Meant for Good Pt 4
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Path to Repentance
SERIES OVERVIEW
● Promise: Small taste of glory.
● Process: The reality of suffering.
● Perfection: The reward of maturity.
● Procession: God showing His glory through us and giving us His glory as well.
● Repentance: The reality of our sin. (The painful process of confronting our own evil and aligning with God against it.)
MAIN IDEAS FOR THIS SERMON
(Internal Note to Pastor)
● The two elements of repentance are sorrow and change.
● It's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.
● We are both perpetrators and victims, and God has work to do inside of us in both areas. We can’t run away from this aspect of a disciple’s journey in life..our own sin.
Path to Repentance
PRAYER
“Dear Lord, thank you for your Word, and for this body, and for your Spirit that guides our hearts into truth. We tend to run from the idea of repentance, and taking accurate responsibility for our wrongdoings. Please help us to discover the beauty and relational healing that are possible when we are willing to confess our sins and embrace repentance, both in our relationships with each other, and in our relationship with you. I pray that many would be set free today to walk in the light and receive the forgiveness that is waiting for us in the place of Penitence.”
SCRIPTURE
● Genesis 42-44
● 2 Corinthians 7:10
● Romans 2:4 -- Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
INTRODUCTION
Remember, we’re walking through the life of Joseph…seeing what we can pull from this account and lay over our lives. Learning more about ourselves, and I think more importantly…knowing more about God.
Today, we are going to talk about a path of repentance.
What does the lack of repentance do? What does repentance lead to?
Two kinds of sorry in life…one kind is seen through the eyes of God. The other is seen through the eyes of the world.
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SUMMARY: Joseph collects grain. Psalm 41:46-57
First Seven Years
More grain than they could account for. Joseph makes reference to his blessings from God in the midst of his difficult times….two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh
Then the famine.
This next part is happening within the first year.
Genesis 42 – The famine is affecting Canaan as well…where Jacob and the other brothers and their families live. Jacob send the oldest 10…not Benjamin…the new favorite…so to speak. They go down to buy food.
Joseph is in charge of the whole land…however, it seems that he’s personally taking part in the distribution of food. Looks like he likes the idea of helping people.
The brothers come in…they don’t recognize him…however he knows who they are. What do you think is going through his mind?
Blood pressure…thousand thoughts…emotional weight...
Pulls them aside…asks some questions. Accuses them of being spies. They say they’re not…go into detail about their dad (Joseph’s servant … interesting…remember the dreams) sent them but kept one son back, the youngest (probably mid 20’s). Here’s what they say…
13 But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
Did you notice something? How did they phrase that? They are still living a lie.
He still says they’re spies…here’s what he does. 3 days imprisonment. 1 will be sent to get the youngest to prove their “story.”
Third day Joseph goes to them …“I fear God…do this and you will live.” I just find this interesting how Joseph makes a plain statement about his and their God…the creator God. He changes the plans…all but one can go back. Simeon is going to stay in prison.
The brothers gather after the plan is made…and said…”...this is happening because of what we did! He pleaded for his life and we still sold him away!”
Rueben jumps in…”I told you then that was wrong. We are now accounting for his blood.” (sounds like they think he may really be gone)
Jospeph…”an Egyptian according to the brothers is standing their with an interpreter…but Joseph can understand Hebrew language…he knows what they’re saying…they don’t know this.” He had to turn away and he lost it…crying…
Imagine the pain. Years of suffering…years of blessing…and now to have everything come back up withing days…and he’s the one who is playing all the cards isn’t he. What is he to do with this…???
They have been carrying this guilt for near 2 decades now. He’s been trying to live with the results of their actions.
Joseph fills their bags with grain, and secretly returns their money inside of the bags. On the way home, one brother discovers the money, and says,
28 He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It’s here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us?”
They get home and tell Jacob what happened. Jacob refuses to send Benjamin, even though Reuben swears on his son's lives that he will bring Benjamin back alive. Jacob has reached his limit -- losing Benjamin will ruin him. He makes reference to now losing Simeon as well as Joseph…what is he to do???
We are seeing a family in which trust has been completely broken. This is another consequence of the deception of the brothers.
REFLECTIONS:
When we look in scripture, we find two kinds of sorry that lead to action or inaction. One is a “Godly sorrow that works repentance," and the other is a “worldly sorrow that works death."
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.
Godly sorrow includes empathy, responsibility, and change.
Worldly sorrow is sorrow over the negative consequences, and is ultimately selfish.
The brothers obviously feel sorrow for what they've done, but is this sorrow over the negative consequences they are experiencing, or sorrow over the sin itself?
Joseph's brothers have had well over a decade to come clean…try to make amends. But they haven’t.
Confronted with this again…what will they do?
Why does Joseph go into this mode of operation? As their enemy… Maybe to see if they will admit what they’ve done? Force the issue? Possibly.
You cannot resolve sin without acknowledging and confronting the truth. You can’t! Time doesn’t fix it, time cannot remove it. It seems that God, through Joseph, is setting up a path to repentance for them…but it will be painful...
God wants healing. For the individuals and for the family.
APPLICATIONS:
When we sin against others, WE ARE DAMAGED. Just look at Joseph’s brothers! They are fearful, insecure, petty, and sad. When we sin, and are damaged by sin, we can't be fully healed until we enter the path of empathy, responsibility, and change.
Do you have a situation that is in need of empathy, responsibility, and change? Is there deception? Our relationships with each other and with God will stay infected until repentance has its way.
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SUMMARY: JOSEPH’S BROTHERS RETURN TO EGYPT
Genesis 43 -- Ultimately, the famine forces Jacob to reconsider. Judah promises to take personal responsibility to bring Benjamin back safely, and they go to Egypt with gifts and double the money to pay for more grain.
Remember, Judah was the one who had the idea to sell Joseph into slavery instead of killing him. Now he is the sworn protector of Benjamin. We’ll have to watch to see what Judah does here.
Joseph receives them, releases Simeon to them, and invites them to come to his house for a big dinner. The brothers are fearful, thinking he's setting them up for some sort of ambush. Instead, Joseph's servants receive them into the home and wash their feet and take care of them.
When Joseph comes, the brothers bow (dreams), and Joseph asks questions about their dad. When Joseph sees Benjamin, he gets emotional and has to leave the room to cry…he’s losing it again.
Ultimately they all sit down to dine, Joseph with the Egyptians, and the brothers set apart, since it was an abomination for Egyptians to eat with Hebrews.
Joseph makes sure that Benjamin's meal portion is five times the size of his brothers.
REFLECTIONS:
What is God doing through all of this? Setting up a path to repentance. A way to save the family…not just from hunger but for bigger purposes.
Joseph could just say hey its me I forgive you...
God wants these brothers to be healed from their sins -- not just forgiven. And this requires repentance: empathy, responsibility, and change.
God also wants the relationship with Joseph to be healed. And even Joseph, the victim, must be willing to sit inside this painful situation that he would probably prefer to avoid. Perpetrator or victim, we cannot heal sin unless we confront it.
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SUMMARY: JOSEPH TESTS HIS BROTHERS
Genesis 44 -- Now comes the climax to this section of scripture. Joseph forces some issues and uses Benjamin as a tipping point. Will the brothers abandon Benjamin too…like they did him?
After the meal, Joseph sends them home with all the grain they can carry, and all their money back. But he also has a servant plant Joseph’s special silver cup inside of Benjamin’s sack. Will the brothers betray Benjamin, like they betrayed Joseph all those years ago? Joseph is testing them.
Joseph’s men ride after the brothers, and ask them why they have repaid evil for good and stolen from him. The brothers, unaware of the cup in Benjamin’s sack, insist that they have not stolen anything, and even go so far as to say that if the cup is found with any of them, then that person will die and the rest will be servants.
Joseph’s men search the sacks and find the cup inside of Benjamin’s sack. Tearing their clothes with grief, they all head back to Joseph’s house together.
And now we see a miracle …the miracle of repentance.
16 “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.”
…we can do nothing....we are “all” your slaves now.
Judah takes responsibility for something that he didn’t do. That's a responsibility statement.
God has uncovered the kind of people that we are. Whether we did this thing or not, we are criminals for what we have already done.
At this moment, Judah stops running away from the sins of the past, and takes responsibility, refusing to let any single brother be separated from the brotherhood.
Joseph keeps tightening the screws, saying that he will not allow all the brothers to suffer for what one brother did. He will only keep Benjamin, and the rest can go home.
At this point, Judah talks to Joseph privately, and pleads for Benjamin, and mourns what will happen to their father if Benjamin is not returned home. And then he says the words that blow this whole situation wide open:
Judah recounts the whole situation with Joseph. And in the end says…I can’t do this to my brother or to my father…take me. I will be your personal servant. Just please let my brother go back to our father.
Judah, the same person who traded his own brother for money, is now willing to trade his own life for his brother’s life.
What are we seeing? A changed heart…remember the picture of baptism. I picture of dying to oneself…to ones own sins…to everything…so that ...
healing can begin.
REFLECTIONS:
Before our eyes, Judah is being HEALED of the heavy burden of guilt and shame he has been carrying.
He says, “God has found out the guilt of your servants.” In so doing, he claims responsibility for past sins.
Sorrow has become responsibility, and responsibility has led to a different choice. When tested, Judah no longer acts out of envy and hatred (worldly sorry would have led there). He acts out of protection and sacrifice. Instead of saying, “Let's sell Joseph into slavery" or "Let's leave Benjamin behind,” he says, “Take me instead."
This is the very heart repentance.
The truth sets us free, even if it feels like a trainwreck.
APPLICATIONS:
Through this popular account, God is revealing his intense heart for repentance and reconciliation.
Sometimes God's dealings with us don't look like or feel like love. It may feel like God is dragging us through the mud.
But it is love. It is love. Love desires its object to be whole and healthy.
What kind of God would reward us for being deceitful or phony? Our God does not. Repentance is the only way. And God will help us while on this path.
It is the goodness of God, it is the righteousness of God, and it is the love of God that leads us to repentance.
CONCLUSION: SERMON SUMMARY
Now to be certain, we don’t see a full confession and restoration right here. But this is a huge step for Judah and the brothers. We’ll see a bit more, years later when Jacob dies.
But for right now, we’ll see where this act of repentance leads…in our next time together. Unless you want to read ahead.
CONCLUSION: APPLICATIONS, CALL TO ACTION, HEART CALL
I think it is safe to assume that many of us have secrets. Things from the past or even present that we need to repent of. Things that are keeping us from fully being healed before God and others.
Some have been the victim of secrets and wrong things. Remember on different levels we’re all in the same boat as both Joseph and the brothers…victims and perpetrators.
I think we would all agree this world is damaged…and we’ve had our part…haven’t we?
The only way to deal with the divine price of sin is through the perfect, healing blood of Jesus Christ.
And the only way to accept that healing is through repentance.
God is primarily concerned with His glory through his vessels -- us, the church. So much of the sanctification process to make this possible has to do with guiding us into circumstances that reveal the sin in our hearts and the same sin in the hearts of our relations. God is never cruel, and never wasted our suffering. He is calling us through our brokenness, and the brokenness of others, into a place of transformation and strength. He's fashioning out hearts into hearts that are actually filled with the very characteristics of Christ.
Joseph was able to let go of resentment. The bothers seem to be entering a process of repentance. Healing from both sides is beginning.
Joseph could have done worse…resented all the more. The brothers could have done so many different things. But they both come to a point of healing.
Can you, like Joseph let go of resentment…no matter what the other person does or does not do? Can you repent…no matter whether the person you wronged accepts your changed heart or not? Ultimately…we do these things before the creator of Heaven and Earth don’t we? It’s ultimately for our relationship with Him that we do these things.
We know that in all things…he works for good…for those who follow Him.
Realize that you, and every human on earth, is always, at the same time, both the perpetrator and the victim.
“Let the fact that you are a perpetrating sinner give you some grace and compassion towards those who have sinned against you. Let the fact that you are a victim give you permission to grieve the wrongs done to you without becoming callous or vengeful.”
And in all things, perpetrator or victim, give your wounded heart to God so that he can heal you from your sinfulness and from your trauma caused by other sinners.
Cooperate with your Father, and do not be afraid of empathy, responsibility, and change. Or rather, be afraid, and enter these spaces anyway, because this is where GOD IS. I’ll pray for God's strength to help you to stop avoiding and running away from the very place where your growth and your blessing will come for you.
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Let’s pray together.
