WEBVTT

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In the word today, we're in Genesis chapter 49

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and we are beginning the final words of Jacob.

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Have you ever had the opportunity to hear someone's

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final words? Some of us have. We've been in those

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circumstances with a loved one who is passing.

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But there's people I know who have been a part

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of like medical services and stuff and been at

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tragedies and have... heard the final words of

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somebody as they're passing. It's quite different

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than our first words, right, when we're, ooh,

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what's that? Okay, got distracted. When we are

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babies, right, our first words are what? Those

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are our first words, right? Very not intentional.

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We're just learning how to use our mouth and

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make noises, right? And it is the most adorable

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thing you've ever seen. But when we get to the

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other bookend of our life and we find ourselves

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in our last moments, you know, the final words

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we share are something that are altogether different.

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They're very distilled, very deliberate, very

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intentional, and in many ways, very sacred. Because

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in those times, you realize, This is it. There's

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no more tomorrow. There's no more, I'll get to

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that later. I'll tell them that next time I see

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them because that is the last time you're going

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to see them. Genesis chapter 49 is a continuation

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of the deathbed scene that we began in Genesis

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chapter 48. This is where the patriarch Jacob

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is dying and giving his last words. He's 147

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years old at this point. He's had a very difficult

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life. In fact, he told Pharaoh in Genesis chapter

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47 verse 9, he said, my years have been few and

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hard. You know, and few is, that's great insight

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on his part because we all know that our life

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compared to eternity, compared to forever, the

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Bible says is but a vapor. Poof, that's your

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whole life. You know, sometimes people describe

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it as the dash on the headstone, right? You got

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your birth date, your death date, and that dash

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is every decision, every thought, every relationship,

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every action, every moment of service, every

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act of generosity, every failure, every, all

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in that little dash. And if you've ever had a

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chance to go walk through a cemetery, maybe visiting

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your own loved one or not, You can walk for five

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minutes and literally pass by hundreds of years

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of life that you know nothing about. No detail,

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no story, no name, nothing. And here, Jacob is

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at the end of his poof. He's at the very edge

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of death. And although he's had many years of

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difficulty and stuff, it is in this moment he

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kind of rises to one of his greatest, grandest

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hours. Here we have the old struggler Jacob now

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speaking as Israel very boldly, very prophetically,

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speaking as the one in whose life God has won.

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And which is what Israel boils down to, the name

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that God gave him after wrestling with him, that

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God wins. And so Jacob's going to be speaking

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a prophecy here. It's very interesting. This

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is the very first prophecy declared by a man

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in Scripture. The first time a man is saying,

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I am directly declaring this is what the future

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holds. This is what God has shown me. And he

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tells his sons, I will tell you what will happen

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to you in the days to come. And these words that

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we're going to start studying in this chapter,

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these aren't words of vague hope. They're not

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words of sentiment, right? These aren't words

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where it's like, oh, you're gonna do so good,

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right? These are prophetic words. It's prophetic

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blessing about tribes, about histories that we

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can, from our point of view, look back and verify,

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and ultimately about the Savior that was to come

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from his point of view. This morning, we're looking

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at his words to his first four sons. It's going

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to be Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Three

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of them are disqualified and one is elevated.

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And we're going to learn why those three were

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disqualified and why the one was elevated. We're

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going to learn how uncontrolled passions ruin

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the potential that God gives us. We're going

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to see how repentant sinners are lifted by grace.

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And we're going to be reminded as we come together

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in communion this morning how God's plan has

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always centered in a coming king. the king of

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kings, the lord of lords, the lion of the tribe

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of Judah. And finally, we will ask, so what?

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What does this mean for me today? Which is the

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point of all Bible study that we learn and apply.

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But first, we're going to worship God because

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he is worthy. You guys agree he is worthy? Amen,

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right? Is he only worthy on Sunday? Every single

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day. And we get the opportunity, at least once

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a week, to come out of our own individual lives,

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to come together, to sit with one another, to

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pray with one another, to interact with one another,

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and to worship our Lord and Savior together.

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Hallelujah, what a sacred moment this is. Let's

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pray. Father, we love you so much, God. We're

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so thankful for what you've given us, God. We

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know that Lord, our entire lives are summed up

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in your word as a vapor, a puff of smoke. And

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yet, Lord, our lives, you know, before when we

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look back in our younger years and the years

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ahead of us, Lord, there seems to be so much

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time and so much that has been done. Or, you

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know, some of us, it's so much joy and some of

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us, it's mixed with so much regret. And yet,

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Lord, all of it. In the perspective that you

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show us in your Bible, it's a puff of smoke.

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And God, every single one of us one day will

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find ourselves at the end of this puff of smoke.

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And Lord, we'll be faced with the reality of

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leaving this life. And God, it's in those times

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we might think about what is most important,

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especially when it comes to the final words we're

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going to give to those that we love. And Lord,

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it's those final words that so often are going

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to show what really matters. Lord, whether we're

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speaking blessing and joy or whether we're speaking

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regret. And so, Lord, I pray today you would

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speak to us as we listen to Jacob's final words,

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that we would be encouraged, that we would be

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challenged, that we would again be reminded,

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Lord, that this life isn't as long as we think

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it is. And Lord, we have a choice to use this

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time to prepare for eternity or use this time

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to waste on temporal pleasures that are going

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to go away like a puff of smoke. So help us,

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Lord, to learn from what he says to his sons,

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God, as he is passing on his final wisdom to

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them, his final words of encouragement or rebuke.

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that, Lord, we would learn what they were intended

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to learn, that we would apply into our lives

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what it is we need to apply. God, that at the

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end of our days, there would be no regrets. At

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the end of our days, we would be able to look

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into your eyes as you're about to welcome us

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and just say, like Paul said, I've ran the race.

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I've fought the good fight. I'm ready, Lord.

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And so we love you. We worship you. We bless

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you, Lord. Bless us today. It's in Jesus' name

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we pray, amen. All right, Genesis chapter 49.

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So what do the final words of a dying man thousands

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of years ago have to do with us today? Well,

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let's figure it out. Genesis chapter 49, verse

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one. Then Jacob called his sons and said, gather

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around and I will tell you what will happen to

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you in the days to come. Come together and listen,

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sons of Jacob. Listen to your father Israel.

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Reuben, you were my firstborn, my strength, and

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the firstfruits of my virility, excelling in

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prominence, excelling in power. Turbulent as

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water, you will not excel, because you got into

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your father's bed and you defiled it. He got

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into my bed. Now, Reuben is the firstborn son,

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obviously, so he's the first one being addressed

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here by Jacob on his deathbed, and he refers

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to good things at first, right? His strength.

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He goes, you're my progeny, you know? And as

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he's saying these things, I can imagine Reuben.

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kind of feeling pretty good about this, right?

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Reuben knew he blew it, and yet here, as this

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time comes, you know, culturally, this is where

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the fathers would pronounce blessing onto their

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sons. This was kind of the last will and testament,

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if you will. This is where authority in the family

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was passed. This is where prophecy was spoken.

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And this is where even rebukes and challenges

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were said. And, you know, with Reuben's past,

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I could imagine he was expecting just to have

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the hammer drop on him. And his dad says these

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really, you know, positive things at first. And,

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you know, I mean, excelling in prominence. The

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idea of that is that you were a well -respected

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individual. That people respected you. When it

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says that he was excelling in power, that word

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power means dependable, right? Or you could say

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that he was known as a man of his word. is what

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he is saying here about Reuben, his firstborn.

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And he's going, man, you're... You were my strength.

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You were the first fruits. You know, I've known

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many dads over the years when their firstborn

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son is born, right? It's just like, oh, my son.

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We hold them up like Lion King. And because,

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you know, it's like, it's a very proud thing

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to have your first son to carry on the name.

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And so, yeah, he's saying these positive things,

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but then he shifts in these prophetic words and

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he says, you're as turbulent as water and you

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will not excel. That word turbulent means reckless.

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That, Ruben, you give little thought to danger.

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Like, you have a good reputation. People trust

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you. People trust your word, right? If Ruben

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says he's gonna do it, he's dependable. You can

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expect him to follow through, but you're turbulent.

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That word is reckless. You're reckless in your

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decision -making. You don't think about the consequences

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of your decisions. You don't think about what's

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gonna take place. And he uses that imagery of

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turbulent as water. It's like rushing floodwaters

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is the picture here. Have you ever seen like

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a flood coming down or the water's rushing down

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a stream after a dam breaks or something? This

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is the idea of Reuben's thought process in his

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decision making, that you flow wherever the desire

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pulls you. And those are kind of two big interesting

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contrasts, right? You're a well -respected guy.

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You have a good reputation. You're trustworthy,

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people trust your word, but man, you don't think

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before you act. You don't think of how your actions

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are going to affect other people. You just kind

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of do whatever you want to do in the moment.

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Now, in most cases, yeah, you're doing good things,

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but the thing he references here as he's pointing

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out at the end of his life and all the life Jacob

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has lived and all the stuff he's seen in the

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life of his firstborn. He points out one particular

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incident. It was 40 years earlier in Genesis

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35, 22, where Reuben had slept with his father's

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concubine. Now, if you remember back then, this

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is when they had just gotten back to the promised

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land, and his wife, Rachel, had passed, and she

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had passed in childbirth, giving birth to Benjamin,

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and that broke Jacob's heart. He was devastated

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over that. She was the love of his life, even

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though he had three other wives at the time or

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another wife and two concubines. She was the

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one, right? She was the one he truly loved. And

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so her kids were his favorite kids. And when

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she passed, he just kind of got depressed and

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just kind of gave up for a time and really gave

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up in many ways for the rest of his life. Reuben

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had seized the opportunity there, whether it

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was through purely lust, whether it was through

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pride, thinking I'm the firstborn, but he saw

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an opportunity to seize ownership of the family.

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The culture of the time, very patriarchal. Dad

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had pretty much absolute authority in the family.

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As he's sad and weak in the eyes of everybody

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at this time, Reuben's like, I'm gonna... seize

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control. And in the culture, if you slept with

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your father's wife, that act, and then if she

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got pregnant, even solidified that act more that

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you seized rulership, you seized authority, you

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seized control of the family. And so this is

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what Jacob is referencing here when he says,

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man, you had a great reputation. You had You

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were trusted, like your word meant something,

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and yet you did this thing. You did this thing.

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You let your desire lead you to try and seize

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power. And instead of that, you lost everything.

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You lost it all. Jacob says to him, you will

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not excel. You excelled in reputation, you excelled

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in power, but you will not excel. That word excel

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means to be the last one standing or to be distinguished

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above others. Reuben, you're the firstborn. You're

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the one who is supposed to inherit the authority.

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You're the one that's supposed to inherit the

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power. You're the one that's supposed to be the

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leader in the family. You're the one with the

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good reputation. You're the one whose word is

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trusted by people. And yet, because you let your

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passions override logic in that moment, you tried

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to take what wasn't yours. You did it the wrong

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way. And because of that, you will not excel.

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You will not be the first in strength. You will

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not be the first in reputation. You will not

00:15:01.549 --> 00:15:04.629
be the first in power. Nor will you be the last

00:15:04.629 --> 00:15:07.690
one standing when all others have faded away.

00:15:10.830 --> 00:15:13.690
History confirms this prophecy on Reuben and

00:15:13.690 --> 00:15:16.929
the tribe that came from him because as we study

00:15:16.929 --> 00:15:19.970
through the Old Testament, we'll come to find

00:15:19.970 --> 00:15:23.740
out that there wasn't a single prophet. a single

00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:27.320
king, or a single judge that ever came from the

00:15:27.320 --> 00:15:34.740
tribe of Reuben. What Reuben went from, he went

00:15:34.740 --> 00:15:38.679
from all of this notoriety, good reputation,

00:15:38.779 --> 00:15:45.679
to being insignificant. Because he made these

00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:47.940
choices or this choice that is being pointed

00:15:47.940 --> 00:15:50.940
out here and it was so heinous in the culture

00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:55.200
in the time that he went from this great reputation

00:15:55.200 --> 00:16:00.039
to having no reputation. He went from being a

00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:03.320
man whose word was trusted to being a tribe of

00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:05.860
people who were just insignificant that God didn't

00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:08.379
bother to raise up one person in that tribe to

00:16:08.379 --> 00:16:13.129
come speak his word. That's a big, big deal.

00:16:13.769 --> 00:16:19.429
The picture is the first became the last. And

00:16:19.429 --> 00:16:22.590
that is the history of the tribe of Reuben. Reuben's

00:16:22.590 --> 00:16:25.950
part in this story, and what we're to learn from

00:16:25.950 --> 00:16:28.590
this, is Reuben was a man who had fantastic potential,

00:16:28.950 --> 00:16:35.070
amazing potential, but he was ruined by uncontrolled

00:16:35.070 --> 00:16:41.139
passion. He was ruined by reckless decision -making.

00:16:43.340 --> 00:16:45.720
He had the first position, but because he couldn't

00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:48.580
exercise patience or control his lust, he lost

00:16:48.580 --> 00:16:52.179
everything. And that's something that can happen

00:16:52.179 --> 00:16:55.580
to us, that one bad decision or a series of bad

00:16:55.580 --> 00:17:01.559
decisions can ruin our legacy, can ruin our reputation.

00:17:03.659 --> 00:17:06.460
could take everything that most people would

00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:08.240
know about us and go, wow, this person has a

00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:10.259
great reputation, and they're a man of their

00:17:10.259 --> 00:17:12.519
word, or they're a woman of their word, and that

00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:14.980
reckless decision -making could end up, the fruit

00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:19.720
could be, it's gone. You're insignificant. You're

00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:25.940
unremarkable. And that's a very difficult thing

00:17:25.940 --> 00:17:29.930
for Reuben to have to face. I mean, look how

00:17:29.930 --> 00:17:32.369
Jacob emphasizes it by referring to him in the

00:17:32.369 --> 00:17:35.650
third person. Turban in his water, you will not

00:17:35.650 --> 00:17:37.569
excel because you got into your father's bed

00:17:37.569 --> 00:17:40.390
and defiled it. And then it's like he turns to

00:17:40.390 --> 00:17:41.789
the rest of the brothers and he's like, he got

00:17:41.789 --> 00:17:48.630
into my bed. Right? I'm going to refer to you

00:17:48.630 --> 00:17:50.049
in the third person now. And these are the last

00:17:50.049 --> 00:17:54.150
words he has for Reuben. What you did was terrible.

00:17:56.720 --> 00:18:01.420
And it's an unfortunate thing because we struggle

00:18:01.420 --> 00:18:03.880
with these things all the time. You know, we

00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:06.640
endeavor as God's people to be people of good

00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:08.779
reputation, right? We want to be people who are

00:18:08.779 --> 00:18:12.180
trustworthy, whose word means something. We want

00:18:12.180 --> 00:18:14.039
to be those people. That's what God wants us

00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:16.299
to be. God wants us to go into the world and

00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:19.779
represent him. And we all struggle with sin and

00:18:19.779 --> 00:18:22.259
we struggle with things, but one bad decision

00:18:22.259 --> 00:18:26.460
can destroy everything. All of it in a heartbeat.

00:18:28.380 --> 00:18:33.599
And it's unfortunate. Because in some cases,

00:18:33.619 --> 00:18:37.579
you have this entire life of beautiful and wonderful

00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:41.460
things, and at the end, all anybody is going

00:18:41.460 --> 00:18:43.319
to remember when they see that dash is that one

00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:47.140
horrible decision you made. And that horrible

00:18:47.140 --> 00:18:52.259
decision might reflect ill on God or His church.

00:18:55.339 --> 00:18:58.799
You know, and for Reuben, you know, position,

00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:05.440
it's not gained by grabbing, right? He already

00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:08.579
had a good reputation. He already, he had what

00:19:08.579 --> 00:19:13.539
God had given him in those regards, but he thought

00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:16.980
he deserved something and so made these bad decisions.

00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:20.819
In James chapter four, verse six, God says, or

00:19:20.819 --> 00:19:22.900
James says, God resists the proud but gives grace

00:19:22.900 --> 00:19:27.289
to the humble. Then in verse 10, he says, humble

00:19:27.289 --> 00:19:29.089
yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt

00:19:29.089 --> 00:19:37.769
you. Humility comes with doing the right thing

00:19:37.769 --> 00:19:43.369
even if it hurts. Humility is, God, you're right

00:19:43.369 --> 00:19:44.890
and I'm wrong and so I'm going to do what you

00:19:44.890 --> 00:19:49.009
say no matter what the cost is. Humility is,

00:19:49.089 --> 00:19:52.690
God, I am the wicked sinner you say I am. and

00:19:52.690 --> 00:19:55.089
so I'm not gonna try and protect my reputation.

00:19:55.190 --> 00:19:58.609
I'm not gonna try and protect anything that is

00:19:58.609 --> 00:20:01.549
of me because I just know God that I don't deserve

00:20:01.549 --> 00:20:04.329
anything. I'm a wicked sinner, and then what

00:20:04.329 --> 00:20:07.069
the Bible tells us is God says, cool, then I'm

00:20:07.069 --> 00:20:11.190
gonna do the work to raise you up. Reuben, unfortunately,

00:20:11.589 --> 00:20:14.190
learned this the hard way, and we see it play

00:20:14.190 --> 00:20:16.750
out in the history of his tribe. Verse five,

00:20:16.789 --> 00:20:19.750
we move on to brothers two and three. Simeon

00:20:19.750 --> 00:20:22.519
and Levi are brothers, Jacob says. Their knives

00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:25.680
are vicious weapons. May I never enter their

00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:27.519
council and may I never join their assembly.

00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:30.740
For in their anger they kill men and on a whim

00:20:30.740 --> 00:20:34.019
they hamstring oxen. Their anger is cursed for

00:20:34.019 --> 00:20:36.819
it is strong and their fury for it is cruel.

00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:39.740
I will disperse them throughout Jacob and scatter

00:20:39.740 --> 00:20:44.460
them throughout Israel. Imagine being at that

00:20:44.460 --> 00:20:46.980
reading of the last will and testament. Thanks,

00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:51.869
Dad. Wow. What would you say if you were really

00:20:51.869 --> 00:20:56.549
mad at me, right? Reuben probably was like, oh,

00:20:56.690 --> 00:20:59.549
got hit. Turbulent as water, you're not gonna

00:20:59.549 --> 00:21:02.470
excel. Oh, man. I can imagine Reuben right now

00:21:02.470 --> 00:21:05.930
going, you guys got it worse. Dad just really

00:21:05.930 --> 00:21:07.869
laid into them. And of course, we know the story

00:21:07.869 --> 00:21:10.890
from Genesis chapter 34 that Simeon and Levi

00:21:10.890 --> 00:21:12.829
were the ones who went in and slaughtered all

00:21:12.829 --> 00:21:16.170
the men in Shechem. That these were guys that

00:21:16.170 --> 00:21:20.269
used the sign of God's covenant, which was circumcision,

00:21:20.410 --> 00:21:23.750
right? This was a sign that God gave to his people

00:21:23.750 --> 00:21:27.190
to say, this sign represents a covenant that

00:21:27.190 --> 00:21:31.569
I made based on my character that is one -sided,

00:21:31.569 --> 00:21:34.829
that I am gonna save you and I am gonna redeem

00:21:34.829 --> 00:21:37.690
you. This is a sign of redemption. This is a

00:21:37.690 --> 00:21:40.430
sign of salvation. This is a sign sealing you

00:21:40.430 --> 00:21:47.210
as my people. And they took that sign, used it,

00:21:47.309 --> 00:21:49.089
told all the men of Shechem, hey, if you get

00:21:49.089 --> 00:21:52.170
circumcised, the horrible thing you did to our

00:21:52.170 --> 00:21:55.549
sister will be okay. And then they used that

00:21:55.549 --> 00:21:57.609
sign as a means of deception to go in and kill

00:21:57.609 --> 00:22:01.470
them all. And then they defended their actions

00:22:01.470 --> 00:22:04.769
as, well, righteous anger. We did the right thing.

00:22:06.650 --> 00:22:09.210
The problem is their anger was rooted in self

00:22:09.210 --> 00:22:12.190
-will, not God's. What does he say there? Your

00:22:12.190 --> 00:22:16.470
knives are vicious weapons. In your anger, you

00:22:16.470 --> 00:22:21.589
kill men. Not in justice, not in duty. In your

00:22:21.589 --> 00:22:24.710
anger, you kill men. And then he says, and on

00:22:24.710 --> 00:22:29.029
a whim, you hamstring oxen. See, not only were

00:22:29.029 --> 00:22:31.529
Simeon and Levi two guys that were driven by

00:22:31.529 --> 00:22:34.049
rage, the picture here is that they were mean.

00:22:34.230 --> 00:22:39.539
They were just mean people. And not only were

00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:41.420
they mean, but it says in their fury for it is

00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:43.740
cruel. We see this thing where it says on a whim

00:22:43.740 --> 00:22:48.279
they would hamstring oxen. You guys get the picture

00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:51.700
there? Walking down the road, hey, there's some

00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:53.799
cow. Let's go slice the back of their legs so

00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:58.660
they can't walk anymore. That's fine. They were

00:22:58.660 --> 00:23:00.619
mean, cruel individuals. You know, there's been

00:23:00.619 --> 00:23:05.640
many, many studies that people who are cruel

00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:10.079
to animals Not just, you know, what kids do.

00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:13.480
You know, like James, my grandson, when he gets

00:23:13.480 --> 00:23:15.940
excited, he gets amped up and he wants to hit

00:23:15.940 --> 00:23:19.180
things. And, you know, my poor dogs, right? You

00:23:19.180 --> 00:23:20.619
know, he'll like play with them and then they'll

00:23:20.619 --> 00:23:23.220
bark and then next thing you know, pow, elbow

00:23:23.220 --> 00:23:27.400
drop. And I'm like, whoa, bro, chill out. I taught

00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:28.799
him the elbow drop, so it's probably my fault.

00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:32.900
But I'm not talking about that kind of thing,

00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:36.529
but cruelty, right? And we all know what, you

00:23:36.529 --> 00:23:39.769
know, cruelty is, is inflicting intense, torturous

00:23:39.769 --> 00:23:42.049
pain, that type of thing, and finding pleasure

00:23:42.049 --> 00:23:43.730
in it. And there's been so many studies that

00:23:43.730 --> 00:23:46.150
find out that kids who are cruel to animals are

00:23:46.150 --> 00:23:48.650
significantly more likely to engage in violence

00:23:48.650 --> 00:23:51.769
against humans in their adult life. Significantly

00:23:51.769 --> 00:23:57.009
more likely. That's who Simeon and Levi were.

00:23:57.690 --> 00:24:02.410
Mean, cruel, hurtful. And they found pleasure

00:24:02.410 --> 00:24:06.059
in these things is the implication. But I do

00:24:06.059 --> 00:24:08.599
want you to notice that Jacob doesn't curse them

00:24:08.599 --> 00:24:12.759
directly. He curses their anger. Do you see that?

00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:18.119
Their anger is cursed, for it is strong. You

00:24:18.119 --> 00:24:22.920
see, the curse falls on their problem. The curse

00:24:22.920 --> 00:24:25.319
falls on their passion. The curse falls on their

00:24:25.319 --> 00:24:27.859
issue, but the curse doesn't fall on the person.

00:24:29.299 --> 00:24:32.119
Do you guys notice that? This distinction matters.

00:24:34.349 --> 00:24:37.609
Their anger, way out of control. Their wrath,

00:24:37.809 --> 00:24:41.910
unnecessarily cruel, right? They're the person

00:24:41.910 --> 00:24:46.430
who responds to the smallest thing like Lamech

00:24:46.430 --> 00:24:49.490
did. A kid bumped into me and I murdered him

00:24:49.490 --> 00:24:53.769
for it. I'm so powerful. I'm the man's man. This

00:24:53.769 --> 00:24:56.190
is the kind of idea that they were, but God doesn't

00:24:56.190 --> 00:24:58.549
say you guys are cursed. You, Simeon and Levi,

00:24:58.630 --> 00:25:01.910
he says your anger is cursed. Their violence.

00:25:02.859 --> 00:25:05.839
Not that this justifies anything, but it flowed

00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:07.519
out of what they thought was right. They thought

00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:10.940
they were doing the right thing. They thought

00:25:10.940 --> 00:25:13.720
that this was how the situation should be handled.

00:25:13.819 --> 00:25:18.099
They deserve death. All the men, not just the

00:25:18.099 --> 00:25:20.980
ones who raped their sister, but all the men

00:25:20.980 --> 00:25:26.319
of the whole city, they all deserve to die. And

00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:28.140
I point this out for a couple reasons because

00:25:28.140 --> 00:25:32.750
we all need to know that anger, in and of itself,

00:25:32.750 --> 00:25:37.750
is not sin. In fact, in Ephesians, Paul writes,

00:25:37.970 --> 00:25:43.829
be angry and do not sin. Or to put it another

00:25:43.829 --> 00:25:50.349
way, don't sin in and from your anger. But God

00:25:50.349 --> 00:25:54.309
never prohibits. being angry. Anger is one of

00:25:54.309 --> 00:25:56.789
the emotions that God gave us. Anger is one of

00:25:56.789 --> 00:25:59.970
the responses we have to what happens around

00:25:59.970 --> 00:26:03.670
us, but we could definitely sin in our anger.

00:26:04.509 --> 00:26:07.710
And the reason is, is because I think most anger,

00:26:07.829 --> 00:26:11.630
it simply flows from a wounded pride, right?

00:26:12.650 --> 00:26:21.990
How dare you do that to me? Don't you know? That

00:26:21.990 --> 00:26:25.170
I am the most important person in the universe

00:26:25.170 --> 00:26:29.230
and I have to get to work on time because my

00:26:29.230 --> 00:26:32.190
job is the most important thing and you dared

00:26:32.190 --> 00:26:39.089
cut me off? We don't say those words, but don't

00:26:39.089 --> 00:26:43.509
some of us act that way sometimes? We cut someone

00:26:43.509 --> 00:26:47.170
off. Oh, sorry. Someone cuts us off. We're like,

00:26:47.269 --> 00:26:49.450
I wish I had a rocket launcher attached to my

00:26:49.450 --> 00:26:59.549
car. It's wounded pride. I am most important

00:26:59.549 --> 00:27:02.829
and therefore. It destroys relationships, right?

00:27:02.869 --> 00:27:05.589
This is what happens in the communication problems

00:27:05.589 --> 00:27:08.609
that we all have. Someone says something that

00:27:08.609 --> 00:27:11.490
hurts your feelings, how dare you say that to

00:27:11.490 --> 00:27:14.430
me and now I have to defend myself and hurt you

00:27:14.430 --> 00:27:16.990
in equal measure and then oh my gosh, I can't

00:27:16.990 --> 00:27:19.029
believe you and right, this is how arguments

00:27:19.029 --> 00:27:21.190
happen between friends and between couples and

00:27:21.190 --> 00:27:25.309
in marriages and relationships. Because how dare

00:27:25.309 --> 00:27:27.890
you speak to me that way? How dare you not understand

00:27:27.890 --> 00:27:30.450
my point of view? How dare you not agree with

00:27:30.450 --> 00:27:34.710
my point of view? It creates distance between

00:27:34.710 --> 00:27:42.150
people. But responding to things this way, I

00:27:42.150 --> 00:27:43.789
think one of the worst things of all is it can

00:27:43.789 --> 00:27:45.910
be passed down through generations. And we see

00:27:45.910 --> 00:27:48.609
that all the time in our world. Children that

00:27:48.609 --> 00:27:51.869
grow up witnessing abuse often become abusers

00:27:51.869 --> 00:27:57.859
themselves. Children who observe their dad disrespect

00:27:57.859 --> 00:28:01.519
and abuse, whether it's physically or emotionally,

00:28:01.779 --> 00:28:05.319
abuse their spouse or treat them just incredibly

00:28:05.319 --> 00:28:08.500
unloving and disrespectful, they often grow up

00:28:08.500 --> 00:28:10.480
to be men who treat their wives the same way.

00:28:15.740 --> 00:28:19.339
But God doesn't discard those who bear his image.

00:28:20.619 --> 00:28:25.299
He targets what is destroying them. And that's

00:28:25.299 --> 00:28:29.299
the hope. That is the hope. You know, here's

00:28:29.299 --> 00:28:32.640
the proof. Although both of these guys were dispersed,

00:28:32.779 --> 00:28:34.680
he said you'll be dispersed throughout Jacob,

00:28:34.819 --> 00:28:37.160
right? Simeon and Levi were both dispersed. What

00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:39.880
that means is they ultimately did not inherit

00:28:39.880 --> 00:28:45.299
any land in the promised land. But Levi, his

00:28:45.299 --> 00:28:48.460
tribe doesn't end up in insignificance the way

00:28:48.460 --> 00:28:51.099
Simeon's did and the way Reuben's ultimately

00:28:51.099 --> 00:28:55.279
ends up. Simeon's tribe ends up just kind of

00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:57.759
disappearing. They get some land, and then they

00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:00.460
just kind of, and they get absorbed into Judah,

00:29:00.539 --> 00:29:02.339
the tribe of Judah, and there's no more tribe

00:29:02.339 --> 00:29:06.640
of Simeon. They're gone. No history, nothing

00:29:06.640 --> 00:29:10.940
significant. But the Levites, later on in Exodus

00:29:10.940 --> 00:29:14.819
chapter 32, When Israel had escaped Egypt and

00:29:14.819 --> 00:29:17.099
they're in the wilderness and they get to Sinai,

00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:19.380
then Moses is like, hey, I'm gonna go up there

00:29:19.380 --> 00:29:21.420
and talk to God. And God's like, hey, Moses,

00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:24.380
come up. I wanna give you my commandments. And

00:29:24.380 --> 00:29:25.759
the people are down there and they're like, dang,

00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:29.400
Moses has been gone a long time. And then some

00:29:29.400 --> 00:29:32.400
of them are like, we've been abandoned. It was

00:29:32.400 --> 00:29:35.740
a mistake to leave Egypt. We need to make our

00:29:35.740 --> 00:29:37.779
own God who will get us out of this. So collect

00:29:37.779 --> 00:29:40.019
all the gold and they made the golden calf. You

00:29:40.019 --> 00:29:44.329
guys remember that story? And they start worshiping

00:29:44.329 --> 00:29:45.990
the golden calf that they fashioned with their

00:29:45.990 --> 00:29:47.789
own hands because that was the God that was going

00:29:47.789 --> 00:29:51.410
to get them out of the problem. Well, Moses comes

00:29:51.410 --> 00:29:53.650
back down and says, what are you guys doing?

00:29:56.490 --> 00:29:59.390
And then he like Captain America's the Ten Commandments

00:29:59.390 --> 00:30:03.269
tablets at him. I don't know. That's a picture

00:30:03.269 --> 00:30:08.750
in my head sometimes. Throws the tablets down.

00:30:08.809 --> 00:30:12.769
He's like, what are you doing, you know? Well,

00:30:12.829 --> 00:30:18.670
in that incident, the Levites are the ones who

00:30:18.670 --> 00:30:22.769
said, that's not right. We shouldn't worship

00:30:22.769 --> 00:30:26.509
that. That is wrong. We're going to stand on

00:30:26.509 --> 00:30:33.869
the Lord's side. It was their zeal, their intensity,

00:30:34.130 --> 00:30:41.039
their stubbornness, all that made them Going

00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:45.019
back to Levi, harsh, cruel, angry people, self

00:30:45.019 --> 00:30:47.079
-righteous, maybe you would call it legalistic,

00:30:47.140 --> 00:30:49.359
the ones who like to point out, you're a sinner,

00:30:49.519 --> 00:30:51.759
you're a sinner, you can't do that, how dare

00:30:51.759 --> 00:30:56.920
you? That zeal, that intensity that was once

00:30:56.920 --> 00:31:00.380
destructive was then redirected towards holiness.

00:31:02.740 --> 00:31:05.420
And they became the priestly tribe of Israel.

00:31:05.849 --> 00:31:08.509
They became the teachers of God's law. They became

00:31:08.509 --> 00:31:11.609
the channels of the covenant blessing. Moses

00:31:11.609 --> 00:31:13.849
and Aaron and other faithful servants came from

00:31:13.849 --> 00:31:18.130
the tribe of Levi. Great significance. They became

00:31:18.130 --> 00:31:22.569
defenders of righteousness as a tribe, as a people,

00:31:22.650 --> 00:31:24.650
as a tribal identity. And so their scattering

00:31:24.650 --> 00:31:28.089
became a blessing. What sounded like a curse

00:31:28.089 --> 00:31:37.220
was turned into a calling. Why? Well, one, because

00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:41.799
the man wasn't cursed. The problem was. God cursed

00:31:41.799 --> 00:31:49.119
the anger. The man was not abandoned. The idea

00:31:49.119 --> 00:31:53.460
in cursing the anger is if you continue in this,

00:31:53.460 --> 00:31:58.720
this way, bad things are going to happen. Consequences,

00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:01.119
judgment's going to come. And that's what happened

00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:06.089
to Simeon and his people. But that zeal, that

00:32:06.089 --> 00:32:09.789
stuff that's a part of you, if you redirect that

00:32:09.789 --> 00:32:11.369
towards what's right, you redirect that towards

00:32:11.369 --> 00:32:14.490
holiness, I will do something with you. And that's

00:32:14.490 --> 00:32:20.130
the hope for all of us. That's the hope. Whereas

00:32:20.130 --> 00:32:22.069
we look at Reuben's part of the story and we

00:32:22.069 --> 00:32:25.089
go, dang, one decision could ruin your legacy,

00:32:25.289 --> 00:32:31.019
could destroy your reputation. Being ruled by

00:32:31.019 --> 00:32:34.660
anger and a self -directed will, I'm going to

00:32:34.660 --> 00:32:36.000
do what I think is right and I'm going to be

00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:39.200
cruel and I'm going to be harsh, can lead to

00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:43.539
insignificance as it did with Simeon. But if

00:32:43.539 --> 00:32:47.500
we listen to the Lord, if we humble ourselves,

00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:54.880
God can redeem those things. God will put his

00:32:54.880 --> 00:32:56.759
finger on lust. He'll put his finger on anger.

00:32:56.839 --> 00:33:00.339
He will expose pride. There are times where God

00:33:00.339 --> 00:33:03.539
will allow sin to be cried out from the rooftops,

00:33:03.579 --> 00:33:10.299
but he does it to redeem us. He does it to heal

00:33:10.299 --> 00:33:16.779
us, not to erase us. God doesn't put his finger

00:33:16.779 --> 00:33:18.500
on those things or expose those things because

00:33:18.500 --> 00:33:20.400
he just wants to be like, aha, look at you, terrible

00:33:20.400 --> 00:33:26.509
person, gone. He wants to redeem. But when he

00:33:26.509 --> 00:33:28.450
puts his finger on the thing, when he exposes

00:33:28.450 --> 00:33:33.049
the sin, when he brings it to light, the outcome

00:33:33.049 --> 00:33:36.609
is determined by a response. Are we gonna listen?

00:33:36.849 --> 00:33:41.869
Are we gonna obey? Are we gonna do what he says

00:33:41.869 --> 00:33:48.170
to do no matter how hard it is? Will we follow

00:33:48.170 --> 00:33:56.690
righteousness and goodness? Even when it hurts

00:33:56.690 --> 00:34:06.349
people you care about. He does all of it to redeem

00:34:06.349 --> 00:34:10.449
us. The lessons here is unchecked passion invites

00:34:10.449 --> 00:34:15.590
judgment. Reckless living invites judgment. Being

00:34:15.590 --> 00:34:18.210
harsh and cruel and angry in an ungodly way,

00:34:18.329 --> 00:34:22.090
that invites judgment. But repentant sinners,

00:34:22.369 --> 00:34:25.639
those who say, you know what, no. I'm going to

00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:28.739
finally call what's evil, evil, and what's good

00:34:28.739 --> 00:34:32.000
is good. And I'm going to stand against the evil.

00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:36.219
Those are the ones that remain in the sphere

00:34:36.219 --> 00:34:40.679
of grace. So if you hear God addressing your

00:34:40.679 --> 00:34:45.960
anger this morning, or your self -will this morning,

00:34:46.019 --> 00:34:48.300
your destructive patterns this morning, right?

00:34:49.900 --> 00:34:52.039
What I want to encourage you with this is this.

00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:56.179
Don't confuse conviction with rejection. The

00:34:56.179 --> 00:35:00.139
Holy Spirit convicts. God puts his thumb on it.

00:35:00.179 --> 00:35:02.400
God reveals. God brings it to light so that you

00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:08.199
can repent. It's not rejection. It's not you're

00:35:08.199 --> 00:35:10.239
no longer my child. It's not I don't love you

00:35:10.239 --> 00:35:11.840
anymore. It's not that you can't be a part of

00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:16.960
my family. You see, we'll do things in our lives

00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:21.900
and the rod of correction or judgment will fall.

00:35:22.619 --> 00:35:25.809
That's called consequences. But we can't ever

00:35:25.809 --> 00:35:28.150
forget that that rod of correction is still held

00:35:28.150 --> 00:35:30.849
by a father who wants to extend grace and mercy

00:35:30.849 --> 00:35:35.510
and forgiveness. He may let the consequences

00:35:35.510 --> 00:35:39.070
fall, but that doesn't mean that we're cut off

00:35:39.070 --> 00:35:43.530
from him. And we have to remember these things.

00:35:44.900 --> 00:35:47.159
Because if we find ourselves like Simeon and

00:35:47.159 --> 00:35:50.199
Levi in their anger going, they need to pay and

00:35:50.199 --> 00:35:52.579
this needs to be done and re -react just in our

00:35:52.579 --> 00:35:56.300
own self -will and not in a godly way, be very

00:35:56.300 --> 00:36:04.920
careful. Lest God treat you the same way. Don't

00:36:04.920 --> 00:36:12.139
be so quick to go expose everybody's sins. If

00:36:12.139 --> 00:36:15.809
you're not willing to have yours exposed. Now,

00:36:15.829 --> 00:36:18.929
I'm not saying we don't deal and expose things

00:36:18.929 --> 00:36:25.409
that need to be dealt with. But if you're overzealous

00:36:25.409 --> 00:36:29.010
about making sure that person is held accountable

00:36:29.010 --> 00:36:31.469
and convicted and da -da -da -da -da -da and

00:36:31.469 --> 00:36:37.130
disqualified, and you're going to go aggressively,

00:36:37.190 --> 00:36:39.429
just let's put aside forgiveness, grace, and

00:36:39.429 --> 00:36:41.469
mercy. They have to pay. We need our pound of

00:36:41.469 --> 00:36:48.110
flesh, which is what Simeon and Levi did. then

00:36:48.110 --> 00:36:51.269
expect someone to get on a rooftop and to scream

00:36:51.269 --> 00:36:57.230
your sins out for the whole world to see. Vengeance

00:36:57.230 --> 00:37:02.610
is mine, says the Lord. I'm content with letting

00:37:02.610 --> 00:37:09.340
him handle those things. Now when God says, this

00:37:09.340 --> 00:37:10.840
is how I'm going to handle it, I want you to

00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:12.860
do this or do that, right, you do it. You go

00:37:12.860 --> 00:37:15.059
talk to your people. You go say, hey, I've heard

00:37:15.059 --> 00:37:18.239
this, and they're not responding. You know, there's

00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:21.980
biblical models that we follow, but we have to

00:37:21.980 --> 00:37:26.420
be careful to not be like Simeon, who disappeared

00:37:26.420 --> 00:37:29.500
into unremarkable obscurity, but to be like Levi

00:37:29.500 --> 00:37:33.300
and say, look. We may be zealous, we may be intense,

00:37:33.539 --> 00:37:35.099
we may be all these things, but let's be intense

00:37:35.099 --> 00:37:37.420
for holiness. Let's be intense for righteousness.

00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:40.199
Let's be intense for what is right. Not what

00:37:40.199 --> 00:37:44.559
feels good, but what is right. So now we move

00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:49.619
on to brother four. Verse eight. Judah, your

00:37:49.619 --> 00:37:51.599
brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on

00:37:51.599 --> 00:37:54.360
the necks of your enemies. Your father's sons

00:37:54.360 --> 00:37:57.280
will bow down to you. Judah is a young lion,

00:37:57.480 --> 00:38:01.719
my son. You return from the kill. He crouches.

00:38:01.719 --> 00:38:05.159
He lies down like a lion or a lioness. Who dares

00:38:05.159 --> 00:38:09.380
to rouse him? So, we've gotten through the first

00:38:09.380 --> 00:38:12.179
three sons. They're disqualified. We get to Judah

00:38:12.179 --> 00:38:14.460
now. Now, we know Judah has his own skeletons

00:38:14.460 --> 00:38:16.860
in the closet, right? Judah was the one who suggested

00:38:16.860 --> 00:38:20.820
selling Joseph into slavery to begin with. We

00:38:20.820 --> 00:38:23.500
read a whole chapter. God said, let's devote

00:38:23.500 --> 00:38:27.920
a whole chapter. to Judah's sleeping with a prostitute,

00:38:28.099 --> 00:38:29.679
right? Talk about things being yelled from the

00:38:29.679 --> 00:38:31.059
rooftops when they need to be yelled from the

00:38:31.059 --> 00:38:34.480
rooftops, right? There was a reason for that

00:38:34.480 --> 00:38:38.159
and God allowed that. And so we read about him

00:38:38.159 --> 00:38:41.480
getting tricked by Tamar, his dead son's wife,

00:38:41.760 --> 00:38:44.239
who was supposed to be taken care of into the

00:38:44.239 --> 00:38:46.820
family and she was due inheritance and stuff

00:38:46.820 --> 00:38:49.860
and Judah just kind of ignored her and so she

00:38:49.860 --> 00:38:52.599
tricked her father -in -law and he ends up sleeping

00:38:52.599 --> 00:38:57.980
with her and she ends up getting pregnant. Judah

00:38:57.980 --> 00:39:01.139
has skeletons in his closet. Judah has stuff

00:39:01.139 --> 00:39:04.519
in his background. But something has changed

00:39:04.519 --> 00:39:06.280
because as we read the story through Genesis,

00:39:06.420 --> 00:39:09.139
when the time came where Benjamin, the youngest

00:39:09.139 --> 00:39:12.139
son, was facing slavery in Egypt, where Joseph,

00:39:12.260 --> 00:39:14.239
before he had revealed himself, said, you guys

00:39:14.239 --> 00:39:17.360
go home. I'm going to keep this one as the collateral.

00:39:17.500 --> 00:39:19.579
He's going to serve me forever. And Judah had

00:39:19.579 --> 00:39:21.500
come to this place. It was in Genesis chapter

00:39:21.500 --> 00:39:25.780
44, verse 33, where he finally came to the place

00:39:25.780 --> 00:39:29.019
and he said, All of this is because of my sin,

00:39:29.079 --> 00:39:31.880
the decisions I've made. I'm a sinner. I'm not

00:39:31.880 --> 00:39:34.820
justifying anymore. I'm not trying to excuse

00:39:34.820 --> 00:39:37.059
it. I'm not trying to water down the truth. I'm

00:39:37.059 --> 00:39:39.539
just calling it out as transparent as I can.

00:39:39.679 --> 00:39:41.860
This is because of us, he told his brothers.

00:39:42.019 --> 00:39:44.880
We're in this because of what we did to our brother

00:39:44.880 --> 00:39:48.599
Joseph 20 years ago, 22 years ago. So he finally

00:39:48.599 --> 00:39:51.619
steps up and he goes, look, we're sinners. We're

00:39:51.619 --> 00:39:54.460
wrong. We deserve all the judgment. End of story,

00:39:54.579 --> 00:40:03.269
period. And then what he said is, so take me

00:40:03.269 --> 00:40:09.309
instead of Benjamin. I deserve the life of judgment.

00:40:10.369 --> 00:40:13.650
I deserve the slavery here in Egypt. I'm the

00:40:13.650 --> 00:40:16.170
one who deserves to pay the price because I'm

00:40:16.170 --> 00:40:18.070
the sinner. Benjamin didn't do anything. He's

00:40:18.070 --> 00:40:20.389
innocent. Let him go. I will take his place.

00:40:23.070 --> 00:40:25.250
He was willing to substitute himself so that

00:40:25.250 --> 00:40:28.920
another would go free. And this was sacrificial

00:40:28.920 --> 00:40:33.079
love. This was a humble love. He's willing to

00:40:33.079 --> 00:40:36.800
lay down his own life for another. He said, they're

00:40:36.800 --> 00:40:40.739
more important than me. Their life is more important

00:40:40.739 --> 00:40:44.260
than my life. And he did all that because of

00:40:44.260 --> 00:40:47.780
what he came to understand. Nobody else should

00:40:47.780 --> 00:40:51.800
have to suffer the penalty for my sin. I did

00:40:51.800 --> 00:40:56.210
that. Oh, but it was because I was raised this

00:40:56.210 --> 00:40:58.530
way. So what? It was sin. God made it very clear

00:40:58.530 --> 00:41:02.230
what is and isn't sin. Do you notice? Have you

00:41:02.230 --> 00:41:04.050
ever read the Ten Commandments? Are there any

00:41:04.050 --> 00:41:08.869
caveats in there? Thou shalt not lie unless it's

00:41:08.869 --> 00:41:10.610
going to get you out of trouble with your wife.

00:41:11.730 --> 00:41:16.550
No caveats. Thou shalt not steal unless you really

00:41:16.550 --> 00:41:22.659
need it. Thou shalt not steal shall not use the

00:41:22.659 --> 00:41:26.460
name of the Lord in vain unless you stubbed your

00:41:26.460 --> 00:41:31.920
toe really hard. No caveats. It's pretty cut

00:41:31.920 --> 00:41:40.960
and dry. And yet, Judah was like, I've sinned.

00:41:41.400 --> 00:41:43.780
Period. No excuse. Sometimes we try and justify,

00:41:43.920 --> 00:41:48.280
right? Well, yeah, but that person's sin, what

00:41:48.280 --> 00:41:50.980
they did is so much worse than what I've done.

00:41:51.059 --> 00:41:54.579
They deserve to be exposed and held accountable

00:41:54.579 --> 00:41:57.420
for the whole world to see. And that exposure,

00:41:57.519 --> 00:41:59.679
like I said, it may be necessary in some cases,

00:41:59.699 --> 00:42:02.260
but when we're too zealous about that, because

00:42:02.260 --> 00:42:04.579
we're minimizing our own sin and maximizing our

00:42:04.579 --> 00:42:06.500
own sin, we're forgetting what the word of God

00:42:06.500 --> 00:42:09.760
says. All have sinned and fallen short of the

00:42:09.760 --> 00:42:13.460
glory of God. The wages of sin is death. All

00:42:13.460 --> 00:42:18.360
sin. Your lie? Equally as guilty as the murderer.

00:42:19.960 --> 00:42:22.239
This is the hard one for me and a lot of people.

00:42:23.320 --> 00:42:29.380
You stole a paper clip at work? You're just as

00:42:29.380 --> 00:42:33.880
guilty as a pedophile in the context of sin before

00:42:33.880 --> 00:42:40.420
a holy and righteous God. Sin leads to death.

00:42:42.500 --> 00:42:45.869
Sin is what led Christ to hang on the cross and

00:42:45.869 --> 00:42:49.050
to bleed and to die for us. And then God comes

00:42:49.050 --> 00:42:53.150
in and he goes, guess what? I will step in your

00:42:53.150 --> 00:43:00.570
place. I will sacrifice myself because I love

00:43:00.570 --> 00:43:05.869
you so much. And he didn't say, but I'm only

00:43:05.869 --> 00:43:08.230
doing this for the sins that are category three

00:43:08.230 --> 00:43:11.820
and below. The sins category four and above,

00:43:11.900 --> 00:43:16.500
I'm sorry, you're done. Paul was a murderer.

00:43:19.519 --> 00:43:23.400
And God restored him and redeemed him and gave

00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:28.659
us the New Testament. Judah had come to understand

00:43:28.659 --> 00:43:31.559
the depth of his sin and we see in Judah's story

00:43:31.559 --> 00:43:36.739
that humility precedes elevation. Humble yourself

00:43:36.739 --> 00:43:42.130
and he will exalt you. And now the humble Judah,

00:43:42.210 --> 00:43:44.289
understanding he deserves nothing because he's

00:43:44.289 --> 00:43:47.070
a sinner, he's lifted up, right? This whole prophecy

00:43:47.070 --> 00:43:48.750
here. He says, all of your brothers will bow

00:43:48.750 --> 00:43:54.710
to you. They will praise you. I imagine Joseph

00:43:54.710 --> 00:43:56.570
going, hey, I had that dream when I was a kid.

00:43:57.130 --> 00:44:00.449
But it was me. But hey, good times, Judah. It's

00:44:00.449 --> 00:44:03.599
pretty cool. You will be strong, victorious,

00:44:03.980 --> 00:44:07.300
right? The very symbol of his tribe here is prophesied

00:44:07.300 --> 00:44:09.260
that the symbol of Judah will become the lion,

00:44:09.420 --> 00:44:13.099
majestic and dominant and unchallenged. That

00:44:13.099 --> 00:44:16.360
is what's gonna represent Judah. Not insignificance,

00:44:16.360 --> 00:44:25.360
not fading into obscurity, but the lion. Verse

00:44:25.360 --> 00:44:27.460
10, he says, the scepter will not depart from

00:44:27.460 --> 00:44:29.900
Judah or the staff from between his feet until

00:44:29.900 --> 00:44:32.860
he whose right it is comes and the obedience

00:44:32.860 --> 00:44:35.599
of the peoples belongs to him. So this is where

00:44:35.599 --> 00:44:37.980
leadership and authority is given to Judah, right?

00:44:38.280 --> 00:44:41.059
Reuben, you're the firstborn, disqualified. Simeon

00:44:41.059 --> 00:44:43.539
and Levi, two, three, disqualified. Number four,

00:44:43.679 --> 00:44:48.119
you are now gonna be the head of the family.

00:44:49.449 --> 00:44:53.170
You are gonna have the rulership here. And it

00:44:53.170 --> 00:44:55.489
wasn't because he took it. It wasn't even because

00:44:55.489 --> 00:44:58.130
he thought he deserved it. In fact, he was ready

00:44:58.130 --> 00:44:59.989
to go be a slave in Egypt for the rest of his

00:44:59.989 --> 00:45:03.849
life. That Benjamin and the rest of the family

00:45:03.849 --> 00:45:06.630
would go free. And now here, because he humbled

00:45:06.630 --> 00:45:10.610
himself and repented of his sin, he is not just

00:45:10.610 --> 00:45:13.590
restored to the family, he is lifted up to lead

00:45:13.590 --> 00:45:17.800
it. Now the scepter there, this is a thing that

00:45:17.800 --> 00:45:20.119
is symbolic of the right to rule, right? Kings

00:45:20.119 --> 00:45:23.900
would often hold scepters, you know, and in old

00:45:23.900 --> 00:45:25.599
days sometimes it was like if you could steal

00:45:25.599 --> 00:45:27.619
the scepter, you had the right to rule, you know?

00:45:29.559 --> 00:45:31.119
Somebody shows up one day and they're holding

00:45:31.119 --> 00:45:32.519
the scepter of the king and everybody's like,

00:45:32.619 --> 00:45:35.059
oh, I guess you're king now, right? It's like,

00:45:35.099 --> 00:45:37.320
but it was this thing. It was a symbol of power.

00:45:37.360 --> 00:45:38.940
It's like the crown on the king's head, right?

00:45:42.280 --> 00:45:44.940
It was. Representing royal authority and tribal

00:45:44.940 --> 00:45:47.619
sovereignty and the legal right to rule. And

00:45:47.619 --> 00:45:51.119
Judah, it says, was the scepter. They were given

00:45:51.119 --> 00:45:53.320
the scepter and it won't depart for a particular

00:45:53.320 --> 00:45:57.719
time. And we see that even when Israel was under

00:45:57.719 --> 00:46:01.099
Babylonian rule, Judah was still allowed to self

00:46:01.099 --> 00:46:05.059
-govern to a degree. They were still allowed

00:46:05.059 --> 00:46:10.159
to rule themselves. In early Roman rule, they

00:46:10.159 --> 00:46:12.659
were allowed to maintain their tribal identity.

00:46:12.860 --> 00:46:15.079
And they even had judicial authority, right?

00:46:15.219 --> 00:46:18.099
They were allowed to do capital punishment within

00:46:18.099 --> 00:46:20.719
the confines of their own legal system while

00:46:20.719 --> 00:46:25.239
they were under Roman and Babylonian rule. And

00:46:25.239 --> 00:46:28.659
so the scepter, right, it's seen as this visible

00:46:28.659 --> 00:46:31.960
symbol. That the kingship belongs to this tribe.

00:46:32.039 --> 00:46:36.659
And of course, 640 years later, King David comes

00:46:36.659 --> 00:46:41.920
from the tribe of Judah. And ultimately, we see

00:46:41.920 --> 00:46:43.900
it come in Jesus, the final and everlasting king

00:46:43.900 --> 00:46:49.519
of kings. Now the staff, this was a symbol of

00:46:49.519 --> 00:46:53.000
the exercise of rule. Like not only did you have

00:46:53.000 --> 00:46:54.820
the authority to rule, but you also had the authority

00:46:54.820 --> 00:46:59.219
to enforce law. Right, so one was like. The throne,

00:46:59.239 --> 00:47:02.139
one was the courtroom. These are two aspects

00:47:02.139 --> 00:47:05.679
of the right to govern and pass law and execute

00:47:05.679 --> 00:47:09.420
law and enforce law. And so he says, you're gonna

00:47:09.420 --> 00:47:11.480
have this scepter and it won't depart from Judah

00:47:11.480 --> 00:47:14.619
or the staff from between his feet until he whose

00:47:14.619 --> 00:47:18.820
right it is comes. Somebody is gonna come who

00:47:18.820 --> 00:47:21.219
has the right to that scepter and the right to

00:47:21.219 --> 00:47:24.159
that staff. Judah, you're gonna hold on to it

00:47:24.159 --> 00:47:27.579
until that person comes. Any idea who that person

00:47:27.579 --> 00:47:33.639
is? Jesus Christ. Other translations here say

00:47:33.639 --> 00:47:37.500
until Shiloh comes. That word Shiloh literally

00:47:37.500 --> 00:47:41.539
means he to whom it belongs. So what it's saying

00:47:41.539 --> 00:47:43.860
is the right to rule, the right to enforce law

00:47:43.860 --> 00:47:47.889
will not depart from Judah until he Whose right

00:47:47.889 --> 00:47:50.750
it is to have those things comes. And so for

00:47:50.750 --> 00:47:53.670
centuries, Judah maintained this tribal identity.

00:47:54.030 --> 00:47:57.130
And even under foreign rule, as I said, they

00:47:57.130 --> 00:48:00.769
hung on to this identity. But the time came when

00:48:00.769 --> 00:48:03.230
Rome removed Israel's ability to enact capital

00:48:03.230 --> 00:48:08.449
punishment. That Israel was no longer allowed

00:48:08.449 --> 00:48:13.449
to death penalty people. And the Jewish leaders

00:48:13.449 --> 00:48:15.769
at the time said, the scepter has departed from

00:48:15.769 --> 00:48:21.320
Judah. And Shiloh has not come. You know what

00:48:21.320 --> 00:48:24.380
they didn't know? When those words were spoken,

00:48:24.460 --> 00:48:26.159
there was a little boy in Nazareth who was growing

00:48:26.159 --> 00:48:31.380
up. They had no idea. But the prophecy held true.

00:48:31.739 --> 00:48:35.539
Shiloh had come. Verse 11, in this prophecy to

00:48:35.539 --> 00:48:38.800
Judah, he goes on to explain the kingdom of this

00:48:38.800 --> 00:48:41.579
one who will come. And in the nature of this

00:48:41.579 --> 00:48:44.980
leader, it says, He ties his donkey to a vine

00:48:44.980 --> 00:48:46.780
and the colt of his donkey to a choice vine.

00:48:46.880 --> 00:48:49.159
He washes his clothes in wine and his robes in

00:48:49.159 --> 00:48:51.900
the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than

00:48:51.900 --> 00:48:55.989
wine and his teeth are whiter than milk. So the

00:48:55.989 --> 00:48:58.309
idea with vines here, we know that vines produce

00:48:58.309 --> 00:49:02.789
grapes, grapes produce wine. Wine was a common

00:49:02.789 --> 00:49:05.349
beverage of the time, but as we know today, there

00:49:05.349 --> 00:49:07.969
are different vintages, and there's the cheap

00:49:07.969 --> 00:49:10.050
wine you get at Aldi, and then there's the expensive

00:49:10.050 --> 00:49:12.469
wine you have to keep in a cellar somewhere,

00:49:12.570 --> 00:49:15.829
right? And there's the really expensive stuff.

00:49:15.849 --> 00:49:19.190
The idea here of tying a donkey to a vine is

00:49:19.190 --> 00:49:25.760
saying that these grapes, especially, The choice

00:49:25.760 --> 00:49:33.019
grapes are going to be so common that you'll

00:49:33.019 --> 00:49:34.820
basically just tie your donkey to it as a hitching

00:49:34.820 --> 00:49:36.559
post and the donkey can feed on the grapes and

00:49:36.559 --> 00:49:38.460
nobody cares. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, those are

00:49:38.460 --> 00:49:41.260
the expensive grapes. What are you doing? That's

00:49:41.260 --> 00:49:47.079
this idea here that during his kingdom, fine

00:49:47.079 --> 00:49:50.059
wine is going to be as common as water. used

00:49:50.059 --> 00:49:52.219
to wash clothes, that there's going to be such

00:49:52.219 --> 00:49:55.340
an amazing abundance and prosperity during this

00:49:55.340 --> 00:49:58.079
future king's ruling. When he comes, it's going

00:49:58.079 --> 00:49:59.800
to be an extravagant abundance. It's going to

00:49:59.800 --> 00:50:03.079
be an overflowing joy. And the picture is just,

00:50:03.099 --> 00:50:06.440
it's a prosperity that is so rich that things

00:50:06.440 --> 00:50:09.420
we normally consider precious become common.

00:50:11.599 --> 00:50:13.840
For example, does anybody know how much gold

00:50:13.840 --> 00:50:18.039
is an ounce today? About $5 ,000 roughly. It's

00:50:18.039 --> 00:50:21.690
fluctuating. That's pretty valuable, right? What

00:50:21.690 --> 00:50:24.050
are the streets of heaven made out of? Gold.

00:50:26.309 --> 00:50:28.929
You'll be driving through heaven one day. I don't

00:50:28.929 --> 00:50:29.849
know if we're going to be driving to heaven.

00:50:31.690 --> 00:50:34.269
And then you hit a pothole. And I don't know

00:50:34.269 --> 00:50:35.750
if there's going to be potholes in heaven. But,

00:50:35.750 --> 00:50:38.190
yeah, there's a pothole in the road and they're

00:50:38.190 --> 00:50:42.789
going to bring gold. There you go. Potholes filled,

00:50:42.969 --> 00:50:48.469
right? The idea. Gold, which is so valuable to

00:50:48.469 --> 00:50:54.429
us today, it's asphalt. You know? It's road paving.

00:50:55.389 --> 00:50:58.349
So it's gonna be this abundance, and this type

00:50:58.349 --> 00:51:00.969
of imagery exploded in John chapter two when

00:51:00.969 --> 00:51:02.750
Jesus was in Cana at the wedding. You remember

00:51:02.750 --> 00:51:06.110
that? The first public miracle of Jesus. He goes

00:51:06.110 --> 00:51:08.170
into this wedding, and in a wedding, they would

00:51:08.170 --> 00:51:10.889
put out the good wine, right, until the people

00:51:10.889 --> 00:51:12.429
got a little tipsy, and then they would put out

00:51:12.429 --> 00:51:14.610
the watered -down wine because you were too tipsy

00:51:14.610 --> 00:51:16.949
to notice it was cheap wine, right? But then

00:51:16.949 --> 00:51:21.130
they ran out of wine at this wedding, and all

00:51:21.130 --> 00:51:23.289
they had was water left, and then Jesus, he turns

00:51:23.289 --> 00:51:26.110
the water into wine. And then when they serve

00:51:26.110 --> 00:51:28.110
that wine, the people are like, oh my goodness,

00:51:28.230 --> 00:51:31.429
host? The host of the wedding. You saved the

00:51:31.429 --> 00:51:36.250
really, really good stuff to the very end. And

00:51:36.250 --> 00:51:38.929
the picture of all of that is go get drunk. No,

00:51:38.989 --> 00:51:43.230
just kidding. That's not the lesson, right? The

00:51:43.230 --> 00:51:45.929
lesson is that when Jesus comes into the picture,

00:51:46.170 --> 00:51:52.440
he brings what is best. What is of true value,

00:51:52.539 --> 00:51:55.420
it's through him that abundance and prosperity

00:51:55.420 --> 00:51:57.000
comes. And I'm not just talking about financial.

00:51:57.260 --> 00:51:59.039
I'm just talking about in a life of peace and

00:51:59.039 --> 00:52:01.039
blessing and joy and all of those things. It's

00:52:01.039 --> 00:52:07.559
in Christ. Genesis 49 there in John 2 is glimmering

00:52:07.559 --> 00:52:12.510
into fulfillment. It's a glimpse of the prosperity

00:52:12.510 --> 00:52:14.849
to come. And then in Revelation chapter five,

00:52:15.010 --> 00:52:16.969
John is caught up to heaven. He's having a vision

00:52:16.969 --> 00:52:20.050
of the throne room of heaven. And he sees the

00:52:20.050 --> 00:52:22.670
scroll with seven seals on it. And the scroll

00:52:22.670 --> 00:52:27.389
represents the ownership of creation and earth

00:52:27.389 --> 00:52:29.869
and heavens and universe and everything. Like

00:52:29.869 --> 00:52:32.630
God created everything. It belonged to him. But

00:52:32.630 --> 00:52:35.510
when mankind sinned against God, since we were

00:52:35.510 --> 00:52:38.030
the caretakers of it all, we essentially handed

00:52:38.030 --> 00:52:41.550
Satan the title deed. to all of creation. And

00:52:41.550 --> 00:52:43.869
that's why Satan's been allowed to just run wild

00:52:43.869 --> 00:52:47.710
all these years. This is why he took Jesus up

00:52:47.710 --> 00:52:49.329
on the hill and said, hey, this is all mine.

00:52:49.409 --> 00:52:51.909
I'll give it to you if you just worship me. So

00:52:51.909 --> 00:52:55.050
in Revelation, when John's having this vision,

00:52:55.369 --> 00:52:57.690
he starts crying because he's like, there's nobody

00:52:57.690 --> 00:53:01.590
worthy. to buy back what was given over to Satan

00:53:01.590 --> 00:53:03.829
in the fall. There's nobody worthy to purchase

00:53:03.829 --> 00:53:08.329
back the right of all that comes with that. And

00:53:08.329 --> 00:53:10.929
then there's an elder in verse five that says,

00:53:11.010 --> 00:53:16.449
look, right there, the lion of the tribe of Judah,

00:53:16.489 --> 00:53:18.369
he has conquered and he is able to open the scroll.

00:53:19.769 --> 00:53:22.489
And then right after that, it says, I looked.

00:53:24.369 --> 00:53:26.889
And John says, I saw one slaughtered like a lamb.

00:53:30.210 --> 00:53:36.670
Jesus is the lion in the right to rule, in the

00:53:36.670 --> 00:53:41.630
right to make law, to enforce law, to enact judgment

00:53:41.630 --> 00:53:44.409
and penalty for breaking the law. He has the

00:53:44.409 --> 00:53:46.510
right and the power and the authority to do all

00:53:46.510 --> 00:53:49.530
of that. But simultaneously, he is the lamb who

00:53:49.530 --> 00:53:52.190
is slain. He is the Judah who stepped forward

00:53:52.190 --> 00:53:57.699
and said, take me instead. And then he was brutally

00:53:57.699 --> 00:54:00.760
crucified on the cross for our sins. When it

00:54:00.760 --> 00:54:03.139
says his eyes are darker than wine and teeth

00:54:03.139 --> 00:54:05.860
whiter than milk, you know in ancient times we

00:54:05.860 --> 00:54:09.139
didn't have dentists. A lot of people had nasty

00:54:09.139 --> 00:54:12.699
teeth. Those that had white teeth that were healthy

00:54:12.699 --> 00:54:14.539
and stuff, it was usually a sign of wealth and

00:54:14.539 --> 00:54:18.320
prestige and all those types of things. But the

00:54:18.320 --> 00:54:21.980
picture of the dark eyes, it's a picture of radiant

00:54:21.980 --> 00:54:25.360
vitality and joyful abundance and restorative

00:54:25.360 --> 00:54:28.420
strength. The idea here is that this ruler is

00:54:28.420 --> 00:54:31.400
gonna come from Judah, who has the right to rule,

00:54:31.500 --> 00:54:33.380
the right to make law, the right to enforce law,

00:54:33.519 --> 00:54:36.920
and his reign is gonna be marked by the opposite

00:54:36.920 --> 00:54:39.000
of scarcity. It's gonna be marked by abundance,

00:54:39.119 --> 00:54:41.719
not curse. It's gonna be flourishing and full

00:54:41.719 --> 00:54:45.139
of life. And you go, cool, why does this prophecy

00:54:45.139 --> 00:54:50.420
matter to us today? One, because it reminds us

00:54:50.420 --> 00:54:53.880
that God has a plan for all of history. All of

00:54:53.880 --> 00:54:57.030
history. Do you know what all of history includes?

00:54:58.230 --> 00:55:02.070
The history that hasn't happened yet. Right,

00:55:02.090 --> 00:55:04.010
we look back and we go, wow, God had a plan for

00:55:04.010 --> 00:55:06.250
everything, right? And then sometimes we forget

00:55:06.250 --> 00:55:09.929
about tomorrow is history that God already has

00:55:09.929 --> 00:55:14.329
a plan for. You know, our world today, we just

00:55:14.329 --> 00:55:19.530
went and entered into war with Iran. Personally,

00:55:19.849 --> 00:55:24.440
I'm glad that regime is being overthrown. I lament

00:55:24.440 --> 00:55:27.860
for casualties. I lament for the innocent that

00:55:27.860 --> 00:55:33.019
are being hurt. But people are like, oh, anytime

00:55:33.019 --> 00:55:34.719
a bomb drops in the Middle East, it's the end

00:55:34.719 --> 00:55:38.860
times. You know, and God knows that's going to

00:55:38.860 --> 00:55:41.920
happen. God knew that was going to happen. We

00:55:41.920 --> 00:55:43.699
can't look at what's happening in our world and

00:55:43.699 --> 00:55:45.679
speculate forward and get all like worried and

00:55:45.679 --> 00:55:47.219
freaked out that, oh, God doesn't know what's

00:55:47.219 --> 00:55:51.880
going on. God has a plan for history. Now above

00:55:51.880 --> 00:55:54.860
that, God's plan has centered on a person, Jesus

00:55:54.860 --> 00:55:57.500
Christ. Do you know the answer to every problem

00:55:57.500 --> 00:56:03.300
humanity has is Jesus Christ? If everybody just

00:56:03.300 --> 00:56:06.099
served the Lord without selfishness and sin,

00:56:06.320 --> 00:56:09.079
da -da -da, guess what we wouldn't have? War.

00:56:10.320 --> 00:56:19.269
Hurt. Betrayal. But we're not there yet. Today,

00:56:19.389 --> 00:56:21.250
the answer for the conflict and the troubles

00:56:21.250 --> 00:56:22.829
you have in your life, in your marriage, with

00:56:22.829 --> 00:56:27.269
the kids, at work, is Jesus, more Jesus. Know

00:56:27.269 --> 00:56:29.269
him more, fall in love with him more, know about

00:56:29.269 --> 00:56:33.730
him more, study his word more. This was the prophecy

00:56:33.730 --> 00:56:35.409
here. This was the plan all the way back in the

00:56:35.409 --> 00:56:39.630
very beginning. This prophecy tells us that character

00:56:39.630 --> 00:56:43.789
shapes destiny for God's people, right? Judah's

00:56:43.789 --> 00:56:45.650
a sinner, just like Simeon, Levi, and Reuben.

00:56:48.590 --> 00:56:54.030
But what changed? What changed in Judah? Judah's

00:56:54.030 --> 00:56:57.510
the one who finally humbled himself. Fully humbled

00:56:57.510 --> 00:57:01.949
himself. And he got elevated. And then it also

00:57:01.949 --> 00:57:05.449
tells us that grace can redeem failure. You know,

00:57:05.489 --> 00:57:10.809
if you've messed up, and you're thinking, God's

00:57:10.809 --> 00:57:13.550
done with me. He wants to erase me. That's not

00:57:13.550 --> 00:57:19.139
true. Yes, there may be. consequences for the

00:57:19.139 --> 00:57:20.659
actions you've done, and there may be serious

00:57:20.659 --> 00:57:23.019
consequences, and there may be life -altering

00:57:23.019 --> 00:57:25.500
consequences, and those consequences may hurt.

00:57:26.539 --> 00:57:29.440
But what's more important than here is there.

00:57:31.699 --> 00:57:38.119
And grace can redeem failure. The Bible tells

00:57:38.119 --> 00:57:40.539
us that when God forgets our sin, it's as far

00:57:40.539 --> 00:57:42.099
as the east as the west. Think about this. God

00:57:42.099 --> 00:57:44.119
who created everything. God of the universe.

00:57:45.530 --> 00:57:48.570
God who spoke light into existence has chosen

00:57:48.570 --> 00:58:01.210
to forget your sin. Can God make a tree or a

00:58:01.210 --> 00:58:05.309
rock so big he can't lift it? We're not going

00:58:05.309 --> 00:58:09.170
to go down that rabbit trail. God knows all things,

00:58:09.250 --> 00:58:11.409
but can God choose to forget some things? The

00:58:11.409 --> 00:58:15.780
Bible tells us he did, and it's our sin. And

00:58:15.780 --> 00:58:19.340
that's the sin of stealing the paperclip. That's

00:58:19.340 --> 00:58:25.059
the sin of abuse and betrayal. That's the sin

00:58:25.059 --> 00:58:29.380
of murder. That's even the sin of someone who

00:58:29.380 --> 00:58:32.519
commits the heinous crime of doing something

00:58:32.519 --> 00:58:38.619
against children. Every sin God forgets for the

00:58:38.619 --> 00:58:44.639
one who finally comes to him in repentance. But

00:58:44.639 --> 00:58:46.699
that future kingdom, that future reign, the abundance,

00:58:46.820 --> 00:58:49.219
the vitality and all of that, it comes through

00:58:49.219 --> 00:58:52.760
the blood of the covenant. I think when it said

00:58:52.760 --> 00:58:54.719
he washes clothes in the blood of grapes, this

00:58:54.719 --> 00:58:57.539
was a prophetic hint, a prophetic foreshadowing

00:58:57.539 --> 00:58:59.920
to the cross because it tells us that sacrifice

00:58:59.920 --> 00:59:06.179
is embedded into abundance. God gave his life

00:59:06.179 --> 00:59:08.659
for you and me that we would have eternal life

00:59:08.659 --> 00:59:16.039
in paradise. You want abundance of joy. You want

00:59:16.039 --> 00:59:19.300
abundance of peace. You want abundance of just

00:59:19.300 --> 00:59:23.280
like, I'm walking with God and there's no guilt

00:59:23.280 --> 00:59:24.719
and all that. You want an abundance of things.

00:59:24.760 --> 00:59:27.219
It comes through sacrifice. Now, I know God says,

00:59:27.219 --> 00:59:28.940
I want obedience, not sacrifice. That's a different

00:59:28.940 --> 00:59:32.130
Bible study. But for the sake of right now. is

00:59:32.130 --> 00:59:34.050
when you say, I'm gonna lay down my reputation,

00:59:34.150 --> 00:59:36.449
I'm gonna lay down my pride, I'm gonna lay down

00:59:36.449 --> 00:59:40.909
my worry about my life and my family, which are

00:59:40.909 --> 00:59:43.130
real important. I'm gonna lay all that down at

00:59:43.130 --> 00:59:44.710
the foot of the cross. I'm gonna put it all on

00:59:44.710 --> 00:59:49.730
the altar. That's when God does miraculous things.

00:59:53.349 --> 00:59:56.210
From Genesis 3, 15 forward, the promise, we've

00:59:56.210 --> 00:59:59.760
seen it narrow down from Eve. to Shem, to Abraham,

00:59:59.940 --> 01:00:02.519
to Isaac, to Jacob, to Judah, to David, to Jesus.

01:00:04.340 --> 01:00:07.739
This is not us having a faith that's just made

01:00:07.739 --> 01:00:09.900
up out of nothing. You know, these things didn't,

01:00:09.900 --> 01:00:12.860
they weren't invented in the first century by

01:00:12.860 --> 01:00:14.860
some people who decided to make up a religion.

01:00:15.000 --> 01:00:17.079
The Savior was promised in the very beginning

01:00:17.079 --> 01:00:19.539
of creation. It is spoken through the creation,

01:00:19.739 --> 01:00:21.719
and not only was he promised, the Savior came,

01:00:21.960 --> 01:00:24.400
and the Savior died according to the scriptures,

01:00:24.500 --> 01:00:28.860
and his name is Jesus Christ. Now, some of us

01:00:28.860 --> 01:00:34.599
this morning are Reuben, right? We have great

01:00:34.599 --> 01:00:37.380
potential. You have great potential, but you're

01:00:37.380 --> 01:00:40.699
guided by unrestrained passions. You're reckless.

01:00:42.860 --> 01:00:45.579
Some of us are Simeon, Levi. We're strong, zealous,

01:00:45.579 --> 01:00:49.019
but self -willed. Have an anger that's simmering

01:00:49.019 --> 01:00:52.880
just below the surface at all times, right? Bruce

01:00:52.880 --> 01:00:56.719
Banner's secret, I'm always angry. And you're

01:00:56.719 --> 01:01:00.719
just frustrated all the time. Some of us are

01:01:00.719 --> 01:01:03.800
Judah. We're ashamed of our past, but we've been

01:01:03.800 --> 01:01:05.639
changed through faith and repentance. And here's

01:01:05.639 --> 01:01:10.059
the invitation. Bring your passions to the cross

01:01:10.059 --> 01:01:13.440
and submit them unto the control and the guidance

01:01:13.440 --> 01:01:18.400
of the Holy Spirit. Take lust captive. Confess

01:01:18.400 --> 01:01:20.460
anger honestly. Stop excusing what God calls

01:01:20.460 --> 01:01:24.000
sin. Bow before the sovereignty of God. Your

01:01:24.000 --> 01:01:26.739
circumstances are not accidents. They're opportunities

01:01:26.739 --> 01:01:31.000
to respond to the Lord. The golden calf incident

01:01:31.000 --> 01:01:34.099
was an opportunity for the Levites to redeem

01:01:34.099 --> 01:01:38.880
their heritage. And the opportunity is will you

01:01:38.880 --> 01:01:40.800
turn away from the lion and the lamb or will

01:01:40.800 --> 01:01:45.260
you turn towards him? Judah's blessing came after

01:01:45.260 --> 01:01:50.079
repentance. So does ours. Now, the end of Jacob's

01:01:50.079 --> 01:01:53.289
life here, he was seeing dimly. But we see it

01:01:53.289 --> 01:01:55.809
very clearly, right? We see that the lion has

01:01:55.809 --> 01:01:58.070
come. We see that the lamb has been slain. We

01:01:58.070 --> 01:02:00.750
see that the scepter and staff belong to him.

01:02:00.869 --> 01:02:04.309
And one day, every knee will bow. The Bible tells

01:02:04.309 --> 01:02:06.909
us that. The only question is when. Now, for

01:02:06.909 --> 01:02:08.750
some of you in this room today or watching online,

01:02:09.110 --> 01:02:11.829
the question is simply this. Are you going to

01:02:11.829 --> 01:02:16.369
bow now? In repentance? In worship? Are you going

01:02:16.369 --> 01:02:18.869
to take the opportunity to bow before the Lord

01:02:18.869 --> 01:02:21.409
as we're about to come to the communion table

01:02:21.409 --> 01:02:23.710
remembering his death on the cross and the sacrifice

01:02:23.710 --> 01:02:25.489
for us? Or are you going to wait until later

01:02:25.489 --> 01:02:28.030
when he forces you to bow? Because you're going

01:02:28.030 --> 01:02:34.210
to bow either way. He is God Almighty. Now we

01:02:34.210 --> 01:02:36.090
come to the table this morning in repentance

01:02:36.090 --> 01:02:39.989
and joy, right? We come to this moment in communion

01:02:39.989 --> 01:02:42.190
remembering the abundant life that was promised,

01:02:42.329 --> 01:02:44.809
remembering the blood that was shed to secure

01:02:44.809 --> 01:02:48.769
our joy and our peace. We have to remember that

01:02:48.769 --> 01:02:54.570
uncontrolled passion ruins joy. But repentance

01:02:54.570 --> 01:03:01.210
restores because the lion reigns. Now Jesus is

01:03:01.210 --> 01:03:04.429
coming back. And he's not just coming back for

01:03:04.429 --> 01:03:06.369
the sons of Jacob. He's coming back for all who

01:03:06.369 --> 01:03:11.050
have responded to the invitation. To be a citizen

01:03:11.050 --> 01:03:14.670
of that kingdom. To be a child of God. And if

01:03:14.670 --> 01:03:16.250
you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal

01:03:16.250 --> 01:03:18.210
God, your personal Lord and Savior this morning,

01:03:18.369 --> 01:03:21.409
I would be remiss to not give you an opportunity

01:03:21.409 --> 01:03:24.530
to respond to him right now. To know him right

01:03:24.530 --> 01:03:30.090
now. To come to that saving relationship with

01:03:30.090 --> 01:03:32.719
him. And we do that through confession. We do

01:03:32.719 --> 01:03:34.840
that through repentance. We acknowledge the truth

01:03:34.840 --> 01:03:37.579
that we are sinners, that we have broken his

01:03:37.579 --> 01:03:41.500
law, that he is holy, that we are not. And when

01:03:41.500 --> 01:03:44.119
we stand before him, a holy and righteous God,

01:03:44.400 --> 01:03:46.539
that when we stand before him, we are guilty,

01:03:46.599 --> 01:03:50.539
deserving of judgment. And yet we acknowledge

01:03:50.539 --> 01:03:53.760
the truth that Jesus Christ, who is God in the

01:03:53.760 --> 01:03:57.000
flesh, came to die in our place, to came to pay

01:03:57.000 --> 01:04:01.099
our price. And when we put our faith in that

01:04:01.099 --> 01:04:07.519
atoning sacrifice, when we accept that that paid

01:04:07.519 --> 01:04:13.639
our price, that it was enough to redeem us, we're

01:04:13.639 --> 01:04:16.940
set free from our sin nature. We're set free

01:04:16.940 --> 01:04:19.139
from our controlled passions. We're set free

01:04:19.139 --> 01:04:22.860
from our destructive anger. Now we could still

01:04:22.860 --> 01:04:25.119
give into it, and that's the problem we have

01:04:25.119 --> 01:04:27.519
here on earth, and that's the walk of obedience,

01:04:27.880 --> 01:04:32.949
right? But when you yield to the lordship of

01:04:32.949 --> 01:04:35.489
Jesus Christ, you receive the free gift of salvation.

01:04:36.110 --> 01:04:39.769
You receive the sure hope of eternal life and

01:04:39.769 --> 01:04:42.869
the promise of heaven. A place where there is

01:04:42.869 --> 01:04:44.969
no more sin and there is no more pain and there

01:04:44.969 --> 01:04:47.650
is no more sorrow. There's just perfect love

01:04:47.650 --> 01:04:58.070
and perfect joy. You can have that now. Access

01:04:58.070 --> 01:05:00.559
to that now. the hope of all those things now,

01:05:00.659 --> 01:05:03.960
a changed life now. All you have to do is pray.

01:05:08.320 --> 01:05:10.539
Let's all remember together this morning here

01:05:10.539 --> 01:05:13.079
as we come to the table of the Lord, the fulfilled

01:05:13.079 --> 01:05:15.500
promise, the fulfilled prophetic word of salvation

01:05:15.500 --> 01:05:18.260
through Jesus Christ, the payment made on our

01:05:18.260 --> 01:05:21.380
behalf that we would all have the hope of eternity

01:05:21.380 --> 01:05:25.519
in paradise without sin. We remember this morning

01:05:25.519 --> 01:05:28.530
Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. the Lord of

01:05:28.530 --> 01:05:31.690
Lords, our High Priest, our Deliverer, the Lion

01:05:31.690 --> 01:05:34.309
of the tribe of Judah, and the Lamb who was slain

01:05:34.309 --> 01:05:40.550
for us. Let's pray. Father, we trust You in all

01:05:40.550 --> 01:05:42.269
things and we thank You, God, for who You are.

01:05:49.670 --> 01:05:52.210
Lord, we acknowledge You this morning in knowing

01:05:52.210 --> 01:05:57.670
that we're nothing without You. Lord, that with

01:05:57.670 --> 01:06:00.170
you, as your word says, we are sons of God, spotless

01:06:00.170 --> 01:06:03.269
without sin. And yet, Lord, we have this life

01:06:03.269 --> 01:06:05.590
here on earth where we have both of our natures

01:06:05.590 --> 01:06:07.730
with us and one pulling at us into temptation

01:06:07.730 --> 01:06:10.730
and one that pulls us towards you in obedience.

01:06:14.349 --> 01:06:19.909
And God, in your sovereignty, seeing all things

01:06:19.909 --> 01:06:22.349
and knowing all things, Lord, you give us the

01:06:22.349 --> 01:06:27.119
opportunity every moment of every day. To choose

01:06:27.119 --> 01:06:32.000
what is good and what is right or to choose what

01:06:32.000 --> 01:06:37.900
is wrong. God, saved or unsaved, we face those

01:06:37.900 --> 01:06:40.619
choices every day in this brief life we have.

01:06:42.820 --> 01:06:44.739
But God, for those who are saved and who have

01:06:44.739 --> 01:06:48.440
put their faith in you, the promise of a covenant

01:06:48.440 --> 01:06:52.599
has been applied to them. That they are saved

01:06:52.599 --> 01:06:54.760
through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ who

01:06:54.760 --> 01:07:02.300
hung on the cross for them. And that now moving

01:07:02.300 --> 01:07:08.199
forward, it's not a question of salvation. It's

01:07:08.199 --> 01:07:14.199
not a question of eternity in heaven. It's a

01:07:14.199 --> 01:07:17.199
question of consequence and blessing here and

01:07:17.199 --> 01:07:21.840
now. And even an effect on heaven, Lord. And

01:07:21.840 --> 01:07:24.880
that's another study as well, God. But Lord,

01:07:24.920 --> 01:07:29.860
for those who don't know you this morning, the

01:07:29.860 --> 01:07:35.900
question is, heaven or hell? The question is,

01:07:35.920 --> 01:07:37.539
is when they reach the end of this life and their

01:07:37.539 --> 01:07:41.039
vapor, their puff of smoke comes to an end, will

01:07:41.039 --> 01:07:45.230
they enter into heaven forgiven? experiencing

01:07:45.230 --> 01:07:48.250
a love that is just beyond comprehension or where

01:07:48.250 --> 01:07:52.110
they enter into the judgment, the righteous judgment,

01:07:52.170 --> 01:07:54.130
because you have the right to rule, the right

01:07:54.130 --> 01:07:56.110
to enforce, and the right to enact punishment,

01:07:56.309 --> 01:07:58.690
Lord, so it will be a perfectly righteous judgment

01:07:58.690 --> 01:08:03.489
against their sin, against their breaking your

01:08:03.489 --> 01:08:07.050
law. So, Lord, I pray right now if there's any

01:08:07.050 --> 01:08:08.949
in this room that don't know you as Lord and

01:08:08.949 --> 01:08:11.889
Savior and they know they need to. Just right

01:08:11.889 --> 01:08:13.489
now as we're praying, Lord, that they would repeat

01:08:13.489 --> 01:08:16.970
after me and say, Lord, I recognize that I'm

01:08:16.970 --> 01:08:20.149
a sinner. I acknowledge I've broken your law.

01:08:22.489 --> 01:08:26.750
I do deserve punishment. I do deserve judgment.

01:08:29.050 --> 01:08:33.229
But Lord, I put my faith in you. I believe in

01:08:33.229 --> 01:08:39.170
the prophecy that you would come. I believe that

01:08:39.170 --> 01:08:46.399
you did. I believe in you, Jesus Christ. I believe

01:08:46.399 --> 01:08:50.520
that you died in my place. I believe that you

01:08:50.520 --> 01:08:55.100
rose again. And I believe that my faith in you

01:08:55.100 --> 01:09:01.060
forgives me of all the wrong I've ever done and

01:09:01.060 --> 01:09:05.560
ever will do. Help me to live for you, Lord.

01:09:08.970 --> 01:09:10.909
Help me to lead a life where I have no regrets.

01:09:13.770 --> 01:09:15.689
Lord, help me to lead a life that honors you.

01:09:15.750 --> 01:09:20.069
Help me to walk in obedience. But Lord, right

01:09:20.069 --> 01:09:25.250
now, help me to remember the penalty, the cost

01:09:25.250 --> 01:09:32.390
of my salvation, Lord. We thank you. I thank

01:09:32.390 --> 01:09:36.390
you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. Don't ever forget

01:09:36.390 --> 01:09:38.810
what God's done for you. Don't ever forget what

01:09:38.810 --> 01:09:41.409
he's extended to you. Don't ever forget what

01:09:41.409 --> 01:09:44.149
he planned to do before you were even alive.

01:09:46.229 --> 01:09:48.109
Walk in righteousness through the power of the

01:09:48.109 --> 01:09:50.409
Holy Spirit. Ask him to help you and empower

01:09:50.409 --> 01:09:54.109
you to do good and to do right. And then walk

01:09:54.109 --> 01:09:57.510
in faith and walk in grace and mercy when you

01:09:57.510 --> 01:10:01.090
mess up. But with that, God bless you guys. I

01:10:01.090 --> 01:10:03.550
pray the Lord would richly bless you. I pray

01:10:03.550 --> 01:10:05.829
the Lord would show redemption in your life.

01:10:06.390 --> 01:10:09.850
That God would provide restoration through your

01:10:09.850 --> 01:10:12.810
life, that relationships would be restored, that

01:10:12.810 --> 01:10:16.430
sins would be forgiven, that God would be glorified.

01:10:16.449 --> 01:10:18.010
Amen? God bless you guys.