Kenya AM: The Blessing of Forgiveness
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Genesis 33
Genesis 33
Introduction: Open your Bibles
If you would please
To the book of Genesis
Genesis 33
When you have found your place
In Genesis 33
Would you please stand
Out of respect
For the Word of God
But
In Genesis 33
The Bible says
In verses 1 – 4
(Genesis 33:1 – 4
And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
-Let’s pray
-(Pray)Through
I. The terrible Burden
Declaration
Now then
Notice our text
If you would again please
We are told
Here
In Genesis 33
and in verse 1
that (Genesis 33:1–4 “And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.”
Now
When I read those verses
I see two brothers
Who seem so happy
To see one another
They
Weep tears of joy
As they demonstrate familial affection
For one another
And
If this was the only thing
We knew about them
We would just assume
That these brothers
Had always been very close
To one another
But
The truth is
That isn’t the case
Because the fact is
These brothers
In
Days gone by
Had had some terrible problems
Between them
Problems
Which caused Esau
To literally hate
His brother Jacob
But
Here in Genesis 33
It is easy to see
That the blessing of forgiveness
Was upon them
But
That had not always
Been the case
In fact
The Bible tells us
In Genesis 27:41 “And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.”
Now
We’re going to find out why
Esau hated his brother Jacob
In a few minutes here
But
Before we do
Let me say that
Hatred
Is a terrible thing
Discussion
It
Is a terrible thing
That exists today
In fact
There Are times
When daddy
End up hating their sons
There are times
When children in homes
End up hating their daddies
Or
When husbands sometimes
Begin to hate their wife
Or wife’s
Hate their husbands
There
Are even times
When members of the same church
End up
Hating each other
I’ve seen it happen
In 33 years of ministry
As a pastor
And
There are various reasons
For hatred
But
The root of it all
Is forgiveness
Or should I say
The lack of forgiveness
Hatred
In homes
Or even in churches
Exists
Because of unforgiveness
And
To illustrate
What happens
Where hatred is concerned
Let me
Tell you a story
That American evangelist
John R Rice
Used to tell
There
Was a time
When he was asked to conduct
A revival meeting
At a Baptist Church
In my country
But
What he didn’t know
Was that
Division and strife
Had gotten into the church
It
Was so severe
That the pastor of the church
Resigned
He left
And
Another pastor in the area
Who knew the situation
And whoso wanted God
To mend this church
he
Called Pastor Rice
The evangelist
To come and preach
Revival services there
And
When the evangelist arrived
He found the whole community
Was divided
In fact
One or more deacons
Had Literal fights
And their quarreling
Had been known
By nearly everyone in the church
And
As a result
Many of the members
Decided to leave the church
And to never return
Now
The evangelist
Didn’t know what had been happening
And he never did find out
Most of the details
Of the division
But
With the burden in his heart
He preached against sin
He urged God’s people
To clean up their lives
And
He pleaded with them
To make peace
With one another
So
Night after night
He preached the revival
Till eventually
Those that had been angry with others
Were now angry with him
Deliberation
But
one morning
A woman in the church
Started to make a telephone call
To tell the evangelist
How angry she was
With him
Because
of all his meddling
In their affairs
But
Her 19-year-old son
Persuaded her not to
And said mother
You are wrong
He said
I’ve been out
In the forest
Praying
And I know
The evangelist is right
God
Thus one us
To clean up our lives
God does want our church
To make peace with each other
So I know the evangelist is run
And
If we Christians
Do not get right
With each other
We will never have revival
So
He said
I am going to try
To get my heart right with God
So
His mother
Didn’t make the phone call
And in the next service
The evangelist
Invited the congregation
To give testimonies
And with tears in her eyes
That same woman
Stood
And begged
From another woman
With whom she had quarreled
So
The other woman stood quickly
And came to meet her
They put their arms
Around one another
And wept in the aisle
Confessions then
King from all parts
Of the building
The deep moving of God
Was upon the people
As they began to make restitution
With one another
As some
Asked forgiveness
And solid Christian fellowship again
And
As a result
Dozens of people were saved
Hundreds of Christians
Were revived
And
People came from far
To fill the little church
For the rest
Of the revival meeting
In meeting that lasted
for weeks
And
It all started
With forgiveness
And
With that in mind
This morning
I want to preach a sermon
Entitled
The blessing
Of forgiveness
God wants us to enjoy
The blessing
Of forgiveness
And
With that in mind
Let’s read this text again
The Bible says
In Genesis 33:1 –4
And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
Now
If you know your Bible
Then you know
That in these four versus
Forgiveness is found
Because
For Esau
To have Embrace the Jacob
After all that Jacob
Had done to him
Then
Esau
Had to have forgiven him
Deliberation
But
To More fully understand that
Let’s look back
Just a few chapters
Here in the book of Genesis
More
And 20 years earlier
Jacob and Esau
had
Had a serious problem
between them
When
They were both young men
Still living in their father Isaacs home
They had had
Terrible
Sibling rivalry
Far worse
Than most
In fact
Look back
In Genesis 25
If you would please
And
Read with me
Beginning in
verse 27
In verse 27
The
Bible says
(Genesis 25: 27 – 34
And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
Now
As I read that passage
I realize
That Jacob
Had a problem agreed
It appears
That he was greedy
And
People that are green
Will often use any method
or any manipulation possible
In order to satisfy
Their greed
And
Think about
What Jacob did hear
To his brother
His brother Esau
Had been in the field
And
While he was out
In the field
Jacob was at home
Cooking a stew
And
As Esau returned
He was hungry
He no doubt
Could smell the food cooking
Which made him hungry
And
When he came inside
He said to Jacob
Please feed me
Some of that delicious smelling food
Because I’m starving
But
Jacobs response
Demonstrates Russ
The fact
That he was reading
Because see
Esau
Was the elder brother
And as the elder son
His
Was the birthright
And
With the birthright
Came many privileges
Things such as honor
And authority in the family
With
The birthright
Esau was entitled to
He was also to be given
A double portion
Of the inheritance
From his father Isaac
Those things
Were some of the attributes
Of a birthright
And remember
Their father Isaac
Was very wealthy
So
Here is the picture
Jacob knew his brother
Was very hungry
So
He made this food
Perhaps
To tempt his brother Esau
Knowing that he would come from the field
Very hungry
And
When his brother
Simply asked
For something to eat
Well
Rather than doing
The kind of thing
Of sharing food
With his own brother
Without conditions
Jacob said
Sell me your birthright
Including all the dignity
And the blessing
Attached to it
And if you will
I’ll be more than happy
To share some of my food
But see
Jacob
Was greedy
He took advantage of the situation
Because he was greedy
What
A terrible way to be
Because
The Bible speaks
About greed
In a very negative way
In
Both the Old
And New Testaments
For example
The apostle Paul said
In 1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
Likewise
Paul wrote
In verse 9
Of the same chapter
(1 Timothy 6:9 “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.”
Delegation
Paul
Was saying simply
That greed
Is a terrible thing
In
The Old Testament
Solomon wrote
In Proverbs 15:27 “He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; But he that hateth gifts shall live.”
He
Likewise wrote
In Ecclesiastes 5:10 “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.”
But
My point is this
God condemns greed
Those who fall into it
The Lord said
In the
In hurtful lusts
They
Drowning destruction
And perdition (ruin)
The word of God says
But
There is no mistaking it
Jacob was greedy
So he took advantage
Of his own brothers weakness
To satisfy his own greed
And
What devastation
That brought to their home
But again
Jacobs greed
Was the catalyst
In the sibling Rivalry
Between he and his brother
But
Allow me
To make a statement
Families
Ought to stick together
They ought to help
One another
They
Should love one another
Care for one another
Encourage
One another
Detour
But
As you think about
Jacob screen
And that was a bad thing
Yet
At the same time
And here in the same chapter
Genesis 25
We see Esau’s
Irresponsibility
Esau was irresponsible
With his own birthright
Because see
That birthright
Was a great honor
That he ought to have cherished
But
Irresponsibly
He traded that birthright
That very valuable birthright
For something
Very temporal
That
Birthright
Was supposed to be
A lifelong blessing
And it was his
But
Just because he was hungry
Just to satisfy
His own flesh
He traded it
For a small amount of food
By the way
Notice verse 32
Again
When he sold hungry
Jacob
Offer him some food
If you would sell his birthright
But Esau said
(Genesis 25:32 “And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?”
Now
Do you know
What he was saying
He was a brother
I’m starving to death
Take
My birthright
And give me a little food
Because I’ll probably die
If I don’t get some food
But
Did you know that
You can go without food
For many days
In fact
If you are healthy
Scientists say
You can go without food
For several weeks
And granted
Esau was feeling weak
From hunting in the fields
But I believe
That
Like so many
Who are hungry
and say they are starving
To death
Like so many
That wasn’t really true
He was no doubt hungry
But he was not on the verge
Of death
And
By the way
As the son of a rich man
Esau had access
To lots of food
I’m guessing
Esau
Was never at the point of dying
Because of a lack of food
So
While Jacob was greedy
Esau
Was he responsible
Because that Birthright
Was such an incredible honor
But yet
he traded it
For just a morsel of meat
The Bible says
In Hebrews 12:16
So
How irresponsible
That was
On the part of the soul
And
Esau is the responsibility
Along with Jacobs greed
caused there
To be sibling rivalry
Between those two brothers
Demonstration
But
I am afraid
That it got worse
In fact
Turn to chapter 27
If you would
Here
In the book of Genesis
And read with me
If you would please
Versus 1 – 23
The Scripture says
In Genesis 27: 1 – 23
And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
Now
Let me tell you
What is happening here
Jacob
Deceived his dad
And yes
His mother Rebecca
Enticed into
But
The fact is
Jacob deceived
His own dad
In order to receive the blessing
By the way
It was customary
In Bible days
For a father
On his deathbed
To bless the firstborn son
Asking God
To give that son
Material abundance
So that he could care
For the rest of the family
He
What also ask God
To cause his brothers
To come under his authority
So that order would be preserved
In the clan
But
In greed
Jacob stole the blessing
From Esau
The firstborn son
And he did so deceptively
He deceived his own dad
And
(Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: But they that deal truly are his delight.”
The Bible says
In Proverbs 12:22
But
Very clearly
Jacob lied
To his dad
In order to Still the blessing
And again
His mother enticed him
To do that
But Jacob lied
Just
To get a short-term blessing
What a terrible thing
To do
By the way
The apostle Paul said
In Colossians 3:9 “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;”
But see
Lying
Causes great distrust
And
When Jacob lied
To get a blessing
That made the sibling rivalry
Between those two brothers
Far worse
Than it had ever been
That
Terrible sibling rivalry
Between Jacob
And his brother Esau
Because the easel
Cannot trust Jacob
So
After being deceived like that
Deceived into giving
The blessing of the family
To Jacob
And
When Isaac
Finally found out
That he had been deceived
The
Bible tells us
In verses 37 – 41
That
(Genesis 27:37–41 “And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, And shalt serve thy brother; And it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, That thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.”
Now
Think about
What was happening
After Jacob deceived Isaac
In order to obtain the blessing
Esau
Purposed to kill him
And why
Esau
Hated Jacob
One brother
Hated the other brother
In the family
He
Had been hurt them deeply
That he hated his brother
And in hatred
He determined that
As soon as I have the opportunity
I’m going to kill him
Determination
And
I’m sorry to tell you
That in our day and time
There are many homes
Just like the home
Of Esau and Jacob
There
Is sibling rivalry
That sometimes
Become so bad
That it creates hatred
Hatred from one brother
To the other
And
Not only that
But sometimes
Hatred finds its way
In the churches
Sometimes
There is Christian sibling rivalry
Fighting
Quarreling
Between brothers and sisters in Christ
And sometimes
The end of hating
One another
I’ve
Seen it as a pastor
In churches
But
That may make a statement
If I may
In the words of James
These things
All not so to be
But
All that was happening
In Isaac’s home
His two sons
Had terrible problems
Between them
That
Came about
As a result of Jacob’s greed
In taking advantage
Of his brother
Those problems came about
As a result likewise
Of Esau’s irresponsibility
And they came about
Because of Jacob’s deception
He
Deceived is that
In order
To get the family blessing
So
All of those things
Led
To terrible hatred
In that home
And ultimately
It led to terrible division
In their home
In fact
The Bible says
In verses 42 – 43 (Genesis 27:42–43 “And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;”
and
Jacob
Fled
Dividing that family
Into
What a Terrible burden
Because
Listen please
Division
It’s not what God wants
For His and family
II. The tremendous blessing
Declaration
But
As I think about
The terrible burden
In that family
I’m
So glad
To read about
The tremendous blessing
For that family
But
Before we look at that blessing
We need to know
That
After Jacob fled to Haran
his
Brother Esau
Remained close to Isaac
He didn’t move away
While
Jacob Was with his uncle Laban
in Haran
For 20 years
Esau
Stated home
And
For 20 years
Those brothers
Didn’t speak to each other
Somebody
Might say
Of course they didn’t speak
They were separated
By great distance
And yes
That’s true
But they were only separated
By great distance
Because of the great division
That had been caused
By Jacobs greed, Deception
And Esau’s responsibility
Which had led to hatred
It
was because of those things
That those two brothers
Didn’t speak to each other
For 20 years
Imagine
They are in the same family
They have the same father
But yet
They wouldn’t speak to each other
And
What a tragedy
Because the truth is
Family
Is the most important earthly possession
You have
Houses
aren’t the most important possession
Material goods
Are not
Our most important possession
No
Our families
Are the most important
Earthly possessions
We have
So
What a terrible tragedy
It is
That these two brothers
Didn’t speak to each other
For more than 20 years
Discussion
But
The truth is
I have known of Christian brothers
Who wouldn’t speak to each other
Four years
In fact
I know a woman
In America
Who wouldn’t speak to her brother in Christ
Because of disagreements
They both had
And sadly
The man has already died
And
That’s a terrible thing
And to be honest
I don’t want any Christian brother
Or sister
To
Being willing
To speak to me
Because of some disagreement
Because of some offense
I
Would far rather
Give
Or get forgiveness
And that is God’s way
But
Much like Jacob
In Esau
In
This day and time
Many are the Christian brethren
Who
Because of some problem in the past
They will not speak to each other
And for some
It has been years
But
What reproach that brings
On the name of Christ
But
That’s what was happening
In Jacob’s
And Esau’s relationship
Because
Of Jacob’s greed
In taking advantage
Of Esau the responsibility
And because of Jacob’s deception
Instilling the family blessing
Esau
Hated Jacob
Wanting to kill him
And as a result of all the things
Those two blood brothers
Didn’t speak a word
To each other
For 20 years
Deliberation
But
That brings us back
To our text again
In
Genesis 33
20 years Had gone by
Since Jacob
Stole the Blessing
From Esau
And
In that 20 years
Jacob
Had endured a lot of suffering
His
Father-in-law Laban
Had taken advantage of him
Humbly Jacob
He
Had to work very hard
To earn a living
He had been deceived
By his father-in-law
In the matter of Leah
So
God had humbled
Jacob greatly
And
Perhaps
Jacob felt guilty
Because of all that he had done
To Esau
I know I would have
But
During this 20 years
While Jacob
Was with Laban
And after marrying Rachel
And Leah
It appears
That God
Had been working on Esau’s heart
Because
Let’s read our text again
God sent Jacob home
And while Jacob was traveling
Back to his home
In Canaan
He knew
He would have to face he saw
Once again
And he no doubt remembered
Esau’s fury
And he was afraid
he
Was afraid for his own life
He was afraid
For the lives
Of his wives and children
But
God had sent him home
In fact
The Bible says
In Genesis 31:2–3 “And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before. And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.”
Delegation
But
Sometime
Between the time
That Jacob had fled from Esau
To
When he returned
To meet Esau
Esau
Forgave Jacob
In his heart
In fact
In our text
In Genesis 33
The Bible says
In verses 1-4
That
(Genesis 33: 1 – 4
And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.
Now
When I read that
I realize that
Forgiveness
Must have taken place
Because
20 years earlier
Esau hated Jacob
20 years earlier
Esau
Was plotting to kill Jacob
He despised Jake
Because
Of the many offenses
That Jacob
Have perpetrated against him
But somehow or other
It appears
That forgiveness
Had taken place
Because 20 years later
When
Esau
And his brother Jacob met
For the first time
Rather than rebuking
Rather than smiting him
Esau
Ran to meet Jacob
And embraced
He even gave Jacob
A family kiss
And why?
Forgiveness
Apparently
Esau found the grace
To forgive his brother Jacob
Discussion
And
For the next few minutes
I want to share with you
Three blessings
That forgiveness
Provided for their families
And then
I want to apply them
To our church here
and share three blessings
That forgiveness can do for us
As Christians today
Number 1
Because he saw
Was able to forgive his brother
The family
Was restored
They were restored
To fellowship
After
20 long years
Those brothers came together
Not in sibling rivalry
Not
With one deceiving the other
Or taken advantage
Of the other
Not with one
Plotting to kill the other
No
Those brothers came together
In love
And embraced one another
And then
Later on
They got together
And bury their dead
I
Just want you to know
That forgiveness
Let to that family’s restoration
So
Listen please
If there is division in your home
Maybe what is needed
Is forgiveness
Somebody said
Pastor
You don’t know
What my brother did to me
And that is true
I don’t know
But
I do know
What Jacob did to Esau
And how terrible it was
And I do know how deep
The division was
But
If Esau
Could find it in his heart
To forgive Jacob
And
If God
Could find it in His heart
To forgive you
Of all the times
You have offended Him
Then certainly
You can find it in your heart
To forgive that brother
Who has wronged you
And if you’ll only do that
Your family
Can experience restoration
And
By the way
That’s what God wants
God wants homes and churches
To walk together in unity
But
Sometimes
The only way unity
Can take place is
Through forgiveness
So
I encourage you
That when your brother or sister
Offends you
Forgive them
(Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
Delegation
There is
A second lesson
That I want to share with you
This morning
About forgiveness
Not only
Will forgiveness
Help to provide
Family restoration
Where there was once only division
But
At the same time too
Forgiveness
Will replace
Bad feelings
That was certainly true
With Jacob and Esau
Because
As you read these chapters
You find that
There were some terrible feelings
Between these two brothers
There was hatred
Between them
So much so
That he is all
Wanted to kill Jacob
That
Should never be
Between two brothers
Brothers ought to love each other
But yet
Esau
Hated Jacob
For all that had happened
Because again
Jacob
Took advantage of Esau
Out of greed
Jacob
Had Deceived Isaac
And stole the family blessing
That rightly belonged to Esau
And because of these things
Esau
Hated Jacob
He
Wanted to kill him
What a terrible thing
But
Sometime
Between the time
When Jacob
Fled from Esau’s presence
To the time
He return home again
Sometime
Esau
Found it in his heart
To forgive his brother
And
When he did
The hatred
Was all gone
The bad feelings
Became a thing of the past
And we know that
Because just as soon
As Esau
saw Jacob
He didn’t Make accusations
He didn’t say
This is my opportunity
To get even
He didn’t think to himself
I’m not going to speak
to him
No
As soon is he saw
His brother Jacob
He ran to meet him
And
As soon
As they were together
He embraced his brother
He demonstrated love
For his brother
And
All of that
Was facilitated
Through forgiveness
What a blessing
Forgiveness is
And
I am convinced
That
Forgiveness can likewise work
In the church today
Because
Even though brothers
Sometimes
Hate other brothers in Christ
Because
Of an offense
That is taken place
Well
Listen please
If those brothers
Will only forgive each other
Regardless
Of who is wrong
Then
Feelings of Hatred
Can be replaced
The feelings of love again
Because
When you have forgiven someone
You no longer consider them
To be guilty
Of offending you
Deliberation
And
Let me read you
What Paul said
In Ephesians 4:32
He said (Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
So
If God
For Christ’s sake
Can forgive you
For all the times
You offended Him
Then surely
you
For Christ’s sake
Can forgive that person
Who has offended you
And if you can’t
Then perhaps
You have a pride problem
But
Let me share
One more blessing of forgiveness
Family restoration
When
Forgiveness takes place
Families
And church families
Can be restored
But most importantly
God our Father
Will be pleased
And although
It doesn’t say it
In our text
Yet
I believe
Isaac’s heart was encouraged
When he found out
That Esau’s
And Jacob’s relationship
Had been restored
I’m guessing
That
That made Isaac’s heart
Rejoice
surely
He rejoiced
When Jacob and Esau
Embraced one another
After those 20 years
Of separation
But
Whether Isaac rejoiced
Or not
I know
That God rejoices
When brothers are walking
In unity
In fact
Turn quickly
To the Psalms
If you would please
Psalm 133
The Bible says
In Psalm 133:1 – 3
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the head,
That ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard:
That went down to the skirts of his garments;
As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion:
For there the Lord commanded the blessing,
Even life for evermore.
Determination
So
Christian
Let me ask you a question
Do you want to please
The Heavenly Father?
Or do you want to make
The Lord Grebe
Well
Let me tell you something
If you hold on to a grudge
Against your brother in Christ
Because of something
He or she did to you
You will make the Lord grieve
But
If you want the Lord
To rejoice
Then why not do
The Christian thing
And forgive your brother in Christ
(Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
So
Christian
Is there any division
Between you
In a family member
Or between you
And anyone in your church
Then
Why not make the decision
To reach out to them
And either give
Or get forgiveness
Maybe
You are not a Christian
But let me ask you
Wouldn’t you like
To have all your sins forgiven
And to be given a home in heaven
Well
The good news is
God sent Jesus Christ
To this world
To die on the cross
So that we can be forgiven
So
Would you like to receive Jesus
As your Savior
(John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
Let’s close in prayer
Conclusion:
