“Preparing to Die and Pouring out Blessings” - Genesis Chapter 47-48 - Pastor Scotty

Okay, yeah get them Bibles out I got my stool

With a cushion

And I just want to share a few thoughts with you from

Genesis 47 and 48 we're gonna look at Jacob and he

He's getting ready to die, but he's pouring out blessing and so

I

Saw holy cow that's kind of a that would be a great picture of the Christian life. We're getting ready to die

but because we're not intimidated in that because we put our

Placed our trust and hope and the one who is his conquered that then we're free to pour out

God's blessing on those are around us

and I think I'd mentioned that a little bit last time we were together, but as as we

Turn to 47. I didn't quite finish there and

Before we read we'll start in verse 27. Let's pray Lord. Thank you. Thank you for

Israel for this man that

You chose to do a work in his life Lord and you chose to call him just like you've chosen

To call and to minister to every one of our hearts Lord

sitting in this place today Lord you've

You called us Lord for

to be your people and to humble ourselves and to

Repent of our sin and to walk with our God and I pray that Lord we would find ourselves in and just with that attitude

Lord of

Willing to do what you want us to do Lord and not not go about it in our own

Understanding in our own way and so Lord Jesus as we look at the the nuggets in the in these

Verses of Scripture this morning. I I pray that you would just

Lord you just lift us up that we would be encouraged Lord that we would be filled with hope and peace and your incredible love and

And Lord again, we just praise you for this opportunity to come together as your people

Collectively as one body Lord and worship you in spirit and in truth in Jesus name

amen

so here's Jacob, and he's he's been in Egypt and he's

Made it through the drow and

re

reunited with his son Joseph

and it says and so Israel verse 27 dwelt in the land of Egypt in the country of Goshen and

they had possessed and they had possessions there and grew and

Multiplied exceedingly and Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 17 years and so the length of Jacob's life

was

147 years and so here's here's

Jacob he's he's been in the land now of Egypt for 17 years and his time is growing near and

so

He has been blessed in those 17 years interesting 17 years Joseph

That's how old he was when he went to Egypt so he had bid under his dad's authority and under his dad's

instruction and nurturing for 17 years and now in

fulfillment with Joseph's dream for 17 years

Jacob has been ministered to by his son and

Under his son authority you remember in that dream right that the 11 stars bowed down to him

What's speaking of his brothers?

But his also the Sun and the moon

speaking of his his parental influence at that time some obviously Rachel has died and and

Leah was there but

He bowed down and here he is and God just like he always does Israel. He's blessing them

right there, they're the most blessed nation on the face of the planet and

and

And the United States is right with him

Years ago. I was listening to Benjamin Netanyahu as he was on one of the US news channels, and he says do you know?

that the Constitution could have been written in Hebrew and

And I think the journalist was kind of taken back by what Netanyahu said he says because you are descendants of

the Judeo-christian

Ideal and worldview

right all started with us with the Hebrews and

It did right. That's that's where our law comes from that's where our our

Lifestyle came from that and it's been extremely blessed and so

And it all comes from this dude right Jacob who his name is changed to Israel and

And God's blessing him just like he said he was gonna said he was gonna do right and maybe here

Jacob is reminded of what the Lord

Had said to him there in chapter 46 verse 44, and he says I myself

I will go down with you to Egypt and

I will bring you up again

and

Joseph hand Joseph's hand shall close your eyes. He says Joseph is gonna be there when you die

You're gonna see your son

you're gonna be with him and he says notice he says I will bring you up again and

Maybe that's what he's thinking about goes well. I'm gonna die

Are you ready to die?

Right being ready to die is so

Such a powerful thing and when I was younger I struggled with that even as a believer

You know I I I you know what I don't know what it is

Is it just because we're young and we think that that don't happen to young people?

And we're gonna miss out on a whole lot as I look back

Going at 20 or 25 wouldn't have been a bad deal

right I

Could have foregone a lot of marital problems. I could have foregone

Raising toddlers and terrible twos and then teenagers boys and girls

My

Kids were scared to death of me

Because I have this look on my face that looks like a snarling Doberman when I get upset with them

You know they're probably damaged because of me so if I don't went when I was 20 or 25

What would have been a good thing?

But Jacobs knows right he's he's not lived near as long as his grandfather

Abraham or his father Isaac, but he gets a hundred and forty seven years. That's a pretty good run. I would say and

But the Lord says I'm gonna bring you up again and

and Joseph's gonna be there at the end of your life and

Jacob here could see the end of his life. He knows he's failing and

I've kind of been faced with that

You know when I had to have help to get up out of the bed there there in the first few days

I'm just like

Really?

Death would be so wonderful

You know it's pretty pathetic when a you know a little

120 pound nurse has to help you up out of bed. I mean it was it was it was very humbling

Maybe that's why it happened. I don't know

so what happened was is I

Had owed this gal a hundred bucks

right I

Thought well hey I could just start you know she and she'd gotten a bunch of these mares they were four and five years old

They were only halter broke. They'd never had saddle on they'd never been ridden

I said, I'll just start a couple for you. I'll get on put that first ride on them

That's something that I'm I can do

Or I used to could

And

You know and pay off my hundred-dollar bill that I that I owed her for some hay that I had traded her out of last year

And so the first one went pretty well jumped around a little bit. No big deal next one was kind of sulky kind of

woman like

Okay, can I say I was only joking

She had a bit of an attitude right and I thought oh man I

probably shouldn't but I'm going to and

Sure enough, and I and I looked down at the the owner, and I said she's actually doing pretty good

I said I'm just gonna get one little you know move out of it here

and I mean she broke in half and went to buckin and

I'm old and

My reflex reflexes are near nothing near what they were when I was 25 or 30

and I mean and she was bucking hard I

Tell people it felt like she was an NFR horse every know what an NFR horse is

NFR horse is a national finals horse. I've been on NFR horses before but never at 62

And

So I said in all reality she was probably just kind of high-loping

But you know when you're 62 you think wow this is a big deal

Well she got some daylight between us in the saddle the seat came up, and that's what hit me, and I felt it pop and

I felt it pop right here in my on my pubic bone and also on my back

So I thought surely my pelvis is broke, but praise the Lord. It's only separated so

I'm on my way

Lord willing and I don't stumble and fall

So

Anyway this guy he's uh he knows it's getting close and

notice he he comes to his son here and

He says in verse 29 when the time drew near that Israel must die

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

But let me lie with my father's you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in in their

Burial place and he said I will do as you have said this is Joseph response

And then he said Jacob swear to me

And he swore to him so Israel bowed himself on the head of his bed

And so he humbly he humbly approaches his son who is obviously

The one who is in in power, and he says if I have found favor

right

Jacob is being showing respect or

homage if you will to Joseph because of Joseph's position and

And he says I you know I'm ready to die

it's

It's gonna happen, but you cannot bury me here. You got to take me home

Right and maybe he's hanging on God's promise here to him back in chapter 46 when he said I will bring you up again

Right take his bones back to Machpila, which is is a very important place

He said I want to be buried with them with the in their

Burial ground and that would be speaking of Abraham and Isaac

That place where the faithful of the Lord are buried

Abraham and Sarah are buried there Isaac and Rebecca are buried there

He buried Leah there, and he wanted to be there

My wife and I we were kind of having this conversation. Have you made your funeral arrangements?

Where do you want to be buried? What do you want? Well because we've always talked about cremation because it's so cheap

You know or a bunch of cheapskates from you know the Bible says from dust to dust you know

Cremation just speeds the process up really fast

But I'm thinking I told Connie the other day. I said no

I don't think so I think I want you to bury me either in Buell or Filer in

Southern Idaho that's where I kind of grew up. That's where I did all of my

dastardly deeds

Right my grandparents on my dad's side was was my grandma who prayed for me and to get saved

That's where she's buried and my grandpa

But but then in Filer is my mom's mom and dad isn't there there are seven miles apart the two cemeteries

And I'm thinking I think I want you know

I think we need to figure this out and because I'm going to be in Filer or

Buell one of the one of the two places and the way I'm going I might get there quicker than I'd planned

But

But to have those things kind of lined out you know when Connie and I went to Costa Rica last last last winter

We thought man what happens if the plane goes down?

Our kids are gonna be in a scrap. We need to nip this in the bud right now

Right because I told my youngest son. I said hey boy if anything happens sell the house and split it four ways

You'd all get to $25 apiece

Right that's all you're gonna get

And so I mean we got serious about it

we thought well you know cuz sometimes when you go to those those those countries that don't freeze and

kill all the stuff like bacterias and bugs and stuff you can get a bug and die and

So we thought wow we better so we went and got our will done right

I think it's just good practice especially those of you who are getting pretty long in the teeth

You know what I mean long in the teeth

Horses when they get old their teeth get long just and I see a lot of color out there, right? I got some myself

So make sure you got that that in order, but this is what this is what Jacob is doing

He's putting things in order, and this is this is what I want when when I'm gone. I want you to take me

I want to want you to put my bones there in the Promised Land the land the place that God had promised him

Now this isn't the end yet for for Jacob though

He sees it coming and it's and Joseph swears

He says and he swore to him so Israel bowed himself on his bed, and he and he worshiped

He worshiped

Ain't it cool that death can be barreling at you, and you can just bow your head and worship your God

It has no hold or do what Paul's tell it has no sting Oh death

Where is your sting Oh grave? Where is your victory it doesn't have any?

Because of that

In

Describable gift that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ and so he worships and it goes on here in verse 48

It says now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told indeed your father is sick

and he took with him his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim and

Jacob was told look your son Joseph is coming to you and Israel

Strengthened himself and sat up on the bed, and then Jacob said to Joseph God Almighty

Appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me and said to me behold

I will make you fearful and multiply fruitful excuse me and

Multiply you and I will make of you a multitude of people and give this land to your descendants after you as an

everlasting possession

right, so he's he's getting weaker he knows his common and

And so Joseph Joseph hears and he goes man. I better take my boys and go see him and

I think it's it's really important to get our

Kids and our grandkids close to the older folks that are gonna die I

Remember the first time I took my Buster to a funeral and was a funeral that I was

I was kind of close to the guy who had died and but I took him with me to the viewing and I didn't realize it

But Buster had never seen anybody dead. He was about eight years old, and he was looking at that guy

and walking around there and

And I'm think it's a good thing don't shield that from kids

They need to see that

They need to see the reality of it, and we we just live in a society. Well. Don't let them see this why not

It's gonna happen to them one day

Better be ready right and

And so he takes his two boys with him and no doubt he wants wants them to see their grandpa before

before he dies and it says

It says that you indeed your father is sick another word for that could be weak

He could have been slowly getting weaker and Jacob was told look your son. Joseph is coming so he strengthened himself

He says I got a few things. I got a share with my boy before I go

I've been to a lot of deathbeds

It is amazing the regrets that I've heard over the years

Going to deathbeds and setting beside people and they begin to bemoan

Some of the decisions they've made in their life some of the relationships of the ships that have just been totally destroyed because of their

selfishness and

It's better late than never

amen it's better late than never and

and so he

He takes the boys he gets there and Joseph strengthens himself because excuse me Jacob strengthens himself because

He's gonna share his testimony he's gonna share his testimony with with Joseph and his two grandsons

Hearing the testimony of the patriarchs or matriarchs in your family is a very powerful thing and

And so he tells him there he said

He said God almighty. It's the it's the El Shaddai

Or it could be could be translated God the God of the whole earth appeared to me at Luz

now Luz is is

Equivalent to also known as Bethel the house of God you guys remember the story as we were going through it

That's where Jacob was when he put his head down on that rock and he saw the ladder going

Back and forth between heaven and earth the angels of God ascending and descending and that ladder was the Messiah the Mashiach

the the the Christ it's a picture of Jesus that he saw there and

the Lord spoke to him said I'm gonna be with you and I'm gonna go with you and I'm gonna bless you and

so he's recounting this to his to his son and to his

grandchildren I

Remember when

When my

When my grandma she

She shared with me her testimony. She was 14 years old when she came to Christ and it was at a tent meeting in

Oklahoma

But my grandma what was interesting at the reason 14 was important

She had a sister named Gladys and her brother Delbert. They both died when they were 14 and

My great-grandma had lost three or four children, but which was quite common back then

But because my grandma I think was more than 18, but she she told me so when she turned 14

She was struck with fear

she was just

terrified and so they would her mom and her dad took her to this revival tent meeting and

Every night that they had the revival tent meeting and they got close to the end when the preacher would give the invitation

She would get up and go out to the car

And my grandma Nora who prayed for me and Rick when my mom was actually pregnant with that with us

She she said jewel. I know what you're doing. You need to sit through this preacher's invitation tonight

And so she was kind of frustrated with her mom and pretty soon he give the invitation

She says I do not know what happened

But she said I don't even remember but all of a sudden he said come on down here to the altar and give your life

to Christ

Sorry Marcel

And she said I I don't even remember getting up all I remember it felt like a big hand in my back

and I was by the time I got there I was running and

She received Christ and she told me this in her 70s and her heart was just so it so moved her

she was in tears and I thought I

Think I think about that now and I'm thinking

That really impacted me

Right that really impacted me that as I was was on my journey. I I probably remembered that that that

Maybe consciously or subconsciously but but her sharing that with me or my mom sharing

hating my dad for years after they divorced and how she had to come to grips with that and how the Lord the

Testimony of how the Lord delivered her from that or my grandpa Orville who had a heart attack in his 40s

He made it to just two weeks before his 80th birthday and how the Lord delivered him. I just thought

That's important. I need to start so next time I see my grandbabies

I'm gonna start telling them man, but where grandpa was and what happened and why I walk with Jesus

It's incredible

God has a passion for generations

You know right now they say that the the multiplication

The birth rate in America the birth rate in most countries around the world is down way down

The testosterone levels in young men from 18 to 30 is like way down. Oh, that's the problem

Right

But God loves

Babies he loves generation after generation. He's never told us to stop being fruitful and multiplying

Right. He's never told us to stop doing that

and

Yet we're talked we're hearing about population control

You realize that that's in direct opposition of who God is he's for life

and

so

So Jacob, he's he's poor in this this life. He says God he he appeared to me and and

In the land of loz and and he said to me

behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you and I will make you a

Multitude of people and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession

Did you get that

Everlasting possession

That's why Israel is in the land that's why there is no two-state solution I

Just some of you may have saw it there was a somebody had posted a clip of Benjamin Netanyahu 40 years ago

40 years ago. How long ago was that? That was in 1982

for

1984 was 40 years ago and

Netanyahu's talking about the I mean he's he's young he don't have any grainy's hair

Good looking guy and he's talking about the two-state solution. He says the Arabs already have an Arab state. They got 22 of them

You guys are wanting to make it a 23rd

He says Israel is Israel and

It's an everlasting covenant right that God made with these people people ask me all the time

Well

Or I hear I hear rumblings more. Why does he talk about Israel all the time?

Because Israel is where a

good understanding of Israel folks is a good understanding of the Bible a

Good understanding of Israel is a good understanding of the Bible if you don't understand

The Jewish culture in the in the Hebrew world especially as it relates to the Old Testament you're lost

When you read God's Word

You're lost

But as you begin to understand it and you look at the that covenant that God made with Abraham

right and and and the same words are used that we just read here in the first four verses of chapter 48 in

Genesis 17 where it says

To Abraham also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger

all the land of Canaan and

everlasting possession and I will be their God and

Here they are

They cease to be in the land for 2,500 years and now they are back in the land and I will be their God

He says

right

Netanyahu also said on national US television that Ezekiel 37 has been fulfilled

Right that the valley of dry bones that they have become a nation again

So he reminded him

He he's reminded of of what he told Isaac in in Genesis chapter 26

Genesis 26 · chapter mention

I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands and in your

Offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed

So is the next generation hearing from you

Hearing the your testimony how you came to know God

How you came to walk with Jesus

How about the promises of God

John 3 16 I love it whosoever do they know that

Does that generation do they know that who so ever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life?

You know my my grandmother jewel I just talked about her

She had taken me to church and at nine years old I had made a decision to follow Jesus and I'd remember

My grandma she I remember her singing some of the hymns. You know I remember her reading her Bible

I remember her quoting Bible verses to me so fast forward another you know 15 years

I'm 23 years old and when I surrender my life to the Lord I can remember scriptures that she had told me when I was 9

Right you know that whole saying where God's Word don't return void

And I remember it from the generation not only her but also from my grandma Jones my mother's mom

Who also would quote the Bible to me?

And it was like those those words that had been laid dormant for all those years all of a sudden

They just sprang to life, and they were all over me right and that's why it's so important to share

God's Word with

Your kids and your grandkids

because this there's gonna come a time in their life right when that they're at the end of themselves and

They need something that God the Holy Spirit

can flash forth into their memory into their souls that they've heard before and

It converts them the word of the Lord the Bible says converts the soul and

Those were things that that I just could not ignore and

so

It's a powerful thing. It's actually commanded in in the in the Old Testament law in Deuteronomy

It says all these words which I command you today shall be in your heart

You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house

When you walk by the way when you lie down and when you rise up you shall bind them as signs on your hand

And they shall be as frontlets between your eyes he

He shares God's promises that God had promised him with his son and with his

Grandson because Jacob is going to take Joseph's sons as his own and he's gonna bless them verse 5

look at verse 5 there where it says I

Know it's in here somewhere and now your two sons

Ephraim and Manasseh. Oh, wait a minute. Did you know something there? He changed order. He changed order on Jacob

It's Manasseh who is the firstborn and then Ephraim there and there's a reason for that

He says and now your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh

Who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are mine

So Jacob sent your two boys these two boys ears. They're mine. I'm taking them

Right what dad do you think dad would have a hard time with that? I don't know

But he says as listen they are mine as Reuben and Simeon now think about that Reuben and Simeon

Those are the first two first two sons born to Jacob

They shall be mine your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours and

And they will be called by the name of their brothers. This is Ephraim in Manasseh in their inheritance

And

so

But as for me when I came from pot pad on

Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way and when there was but a little distance to go

Ephrath I buried to Ephrath I buried her there on the way to Ephrath which is

Bethlehem

So this this is just interesting

You know you hear people talk about Israel and the lost tribes. There's never been any lot has God ever lost anything

There's no last tribes of Israel

There was the ten tribes in the north and the two in the south right when Israel was divided back during after

Solomon some of you might be reading through the the

The Bible reading please do that

I mean if you have another system where you read through the Bible do that, but you can go online

I think and download it

I actually go on my brothers because that's to work, but but I think we have it we have it available online only

the the Bible reading and

Right after Solomon see the the kingdom was united under Saul under David and under Solomon

the king but then when when Rehoboam and Jeroboam come along then it's it's separated and you know that the kingdom of Israel is

Israel to the north Judah to the south they're divided and

And these boys are a part of that later on down the road

But he's he's gonna take them and they're gonna have

What they call they're gonna have preeminence

So Reuben and and Ephraim or excuse me Ephraim and Manasseh are gonna have preeminence

More so than than Reuben and and Simeon and some think it was because of their sin

That it cost them. You know sin costs you

Yeah, right you can forfeit a lot of stuff that God wants to do in your life

Just by being sinful or being selfish and Reuben. You know what Reuben did right he?

He went in had sex with with his dad's wife

and

Was not his mother

but one of the handmaids right and then Simeon was the dude with him and Levi when they

Agreed with the Shechemites to get circumcised, and then they went in and slaughtered them all when they were sore and on crutches

Because we're on crutches you won't fight very well right they went in and slaughtered them all and

and and

Jacob was upset with them so now he's he's kind of taken. He's taken Ephraim and Manasseh and

He's given Ephraim

Preeminence over Manasseh now you remember Reuben didn't even go into the land

He stayed on the other side of the Jordan right Simeon goes into the land. He's pretty small

But when Ephraim we see Ephraim go into the land. He's the biggest of all the tribes, so it's not 12 tribes

there's 13 and

12 of them get get land there in the promised land the Levites don't because they're the priestly line

So they don't get any of the land so it's divided up into 12 sections

But but Ephraim and Manasseh was on both sides right he had a portion on the east side of the Jordan

and he had a portion on the west side of the Jordan and

so

he says

so them boys they're gonna be mine they're gonna be part of the the nation of Israel and

He says whatever is born after that those can be yours and so he they are gonna receive a direct inheritance as

the sons of Israel and

we never see the tribe of Joseph except in

Revelation in

Revelation a lot of times when it speaks of Joseph

About one of the tribes right it speaks of Ephraim, but Joseph is mentioned in

the Revelation as as the tribe

Because Ephraim actually had his own

skeletons in the closet that probably got him in trouble with the Lord as well and

So so this is what he tells him now it almost appears like in verse 7 that he kind of

Is just reminiscing

It's like he's changing the subject, but not really because it says but as for me

When I came from Padan Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way

When there was but a little distance to Ephrath

interesting and

I buried her there on the way to Ephrath

That is Bethlehem now anytime you hear the word Bethlehem. What does that bring to mind?

right

Jesus right because that is where

Right the bread of heaven Jesus said I am the bread right I am the bread of life the bread of heaven came down

to the earth at

Bethlehem and that's what Bethlehem means Beth means house the ham means bread house of bread

Bethlehem is the house of bread so

possibly

Jacob is thinking as I

Buried these boys his grandmother one of these boys his name is is

Ephraim Ephraim is the same word as Ephraim means fruitfulness and

So that's what?

Possibly joke Joseph or Jacob excuse me is thinking about here, but it always points towards the Messiah

And there's a scripture in Psalm that I'm gonna get to

Next time I'm not gonna get there today, but it says

And so then Israel saw Joseph's sons and said who are these and Joseph said to his father?

They are my sons whom God has given me in this place

and he said please bring them to me and I will bless them and

So here's a blessing of a grandpa on his grandkids

Now I know about you

I got grandkids, and I want to I want to pour all kinds of blessings out on my grandkids

right

but these guys are

There is a very deliberate

blessing that that

He is maybe foreseeing sometimes. I wonder you know when you read things in the old Old Testament you wonder

Did they even know what they were writing these guys?

Where they would write about things seven five hundred seven hundred a thousand years before it actually?

happened where they even and yet

It does appear that he has a sense here and says he says who are these that's the exact same question

That was asked to Jacob right before his dad Isaac blessed him exact same phrase

Who who are you you remember what he said he lied? Oh?

I'm Esau

But he still got the blessing

And so right before these guys get the blessing he's going who are these now it goes on and says his eyes are dimmed

So maybe he couldn't recognize the difference between Ephraim and Manasseh

But Joseph obviously keeps clear thing up

But he says bring him here that I might bless them now this this is this is interesting because

The word blessing in the Hebrew is the Barakah which which means to pull down

Means to pull down

But when it's shorter

It the it comes from the root word

Barak which means knee or to kneel think about it

What do you do when you pray?

You get on your knees sometimes you humble yourself, right?

That's what it that's what the word humble actually means to make yourself low, but it means to pull down

It means to pull down

The the glories of heaven the goodness of heaven onto somebody's life. That's what it means

You've been doing that with your grandkids. How about your kids?

been praying for him

Your little boys you praying for their wife

Your little girls you praying for their husband, please pray

Right. I don't know about these boys nowadays

It's it's it's scary I

Know I don't want my granddaughter being around any boy like I was

Right

That scares me. I would kill him and

Have a prison ministry

But I

Because I listened to a Hebrew guy talk on this and I'm just thought that is the coolest thing I've ever heard

What are you pulling down?

Onto your kids onto your grandkids onto your enemies onto your neighbors. What are you pulling down?

When you hit your knees

right

God gives you a a posture that you can you can

Kneel down just as we see Jacob here bowing down on his bed before the Lord

when he's about ready to bless these grandkids and that

The other night I grabbed my wife's hand man. We start pulling down

We start pulling down blessing on our kids and our grandkids

They don't know that

But God does and who directs their life God does I had people praying for me

So this week I had a guy call me we were we were rodeo buddies and

We all kind of came to Jesus around the same time right around

1983 84 Jesus started there was just a movement in in our little group and

We would fill up a whole pew there at Calvary Chapel Twin Falls

and and we and we were talking and

And

He had had an experience with the Holy Spirit. He had gotten saved he had received Christ and

You know and then they moved away. He was a

Horse trainer and did well first you know worked in the thoroughbred industry and and but all

Things came to a head with his him and his wife and they divorced and he's got two kids and hasn't talked to him in

Ten years, and it was just one thing after another into the drug world and just an absolute train wreck mess of a life

And he said he said Scotty

I remember you and Rick and the Lord got a hold you guys, and he said, but you never seemed to falter

Why is that?

I thought to myself that is a really good question

It was probably all the pulling down that had been happening for my life in his life

It would go and clear back to my great-grandma Nora

Praying for generations to come and we were a part of that

And I'm just like that's the only thing I can think of because he says you know I didn't have he says my parents are

really good people

but should I never I didn't I never had any influence of what a Christian life was to look like and

I'm telling you my heart got pretty full of things really quick

Because I know that could be me so easy and I was probably even better. I was better at sinning than him right

And just made an absolute mess and yet because

Because God sends people

He looks down he sees before the foundation of the world our lives

And he knows he has this foreknowledge of who we're gonna be

What's the influence of our lives is gonna be like who does he send to be that influence to intercede in?

the quiet places

like my grandma in

her upper room

It was all she could do to walk up and down them stairs

She was in a horrific car wreck shattered her ankles, and I used to watch her walk up the for 20 years

I watched her walk up and down these stairs

And she would go go up there and and no doubt pray for her her grandchildren all she had was one son and four grandkids

And so we got the brunt of all her prayers. Thank you Jesus, right?

So it means it means to pull down, but it also also when we kneel or when we we

Attack in prayer it also is an offensive weapon that we see in Ephesians chapter 6 where it says

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

right

That

What above all things right take the sword of the Spirit and prayer and then it says in 2nd and 2nd

Corinthians chapter 10 it tells us listen for though we walk in the flesh

We do not war according to the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are

Not carnal, but mighty and God for pulling down

strongholds so not only do a pull down blessing

But we pull down spiritual strongholds as we humble ourselves before the Lord and as we seek his face

Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God bringing every thought into captivity

to the obedience of Christ

right I

Got some excited about this just like man pulling down blessings. Let's do it pulling down

There's

Something about God giving us knees and

I can get I can get on my knees and

What it does is also pulls down God's ear

When you humble yourself?

Psalm 116 - I love it. I think this is ESV version

It says because he bends down to listen. I will I will pray as long as I have breath

Because when you hit your knees

God bends his ear he listens

You want God to listen to you?

first humble yourself

Repent of your sin right and secondly approach his throne what that what whatever is in your heart?

Right cast your cares upon him for he cares for you

and

so

Israel is this is this man who is

Who becomes a blessing to the whole world just like he promised Abraham Israel's in that line

Israel is a blessing to the whole world folks right because it's where Jesus came from

That's why I talk about it so much

So what the patriarchs did when they were calling on the Lord they were pulling down blessing onto the whole world

Absolutely incredible every nation of the earth who hears the name of Jesus and has an opportunity to respond

To the the great sacrifice and the great work that he did for them personally is blessed

right is is blessed and so

And that's Gentiles hey

We're blessed too because we're part of it right we're grafted in it tells us in Romans 11

But if some of the branches were broken off and you although a wild olive shoot that would be us

Gentiles were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree

Israel is called three trees the fig tree and olive tree in a vine

Right throughout Scripture, and we're a part of that

we are to be a blessing to the whole world and

and pulling down blessing on the world and and and

The psychotic people think no they need to we need to get rid of these Christians. They're crazy

And they're probably right

But we're included there is no Jew or Greek the Bible says right

but because of this man's life and and God's promises to him we we

Were blessed and were included in fact in in in a Galatians 6. It's called the Israel of God

Right that we would be a part of that someone who strives with God

Today you're doing one of two things you're striving with God and going in the same direction as God or you're opposed to him

You're striving against him I

Was suggest the first

I'm gonna close with it something that just jumped out at me

as I was as I was looking at this and and studying and

you

know

Jacob is called in one in verse two. I believe it's he's called Jacob and Israel all in the same verse and

so those those those interchangeable names of Jacob and and

Israel throughout Scripture

But I thought Jacob the truth of Jacob's life

Confirms what John chapter 11 verse 25 says?

John 11:25

Does anybody know right off the top of their head John 11 25 I always shared at funerals right? It's the whole

It's the whole well

This is 25 verse 25 in verse 35 is where Jesus wept the shortest verse from the Bible right you can remember that one

but

Israel's life is

Is such a picture of John 11 25 where Jesus is speaking to a woman at a funeral and?

He says Martha I

Am the resurrection in the life he who believes in me though he were dead yet shall he live

Right and I look at Israel's life Israel died at 147 years old, but Israel lives

Israel lives today is alive is the eternal

Has eternal life it's incredible

The resurrection in the life the Lord Jesus Christ those who believe in him though they were dead yet shall they live

Now if that doesn't bless your heart you need to check your pulse, right?

As

We prepare ourselves to die may we be a blessing right to the world. I'm gonna close with this scripture

I love it. You can put it on your heart

You can maybe write it down if he's in chapter 1 verses 3 & 4 says

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ

Just as he chose us in him before the foundations of the world that she we should be holy and without blame

Before him in love let's pray father. Thank you

The truths of your word or

Lord they are eternal and

they move us and

They sustain us and they keep us

May we find ourself in that place even this week of

Just trusting you

Lord

pulling down that blessing that

That power from above that we have access to as your believers

Lord that we would

Approach the throne boldly

But also never forgetting that it's a throne of grace

Lord that that unmerited favor that you've given to everyone in this room

Who has named the name of Jesus?

and

There may be some in this room who have not

called on you to be their Lord and Savior

Lord I pray that they would do that even right now and

Lord is we're just in an attitude of prayer right now if there's someone here that needs that in their life. They just need a

surrendered life to the God of heaven

If that's you pray these simple words with me it's just a just an admission of your need

Pray these words Lord Jesus forgive me of my sin. I know that you died for me

Lord I need you in my life

Holy Spirit, I need your power

To be like you

to

to have the confidence

That I can pull down blessing on my family and those around me

Lord fill me with your spirit wash my soul. Thank you for your precious blood

Lord I believe that you rose from the dead and

that you offer me eternal life and

I receive it unto myself in

Your mighty name I pray in Jesus name

Amen, amen

God bless you. Hey, these guys are gonna do us worship song. Let's stand and

the works the prayer team will be over here to the right so if you need prayer, please come down and

God bless you do some pulling down this week, would you?