WEBVTT

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I am Pastor Nathan, and today we are going to

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be seeing a very beautiful example of how to

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approach God when we're guilty. You see, I don't

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think it really matters how long you're saved.

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We're really good at avoiding God when we're

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guilty. And we could make up all kinds of excuses

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and justifications, but the story we're looking

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at here in Genesis 44 is just this wonderful

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picture of how we're to approach God in our guilt.

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You know, for two decades, from the day Joseph

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was sold into slavery until the day that his

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brothers have come to stand before him again

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for the second time, God has been at work in

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their lives through all of it. God is always

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working. No matter what is happening, he is always

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working. And in Joseph's life, we have been studying

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that God's presence was very obvious in his life.

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It's been a very steady presence, a very strengthening

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presence, a very affirming presence as Joseph

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has been affirmed over and over. God is with

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him and that he is hearing from the Lord and

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that the visions and the dreams are indeed from

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the Lord, but with his brothers, God's presence

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looked very different. It wasn't the assurance

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of outward visible success. It was this relentless,

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quiet mercy of God that refused to let their

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consciences rest. We've been seeing how God's

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presence has been pressing them from all kinds

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of different angles with guilt and fear and sorrow.

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And he did all this until they could no longer

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live with the guilt that they had been hiding

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for so many years of this life. And this pressure

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in their life, big lesson today for all of us,

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wasn't punishment. It wasn't God saying, I'm

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punishing you for the sin you've done. It was

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God's grace. It was his grace on their lives

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because it was, well, it was a grace because

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their guilt was real. They were guilty sinners,

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right? And feeling that pain of guilt is a grace

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of God because it's one of those things that

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causes us to reflect and ultimately come back

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to the Lord himself. The fear that God had allowed

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them to experience was his grace as well because

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it was a fear of God that he developed within

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them. It was a fear of the Holy and Almighty

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One in recognition that their sin was ultimately

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against Him. And once we realize that it is God

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we have sinned against, we should develop a godly

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fear, a healthy godly fear. And then the sorrow

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that they had experienced in their life was also

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God's grace too because it was developing into

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what we call a godly sorrow. The recognition

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that as we have sinned against God, we're sad

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about that. We've hurt God. We've hurt others.

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We've hurt ourselves, and that bothers us. And

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so all three of these things in the lives of

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Joseph's brothers that we might easily look at

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as difficult or wrong or we don't want to deal

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with fear and sorrow and all of this, these are

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the things that finally led them to finally let

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go. to confess, to come to terms, to stop hiding,

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and just come out and confess the sin, acknowledge

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their guilt, acknowledge the reality that, yes,

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we should be punished, we should be judged because

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we have sinned, and that is what leads them to

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the ultimate grace of receiving salvation. and

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forgiveness and reconciliation. And so this is

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the brothers' second time in Egypt. As we've

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been studying through chapters 42 and 43, we've

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been watching the grace develop. as it's been

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moving through their lives, as we've seen them

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slowly kind of reawaken to their guilt and their

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shame, as the sin of selling their brother into

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slavery 20 plus years earlier is now being put

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back in front of their face, and they're being

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awakened to that. They have begun to contemplate

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taking full responsibility for what they've done

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and stop blame shifting and lying and hiding.

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And then, you know, we just saw in the last chapter

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where As they've come to Egypt the second time,

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Joseph had them go to his house to have a dinner.

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And they freaked out, if you remember. They're

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like, he's going to kill us. He found out. He

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knows. And yet, what happened instead was a wonderful

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time of fellowship and hanging out and celebration.

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And all of this was a mercy to them because they

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knew they were guilty criminals by this point.

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And yet, instead of getting punishment and execution,

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what they received was kindness. And, you know,

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God's not just trying to get them out of trouble.

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God is transforming them. And that is the process

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that God works in all of our lives, that he transforms

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us little bit by little bit in a process of drawing

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us to him, drawing us to the place of confession

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and repentance. And the chapter we're looking

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at this morning, Genesis 44, this is where we

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see the life -changing transformation fully unfold

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in the lives of these brothers. We see their

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conscience lead to repentance and intercession

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and sacrifice and substitution and all of that

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wrapped in a brotherly love that just very quietly

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points past this story all the way to Jesus Christ

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himself. And so this morning, we're gonna see

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how to approach God in light of our guilt. And

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I pray we all take this to heart because we are

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all guilty in one way or another, saved and unsaved.

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And coming to the Lord is the place of healing.

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Coming to the Lord is the place of forgiveness.

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It's the place of grace and mercy and everything

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we need to live in peace, to live in joy, and

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to continue living for the Lord in this world.

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But let's pray first, and then we're going to

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worship him because he is amazing. God, we love

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you. Lord, you are so great, so grand, so awesome.

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God, and that word awesome to describe you really

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is a true expression of that word that we're

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in awe at who you are and in awe at your glory

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and your grandeur. Really, God, in awe that you

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would love us, that you would just notice us,

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God. And yet, Lord, it goes far beyond just notice

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that. that you desire a relationship, and you

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desire a restored fellowship, and you desire

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closeness, God. You want to adopt us into your

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family, and Lord, we don't deserve any of that.

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But God, today as we've been looking into your

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word and studying through the story of Joseph

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in Genesis, we've seen so many parallels to who

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you are, God. And Lord, we see another parallel

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today as Joseph is standing in the place of basically

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almighty power as the number two in Egypt and

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his brothers. come to him, finally acknowledging

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their sin, seeing the circumstances that are

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taking place as symbolic of the greater issue,

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the greater issue that they are guilty men, deserving

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of judgment, deserving of punishment, deserving

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of justice, and yet, Lord, they receive grace

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and mercy. Lord, it's the same with us. And so

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remind us today, God, how we should approach

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you. Remind us today that... That guilt doesn't

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mean that we should hide, and guilt doesn't mean

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that we should make excuses, and guilt doesn't

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mean we should hide behind the good things in

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our life as if they justify the bad things, but

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instead, Lord, that we would come to you humbly,

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boldly, in submission, with full ownership of

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our sin, that we would receive the promises of

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your word, God. We love you, we thank you, and

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we praise you, Lord, because you are truly glorious.

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As your people here, your body here today, God,

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we want to praise your name. We love you and

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

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We are in Genesis chapter 44 this morning. And,

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you know, as Joseph has been used by God over

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the last few chapters to bring... his brothers

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to fully face their sin, what chapter 44 is is

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kind of like the final test, right? Joseph has

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been in a position where he recognized his brothers

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when they showed up to Egypt for food. They did

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not recognize him. And his immediate concern

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was, these are the guys that sold me into slavery

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20 years ago. Hey, how's your... Dad, do you

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have a dad? Is there any other brothers, right?

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Because he knew, and they had told him, oh yeah,

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our father is still alive, and our youngest brother,

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Benjamin, is at home. And Joseph, being directly

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biologically related to Benjamin, was like, well,

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if you guys want to come back and get food, you're

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going to have to bring him. Long story short,

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I think in the beginning, Joseph's concern was,

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I want to rescue my brother from these brothers

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who are quite cruel and bloodthirsty. And so

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as they've returned the second time with Benjamin,

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Joseph has been faced with a little bit of a

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conundrum here. And the conundrum is, have my

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brothers changed? Are they still the selfish,

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bloodthirsty, self -serving people they were

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when I was there 20 years ago? Do I have to rescue

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Benjamin? Or is there the possibility that I

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can be reconciled to my family? Which I believe

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was his greatest desire. to have restored relationship,

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to have restored fellowship. And so everything

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that has been taking place over the last few

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chapters has been a part of this process of Joseph

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trying to test the waters a little bit to find

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out who his brothers are today in the Scripture,

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who they are 20 years later. Have they changed?

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Have their hearts changed? And so now the test

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that he recreates here for them is really...

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Almost the same test that they faced 20 years

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earlier with him. He kind of recreates the very

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temptation, because if you remember, their first

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betrayal in the family 20 years earlier dealt

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with a situation that involved the favorite son

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in the family, Joseph. It dealt with a situation

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where there was a group of brothers that resented

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him. It dealt with a situation where the opportunity

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came for the brothers to remove their irritating

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little brother from their life to get rid of

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him and to deal with that. There was silver and

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money involved and a father who was left in grief.

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And this same exact situation is being recreated

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in Genesis 44. It's these conditions that are

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recreated by God through Joseph to be both a

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test, but also the path to transformation for

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Joseph's brothers. You might call it a second

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chance. another opportunity to do it right, another

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opportunity to face a situation where they dropped

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the ball once, where they sinned, where they

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chose selfishness and all of that, and instead

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to do it in a godly way. And God often does that

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with us. You know, some of us, myself included,

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you know, over the years, we'll be like, God,

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why am I still wrestling with that? sin or that

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situation. God, why does that scenario keep presenting

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itself? You know, I thought we were past this.

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And a lot of times God does that because he's

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giving us another chance to know and learn that

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we are not the same people we were before. Sometimes

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we forget that. Sometimes we find ourselves in

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situations where we get afraid that we're going

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to respond the way we did 20 years earlier, and

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God recreates a situation for us that's almost

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identical, and we have the opportunity to say,

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no, this time I'm going to do the right thing.

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This time I'm going to handle it differently.

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Why? Because I'm different. I've grown. God has

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worked in my life, and so This is what God is

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doing with the brothers here. As Genesis chapter

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43 ends, we read there that they had been invited

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to Joseph's house. Joseph had this big meal with

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them. It said they ate and they drank. It was

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a great night. It was a night where they kind

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of let their guard down because they thought

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that when they were taken to their brother's

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house in chapter 43 that they were going to be

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executed, that they were going to be killed.

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God had already begun the process of stirring

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up their conscience so they were aware. We're

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not innocent men. We're guilty people. We did

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something really terrible. And so God is continuing

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to build upon all that, but they have this party

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at Joseph's house. Joseph gives them all some

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food, and then he gives the youngest brother,

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Benjamin, five times the amount of food to see

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how his brothers would respond. Would his brothers

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resent Benjamin? Why does he get five times as

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much as us? He's the youngest brother. We're

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the older brothers. Would they respond to Benjamin

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the way they responded to Joseph 20 years earlier?

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Hating him and standing against him. And Joseph

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wanted to see what would happen here. And the

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good news is they didn't. They didn't resent

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Benjamin for having five times as more of them.

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Everything was good. And so the night ends. They

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go to sleep. And then the time comes for them

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to depart back home. And that's where we pick

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it up here in Genesis 44 verse 1. It says, Joseph

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commanded his steward, fill the men's bags with

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as much food as they can carry and put each one's

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silver at the top of his bag. Put my cup, the

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silver one, at the top of the youngest one's

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bag along with the silver for his grain. So he

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did as Joseph told him, and at morning light,

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the men were sent off with their donkeys. Now,

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this whole thing is a setup, right? They're thinking,

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woo -hoo, we didn't get executed. We got food.

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Everything's great and golden. We're going to

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head home, but this is a trap. This is all a

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setup to, again, further create the situation

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where they're going to be faced with the same

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temptation they were once faced 20 years earlier.

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Now, fill their bags with as much food as they

00:14:30.059 --> 00:14:32.799
carry, put the silver back in the bag, and then

00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:35.440
put my cup, right? And it says there in verse

00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:38.559
2, they specifically specify, is my cup the silver

00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:42.500
one? Why is that an important detail? And I believe

00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:47.159
it's just Joseph nodding to a very cutting and

00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:51.179
ironic nuance here that 20 years earlier, the

00:14:51.179 --> 00:14:54.179
brothers sold Joseph into slavery for 20 pieces

00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:58.419
of silver. And so he's going to involve money.

00:14:59.579 --> 00:15:02.179
And items of value back into this temptation.

00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:05.019
And they're going to be tested again with silver

00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:07.659
being a part of it. Just a calculated nod to

00:15:07.659 --> 00:15:10.379
the past and the history that Joseph knows is

00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:13.600
there. And so at dawn, the brothers get up. Probably

00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:16.159
groggy, maybe hungover. But, you know, they're

00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.379
happy. They depart. And you can just imagine

00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:22.759
their relief. Everything's great. We got grain

00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:25.259
in abundance. Our brother Simeon has returned

00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:27.899
to us. We didn't have to leave Benjamin here.

00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:31.039
This is awesome. Dad's gonna be happy. Everything's

00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:33.539
awesome. And so they take off. The city fades

00:15:33.539 --> 00:15:35.899
behind them. The pyramids fade into the distance.

00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:41.600
And then disaster strikes. Verse four. They had

00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:43.840
not gone very far from the city when Joseph said

00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:46.559
to his steward, get up, pursue the men, and when

00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:49.360
you overtake them, say this. Why have you repaid

00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:53.139
evil for good? Isn't this the cup that my master

00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:56.100
drinks from and uses for divination? What you

00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:59.450
have done is wrong. So when he overtook them,

00:15:59.509 --> 00:16:02.490
he said these words to them. And they said, why

00:16:02.490 --> 00:16:04.710
does my Lord say these things? Your servants

00:16:04.710 --> 00:16:08.230
could not possibly do such a thing. We even brought

00:16:08.230 --> 00:16:10.570
back to you from the land of Canaan the silver

00:16:10.570 --> 00:16:13.610
that we found at the top of our bags. How could

00:16:13.610 --> 00:16:16.129
we still steal silver or gold from our master's

00:16:16.129 --> 00:16:18.830
house or your master's house? If it is found

00:16:18.830 --> 00:16:21.250
with one of us, your servants, he must die and

00:16:21.250 --> 00:16:23.429
the rest of us will become my Lord's slaves.

00:16:24.590 --> 00:16:27.409
So the trap is sprung, go get them, say this

00:16:27.409 --> 00:16:29.529
precise thing, and pay attention to how they

00:16:29.529 --> 00:16:34.129
react, right? Now, it's an interesting situation

00:16:34.129 --> 00:16:37.029
going on here because from the brother's perspective,

00:16:37.250 --> 00:16:41.070
they indeed are innocent, right? How dare you

00:16:41.070 --> 00:16:43.190
take the cup from my master? Like, what are you

00:16:43.190 --> 00:16:45.250
talking about, dude? We didn't take anything.

00:16:46.409 --> 00:16:49.149
What's being developed here is something that

00:16:49.149 --> 00:16:52.539
we struggle with a lot. And what I mean by that

00:16:52.539 --> 00:16:55.799
is when we're faced with a situation where we're

00:16:55.799 --> 00:16:58.440
accused of wrongdoing and we're genuinely innocent,

00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:02.919
we will tend to inflate our own self -righteousness

00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:06.740
based around that one instance of innocence and

00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:10.119
forget of all the other guilt we have in our

00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:13.900
life. Now, God has been stirring up their conscience

00:17:13.900 --> 00:17:16.700
where they're starting to realize, man, all this

00:17:16.700 --> 00:17:19.000
bad stuff is happening to us because of that

00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:23.799
thing we did 20 years ago. But it's very easy

00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:26.720
for them and for us to associate when things

00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:31.140
are good, God's happy. When things are bad, God's

00:17:31.140 --> 00:17:35.420
mad. When things are going good, oh, I am under

00:17:35.420 --> 00:17:38.019
the favor of the Lord. When things are bad, wow,

00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:41.400
I didn't go to church Sunday, that's why. But

00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:44.519
that's not always the case. The bad things that

00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:46.680
God allows in our lives are sometimes the grace

00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:49.259
or sometimes the work that God is doing in our

00:17:49.259 --> 00:17:52.369
lives. Because we find ourselves in these situations

00:17:52.369 --> 00:17:55.630
where when we're expecting the hammer to drop

00:17:55.630 --> 00:17:57.809
on us because we know we're guilty, we know we've

00:17:57.809 --> 00:18:00.549
sinned, we know we've done wrong, and maybe it's

00:18:00.549 --> 00:18:03.210
stuff we've buried years ago, and all of a sudden

00:18:03.210 --> 00:18:05.410
it's bubbling back to the surface. Why am I thinking

00:18:05.410 --> 00:18:08.569
about this? Maybe I should go talk to the person.

00:18:08.650 --> 00:18:10.509
Maybe I should reconcile. Maybe I should ask

00:18:10.509 --> 00:18:13.509
for forgiveness. And then you have this span

00:18:13.509 --> 00:18:17.730
of good things happening. The temptation is we

00:18:17.730 --> 00:18:20.380
forget all about the guilt. Oh, we're innocent.

00:18:21.079 --> 00:18:23.160
We're good people. I'm a good person. Everything's

00:18:23.160 --> 00:18:28.099
great. And so they're, in their whole deal here,

00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:30.579
they're stunned. They're indignant. How dare

00:18:30.579 --> 00:18:32.720
you? And they defend themselves with a really

00:18:32.720 --> 00:18:36.240
good argument, right? I'm accusing you of doing

00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:38.400
something wrong and the best possible argument

00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:42.839
is, I didn't do it. And it's true I didn't do

00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:46.180
it, right? You can't have a better argument than

00:18:46.180 --> 00:18:50.039
that. And their argument is simply this. Why

00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:54.460
would we steal from you? We brought the money

00:18:54.460 --> 00:18:57.859
back from the first time. Like, we've already

00:18:57.859 --> 00:19:00.759
proved our honesty. We've already proven. I mean,

00:19:00.779 --> 00:19:03.960
that would be dumb for us to steal after we've

00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:07.779
done that. But it's their presumed innocence,

00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:10.119
it's their presumed self -righteousness that

00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:14.119
causes them to speak rashly, right? Whoever has

00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:16.960
your cup shall die. And we will all voluntarily

00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:21.839
become slaves. You see, when we are standing

00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:26.220
on a real situation of innocence, it's easy for

00:19:26.220 --> 00:19:28.420
us to become so self -righteous that we make

00:19:28.420 --> 00:19:33.700
rash oaths. I'm so sure of my innocence that

00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:35.940
if you prove me to be wrong, my whole family

00:19:35.940 --> 00:19:40.269
will die. And we can't do that because... What's

00:19:40.269 --> 00:19:41.869
happening here is although they are innocent

00:19:41.869 --> 00:19:44.990
in this one thing, in the big scheme of life,

00:19:45.309 --> 00:19:48.069
they're guilty people. They're guilty sinners.

00:19:49.769 --> 00:19:52.170
We've all sinned against God in one way or another,

00:19:52.289 --> 00:19:54.210
and we all continue to sin against God in one

00:19:54.210 --> 00:19:58.309
way or another. And yet sometimes we fail to

00:19:58.309 --> 00:20:00.309
deal with those things because maybe we have

00:20:00.309 --> 00:20:02.069
one area of our life where we're doing really

00:20:02.069 --> 00:20:06.329
well. And we go, look, I'm an innocent man. I'm

00:20:06.329 --> 00:20:11.460
an innocent woman. I'm a good person. And I just,

00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:13.240
I laugh every time I hear a Christian say I'm

00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:17.099
a good person. Because I get to say, no, you're

00:20:17.099 --> 00:20:22.759
not. You don't know me. I'm like, I don't need

00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:26.900
to. I have the Bible, you know. Well, you know,

00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:29.240
and it's like, it's a hard thing for us to accept

00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:33.539
when we are endeavoring to do good. And especially

00:20:33.539 --> 00:20:35.740
when false accusations come against us, we're

00:20:35.740 --> 00:20:38.440
like, I'm innocent. But the problem with them

00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:41.720
here is they're, forgetting about their guilt,

00:20:41.859 --> 00:20:45.940
and now getting so sure that they are good men

00:20:45.940 --> 00:20:47.640
and innocent men who have done nothing wrong

00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:50.720
that they make this rash decision or this rash

00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:55.299
oath that is going to cost them. And that's just

00:20:55.299 --> 00:21:00.019
the challenge for us. That although we might

00:21:00.019 --> 00:21:03.099
be doing well in this area of our life, that

00:21:03.099 --> 00:21:06.279
we don't let that puff our self -righteousness

00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:08.720
up to the point where we forget. The reality

00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:12.640
that we're guilty sinners. Or we forget the reality

00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:15.500
that given the right set of circumstance, every

00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:17.539
single one of us is capable of doing the most

00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:22.240
horrible things you can imagine. I would never

00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:28.019
do that. Don't say that. Because that's exactly

00:21:28.019 --> 00:21:30.619
when the devil goes, challenge accepted. And

00:21:30.619 --> 00:21:35.279
he's going to try and push you into that. The

00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:37.440
reality is not saying I would never do that.

00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:40.000
The reality is saying is I'm capable of anything

00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:45.779
but with God. With God, I can walk in holiness.

00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:50.359
With Him, I could walk in obedience. And so,

00:21:50.380 --> 00:21:53.819
yeah, if you're innocent in a false accusation,

00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.140
it's fine to say, no, I didn't do that and proclaim

00:21:56.140 --> 00:21:59.559
your innocence. But don't let that make you feel

00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:01.700
like you're innocent of all things. That you're

00:22:01.700 --> 00:22:03.680
a perfect individual. That there's nothing that

00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:05.920
could be held against you. And so, verse 10,

00:22:06.039 --> 00:22:07.759
the steward replied, and he goes, what you have

00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:10.420
said is right. But only the one who is found

00:22:10.420 --> 00:22:12.140
to have it will be my slave, and the rest of

00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:15.740
you will be blameless. Whoever has your cup will

00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:17.759
die. And the steward's like, no, no death, no

00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:22.160
death. Just slavery. But only for the one who

00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:25.839
has the cup. Very reasonable offer here. But

00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:30.619
the trap is being set. I imagine the steward

00:22:30.619 --> 00:22:32.200
saying this with kind of like a little inner

00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:35.559
smirk on his face because he knows exactly what's

00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:38.000
about to happen. And he's watching these guys

00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:40.700
proclaim their innocence so grandly that they

00:22:40.700 --> 00:22:43.319
will put someone's life on the line for it. And

00:22:43.319 --> 00:22:45.279
he's like, I know the cup's in Benjamin's back.

00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:51.740
Why is this happening? Because Joseph is interested

00:22:51.740 --> 00:22:56.940
in the answer to a final question. What? will

00:22:56.940 --> 00:23:01.700
they do with the favored son now? What will they

00:23:01.700 --> 00:23:04.740
do with the favored son when there's an opportunity

00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:07.559
for them in proclaiming their innocence to walk

00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:12.440
away and let that favored son suffer again? That's

00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:14.099
what Joseph wants to know. And so the search

00:23:14.099 --> 00:23:17.019
begins, verse 11. So each one quickly lowered

00:23:17.019 --> 00:23:19.400
his sack to the ground and opened it. The steward

00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:21.240
searched, beginning with the oldest and ending

00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:23.460
with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin's

00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:26.160
sack. And they tore their clothes. And each one

00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:30.680
loaded his donkey and returned to the city. We're

00:23:30.680 --> 00:23:35.259
innocent. We're not guilty men. Reuben, very

00:23:35.259 --> 00:23:38.099
quickly, sets his sack down. Search. They open

00:23:38.099 --> 00:23:40.920
the bag, nothing there. I imagine Reuben swelled

00:23:40.920 --> 00:23:44.059
up a little bit. See, I told you. And then you

00:23:44.059 --> 00:23:48.440
have the ex -con Simeon, number two. It's in

00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:50.640
anybody's bag. It's his. No, it's not in Simeon's

00:23:50.640 --> 00:23:54.279
bag. He's like, see? Put me in jail for nothing.

00:23:55.920 --> 00:23:59.640
Then it gets to Levi and Judah and on and on

00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:02.759
down the line. And again, I think with the opening

00:24:02.759 --> 00:24:05.140
of each bag and the proof that they're innocent

00:24:05.140 --> 00:24:08.460
men, their self -righteousness just swelled even

00:24:08.460 --> 00:24:12.400
more and even more. See, we are good people and

00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:15.420
we are righteous people. But then in one horrifying

00:24:15.420 --> 00:24:17.640
moment, Benjamin's sack is opened and there's

00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:21.859
the cup. It doesn't tell us Benjamin's reaction.

00:24:22.859 --> 00:24:25.559
It doesn't even record for us any words. It just

00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:29.160
records an action that they all tore their clothes,

00:24:29.299 --> 00:24:32.019
which culturally was a sign of great grief, great

00:24:32.019 --> 00:24:35.920
contrition. It was a sign of like, oh no, this

00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:42.240
is a terrible, terrible situation. That shows

00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:44.640
us something about what God has done in the hearts

00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:46.799
of these men. Because you remember 20 years earlier

00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:50.259
when Joseph vanished years earlier, the only

00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:52.480
one who tore his clothes in grief was Jacob,

00:24:52.660 --> 00:24:55.960
their father. The brothers didn't tear their

00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:58.299
clothes because they knew what happened. They

00:24:58.299 --> 00:25:00.339
knew they sold him. They come back, oh, dad,

00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:03.200
look, it looks like an animal got him. Dad believed

00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:04.980
it, tore his clothes, great grief, because he

00:25:04.980 --> 00:25:08.779
believed his son was dead. And what did they

00:25:08.779 --> 00:25:11.740
do? Oh, shucky darn, Dad, that's terrible. Okay,

00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:14.220
so we're going to go back and take care of the

00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:21.720
sheep. But now, when the one brother is now about

00:25:21.720 --> 00:25:26.740
to face slavery and an intense sense of judgment,

00:25:26.819 --> 00:25:29.579
but very specifically the same thing that their

00:25:29.579 --> 00:25:32.660
other brother Joseph was sold into, now they

00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:36.519
all tear their clothes. There's a unified grief.

00:25:37.469 --> 00:25:39.710
over the fate about to befall their brother.

00:25:40.509 --> 00:25:42.569
You see, he already told them, the steward already

00:25:42.569 --> 00:25:45.390
said, only the one who has the cup is in trouble.

00:25:46.950 --> 00:25:49.150
They could have right then and there went, Benjamin,

00:25:49.369 --> 00:25:55.140
you're just like your brother, we're out. We're

00:25:55.140 --> 00:25:56.839
not going to put ourselves on the line for you.

00:25:56.900 --> 00:25:59.720
You did this. But them all tearing their clothes

00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:02.319
shows us that there's a unification here. There's

00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:04.240
a recognition of family. There's a recognition

00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:08.400
of connection. And again, the question was, what

00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:11.740
would they do in this moment? Would they surrender

00:26:11.740 --> 00:26:13.799
Benjamin and say, well, sorry, bro? Would they

00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:16.640
just go home? Would they tell dad again, oh,

00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:20.160
yeah, Benjamin, he got ate by a lion and a giraffe

00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:25.950
and whatever else. Oh, it was terrible. There's

00:26:25.950 --> 00:26:29.490
no giraffes in Israel, but still. Egypt, it's

00:26:29.490 --> 00:26:34.990
kind of Africa. You know, who knows? But something

00:26:34.990 --> 00:26:37.809
new was happening. Something different was happening.

00:26:39.490 --> 00:26:44.329
They weren't able to watch Benjamin depart as

00:26:44.329 --> 00:26:48.569
a slave like they did with Joseph. Here, they're

00:26:48.569 --> 00:26:51.150
not able to abandon their father's favorite son.

00:26:52.730 --> 00:26:55.269
Here, They're not the same men as they were years

00:26:55.269 --> 00:26:59.069
earlier. Why? Because God had been stirring in

00:26:59.069 --> 00:27:02.250
them by bringing things back up over and over

00:27:02.250 --> 00:27:04.430
and over through this entire situation of the

00:27:04.430 --> 00:27:07.150
famine that they would face what they've done.

00:27:07.289 --> 00:27:11.589
And they're starting to face the gravity of what

00:27:11.589 --> 00:27:16.230
their sin was and understand how bad it was.

00:27:16.329 --> 00:27:19.960
And we cannot do this to another brother. So

00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:21.839
verse 14, when Judah and his brothers reached

00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:26.599
Joseph's house, he was still there. They fell

00:27:26.599 --> 00:27:29.960
to the ground before him. What have you done,

00:27:30.099 --> 00:27:32.920
Joseph said to them? Didn't you know that a man

00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:35.160
like me could uncover the truth by divination?

00:27:36.279 --> 00:27:39.180
What can we say to my Lord, Judah replied? How

00:27:39.180 --> 00:27:43.079
can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God

00:27:43.079 --> 00:27:48.069
has exposed your servant's iniquity. We are now

00:27:48.069 --> 00:27:50.569
my Lord's slaves, both we and the one in whose

00:27:50.569 --> 00:27:52.849
possession the cup was found. Then Joseph said,

00:27:52.970 --> 00:27:56.150
I swear that I will not do this. The man in whose

00:27:56.150 --> 00:27:58.210
possession the cup was found will be my slave.

00:27:58.289 --> 00:28:00.869
The rest of you can go in peace to your father.

00:28:02.849 --> 00:28:05.369
So they go back to the city with Benjamin, who's

00:28:05.369 --> 00:28:08.220
the only one in trouble at this point. They all

00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:10.460
come in. Joseph is still home, hasn't gone to

00:28:10.460 --> 00:28:12.319
work yet. It's probably still early in the morning.

00:28:12.460 --> 00:28:15.039
They fall down before him. Again, how many times

00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:17.759
is God going to fulfill this dream that he gave

00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:20.200
Joseph as a child that his brothers would bow

00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:24.920
before him? Joseph maintains his really stern

00:28:24.920 --> 00:28:30.119
Egyptian persona, playing the role of the powerful

00:28:30.119 --> 00:28:37.759
ruler. Don't you know? But look at... Judah's

00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:44.559
response. What can we say? How can we plead?

00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:48.140
How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed

00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:52.440
your servant's iniquity. What iniquity? They

00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:58.799
didn't steal the cup. They all knew that. Nobody

00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:01.720
took the cup. Why would they do that? They brought

00:29:01.720 --> 00:29:05.200
the money back the first time. But there's...

00:29:06.380 --> 00:29:09.140
There's no attempted explanation. There's no

00:29:09.140 --> 00:29:15.140
justification. There's no blame shifting. There's

00:29:15.140 --> 00:29:19.940
a declaration. Judah is coming to understand

00:29:19.940 --> 00:29:23.660
this isn't about the cup. The cup is symbolic

00:29:23.660 --> 00:29:32.579
of our sin. The cup is simply symbolic of the

00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:36.559
fact. That we are not innocent men, that we are

00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:43.279
guilty. God has exposed our sin. He's shifting

00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:48.420
in his mind. This happened because we're guilty

00:29:48.420 --> 00:29:50.940
sinners and God is exposing us. They've already

00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:52.960
asked that question in previous chapters. Why

00:29:52.960 --> 00:29:55.380
are these bad things happening to us? Is God

00:29:55.380 --> 00:29:58.920
coming against us? And now Judah's finally like,

00:29:59.059 --> 00:30:03.519
no, just. What are we going to say? How are we

00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:06.400
going to plead? We have no explanation. We're

00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:08.299
not going to, why is the cup there and we didn't

00:30:08.299 --> 00:30:09.779
do it? He just finally comes out and he says,

00:30:09.819 --> 00:30:13.579
look, God is exposing us. We are sinners. We

00:30:13.579 --> 00:30:15.619
are guilty men. There's nothing we could say.

00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:19.559
Judah's finally at that place where he's seeing

00:30:19.559 --> 00:30:25.829
the bigger picture. We deserve judgment. We deserve

00:30:25.829 --> 00:30:30.170
punishment. We deserve everything that would

00:30:30.170 --> 00:30:32.589
come against us from the Lord because we did

00:30:32.589 --> 00:30:37.269
something terrible. Judah displays a very important

00:30:37.269 --> 00:30:39.950
insight here. You didn't expose us. God's doing

00:30:39.950 --> 00:30:42.869
this. This is God's doing. God is letting this

00:30:42.869 --> 00:30:45.670
circumstance happen because this is about something

00:30:45.670 --> 00:30:49.829
much bigger, much broader. I know God did it

00:30:49.829 --> 00:30:54.400
because God knows things. Don't you know that

00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:59.319
this was the cup I do divination in? Bro, your

00:30:59.319 --> 00:31:02.720
cup is nothing. God knows everything. Yeah, you

00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:05.920
seated us according to our birth order, but the

00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:08.059
thing that Judah is wrestling with now, he's

00:31:08.059 --> 00:31:10.640
like, God knows what we did, and it keeps coming

00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:13.579
back up, and God knows we've sinned, and we tried

00:31:13.579 --> 00:31:15.859
to bury it, and we tried to hide it, and we can't

00:31:15.859 --> 00:31:19.740
do that anymore. His admission comes from this

00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:23.839
deep -seated, growing sense of the wrongness

00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:26.619
of what he's done that he's lived with for 20

00:31:26.619 --> 00:31:32.920
years. And it was a collective confession. He

00:31:32.920 --> 00:31:37.200
says, we have sinned. We have sinned. This whole

00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:44.960
situation. This whole situation. Right? Ben wouldn't

00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:47.519
be here with the cup in his bag if we didn't

00:31:47.519 --> 00:31:51.039
bring him. He wouldn't have come with us unless

00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:54.759
we convinced Dad. We wouldn't have to convince

00:31:54.759 --> 00:31:58.960
Dad if we didn't come the first time. We wouldn't

00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:02.539
have come the first time if we weren't starving.

00:32:05.700 --> 00:32:09.259
We're starving because there's a famine. Why

00:32:09.259 --> 00:32:11.420
won't Dad let us take Ben? Because go back 20

00:32:11.420 --> 00:32:16.359
years. Last time Dad sent his favorite son around

00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:18.740
us, he disappeared. And we know why he disappeared.

00:32:21.069 --> 00:32:23.789
All these years we've been watching dad languish

00:32:23.789 --> 00:32:27.829
in sorrow, languish in misery, lamenting, grief.

00:32:28.170 --> 00:32:32.009
His favorite son is dead. He's not dead, or we're

00:32:32.009 --> 00:32:34.049
not sure he's dead, but we let him believe that.

00:32:34.069 --> 00:32:37.289
We never told him the truth. And now we stand

00:32:37.289 --> 00:32:39.890
here again in the same situation. Favorite son

00:32:39.890 --> 00:32:43.390
about to be sent away. That's going to destroy

00:32:43.390 --> 00:32:50.589
dad. And we did that. So if Ben has to stay,

00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:55.240
we're all going to stay. Because we recognize

00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:57.799
the gravity of what we have done and we recognize

00:32:57.799 --> 00:33:04.380
that we deserve the judgment. Now in a very painful

00:33:04.380 --> 00:33:08.740
twist, Joseph's like, nope, sorry. Just Ben.

00:33:10.440 --> 00:33:14.160
You can all go home. And he says, in peace. Not,

00:33:14.220 --> 00:33:16.279
you need to do this and this and come back. It's

00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:19.250
like, no, just go home. You're free, man. No

00:33:19.250 --> 00:33:22.549
punishment, no penalty, no nothing. Go to your

00:33:22.549 --> 00:33:24.769
father. And now this is fully the opportunity

00:33:24.769 --> 00:33:27.910
they once faced, right? The situation with the

00:33:27.910 --> 00:33:30.990
favored son and the issue of silver and money

00:33:30.990 --> 00:33:33.710
and an opportunity to walk away. It all presented

00:33:33.710 --> 00:33:38.509
itself here. But the conditions to entice their

00:33:38.509 --> 00:33:40.349
sin were even greater because the first time

00:33:40.349 --> 00:33:42.190
it was just 20 pieces of silver and then you

00:33:42.190 --> 00:33:43.650
could be without this annoying brother for the

00:33:43.650 --> 00:33:49.539
rest of your life. Today, It's their own freedom.

00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:53.099
Just walk away. You don't even have to pay 20

00:33:53.099 --> 00:33:57.079
silver. Just walk away. And you will be free.

00:33:57.740 --> 00:34:03.339
Great temptation. In many regards, very easy

00:34:03.339 --> 00:34:08.380
to do. Just sacrifice the innocent and go on

00:34:08.380 --> 00:34:12.699
living your life. Don't think about the innocent.

00:34:13.219 --> 00:34:16.000
Don't think about his. being bound in slavery.

00:34:16.139 --> 00:34:22.119
Just go away. But for them, they're like, we've

00:34:22.119 --> 00:34:26.960
done it before. Why not do it again? But it's

00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:28.880
the recognition of their sin and what it had

00:34:28.880 --> 00:34:31.780
done and whom it had been done to. The pain,

00:34:31.800 --> 00:34:34.940
the guilt, the sheer wrongness of it all. They're

00:34:34.940 --> 00:34:38.179
like, we can't. We can't do it again. And Judah

00:34:38.179 --> 00:34:41.480
steps forward to speak. Verse 18, but Judah approached

00:34:41.480 --> 00:34:45.230
him and said, my Lord. Please let your servant

00:34:45.230 --> 00:34:48.190
speak personally to my Lord. Do not be angry

00:34:48.190 --> 00:34:49.750
with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.

00:34:50.969 --> 00:34:53.489
My Lord asked his servants, Do you have a father

00:34:53.489 --> 00:34:56.710
or a brother? And we answered you and said, We

00:34:56.710 --> 00:34:58.389
have an elderly father and a younger brother,

00:34:58.510 --> 00:35:01.190
the child of his old age. The boy's brother is

00:35:01.190 --> 00:35:03.789
dead. He is the only one of his mother's sons

00:35:03.789 --> 00:35:06.949
left, and his father loves him. Then you said

00:35:06.949 --> 00:35:08.929
to your servants, Bring him to me so that I could

00:35:08.929 --> 00:35:10.630
see him. But we told you the boy cannot leave

00:35:10.630 --> 00:35:12.969
his father. If he were to leave, his father would

00:35:12.969 --> 00:35:16.940
die. But then you said to your servants, if your

00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:18.500
younger brother does not come down with you,

00:35:18.559 --> 00:35:23.360
you will not see me again. This is what happened

00:35:23.360 --> 00:35:25.139
when we went back to your servant, my father.

00:35:25.179 --> 00:35:28.579
We reported him the words of my Lord. But our

00:35:28.579 --> 00:35:30.739
father said, go again and buy us a little food.

00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:34.260
And we told him, we can't unless our younger

00:35:34.260 --> 00:35:37.400
brother goes with us. If our younger brother

00:35:37.400 --> 00:35:39.980
isn't with us, we can't go see the man because

00:35:39.980 --> 00:35:46.260
you told us, right? Don't come back. Your servant

00:35:46.260 --> 00:35:48.719
my father said to us, you know that my wife bore

00:35:48.719 --> 00:35:52.280
me two sons. One is gone from me. I said he must

00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:54.219
have been torn to pieces and I've never seen

00:35:54.219 --> 00:35:57.280
him again. If you also take this one from me

00:35:57.280 --> 00:35:59.079
and anything happens to him, you will bring my

00:35:59.079 --> 00:36:02.260
gray hairs down to Sheol and sorrow. So if I

00:36:02.260 --> 00:36:04.059
come to your servant my father and the boy is

00:36:04.059 --> 00:36:07.800
not with us, his life is wrapped up in the boy's

00:36:07.800 --> 00:36:10.400
life. When he sees that the boy is not with us,

00:36:10.420 --> 00:36:14.170
he will die. Then your servants will have brought

00:36:14.170 --> 00:36:15.989
the gray hairs of your servant, our father, down

00:36:15.989 --> 00:36:23.510
to Sheol in sorrow. They are taking full responsibility

00:36:23.510 --> 00:36:28.489
for what they've done and the situation they've

00:36:28.489 --> 00:36:32.030
created. This is why we can't leave. This is

00:36:32.030 --> 00:36:37.030
why we must stay. Judah coming to the understanding,

00:36:37.150 --> 00:36:39.730
we're not innocent, man. We're guilty sinners.

00:36:41.309 --> 00:36:45.530
This situation is because of what we did. There

00:36:45.530 --> 00:36:48.250
was another brother. He's not with us anymore.

00:36:52.710 --> 00:36:55.750
But please understand, Mr. Number two to Pharaoh,

00:36:55.929 --> 00:37:00.610
you know, Ben is here because you insisted. And

00:37:00.610 --> 00:37:02.670
you asked us if we had a brother, and you said

00:37:02.670 --> 00:37:04.769
bring him, and we told you we couldn't, and you

00:37:04.769 --> 00:37:06.570
said, well, if you want more food in the future,

00:37:06.610 --> 00:37:08.670
you have to, and he's just recounting the whole

00:37:08.670 --> 00:37:13.380
story, right? But we came to the place where

00:37:13.380 --> 00:37:15.119
we were out of food again and dad said, go get

00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:17.519
more food. And we reminded dad about the arrangement.

00:37:17.820 --> 00:37:21.659
And in all of that, we were faced again with

00:37:21.659 --> 00:37:26.119
the fact that Joseph is probably dead. We were

00:37:26.119 --> 00:37:29.300
again faced with the fact of our father's sorrow,

00:37:29.360 --> 00:37:32.079
the sorrow we caused, the sorrow we've watched

00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:34.940
our father live in for 20 years. We did that.

00:37:35.780 --> 00:37:40.639
That is the effect of our sin. And if we come

00:37:40.639 --> 00:37:42.440
back now without Ben, it's going to kill our

00:37:42.440 --> 00:37:50.940
dad. And that would be our fault too. We can't

00:37:50.940 --> 00:37:54.199
do that. That's what we did last time. It was

00:37:54.199 --> 00:37:57.340
wrong. We can't do that. Their conscience is

00:37:57.340 --> 00:38:01.599
coming alive. Now, what's interesting is this

00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:03.840
is the first time Joseph learns what his father

00:38:03.840 --> 00:38:07.230
has believed all these years. Right? Joseph didn't

00:38:07.230 --> 00:38:08.809
know what his father believed all these years.

00:38:08.969 --> 00:38:11.150
Can you imagine Joseph for the first five, ten

00:38:11.150 --> 00:38:14.929
years? Why hasn't dad come to get me? The brothers

00:38:14.929 --> 00:38:16.869
sold me into slavery. Obviously, they know I'm

00:38:16.869 --> 00:38:19.409
in slavery. Why haven't they come to get me?

00:38:19.409 --> 00:38:21.150
I thought it was dad's favorite. I thought dad

00:38:21.150 --> 00:38:25.210
loved me. Fifteen, twenty years go by. Maybe

00:38:25.210 --> 00:38:26.949
he was just like, okay, I'll just come to terms

00:38:26.949 --> 00:38:30.510
with it. And now he learns why dad never showed

00:38:30.510 --> 00:38:34.380
up. He thought I was dead. You guys let dad believe

00:38:34.380 --> 00:38:40.079
that for 20 years? But this is where Joseph learns

00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:42.760
that this is the guilt that they have been carrying.

00:38:42.780 --> 00:38:44.460
As Joseph is trying to find out, are you guys

00:38:44.460 --> 00:38:46.420
the same guys you were 20 years ago? Have you

00:38:46.420 --> 00:38:48.760
changed? Do you still hate the favorite? And

00:38:48.760 --> 00:38:51.320
now he's realizing, oh my gosh, they've been

00:38:51.320 --> 00:38:55.880
racked with guilt for 20 years carrying this.

00:38:57.230 --> 00:39:00.090
this thing they've done and the effect it's had

00:39:00.090 --> 00:39:02.349
on their father. And so what's really interesting

00:39:02.349 --> 00:39:04.849
is Judah isn't speaking here without any resentment

00:39:04.849 --> 00:39:08.210
about Jacob's favoritism. Remember how much they

00:39:08.210 --> 00:39:11.909
resented that 20 years earlier? Ripped the coat

00:39:11.909 --> 00:39:16.289
off of him. We just hate you. And now as he's

00:39:16.289 --> 00:39:18.170
retelling the story, there's no resentment in

00:39:18.170 --> 00:39:21.150
his story. He's actually citing the fact that

00:39:21.150 --> 00:39:23.780
Ben is dad's favorite. And the effect it'll have

00:39:23.780 --> 00:39:25.900
if he doesn't get home on their father, he's

00:39:25.900 --> 00:39:29.360
citing that as that's why we have to return with

00:39:29.360 --> 00:39:32.539
him. We can't go in peace because there will

00:39:32.539 --> 00:39:36.780
be no peace. We'll kill our dad if we return

00:39:36.780 --> 00:39:43.239
without Ben. I mean, he speaks of it as if they've

00:39:43.239 --> 00:39:46.179
all come to terms with it, right? His life is

00:39:46.179 --> 00:39:47.800
wrapped up with the boy. It's kind of like, we

00:39:47.800 --> 00:39:51.239
get it now. Benjamin is dad's favorite. Okay.

00:39:53.599 --> 00:39:56.500
That's just how it is. And it's interesting because

00:39:56.500 --> 00:39:58.320
this is where we see the sons of Leah no longer

00:39:58.320 --> 00:40:02.480
raging against the sons of Rachel. There's unity.

00:40:03.360 --> 00:40:08.079
There's compassion. So verse 32. Your servant

00:40:08.079 --> 00:40:10.239
became accountable to my father for the boy saying,

00:40:10.320 --> 00:40:12.579
if I do not return him to you, I will always

00:40:12.579 --> 00:40:14.559
bear the guilt for sinning against you, my father.

00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:19.949
So Judah then is saying, we've sinned. This situation

00:40:19.949 --> 00:40:22.289
is da -da -da -da, and that's our fault. And

00:40:22.289 --> 00:40:23.730
if we don't return, we're going to be the ones

00:40:23.730 --> 00:40:25.710
responsible for our dad's broken heart and his

00:40:25.710 --> 00:40:29.590
death. But then he goes on to say, but this is

00:40:29.590 --> 00:40:32.590
personally important to me too because I myself

00:40:32.590 --> 00:40:35.510
am responsible for his life. I promised my dad.

00:40:37.849 --> 00:40:40.570
Judah and his brothers have made their father's

00:40:40.570 --> 00:40:43.860
grief. his pain their own. There's an acceptance

00:40:43.860 --> 00:40:46.179
and responsibility of that, and they're not just

00:40:46.179 --> 00:40:49.019
sympathetic to how their sin has affected their

00:40:49.019 --> 00:40:51.260
father, like, oh, poor dad, but it's changed

00:40:51.260 --> 00:40:55.920
them. They've been changed. Their actions are

00:40:55.920 --> 00:40:58.559
different now because they've accepted we're

00:40:58.559 --> 00:41:02.019
sinners, and we're guilty, and we deserve the

00:41:02.019 --> 00:41:05.239
punishment, and this hurt other people, and I

00:41:05.239 --> 00:41:09.079
can't do it anymore. This isn't the old brotherhood

00:41:09.079 --> 00:41:11.320
of cold, self -protective, jealous brothers.

00:41:11.480 --> 00:41:13.500
This is the beginning of covenant community.

00:41:14.860 --> 00:41:17.940
This is the beginning of a community united in

00:41:17.940 --> 00:41:20.920
love. This is a community that is forming here

00:41:20.920 --> 00:41:25.619
where it's not about me, it's about you. And

00:41:25.619 --> 00:41:27.559
the pinnacle of this transformation is we see

00:41:27.559 --> 00:41:33.519
Judah moving from we to me. Verse 33, now please

00:41:33.519 --> 00:41:35.639
let your servant remain here as my Lord's slave

00:41:35.639 --> 00:41:39.079
in place of the boy. Let him go back with his

00:41:39.079 --> 00:41:43.300
brothers. For how can I go back to my father

00:41:43.300 --> 00:41:46.480
without the boy? I could not bear to see the

00:41:46.480 --> 00:41:50.639
grief that would overwhelm my father. Now there's

00:41:50.639 --> 00:41:53.599
not just collective accountability and responsibility

00:41:53.599 --> 00:41:57.760
and acceptance, it's personal. Like I can't go

00:41:57.760 --> 00:42:01.019
do this to my dad. I recognize what we've done.

00:42:01.119 --> 00:42:04.699
Now this is interesting, you know, because this

00:42:04.699 --> 00:42:07.219
is the guy who came up with the idea. How about

00:42:07.219 --> 00:42:10.340
we sell him into slavery? That was Judah's idea.

00:42:14.400 --> 00:42:17.900
Well, let's not kill him. Sell him into slavery.

00:42:18.079 --> 00:42:21.699
We're good. We did the right thing. 20 years

00:42:21.699 --> 00:42:24.519
of dealing with that, watching his dad just suffer,

00:42:24.639 --> 00:42:29.909
and Judah's like, no, I can't anymore. My heart

00:42:29.909 --> 00:42:33.130
has changed. I feel the wrongness of this. And

00:42:33.130 --> 00:42:35.889
so his intercession becomes self -sacrifice.

00:42:37.949 --> 00:42:41.230
I will take the punishment. I deserve the punishment.

00:42:41.230 --> 00:42:44.670
Not Benjamin, not my brothers. I will stay here.

00:42:44.710 --> 00:42:47.690
Let them go home. That my dad won't hurt anymore.

00:42:47.989 --> 00:42:51.389
That things will be okay. His repentance at his

00:42:51.389 --> 00:42:55.869
own sin and going, I deserve it, is now him going,

00:42:56.030 --> 00:43:00.039
put me. I will willingly take the punishment.

00:43:00.139 --> 00:43:05.139
I will be the substitute for Benjamin. His love

00:43:05.139 --> 00:43:07.960
now takes responsibility and offers itself in

00:43:07.960 --> 00:43:10.219
the place of another. Again, this is Judah. This

00:43:10.219 --> 00:43:12.460
is the man who helped sell Joseph. This is the

00:43:12.460 --> 00:43:14.659
man who was all about personal benefit. Remember

00:43:14.659 --> 00:43:17.760
that whole chapter about Judah and Tamar? That

00:43:17.760 --> 00:43:20.139
was all to show us that he was a man about protecting

00:43:20.139 --> 00:43:22.500
his own reputation, protecting his own stuff,

00:43:22.760 --> 00:43:25.820
making sure that he didn't spend too much on

00:43:25.820 --> 00:43:30.800
things. But God's grace and his mercy and his

00:43:30.800 --> 00:43:32.780
kindness and his love has transformed this man,

00:43:32.840 --> 00:43:38.440
Judah. His humiliation became the ground for

00:43:38.440 --> 00:43:42.280
deep and powerful work as he is no longer calculating

00:43:42.280 --> 00:43:46.599
profit. He's now counting the cost of his sin

00:43:46.599 --> 00:43:51.079
and counting the cost of what his sin has cost

00:43:51.079 --> 00:43:53.900
him and cost others, and he can't bear it anymore.

00:43:56.360 --> 00:43:58.360
Now, of course, his willingness to suffer as

00:43:58.360 --> 00:44:00.780
a substitute, it foreshadows the substitutionary

00:44:00.780 --> 00:44:06.440
atonement of Jesus Christ. There's a reason why

00:44:06.440 --> 00:44:08.480
Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

00:44:10.099 --> 00:44:12.159
Where he's the one that stepped in and said,

00:44:12.199 --> 00:44:18.280
no, I will take the punishment. I will take all

00:44:18.280 --> 00:44:22.260
that they owe. And Judah here, we're long past

00:44:22.260 --> 00:44:25.949
the cup. We're long past the cup. Judah here

00:44:25.949 --> 00:44:28.730
is now on a whole different level. The cup was

00:44:28.730 --> 00:44:34.780
just symbolic of the problem. We're guilty. We're

00:44:34.780 --> 00:44:37.219
guilty and we accept it and we recognize it.

00:44:37.300 --> 00:44:40.039
And so God, over those almost silent decades

00:44:40.039 --> 00:44:42.119
in the brothers' lives as they were toiling in

00:44:42.119 --> 00:44:44.760
Canaan, he was working. He was working in them

00:44:44.760 --> 00:44:46.460
and stirring and stirring and stirring all the

00:44:46.460 --> 00:44:48.420
way to the point where the famine came and they

00:44:48.420 --> 00:44:50.980
went and working and working through all of these

00:44:50.980 --> 00:44:53.739
things to bring them to a place of drawing them

00:44:53.739 --> 00:44:58.860
to face their sin and to acknowledge the wrongness

00:44:58.860 --> 00:45:01.179
and the depth and the depravity and the cost.

00:45:01.559 --> 00:45:05.199
To bring them to a place of accepting, I do deserve

00:45:05.199 --> 00:45:12.019
punishment. He does the same thing today. But

00:45:12.019 --> 00:45:15.219
God doesn't do that just to point the finger

00:45:15.219 --> 00:45:18.960
at us. He doesn't just rescue us from things.

00:45:19.059 --> 00:45:22.500
He transforms us through things. He doesn't just

00:45:22.500 --> 00:45:26.860
pardon our sin. He remakes us, right? There's

00:45:26.860 --> 00:45:30.659
so much language in the New Testament. And the

00:45:30.659 --> 00:45:32.019
Old Testament, too. Pull out your heart of stone,

00:45:32.059 --> 00:45:35.579
give you a heart of flesh. Behold, you've become

00:45:35.579 --> 00:45:37.059
a new creation. All things have passed away.

00:45:37.400 --> 00:45:40.719
Behold, all things are new. You're a new person

00:45:40.719 --> 00:45:44.119
when you come to the Lord. And that is the process

00:45:44.119 --> 00:45:46.539
of Him bringing you. Because without the Lord,

00:45:46.719 --> 00:45:51.400
you're a terrible person. You're a sinner. You've

00:45:51.400 --> 00:45:54.820
broken God's law. And your sin has hurt so many

00:45:54.820 --> 00:45:58.099
people. Take a moment to think back over the

00:45:58.099 --> 00:45:59.800
life of sin that you've lived and all the people

00:45:59.800 --> 00:46:01.579
that have been hurt because of your selfishness

00:46:01.579 --> 00:46:05.570
and because of your... inability to put the needs

00:46:05.570 --> 00:46:11.530
of others above your own and all of that. But

00:46:11.530 --> 00:46:14.110
the gospel brings transformation if you respond

00:46:14.110 --> 00:46:18.750
to its message. You see, when God brings a conviction

00:46:18.750 --> 00:46:21.110
into our heart about sin, don't despise that

00:46:21.110 --> 00:46:23.130
thing. Don't ignore that thing. Don't think,

00:46:23.130 --> 00:46:27.349
oh, as a Christian, therefore there's no condemnation

00:46:27.349 --> 00:46:29.289
for those who are in Christ Jesus, so I rebuke

00:46:29.289 --> 00:46:31.550
this guilt. No, no, no. You're not condemned

00:46:31.550 --> 00:46:34.719
if you're a Christian. But the guilt can be God's

00:46:34.719 --> 00:46:37.219
grace because he's refusing you to let you numb

00:46:37.219 --> 00:46:42.199
your soul to the effect of sin. He often recreates

00:46:42.199 --> 00:46:44.500
old temptations that we'd have our second chance

00:46:44.500 --> 00:46:46.699
to choose the right thing, to choose the godly

00:46:46.699 --> 00:46:49.400
thing, to do the right thing. And when we have

00:46:49.400 --> 00:46:54.460
truly repented of long forgotten sin, one of

00:46:54.460 --> 00:46:57.739
the things we find in the process of coming to

00:46:57.739 --> 00:47:00.460
that is that we're going to have a greater empathetic

00:47:00.460 --> 00:47:05.539
responsibility for those we hurt. Beforehand,

00:47:05.539 --> 00:47:08.099
it's a no, no, no, no, no, but when God does

00:47:08.099 --> 00:47:09.739
this work in your heart, you're going to find

00:47:09.739 --> 00:47:12.579
you're going to be really bummed if you hurt

00:47:12.579 --> 00:47:17.159
others because of your own sinful choices. More

00:47:17.159 --> 00:47:19.079
importantly, you might recognize that you hurt

00:47:19.079 --> 00:47:23.550
God, and that might wreck you. I had that experience

00:47:23.550 --> 00:47:26.869
once. I was engaged. Our relationship wasn't

00:47:26.869 --> 00:47:29.269
good. We were doing things we shouldn't be doing.

00:47:29.369 --> 00:47:32.090
I was a Christian. I was leading ministry, and

00:47:32.090 --> 00:47:33.710
I was sitting in my room once, and everything

00:47:33.710 --> 00:47:35.429
was falling apart in our relationship. It was

00:47:35.429 --> 00:47:37.889
really terrible, and I was listening to K -Wave,

00:47:37.949 --> 00:47:39.650
and Chuck Smith comes on the radio, and he's

00:47:39.650 --> 00:47:41.949
teaching about the letter to the Ephesians in

00:47:41.949 --> 00:47:44.969
Revelation, and I'm just sitting there listening.

00:47:46.550 --> 00:47:50.230
Then he gets to the part where Jesus says, this

00:47:50.230 --> 00:47:53.530
I have against you. You have left your first

00:47:53.530 --> 00:48:00.210
love. And I lost it. Because I had realized I

00:48:00.210 --> 00:48:02.590
had put this relationship above the Lord. And

00:48:02.590 --> 00:48:06.110
that relationship led me into sin. And I had

00:48:06.110 --> 00:48:07.769
justified and I had been lying and I had been

00:48:07.769 --> 00:48:10.130
hiding. And God just said, you left your first

00:48:10.130 --> 00:48:17.929
love. And man, it was rough. And I realized in

00:48:17.929 --> 00:48:19.409
that moment, I remember just tears coming down

00:48:19.409 --> 00:48:22.510
my face. I'm like, I hurt God. The one who died

00:48:22.510 --> 00:48:28.809
for me. The one who loves me. I hurt him. How

00:48:28.809 --> 00:48:33.289
can I do that? Now, that recognition in my heart

00:48:33.289 --> 00:48:36.949
was just a grace of God. That God allowed me

00:48:36.949 --> 00:48:39.409
to feel that so that I would be like, this can't

00:48:39.409 --> 00:48:43.070
happen. And I remember I said, God, what do you

00:48:43.070 --> 00:48:44.389
want me to do? And he said, you need to break

00:48:44.389 --> 00:48:49.510
up. So the next morning I went and broke up.

00:48:57.320 --> 00:49:01.599
When we have that sense of the effect of our

00:49:01.599 --> 00:49:05.739
sin and we come to the place of a willingness

00:49:05.739 --> 00:49:08.079
to accept the consequences ourselves that I've

00:49:08.079 --> 00:49:13.639
done this and we know we deserve the fallout

00:49:13.639 --> 00:49:17.340
of what we've done, it enables us to approach

00:49:17.340 --> 00:49:20.940
God in humility. It enables us to approach him

00:49:20.940 --> 00:49:25.260
in submission and say, God, I don't deserve to

00:49:25.260 --> 00:49:29.960
talk to you. Right? How did Judah, the model

00:49:29.960 --> 00:49:32.900
here for us, how did he approach Joseph, the

00:49:32.900 --> 00:49:36.599
Jesus figure in the story? My Lord, you are like

00:49:36.599 --> 00:49:39.840
Pharaoh. I'm your servant. I don't even deserve

00:49:39.840 --> 00:49:41.579
to be in your presence. I don't even deserve

00:49:41.579 --> 00:49:46.440
to talk to you. But if you will let me talk.

00:49:47.780 --> 00:49:51.139
It's humility. It's coming to a place where we

00:49:51.139 --> 00:49:54.900
realize God is God. We are not God, and everything

00:49:54.900 --> 00:49:58.300
is on his terms, for he's our creator. You start

00:49:58.300 --> 00:50:03.420
there. And then there's ownership of your personal

00:50:03.420 --> 00:50:05.880
sin. God, I've sinned against you, as David said.

00:50:06.059 --> 00:50:11.219
You and you alone have I sinned against. God,

00:50:11.300 --> 00:50:18.179
I hurt you, the lover of my soul. And I've hurt

00:50:18.179 --> 00:50:20.460
so many other people, and I recognize all of

00:50:20.460 --> 00:50:23.710
that. That comes from that place of saying, God,

00:50:23.710 --> 00:50:25.250
you're God. You already know what I've done.

00:50:25.489 --> 00:50:28.889
I can't hide it anymore. I can't pretend it's

00:50:28.889 --> 00:50:31.190
not there anymore. I can't overlook it anymore

00:50:31.190 --> 00:50:33.809
because God, I know you know. And then you appeal

00:50:33.809 --> 00:50:36.530
to what he's already said. You appeal to the

00:50:36.530 --> 00:50:38.309
kindness he has already shown you. You appeal

00:50:38.309 --> 00:50:46.690
to his word. God, you said this. God, you said

00:50:46.690 --> 00:50:48.329
whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall

00:50:48.329 --> 00:50:55.039
be saved. God, I recognize I deserve death because,

00:50:55.119 --> 00:50:57.559
again, you're God. I've sinned against you. I'm

00:50:57.559 --> 00:50:59.179
your creation. You have the right to destroy

00:50:59.179 --> 00:51:03.360
me. I'm a sinner. I'm not an innocent man. I've

00:51:03.360 --> 00:51:06.539
broken your law. And I know you know everything

00:51:06.539 --> 00:51:10.360
I've done. I'm done trying to pretend. But please,

00:51:10.380 --> 00:51:15.519
Lord, you said you'd forgive me if I came to

00:51:15.519 --> 00:51:22.090
you. You said you'd wash me clean. And so I'm

00:51:22.090 --> 00:51:26.809
here. Our society today more and more trains

00:51:26.809 --> 00:51:29.489
us to resist authority, even God's authority.

00:51:30.389 --> 00:51:32.730
I think that's spiritually what's behind all

00:51:32.730 --> 00:51:36.829
the stuff that's going on today and the rising

00:51:36.829 --> 00:51:39.469
division in our politics and stuff where it's

00:51:39.469 --> 00:51:42.429
gone far beyond I disagree with you. It's I disagree

00:51:42.429 --> 00:51:45.110
with you, therefore I need to destroy you and

00:51:45.110 --> 00:51:50.900
harm you and hurt you. and not listen to you

00:51:50.900 --> 00:51:57.139
anymore. And that's just the devil. Raising the

00:51:57.139 --> 00:51:59.940
next generation in our world to say, if I disagree,

00:52:00.260 --> 00:52:02.559
the thing I disagree with must be destroyed.

00:52:05.239 --> 00:52:09.199
And that includes God. But Judah didn't approach

00:52:09.199 --> 00:52:11.440
Joseph in defiance here, right? He didn't come

00:52:11.440 --> 00:52:14.599
up and say, I disagree. He just said, I'm done.

00:52:16.019 --> 00:52:18.420
I'm guilty. I can't deal with the guilt anymore.

00:52:19.230 --> 00:52:22.349
deal with the reality. It's too much. I can't

00:52:22.349 --> 00:52:25.789
do it again. He approached in brokenness, not

00:52:25.789 --> 00:52:29.090
blame, right? He said, hey, just to be fair,

00:52:29.250 --> 00:52:32.710
Benjamin's here because of what you said, but

00:52:32.710 --> 00:52:37.570
he's not going, this is your fault. He approached

00:52:37.570 --> 00:52:42.849
with impassion without entitlement, pleading

00:52:42.849 --> 00:52:45.269
his case, realizing we're sinners. We deserve

00:52:45.269 --> 00:52:50.030
nothing, and then finally it It landed with Judah

00:52:50.030 --> 00:52:54.510
saying, let them all go. I'll stay. I'll give

00:52:54.510 --> 00:52:57.170
up my freedom. I will give up my life. I will

00:52:57.170 --> 00:53:01.769
give up everything because I deserve it. Take

00:53:01.769 --> 00:53:06.829
me. And then what do they end up receiving through

00:53:06.829 --> 00:53:08.130
all of this? We're going to get to that in the

00:53:08.130 --> 00:53:17.519
next chapter. The most beautiful grace. It's

00:53:17.519 --> 00:53:19.139
the same grace and mercy that we could receive

00:53:19.139 --> 00:53:23.440
today, right now. It's a mercy available to all

00:53:23.440 --> 00:53:27.760
of us. The mercy of not receiving what we deserve.

00:53:29.780 --> 00:53:32.440
The just and due judgment for all the sin we've

00:53:32.440 --> 00:53:35.500
ever committed. We deserve the punishment for

00:53:35.500 --> 00:53:38.219
that. We deserve the judgment for that. We deserve

00:53:38.219 --> 00:53:40.739
to be held accountable to all of that. But then

00:53:40.739 --> 00:53:44.920
the grace of receiving a full pardon. To say,

00:53:44.960 --> 00:53:47.860
God, I believe in you. I believe in what you

00:53:47.860 --> 00:53:50.340
did. And I put my faith in that. And God says,

00:53:50.440 --> 00:53:56.860
great, not guilty. But I'm guilty. And I know

00:53:56.860 --> 00:54:02.539
that. And he says, not guilty. Over and over

00:54:02.539 --> 00:54:05.519
again. And he gives a renewed heart. And he adopts

00:54:05.519 --> 00:54:14.860
us into his family. Wow. With humility and ownership

00:54:14.860 --> 00:54:17.969
of sin. appeal to the promises he's made, you

00:54:17.969 --> 00:54:21.809
can receive salvation today. You can receive

00:54:21.809 --> 00:54:25.849
that gift freely by simply approaching God as

00:54:25.849 --> 00:54:29.329
the guilty. You don't need to come to God innocent.

00:54:29.489 --> 00:54:31.090
You don't need to clean up your life. You just

00:54:31.090 --> 00:54:33.829
need to come to him because like Joseph, he's

00:54:33.829 --> 00:54:35.769
sitting there going, I want to bless you and

00:54:35.769 --> 00:54:37.690
I want to restore this relationship and I want

00:54:37.690 --> 00:54:41.429
to reconcile. I want to fix your life and I want

00:54:41.429 --> 00:54:44.820
to give you a new nature and a new heart. just

00:54:44.820 --> 00:54:46.619
come to me and receive it. And we're like, no,

00:54:46.639 --> 00:54:48.179
I can't. He's going to kill me. He's going to

00:54:48.179 --> 00:54:53.099
strike me down. But hopefully today he has revealed

00:54:53.099 --> 00:54:55.320
in your heart the gravity and the reality that

00:54:55.320 --> 00:54:56.659
you're a sinner and there's nothing you can do

00:54:56.659 --> 00:55:02.699
about it. You're a sinner. And you've sinned

00:55:02.699 --> 00:55:05.039
and you've hurt people and it's happened. And

00:55:05.039 --> 00:55:09.780
God is just telling you right now, look, I said

00:55:09.780 --> 00:55:15.300
that whoever believes in me Believes in my death

00:55:15.300 --> 00:55:18.480
on the cross. Believes that my death was for

00:55:18.480 --> 00:55:24.880
you. I stood in your place. Whoever trusts in

00:55:24.880 --> 00:55:28.579
my death as fully satisfying the holy wrath of

00:55:28.579 --> 00:55:31.900
a righteous and just God, I said you put your

00:55:31.900 --> 00:55:37.679
faith in me, you will be saved. Forgiven. Washed

00:55:37.679 --> 00:55:45.010
clean. Will you receive that today? Will you

00:55:45.010 --> 00:55:49.289
receive that grace, that mercy? Are you at the

00:55:49.289 --> 00:55:52.289
place where you're finally like, I'm done, I

00:55:52.289 --> 00:55:54.949
can't hide this anymore, I can't play these games

00:55:54.949 --> 00:55:58.610
anymore? This applies to the believers in the

00:55:58.610 --> 00:56:03.010
room too because I know many of us, we're carrying

00:56:03.010 --> 00:56:04.909
something that we've been hiding and not dealing

00:56:04.909 --> 00:56:07.230
with and God keeps bubbling it back up and then

00:56:07.230 --> 00:56:08.650
we're like, oh, I need to deal with this and

00:56:08.650 --> 00:56:10.190
then God blesses us and we're like, oh, we're

00:56:10.190 --> 00:56:13.380
good. And maybe it's bubbling back up right now

00:56:13.380 --> 00:56:15.019
and God's going, you need to deal with this.

00:56:18.260 --> 00:56:20.260
There's no condemnation, but that guilt you're

00:56:20.260 --> 00:56:23.820
experiencing is because I want to cleanse you

00:56:23.820 --> 00:56:25.920
of this, but you need to come to me and you need

00:56:25.920 --> 00:56:29.239
to stop hiding. You need to stop justifying.

00:56:29.260 --> 00:56:32.179
You need to stop trying to explain and just simply

00:56:32.179 --> 00:56:41.989
say, what can I say? I'm a sinner. And that's

00:56:41.989 --> 00:56:45.489
not to say, so no big deal. That's to say, God,

00:56:45.530 --> 00:56:47.650
I need you. I need you to cleanse me and heal

00:56:47.650 --> 00:56:49.289
me and forgive me. I need you to empower me.

00:56:49.349 --> 00:56:51.989
I need you to help me get away from this. God,

00:56:52.210 --> 00:56:54.409
I keep coming back to this thing and I keep making

00:56:54.409 --> 00:56:57.650
the same wrong decision. Lord, this time as I'm

00:56:57.650 --> 00:56:59.590
back at this thing and you've recreated the scenario,

00:56:59.750 --> 00:57:04.409
Lord, let me make the right decision, God, through

00:57:04.409 --> 00:57:06.070
dependence on you and the power of your Holy

00:57:06.070 --> 00:57:10.389
Spirit. And maybe that's what God has for you

00:57:10.389 --> 00:57:14.639
this morning. If He's speaking to you, respond

00:57:14.639 --> 00:57:22.960
to Him. Let's pray. Father, we're all guilty.

00:57:23.760 --> 00:57:30.599
We're all guilty sinners. Lord, Your Word's very

00:57:30.599 --> 00:57:34.539
clear about that. God, all of us can look back

00:57:34.539 --> 00:57:38.449
on the trail of devastation. Look at what our

00:57:38.449 --> 00:57:41.610
sinful decisions and our sinful natures and our

00:57:41.610 --> 00:57:44.829
sinful selfishness have caused, Lord. Not just

00:57:44.829 --> 00:57:50.590
us wrestling with our sin, but Lord, we've hurt

00:57:50.590 --> 00:57:57.710
people. We've caused people to live for years

00:57:57.710 --> 00:58:01.730
in grief and sorrow because we've wronged them

00:58:01.730 --> 00:58:04.289
somehow. And maybe we've lied to them and let

00:58:04.289 --> 00:58:11.300
them believe the lie. And yet, Lord, you've been

00:58:11.300 --> 00:58:13.559
stirring up the memory of those sins, bringing

00:58:13.559 --> 00:58:18.039
them back to the forefront, that we would finally

00:58:18.039 --> 00:58:22.380
come to the place of just saying, this isn't

00:58:22.380 --> 00:58:24.500
about the cup. This isn't about this particular

00:58:24.500 --> 00:58:26.639
situation. This is about the bigger picture.

00:58:28.559 --> 00:58:33.300
That I'm a sinner. And any good in me is only

00:58:33.300 --> 00:58:38.579
because, God, you live within me. And that, God,

00:58:38.599 --> 00:58:41.980
I need to be Wise and humble in recognizing that

00:58:41.980 --> 00:58:47.480
given the right circumstances, we would commit

00:58:47.480 --> 00:58:53.739
the most atrocious sins. And yet, Lord, you continually

00:58:53.739 --> 00:58:57.840
extend kindness to us. And you continually let

00:58:57.840 --> 00:59:00.920
situations happen, Lord, that we would step away

00:59:00.920 --> 00:59:03.460
from the false reality that, oh, we're actually

00:59:03.460 --> 00:59:09.090
really good people. Because, Lord, we're... We're

00:59:09.090 --> 00:59:14.210
broken. We need You. Lord, I pray for those that

00:59:14.210 --> 00:59:16.849
are in this room this morning or maybe watching

00:59:16.849 --> 00:59:23.230
online that have never come to You asking for

00:59:23.230 --> 00:59:25.329
the free gift of salvation that You offer to

00:59:25.329 --> 00:59:27.110
them. And maybe this morning, God, Your Holy

00:59:27.110 --> 00:59:31.570
Spirit has... You've put the finger on the pain.

00:59:35.090 --> 00:59:38.949
And they know that The guilt will never be dealt

00:59:38.949 --> 00:59:44.210
with unless something greater than them, greater

00:59:44.210 --> 00:59:48.750
than this universe, enters in to cleanse and

00:59:48.750 --> 00:59:53.630
wash and forgive. Lord, I pray for those right

00:59:53.630 --> 00:59:56.650
now that are thinking that, that need to receive

00:59:56.650 --> 00:59:59.969
you, Lord, that they would just say, Lord, God,

01:00:00.050 --> 01:00:06.079
I believe you. I've sinned against you. My sin

01:00:06.079 --> 01:00:12.360
has hurt people. And I can't hide it anymore.

01:00:12.480 --> 01:00:16.739
I can't pretend it's not there anymore. I'm guilty.

01:00:19.400 --> 01:00:22.280
I know I deserve the penalty, the punishment,

01:00:22.340 --> 01:00:27.239
the judgment for what I've done. But God, I want

01:00:27.239 --> 01:00:29.199
to believe in your word today and I come to you

01:00:29.199 --> 01:00:33.820
humbly, knowing I deserve nothing. But I ask

01:00:33.820 --> 01:00:39.139
you to forgive me. I ask you to give me grace

01:00:39.139 --> 01:00:44.039
and mercy. Lord, I ask you to give me a new heart,

01:00:44.119 --> 01:00:52.139
a new compassion, a new sense of what is right

01:00:52.139 --> 01:00:55.480
versus what is wrong, that I would live for you,

01:00:55.539 --> 01:01:05.659
God. I'm yours. Be my Lord. Be my Savior. And

01:01:05.659 --> 01:01:07.280
God, for those in this room that are believers,

01:01:07.380 --> 01:01:11.079
they know you, but like these brothers, they've

01:01:11.079 --> 01:01:13.380
just kind of tried to pretend sin didn't happen,

01:01:13.460 --> 01:01:17.559
God. We pray. Collectively, we say, God, please

01:01:17.559 --> 01:01:21.639
forgive us of our sin. Please forgive us for

01:01:21.639 --> 01:01:26.400
hiding our sin, ignoring our sin. Please forgive

01:01:26.400 --> 01:01:29.199
us for the sin of thinking that we're righteous

01:01:29.199 --> 01:01:33.769
when we're not. Lord, in and of ourselves, we

01:01:33.769 --> 01:01:36.329
are not righteous. Because we do good things,

01:01:36.469 --> 01:01:41.190
we are not righteous. Because we think we're

01:01:41.190 --> 01:01:43.829
good people, we're not righteous, Lord. We're

01:01:43.829 --> 01:01:49.190
sinners. And yet the great grace and mercy, God,

01:01:49.269 --> 01:01:52.989
that you've extended to us through your kindness

01:01:52.989 --> 01:01:57.130
is that we would just come to you and finally

01:01:57.130 --> 01:02:00.809
realize That all the little things that have

01:02:00.809 --> 01:02:02.869
been happening are just pointing us to the bigger

01:02:02.869 --> 01:02:04.909
reality that we have sin we need to deal with.

01:02:06.590 --> 01:02:12.130
And so God, we ask you forgive us. We ask that

01:02:12.130 --> 01:02:13.849
you would empower us by the power of your Holy

01:02:13.849 --> 01:02:15.750
Spirit to make the right decision this time.

01:02:16.969 --> 01:02:20.530
To make the godly decision this time. We thank

01:02:20.530 --> 01:02:22.510
you, Lord, for the second chance and the third

01:02:22.510 --> 01:02:26.150
chance and the hundredth chance. Because that

01:02:26.150 --> 01:02:30.239
is your grace. We thank you for the godly fear

01:02:30.239 --> 01:02:32.519
you put upon us and the worry and all of that,

01:02:32.559 --> 01:02:37.500
Lord, because it drives us to you. Please hold

01:02:37.500 --> 01:02:46.539
us. Please carry us. Please use us to spread

01:02:46.539 --> 01:02:49.119
the hope of what you have done in our lives to

01:02:49.119 --> 01:02:54.539
those who don't yet know it. God, we love you.

01:02:55.460 --> 01:02:59.760
And we thank you. and we trust you, and we put

01:02:59.760 --> 01:03:05.380
our faith in you. Help us to come to you, God,

01:03:05.539 --> 01:03:09.920
as the guilty, to come to you when we're guilty,

01:03:10.099 --> 01:03:13.940
to not stay away, Lord, as the enemy tries to

01:03:13.940 --> 01:03:17.960
get us to do, to not develop a defiance to your

01:03:17.960 --> 01:03:22.940
authority, Lord, but instead to be humble. To

01:03:22.940 --> 01:03:25.059
take ownership of our sin and accept the full

01:03:25.059 --> 01:03:28.539
responsibility for what we've done. And even

01:03:28.539 --> 01:03:33.079
knowing that we deserve every possible punishment

01:03:33.079 --> 01:03:37.739
for it. That we would appeal to what your word

01:03:37.739 --> 01:03:42.760
says. That we would be healed. That we would

01:03:42.760 --> 01:03:45.099
be saved. That we would be forgiven. Because

01:03:45.099 --> 01:03:48.000
you said you would do that. And we thank you,

01:03:48.039 --> 01:03:50.059
Lord, for all of that. We trust you in all of

01:03:50.059 --> 01:03:55.659
that. We love you. for all of that. Bless us,

01:03:55.679 --> 01:03:57.840
Lord, as your people. Bless us as your church.

01:03:59.800 --> 01:04:04.059
Bless us as a group of sinners who've come to

01:04:04.059 --> 01:04:06.260
know a holy and a righteous and a loving God.

01:04:08.380 --> 01:04:11.699
Bless us as a messed up people trying to live

01:04:11.699 --> 01:04:15.739
for you, God, that you would be glorified, that

01:04:15.739 --> 01:04:18.760
your name would be lifted high. that it would

01:04:18.760 --> 01:04:21.119
never be about us or our church or any of that.

01:04:21.159 --> 01:04:23.000
It would be about you in all things, God, because

01:04:23.000 --> 01:04:26.820
you are the lover of our souls. We thank you,

01:04:26.860 --> 01:04:31.420
God. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well,

01:04:31.440 --> 01:04:33.380
God bless you, church. I pray God blesses you

01:04:33.380 --> 01:04:37.780
this week and that the devil is bound and rebuked

01:04:37.780 --> 01:04:41.159
in the name of Jesus, that the guilt you have

01:04:41.159 --> 01:04:44.260
would be dealt with. that we would boldly and

01:04:44.260 --> 01:04:46.760
happily and confidently and fearfully run into

01:04:46.760 --> 01:04:50.739
the Lord's arms any time we have fallen, any

01:04:50.739 --> 01:04:53.380
time we have stumbled, and to receive the full

01:04:53.380 --> 01:04:55.679
gift of that loving embrace that he has for us

01:04:55.679 --> 01:04:58.400
every single time. Amen? God bless you guys.