Jared Schipper - Judah - In His Family - Class 5 - Forgiveness

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   Good last morning, everybody. Did some of us sleep? All right? Good times. I’ve enjoyed it. It’s sad to come to the end. Even though it’s only a weekend. It’s come a little bit quicker than I expected. But seriously, you’ve been an awesome audience. Thank you.

2. 0:23

   I haven’t noticed too many fake note takings, so it was the first time I’ve ever heard of that idea. Not too many have been asleep previously. I’m sort of not going to be too surprised if you do fall asleep this morning. So forgiven for that in advance. I’ve got to forgive you. That’s our topic for tonight or this morning. And heck, I’m glad there was no, none of that flick and pick or pick and flick thing that was in the Family Feud. Haven’t seen that either.

3. 0:48

   So that’s why you’re in a great audience. No, genuinely, I actually wish we’d interacted a little bit more. We’ve probably just gone through this story too quickly and I’ve got too much to cover again this morning, so we’re just going quickly. But I’ve appreciated the conversations. It’s been so good to just chat afterwards about this story and just let it fill itself out as you’ve been thinking about it and as you’ve shared things with me.

4. 1:12

   So thank you. This final study is probably more about application, more about you applying it to your life, more about taking some lessons away from Judas so that you can be a changed person too. That’s the point. It’s useless having all this extra information about the story of Genesis you always thought was about Joseph if it doesn’t have an impact on you. And please understand the Today or this morning, our study is not going to end with another guy up on a pedestal because Judah’s not perfect.

5. 1:59

   He’s far from perfect. And he’s still at 80 years of of age, he’s still struggling with something so obvious like forgiveness. We talk about it all the time, but he’s struggling with it. And that’s what we want to take away from this morning, why it’s so important and what a change it can make in our lives. The importance of taking responsibility for our life and changing now.

6. 2:29

   There’s so much we could talk about. We’re just going to sort of vaguely pick up on where we left off in our story actually from yesterday. I apologize. We didn’t develop too much of the character of Joseph and how he responded. I got that feedback loud and clear that we should have in our exhortation. I’m sorry, Joseph’s just delighted he couldn’t have done anything else but breakdown in tears. But just picture that is your future and two wide open arms as our Lord welcomes you.

7. 3:06

   Just get that picture clear in your mind. The rest of that chapter goes through their interactions and it’s actually incredible the way the story goes because it makes it sound like they came down. Judah does his speech, he packs them up and sends them back almost that same day. I find that hard to believe. I would have thought they’d want to sit down and have another one of those big meals together, but the rest of the chapter just basically says he explained who he was, he packed them up and he sent them home.

8. 3:40

   But if you read carefully, it’s actually quite an understatement that verse 24, because he actually sent them home with loads of things. If you were to look at verse, where else should we pick up from verse 19? They’re loaded up with wagons and all these things. In verse 20, Joseph gave them wagons like Pharaoh instructed him. He gave them provisions for the journey. At the end of verse 21 of verse 22, he gave them sets of clothes for each of them.

9. 4:14

   And hey, Benjamin got something extra and special, 300 pieces of silver and five sets of clothes. You know, some things in life don’t change. And to his father, he sent the following. He sent 10 donkeys loaded up with all the best of the products of Egypt and 10 female donkeys loaded up with grain and food and provisions for the father’s journey. And he sent his brothers away on their way back home. That sounds like such an understatement. I’ve actually left my pointer.

10. 4:49

    Is that in that bag? If it’s in there somewhere? Such an understatement here when you think about it. He sent his brothers away and they departed and he said unto them as they were walking out of the palace, the closing words, and I want to get this really clearly in your mind, those closing words are see that you don’t fall out.

11. 5:12

    By the way, thank you very much. Thank you. As the brothers are turning and walking away, he says, see that you fall not out. By the way, that’s King James language and oh, it’s a bit weird, but what’s he saying?

12. 5:30

    With a heavy heart, he’s waving goodbye with anticipation of them returning. And he’s saying, guys, I know it’s going to be a tough walk home. I know there’s going to be some difficult conversations.

13. 5:48

    I know that it’s going to lead to what are we going to tell Dad? No, hey, how are we going to tell Dad? Well, how much are we going to tell Dad? And that’s going to lead to the blame game. And then they’re probably going to start arguing again because they’re they’re real men.

14. 6:02

    They’re just normal girls do it too. We’re people. But they’re going to start arguing about. And Joseph’s response is don’t let it get the better of you. Don’t let the problems that you face take control of you as you go forward. And the simple message and today’s about application and the simple message of that is after the big events in life, after they’re all finished and they’re all over and we pack up and we go home, maintain the focus.

15. 6:37

    Don’t go back to your old ways. Don’t let the challenges of life overcome you because you’re back into the same old routines. And it’s the same thing for us when we go home this weekend. Don’t walk back into your house and go back to the same routines. Be a Judah change. Be a different man. Face up to the realities, fair and square. Call it what it is, Be different. Three points I want us to look at before we get to our topic of chapter 50 tonight.

16. 7:09

    Here’s another story and this. I guess I shouldn’t take you to there. Yeah. The the boys walk home and they come back to Dad and they explain all the story to Dad and Joseph’s or Jude Jacobs jaw drops. There’s too many JS in this story. He’s speechless. He can’t comprehend what’s going on.

17. 7:30

    It’s almost too much for him. We could go that through that story, but we just don’t have time to go through verse 252627 to the end of this chapter. He’s just absolutely blown away with what’s going on. And he sees all the wagons and all the things that Joseph has sent down to him to bring him back to Egypt. And he goes, it’s enough.

18. 7:55

    But he’s an old man, and he needs somebody to organize the family at this point. Who would you choose to lead your family out of the promised lands down into Egypt, the place that his family had been told not to go to, the place his family has bad experiences in, but now he’s getting called down to Egypt. Who else would you but Judah?

19. 8:29

    It’s such an incredible thought that Jacob would send Judah ahead of him to Joseph. So Judah’s the one that’s going to lead the family down to Egypt to be back reunited with Joseph. But listen to the way the Bible puts it, because the Bible says not just that, Jake, Judah’s job was to direct the animals.

20. 8:56

    No, Judah’s job wasn’t to show the family which way to go. The King James’s beautiful language, again, it says to direct Jacob’s face. What does that mean?

21. 9:15

    It’s more than just show him what roads to take. So much more than just what roads to take, isn’t it, Judah? Lead the family and direct my attitudes, my behaviours, my thoughts to bring us back together as a family.

22. 9:37

    That is like the biggest statement you could ever have from Jacob to a man who’d been such a rebel. But you know, it’s only made more powerful when you appreciate what Jacob had earlier said to Reuben. Reuben, after their first trip back down or down to Egypt, came back and he said, listen, Dad, slay my two sons.

23. 9:58

    If I don’t bring Benjamin back to you and Jacob goes, my son is not going with you. And he’s certainly not going down the path or the route that you would take to go to Egypt because I know that he won’t come back. Listen, Jacob said, my son will not go with you could stop there. That’s the point, isn’t it?

24. 10:22

    He doesn’t. He continues. Jacob says for his brother. Joseph’s dead. He’s left alone. He’s ignoring Simeon at this point, remember? And then he says if mischief befalls him, by the way, that a guy like you, Reuben, would go, I couldn’t bear it. I’d die.

25. 10:46

    Reuben’s the eldest son, and that’s Jacob’s estimation a year earlier. Judah comes home, tells the stories. It is everything opens up, the truth comes out. Everybody now knows what’s happened. And Jacob turns to Judah and says, leave me some. Show me the way to reunite this family. You know, I struggled with my dad when I was younger. I really did.

26. 11:30

    And I love him. He’s not perfect. He’s got some mistakes. He’s got some flaws. But together, we help each other. I promised my children I wouldn’t embarrass them. So I’ll give them credit. Both of them have taught me things. And they’re not even 20.

27. 11:50

    Parents don’t know everything. We learn by the process of life and the experiences we have. So when you go home this weekend, take responsibility. Be a different person. Demonstrate that it comes down to nothing else other than the fact that Judah was straight, he was honest, he said it as it is, and he stood by his word. Third thing promises.

28. 12:35

    Genesis chapter 49 is full of promises that a father makes to his son. In our society, that’s not important. It’s not a big thing. In the patriarchs time, it was really important. It was something huge. It was basically a prophecy of their future. And this chapter is chapter 49 is actually a prophecy of what would happen to the nation down through the centuries of time, centuries, not just their own lives, but others. I just want you to grasp this because there’s some most incredible details in it as we look through this story. But I need you to picture what it would have been like. Turn to Genesis 49, if you will, and it opens with a picture. The picture is Jacob calling his sons in, and he’s saying come together because I’m going to tell you what’s going to happen in the future.

29. 13:36

    He recognizes that he’s at the point where he’s going to die. So he says assemble and listen. You sons of Jacob, listen to Israel, your father. So just imagine the situation. It’s a really bad picture. I apologize. All right? It is. It’s really bad. I couldn’t find a better picture than this one. This is the Egyptian Joe, so it’s all I could get. But I want you to picture an old man who struggled to get up off his bed because he’s at that point of ready to die. And he’s got himself up and he’s sitting there and Joseph’s been called.

30. 14:11

    He’s had that message to say the end’s close, come and see your dad. So he leaves the prison and he comes down to Goshen and all the brothers are all in there in the room and they’re saying their final words.

31. 14:26

    So when you picture that scene, Joseph’s probably the last to arrive. Now, the way it would have gone in the past is Joseph, you’re amazing, you’re the wonderful son and that’s not the way it goes. It’s going to be different. Let’s have a read. Let the Bible do the talk rather than me.

32. 14:49

    Verse 2 assemble yourselves. Listen, you sons of Jacob, listen to Israel, your father. Can you feel there’s a bit of like a grandeur of listen, this is going to be the big moment, the big statement, verse 3 Reuben, you are my first born, my might, the beginning of my strength, outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power, unstable as water.

33. 15:25

    You won’t excel. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Dad. OK, Can you imagine how Reuben felt about that? Built up this huge anticipation and just dropped him?

34. 15:44

    You’re unstable as water. You won’t excel. Reuben’s the kind of guy that doesn’t have the backbone to stand up for what he believes. He didn’t want Joseph to be sold, to be killed, to be hurt. He wanted to rescue Joseph out of that pit and send him home. But he didn’t have the raw guts to say it. And as a result, he went off to do another job, came back, and Joseph sold and gone.

35. 16:23

    Jacob’s not going to let him get away with it, though. He goes. You went up to your father’s bed, you defiled it. You got onto my couch, Reuben.

36. 16:35

    That’s one of Reuben’s sins that he never forgot, never. Let’s Reuben forget. It marred their relationship for all their life. Verse 5, we move on to Simeon and Levi. Simeon and Levi, they’re like brothers. They’re like thick as thieves. They’re together. They’re always united. So we’ll give this blessing to both of them at the same time.

37. 16:59

    They’re like weapons of violence, My soul. Don’t come into their council. Don’t get close to them. Don’t be united with them. Don’t get close to the when them, when they sit down and they organize and assemble together and come up with ideas because in their anger they’ve killed men for pleasure. They’ll hamstring an ox curse.

38. 17:20

    It is their anger, it’s fierce and their fury it’s cruel. I’ll divide them in Jacob, but I’ll scatter them in Israel is what their prophecy is, and that’s their future. Simeon doesn’t get inheritance and Levi is spread around the nation of Israel in different Levitical tribes. That’s a prophecy. You imagine receiving that of your dad as your his closing words to you.

39. 17:46

    This is your promise. This is your future. Do you feel the tone in that room? OK, if you were Judah, how would you be feeling now? Heck, Dad’s got lots to talk about.

40. 18:05

    Well, you see. Have a look, Judah. Your brothers will praise you, your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, and your father’s sons will bow down before you.

41. 18:23

    You’re a lion’s cub, Judah from the pray, my son, you’ve gone up. He crouches, He lies down like a lion, like a lioness. Who’s going to browse him?

42. 18:34

    He’s out waiting. Like when? When’s the negative going to come? Verse 10. The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler star from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs, and the nations will obey him.

43. 18:52

    He’ll bind the foal to the vine, and his colt to the choices to vines. He’ll wash his garments in wine and his robes in the blood of gates. His eyes will be dark from wine, and his teeth will be white with milk. Those last verses are just talking about the luxuries of life.

44. 19:14

    What a change, not a reference to the flaws of Judah’s life. Lubin and Syrian and Levi, all their condemnation is focused around the things that the Bible records that they did. We know more about what Judah did wrong than both of the OR for all three of them. But not a single reference, not a single comment about it. In fact, all Jacob does, he said you’re like a lion who has gone down to the prey.

45. 19:51

    You’ve you’ve overcome, you’ve achieved, you got what you wanted, and now you Crouch and you lie down, content like a lioness who could even rouse you. You’re the kind of man who will stand up and defend your family to the point of death. That’s what he’s saying.

46. 20:14

    Romans chapter 8 and at verse one opens with what can anyone tell me? We referenced it yesterday. Romans chapter 8 and at verse one. It’s worth getting to know. I don’t expect you to know it, but it’s something to the effect of to them who are in Christ Jesus, there is no condemnation. Let’s turn it up.

47. 20:49

    We’ve got them in. It’s such an important thing to get ahead around Romans chapter 8. Let’s just get it clear and ahead, see where it is on the page, maybe colour it in whatever you need. Romans chapter 8 because this is where all those questions are about our judgement seat, who’s going to condemn us?

48. 21:10

    Who will hold it against us. Romans chapter 8 and verse one begins there is therefore now no condemnation for those who live a life in Christ Jesus. If you live by the law of the Spirit of Christ, it sets you free. It sets you free. And I want to pick up that idea now. I want us to think about what real freedom was really all about and the rest of our study.

49. 21:41

    But I want you just first of all, to appreciate what a grand change this was for Judah. Judah to have gone through all the failings that he did in his life. And all that Jacob has to say is Judah, your brothers are going to praise you for being the man that you became.

50. 22:02

    Your father’s sons will bow down to you. And I think we’ve talked about this already, but that’s really what God promised to Joseph. But he continues on to say the sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor will the ruler’s staff for the kingship from between his feet. He’ll be the king. He’ll be the tribe that continues to lead the whole family of Israel, the whole nation of in time until he comes whose right it is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. And we don’t have time to go into all these ideas, but there’s a lion being referenced here and those ideas of he who will come, who’s right it is.

51. 22:47

    And when all the nations will obey him, it’s our Lord Jesus Christ who will come like a lion from the tribe of Judah. Revelation chapter 4 tells us because he overcame. That’s the key idea. Because he overcame. How did he overcome? Like a gentle lamb.

52. 23:10

    Can you see those combination of personalities in Judah? He’s as gentle and empathetic and understanding as a lamb could ever be. But don’t touch God’s beloved son and you’ll defend him like a powerful lion. He’ll stand up for the family like a lion and no one can oppose him. But at the same time, he cares for the little ones. He’s got understanding and appreciation and that’s our Lord, that’s our Lord.

53. 23:54

    And so it only makes sense that he will continue to lead the family until none other than the ultimate comes. Three references. Let’s move on to our story. Genesis chapter 50 real character is revealed when under pressure. Judah has gone through a lot of pressure and his character was revealed at a time when he had no opportunity to plan, no opportunity to prepare, no way to know that this was what was going to happen.

54. 24:26

    He just gets dropped on the fact that he looks like Benjamin’s the thief, and I need to stand up for him and his true character Sean in that moment. And that’d be me leaving him on a pedestal. But we’re not going to do that because it’s not the way life is. It’s not being true to what our lives are either.

55. 24:48

    Characters revealed when pressure is applied, and our true character is who we are in the dark might have heard that statement before. Our true character shows when we are on our own, when nobody’s watching us, when we’re like Joseph down in Egyptian prison, in Potiphar’s house in another country. That’s when our true character is revealed. Well, the character of these brothers is not going to be revealed in the dark in this chapter. It’s going to be revealed when their dad dies, because when dad’s not there, things change.

56. 25:35

    You may not have seen this in your life yet, but it’s quite interesting to observe. It’s not unusual for a 50-60, maybe older man to change quite dramatically when his dad dies.

57. 25:51

    That stabilizing influence that was in his life, he’s gone and he has to stare death in the eyes and see it for its reality.

58. 26:09

    A lot of men got shaken at that moment. So it’s not an unusual thing where we come to here in this chapter. So let’s have a look at Genesis chapter 50 and we’ll start at verse 15. We’re not going to go through the burial or just wanted you to read that to get the feeling of the how the brothers work together. They bury their father.

59. 26:30

    The sad part of that part, that story, which we don’t have time to but I’ll reference it is. I’m not sure they were actually that close, because if you read those verse 15 verses carefully, you’ll find that Joseph does it all.

60. 26:46

    He leads, he organizes. Read verse 14. I’m pretty sure it is. It’s very much Joseph taking the lead, doing it all, and the brothers are just there. But let’s focus on verse 15. Here’s the lesson. This is the key lesson that we need to learn because this is what’s super relevant to you and me at your age and stage in life. Don’t wait until you’re an 80 year old man because that’s what Judah is now.

61. 27:13

    Judah’s 80 years old at this point. He’s buried his dad. He’s just come back from a 4050 day trip of mourning. Feel that emotion, and the brothers go home and they sit down and they go. When Joseph’s brothers saw, when they came to terms with the reality of the fact that their father was dead, they said, what if Joseph bears a grudge? What if he wants to repay us in full for all that harm that we did to him?

62. 28:02

    Now we have those thoughts that go through our mind at times as we may lie on our beds and we wake up in the morning and we’ve forgotten and we move on. This is 10, brothers.

63. 28:17

    They’ve all got to stop and think about this and all come to the same conclusion and talk about it. And they all realize, all of them, they say together, what if Joseph bears a grudge? And what if he wants to repay us? Not just repay us, but in full for all the harm that we did to him?

64. 28:49

    What would you do? Send a text. They sent a message. That’s devastating. They didn’t even face up. They just sent a message. Let me stop for a second. Just think through this. Sometimes we think that holding a grudge makes us strong. We’re being determined. We’re not going to be pushed around. We’re they’re strong about this because what they did to me is wrong.

65. 29:29

    Good on you. Hold a grudge, enjoy it. All it does is make you bitter. Doesn’t help you. Forgiving doesn’t make you weak. It doesn’t make you a person that gets pushed around. It doesn’t make you a person who is not strong in character. Forgiving is actually mature. It’s strong, it’s divine, and forgiving sets you free.

66. 30:08

    I mean, think about that verse a lot. Well, that little quote statement, because it’s so true in this story, these brothers need to learn to forgive. And I’m not talking forgive their brother, I’m talking about forgive themselves. And that’s something we don’t often think about, but that’s critical, critical to our faith. Why do I say that? Because if you believe God that there is no condemnation being held against you, you won’t hold a grudge, you’ll move on and you’ll be free to live for Christ, which is Romans chapter 8 and verse 2.

67. 31:14

    But these brothers are leaving themselves in prison. They’re leaving themselves bound. This is a quote from a Holocaust survivor. Many years after, the lady says forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and then to realize that the only prisoner was you when

68. 31:57

    she said that the Holocaust has been over for years. But she was keeping herself trapped in that prison of bitterness, resentment and anger. And when she was about 80 years old, too, she came to realize it’s time to let go and move on. And she realized that the only person that was in prison was hurt.

69. 32:30

    And that’s where these boys are AT because they’ve been living with 22, No 22, plus another 17 years of guilt that’s been hanging on their shoulders. And it’s been stopping them progressing. It’s been limiting their freedom to live the way they could, should and had the potential. They were the ones who were holding on to that guilt.

70. 32:57

    Joseph has forgiven them. He’s so moved on. He’s so past this. Remember in chapter 45, four times Joseph says it wasn’t you. God did this. I’m not holding this against you. Don’t be angry with yourselves. He said in verse 5 or 6, God sent me before you down into Egypt.

71. 33:24

    Why didn’t they let go then? Why were they holding on to these emotions? Because they were attributing to Joseph their own bad emotions and feelings. They were thinking that Joseph would behave like them.

72. 33:54

    That’s why they said now that dad’s died, maybe Joseph will repay us in full. It’s very clear what’s going through their mind. But the fact was, Joseph had forgiven them. He’d moved on, but they were choosing to live in their little jail cell of their own small minds. You know, this was a problem for Judah. Judah needed to learn to let go, to let God work and to let God move.

73. 34:23

    Let me show you the consistency of that through this story. To his dad. He said, Dad, if I don’t bring Benjamin back, I’ll bear the blame forever. He repeats that same thing to Joseph and says, I’ll bear the blame forever. And Judah was struggling with the past, controlling his future. He struggled with the ideas of what has happened to him in the past being carried forward and tainting his perspective of the future. He struggled to believe that when a sin’s forgiven, it’s forgiven and we need to believe that. We’re asked by God to believe that, and there’s only one reason God wants us to forgive, that. It’s for your good.

74. 35:09

    Why didn’t they ask for forgiveness when they came down to Goshen for the first time and met Joseph? Why don’t they ask forgiveness in chapter 47 when Joseph actually settled his father, finally, after his father had come in and met Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said, it’s a wonderful thing to see you. You can go and live in the best of the land. And so Jacob and his brothers go and live in the very best part of the land with all these good things Joseph provided for his father and his brothers and all their household, all the food that they could ever want, and for all their dependents. Hello.

75. 35:44

    Don’t you get the point that Joseph is over it? He’s forgiven. He’s just giving you the best he possibly could, bro. Sorry, by the way, for what we did. Why didn’t they do that?

76. 36:01

    Because of raw, ugly pride. They couldn’t bring themselves to just say that. Sometimes sorry is the hardest word to say. Just say sorry. Why didn’t it happen in Genesis 49 when the whole family came together for Jacob to make the prophecies of the future? Perfect opportunity. The families united. They’re already having deep and meaningful conversations.

77. 36:38

    Joseph, we should have said this. You know, a lot of people as a result actually doubt the sincerity of the fact that the verse says that Jacob told them to have this conversation. That’s what it says in the storyline. Dad told us to do that. There’s a lot of people that actually doubt that and they go, maybe they made this up. In verse 16 it says your father he that language, not our dad. Your father gave these instructions before he died. He said tell Joseph this, please forgive your brothers. You know, just think about Jacob. Just think about Jacob’s life experiences with his brother and his unresolved guilt when he stole the birthrights off his brother.

78. 37:41

    Because Jacob never said sorry and so had. These boys are doing the same thing, but they’re trying to learn. They’re trying to move past what their dad has role modelled to them.

79. 38:05

    Let me come back a little bit. There’s a couple of slides we’ve missed. The act of forgiveness takes place in our own minds. Joseph’s mind has totally moved forward. He’s totally forgiven them. It really has nothing to do with the other ten brothers and what they did. Joseph has forgiven them. You know, Joseph forgave them before they even saw him in Egypt. He’d moved on.

80. 38:28

    And then it’s what consumes your mind, is what controls your mind. And you think about that. If you have guilt hanging over your head for 17, no 22 + 17 years, it’s going to control your mind. Pauline Colossians says to us, you need to forgive each other. But I want you to really carefully understand the context of what it says. You need to forgive each other as as, as, as the Lord forgave you, as the Lord forgave you, so you should forgive others. That’s an equation.

81. 39:03

    How does the Lord forgive you? Does he do it 90%? Does he do it just by the skin of your teeth? Does he do it by oh, OK, I’ll forgive you this time. No, He does it with a marvelous salvation.

82. 39:20

    And that’s what He wants you to do to the person next to you and the person in your home and to yourself. Matthew chapter 6 says we’ve got to forgive or we ask God to forgive our debts and forgive us. He’ll only do that as we forgive others. We’ve got to believe this. John says this so bluntly, so clearly. I love John, he’s so concise.

83. 39:50

    He says if we confess our sins, he, our Lord, is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. That’s a simple equation. If we confess, he’ll forgive more than that. He won’t just forgive you. It’s not just enough. He will forgive you and he will cleanse you. He will change you from your unrighteous ways.

84. 40:14

    If you truly confess and you want to be changed, he’ll cleanse you and make you a whole new person. You know, there’s so much that we can think about because we had some people doubted this story. This is the slide I needed to come up to this one here where your father gave instructions about this before he died.

85. 40:39

    And he said, tell Joseph this. And I want you to very carefully think about what he asked the boys to say in contrast to what the boys do say because Jacobs had some life experience. He’s had some unresolved guilt hanging on his shoulders for many years, too. So they’re wise words, but they could be wiser. And I think when we understand the difference, the key to forgiveness and moving on and overcoming challenges and difficulties becomes clear.

86. 41:16

    What is the difference? You think about this for a second. Jacob says tell Joseph to please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong that they did when they treated you so badly. This is the NET translation.

87. 41:35

    The boys then say now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father. What’s the difference, guys? Just think carefully, very carefully about what that difference is because you need to think about this in your life. We can imagine Jacob saying, forgive the sin of your brother Esau. That’s who he’s thinking about. And the wrong that I did when I treated you so badly to steal the birthright from you.

88. 42:21

    And that’s good. I mean, sorry, it’s hard to say, but our mind can go so much deeper, it can go so much higher to think like God. These brothers, they turn around and they say, no, listen, please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father. And that left Joseph with no option but to have to forgive them.

89. 42:53

    What do I mean by that? Joseph has no right to judge the servants of somebody else, much less the servants of his beloved father. And there was no one more powerful in their life than their dad. And if it’s our dad’s God that we serve, we know you’ll be motivated to forgive for his sake because he’s forgiven US.

90. 43:25

    Did you see that? We’re told that it’s Romans chapter 14 and verse four. He says, who are you to pass a judgement on another man’s servant? Who do you think you are to judge your brother, your sister, your anybody? They answer to another man. They answer to another master. Before that master, he stands or he falls. He will stand.

91. 43:50

    And the Lord is able to make him to stand. Remember that we have no right to judge. And that’s where they put Joseph in a position where there is nothing else he could do but say, am I in the place of God? It’s not even my job, you know, That’s not Joseph’s response.

92. 44:16

    Joseph’s response is devastation. He cries again. This is the eighth time that Joseph cries, 9th if you want to include the fact that he cried with his brothers when his dad died. But it’s the eighth time that Joseph cries about the fact that his brother’s mental spiritual maturity is not up to where it could be. Joseph weeps because he understands where their minds at, but I think he also appreciates the progress. They don’t have the guts to come and see him. He weeps before the brothers even walk into the room. But when they do, they walk into the room and they fall down on their faces and they say we’re your servant. We are no longer worthy to be called your son or your brother like the prodigal.

93. 45:20

    Make us as one of your hired servants. We’re your servants, Joseph. You know, some people think that Joseph would have been excited that finally they’re all sitting there bowing down. I don’t think so. I think he wept when he realized that they’re holding on to 17 years worth of guilt. He’d done everything he possibly could. He’d provided the best of the land to them. He’d given them all they needed to live, to survive, to provide for them and their families.

94. 45:51

    And they still couldn’t let go. They’d left themself locked in prison. Let’s translate this into our lives so we very clearly understand what’s going on, so we can emulate that. The attitude that we need to have. And the reason why Joseph weeps is because they don’t understand our relationship to God.

95. 46:19

    It’s not clear in their minds. And I want you to get this very, very clear in your minds. That’s a very simple drawing our relationship to God. Is that clear?

96. 46:29

    Focus on him. It doesn’t matter what other people do to you. It doesn’t matter if they sell you into slavery, even if they want to kill you.

97. 46:44

    And so in 2025, it doesn’t matter if you get busted for doing stuff to the watering hot water systems, for doing other silly things at nights, ordering food in the middle of the nights, holding other people up and waking them up in their sleep. That stuff doesn’t matter. Don’t hold it against other people.

98. 47:01

    No, seriously, in your ecclesia, if people make decisions about you and they treat you badly, don’t hold a grudge. Just keep focusing on God. If the arranging brethren at the meeting make a decision you don’t agree with and you think it’s unfair and unreasonable, don’t spit the dummy and hold a grudge. They’re like Jacob, they’re not perfect. They’re trying to do what they think is best. If your parents let you down and they do something that’s disappointing, keep your focus on Him, the God of our fathers. When we get our relationship to God very clear and we appreciate what God has done, we can then demonstrate our appreciation to each other.

99. 47:56

    And this is what Judas speech is all about. He understands his relationship to the Father and as a result, he’s willing to lay down his life for these guys. But that’s because his focus is there. His focus is not here, he’s demonstrating the love and the behaviour is going out this way. But his mind is there.

100. 48:24

     It’s there and he can feel what’s happening and what’s being said, but he’s clear. That’s who I answer to. And that’s the way Joseph thought because his brother sold him into slavery and he said no, no, God did it. It wasn’t you guys. Don’t be angry with yourselves. It’s OK. God did it so that we could provide for you guys and your family and our future generations. Joseph’s so clear on that.

101. 48:59

     He was able to forgive. These brothers were struggling with that. Please learn to get that clear in your mind. God’s working in your life. God decides the things, and Romans chapter 8 says that all things, all things, like all all things, work together for good.

102. 49:28

     Do we believe that If we do, let’s all focus on God. We won’t be disappointed, we won’t beg grudges, we won’t hold challenges, we won’t hold business to each other.

103. 49:45

     And do you know what we will be doing? We’ll be following his example because as he hung on that cross, he focused on Father. Forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.

104. 50:13

     As they parted his raiment and cast lots as the chief priest and scribes jeered at him, abused him and told him to come down from the cross, as the guy on the cross next to him said the same kind of things. Our Lord wasn’t distracted by that while all of that was happening.

105. 50:41

     He said, Father, I’m here for you and forgive them because they don’t realize how you’re working in and through them to achieve your purpose in my life. Get that clear in your head. It’s the best piece of wisdom I have to share because it fixes so many problems. It helps us to move on and to live a life free of resentment, of bitterness, of grudges, of jealousy, of envy. I could go on all day.

106. 51:35

     We’re free to move on. So as we do go on this weekend and we go home, let’s put the past behind us. Let’s take the opportunity, the opportunity that we have to face up to problems and challenges and deal with them.

107. 51:59

     Let’s do it. Let’s go home with a renewed focus to be true men and women. Let’s give our life for each other, for doing good for each other.

108. 52:14

     Why? Because we love our dad.