.329
the favoritism. Now, verse five. It tells us

00:22:37.329 --> 00:22:40.410
Joseph had a dream. And when he told his brothers,

00:22:40.569 --> 00:22:44.250
they hated him even more. He said to them, listen

00:22:44.250 --> 00:22:47.269
to the dream I had. There we were, binding sheaves

00:22:47.269 --> 00:22:49.410
of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf

00:22:49.410 --> 00:22:52.029
stood up, and your sheaves gather around it and

00:22:52.029 --> 00:22:55.710
bowed down to my sheaf. Are you really going

00:22:55.710 --> 00:22:58.589
to reign over us, his brothers asked him? Are

00:22:58.589 --> 00:23:02.009
you really going to rule us? So they hated him

00:23:02.009 --> 00:23:03.750
even more because of his dream and what he had

00:23:03.750 --> 00:23:06.799
said. Then he had another dream and told it to

00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:10.359
his brothers. Look, he said, I had another dream,

00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:14.180
and this time the sun, moon, and 11 stars were

00:23:14.180 --> 00:23:17.640
bowing down to me. He told his father and brothers,

00:23:17.779 --> 00:23:20.819
and his father rebuked him. What kind of dream

00:23:20.819 --> 00:23:23.279
is this that you have had, he said? Am I and

00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:25.680
your mother and your brothers really going to

00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:28.759
come and bow down to the ground before you? His

00:23:28.759 --> 00:23:31.000
brothers were jealous of him, but his father

00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:37.910
kept the matter in mind. So young Joseph, naive

00:23:37.910 --> 00:23:42.130
Joseph, sincere Joseph, already on thin ice with

00:23:42.130 --> 00:23:46.730
his brothers, has these two dreams. And in his

00:23:46.730 --> 00:23:51.869
young naivete thinks, they hate me. I think it's

00:23:51.869 --> 00:23:55.529
a good idea to share this dream with them. And

00:23:55.529 --> 00:23:58.730
it didn't go very well. He had another dream.

00:23:59.289 --> 00:24:03.190
They hate me even more. It's a great idea for

00:24:03.190 --> 00:24:05.940
me to share this second dream. And they hated

00:24:05.940 --> 00:24:08.400
him even more, and his father rebuked him. And

00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:12.359
so the first dream here, it's interesting. Your

00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:15.359
sheaves of grain are going to bow down to mine.

00:24:15.539 --> 00:24:17.420
I mean, obviously the dream, it's not hard to

00:24:17.420 --> 00:24:21.069
interpret that it's... The idea is that the brothers

00:24:21.069 --> 00:24:23.089
are going to bow down to Joseph somehow, right?

00:24:23.130 --> 00:24:25.349
That he's going to be exalted. Now, it is very

00:24:25.349 --> 00:24:27.450
interesting considering how much grain is going

00:24:27.450 --> 00:24:30.150
to factor into Joseph's future and his destiny

00:24:30.150 --> 00:24:33.049
when he gets to Egypt. But at this point, it

00:24:33.049 --> 00:24:35.089
told us that they couldn't even stand hearing

00:24:35.089 --> 00:24:38.589
him talk, right? They couldn't even speak peaceably

00:24:38.589 --> 00:24:41.410
to him. In fact, it says, then Joseph had a dream,

00:24:41.490 --> 00:24:43.410
and when he told his brothers, they hated him

00:24:43.410 --> 00:24:46.269
even more. He hadn't even told them what the

00:24:46.269 --> 00:24:49.930
dream was about yet. Brothers, I had a dream.

00:24:50.049 --> 00:24:55.309
Shut up, Joseph. We hate you. Get out of here.

00:24:55.349 --> 00:24:57.750
No, no, I wanted to. You know, right? That kind

00:24:57.750 --> 00:25:01.250
of level of frustration. But he goes on and he

00:25:01.250 --> 00:25:03.910
tells them the dream. And then they just kind

00:25:03.910 --> 00:25:07.250
of lose it, right? Are you kidding us? Like,

00:25:07.250 --> 00:25:11.789
you're the least of us. You're the second youngest

00:25:11.789 --> 00:25:15.730
brother. And we're going to bow down to you,

00:25:15.769 --> 00:25:17.910
right? They say two things here that's interesting.

00:25:18.009 --> 00:25:20.730
They say, are you going to rule over us or reign

00:25:20.730 --> 00:25:25.450
over us, sorry, and are you going to reign over

00:25:25.450 --> 00:25:26.910
us and rule over us? Those are two different

00:25:26.910 --> 00:25:29.569
words there. And the word reign means to rule

00:25:29.569 --> 00:25:32.569
as a king over a nation. It means to have ultimate

00:25:32.569 --> 00:25:36.390
political authority. Say, really, you think you're

00:25:36.390 --> 00:25:38.150
going to become president and tell us what to

00:25:38.150 --> 00:25:41.549
do, right? And then the word rule means to exercise

00:25:41.549 --> 00:25:45.089
absolute authority or dominion. The idea there

00:25:45.089 --> 00:25:47.910
is to have the power of life and death over somebody.

00:25:49.529 --> 00:25:51.869
Now, very interesting considering what happens

00:25:51.869 --> 00:25:55.710
with Joseph. So they're like, the least of us,

00:25:55.829 --> 00:26:00.490
really? You arrogant little punk. You're trying

00:26:00.490 --> 00:26:02.549
to tell us that you're going to become king of

00:26:02.549 --> 00:26:05.130
the nation and have the power of life and death

00:26:05.130 --> 00:26:08.309
over us, your older brothers. Are you kidding

00:26:08.309 --> 00:26:12.690
me? Now, not the wisest thing for him to do.

00:26:13.490 --> 00:26:15.910
And it says they hated him even more. And then

00:26:15.910 --> 00:26:18.950
he has the second dream, right? Hey, guys, I

00:26:18.950 --> 00:26:21.009
know that first dream wasn't your favorite, but

00:26:21.009 --> 00:26:23.569
I had another one. The whole family's going to

00:26:23.569 --> 00:26:27.400
bow down to me. And the idea in that dream is

00:26:27.400 --> 00:26:30.000
that the sun is like the greater ruler, it tells

00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.460
us, and the moon is the lesser ruler, and then

00:26:32.460 --> 00:26:34.680
the stars are the lesser lights of the sky. And

00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:38.779
so symbolically, it's dad and mom. And so he

00:26:38.779 --> 00:26:41.640
shares this other dream. I mean, obviously, Joseph

00:26:41.640 --> 00:26:46.000
is not picking up the social cues, right? You

00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:47.880
know how sometimes you could feel somebody is

00:26:47.880 --> 00:26:51.420
not good with you, there's a vibe? Right? That's

00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:53.579
a discernment of the Lord that for us as family

00:26:53.579 --> 00:26:56.140
allows us to say, hey, are we okay? Did I do

00:26:56.140 --> 00:27:00.279
something to offend you? Joseph, oblivious. Oblivious,

00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:02.859
right? Maybe if I share my second dream, they'll

00:27:02.859 --> 00:27:04.500
talk to me, right? Who knows what he was thinking?

00:27:04.819 --> 00:27:09.619
But he shares it with him, and everything gets

00:27:09.619 --> 00:27:11.579
worse. Now, there's no indication here in the

00:27:11.579 --> 00:27:15.400
verses that Joseph thought, oh, these are from

00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:17.539
God, right? Because you think, why was he so

00:27:17.539 --> 00:27:21.420
bold? What would lead him to, to make a bad situation

00:27:21.420 --> 00:27:24.319
worse, you know. And there's no indication here

00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:26.299
that he thought they were from God. There's no

00:27:26.299 --> 00:27:29.940
indication here that they were from God. But

00:27:29.940 --> 00:27:32.420
later on, as we see things pan out, it's obvious

00:27:32.420 --> 00:27:35.240
to us we know they were from God. But we can't

00:27:35.240 --> 00:27:39.119
attribute that to his boldness. We can't attribute

00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:41.400
that to him just standing before his father with

00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:43.759
a straight face and essentially saying, hey,

00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:46.200
here's his dream, Dad. You and Mom and the whole

00:27:46.200 --> 00:27:50.539
family is going to bow down to me. Dad flips

00:27:50.539 --> 00:27:54.259
out too. Whoa, whoa. I know you're my favorite

00:27:54.259 --> 00:27:57.819
son. I know I gave you a fancy coat, but I'm

00:27:57.819 --> 00:28:00.039
still dad, right? What are you talking about?

00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:03.240
He rebukes him. That word rebuke, it's a harsh,

00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:07.119
stern, like you are wrong. How dare you say something

00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:09.880
like that? But then we have this interesting

00:28:09.880 --> 00:28:11.859
phrase at the end of verse 11, but his father

00:28:11.859 --> 00:28:16.180
kept the matter in mind. You know, despite...

00:28:16.680 --> 00:28:18.720
The fact that his brothers hated him despite

00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:21.160
the audacity of having this dream that suggests

00:28:21.160 --> 00:28:23.619
I'm going to bow down to you. Despite all of

00:28:23.619 --> 00:28:31.079
that, Joseph went, hmm. Why? Joseph, Jacob. I

00:28:31.079 --> 00:28:33.299
said first service that I think I'm going to

00:28:33.299 --> 00:28:34.960
mix up these two names all the way to the end

00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:38.900
of Genesis. So bear with me. Jacob, he keeps

00:28:38.900 --> 00:28:42.619
it in mind. The reason was is in Jacob's life,

00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:45.660
God had spoken to him through dreams twice. Right?

00:28:46.220 --> 00:28:48.720
He had already experienced the Lord speaking

00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:51.339
to him through dreams as he had the dream at

00:28:51.339 --> 00:28:56.720
Bethel. He knew God can do that. And so even

00:28:56.720 --> 00:28:59.980
if Joseph didn't believe or know or even consider

00:28:59.980 --> 00:29:02.740
that it was from God, he's just excited to share

00:29:02.740 --> 00:29:06.640
these dreams he had. Dad is going, hmm, maybe

00:29:06.640 --> 00:29:08.759
there is something to this. He rebuked him still,

00:29:08.920 --> 00:29:11.339
but maybe there's something to this. And, you

00:29:11.339 --> 00:29:14.559
know, youthful naivete can be both refreshing.

00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:19.079
and challenging. All of us were brand new baby

00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:23.220
Christians at one time. And I will take the chance

00:29:23.220 --> 00:29:26.380
to say that we irritated some seasoned Christians

00:29:26.380 --> 00:29:31.539
in our youthful Christianity. I've heard people

00:29:31.539 --> 00:29:33.460
grumble, grumble, you know, because that new

00:29:33.460 --> 00:29:36.339
baby Christian, they're just this and that. And

00:29:36.339 --> 00:29:38.799
it's like, you know, sometimes it's just a rebuke

00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:40.849
to the older Christian, right? Man, they just

00:29:40.849 --> 00:29:42.829
don't understand why everybody's not out passing

00:29:42.829 --> 00:29:45.130
out tracts. And I'm like, well, do you pass out

00:29:45.130 --> 00:29:48.390
any tracts? Well, no. Well, that's a good rebuke

00:29:48.390 --> 00:29:50.730
from the youthful baby Christian there. But sometimes

00:29:50.730 --> 00:29:54.170
in our youth, and just like in our youth in our

00:29:54.170 --> 00:29:57.529
life, our lack of maturity, our lack of experience,

00:29:57.710 --> 00:30:03.309
our naiveness. can be a problem. And I think

00:30:03.309 --> 00:30:06.009
some of that is what's happening here with Joseph.

00:30:06.150 --> 00:30:09.009
You see, his youthful inexperience and naivety

00:30:09.009 --> 00:30:11.490
crashes up against what we know is revelation

00:30:11.490 --> 00:30:16.269
from God. And it leads him to share these dreams

00:30:16.269 --> 00:30:19.250
in a very excited, exuberant way, but kind of

00:30:19.250 --> 00:30:21.869
without discernment, kind of without tact, and

00:30:21.869 --> 00:30:25.859
you might say without wisdom here. He's 17. He's

00:30:25.859 --> 00:30:29.880
sincere. But that inexperience is creating problems

00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:32.660
in the family here. Now, you'd think he'd pick

00:30:32.660 --> 00:30:36.440
up on the first hate. The brothers hated him.

00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:40.500
Nope. Doesn't tell us any indication that he

00:30:40.500 --> 00:30:42.200
was like, oh, man, they hate me. Maybe I should

00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:47.079
be careful. Nope. Maybe the second hate. All

00:30:47.079 --> 00:30:49.119
I said was, brothers, I had a dream. Let me share

00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:52.789
it with you. Shut up, Joseph. Maybe that was

00:30:52.789 --> 00:30:54.470
the clue, but he didn't pick up on that either.

00:30:54.589 --> 00:30:56.309
And then the third hate still didn't pick up

00:30:56.309 --> 00:31:01.569
on it. And then his rush to share his dreams,

00:31:01.630 --> 00:31:05.069
his rush to share in his excitement without picking

00:31:05.069 --> 00:31:07.569
up on the clues of his family, it's now separated

00:31:07.569 --> 00:31:10.690
him and his father and created solidarity between

00:31:10.690 --> 00:31:12.950
his father and the brothers. And so their collective

00:31:12.950 --> 00:31:16.549
objection to his dreams, it's creating division

00:31:16.549 --> 00:31:19.859
in the family is the picture. There's a division

00:31:19.859 --> 00:31:22.259
that's happening here in the family. And like

00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:24.920
I said, we know that these were dreams. These

00:31:24.920 --> 00:31:27.140
were prophetic dreams because it's exactly what

00:31:27.140 --> 00:31:32.900
happens in Joseph's life. But Joseph in his youthful

00:31:32.900 --> 00:31:36.200
exuberance didn't really hold them in a mature

00:31:36.200 --> 00:31:38.940
way at this point. And what I mean by that is,

00:31:39.019 --> 00:31:43.200
you know, God's timing, it's important in the

00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:47.410
disclosure and fulfillment of his promises. Sometimes

00:31:47.410 --> 00:31:50.869
God might give us a dream, a vision, a revelation

00:31:50.869 --> 00:31:57.089
of something. And it's for us. It's for us. It's

00:31:57.089 --> 00:32:01.250
a word to us. And maybe it's a word of blessing,

00:32:01.349 --> 00:32:04.250
something God's going to do. And we're not to

00:32:04.250 --> 00:32:06.910
share it with anybody, but in our excitement,

00:32:06.950 --> 00:32:09.009
our whatever, we want to go tell everybody all

00:32:09.009 --> 00:32:13.549
about it. You know, you get a vision that you're

00:32:13.549 --> 00:32:15.410
going to get the promotion at work that you and

00:32:15.410 --> 00:32:18.670
your buddy are up for. And you go in and you

00:32:18.670 --> 00:32:21.569
go, bro, I had a dream last night. I got that

00:32:21.569 --> 00:32:25.789
promotion and you didn't. Not very edifying for

00:32:25.789 --> 00:32:29.869
the other person, right? Sometimes we get real

00:32:29.869 --> 00:32:34.369
excited about sharing. We think we have to tell

00:32:34.369 --> 00:32:37.289
everybody everything and that's not always true.

00:32:37.650 --> 00:32:40.650
Sometimes we don't yet have the character to.

00:32:42.199 --> 00:32:44.819
to express it with wisdom intact yet. Sometimes

00:32:44.819 --> 00:32:46.819
those around us aren't ready for the details

00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:49.279
of the revelation. We just have to be careful

00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:53.119
here that zeal without wisdom can hurt. Zeal

00:32:53.119 --> 00:32:55.660
without wisdom could hurt people. Now, am I saying

00:32:55.660 --> 00:32:58.119
that God doesn't give you dreams or visions or

00:32:58.119 --> 00:33:00.059
whatever that are for other people? No, he does

00:33:00.059 --> 00:33:03.740
that too. Am I saying if God gives you a vision

00:33:03.740 --> 00:33:05.619
and you're like, I know for a fact I'm supposed

00:33:05.619 --> 00:33:07.140
to share this with somebody that you should hold

00:33:07.140 --> 00:33:09.460
back? No, if God told you to share it, share

00:33:09.460 --> 00:33:12.630
it. What I'm saying is on the flip side of the

00:33:12.630 --> 00:33:17.609
coin, just take a beat to say, God, what is this

00:33:17.609 --> 00:33:21.970
for? When you believe you're having a revelation

00:33:21.970 --> 00:33:23.849
from the Lord through dream, vision, whatever,

00:33:24.109 --> 00:33:29.670
just pray about it. Pray, God, what's the meaning?

00:33:30.809 --> 00:33:33.789
God, should I share it with anybody? Is this

00:33:33.789 --> 00:33:36.950
for me or is this for someone else? God, if it's

00:33:36.950 --> 00:33:39.519
for someone else, Who and when do you want me

00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:42.299
to share it with them and how? Because God, I

00:33:42.299 --> 00:33:44.099
want it to be a blessing. I don't want the devil

00:33:44.099 --> 00:33:46.579
to take what is intended by you as a blessing

00:33:46.579 --> 00:33:49.059
and use it as something to cause division and

00:33:49.059 --> 00:33:52.579
separation and hurt. And then whatever the Lord

00:33:52.579 --> 00:33:55.920
tells you to do, follow the Lord's leading. But

00:33:55.920 --> 00:33:58.359
be careful not to get ahead of the Lord is kind

00:33:58.359 --> 00:33:59.819
of what I'm saying here. You know, sometimes

00:33:59.819 --> 00:34:03.220
in our excitement to share, we jump the gun and

00:34:03.220 --> 00:34:06.759
people can get hurt. People could get offended,

00:34:06.799 --> 00:34:09.659
mad, and the devil uses all of that to divide

00:34:09.659 --> 00:34:14.699
the body of Christ, right? You know, it's really

00:34:14.699 --> 00:34:17.980
the idea of learning how to discern the Spirit

00:34:17.980 --> 00:34:20.059
and learning how to do all that. That's what

00:34:20.059 --> 00:34:23.340
the Bible calls discipleship. And for those of

00:34:23.340 --> 00:34:25.659
us that are here in the church with more experience

00:34:25.659 --> 00:34:28.960
walking with the Lord, guess what? It is your

00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:34.980
job, your duty. It is not optional, biblically.

00:34:35.480 --> 00:34:38.300
It is your job to disciple those who are newer

00:34:38.300 --> 00:34:40.840
in the faith so that they could learn and grow

00:34:40.840 --> 00:34:46.119
and mature. It's not optional. That's what the

00:34:46.119 --> 00:34:49.760
body is supposed to be doing with the body. And

00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:51.880
so if you don't have anybody in your life as

00:34:51.880 --> 00:34:53.820
an older, more mature Christian who you're actively

00:34:53.820 --> 00:34:57.280
discipling and walking with to teach them the

00:34:57.280 --> 00:34:59.679
ropes, if you will, and how to understand the

00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:01.340
gifts of the Spirit and to hear the Lord and

00:35:01.340 --> 00:35:03.559
how to discern all these things, if you're not

00:35:03.559 --> 00:35:07.480
doing that, I encourage you, admonish you really

00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:09.679
to say, God, who do you want me to have this

00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:12.900
discipleship relationship with here in my church?

00:35:14.360 --> 00:35:17.440
Because that's how it's supposed to work. Now,

00:35:18.119 --> 00:35:20.500
The glorious thing is that God's hidden hand

00:35:20.500 --> 00:35:23.400
is moving even when we step too early in our

00:35:23.400 --> 00:35:27.179
naivete. God's hand is still working in all of

00:35:27.179 --> 00:35:30.639
that. You see, Genesis 37, it never directly

00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:34.079
mentions God, but his fingerprints are all over

00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:38.659
the story. We see through every sin, every failure,

00:35:38.860 --> 00:35:43.480
every error, we see God is working his plan if

00:35:43.480 --> 00:35:47.110
we zoom out and look at the big picture. You

00:35:47.110 --> 00:35:49.289
see, Joseph's bad report of his brother, that

00:35:49.289 --> 00:35:52.650
was Joseph's decision. But God works through

00:35:52.650 --> 00:35:55.929
that to bring about his plan. Jacob's favoritism,

00:35:55.949 --> 00:35:59.989
that was Jacob's decision. And it caused bad

00:35:59.989 --> 00:36:02.610
fruit, but God still worked through it to bring

00:36:02.610 --> 00:36:07.210
his plan to be. His brother's hatred. God works

00:36:07.210 --> 00:36:10.349
through all of this stuff. All of it, God works

00:36:10.349 --> 00:36:13.550
in and through to sovereignly accomplish his

00:36:13.550 --> 00:36:20.550
plan of getting Israel. Why? Because in Genesis

00:36:20.550 --> 00:36:24.130
15, we read that God told Abraham, your descendants

00:36:24.130 --> 00:36:27.889
will sojourn in a foreign land for 400 years.

00:36:29.530 --> 00:36:32.070
And there he told him specifically, you're going

00:36:32.070 --> 00:36:34.849
to be there until the sin of the Amorites is

00:36:34.849 --> 00:36:40.949
complete. So Jacob is in Israel or in the promised

00:36:40.949 --> 00:36:44.070
land with his family. They still have their issues.

00:36:44.510 --> 00:36:46.690
They still have all these rough edges God has

00:36:46.690 --> 00:36:49.409
to work off. God has made a covenant. This land

00:36:49.409 --> 00:36:51.630
is going to you and your family. But not right

00:36:51.630 --> 00:36:53.750
now. You're still amongst all these people. And

00:36:53.750 --> 00:36:55.869
you know what? They're having a negative influence

00:36:55.869 --> 00:36:59.349
on you. So I need to get you out of the promised

00:36:59.349 --> 00:37:04.889
land to Egypt so that I could protect, so that

00:37:04.889 --> 00:37:09.079
I could sanctify, so that I could preserve. These

00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:11.199
people that are in the land of Canaan, I created

00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:13.679
them too. I'm going to give them 400 years to

00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:15.679
repent of their sins. And if they do, I'll save

00:37:15.679 --> 00:37:22.659
them. God had a plan. Now, when we look at it

00:37:22.659 --> 00:37:25.119
from the earthly side, do we say, okay, so God

00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:29.679
said, Jacob, I'm going to make you play favorites

00:37:29.679 --> 00:37:32.280
with your kids. And Joseph, I'm going to make

00:37:32.280 --> 00:37:37.789
you tattle on your brothers. That's the big argument

00:37:37.789 --> 00:37:40.510
that people have, one of the big arguments people

00:37:40.510 --> 00:37:43.989
have in the church today, right? Calvinism versus

00:37:43.989 --> 00:37:48.190
Arminianism. God's sovereignty versus man's free

00:37:48.190 --> 00:37:51.090
will. And we as people, we get caught up thinking

00:37:51.090 --> 00:37:53.210
these things can't reconcile together. I mean,

00:37:53.210 --> 00:37:54.969
if God is sovereign and God directs and guides,

00:37:55.110 --> 00:37:58.349
then God makes everything happen. And so every

00:37:58.349 --> 00:38:01.429
bad thing and every evil, it's designed by God.

00:38:01.570 --> 00:38:05.190
And that is not what the Bible teaches. But then

00:38:05.190 --> 00:38:07.469
over here on the free will side, people get caught

00:38:07.469 --> 00:38:10.010
up in like, no, God can't make man do anything.

00:38:10.230 --> 00:38:13.010
God is subject to man's decisions, and man can

00:38:13.010 --> 00:38:16.289
thwart all of God's plans, and that's not what

00:38:16.289 --> 00:38:21.309
the Bible teaches either. And people want to

00:38:21.309 --> 00:38:23.710
argue over these things, and here's the problem.

00:38:24.989 --> 00:38:29.769
The Bible leans into both in its teachings. Do

00:38:29.769 --> 00:38:31.769
I believe the Bible teaches that we are so sinful

00:38:31.769 --> 00:38:33.429
there is nothing we can do in ourselves to be

00:38:33.429 --> 00:38:35.789
saved? Absolutely. The Bible is very clear on

00:38:35.789 --> 00:38:40.889
that. But does the Bible say that even if we

00:38:40.889 --> 00:38:44.090
say, God, I want to be saved, that if God chose

00:38:44.090 --> 00:38:45.809
us to go to hell, we're going to hell anyways?

00:38:46.309 --> 00:38:51.750
No, that is not what the Bible teaches. Over

00:38:51.750 --> 00:38:54.250
here, I have free will. So I'm going to make

00:38:54.250 --> 00:38:56.230
decisions today that are going to have outcomes

00:38:56.230 --> 00:38:58.989
and ripple effects. And did God make me make

00:38:58.989 --> 00:39:02.130
those decisions? No, because the Bible says God

00:39:02.130 --> 00:39:04.469
gave me the free will, the ability to choose

00:39:04.469 --> 00:39:06.670
and to make decisions. And so my decisions I

00:39:06.670 --> 00:39:11.429
make on this earth, they have effects. And that's

00:39:11.429 --> 00:39:13.389
not God forcing me to make those decisions. When

00:39:13.389 --> 00:39:15.469
I choose to sin, that's not God making me sin.

00:39:17.539 --> 00:39:19.920
And people are like, well, how does all this

00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:29.000
work together? I don't know. But God does. Well,

00:39:29.059 --> 00:39:33.500
I can't accept that, right? I have to understand

00:39:33.500 --> 00:39:35.579
the intricacies of how this works together or

00:39:35.579 --> 00:39:38.579
I have to take sides. You know, I mean, if you're

00:39:38.579 --> 00:39:42.440
that intelligent that you know all things, then,

00:39:42.500 --> 00:39:44.800
I mean, wow, more power be to you, you know?

00:39:44.920 --> 00:39:46.800
How does nuclear fission work? I don't know.

00:39:47.360 --> 00:39:51.099
You don't know everything? And yet we're going

00:39:51.099 --> 00:39:53.360
to draw these lines and say, I demand to know

00:39:53.360 --> 00:39:56.280
how God's sovereignty works with man's free will.

00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:00.860
What's wrong with both of them working at the

00:40:00.860 --> 00:40:04.880
same time? What's wrong with looking at a story

00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:07.659
like this and say, we look at Joseph's experience

00:40:07.659 --> 00:40:11.000
here and we see just the happenings of life,

00:40:11.219 --> 00:40:15.480
the result of human decisions. And at the same

00:40:15.480 --> 00:40:18.159
time, we see that God who is outside of time

00:40:18.159 --> 00:40:20.380
is working providentially through what we see

00:40:20.380 --> 00:40:22.500
as random. Why can't both of those be true at

00:40:22.500 --> 00:40:26.340
the same time? Because we don't understand it.

00:40:29.179 --> 00:40:34.380
Like, we're so limited. God's ways are so much

00:40:34.380 --> 00:40:38.420
higher than our ways. I see both. Like, I don't

00:40:38.420 --> 00:40:41.539
look at... and random happenings of life and

00:40:41.539 --> 00:40:43.340
go, nope, none of that is a coincidence. God

00:40:43.340 --> 00:40:48.300
made all that happen. From my perspective here

00:40:48.300 --> 00:40:51.139
on earth, I'm stuck within time, linear time,

00:40:51.260 --> 00:40:55.360
cause and effect, right? If I go outside and

00:40:55.360 --> 00:40:58.900
smash your windshield with a bat, God didn't

00:40:58.900 --> 00:41:04.500
make me do that. I chose to do that. But, Did

00:41:04.500 --> 00:41:07.340
an almighty transcendent God who looked at all

00:41:07.340 --> 00:41:10.260
of eternity in one momentary snapshot and see

00:41:10.260 --> 00:41:12.780
everything and every decision happening everywhere

00:41:12.780 --> 00:41:14.980
all in one moment, did he foreknow that that

00:41:14.980 --> 00:41:20.739
was going to happen? Yes, he did. So through

00:41:20.739 --> 00:41:23.599
his foreknowledge of seeing every decision ever

00:41:23.599 --> 00:41:26.139
made, can he work his will and weave that through

00:41:26.139 --> 00:41:29.579
the impossible complexities of everybody's decisions

00:41:29.579 --> 00:41:32.039
that have ever lived for all time? Can he do

00:41:32.039 --> 00:41:37.369
that? In the beginning, God created the heavens

00:41:37.369 --> 00:41:42.090
and the earth. Why is that hard for us to believe?

00:41:44.590 --> 00:41:46.730
Why is it hard for us to go, the Bible teaches

00:41:46.730 --> 00:41:48.869
God's absolute sovereignty, and it also teaches

00:41:48.869 --> 00:41:53.809
our man's absolute free will. Why is it so hard

00:41:53.809 --> 00:41:55.710
for us to say, with God, all things are possible?

00:41:56.909 --> 00:41:59.650
So these reconcile in a perfectly, absolutely

00:41:59.650 --> 00:42:01.530
understandable way. We just don't understand

00:42:01.530 --> 00:42:06.219
it right now. And I think this is one of the

00:42:06.219 --> 00:42:08.400
things God's trying to get us to understand through

00:42:08.400 --> 00:42:11.079
his Bible. God needed to move Israel out of Canaan

00:42:11.079 --> 00:42:12.980
because they were slowly becoming Canaanized.

00:42:13.099 --> 00:42:15.960
God needed to give those in the land 400 years

00:42:15.960 --> 00:42:19.739
to repent. How did he do it? Well, as we read

00:42:19.739 --> 00:42:22.820
the story, we go, wow. If Joseph didn't tattle,

00:42:22.940 --> 00:42:24.900
he wouldn't have gotten the coat. If he didn't

00:42:24.900 --> 00:42:26.500
get the coat, the brothers wouldn't have continued

00:42:26.500 --> 00:42:28.500
to hate him. If he didn't share his dreams, the

00:42:28.500 --> 00:42:29.699
brothers wouldn't have hated him more and more

00:42:29.699 --> 00:42:31.980
and more to the point where we're going to see

00:42:31.980 --> 00:42:34.139
next week that they want to kill him. And then

00:42:34.139 --> 00:42:36.739
because Reuben didn't want to kill him, they

00:42:36.739 --> 00:42:38.539
threw him in a pit. And because he was thrown

00:42:38.539 --> 00:42:40.579
in a pit, the traitors came by. And because they

00:42:40.579 --> 00:42:44.460
wanted to make dad think he was dead, and oh,

00:42:44.559 --> 00:42:46.599
Joseph ends up in Egypt in Potiphar's house.

00:42:46.679 --> 00:42:50.619
And then Potiphar, he gets thrown in jail. And

00:42:50.619 --> 00:42:52.679
then he becomes number two in the land of Pharaoh,

00:42:52.860 --> 00:42:56.420
having the absolute political authority of a

00:42:56.420 --> 00:43:01.260
king to the point where he is going to enact

00:43:01.260 --> 00:43:03.500
a plan to save the whole world wherein his brothers,

00:43:03.579 --> 00:43:06.179
his family come to bow to him and he literally

00:43:06.179 --> 00:43:08.739
has the power of life and death over them in

00:43:08.739 --> 00:43:11.840
that moment. Right? We look at that and we go,

00:43:11.940 --> 00:43:17.159
how could anybody plan that? And yet the Bible

00:43:17.159 --> 00:43:21.320
tells us God did. Through what we would see as

00:43:21.320 --> 00:43:23.260
coincidence and random happenings and choice

00:43:23.260 --> 00:43:30.119
and cause and effect. So the hatred of Joseph,

00:43:30.199 --> 00:43:32.880
it's the road to Israel's preservation and salvation.

00:43:34.239 --> 00:43:37.219
The opening to the life of Joseph shows us that

00:43:37.219 --> 00:43:40.099
coexistence of God's sovereignty and human free

00:43:40.099 --> 00:43:43.860
will. Simultaneously, it shows us that we make

00:43:43.860 --> 00:43:46.239
choices on our own free will and they have consequences.

00:43:46.300 --> 00:43:50.739
They have results and they have actions. It also

00:43:50.739 --> 00:43:54.480
shows us that God's will, his promises, his covenants

00:43:54.480 --> 00:43:56.920
are going to come to pass no matter what we do.

00:43:58.199 --> 00:44:00.619
But that doesn't mean we then work backwards

00:44:00.619 --> 00:44:02.920
and go, oh, God made that sin happen and God

00:44:02.920 --> 00:44:06.920
created that evil. Because the Bible speaks very

00:44:06.920 --> 00:44:11.159
clearly against that. Did God know what was going

00:44:11.159 --> 00:44:14.519
to happen? Yeah. Did he move through it and use

00:44:14.519 --> 00:44:18.349
it providentially? Yes, he did. I heard this

00:44:18.349 --> 00:44:20.250
quote from somebody a while ago, and I can't

00:44:20.250 --> 00:44:22.389
remember who to attribute it to, but it says,

00:44:22.429 --> 00:44:24.230
when it comes to God's will and purpose in our

00:44:24.230 --> 00:44:26.570
lives, he already accounted for our stupidity.

00:44:28.030 --> 00:44:35.190
I love that. Right? God accounted for our stupidity.

00:44:35.869 --> 00:44:38.289
Like, God, I messed up your plan. And he's like,

00:44:38.369 --> 00:44:42.510
no, you didn't, but that was dumb. God, did I

00:44:42.510 --> 00:44:46.579
wreck your promises for me? No, I made the promises.

00:44:46.639 --> 00:44:48.239
They're based on my character. You can't wreck

00:44:48.239 --> 00:44:52.219
them. Right? It's just this beautiful relationship

00:44:52.219 --> 00:44:54.980
we have. And so, you know, move and live and

00:44:54.980 --> 00:44:59.119
trust and decide and live life. As a human being

00:44:59.119 --> 00:45:01.960
that God created and do your best, right? We

00:45:01.960 --> 00:45:05.300
strive to obey and live our life based upon the

00:45:05.300 --> 00:45:07.159
right and wrong that God tells us and right and

00:45:07.159 --> 00:45:09.739
good and all of that, but we can't then lean

00:45:09.739 --> 00:45:11.119
one way or the other and say, oh, it doesn't

00:45:11.119 --> 00:45:13.219
matter if I make decisions because God has already

00:45:13.219 --> 00:45:15.440
foreordained everything. No, it does matter.

00:45:17.599 --> 00:45:20.300
Well, my decisions are gonna change God's will.

00:45:20.460 --> 00:45:22.639
No, God can still work his promises through your

00:45:22.639 --> 00:45:28.909
decisions. In Genesis chapter 50, the same Joseph,

00:45:29.070 --> 00:45:32.329
verse 20 says this to his brothers who are now

00:45:32.329 --> 00:45:35.670
bound before him. You planned evil against me.

00:45:36.389 --> 00:45:39.030
God planned it for good to bring about the present

00:45:39.030 --> 00:45:44.909
result, the survival of many people. That is

00:45:44.909 --> 00:45:49.929
a point of view that Joseph, this godly man who

00:45:49.929 --> 00:45:54.690
suffered so many things, came to understand in

00:45:54.690 --> 00:45:59.539
his life. That God isn't the author of sin. He

00:45:59.539 --> 00:46:02.880
doesn't make any of us do the wrong thing. But

00:46:02.880 --> 00:46:04.900
he can and does overrule it to accomplish his

00:46:04.900 --> 00:46:09.400
plan and fulfill his purposes. Back before anything

00:46:09.400 --> 00:46:12.139
existed, in the snapshot where he saw every decision

00:46:12.139 --> 00:46:14.960
everybody was going to ever make, in his almighty,

00:46:15.179 --> 00:46:17.780
transcendent foreknowledge, did he go, okay,

00:46:17.820 --> 00:46:20.159
weave his plan through all of it? Yes, he did.

00:46:23.559 --> 00:46:30.039
If anybody could ask why me, it was Joseph. Right?

00:46:30.039 --> 00:46:32.179
I just wanted to share my dream with my brothers.

00:46:33.619 --> 00:46:35.380
I just wanted to share my dream with my dad.

00:46:37.119 --> 00:46:39.599
I just wanted to be honest. They did bad things

00:46:39.599 --> 00:46:41.639
out in the field. Dad, they didn't do what you

00:46:41.639 --> 00:46:45.079
told them to do. Why do they want to kill me?

00:46:46.059 --> 00:46:48.139
Why am I in a pit? Why am I sold into slavery?

00:46:48.800 --> 00:46:51.840
Why am I cast into prison? None of this is my

00:46:51.840 --> 00:46:59.670
fault. His family was terrible. He did nothing

00:46:59.670 --> 00:47:03.389
inherently wrong, maybe unwise, but despised

00:47:03.389 --> 00:47:07.590
and hated. And yet, at the end of his life, he

00:47:07.590 --> 00:47:09.409
was able to step back and you say, you know what?

00:47:09.449 --> 00:47:11.510
I could see God's hidden hand through all of

00:47:11.510 --> 00:47:15.949
it. I could look at my tragedies. I could look

00:47:15.949 --> 00:47:18.130
at the difficulties. I could look at the worst

00:47:18.130 --> 00:47:22.909
traumatic moments of my life. And be able to

00:47:22.909 --> 00:47:25.750
say, the God I trust, the God I believe in, who

00:47:25.750 --> 00:47:27.989
is sovereign, I believe it because his word teaches

00:47:27.989 --> 00:47:31.449
that. Through all of that, his hand was working.

00:47:33.030 --> 00:47:35.449
Through everything that I thought was just random

00:47:35.449 --> 00:47:38.630
coincidence, which very likely was random coincidence

00:47:38.630 --> 00:47:41.449
from our perspective here on earth, God knew

00:47:41.449 --> 00:47:45.869
and worked his will through. And so those terrible

00:47:45.869 --> 00:47:48.150
things that happen in my life, they're not things

00:47:48.150 --> 00:47:51.170
that I have to hold on to and be mad at God with.

00:47:51.230 --> 00:47:54.630
They're things I could heal from and say, God,

00:47:54.710 --> 00:48:01.010
did you know all this was going to happen? Like

00:48:01.010 --> 00:48:03.030
you allowed it all to happen. You knew and there

00:48:03.030 --> 00:48:06.449
was a plan here so that good can come from it.

00:48:07.769 --> 00:48:13.639
Is that what you did, God? That's where Joseph's

00:48:13.639 --> 00:48:18.300
perspective landed. You guys planned evil, but

00:48:18.300 --> 00:48:20.260
God planned it for good to bring about the present

00:48:20.260 --> 00:48:22.039
result. And what was the present result? The

00:48:22.039 --> 00:48:26.800
survival of many people. Joseph's story reminds

00:48:26.800 --> 00:48:29.639
us that God doesn't only work through the miraculous,

00:48:29.739 --> 00:48:33.380
but through the mundane. He works through the

00:48:33.380 --> 00:48:35.420
everyday happenings, the coincidences, the what

00:48:35.420 --> 00:48:38.119
are the odds moments. This includes all the good

00:48:38.119 --> 00:48:40.480
stuff that happens to us and the wonderful blessings.

00:48:41.690 --> 00:48:43.349
but it also includes the terrible, difficult

00:48:43.349 --> 00:48:49.469
things as well. Being able to see God's hidden

00:48:49.469 --> 00:48:52.389
hand in our lives is one of the greatest tools

00:48:52.389 --> 00:48:56.090
we have to endure suffering. It's one of the

00:48:56.090 --> 00:48:58.670
greatest tools we have to persevere with faith.

00:49:00.010 --> 00:49:03.349
In the midst of a terrible situation, God's hidden

00:49:03.349 --> 00:49:06.250
hand is always working. He knows because he's

00:49:06.250 --> 00:49:10.039
sovereign. He's aware. He's all -knowing. I don't

00:49:10.039 --> 00:49:12.199
understand why this is happening. I don't understand.

00:49:12.239 --> 00:49:15.119
This hurts. This is terrible. I'm scared. But

00:49:15.119 --> 00:49:21.400
if it's happening, and I am God's child, and

00:49:21.400 --> 00:49:25.059
I believe he is sovereign, my suffering is a

00:49:25.059 --> 00:49:27.059
time where I could say, God's hidden hand is

00:49:27.059 --> 00:49:30.079
doing something here. If you've had trauma in

00:49:30.079 --> 00:49:31.739
your past, there's so many people that have had

00:49:31.739 --> 00:49:34.219
abuse and so many people that have had suffering

00:49:34.219 --> 00:49:37.000
in their lives and sexual abuse or violent abuse

00:49:37.000 --> 00:49:39.480
or murders in their families, all these really

00:49:39.480 --> 00:49:42.719
terrible, horrible crimes that Satan rots in

00:49:42.719 --> 00:49:45.519
our world. Today, you have an opportunity to

00:49:45.519 --> 00:49:47.320
look back at it and go, I'm mad at God and why

00:49:47.320 --> 00:49:50.119
did he allow that to happen? Or to say, it happened.

00:49:50.440 --> 00:49:53.099
What good are you trying to bring about from

00:49:53.099 --> 00:49:56.460
that, Lord? There's so many stories that I've

00:49:56.460 --> 00:49:58.900
had over the years of ministry of people who

00:49:58.900 --> 00:50:03.199
suffered terrible sexual abuse. And they've come

00:50:03.199 --> 00:50:04.880
to this place where God's brought them to this

00:50:04.880 --> 00:50:06.780
place where they say, that's terrible, it's horrible,

00:50:06.880 --> 00:50:11.500
it's evil. But it happened. But God has healed

00:50:11.500 --> 00:50:14.460
me. And then they're able to share that testimony

00:50:14.460 --> 00:50:17.920
with another person who's just experienced it.

00:50:19.039 --> 00:50:23.210
And to give them hope. And to introduce them

00:50:23.210 --> 00:50:25.469
to the Lord that saved their life. And guess

00:50:25.469 --> 00:50:28.070
what happens in that moment? Where God enters

00:50:28.070 --> 00:50:31.070
into that person's life and survival comes to

00:50:31.070 --> 00:50:32.650
them. That they will get through it. That they

00:50:32.650 --> 00:50:35.329
will be healed. That they will continue to live.

00:50:36.949 --> 00:50:41.329
That's what our testimonies are for. If none

00:50:41.329 --> 00:50:43.469
of us ever went through anything bad, how could

00:50:43.469 --> 00:50:46.010
we ever tell anybody that God could get you through

00:50:46.010 --> 00:50:52.420
bad stuff? And that's why it happens. But if

00:50:52.420 --> 00:50:54.519
we're not sharing those testimonies, we're missing

00:50:54.519 --> 00:50:56.940
that opportunity. We're missing kind of the point.

00:50:57.159 --> 00:50:59.900
We're not asking the question, God, what good

00:50:59.900 --> 00:51:03.460
do you want to bring through this for today?

00:51:05.400 --> 00:51:09.400
It's about the survival of many people. It's

00:51:09.400 --> 00:51:11.039
about introducing people to the one who could

00:51:11.039 --> 00:51:12.840
save their souls and heal their heart and change

00:51:12.840 --> 00:51:14.739
everything. The one who's going to give them

00:51:14.739 --> 00:51:20.710
eternal life. Now, Joseph's story, right? It's

00:51:20.710 --> 00:51:22.769
symbolic of the future of the nation of Israel,

00:51:22.909 --> 00:51:25.590
right? He's hated by all others, all his brothers.

00:51:25.690 --> 00:51:29.909
Israel's hated by everybody. He ends up in Egypt,

00:51:29.969 --> 00:51:34.190
just like Israel ends up in Egypt. He is exalted

00:51:34.190 --> 00:51:36.829
and delivered. Same thing happens to Israel as

00:51:36.829 --> 00:51:40.190
they are set free. You see God's faithfulness

00:51:40.190 --> 00:51:42.550
in both places, but Joseph is ultimately, he

00:51:42.550 --> 00:51:45.570
foreshadows Jesus Christ himself. The beloved

00:51:45.570 --> 00:51:47.869
of the father favored son sent to his brothers

00:51:47.869 --> 00:51:50.840
who hate him. Jesus was sent to the nation of

00:51:50.840 --> 00:51:54.820
Israel. And overall, they hated him. He was rejected

00:51:54.820 --> 00:51:58.059
and betrayed by them, just like Joseph was. And

00:51:58.059 --> 00:52:00.920
then Joseph was killed in their minds. Jesus

00:52:00.920 --> 00:52:03.679
was killed by the rulership of Israel of the

00:52:03.679 --> 00:52:07.239
time. But then he was exalted to save the very

00:52:07.239 --> 00:52:11.519
ones who rejected him. Beautiful picture of Jesus.

00:52:11.639 --> 00:52:16.880
Now, small side note. One of the things that's...

00:52:17.079 --> 00:52:18.880
gaining a lot of traction recently, especially

00:52:18.880 --> 00:52:21.860
with younger people, is this thing called replacement

00:52:21.860 --> 00:52:24.079
theology. It's been around forever, but it's

00:52:24.079 --> 00:52:26.360
kind of becoming a big thing again. And, you

00:52:26.360 --> 00:52:30.219
know, replacement theology is the idea that God

00:52:30.219 --> 00:52:33.880
is absolutely done with Israel, and all the prophecies

00:52:33.880 --> 00:52:37.099
we see and things in Revelation are not about

00:52:37.099 --> 00:52:39.199
Israel, but about the church. So when it says

00:52:39.199 --> 00:52:41.659
that he was going to raise up 12 ,000 from each

00:52:41.659 --> 00:52:44.199
of the 12 tribes, that's symbolic of the church

00:52:44.199 --> 00:52:47.550
and stuff. I don't take that stance personally

00:52:47.550 --> 00:52:51.829
and one of the reasons here is this dream that

00:52:51.829 --> 00:52:56.530
Joseph has here in Genesis 37 interprets the

00:52:56.530 --> 00:52:59.250
vision that John has in Revelation 12 for us.

00:52:59.449 --> 00:53:02.230
Revelation 12, we see a woman who is clothed

00:53:02.230 --> 00:53:05.210
with the sun. The moon are under her feet and

00:53:05.210 --> 00:53:10.530
she is crowned with 12 stars. And I believe that

00:53:10.530 --> 00:53:12.829
is speaking of the nation of Israel that is going

00:53:12.829 --> 00:53:16.280
to be restored in the end times. that God is

00:53:16.280 --> 00:53:19.199
not done with his chosen people. The fact that

00:53:19.199 --> 00:53:20.920
Israel is chosen doesn't mean they're automatically

00:53:20.920 --> 00:53:23.820
saved. It means they are the people, the vehicle

00:53:23.820 --> 00:53:25.940
that he chose in the beginning, and then it got

00:53:25.940 --> 00:53:27.460
to this point where he said, okay, I'm gonna

00:53:27.460 --> 00:53:29.300
create this other entity called the church, and

00:53:29.300 --> 00:53:31.920
I'm dealing with them through this age. But during

00:53:31.920 --> 00:53:33.940
tribulation, I believe Revelation very clearly

00:53:33.940 --> 00:53:37.699
talks about that when the church is gone, that

00:53:37.699 --> 00:53:40.420
God is gonna deal with the people, the nation

00:53:40.420 --> 00:53:42.900
Israel again, and I believe that this dream that

00:53:42.900 --> 00:53:45.849
Joseph had, who is, The dream of his father,

00:53:45.929 --> 00:53:48.210
his mother, his brothers, who literally become

00:53:48.210 --> 00:53:52.230
the actual nation of Israel, interprets what

00:53:52.230 --> 00:53:54.769
we see in Revelation chapter 12. So it's speaking

00:53:54.769 --> 00:53:58.590
of Israel, not the church. That's just a little

00:53:58.590 --> 00:54:00.329
side note for those of you that may be having

00:54:00.329 --> 00:54:03.030
questions about that, but it's just a beautiful

00:54:03.030 --> 00:54:05.449
picture to see that what God begins here in Genesis

00:54:05.449 --> 00:54:10.340
37 regarding the people of Israel. We find the

00:54:10.340 --> 00:54:12.559
fulfillment of that in Revelation 12 during the

00:54:12.559 --> 00:54:16.360
tribulation period. Anyways, you may come from

00:54:16.360 --> 00:54:21.320
a broken home or a childhood of favoritism, but

00:54:21.320 --> 00:54:24.340
God's hidden hand works even when your parents

00:54:24.340 --> 00:54:30.800
make mistakes. So forgive your parents. God's

00:54:30.800 --> 00:54:33.340
hidden hand was there. Forgive them. Forgive

00:54:33.340 --> 00:54:35.239
them of the favoritism. Forgive them of whatever

00:54:35.239 --> 00:54:41.210
it was that has hurt you. Forgive them. You may

00:54:41.210 --> 00:54:43.650
have made unwise stumbles and blunders in your

00:54:43.650 --> 00:54:47.349
youth. Maybe you hurt some people in your spiritual

00:54:47.349 --> 00:54:50.869
youth because of just overzealousness and maybe

00:54:50.869 --> 00:54:52.849
a lack of maturity when you first got saved,

00:54:52.929 --> 00:54:55.250
but God's hidden hand works even through our

00:54:55.250 --> 00:54:58.190
naive lack of wisdom and discernment. So learn

00:54:58.190 --> 00:55:01.849
and grow. Just learn and grow. You may be hated

00:55:01.849 --> 00:55:04.190
by those who should be closest to you, your family.

00:55:05.650 --> 00:55:08.530
You may have endured abuse, betrayal, envy, injustice,

00:55:08.849 --> 00:55:13.440
but Consider, maybe, consider the possibility

00:55:13.440 --> 00:55:18.179
that God's hidden hand knew it was gonna happen

00:55:18.179 --> 00:55:21.320
and allowed it, and in that way planned it for

00:55:21.320 --> 00:55:26.199
good, for blessing in this present moment. Consider

00:55:26.199 --> 00:55:31.019
that. And ask him, okay, God, what is the good?

00:55:31.340 --> 00:55:35.760
How does my experience lead to the survival of

00:55:35.760 --> 00:55:40.070
many? How can my experience lead to salvation

00:55:40.070 --> 00:55:43.329
in someone's life. You let me go through it and

00:55:43.329 --> 00:55:48.610
I've seen or I'm seeing what you can do in the

00:55:48.610 --> 00:55:52.170
life of a broken person. How can I use that,

00:55:52.230 --> 00:55:58.150
Lord? Be glorified in it. It's often that when

00:55:58.150 --> 00:56:02.550
we find that place and say, God, use me to help

00:56:02.550 --> 00:56:05.130
someone going through the same thing, that's

00:56:05.130 --> 00:56:07.050
often the very thing that brings us the healing

00:56:07.050 --> 00:56:10.239
that we've been seeking for so long. Now, most

00:56:10.239 --> 00:56:12.480
of us don't get to see the burning bush or the

00:56:12.480 --> 00:56:15.440
parted sea, as cool as that would be, but as

00:56:15.440 --> 00:56:18.619
God's children, just ordinary people with messed

00:56:18.619 --> 00:56:22.320
up families, messed up lives, messed up friends,

00:56:22.519 --> 00:56:27.460
we can trust fully that in every circumstance

00:56:27.460 --> 00:56:33.199
we have a faithful God. Amen? Let's pray. Father,

00:56:33.280 --> 00:56:38.539
we love you. We ask, God, that you would just...

00:56:39.239 --> 00:56:43.940
Bless us, Lord. We are broken people. We're messed

00:56:43.940 --> 00:56:47.659
up people. We're sinners. Lord, we are so far

00:56:47.659 --> 00:56:51.340
and fallen so short of the glory of God. You

00:56:51.340 --> 00:56:56.659
already knew that. Lord, because you're sovereign,

00:56:56.739 --> 00:57:00.920
you're transcendent, you're almighty. You see

00:57:00.920 --> 00:57:05.159
all things. You know all things. And you've worked

00:57:05.159 --> 00:57:08.960
through all of it, Lord. God, so many of these

00:57:08.960 --> 00:57:11.159
stories we have in your word are you working

00:57:11.159 --> 00:57:13.679
through the just everyday lives and decisions

00:57:13.679 --> 00:57:17.619
that we make as people to bring your promises

00:57:17.619 --> 00:57:21.019
to fulfillment in these amazing ways that, yeah,

00:57:21.019 --> 00:57:25.460
Lord, we call them miraculous. Even though many

00:57:25.460 --> 00:57:29.360
times they're just natural, but it doesn't mean

00:57:29.360 --> 00:57:31.619
it's any less supernatural because your hand

00:57:31.619 --> 00:57:35.599
knew all of it. And so, God, we thank you for

00:57:35.599 --> 00:57:39.269
that. Lord, I pray especially for those, Lord,

00:57:39.309 --> 00:57:44.090
that may be like Joseph, just in a sincere simplicity

00:57:44.090 --> 00:57:49.949
to just do right. They're hated, they're despised,

00:57:49.949 --> 00:57:57.050
they're rebuked. Lord, I pray, God, that as Joseph

00:57:57.050 --> 00:58:00.929
ended up knowing that your hidden hand works

00:58:00.929 --> 00:58:02.710
through all of it, Lord, and I pray, God, that

00:58:02.710 --> 00:58:05.070
you would heal, that you would help them to understand.

00:58:06.119 --> 00:58:12.639
to have this perspective that your hand is, did,

00:58:12.860 --> 00:58:16.219
and will work through all of that. Lord, that

00:58:16.219 --> 00:58:19.119
they would find a place of healing in being able

00:58:19.119 --> 00:58:24.659
to not necessarily understand why, but just knowing

00:58:24.659 --> 00:58:27.440
that things happened to allow you to use those

00:58:27.440 --> 00:58:32.019
things that they would be used for the survival

00:58:32.019 --> 00:58:35.809
of many. that their testimony would lead others

00:58:35.809 --> 00:58:39.170
who are broken to the hope and the peace that

00:58:39.170 --> 00:58:43.250
is found in Jesus Christ. Lord, we all have things

00:58:43.250 --> 00:58:47.329
like that. Bring us to the people that need to

00:58:47.329 --> 00:58:50.010
hear our testimony, that we could share with

00:58:50.010 --> 00:58:52.809
them, that they would know that in the midst

00:58:52.809 --> 00:58:55.789
of their suffering, that there's a light at the

00:58:55.789 --> 00:58:57.630
end of that tunnel, and that light is God Almighty.

00:58:58.909 --> 00:59:03.150
Lord, we love you. We thank you. We praise you.

00:59:04.429 --> 00:59:06.730
It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.