Happy Fathers Day!

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 126

Psalm 126 ESV

A Song of Ascents. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negeb! Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Scripture memorization: Genesis 50:19-20

Genesis 50:19–20 “But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:1

2 Corinthians 5:11–6:1 ESV

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

Sermon:

Good Morning Church! I was glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord!

I think I should probably start by addressing the elephant in the room As it were... Many of you might be thinking. “Geez, David, we don't ever stop a series for Mother's Day. You don't stop a series for Easter. You look at the title of sermon, it says Happy Father's Day, and you might be thinking. That doesn't seem right. You would stop for nothing else, but for Father's Day, you'll preach a Father's Day sermon?”

I'll respond by saying this: God in his Providence in his care seems to work things out for me for preaching series, wherein certain things happen on certain days. I was reminded. In talking to someone earlier this week, we were going through our series through judges. It just so happened. We preached Deborah. On Mother's Day. That's a fitting Mother's Day sermon And we preached on Gideon that next fathers day.. which was fitting if only because we need to be told what NOT to do sometimes! … But hey, it worked out. And many times it seems that where we are in scripture and where we are in our lives. They seem to fit together really well.

Today is that sort of day as we continue our series through the Book of Genesis. And we have made it all the way to Genesis. Chapter 45.

To show a PART of my hand today… Today is the day when a heartbroken father, A father who cherishes and loves his kids and in particular cherishes and loves his son. But who thinks his son is dead and gone. Who's been mourning the loss of his son 20 plus years at this point.

It will be for him a joyous day when Joseph is finally reunited with his family. All the tests... All of the putting money in bags and you have to bring Benjamin and tricking Benjamin... It's done. All of the Judah interceding on behalf of the family and interceding in behalf in particular, Benjamin. It's done. And the brothers. And the family. And a son and a father. Will be reunited.

Genesis chapter 45 is our Father's Day text this morning. We'll take this as we have been in sections, so we won't read it all at once.

So, let's begin our time together. Then, with a word of prayer. Let's pray.

Dear Lord, we do thank you for your goodness and Grace. We thank you in particular on this day. For our fathers. More importantly, we thank you that you are our heavenly father. The one who knows us and holds us. Who is close. Our provider, our protector. God, our King. We thank you for sending your son. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the one who knew no sin to become sin for us. Then, we might have new life, hope, and healing. May we rest in his completed work. In Jesus name that we pray Amen.

As I mentioned, we here get. The reuniting In Earnest! The reuniting where the whole family knows what's going on. Joseph won't be hiding in the back room, weeping to himself instead, as we will see. He'll weep openly. Because we open and we start our passage here today with The revelation of Joseph

The REVELATION of JOSEPH

here. I don't mean like the Book of Revelation, but rather he himself is revealed.

Genesis chapter 45, starting in verse 1.

Genesis 45:1–14 ESV

Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck.

Joseph, in what is the most emotional of all the scenes we've seen thus far. Is so overwhelmed, if we remember the immediate context Judah has just pled Benjamin's case, offered himself in place, showing a repentant, a contrite and a changed heart. No longer is Judah to the brother who would gladly eat his lunch while Joseph is crying out from the pit to his brothers for help and for respite. No longer the kind of brother that would rip off his robe, shred it to Pieces, dip it in blood to go, lie to the father. Here. Instead, Judah willing to offer himself in the place of Benjamin. And Joseph, seeing the change of Heart. And seeing the brothers that he loves. Is overwhelmed with emotion.

He could not control himself. There's too many people. There's too many witnesses. I don't want to ugly cry in front of everyone... I'm second in command of Egypt. It would not be becoming of me to make a fool of myself in front of everyone, everyone but my brothers leave.

He reveals. We have the verse here on the screen. I am Joseph. It's me.

At this point, this is likely the last thing Judah is expecting this person in front of him to say. If we again remember, Jude has been pleading and begging… if I, if I may just stand before you as your servant… if you would just allow your servant to speak, Judah prostrates himself before Joseph. The last thing, the last words in the world that Judah may expect to hear.. For he thinks Joseph's dead... If not dead, he's in somewhere languishing somewhere. Not second in command of all of Egypt. And yet he speaks. “I am. Joseph.”

And then the beginning of what becomes one of the major themes of this whole text and why, I think it's appropriate to title this sermon. Happy Father's Day!

If we follow David's rules for repeated words. “Father” appears tons of times, if you want to have a good time circle or note the number of times father, or son or child appears in this text… Its a lot!

Joseph's first question: is my father Still alive? The answer is yes. And Joseph, in some ways, should know that, because multiple times when he first questioned him, yes, our father's alive, he just didn't come. Yes, our father's alive, he just didn't come again the second time. In fact, Judah JUST said… if i don't take Benjamin back then he will die, which means that he defiantly is alive… That they've repeated this multiple times, but Joseph here wants to hear. I'm going to ask a direct question here… and note… I'm not asking you Judah. Is your father alive. I'm not asking some Foreigner who's come to me as the the second in command of Egypt. Is your father alive is?

Is my father? The one who loves and cared for me, the one who made me this coat of many colors, the one who cared for me. Is my father? Still alive.

Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, the brothers... What in the world is going on? They are dumbfounded. They could not answer him. Verse 3 again, his brothers could not answer then. For, they were dismayed.

It's interesting, they're dismayed. Joseph has been kind to them. But they felt this Peril this whole time. What's going to happen to this man, this man, the second in command, “the man”? That's how he was referred when we were to go back to when they come and give the account to their father of the fist trip to Egypt… he was there “the man”… Well, now the man's, not just a man, it's Joseph. Their brother. Whom they wronged. Their brother. Whom they treated poorly, their brother, who they sold into slavery.

So they're dismayed. When we thought he had some reason, right? The the whole time Judah's been talking about.. This is God's judgment on us. This is God's judgment on us? Why are we going through this stuff with Benjamin? This is God's judgment on us. Well, now the one who holds them is the one whom they have wronged for God's judgment to be upon them. They're dismayed, rightfully so.

But Joseph says, come on, come here. I'm your brother. I'm your brother who. I mean, Joseph doesn't pull any punches. I am your brother who you sold to Egypt. Yeah, that one? The brother you sold into slavery. That's me. It is important to note that he does not MINIMAIZE their sins… yet he also does not hold their sins against them.

But do not. Verse 5 this is a very important verse.

Genesis 45:5 “And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.”

Don't beat yourselves up. Don't be distraught, don't don't hate yourself for what you did. Not justifying it. This is not just saying No, it wasn't that big a deal. But rather saying. There were bigger, more important things at play here.

Here, Joseph is starting to put into words. What is the theme of Genesis and the theme of our series? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today... Don't be angry with yourselves that you did this. For God sent me before you to preserve life. God sent me verse 7 “before you to preserve for you a remnant” verse 8, “so it was not you who sent me here, but God.”

You guys are so concerned God's bringing judgment. God will judge your things. God's Sovereign over all things and God put me in this place. Don't beat yourself up. I've seen your repentance.

Note that Joseph says this. This is important thought for us to understand, Joseph says. Don't beat yourself up after They've already repented. They've already shown their change of heart. We don't come to someone when they're in the middle of their sinning, like, oh, just don't beat yourself up over you Sin, no, we say, repent, and hear the gospel, repent, and be baptized. Repent and turn to the Lord.

But then... Once there is repentance. Once someone has turned to the Lord, once we have received full pardon forgiveness from our Savior. Then we can say. There is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Don't beat yourself up. Don't be distressed or angry with yourself. The ORDER here is super important

It'll be okay. Verse 8, for he has made me - Joseph Joseph speaking - he has made me a Father to Pharaoh.

Here's this theme of fatherhood coming up again. Joseph's concerned about his father. It turns out God, the heavenly father, has made Joseph, a father of pharaoh. Here, father, not any obviously biological term, but when Joseph gives advice, Pharaoh follows. When Joseph tells Pharaoh how he should do something, Pharaoh listens. When Joseph tells Pharaoh, what's right or wrong, what should be, and how it should be? Pharaoh listens.

The the role of father here, taking on not just a caring role. The role is the father of pharaoh is one of confident mentor, one who gives insight and wisdom. One to whom Pharaoh will listen. As a trusted. One who will care for him? Pharaoh, God has made me father of pharaoh verse 8,

verse 9. “Hurry and go, tell my father and say to him” … thus says the son Joseph.… There's also something going on here that we have to understand Ancient Near East thoughts of… I know this is a bad word for many of us… but “patriarchal” thoughts and a way of interacting and understanding the world… .

If Joseph is Father to Pharaoh? And Jacob is Father to Joseph. Jacob is in a higher position of authority. Then Joseph, and therefore Pharaoh.

There's a there's a thought here that this is the Fulfillment of the promises. To be a great nation that they would be a blessing to all of the Nations over here here. Joseph, the father of pharaoh, is looking for his father, Jacob.

where is he? Go tell him bring him down. And I'll protect you. Verse 10 “and your children and your children's children.” Again, fatherhood plays an important role in what's going on here. Joseph Longs for his father, positions himself as father of pharaoh, but then positions his father above even that, and then promises to care for your children and your children's children. Happy Father's Day! Happy grandfather's Day!

What we see at the end of this whole passage is that we're framing this all. So that Jacob? Will receive glory and honor and joy!

But ultimately, because the one who is the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Will receive all credit for what he has done.

Come on down. Come down. Bring your children, your children show your flocks, your herds, bring it. I will provide for you all. Joseph. One of the youngest brothers is now placed in a position where he is the provider. The Breadwinner and the protector. Of the family.

There are five years of famine to come, he tells them in verse 11, come down. You see me, I'm Joseph. Benjamin sees me innocent. Benjamin sees me. I will care for you. I'll come back, bring my father down here, verse 14 He weeps. Tears of joy? Tears of reconciliation.

Here's Benjamin, his younger brother. He grabs his neck and weeps Benjamin weeps in return. He kisses all his brothers, and he weeps upon them and his brothers talk with him.

This is the family reunion we've been waiting for. In this bizarre twist, where Joseph… What started this all? he had dreams that His brothers would bow to him. They did. His brothers were concerned. They were jealous. They called him a dreamer. What he thinks we're going to bow to him? We're not his servants. No, you're not. And this scene proves it. You will bow, but here as his brother's. You'll still bow. But here, love, care, compassion. And they talk.

What's it been like? Joseph for them recounting his time in prison, interpreting dreams. The sights and sounds. Sharing about his sons that he's had in the land of Egypt. The brothers were recounting for Joseph, all the things that he's missed at home. What Dad's been up to, how things are going, the farmland, their kids, and grandkids and children's children?

It's been a long time.

Joseph reveals himself. And a family is reunited. And all of this. Pleases Pharaoh.

The PLEASURE of PHARAOH

We move from Joseph, revealing himself to Pharaoh, appearing back on the scene verse 16,

Genesis 45:16 “When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.”

When God works about his reconciliation when God's plan, the plan for the fruition of many people being kept alive - Even Joseph's family. Then EVERYONE notices..

Joseph, who is we noted earlier, a father to Pharaoh. It pleases Pharaoh when Joseph receives such Joy. It brings joy to HIS heart. And Pharaoh is overwhelmed with joy, and so Pharaoh says, Joseph.

Genesis 45:17–20 ESV

And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ”

Bring ‘em! Pharaoh begins to pour out blessings. Take wagons. You know what... you can take wagons and bring whatever you want, but you don't even have to bring anything because the best of all of the land of Egypt, the only land that has anything in the whole world right now. The best of all of it, it's yours. You'll have the good lands. You'll get to eat. You'll have food. You'll enjoy our care to make sure that many people would have food during this time of famine because we had seven years of Plenty. We have so much that it cannot be counted. Come! the best of it... It's all yours.

The pleasure of pharaoh is to see Joseph happy and the pleasure of pharaoh is to then bless the family of Joseph.

Bring your father! Again, this thought you bring your father. It's about the father, bring the Father. The father needs to come you, your little ones. Your wives bring the whole family all of it, it's yours. And Pharaohs in this position was like, and I'm not taking no for an answer. Joseph, your family's coming.

And you Joseph are commanded verse 19 to say. You have to say this. You don't get to just be, like, oh, they're just my brothers are going home, no bring them back.

Maybe the one servant's like, you know, I've been wondering what this whole, like, put the money back in the bag. Put the cup you're like, why was it... It was his brothers. Maybe a little light bulb went off in his mind. I mean, we just heard the whole town the whole everyone heard him sobbing when he saw his brothers all makes sense.

So, bring them back. We'll send a wagon and bring what you want, but the best in all the land is yours. And this overflow continues as we move to the blessing of the brothers.

The BLESSING of BROTHERS

Genesis 45:21–22 ESV

The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes.

What a, what a pleasant position of Benjamin? Receive fivefold at the meal. Youngest, and yet this overflowing of blessing. But all the brothers? Your family, everyone. You'll have a place to live. Come on down. To his father. He sent as follows. Again, the focus on the father. Benjamin got 300 shekels of silver, five change of clothes. Congratulations! Here's what the father gets.

Genesis 45:23 “To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey.”

300 shekels of gold for Benjamin. That's pretty good. 20 donkeys loaded with the best of Egypt food. All this other stuff. It's a big blessing to the father.

And then he sent the brothers away.

Genesis 45:24 “Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.””

This is for me. I, I just love when you just see the heart of a passage… Some scripture you read and makes you SOB. Cry. God touches your heart. Challenges your thinking. Some just makes you laugh… This verse makes me laugh.

Okay, guys. I'm sending you with all this stuff you're coming back with wagons. You're going to live in the best place of Egypt. Don't fight on the way home. I don't want to hear, I don't. I don't want. 10 of you to come back. Because you got annoyed with one of the brothers and you threw him in a pit and sold them into slavery. Like, come on, guys. Go, get Dad. Go get our father bring him back. Don't fight on the way back home.

Slightly, maybe said tongue-in-cheek since their life have shown through their repentance and through other things that they have grown. And you sort of just see? Joseph can't help himself maybe? Sarcastic, I think a little. This is this is how I read it because this is how I would say it. Okay, guys gave you all the stuff Benjamin. I gave him a little extra, and dad gets even more guys don't don't fight don't quarrel on the way home. Just go home.

The blessing here is in some ways. The wisdom of don't slip back to your old habits. You have been such… but such WERE, some of you. We've talked about this last week. Don't fall back into those old habits. Don't fall back into those old ways. You’ve been blessed By Joseph, you've been blessed. By Pharaoh. Don't fight. Just bring Dad back. Bring my father.

Genesis 45:25–26 “So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.”

Joseph is still alive, and he's ruler all over the land of Egypt. Hey Dad! The son you thought was dead. Not only is he alive but He's the most powerful man. In the world.

Continuing on

Genesis 45:26–28 ESV

And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Here. The the. The emotional. In many ways, the spiritual climactic peak of this story. Is in the joy of a father.

The JOY of a FATHER

First, they tell him Joseph's alive. And he refuses to believe it. He's lived with this sorrow and heartbreak for so long. When someone comes and tries to tell him some good news. He will not believe them. We have here “his heart became numb”. This word, numb Here it appears a couple other times elsewhere in scripture.

This helps us get the the framework of what this means, I don’t always do this, But I want to try and get the picture of the weight that Jacob feels in his heart… It appears four times, each with a slightly different translation

Psalm 38:8 ESV

I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

The word here that that's translated feeble in in Psalms is the same word that talks about his heart being numb.

In the older translation, it talks about him growing faints. And in fact, you get the sense. As you read through that, it actually, he, he almost does faint. He's been holding on so long to this sorrow. He's been holding on so long to his morning, his gray hairs that he will take with him down to Sheol. He is weak and fainting and feeble.

Psalm 77:2 ESV

In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.

Here the hand stretched out with wearying is the same word. It is the picture of a hand that is reaching and grasping for what it cannot have, it is feeble it is numb and… the last one is in the book of habakkuk. one four.

Habakkuk 1:4 “So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.”

It says so, the law is paralyzed, and Justice never goes forth. Again here. The word that's translated “paralyzed”

He's he's unable to move, so overwhelmed.

There's no way. He did not believe that. So, you guys went and got food and you came back and you were missing a brother. And now you're coming back and simeon's with you and Benjamin's with you. So you know at least you guys all came back this time, but now you're telling me a story that the son that was dead, the sun that was lost, the sun that last time I talked about him, I said. Surely, he has been devoured by wild animals. You showed me his coat covered in blood.

You're telling me he's alive. I won't believe it. You can picture the brothers pleading with their father… Joseph said. He looked at us, he said. All this stuff, he said, God put me here, and I'm don't be mad at yourselves. Oh yeah, Dad. By the way, we're the ones who sold him, but don't be mad at us… And God did this and and he's second in command. And he told us all about his family and all the stuff he's done. And then he sent us back with wagons and donkeys and all this stuff.

You can imagine Jacob.. You're telling me the second most powerful man in the entire world. Gave you donkeys because he's my son...

And he looks up, and he sees them coming. He sees the wagons. He sees the donkeys. He sees the gifts he sees everything..… “And the spirit. Of their father. Jacob Was revived.” \

The joy of the father here. So overwhelming. It is as if a dead man has come to life. The son he thought was dead, the son he's been mourning for decades… Best guess is 23 years total At this point… the son that he thought he'd never see this side of the afterlife, the son that he loved dearly because he was the oldest son of his favorite wife, the so that he bore the burden of mourning. Day in and day out. Not a day went by that he did not think of Joseph. Not a moment went by where he did not have sorrow and shed tears. Not a day went by when more hairs were gray on his head because of the sorrow of losing Joseph.. He is alive!

and his entire spirit Is revived. He believes. This is enough. I see the wagons. I hear your testimony, I believe. If I didn't believe all the rest of you. Guys. I'll at least believe Benjamin and Benjamin saying it's the truth. And the wagons prove it, and the donkeys with their gifts. My son's alive, let's go!

You're telling me. That I'm going to get to see Joseph. Before I die! I thought. I had resigned and have lived my life in such a way that I know that I will take these gray hairs of Sorrow down to the grave, and you are telling me before I die my eyes. Will see. Joseph.

The joy of the father. Is not in? The 20 donkeys with all the goods and food and Provisions. He doesn't reference it at all. The joy of the father. Is not in, oh, we get to live in the the choice land... We get all the good stuff.

Joy of a father Is in seeing? His son.

Joseph, my son is alive. I will go and see him before I die.

God.… With the brothers intended for evil God Intended for good To bring about the many people. Should be kept alive.

This is physical. There's enough food in the land of Egypt.

But hear me clearly on this one… This emotional and spiritual life.

Jacob has been a dead man walking. Since the moment he saw the robe of Joseph, covered in blood. Jacob has been a dead man walking.

But God. Can revive broken hearts.

I went back and forth a lot this week. What's the? What's the takeaway? What's the message? How do we? How do we get from there to us?

There's a lot of ways.

Here's a quick highlight tour. Of thoughts. I had that I think, are worthy of thinking through but I don't want to belabor for too terribly long.

Note the joy of a father. To see his son. And yet, for God so loved the world, he sent his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

And so much. Our Father in Heaven loves us.

That's part of it. Joy of a father? Can be seen in Seeing the Son, how much more joy should we have inn beholding the Son of God? .

A whole host of things we could note But here's where I landed.

I know that Father's Day for many. Is difficult.

It's difficult for some Because it's a day of mourning. Some mourn the father that you never really had. The day feels hollow and empty and “numb” because you have no one to clebrate...

For others, it's a day of mourning. Because you mourn the father that you had But is no longer here on this Earth.… The day feels hollow and empty and numb because you feel the hole that was left…

For others, it's a day of mourning. Because you're a father. Who knows exactly? What Jacob felt? As he mourned the loss of a son you didn’t need the tour of the word “numb” because you have lived it…

And so, what hope do we have? What hope do we have? The answer is all the hope. In the universe.

For God. Revived the very heart. Of Jacob.

Jacob, who could not be consoled who refused to be comforted, who cried and mourned day after day after week after week after month after month after year after year, after decade and decade… morning, the loss of Joseph, who, when he hears Joseph may be alive his first reaction Not even intentionally. This is just what happens to him is to be struck with fear, paralysis, and numbness. He cannot move, and he will not believe it. And yet, we get to the end of this Saga, and God has revived his heart.

This doesn't. This doesn't remove the years of Sorrow. It doesn't make light of the tragedy and difficulty. What it does is it shows. The miraculous. Reviving. Salvific. Power of God.

He has comforted us. By sending a friend who sits closer than a brother. We have a great high priest who lives forever to intercede on our behalf. When you feel sorrow when you feel difficulty, remember this: Jesus wept.

Since. Therefore, as he suffered as he is tempted, he is able to save and help to the uttermost All of us!

We do not have a priest who is far away, who's unable to understand or or know the things that we go through, instead being human. As we are, our savior lived. Suffered. And died. Consequently. Can offer care. And love to us.

We, his people. Made Sons. With the father in Heaven.

This is where I think the best place to end all of this is.

Gospel of John. Chapter one verse 12,

John 1:12–13 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

We have a heavenly father. Who is able to comfort us, who is working about a plan that many people should be kept alive? As they are today. May we trust in his son?

Let's pray.

Communion:

Big things, but focusing on the Blood, and the promise and here John 3:16

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