The Reckoning
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Welcome to River City my friends. We are glad to have you here this morning. If you remember last week we saw Joseph begin to move from a place of Disappointment into a place of Destiny. God begins to rework this man. He heals him and places him in a powerful place of influence for the glory of God.
God heals Josephs past and prepares him for a grand future.
Joseph Gets married and has two sons
Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
Hallelujah God has redeemed the life of Joseph. So much injustice, so much pain brought to and end by God.
Manasseh: “God has made me forget my hardships”
Ephraim: “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction”
God heals Joseph in such a glorious way. Notice here that God didn’t heal Joseph by removing him from his pain, but by baptizing him in it.
You cannot bury the past. You must own up to it!
Joseph is 39 years old when his brothers came to Egypt!
The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.” When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.
Glorious God is moving mightily and somehow has set up within wicked Egypt a man after his own heart that will be used to rescue the entire earth.
The famine is raging, and Jacob and his Sons are watching their lives work go down the drain. Day by day the resources dwindle. their fields are barren and the hope in themselves seems to evaporate.
Then word reaches their ears of Egypts Success.
Worldly secular Godless Egypt has somehow avoided what the rest of the world fell into. God has placed in leadership a man there who has softened Egypt heart and led this wicked people to become benevolent to the rest of the world.
Surely this is good news that the Egyptians have had the wisdom that evaded the rest of the world. They would be rescued by an adversary. Lets go to Egypt Benjamin says.
But Reuben and Judah's hearts sink.
We cannot go there. The last thing we saw heading to Egypt was our innocent brother being sold into slavery.
WE cannot go there. It is too painful. To dark, to Sinful to approach the place. We would rather die than face our past.
Every step past that well would kill us!
Do not allow the shadows of a past life to keep you from living a Resurrected one.
Do not allow the shadows of a past life to keep you from living a Resurrected one.
Here are these grown men, terrified to save their families because of what happened 15 years earlier.
These brave men and trapped in a past. In a self imposed prison that has brought bondage not only to them personally but to this family as a whole.
Here their redemption is nigh, but the chains that were forged in a past life are going to drag them down to death.
All they have to do is let go of the past, admit their Sins and they can be restored and rescued. But they doddle.
That is until Jacob becomes fed up!
That is until Jacob becomes fed up!
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
What are you idiots doing?
We are going to die! Get up! Go to Egypt! and get us Food!
Just like that these gown men are being force to face their past!
You cannot bury the past Forever!
You cannot bury the past Forever!
These men have done a good job burying the past all this time, but Jacob rips the band aid off. GO TO EGYPT!
They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.” Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.” They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.
Here are these men, they run into trouble and immediately they are brought back to the very moment when they saw Joseph being carted off to Egypt.
Let Christ Resurrect and redeem your past
Let Christ Resurrect and redeem your past
Let him restore to you years lost in Sin and darkness.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
For many we will let him do it if it doesn’t make us uncomfortable. If you don’t want discomfort you are in the wrong religion.