WEBVTT

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For those of you who don't know, I am Pastor

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Nathan, and we're going to be looking at Genesis

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chapter 46 today, talking about the tension of

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the unknown, right? A lot of us that are going

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to be watching the Super Bowl today are going

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to be dealing with that tension. Will my team

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win? Will they not win? Right? God loves me.

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I'm praying for my team, but God also loves the

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other guy praying for the other team. So what's

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he going to do in all those things, right? And

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then, of course, we're all representing our own

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teams that we're fans of and stuff. And so we

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all know tension. But the kind of tension I'm

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talking about is kind of like, have you ever

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been in that moment where the next step, you're

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making a decision, and the next step looks very

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obvious, right? It's all working out on paper.

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You've done pros and cons, whatever. And you're

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like, of course. It's obviously the right decision.

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but you still are unsettled inside. There's still

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something that is causing you to hesitate. I'm

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not just talking about crisis moments or moral

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dilemmas. I'm just talking about everyday decisions.

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You know, decisions we all face like, should

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we move or not move? Should we take a different

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job? Or, you know, maybe there's a relationship

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shift that God is putting on your heart. And,

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you know, but those things where it's just a

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season seems to be ending and a new season seems

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to be opening up. And, you know, you're trying

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to evaluate, should I make this decision or that

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decision? Like I said, it all makes sense on

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paper. You've gotten counsel even, and the people

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around you are like, oh yeah, of course, you

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know, the decision that you want to make is the

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right one. And yet still, in the quiet moments,

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you're still unsettled. There's still something

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there. And it's not that you're afraid of the

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opportunity. I think that still unsettled moment

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is simply because there's a question that lingers

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is, is this what God wants me to do? Is this

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the direction that God wants me to go? And some

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of us know that feeling very well. You know,

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we could be very eager but cautious. We could

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be hopeful but uneasy. We could be ready to jump

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into something, but that uneasiness, I think,

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is, I believe, is really spawned from an unwillingness

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for the believer to step into things without

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knowing God is in it, right? You know, God, I

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just want to know it's you. I want to make the

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decision you want me to make. And this is where

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Jacob finds himself in Genesis chapter 46 this

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morning. You know, the wagons are packed. The

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family is loaded up. He is ready to go back to

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Egypt to be reunited with his son Joseph. Of

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course it's a good decision, right? Of course

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I want to go see my son. Jacob might be thinking,

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but... He does something very unexpected in the

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beginning of the story. He stops at the very

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beginning of the journey, and it's not because

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he's doubting his son Joseph in Egypt. It's not

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even because he's unsure of the truth of what

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the brothers have told him. It's not because

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he's indecisive, but it's because Jacob knows

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something about himself, that if he moves without

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God, even good things can become very costly

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things. And Jacob has learned this over and over

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in his life. And over the last 22 years of his

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life, grieving the loss of his son Joseph, thinking

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he was dead, everything is pointing to obviously

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get up and go. But this decision for Jacob was

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leaving the promised land to go to Egypt. And

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even though everything made sense, everything

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looked great, there was still that moment where

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he knew he needed to inquire of the Lord first.

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And some of us need to hear that this morning,

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right? We can make moves in our lives that make

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absolute sense, whether it's to be reunited with

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somebody, whether it's a financial sense, whether

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it's a move, right? So many people are moving

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out of California, and I get it, right? This

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state is difficult. This state is the mission

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field now. That's what California has become

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for us, the church. But some people will make

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decisions and just go, oh, it all makes sense

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on paper, but they never talk to the Lord about

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it. They never inquire of the Lord, and then

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they might move and chase provision and lose

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peace. You know, we can arrive in Egypt, so to

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speak, and wonder why God feels farther away

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than ever before. And so what we're going to

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see in the word today is just a great encouragement

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that, you know, before we as God's people just

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rush into things, especially those things that

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make sense on paper, we should pause long enough

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to seek him. We should pause long enough to say,

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God, is this what you want? We should pause long

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enough to hear him say to us, as he's gonna say

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to Jacob today, do not be afraid. I'm going with

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you. And I'm gonna be there with you, and I'm

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gonna bring you back. You see, doing what makes

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sense to us on paper is great. We're called to

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use our brains. We're called to evaluate and

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all this stuff. But at the same time, we can

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rush into things based upon our own wisdom and

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forget to inquire about the Lord. James says

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in chapter four, verse 13, he says, come now

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you who say today or tomorrow, we will travel

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to such and such a city and spend a year there

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and do business and make a profit. Yet you do

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not know what tomorrow will bring. what your

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life will be. For you are like a vapor that appears

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for a little while and then vanishes. Instead,

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you should say, if the Lord wills, we will live

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and do this or that. So today, let us learn from

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Jacob to pause in our living, in our planning,

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to take a beat, no matter how obvious certain

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decisions may seem, to stop and inquire of the

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Lord. And to take that moment to say, hey, God,

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this all makes sense to me, but I want your will

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above everything. I want to know what you want

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me to do above everything. And to seek him as

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a habit. To make that a part of our habit as

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Christians. To seek him in every decision because,

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you know, his will is the most important thing

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to follow. And there are times in our lives where

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it might make perfect sense on paper, but that's

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not God's will for us. And he might say, I want

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you to do this instead, even though it doesn't

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make sense to you. And we've learned over and

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over and over through the Bible that God's will

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is always the perfect will. Amen? So that's what

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we're going to be looking at today. But before

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we get into the word, we're going to spend some

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time in worship. And I encourage you guys today,

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before you go worship the football, let's worship

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the Lord. All right? He is the one that deserves

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our first and full focus. And we are here today

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to hear from him, to worship together, to celebrate

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together what he has done in our lives. And he

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deserves that focus. He deserves that adoration.

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And so that's what we're going to do. Let's pray.

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Father, we love you so much. And we're so thankful,

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God, for your presence in our lives. And Lord,

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we've learned over and over and we've seen in

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your word, God, that Your desire is to guide

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us and to direct us and your presence is with

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us always. That you are walking beside us, Lord,

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the Holy Spirit, you dwell within us. And yet

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we can find ourselves going through life leaving

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you out of our decisions. And sometimes we find

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ourselves only including you in the decisions

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that we feel are big decisions or difficult decisions.

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But God, when it's a decision that we feel like

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we have it figured out already, sometimes we

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don't inquire. And Lord, I think that's a potentially

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dangerous habit for us, God, because Lord, you

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know all things we don't. That God, as we may

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make plans to travel here and there, to go here,

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to move here, to take this job, to whatever it

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may be, Lord, the reality, God, according to

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your word, is that we don't know what tomorrow

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will bring. And so God, instead, help us to be

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people that start every decision where if the

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Lord wills, then we will do this or that. So

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speak to us today, God, and encourage us from

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this story here in Jacob's life as he's taking

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his family back to Egypt for what is going to

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be a glorious reunion with his long -lost son,

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Lord. but that we would learn the lesson that

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even when our emotions are high and we're excited

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and our desire is high, and it's just everything

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is pointing to the decision being the right thing,

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Lord, that we would learn to take a beat, to

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worship, to seek you, to know your will, that

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we would step in every direction through this

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life in utter confidence, God, that we're doing

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what you want us to do. We love you. We thank

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you. We praise you, Lord. We ask that you would

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be blessed by us, your people, as we worship

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you today. And we ask you to bless us as well.

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It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Today we are

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in Genesis 46. You know, the story in Genesis

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has been building towards a climax, a big moment

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here. We started with Joseph, the favored son,

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who was betrayed by his brothers, sold for silver.

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presumed dead for 20 plus years by his father.

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And all the while, Jacob, his father, has just

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been grieving and grieving. He's given up hope.

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He's let go of the thought that things would

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ever be better because he lost his favorite son.

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But through all of this, we've seen that God

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has been working. God has been building a foundation.

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God has been moving the pieces on the chessboard,

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if you will, to accomplish his will in people's

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lives. And so Joseph, you know, we had been studying

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that after he was sold into slavery, he ended

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up in Potiphar's house. Then he was falsely accused

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and went to the... went to prison, and then he

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went from prison to Pharaoh's palace and became

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number two in all of Egypt. And what has been

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happening is just through all the famines and

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dreams and divine timing, God has been positioning

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Joseph to preserve life. on a massive, massive

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scale, right? This famine hit the land and it

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spread across the world. And it was this famine

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that drove Joseph's brothers to Egypt in the

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first place to seek out food because God had

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used Joseph to plan ahead and to store up grain

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for this famine. And so they got food and then

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they went back home and ran out and had to go

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back to Egypt where they were tested and transformed

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and finally faced their sin, Joseph finally revealed

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himself to his brothers. It's me, Joseph, right?

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Your long lost brother. And then Joseph said

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something very important where Joseph had come

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to learn that despite all the difficulty and

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the challenge and all the disappointing circumstances

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that he said to them, God sent me before you

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to preserve life. That Joseph in his life had

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learned that God's providence is always at work.

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That behind the things that we might think are

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just, oh, they're just things happening in life,

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it was actually God's hand moving for a purpose.

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And so the brothers then return home with wagons

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and grain and news that Jacob never thought he

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would hear. Joseph is alive. Wow. And so now

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at 130 years old, Jacob is facing a huge decision.

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The decision to leave the promised land to go

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see the son that he so loves. The son that he

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thought was gone forever. The son he's now just

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learned is alive, whom he could see again. But

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not only that, to save his family from starvation

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here in the land of Canaan from this famine.

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Jacob's perspective, it possibly looked too good

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to be true, right? Have we ever been in those

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types of situations where things seem to come

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together in a way and we're like, oh my gosh,

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you know, this is great. This is obviously the

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right decision. This is the thing we should do.

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And this decision for Jacob was a huge one because

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it meant leaving the promised land. which was

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counterintuitive because that was exactly the

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place God said, I'm giving you this land and

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your descendants are gonna populate this land

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and this is the land of my promises. And yet

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for years at this point, they had been living

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in this famine, driven to the point of starvation.

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And now before him is this decision. My son is

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over there in Egypt and I so wanna see him, but

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it means nothing. Leaving the promised land.

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It means stepping away from this place that I've

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been told and my father was told and my grandfather

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was told is God's place, where God wants us.

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God, is this a move you want me to make? I mean,

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obviously, my son and being reunited with him,

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like, yeah, who would say anything's wrong with

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that? Lord, are you in this? Is this what you

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want from me? And that's the decision that brings

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us to Genesis 46, which is a pause in the journey,

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an altar, and a question. Is this move truly

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from you, Lord? So Genesis 46, verse one. It

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says, Israel set out with all that he had and

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came to Beersheba, and he offered sacrifices

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to the God of his father, Isaac. Now Beersheba,

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if you remember, is kind of the southern border

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of the promised land. This is not just a pit

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stop, right? Beersheba is not the, all right,

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we're at the beginning of the road trip. Let's

00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:32.279
get some beef jerky and Funyuns and stuff, you

00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:35.220
know, because Egypt's a long way away. This is

00:14:35.220 --> 00:14:39.500
not a random stop. Beersheba was sacred ground

00:14:39.500 --> 00:14:42.740
to the people of Israel. This was a place where

00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:46.120
Abraham had planted a tree and called on the

00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:48.779
name of the Lord here in this land. This is the

00:14:48.779 --> 00:14:52.100
place where Isaac had built an altar and received

00:14:52.100 --> 00:14:57.399
divine assurance that I'm with you and I've given

00:14:57.399 --> 00:15:00.820
you this land and all of that. This was also

00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:03.779
the place, incidentally, that Jacob himself had

00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:07.480
fled from earlier in his life when he stole the

00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:09.159
blessing and the birthright from his brother

00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:12.279
Esau. and his brother was so mad he wanted to

00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:15.480
kill him, where Jacob fled this, really just

00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:18.379
running from consequences of his own actions,

00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:22.340
and this place matters. This place had so much

00:15:22.340 --> 00:15:26.720
history with Jacob and his family, and Jacob

00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:30.700
knew the family history, right? Jacob knew that

00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:33.259
his grandfather Abraham once went down to Egypt

00:15:33.259 --> 00:15:36.799
during a famine, and it wasn't a good thing.

00:15:38.509 --> 00:15:41.549
He almost lost his wife. He almost lost everything

00:15:41.549 --> 00:15:44.970
when he went down to Egypt, left the promised

00:15:44.970 --> 00:15:49.629
land. That was in Jacob's head. Getting to Beersheba

00:15:49.629 --> 00:15:53.450
was a reminder of that. Jacob also knew that

00:15:53.450 --> 00:15:57.950
his dad Isaac was explicitly forbidden by God

00:15:57.950 --> 00:16:01.149
from leaving the promised land. Don't ever leave

00:16:01.149 --> 00:16:03.629
the promised land. Don't ever go down to Egypt

00:16:03.629 --> 00:16:07.669
like Abraham did. And for Jacob, put yourself

00:16:07.669 --> 00:16:11.850
in Jacob's shoes, hmm, that's exactly what we're

00:16:11.850 --> 00:16:15.250
about to do. We're about to leave the promised

00:16:15.250 --> 00:16:19.809
land and go to Egypt. Now, on the other side

00:16:19.809 --> 00:16:21.769
of that equation, my son, right? How could this

00:16:21.769 --> 00:16:25.309
be a bad decision? But all this family history

00:16:25.309 --> 00:16:28.330
was coming back, and it was not a secret that

00:16:28.330 --> 00:16:32.710
Egypt was a very powerful, prosperous place.

00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:39.759
but it was also radically pagan. And so, on top

00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:41.720
of all this information that Jacob knew about

00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:45.259
his family history, he also knew the prophecy

00:16:45.259 --> 00:16:48.980
that God had given his father Abraham. The prophecy

00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:51.860
that said, hey, Abraham's descendants will one

00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:55.480
day be foreigners in a foreign land and be enslaved

00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:59.799
for 400 years. Can you imagine all these details

00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:02.590
piling up in Jacob's head where he's like, My

00:17:02.590 --> 00:17:08.349
son. Oh, man. Abraham went there and it was a

00:17:08.349 --> 00:17:12.950
bad thing. I mean, God told my dad, don't you

00:17:12.950 --> 00:17:15.549
dare go there. And now I'm going to willingly

00:17:15.549 --> 00:17:20.170
pack up my whole family and go? Is this where

00:17:20.170 --> 00:17:24.730
we're going to be enslaved? Big decision. But

00:17:24.730 --> 00:17:28.930
he does something very, very wise. He does something

00:17:28.930 --> 00:17:31.750
that I think is unfortunately not as common as

00:17:31.750 --> 00:17:34.690
it should be within the body of Christ with God's

00:17:34.690 --> 00:17:37.529
people. He puts the brakes on his excitement.

00:17:38.210 --> 00:17:42.250
He puts the brakes on his desire to see his son

00:17:42.250 --> 00:17:45.430
again. He puts his brakes on all the emotions

00:17:45.430 --> 00:17:51.089
to seek the Lord. And this is what it says here

00:17:51.089 --> 00:17:53.170
that when he stopped there, it says he offered

00:17:53.170 --> 00:17:56.769
sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. I

00:17:56.769 --> 00:17:59.430
think that's a nod to the fact that God had told

00:17:59.430 --> 00:18:03.450
his father Isaac, never leave the land. And he's

00:18:03.450 --> 00:18:06.349
like, okay, God who told my dad never leave the

00:18:06.349 --> 00:18:11.650
land, I'm about to leave the land. And offering

00:18:11.650 --> 00:18:14.799
sacrifices, this was... This is the picture of

00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:18.099
seeking the Lord, of inquiring of the Lord. This

00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:21.319
is the picture of coming to God in worship and

00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:25.339
saying, okay, Lord, I need to know what you want

00:18:25.339 --> 00:18:29.299
me to do here. I need to know if this is your

00:18:29.299 --> 00:18:34.359
will. And God answers, verse two. That night,

00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:37.940
God spoke to Israel in a vision. Jacob, Jacob,

00:18:38.140 --> 00:18:44.509
he said. And Jacob replied, here I am. God said,

00:18:44.650 --> 00:18:49.470
I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid

00:18:49.470 --> 00:18:51.170
to go down to Egypt for I will make you into

00:18:51.170 --> 00:18:55.150
a great nation there. I will go down with you

00:18:55.150 --> 00:18:57.970
to Egypt and I will also bring you back. Joseph

00:18:57.970 --> 00:19:01.730
will close your eyes when you die. Now when the

00:19:01.730 --> 00:19:04.190
Bible repeats things, it's often a picture that

00:19:04.190 --> 00:19:08.009
God is saying pay attention, right? You know,

00:19:08.089 --> 00:19:10.269
like when Jesus would say, you know, in some

00:19:10.269 --> 00:19:13.319
of the older translations. Verily, verily, I

00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:15.960
say to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, right?

00:19:16.200 --> 00:19:18.259
When you see those types of repetitions, it means,

00:19:18.339 --> 00:19:19.759
hey, what's about to follow is important. Pay

00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:22.299
attention. And then when he goes, Jacob, Jacob,

00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:25.700
that's not only pay attention, but I'm speaking

00:19:25.700 --> 00:19:32.119
to you personally. You've inquired of me. I'm

00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:37.460
answering you. Now, he starts with the reminder

00:19:37.460 --> 00:19:43.170
that we all need to hear so very often. The answer

00:19:43.170 --> 00:19:49.430
starts with, I am God. In a sense, what he is

00:19:49.430 --> 00:19:52.910
saying, as Jacob is making sacrifice and offering

00:19:52.910 --> 00:19:55.410
to the Lord and seeking the Lord, he's going,

00:19:55.549 --> 00:19:58.549
good job, Jacob. You're coming to the right place.

00:20:01.089 --> 00:20:06.250
I'm God. You're acknowledging that. I'm acknowledging

00:20:06.250 --> 00:20:10.769
that. Yes, I am the God who told your dad never

00:20:10.769 --> 00:20:14.089
leave this place. I am the God who told your

00:20:14.089 --> 00:20:17.369
dad do not go down to Egypt under any circumstances.

00:20:17.730 --> 00:20:23.210
I am him, but I am God. And that is the right

00:20:23.210 --> 00:20:26.650
place to start when we inquire of the Lord. It's

00:20:26.650 --> 00:20:30.990
the right place to start in prayer. God, you're

00:20:30.990 --> 00:20:32.930
awesome. You're so almighty. You're amazing.

00:20:33.089 --> 00:20:37.599
You're infinite. You are God. And I start there

00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:39.819
with that acknowledgement. And so God is coming

00:20:39.819 --> 00:20:44.039
back and going to Jacob, yes, I'm God. I am the

00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:45.799
one here. I'm reminding you of that. And then

00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:48.299
he says right after that, he says, don't be afraid.

00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:51.220
And that tells us that Jacob had fears, right?

00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:53.700
That's why we could surmise there was these things

00:20:53.700 --> 00:20:56.619
he was worried about that he was afraid of, and

00:20:56.619 --> 00:21:00.920
he had these worries about this trip. But then

00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:05.089
God gives him four assurances that address those

00:21:05.089 --> 00:21:07.369
fears that he has. And so the first thing he

00:21:07.369 --> 00:21:10.650
says to him is, I will make you a great nation

00:21:10.650 --> 00:21:19.009
there. I will make you a great nation. The whole

00:21:19.009 --> 00:21:21.630
thought for the family was, God's gonna make

00:21:21.630 --> 00:21:24.569
us a great nation here in the promised land.

00:21:25.130 --> 00:21:28.210
He's gonna make us a great nation here where

00:21:28.210 --> 00:21:31.069
he's brought us and where our family is and the

00:21:31.069 --> 00:21:36.720
land he's given to us. But God's going, don't

00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:41.299
be afraid to go down there, because that's where

00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:44.180
I'm going to make you a great nation. Kind of

00:21:44.180 --> 00:21:48.420
shocking, I imagine, to Jacob. That God is saying,

00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:50.619
you're going to become a great nation, just like

00:21:50.619 --> 00:21:53.420
the prophecy. Like the fear, I believe, was,

00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:55.880
the prophecy said we're going to be enslaved

00:21:55.880 --> 00:21:58.640
for 400 years, and God is going, don't forget

00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:03.240
the rest of the prophecy. The rest of the prophecy

00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:05.160
is I'm going to make you into a great nation,

00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:09.019
but I'm going to do it over there. I'm not going

00:22:09.019 --> 00:22:10.539
to do it here in the promised land. I'm going

00:22:10.539 --> 00:22:12.339
to do it in Egypt. That's kind of interesting,

00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:17.240
right? That they would become the people that

00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:22.539
God had called them to be in the place of incubation,

00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:27.980
not in the destination. But that's what happens

00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:32.220
here with us in this world, right? Egypt being

00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:34.339
a type of the world, we are here in this world.

00:22:36.420 --> 00:22:40.339
We live here, and God is molding us and shaping

00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:45.500
us here. We're one day gonna go to the promised

00:22:45.500 --> 00:22:50.380
land, we're gonna be in heaven, but here is where

00:22:50.380 --> 00:22:53.779
he's shaping us. Here is where he's molding us.

00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:56.960
Here is where he's teaching us to obey him and

00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:01.269
to hear his voice. It's here in this place. Now,

00:23:01.289 --> 00:23:02.750
yeah, when we get there, all things are gonna

00:23:02.750 --> 00:23:06.730
be complete and fulfilled, but sometimes as Christians,

00:23:06.809 --> 00:23:09.789
we could get caught up in the, well, I'll be

00:23:09.789 --> 00:23:13.769
godly when I get to heaven. You might not get

00:23:13.769 --> 00:23:17.549
to heaven if that's your attitude. I'll get right

00:23:17.549 --> 00:23:20.430
when. It's like, no, no, no, just here and now.

00:23:22.150 --> 00:23:24.730
God's telling him, what I've told you I'm going

00:23:24.730 --> 00:23:28.369
to do is gonna happen. And then he says, I will

00:23:28.369 --> 00:23:32.799
go down with you. See, again, Jacob was leaving

00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:37.240
the land. Jacob was worried. Am I not supposed

00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:39.420
to leave the land? Is that demonstrating a lack

00:23:39.420 --> 00:23:42.240
of faith? My son is there, and of course I want

00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:44.900
to go see him, and nothing else matters with

00:23:44.900 --> 00:23:48.900
that, but hold on, Lord. Is this your will? And

00:23:48.900 --> 00:23:52.160
God says, I'm going to go with you there. That

00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:54.279
Jacob, I'm reminding you again that you may be

00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:56.059
leaving the land, but you're not leaving the

00:23:56.059 --> 00:23:59.720
God of the land. Like Jacob had learned that

00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:02.779
many times. Remember Bethel? The angel freighted

00:24:02.779 --> 00:24:05.759
ladder? God's like, there's nowhere you can go

00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:11.279
that I'm not. So don't worry, I'm with you. God

00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:13.680
is not geographically limited. You can go anywhere

00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:18.119
and God will be with you. When we're making decisions

00:24:18.119 --> 00:24:20.900
in life and we take that beat and pause and say,

00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:23.099
God, everything looks great. It's what I want.

00:24:23.140 --> 00:24:25.160
It's what I desire. But I still have this hesitation.

00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:30.140
Are you in it? Is this what you want with me?

00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:32.799
Is this where you want me to go? The question

00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:35.099
is not, God, if I go do that, will you even be

00:24:35.099 --> 00:24:39.500
there? The question is, God, is that where you

00:24:39.500 --> 00:24:44.039
want me to go? That's the inquiry here. And so

00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:46.480
God is reminding Jacob, yeah, I'm going to. going

00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:49.220
to go with you. You're not going to be abandoned.

00:24:49.339 --> 00:24:50.799
I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to

00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:54.200
forsake you, okay? But then he says, I will also

00:24:54.200 --> 00:24:58.740
bring you back. Like the reminder to Jacob, as

00:24:58.740 --> 00:25:02.319
Jacob's like, I've got fears, right? If we leave

00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:03.880
the promised land, are we ever going to come

00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:09.400
back? God, if I go this direction and you're

00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:11.819
not in it, I'm worried that that'll be the end

00:25:11.819 --> 00:25:14.220
of us and end of the people. And God says, I'm

00:25:14.220 --> 00:25:16.789
going to bring you back. Egypt was not the final

00:25:16.789 --> 00:25:22.529
destination. Egypt was not home. Now, for Jacob

00:25:22.529 --> 00:25:24.750
specifically, yeah, that's going to be where

00:25:24.750 --> 00:25:29.730
he dies. But it was a temporary replacement that

00:25:29.730 --> 00:25:31.869
had an expiration date for God's people. And

00:25:31.869 --> 00:25:35.990
God's promises always include return and restoration

00:25:35.990 --> 00:25:39.769
and redemption. But then the fourth fear that

00:25:39.769 --> 00:25:42.990
I believe Jacob had, he says, Joseph will close

00:25:42.990 --> 00:25:46.500
your eyes when you die. I personally feel like

00:25:46.500 --> 00:25:50.740
Jacob's deepest personal fear was dying alone

00:25:50.740 --> 00:25:54.680
without those that he loved the most. And what

00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:58.960
I mean by that is Jacob had a problem with favoritism.

00:25:59.859 --> 00:26:04.420
And so he had these multiple wives, but he had

00:26:04.420 --> 00:26:07.779
already lost the one that he really loved. And

00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:11.920
then he had all these sons. But he had already

00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:14.660
lost Joseph, who was the son of the wife he really

00:26:14.660 --> 00:26:17.460
loved, so he was the favorite son. And so I believe

00:26:17.460 --> 00:26:23.240
Jacob had this fear that he was gonna die alone,

00:26:23.380 --> 00:26:26.740
even though he wasn't physically alone, he was

00:26:26.740 --> 00:26:29.019
gonna die without those that he loved the most.

00:26:30.140 --> 00:26:35.279
Could be a selfish fear or whatnot, but I just

00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:38.900
see here God going, hey, you're gonna be reunited

00:26:38.900 --> 00:26:42.180
with your favorite son. And you're gonna be with

00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:43.720
him until the time you leave this earth. You

00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:46.960
will not die alone. And I just think that's a

00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:52.319
beautiful little nod to Jacob's need. That there

00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:55.079
was just like this earthly concern that he had

00:26:55.079 --> 00:27:00.920
and God's like, I get it. I get it. You know,

00:27:00.920 --> 00:27:05.279
sometimes we as Christians, you know, we can

00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:10.170
find ourselves I'm not excited to go where God

00:27:10.170 --> 00:27:13.109
is calling us to go because, well, there's things

00:27:13.109 --> 00:27:15.690
I want to do first, right? Have you ever heard

00:27:15.690 --> 00:27:18.369
someone say that? I'm excited to go be with the

00:27:18.369 --> 00:27:21.170
Lord in heaven, but I want to, I hope he doesn't

00:27:21.170 --> 00:27:24.029
take me before I get married. I hope he doesn't

00:27:24.029 --> 00:27:26.569
take me before I have a kid. I hope he doesn't

00:27:26.569 --> 00:27:28.890
take me before I get to accomplish this or that

00:27:28.890 --> 00:27:32.680
or the other, right? And I think God knows those

00:27:32.680 --> 00:27:34.500
things, right? There's a little detail in verse

00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:37.200
one where Moses is writing, you know, here where

00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:40.279
he says, Israel set out with all he had, right?

00:27:40.359 --> 00:27:43.960
Moses has given this honor to Jacob. He's Israel,

00:27:44.220 --> 00:27:47.119
he's God's man. But then when he prayed there,

00:27:47.299 --> 00:27:50.400
God says, it says God spoke to Israel in a vision

00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:55.099
and said, Jacob, Jacob. It's like Moses. I'm

00:27:55.099 --> 00:27:57.380
giving him honor. He is Israel, the man of God.

00:27:57.500 --> 00:27:59.819
And yet in the recording, God still recognizes

00:27:59.819 --> 00:28:05.160
that Jacob's human. Still recognizes he's a little

00:28:05.160 --> 00:28:07.720
weak. Still recognizes that he's struggling with

00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:09.420
fears that maybe he shouldn't struggle with.

00:28:09.559 --> 00:28:13.259
And Jacob has this earthly desire. Like, okay,

00:28:13.420 --> 00:28:16.160
God promised land. We're leaving. You're telling

00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:17.359
me it's okay. You're telling me you're going

00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:20.079
to bring her back. I'm going to ultimately be

00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:23.779
with you one day, but can you not take me until...

00:28:24.539 --> 00:28:28.819
I see my son again. And God honors that. He just

00:28:28.819 --> 00:28:33.160
honored that with him. God needs to be our first

00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:35.660
priority. Seeing him needs to be our first priority.

00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:37.259
Looking forward to being with him needs to be

00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:40.220
our first priority. But God knows the desires

00:28:40.220 --> 00:28:44.660
on our hearts. And in God's will and God's timing,

00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:46.920
he will address those things as he needs to.

00:28:47.059 --> 00:28:50.539
But we also need to understand that Our earthly

00:28:50.539 --> 00:28:53.279
desires are nothing compared to when we stand

00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:56.200
before the Lord. It's going to be great when

00:28:56.200 --> 00:28:57.559
we stand before the Lord. You're going to think

00:28:57.559 --> 00:28:59.119
of nothing else. You're going to not be like,

00:28:59.220 --> 00:29:01.880
oh man, I wish I got married. This is great,

00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:04.579
Lord. Eternity, perfection, peace, joy, glory.

00:29:05.660 --> 00:29:08.500
Yeah, but I really wanted a Corvette. I never

00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:12.019
got to have a Corvette, you know. I like Corvettes.

00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:13.960
That's my favorite car. I don't know if I'll

00:29:13.960 --> 00:29:16.259
ever get one. But I'll make, hey Lord, you know,

00:29:16.279 --> 00:29:17.619
it'd be cool if you gave me a Corvette one day.

00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:20.140
Maybe I'll have one in heaven, I don't know.

00:29:20.500 --> 00:29:22.619
But that's not a bigger priority than God, I

00:29:22.619 --> 00:29:27.720
can't wait to see you. You know, and so he acknowledges

00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:30.740
this earthly desire that Joseph had, or Jacob

00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:32.960
had, and he honors it there. You're gonna see

00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:34.720
your son and you're not gonna die alone. And

00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:36.900
you know, while all this is taking place and

00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:39.359
Jacob's had these 22 years of worrying about,

00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:42.660
you know, my son is dead and all hope is lost

00:29:42.660 --> 00:29:46.079
and everything's done. His son Joseph, on the

00:29:46.079 --> 00:29:49.339
other side of the equation, had been living a

00:29:49.339 --> 00:29:52.720
life that is an example to us of how to live,

00:29:52.900 --> 00:29:58.940
right? He was sold as a slave at 17. He was falsely

00:29:58.940 --> 00:30:02.079
accused. He was forgotten in prison. But throughout

00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:04.599
Joseph's story, what we've seen is these things

00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:06.480
are happening to Joseph, and he's going, okay,

00:30:06.539 --> 00:30:09.880
I don't have all the information yet, but I trust

00:30:09.880 --> 00:30:13.559
in God's providence. this feels unfair, but I'm

00:30:13.559 --> 00:30:15.740
not going to give up on my Christianity. I'm

00:30:15.740 --> 00:30:17.500
not going to give up on my faith and my hope.

00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:21.539
You know, he's been in this place where he trusted

00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:23.579
God and walked with God, even though he didn't

00:30:23.579 --> 00:30:25.440
have all the answers. He was just kind of always

00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:28.000
waiting for information. And then years later,

00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:31.000
one day standing before Pharaoh, he finally understood

00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:35.200
it. Oh. God sent me here to preserve life. That's

00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:37.500
what this has all been about. Jacob, on the other

00:30:37.500 --> 00:30:40.619
side, never learned that lesson, right? He was

00:30:40.619 --> 00:30:42.220
the one who got to the point where he's like,

00:30:42.279 --> 00:30:46.160
I'm done. It's over. I have no hope. I'm sad.

00:30:46.259 --> 00:30:49.779
I'm despondent. And he just simply replayed pain

00:30:49.779 --> 00:30:53.700
over and over and over instead of trusting in

00:30:53.700 --> 00:30:57.849
God's providence. But here, in this chapter at

00:30:57.849 --> 00:31:01.390
Beersheba, we finally see that Jacob is accepting

00:31:01.390 --> 00:31:05.269
what his son Joseph had learned over and over

00:31:05.269 --> 00:31:08.349
again, that God is always moving supernaturally,

00:31:08.390 --> 00:31:12.470
even through mundane circumstances. And so he

00:31:12.470 --> 00:31:16.349
takes a beat to say, okay, before I move forward,

00:31:16.490 --> 00:31:19.309
before I jump in, before I go after what I think

00:31:19.309 --> 00:31:21.890
is right or whatever, God, I'm just gonna stop

00:31:21.890 --> 00:31:25.490
and say, is this where you want me to go? Is

00:31:25.490 --> 00:31:29.349
this the decision you want me to make? Because

00:31:29.349 --> 00:31:32.210
he's finally understanding. If I look back through

00:31:32.210 --> 00:31:34.410
all these circumstances, wow, God, I could see

00:31:34.410 --> 00:31:37.750
your hand moving. And some of us need to file

00:31:37.750 --> 00:31:40.890
that truth away in our minds today. Again, God

00:31:40.890 --> 00:31:45.230
is working. Don't be Jacob and give up hope,

00:31:45.470 --> 00:31:48.250
but be in the place where you'll say, okay, I

00:31:48.250 --> 00:31:50.569
don't understand, but I'll come to you and ask

00:31:50.569 --> 00:31:53.009
God. I'll inquire. Or God, I have this decision

00:31:53.009 --> 00:31:55.019
that makes sense to me, but I'll... I'm going

00:31:55.019 --> 00:31:56.759
to come and ask you first to just be in this

00:31:56.759 --> 00:31:59.160
place of regular turning to the Lord in faith,

00:31:59.319 --> 00:32:01.559
not expecting every answer or every explanation,

00:32:01.839 --> 00:32:03.920
but just the patience to say, God, I trust you.

00:32:04.539 --> 00:32:09.039
So, verse 5, God speaks to Jacob. Jacob's like,

00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:11.380
okay, we're good to go. And then it says, Jacob

00:32:11.380 --> 00:32:14.519
left Beersheba. The sons of Israel took their

00:32:14.519 --> 00:32:16.819
father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to

00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:19.079
carry him along with their dependents and their

00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:21.940
wives. They also took their cattle and possessions

00:32:21.940 --> 00:32:24.779
they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then

00:32:24.779 --> 00:32:26.759
Jacob and all his offspring with him came to

00:32:26.759 --> 00:32:30.220
Egypt, his sons and grandsons, his daughters

00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:33.359
and granddaughters. Indeed, all his offspring

00:32:33.359 --> 00:32:39.460
he brought with him to Egypt. Jacob brings everyone.

00:32:40.700 --> 00:32:45.119
He doesn't leave anybody behind just in case.

00:32:49.319 --> 00:32:52.039
We should always inquire of the Lord in our decision

00:32:52.039 --> 00:32:59.930
making. And when God answers, obey. It was clear.

00:33:00.009 --> 00:33:02.589
God answered him. He spoke to him, right? So

00:33:02.589 --> 00:33:04.390
Jacob's like, okay, let's go. He's not going,

00:33:04.490 --> 00:33:06.549
well, I'm going to leave some of the family behind

00:33:06.549 --> 00:33:09.430
just in case this doesn't work out. That's not

00:33:09.430 --> 00:33:13.349
faith, right? We can't stand in obedience with

00:33:13.349 --> 00:33:15.690
God with one foot in and go, God, I'm all in

00:33:15.690 --> 00:33:20.089
with one foot while the other one is still over

00:33:20.089 --> 00:33:24.599
here just in case, right? And so we should inquire.

00:33:25.500 --> 00:33:28.380
We should take our plans like Jacob. Okay, I've

00:33:28.380 --> 00:33:30.160
got to go to Egypt. I'm not sure if this is the

00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:35.200
right one. Or in Joseph's case where he was like,

00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:36.779
these things are happening and I'm not sure what

00:33:36.779 --> 00:33:40.519
they mean. But we take all that to the Lord and

00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:42.279
inquire and say, God, is this what you want?

00:33:42.460 --> 00:33:43.880
What are you doing? Where do you want me to go?

00:33:43.960 --> 00:33:45.380
How do you want me to do it? But when he speaks,

00:33:45.460 --> 00:33:50.480
listen. That's what faith is. And it makes it

00:33:50.480 --> 00:33:53.359
very clear because in the next like 19 verses,

00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:57.400
it's gonna make us very clear or make it very

00:33:57.400 --> 00:34:00.099
clear that he took everybody. Moses goes on to

00:34:00.099 --> 00:34:05.259
list every name, every son of every son of Jacob

00:34:05.259 --> 00:34:07.980
who left the promised land to go to Egypt as

00:34:07.980 --> 00:34:10.400
a part of the family. And this isn't included

00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:12.820
here because God's like, man, I know my people

00:34:12.820 --> 00:34:15.000
love reading genealogies, right? That's not why

00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:18.659
it's here. But like every genealogy, it's here

00:34:18.659 --> 00:34:20.820
because God wants us to know that people are

00:34:20.820 --> 00:34:24.099
very important to him. People are important to

00:34:24.099 --> 00:34:29.239
God. You are important to God. And so the names

00:34:29.239 --> 00:34:30.719
that we're going to read through here, they represent

00:34:30.719 --> 00:34:34.280
the covenant community. They represent the people

00:34:34.280 --> 00:34:37.639
of God. That so far as God has been working through

00:34:37.639 --> 00:34:40.539
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, it's all been focused

00:34:40.539 --> 00:34:44.550
on family. right? The family that the line is

00:34:44.550 --> 00:34:46.429
going to come from. But as we're going to see

00:34:46.429 --> 00:34:50.110
here, the family is now transitioning from just

00:34:50.110 --> 00:34:53.610
being a family to being the foundation of a nation.

00:34:53.730 --> 00:34:56.590
And so verse 8, read with me here. It says, these

00:34:56.590 --> 00:34:58.489
are the names of the sons of Israel who came

00:34:58.489 --> 00:35:03.170
to Egypt, Jacob and his sons. Jacob's firstborn,

00:35:03.309 --> 00:35:07.269
Reuben. Reuben's sons, Hanak, Palu, Hezron, and

00:35:07.269 --> 00:35:13.980
Carmi. Simeon's sons, Jemuel. Jamin, Ohad, Jachin,

00:35:14.119 --> 00:35:17.440
Zohar, and Shal, the son of a Canaanite woman.

00:35:18.119 --> 00:35:22.380
Levi's sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Judah's

00:35:22.380 --> 00:35:26.179
sons, Ur, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. But

00:35:26.179 --> 00:35:29.539
Ur and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons

00:35:29.539 --> 00:35:33.400
of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. Issachar's sons,

00:35:33.599 --> 00:35:37.840
Tola, Puva, Jashub, and Shimron. Zebulun's sons,

00:35:38.119 --> 00:35:42.219
Sered, Elon, and Jalil. These were Leah's sons

00:35:42.219 --> 00:35:44.920
born to Jacob in Paddan Aram as well as his daughter

00:35:44.920 --> 00:35:49.239
Dinah. The total number of persons was 33. Gad's

00:35:49.239 --> 00:35:53.679
sons, Ziphion, Haggai, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi,

00:35:53.840 --> 00:35:59.019
and Areli. Asher's sons, Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi,

00:35:59.159 --> 00:36:03.260
Beriah, and their sister Sarah. Beriah's sons

00:36:03.260 --> 00:36:06.940
were Heber and Malkiel. These were the sons of

00:36:06.940 --> 00:36:09.820
Zilpah, who Laban gave to his daughter Leah as

00:36:09.820 --> 00:36:13.519
she bore to Jacob, 16 persons. The sons of Jacob's

00:36:13.519 --> 00:36:17.639
wife Rachel, Joseph, and Benjamin. Manasseh and

00:36:17.639 --> 00:36:19.920
Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt.

00:36:20.219 --> 00:36:22.940
They were born to him by Asenath, daughter of

00:36:22.940 --> 00:36:26.559
Potipharah, a priest at On. Benjamin's sons were

00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:31.860
Bela, Betcher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh,

00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:36.949
Mupim, Hupim, and Ard. These were Rachel's sons

00:36:36.949 --> 00:36:40.969
who were born to Jacob, 14 persons. Dan's son

00:36:40.969 --> 00:36:45.489
was Hushim. Naphtali's sons was Jaziel, Guni,

00:36:45.489 --> 00:36:48.969
Jezer, and Shillam. These were the sons of Bilhah

00:36:48.969 --> 00:36:52.110
whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore

00:36:52.110 --> 00:36:55.650
to Jacob seven persons. The total number of persons

00:36:55.650 --> 00:36:58.050
belonging to Jacob, his direct descendants, not

00:36:58.050 --> 00:37:01.269
including the wives of his sons, who came to

00:37:01.269 --> 00:37:04.739
Egypt was 66. And Joseph's sons who were born

00:37:04.739 --> 00:37:07.840
to him in Egypt was two persons. So all those

00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:10.539
of Jacob's household who came to Egypt was 70

00:37:10.539 --> 00:37:16.099
persons. So I don't know why they named their

00:37:16.099 --> 00:37:20.780
kids these things, okay? I don't know who Mupim

00:37:20.780 --> 00:37:23.300
and Hupim was, and like were they twins or, you

00:37:23.300 --> 00:37:27.420
know, something. I don't know. But they're names

00:37:27.420 --> 00:37:30.699
in the language, right? And these are the list

00:37:30.699 --> 00:37:33.139
of all the offspring of the family that goes

00:37:33.139 --> 00:37:35.940
down to them. But, you know, every detail in

00:37:35.940 --> 00:37:40.079
the Bible is important. Every dot, right? Every

00:37:40.079 --> 00:37:42.840
jot and tittle, as they say. And so we read through

00:37:42.840 --> 00:37:45.039
this and we see, obviously, the development of

00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:48.260
the families. But the numbers are what I want

00:37:48.260 --> 00:37:50.900
to focus on because it's very specific to let

00:37:50.900 --> 00:37:52.860
us know that there were 70 persons that went

00:37:52.860 --> 00:37:57.190
down to Egypt. And 70 is not just math. I believe

00:37:57.190 --> 00:37:59.309
it's theology. If you go through Scripture and

00:37:59.309 --> 00:38:02.369
you look up 70, right? It's connected to a lot

00:38:02.369 --> 00:38:05.070
of things throughout Scripture. The people of

00:38:05.070 --> 00:38:09.690
Israel were exiled in Babylon for 70 years. Daniel,

00:38:09.809 --> 00:38:12.590
when he gave his prophecy of the end times, it's

00:38:12.590 --> 00:38:16.389
called the 70 weeks prophecy. In Genesis chapter

00:38:16.389 --> 00:38:20.909
10, it lists 70 nations that came after the flood.

00:38:21.110 --> 00:38:25.070
And there's more, but this idea of 70 is often

00:38:25.070 --> 00:38:29.389
seen as symbolizing the fullness or the completeness

00:38:29.389 --> 00:38:32.909
of divine order. It's a picture of saying this

00:38:32.909 --> 00:38:36.130
is all of what God is doing and it's complete

00:38:36.130 --> 00:38:39.630
and total. But it also happens to always mark

00:38:39.630 --> 00:38:43.090
significant transitions in the salvation story.

00:38:44.280 --> 00:38:48.519
Here, what this represents is Jacob and his family,

00:38:48.639 --> 00:38:54.320
which is a part of Isaac and the family and a

00:38:54.320 --> 00:38:57.239
part of Abraham and the family. This is where

00:38:57.239 --> 00:39:00.599
they are transitioning from being a family into

00:39:00.599 --> 00:39:05.719
a people, a nation. a covenant community. This

00:39:05.719 --> 00:39:08.440
is where the story is transitioning from the

00:39:08.440 --> 00:39:11.119
one man Abraham to what is gonna result in millions

00:39:11.119 --> 00:39:15.019
and millions of people becoming the nation of

00:39:15.019 --> 00:39:19.400
Israel. And so verse 28, it says, now Jacob had

00:39:19.400 --> 00:39:21.880
sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare

00:39:21.880 --> 00:39:24.719
for his arrival of Goshen. And when they came

00:39:24.719 --> 00:39:27.599
to the land of Goshen, Joseph hitched the horses

00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:29.860
to his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet

00:39:29.860 --> 00:39:33.420
with his father Israel. Joseph presented himself

00:39:33.420 --> 00:39:36.119
to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for

00:39:36.119 --> 00:39:40.659
a long time. Of course, right? The reunion. He's

00:39:40.659 --> 00:39:44.880
alive. You could imagine, I could almost feel,

00:39:45.059 --> 00:39:47.099
you know, Jacob's heart quickening when he finally

00:39:47.099 --> 00:39:50.980
sees Joseph, you know, and is like, what's up

00:39:50.980 --> 00:39:55.539
with the eye makeup, bro? Where's your beard?

00:39:56.260 --> 00:39:57.880
Right? No, it doesn't say any of that, right?

00:39:57.920 --> 00:40:01.980
But that's him. That's my long -lost son. Oh

00:40:01.980 --> 00:40:05.480
my gosh, 20 plus years I've grieved his death.

00:40:06.420 --> 00:40:09.940
And I hoped, had a little bit of hope, enough

00:40:09.940 --> 00:40:12.780
to get up and go, but now it's, oh my gosh, it's

00:40:12.780 --> 00:40:15.679
fulfilled. How glorious, right? Now it tells

00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:18.780
us there that Judah was sent ahead of him. Why

00:40:18.780 --> 00:40:22.699
Judah? Well, because Judah was now the brother,

00:40:22.780 --> 00:40:24.679
even though he was the fourth brother, he was

00:40:24.679 --> 00:40:27.860
the one who kind of was like the leader among

00:40:27.860 --> 00:40:31.429
the brothers. Reuben had disqualified himself

00:40:31.429 --> 00:40:33.610
even though he was the firstborn because he tried

00:40:33.610 --> 00:40:35.489
to sleep with one of his dad's wives to take

00:40:35.489 --> 00:40:38.530
authority in the family. Simeon and Levi had

00:40:38.530 --> 00:40:41.050
disqualified themselves because they were bloodthirsty

00:40:41.050 --> 00:40:42.829
murderers and they're the ones that wiped out

00:40:42.829 --> 00:40:45.469
all the people at Shechem. Judah here, on the

00:40:45.469 --> 00:40:48.789
other hand, is the one who stepped forward and

00:40:48.789 --> 00:40:51.389
confessed for all the brothers in Egypt. He's

00:40:51.389 --> 00:40:53.650
the one who offered himself in Benjamin's place.

00:40:53.869 --> 00:40:57.730
He's the one who is stepping into the place of

00:40:57.730 --> 00:41:01.150
doing what is right. And so he is the one sent

00:41:01.150 --> 00:41:04.449
ahead as the emissary for the family as they

00:41:04.449 --> 00:41:10.110
get to Egypt. And so he meets with Joseph. We're

00:41:10.110 --> 00:41:12.670
here. The whole family's here. Joseph hitches

00:41:12.670 --> 00:41:16.349
up the horses and chariots. And all of that was

00:41:16.349 --> 00:41:18.730
just a picture of the power and the authority,

00:41:18.889 --> 00:41:22.190
right? Chariots and the horses. They weren't

00:41:22.190 --> 00:41:24.789
gimpy horses. They were nice horses, right? Because

00:41:24.789 --> 00:41:27.670
he was power and authority. And so there's this

00:41:27.670 --> 00:41:34.269
idea of coming out to display who he is to his

00:41:34.269 --> 00:41:37.309
family. But this wasn't about intimidating them

00:41:37.309 --> 00:41:40.159
or anything. Because what he's about to tell

00:41:40.159 --> 00:41:42.480
them is, I have authority to protect you here.

00:41:42.900 --> 00:41:45.860
But they get there, there's no speeches, there's

00:41:45.860 --> 00:41:48.460
no explanation, there's just tears. Tears for

00:41:48.460 --> 00:41:53.280
a long time. Why? We need to understand something

00:41:53.280 --> 00:41:56.500
about God and Christianity. Relationship matters.

00:41:57.280 --> 00:42:01.519
Relationship matters most. This whole thing.

00:42:02.299 --> 00:42:05.539
This whole Bible, this whole story is about God

00:42:05.539 --> 00:42:07.639
saying, my relationship with you is broken and

00:42:07.639 --> 00:42:13.019
I want to fix it. You see, being a Christian

00:42:13.019 --> 00:42:15.420
in this world is not about God going, hey, let

00:42:15.420 --> 00:42:17.179
me bless you with riches and everything so you

00:42:17.179 --> 00:42:18.699
guys can walk around to the rest of the world

00:42:18.699 --> 00:42:21.219
and say, look, our daddy's richer than your daddy,

00:42:21.300 --> 00:42:23.519
you know, and ha, ha, ha. God's like, I don't

00:42:23.519 --> 00:42:26.980
care about any of that stuff. He's like, it's

00:42:26.980 --> 00:42:29.340
relationship. Relationship is what matters. That's

00:42:29.340 --> 00:42:32.719
why throughout the whole Bible, we're taught

00:42:32.719 --> 00:42:35.119
how to interact with each other and how to love

00:42:35.119 --> 00:42:36.980
one another and bear one another's burdens and

00:42:36.980 --> 00:42:38.579
all these things because it's about relationship.

00:42:39.500 --> 00:42:44.079
Relationship is where true life is. Relationship

00:42:44.079 --> 00:42:47.539
is what matters. You see, this is the joy of

00:42:47.539 --> 00:42:50.619
reunion, the healing of loss, the redemption

00:42:50.619 --> 00:42:55.500
of decades. But it's about relationship being

00:42:55.500 --> 00:42:57.460
restored, and that's what we're seeing here in

00:42:57.460 --> 00:43:00.559
these long tears. And God still writes these

00:43:00.559 --> 00:43:05.079
stories. God is still in that business of restoring

00:43:05.079 --> 00:43:08.300
relationships. The same God who reunited Jacob

00:43:08.300 --> 00:43:10.659
and Joseph here is still restoring prodigals.

00:43:10.900 --> 00:43:13.780
He's still healing broken families. He's still

00:43:13.780 --> 00:43:16.059
promising eternal reunions. He's still in that

00:43:16.059 --> 00:43:19.699
business. That video we saw earlier from Olive

00:43:19.699 --> 00:43:23.460
Crest, it's about healing and restoring and keeping

00:43:23.460 --> 00:43:26.599
families together and seeing God come in and

00:43:26.599 --> 00:43:28.760
through these things. We're all a part of this

00:43:28.760 --> 00:43:34.019
as a church. But then in verse 30, he says to

00:43:34.019 --> 00:43:36.699
Joseph, I'm ready to die now because I've seen

00:43:36.699 --> 00:43:41.599
your face and you are still alive. That's it.

00:43:42.639 --> 00:43:46.860
I'm ready to go. I've seen you. I can leave this

00:43:46.860 --> 00:43:49.860
earth now. See, previously he saw wagons and

00:43:49.860 --> 00:43:52.739
it gave him the strength to hope where there

00:43:52.739 --> 00:43:56.219
was no hope for years. And now his greatest earthly

00:43:56.219 --> 00:43:58.639
hope is fulfilled. Joseph is alive. I've seen

00:43:58.639 --> 00:44:02.780
it with my own eyes. Again, relationship is the

00:44:02.780 --> 00:44:06.980
most important thing in life. So many stories,

00:44:07.260 --> 00:44:09.639
you know, nobody says on their deathbed, I wish

00:44:09.639 --> 00:44:12.000
I made another dollar. They might say that in

00:44:12.000 --> 00:44:17.780
life. Even those who are pagans and hate God,

00:44:17.920 --> 00:44:20.019
there are so many testimonies of those people

00:44:20.019 --> 00:44:22.480
on their deathbed realizing, what have I done?

00:44:27.239 --> 00:44:28.840
Nobody's there is like, oh, I wish I had another

00:44:28.840 --> 00:44:31.480
car, another house. You know what people say

00:44:31.480 --> 00:44:33.159
on their deathbed? I wish I spent more time with

00:44:33.159 --> 00:44:36.119
my family. I wish I spent more time with my kids.

00:44:36.480 --> 00:44:38.980
I wish I spent more time with my loved ones.

00:44:39.320 --> 00:44:42.780
I wish I didn't work so much. I wish I didn't,

00:44:42.780 --> 00:44:47.260
you know. put status and material things and

00:44:47.260 --> 00:44:50.219
all this in a greater priority than to the relationship,

00:44:50.559 --> 00:44:53.340
greater priority than the relationships that

00:44:53.340 --> 00:44:56.300
I had with people. I wish I could hold them one

00:44:56.300 --> 00:44:58.039
more time. I wish I could tell them I love them

00:44:58.039 --> 00:45:05.500
one more time. And yet, we'll push off relationships

00:45:05.500 --> 00:45:09.980
so often. And yeah, we gotta go to work and we

00:45:09.980 --> 00:45:11.860
gotta pay the bills and we gotta handle our business,

00:45:11.960 --> 00:45:15.159
but... What are you sacrificing for the stuff

00:45:15.159 --> 00:45:18.219
that's going to burn? What are you sacrificing

00:45:18.219 --> 00:45:20.519
for the stuff that ultimately, guess what, when

00:45:20.519 --> 00:45:28.280
you die, doesn't matter? Relationship matters.

00:45:29.719 --> 00:45:33.300
That's what matters to God. God's like, yeah,

00:45:33.340 --> 00:45:36.199
stuff and money and nothing wrong with that,

00:45:36.260 --> 00:45:42.090
but relationship matters. And so they're reunited

00:45:42.090 --> 00:45:45.710
and there's long tears. They cry for a long time.

00:45:47.289 --> 00:45:49.849
In verse 31, Joseph said to his brothers and

00:45:49.849 --> 00:45:51.989
to his father's family, I will go up and inform

00:45:51.989 --> 00:45:54.809
Pharaoh, telling him my brothers and my father's

00:45:54.809 --> 00:45:56.650
family who are in the land of Canaan have come

00:45:56.650 --> 00:46:00.130
to me. The men are shepherds. They also raise

00:46:00.130 --> 00:46:02.690
livestock. They have brought their flocks and

00:46:02.690 --> 00:46:06.559
herds and all that they have. When Pharaoh addresses

00:46:06.559 --> 00:46:09.340
you and asks, what is your occupation? You are

00:46:09.340 --> 00:46:11.380
to say, your servants, both we and our ancestors,

00:46:11.579 --> 00:46:14.039
have raised livestock from our youth until now.

00:46:14.300 --> 00:46:16.239
Then you will be allowed to settle in the land

00:46:16.239 --> 00:46:18.400
of Goshen since all shepherds are detestable

00:46:18.400 --> 00:46:23.960
to Egyptians. Wait, what? When Pharaoh shows

00:46:23.960 --> 00:46:26.219
up, you want us to tell him we are the very thing

00:46:26.219 --> 00:46:28.800
that's detestable to the Egyptians. What's going

00:46:28.800 --> 00:46:33.639
on here? Joseph's instructing his brothers and

00:46:33.639 --> 00:46:38.650
his family. Just be honest. Tell the truth. Just

00:46:38.650 --> 00:46:42.389
tell them you're shepherds. I'm gonna go tell

00:46:42.389 --> 00:46:44.769
him all about this ahead of time and when he

00:46:44.769 --> 00:46:48.730
shows up, don't lie. Don't pretend you're something

00:46:48.730 --> 00:46:53.670
you're not. Yes, you are here in the world and

00:46:53.670 --> 00:46:56.010
yes, the world is going, who are you and what

00:46:56.010 --> 00:46:59.309
do you stand for? And don't water it down. Don't

00:46:59.309 --> 00:47:04.849
change it. Don't, just be honest. I know you

00:47:04.849 --> 00:47:08.510
hate shepherds, but we're shepherds. Thanks for

00:47:08.510 --> 00:47:14.630
letting us come over. I think the point of this

00:47:14.630 --> 00:47:16.889
was because they're detestable. What do I mean

00:47:16.889 --> 00:47:21.969
by that? You see, honesty can produce a separation

00:47:21.969 --> 00:47:27.110
and God wanted a separation here. He didn't want

00:47:27.110 --> 00:47:30.690
Israel to become Egyptian during their time in

00:47:30.690 --> 00:47:36.760
Egypt. He wanted them to remain Israel while

00:47:36.760 --> 00:47:39.079
they were in Egypt. He wanted to preserve their

00:47:39.079 --> 00:47:43.519
identity. Because he was doing a work and he

00:47:43.519 --> 00:47:45.019
was going to mold them and shape them and make

00:47:45.019 --> 00:47:46.880
them this great nation. And they weren't meant

00:47:46.880 --> 00:47:48.559
to stay in Egypt. They were meant to come back

00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:52.340
to the promised land. They were meant to be the

00:47:52.340 --> 00:47:54.199
people God had called them to be. And so he's

00:47:54.199 --> 00:47:56.579
like, just be honest. And we have that same challenge

00:47:56.579 --> 00:47:59.239
today in our world as Christians. We go into

00:47:59.239 --> 00:48:00.739
our workplace and we're like, oh, let's kind

00:48:00.739 --> 00:48:05.920
of water down our faith a little bit. We already

00:48:05.920 --> 00:48:08.079
know they're going to hate us. Jesus said so.

00:48:10.480 --> 00:48:12.760
They're going to hate you and persecute you and

00:48:12.760 --> 00:48:15.360
treat you vile because they hate what you stand

00:48:15.360 --> 00:48:21.179
for. So you're not saving anything by lying about

00:48:21.179 --> 00:48:24.340
your faith or watering it down. Just be honest.

00:48:26.019 --> 00:48:28.719
It's not saying be a belligerent jerk about it,

00:48:28.760 --> 00:48:34.840
but I'm a Christian. Oh, okay. Now Joseph was

00:48:34.840 --> 00:48:36.440
going ahead because he's like, look, don't try

00:48:36.440 --> 00:48:39.400
and lie. Just be honest with who you are. I'm

00:48:39.400 --> 00:48:41.320
going to talk to Pharaoh. God's given me a place

00:48:41.320 --> 00:48:43.880
and a position to smooth this over. But if you

00:48:43.880 --> 00:48:46.239
try and pretend that you're somebody you're not,

00:48:46.300 --> 00:48:48.239
if you try and water down who you are, if you

00:48:48.239 --> 00:48:50.900
try to water down your identity, that's going

00:48:50.900 --> 00:48:54.219
to create more problems. And that's exactly what

00:48:54.219 --> 00:48:56.260
happens in our lives when we water down our faith.

00:49:00.119 --> 00:49:02.199
Have you ever said, I'm a Christian, but not

00:49:02.199 --> 00:49:06.019
one of... Those Christians? Ever said that before?

00:49:08.159 --> 00:49:12.119
What do you mean when you say that? Well, I'm

00:49:12.119 --> 00:49:16.360
a Christian, but not one of those who stand up

00:49:16.360 --> 00:49:20.920
for righteousness and defend God's word and not

00:49:20.920 --> 00:49:23.059
back down from truth, right? What are you saying

00:49:23.059 --> 00:49:26.559
when you say that? No, I'm a Christian. Just

00:49:26.559 --> 00:49:29.159
be honest. Be honest. The world's going to ask.

00:49:29.340 --> 00:49:31.519
I think the most effective thing we could say

00:49:31.519 --> 00:49:34.920
is, The truth. The truth is what sets us free.

00:49:35.380 --> 00:49:37.460
The truth is what's going to set the world free.

00:49:37.659 --> 00:49:39.219
They're going to hate you anyways. You already

00:49:39.219 --> 00:49:41.360
know it, so don't try and avoid these things.

00:49:41.559 --> 00:49:43.619
And so he's like, just be honest. Tell them.

00:49:46.059 --> 00:49:49.980
Goshen then becomes this prosperous place, but

00:49:49.980 --> 00:49:52.780
Israel is isolated in the world there. Israel

00:49:52.780 --> 00:49:55.440
was in Egypt, but not of Egypt. Does that sound

00:49:55.440 --> 00:49:59.360
like scripture? We are in the world, but not

00:49:59.360 --> 00:50:04.159
of the world. Just like believers here. We're

00:50:04.159 --> 00:50:06.420
in this world. We're in this Egypt, but we're

00:50:06.420 --> 00:50:10.000
preserved by our Lord. We're supposed to be separated

00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:12.940
to a degree. We're in it. We're to be a light

00:50:12.940 --> 00:50:15.340
and to be a witness, but we're not to be assimilated

00:50:15.340 --> 00:50:17.659
by the world. We're not to become like them.

00:50:21.380 --> 00:50:24.539
We're to be different because we are a light.

00:50:24.699 --> 00:50:27.219
And this separation was God's divine strategy

00:50:27.219 --> 00:50:31.090
for Israel. that Egypt was simply a vessel of

00:50:31.090 --> 00:50:36.619
preservation. It wasn't salvation. The promised

00:50:36.619 --> 00:50:39.119
land they would return to. Protection was there

00:50:39.119 --> 00:50:42.159
until redemption came. And it's the same in our

00:50:42.159 --> 00:50:44.360
lives. And so some of us here in this room this

00:50:44.360 --> 00:50:47.000
morning, you're standing at Beersheba right now,

00:50:47.139 --> 00:50:49.340
right? You're at the altar. You're at the place

00:50:49.340 --> 00:50:53.079
of worship. And maybe there's this decision and

00:50:53.079 --> 00:50:54.940
you're like, everything makes sense on paper.

00:50:55.119 --> 00:50:57.260
And yeah, of course. And why wouldn't I do that?

00:50:57.400 --> 00:51:00.079
And I've gotten counsel and everything's great.

00:51:00.139 --> 00:51:03.460
But what you haven't done yet is talk to God

00:51:03.460 --> 00:51:08.909
about it. And that maybe that thing is like,

00:51:08.969 --> 00:51:10.750
so why am I unsettled? Because God's going to

00:51:10.750 --> 00:51:13.829
talk to me about it. Because you don't know what

00:51:13.829 --> 00:51:18.809
tomorrow holds. And so inquire of the Lord. Should

00:51:18.809 --> 00:51:22.690
I move? Should I not move? Should I take this

00:51:22.690 --> 00:51:26.710
job, not take this job? Should I get out of this

00:51:26.710 --> 00:51:31.780
relationship? Should I, what, Lord. God wants

00:51:31.780 --> 00:51:34.179
us to have the habit on every decision, not just

00:51:34.179 --> 00:51:36.360
the big, giant things, but every decision. God,

00:51:36.440 --> 00:51:39.639
what do you want me to do? To wake up in the

00:51:39.639 --> 00:51:41.860
morning and say, okay, God, I got this on my

00:51:41.860 --> 00:51:43.300
schedule, I'm going to work and everything, but

00:51:43.300 --> 00:51:46.340
hey, what do you want me to do today? Now, I'm

00:51:46.340 --> 00:51:48.079
not suggesting you call your boss and say, God

00:51:48.079 --> 00:51:49.739
told me not to come to work today. That's probably

00:51:49.739 --> 00:51:53.139
not going to work real well. But God, who do

00:51:53.139 --> 00:51:56.670
you want me to talk to? Where do you want me

00:51:56.670 --> 00:51:59.190
to go? God, I have this big decision in front

00:51:59.190 --> 00:52:02.190
of me. Everything looks perfect. It is the most

00:52:02.190 --> 00:52:04.409
obvious yes I've ever seen, but God, what is

00:52:04.409 --> 00:52:08.809
your will? What do you want from me? I'm excited

00:52:08.809 --> 00:52:14.489
about these plans, but are you in it? Because

00:52:14.489 --> 00:52:16.610
sometimes God will say, yeah, that makes perfect

00:52:16.610 --> 00:52:24.079
sense to you, but I have something else. And

00:52:24.079 --> 00:52:26.440
so sometimes you may be in that place where you're

00:52:26.440 --> 00:52:29.599
like, oh yeah, moving makes the perfect sense.

00:52:31.380 --> 00:52:33.480
Perfect sense, financially and for the family

00:52:33.480 --> 00:52:34.719
and spiritually and emotionally and everything.

00:52:34.780 --> 00:52:36.619
And God goes, yeah, but that's not my will for

00:52:36.619 --> 00:52:38.159
you. I want you to stay here. Are you going to

00:52:38.159 --> 00:52:45.059
obey? Sometimes God's like, you're looking at

00:52:45.059 --> 00:52:46.519
everything. You're like, staying is the most

00:52:46.519 --> 00:52:49.800
perfect plan. It makes the most sense. And God's

00:52:49.800 --> 00:52:52.500
going, yeah, but I want you to move. Right? That's

00:52:52.500 --> 00:52:55.099
why we inquire of the Lord to seek his will in

00:52:55.099 --> 00:52:59.260
everything. So let God's word guide you. That's

00:52:59.260 --> 00:53:02.179
what it's all about. So what do we learn here?

00:53:02.260 --> 00:53:03.699
What do we see in these things? A few things.

00:53:03.800 --> 00:53:07.219
One, when it comes to decisions, especially those

00:53:07.219 --> 00:53:10.519
that look great on paper, put the brakes on your

00:53:10.519 --> 00:53:12.699
excitement. Put the brakes on your emotion for

00:53:12.699 --> 00:53:17.260
just a beat. And go talk to the Lord about it.

00:53:18.039 --> 00:53:20.780
Ask the Lord to confirm or to redirect or whatever

00:53:20.780 --> 00:53:22.440
it may be. You know, because just because you're

00:53:22.440 --> 00:53:25.340
excited and it makes sense, just because it lines

00:53:25.340 --> 00:53:27.480
up with your desire, that doesn't mean that's

00:53:27.480 --> 00:53:32.400
what the Lord wants. Seek the Lord before you

00:53:32.400 --> 00:53:38.019
take a step, right? Okay, God. Sounds great.

00:53:38.599 --> 00:53:41.179
But what do you want me to do? The other one

00:53:41.179 --> 00:53:43.280
is to think corporately. You see, Jacob was facing

00:53:43.280 --> 00:53:44.780
a decision that was going to affect his whole

00:53:44.780 --> 00:53:48.739
family. His whole family. And it wasn't just

00:53:48.739 --> 00:53:51.800
him individually. And those are big decisions.

00:53:51.960 --> 00:53:53.659
I mentioned earlier, it's like everybody wants

00:53:53.659 --> 00:53:55.860
to move out of California, and if God's calling

00:53:55.860 --> 00:53:57.400
you to move out of California, please move out

00:53:57.400 --> 00:54:00.760
of California, okay? If God's calling you to

00:54:00.760 --> 00:54:04.460
stay in California, stay in California. But the

00:54:04.460 --> 00:54:07.699
point is here is sometimes people can make decisions

00:54:07.699 --> 00:54:09.820
and they're only thinking of themselves and they're

00:54:09.820 --> 00:54:12.059
forgetting about the corporate effect, right?

00:54:14.099 --> 00:54:17.280
You know, to... to leave your church family,

00:54:17.480 --> 00:54:21.059
to leave your community, that's a big deal. It

00:54:21.059 --> 00:54:24.139
is a big deal. It doesn't mean that you're all

00:54:24.139 --> 00:54:27.760
trapped here, but it does mean that it's a part

00:54:27.760 --> 00:54:29.960
of the decision making. You know, God works through

00:54:29.960 --> 00:54:31.980
families and churches and covenant communities

00:54:31.980 --> 00:54:35.440
and this family in your life, it has a major

00:54:35.440 --> 00:54:37.880
impact spiritually on who you are and who your

00:54:37.880 --> 00:54:42.070
kids are. It's a big impact and so consider The

00:54:42.070 --> 00:54:44.510
corporate effect of your decisions that might

00:54:44.510 --> 00:54:46.590
cause you to leave a place or break a relationship

00:54:46.590 --> 00:54:51.769
or whatever. It wasn't just Jacob going, of course

00:54:51.769 --> 00:54:53.710
I want to see my son. It was his whole family.

00:54:54.610 --> 00:54:57.329
If I make this decision, my whole family is affected.

00:54:57.630 --> 00:55:00.429
And your absence or lack of absence, whether

00:55:00.429 --> 00:55:02.130
it's in this church or any other church, is going

00:55:02.130 --> 00:55:08.610
to affect the family. So consider it in your

00:55:08.610 --> 00:55:11.309
decision making. Seek the Lord. And then really

00:55:11.309 --> 00:55:13.309
the big one is trusting God's long game, right?

00:55:13.449 --> 00:55:15.329
God's purposes are gonna outlast our lifetime.

00:55:17.530 --> 00:55:19.889
God, do you want me to go to Egypt? Is this the

00:55:19.889 --> 00:55:23.469
plan for you? He's like, Jacob, I'm gonna bring

00:55:23.469 --> 00:55:27.010
you back. Jacob didn't come back. Jacob died

00:55:27.010 --> 00:55:32.010
in Egypt. But the long plan, the big plan, God's

00:55:32.010 --> 00:55:35.679
plan is... what we should want and what we're

00:55:35.679 --> 00:55:38.699
guiding. And so if God says move and you don't

00:55:38.699 --> 00:55:40.960
want to, move because God's taking you somewhere

00:55:40.960 --> 00:55:42.860
because it's a part of his long game. If he's

00:55:42.860 --> 00:55:44.300
saying stay and you're like, I don't want to

00:55:44.300 --> 00:55:46.539
stay, stay because it's a part of God's long

00:55:46.539 --> 00:55:49.900
game. If he's saying take this job or don't take

00:55:49.900 --> 00:55:54.239
this job, whatever it is, God's purposes are

00:55:54.239 --> 00:55:57.619
being fulfilled through our lives. And so don't

00:55:57.619 --> 00:56:00.039
just think, oh, how it affects me now. Think,

00:56:00.799 --> 00:56:03.820
What effect is this decision going to have on

00:56:03.820 --> 00:56:07.199
me, my family, my extended family, the church

00:56:07.199 --> 00:56:10.099
community, God's kingdom, God's work? God, what

00:56:10.099 --> 00:56:13.159
do you want me to do? That's the idea of coming

00:56:13.159 --> 00:56:17.019
to him in inquiry. When Jacob got to the border,

00:56:17.139 --> 00:56:21.119
I believe he was able to cross, not because he

00:56:21.119 --> 00:56:23.920
had all the answers, but he had come to the place

00:56:23.920 --> 00:56:28.039
of saying, I trust the God who has all the answers.

00:56:29.400 --> 00:56:32.039
And so before we fully get into this decision,

00:56:32.219 --> 00:56:34.300
I'm going to inquire of him. And some of us here

00:56:34.300 --> 00:56:36.539
today, I mean, we might find ourselves on that

00:56:36.539 --> 00:56:41.360
side of the equation, right? We're at the border.

00:56:42.599 --> 00:56:44.659
And maybe some of us are standing at the border

00:56:44.659 --> 00:56:46.460
and God has already spoken and you're hesitating.

00:56:46.599 --> 00:56:52.179
Stop. Go. Maybe some of you are just like, you

00:56:52.179 --> 00:56:54.860
know, full speed towards the border. You're like

00:56:54.860 --> 00:56:57.219
not even going to stop at Beersheba. We don't

00:56:57.219 --> 00:56:59.119
need beef jerky on this journey, right? Yeah,

00:56:59.199 --> 00:57:01.000
this is great. And God's going, whoa, whoa, whoa,

00:57:01.000 --> 00:57:04.780
whoa. You're about to charge headlong into something

00:57:04.780 --> 00:57:10.320
and that's not my will for you. So like Jacob,

00:57:10.380 --> 00:57:11.940
even when it all makes sense and you're excited

00:57:11.940 --> 00:57:14.000
about the possibility, take a beat. Seek the

00:57:14.000 --> 00:57:18.719
Lord. Talk to him first. Like Joseph, who's kind

00:57:18.719 --> 00:57:21.619
of the side quest in this story. You know, as

00:57:21.619 --> 00:57:23.179
he went through his life, he didn't understand

00:57:23.179 --> 00:57:25.820
everything, but he was still able to say, God's

00:57:25.820 --> 00:57:28.039
hand is on it, so I'll just wait until God gives

00:57:28.039 --> 00:57:32.139
me clarity on things. And the reason we should

00:57:32.139 --> 00:57:35.039
do that is because the same God who guided Jacob,

00:57:35.239 --> 00:57:38.460
the same God who exalted Joseph, the same God

00:57:38.460 --> 00:57:40.659
who preserved Israel in the land of Egypt, the

00:57:40.659 --> 00:57:43.659
same God who delivered them in glory, the same

00:57:43.659 --> 00:57:47.039
God is guiding you. The same God is guiding me.

00:57:47.079 --> 00:57:51.050
The same God is guiding this church. So trust

00:57:51.050 --> 00:57:56.610
him. Worship him. Let him speak to you in every

00:57:56.610 --> 00:57:59.650
decision, no matter how obvious that decision

00:57:59.650 --> 00:58:02.730
feels. Make that a habit of your life, and I

00:58:02.730 --> 00:58:05.110
guarantee you, you're going to have more peace.

00:58:07.349 --> 00:58:10.670
Because you'll know confidently that you're in

00:58:10.670 --> 00:58:12.409
the place that God has called you to be. Amen?

00:58:12.989 --> 00:58:18.880
All right, let's pray. Father, we love you. And

00:58:18.880 --> 00:58:21.360
we thank you, God, for your presence. We thank

00:58:21.360 --> 00:58:23.260
you, God, for your will. We thank you, God, for

00:58:23.260 --> 00:58:29.619
your word. Lord, help us to just not forget.

00:58:29.699 --> 00:58:32.679
We see through a glass darkly, God, that we don't

00:58:32.679 --> 00:58:34.679
know everything, Lord. And your word says, hey,

00:58:34.739 --> 00:58:36.380
you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

00:58:36.559 --> 00:58:40.679
So that doesn't mean we don't plan. That doesn't

00:58:40.679 --> 00:58:42.619
mean we don't put things together. But God, we

00:58:42.619 --> 00:58:46.719
submit all of that to you. That, Lord, as we

00:58:46.719 --> 00:58:50.829
plan and Things make sense to us. Lord, help

00:58:50.829 --> 00:58:54.070
us to just stop and say, God, above all, are

00:58:54.070 --> 00:58:58.969
you in this? Is this what you want? Is this where

00:58:58.969 --> 00:59:02.710
you want me to go? God, all the details make

00:59:02.710 --> 00:59:05.429
sense for my life and my career and my family.

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Lord, all the details are so clear, but God,

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if it's not your will, I don't care how clear

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the details are, Lord. I want to follow you.

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Help us to do that. Help us to be that, God,

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no matter what that is. To be submitted to your

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will and then when you speak, we move, we follow,

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we act. God, you made Israel into a nation in

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Egypt. Lord, you're creating us, making us into

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your people, your church, your body here in the

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world. Help us to live and breathe and act. according

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to your Holy Spirit. We trust you. We love you.

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Help us to trust more. Increase our faith. Speak

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to us, Lord, through your word, through counsel,

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through worship, through prayer, that we would

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follow you in every step and that praying and

01:00:06.099 --> 01:00:08.300
seeking you would no longer be an afterthought

01:00:08.300 --> 01:00:10.119
of our decision -making, but it would just be

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a habit. We love you. We thank you. It's in Jesus'

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name we pray. Amen.