WEBVTT 00:00:02.580 --> 00:00:12.400 - Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons podcast! 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:14.880 We're so glad you chose to listen today. 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:17.640 This week's message examines the story of Joseph, 00:00:17.640 --> 00:00:19.320 highlighting the destructive impact 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:22.520 of favoritism and jealousy in relationships. 00:00:22.520 --> 00:00:25.520 Joseph's journey shows how his father's partiality 00:00:25.520 --> 00:00:27.320 fueled his brother's resentment, 00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:29.960 yet God's unseen hand worked to bring about 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:31.440 a greater purpose. 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:34.240 Listen as we explore how God's impartial love 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:36.920 offers a model for our own relationships. 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:37.920 Thanks for listening. 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:49.440 - Good morning. 00:00:49.440 --> 00:00:52.840 Felt like I need to start dancing that little tune 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:54.320 there on for "Dough Holy Night." 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:57.560 Man, already getting me in the Christmas spirit. 00:00:57.560 --> 00:01:00.880 If you would take your Bible, turn to Genesis chapter 37. 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:04.880 We're picking up in our study of Genesis 37. 00:01:04.880 --> 00:01:08.160 I have truly enjoyed how Pastor Beau has been taking us 00:01:08.160 --> 00:01:09.600 through all of Genesis. 00:01:09.600 --> 00:01:13.100 It just, you know, the Bible is like a puzzle 00:01:13.100 --> 00:01:15.700 and it starts putting all the pieces together for us 00:01:15.700 --> 00:01:19.060 as we look at relationships and how those relationships 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:21.140 are a part of each other in the scripture 00:01:21.140 --> 00:01:24.180 and how the different books of the Bible even overlap 00:01:24.180 --> 00:01:26.480 as the Old Testament, I mean New Testament goes back 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:29.680 to the Old Testament, so this has been a joy to walk 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:32.120 through this study as a church family. 00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:35.600 I do wanna say thank you to everyone who helped out 00:01:35.600 --> 00:01:37.720 last Sunday afternoon. 00:01:37.720 --> 00:01:40.400 We had a fantastic time at our Harvest Hangout, 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:43.840 so I wanna say thanks on behalf of your church staff 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:46.520 for all the volunteers that pulled together to do the trunks 00:01:46.520 --> 00:01:48.800 and did snow cones, popcorn, you name it, 00:01:48.800 --> 00:01:50.540 everything that took place. 00:01:50.540 --> 00:01:53.000 You were the reason why it was able to happen 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:56.880 and even the greater part of that is so many folks 00:01:56.880 --> 00:01:59.280 who were guests came with folks who were part 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:01.880 of Willow Ridge Church, so thank you so much 00:02:01.880 --> 00:02:05.580 for making that happen last Sunday afternoon. 00:02:05.580 --> 00:02:09.200 You did an awesome, awesome job in pulling that off. 00:02:09.200 --> 00:02:14.440 Before we begin together, we're gonna be taking a look 00:02:14.440 --> 00:02:17.480 at Joseph's life, the very beginning of his here 00:02:17.480 --> 00:02:20.580 in Genesis chapter 37, but before we get there, 00:02:20.580 --> 00:02:21.980 would you join me in prayer? 00:02:21.980 --> 00:02:25.860 (congregation murmuring) 00:02:25.860 --> 00:02:27.780 Father, thank you so much for the testimonies 00:02:27.780 --> 00:02:29.220 that we were able to see this morning 00:02:29.220 --> 00:02:31.580 of those who are walking with you. 00:02:31.580 --> 00:02:35.100 Thank you for those who have poured into them 00:02:35.100 --> 00:02:38.560 your ways and your word. 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:42.100 So Lord, I pray now that you would open up our hearts, 00:02:42.100 --> 00:02:44.300 you open up our ears, you open up our minds, 00:02:44.300 --> 00:02:47.140 and you open up our soul to receive what it is 00:02:47.140 --> 00:02:50.380 that you would have us to receive in your word this morning. 00:02:50.380 --> 00:02:51.820 Lord, we thank you and we love you 00:02:51.820 --> 00:02:54.020 and we ask this prayer in your name, amen. 00:02:54.020 --> 00:02:58.100 Well, I have a strange habit, 00:02:58.100 --> 00:03:01.720 and many of you probably in this room 00:03:01.720 --> 00:03:04.180 would not want to join me in this, 00:03:04.180 --> 00:03:07.860 or would probably frown or think that I'm out of my mind. 00:03:07.860 --> 00:03:13.740 My strange habit is this, 60 to 75% into a movie, 00:03:13.740 --> 00:03:18.620 I'm fine with starting at that 75%. 00:03:18.620 --> 00:03:20.860 I don't have to watch the beginning. 00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:23.500 I know that sounds odd, maybe there's a few of you in here 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:25.100 that don't mind doing that. 00:03:25.100 --> 00:03:27.460 Same thing with a TV series. 00:03:27.460 --> 00:03:31.340 I can start at the end and be okay with that. 00:03:31.340 --> 00:03:33.460 Some of you may realize this past week 00:03:33.460 --> 00:03:37.380 the World Series was taking place between LA and New York. 00:03:37.380 --> 00:03:39.380 I'm fine with just turning over to the channel 00:03:39.380 --> 00:03:41.780 and seeing what's happened in the last two innings. 00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:44.540 I don't need all that stuff at the beginning. 00:03:44.540 --> 00:03:48.620 I say all that because I want you to turn real quickly, 00:03:48.620 --> 00:03:53.620 or just listen to Genesis chapter 50, verses 19 through 21. 00:03:53.620 --> 00:03:56.300 I'm not tying to take away from what Pastor Beau 00:03:56.300 --> 00:03:58.700 will teach us when we finally get there, 00:03:58.700 --> 00:04:00.540 but I think it's important for you and I 00:04:00.540 --> 00:04:03.900 to hear the heart of Joseph as we begin to dig 00:04:03.900 --> 00:04:08.360 into his life here in Genesis 37. 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:11.180 So in Genesis 50, verses 19 through 21, 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:13.020 we read these words. 00:04:13.020 --> 00:04:16.180 But Joseph said to them, referring to his brothers, 00:04:16.180 --> 00:04:20.420 do not fear, for I am in the place of God. 00:04:20.420 --> 00:04:23.920 He's not saying I'm not God, no, he knew that. 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:27.700 He's trying to get his brothers to understand and to see. 00:04:27.700 --> 00:04:32.700 In verse 20, as for you, you meant evil against me, 00:04:32.700 --> 00:04:35.940 but God meant it for good, to bring it about 00:04:35.940 --> 00:04:40.220 that many people should be kept alive as they are today. 00:04:40.220 --> 00:04:43.300 So do not fear, I will provide for you 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:44.740 and your little ones. 00:04:44.740 --> 00:04:49.740 Thus, he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. 00:04:49.740 --> 00:04:53.220 So this theme for Joseph's life is going to carry us 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:57.140 all the way from chapter 37, all the way to the end 00:04:57.140 --> 00:04:59.020 of Genesis 50. 00:04:59.020 --> 00:05:02.380 It's so important for you and I to hear this 00:05:02.380 --> 00:05:05.260 because we get to see Joseph's heart. 00:05:05.260 --> 00:05:07.120 That's what the soul, the heart, and the mind 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:09.420 of a God follower looks like. 00:05:09.420 --> 00:05:12.500 After all that his brothers tried and all that he ended up 00:05:12.500 --> 00:05:15.820 going through, he chose God above it all. 00:05:15.820 --> 00:05:19.180 He had confidence in God above it all. 00:05:19.180 --> 00:05:22.720 So let's look, beginning at verse one in Genesis 37. 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:26.560 It says there that Jacob lived in the land 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:28.900 of his father's sojournings. 00:05:28.900 --> 00:05:31.360 All the places that his father went. 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:32.800 In the land of Canaan. 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:36.980 In contrast to his twin brother Esau, 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:41.740 Jacob stayed put in the land of his father Isaac. 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:44.980 Remember, Joseph, I'm sorry, remember Jacob 00:05:44.980 --> 00:05:46.220 was Isaac's favorite. 00:05:46.220 --> 00:05:49.020 This theme is in the family is going to continue on. 00:05:49.020 --> 00:05:51.580 This theme of favoritism. 00:05:51.580 --> 00:05:54.580 It didn't fare well then and it's not going to fare well 00:05:54.580 --> 00:05:56.380 with Joseph either. 00:05:56.380 --> 00:05:57.840 Then verse two. 00:05:57.840 --> 00:06:00.920 These are the generations of Jacob. 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:05.900 Joseph being 17 years old was pastoring the flock 00:06:05.900 --> 00:06:07.340 with his brothers. 00:06:07.340 --> 00:06:10.320 He was a boy with the sons of Vilev and Zilphah, 00:06:10.320 --> 00:06:12.180 his father's wives. 00:06:12.180 --> 00:06:16.220 And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 00:06:16.220 --> 00:06:19.580 So here's something that maybe we can think about. 00:06:19.580 --> 00:06:21.740 Some ways that we consider what's happening here 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:23.520 in Joseph's life. 00:06:23.520 --> 00:06:26.260 One, Joseph might be a tattletale. 00:06:26.260 --> 00:06:30.980 Two, he's looking out for his father's best interests. 00:06:30.980 --> 00:06:34.220 Three, he's doing what his father expected of him 00:06:34.220 --> 00:06:36.980 to do out there in the field with his brothers. 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:38.580 He calls it like he sees it. 00:06:38.580 --> 00:06:41.660 It is what it is. 00:06:41.660 --> 00:06:44.780 Or four, we're getting a glimpse of his skills 00:06:44.780 --> 00:06:48.720 of observation, preparation, planning 00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:51.420 that will serve him well when Pharaoh hands over 00:06:51.420 --> 00:06:54.360 the leadership of his kingdom to Joseph. 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:56.660 Then verse three. 00:06:56.660 --> 00:07:00.700 Now Israel, remember, Bo pointed it out to us 00:07:00.700 --> 00:07:04.420 when we read that remember that Jacob changed, 00:07:04.420 --> 00:07:08.360 that God changed Jacob's name to Israel. 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:14.580 Goes on to say, love Joseph more than any of his sons. 00:07:14.580 --> 00:07:15.980 Here we go. 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:19.860 One of the family traits of old is beginning to creep in 00:07:19.860 --> 00:07:21.840 to this family as well. 00:07:21.840 --> 00:07:24.620 This whole idea of favoritism. 00:07:24.620 --> 00:07:27.580 One thing you and I need to realize is that favoritism 00:07:27.580 --> 00:07:28.980 dismantles families. 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:33.460 We saw it early on with Joseph and Esau. 00:07:33.460 --> 00:07:36.460 And now we're about to see it now with Jacob, 00:07:36.460 --> 00:07:38.360 Joseph, and Joseph's brothers. 00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:40.100 Let's continue on. 00:07:40.100 --> 00:07:43.540 It says there because he was the son of his old age 00:07:43.540 --> 00:07:46.320 and he made him a robe of many colors. 00:07:46.320 --> 00:07:50.580 You see, Jacob didn't just love Joseph 00:07:50.580 --> 00:07:54.100 more than his other brothers in word only. 00:07:54.100 --> 00:07:56.380 But what we're going to observe is that he gave him 00:07:56.380 --> 00:07:58.180 this special coat. 00:07:58.180 --> 00:08:02.620 And this special coat became a part of his brother's 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:04.580 animosity towards him. 00:08:04.580 --> 00:08:07.380 If I was Joseph in this account, 00:08:07.380 --> 00:08:09.660 what do you think I would do? 00:08:09.660 --> 00:08:11.820 I would go bury that coat out in the field 00:08:11.820 --> 00:08:13.340 wherever my brothers were, 00:08:13.340 --> 00:08:16.340 'cause I wouldn't want them to be seeing me wear that coat 00:08:16.340 --> 00:08:18.080 for every time I wore it, 00:08:18.080 --> 00:08:21.880 all they see is the favoritism of Jacob. 00:08:21.880 --> 00:08:22.780 Verse four. 00:08:22.780 --> 00:08:27.980 But when his brothers saw, here it comes, 00:08:27.980 --> 00:08:30.940 here's where everything gets squirrely. 00:08:30.940 --> 00:08:34.980 Then their father loved him more than all his brothers. 00:08:34.980 --> 00:08:39.380 They hated him and could not speak peacefully. 00:08:39.380 --> 00:08:42.220 There wasn't gonna be any kind of bonding conversation 00:08:42.220 --> 00:08:44.900 to happen between Joseph and his brothers. 00:08:44.900 --> 00:08:47.660 They're not going to get close 00:08:47.660 --> 00:08:50.940 because of this very idea of how much they hated him. 00:08:50.940 --> 00:08:54.660 They couldn't even speak kindly to him as we read that. 00:08:54.660 --> 00:08:58.300 So that's the setup for what is about to unfold 00:08:58.300 --> 00:09:00.740 in these next few verses that we're gonna look at 00:09:00.740 --> 00:09:03.140 together, but it's also gonna be the theme 00:09:03.140 --> 00:09:05.300 that's gonna run along in the remaining chapters 00:09:05.300 --> 00:09:07.540 of Genesis as well. 00:09:07.540 --> 00:09:09.700 This is gonna be a snowball effect 00:09:09.700 --> 00:09:11.300 that's about to pick up speed. 00:09:11.300 --> 00:09:12.300 Verse five. 00:09:12.300 --> 00:09:15.060 Now Joseph had a dream. 00:09:15.060 --> 00:09:18.940 Dreams are very important that we see in scripture. 00:09:18.940 --> 00:09:24.660 If you remember, Joseph's father Jacob had a dream. 00:09:24.660 --> 00:09:27.140 It's a gift and ability given by God to Joseph 00:09:27.140 --> 00:09:30.560 that God is going to use in Joseph's life. 00:09:30.560 --> 00:09:33.620 It's going to be used for his good, 00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:35.300 but it's also going to be used for the good 00:09:35.300 --> 00:09:37.340 of those around him. 00:09:37.340 --> 00:09:38.740 Continuing on in verse five. 00:09:38.740 --> 00:09:41.100 And when he told it to his brothers, 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:43.500 Joseph, don't. 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:45.900 You ever had that thought in your head, 00:09:45.900 --> 00:09:48.380 it's like just keep that thought there? 00:09:48.380 --> 00:09:49.980 Or you had a friend or a family member 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:52.540 and you know, man, it is rolling around in their mind, 00:09:52.540 --> 00:09:53.980 this is about to roll off their tongue 00:09:53.980 --> 00:09:56.860 and you're like, just don't, just don't. 00:09:56.860 --> 00:10:00.020 It's kind of that moment right now here with Joseph. 00:10:00.020 --> 00:10:01.180 Joseph's just don't. 00:10:01.180 --> 00:10:05.260 Going on in verse five, it says, 00:10:05.260 --> 00:10:07.620 they hated him even more. 00:10:07.620 --> 00:10:08.900 They hated him even more. 00:10:08.900 --> 00:10:09.740 Then verse six. 00:10:09.740 --> 00:10:13.940 He said to them, hear this dream that I have dreamed. 00:10:13.940 --> 00:10:16.220 Behold, we were binding sheaves, 00:10:16.220 --> 00:10:18.380 it's bundles of grain in the field. 00:10:18.380 --> 00:10:21.340 And behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. 00:10:21.340 --> 00:10:23.660 And behold, your sheaves gathered around it 00:10:23.660 --> 00:10:26.340 and bowed down to my sheaf. 00:10:26.340 --> 00:10:27.180 Yikes. 00:10:29.760 --> 00:10:33.580 His brother said to him, are you indeed to reign over us? 00:10:33.580 --> 00:10:37.720 Or are you indeed to rule over us? 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:42.300 And the answer would be yes and yes. 00:10:42.300 --> 00:10:43.800 None of them know that. 00:10:43.800 --> 00:10:49.980 So they hated him even more for his dreams 00:10:49.980 --> 00:10:51.680 and for his words. 00:10:51.680 --> 00:10:55.020 All right, have you kept count? 00:10:55.020 --> 00:10:57.520 Have you done the list in your head, 00:10:57.520 --> 00:11:00.340 how many times we've read the words 00:11:00.340 --> 00:11:01.960 that his brothers hated him? 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:05.620 That's three times now that we've read that phrase. 00:11:05.620 --> 00:11:09.060 Joseph, what are you thinking about telling your brothers 00:11:09.060 --> 00:11:10.620 about this dream? 00:11:10.620 --> 00:11:12.660 And telling them what you think it means. 00:11:12.660 --> 00:11:15.420 Hate is a very strong emotion. 00:11:15.420 --> 00:11:19.540 Hate can be a motivator for evil actions. 00:11:19.540 --> 00:11:22.820 But for you and I who call ourselves a Christ follower, 00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:25.440 hate is not a godly characteristic. 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:27.740 You and I need to realize that. 00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:29.200 A side note here. 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:32.940 This gift and ability that Joseph has, 00:11:32.940 --> 00:11:35.940 the gift that God has given him to interpret dreams 00:11:35.940 --> 00:11:40.940 will be what God uses in an incredible way in his life. 00:11:40.940 --> 00:11:43.620 I wanna encourage you and challenge you 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:47.300 that during this week, you'll just go ahead and read. 00:11:47.300 --> 00:11:50.180 Go back and read chapter 37, 00:11:50.180 --> 00:11:52.780 but go ahead and read all the way to the end of Genesis. 00:11:52.780 --> 00:11:54.860 Just read it as you're sitting down 00:11:54.860 --> 00:11:59.020 so that you can see the whole story of Joseph's life unfold. 00:11:59.020 --> 00:12:02.140 I feel like as I was reading this, 00:12:02.140 --> 00:12:05.140 that somebody just needs to pull Joseph aside. 00:12:05.140 --> 00:12:08.780 Off to the side and explain to him the possible outcomes 00:12:08.780 --> 00:12:12.440 of what would happen when he not only tells them this dream 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:14.680 but he interprets this dream. 00:12:14.680 --> 00:12:20.020 Joseph either wants to smear it in their faces 00:12:20.020 --> 00:12:23.160 that their dad loves him more than he loves them, 00:12:24.160 --> 00:12:27.560 or he hasn't learned the importance 00:12:27.560 --> 00:12:32.120 of the dynamics in relationships. 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:36.420 He hasn't learned how that can play out in his life. 00:12:36.420 --> 00:12:39.040 You see, there are consequences. 00:12:39.040 --> 00:12:41.200 You know this, right? 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:43.160 In the relationships that you have with family, 00:12:43.160 --> 00:12:45.120 in the relationships you have with friends 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:46.980 or coworkers or neighbors, 00:12:46.980 --> 00:12:50.020 that there are dynamics in the relationships 00:12:50.020 --> 00:12:51.400 that you and I have, 00:12:51.400 --> 00:12:53.720 and there are consequences in those dynamics. 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:56.960 There's rippling effects and there's repercussions 00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:00.460 from our words and our actions in relationships. 00:13:00.460 --> 00:13:02.660 In verse nine, 00:13:02.660 --> 00:13:06.260 then he dreamed another dream. 00:13:06.260 --> 00:13:08.780 Yes, here we go again. 00:13:08.780 --> 00:13:11.880 And he told it to his brothers and said, 00:13:11.880 --> 00:13:14.180 "Behold, I have dreamed another dream. 00:13:14.180 --> 00:13:18.160 "Behold, this sun, the moon, and 11 stars," 00:13:18.160 --> 00:13:20.700 representing his 11 brothers, 00:13:20.700 --> 00:13:23.520 "were bowing down to me." 00:13:23.520 --> 00:13:26.720 Now, can you imagine being one of those brothers 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:29.800 that hates him, and you're standing there, 00:13:29.800 --> 00:13:33.640 and now you hear your brother say a second dream, 00:13:33.640 --> 00:13:36.000 and then he's interpreting that dream, 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.520 and the outcome is not in your favor? 00:13:38.520 --> 00:13:41.120 But in verse 10, 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:43.860 "But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:46.360 "his father rebuked him and said to him, 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:48.880 "What is this dream that you have dreamed? 00:13:48.880 --> 00:13:50.660 "Shall I and your mother and your brothers 00:13:50.660 --> 00:13:54.360 "indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?" 00:13:54.360 --> 00:13:55.940 The answer to that is yes. 00:13:55.940 --> 00:13:59.320 And his brothers were jealous. 00:13:59.320 --> 00:14:03.580 So now another element of this relationship, 00:14:03.580 --> 00:14:06.400 the idea of jealousy, enters in. 00:14:06.400 --> 00:14:10.680 "But his father kept the same in mind." 00:14:10.680 --> 00:14:14.320 Even though Jacob rebukes Joseph 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:17.000 over this dream and the interpretation, 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:20.440 in his spirit, Jacob must have wondered 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:24.580 if this could be something special. 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:28.880 Maybe it's pointing something out in Joseph's life 00:14:28.880 --> 00:14:32.080 that maybe his father is just holding onto. 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:35.720 Down the road, is Jacob going to have 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:37.480 a moment of enlightenment? 00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:42.360 Will he see this scene played out right before his eyes? 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:45.960 Now, the jealousy of his brothers 00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:48.280 is about to rear its ugly head. 00:14:48.280 --> 00:14:50.840 Let's continue in verse 12. 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:53.680 "Now his brothers went to pasture 00:14:53.680 --> 00:14:55.600 "their father's flock near Shechem. 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:58.840 "And Israel said to Joseph, 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:01.980 "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:04.240 "Come, I will send you to them. 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:06.480 "And he said to him, Here I am," 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:08.120 meaning I'm ready to go. 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:11.640 "So he said to him, Go now. 00:15:11.640 --> 00:15:15.880 "See if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, 00:15:15.880 --> 00:15:17.160 "and bring me word. 00:15:17.160 --> 00:15:21.020 "So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, 00:15:21.020 --> 00:15:22.840 "and he came to Shechem. 00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:24.880 "And a man found him wandering in the fields, 00:15:24.880 --> 00:15:27.440 "and the man asked him, What are you seeking? 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:29.040 "I am seeking my brothers, he said. 00:15:29.040 --> 00:15:32.960 "Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock. 00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:34.700 "And the man said, They have gone away, 00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:38.080 "for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:40.580 "So Joseph went after his brothers 00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:42.420 "and found them at Dothan." 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:47.480 You see, Joseph is showing you and I here 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:50.080 of his obedience to his father, Jacob. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:53.040 He goes at his father's request. 00:15:53.040 --> 00:15:57.360 He does what his father expects him to do. 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:00.900 You see, in verse 14, I wonder if this could have been 00:16:00.900 --> 00:16:04.640 what Jacob requested of Joseph back in verse two. 00:16:04.640 --> 00:16:07.600 You remember when he goes out into the fields 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:11.400 and reports back to his dad what his brothers were doing, 00:16:11.400 --> 00:16:13.320 the bad that they were doing? 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:15.560 I wonder if that's exactly what took place 00:16:15.560 --> 00:16:16.380 in the beginning. 00:16:16.380 --> 00:16:18.560 He wasn't being a tattletale. 00:16:18.560 --> 00:16:21.640 He was doing what his father expected him to do. 00:16:21.640 --> 00:16:23.780 And so he comes back to report. 00:16:23.780 --> 00:16:28.180 Verse 18, "They," meaning his brothers, 00:16:28.180 --> 00:16:32.440 "saw him from afar, and before he came near them, 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:33.620 "they conspired." 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:37.240 Let's get together, guys. 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:39.740 We're gonna do something about our brother Joseph. 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:43.680 Boom, the snowball of evil is picking up speed. 00:16:43.680 --> 00:16:47.480 Then it finally says in verse 18 there, it says, 00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:50.640 "Let's conspire against him to kill him." 00:16:50.640 --> 00:16:54.720 I've never had that kind of conversation. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:59.000 Can you imagine what that conversation would be like? 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:03.380 We get to see that unfold for one of his brothers. 00:17:03.380 --> 00:17:06.380 But you know, killing was nothing new to the sons of Jacob. 00:17:08.100 --> 00:17:11.540 Plotting a plan was nothing new to the sons of Jacob. 00:17:11.540 --> 00:17:14.140 Go back to Genesis 34 when two brothers, 00:17:14.140 --> 00:17:16.980 Simeon and Levi, thought it was a good idea 00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:20.300 to kill Hamar, Shechem, and all the males in the city 00:17:20.300 --> 00:17:23.800 because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah. 00:17:23.800 --> 00:17:28.540 Hatred and jealousy unchecked can turn 00:17:28.540 --> 00:17:30.620 into a life-altering decision. 00:17:30.620 --> 00:17:33.780 It can change the course and direction of your life, 00:17:33.780 --> 00:17:36.180 and that usually means not for the good. 00:17:36.180 --> 00:17:39.100 Life-altering for the individual carrying out the action, 00:17:39.100 --> 00:17:42.280 life-altering for the individual receiving the action. 00:17:42.280 --> 00:17:47.300 Life-altering for those that love those individuals. 00:17:47.300 --> 00:17:51.300 The pain and suffering gets handed out all around. 00:17:51.300 --> 00:17:52.740 It doesn't appear that these brothers 00:17:52.740 --> 00:17:55.300 are taking into account any of this 00:17:55.300 --> 00:17:58.240 when they talk about conspiring. 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:01.980 In James chapter three, verses 14 through 16, 00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:03.460 we read these words. 00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:05.980 "But if you have bitter jealousy 00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:08.580 "and selfish ambition in your hearts, 00:18:08.580 --> 00:18:11.320 "do not boast and be false to the truth. 00:18:11.320 --> 00:18:14.780 "This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, 00:18:14.780 --> 00:18:18.080 "but it is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 00:18:18.080 --> 00:18:22.300 "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, 00:18:22.300 --> 00:18:26.020 "there will be disorder in every vile practice." 00:18:26.020 --> 00:18:29.500 James is reminding the believers there 00:18:29.500 --> 00:18:31.340 of what jealousy can do. 00:18:31.340 --> 00:18:35.020 It's a reminder to you and I of what jealousy can do 00:18:35.020 --> 00:18:38.120 when it goes unchecked in our lives. 00:18:38.120 --> 00:18:39.940 Picking back up in verse 19. 00:18:39.940 --> 00:18:43.140 "The brothers said to one another, 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:45.180 "'Here comes this dreamer.'" 00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:49.300 Man, this is under their skin, right? 00:18:49.300 --> 00:18:51.680 I mean, they are bringing back up to their mind 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:54.700 this whole idea of Joseph and his dreams, 00:18:54.700 --> 00:18:57.500 and now they're calling him, "You're the dreamer." 00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:01.300 This phrase shows how deep their hatred 00:19:01.300 --> 00:19:03.700 and jealousy runs for Joseph. 00:19:03.700 --> 00:19:05.380 They're not letting it go, 00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:08.460 and they're going to allow that hatred and jealousy 00:19:08.460 --> 00:19:10.500 to carry them even deeper. 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:14.940 Verse 20, "Come now, let us kill him 00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:17.060 "and throw him into one of the pits. 00:19:17.060 --> 00:19:21.700 "Then they will say," here comes the deceit, 00:19:21.700 --> 00:19:25.140 here comes the deceit that they are all so familiar with. 00:19:25.140 --> 00:19:28.520 It is a family trait that they have grown up with, 00:19:28.520 --> 00:19:30.220 the idea of deceit. 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:35.560 "Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, 00:19:35.560 --> 00:19:39.420 "and we will see what will become of his dreams." 00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:40.940 We're tired of them. 00:19:40.940 --> 00:19:43.140 We're tired of hearing those dreams. 00:19:43.140 --> 00:19:44.780 We're gonna take care of this. 00:19:44.780 --> 00:19:48.500 They are burning with hatred and jealousy. 00:19:48.500 --> 00:19:50.380 Then verse 21, "But when Reuben," 00:19:50.380 --> 00:19:52.340 finally, there's a brother. 00:19:52.340 --> 00:19:55.140 Finally, there's gonna be one to step up. 00:19:55.140 --> 00:19:57.880 "But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him. 00:19:58.600 --> 00:20:00.180 "Thank you, Reuben. 00:20:00.180 --> 00:20:02.600 "He's willing to do what is right. 00:20:02.600 --> 00:20:06.260 "Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, 00:20:06.260 --> 00:20:09.480 "saying, 'Let us not take his life.' 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:13.260 "And Reuben said to them, 'Shed no blood. 00:20:13.260 --> 00:20:16.220 "'Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, 00:20:16.220 --> 00:20:19.480 "'but do not lay a hand on him, 00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:20.980 "'that he might rescue him, 00:20:20.980 --> 00:20:24.100 "'that Reuben might rescue him out of their hand 00:20:24.100 --> 00:20:27.060 "'to restore him to his father.'" 00:20:28.060 --> 00:20:30.980 "Reuben had a rescue plan that involved no blood, 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:32.720 "that involved no death. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:35.180 "I'll encourage my brothers 00:20:35.180 --> 00:20:37.620 "just to throw Joseph into this pit. 00:20:37.620 --> 00:20:41.940 "Then I'll come back, I'll rescue Joseph out of this pit, 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:45.720 "and then I'm gonna take him back to our father, Jacob, 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:47.360 "and I'm gonna make this right." 00:20:47.360 --> 00:20:51.780 Finally, the eldest brother, in a sneaky way, 00:20:51.780 --> 00:20:54.020 stands up to correct his brothers. 00:20:55.100 --> 00:20:58.580 And then in verse 23, "So when Joseph came to his brothers, 00:20:58.580 --> 00:21:00.220 "they stripped him of his robe, 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:03.020 "the robe of many colors that he wore, 00:21:03.020 --> 00:21:05.340 "and they took him and threw him into a pit. 00:21:05.340 --> 00:21:08.420 "The pit was empty, there was no water in it. 00:21:08.420 --> 00:21:11.840 "Not only was Joseph not going to be killed 00:21:11.840 --> 00:21:13.500 "by the hands of his brothers that day, 00:21:13.500 --> 00:21:16.180 "he wasn't gonna be drowned by their hands either." 00:21:16.180 --> 00:21:19.460 I think that's the understanding that we see there, 00:21:19.460 --> 00:21:22.060 why it was mentioned that there was no water in the pit. 00:21:22.060 --> 00:21:25.580 There was nothing that was going to take Joseph out. 00:21:25.580 --> 00:21:29.260 Then in verse 25, "Then they sat down to eat, 00:21:29.260 --> 00:21:31.300 "and looking up, they saw a caravan 00:21:31.300 --> 00:21:33.460 "and Ishmaelites coming from Gilad, 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:36.240 "with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:38.500 "on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 00:21:38.500 --> 00:21:43.000 "Then Judah, another brother, says to his brothers, 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:45.480 "what profit is it if we kill our brother 00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:48.340 "and conceal his blood?" 00:21:48.340 --> 00:21:51.540 It's a little shift in thinking, a little bit. 00:21:51.540 --> 00:21:53.420 These are some ruthless brothers. 00:21:53.420 --> 00:21:55.260 I don't know about you, where you are 00:21:55.260 --> 00:21:58.540 in your thought process with these guys, 00:21:58.540 --> 00:22:00.760 but in mind, these dudes are ruthless. 00:22:00.760 --> 00:22:06.100 "He's no good to us dead, let's make some money off of him." 00:22:06.100 --> 00:22:09.760 In verse 27, "Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, 00:22:09.760 --> 00:22:12.320 "and let not our hand be upon him, 00:22:12.320 --> 00:22:15.880 "for he is our brother, our own flesh." 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:20.060 In one brief moment, Judah has a heart for Joseph. 00:22:20.060 --> 00:22:21.060 It's brief. 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:23.900 But he has a moment for his brother. 00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:25.380 "And his brothers listened to him. 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:27.640 "Then Midianite traders passed by, 00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:30.460 "and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, 00:22:30.460 --> 00:22:33.920 "and sold him to the Ishmaelites for 30 shekels of silver." 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:38.300 Today's value would be only $200. 00:22:38.300 --> 00:22:39.240 Can you imagine? 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:42.700 They were willing to sell, one, they were willing 00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:44.720 to kill him, but now they're willing to sell him 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:46.580 for only $200. 00:22:46.580 --> 00:22:49.060 They had no value for life. 00:22:49.060 --> 00:22:51.420 They had no value for Joseph's life. 00:22:51.420 --> 00:22:54.060 That's how much that hatred and that jealousy 00:22:54.060 --> 00:22:55.100 is eating at 'em. 00:22:55.100 --> 00:23:01.420 Egypt is going to be the setting for most of Exodus 00:23:01.420 --> 00:23:04.340 that you read in Exodus. 00:23:04.340 --> 00:23:08.060 This is how now the children of Israel find themselves 00:23:08.060 --> 00:23:11.040 in Egypt, is starting with Joseph. 00:23:11.040 --> 00:23:14.740 If you don't know the story, you might be thinking, 00:23:14.740 --> 00:23:16.380 "Oh no," for Joseph. 00:23:17.660 --> 00:23:18.860 But God. 00:23:18.860 --> 00:23:23.660 Remember that phrase, but God. 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:25.940 This means a lot. 00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:30.180 Just when you think it's all over, but God. 00:23:30.180 --> 00:23:34.220 Just when you think you've been dealt a bad hand, but God. 00:23:34.220 --> 00:23:38.200 Just when you think things look desperate, but God. 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:43.100 When God is involved, nothing is impossible. 00:23:43.100 --> 00:23:45.860 But God, he knows how to save and rescue. 00:23:45.860 --> 00:23:49.520 But God, he takes the bad and leads to the good. 00:23:49.520 --> 00:23:54.060 Oh no is soon going to become oh yes for Joseph 00:23:54.060 --> 00:23:56.860 once he gets to Egypt. 00:23:56.860 --> 00:24:00.220 In verse 29, when Reuben returned, 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:01.700 now a thought came to my head, 00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:03.600 Reuben, where in the world did you go? 00:24:03.600 --> 00:24:06.180 I mean, you're here in the midst of all this plan, 00:24:06.180 --> 00:24:08.220 you're coming up with your own plan, where do you go? 00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:09.420 We don't know. 00:24:09.420 --> 00:24:10.420 He was off somewhere. 00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:12.420 He wasn't around when Judah came up 00:24:12.420 --> 00:24:13.820 with the idea to sell him. 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:16.980 At least Reuben was going to stay true 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:20.600 to trying to rescue his brother Joseph. 00:24:20.600 --> 00:24:23.900 Just had a forgetful moment of how ruthless 00:24:23.900 --> 00:24:25.880 his brothers were by stepping away. 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:27.640 Let's continue on. 00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:30.500 To the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, 00:24:30.500 --> 00:24:32.180 he tore his clothes. 00:24:32.180 --> 00:24:35.780 When you see this whole idea of the tearing of clothes 00:24:35.780 --> 00:24:38.740 in scripture, it's a sign of either grief, 00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:41.260 distress, or repentance. 00:24:43.420 --> 00:24:48.420 Imagine here is Reuben, the distress 00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:52.140 that his brother who he was going to save and rescue 00:24:52.140 --> 00:24:56.200 being now overwhelmed with that stress and grief 00:24:56.200 --> 00:24:58.780 to respond in a way like this. 00:24:58.780 --> 00:25:01.500 And in verse 30 it says, and he returned to his brothers 00:25:01.500 --> 00:25:06.260 and said, the boy is gone and I, where shall I go? 00:25:06.260 --> 00:25:11.060 Now Reuben is having an aha moment. 00:25:11.060 --> 00:25:15.460 Now Reuben's realizing the brothers I got around me, 00:25:15.460 --> 00:25:18.700 I better start and think about this situation. 00:25:18.700 --> 00:25:21.380 If they're willing to do this to Joseph, 00:25:21.380 --> 00:25:22.860 maybe they're willing to turn on me. 00:25:22.860 --> 00:25:24.620 Who knows what his thinking's going on, 00:25:24.620 --> 00:25:27.580 but he has this moment where he just simply says, 00:25:27.580 --> 00:25:28.580 where shall I go? 00:25:28.580 --> 00:25:30.240 What am I going to do now? 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:34.460 But it doesn't faze his brothers one moment. 00:25:34.460 --> 00:25:37.060 Verse 31, then they took Joseph's robe 00:25:37.060 --> 00:25:41.700 and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood 00:25:41.700 --> 00:25:44.020 and they sent the robe of many colors 00:25:44.020 --> 00:25:45.720 and brought it to their father. 00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:50.060 They could care less what Reuben was feeling in that moment. 00:25:50.060 --> 00:25:52.380 Reuben, just go on and do your thing, 00:25:52.380 --> 00:25:54.960 but we are sticking to what we're going to do. 00:25:54.960 --> 00:25:59.220 This we have brought it to their father and said, 00:25:59.220 --> 00:26:00.500 this we have found. 00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:04.140 Please identify whether it is your son's robe or not. 00:26:05.140 --> 00:26:09.460 Can you imagine that moment that Jacob is going to have? 00:26:09.460 --> 00:26:12.980 The brothers could care less about this trauma 00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:16.740 and this grief that they're about to put on their father. 00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:20.300 That they are coding this lie, 00:26:20.300 --> 00:26:21.860 they have fabricated this lie, 00:26:21.860 --> 00:26:26.020 and they could care one iota about what Jacob 00:26:26.020 --> 00:26:27.900 and how he's going to receive this. 00:26:27.900 --> 00:26:30.800 And in verse 33 it says, 00:26:32.180 --> 00:26:35.940 and he identified it and said, it is my son's robe. 00:26:35.940 --> 00:26:39.060 A fierce animal has devoured him. 00:26:39.060 --> 00:26:42.400 Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces. 00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:46.260 Then Jacob tore his garments, same thing, 00:26:46.260 --> 00:26:48.580 that grief, that stress. 00:26:48.580 --> 00:26:54.360 Jacob tore his garment and put sackcloth on his loins 00:26:54.360 --> 00:26:57.560 and mourned for his son many days. 00:26:57.560 --> 00:27:02.000 And his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him. 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:05.040 These dudes are despicable. 00:27:05.040 --> 00:27:07.560 They come up with this plan for Joseph. 00:27:07.560 --> 00:27:10.180 They bring his coat to their father 00:27:10.180 --> 00:27:11.360 and now they're just going, hey man, 00:27:11.360 --> 00:27:13.320 let's make this, we gotta sell this, right? 00:27:13.320 --> 00:27:15.360 So let's just kind of mourn along with our dad, 00:27:15.360 --> 00:27:17.360 let's see if we can help him out. 00:27:17.360 --> 00:27:19.480 This is the character that they are. 00:27:19.480 --> 00:27:24.160 But Jacob refused to be comforted and said, 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:28.080 no, I shall go down to Sheol to my son mourning. 00:27:28.080 --> 00:27:30.840 Thus his father wept for him. 00:27:31.780 --> 00:27:35.040 Meanwhile, the Mennonites had sold him in Egypt 00:27:35.040 --> 00:27:38.360 to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, 00:27:38.360 --> 00:27:40.260 the captain of the guard. 00:27:40.260 --> 00:27:46.240 In Egypt, God doesn't stop showing up in Joseph's life. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:51.240 God continues to do the impossible for and through Joseph. 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:54.920 Here's some takeaways that I gathered from this story, 00:27:54.920 --> 00:27:57.260 this beginning story of Joseph's life. 00:27:57.260 --> 00:27:59.720 You see, Joseph, when we see him here, 00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:04.720 he's about 17 years old, it tells us, 17 years old. 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:07.280 Here's what we learn. 00:28:07.280 --> 00:28:10.940 Favoritism has no place in relationships. 00:28:10.940 --> 00:28:15.960 Relationships you have, relationships I have 00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:18.720 with family, friends, coworkers, 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:22.160 anybody that favoritism can enter in, 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:24.440 it has no place in relationships. 00:28:24.440 --> 00:28:27.000 It will destroy relationships. 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:29.280 And it can't be covered up. 00:28:29.280 --> 00:28:30.600 It will be revealed. 00:28:30.600 --> 00:28:35.360 Joseph's brother saw it, it was revealed to him, 00:28:35.360 --> 00:28:37.360 it was very obvious in that. 00:28:37.360 --> 00:28:41.920 Favoritism can produce jealousy. 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:45.840 But here's something that you and I can know in God's word 00:28:45.840 --> 00:28:48.360 that we see about the God we serve, 00:28:48.360 --> 00:28:49.560 the God that we worship. 00:28:49.560 --> 00:28:52.480 When you and I look in Romans chapter two, verse 11, 00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:56.340 it says there, for God shows no partiality. 00:28:57.280 --> 00:28:59.780 For God shows no favoritism. 00:28:59.780 --> 00:29:03.160 So you and I, if we're going to be followers of Christ, 00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:07.040 that needs to be what is impressed in our minds 00:29:07.040 --> 00:29:08.120 and our hearts and our spirit, 00:29:08.120 --> 00:29:10.460 that we're going to be the same way. 00:29:10.460 --> 00:29:13.420 We're not going to show favoritism. 00:29:13.420 --> 00:29:17.360 But again, it has destructive purposes. 00:29:17.360 --> 00:29:19.880 In Deuteronomy 10, verse 17, it says, 00:29:19.880 --> 00:29:23.740 for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, 00:29:23.740 --> 00:29:26.600 the great, the mighty, and the awesome God 00:29:26.600 --> 00:29:30.320 who is not partial and takes no bribe. 00:29:30.320 --> 00:29:35.040 God can't be persuaded by one ounce of anything 00:29:35.040 --> 00:29:38.840 that you and I can do to cause him to love us more, 00:29:38.840 --> 00:29:40.480 for him to have favoritism. 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:42.680 It doesn't work like that with God. 00:29:42.680 --> 00:29:46.440 The same thing should work like that with you and I. 00:29:46.440 --> 00:29:47.800 It doesn't matter. 00:29:47.800 --> 00:29:52.580 Favoritism should not be in our vocabulary. 00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:56.740 What behaviors of favoritism do you need God 00:29:56.740 --> 00:29:58.000 to help you correct? 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:02.420 What behaviors of favoritism do I need God 00:30:02.420 --> 00:30:04.140 to correct in my life? 00:30:04.140 --> 00:30:08.280 Another takeaway I see is this. 00:30:08.280 --> 00:30:10.960 Jealousy will destroy relationships. 00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:12.900 We see it played out right here 00:30:12.900 --> 00:30:14.260 with Joseph and his brothers. 00:30:14.260 --> 00:30:15.820 They become jealous. 00:30:15.820 --> 00:30:19.340 But jealousy will destroy relationship. 00:30:19.340 --> 00:30:21.940 It eats at you and produces wrong thoughts, 00:30:21.940 --> 00:30:25.920 wrong motives, wrong behaviors, and wrong actions. 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:28.500 Jealousy can produce hatred, 00:30:28.500 --> 00:30:31.100 which can produce evil intent. 00:30:31.100 --> 00:30:33.860 There's nothing good and productive with jealousy. 00:30:33.860 --> 00:30:38.220 Recognizing and addressing jealousy in our hearts 00:30:38.220 --> 00:30:41.760 is crucial to maintain healthy relationships 00:30:41.760 --> 00:30:43.140 that you and I have. 00:30:43.140 --> 00:30:46.460 Allow God to deal with any jealousy 00:30:46.460 --> 00:30:49.500 that creeps up into your heart and mind. 00:30:51.460 --> 00:30:52.420 And then finally, 00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:58.060 God is consistently and intentionally at work around us 00:30:58.060 --> 00:30:59.440 even when we don't see him. 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:04.340 God is consistently and intentionally at work around us 00:31:04.340 --> 00:31:06.720 even when we don't see him. 00:31:06.720 --> 00:31:14.980 Here in chapter 37, we don't read in the story, 00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:18.140 yet we have to believe about God is this. 00:31:18.140 --> 00:31:20.960 God is ever-present. 00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:24.520 Even though he's not mentioned, he's ever-present. 00:31:24.520 --> 00:31:26.800 But God is present. 00:31:26.800 --> 00:31:29.760 Isaiah knew this about God. 00:31:29.760 --> 00:31:32.800 In Isaiah 45, verse 15, it says, 00:31:32.800 --> 00:31:36.880 "Truly, you are a God who hides himself. 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:39.120 "O God of Israel, the Savior." 00:31:39.120 --> 00:31:42.360 God doesn't have to be seen to do his work. 00:31:42.360 --> 00:31:44.160 It's amazing. 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:47.180 I have heard this word this past week 00:31:47.180 --> 00:31:52.020 multiple times, the idea of God's hiddenness. 00:31:52.020 --> 00:31:57.400 That God being at work even when we're unaware. 00:31:57.400 --> 00:31:58.920 And that is so true, right? 00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:03.740 I mean, as Joseph life plays out, we're going to see that. 00:32:03.740 --> 00:32:07.860 God is constantly at work in your life 00:32:07.860 --> 00:32:10.940 and around your life even when you don't see that. 00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:14.860 That's important for you and I to store away in our minds 00:32:14.860 --> 00:32:16.900 for when we come to those places in our life 00:32:16.900 --> 00:32:21.060 where we have doubts that God is doing something. 00:32:21.060 --> 00:32:24.100 We need our minds to kick in of what we know in God's word 00:32:24.100 --> 00:32:27.020 that says, "I am hidden, but I am at work. 00:32:27.020 --> 00:32:30.140 "I am doing what I do." 00:32:30.140 --> 00:32:32.840 We can't forget that. 00:32:32.840 --> 00:32:36.020 God's hand is at work in Joseph's life 00:32:36.020 --> 00:32:39.180 and the very pieces that play a role in his movements. 00:32:39.180 --> 00:32:42.860 There are no coincidences here, 00:32:42.860 --> 00:32:44.960 only the hand of God when you see that. 00:32:46.800 --> 00:32:49.200 I'm not a believer in coincidences. 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:52.420 I'm a believer in the hand of God. 00:32:52.420 --> 00:32:57.480 In June of this past year, our youngest son, Brennan, 00:32:57.480 --> 00:33:02.060 went on a three-week mission to New York City 00:33:02.060 --> 00:33:04.160 with Campus Crusade for Christ. 00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:10.260 And they spent time out in parks, just constantly outside. 00:33:10.260 --> 00:33:13.700 Well, three days before he was supposed to leave 00:33:13.700 --> 00:33:17.280 and come back to the upstate where he lives at Clemson. 00:33:17.280 --> 00:33:18.680 I can't believe I said that. 00:33:18.680 --> 00:33:22.640 I'm a Carolina grad, I apologize. 00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:24.600 Sorry, Lord. 00:33:24.600 --> 00:33:28.620 Three days. 00:33:28.620 --> 00:33:33.480 He didn't know where he was staying. 00:33:33.480 --> 00:33:35.800 I mean, he knew once he got up there 00:33:35.800 --> 00:33:37.600 that he was staying at this facility 00:33:37.600 --> 00:33:42.000 called Nisum Nisum Bo Brent Joe, 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:43.760 y'all correct me if I'm saying that word wrong. 00:33:43.760 --> 00:33:47.560 It's an acronym for a place where folks go and stay 00:33:47.560 --> 00:33:50.840 when they're doing ministry in New York City. 00:33:50.840 --> 00:33:53.240 He didn't realize that's the place he was going. 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:57.780 It's funny, you know where our students and adults, 00:33:57.780 --> 00:33:59.500 where our students went and stayed this summer 00:33:59.500 --> 00:34:00.860 when they were in New York? 00:34:00.860 --> 00:34:03.020 Same place. 00:34:03.020 --> 00:34:05.060 You're giving me chills 00:34:05.060 --> 00:34:08.020 as I'm sitting here saying this story to you. 00:34:08.020 --> 00:34:09.140 He didn't know. 00:34:10.820 --> 00:34:14.340 But they arrived at the beginning of that week. 00:34:14.340 --> 00:34:18.980 And so, Brennan comes back to Nisum Nisum 00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:20.820 and he's there and all of a sudden 00:34:20.820 --> 00:34:23.220 he gets very sick, very ill. 00:34:23.220 --> 00:34:25.620 And one of the girls that's with him, 00:34:25.620 --> 00:34:27.640 a friend of his from crew at Clemson, 00:34:27.640 --> 00:34:33.500 is trying to do her best to help him out. 00:34:33.500 --> 00:34:35.540 And then finally it just had to be a moment 00:34:35.540 --> 00:34:37.420 that God placed a thought in his head and he says, 00:34:37.420 --> 00:34:38.260 "You know what? 00:34:39.460 --> 00:34:41.100 There's a lady here, Miss Lisa, 00:34:41.100 --> 00:34:42.780 that I know who's a nurse 00:34:42.780 --> 00:34:45.540 and she's got a lot of knowledge. 00:34:45.540 --> 00:34:48.200 And my youth group is here. 00:34:48.200 --> 00:34:49.940 I'm gonna get in touch with them." 00:34:49.940 --> 00:34:53.780 And so he does and I'm drawing blanks here. 00:34:53.780 --> 00:34:55.340 I don't know if he had reached out to Joel 00:34:55.340 --> 00:34:56.500 or if he had reached out to Lisa, 00:34:56.500 --> 00:34:58.220 but somehow it got word. 00:34:58.220 --> 00:35:01.380 And so Trish and I are having a typical evening 00:35:01.380 --> 00:35:04.980 at the house watching TV and I get a text. 00:35:04.980 --> 00:35:07.740 I might have got a text from Mike C first or Joel. 00:35:07.740 --> 00:35:09.580 Some of that gets cloudy. 00:35:09.580 --> 00:35:13.460 Long story short, they came in, Lisa checked him out 00:35:13.460 --> 00:35:15.260 and then texted and said, "Listen, 00:35:15.260 --> 00:35:17.960 we think he needs to go to the emergency room." 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:22.040 Long story short, he had dehydration. 00:35:22.040 --> 00:35:27.900 There are no coincidences with the hand of God. 00:35:27.900 --> 00:35:31.580 Now you and I could probably have a discussion about that 00:35:31.580 --> 00:35:33.660 and say our separate things, 00:35:35.660 --> 00:35:37.500 but I know looking back at that 00:35:37.500 --> 00:35:39.380 and looking at that moment and the prayers 00:35:39.380 --> 00:35:41.260 that my wife and I prayed, 00:35:41.260 --> 00:35:43.580 there's no doubt in our minds and hearts 00:35:43.580 --> 00:35:47.260 of the hand of God in the hidden moments. 00:35:47.260 --> 00:35:50.620 If you wanna look back on your life 00:35:50.620 --> 00:35:53.260 and look at some things and go, 00:35:53.260 --> 00:35:57.620 "Oh, that's where God was." 00:35:57.620 --> 00:35:59.940 I guarantee you, you've had those hidden moments 00:35:59.940 --> 00:36:03.720 in your life where God showed up and you didn't realize it. 00:36:05.460 --> 00:36:08.060 You see, when you and I cover things in prayer 00:36:08.060 --> 00:36:10.900 and you and I are talking with God in prayer, 00:36:10.900 --> 00:36:13.580 God is working, God is working. 00:36:13.580 --> 00:36:16.940 Even in those moments where Satan wants to cast doubt 00:36:16.940 --> 00:36:18.200 in your thoughts that, 00:36:18.200 --> 00:36:21.100 "No, God's just sitting there having a good time." 00:36:21.100 --> 00:36:22.780 You gotta turn him off 00:36:22.780 --> 00:36:27.220 because God is at work in those hidden moments 00:36:27.220 --> 00:36:32.100 orchestrating the things that he needs to do 00:36:32.100 --> 00:36:36.600 to work out his plan in your life, 00:36:36.600 --> 00:36:39.860 in my life, in ministry. 00:36:39.860 --> 00:36:42.780 God is at work no matter what. 00:36:42.780 --> 00:36:47.940 There's one of the studies that we're doing this quarter 00:36:47.940 --> 00:36:51.420 by Brian Heasley, it's called Be Still. 00:36:51.420 --> 00:36:53.520 It's about having a quiet time with God. 00:36:53.520 --> 00:36:57.580 He says this, "Beware of spirituality 00:36:57.580 --> 00:36:59.620 "that is all about the highs. 00:37:00.620 --> 00:37:03.980 "Enjoy them when they come, but when they don't, 00:37:03.980 --> 00:37:08.220 "remember that God hasn't gone anywhere and persevere." 00:37:08.220 --> 00:37:12.760 Trust God, have faith in God 00:37:12.760 --> 00:37:15.420 that he will do what he says he will do. 00:37:15.420 --> 00:37:20.900 I close with this in Psalms 121, wonderful reminder. 00:37:20.900 --> 00:37:25.560 The psalmist says, "I look up to the mountains. 00:37:25.560 --> 00:37:28.160 "Does my help come from there? 00:37:28.160 --> 00:37:31.940 "My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. 00:37:31.940 --> 00:37:33.960 "He will not let you stumble. 00:37:33.960 --> 00:37:37.180 "The one who watches over you will not slumber. 00:37:37.180 --> 00:37:39.400 "Indeed, he who watches over Israel 00:37:39.400 --> 00:37:41.680 "never slumbers or sleeps. 00:37:41.680 --> 00:37:44.700 "The Lord himself watches over you. 00:37:44.700 --> 00:37:48.500 "The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. 00:37:48.500 --> 00:37:51.880 "The sun will not harm you by day nor the moon at night. 00:37:51.880 --> 00:37:53.800 "The Lord keeps you from all harm 00:37:53.800 --> 00:37:55.620 "and watches over your life. 00:37:55.620 --> 00:37:59.720 "The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, 00:37:59.720 --> 00:38:02.440 "both now and forever." 00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:06.440 Father, we truly thank you for your word. 00:38:06.440 --> 00:38:08.120 In your word, there is truth. 00:38:08.120 --> 00:38:10.560 We know that it is truth. 00:38:10.560 --> 00:38:13.580 We know, Father, that you operate from your word 00:38:13.580 --> 00:38:18.560 in helping us understand how you do what you do, 00:38:18.560 --> 00:38:22.100 in helping us understand who you are in this life. 00:38:23.400 --> 00:38:26.400 Father, continue to teach us as your followers 00:38:26.400 --> 00:38:30.200 your hand and your work in who we are and what we do, Lord. 00:38:30.200 --> 00:38:34.500 Father, it's always amazing to hear the stories 00:38:34.500 --> 00:38:36.660 of your working in people's lives. 00:38:36.660 --> 00:38:41.700 Lord, to even see what you're doing around us, Lord, 00:38:41.700 --> 00:38:46.700 not just in individuals, but areas of our country, 00:38:46.700 --> 00:38:49.060 areas of our world. 00:38:49.060 --> 00:38:53.260 There's no idea that you slumber, 00:38:53.260 --> 00:38:54.280 that you sleep. 00:38:54.280 --> 00:38:58.840 Father, you are a constant. 00:38:58.840 --> 00:39:03.320 You're constantly working in and through our life. 00:39:03.320 --> 00:39:07.700 You do it from that place as we discover in scripture 00:39:07.700 --> 00:39:10.620 of your love for us, your love for your people, 00:39:10.620 --> 00:39:16.320 and your desire to draw us into relationship with you. 00:39:16.320 --> 00:39:22.600 Lord, we are truly, truly grateful. 00:39:23.600 --> 00:39:26.800 Father, may you fill our hearts, our minds, 00:39:26.800 --> 00:39:29.880 and our spirits with those things that we need 00:39:29.880 --> 00:39:32.000 to remember this week of who you are 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:34.700 and the fact that you're with us in every moment, 00:39:34.700 --> 00:39:39.040 even when we just have those shreds of doubt. 00:39:39.040 --> 00:39:44.760 Father, we love you and we thank you, 00:39:44.760 --> 00:39:46.440 and we thank you for who you are. 00:39:46.440 --> 00:39:50.300 And we ask this prayer in your name, amen. 00:39:54.260 --> 00:40:01.840 - Thanks again for listening 00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:03.680 to the Willow Ridge Sermons podcast, 00:40:03.680 --> 00:40:05.440 and be sure to check back next week 00:40:05.440 --> 00:40:07.040 to hear another message. 00:40:07.040 --> 00:40:09.000 In the meantime, you can stay up to date 00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:10.800 with everything happening at Willow Ridge 00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:13.760 by visiting us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, 00:40:13.760 --> 00:40:16.320 and online at willowridgechurch.org.