“A Message to My Sons” - Genesis 49 - Pastor Scotty Brown

All righty. If you got a Bible, guess where we're going to be?

You got to love it, though. You know, as a kid growing up, my grandparents taught me how to play cards, right?

My grandma on my mother's side taught me how to play Pinochle, and my grandma on my dad's side taught me how to play Rummy.

And, you know, there's a lot of times when you get those hands and you just want to chuck them in and not even play them out.

they're so terrible.

I never like to give up the bid on Pinnacle.

I'd rather go set than give up the bid.

But we've all been dealt a hand in this life,

and it's our jobs to play it out.

And in our scripture reading today,

we're going to be in the 49th chapter of the book of Genesis,

and Jacob is coming to the end of his life.

We looked last time where he blessed the sons of,

Joseph as his own took Ephraim and Manasseh in that order as his own as kind of a replacement for

Rubin and Simeon in a sense and told Joseph how blessed they were going to be and how prominent

they were going to be and in fact that was the case. Ephraim being the most populated tribe of

Israel and Manasseh having the most landmass he was called a half tribe because he had ground on the

east side and the west side of the Jordan. And pretty incredible. God is faithful to fulfill

his promises, sometimes in spite of us. Aren't you glad about that? I don't know about you, but I get in

away all the time. And I'm really good at making messes. And so that's why probably God called me to be a pastor,

because I'm so good at making messes that it turns in a mess turns into, you know, a message.

So here we are.

But anyway, so this is, it's just a powerful portion of scripture here is this man who had a lot of life struggles.

You had struggles in your life, right?

Who hasn't?

Right.

Jesus, it's like it's a promise, right?

In the world, you will have tribulation, be of good courage.

I've overcome the world.

And so Jacob, his troubles were pretty real.

And a lot of it had to do with his name, Jacob, Jacob, Jacob, Jacob, Jacob, in the Hebrew.

And he was that heel catcher, that supplanter, that, you know, in the cowboy world, we call it a cinch cutter.

I don't know if you know what a cinch cutter is, but cinch cutters should.

be hung.

Somebody cuts a cowboy cinch and he gets on and he's, well, he probably wouldn't even get on.

His saddle would go under the horse's belly and there would be a wreck.

But we're going to look at this this morning and I can't even remember what I titled it.

You'll see if you want to look at it.

But it's definitely just looking at the hand that all people get dealt and so many of them are different.

but praise God in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they can all end the same. Amen. Let's pray.

Lord, thank you for your word. It is a light unto our path and a lamp unto our feet.

And Lord, this passage is no different, Lord, as we see people just like ourselves being spoken to by a man who knew you.

And Lord, we just pray that we would have ears to hear, maybe finding ourselves in this passage of

scripture as we look through the lives of these these these 12 men lord and 13 count in him so jesus we

just we worship you we thank you that you use everything together for good for those who love you and that

lord we just want to love you with our lives today and and we just want to have ears to hear what your

spirit would say to us in jesus name amen okay let's read there we'll read the first seven verses it

says now jacob called his sons and said gather together

that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days.

Gather together and hear you sons of Jacob.

Listen to Israel your father.

Rubin, you are a firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength,

the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

Unstable as water, you shall not excel because you went up to your father's bed,

then you defiled it and he went up to my couch.

Simeon and Levi are brothers.

Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

Let not my soul enter their counsel.

Let not my honor be united to their assembly.

For in their anger they slew a man and in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

Cursed be their anger for it is fierce.

and their wrath, for it is cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

And so he starts with the first three sons, but at first he says, come on, boys, we've got to have a talk.

And I've been to deathbed situations quite often. It is amazing to me how many times the person who is

about ready to die regrets some things with their family and some of the inner,

action that they've had with their kids.

A dear friend of mine, his dad was dying, and he told me his dad called all five of his kids

in and he started apologizing and asking for forgiveness as he was dying.

I thought, man, that's a good dude.

Maybe I should do that before I start to die, right?

And I've tried to put that into practice.

Listen, let me tell you, that's a good thing.

Seeking your kids' forgiveness, right?

It's a really good thing.

and I think I've got more mileage out of that with my kids and grandkids than anything else

is the fact that they realize that, oh, dad's not perfect, or at least he knows he's not perfect,

or doesn't pretend. And I think that sometimes just turns a kid's stomach.

But Jacob, he wants to call his boys together. He says that I'm going to tell you what will befall you in the last days.

that it's really a prophetic word of Jacob to his boys.

And I think sometimes the future is fairly simple to call if people will seek the Lord.

Right?

It's pretty simple to know what kind of fruit comes out of a life that seeks and chases after God.

And Jacob is actually experiencing some of that here.

He says, what shall befall you?

in the last days. And so he says there again, he uses both his names in verse two. It says,

gather together in here to gather together and hear you sons of Jacob, right? You guys are

sons of a supplanter. Your sons of a conniver, a cheat. That's what you're sons of.

Aren't we all? Right? Our parents are sinful. That's what, that's what we,

we come from. I was sharing last night, I says, man, the older I get, the more slack I cut my parents,

right? Because I realize, man, we're just all a bunch of sinners, man. It's a miracle any of us

get out of this thing alive. Right? And, um, but Jacob, he acknowledges to his son.

Come, you sons of Jacob, you're my boys, this cheat, this hill catcher, right? Jacob was the hill catcher.

and you're my boys.

And so there may not be much hope for you.

But then, then he shifts very quickly,

the last part of verse to, listen to Israel, your father.

Listen to this prince with God,

this man who had this relationship with God

that's no doubt put an impact on these 12 boys.

men, I'm telling you what, if you walk with God, it will impact the young men around you.

They don't have to be your blood, your kin.

I grew up watching men in my life.

Right?

I had all kinds of examples, usually what not to do, right?

And people had a powerful impact on my life.

and so I got to see people who didn't walk with Jesus, people who did walk with Jesus.

Then I watched people who did walk with Jesus and then walked away from Jesus and then came back to Jesus.

I thought, I don't know if I want to do that one or not, right?

Just walking with Jesus and staying there is good.

But I did. I backslid for about a year.

Anybody's done that?

Some of you might have skid marks on your back right now.

And if you haven't come back yet, make today be the day.

Come back to Jesus today.

Don't wait, right?

What are you waiting for?

And so he says, listen to Israel, you're right?

And all kinds of ideas that you hear from Bible commentators, what Israel means.

Some say it means prince with God.

Some that means that some that wrestles with God mightily.

in other words that God's using their life.

And he says, I'm going to tell you something.

This is the part of me that God has influenced,

and I'm going to speak to you.

And so first he addresses his oldest son, right?

I think we can all remember that oldest boy of ours that's born.

You're just like, wow, I got a son.

I was walking down the hall when my boy Buster was born.

And the pediatrician gave him a little blue New Testament that said, Buster Brown on it.

And this was like 1 o'clock in the morning.

And the hallways in the hospital are kind of dark, and I'm standing out in the hallway, you know,

just kind of thanking the Lord that I got a boy.

And the doctor walks by.

And right as he walks by me, he walks by one of his colleagues.

And he stops and he puts his hand out.

He says, you know what I just did?

And the guy goes, no, what did you just do?

He said, I just delivered Buster Brown.

See, our generation knew who Buster Brown is this generation has, don't have a clue, who Buster Brown is, right?

The guy that lived in a shoe, you know, so.

So that doc is pretty proud, right?

And I was definitely a proud Papa.

And no doubt, he knows what it's what he says to you, says, you are my firstborn, my might,

and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dick.

dignity and the excellency of power. And that's where the positives stop. Right? With Rubin.

Ruben almost seemed to have a little psychosis when they were doing the whole Joseph thing, you know,

because he had already blew it with his dad. And that's what Jacob goes into next with Rubin.

He says, unstable as water, you shall not excel because you went up to your father's bed.

You guys remember the story? He went up and slept with Bill Haw, his father's, his father's

concubine and it says, and you defiled it. He went up to my couch. Sin separates.

Sin separates us from God, the Bible says, but sin also separates us in our relationships.

Right? It just severs them. The wages of sin is death. It just kills everything. Nobody sins

unto themselves. People tell me that I'm not hurting anybody. Really? You are. You are.

when you sin. No man sins unto himself. And Rubin here, it was, it affected his whole life.

And then things don't change much with Simeon and Levi. He goes, Simeon and Levi are brothers.

Instruments of cruelty are their dwelling place. Let not my soul enter their counsel. Let not my

honor be united to their assembly. For in their anger they slew a man.

and in their self-will they hamstrung an ox,

cursed be their anger, for it is fierce and their wrath, for it is cruel.

I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

And that's exactly what happened to those two.

And you don't remember why, right?

Semin and Levi, they get together after the Dinah Incident.

It's funny that calls it that Dinah Incident, right?

Oh, you guys get circumcised, all your men get circumcised,

and we'll marry your girls, and you can marry our girls.

if you're circumcised, take on the covenant mark of Israel.

Oh, yeah, we'll do that.

Yeah.

No.

So they get all circumcised and sore and Simeon and Levi.

Ha, we got them now.

We went in and started lopping heads off.

You know, killed every one of them.

And, of course, Jacob wasn't real happy about that.

And here, it costs these guys.

Levi, when they go into the land, Levi gets nothing.

right what's levi he's the priestly line i know god uses their life so i just just hope for you looking at

these sinners right here god uses sinners right he can use you in spite of your sin and so he uses levi

as the priestly line they don't get any ground to their own right they have to use a common land

they can they can raise sheep and cattle and and all that but they get absorbed into jacob

just like jacob says here and simeon is the same simeon was right in the middle of

of Judah, right? He was a part of Judah, kind of considered within it, didn't have really

control. He was more of an occupier. And so it's interesting to me, you know, that these first three

sons, their sins get pointed out. And the repercussions of their sin, they're,

are pointed out as well.

But then the next son, which is Judah, these are all sons of Leia, right?

These are the sons of Leia.

And it doesn't seem to follow the same line.

It seems like Judah gets a different hand dealt to him.

And it says in verse 8, Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise.

Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's children shall bow down before you.

Judah is a lion's whelp. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down. He lies down as a lion.

And as a lion, who shall arouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes.

and to him shall be the obedience of the people binding his donkey to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine

he washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes in his eyes are as dark as wine

and his teeth wider than milk so this just seems to be so much more poetic and more of a lovely

prophecy of judah but what about judah sin?

Right? We see Ruben's sin. That's cost him. We see Simeon and Levi's sin. That costs them.

But what about Judas' sin? The sin with Tamar, right? He has sex with his daughter-in-law. She gets pregnant with twins. He thinks she's a prostitute.

He had abandoned his family and went off with the Gentiles. But we don't hear anything about that. And why is that?

I'm convinced it's simply God's grace.

When I look back at the sin of my life,

if God would have held me accountable for all the things I'd done,

I definitely wouldn't be here, right?

I'd be dead or in prison or in the hottest part of hell.

And yet, God has a plan.

He has a plan for all these boys.

Some of their hands look a little weaker than the others.

Listen, who looks pretty strong.

who wouldn't want this, right?

He says, you're going to be, your brothers shall praise you.

You remember Judah when he stood before Joseph, not knowing it was Joseph, and he interceded

on behalf of his brother Benjamin.

He's an intercessor.

He seemed to have wisdom and what to do.

He seemed to negotiate well with his father to be a go-between.

And you all know, right?

Judah is a type of Christ Jesus in this prophecy.

because Jesus, when it talks about the lion there, he says,

Judah is a lion's whelp from the prey, my son, you have gone up.

He bows down.

He lies down as a lion and as a lion who shall arouse him.

Jesus Christ, the lion of the tribe of Judah there in chapter five of the book of the revelation.

And so,

um,

Judah's prophecy is powerful.

And he goes on and he says,

the scepter shall not depart from Judah.

The scepter.

So when Israel wanted a king, right?

When Israel wanted a king,

they first time they picked Saul,

but his predecessor, David,

was from the tribe of Judah.

King David.

That's why Jesus is called the Son of David.

My niece just wrote a song called Son of David

about Jesus is pretty cool. I'm going to have to do it for you sometime. Powerful. But he's that

one who comes along and there's a promise given to him. It says the scepter is the symbol of authority.

And in the Davidic covenant in Jeremiah 3317, it says, for thus says the Lord, David shall never

lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel. Never lack a man.

and so when David became king that started into motion this covenant that God had made with Judah

that that Messiah would come and he would establish a throne that Daniel talked about in his prophecy

that would never end once that throne of the Lord Jesus Christ is established it will never end ever it's an

unending never ending eternal covenant and he made it right here

He said, the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes.

Shiloh.

Until Shiloh comes.

He's, uh, Shiloh, the word means not this event center, but it means he's he who's right.

it is, right? Or to whom it belongs. You belong to Jesus? Because he's going to rule and reign over

everything. And you can either be under that rule and blessing and a beautiful hope and future

or you can be separated from it. I desire the first, not the latter.

And so it all comes to a head in Revelation chapter 11, verse 15, where it says this,

Revelation 11:15

Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven saying,

Listen, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ,

and he shall reign forever and ever.

I love it when I see Jesus in the scripture.

Didn't it just make you giddy?

Right?

It just gets just a, there he is.

There he is.

And here he is.

He's even here, even here and now right now.

It says, binding his donkey to a vine.

You don't tie your donkey to a vine, right?

His donkey's cult to the choice bind,

especially to the choice bind.

He washed his garments in wine.

Maybe speaking of the death of Christ and his clothes in the blood of grapes.

His eyes are darker than wine and his teeth, whiter than milk.

This is speaking many believe of the millennial rain.

When you can actually tie a donkey to a vine.

Because now if you tie a donkey to a vine, they're going to pull back and they're going to

pull the whole thing down and make a mess.

But in that realm, in the kingdom age, it's going to be peace.

The animals will be peace.

I won't get bucked anymore.

Hallelujah is right.

Thank you, Jesus.

That'll feel so much better.

And then he goes to the other brothers.

And then he goes to the other brothers.

and

verse 13 where it says

and Zebulon shall dwell

by the haven of the sea

he shall become a haven for ships

and his borders shall adjoin

Ishakar is a strong donkey

lying down between two burdens

he saw that rest was good

and that the land was pleasant

He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden and became a bound of slaves.

Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path that bites the horse's heels,

that its riders shall fall backwards.

I have waited for your salvation, O Lord.

And so right here he talks about he changes the birth order.

Zebulun.

Zebulon was born after Izzacar.

And Zebulin is a haven.

It says he was stationed right between the Mediterranean and the Galilee, right, kind of sandwiched, right in the middle of those two bodies of water.

And became a haven for ships, no doubt trade.

They were trading both ways there in the land of Zebulin.

Isachar is a strong donkey.

Now, some don't think that don't think that don'ties, that's kind of an insult.

but really I don't think it is an insult because if it was going to be an insult that would have said

is a car is a strong ox because you've heard it say they are as dumb as a ox well donkeys aren't dumb

donkeys are the smartest animals you've ever come across I'm dead serious right why did Jesus write a donkey

how come he didn't ride a raging stallion because donkey

are smarter than horses.

The beast of burden, right?

The donkeys called the beast of burden.

There's an old story.

I can't get into it.

I'm going to run out of time.

So I was going to tell you a good one.

But if you want to hear of it,

just come up and ask me.

I'll tell you about it.

But the donkeys have what they called the Christ stripe.

Have you heard of the Christ stripe on the donkey?

Right?

It's a dark stripe that comes over their shoulders.

Right?

They're a gray.

They are a gray animal with a dark, almost black stripe that comes down over their shoulders

and right down, what we call a dorsal stripe in the equine world that comes right down the middle of their back.

So when a donkey's skin is laying on the ground, it is a perfect cross.

Right?

That's why they call that the Christ stripe of the donkey.

And Isacar would fit this because, right, that,

he wasn't dumb.

Might have been a little bit lazy and docile, but he wasn't dumb.

First Chronicle says,

And the sons of Isacar who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do.

Right?

So they were smart.

And God had gifted them with this wisdom.

And so then we go to Dan.

And Dan, it says, Dan shall judge his people.

That's what Dan means.

right? God is judge or God's judge. Dan shall judge his people. That was fulfilled in Samson. Samson was one of the judges who was a Danite. You guys remember Samson, right? Big old burly Samson. Pulled the gates up. Some think that Samson wasn't big and beefy, that he was probably built like Pee Wee Herman. And that's why they were so perplexed. Where does this great strength come from?

Obviously, you ain't got the physique, but...

Dan, as one of the tribes of Israel,

Dan shall be a serpent by the way,

a viper by the path that bites the horse's heels

so that its rider falls backward.

I have waited for your salvation, O Lord.

Some believe that this is speaking of Antichrist

and that Dan actually may be an answer.

to the antichrist. That serpent that bites the horse's heels and its rider falls back and he ends

that with, I have waited for your salvation, O Lord. The Jacob had come to that place in his life.

The word salvation is Yeshua, Yeshua, right? Which is Jesus. At this point in the prophecy,

See, when Jacob was near death, he called out for God's salvation.

Knowingly or not knowingly, Jacob was calling out for Jesus, right?

That Messiah that would come, that salvation would come to Israel.

And in view of the viper, the serpent, right?

Goes right back to Genesis.

And he shall crush the serpent's head.

And the serpent will bruise his heel.

then gad gad gad gad gad were from uh bill haw rachel's and dan or excuse me gad and ayesher dan and naftali was

was uh from leas i believe i may have got that backwards but here's gad a troop that was this

what his name meant when when jacob named him a troop shall tramp upon him but he shall triumph at last

Bread from Asher shall be rich

And he shall yield royal dainties

Natheli is a deer let loose

He uses beautiful words

And so these last three

Right

Gad never went into the promised land

He stayed remember Gad and Manasa and

Rubin all stayed on the east side of the Jordan

And so

Gad would come into the promised land to help them fight and he would help them triumph.

Asher. Asher means happy, right? It was, it's, it's, it's, it's, shall be rich and shall

there had a pretty good coastal front there on the Mediterranean, no doubt, had all the ships

and the world goodies that came to them. They were luxurious there on the Mediterranean coastline.

Then Naftali, it says something interesting. As a deer let loose, he uses beautiful words.

Maybe he was, maybe this was the first he hosted or founded the first school of fine arts.

Naftali. But that's where Jesus did most of his ministry.

Was up by the Galilee there where Naftali, you read about it there in Matthew chapter

four. And it was fittingly said that those beautiful words, right?

They're beautiful words of like the old hymn of life there that Jesus spoke in that time.

Then he talks about Joseph, right, which is pretty self-explanatory.

and we know that no doubt Joseph's two boys are probably included in this blessing or prophecy

in verse 22. Joseph is a fruitful bow, a fruitful bow by a well. His branches run over the wall. The archers

have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained his strength and his

arms of his hands were made strong. And by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob, from there is the

shepherd the stone of Israel and by the God of your father who will help you and by the almighty who will

bless you with blessings of heaven above blessings of deep that lies beneath blessings of the breasts and

of the womb and blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors up on up to the

utmost bound of the everlasting hills they shall be on the head of Joseph and on the crown of the

head of him who was separate from his brothers. Now, this looks like, hey, that's the hand I want,

right? That's a, yeah, but to have that hand, you had to have the first part first. The first part

of Joseph's life, right, with the shackles and being beat up by his brothers, being sold as a

slave, right? Sometimes you can't have one without the other. In fact, just about anybody that

that has something that has profound character and our very influential people.

Most of them have been through something, right?

The Bible calls it the refiners fire and that by sacrifice and offering and hard things that we get better.

And Joseph is head and shoulders above everyone.

Why? Because of what he suffered.

What he went through?

Notice he's called from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel.

He was salvation for Israel there in Egypt.

Such a beautiful picture of Jesus.

That's why that passage in Psalm just kind of fascinates me.

Joseph is so picturesque of Jesus.

And then that last boy, Benjamin is a ravenous war.

wolf, or as my grandson says, woof. In the morning, he shall devour the prey and at night he shall divide the spoil.

Benjamin was a warrior. He also was right there in the lower part of Judah. But he was a fighter. He was a fierce fighter. Maybe that's why he's called a ravenous wolf.

He doesn't get whipped very often, Benjamin don't.

And First Chronicles chapter 12, too, it says,

1 Chronicles 12 · chapter mention

and they were equipped with bows using both the right hand and the left to sling stones

and to shoot arrows from the bow.

They were Saul's kinsman from Benjamin.

And so here's, this dad knows his voice.

Do you know your kids?

Right?

Do you know they're bentz?

the Jews have a very powerful culture in how they bless their children right they bar mitzvah the boys

and they when they're 13 right there's a call it's a call to manhood that they would come into

a realm of being of working like a man of being respectful like a man and being treated like a man

at 13 boy would we forego a lot of foolishness if we did that

in America. Right? But then in that bar mitzvah celebration, the men would hoist the boy up. And if the

father was strong enough, he'd hoist the boy up on his shoulders. And the father would look at him and says,

this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. It's powerful. In a sense, that's what's,

Jacob's, he's talking to these boys. He's, he's blessing him. Oh, how I want to bless him. Oh, how I want to

bless my boys and my grandsons. I have two boys and six grandsons. I want them to be men of God.

I want them to recognize the God of heaven and that God has a plan for their life, right?

And they're going to have to play out that hand that God deals them. And it may not be what they

think. No doubt. Could you imagine these guys as they're hearing this? And the comparison that's going on,

What?

What?

You know, Dan going,

well, why does Joseph get so much in Judah?

What about me?

A snake?

Well, like the old saying goes, if the shoe fits.

Might as well wear it.

But God can work in our lives personally in spite of the sin that we've done.

or in spite of the wreck that the world has brought to our lives.

God can work in spite of it, and he desires to bless us.

And so verse 28 says, all these are the 12 tribes of Israel,

and this is what their father spoke to them.

And he blessed them.

He blessed each one according to his own blessing.

And so it is with you and I.

you know what you guys god has dealt every one of us a hand and it's our job to play that hand out

and i'm telling you i've seen people when i'm thinking praise god i don't have your hand

right i mean seriously you can always find somebody and and we're shaped than you right

uh but our our problem is is we start comparing you know on paul nails this

in one of the letters when he says, you people, you're comparing yourselves

among yourselves and you are not wise.

Just take what God's speaking to your heart.

Go live your life.

Let him influence you.

You can plan out your way, but just know that the Lord's going to direct your steps.

And he's going to bring opportunities and he's going to bring people that intersect your life

that you're to be a light to them.

you're to point them to the Lord Jesus.

And honestly, I thought we were in jeopardy, folks,

of that becoming harder and harder.

And I think we have a window of time

and maybe God's just given us this little window of time

that we need to go for it, man.

I mean, really go for it.

Throughout scripture, I've noticed that there was no distinction

that you only proclaim

the glory of God in a church setting. You were to do it among the nations, the Bible says.

You're to do it in your city halls. You're to do it in your courthouses. You're to do it in your white

house and your capital of your nation. You're supposed to proclaim the glories of the God

of heaven who gave us all this. And we get hung up on the

the tidly little hand that we've been dealt.

I like this quote.

I can't even pronounce the lady's name.

Her last name's Benchy.

It says, I think you've got to play the hand that you're dealt and stop wishing for another hand.

Right?

And that's what we do, isn't it?

No, we just have to have an open ear.

What's the Lord Sanchez?

is he convicting us of sin that we need to repent of?

Is he moving us by his spirit to go do a work somewhere?

Maybe across the street or maybe across the globe.

It's about having an ear to hear what the spirit would say.

I don't know how many times Jesus repeated himself when he said that.

He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches.

I love what Isaiah 58-11 says,

And the Lord will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong

and you shall be like a watered garden

like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

That's what happens to a life that's yielded.

That's what happens when you play out the hand

that God gives you? It may not look that good right now, but you just never know.

Malcolm Turnbull says, what you've got to do is recognize that you don't control everything

for starters, right? You've got to play the cards at your dealt and the hand of cards you're dealt

as best you can. And then leave the rest to the Lord. And I mean, hang on to your hat.

right hang on to your hat lest it get knocked in the crick verse 29 says then he charged them and said to them

I am to be gathered to my people I love that phrase I am to be gathered to my people it's coming

for all of us right so he says bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite

in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah,

which is before Mamir in the land of Canaan,

which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron, the Hittite,

as a possession for a burial place,

and there they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife,

and there they buried Isaac and Rebecca, his wife,

and there I buried Leah.

Notice he doesn't want to be with Rachel anymore.

He's going to be with Leah.

The field and the cave that is there,

which there were purchased.

from the sons of Heth, and when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into his bed,

and he breathed his last, and was gathered to his people. Right? He foresaw this coming.

If there was anybody, any one of the three patriarchs, ready to die, it was Jacob, Israel. He was

ready, gathered, he just pulled his feet up into his bed, and he breathed his last.

right like David said when he got ready to die all right Lord hide your face from me no more

and that's just a powerful thing to be ready to be ready to bless your family and to be ready

to take your last breath that's just a good recipe right there right bless your family

be ready to take your last breath and God will take care of everything in between amen

let's pray father thank you thank you for your love

thank you for, Lord, you've given every one of us something to do in this life.

And I just pray that we would do it with zeal, with the anointing and the power of your

Holy Spirit as you direct our steps, as you open and close doors, give us wisdom, Lord, from above.

Not that's contentious, but as your word tells us, that wisdom from above that's willing to yield,

it's kind, it's, it's, Lord, it's peaceful.

and Lord, we just thank you that you have our lives,

you have directions and steps and paths for us to take.

And, oh, Lord, may we not turn away.

Lord, I pray that you'd get kind of hard on us if we try to.

Lord, that you would pull us around.

If you have to put a hook in our nose or our jaw,

I pray that you would do it, that we would do your will until you come.

As you told us, Jesus, to occupy until I come.

Help us to do that with the power of who you are.

Lord and that your name would be on our lips and in this window of time that you've given us

and it looks like it may be a time of peace for a fair short amount of time Lord may we be as bold as

a lion for your kingdom's sake and we pray it in Jesus mighty name amen amen let's stand and

worship if you need prayer the prayer team I'll be over here to the right God bless you guys

have a great week

Thank you.