Understanding the Ways of God 09/06/2020

Good morning. Good to see everyone was glad that you're here. Well, we don't have as many today. You think it's a holiday weekend or something with me what's going on here? That's right, but I'm glad that you are here beautiful weather last couple days haven't felt so good this morning outside and I look forward to that. That's my type of year. That's why I got married on October 28th to love that time of year. And the day we got married it was exactly 71° and there was not a cloud in the sky. It was just an absolute perfect day, and we rode on a horse and carriage after I wedding down the streets of Siler City is not something.

Now are we went by our house? So we then where she lived up there? We went by her house. So all right. Well, we're glad that you're here today and Vicky you able to record this right? I don't need my phone. Okay? alright then let me

Okay. Alright. So we're going to be in chapter 44 Genesis day. We going to continue our study on the life of Joseph The Gospel According to Joseph. Now this to me today is a very important message because what we're going to look at today is what I call understanding the ways of God. We need to know how God works not only in the lives of these individuals in the Old Testament and the New Testament. But he's going to work the same way in our life as well. And so what we want to look at today is how God is working in this situation here. And I think what you'll see is if you look back at your own life as well. That he has work the same way because God he's the same yesterday today and tomorrow and forever. And so he works in our life the same way. So we're in chapter 44. So instead of reading the whole chapter at at once will just read the verses as we come to him. But just remember last week Joseph had fed his brothers now they were back there in Egypt of course, and they had finally talked Jacob in the brothers had to allowing them to bring Benjamin back to Egypt because Joseph wanted to see him and I remember they still didn't know that this was Joseph that they were talkin to. And then when I went back to Jacob, he said no, I'm not I'm not sending Benjamin. I've already lost one and now lost any in and I'm not losing I'm not losing Benjamin, but finally they talked him into it and so they went back to Egypt and we talked last week about the characteristics of fear that we seen in the life of Jacob in the his sons. And then we looked at the characteristics of forgiveness that we saw and Joseph life and so he seated them in chronological order and he fed them he wash their feet. I mean he treated them like royalty after what they had done to him. So Joseph what he was doing is he was attempting to see? If they're evil Wicked jealous heart had changed. And and he wanted to see if they could rejoice and a special blessing for Benjamin because if you remember in the last verse last week of chapter 43, it says Benjamin serving was 5 times more than the other brothers. And he want to see what how these boys going to react to this Benjamin getting more than they did or are they going to react with Grace or they going to rat like the did toward me and sell them into slavery. So say he was testing their hearts. Well, what I want to do today is I want to give you each point. I want to give you four points. They start with the three letters c o n so you can fill the rest in when we come to him. Y'all might think we might that's what you are. You just calling you just a con artist out there preaching everyday, but you may think I'm a convict. I don't know but they start with c o n that's what we're going to look at. And so we want to see we want to understand how God works in our life and we going to see how he has worked in the lives of these brothers and he's going to work the same way in our life. So here's the first point here the first word The first word is conspiracy. And we see that in verses 1 through 3 of chapter 44 now look at this. And he commanded the steward of the house saying this is Joseph feel the men's site with food as much as they can carry and put each man's money in the mouth of a site will see that's what he did before when they came and got food. They paid in the money, but then he stuff the money back in the facts and then when they found out on the road until we get this now they're going to accuse us of stealing. Well, here he is again. He's putting them to another test. So he says to the steward feel them in sacks with food as much as they can carry and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack. But look what he says in verse to also put my cup the silver cup in the mouth of the sack of the youngest and his grain money. So he did a cording to the word Joseph had spoken as soon as the morning dawn the men were sent away. They and their donkeys. Well earlier in life Joseph Brothers. Had conspired against him and Hate. Now Joseph conspires against his brothers in love. You see what Joseph is doing here those boys. These brothers are about to experience a plan laid out by God that is executed by Joseph. For the purpose of bringing them face-to-face with their sin and Friends. He does the same thing in your life in my life what this word conspiracy actually means here is simply this testing. Joseph is testing them again. And God tests us. What does he do? He puts us in situations. He may put us in a situation where we may or may not give into some Temptation. He may put us in some type of compromising position or situation. Remember what James says count it all joy my brothers when you fall into various trials, he says count it Joy because God is doing something and remember I said we are all we have all entered into God's School of preparation in his school of preparation is giving us one test after another when we pass the test we go to the next grade level we go up a level, but if we fail the test Then he's going to give us he's the god of the retest. He's going to give us that test over and over and over until we pass it through life is just our life is a life of testing with this is what Joseph he's already tested on one time. But now he's starting to test them again and see instead of taking their money. He has it stashed back into their bags to see what they're going to do. Remember what these brothers did before 22 years before they sold Joseph for about 20 shekels of silver? Now he's put all the money back in the sack, but not only that he's put his silver cup which was very important to him. You don't steal the Prime Minister silver cup. He's put. Cup in Benjamin's sack. I wonder why he put it in Benjamin's sack. What he was testing the heart, so these brothers, how are you going to react? How are you going to respond to Benjamin when it looks as though he's made a grave mistake and he has sinned greatly. How do you respond to sound like you did me? Or are you or your hearts? Have they been changed and you going to show him Grace? You say God is constantly doing this and he does the same thing us and our relationships and our finances and our vocation. Whatever it is, he going to test us to see what we're going to do. Well finding the money in their sacks kind of brings back the memory of the blood money if you will Joseph wants to see the impact of their guilt. Is it going to change their actions? Well a second thing. I think Joseph is doing here. First of all, he's testing the greed of the brothers. But secondly, he's testing their attitude their attitude Joseph put the silver cup in Benjamin's back. To find out if they're going to look at Benjamin as a threat just have Joseph was a threat to them back in the day. He wanted to know what the brothers were going to do when they found the cup in Benjamin's sack. So this is the first word. It is conspiracy and I look at versus for well, they left when they had gone out of the city and we're not yet far off. Joseph said to the steward get up follow the men and when you overtake them say to them why have you repaid evil for good and other words yoga said and I let him get out in front now go catch him and then when you catch him say, why have you done this? Evil? Why have you stolen? Well, they haven't heard anything, but look at verse 5.

Is not this the one from which my Lord drinks and this is when he finds the cup verse for when they had gone out of the city and we're not yet far off. Joseph said to the steward get up father me. Any when you overtaking say then why have you repay evil for good verse 5 is not this the one from which my Lord drinks and with which he and deed practices divination you have done evil in so doing so Joseph and his servant out to instigate the second word. The second word is confrontation. So first of all, we have conspiracy testing then we have confrontation. Well that look what look what the steward does and we going to begin reading inverse 720 vs 6 so he overtook them and he spoke them to them the same words and they said to him. Why does my Lord say these words far be it from us that your servant should do such a thing. Here's what they're saying. Don't you remember before you told us when we bought food when we found the money we brought the money back and not only did we make bring the money back. Remember they brought double the money back and pistachio nuts and everything else to give to him and they're saying why in the world would we feel something when we've already repaid you double for something we didn't do the first time. Of course, we would never do that. That's what they're saying. They're say look we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money which we found in the mouth of our side. How many could we steal silver or gold from your Lord's House? Why in the world would we do that first night with whomever of your service? It is found let him die and we also will be my Lord slaves. So here's what they're saying. We had to hurt anything. If you find that silver cup on us Whoever has it. Let him die and will be slaves restaurar like the Hockaday. Why would they make such a statement? They were telling the truth. They hadn't stolen anything. So they were fine with the service to hear you search all of our site. We don't care. We haven't done anything wrong verse 10 and he said and I also let it be according to your word he with whom it is found. She'll be my slave and you shall be blameless. Then teach men each man's speedily let down his sight to the ground and each open the sack because they have done anything wrong. They didn't mind doing that. So he searched he began with the oldest and left off with the youngest which was Benjamin. And the cop was found in Benjamin's sack.

Never verse 13 then they tore their clothes and each man loaded his donkey in return to the city. So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph house and he was still there and they fell down before him on the ground and Joseph said to them. What date is this that you have done? Did you not know that such a man is I can certainly practice divination? Well don't you know these boys felt a relief when they started open in each bag in that cup was not in there. He started with the oldest. They said we had took anything ever ever time one bag was open to say it's a it's not that we haven't taken anything. See I sure didn't take it leave. I didn't take it Judah didn't take it. Send me and didn't take it. None of us took it if not here and then they come to Benjamin. Well, they were sure they have done nothing wrong. But they went Benjamin side with open. They were just filled with hair and it says that they tore their clothes which in Old Testament times when you were scared or sorrowful or you were just absolutely morning. You would tear your clothes with these boys here. They are just beside themselves. They tear their clothes and it says immediately they returned to the city to face Joseph. And they know that if they went home and they didn't bring Benjamin back what that meant for them. Remember what Jacob said to him last week. He said if you don't bring him back it's on you. Disown you and he was going to blame them so they went to the house. Joseph is trying to find out if these boys still have jealousy in their hearts. Just imagined 22 years ago. If Joseph would have done something like that. What they would have done with them. They wanted to kill him. Anyway just from having to dreams. And just because he had a coat and he was his dad's favorite where they willing to take up the cause of their brother. Would they be willing to throw him away like they did Joseph or they going to standby. This is what Joseph is doing. He wants to know what type of character these brothers have after 22 years and you see Here's the confrontation right here. Joseph had to discover whether or not his brothers had really changed friends lesson when God gives us a test and he will. If we fail that test. He's going to confront us. In other words if we choose send over righteousness God's going to confront if you say what how he can promise he'll confront you with a guilty conscience. He'll confront you in the word of God when you read it. He'll confront you when someone preaches it is like the preacher will be talkin directly to you. He will confront you when you do your morning devotions. He may even confront you when you listen your pastors born in to vote each day. He may confront you with something. He's always when we fail a test which these boys failed terribly 22 years ago. He doesn't forget it and eventually he's going to confront us with our sin. This is exactly what Joseph is doing here, but the scriptures reveal right away when they find the cup. That something has changed in these boys lives because the Bible says they immediately went back to Egypt. I didn't try to sell it. They didn't say well to the Stuart. Well, he's always kind of been a conniver and sneaky. Yeah does surprise us? Yeah, you go ahead and take it. No, they win a meet Lee Black Widow as soon as Benjamin gets in trouble. They start back to a c*** all of them went back to Egypt with Benjamin. So they go right to Joseph and they're trying to protect their brother's innocence and Joseph says don't y'all know that I practice divination. I want to see talkin about here. This word really means That I have an ability to see through and to see who's really guilty and innocent. Remember Joseph was the one who dreamed and he told them boys and his daddy what those dreams Mia and they laughed at me and said no, it doesn't mean you'll never rule over us. What what happened? It says here. They go back to Joe's and they bow down again. This is about the fourth time they bow down to it. And that's exactly what his dream said that would happen. Joseph is not crazy. God has given him ability to see situation and to understand and determine what is really going on. So Joseph brought his brothers into a confrontation and now he's going to find out whether their hearts have really changed in friend. That's the exact same thing that God doesn't are like he gives us a test if we fail it. He confronts us with our sin. He confronts us with the decision that we made and we have to face it. we have to Point number three After he tests us conspiracy and then he confronts us what he does is when he confronts us. He's trying to drive us to confession. He wants us to confess our wrongs not look at it in verse 16 of chapter 44. I noticed him steps up here and all of a sudden becomes the spokesperson for the brothers. It is Judah. Remember I told you to in chapter 38, he's running around with the Canaanites had three children two of them. The Lord said he killed them because they were so evil. So he been down there. He was anything but a Godly person. No way would God use this man now watch what he says in verse 16 then Judah say it. What shall we say to my Lord? What shall we speak or how shall we clear ourselves now? Watch what he said God has Fine has found out the iniquity of your servants here. We are my Lord slaves both we and he also with whom the cup was found. He said what can we say? What can we do? He says the Lord. He says God has found out the iniquity of your servants now. The iniquity Judah was not confessing that they stole the cup. Don't miss this. They didn't steal the cup. It was planted on him. Just as I had his Steward do that. He's not confessed. When he says the Lord has found this out. He's not saying that he found this out because we stoled the cup what he saying is he is confessing the sin of 22 years ago when they sold Joseph into slavery in other words. He saying God is a just God God is the god of the law of harvest whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap God is getting us back for the CN. We committed 22 years ago. This is what he's confessing. This is what God wanted him to confess. This is what Joseph wanted him to confess to see if their heart had chained in other words. He saying God found this out. He's admitting what they had done 22 years. He says we're guilty. They were innocent of stealing the cup but they were guilty of stealing the brothers life. This is what Judah is saying. Well after that what follows is just kind of a lengthy discourse of By Judith a retelling the entire story. So let's pick it up in verse 17 and we'll go to verse 31. But he said far be it for me that I should do. So the man in whose hand the cut was found. He shall be my slave and ask for you go up in peace to your father. So I'm just going to keep Benjamin. Well, that's the worst person. He could have kept Jacob that want to lose Benjamin. He says I'll just keep Benjamin and y'all go back to your father know what to do. Then Judah came near to him and said can't you just see him sliding close to him and kind in a soft voice on my Lord, please. Let your servant speak a word in my Lord. Now he say he still didn't know this was Joseph. He was talkin to do not let your anger burned against your servant for you or even like pharaoh. My Lord has his servant saying have you a father or a brother now, he's rehashing the story and we said to my Lord. We have a father and old man and a child of his old age. Who is Young? His brother is dead speaking of Joseph. He didn't know he was talking to Joseph and he alone is left of his mother's children and his father loves him. Then you said to your servant bring him down to me that I may set my eyes on him. Remember that's what Joseph told them. And we said to my Lord the lad cannot leave his father for if he should leave his father. His father would die. But you said to your servants unless your younger brother comes down with you. You shall see my face no more. So it was when we went to to your servant my father that we told him the words of my Lord. He said we told him what you said and I father said go back and buy us a little food, but we said we cannot go down if our youngest brother is not with us, then we will go down for a we may not see the man's face unless your youngest brother is with us. Then your servant my father said to us, you know now watch this, you know that my wife bore two sons. We had four wives.

He says my wife bore me to Sons only why he ever remember having is Rachel because that's the one he loved. Basically he's he's telling them boys. I've got two sons. One of them is dead Joseph and the other one. You're not going to take him. How do you think it made these other boys feel he says I have two sons. But he says here. You know that my wife bore me to Saint verse 27 verse 28 and the one went out from me and I said surely he is pouring to Pieces remember the light they told your father and I have not seen him since but if you take this one also for me and Calamity befalls him you shall bring down my grey hair with sorrow to the grave now therefore when I come to your servant my father and the lad is not with us since his life is bound up in the lads life. It will happen when he sees that this lad is not with us that he will die. So your servant will bring down the gray hair of your serve our father with sorrow to the gray. That's the exact story. We read in chapter 43 almost word-for-word. He told him exactly what was going to happen or what did happen. Well, What can we learn from this confession of Judah? I want only give you three things and we'll put them here on the board. And there they are because we can use this. when the Lord confronts us and we have to confess number one is this when we come to the Lord we need to come with reverence and I'll look at it in verse 18. Judah said what shall we say to my Lord? What shall we speak or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of her servant here. We are my Lord slaves both we and he also with whom the cup was found in Denver's 18th in judicate near him and said, oh my Lord Please let your servant speak a word my lords here and do not let your anger burn against your servant for you or even like Pharaoh. He said you are the most important person in this world in our life right now. Please listen to me. Please. Give me a hearing he came to Joseph with Reverend. He shows great honor for Joseph because Joseph is standing before him in the place of God. He knows that Joseph holds his life In His Hands friends when we come to God should we come to him with a sense of reverence and all and Majesty when we come to confess something inside me just cringes when I hear a Christian speak of God as the man upstairs. I've even heard Christians say God is the big cheese. He's the big cheese. Something should just make us cringe when we hear that or when we think of God. He's my buddy. He just got. Disrespect. He's not our buddy. He's our friend. He's our father. He's our savior, but he's also our judge. And we need to respect that. And so here what we try to do is we try to bring God down to our level. He's my friend. He's my buddy. He's the big cheese. He's the top dog. He's the man upstairs. We bring him down to our level when what we ought to be doing is going to his level. In our confession, we need to go to his level UC Judah understood. He was dealing with the most powerful man in Egypt and he held you to life in the life of his brothers in his hands in freaking God does the same thing with us when we come to him. The reason we're walking today and breathing is because God is allowing us to every breath we have is in the palm of God's hand. He can turn it ever how he want to soak Juna came to Joseph and attitude of humility and honor to intercede for his brother. And that's the exact way that we ought to approach God when we confess that we have sinned against the holy righteous. Pure Sovereign God not my friend my buddy the man upstairs know that's so disrespectful. Secondly. What did he do? Well, he reviewed never remember he reviewed in front of Joseph hear his proposal. He were States everything that Joseph had said before is that it's like Judas a remember. Now remember what you told us remember exactly what you told us to do and remember when you put when the money was found in our site that we were turned it to fold double and we gave you other stuff we did exactly what you have asked us to do you told us to go home and get our youngest brother we did that and we brought him back to you. We're not deceivers. We're not trying to deceive you. We have a baby everything that you've told us to do. So. Make sure when you come to God before your confession. That you can say Lord. I've done everything you told me to do. Make sure you can say that why because there's power in an obedient life. If you have a baby. And you going through something and you fail a test you can have confidence to stand before him say got this is what I've done. I made a mistake or have sin. But this I did what I knew to do make sure that you can say that don't try to weasel around and don't try to make amends or don't try to get God on your side by stretching a story by using hyperbole or anything like that. Just tell the honest truth to God. That's what he wants. Just rehashed back to what you have done. Joseph had to listen to this man say we've done everything you've told us to do and they were telling the truth. They have within the third thing is restatement. We see that in verses 25 to 31 that look at this.

And I father said go back by so little food. Well, that's what he said verse 26, but we said we cannot go down if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down for we must not see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us then your servant. My father said does you know that my wife bore two sons the one went out and sure that he's torn to pieces and I have not seen him since but if you take this one in Calamity befalls, you should bring down my grey hair with sorrow to the great. That's exactly what he told Joseph now there for when I come does your servant my father in the lad is not with us since his life is bound up in the last life. It will happen when he sees that the lad is not with us. But he will die. Prince when we come before God one of the most important principles we can do is restate the problem Joseph Hill Judah lays out the entire story for Joseph telling exactly what his father had saying and how these boys responded. so give God all the details of what you've done when you fail so many people. Tell me well, you got out of the can't see the guys working in my life. He's not answering my prayers or you know, I confessed, you know, but I'll say what how do you how do you confess your sins Lord? Forgive me of my sins? That's not going to work. That's too General. You have to be specific, you know, when we know when we fail a test. We know that God is going to confront us and when he does what he's pushing us toward is confession. We have to say God I did specifically what did you do? You can't just come and gone. Say God forgive me my sins. I called out a MasterCard Center, you know that you don't have to pay you match card off every month. You can just keep totaling up so might want some of what we say. God forgive us our sins. Will it keep totaling up on our account? Because we won't get specific. If you said something you shouldn't had you hurt. Somebody's feelings. Tell God exactly what you said you say. He already knows what I said, but he wants it to come from your mouth. He wants to hear it from you. Of course. He already knows he knows everything, but we have to be specific when we are confessing. Well. He knows I'm talking through them allows us to see him in a new like stating the problem to God confessing the problem telling him the full story and then going back and specifically telling him it draws us closer to him and it helps us to see our life the way that he sees it. And not ourselves where we come to the last word. conspiracy best testing confrontation convicting confessing by admitting now we come to the last one. It is contrition. Contrition that is humbling ourselves by look at it and verses 32 to 34 and will close

for your servant that came Surety for the lad to my father saying if I do not bring him back to you then I shall bear the blame before my father forever. Now just think about this what you just said. If I don't bring this boy back.

I'm going to give my life for him.

I'll give my life. You can kill me. If I don't bring this boy back and I think about chapter 38 of you living for self just doing anything he wants to do playing around with the Canaanites committed incest with his daughter-in-law.

And now here's Judah speaking up for all of them says if I don't bring this boy by take my life. What Judah is the promised seed? That's who Christ comes from Judah lineage and one day 2000 years later. Jesus Christ said I'll die for the sins of the world. Take my life.

Which God the Father turned his back on him and he did take his life so that we may have the forgiveness of sin. You see how all of a sudden Judah is mirroring Christ just like Joseph is You see that something has changed in his heart. Well, let's pick it back up and verse 33 now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my Lord and let the lad go up with his brother. Judah said, I'll take his place. I'll be his substitute just like Christ was ours verse 34 for how shall I go up to my father. If the lad is not with me. That's perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father. So you see here Judah comes and ask for pity. He's revered before him. He reached States the story. He replays everything and tell Joseph exactly what his happened. He gives him all the details.

In chapter 45 tells us when he says that the Joseph couldn't contain himself and had to go in the other room and he just started weeping and crying why because he saw that the hearts of his brothers had changed something had happened now. When we are contrite or Contrition when we have a contrite heart what what exactly does that mean? If it if I go from confession to Contrition, how will that show up in my life? I think about this Joseph could have told these brothers who he was the first time he saw him because he recognized the first time they come to get food. Jessica said, look, I'm alive, it's me, but he spent months and maybe even years putting these boys through the test to see if they're jealous heart had changed. So what is it that God wants to see in our life to make sure that our confession is real. What it what is he trying to do what first of all we have them here on the screen. He's checking the genuineness of our repentance. You see Joseph wanted to make sure his brothers had repented of their sin. Not the sin of stealing the car because they didn't steal it what they did to him 22 years ago. God doesn't forget it. He's brought it to these brothers mine 22 years later and he found his answer in verses 32 to 34 in judah's request Jude admits the sin of the boys and he takes concert he takes he takes responsibility for the consequences. This shows that his heart had changed friends when we come before the Lord. We have to begin by repenting of our seeing if we want God to work in our life. It's not going to happen until we come to terms with our sin and repent of it and I mean genuine repentance some people repent, but they repent because they got caught. Judah is repenting here because he knows what they had done was wrong and he was genuinely sorry for what they had done. He would it was genuine repentance Joseph gave his brothers adequate time to discern the genuineness of the repentance and the Lord does the same thing with us. He gives us time. He'll put a Stewart s then another one. And another one is Discerning the genuineness of our repentance. Are we truly? Sorry for what we have done. Well the something else or contrite heart does And that is the realization of our selfishness God's trying to show us. That mankind it has a bent away from him and toward selfishness. Joseph waited to forgive his brothers until he had seen how they're going to treat each other all these tests that he gave them was trying to prove. Why you going to how you going to treat your now your youngest brother? How you going to treat him? You going to treat him the same way you did me or you going to treat him differently. You see when Joseph a grown up in this family the brothers were violent. They were cruel. They were selfish, but now they were ready to put their lives on the line for the younger brother. That's what Joseph wanted to see something had softened their heart. They their life was no longer bound up in selfishness instead. I listen to they demonstrated their love for God. father treatment of Benjamin Now nothing reveals our attitude toward God. As much as our attitude toward people. Do you know that? Lord say if you love me you keep my Commandments. What's the two greatest commandment? Love the Lord God with all your heart mind soul. And then what? Love that neighbor love others as yourself. You see this is the test that God gives us many times you show me. A selfish man or woman who doesn't care about anyone than themselves doesn't think about anyone but themselves and I'll show you someone who's not walking in the spirit, but they're walking in the flesh. This is what God looks at. The test is how will you treat other people if you want to know what type of relationship you have with God? What is your relationship with other people that will tell you? Because I'm telling you if you were wrong with other people you can't be right with God just can't. So the realization of their own selfishness he was waiting to see whether or not his brothers had learn to care about others. They didn't care about him. But now all of a sudden he sees that they really care about Joseph. So you see the genuine of our repentance when God wants to see that that's us admitting that God is God and I'm not next God wants us to see our own selfishness that we are born with a bent away from him and we're born selfish and want our own way. Best God wants us to have a Biblical view of humanity and sin when we have those three things then he wants to see I response to the situation now think about these boys response. They had walked independently of God about their whole life then taking on the ways of Canaan they had begun The seed that God was involved in their life and it took them 22 years. They realize that they were being punished by God for their sin against Joseph. They can see God's hand in their lives. They could see that God was at work that he was always at work, even when we don't even recognize it and friend. It's the same thing in your life. He's at work in your life. Where do you want to admit it or not? You may get angry at him and you may turn your back on God. He'll never turn his back on you and he continues to work in your life to draw you to himself. That's why he brings testing. That's why he confronts. That's why he pushes us to confession and then to make sure it's real he pushes us to Contrition. He wants us to show that we have humbled arceo. He wants us to have a Biblical worldview that yes. God is in charge of God and his Providence God has a plan and purpose for my life. And even though it may be bad thing, even though it may take 22 years to come to fruition. God is working. This is what he wants and this is what he found out.

He wanted these boys and he wants us to be able to look at life. With a Biblical worldview and he does that by conspiracy by test. He confronts us he drives us to confession and then he drives us to have a contrite heart. I think about this.

Who in the Bible did he do this exact? Same thing 2? Think of David and his sin with Bathsheba walked out on the roof and saw a woman. Conspiracy charge you test how you going to respond David when he called for and slept with her and had a baby while her husband was fighting on the Frontline. He failed his test. What what did God do he confronted him? Well, how did he confronted? He gave me a guilty conscious Davidson Psalm 51. He was guilty. He felt so guilty for about a year. He felt like he was going to die. But that didn't move him. So what did God do then he called Nathan the prophet to go to him and tell me a little story about a little ewe-lamb in Davis. It was a man who did that has he said he ought to be killed and then Nathan pointed-toe Boney Fingers David Spade to David you the man you are the one he confronted it. What did David do in Psalm 51. He says, my mother conceived me in iniquity God I have sinned against you and you only he confessed his sin. But to make sure it was real God drove in to have a contrite heart and David said well sacrifices is not that's not what the Lord walks. He doesn't want sacrifice. He wants a godly man and a Godly woman with a humble and contrite heart. That's exactly what he did with David and he'll do the same thing for my friend. He wants us to see life from his perspective God's Providence and God's sovereignty God's purpose and plan for nation and a family. The friends when things happened in your life if your save this morning. Please never say that was luck. Do you say your life is luck? Don't say it was Destiny. Don't say that it was fate. Don't say that life is like flipping a coin or rolling the dice. That's not like God is intimately involved in your life and he's moving the pieces around in your life that shape you into make you exactly like Christ and it may take 22 years to do it. But he will do it life is not a happenstance. Laugh life is not a chance. It is God overruling and ruling our life and he does that for he is good for our good and for his boyfriend's be this right here this story here. We out to understand the ways of God just as God worked in the last of these brothers just as he worked in David. He's going to work in your life to testing convicting admitting and humbling best the ways of God.

Or we thank you so much that we can learn so much out of the stories of the Old Testament. Lord help us today as we come to you Lord that help us to understand that life is just one test after the other. In or when we fail a test. Help us to understand you going to confront us if it takes 20 years. Lord you will Justice will be done. We will confess that sin. In or did you bring us to confession help us to be reverent help us to be specific? Help us to understand Lord that you only want what's good for us? Do you want to clear the air that you want our life to be free of any animosity or send and then Lord as we confess help us to have a contrite heart help us to be genuine and our repentance help us to have an understanding of ourselves and other people help us to love people and use things and not use people and love things. Lord help us to be sincere and help us to have a Biblical worldview where we can see how you're working in our life help us not to fight against it help us not to kick against it the Lord even if it is uncomfortable in your grace is uncomfortable at times. Lord help us to magnify you and your name and Jesus Christ in everything we do and our life will be free of worry Stress and Anxiety in Christ. Same I do pray. Amen.