WEBVTT

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I am Pastor Nathan. For those of you that don't

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know me in this morning, we're going to be talking

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about mercy for the guilty. Is anybody in this

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room guilty? Yeah, if you're not raising your

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hand, you didn't hear me, all right? We are all

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guilty. The Bible is very clear that all of us

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are sinners by nature. We are born with a nature

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of sin, and that sin is defined as us breaking

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God's law. And because God is holy and just and

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we've broken his law, we are guilty of breaking

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his law. And so that's what we're going to be

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talking about this morning is his mercy for the

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guilty. You know, back in the 60s and 70s, there

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was a big anthem that kind of was permeating.

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the world. It was a part of the whole hippie

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culture and everything, and it was just love

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and peace, right? It was all about love and peace,

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and there was a song during that era that captured

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that idea, and it was called All You Need Is

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Love. Anybody remember that song? Yeah. I don't,

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but I was born in 74. I just missed it, so. But

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yeah, all you need is love, right? It's this

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whole idea. I guess there was a line in the song

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that says, it's easy. All you need is love. Now,

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in one sense, sure, I guess it could be easy

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to love in one way. It's easy to love people

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who are lovely, you know. It's easy to love people

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who are sweet and kind and responsive and grateful.

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But it's not so easy to love the angry and the

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contemptuous and the people that hurt us or that

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are very bitter and difficult or whatever. You

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know, the idea is just to love the lovely is

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natural. To love the unlovely is supernatural.

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For most of us, payback is natural. But pardon

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is very supernatural. And the chapter we're in

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this morning in Genesis chapter 43, it's a picture

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of supernatural love in action. Because Joseph,

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the man that we've been studying for a number

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of weeks now, is going to find himself face to

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face with the very men who hurt him. The men

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who are his brothers who threw him into a pit

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to die and then pulled him out, sold him into

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slavery, lied to their dad about it. And they

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did all this about 20 plus years earlier. And

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in the story we're coming to this morning, now

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he's in power. He's the number two person in

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the entire Egyptian empire. He was in a place

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where if he wanted revenge on his brothers, he

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could have it with a word, a wave of his hand,

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and they would be killed, tortured, whatever

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he wanted. That was the place he was in now.

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But instead of that, he grants them mercy. And

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he is kind to them because his heart is tender.

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We're going to see Joseph as a man who is a type

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of Christ. He is overcome with mercy. However,

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the mercy isn't soft. The mercy isn't casual

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with what they have done in their sin. It's a

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very strategic mercy. It's a mercy that echoes

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a verse that many of us are familiar with in

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Romans 2 .4 because his mercy is a kindness that

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is intended to lead them to repentance. In fact,

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Romans 2 .4 puts it this way. Or do you despise

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the riches of his kindness? His restraint and

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patience, not recognizing that God's kindness

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is intended to lead you to repentance. You know,

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sometimes when God is kind to us, even though

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we've done something wrong and we've tried to

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hide it and bury it and we have yet to confess

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it, we might think we're getting away with it.

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And that's not the case. The case is that according

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to Romans, when we're not coming clean with what

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we've done, God's kindness and his ongoing blessing

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is not meant to overlook our sin or to say it's

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no big deal or to treat it casually. It's meant

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to drive us to repentance. Because if we never

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come to that place of repentance, Roman tells

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us that we're simply storing up wrath for the

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day to come. And so we're going to see this morning

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in Genesis 23 just a lesson that teaches us that

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grace is not a casual attitude towards sin, but

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rather grace is God's powerful kindness that

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exposes sin. And it relieves our fears and it

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brings sinners to him. But before we get into

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that, we're going to worship because God is worthy

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of worship. Do you guys agree with that? Are

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you guys going to worship God this morning? Are

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you going to praise his holy name this morning?

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Amen. Let's pray. Father, we love you so much.

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We're so grateful for who you are and what you've

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done. We're so grateful for just you. You are

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almighty. You are everlasting. You are everything.

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And God, before the universe even began, in your

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infinite foreknowledge, you saw us, each one

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of us. Lord, you even saw those who may be sitting

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in this room this morning or watching this video

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online, Lord. And you knew the sin that we were

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going to commit. You knew the wrong that we were

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going to do. You knew the guilt that was going

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to be upon us because of our own choices. And

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yet, God, before creation, you put a plan into

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place to save us. Lord, you put every decision,

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every detail, every crossroad of our lives, Lord,

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you weaved it all into your plan that, Lord,

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we would eventually come to know you, to be saved

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and forgiven, Lord. And God, for many, we walk

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with a guilt that we've tried to hide for years.

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We walk with a guilt of what we've done. And

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we live under the delusion that nobody knows.

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But you know, God. And I pray this morning, Lord,

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you would remind us that, that you know. And

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that the longer we walk trying to hide our guilt,

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to not deal with it, it just poisons us. We're

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not hiding it from you because you know all things.

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And yet, even knowing our sin, Lord, There is

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a kindness that you've extended to us, Lord,

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that one you even allow us to live, to breathe,

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to have life. But Lord, that kindness is so that

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we would have the opportunity to finally come

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to our senses, confess our sins, and come to

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you as our Lord and Savior. That we would repent

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of what we've done. Recognize, Lord, there's

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nothing we can do to change our ways, that you

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are the only one. And that, Lord, we would ultimately

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come to you, God, to receive grace, to receive

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mercy, to receive forgiveness. But, Lord, today

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we're going to see in your word that sometimes

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your mercy can be a little hard, can be a little

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uncomfortable for us, Lord, and yet even that

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itself is a grace. But, God, we want to praise

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you for all that you are, to thank you for our

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salvation, To thank you for calling us together

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as one family in Christ. To changing our lives

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and securing our eternity, God. We are eternally

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grateful. So we praise you. We worship you. We

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love you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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We are in Genesis chapter 43. And before we walk

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through the chapter, I kind of really want to

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name the sin that... is going to be focused on

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today, and it's really the sin of envy. For those

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of you that don't know what envy is, sometimes

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we get it mixed up with covetousness, and covetousness

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is one of the Ten Commandments, thou shalt not

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covet, right? And, excuse me, the difference

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between covetousness and envy is simply this.

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Covetousness says, I want what you have, right?

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Ten Commandments says, thou shalt not covet.

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You know, somebody has a nice car and you're

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like, I want that. And I'm going to figure out

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how to take it from them. Or I should have that.

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The idea is fill my empty hands with what you

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have. That's covetousness. Envy is not that I

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want what you have. Envy is I don't want you

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to have it either. That's what envy is. Envy

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is my hands are empty and I want yours to be

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empty like mine are. That's what envy is. That

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sin carries a very personal resentment in our

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hearts. Envy is not... being upset with, like

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I said, what they have. You don't resent the

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blessing. You resent the person who has the blessing.

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That is what happened to Joseph early in his

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life with his brothers. He had that multicolored

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coat, if you guys remember, that coat that his

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dad gave him. And yeah, it was a sign of favoritism.

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It was a sign of all that kind of really upset

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the brothers. But in the story of Joseph, it

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wasn't the coat that the brothers wanted. If

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you remember, when they seized Joseph and ripped

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the coat off of him, they shredded it. They tore

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it to pieces and then dipped it in blood because

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it wasn't that they coveted his coat, it's that

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they envied him for having it. And that was kind

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of what was behind what they did to him. And

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so, you know, envy is a very... terrible sin.

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The wreckage of envy is seen all over the Bible.

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We see it with Cain and Abel. We see it with

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Saul and David, and it litters our lives too.

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Unfortunately, sometimes envy can be very public

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and dramatic and very well seen, and sometimes

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it's hidden and it's secret. And it's a sin that

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we carry with us because we silently envy others

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and thinking, you know, gosh, they shouldn't

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be in that position or they shouldn't have that

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thing or they shouldn't be able to do that. And

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sometimes that envy can stir up in our hearts

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in ways where we find ourselves being happy when

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someone falls or when they fail. And envy is

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a poison to the very thing that we want to see

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develop here at Hosanna more and more, and that's

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the covenant community. The closeness, the togetherness.

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Envy is a destructive poison to that. And for

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Jacob's family, if they were to become the 12

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tribes of Israel, if they were to become the

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nation from which the Messiah would come from,

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envy had to be something that was completely

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eradicated out of their hearts. And that's really

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what's going to be taking place as God is walking

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us through this second meeting between Joseph

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and his brothers. You see, Joseph didn't have

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the benefit of being all -knowing like God, even

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though he was a Christ figure. And so as he is

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wanting to reconcile with his family and reveal

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himself to his brothers and have that relationship

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restored, he wasn't sure if that was going to

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be a good thing. I'm sure he was asking questions

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like, are my brothers the same envious group

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of guys they were 20 years ago? Right? The whole...

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test that he put to them when he said, when they

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came for grain and he said, you know, hey, I'll

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sell you the grain. And they didn't know it was

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Joseph. And he said, bring your brother back,

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your little brother. And they were like, we can't

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do that because our dad will not allow us to

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bring our little brother back. He was worried.

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He was worried that as his little brother was

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now the favorite of the family, that his other

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older brothers might try and kill him. out of

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envy, might try and throw him in a pit. You know,

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Joseph, I'm sure, was wondering if the conditions

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were right, would my brothers descend to the

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same murderous intent that they did with me years

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prior? Like, if I reveal myself to them and try

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and reconcile with the family, are they still

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going to try and hurt me? And are they going

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to try and hurt my little brother? And so, But

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what God is doing behind the scenes here as he

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is working through the family of Israel is he

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needs to do a work inside the brothers' hearts

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before he can do a work through the brothers

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as they become the 12 tribes of Israel and ultimately

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bring the Messiah into the world. And so that's

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kind of what's taking place here as we jump into

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the story here in verse 1. Genesis chapter 43,

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it says, Now the famine in the land was severe.

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So when they had used up the grain they had brought

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back from Egypt, their father said to them, go

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back and buy us a little food. Now again, we

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had already studied the chapter where they got

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hit with this famine. There's good reason to

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think that during the first year of the famine

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is when they said, hey, we heard there's food

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in Egypt, right? Jacob said, go get food. And

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they went down there with silver to buy food.

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We had already studied and read the chapter how

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Joseph recognized them and was like, oh, no,

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and great opportunity to get revenge, but that's

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not what he did. But he still, in wanting to

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reconcile with them, had to find out if they

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were going to own up to their sin, if they were

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going to confess their sin, and if they were

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truly wanting to be or were different people.

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And so they went, they got the grain, they brought

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it home. They said, Dad. The silver's still in

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our bag. We don't know how it got there. And

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everybody's like, oh no, Egypt's gonna come get

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us. And so they stayed in the land of Canaan

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and they ate up all the grain. And the famine

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wasn't just a one -year famine. It went on. Of

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course, we know that the dream God had given

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Joseph was that it was gonna be a seven -year

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famine. But Jacob's family didn't know this.

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And so the time comes, they eat up all the food.

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They're like, we need more. And Jacob's like,

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go back. Now, Jacob already knew that they couldn't

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go back unless they brought Benjamin. That's

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what this powerful man in Egypt told them. And

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so in verse 3, Judah steps in now to kind of

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be the voice of reason in the family. And Judah

00:14:37.830 --> 00:14:40.450
said to him, verse 3, the man specifically warned

00:14:40.450 --> 00:14:42.850
us, you will not see me again unless your brother

00:14:42.850 --> 00:14:47.110
is with you. So Judah says to his dad, if you

00:14:47.110 --> 00:14:49.590
will send our brother with us, We'll go down

00:14:49.590 --> 00:14:51.629
and buy more food, but if you do not send him,

00:14:51.669 --> 00:14:54.350
we will not go. For the man said to us, you will

00:14:54.350 --> 00:14:56.289
not see me again unless your brother is with

00:14:56.289 --> 00:14:59.950
you. Now this is where we see Judah starting

00:14:59.950 --> 00:15:02.450
to step up as the leader in the family. He is

00:15:02.450 --> 00:15:05.789
brother number four on the list. And we'll talk

00:15:05.789 --> 00:15:07.509
about it a little bit later, but we know that

00:15:07.509 --> 00:15:10.750
Reuben, the firstborn, had already kind of disqualified

00:15:10.750 --> 00:15:14.110
himself, had been demonstrated that he was a

00:15:14.110 --> 00:15:17.129
selfish man. And so he really wasn't the one

00:15:17.129 --> 00:15:18.870
that was going to end up leading the family,

00:15:18.950 --> 00:15:22.159
so to speak. Simeon and Levi were brothers two

00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:25.120
and three, and we'd studied before how cruel

00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:27.120
and vicious they were, that they were the ones

00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.399
back in Shechem who went and slaughtered all

00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:33.360
the males who had been circumcised to try and

00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:35.480
make right what had happened with their sister.

00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:38.659
And so God was kind of moving past them, and

00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:41.840
now we're at brother four, Judah. who we had

00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:44.860
a whole chapter highlighting his sin where he

00:15:44.860 --> 00:15:47.080
was just a guy who didn't take seriously the

00:15:47.080 --> 00:15:49.940
covenant and the blessings of all that. But now

00:15:49.940 --> 00:15:53.519
we see him starting to act different. He's stepping

00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:56.519
up to be a leader among his brothers. And so

00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:59.620
he tells his dad, like, Dad, I'm just going to

00:15:59.620 --> 00:16:01.399
be honest with you. We can't go back unless we

00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:04.279
take Benjamin. So let us take Benjamin and we'll

00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:08.179
go get the food. Verse 6, why have you caused

00:16:08.179 --> 00:16:11.259
me so much trouble, Israel asked. Why did you

00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:15.480
tell the man that you had another brother? And

00:16:15.480 --> 00:16:17.580
they answered, the man kept asking us about our

00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:20.559
family. Is your father still alive? Do you have

00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:22.879
another brother? And we answered him accordingly.

00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:25.159
How could we know that he would say, bring your

00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:28.240
brothers here or bring your brother here? So

00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:30.460
again, we see this conversation happening in

00:16:30.460 --> 00:16:33.220
the family where God is orchestrating their return

00:16:33.220 --> 00:16:36.059
to Israel so that he could do what he needed

00:16:36.059 --> 00:16:40.059
to do through this family. Jacob is just complaining

00:16:40.059 --> 00:16:42.399
here. He's like, why did you tell the guy you

00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:45.799
had a brother? Good old Jacob, the master deceiver,

00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:48.879
is like, why didn't you just lie? Did I teach

00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:52.159
you guys nothing? You know, and they're like,

00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:54.240
how are we going to know he asked if we had a

00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:56.620
brother, right? We're standing before the most

00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:59.240
powerful or number two most powerful man in Egypt.

00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:01.320
We're not going to lie to him. We were trying

00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:04.180
to be honest. And Jacob at this stage is just

00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:07.849
being a big negative Nancy. Now, if there's anybody

00:17:07.849 --> 00:17:09.930
here named Nancy, I hope that doesn't offend

00:17:09.930 --> 00:17:13.450
you, okay? It's just a phrase, right? But he's

00:17:13.450 --> 00:17:16.009
just being a big poor me, everything's against

00:17:16.009 --> 00:17:20.250
me, you know, blah, blah, blah. And oftentimes

00:17:20.250 --> 00:17:22.750
when we're finding ourselves in these difficult

00:17:22.750 --> 00:17:25.990
situations and situations where we have famine

00:17:25.990 --> 00:17:28.430
in our life, maybe it's material famine, maybe

00:17:28.430 --> 00:17:31.450
it's spiritual famine, we could just start...

00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:34.619
to get whiny and complaining. And what Jacob

00:17:34.619 --> 00:17:37.000
had no idea was going on is that God was about

00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:39.279
to bless him and his family beyond imagination.

00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:44.359
And so it was his fear, it was his own sin, it

00:17:44.359 --> 00:17:47.259
was his own sin nature that blinded him to the

00:17:47.259 --> 00:17:49.759
possibility that God was working through this

00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:53.680
whole circumstance. So he's complaining. Verse

00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:56.039
8, it says, Judah said to his father Israel,

00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:59.700
look, send the boy with me. We will be on our

00:17:59.700 --> 00:18:02.059
way so that we may live and not die, neither

00:18:02.059 --> 00:18:06.140
we nor you nor our dependents. I will be responsible

00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:08.700
for him. You could hold me personally accountable.

00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:11.680
If I do not bring him back to you and set him

00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:14.160
before you, I will be guilty before you forever.

00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:17.140
For if we had not delayed, we could have come

00:18:17.140 --> 00:18:21.740
back twice by now. So again, Judah here seems

00:18:21.740 --> 00:18:24.660
to be a little bit exasperated with his dad,

00:18:24.859 --> 00:18:30.539
right? I'm going to tell you how it is. You want

00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:34.440
us to get food, we have to take the boy. Had

00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:37.480
we gone back already, we could have made two

00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:41.440
trips to Egypt, Dad. But let me make this pledge

00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:46.039
to you. You entrust Benjamin to me, I will be

00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:50.779
personally responsible for him. I will take personal

00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:53.599
responsibility. Now the reason this is important,

00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:55.519
and I believe the reason this is here, is because

00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:59.559
we're seeing Judah become the leader that he

00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:02.920
is meant to be. We're seeing an intentional contrast

00:19:02.920 --> 00:19:06.799
between him and Reuben, who's the firstborn son.

00:19:07.849 --> 00:19:10.049
Just a couple chapters earlier, when they came

00:19:10.049 --> 00:19:13.170
back from their first trip, Reuben felt bad about

00:19:13.170 --> 00:19:16.150
all that he had done that led to Joseph getting

00:19:16.150 --> 00:19:18.869
captured and sold and all that. And then when

00:19:18.869 --> 00:19:21.049
they said, Dad, we need to go back with Benjamin

00:19:21.049 --> 00:19:23.890
to get more food, Reuben had made this very rash

00:19:23.890 --> 00:19:27.410
claim. He said, Dad, if Benjamin dies under my

00:19:27.410 --> 00:19:31.349
watch, then you could kill both of my sons. Now

00:19:31.349 --> 00:19:33.529
at the time when we read that, we go, whoa, Reuben,

00:19:33.690 --> 00:19:36.009
he's finally been responsible. He's finally stepping

00:19:36.009 --> 00:19:40.500
up. The reality of the situation here is Reuben

00:19:40.500 --> 00:19:45.279
was being reckless and selfish. What does that

00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:47.720
look like? I'm going to step up and be responsible.

00:19:48.019 --> 00:19:55.059
If Benjamin dies, kill my sons. Wow, good job,

00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:57.420
Reuben, for taking personal responsibility, right?

00:19:57.779 --> 00:20:02.259
He's passing the cost of him trying to be responsible

00:20:02.259 --> 00:20:05.160
onto someone else. That's being contrasted here

00:20:05.160 --> 00:20:07.880
with now Judah says, I. will take responsibility.

00:20:08.740 --> 00:20:12.559
I will be the one. Put the blame on me forever.

00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:15.900
Judah steps in with this completely different

00:20:15.900 --> 00:20:20.740
tone from Reuben, and it's no wonder that the

00:20:20.740 --> 00:20:24.059
Messiah ends up coming from the line of Judah.

00:20:24.819 --> 00:20:27.039
Because not only is he taking responsibility,

00:20:27.539 --> 00:20:30.839
not only is he showing great maturity here, Judah

00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:33.279
has grown up a little bit, but what's happening

00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:35.920
here is that Judah is willing to take personal

00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:39.269
responsibility personal cost to himself to stand

00:20:39.269 --> 00:20:42.690
in the place of someone else. He's saying, I

00:20:42.690 --> 00:20:45.230
will stand in the place. If something happens

00:20:45.230 --> 00:20:47.970
to Benjamin, I'm the one who will bear the cost.

00:20:48.609 --> 00:20:51.630
I'm the one who will take the penalty upon myself.

00:20:52.109 --> 00:20:54.950
And again, that's just a foreshadowing of the

00:20:54.950 --> 00:20:58.109
Messiah coming from the line of Judah. So verse

00:20:58.109 --> 00:21:02.089
11, then their father said to them, if it must

00:21:02.089 --> 00:21:07.099
be so, then do this. Put some of the best products

00:21:07.099 --> 00:21:09.259
of the land in your packs and take them down

00:21:09.259 --> 00:21:12.579
to the man as a gift. A little balsam, a little

00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:16.359
honey, aromatic gum and resin, pistachios and

00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:19.920
almonds, right? Make a trail mix. Take twice

00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:23.740
as much silver with you. Return the silver that

00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:26.720
was returned to you in the top of your bag. Perhaps

00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:31.450
it was a mistake. Take your brother also and

00:21:31.450 --> 00:21:33.890
go back at once to the man. May God Almighty

00:21:33.890 --> 00:21:37.710
cause the man to be merciful to you so that he

00:21:37.710 --> 00:21:39.869
will release your other brother and Benjamin

00:21:39.869 --> 00:21:43.230
to you. As for me, if I am deprived of my sons,

00:21:43.410 --> 00:21:46.049
then I am deprived. Remember, when they went

00:21:46.049 --> 00:21:48.750
the first time, Joseph said, look, you're going

00:21:48.750 --> 00:21:50.410
to go back home. You're going to bring your little

00:21:50.410 --> 00:21:52.490
brother to me. That's going to be the proof that

00:21:52.490 --> 00:21:55.109
you're not spies. As collateral, I'm going to

00:21:55.109 --> 00:21:58.539
keep your brother Simeon in jail. So they went

00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:00.900
home and obviously they didn't go back right

00:22:00.900 --> 00:22:03.000
away. They've been at home some time. They've

00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:05.119
ran out of all this food. They're saying, Dad,

00:22:05.259 --> 00:22:07.119
we can't get more food unless we take Benjamin.

00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:10.180
So Jacob is kind of forced into this place where

00:22:10.180 --> 00:22:15.000
he has to deal with his fear. He has to let go

00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:17.680
of what he's trying to hold on to and trust.

00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:20.240
And here we see a little bit of trust in God

00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:23.259
for him or from him as he's finally coming to

00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:24.880
the place of saying, okay, I'll let Benjamin

00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:29.789
go. I'll let him go with you. Now, just as a

00:22:29.789 --> 00:22:31.930
side note, you know, when he says take this gift

00:22:31.930 --> 00:22:34.289
and all of that, sometimes, you know, we look

00:22:34.289 --> 00:22:35.730
at stuff like that and we're like, oh, he's just

00:22:35.730 --> 00:22:37.589
trying to manipulate and he's just trying to

00:22:37.589 --> 00:22:40.650
schmooze and all of that. But Proverbs 18, 16

00:22:40.650 --> 00:22:44.170
tells us this. A person's gift opens doors for

00:22:44.170 --> 00:22:49.269
him and brings him before the great. There is

00:22:49.269 --> 00:22:52.480
a place of being honorable. and bringing gifts

00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:54.740
and being blessing when you're trying to get

00:22:54.740 --> 00:22:58.079
audience with somebody or to be on their good

00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:00.759
side because there's a reason you need to do

00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:03.339
that. There's nothing wrong with being a good

00:23:03.339 --> 00:23:07.240
person. You know, if you're in sales, you might

00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:10.019
recognize the best salespeople are the ones who

00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:13.059
often send gifts to their customers and stuff.

00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:14.980
And hey, thanks for the business, and here's

00:23:14.980 --> 00:23:19.359
the thing. So the idea of giving honor and all

00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:22.460
that, it's not just this purely evil, manipulative

00:23:22.460 --> 00:23:25.960
thing. There's biblical precedent to sending

00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:30.359
a gift ahead to make sure that you can set the

00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:32.799
table, if you will, to have the best possible

00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:36.720
response. They do this. They send it forward.

00:23:37.019 --> 00:23:41.279
Jacob, however, he's finally going, perhaps the

00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:44.519
money being in the bag was a mistake. He's finally

00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:47.880
starting to entertain possibilities that God

00:23:47.880 --> 00:23:50.200
isn't just all against him. Because you remember

00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:51.900
the first time, he's like, you guys have ruined

00:23:51.900 --> 00:23:55.380
my life. I'm going to die because of you. Again,

00:23:55.599 --> 00:24:01.039
God has let them go even more hungry. Because

00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:03.859
he needed to bring Jacob and the sons to a place

00:24:03.859 --> 00:24:07.619
where they finally start to face the sinful things

00:24:07.619 --> 00:24:09.960
and the sinful reactions and the sinful behaviors

00:24:09.960 --> 00:24:14.240
that they cling to. We see Jacob pray here when

00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:16.319
he says, may God Almighty cause the man to be

00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:19.700
merciful to you. That's a huge step for Jacob

00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:23.180
in his growth. You know, he just said, why didn't

00:24:23.180 --> 00:24:25.779
you guys lie? And then he was here going, okay,

00:24:25.819 --> 00:24:29.809
fine. Now, that phrase, God Almighty, that is

00:24:29.809 --> 00:24:32.309
the name that you may be familiar with in Scripture,

00:24:32.609 --> 00:24:36.349
El Shaddai. That is a very loaded and powerful

00:24:36.349 --> 00:24:39.569
name for God in Scripture. It's used in Israel

00:24:39.569 --> 00:24:43.609
to reference the God who can do anything, right?

00:24:44.490 --> 00:24:47.390
God introduced himself to Abram as El Shaddai.

00:24:48.150 --> 00:24:51.730
Isaac invoked the name El Shaddai when he blessed

00:24:51.730 --> 00:24:55.650
Jacob. Jacob is now using it over his sons to

00:24:55.650 --> 00:24:59.930
bless them. But do you see what's happening here,

00:25:00.029 --> 00:25:03.009
right? Why didn't you lie? Why didn't you do

00:25:03.009 --> 00:25:05.910
this? And finally, at the end of everything,

00:25:06.170 --> 00:25:11.130
fine. I'll trust the God who could do everything.

00:25:12.710 --> 00:25:17.190
How often do we do that, right? My ideas, my

00:25:17.190 --> 00:25:19.730
plans, my this, why did I lie? Scheme, scheme,

00:25:19.809 --> 00:25:23.549
scheme, scheme. And then finally, finally, we

00:25:23.549 --> 00:25:27.579
get to the place of saying, I guess I have to

00:25:27.579 --> 00:25:31.220
trust the God who created the universe. Maybe

00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:35.079
that'll work, right? This is where God needed

00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:38.119
to bring this family to if they were going to

00:25:38.119 --> 00:25:41.119
be the foundation of this nation who extolled

00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:45.559
worship of God. When he adds, if I'm deprived

00:25:45.559 --> 00:25:49.240
of my sons, then I'm deprived. Some people read

00:25:49.240 --> 00:25:52.980
that and they hear fatalism. He's just like,

00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:56.079
whatever, my sons are going to die. But in the

00:25:56.079 --> 00:25:58.900
Hebrew, that's not how this reads. This is him

00:25:58.900 --> 00:26:03.759
having what we would call resigned faith. Like

00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:05.880
even though he's come to this place and it's

00:26:05.880 --> 00:26:08.299
like for him the last possible thing, all right,

00:26:08.359 --> 00:26:10.619
may the God who can do everything, you know,

00:26:10.619 --> 00:26:14.799
go with you. There's faith on Jacob's part that

00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:16.559
he's finally come to this place where God has

00:26:16.559 --> 00:26:18.880
stripped away all his fears and all his stuff

00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:21.799
and say, look, you either trust me or you're

00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:25.509
gonna die. And he's like, okay, well, I guess

00:26:25.509 --> 00:26:29.549
I have to trust God. You know, now, you know,

00:26:29.549 --> 00:26:32.089
there's many times in my life where I'll be trying

00:26:32.089 --> 00:26:34.829
to figure things out and, you know, it's like,

00:26:34.910 --> 00:26:38.670
okay, and God lets bad things happen. And the

00:26:38.670 --> 00:26:41.049
last thing I think of is, oh, maybe I should

00:26:41.049 --> 00:26:46.069
trust God. Maybe I should just lean on him. You

00:26:46.069 --> 00:26:50.200
know, let's try doing that first. Right? That's

00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:52.599
what God wants us to do by nature is to be people

00:26:52.599 --> 00:26:54.500
who, something bad happens, the first thing we

00:26:54.500 --> 00:26:56.339
do is go, El Shaddai, God who would accomplish

00:26:56.339 --> 00:26:59.539
anything, who created the whole universe, I trust

00:26:59.539 --> 00:27:03.400
you, you can handle this. Show me what to do.

00:27:03.460 --> 00:27:05.140
Lead me. Let me get into your word. Let me get

00:27:05.140 --> 00:27:07.119
counsel. Let me find out what you want before

00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:12.279
I try and handle things the way I want. Jacob's

00:27:12.279 --> 00:27:15.720
finally here. And so it tells us in verse 15

00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:18.470
that the men took the gift. They doubled the

00:27:18.470 --> 00:27:20.589
amount of silver and they took Benjamin and they

00:27:20.589 --> 00:27:23.509
immediately went down to Egypt and stood before

00:27:23.509 --> 00:27:27.329
Joseph. You know, there's nothing like hunger

00:27:27.329 --> 00:27:31.529
to motivate people. When you're hungry enough,

00:27:31.650 --> 00:27:36.170
you'll do pretty much anything for food. But

00:27:36.170 --> 00:27:39.329
on a spiritual side of things, spiritual hunger

00:27:39.329 --> 00:27:43.630
is a great thing to have. It's something that

00:27:43.630 --> 00:27:47.799
we don't really step into enough, I think. You

00:27:47.799 --> 00:27:50.619
know, we'll think, I've had enough church, I've

00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:53.000
had enough of the Word, I've had enough of this,

00:27:53.039 --> 00:27:56.740
and, you know, why is my life getting so devoid

00:27:56.740 --> 00:27:59.339
of spiritual vitality? And maybe it's because

00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:02.019
God's letting that famine in your life happen,

00:28:02.059 --> 00:28:04.460
so you finally get to the place where you're

00:28:04.460 --> 00:28:09.160
desperate for the Word. You know, spiritual hunger,

00:28:09.240 --> 00:28:12.119
it's really one of the best signs to see in a

00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:17.589
church. That when God's people are people who

00:28:17.589 --> 00:28:20.289
want his word and they want to study it and they

00:28:20.289 --> 00:28:21.650
want to hear it and they want to learn it and

00:28:21.650 --> 00:28:24.130
they want to be fed, right? One of the things

00:28:24.130 --> 00:28:27.890
that I'm so blessed of hearing here at Hosanna

00:28:27.890 --> 00:28:30.670
is over the last few years where new people have

00:28:30.670 --> 00:28:33.230
come to the church and I always try and make

00:28:33.230 --> 00:28:35.470
a point to meet new people and say, hey, how

00:28:35.470 --> 00:28:38.569
did you find out about us? And as that relationship's

00:28:38.569 --> 00:28:41.579
building, I'm like, oh, sweet. What do you like

00:28:41.579 --> 00:28:45.339
about our church? Is it home yet? Have you called

00:28:45.339 --> 00:28:46.859
it home? And for the people that have been like,

00:28:46.920 --> 00:28:49.359
yeah, we've decided to land here and stay here.

00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:53.180
So many of them, I mean, overwhelmingly have

00:28:53.180 --> 00:28:55.819
shared that. You guys actually teach the word

00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:59.839
here. And the way that's phrased is a blessing,

00:28:59.900 --> 00:29:02.720
but it also breaks my heart, right? It's not,

00:29:02.859 --> 00:29:05.920
wow, you guys teach the word and the way and

00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:07.920
the worship and the style and all this stuff.

00:29:08.569 --> 00:29:13.210
You actually teach the word here. What an indictment

00:29:13.210 --> 00:29:16.750
to the church in America, right? Oh yeah, we've

00:29:16.750 --> 00:29:18.950
been visiting churches all over and you guys

00:29:18.950 --> 00:29:22.410
actually teach the word here. What does that

00:29:22.410 --> 00:29:24.190
say about other places, right? There's so many

00:29:24.190 --> 00:29:26.990
churches that might quote a verse and then give

00:29:26.990 --> 00:29:32.230
a self -help talk. And the best self -help talk

00:29:32.230 --> 00:29:37.430
you can have is the Bible. is to study it and

00:29:37.430 --> 00:29:39.990
learn what it says. And when we're not hungry

00:29:39.990 --> 00:29:44.829
for the Word, we don't read it. We don't study

00:29:44.829 --> 00:29:48.309
it. When we're not hungry to learn and apply

00:29:48.309 --> 00:29:50.410
what it says, then that's when we start going,

00:29:50.490 --> 00:29:52.230
I don't need to go to church, and I don't need

00:29:52.230 --> 00:29:53.990
to be plugged in, and I don't need to serve.

00:29:55.589 --> 00:29:57.690
And then we find ourselves getting spiritually

00:29:57.690 --> 00:30:00.289
dry, and we find our lives starting to go into

00:30:00.289 --> 00:30:02.750
times of famine, and God's like, sweet, I'm going

00:30:02.750 --> 00:30:06.220
to let that happen. to drive you to the place

00:30:06.220 --> 00:30:08.099
where you're hungry again, and you're gonna say,

00:30:08.140 --> 00:30:10.200
okay, I let go of my fear, and I let go of my

00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:12.980
excuses, and I let go of my stuff, and fine,

00:30:13.019 --> 00:30:15.859
take Benjamin. I guess I'll do it God's way.

00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:19.460
And God's like, sweet. I'm glad you finally got

00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:23.559
there. Now let's start moving in and with my

00:30:23.559 --> 00:30:27.640
will. And so, verse 16, when Joseph saw Benjamin

00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:31.039
with them, he said to his steward, take the men

00:30:31.039 --> 00:30:33.279
to my house. Slaughter an animal and prepare

00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:36.680
it. for they will eat with me at noon. The man

00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:38.980
did as Joseph had said and brought them to Joseph's

00:30:38.980 --> 00:30:41.619
house. But the men were afraid because they were

00:30:41.619 --> 00:30:44.880
taken to Joseph's house. They said, we have been

00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:46.900
brought here because of the silver that was returned

00:30:46.900 --> 00:30:50.599
in our bags the first time. They intend to overpower

00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:53.240
us and seize us, make us slaves and take our

00:30:53.240 --> 00:31:00.720
donkeys. Like, are these donkeys made of gold

00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:04.200
or something, right? So they approached Joseph's

00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:06.000
steward and spoke with him at the doorway of

00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:08.500
the house. Now the steward here would be like

00:31:08.500 --> 00:31:12.440
the chief household administrator. Incidentally,

00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:15.640
this was the exact position Joseph had in Potiphar's

00:31:15.640 --> 00:31:17.839
house, right? It was the one who ran the whole

00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:20.400
house. And so Joseph's like, hey, you know, take

00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:23.220
them home and all that. Now they start getting

00:31:23.220 --> 00:31:27.220
all freaked out about it. They were afraid. When

00:31:27.220 --> 00:31:29.940
we are living with hidden guilt, kindness can

00:31:29.940 --> 00:31:33.650
seem very suspicious to us. especially God's

00:31:33.650 --> 00:31:39.710
kindness. When we're realizing we've done wrong,

00:31:39.849 --> 00:31:44.430
we kind of deserve punishment, but I can't tell

00:31:44.430 --> 00:31:46.750
anybody because I'm afraid of getting punished.

00:31:47.269 --> 00:31:49.710
When kindness happens in our lives, when good

00:31:49.710 --> 00:31:52.650
things happen, when God still blesses us, sometimes

00:31:52.650 --> 00:31:56.210
that could wig us out a little bit. Because we

00:31:56.210 --> 00:31:58.289
know we don't deserve the blessing. We don't

00:31:58.289 --> 00:32:00.309
deserve the kindness because we recognize our

00:32:00.309 --> 00:32:03.730
sin. And Joseph's brothers, they were living

00:32:03.730 --> 00:32:07.690
with this guilt. The guilt of what they'd done

00:32:07.690 --> 00:32:09.369
to their brother, but then the guilt that they

00:32:09.369 --> 00:32:11.609
came back with the money and they never returned

00:32:11.609 --> 00:32:14.970
it. And guilt tends to make us think that our

00:32:14.970 --> 00:32:16.829
thing is the only thing that exists in the world.

00:32:17.250 --> 00:32:20.319
What I mean by that is this. They know that this

00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:22.980
man, who is Joseph, their brother, is the number

00:32:22.980 --> 00:32:24.940
two and the largest, most powerful kingdom in

00:32:24.940 --> 00:32:27.400
the earth at the time. That thousands upon thousands

00:32:27.400 --> 00:32:29.220
and thousands and thousands of people are coming

00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:31.259
to him every day because the famine is everywhere

00:32:31.259 --> 00:32:34.160
to get food. And this guy is administrating all

00:32:34.160 --> 00:32:40.960
of that. But they think that for however long

00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:42.720
it's been since they went back, that this man

00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:45.460
in Egypt, with all the stuff he's busy with,

00:32:45.519 --> 00:32:48.099
has been thinking about one thing. Those Hebrews.

00:32:49.099 --> 00:32:52.000
They took the silver. And they're like, oh no,

00:32:52.099 --> 00:32:56.220
he knows. He got us. We're caught. Now, incidentally,

00:32:56.220 --> 00:32:58.619
Joseph is aware because this was a plan he had,

00:32:58.759 --> 00:33:02.700
but guilt tends us to be pretty ridiculous with

00:33:02.700 --> 00:33:05.480
paranoia and starting to think everything is

00:33:05.480 --> 00:33:07.960
about us because we're afraid to get caught.

00:33:08.579 --> 00:33:10.660
We're afraid for people to know, and so these

00:33:10.660 --> 00:33:15.299
brothers, they start to panic. They're seizing

00:33:15.299 --> 00:33:16.920
us. They're going to kill us. They're coming

00:33:16.920 --> 00:33:18.859
after us. That's why he's sending us to his house.

00:33:19.019 --> 00:33:22.700
And all Joseph said was, hey, take them to my

00:33:22.700 --> 00:33:24.500
house. I want to have a meal with them at noon.

00:33:25.319 --> 00:33:30.480
It can't be just a meal. It's a setup. They're

00:33:30.480 --> 00:33:34.480
going to get the donkeys. I mean, guilt makes

00:33:34.480 --> 00:33:38.299
us a little irrational, you know. But the reason

00:33:38.299 --> 00:33:42.859
they're freaking out is because guilt ruins kindness.

00:33:43.839 --> 00:33:48.839
Guilt ruins joyful experiences. Guilt turns what

00:33:48.839 --> 00:33:52.079
one might intend for a good thing into misery

00:33:52.079 --> 00:33:57.240
for us. You know, some leaders in psychology

00:33:57.240 --> 00:34:01.000
voices in the world say all guilt is bad. And

00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:04.640
biblically, that's not that accurate. We're not

00:34:04.640 --> 00:34:08.929
to live under guilt biblically, but But biblically,

00:34:08.989 --> 00:34:11.530
guilt is a good thing if it drives you to the

00:34:11.530 --> 00:34:16.010
place where your guilt gets dealt with. It's

00:34:16.010 --> 00:34:17.869
a destructive thing if you just live under it

00:34:17.869 --> 00:34:19.809
and keep hiding it and think nobody knows, nobody

00:34:19.809 --> 00:34:22.949
knows, and yet it's eating you up on the inside.

00:34:24.730 --> 00:34:27.329
But when guilt drives you to the cross, drives

00:34:27.329 --> 00:34:29.530
you to confession, drives you to forgiveness,

00:34:29.750 --> 00:34:35.300
it's a mercy of God. It's a harsh mercy. But

00:34:35.300 --> 00:34:37.920
it's a mercy of God. And so these guilty brothers

00:34:37.920 --> 00:34:40.300
are like, oh no, he's gonna get us. We need a

00:34:40.300 --> 00:34:42.420
mediator. They plead their case with the steward

00:34:42.420 --> 00:34:45.400
at the door. And then the steward replies with

00:34:45.400 --> 00:34:47.360
one of the most stunning lines in this chapter.

00:34:47.739 --> 00:34:52.519
Look at verse 23. The steward says, may you be

00:34:52.519 --> 00:34:56.039
well. Don't be afraid. Your God and the God of

00:34:56.039 --> 00:34:58.139
your father must have put treasure in your bags.

00:34:59.559 --> 00:35:03.579
I received your silver. Then he brought Simeon

00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:06.610
out to them. The reason this is a stunning line

00:35:06.610 --> 00:35:08.289
is because the steward of this house, he's an

00:35:08.289 --> 00:35:12.849
Egyptian man. And he says, may you be well. That

00:35:12.849 --> 00:35:18.489
phrase in the Hebrew is shalom lakum. Shalom

00:35:18.489 --> 00:35:22.389
lakum. Shalom means peace. This phrase, shalom

00:35:22.389 --> 00:35:24.829
lakum, means peace with you or peace be to you.

00:35:25.650 --> 00:35:29.329
Or peace upon you, right? It's a Hebrew greeting

00:35:29.329 --> 00:35:36.550
of great honor. This Egyptian man, who they're

00:35:36.550 --> 00:35:38.769
going, please, we're trying to tell you the truth.

00:35:38.809 --> 00:35:41.510
We didn't steal the silver. He responds to them

00:35:41.510 --> 00:35:45.570
with this Hebrew phrase of great honor and respect.

00:35:45.829 --> 00:35:51.550
Peace be upon you. Peace to you. It's very unusual

00:35:51.550 --> 00:35:54.289
because, as we're going to see later, Egyptians

00:35:54.289 --> 00:35:59.889
didn't like Hebrews for a couple reasons. Not

00:35:59.889 --> 00:36:04.139
only that, this... This steward then appeals

00:36:04.139 --> 00:36:06.739
to God and says, your God and the God of your

00:36:06.739 --> 00:36:09.960
father must have put the treasure in the bags.

00:36:12.500 --> 00:36:16.679
They're going, what is going on here? Now perhaps

00:36:16.679 --> 00:36:20.820
Joseph, who remained a dedicated follower of

00:36:20.820 --> 00:36:25.219
God, a monotheist in a place of polytheism, it's

00:36:25.219 --> 00:36:27.360
possible he influenced this steward and some

00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:30.000
in his household towards a true faith. We don't

00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:33.650
know, but... What we see here is as they're expecting

00:36:33.650 --> 00:36:36.889
judgment and they're expecting to be caught unawares

00:36:36.889 --> 00:36:38.889
and they're expecting that we're being set up

00:36:38.889 --> 00:36:42.969
to be executed, there's this mercy being extended

00:36:42.969 --> 00:36:48.010
to them step by step through this process. Mercy

00:36:48.010 --> 00:36:54.269
being not getting what they do deserve. Simeon

00:36:54.269 --> 00:36:56.469
is brought out alive and restored. I can imagine

00:36:56.469 --> 00:36:59.829
Simeon coming out and going, where have you guys

00:36:59.829 --> 00:37:06.590
been? I've been sitting here. I can imagine Simeon

00:37:06.590 --> 00:37:08.769
going, I thought you guys abandoned me like we

00:37:08.769 --> 00:37:13.949
abandoned Joseph years ago. Now it's doubtful

00:37:13.949 --> 00:37:16.829
Simeon changed much in prison because later on

00:37:16.829 --> 00:37:19.429
when Jacob is dying and he's blessing the sons,

00:37:19.690 --> 00:37:22.690
he says of Simeon and Levi, you guys are instruments

00:37:22.690 --> 00:37:29.389
of cruelty. So there seemed to be that Simeon

00:37:29.389 --> 00:37:32.710
didn't change and it's really unfortunate. When

00:37:32.710 --> 00:37:34.889
God allows us to go through painful experiences,

00:37:34.909 --> 00:37:38.550
that if we don't let those things change us,

00:37:38.590 --> 00:37:41.349
to cause us to grow and to mature and to be better,

00:37:41.469 --> 00:37:45.170
right? Trials, the Bible tells us, are meant

00:37:45.170 --> 00:37:50.469
to produce wisdom. James 1 -2 -5, it says, Consider

00:37:50.469 --> 00:37:52.789
it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever

00:37:52.789 --> 00:37:56.110
you experience various trials. Because you know

00:37:56.110 --> 00:37:58.050
that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:01.179
and let endurance have its full effect so that

00:38:01.179 --> 00:38:03.920
you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

00:38:04.699 --> 00:38:06.820
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask

00:38:06.820 --> 00:38:09.599
God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,

00:38:09.599 --> 00:38:14.219
and it will be given to him. God allows us to

00:38:14.219 --> 00:38:16.280
go through trials and to find ourselves in situations

00:38:16.280 --> 00:38:20.159
that are very difficult so that we grow, so that

00:38:20.159 --> 00:38:24.340
we mature. But asking God for wisdom, that's

00:38:24.340 --> 00:38:28.239
this. Lord, I'm in a trial. What are you teaching

00:38:28.239 --> 00:38:32.059
me through this trial? Because I want to grow

00:38:32.059 --> 00:38:34.780
from this. You know, and oftentimes in my life

00:38:34.780 --> 00:38:36.519
when I'm going through difficult things, this

00:38:36.519 --> 00:38:39.440
is my prayer. God, what are you teaching me in

00:38:39.440 --> 00:38:41.780
this trial? And help me learn it quickly so the

00:38:41.780 --> 00:38:47.880
trial can be over. God, I'm stubborn. I'm thick

00:38:47.880 --> 00:38:52.460
-headed. Please, Lord, I want to learn fast because

00:38:52.460 --> 00:38:56.860
this is hard. And, you know, sometimes that prayer

00:38:56.860 --> 00:38:58.880
is answered and sometimes I'm stubborn, right?

00:39:00.599 --> 00:39:04.900
But if we don't go into situations of difficulty

00:39:04.900 --> 00:39:10.039
that God has allowed, and often he allows those

00:39:10.039 --> 00:39:12.880
things so that guilt and undealt with hidden

00:39:12.880 --> 00:39:15.119
sin is brought to the surface so that we deal

00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:17.639
with it. If we don't allow that process, it's

00:39:17.639 --> 00:39:22.780
just, it's sad. Because again, Romans says that

00:39:22.780 --> 00:39:24.800
it's his kindness that is meant to lead us to

00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:27.599
repentance, but it also says that if we don't

00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:29.599
respond to that kindness and come to repentance,

00:39:29.760 --> 00:39:32.900
that when we might think we're getting away with

00:39:32.900 --> 00:39:35.420
sin and we're getting away with sin, Romans says,

00:39:35.440 --> 00:39:39.820
no, you're just storing up wrath. You're just

00:39:39.820 --> 00:39:43.840
storing it up. That we should never mistake God's

00:39:43.840 --> 00:39:48.949
patience and God's long -suffering for Him being

00:39:48.949 --> 00:39:50.690
like, oh, no big deal. You're getting away with

00:39:50.690 --> 00:39:56.449
it. But verse 25, we go on. It says, since the

00:39:56.449 --> 00:39:57.949
men had heard that they were going to eat a meal

00:39:57.949 --> 00:40:00.449
there, they prepared their gift for Joseph's

00:40:00.449 --> 00:40:03.130
arrival at noon. When Joseph came home, they

00:40:03.130 --> 00:40:04.929
brought him the gift that they carried into the

00:40:04.929 --> 00:40:07.130
house, and they bowed to the ground before him.

00:40:08.090 --> 00:40:10.050
He asked if they were well, and he said, how

00:40:10.050 --> 00:40:11.949
is your elderly father that you told me about?

00:40:12.050 --> 00:40:15.409
Is he still alive? They answered, your servant,

00:40:15.449 --> 00:40:18.840
our father, is well. He is still alive. And they

00:40:18.840 --> 00:40:21.980
knelt low and paid homage to him. When he looked

00:40:21.980 --> 00:40:24.000
up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's

00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:26.119
son, he asked, is this your youngest brother

00:40:26.119 --> 00:40:28.860
that you told me about? And then he said, may

00:40:28.860 --> 00:40:33.159
God be gracious to you, my son. Joseph then hurried

00:40:33.159 --> 00:40:35.300
out because he was overcome with emotion for

00:40:35.300 --> 00:40:37.920
his brother and he was about to weep. He went

00:40:37.920 --> 00:40:40.639
into an inner room and wept there. Then he washed

00:40:40.639 --> 00:40:42.980
his face and came out. Regaining his composure,

00:40:43.039 --> 00:40:48.179
he said, serve the meal. They think they're being

00:40:48.179 --> 00:40:51.480
set up. Joseph's on his way home. He said the

00:40:51.480 --> 00:40:53.079
meal's at noon. And so they're like, okay, we

00:40:53.079 --> 00:40:55.480
gotta get the gift ready. We gotta get everything

00:40:55.480 --> 00:40:58.860
ready. We gotta put it all together. Is it almonds

00:40:58.860 --> 00:41:01.320
first and then pistachios? Or is it pistachios

00:41:01.320 --> 00:41:04.699
and almonds? I mean, this all has to be right

00:41:04.699 --> 00:41:07.699
because they're trying to assuage their guilt

00:41:07.699 --> 00:41:14.010
with this payment. Now you'll notice they offer

00:41:14.010 --> 00:41:16.429
this gift and Joseph didn't even pay attention

00:41:16.429 --> 00:41:20.789
to it. He comes home, they offer the gift, they

00:41:20.789 --> 00:41:22.750
bow, which is just that dream being fulfilled

00:41:22.750 --> 00:41:25.929
again and again. But all he's concerned about

00:41:25.929 --> 00:41:28.050
is them and their father. How are you guys doing?

00:41:28.969 --> 00:41:35.429
Hey, how's your elderly father? Love and worry.

00:41:36.300 --> 00:41:39.739
is what's driving Joseph here. He wants a relationship

00:41:39.739 --> 00:41:42.719
with them. He wants that reconciliation. He wants

00:41:42.719 --> 00:41:47.039
to be restored, but he can't until he knows that

00:41:47.039 --> 00:41:49.960
they're done with being these envious, sinful

00:41:49.960 --> 00:41:55.139
people. I think he asks about dad because he

00:41:55.139 --> 00:41:57.960
was aware of what having Benjamin come might

00:41:57.960 --> 00:42:01.619
do to their father. And so he's like, is he still

00:42:01.619 --> 00:42:03.980
alive? Because he sees Benjamin right there.

00:42:04.260 --> 00:42:06.760
But when he sees Benjamin, he says, may God be

00:42:06.760 --> 00:42:09.360
gracious to you. And he uses the word Elohim

00:42:09.360 --> 00:42:12.920
for God, not El Shaddai. It's Elohim. That was

00:42:12.920 --> 00:42:16.880
the Israeli way of referring to their God. Again,

00:42:16.980 --> 00:42:19.739
like who's this Egyptian guy calling our God

00:42:19.739 --> 00:42:23.679
by the name we call him, right? But then we see

00:42:23.679 --> 00:42:27.000
this. of his as he sees his brother and he's

00:42:27.000 --> 00:42:28.599
trying to maintain his composure and he loses

00:42:28.599 --> 00:42:30.639
it and has to go into a back room there. It tells

00:42:30.639 --> 00:42:32.760
us specifically that he goes into an inner room

00:42:32.760 --> 00:42:37.800
to cry. Why? Why is that detail important? Well,

00:42:37.820 --> 00:42:40.739
one, it's given us insight into Joseph, but he

00:42:40.739 --> 00:42:44.139
went away into privacy to cry and yet it's recorded

00:42:44.139 --> 00:42:50.239
here in the Bible for us. Why? Because I think

00:42:50.239 --> 00:42:53.659
there may be some of us here today that In going

00:42:53.659 --> 00:42:56.159
through our difficulties and stuff, we've found

00:42:56.159 --> 00:43:00.079
ourselves leaving situations to go cry privately,

00:43:00.239 --> 00:43:02.920
and we think we're alone with our tears, and

00:43:02.920 --> 00:43:04.860
we think nobody sees our tears, and nobody knows

00:43:04.860 --> 00:43:07.099
we're crying, and nobody knows we're hurt, and

00:43:07.099 --> 00:43:12.019
we compose ourselves and go back out front. But

00:43:12.019 --> 00:43:16.000
God records it here for us. Why? Because God

00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:18.900
was there with Joseph in that inner room and

00:43:18.900 --> 00:43:24.590
saw every tear. God saw every tear. The Bible

00:43:24.590 --> 00:43:27.650
tells us that he keeps them in a bottle, that

00:43:27.650 --> 00:43:30.329
God knows you're hurt, that when you think you're

00:43:30.329 --> 00:43:33.449
all alone, you're not. God is there. When you

00:43:33.449 --> 00:43:36.250
think that it's too much and overwhelming, you've

00:43:36.250 --> 00:43:38.289
got to separate from everything, and nobody understands

00:43:38.289 --> 00:43:40.050
the pain, and nobody understands what you're

00:43:40.050 --> 00:43:42.070
going through, God does because he's there with

00:43:42.070 --> 00:43:45.150
you. He sees it. Nobody else was in that room

00:43:45.150 --> 00:43:50.300
with Joseph, but God was. And then, you know,

00:43:50.320 --> 00:43:52.280
he had to wash his face because I imagine that

00:43:52.280 --> 00:43:57.159
Egyptian mascara was running and stuff. But he

00:43:57.159 --> 00:44:00.460
comes out to, okay, I need to still play this

00:44:00.460 --> 00:44:02.880
part here. So verse 32, they served him by himself,

00:44:03.179 --> 00:44:05.320
his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians

00:44:05.320 --> 00:44:07.739
who were eating with him by themselves because

00:44:07.739 --> 00:44:10.539
Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews since that

00:44:10.539 --> 00:44:13.500
is detestable to them. They were seated before

00:44:13.500 --> 00:44:15.840
him in order by age from the firstborn to the

00:44:15.840 --> 00:44:18.039
youngest. And the men looked at each other in

00:44:18.039 --> 00:44:21.239
astonishment. Portions were served to them from

00:44:21.239 --> 00:44:23.420
Joseph's table, and Benjamin's portion was five

00:44:23.420 --> 00:44:26.300
times larger than any of theirs. And they drank

00:44:26.300 --> 00:44:30.519
and became drunk with Joseph. So there's a few

00:44:30.519 --> 00:44:32.699
details here about the seating arrangement, right?

00:44:34.139 --> 00:44:38.500
Egyptians considered Hebrews outsiders. They

00:44:38.500 --> 00:44:41.159
considered all foreigners outsiders, but Hebrews

00:44:41.159 --> 00:44:44.530
were especially gross to them. Why? Because at

00:44:44.530 --> 00:44:47.590
one point in Egypt's history, a group name is

00:44:47.590 --> 00:44:51.329
the Hyksos or the Hyskos, whatever, depending

00:44:51.329 --> 00:44:53.750
on your pronunciation. They were a nation of

00:44:53.750 --> 00:44:55.809
shepherd kings that had invaded Egypt, conquered

00:44:55.809 --> 00:44:58.710
Egypt, and took over. And then when the Egyptians

00:44:58.710 --> 00:45:01.030
finally revolted and kicked those shepherd kings

00:45:01.030 --> 00:45:03.730
out, the Egyptians as a culture were like, we

00:45:03.730 --> 00:45:07.389
don't like shepherds. Shepherds are bad. And

00:45:07.389 --> 00:45:10.730
the Hebrew people were known to be a shepherding

00:45:10.730 --> 00:45:14.010
community. They kept livestock and all that.

00:45:14.090 --> 00:45:16.789
And so not only were Hebrews foreigners, but

00:45:16.789 --> 00:45:19.469
Hebrews were foreign shepherds. And so they were

00:45:19.469 --> 00:45:22.530
double gross to the Egyptians. This is what makes

00:45:22.530 --> 00:45:24.789
the surprise of how the servant greeted them

00:45:24.789 --> 00:45:29.170
all that more like, wow. He greeted them, Hebrew

00:45:29.170 --> 00:45:32.969
shepherds, with a Hebrew term of peace and honor

00:45:32.969 --> 00:45:36.579
to you. When they were going, we didn't steal

00:45:36.579 --> 00:45:38.280
the silver, we didn't steal the silver. And he

00:45:38.280 --> 00:45:42.760
goes, maybe God put it in there, who knows? So

00:45:42.760 --> 00:45:45.679
their minds are just reeling here like, why are

00:45:45.679 --> 00:45:49.320
we being treated so nice here? And all of this

00:45:49.320 --> 00:45:51.420
goes all the way back to how they treated Joseph

00:45:51.420 --> 00:45:55.480
years before. But then it tells us that Joseph

00:45:55.480 --> 00:45:57.719
seats them in exact order and they're shocked,

00:45:57.960 --> 00:46:00.519
right? Would you be surprised by that if someone

00:46:00.519 --> 00:46:03.289
who you didn't think knew you and there was 10

00:46:03.289 --> 00:46:06.429
brothers or 11 brothers and he seats them all

00:46:06.429 --> 00:46:08.510
in order, perfect order from firstborn to the

00:46:08.510 --> 00:46:12.570
lastborn? It should be shocking because mathematically

00:46:12.570 --> 00:46:15.329
there's a one in 40 million chance to do that.

00:46:16.829 --> 00:46:19.809
And yet Joseph seats them in the exact right

00:46:19.809 --> 00:46:23.849
order. Now from their perspective, why is that

00:46:23.849 --> 00:46:25.469
surprising to them? Why is it shocking to them?

00:46:25.489 --> 00:46:28.690
Because they're like, this man knows things.

00:46:31.019 --> 00:46:34.019
And if he knows things, that means he knows what

00:46:34.019 --> 00:46:39.900
we did. Going all the way back to now, every

00:46:39.900 --> 00:46:42.760
sin in their life, right, is just exposed. This

00:46:42.760 --> 00:46:45.000
man knows things he shouldn't otherwise know.

00:46:45.320 --> 00:46:53.980
We, our guilt is out in the open. And then the

00:46:53.980 --> 00:46:57.800
serving Benjamin five times more. Again, he was

00:46:57.800 --> 00:47:01.610
testing their envy. When Benjamin, who's the

00:47:01.610 --> 00:47:03.230
favorite in the family, is now sitting at the

00:47:03.230 --> 00:47:05.349
table and he has five times the food they get,

00:47:05.469 --> 00:47:07.429
are they going to respond with envy? Are they

00:47:07.429 --> 00:47:09.130
going to respond with jealousy? Are they going

00:47:09.130 --> 00:47:11.469
to get mad at him? Are they going to say, nope,

00:47:11.530 --> 00:47:13.369
we're going to take that from him? How are they

00:47:13.369 --> 00:47:15.250
going to respond? Are they going to resent him?

00:47:17.610 --> 00:47:19.550
Joseph needed to see this because he wanted to

00:47:19.550 --> 00:47:21.469
reconcile, but if they were going to still hold

00:47:21.469 --> 00:47:24.030
on to their sin and stay in that place of sin,

00:47:24.170 --> 00:47:28.769
relationship wasn't really possible. But they

00:47:28.769 --> 00:47:32.230
pass the test this time. Instead of resenting

00:47:32.230 --> 00:47:36.150
Benjamin, they just eat. They're merry. They

00:47:36.150 --> 00:47:41.670
drink. They eat. I mean, this is all them finally

00:47:41.670 --> 00:47:44.510
kind of letting down their guard here in the

00:47:44.510 --> 00:47:46.889
face of what could be a very dangerous situation

00:47:46.889 --> 00:47:50.489
for them. Now, morning is going to come, and

00:47:50.489 --> 00:47:52.750
they're going to have one final big test, but

00:47:52.750 --> 00:47:56.260
we're going to deal with that next time. The

00:47:56.260 --> 00:48:00.679
story is not finished, but what do we get from

00:48:00.679 --> 00:48:04.480
Genesis 43? What do we learn about grace and

00:48:04.480 --> 00:48:08.559
mercy and God and us and our sin in this chapter?

00:48:09.539 --> 00:48:12.059
Well, there's some modern thinking that says

00:48:12.059 --> 00:48:16.900
grace means not coming down too hard on sin.

00:48:17.039 --> 00:48:21.559
That's what grace means. Grace means tolerating

00:48:21.559 --> 00:48:25.239
things that God calls deadly. And that's wrong.

00:48:25.719 --> 00:48:29.420
That is not what grace is. Grace isn't tolerance,

00:48:29.880 --> 00:48:36.320
okay? Grace is something very powerful and life

00:48:36.320 --> 00:48:37.840
-changing, right? The Bible says that we are

00:48:37.840 --> 00:48:40.719
saved by grace through faith. We live holy by

00:48:40.719 --> 00:48:43.579
grace. We serve the Lord. Paul said, it's by

00:48:43.579 --> 00:48:46.159
grace that I serve. And properly understood,

00:48:46.300 --> 00:48:49.079
when we understand grace biblically, it's not

00:48:49.079 --> 00:48:51.840
something that leads to coddling. Grace isn't

00:48:51.840 --> 00:48:55.150
not calling sin out. Grace isn't... helping people

00:48:55.150 --> 00:48:59.130
bury and ignore sin, excusing sin or dealing

00:48:59.130 --> 00:49:03.710
lightly with it. Grace is something that's meant

00:49:03.710 --> 00:49:10.070
to drive you into fear of God and ultimately

00:49:10.070 --> 00:49:14.989
turning away from sin. Genesis 43 is a commentary

00:49:14.989 --> 00:49:17.570
on what the kindness of God leads to repentance

00:49:17.570 --> 00:49:22.130
looks like. Joseph being kind to them, hey, let's

00:49:22.130 --> 00:49:25.190
come eat, let's do this, treating them with kindness,

00:49:25.550 --> 00:49:27.710
that doesn't mean he's minimizing their sin,

00:49:27.769 --> 00:49:30.469
going, oh, it's no big deal what you did. All

00:49:30.469 --> 00:49:32.869
of that kindness is there, one, because he loves

00:49:32.869 --> 00:49:36.409
them so much that he wants them to come to the

00:49:36.409 --> 00:49:39.349
place where they finally confess and admit and

00:49:39.349 --> 00:49:41.829
face and accept responsibility for their sin

00:49:41.829 --> 00:49:44.909
so that he could go, cool, because I've just

00:49:44.909 --> 00:49:47.329
been waiting to forgive you, let's reconcile.

00:49:51.619 --> 00:49:57.059
Guilt can cause us to fear love. This is why

00:49:57.059 --> 00:49:58.639
there's so many people that I've talked to in

00:49:58.639 --> 00:50:00.119
my life, and maybe you have too, when you're

00:50:00.119 --> 00:50:02.119
telling them about how much God loves them and

00:50:02.119 --> 00:50:03.699
how much he wants to forgive them, they go, oh

00:50:03.699 --> 00:50:05.420
no, you have no idea what I've done. There's

00:50:05.420 --> 00:50:08.139
no way God could love me. You ever heard that

00:50:08.139 --> 00:50:13.840
before? I've sinned too much. I'm such a wretched

00:50:13.840 --> 00:50:15.980
blah, blah, blah, whatever. There's no way God

00:50:15.980 --> 00:50:18.780
could love me. But, I mean, and it kind of makes

00:50:18.780 --> 00:50:21.610
sense when we're... When we know we deserve punishment

00:50:21.610 --> 00:50:23.809
and we get the opposite of punishment, we get

00:50:23.809 --> 00:50:27.530
blessing, it feels suspicious. It's like, what

00:50:27.530 --> 00:50:30.269
are you setting me up for, right? Are you trying

00:50:30.269 --> 00:50:32.210
to reel me in so you could drop the hammer on

00:50:32.210 --> 00:50:36.409
my head? And what guilty people do in that situation

00:50:36.409 --> 00:50:39.610
is, I can't just receive the kindness, I have

00:50:39.610 --> 00:50:44.510
to pay for it. And this is the brothers with

00:50:44.510 --> 00:50:46.889
their gift, fussing over the gift. All right,

00:50:46.909 --> 00:50:50.070
Joseph's coming. We need to get this gift right.

00:50:50.110 --> 00:50:52.170
We need to bow down. We need to pay homage to

00:50:52.170 --> 00:50:54.570
him. And that's exactly what sinners try to do

00:50:54.570 --> 00:50:58.690
with God. We're like, I'm guilty. And God's like,

00:50:58.769 --> 00:51:00.429
I love you. I just want to save you. You just

00:51:00.429 --> 00:51:02.210
need to admit it. You need to face it. Just repent.

00:51:02.530 --> 00:51:07.030
Come to me. Just admit you're a sinner. I can't

00:51:07.030 --> 00:51:09.369
do that. Maybe if I give you money or good deeds

00:51:09.369 --> 00:51:12.230
or clean myself up. Maybe if I give you my pistachios

00:51:12.230 --> 00:51:14.510
and almonds, then you'll accept me and I don't

00:51:14.510 --> 00:51:20.550
have to admit my sin. And we try and purchase

00:51:20.550 --> 00:51:26.230
peace with God. Well, what do we see here that

00:51:26.230 --> 00:51:28.349
illustrates what God does with that? Joseph didn't

00:51:28.349 --> 00:51:32.869
even pay attention to the gift. Joseph didn't

00:51:32.869 --> 00:51:35.110
go, wow, look at this gift you've given me. He's

00:51:35.110 --> 00:51:39.710
like, how you guys doing? How's dad? He didn't

00:51:39.710 --> 00:51:42.829
say dad, but you know, there is good reason to

00:51:42.829 --> 00:51:45.389
fear approaching God because we are guilty sinners

00:51:45.389 --> 00:51:49.429
and he is a holy and righteous God. There's good

00:51:49.429 --> 00:51:53.289
reason to be nervous and afraid. I can't admit

00:51:53.289 --> 00:51:56.050
it because we think he's going to strike us down.

00:51:59.409 --> 00:52:06.449
But he hasn't. Because you're still alive. And

00:52:06.449 --> 00:52:12.110
you're still breathing. God's kindness is saying,

00:52:12.230 --> 00:52:16.989
no, come to my table. Come sit down with me.

00:52:17.130 --> 00:52:21.150
Let's have a meal together. Let's talk. And we're

00:52:21.150 --> 00:52:23.710
like, I can't because you're going to lightning

00:52:23.710 --> 00:52:25.289
bolt me as soon as I get there. And he's like,

00:52:25.389 --> 00:52:31.110
no. I want a restored relationship with you.

00:52:31.210 --> 00:52:35.309
And we come to those moments where we start to

00:52:35.309 --> 00:52:40.070
realize the grace that God has for us. Maybe

00:52:40.070 --> 00:52:42.409
relieves some of our fear, but it also awakens

00:52:42.409 --> 00:52:44.889
something unsettling us, right? We sit down at

00:52:44.889 --> 00:52:50.210
the table and we start to realize he knows. He

00:52:50.210 --> 00:52:53.429
knows everything. He knows every secret sin.

00:52:55.550 --> 00:53:00.789
How does he know? I've been hiding it. I've been

00:53:00.789 --> 00:53:02.570
suspicious. He was asking me to come to this

00:53:02.570 --> 00:53:04.050
table because he's trying to trick me into admitting

00:53:04.050 --> 00:53:09.489
my sins so he could wipe me out. And then we

00:53:09.489 --> 00:53:12.809
sit there and we realize, he already knew. He

00:53:12.809 --> 00:53:14.269
already knew everything I've ever done wrong.

00:53:14.989 --> 00:53:18.449
He knows every sin I've ever committed. I think

00:53:18.449 --> 00:53:20.369
this is why they were so shocked at that birth

00:53:20.369 --> 00:53:22.610
order, right? Grace, it's welcoming, but it's

00:53:22.610 --> 00:53:27.409
also exposing. When God showers grace onto people

00:53:27.409 --> 00:53:31.769
and exercises blessing onto people, especially

00:53:31.769 --> 00:53:34.409
his children, when we're in sin, and we have

00:53:34.409 --> 00:53:38.559
that sin hiding, It peels back the layers, and

00:53:38.559 --> 00:53:41.079
we're more and more exposed to the, I deserve

00:53:41.079 --> 00:53:45.599
judgment. I should be punished for this, and

00:53:45.599 --> 00:53:50.659
yet I'm still at his table. He still loves me?

00:53:54.119 --> 00:53:58.280
Genesis 43, it ends with a feast, a day of great

00:53:58.280 --> 00:54:00.539
mercy, considering who they were sitting before.

00:54:01.500 --> 00:54:03.699
This is the brother they sold into slavery, the

00:54:03.699 --> 00:54:05.460
one with the power to say, kill him right now,

00:54:05.539 --> 00:54:07.579
and yet he's just having food with them. It says

00:54:07.579 --> 00:54:09.320
he gives them food from his own table. That,

00:54:09.420 --> 00:54:12.440
again, was a great honor because he was number

00:54:12.440 --> 00:54:14.440
two in Egypt, and yet he's saying, eat from my

00:54:14.440 --> 00:54:18.380
portion. Do you guys see the parallel between

00:54:18.380 --> 00:54:23.920
Joseph and Jesus? That's why he's such a type

00:54:23.920 --> 00:54:28.039
of the Lord. Now, again, morning's going to come,

00:54:28.079 --> 00:54:30.219
and they're going to have one last final test.

00:54:30.840 --> 00:54:32.840
And it's going to be that final test that really

00:54:32.840 --> 00:54:36.480
drives them to finally face their sin and confess

00:54:36.480 --> 00:54:42.599
everything they've done. And just like God, Joseph

00:54:42.599 --> 00:54:45.019
can't allow them to keep their old sin buried

00:54:45.019 --> 00:54:47.360
in the dark. There can't be reconciliation without

00:54:47.360 --> 00:54:50.880
confession. And so they're driven to this place

00:54:50.880 --> 00:54:53.539
where they're going to finally say, we did this.

00:54:54.190 --> 00:54:56.630
We were so wrong, and that's exactly what grace

00:54:56.630 --> 00:54:59.130
does in our lives. Grace doesn't let us just

00:54:59.130 --> 00:55:00.849
say, oh, you don't have to deal with your sin.

00:55:00.869 --> 00:55:05.849
Just God loves you. Come on. No. Grace says there

00:55:05.849 --> 00:55:08.750
is forgiveness, there is mercy, but you have

00:55:08.750 --> 00:55:11.170
to come clean. You have to come to the Lord and

00:55:11.170 --> 00:55:14.750
say, I've sinned. I've done it. God, I believe

00:55:14.750 --> 00:55:16.869
that you are God. I believe everything you say,

00:55:16.969 --> 00:55:23.510
and please, I throw myself on your mercy. God

00:55:23.510 --> 00:55:25.590
brings sin to the light, not to destroy you,

00:55:25.630 --> 00:55:29.409
but to heal you. And so, you know, this chapter

00:55:29.409 --> 00:55:31.590
raises just some questions for us. I mean, maybe

00:55:31.590 --> 00:55:34.929
you've been living in a way where guilt is running

00:55:34.929 --> 00:55:37.449
your life, right? There's secret sin. You haven't

00:55:37.449 --> 00:55:40.710
dealt with it. God's been having things happen

00:55:40.710 --> 00:55:42.449
in your life that keep bringing it back up, and

00:55:42.449 --> 00:55:49.619
you're like, no, push it back down. Maybe the

00:55:49.619 --> 00:55:51.820
devil has got you interpreting God's kindness

00:55:51.820 --> 00:55:57.320
with suspicion. You have paranoia. You come to

00:55:57.320 --> 00:55:58.960
church and someone says, God bless you, and you're

00:55:58.960 --> 00:56:04.659
like, what do you mean? Pastor Ron's like, they're

00:56:04.659 --> 00:56:06.780
going to ask me to write down my sins on a paper?

00:56:07.599 --> 00:56:14.659
You left already. Bye. I can't do that. I'll

00:56:14.659 --> 00:56:21.179
be exposed. But God's kindness keeps coming back

00:56:21.179 --> 00:56:25.400
to you. And it's driving you nuts. Are you still

00:56:25.400 --> 00:56:27.579
trying to pay your way with pistachios and almonds?

00:56:29.840 --> 00:56:31.559
God's saying, confess this sin. And you're like,

00:56:31.659 --> 00:56:33.539
no, let me, here's some good deeds. Here's some

00:56:33.539 --> 00:56:37.800
religious efforts. Here's some bargaining. And

00:56:37.800 --> 00:56:44.039
God's going, how you doing? I'm bowing to you

00:56:44.039 --> 00:56:47.280
in homage, Lord. Get up. How you doing? Sit at

00:56:47.280 --> 00:56:51.159
my table. Let's talk. Are you willing to let

00:56:51.159 --> 00:56:54.380
grace do its real work? Are you willing to let

00:56:54.380 --> 00:56:57.579
grace expose what you've hidden so God can forgive

00:56:57.579 --> 00:57:02.960
you and cleanse you and restore you? Because

00:57:02.960 --> 00:57:06.500
it's the kindness of God that is meant to lead

00:57:06.500 --> 00:57:12.039
us to repentance. But like I said earlier, if

00:57:12.039 --> 00:57:14.780
you shrug off that moment, if you shrug off that

00:57:14.780 --> 00:57:18.840
call, you're just storing up wrath for yourself.

00:57:20.039 --> 00:57:24.820
You're just storing up wrath. The Bible's very

00:57:24.820 --> 00:57:29.239
clear. If you respond to that grace and that

00:57:29.239 --> 00:57:31.619
kindness and you realize this is exposing your

00:57:31.619 --> 00:57:35.119
guilt and exposing what you've done and you're

00:57:35.119 --> 00:57:36.820
coming to a place where you're realizing he's

00:57:36.820 --> 00:57:39.179
not trying to set me up to destroy me. He's simply

00:57:39.179 --> 00:57:43.219
inviting me to be honest. And you confess and

00:57:43.219 --> 00:57:47.679
you come clean. Then mercy becomes your story.

00:57:48.699 --> 00:57:53.739
Mercy becomes your answer. And it's all been

00:57:53.739 --> 00:57:55.639
a mercy, as uncomfortable as you've been, and

00:57:55.639 --> 00:57:57.880
dealing with the guilt, and just being racked

00:57:57.880 --> 00:58:00.239
with it, and just, ah! It's like, that's been

00:58:00.239 --> 00:58:02.099
God's mercy the whole time, because he's like,

00:58:02.119 --> 00:58:04.260
you deserve the punishment, but I'm not gonna

00:58:04.260 --> 00:58:06.420
give it to you, because I wanna show you grace

00:58:06.420 --> 00:58:09.420
and kindness that you repent, and receive the

00:58:09.420 --> 00:58:11.420
forgiveness I have for you. Are you ready for

00:58:11.420 --> 00:58:15.099
that this morning? Are you ready to come clean

00:58:15.099 --> 00:58:18.449
with God this morning? Because he's here to meet

00:58:18.449 --> 00:58:22.590
you. He's here to meet you. Let's pray. Father,

00:58:22.650 --> 00:58:29.670
we're so grateful for who you are. And we're

00:58:29.670 --> 00:58:36.510
so grateful for your grace and your mercy. We're

00:58:36.510 --> 00:58:38.489
thankful, God, that you let us go through misery,

00:58:38.670 --> 00:58:42.150
that we will finally open our eyes and look up.

00:58:44.460 --> 00:58:47.260
That we would finally stop making excuses and

00:58:47.260 --> 00:58:51.440
stop justifying and simply just realize we are

00:58:51.440 --> 00:58:55.820
guilty and you already know we're guilty because

00:58:55.820 --> 00:58:59.059
you see everything. You know the thoughts and

00:58:59.059 --> 00:59:01.039
the intentions of our heart, your word tells

00:59:01.039 --> 00:59:07.639
us. And Lord, it's not you making us miserable,

00:59:07.780 --> 00:59:10.199
it's us making ourselves miserable because we

00:59:10.199 --> 00:59:13.789
won't simply come to the table. And confess.

00:59:16.150 --> 00:59:18.530
And Lord, I believe today is a day of confession

00:59:18.530 --> 00:59:21.570
for some people here. Whether they're here in

00:59:21.570 --> 00:59:25.670
our room or watching online. God, there's been

00:59:25.670 --> 00:59:29.590
hidden guilt. There's been undealt with sin.

00:59:32.309 --> 00:59:35.349
And Lord, You want to get us past those things.

00:59:37.969 --> 00:59:42.909
You don't want us in bondage. In fact, you've

00:59:42.909 --> 00:59:45.389
already set us free and there's no reason for

00:59:45.389 --> 00:59:47.309
us to be in bondage if we've confessed Christ

00:59:47.309 --> 00:59:52.409
as our Lord and Savior. And so I pray for all

00:59:52.409 --> 00:59:57.309
of us, God. Any in this room that you've really

00:59:57.309 --> 01:00:00.429
been dealing with through this message and maybe

01:00:00.429 --> 01:00:03.090
just recently in the most recent weeks you've

01:00:03.090 --> 01:00:06.469
been dealing. That God, right now, they would

01:00:06.469 --> 01:00:09.929
finally stop being suspicious of your kindness

01:00:09.929 --> 01:00:13.190
and realize That is because you've been drawing

01:00:13.190 --> 01:00:19.190
them towards repentance. That in their heart,

01:00:19.269 --> 01:00:23.530
Lord, knowing their guilt, knowing they deserve

01:00:23.530 --> 01:00:25.469
punishment, Lord, they would right now today

01:00:25.469 --> 01:00:29.150
as we're praying just say, God, thank you for

01:00:29.150 --> 01:00:34.530
loving me so much. Thank you, God, for receiving

01:00:34.530 --> 01:00:41.650
me even though I'm a sinner. God, I own it. I

01:00:41.650 --> 01:00:47.409
confess it. I ask you to forgive me of my sins.

01:00:50.570 --> 01:00:53.889
I don't want to hide it anymore. I don't want

01:00:53.889 --> 01:00:58.550
to hang on to it anymore. I want to be free.

01:00:58.630 --> 01:01:05.050
I want to be healed. I want to be restored. God,

01:01:05.150 --> 01:01:08.010
I know you desire reconciliation, a renewed,

01:01:08.170 --> 01:01:13.519
strong, Honest relationship. And I want that

01:01:13.519 --> 01:01:23.219
too, Lord. So please forgive me. Help me to receive

01:01:23.219 --> 01:01:26.719
your grace. Help me to celebrate your mercy.

01:01:29.739 --> 01:01:31.639
Help me to live in the truth that you already

01:01:31.639 --> 01:01:33.519
know so there's nothing I could hide from you

01:01:33.519 --> 01:01:44.699
anyways. God, restore me to you. Help me to love

01:01:44.699 --> 01:01:49.780
you better. Grow my faith. And be glorified in

01:01:49.780 --> 01:01:56.139
my life. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Well,

01:01:56.139 --> 01:02:00.139
I pray God would bless you guys. If you were

01:02:00.139 --> 01:02:01.739
just convicted right now and you're like, oh,

01:02:01.739 --> 01:02:04.360
I gotta go back to that person I talked to during

01:02:04.360 --> 01:02:05.960
a meet and greet and tell them what's really

01:02:05.960 --> 01:02:07.579
going on so they could pray with me, do that

01:02:07.579 --> 01:02:11.099
before you leave. And then pray for one another.

01:02:11.539 --> 01:02:15.369
That's how we heal. We pray, we ask God to do

01:02:15.369 --> 01:02:18.230
the impossible, to heal our hearts, to shine

01:02:18.230 --> 01:02:20.050
light into the darkness, and that's how we grow

01:02:20.050 --> 01:02:21.510
as a church, that's how we grow as believers,

01:02:21.710 --> 01:02:23.289
that's how our relationships get better, that's

01:02:23.289 --> 01:02:25.769
how our relationship with our kids and our spouses

01:02:25.769 --> 01:02:28.730
gets better, that's the foundation of all of

01:02:28.730 --> 01:02:32.210
it. And then I pray as you do that, you would

01:02:32.210 --> 01:02:34.590
just experience a joy that is unlike anything

01:02:34.590 --> 01:02:36.710
you've ever experienced, a richness in your walk

01:02:36.710 --> 01:02:39.010
with God that is beyond what you've experienced

01:02:39.010 --> 01:02:42.550
in your entire life. And that as your joy is

01:02:42.550 --> 01:02:45.309
full, it would overflow abundantly to those around

01:02:45.309 --> 01:02:50.190
you. But let him set you free. That's what he

01:02:50.190 --> 01:02:55.530
wants to do. And you can be if you just let him

01:02:55.530 --> 01:02:58.570
do it. Amen? God bless you guys.