WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.000 For our Bible study today, we're gonna be in 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:04.320 Genesis chapter 45 again, and we're gonna be 00:00:04.320 --> 00:00:08.359 talking about what God does when his people are 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:13.480 too wounded to believe in his promises. I don't 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:15.119 know if any of you have ever found yourself in 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:17.719 that type of situation, right? There's a certain 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:20.660 kind of pain that we could find ourselves in 00:00:20.660 --> 00:00:25.199 in our lives where we don't cry anymore. We don't... 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:30.100 rage anymore. We don't argue anymore. In many 00:00:30.100 --> 00:00:33.060 cases, we don't even pray much anymore because 00:00:33.060 --> 00:00:36.939 the pain has just gotten to be too much. It's 00:00:36.939 --> 00:00:41.799 a pain that goes numb, where you just don't feel 00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:44.520 anything. I call it an emotional flatline, where 00:00:44.520 --> 00:00:46.740 you're not happy, you're not sad, you're just 00:00:46.740 --> 00:00:51.380 numb. This is the kind of pain of deep depression, 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:54.740 which many of you know I've experienced myself 00:00:54.740 --> 00:00:57.939 with in itself is an ironic thing to say because 00:00:57.939 --> 00:01:02.759 it doesn't feel like anything. It's a hopelessness. 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:06.659 It's a giving up. And for Jacob, the patriarch 00:01:06.659 --> 00:01:11.239 of the nation of Israel, he had learned to live 00:01:11.239 --> 00:01:14.920 in this type of numbness for more than 20 years. 00:01:15.340 --> 00:01:18.939 By the time we come to Genesis 45, Jacob had 00:01:18.939 --> 00:01:22.719 lived thinking that his beloved son Joseph was 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:27.730 dead. He was told by Joseph's brothers that he 00:01:27.730 --> 00:01:31.750 must have got killed by some wild animal, and 00:01:31.750 --> 00:01:36.049 Joseph was just broken. Over time, the grief 00:01:36.049 --> 00:01:39.510 didn't go away. It just kind of settled in and 00:01:39.510 --> 00:01:42.909 became the norm. There's many of us that have 00:01:42.909 --> 00:01:46.030 been struggling with that or maybe living in 00:01:46.030 --> 00:01:48.250 that right now where the numbness is just how 00:01:48.250 --> 00:01:51.489 it is. You've just kind of accepted this is how 00:01:51.489 --> 00:01:54.629 it is. This is how it's always going to be. And 00:01:54.629 --> 00:01:58.870 this grief for Jacob's life, it shaped his expectations. 00:02:00.090 --> 00:02:05.030 It taught him what not to hope for. And he learned 00:02:05.030 --> 00:02:07.709 how to survive disappointment by keeping his 00:02:07.709 --> 00:02:11.870 heart very, very guarded. So as we come to our 00:02:11.870 --> 00:02:15.289 text today, this is the moment where Jacob's 00:02:15.289 --> 00:02:18.159 sons are going to stand before him. And say the 00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:22.580 words that he never expected to hear. That Joseph 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:27.460 is alive. He is alive. And as we get into the 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:29.860 story, we'll see that when that news hits him, 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:34.439 he doesn't rejoice. He doesn't shout. He doesn't 00:02:34.439 --> 00:02:38.259 respond really in any way at all. What the scripture 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:42.080 tells us is that he was stunned. He was stunned 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:46.360 because he didn't believe the brothers. And that 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:49.759 word stunned in the Hebrew literally means his 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:54.020 heart was numb. And we're going to talk about 00:02:54.020 --> 00:02:56.780 that. Why? Because sometimes the most frightening 00:02:56.780 --> 00:03:01.419 thing is not the bad news. When you're in the 00:03:01.419 --> 00:03:03.620 pits of pain, the most frightening thing could 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:07.020 sometimes be the possibility that there can actually 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:10.419 be joy again. The possibility that there could 00:03:10.419 --> 00:03:15.099 actually be hope again. Because like Jacob, That 00:03:15.099 --> 00:03:19.620 possibility was quite unbelievable. Genesis 45 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:22.620 ends in a very surprising order. We're going 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:27.280 to see the pattern with which God works when 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.379 people are too wounded to really believe in his 00:03:30.379 --> 00:03:32.199 promises. We're going to see that first comes 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:35.900 truth, then comes evidence, and finally comes 00:03:35.900 --> 00:03:39.939 belief on Jacob's part. What does God do when 00:03:39.939 --> 00:03:43.009 his people are too wounded? What does God do 00:03:43.009 --> 00:03:45.189 when his people are too hurt to believe in his 00:03:45.189 --> 00:03:49.169 promises, even though they know that those promises 00:03:49.169 --> 00:03:53.610 are unequivocally, undeniably true? Well, today's 00:03:53.610 --> 00:03:56.849 text is going to answer that question, not theoretically, 00:03:57.430 --> 00:04:01.250 not theologically, not abstractly, but very practically, 00:04:01.250 --> 00:04:05.150 because the greatest work of grace that I see 00:04:05.150 --> 00:04:07.569 throughout Scripture, the greatest work of grace 00:04:07.569 --> 00:04:11.389 becoming visible in someone's life, is something 00:04:11.389 --> 00:04:14.389 the Bible calls a revived spirit. And that's 00:04:14.389 --> 00:04:16.350 what we're going to be talking about today. But 00:04:16.350 --> 00:04:18.069 first, we're going to spend some time worshiping 00:04:18.069 --> 00:04:21.529 the Lord because he is worthy. And we don't do 00:04:21.529 --> 00:04:24.029 this just to set the table. We don't do this 00:04:24.029 --> 00:04:26.410 just to get ready for the Bible study. We don't 00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:28.389 do this because it's just that's the first thing 00:04:28.389 --> 00:04:31.250 you do at church. We do this because God is worthy, 00:04:31.389 --> 00:04:35.050 because he is glorious, he is almighty. We do 00:04:35.050 --> 00:04:36.889 this because of what he's done in our lives, 00:04:36.889 --> 00:04:40.550 saving our souls. blessing us past that walking 00:04:40.550 --> 00:04:46.829 with us being with us he is due the worship and 00:04:46.829 --> 00:04:48.449 so that's what we're going to do here for a moment 00:04:48.449 --> 00:04:50.430 before we get into the study if you guys will 00:04:50.430 --> 00:04:54.110 join me in prayer father we trust you god for 00:04:54.110 --> 00:04:58.649 all that you are and lord we love you lord you 00:04:58.649 --> 00:05:03.069 are so gracious and so overwhelming god you are 00:05:03.769 --> 00:05:06.730 Your infinite love and infinite kindness and 00:05:06.730 --> 00:05:11.910 infinite joy and infinite peace. God, You are 00:05:11.910 --> 00:05:18.029 everything. And Lord, You chose to create us 00:05:18.029 --> 00:05:21.730 in Your image. And then when we fell, Lord, You 00:05:21.730 --> 00:05:27.319 already had a plan to reconcile with us. And 00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:29.259 so, Lord, you gave us your word and you gave 00:05:29.259 --> 00:05:31.620 us the stories and the promises that you have 00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:33.800 made over the history of man, God, and those 00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:36.259 promises are true today just as they were when 00:05:36.259 --> 00:05:41.000 you said them. And yet, God, we are so easily 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:46.480 swayed to lose hope. We are so easily swayed 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:50.589 to... to accept that things are just gonna be 00:05:50.589 --> 00:05:53.529 terrible and that's our lot in life, even though 00:05:53.529 --> 00:05:55.870 we have your word and your promises, God. And 00:05:55.870 --> 00:05:58.350 I pray this morning that you would speak to us, 00:05:58.430 --> 00:06:00.290 God, as we've come to this point in the story 00:06:00.290 --> 00:06:03.990 where Jacob's hope becomes real in front of him. 00:06:04.449 --> 00:06:06.829 And Lord, it is such a beautiful picture of the 00:06:06.829 --> 00:06:09.449 work that you do in our lives, God, and even 00:06:09.449 --> 00:06:12.290 as believers, we find ourselves in our struggles 00:06:12.290 --> 00:06:17.220 to find ourselves losing hope. find ourselves 00:06:17.220 --> 00:06:19.740 feeling like we're just going to give up and 00:06:19.740 --> 00:06:22.519 stop believing, Lord. And that is not what you 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:24.480 want for us, God. And so I pray, Lord, for even 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:26.339 those in this room or watching, God, that are 00:06:26.339 --> 00:06:29.500 struggling, that are in that place, Lord, where 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:31.579 they have let the hopelessness just settle in, 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:33.259 even though they believe in your word, God. I 00:06:33.259 --> 00:06:34.899 pray that you would revive their spirit this 00:06:34.899 --> 00:06:38.019 morning, that the truth of who you are, the truth 00:06:38.019 --> 00:06:40.459 of your promises, the truth of the reality that 00:06:40.459 --> 00:06:44.870 we can't even see. would revive all our spirits, 00:06:44.970 --> 00:06:47.550 God, as we come back to the place of hope and 00:06:47.550 --> 00:06:51.250 joy and trust and faith. Lord, we want to worship 00:06:51.250 --> 00:06:55.589 you. We want to praise your holy name. We ask, 00:06:55.610 --> 00:06:57.949 God, that you would be blessed as we worship 00:06:57.949 --> 00:06:59.850 you today, Lord, and we ask that you would bless 00:06:59.850 --> 00:07:03.050 us through your word. We love you so much, and 00:07:03.050 --> 00:07:05.069 we thank you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 00:07:05.810 --> 00:07:08.310 We are in Genesis chapter 45. We're going to 00:07:08.310 --> 00:07:12.089 be looking at verses 16 through 28 this morning. 00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:16.000 Last week, we looked at the first 15 verses, 00:07:16.040 --> 00:07:19.680 and this was where Joseph had finally revealed 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:22.800 himself to his brothers, right? The big moment. 00:07:22.860 --> 00:07:27.620 They had come before him guilty. They realized 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:30.639 that their guilt wasn't just a guilt because 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:33.139 they got caught with this silver cup. If you 00:07:33.139 --> 00:07:34.339 don't know what I'm talking about, go back and 00:07:34.339 --> 00:07:36.889 read the previous chapters. But their guilt was 00:07:36.889 --> 00:07:38.769 they realized they were guilty men. They realized 00:07:38.769 --> 00:07:40.730 that they were sinners before God, that just 00:07:40.730 --> 00:07:44.529 in a general sense, they were guilty. And so 00:07:44.529 --> 00:07:47.829 Judah confessed on behalf of the brothers. Part 00:07:47.829 --> 00:07:50.870 of that confession was them accepting that, yeah, 00:07:50.889 --> 00:07:53.529 we deserve punishment, and the punishment is 00:07:53.529 --> 00:07:56.990 just, and it is due, and we accept that in full. 00:07:57.980 --> 00:08:00.420 But that is exactly what demonstrated that they 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:03.779 were in the place to receive grace and mercy 00:08:03.779 --> 00:08:06.199 and forgiveness because that's what Joseph wanted 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:09.300 to extend to them the whole time. And so he... 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:12.279 broke down in tears. The moment was finally there 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:14.879 where he was able to have a reconciled relationship 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:17.660 with his brothers that he loved and just wanted 00:08:17.660 --> 00:08:20.319 to lavish them with grace. And so there was tears 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:23.420 and hugs and forgiveness and reconciliation, 00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:27.300 right? Unity was restored. Fellowship was restored. 00:08:27.720 --> 00:08:29.759 And then we get to the next scene where we're 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:32.379 going to pick it up today in verse 16. That opens 00:08:32.379 --> 00:08:35.659 with Pharaoh himself. Pharaoh, who was the only 00:08:35.659 --> 00:08:39.070 man more powerful, the only man with more more 00:08:39.070 --> 00:08:43.149 authority in the very powerful empire of Egypt 00:08:43.149 --> 00:08:46.669 than Joseph. Pharaoh was a man who was thought 00:08:46.669 --> 00:08:50.450 by the people to be a god himself, and yet this 00:08:50.450 --> 00:08:54.149 particular Pharaoh is a man who had come to trust 00:08:54.149 --> 00:08:57.809 in Joseph and Joseph's God. And so we pick it 00:08:57.809 --> 00:09:00.149 up here in verse 16. It says, when the news reached 00:09:00.149 --> 00:09:03.789 Pharaoh's palace, Joseph's brothers have come. 00:09:04.370 --> 00:09:08.830 Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. This is 00:09:08.830 --> 00:09:12.610 a remarkable detail because throughout Genesis 00:09:12.610 --> 00:09:16.149 and in ancient history, foreign kings... were 00:09:16.149 --> 00:09:18.450 usually very threatened by the covenant family. 00:09:18.610 --> 00:09:20.830 They were very threatened by Israel. They were 00:09:20.830 --> 00:09:23.610 threatened by who they were and what they represented. 00:09:23.809 --> 00:09:27.210 And so it's just a notable thing here that Pharaoh 00:09:27.210 --> 00:09:30.490 was pleased. He was excited to hear that Joseph's 00:09:30.490 --> 00:09:33.730 family had come upon the scene. And this just 00:09:33.730 --> 00:09:36.750 kind of fulfills prophecy that God had given 00:09:36.750 --> 00:09:40.480 in Genesis 12, verse 3. When he told Abraham, 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:43.720 or Abram at the time, that nations would bless 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:47.759 his descendants. And so here we have one of, 00:09:47.820 --> 00:09:50.480 if not the most powerful empire on the planet 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:53.960 at that time in a place to say, we want to bless 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:57.200 these people, Israel. And so verse 17, Pharaoh 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:00.559 said to Joseph, tell your brothers, do this. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:03.720 Load your animals and go back to the land of 00:10:03.720 --> 00:10:06.419 Canaan. Get your father and your families and 00:10:06.419 --> 00:10:09.929 come back to me. I will give you the best of 00:10:09.929 --> 00:10:12.509 the land of Egypt and you can eat from the richness 00:10:12.509 --> 00:10:15.990 of the land. You're also commanded to tell them, 00:10:16.029 --> 00:10:19.330 do this. Take wagons from the land of Egypt for 00:10:19.330 --> 00:10:21.470 your dependents and your wives and bring your 00:10:21.470 --> 00:10:25.009 father here. Do not be concerned about your belongings 00:10:25.009 --> 00:10:28.570 for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours. 00:10:30.360 --> 00:10:33.440 Again, impressive thing to be said from Pharaoh 00:10:33.440 --> 00:10:36.860 regarding the children of Israel. He's like, 00:10:36.899 --> 00:10:38.779 look, Joseph, give your brothers everything they 00:10:38.779 --> 00:10:41.940 need. Tell them to go home and bring everybody 00:10:41.940 --> 00:10:45.379 back. Right? Bring them all here. Come back here 00:10:45.379 --> 00:10:48.159 to dwell in the richness of the land. And that 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:50.679 word richness is meant to give us a contrast. 00:10:50.940 --> 00:10:53.200 The word in the Hebrew really means abundance, 00:10:53.539 --> 00:10:57.100 right? And the contrast here is the opposite 00:10:57.100 --> 00:11:00.059 of what they had been living in in the land of 00:11:00.059 --> 00:11:03.059 Canaan, right? Jacob and his family, they're 00:11:03.059 --> 00:11:04.779 there in the land of Canaan. It's supposed to 00:11:04.779 --> 00:11:07.299 be the promised land. This is the place where 00:11:07.299 --> 00:11:09.779 God has called us, and yet there's famine there. 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:13.559 There's famine. There's nothing. And sometimes 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:16.279 God will allow that type of stuff to happen in 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:18.679 our lives to mold us and to shape us. But it 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:20.940 can be a very difficult time because then you 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:22.960 have all the unbelievers around you going, oh, 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:24.960 I thought you're supposed to be the Christian. 00:11:25.139 --> 00:11:26.879 I thought things were supposed to be a blessing. 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:28.559 I thought God's supposed to take care of you, 00:11:28.580 --> 00:11:31.139 right? What's up with the famine? You're just 00:11:31.139 --> 00:11:34.059 like us. God isn't real. And all this stuff. 00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:35.580 And we're going to see later on in the story 00:11:35.580 --> 00:11:38.659 how God answers that. But for the family itself, 00:11:38.940 --> 00:11:43.850 it's like, everything is about to shift. It's 00:11:43.850 --> 00:11:45.870 interesting that Pharaoh says, tell them don't 00:11:45.870 --> 00:11:48.769 worry about their belongings. Leave everything 00:11:48.769 --> 00:11:52.470 behind, right? You are about to go from the place 00:11:52.470 --> 00:11:56.330 of lack to the place of blessing, abundance. 00:11:57.610 --> 00:12:01.269 And when God works in our lives to bring us from 00:12:01.269 --> 00:12:06.169 the worldly place, the worldly state, even our 00:12:06.169 --> 00:12:07.909 times where we're like, God, I'm just following 00:12:07.909 --> 00:12:10.789 you, but I'm in lack right now. When he brings 00:12:10.789 --> 00:12:14.789 us to that place of abundance, it's often leave 00:12:14.789 --> 00:12:17.740 everything behind. Leave all of your ways behind. 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:19.840 Leave all the stuff you've depended on behind, 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:22.179 right? Pharaoh's like, we don't need your ratty 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:24.340 shepherd clothes here in Egypt. I got new clothes 00:12:24.340 --> 00:12:26.740 for you. I got new stuff for you. Like, this 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:29.100 is a place where the richness of the land is 00:12:29.100 --> 00:12:33.320 yours. And that's just a picture of even the 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:35.559 relationship we have with God when we say, okay, 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:39.519 God, I'm just, I'm committing to you. You are 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:41.259 my God. You are my everything. I'm going to trust 00:12:41.259 --> 00:12:45.539 you. God says, come. Come into this place of 00:12:45.539 --> 00:12:47.519 provision I have for you. Come into this place 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.820 where I'm going to provide all the needs in your 00:12:49.820 --> 00:12:52.779 life. And this is emotionally and spiritually 00:12:52.779 --> 00:12:56.700 and it could be financially, but he says leave 00:12:56.700 --> 00:12:59.279 that stuff behind. You don't need those old things 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:03.779 to come with you. Now, although Egypt is not 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:07.340 the promised land, it is the place of preservation 00:13:07.340 --> 00:13:11.509 for Israel. And really, you know, we here on 00:13:11.509 --> 00:13:14.889 this earth, we are in a place of preservation 00:13:14.889 --> 00:13:18.350 as God's people. That we know the promised land 00:13:18.350 --> 00:13:20.629 metaphorically is waiting for us, heaven, a real 00:13:20.629 --> 00:13:24.730 place of perfection and paradise. But here is 00:13:24.730 --> 00:13:26.669 a place of preservation where we have to say, 00:13:26.730 --> 00:13:30.200 God, I just, I got to trust you. And I got to 00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:32.120 trust you with wherever I'm at. I got to trust 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:34.659 you with where I'm at. And I want to live your 00:13:34.659 --> 00:13:36.840 ways. I want to follow what you want. And so 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:39.639 let me do things your way in accordance to your 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:42.399 will. So he's like, come on, tell him to come 00:13:42.399 --> 00:13:45.240 down. And this is, again, all in fulfillment 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:49.059 of prophecy. Back in Genesis chapter 15, verse 00:13:49.059 --> 00:13:54.279 13 and 14, it says, the Lord said to Abram, know 00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:56.799 this for certain. Your offspring will be resident 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:00.159 aliens for 400 years in a land that does not 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:06.039 belong to them. You see, Jacob's sons, Jacob, 00:14:06.259 --> 00:14:09.419 Isaac, everybody all the way back to Abraham, 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:15.179 knew that one day they were going to end up in 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:18.179 a foreign land, resident aliens for 400 years. 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:22.019 They should have been waiting for this. They 00:14:22.019 --> 00:14:24.399 should have been expecting this. But over the 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:27.799 years, this seems to be something that was just 00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:31.820 out of their mind. God spoke this to Abraham 00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:35.519 two centuries before the events we're looking 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:38.840 at right now in Genesis 45. 200 years before 00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:43.179 this promise was made. And that tells us something, 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:48.580 that if we find ourselves in difficult places, 00:14:49.259 --> 00:14:52.039 right because again remember jacob is back in 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:56.000 the land of canaan right now still full of grief 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:02.299 still without hope still lamenting his dead son 00:15:02.299 --> 00:15:05.559 joseph and then it's very possible that at this 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:08.519 point he's going i probably lost benjamin too 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:10.840 i shouldn't let him go with the with with the 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:13.919 other brothers and he's in this place of deep 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:17.419 despair and and he's god's person he knows the 00:15:17.419 --> 00:15:20.990 lord But at the same time, there's this place 00:15:20.990 --> 00:15:23.289 in Jacob that we're going to get to in a moment 00:15:23.289 --> 00:15:26.490 where he's not really trusting and believing 00:15:26.490 --> 00:15:29.470 in God's word and promises anymore. Or at least 00:15:29.470 --> 00:15:31.710 he's found it very difficult to do so because 00:15:31.710 --> 00:15:34.149 he's learned to live with grief and he's learned 00:15:34.149 --> 00:15:37.850 to live with just it's bad and this is the way 00:15:37.850 --> 00:15:42.629 things are. And yet what we see here is a reminder 00:15:42.629 --> 00:15:45.370 that God's promises were far older than Israel's 00:15:45.370 --> 00:15:50.129 pain. The pain that Jacob, who is Israel, who 00:15:50.129 --> 00:15:52.250 found himself in in this period of his life for 00:15:52.250 --> 00:15:54.470 the last 22 years thinking his favorite son is 00:15:54.470 --> 00:15:57.629 dead, God's promises were way older than that. 00:15:58.169 --> 00:16:00.409 And the same thing applies in our lives today. 00:16:01.470 --> 00:16:05.470 We will find ourselves in situations of difficulty, 00:16:05.769 --> 00:16:08.769 situations of pain, situations that maybe have 00:16:08.769 --> 00:16:11.799 gone on long enough where we've... found it more 00:16:11.799 --> 00:16:14.200 and more difficult to believe in God's promises, 00:16:14.259 --> 00:16:16.019 even though we go, yeah, I know it's God's word 00:16:16.019 --> 00:16:18.779 and it's true, but it's hard to trust in that 00:16:18.779 --> 00:16:22.740 because things have been going wrong for so long. 00:16:23.700 --> 00:16:26.360 But we can't forget that God's promises to us 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:28.879 as his children are far older than our situation. 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:32.259 They're far older than the difficulty we're finding 00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:34.539 ourselves in. They're far older than that season 00:16:34.539 --> 00:16:37.120 we're in right now. And God's plan for Jacob, 00:16:37.179 --> 00:16:41.519 it was already in motion. before they even felt 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:45.840 the pain of the famine. God's plan was in motion 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:47.759 from the very beginning to provide for them, 00:16:47.799 --> 00:16:49.659 to take care of them, to bless them, to mold 00:16:49.659 --> 00:16:51.940 them, and to shape them. And it's the same for 00:16:51.940 --> 00:16:55.460 us today. It is the same for us today. God here 00:16:55.460 --> 00:16:58.340 is fulfilling ancient promises through what are 00:16:58.340 --> 00:17:00.940 the ordinary events of life, right? A famine. 00:17:01.019 --> 00:17:04.940 It happens, and bad stuff. But God is working, 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:08.089 and we can't forget that. That's one of the things 00:17:08.089 --> 00:17:10.309 that the devil tries to get us to forget as we 00:17:10.309 --> 00:17:12.670 go through seasons of difficulty and pain because 00:17:12.670 --> 00:17:15.970 if we forget that God made promises and God cannot 00:17:15.970 --> 00:17:18.349 lie and God's promises will be fulfilled, if 00:17:18.349 --> 00:17:21.609 we forget that, then we will look at our current 00:17:21.609 --> 00:17:25.930 circumstances and go, woe is me. Life is terrible. 00:17:26.789 --> 00:17:29.250 Everything is hopeless. That's just the way it 00:17:29.250 --> 00:17:33.829 is. Now, For some of us, it's like, okay, we 00:17:33.829 --> 00:17:36.109 find ourselves in situations and we're struggling 00:17:36.109 --> 00:17:39.170 to have faith, but then the bad situation lasts 00:17:39.170 --> 00:17:42.849 a year. Well, what happens when it lasts five 00:17:42.849 --> 00:17:47.690 years? What happens when it lasts 10 years? What 00:17:47.690 --> 00:17:50.130 happens when it lasts 22 years as we come to 00:17:50.130 --> 00:17:53.730 the life of Jacob here in Genesis 45? It gets 00:17:53.730 --> 00:17:55.950 harder and harder to hang on to those truths, 00:17:56.049 --> 00:17:59.450 but we can't let them go because God's promises 00:17:59.450 --> 00:18:04.549 are true. Always, no matter what. So verse 21, 00:18:04.710 --> 00:18:08.029 back in Genesis 45, it says, the sons of Israel 00:18:08.029 --> 00:18:11.029 did this. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh 00:18:11.029 --> 00:18:13.750 had commanded, and he gave them provisions for 00:18:13.750 --> 00:18:16.109 the journey. He gave each of the brothers changes 00:18:16.109 --> 00:18:19.069 of clothes, but he gave Benjamin 300 pieces of 00:18:19.069 --> 00:18:22.230 silver and five changes of clothes. He sent his 00:18:22.230 --> 00:18:24.990 father the following. Ten donkeys carrying the 00:18:24.990 --> 00:18:27.250 best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys 00:18:27.250 --> 00:18:29.910 carrying grain and food and provisions for his 00:18:29.910 --> 00:18:33.829 father on the journey. Now we see Joseph here, 00:18:33.990 --> 00:18:37.630 you know, he is number two, so he obeys Pharaoh's 00:18:37.630 --> 00:18:40.190 commands quite precisely, but then he adds a 00:18:40.190 --> 00:18:42.529 little bit of his own generosity to the mix here. 00:18:42.690 --> 00:18:45.289 But the real weight of the message here centers 00:18:45.289 --> 00:18:48.109 around that word wagons, right? The title of 00:18:48.109 --> 00:18:50.269 this study is When the Wagons Arrive, because 00:18:50.269 --> 00:18:53.930 the wagons have a big part of this story and 00:18:53.930 --> 00:18:58.240 how God ministers to Jacob. In the place where 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:00.500 Jacob is so wounded, he finds it difficult to 00:19:00.500 --> 00:19:03.039 believe in God's promises. Now, that word wagons 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:05.339 there in the Hebrew, it's agalot. It's the first 00:19:05.339 --> 00:19:08.519 time this word appears in the patriarchal narratives. 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:11.460 And, you know, just thinking about it, in the 00:19:11.460 --> 00:19:13.700 land of Canaan, when people traveled from place 00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:16.980 to place, they would typically walk. right? People 00:19:16.980 --> 00:19:19.759 walked everywhere. You know, like today, everybody 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:22.440 has a car. And if you don't have a car, it's 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:23.940 like, what's wrong with you? Get an e -scooter 00:19:23.940 --> 00:19:26.539 or something. But in those days, no e -scooters, 00:19:26.539 --> 00:19:29.240 no nothing. It's just you walked. And people, 00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:32.339 especially the children of Israel who were shepherds, 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:35.920 would walk to, you know, guide and guard the 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:41.680 herds. But in Egypt, they had wagons. And that 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:46.549 represented advanced technology. That represented 00:19:46.549 --> 00:19:51.349 wealth. That represented like royal authority. 00:19:51.430 --> 00:19:54.849 Like the only people that had wagons in this 00:19:54.849 --> 00:19:59.349 time were the rich and the famous and the powerful. 00:19:59.490 --> 00:20:02.769 And so the wagons, as we get into the story, 00:20:02.990 --> 00:20:07.450 they're not just practical transportation. They're 00:20:07.450 --> 00:20:10.789 meant to be evidence. Evidence that God is going 00:20:10.789 --> 00:20:13.289 to use to help Jacob come back to his place of 00:20:13.289 --> 00:20:17.839 belief. Now, there are evidence of Joseph's authority, 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:20.480 there are evidence of Joseph's goodwill, but 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:22.180 the important thing I want you to notice here 00:20:22.180 --> 00:20:24.839 is that these wagons are a part of the story 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:30.460 before Jacob has heard a single word about Joseph 00:20:30.460 --> 00:20:33.420 being alive and the blessing and the abundance 00:20:33.420 --> 00:20:37.420 that God has set up for them. Jacob's still over 00:20:37.420 --> 00:20:41.250 here, poor me, and the world's terrible. And 00:20:41.250 --> 00:20:44.190 it's been 22 years. And my favorite son is dead. 00:20:44.450 --> 00:20:46.490 And I'm worried my second favorite son is going 00:20:46.490 --> 00:20:49.569 to be dead. And woe is me, woe is me. And like 00:20:49.569 --> 00:20:51.769 I said, people around him in the land of Canaan, 00:20:51.789 --> 00:20:53.589 hey, you're supposed to be God's person. Isn't 00:20:53.589 --> 00:20:55.190 this the promised land? What's up with the no 00:20:55.190 --> 00:21:01.130 food? And yet over here, God is setting up something 00:21:01.130 --> 00:21:03.950 that is going to change his life. Now, as he 00:21:03.950 --> 00:21:06.250 sends him out, he says he gives each of the brothers 00:21:06.250 --> 00:21:10.210 changes of clothes. Clothing has... kind of marked 00:21:10.210 --> 00:21:13.390 every point of Joseph's journey, right? In the 00:21:13.390 --> 00:21:15.470 very beginning of his story, when he was 17, 00:21:15.769 --> 00:21:18.930 we read how he was given that robe of many colors, 00:21:19.049 --> 00:21:21.910 that robe that represented the favoritism from 00:21:21.910 --> 00:21:24.809 his father, but what that robe was was a mark 00:21:24.809 --> 00:21:29.589 of rejection, as it was the very thing that symbolized 00:21:29.589 --> 00:21:32.490 how much the brothers hated him, and they ripped 00:21:32.490 --> 00:21:35.500 it off of him. But then later on in the story, 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:37.960 when we read about him going to prison, it specifically 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:40.660 tells us in the word that he was then given prison 00:21:40.660 --> 00:21:44.539 clothes. Why? Because that was the moment of 00:21:44.539 --> 00:21:47.900 his life where he was experiencing humiliation. 00:21:49.460 --> 00:21:52.380 God was taking this innocent man and humbling 00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:54.980 him down into prison and saying, How are you 00:21:54.980 --> 00:21:57.440 going to respond to that as my person, right? 00:21:57.539 --> 00:21:59.619 The mark of humiliation. And then when he was 00:21:59.619 --> 00:22:01.740 finally risen out of prison, he was given Egyptian 00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:04.279 clothing, and that was the mark of his exaltation, 00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:07.420 being raised up. And so now we see him giving 00:22:07.420 --> 00:22:09.779 clothes to his brother, and it's the mark of 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:13.359 reconciliation. You see, throughout the Bible, 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:17.559 clothing is often used as this symbolic picture 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:21.680 of getting a new identity, having a new loyalty, 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:26.039 having a new destiny. In Revelation, we see that 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:29.460 the believers are giving new white robes of righteousness, 00:22:29.960 --> 00:22:32.960 right? And that picture is that you are cleansed, 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:36.720 the stain of sin is gone, that it shows who belongs 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:39.900 to the Lamb and who is endured and who is ready 00:22:39.900 --> 00:22:42.119 to dwell in his presence. And that's what this 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:45.259 clothing represents for the brothers. I'm sure 00:22:45.259 --> 00:22:47.579 there was a practical application, like, you 00:22:47.579 --> 00:22:49.500 guys stink like sheep, let's change your clothes, 00:22:49.619 --> 00:22:52.849 right? but it was more than that. It was, I'm 00:22:52.849 --> 00:22:55.769 sending you back home to dad to get the family, 00:22:55.849 --> 00:23:00.269 and you guys have confessed, and you've repented, 00:23:00.309 --> 00:23:03.650 and you've accepted the judgment that is due, 00:23:03.849 --> 00:23:06.329 and that just created the moment where I could 00:23:06.329 --> 00:23:09.289 say, no, I love you. It's me, Joseph. Let me 00:23:09.289 --> 00:23:11.930 lavish grace upon you, and we're all good, and 00:23:11.930 --> 00:23:14.789 all is forgiven, and they're new people. They 00:23:14.789 --> 00:23:17.380 are new men. They have had a change of heart, 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:20.240 a change of life, and that's what this all pictures 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:24.299 for them. Now, Ben, it tells us, Benjamin, he 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:28.220 gets more. And, you know, there's still no jealousy 00:23:28.220 --> 00:23:30.000 from the brothers. Like, why does he get silver 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.940 and more clothes, you know? Why does he get extra? 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:38.279 It's just Ben is still practically the favored 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:40.519 son of the family. But I think more practically, 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:42.990 it's like Joseph. is like, you guys are all my 00:23:42.990 --> 00:23:44.890 brothers, but Benjamin's like my blood brother, 00:23:45.009 --> 00:23:49.289 right? And so he blesses him even more, but again, 00:23:49.390 --> 00:23:52.730 the whole picture here is that grace has done 00:23:52.730 --> 00:23:57.950 what fear never could, right? Fear doesn't necessarily 00:23:57.950 --> 00:24:03.759 change us. Grace changes us. You know, when they 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:06.359 stood before Joseph and they knew they were guilty 00:24:06.359 --> 00:24:07.920 and they were afraid, we're going to get killed, 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:10.500 we're going to be executed. There was a recognition 00:24:10.500 --> 00:24:15.539 of, okay. But what's going to radically shift 00:24:15.539 --> 00:24:17.680 their life was the grace that was lavished upon 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:20.259 them. Not only did they not get execution, what 00:24:20.259 --> 00:24:26.200 they got was new clothes and abundance and salvation. 00:24:27.980 --> 00:24:30.400 And so on top of that, he sends all these donkeys 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:33.720 loaded up with goods for his dad. It's very interesting. 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:36.779 It specifically says 10 male donkeys and 10 female 00:24:36.779 --> 00:24:39.799 donkeys. In the Old Testament, the number 10 00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:43.259 often functions as representing something that 00:24:43.259 --> 00:24:49.220 is complete or total or like sufficient for the 00:24:49.220 --> 00:24:52.680 task or a sufficient amount of something. The 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:55.160 idea is that this isn't a simple gift. It's not 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:59.400 a token gift. This is like a royal scale gift 00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:03.819 to his dad. It's lavish. It's abundant. It's 00:25:03.819 --> 00:25:06.960 beyond understanding here. And the whole idea 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:09.460 was that Joseph wants to honor his father. He 00:25:09.460 --> 00:25:12.440 wants to honor who his father is and all of that. 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:14.660 And this whole reconciliation, he's like, not 00:25:14.660 --> 00:25:16.559 only do I want you to know I'm alive, I just 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:18.240 want to bless you and the family. I want to take 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:21.339 care of you guys. And so 20 donkeys, that would 00:25:21.339 --> 00:25:24.900 be a caravan that would be hard to miss. Right? 00:25:25.019 --> 00:25:27.640 Here we are going through the promised land. 00:25:28.599 --> 00:25:30.660 All these people are like, Joseph, where's your 00:25:30.660 --> 00:25:36.559 God now? You're starving just like us. Where 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:40.839 are those 20 donkeys coming from? They're loaded 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:45.140 up with stuff. That's riches. Look how much grain 00:25:45.140 --> 00:25:49.420 is on those things. What is going on there? He's, 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:56.299 like I said, honoring his father. there's likely 00:25:56.299 --> 00:26:00.000 a shame that had come upon his father because 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.940 of the famine. The shame of where is God and 00:26:04.940 --> 00:26:06.980 what is God doing? And now God is showing up 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:09.359 to say, hey, you know, I'm going to show all 00:26:09.359 --> 00:26:12.680 the people that I am God and this is my land 00:26:12.680 --> 00:26:15.900 and I am blessing you. But there's also a contrast 00:26:15.900 --> 00:26:20.579 here because where Jacob once sent down ten sons 00:26:20.579 --> 00:26:26.630 to go to Egypt to buy food, He sent 10 sons down 00:26:26.630 --> 00:26:30.869 to Egypt seeking salvation. Joseph now sends 00:26:30.869 --> 00:26:34.569 back two sets of 10, not in judgment, but in 00:26:34.569 --> 00:26:38.029 generosity. And again, I just see the picture 00:26:38.029 --> 00:26:42.369 of salvation, right? We come to God. God draws 00:26:42.369 --> 00:26:44.369 us to him, and we finally realize I'm a guilty 00:26:44.369 --> 00:26:46.609 sinner. I've sinned. I've broken God's law. I've 00:26:46.609 --> 00:26:50.009 lied. I've coveted. I've done all these things. 00:26:51.960 --> 00:26:57.599 God, please forgive me. And then he doesn't just 00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:00.660 respond in kind and say, great, I'm going to 00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:03.019 forgive you of the sin. I'm going to pardon you 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:07.299 of the guilt. Have a nice life. He then adds 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:11.019 on top of that the grace of abundance. You're 00:27:11.019 --> 00:27:14.759 in my family. You're my child. I didn't just 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:17.259 say, great, you're not guilty anymore. I brought 00:27:17.259 --> 00:27:21.980 you in to the riches of my household. And know 00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:24.140 that and believe that, and that's a picture that 00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:26.680 we see here, that this family that went down 00:27:26.680 --> 00:27:29.779 to Egypt in humble, anxious pleading for life 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:33.779 are now coming back with overflowing abundance 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:37.900 and grace. And again, the message to us, you 00:27:37.900 --> 00:27:41.539 know, the famines in our lives don't have the 00:27:41.539 --> 00:27:46.339 final word. The famine did not have the final 00:27:46.339 --> 00:27:50.220 word over the household of Jacob. And your famine 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:52.400 that you're going through does not have the final 00:27:52.400 --> 00:27:57.859 word. The wagons are coming. They're on their 00:27:57.859 --> 00:28:01.039 way. When they're going to get there, I can't 00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:03.960 tell you. I wish I could, but I can't tell you. 00:28:04.859 --> 00:28:06.720 And some of you might have been like, I've been 00:28:06.720 --> 00:28:09.299 waiting 22 years. When are the wagons getting 00:28:09.299 --> 00:28:12.259 here? Jacob could have asked that same question. 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:16.599 And as far as Jacob knows, he's still going, 00:28:16.680 --> 00:28:19.960 they're never going to show up. And yet they're 00:28:19.960 --> 00:28:26.059 on their way. Verse 24. So Joseph sent his brothers 00:28:26.059 --> 00:28:28.640 on their way, and as they were leaving, he said 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:34.000 to them, don't argue on the way. That's wisdom 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:37.819 right there, right? Argue, ragaz in Hebrew. It 00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:42.420 means to stir up, to erupt emotionally, to tremble 00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:47.819 with agitation. You see, Joseph knows that their 00:28:47.819 --> 00:28:53.049 repentance is real. but it's fragile. He also 00:28:53.049 --> 00:28:57.210 knows that the reconciliation is fragile. And 00:28:57.210 --> 00:29:01.369 we have to guard these things, right? I mean, 00:29:01.390 --> 00:29:03.250 I could imagine on the way back in their new 00:29:03.250 --> 00:29:06.150 clothes loaded up with all this stuff, maybe 00:29:06.150 --> 00:29:08.190 they're sensing that, gosh, we don't deserve 00:29:08.190 --> 00:29:11.690 this. You know, this is too much. And then maybe 00:29:11.690 --> 00:29:16.150 Reuben, like, well, I don't even want to kill 00:29:16.150 --> 00:29:18.569 him. That was your guys' stupid idea. I was trying 00:29:18.569 --> 00:29:20.390 to save him and get him back to dad. And Judah's 00:29:20.390 --> 00:29:22.609 like, well, at least I sold him into slavery. 00:29:22.849 --> 00:29:24.769 Yeah, that was great, Judah. Let's sell our brother 00:29:24.769 --> 00:29:26.410 into slavery. And then the whole thing falls 00:29:26.410 --> 00:29:32.109 apart. That's what the devil does. We have to 00:29:32.109 --> 00:29:35.930 guard the reconciliations that God works in our 00:29:35.930 --> 00:29:38.890 life. We have to make the choice to do the right 00:29:38.890 --> 00:29:40.710 and godly thing and then continue to make the 00:29:40.710 --> 00:29:44.809 choice to do the right and godly thing. That's 00:29:44.809 --> 00:29:47.690 why forgiveness is such a powerful thing when 00:29:47.690 --> 00:29:50.049 handled biblically. Forgiveness means it's done. 00:29:50.589 --> 00:29:53.490 I no longer hold it against you. You know what 00:29:53.490 --> 00:29:56.910 that means? Don't bring it up. Don't throw it 00:29:56.910 --> 00:30:01.130 back in their face. This is a tough one in relationships. 00:30:03.869 --> 00:30:06.490 I've had opportunity in counseling couples and 00:30:06.490 --> 00:30:08.769 stuff, and sometimes there's the, well, they 00:30:08.769 --> 00:30:10.569 did this and this and this, and we work through 00:30:10.569 --> 00:30:14.200 that and say, have you forgiven them? Yeah. And 00:30:14.200 --> 00:30:15.660 then five minutes later in the conversation, 00:30:15.940 --> 00:30:17.599 well, they did da -da -da -da -da. I'm like, 00:30:17.640 --> 00:30:21.660 whoa, I thought you forgave them. Well, I did. 00:30:22.180 --> 00:30:24.920 No, you didn't. Because you're still holding 00:30:24.920 --> 00:30:27.960 it against them. You're still irritated and agitated, 00:30:27.960 --> 00:30:30.220 and you still want to throw it back into the 00:30:30.220 --> 00:30:34.720 face. Imagine if God did that to us, how it would 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:38.359 wreck our relationship with him. God, I'm so 00:30:38.359 --> 00:30:41.339 glad you forgave me. And you just, you know, 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:44.220 I lied to you, and Lord, your blood washed it 00:30:44.220 --> 00:30:46.420 away, and then the next time you're in a situation, 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:47.960 God's like, what, you're going to lie to me again? 00:30:48.759 --> 00:30:51.500 Just like you did last time? You know, it's like, 00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:56.160 whoa. How graceful is that? That's not graceful 00:30:56.160 --> 00:30:59.279 at all. That's why the Bible tells us when God 00:30:59.279 --> 00:31:01.559 forgives us, the memory of the sin is as far 00:31:01.559 --> 00:31:06.140 as the east is from the west. Think about that. 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:08.579 God, I'm so sorry I lied again. What do you mean? 00:31:09.940 --> 00:31:16.660 lied again. What? I'm a liar, Lord. And through 00:31:16.660 --> 00:31:20.819 the blood of Christ, no, you're not. You're my 00:31:20.819 --> 00:31:23.039 child. You're forgiven. You're washed clean. 00:31:24.339 --> 00:31:27.839 Wow. Try to live under that, right? God, how 00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:30.900 can I just, oh, let me live under your grace 00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:35.000 that way. Because when God forgives, it's gone. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:39.259 He's not carrying it, so we shouldn't carry it. 00:31:39.690 --> 00:31:42.369 And so what we see here is just don't argue, 00:31:42.430 --> 00:31:44.410 guys. Don't let those old habits come back up. 00:31:44.470 --> 00:31:47.869 Don't let those old patterns, you know, surface 00:31:47.869 --> 00:31:50.049 back up in your life. You're different people. 00:31:50.289 --> 00:31:56.210 Now live like it. Verse 25. So they went up from 00:31:56.210 --> 00:31:59.130 Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land 00:31:59.130 --> 00:32:02.470 of Canaan. They said, Joseph is still alive. 00:32:03.210 --> 00:32:07.930 And he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. Jacob 00:32:07.930 --> 00:32:12.940 was stunned. for he did not believe them. Well, 00:32:13.039 --> 00:32:23.339 of course, Dad, look at our sweet clothes. Look 00:32:23.339 --> 00:32:26.019 at my first generation Jordans. Dad, this is 00:32:26.019 --> 00:32:30.440 amazing stuff we're wearing. Look at, Dad, Joseph 00:32:30.440 --> 00:32:34.700 is alive. And he's ruler over the most powerful 00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:40.609 nation on the planet. All right, sons, I get 00:32:40.609 --> 00:32:44.710 that I've been a bad dad. I've taught you how 00:32:44.710 --> 00:32:50.430 to lie, but come on. This is really stupid. He's 00:32:50.430 --> 00:32:54.049 stunned, it says there. They're claiming something 00:32:54.049 --> 00:32:58.789 that's absolutely impossible. Jacob had settled. 00:32:58.869 --> 00:33:04.009 My son is dead. Maybe for the first year, couple 00:33:04.009 --> 00:33:07.890 years, there was hope. But 22 years later, my 00:33:07.890 --> 00:33:12.609 son is gone. And that's just how it is. And the 00:33:12.609 --> 00:33:15.309 grief, the despair I'm living in, the hopelessness 00:33:15.309 --> 00:33:18.190 I'm living in, that is just how life is going 00:33:18.190 --> 00:33:23.049 to be. It was settled in his heart. The hope 00:33:23.049 --> 00:33:27.210 that his son was alive was something long forgotten. 00:33:27.349 --> 00:33:32.500 These were words he never expected to hear. And 00:33:32.500 --> 00:33:34.660 if it was just Joseph is alive, that would be 00:33:34.660 --> 00:33:38.359 difficult enough. But Joseph is alive and he's 00:33:38.359 --> 00:33:41.359 the most powerful, you know, what do they say, 00:33:41.420 --> 00:33:47.119 ruler over all the land of Egypt. Now, when it 00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:49.720 says he was stunned for he did not believe them, 00:33:49.740 --> 00:33:53.059 that word stunned means his heart became numb. 00:33:54.319 --> 00:34:01.250 His heart became numb. This isn't rebellion on 00:34:01.250 --> 00:34:07.890 his part. This isn't stubborn unbelief. This 00:34:07.890 --> 00:34:11.929 is him hearing the impossible, even though it's 00:34:11.929 --> 00:34:16.949 true, but he can't believe it anymore. He's been 00:34:16.949 --> 00:34:20.469 just numb for so long. He's been just despondent 00:34:20.469 --> 00:34:23.510 for so long that when the hope, the mere mention 00:34:23.510 --> 00:34:27.789 that your son is alive, it's just... My heart 00:34:27.789 --> 00:34:30.630 just fails me. This isn't him, you know, being 00:34:30.630 --> 00:34:33.829 against God. It's describing weakness and collapse 00:34:33.829 --> 00:34:36.789 and emotional paralysis. This isn't his heart 00:34:36.789 --> 00:34:39.050 hardening against God. It just simply fails. 00:34:40.309 --> 00:34:42.650 This is him. He doesn't even argue, right? He 00:34:42.650 --> 00:34:44.929 just, he simply can't take it in, right? How 00:34:44.929 --> 00:34:48.550 many of you have ever been in that place? I'm 00:34:48.550 --> 00:34:51.010 a Christian, I believe God, all this stuff, but 00:34:51.010 --> 00:34:53.809 I've been experiencing such despair for so long 00:34:53.809 --> 00:34:57.210 that when the hope finally comes, there's this... 00:34:57.210 --> 00:35:08.210 I can't even receive it. I'm unable. I want to 00:35:08.210 --> 00:35:11.889 have faith, but I don't have faith. I've had 00:35:11.889 --> 00:35:14.809 those places in my life many times where I'm 00:35:14.809 --> 00:35:20.550 like, I want to want. to have faith, but I don't. 00:35:21.969 --> 00:35:28.170 I recognize that I don't. I want it, but I don't. 00:35:29.449 --> 00:35:31.889 And it's a place that I think the devil gets 00:35:31.889 --> 00:35:34.489 us to where he's like, stop believing the promises, 00:35:34.570 --> 00:35:37.170 stop focusing on the word, just focus on your 00:35:37.170 --> 00:35:40.050 situation. And so they give him the news he never 00:35:40.050 --> 00:35:46.650 expected to hear, and he just goes numb. It makes 00:35:46.650 --> 00:35:50.690 sense considering the story, right? These are 00:35:50.690 --> 00:35:52.650 the same brothers that once stood before him 00:35:52.650 --> 00:35:55.110 with a blood -stained robe, that robe of favoritism, 00:35:55.130 --> 00:35:56.909 and said, oh, he must have been eaten by a wild 00:35:56.909 --> 00:36:00.989 animal. These are the same sons who watched their 00:36:00.989 --> 00:36:04.610 father weep and wail and rip his clothes in grief, 00:36:04.690 --> 00:36:09.710 and they did not. They didn't weep. They didn't 00:36:09.710 --> 00:36:11.130 wail. They didn't tear their clothes in grief 00:36:11.130 --> 00:36:13.320 because they knew what they had done. These are 00:36:13.320 --> 00:36:16.179 the same sons that I think he possibly carried 00:36:16.179 --> 00:36:19.599 suspicion and distrust of all these years. Dad 00:36:19.599 --> 00:36:24.039 knew how much they hated Joseph. Dad knew, maybe 00:36:24.039 --> 00:36:26.099 he was like, they would never go that far to 00:36:26.099 --> 00:36:29.699 kill him, but he knew how they felt. And yet 00:36:29.699 --> 00:36:31.460 when they come back with this robe, he must have 00:36:31.460 --> 00:36:34.239 been killed by the wild animals. It's possible 00:36:34.239 --> 00:36:35.920 that all these years he was like, I'm not so 00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:38.800 sure about you guys. I kind of see that when 00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:40.480 they came back and they said, hey, we got food 00:36:40.480 --> 00:36:43.969 from Egypt. But the dude in charge said, we can't 00:36:43.969 --> 00:36:45.949 come back unless we bring Benjamin. You guys 00:36:45.949 --> 00:36:48.610 remember that story? Dad's like, you idiots. 00:36:48.730 --> 00:36:51.670 Why'd you tell him you had another brother? That 00:36:51.670 --> 00:36:55.789 was foolish. They're like, he kind of is number 00:36:55.789 --> 00:37:00.030 two in Egypt, and he asked us? Oh, man, you guys 00:37:00.030 --> 00:37:01.909 have just made everything fall down on me. Life 00:37:01.909 --> 00:37:05.010 is terrible, and I ain't sending Benjamin with 00:37:05.010 --> 00:37:06.710 you, and I think that's because he was like, 00:37:06.809 --> 00:37:14.539 last time I sent a son with you, he died. But 00:37:14.539 --> 00:37:16.900 when they told him all that Joseph had said to 00:37:16.900 --> 00:37:22.880 them, and he saw the wagons, right? And he saw 00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:26.699 the wagons. I imagine there's the possibility 00:37:26.699 --> 00:37:29.480 that their tone carried a different edge to it 00:37:29.480 --> 00:37:32.940 this time, right? There's maybe a different hopefulness. 00:37:32.940 --> 00:37:34.380 They're like, no, we're not lying. We actually 00:37:34.380 --> 00:37:36.840 saw Joseph, right? But those words weren't enough 00:37:36.840 --> 00:37:39.000 for Jacob. Jacob was in the place where he's 00:37:39.000 --> 00:37:45.800 like, I can't. The wagons were the turning point. 00:37:47.139 --> 00:37:49.739 And again, the wagons weren't just transportation. 00:37:49.920 --> 00:37:53.380 They were objective evidence that what the brothers 00:37:53.380 --> 00:37:57.480 were saying was true. He saw the wagons and all 00:37:57.480 --> 00:37:59.760 the stuff on them. Remember, wagons represented 00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:03.420 wealth and royalty and power. Yeah, he's alive 00:38:03.420 --> 00:38:06.340 and he's the ruler of all of Egypt and he starts 00:38:06.340 --> 00:38:08.579 putting all the stuff together and then it just 00:38:08.579 --> 00:38:14.849 dawns on him in that moment. Is Joseph alive? 00:38:18.349 --> 00:38:25.670 Is my long lost hope alive? Is it real? Could 00:38:25.670 --> 00:38:29.030 it be possible? I mean, this evidence was too 00:38:29.030 --> 00:38:32.550 much to fake, right? They didn't show up with 00:38:32.550 --> 00:38:36.929 like one gold coin. Look. Joseph is the ruler 00:38:36.929 --> 00:38:39.210 of all of Egypt and he gave us one gold coin. 00:38:39.309 --> 00:38:44.320 Dad, he's alive. 20 wagons loaded with goods 00:38:44.320 --> 00:38:47.539 and grain and their clothes and everything. The 00:38:47.539 --> 00:38:49.059 evidence was too much. There's no way they could 00:38:49.059 --> 00:38:53.539 fake this. The lavish generosity was on a scale 00:38:53.539 --> 00:38:58.099 too large to dismiss. And so when he couldn't 00:38:58.099 --> 00:39:03.760 believe the truth, the words written, the wagons 00:39:03.760 --> 00:39:08.880 preached it before he could believe it. The wagons 00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:11.199 were the evidence. They were signs of an invisible 00:39:11.199 --> 00:39:15.980 reality. And then it says the spirit of their 00:39:15.980 --> 00:39:19.860 father Jacob revived. But notice what it says 00:39:19.860 --> 00:39:26.599 immediately after that. Then Israel said. You 00:39:26.599 --> 00:39:30.679 guys realize how beautiful that is? When Jacob, 00:39:30.940 --> 00:39:37.010 deceiver, schemer, liar. At this point in his 00:39:37.010 --> 00:39:41.489 life, hopeless, doubter. When he was overwhelmed 00:39:41.489 --> 00:39:44.389 by fear, grief, and doubt. When he was Jacob, 00:39:44.489 --> 00:39:49.829 the struggler, the survivor. It was hopelessness. 00:39:52.170 --> 00:39:56.570 But when he heard the truth and said, but he 00:39:56.570 --> 00:39:58.829 saw the wagons. He saw the evidence of God's 00:39:58.829 --> 00:40:05.900 grace. His spirit revived. And when his faith 00:40:05.900 --> 00:40:09.280 began to rise again, who is he? He's Israel. 00:40:09.840 --> 00:40:13.960 He's Israel once more. He is again God wins. 00:40:14.159 --> 00:40:17.260 The man that God wrestled with. The man who was 00:40:17.260 --> 00:40:19.900 marked with a limp for the rest of his life of 00:40:19.900 --> 00:40:22.119 his brokenness and his need to depend on God. 00:40:22.239 --> 00:40:27.960 The one God claimed as his own. The one who God 00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:30.800 knew he was struggling with faith and struggling 00:40:30.800 --> 00:40:33.340 to believe, God knew that. And God wasn't saying, 00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:39.179 you're an idiot, Jacob. How dare you? All this 00:40:39.179 --> 00:40:43.619 time, God's going, the wagons are coming. But 00:40:43.619 --> 00:40:45.960 Jacob had to go through what he had to go through, 00:40:46.000 --> 00:40:47.840 so God didn't tell him, hey, bro, the wagons 00:40:47.840 --> 00:40:51.300 are coming. But then the wagons arrive. And he 00:40:51.300 --> 00:40:53.940 hears the truth, and he's like, it rings true. 00:40:54.860 --> 00:40:58.639 But then he sees the evidence. That's God's grace. 00:40:59.639 --> 00:41:01.900 Yes, you might say, wait a second, Pastor Nathan. 00:41:02.039 --> 00:41:04.639 The Bible says faith is the substance of things 00:41:04.639 --> 00:41:06.440 hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. 00:41:06.679 --> 00:41:12.920 Yes, that is faith. But God knows how weak we 00:41:12.920 --> 00:41:17.079 are. God knows how weak you and I are. God knows 00:41:17.079 --> 00:41:19.579 that in one second we could be like, God can 00:41:19.579 --> 00:41:21.739 accomplish anything, and then a breath later, 00:41:21.960 --> 00:41:24.320 oh no, my life's falling apart, God can't handle 00:41:24.320 --> 00:41:27.599 it. And he still loves you, and he still loves 00:41:27.599 --> 00:41:31.000 me, and he's still like, I'm here with you. I 00:41:31.000 --> 00:41:35.659 love that. Well, if you had enough faith then, 00:41:35.840 --> 00:41:38.360 that's why I think like prosperity preachers 00:41:38.360 --> 00:41:41.619 and stuff, it's just so ridiculous. If you have 00:41:41.619 --> 00:41:45.440 enough faith, God could heal you. I can't have 00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:49.880 enough faith. That's the problem. God can move 00:41:49.880 --> 00:41:51.820 mountains with a mustard seed of faith. Yes. 00:41:51.940 --> 00:41:58.199 Have any of you moved a mountain yet? And, well, 00:41:58.260 --> 00:42:03.300 a mustard seed, it's so small. But as we wrestle 00:42:03.300 --> 00:42:05.659 back and forth in this world to trust God and 00:42:05.659 --> 00:42:07.420 to believe God and to give Him our lives and 00:42:07.420 --> 00:42:09.559 to commit everything to Him, and then we're constantly 00:42:09.559 --> 00:42:11.800 taking things back and doing it our own way and 00:42:11.800 --> 00:42:13.659 things are falling apart, and in all of this, 00:42:13.679 --> 00:42:15.739 God is looking at us and He's going, I just love 00:42:15.739 --> 00:42:20.340 you so much. And yeah, I want you to believe 00:42:20.340 --> 00:42:23.000 in me without any evidence of any kind. That's 00:42:23.000 --> 00:42:28.250 what I want. But if that was the way that God 00:42:28.250 --> 00:42:30.329 demanded for us to know him, there would be no 00:42:30.329 --> 00:42:32.170 evidence of anything because you're supposed 00:42:32.170 --> 00:42:35.869 to just believe in me by faith. And yet God has 00:42:35.869 --> 00:42:38.710 provided evidence all over the place that we 00:42:38.710 --> 00:42:45.489 would go, oh, that truth is real. Archaeology, 00:42:45.489 --> 00:42:50.980 prophecy. All this stuff. And Jacob in his weakness, 00:42:51.059 --> 00:42:53.500 Jacob in his moment where I hear the truth but 00:42:53.500 --> 00:42:56.059 I can't believe it, God in his grace says, here's 00:42:56.059 --> 00:43:02.659 the wagons. Here's the wagons. And in that moment, 00:43:02.760 --> 00:43:07.000 that is when Jacob's faith is rekindled and he 00:43:07.000 --> 00:43:11.820 becomes Israel once more. You might be in that 00:43:11.820 --> 00:43:17.159 place today. I hear the truth, but I can't receive 00:43:17.159 --> 00:43:19.300 it for whatever reason. Maybe it's been so long, 00:43:19.320 --> 00:43:24.440 you're just like, I'm losing hope. And maybe 00:43:24.440 --> 00:43:26.800 the devil's then beating you up. Oh, you terrible 00:43:26.800 --> 00:43:30.300 Christian. You're supposed to have faith. How 00:43:30.300 --> 00:43:32.860 dare you, terrible Christian. You don't even 00:43:32.860 --> 00:43:35.320 believe in God because, you know, this is what 00:43:35.320 --> 00:43:41.659 it says in Hebrews. And he's right. That is what 00:43:41.659 --> 00:43:46.440 it says in Hebrews. But then God's looking at 00:43:46.440 --> 00:43:50.179 you and saying, you put your faith in me and 00:43:50.179 --> 00:43:52.179 I know that and you're struggling right now and 00:43:52.179 --> 00:43:53.880 you're falling apart right now and I get it. 00:43:55.519 --> 00:43:57.800 And I'm okay with the fact that you might need 00:43:57.800 --> 00:44:00.820 wagons right now to just get you to do what Jacob's 00:44:00.820 --> 00:44:03.860 about to do and take the first step. Look at 00:44:03.860 --> 00:44:09.039 verse 28. Then Israel said, enough. My son Joseph 00:44:09.039 --> 00:44:11.380 is still alive. I will go to see him before I 00:44:11.380 --> 00:44:17.230 die. Enough. I'm convinced. God has done enough 00:44:17.230 --> 00:44:19.349 to prove his faithfulness. You know, for years, 00:44:19.630 --> 00:44:21.849 Jacob has been saying, all these things are against 00:44:21.849 --> 00:44:26.889 me. Poor me. Woe is me. The world hates me. It's 00:44:26.889 --> 00:44:29.650 so tough. And now he's seeing in this moment, 00:44:29.690 --> 00:44:32.110 as he hears the truth, and now he sees the wagons, 00:44:32.110 --> 00:44:34.170 he sees that evidence that God gracefully provided 00:44:34.170 --> 00:44:38.250 for him. He's like, oh, wow. God has been quietly 00:44:38.250 --> 00:44:40.989 working behind the scenes on my behalf, faithfully 00:44:40.989 --> 00:44:43.090 and relentlessly, behind the famine, behind the 00:44:43.090 --> 00:44:46.369 betrayal. God has been working. My son is alive. 00:44:46.949 --> 00:44:49.769 And in fact, he's in a place to take care of 00:44:49.769 --> 00:44:54.590 us and to solve all of this. This isn't just 00:44:54.590 --> 00:44:58.130 an emotional revelation of, you know, seeds sprouting 00:44:58.130 --> 00:45:00.070 up quickly, right? You guys know the parable 00:45:00.070 --> 00:45:02.630 of the soils. Guy went out to spread seeds in 00:45:02.630 --> 00:45:04.730 one of the soils. It says they sink in and the... 00:45:05.900 --> 00:45:09.159 The plants sprout up so fast. And those are the 00:45:09.159 --> 00:45:11.340 people that, like, you know, they'll come to 00:45:11.340 --> 00:45:12.780 an event, they'll hear the gospel, and they're 00:45:12.780 --> 00:45:15.599 like, oh, my gosh, praise Jesus, joy, hallelujah, 00:45:15.679 --> 00:45:17.260 everything's great. And then the first trial 00:45:17.260 --> 00:45:18.900 hits, they're like, oh, God must not be real. 00:45:20.900 --> 00:45:23.460 And that happens to a lot of people. This isn't 00:45:23.460 --> 00:45:27.750 that. This is a steady, realistic, mature faith 00:45:27.750 --> 00:45:30.409 where he's not going, oh, praise God, all my 00:45:30.409 --> 00:45:32.449 questions are answered and everything is solved 00:45:32.449 --> 00:45:34.349 and everything's great. He just simply goes, 00:45:34.429 --> 00:45:38.170 at this point right now, God has given me enough 00:45:38.170 --> 00:45:41.329 that I could get up and take the next step, that 00:45:41.329 --> 00:45:44.309 I could get up and move. I will go see him. Let's 00:45:44.309 --> 00:45:49.789 go. Faith doesn't always start with joy and happiness. 00:45:49.789 --> 00:45:51.829 Sometimes it just simply starts with the strength 00:45:51.829 --> 00:45:58.079 to take the first step. So there's a number of 00:45:58.079 --> 00:46:00.780 truths we learn from this story. I mean, one, 00:46:01.179 --> 00:46:03.519 you know, God's provision is abundance, not just 00:46:03.519 --> 00:46:10.099 enough to survive. But what that means is whatever 00:46:10.099 --> 00:46:12.280 situation you're in right now, God's Word says 00:46:12.280 --> 00:46:13.960 He will not give you more than you can handle. 00:46:16.509 --> 00:46:20.289 Right? And that applies to temptations and these 00:46:20.289 --> 00:46:23.090 situations, but there's a reality is that God 00:46:23.090 --> 00:46:25.090 takes you through life. Every situation you're 00:46:25.090 --> 00:46:29.050 in, you know that God is in and of that because 00:46:29.050 --> 00:46:32.090 of his sovereignty. And so there's a place where 00:46:32.090 --> 00:46:34.409 you're like, if I'm in this situation, it's because 00:46:34.409 --> 00:46:38.010 God knows I could do this. I have the strength 00:46:38.010 --> 00:46:41.539 of God Almighty in me to do this. And so I'm 00:46:41.539 --> 00:46:45.760 here and God has provided everything I need in 00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:48.159 this moment to deal with this situation. And 00:46:48.159 --> 00:46:50.920 you have to understand that's abundance. Because 00:46:50.920 --> 00:46:55.280 God didn't have to provide any of that. Oh, I 00:46:55.280 --> 00:46:57.400 have barely enough to survive. No, what you have 00:46:57.400 --> 00:46:58.980 is abundance because you have enough to deal. 00:46:59.099 --> 00:47:00.380 You have enough to get through. You have enough 00:47:00.380 --> 00:47:06.659 to persevere. You have enough to endure. The 00:47:06.659 --> 00:47:09.840 evidence that he wants us to live. an abundant 00:47:09.840 --> 00:47:12.659 and everlasting life. And I'm not just talking 00:47:12.659 --> 00:47:14.380 about, oh, rich, rich abundance. I'm talking 00:47:14.380 --> 00:47:21.920 about peace and joy and truth and hope. The ultimate 00:47:21.920 --> 00:47:23.920 evidence, it's Jesus Christ hanging on the cross. 00:47:26.260 --> 00:47:28.719 If God wanted to abandon you and forget about 00:47:28.719 --> 00:47:32.159 you and let you languish in just hopelessness, 00:47:32.179 --> 00:47:34.440 why would he have sent his son to die on the 00:47:34.440 --> 00:47:42.829 cross for you? He sent his son to die on the 00:47:42.829 --> 00:47:44.489 cross for you so that you could receive grace 00:47:44.489 --> 00:47:46.510 and mercy and forgiveness and salvation, have 00:47:46.510 --> 00:47:48.869 the hope of heaven in the future, yeah. But also, 00:47:48.949 --> 00:47:54.190 while you're in the land of preservation, that 00:47:54.190 --> 00:47:57.250 you would have an abundance of hope and peace 00:47:57.250 --> 00:48:06.849 and joy. Here. Jesus rose from the dead. Eyewitnesses 00:48:06.849 --> 00:48:09.030 documented all of that. It's true. Why do we 00:48:09.030 --> 00:48:12.539 forget that? God's blessing flows through relationship, 00:48:12.840 --> 00:48:16.739 not merit. Right? Pharaoh blessed the brothers 00:48:16.739 --> 00:48:19.920 entirely because of Joseph. It wasn't because 00:48:19.920 --> 00:48:21.420 of the brothers. It was because Pharaoh knew 00:48:21.420 --> 00:48:23.619 and loved Joseph and trusted him and all that 00:48:23.619 --> 00:48:25.139 that was there in that relationship. And the 00:48:25.139 --> 00:48:27.139 same thing is us, that God the Father grants 00:48:27.139 --> 00:48:30.280 us adoption and salvation and blessing. And it's 00:48:30.280 --> 00:48:34.619 because of God the Son, Jesus Christ. We don't 00:48:34.619 --> 00:48:37.260 deserve or have any capacity to earn anything 00:48:37.260 --> 00:48:42.309 from God. But God blesses us because we know 00:48:42.309 --> 00:48:46.329 Jesus. God often restores faith through tangible 00:48:46.329 --> 00:48:50.710 confirmation. I think it's a grace that he does. 00:48:51.090 --> 00:48:52.829 You know, for the wounded hearts, grace often 00:48:52.829 --> 00:48:55.309 demonstrates itself to us before we're even able 00:48:55.309 --> 00:49:00.650 to believe. For the guilty sinner, all you have 00:49:00.650 --> 00:49:04.269 to do to see the grace, his evidence of grace 00:49:04.269 --> 00:49:06.969 is look up at the cross. That's the evidence. 00:49:07.530 --> 00:49:12.630 For the believer, The devil's going, oh, you're 00:49:12.630 --> 00:49:14.710 in a season where you need evidence. How dare 00:49:14.710 --> 00:49:18.849 you? There's no condemnation for those who are 00:49:18.849 --> 00:49:21.070 in Christ Jesus and called according to his purpose. 00:49:21.190 --> 00:49:22.849 And if you're in a really dark situation right 00:49:22.849 --> 00:49:25.650 now and you're going, God, I'm really struggling 00:49:25.650 --> 00:49:27.849 with just hearing the truth and believing it, 00:49:27.929 --> 00:49:31.150 can you send some wagons? Ask him to send some 00:49:31.150 --> 00:49:37.110 wagons. And then when you see the wagons, enough! 00:49:39.820 --> 00:49:41.820 Enough. Let me step out of this hopelessness. 00:49:45.159 --> 00:49:48.300 Joseph began this story numb, not angry or defiant 00:49:48.300 --> 00:49:52.239 or any of that. He's just unable to feel hope 00:49:52.239 --> 00:49:55.300 without pain. And I know there's some of you 00:49:55.300 --> 00:49:57.079 that came to church this morning in that same 00:49:57.079 --> 00:50:00.239 place. You've learned to survive disappointment 00:50:00.239 --> 00:50:05.800 simply by lowering your expectations. And some 00:50:05.800 --> 00:50:07.980 of you have lowered your expectations about God. 00:50:09.509 --> 00:50:11.949 Maybe you're like, yeah, I believe in God. I 00:50:11.949 --> 00:50:16.309 trust in Him. But your heart is still so guarded 00:50:16.309 --> 00:50:20.250 that it's become guarded against Him. I can't 00:50:20.250 --> 00:50:22.170 trust anymore. I can't believe anymore. It's 00:50:22.170 --> 00:50:24.670 just too hard. You've hurt enough to know that 00:50:24.670 --> 00:50:28.849 hope can be dangerous. If that's you this morning, 00:50:28.909 --> 00:50:31.210 I want to remind you that God did not rebuke 00:50:31.210 --> 00:50:37.510 Jacob for his numb heart. He sent wagons. God 00:50:37.510 --> 00:50:39.690 was already moving to give Jacob the evidence 00:50:39.690 --> 00:50:43.309 of life. Grace made itself visible before Jacob's 00:50:43.309 --> 00:50:46.150 belief was fully formed and before Jacob's joy 00:50:46.150 --> 00:50:49.789 was fully restored, he had the strength to take 00:50:49.789 --> 00:50:55.969 the first step of faith. Let's go. And it wasn't 00:50:55.969 --> 00:50:57.769 because every question was answered. It wasn't 00:50:57.769 --> 00:50:59.929 because every wound was healed. It was simply 00:50:59.929 --> 00:51:01.789 because God had done enough to prove that he 00:51:01.789 --> 00:51:04.980 was faithful. And every single believer in this 00:51:04.980 --> 00:51:08.679 room, if you're waiting on wagons, I say look 00:51:08.679 --> 00:51:11.820 back to how many wagons he's sent in your life 00:51:11.820 --> 00:51:15.719 already. That is testimony. That is proof that 00:51:15.719 --> 00:51:17.960 God is in your life and his presence is there 00:51:17.960 --> 00:51:23.260 and he's taking care of you. Trust him. And you're 00:51:23.260 --> 00:51:25.539 like, but I feel like I can't. Well, if you're 00:51:25.539 --> 00:51:27.980 there today, God knows you can because he's given 00:51:27.980 --> 00:51:33.019 you an abundance of him. Your job is to say, 00:51:33.059 --> 00:51:39.519 okay, God, one more day. And guess what? God's 00:51:39.519 --> 00:51:43.000 going to show up tomorrow and the day after that 00:51:43.000 --> 00:51:45.860 and however long it is until he knows the time 00:51:45.860 --> 00:51:49.920 is right to change that situation, to pull you 00:51:49.920 --> 00:51:53.360 out of that situation. And if he knows you need 00:51:53.360 --> 00:51:55.539 wagons in that situation, I believe he's going 00:51:55.539 --> 00:51:59.969 to send wagons. That your faith would grow. And 00:51:59.969 --> 00:52:01.769 that yes, maybe one day you wouldn't need the 00:52:01.769 --> 00:52:03.869 wagons anymore. You would just have that faith. 00:52:05.050 --> 00:52:10.349 That's like, I don't need to see nothing. I want 00:52:10.349 --> 00:52:12.929 that faith. I've been walking with the Lord for 00:52:12.929 --> 00:52:16.650 a thousand years or something like that. It feels 00:52:16.650 --> 00:52:23.190 like forever. Thirty years at this point. And 00:52:23.190 --> 00:52:25.590 I still have my moments where I'm like, but God, 00:52:25.610 --> 00:52:34.079 I'm not sure. I don't know. And I look back and 00:52:34.079 --> 00:52:36.579 I'm like, yeah, he's never let me down one single 00:52:36.579 --> 00:52:44.079 time. But God, right? I'm so glad he loves me 00:52:44.079 --> 00:52:46.159 enough that when there's those times where I 00:52:46.159 --> 00:52:49.460 need it, he'll send wagons. I don't want him 00:52:49.460 --> 00:52:51.260 to have to send wagons, but I'm glad he does 00:52:51.260 --> 00:52:54.190 at times. because it's exactly what I need in 00:52:54.190 --> 00:52:56.449 that moment to take one more step towards him 00:52:56.449 --> 00:52:58.929 and one more day of faith and believing in him 00:52:58.929 --> 00:53:02.230 and trusting in him. And then, of course, we 00:53:02.230 --> 00:53:04.530 know that God sent more than wagons. God sent 00:53:04.530 --> 00:53:08.349 his son. He sent his son before we believed. 00:53:09.070 --> 00:53:11.210 Christ died before any of us believed in him. 00:53:12.349 --> 00:53:15.110 Before we repented, grace moved towards us. Before 00:53:15.110 --> 00:53:17.650 our hearts can feel hope again, the tomb was 00:53:17.650 --> 00:53:22.940 already empty. That's amazing. What do we have 00:53:22.940 --> 00:53:26.519 to fear? God is not offended if your heart is 00:53:26.519 --> 00:53:31.219 numb this morning. He understands. But it's not 00:53:31.219 --> 00:53:33.539 a question this morning of whether grace has 00:53:33.539 --> 00:53:37.260 or hasn't arrived for you, because it has. It 00:53:37.260 --> 00:53:40.300 already has. The question is whether or not you 00:53:40.300 --> 00:53:42.659 will let what God has already done in your life 00:53:42.659 --> 00:53:46.360 give you enough strength to take that next step. 00:53:48.719 --> 00:53:51.280 To take that next step of trust and faith. And 00:53:51.280 --> 00:53:53.880 for Jacob, faith meant movement. Faith meant 00:53:53.880 --> 00:53:57.000 moving forward. So don't demand feelings before 00:53:57.000 --> 00:54:03.679 obedience. Well, when I feel it, I'll move. Your 00:54:03.679 --> 00:54:08.239 feelings lie to you. Truth is what we operate 00:54:08.239 --> 00:54:10.420 off of. Let the evidence of Christ's life revive 00:54:10.420 --> 00:54:13.480 your spirit. Look to the cross and say it is 00:54:13.480 --> 00:54:18.780 enough. Believe in what he has said to you. Believe 00:54:18.780 --> 00:54:20.900 in what he's done. Have faith, trust. In those 00:54:20.900 --> 00:54:22.699 places where you've guarded your heart from hope, 00:54:22.860 --> 00:54:26.880 those places where you can't forgive and you've 00:54:26.880 --> 00:54:31.840 been frozen in despair, look to what he's done. 00:54:34.119 --> 00:54:36.820 And if you're like, I'm there, I'm struggling, 00:54:36.940 --> 00:54:41.179 but I can't, then I pray God brings the wagons 00:54:41.179 --> 00:54:44.800 in. and shows you the evidence of his grace, 00:54:45.039 --> 00:54:47.599 the evidence of his truth, that you may believe 00:54:47.599 --> 00:54:51.019 and be free from that which is shackling you. 00:54:53.099 --> 00:54:58.139 Let's pray. Father, we love you. We love your 00:54:58.139 --> 00:55:00.079 word and we trust you, God, in all things. And 00:55:00.079 --> 00:55:02.960 Lord, I just pray that you would help us to move 00:55:02.960 --> 00:55:05.199 from despair and hopelessness, God, for those 00:55:05.199 --> 00:55:07.860 of us this morning that are in this room that 00:55:07.860 --> 00:55:11.579 maybe we found ourselves in places where we've... 00:55:11.739 --> 00:55:14.019 We've put faith in you, but God, there have been 00:55:14.019 --> 00:55:18.079 circumstances that have caused us to lose hope. 00:55:21.179 --> 00:55:25.280 Maybe instead of living in the joy and the peace 00:55:25.280 --> 00:55:27.380 that surpasses all understanding, trusting that 00:55:27.380 --> 00:55:30.260 God is in my circumstances, we've found ourselves 00:55:30.260 --> 00:55:32.420 saying it's bad and it's just this is how it 00:55:32.420 --> 00:55:38.039 is and woe is me. God, I pray this morning that 00:55:38.039 --> 00:55:44.519 you would set us all free from that. That, Lord, 00:55:44.599 --> 00:55:47.659 we would have a joy that is not explainable because 00:55:47.659 --> 00:55:54.300 it's from you and your Holy Spirit. I pray, God, 00:55:54.340 --> 00:55:56.760 that the truth of what you've done would change 00:55:56.760 --> 00:55:59.880 us and minister to us, Lord, but if that is not 00:55:59.880 --> 00:56:05.340 enough for us right now, Lord, I pray, God, that 00:56:05.340 --> 00:56:08.860 you'd send wagons. Lord, that we'd be able to 00:56:08.860 --> 00:56:10.780 look around and see the evidence of your grace, 00:56:10.860 --> 00:56:14.659 God, and we could look to the cross. We could 00:56:14.659 --> 00:56:16.940 also look to the many testimonies of the lives 00:56:16.940 --> 00:56:22.440 around us, of how you have worked. Sometimes 00:56:22.440 --> 00:56:24.900 it's a testimony of you worked quick, and sometimes 00:56:24.900 --> 00:56:26.920 it's a testimony that you worked after years 00:56:26.920 --> 00:56:31.559 had gone by. But Lord, I pray for those that 00:56:31.559 --> 00:56:33.380 are struggling and suffering that you would open 00:56:33.380 --> 00:56:35.940 their eyes to see the wagons before them, to 00:56:35.940 --> 00:56:38.960 see the evidence before them, to see, God, all 00:56:38.960 --> 00:56:41.840 that they need, Lord, from you to have the strength 00:56:41.840 --> 00:56:43.980 to take that step of faith, God, because you 00:56:43.980 --> 00:56:46.920 know our weakness. You know how frail we are. 00:56:49.380 --> 00:56:52.019 And I thank you, God, for being so gracious and 00:56:52.019 --> 00:56:57.469 loving towards us, so patient. God, we're here 00:56:57.469 --> 00:56:59.630 today as we close this service with celebrating 00:56:59.630 --> 00:57:02.989 baptism, Lord, of those that have either recently 00:57:02.989 --> 00:57:06.070 taken that step to know you and to believe in 00:57:06.070 --> 00:57:07.809 you as their Savior, or those that have been 00:57:07.809 --> 00:57:11.329 saved for a while, God, but are making a fresh 00:57:11.329 --> 00:57:15.670 or renewed commitment today to say, I want to 00:57:15.670 --> 00:57:19.429 publicly declare that I am laying down all of 00:57:19.429 --> 00:57:23.750 my life to Jesus. I pray, God, you bless them 00:57:23.750 --> 00:57:26.820 abundantly. Lord, I pray for any in this room 00:57:26.820 --> 00:57:28.639 that weren't planning on getting baptized today, 00:57:28.739 --> 00:57:30.699 but you've spoken to them of their need to do 00:57:30.699 --> 00:57:34.360 this. God, to make this public declaration that 00:57:34.360 --> 00:57:36.940 I've given my life to Jesus, he has changed my 00:57:36.940 --> 00:57:39.059 life, and I am his, and I'm committed to following 00:57:39.059 --> 00:57:42.320 him, Lord, that they would come forward to get 00:57:42.320 --> 00:57:44.400 baptized and let anything get in the way of that, 00:57:44.440 --> 00:57:48.900 God. We just love you. We thank you. We trust 00:57:48.900 --> 00:57:53.699 you. Increase our faith, Lord. Help us where 00:57:53.699 --> 00:57:57.639 we are weak. Give us strength where we are weak, 00:57:58.019 --> 00:58:01.880 Lord, because, God, it's only in you that we 00:58:01.880 --> 00:58:04.320 can be strong. Be our everything. We love you. 00:58:04.420 --> 00:58:06.400 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.