WEBVTT

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I am Pastor Nathan, and today we're going to

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be focusing on Genesis 37, but it's going to

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be a Thanksgiving message. This week, many of

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us are going to be sitting around Thanksgiving

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tables, and depending on our family culture,

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the food we're going to have could be a whole

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lot of different things. For my family, it's

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usually turkey, mashed potatoes, and more carbs

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than any human should possibly consume. But,

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you know, there might be laughter and football

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games and kids running around and then the afternoon

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food comas. But for some of us, this week is

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looking forward to tension, unspoken stuff, maybe

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the chair that's empty at the Thanksgiving table,

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maybe the conversations that we've all been avoiding.

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for months. And, you know, holidays like Thanksgiving,

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they all have a way of bringing our family stories

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to the surface, right? Because we're supposed

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to get together as families, and families don't

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always have the most peaceful, the most perfect

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unity. And so, you know, things like old sibling

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rivalries might be the tension that you're looking

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forward to. Maybe it's parents who favored one

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child over the other. Maybe it's wounds that

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haven't healed. And maybe it's just you're bracing

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this week as we're entering into this Thanksgiving

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week. You're bracing for who's going to be there

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at that table and how that's going to be. Or

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maybe for some of you, it's who's not going to

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be at that table, you know. The story of Joseph,

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as we've begun last week, and we will be continuing

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through the end of the book of Genesis, the story

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that started here in Genesis chapter 37, it's

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not the Hallmark movie family story either, right?

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Very few of us have that Hallmark movie family.

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This is a family. that has a history of just

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really terrible, horrible things, lies, deceptions,

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sexual assault, murder. I mean, all kinds of

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terrible things have happened in this family.

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And Genesis 37 is where the slow -burning dysfunction

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just explodes. It just finally erupts. And, you

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know, we're going to see a father who has foolishly

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favored one son over the rest of his sons. A

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father who then wraps that child in this royal

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robe that just communicates that he's my favorite

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and the rest of you are not. We're going to see

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ten older brothers who are just simply sick of

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the favoritism. sick of being treated like less

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than their brother, sick of being reminded that

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they are less loved than one of their other brothers.

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And then we're going to see a naive teenager

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that we were introduced to last week named Joseph,

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who is sent out alone, wrapped in this coat.

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And he's going to be sent to observe and report

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on his brothers, which was the very thing that

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got him in hot water with his brothers, or at

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least boiled everything over to begin with. You

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know, at the end of today's chapter that we're

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looking at, Joseph will have gone from beloved

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son, favorite of the father, in this beautiful

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royal robe to bloody and bruised and just crying

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out from the bottom of a cistern. He'll go from

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being the favorite of the family to chained to

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a caravan bound to Egypt, having been sold into

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slavery by his brothers for 20 pieces of silver.

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And we'll end this chapter with a dad who will

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be at home holding the bloody shredded robe that

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his favorite son once wore, believing a lie that

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his son is indeed dead. A father who is now saying

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that I will never be okay. I'm going to mourn

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until the day I'm dead. Now on the surface, the

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story that we're looking at seems to be one where

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envy and jealousy and evil wins. And it's going

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to look like Joseph's story is over before it

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even begins, right? What a fantastic Thanksgiving

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message. But God wants us to see today and then

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through the story of Joseph that he is sovereign

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even when people are hardened in their sin. Even

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when people are hardened in their sin and make

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worse, terrible, evil, wicked decisions, God

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is still sovereign even in that. That God is

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quietly working. even when he appears silent.

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Joseph's life shows us how to live with the real

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hurts that we all have without being chained

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to victimhood, which is something I believe the

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devil tries to get us chained to to ruin our

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lives. And so it's very important this week that

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we have this message because, you know, like

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I said, we're all going to be at the table later

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this week with people who hurt us. We may be

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at the table with people that we have hurt. We

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may be at a table where there's empty chairs

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because someone has passed away, or maybe we

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drove someone away from the family with how we've

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treated them. And, you know, all of the if -onlys

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and what -ifs or the why -did -they, all of those

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things are going to be very close to the surface.

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And so my encouragement for all of us today is

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pay close attention. Pay close attention to what

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God is saying today because today's message,

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I believe, is going to answer the question of

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what does all of this have to do with my family

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and my hurts and my Thanksgiving table? And it's

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also going to ask each one of us the question

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that will we let our past define us? Will we

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let our family's history define us? Or will we

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trust God, the one who could take any evil, any

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wickedness, and weave it for good? But before

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we get into that, we want to spend time worshiping

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him. Because true thankfulness comes from just

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praising God. A part of why we worship him is

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to say thank you. Thank you for who you are.

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Thank you for what you've done. And even learning,

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as hard as it is, to say, God, thank you for

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where I'm at right now. Because I choose to believe

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that you are sovereignly present, you are sovereignly

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working, even through the pit that I find myself

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in. Let's pray. God, we love you. Lord, we're

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so thankful to you, who you are, what you've

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done, what you're doing. God, the reality of

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your sovereignty really is something beyond our

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understanding, and yet, God, this story that

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you've given us of this man, Joseph, Lord, the

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bulk of this book of Genesis, Lord, you've given

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over to him that we would learn these very important

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lessons. And God, one of those lessons is to

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know what you're doing even through the dark

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stuff. That when evil is perpetrated upon us,

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God, that we would be able to acknowledge the

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hurt, Lord, the hurts are real. Acknowledge the

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wrong, name it, Lord, because wrong is wrong,

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but in the midst of it, Lord, to find a way through

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the power of your Holy Spirit to trust you. to

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know that you're going to work good even through

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this. Lord, today there may be some here that

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are those that have wounded others, caused divisions

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in the family, are holding on to old wrongs or

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old jealousies, Lord. And today, God, you want

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to point that out so that we give it up, so that

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we nail those things to the cross. Lord, that

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as we remind ourselves of what you've done, And

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God, really take a moment to say thank you for

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what you've done in our lives and how you reconciled

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us to you, Lord. That we would enter into Thanksgiving

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week and the Thanksgiving events that we might

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be attending here later on this week in celebration

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of this holiday, Lord. We would enter into those

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things free from envy and jealousy. Free from

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fear and worry. Not without hurt, Lord. But with

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a hurt that we've placed into your hands, trusting

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for your resolution. But God, we just want to

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start by praising your name. Because that is

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the beginning of everything. That is the beginning

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of our healing. That is the hope we have. You,

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God Almighty, Jesus Christ, the Savior of our

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souls. Lord, we love you and we thank you. It's

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in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Okay, we are in

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Genesis chapter 37, verses 12 through 36. We're

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going to be finishing the chapter today, and

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really this is a chapter about envy. Envy and

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jealousy and what that can do in our lives. It's

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also a chapter about how we respond to such things

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and what our perspective should be, you know,

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because envy and evil... They can throw us into

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pits, and we could end up in pits that are just

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hard to deal with and pits of despair and pits

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of depression, but we can't forget that God's

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hidden hand is still at work, and that's the

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hardest thing to cling to in the pits of despair

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and difficulty is that God is still working,

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and we saw this last week as we started the life

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of Joseph here, but, you know, Regardless of

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that truth, real wounds, real hurts are real.

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And they really hurt. We've all been wounded

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in one way or another at times in our life by

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one thing or another. And it hurts. And, you

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know, sometimes the truth of like, yeah, God's

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working through it. Well, great. But it still

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hurts, you know. And, you know, that's just the

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reality of things. We can't forget that in Christ,

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we are not sentenced to lifelong victimhood based

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upon the things that have happened to us in our

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life. It's very, very important to understand

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that because victimhood is as much a bondage

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of shackle as anything else is. That in Christ,

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we are not sentenced to that. It's the Holy Spirit

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in our lives. That works as we learn to yield

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to him and trust him. That allows us to trust

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our sovereign God even when nothing makes sense.

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And that's really one of the ongoing themes throughout

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Scripture. And we see that specifically in Joseph's

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life. And so if you'll read with me starting

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in verse 12 of Genesis chapter 37. It says, Now

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this is referring to Joseph. It's his brothers

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as we were reading last week. Verse 13, Israel

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said to Joseph, your brothers, you know, are

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pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready, I'm

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sending you to them. I'm ready, Joseph replied.

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Then Israel said to him, go and see how your

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brothers and the flocks are doing and bring word

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back to me. So he sent him from the Hebron Valley

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and he went to Shechem. A man found him there

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wandering in the field and asked him, what are

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you looking for? I'm looking for my brothers,

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Joseph said. Can you tell me where they are pasturing

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their flocks? They've moved on from here, the

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man said. I heard them say, let's go to Dothan.

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So Joseph set out after his brothers and found

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them at Dothan. So after the beginning of this

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chapter where we're introduced to Joseph, he's

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a young man. He tells on his brothers who had

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done something disobedient, causing his brothers

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to hate him. And then his dad rewarded Joseph

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with this beautiful royal coat, this robe that

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really signified you're special, and they aren't.

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And that just infuriated the brothers anymore.

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And then Joseph had these dreams of his family

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bowing down to him and shared these dreams with

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his brothers and his father, and that just made

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the brothers hate him thrice, right? They were

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just done with him. This section picks up where

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the brothers had left. They had left Hebron and

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gone north to Shechem. Now Shechem was the place

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that... that Jacob, when he was bringing his

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family back to the promised land, when he finally

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entered the promised land, he stopped in Shechem

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instead of going all the way to Bethel. And that

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is where the fruits of bad decisions and halfway

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obedience really plagued his family. It was where

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their sister Dinah got raped. It is where they

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responded with murderous vengeance and slaughtered

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all the men in the town. And so it's really a

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place that's a dark spot on the history of the

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family. But this is where they choose to... go

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back to. Now, I can imagine some time has passed

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here, but the memory of this genocide had not

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faded yet. I mean, something that big and that

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massive would linger among the people. And so

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I asked myself the question, I'm like, why did

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the brothers go back there? 50 to 60 miles north,

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that is a long way to drive all the flocks of

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sheep to graze. That's an extreme distance. Why

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would they go there? Now, perhaps it was to simply

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get away from Joseph and their father and his

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favoritism. I think we all know what that's like

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at times when we're exasperated by our parents

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for one reason or another and we want to leave.

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You know, when 2010 -ish, 2011 around there.

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I was doing young adults ministry at Hosanna,

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and I was living in a house back here that was

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the house Pastor Gary, our founder, had grown

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up in. And I got to kind of live in this house

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and then rent out all the rooms to young adult

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men, you know, that were kind of like, I'm an

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adult now. I want to move out and get away from

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my parents, right? And they didn't all sound

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like that. It was just usually like, hey, we

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want to take that step. And I was kind of a first

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place for guys to land, right? to get that first

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opportunity. They're on their own and they're

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in their own place. And so, you know, this might

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be what was going on with the brothers here.

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Perhaps, you know, it's just a simple, it's tied

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to the fact that for them, the last time they

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were in Shechem, they felt powerful. They felt

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important, right? They were the ones who slaughtered

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all the people. Everybody was afraid of them.

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And so they go up to this area and it tells us

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that dad knew that and he sends Joseph up there

00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:43.720
to go with them. Now Joseph, I would imagine,

00:14:43.720 --> 00:14:46.259
had picked up on the fact that his brothers were

00:14:46.259 --> 00:14:49.039
kind of mad at him. You know, hatred, hatred,

00:14:49.179 --> 00:14:51.879
hatred. Didn't talk to him anymore. And he was

00:14:51.879 --> 00:14:56.299
pretty aware of their attitude. But everything

00:14:56.299 --> 00:14:58.399
that had happened in the family at this point,

00:14:59.639 --> 00:15:04.559
had led to this very deep division within Israel's

00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:08.100
family. And that is something God loves to do

00:15:08.100 --> 00:15:11.940
in, God, Satan loves to do in families, divide.

00:15:13.379 --> 00:15:16.139
He wants to divide families in any way he can,

00:15:16.299 --> 00:15:18.480
and this is what has happened here. Now, Joseph

00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:20.720
maybe was like, you know, I mean, I know they're

00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:22.519
mad at me, but they can't be that mad at me.

00:15:22.539 --> 00:15:24.600
After all, we're brothers. I love them. They've

00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:27.299
got to love me. It doesn't tell us all that,

00:15:27.340 --> 00:15:32.740
but... But he goes. Now, father sends him away.

00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:35.480
You know, he's called Israel here. He's going

00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:37.299
to be called Jacob again. And we kind of see

00:15:37.299 --> 00:15:39.940
this back and forth in his naming that when he's

00:15:39.940 --> 00:15:42.139
doing something that's kind of supposed to be

00:15:42.139 --> 00:15:44.879
the right godly thing, he's called Israel. And

00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:46.639
then when he reverts back to his old nature,

00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:49.419
he calls him Jacob again. And so, but right here,

00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:51.559
he's like, hey, go check on the kids. You know,

00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:54.399
I'm concerned about your brothers. I'm concerned

00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:58.470
about their welfare. But he sends him still wearing

00:15:58.470 --> 00:16:02.029
this coat. And he sends him to go do the very

00:16:02.029 --> 00:16:05.070
thing that the brothers hated him for to begin

00:16:05.070 --> 00:16:10.610
with. Go observe and report. Go see what your

00:16:10.610 --> 00:16:12.769
brothers are doing and tell me all about it.

00:16:12.870 --> 00:16:15.730
And I think it was a little short -sighted of

00:16:15.730 --> 00:16:18.129
Israel to do that. But he still sends Joseph

00:16:18.129 --> 00:16:20.149
there. And God's allowing all these things to

00:16:20.149 --> 00:16:23.710
play out as we're going to see for his own purposes.

00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:28.059
Joseph here, we see again a picture of Jesus

00:16:28.059 --> 00:16:30.700
here where the father said, go to your brothers

00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:34.139
who hate you. I want you to obey me and do that.

00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:37.759
And Joseph just simply says, I'm ready. He doesn't

00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:39.659
argue. He doesn't say, Dad, but they're mad at

00:16:39.659 --> 00:16:42.600
me. Is this safe? He just does it. And Joseph

00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:44.820
is a picture of Jesus Christ in Scripture. And

00:16:44.820 --> 00:16:47.500
we see that when the father sent Jesus the son

00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:49.980
to this earth to come here and live a perfect

00:16:49.980 --> 00:16:53.919
life and then to die this horrible, just, just.

00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.960
devastating death on the cross, Jesus went. Now,

00:16:57.980 --> 00:16:59.879
we know Jesus had his moment in the garden where

00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:02.899
he's like, hey, Dad, are you sure, right? But

00:17:02.899 --> 00:17:05.000
it tells us in Scripture that he went as a lamb

00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:08.119
to the slaughter, that Jesus ultimately knew

00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:10.259
what was in front of him, went to a nation of

00:17:10.259 --> 00:17:12.960
people who hated him and rejected him, and yet

00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:15.480
he did it anyways out of his great love, right?

00:17:15.720 --> 00:17:18.599
Now, we see that obedience here in Joseph where

00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:20.980
he just said, Dad, I'm ready. I'm going. Let's

00:17:20.980 --> 00:17:24.009
do this. And so he arrives in Shechem. and the

00:17:24.009 --> 00:17:27.289
brothers are gone. And so it tells us that he

00:17:27.289 --> 00:17:29.549
is wandering the field there in verse 15, right?

00:17:29.589 --> 00:17:31.730
A man found him wandering the field. The idea

00:17:31.730 --> 00:17:36.170
is that he's wandering this area around Shechem

00:17:36.170 --> 00:17:39.369
where this massacre took place some years prior,

00:17:39.609 --> 00:17:41.809
and he's looking for signs of his brothers, right?

00:17:41.890 --> 00:17:43.450
Where are they? Are there any tracks? Are there

00:17:43.450 --> 00:17:45.569
any signs of their passing? And then guess what?

00:17:46.250 --> 00:17:50.450
A nameless man just so happens to find him in

00:17:50.450 --> 00:17:55.180
the field. You know, we all have those just so

00:17:55.180 --> 00:17:58.799
happens moments. And we were talking about last

00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:04.380
week a lot. What may be coincidences to us from

00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:06.619
our perspective are not coincidences with God.

00:18:08.299 --> 00:18:11.140
Did God make the man show up? Did the man just

00:18:11.140 --> 00:18:13.299
happen to show up by his own choice and God's

00:18:13.299 --> 00:18:14.859
working through that? We don't know the answer

00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:17.450
to that question. But the point is, is when we

00:18:17.450 --> 00:18:19.430
see the broader story, we see God worked through

00:18:19.430 --> 00:18:21.630
all of this. And this is just another picture

00:18:21.630 --> 00:18:24.410
of that sovereignty of God in the everyday decisions

00:18:24.410 --> 00:18:27.309
of us living our lives. And so he just happens

00:18:27.309 --> 00:18:30.230
to show up, happens to see Joseph wandering the

00:18:30.230 --> 00:18:32.849
field, happens to know exactly where his brothers

00:18:32.849 --> 00:18:36.329
went, right? What are the odds? Well, with God,

00:18:36.390 --> 00:18:39.190
nothing's impossible. And so they went to Dothan.

00:18:39.230 --> 00:18:41.869
And so he points them to this town that's about

00:18:41.869 --> 00:18:46.019
10 to 15 miles north of Shechem. Dothan, the

00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:49.220
city name, it means double cistern because there

00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:51.019
was a lot of cisterns in the area. And these

00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:52.900
are kind of like wells. We would call them wells

00:18:52.900 --> 00:18:55.799
today. But we'll talk more about that when we

00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:59.039
get to it. But the idea is that Joseph, who's

00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:02.220
just following his father's commands, just being

00:19:02.220 --> 00:19:04.460
obedient, just really going about his life, doing

00:19:04.460 --> 00:19:06.859
what his dad asked him to do, is now finding

00:19:06.859 --> 00:19:09.799
himself stepping right onto the highway of redemption.

00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:13.660
And what I mean by that is the... town Dothan

00:19:13.660 --> 00:19:17.319
sat right on this main caravan road, this road

00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:18.960
that ran all the way from the north and went

00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:22.180
all the way down to Egypt. It was where traders

00:19:22.180 --> 00:19:24.480
often went up and down, and it's going to be

00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:28.000
the exact road God uses to get Joseph to Egypt,

00:19:28.180 --> 00:19:31.880
but that's in a future story. On the surface

00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:33.799
here, everything just looks so ordinary, right?

00:19:34.730 --> 00:19:37.390
Just everyday life. But again, behind every coincidence

00:19:37.390 --> 00:19:39.789
is God's hidden hand of providence. The stage

00:19:39.789 --> 00:19:43.390
is being set. God is working behind the scenes

00:19:43.390 --> 00:19:45.970
to fulfill the plan that God came up with before

00:19:45.970 --> 00:19:49.690
time existed. Before the universe existed, God

00:19:49.690 --> 00:19:52.630
knew that this was going to be happening in Jacob's

00:19:52.630 --> 00:19:56.180
family. And so God is weaving his will through

00:19:56.180 --> 00:19:59.279
it to bring his purposes to plan, which is ultimately

00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:02.960
to get Joseph to Egypt, to have Joseph rise up,

00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:05.259
to save everybody, to be a picture of Jesus,

00:20:05.319 --> 00:20:06.940
and then it's through that line Jesus Christ

00:20:06.940 --> 00:20:12.119
comes and everything that God planned. That is

00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:14.099
one of the seeds under this that we need to hang

00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:19.000
on to. God is sovereign. He's always sovereign.

00:20:19.380 --> 00:20:23.470
He always will be sovereign. And yet, there is

00:20:23.470 --> 00:20:26.769
this thing we have called free will, which is

00:20:26.769 --> 00:20:31.750
us stuck in a linear time frame where cause has

00:20:31.750 --> 00:20:34.849
effect and decisions have consequences. And we

00:20:34.849 --> 00:20:36.769
think, man, if I didn't decide that, or what

00:20:36.769 --> 00:20:38.329
if I didn't do that? What if I didn't take that

00:20:38.329 --> 00:20:41.869
job? What if I moved or didn't move? And we think

00:20:41.869 --> 00:20:46.289
that things can be absolutely ruined by us. We

00:20:46.289 --> 00:20:48.690
think that we have power over our own destiny.

00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:54.900
The reality is God is sovereign. He works in

00:20:54.900 --> 00:20:57.960
our free will. How? I don't know. Let's ask him

00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:01.759
when we get there. But it's what the Bible teaches.

00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:07.640
And so, you know, too many of us live in that

00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:12.460
land of what if. What if I took that job? Sometimes

00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:16.509
it's what if the doctor caught it earlier? Sometimes

00:21:16.509 --> 00:21:18.789
it's what if this or that didn't happen in my

00:21:18.789 --> 00:21:21.750
family. And, you know, Genesis 37 is just here

00:21:21.750 --> 00:21:25.549
to remind us that God allows every human choice.

00:21:27.369 --> 00:21:30.829
But he moves in and through all of it to work

00:21:30.829 --> 00:21:34.009
his divine will. And so life and decision, it

00:21:34.009 --> 00:21:37.690
may look random to us, but your Father in heaven

00:21:37.690 --> 00:21:40.569
knows exactly what Dothan he's trying to get

00:21:40.569 --> 00:21:44.299
you to. And so everything that happens along

00:21:44.299 --> 00:21:46.259
the way, we have the opportunity to go, oh, no.

00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:49.200
Had I just made a different decision? And oh,

00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:53.019
no. And the encouragement in Scripture is for

00:21:53.019 --> 00:21:57.039
us to step back and say, God is sovereign. God

00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:58.720
knows every decision I'm ever going to make.

00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:02.799
So the decision I made, God's going to work through

00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:05.839
that. Now, what happens? We don't know, but God

00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:09.880
does. We move on here to verse 18 where he finally

00:22:09.880 --> 00:22:12.000
arrives to his brothers. It says they saw him

00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:14.599
in the distance, and before he had reached them,

00:22:14.680 --> 00:22:18.519
they plotted to kill him. So now we know the

00:22:18.519 --> 00:22:22.140
extent of their hatred, right? They want to murder

00:22:22.140 --> 00:22:25.059
their brother. Now, it doesn't tell us exactly

00:22:25.059 --> 00:22:27.339
what they noticed, whether they recognized his

00:22:27.339 --> 00:22:30.319
walk or not, but I kind of see the picture in

00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:35.879
my head that they saw that stinking coat. That

00:22:35.879 --> 00:22:40.740
wretched robe, right? I mean, the older translations

00:22:40.740 --> 00:22:43.400
of Scripture or in other mediums and stuff, they

00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:46.160
call it the coat of many colors, right? The idea

00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:48.779
is that it was scintillating, right? Maybe it

00:22:48.779 --> 00:22:51.259
was bejeweled and sequined, you know, and caught

00:22:51.259 --> 00:22:54.180
the light. But I kind of see here that they saw

00:22:54.180 --> 00:22:57.579
in the distance and they went, oh, no. It's him.

00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:02.319
And that stupid robe. I mean, their hearts already.

00:23:03.250 --> 00:23:06.869
simmering with years of resentment from the favoritism

00:23:06.869 --> 00:23:09.009
and all this. I mean, it finally just boils over

00:23:09.009 --> 00:23:12.690
and explodes. All that favoritism that their

00:23:12.690 --> 00:23:16.029
father showed towards Joseph, this stupid coat

00:23:16.029 --> 00:23:21.210
that screams out, I'm chosen, you're not. And

00:23:21.210 --> 00:23:24.049
then his ridiculous dreams, us bowing down to

00:23:24.049 --> 00:23:27.470
him, that's it. That's it, we're taking him out.

00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:31.640
Their heart posture is anger on their part, but

00:23:31.640 --> 00:23:33.960
what they don't understand is Satan is trying

00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:37.660
to use it to thwart God's plan. Right? And so

00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:41.200
they're like, kill him. Not rough him up. Not

00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:44.640
bully him. You know, not treat him like a younger

00:23:44.640 --> 00:23:48.559
brother, but kill him. Now I think, why do they

00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:51.240
go to that extreme? I mean, of course, hatred

00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:56.140
could get that bad. But I think what happened

00:23:56.140 --> 00:24:00.279
was the last time they were in this area, Murder

00:24:00.279 --> 00:24:04.359
was their solution. Last time they were in Shechem,

00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:07.319
the solution to the problem was murder, slaughter,

00:24:07.579 --> 00:24:10.640
kill everybody. And so it's just this place,

00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:13.279
you know. We go back to the places of our old

00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:15.700
life. We go back to the circumstances of old

00:24:15.700 --> 00:24:18.700
decisions. And sometimes we find ourselves thinking,

00:24:18.819 --> 00:24:21.559
oh, yeah, that stupid decision, it seems to make

00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:24.339
sense now. Let's do that again. And so they want

00:24:24.339 --> 00:24:27.640
to murder him, verse 19. They said to one another,

00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:32.140
oh, look. Here comes the dream expert. So now,

00:24:32.200 --> 00:24:34.980
come on, let's kill him and throw him into one

00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:38.180
of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal

00:24:38.180 --> 00:24:40.420
ate him and then we'll see what becomes of his

00:24:40.420 --> 00:24:46.200
dreams. I mean, envy, jealousy, hatred, it's

00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:48.599
just fully gripped their heart, right? They're

00:24:48.599 --> 00:24:52.140
fully gripped by it and unknowingly, they're

00:24:52.140 --> 00:24:56.339
planning to kill God's word by killing God's

00:24:56.339 --> 00:24:59.920
chosen instrument. You see, We can all suffer

00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:02.099
from envy and jealousy, even those in the church.

00:25:03.180 --> 00:25:06.920
But the issue is, what are we going to let that

00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:11.259
envy and jealousy do to us? Are we going to deal

00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:13.200
with it in a godly way, or are we going to let

00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:15.819
it poison us to the point where we do something

00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:18.200
or contemplate doing something we never thought

00:25:18.200 --> 00:25:22.279
we would do? We all find ourselves in these situations

00:25:22.279 --> 00:25:25.819
of struggling with, you know, Why did they get

00:25:25.819 --> 00:25:27.880
that? And why didn't I get that? And how come

00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:29.740
they got the promotion? And how come they got

00:25:29.740 --> 00:25:33.059
the raise? And how come, right? We deal with

00:25:33.059 --> 00:25:35.140
that. I'm doing the right stuff. How come I'm

00:25:35.140 --> 00:25:37.579
not the one getting blessed? And what happens

00:25:37.579 --> 00:25:40.500
is we might then try and find ourselves coming

00:25:40.500 --> 00:25:42.980
against those that we envy, those that we have

00:25:42.980 --> 00:25:47.660
jealousy against. But do you have any idea what

00:25:47.660 --> 00:25:50.420
God is doing in their life, why God might be

00:25:50.420 --> 00:25:53.119
blessing them, using them? Do you have any idea?

00:25:54.389 --> 00:26:00.829
No, you don't. And so this idea of getting in

00:26:00.829 --> 00:26:03.430
the way of God's will is what you risk when you're

00:26:03.430 --> 00:26:06.690
going to respond in envy and jealousy to something

00:26:06.690 --> 00:26:09.849
God's doing in somebody else's life. Now we'll

00:26:09.849 --> 00:26:11.410
talk more about that in a little bit, but verse

00:26:11.410 --> 00:26:16.410
21. When Reuben heard this, he tried to save

00:26:16.410 --> 00:26:19.490
him from them. He said, let's not take his life.

00:26:20.809 --> 00:26:24.099
Reuben also said to them, don't shed blood. Throw

00:26:24.099 --> 00:26:26.059
him into this pit in the wilderness, but don't

00:26:26.059 --> 00:26:29.099
lay a hand on him, intending to rescue him from

00:26:29.099 --> 00:26:33.220
them and return him to their father. Now, Reuben

00:26:33.220 --> 00:26:37.099
being the oldest, he was the firstborn son. He

00:26:37.099 --> 00:26:41.690
was thus... He was probably most likely of being

00:26:41.690 --> 00:26:44.109
held ultimately responsible if they returned

00:26:44.109 --> 00:26:46.170
and they're like, oh, Joseph's not with us, right?

00:26:46.369 --> 00:26:49.329
He was the one that would probably get the brunt

00:26:49.329 --> 00:26:53.089
of the consequences of that. And so now we know

00:26:53.089 --> 00:26:54.829
that this is the same Reuben who had already

00:26:54.829 --> 00:26:57.930
disgraced himself in the family by sleeping with

00:26:57.930 --> 00:27:00.730
his father's concubine, an act of him trying

00:27:00.730 --> 00:27:03.509
to usurp control of the family. And so Reuben

00:27:03.509 --> 00:27:06.509
is the eldest son who's already on thin ice with

00:27:06.509 --> 00:27:09.509
dad. His relationship with his father is already

00:27:09.509 --> 00:27:12.690
troubled and rocky, and so he just outright says,

00:27:12.789 --> 00:27:14.890
we are not going to murder Joseph. We can't do

00:27:14.890 --> 00:27:17.369
that. Now, that's right. Good job, Reuben. You're

00:27:17.369 --> 00:27:19.910
finally kind of being a leader amongst your brothers.

00:27:20.069 --> 00:27:23.230
You know, that is a good call. But instead of

00:27:23.230 --> 00:27:25.650
going all the way with his stance for what is

00:27:25.650 --> 00:27:28.490
right, instead of saying, this is wickedness

00:27:28.490 --> 00:27:30.849
you guys are contemplating, we're not going to

00:27:30.849 --> 00:27:32.769
do any of that. We're not going to throw him

00:27:32.769 --> 00:27:34.809
in a pit. We're not going to. He is our brother.

00:27:36.179 --> 00:27:38.200
Instead of being the guy that says, look, we're

00:27:38.200 --> 00:27:40.440
a family who believes in the almighty God, and

00:27:40.440 --> 00:27:43.640
so if God is blessing him, who are we to say

00:27:43.640 --> 00:27:45.720
anything about that? We should celebrate with

00:27:45.720 --> 00:27:48.259
him and praise God for what he's doing. Instead

00:27:48.259 --> 00:27:52.119
of all of that, he says, let's not murder him,

00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:54.200
let's not shed blood, but yeah, let's still throw

00:27:54.200 --> 00:27:57.440
him in the pit. This is a moral compromise on

00:27:57.440 --> 00:28:00.700
Reuben's part. It's a moral compromise because

00:28:01.640 --> 00:28:03.880
He cared more about what his brothers thought

00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:06.500
about him than he did about the ultimate righteousness

00:28:06.500 --> 00:28:08.700
of the situation, what was right and what was

00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:11.740
wrong. His whole let's not throw him into the

00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:14.359
pit, this wasn't ultimately about the right thing

00:28:14.359 --> 00:28:17.039
and saving his brother. Reuben's like, I'm already

00:28:17.039 --> 00:28:18.660
in trouble with dad. I don't want to make it

00:28:18.660 --> 00:28:23.680
worse. I don't want to shed blood, but he's kind

00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:28.000
of clothing this in his like, no, guys, this

00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:31.650
is wrong. He's trying to take this moral stance

00:28:31.650 --> 00:28:34.650
here, but it's really ultimately selfish. It's

00:28:34.650 --> 00:28:38.289
a compromise. Outwardly, he's going to kind of

00:28:38.289 --> 00:28:41.609
go along with the plan. Inwardly, he's like,

00:28:41.650 --> 00:28:43.410
I'm going to do the right thing. And even the

00:28:43.410 --> 00:28:45.329
right thing is more about smoothing things over

00:28:45.329 --> 00:28:48.990
with dad than saving his brother. But what this

00:28:48.990 --> 00:28:51.130
is a picture of is half -hearted righteousness.

00:28:52.490 --> 00:28:54.990
You see, when wickedness is determined, half

00:28:54.990 --> 00:28:56.710
-hearted righteousness doesn't stand a chance.

00:28:58.349 --> 00:29:00.430
When evil and wickedness is determined to do

00:29:00.430 --> 00:29:04.109
a thing, we combat that with true and full righteousness.

00:29:04.309 --> 00:29:06.930
We stand for godly values. We stand for godly

00:29:06.930 --> 00:29:09.490
things. We don't kind of half -heartedly go in

00:29:09.490 --> 00:29:15.809
with it. This is what it looks like in our culture

00:29:15.809 --> 00:29:23.470
and the church today. Abortion is murder. The

00:29:23.470 --> 00:29:27.349
Bible says that from the very moment of conception,

00:29:28.329 --> 00:29:32.069
That baby is a child. Even if it's one cell,

00:29:32.210 --> 00:29:36.789
God knows that person. And yet there are places

00:29:36.789 --> 00:29:40.069
in the church where they go, well, yes, it's

00:29:40.069 --> 00:29:43.190
wrong, but let's compromise. Let's find a place

00:29:43.190 --> 00:29:47.269
where we could be okay with the murder, but ultimately

00:29:47.269 --> 00:29:49.329
we're going to say, yeah, it's wrong, but, and

00:29:49.329 --> 00:29:53.950
they compromise on the morality. Ultimately what

00:29:53.950 --> 00:29:55.829
happens is the evil still happens and the wickedness

00:29:55.829 --> 00:29:59.470
still happens. We're called to be righteous people

00:29:59.470 --> 00:30:04.069
in the Lord. We're called to stand for what is

00:30:04.069 --> 00:30:06.309
right, not to be halfway righteous. And when

00:30:06.309 --> 00:30:10.250
our righteousness that we exhibit in our workplaces

00:30:10.250 --> 00:30:12.789
or homes or families or wherever we're at, when

00:30:12.789 --> 00:30:15.529
the righteousness we exhibit is more about ultimately

00:30:15.529 --> 00:30:19.210
how we look to them and how we fit in, and it's

00:30:19.210 --> 00:30:23.170
more about how we are affected than truly what

00:30:23.170 --> 00:30:27.130
is right. We lose our ability to truly influence

00:30:27.130 --> 00:30:31.690
those around us. And this is what Reuben's doing

00:30:31.690 --> 00:30:34.750
here. Hey, guys, we can't do that, but yeah,

00:30:34.769 --> 00:30:39.230
okay, okay, we'll throw him in the pit. Evil

00:30:39.230 --> 00:30:41.789
still happened. We're all susceptible to it,

00:30:41.809 --> 00:30:45.990
as I was saying. It shows up in the church way

00:30:45.990 --> 00:30:50.039
more than people would expect, right? Inner flinch

00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:52.900
we get when someone else is recognized or raised

00:30:52.900 --> 00:30:58.160
up or used more than you, right? Why are they

00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:03.579
used? I'd do a better job. When someone is raised

00:31:03.579 --> 00:31:06.940
up in leadership, promoted, gifted, blessed,

00:31:07.140 --> 00:31:10.940
and when you ask that inside question, why them

00:31:10.940 --> 00:31:13.920
and not me? Why do they get to have that gift?

00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:16.180
Why do they get to serve that way? I should,

00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:18.319
right? That's the envy and the jealousy that

00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:20.980
the devil plants into our hearts, and envy rarely

00:31:20.980 --> 00:31:26.240
remains small. If we don't take that stuff and

00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:31.619
nail it to the cross and not compromise with

00:31:31.619 --> 00:31:33.579
the things that we should be standing firmly

00:31:33.579 --> 00:31:39.259
against, that envy grows teeth. That envy grows

00:31:39.259 --> 00:31:42.940
effect, and it might not lead to Digging an actual

00:31:42.940 --> 00:31:47.980
pit and throwing your brother into it. But how

00:31:47.980 --> 00:31:49.960
many of us have dug emotional pits for people?

00:31:51.880 --> 00:31:56.900
And we've emotionally tossed them away. Said,

00:31:56.960 --> 00:32:01.680
no. I mean, you're not dead to me. I didn't murder

00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:06.019
you, but I have bad comments about you. I give

00:32:06.019 --> 00:32:08.180
you the cold shoulder. I undermine you when I

00:32:08.180 --> 00:32:13.319
can. You know, if you have envy and jealousy

00:32:13.319 --> 00:32:15.539
in your heart, you need to ask God to reveal

00:32:15.539 --> 00:32:19.019
that to you. To show where you've been like,

00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:22.440
oh my gosh, I have been distancing myself from

00:32:22.440 --> 00:32:24.920
my brother or sister in the Lord because I'm

00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:28.480
envious of something they have. And maybe I've

00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:30.859
done something I really shouldn't have done to

00:32:30.859 --> 00:32:33.099
them. Something that was kind of wrong, but I

00:32:33.099 --> 00:32:35.500
compromised a little and justified it in a way

00:32:35.500 --> 00:32:39.509
to hurt them or to bring them down a peg. If

00:32:39.509 --> 00:32:43.930
you're dealing with any of that, say, God, show

00:32:43.930 --> 00:32:46.369
it to me very clearly. Call it what it is. Identify

00:32:46.369 --> 00:32:48.410
it. And then bring it to the cross before it

00:32:48.410 --> 00:32:50.670
grows into something that leads you to do something

00:32:50.670 --> 00:32:53.150
you would never, ever think you would do to somebody.

00:32:56.269 --> 00:32:59.509
So verse 23. When Joseph came to his brothers,

00:32:59.589 --> 00:33:02.809
they stripped off Joseph's robe, the long -sleeved

00:33:02.809 --> 00:33:04.569
robe that he had on. And then they took him and

00:33:04.569 --> 00:33:07.369
threw him into the pit. The pit was empty without

00:33:07.369 --> 00:33:13.440
water. They sat down to eat a meal. Why did I

00:33:13.440 --> 00:33:18.460
stop there? Well, he arrives. Their hatred now

00:33:18.460 --> 00:33:21.960
becomes physical. The word stripped there, when

00:33:21.960 --> 00:33:24.220
it says they stripped off his robe, that is a

00:33:24.220 --> 00:33:26.579
word in the Hebrew that gives us the picture

00:33:26.579 --> 00:33:30.839
of their hatred. It's the same word used to rip

00:33:30.839 --> 00:33:32.900
the skin off an animal if you were skinning it.

00:33:33.750 --> 00:33:35.970
For those of you that are hunters, you might

00:33:35.970 --> 00:33:38.170
be familiar with that. Those of you that have

00:33:38.170 --> 00:33:40.710
watched YouTube and seen that, you're familiar.

00:33:40.930 --> 00:33:42.650
And if you don't know, it's a very violent process.

00:33:44.150 --> 00:33:47.269
It's a violent process. As much as I like to

00:33:47.269 --> 00:33:49.509
say that the meat just ends up at the meat store

00:33:49.509 --> 00:33:50.990
and that's where you get it, no, it comes from

00:33:50.990 --> 00:33:53.549
animals that get slaughtered for our benefit,

00:33:53.690 --> 00:33:56.230
right? Well, the whole process of skinning is

00:33:56.230 --> 00:33:59.829
brutal. Brutal. And this is the word that is

00:33:59.829 --> 00:34:03.049
used here to describe... The violence with which

00:34:03.049 --> 00:34:06.069
they strip off the robe. You know, it wasn't,

00:34:06.069 --> 00:34:08.309
oh, thank you for arriving, Joseph. May we take

00:34:08.309 --> 00:34:12.690
your coat and hang it up for you? He shows up,

00:34:12.690 --> 00:34:14.769
brothers, how are you guys doing? Boom, accosted.

00:34:16.769 --> 00:34:20.090
Manhandled. This robe, I mean, and then you think

00:34:20.090 --> 00:34:23.690
about all that the robe represented to them.

00:34:24.889 --> 00:34:29.409
I don't think they were at all careful. They

00:34:29.409 --> 00:34:31.530
hated this robe and what it represented and the

00:34:31.530 --> 00:34:33.670
one that was wearing it. And so they strip him

00:34:33.670 --> 00:34:35.530
and it says they threw him into this pit. That

00:34:35.530 --> 00:34:38.550
word threw, again, it's not the word for, oh,

00:34:38.630 --> 00:34:42.349
here's a little rope ladder, brother. They threw

00:34:42.349 --> 00:34:44.929
him. They literally shoved him into a hole and

00:34:44.929 --> 00:34:47.730
he fell into this pit. Now, when it says pit

00:34:47.730 --> 00:34:50.449
there, what it's referring to is a cistern. A

00:34:50.449 --> 00:34:53.590
cistern are these like deep, like kind of bottle

00:34:53.590 --> 00:34:57.030
-shaped. openings that are carved into the stone

00:34:57.030 --> 00:35:00.849
and plastered so that they hold water. They would

00:35:00.849 --> 00:35:03.250
hold rainwater, they would hold runoff, and they

00:35:03.250 --> 00:35:06.530
were placed all over the place for caravans and

00:35:06.530 --> 00:35:08.769
people traveling that, you know, if you found

00:35:08.769 --> 00:35:11.750
a cistern, great, you had water. And the idea

00:35:11.750 --> 00:35:14.510
of water was life to people, right? If you didn't

00:35:14.510 --> 00:35:16.289
have enough water, clean water, you would die.

00:35:16.750 --> 00:35:19.969
So traveling from place to place, it was a big

00:35:19.969 --> 00:35:24.510
deal to find a cistern. And it was a huge project

00:35:24.510 --> 00:35:27.969
to make a cistern, to literally carve into the

00:35:27.969 --> 00:35:31.050
rock this big old bowl and then to plaster it.

00:35:31.070 --> 00:35:33.250
It was usually months and months and months of

00:35:33.250 --> 00:35:35.929
work to make a cistern that would hold water.

00:35:36.530 --> 00:35:40.000
Thus, when a cistern would crack, And the water

00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:42.199
would leak out. It was an incredibly heartbreaking

00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:46.059
moment for people because the thing that is meant

00:35:46.059 --> 00:35:49.320
to be a source of life for us is no longer a

00:35:49.320 --> 00:35:51.380
source of life. And I was expecting it to be

00:35:51.380 --> 00:35:53.579
here when I got here. So it tells us that they

00:35:53.579 --> 00:35:55.420
threw him into this pit and it was empty without

00:35:55.420 --> 00:35:59.840
water. The idea is that he fell some distance,

00:36:00.119 --> 00:36:03.519
upwards of 10 to 15 feet, down into this rock

00:36:03.519 --> 00:36:07.960
hole and just slammed against the bottom. Now,

00:36:08.019 --> 00:36:10.380
when a cistern would crack and leak, as I said,

00:36:10.460 --> 00:36:15.019
it was a horrible thing for people. And a cistern

00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:18.679
without water carried symbolism within the Old

00:36:18.679 --> 00:36:22.940
Testament. For example, in Jeremiah 2 .13, God,

00:36:23.019 --> 00:36:24.980
speaking of the people of Israel, said this,

00:36:25.059 --> 00:36:27.780
For my people have committed a double evil. They

00:36:27.780 --> 00:36:29.920
have abandoned me, the fountain of living water,

00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:33.840
and dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns

00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:38.460
that cannot hold water. Now symbolically, Israel,

00:36:38.659 --> 00:36:41.320
the nation Israel, were supposed to be the representatives

00:36:41.320 --> 00:36:45.590
of God to the world. They were literally... Not

00:36:45.590 --> 00:36:47.949
literally, symbolically. To be the ones that

00:36:47.949 --> 00:36:51.550
said, hey world, here's the cistern. It's full

00:36:51.550 --> 00:36:54.369
of water and refreshment. Come to the cistern

00:36:54.369 --> 00:36:57.230
and get that which will give you life. This is

00:36:57.230 --> 00:36:59.849
the source of life. But what Israel did throughout

00:36:59.849 --> 00:37:02.449
the Old Testament, instead of that, is walk away

00:37:02.449 --> 00:37:05.170
from God, start worshiping false idols. And so

00:37:05.170 --> 00:37:08.030
he says, one, you turned away from me, right?

00:37:08.090 --> 00:37:10.409
You abandoned me, but then you dug cisterns for

00:37:10.409 --> 00:37:13.389
yourselves. You went and dug your own religions.

00:37:15.210 --> 00:37:20.090
That are cracked. They don't hold water. So you

00:37:20.090 --> 00:37:22.170
point people to the cistern and they go, it's

00:37:22.170 --> 00:37:27.710
empty. There's nothing life -giving here. And

00:37:27.710 --> 00:37:31.630
so that was the symbolism here that Joseph is

00:37:31.630 --> 00:37:35.630
now sitting in the empty cistern that his brothers

00:37:35.630 --> 00:37:39.570
tossed him into. No water. No life. No way of

00:37:39.570 --> 00:37:43.889
escape. Bruised. Probably beaten, scared for

00:37:43.889 --> 00:37:47.789
sure, and from above, his brothers could hear

00:37:47.789 --> 00:37:51.789
his cries for help. And we know this because

00:37:51.789 --> 00:37:55.510
later on in Genesis 42, 21, the brothers say

00:37:55.510 --> 00:37:58.170
this. Obviously, we are being punished for what

00:37:58.170 --> 00:38:00.730
we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress

00:38:00.730 --> 00:38:04.369
when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen.

00:38:04.889 --> 00:38:10.150
That is why this trouble has come upon us. So

00:38:10.150 --> 00:38:13.809
here's their second youngest brother, stripped

00:38:13.809 --> 00:38:18.309
of his robe violently, thrown into this pit.

00:38:19.969 --> 00:38:23.250
And then the darkest verse of this whole chapter,

00:38:23.269 --> 00:38:28.809
in my opinion, they sat down to eat a meal. While

00:38:28.809 --> 00:38:30.789
their little brother's in there crying out, pleading,

00:38:30.829 --> 00:38:35.849
possibly injured, they go on about their day

00:38:35.849 --> 00:38:39.159
like nothing is wrong. They go on with their

00:38:39.159 --> 00:38:42.539
life. And maybe you have found yourself in a

00:38:42.539 --> 00:38:46.360
pit, right? A deep pit, a deep, dark place. And

00:38:46.360 --> 00:38:49.199
maybe you're in there and you've been pleading

00:38:49.199 --> 00:38:51.079
and you feel like nobody is paying attention.

00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:54.559
That as you cry out, everybody around you is

00:38:54.559 --> 00:38:57.300
just going about their lives like nothing is

00:38:57.300 --> 00:38:59.699
wrong. And you're like, why can't you hear me?

00:38:59.760 --> 00:39:02.480
Why aren't you responding? I'm here. I'm in this

00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:05.400
pit. And these pits we can find ourselves in,

00:39:05.440 --> 00:39:09.460
they have many names. It could be abuse, betrayal,

00:39:09.880 --> 00:39:14.539
diagnosis, prodigal child, ministry wounds, church

00:39:14.539 --> 00:39:18.840
hurt. But we find ourselves in these places where

00:39:18.840 --> 00:39:21.139
we feel like we're alone and I need help and

00:39:21.139 --> 00:39:25.059
please. But everybody's just going to breakfast

00:39:25.059 --> 00:39:27.880
and going to lunch and going about their day

00:39:27.880 --> 00:39:30.059
and doing their thing. You know, the loudest

00:39:30.059 --> 00:39:32.579
question from the depth of these pits is often,

00:39:32.659 --> 00:39:39.940
where is God? Where is he? You see, Joseph didn't

00:39:39.940 --> 00:39:42.280
have Romans 8 .28, right? Joseph couldn't sit

00:39:42.280 --> 00:39:44.340
there in this pit and go, all things work together

00:39:44.340 --> 00:39:48.300
to good for those who love God. He didn't have

00:39:48.300 --> 00:39:55.320
that. His perspective was that I'm done. Everything

00:39:55.320 --> 00:39:58.539
I know is gone. My future is dark and I'm in

00:39:58.539 --> 00:40:00.880
this pit and my brothers are just going on and

00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:02.400
they're not hearing me. They're not responding.

00:40:02.480 --> 00:40:08.889
Where is God? He's absent. He's silent. But that

00:40:08.889 --> 00:40:13.329
is not biblical truth. God's apparent silence

00:40:13.329 --> 00:40:18.389
is not his absence. You see, in fact, centuries

00:40:18.389 --> 00:40:24.070
later in this same town of Dauphin, there was

00:40:24.070 --> 00:40:28.409
a young servant who was serving a prophet. And

00:40:28.409 --> 00:40:31.210
he was scared because the enemy was coming against

00:40:31.210 --> 00:40:38.679
him. And he's like, I, where's God? And God would

00:40:38.679 --> 00:40:40.659
open the eyes of this young servant in this very

00:40:40.659 --> 00:40:43.320
place, and this servant would see the hills filled

00:40:43.320 --> 00:40:47.599
with horses and chariots of fire. And that was

00:40:47.599 --> 00:40:49.699
there during the story of Elisha the prophet.

00:40:52.500 --> 00:40:55.780
Where's God? Elisha said, God, can you open his

00:40:55.780 --> 00:41:01.679
eyes? Oh my goodness. God's power, God's armies

00:41:01.679 --> 00:41:05.760
are surrounding us. The enemy has no chance.

00:41:06.670 --> 00:41:08.929
It's that same presence and that same power of

00:41:08.929 --> 00:41:12.449
God that was there with Joseph. God is everywhere

00:41:12.449 --> 00:41:14.190
at all times. He is present with you no matter

00:41:14.190 --> 00:41:17.769
what the pit is. He is there with you and his

00:41:17.769 --> 00:41:20.230
power is there. His presence is there. Just because

00:41:20.230 --> 00:41:24.590
he's silent doesn't mean he's not with you. That

00:41:24.590 --> 00:41:27.409
power, that presence was there with Joseph just

00:41:27.409 --> 00:41:29.969
as it would be centuries later in Elisha's day.

00:41:30.250 --> 00:41:33.889
He just couldn't see it. And that's often our

00:41:33.889 --> 00:41:37.539
problem. We look around and we go, all I see

00:41:37.539 --> 00:41:41.039
is the empty cistern. All I could see is the

00:41:41.039 --> 00:41:45.440
hole up there that I can't get to. And we have

00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:48.219
the choice in those places to say, I am alone.

00:41:48.460 --> 00:41:55.380
God is gone. Or we say, God is here. God is present.

00:41:55.539 --> 00:42:00.840
His power is here. I don't understand why, but

00:42:00.840 --> 00:42:03.880
he let this happen. Can I find peace in that?

00:42:04.670 --> 00:42:11.210
As hurt as I am. As the wounds, they sting. But

00:42:11.210 --> 00:42:15.869
can I find solace in the truth that God's presence

00:42:15.869 --> 00:42:19.690
is here? And if God allowed this to happen, there

00:42:19.690 --> 00:42:22.190
has to be, based upon the testimony of the word

00:42:22.190 --> 00:42:27.150
of God, good on the back end of this. And so,

00:42:27.309 --> 00:42:31.309
verse 25 again. It says, when they looked up.

00:42:31.579 --> 00:42:33.539
From their meal, there was a caravan of Ishmaelites

00:42:33.539 --> 00:42:36.719
coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying

00:42:36.719 --> 00:42:40.079
aromatic gum, balsam, and resin going down to

00:42:40.079 --> 00:42:43.280
Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, what do we

00:42:43.280 --> 00:42:45.039
gain if we kill our brother and cover up his

00:42:45.039 --> 00:42:48.079
blood? Come on, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites

00:42:48.079 --> 00:42:49.780
and not lay a hand on him for he is our brother,

00:42:49.900 --> 00:42:53.219
our own flesh. And his brothers agreed. When

00:42:53.219 --> 00:42:55.360
Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled

00:42:55.360 --> 00:42:58.199
Joseph out of the pit and sold him for 20 pieces

00:42:58.199 --> 00:43:00.920
of silver to the Ishmaelites who took Joseph

00:43:00.920 --> 00:43:04.179
to Egypt. And so this is another example of,

00:43:04.300 --> 00:43:08.639
wow, what are the odds of a caravan of traders

00:43:08.639 --> 00:43:11.559
just so happening to arrive at exactly the right

00:43:11.559 --> 00:43:17.099
time that this is all going down? It's God's

00:43:17.099 --> 00:43:22.360
hand of providence. But... It gives Judah an

00:43:22.360 --> 00:43:28.519
idea. Wow. We won't have to kill him. We won't

00:43:28.519 --> 00:43:31.980
be as bad as we could be. Gosh, we're going to

00:43:31.980 --> 00:43:34.579
find the moral high ground here. Let's not kill

00:43:34.579 --> 00:43:37.820
him. Let's just sell him into a lifetime of slavery.

00:43:38.539 --> 00:43:41.699
Man, we're good brothers. At least he's alive.

00:43:42.980 --> 00:43:48.440
We didn't murder him. They make themselves feel

00:43:48.440 --> 00:43:51.199
better by choosing the lesser evil. Guess what

00:43:51.199 --> 00:44:00.340
a lesser evil is? Evil. Now, it calls this caravan

00:44:00.340 --> 00:44:02.699
of traitors, Ishmaelites and Midianites. They're

00:44:02.699 --> 00:44:05.340
called both here. What's really interesting is

00:44:05.340 --> 00:44:09.820
that both are descendants of Abraham. So Joseph

00:44:09.820 --> 00:44:12.039
is being handed from one family to the other

00:44:12.039 --> 00:44:14.739
family, if you will. But what the brothers of

00:44:14.739 --> 00:44:18.199
the covenant are doing are handing him over to

00:44:18.199 --> 00:44:21.219
the brothers outside the covenant. Which is a

00:44:21.219 --> 00:44:23.659
very interesting tactic and something that the

00:44:23.659 --> 00:44:26.199
devil is trying to do in erasing God's plan.

00:44:27.719 --> 00:44:29.820
Ishmael came through Hagar, Midian came through

00:44:29.820 --> 00:44:32.239
Keturah, and both of these clans intermarried

00:44:32.239 --> 00:44:34.559
over time, and so they kind of effectively became

00:44:34.559 --> 00:44:37.360
one people. So they're just interchangeably called

00:44:37.360 --> 00:44:39.760
Ishmaelites and Midianites. It's the same group.

00:44:40.800 --> 00:44:43.019
But imagine Joseph's hope as they pull him up

00:44:43.019 --> 00:44:46.389
out of the pit, right? He's crying out. Please,

00:44:46.769 --> 00:44:49.050
guys, please. And then finally the rope comes

00:44:49.050 --> 00:44:54.050
down. They change their mind. Wow. God has shown

00:44:54.050 --> 00:44:58.130
up. Thank you, God. You are here to rescue me.

00:44:58.170 --> 00:45:01.090
And then they pull him up, hand him over to this

00:45:01.090 --> 00:45:04.480
caravan of strangers. For 20 pieces of silver.

00:45:04.760 --> 00:45:07.159
And then what happened in most times is that

00:45:07.159 --> 00:45:09.579
the slaves would be tied by rope to the back

00:45:09.579 --> 00:45:11.539
of the caravan or the back of a horse and forced

00:45:11.539 --> 00:45:14.400
to walk. Oftentimes they were also forced to

00:45:14.400 --> 00:45:17.579
carry heavy loads. And so, you know, if anybody

00:45:17.579 --> 00:45:21.739
had the case for victimhood, it was Joseph. Right?

00:45:21.820 --> 00:45:23.559
I mean, Joseph. We look at him and go, yeah,

00:45:23.599 --> 00:45:26.780
bro. I mean, you have the case for it. He started

00:45:26.780 --> 00:45:30.159
his day as the robed favorite. And he ends his

00:45:30.159 --> 00:45:34.760
day as a... Slave on the way to a foreign slave

00:45:34.760 --> 00:45:37.780
market in a land he's never been to. Falsely

00:45:37.780 --> 00:45:41.159
accused, violently abused, trafficked against

00:45:41.159 --> 00:45:43.880
his will, stripped of his family, his culture,

00:45:43.960 --> 00:45:47.300
his language, his clothes. Yeah, he has been

00:45:47.300 --> 00:45:50.639
radically sinned against by his brothers. Radically.

00:45:51.000 --> 00:45:53.079
And I would add that he's been sinned against

00:45:53.079 --> 00:45:55.440
by his failed father who said, you know, I think

00:45:55.440 --> 00:45:57.360
it's a good idea to send Joseph up there wearing

00:45:57.360 --> 00:46:00.039
this robe to check on his brothers and tell me

00:46:00.039 --> 00:46:05.440
all about it. We all carry wounds and they're

00:46:05.440 --> 00:46:10.039
very real. We should be honest about those things.

00:46:11.300 --> 00:46:15.340
Minimizing doesn't help us. You know, whether

00:46:15.340 --> 00:46:18.199
we had irrational parents, again, abuse, betrayal,

00:46:18.500 --> 00:46:22.360
violations of trust, genuinely wicked and evil

00:46:22.360 --> 00:46:27.219
things done to us, those are real. Those are

00:46:27.219 --> 00:46:30.559
real. The feelings are real. The Bible never

00:46:30.559 --> 00:46:35.059
trivializes wounds. but it refuses to let them

00:46:35.059 --> 00:46:39.400
be our ultimate identity. Joseph's story, it

00:46:39.400 --> 00:46:44.119
says evil is real. Evil happens, but it is not

00:46:44.119 --> 00:46:47.860
the ultimate thing. You may have scars in your

00:46:47.860 --> 00:46:50.460
life, but in Christ, you are not a prisoner of

00:46:50.460 --> 00:46:55.500
what happened to you. Your scars don't define

00:46:55.500 --> 00:46:58.480
who you are today. If anybody could want to give

00:46:58.480 --> 00:47:02.219
up and say my story's ruined and I'm going to

00:47:02.219 --> 00:47:04.119
play the victim for the rest of my life. Why?

00:47:04.179 --> 00:47:06.940
Because real, real things happen to me. It would

00:47:06.940 --> 00:47:10.480
be Joseph. Everything is their fault. None of

00:47:10.480 --> 00:47:14.880
it's my fault. Yeah, quite literally. And yet

00:47:14.880 --> 00:47:17.219
as we read Genesis, we're never going to see

00:47:17.219 --> 00:47:22.300
Joseph curl himself up around the... The lifetime

00:47:22.300 --> 00:47:27.539
identity of poor me. Never. He grieves, yes.

00:47:27.619 --> 00:47:31.340
He cries, yes. He wrestles, yes. But he refuses

00:47:31.340 --> 00:47:37.139
to live a life chained to victimhood. Now, that's

00:47:37.139 --> 00:47:39.139
going to play out over the rest of Genesis, but

00:47:39.139 --> 00:47:41.599
let's move on here in this story. When Reuben

00:47:41.599 --> 00:47:43.739
returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not

00:47:43.739 --> 00:47:46.820
there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his

00:47:46.820 --> 00:47:48.840
brothers and he said, the boy is gone. What am

00:47:48.840 --> 00:47:52.860
I going to do? So they took Joseph's robe and

00:47:52.860 --> 00:47:55.019
slaughtered a male goat and dipped the robe in

00:47:55.019 --> 00:47:57.579
its blood. They sent the long -sleeved robe to

00:47:57.579 --> 00:48:01.280
their father and said, we found this. Examine

00:48:01.280 --> 00:48:05.380
it. Is it your son's robe or not? That's pretty

00:48:05.380 --> 00:48:09.019
pathetic. I believe every stitch of that robe

00:48:09.019 --> 00:48:12.719
was burned into their brain. I mean, I believe

00:48:12.719 --> 00:48:14.860
they knew this robe backwards and forwards because

00:48:14.860 --> 00:48:17.719
all that it represented in their hatred. And

00:48:17.719 --> 00:48:22.389
yet, oh, dad, we found this. I mean, cowards,

00:48:22.409 --> 00:48:26.869
absolute cowards. A vicious animal. Oh, wait,

00:48:26.929 --> 00:48:28.949
is it your son's robe? His father recognized

00:48:28.949 --> 00:48:32.750
it, and he goes, it is my son's robe. A vicious

00:48:32.750 --> 00:48:35.329
animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn

00:48:35.329 --> 00:48:38.489
to pieces. Then Jacob tore his clothes, right?

00:48:38.590 --> 00:48:41.989
Now we're back to Jacob again. He put sackcloth

00:48:41.989 --> 00:48:44.110
around his waist. He mourned for his son many

00:48:44.110 --> 00:48:47.090
days. All his sons and daughters tried to comfort

00:48:47.090 --> 00:48:50.179
him, but he refused to be comforted. No, he said,

00:48:50.320 --> 00:48:54.019
I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning. And

00:48:54.019 --> 00:48:57.860
his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites

00:48:57.860 --> 00:49:00.719
sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer

00:49:00.719 --> 00:49:05.079
of Pharaoh and the captain of his guards. So

00:49:05.079 --> 00:49:07.679
Reuben returns to the pit like he had his plan.

00:49:07.980 --> 00:49:09.480
I'm going to get the brother. I'm going to go

00:49:09.480 --> 00:49:11.940
make things right with dad. Brother isn't there,

00:49:12.039 --> 00:49:13.699
tears his clothes in anguish. That was a sign

00:49:13.699 --> 00:49:16.440
of great contrition in the culture. But even

00:49:16.440 --> 00:49:19.139
here we see he's mostly worried about himself.

00:49:20.219 --> 00:49:23.280
If he was genuinely concerned with Joseph, why

00:49:23.280 --> 00:49:28.079
didn't he go after the caravan? He did not. Mostly

00:49:28.079 --> 00:49:30.760
worried about himself. And so the brothers, they

00:49:30.760 --> 00:49:33.639
prep their deception. Kill a goat, dip the robe

00:49:33.639 --> 00:49:36.860
in the blood, take it back to dad, play stupid.

00:49:38.659 --> 00:49:42.619
Now the irony is really thick here. Because in

00:49:42.619 --> 00:49:45.260
the beginning of Jacob's life, we read that he

00:49:45.260 --> 00:49:49.659
used goats and clothing to deceive his father.

00:49:49.900 --> 00:49:53.079
You remember that? Took goat skins, wrapped them

00:49:53.079 --> 00:49:54.840
around himself so when the father felt him, he

00:49:54.840 --> 00:49:57.739
goes, oh, you're Harry Esau. And now here we

00:49:57.739 --> 00:50:00.199
are years later, his sons do the exact same thing

00:50:00.199 --> 00:50:03.119
to him. Use goats and garments to deceive him.

00:50:05.039 --> 00:50:10.190
You see, we have to understand. That our choices

00:50:10.190 --> 00:50:14.369
have consequences. Now, again, when God gets

00:50:14.369 --> 00:50:16.130
involved, changes our eternal destiny, we're

00:50:16.130 --> 00:50:19.210
saved, yes, our eternal destiny is secure, but

00:50:19.210 --> 00:50:21.690
we still have to understand that choices have

00:50:21.690 --> 00:50:25.170
consequences here on earth. And that's why we

00:50:25.170 --> 00:50:27.849
need to be well -read and well -studied and know

00:50:27.849 --> 00:50:29.909
the Lord's character so that when we make decisions,

00:50:30.070 --> 00:50:32.730
we're going, I'm making the best decision I can

00:50:32.730 --> 00:50:37.829
based upon what I know is right. But we also

00:50:37.829 --> 00:50:40.969
trust. that God has taken all of that into account

00:50:40.969 --> 00:50:45.710
to work his will. But we still do bear a responsibility

00:50:45.710 --> 00:50:49.690
for our own free will. Jacob's grief is just

00:50:49.690 --> 00:50:53.590
massive. Nobody could comfort him. He says, I'm

00:50:53.590 --> 00:50:56.269
going to die mourning for my son. I'm going to

00:50:56.269 --> 00:50:58.730
go down to Sheol. He says, I am never going to

00:50:58.730 --> 00:51:02.260
be okay. And he's believing a lie here. He's

00:51:02.260 --> 00:51:04.280
believing in untruth and I believe the reason

00:51:04.280 --> 00:51:06.199
he's called Jacob again instead of Israel is

00:51:06.199 --> 00:51:08.920
because Israel should have gone, oh my gosh,

00:51:09.139 --> 00:51:13.559
I gotta, Lord, I'm coming to you in prayer and

00:51:13.559 --> 00:51:16.340
is this true? Did it really happen this way?

00:51:16.400 --> 00:51:19.420
God, I trust you and even if this is the worst

00:51:19.420 --> 00:51:22.739
possible outcome and my son is indeed dead, God,

00:51:22.880 --> 00:51:25.780
help me find the strength to trust your sovereignty

00:51:25.780 --> 00:51:27.380
and your providence and all this. That's not

00:51:27.380 --> 00:51:29.480
what he does. He assumes the worst and immediately

00:51:29.480 --> 00:51:34.329
says, All life is over. The sky is falling. And

00:51:34.329 --> 00:51:36.090
then we just get the meanwhile, which is the

00:51:36.090 --> 00:51:39.989
to be continued, right? Joseph now finds himself

00:51:39.989 --> 00:51:42.650
in the heart of the most powerful world superpower

00:51:42.650 --> 00:51:47.210
of the time. Lost his family, lost his coat,

00:51:47.369 --> 00:51:51.969
lost his freedom, but he didn't lose his character.

00:51:52.969 --> 00:51:55.030
And that's what we see through the rest of Genesis.

00:51:56.269 --> 00:51:59.309
That who he was was consistent regardless of

00:51:59.309 --> 00:52:03.030
his circumstances. That God is positioning him

00:52:03.030 --> 00:52:07.110
for a future that nobody could imagine. Now,

00:52:07.150 --> 00:52:11.409
as I've said, real life, it's unfair. Real families

00:52:11.409 --> 00:52:14.989
can be messy, real wounds and hurts. They leave

00:52:14.989 --> 00:52:17.530
scars that will carry with us for the rest of

00:52:17.530 --> 00:52:20.030
this life here on earth. But above all of those

00:52:20.030 --> 00:52:25.590
things is a real God. A real creator whose providence

00:52:25.590 --> 00:52:31.070
is bigger than human evil. A real God whose grace

00:52:31.070 --> 00:52:35.289
is deeper than any pit. A real God whose arms

00:52:35.289 --> 00:52:37.889
are strong enough to hold you, no matter how

00:52:37.889 --> 00:52:40.809
deep the waters are or how deep the hole is.

00:52:41.610 --> 00:52:44.809
You see, I read a story about a dad with his

00:52:44.809 --> 00:52:46.630
three -year -old standing in the shallow end

00:52:46.630 --> 00:52:51.360
of a pool. The kid couldn't swim, and the water,

00:52:51.380 --> 00:52:53.059
even in the shallow end, was deeper than the

00:52:53.059 --> 00:52:55.820
kid. So it was like a dangerous situation for

00:52:55.820 --> 00:52:58.920
the kid on its own. Now, there at the shallow

00:52:58.920 --> 00:53:03.139
end, the kid felt safe, felt secure, was like,

00:53:03.159 --> 00:53:05.360
I'm good, this is great, my dad's holding me.

00:53:05.440 --> 00:53:08.480
But then the dad just slowly started taking steps

00:53:08.480 --> 00:53:11.960
toward the deeper side of the pool. And the kid

00:53:11.960 --> 00:53:14.900
started getting nervous. Eventually, the water

00:53:14.900 --> 00:53:18.440
touched his feet. Oh, no. Came up his legs a

00:53:18.440 --> 00:53:22.579
little bit. And the kid, he started to panic,

00:53:22.719 --> 00:53:26.019
right? Started to fear, was freaking out. And

00:53:26.019 --> 00:53:31.099
the truth of the matter is, is on his own, that

00:53:31.099 --> 00:53:33.900
kid would have drowned in any part of that pool.

00:53:35.579 --> 00:53:37.460
Whether it was the shallow end or the deep end,

00:53:37.519 --> 00:53:41.440
on his own, drowning was a surety for that kid.

00:53:41.519 --> 00:53:43.519
The reality was is that he was always and only

00:53:43.519 --> 00:53:47.690
saved because he was in his father's arms. That's

00:53:47.690 --> 00:53:51.690
why he was safe. But as the pool got deeper,

00:53:51.829 --> 00:53:54.949
those father arms became a little bit less secure

00:53:54.949 --> 00:53:58.769
to him and he started to flip out. When we feel

00:53:58.769 --> 00:54:00.590
like we're in over our heads and we feel like,

00:54:00.630 --> 00:54:04.050
oh no, oh no, it's not because the water's gotten

00:54:04.050 --> 00:54:08.489
so deep that God isn't there anymore. It's that

00:54:08.489 --> 00:54:11.530
we already learned how to trust him in the shallow

00:54:11.530 --> 00:54:14.750
end. Now God wants us to learn how to trust him

00:54:14.750 --> 00:54:22.130
in the deep end. If you're the brothers today

00:54:22.130 --> 00:54:25.190
in this story, as I said, ask the Spirit to show

00:54:25.190 --> 00:54:26.789
you where the envy and the jealousy has been

00:54:26.789 --> 00:54:29.849
poisoning you. Confess it, name it, bring it

00:54:29.849 --> 00:54:32.349
to the cross, you know, because the reality is,

00:54:32.349 --> 00:54:34.530
if you're having envy or jealousy for a brother

00:54:34.530 --> 00:54:36.590
or sister, whether it's biological family or

00:54:36.590 --> 00:54:38.849
Christian family, why do they got the blessing?

00:54:38.969 --> 00:54:40.489
Why are they getting promoted? Why are they getting

00:54:40.489 --> 00:54:42.789
recognized? The reality is, is all of us are

00:54:42.789 --> 00:54:47.309
headed for glory. All of us. Comparison is pointless.

00:54:48.259 --> 00:54:51.079
We're all gonna stand before God equally in his

00:54:51.079 --> 00:54:56.320
glory, loved as his beloved children. What we

00:54:56.320 --> 00:54:58.699
should do is when our brothers or sisters are

00:54:58.699 --> 00:55:02.460
blessed by the Lord, we should celebrate with

00:55:02.460 --> 00:55:05.940
them. I'm so happy for you. Praise God what he's

00:55:05.940 --> 00:55:10.000
doing in your life. Hey, I need a blessing like

00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:12.980
that too. Can you pray for me? But this isn't

00:55:12.980 --> 00:55:14.719
gonna turn into why do they have it and I don't

00:55:14.719 --> 00:55:16.630
because that envy is just gonna. It's going to

00:55:16.630 --> 00:55:18.449
poison you. It's going to wreck the relationships.

00:55:20.269 --> 00:55:22.590
Trust God's providence in all those little details,

00:55:22.769 --> 00:55:26.070
right? The nameless man in a field who just happens

00:55:26.070 --> 00:55:28.389
to show up with the right information. A random

00:55:28.389 --> 00:55:30.829
caravan arriving just at the right moment. It's

00:55:30.829 --> 00:55:35.469
God. So tomorrow, this week, Thanksgiving dinner.

00:55:38.030 --> 00:55:41.050
When something just happens to show up and wow,

00:55:41.150 --> 00:55:44.809
what a coinkydink. Step back and say, Lord, what

00:55:44.809 --> 00:55:48.460
are you doing? Help me to see it. Ask the Spirit

00:55:48.460 --> 00:55:53.300
to help you see your Shechem moments, your Dothan

00:55:53.300 --> 00:55:56.880
moments, and those moments even when God is absolutely

00:55:56.880 --> 00:56:01.900
silent. Ask him, say, hey, Lord, it would be

00:56:01.900 --> 00:56:04.619
cool if you opened my eyes, but I trust that

00:56:04.619 --> 00:56:06.300
the horses and chariots are surrounding me right

00:56:06.300 --> 00:56:08.719
now. And if you want to show me, that'd be pretty

00:56:08.719 --> 00:56:12.500
cool, right? But bring all that guilt and grief

00:56:12.500 --> 00:56:17.530
to the cross. Some of us are Joseph in the story.

00:56:17.610 --> 00:56:19.030
We've been wronged. We've been sinned against

00:56:19.030 --> 00:56:21.989
greatly. Some of us, as I said, are the brothers.

00:56:22.090 --> 00:56:26.349
We're guilty of causing deep wounds. And we haven't

00:56:26.349 --> 00:56:30.150
rectified that. Some of us are like Jacob. At

00:56:30.150 --> 00:56:33.409
the end of the story, living under a lie, instead

00:56:33.409 --> 00:56:35.809
of going to God and we're believing the worst

00:56:35.809 --> 00:56:38.289
case scenario, it's all done, the sky is falling,

00:56:38.389 --> 00:56:45.750
and we're mourning when we shouldn't be. Jesus

00:56:45.750 --> 00:56:47.369
is enough for all three of those situations.

00:56:49.389 --> 00:56:53.489
Mourning is real. Grief is real. But Jesus bears

00:56:53.489 --> 00:56:57.809
the wounds of the abused. He bears the wounds

00:56:57.809 --> 00:57:05.449
of loss. But he also does something that we may

00:57:05.449 --> 00:57:08.269
not like. He paid for the sins of the abuser.

00:57:09.710 --> 00:57:12.230
He paid for the sins of the one who's wronged

00:57:12.230 --> 00:57:15.449
you. And he's the truth that breaks the power

00:57:15.449 --> 00:57:19.369
of all lies. So as we head into Thanksgiving

00:57:19.369 --> 00:57:24.289
today or this week, as we look forward to whatever

00:57:24.289 --> 00:57:26.710
family events or we're not looking forward to

00:57:26.710 --> 00:57:30.730
family events that are coming, you may not be

00:57:30.730 --> 00:57:33.489
able to change your past or what has happened

00:57:33.489 --> 00:57:36.150
in the family. You may not be able to change

00:57:36.150 --> 00:57:38.590
who you're going to be sitting across the table

00:57:38.590 --> 00:57:42.610
from this Thanksgiving, but you can decide. Whose

00:57:42.610 --> 00:57:47.769
hand your story is in? You can decide that. Joseph's

00:57:47.769 --> 00:57:52.010
life reminds us that what others meant for evil,

00:57:52.170 --> 00:57:59.969
God is able to weave it for good. That in Christ,

00:58:00.110 --> 00:58:04.090
we are not defined by our wounds, but by his

00:58:04.090 --> 00:58:08.289
love. Are you going to let the wounds define

00:58:08.289 --> 00:58:09.969
you and who you're going to be at Thanksgiving

00:58:09.969 --> 00:58:12.800
this year? Or are you going to say I'm defined

00:58:12.800 --> 00:58:17.280
by the love of Jesus Christ? That's the question.

00:58:18.739 --> 00:58:21.579
So bring him your envy and your grief and your

00:58:21.579 --> 00:58:24.820
what ifs and your why thems. Bring it all to

00:58:24.820 --> 00:58:28.760
Christ and trust that even in the pit, you are

00:58:28.760 --> 00:58:30.699
held by a sovereign Savior who loves you more

00:58:30.699 --> 00:58:33.840
than anything you could imagine. Amen? Let's

00:58:33.840 --> 00:58:44.559
pray. Father, we are so thankful. Lord, we can

00:58:44.559 --> 00:58:49.360
be more thankful. We're weak. But God, right

00:58:49.360 --> 00:58:53.539
now, we want to proclaim our thankfulness to

00:58:53.539 --> 00:58:57.059
you and what you've done in our lives. Lord,

00:58:57.139 --> 00:58:59.519
this week especially, as everybody's thinking

00:58:59.519 --> 00:59:01.579
about thankfulness, Lord, we know it's not something

00:59:01.579 --> 00:59:04.320
we only do once a year, but there is a special

00:59:04.320 --> 00:59:07.860
focus this week, God. And Lord, all of us are

00:59:07.860 --> 00:59:12.670
going to have opportunity this week to... to

00:59:12.670 --> 00:59:14.730
do the right thing or to not do the right thing.

00:59:16.409 --> 00:59:19.010
Lord, some of us this week are the Joseph, and

00:59:19.010 --> 00:59:21.329
we don't want to go to Thanksgiving because we've

00:59:21.329 --> 00:59:23.849
been wronged by someone that we're expecting

00:59:23.849 --> 00:59:28.230
to see there. And Lord, the hurt is real. The

00:59:28.230 --> 00:59:33.030
wounds are real. The wrong is indeed wrong. But

00:59:33.030 --> 00:59:35.869
Lord, I pray for those that are there, God, that

00:59:35.869 --> 00:59:39.750
they would, through the power of your Holy Spirit,

00:59:39.789 --> 00:59:43.719
to be able to step back and say, God, I believe

00:59:43.719 --> 00:59:45.559
you are sovereign, and I believe you allowed

00:59:45.559 --> 00:59:48.099
those things to happen, and God, what do you

00:59:48.099 --> 00:59:52.380
want to use me to do? Lord, some of us here may

00:59:52.380 --> 00:59:55.840
be the brothers, and we are the ones guilty of

00:59:55.840 --> 00:59:58.159
wronging someone that we're going to see this

00:59:58.159 --> 01:00:02.639
Thanksgiving. Lord, I pray for those that instead

01:00:02.639 --> 01:00:05.960
of hiding the guilt and living with the secret

01:00:05.960 --> 01:00:09.880
and pridefully demanding that they did nothing

01:00:09.880 --> 01:00:12.179
wrong, that they would hear you. They would hear

01:00:12.179 --> 01:00:16.900
truth. That instead of being halfway righteous,

01:00:16.980 --> 01:00:18.679
Lord, that they would embrace full righteousness.

01:00:22.239 --> 01:00:24.239
That they would, like the brothers here did later

01:00:24.239 --> 01:00:28.460
on, say, we did this. And that they would ask

01:00:28.460 --> 01:00:33.260
for forgiveness and pursue love and unity. Lord,

01:00:33.340 --> 01:00:35.340
I pray for any in here today that are like Jacob,

01:00:35.440 --> 01:00:38.579
who have been living under a lie. Maybe it's

01:00:38.579 --> 01:00:40.360
a lie that they are forever just going to be

01:00:40.360 --> 01:00:42.199
a victim and they can't do anything about that.

01:00:42.239 --> 01:00:46.940
Maybe the lie is that the sky is falling and

01:00:46.940 --> 01:00:48.639
the end of everything is here, Lord. And God,

01:00:48.659 --> 01:00:50.539
I pray that they would just realize the truth,

01:00:50.780 --> 01:00:55.900
that you are God. Nothing is final until it is

01:00:55.900 --> 01:00:58.460
final. And Lord, you are working through our

01:00:58.460 --> 01:01:01.789
lives until the day we stand before you. So God,

01:01:01.829 --> 01:01:03.949
I pray you would free those that may be living

01:01:03.949 --> 01:01:06.389
under a lie. I pray that you would free those

01:01:06.389 --> 01:01:09.769
that have been chained to victimhood. That instead

01:01:09.769 --> 01:01:11.829
of sitting across the table this Thanksgiving

01:01:11.829 --> 01:01:15.090
and festering in their victimhood and letting

01:01:15.090 --> 01:01:18.869
anger and envy and hate just stir up in their

01:01:18.869 --> 01:01:20.530
hearts, Lord, that they would step away from

01:01:20.530 --> 01:01:23.909
that and say, I'm not a victim. I'm a child of

01:01:23.909 --> 01:01:28.030
God. Yes, something bad happened to me. Yes,

01:01:28.110 --> 01:01:34.550
it was terrible. Yes, it hurt. But Lord, you

01:01:34.550 --> 01:01:37.190
would remind them that you took horrible wounds

01:01:37.190 --> 01:01:41.130
for them. That they would find an impossible

01:01:41.130 --> 01:01:43.389
ability through the Holy Spirit in their life

01:01:43.389 --> 01:01:47.809
to forgive. And that you would set them free

01:01:47.809 --> 01:01:52.550
from all of it, God. Lord, whatever pit we find

01:01:52.550 --> 01:01:57.789
ourselves in today, I pray, God, that as we trust

01:01:57.789 --> 01:02:01.929
you, that we would be able to even sit in that

01:02:01.929 --> 01:02:04.360
pit. Through this week or whatever it may be,

01:02:04.420 --> 01:02:09.219
God's saying, Lord's with me. But God, if it

01:02:09.219 --> 01:02:10.840
is your will to pull us up out of those pits

01:02:10.840 --> 01:02:13.099
and set us free from those things this week and

01:02:13.099 --> 01:02:15.500
through our family events coming up, Lord, we

01:02:15.500 --> 01:02:16.920
ask that you would do that and that you would

01:02:16.920 --> 01:02:20.440
be so greatly glorified in all of it. We love

01:02:20.440 --> 01:02:25.340
you. We thank you. We thank you for your protection.

01:02:26.139 --> 01:02:29.599
We thank you for your providence. We thank you

01:02:29.599 --> 01:02:32.639
for the strength you give us in our grief. We

01:02:32.639 --> 01:02:34.719
thank you for the hope you give us in our despair.

01:02:37.360 --> 01:02:39.739
Lord, bring peace where peace needs to be brought.

01:02:41.280 --> 01:02:43.340
It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.