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00:00:01 [Applause] [Music] genesis chapter 50 from the niv joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him then joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father israel so the physicians embalmed him taking a full 40 days for that was the time required for embalming and egyptians mourned for him 70 days when the days of mourning had passed joseph said to pharaoh's card if i have found favor in your eyes speak to pharaoh for me tell him my father made me swear an oath
00:00:45 and said i'm about to die bury me in the tomb i dug for myself in the land of canaan now let me go up and bury my father then i will return pharaoh said go up and bury your father as he made you swear to do so joseph went up to bury his father all pharaoh's officials accompanied him the dignitaries of his god and all the dignitaries of egypt besides all the members of joseph's household and his brothers and those belonging to his father's household only their children and their flocks and herds were left
00:01:22 in the ocean chariots and horsemen also went up with him it was a very large company when they reached the threshing floor of ated knew the jordan they lamented loudly and bitterly and there joseph observed a seventh-day morning for his father when the canaanites who lived there saw the morning at the threshing floor of either they said the egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of morning that is why that place near the jordan is called abel misratam so jacob's son did as he commanded them they carried him to the land of canaan
00:02:00 and buried him in the cave in the field of mount pilla near memory where abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from ephron the hittite after burying his father joseph returned to egypt together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father when joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead they said what if joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him so they sent word to joseph saying your father left these instructions before he died
00:02:39 this is what you are to say to joseph i ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and wrongs they committed in treating you so badly now please forgive the sins of the servants of the god of your father when their message came to him joseph wrapped his brothers then came and threw themselves before him we are your slaves they said but joseph said to them don't be afraid am i in the place of god you intended to harm me but god intended it for good to accomplish what is being done now the saving of many lives
00:03:19 so then don't be afraid i will provide for you and your children and he reassured them and spoke kindly to them joseph stayed in egypt along with all his father's family he lived a hundred and ten years and saw the third generation of ephraim's children and also the children of mater son of manasseh were placed at birth on joseph's knees then joseph said to his brothers i am about to die but god will surely come to your aid and take you out of this land to the land he promised on oath to abraham
00:03:57 isaac and jacob and joseph made the israelites swear and oath and said god will surely come to your aid and then you must carry my bones up from this place so joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten and after they embalmed him he was placed in a coffin in egypt the word of god hi everyone i hope everyone is keeping safe in this bizarre and difficult season i hope that you're able to keep yourself spiritually nourished and strong spending time in building your relationship with god in this season
00:04:31 even as we come together to hear god's word let us begin by tuning our eyes our hearts our minds and soul through the spirit let us pray father we thank you for always being with us and lord today we come to hear your word we pray lord and thank you lord that we got to sing songs to you that we got to pray to you we got to petition to you we got to share our hearts with you and even now lord as we open our ears to hear you our eyes to spiritually see you and our hearts to be open to what you are asking
00:05:02 us to respond to when you speak to us in a very special way in jesus name i pray amen so brothers and sisters we're here today and the big question i've been asking myself in this season is what does the world need today does not take a genius to see that the world is horridly broken the younger generations the millennials are awfully disillusioned by what they're witnessing and utterly hopeless that the situation can be mended many reaching existential crisis because of what is happening the suicide rates are going through the
00:05:40 roof just look at our statistics today and you can understand why 100 million orphans 150 million homeless people 1.6 billion people on this earth lack adequate housing 736 million people live in poverty 73 million babies aborted each year 50 of marriages end up in divorce in america itself 700 000 children are abused a year 1.7 million sex slaves exist today according to unicef and about 35 known wars are happening right now in 30 plus countries involved directly or indirectly 46 of our global forests have been cut down
00:06:28 when asked this question many will offer up solutions like world peace or now the vaccine end of all pollution and much more but talk right here in the entire book of genesis is god's revelation to what the problem is and the proposed solution let me show you all the problems we are seeing now that is caused by one main issue i know it is easy for us to point it to sin and in directly yes but i propose to you that these problems stem from broken relationships because of sin we are unable to foster proper relationships with god
00:07:10 or with each other look at genesis and the list of broken relationships if you see in genesis right now in the beginning our relationship with god was broken then we see men and creation because we were sent out from the garden because our relationships with creation was broken cain versus abel another relationship that was broken caused by murder then lamech also killed a young man and his relationship was broken then we see the relationship of man versus god where men chose to be like god and god had to wipe us out in a flood
00:07:53 then we see abraham and lord relatives that look like they will never break up be able to be broken apart were broken apart because of disputes in land sarah and hegar we know that story i preached on this the last time what happened was because she was a slave she was she was and she had a son ishmael sarai and heger never became good friends sodom you know this story is quite dark but it is a it's a story of broken relationships where people demanded unnatural relationships with the guests that lord had then we see following that
00:08:36 in genesis 19 lord and the daughters and how the existence of two nations came about because of incest and and we go on it doesn't get better in genesis 21 isaac and ishmael were separated then we see the brokenness of esau and jacob's relationship then we see relationships of wives broken apart in leia and rachel then we see jacob's son murdering an entire population because of revenge then we see joseph and his brother's relationship broken then we see in genesis 38 again judah versus tayma it seems like the entire genesis
00:09:25 is a series of unfortunate broken relationships and this isn't even as exhaustive as it could be but just to give you an overview of how many broken relationships were present in genesis this was i took i did this to just give you an overview and i think the problem with all these things is is shown in this story when joseph and his brothers were trying the brothers back for forgiveness and reconciliation all this began when we took matters in our own hands we decided what is good for ourselves
00:10:05 and put ourselves in the place of god a few weeks ago i appreciated our guest speaker who put it so plainly that we chose to be self-reliant and self-determined that is what sin is and self-reliance and self-determination are recipes for broken relationships story after story it showed the result of self-reliance and self-determination is broken down relationships this was not the image of god that we were supposed to bear we were supposed to show all creation what intel interdependence means complementing
00:10:36 means loving each other means community and so much more supposed to be like god called israel so that they could become a model of community but they destroyed it over and over again so here we are again at such a point of the story where jacob's death is on it and his son's thought first thoughts were to take matters into their own hands let's start with verse 15 here let's see this realizing that their father was dead joseph's brother said what if joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for
00:11:18 all the wrong that we did for him so they approached joseph saying your father gave these instructions realizing that their safety blanket is gone they wanted it what if joseph were to kill them right now what if they were going to receive what they had done wrong in full swing because they took matters into their own hands before and so joseph as a slave now let's come up with a plan to make sure that we don't die whenever man takes matters into their own hands it results in broken relationships that
00:11:50 lead ultimately to the disasters shown in genesis look at this list and the more i read the more i see how ugly the picture really is about us as a human race the result of our self-reliance and self-determination has led to these things still being at the very core of our society but why didn't god just paint a beautiful picture and write out these things for us to see why did he put it in the bible i believe it's because god wanted to demonstrate that he is a god that does not hide behind a beautiful facade
00:12:30 he faces sin head on to reconcile the world to himself god in this origin story was not that here to paint a glowing picture a nice drama or a movie about happily ever afters he was here to reconcile us to him and to all creation he was here on a mission a mission to save all that he had planned so i entitled my sermon today reconciliation god is our salvation so let's begin looking at joseph's afflictions let's begin by looking at that look at the list of afflictions he went through skepticism scorn jealousy
00:13:12 being bullied being abandoned slave discriminated betrayed maligned imprisoned forgotten joseph has all the reasons to become a bitter angry resentful and revengeful man look at this list and i don't think many of us can claim to have gone through as many afflictions as he did nobody would blame him if the story was painted as what he still bears a grudge the brother certainly expected him to be like that if the story was written in a way to tell us that joseph knowing that their brothers were evil
00:13:47 took matters into his own hands and slayed them so that all will know that justice prevails that evil doers will reap what they saw i think we would certainly love that story however when i was preparing this message and was praying and asking the spirit to lead me in a message that is for this time my eyes were open to something that i have not noticed before i'm reminded i reminded you all that one key interpretation tool that we have to look out for in the bible is repetitions repetitions repetitions they
00:14:23 are intentional and little did i notice before in the story of joseph how many times it was written that joseph wept right in the beginning of this passage he was weeping for the loss of his father how could i miss it i of all people should recognize it because it resembles me a lot my entire life i'm labeled a crybaby my father too when we are touched by god we just somehow cry and when i think about god and his love when i remember his grace and the stories of my life that shows me who he is and i get really emotional and in the
00:15:00 same way joseph had this soft spot for god and joseph wept when the brother asked him to forgive all that they have done the first response was joseph wept wendy i think joseph tears are key to understanding what reconciliation is all about joseph's remarkable reaction is something we should all learn from about who god is and how we can respond in a world filled with broken relationships see joseph was repeatedly depicted as a crier in the beginning of chapter 50. the author purposely showed joseph as the
00:15:45 emotion as emotional to three concrete actions joseph did he threw himself upon his father he wept over the father and kissed the father upon his death i mean most people would like to put crying at the addendum or to not be in the story at all or maybe just in the climax in emotional climax of a movie why did presuma presumably moses inspired by the holy spirit intentionally write this down so many times he wrote uh joseph's crying on six occasions just in the last five chapters in genesis 45 verse 1
00:16:23 14 verse 215 genesis 46 verse 29 genesis 50 verse 1 genesis 50 verse 10 genesis 50 verse 17. i think is because joseph's tears revealed god's reconciliation in three powerful ways joseph tears reflected god is in control jesus tears of assurance reflected god is with him and joseph's tears of joy reflect that god is for him joseph's own words will reveal to us why he wept and so let's discover the first tears of love i think joseph was a man who knew god's heart how else could he have been able to
00:17:16 withstand the pursuits of the most beautiful woman around at that time or interpret dreams or more i believe god was not invisible to him he knew god intimately he was a man that was 100 sure god has a plan and at faith god was in control sure he was naive in the beginning but he was so certain god showed up in his dreams and as his life was shown in the narrative we could see him being sure about what god picks plans and ways are he was always submitted to them most things in his life were quite
00:17:50 extraordinary he may not always understand it at first but he would eventually submit knowing that god has always something better and here he had a chance to act out and take matters into his own hands but he knew god's plan and would not go against it we see it in his response to his brothers am i in the place of god it says joseph said to them do not be afraid i am i in the place of god to take matters into his own hands would say that he is taking the place of god he learned this at an early age when
00:18:31 faced with the seduction of potiphar's wife in genesis 39 verse 9 he said how then could i do this great wickedness and sin against god or paraphrase how can i do this and put myself in the place of god or how can i do this and take matters into my own hands or better say or how can i take matters into uh or how can i do this and be self-reliant and self-determined he knew that going against god's plans would result in more disaster and was willing to face jail rather than go against it if you look at the passages where we see
00:19:11 joseph cry it was in key moments of reconciliation with his family crying and grief grief sorry in chapter 50 we just read or preceded by the earlier stories of weeping in reunion with his family in genesis 45 and 46 i think these were moments god moments of reconciliation where tears of love flowed mind you the crying depict that was for long periods of time moses intentionally wrote this action can also be found at key moments in janus another key moment in genesis 33 verse 4 when esau ran to meet jacob a moment of reconciliation
00:19:58 where esau embraced him fell on his neck threw himself over and kissed and wept these things matter so much in that it was recorded in god's word why because reflected in the heart of the father and what mattered to god the father in heaven longs for reconciliation showing how these moments mattered so much to him can you recollect another story that depicts this very action yes it's up on the screen the story of the prodigal son in luke 15 20 it says but while the sun was still a long way off his
00:20:35 father saw him and was filled with compassion for him he ran to his son threw his arms around him and kissed him this meeting though in contrast showed that instead of the father weeping instead it showed exuberant love of the father in celebrating the return of his son god's love celebrates our reconciliation to him so esau and joseph's tears were not a reflection just of tears of regret sorrow pain they were tears of love they reflected the very heart of the father the heart of love god has no plan b there is only one plan
00:21:18 he wants to be reunited with his family and he will go all out to fulfill his plan joseph witnessed this how in the unlikeliest of all stories did god orchestrate the salvation of his family from a naive boy who got sold into slavery i think every time he saw that he wept his brothers could not see it they were so afraid that joseph would take revenge joseph's reply was telling of how he realized god was the one who planned it all to save his family his reaction showed not just how much god planned for them
00:21:52 to be saved but loved his family he saw the heavenly father's heart for love you see in the center of god's heart is reconciliation and nothing is going to stop god's plan to rescue us god's heart is to see his creation be reconciled to him and to each other these stories were words were these stories were there because reconciliation mattered to god a lot that is his good intention you see god it says here god intended it for good in order to preserve numerous people as he is doing today in first timothy two verse four it says
00:22:46 god our savior wants everyone to be saved and to come into knowledge of the truth remember also second peter verse 3 verse 8 it says the lord is not slack considering his promise as some man counts slackness but is long-suffering to us not willing that any of us should perish but all to come into repentance his plan is for all i don't think that even joseph in at that moment in his mind could comprehend that when god what god intended to do the salvation that god intended from his family was not just for his family but for
00:23:22 everyone including you and i to be preserved today problem for most of us is like joseph brothers we want to take matters into our own hands we want to take our own salvation into our own hands the brothers essentially said we beg for your forgiveness for our sins and joseph was right to answer am i in the place of god he knew that only god can forgive sins forgiveness of sins is not not something about just forgiving wrongs the brothers asking forgiveness took a first step towards repentance just like the
00:23:58 prodigal son and joseph had a choice to accept out of love or to turn away up until now after all that has happened what pain joseph was probably the fact that his brothers used his legacy to plea his father's legacy to plead for their lives instead of trusting that god had a plan to save them all this one joseph recognized how god delivered them from their sins and saved his entire family how could he possibly do anything in god's place to choose to take their lives right now or to choose to not forgive them when
00:24:34 god has chosen to save them see joseph knew he should put himself in the should not put himself in the place of god and be self-reliant and self-determined so he chose love i see all how all the problems we've listed earlier like abuse abandonment abortion of divorce and so on stems from us putting ourselves in the place of god this was the same sin adam and eve committed and here in the reflection of god who god is joseph knew god wanted reconciliation and salvation for his family so he chose to love them
00:25:12 the way god would have loved them and if we understand this it should come as no surprise to you why the greatest commandment in all the bible is to love god and to love others jesus said in matthew 22 verse 37 to 40 love the lord your god with all your heart your with all your soul and with all your mind this is the first and greatest commandment and the second is like it love your neighbor as yourself all the law and prophets hang on these two commandments what the world needs now is not a vaccine not better governments or even a
00:25:53 superhero what the world needs more than anything else is love the world needs love our environment needs love the church needs love our neighbors need love the orphans need love the prostitutes need love and the homosexuals need love if we truly love god and love one another then these issues caused by broken relationships can be solved but our ability to do that is in marked by the fact that we have taken what is good love and chosen to love however we want or to love ourselves or to love mere
00:26:30 things joseph had every right to be angry hurt or hate or despise his brothers but he chose to love my mom came from a horribly broken family my grandfather had four wives and seven concubines long story short it was a mess he cheated his c his money from his company and became bankrupt and drank his life away until this day my family hates or tolerates each other and could never forgive mom could have turned out to be a bitter person with much hatred angst and baggage and waste her life away wallowing in a pain
00:27:06 or she could forget her past and really ignore the reality of it but my mom was saved by god's love never really knowing what true love is in accents she found it in god's love instead of choosing to be in a dark place she responded to god by realizing her need for god and choosing to love i always see it as a shining example of how it is to be able to love even the most seemingly most unlovable person that's probably why she started a school for children with learning difficulties and learning disabilities
00:27:43 it was not easy for her i knew she still feels the pain of what her family went through yet she never failed to love anyone the way god would have loved them amid all this mess god saved my grandmother and my aunts in singapore mom knew and intentionally made effort to keep in contact with her too with my grandma and her two sisters there on my wedding day in singapore she arrived and invited she invited them and hello and behold one of my family members my other family members found out one of
00:28:18 them also a believer reacted to school my mom for inviting them my mom replied that we are servants of the living god we are pastors and we are called to love see even as christians it is not an automatic thing to choose to love but i think god softened my relatives heart that day and they spoke with each other that was a huge step towards reconciling that family with ours god's love brought healing to our relationship as a family my father was the one who walked my aunt down the aisle when she was married
00:28:54 we now have accepted our relationship as family without any sense of hurt there are many other family members that are still exchanged and chose not to reconcile but those of us who got to know the love of god can reconcile and i don't think anyone can truly forgive without love i tell these personal stories because it is as authentic as i can be and i want to encourage i want them to encourage you who are going through the most difficult situations in your lives and crying out to god for reconciliation
00:29:29 for forgiveness and for hope many of us also have been desperately praying and asking god to save our loved ones and friends pray as if god has no plan b don't pray as if it's going to fail because god does not plan to fail he never fails also pray with a deep conviction knowing that the spirit will work to help them respond to the gospel i never imagined my family reconciling with each other but god did it in a way that we could have never orchestrated on our own don't try to put yourself in god's don't try to put it
00:30:08 yourself don't try to do it yourself that's really what i'm trying to say god has a plan for all things i'm not saying don't just pray and do nothing yeah try your absolute best but self-reliance and self-determination ultimately leads us out of god's plan submit yourself to god's plan that is good and that is to love and trust in it even though it seems like it's not going your way the process of reconciliation can look like this in many ways this is an over-exemplification but reconciliation uh becomes easier when we realize that
00:30:53 first it is god's initiation god's work and trust in it then that's our response to it to be repentant and realize that we need to turn back to god in order for broken relationships to be mended that sin needs to be removed from the equation that the only possible way is through jesus christ after that there is a choice to love an imitation of god that leads to the part where we are able to forgive you see forgiveness doesn't come when we feel afraid or unassured twice in the short passage joseph had to
00:31:36 assure his brothers do not be afraid have no fear how did joseph find not just enough love enough to love his brothers much much less to offer forgiveness to the brothers i think is because his tears showed tears of assurance because he knew that god was with him i think the tears that flowed down were also not tears of fear but tears of assurance because joseph had experienced for himself that god has never left him nor forsaken his family we were created to be relational i think the worst thing for
00:32:20 any man is to be alone even in the ba the bible says it's not good for men to be alone and who better to know what being alone like it is than joseph himself while he lay in that pit abandoned well he was a slave while he was imprisoned he was alone most of us have never felt the level of abandonment that he must have felt he was abused abandoned dehumanized yet repeatedly in the chapters of the bible was this phrase god was with him when joseph finally saw god's plan to save his family when they arrived in egypt that day
00:33:06 he wept many well tribute to the crying to all the afflictions and suffering and pains that he suffered but i am certain joseph wept because he felt a relief in seeing that god was not just with him but was with his family as well all these years of separation he had no way to know if they were okay he also didn't know his family whether his family would be spared from the famine that he prophesied about when the realization that god was not just with him but with his family throughout all these
00:33:42 years he must have all these years of built up emotions must have just been let out in those tears and upon seeing his family and how he was placed in a position now to save them all because of what god has done it must have been a tremendous moment of all of who god is you can see how assured joseph was that god was with him by the names he gave his son he gave his sons the name manase and iphraim because god was with me because he had made me forget all my hardships and made me fruitful when i
00:34:25 should be in misfortune that's the meaning of the names of his sons he had forgotten all his hardships he has realized that he has been blessed and all this happened not because he was dwelling on his pain and his sorrows but he saw who god is and god was with him this was even happening before he met his brothers he was already able to forgive because god was with him i think it is written for us plainly in scripture but what it means to have god with us and seen in the words of joseph do not be
00:35:03 afraid these words that were said resonates again in the whole book of genesis when adam and eve first sinned they were afraid and they hid in the garden but again and again god will repeat these words throughout genesis to counter what sin does that is put fear in our hearts do not be afraid those are the words of the god this promise was said when he came to abraham in genesis 15. together when she felt lost in genesis 21 do not be afraid when abraham was looking for his for for a son because he wanted to pass
00:35:48 on his inheritance in genesis 26 god says these same words do not be afraid when rachel was giving birth and fighting for her life these words again was god what god said do not be afraid and god gave these words to joseph in genesis 43 do not be afraid he repeats it again now in genesis 50 to remind them that these are not just his words these are the words of god and god says do not be afraid and this will continue to ring throughout the entire bible as well i this is going to be a fun exercise if
00:36:37 you are willing to try it just do this exercise and see for yourself how many times from genesis all the way to revelations god told us these exact words do not be afraid in fact one of my favorite verses that we quoted a lot is deuteronomy 31 verse 8 it says what the lord himself goes before you and the lord is with you he will never leave you nor forsake you do not be afraid do not be discouraged as i look back to this story what was key to joseph's serenity and all that has happened what brought
00:37:22 comfort to every of those people to him and to all people in those circumstances that they were going through whether it be hagar abraham whether it be rachel was the knowledge that god was with them the brothers of joseph were afraid and they used the father's name to beg for their forgiveness they were unable to find the ability to truly reconcile with jacob joseph sorry because they were afraid forgiveness becomes possible because we have the assurance not to be afraid that god will go before
00:37:57 us and is with us he works hard to make his plans successful he doesn't want it to feel that we can have the assurance that we can keep forgiving no matter how hard it is or even if the person fails over and over and over again we can forgive then pastor you asked me when does the forgiveness stop shh shouldn't there be a limit forgiveness offered by grace should never stop we might not be able to accept the sin and may be forced to separate that because the sin repeats itself over and over again but i don't think we are
00:38:36 ever called not to forgive pray for the appointed time when a person will see god's love so you can be reconciled because god offered it to us we should also offer it freely i mean how many times have i myself needed forgiveness from god and god has never failed to forgive me i mean if god asks the question does leon deserve forgiveness and the answer would be no i mean look at joseph brothers the brothers they can't be possibly sincere right stop brothers and sisters stop thinking this way look
00:39:22 at christ did he offer forgiveness because we truly understood the need for true repentance but more remarkable than that he has given us the ability like him to offer forgiveness even when others don't deserve it and in the end who deserves it you me we have the assurance to forgive others because we know god is with us nobody or nothing can stop you from forgiving giving someone it is a choice the choice is in your hands oh really should the choice be in god's hands and if the choice is in god's hands
00:40:03 don't you think he would want us to reconcile to forgive to love to know that he is with us he will never leave us nor forsake us if you don't take my word for it that we need reconciliation and forgiveness take signs john hopkins and in in in john hopkins medical says long-term resentment and unforgiveness comes at a heavy price it is not natural that not naturally what we are created to do accumulate unforgiveness it will eventually lead you to your death it brings about what stress anger uncontrolled emotions depression anxiety
00:40:45 hostility and more if i forgive the person will they learn their lesson let it go brother sisters god will work it out studies have shown that the f that the act of forgiveness can reap huge rewards for your health like lowering risk of heart attack improving cholesterol levels and sleep and reducing pain blood pressure and even levels of anxiety depression and stress but if you still don't take that as assuring i hope you'll be reminded this christmas this coming season that the name of jesus emmanuel
00:41:22 means god is with us see god being with us is not just about our response to him but it is about him running towards us in love jesus emmanuel god with us was not just about us first loving god but how god ran in our direction in love god with us is not just for us believers god longs for the whole world to receive this love god so loved the world that he gave his only son joseph knew god was with him not because he was special or deserved it more than any of his brothers he and his household were just recipient
00:42:04 of what we now know as god's grace i think john newton when he penned down those words of amazing grace would swell up in tears because he would remember just as joseph did knowing that that grace was something so undeserved so unmerited so assured was joseph in god that he believed that even if the brothers intended it for harm and for evil it will never deter god's plan to reconcile nothing evil can even remotely come in the way that could ever turn let me try to say this better nothing evil can ever do anything to stop god's plan
00:42:59 because god can turn every bad situation into something good that's what it says right here what the brothers meant for evil god meant it for good and you will see that over and over again that the brothers had evil intentions but god used it for reconciliation for salvation of his family you know how people today like to say assuring statements like everything is going to be all right it will be fine in the end it irritates me to the core because these assurances have no basis at all but our assurance is not based on
00:43:39 something rishi washi or some positivity or positive mentality it is based on jesus christ paul said in colossians two verse two my goal is that their hearts having been together in love may be encouraged and that they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of god namely christ when we have experienced god's love and truly repented from taking matters into our own hands when we choose to love an imitation of the heavenly father father when we are secure in christ
00:44:24 we can forgive just like christ prayed for our forgiveness while we were yet sinners because he paid the price for forgiveness we can forgive last but not least i believe joseph's tears were not just tears that reflected all the afflictions he went through it reflected his knowledge of the father's love the assurance of the son but also tears of joy from the holy spirit knowing god is for him every parent wants their child to succeed so much so i've witnessed paris obsession over guaranteeing their children's
00:45:09 future no normal parent would want to watch their child fail and go hahahaha you deserve it if you were that kind of parent please come see me you need help ever wonder why we as parents always want the best for our children because we are made in god's image god who is a perfect version of us wants all of us to succeed in every possible way please don't start thinking that i'm going to preach about the prosperity gospel now but this is the truth god wants us to be successful the problem with sin when we become self-reliant and
00:45:52 self-determined on what we view success to be in our own perspective that causes relationships to be broken the cross itself should show you that our version of victory and success over sin is not your typical story it is a narrow path it is a road less travel joseph witnessed this again and again in the most hopeless situations god came to his aid god was with him god was for him showed him favor that would also be a testament to others that god was for joseph his parting words to his people at the end of the book of genesis
00:46:43 was the same reminder god is for you and god will come to your end god said this to his brothers i am about to die but god will surely come to your aid and then he says again in verse 25 god will surely come to you he repeats this intentionally and then you must not carry my bones up from this place then you must carry up my bones from this place god is for you and will come to aid you what god is for us means in this story and in joseph's eye was that he realized that god will always be there to help us
00:47:29 to get there the promise of the holy spirit is a promise of a helper and he is there to help us always god is for us does not mean that god will be like a parent that spoils this children exempt them from learning life's essential skills like patience loving your enemies turning your other cheek and more god is for us means that he will help us each step of the way to be able to even do something like love our enemies no parent would leave their child suffering unnecessarily or unjustly want more a parent who knows exactly
00:48:11 what we need god is on our side and what a comfort to know that god knows everything we need when you have young kids and you see how they operate out of trust you know why god asks us to have a faith of a child and our child trusts us even though we don't know it all imagine that we can really trust a god who knows it all and is for us and has our back for the good things of course we can't go doing things our way and expect god to still have our back can we yet i've personally witnessed how many times god has still
00:48:51 had my back even though i went on my own way i did things according to my own terms but eventually because we love god back our response will be different notice that some of us adults how we do things the way our parents did why not just because it works but because we now know it was all done out of love i pray that all of us we would come to know that god is not some god who is indifferent and distant though we can't see it now the key word is now because eventually as the story goes we will see it clearly why all things
00:49:32 happen the way it did don't forget it you are his people when we have the holy spirit as our helper the holy spirit does not just aid us to repent and to love and to forgive he helps us to rejoice in spite of suffering in romans 3 5 3 to 5 it says not only so but we are also we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance perseverance be character and correct hope and hope does not disappoint us because god has poured out his love into our hearts by the holy spirit whom
00:50:10 he has given us because we know that god is for us we can move from forgiveness to respond in thanksgiving no matter how difficult it is to reconcile what all this says it's also that no matter how impossible you think it is to reconcile or no matter how tough the road ahead seems god has provided all the ingredients for us to reconcile most of us feel that opposite though like how come god does not provide us with this or to that why doesn't he make the other person say sorry first i think if joseph would see things like
00:50:51 that he would have never forgiven but in that moment it all clicked when god touched him he knew he has all the ingredients to reconcile with his family and with god friends god is for you you have all you all need to realize that you can no circumstance is insurmountable no situation is something you can't overcome because of broken relationships some of you may feel that god has forsaken you or is out to get you for all the wrong things that you have done that fear is not from god that is not the god we believe in god is
00:51:35 for us nothing will change his plan for reconciliation to bring us back together this assurance is plain in joseph's firm belief that he had no ability to change god's plan in any way at all if god meant for his family to live they will live who is he that can be against that he had a faith that even the evil intentions and plans the brothers were all overpowered because god will use it for good that their evil plans were used by god to ensure their very own salvation reconciliation is not just a movement from
00:52:14 reconciliation to repentance to love but to forgiveness and then it climaxes in our response of thanksgiving this is god's mission is that everyone hears this message that he longs to reconcile with them that comes to you and i church god's testimony boasts that god's salvation to the world notice the word thanksgiving it is not just thanks but we have a mission to give you who have received some when you receive something good i know some of you that when you eat something good you would share it over
00:52:57 facebook why because it brings you joy what more that we have received something so good from our lord what more should we feel like we can't hold back this good news of course we can hold back these good things if we are selfish but god's reconciliation ultimately let us offer it offers reconciliation offer forgiveness offer love offer repentance to someone freely because we were the ones that received it first joseph was thankful for what god has done for him and he passed it on brothers and sisters this year is our
00:53:46 year of missions pass it on otherwise our journey of reconciliation isn't truly complete joseph knew with all his heart that god loves him god was with him and that god was for him and he passed it on in closing friends if our god is for us who can be against us i hear that many times quoted but what does that mean it means god is working for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes who is that it's you it's me it means that while you're feeling down and out or like a slave
00:54:26 in egypt or you may be feeling defeated if we call out to him god will come to our aid because he promised good to us the second verse of amazing grace the lord has promised good to me his word my hope secures i'm so secure because of who he is because he is for me so the important question you need to ask today is do you have faith in what you do or have faith in what god has done is doing and will do for us many of us are crying out like the israelites that were enslaved praying for him to solve our personal problems
00:55:14 we see in the world right now you are crying out why this is happening to me or why am i in this situation lamenting the result of the brokenness caused by broken relationships that need reconciliation many of us can't let go can't forgive can't accept or reconcile with someone and don't know a way out turn your eyes to god your help will surely come i look at how god has been in control and always be in control how he is with me and how he's for me i can't help but want to cry and be thankful for all that he has done
00:55:55 and i'm here to assure you that god is working his absolute best to reconcile all of creation back to him he is in control nothing can stop the father's love and he promised to be with us and fulfilled it through jesus christ he is for us he gave us the holy spirit to be our helper and aid if you forget all that i've said don't forget this that god loves you he is with you he is for you this season has got me also praying for my broken relationships of for my friends and loved ones and and the nation like never before
00:56:40 i really believe what we need more it's not a new government it's not a vaccine but if we love each other we will get through this i'm praying constantly that god will be in control be with them and be for us and it's been my mission to pray for this for them and i hope you will join me in doing so that god will be in control of our lives in the present and in everything working out their salvation i realized all this because i know god is my salvation i look back and i wish i could tell you all the stories
00:57:28 where i realized how god was in control of my family how god was with my family and how god was for my family or for me but i could never but there's no way i could ever be able to express how i feel but i thank god for music and for songs and i thought this song would be an appropriate response together as the church in this moment take this time if you have been through a lot let this song minister to you and it's words remind you that god is our salvation for many others let's make this our anthem of thanksgiving
00:58:03 for how god has always been our salvation
