Willow Ridge Sermons

Sunday, February 9th | Beau Bradberry

"Then Jacob called his sons and said, 'Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come. Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father. Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the first fruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!'" — Genesis 49:1-4

This week's message explores Jacob’s final words to his sons in Genesis 49, revealing powerful lessons on faith, leadership, and God’s promises. Each blessing reflects a deeper truth about character, obedience, and living a life that honors God. Through themes of sacrifice, faith in action, and finishing the race well, we see how God calls His people to live differently and trust in His greater plan. Join us as we uncover the wisdom of Jacob’s blessings and what it means to leave a lasting spiritual legacy.

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Creators and Guests

Host

Beau Bradberry

Senior Pastor

What is Willow Ridge Sermons?

Sermon audio from Sunday services at Willow Ridge Church.

Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons podcast.

We're so glad you chose to listen today.

This week's message explores Jacob's final words to his sons in Genesis 49,

revealing powerful lessons on faith, leadership, and God's promises.

Each blessing reflects a deeper truth about character, obedience, and living a life that honors God.

Through themes of sacrifice, faith in action, and finishing the race well,

we see how God calls his people to live differently and trust in his greater plan.

Join us as we uncover the wisdom of Jacob's blessings

and what it means to leave a lasting spiritual legacy.

Thanks for listening.

Well, good morning.

If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Genesis chapter 49.

That's where we'll be this morning.

If you're a first-time guest, I want to again welcome you.

Thank you so much for being here.

At the end of the service, my wife Erin and I will be back here in the back,

and we would love to meet you.

We'd love to greet you.

We'd love to learn your name, and thank you for being here to worship with us personally.

If you have any questions about our church, it's a wonderful place to get those questions answered.

And so please make it a point to stop by.

We would love to have you with us.

Well, this week and next week, we'll wrap up our study in Genesis.

It's been a wonderful, exciting study for me.

I hope it's been for you as well.

God's really stretched me a lot as a preacher and as a teacher,

but also as a pastor, as a husband, as a friend, as a follower of Jesus.

And so it's been wonderful.

And then, so in two weeks, we'll move into our next book study.

We're going to go through Titus in six weeks, right?

Much shorter book, much shorter time that we'll do.

And then even though it feels like Easter, right now it's not quite Easter.

And then actually we'll move into our Easter series.

And so which kind of hit me this morning that it feels like it was just Christmas,

and now we're moving there.

But we're excited to see all that God's doing.

There's a lot of work being done here.

We'd love for you to be a part of that with us.

I want to read to you this passage of Scripture as, you know, going through what we've kind

of committed ourselves to do as we've worked through Genesis is work through, literally read,

read every word, every verse.

A couple weeks ago, for time's sake, we cut out kind of a little bit of a genealogy that

was there toward the end of a passage, but referred back to it.

But for the most part, other than that one time, we read every word, every verse, and

preached through that.

And it's been a wonderful joy.

And for me, as I was praying through our message this week, it was the reminder in this long

journey that we've been, what Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2, 16 and 17, that all Scripture,

every single bit of it, all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching,

for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Amen.

And God's word is so, so good.

Would you go with me to the Lord in prayer?

God, I thank you for your word.

God, I know that I neglect it from time to time.

Lord, I don't treasure it as I should.

But God, I thank you that your grace is given to me and to all of us who find ourselves in

that position.

But I thank you that every time when we open your word, God, there's power in your word.

There's freshness in your word.

And so, God, today, as we look at Genesis 49, God, I pray that you would speak to us.

God, I pray that through the power of your Spirit, or that you would change us.

And God, and as only as you can, Lord, in the hearts and lives of those who do not know

you, or if there's anyone here who does not know Christ, God, I pray that today would be

the day of their salvation.

And it's in Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

So, we're winding down the book of Genesis, but we're also winding down this story that

we've been journeying with this family.

Right?

This family that's with Abraham and going all the way through.

And so, I decided as this week, and you'll see this, there's a lot of, like, many lessons

that we're going to learn in Genesis 49 as we look at this family.

And so, I entitled this week's message, Family Lessons.

Because there's only certain lessons that you can learn because you're a part of, or you're

aware of, or you've heard of the journey that a family has gone through.

So, for example, in my family growing up, there was a truth that was proclaimed, which

was actually a joke directed toward me.

And the joke was, the comment was, the truth was, never trust a grab bag from a flea market.

Now, I love flea markets.

I was raised going to flea markets all the time.

I found out when I married a girl from the upstate, in the upstate of South Carolina.

It's crazy.

They call them jockey lots, right?

They don't know that they're incorrect, and they're called flea markets, right?

That's what they're called.

But we oftentimes would go to these flea markets.

My granddad was an antique dealer, and so he would set up shop and sometimes sell at flea

markets.

But we would also just go to flea markets because we wanted to look, and we wanted to shop, and

we wanted to buy things.

And I remember one Thursday, I was headed there with my aunt Sharon and my cousin Ashley.

And so we piled up in her 1984 T-top Monte Carlo, and we headed down the highway to South

Augusta to go to the South Augusta flea market.

And sometimes, and you guys know this, and I get this now as I look back at my aunt, like

she had things that she wanted to do, things that she wanted to look for, and she wanted

to keep us entertained while we were doing that.

And since she couldn't hand us a cell phone or an iPad or a video game, she gave us a dollar.

She gave us a dollar.

And she said, you can buy anything in the flea market that you want, but you only got a dollar,

so make it count.

So we walk into the flea market, and I see, stacked up on this table, big, large, piggly,

wiggly grocery bags that are folded over, stapled closed, and on the front, there's a big sign

that says, grab bags, only a dollar.

I said, I'd like to spend my dollar right now.

Yes, please.

And she said to me, I don't think you want to. So we moved through the rest of the flea market in

about every five minutes. She's my aunt Sharon. I called her, I called her Sherny. So Sherny,

I want to spend my dollar. I want to get a grab bag, but we're going to go about that way. And I

don't know if you picked up this on my personality, but, but maybe still today and definitely as a

kid, like I could pester until I got what I wanted. So every five minutes, I want a grab bag.

I want a grab bag. I want a grab bag. I want a grab bag. Well, my cousin Ashley found a,

a wonderful gadget. She found this, this wallet that you could open it up and you could put your

money on one side, but on the other side was a electric piano keyboard. Probably not as nice as

this one, but you know, for 1985 for a dollar. So she bought that and we're walking around.

She said, Bo, don't you want to, don't you want a keyboard wallet? I don't think so. That's

foolish. I want a grab bag. So we go, we get a grab bag and pay my dollar and the lady gives me a grab

bag. And now I understand what is inside here is my treasure. That's, it's not my aunt Sharon's

treasure. She tried to talk me out of the grab bag. It's not my cousin Ashley's treasure. She wanted a

wallet keyboard, but what is in here is mine. So we get in the car, get in the back seat of that 84 T-top

Monte Carlo. And I sit down and I open up my grab bag to see what treasure awaited me. There's three

items in there. Three items were a broken vase, a broken bottle and a double A battery that did not

work. Never trust a grab bag at a flea market, right? That was the lesson of the day. But if you

weren't there, if you weren't a part of my family, I just came out and said that. You're like, well,

what is the nonsense of that? Well, I think as we're looking through and as we're diving in,

we're seeing this family, there's beautiful truths that God is teaching us about this family that are

way more valuable than don't trust a grab bag at a flea market. Of God and his faithfulness of his

word. Of God, as we're continuing to see what I love so much about what we're seeing of Genesis,

is that while it's a section of God's word, it's a book of God's word, where we're seeing the telling

of the story of the faithfulness of God, of what God's doing, the sinful people rebel from God and

God in his loving and his kindness chooses for himself, creates for himself, calls for himself a

people. And then even in their rebellion, God continues to pursue and continues to pursue and

continues to pursue. And we see the beautiful plan and the working of God that's there.

And the cool part, the refreshing part, the hopeful part for you and for me is this family that we see

isn't perfect. They've got some issues. They've got some dysfunction. They've got some failures.

They've got some success. They've got some points that are getting it. And I think that as I read

through this, what I find in God's word is that there's so much that I can relate to. I wasn't there

for the, for the lesson to happen, but I can learn. And in doing that, God can work and move in me

and I can grow closer to him and more obedient to him. So this morning, we're going to grab a handful

of little, little mini, many lessons, but that are powerful for your life and mine as we, as we look at

this family. So let's read the first two verses and explain a little bit what's going on.

It says, chapter 49, starting in verse one,

when Jacob called his sons,

then Jacob called his sons, I'm sorry, and said, gather yourselves together that I may tell you what

shall happen to you in the days to come.

Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel, your father. So remember, if this is your

first time with us, Jacob and Israel, same person, right? Jacob, the name given by his fathers, Israel,

the name given to him by God. And what he's doing, he's dying. We're going to end with him dying

at the end of 49. And his last request is, is to gather his, his sons and speak the truth of God

to them. Now, if your Bible's like, like mine, there's some titles sometimes at the chapters and

this, this chapter says that the blessings, but, but really what we're going to get, what these are

going to serve more as, as prophecies, as, as these are going to be the tribes of Israel and, and, and what

God will do in the future with these tribes. And some of them exciting as they would hear them.

Maybe some of them were confusing as they would hear them. Maybe some of these were kind of depressing

as they would hear them, but all truth of God's word and, and God's scripture would fulfill every

single one of these. So, so firstly at verse three through four, he begins with Reuben and he says,

Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the first fruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and

preeminent in power, unstable as water. You shall not have preeminence because you went up to your

father's bed, then you defiled it. You went up to my couch. So the lesson that I want us to draw from

this as we, as we look at Reuben and we understand this, I want us to understand the, the leadership of

godly character, the leadership of godly character. You see, Reuben was the, was the oldest and tradition

and, and culture would, would dictate that Reuben would then, would have claim to all the rights of

the firstborn son, but these he forfeited. And in his forfeiture of, of these rights came as a result of,

of pride and immorality. And in Genesis 35, he sleeps. This is, this is what Jacob was talking about.

He sleeps with one of his dad's concubines. And so we see as a result of this fall of, of character,

as you see, as a result of this fall of, of leadership, that he would then be removed.

And the right of the blessing of leadership over the brothers, instead of being centralized with him

and in him, is going to be divided up amongst the brothers, not just with Reuben. Two takeaways that I think

we can draw from this of the leadership of godly character, when we see this. Number one,

when it comes to leadership, look to character over abilities.

When it comes to leadership, look, look to character over abilities.

And, and, and I don't want to make, make sure that we're establishing the truth of which we

have set this on. And so let me apologize for the inadequacy of my notes of what I just took.

When it comes to leadership, look for godly character over earthly abilities.

He says, man, like, Reuben,

strong.

Reuben's powerful.

Reuben's leader.

But while abilities matter, character continues.

Character continues.

Remember, this,

this, this is a man

who is coming to the end

of his life.

Old age.

Is fully set in.

Cannot get out of his bed.

Has to summon

to other people so that they can come

to him

the might

of the strength

of who he was

once before

and his abilities

have waned

just as they will for you

and they will for me.

But the truth of our character

of who we are in Christ

will continue on.

I've been

more and more

every single morning,

every single week,

every single month,

every single year,

you feel a little bit more ache,

you feel a little bit more pain,

you feel a little bit more struggle

in the day as you get older

and older and older.

One day,

the ability to speak,

one day,

the ability to move as much

will be taken away

and will be lessened.

But for me,

the godly character

and who I am with Christ

will continue

of who I am in him

regardless of the abilities

that I have.

So often,

when we look at leadership,

we look at the fancy things

that we can touch.

How appealing are they

with their word?

How appealing are they

with their strength?

How appealing are they

with X, Y, Z

of what the world

has determined for us

is what a leader is

or what a leader isn't?

But I would argue

as men and women of God

that what we need to look at,

what we need to focus on

when we look to leadership

is godly character.

So for you,

my desire for every single one of you

is that not just that

you will be a leader

where God has placed you,

but that you'll be a godly leader.

There may be those

who can teach better.

There may be those

who can do better sales.

There may be those

who can build better.

There may be those

who have a greater capacity

for knowledge

and processing things.

But as men and women of God,

there's what marks us

in our leadership

is the character of God.

The second takeaway from this

is in spite of Reuben's failure,

God's plan's working.

Reuben's lack of character

did not and cannot

halt the plans

and the purpose of God.

And what we see

is God continuing

and God continuing

and God continuing.

And so in those moments

when we're looking at those

to be our leaders,

this is very important

as someone who says this to you,

understanding the privilege

and the honor that it is

to be the senior pastor

and leader of this church

is that when we look to leaders,

make sure that we keep

our eyes on God.

That our eyes cannot fall on man.

That our eyes cannot fall

on the brokenness

of who we are.

But we look and we hope

and we trust to the one

who is perfect,

whose plan is perfect,

and whose way is perfect.

Look at me,

verse five.

I have two brothers here.

Simeon and Levi are brothers.

Weapons of violence

are their swords.

Let my soul come not

into their counsel.

O my glory,

be not joined to their company.

For in their anger

they killed men.

And in their willfulness

they hamstrung oxen.

Curse be their anger.

For it is fierce.

And their wrath

for it is cruel.

I will devolve them

in Jacob

and scatter them

in Israel.

I imagine that got heavy

for a moment.

Simeon and Levi,

and these are the words

they hear.

The lesson,

the family lesson,

it's a caution.

It's a caution

of the pursuit of self.

See,

Simeon and Levi

get grouped together here

because if you remember

back in Genesis 34,

this is where they kind of

come into the story

of the narrative.

They had killed

all the men

of Shechem

in retaliation

for the rape

and the assault

of their sister.

And here's what's important

about this.

If you hear that,

you're like,

well, man,

that feels kind of noble.

Two men.

I'm like,

you've done this

to my sister

and this is what

we're going to do.

And I don't want

to back away

from the fact

that in the Old Testament,

right,

especially in the Old Testament,

it's a very bloody book.

It's very difficult things

of God calling

His people

into battle.

And so,

like,

what I want us to see

and what I find

in this prophetic word

about who they are

is not necessarily

what they did,

but why they did it.

But why they did it.

And I think

it's the reminder

for you and I

in the question

of why are you doing

what you're doing?

Why am I doing

what I am doing?

You see,

their desire

in this moment

was not acting

on the desires

of God,

but on acting

on the desires

of their flesh.

Their pursuit

of self.

So be careful.

Be careful.

You know what,

but I'm good.

I'm good.

Like,

I'm not going to go

and, like,

wipe out a whole group

of people.

Well,

praise the Lord.

But be careful

with this.

Be careful

that your noble acts

reflect the heart

of God

and not the selfishness

of your heart.

Here's a question.

Why

do you do

the right thing?

Why do you do

that which

is noble?

It's an important

question

to ask yourself

because there's

one of two answers

for us.

There's the answer

of the flesh

of the self

and then there's

an answer of God.

Do you do

the right things?

Do you do

the noble thing,

the noble act,

the noble mission

so that people

will look at you

and give you glory

do you

do it out

of the posture

and the nature

that Jesus

talks to us

about

in the Sermon

on the Mount?

He says,

like,

be the salt

of the earth.

Be the light.

And he gives

the reason

for why we do

these things.

Why we do

the noble thing,

why we do

the right thing,

why we do

the kind thing,

why we do

the loving thing.

And what's

powerful about this

is it reveals

the nature

of my heart

and your heart

and the motivation

of why we're doing

it.

Is it the pursuit

of self

or the pursuit

of God?

Because he says

there's a goal.

And Jesus says

the goal is this,

so that others

will see your good work

and give glory

to God who's in heaven.

Man.

But I wouldn't

do what they did.

Oh, I know.

I know.

I wouldn't either, man.

But why do we

do what we do?

Why do we?

And if it's for me,

then Lord,

let me come before you

in my selfishness

and the desire

that I have

for other people

to give me glory.

But God,

may I live my life

in such a way

that reflects

your goodness

and your kindness

and your mercy

and who you are.

And God,

when they see me

and when I do

what honors you

and what is good

and what is right,

God, may you get

all the glory for it.

It's the posturing

of the heart

of who we are

in Christ.

Next,

verse 8 through 12.

Judah,

your brothers

shall praise you.

Your hand

shall be on the neck

of your enemies.

Your father's sons

shall bow down

before you.

Judah is a lion's

club.

Cub,

from the prey,

my son,

you have gone up.

He stooped down.

He crouched

as a lion

and as a lioness.

Who dares

arouse him?

The scepter

shall not depart

from Judah

nor the ruler's staff

from between his feet

until the tribute

comes to him.

And to him

shall be

the obedience

of the peoples.

Binding his foal

to the vine

and his donkey's

colt

to the choice vine.

He has washed

his garments

in wine

and his vesture

in the blood

of grapes.

His eyes

are darker

than wine

and his teeth

whiter than milk.

You see,

the model

of sacrifice.

Model of sacrifice.

So you've been

about Judah.

Judah wasn't perfect.

Jesus wasn't perfect,

but he grew.

But he grew.

While in

the selling

of Joseph

and the decision

that the brothers

were battling for it,

it was Judah

who said,

we can sell him

and make a profit.

And so while

in Genesis 37

he wouldn't stop

his brother

from being sold,

but in Genesis 44

when Benjamin

is held back,

it's Judah

who steps up

and is willing

to offer

to sacrifice himself

to put himself

in place.

It's the model

of sacrifice

of what we see.

Here is what I love

about the point

of Judah

when I see this.

You see,

it's not,

Judah's story

is not a

Genesis 37 story.

It's a

Genesis 44 story.

You see,

it took some time

to get him there.

I don't know

what all happened

in his life.

I don't know

what he wrestled

with with the Lord

through those times

and through those days.

The Bible doesn't

give us all that

information,

but we see the difference.

We see a changed man

from Genesis 37

to Genesis 44.

And I think

here's the point.

Praise God

in his grace.

It's not about

where you are

right now,

but it's about

what God wants

to do in your heart

right now.

Like some of us,

man,

we walked in here

and man,

our hearts are evil

and wicked

and sin

is consuming us,

is consuming us.

And we think,

man,

I'm hearing about

this holy God.

Man,

I could never

come to him

because look at

how dirty

that I am.

And the truth

of the gospel

is like stop

listening to Satan

in that right now.

And the truth

of the gospel

is you can come

to God right now

because it's not

about who you are

right now,

but it's about

what God wants

to do

and that begins

with salvation

in Christ

and Christ alone.

Here's what we see

in Judah.

We see a heart change.

We see a heart change

from sell him

to take me.

To take me.

Now interesting,

Jesus

will be a descendant

of Judah.

And what Jesus wants

is your heart.

Judah

was willing

to sacrifice

himself

for Benjamin

but he didn't

have to.

Jesus

did sacrifice

himself

for you

and for me

and for our sake.

He had to.

The beautiful picture

of the lion.

The beautiful picture

who becomes

the sacrificial lamb

so that in him

we can find life

and hope.

Verse 13 through 15.

Zebulun shall dwell

at the shore

of the sea.

He shall become

a haven

for ships

and his border

shall be set on.

Issachar

is a strong donkey

crouching between

the sheepfolds.

He saw

a resting place

was good

and that the land

was pleasant.

So he bowed

his shoulder

to bear

and became

a servant

at forced labor.

two actions

from two brothers

and we'll see

faith in action

or maybe even

faith in a lack

of action.

Zebulun,

his tribe

would become

the largest

in King

David's army.

At one point

the Bible

tells us

that there would be

50,000

from his tribe

who went

into battle

ready to fight

ready to obey

ready to do

what they were

told to do.

Ready to be obedient.

But then there's

this cursed tribe.

They would be

the third

largest

and this

description

of them

paints a picture

of great

strength

great potential

but filled

with laziness.

in the comparison

of these

two tribes

who on the

outside

appear

to look

similar

who on the

outside

appear

ready for

the fight

but one

actually goes

in and one

takes a nap.

You see

when we

look at this

and we

talk about

faith in

action

what I

believe

is there

are a lot

of us

who look

ready for

the fight

but when

the battle

line is

drawn

when the

opportunity

to go

forward

is your

faith

an active

faith

is your

faith

the one

ready to

take up

the sword

is your

faith

the one

to get

in the

fight

for

Jesus

or is your

faith ready

to go

it's about

time for

a nap

what does

your faith

actually look

is it a

knowledge

is it a

belief

is it a

system

agreeances

in your

mind

or in all

of those

things

is God

working and

moving

so that he

can mobilize

you to get

in the fight

for the

kingdom

in our

prayer and

hope

every single

week

for here

is that

we gather

together

to worship

him

to hear

from his

word

so that we

can mobilize

into the

war zones

and the

battlefields

where God

has placed

you

active

faith

not quiet

faith

not passive

faith

not that's

someone else's

but active

for the

glory of

God

to live

for his

name

next verse

through 18

Dan

shall

judge

his people

as one

of the

tribes

of Israel

Dan

shall be

a serpent

in the

way

a viper

by the

path

that bites

the horse's

heels

so that

his rider

falls

backwards

I'll wait

for your

salvation

oh Lord

here's a lesson

from Dan

kill the

idols

kill the

idols

kill the

idols

idolatry

for us

sneaky

idolatry

for us

is a

little bit

difficult

in the

times that

God has

allowed me

to travel

to the

eastern

part of

our

world

and to

go to

places

where there's

temples

of idolatry

that still

exist today

where millions

upon millions

of people

go in

to bow

down

before a

hand

crafted

statue

that

represents

something

that they

long for

and they

desire

and we

bring

or they

bring

their

sacrifices

in their

lives

and literally

lay them

down

before these

idols

we can

think

that's

idolatry

that's

idolatry

but for

it's more

either

difficult

describe

or we're

just more

unwilling

to do

you see

Dan's

tribe

will

supply

one of

the most

important

judges

Samson

but

we'll

introduce

idolatry

to Israel

Judges

golden

calf

was set

up in

Dan

1 Kings

and in

Amos

we find

that

Dan

will

become

the

center

idol

worship

the

downfall

and

the

destruction

idols

are

spiritual

cancers

that

multiply

and

destroy

but they

can be

killed

they

can be

killed

you see

I think

one of the

most

one of the

biggest lies

that I think

that I've

bought into

in my

life

is this

the

lie

that

idols

don't

really

possess

power

but here's

the truth

they do

possess

power

the power

that you

give them

the power

as you

surrender

your life

to them

the right

as you

surrender

your life

to the

pursuit

of anyone

or anything

that you

elevate higher

than Jesus

you see

we could

create a list

that would

fill the walls

of this

room

of idols

that we

bow down

to every

single day

sexuality

political

pursuit

athletics

education

finances

others

image

ourselves

and it's

time

we don't

fall into

the pattern

of the

tribe of

Dan

but that

we kill

the idol

I think

I've shared

this story

before but

I want to

share it

again because

it's so

important as

we understand

the killing

of an

idol in

your life

and in

mine

I want

to use

illustration

that I

shared

with our

study

a couple

weeks ago

on one

of my

trips

to Taiwan

I was

talking

with the

missionary

there

and we

were

talking

about

baptism

and what

they do

to teach

people who

have become

Christians

what baptism

is and then

the process

that they bring

them through

in order to

be baptized

and so they

talked about

the conversations

and the things

that they have

and they said

but on the

day before

so they have

Sunday worship

just like we

do in the

morning time

usually

he said

so the

evening

before

we go

to their

house

and there's

one thing

that they

must do

after they've

gone through

the class

in order to be

baptized

the next

morning

and so we

show up

with a

hammer

and we

say

get all

your

idols

out

all

the

little

statues

and they

put them

out on

the table

and they

say

these

represent

your

gods

this is

who you've

worshipped

this is

who you've

surrendered

but here's

what

devotion

to Jesus

requires

not putting

them in a

shoebox

and filing

them away

but to

take the

hammer

and literally

crush

every

single

one

of them

here's what

it means

when they

swing that

hammer

here's what

it means

what it means

is mom and

dad may never

speak to me

again

here's what

it means

I may be

ostracized

from everyone

in my

community

here's what

it means

I may

lose

my job

here's what

it means

my husband

or wife

may leave

here's what

it means

my kids

may never

speak to

me again

but I

choose

Jesus

I choose

Jesus

you see

want to

control

idols

but the

bible says

we gotta

cut the

head off

cut the

head off

verse 19

three brothers

that will

group together

raiders

shall raid

gad

but he

shall raid

at their

heels

asher's

food

shall be

rich

and he

shall

yield

royal

delicacies

naphtali

is a

doe

let

loose

that

bears

beautiful

fawns

and here's

live

abundantly

live

abundantly

Jesus

tells us

that he

he came

not to

just give

us life

but to

give us

abundant

life

abundant

life

live

abundantly

these

these three

brothers

very

very short

verses

prophecies

are made

and here's

what it

will look

gad

will supply

troops

for king

david

and first

chronicles

and while

they'll lose

many battles

they'll win

the final

victory

asher's

tribe

would inherit

valuable

land

and what

will come

from this

land

are both

necessities

and luxuries

naphtali's

land

will be on

a portion

of the sea

of galilee

ocean

front

property

and in

this

section

of land

is where

Jesus will

do his

teachings

you're like

I'm

confused

you said

kill

idols

but then

you just

promised a

whole lot

of things

that sound

like they

could be

idols

we win

luxuries

ocean

front

property

here's what

we'll see

here's what

it means

to live

abundantly

here's what

it means

to live

abundantly

in Christ

I don't know

about you

but there was

a couple of

days this week

that were tough

that were hard

that were

difficult

I felt

the arrows

and the

attacks

and I

began to

buy into

the lie

that I

was defeated

but to

live abundantly

is to

know

that while

those on

this earth

may want

to defeat

and while

things in

this earth

may knock

me down

the truth

of eternity

of the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

is this

is that

I've won

and that

Satan

is defeated

and that

the truth

of what

we see

in the

return

of Christ

is not

a hopeful

it may

happen

but it

is a

hopeful

it will

happen

so we

live in

victory

in abundant

life

what it

means to

live an

abundant

life is

that while

you and

gathered

in here

may live

at different

levels

of earthly

prosperity

and we're

not going to

kid ourselves

there's

people in

here with

with different

backgrounds

with

with different

tax brackets

with different

types of

cars

with different

types of

success

that would

define the

luxuries of

their life

as different

but that

regardless of

who you are

or where you

come from

or where you

find yourself

from here

to the ends

of the earth

that in

Christ

the Bible

tells us

that you

and I

are fully

and completely

blessed

this is who

we are

in him

and we

have something

greater

than oceanfront

property

we have

something more

valuable

than what can

be built

on the

sand

that you

and I

have the

solid

foundational

teaching

of God's

word

praise God

the most

beautiful thing

that happened

on the sea

of Galilee

is not a

house that

was built

or a view

that was

captured

it was the

teaching of

the gospel

of Jesus

that the most

beautiful thing

of what you

and I

of what we

can hold

on to

is that

we're

blessed

is in

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

that this

is who

he is

and this

is what

he's taught

and this

is what

we know

and that

we can

build

our lives

on his

truth

and then

Jacob gets

he gets

to Joseph

he gets

to Joseph

he says

Joseph

is a fruitful

bow

a fruitful

bow

by spring

his branches

run over

the wall

the archers

bitterly

attacked him

and shot

at him

and harassed

him

severely

yet his

bow

remained

unmoved

his arms

were made

agile

by the hands

of the mighty

one of

Jacob

from there

is the

shepherd

the stone

of Israel

by the

God of

your father

who will

help you

by the

almighty

who will

bless you

with the

blessings of

heaven above

blessings of

the deep

that crouches

beneath

blessings of

the breasts

and of the

womb

the blessings

of your

father

are mighty

beyond

the blessings

of my

parents

look up to

the bounties

of everlasting

hills

may they

be on

the head

Joseph

and on

the brow

of him

who was

set apart

from his

brothers

you see

it's a

looking

forward

by looking

back

live

differently

live

differently

it's not

just

that

Joseph

lived

differently

from his

brothers

it's

that

Joseph

lived

differently

in spite

of the

circumstances

that he

faced

rich

powerful

beautiful

woman

wanted him

and pursued

him

he lived

differently

he was

lied to

and forgotten

about

and left

to rot

unfairly

he lived

differently

he was

released

to rule

and reign

and could

have done

with

aggression

but he

lived

differently

and it's

not about

the works

of who

he is

but in

every

single

one of

those

instances

it was

about

the

God

that he

trusted

in his

belief

in his

trust

in his

plan

and in

his

purpose

and folks

that's how

I think

we live

differently

your situation

and mine

may be

different

but we

live

differently

when we

trust

in all

things

the mountaintop

the valley

the plain

the good

the bad

the in

between

the without

the with

when we

live

in faith

and trust

in the

plan

and the

purpose

of God

Joseph didn't

get it all

right

you see

times where

pride kind of

begin to creep

but he

trusted

and God

worked

and in

all

things

and in

all

things

what

others

intended

for evil

Joseph

knew that

God was

used for

good

live

differently

lastly

there's

Benjamin

is a

ravenous

wolf

in the

morning

devouring

the prey

and that

evening

dividing

the

spoil

kind of

ferociousness

attacker

seem

weird

hang

with me

die

well

die

well

this

has

been

fun

this

week

two

key

people

in the

Bible

that I

want us

to talk

about

both

known

for their

harshness

both

known

for their

evil

both

known

for their

willingness

to kill

both

named

Saul

both

came

from the

tribe

Benjamin

king

but

allowed

sin

to rule

and reign

in his

life

paranoia

creeping in

constantly

over and

over again

giving

himself

over

to his

sin

and the

hardness

of his

heart

king

Saul

from the

tribe of

Benjamin

over and

over again

and his

death

matched his

life

I want to

read and I

just want you to

listen to the

words in

first

Samuel 31

verse 1

through 4

now the

Philistines

were fighting

against

Israel

and the

men of

Israel

fled before

the

Philistines

and fell

slain

on Mount

Geboa

and the

Philistines

overtook

Saul

and his

sons

and the

Philistines

struck down

Jonathan

and Abednadab

and Malachua

the sons

of Saul

and the

battle

pressed hard

against

Saul

and the

archers

found him

and he

was badly

wounded by

the archers

then Saul

said to

his armor

bearer

this is a

man

who's

lost

hope

this is a

man who

as death

appears

closer and

closer to

him

death

seems like

the best

option

he has

he says

draw your

sword

and thrust

me through

with it

lest these

uncircumcised

come

and thrust

me through

and mistreat

but his

armor

bearer

would not

for he

feared

greatly

therefore

Saul

took his

own

sword

and fell

upon

his hope

was his own

death and

destruction

there's another

Saul

there's new

testament

Saul

and new

testament

Saul

as he's

new

testament

Saul

isn't a

whole lot

better than

old testament

Saul

and he

lived

for death

and

destruction

as well

you see

there's this

group of

that he'd

heard about

that were

the followers

of Jesus

and they

had broken

away

and they

were spreading

in his

mind

lies

and so

he took

it upon

himself

to have

them

eliminated

arrested

or executed

he has

papers to

do it

the bible

tells us

that one

of the

first

deacons

that was

chosen

was a

man

named

Stephen

was faithful

and Stephen

was upright

and there's

charges that

come against

Stephen

because he's

proclaiming

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

and it

said

that men

and women

began to

pick up

stones

and cast

them

at Stephen

and they

stoned him

to death

let me kind of

explain to you

what stone

to death

looks like

stone to

death

is the

repeated

beating

of someone

with rocks

to the point

to where

they fall

down

and then

become

unconscious

and when

they fall

down

and become

unconscious

they begin

to continue

to beat

more and

more rocks

on them

so that

they're

buried

alive

and the

Bible

tells us

that while

this

happened

to Stephen

that there

was a man

named Saul

of Tarshish

who stood

holding the

cloaks

of those

who were

executing

Stephen

here's why

he was

holding the

cloaks

because he

was the

leader

and the

orchestrator

of the

death

of a

godly

man

evil

and wicked

but praise

God

but praise

God

that while

traveling

on the

road

Christ

appeared

to him

and saved

him

and when

he saved

him

he transformed

him

because that's

what God

does

God

doesn't

save

you

and leave

you

alone

God

saves

you

and he

indwells

you

and he

works

in you

and Saul

would become

Paul

the greatest

church

planner that

the world

has ever

known

the writer

of most

of the

New Testament

and so

a man

whose life

was filled

with death

and destruction

but died

well

because his

hope

was not

found

in the

death

but his

hope

was found

in the

Savior

Old Testament

Saul

says

ram your

sword

through me

New Testament

Saul

who

becomes

the

apostle

Paul

right

sister

his son

in the

faith

Timothy

for I'm

already

being

poured

out

as a

drink

offering

and the

time

of my

departure

has

come

I have

fought

the good

fight

I have

finished

the race

I have

kept

the faith

hence

forth

there is

laid up

for me

the crown

righteousness

which the

Lord

the righteous

judge

will award

to me

on that

day

and not

only to

but also

to all

who have

loved

his

appearing

one death

marked by

the gospel

of Christ

one death

marked by

sin

what

what does

it mean

to die

well

what does

it mean

to die

well

that my

faith

and hope

and trust

is in

Jesus

let's finish

verse 28

through

all

these

are the

twelve

tribes

Israel

this

what

their

father

said

them

blessed

them

blessing

each

with

the

blessing

suitable

him

then

commanded

them

and said

them

begathered

to my

people

bury

with

fathers

the

cave

that

the

field

Ephraim

the

Hittite

the

cave

that

the

field

Machpelah

the

east

Mamre

the

land

Canaan

which

Abraham

bought

with

the

field

from

Ephraim

the

Hittite

possess

burying

place

there

they

buried

Abraham

and

Sarah

his

wife

there

they

buried

Isaac

and

Rebekah

his

wife

and

there

buried

Leah

the

field

and

the

cave

that

were

bought

from

the

Hittites

when

Jacob

finished

commanding

his

sons

drew

his

feet

into

the

bed

and

breathed

his

last

and

was

gathered

his

people

unless

Jesus

comes

back

here's

the

truth

verse

that

will

ring

true

from

Jacob's

life

and

yours

and

mine

verse

one

day

drew

his

feet

into

his

bed

and

breathed

his

last

and

was

gathered

all

his

people

one

day

you

and I

will

die

one

day

there

will

people

that

fill

room

remember

you

one

day

they'll

gather

around

they'll

tell

stories

they'll

tell

stories

that if

you

were

there

with

them

I'm

just

going

tell

you

I've

been

part

lot

these

that

will

embarrass

you

but

now

they've

got

the

freedom

because

you

can't

fuss

them

they're

going

get

and

they're

going

talk

about

the

good

times

they're

going

talk

about

the

hard

times

they're

going

gather

around

tables

with

food

there's

going

laughter

there's

going

tears

and

then

pastor

going

come

and

he's

going

open

God's

word

and

he's

going

words

that

will

hopefully

comfort

those

everyone

there

mourns

the

loss

you

guy

who's

done

way

those

than

would

think

from

young

five

and

old

there's

beautiful

transition

that

happens

some

the

time

some

the

time

and

here's

that

beautiful

transition

when

I was

pastor

you

move

from

talking

about

the

truth

God's

word

the

truth

that

person's

eternity

that

what

we're

here

for

today

that

they

passed

from

this

life

eternity

what

they

received

was

their

welcome

home

welcome

home

to the

home

prepared

for them

Christ

for

eternity

and

hope

with

him

what

would

that

day

for

you

what

would

that

message

look

your

life

would

the

hope

Jesus

proclaimed

the

confidence

your

faith

him

just

maybe

hope

that

you

did

and

just

don't

know

about

today

here's

what

you

don't

know

you

don't

know

you'll

live

the

long

ripe

old

life

Jacob

right

now

that

this

day

will

your

last

die

well

live

faith

put

your

hope

Jesus

give

him

all

your

worship

that

day

you

will

hear

the

same

thing

that

the

apostle

Paul

laid

for

the

crown

righteousness

which

the

Lord

the

righteous

judge

will

award

that

day

would

you

pray

with

God

thank you

for the

truth

your

word

God

thank you

for the

hope

the

gospel

God

prayer

for

every

single

one

Lord

saw

these

little

powerful

lessons

the

prophetic

word

blessing

spoken

over

each

the

sons

Jacob

truths

what

looks

walk

relationship

with

you

and

God

that

relationship

made

possible

not

because

we've

been

obedient

the

rules

but

because

Christ

made

way

made

way

for

through

his

work

the

cross

made

way

for

died

for

our

sins

made

way

for

paid

the

penalty

that

deserve

and

made

way

rose

again

God

I pray

that

today

that

everyone

here

could

claim

the

truth

the

gospel

Jesus

Christ

but

their

Lord

and

Savior

God

there's

anyone

here

who's

not

may

today

the

day

faith

may

today

the

day

salvation

for

them

God

for

who

are

followers

Jesus

may

today

look

these

truths

from

your

word

encouragement

live

the

boldness

the

faith

that

profess

through

the

power

the

spirit

who

lives

and

deliver

the

message

the

hope

the

gospel

Jesus

love

you

praise

you

your

name

pray

amen

that's

for

this

week's

message

sure

check

back

week

for

another

episode

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meantime

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can

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