God of our Conscience
Notes
Transcript
Call to worship
Welcome everyone!
Announcements:
We are going to eat together at Arracharas today after service
Everyone is invited to come and join us
There is plenty of room
We will take communion today
This is open to anyone who is a believer
We will have Trunk-or-Treat Oct 29th 4:00-6:00 PM
Come decorate your car
Hand out candy
And meet some of the people in our community (And Lord willing get to share your faith!)
Call to Worship
2 Timothy 1:8–12 (NASB95)
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.
LET US STAND AND WORSHIP!
“10,000 Reasons”
Words and Music by Hillsong
PRAYER OF PRAISE FOR WHO GOD IS
Lord,
“Goodness of God”
Words and Music by Hillsong
“Above All
Words and Music by Hillsong
PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION TO OPEN OUR HEARTS
Lord,
SERMON
Introduction
We come to the midpoint in Jospeh’s story. Up to this point, the story has focused primarily on Joseph and the Lord. Joseph’s trials and God’s faithfulness during those trials.
But now the story makes a full circle back to his brothers who sold him into slavery. And for the rest of the Jospeh story we will see how God reconciles this broken family back together slowly over time. And the story has a wonderful ending with them all moving to Egypt and become the great nation of Israel.
But before this family can be reconciled, they must first deal with their past. And that is what these next few messages will be about. And God begins this work by pricking their consciences, leading them to confess their sin, being reconciled with their lost brother Joseph.
Turn to Gen 42 and we’ll start there
Genesis 42:1–4 (NASB95)
Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?” He said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die.” Then ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm may befall him.”
Explanation
The famine has come all the way to the land of Canaan where Joseph’s family lived
Famines were serious business in those days.
If people did not find food, they died
They had no Kroger
Or no DG down the road with a produce section
It was truly a matter of life and death and everyone knew this
Notice what Jacob says to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another? Go get us some food!”
Isn’t that an odd statement? Almost comical...
Why were the brothers standing there staring at one another?
Because the only place to buy food was Egypt
And EGYPT very place where they sold their brother into slavery
When Jacob said, “go to Egypt” they must have immediately thought about Joseph
Anywhere but Egypt
Any place but the one place that makes us think about the terrible things we did to our brother
Any place where we will have to deal with the sin of the past
Bridge
God loves us too much to not deal with our sin
God loves us too much to not deal with our sin
It’s not a coincidence that the only place that could save their life was where Jospeh lived
There are no coincidences.
I believe in the Sovereign God who holds all things, all events, all control over the entire universe.
God ordained the famine in chapter 41.
God caused it to spread over the whole earth
And God gave those words to Jacob who knew absolutely nothing about what really happened to Joseph
And by the providence of God those brothers would cross paths once again to deal with the sin they had swept under the rug and tried to forget
Why because God is cruel and likes to make us feel guilty about things that we did?
NO
Because God knows that hiding that sin keeps us enslaved to it
These brothers had been in their own prison of guilt for the last 20 years
And every time the name Jospeh was mentioned, or EGYPT was brought up, or that coat of many colors was spoken about, that guilt, that terrible feeling, that trouble that had haunted them would rise back to the surface.
And that may be some of us here.
I don’t know your hearts
I don’t know your past
But God does
And God loves us too much to deal with things from our past, so that we can be freed from them
And God may have brought you here today to cross paths with this message because He wants to forgive you and help you heal
Im going to show you 4 ways God stirred the consciences of Jospeh’s brothers to being the process of reconciliation and how God stirs ours:
How does God stir the conscience?
1) He uses penetrating words
1) He uses penetrating words
Genesis 42:5–8 (NASB95)
So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also. Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him.
Explanation
Why did Joseph to treat his brothers in this way?
Some people read this and believe Joseph is paying them back for the evil that they had done to him
Joseph is now in a position of power, and is enjoying playing the role of God
But if we read the whole story, we will find that this is not true
Joseph is not angry with them, but truly wanting to be reconciled to them
We can see that his heart is still tender towards them because he turns and weeps in verse 24
God using Joseph’s harsh words here to open their hearts
Whether he does that through Joseph’s emotions, or simply by placing these words on Joseph’s tongue....his words put fear in them and move them to begin talking
Genesis 42:9–13 (NASB95)
Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them, and said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land.” Then they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. “We are all sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies.” Yet he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land!” But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.”
Why did he call them spies?
One idea is: It is possible that when Jacob was 17 and went to check on his brothers, that they accused him of spying before they threw him in the pit.
Another idea is: that Jospeh used this accusation to get them to speak in detail about Jospeh’s father an his brother Benjamin.
Whatever the reason, the harshness of Jospeh move the brothers not only give Joseph the information he wants, but also moves them to confess they have one brother that is no longer alive.
Bridge
What these brothers do not understand is that under that harshness is Joseph’s tender heart and love for them
He was not tryin g to hurt them!
He loved them, and had good intentions for them
But these hard words, were part of the process
Application
Words have a tremendous amount of power
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
God uses HARD WORDS to stir our consciences and move our hearts
Sometimes its the words of others
Sometimes it is in God’s Word itself
Sometimes the words come to us harshly because that is what it takes to jar us and really get our attention
Most people are not a big fan of my preaching
I’m really surprised this many people stay here and listen to me
One response that I get is I am too serious
Another is I talk too much about sin, and not enough about grace
And I get that.
But when I read the Bible, do you know what I find?
It is OFTEN a book of correction
In nearly every story, every prophetic book, every epistle you will find the Lord’s correction and conviction of sin.
Why?
Because it gives life
It grabs us and gets our attention!
It reaches down into our spiritual slumber and wakes us up to what really matters in life!
And if I hear a man preaching, I want truth, and I want it full force!
I want something that is going to shake me, and change me, and motivate me to walk an upright life because that is what I need the most!
I do not want to be comforted in my sin
I do not want to want to play some patty-cake Christianity!
I want to live a more holy life!
God does not bring us hard words to condemn us, but to set us free!
God wants us to repent!
God wants us to make right what we have done wrong and live!
“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
How does God stir the conscience?
2) By repeating the circumstances to refresh our memory
2) By repeating the circumstances to refresh our memory
Genesis 42:15-20
...by this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here! “Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” So he put them all together in prison for three days. Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so.
Explanation
Remember what Pharaoh said about Jospeh?
He said, “no one is as wise and discerning and he is”
Joseph is not just making these things up as he goes, he is very wise and strategic in what he is doing
So Joseph tells them they can prove their truthfulness by leaving one of their brothers behind, and returning with their youngest brother
Think about what they did to Joseph when he was 17
They all turned against him
They threw him in the pit that led to his imprisonment
And they left him behind in that foreign place, not knowing what would happen to him, and returned home to their father to tell him the dreadful story about what happened to Joseph
The whole thing must have been like DE JA VUE
Here they are far away from home
They are now being forced to leave another brother behind
And they must return to their father to give a bad report about their brother
Bridge
God is the God of circumstances
And one of the ways that God speaks to us is through circumstances
Circumstances jog our memory, and then God speaks through that deep into our hearts
Sometimes it is good, sometimes it is painful like with these brothers
Word to us
Do not ignore the circumstances
There is no such thing as happenstance
Things just do not happen by accident
Things do not just happen by coincidence
God is speaking in circumstances, we must give Him our attention and listen to what He is saying
How does God stir the conscience?
3) By reaping what we sow
3) By reaping what we sow
Three days have passed
The brothers are getting ready to head home with one less brother
And for the first time they put everything together and realize it is their guilt of mistreating Joseph that has caused all of their trouble
Genesis 42:21–24 (NASB95)
Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.” Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for his blood.” They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them. He turned away from them and wept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
Explanation
"Because we saw the distress of his soul…yet did not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us”
This is the law of the harvest
Some people in culture call it karma, but that is not true.
It is the divine hand of God at work in the world
But this is not just some kind of divine punishment for sin, but intended to bring these brothers to repentance
Bridge
Galatians 6:7 (NASB95)
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
Imagine sowing a kernel of corn
That corn eventually sprouts and produces a corn plant
That corn plant eventually produces a corn cob with hundreds of kernels of corn
The same is true spiritually speaking
When we sow deeds of flesh (lawlessness)
We often (not always) reap those deeds back to us
When we sow deeds of Spirit
We often reap those things back to us
Application
But I don’t want you to miss that the law of the harvest is not merely punitive
It is designed to bring us back to him
It is designed to bring us to repentance and to realize the specific sin that we may have buried deep within our hearts
How does God stir the conscience?
4) By showing us grace
4) By showing us grace
Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. And thus it was done for them. So they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there. As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money; and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. Then he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and behold, it is even in my sack.” And their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
Explanation
“Joseph gives orders to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack”
What we see here is the gracious, loving, hand of God working through Joseph’s tender heart to bless his brothers
There was no trick, or plot to use this to strike fear in them
In fact in chapter 43 they bring the money back and Jospeh’s steward tells them to keep it, it is a gift from God
God’s great grace
Bridge
What is grace?
Grace is God’s underserved favor
It is receiving from God what we do not deserve
It cannot be earned
It has nothing to do with the law of the harvest
It is simply a demonstration of God’s goodness
And why does God do this?
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
Because it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance
It is God’s gracious heart that draws men and women to Him, to give their lives to Him, and live for Him
The wrong way to think about God is that He will strike me don’t if I do not do this or that
The right way to think about God is I will follow Him, because He is good, and because he loves me
There is a big difference between a relationship based on fear a relationship based upon love
Application
And God so reaches down into our lives with grace, to stir our consciences with His grace and draw us to Him
We receive what we did not deserve
And maybe we do not receive what we did deserve
But in either case God is drawing us to Him
God’s grace comes in all forms, BUT the greatest is in Jesus Christ
Nothing better can happen to you, than you being clothed with Christ
No better gift will you ever receive than the gift of salvation
Conclusion
Do you what salvation is? IT IS PURE GRACE
Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Grace cannot be earned, it can only be received
And all of that begins in the conscience
That inner voice we hear where God is saying, “You need ME”
Come to ME
Lay Your life down at the feet of grace, and open your heart to Jesus Christ today and live
~PRAYER~
RESPONSE
PUBLIC INVITATION
“What a beautiful Name”
Words and Music by Hillsong
OFFERING
We will now worship the Lord through our tithes and offering.
COMMUNION
Moment of Silence to confess sin
Father, we ask at this time that you would reveal any sin in our hearts that we may not be aware of. We confess that we are all sinners and are in desperate need of your grace. We ask for your forgiveness at this time and claim the promise of John 1:9, “that we if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”
PASS OUT BREAD
Pray a blessing over the bread
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Eat the bread
PASS OUT THE CUP
Pray a blessing over the cup
In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
Drink the cup
Close in Prayer
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