Meadowhead Christian Fellowship

Finding Your Purpose: Embracing God's Will for Your Life Today's message from Danny, "Finding Your Purpose: Embracing God's Will for Your Life," was a powerful and deeply personal exploration of discovering and living out God's divine plan, even in the most unexpected circumstances. Danny opened by inviting us into a moment of worship, acknowledging God as the sole recipient of glory and honor, whose voice endures beyond all others. He set the tone for a message centered not on human agenda, but on the expansion of God's Kingdom and the spiritual nourishment of His people. Danny then shared a poignant personal anecdote that served as the foundational revelation for his message. He recounted his time working as a cleaner in a church building, meticulously polishing floors in preparation for Sunday service. This seemingly mundane task was interrupted by a little boy, fresh from playing in the mud, who ran right across the freshly cleaned floor, leaving a trail of dirt and undoing Danny's hard work. In that moment of profound frustration and exhaustion, a divine revelation struck him. He described feeling a deep grief, mirroring God's own grief over humanity. It was in this ordinary, frustrating moment that God spoke to Danny from Matthew chapter 6 – though he later clarified the primary scripture for the sermon was from Matthew chapter 2. The Lord revealed that just as Danny felt pain watching the clean floor be messed up, so too does God feel when humanity, created in His own image, has their lives disrupted and destroyed by the enemy. This powerful analogy underscored God's heartbreak over humanity's fallen state and His desire to restore and cleanse. More profoundly, God revealed to Danny that his meticulous work of cleaning floors was a metaphor for a much greater calling: to "clean the hearts of men." This pivotal moment marked a turning point in Danny's understanding of his purpose, illustrating that God can use even the most humble tasks to reveal His grand design for our lives. Danny emphasized that this was a spontaneous message, birthed in prayer that very morning, demonstrating his reliance on the Holy Spirit's leading rather than a pre-written sermon. He then turned to the core biblical text, Matthew chapter 2, beginning from verse 1. He recounted the story of the Magi from the East who, having seen Jesus' star, came to Jerusalem seeking the "one who has been born king of the Jews." King Herod's disturbance and his subsequent inquiry of the chief priests and teachers of the law about the Messiah's birthplace led them to the prophecy in Micah 5:2, which states: "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are by no means least among the rulers of Judea; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel." This scripture, Danny explained, was the very word God spoke to him during his cleaning revelation. He connected it directly to his own experience, and by extension, to everyone in the congregation. Just as Bethlehem, seemingly insignificant, was chosen to be the birthplace of a King who would shepherd God's people, so too are we, regardless of our perceived insignificance or past circumstances, chosen and ordained by God. He stressed that even before we were born, God knew us and had a purpose for us. Danny passionately declared that our societal roles, family backgrounds, or past struggles do not disqualify us from God's plan. We may not fit society's molds or expectations, but God has uniquely fashioned each of us "to be a voice for the nations." He affirmed that God has done everything necessary to equip us to fulfill His purpose. This divine design means that God sees every tear shed, every cry uttered, and every struggle endured. He then addressed those who might feel inadequate or lost, perhaps not knowing how to read scripture or pray. He reassured them that "before the foundations of the earth, he chose you, he separated you and set you apart." God has purposefully made everything available to us to live out His will. The core invitation of the sermon was a call to hear God's voice and say "yes" to His will. Danny underscored the profound truth that the greatest treasure one can possess in life is not wealth or worldly success, but the pursuit and embrace of God's will. He testified to the transformative power of saying "yes" to God's will in his own life, emphasizing that it brought a change far more significant than any material possession could. He prophesied that embracing God's will would similarly transform the lives of individuals, their families, and future generations. The will of God, he explained, provides purpose, guidance through pain, and direction when we feel lost. It is the most valuable treasure we can ever obtain. Drawing on Deuteronomy, Danny presented a clear choice: "I place before you life and death, blessings and curses; therefore choose life." To choose life, he equated, is to choose the will of God. He rejected the notion that anyone in the room was there merely as a number. Instead, he affirmed that each person was "specially designed for this generation," with a unique space and purpose on earth "for such a time as this." God has deposited something special within each of us, His will, which is meant to bring light to those in darkness and to effect positive change in our generation, regardless of age. The ultimate question posed was: which will we choose – our own will or God's will? Danny concluded with a powerful illustration from Luke 22:42, recounting Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. He described Jesus' overwhelming sorrow and burden as He contemplated the cross, the pain He would endure to bridge the chasm between a lost humanity and God. Even in the face of such immense suffering, Jesus prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." This profound example from the Son of God Himself served as the ultimate testament to the incomparable value of pursuing God's will above all else. Danny's sermon was a heartfelt plea and a profound encouragement to prioritize and relentlessly pursue God's will for our lives, assuring us that this pursuit is the ultimate path to purpose, transformation, and true life. Bible References Used: Matthew Chapter 6 (mentioned, but not read from for the main sermon) Matthew Chapter 2, verses 1-6 Micah 5:2 (quoted indirectly through Matthew 2:6) Deuteronomy (reference to choosing life and death, blessings and curses) Luke 22:42 (describing Jesus in Gethsemane) Transcript Yeah, it should be fine. Hallelujah. Is everyone all right? Good to see you this morning. Amen. Praise God. Wow, where do we start from? Let's pray. Father, we give you praise, we give you glory, we give you honor because Father, who else deserves the glory? Who else deserves the honor? The voices of men will rise and voices of men will fall, but your voice will forever live on. Father, we thank you that today it is not about me, it is not about anything else, but it is about your kingdom. We thank you for these people, precious people, that are seated before your praises. May you cause them to feast from your table, to drink from your cup. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen and amen. Hallelujah. Praise God. One day I was in a room like this. It was a bare room that afternoon because I was just finished polishing the floors. I was getting ready the church building for a Sunday service. So you can work out what my job was. I was a cleaner that was working at the church because at the church where I was, where Pastor Nick, Pastor Erica, at that time were my pastors, there we had a preschool which was being sponsored by seekers. And as we were, you know, that week as we were preparing for everything that we needed to do, I was, it was a Friday actually, it was a Friday afternoon. I was ready polishing the floors and so on and so forth. Had cleaned and worked very hard that afternoon, you know. So the children had gone out of the, out of the building. They were waiting for their parents to come and pick them up after, you know, after their classes. So each time they went outside then I had to come in and begin to clean the place and prepare the place for Sunday service. I was in one of the corners of the church and just about to finish. I don't know whether you know about this story. I was just about to finish polishing and then all of a sudden a little boy ran from outside where they were playing in the mud with very dirty shoes. The boy kept running right across where I just finished polishing. Man, my heart was almost torn because at that point my, my strength had gone. I had given it all that I could and I was ready to call it a day. And then all of a sudden this boy just runs and the whole place just became muddy. I sat down, gripped in my heart and said, Lord, is this all the best that you have for me? And then in that moment the Lord spoke a word to me from the book of Matthew chapter 6. Are you in the book of Matthew? Matthew is in the New Testament, you know. Chapter 2 verse 6, chapter 2 verse 6. And the Lord said to me that, you know, just the way you have been grieved to see these floors messed up, the way you have felt so bad that these floors that you have done everything that you can to clean and all of a sudden it has been messed up. This is how I feel concerning my people whom I have created in my own image and after my likeness. After all that I have given and done, the enemy's desire is to mess their lives up, to destroy them. And I have done this deliberately because what I wanted to show you was the fact that just as you are cleaning this floor, I have called you to go and clean the hearts of men with all the work and the years that you have spent in this place. This is what I was bringing you to so that you may know and understand what I have called you for. And then He gave me this scripture here that I'm going to read to you. By the way, I didn't prepare this. My ceremony is here, but we were praying, we were praying this morning and the Lord said something different. Amen. So I just want to talk to you this morning. Amen. Praise God. How many minutes have I got? Five? Praise the Lord. So the Bible, it took me to Matthew chapter two. I'll start from verse one. He says, After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of the king of arrows, a man from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed and owed Jerusalem with him. When he had caught together all the people of the chief priests and the teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. Verse five, In Bethlehem, Judea, they replied. For this is what the prophet has written. But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea are by no means the least among the rulers of Judea. For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people, Israel. You, Bethlehem, Judea, have by no means least among the rulers of Judea. For out of you shall be born a king, a king that will shepherd my people, Israel. This is the same word. You may not be, have been a cleaner like myself. You may not have been in a place or in a dark place where I have been, but God somehow, somewhere has seen your journey. And this morning, this is what he desires you to know, that even before you were born or knitted in your mother's womb, he knew your name. He chose you regardless of how you were born or which family you were born in, regardless of what may have happened or not happened in your life. This one thing that God gave us this assignment this morning to come and do is to let you know that God has got his eyes on you. You may not fit in what society desires you to fit in. You as a church may not sound like what society is desiring you to sound. You may not walk like they desire you to walk like, but one thing is this that even before you were born in your mother's womb, God ordained you to be a voice for the nations. God has done everything he could in order to make you be what he has desired you to be. So this morning is Christ's desire is that you may begin to understand that this God has fashioned every cry that you cry, every tear that you have shed. God has seen it. God has seen it. Maybe you are there wondering, I don't even know how to read Scripture. I don't even know how to pray. I don't even know where to start from, but this one thing that God wants you to know that before the foundations of the earth, he chose you, he separated you and set you apart. With everything within you and about you, God has purposefully made it available to you. So no matter where you are today, he is calling you. He is calling you. Will you hear his voice today? Will you say yes to his will? Because the greatest treasure you can ever possess in this life is nothing else but to follow the will of God for your life. All other things will come and go, but when you come to a place where you can say yes to nothing else but the will of God for your life, you may live long, live a short life, but however long you may live on the face of the earth, if only you will be able to say yes to the will of God, you will have lived and lived indeed. The day that I said yes to the will of God in my life, my life has never been the same again. Not because I have got money, because I don't. Not because I've got anything else that this world may count to be the measure as the measure of life or success in life, but this one thing I plead with you, this one thing, if only you can find it for yourself, the will of God for your life. That afternoon, as for me, when I heard him say, I have called you and though you may be the least among the people of this city, yet out of you are we, there shall be born a king who shepherds my people Israel from that moment my life has never been the same again. Your life will never be the same again. Your family will never be the same again. Your children's children will never be the same again. If only you can say yes to the will of God. The will of God will give you purpose for your life. The will of God will show you how to handle pain when no one else can help you. The will of God will give you direction when you have no way and you don't know where to turn. The will of God is the greatest treasure that you can ever have in your life. You have two choices. I think my message, I think my time is finished. We have two choices this morning. Deuteronomy tells us that I place before you life and death, blessings and cases, therefore choose life. And to choose life is to choose the will of God for my life. Which one will you choose this morning? You were, you are not here just as a number. You were specially designed for this generation. There is space for you on the face of the earth for such a time as this. You were not designed simply to come and watch us talk from the puppets. There is something special that God has deposited in your life and that is God is will for your life and his desire is that you may find it because as you find it, it is the the thing that will bring light in darkness for those that are in darkness. When you find it, it will bring change and a difference to your generation and whether you are old or you are young or regardless of how old you are, God's desire is that you may choose between your will and the will of God. The question is which one will you choose? Because choosing the will of God is choosing life, choosing life. Lastly as I close, we know the Bible says that as he, I think it's Luke 2 20 49 as he gets to Gethsemane, the Bible says that Jesus was so sorrowful and wary and he was in agony. And he was so heavy laden that the burden that he carried in his heart made him to fall down. The Bible says he fell down and he prayed so endlessly and intensely that he swore it, his sweat was like the drops of blood. So heavy was the burden on his heart because when his mind and his eyes could see where you were, how lost you and I were, how much we were separated from God, how much the enemy had messed up our hearts. But in order for him to get to where we were and to bring us out of that darkness and out of that lostness, he had to go through the pain of the cross, he had to go, he had to endure the pain, he had to wear the crown of thorns and because it was so, it was going to be so painful and so alienating and separating that when he looked at it, it was so hard for him and yet the Bible says he even cried and said, Lord, if it is your will, please take away this cup from me. But then he says, Lord, not my will, but your will be done. Even Jesus the son of God discovered that there is nothing that is worth pursuing than the will of God. What is so important in our lives this morning that is worth, so much worth pursuing than the will of God. What are you pursuing? I encourage you, whatever you do, may the will of God for your life be your life pursuit. God bless you.

This week, Nick delivered a powerful and timely message, urging us to look beyond the exciting projects and outward appearances of our church to the core purpose of our faith: Jesus himself. With the constant theme of "pour out your presence, Lord, pour out your fire" resonating through worship, Nick laid out a vision for a church that is passionate about God's presence and not merely its own accomplishments. Nick started by reflecting on the palpable sense of God's presence and activity within the church, particularly at Hub Church. He spoke of new people coming to faith and others rediscovering their walk with God, a truly encouraging sign of God's significant work amongst us. However, he quickly issued a crucial warning: what we see and experience, what God uses us to do, is not the main thing. The challenge, he emphasized, is to keep the main thing the main thing. He referenced the letter to the church in Revelation, which speaks of a church that had much going on but had "forsaken its first love." This served as a stark reminder that even a vibrant, active church can miss the mark if its focus shifts from worshiping Jesus above all things. Nick shared a profound prophetic word given to a powerful church he knew, which, despite its impressive mission and worship, was warned that "the seeds of your downfall are already in your heart." This wasn't a condemnation, but a gracious challenge to remain undistracted and fully devoted to Jesus. Our calling, Nick stated, is not to be a "successful church with an impressive portfolio of buildings," but to use those things to become a community that worships only Jesus, knows His power, and trusts Him entirely. Drawing parallels to the biblical story of Nehemiah, Nick highlighted a man deeply passionate for God's ways and God's city. Living a comfortable and privileged life, Nehemiah was stirred when he heard that the walls of Jerusalem were in ruins. His heart was grieved, leading him to mourn, fast, and pray. This grief propelled him to action, seeking permission from King Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls. Nehemiah's story serves as an example of being awake to what is on God's heart and being prepared to step up and take responsibility, not for personal comfort, but for God's purposes in a society where "the walls are broken down." Nick vividly recalled how the sermons he first heard as a teenager about Nehemiah profoundly impacted his life, turning him from a path in the Royal Air Force to a calling for something more. He prayed that the young people present would experience a similar stirring, a yearning for "more than this" – a desire for the Holy Spirit to "breathe, blow, and burn" within them, preventing them from becoming merely "religious people going through the motions of church." Nehemiah's rebuilding of the walls, accomplished in an astonishing 52 days, was not the end goal, but rather a prelude to a national revival. The physical project provided the context for God to move in the hearts of the nation. Nick connected this to our own significant projects, like the refurbishment of the pub, 146. He stressed that our call is not simply to renovate a building, but for God to bring renewal, restoration, and revival on the back of such endeavors. The challenge remains: keep the main thing the main thing and don't get distracted. Nick shared about the recent "Big Bible Read," where over 30 people spent five hours reading the entire book of Genesis. This event, he explained, was a testament to a stirring and hunger for something beyond mere church organization or project management. It was a hunger for God's Word, and a powerful demonstration of a deeper yearning. He likened this to the people in Nehemiah's time who, after the walls were rebuilt, gathered with unified purpose as Ezra read the Law. As they listened, they wept, but Ezra and Nehemiah urged them to celebrate, for "the joy of the Lord is your strength." This celebration was unprecedented since the days of Joshua, highlighting a revival coming in the hearts of people who had only known ordinariness and struggle. Ultimately, Nick concluded, the project isn't what it's all about; Jesus is what it's all about. Even the powerful testimonies of lives being rebuilt and rescued from addiction are just a "prelude to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the discovery of what life is all about." He reminded us that God's plan A from the beginning was for us to know the fullness of His Holy Spirit. The cross, while central to our faith, is a "gateway to life," leading us to live "full of the Holy Spirit, in the fullness of the blessing of God, in the freedom of forgiveness." Our desire, Nick stated, is not for people to simply know "the Christian fellowship," but for Jesus to be a household name in this community. He shared a moving story of a man, deeply addicted, who, after hearing God speak to him in a mental health unit, found Jesus at the church and spent the rest of his life directing others to Him. This illustrates the core message: "He [Jesus] must become more, I [we] must become less." Nick specifically addressed the young people, emphasizing the crucial need to see Jesus, not just the church or its activities. He recounted his own conversion at 16, where he didn't commit to a church or project, but to Jesus himself. He prayed that our journey, despite wobbles and weaknesses, would always be characterized by that life-transforming encounter with Jesus. He concluded by challenging everyone, young and old, to seek after Jesus and nothing else. Attending activities and signing up for projects are important for building the "walls," but they are not the "main thing." God desires "more than this" for us – a constant hunger for His fire to fall. He spoke of the danger of filling our lives with Christian tasks while our hearts are far from Jesus. This is a call to lay our lives before God, inviting His fire to burn up anything that hinders our full pursuit of Him. For those who have never encountered Jesus, Nick urged them to reach out to Him today. For those who may feel nostalgic about past moves of God, he emphasized that we are not meant to dwell in the past, but to look forward to what God will do in 2025, 2026, and beyond. Our hope is not just for buildings or church growth, but for the fire of God to fall, stretching our vision and experience of His overwhelming love, leading to a fresh wave of testimonies. Bible References: Revelation (specifically referring to the letter to a church that had "forsaken its first love") Nehemiah Chapter 1 (The story of Nehemiah's grief and prayer for Jerusalem's broken walls) Nehemiah Chapter 8 (The gathering of the people after the walls were rebuilt, Ezra reading the Law, and the people's celebration) Joshua son of Nun (Referenced in Nehemiah 8:17, concerning a previous time of great celebration) John the Baptist (Specifically the phrase "He must become more, I must become less") Transcript Well, this is great. It doesn't even feel like 9.30, does it? Or 9.45. It feels like a lot earlier. That is great to see so many people as well. It's almost like spot the difference. I don't know what happened at 11 o'clock. Maybe there will be nobody here. But it is good to be together and to be setting out together on this new thing that God has for us, which is a great unknown, as I was saying last week. And I think the theme, as Jonathan and the team have been leading through, continuously hearing about, you know, pour out your presence, Lord. Pour out your fire. And the picture in my mind has been like us as a church coming together and having all that we are laid out before God, whether it's our two services, you know, all the things that we do through the week, all that we seek to be, all that we want to see God establish in our prayer. Continually, Lord, send your fire. Send your fire onto our offering, that our offering is that's all it is. It's an offering. But what makes sense of it, what makes it work is your fire, is your presence, Lord, is your, yeah, just the manifestation of who you are. And there's that theme coming through the worship this morning and I believe ties into what I want to speak about briefly this morning. We asked young people also to stay in. They might be thinking, what are we doing here? But I just felt strongly that there are things that God is doing amongst us. You might not understand all of how it all relates, but there are things that we need to know, things that God wants to speak to us, things that God wants to get into our hearts that goes way beyond just coming to church on a Sunday or just coming to youth or just going through the program of what we do as a church. There is so much that God wants to do in our lives and there's so many things that I could say on a day like today, but God is certainly calling us out of our comfort zone into something new. Like I said, our minds could be very much on what God wants to do, and on what part we need to play in it. And the story, as we've already alluded to, goes back over so many years, it brings us to this point. But also the exciting thing is though we also refer back, we look back, and we're grateful for the faithfulness of God over so many years. We're now standing on a threshold, like I said last week, looking forward into a great unknown, but accept that that old adage that says we don't know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. And that we walk forward with God into the future and what He's called us to. One thing we know is that He's called us to something great and the center of gravity of what He's called us to. Even though we come from many parts of the city, and we come from many parts of the world even, He's called us together at this time for something that He wants to do in this place as He pours out His Spirit. And we are seeing a really significant move of God. I was at Hub Church on Tuesday night. If you've never been to Hub Church, pop in one of these Tuesday nights. There were about 50 people in Unit 2. It was packed. The presence of God was there. It was just so good to see people worshiping God freely. There was just a relaxed sort of buzz about the place, and the presence of God was there. And I reflected as I sat on the floor, because there were no seats, that it's about three times bigger than the first church I led in Hub Church. I mean, it's just like, and there it is on a Tuesday night, and God is moving amongst us. There are people coming to faith. People are discovering Him for the first time. People are rediscovering Him for the hundredth time. There's something happening in the hearts of people, and that's so crucial. There's one vitally important thing, a warning actually, I believe, that the Holy Spirit wants to bring to us. That whatever we see, whatever we experience, whatever God uses us to do here on earth, that's not the main thing. And our challenge is to keep the main thing the main thing, because if we end up with a church that celebrates what it does, that celebrates what it achieves, that celebrates what we look like, then we'll have missed it. It's so exciting to be part of the church. That is growing. It's so exciting to be a part of the church. That is making a move for world domination, at least on Jordan Thought Precinct, like, you know, with the 146, and Unit 2, and all that goes on here, and two services. It's so great to have that sense of presence and activity in the life of the church. It's not something I've personally been used to as life has gone on over the years. You know, church life is not always full of so much activity, but it's not the main thing. There was the letter to the church in Revelation, it says, the gist of it is, you've got all this stuff going on. It's great, but you've forsaken your first love. And the one thing that we have to do is make sure that we're never in that position. A church that we were connected with, we weren't at that church at the time, but was such a powerful church. There was so much going on in its life. There were so many things that we looked at and we thought, that's the sort of church you want to be in. There was mission going on, there was worship, there was the presence of God, and yet they had a prophetic word. Now, you know, sometimes our prophecies can be, you know, I love you, says the Lord, and you're great, I think you're fantastic, and you're the best thing ever, says the Lord. And we say, oh thank you, Jesus. And that's when we go away. But sometimes prophetic words come in and they come in with an edge. And this one said that I see, basically, it's a bit like Revelation, I've seen all that you are, I've seen all that you've achieved, I've seen all that you've become, but the seeds of your downfall are already in your heart. I think, wow, thank you, Lord. That's not what you want to hear, you want to pat on the head, don't you? But what a challenge, because, and there's, it's a gracious challenge, it's not like a, you know, well you're a terrible church or anything, it's saying that I want you to be the best that you can possibly be, but I want you to experience the fullest that you can, but yet you can so easily get distracted, and our hearts can so easily get distracted from what the main thing is, which is lifting Jesus above all things. So our calling is not to be a successful church on Jordan, Thorpe and Baitmore, with an impressive portfolio of buildings. It's to use those things to become a community that worships only Jesus, that knows his power, that trusts him entirely, and we use our buildings and our resources and our everything that we've got in our pursuit of those aims. God forbid that we ever become a church so absorbed in our own work and projects that we obscure the vision of Jesus, that we, our hearts get distracted and we think, oh we've, we've got something here. And briefly this morning I want to touch on the story of Nehemiah. I mentioned it last week. Nehemiah was a man passionate for the things of God. He lived in Persia roughly 500 years before Christ was born, and he was an official of King Artaxerxes. That's a name to conjure with. King Artaxerxes. He was cupbearer to the king. He was comfortable, he was privileged, and he had no reason to think beyond that life. Everything was good for him, but there was something stirring in his heart that was, that wouldn't stay quiet, and it was all to do with his passion for God and for God's ways and God's kingdom and God's city. And he heard, he got a message, I'm paraphrasing it, you can look it up in Nehemiah. He heard that the walls of Jerusalem, his beloved city, were in ruins, and his heart was grieved about it. Even the king noticed, why are you so sad? He said, but how, you know, my, my heart said here, he got a message that said in Nehemiah chapter one, things are not going well for those who return to the province of Judah. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem has been torn down and the gates have been destroyed by fire. When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. I sat down and wept. And so in that grief, he took it upon himself to do something. He actually sought permission from the king to step away from his duties and go back to Jerusalem and to rebuild the walls, because there was a passion for that city and a passion for God's ways and a passion for for all that had been lost. And he said, I want to do something to put it right. I want to do something to rebuild those walls. And our challenge is to be awake to what is on God's heart, just as he was. More than that, to be prepared to step up and take responsibility, to take action, to serve the purpose of God, not just, not just pursue our own comfort, but to actually give ourselves, because individuals give ourselves as a church, give ourselves as a community, to what is on God's heart for a community and a society where the walls are broken down. And there was a pain in his heart. He said, I've got to do something. The first sermons I ever heard in my life were around the book of Nehemiah. It was at spring harvest, 1980 something, and it was spring fever. All these old geezers that you see preaching and now they were young chaps then. It was the same guys, but they were, but anyway, yeah, they stories of Nehemiah, how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things when moved by his spirit and motivated by what's on his heart. And it was those, and I think that's probably part of the year I have for the, you know, I can't do anything to connect God's word to your heart, but we pray that God's spirit opens it up. And I pray for our young people as well that they begin to see the sort of things that I began to see in those days when I was 16, 17 years old, and my life was set on joining the Royal Air Force. I had signed my life away. I'd got a contract until I was 37. There was, there was, everything was set and yet something broke into my heart on that day and in those days to say actually there's more to it than this. What will you do? A stirring, a bit like Nehemiah had a stirring to say I want to do something more. There must be more than this. We sang it this morning. There was that yearning like there must be more than this. Come breath of life. Come breathe within. And that was my prayer then and it's my prayer today that for we, for us as individuals and as a church and as a community that our prayer would become Holy Spirit. Breathe within us again. Don't let us just become religious people going through the motions of church. Oh we've got two services, great. And you, you know, we can enjoy ourselves and we can enjoy our worship and we can enjoy being together, but there's more, there must be more than this. Come breath of life. Come fire of God. Breathe and blow and burn in this place. And so he set about, he went to Jerusalem and he set about rebuilding the walls. He gathered people. He inspired people. He organized them. He managed them. There was opposition, fierce opposition and he handled it. It was a master class of leadership and in 52 days the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. But what we see then as we go on through the book of Nehemiah is that the, that was just the beginning. The purpose God had was not for Nehemiah to be a builder. That was an expression of the, the passion and the drive that Nehemiah had to say there must be more than this. We want to see God. I don't want to see the walls of God's city broken down and in ruins and the people scattered. I want to see revival and renewal in the national life of Israel. And so he, there was that drive for him. But the walls, once they were there, the walls only became a prelude to a national revival. The physical project became just the foundation, just provided a context, just provided a shape for God to then move in the heart of the nation. And as we, we've got so many wonderful projects. We've got 146 is a project to end all projects as far as we're concerned, but you know there's so much there, but ultimately we won't sort of get it all done, get it all built, get it all post signed off, have a ribbon cutting ceremony and say we've done it now. We've, we've refurbished a pub. That's not the call of God on our life, to refurbish a pub. But what God wants to do is to bring a sense of renewal and restoration and revival on the back of the restoration of a pub and all the other things that we've got going on. And our challenge is to keep the main thing the main thing and not to get distracted by all of those things. Nehemiah could have been distracted, but yet at the end of it all in chapter 8 we're told that the people gathered after the completion of the walls and they gathered with a unified purpose and a priest named Ezra read the book of the law and all the people worshiped. I don't know if you picked up, I'm sure you did, we've been mentioning for some weeks we had the big Bible read yesterday and that was just such a great event. Sheila did a wonderful job of organizing it. It went like clockwork. If you thought that we couldn't run meetings by the clock, you should have come to the big Bible read. We read the entire book of Genesis in five hours and every section finished on the dot by the grace of God. Anyway, that's not what I'm celebrating. What I'm celebrating is the fact that we had nothing else on the agenda. We had 30 plus people here, nothing else on the agenda for five hours except just reading the Word. And when we got to the end it was quite emotional. It was like, oh my goodness, this is powerful. And the only reason I bring that up is because there is something stirring in our heart that is bigger than just what we do, just how we function, just the organization of the church, just the management of projects. There is something that God is stirring. Why would we advertise, oh let's all get together and read the Bible out loud for five hours and 35 people turn up? You know that you'd think they wouldn't come, but they did. And there's a stirring and there's a hunger for something that's beyond. There must be more than this, we're crying. Anyway, that's a bit of an aside. They went through the instructions of the law of God and explained it to the people and some of these people began to see for the first time what they were understanding. You know they had, they just had, people had been born, this generation had been born into a situation where the walls of Jerusalem were broken down. Things weren't going well for the nation and these people knew nothing and they all they knew was the stories of the past, but they knew nothing of what was going on and here they were for the first time perhaps beginning to see the the law come to life in their time and Ezra and Nehemiah, they gathered the people with a unified purpose and they read the law and it says as they listened the people began to weep and then the priest said, don't weep, don't mourn, but celebrate, this is a good day. And then one of the things that I prayed this morning as we came into this new arrangement is that there's a lot to think about, there's a lot to be anxious about. No there isn't, you can't be anxious about anything because we cast all our burdens onto Jesus, but there are things that sometimes cause us a little bit of anxiety aren't there? Things that worry us, things that give us cause for a sleepless night and yet there was that sense of don't weep, don't mourn, don't take yourself too seriously, enjoy the fact that God is on the move, let there be joy in the house, let there be joy in the presence of God. And as Ezra and Nehemiah said to the people, the joy of the Lord is your strength and so they understood for the first time a lot of what they were hearing. And it says in chapter 8 in verse 17 that the Israelites had not celebrated like this since the days of Joshua son of Nun, since the days when they crossed the Jordan river and experienced the most amazing miracles, they've never celebrated like this and these people weren't even born then, this was hundreds of years gone and so they had been born into fairly humdrum drab existence, they're just going through the motions of their life and suddenly they were beginning to see their eyes were open, their hearts were open to begin to see the reality of what God was doing and what he was doing amongst them and they had not celebrated like they celebrated on that day since the days of Joshua. And so there was a real revival coming in the hearts of people, they've never known anything except the ordinariness and the struggle of life and then they've been caught up in this great project to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and then by surprise on the back of that rebuilding project, God visited them and renewed them and restored them and empowered them by his Holy Spirit. And that in a nutshell is really what I want to say today, that the project is not what it's all about, but Jesus is what it's all about. Even the restoration of our lives, it's great to hear testimonies and we've heard many recently powerful testimonies of people who have been baptized and it's so wonderful to see how God is rebuilding lives and rescuing people from addiction and rescuing people from terrible situations and struggle and difficulty and all of that. But ultimately even the rebuilding of our lives is just a prelude to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the discovery of what life is all about. I think it was Ali last week was saying, this isn't plan B, this was plan A. God's plan from the beginning was that we would know the fullness of his Holy Spirit in our lives and so the steps that we take towards it, even the cross, we celebrate, of course we celebrate the cross. The cross is our gateway to life, but that's what it is, a gateway to life. It's an opportunity that we come back, we remind ourselves of what Jesus went through, we remind ourselves of how he suffered, we remind ourselves of how he paid the price, but now because he's paid the price we live, we live full of the Holy Spirit, we live in the fullness of the blessing of God, we live in the freedom of forgiveness and all that that means for us rather than continually going round and round in circles. And so all these things are part of the story, they pave the way to where God has taken us, but he wants to glorify himself and exalt himself, that people wouldn't know MCF here but they would know Jesus, that Jesus would be a household name in this community because that would be our legacy. Not that when a message goes up on Facebook, do you know when you know where you can get a cup of coffee on a Thursday morning? Yeah, the Christian fellowship. People know about the Christian fellowship, but our prayer and our desire is that fire of God would fall so that people would know Jesus is in this place. Remember one man who came to our first church after a few weeks of us being there and he sat at the back of the church and he just stared at the floor, he didn't have any life about him at all and it turned out that he was a very seriously addicted alcoholic and he told me himself, he said he used to drink a bottle of vodka every night and his daughter used to have to carry him to bed. He was in such a state and he ended, he'd been at a Billy Graham meeting many, many years before in the 1960s and he'd given his life to Christ and he'd forgotten all about that and he'd walked away and he'd got, his whole life was in a mess and he ended up in a mental health unit in the local hospital section and he said while he was in there, he said he heard God speak to him, say why don't you come back to me and so he didn't know what to do, how to come back to God so he looked up the church, so he came to the church and he just, life transformed, nobody did anything to him or for him, God just touched his life and he became one of our premier worship leader in the church and he was just like so exciting to see his life transformed in that way but yeah and then, not but, that sounds like a negative doesn't it, but what I got from him was he said, I came back, he said and then people asked me how do you find Jesus, how do you find, so I just told him come with me, I met him at the church, come with me and you'll find him there and so he spent his whole, the whole of the rest of his life, he's still alive, directing people to Jesus because he said I found him, he came to me, he met me in the mental health unit and he called me to himself and now I just tell people to go and find him, you know, and if you can't, if you don't know where to find him go and look in the church. John the Baptist said he must become more, I must become less. Jesus must become more in our experience and in our ministry and in our, in our activity. Jesus must be magnified and glorified and that's why I want to ask the young people to be here today rather than be at specific activities because this is absolutely crucial for you to understand. You might actually think I'm only here because my parents want me to be here or because, you know, because this is, this is what's expected and at our extent Andy said earlier on our vision of God can be like this, shaped like the church, shaped like the youth activity, shaped like whatever we do and yet God is wanting to stretch our understanding and stretch our vision of who he is and what he can do and what he can be in our lives and my prayer for you is that he would open your eyes to see Jesus, not the church, not anything else but to see Jesus. He did it for me when I was 16. I didn't commit myself to a church or a project, I didn't know anything about church, but Jesus called me to himself and when they said do you want to, want to give your life to Christ, that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to go and find Jesus. I wanted to be filled with the spirit of Jesus. I wanted to understand who Jesus was. I wanted to follow Jesus. I wanted to, to, for other people to understand who Jesus was. That's all that mattered and that's what our prayer is, that that would be the hallmark of our revival and our renewal that goes on, that Jesus would change our life forever and I can say though I've had 30 plus years in leadership, I'm not a model believer or a champion prayer. From years back people bought me a booklet, this is how you learn to pray. I've never felt like an expert in anything to do with that, my faith has often been weak, struggles have been real, but something changed in my heart 40 years ago that's never changed back. The shape of my heart changed, the shape of my life, my outlook, my perspective, my understanding, my belief, my trust, everything changed and in the meantime it's been wobbly and it's been weak at times and there's been challenges and there's been issues and still there's so much for me to learn at my young age, but Jesus makes all the difference and it's our prayer that we don't just introduce people to what we do. It's great we've got our welcome packs and this is what we do through the week, but all of that are just walls, all of that is just shape, all of that is just a context in which we can meet God and so I would encourage you in your hearts, whether you're young, whether you're old, whether you get it, whether you don't, to be seeking after Jesus and going after Him and nothing else. You don't get points for how many activities you go to in a week or how many names you put on the sign-up sheet, you don't get points for that. It's great if you do it because we need it, it's the walls, but in actual fact that's not the point, it's not the main thing. God wants more for us, there must be more than this and so there is a challenge for all of us, whether we're young or whether we're old, we can't just bypass, you know this is a challenge for leadership, it's a challenge for me because in a way I have a full-time framework for what I do and I can and I can fill my diary with meetings, with projects, with things to do, with people to visit, with spreadsheets to fill in, I can do all of that. I think, wow, I'm a full-time Christian worker. I can do all of that and my heart can be far from where God wants it to be, my heart can be far from Jesus, and my prayer for myself as we respond to this is, is that God let your fire fall on me, that in this, you know there's a lot that I've seen in life, there's a lot that we've experienced, there's a lot to go back over, but yet looking forward that's what I want it to be, that's where I want to be, going forward, that's where we want to see the fire of God. I want to just tell stories of the past, stories of the past are important because they remind us of what God has done and how, how far we've come, but if we don't have anything, don't have any vision or hope or expectation for the future that the fire of God will fall, then we're going to, we're going to fail, we're going to, we're going to lose energy, we're going to run out of steam. When it comes to the nine o'clock meeting on the 13th of November or whatever it is, we're going to think, oh again, there needs to be that. And there's two categories of people, maybe you've never known what it is to give your heart to Jesus, maybe you've known, maybe no church, maybe you know, maybe you're trying your best, you're trying your best to to work it out, you're trying your best to, to give yourself, to build some religious walls around your life so that you can feel like a better person and you can feel like you've got things in order, but you've never known what it is to give your heart to the Lord completely. You've never encountered Jesus and the power of His love and that is crucial for you today, and if that is you today, don't leave this place without reaching out to Him. And there are those of us who do know, but we feel maybe it's all behind us, we knew that once, we're nostalgic. One of the things that was brought up at the conference last week that we were at was the issue of nostalgia, how easy it is to be nostalgic. For those of us of a certain age, there were exciting times in the 1980s, 1990s, the things that happened in the church. It's very easy to think, oh let's go back to that, but the whole point is not going back to that. It's about looking forward, about looking forward to what God can do in 2025, 2026, 2030. What stories are we going to tell then? Cornelius was praying this morning, don't mind me mentioning you, we were praying and he was saying, you know we've seen moves of God, we've seen Pensacola, we've seen Toronto, we've seen what God did in Mozambique, and yet there's a sense, there's a hunger for God to do something new and fresh here now. That's what we want. We need the stories of Pensacola and Toronto and Mozambique and all of that to encourage us and strengthen our faith and to focus our minds, but we're not just going to celebrate what that was. We're going to step into what God has for us, and it's much, much more than a building project. It's much, much more than a church with two services. It's much, much more than planting a church or whatever we do in the future. It's more than all of that. It's that the fire of God will fall, and so maybe you're not sure about what it all means for you now. We can be pleased about it. We can be pleased about what God is doing, but we don't know how we fit in. God is wanting to touch you with fire. God wants to touch your heart with fire, for you to see things, and His Word is absolutely relevant. We're like this. We've got God. We love Him. He's powerful. He's faithful to us. He does good things for us, but there's so much more, and He wants to stretch our vision, stretch our understanding, stretch our experience. Sometimes we're nervous of that word, experience. God wants to stretch our experience of Him, our experience of His love. Some of us can think back many, many years to times when we've really encountered the presence and power of God and the overwhelming love of Jesus, and yet it feels like it's all the way past. God wants to touch you again with those things, that you would have a testimony that we wouldn't be able to just say, does anybody have a 60-second testimony? Because it would throw the whole program out because of our experience of God, so we need to be hungry for Him. And so as we return, maybe the worship team could come back. Think about what this is. Lord, we're thankful, thankful, so thankful for what you're doing in our midst, so thankful for the shape of the church, thankful that we can have two services, thankful that we've got a building project, thank you that those things are coming together, but Lord, there must be more, there is more. Lord, let your fire fall, and what I want you to do is not just broaden this response, but look into your own heart. Like I said, young or old, whatever your circumstances, whatever the hang-ups, whatever the issues, whatever the things that are making you hesitate, bring it all to God. Lay it all out before Him and say, Lord, burn it up. Let your fire fall on the offering of my life. May I know you. Maybe you don't feel like you know Him. There's not a million miles, He's not a million miles away. Just reach out to Him, reach out to Him now as we respond. And if you want to come here, come forward, someone to pray with you, someone to help you, someone to encourage you, do that because we'd be more than happy and the space is here. Just come as we worship as Jonathan leads us and the team. Come and we will pray together and God's fire will fall upon us. Amen.

The End of the Beginning (Genesis 50 Summary) Today, Ally brought our incredible journey through the book of Genesis to a close with a powerful sermon titled "The End of the Beginning." As we conclude this foundational book of the Bible, we see that even in endings, there are new beginnings and enduring truths that resonate with our lives today, even here on the estate. Ally began by expressing her privilege in studying and sharing God's Word, especially as we reached the final chapter of Genesis. Reflecting on the "beginning" that the book's name signifies, she highlighted three key beginnings we've encountered: The Beginning of Creation (Genesis 1:1): Ally reminded us of the profound truth that "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." This foundational statement establishes God as the eternal Creator, a concept that can stretch our understanding. She shared a childhood wonder about who created God, acknowledging that some truths are simply beyond our full comprehension. God is, always has been, and always will be. This perfect creation was designed for humanity, made in God's image, to live in partnership with Him. The Beginning of Sin (Genesis 3:1): This perfect beginning was tragically marred by the introduction of sin. Ally recounted the familiar story of the serpent tempting Eve, but emphasized that the core issue wasn't just eating a forbidden fruit. It was an act of rebellion, of placing their own will above God's. Using the simple analogy of spelling "sin" with "I" in the middle, Ally explained that sin is fundamentally about putting ourselves in God's rightful place. The consequences of this act were devastating: a spoiled perfect world, the pain of hard work, banishment from the Garden, a shattered relationship with a holy God, and ultimately, death – a final separation from Him. Ally stressed the gravity of sin, explaining that it fundamentally breaks our relationship with God. The Beginning of the Covenant (Genesis 12): Despite the bleakness of sin's entry, Ally illuminated God's loving rescue plan, hinted at even in Genesis 3. This plan truly begins to unfold with God's covenant with Abraham. Defining a covenant as a formal, binding agreement, Ally read from Genesis 12:1-3, where God promises Abraham land, a great nation, and blessing, stating, "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you." She further referenced the symbolic covenant ceremony in Genesis 15 and the reiteration of these promises in Genesis 17:1-8, where God declares, "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you, for the generations to come to be your God and the God of your descendants after you." This covenant with Abraham marks the beginning of God's plan to restore humanity and His creation. Following this reflection, Ally's son, Caleb, bravely read Genesis 50, our passage for today. This chapter details the end of Jacob's life and its aftermath, providing us with three significant "ends" to consider: The End of Jacob: Ally noted the extensive detail given to Jacob's death and burial (Genesis 50:1-14), far exceeding the accounts of other patriarchs like Abraham. Joseph's profound grief, the 40-day embalming process, and the 70 days of mourning by the Egyptians highlight the significance of Jacob's life. His burial in Canaan, fulfilling Joseph's oath, underscores his deep connection to the Promised Land and God's promises. Ally drew parallels to the New Testament description of Christians as "aliens" or "foreigners" in this world (1 Peter 2:11). Just as Jacob's true home was in the Promised Land, our ultimate citizenship is in God's kingdom (Philippians 3:20). She encouraged us to hold onto this identity, especially during the challenges of daily life, and emphasized the importance of gathering as a church to remind and encourage one another in this truth. Furthermore, Ally acknowledged Jacob's flaws, echoing Andy's previous sermon, yet highlighted that he "finished well" and was honored. This serves as an encouragement that God uses flawed individuals for His purposes, and He can restore us despite our shortcomings. Finally, Ally pointed out that Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, is arguably the true father of the nation of Israel, as his twelve sons became the twelve tribes. His death, holding onto God's promises, and the mourning by the Egyptians, a foreign people, speaks volumes. The End of Hostility: Shifting the focus to Genesis 50:15-21, Ally addressed the end of hostility between Joseph and his brothers. Following Jacob's death, the brothers, burdened by their past mistreatment of Joseph, feared his retribution. They fabricated a message from Jacob asking for forgiveness. While Ally expressed skepticism about the truthfulness of this message, she acknowledged their likely genuine remorse. Joseph's emotional response and subsequent reassurance revealed that he had already forgiven them. His powerful statement, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Genesis 50:20), illustrates God's ability to work through even the most evil intentions for a greater purpose. Ally drew a parallel to our relationship with God, highlighting the burden of unresolved sin and the power of God's unrestricted forgiveness, prepaid by Jesus' death on the cross. She encouraged listeners to "claim" this forgiveness through a simple ABC: Admit you're wrong, Believe in Jesus' death, and Commit to following Jesus as Lord. She urged anyone carrying the weight of sin to address it and encouraged those who have been wronged to consider Joseph's example of forgiving even before being asked. This counter-cultural act of forgiveness mirrors God's own initiative in sending His Son for us. The End of Joseph: In the final verses (Genesis 50:22-26), we see the end of Joseph's life. Unlike Jacob, his death is marked by less ceremony, and the blessing of the next generation had already occurred. However, Joseph's unwavering faith in God's covenant shines through. Even though the promises of a great nation in their own land seemed distant after over 250 years, Joseph declared to his brothers, "God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (Genesis 50:24). He even made the Israelites swear an oath to carry his bones back to Canaan when that time came, a testament to his enduring faith, which was fulfilled 400 years later. Ally emphasized the theme of patience in waiting for God's promises. Joseph's faith was rooted in his understanding that God was for him, working out His purposes even through difficult circumstances. His statement in Genesis 50:20 – "God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" – reveals his understanding that God's plans extend beyond his own personal well-being. Ally concluded by reminding us that God is for us, even when our circumstances are challenging or His timing differs from our own. Drawing on Romans 8:28, she affirmed that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Jacob and Joseph died trusting in God's promises, and we are called to do the same. Ally concluded with a call to reflection, urging listeners to consider any unresolved sin, broken relationships, or struggles with feeling like a foreigner in this world or doubting God's care. The answer to all these challenges, she affirmed, is to come to the cross, to re-center on God's saving work, where His love and forgiveness are most powerfully displayed. Bible References Used: Genesis 1:1 Genesis 3:1 Genesis 12:1-3 Genesis 15 Genesis 17:1-8 Genesis 25 Genesis 37 Genesis 49 Genesis 50:1-14 Genesis 50:15-21 Genesis 50:20 Genesis 50:22-26 Genesis 50:24 1 Peter 2:11 Philippians 3:20 Romans 8:28 Thank you for joining us for this final reflection on Genesis. We pray that Ally's words have encouraged and challenged you. May we all live in the light of God's promises and the forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. Transcription Yes, so I'm Ali. I know some of you, not everyone. A bit about me, I'm Matt Richard, who unfortunately isn't here. He's gone out with the youth. And we have two boys, Jacob, who's also gone with youth, but Caleb, who has chosen to stay in and listen to mum. And he's going to have more later on. I think I was born just before Voyager 1 left, but there we go. Right now, I'm feeling extraordinarily privileged. Firstly, it's a privilege to study and delve into God's Word and help other people understand it. It's one of the favourite things that I like to do. And secondly, what a privilege to bring this incredible series in Genesis to a close. And as I've been preparing this, the realisation that this really is the last chapter has weighed a little heavy. And the fact that this is the last of our one service Sundays just adds a little bit of extra pressure. Let's go. I've called the talk the end of the beginning. And we're going to get into the passage in a bit. Now, most of you won't have heard me preach before, but I'm one for going in and out of the text. So now is your chance to get your Bible or switch your phone on and find Genesis 50 because we're going to be needing it later, all right? But to start with, I wanted to reflect a bit on what's gone on before. So for those of you who haven't checked out the masterpiece in the entrance, well, you are missing out. It is an absolutely incredible collage of what we've been looking at over the last three months, and I highly recommend it. And I think it's just an absolutely fantastic job. So well done, Sheila, for that. Genesis means beginning, and there have been plenty of those over the past 49 chapters. And I'm just going to pick out three. Chapter 1, verse 1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, the beginning of everything. And it's hard to get your head round, isn't it? Once there was nothing, and then there was, well, everything. And those opening verses take us back to the very beginning of everything. They remind us that God is truly eternal. Now, I remember as a kid wanting to know who made God. And in fact, I'm not sure I've ever had a satisfactory answer to it. Some things are maybe just too big to understand. God just is. He always has been, and He always will be. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God made a perfect world, and He put two human beings on it to enjoy and take care of it, to live in partnership with Him. We are the pinnacle of creation made in His image. But that didn't last. By chapter 3, the perfect world is spoiled forever. You see, we see the beginning of sin. Chapter 3, verse 1, now the snake was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? And we know the story, or at least we think we do, don't we? But what really went on that day in the Garden of Eden? Was it simply that Eve stole a forbidden fruit? Well, of course, that was the action, but it's what was behind it that's the issue, isn't it? You see, in disobeying God's command, Adam and Eve effectively rejected His rule. Now, as a kid, I was taught to remember sin by spelling it out, F-I-N, and seeing that I is in the middle. And that essentially is what sin is about. All sin is, is when we put ourselves, that I, in the place of God, when we reject that rightful rule that He should have over us. And that is what Adam and Eve did in that day in the garden, spurred on by the devil. And far more important are the consequences of this event. You see, that perfect world was spoiled. No longer would life be pain-free for men or women. Life would be hard work. Adam and Eve, and with them the whole human race, were banished from the Garden of Eden, never to return. And worse than that, their perfect relationship with God was spoiled, shattered, broken. That's what I'm trying to get at with that picture there. No longer could Adam and Eve walk side by side with Him. You see, God is so holy, we've just sung it, He's so holy, so absolutely perfect, that He cannot be in the presence of people that are not. And ultimately the consequence was of death, and with it that final separation from God. Now sin spoils, and I don't know how well you've grasped this, but it is really important, so I am going to go on about it just for a little bit longer. Maybe you're here just dipping your toe in things. Maybe you've heard this all before but never quite understood it. Or maybe you've been in church all your life and you think you already know this. Wherever you're at, grasp this, that sin spoils. It means that we cannot be in relationship with God. That is gone, that is smashed to smithereens. It means we die, and that is bad news, depressing news, maybe even shocking news. But it's not the only news, and you see God is not only a holy God, He's one of perfect love, and He had a plan to put things right. Now when I was doing Bible training, one of our lecturers said that you can divide the Bible into two halves. The first three chapters of Genesis is one half, and the rest is the other. And the second half is basically God's rescue plan. It's not a plan B brought into force when Adam and Eve screwed the first one up. No, the Bible is clear that this was always the plan, and there is a hint of it in chapter 3, but let's skip forward to our last beginning, the beginning of the covenant. Now Google AI tells me that a covenant is a formal binding agreement or promise between two or more parties. And in chapter 12, we see Abraham, later to become Abraham, encounter God. And God states His promise to him as a threefold promise that involves a land, a people, and great blessing. So I'm just going to read a little section from Genesis 12. The Lord said to Abraham, go from your country, your people, and your father's household, to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who curse you, and whoever, bless you, sorry, and whoever curses you, I will curse. And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. And God repeats this twice more. Do you remember chapter 15, that weird ceremony with the blazing fire and the animals cut in half? I'll look it up later. And in it, Abraham looking at the stars in the sky, God using them as an illustration of His promise to make Him the father of a great nation. And God repeats these promises, makes it clear that it's Him that is doing it all. And finally, He repeats them a third time in Genesis 17. Abraham fell face down, and God said to him, as for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram. Your name will be Abraham. For I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you, for the generations to come to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and to your descendants after you. And I will be their God. So we've had three beginnings. We've had a perfect creation. We've had a spoiled creation. And we've got God's rescue plan, which starts with a covenant with one man. So can we just hold those beginnings in mind whilst you get a little break from me? And Caleb is going to read our passage for today, which is Genesis 50. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh's court, If I have found favour in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, My father made me swear on oath and said, I am 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 court 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 flocks of hurt were less than gotten. Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company. When they reached the fresh floor of Etad near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly, where Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the fresh floor of Etad, they said, The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning. That is why the place near the Jordan is called Abel-Musraim. So Joseph's sons did as he commanded them. They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephraim 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. This is what you were to say to Joseph, I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly. Now please forgive the sins of the servants of God your father. When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down 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 now being done, the saving of many lives. 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 110 years and saw the third generation of Ephraim's children. Also, the children of Micaiah, 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 up out of this land to the land he promised an oath to Abraham, Isaac and Joko. And Joseph made the Israelites wear an 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 110 and after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt. Well done little man. He was a bit upset that he wasn't getting one of these roving mics, so I've told him he's got to wait a little bit for that. So to the end of the beginning, our final chapter, and in it we see three ends. Firstly, the end of Jacob. So Andy talked last week about Jacob's final words to his gathered sons and grandsons. So technically his end was in chapter 49 when he, what did you say Andy, hooked up his feet on the bed and went to his father's, something like that. But the first half of this chapter is devoted to his end. Now I don't know about you, but as I've studied it and as I've heard it read just now, my overriding thought was, wow, they made a massive deal out of that. And there is a lot of detail for us, far more than other significant deaths in Genesis. I look back, in Genesis 25, there's just four verses devoted to the end of Abraham and we have 14. And I wonder why. So let's look at them in a bit more detail. Verse 1, Jacob has just died and Joseph is physically distraught. He throws himself on his father's body. He weeps over him and kisses him. And then there's the first ritual. Jacob's body is embalmed. This takes 40 days. Verse 3, the Egyptians mourned him for 70 days. And see who's mourning there? The Egyptians. Not Joseph and his brothers, although clearly they will have been too, but the Egyptians. Jacob is a foreigner in their land and yet they mourned him for 70 days. Jacob's end was a big deal and not just for his family. And the story goes on and preparations are made for his burial, which happens not in Egypt but back in Canaan, fulfilling an oath that Joseph had sworn to his father. And Jacob is eventually buried back at the family burial cave with his grandparents, Abraham and Sarah and his father Isaac, but not without more pomp and ceremony. Verse 7 to 9, we see all of Egypt's dignitaries, well done Caleb, accompanying the family. It was a very large company, such a large company that the locals living there remark in verse 11, the Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning. See it again? The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning. So what can we learn about all this fuss about the end of Jacob? Well, firstly, it seems like he's a foreigner in two places. You see, he dies in Egypt away from the Promised Land, yet when he's taken back to Canaan to be buried, he's a foreigner there too. And this should maybe resonate a little bit with us. You see, in several places in the New Testament, Christians are described as being aliens or foreigners in the world. But if it sometimes feels like you don't belong in this world anymore, well, that's true, we don't. We're citizens of a new kingdom. But for now, we still live in this one. And that can feel hard, especially on a Monday morning, can't it, when you're at work or college or you're with friends or family that don't know Jesus. Jacob knew his identity. He'd encountered God in a very personal way, illustrated in that picture there. And he trusted in his promises, the very same ones that were given back to Abraham. So for him, his choice of burial site back in the Promised Land, well, that was a given. And for us, well, we need to hold on to that identity. We are children of God and citizens of heaven, and that is why showing up here on a Sunday is so important, because we can remind and spur each other on when we go back into that week when we're having to live as aliens in another country. As well as being encouraged by Jacob as a foreigner, we can also take heart that he was in many ways a flawed man. And Andy covered this last week when he reminded us of Jacob's many failures along the way. So when we announced the birth of our son Jacob to our families, my dad commented on the name. His words were, well, you could have gone for a better character. Possibly a bit harsh for his first grandson. When Caleb arrived, I made a point of asking if that was a better choice. Make your mind up. Dad was right on one hand, but Jacob the Bible did make a lot of mistakes. But looking at the way his end is outlined for us, we see he finished well, and he was esteemed and honored by many. And I'd echo what Andy said last week, that this encourages me. See, throughout Genesis, throughout the whole Bible, God uses flawed individuals to work his purposes out. And so he can and does use us too. With all our flaws, all our disappointments, we let him down, and he gently restores us. And finally, the end of Jacob signals the real star of the nation of Israel. You see, indeed, his name was even changed to Israel. It's easy when there's an Israel on the map to forget that the first Israel was a person. And whilst Abraham is always referred to as the father of the nation, in many ways, I'd suggest that title really belongs to Jacob. You see, from his 12 sons came the 12 tribes, which grew into the great people. As Jacob blessed his sons individually before he died, I think he'd have reflected on that promise of becoming a people and seen a glimpse of what was to come. The end of Jacob, a man who died holding onto the promises of God, who finished well and who was mourned by a people from a foreign land. Let's move on. In the next verses, we see another very different end. We see the end of hostility. Check out verse 15, and you see an obvious change in the narrative. Jacob has died, and Joseph's brothers start to panic. 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? You see, the brothers foresee a problem. Many years before, they had treated Joseph abysmally, and they know it. They might try to claim mitigating circumstances. After all, Joseph was, by all accounts, a pretty jumped up obnoxious teenager, but what they did was pretty unforgivable. You can read it in Genesis 37. They plotted to kill him. Reuben the Elbdis steps in and suggests throwing him an assistant instead. He plans to go back and rescue him, but the others then sell him on into slavery, and they take his bloodied robe, that technicolor dream coat, back to Jacob and make it look like Joseph was dead. And then they carry on with life, unaware of what happened to their father, living a lie at home with their father grieving his blooded son. But now they have a problem. Jacob is gone, and what's going to happen to them? Without the protection of their father, just how is Joseph going to react? So they preempt it. They get in first. See verse 16, so they sent word to Joseph saying, your father left these instructions before he died. This is what you are to say to Joseph. I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly. Now please forgive the sins of your servant, the God of your father. Now we have no way or not of knowing what the brothers are saying here is true. The Bible does not document this conversation between Jacob and his sons. And as a mother of children who can be pretty convincing in their stories to explain away misdemeanors, sorry to call you out Caleb, but you know what is true? I have to say, personally, I don't believe them. But neither do I blame them. You see, in all honesty, I'd have probably tried something similar. You see, our sinful nature, that eye in the middle, it's always going to try and protect me, isn't it? And Joseph is moved to tears. And then the brothers come together in person. And whilst I'm skeptical about their story, I do believe they're sorry. Their repentance is genuine. They will have carried that guilt for years. And they literally throw themselves at their brother's mercy, aware that he has every right to punish them. And yet Joseph does respond with mercy. He has no intention of punishing them. You see, it becomes clear that he's forgiven them long ago. There is no hostility on his side. He has seen the bigger picture. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. And this section of the story illustrates a couple of things, and I think in many ways mirrors our relationship with God. Firstly, it illustrates the power of unresolved sin. Joseph's brothers know they have done wrong, and they've lived for years in the knowledge that they sold him as a slave and lied to their father. Secondly, we see the power of unrestricted forgiveness. Joseph's response is gentle and loving. Twice, he says, don't be afraid. He promises to take care of his brothers and their households. And this is the same as us with God. Are you sitting here feeling the weight of unresolved sin? Is this something you've never dealt with, never taken that step of acknowledging to yourself that you've been living your life with I in charge and that that needs to change? Or maybe you're already a Christian, but there's something specific that you're struggling with, a habit you know you need to break, a recurrent thought or behavior that you can't seem to stop. Can I encourage you to come to God who is waiting there with unrestricted forgiveness? Our loving God who longs to say don't be afraid, I forgive you. And we don't earn that forgiveness. It's prepaid. When Jesus died on that cross 2,000 years ago, he was paying the price for every one of my sins and yours. Humanity's rebellion paid for by one perfect sinless man. So we don't earn it, but we do have to claim it. Last weekend was my birthday, and I got a message on my Costa app to say that I would receive a free birthday treat within the next seven days. So when I looked at it, there it was for me on the app. But I had to claim it. I had to click on it and show it to the nice lady in Costa, which I did on Friday, and I got a nice piece of free tip. God's forgiveness is kind of the same. It's there. It's prepaid. And unlike my treat, there is no time limit. All we need to do is claim it. And how do we do this? Well, can I suggest a simple ABC? A, admit I'm wrong. B, believe in Jesus' death that has taken the punishment I deserve. C, commit to following Jesus as Lord with him in charge instead of me. And whether you need to do that today for the first time or the thousandth time, I encourage people to do it. There will be space later to reflect. Use it. Think through the ABC. Grab someone to pray with afterwards. Don't leave this morning unresolved. Before we move to our final end, just a word about the power of unrestricted forgiveness. You see, maybe you're sitting here and you've been wronged by someone, whether deliberately or not. And that is hard to take. But we know in our hearts, don't we, that holding on to bitterness doesn't do us any good? Now, look at Joseph's reaction in the passage and in the earlier ones when his brothers first arrived in Egypt and were oblivious to his identity. He's forgiven them somewhere along the line. And crucially, before they have come and said sorry to him, he has forgiven them. And we can learn a lot from this, can't we? It's very countercultural. We live in a world where it's considered weak to make that first move, to forgive without being asked to, to not make people pay for what they deserve. But we have a countercultural God who did make that first move, who sent his own son to take the punishment we deserve. So maybe we should rethink. And maybe there are relationships that need fixing. Can we be a people who aren't afraid to make that move, either to apologize for where we know we're wrong or to forgive when we've been Time for our final end, the end of Joseph. And there is a lot less fuss and ceremony than the end of Jacob. And unlike the other patriarchs, we don't see a formal blessing of the next generation. That seems to have been covered by Jacob. But what we do see is Joseph's unwavering faith in God's covenant. Verse 24, then Joseph said to his brothers, I'm about to die, but God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, God will surely come to your aid and then you must carry my bones up into this place. There have been many repeated themes in Genesis, but the one that's really lodged with me is the need for patience when it comes to God's promises. And Joseph has got it, hasn't he? He knows the covenant promises given to his ancestors. Remember that they would be a great people in their own land and greatly blessed. But as Genesis closes, we see that more than 250 years on, there isn't much sign of any of this. The family is pretty small and they aren't even in the promised land. And Joseph has seen some blessing in his time in Egypt, but we know that by the time the next book Exodus starts, they're going to be enslaved in terrible condition. Not many people, no land, limited blessing. Yet Joseph's faith doesn't wobble. Twice he says, God will surely come to your aid. Joseph is convinced that this will work out, just as God has said. He's just not going to see it. And so his faith is demonstrated in his instructions for his body to be buried back in Canaan, something that isn't actually fulfilled for another 400 years. And how does Joseph have such great faith? Well, I think the answer comes for us a little earlier in our chapter in the section on the end of hostility. Remember Joseph's reply to his brothers in verse 20. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. You see, somewhere along the line, Joseph has grasped the great truth that God is for him, despite circumstances and events along the way. Throughout the ups and many downs of Joseph's life, God was right there. Move the slide, Michelle, thank you. Joseph has got this. God was right there with him, working out his purposes. Joseph has got this, and this fuels his faith. And he's also got that it's about God and not about Joseph. God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. He doesn't say, God intended it for good, so everything would work out fine for me. Look, in the end, I got myself a family, decent job, some land for us to settle in. No, God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So as I finish, hear this, God is for you. I don't know how life is for you right now. Maybe things are going well. Maybe you feel at rock bottom, God is for you. But also hear this, God is for you in the context of his plans and his purposes. And they're not always the same as we maybe think they should be. And God's time scale may be very different to how we think it ought to be. And that means we may not see answers to situations. Things may not work out how we expect. It may feel that God isn't for us. But learn from the story of Genesis, he is. We have a God who is faithful to his promises, who remains in charge, however things might look or feel. As Paul famously wrote in Romans 8 verse 28, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. And Jacob and Joseph knew this, and they died trusting in their God's promises. So as we finish today, there is plenty to reflect on. Is there unresolved sin that needs dealing with? Maybe you've never acknowledged that till now, and do you need to claim that forgiveness? Maybe for the first time, maybe for the thousands. Is there a relationship that needs fixing? Do you need to make the first move? Be that one to say sorry or to forgive. Are you struggling with being a foreigner in this world? Are you a different person on a Sunday to how you are the rest of the week? Or are you finding it difficult to believe that God is really for you, especially with things how they are now? The answer to all of these is the same as ever. Come to the cross. Re-center on God at saving work for you. He is for you. He is for us. Nowhere do we see this more powerfully than at the cross. Shall we pray? Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you for the book of Genesis. I thank you for all that we have learnt and can take away from it and keep learning and keep taking away. And Lord God, for wherever we're at this time, thank you for the cross. Thank you that in there we receive your unrestricted forgiveness. Lord, we know we have done wrong. We know we have messed up. We know we have spoiled things. But Lord, we come to you in repentance and in faith that your work on the cross is enough. Amen.

Sermon Summary: Genesis 49 Andy's sermon focused on Genesis 49, the chapter where Jacob, nearing the end of his life at 147 years old, blesses his sons and prophesies about the future of their tribes. The sermon explored the themes of God's grace in using flawed individuals, the importance of looking to God for deliverance, and the significance of waiting patiently for God's timing. Andy began by reflecting on how words spoken to us, especially in our youth, can profoundly shape our lives. He connected this to the Genesis passage, where Jacob's words to his sons would define their destinies. He noted that while some blessings were influenced by past actions (Reuben, Simeon, and Levi), others, like Judah, contained prophetic statements about the coming Messiah. The sermon highlighted the contrast between the initial blessings, which were shaped by past negative actions, and the later ones, which contained prophetic hope. Andy pointed out the prophetic statement about Judah: "The scepter will not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his." He explained that this refers to Jesus and the future day when all nations will bow down to Him. He also noted the extensive blessings heaped upon Joseph, pondering if this indicated continued favoritism or recognition of Joseph's role in saving God's people. A central theme of the sermon emerged from Genesis 49:18: "I look for your deliverance, O Lord." Andy described this as a pivotal moment in the chapter, a prayer for times of desperation. He likened it to the simple, heartfelt prayer, "Oh God, oh God, oh God, help," emphasizing that such prayers are valid and necessary, especially when facing challenges and uncertainties. He stressed that Jacob, even while giving these grand pronouncements, recognized the future challenges and weaknesses of his descendants, and the need for God's intervention. Andy then elaborated on four key aspects of this phrase: A Prayer for Times of Desperation: Andy emphasized that this prayer is relevant to our current times. He encouraged the congregation to cry out to God for help, whether for personal struggles, the future of the church, or the well-being of their children and grandchildren. He reiterated that Christians are not "goody-goodies" but flawed individuals whom God uses. He stressed that the good news of Jesus is that God loves to use people who are "messed up" and "screw up". He stated that God has come to us, taking the initiative through Jesus' death and resurrection, and that our response is to acknowledge and rely on Him. A Foundation: Andy described this phrase as a bedrock statement that should undergird everything we do. He drew a parallel to Jesus' parable of the wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24-27), emphasizing the importance of putting God's words into practice. He urged the congregation to make "I look for your deliverance, O Lord" a central part of their lives, a constant reminder of their dependence on God, regardless of whether things are going well or poorly. He asked the congregation to consider what their driving force in life is, and to place this phrase at the center of their lives. Looking and Waiting: Andy acknowledged the difficulty of waiting, contrasting it with the instant gratification promoted by modern society. He reminded the congregation that God's timing is different from ours, referencing the story of Abraham and the long wait for his descendants. He challenged them to consider investing in things they might not see come to fruition in their lifetime, echoing Jacob's prophetic words about the Messiah, which he would not witness. He quoted several Psalms and a passage from Romans about waiting patiently for the Lord: Psalm 37:7 ("Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him"), Psalm 40:1 ("I waited patiently for the Lord"), and Romans 8:25 ("But if we hope for what we don't have, we wait for it patiently."). He warned against the pitfalls of trying to force things to happen or becoming discouraged and abandoning faith. He used the analogy of police horse training, where the horse is trained to stay focused and not be distracted, to illustrate the importance of building practices into our lives that keep us focused on God. He referenced Hebrews 12:2 ("Fix your eyes on Jesus"). All Points to Jesus: Andy concluded by emphasizing that Jesus is the ultimate source of deliverance and salvation. He reiterated that humanity is cut off from God due to sin, but Jesus came to pay the price and reconcile us to God. He stressed that Jesus delivers us not only from the consequences of our rebellion but also from the pain, hurt, trauma, and negative reactions that result from it. He called on those exploring Christianity to recognize Jesus' central role in salvation. In his closing prayer, Andy led the congregation in a time of reflection and confession. He invited them to consider areas in their lives where they needed God's deliverance, including healing, the effects of negative words, destructive behaviors, a lack of focus on God, and a desire for immediate results. He also prayed for those considering making a first-time commitment to Jesus. He concluded by asking God to "come and have your way" in their lives. Bible References: Genesis 49 Hebrews 11 Matthew 7:24-27 Psalm 37:7 Psalm 40:1 Romans 8:25 Hebrews 12:2 Transcript Freedom, freedom. Good morning everybody. Good morning. Good morning guys, 146. If you've got a Bible, if you want to turn to me to Genesis chapter 49, we've almost made it. Yay! 18 months now of working through Genesis and we've almost made it. I was chatting to Sheila on Thursday, Sheila Wingrove. So if you don't know, Sheila Wingrove has produced this amazing display in the foyer, right? I know we all rush into church because we want to be here, so we rush past it. But please take your time to study that and be amazed. It's a fantastic piece of work and we need to figure out how we keep it for posterity because it's such a beautiful thing. She was chatting to me on Thursday saying she's got no room left, so I'm not allowed to say anything this morning. Because there's no space to put anything. Good gospel here. But amazing, you know. So just two weeks left and then we're all itching to see how we're going to do services that only last an hour and a half. Two on a Sunday. I don't know how we're going to do that, but we'll see. Easy. Easy. So Genesis 49, I don't know about you, can you remember stuff that perhaps your mum or your dad said to you when you were younger? Anybody remember things they used to say? Good things? No hands. Bad things? A few hands. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We remember, don't we? I can remember. Is this me? Do I need to stand still? That would be good. I'll try and stand still. I can remember mum used to say, you know, when I was a lot younger, wait till your father gets home. Anybody have that? We're a generation, aren't we? My dad always used to say when I'd done something well, he'd always say, nine out of ten, because there's always room for improvement. And things like that. But perhaps a teacher, you know, you remember what your teachers used to say to you, you know, must try harder. Could do better. And things like that. And those words can kind of stick, can't they? Yeah, sorry about that. So those words stick with us, don't they? And they kind of can shape our lives. But, you know, most of us have had things spoken to us that did that type of thing. In fact, we had that fantastic Good Friday service that those guys did standing up here. And they talked about some of those things that had affected their lives. And they talked about, remember, they flipped those cards over and they talked about how Jesus was dealing with those things. In exactly the same way we've heard Evie describe the same thing this morning. In exactly the same way I responded to some of the stuff that my parents had said. You know, we don't want to be men and women who let those things restrict what God has in store for you and for me. And so here we are, we're reaching the end of Jacob's life. And as we've seen throughout Genesis, it's a significant moment when someone dies and they pass on this blessing to their children. We've seen it from Abraham to Isaac, Isaac to Jacob and Esau, remember all of that. And now here we are with Jacob himself doing it. And Cornelius taught us last week how he did it to his grandchildren first, Joseph's kids. And then we come to this chapter and he does it to the rest of his sons. So I'm just going to read it, if that's okay. I might read quite quickly because it is quite long. But I think it's good to read the Word of God at times. So Genesis 49. Then Jacob called for his sons and said, gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. Imagine your dad saying that to you. That would be an amazing moment. Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob, listen to your father Israel. Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength. Excelling in honor, excelling in power, turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel. For you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it. Simeon and Levi are brothers, their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly. For they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger so fierce and their fury so cruel. I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel. Wow. Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons will bow down to you. You are a lion's cub, O Judah. You return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness. Who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch. He will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine and his teeth whiter than milk. I'm not quite sure what that means. Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships. His border will extend towards Sidon. Issachar is a royal bone donkey lying down between two saddlebags. When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path. It bites the horse's heels so its riders tumble backwards and look for your deliverance, oh Lord. Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. Asher's food will be rich, he will provide delicacies fit for a king. Naftali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness, archers attacked him. They shot at him with hostility, but his bow remained steady. His strong arms stayed limber because of the hand of the mighty one of Jacob, because of the shepherd, the rock of Israel, because of your Father's God who helps you, because of the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and the womb. Your Father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-hold hills. Let all of these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning, he devours the prey. In the evening, he divides the plunder. All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him. Then he gave them these instructions. I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave of the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite along with the field. There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave in it were brought from the Hittites. When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. That is the way to go. That's what I want to do. Definitely. Jacob at this point is 147 years old, and as we've seen over the last weeks and months, what a life. You know, struggling at birth with his brother, grasping his ankle as they're born, wheedling Esau out of his birthright and deceiving his dad to obtain the blessing, having to flee the family home, having to work for his uncle for 14 years so he could marry the woman of his dreams, being tricked into marrying a different woman in the meantime, and all that kind of stuff, and then his uncle deceiving him back as well and having to flee his uncle because of what happened, the meeting with Esau to try and patch things up and then never seeing Esau again, and then outliving his wives. This really bad family example we saw of having favourites amongst his kids, not a good idea, and thinking Joseph was then dead all of these years to finally be deceived by his own sons, and then having to leave the land of God's promise and come to Egypt. What a life. What a life. But at the same time, what we have also seen is God at work in this man's life, and God in his grace, choosing to fulfil his own plans and purposes through the life of Jacob. And that is a weird one for us, isn't it? Because what it says is that God is about using people that are messed up, that screw up. The Bible calls it sin. We might have other language. But he loves to take those people and use them for his glory and for his purposes. And that's such a repeat theme through this whole book, and I know I said it probably the last five times I've spoken, but it is such an important theme that we grasp that because we have to help people understand that people who are Christians are not goody-goodies. They're bady-baddies, right? We are bady-baddies, right? You know, we screw up. We mess up. We don't like to talk about it, and we don't own up. But we develop masks and other approaches to hide that. But we are screwed up, and we're shafted, if we're brutally honest. And the reality is God has come, and he loves to use people that are exactly like that. And that's the good news of Jesus. So it's so important that we grasp that. And so, yeah, here we are at the end of Jacob's life. He's speaking about the future and about defining his sons, what their families will become and what the tribes that come from those families will become. And it's interesting, and we're not going to go into all of them because time does not permit, and I'm not quite sure what I say about some of them, but it's interesting because those opening ones, that Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, their blessing is dictated by what they have done in their lives. That's how Jacob speaks to them. What they have done, the bad things that they have done in their lives, has an immediate repercussion on the so-called blessing that he gives them that's going to shape how they will be. Interesting. Then we get to Judah, and it's completely different. We begin to see in what he says about Judah the prophetic statements about a Messiah coming. We're in Genesis. We're in the beginning. And we still see, we begin to see here, there's an inkling in his eye. There's a twinkling in the distance. There is something happening that is going to happen. And we read this beautiful statement that the scepter, the government, if you like, will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler star from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. He's talking about Jesus. And the obedience of the nations will be his. There is coming a day when the obedience of the nations will belong to Jesus, and all nations will bow down to him. There is coming a day. And Jacob, right here in Genesis, he doesn't understand it, as Hebrews 11 tells us. He doesn't get it, but he's prophesying it. He's speaking it out in faith. He's certainly not going to see it in his few hours he's got left. But he's speaking out in faith because he sees that happening. And so there's this amazing prophetic statement in Judah. And then there's the one about Joseph near the end. There is so much blessing that he oodles on Joseph. He makes you think, is he still thinking that Joseph is his favorite here? Is that what's going on? Because he's really ladling on thick the blessings on Joseph. Or is it perhaps because actually Joseph is the one out of all those brothers that has rescued them and actually is part and parcel of the purposes of God to help God's people survive through this period of famine and obviously we saw through the whole story of Joseph how God used him. I don't know which it is. But it's interesting he calls him prince amongst his brothers. But what I want to do just briefly is hoe him. There's a little verse I read in the middle which kind of leaps out because it's out of context of everything else that's going on. He's giving his blessings to his people, to his kids, and he's telling them what's going to happen. And right in the middle in verse 18 we get this little phrase, I look for your deliverance, O Lord. That's a bit weird, isn't it? You think he's on a roll. He's on a train. I've got 12 sons to get through. He's 147. Can't I remember all their names? I forgot the right one with the right name. And all that sort of stuff. You think he'd be concentrating on getting all of that out. And then right in the middle, I look for your deliverance, O Lord. Or a different translation says, I wait for your salvation, O Lord. And why does he do that? It's almost like as he thinks about the future and as he thinks about the children of God and the people of God, that maybe God is showing him something about the challenges that lie ahead. And that he himself is aware of the struggles and the challenges they'll face and the hardship of God's people being true to him and not being overwhelmed by their enemies, not being led astray by other nations or other societies, or not having their faith and their trust in God diluted by what is going on around them. And he cries out in the middle, God, I look for your deliverance, Lord. Unless you do this, Lord, it isn't going to happen. Unless the Lord builds the house, it's builder's labor in vain. God, unless salvation comes from you, there's no hope, no matter what we say. And so four things quickly. Number one, this is a prayer for times of desperation. And there's no time like now for a time of desperation. Right in the middle of blessing his kids, he cries out. It reminds me many, many, many years ago of listening to John Wimber talk about when you're going to pray for someone for healing and you've not seen it before and you're not used to it and you have no idea what's going to happen and you want to pray for it and you're going to step out. We go in a room and we pray, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, help. That's all you need to do. If you're struggling with praying, I want to encourage you. You haven't got to pray great long prayers and quote loads of scripture and shout to the ceiling, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, help. It's right where it starts. And that is what is happening here. That's what Jacob's doing. He's explaining that out and it's like as he blesses his children and he thinks about their future and the future of the tribes of Israel that despite such big statements he's making over their lives, he sees something of the challenges. He sees their weaknesses. He sees the likelihood of them being influenced by society around them. He sees the frailties of their own heart. And so he cries out, God, you have got to come if this is going to work. Lord, if you are going to have a people that are yours, if your Messiah is going to come through Judah as he's just prophesied, then God, you have got to come and do this. Maybe even he's reflecting on his own life, his own awareness of mucking things up. And perhaps after all these years, he could now stand with a little bit of integrity and understand he's only where he is because of God delivering him and the salvation of God coming to him. So as you think about your future, whatever age you are this morning, as you think about your future, let's get a hold of this as a phrase to say, God, we need your deliverance. God, I need your deliverance and your salvation. As we think about the future of the church here, and yeah, we might get excited, at least for a little bit, while we do two services and a major building project and see people saved and more people getting baptized and people saved and added and more groups starting in the church and the impact on the community growing and growing and growing. We need to come back to, oh God, we need your deliverance. It is you, Lord. It is you. As we think about our children, our grandchildren, oh Lord, I look to you for your deliverance, Lord. I look to you for your salvation. It's a great prayer in times of desperation because for his kids it's not their skills, it's not their character, it's not their efforts, it's not even the prophetic word that he brings, but it is God who is the deliverer. It is God who is the bringer of salvation. And that is what is so special and unique about Christianity. And you might not be a Christian this morning, you're just exploring it and trying to understand it, and you might be chatting to some of your friends, but what does it really mean and what is it like? And you come along because you're just dipping a toe in the water. And I want to just labor the point that the uniqueness of it is that God has come to us, not the other way around. You can look at what goes on here this morning and I think our singing and the rest of it is kind of us trying to make ourselves right before God. Because it can look like that, and it does look like that, but that isn't what's going on. What has happened is Jesus has taken the initiative and he has come 2,000 years ago. He died on a cross for the sins of the world, including your sins and my sins, to put us right with God and he has taken that initiative, and three days later God has raised him from the dead. And now death is no longer the finality that it once was in our thinking because Jesus has broken that. He has taken the initiative and come to us, and what we do in a meeting like this, I hope in the morning, is we are responding to that. We are not trying to make our way to God, but we are responding to what he has done to us and for us and his love for us. So number one, it's a prayer in times of desperation. Number two, I look for your deliverance, O Lord. It's a foundation. It's like a bedrock statement that undergirds everything that we do. Jesus told that parable, didn't he, that the wise man built his house upon the rock. And he told us that not so that we could learn a little song, but he taught us that because he says, what, the wise man is what? The one who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice. Exactly. He puts them into practice. And so this statement is exactly like that. We need to figure out how do we put this into practice that we look to God for your deliverance, that we wait for your salvation. It's like a statement that needs to be brought front and center to our lives, whether we are struggling with things, whether things are going well as the church moves forward and as we make changes about what's happening, as we make greater inroads with the gospel in the life of the community here, and perhaps as we even think, dare to think, oh, this is going quite well, or whatever. It's a reminder not to get smug, not to get complacent, but to come back and say, you know what? I look for your deliverance, Lord. I wait for your salvation. And we need to bring that front and center of our lives and not let it compete with other statements and other things. You know, what is it that ultimately drives you forward and drives me forward? What makes you tick? If you could have one sentence over your life, what would it be? And whereabouts would this fit in that context? What is it that, despite everything, we need to return to time and time again? What is it we wait for? Is it our paycheck? Is it our benefits landing? Is it the next holiday? Is it the next thing? Or do we wait for your salvation, Lord? Do we look for your deliverance? You see, Jacob can prophesy amazing things, but what is it he puts right in the middle, like the pivot of which all of these things are commenting on? Things can go well. What does he return to? Some of those blessings are good things, but what does he come back to? Things can go pear-shaped. What does he come back to? We can make all the changes we want as a church, but what do we return to? We look out for your deliverance, O Lord. And we need to be men and women grappling with getting that in the front and centre of our lives. And as we think about Jordan thought and Baitmore and the edges and the surrounding area, God, we look for your deliverance. We wait for your salvation. We can try all the programmes, all the groups, whatever we want to, but unless God moves, there is nothing there. It is not going to happen. And because we are caught up with the plans and purposes of God, we've got to come back to this. Lord, it is your deliverance we are looking for. Turn your eyes towards Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow straight deep in, in the light of his glory and grace. Absolutely. Hope you knew that in 146 as well. It's so true, you know, and we need, the more we can come back to that, I think the better place we will be. The third thing about this statement is, you know, it's about looking and it's about waiting. Anybody enjoy waiting? There's no hands here. We don't do it, do we? You know, try telling a toddler to wait. We went to Yorkshire Wildlife yesterday and our granddaughter was with us and, you know, I want a biscuit now, now, now. I want a drink now, now. I want this now. You know, try telling a toddler to wait. It just doesn't work, does it? But then, actually, I'm not sure how much better it gets as we get older. Because we want the result, don't we? We don't want the waiting bit. We want the result at the end. That is what we're looking for. The whole of the advertising industry that we are all succumbing to is geared on giving you a result as fast as possible. Have this and it will change your life. Have this and it will make your life better. Instant success, instant access, et cetera, et cetera. Whole of technology, you know, on our phones, on our watches. It's all about instantaneous stuff all the time. And so the idea of waiting is kind of drifting away from life in general and the stuff that we have to wait for becomes a real pain. Well, if we get ourselves in a position where we say, waiting for your salvation of God is a real pain, then we've lost the plot along the way. Because God wants to work in our hearts and sift our hearts to cause us to become many women who learn what it is to wait for Him. Another thing Genesis teaches us is that God's time and timing is not ours. Remember when God first spoke to Abraham, however many months ago it was, and gave him the promises that your descendants will be as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Here we are, 232 years later, and his descendants are 66 that have gone to Egypt. 232 years. That should cause us to think a little bit about, we want to see God at work, we absolutely look for God's deliverance and salvation, and we want to pray and play our part in that, but maybe the great things that God is going to do are going to be after we've gone and been with Him, after we've hooked our legs onto the bed and gone to be with our fathers. Maybe that's when it's going to happen. That speaks, that's a challenge to me, because I think, what do I want to invest in and put my time in that I actually won't see? It's a challenge, isn't it? But he teaches, here's Jacob prophesying about the coming Messiah thousands of years later that he isn't going to see. Psalm 37 verse 7 says, Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Do not fret when people succeed in their ways. That's a good statement, that's a good one to put over our doorways, isn't it? Do not fret when people succeed. Psalm 40 verse 1, I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. Well, Paul writes to the church in Rome in chapter 8 verse 25 says, But if we hope for what we don't have, we wait for it patiently. Waiting and patience is a fundamental part of following Jesus. Hope, you know, we have to get a hold of that. And the impact of the world around us on that is that we don't like doing that. And so we need to bring that front and centre. And I guess there's two pitfalls, you know, one is we try and make it happen because we don't like waiting. So we end up a bit like Abraham having Ishmael, we've done it ourselves but it wasn't the right thing. Or we get so bored waiting we forget about it and go off and do something else. I remember when I was a child, I went to what is now called Urban Saints, had a less politically correct name in those days. But we went to see the police horse training centre in Manchester, because that's where I lived at the time. And it was interesting because you imagine a group of like 11 and 12 year olds, spotty 11 and 12 year olds, and we were all given flags way bigger than this and whistles to blow, whistles to blow, big flags to wave like this. And there's two lines of kids down like that. And then this guy, policeman comes along on the horse and the horse just, we're all looking, blowing the whistles and all that. And the horse just calmly straight down because he'd been trained to do that, because they used them in riots and football crowds at the time and all that kind of stuff. And it was fascinating to see, although it's still etched in my brain. But that is what it is, it's a little bit like, we've got to build things into our lives that stop us being distracted from this call of God to wait on him patiently and to pursue him patiently. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Otherwise these distractions will come in. And finally, fourthly, this all points to, this is all about Jesus. He is the one who brings deliverance. He is the one who brings salvation. So we wait for him and he brings that deliverance. If you're not a Christian this morning, then again I want to say, we're cut off from God, that's our starting place. Our sins have cut us off from God and we ignore him and we act as if there is no God and we act as if, you know, he's certainly not going to be angry with us when we do things that are wrong and that we're under his judgment and we're only of his anger. And yet Jesus has come and paid that price for you and for me, the ultimate cost and that great exchange has taken place and what we deserve he gets and what we don't deserve we get has taken place. He's paid that price for you and for me and to unpack that. Therefore Jesus is not only the one that does that, he is the one who brings deliverance or salvation from the effects of that rebellion against God in our lives. The pain, the hurt, the trauma, the rejection, the impact of all of that on our character and our lives, he is the one. So we look to him for deliverance, for salvation. You know, as Evie beautifully explained this morning, that's what she was describing, how Jesus and the Word of God has brought about a change in our life, things he used to listen to. Actually, she's bringing the Word of God to apply to trump that because that's what it does. The love of God trumps that and we need to be men and women that are constantly coming back to that. So Jesus is the one who brings deliverance to those things but he also brings deliverance from the reaction we have of those things that have affected us, those negative things that lead us to turning in on ourselves, to shutting others out, to putting on masks, to taking addictive substances, to abuse that we do or that is done to us. And so he is the one that we look to for deliverance and for salvation this morning. And so just by way of response, as I finish, in Hebrews 11, the writer of the Hebrews says this, he says, by faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons and worshipped as he leaned on the top of the staff. And talks about how Jacob, along with all those other old patriarchs of the faith, as they're called in Hebrews 11, were looking for God's deliverance, for God's salvation. They didn't see it in their lifetime but they were looking for it and its completion is found in Jesus. I wonder if I could stand please, I'd just like to pray. I'm not sure how well I've done this but I mean, the chapter is about a blessing on 12 guys but right in the middle is this key pivot point that actually it is God we need to look to for our deliverance and for salvation. And as I think about it, I just want to be really practical here and I just want us to pray together. I thought of a few things where we need to perhaps be applying that to our own lives. One of these might be relevant for you. I just want you to be honest as we stand here before God. Maybe it's healing. Jesus commands us to pray for the sick. He doesn't command us to heal the sick. That's his business whether he does it or not. He asks us to pray for the sick. And there can be a tendency for us as God's people to wane from praying for the sick for various reasons. So maybe you're here this morning and maybe there's something physical, something mental, something emotional that you are healing for. We look to you for deliverance, Lord. This chapter is about the prophetic words that Jacob speaks over his sons that then describes how their lives and their families' lives would pan out. For some of us this morning, negative words have been spoken to us that we still carry, that still shape us and still prevent us from entering into all the goodness that God has for us. We look to your deliverance, Lord. For some of us, those words have shaped our identity. There was a food bank visit over the road from here and while I was just talking to the lady, I chatted to the girl who was about 8 or 9 years old. We were talking about school and she said, I'm no good at school because my mum says I'm stupid. Yeah, exactly. But for some of us here this morning, words like that have impacted us deeply and are keeping us away from the good things that God has in store. We look to you for your deliverance, Lord. For some of us, our reaction to those bad things that have happened in our lives is that we have ourselves embraced destructive and negative patterns of behaviour or addictions or other things that have harmed us or harmed others. We look for your deliverance, Lord. For some of us, perhaps the thing that God is highlighting is that you've stopped looking at God as the thing that needs to be front and centre. You've stopped looking at God as the thing that needs to be front and centre in your life and you've allowed other things to creep in and nudge that off centre. And this morning God is saying, hey, what about bringing me back? Bringing me back front and centre. We look for your deliverance, Lord. Maybe for the first time, maybe you've been coming along for a while and you've never made that decision to say, yeah, I want to submit to Jesus and I want to go for it with him and I want to invite him into my life. We wait for your salvation, Lord. And for some, the desire in our hearts, if we're honest, is still for immediate results, even in the church, even in our Christianity. We want the next thing, the next thing and the next thing. And today God wants to do a work in your heart. We look for your deliverance, Lord. We wait for your salvation, Lord. Father, we want to pray, Lord. We want to thank you, you treat us so gently, with such love and such care. And Father, as we stand before you this morning, you know the state of our hearts, you know the issues, you know the things that are going on, you see it all. And Lord, we stand here honestly before you and just pray, Father, come and have your way. Come and have your way in our lives, Lord. Lord, we'll do a work in our hearts as we stand here this morning. We want to say, Father, we look for your deliverance, Lord. We look to you. We don't want to look to other things. And we want to say, Father, we wait for your salvation. We don't want to try anything ourselves. But we call on you today, Lord. We call on you, Father, for your salvation in our own lives, in the lives of our families, in the lives of our children, in the lives of our grandchildren, Lord, in the lives of our neighbors, in the lives of the homes around here. Father, we call on you for your salvation. We call on you, Lord, for the lives of the people that are in the schools in this area. And Father, we pray, God, Lord, help us to keep our eyes fixed on you. And Father, we wait for you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Andy. Thank you, Andy. Thank you, Andy. Let's, I just feel in the four instances...

Welcome to this week's message from our church, right here in the heart of our community. Today, Cornelius shared a powerful reflection on legacy, blessing, and the unwavering power of belief, drawing inspiration from the biblical account of Jacob's final blessings to his grandsons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Cornelius began with a relatable anecdote, a momentary scare involving a 97-year-old aunt who mistakenly believed she was nearing the end of her life. This lighthearted opening served as a poignant parallel to the main narrative: Jacob, at the ripe age of 147, propped up in bed, ready to impart his final words to his son Joseph and his grandsons. What do you say at the end of a long life? What words of impact can you leave for the next generation? Cornelius pondered this question, highlighting the significance of Jacob's impending blessing upon Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. He poignantly recalled the recent passing of his own father, underscoring the weight and potential significance of such final pronouncements. While acknowledging the length of Genesis chapter 48, the passage detailing this scene, Cornelius focused on the serene and profound nature of the encounter. He referenced Rembrandt's 350-year-old painting depicting Jacob blessing the two grandsons, capturing the essence of this pivotal moment. What is the lasting inheritance, the ultimate blessing, one can bestow upon the generations to come? Cornelius then delved into key aspects of Jacob's final words. Firstly, Jacob reminisced about the loss of Rachel, his beloved wife, a deeply significant event in his life. Secondly, he recalled his transformative encounter with God at Bethel, a moment that irrevocably shaped his journey. Meeting God, Cornelius affirmed, changes everything. Thirdly, Jacob spoke of the "walk" of Abraham and Isaac, emphasizing the foundational faith of their lineage. Here, Cornelius drew a powerful connection to the defining characteristic of Abraham's life: his unwavering belief in God. "Abraham believed God," Cornelius declared, emphasizing the profound simplicity and power of this statement. He encouraged each listener to personalize it: "Cornelius believed God." This act of faith, he asserted, is what unlocks God's promises. He seamlessly transitioned to the teachings of Jesus, highlighting the central role of belief in the New Testament. He cited John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Amen. Cornelius illustrated this further with the stories of Jairus, whose daughter had died (Mark 5:21-43), and Martha, grieving the loss of her brother Lazarus (John 11:17-44). In both instances, Jesus's response centered on the imperative of belief: "Just believe," and "I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this?" This emphasis on belief extends to us today, Cornelius affirmed. God has a plan, purpose, promises, and blessings for each individual, especially new believers, and for the church as a whole, mentioning his personal connection to the promises for "MCF" (presumably the church's initials). He passionately prayed for the people of Jordan, Thorpe, and Batemore, urging the congregation to believe in God's power to save. Addressing potential doubts, Cornelius encouraged listeners to "leave your buts out," echoing Abraham's unwavering faith even when faced with seemingly impossible circumstances – receiving the promise of a son at the age of 100. Abraham believed, Cornelius reiterated. Moving on to the concept of blessing, Cornelius offered a practical definition: "empowered to prosper." God doesn't just hand out provisions; He equips us with the means, talents, and opportunities to thrive. He wants to bless us abundantly. Quoting Psalm 23:6: "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life," Cornelius shared personal experiences from Mozambique and Sheffield, testifying to the continuous flow of God's blessings through all seasons of life. Cornelius outlined three pillars that define this blessing: God looks after us, He protects us, and He leads us. This comprehensive care brings peace into our lives, a vital message, particularly for new Christians. However, he acknowledged that this doesn't equate to an easy life. Drawing on his three decades of experience in Mozambique, he recounted tales of war, famine, and death, moments where coping felt impossible. Yet, in those very moments, God's promise held true. He then shared the powerful words of Isaiah 41:13: "For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." This verse, Cornelius revealed, provided immense strength in navigating life's challenges, likening life's difficulties to a dense bush where the path forward is unclear. God's promise is to take us by the hand and guide us through. Contrasting God's life-giving nature with the destructive intentions of the enemy, Cornelius quoted John 10:10: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." It is1 through Jesus, Cornelius emphasized, that we receive true blessing and step into the abundant life God has promised, a life unique to each individual. He acknowledged the reality of "curses" and hardships that can hinder blessing, particularly within the local community of Jordan, Thorpe, and Batemore, drawing parallels to the hardships he witnessed in Africa. These negative forces, he explained, aim to diminish faith and prevent progress. Yet, the answer remains the same: Jesus. Through Jesus, we can overcome these obstacles. Returning to the narrative of Jacob, Cornelius referenced a 1250 Middle Ages depiction of the blessing, highlighting the unusual detail of Jacob crossing his hands. This detail, he explained, is significant to the story. Jacob, partially blind, was guided to place his hands on Manasseh, the firstborn, and Ephraim, the second. However, intentionally, Jacob crossed his arms, placing his right hand, the hand of greater blessing, on Ephraim, and his left on Manasseh. Cornelius explained that the names themselves hold meaning related to Joseph's journey. Manasseh, meaning "forget," symbolized Joseph's overcoming of past hardships and the loss of his father's household through the birth of his son. Ephraim, meaning "fruitful," signified God's blessing of productivity and prosperity in the land of Joseph's affliction. By crossing his hands, Jacob prophetically reversed the natural order. Affliction, symbolized by the firstborn, Manasseh, was moving backward, while prosperity and fruitfulness, symbolized by Ephraim, were moving forward. "Your pain is past," Cornelius declared, interpreting Jacob's action. "Your time of prosperity has come." This blessing, he asserted, is for us too. Even in times of pain and hardship, Cornelius reminded the congregation, God is present, echoing the recurring statement in the story of Joseph: "God was with him." Just as God took Joseph through the pit, slavery, and prison, He takes us by the hand through our difficulties. The message of Genesis 48, Cornelius concluded, is one of hope: we will come out of our afflictions and difficulties. God has a blessing, a plan, and a purpose for our lives, and He will bring it to pass. The key, however, is to believe. Bible References: Genesis 48: The entire chapter detailing Jacob's blessing of Manasseh and Ephraim. John 3:16: The core message of salvation through belief in Jesus Christ. Mark 5:21-43: The account of Jairus's daughter being raised from the dead through Jesus's power and Jairus's belief. John 11:17-44: The story of Lazarus's resurrection and Jesus's dialogue with Martha about belief and eternal life. Psalm 23:6: A declaration of God's continuous goodness and mercy. Isaiah 41:13: God's promise of help and reassurance in times of fear. John 10:10: Jesus's purpose to bring abundant life, contrasting with the thief's destructive intentions. Transcript Jesus Christ amen The first one is a little story that happened a few months ago. We got a text message from Sarah's auntie who was 97 and she was in hospital and she said I'm dying, I just want to say thank you for everything you've done and I want to say goodbye. And that was it. So Sarah was quite shocked. She got a bit upset about it. But then half an hour later she got a message saying from Seth George saying there's nothing wrong with her, she's in hospital for the very first time and she thinks she's dying because she's coming out. But our story today is a bit like that. Joseph was called to his father as his father was dying. So his father was propped up in bed and Joseph went to his father to hear the last words he had to say. So Joseph came to his father, hang on, came to Jacob. Jacob was propped up and there you are at the end of your life. Jacob was 147 years. What do you say at the end of your life? You have a few words still maybe when you are dying. Where is the next generation? His son and his two grandsons and Joseph sort of considered Joseph as the first born and now he is going to say something. What do you say for the next generation? How can you still impact the next generation? Your son or your grandson? My dad died last year, he was 90. He died suddenly so there were not many words said anymore. But if you have the time, I'm sure Jeff would have some words to say. Well, this picture gives a very beautiful scene actually of that chapter 48. I'm not going to read it because it's going to take too long. But that chapter is very, very serene. It's Jacob there with Joseph coming and his son and it is a bit like this. This picture is from Rembrandt, it's 350 years old and it is Rembrandt blessing the two sons Manasseh and Ephraim. That's what the story is about. It's just a part of it. The last blessing of Jacob to his sons. What do you give your last generation? Now when we read that chapter 48, we can extract a few things. Jacob speaks first of all, he speaks about Rachel dying which was truly a big thing in his life. It was his big love in his life so that was a big thing. But then he speaks about Bethel, that he had that experience with the Lord in Bethel which was a big thing for him. Meeting the Lord in Bethel, it changed his life. When you meet the Lord, I met the Lord and it changed everything. Then the second thing, he talks about the walk of Abraham and Isaac. The walk because there is where it started. We have generations here. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and here he is going to bless Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim. But he talks about the walk of Abraham. If we think about the walk of Abraham, it was amazing. Abraham had such a life. The whole of Genesis, what we read about Abraham obeying God, being called by God, receiving covenants, promises and he received the promise that he would get a son. But if I think about that whole and read that whole scene of Abraham, what really touches me and what I really take away from it is the next slide. Abraham believed God. From all of Genesis, I think the most important for all of us, Abraham believed God. It's so powerful. You can put your own name in there, you know. Cornelius believed God. I want that, you know, for everything. I want to believe God for his promises. For everything he's spoken to me. For the word of God. I want to believe every word of it. I do believe it, but sometimes I fail. I want to believe it. Everything he did. And then we can take it forward to Jesus because Jesus really he encouraged and spoke a lot about just belief. Just John 3 16 is what? John 3 16. Whoever believes, whoever believes will have eternal life. Amen. When we believe. And there's lots of those stories. When Jairus came, his daughter had died. And he came through the crowds to Jesus. And there he said, Jesus, it's too late. You don't need to come anymore. Jesus turned around. What did he say? Just believe. When Martha came towards Jesus because her brother had died. And there he came and he said, if you would have been here, he wouldn't have died. What did he say? I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe, Martha? She said, yes, I believe. Again, believe. To trust him. And that we can take forward to us today. What about your promises, the promises you have? Maybe you haven't, you're new, you're a new believer. God has a plan and purpose for your life. Amen. God has promises, has blessings for you. We're going to talk a little bit about those blessings. But as well, God has blessings for the church, for MCF. I pray at 146, I love the promises God has for this church. Great things are happening. And they're ahead of us. Do you believe? Do you believe? Hallelujah. Only by faith we will get those promises. They will, like Abraham, like Abraham, those promises came to pass. Like today, because Abraham has moved away, Abraham is in heaven. We are here today. It's up to us now. Do we believe? Those promises for Jordan, Thorpe and Batemore, for the people of Jordan, Thorpe and Batemore. God will save each one of them. We pray for them. Do you believe? You see maybe many buts, buts, we see lots of buts. But leave your buts out. Like Abraham, Abraham was 100 when he got the promise that he would receive a son. He was 90, but he got it when he was 100. Do you think that was normal? You know? Jeff, Jeff, you're going to get a son. So like, Pauline, Pauline. Abraham believed. Amen. We'll move on to the next slide. Blessing, because God has blessings for us when we believe. God has blessings for us. Now, just the definition, there are many definitions of blessing, but a good one is empowered to prosper. God wants to empower us to prosper. He wants to give you a net to go fishing and say, on your way now. He doesn't want to give you just a load of money or a load of fish. No, he wants to give you a job and the rest of it and the gifts and talents and say, on your way now. He wants to bless you. And blessings will be all over you. If God says, I bless you. Gil, next slide. As God says, I bless you. He will bless you. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. It doesn't stop. When I went to Mozambique, I had seen God's blessing on my life. And there we were in Mozambique, among the poorest of the poor. And I thought, maybe it stops now. No, it didn't stop. Now we're here in Sheffield and I think, is this the end? No, it isn't. No, it continues. All the days of my life. All the days of your life. It doesn't stop. Amen. Next slide. So there are three pillars which define that blessing. And this is really like, I look after you. He wants to provide for us. He wants to protect you. And he wants to lead you. It is really a full package of peace upon your life. And I think especially new believers, new Christians need to hear that. God is really with you. God really loves you. And God really wants to bless you. He wants to look after you. He wants to protect you. And he wants to lead you. Does it mean that life is easy? No. Life has lots of difficulties. I lived three decades in Mozambique and I've been through lots of difficulties. And I can tell stories of war, of famine, of death. We've been through a lot. That you think like, I cannot cope with this. I cannot cope with this. And he said, no you can. Can you do the next one? I am the Lord your God who takes you with the right hand. And says to you, do not fear I will help you. Now this verse might help someone today. Because it helped me to cope and to come through life. He says, I will take you by the hand. And I say, yes Lord I need to be taken by the hand. Because I cannot cope, I cannot cope. I take you by the hand. And he says, don't fear. Keep on going, keep on going. I will help you. And life feels like a thick bush sometimes. And we don't see a way forward. But he said, I'll take you through. It's okay. You're going through. Keep going, keep going. Next one. John 10, 10. We already spoke about John 3, 16. And already, Lara already mentioned this as well. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. But Jesus came to give life, life more abundantly. It is all about Jesus. It is really Jesus who will help us, bless us. And take us into the life he has promised us. And the promise he has for you and the life he has for you is different than the one that is for you. And different from the one that is for me. We all have a plan and purpose. But there is another side as well. Next one. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. There are lots of difficulties in life. There are a lot of, there is curses running through. When we look at Jordan, Thorpe and Batemore. When I come from Africa and seen hardships and difficulties. I've seen curses operating. I know that curses are operating in people's life and holds people from being blessed. But again and again I say, Jesus, you need Jesus in your life. And through Jesus, you will come through. You will come through. Don't want to talk much about curses. But know that they are there. And they will hold you, withhold you from moving forward. And the worst thing is, it wants to diminish your faith. You know, it wants to weaken your faith that you will give up. That you will not believe. That you will give up. Amen. Next one. I'm going back. Still got three minutes. I'm going back to Jacob. This picture is about from 1250. So this is a really old picture from the Middle Ages. And it shows us very clearly Jacob blessing Manasseh and Ephraim. Amazing that they made this picture. And do you see something unusual here? It's got the hands crossed. Well that's in the story as well. Because Jacob was a little blind. And Jacob asked the boys to come forward. Manasseh and Ephraim. And now Manasseh and Ephraim, those two names, they speak about the life of Joseph. Now Manasseh was the first born. Next one. Manasseh was the first born. And when he was born, Joseph said, God has made me forget all my hardships and all my father's household. He has forget by having a new son, having born a son, new life. He said, God, in the life, in the land of my affliction, he has given me a son. He gives me joy. He has forgotten, it has forgotten my hardships. That's the name Manasseh. So Joseph really was dealing with his past. This was his past. And then he got a second son. Next one. And that's Ephraim. And then he said, now God has made me fruitful. God has made me fruitful, productive, prosperous in the land of my affliction. So now there is a sort of healing taking place in Joseph, in those two boys. First it is really the affliction and the pain. But the second one, now he sort of feels like prosperity has come to my life, blessing has come into my life. That's the second one. And then, next one, we go back to this picture. Then he is going to bless those two sons and normally the first born would get the blessing, the first blessing and would get a double portion of the inheritance. But in this case, Jacob, he turned them around. He turned those arms around. And he makes the first born, he makes the first, the second and the second, the first born. Because affliction is now going backwards. Prosperity, productiveness, fruitfulness is going forward. And by crossing them he said, your pain is past. Prophetically, I believe, he said, your pain has passed. Your time of prosperity has come. And I bless you two boys with this blessing. Your affliction, your pain is passing. But now prosperity, productivity, blessing has come. So he has turned it around and that is often our lives. You know, if you feel pain and you are going through hardship, know that God is in that hardship. Because even Joseph, in his difficulties, Joseph, when he went into the pit, when he went into slavery, when he went into prison, it says it again and again, God was with him. And he prospered. Right there, God is with him. Like I said, even in your difficulties, God says, I take you by the hand and will take you through. So even when you go through difficulties, know you are coming out. You are coming out. You are not going to stay there. And that is really the message of today of this Genesis 48. That you will come out of your affliction. You will come out of your difficulties. God has a blessing for you. He has a plan and purpose for your life. And he will make it come to pass. But believe. You must believe. And that is the story of today. And that is two minutes past quarter two. Hallelujah.

Sermon Summary: Temporary Residents, Eternal Home Chris's sermon this week delved into Genesis chapters 46 and 47, picking up the narrative of Jacob and his family's move to Egypt to escape the severe famine in Canaan. He structured his talk around six key "episodes" or scenes within these chapters, ultimately drawing out four significant takeaways for the congregation in Sheffield in 2025. Chris began by addressing the crucial question of relevance: how can a text written potentially 16-18 centuries before Jesus, set in a vastly different culture, speak to us today? His answer lies in the belief that the Bible is "God-breathed," inspired by God, who continues to speak through its pages to those who approach it with humility and an open heart. He emphasized the Bible's unique authority, stating that any teaching, including his own, should be disregarded if it contradicts scripture. Furthermore, Chris highlighted Romans 15:4, reminding listeners that the scriptures were written for our encouragement, hope, and perseverance in our Christian walk. Drawing a parallel to the London Marathon, he likened the Old Testament heroes of faith, including Jacob (mentioned in Hebrews 11), to a crowd of witnesses cheering us on in our own race of faith (Hebrews 12:1). Moving into the text, Chris outlined the six episodes: God appears to Jacob (Genesis 46): Despite being called to the Promised Land, God instructs Jacob to go to Egypt, a seemingly counterintuitive command. The journey to Egypt (Genesis 46): Jacob and his family undertake the journey. Reunion with Joseph (Genesis 46): Jacob is reunited with his son Joseph, whom he long believed to be dead. The brothers meet Pharaoh (Genesis 47:1-6): Joseph presents a delegation of his brothers to Pharaoh. They identify themselves as shepherds seeking temporary residence due to the famine. Chris noted their subservient tone ("We your servants") while also highlighting Joseph's prior coaching to secure their desired outcome. Pharaoh's response is directed to Joseph, granting them permission to settle in the land of Goshen and even offering positions managing his livestock if they possess special skills. Jacob meets Pharaoh (Genesis 47:7-10): Joseph then brings his father Jacob to meet Pharaoh. In contrast to his sons, Jacob seems to possess a greater sense of authority, even blessing Pharaoh twice. Pharaoh inquires about Jacob's age ("How many are the days of the years of your life?"), to which Jacob replies that he has lived 130 "hard years" and that the "days of the years of my temporary residence are few and hard." Chris emphasized Jacob's use of "temporary residence" (or "sojourner" in some translations), a significant theme throughout the chapter. Despite his hardships (fleeing his brother, losing his mother and wife, believing Joseph dead), Jacob's encounter with Pharaoh reveals a man carrying moral authority. Joseph's leadership during the famine (Genesis 47:11-26): This lengthy section details Joseph's strategic management of the famine. He provides the best land of Egypt, the region of Ramesses (another name for Goshen), for his family. As the famine intensifies, Joseph collects all the money in Egypt and Canaan in exchange for grain, eventually moving to exchange livestock and then land and the people themselves for food, making them Pharaoh's slaves. The priests are the only exception, receiving direct provisions from Pharaoh. Joseph then establishes a system where the people receive seed to plant and keep four-fifths of the harvest, with one-fifth going to Pharaoh. The people express immense gratitude for Joseph saving their lives. Chris acknowledged the potentially unsettling nature of this narrative, where Pharaoh's wealth increases significantly. However, he pointed out that the Egyptians willingly entered these arrangements and were grateful for survival. He also noted that their situation as "slaves" differed significantly from typical understandings of slavery, as they continued to live on their land and retain 80% of their produce, a potentially lower tax burden than experienced today in the UK. Chris cautioned against a literal "lift and drop" application of Old Testament narratives, using the example of the hand-under-thigh oath later in the chapter as a practice no longer relevant. He stressed the importance of respectfully engaging with the text while discerning its enduring message. Jacob prepares to die (Genesis 47:27-31): The Israelites settle in Goshen, acquire property, become fruitful, and their population grows rapidly, fulfilling God's promise in Genesis 46:3 that they would be prosperous in Egypt. Jacob lives for another 17 years, reaching the age of 147. As his death approaches, he calls Joseph and makes him swear an oath (placing his hand under Jacob's thigh) not to bury him in Egypt but to take him back to Canaan to be buried with his ancestors. Joseph agrees and takes the oath. Chris highlighted the significance of being buried with his ancestors, noting the memorial in Hebron revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as the family grave of Abraham, Isaac, Sarah, Rebekah, and Jacob. He also pointed out that the hand-under-thigh oath was a family tradition, previously used by Abraham when sending a servant to find a wife for Isaac. Jacob's focus on being buried in the Promised Land underscores his deep connection to it. From this passage, Chris identified four key takeaways for the congregation: Depending on God: Chris found Jacob in his final chapters to be an "appealing and beautiful character," contrasting him with figures like Solomon who started well but finished poorly. Despite his past flaws and hardships, Jacob is "finishing well," which Chris attributed to his dependence on God. He affirmed that while we hold onto God, it is ultimately God who holds onto us. He referenced Lauren Daigle's song "Hold On To Me" in this context. Chris encouraged the congregation to have the "desire to finish well" in their own lives, noting that many around us do not. Do to others as you would like them to do to you: This "golden rule" of Jesus is reflected in the cycle of blessing within the narrative. Jacob blesses Pharaoh, and through Joseph, both the Egyptians and Jacob's family are blessed. Chris expressed his hope that the church's activities are a blessing to the local community and encouraged individuals to be a blessing in their families, workplaces, and among their neighbors. He then referenced Deuteronomy 23:7 (in some translations, this is Deuteronomy 23:7-8 or Deuteronomy 23:7), "You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt," noting its counter-cultural message in contemporary politics. Remember you are temporary residents: Chris drew attention to Peter's words in 1 Peter 2:11, "Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very soul." He connected this back to the potential reasons for Joseph choosing Goshen – to protect his family from the idolatrous Egyptian culture and the risk of assimilation. He emphasized the importance of identity: if we truly believe we belong to God, there are certain things we should avoid. Identity acts as a protection against temptation and evil, echoing Jesus' prayer, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6:13). Where is your true country?: Chris explored the legal concept of "domicile" – permanent home – contrasting it with "residence" and "citizenship." He posed the question: where is our true home as Christians? Like Jacob, we are temporary residents in this world; our true home is with God. He quoted Hebrews 13:14, "For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come." He concluded with a powerful quote from C.S. Lewis's The Last Battle, where a character entering heaven says, "I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now."1 Chris shared that Karen had read this passage at Anne's funeral and expressed his hope that it would be read at his own, emphasizing the Christian understanding of our ultimate belonging in God's presence. Chris concluded with a prayer, thanking God for his mercy and love, acknowledging human failings, and expressing the desire to understand and embrace the truth of our eternal home in God. He then invited those who wished for prayer to come forward. Bible References: Genesis 46 Genesis 47 Romans 15:4 Hebrews 11 Hebrews 12:1 1 Peter 2:11 Matthew 6:13 Hebrews 13:14 Deuteronomy 23:7 (or Deuteronomy 23:7-8 depending on translation) Transcript Let's wait for the PowerPoint to appear on the screen. Great, there it goes. So we're continuing with Genesis and continuing really where we were a fortnight ago with the move of Joseph and his family, or Joseph's already there, the move of Jacob and the family into Egypt. So a few things I want to do today. I'm going to kind of walk us through the chapter and bring a few things out, and then at the end I'm going to kind of identify, I think, four things that I think we can particularly take away from this chapter. And after I finish speaking, we're also going to have an opportunity for people who want to be prayed for to come forward and be prayed. I'm not going to make a big deal of that, but we do believe in the work of the Holy Spirit, and if you've come and you would like prayer, then we'd be more than delighted to pray for you and pray that you will encounter God. But before I get into the chapter, I just want to go on to the next slide, because that's quite important, isn't it? We've been spending all this time studying this chapter, and Genesis is set, and nobody's exactly sure when, but probably 16 to 18 centuries before Jesus was born. And it's set in a very different culture and part of the world. So how can that be relevant to us living in the UK in 2025? So that is a very important question. And I think that the start of the answer to that question comes from our understanding of what the Bible is, and that is that we believe that the Bible is inspired by God. Paul actually used the phrase, God breathes—that the Bible is God breathed. And that God speaks through his Bible to us, and he actually continues to speak today through his Bible to us. And that if we approach it with the right attitude, if we come to it humbly and respectfully, not looking to pick arguments with it, but open to any nourishment going, then God will meet us and speak to us through the Bible. And so that's why Genesis is relevant. We also say that the Bible has unique authority. If I as a preacher, or indeed any other preacher here or anywhere else, says something to you that is not in agreement with the Bible, then feel free. In fact, definitely ignore what is being said by me or any other preacher. The Bible has the final authority on difficult points. But there's also something, I think, when we're looking at these Old Testament stories, about recognizing that these were written to inspire us in our Christian walk. Romans 15, verse 4 says something like, the Scriptures were written so that for our encouragement and hope, and to encourage us to persevere in the Christian life. Today is the London Marathon Day, isn't it? And over the past 20 years or so, I spent quite a few times at the finishing line, not of marathons, I will admit, but the finishing line of Iron Man races, and waiting for family members and friends to run the race. And you always stop by, you know, runners, some of them looking completely done in, would kind of turn the corner and see the finishing line ahead of them, and also hear the crowd at that point all clapping and cheering and shouting. And they would kind of brighten and pick up pace and cross the line. And that's kind of the image that the writer to the Hebrews has. In Hebrews 11, there's a long list of Old Testament heroes of faith. And Jacob, who we're particularly thinking about today, is on that list. And at the end of it, the writer goes on, he says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great crowd of witnesses, let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. And it's almost like these Old Testament heroes, with all their difficulties in their lives, are part of the crowd that is cheering you and I on in our race. And so we do say that Genesis is very relevant. Let's just pray briefly. Father, we do just pray, Father, that the goodness that you've got for us in your Word, Lord, that we would receive that today, Lord. We don't want to miss out on any good thing that you've got for us in your Word for us today, and in fact, every day. Amen. Next slide. So, Genesis 46 and 47 are really part of one story. And you can remember about a fortnight ago, Andy took us through Genesis 46. I kind of divided it up into what I'm calling episodes, probably more like scenes, really. But episodes one, God appears to Jacob and says to him, I want you to go to Egypt. And that must have felt really odd, because he called to the Promised Land, and God is saying, No, I want you to go to Egypt. But nevertheless, God speaks to him. So that's episode one. Episode two is he journeys to Egypt. And episode three, he's reunited with a son he had long believed dead. He's reunited with Joseph. And then today we have episode four, a meeting with Pharaoh of the brothers, a delegation of brothers meet Pharaoh. Episode five, Jacob then himself meets Pharaoh. Episode six, quite a longer section, all about Joseph's leadership during the famine that is affecting Egypt at this time. And in the final episode there, Jacob prepares to die. So let me read the chapter. It's been, I think, necessary but still a shame as we've been going through Genesis. Time has just been a pressure to read the whole chapter, but we go off to a good start today, and I want to read it to us, because this is God's Word. This is God-breathed. Then Joseph went to see Pharaoh and told him, My father and my brothers have arrived from the land of Canaan. They have come with all their flocks and herds and possessions, and they are now in the region of Goshen. Joseph took five of his brothers with him and presented them to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh asked the brothers, What is your occupation? They replied, We your servants are shepherds, just like our ancestors. We have come to live here in Egypt for a while, for there is no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The famine is very severe there, so please, we request permission to live in the land of Goshen. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Now that your father and brothers have joined you here, choose any place in the entire land of Egypt for them to live. Give them the best land of Egypt. Let them live in the region of Goshen, and if any of them have special skills, put them in charge of my livestock too. Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. How old are you? Pharaoh asked him. Jacob replied, I have traveled this earth for 130 hard years, but my life has been short compared to the lives of my ancestors. Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again before leaving his court. So Joseph assigned the best land of Egypt, the land of Ramesses, to his father and brothers, and he settled them there just as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided food for his father and his brother in amounts appropriate to the number of their dependents, including the smallest children. Meanwhile, the famine became so severe that all the food was used up and people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and Canaan. By selling grain to the people, Joseph eventually collected all the money in Egypt and Canaan, and he put the money in Pharaoh's treasury. And when the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. Our money is gone, they cried, but please give us food or we will die before your very eyes. Joseph replied, since your money is gone, bring me livestock. I will give you food in exchange for your livestock. So they brought their livestock to Joseph in exchange for food, in exchange for their horses, flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle and donkeys. Joseph provided them with food for another year. But that year ended and the next year they came again and they said, we cannot hide the truth from you, our Lord. Our money is gone and all our livestock and cattle are yours. We have nothing left to give you but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your very eyes? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We offer our land and ourselves as slaves to Pharaoh. Please give us grain so we may live and not die so the land does not become empty and desolate. So Joseph brought all the land, bought all the land of Pharaoh for Egypt and all the Egyptians sold in their fields because the famine was so severe and soon all the land belonged to Pharaoh. As for the people, he made them all slaves from one end of Egypt to the other. The only land he did not buy was the land belonging to the priests. They received an allotment of food directly from Pharaoh so they didn't need to sell their land. Then Joseph said to the people, look today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I will provide you with seed so you can plant the fields. Then when you harvest it, one fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. You may keep the remaining four-fifths of seed for your fields and it's food for you, your households and your little ones. You have saved our lives, they exclaimed. May it please you my Lord to let us be Pharaoh's servants. Joseph then issued a decree still in effect in the land of Egypt that Pharaoh should receive one-fifth of all the crops grown on this land. Only land belonging to the priests was not given to Pharaoh. Meanwhile the people of Israel settled in the land of Goshen in Egypt. There they acquired property, they were fruitful and their population grew rapidly. Jacob lived for 17 years after his arrival in Egypt so he lived 147 years in all. As the time of his death drew near, Jacob called for his son Joseph and said to him, please do me this favor. Put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will treat me with unfailing love by honoring this last request. Do not bury me in Egypt. When I die, please take my body out of Egypt and bury me with my ancestors. So Joseph promised, I will do as you ask. Swear that you will do it, Jacob insisted. So Joseph gave his oath and Jacob bowed humbly at the head of his bed. Amen. So yes, if we can have that slide. Oh, can we go back to, can we go back a few slides to nearly the beginning? I think it's going to be the first couple of hours. Let's keep it back. That's it. So here we are in what I was calling episode four, and Joseph's taken a delegation of the brothers to meet Pharaoh. And we can probably picture the scene about, I mean, Pharaoh is the leader of a superpower. And they're really quite a small tribe from Canaan. And they are looking to be economic migrants. That's definitely what we call them today. They've come because there's no food left in their land, so they're coming as economic migrants. So it's kind of a subservient tone to it, isn't it? We're your servants, Pharaoh. But also kind of stressing things that they want. You know, we're shepherds. By the way, we've got flocks, but if you would let us stay for a while. And actually, at the end of the previous chapter, we see that actually Joseph had coached them to say this. Joseph was good at managing his boss, and he's prepared this. So this speech is important. Because, you know, this is a difficult moment. Pharaoh could have sent them away. So that's the first of the episodes. And you see that they're coming to live in Egypt for a while. So they're not saying, we're coming here to settle permanently. We're coming for a while. I'll mention that briefly, because that kind of phrase, for a while, or other versions of it, are quite important to this whole chapter. So I'm just picking out the first time it appears. Next slide. And this is interesting, actually, because you remember the brothers were speaking to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh's reply is addressed to Joseph. Now, you know, there's a couple of possibilities. One, of course, it's simply that Joseph is kind of the head of the delegation, isn't it? He's still the important guy. And so Pharaoh speaks to somebody of, you know, Joseph's number two in the land. So Pharaoh naturally speaks to him, not to the brothers. But it's also possible it might just be a side meeting. You know, in my career, I saw things like that. You know, somebody very senior would listen to what people had to say, and then have a kind of separate meeting with their inner group of most senior people and make a decision. And that's what kind of is happening here. Pharaoh is sitting down with his number two, and he's making a decision. And he's choosing to let them stay. And there's quite a mention of the word Goshen. I don't know if you picked that up as I was reading it, but Goshen, I think if you take the end of 46 and 47, it gets mentioned something like eight times, something like a lot of times. And Goshen is the place that Joseph has definitely engineered for them to be. So he's told them to go in Joseph. He's mentioned it to Pharaoh himself that they're already there. And then they've asked if they can stay in Goshen. So they definitely are after Goshen. And why is that? Well, I think at least three possibilities, or some mixture of them. One is simply that Joseph just thinks it's going to be a really good place for them and their flocks. So it can be as simple as that. The second possibility, though, is that Joseph is doing this in some ways to protect them. Because at this time, the kind of main center, the kind of equivalent of London, Egypt at that time, a place called Memphis. So Memphis is a big urban center with all the, so that's where the main stuff is happening. So Joseph doesn't want them in Memphis. He wants them kind of on the edge of the territory, and up in the kind of northeast corner of the Nile Delta is Goshen. And is he wanting them to protect them from the Egyptians to some extent? There have been hints, more than hints, actually, of prejudice of Egyptians towards Canaanites through the last couple of chapters. Egyptians didn't eat with Canaanites. Even Joseph didn't eat with them. And apparently they regard shepherds as pretty abominable. So they don't want to kind of mix with shepherds, because they're kind of sophisticated urban people. So is Joseph protecting them in that sense? And if that was right, he probably had seen something that is definitely there, because the whole book of Exodus is based on the fact that these Israelites end up getting very badly treated in Egypt. So, you know, racial prejudice is alive in this situation. I guess a third possibility is one that actually he wants to protect them from the Egyptians, but in a different sense. Does Joseph see that there's a risk of assimilation, that if they're just mingling in with all the Egyptians, that they will pick up Egyptian ways of life and Egyptian habits and start to live like Egyptians? They assimilate, and then they start worshiping Egyptian gods, and suddenly they're distinctive as the people of God has gone altogether. So it may be some mix of those factors. I'm not going to be too definite about it, because the Bible doesn't tell us. So it's conjecture to an extent, so I don't want to lay too much weight on that. But nevertheless, it's something like that that is going on. Next slide. And then we have Joseph brought in his father to see Pharaoh. And it's only because the tone of this one is slightly different, whereas the brothers were deeply respectful, kind of, you know, bowing and like that before Pharaoh. Jacob seems to carry a lot more authority in that situation. And that may be because he's given the respect due to an older man. It may be that, actually, Jacob carries some moral authority that somehow he's just present in the room when this is going on. There's also—not so much in this translation, but in some of the original language—that Jacob by this time has got some mobility issues, because it talks about Joseph bringing him in to see Pharaoh and then making him stand before Pharaoh. Now, you know, it might simply be that he's presenting him, but kind of sometimes I've seen in that that maybe actually Jacob had to be helped into the room and then helped to stand before Pharaoh. And then he has this conversation with Pharaoh, and Pharaoh says, How old are you? Again, the literal question that Pharaoh asked him is quite—Pharaoh says, How many are the days of the years of your life? How many are the days of the years of your life? And Jacob replies, The days of the years of my life—no, the days of the years of my temporary residence are few and hard. The days of the years of my life are 130 years, but they've been few and hard. And it's interesting that having been just asked, in a sense, for a number, he's introduced this phrase, temporary residence. And in some translations, you'll get that translated as sojourner. That's a kind of less common word these days, but it means temporary residence. And, you know, again, we heard that earlier, and one of the features of this chapter is that this thought of temporary residence is quite important to what this whole chapter is about. But Jacob blesses Pharaoh—in fact, he blesses Pharaoh twice. So he's not, in a sense, in a cringing situation. He's actually taking authority in the situation, and Pharaoh almost seems respectful of Jacob. You might think it odd to hear somebody who's 130 and whose son has become the number two in Egypt describe his days as being few and hard, but that is the expression that Jacob uses. And there's a lot in that, because if you think about Jacob's life, he undoubtedly had had a hard life. You know, he's had to run away from home while still quite a young man, immediately after his father's death, because otherwise he's at risk of being killed by his own brother. He had been particularly close to his mother, Rebekah, and he never sees her again. He gets tricked into an arranged marriage that proves unhappy, and he becomes the head of quite a dysfunctional family. The wife he deeply loved dies early in childbirth, and then the son that he's particularly close to he believes has been died, and he's lived with that belief for many years. So Jacob has had a hard life, but nevertheless there is something very beautiful, which I'll come back to, I think, about the Jacob we now see before us. Next slide. So, with the authority of Pharaoh, Joseph gives them the land in the region of Ramesses. Apparently that's just another word for Goshen, so it's the same place. And Joseph provides food for his father and his brother. Again, we see that Joseph is continuing to behave graciously in all this that he's had. He's been through very difficult episodes in his life directly at the hands of his brothers, but he's been continuing to behave graciously in this situation and providing for them all. Next one. And then the next section, which is actually the longest in the chapter, and you had me read it, really running from 13 to 26, is about the famine and what happens with the Egyptians during the famine. And that can strike us as a bit hard, because it's quite clear in all this, Pharaoh is getting very much wealthier. And so we can think, well, it's kind of not sure how I feel about that section. However, people who have kind of studied this deeply said, you know, first of all, you can see that the Egyptians are asking for this, and they seem very grateful. So what they're asking for is what Joseph gives them. He undoubtedly is responsible for saving perhaps even millions of lives, certainly many, many lives who are starving to death, and Joseph is instrumental in their being saved. And the end result for people who are being described as slaves doesn't sound much like slavery as we would understand it, because they're still living on their own farms, and they get to keep 80 percent of all that they grow and produce. So there's a kind of 20 percent flat rate tax and everything else is yours. Well, that's kind of probably not would have been your mind idea of what slavery would ordinarily look like. I mean, in this country today, I think the burden of taxation on people of average income is about 30 to 35 percent. So, you know, they're facing a much lower rate. Comparisons, of course. I don't suppose the NHS was up to much in Egypt. I don't suppose there was a state pension, so all the rest. But anything, just it's a little bit of an aside, but I think this kind of passage is helpful. I meant every word of what I said about the Bible being God's word and God speaking to us through it and about the authority of that word absolutely mean every word of that. But it doesn't mean that we lift and drop everything in the Old Testament and just say we take that on board. It doesn't mean that, say, the way in which Joseph managed that famine is instructive for us in how we might manage a situation today. There's another odd detail about a vow later in this chapter that you might have picked up about putting your hand under somebody's thigh while making a promise. We don't do that. There's a good reason. You know, it's not, so it's not lift and drop, but it is kind of hearing the voice of God and dealing with the passage respectfully. So that was a bit of an aside. Next slide. And the people of Israel settled in the land of Goshen, and there they acquired property and were fruitful and their population grew rapidly. And you remember what I said at the beginning about the previous chapter and about what Andy preached about was it must have felt very, very strange, particularly to Jacob, when having been called to the Promised Land and believed that that's where they belonged to be told to go to Egypt. But in that, God had promised, and it's in chapter 46, I think it's verse 3, he said, I am calling you to Egypt and you will be prosperous there. And this is God keeping this promise, and that is a promise that we've seen at earlier points in Genesis. So this has all been part of God's plan. God's timing in the way that he works can frequently be deeply puzzling to us, because to an extent his ways are not our ways, but God is keeping his promises, and that's what this verse is about. Next. The time of his death do near, Jacob called for his son Joseph and said, please do me this favor, put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will treat me, and don't bury me in Egypt. Take me home and bury me with my ancestors. And it almost seems quite a formal little thing for a father and son discussion, but you sense behind it all that Jacob, this is very, very important to Jacob, so he's very insistent about it. He doesn't want there to be any misunderstanding. He doesn't want there to be any wriggle room that would mean that after his death something different would happen. He wants Joseph to understand very definitely that he intends to be buried with his ancestors in Egypt, in Canaan. Actually, if you know this, there's a memorial today in Hebron in the West Bank, which is honored by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, which is the family grave so people believe of Abraham and Isaac and Sarah and Rebekah and Jacob. So this is very important to him, and in this reference to putting your hand under his thigh, he's recalling a bit of family history because his grandfather Abraham had used that same particular formula when sending a servant out to find a wife for who's to be Jacob's father. So he is, and he's thinking about the promised land is what Jacob's thinking about. And as we think about the application of this to us today, we'll definitely come back to that thought. Let's have the next slide. So the first thing I think that we learn from Jacob is about depending on God. I do find Jacob in these last chapters to be a deeply appealing and beautiful character. You know, there are plenty of examples in the Bible, and indeed in church life, of people who have a good start or a good middle with God but finish badly. Solomon would be an example of that. You read the early years of Solomon and how he gets made king, and he says some glorious things, and you think it's absolutely wonderful. But by the time of his death, he was a shadow of the man of faith he'd been when he was younger. Jacob is finishing well. Yes, he's had some bad days. Yes, some of the problems of his dysfunctional family have been of his own making. Yes, he had often been deceitful. Yes, he did days when he felt completely hopeless and sometimes strikes us as being quite self-pitying. What does that tell you? It tells you he's like you and I. But he's finishing well. He's finishing well, and that's about depending on God. Of course, we depend on God. We hold on to God because God is holding on to us. But there is something beautiful. By the way, I love that. If you're familiar with the song Hold On To Me that Lauren Daigle thought, beautiful lyrics. Anyway, that's again an aside. Next slide. I don't think I've warned you this. There's going to be some C.S. Lewis. I think Jacob would have loved this. No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep picking ourselves up each time. We shall, of course, be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes are in the earring cupboard. It's a magnificent quote. But you get the sense of that's the kind of thing that Jacob's thinking. And it's beautiful, and it's about holding on to God. And I do hope you put that in your heart, the desire to finish well. There's plenty around of us who are not finishing well. Make that your life's work to finish well. Next one. Do to others as you would like them to do to you. That's, of course, the golden rule. That's Jesus. But we see in this chapter a kind of cycle of blessing. Jacob is blessing Pharaoh. And through Joseph, the Egyptians and Jacob are being blessed through the famine, through the work of Joseph. And the people of God are also being blessed, you know, treating others as you would like them to do. And I think it's great that we as a church, I hope that the things that we are doing as a church are a blessing to the community around us. You know, whether it's the library, the drop-in, the hub, whatever it is, I hope that we're a blessing to the community around us. I hope you're a blessing in your family and in your workplace and amongst your neighbors, called to be a blessing. But in this particular context, we can see actually that the Israelites did get this message. Let's look at the next verse, which is not one of the best known. You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I think quite a few political parties, that's never going to get on the manifesto, is it? But you know, it's important to treat others as you'd have them treat you. Next slide. Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very soul. Here we see Peter, and he's not the only one of these, Peter picking up on this temporary resident thing. And it becomes quite important in the New Testament, and both Peter and the book of Hebrews definitely on it big time. And you get something of what was possibly in Joseph's mind about the choice of Goshen. He's protecting them from this deeply idolatrous culture of the Egyptians. But you see, identity is important to that. You know, if you're living in a country, but you're not pretending to be there forever, there's some stuff you wouldn't get involved in, because actually that's not your long-term home. Some stuff you're not going to do. And there's something about who we are, who do we, if I really believe myself, I am, in Bob Dylan's words, the property of Jesus. If I belong to God, and if my future is with him, then there are some things that are dangerous to me that I ought to be avoiding. You know, Jesus prayed, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, because temptation and evil are very real things. But identity is one of the tools that we use that protect us from temptation and evil. Next one. Where is your true country? There's a concept in law, not only actually in English law, but it's in a number of other countries as well, including Nigeria, I believe, called domicile. And domicile means permanent home. And it's distinguished from, say, residence. Residence is the place you happen to be living. So if you're in the UK for more than six months, you're regarded as resident here. And citizenship is usually about, well, who gives you your passport? So it's about, you know, kind of legal status. But domicile meant something more like permanent home. It's actually probably the deeper of the concepts. And permanent home is something that also kind of sticks to you. So you could go and live abroad for 25 years and come back to the UK, and the UK would say, your domicile was always in this country because your strongest roots and who you felt yourself to be belong to this country. So domicile is about true home. And the very real sense in which, as Christians, we're saying, so where is my true home? Where do I truly belong? Do I understand and see myself to be in this world, as Jacob put it, as a temporary resident? But my true home is with God in hand. There's that difference from temporary residence today, true home and sense of belonging. And the writer of Hebrews says precisely that. Hebrews 13, verse 14-ish. Your permanent home is not in this life. Our permanent home is with God. And we'll have another C.S. Lewis quote. The last battle, I still think the last battle, although it's in a sense a children's book, it's still one of the best things written about the life everlasting. And I commend it to you. But this is a phrase when they've kind of got into heaven effectively, and someone says, I have come home at last. This is my real country. I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. And it's that sense of belonging to our true country. We are temporary residents here. We belong to Jesus. We belong to God's people. And our true country is yet to be. And actually, Karen read this at Anne's funeral, and I hope someone will read it at my funeral. So let's pray, and then I'll hand back to Steve, and we'll give an opportunity if you'd like to be prayed for. Father, we thank you for your great mercy and love, Lord, for all our feelings and shortcomings, for all our messed up-ness, for all the mistakes that we've made in our life. You are faithful, and we can depend on you because you are holding on to us. But Lord, we do want to understand the truth about things, Lord. We do want to receive your truth into our lives, Lord. We do want to know in our hearts where our true home is. Lord, we thank you for Jesus, and we thank you for all that lies ahead of us. The best is yet to be. We thank you for Jesus. Amen.

Gregor Woods

James Hope-Gill

Graham Reed

Jamesetta Taylor

Nick Lugg

Liz Patten

Erica Lugg

Navigating Change with God - Genesis 46 In this week's message, Andy shares a relatable anecdote about a mix-up at an airport, using it as a springboard to explore the theme of unexpected change and God's guidance. Drawing from Genesis 46, he unpacks Jacob's journey as a metaphor for the church's own transitions, specifically the shift to multiple Sunday services and the broader mission within the local community. Andy begins by highlighting the human element of the Genesis narrative. Jacob, settled in Canaan, the land promised by God, is suddenly faced with uprooting his entire family to move to Egypt to reunite with Joseph. This move represents a significant upheaval, a departure from familiar territory and perceived divine promises. Andy draws parallels to the experiences of those who have been displaced, acknowledging the pain and trauma associated with such transitions. The core message revolves around the idea that God often leads us through unexpected changes, challenging our preconceived notions of His plans. Just as Jacob had to let go of his understanding of God's promises in Canaan, we too must be open to God's redirection. Andy emphasizes that these shifts, while unsettling, are part of God's larger, unfolding plan. He identifies four key actions within the Genesis passage that provide guidance for navigating change: two human responses and two divine actions. Beersheba: Returning to the Cross (Genesis 46:1) Jacob's act of offering sacrifices at Beersheba, a place of significant spiritual history for his family, symbolizes the importance of returning to a place of worship and surrender. For us, this means consistently returning to the cross of Jesus Christ, especially during times of uncertainty. Andy emphasizes the importance of worship, sacrifice, surrender, prayer, and calling on God during times of change. He links this to the Easter season, highlighting the cross as a place of reconciliation and transformation. Responding to God's Voice (Genesis 46:2) God calls Jacob by name, prompting an immediate and attentive response. Andy stresses the importance of listening to God, of giving Him our undivided attention, and of being personally responsive to His call. In a world filled with distractions, we must actively seek God's voice and be ready to obey. God's Contextual Revelation (Genesis 46:3) God reminds Jacob that He is the God of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac, providing context for the current situation. This highlights that God's plans are far greater than individual circumstances. Andy connects this to God's overarching plan of redemption, emphasizing that our lives are part of a larger narrative. He references Genesis 15, where God foretells the sojourn in Egypt, illustrating that God's promises are being fulfilled. Andy encourages the audience to see their roles within God's grand design. God's Assurances (Genesis 46:3-4) God offers three "I will" statements: "I will make you into a great nation," "I will go down to Egypt with you," and "I will surely bring you back again." These promises provide comfort and assurance in the face of uncertainty. God's plans are not disrupted by geographical changes; He remains faithful to His promises. Andy highlights that God's presence and promises provide stability amidst turmoil. He also speaks about the idea of building for a future that we might not see, echoing the faith of the patriarchs in Hebrews 11. Andy applies these principles to the church's current situation, acknowledging the anxieties and questions surrounding the shift to multiple services and the community outreach projects. He emphasizes that these changes are part of God's plan to reach the local community and expand His kingdom. He encourages the church to embrace these changes with faith, trusting in God's promises and guidance. He closes by emphasising that God is building his church, and we are part of that process, even if we do not see the full outcome of our work. Andy reminds the congregation that their role is to participate in God's long-term plan, to be faithful, and to trust that God will ultimately fulfill His purposes. Bible References: Genesis 15:12-16 Genesis 46:1-4 Hebrews 11 Hebrews 12 Transcript do that great thing you sometimes need to do in airports and sit around and while away the time well while they saw to do a lot and then I noticed from where I was sat that it started boarding at a gate I could see so I went over to it and I queued up and I got to the gate and I showed my passport and boarding ticket and they waved me on and I went on down down the planes one of those planes with three seats either side of one of those really awful narrow aisles you know so you're walking down like this with your bags trying to get and because my seat was right at the back of the plane so I got to the back of the plane no somebody sat in my seat how dare you I've had a long week of work I'm trying to get home what are you doing in my seat and and the lady who sat there gets out her ticket and we compare tickets and it says the same seat number on both tickets yeah and then it slowly dawns I'm on the wrong plane yeah because cuz so my flight had been delayed and I was now standing on what was the next flight to Manchester whereas my original flight was even later alas so so so of course I'm right at the end of the plane with my bags and everybody else is coming down that very narrow aisle so I've now got it excuse me excuse me excuse me go and I get back to work to the gate I come back through the gate and the lady there says oh I'm so glad you've come back I shouldn't have let you on airport security brilliant anyway I tell that story because sometimes we end up in a place where we think we're in the right place and we're not we're actually need to be somewhere else somewhere different and as we get to Genesis 46 this morning I'm very I'm kind of intrigued by the way we've reached this chapter over the day we've announced moving to multiple services because I think and I hope you'll see this with me but there are some things here to help us navigate what's going to happen to us as a church as we move forward from here because we're now into the ending of Joseph the Joseph story all right and we've all enjoyed it for what seems like months I'm sure it was just weeks but we've all enjoyed it and we're now focus is shifting back slightly to Jacob so remember Genesis is about these three main guys Iberha Abraham Abraham his son Isaac and his son Jacob and focus in the Joseph story is now shifting back to Jacob and in one sense as we look as we've seen before we'll look at the human level to the story okay there's what's going on and the characters that are mentioned so so this is the culmination of Joseph's story we've seen how God's worked in him we've seen how he went through the whole thing of being thrown into the system by his brothers being sold into slavery ending up as a slave in Egypt being put in prison falsely being there for a number of years Pharaoh bringing him out so he's coming interpret his dreams and now whoosh he's number two in the land and he's in charge of all the food is in charge of deciding what tariffs to put on it and he's got that much power and he's dishing it out to the people in Egypt and the people from the nation's roundabout he is the guy with the power and we've seen all of that and now the story is coming he's reunited with his brothers and so he sends from Egypt lots of carts and stuff to go and gather his dad Jacob the rest of his brothers the whole family and all their livestock and have them come and move and live with him in Egypt where they can find all the food they're gonna need and they can be reunited as a family and so it's about Joseph sending to Canaan to gather the whole family and bring them back and you just think for a moment you know for Jacob he lived the latter part of his life in Canaan that was that was where he settled that's where his home was and that that was the land he knew that God had promised he would give to his people you know the promises that started off when God spoke to Abraham then Isaac and Jacob himself had heard about his descendants being as numerous as the sand on the seashore and God will give him a promised land to live in the land of Canaan so Jacob thinks I'm here I'm in the promised land of Canaan and now it looks like he's going to be uprooted and moved to Egypt you know and there are a number of you in this room that know what it means to be uprooted from your homeland and move somewhere else and go somewhere else and there's a lot of pain and trauma with that whole thing and it's a massive deal okay for it to happen and so you know for Jacob this is the land where his dad's buried where his granddad's buried where his wives are buried this is the land that he's lived out for the latter part of his life and now he's to leave all of that of course he wants to see Joseph absolutely and that's why he's going but nevertheless he's got to leave the land of promise in order to achieve that in order to get there you know and the story like so many of the chapters we've had today are like those movies with subplots you know all the time there's the big story that's going on but then there's a subplot happening and and what's happening with Joseph and Jacob is like a subplot to the big thing that's going on you know so one of my favorite films I'm sorry Saving Private Ryan is about Saving Private Ryan but it's in the context of a big issue of a war going on right that's the big thing so here there's a big story going on which is God's plan and purposes and God's promises to fulfill those plans and purposes and underneath that as we look at the story it's about Jacob and Joseph but there's this bigger thing going on this is a story so for Jacob this becomes a story about letting go of what you thought God was going to do this is a story about letting go of where you thought God had brought you to I'm in the promised land this is what God had promised yes but hang on a minute now he seems to be saying we need to move but how can we move when this is the place he brought us to and this we know is the promised land and if Jacob maybe for you and definitely for me sometimes we we build up a picture I thought God was like this I thought God was going to do this you know and we build up what we think God is like and what we think he will do and how we think the Holy Spirit will move based on our experience based on our reading a scripture and then every so often God comes along and and all his cards fall down and suddenly we're thinking oh wait a minute have I got that right I got that wrong what's going you know because we settle a bit like Jacob and we think this is it now this is what it's like following God and then just when we think we've got it God throws it all up in the air our assumptions our expectations our security and the and it all starts to land a little bit different you know for Jacob it's time to leave Canaan the land that was promised to him by God and go to Egypt does that mean God has given up on his plans does that mean God has forgotten his promises you know for Jacob does that would do will he start to think well hang on a minute if I haven't got that right maybe I've not got anything about God right ever been there thought like that and you know answer all these questions would come up because like it or not we are creatures of habit we don't like change and yet change is here to stay right but we don't like it and we develop our ideas of what God is like and what he will do and how he will move and then one day whoosh he's like he whips the rug out from under our feet oh you don't do it like that after all I thought you did God yeah I remember when our kids were going up there was sometimes lay the table for us for the meal you know and they read it really neatly and very kind of bizarrely structured you know with the the knife fork spoon salt pepper napkin drinks glass bottle all very neatly and every day it was exactly the same and sometimes I used to lose the love to go to the table and they weren't looking and do all that and it would freak them out you know don't do that don't do that I've laid it all out nice and neatly and you know it is sometimes it's like that we get our senses of this is what God is about we are in the Promised Land now and he loves to come along and just do all this it's like some of those Tommy Cooper jokes if you feel that age and it's hard isn't it it's difficult because you we just we think we've got it and then we realize we haven't and then we have a big challenge as we see Jacob does here and Rob what actually God is doing when that happens is he is leading us into the next part of his plan and our place like that you know it's like you made Jesus at the end of his life he's telling the disciples I'm gonna die I'm gonna go away and it's better for you that I do that and they're like no Peter's like no it's really good Lord that you we're having a great time we can how well we're hanging out together and we're loving it don't don't leave I'd be really bad and Jesus has to explain to them that actually it's better for you that I go because then I will send the Holy Spirit with you and they don't get it until after the resurrection right of course but but it's like that we build an expectation as we walk with Jesus well this is good this is comfortable I get it and then suddenly it changes because he is leading us into the next part of his plan because God does lead us into big changes right you know for Jacob his whole family is relocating the removal trucks have arrived from Egypt and he's piling them full with all his furniture all his livestock not only his but everything to do with the whole 66 people of his family that he's got living there and all they off go and you can imagine is the the removal trucks set off and he looks out the window and he thinks that's Canaan that's the promised land and we're leaving we're driving away what God what what you do what's going on and I just stirred because God is leading us into something new and exciting and big and different for us as a church we will not function like we do today and like we have done for the last 20 years on a Sunday morning anymore from six weeks time as you've heard it right it's gonna be different and if like me that's a bit scary it's a bit unnerving you know what is what do you mean there's no drinks after the first service this is a disaster but how are we gonna do that all possible station how am I gonna stay in touch with my friends across the church if they go to the other service how what's the life group gonna look like if half go to one service and a half go to the other etc etc and we've all got those sort of questions of how is this gonna work we've got a building project a half a million pound building project is gonna kick off later this year in a building over there that God is taking us into the community to develop hollow more stuff but at this point in time we don't see but it's a massive venture it's a huge thing and something we would never have imagined you know looking back down through the years we've been developing new acts of service in the community the hub church is going from strength to strength men and women are encountering Jesus for the first time in their lives and finding their lives being transformed Wow God God is going to take us deeper into the local community far more than anything we have ever seen before and we will find ourselves getting involved with things like gang culture drug culture addiction challenges but at the moment we haven't even scratched the surface because the gospel is there to transform the communities around us and God is going to do that but I tell you it's flipping scary all right and you know and also because we are creatures of comfort and habit we like it here I like my ten o'clock service I can crawl out a bed at half-past nine and roll down the hill and get there that kind of you know I like it I know what's going to happen unless they do that funny thing where you read the Bible in different languages but which is brilliant by the way but but I like it I've got used to it and that is part of the challenge isn't it of getting used to it and so what is happening in this story is that God is leading Jacob into the next part of his plan of God's plan and purpose and and the same I feel for us as a church God is leading us into his plan and the next part of his plan and purpose for us as a church in this community here but the question is what do we do when that happens because we do get scared and we do panic and whatever but in this passage I've just splashed water at me nose that's gonna look good on camera in it right thank you very much in this passage in this passage there's four things that happen two things that Jacob does and two things that God does that help us navigate these big changes when they come along and the challenges that they present to us okay the point number one is Beersheba right okay so in verse 1 we read in chapter 4 apologies I haven't read the whole chapter because we're out of time but there's a big chunk of list of names in the middle which you can read at home but I'm really speaking from the first opening verses verse 1 so Israel set out with all that was his and when he reached Beersheba he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac the first thing we need to do is go to Beersheba and sacrifice what I mean by that and what is happening is Jacob returned to a familiar but significant place in his life and worshiped God and surrendered to God and prayed to his God and called on his name it was it was a physical place for him he went to Beersheba because that was significant in his family it was here that Abraham had made a treaty with the Philistines when they argued over who owned a well that was an important issue for nomadic people looking after animals it was here that Isaac his dad had had come when they dug three wells he'd taken three wells to dig to find water that's another story but that was very relevant to 146 when we were looking at that and God had appeared to Isaac at that place and spoke to him so Isaac had built an altar at Beersheba and called on God and it was from here from Beersheba that Jacob had fled when he stole Esau's birthright and all the family thing exploded so it was a significant place in the life of him and his ancestors and so he worshipped and called on God there but while it was geographical for him as an actual place for you and I we need to come back to the cross in these times and worship and sacrifice and surrender and pray and call on God because you know when we're saying God I don't know what you're doing come back to the cross God I don't understand why is this happening come back to the cross God how is this working out your plan God come back to the cross it's interesting it's Easter week isn't it and that's exactly what we're going to be doing and concentrating through the week culminating in next weekend what an opportunity for us to do that as we grapple with everything that is happening in the world in the church and maybe in your own life let's be men and women this week who take seriously the opportunity to come back to the cross and worship and surrender and sacrifice and call on God together because the cross is the place where God did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all the cross is the place where Jesus lay down his life as a substitute so that God can look on you and I without displeasure and you and I can look on God without fear the cross is the place where Jesus rescued us from the hole that wickedness has on our lives the cross is the place where the sacrifice of Christ changes our standing before this holy God and the cross is the place where God was reconciled to us through the death of his son and we are reconciled to him through our surrender to that son it's the place where we move from lip service to heart service in saying Jesus is Lord and it's the place where God sifts our motives and our desires and see what is gold and what isn't so as we face these challenges together as a church and these new ventures and these big plans that God is moving us into let's learn what it is to be men and women who come back to the cross time and again and worship and call on him and allow him to deal with us and deal with our hearts that's the first thing second thing Jacob responds to God's voice verse 2 and God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said Jacob Jacob here I am he replied and you know God doesn't say Jacob Jacob because he doesn't know where he is you know it's not like Jacob Jacob it's not like he's calling for his cat at night at the back door but he knows where Jacob is right but the point is that Jacob knows he's got to give his attention to God that's why he's calling him right and and Jacob's response it isn't casual it isn't flippant it isn't ignoring God and just saying yeah this is I don't know if this happens in your house but you know and can be talking to me and I go yep yep yep and then after a while she'll say are you listening to me and I'll say yeah yeah okay what did I just say I've got anybody that identifies with that can we get in the corner together afterwards so that isn't what is happening here God is saying Jacob Jacob and Jacob says here I am because Jacob is stopping he's turning his head to God he's focusing on him and giving him his full attention he is listening he is responding personally to God's call to him the beautiful thing is God knows you by name he knows your name Wow he knows your name and he eyeballs you and he calls your name and when he does that we need to give him our attention we need to say I'm here Lord I want to listen I want to hear what it is you've got to say because God is gonna say we're gonna talk about a few things here son and they're very important yeah and so the second point is really allowing God to get our attention we come to the cross number one number two we allow God to get our attention and we listen and we push aside the distractions and the stuff that would normally get in the way that's to that that's number two number three and these last two are what God does so what we do we come to the cross and we give God our attention number three verse three I am God the God of your father he said I am God the God of your father you see this what I believe God is saying it's Jacob what we need to take courage from is that God is speaking context into what is happening in Jacob's life right now as he leaves Canaan and goes off to Egypt and he is pointing out he's reminding him he is that God is the God of his father Isaac and therefore the God of his father Abraham the God of creation the God who has a plan and a purpose that he has promised to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob and that plan that promise is being worked out if that's why when we pray like today for a team going to Zambia it's not just about a two-week trip to Zambia because there's nothing else to do God is working out his plans and his purposes and the guys in the team are figuring out what are their role in God's plans and purposes and it's a it's a context statement I'm the God of your father this isn't just about you Jacob and what is happening to you and to your family you see when God saved you when God rescued you when God plucked you out and pulled you up it wasn't just about you but about drawing you and I into something much bigger than our own lives that he is doing you know and though it may feel like a massive thing to Jacob to uproot his whole family because actually moving house is one of the top three most stressful things that we ever do isn't it I think that's right and he's moving 66 people and all the animals and everything in all his possessions and although that may feel like a massive thing there is something much bigger going on here Jacob than just that the plans and purposes of God are unfolding you see way back in Genesis 15 God spoke to his granddad to Jacob's granddad Abraham and chapter 15 verse 12 was the summer setting Abraham fell into a deep sleep and a thick dreadful darkness came over him then the Lord said to him know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and they will be enslaved and mistreated 400 years but I will punish the nation they serve as slaves and afterwards they will come out with great possessions and what is happening in Jacob and his life at that point in time is the very beginnings of God fulfilling that word that he promised to his grandfather so there is something much bigger happening than just simply Jacob and his family moving and so this is stretching our eyes of faith to see that yes I've called you by name yes I know you personally but I've called you personally to be involved in my plans and purposes that God is working out in his kingdom that's why we often talk about you know if we think about the creation of the world when God spoke and created everything at this end of a line and then at the other end of the line Jesus is going to return for a bride that's made itself ready for the church that is ready for him when he returns and God is going to wrap up history and our life is this bit here that's a context thing that God is in charge that's why we sing we will meet him in the air we will be like him because we will see him as he is you know the suffering that you go through now is a context thing we will see Jesus as he is and we will be like him that's where we're heading towards and Jesus will return when his bride has made itself ready and you and I are part of his bride the church is the bride of Christ and Jesus is making his church ready and he's caught you and I up in his plan for that to happen and so as we look at something like oh but I don't like going to two services I've got lots of questions about it absolutely we need to see that in the context of what Jesus is doing he's preparing his bride ready to come back one day you see this is a reminder to what God has said and done in and through Abraham and Isaac and what Jacob is doing is standing on the shoulders of his ancestors and what you and I are doing are standing on the shoulders of our church ancestors for the last 2,000 years plus in the nations you represent and in this nation today and the state of the church of where it's at the baton is with us the baton is with you and me every single one of us in this room God has given us the baton to lead the charge for his church today and we will hand that on at some point in a minute but but but we have been given that mantle today and we stand on the shoulders of the people that have gone before us and press on I think Eugene Peterson said this really is about a long obedience in the same direction and the trouble for us today is so much of life it is about changing things all the time about sound bites about being instantaneous about being superficial about a fad and the Church of Christ cannot function like that at all because we are called to a long obedience in the same direction and pursue Jesus through these things God is working out his plans and his purposes and they trump the circumstances of our lives they do for Jacob and they do for you and for me and finally the fourth point God speaks it says do not be afraid and he gives three I will statements which we just need to take note of that was a note thank you three I will statements very quickly I will make you into a great nation he reminds Jacob that his promises remain true that what he spoke to Abraham what he spoke to Isaac and what he said to Jacob himself still remains true yes you are leaving Canaan which is the promised land but guess what my promise remains true I will make you into a great nation their promises of God are not affected by a change in geography what I have originally said I would do I will do it is still gonna happen and my plans are not upset by something like this and we need to hear my plans for God's plans for our lives are not affected by these types of things more than that this is how I'm actually going to bring them about Jacob you move into Egypt just doesn't disrupt my plans in fact the very opposite is true you leaving Canaan and going to Egypt is actually me bringing about my plan and purpose there is no plan B but it's not like God takes his plans and puts them on the back burner for 400 years while they go off down to Egypt and all that stuff happens and then when Moses and Joshua bring them back to the promised land he picks it up again and gets going no doesn't happen like that what is happening in your life and my life right now is absolutely wrapped up with God's plans and purposes and we need to begin to see it from that perspective and start to figure that out and work through it as we cope with a sea of change with uncertainty with so many questions yes in the world today yes in the church yes even in our own lives the promises of God remain true they are yes and amen in Christ Jesus he is the anchor second thing God says I will go down to Egypt with you wow that's amazing God is gonna go with you Jacob this same God who has these promises that he's holding on to he's going with you she this is the difference between giving somebody directions and taking them there yourself yeah that has a massive impact on the person you're talking to if you just try and explain particularly if there's a language challenge or or they don't know the area it's a huge difference but God says I'm gonna go with you Jacob that's amazing there's all this upset all this trauma all this effort but God is going with you and as we face uncertain futures and the challenges that that brings the Word of God is that he is going with us and he will bring stability in the midst of the turmoil that is spinning around he is going with us nothing has changed he is still working out his plans and his purposes and thirdly he says I will surely bring you back again I smiled because I thought in the context of two services I don't think that necessarily means God will bring us back but you never know if numbers drop we will come back to one service right but but but I think for Jacob what he's saying is my word will complete what it set out to do you will come back to the Promised Land and again there's up two levels of the story for Jacob he dies and Joseph arranged for his body to be brought back to Canaan to be buried with his dad and his granddad where they were but on the bigger scheme of things God is at work and 400 years later Moses leads the people out of Egypt and Joshua brings them across the River Jordan back in to Canaan and back to the Promised Land God's people will return and the fulfillment of God's plans might not happen in our generation Jacob didn't see any of this in fact the whole nation of Israel that grew up in Egypt and then left Egypt didn't see it they all died in the wilderness and a new generation of the Promised Land and this is a massive thing because this says to us what we're doing here in the church is we're building for a future that we will not see how does that sit with you because it's the complete opposite of where you normally do life right we're very preoccupied with what we can see and rightly so a lot of the time but God is is you is working in our hearts and in our lives and he is building a church and we're working with it and to build something that you and I will not see in our lifetime but maybe our kids will maybe our grandkids will maybe our great-grandkids will who knows and what a challenge that is but when we get that and I think believe Jacob understood that and we'll see why in a minute is that's when the shift happens and the perspective begins to really change in your heart and in my heart because we want to see his name glorified we want to see his plans come to pass and not ours and not mine see in Hebrews 12 no Hebrews 11 a great passage of faith we read about Abraham and Isaac and Jacob all these people were still living by faith when they died they did not receive the things promised they only saw them unwelcome them from a distance and they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth people who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own if they have been thinking of the country they'd left they would have had opportunity to return instead they were longing for a better country a heavenly one therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God hallelujah for he has prepared a city for them so the shift happens and we begin to see God this is about you and I want to shift the priorities in my life and make it more about you Lord because God will surely fulfill his word amen amen you

Sermon Summary: God's Orchestration Through Struggle Nick's sermon, based on Genesis 45, focused on the powerful theme of God's sovereignty and His ability to work through even the most painful and challenging circumstances to bring about reconciliation and blessing. The narrative of Joseph revealing himself to his brothers served as the central illustration, highlighting how God's hand was evident in a situation that initially seemed marked by betrayal and suffering. Nick began by acknowledging the transformative power of God's Spirit, noting that the message's impact goes beyond human preparation and delivery. He emphasized the importance of reading and understanding the biblical narrative, particularly the dramatic climax of Joseph's story. The core of the sermon revolved around Joseph's emotional and revelatory moment when he disclosed his identity to his brothers. After sending everyone else away, Joseph wept loudly, expressing the release of years of pent-up pain and trauma. He then reassured his brothers, stating that their act of selling him into slavery was part of God's plan to preserve their lives during the famine. This pivotal moment underscores the sermon's central theme: God's ability to turn adversity into divine purpose. Nick explored the concept of faith, challenging the congregation to consider whether their faith could withstand periods of intense struggle and suffering. He asked, "Is there room in our understanding of how God works in our lives and how much he cares for us that even when it seems that the wheels come off our lives completely and things don't work out as we planned or don't work out as we want, do we have the faith that says we can still trust you Lord?" He urged listeners not to waste their struggles with regret, bitterness, or doubt, but to recognize that God uses these experiences to reveal Himself in profound ways. The sermon delved into the emotional depth of Joseph's experience, acknowledging the years of pain, rejection, and unanswered questions he endured. Nick emphasized that trauma is real and that many people carry deep wounds. He encouraged listeners to bring their pain before God, trusting that He can transform their suffering into a source of blessing. He said, "This that was set to destroy me actually brought me to a place of blessing." Nick highlighted the extraordinary gathering of diverse individuals in the church, attributing it to God's orchestration. He stressed that God's grace, freely given, is more valuable than any worldly possession or power. He encouraged listeners to embrace their struggles, recognizing that God has brought them to this moment for a purpose. The sermon addressed the concept of freedom, distinguishing between worldly notions of freedom and the true freedom found in Christ. Nick asserted that Joseph's freedom came from his heart, free from the pain of past injustices and rooted in the knowledge that he was in God's perfect plan. He urged listeners to fix their eyes on heaven, trusting that God has brought them to their present circumstances. Nick challenged the congregation to adopt a perspective of faith, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges. He emphasized that God is good and in control, even when circumstances suggest otherwise. He encouraged listeners to declare God's faithfulness, regardless of their current struggles. He used the story of his son, an airline pilot, to illustrate the importance of remaining calm and relying on established procedures in the midst of crisis. This analogy highlighted the idea that even in chaotic situations, there is a plan and a God who is in control. Nick concluded by emphasizing the transformative power of faith. When individuals embrace faith, they not only experience God's grace but also become a light to others. He encouraged listeners to share their testimonies, recognizing that God's truth sets people free. The central message was a call to trust in God's sovereignty, even when life is difficult. Nick encouraged his listeners to make the choice to trust God, to acknowledge that, even in the midst of trouble, God is working. He finished by calling the church to worship, and to respond to God. Bible References: Genesis 44: (Joseph testing his brothers) Genesis 45: (Joseph reveals himself to his brothers) Acts (Apostles thrown into prison) Ephesians (Blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ) Transcript Good morning. Good to see you all. It's great. This place is packed. Summer weather has brought everybody out, which is great. I want to echo Mike's prayer there. Thank you for that prayer. There is an element of ministry, of speaking, that is entirely out of our hands. There is preparation. There is thought. There is insight. There are all those things that we try and put into these messages, but there is a dynamic where God then connects with it by His Holy Spirit and brings it to life, even beyond what I can do, what I can say, what I can present. And that's my prayer this morning, that God will bring His Word to life in this short space of time. And beyond anything that I can offer, that the Holy Spirit will speak to us through His Word. And so we're on Genesis 45. Last week it was Genesis 44. We talked about how Joseph tested his brothers by planting a silver cup in the sack and then had them arrested on the way out. And what that whole episode, that puzzling episode, did was reveal somehow the heart, the change that God had brought about, even invisibly, in the lives of these brothers so that we got to the end of that passage where the sentence was being declared that this brother who had been found to have, or supposedly found to have stolen a cup, was going to remain as a slave for the rest of his life and all the other brothers would go back. And then Judah, the one who had originally sold Joseph or led the way in selling Joseph into slavery, stepped forward and said, I couldn't bear for this to happen. Let me stay and let my brother go free. And we saw how Judah, Jesus was the lion of the tribe of Judah, Judah was the father of the tribe of salvation, was actually able to articulate and actually in those actions demonstrate that Christ-like ministry of saying, let me stand in my brother's place and let him go free. And so we're in Genesis 45 and this has been a slow build up to this climax of this story. And I realize we don't read it. We haven't got a lot of time this morning, but I don't always read these passages and say, go home and read them. But it's important that we do read. And this is quite a dramatic moment in the story. So Genesis 45, Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room and he said to his attendants, out all of you. So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him. The word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh's palace. I am Joseph, he said to his brothers, is my father still alive? But his brothers were speechless. We would be, wouldn't you? They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. Please come closer, he said to them. So they came closer and he said again, I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into slavery in Egypt, but don't be upset and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you, and he is the one who made me an advisor to Pharaoh, the manager of his entire palace and the governor of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and tell him this is what your son Joseph says. God has made me master over all the land of Egypt. God has made me. So come down to me immediately. You can live in the region of Goshen where you can be near me with all your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds and everything you own. I will take care of you there for there are still five years of famine ahead of us. Otherwise your household and all your animals will starve. No pressure. Then Joseph added, look, you can see for yourselves and so can my brother Benjamin that I really am Joseph. Go tell my father of my honored position here in Egypt. Describe for him everything you have seen and then bring my father here quickly. Weeping with joy, he embraced Benjamin and Benjamin did the same. Then Joseph kissed each of his brothers and wept over them and after that they began talking freely with him. The news soon reached Pharaoh's palace. Joseph's brothers have arrived. Pharaoh and his officials were all delighted to hear this. Greg was talking about the joy of a feast, joy of celebration. Pharaoh of all people was, ah, it's awesome news. Joseph's brothers have come. Let's celebrate. Tell your brother this is what you must do. Load your pack animals and hurry back to the land of Canaan. Then get your father and all of your families and return here to me. I will give you the very best land in Egypt and you will eat from the best the land produces. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, tell your brothers take wagons from the land of Egypt to carry your little children and your wives and bring your father here. Don't worry about your personal belongings for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours. So the sons of Jacob did as they were told. Joseph provided them with wagons as Pharaoh had commanded and he gave them supplies for the journey and he gave each of them new clothes. But to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothes and three hundred pieces of silver. He also sent his father ten male donkeys loaded with the finest products of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other supplies he would need on his journey. So Joseph sent his brothers off and as they left he called after them, don't quarrel about this all along the way, and they left Egypt and returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. Joseph is still alive they told him and he is governor of all the land of Egypt. I mean that's not the sort of fanfare you expect is it when they turn back. Jacob was stunned at the news. He couldn't believe it but when they repeated to Jacob everything Joseph had told them and when he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him their father's spirits revived. Then Jacob exclaimed it must be true my son Joseph is alive I must go and see him before I die. Whee! It's a happy ending to this all we're getting there aren't we? He's on the eighth chapter of the story of Joseph and his family and the whole thing will take us to the end another five chapters, thirteen chapters for this family. Over a quarter of a whole book of Genesis given to this family and this story. A dysfunctional family but through whom we can see the working at the hand of God and the unfolding of God's plans and purposes. Not just for them but for all of God's people. For all those that would come after. They were laying the foundations for the whole history of the people of Israel. Thousands of years of history but lessons that are directly relevant to us today. Isn't it amazing how God's Word can be alive talking about a family that was alive for how many years was it four thousand many many years ago. Three thousand eight hundred and fifty apparently years ago. It was and and yet they speak to us today in 2025. Great to be part of this history. The overarching power of faith in God who sees way beyond our own circumstances and way beyond our own sufferings and in his perfect wisdom and perfect love is able to work together things to get us exactly where he wants us to be. The whole of this story and the whole of the driver for what has happened and how these brothers have come to be where they are is against the background of famine. The only reason that these brothers even thought of going to Egypt in the first place was because of the famine. The desperation they had to survive. If it wasn't for famine they wouldn't have been in Joseph's presence. If it wasn't for famine they wouldn't have been in a position where God could declare all that he had done. They wouldn't be in a position where they could find the blessing of the reconciliation that God was bringing about. It was famine that laid the context and the foundation for everything that they experienced. There was nothing spiritual about it, nothing mystical or prophetic. They were forced by circumstances in which they found themselves into a situation in which God revealed himself to them. And there's a lesson in that for us. We want to over-spiritualize things sometimes but there is a lesson that God will force us through the force of circumstances sometimes, through difficult circumstances, through challenging circumstances, through famine, through suffering, through sickness. God will bring us to a point where he can reveal himself to us. He said Joseph could stand it no longer and he sent everybody out and he said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Is my father still alive? And then he said, I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into slavery in Egypt but don't be upset and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. And the first question this gives me, to me and to us, is about our faith. What does faith mean? Is there room in our understanding of how God works in our lives and how much he cares for us that even when it seems that the wheels come off our lives completely and things don't work out as we planned or don't work out as we want, do we have the faith that says we can still trust you Lord? Can we grit our teeth and trust him come what may? The challenge is not to waste our struggle. Whatever your struggle is, don't waste it with regret or bitterness or sadness or frustration or throw the faith out of the window and say well you know where is God? If God was with me these things wouldn't be happening to me. Whatever it is, whatever you're facing today, you know I can look out and see a sea of faces here but inside there are things going on in your head, things going on in your mind, things that you've got to think about, that you've got to face tomorrow morning or next week or next month, things that are worrying you or causing anxiety, all of those things and you're thinking I don't even know where God is in the middle of it all. Can you have the faith that will decide to look up and look out and say Lord thank you? Joseph said to his brothers don't be upset and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here. God will use the circumstances of our lives. He will use our struggle. He will use our pain to bring us to a point where we see Him in ways that we couldn't see Him any other time. It was famine that brought their blessing. It was our struggle that will bring us to that point. It's a tough word to wrestle with because we don't want that. Like I said last week, we have an idea what our lives would look like if we were blessed but we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ and so on the basis of the fact that we have been blessed we say well Lord thank you because whatever happens you're going to bring me to a point where I see you if I will have eyes to see and ears to hear and heart to understand. Joseph had been through more than many could bear not only the way he was treated by his brothers but the way things worked out in Egypt. He was he was thrown in prison unjustly and so we just read that when he was finally alone with his brothers and he came to the point of telling them who he was he broke down and wept so loudly that the Egyptians could hear him. You forget he was actually in Egypt it sounds like oh they could even hear him in Egypt but no he was in Egypt. But this is trauma. This is the release of years of pain and grief. Years of injustice. Years of wondering what on earth had happened. How did this happen? Years of unanswered questions. Years of rejection. Years of knowing that he was hated by his brothers so much that they even wanted to kill him. That they even were prepared to sell him off and send him into a foreign land and forget about him and pretend to their father that he was dead. This was how he was treated. This is trauma and he's carried that all these years up until this point and he's gone through a process of transformation and God has been working in his life and he's also able to see how God has been working in his brother's life and he realized that the time has come the moment has come that God has orchestrated it so that they are together alone in this room and he says this is it and at the moment that he reveals his identity he breaks down in tears and weeps so loudly that everyone can hear it. The pain is real and whatever I have experienced in life or whatever you have experienced we can't pretend to understand what each other have gone through but whatever it is it's real and for many people life is traumatic. There are many things that we go through that are that we just carry that maybe are just in the background they're just there and life goes on and we plow on and we put a smile on our face and we keep going but there are those moments where it just becomes it just begins to boil over. But as we gather this morning in the presence of God and we put ourselves under his word the challenge is can we freely and without hindrance lift it up to God and say whatever it is Lord whatever you can see whatever you have been through whatever you have experienced whatever pain you carry whatever challenges you have you have wrestled with whatever it is we say Lord whatever it has been you have brought me here. This that was set to destroy me actually brought me to a place of blessing. We have been in the presence of God together this morning whatever your experience of that has been like whatever you felt like in that process we have been in the presence of God together as the circumstances of our life have worked together where else in the world would we all meet? Think of the diversity of of backgrounds of careers of experiences of things that we've gone through there is no other circumstance or no other context where 160 something people like us would meet and sing songs together apart from Wetherspoons or something like that but no that's not there you know that they're just it just it wouldn't happen but God has brought us here today whatever it is whatever your journey has been to bring you to this place God has brought you here and whatever life has given us we have been in the presence of God this morning and we have experienced the free gift of the grace of God something that money can't buy you something that success can't buy something that power can't buy you there's a lot of power play going on in the world at the moment people trying to assert themselves about who's the most powerful and who's the greatest and who's the this and who's the that and yet they've got nothing that we've got this morning and God has brought us with our stumbling ways and our weak liner and the difficulties and difficulties of our struggle he's brought us here this morning don't be upset and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place it was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives that in a nutshell is freedom we've talked a lot about freedom this morning freedom is for freedom that Christ has set us free Erica gave a word about you know being manicured on our ankles there is there's been a just just a celebration of the freedom that God gives us in the gospel there is an awful lot of talk about freedom as well you know we think somehow that somebody else might have the key to my freedom maybe somebody in my family maybe there's been a breakdown in relationship like there was in Joseph's family maybe there's been challenge or struggle maybe it's how angst about the government and you know what freedoms you know they grant us or don't grant us and all of that that goes on and we sometimes we act as if our freedom is in somebody else's hands but in actual fact our freedom is in our own hands don't be upset and don't be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place it was God who sent me here Joseph was free in his heart free of the pain of what had gone on free of what other people had done to him free of what circumstances had done to him and he knew that he was actually he was exactly where God wanted him to be and if we want to understand the route to peace and freedom and joy we cannot afford to fixate on what is happening to us or it's happening around also has happened to us in our past we have to fix our eyes on heaven and say Lord whatever it is you brought me to this place you've brought me to this moment whatever I've gone through and I worship you this morning we have to learn to think and to say things that are almost unthinkable and unsayable but the Bible teaches us that they are true Joseph's brothers must have been amazed Joseph could have destroyed them he could have he could have ruined them there and then you thought you were doing something powerful well I'll show you what power looks like could have had them thrown in prison he could have had them executed he could have he could have done anything to make himself feel better but by the grace of God he was able to fill the situation with faith thinking of mixing up analogies I know but Gregor talked about you know the the feast how it just became a flow of love that it filled the whole situation with love and with generosity and with celebration well we'll add to that faith as well that Joseph in this situation was able to take a terrifying situation for his brothers where they were wondering what was going to happen next and he was able to pour in faith and say actually don't look at it this way but see that God was in it from the beginning he was able to get a perspective on all that had happened to him and also be able to shine a light in his brother's heart he could he had the all self-awareness to know what what had happened to him he knew that God had brought him to this place but also his brothers weren't too sure about what was happening but he could see in them how much God had changed them as well and he was able to shine a light on their understanding and what I want to say this morning is don't fear faith it's not glib to say God is good Ian shared this at the at the prayer evening or the worship evening whichever one it was you know God is good all the time and all the time God is good and people say oh that sounds that's a bit simplistic but it's true don't fear the faith that says God you are good to me don't fear the faith that says it doesn't matter what's happened to me don't fear the fact you say you know what well I've just got to sort out this situation or I've just got to resolve this issue or I've just got to to to have the final say in this circumstance and then I'll feel better now we can have faith that says I can put all that aside don't fear don't be upset don't worry about all that because whatever has happened to me God has brought me to this place don't fear faith that says God is good God is in control God will have the final say don't fear the voice of faith that freely declares all my life you have been faithful say yeah but yeah but yeah but yeah but yeah but there's no yeah but all my life you have been faithful it's the root of freedom and joy and peace how else do you read circumstance you know thousands of years forward and the apostles in the book of acts are thrown into prison and they're flogged and they're and and they're manacled physically manacled and they worship God in the middle of it all it's one of the hardest challenges but the most powerful in terms of our growth in God and our experience of his grace and power and it's hard because we're submerged in our emotions and our fears and our anxiety and we want to make sense of it all before we can climb out of it we say things like well I'll get myself sorted out and then I'll be then I'll worship God I'll just sort out a few things and then I'll be at church and waiting for the fog to clear before we make decisions is a deception choices that we make our choice is a superpower and has nothing to do with how we feel it's the key to our future making choices in the midst of everything that we are going through everything that we are facing my son Jacob is a pilot an airline pilot and he's just it was this time last Sunday when he passed a final test that he had to do and then he was sort of released to be a to be a proper pilot you know flying people around here there and everywhere and it's quite interesting to listen to him talking about the sort of things that would normally make our hair curl he said on his first flight somewhere they they were coming in to land and um so well things weren't going entirely because you can follow him on flight right flight radar things weren't going entirely according to plan and uh then he when he did finally land he sent me a text and said that was a baptism by fire no why what happened and then there's silence nothing happened and then eventually comes oh yeah break failure on landing he said oh wow what yeah what did you do about that well we didn't know what to do so we just had to fly around in circles for a little while and then work out what to do we had to get the get the manuals out and check uh you know what what what was a good idea to do and make a plan actually that made sense to everybody um okay fine and then and then you know and you finally landed and everything was right yeah yeah we landed and then what did you do well the engineer came on and he he turned the plane off for five seconds turned it back on again everything was working this is exciting the point i'm trying to say is that those circumstances might give us anxiety might give us stress you know when you're coming down to land at this world's second busiest airport or whatever it was and suddenly all the alarms are going off and you're you're like 100 feet off the ground and you then you've got to decide what to do he said do you ever get worried about it he said no what's there to worry about we've got procedures we've got plans we've got you know and if we haven't we go fly somewhere and fly around in circles until we do work it out and then and then we bring it back and you know it's like that sort of and i admire that sort of training it's that sort of self-awareness that can say actually there there's no point panicking there's no point being anxious about there's no point sweating in fact this probably helps the rest of the passages if the pilot doesn't get anxious and uh you know and just take a breath and say right we're going to fly out there we're going to go around in a circle we're going to work out what's going to happen then we'll kind of bring it back and i know it's not that easy but there is there is a principle there that we can actually say okay well there is you know he said we know we got the 400 page manual out and started flicking through it trying to look for the chapter on brake failure i know and it's like well there is there is that element where we know that we are safe in the hands of god that we can take a breath that we can we can we don't need to panic we don't need to flap around we don't need to to do anything else but we can actually make a plan we can be free in our response to god and so without conditions we say to god you are good and i trust you and whatever has brought me to this point whatever i've had to face whatever i've suffered whatever i've lost i thank you that through it all i have found you there are many things in your life that you might have chosen not to have happen but can you see how they piece together and how they've brought you to today and can we say thank you thank you god because you have been good to me all my life you didn't these things set out to destroy me in fact they could have destroyed me but instead they brought me to life that's faith and just like joseph when you take that position of faith and the light of grace shines in and through your life you light up the world for others to see it's not that's why we have testimony and things you know when you when when we're able to share our faith and understanding and our understanding of what god has done in our life and what he said and then it can it can shine a light in somebody else's um life now they might not always respond with oh praise the lord that's marvelous you might think well it's all right for you know that people have all sorts of different responses and reactions but ultimately it is the truth that sets us free the truth that god is in control of our lives and joseph saw that joseph knew that if he had not gone through all he went through his declarations of faith would have been worthless but those things never destroyed him god glorified himself in his life and in the life of his family joseph would never have chosen to go through all that he went through he would never have wanted his brothers to do all of that but because he found freedom in god freedom through his faith freedom through his understanding that god was in control from start to finish he could say right okay i'll accept it and i'll trust you lord because you have brought me to this place that's the word that i want to share this morning that there are many things that we might might take our attention might take our energy might take our our anxiety might might rob us of our peace so i just wish that these things hadn't happened i wish they weren't happening to me or i wish my life was different or i wish this situation in my family wasn't there or whatever and and we take the lesson from joseph and the light that he shines into our hearts to say actually in the middle of all of that we still have choices we're not waiting for things to sort themselves out not waiting for that person to come and say sorry to me i'm not waiting for for these circumstances to to work out differently because we'll waste our life we'll spend our whole life being robbed of joy and peace and faith while we wait for other people to give us our freedom in actual fact we have the choice to take our freedom and to trust in god and to believe in him and to say lord you've done it you have done it you've done it all and i thank you that i'm here today in your presence with your people and i have an opportunity to grow in faith from this day i don't have to pick through all the stuff and unpick it all and fix it all first before you can do anything in my life but i can i can find you today and there is a choice that we can make this morning there is a choice that we can uh adopt to say lord thank you what is it that troubles you what is it that you wish was different what is it that you wish hadn't happened what is it about your life that causes you to struggle can you as we turn our hearts to god can you as we respond to god can you say lord whatever it is it's brought me to today it's brought me to this place and i thank you that i have the choice to make that people aren't making choices for me theme of reconciliation and all that and the fact that broken relationships and challenges they're all part of our lives people people are difficult they challenge us and they vex us but they don't have the power over our life and our choices only we have that and we can choose to respond in faith and so maybe the worship team could come as we finish

Here is a summary of Nick's sermon: The Chaotic World: Nick begins by acknowledging the chaos in the world, referencing the scientific principle of entropy and the negative news we see daily. However, he emphasizes that God's work is to push back against this chaos, bringing order and hope. Except God: Nick introduces the Ghanaian symbol "Gye Nyame," meaning "except God," as a central theme. He reflects on how, without God's grace, life would be lost and emphasizes God's silent influence in transforming lives. God's Faithfulness: Nick highlights God's faithfulness even when we are faithless, drawing from scripture to illustrate God's constant presence and care. Joseph's Brothers: Nick uses the story of Joseph and his brothers to demonstrate how God works even in the midst of flawed individuals. He points out how God shaped Joseph's brothers, transforming them from "lost causes" into better people. God's Work in Our Lives: Nick encourages listeners to recognize God's ongoing work in their lives, even in dark and chaotic moments. He emphasizes the transformative power of trusting God, leading from slavery to sin to slavery to righteousness. Judah's Transformation: Nick focuses on Judah's selfless act of offering himself as a slave to free his brother, highlighting this as a manifestation of God's heart and a foreshadowing of Jesus' sacrifice. God's Plan: Nick explains that God's plan, including Jesus' crucifixion, was in place before the foundation of the earth. He encourages listeners to see God's will working through the messiness of life. Trusting God: Nick concludes by urging listeners to trust God, acknowledging their blessings in Christ and recognizing that challenges serve to magnify God's work in their lives. He uses the analogy of calming a frantic dog to illustrate the need to return to God's presence and trust in Him. Here are the Bible references used in the sermon: Genesis 1 Genesis 38 Genesis 44 Transcript in Genesis and it's a 50 yeah so May May that's our our our heading where we where we end up the titles it's often commented about the titles that we have there's a sort of a background outline of Genesis that we use like these titles are there and they very rarely connect with with what we actually believe God is saying to us at the time but it's a good enough title and that today it's a changing world last time I talked about the things we observe in everyday life how things can become more or do become more chaotic as I mentioned the scientific principle of all theory of entropy that everything tends towards chaos that things deteriorate bad things get worse if you buy a car it rusts there's all of that process that things don't get better they get worse and we only have to turn on our TV or open up the internet and to see what is happening it just feels like there is a whole downwards a downhill rush towards chaos and then we reflected that in actual fact the work of God and in the world and in our lives is to push back against the chaos and to actually be a life force in us that that goes against nature that actually creates something wonderful out of darkness that we went back to Genesis 1 and remembered that in the beginning there was darkness and there was chaos and there was there was nothing there and the Spirit of God hovered over it and then at one moment God said let there be light and he called the chaos into order and he started to bring all the random atoms and everything that was around and he gathered them together and he made you and me I mean there anybody that looks into the the physiology and the biology of the human of the human being can't fail to see the hand of God bringing order out of chaos pushing back bringing direction hope and solution in Ghana there is a traditional symbol can shot on the screen grab a few if it will come up there we are genuinely it's very very well now you see it everywhere you go to Ghana those of you that that many of you know Ghana better than I do but if you go there you see this all over the place it's carved it's made into jewelry there's there's all sorts of depictions of it it's and Jane Yami means simply means except to God except God and for those who have encountered the grace of God the power of God who attach their lives to Christ and have set their selves to follow him we can honestly sum up our testimonies in those two words we said except God if they we accept God there is nothing you know we used to sing that song father God I wonder how I managed to exist without the knowledge of your parenthood and your loving care and when I was young and naive I'm old and wise now but when I was young and naive you know I used to think well yeah I don't know you know I don't exactly know what that means but as you get older and as you go through life you really can say yeah without the knowledge of your parenthood and your loving care how did I exist how how does anything happen except God where without God where would you be think about it just for a moment just reflect as I'm talking think about your life without the grace of God where would you be you might not always understand what he does you might not always like what he does you might not always enjoy what it means to live life on this earth you might wish that your life had taken a different path you might wish that you had a different family or you were born into different circumstances or you had a bit more of an advantage in life but truly honestly we can say without God and his intervention and the silent influence to transform our lives and to fight back against the chaos we would absolutely be lost and everybody and time and time again when people stand up here to give a testimony is if they if they had given up on faith in God that would have just been lost awash in a sea of chaos and yet they're able to say people are able to say week after week but God except God this was the way things were going but God intervened but God did something and it's there it's this except God principle that we have to remember and we have to remind that we're not calling him down from from out from afar but he's within us that he's he's given us his Holy Spirit and he walks alongside us even when we don't know you know when we are faithless the Bible teaches us he is faithful when we don't regard him he regards us when we ignore him he draws close to us he is faithful in every way all my life you have been faithful all my life you have been so so good and we can say that whether we feel it or whether we don't because it's an objective fact that we learn from the scripture that all our lives God is faithful and except God we would be utterly lost now Genesis Joseph's brothers didn't start well if you've been following the story the box set as it's been unfolding you might even say they were lost causes from the outset they were hopeless horrible horrible nasty pieces of work they didn't like Joseph and his coat Joseph perhaps was a little bit of an upstart a little bit unpleasant probably had a grating personality but I don't know if he deserved what happened to him but his brothers did it to him anyway they they set about to destroy him to have him first of all killed and when he wasn't killed they wanted to sell him off into slavery and they deceived their father into with a with a false story about what had happened but as I said in one of our previous messages if you've remembered it but if you haven't remembered it you get a little bit again today silently imperceptibly these fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel being shaped and fashioned and schooled in the ways of God so they ended up better than when they started God was working against the chaos fashioning them quietly and while they would do it they were just living their own life they were doing their own thing following their own instincts sometimes but God was still working still going at it and sometimes we think that God will only come and work in my life when I've got everything right when I've prepared the room for him when I call him down and he says all right I'm ready now now you've you know now you've decided that you're gonna pay me some attention I'll come and join you that's not it even when we're in our darkest most chaotic most lost moments God is committed to us in actually working against the chaos as we put our faith and our trust in him you might look at your life and think well what hope is there for me maybe if I hadn't messed up quite so much maybe if I said earlier if I had more of an advantage in life maybe if I had a different family maybe if things were different for me things might have worked out better but that is where we need to look and to open up our eyes and see that God is working in our lives if you give yourself to him if you open your heart to him if you trust him not just today nor next week but for the whole long haul through every circumstance of life through every success and failure if you trust him not only to forgive your sin you know when you think oh no I've messed up again Lord forgive me and then you go on again it's not about just day by day sin but deliverance from the power of sin over your life so that we're actually set to live a different life as I've said before the Bible says that before we knew him we were slaves to sin slaves to sin you know if you're a slave you don't have any choice over what you do do you you don't have any say in what you do you just do what your master tells you to do and so if you're a slave to sin guess what happens but says that through the power through the power of God he has transformed us from being slaves to sin to being slaves to righteousness so slave so if we're a slave to righteous we do we don't really have a day by day choice am I going to be you know what am I going to be whatever we're slaves to righteousness and slowly imperceptibly we are transformed into the image of God because of the work that he has said about to do in us he who began a good work in us it's faithful to bring it to completion and we will look back and see just what God can do every single one and while you're sitting there this morning listening to me disqualifying yourself and thinking well yeah it's not for me remember you are not exempt from the grace of God except God you wouldn't be here except God God will do and you will never see him disappointing you and you might say well he's already disappointed me compare our pain can bear our angst but the truth is he doesn't disappoint us he brings us to transformation by the grace of God Joseph seemed to have an awareness of the possibility that his brothers had changed you see he was now in power he wasn't in a pit anymore looking at his torn coat I'm thinking you know what's gonna happen to me he was he wasn't in jail anymore he was now the Prime Minister of Egypt for want of a better term he had enough power to judge them and to destroy them based on what they'd done and yet he chose to try and find out what were they now maybe they're different he saw the grace of God on his own life he understood that he was only where he was now because of God how could you be thrown into a pit be left for dead dragged up sold it to slaves to slow sold into slavery go into Egypt and go through all they went to be thrown into prison for years and years come back and finally he's here except God it's only God that can do that and he knew that that God had been at work in his life and as he said later I don't want to steal anybody's thunder but when he said later you know what you meant for evil God meant for good he was beginning to understand that God was at work in all of these circumstances that's why we sing praise praise the Lord there's our praise when I'm sure and I'm praise when I'm doubting there's as long as I'm breathing I've got a reason to praise the Lord Joseph was seeing that in his own life and so he thought that if well if God has done all this for me as a result of what they did then maybe just maybe God has also been at work in them and it was certainly possible and he wanted to see and what he did in this story and I'd urge you to read it reveals the treasure that God had been working in their lives treasure in jars of clay treasure in imperfect jars like ours are but treasure nevertheless and so these brothers had come back to Egypt and they brought their youngest brother Benjamin Benjamin was Joseph's blood brother Benjamin was the son of Rachel just as Joseph was and he loved Benjamin when they brought him earlier on to his house when I spoke last time he gave Benjamin five times as much food as everybody else Joseph was into the whole concept of favorites and he he just loved Benjamin and they and he had insisted and he'd worked it out that they would bring Benjamin to see him and it was time for them now to leave and as they prepared to leave Joseph did something very strange he arranged for his silver cup to be planted in Benjamin's sack and for them to be arrested on the way home for stealing sounds very loving doesn't it the only conceivable reason I can think of is so that he and we could see what happened to these brothers over the long years since they conspired to destroy Joseph so the cup was discovered they were horrified and they heard the sentence that Joseph had said that when they find this cup that he'd put in the sack when they find this tell them that that brother that owns that sack will become my slave and everybody else will go they were horrified that Benjamin would stay as Joseph's slave and the others would go free and so we start to see you can't even believe this is the same bunch of wasters that messed up all those chapters ago they started to express something different they were horrified I mean they basically they've got a get out of jail free card the brothers from before the brothers of yesteryear might have said oh too bad Benjamin see you later we're off but they said no we cannot leave him here on his own they would have jumped at the opportunity before but against the odds remember the work of God in their lives against are they beginning to react differently respond differently now and in verse 18 there's a really powerful verse chances chapter 44 verse 18 simply says then Judah stepped forward Judah stepped forward and said please my lord let your servant say just one word to you please do not be angry with me even though you are as powerful as Pharaoh himself Judah had led the conspiracy to destroy Joseph Judah had deceived his father Judah had behaved so badly when it came to Tamar his daughter-in-law go back to Genesis 38 in that parental advisory chapter that we that we read about go back there and see just what Judah used to be like he was a lost cause to any normal eyes but in this moment Judah stepped forward stepped forward and spoke he pleaded for mercy on behalf of his brother on the basis that mercy must be shown to their father he said I cannot go back without this boy because it will kill my father it would be it will be the worst possible thing my father cannot bear that grief and I cannot do it to him and in one moment it's as if all the dross falls away and we begin to see I said about treasure in jars of clay it's almost like the clay comes away and you start to see well this is beautiful he said so please my lord let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy and let the boy return with his brothers for how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me I couldn't bear to see the anguish that this would cause my father Judah stepped forward and says don't keep him here keep me he would give up himself that his brothers could go free I think well what's happened to Judah who's got who give him back this is this is a miracle David talked about miracles miracles miracles miracles that God is working quietly and imperceptibly in our lives Genesis is a long and complex history of families it's the beginning it's the foundation of our understanding of how God works I don't know about you if you ever watch those well I'm sure you have watched them those long and involved box set things you know detective stories Netflix or whatever it is whoever subscribes to the devil's own channel like that I hear you start off with a six-part thing and you think right I'm gonna get this I'm gonna follow it all the way through and I'm gonna pick up all the threads and at the end of it I'm gonna be able to tell you exactly who done it and and when and when they when it's all revealed I'm gonna say I knew that because I've followed it through I'm clever but about half an hour in I get lost I said to Erica what's happening who's that where do they come from I don't remember that there was Vera that's one of them that's the worst trouble with Vera is that you follow you try and follow through work it all out and in somebody who's never been in the story for the last two hours turns up and turns out to be the murderer but anyway but you end up waiting for the final episode to for everything to become clear and to make sense and dare I say it without being irreverent that the Bible can seem a bit like that at times but you start by thinking you know what's happening but then you get slightly lost and slightly confused you think okay and even reading Genesis even preparing to speak on Genesis you like well I think I understand it and you go in backwards and forwards and trying to pick up the threads but it's a gradual unfolding and a revealing of God's plans and purposes until we arrive at the final episode at the cross and then we have the rest of the New Testament to pick and explain what all that means but when you get to the cross and you see and you begin to understand that what Jesus was doing as he and we're going to celebrate that as we go through Easter aren't we what Jesus was doing as he stepped forward and he gave himself to be nailed on a cross and he gave himself to be punished and he gave himself to suffer and he gave himself to go through all that he went to in order that we might go free then just like a box set if you take time to go over it again then you can pick up the clue say oh I should have seen that and Genesis even though it's way back at the beginning of the scripture even though it's thousands of years before this you can pick up the clues all the way through whether it's Abraham about to sacrifice his only son and as he lifts the knife there's a ram in the thicket and you know saying God himself will provide a ram and it begins to unfold and there is story after story that if you have eyes to see maybe if you just read it on its own you think what does that mean a ram why would God give somebody a son and then tell them tell him to sacrifice him what's all that about but when you go through the whole story and you go through to you know episode 21 of season 6 and you get here then you begin to understand and you go back to all right okay let's watch it again let's let's think about it again and this is what was happening here in this case it's Judah the son of Leah the one who wasn't wanted the one who was rejected the one who wasn't picked and then Judah became the head of the tribe from which Jesus was born the Lion of the tribe of Judah and in this story Judah stepped forward and offered himself as a sacrifice so that his brothers could go free Judah was manifesting God he didn't even know himself what he was doing I'm sure but God was at work in his heart to the extent that he was filling the space and he was making him a better person he was shaping his character and at this crucial moment he stepped forward and revealed the heart of God said let me stay let me give my life in order that these brothers of mine might go free that he was manifesting the heart of the gospel way back at the beginning of history and what it shows is that there is no plan B that this is what God wanted from the beginning they didn't look and say oh it's got in a real mess and now I've got to come up with something in order to put it right no in actual fact the lamb that was slain the Jesus that was crucified was crucified before the foundation of the earth he was crucified before how do we work this out I don't know but he was before Genesis was written and so therefore all of this was laid down all of this was in place all of this was there for us before all of this history started to work out and so when we look at it and we scratch our heads and we think what a mess what an absolute car crash of these families and everything else going on you begin to see the threads of God's will and his heart working out and being manifest through it all and you see as somebody eloquently put it one Christ in all the scriptures you see all the way through and we'll go as we continue you see more and more and more Judah was manifest Judah was preaching the gospel thousands of years before Judah work before Jesus was born Judah was redeemed brought back from the edge of destruction and God began a work in him that was not evident until he was tested by Joseph and the full beauty of what had happened was revealed when you look at your life and you wonder what is God doing and then you look at your circumstances you think I wish these things wouldn't happen why has God allowed these things to happen remember it's those things sometimes and many times that reveal the beauty of what God is doing in our lives he revealed the reality of it if everything was just handed to us on a plate we would have nothing of value but because we go through all that we go through because we are tested because we are tried because we meet injustice because we are sad because we grieve because we are complexed all of those things serve to reveal the heart of God in our lives and what he is doing Judah came from nothing Judah came from sin to be the father of the tribe of salvation the salvation that has been planned from before the beginning of time and slowly slowly God has been working out through history and working it out through our lives you might have an idea what your life would look like if I were blessed you ever play that game what if I won the lottery we couldn't win the lottery of course because we never play it do we but if you if you if you if you say well what if I had a million pounds this is what I would do I'd have a new lawnmower I'd have some new some new spoons and and everything would be would be good all right okay it'll go into a trust fund until I'm old enough to spend it but if I were blessed what would my life look like and we remember that the Bible teaches us that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ every spiritual blessing he hasn't reserved anything he's poured it out even the national lottery don't give us everything they've got but God has given us everything poured out on our lives we are blessed and so the things that challenge confuse distress us are all designed to magnify what God is doing in our lives it's painful to think about sometimes we don't like it but Jesus the Lion of the tribe of Judah has stepped forward on our behalf and because of him we are free we don't have to wonder we don't have to guess anymore we can trust God whatever happens that's what happened at Easter as we approach it that there was a moment where God said what is going to happen because the only the only path the only course of action I have is to judge them and Jesus stepped forward and said take let me take it that they might go free and that's our blessing in the pattern of what was happening in Genesis and so my request at the end of all this is very very simple sometimes we over complicate things we twist ourselves in knots we try to understand God and we just need to bring ourselves back to the center and breathe and say okay Jesus I trust you because I've not come into this late I've not come into this you know as somebody's sort of banging on the door trying that you called me from before the beginning of time that you have purposes for my life that you have blessed me with every spiritual blessing in Christ that Christ has paved the way for me from before the beginning of time there is no plan b in my life Jesus I trust you we're not asking for lightning bolts from heaven just the ability to trust for the journey maybe you feel like you've never ever done it you've never actually let go of everything that is causing you angst and said all right Lord I trust you don't know what that means don't know what it looks like but I see that you have always been there and you will always be there and you will every step of the way all my life you have been and you will be faithful and sometimes for us it's a it's a coming back always hesitate to use these analogies because I'm not likening this to to dogs or anything else but I have a challenge with my dog that sometimes you know he can he can be wonderfully well behaved and trotting along like a cruft champion sometimes and and other times he goes absolutely ballistic because there's something has happened a pigeon has flown across his path or something he gets all terribly worked up and what I've realized is there's you know all the fighting with the lead and you know shouting and trying to communicate and he doesn't speak English I found out and uh and so I just have to pull him back pull him back to the center get him to sit down and stand still and we just stand there together like this doing nothing except calming down and thinking okay and the reason that he's jumping up and down and running in every direction is because he's afraid or because he's stimulated because he he wants to do something but he's like something has overtaken his brain we know what that feels like don't we fear and anxiety and insecurity and worry they take over our brain and we run in every different direction and there comes a time when god just wants to say all right come back let's let's just sit down together breathe a little bit calm down and start again trust me because he's always there in the middle sometimes it's in the middle of our franticness we say lord where are you where are you where are you come lord help me why have you let this happen and he's just there like all right come back to the beginning and just as I finish there's a chorus that came to mind which I won't sing to you but I will share the words very simply I don't know why it came out maybe it's just inspired by the holy spirit I need thee oh I need thee every hour I need thee oh bless me now my savior I come to thee I need thee oh I need thee every hour I need thee oh bless me now my savior I come to thee and just like with Alfie my dog like I said he doesn't speak English the words the conversation doesn't produce much fruit and sometimes it's just being aware that actually in my presence he's safe and he can afford to calm down and maybe there is that element to our relationship with God that we can't work it all out in conversation sometimes we can't articulate what we feel we don't quite know what it means if we're honest to listen to God because we we can't hear him speaking and you know there's all of that stuff goes on and sometimes it's just a matter of sitting in his presence and saying lord I need you and I trust you and I believe in you Jesus I believe in you and maybe we can sing that song Jesus I believe in you is that right unless you've got a different one oh very good Erica's all on her own and just as we do this I would urge you if there's anything in response in you if you know what it's a bit like to be that frantic person running in every direction trying to work out as you go where is God and you know there comes a moment where you just have to lay it all aside and you have to sit still and you have to listen and you have to breathe and you have to say lord I trust you then trust him and if it will help you just as Judah's moment was very very powerful when he stepped forward there is power in stepping forward if you would like to step forward and come here and just as a declaration if maybe you can't speak the words but you know you want to trust in the lord maybe for the first time maybe for the hundredth time but you can come and you can physically stand in his presence and if you want someone to pray for you someone will pray

"Order Out of Chaos" - Nick Nick's sermon focused on the enduring power of God's grace, using the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis as a central example. He began by acknowledging the church's ongoing study of Genesis, inviting newcomers to join the narrative at any point, as the themes within are timeless. He emphasized that the biblical accounts of flawed families demonstrate God's ability to work within human messiness, bringing order from chaos. Nick highlighted the theme of God's infinite patience and grace, illustrated by Joseph's story. Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, endured hardship and injustice, yet rose to power in Egypt through God's intervention. Nick explained how Joseph's ability to interpret Pharaoh's dreams led to his prominence and, ultimately, to a reconciliation with his brothers during a famine. A key point of the sermon was Joseph's choice to extend mercy rather than seek revenge. Despite having the power to crush his brothers, Joseph saw an opportunity for reconciliation, demonstrating God's character breaking through human darkness. Nick stressed that God's mercy triumphs over judgment, a theme that resonates throughout the Bible. Nick recounted the brothers' previous trip to Egypt, where Joseph tested them by detaining Simeon and demanding they return with Benjamin. He detailed the brothers' fear and Jacob's reluctant agreement to let them return, highlighting the theme of light breaking through in unexpected ways. Upon their return, Joseph hosted his brothers, showering them with hospitality and blessing, especially Benjamin. Nick emphasized Joseph's decision to focus on the future rather than the past, refusing to be defined by past trauma. He urged listeners to embrace their circumstances and discover God's grace within them. Nick contrasted human nature's tendency towards chaos, referencing "entropy theory," with God's ability to push back against chaos and bring order. He likened God's action to the creation narrative in Genesis, where God brought light out of darkness. He applied this concept to contemporary situations, citing examples of spiritual growth amidst global turmoil. Nick concluded by emphasizing that faith is acknowledging God's presence and opening our hearts to his light. He encouraged listeners to recognize God's work in their lives, even through difficult times, and to give thanks for his grace. He reiterated that God orchestrates events for good, and that by opening our eyes, we can witness his life force bringing order out of chaos. Bible References: Genesis (general) Genesis 37 Genesis 43 Transcript Great. I just want to take a few minutes, only a few minutes, just to speak for a little while. There's a strong theme coming through this morning in what we've been doing. I want to come back to Andy's picture of the, you know, holding the curtain shut to keep out the light of God, because I think that is a real challenge to us at so many different points of our lives. I mentioned earlier the theme of living under the grace and the banner of God, and we in our church have been carefully going through Genesis over the last year or so, Genesis being the very first of the 66 books that makes up the Bible, telling the story of our origins and the goings-on amongst all the families that are the ancestors of us all. So you've come in in season one, episode 43, but like all good box sets, you can join at any particular time, and you can still get something out of it. You don't have to go back and watch all other 42 versions first, but it's really good to come in on this, and one of the things that we found is that there really is nothing new under the sun. These people and families were hugely dysfunctional, flawed and challenged, and yet in the middle of all the mess, God was at work making himself known, and the Bible does that over and over again, and it's so encouraging to us that we don't have to have everything right before we come to him, but he's so good at being found in the middle of our mess and creating order out of chaos. Sometimes we are found in a heap, and God's grace and infinite patience leads us to life. We'll have baptisms next week, and we'll hear stories about people who are coming to faith, and often the story is I was in a heap, but yet God found me and lifted me and changed me and changed the outcome of my story, and that's the theme that comes all the way through Genesis and into the rest of the history of God's Word. His infinite patience leads us to life. And one of the stories, the story that we've been focusing on most recently is one of the more well-known Old Testament stories, which you might know as Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, but that's not the official title of the story, but that is how it's become known, and we've been following the ups and downs of Joseph's life. And in Genesis 37, Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, a horrible story, but under God's hand, he rose to prominence and power in Egypt, which wasn't an easy ride. He was unjustly imprisoned, and he suffered a lot, but God was with him through it all. He was able to interpret the Pharaoh's dreams, and as a result, he was rewarded and became very, very powerful. He predicted that there would be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of severe famine, and it was that famine that forced Joseph's brothers from years, you know, he hadn't seen them for years and years and years, it forced them to come to Egypt to look for grain for the sake of their family, and God orchestrated the circumstances whereby the family could be reconciled. It was like I've said from the beginning, the outworking of the grace of God over so many years, through so many circumstances, and you see the hand of God in it all. And so these brothers have turned up in Egypt, Joseph knew who they were, but they didn't know who he was. And he didn't, being somebody extremely powerful, you know we see power played out in the world all the time don't we on our TV screens and the news broadcasts and all that, people's own interpretation of what power means, Joseph had power, and yet he didn't use this as an opportunity to crush his brothers, or to wreak revenge on his brothers, but he saw it as an opportunity for reconciliation. One of those times in the human story where the light of God's character breaks through the darkness, remember the curtains Andy talked about where we hold them together and yet the light forces its way through, that God comes into our life, into our circumstances in ways that turns the story on its head. Things don't just go the way of all flesh, but God is able to change the outcome, he's able to change your story, he's able to change my story, and so many of us have that testimony of how he has done that. He breaks through the darkness, this could have been a really really horrible story if Joseph had just followed his human nature and instincts, he could have seen his brothers before him and thought well here we go, this is my opportunity to have my way of revenge against them, and they could have been an absolute massacre, but yet God had a different end to the story that he wanted to bring about. Joseph's brothers in this circumstance as they stood before him were weak, they were vulnerable, they were afraid, they could have been destroyed, but God's mercy triumphs over judgment. That's one of the phrases that comes through the word time and time again, that God's mercy triumphs over judgment. That we think some often when we look with our layman's view if you like, or our instinctive view of God, we think well he's somebody who might judge me, he might somebody who might be disappointed in me, might somebody who might want to to have his say against me like a like an unjust head teacher or whatever, but yet God's mercy triumphs over judgment, that God prefers mercy to judgment, God prefers grace to revenge, he prefers it and we're the better for it. These brothers had been to Egypt once before looking for grain and Joseph had put them to the test. I'm going through, you can read the story yourself, it's a, we challenged for time this morning, but hopefully putting a synopsis to the story, but please do go and read Genesis 43 if you can and if you're able. He had detained one of their brothers Simeon and insisting that when they returned they should bring Benjamin, their youngest brother. Benjamin was Joseph's blood brother from the same mother and he had a real interest in seeing him and so he wanted to put them to the test, so he kept Simeon in detention and said, you know, when you come back I'll release him to you again, so it was a test for them. They had no idea what was going to happen, they persuaded their father Jacob to let them go, but he was very, very reluctant, but in the end he agreed because their survival depended on it. Jacob's love and affection for his family was overriding any sense he had for wanting revenge on them. It's just, again, it's like that chink of light coming through. We would think, if we wrote this story we wouldn't imagine that there was going to be so much opportunity for goodness and light to come out of it, but in actual fact this is what God does. He turns things upside down and inside out. And so when they arrived in Egypt, Joseph hosted them at his own house. They were a bit suspicious and fearful because they didn't understand what was happening, but Joseph used the opportunity to bless them. We've talked about blessing this morning. He showed them hospitality and he lavished it upon his young brother Benjamin, gave him five times as much as he gave anybody else. So this reunion was a traumatic one, it was a difficult one for Joseph, but it was also one that was joyful and held a lot of promise for the future. Joseph was actually, by the grace of God, thinking about the future rather than the past, thinking about what was possible rather than what had happened, drawing a line and saying actually I'm not going to allow things to get fixed in time, a particular thing, and so many things happen in our lives that define us. We look at them, we look at negative things that have happened, traumatic things that have happened, and we say that defines my life from now on, but in actual fact Joseph was saying I'm not going to allow that to happen. The future is going to be different to the past. And so very quickly, what can we learn? The key to learning is learning to embrace our circumstances and discover the grace of God in them regardless of what has happened. Joseph wasn't actually imprisoned by the bitterness of what he lost as a result of his brother's actions. In fact, he used it as an opportunity for life. His dealings with them later in life, he was determined not to judge them on who they were, but he wanted to see what they had become. There was a willingness to look at them with grace and with kindness. They had conspired to kill him. They'd sold him off as a slave. They concealed the fact from their father. Their father had grieved for years believing that Joseph was dead. How was there any coming back from that horrible position? But in actual fact we see over the course of years, somehow these men had improved. Their characters had changed. Their outlook had become better rather than worse. They were better men over time. Judah was a ringleader in what they did to Joseph and yet in these stories he shows that he's willing now to sacrifice himself to put his own life at risk for the sake of his brothers. As I was preparing this, I thought about my education and I went back and I thought, I'm not pretending to be an expert in science or anything like that, but there was something niggling in my mind. I said, there's a theory about this sort of thing. So I looked it up on Google and found out that it's called entropy theory. That basically says that everything tends towards chaos. Everything tends to fall apart. Everything tends to get worse. Things don't get better. You don't get good things out of bad. Bad things just become worse. Things just unravel. It's the natural way. It's the way of all flesh. And yet as we read the human story in the pages of the Bible from the beginning, even when everything has gone terribly wrong, even when the wheels fall off, there is a force, there is a life force that works against the chaos that makes things better even when they were worse. That brings light out of darkness. That brings life out of death. And that is the Spirit of God at work. Right back at the beginning of Genesis, we read that there was darkness over the whole earth. There was chaos. There was disorder. And yet suddenly in the middle of that, God said, let there be light. And there was light. And so the pushback began and he started pushing back. And this natural entropy theory that says everything just gets worse and worse and worse and unravels and the wheels fall off. God says, actually, I'm going to make it different. I'm going to push back. I'm going to push back up the hill rather than run down the hill and actually see that things can actually turn out. And that's been the story of human history because if you think about it, things went terribly wrong from the beginning and they should be even worse now. But yet the force of God's life coming into our lives, mercy triumphs over judgment. Light triumphs over darkness. Life triumphs over death. That's the way of God. That's what he wants to do in our lives. Getting order out of the chaos. It's the life force of God. And you look at our world and you can read, you can listen to the news and you can feel so depressed because you think where do we go from this? There's no bounce back from this. Things are just getting worse and worse. And yet there is order that comes out of chaos by the life. There's almost like a parallel life that comes out. When you hear the stories from a Christian point of view of what's happened in Ukraine and the terrible destruction and the destruction of life and the destruction of hope and the destruction of buildings and everything just looks a mess. And yet you hear the stories about people coming to life, coming to faith in Christ, the church growing. In Iran where there's so much going on and yet the church is growing. There's such a lot that is happening. The life force of God at work in this world bringing order out of chaos. There was hope for Joseph's family because God had been filling the space in their lives over the years, even unseen. The grace of God is unseen so many times but he brings order out of our chaos. We see shapes, he guides, he orchestrates events to make himself known and to establish his purposes. And so to have faith in God is to acknowledge his presence, to acknowledge his life, to acknowledge his light. Back to Andy's picture again of us being in a dark room where we're holding the curtains shut and yet the light is shining. The light always shines whether we acknowledge it or not but the challenge is will we open the curtains? Will we actually say wow this is, this has always been there, now I'm going to live in the good of it. That's the turn in our hearts. Our faith in God doesn't make God real but it's just our acknowledgement, our opening our eyes, our recognition of what he does in our lives. And many of us could tell difficult stories and we've been through ups and downs and we've been through pain and we've been through trauma and we've been through difficulty and yet you're here today hearing the word about the light of God shining in our lives and the question will we open up our hearts and will we open up our minds to see that God has always been shining in our lives. Things for Joseph's family, things weren't easy, things were difficult, things were traumatic, things were filled with grief but yet as we get towards the end we see actually God was shining through it all, that he was actually working it all out. It could have been so awful the outcome of this story and yet it ended up being so good because God was working to bring order out of chaos. Grace is at work in our world and in our lives. The question is will we open our eyes and see it. There's a phrase isn't there that we say oh but for the grace of God there but for the grace of God go I. Where would we be but for the grace of God? Where would we be today but for the grace of God? Think back over all the things that could have happened to your life. Maybe things have happened to your life. Maybe you feel lucky or blessed. Maybe you feel like there's no blessing in your life or your circumstances at all but either way the light of God is shining and we need to look and see and have eyes to see and hearts to understand what it is that he's doing in our lives bringing our chaos into order. We can resist him but he's real. Our resistance, our opinion doesn't change things but it prevents us from knowing and being able to trust God. We sang the names of God at the beginning. Jehovah Nissi fights our battles. Jehovah Jireh provides our needs and all the other ones that I've forgotten. He does them all. Continually works for our good. And so God is calling us to open our eyes and see that maybe after a very long time like Joseph that all the time he simply holds our lives in the palm of his hand. Wants us to look up and understand that. Understand that actually whatever we think there is a force that is bringing our lives into order, bringing our lives into line that is where things could have been so different, could have been so dark, could have been so negative and yet there is an opportunity to open up the curtains and allow the light of God to shine and say well thank you God, to give thanks in all circumstances for the grace of God. That was the story of Joseph. There was no human agency. There was no reason to believe that things would work out well but yet God was able to orchestrate the circumstances. Are we ready to open up our eyes and to see the grace of God at work in our lives and to finally say well God in it all you do all things well. And at the end of the story we want to be those who celebrate the grace of God and know that we could pick up any number of things. We could say what about this and what about that and what about the other but when we open up our eyes and we see the light of the grace of God we can always see where he's working. We can see this life force that is bringing order out of chaos. Amen.

Genesis 42 - The Messy Path to Reconciliation Jonathan's sermon this week centered on Genesis 42, a chapter he identified as a critical turning point in the story of Joseph and his brothers. He emphasized that this passage marks the beginning of a complex journey toward reconciliation, a theme that resonates deeply with anyone navigating family dysfunction or unresolved past hurts. He began by acknowledging the often-messy reality of family relationships, noting that many carry unresolved pain, both from distant and recent events. The sheer volume of Genesis dedicated to Jacob's troubled family, culminating in their eventual restoration, underscores the importance of this theme. Jonathan stressed that God desires unity and healing within families, biological and spiritual alike. Jonathan highlighted that God's work in Genesis 42 is often subtle, unfolding in the background without explicit divine pronouncements. This, he argued, offers hope for those facing seemingly insurmountable challenges. Even when God's presence feels distant, He is actively working to bring about His purposes, using even trauma and trigger points to achieve His will. The catalyst for the brothers' encounter with Joseph was a severe famine. This universal hardship, affecting rich and poor alike, became the instrument through which God orchestrated their journey to Egypt. Jonathan emphasized the improbability of this meeting, highlighting the role of divine providence. It wasn't a mere coincidence but a "God incident," a moment designed by God to fulfill His plan. Joseph's emotional turmoil upon seeing his brothers was a central focus. After years of trauma, including slavery and imprisonment, Joseph had risen to a position of power in Egypt. The sight of his brothers bowing before him triggered a flood of memories, particularly the dreams that had fueled their hatred. Jonathan explored the complex mix of emotions Joseph must have experienced: longing for family, anger at betrayal, and a deep-seated desire for justice. Despite having the power to retaliate, Joseph chose a path of reconciliation, demonstrating his faith in God's larger plan. This choice, Jonathan argued, serves as a powerful example for us all, particularly when faced with the opportunity to seek revenge. The sermon also explored the brothers' perspective, highlighting their growing awareness of guilt and remorse. Their journey to Egypt, the path Joseph was forced to take as a slave, served as a constant reminder of their past actions. The treatment they received from Joseph, whom they didn't recognize, triggered a profound sense of guilt and shame. They began to interpret their circumstances as divine punishment for their sin against Joseph, a recognition that Jonathan suggested was a crucial step toward repentance. Jonathan stressed the importance of acknowledging our own faults and taking responsibility for our actions. He pointed out that the brothers' recognition of their sin, not just against Joseph, but against God, was a turning point. This awareness of transgression against God, the "fear of God," is the beginning of wisdom, leading toward reconciliation. He emphasized that reconciliation is rarely instantaneous. It's a process requiring time, patience, and a willingness to confront painful memories and emotions. Jonathan cautioned against suppressing or ignoring these issues, urging listeners to allow God to work through them, even when difficult. He used the example of a man wronged by his church during the miners' strike, showing pain can last decades if not dealt with. Jonathan concluded by stressing God's unwavering commitment to reconciliation and restoration. He reminded the congregation that God never gives up, even when we give up on ourselves. He urged listeners to respond to God's prompting, confront unresolved issues, and trust in His ability to turn harm into good. God's ultimate desire is to bring healing and wholeness, transforming us from victims or aggressors into vessels of His grace. Bible References: Genesis 42 Genesis 50 Genesis 41:45 Genesis 41 Genesis 42:6 Genesis 42:17 Ezekiel Romans 3:23 Transcript It's been good to already hear God, and I think some of the things I say might tie in with some of the things God has already spoken about. So that's great, isn't it? Rather than me just come up with a few thoughts of my own, perhaps God has already been here before, which is great. The church is working through Genesis at the moment, and today we've come to Genesis 42. Once again, the title we've been given has absolutely no correlation with the message that we have. I don't know who thinks of these titles, but essentially this is a pivotal point in this story. It's the beginning of reconciliation of a family. And it's interesting to me that actually, you know, families, gosh, can't live with them, can't live without them. And I think for so many of us in this room, and I know many of your stories, and some of them I don't know, there are issues in your family, sometimes way back, sometimes even immediate now, ongoing things that have never been resolved that are there. It just struck me, you know, that actually there is chapter after chapter after chapter at the end of Genesis talking about Jacob's family, this dysfunctional, messy family that we've talked about for so long, until it comes to a place of reconciliation and wholeness at the end of chapter 50. And Jacob, sorry, Joseph is able to announce that you might have meant this for harm in my life, but God meant it for good. And the brothers have come before him and actually asked for his forgiveness. There's a real sense of the end of the story is it's a happy ending, but it's a messy, painful, you know, sort of journey, really, until then. Why is there so much given to this story? Well, I think actually there is something that God wants to say to us all at a very, very simple level. God wants us to get on with each other. And we call ourselves the family of God. And we all know that actually to be in God's family where there's unity, there's blessing. Where there is disunity, where there is brokenness, where there is pain, where there is separation, disharmony, then that is actually a dysfunctional church. And, you know, a lot of this story doesn't have, and God said, and then God appeared, and God did this, and God did the other. But there is a real sense of God at work in this mess. And that gives me hope for me and my family, and it should give you hope for you and your family and your situation, that actually the end is not where we see it now. God is still at work, perhaps in the background, perhaps not giving you a prophetic word or this, that, and the other, but this is a story in this chapter, which has trigger points, which has trauma, but is actually, God uses trauma and trigger points to actually bring about his purpose and his will in the lives of this family. I think that's really exciting because when we really have to, you know, things resurface because of circumstances or because of words or because we're facing, again, something that we once tried to avoid or suppress, you know, we maybe moved churches because of it, or we got in touch with our family because of it, or something's happened that we just have left there, we've moved on with our lives, we try to forget what's happened. And God sometimes puts his finger on us and takes us back to a place of pain. It's hard. But what Joseph came to learn and what he told his brothers was, God meant it for good. God's not here to try to harm you or hurt you. He's here to help you and to heal you. But we need to respond to a story of a family in struggle and in pain, a family that actually we had that word about Ezekiel and the dead bones and we sang about it. Family that thought actually, it was completely dead, literally, for whom God's spirit breathed into and brought hope and rescue to. It's a passage where we see God's grace, God's providence, God's hand at work. So in this story, we start with a famine. Famine is always a horrible thing. I've never been through it, but perhaps some of you have lived in countries where there's been famine. It's not something you can escape from. Whether you're rich or poor, you know, if there's no food, there's no food. It's a challenging I guess the only good thing to come out of this famine was it was the means that God used to bring about his purposes of reconciliation in this family situation. We read in the end of chapter 41 that the famine was severe throughout the world. But God uses Joseph, as we heard last week through Chris, to actually bring salvation, not just to his family. There's people coming from all over the known world to Egypt to collect grain. God by his grace uses Joseph to save many, many, many people in this situation, not just in Egypt but in the surrounding nations. That's worthwhile reflecting on and thinking about. But Jacob tells ten of his sons, the older brothers, to go and get out and buy some grain because he says we're going to die otherwise. He's heard that there's grain in Egypt. How did they know they were going to encounter this man that they'd sold for 20 pieces of silver 20 years ago into slavery? Probably 20 years later you wouldn't expect a slave to still be alive at 37. Many of them, that's a long, long edge for a slave. You know, how would you expect this encounter to happen? But Jacob sends out the boys and there is a change that's occurred in Joseph's life. He's now in charge, we read last week in chapter 41 verse 45, of the entire land of Egypt. He's set Pharaoh's deputy. If you're at that higher position, what chance is there that ten nomadic people wandering into your land would meet with you? It's a bit like saying I'm going down to London, hope I bump into Keir Starmer, you know. It's that kind of feel. And this is the providence of God. Not everyone who came to Egypt, because we read that many people came, not everyone that came to Egypt met Joseph. But God had arranged it for these brothers to go there and they encountered Joseph. It wasn't a coincidence, but as Jim Wilkinson from Hollybush, my old pastor used to say, it said, God incidents. It's something that God designed. And what a shock it was for Joseph. He'd gone through the trauma of being a slave, the trauma of being in prison. He'd risen to the top in both those situations within the context of how far he could go. He's now at the top as far as he could go as a free man, rich, powerful, everything going by this world sort of perspective. And there before him are his ten brothers, bowing before him, we read in chapter 42 verse 6, with their faces to the ground. Now we've read that at the end of chapter 41, that Joseph, through everything that God had done in his life, had actually married an Egyptian. He got two kids, the first one. He called Manasseh, which was saying that God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my family's house. Well, of course he hadn't really forgotten. I think Chris covered this last week, but it was no longer at the forefront of his mind. It was no longer the big issue in his life. It was behind him. It was his past. It was the old life. Now his new life was he was in charge, powerful, had everything he wanted until now. Suddenly he's face to face with his past and a trigger point in his life. He'd settled into a new role and a new life. But we read that when he saw his brothers bowing before him, he remembered his dreams. The dreams he'd had as a teenager, the dreams which had so antagonized his brothers that stood up their hatred towards him that they wanted to kill him. Sometimes, you know, we are faced with issues, issues that have remained resolved in our lives. We've learned to move on. Life goes on. We move church. We get into another job. We move location. We forget about those things that have happened. They don't dominate our lives in the same way until something triggers them. Something or someone. A chance meeting. Something someone says. Something someone does. And we read that although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn't recognize him. Well, it's been a long time. Is it 20 years? Slaves don't live long, as I said. This guy's speaking a different language. He's dressed in rich clothes. Why would they even imagine it would be Joseph? They never accepted Joseph's dream in the first place that one day they'd be bowing down before him. They just thought that was the ramblings of an arrogant young man. And here they were. They didn't really get the context. Now, I'm rubbish with names at the best of times, unlike my dear friend Father Jeffrey over here. But I mean, I once went to carcass on holiday with the kids and this family came up to me. And they were all first name terms and chatting about life and what was happening in the church and everything. I still don't know who they were to this day. And if you're watching this video, I'm really sorry if you were that person. I pretended I did. You smiled and everything. But I did that awkward thing where I couldn't really introduce them to Karen or to anyone else there because I couldn't have a clue where they were or where I'd even seen them before. But it gets worse than that with me. I was once back in North Allerton in Tesco and I didn't recognize my own sister coming down there. So I've got a bit of sympathy for them not recognizing what was happening. But they'd never really accepted that this would even be possible. Joseph's response. There's a whole load of stuff comes to the surface here, a whole mix of emotions that are running high. Out of sight might have been out of mind, but now he's face to face with an issue of his past. It was a lecturer who had a Bible college called Bob Gordon, who's not with us anymore, who said that the opposite of love is not hate, it's apathy. Because love and hate are these emotions, these deep emotions of passion that rise in us that say, you know, that tell us that we actually care. We're concerned about an issue. We're involved in this still. It's not a dispassionate thing for us. And here we see this mix of stuff happening in Joseph. There's almost a longing and a yearning that you can read in this narrative that he wants to be back with his family. He certainly wants to see his younger brother Benjamin again. It's absolutely clear from this. There's tears because he understands what the brothers are saying to each other. They don't know that he can understand their language. There's tears when he hears them in turmoil thinking about what's happened and why they've done what they did to Joseph all those years ago. But there's also anger at this injustice that's happened to him. We read time and again that he spoke harshly to them. He threw them in prison for three days. It's the injustice of it all, the anger of this rejection is still really, still a bit there in him. It's not been healed, if you like, by anything. And we see that in his actions. He accuses them of spying. Well, he knows they weren't spies, but he's really challenging their integrity. They said, well, we're honest men. What's honest about never owning up to your dad what happened to your brother, what you did? They've never once come face to face with the fact that they were trying to murder their brother and then sold him into slavery and took the money. We're honest men, they say. He says, no, you're not your spies. You're not who you say you are. He basically has this harshness in his tone. And as we know from chapter 42, verse 17, he throws them into prison, all into prison for three days. But the key thing here is he's got all the power. All the cards are in Joseph's hand. But he doesn't choose a path of retribution. He doesn't choose a path of revenge. He doesn't try to get his own back on these people who had painfully abused him. He basically, ultimately, as we know, releases nine of them, lets them return, puts money in their sacks, and just keeps Simeon back. Simeon, the second oldest. He didn't ask for Reuben, the oldest, because Reuben was the one he'd heard, you know, kind of like almost saying, look, if you listen to me, we wouldn't be in this mess at the moment. We'd have done something different than this. So he took the second oldest, Reuben was let to go back with the other eight. And you see, the thing is, I think despite this emotional roller coaster that we can all go through at times like this in pain, there's a sense where Joseph knew God was also in this. He says to the brothers, I am a God-fearing man. They say that we're honest. He's the one who brings God into it. I'm a God-fearing man, he says. He'd remembered a dream that God had given him that had destiny and purpose. And actually he'd seen that God was now starting to fulfill stuff that had been promised to him or that he'd seen as a teenager. And he chose not to go down the path of revenge or retribution, but actually he chose to set off on a path of reconciliation, understanding God had a bigger picture in mind. Meanwhile, the brothers, they've got no grasp of this bigger picture. As far as they're concerned, Joseph is gone. But I think the circumstances triggered them too. They had a guilty conscience. There's a real sense of remorse and regret that's eventually going to lead to repentance that you can read about in chapter 50. I think just going to Egypt themselves would have reminded them of what had happened to Joseph. You know, they were going on a journey that Joseph had gone as a slave. And once there, the treatment they'd received from Joseph, who they thought was gone, triggered this sense of guilt and shame for their actions that they'd covered up for so many years. And they also see God at work. But not in terms of his purposes or his plan or in terms of reconciliation. They see it in terms of punishment. God is punishing us for what we did to Joseph. Clearly, they say, we are being punished because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his anguish when he pleaded for his life, but we wouldn't listen. We were hard hearted. We were the ones who were harsh there. This ruler might be harsh to us now. And Reuben even says, he calls it a sin that they have to answer for in this passage. He says it's payback time for the sin we have committed. Now sin is an interesting word because sin is not wrongdoing. Sin is to do with God. We don't sin against each other in that sense. We sin against God. Sin is disobedience to God, disobedience to God's law, disobedience to God's way, disobedience to him. All have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, the Bible says. We've all done it. And Reuben is bringing God into this situation. We have sinned. This is not just about Joseph and us. This is about us and God as well as Joseph. And I wonder what happened again. Well, we know what happened because they said, what's God done to us when they discovered that the money has been returned to them. And again, they might be thinking of these 20 pieces of silver that they had taken for the life of their own brother. What has God done to us? They said, trembling with fear. But you see, the Bible says something we don't often talk about in these days because we're too nice, that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Then unless we have a clear view of God's holiness and righteousness, you know, perhaps we don't really understand how far short we are of him. And these guys are now wrestling, not just with the shame of what they've done to their brother and the covering up that they've committed, but also with a guilty conscience towards God. They know their lives have been stained by an act of sin. And this fear of God is about to lead them on a journey towards reconciliation too. So they've both got trigger points. Joseph is meeting the brothers. The brothers is the result of what's happened with this guy that they don't know is Joseph. Simeon, as we know, is kept in prison, tied up first, put in prison. And Joseph basically sends them away on the basis that he will stay in prison unless they bring Benjamin back to prove that they are who they say they are, that they're true, genuine, honest people. And until he comes back with Benjamin, then I'm afraid Simeon is going to rot in jail. And they agree. They say we'll do that. Benjamin, the other son from Rachel, Joseph's true brother, not the half brothers, the one who is closest to Jacob. We've got a trigger point in Joseph, bringing back to the throne of what's happened. We've got a trigger point in the brothers where they're now suddenly realizing the consequences of their actions 20 years before. And we've actually got a bit of a trigger point in Jacob. He's still stuck. Stuck in a moment that he can't get out of. Someone tell me which band that is if you want to later. He hasn't moved on. He's still stuck in his grief, in his bereavement. He's still 20 years later mourning Joseph. He's still blaming the other 10 sons. He declares to them, fancy if you're a son and you hear this from your dad, Benjamin is all I have left. That's the father coming from a painful life. And if anything would happen to him, Jacob says, you would send this grieving white haired man to his grave. He sounds like he's very self-absorbed in his own grief. He's a sad man. And relatively he shows little outward concern, although he acknowledges that Simeon's in prison, shows little outward concern for his son that's locked up in a foreign jail rather than actually Benjamin going to rescue him. You know, he says, well, Benjamin can't go. I don't trust you with Benjamin's life. It reminds me of what happened to Joseph. I trusted you with Joseph and look what happened with him. He was killed you say by wild animals. And rather than helping the family, rather than restoring relationships of this dysfunctional family between these 10 sons and a father who was deliberately showing love and affection to his favorite wife's kids, rather than Leah's kids who he was conned into marrying. It's all going back, isn't it? Into all mess that's happened years and years before. It hasn't resolved anything. There's still that sense of favoritism. There's still that sense of Benjamin matters more than you do. It's hard for these guys to hear Pat and Reuben pleads on the life of his own kids, try to get Simeon back. And as I say, in the midst of all this drama, family drama, is God. God is at work. He's at work in all the emotions. He's at work in all those feelings of shame and anguish and remorse. He's at work in all those sense of anger and pain and tears and longing and yearning. He's at work even in the sadness and the bereavement of Joseph. He is at work and his plan is for reconciliation, for restoration and ultimate rescue of this family. But he works it out in the midst of trauma and painful reminders. We heard today, didn't we, about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and the pain that he suffered and went through. God works at times in pain to bring us to a place of restoration and healing. So I come to a close. It's a bit of a long close, but we need to apply this, don't we? What do we learn about reconciliation from this passage? I think you need to want it. And I think ultimately Joseph did rather than retribution. However painful it was for him, he did not go for revenge. He had a dream that God had given him which was yet unfulfilled because he saw all his family, including his mum and dad, bowing before him. And that hadn't happened at this point. And he knew that if God had been in the first bit with his brothers, he was going to be in the second bit too. So he was still hanging on for something bigger than was happening already. But also I think there needs to be a recognition of any pain we've caused. You need to own your fault. And the brothers are beginning to do that. They're beginning to understand their part in this and what they've done. And I'd like to say also about reconciliation. It's rarely instant because you're working through all those emotions. You're working through all that pain. You're working through all those memories and all that history. It's a process. It's a journey. But God wants to set you on it. The answer is not just to suppress it and hide it if God brings it to the surface. And I think for some of us today, whether you've been wrong badly by family or friends or even a church. I heard, yes, on Friday night about a man who basically during the miners strike, he was a member of a church and during the miners strike, he had passed the picket line. I'm not trying to make a political point here either side. People in the church were putting dog poo through his letterbox and writing him nasty letters. As a result, he's never been to church again. Now, I'm not saying his attitudes right either, but it just shows you pain. Because 30 years ago, I think now All Grief, they're basically bringing it back on the television now. I was with a guy the other day who was at that Battle of All Grief and saw the police doing their bit and the miners doing their bit. And you know, forget which side of the divide you're on. There's still a lot of pain going on. There's still a lot of pain going on. So whether you've been wrong badly or whether because of jealousy or anger or hatred, you've said or done something to someone that you wished you hadn't. It could be recently. It could be a long time ago. God may be triggering something in you today, bringing you up to a place where you're face to face with a situation that you have never resolved. Because he wants to ultimately bring reconciliation and restoration to you. Ultimately, his plan is to do something good in the midst of harm that has happened to you or because of you. Out of what was broken, out of what was dead, as we read in Ezekiel, the dead bones, or seems lost. God brings salvation and healing. And I'm not suggesting this morning that that will be it. It might be for somebody. But acknowledging that we're on a process, that we will take time to run through some of this stuff that's churning inside us, that actually is a mixture of longing and yearning and loving to be restored. But also there's pain and there's anger and there's tears and there's shame and there's guilt and there's all this mess going on. But God never gave up on this family. And he doesn't give up on you. He doesn't give up on anyone. We've heard that also today. But we've got to own our part in this story. God is at work. He's the ever-present one. He's in and through all the circumstances at work in you. What might have been meant for harm and did harm you? He wants by his grace to turn into something good because he has something bigger and better for you than to always be a victim or to always be known as the aggressor or the perpetrator of something. So if God's speaking to you today, please don't ignore his voice because God has stirred you because he wants to do something good for you. Amen. God bless you.

Sermon Summary: Genesis 41 - God's Work in Hard Times Chris began his sermon by focusing on Genesis 41, highlighting the phrase "after two whole years." He reminded the congregation of the previous chapter, Genesis 40, where Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker while in prison. Joseph had asked the cupbearer to remember him and mention him to Pharaoh, hoping for release. However, two years passed, and Joseph remained imprisoned. Chris emphasized the emotional weight of this delay, likening it to waiting at a bus stop without knowing when or if the bus would arrive. Chris then moved to Pharaoh's dreams: seven healthy cows and seven healthy heads of grain, followed by seven thin, scrawny cows and heads of grain. These thin cows ate the healthy ones, deeply disturbing Pharaoh. When none of his magicians or wise men could interpret the dreams, the cupbearer finally remembered Joseph and told Pharaoh of his ability to interpret dreams. Pharaoh summoned Joseph, who, after shaving and changing his clothes (a cultural nod to Egyptian customs), stood before Pharaoh. Chris noted the risks Joseph took, as Pharaoh's favor was unpredictable, and Joseph had witnessed the fates of the cupbearer and baker. He compared this to a modern analogy of meeting with a powerful but unpredictable leader. Joseph, however, immediately gave credit to God, stating that God, not himself, could interpret the dreams. He interpreted the dreams as seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine, a message from God to Pharaoh. Unlike some prophetic messages that are conditional, this was a definite prediction. Joseph then advised Pharaoh to appoint a wise man to manage the surplus during the years of abundance to prepare for the famine. Pharaoh and his officials were impressed, recognizing that Joseph was filled with the Spirit of God. Pharaoh appointed Joseph as second-in-command, giving him his signet ring, fine linen clothing, a gold chain, and a chariot. Chris highlighted the cultural details, noting Egyptian words and customs mentioned in the text, reinforcing the authenticity of the story. Pharaoh also gave Joseph an Egyptian name, Zaphanath-Paneah, and a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, a priest of On (Heliopolis). Chris emphasized that Joseph, despite living in a pagan culture, remained true to his faith, evident in his choice of Hebrew names for his sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Manasseh's name reflected Joseph's ability to forget his past troubles, and Ephraim's name acknowledged God's fruitfulness in his time of grief. Chris then outlined five key takeaways from the story: God can use hard times for good: Chris referenced Genesis 50:20, where Joseph tells his brothers that though they meant to harm him, God intended it for good. He acknowledged that hard times are not automatically beneficial and require conscious effort to turn to God. God is at work in history and in individuals: God's rescue mission, evident throughout the Bible, is both grand and personal. Chris contrasted God's approach with human leaders, emphasizing that God does not sacrifice individuals for a larger plan. God specializes in transformation: From Joseph's sudden elevation to his character development, God's transformative power is evident. Chris also mentioned the dying thief on the cross and Paul's description of believers in Colossians as examples of this transformation. Cultivate confidence in God: Joseph's unwavering trust in God, even before Pharaoh, is a model for believers. Chris encouraged the congregation to place all their trust in God, likening it to placing all their chips on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God wants you to be fruitful in your place: Regardless of their circumstances, God desires believers to be fruitful, reflecting the fruit of the Spirit. Chris concluded with a prayer, thanking God for his goodness and transformative power, and asking for transformation in their lives and in the nation. Bible References: Genesis 40 Genesis 41 Genesis 50:20 Colossians (general reference) Acts (general reference) Genesis 15 Transcription Thank you, let's have the slide up. We're continuing with our story of Joseph this morning. We've reached Genesis chapter 41. And what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna walk through the story commenting here and there. And then after that I've got kind of five points which I think we can take away from it. Let's have the next slide. So Genesis 41 opens with the word after two whole years. And there's a bit of an emphasis on the word whole. In fact, I think literally it says after two years full of days. And I guess to understand that we need to dip back to last week's chapter that Andy spoke about and remember what happened two years before this. So let's again have the next slide. And so this is Joseph speaking in chapter 40. And he's talking to one of his cellmates in prison who was the cupbearer to Pharaoh. And Joseph has just told this fortunate man that because of God's action he's gonna be restored to his old job and he will be back within Pharaoh's inner circle again. So it's fantastic news for that cupbearer. And so Joseph says, and please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh so he might let me out of this place for I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews and now I'm here in prison but I did nothing to deserve it. And everything that Joseph says that is entirely fair and reasonable and he's asking his cellmate to remember him when he's restored to Pharaoh's inner circle. But two years later, Joseph is still in prison. And I think to imagine what that's like we need to kind of put ourselves in Joseph's feet in his shoes for a bit, don't we? I wonder whether the first few nights kind of Joseph went to sleep in the prison thinking well I wonder if tomorrow will be the day. Tomorrow will be the day that the cupbearer will remember how I was involved in having him restored to his old job. There will be a knock on the cell and I will be released. And then the days turn to weeks and the weeks turn to months. And slowly the realization must have dawned on Joseph that the cupbearer had forgotten him. But the man who significantly owed Joseph his freedom had overlooked him. That somebody he had hoped would be involved in his rescue had forgotten him. And that sense of being abandoned and overlooked by somebody we put our trust in is really painful. And of course we know and we know from chapter 41 that it lasted two full years. But think about this. Joseph didn't know it was gonna last two years. At the beginning probably hoped it would be much less. But he had no assurance that it was going to come to an end. I'm not a very patient person when it comes to travel arrangements. To put me in a queue at an airport or a bus stop and I'm not good at that. But of course sometimes you have these modern bus stops don't they and they've got this kind of sign up and it says there's a number 76 bus coming in 10 minutes and you kind of wait for that to happen. But this is more like an old fashioned one. Joseph has stood at the bus stop and he doesn't know if the bus is ever gonna come. So he's having to experience the weight with nothing but God to rely on and knowing that somebody who deeply owed him has forgotten him. So that must have been very painful and difficult. But let's continue with chapter 41. So after two full years something happens. God is at work and he's sending a message to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River. In his dream he saw seven fat healthy cows come out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. And he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile. These were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the river bank and then the strawny thin cows ate the seven healthy fat cows. I think this is a bit like dreams. Sometimes a dream starts with or has bits in it that seem entirely normal. And then somehow in our dream something very weird happens. And that's what this dream like. The first bit, seven healthy cows grazing in the kind of best grass, which is the grass growing next to the Nile, are kind of having a perfectly normal time that cows have. And then seven other cows, strawny and mean looking cows appear and they eat the first lot. Well, cows are not carnivores. That's not meant to happen. This is something weird. But nevertheless, it deeply disturbs Pharaoh. Let's have the next slide. And so the next morning Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dream. So he scrawled for all the magicians and the wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, not one of them could tell them what they meant. And that in itself is interesting because, you know, magic, what we would call the occult, is a big part of the religion of Egypt. And the magicians and the wise men felt very connected to the kind of the world of spirits. And Pharaoh himself was believed to be the son of Ra, the sun god. But with all their connections, they are deeply disturbed and out of their depth because the one true God is now at work. And finally, the cupbearer says, today I've been reminded of my failure, he told Pharaoh. Well, not before time we might think because his failure had been significant. But God is at work and he remembers and so he mentions Pharaoh. And so he mentions Joseph. Next slide, please. And Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once and he was quickly brought from the prison. And after he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh. And there's a few interesting things in here. One is this reference to shaving and changing his clothes. Because you see, most of the peoples of the Near East at the time, the men didn't shave. So beards were in for men. But the Egyptians shaved. And so to appear before Pharaoh, Joseph shaved. And that's just, actually this whole chapter is full of little references to Egypt which I'll come back to. And then he gets, obviously he gets fresh clothes. Even that's a kind of sign that something is happening because both the catastrophes that happened to Joseph up to now had involved him losing clothes. So if you bear in mind, when he's first, his brothers turn and they beat him up and they throw him into that water system that they of course, they take away from him the special coat of many colors. And then later when he's experiencing some success and he's working for Potiphar, and he has that issue with Potiphar's wife, she's grabbed his kind of outer garment and he's run out in just his underwear effectively. So there's something here about him being restored and going in to stand before Pharaoh. Nevertheless, I think if I was Joseph, I would be, have mixed feelings about appearing before Pharaoh. After all, what did he most recently know about Pharaoh? Well, he's two cellmates. One of them had been the cupbearer and the other was a baker. Both of them had been kind of part of Pharaoh's inner circle and one of them got his old job back and it turned out really well for him. And the other one was beheaded. So, and we're not told the reason. Maybe there were no reasons. Maybe that Pharaoh was just the kind of guy who was exercising his power and I will restore one guy and have the other one's head cut off to show everybody how powerful I am. And in funny ways, I think, well, appearing before Pharaoh was obviously good but it definitely carried its risks. I kind of think making this very contemporary. It's a bit like having a meeting with Donald Trump. And it might go well, but you can't be sure. So, let's have the next slide. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I had a dream last night and nobody here can tell me what it means but have I heard that when you hear about a dream, you can interpret it. And Joseph said, it's beyond my power to do this but God can tell you what it means and set you at ease. And you know, Joseph's big moment has come and he deals with that by doing two risky things. First of all, he starts by contradicting Pharaoh. In fact, some of the translations that makes that even more apparent. You know, Pharaoh just said, I can hear that you can interpret dreams. And Joseph said, well, no, I can't do it, but God can. And the second thing he does that's really risky is of course, he brings God into the conversation with somebody who had no reason to feel would be open and sympathetic to that. You know, as I said, the Egyptians didn't worship the God of the Hebrews. They had their own kind of collection of gods and with the sun god at the center of that and Pharaoh was supposed to be the son of the sun god. And here's Joseph bringing God into the conversation. So he's doing something risky, but I think it speaks to what God has been doing in Joseph's heart during all that time in prison. And also, it reminds me of something that Jesus says in the New Testament. He says, when you're kind of dragged before court because you're being persecuted for my name, he said, don't prepare an elaborate defense in advance. The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say. And there are plenty of examples of that in New Testament. You know, Peter and John before the Sanhedrin in Acts. But, you know, the Holy Spirit is giving Joseph the words to say. And he's absolutely nailing his colors to the mass. This is God that will be the answer to your problem. My God, the one true God. Next slide. And Joseph responded, both of Pharaoh's dreams being the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh in advance what he's about to do. The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity. And the seven thin scrawny cows that came up later and the seven thin heads of grain, withered by the east wind, represent seven years of famine. Don't think I mentioned the secondary. There was a secondary, but the point was the same. And Joseph's saying, God is telling you in advance about what he's going to do. Now sometimes, maybe even quite often in scripture, when God tells people in advance what he's going to do, it is conditional. So God says, you know, I'm going to do this unless you do something else. So probably the classic example of that would be the story of Jonah. You know, when Jonah's sent and he proclaims of the city of Nineveh, he said, God is coming to judge you unless you repent. So sometimes God's word is conditional on us having to do something. But this is not like that. And that's not a word of judgment. But it is God saying, this is what's definitely going to happen. And there's still something you need to do about it. So there's still work to be done, even though God has said what will happen next. Next slide. Therefore, Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt. And Pharaoh should appoint supervisors of the land and let them collect one fifth of all the crops during the seven good years. Yeah, I'm not sure that'd be popular today, wouldn't it? A new tax of 20%. But that's effectively what Joseph is proposing. Some Christians, I think, feel that the kind of planning isn't really spiritual. And you should just kind of rely on your instincts and leading of the Holy Spirit moment by moment. Here, however, we see Joseph is being very definitely led by the Holy Spirit. And his answer to that is to make a plan that's going to last for 14 years. Next slide. Joseph's suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials. So Pharaoh asked his officials, can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the Spirit of God? Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. This is an extraordinary turn of events. I get, you know, even Joseph must have been fairly stunned by what's happening at this point. Because God's favor is very clearly in this situation. Let's actually remind me of a verse about Jesus as a teenager really, certainly age 12 and onwards. It said, and he grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. And this is a moment of great favor to the kingdom of God. And Pharaoh is, Pharaoh and all the officials think this is fantastic, this is the man we need, this is what we need. And I think sometimes that prayer for God's favor is something I think we should be praying for for our country, that God will give favor to the gospel. That people who we might expect to be close to the gospel will in fact receive it with great enthusiasm. So we should pray for that. Next slide. And Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck. Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserve for a second in command. And whenever Joseph went, the command was shouted, kneeled down. I've got some friends who, some of you know them, I probably recognize them from the story, who kind of grew up in Yorkshire but in adult life, moved to Scotland and lived in Scotland for a considerable period of time. And as kind of good Yorkshire people, they didn't lose their accents. But I did notice that over the years, they gradually acquired some Scottish words. So it crept into the vocabulary. And so they would say things like I for yes, and we for small. Still with a Yorkshire accent, but some of the vocabulary crept in. And that's completely understandable. And that's something, and it's not kind of visible for it, but that's something that's happening in this chapter. There's quite a lot of words here that are actually Egyptian words. So the word for ring is an Egyptian word. The word Nile that we heard on it is an Egyptian word. The fine linen clothing, that was something that was kind of favored by another Egyptian word. And the reference to kneeling down, the translation is slightly disagree on what exactly was said, but whether it was something like that, that's another Egyptian word borrowed. And of course, none of that should surprise us if this story is actually Joseph's story retold. I think as I said when I spoke previously, I think we can kind of hear Joseph's voice in all this. And in fact, Egyptian archeology has confirmed some of these details. So there are wall paintings that show Pharaoh anointing some favored servant by putting a gold chain around the neck and helping them into the chariot and stuff like that. So that there are kind of details here that feel very authentic to the situation as we understand it in Egypt. Next slide. And Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphanath-Paniya and he also gave him a wife whose name was Atharath and she was the daughter of Potipharah, the priest of On. You can see why they call the musical Joseph, didn't they, and not Zaphanath-Paniya because it doesn't really trip off the tongue, does it? But actually, it means something like God lives, he speaks. It's a beautiful title. And again, in fact, what I said about God's favor, actually, that Egyptians, profoundly pagan people, top dogs in the ancient world, are suddenly finding this God of Joseph deeply attractive. But he's got a wife and she's the daughter of Potipharah, the priest of On. Now, On is not some Egyptian god. On is a place that was later renamed by the Greek Heliopolis that got that name because it was the center for the worship of the sun god and in fact, I think there's not much left of it but there was a huge temple in On to the god Ra, the sun god of the Egyptians. So when it said she was the daughter of Potipharah, it's a bit like the priest of On, it's a bit like saying she was the daughter of the archbishop of Canterbury. So Joseph has been married into high society and the grandfather to his children is going to be the archbishop of the sun god. And I just mention that because from pretty much all of Joseph's adult life, he has to discover what it is to be a believer in the one true God in the context of a culture that's got a completely different set of values and ideas. And some of you may be in that situation, maybe in that situation in your workplace, in your family and in Christians today in this country, you know, the culture is not a culture that is that similar very often to the values that we hold there. But Joseph, and there are plenty more examples in the Bible, Daniel would be another obvious one, people who show what it means to live faithfully in the context of a culture that is completely different from your values and your belief system. Next slide. Yes, so he was 30 years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh. And when Joseph left Pharaoh's presence, he inspected the entire land of Egypt. As predicted for seven years, the land produced bumper crops and during those years, Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the city. So one of the picture, not just in these few verses, but in this whole section of the charity is how energetic and hardworking Joseph is. He's deeply involved, you know, God has a plan, but that plan involves Joseph in a great deal of work and effort. Because he's not in, you know, what these days we might call full-time Christian work. It's an entirely secular job. He's, you know, depending how you look at it, he's either in government or he's in famine relief, but that's his job. But he is demonstrating something that Paul said in Colossians, whatever we do, we should work hard as though working for Christ. And Joseph is energetic in his job. Next slide. During this time, before the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potipharah, the priest of On. And Joseph named his eldest son Manasseh, but he said, God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father's family. And it's an interesting thing to hear. First of all, that Joseph has chosen a Hebrew name for his first son, Manasseh, the Hebrew name. That kind of suggests really that, you know, what I said, he might be living in the midst of a culture that is hostile, but his key decisions are deeply influenced by his religion and his belief. So he's chosen a Hebrew name for his son. And he says, God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father's family. Now, this of course doesn't mean that God has erased his memory. That's not what this means. But it does mean that Joseph is not defined by the difficulties that have gone before. You know, Joseph has definitely been a victim. He has been kidnapped, he's been enslaved, he's been held in prison entirely unjustifiably. So he is a victim, but a victim is not who he is. There's a line in a Robert Burns poem, I do rather like the line, I will admit, but it's of, it describes a woman waiting at home for her husband to return from the pub, knowing that he will have had too much to drink. And the line says, she's nursing her wrath to keep it warm. And Joseph doesn't do that. You know, he had, you know, humanly speaking, he had a lot of reasons to bear a grudge against his brothers and against the cupbearer, against Potiphar's wife, against the way he's been treated. But he doesn't do that. God has set him free from things that might otherwise have been a deep bondage to him. He has been set free from all of that. God has made him forget his troubles and everyone in my father's family. Next slide. And Joseph named his second son Ephraim, but he said, God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief. And again, Ephraim, that's another Hebrew word chosen for his second son. And gosh, what a moving line. God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief. God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief. And this brings me on to my five takeaways or things for us to think about. Let's have the next slide. The first one is God can use the hard times we experience to do us good. Andy talked about all this, but this weekend, and you remember, I think I referred to it, in Genesis 50 at verse 20, in conversation with his brothers, Joseph will said, you intended it to harm me, but God intended it for good. And that's kind of the point that's being made here. But I think it's worth saying that that doesn't happen automatically or it's by no means guaranteed because hard times do come with many temptations. There's a temptation to unbelief. There's a temptation to resentment. There's a temptation to anger. There's a temptation to holding on to grudges. There's a temptation to doubt. But nevertheless, hard times can be useful to us if they drive us into the arms of Jesus. And sometimes we need to do that consciously. One of my sons is planning to run some kind of fancy race later this year. I think it might be an ultra marathon or something like that. I don't know all the details. But he lives in the Netherlands. And he said, well, part of my difficulty for that is that in the Netherlands, I can really only train on flat ground because actually that hills is not a big thing where he is. And he says, in order to kind of run successfully in this race, which is in this country, he'll need to do some exercises and find some places to do some training that will involve the stress of running up and down. And I think hard times can kind of do that for us. They can train us in things that are hard for us to acquire when everything is going smoothly. So hard times can do us good. And hard times could help us to put our entire trust into Jesus. Because when times are really rough, there is nobody else to look to except Jesus. And that's a good message that will do us good when we're in good times again. And sometimes I think we need to deliberately get hold of those hard times and lay them out before God. I can remember, I think I was probably in 1920 and I was working in a Christian center in Israel. And I got a letter, it was the days of letters. I got a letter from my mother to say that my father had left home and moved him with somebody else. And I recognized that that, what had happened, could be a source of unforgiveness or bitterness or hurt to me. And I remember kind of laying this letter out before God and said, God, will you protect me from the harm that might otherwise come from me? And God absolutely answered that prayer. And it was a long time later, I had good times with my father and he died when we were on very good terms. So God can answer the question, but I think there is something about, I will deliberately hand over my hard times to God. Second one, God is at work in history and in me. Let me kind of unpack that a bit. Really the whole story of the Bible, certainly the whole story from Genesis 3 onwards, is the story of a gigantic rescue mission. Since the moment when mankind turned its back on God, God has been engaged in a rescue mission, a mission that would last for centuries and would involve great pain and sacrifice, particularly with the death of Jesus on the cross. But now that God is engaged on this huge project, which is about taking people, anybody who really wants to, from every tribe and nation, and bringing them back into his family again, that's the plan that God is involved in. And God is planning well in advance. If you can go back to Genesis 15. Genesis 15 is when God appears to Abraham and God has a number of things to say to Abraham. And I think God describes the exodus to Abraham. Now, even when we are today with Joseph, the exodus is still 400 plus years ahead. And where Joseph is now is 230 to 250 years after God appeared to Abraham. So God is making plans on that time scale. So God is engaged in this huge project. But you know, what I was thinking about, I'm thinking when human beings, particularly kind of governments or world leaders, have a big project on us, something they're really trying to achieve, very often individuals will get sacrificed to that. You know, there's a bigger game in town than your individual needs. You know, one maybe extreme example, you know, Putin. So Putin wants Russia to be bigger. And in order to achieve that purpose, he's happy to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of young Russians who have died in that war and countless Ukrainians. Because for him, making Russia greater than it was is worth the cost. But you know, even if you look at people who are perhaps, you know, better adjusted than Putin and more normal and more benevolent, generally speaking, if there's a big project on, the needs of the individual will be overlooked. You know, sometimes even our politics, you know, and this happens regularly, doesn't it? The tabloids get hold of some story that's embarrassing about a government minister. And the thing goes on for a while. And it either dies away, but if it doesn't die away, it looks like it's gaining steam. At some point, somebody in number 10 will make a phone call to that minister and say, it's time to resign because you're getting in the way of the message the government wants to project. And so the individual has to kind of fall on their sword and be overlooked. And the truth is, you know, even in many more mundane things, if you work for a company and what that company is trying to achieve and your personal interests start to not be in alignment, you can expect to have to be looking for a new job, don't you? That's just kind of life. But the only thing about this is, when we look at God, we see God is at work in history on a scale far greater than anything else. But there are no compromises in God. So he's able to give significant individual attention to you and to your needs and to your salvation whilst advancing the kingdom of God. And this story exemplifies some of that. God is building his people and he's rescuing people from starvation and Joseph is serving that. But God is also at work in Joseph's character and looking after and tending for Joseph. So God is at work in history and in me. Number three, the others will be shorter. God specializes in transformation. Now that's abundantly true in this story. One minute, there's Joseph. He's a foreigner, he's in jail and he's a slave. And then moments later, it appears, he's the grand vizier of Egypt. So there's an abundant, sudden transformation. You know, when God springs into action, things can change very suddenly. But there's another transformation that's gone on that's taken longer and required perhaps more effort and that is the transformation in Joseph's character. This is this self-absorbed teenager that we saw at the beginning of the story. Now, a mature man of God who is deliberately giving God the credit. Think, this is actually not about me, it's about God. And we see this in the New Testament, don't we? And there's many more examples of transformation. The dying thief on the cross and Jesus says to him, today you will be with me in paradise. How's that for transformation? Well, the story that Paul paints when he summarizes the gospel and the Colossians, he said, you were enemies of God because of your evil thoughts and actions. But now, through the death of Christ, God has brought you into his own presence and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. Stand before him without a single fault? How's that for transformation? Next. Cultivate God's confidence. I think we see that in what Joseph said to Pharaoh. You know, he's putting his entire confidence in God. He's trusting in God alone. One of the prayers I find myself praying a lot is, you know, God help me to trust you with all my heart and soul and mind. And I've kind of got, I mean, it's not a very Christian image, but I hope it works for you. And that's, you know, imagine you're in a casino and there's the right wheel and you've got this pile of chips and you put all of your chips on one number and the wheels spin. In a sense, as Christians, we're called to put all of our chips on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. All of it. We're trusting ourselves entirely to God. Next one. And finally, God wants you to be fruitful in this place. And, you know, Joseph expressed it very movingly and talking about his own. He wants me to be fruitful in the land of my grief, is how he describes it. But whatever, you know, my place is, whatever your place is, God wants you to be fruitful. And you will be fruitful if you give him control. And of course, what fruitful looks like will certainly be different for you than it was for Joseph, and different for you than it is for me. But there's a common feature in that is that we should expect the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. God wants you to be fruitful. And he will do that. He will do that if you let him. Let's pray. Father God, we thank you that you are a good and gracious God. And Father, we thank you that you are the same God who is God to Joseph, Lord. And you can transform our lives. And Lord, we need transformation. And Lord, our nation needs transformation. And so, Lord, we call on your name. We call on you, Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.

Summary Framing it as a continuation of Joseph's journey, a man who had transformed from an immature youth to a person of integrity. The sermon centered on Joseph's time in prison, a situation that raised the question: If God was with Joseph, why was he in prison? Andy challenged the congregation to consider the implications of this question, suggesting that God's presence doesn't necessarily mean the absence of hardship. He contrasted a “me-centered Christianity” with a God-centered one, emphasizing that God's plans and purposes often involve difficult circumstances. Andy referenced Romans 5, highlighting how suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope, a process clearly visible in Joseph's life. Andy explored the notion of God's sovereignty, asserting that the story of Joseph is ultimately a part of God's larger narrative. He reframed the chapter as a lesson on how to handle being in undesirable situations, whether caused by others' actions, personal limitations, or other uncontrollable circumstances. He acknowledged the human tendency to respond to such situations with self-pity, blame, and withdrawal, but urged the congregation to consider a different, God-centered response. He then outlined seven principles derived from Joseph's experience: God is with you: Drawing from Genesis 39:23, Andy stressed that God's presence is a fact, not just a feeling. He encouraged the congregation to embrace this truth, recognizing that God is working out His plans even in difficult times. He referenced Psalm 23:4, reminding listeners that God's presence brings comfort even in the darkest valleys. Find a trusted friend: Observing the trust the prison warden had in Joseph, Andy highlighted the importance of having supportive relationships during challenging times. Attend to what's in front of you: Based on Genesis 40:4, Andy encouraged the congregation to focus on the tasks God has placed before them, rather than dwelling on their circumstances. He pointed out that Joseph's faithfulness in small tasks ultimately led to his release. Put others first: Andy noted Joseph's concern for the dejected cupbearer and baker (Genesis 40:6-7), emphasizing the transformative power of serving others, even in personal hardship. He contrasted Joseph's current behavior with his earlier self-centeredness. Have confidence in God: Highlighting Joseph's declaration in Genesis 40:8 that interpretations belong to God, Andy emphasized the importance of trusting God's ability to work, even in seemingly hopeless situations. He used Richard Wurmbrandt's testimony as an example of extreme confidence in God. He also challenged the congregation to bring their full passion to worship. Use your gifts right where you are: Andy urged the congregation to use their God-given gifts, regardless of their circumstances. He used his own experience of delivering a word from God while feeling grumpy as an example. Remain grounded: Drawing from Genesis 40:14-15, Andy emphasized the importance of acknowledging the reality of difficult situations while maintaining faith in God's work. He cautioned against both spiritual escapism and despair, advocating for a balanced approach. Andy concluded by encouraging those feeling trapped or restricted to respond to Jesus, reminding them that God's presence and faithfulness can lead to freedom, just as it did for Joseph. He then prepared the church for a time of worship. Bible References: Genesis 39:20-23 Genesis 40:1-23 Romans 5:3-5 Psalm 23:4 Genesis 40:4 Genesis 40:6-7 Genesis 40:8 Genesis 40:14-15 Transcription Good morning everybody. Good morning in 146. Good to see everyone here today. So two weeks time is a really big weekend for us as a church, right? Because the Saturday is the prayer day. And we really want to be praying for breakthrough, for God to break through. We want to be praying for God to break through in your life, for you to have a fresh passion and heart and desire for what He wants to do. We want to pray for God to break through in the life of MCF, because we're stuck in a few places and we want to see Him move. We want to pray for God to break through in the communities around here, because the things that we're touching and seeing are just the beginning of stuff, and there is so much more that He has in store for us. We want to pray for God to break through as we talk about shifting to two services, and we all get a bit wobbly about what's that going to mean, and the fact that if we go down that road and then it doesn't quite work out, can we come back, et cetera, et cetera. We want to pray for breakthrough in 146 as a building, because He's given it to us as a resource, and we need financial breakthrough. So Saturday the 8th of March is a day for praying for breakthrough. Sunday the 9th of March is a day for putting hands in pockets. And as we said last week, it's a day of gift aid for the work at 146. If you missed it last week, do get online and have a look at what was said about it. Maybe we should probably send a note out that we read last week and give people an idea. So Saturday and Sunday in two weeks' time is a big weekend for us. But beyond that, we're in Genesis, chapter 40. After today, 10 chapters left. What are we going to do? How will we cope? So I'm actually going to read the whole of chapter 40 today, which is quite unusual, but it's not that long. And the story is—there are a few things I want to pick out of it, so it's good to read it. I'm going to start in chapter 39, halfway through verse 20. So we read this. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him. He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. Sometime later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. After they had been in custody for some time, each of the two men, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison, had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw they were dejected. He asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, Why are your faces so sad today? We both had dreams, they answered, but there is no one to interpret them. Then Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams. So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it bloodbudded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and put the cup in his hand. This is what it means, Joseph said to him, The three branches are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. But when all goes well with you, remember me, and show me kindness. Mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison, for I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon. When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, I too had a dream. On my head were three baskets of bread. In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head. This is what it means, Joseph said, The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat away your flesh. Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation. The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph. He forgot him. So we're well into the story of Joseph now, aren't we? And we've seen this guy change from an immature, naive, big mouth, incredibly annoying younger brother into a guy who has actually grown into a man who has some integrity and actually grown into a bit of a role model, even for us today. Karen told us last week how, as he worked for Pottsford, how the Lord was with him and what an important role he had working for Pottsford. And we saw how he was a role model in how to deal with sexual temptation when Pottsford's wife tried to seduce him. He fled multiple times, always with sexual temptation. The response needs to be flee. Don't dally, don't hang on, don't see what happens, just flee. And Joseph modelled that brilliantly. And then we now find him in this situation where he got trumped up charges and Pottsford's wife pretended that he had assaulted her and he now finds himself in prison. He's wrongly accused and completely unfairly thrown into prison. It got me thinking, actually, later in the story, you know when he's in charge of all the food in the land and there's the famine going on. I wonder if Pottsford and his wife had to go to him to get some food. I wonder how that went. Interesting. But we read, and Karen reminded this several times last week, that the Lord was with him. But then he's thrown into prison. Yeah, but the Lord was with him. But he's thrown into prison. So is the Lord really with him? What do we think? He's thrown into prison. I think we just need to be careful before we rush to answer that question because it has implications for you and me. Because the question is, does God really allow this type of thing? Does God do this sort of thing of allowing his people to be thrown into prison in our story here? Because if we say no, God wouldn't do that sort of thing. Then we're saying that God is not in control, or he's a bit nasty, or he's fickle. But if we say yes, God does do that sort of thing. Then we are conceding that God could lead us through difficult and painful circumstances deliberately to bring about his purpose, not only in our life, but his bigger purpose. And actually, that is so often at odds with how, particularly in the West, we view those difficult and most challenging of times. Because we often have what I call, and we've talked about this before, a me-centered Christianity. We live in a culture that is fiercely independent, almost violently independent in the West, in the UK right now. It's all about what you as an individual have and want and can get and your rights, and it's all about that. And then when we become a Christian and we come into the Church, we bring that same culture with us at first. And Jesus has to work in our hearts to shift that because it's such a stronghold. And you know, we're in danger sometimes of singing songs that are all about what Jesus can do for me, and how he can help me, and how he can rescue me, and our prayers become about me, and how he changed me. And as we read through scriptures and as we see stories like this, God has to kind of get our heads and go and shift us to get out. There's a different perspective at work in the kingdom of God. That it isn't about you, and it isn't about me, hallelujah, right? But it is about him, and it's about Jesus, and it's about worshipping him, and about following him, and it's about his plans and his purposes, and what he is doing in the world today, and what he is doing in this nation, and what he is doing in this city, and what he is doing across John Thorton, Baitmore, and through MZS, and through your life and my life together. And so it's not about us, and there's a shift that we need to kind of embrace. This is about, and this story is about what God is doing. We call it the story of Joseph, but really it's just a part of the story of God and what he is doing. Karen read, if you remember last week, Karen Ince read from Romans 5, and there's one of the verses she read. Paul writes that we glory in our sufferings because suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. Such a great verse, right? But you see this being worked out in Joseph's life, don't you, right now? You can actually see, yeah, he's going through suffering, because actually he's learning through that perseverance. And through that perseverance, his character is being developed, and you can see that being worked out here. And so if that's true, then maybe that is true for you and me as well. God is going to take us through that stuff, because he wants to produce character in you, and he wants to produce perseverance in you, and he wants to produce hope in you and me. Following Jesus is not some comfortable, cushy number. It's absolutely not a crutch to prop you up. It's not there to make everything rosy. It's there to give our whole souls to. Jesus himself said, in this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I've overcome the world. Paul in prison is able to write those letters that we love to read, and he's able to say, Shall trouble, or hardship, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword separate us from the love of God? No. In all those things we are more than conquerors. He's able to say that in prison. You know, his freedom has been curtailed, and that's what he is able to say. So this is not a message about from prison to praise. I think it was a book years ago, wasn't it? So this is not a book about that. And we love those messages, don't we? And we think that's what it should be about. Yeah, God's going to set me free from prison. This is about, no, God's putting you in prison because he wants you to learn stuff. Ooh, that's a bit awkward, isn't it? So yet again in Genesis we are confronted by the sovereignty of God. We might want to argue, but his plans are unfolding in his ways. And as I said, this is the story of God rather than the story of Joseph. This chapter is all about how to handle, rather than actually thinking about being a physical prison, which is obviously what the story is about, this chapter is really all about how to handle being in a place where you don't want to be, being in a place where you're put there by other people's actions, being in a place where there are limited options on what you can do, where perhaps you've been wrongly accused, where you've been squeezed into a corner, where you don't feel that you're in a great place and you're trying to understand why am I here and what's going on and when is this going to end and how am I going to escape and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And all of us go through those sorts of things in varying degrees and the question is what is God teaching us through them? And there are people sat here today who are not in their homeland because physically they've had to move here due to other people's actions that they're not in control of. There are people here today who are battling with life-threatening illnesses that restrict and control what they can or can't do. And there are numerous other things I'm sure you can think of, hopefully in your own life, those types of things. So what has this chapter got to teach us about that? Because the way I respond to those sort of situations, right, is I start to feel sorry for myself. Poor me. It's not fair. I'm not going to look at Anj because she'll be nodding. I say it's not fair. Why me? What have I done to deserve this? Right? That's how I would respond. And I start navel gazing, you know, just kind of disappearing into myself. I start blaming other people for what has happened. Why have they been able to do that? Why have they got away with that? It's their fault this has happened to me. It's their fault. Or if I'm feeling really obnoxious, it's God's fault. Let's blame God. That's a good one. It's your fault, Lord, that this has happened. And anything but kind of take the semblance of responsibility about what's happening right now and blame God and embrace the sort of victim mentality. Hey, I'm the victim here. This is really hard for me. Why is this going on? And I would retreat and withdraw. Or actually maybe I try to get other people on the side, you know, that world famous Facebook post. Oh no, it's happened again! And just leave it hanging there and see how many comments you get. Because that's how we feel when those sort of things happen. We want to get people on our side. We want to retreat. We want to blame anybody else. And that's a normal way, actually, sadly, of responding to these types of situations. But notice how all those responses are all about me when we respond like that. They are powerful emotions and responses that might be seen as natural in today's world. But we're not talking here about today's world. We're talking about being men and women living in the Kingdom of God. And trying to respond in the way that God teaches us to through His Word. And the way Jesus is lifting us up to a better way to do life. So what can Joseph teach us when we find ourselves in these types of situations? And I've got seven quick things, honestly quick. So number one is in chapter 39 verse 23 we read, The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. The first thing is how to handle these situations. God was with Joseph. We have to get a hold of that, right, because he's in prison. But God is with him. He's in prison. You're in a difficult situation. You're in a hard place right now. But God is with you. You've got to get a hold of that. What this says is that God is working His plans and His promises out right now through what is happening in Joseph's life. Those promises to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, the descendants of his numerous of the suns on the seashore and the stars in the sky. Those plans and promises are being worked out right now at this point in time in Joseph's life when he's in prison. God is with him. And it's the same for you and me today. God is working out His plans. He is building His church. He is making His bride ready for a returning bygroom. He is at work working out His plans for you and me as part of that. And whatever situation we find ourselves in, it fits within that bigger context. And so God is with us. The more we can see that, the better. That it isn't about our lives, it is about Him. It's about bringing glory to Jesus. It's about the Father honouring the Son. So the first thing that Joseph teaches us here when we're going through these sort of times is actually having the right perspective. That it isn't about me, but I need to look up and I need to see that it is about God and that He is with me. God is working things out in your life as part of His overall plan for what He's doing in the world today. And this sort of sentence, the Lord is with Joseph or the Lord is with us, this is not a feeling or emotion. This is not a, ooh, I've got a shiver down the back or whatever kind of thing. This is a fact of substance that we need to get a hold of. That the Lord is with you. If we're in an American church right now, I'll get you all to turn to each other and say the Lord is with you. But if I do that, the Lord is with you. Turn to each other and say the Lord is with you. And then work on it a bit so that you mean it and believe it next time. But it's so important that we get a hold of that with the perspective. The Sabbath says, even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because you're with me. That's fantastic, isn't it? We've got to get a hold of those scriptures and bring them into our lives day by day and believe in them and walk in the truth of them day by day. So the Lord was with Joseph. Second thing, this might be a bit contrived and I might be reading too much into that same verse, but we read how the warden paid no attention to anything Joseph did because God was with him. It's kind of like the warden trusted Joseph, isn't it? You know, in a prison situation, the warden was like a trusted friend. And I just noticed the second thing is when we're going through those dark times, it's good to find a trusted friend, someone we can dump on and share and support us. So many, many years ago, Anne was spending a lot of time going up and down the M1 to her parents who lived in Kent and cleaning out their house because they'd gone into a care home. And the net effect of that was a load of dust got on her lungs and she ended up in hospital in ITU for 10 days. And there was a bit of a period there where we weren't sure she was going to make it. And it was a dark time. But I remember I had a trusted friend in the church that I went round to and dumped on every day with many tears and words. And it was such a support as we need those trusted friends that help us and walk with us through those dark times. That God has given us them for a reason. It's so key. Number three, in moving on to chapter 40, in verse 4, we read, The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, that's the chief baker and the cupbearer. The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph and he attended them. And this just says to me, you know, when you're going through these dark times and these difficult places, get on and just attend to what's in front of you. What God is putting in front of you. What little thing is he putting in front of you for you to do? You know, we can get preoccupied with the apparent unfairness of it all and disappear down the rabbit hole of our own self-fity so easily. You know, Joseph could have sat there in the prison in a dark corner rocking, you know, waiting for it all to end. But he doesn't. Even in this situation, he focuses on what is in front of him, what God is presenting in front of him and gets on and does it. And it's so important at times that God is putting something in front of us that we just step into that and forget it. In Joseph's case, because he did this, we know from the story that actually this ultimately leads to his release from prison. But he didn't know that at the time. Not at all. He had no idea how long it was going to be there. And no way out as far as he knew. But he was faithful in terms of what God has put in front of him. So number three, attend to what's in front of you. Number four, in verses six and seven, when Joseph came to those two guys the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, why are your faces so sad today? And that just says to me, Joseph is putting others first. This is hard, isn't it? But he's kind of developing that same thing a little bit more. He's putting other people first before himself in his situation. He's investing time and energy into these two guys. Despite the dire situation that he himself is in of being unfairly in prison. He's tending to the needs of others. And it is true that one of the greatest ways to stop worrying about your own situation is to apply yourself to help somebody else. It's always true. And so we see him putting these other guys first and helping them. Compare this to how he used to be when he's bragging to his brothers about his wonderful coat and the dreams that he's had and all that kind of stuff that we read a few weeks ago. He's a changed guy who's doing that because suffering has led to perseverance, has led to character, which has led to hope. So he's a changed person. So he's putting others first. And for me this is quite a hard one, right? And maybe it is for some of you. It does mean putting to death the desire to worry about ourselves and our own situation. And when I think about Jesus dying on the cross and when he said, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, then it will produce much fruit. And I think this is the kind of stuff he's talking about. But when he says something like that, that if we're prepared to put to death our own preoccupation with ourselves and worrying about ourselves, then much fruit will come out of that, as happened with Joseph in the story as it goes on here. What's that? That's number four, isn't it? Number five is about confidence, having confidence in God. So in verse eight, they said to him, we've both had dreams, they answered, but there's no one to interpret them. And Joseph said to them, don't interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams. There's only spiritual gifts for all that simple and straightforward, right? But what we see here is Joseph has an incredible confidence in God, despite the situation that he is in. He is absolutely confident that God is going to interpret the dreams of these two guys. He's sure of it. He trusts God. Even in the midst of the darkest, most depressing situation, he is confident in his God. Even with the question of why am I here in prison? What's going on, God? What are you doing? He is still confident in his God. For me, it's almost like the killer verse in the whole passage, right? Because it just stands out that, wait a minute, Joseph, you're in a really difficult place. But in that place, he's saying, I am confident in God. It reminds me, actually, of a Richard Wurmbrandt quote when he was in prison. He talked about, you know, when he was in prison, he wanted to preach the gospel to the prisoners and the guards, but the guards didn't want to preach the gospel, didn't want him to preach the gospel, so they would beat him up. So he says, we were both happy. I was happy because I was preaching the gospel, and the guards were happy because they were beating me up. Wow. That is, what a challenge that is, right, in terms of confidence in God and perspective. But for Joseph here, he's sure about God interpreting the dreams. And really, this trust in God is, again, about letting go of our insecurities. I was thinking as we were worshipping earlier how I used to find this type of worship really difficult. You know, I told you before about my headbanging days in my teenage years. And then the other thing I was quite passionate about was football a long, long time ago. You know, and it never ceases to amaze me, you know, the passion that you can see in a football ground on a Saturday compared to the passion you see in a church on a Sunday. And I always felt challenged that, you know, just think for a moment what is the most exciting thing you do in your life that you absolutely love with a passion, and you get stirred up and motivated about it. Maybe it is football. Maybe it is something else. Maybe it's gaming, or maybe it's, I don't know, whatever it is that actually stirs you in it. Yeah, yeah, I'm going to really get into this. And because all of those things are spectacularly irrelevant compared to the eternity of God. And so when we come to worship and sing our songs, it's about bringing ourselves to Him and stirring ourselves to praise Him. And I went through a process of, I don't want to do this because I'm a bit of an introvert. I'm a bit of a quiet guy. I don't want to look obvious. But you go through a mental process again of actually, okay, I'm going to step out, and I'm going to start saying the words. Oh, and then I'm going to start meaning the words and singing the song, even though I haven't got a great voice, and it won't be in tune, doesn't matter. And then you move from a point of that to actually, I'm going to sing these songs to Jesus. I'm going to forget about who sat next to me, sorry, or behind me, or in front of me. And actually this is about me, and we move through that thing, and I want to encourage all of us, think about those things that you're really passionate about, and just get that perspective that Jesus is so much more worthy of our worship and our passion and our love and our adoration. And when we worship like this morning, which was brilliant, we're bringing ourselves to Him to do that and get that context. So Joseph was confident in God, and he trusted that God would be true to His Word. That was number, what number was that, four? That was five. Okay, so number six then was, so we go on in verses, I'm not going to read them, but in the next few verses he interprets the dreams, right? So number six is use your gifts right where you are. Use what God has given you. Just get on and do it. Don't wait for the time to be right, because it never will. Don't wait to be in a better place. You know, Joseph didn't sit there and think, thanks for your dreams, lads. I could normally interpret them, but I'm not in a great place right now. I'll tell you what, when I get out of prison, come and find me and tell me again, and I'm sure then I'll be in a much better place and I'll be able to tell you what they mean. He doesn't do that, does he? He gets on and uses the gifts that God has given him right in that place. Don't say, when God has fixed this for me, when I'm out of here, when life is better, then I'll use what God has given me. Get on with it right now, right where you are, in the mess, because then you see God move. Then you see God move. I remember, you know, sometimes I confess when I come to church on a Sunday, and be grumpy. Anybody else have that experience? You know, and a bit washed off with things and whatever, generally, you know. Is it just me? A bit worrying now, okay. Okay, it is just me, oh dear. And then we're singing the songs and I'm kind of, you know, bless you Lord, own my soul, yeah, yeah, okay. And I'm waiting for the next one, and going through that. And then that, sometimes when that happens, God, I feel God's given me a word. You've got to be kidding, Lord. You know, I'm not in a good place. You know, I'm grumpy. I don't want to do that. Do it to somebody else, or can we do it next week? And I know the way this works. You have to get on and do it then, and eventually I have to swallow my pride, and get on and do that, despite one thing. You know, get on and use your gifts in the dark place, or the bad place that you're in, or the hard place that you're in, as he is giving them to you. Okay, that was number six, and number seven, and the final thing. I just want to read verses 14 and 15. Well, Jesus says this, When all goes well with you, so he's saying this to the cupbearer after his interpretation. When all goes well with you, as in you get out of prison and you're back in your job, please remember me and show me kindness. Mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison, for I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I've done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon. And this says to me, it's important, guys, to be grounded, and realistic about where we are. And this is a tension, right? Because this is about Joseph holding to the fact that I really am in prison here, I really don't want to be here, I really want to get out, but at the same time I'm trusting God, and I'm looking to see God work, and I'm looking to see God move. And it's really hard holding those two things together, isn't it? But that's what he's doing, he's grounded. He's not, for example, you know, we can't read this and think he is some kind of super spiritual mega-saint who's just walking so close to Jesus, he hasn't really noticed that he's in a prison, and he's just floating along and the Holy Spirit's whooshing over him, and he's going, ooh, ooh, ooh, you're so into pure dreams, yes, yes, praise the Lord, hallelujah. No, he's not doing that. He's fully aware of the reality of the place that he's in. He doesn't want to be there. He wants to get out, but at the same time he's still looking, because there's no religious superficiality about him. And we've got to watch that ourselves sometimes, because we can sometimes get a little bit over spiritual. Equally, we can bury our head in the ground and think, there's no God here because I'm in this place. He doesn't do that either. Both of those options are incorrect. There's a middle ground that we have to walk through where we recognize the pain of the difficult place we're in, but at the same time God is at work. There's no escapism in Joseph. And it's really important that we hold that together in our own lives and as we walk through things together. So that's seven things. So if you feel you're in a dark place today, if you feel you're in a confined space, if you're unsure of the end, if you're thinking, how long is this going to be? If you're saying to God, how long am I going to be here? What's going on? I want to encourage us this morning. Maybe there's some things we can do to help us. Maybe we can just reflect on the fact that the Lord is with us. Maybe there is a trusted friend we can go to and just jump on and stand with and pray with. Just attend to what God is putting in front of you. Don't try and think about trying to fix everything or sort everything out, but just attend to what is in front of you. Learn what it is to put others first despite the difficulty of the situation that you might be in. And trust in God. Step out in faith and trust in God that he's still with you and will still use you in that situation. Don't think that I've got to wait till this is all sorted before I'm going to see God working in me. No, trust in God. Use the gifts that he's given you and finally remain grounded. Hold these two things in tension. I don't really want to be here. I want to get out of this situation, but I'm going to look to see God at work. Because eventually, as we see in the story of Joseph, holding those two things together, he actually leads to his freedom. So I'm going to finish now, but I'd like just to pray if we can. Maybe you're listening this morning and you think, yeah, I say I'm in a bit of a, not a physical prison, but I sense a bit of a prison in my own life. I'm restricted. And I want to encourage you just to respond to Jesus. We're going to worship a little bit more. If the ban could come back, that would be great.

Sermon Summary: Genesis 39 - Joseph's Trials and Triumphs This sermon, delivered by Karen, explores the life of Joseph in Genesis 39, focusing on his time as a slave in Egypt. Key Themes: God's Sovereignty: Despite facing immense hardships, including being sold into slavery and falsely imprisoned, Joseph experiences God's presence and blessing throughout his journey. The phrase "the Lord was with Joseph" is repeatedly emphasized, highlighting God's active involvement in Joseph's life, even in challenging circumstances. Character Development: Joseph's experiences, though difficult, serve to refine his character. He demonstrates unwavering integrity by resisting the advances of Potiphar's wife, even when faced with significant temptation and potential consequences. His steadfastness and reliance on God are crucial to his eventual rise to prominence. God's Purposes: The sermon emphasizes that even in seemingly devastating situations, God is working out His plan. Joseph's imprisonment, though initially a setback, ultimately leads him to a position of influence in Egypt, paving the way for the preservation of his family during a time of famine. The Importance of God's Calling: The sermon highlights the significance of recognizing God's personal call. The passage from Isaiah 43:1 ("Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you; I have called you by name and you are mine") emphasizes that each individual has a unique identity and purpose in God's eyes. Character Analysis: Joseph: Presented as a man of integrity, courage, and faith. He demonstrates remarkable resilience in the face of adversity, consistently trusting in God's plan. Potiphar: A successful Egyptian official who recognizes Joseph's abilities and benefits from his leadership. Potiphar's Wife: Portrayed as a woman with limited agency within her social context. Her actions, driven by a desire for control and fulfillment, have significant negative consequences. Application: The sermon encourages listeners to trust in God's sovereignty, even when facing difficult circumstances. It emphasizes the importance of personal integrity and resisting temptation. It challenges listeners to recognize their unique identity and purpose in God's plan. It encourages seeking God's presence and guidance through prayer and relying on His strength during times of trial. Bible References: Genesis 39 Note: This summary provides a general overview of the sermon. The actual podcast will provide a more in-depth and nuanced exploration of the themes and characters discussed. This summary aims to capture the essence of Karen's message while maintaining its integrity and theological accuracy. Transcript Are we ready, Graham? My able assistant Graham is going to help me this morning. Welcome everybody. For those of you that don't know me, I'm Jonathan's wife. He was the gray-haired man on the stage previously and will be again later. Welcome to those in 146. Today we're looking at Genesis 39, which continues with the story of Joseph. It started with Chris two weeks ago and then there was a little bit of an interlude, wasn't there, Nick? Which Nick so ably did for us last week on the little story of Tamar. Okay, so if we look at, what I'm going to do is, it's such a well-known bit of scripture. I kept saying to people oh, I'm doing Genesis 39. Oh, that's the bit with Potiphar's wife, isn't it? So I proposed that we're just going to go through this bit by bit because there's some really interesting nuggets placed in there in places and then we're going to look at the three main characters and then we're going to sort of come to a conclusion if you like. Okay, so Chris talked about how Joseph and his family and how dysfunctional that was and how his lovely brothers sold him into slavery. We'd all like brothers like that, wouldn't we? Really pleasant. So we come now to Joseph has been taken down into Egypt and Potiphar, who was an Egyptian, one of Pharaoh's main people, if you like. He was, he was chief of the guard and, carry on Graham, please, next one. And when you think about it, Joseph could have been bought by anybody, but he wasn't. This was a man of great standing, a man who worked with the Pharaoh. He didn't just go into some mediocre house, he went into the house of a very rich person. You know, this guy would have had a very large house, perhaps two or three floors, nice gold plate, all sorts of stuff like that. It wasn't just anybody. And what I want you to think about are the pieces of jigsaw that are going to fit together in this passage with what's gone before and what will come afterwards, okay? I don't know about you, but I don't think I'd be very happy coming from being the favorite son and being very important in a family to being an Egyptian slave. A bit of a, yeah, quite a lot of a come down really, an Egyptian slave. I want you to think about that in terms of what happens later in Scripture in terms of the Israelites. If you like, this was the first Egyptian slave. Now, this verse here, the Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, okay? I don't want to be that technical with you, but it's this word, Lord. Yahweh was with Joseph. It wasn't, you know, God was around. Yahweh was with Joseph and he prospered. It's a bit weird, isn't it, because he's a slave. Sorry, I'm messing around here. He's a slave. He's in Egypt. He's in a very nice house, but he's still a slave. But the Lord was with him and he prospered even though he was a slave. Sheila and I have had little conversations about all of this. We had a little conversation this morning about how God is working and she said, I love it when bits of services come together and you can actually absolutely see God at work and it can't be manufactured. It has to be God, okay? And the same is true in Jacob's life here, okay? The Lord was with him and he prospered. In the house of his Egyptian master, he's still a slave, yeah? Okay, next one, Graham, please. Now, it says that when his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, then Joseph found a favor in his eyes. Now, let's think about that a bit. What if it didn't see that Joseph was good? It doesn't say Joseph was good at his job, but he must have been. It says he saw that the Lord was with him, Yahweh with Joseph, and other people saw that. This very important man clocked it. So he would have gone, he would have started as, if you like, a slave in the house, it says. So he would have been not outside working in the gardens, he would have been in the house. And he went from there to being his personal attendant, and then he went from there to being in charge of everything, and then he went from there to being in charge of all his possessions. So this man absolutely clocked. Hang on a minute. There's something special about Joseph. Not the person, but that Yahweh was with him. Okay, next one, please, Graham. Okay, carry on. We've done that a bit. Okay, right now. I think the potter for to leave everything in his hands, it talks about except the food he ate. Now that's a bit of an English translation, if you like. What that really means is his personal affairs, okay, the really personal bits to his life. And eating was quite a personal bit, if you like. But it would probably have included his wife as well, his personal affairs as well, you know. So that was Potiphar's bit, and the rest of Potiphar's life was what Joseph organized and took care of, okay. So we see Joseph as this trustworthy, capable person. And at this point, so he's still a slave. Get it? He is still a slave, but he's prospering. His life is moving on as a slave, but he's prospering, okay. Then, all right, carry on, Graham. Now Joseph was well built, and after a while, his wife's master took notice of Joseph. And actually, when you read scripture, it's more about the description of Joseph matches the description of his mother. So if you like, he was very, very beautiful, very handsome, looked good, just like his mother had, okay. And after a while, his master's wife took notice of him. Now when I introduced myself, I know you'd introduced me as Karen Dunning. I introduced myself as Jonathan's wife, which grated on me a bit, if I'm honest, because that's not my identity. But here, you've got Potiphar's wife. We don't know what she's called, but that would have been her identity. Her identity would have been the wife of Potiphar, and her role, her responsibilities would have been as the wife of Potiphar, okay. Now I've thought long and hard about this, about what it would be like. How much control would that woman have had over her own life? Not much. What time she got up, what clothes she wore, not what she did, not what she could do, not what her aspirations were. She'd have no control over that whatsoever because she was Potiphar's wife. We'll come back to that a bit later, okay Graham. Now she's saying to him, I want you to come and I want you to have sex with me basically. And she's saying this over and over again, but at some point in this, in these conversations, Joseph makes it very clear, no, I'm not going to do what you want me to do, even if you are Potiphar's wife and I am a slave. And he gives three definite reasons to this. He talks about, carry on Graham, he talks about the fact that it would be an abuse of trust because Potiphar has trusted him with everything except his personal affairs. And it would be an offense against Potiphar, but also it would be a sin against God. And we, I get this thing that, you know, he knows that God is with him. He knows that God is blessing him. He doesn't, he isn't doing any of this in his own strength. He isn't prospering in his own strength. He gets that this is happening to me because Yahweh is with me and Yahweh is blessing me. And I'm not going to do anything that would jeopardize that. And he says no. Now, carry on Graham. Thank you, you're doing a great job there. And, and she speaks to him day after day. So she's, she's tapping at him. So it's not just a one-off, you know, come and have sex with me on a one-off basis. She's coming to him all the time. And I try to understand why he was doing this. Would you remember I said she had no control over anything. Perhaps this is her trying to gain control over something, gain control in some way of Joseph. So she's tapping at him day after day. And he's refusing, because I think in the end she's sort of saying, the Hebrew intimates that she's no longer asking him for sex. She's saying, well just come and lie with me. Hopefully that would lead to other things in her eyes. So she's still doing it, but she's trying to, I don't know, soften it a bit if you like. And he's still saying no. But he's very aware that something could happen. It's not that stupid. And he knows himself well enough to know this is not good. So what does he do? He stays away from her. He stays away from her. Wherever he can, he's nowhere near her. Because he's sensible enough to know something could happen. However, this one day can't quite manage it. And he happens to meet her when there's no men around. There's nobody else around. It's just the two of them. His heart must have sunk. Okay, next one Graham. This is really interesting. Nick I'm going to, sorry you're going to have to put that down a minute. So it says she caught him by his cloak. That'll do. Turn around mate. She caught him by his cloak and said come to bed with me. Sorry. Now, but he left his cloak in her hand. You know, if Nick gets away from me now, there's some force behind her holding on to his cloak isn't there? It's not just, it's not just, hello would you mind? It's come to bed with me and there's some force behind it. There's some determination. Okay. And it says that he ran out of the house. In the Hebrew it talks about him and he fled the house. It's the same word that would be used if you were fleeing battle. Which is exactly what he's doing isn't it? He knows he's in a very tricky situation here and he's trying to get out of it. Okay. But she's got hold now of his cloak or whatever garment it happened to be. This is the bit I love. Hang on. Next to her. When she saw that, keep going. It talks about the fact that she screamed. Okay. She began screaming. You know what? I think she was a bit of a spoiled madam and hadn't got her own way and you know just like a child stomps and screams when they don't get their own way. I happen to think that that's what she was doing. She's got his cloak but she hadn't got him. She still hadn't got what she wanted and she's screaming and stamping her foot. But because she's screaming all the servants come in. So she's got to think of a reason why she's screaming and she can't say I'm screaming because I didn't get my own way. So she has to give a reason. Now keep going Graham. Next one. He kept his cloak with him. The first thing she does is she talks about Joseph as an Egyptian slave because what she's trying to do is get the household that would have been Hebrews or would have been Egyptians on her side. This man is different and this is what he tried to do to me. Okay. So then she told this story. That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. So again she's putting it on him and she's making him the outsider which he is but she's emphasizing that. Okay. Next verse Graham. As soon as I screamed for help he left his cloak beside me. Okay and ran out of the house. Next verse Graham. Now Potiphar comes back and she she keeps the same story but the words change slightly. This is how your slave treated me. So she's putting the responsibility on Potiphar. Okay and therefore Potiphar had no choice. We don't know how well he knew his wife. We don't know whether he believed her or not but he didn't have a choice. And again she's saying you've brought this Egyptian slave in. It's your fault. What are you gonna do about it? And here's the very interesting. This is where you get the little nugget. So Potiphar had no choice. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison. The place where the king's prisoners were kept. Actually he should have been killed. If she's saying he attempted to rape me and he's a slave he should be killed. Which leads me to believe that perhaps Potiphar did have a little doubt in his mind as to what had actually happened. But he could have been put in your common old garden prison. But he wasn't. This is where the jigsaw pieces come together. He was put in the king's prison and next week and the week after you'll see why it was important that he was in the king's prison and who he met in the king's prison which led him to meet the king. And again it's all those jigsaw pieces. So he's gone from being the best beloved son to a slave and now he's a slave in prison. Could it get any worth? But the Lord was with him. Yahweh was with him. And that phrase the Lord was with him. You only find in this this chapter and right at the end of Joseph's life sort of bookends the Lord was with him and showed him kindness. Okay and again he finds favor not because of who he is but because the Lord was with him. Okay really then we start to go into what happened in prison which was exactly the same as what happened in Potter's house. So go with that Graham. The warder puts him in charge of the prison and because the Lord was with Joseph gave him success in whatever he did. What I want to do now is think about those three characters hopefully. You've got Potiphar. He's a very important man but he recognizes when he can get more and he can get more from having Joseph as his slave and giving him all his household to look after. So he's a wily man but he knows that the Lord is blessing Joseph and he wants some of it. Okay then you get the lovely Potiphar's wife. As I said I don't think she had control of any part of her life and she wanted something to control and that was Joseph. She's nameless. I'm going to repeat that in the in scripture she's nameless and we sang a song today and believe me Jonathan and I although we talk we don't talk about what songs he's singing and what I'm going to talk about. I'm going to read to you from Isaiah 43. Do not be afraid for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name and you are mine. And then we sang the rest in the song didn't we? I have called you by name and you are mine. God calling us by name is very important because it then means that we can know that Yahweh is with us and blesses us. Just everybody else, us, me. I have called you by name and you are mine. Potiphar's wife did not experience that at all. You didn't have an identity outside of being Potiphar's wife. And then you get Joseph. I have no idea how I would respond from going being the beloved child, beloved foiled child to a slave, to a slave prisoner. And yet here you have Joseph who knew Yahweh was with him and blessed him. I've been in, I think this is my 41st year of being involved in education. And I utterly, utterly know God's blessing in my career. Of course I couldn't have done it without him and things have happened that, you know, I'm like how on earth did that happen? And yet I know that that is God's blessing in my life. It has nothing to do with me and my ability. Trust me because there isn't a lot there. And yet God has blessed me. And we all have that same opportunity to be blessed by God and for God to call us by name. The other thing it made me question was how much we value difficulties. We don't do we? We don't like them. They're not nice. You just want to get out of them. When you look at Joseph, he went from, oh gosh, do I use the word spoiled brat? Yeah, but we'll leave spoiled. Okay. And his character changes over time because of the experiences he is put through. When I was in my 20s, if I knew anybody who lost a family member, honestly I never, I didn't know what to say to them. If I saw them in the streets, I'd walk the other way because I was so worried I didn't know what to say to them. When I lost my own parents and I had the experience of what it was like to grieve and feel sadness and that sense of loss, I could then talk to people because that was then part of my experience. It wasn't a nice experience, but it changed me. Our experiences change us. Joseph was changed by these experiences because Yahweh was with him and he allowed him to be with him. And he was steadfast through those experiences that weren't very pleasant. And that's hard. Let's be honest. When things aren't going well, it's hard. It's hard to be steadfast. It's hard still to think Yahweh is with me despite what I'm going through. What helped Joseph was, I think, was he was very conscious of God. He was very conscious of God's blessing despite what he was going through. What am I asking you to take away from this chapter? I'm asking you to take away that if you do not feel that you have been called by name by the Father God, then you need to know that you have. I have called you by name and you are mine. And if you need to come out and ask the prayer so that you absolutely know that. I'm not talking about feelings. Sometimes you'll feel it and sometimes you won't. I'm talking about absolutely knowing that. I have called you by name and you are mine. If you're going through experiences now that you'd rather not be going through, God hasn't said, I'm going to get you out of that situation. When you walk through the water, I will be with you. When you go through the fire, you will not be burnt. It's not, I'm going to take you out of it. It's, I will be with you. If you don't feel that he's with you, perhaps you need somebody to pray with you so you've got that stamp. I will be with you. Okay? And if you need to feel that consciousness of faith, you need God to give you that consciousness of faith, then please again, you don't have to come out to the front. You can sit there. You can ask people to pray for you now or later. But for me, the challenge of this chapter is Joseph knew God was with him and blessed him. And there were times when he could have made some really rocky decisions. I'm sure he would have been tempted to do so, but he didn't. I want to end with just reading that again from Isaiah. I have called you by name and you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. And that was Joseph's experience. But the Lord was with Joseph, whether it was in Potiphar's house or in prison. The Lord was with Joseph and the Lord is also with you. Thank you.

Sermon Summary: Joseph - A Family in Crisis This sermon explores the biblical story of Joseph from Genesis 37, focusing on themes of family dysfunction, God's sovereignty, and the redemptive power of God even in the midst of suffering. Key Points: God Loves Deeply Flawed People: The story of Joseph highlights the flawed nature of the characters involved, including Jacob, Joseph, and his brothers. This emphasizes that God's love extends to all people, regardless of their imperfections. Bible References: Genesis 37, Romans 8:28, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13 God is at Work in the Middle of All This Mess: Despite the apparent chaos and evil in the story, God is actively working behind the scenes to fulfill his purposes. This underscores the importance of recognizing God's presence and cooperating with his work in our lives and in the world. Bible References: Genesis 15, Matthew 16:18, Philippians 1:6, Philippians 2:13 You Intended to Harm Me, But God Intended it All for Good: Joseph's eventual declaration that God used the evil actions of his brothers for good emphasizes God's ability to redeem suffering and bring about unexpected blessings. Bible References: Genesis 37, Romans 8:28 Christ Wins: Ultimately, the story of Joseph points to the ultimate victory of Christ over sin and death. As believers, we can find hope and assurance in the knowledge that Christ has overcome and that we are secure in his love. Bible References: Colossians 1:13-14 Story Summary: The sermon begins by introducing the story of Joseph, emphasizing the dysfunctional nature of Jacob's family. Joseph's favored status within the family leads to jealousy and hatred from his brothers. This culminates in a brutal act of betrayal, where his brothers sell him into slavery. The sermon then delves into the emotional and psychological impact of these events on Joseph, his brothers, and Jacob. It highlights the violence and cruelty depicted in the text, drawing parallels to other biblical narratives such as the crucifixion of Jesus. The speaker emphasizes the presence of God throughout the story, even though God is not explicitly mentioned. He points out how God's providence is evident in the events, even in the midst of human sin and suffering. Finally, the sermon concludes with a message of hope and redemption, emphasizing that Christ has overcome and that God can use all things, even suffering, for good. It encourages listeners to trust in God's sovereignty and to cooperate with his work in their lives. Note: This summary provides a concise overview of the sermon. The full transcript offers a more detailed and nuanced understanding of the speaker's message and its theological implications. This summary aims to be accurate and informative, capturing the essence of the sermon while maintaining its integrity. Transcript Good morning, guys. Let's have the first slide up, if we can. So this morning, we're continuing with a series on Genesis, and we've arrived at the story of Joseph. You have no slides? Where's Pete Edleys? He's told we've got them. So we've arrived at the story of Joseph, and of course, that's probably one of the best-known stories in the Bible, isn't it? And I mean, there are probably a number of reasons why it's so well-known, and obviously, it's a very good story. But also, there's the musical, isn't there? And I guess, you know, a lot of us know that musical well, and it's a very, very good musical. But if you think about it, the purpose of a musical, I guess, is to entertain us, to amuse us, to make us laugh, perhaps to bring some glamour to our lives. And in doing those things well, it misses something that I see in this chapter, and that is the sheer kind of horror and pain and messed-upness of this family, because this is a story of a deeply dysfunctional and messed-up family. So what I want to do this morning, I'm going to walk through the story step by step, and I'll just add a few things at various points. And then I've got kind of four points I want to bring, I think, about how the story can apply to us today. So let's have the next slide. So this is the account of Jacob and his family. And when Joseph was 17 years old, he often tended his father's flock. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing. Now, actually, some experts on the Hebrew text think that the kind of words chosen suggest that Joseph was maybe exaggerating the stories about his brothers to cause more trouble. I don't know if that's true or not. And actually, when we think about the brothers, what they will do in this chapter and what they did just a couple of chapters previously in the atrocities committed at Shechem, perhaps he didn't need to exaggerate. They probably were doing plenty of things without the need to over-egg that. But nevertheless, this whole thing is deeply unwise on the part of the father, Jacob, and his son, Joseph. This is not going to promote harmony within the family. And we'll see more of that. Let's have the next slide. Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph, a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn't say a kind word to him. So here's the picture of a really messed up family. And you know, the tragic is Jacob is repeating the mistakes and sins of his parents. You remember the whole story about Jacob's terrible relationship with his brother Esau was certainly made worse by the fact that his father's favorite was Esau and Jacob with his mother's favorite. So he'd inherited favoritism. He'd seen the pain and hurt that caused in the family. And here he is repeating the same mistakes over again. And that doesn't excuse, of course, the brother's reaction to that, their hatred. But it does set the scene for what will happen next in the story. Next slide. One night Joseph had a dream and he told his brothers about it. And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them. And of course his dream was about he and his brothers having sheaves of corn or wheat. And in the dream their sheaves of corn bowed down before his sheaves. So it was a fairly self-important dream really, wasn't it? And his brothers hadn't liked him before and this dream was definitely not going to make it any better. So it's kind of, I mean you're laughing and I understand that, but you know, this is just terrible what's going on here. And Joseph isn't about to learn from his mistakes either. Next slide. He has another dream and this time he tells his brothers again, despite their reaction to the first dream, and tells his father. And it says, but while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered about what the dreams meant. I kind of think in this slide we kind of see three ways of handling what may be a word from God. And one way is to reject that angrily and outright because we don't like the way it makes us feel. And that's the brother's reaction. The next way, which I guess is Joseph doing is, I don't know whether they put it in these words, but Joseph is thinking, well, you know, if God has given me a word and somebody else has got a problem with that and that's their fault, isn't it? It's not down to me. But, you know, we learn in the New Testament that, you know, all gifts and words are subject really. Am I loving my neighbor in doing this? And what did St. Paul said, you know, if I speak in the tongues of men or of angels but have not love, I'm only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy but have not love, I am nothing. And Joseph, unfortunately, is playing that role. But the third reaction is actually Jacob's. And Jacob is kind of horrified about how the word has been brought, but he doesn't reject the word. He suspects that God may be up to something here. And so he stays open and he's pondering that. This reminds me from a line from the New Testament of Mary when she saw some of the things that happened around Jesus' birth. It said, and Mary pondered these things in her heart. So she's storing it up and thinking it over and wondering what God may be up to. Next slide. Soon after this, Joseph's brothers went to pastor the father's flocks at Shechem. And when they'd been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, your brothers are pastoring the sheep at Shechem. Get ready and I will send you to them. There's something about Jacob has not understood where his other sons are. He's not understood how they've been feeling. He's not understood how dangerous they are, even though to some extent there's been ample warning. You know, the terrible things that happened in Shechem show that these were violent, angry men. And he's sending Joseph to them without having thought of the consequences. Next slide. And when he arrived there, so this is Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. What are you looking for? He asked. I'm looking for my brothers, Joseph replied. Do you know where they're pastoring their sheep? Now this is interdenial. It's part of a slightly longer section in the chapter. And one thing that's interesting about this is that it's definitely not mentioned in the musical. But there's a reason why it's not mentioned in the musical. It just feels like kind of padding. It's not central to the story in any way at all. It's just kind of extra. Well, why do we need to know we have this conversation about where to find them? It doesn't appear later in the story. It's just extra material in the chapter. But you know, this to me is one of the signs of the authenticity of the story. You know, if you were making this up as a good story, you wouldn't put this in. It doesn't add anything. But it has to do with the way that our memories work in the real world. You know, on the day of Anne's funeral, I can remember what the weather was like. I couldn't tell you what the weather was like the day before or the day after. I can remember the weather. Now the weather was not important to what happened that day. I remember it. Because that's the way that memories work. You know, when something important has happened in your life, you remember details around that that really seem kind of irrelevant. And so this is a mark of the authenticity of the story. The only thing to think about is this. This is a conversation between Joseph and an unnamed man out in the countryside somewhere. So how did the writer of Genesis know this? Well, the most likely reason, surely, is that this was a story that Joseph used to tell, probably told many times. In later life, he's telling the story about what happened to him. Joseph would tell the story. The brothers didn't know about this. But you know, Genesis said something of the mark of drawing on kind of first person testimony of Joseph. Joseph's fingerprints are on this chapter. Next verse. When Joseph's brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. And as he approached, they made plans to kill him. No mistake of it. This is what we call in British law first degree murder. This is premeditated murder. So they are intending to kill him. This is not a heat of the moment thing. They are intending his death. But it may also remind us of something in the New Testament, of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem in the last week of his life and the authorities planning how they were going to arrest and kill him. Next slide. His brothers ripped off the beautiful coat he was wearing, and then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now, the cistern was empty. There was no water in it. Just think about the violence of the language there. Ripped off, grabbed through. I mean, Joseph is being beaten up. And this is kind of shocking language. In fact, I'm told that the Hebrew word that is translated as ripped off was the word they used for skinning an animal. You know, they ripped off the hated coat that he was wearing and then threw him into the cistern. It's a violent thing. In this chapter, we're not told how Joseph felt or what he was doing, but we can probably imagine it. And actually, if you kind of fast forward to chapter 42, the brothers are talking about what happened. And they said, we heard his cries for anguish, but we ignored them. And this would have been a terrifying experience for Joseph. You know, he's pleading for his life, and they're not caring. But in the kind of horror of that, you may not also see something of God's mercy, because the cistern that's there to hold water is empty. You know, presumably the brothers would have been very happy if it had been full of water, because then Jacob would have drowned, and that would have been it. But the cistern's empty, and so Joseph remains alive. Next slide. Then just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming towards them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt. Joseph's brothers pulled them out of the cistern and sold them to them for 20 pieces of silver. There's something of the callousness there. They've just beaten up Joseph and thrown him into the cistern, probably bloodied and in terrible distress. And they sit down and get their sandwiches out while he's in suffering. But doesn't that remind us of another story from the New Testament of the soldiers who crucified Jesus then sitting down to play poker over his clothes? And then it's another one of those little details that you think add nothing to the story. Apparently the Ishmaelite traders are taking gum, balm, and aromatic resin. Well, I mean, but who would have known that? Possibly not the brothers. I don't suppose that traders were advertising that they were carrying valuable product with them. But the new slave who accompanied them all the way from Canaan to Egypt over many weeks would have known what they were carrying. There's another detail from Joseph's recollections, really. And we also start to see God's grace that he is being delivered from death, that God is at work. And the brothers pull him out of the cistern and they sell him for 20 pieces of silver. And that apparently was the kind of standard price for a slave of that age. It was probably more than double of what a shepherd could earn in a year. So they were going to do very nicely out of this. And again, that reminds us of Jesus, isn't it? Betrayed for, in Jesus' case, for 30 pieces of silver. Next slide. Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph's robe in its blood. They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message. Look at what we found. Doesn't this robe belong to your son? Another kind of terrible kind of callousness and cruelty to this, isn't there? Because not only has Joseph been assaulted, but in a sense Jacob is about to be assaulted. They're about to tell him that his son has died. And my elder sister Fiona was killed in a car accident when she was 19. And you remember my parents' pain, my pain. And they're going to inflict that on their father. And also see how often one sin leads to another. You know, they do this terrible thing to Joseph. And then they're immediately following it with a lie as part of the cover-up. And with, you know, in a sense further violence towards their father. But there's also a kind of irony in the use of a goat in this. Remember Jacob himself had, you know, a goat had been involved in his deception of his own father. His mother, this goat stew is part of tricking his father into giving the birthright. And it's about, you know, maybe something about what he's reaped. He's also sowing. He's taken in by this. Next slide. Jacob mourned deeply for his son for a long time. His family all tried to comfort him. But he refused to be comforted. I will go to my grave mourning for my son, he would say. And then he would weep. And it's kind of a pitiful scene in many ways, but also a horrid scene. I mean, his family tried to comfort him. What, hypocrites? You know, they knew he'd been sold into slavery. They had been responsible for it. And they were saying, oh, dad, we feel so sorry for you. You know, terrible hypocrisy. And were they trying to comfort him because they wanted to comfort him? Or because their own consciences were nagging and they wanted him to move on so that they could kind of move on themselves from the terrible thing they had done to their brother. But Jacob's definitely, Jacob is heartbroken. And are you tempted to criticize Jacob and think maybe, you know, would we not have expected a bit more faith or hope from you? Don't go there. Don't go there. Because the book of Job tells us, you know, that at the end of the book of Job, the man who was at the end of his tether is told by God to pray for those who tried to give him good advice. So judge not lest you be judged. Next slide. Meanwhile, the Midian traders arrived in Egypt where they sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was the captain of the palace guard. And you know, one of the interesting things in the context of the Bible about Genesis 37 is that God is not mentioned anywhere in the chapter. But though God might be not visible, nevertheless God is still at work in the background. And if you go back to Genesis 15, that probably was around about 190 years previously, God is already foreseeing the exodus. God is at work even if he is not visible in the story. But we've walked through the story. Let's think about some of the things the story, I think, can speak to us. Next slide, please. God loves deeply flawed people. Actually, that's one of the most consistent messages in the whole book of Genesis. You know, if you can open Genesis that you're going to find great examples of people to follow, you're quickly disappointed because actually there's all these people who are messed up in all sorts of ways. And they're, you know, they're supposed to be the people of God, but actually they're often behaving terribly. And I mean, somebody in the church said to me, you know, I've actually found that quite encouraging when I think about the shame of my own life. It's encouraging me to see how God used people who were deeply flawed. And this does bring me to two truths or two truths contained within that statement that I think are fundamental to thinking clearly about ourselves. And the first truth is that I am a deeply flawed person. And that both the things I've done, the things I've not done, and my very character itself are deeply flawed. And, you know, unless we kind of face the truth about ourselves, we are missing a fundamental fact. But the second truth is that the God who knows all about us nevertheless loves us more than we can possibly imagine. I would say those two truths are fundamental to all clear thinking about ourselves. Perhaps you're thinking, listen, Chris, I, you know, I know I'm not perfect, I know I've got, you know, my issues, but I'm not sure I would kind of identify with the phrase deeply flawed. So what's my answer to that? I think my answer to that is in two parts. I think the first part I would say, do something risky. Ask God to show you the true nature of your heart. That's my first answer. The second answer is this, watch out. Jesus himself said, I haven't come for people who think they're righteous, I've come for sinners. God loves deeply flawed people. Next one. God is at work in the middle of all this mess. And again, that's emphatically clear. You might think that, if you go back to the beginning of Genesis, God makes a perfect world, and then the world goes wrong. And God chooses to continue to be involved in this thoroughly messed up world. You know, wouldn't a holy God want to go off and start anew somewhere else, find another planet, and start again with a new person? But God stays involved in the middle of this deeply messed up world. And God is working out his purposes. And we certainly see that in, you know, in the chapters to come in the life of Joseph and in the life of the people of Israel that God is at work in the middle of all this mess. In fact, you know, the big story, and it's a story that involves us, is that, you know, God made a world that was good. It went bad. And God is dealing with that by calling out a people of his own. God is calling a people. You know, as Jesus put it in the New Testament, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not stand against it. That is the business that God is in. And he's patient, and he's long suffering, and his love continues. That was in Roland's prayer earlier. You know, God continues. Jacob is now an old man. He's been making terrible mistakes all his life, and God is still involved in it. God is at work in the middle of all this mess. And, you know, that's great news for us, you know, that God is at work in the middle of the mess of my life. I don't know if you've thought of yourself as a building site. I want you to have that picture. And actually, you know, I think it's so important that we're asking God. We're saying yes to God's work in our lives. And in the lives of this very broken world that we're in, God do things. God fix the overgrown garden. God deal with the leaky roof and the toilet that doesn't flush properly and the central heating system that's broken. God be at work in my life. And it's interesting, you know, I talked to some Muslim friends recently, and they were describing some people they knew. And for some Muslims at least, you know, God's will is almost like fate. So, you know, something happens. Well, that's the will of Allah, and that's what happens. But in the New Testament, you know, God's will and his work in our lives feels much more like a cooperation. You know, God wants our involvement in what he's up to in this world, but God is at work. A couple of things that Paul said in Philippians, he said, I am confident that God who began the good work within you will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. And then later he said about God is working in us. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the power and the desire to do what pleases him. So I think there's a huge bit for us to say yes to God's work in our world. You know, that should be part of our daily prayer for the work of God in our lives and in the lives of this broken world. And this point in the previous one, I think they're also relevant to the church's whole mission to a broken world. Tim Keller is a very well-known Bible teacher and the author of many books. And Tim had a brother called Billy. And Billy was a practicing homosexual who contracted AIDS and actually was later to die of AIDS. And Tim and his wife cared for Billy extensively in the latter days of his life when his friends were no longer interested. But Tim spoke at his brother's funeral and he said, Billy tended to avoid kind of orthodox believing Christians, not only because he disagreed with them, but because he felt kind of beat up and condemned by them. And Tim had written a book about the Prodigal Son, but when we behave like that, we're behaving more like the older brother in the story of the Prodigal Son than about the father. Jesus had them coming in. We keep them away. So this is fundamental for how we want the church to be seen. God loves deeply blue people and we're called to share that. God is at work in this mess and we're called to share that. Number three, please. You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. And that's Joseph speaking much later in his life, but nevertheless, that's a very significant statement. And because you can absolutely see that in Joseph's case is that your brother's motives towards him and their actions towards him were definitely for harm and only for harm. But God is able to turn that around and use it for the salvation of many people. He actually uses it to save the very brothers themselves who are saved because of this, because of God's action in this. And indeed, the saving of many Egyptians who would otherwise have died of famine. We'll read about that later. Supremely, of course, we see that in the death of Jesus Christ. The authorities and the Romans who were complicit in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ intended only harm from that. But God used that, used that more than anything else ever before or since to bring good to this world, to bring salvation and freedom for all of us. And Romans 8.28, it says that God can take the pain and suffering in our lives and work that for good. He can work it for good. And that's so important. I want to say there's a but with this that I think is worth just talking about briefly. And that is that this is Joseph speaking later in life, looking backwards. This is not Joseph at the time. I don't get any sense that Joseph or Jacob could see that when it was happening. In the midst of the pain and the suffering, that's what they see. Only later do they see the bigger picture. And I think that's true. I think it's corritempo, but I might be wrong. Sometimes our lives, it's a bit like looking at a tapestry from the wrong side. And all we can see is kind of knots and threads and a mess. And it's only when the tapestry is turned around that we can see the beautiful picture. And I think when we're going through hard times, the why question is often quite unhelpful. We may not know the answer. In fact, we may not even know the answer in this world, but we trust that God will work out the mess and the pain for his good and for his purpose. And probably something in a verse that's not often preached about and maybe because it's difficult to understand, he said, for you have been given the privilege not only of trusting in Christ, but also the privilege of suffering for him. And it's the way when Christians suffer, and probably particularly when they suffer from being Christians, that they're part of that bigger story of the suffering of the saints through all the generations and of Jesus himself. Next one. How does it end? And I think we can summarize this very clearly in just two words. Christ wins. Christ wins. And whatever difficulties we face in our life, the answer to that is I know the ending. I've seen the final page of the book. I know how this finished. Christ wins. And because I belong to Christ, I am caught up in his victory. He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his dear son, who pardoned our sin, who purchased our freedom and pardoned our sins. So it ends with Christ winning. But let's—how are we doing for time? We're okay for time. Let's just spend a minute or two praying, and let's just really invite God to come. Lord, we thank you for your word, Lord, and we thank you that your word can speak to us afresh today. And Lord, we do want to take from your word every morsel of nourishment for our very selves, Lord. Lord, we stand before you needy and hungry. We need your touch, Lord, and we invite you by your Holy Spirit. Lord, work in us. Lord, we thank you that you're already at work in us. And perhaps your plans for us are different from the ones that we've got for ourselves, but we want to say yes to the will of God in our lives. Yes to the will of God in Medihead Christian Fellowship. Yes to the will of God in this broken world. So Lord, give us the grace to cooperate with your spirit, Father, to welcome you. More than that, to insist, Lord, to insist, God, work in me. Do not pass me by, Lord. Work in me. Do marvelous things, Lord. Lord, I do not want to mess up on any good thing you have for me. Lord Jesus, today I want to say a resounding yes to you and to your son. And I do this confident that I will remain in your arms and in your loving care. Whatever happens in my life, you will always hold me tight. And one day, I will stand with you in glory. Amen.

Sermon Summary: Breaking Free from the Chains of the Past (Genesis 36) This sermon by Andy explores the story of Esau and his descendants, the Edomites, as found in Genesis 36. It highlights how Esau's poor choices, particularly selling his birthright and missing out on his father's blessing, had lasting negative consequences for his entire lineage. The Edomites, born into a nation marked by these initial failings, faced ongoing struggles, including conflict with the Israelites and eventual decline. This serves as a powerful illustration of how societal and cultural factors can significantly impact individual lives and destinies. Andy argues that, just as the Edomites were bound by the actions of their ancestor, individuals today can be similarly constrained by the circumstances of their birth, upbringing, and the prevailing culture around them. These influences can manifest in various forms: Cultural Norms: The values, beliefs, and behaviors of the wider society can shape our worldview, limiting our potential and influencing our choices. Family Dynamics: Family history, relationships, and past traumas can have a profound impact on our emotional, social, and spiritual development. Peer Groups: The influence of friends and social circles can reinforce negative behaviors, limit aspirations, and hinder personal growth. These influences can lead to feelings of limitation, hopelessness, and a sense of being trapped by circumstances beyond our control. We may feel like we are "stuck" in a particular role or identity, unable to break free from the patterns of the past. However, the sermon emphasizes that this is not an inevitable fate. Just as the Israelites were chosen by God and blessed despite their surrounding nations, individuals can experience true freedom and transformation through faith in Jesus Christ. Key Biblical concepts emphasized in the sermon include: Redemption: Jesus Christ came to redeem us from the "law" - not just religious law, but also the "law" of our circumstances, our past, and the limitations imposed by our surroundings. Adoption: Through faith in Christ, we are adopted into God's family, becoming heirs to His promises and receiving the Holy Spirit to guide and empower us. Freedom: Jesus has set us free from the bondage of sin, fear, and the limitations of our past. We are no longer slaves to our circumstances. The sermon then outlines practical steps for experiencing this freedom: Surrender to Jesus: This is an ongoing process, requiring continual submission of our will, desires, and circumstances to God's plan. Proactively Believe God's Word: Regularly engage with Scripture, allowing it to transform our thinking and guide our actions. This involves making conscious choices to align our lives with God's Word, even when our feelings may contradict it. Seek Support and Accountability: Connect with other believers, sharing our struggles and celebrating our victories. Support from fellow Christians is crucial for overcoming challenges and maintaining our freedom. By embracing these principles, individuals can break free from the chains of their past, experience true transformation, and live a life of purpose and freedom in Christ. Bible References: Genesis 36 Genesis 25 Genesis 27 Genesis 33 Numbers 20 Deuteronomy 23 Numbers 24 1 Samuel 14 1 Samuel 21 1 Kings 11 2 Chronicles 20 2 Kings 8 2 Kings 14 2 Chronicles 28 Psalm 137 Ezekiel 25 Galatians 4:4-6 2 Corinthians 5:17 2 Timothy 1:7 This summary provides a concise overview of the sermon's key themes and messages. It is important to note that this is a summary and may not capture all the nuances and details of the original message. Disclaimer: This summary is based on the provided transcript and may not perfectly reflect the speaker's intended message or the nuances of his delivery. Transcript So if you've read it and you still come this morning I'm impressed so I was gonna do Genesis 37 originally and I had it all lined up we're gonna start the story of Joseph we were gonna sing the songs but nobody knows the songs honestly okay we're gonna had it already and then it snowed on that first Sunday in January and so the talks got moved on and here we are in Genesis 36 instead there we are this is like this is like you know when Paul wrote Timothy and he said the whole of Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking correcting and training in righteousness he clearly hadn't read this chapter so I will have a word with him about that when we get there but if you've got a Bible we're not going to turn to the chapter and read it because that would just be the end of it but I'm going to see if this will work first of all before I get going brilliant okay great so so what we've got with Genesis 36 and I'm going to try and tie it into some of the things we've heard this morning is this is the last word about Esau in the whole book of Genesis okay so we don't hear about him anymore after this and after this chapter there's a shift and the focus turns completely to Jacob and his family and obviously particularly the story of Joseph and how the whole Israelites end up in Egypt and and that whole thing is coming down the road towards us now over the next few weeks yeah so we're looking forward to that but the stuff but we think my Esau the story we've had so far in Genesis 25 if you can remember way back when it must have been October November time when Jacob and Esau were born God spoke to their mum Rebecca and said that the older will serve the younger and Esau was born first so he's going to end up serving Jacob and then at the end of that same chapter we reach the point where Esau sells his birthright for a meal right and that was a big thing in that culture okay because he was the firstborn he should get this birthright he should get the blessing from his dad to carry on through his children and he just threw it all away for a simple meal and then as we get to chapter 27 we get the story of how Jacob gets the blessing from his dad Isaac that should have gone to Esau and all of that and the fallout of all of that as Jacob has to flee away for his life because he's worried his brother's going to kill him etc etc and then we get to chapter 33 which was probably about end of November I think and there's this cagey meeting between Jacob and Esau where they kind of make up but Jacob is still acting as the deceiving guy and they kind of make up and and then and then I said but now what we begin to see here in chapter 36 is the implications of Esau's actions start to be worked out and the word that God spoke to Rebecca when she was pregnant with him starts to have an effect on Esau and his descendants and in the same way that we read so clearly about the blessing of God coming to Abraham and then to Isaac and then to Jacob and down through the nation of Israel we start to see the kind of non blessing if you want to call it that to Esau start to have an effect on him and his children and grandchildren and this nation of Edom as they are called so Esau the offspring of Esau is the nation of Edom and this whole tribe together are impacted by what Esau had done way back in Genesis 25 so just so that you if you can read this that'd be great so I can just about read that it's not bad so so this is Genesis 36 this is all you need to know so so it literally is a family tree and a few other bits and pieces so first of all I'm just going to point out so Esau there he's got three wives through which his children come so his first wife was called Ada and she was the daughter of Elon not that Elon okay who knew it was in the Bible right you heard it here first anyway his second wife his second one I'm sorry and through Ada they have one son called Eliphaz we're not told who Eliphaz married but he had five children he also had a concubine named Timna and they had a son called Amalek and if you know anything else about your Old Testament history the Amalekites they were one of the enemies of Israel as you read through the stories his second wife had the most wonderful name of Oh Holy Bama at least that's how I pronounce it sounds great she was the daughter of Anna and this is the only verse I will read from the from the chapter verse 24 the sons of Zibeon were Ea and Anna this is the Anna who discovered the hot springs in the desert while he was grazing the donkeys of his father Zibeon like as if you thought there was another Anna so I don't know what prompted Moses to write that little bit about our friend Anna here but anyway Anna he had one daughter Oh Holy Bama who became Esau's second wife good name isn't it and then his third wife was called Basemath which kind of sounds like she was the founder of modern mathematics but but gosh I'm going to be in so much trouble from our evangelical conservators after this but she was the daughter of Ishmael so that kind of makes her Esau's cousin right because Ishmael and Isaac were brothers Esau was Isaac's son so so so Basemath was Esau's cousin and they have one son Raoul and we're not told who he married but he had four children and then there's a bit in the middle of the chapter that I haven't put in here which is about the people in the land where Esau settled and they're called Horites H O R I T E Zibeon and Anna were Horites so they're from the land and they all got merged into this kingdom of Edom and this tribe of Edom that we're reading about here good isn't it so and then the end of the chapter we get told here's the kings of Edom and they had kings way before Israel Moses specifically calls that out and again if you know anything about your Old Testament you'll know that all the nations around Israel had kings and Israel didn't because God had a separate special thing for them but in the end they grumbled and said that we want kings like everybody else and so they had kings and that was not a good ending but but here we read that Edom the kingdom of Edom they had kings way before Israel did and there's a list of names of said kings so what can we learn about this well I think the first thing that this strikes me is you know here is a nation that is living outside of the blessing of God as a consequence of Eastwell's actions what else do we know about the Edomites well actually as you whiz through the page of the Old Testament you've discovered some other things I mean numbers 20 we read about the Israelites on the exodus through the wilderness they come to the land of Edom and the Edomites say no you can't come through here so so there's immediately there's this tension between the two nations in Deuteronomy 23 we read that Israel is forbidden to hate Edom interesting in Numbers 24 we read about Balaam remember him he's the guy who has the donkey that speaks back to him so he has a prophecy about the downfall of Edom and its ultimate demise yeah speaking donkeys are in the Bible just in case you didn't know not just in Shrek so sorry in 1 Samuel 14 we read about Saul fighting the Edomites in 1 Samuel 21 we read about David conquering Edom in 1 Kings 11 we read about the complete conquest of the land of Edom in 2 Chronicles 20 we read about the Edomites rising up and doing a raid into Judah in 2 Kings 8 we read about Edom rebelling against Judah but they could not squash them in 2 Kings 14 we read about Amaziah who was a king of Judah invading Edom and massacring them and in 2 Chronicles 28 we read again about Edom invading Judah so they're at war throughout the time and all of this stemming from one man's decision bad decision down through the ages and then we get to Psalm 137 you know a great Psalm that says you know about the people of God in Babylon when they are carried off in captivity how can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land and in that one verse in verse 7 we read that Edom rejoices at Judah's fall and then we get to the prophets and through the prophets as several prophecies about the end of the nation of Edom for example in Ezekiel 25 we read about their ultimate demise and then they're heard of no more that's it and all of this stemming from Esau's actions the repercussions of one man rippling down through all his descendants you kind of think about these people that are mentioned here and they're children after them and the people if you're born into that nation now you can't control where you're born can you no matter what else science is able to do today you can't determine who your parents are what nation you're born into what culture you're born into what tribe you're born into anything about that at all you cannot affect any of that ever and yet these people are born into the nation of Edom and inherit the lot of being an Edomite you can imagine them crying out it's not fair this is our lot because of our parents actions you know we blame them I didn't ask for this and yet these are the cards I've been down here is a culture and a society built on the actions of its founder and unable to shake that off they are a nation defined by spurning the blessing of God and now there are odds with Israel and ultimately they become someone who just disappears from history not one of these descendants not one of these kings could break out of those characteristics of their culture it's like you know those guardrails when you go bowling that I would use because I'm no good at bowling that you put up there to stop the ball going down in the gully you know it's like there are guardrails for this nation of Edom but this is what this is their lot you know they can't break out of that they can't become the people of God they can't become people who walk in the blessing of God again this is their lot in life the blessing the so-called blessing that Edom the Esau did receive from Jacob comes to pass the mistakes the folly of what he did has huge repercussions and implications down the line until they're written out of the story and the nation of Edom evaporates away and all that time the descendants of Jacob are center stage all that time God's chosen people and inheritance are the ones taking the limelight simply because of this one man's actions it's so often the case that the culture or society in which we are born or brought up in or moved to live amongst become a culture and society that shapes us and molds us and defines who we are we can be nice and spiritual and say that oh yeah but no I'm a child of God so I'm now different and we'll come to that because I is so important but the reality is also that whatever culture tribe place you were born up into family you were born into has a massive effect on what you are who you are as a person what your likes and dislikes are what what hinders you what is good about you but also what stops you moving on in God because he's got something better in place so you kind of wonder okay so was this chapter got to say to us and I think well actually you know hang on actually this impact of culture and society is true for us today on our lives the decisions and actions taken by other people affect our lives let's be honest that so much of who we are is defined by the culture and society we are born in and brought up in and that can be like a national culture that can be you know Western UK secular 21st century culture that can be an African culture that could be an East European culture that can be whatever culture you've come from it shapes and molds and and and frames a way of life for us that that is that sets the path that we're on so often it can be a subculture so when I was a teenager I can still remember I was big into heavy metal confessions I knew you were Howard thank you you know and that was a subculture I guess what it defined what clothes you wore I had all the denim with all the badges of bands on the back it defined what music you listen to it defined what music you didn't like even if you did you know and all of the subcultures do that don't they and there's a myriad subcultures out there today that we are quite potentially a part of or our thing and define and shape of some molders it can be a peer group a group of friends you know as a parent you those days you send your children off to school and they go there for seven hours and then they come back and they've learned some new words but you didn't teach them yeah because they've got a peer group right that shapes them and affects them and molds them and or it can be our family our families that we are born and brought up into shape us and molds and affect us actions taken by others way outside our influence of control can lead to us being not where we want it to be and more importantly not in a place that God has called us to be and God has for us because of the good things he's had for us that we've been singing about earlier you know the Edomites would simply say but you know what this is just who we are this is our lot in life this is all that we are able to do we're not the people of God in fact we're at war with them quite often our lives have become dominated by circumstances beyond our control and influence and here we are stuck and they could say you know we'll never become the people of God you know we for us today we could say the same thing we'll never become dot dot dot I'll never be free of dot dot dot I'll never be free of an addiction I'll never be free of poverty I'll never be free of being in a place where I've got hope of what I can do in the future I'll never be free enough to have a job but actually I get value about often can contribute to I'll never be free of money worries I'll never be free from the impact of domestic violence I'll never be free from the fact that people have controlled me and manipulated me and it goes on and on on the list goes on you can add your own things in there and we can feel like that because of the impact of that culture around us that we have been a part of and just like the Edomites we can say it's not even my fault you know it's it's this group you've been with but I didn't ask to be born here I didn't ask for that but this is where I am and we can feel stuck like that it's this it's this group of friends it's this society it's this neighborhood it's this family it's even and it does happen it's this church it's these friends it's these circumstances these are the cars I've been dealt with and this is my lot in life and this is who I am and the place you are now in is not where you wanted to be or where you thought you would be and the huge overwhelming senses I've got a settle for this because that was their lot in life right they couldn't change so the deal is right if all we had is the Old Testament then that would be the end of the story and that would be a true picture like it was for the Edomites but the good news is we have the New Testament but the good news is that God took the initiative to bring about a change and sent his own son Jesus but he died on a cross for the sins of the world but three days later all the evidence shows that he rose from the dead but as we're going to see in a minute that starts to have an impact on whatever culture subculture group family whatever has affected us and creates a hope and an opportunity for change to come and that we don't have to settle for it anymore Paul put it this way when he wrote to the church in Galatians he says this but when the set time had fully come God got the initiative sent his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law what that language is saying is to redeem those under the law whatever culture whatever group whatever impact you've had by the life you've lived up to the point you encounter Jesus God has sent his son to rescue you from that and bring you into a different place the Edomites didn't get that we have that today in Jesus but in order that we might receive adoption to sonship this language is so strong and powerful right because what this is saying is no matter what forces or people or attitudes or whatever have gripped you I've taken hold of you in the past Jesus coming in person has enabled you to be adopted into sonship or daughtership in a new kingdom in a new culture in a new society one that God is over all and because you are his sons and daughters God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts who calls out Abba Father so guess what so you're no longer a slave we no longer have to be a slave to those things that control manipulate cajole us and restrict us and instead we are now a child of God and because we are a child of God we are now an heir of all the things that God promises now that's fantastic news all right but this is for me this is classic verse that as as Christians we often read this and know it in our heads right we could even quote it without having to look it up perhaps but the huge challenge is how on earth do you apply this to your life but it's nice to read a verse like that it's great to read a verse like that it's like yeah yeah yeah fantastic but actually how do you apply this what is the teeth of this verse into our lives so let me try and answer that question by giving an example when I find me paper let me give it so as a teenager and as a young man in my early 20s I was I was incredibly insecure right I'm only marginally insecure now but but in those days I was incredibly insecure as a young man and that was all shaped by you know my how I grew up the peer group family and all those life things that were around me at the time and I would hate walking into a room full of people and I just avoid it whenever I possibly could I remember one time when I was going out we went to church in Walkley and it was that day in spring when the clocks changed and they go forward an hour and of course we didn't we forgot because we were students so we didn't know that sort of stuff and so we turned up to church and it's already an hour into the service and I thought I'm not going in just don't want to go in but then somebody inadvertently came out for us and but that was the type of thing that I was you know I had that level of insecurity I would sit at the back of the room I would keep my head down when someone at the front asked the questions anybody got a question I wouldn't put my hand up but you know I would avoid all of that and you know and the insecurity was such that I made demands on other people I needed to know that you liked me and if you liked me yesterday there's a big chance you might not like me today so I need to know today that you liked me and all of that was that you know it was a nightmare for us when we were going out but all of that nightmare now anyway but all of that was going on alright because I was just dreadfully insecure but over time right as I read so I'd become a Christian right and guess what that hadn't changed that's the point I'm making that hadn't changed but but over time as I read and thought about the scriptures as I thought about the scriptures that talk about Christ has set us free that I am a new creation so for example I would yes so therefore I'd read scriptures like this therefore if anyone is in Christ the new creation has come the old is gone the new is here and that verse and I'd read that and I think well hang on because I really believe Jesus has died and he's alive today so if that if that's true then all bets are off anything can happen right death isn't the end there's something else right so I'd read a verse like this and I think well actually if this is true then this means I don't have to live the way I used to live this means I don't have to act in that way but this problem is that I do right and so I read verses I don't have to live as an insecure young man anymore I can do something about it I can change that the old has gone the new is here or I'd read another verse you know it's for freedom that Christ has set us free we've been singing about how God sets us free this morning but I wonder how many of us actually have allowed the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to change us consistently over time and make us free and that is one of the big things it's something that requires over time we often want the instant thing and particularly about charismatic Christianity we want the instant thing we want it to be a hundred-yard dash for God to change us but for a lot of us it's a marathon and that requires a different approach and a different way of tackling things so I'd have to come back and read this verse time and again so instead of feeling insecure every day or as well as feeling insecure every day I would read this verse every day and actually hang on a minute Christ has set me free for freedom and then the second half of this verse says what it says stand firm then that's got a bit of teeth about it this is not just about the woo woo woo yeah Christ has set me free this is about well let's do something serious that doesn't involve emotion but is a choice that is black and white and means it's gonna have a long-lasting effect in my life okay I I never thought like this 40 years ago this is my summary of thinking it all about right and and so so I would allow the verses to make a change in the way I thought about things and then make a decision to act differently so yeah I'd still get to a room full of people think oh I feel really insecure but then I think hang on a minute am I going to trust this verse or not am I going to act on this verse or not and make a difference and so I'd really and I'd be faced with the choice either this is who I am I'm insecure Andy and that's who God made me that's a good little phrase that the devil likes to use right and this is who and this is who I am and I'd park these verses therefore or I'm going to make the choice to believe the Word of God irrespective of how I feel irrespective of what my feelings are saying irrespective of what my emotions are saying and the church in this generation in the UK and in the West needs to wake up to the truth of this because there is so much emphasis on the emotional me and the feelings me and the felt me that we've elevated that above the priority of Scripture and God's Word and we need to redress that in our own lives and make our feelings and our emotions subservient again to the truth of the Word of God and get a hold of that so so we and that's a battle right but we need to do that so I'd read these verses regularly and then I'd act on them like I'm saying and I'd ignore the feelings right this didn't happen overnight this happened over a long time maybe years we're talking right and that's what I'm trying to go back and read the Word of God again let it change us again we'd slip up I walk into a room if you can't do anything here I'm going to avoid this again and let's start again but we do that we start again because the promise of God is that he has for freedom he set us free so I don't have to be constrained by an insecure approach to the world then there's a terrible verse that Paul wrote to Timothy but really affected me God hasn't given you a spirit of timidity but a power of love and the sound mind we need a lot more sound minds I'm love that's true am I going to believe that verse and act on it or am I just going to park it and just say yeah that's an intellectual thing in my city Matthew's testimony this morning was brilliant because that's exactly what he described about the anxiety of sharing and yet choosing still to go through with it and make a decision about that and all of us we have to do that that's what we are called to do the other key thing that helped at that time is having people around me in the church to support and encourage me with that process we are not meant to battle through these things alone whatever God is calling you or I to be free from we're not meant to battle through that alone and again that's a big issue because we like we don't want to tell people about it and we want to remain you know I don't want you to know about this it's awkward it's uncomfortable but God has put us in a different culture in a different society he calls it the church so that men and women can encourage us and stir us on I remember going to see a couple of guys in the church and they one of them said to me Andy it's time to put away the microscope I like the microscope I'm looking at the my new TI of detail I like worrying about all these things I like being insecure of the insecurities that generate and they put it away you know and I needed to hear that at that time and you can tell how significant it was because it's remained with me ever since right but we need men and women around us to walk this with us to encourage us that we may be free of these things as well and so but these things I've cycled back round cycled back round to the Word of God cycled back round to people are praying with me and encouraging me about it keep going keep going and that's what God calls us to do and this is the place where we begin to become free from the impact of the cultures that have affected us and to set us free you see that's me okay that's an example from my life your challenges may be different and I know right across this room there are some things that are far more sinister and far more evil than the things I've just described that have affected your lives but I am confident that the path to freedom remains the same number one we need to surrender our lives to Jesus if you have never done that I want to give you the opportunity today at the end of the service there is a chance to come and kneel at the cross there and say Jesus I need you in my life there's a shed load of stuff about you I don't understand but I do understand that you bring hope you bring rescue you you bring you save me from myself and I need that and so so we and we have to make that decision once first once and for all right and we choose that decisions about choosing they're no longer to do what I want to do but I'm gonna seek what Jesus wants to do figure that out and do that in my life instead but it's not just a one-off thing surrender to Jesus isn't just a one-off thing it needs to happen throughout our lives in what I've just described I had to continually surrender to Jesus my thought process I had to surrender to Jesus the fact I'm not going to trust my feelings I had to give it up to him we have to surrender to Jesus the question why me why is this happened to me why did that person do that to me why did that happen we have to surrender up to Jesus just for most of us will never get answers so what's the point in carrying with carrying on with him so we have to surrender to you the second thing is we have to what I've called proactively believe the Word of God which is really what I've been trying to describe we have to read it read God's Word time and again and again and again and again you know it's just like I've used this analogy before it's like when you visit a farmhouse if you visited a farmhouse on holiday for years that farmer has driven his tractor up and down the drive to that farmhouse who's got these massive great ruts in that drive that the tractor fits in nicely and he just drives up and down you rock up on holiday in your little town car and you're bouncing around all like this so beginning to think differently and let the Word of God change you means you have to spend a lot of time driving your little car up and down the tracks of your mind for the Word of God to start to have an impact and start to change the way that we think about things in the way we act on things in the way that we do things it's not like that it takes time and effort and perseverance then we need to start proactively believing the word means we need to start making choices based on what the Word of God says irrespective of our feelings because that is saying the Word of God is more important than what I feel or what my emotional state is and we need to do that and thirdly proactively believing the word means I refuse to be defined by my circumstances whatever they have been I refuse to be defined by labels and instead I want to be defined by God's Word and again this is an important thing I observe over the last 30 30 years or so the number of labels that are now available that we can attach to ourselves and call I am this I have that fit in your own acronym there's lots of acronyms around these days and whilst those things are good in terms of diagnosis of stuff and they can be helpful the moment we say that is me we need to let the Spirit of God break that and maybe even for you this morning that's an issue and I want to encourage you at the end when we ask the people to come for prayer come for prayer you are not that label you are not God never intended for you to be that person that is defined by that acronym or whatever it is you are a son or daughter of God that he has adopted into a new family and made you an heir of the promises that he has so that's proactively believing thirdly and finally we need to ask the help of others to stand with you that is the role of the church we're there to encourage one another love one another bear with one another pray one another support one another we're not meant to do this alone because asking for help breaks something of the hold this thing has on your life and we need it for our encouragement and our accountability for the duration so the issue that the Edomite story gives me and I hope gives us a little bit is yes I can be defined by whatever culture and circumstances have affected me in my life the issue is can this really change who we still live like the Edomites stuck with what we have this is who we are and shaped by what has happened to us or is there another way my contention this morning that I'm making this morning is that Jesus Christ the Son of God died and rose again and that changes everything so let's not be men and women that restrict the bits that he can change and let's walk into the good things that he has for us and that freedom may not be easy but in Jesus it is absolutely possible amen amen

Sermon Summary: Spiritual Renewal (Genesis 35) This sermon by Nick explores the theme of spiritual renewal, drawing from the biblical account in Genesis 35. It follows the narrative of Jacob and his family, who are facing a crisis after a tragic event. The Context: Desperation and Defeat: Jacob, at 97 years old, is deeply distressed. His daughter, Dinah, has been raped, and his sons, Simeon and Levi, have violently retaliated, causing further chaos and endangering the entire family. Loss of Direction: The family, once blessed by God, is now living in disarray. They have strayed from their faith and are driven by emotions and circumstances rather than God's guidance. A Call to Return: In the midst of this despair, God intervenes. He instructs Jacob to return to Bethel, the place where he first encountered God and received his blessings. Key Messages: The Importance of Remembering: When life presents challenges, disappointments, and betrayals, it's crucial to remember God's past promises and experiences. These memories serve as foundational stones for our faith and provide hope and strength. The Need for Simplification: Just as Jacob was instructed to "get rid of all your pagan idols," we too need to declutter our lives. This involves removing distractions, negative influences, and anything that hinders our relationship with God. God's Unfailing Presence: Despite Jacob's failures and the family's struggles, God's presence remained constant. This emphasizes that God's love and grace are not dependent on our own righteousness but on His unwavering faithfulness. Transformation and Identity: God changes Jacob's name from "Jacob" (deceiver) to "Israel" (God fights), signifying a shift from focusing on his own shortcomings to recognizing God's work in his life. This highlights the transformative power of God's grace. The Long Game: God works over time, often in ways that we cannot fully understand. We are encouraged to trust in God's plan, even when circumstances seem hopeless or confusing. Practical Applications: Reflect on past encounters with God: Spend time remembering those moments when you experienced God's presence and felt His guidance. Identify and remove distractions: Declutter your life from anything that hinders your spiritual growth. Focus on God's character: Shift your focus from your own weaknesses to God's strength and faithfulness. Trust in God's timing: Remember that God works over time and has a greater purpose for your life. Bible References: Genesis 35:1-29 Isaiah 41 This sermon encourages listeners to return to their spiritual roots, to remember God's promises, and to trust in His guidance through life's challenges. It emphasizes the importance of simplifying their lives, focusing on God's character, and embracing the transformative power of His grace. Note: This summary aims to capture the essence of the sermon. For a complete understanding, please listen to the full audio recording. Transcript Thank you. Good morning. We're on Genesis again, Genesis 35. I first prepared to speak this message way back when it snowed. We've learned to take everything as from God. So you prepare a message and then it snows and we cancel the church, and you think, well, what's my life all about then if I can't preach? But take it as from God, and I believe that this is the message God has for us. So we are hurtling, hurtling through Genesis towards the conclusion, but buckle up because there's plenty still to come. And you will, if you, one of those people that goes ahead to read the chapters ahead, you'll know there's going to be some interesting and challenging ones in the next few weeks. But we're on Genesis 35, and the title I've got is Spiritual Renewal. And the passage is set against the background of the passage that Johnny spoke about way back. We were away, and it was back in November. That was the last time we were in Genesis. And he talked about where Dinah, Jacob's daughter, had been raped and abused by some of the men that lived in the area there. And Simeon and Levi, Jacob's sons, had gone and wreaked a revenge on these men. And it was just an absolute brutal mess. Jacob, you can imagine how he felt. He was 97 years old at this time. 74 years earlier, at the age of 23, he had deceived his brother into giving up his birthright and taking the blessing from his father. 74 years, and he's thinking, I'm sure no doubt he's thinking, well, okay, if this is the blessing, I don't really want to live under the curse, because this doesn't look great. He must have looked on all of these tragic turn of events and wonder, what is this all about? His response at the end is one of desperation. Simeon and Levi have done all of this. They've taken revenge. This is at the end of chapter 34. Afterward, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, you have ruined me. You've made me stink among all the people of this land, among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will join forces and crush us. I will be ruined, and my entire household will be wiped out. And then they simply said, but why should we let him treat our sister like a prostitute? They retorted angrily. And that's the state that this family had got into. His response appears to be like that of a father, taking his head in his hands and wondering, what is it all about? What has come out? 97 years old. This has happened to my daughter. My sons have lost control. We've been completely ruined in the eyes of the people we live in. We're going to be crushed. We are finished. We are going to be wiped out. We are the blessed family, people and the blessing of God, and yet we are going to be wiped out. You have ruined me. You have made me stink among all the people of this land. They were all living their own way, far from the foundations that were laid in their lives. The encounters with God their father had, they all seemed to mean nothing. Now they were just, the circumstances had overtaken them, instincts had overtaken them. They were just living according to how they felt. This happened, so we're going to do that. Why should this happen? Why shouldn't we do this? And it just seems to be it's like the wheels have come off. They don't look like a family that is a family of destiny. They look more like a family that is being governed by the circumstances that happened to them. 74 years after their uncle Esau had said, what use is a blessing to me if I'm hungry? And he sold his birthright for a bowl of soup. This family now were in danger of letting go of all that God had put in them, all that God had said to them, all that God had blessed them with, and they were being thrown around as if in a washing machine from one disaster to another. And the chapter ends abruptly with that sense of desperation and hopelessness. There's nothing more said. You have ruined me. You have made me stink, and now we're going to be wiped out. And they simply said, why should we let him treat our sister like a prostitute? End of chapter. Nothing else to be said. Nothing that had happened to them up to this point was actually going to help them, was going to increase their blessing. It was actually going to contribute to their decline. And then we move into 35. Don't ever be tempted to separate these chapters out as standalone things. These chapters and verses obviously are an invention that have come in over the years and over the generations to help us, and they do help us because we wouldn't know where to start, would we? If I'd said we're going to just go to there, we wouldn't know what page to go to or whatever. But here we are in Genesis 35, but the link cannot be missed. It ended, it was just left hanging. Why should this happen? Why should we not? Then God said, chapter 35 verse 1, then God said to Jacob, get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau. Go back, Jacob. Like God has waited until they've got to this point of absolute disaster, of absolute desperation, and then he comes in. He doesn't say, right, I'm going to help you. We're going to clean up this mess. We're going to pick this apart. We're going to get this sorted out. He says, simply go back. Go back to where I first spoke to you. Go back to where you first met me. Go back to where you first heard the promise. Go back to when it really mattered. Go back to when you realized that you had encountered God. Go back to that place. Come back with me, Jacob. And that is the route to restoration and renewal in all our lives. When life disappoints us, and it does. When circumstances go against us, and they do. Breaking news. When people betray you. When grief overtakes you. When you're weary and disillusioned and you wonder what it's all for. Perhaps that's the time for God to come to you and say, let's just go back. Let's reel back and remember where it all began. And one of the things I love about Genesis and the things that we've taught, and it's been a theme that's repeated over and over again, is the stretch of time, the stretch of years. We love everything to be instant. If God says something to us today, we want the fulfillment tomorrow. There's no gap. If it doesn't come tomorrow, well, where's God? I thought he spoke to me. Go to Genesis and read about the men and the women and the children that went through year after year after year, generation after generation, where the promises actually made sense. That Jacob could take the blessing at age 23 and at age 97, he's still working it out. And I've just been thinking about that recently. I don't consider myself very old, but there's an awful lot that we fit into our lives, isn't there? And when you start to look back and you think, well, it did all look different when I was 25 rather than 55. And we were looking ahead and we were thinking about the possibilities and what God could do and what our lives might look like. And there was a sense of excitement. And then you get further along the line and there's actually quite a lot behind you. And you start to think, and as I look back to, and I was thinking, I don't know why it's been coming into my mind recently, but just thinking back to early days in church leadership, early days in Zambia, all those things that we were doing. And I realized that it's almost like we're in a completely different universe now. And looking ahead, it's a strange thing to look ahead when there's so much of what we hoped for and prayed for and dreamed about has sort of worked its way out. I don't think it's all over, by the way, but it's really interesting. But one thing that's important for me, for you, as you get weary, as you get tired, as you get older, because we all get older, don't we, is to have this ability to allow God through his Holy Spirit to take us back and to remind us. Because those memories are not just memories, they are actually foundation stones in our lives. Those are the points where we remember this is what God said to us. And when we start to get a little bit desperate, a little bit disillusioned, and so many people these days you read about have actually been walking away from faith, because we lose track of what God has actually said to us in the past. It's so important to be able to go back and to focus on those things. I remember, I probably told you this story before, I tell these stories over and over again, but when we left for Zambia, Erica's dad took us aside and said how pleased he was with what we were doing and excited for us. But he wanted to know that in the middle of all the excitement, all the sense of adventure, and all the newsletters that were going out, and the fridge magnets saying pray for the Lug family as they go to be missionaries and all that stuff, in the middle of all of that, you do know that you've heard God. And we said, yeah, we do. We know that God is called. I remember, I can even remember, that's what God takes us back, I can remember where I was sitting when these things dropped into me, and that sense of conviction about what we should do. And he said the reason you have to do that, you have to know that, is because there are many times when the excitement has waned and things aren't looking as bright and rosy as they do today. You'll have to know and you have to remember, otherwise you won't succeed, you won't keep going, you won't make it. And we won't make it in life unless we're able to take ourselves back and remind ourselves of what God has shown us at different stages in our lives. We might feel like we're different people now, but we know that those things stand forever. And that's what the story of Genesis teaches us, is that these things stand through generation after generation after generation. It matters what God has said years ago. And it's really important that we're able to allow him to take us back. And I do remember one time, some months after we got out there, and nothing was working out as we planned, and I remember standing alone in our garden and looking up at the sky. It's a lot more interesting to look up at the night sky in Zambia than it is here. Lots of stars and a bright moon and all of that, and just looking up and thinking about the sort of songs that we've sung this morning and thinking about God and just thinking, what has happened? It felt like it was all finished. It felt like that what we'd set out to do, there was nothing left. People had said to us, you can't take your children to Zambia. It will ruin their lives. And we said, oh, don't be silly. God is with us. And then as I stood there, I thought, maybe they were right. There's that sense of desperation. But I remember how from that moment, people, circumstances, gentle words of encouragement, the gentle words of the Spirit of God in my heart took me back to those moments that I've already talked about when I knew. And I knew that God had spoken to us. And I knew that that word doesn't diminish because things go wrong or because things go against us. That thing doesn't disappear. It doesn't get wiped out. It doesn't get rubbed out. And I knew that God would be with us through it all. And so I can say that 20 years later, that which I thought was dead then is still living, still growing. And there are many times things in your life that you might have looked back and you think, well, what was that all about? It's all finished. It's all gone. And yet if we allow God to lead us through that, if we allow God to remind us, he doesn't always, Kathy said, he doesn't remove the Red Sea, but he does party. He doesn't take away all the problems. He doesn't solve them all. He doesn't take away those challenges. He doesn't take away the things that eat away at our confidence and our hope. But he does remind us about who he is and what he said and what he's promised. So we all need Jacob moments like at the end of 34 and 35 when God says, come back with me. Come back and we'll go back to where it all began. So Jacob told everyone in his household, get rid of all your pagan idols. Purify yourselves and put on clean clothing. We are now going to Bethel where I'll build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He is being with me wherever I've gone. I love that. I mean, as I read it, I just thought, the one thing, I don't know why it's my mischievous sense of humor or something, there's a poster that I saw once that simply said, Jesus is coming. Look busy. And it just reminded me about that. You know what? God comes in the middle of all the mess and all the chaos and all the distress and all the trauma. God comes and says, right, we're going to go back to the altar, go back to the place, build an altar, and I'm going to go back where it all began. Jacob says, oh yeah, remember now. Right, everybody pack up your pagan idols. They're going to go, these things weren't a surprise to Jacob. The household was just living with these idols. They were living in this way. They were living in this chaotic, cluttered way. And the first thing Jacob says to them is, pack up. Pack it all up. We're going to go back. We're going to simplify. We're going to purify. We're going to get things straight. We all carry clutter and stuff that we pick up along the way, don't we? Ways of thinking, ways of behaving. We drift in our passion for God and so that we live under the blessing. Our lives can be full of so much other stuff and you probably know what that feels like. I don't know, I've forgotten the name of the program, Stacey Solomon. There was a BBC program we used to watch last year when we were on holiday. We watched all the episodes, shows how spiritual we are about how to declutter your life. And you go in somebody's, people have got houses with stuff from floor to ceiling and they just clear it all out and put it all over the floor of a warehouse and then they have to go through and have to get rid of like 70% of their stuff and then they put it back in the house. And it's interesting. It's fascinating. But it's a great example of what our lives can get like as we, even as we live under the blessing of God. We know that we're believers. We know that God loves us. We know that he's called us. We know that we can tell a testimony of the day that we became a Christian. But since that day, the process that we've gone on, our lives have got cluttered. They've got full of stuff. We carry so much baggage around with us. Just like Jacob said to the people there, come on, pack up, get rid, declutter. We're going to go back to where it all began. We're going to Bethel where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He's remembering now, you see. He has been with me wherever I have gone. What a statement. And that doesn't mean that Jacob was a great, you know, God raises these patriarchs as heroes of faith. But when we look at it from our peer-to-peer level, they're not heroes of faith. There's so much that goes, there's so much that we can compare with ourselves. But he has been with me wherever I have gone. And what it tells me is that the blessing and the presence of God is not, as much as we like to believe it, is not a reward for our righteousness or faithfulness. But it's a result of his faithfulness and his determination to keep his covenant of love with his people. So Jacob can say, no matter how much has gone wrong, no matter what a mess his life has got in, how chaotic the family is, he can say, even then, God has gone with me wherever I have gone. And that will be, is and will be our testimony as people of God, that God has gone with us wherever we have gone, wherever. Even if we drift off in our attention, even if we lose our passion for him, even if we wander into sin, wherever we have gone, God has attached himself to us. No matter how dark and desperate things have become, God had been with him wherever he had gone. God's reminder to him about what happened at Bethel turned on the light and he could say, oh yeah, things were beginning to change. He'd gone from absolute desperation to hearing the voice of God again. And we all need to make that transition. When we wander and lose energy, we drift far from God. We can't solve the issues, we can't make ourselves better, we can't unpick all that's gone wrong, but we can build an altar to God and we can remind ourselves of what it's all about. We can remind ourselves of who it is that's called us and what he said in our lives. When Jacob returned to Bethel, God appeared to him once again, blessed him and said, your name is Jacob, but you'll not be called Jacob any longer. From now on, your name will be Israel. Jacob means heal and deceiver. You know, he came out grabbing the heel of his brother. Israel means God fights. And so 74 years after he first tricked his way to a blessing, the focus is now shifting from what Jacob was to who God is. And that's a journey that we've all got to make. I remember one of the first sermons I ever heard in our church in Surrey when I first joined the church. There was a man called Bernard Thompson from Oxford and he stood up and he was asking people. He did all those sort of questions and answers, interaction. So what does Jacob mean to you? He said, what sort of person was Jacob? And our church treasurer spoke up and said he was a deceiver and a trickster. And that was an example of how reputations stick. The guy's point was that he was a man after God's own heart and he sort of explained all that. But that was something that carried him around. Jacob means heal and deceiver. That was the label. That was the banner over his life. That was the identifier. That's the type of person that he was. He gets what he wants through deception. But God says to him at that moment, Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob, but you will now be called Israel. Israel means God fights. And that's the slow journey that we're all on, being transformed in our understanding from who we are to understanding who God is. And many times the dominant thing in our minds is what we are, what we're not, what we've failed at, what we feel about ourselves, what other people say about us, what circumstances have told us, what the failures and disappointments of life, all of those things become our definition. They become our definition. So if somebody was to ask you, describe yourself, you'd say useless or failure or shy or whatever else you might say. And God wants to take us all on the same journey that he took Jacob to say, all right, you'll no longer be called that, but you're going to be called something else. And what you're going to be called is something that reflects what God is in you, what God has done for you. And that's the journey that will be. And sometimes we won't make that journey fully in this life, but we need to make progress on that journey. We need to start. I know that in my own life I need to see what it is that God says, because often if I'm pushed, how I will identify myself is what I think about myself or what I think other people think about me. And I very rarely think clearly about what God thinks about me. And if we think, you know, well, people say, well, God loves you. You think, oh, well, what does that mean? You know, there's not much to love or whatever else we say. We ignore what God is saying. God took the initiative over Jacob and he says, you will no longer be called, but you will be called this. And through the school of hard knocks, through human weakness and failure and reaching the lowest of lows, we are carried by the faithfulness of God away from what we were to where God wants us to be. What a journey. How many people in this room? 150, 160 people. That means there are 150 or 160 stories that will probably make our hair curl. All sorts of stuff that we've been through. Mike said, has anybody got a testimony? Well, to be truthful, we have got about 150 testimonies in here. Probably haven't got time for them all. I remember being in Belfast one time, and there was an advertised event where there was a paramilitary, former paramilitary terrorist that had been in prison for his crimes in the time of the Troubles. And he'd become a Christian. And the publicity was sort of this terrorist that's turned to God. And so a lot of people came because they wanted to hear. And the guy was really challenging because he stood up and he said, I know why you're all here. You want to hear stories. He said, I'm not going to tell you any because I refuse to talk about what I was. I only want to talk about what I am through Jesus Christ. Talk about what God has made me. Really, really powerful challenge. But we can feel a million miles from God, unsuitable for his blessing, disappointed in ourselves, disappointed with life. That's where Jacob was. God reminded him that I have been with you wherever you have gone. And God, if you look back over your life now, over the pattern of where you've gone, all the wanderings and the meanderings, the Bible says he will make our paths straight. Some of us look at our lives and think, well, my paths haven't been very straight. But wherever you've meandered, wherever you've wandered, God has gone with you wherever you have gone. And now he's back on your case. And he's saying, build an altar to me and I will change your name from what you were to what you will become in me. God reminded him that he was always with him, that he could go back to where it all started and that God would use his weakness to demonstrate his strength. So don't lose heart. It's amazing what God can do and the way that he speaks to us. I'm going to go back to again another story about how the time came when we came to leave Zambia. That was in 2010. And it was quite traumatic for our children. They cried when they went to Zambia and now they cried when they were leaving. And it was all very, very sad. We had lots of farewell events and farewell services and all of that sort of stuff. And it was quite emotional and quite draining. And on the very last day, the general secretary of our church out there came to us and he gave us some verses from Isaiah 41. I won't go through it all, but the key point of it, he says, I will help you, says the Lord. And as we piled into our vehicle and we traveled down to this ark and we ended up traveling in the middle of the night, it was just the four of us completely on our own with our suitcases. We'd gone out to Zambia with a shipping container and we came back with four suitcases. You know, these guys in Genesis started with the four suitcases and ended up with a shipping container. We went the other way around. And we were all quite down and quite sad about it all and everything else. And Jacob, our youngest son, who was 11 at the time, said, don't worry. We shouldn't be sad because God says he's going to help us. But well, there's a word from an 11-year-old and we held on to that. And over the years, from time to time, that verse has come back to us. God says, I'll help you. Even when we felt like we're under pressure, we're struggling, God says he's going to help us. And then even this week, there were a number of things that were going on that were really, really challenging me and struggling to come to terms with it and feeling discouraged and feeling uncertain about the way things were going to work out. And we started reading only just a few days ago a Charles Spurgeon devotional. And on January the 16th, we opened it up and the passage was Isaiah 41. God says, I will help you. And it's like God's saying, all right, you can get into all of that confusion. You can get into all of that discouragement, but I'll continually bring you back to what I said. And what I said then still stands today. And for some of you need to know that what God said to you five, 10, 20, 30, 50 years ago still stands. And for some of you, like Mike said, God will speak today and will put down a marker in your life today that will make a difference in 10 years time. We know that what you hear today, hold onto it, because the word of God stands forever in your life. And there are so many things shifting sands and tides and things that will push us this way and that. We don't know what's going to happen to us and none of us can predict what's going to happen. Yesterday turned out entirely differently to how I thought it would in the morning. But the word of God stands over our lives. Finally, thank you Manuel for your testimony as well. I just want to relate to this. Amongst all the other things that happened throughout all these things that unfold in Genesis 35, we get to the end at verse 27 and it says, So Jacob returned to his father Isaac in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arbor, now called Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had both lived as foreigners. Isaac lived for 180 years, then he breathed his last and died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. God plays a long game in our lives and we can afford to trust Him with things that we cannot control and things we cannot change. He's able to orchestrate our lives, relationships, and circumstances and bring glory to Himself. And there are things that you're carrying even today that you're thinking, I don't know how I work this out. Maybe it's things in your family, relationships, maybe there's breakdown, maybe there's uncertainty, maybe you're worried about children, maybe you're worried about others, maybe things are burdening you and you don't know what to do about it. God plays a long game in our lives and we can afford to trust Him with things we cannot control and things we cannot change. We wish things could be different. We wish things hadn't worked out the way that they have. When you can't see any way through. This was a dysfunctional family, the end all dysfunctional family. Brothers were at loggerheads, they were threatening each other's lives, there was real mortal danger that was coming up from the breakdown of their relationship and yet there's a simple comment at the end of verse 29 that when Isaac died his sons Esau and Jacob buried him together. Beautiful sort of closure to a long, long, long, long, long story. And so remember when God first spoke to you, remember that He's with you wherever you go, remember that He carries you away from what you were towards what He can be in you and that over many, many years He is able to make sense of it all. We have a friend who, a very dear friend who died on New Year's Eve and we did it again, we didn't know that was going to happen. She'd been in hospital, she'd had a bit of an accident and had been in hospital for two or three weeks but had been recovering and was doing fine. She was quite strong. I went to see her a couple of days before she died. She was very chatty, very energetic, very lively and then we went to see her on New Year's Eve and we couldn't recognize her. She was on oxygen, got a chest infection, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak and she died that very day. And just sitting around her bed, she was trying to speak but she had no volume at all, nothing. She'd take the mask off and she couldn't form words or whatever but you could tell that she was there. And so we chatted and we prayed a little bit and whatever and there was just like you do sometimes around the hospital bed, there was a lot going on. And then all of a sudden she just sort of stopped us and she took her mask off and she said with volume and clarity, you know we can cast all our fears and worries onto him. Really, really powerful and then she put her mask back on and she probably didn't say anything else until she died and I thought well that to me is an example of trust. Trust God, lean into God, hold on to God because wherever you go, he goes with you. As you walk through those strained relationships, as you walk through those challenges, as you walk through those situations that you don't know how it's going to work out, God goes with you and he has ways of bringing it all together and making sense of it all. Jacob and Esau buried Isaac together after all those years of running from one another. So the questions in response, do you need today to stop and go back to what God has said to you over many, many years? Maybe you can, even just now as I'm saying that, maybe just think back. Are there times when you've known things much more clearly than you do today does God want to take you back by his spirit to remind you of what he said and what he's done and what he's promised? Second challenge is don't try and solve the issues when you we look at our lives and think all right okay so we've got to get this right. New Year's resolutions, Johnny talked about it, we've got to make it, got to be better, we've got to be stronger, we've got to be more organized, got to be more spiritual, let's get up at six o'clock every morning and pray, that's not going to work too well. So I mean some of you might love getting up at six o'clock in the morning to pray, others might not. It's not about the effort that we can put in to make things better, but it's about our ability to build an altar and to remember the God who originally called us, the God, that's why testimonies are so important to go back and remember, tell your story, tell your story to yourself, remind yourself what God has done and what he said in your life, and then know that God is changing your story from who you are and what you've made of your life to who he is and what he makes of your life, what his destiny is for you, and then let go and trust because he plays a long game and things work out over many, many, many years and some of the things where some of the situations that you feel you've moved on from, God still has something to do and something to say in the midst of all of that. And so I want us to pray and to turn our hearts to God, settle ourselves, you know sometimes when we pray we come into a, we get frantic and we get anxious don't we, we try and blur everything out to God, oh Lord this and this and this and this, I'm really sorry God because I haven't prayed for so long and I'm so unspiritual and and you really must be tired of listening to me and I just don't, you know, I don't even know why you bother Lord and it's just, it's just hopeless in Jesus' name, amen, and that's the, you know, that we don't get very far with those sort of prayers, but we need to come to God and we say, Lord with open hands, Lord this is a, this is me, this is us, this is our situation, but Lord we remember how faithful you've been, Lord we remember those days of promise, we remember the things that you've, that you, you established, we remember the things that we hope for and we dream for, we remember all of that and say, Lord take us back, Lord we will worship you in the midst of this, we've got all these idols and all this stuff that we're packing up, but nevertheless you are the God who's answered our prayers, you're the God who's carried us through and you're the God who changes our name from what we were to what we can be, and so let's just turn our hearts to God in worship, maybe the team can come back and we just respond, begin to respond to God what he said, I don't know in my stumbling ways what makes sense and what makes clear, what's clear, but God knows he's able to apply his word to our hearts through the power of his Holy Spirit and just encourage you to come, open hand, don't come with an agenda, don't come with lots of words, don't come with lots of apologies, don't come with any of that stuff, just come before God and say, Lord you have been with me wherever I've gone, now take me on again Lord, take me on again, show me what it is that you want to do in my life, show me what it is that you want to make of my life from this point forward, not diving back, not trying to fix things, but going forward, what is it that you want to do, what is it that you want to say, what is it that you want to establish in my heart and today can be a time when things change, reminded of an old sort of proverb, what's the best time to plant an oak tree 50 years ago, but bearing in mind the fact we didn't do it 50 years ago, the best time is today, there might be lots of things that you regret, lots of things that you struggle with, but today plant something, today establish something, today reach out to God, that God take me forward from today on the basis of what you've promised over so many years. Amen.

Sermon Summary: Christmas - God With Us Summary: Nick's sermon delves into the heart of the Christmas story, emphasizing the reality of God's presence in human lives, particularly in challenging circumstances. He challenges the common perception of Christmas as a magical, idealized time, highlighting the often-overlooked struggles and hardships faced by Mary and Joseph. Nick argues that the true essence of Christmas lies in God's incarnation, His decision to become human and enter our world. He emphasizes that God doesn't wait for invitation but actively seeks us, even when we're lost, broken, or unaware of His presence. The sermon draws parallels between Mary's experience and contemporary life, suggesting that even in the midst of chaos and uncertainty, we can find hope and worship. Nick encourages listeners to recognize God's closeness, to embrace His grace, and to become agents of God's love in their communities. Key themes explored in the sermon include: God's Immanence: God is not distant or aloof but intimately involved in human lives. The Reality of Christmas: The Christmas story is not merely a fairytale but a powerful narrative of God's love and grace. The Invitation to Worship: Even in the midst of struggle, we can find reasons to worship God. God's Initiative: God takes the initiative to reach out to humanity, regardless of our circumstances. Becoming Agents of God's Love: Christians are called to embody God's love in their communities and the world. Ultimately, the sermon invites listeners to embrace the true meaning of Christmas, to experience God's presence in their lives, and to share His love with others. Transcription Nice to see you all. Happy Christmas. It's Christmas time. There's no need to be afraid. There's a real sense in me that God wanted to say something. I do know, you know, I can put my, I'm not just saying something, I don't know what it is. But the challenge of sensing that and putting it into words and putting it down on paper is a real one. And I was sort of on my third go at this this morning. But as we've worshiped and prayed and heard what's been said and what's been shared, so much of it resonates with what I feel that God has wanted to say. And so I'm just trusting him this morning that he will communicate his word through my efforts. And so we're going to look at a video. I think, have you got a video there for me, Michel? This is from a ministry called Proximity that's to do with the Eden teams. And it's about people that are involved in mission in all sorts of urban settings just as we have our Eden team here. And they've produced a whole load of resources and particularly some resources for Christmas. And this video I found really interesting and inspiring. And so I just want us to look at that as a prelude to what I want to say this morning. And now the angel is nowhere to be seen. And she wakes from a dream with her head down the loo and next down something for the acid, the youngest at antenatal classes. Feeling like a strict smart lump, trying to hide a bump in oversized clothes, waddling down the street with swollen feet, scared witless, wondering whether she's got what it takes to be a mother. Now she knocks on the door of another knuckle, someone else who feels each kick and every elbow flick and wakes up sick, a cousin with stretched hips who's both blessed and broken. And immediately, almost as if obediently, Elizabeth feels heaven and earth kicked and flipped inside her as her heavy belly moans with sympathy and angelic symphony burst from her amniotic sack. And Mary answers back, my soul magnifies the magnificent. It glorifies the glorious for the God who kicks the wall of the uterus who was worshiped from the womb to the God of bedsit rooms of tower blocks of basketball and shots of part took four by fours and shut up shops to the God of tear stained cheeks and grazed knees of caffeinated drinks and quarter pounders with cheese. Praise be to the father of cold and rainy nights of overcrowded buses of flickering street lights in the name of bright white nights and leggings, hoodies, caps and knackered looking jeggings in the name of not living but surviving in the name of ducking and diving in the name of poverty. God comes to me. Wrapped in hand-me-down clothes, dirty nappies and blankets. As the creator of the universe, the maker of all planets is pushed in a boogie and laid in a basket. For he is with us, not against us, one of us not opposed to us. And he has not forgotten the honest or the humble, the straight talking, the musn't grumble. His eye is on the single mum with no disposable income drowning in debt and depression. The OAP try to make ends meet from a pension. Those falling through the cracks, they're the ones who've got his attention. Yes, in a world that don't make sense, he's the golden frankincense overturning tables, turning the world upside down, right side up, bringing heaven to earth with a seasonal burst of Christmas. And in case you missed this, he makes Christmas every day. No, not in the shops or on the telly or the jingle jangle of songs and sleighs and snow. No, in the stomachs of the hungry, in the arms of the lonely, in the hearts of the broken, Christ can be found knocking on doors, kicking on walls of a mother's womb, asking us to make room for the kingdom to be born in us and through us. Glory be to the infinite, magnify the magnificent. Oh my soul, bless the incarnate. Glorify the omnipotent. Praise be to the God who became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood. The gist of that, it's on the super wide version there, so you can't actually see what's happening, but we'll share it later. Yeah, we'll skirt over that. Yeah, so yeah, there's a whole lot of visual stuff to that as well, but there's just a description, hopefully a description of the reality of Christmas and what the first Christmas really meant. The so-called magic of Christmas lifts us in a way out of the reality of midwinter and plants us firmly in this winter wonderland, plays our emotions, our memories, our aspirations, sort of gives us a sense of unreality. It can give us a real mixed bag of emotions. Christmas can be really difficult, can't it? Maybe for people here, Christmas is a really difficult time, not a magical time. It's a time that really challenges all that we go through and makes us think in, perhaps, not in the fairy tale way, but in a really, in a real, in a very difficult way. It can be a desperately difficult time. A lot of artistic license is used in telling and retelling the story of Christmas to make it magical and wonderful and we can left, we left scratch in our head when you actually go to the scripture itself and you read the story of Christmas, you think, how does this match up with what we hear, what we see, what we see on the screens, what we see in our Christmas cards or in our, in the presentation that Christmas, the presentation of Christmas is given to us. Desperately hard, real life struggle of the Christmas story gets lost as it's retold to create the magic and wonder and the sense of unreality. And we need to try and get into the mind of Mary and Joseph. It was nothing other than a desperately difficult and challenging time for them and yet God was in the middle of it all. And I think that's what's been coming through this morning in the worship and the prayers, that sense that God in the middle of the mess, God in the middle of the reality, God in the middle of real life, that's what Christmas is all about. And we need to see if it's possible to get away from the glitz and the glitter and the elves and the snowmen to get a handle on what this story is really telling us because there is power in this story that we can lose. Tradition is wonderful. Celebration is wonderful. Atmosphere is wonderful. But if we lose the power of the story, then we lose everything. We lose the sense that, you know, and if it doesn't actually touch our real life, touch our experience, we think, oh, well, if our experience is only just in evoking a sense of wonder and excitement and childhood memories, then really Christmas is losing something in our experience. And just as Genesis is the foundation for our understanding of our place in the world, we've been going through over these months, a Christmas story is the foundation for our understanding of the purpose of our lives and the nature of our mission. A Christmas story is about heaven's interaction with earth, the unfolding of the greatest story ever told. And so we can't afford to lose it under all the snow and the starlight in the present. It should leave us built and encouraged and strengthened and empowered and ready for the year ahead rather than just nursing a headache in a credit card bill. That's not a good deal when the greatest story ever told, the greatest credit card bill ever seen, doesn't match up. And that's what I like about that video, if we could have seen it fully. It takes what's actually plain in the scripture, takes away all the layers of glitter that have been put on it over the years and it roots it in the experience of real life. The first Christmas was rooted in the experience of a real couple. And it's so hard to get behind what they actually felt away from the magic of the Christmas cards. And many times religious tradition can separate important things from reality. Jesus has a way of connecting and including and uniting things with reality, of bringing us. That's why Christmas is Emmanuel, God with us, not God out there, God somewhere there, God somewhere to be found, but God with us, God coming close, God alongside, God in it with us. The creator of the universe, he said, the maker of all planets is pushed in a buggy and laid in a basket. They had buggies in those days, but you know what I mean, is bringing it into the real life of the everyday. There's nothing separate or aloof or unreachable about this God. He's presented himself in the humblest form and destroyed all natural preconceptions about the way God will introduce himself to us if he does. Which God could actually do that? Who could actually write this? Who could actually imagine this story except that it come from the heart of God himself, that he would become a baby and be born in humility, born in poverty, born against misunderstanding, born in shame, born against the background of a young couple that are thinking, what on earth is going on with our lives? And yet God in the middle of it all, God with us, Emmanuel. Christmas tells us that he doesn't wait to be invited. You know, one of the things that evangelists often have said over the years, I've heard it many times, is that God is a gentleman. He waits to be invited. He waits until we open up our hearts to him and then he comes in. Well, Christmas tells us actually that's not quite true. He doesn't wait to be invited. He comes even when we don't want him. He comes even when we're dead in our sins. He comes even when we're lost in our transgressions. He comes when we're drowning in the confusion of our circumstances and the mess of our lives. He steps into our lives when we didn't even think of inviting him. We didn't even think we wanted him. We perhaps even thought he was responsible for the mess that we're in. And yet he comes in to introduce himself on a normal night, born to a young woman whose life has been thrown into absolute chaos through her encounter with God. You're gonna have a baby, Mary. Oh, good news, let's have a celebration. From that moment, everything went wrong. And yet, when all the pieces fall into place, when she understands the magnitude of what has happened to her and who it is that she's carrying in her womb, what happens? Worship comes out of her heart. Her heart explodes with worship. She glorifies God. I heard Sam Ward from the message trust saying the other day that perhaps we might say, if we were in Mary's position, God, you've ruined my life. But she says, my soul glorifies the Lord. That's the connection. That's what happens when in the middle of that confusion, we meet God. There's not that separation that, you know, how do we work this out? How do we come to a point of worship? In actual fact, that is the moment when she suddenly, her eyes are open. She doesn't have answers to all the questions. She doesn't understand what's happening. She doesn't know what her future holds. She doesn't know what this means to give birth to this baby. She knows that there's a lot of trouble ahead. But at that moment, her heart says, my soul glorifies the Lord. And you see, worship doesn't happen when we've got everything together and we feel ready. Worship happens when we finally see God, see God himself even in the middle of our mess and our chaos and our fear and our insecurity and our shame and our upset and everything else. It's that moment of seeing God when all those other things fall away and say, well, my soul glorifies the Lord. And we stand in the middle of it all with all the debris around us. And we say, God, you are great. You have come into my life. You are God, Emmanuel. You are with me in all of this. If you've ever been on the London Underground, whenever a train pulls into the station and the doors open, there's a recorded voice that says, mind the gap. Sound familiar? I grew up down there, so I know it all. It used to be easy to get to London. Now it's not so easy. Mind the gap. And it made me smile as I thought about this because I realized that there's actually no warning for us when we come to God, say, mind the gap, because there's no gap anymore. God has come right close. And actually, religion, traditional religion relies on there being a gap, relies on there being a chasm, relies on there being something to do in order to cross that divide. And yet, there is no gap anymore. Emmanuel, God with us is not something for those who've got it all together. It is good news of great joy for all the people, often reflected on that. When the angels come, the first thing they do, they don't say, right, let's sit down and talk about how we're going to access this blessing of God. They just say, good news of great joy for all the people. A Savior is born. For who? For all the people. Good news of great joy. And we look at the gap sometimes. We stare at what the gap that we imagine, but there isn't one. Mary had a lot of fear, no doubt. There must have been a lot of tears. There must have been a lot of anguish. There must have been a lot of uncertainty, as I've already said. And yet, in that moment, she realized there was no gap between her and God, that there was no sense that she had to sort all this out. She had to understand it. She had to figure it out. She had to find the keys. She had to take some steps. She had to do a number of things in order that she could get herself to a position where she could open up her heart in worship. It was at that moment that her eyes were opened, she saw God, and she said, my soul glorifies the Lord. And God says, do not be afraid. He means there's nothing to be afraid about. You are free to trust me, free to worship, free to praise. No ifs, no buts, no maybes, no gap. God with us, Immanuel. That's the beauty of Christmas. And we can disqualify ourselves from Christmas. I don't like Christmas, but, you know, life has been difficult. Life is a challenge. There's no magic for me in Christmas, but there is a wonder in God coming to us. It doesn't matter whether we've had a perfect life and a perfect understanding and a perfect experience of Christmas, or everything about it makes us want to run away and hide. Yet, for each of us, there is an opportunity to meet with God because He is God with us, Immanuel. Sometimes when God comes close to us, our first thought can be about sin. Oh no, what about sin? What about my sin? What about my shame? If God knew all about me, then He wouldn't, there wouldn't be this, the invitation would be canceled. But the wonderful thing about God coming without invitation is that He, it's because He already knows. He doesn't wait for the invitation because He knows we're not going to invite Him. He knows that we don't actually qualify, we don't actually have any reason why we should believe that God would actually want our worship, but so He comes to us and He closes that gap. And basically He says, I'm dealing with sin in order that you might be free to worship me. He has dealt with sin so that He can draw close. Good news of great joy for all the people. A Savior is born. That means that all of those things can be set aside in order that we might know God, in order that He might come close. We've never been able to solve the issue of sin and so God does it at His own initiative, comes close to us. So Mary responded as Jesus, as Jesus certainly came close to her, as the Spirit of God came close to her, Mary responded, oh how my soul praises the Lord, how my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For He took notice of His lowly servant girl and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy and He has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear Him. His mighty arm has done tremendous things. He has scattered the proud and the haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped His servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For He made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever. And so the fantasy Jesus, the Christmas Jesus, the life that is suitable for worship is beyond us. But if we open our eyes we can see Him today. And there might be people here like I said that are thinking, well I can't, it's too far away, the gap is too big. Remember what I've said, there is no gap because Emmanuel has come to us. He comes to your life uninvited. He comes regardless of the situation. He comes regardless of the barriers because He said actually all of those things I've taken them in hand. I'm dealing with them in order that you might come close. And you think well I'm a million miles away from being able to worship like Mary. Imagine how Mary felt at that moment and yet as her eyes were opened her heart magnified the Lord. So the wonderful thing as God draws close is that He allows us to take our eyes off ourselves and to fix them firmly on Him. Matt Britton said in that video, in the name of everything we are, everything that defines our lives, He knows it all. He knows everything about us. There's nothing to hide. There's no point even trying to hide because He knows it all. He sees it all and then He comes close. Shepherds didn't receive the angels after an all night prayer meeting and a sacrificial offering. They were just sat doing what shepherds do, probably telling dodgy stories and lighting fires. And in the middle of it all the angels come and say good news, the Savior is born. It doesn't matter who you are or what your story is, God comes to you today. God comes to you at Christmas and He stays with us. He doesn't just visit for Christmas. Christmas can be a problem can't it with visitors? Lots of people come in. A few murmurs. But God comes to stay, comes to dwell, comes to live amongst us. You might have spent years trying to worship and being dragged down by that nagging sense of unrighteousness. We've been following the story of Abraham in Genesis and the covenant promises God made to him and how God credited his faith to him as righteousness. Those promises are real for us today. May Mary's last line in her song is simply this, for He has made this promise to our ancestors to Abraham and his children forever. We are living in the good of the promises God made to Abraham. The Mary's song can be our song. I'm just going to quote from that video. In a world that doesn't make sense, He's the gold and the frankincense. Overturning tables, turning the world upside down, right side up, bringing heaven to earth with a seasonal burst of Christmas. And in case you missed this, He makes Christmas every day. No, not in the shops or on the telly or the jingle-jangle of songs and sleighs and snow. No, in the stomachs of the hungry, in the arms of the lonely, in the hearts of the broken, Christ can be found. Knocking on doors, kicking on walls of a mother's womb, asking us to make room for a kingdom to be born in us and through us. And so we need to see for ourselves what Christmas means. Don't disqualify ourselves ever. Christmas is the great leveler. It's the thing that opens up the doors, the opportunity that Jesus says, I am coming. I am coming to you regardless. He isn't invited. He doesn't come according to our timetable. He doesn't come according to our agenda. He comes according to His will and to His purpose. And so as we see for ourselves what it means for Christ to be born among us, our hearts sing with what that means for us. But it also wakes us up to what we are about, that this Christmas, our purpose, our task, whether as individuals or as a church, is to bring Christ to birth again in our communities and in our world. Give birth to the kingdom, to the reality of God in our world. So we're not just celebrating Christmas or telling the story of Christmas, but we're agents of Christmas. We're people who have seen that God has drawn close and we know that actually He draws close to anybody who will see Him. Bringing Christ to birth in the heart of our neighborhood. Don't shut Him away. Let's see Him live in our communities. He makes Christmas every day in the stomachs of the hungry, in the arms of the lonely, in the hearts of the broken. Christ can be found knocking on doors, kicking on walls of a mother's womb, asking us to make room for a kingdom to be born in us and through us. That's the reality of Christmas. Applicable in any and every situation. Applicable in every tragic situation. Applicable in every lost situation. Applicable in every situation where people think, actually I've made a mess of it. And yet Jesus comes. Not only to us, but to all who will see Him. So we can find Jesus today in the midst of everything we have going on. And be part of seeing Him brought to birth in our families, in our workplaces, and in our neighborhoods. That's good news. Good news of Christmas. Good news of great joy for all the earth. A Savior is born. I don't know where you stand today, whether you've never, ever considered it, whether Jesus has been locked up in the stories of the past, in the stories of tradition. But maybe today might be a day like Mary had where your eyes open and your heart is ready to see and to accept that actually Jesus is not just this huge figure that people all around the world worship, but He's your Savior. He's one who draws close to you. He's Emmanuel, God with you in the midst of everything that you think of and everything that you come up with that says, actually not me. I don't qualify. I'm not good enough. Everything that you come up with, every barrier that you put in place, He sweeps away and says, actually, I'm coming. There is no gap. There is no distance. Emmanuel, God with us. Amen.

Sermon Summary: Dealing with Trauma in the Midst of Blessing Key Bible Reference: Genesis 34 Sermon Overview Jonny delves into the complex narrative of Genesis 34, a chapter marked by significant trauma and challenging moral dilemmas. He highlights the stark contrast between the blessings promised to Jacob and the devastating events that unfold involving his daughter, Dinah. The sermon explores themes of trauma, violence, and the human tendency to seek self-preservation and revenge. Key Points The Impact of Trauma: The sermon underscores the profound impact of trauma, not only on the individual but also on families and communities. Dinah's experience of sexual assault is a stark reminder of the destructive power of violence. Conflicting Worldviews: The chapter reveals a clash between two distinct worldviews. Shechem and his father, Hamor, represent a culture that prioritizes self-interest, power, and control. In contrast, Jacob's family, though flawed, embodies a divine promise of blessing and redemption. The Role of God's People: Jonny challenges listeners to consider how God's people should respond to trauma and injustice. Should they remain passive or take matters into their own hands? The actions of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, raise questions about the limits of human justice and the importance of divine intervention. The Power of Prayer: The sermon emphasizes the power of prayer as a means of wrestling with God and seeking divine guidance. It encourages listeners to turn to God in times of suffering and trust in His ultimate plan. The Example of Jesus: Jonny points to Jesus as the ultimate example of responding to trauma with love, forgiveness, and grace. He encourages listeners to follow Jesus' example and seek to bless others, even in the face of adversity. Conclusion The sermon concludes with a call to action, urging listeners to engage with God in prayer and to seek His guidance in navigating life's challenges. By embracing a Christ-centered worldview, individuals can overcome trauma and experience the transformative power of God's love. Transcription Good morning everybody! Can you hear me okay? Great. We're reading Genesis chapter 34 today. It's not going to be easy introduction or a light-hearted anecdote to start this one. There's nervous laughter going around and not least for myself because depending on what translation you have of this Bible, there's some really, really tough language used in the introduction to this chapter and there's some really, really difficult themes. And the title that I gave it and when I was writing this talk was Dealing with Trauma in the Midst of Blessing. Last week, Karen was speaking about this journey that Jacob was on and his family in seeking the blessing of God in their lives, in seeing that blessing coming in to reality in the midst of where they were, that Jacob had left his home with nothing, that he'd spent a night sleeping with a rock for a pillow with nothing but the clothes on his back, and that he's on this return journey now to the place that he had left in his younger life with flocks and herds with a family and children. So much blessing that God has poured out upon him. And in the midst of that, we get this story. There's one chapter here and in the midst of it, it seems very jarring in the narrative of the story. And it's a story of what happens to his daughter and what happens as a result of these circumstances. So I'm going to read this and hopefully share what God has put on my heart about it. There's some really, really difficult issues involved in this and I think we can all agree that life is full of difficult circumstances and that some people will find reading passages like this really, really hard and really difficult. Some of us will read about the trauma that this family experiences and think about the trauma that we've been through in our life, difficulties, hardship, pain, loss. These are all realities of life that we all have to deal with and how we deal with them is the Christian experience. This is what it means to follow Jesus. It means to stand in the midst of real life looking at real events happening around us and figuring out how is this part of God's plan? How is God bringing blessing right now? And where is God bringing blessing right now? So we're going to read this together. I'm going to stop a few times as I read through it, but we're reading through Genesis chapter 34. And in fact, I'm going to actually go back to Genesis 33 because there's a couple of verses that gives a little bit of context. After Jacob had met up with Esau, the last few verses say this, for a hundred pieces of silver Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the land of ground where he pitched his tent. And there he set up an altar and called it Elohe Israel. So this is the first time that he's actually purchased land in the place where God has sent him. And right now, this is the end of his journey as a traveler. He's actually bought the piece of land that he's pitched his tent on at this point in the story. And then this next chapter is about a relationship between him and the surrounding nations and how they're going to deal with each other, how these people are going to form a community. Remember that those blessings that were given to Abraham and then to Isaac and now that Jacob has taken on, God promised him all nations of the world would be blessed through you and through your offspring. And then this story comes along. Okay. Now beginning of chapter 34. Now Dinah the daughter Leah had born to Jacob went out to visit the women of that land. And when Shechem, son of Hamor, the Hivite, the ruler of that area, saw her, he took her and raped her. His heart was drawn to Dinah's daughter of Jacob. He loved the young woman and spoke tenderly to her. And Shechem said to his father, Hamor, get me this girl as my wife. When Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled, his sons were in the fields with their livestock. So he did nothing about it until they came home. It's a really tricky start to a chapter to look at that and to say, what do we do with this? When we read this, how do we understand a God who wants to bless his people, who wants to bless the offspring of Jacob? And then we read this story. And it follows on from what we just read at the end. He's bought this land. He's pitched his tent. He's wanting to settle and bring blessing to the nations around him. And it starts by saying the very first verse mentions that Dinah goes out to visit the women of this land. And this is when this horrible thing happens. It can't be understated, can it, just how awful this kind of event is. Rape is a real tragedy in so many ways. And it can't be understated enough that what was done to Dinah is awful. And she actually takes a really back seat in the rest of this chapter. We don't hear much from her point of view, but it cannot be understated what a tragedy it is when women are abused, when women are taken advantage of, when women are used by men. And it's so terrible to see in the midst of this chapter a really backwards approach to how things should be. And this comes out a bit later in the chapter. But you see right here in verses two, three, and four, this is how Shechem, this man, responds in this situation. Yet again, we see a pattern that we've seen since the very beginning of the stories of Genesis. Chapter three of Genesis in the fall, it says that Eve and Adam see something that they desire and they take it for themselves. And then right here it says in verse two, Shechem, son of Hamor, he saw her and he took her and he raped her. So this is exactly what happens when human beings live for themselves. This is the human condition in itself that when we see what we desire and we take it for ourself, we bring destruction and we bring pain and suffering, that we break God's good world. And the trauma and the devastation and the impact it has on those that we mistreat is huge. It's undefinable, isn't it? That it's just one verse that you read here, but any of us who know people who've been through those kind of issues, people who've been through this themselves know one event and one terrible tragedy can affect your entire life. It doesn't go away. It's deep wounds that can impact generations, not just one person, not just a family, but whole communities can be affected by these terrible tragedies. And it's really hard for us to have a look at that. It's really hard for me as a man to read this and say, I know so much of what is going on here. I can't relate to that kind of trauma. I've got no experiences of that myself. I've been so privileged in my life. And yet, what we're called to do is to see and to understand the trauma that that has, not just on that young lady's life, but on their whole family, that this impacts them deeply. As we read on, we see the impact that it has. And yet, the first thing that we're told that her father does, in verse 5, when Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been defiled and his sons were with their livestock, he did nothing about it. Reading on in verse 6, then Shechem's father Hamel went out to talk with Jacob. And meanwhile, Jacob's sons had come in from the field. As soon as they heard what had happened, they were shocked and furious because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob's daughter, a thing that should not be done. Isn't it terrible they have to put that verse in to make that point? This is not the way that things should work. And yet, as we see the story goes on, this is a story about vastly differing world views trying to mesh together. The approach that Shechem takes is first, he takes this woman and he rapes her, and then he falls in love with her, and then he seeks to marry her. And that this narrative, as you see, he and his father enter into a conversation with Jacob and with Jacob's sons, they say, this is the way things work around here. And maybe we can seek each other's benefit here. Maybe we can be a blessing to one another. And this becomes the narrative of this story. And yet, isn't it terrible that this is what they have to point out? This is not the way that things should be. And yet, this is a reality of our world. And wouldn't it be great for us to think things aren't like this anymore? But I think we all know the broken world of views that see things in the opposite way to the way God sees them, where love is a low priority, where peace and thinking of others and seeking the benefit of others first and above ourselves is not the way the world sees things. Isn't that a tragedy that we have to point that out and remind ourselves of that? But what are we going to do about it? In this story, they respond in a really peculiar way, you might say. So here's what happens in the rest of the story. Verse eight says, sorry, yes, his sons had come. I'm reading from verse seven. Meanwhile, Jacob's sons are coming from the fields as soon as they had heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob's daughter, a thing that should not be done. But Hamor said to them, my son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife. Intermarry with us. Give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves. You can settle among us. The land is open to you. Live in it, trade in it and acquire property in it. Then Shechem said to Dinah's father and brothers, let me find favor in your eyes. I'll give you whatever you ask. Make the price for the bride and the gift I am to bring as great as you like and I'll pay whatever you ask me. Only give me the young woman as my wife. They're making an offer to Jacob and to his sons that this can be prosperous and beneficial for us. Isn't it terrible that circumstances that seem so traumatic at the beginning, the people who perpetrated it are the ones who are saying, maybe this can work out for everyone's benefit. And here's how the sons of Jacob respond. Verse 13, because the sister Dinah had been defiled, Jacob's sons replied deceitfully as they spoke to Shechem and his father Hamor. They said to them, we can't do such a thing. We can't give our sister to a man who is not circumcised. That will be a disgrace to us. We will enter into an agreement with you on one condition only, that you will become like us by circumcising all your males. Then we will give you our daughters and take your daughters for ourselves. We'll settle among you and become one people with you. But if you will not agree to be circumcised, we'll take our sister and go. So they respond deceitfully offering that same offering to accept the offer that they made. And it's interesting. They say right there that the sons of Jacob, as they're lying to these people to their face, say we could become one people. That this is the thing that they're seeking, that the people of Shechem and Hamor and his sons, what they're wanting is prosperity for themselves and for their own family. And they see when a huge group of people like Jacob and his sons arrive on their doorstep, they say if we bring them into our culture, if we incorporate them into our lifestyle, if we become one people with them, we're bigger and we're stronger and we're better for it. Surely that is good. And they make that happen through raping and abusing a girl. And that this is the offer that they make. And this is their desire. They want these two groups of people to become one group of people. But what they really want is Jacob and his sons to adopt their worldview, to see things from their point of view. And they say that's blessing. We'll be bigger. We'll be stronger. We'll be richer. We'll be better off for it. That's the worldview that they sell. And that kind of deceit can be really pervasive in our culture, can't it? Saying that if we compromise, if we give in, if we do nothing like what Jacob did in the beginning of that verse, if we do nothing and we just go along with what the world says, is that going to be better for us? Is that how we're going to become rich and prosperous? Is that how we're going to become influential and make a difference in this world? Isn't that what we want to do? Surely if we listen to what the world says and we go by the world's agenda, then that's something we can achieve. So while Jacob did nothing, Jacob's sons meanwhile are very busy. We're carrying on from verse 18. Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. The young man who was the most honored of all his father's family lost no time in doing what they said because he was delighted with Jacob's daughter. So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city to speak to the men of their city. So now this one family who's a leader in their community has agreed to do this thing, to go along with this lie that the sons of Jacob have promised, and as a result now they have to convince all the other men in their community that this is what's best for them and this is how they pitch it. This is how they sell their idea. Verse 21, this is what they say. They say, these men are friendly towards us, they said. Let them live in our land and trade in it. The land has plenty of room for them. We can marry their daughters and they can marry ours, but the men will agree to live with us as one people only on the condition that our males be circumcised as they themselves are. Weren't their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let us agree to their terms and they will settle among us. They believe if they do this bold, crazy gesture, all the males in their midst becoming circumcised, they're like, this is a clear indication that we're committed to them becoming part of us and this is going to be for our benefit. This is how he sells it to those other men of their community, the other families. This is going to be beneficial for us. So verse 24, all the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem and every male in the city was circumcised. Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem's house and left. The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where their sister had been defiled. They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city out in the fields. They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses. It's hard to see how the purposes of God work out in the midst of this. When I said, how do we see blessing coming in the midst of trauma? When in response to that trauma, Jacob appears to do nothing. Jacob's brothers lie and then attack and murder people and then steal from them. And that very thing that those nations, the men of Shechem and Hamor, what they wanted was to become richer and more prosperous through this. And as a result of this crazy action of Simeon and Levi, when they attack and murder people, they become richer. They take all their goods. Actually, the nation of Jacob's household becomes blessed, physically blessed through this process. They become richer. They become, yeah, they get all the benefit of all this material goods through this. And then you get this conclusion versus 30 and 31. The two viewpoints within this family are saying that this passage is a lot about view, worldviews. There's a worldview difference between God's people, Jacob's family, and the men of Shechem and their worldview. But there's a difference in worldview within the family too. Jacob, it says, doesn't do anything at the beginning. When his daughter is abused and taken advantage of, he doesn't do anything at this point. And so his sons feel like they have to do something. And what they do is they lie, they deceive, they take advantage of people, they kill, they steal. And then verses 30 and 31, Jacob speaks to his sons. And this is what he says. Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, you have brought trouble on me by making me obnoxious to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people living in this land. We are few in number. And if they join forces against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed. But they replied, should he have treated our sister like a prostitute? That's the end of the chapter. We hear no more about this story. The story moves on to other things. And isn't it, as we said at the beginning, trauma of this level and this magnitude has huge consequences. This story may end here and it doesn't go away. In real life, we know that they would have been dealing with this for the rest of their life. And the consequences of this come up right at the end of Genesis. We'll see it come back. Jacob is going to bring this up to Simeon and Levi again, like 15 chapters later or something that the consequences are huge and have moved on. And yet there is a real struggle within the family of Jacob, within the family of God's chosen people. How is God bringing blessing in the midst of trauma? And what are we supposed to do about it? Are we supposed to do nothing? Or are we supposed to take matters into our own hands? Surely we've got to take matters into our own hands. That's exactly why Simeon and Levi did what they did. They said what was true. They said what has been done to our sister is wrong and it can't be ignored. And yet what they chose to do, Jacob is also right. He said, you have brought trouble on me. We see in the beginning of verse 35, just skipping ahead and stealing from whoever's speaking next week a little bit, that the consequences do carry on. They talk about the fact that the fear of God falls upon the surrounding nations so that no one and so that, I'm sorry, I missed it now, so that no one tries to pursue them. And if you miss chapter 34, you'd say, why would the surrounding nations be wanting to pursue them? For this reason, they just murdered and wiped out an entire clan. And this is the land that they're wanting to live in harmony with the surrounding people of. There are consequences to this and they carry on. And so Jacob is right when he says that they have brought through their actions, through their lies and deceit, through their murderous ways, they have brought trouble onto this family. They have made things worse. And yet their response is also right. They say, should we have let him treat our sister like a prostitute? Of course not. So what do we do? What's Jacob to do? What's his family to do? I don't have any answers. And the story doesn't give us any answers, does it? The story stops and moves on. But what we do have is the reality of a God who partners with people, who journeys with people, and who is always seeking to bring blessing in the midst of trauma. And we can't see it. We can't see how in those circumstances, can we? And some of the things I want to encourage us to do is to remember who Jacob is and what his name means. Just two chapters before, Jacob had had this really weird encounter with God when he had been renamed Israel, meaning wrestles with God. It comes in the story of literal wrestling. He literally wrestles a man and yet there's always deep meaning to names in the Bible. And then when God says, you're someone who's wrestled with God, what he means is in these kind of circumstances, when trauma comes and you say, how is this God bringing blessing on me? Do you give up and do nothing? Or do you give in and fight? See, this is the real challenge as well, isn't it? The sons of Jacob see their sister abused and they say, we have to do something and so we're going to fight and we're going to take for ourselves. And then what they end up doing is exactly what the man who abused their sister did. They take something that they want for themselves. They say, we're going to do what's right by us. We're going to protect our own. And who cares what happens to other people? That they're doing exactly the same thing. That they're right that we can't do nothing. But it's also true that if the way that we deal with difficult circumstances is just do what the rest of the world does, we're going to bring more trauma into the world. We're going to bring more grief and more sadness, more brokenness. And the God of the Bible is about bringing blessing. His promise is to bring healing and restoration. And I said that there are similarities between this and this pattern all the way through Genesis that you see in the garden, that when Adam and Eve see what they want and take it for themselves, they break a relationship with God. And God tells another story. There's another pattern. And the pattern is a God who relentlessly follows his people and wants to bless them. He wants to fix what we have broken. And he's the only one who can fix what we have broken. And he's the one who will fix what we have broken. And this story is about worldviews within God's own people that say, we don't know what to do. So what do we do? And that's why I want to remind us about what Jacob's name means. We've got to wrestle with it. We've got to wrestle with difficult circumstances, but we don't see how God is working out in them. That in the midst of loss, in the midst of hurt, in the midst of betrayal, God is working out his purposes. And in the midst of that, when those traumas strike and that pain hits, we can't see it. So often we feel lost and alone. We feel abandoned by God. So do we do nothing or do we give in? What Jacob is commended for, and the reason his name is changed is because he's someone who wrestles with God. He wrestles with it. He says, I don't understand, but I'm going to seek your faith. I don't see how this can work out for good, but I trust you are working things out for good. That's what it means to wrestle with God. And that's what I pray we as a church can continue to do in the midst of difficult circumstances so often. The other thing I really want us to do is to point us to the cross at this point. And Andy was saying, how are you going to conclude this chapter? When we read this together, what is the, how are we going to deal with this as a church? How are we going to respond to this? And the way I want to respond is by looking at the person of Jesus and just pointing out, there's an amazing Bible project video, which I highly recommend. And I think every time I'm up here, I end up talking about at least one. Jesus is a person who demonstrates what it means to be a person who sees that the world says either we give in or we fight back. And the world says, those are the only two things you can do. And Jesus says, there is a third way that we can live. To wrestle with God in the midst of difficulty means to follow Jesus' example. The name of the video, just in case you want to watch it, I highly recommend it. It's called the way of the exile. And it's talking about in the midst of this, the exact circumstance that Jacob and his family find themselves in, they're in a foreign land. They're trying to settle and set their own home up, but they're surrounded by worldviews that massively differ with them, clash with them. People attack them. People abuse them. This is what happens to his daughter in the midst of this place where God says, I'm going to bring you here and build blessing. And yet this has happened. And so Jesus talks to people who are living under Roman rule. He speaks to God's people and says, in this circumstance, you may think there's only two things you can do. You can either give in or you can fight back. But there is a third way. What we can do is we can respond in a way that disarms and breaks the way that the world says things should work. We can respond with love when all that's thrown at us is hate. When we are abused and when we're taken advantage of, when we deal with difficulty and strife, loss and sorrow, we can respond with blessing. We can give in a way that only we as followers of Jesus can. Because Jesus demonstrated that. On the cross, he prayed for the people who were killing him. He said, God forgive these people. Isn't that powerful? Forgiveness in the midst of abuse, in the midst of death, in the face of death, Jesus forgave. And that's the example we're called to follow. And it's really hard. That's why we've got to wrestle with it. It is not easy. It's not easy to do. And we've got to pray for each other. We've got to pray with each other. Prayer is the best way that we can respond to this. That is how we wrestle with God. We have to pray. We have to be people who say, I'm not going to give up, but I'm not going to do what the world says either. I'm going to pray and seek God's face and say, how can you bring blessing through me today? How can you use us to bless other people? It's challenging. It's painful. If you feel like you need prayer, we want to pray with you. I'll be up here praying for anyone who wants to pray. I feel like prayer is the only way that we can respond, right? But I want to remind you and encourage you that when we see the face of Jesus, we see a different way to live, a way that says in the midst of trauma, blessing can come, that the God of the Bible never changes. And who he is is a God who wants to bless. He wants to restore. He wants to fix what is broken, and he's doing it in us and through us by the power of Jesus. And that's what we're going to bring about. If we seek God's face and we pray and we continue to be people who say, no matter what, I am determined to seek the good of others the way that Jesus speaks the good of me. I'm willing to forgive others the way that Jesus has forgiven me. That can change the world. That can change worldviews. That can break strongholds. And I pray that we can do that together. Amen. you

Sermon Summary: Blessing and Reconciliation Scripture References: Genesis 33 Key Themes: God's Sovereignty and Blessing: God's promises to Abraham and his descendants. The importance of God's blessing in one's life. God's choice of Jacob over Esau, highlighting His sovereignty. Jacob's Character and Growth: Jacob's deceitful nature and pursuit of blessings. His encounter with God and subsequent transformation. The gradual nature of spiritual growth and change. Reconciliation and Forgiveness: The powerful impact of reconciliation between Jacob and Esau. The role of forgiveness in healing relationships. The importance of letting go of past hurts and grievances. Sermon Overview: Karen began the sermon by discussing the significance of understanding God's character and our identity in light of Him. She emphasized that knowing God is essential for a fulfilling life. To illustrate the theme of blessing, she used the biblical story of Jacob and Esau. She highlighted how Jacob, despite his flaws, persistently sought God's blessing. Karen encouraged the congregation to likewise pursue God's blessing for their lives, recognizing that it may involve wrestling with God and enduring challenges. The sermon delved into the concept of reconciliation, focusing on the powerful moment when Jacob and Esau reconciled after years of conflict. Karen emphasized the transformative power of forgiveness and the importance of letting go of past hurts. She also highlighted the gradual nature of spiritual growth, emphasizing that even flawed individuals can experience God's grace and blessing. In conclusion, Karen reminded the congregation of God's sovereignty and His ability to bless beyond human understanding. She encouraged listeners to trust in God's promises and to seek His blessing for their lives. Transcription Morning everybody, Jules said will you be moving around a bit and I said what do you think Jules? So we're going to look at Genesis 33 in a minute but I'm going to do a little shout out for the book club. So I stopped working quite as much in theory in July and I thought oh I'll do other things so I joined the book club and this is the latest book that we should have finished reading. I haven't quite finished it but it is certainly the first part relates very much to what we're doing in church at the moment in that it talks about the beginning. But I'd like to read various bits of it to start with because initially the author talks about why he's written this book and he says A. W. Tozer once claimed what comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you. We agree identity, behavior, purpose, meaning, everything flows from what we believe about God. It's that important. If we miss God we miss everything. If we know God we gain everything. The God story before it is anything else is God's way of telling us who God is and who we are in the light of God. So I'm not saying you should join the book club a good book to read but feel free to join the book club but sometimes just small sentences and phrases hit you don't they? Everything flows from God. If we know God we gain everything. And part of going through Genesis is learning about God and about the beginnings of Israel but also about understanding ourselves and knowing ourselves more. So my first illustration demands some strength. For those of you that don't know I've been a teacher for 40 years and I remember I think it was Alice said to me not that long ago mom now you've stopped teaching can you stop being a teacher please? And I said I've been doing it for 40 years Alice give me another 40 and I might have forgotten how to do it but that's unlikely. So in teaching one of the things that you do in your lessons is always you always recap what's gone before okay. So I need one, two, three volunteers please if you'd like to come to the front. No not you Evie you're all right sweetie if that's to be a gentleman. So just okay so if we think about Genesis and we think about the story that is the beginning of Israel we start with Abraham. Abraham was blessed by God. He was blessed in his life. He was blessed with children but he was also blessed by God in that God said from you there will be a nation a great nation. When Abraham died he passed that blessing on to Isaac because tradition said that whatever you had you gave to your first born son Isaac. Well perhaps not his first born son but his favorite son. And then Isaac then had two children Jacob and Esau okay. Now if we think about that who was the first born? Okay so is that what happened? It isn't isn't it? Well that's a bit annoying isn't it? So sorry Esau would you like to? So Jacob would you mind being Jacob? Now Jacob's a bit of a one isn't he? Even in his mother's womb and as he's being born he's grabbing a hold of Esau as if to say don't you think you're coming out without me mate because I want what you should have. And he gets Esau's blessing. But this guy throughout a lot of his life fights for that blessing but he will not give up. He wants God's blessing and he wants all that that brings okay. So when I was thinking about this message and I know it's entitled something very different to what I'm actually going to be talking about sorry Nick is this idea of blessing because Abraham was blessed by God. He passed not only everything he owned but that blessing onto Isaac and then it was passed rightly or wrongly onto Jacob not Esau but that blessing was passed and what a blessing it was. Thank you boys well done for holding a piece of string. Okay so what's going to happen is I'm going to go through this particular chapter we're going to pick things out and whenever I ask God what do you want me to say and I'll tell you something because Jonathan and I talked about this yesterday and last night and he's saying have you done it yet have you done it yet I'm working on it I'm working on it. I usually like to think right this is what I know God wants me to say to you and it's like there are lots of little things this week so like we've already heard this morning so it's a bit different but the first one is blessing and I'll come back to that a little bit later okay. So in this particular chapter it follows from what Jonathan said last week Jacob has a little bit of a struggle with God he meets God and he holds on to God and he says you're not going to leave me until you've blessed me this isn't the first time he's met God and it won't be the last time that he's had an experience of God so the next thing I want to say is I don't know about you I know about me and I know what other people have said to me we have experiences of God and after that we think I'm going to be changed I'm going to be transformed I'm going to be this perfect person now I've had this encounter with God and it doesn't quite happen like that does it because we are changed a step at a time and Jacob is a very prime example of that happening and we see this as we go that as we go through this chapter so if you wouldn't mind just putting the words of this particular chapter up there that'd be fabulous. So we know what happened in the previous chapter but just to remind you what God promised Abraham first he said I will make you into a great nation I will bless you I will make your name great and you will be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Some blessings we don't see the fruit of this blessing was then passed on to Isaac should have been passed on to Esau but wasn't was passed on to Jacob okay. Now the next thing Esau I don't really know about Esau you see earlier he's come back from hunting and he said to Jacob oh I'm starving and Jacob said well if you give me your birthright I'll give you some soup he agrees to it and I'm like why would you do that just because Jonathan said well he's hungry it's not really good enough reason is it. So and then it's a bit cross well I think it's okay to be cross when Jacob deceives him and his dad to get the blessing and he's really really cross so much so that Jacob decides it's time to leave okay so years later Jacob's had this encounter this latest encounter with God but we don't know what's happened with Esau do you know when you see films and the book is better than the film because it gives you more information really upsets Jonathan he doesn't like watching films that aren't don't follow a book and I feel like this bit about Esau doesn't give us enough information and I'll come back to that in a minute so we're at a point where Jacob's been told Esau's coming and he's got 400 men with him Jacob's had this experience with God God said I'm telling you I am keeping my promise I am going to bless you and you will be called Israel he's got that in his head there and over here he's got Esau coming towards him with 400 men and he's also got all his servants and all his family to protect so what he does is he puts the servants first he puts his can I say this lesser wife and then he puts his favorite wife and son at the back not sure what I think about that but anyway the thing that strikes me here is I think the old Jacob would have quite happily stood stood amongst them but this meeting with God means that he goes to the front to meet Esau he's put he's put them in order of if they're gonna get killed I know which wants to get killed first and which ones go last kind of thing but he's still gone ahead of them and at this point this is what I don't get see Esau although he'd sort of not been that bothered about his birthright over a bowl of soup he was then very bothered when it was cheated out of him and he was very angry and this is their first meeting since that happened now what Jacob has tried to do is I don't know you could say by his way back into Esau's favor by sending all these animals etc to Esau but he still doesn't know what Esau's response is going to be so he does what is a custom and he bows down seven times you know I'm really sorry no no I'm really really really sorry and all that kind of stuff but what does Esau do he holds him and he cries and it says and they both wept I don't know it frustrates me you can tell I don't know what happened between Esau being very angry when he'd been cheated out of his birthright until that moment we know what had happened to Jacob but was it that Esau thought well I've got everything that I thought I was going to get with that birthright so I don't need to worry about the fact I haven't got it or was it do you know what family comes first what does it matter now I don't know but the bottom line is at that point there was reconciliation for both of them and they both wept never underestimate the power of tears to let out those feelings of anger unforgiveness frustration and I think part of this would have been joy that actually after all this time they'd finally been able to come together and Esau then says who are all these people you got and Jacob talks about how he's been blessed and there is this thing that they talks about that these are the things that God has graciously given so they've both been blessed now what is the difference between these two blessings Esau says I don't need what you're going to give me I've already got it all Jacob has got everything all these animals and wives but what is the thing that Jacob has got that Esau hasn't got God's blessing I don't know whether he thought even aware that that's part of the package that he got that Jacob got when he cheated Esau but there's the difference with the blessings okay so we've got a situation where there's forgiveness there's reconciliation and Jacob is still insistent that Esau has all the animals everything that he wants to give him Esau says I don't want them I've got loads I don't need them what I wanted was this what I wanted was this but Jacob says no I want you to have them why do you think Jacob said no I need you to have these animals guilt he knew what he'd done was wrong he lived his life knowing that I haven't stopped him doing it and didn't stop him doing anything again but he knew that he'd done the wrong thing so he said no please take these animals and Esau graciously did okay now this is the I don't know this is the crux really in that then Esau says okay come back with me let's get together we'll all go back to my place together all of us and then what does Jacob do he deceives him again and I'm gonna say something that might sound a little bit weird I find that really encouraging you know why because however much God blesses us we still make a mess of it and our characters do not change overnight we are changed from one degree of glory to another and Jacob still hasn't quite made it so he deceives Esau and he says to Esau well do you know what we're all a bit tired how about you go back to your place and and we'll rest and sit here for a bit and then I'll come outright lie because he has no intentions of going that way now part of the reason he has no intention of going that way it costs of the promise that God has made to him that blessing that went straight down the line God has told Jacob to go back to the place where Abraham was not where Esau is but where Abraham was I don't know why you couldn't tell Esau that information why couldn't say well this is what God has said but then I think well was it still guilt because I've got what you should have had so he doesn't actually tell him so they go on their way and they eventually now I have to get the name right because it's a weird word that I can't say they go to Shechem I think something like that and then he makes an altar and this altar I'm not going to read what it says it's a translation is God the God of Israel so it's not just saying I'm making this altar for God I'm saying this is my God because God is calling me Israel yeah he built an altar and called it God the God of Israel so if we think about what does this tell us about God this tells us that God blesses people what it tells us about the people in this story especially Jacob is Jacob wanted that blessing he fought with God he held on to him I won't let you go until you bless me that's the last end of the last chapter and that blessing begins when he gets here because this is where a had put a tent down if you like but he didn't own it when Jacob gets here he buys that area so the step towards this nation becoming a reality is one step closer and when you see it if you read this book it gives you a very nice if you like coherent picture of the way it goes but Jacob was a man that wanted a blessing and it that challenged me I'm quite happy to pray God bless somebody else but you almost feel guilty when you say God bless me but sound quite right doesn't it but yet Jacob fought hard to get that blessing from God so my challenge to you is you might like to think you know what it's not such a bad thing to ask for God's blessing why can't I ask the blessing for my life and for my family and for who I am as much as I asked for blessing for other people okay so there was the idea of blessing and then lastly because I'm not I don't think we need to talk for very long about this Jacob comes full circle it comes back to the place where Abraham has sojourned if you like and it's it is important for us to understand that if we end up in a in a how can I put this sometimes you feel like things haven't changed I've gone back I've gone a full circle things in my life haven't changed but we have to keep hold of the promises and the blessing of God and what God promises he will make happen now that piece of string wasn't very long was it but how long that took was hundreds of years and then a few thousand years before Israel became a nation and we are where we are now so the other thing that I want you to hold on to is that when God promises you a blessing promises you something don't lose it because of time and that's hard it's hard and sometimes we have to wrestle with God over it and we might have to argue with him a bit and say I'm finding this really tough but if he's promised you something that piece of string can be a very long piece of string so my challenge to you this morning there have been lots of them Jacob was a man that wanted something he wanted Esau's birth right he wanted God's blessing he didn't change overnight every time he encountered God he changed a little bit more but he was still a little bit rough around the edges a little bit of a deceiver a little bit of a manipulator and you'll read later on what happens next but the bottom line is God was for him despite who he was God was for him and it's interesting because these three people are mentioned a lot in the New Testament so then I thought well I'm gonna look up a few of those and this is the one that really struck me and this is my final point it's in Romans 9 and the writer is talking about the historicity of Israel if you like and he talks about I'll go from verse 10 this son was our ancestor Isaac when he grew up he married Rebecca who gave birth to twins before they were born before they had done anything good or bad she received a message from God this message proves that God chooses according to his own plan not according to our good or bad works she was told the descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of the younger son in the words of this scriptures I love Jacob but I reject Esau and I say was God being fair it's not but God said to me will show mercy to anyone and I show compassion to anyone I choose and that speaks to me about the sovereignty of God and sometimes we miss that we make God this this I'm not wishing to be offensive when I say this we make God this fluffy father and we forget how big he is and we forget that he's God and if he's God he can bless us in ways that are far beyond what we even imagine so please in your relationship with God remember he's God but remember he loves you remember he wants to bless you and remember you're not the finished article quite yet okay thank you very much

Sermon Summary: A Wrestling Match with God Bible References: Genesis 32 Key Themes: Encountering God: Jacob's encounter with God in the night is a powerful reminder of God's personal involvement in our lives. The Power of Prayer: Jacob's honest and heartfelt prayer demonstrates the importance of seeking God's help in times of trouble. Surrendering to God's Will: Jacob's wrestling match with God symbolizes the need to submit to God's sovereignty and trust in His plan. The Transformation of Character: Through his encounter with God, Jacob experiences a profound transformation, moving from a life of self-reliance to one of dependence on God. Sermon Overview: Jonathan begins by introducing the context of Genesis 32, where Jacob is preparing to meet his estranged brother Esau. Despite the fear and uncertainty, Jacob recognizes God's presence and seeks His guidance. The sermon delves into Jacob's prayer, highlighting his humility, honesty, and reliance on God's promises. Jonathan emphasizes the importance of praying with both faith and humility, acknowledging our dependence on God while also trusting in His character. A significant portion of the sermon focuses on Jacob's wrestling match with God. This encounter symbolizes the struggle between human will and divine purpose. Jacob's insistence on receiving a blessing from God before letting go underscores the transformative power of encountering God personally. The sermon concludes by emphasizing the importance of submitting to God's will and trusting in His plan. Jacob's experience serves as an example of how God can use difficult circumstances to shape our character and deepen our faith. Additional Points: The Role of Fear: Jonathan discusses how fear can motivate our actions but that it's essential to trust in God's provision and protection. The Importance of Reconciliation: Jacob's desire to reconcile with Esau highlights the significance of forgiveness and restoration in relationships. The Power of God's Name: The change of Jacob's name to Israel signifies a new identity and a deeper connection with God. By exploring these themes, Jonathan encourages listeners to seek God's presence, trust in His promises, and surrender their lives to His will. Transcript Good morning everyone. Still going through Genesis and today we're going to be looking at chapter 32 of Genesis. Now I'm reading from modern translation, Genesis' first book in the Bible, so it will be fairly early on if you're looking for it. But this version I'm reading from is the New Living Translation, so don't hold it against me. Verse, chapter 32. As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God came to meet him. And when Jacob saw them he exclaimed, This is God's camp. So he named the place Mahanaim. Why can't this give it just a place like, you know, sort of our house or, you know. Never mind, it's another story. It means two camps anyway. And Jacob sent messages ahead of his brother Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom. He told them, Give this message to my master Esau, humble greetings from your servant Jacob. Until now I've been living with uncle Laban, and now I own cattle and donkeys and flocks of sheep and goats and many servants, both men and women. I've sent these messages to inform my Lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me. After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, We met your brother Esau and he's already on his way to meet you with an army of 400 men. Jacob was terrified at the news. Yeah, I bet he was. He divided his household along with the flocks and herds and camels into two groups. And he thought, If Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps the other group can escape. Then Jacob prayed, O God of my grandfather Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you told me, Return to your own land and to your relatives. And you promised me, I'll treat you kindly. I'm not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I own nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps. O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau. I'm afraid he's going to attack me along with my wives and children. But you promised me, I will surely treat you kindly and I'll multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore, too many to count. Jacob stayed where he was for the night. Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to present to his brother Esau. 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 female camels with their young and 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 30, oh sorry, 10 male donkeys, that's my eyesight. He divided these animals into herds and assigned each to different servants. Then he told his servants, Go ahead of me with the animals, but keep some distance between the herds. It's going to be like the 12 days of Christmas this you see. He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group. When my brother Esau meets you, he'll ask, whose servants are you and where are you going? Who owns these animals? You must reply, they belong to your servant Jacob, but they are a gift for his master Esau. Look, he's coming right behind us. And Jacob gave the same instruction to the second and third herdsmen and to all who followed behind the herds. You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him and be sure to say, Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us. Jacob thought, I'll try to appease him by sending gifts ahead of me. And when I see him in person, perhaps he will be friendly to me. So the gifts were sent on ahead while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp. During the night, Jacob got up and he took his two wives, his two servant wives and his 11 sons and crossed the Jabot River with them. And after taking them to the other side, he sent over all his possessions. This left Jacob alone in the camp and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he wouldn't win the match, he touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, Let me go, for the dawn is breaking. But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. What's your name? The man asked. He replied, Jacob. Your name will no longer be Jacob, the man told him. From now on, you will be called Israel because you have fought with God and with men and have won. Please tell me your name, Jacob said. Why do you want to know my name, the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. And Jacob named the place Peniel, which means face of God. For he said, I have seen God face to face and yet my life has been spared. The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. Even today, the people of Israel don't eat the tendon near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the man strained the tendon of Jacob's hip. You don't have to win every fight or every argument to be a winner. See, Jacob had this uncanny knack of making people angry. It was something that had happened throughout his life. In the last chapter 31, we saw how angry his Uncle Laban had got with him and why he'd left in such a hurry. He'd left without saying goodbye. He'd wanted to get out of what had been a pretty abusive relationship for 20 years, where this Jacob, who'd arrived as a con man himself, who had been conned and tricked for 20 years by his Uncle Laban into working for this guy, not being paid properly, not being looked after properly, everything that Laban did to try to trip him up, God seemed to bless Jacob. He said goodbye. Well, he hadn't said goodbye, he just rushed off. But Laban had caught up with him and he said, look, we scarpered because I was scared of you. Thankfully, he kind of resolved his relationship with his uncle, but it was now out of the frying pan and into the fire, because he was going home in obedience to what God had asked him to do. You read that in the previous chapter. But in doing so, his past was going to catch up with him. He was returning to a place where things had gone wrong. He wasn't anymore escaping from a problem. He was going to have to face it face to face. God had promised him this land that he was returning to, but that promise included challenges as to how he would rebuild relationships that had been broken. We read in Genesis 27 that Esau, his brother, hated Jacob. Why? Well, you know, our family issues can be really challenging for all of us, can't they, at times? You know, family breakups. It's marvelous. And there's nothing that causes more problems in a family than a will. And when a will doesn't work out that somebody doesn't get something that they expected and the other person has got it, well, what had happened is Jacob basically, with the help of his mum, had conned his brother, his elder brother, out of what was rightfully, as far as the way society worked, his. He'd done it by guile. He had received a blessing, you know, by default. He basically conned his way into a blessing rather than actually received it graciously and willingly and openly. He'd actually made something happen. Esau was so cross about this. He said, I'm going to kill him. Read the inscription. I'm going to kill him. Mum got word of this. Mum of both Esau and Rebecca. And she said these classic words that you can read in Genesis 27. She's told him to go to his uncle Laban's and she sent off with this message. She says, stay there with Laban until Esau cools off. And when he calms down, I'll send for you. Now 20 years have passed and she hasn't asked him to come home. He's had 20 years away from home and he's not had a message from Mum to say it's all right now. You can come home. Everything's fine. He's calmed down. But God's told him to go back. In the midst of this family breakup, what do you do to mend a broken relationship? How do you build that reconciliation back? You know, Esau felt he'd been fiddled out of what was rightfully his. But God says, you've got to go home and you've got to face the music. Jacob may have grasped a blessing that was not necessarily his to receive. Isaac had meant to give it to his son Esau. It hadn't been given willingly or knowingly to Jacob. And Jacob really lived up to his name. The word Jacob means deceiver or displacer or supplanter. Somebody who takes something that's not necessarily theirs. What was Jacob going to come home to? A fight or a friendship? I desperately wanted a friendship. And he knew he couldn't actually change the past. The past is gone. You can't actually, you know, we're not time travelers. We can't go back there and undo what we've done before. He just knew that he had to do something about this situation. He sorted things out with Laban. He now needed to sort things out with his estranged brother. And he was face to face with his crisis. And what did he attempt to do? Well, Jacob was always quite cunning, crafty, had good ideas. He had cunning plans, a bit like Baldrick. He was that kind of person. And he attempted a strategy of appeasement, as we read in this chapter. Groveling and gifts, basically, I've called it. It's the way he was going to try to win it over. He said, I'm hoping I can get around Esau. I can buy his friendship. I can buy my way back into his good books. I can say the right things and do the right things that will make him friendly towards me again. And then he gets this report that Esau was on his way to meet him, but with an army of 400 men. Now, you know, that's quite a big army in the context of this. This passage is quite interesting because fear is a major motivator in Jacob's actions, in his prayers and in his plans. There's no doubt about it. And he seems to have forgotten something that started right at the start of this passage. Because when he actually obeyed the command of God, knowing what he was about to face with his brother, potentially, he has another one of these wonderful experiences with God, which, I mean, Jacob had so many of these encounters with the supernatural, it's amazing, where he suddenly sees a great host, an army almost, of angels on the road. And he says, because this is a great place right at the start of the chapter. This is a place of two camps. My camp's here. God's camp of angels is here. It's as if God's saying, come on, Jacob, you can do this. I'm with you. You can do the right thing. I'm alongside you. I'm there for you. I'm with you. And he recognized it. He had discernment. He understood that God's presence was there too. And it didn't stop him from being afraid. And Jacob's response is so typical of us as Christians, and I include me in this. We face a challenge. We wrestle with it. We struggle to find a solution or a plan or a way of getting out of it. We make our plans to try to make the best of a bad thing sometimes, and we fear in the worst. And yet all the time we're also praying. We're praying on the basis of what the Bible says, what God says, you know, the promises of God. We believe this because God has said this. Lord, you've said this. We can trust you for this. We're doing that. We kind of like pray on the basis of our great need. We say, help, Lord. God, deliver us. God, help us. God, be in this for us. While we're still doing our plans, we pray on the basis of God's character. You're kind, you're loving, you're all these things. And then we return to our plans. If you want to use a term that's often used in the House of Parliaments these days, now being used of Labour, was used at the Tories beforehand, he's flip-flopping. He's going from planning to praying to planning to praying to planning to praying. And he's, you know, he's caught in the tension of this fear of Esau and the consequences of going back there and thinking I'm going to lose everything. We're going to be massacred. You know, my family's going to be destroyed. Everything's going to go down. I need to split the camp into two. So if he gets one half, the other half at least can survive. He's got that at one side and the promise of God. I'm not going back. I'm not going back to Labour. I'm not going back to what was. I'm going forward into what God has called me to do. I'm going forward into the promise of God and going forward into what I've been asked to do. You've promised me God that, you know, my descendants are going to live. They're going to multiply. You've promised me a future and a hope. And yet he's struggling with the tension, isn't he, of the reality of a problem and the truth of what he believes about the God who is bigger than all those problems. It's this tug of war. And it's a tug of war that we all face at times. A tug of war that goes on in our hearts and our minds. And I think, you know, it reminds me of the dad of a very troubled lad that we read about in Mark chapter 9 who came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, you know, if you believe, everything's possible. And this guy said, well, I do believe that anything's possible. But help me overcome my unbelief. It's one thing to think God can do something. God will intervene. God will support me. God will protect me. God will do this. God will heal. God will deliver. God will strengthen. God will rescue. It's another thing when you're in the challenge of the battle itself to believe God will do it for me. We can believe, all of us can believe that God can. The issue is God will, will God. Jacob is wrestling with real doubts and fears before what he anticipates to be a struggle with his brother Esau. I just want to go back briefly to this prayer that's in the middle of this chapter, I think verse 9 onwards, isn't it, or something like that. Because I think it's just a lovely prayer. Despite all his struggles, there is something about the honesty and the rawness of Jacob's life. I think God wants from all of us. He's basically saying a very real way, an honest way. He says to God, look, you told me to come here. I'm here in obedience. I'm obeying you. I'm kind of trusting you in this. I'm here because you've made a promise to me about this land and about my descendants and about this being the place you want me to be. I'm doing what you're asking me to do and I'm trusting you for that. I've not run away from it. I've not fled from this conflict from 400 armed men. And it's also prayed not from a place of entitlement, but a place of humility. I'm not worthy, he says, of all your unfailing love and faithfulness. Now I just want to say something about unworthiness or feeling not worthy. It's a great thing to be humble before our God. It's what God wants us to do, what humbly before him. It's an unhealthy thing to have an unworthy attitude that says, I am not worthy of the grace, the mercy, the favor, the love of God. Many of us miss out on what God wants to do in our lives because they think, well, we're not good enough. We'll never make it. We'll never get there. And there's a balance here in Jacob's prayer. He recognizes, yes, the grace of God. I am unworthy. I have messed up at times. But he understands something that God doesn't just look on our unworthiness. He is a God of grace and mercy and loving kindness towards us, which is totally undeserved. He prays with humility. He prays on the basis of his act walking in obedience and in the God's promise. And he also acknowledges the blessing of God on his life. He's saying, thank you. Without God, he said, I'd have nothing. All I'd own, he says in verse 10, is just my walking stick on my staff. That's all I'd have. And the irony you will see at the end of this chapter is that will become a mark of what God is going to do in his life. It's the one thing that will be a reminder to him of when everything else is stripped away. He's got something to lean on. Someone to lean on. And in the midst of this raw prayer, he's praying for rescue. Lord help, I can't do this. This is beyond me. And he's not just praying for himself. He's praying for his family, his kids, his wives. But he goes straight back afterwards. Flips, like so many of us to say. If I pray my cards right, this is not what in the Bible. If I play my cards right, I'm going to salvage something out of this. I can make something at least. I can get something out of this. He's still trusting God, but not totally trusting God. It's almost like the limited partial faith that we all have. The Bible says walk by faith, doesn't it? I think most of us limp by faith, but not because of what we're going to see happen with Jacob. But we struggle to actually put faith into practice in our lives. Jacob is wrestling with this problem and night falls. But he can't sleep. We know that because in verse 2 it says during the night he got up. He's tossing and turning, wrestling with the problem. What's going to happen tomorrow? What's going to happen when I see Esau? What's going to happen with my family? What's going to happen with my goods? What's going to happen to me? How is Esau going to treat me? And he gets up and he sends his family and his possessions that are with him to the relative safety across the river. And he's left alone with his thoughts considering what the next day is going to bring. But of course, he was never alone. God's camp was just up the road. He wasn't alone. God was there. You know, often we feel we're just alone in this problem that you face. There's people in this room think you're alone in the problem you face. I think God wants to say to you this morning, you're not alone. You're not alone. See, God was there. And God finally wants to get to grips with Jacob. Jacob had spent his whole life struggling and striving from birth with Esau, then with Laban, trying to get ahead of the game using his cunning and his wits. And tonight he was going to learn a wrestling move. He was going to learn to submit. I used to watch the wrestling on the TV, not this American stuff, you know, but the old ITV Channel 4 o'clock. Some of you are old enough to remember it, you know. And the next round, eight rounds, eight four-minute rounds, two submissions, two falls or a knockout. And in one corner we have Big Daddy. God, and the other one we've got, you know, like conniving little so-and-so, like Jackie Paolo, you know. So we've got Jacob in one thing, the Jackie Paolo, and we've got the Big Daddy God in the other one, and there's going to be a wrestling match. Submission. Jacob, well God knew that actually, Jacob needed to meet him before he met Esau. And God made it happen. God wants Jacob to submit to him, to learn what it is to lean heavily on him, to learn what it is to cling to him, to learn what it is, not to hang on to his own achievements and his own abilities, but to hang on to God, to know that this would be the place of real blessing in his life. A blessing that would be graciously given, not taken by guile, that would be given freely by God himself. After wrestling with God all night, Jacob could no longer rely on his own strength to fight his battles because God broke him, crippled him, if you like, dislocated his thigh. And for all of you who've ever had dislocations, and I'm not one of them, you'll know how painful it is, won't you Leslie, and others. You know, this is before the days of hip joints and all the rest of it. This guy was left powerless and helpless to continue his struggle with God. Jacob, as he was going through this wrestling match, knew that he wasn't wrestling one of Esau's men or even Esau himself. And the more the struggle continued, the more Jacob's determined that this is God, and God's blessing on my life. He gets the point after his hips put out, you know, he's clinging on, clinging on, one leg, clinging on. You know, a bit like in a boxing match where they go into, you know, the hold. So just trying to have a breather, but he's clinging on to God. And he's saying, I will not let go unless you bless me. And all that mattered to him at that point, remember, he started this evening not being able to sleep worrying about Esau. Now all he's concerned about is that he encounters God in a way that he would know God's blessing upon his life. Suddenly Esau doesn't matter anymore. What really matters is his relationship with God and what's happening there and then in his life with God. He's no longer consumed by these thoughts that he was wrestling with, he's wrestling with God himself. The night had begun with him wrestling with his fears, wrestling in his mind about what he's going to do with Esau, and it ended with him having wrestled with God. And it was a night that he would never forget, because he realized in the darkness, he had been face to face with God. God leaves the scene before dawn breaks. There's this phrase in the Old Testament, no one can see God and live. And there's almost the grace of God in that, in actually withdrawing before the light comes. But you've got this little phrase that's used in the Bible that says, you know, about the sun rose. I think it says on one version of the Bible that we use, one translation. The sun rose upon Jacob. It's a new day. The lights dawned, and he limps away, not thinking about Esau, saying, I've met with God a changed man, because he submitted to God. Hosea has these words to say about this incident in Hosea 12 verses 3 to 6. Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother. And when he became a man, he even fought with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. And in Hebrews 11 verse 21, that chapter of these champions of faith, we read of Jacob. That it was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and bowed in worship as he leaned upon that walking stick, that staff. Jacob is a changed man. He's broken, he's bowed, and he's blessed. And as a result, or as in the past, he's not been a particular blessing to his family. He's now able to bless others. He's changed physically, but he's also changed spiritually. He not only leans on his staff now for support, but that is in itself a constant reminder that he needs to keep leaning on God. His limp is a constant reminder of his encounter with the living God. I was told years ago by someone, I can't remember who, always trust a man who walks with a limp. I was talking in spiritual terms. I think that means always trust somebody who leans heavily on God. Someone who's vulnerable. Someone who's aware of their own weakness. Someone who doesn't come across as some sort of super saint that's got everything sorted. And he's empowered and powerful and, you know, the super saint stuff that people are drawn to. The person who has encountered God, who walks with a limp, is broken and bowed in terms of humility and in terms of worship and blessed. And there's a character change comes out as a result. You see, the name of a person, particularly in Genesis in the Old Testament, actually meant something. And this is a mark of God's grace upon his life. No longer you are going to be called the heel, the displacer, the deceiver, the supplanter, whatever this word Jacob means. Now you are going to be known as Israel, the God persevera, the God striver. You have changed. You're a changed man. You're a changed person as a result of meeting me. You see, I always say this character really matters. And for all the great experiences that Jacob has had to this time, you think about it, Bethel and all the rest of it. There's amazing things that have happened in his life. There's still a lot in Jacob until this moment, which is all, I'm going to sort this out myself. I'll try to make it this work. I can do it in my own strength. You know, I believe in God. Thank you, God. Please help me, God. Please rescue me, God. But really, I'll try and wangle my way through it as I've done in the past. At this point, all he can do is that he's going to be limping towards his brother. He's not going to be going there with 400 armed men. He's going to be walking towards an army like this. You read what happens in the next chapter as a result at that time. And I come to a close. What I love about the stories in Genesis is that they're very real, thousands of years old, but they go to the heart of the human condition, the character of who we really are, the real us, the ones that aren't just turn up on Sundays and say our prayers and do our singing and say all nice things at the front, but the reality of life with the struggles that we face and encounter and how we live. And we are so much like Jacob. Well, if you're not, maybe not, but I am. Wrestle. We wrestle with life. We have struggles with life. We wrestle with people. We wrestle with our families. We wrestle and struggle with what God's will is in our lives. Doing the right thing in the right way. Many of us in this room have known and are aware of God's promises and have had encounters with God and visions and dreams and words and experiences. I mean, I have. I'm sure you all have. But yet it doesn't stop us at times thinking. I'll try and plan this one out and God please help my plans. I'll try and work this out in my own strength. I'll still do that. You know, we start at the place where we ask God to bless what we're doing. And we try to get out the scripts we get into and the problems that we've made ourselves, you know, asking God's help in it, but we try to do our bit as well. The example of Jesus at Gethsemane is an example of brokenness, a bowedness and a blessedness. Not my will, but yours be done. God's will, you see, is not always going to be easy for us. At times it may be painful. But it is the way that we become a blessing to others. And we may know his blessing for ourselves. I finish with this, James 4 verse 7 says, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Andy used to often say in the leadership team to me, it's not about you. I never did think it was about me, to be honest. Remember, it's not about you. But I want to say, it's not about you. Politely. It's not about the leaders. It's not about Nick. Not about Erica. Not about Andy and not about any of us in this room. Not about me. It's about him. It's about him. Take this cup away from me. Yet not what I will. But your will be done. A meeting in a garden at night that Jesus had. An encounter at night that Jacob had with God. History changed. God bless you. Amen.