Family Matters

All right, good morning. Good to see everyone and we're glad that you are here and it's good to have a birthday Craig. You're how old now? 25 years old 25 years ago tomorrow He was born. I think letting it 11:32. 1135 I remember that. I remember that like it was yesterday. I remember I remember Jacob to the 27 years ago when he was born at 3:31 on a Friday, I believe.

Jacob is going to be blind. And if we had twins is going to be Oscar and Ollie, but say we did and Martha didn't like any of those names. And so I said well if we going to have a girl I wanted to name her either Miami or English. And she didn't like any one of those either. I don't know. Nobody likes names I pick. But I'm glad that you're here today because we're going to talk about something today. I think that's important to all of us and that is Family Matters. Amen. Family Matters our families matter

our church family matters as well. And so that's what I want you to think about today as we as we begin. We're in a course the story of Joseph in the Old Testament the Book of Genesis and I believe I'm going to finish this series next week today. We're going to talk about the family. And then next week, I'm kind of going to skip maybe chapters 48 and 49 there about Jacob and prophesying and what each of his boys will do and it's very important, but I want to get on with the Christmas story beginning in October and not to take us all the way to Christmas. And so I'll probably have 10 or 11 messages on the Christmas story. So we'll finish this up next week. But today we want to talk about how Family Matters we going to be in Genesis chapter 46 and 47. I'm not going to read all those all the verses of those chapters just as we come to the verses that I want us to look at we will read them at that time. So the Book of Genesis offers really if you think about it. A sad story about the family. It's just a sad story in the first three chapters of Genesis. We find where the family was established and God established it and you would think that after God establish the family that we would have some success stories about the first family and the families there after but that's not what you find. What you find is the Bible kind of accounts broken families and broken Covenants.

And it's just misuse trust if you will in before by the time the Book of Genesis is over in chapter chapter 50 nearly every perversion a family life can be seen in the first book of the Bible. You don't have to turn to the New Testament. You can just go through the Book of Genesis now that let me give you a few early in the book lamech. He becomes a polygamist. against What God Says

Remember ham he mocked the nakedness of his father Abram who would become Abraham. In the 16th chapter of Genesis had an adulterous Affair Abraham did remember in the 19th Chapter. I believe it is Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed because of homosexuality this week. We haven't even gotten halfway through the book yet. And we've already seen this lot gets drunk and commits incest with his daughters. That they're in the it was in the same passage. Abraham temps King abimelech to lust after Sarah. Isaac shows preferential treatment to Jacob and Esau in the 25th chapter

In a 38 chapter Judah slept with his daughter-in-law remember that we went over that in Genesis chapter 38. By the end of Genesis, every imaginable evil is done by the family and it seems as soon as God puts the family in order in Genesis chapter 2 that the family just start by falling apart. It just absolutely falls apart right after that. Well, all you have to do is look around today and families are doing the same thing today. They're just falling apart. It's abuse is alcohol is single mom single dads divorce sexual immorality families are just falling apart today. Well, that's the reason this door here. So exciting this morning is because Joseph Family we're going to see a family that was so dysfunction. You remember that the first few sermons that we did on this series so dysfunctional but yet we see them pulling together today the become a redeem family a family the way that God said a family out to be you see family really does matter so I don't I don't have the three points today won't take me long to go through them. And then I'm going to give you five principles to live by so let's start by looking at Joseph Family. And I want you to think of your own family and I want you to think of your church family as we go through this today Jacob and his family if you remember or about to move to Egypt and they're going to join Joseph their two verse is kind of give us a summary. So let's look in Genesis chapter 46 and let's look at verses 26 and 27 It says all the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt who came from his body which talk about his family besides Jacob's sons wives were 66 persons in all so from chapter 37 where we had Jacob and his wife or two and all his sons before they had any children that was about 15 of them. So we go fast forward about 20-25 years and all of a sudden. They're 66 diverse 27th. And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt or truth. We're to Ephraim and Manasseh. Remember that all the persons of the House of Jacob who went to Egypt or 70? They were 70 people that made up the nation of Israel. This is this is a whole nation right here seventy people and if you look at versus eight 2:27, and we're not going to read that but that names all the all the people all seventy of them. That you wonder why does the Bible in certain places give us all these genealogies? Cuz a lot of people just bypasses. It just just won't read it. Why does the bible do that? Well, if you look at it the list of names include Jacob and his twelve Sons He had $1 closer. He had 52 grandchildren in for great-grandsons 70 people now. Let me just let's just look at a few up after listing the five sons of Simeon. Look what the text says in verse 10 of 4 chapter 46. Look what it says in verse 10.

It says the song of Simeon and then it it gives you their names. All right, and I'm not going to I'm not going to read all those but look at the at the last part of verse 10, it says and Shaw. Look what it says about him the son of a Canaanite woman. Will you see right there that's telling you.

Simeon had married a member of the cursed race just like Judah had done in chapter 38. He went to Canaan and married woman and had children and they were so mean that the Lord killed him. Well here Simeon here and it looks like he had continued to be in this carnal State and all of a sudden just out of the blue. He says and sought the son of a Canaanite woman what the Bible tells us that McCall's is trying to show us what these boys were doing and how they were not following the Lord but notice it doesn't say anything about judah's wife. Who was the Canaanite you say. Well, why didn't he was the first one to do it? Why doesn't because he had redeemed himself and God had forgiven him of his sins and friends when God forgives you you're saying he don't remember him. He don't write them down in his book. They are gone forever. As far as the East is from the West when we confess our sins. And that's what you two had done and it doesn't even mention what he did down in in Canaan. You see God Delights in forgiving the sins of those who will confess their sins and the Lord forgot on purpose the two boys that were born to a Canaanite woman from Judah. Well, the chapter also tells us that Benjamin had 10 sons and Dan had one. What does that mean to us? It means that God keeps track of the details. Do you know that God knows everything there is to know about your family, you know many people and I've done this myself spend spend money. Checking their genealogy. You got these genealogy sites. You can just pay for it and you can just have your family tree and everything. I trace back one on my momma's side all the way back to 15 hundred and something that he was a high sheriff in England. And inside around 1,500 but did you know the God knows everything about your family? You don't have to pay anything? It's right here in the but he he list all these genealogies and Old Testament and the New Testament. Why does he do that so that we can follow the promisee Jesus Christ so that we can see exactly where he comes from. But also, I think he's doing that to show us that nothing is lost in his sight. He knows our family and he knows us individually and he can tell you anything you want to know about yourself or about your family could not good that he knows us that well. So this is the family there 70 of well, it's moved point to Let's look at the father. Now. This is Jacob. Of course know where does Joseph show his character any more than his relationship with his father's he had respect for Jacob and I think what we see here is a testimony of how we should all treat. The older members of our household. I'm talking about mother and father. With respect and we out to take care of them just like they took care of us when we were small and the way Joseph asked after his dad and the concern he showed for taking care of him. I think it just reveals a deep respect and love so I want to give you four things that Joseph did for his father Jacob and the first Nene is he cared for his father. We going to put them here on the screen. He cared for his father and I look at it and verses 28 and 30 of chapter 46, then he sent Judah before him to Joseph to point out before him the way to Goshen and they came to the land of Goshen. So Joseph made ready his Chariot and went up to Goshen to meet. His father is real. Now. Remember Jacob is called Israel in certain places. So it's talking about Jacob here. And he presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while what we said about Joseph that he's The Weepies the Weeping son. This is the seventh time that this boy has started crying. And remember he was 17 years old when he left his father and now he finds himself in a position to care for his father and I wanted to tell you something ironic about that Jacob cared for Joseph for 17 years and then lost him and we're going to find out in a few moments that wants Jacob got back to Joseph and Goshen he live for 17 years. So he took care of Joseph for 17 years Joseph took care of his dad for 17 years before he died armor Bombeck. I don't know if y'all remember her. She should tell the story about driving in her car when she was taking her elderly mother around to go to the doctor in places and she said one day and this was before you had to use really seat belts and she said one day A car pulled out in front of her and her first reaction was when she slammed on the brakes. She took her right arm, and she put it in front of her mother so she wouldn't go and hit the dash and she said as soon as she did that she thought back to the times when her mother had done the same thing to her how she would hold her back when she was a little girl and she said I realize one fact she said as you age you reverse roles with your parents and not something You know the Bible says once a man twice a child. And I can be true and just as our mother and father would hold us back and take care of us. If they live long enough will do the same thing to them will be taking care of them just like that. You see Irma was now the mother and her mom was the little girl now and she was watching out for and so that's kind of similar to the role. Joseph is now playing because he's determined to take care of his father just like his father had taken care of him. So he cared for his father. He loved his father look for it says that he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while we're this is probably one of the greatest reunions in the Bible tear-filled. Of course Joseph. This is the seventh time he started crying and he had tears of joy. He was so happy to be reunited with his father and the love that they had for each other was demonstrated by their physical affection. They just they just hugged and embrace and just kept that Braids going and just wept on each other's neck. So he cared for his father. He loved his father. And here's another one here. He was proud of his father. I want you to think of your own parents.

Are you or were you if they're no longer wet? Were you proud of them? You know, I've talked to people before and I would ask them. Well, you know kind of when they grew up and and how about your mom and dad and what did they do? And I like that and I've talked to people before that was almost ashamed to tell me what their mom and dad did they may have been they may have been Farmers. I mean, that's what my my family my parents were and and I remember when I was at Norte. Oh and I was in the engineering department and you know, you think of engineering you think of Technology, you don't think of farming and working with your hands and I like that and the person I was talking to was working in that department and it was all I almost like they were shame the way that they grew up because their parents were farmers or chicken Farmers or or they raise or they grew corn or whatever. It was almost like he was a shame. To tell what his parents did we should never be ashamed of how we grew up no matter how simple that it was we out to love and care and be proud of our parents be proud of our family being you see this here and chat. Let's go to a chapter 47 in and we'll look at verses 7 through 9 in a moment. But Joseph had pride in his father. Remember what Jacob was he was a shepherd and in Egypt Shepherds were despised. They are they were just looked at it's just nothing people there was but there was no shame at all in Joseph. He doesn't hide his father because he was embarrassed of what his father did he didn't try to deny any connection instead Joseph brings his father into the court of pharaoh into the court of pharaoh. He was proud of his dad. Let's look at it in verse 7 what it says. In chapter 47 then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before pharaoh and Jacob blessed Pharaoh that here's the king. Any Egyptians looked at Shepherds? That's just being nothing and and Joseph says, well, not only am I going to take him into the court. I'm going to bring him straight up to the front and when he said that he set before him what it means is he was standing before it most time people would have to bow before the king and Joseph is by now. You sure he's a culture of Egyptian is Dad is nothing but a peasant Shepherd. And Joseph introduces him to the king. With the greatest Pride that you can have he just marched him up there and said he said this is my father. You said he was proud of his father. And here is Jacob, you know, he was weather-beaten and he was old and he probably seen. A place with all the finery there and Faye Rose Court and course. He walked with a limp by then remember cuz he had wrestled with the Lord, you know, and he was walking with a lamp and he didn't bow before the king. He just went up you know, why because Jacob understood things as they really are he knew that he was just a Shepherd, but he also knew that he was a child. In friends when we understand that we are a child of the king and of God, we can stand before anyone and when I say that I'm talking about the secular humanist an atheist and everywhere else today who's trying to deny God and deny family and deny the church we can stand before anyone. We don't have to feel embarrassed. We don't need to be intimidated we can stand before anyone cuz we are children of the king. Amen. That's who we are and we are not to be ashamed to go to buy a go to church or read the Bible or anyting else. You see he knew that the possession that he had was far more. Worthy in Far More glorious than any possession worldly possessions that Pharaoh had an iWatch what Pharaoh says when he walks up to him. Look at verse 8. Pharaoh said to Jacob. How old are you that you would think why does the bible record this just why would favor ask this man? How old will because of this? The Egyptians many of those did not live past 85 years old. The Hebrews lived a lot longer lives than the Egyptians did and so Pharaoh had probably never seen anyone as old as Joseph father Jacob. And I watch what Jacob says to him in verse 9 and Jacob said the Pharaoh the days of the years of my pilgrimage. Are 138 130 years old? And probably favors. Look at him say live next to a person this old. He said how old are you? He says well a hundred and thirty now look what he says few and evil have been the days of the years of my life and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage and he was talking about Abraham What a Sad reply. Here's what Joseph was saying to the king of Egypt here. He basically saying my life has been short and my life has been sorry. I think about that. He says I've lived a hard life. Part of his sorrow was because of his own actions because he raised a dysfunctional family and he was a conniver when he was younger. He had cheated people people had cheated him. He had watched his boys go astray. But yet he did nothing about it. Jacob had lived a tough life, but he could look back and see how God was caring for him a hundred and thirty-five years old Joseph. He was proud of his father and then number for Joseph was protective of his father Not only was Joseph proud of him. He protected him. Now. Look how they pretend. He did at least three things here. And the first thing he did his he gave him position now look at this and verse 11 and 12 chapter 47. It says and Joseph situated his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt in the best of the land in the land of Ramses as Pharaoh had commanded Ben Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father's house Paul 70 of them with bread according to the number of their families Jacob located his father in his the rest of his family. In Goshen now that was a area is kind of east of the Nile River and it was extremely a fertile place and it was Great Pasture land for sheep. Why would he put them there while they were shepherds? That's what they did and he put them in the best possible place and I'll tell you another reason he did it because Goshen is right beside Canaan. And in 400 years later from this day, maybe 400 450 years later. That nation was going to go right back to Canaan and Conquer The Promised Land it was going to be 450 years later. So they wouldn't have that far to go. They were right there beside chain. And so he gave them a position ideal position to grow the family, but yet to keep the family together where he gave him something else verse 11 say to gain possession gave them the land the best land they had the a perfect piece of property on which the shepherd the sheep and then it says in verse 12. He provided for he gave them Provisions. He took care of everyone's need he acted almost as a father would to a son say he was taking care of Jacob just like Jacob had taken care of him and he arranged the place near himself. He met every need and he provided for all 70 of them. That's what a good son ice. What a good daughter will do for his parents. He will care for them. He will. Of them, he will be proud of them and he'll he'll protect them as they get older. Amen. That's what that's what we ought to do. Well, let's go number 3 and that is Joseph farewell and we see this in verses 27 to 31. NOW Watch What Happens here?

sew-in verse 27 so is real speaking of Jacob dwelt in the land of Egypt in the country of Goshen how long and they have possessions there and they grew and multiplied exceedingly and Jacob lived in the land of Egypt Hollow 17 years. He lived there 17 years. So the length of Jacob's life when he died of course was 147 years old when he died. Bar 29 when the time Drew near that Israel must die. He called his son Joseph and said to him now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh. And deal kindly and truly with me, please. Do not bury me in Egypt Jacob that lived his whole life in the promised land the last 17 years. He lived in the best land that you could have in Egypt and the one the last things he tells Joe, please don't bury me in Egypt. inverse 30 But let me lie with my father's who's in calling about Abraham and Isaac, but let me lie with my father's and you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me and their burial place and he said I will do as you have said then he said swear to me and he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed Jacobs last request was to be buried in the promised land not to be buried in Egypt. Now he made Joseph swear to it and how he did it is in those days the customers those days was you put your hand under a person's thigh you when you did that you would swear to. Okay. I promise is like a promise or Covenant that you was made.

And he was married. If you go back to go up to Genesis 49 he was buried with his father's in a cave. The Bible says in the field of Efren the hittite that hears a beat up old Shepard father having lived in Egypt 17 years and on his deathbed. He wanted to be carried out of Egypt and back home and the later it says that Joseph told this to Fay Road and Fay Road gave them are mean chart chariots and horses and all to carry him back to Canaan to be buried and one day later years later Joseph ass of his sons the same thing. He says, I don't want to be buried in Egypt I think about this that boy left hand when he was 17. He become prime minister of Egypt. He had lived his entire life almost in Egypt. But he said don't bury me here. You carry me back to Canaan. Now. Why would that be because he knew what God has promised. He knew what God had promised his grandfather and great-grandfather that the people of Israel would be In a foreign land and afflicted for 400 years and he knew what that foreign land was because that's where he lived and he says I want to be back in the promised land he says because I know God's promise and he's going to stay in this nation of Israel back to this promised land and we're going to conquer it won't happen in my lifetime, but that's where I want to be buried and that's why he said that well, there's five principles. That I take not only out of chapter 46 and 47, but for the last three sermons I preached and I haven't mentioned these and so I take these out of the last few chapter. Say 45 to 47. And here's the first thing that I won't say. The first principle is that God blesses faithfulness. Now, let me tell you what I mean by that. God provided for an entire family this whole nation of 70 people God provided for Because only one of them was fateful, you know that this family did not walk with God they were anything but Walking with God they were dysfunctional. They was Jacob favor Joseph all the rest of his brothers were jealous. They were angry. They were bitter. They sold him into slavery. They went down to the Canaanite married Canaanite women had evil children. I mean this family did not follow God but one did who was it was Joseph. He followed God and God watch over Jacob's family. And none of this would have happened. This family reunions would not have happened had it not been for Joseph. Jacob was a Deceiver. Ruben was as unstable, as you could be Simeon and Levi killed a whole tribe of people. They were Killers Judah was an adulterer all of them had turn from the Lord, but out of that family one person remain faithful in through his faithfulness. Joseph entire family was redeemed and I want you think about your family right now your family. What type of family do you have? Your family walk in with the Lord. You may say no. I'm not the only one to even go to church rest. My family could care less. Before and let me say don't quit. Because if God can redeem an entire family because of one person's faithfulness. He may redeem your family because of your faithfulness. He can do that. Don't quit don't let them talk you out of going to church or following God you do what you know to do and he may use you to redeem your family never quit because we have that potential. number two something else. I see that we need to do and that is care for the elderly Joseph here sets an example for us to follow by offering care and provision to his and loving his father. We need to provide for our parents and make sure that their needs are met in their older age. Just make sure stay in contact with him. Make sure if there's anything you can do for them that you are there for them number three. This this whole story actually, but let's just say chapters 45 to 47 gives us a proper view. of God and man Joseph saw the Sovereign hand of God in everything he went through I don't care if he was in prison. I don't care when he was sold into slavery when the butler or the baker forgot him because when he interpreter green dream, they forgot to tell Pharaoh every time something went wrong. Joseph could see the hand of God in it. He knew that God was moving him to a position where one day he'd be able not only to save two countries, but to save his family Joseph never had a desire for Revenge you remember when he told the brothers who it was what he do he called him all over there and hug them. He didn't want revenge. He wasn't trying to get back at them. He saw God's hand and everything when we understand God who God is and who man is it will help us avoid a number of errors and what time is this? If we have a proper theology, we will not accuse God of evil. Many people get angry at God and accuse him. Why did you do this? Why did you do this? Why did you do this? I can't believe you would allow this to happen to me. We will never accuse God of evil because we will see him working his Plan of Redemption in our life and we find ourselves in prison or in Potiphar's house. We will be better able to avoid of thinking that God's primary job in in my life is to keep me from inconvenience friend. That's not his primary job to make sure that we are happy. That's not it he's going to do everything he can to make us like himself and what that will entail many times is trouble and tribulations and trials. So we need to acknowledge his sovereignty his Providence and his command commitment to to do what is best for us and he always does well, that's it will help when we think of God like that. Let me see a little bit about how we are to think of men. Look at this story of Joseph. Too often we attribute power and authority to men. That actually belongs to God. Let me just say this. The Republican party will not save this nation. Now the Democrat Party is not going to save it either but the Republican party will not say this name. Donald Trump will not save this nation. I'm thankful for I'm glad he's in the white house. I hope he gets in there for more years, but he won't save that only God Will Save The Nation Only God Can we need to have a proper view of man? Just remember remember man is sinful man is falling man is frail. That's all of them. People will fail us people will hurt us. People will disappoint us and sometimes people will bless us. That's just the fact of the matter but none of it will happen outside of God's will we need to have a proper Theology of God and man if we're going to live a life like Joseph did number four

Faith has no expiration date. You say what? What do you mean by that? Jacob was 130 years old. And Joseph said Daddy. Get your stuff get all your family and you going to move from one country to another. Joseph said that to his father when his father was 130 years old UC we tend to think as we get older in the Christian Life that Christianity gets easier over time. You know, I'm older I've experienced more. I'm more stable. I'm more mature. I'm older. I'll I will have learned everything. I need to learn from the Bible and from the lessons of Faith. But Jacob's Journey reminds us that we never reached the age where we never have to trust God, you'll never reach that age where you don't have to trust God anymore. You'll never reached the age where there's no longer any lessons to learn. You'll never reached the age where there's no obstacles in your life. You'll never reach the age where there's no fears the face never reached the age where there's no sin to mortify no more Journeys to take friend. Listen serving. God is not a young man's game. Do you know that some of you have figured that out serving God is not a young man's game. Senior Saints we can't sit on the sidelines thinking about the good old days Christianity is a full participation sport. There's no no members are on the bench. We're all in the game at the same time. You see faith has no expiration date. I'm just telling you that sometimes the older you get the more cuz you have to trust God and believe what he says goes like Jacob. He may say here grab your stuff and move over here and he was 130 years old think how hard that was for him faith has no expiration date long as we have blood in our veins and breath in our lungs. We have to be ready to serve God and to trust him. Well, there's one more And that is relationships matter. If you don't learn anything else out of this learned that relationships matter, I think of this Joseph was overwhelmed when he revealed himself to his brothers. His brothers were overwhelmed when they heard of Joseph state. Jacob was overwhelmed when he found out that Joseph was still alive. Payroll was overwhelmed upon hearing Joseph News and about his family. All of these emotional responses have one thing in common. They're all centered around the importance of relationships. Now I love the story of God's Redemption is important. However, the love of a father the love of a son a daughter a brother or friend is a reality that we shouldn't take for granted. Aren't you glad that God has put you in relationships you have relationships of your children, your grandchildren your great-grandchildren spouses, you have relationships in your church family neighbors the people that you work with Close to You whom you can share what you're going through in life. I'm grateful that God has not left us with some sterile Christianity a lonely salvation devoid of companionship and relationship instead. He has placed us where he has where we can have meaningful relationships and bless us and innumerable ways because of the relationships that we had, you know, there's only two institutions in the whole Bible that God ordained. The family and the church. That's the only two that he ordained in the Bible and we live in a culture today. We live in a Deaf culture. We live in a culture that does not value life. We don't value the life of The Unborn. Let me tell you the two most unsafe places to be today. One is in the womb. The other is near the tomb. If you are a baby you are in danger. And if you are an older person later years in life, you are in danger. That's why we have abortion and then you have euthanasia and you have doctor assisted suicide because we are a nation who did not value life. Thank God for family. Thank God for relationships. Why? Why did God set it up that way? Because Family Matters. Amen. Let's pray father. We do. Thank you and