The Search For Shalom

We're going to pick up this morning right where we left off last week will be in Genesis chapter 37 starting at verse 12 do find out on page 60. How would you like to be the captain of that ship that got wedged into the Suez Canal right? Everybody? I'll bet you hear it. At least it seems something about that thing was on just about every News Channel that there could be was on the internet all over the place. How would you like to be that guy? I don't know if it was his fault or not. There was a lot of factors that went into that but they hear your other guy causing this worldwide backup of freight and then once they got that ship what you took a Herculean effort to get it on and set back out the Egyptians who run the Suez Canal pretty much pulled that ship over right there and I fact they still have it and they're not going to let it go until some big Bounty gets paid to cover the cost of of everything that went into it. And so you have to sit there and your ship which is world famous. Now the ever given them and every other ship is going by you. And they're kind of looking at their Bridge. Hey, that's the guy who got his ship stuck in the in the Suez Canal or maybe the guy who tipped over that contract Concordia cruise ship that's been for 5 maybe even longer years ago than that. Everybody knows about this. If you're a ship captain think about that one moment. You are commanding but one of the largest machine that's ever been built. You have a crew of some of the best people that have been assembled to help you run that ship and when something like that happens and the next minute nobody is going to hire you to run the airship. Write these guys. They probably couldn't even get a job running the the queen around on Lake Okoboji taking people on tours. Nobody wants those people. Where do you go from that when something unexpected like that happens that changes your life on a dime. What was lots of the examples in the Bible where that's happened where people have had to struggle with these defeats that they felt you and then wonder where do we go from here? It's life-changing Adam had that experience in the garden Adam and Eve had that experience in the garden after they sent they knew the implications of that. Where do you go from that? Write Abraham pic of Abraham taking his son Isaac up that mountain to be sacrificed Isaac is a child of the promise. Where does Abraham go after that? Damn think of the biblical Judge Samson. Remember? You're the one who had such tremendous drinks and then his his wife Delilah catches on that or if I cut his hair he won't have any strength. What do you think stamps and felt like that morning that he woke up in his hair is cut and is it people are able to easily capture him at that point? Where does he go from there? This is life is still ahead of him. But all of a sudden is empty David had that experience with Bathsheba Peter had that experience when the rooster crowed three times or read about that again this coming week and loose. What did that feel like we're Peter when he heard that rooster crow knowing that that was a life-changing moment. Nothing would ever be the same for Peter. What was it like for Palm City after City that he went into the Worst thing that happened to him was a riot was inside of their people tried to kill him or he was thrown in prison. Paul has given up his entire life to bring this gospel out and yet there he sits bleeding and dying or sore sitting in a dungeon somewhere life happens. That way doesn't it things change on a dime and you're left wondering what what's going on here? All of these stories have something in common all of these stories everything from that Suez ship captain it to the Apostle Paul to whatever has happened in your life are examples of what happened when we lose shalom. Cake Shalom is a concept that we're going to be hearing a lot about in these next coming weeks and you are really understand it. Well go on our website when you get home, there's about a 4 minute video on our about us page that explains to you this biblical concept of Shalom, but in a nutshell, here's what it means Shalom is this condition of peace with everything in your life. Peace between you and God and a vertical plane and a piece on a horizontal plane to wear just everything around you is the way it's supposed to be so peace with God and and peace with your environment, but then all of a sudden something happens and that she alone has gone Me Maybe it's gone between you and daughter your realization of it seems to be gone between you and God may be gone between you and your friends and your family or your job or whatever the case may be. We've all been there at one point in time some of you are there now. Other device will be there again in the future. And so we need to know how is it that we get back into this state of shalom?

Understanding that that's how often are our senses Shalom is just temporary anyways. I hear this. Here's what we're going to learn this morning as we look at this second half of chapter 37. We're going to see that God is working in all things. At all time for one specific reason and that one specific reason is to bring you into this sense of Shalom not just a temporary realization of a button but Shalom for eternity. That's the purpose of everything that's going on everything that God allows to happen in your life. So now let's look at Genesis chapter 37 picking up that story of Joseph and his brothers whom we met last week. And will read to the end of chapter 37. You're not the word of the Lord.

No, his brothers had gone to graze their fathers flock your shechem. And Israel said to Joseph as you know, your brothers are Graven of lots near shechem, I'm going to send you two very well. He replied. So he said to him go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks and bring word back to me. Then he sent them off from the valley of Hebron when Joseph arrived at Chateau, man found him wandering around in the fields and and ask him. Who what are you looking for? He replied I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks? They moved on from here the man answered. I heard them say let's go to Dothan. Play Joseph went after his brothers and he found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance. And before he reached them. He they plotted to kill him. Here comes that dreamer. They said to each other come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these sisters and say that a ferocious animal devoured them, then we'll see what comes of his dreams. When Ruben heard this he tried to rescue him from their hand. That's not take his life. You said don't shed any blood throw him into this sister in here in the desert, but but don't lay a hand on them. Ruben said just to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. Saint Joseph came to his brothers. They stripped him of his robe that richly ornamented robe that he was wearing and they took him and threw him in the cistern another sister and it was empty. There was no water in it. So they sat down to eat their meal. They looked up and saw the Caravan of Ishmael lights coming from Gilead. There camels were loaded with spices and bomb and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers what we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood come with us tell him to the ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him after all. He is our brother our own flesh and blood his brothers agreed. But when the midianites merchants came by his brothers told Joseph up out of the cistern and sold them for twenty shekels of silver to the ishmaelites who took him to Egypt. When Ruben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there. He tore his closed. He went back to his brothers and said the boy isn't there. Where can I turn now? And they got Joseph's robe slaughtered a goat and dips that road and blood they took the ornament to grow back to their father and said we found this examine it to see whether it is your son's rope. You recognized it and said it is my son's rub some ferocious animal has the bower. Dammit. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces. Then Jacob tore his clothes put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him. But he refused to be comforted know he said in the morning. I will go down to the Grave to my son. So his father wept for him? Meanwhile, the midianites sold Joseph in Egypt potiphar one of the Pharaohs officials the captain of the guard at thank God for his word this morning.

Let me thank you for all of the ways that you communicate your truth to us. I would we love the letters of the Apostle Paul and Peter and John and and how it so clearly explain their salvation to us. But we are thankful that you communicate to us and these stories these things that happened long ago to your people which demonstrates you are sovereignty and so as we are reminded of that again from your word this morning, we pray that you would open our hearts and our minds to be blessed by it all this we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Is so the first thing you need to understand about this concept of Shalom is that it's a universal desire and other words. It's something that everybody wants and before we can get too deep into it. We've got to be reminded about what we learned last week about how dysfunctional Jacobs family was. It starts. Of course with Jacob. Jacob was a tremendous con artist. He had conned his own father. He had conned his twin brother Esau. He had conscious father-in-law Laban and over and over and over. He just schemer. He's always trying to get the corner on on something and and get the right angle on it and he he he recruits to his own mother Rebecca in these contests key recruits his favorite wife Rachel in these consew. He's just always scheming. He's always up to something. I am in that we have the boys these brothers his brothers who were buying large with the exception of Joseph and Joseph younger brother Benjamin born two wives other then Rachel the preferred why we went over that story about how he got these two Sister Wives last week. You can look back in God's word it to remind yourself of that if you need to but anyway, she's got two Sister Wives Leah and Rachel and then on top of that he's got a couple of concubines and and that's where there's are the mothers of these brother that we read about the end. Of course. Never endorse has this pluralistic model of marriage. I bet he tolerates it. This is not God's idea and it causes all sorts of trouble as we see here. These brothers are worse than their comment father Jacob. Not only are they Connors as well or over swindlers as well as they are murderers. They are vengeful and we're going to find What are tremendous philanderers as well? There's really nothing good about them. And then we learned about Joseph Joseph preferred some the son of Rachel. He supposed to be the child of the promise a child of Isaac story of Jacob's old age in the same way that Isaac was the child of Abraham's old. He's the one who's God promises with flow through chosen by God, but when we met Joseph last week or just 17 year old boy, we found out that he was arrogant and boastful and that he was somewhat of a con artist as will. You see how it the Apple didn't fall far from the tree. Remember he had given a bad report about his brothers bad report not being there was an element of truth to it, but it was pretty much expanded in and made a whole lot worse by Joseph as he wraps his brothers out. He's constantly steering the stirring the pot between him and his brothers. What was ironic about all of these brothers in NM Jacob and his entire family is that they're all looking for the same thing. They're looking for the same thing that everybody is looking at their looking for Shalom and looking for Shalom. But let's see how that plays itself out. Let's see how Jacob is looking for its shalom in this storage. Oh, so he sent us his only his is the song. He loves the most Joseph and kid danger in order to go look for his brothers. Why do we say that ends in danger? Well for one thing they're going to shut them and we didn't cover that story back in Genesis chapter 34. I told you to go home and read it yourself, but I understand that the brothers had gone into that city of shechem committed a tremendous Massacre there and install everything that they could from it. I am so people have memories right than any other kings of cities that were around shechem. They had heard that story and there's a bounty out on the head now for the sons of Jacob. Nobody wants them around and and Joseph is the son of Jacob and don't hear Jacob sends his son out knowing is that it's a dangerous situation knowing that there's also the people who want to kill him be sending out into the middle of nowhere to go look for brothers who hate him more than anybody else. Just spinning Joseph out to these brothers is a death sentence almost himself because they're worried away from the protection of Jacob now and they can do what they want to do. Disabled why would they do this? Why would Joseph or Jacob sent his son Joseph to his brothers when there's no Shalom it between his brothers and Joseph reread that last week and verse for if your bibles are still open. The brothers could not say a kind word to Joseph. They had literally no Shalom between them as brothers. Why did Jacob do this while he did this because he desires Shalom as well. Jacob said to Joseph go and see if your brothers have Shalom don't see if all is well with them. So we see here that Jacob desire Shalom all people desire shalom. even his murderous Brothers desire Shalom and they've got a big thing standing in their way that that's keeping them from experiencing and that's her younger brother. Joseph don't know what it's like when when you finally get a moment of Shalom and and you get to to lay your head back on the couch or in the recliner or something like that and you're just falling asleep and when you hear it gets stuck in the window, right or maybe it just landing on the tip of your nose every so often as you're falling asleep and it makes you so angry doesn't until you look around and then you find the hardest thing that you can find out won't break the window, but will kill the fly and in your waiting for that thing. You want to kill that thing that's keeping you from the center Shalom and that's how the brothers feel about Joseph. He's an annoyance to them. Remember he is the one who the last time you went out to check on his brothers brought a bad report back to his father. What's he going to say this time about them? He's already got them in trouble Time After Time After Time and is clearly the preferred sun which brings all sorts of this function of months that family and lo and behold would you look at that here he comes again. And what is he wearing out of all the things to where he's wearing that ornate coat that is father again until they can come up with this plot and verse 18 to kill him that that's the first thing that comes in their mind when they see him at the distance yet. What a contrast to do the story that we wrote earlier about the prodigal son in the father saw his son at a distance and runs out to meet him. This is about as opposite as what you can get here. They saw him in the distance and before he reached them date. Logitech kill him they couldn't stand him. But there's older brother Reuben kind of the leader of the packet and he intervenes into this situation right that he tried to rescue Joseph. It says in verse 21 from his wife. Finally. One of these brothers is going to be in being changed by God here at this point in is it finally going to do the right thing? But I'm not sure about that. You can talk about this at lunch time. But but it's possible that that was Ruben's motivation to do the right thing, but it's also possible that Reuben had a more selfish motivation here tells us why Ruben wanted to rescue him. He said he wanted to rescue Joseph from them why so that he could take them back to his father. He said that's a good thing, isn't it? Yeah, but you need to understand that. There's no Shalom right now between it Ruben and Jacob those two can't stand each other either I'm in for a lot of reasons, but the most pressing of those reasons is because Ruben had had an affair with one of Joseph concubines in Joseph house. And that concubine was the mother of several of his brothers. He can you see how there's no shalom in this family. And Ruben is at as we get to know Ruben more throughout the story over the next couple of weeks. We're going to see that that that hurts room that he desperately wants to have Shalom with his father. He's sorry for what he did and he he wants to make things. Right and lo and behold your that great opportunity to get back into the good graces of Jacob to bring this brother back after having saved him from certain death presenting him to Jacob and then all the sudden all of those things would be bygones between Reuben and Joseph or booby between Reuben and Jacob. Is he taking Joseph back to his father would re-establish that sense of Shalom. We all want shalom Because Ruben doesn't stick around does he? He goes off and then he comes back after Judith plan is put into action. We'll talk about that in a moment. And finds out that this brilliant plan that he has has failed and here's how I think we have a good indication that this was not the most pure of motivation. Look at how Ruben reacts skeet skeet looking to the session and sauna Joseph wasn't there he cares his clothes you might expect that but then what he says next he went to his brothers and said the boy is in there. He doesn't say anything about that how this is going to break a heart of his father know his conclusion is where can I turn now? That same feeling that the captain had when his ship was wedge into the Suez Canal the same thing that people have. Time and time again when this plan that they had to get Shalom instantly falls apart. That's where Ruben is right now. He knows that he's not going to be able to get that Shalom with his father Jacob. The plan doesn't work. When is there is Judah we read about Judas compromise plan here in verse 26 our brother and we're just going to have to cover up his blood it. If we do that. I've got a better idea. You know, why don't we why don't we just tell him to these issues? They just happen to be here right now too and I bet you we could get 15 20 shekels of silver out of this guy to Hey, did you see what he's doing? There is something that's that's hardwired into us that we often do ourselves as when we don't comply to to what God has called good we end up manufacturing our own idea of what good it and then you guys doing that very same thing right here. He is defining his own outcome of what good is. Hey, you know, it'd be better for us financially, it would be better for us because we would not have his blood on our hands we wouldn't be killing them. This is a win-win for all of us are human for Joseph because he's not going to Die Here and Now Well, the problem is reality has a bad way of catching up with our manufactured goodness, doesn't it? And the problem with gate with Judas plan here is although it seems to Advocate them from responsibility for murdering their brother. It really doesn't you see even way back then those cultures then it was illegal to sell anybody into slavery. The way the people became slaves and it was a king would go in and capture a city in and make all those people slaves were for whatever reason that was. Okay, but it was wrong in all of these cultures just sell somebody into slavery because now was tantamount to murder. Anyways, even though you're not instantly killing them. You're killing them over time, you take every bit of identity. They have out of them you put them into this life of servitude having to be enslaved to somebody else and it just kills them over a. Of years, but there's really no distinction between the two things but Judah isn't getting away with things the way that he thinks he's going to be getting away with them and it still ends up with them having to live a lie. Here's what they need to do not see their father. They go back and they take Joseph ornate robe. They slaughtered goat get the blood of the road in the blood and they've got a con their father now, They got a liger the father about what's going on, you know, it's ironic you what's going on, isn't it? The Connor has now become the conned and he's not only just falling for any sort of con out there. But he's going to be tricked by the blood of a goat, which if you go way back and read the stories of Jacob and Esau which is how he tricked his father Isaac High by putting the hair of a goat on to his arm to make it look like he was the Harry brother when he wasn't if there's just so much irony that's going on here. I am so they end up having to live this long and it's going to produce a situation for them that does not result in any sort of Shalom because if this is going to change Jacobs life from here on out, he's never going to be the same again. He's not going to recover from this very well and they they have this constant reminder. Now. Jacob says, I'm going to continue to mourn for Joseph until I join him in the grave if it is going to be no Shalom from here on out in Jacob's household until these brothers at temps to find it end up failing their going to have this constant reminder day after day after day that Joseph was the favorite son because his their father is never going to stop morning for him.

Is it a universal concept? We see it in Jacob. We see it in the brothers and you need to understand that your choices are driven by your desire for Shalom as well. We all are now. This can be a very good thing when we understand Shalom correctly. We understand that it's been did that has been given to us through the blood of Jesus Christ accomplish and it's centered and him and then we little like Guided by biblical wisdom. It's it's pretty likely that you're going to have shalom. But I bet there's also not so good ways to exercise that in our lives as well. You see this this a universal concept. We all want it even the baddest of the bad guys want shalom in their life. It drives everybody. The problem is is that if you got it really messed up view of who God is and the first component of Shalom is having peace between you and God you don't know who got it. You're never going to have a healthy sense of what you wanted and that's why you see so many different ways of trying to gain to loan for themselves because people are looking at the wrong thing. They don't know who God is if you have a poor understanding of God, you're never going to have peace you're never going to have Shalom. So once again, we have this reminder this morning that if we want to have shalom in our lives, we need to know God because Shalom begins with that vertical concept of peace between us and him But understand that. We're all driven by this we all want shalom. Next thing that we need to know is that God controls everything God controls everything you controls all circumstances that happened. No, we have the advantage here as we read this story. Now. We all know how this story is going to end. Even if you don't know a whole lot else about the Bible. You generally know the story of Joseph. I was made into a musical after all was until 10 and Joseph goes on and he saved the entire world from Taman because God brings him into this position of being the most powerful man in the world save pharaoh. And so we know how the story is going to end. We know how Joseph is is being used by God to bring Salvation to the world dinner and how Joseph is really pointing us towards the ultimate celebration of Jesus Christ. So we know that it's necessary somehow for Joseph to end up in Egypt and end up in Pharaoh's household one way or the other. We just wouldn't be able to really anticipate how God was going to do that. If we were in their position would we but look at the detail that God had to control and order for that outcome to be met that outcome of Joseph being brought into Pharaoh's household. Look at all of these tiny little details that we just read right over. First of all if Jacob doesn't send Joseph out on that Dangerous Mission this whole plan falls apart. We went even have this story. The most thing that has to happen is Joseph is out wandering in a field and lo and behold this guy just shows up in the middle of nowhere. If you look at the map of where this was, there's no reason somebody should have been out there but yet there wasn't can you believe it but I just happen to know where the brothers are going. What a coincidence right? What goes on the brothers had to have moved their fly if they would have kept their flocks in your shechem that would have been way away from the route that the ishmaelites would have been on going down to eat. So if they hand me their flock, they wouldn't have met up with the ishmaelites. Ruben's got to come up with this rescue plant. If he doesn't they would have killed Joseph. I didn't hear the whole story would be over with as the ex-wife have to show up right at the right time think of the coordination that's involved with that. You see me is camel before the date that they take around him. And then once a camel have decided to kneel down on its on his knees. Have you seen what it takes to get that Camelback up? You're not going to do it. You can tug on it with your pickup truck and animals going to stay down until it wants to get up. So maybe the ishmaelites was supposed to go through that area too hours earlier and went to haven't even been noticed then but they're camo wouldn't get up that day until 2 hours later. And here they are DD all the little things that need to happen in order for this story to move forward. Judah has got to come up with a compromise position. If he doesn't again Joseph is going to be killed Ruben has got to leave the scene for a while. We don't know why but we probably can can ascertain that have reuben reuben stayed around this plan to sell them to the ishmaelites would have never happened. But Ruben just happens to leave doesn't he? And then finally Jacob the father has to buy all of this story. He has to buy into it and and and believe the lie because if he doesn't believe the lie that Joseph is dead, then he's going to go find Joseph and you want to talk about his centeno Shalom after that. There's going to be no Shalom after that all of these things all of these coincidences just Have to happen and they do happen because they're not coincidences are they there are no coincidences in God's economy. He's working all of this out. But we knew death for the most part that that God's in control of all things. This doesn't shock us this next one will a little bit more. But there are times when God is controlling all things that he sometimes has to destroy your peace. In order to bring you to shalom. That's a much bigger deal, isn't it? Why would God want to destroy the peace that we manufacture so often?

Christian verse 23 Joseph comes to his brother Joseph isn't it? Pretty good sense of Shalom right now isn't the early teeth thinks he does. He's got the world by his tail right now. He's he's the chosen one. He's got his own room on everything is coming up roses for Joseph at this point in time, but all of the sudden he finds himself at the bottom of a pit stripped of his robe and they took him and they throw him in a sister. Put yourself in that position a second. What's going through his mind? He is the chosen one. He's a child of Jacob's old age. He's the one that God is going to use in some way or some sort and now here he is all of a sudden at the bottom of a pit and that's not the way the story supposed to turn out.

I think it's a gift from the holy spirit that there are no words of Jacob. I'm sorry. I'm Joseph recorded here. They're not something that this mouthy 17 year old has got nothing to say here at this point. The holy spirit says it's not important you maybe Joseph prayer there at the bottom of that pit. But I don't think so. We don't meet about God anywhere in this passage. By the way. Did you notice that guy's name isn't mentioned that just shows you the relationship that these guys had with him. I bet you that there were some ungodly words that were spoken at the bottom of that pit. But I also know that God was using this experience and Joseph life that he couldn't figure out to have him grow up significantly while he was down there Joseph changes in this pit. And on that trip down to Egypt. He becomes a different person you see how God disrupted the sense of peace that he had. Bring it to a greater sense of Shalom, even though it would take decades for him to get there. He see God's in control when our peace is upset doesn't really matter what Joseph said at the bottom of this whole anyways, this story isn't about Joseph. This story is about God's ability to control all things and to bring us back to the Shalom that we've left on our own. Jacob is is in a very similar interior things were yeah, he's got these dysfunctional kids and he's got this past behind them, but he still has God's promise and things are still pretty good for him. He's is a wealthy man, but just like that that sense of peace that he had is ripped out from underneath him and he who Mourns for his son.

For a long time for many days and he says I'm going to continue to mourn until I joined him in the grave as we see Jacob in and out for the remainder of this story. We're going to see a bitter broken old man. A bitter broken old man who at the end of his life finds out how God is using him to bring Shalom to the world and to bring Shalom to us through Jesus Christ. But Jacob doesn't find that out for a long long time. God has to disrupt that piece that he had. You can be decades before this Shalom is restored. You see God took a little bit of Shalom that they had. They don't know how this story is going to end the way that we know how this story is going to end and Guardians up using them.

sometimes what happens to us as well? Doesn't it. Shatters the little bit of peace that you have in order to bring us to something better? Even though we can't see where he's bringing us or how they're going to work itself out. We need to know that God is bringing us toward that ultimate shalom. I am that we can depend upon him. The last thing that we need to notice here is also going to be surprising to us. God controls all things including the sin of other people. Back. It uses sin in a very sinless way does a thousand ways that God could have worked out this plan for Joseph the end up in Pharaoh's house in Egypt isn't there but he doesn't do those 999 how the way he picks this way. He chose to use the brothers sin. In order to fulfill his plan now at the same time that doesn't condone or excuse the brothers. It's their fault. They would have went to send here in this situation and actually Loose Ends of Joseph and Jacob that are involved as well. Aren't they? All of these sins are thrown into the vet and mixed around and used by God who remains sinless even as he uses the effects of other people sense and your own tend to bring you to this sense of shalom

He knows what's going to happen. He permits what's going to happen. I love how the NIV puts this here as Josef Antonius. Jacob is morning for his son and will not stop morning until he goes to the Grave. Here's how the narrator puts it. This is Moses speaking. Meanwhile salted Joseph in Egypt took part of her one of those officials. Isn't that a coincidence God's plan is working on Noah course. It's not a coincidence. God used this entire thing.

So is understand that Shalom is the universal desire that God is controlling all things for it. And that God is going to deliver us true Shalom. This is a first that you just have to have memorized. You have to know this that because you've been justified through faith. You have peace with God you have Shalom right now with him. If you don't understand how that works. Please don't leave this place without understanding that but we can see how it works out in this story that that like Jacob God sent his only beloved Son into Danger. For us if you dose of sorts of Jacob sent Joseph foolishly into danger God knew what he was doing. You're going to read the parable this week of the tenants in a chapter 19. I believe it is and you'll read this in this coming week. The vineyard owner has sent all of his Messengers to his tenants and they end up killing or injuring all of those Messengers in the same way that Israel had killed or injured all of God's prophets. And so finally he decides to send his son will do respect his son. The owner says And of course, that's not what happened. They said this is the heir let's kill him in the inheritance will be ours. God restrained the saint of the brothers they didn't kill Joseph. Did they dog restrain that from happening? He used Reuben and Judah to do that simply by the way. But he did not restrain those Sinners who nailed Jesus to the Cross he let that go so that we could have shalom. The god delivers you to Shalom. You need to pursue it. Hey just because God is Sovereign Lee working out. All of these things does not mean that he's just going to make it happen. He will but he wants you to align yourself with his movement in that direction. He wants you to pursue at the New Testament is full of passages pointing Us in that direction. So as you look at this world with seems to be disintegrating around us at least Western Civilization. You don't need to worry about how that's going to work itself out because you know that God is in control. You know that he's a sovereign Lee working this out in a way that will never be able to understand because you know where the world doesn't that your Shalom is not founded on how things are going for you right now, you're Shalom is founded on the finished and accomplished work of Jesus Christ that can never change. It's not founded on shifting Sands because you know that God is Sovereign over all things and that he's even using the sins of the world to work his purposes out. See that's going to make you optimistic as you look at the future even as you look at this world, which isn't anything like what you remember recognizing when you were a kid, you can be optimistic because you look back in the history and Time After Time After Time when the world is at its worse. Is when God works the most. Could be optimistic moving into the future understand that you're not always going to feel Shalom is going to be vast times of your life or you sit at the bottom of a pit like with Joseph dead. But you know how the story ends. You know that it's going to be supplied to you by God so you can trust him even when you can't see how he's working.

We have through Jesus Christ and extinguishable Hope. And because of that indistinguishable hope we know that God is working in all things at all time to bring you into the state of Shalom, but thank God for it.

Father in heaven, we do. Thank you for your power and sovereignty and all things. We also thank you for the possibility of Shalom that you brought us your enemies who deserved nothing. Into a state where we can have peace with you and have peace with the people around us Lord. We pray that the day comes quickly when that is fully restored. But until then may we grow in our knowledge of it and share it with others all this we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Let's respond to God's word now. By reminding ourselves of Wyatt is that we follow our God.