1 00:00:00,001 --> 00:00:10,100 I just wanted to do maybe just a real quick update. The world continues to have 2 00:00:10,100 --> 00:00:16,900 birth pains, right? And one thing about birth pains is they get more intense and 3 00:00:16,900 --> 00:00:24,860 closer together. And just this morning I was reading about an 4 00:00:24,860 --> 00:00:30,540 earthquake in the Philippines, flooding in China, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, killing 5 00:00:30,540 --> 00:00:37,420 some people. Israel on the brink of all-out war, as quoted from some Russian 6 00:00:37,420 --> 00:00:45,620 military dude. Israel, after successfully eliminating Hamas and Hezbollah 7 00:00:45,620 --> 00:00:51,340 leaders in Lebanon and Iran, it seems like the imminent threat from Iran, 8 00:00:51,340 --> 00:00:59,100 Turkey, and Russia seems to be inching closer and closer to Ezekiel 38 and 39. 9 00:00:59,100 --> 00:01:03,620 As we watch that, it is quite interesting. You know, you would think 10 00:01:03,620 --> 00:01:08,580 that we've had some of these skirmishes at the border of Israel and then it 11 00:01:08,580 --> 00:01:15,740 would maybe soften or lighten up, but it seems to be intensifying. So it could be. 12 00:01:15,740 --> 00:01:21,540 So it's definitely something that we need to be watching. The US commodity 13 00:01:21,540 --> 00:01:28,720 prices are in the tank, and that's wild. They said spud farm. Any spud farmers in 14 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:37,420 here? Because the potato market sounds like if you don't have a contract, spuds 15 00:01:37,420 --> 00:01:42,260 are gonna be at about two bucks. And I think it's, that's two bucks for 16 00:01:42,260 --> 00:01:47,340 100 pounds of potatoes, which I think they, you know, they contract at 10 and 17 00:01:47,340 --> 00:01:56,300 above, possibly, but they, that could be pretty devastating. I think most spud 18 00:01:56,300 --> 00:02:01,780 farmers have ulcers anyway, but I know I would, because it's about $3,000 a 19 00:02:01,780 --> 00:02:05,300 acre just to get them implanted in the ground. That's quite 20 00:02:05,300 --> 00:02:14,260 interesting. And then Venezuela's elections have been crazy. The US 21 00:02:14,260 --> 00:02:20,180 recognizes opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzales as the winner. However, 22 00:02:20,180 --> 00:02:26,580 Nicolas Maduro, or Madro, however you pronounce it, under whose 11-year 23 00:02:26,580 --> 00:02:34,060 presidency, Venezuela has taken an increasingly authoritarian 24 00:02:34,060 --> 00:02:40,540 track and been plunged into economic chaos, has claimed a victory in last 25 00:02:40,540 --> 00:02:47,500 Sunday's vote. So there, it's like mayhem there. And it's funny, because one 26 00:02:47,500 --> 00:02:51,420 of the guys that has gone to church here over the years, he was, he grew up 27 00:02:51,420 --> 00:02:55,820 in Venezuela, and he grew up in a time when it was very prosperous and did 28 00:02:55,820 --> 00:03:00,760 quite well. And he's told me several times, he said, "It is happening in 29 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:06,500 America. What's happened in Venezuela is happening in America." And so that's 30 00:03:06,500 --> 00:03:15,540 something that we need to be watching and praying about as well. It is 31 00:03:15,540 --> 00:03:22,460 interesting, the turns that our upcoming election is taking. In a recent 32 00:03:22,460 --> 00:03:27,700 speech at Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland, Kamala Harris said, 33 00:03:27,700 --> 00:03:34,140 listen to this, this is a quote, I saw it with my own eyes and ears, "When we invest 34 00:03:34,140 --> 00:03:47,340 in clean energy and electric vehicles and reduce the population, more of 35 00:03:47,340 --> 00:03:53,620 our children can breathe clean air and drink clean water." I'm just like, 36 00:03:53,620 --> 00:03:59,460 seriously? The White House immediately released a transcript of 37 00:03:59,460 --> 00:04:05,540 the speech where the word "population" was crossed out and "pollution" was added in 38 00:04:05,540 --> 00:04:11,860 brackets to imply that this was the VP's really intended, what she really 39 00:04:11,860 --> 00:04:24,500 intended to say. So, it is, listen folks, it is as, and somebody just said it to me 40 00:04:24,500 --> 00:04:33,580 as they were walking in, it is as though there is a spirit of absolute stupidity 41 00:04:33,580 --> 00:04:42,460 slash insanity has taken over our world. Not just America, though it seems like we're 42 00:04:42,460 --> 00:04:51,340 leading the way, but the whole world. And so as believers, man, just speak truth. 43 00:04:51,340 --> 00:05:00,340 Because it makes sense to most people, the truth does. But people are, there's a 44 00:05:00,340 --> 00:05:05,220 there's a verse in Daniel that talks about world leaders and the certain 45 00:05:05,220 --> 00:05:10,300 world leader that we know is coming will cause deceit to prosper. It appears that 46 00:05:10,300 --> 00:05:21,700 deceit is prospering now and getting a lot of momentum. So, Jeremiah 4.22 says 47 00:05:21,700 --> 00:05:27,620 this, and I'm using the ESV because of the wording, but it says, "For my people 48 00:05:27,620 --> 00:05:38,300 are foolish. They know me not. They are stupid children. They have no 49 00:05:38,300 --> 00:05:46,580 understanding. They are wise in doing evil, but how to do good they do not know." 50 00:05:46,580 --> 00:05:53,820 And that just seems to be what's happening, isn't it? It's just, it's just 51 00:05:53,820 --> 00:05:59,860 it's like there there is truly this veil and this this blindness. Second 52 00:05:59,860 --> 00:06:04,180 Corinthians mentions it in 2nd Corinthians 4, 3 and 4, "But even if our 53 00:06:04,180 --> 00:06:08,900 gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing." You ever shared the 54 00:06:08,900 --> 00:06:12,100 gospel, shared about Jesus with people, and they just kind of shake their head 55 00:06:12,100 --> 00:06:21,380 like, "I don't get it. I just don't get it." And yet a lot of that is because of a 56 00:06:21,380 --> 00:06:28,820 improper self-view. That, "I'm good. I'm a good person. I've never murdered anybody. 57 00:06:28,820 --> 00:06:37,700 Why would I need this this Jewish carpenter, martyr, Savior dude?" And so, and 58 00:06:37,700 --> 00:06:43,340 it goes on, it says, "Whose minds the God of this age has blinded who do not 59 00:06:43,340 --> 00:06:48,420 believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of 60 00:06:48,420 --> 00:07:02,740 God, should shine on them." And I don't want to be a like a downer, but the 61 00:07:02,740 --> 00:07:09,380 bright side is, is God is on the throne. Right? He's got it. I mean, it's 62 00:07:09,380 --> 00:07:14,980 exciting to watch because it's been prophesied, and now we see it 63 00:07:14,980 --> 00:07:20,060 happening, and the reality of it all is just, it's starting to sink in. 64 00:07:20,060 --> 00:07:30,140 You just go, "Wow. How wild is that?" Right? Daniel talks about, in verse 4, or 65 00:07:30,140 --> 00:07:35,660 chapter 4, excuse me, verse 35, "All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as 66 00:07:35,660 --> 00:07:42,780 nothing. He, God, does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the 67 00:07:42,780 --> 00:07:48,420 inhabitants of the earth, no one can restrain his hand or say to him, 'What 68 00:07:48,420 --> 00:07:56,800 have you done?'" Right? God is on the throne, and that's why we can look at 69 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:04,020 this stuff, right? We don't have to get spun up. We don't have to walk in fear. 70 00:08:04,020 --> 00:08:11,100 We can just smile and say, "According to your word, O Lord. According to your word." 71 00:08:11,100 --> 00:08:17,260 Man has been fulfilling these predictions and these prophecies of 72 00:08:17,260 --> 00:08:21,620 the Word of God for years. We're really good at it, even when it comes to 73 00:08:21,620 --> 00:08:27,700 doing things that are stupid and are against his word. Jeremiah 32, 17, "Ah, Lord 74 00:08:27,700 --> 00:08:33,100 God, behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and 75 00:08:33,100 --> 00:08:39,820 outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you." Right? And so the Lord can 76 00:08:39,820 --> 00:08:45,980 restore sanity. And I think we need to pray to that end as the body 77 00:08:45,980 --> 00:08:50,540 of Christ, that God would make himself known to people. Because obviously 78 00:08:50,540 --> 00:08:58,340 we're struggling with that. And the Lord's given us a voice, so if there's 79 00:08:58,340 --> 00:09:06,420 ever a time to speak truth and to be bold as lions, it's now. And so we're 80 00:09:06,420 --> 00:09:11,100 gonna get into Genesis. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word. We love it. We 81 00:09:11,100 --> 00:09:16,940 thank you that you are on the throne. Lord, that all of this really is nothing 82 00:09:16,940 --> 00:09:24,700 to you. In that your ability to change the course of the heart of men and women, 83 00:09:24,700 --> 00:09:33,780 Lord, and to turn them whether so ever you wish, Lord, them to go. And you're 84 00:09:33,780 --> 00:09:37,740 willing that none should perish, Lord. And you've been so gracious and so 85 00:09:37,740 --> 00:09:44,340 merciful to us as people, Lord, to show us mercy and to be kind. And you've 86 00:09:44,340 --> 00:09:50,140 overlooked so much foolishness. But Lord, it seems like there is a foolishness now 87 00:09:50,140 --> 00:09:57,580 in the world that is going to great lengths to defy you, Lord. And I know 88 00:09:57,580 --> 00:10:01,940 that you will only have a certain threshold that you'll tolerate 89 00:10:01,940 --> 00:10:05,120 that, Lord. So we just thank you that you're a great judge. You're also a 90 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:09,220 merciful God. We lift up our family members who need to turn to you and turn 91 00:10:09,220 --> 00:10:13,740 from their own ways, their own foolish ways, and that God, that they would be 92 00:10:13,740 --> 00:10:17,820 saved. I just think of our children and our grandchildren and our friends and 93 00:10:17,820 --> 00:10:22,460 our neighbors, Lord, and our co-workers, Lord, that we have actually had an 94 00:10:22,460 --> 00:10:27,340 opportunity to be a witness. And you're gonna use that to draw them to 95 00:10:27,340 --> 00:10:31,580 yourself, Lord. May your words be on our lips, Lord, that they would have something 96 00:10:31,580 --> 00:10:36,220 that the Holy Spirit can prod them with, Lord, to come to you. And so bless your 97 00:10:36,220 --> 00:10:41,900 word now as we look at this beautiful story here in Genesis, in Jesus' name. Amen. 98 00:10:41,900 --> 00:10:49,340 Okay, this is a test. It is only a test. We've heard that over the years, right? 99 00:10:49,340 --> 00:10:55,740 And we look back, and God, many times, I think, takes people to a 100 00:10:55,740 --> 00:11:02,060 certain place where they're absolutely helpless. And maybe He asks, He's asked 101 00:11:02,060 --> 00:11:08,060 you or He's asked myself before things, to do things that we don't think that 102 00:11:08,060 --> 00:11:13,660 we're capable of. In Genesis, the glaring one is obviously when He tells 103 00:11:13,660 --> 00:11:19,540 Abraham to offer up his son Isaac, his only son Isaac, the son whom he loves. 104 00:11:19,540 --> 00:11:26,980 And He asked him to do that, not knowing, Abraham not knowing it was a test. 105 00:11:26,980 --> 00:11:31,660 And the old saying is really true, "A faith that cannot be tested cannot be 106 00:11:31,660 --> 00:11:38,340 trusted." And so if you're going through some heavies at the moment, just 107 00:11:38,340 --> 00:11:45,260 know that it's a test. It's also been called the refiner's fire. We don't like 108 00:11:45,260 --> 00:11:54,300 that one so much. It seems to be more painful. But here in Genesis 44, we see 109 00:11:54,300 --> 00:12:01,820 Joseph continuing his testing of his brothers, right? He sent him back 110 00:12:01,820 --> 00:12:05,820 home, said, "Bring your brother back or you're not even gonna see my face." They 111 00:12:05,820 --> 00:12:13,820 had quite the family feud over it. Jacob resigning to his own demise, 112 00:12:13,820 --> 00:12:19,740 thinking that he's gonna have to mourn the loss of more sons and go to the 113 00:12:19,740 --> 00:12:26,700 grave. Just a bitter, heartbroken, grief-stricken old man. And yet it was 114 00:12:26,700 --> 00:12:31,940 just a test. Just a test. But he doesn't know that yet. And some of this stuff we 115 00:12:31,940 --> 00:12:37,620 don't know yet. We don't know what God's gonna do. "My car might show up in my 116 00:12:37,620 --> 00:12:46,260 driveway tomorrow morning." Guy pulls my address off. He's almost out of gas. He 117 00:12:46,260 --> 00:12:51,980 said, "Well, might as well give it back to the stupid fool that left the keys in it." 118 00:12:51,980 --> 00:13:01,300 An older gal messaged my wife and says, "Hey, I saw that car going down 17th 119 00:13:01,300 --> 00:13:06,500 Street Friday afternoon." Yeah, because how can you miss that car? You should have 120 00:13:06,500 --> 00:13:11,540 heard me trying to explain it to the police officer. He says, "What color is it?" 121 00:13:11,540 --> 00:13:23,380 Yeah, so, anyway. Funny stuff. But Joseph isn't done. 122 00:13:23,380 --> 00:13:28,060 He has the meal with these brothers. He kind of puts a test out there 123 00:13:28,060 --> 00:13:35,300 with giving a super serving to his brother Benjamin to see if the 124 00:13:35,300 --> 00:13:39,900 elder brothers would respond. Didn't seem to get a rise out of him, so he shifts 125 00:13:39,900 --> 00:13:47,420 gears. And in verse 1 of chapter 44, he says, "And he commanded the steward of his 126 00:13:47,420 --> 00:13:55,580 house to fill the men's sacks with food as much as they can carry and put each 127 00:13:55,580 --> 00:14:01,920 man's money in the mouth of his sack. Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the 128 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:07,460 mouth of the sack of the youngest and his grain money. So he did according to 129 00:14:07,460 --> 00:14:12,740 the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning dawn and the men were 130 00:14:12,740 --> 00:14:17,140 sent away, they and their donkeys, and when they had gone out of the city and 131 00:14:17,140 --> 00:14:23,820 were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, 'Go up, follow the men, and when 132 00:14:23,820 --> 00:14:30,740 you overtake them, say to them, "Why have you repaid evil for good? Is not this the 133 00:14:30,740 --> 00:14:37,140 one from which my Lord drinks and with which he indeed practices divination? You 134 00:14:37,140 --> 00:14:49,100 have done evil in so doing." So Joseph here, he sends them away, but not without 135 00:14:49,100 --> 00:14:55,540 stacking the deck first, right? He's setting them up. He's setting them up. 136 00:14:55,540 --> 00:15:02,100 And the steward knows about it, and Joseph is making sure that this 137 00:15:02,100 --> 00:15:09,180 violation is going to be a weighty one, right? That you're sinning against not 138 00:15:09,180 --> 00:15:13,260 just Egypt, but you have sinned personally against the most powerful man 139 00:15:13,260 --> 00:15:28,420 in Egypt by thievery. And so... And it was in the realm of worship, right? You ever 140 00:15:28,420 --> 00:15:34,620 notice how passionate people are about their worship? I mean, they could actually 141 00:15:34,620 --> 00:15:44,620 be a backslidden worshiper of maybe Buddha or Joe Smith or, you know, Jehovah 142 00:15:44,620 --> 00:15:50,980 Witnesses, but if you speak anything about those religions, the people who 143 00:15:50,980 --> 00:15:56,580 have grown up believing that, holy cow, do they want to fight. I don't know 144 00:15:56,580 --> 00:16:00,780 how many of you've talked to Jack Mormons before. You start talking about 145 00:16:00,780 --> 00:16:04,940 Mormonism, "Oh, bull, they're fired up." "Oh, I believe it." "Yeah, but you sure don't 146 00:16:04,940 --> 00:16:09,420 live it." "Yeah, but I believe it, and you shouldn't be talking bad about that." I 147 00:16:09,420 --> 00:16:15,980 mean, they get fired up when you start encroaching on their belief system. And 148 00:16:15,980 --> 00:16:29,100 so here they've stolen what it says there that, "Did you not 149 00:16:29,100 --> 00:16:36,460 know that he practices divination?" And divination is trying to 150 00:16:36,460 --> 00:16:42,140 foresee the future. Now, and try to determine whether it's through poem 151 00:16:42,140 --> 00:16:48,860 reading, crystal balls, right? They had a cup thing that they used. You can look it 152 00:16:48,860 --> 00:16:55,300 up. And we know from other sources that the ancients did use sacred cups of 153 00:16:55,300 --> 00:17:00,940 divination and different devices, and it is possible, though not likely, that 154 00:17:00,940 --> 00:17:06,340 Joseph did also, because there was not yet specific revelation from God. 155 00:17:06,340 --> 00:17:11,860 Obviously, this is before the law that the practice should be forbidden. The 156 00:17:11,860 --> 00:17:17,140 point was to make the brothers aware that this was a special cup, and it was a 157 00:17:17,140 --> 00:17:28,940 terrible crime to take it from someone so powerful. And so Joseph has a lot of 158 00:17:28,940 --> 00:17:37,580 leverage on his bros at this point. Somebody got a lot of leverage on you? I 159 00:17:37,580 --> 00:17:43,300 know a lot of people that have a lot of leverage on me if they wanted to, so I 160 00:17:43,300 --> 00:17:48,420 probably wouldn't do so good running for public office, right? Because that closet 161 00:17:48,420 --> 00:17:53,260 would get opened up and all the trash would come flying out, you know? And 162 00:17:53,260 --> 00:18:02,140 because they do dig deep, right? When people try to step out and do 163 00:18:02,140 --> 00:18:11,180 public service or whatever. But Joseph knows all the ins and outs. He knows 164 00:18:11,180 --> 00:18:16,260 all the faults and failures of his brothers, and here he has created a 165 00:18:16,260 --> 00:18:24,380 big one. And so verse 6 tells us, it says, "And so he overtook them, and he spoke to 166 00:18:24,380 --> 00:18:31,260 them these same words, and they said to him, 'Why does my Lord say these words? Far 167 00:18:31,260 --> 00:18:37,560 be it from us that your servants should do such a thing. Look, we brought back to 168 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:42,180 you from the land of Canaan the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks. 169 00:18:42,180 --> 00:18:50,740 How then could we steal silver or gold from your Lord's house? With whomever of 170 00:18:50,740 --> 00:19:03,020 your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my Lord's slaves.'" I do 171 00:19:03,020 --> 00:19:10,780 not know what it is about us that we always think so much highly of ourselves 172 00:19:10,780 --> 00:19:16,060 than we ought to. Paul talks about this. He says, "Don't think more highly 173 00:19:16,060 --> 00:19:19,780 of yourself than you ought to." Why? Because we have this bent. And they're 174 00:19:19,780 --> 00:19:29,580 going, "No, we wouldn't do that. Really? I think you'd chuck your brother in a hole 175 00:19:29,580 --> 00:19:35,580 or send him on down the road in shackles for 20 pieces of silver." Sure you would. 176 00:19:35,580 --> 00:19:41,980 You would. I would. We have this nature, and why it is that we're so 177 00:19:41,980 --> 00:19:47,420 bent and twisted towards these things, but when we look in the mirror, we think 178 00:19:47,420 --> 00:19:51,620 we see something so much better than we do. 179 00:19:54,180 --> 00:20:02,780 We're good people. We're honest men. We wouldn't do this. In fact, we're so 180 00:20:02,780 --> 00:20:08,500 confident in our goodness that whoever you find the cup, whoever's possession, 181 00:20:08,500 --> 00:20:16,340 kill them. That's a little rash, isn't it? Because don't we all deserve the sword? We all 182 00:20:16,340 --> 00:20:22,780 deserve to die for what we've done. And I know there's somebody in this room right 183 00:20:22,780 --> 00:20:27,660 now thinking, "Oh yeah? Speak for yourself, Pastor Scotty." 184 00:20:27,660 --> 00:20:44,980 But they said, "No. We wouldn't do this. We, you know..." Instead of just shutting up, 185 00:20:44,980 --> 00:20:53,700 just letting it play out. Being slow to speak is such a virtue, but nobody has it. 186 00:20:53,700 --> 00:21:04,380 I don't know why they would say that. They watched their dad say it, right? When 187 00:21:04,380 --> 00:21:08,940 he had the conflict with Laban, and Laban's searching for his gods that had 188 00:21:08,940 --> 00:21:15,300 been stolen, and Jacob says, "Well, whoever you find them with, kill them." He just 189 00:21:15,300 --> 00:21:20,100 threw Rachel under the bus. His pretty little bride that he'd worked 21 years 190 00:21:20,100 --> 00:21:33,340 for. And that's where we find ourselves, and so often just that proper 191 00:21:33,340 --> 00:21:38,980 self-view is something that I'm convinced that the reading of the Word 192 00:21:38,980 --> 00:21:45,420 of God on a consistent basis keeps that part of your life in check. Otherwise, 193 00:21:45,420 --> 00:21:50,020 you just, you automatically, when the Word of God is not coming into your 194 00:21:50,020 --> 00:21:54,260 heart on a consistent basis, you automatically elevate. You just start 195 00:21:54,260 --> 00:22:01,340 going up. You start swelling up like a toad. We do. It's just this 196 00:22:01,340 --> 00:22:09,900 condition that we have that we have to ride hurt on our whole lives. And so they 197 00:22:09,900 --> 00:22:20,060 rashly, right, say the perpetrator should die. Well, that should be all of them. 198 00:22:20,060 --> 00:22:27,580 In verse 10, it says, "And he said, 'Now also let it be according to your words. He 199 00:22:27,580 --> 00:22:33,060 with whom it is found shall be my slave.'" So the steward knows what's going on, and 200 00:22:33,060 --> 00:22:38,180 so he's no doubt, I'm sure he's just fighting back the snickers and the 201 00:22:38,180 --> 00:22:42,500 smiles, because he knows what's going on. And here these guys are, willing to 202 00:22:42,500 --> 00:22:50,180 throw that one who is guilty to the lions. And I'm sure the steward is 203 00:22:50,180 --> 00:22:55,740 really going, "Okay, as you guys have spoken, so they can be my 204 00:22:55,740 --> 00:23:02,380 slave, right? They can be my slave, and you shall be blameless. Then each man 205 00:23:02,380 --> 00:23:08,340 speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack. So he searched, 206 00:23:08,340 --> 00:23:13,060 and he began with the oldest and left off with the youngest." Here it is again. 207 00:23:13,060 --> 00:23:19,460 No doubt. I don't know that they were in line, right? Youngest to oldest. But this 208 00:23:19,460 --> 00:23:23,980 is the second time that this sequence has been brought to their attention, 209 00:23:23,980 --> 00:23:32,860 right? So oldest to youngest, "And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. And then 210 00:23:32,860 --> 00:23:36,420 they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the 211 00:23:36,420 --> 00:23:43,420 city." Now Joseph is getting somewhere, right? Now he's getting somewhere. With 212 00:23:43,420 --> 00:23:50,020 these guys, this test, it's really starting to reveal their heart. 213 00:23:50,020 --> 00:24:01,660 And they tore their clothes, and they went back to town as though somebody did 214 00:24:01,660 --> 00:24:09,180 die. They're thinking, "Oh my gosh. Their heart has changed. Their heart has 215 00:24:09,180 --> 00:24:15,220 changed towards their sibling. Their heart has changed towards their dad." Do 216 00:24:15,220 --> 00:24:22,500 you need a heart change towards someone in your life? You know, over the years, as 217 00:24:22,500 --> 00:24:30,020 a believer, the times that the Lord has put his finger on something in my heart 218 00:24:30,020 --> 00:24:38,060 that I had towards someone. In fact, usually it was people who had offended 219 00:24:38,060 --> 00:24:45,980 me, right? Or had hurt somebody close to me that I loved, and I had a hatred for 220 00:24:45,980 --> 00:24:56,660 them. But one time, as the Lord would have it, I took a new job. I had 221 00:24:56,660 --> 00:25:00,740 worked for Christians for a couple years. You know, you get in your little 222 00:25:00,740 --> 00:25:05,900 Christian bubble sometimes. You know, you're kind of safe. You know, 223 00:25:05,900 --> 00:25:11,180 you're safe from the stinky part of the world. And I was kind of safe for a 224 00:25:11,180 --> 00:25:15,740 couple years. And then I stepped into this crew of about, probably 225 00:25:15,740 --> 00:25:22,140 there's probably about 25 of us. And they were construction guys, and they were 226 00:25:22,140 --> 00:25:28,100 vile individuals. And I hadn't been around that at a time. I hadn't been 227 00:25:28,100 --> 00:25:32,420 around the language. And golly, one morning I walked in the break room, and 228 00:25:32,420 --> 00:25:34,900 here's about 15 or 20 of them, and they're sitting there, and they're 229 00:25:34,900 --> 00:25:39,620 talking about their wives. And I'm just like, "Whoa, I ain't gonna stay here." I 230 00:25:39,620 --> 00:25:44,780 mean, I just walked in and turned around and walked out. But there was this one 231 00:25:44,780 --> 00:25:51,020 particular guy, right? He had kind of some longer hair, kind of greaser, 232 00:25:51,020 --> 00:25:56,700 greaser looking dude, right? And I could tell he mocha-toped a lot. He smoked a 233 00:25:56,700 --> 00:26:02,460 lot of weed. And I'm just like, and I heard him talk, and I'm just like, "Lord, 234 00:26:02,460 --> 00:26:07,740 please don't ever let me hang around that guy. I just, I just gotta be away 235 00:26:07,740 --> 00:26:16,540 from that guy." Well as the Lord would have it. You guys know where this goes, 236 00:26:16,540 --> 00:26:26,580 right? The very next day I was in a transport with this guy, transporting 237 00:26:26,580 --> 00:26:33,060 equipment all day long. And I had made this judgment, and I just kind of, you 238 00:26:33,060 --> 00:26:38,500 know, I used to bounce people's, like, him's head off the pavement 239 00:26:38,500 --> 00:26:46,980 when I was a hellion. And I just, and we started talking, and I started sharing 240 00:26:46,980 --> 00:26:53,420 with him. By the end of the day, I was almost in tears. I had such a compassion 241 00:26:53,420 --> 00:27:03,500 for this guy. God had changed my heart so much in just a very short time. I kind 242 00:27:03,500 --> 00:27:07,700 of just despised the very look of him. And to this day, when I see him, I mean, 243 00:27:07,700 --> 00:27:12,020 we shake hands, and, you know, I ask him if he's ready to ask Jesus into 244 00:27:12,020 --> 00:27:15,940 his heart yet. And so, because I'd shared the gospel with him, and he'd grown up 245 00:27:15,940 --> 00:27:21,940 and been exposed to church a little bit. And so I was kind of pressuring 246 00:27:21,940 --> 00:27:24,860 him a little about becoming a Christian, and kind of told him my 247 00:27:24,860 --> 00:27:30,740 testimony. And he said, he looked at me, he goes, "Yeah, Scotty, but you got to want 248 00:27:30,740 --> 00:27:39,420 it, right?" I said, "Yeah, Chris, you got to want it. You got to want it." And so, 249 00:27:39,420 --> 00:27:46,980 the Lord had to check my heart. And when he puts that in your face, and he's 250 00:27:46,980 --> 00:27:55,100 calling you out, please respond. Because I'm telling you, suspicion and hate and a 251 00:27:55,100 --> 00:28:01,100 discontentedness with somebody else, it's just like a poison. And yet, when the Lord 252 00:28:01,100 --> 00:28:04,020 comes along, and he puts his finger on it, says, "No, I want to turn that into 253 00:28:04,020 --> 00:28:10,820 compassion." And to this day, I love this guy. And, you know, greasy hair and all. 254 00:28:10,820 --> 00:28:20,180 I did offer to cut his hair, but... But it's just amazing when you'll... Just be 255 00:28:20,180 --> 00:28:25,060 honest with the Lord. And just let him touch your heart and put 256 00:28:25,060 --> 00:28:30,220 something in there that you don't have the capacity apart from him to do. 257 00:28:30,220 --> 00:28:37,060 It's such a beautiful thing. And the Lord has taught these guys some 258 00:28:37,060 --> 00:28:44,200 things over the years. And so, in verse 14, it says, "So Judah and his brothers 259 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:49,260 came to Joseph's house," right? Notice all of them. It says, "They tore their clothes." 260 00:28:49,260 --> 00:28:53,660 Most Bible commenters think it's all of them. They all tore their clothes as 261 00:28:53,660 --> 00:28:59,220 though somebody had died because they think that Benjamin might be toast. And 262 00:28:59,220 --> 00:29:03,100 they all loaded their donkeys back. Every one of them went back. Not one of them 263 00:29:03,100 --> 00:29:08,420 said, "That's it. I'm out of here." Right? "Too much drama for me. I'm going home." 264 00:29:08,420 --> 00:29:18,100 Nobody did. They all loaded up and they went back to Joseph's house. 265 00:29:18,100 --> 00:29:23,540 And he was still there. And they fell before him on the ground. Third time. This 266 00:29:23,540 --> 00:29:29,860 is the third time they bowed before Joseph, just like his dream had showed 267 00:29:29,860 --> 00:29:35,940 him. And Joseph said to them, "What deed is this you have done? Did you not know 268 00:29:35,940 --> 00:29:42,140 that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?" 269 00:29:42,140 --> 00:29:53,380 Verse 16, "Then Judah said, 'What shall we say to my Lord? What shall we speak? Or 270 00:29:53,380 --> 00:30:00,340 how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants. 271 00:30:00,340 --> 00:30:08,660 Here we are, my Lord's slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.'" 272 00:30:08,660 --> 00:30:16,020 Would they equate it again? They equated it to their sin against 273 00:30:16,020 --> 00:30:23,980 Joseph. And Joseph sees the agony in the faces of his brothers, the same agony 274 00:30:23,980 --> 00:30:30,740 that he had experienced when they sold him. And he begged them not to. And here 275 00:30:30,740 --> 00:30:36,620 they are in a place and they are on their knees and that saying is so true. 276 00:30:36,620 --> 00:30:44,420 What goes around, comes around. What goes around, comes around. You reap what you 277 00:30:44,420 --> 00:30:49,820 sow. Actually, you usually reap more than what you sow. You sow to the wind, the 278 00:30:49,820 --> 00:30:58,700 Bible says, and you reap the whirlwind. And so here they are, they're 279 00:30:58,700 --> 00:31:10,100 absolutely reaping what they sold. And maybe Joseph in his heart's going, "Okay, 280 00:31:10,100 --> 00:31:17,260 now, now you know how it feels. Now you know." Doesn't this irritate you when 281 00:31:17,260 --> 00:31:21,380 people give you counsel and when you're going through something and they 282 00:31:21,380 --> 00:31:28,500 have no idea? It's kind of like those cocky single people that try to 283 00:31:28,500 --> 00:31:32,180 tell you how to raise your kids and they've never had any. I think that's 284 00:31:32,180 --> 00:31:35,740 Kamala's problem, right? Your kids are gonna be happy when we raise the 285 00:31:35,740 --> 00:31:39,740 population, right? And they can breathe clean air and drive, you know, electric 286 00:31:39,740 --> 00:31:48,820 vehicles. No children. You should have children. If you're young and you can 287 00:31:48,820 --> 00:31:56,180 bear a child or adopt one, please have a child. Because they truly knock the rough 288 00:31:56,180 --> 00:32:04,580 edges off, I'm just telling you, right? You know how it feels. You know, people 289 00:32:04,580 --> 00:32:07,620 that can minister to my heart are usually people that have been there, 290 00:32:07,620 --> 00:32:12,180 right? If I'm going through something, when you're going through something and 291 00:32:12,180 --> 00:32:18,360 somebody speaks to you that really has no idea what you're going through, like 292 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:22,220 parents that have lost children and the things that people say to them, "Golly, if 293 00:32:22,220 --> 00:32:25,180 you haven't lost a child, don't say anything. Just go hug them and tell them 294 00:32:25,180 --> 00:32:36,820 I'm praying for you." But Joseph is seeing now that his brothers, he's making a 295 00:32:36,820 --> 00:32:41,580 connection. Oh, you guys, you're starting to get a taste of it. 296 00:32:41,580 --> 00:32:51,540 You're starting to understand what it feels like to be totally abandoned and 297 00:32:51,540 --> 00:33:03,020 totally at a loss. So now he can get on with the reconciliation. Oh yeah, and by 298 00:33:03,020 --> 00:33:10,500 the way, you can all go free. Just leave him here. "Oh, I only want the one that's 299 00:33:10,500 --> 00:33:24,860 guilty," he said. And then the intercessor shows up. I'm sure it was getting weighty 300 00:33:24,860 --> 00:33:28,580 when they thought, "Oh my gosh, he's gonna let all of us go and he's gonna take 301 00:33:28,580 --> 00:33:33,580 Benjamin." But the steward should have given them hope because he told them, "No, 302 00:33:33,580 --> 00:33:38,500 he's just gonna be a slave. We're not gonna kill him." And so Judah's 303 00:33:38,500 --> 00:33:42,020 intercession here in the rest of the chapter, and I'm just gonna 304 00:33:42,020 --> 00:33:50,140 read it, is pretty powerful. Judah had learned some things and he obviously is 305 00:33:50,140 --> 00:33:55,180 a picture of Jesus here as he steps up. And then Judah came, verse 18, "came near 306 00:33:55,180 --> 00:34:00,740 to him and said, 'Oh my Lord, please let your servant speak a word in my Lord's 307 00:34:00,740 --> 00:34:05,940 hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant, for you are even 308 00:34:05,940 --> 00:34:14,740 like Pharaoh.' My Lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father 309 00:34:14,740 --> 00:34:20,660 or a brother?' And we said to my Lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and a child of 310 00:34:20,660 --> 00:34:28,020 his old age, who is young. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his 311 00:34:28,020 --> 00:34:34,900 mother's children, and his father loves him.' Then you said to your servants, 'Bring 312 00:34:34,900 --> 00:34:40,980 him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.' And we said to my Lord, 'The lad 313 00:34:40,980 --> 00:34:46,420 cannot leave his father, or if he should leave his father, his father would die.' 314 00:34:46,420 --> 00:34:50,700 But you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with 315 00:34:50,700 --> 00:34:56,660 you, you shall see my face no more.' And so it was when we went up to your servant, 316 00:34:56,660 --> 00:35:01,700 my father, that we told him the words of my Lord, and our father said, 'Go back and 317 00:35:01,700 --> 00:35:07,260 buy us a little food.' But we said, 'We cannot go down if our youngest brother 318 00:35:07,260 --> 00:35:16,180 is with us, then we will go down, for we may not see the 319 00:35:16,180 --> 00:35:20,660 man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.' And then your servant, my 320 00:35:20,660 --> 00:35:27,340 father, said to us, 'You know that my wife bore me two sons, and the one went out 321 00:35:27,340 --> 00:35:34,660 from me, and I said, "Surely he is torn to pieces, and I have not seen him since. But 322 00:35:34,660 --> 00:35:39,900 if you take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring 323 00:35:39,900 --> 00:35:45,780 down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave. Now therefore, when I came to your 324 00:35:45,780 --> 00:35:51,220 servant, my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in 325 00:35:51,220 --> 00:35:56,300 the lad's life, it will happen when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he 326 00:35:56,300 --> 00:36:02,780 will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant, our 327 00:36:02,780 --> 00:36:09,240 father, with sorrow to the grave.' For your servant became surety for the lad to my 328 00:36:09,240 --> 00:36:13,860 father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame 329 00:36:13,860 --> 00:36:19,260 before my father forever. Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead 330 00:36:19,260 --> 00:36:25,060 of the lad as a slave to my Lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how 331 00:36:25,060 --> 00:36:32,420 shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil 332 00:36:32,420 --> 00:36:39,340 that would come upon my father?'" And so this is a powerful thing that Judah 333 00:36:39,340 --> 00:36:45,620 does here as the spokesman for his brothers. Now you remember, Judah 334 00:36:45,620 --> 00:36:51,140 is the one that said, "Let's sell him. Let's sell him." He's singing a different tune 335 00:36:51,140 --> 00:37:00,860 now, quite obviously, and he reminds Joseph, he goes, "Listen, we did everything 336 00:37:00,860 --> 00:37:05,780 that you asked us to do. We did it all. We went back, we got our little brother, we 337 00:37:05,780 --> 00:37:11,860 brought him down to you." Now it is interesting that in verse 28, Joseph 338 00:37:11,860 --> 00:37:21,140 hears the lie. He hears the lie that was told about him, right? There in verse 28, 339 00:37:21,140 --> 00:37:29,220 "And the one went out from me, and I said, 'Surely he is torn in pieces.'" That's what 340 00:37:29,220 --> 00:37:35,740 you told him? Joseph is probably thinking, "You told him I was torn in pieces?" So you 341 00:37:35,740 --> 00:37:43,580 told dad? No, that one that was torn in pieces? He's standing right here. It's 342 00:37:43,580 --> 00:37:55,460 like a little granddaughter. "Right here! Hello?" But Judah's adamant, "There is no 343 00:37:55,460 --> 00:38:01,020 way we can do this to our father," right? So his intercession that pictures 344 00:38:01,020 --> 00:38:07,340 Jesus, obviously, Joseph is overwhelmed by this presentation, by 345 00:38:07,340 --> 00:38:14,140 intercession. Intercession should overwhelm us. It overwhelms me every time 346 00:38:14,140 --> 00:38:21,260 I think of my grandma Brown. That woman, she would not quit talking to God about 347 00:38:21,260 --> 00:38:30,540 us. And so the hounds of heaven were just like, just on us all the time. I couldn't 348 00:38:30,540 --> 00:38:38,940 be satisfied in my debauchery because of grandma. And I look back on that and I 349 00:38:38,940 --> 00:38:45,140 just think, I'm so thankful that she did that. That she prayed. I remember Rick 350 00:38:45,140 --> 00:38:50,780 had the audacity to ask grandma Brown. Jewel Dean Brown was her name. She had 351 00:38:50,780 --> 00:38:54,300 these really thick glasses. So when she looked at you and she was mad at you, her eyes 352 00:38:54,300 --> 00:38:58,700 looked like this big because they were behind magnifying glasses. And then she 353 00:38:58,700 --> 00:39:03,540 had these hands that were just really big, you know, and when she walked you, you 354 00:39:03,540 --> 00:39:07,740 knew it. I still remember her killing chickens. Man, could that woman kill 355 00:39:07,740 --> 00:39:16,300 chickens? And sometimes the way she looked at us, we thought we might die too. 356 00:39:16,300 --> 00:39:21,940 But Rick asked her, said, "Grandma, how often did you pray for us?" And she was 357 00:39:21,940 --> 00:39:27,100 almost offended. She goes, "I prayed for you, boy, every day of your life." 358 00:39:27,100 --> 00:39:39,200 Really? No wonder we had to give up. Intercession, it's so 359 00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:44,260 powerful. It's so life-changing. It's life-changing in a family. Wives, pray 360 00:39:44,260 --> 00:39:48,220 for your husbands. Husbands, pray for your wives. Right? Parents, pray for your 361 00:39:48,220 --> 00:39:53,440 children. Intercede. Go to battle for them. Right? Sick the hounds of heaven on 362 00:39:53,440 --> 00:39:57,520 them. They've heard enough words out of your mouth. Right? Just pray for 363 00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:01,900 them. I love talking to parents thinking, "We've been talking to our son or 364 00:40:01,900 --> 00:40:06,540 daughter for 20 years and they just won't listen." Well, shut up and pray for 365 00:40:06,540 --> 00:40:12,460 them. Right? God knows which buttons to push, right? And he starts pushing those 366 00:40:12,460 --> 00:40:15,380 buttons and you're just like, you're sitting back there going, "Oh, this really 367 00:40:15,380 --> 00:40:31,080 works." Right? What a picture, right? Of Jesus. So we're...let's see here. I've got a 368 00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:37,760 couple minutes. I'm gonna jump into the...because we got to see the meeting 369 00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:43,340 here real quick. So he hears this from Judah. He hears all of these words. No 370 00:40:43,340 --> 00:40:47,780 doubt he's brokenhearted for his father. He wants to reveal himself. 371 00:40:47,780 --> 00:40:53,420 So verse 1, it just continues right into chapter 45. "Then Joseph could not 372 00:40:53,420 --> 00:40:58,360 restrain himself before all those who stood by him. And he cried out, 'Make 373 00:40:58,360 --> 00:41:02,560 everyone go out from me.' And so no one stood with him while Joseph made himself 374 00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:07,220 known to his brothers. And he wept aloud in the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh, 375 00:41:07,220 --> 00:41:11,620 heard it. And then Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am Joseph. Does my father 376 00:41:11,620 --> 00:41:18,540 still live?' But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his 377 00:41:18,540 --> 00:41:23,020 presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, 'Please come near me.' So they came near 378 00:41:23,020 --> 00:41:26,980 him. And then he said to them, 'I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into 379 00:41:26,980 --> 00:41:33,300 Egypt. But now do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves, because 380 00:41:33,300 --> 00:41:38,140 you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years 381 00:41:38,140 --> 00:41:42,260 the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which 382 00:41:42,260 --> 00:41:46,340 there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to 383 00:41:46,340 --> 00:41:50,860 preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great 384 00:41:50,860 --> 00:41:58,220 deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. And he has made me 385 00:41:58,220 --> 00:42:03,500 a father to Pharaoh, and a lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the 386 00:42:03,500 --> 00:42:08,120 land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son 387 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:14,620 Joseph, "God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me. Do not tarry. You shall 388 00:42:14,620 --> 00:42:19,620 dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your 389 00:42:19,620 --> 00:42:23,700 children, your children's children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you 390 00:42:23,700 --> 00:42:29,180 have. There I will provide for you, lest you and your household and all that you 391 00:42:29,180 --> 00:42:34,940 have come to poverty. For there are still five years of famine. And behold, your 392 00:42:34,940 --> 00:42:40,580 eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to 393 00:42:40,580 --> 00:42:45,260 you. And so you shall tell my father and all the glory of Egypt that of all that 394 00:42:45,260 --> 00:42:50,140 you have seen, and you shall hurry and bring my father down here." Then he fell 395 00:42:50,140 --> 00:42:55,100 on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. Moreover, 396 00:42:55,100 --> 00:43:00,100 he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked 397 00:43:00,100 --> 00:43:07,540 with him. And they all lived happily ever after. 398 00:43:07,540 --> 00:43:17,380 Do you imagine? You just, you just, you can't even hardly get your mind. But his 399 00:43:17,380 --> 00:43:24,740 brothers could not answer him. They're, "Whoa! Here you are! You're not dead. You weren't 400 00:43:24,740 --> 00:43:36,260 torn to pieces. The shackles hurt you, right?" This is interesting, you know, the 401 00:43:36,260 --> 00:43:41,340 word "dismayed" there, it may actually means amazed or frightened or even 402 00:43:41,340 --> 00:43:48,580 terrified. "Come near me," where it says that in Genesis 45, it implies that his 403 00:43:48,580 --> 00:43:55,260 brothers cringed back in terror. There's Jewish legends about this, 404 00:43:55,260 --> 00:44:00,100 actually, about this story. Obviously this is a very famous story among the Jewish 405 00:44:00,100 --> 00:44:04,940 people, but there's a Jewish legend that says his brothers were so shocked that 406 00:44:04,940 --> 00:44:11,660 their souls left their body. And it was only by a miracle of God their souls 407 00:44:11,660 --> 00:44:27,260 came back. You know, when your sin is found out, a couple things happen, right? 408 00:44:27,260 --> 00:44:32,340 I think a lot of times shame goes right out the window, but sometimes there's 409 00:44:32,340 --> 00:44:38,060 shame when our sin is found out, but sometimes, a lot of times, there's 410 00:44:38,060 --> 00:44:43,780 freedom, right? That's why the Bible says, "If you're faithful and just to confess 411 00:44:43,780 --> 00:44:49,420 your sin," right? If you'll confess your sin, He's faithful and just, excuse me, to 412 00:44:49,420 --> 00:44:54,580 cleanse you from all unrighteousness. There's a freedom that comes. And so 413 00:44:54,580 --> 00:44:59,320 these guys know they're found out, they're shocked, they can't even talk to 414 00:44:59,320 --> 00:45:08,260 the guy, but he affirms them by telling them, "You guys didn't do this." Well, 415 00:45:08,260 --> 00:45:15,460 maybe a little bit, but God sent me here for a much bigger reason than the 416 00:45:15,460 --> 00:45:25,820 scabs on his wrists and his ankles from the shackles. He sent me here to preserve 417 00:45:25,820 --> 00:45:30,740 life, your life, and the life of your children, and the life of your 418 00:45:30,740 --> 00:45:40,100 grandchildren. That's why God sent Joseph to Egypt, and that's why God sent Jesus 419 00:45:40,100 --> 00:45:52,760 to earth. So you, and for me, and for our kids, and for our grandkids, he has purpose 420 00:45:52,760 --> 00:46:03,140 and he has a will for the lives that are coming after us. I don't know what's 421 00:46:03,140 --> 00:46:06,440 gonna happen if the Lord tarries. It doesn't feel like he's going to, but if 422 00:46:06,440 --> 00:46:15,580 he does, I want my children and my grandchildren to know eternal life, to 423 00:46:15,580 --> 00:46:27,280 know it, and to know that they can have it because of what Jesus did. And so this 424 00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:32,800 is really what's gonna happen. Their dismay was kind of a preview of the 425 00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:38,240 prophecy of what will happen when Jesus shows himself to the Jewish people. 426 00:46:38,240 --> 00:46:42,080 Zechariah 12 10 says, "And I will pour out on the house of David, on the 427 00:46:42,080 --> 00:46:45,960 inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplication. Then they will 428 00:46:45,960 --> 00:46:50,560 look on me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for him as one who mourns for 429 00:46:50,560 --> 00:46:56,120 an only son, and grieve for him as one who grieves for a firstborn." That's what 430 00:46:56,120 --> 00:47:02,680 was going on in the hearts of the brothers, no doubt. Warren Wiersbe says, 431 00:47:02,680 --> 00:47:07,520 "It wasn't a time for explanations and excuses, but for honest expressions of 432 00:47:07,520 --> 00:47:11,880 love and forgiveness. Joseph embraced his brothers and kissed them, especially 433 00:47:11,880 --> 00:47:16,480 Benjamin, and they all wept together because hidden sin had been exposed and 434 00:47:16,480 --> 00:47:22,760 dealt with and forgiveness had been granted." Oh how good it is to be 435 00:47:22,760 --> 00:47:30,920 forgiven, right? Oh how sweet it is to be forgiven. Whether it's from the Lord or a 436 00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:37,600 fellow human, people that have forgiven me, you know, from my kids to some of the 437 00:47:37,600 --> 00:47:44,240 little kids at school to some brothers and sisters that I've offended over the 438 00:47:44,240 --> 00:47:49,840 years, it is so good to be forgiven and have relationship restored. Three things 439 00:47:49,840 --> 00:47:57,640 I just want to close with real quick. The types of Christ is always important to 440 00:47:57,640 --> 00:48:02,800 bring out in Scripture. First, Judas points to Jesus as a sacrificial 441 00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:07,040 substitute. He was willing, he said, "No, I have to be that one that you keep. You 442 00:48:07,040 --> 00:48:13,040 cannot keep my brother. You can't put him in a place of judgment or punishment." And 443 00:48:13,040 --> 00:48:20,280 that's what Christ was for us. Judas said, "Now therefore please let 444 00:48:20,280 --> 00:48:25,120 your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my Lord, and let the lad go 445 00:48:25,120 --> 00:48:30,800 up with his brothers." I read about just this morning in the 446 00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:35,600 Scripture reading in chapter 9 of Romans where Paul wanted to be that. He said, "Oh, 447 00:48:35,600 --> 00:48:39,680 if I could just take the place of my brothers, that they would be 448 00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:46,280 saved." That's the heart, not only that Christ had, that Judah had, and Christ has, 449 00:48:46,280 --> 00:48:52,560 but it's to be the same heart that you and I have. 450 00:48:52,560 --> 00:48:59,440 Matthew 20, 28 shows Jesus' heart when he says, "Just as the Son of Man did not 451 00:48:59,440 --> 00:49:04,960 come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many." He was 452 00:49:04,960 --> 00:49:11,080 that sacrificial substitute for us. Secondly, Judah's intercession is a 453 00:49:11,080 --> 00:49:14,520 powerful picture of Jesus. I've already mentioned that, but in Hebrews chapter 454 00:49:14,520 --> 00:49:20,520 7, 25, "Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God 455 00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:26,440 through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." Don't ever 456 00:49:26,440 --> 00:49:31,320 say that, "Well, nobody's praying for me." Yeah, they are. Jesus is praying for you. 457 00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:39,400 Right? And he always lives to make intercession for us. Man, if that 458 00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:44,160 doesn't comfort your heart, I don't know what does. Know that Jesus is praying 459 00:49:44,160 --> 00:49:54,520 for you. The great intercessor, Christ Jesus. Thirdly, God used Joseph's life to 460 00:49:54,520 --> 00:50:04,160 change his brothers. Right? Joseph, he had a big stick. Now, he spoke softly, right? 461 00:50:04,160 --> 00:50:09,160 But he had a big stick, and he could have really bludgeoned these guys with it, but 462 00:50:09,160 --> 00:50:18,440 he didn't. He put them to the test. And God uses the life of Jesus to change us. 463 00:50:18,440 --> 00:50:24,620 Right? God uses the life of Jesus to change us. When you examine the life of 464 00:50:24,620 --> 00:50:29,060 Christ Jesus, the fellowship of his sufferings, the scripture calls it, 465 00:50:29,060 --> 00:50:34,240 right? That when you identify with that, it can't help but change you. It'll do 466 00:50:34,240 --> 00:50:39,620 one of two things. It will soften you and make you into pliable clay in the hands 467 00:50:39,620 --> 00:50:45,600 of a mighty God, or it will harden you, and you will turn your heart towards him 468 00:50:45,600 --> 00:50:50,160 and cause your heart to be a stone and not listen to the whisperings of the 469 00:50:50,160 --> 00:50:55,160 Holy Spirit. I love this scripture, Philippians 1:6, "Being confident of this 470 00:50:55,160 --> 00:50:59,180 very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the 471 00:50:59,180 --> 00:51:06,160 day of Jesus Christ." Right? Three great pictures there of our Lord and Savior. I 472 00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:10,140 don't know where you're at in your life today. There may be some trouble. You may 473 00:51:10,140 --> 00:51:16,080 be getting tested, but when you go through the test, don't abandon the Lord 474 00:51:16,080 --> 00:51:21,120 and run from him, but run to him. Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much for your 475 00:51:21,120 --> 00:51:27,840 word. Thank you that you're in the business, Lord, of reconciliation. Lord, 476 00:51:27,840 --> 00:51:33,080 that we've been reconciled to you by the blood of your cross. Lord, that you are 477 00:51:33,080 --> 00:51:37,760 willing to come and be that sacrifice. And Lord, as we recognize that, 478 00:51:37,760 --> 00:51:42,920 then you enter into that being that ultimate intercessor that intercedes on 479 00:51:42,920 --> 00:51:48,440 behalf of half of your people. Lord, help us to be that. Help us to be like you. 480 00:51:48,440 --> 00:51:55,960 And Lord, as we see this example of Judah, the one whom Christ Jesus came from, the 481 00:51:55,960 --> 00:52:01,880 Lion of the tribe of Judah. Lord, you used his life so powerfully. Lord, you 482 00:52:01,880 --> 00:52:06,840 used the life of Jesus in our lives today, Lord. So may we have a passion to 483 00:52:06,840 --> 00:52:13,400 read those letters written in red, Lord, that truly are life and spirit to us. 484 00:52:13,400 --> 00:52:19,320 And so if anyone's here today, Lord, that hasn't come to that place of surrender, 485 00:52:19,320 --> 00:52:26,480 surrendering to the Lord Jesus. Lord, being forgiven, what a joy. And Lord, I 486 00:52:26,480 --> 00:52:29,680 just pray for that goodness for anyone that hasn't done that, Lord, that they 487 00:52:29,680 --> 00:52:33,880 would humble themselves. And if that's you, if we're just in an attitude of 488 00:52:33,880 --> 00:52:37,160 prayer, I'm just gonna close with the sinner's prayer. And if you've never 489 00:52:37,160 --> 00:52:41,880 prayed this prayer before, just pray it. Pray it with a sincere heart. God hears 490 00:52:41,880 --> 00:52:50,280 you. He sees all of the stuff going on in your life. And just yield your mind 491 00:52:50,280 --> 00:52:56,200 and your soul, your heart to him with this prayer. Pray this prayer, "Lord Jesus, I 492 00:52:56,200 --> 00:53:02,960 ask you to forgive me. I recognize that you are that sacrifice for me, that your 493 00:53:02,960 --> 00:53:08,280 blood washes away my sin," as it says there in Revelation 1:5. "Lord, that you've 494 00:53:08,280 --> 00:53:14,120 given me a future and a hope, and I have this hope of eternal life because of you. 495 00:53:14,120 --> 00:53:20,400 Lord, I want to walk with you. I want to turn from my sin and turn wholeheartedly 496 00:53:20,400 --> 00:53:28,600 to you with all of my strength and my might and my soul. Give me that strength. 497 00:53:28,600 --> 00:53:34,640 Fill me with your Holy Spirit, I pray, and I surrender to you. In Jesus' mighty 498 00:53:34,640 --> 00:53:39,040 name, amen." Hey, let's all stand. We're gonna worship. If you prayed that prayer, 499 00:53:39,040 --> 00:53:42,440 let somebody know.