“God Reminds Jacob of Who He Is” - Genesis Chapter 46 - Pastor Scotty Brown

Alrighty, you got a sword, whip that baby out would you? Genesis chapter 46 and God

Genesis 46 · chapter mention

reminds Jacob of who he is. Maybe God needs to remind you today who he is. That

he's the God who cares and he's the God who loves and he's the God who saves. And

so this this story has been incredible. It always fascinates me one of the

greatest stories with with Joseph being there in Egypt, God sending him there, not

without wounds obviously. Bible says faithful are the wounds of a friend and

sometimes the Lord has to wound us a little and we need to be okay with that.

Sometimes it's a simple wounding like bend over and grab your ankles and he

will light you up. So but we know that they had come home, the boys had come home

from Egypt, they tell Jacob Joseph is alive, right? And obviously he was full of

doubt at that moment but just to probably hear the name of his son and

the words that he is alive it says that that Joseph's heart stood still. His

heart like stopped and maybe not believing them until he heard the words

of Joseph and and saw the carts and the goods that Joseph had sent to retrieve

his father and the family to bring them to Egypt. And then it says his spirit was

revived. You need your spirit revived today, right? I think I need spiritual

revival like every morning, right? That's why it's so important to get be still

before the Lord and the mornings and and ask him to speak to your heart. My cry

every morning is, "Lord Jesus please help me." Especially on Sunday mornings because

I got to stand up in front of all you. Look at all these folks. I know you know

up here it this is quite a vantage point you know I can tell you know I can tell

sometimes I can tell if you agree or disagree but I can tell really tell if

you had a rough night when you're like this catching flies but so and Joseph or

excuse me Jacob has something to live for now right he's got something to look

forward to isn't life so much easier when you got something to look forward

to right you're looking forward to things throughout your life right you

got dreams and and you know you got got goals that you want to reach out I wasn't

never a big goal setters some people are goal setters I'm just not a goal setter

I just try to take it one day at a time now when I was rodeo and obviously my

great goal was I was gonna be a world champion right I mean why do it if

you're not gonna shoot you know swing for the fence but but but never any

goals and then then Jesus gets a hold of your life and all of my goals changed

right when Jesus got a hold of my life my my goals totally changed I thought

I only have one goal now and I can shoot for that every single day to be more

like Christ every day that I live my life no matter what I'm doing whether

I'm digging ditch or whether I was competing or whether I was working at my

job that's a great goal right because it it absolutely determines how you live

your life and so now he's motivated he's excited he knows there's a trip ahead of

him now Jacob is the hundred and thirty years old at this point right so he's no

spring chicken and he's thought for several several times throughout this

these chapters we see him mentioning his death you guys are gonna bring my gray

hair down to the grave in sorrow and he's he knows that that's in sight isn't

that amazing as you get older how you think oh wow we've got less life in

front of us than I do behind me now right as you get closer to to 70 and 80

and the three score and ten and then the four score if by reason of strength you

make it that long and so he here he is he's he's he's excited he's got

something to look forward to and and we're gonna read in in Genesis 46 so

let's pray before we do that Lord thank you thank you for your word and how you

teach us so much by other people's lives and experience throughout history and

here we have this story of our the patriarch Jacob and his reunion with his

son Joseph Lord just reminding us Lord that you Lord are our sovereign and that

you're good and that you're involved in the affairs of men and you're involved

in in the affairs of our lives personally you love us and you have a

plan Lord I pray that we would embrace that idea Lord and and Lord most of all

that we would allow you to work your plan in us and and sometimes those

changes and those corrections and those prunings that you bring to us Lord

they're painful but you use them for good Lord that we might be more fruitful

in this life in our occupation until you come so Lord would you would you bless

Lord like like only you can Holy Spirit that that sweet comforter would you come

and and touch our hearts with your word in Jesus name amen so here we go verse

one it says so Israel took his journey with all he had and came to Beersheba

and we'll stop there I know I didn't even get one verse but but pretty

fascinating Beersheba very fixed place on the map in the in the Bible there

it's the southernmost part of Israel a lot of times when you hear people talk

about all of Israel they'll they'll describe it as Dan which is in the north

to Beersheba in the south and that's all Israel because I think Israel east to

west it's only like I don't know 45 miles wide or something like I said it's

not it's not much but maybe 70 but but it's always described from Dan to

Beersheba Beersheba was there in the south and and so they they take off and

it's about a week travel time to where to where they come into Beersheba and so

no doubt as as Jacob comes into that place of of his old stomping grounds so

to speak the memories come flooding in and just like a like a flood so this

last week you know and and pastor J shared and I was I was in my old stomping

grounds I was in the Magic Valley where I grew up and it is amazing the memories

that come back you know usually on Sunday after the service we go down to

the canyon the Snake River Canyon and it's down there it stays warm usually

and so they grow peaches and and and apples it's called Kelly Orchards and we

go do the you pick peaches thing well my wife called me and said hey that frost

had froze all the blooms so we're not picking peaches this year but every time

I go down in the canyon it all these memories come just flooding back and and

some of them how God spared my life we would do serious partying in the canyon

and we about ran into the river several times and and I tell people oh if those

rocks if those canyon walls could could talk they would tell on me right they

would tell some stories and and when you when you go to those places that so I

went I walked around the Twin Falls County Fair and the people I saw and the

places I remembered in in my youth and and and obviously that was the place

where the Lord began to start getting a hold of me because in that arena is

where a bull stepped on my chest should have killed me didn't and God began to

knock on the door of my heart for the next five years I was I was a bit

miserable remembering that I should have died that night and yet God spared my

life and and so no doubt these these memories are coming back and and and not

only Jacob's experiences of his own but both of his his his grandfather Abraham

and Isaac lived for a time in Beersheba both of them had been there Beersheba

means the well of seven or the well of the oath and so we know that the Abraham

had made an oath there about that well and and that he he could he could have

ownership of it and we know that that's the the southern part of the of the

ground that God had promised to Abraham and then to Isaac and now to Jacob it's

it's part of the promised land and Jacob's grandfather Abraham had had

lived there after offering Isaac on the Mount Moriah you remember he went to

Beersheba and there he and he dug a well and he and he planted a tamarisk tree

there many many think that it's still there today it's a wildest looking thing

if you if you look it up there at Beersheba there's still there's this old

tree gnarled up old tree there and that he had called on the name of the Lord

there Abraham did it in Genesis 21 and Isaac received a special promise from

God and and built an altar of for sacrifice and also dug a well there

calling on the name of the Lord and so part of his spiritual heritage is here

in in Beersheba you got spiritual heritage I remember I went back and when

my grandma died we went into the little church where she used to take us when we

were kids for her funeral and you know it's just it's weird so I walk in I'm

going wow this place seems so much bigger I really thought it was a big

Cathedral it was a little it was like a tiny little schoolhouse is what it was

this this church and but it was it was the place of my spiritual heritage we

did both my grandmother and my grandfather's funeral there and and it

took me back you know I could I could hear her singing I could see my grandpa

with his bolo tie on and and and so it's those memories are precious right but

it's it's a reminder that God's hand had been on my life all that time even when

I was running amok and being a wicked evil decadent youth and he he spared and

he spoke and and he also used my family and and and that's what what Jacob no

doubt is remembering here as he he comes to this place of Beersheba and and there

in in Genesis 26 the Lord speaks to Isaac when he's there and it says and the

Lord appeared to Isaac the same night and said I am the God of your father

Abraham do not fear for I am with you I will bless you and multiply your

descendants with my servant for my servant Abraham's sake so he built an

altar there Isaac did and called on the name of the Lord and he pitched his tent

there and there Isaac's servants dug a well right it was at Beth's excuse at

Bathsheba here also Beersheba excuse me where Hagar right had an encounter with

the Lord and so maybe Jacob sees that altar that his dad built and and maybe

he's he's motivated to seek the Lord because of all this history and all all

this memory that the Lord had been with his grandfather and with his father what

is it can I ask you today that causes you to seek the Lord can you look back

in your life and see where where God has intervened maybe you have a good

spiritual heritage you had somebody praying for you and and you remember and

you're you're maybe maybe even overwhelmed and and hopefully that would

cause you to seek the Lord because a lot of people aren't motivated to seek the

Lord until till trouble comes whether it's marital or financial or trial and

tribulation right people people don't seek the Lord that's a lot of people

seek the Lord only when when they're at the end of themselves listen you need to

be at the end I need to be at the end of myself every day right and and and

realize that apart from him like he tells us Jesus told us this is written

in letters of red there in John 15 apart from me you can do nothing and so

seeking the Lord is just up it becomes a lifestyle and the older I get the more

the Lord seems to be doing in my life I know that I need to seek him more and

more and our I have to say that our prayer meetings during the week on on

Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm convinced it's the only thing that keeps us going it's

the only thing that keeps me going personally to be seeking the Lord and

and desiring his will and so it's just a great way to live your life right it's a

great way to live your life seeking the Lord on a daily basis Jeremiah 29 13 and

you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart God

God's not into the half-heartedness stuff no it's it's it's all or nothing

so we'll read a couple verses here and so it says after after he came to

Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac and I'm

convinced that's because he saw the altar and then are remnants of it then

God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night and said Jacob Jacob and he

said here I am and so he said I am God the God of your father do not fear to go

down to Egypt for I will make you a great nation there I will go down with

you to Egypt and I will also surely bring you up again and Joseph will put

his hand on your eyes so I wonder sometimes if Jacob's scared to death of

this whole Egypt thing right because he knows that his grandfather went down

there and gotten a pickle right that's when Abraham had Sarah lie right and and

Pharaoh could have killed Abraham but he didn't for lying to him and and and also

that that that Isaac was going to go down and God forbade him do not he told

him go down to Egypt so maybe Jacobs remembering that his grandpa got in

trouble and his dad was forbidden and the Lord has to speak loud and clear

because maybe he's having second thoughts he had no problem telling his

boys to go there right Egypt throughout scripture is a picture of the world

right throughout scripture it is a picture of the world in sin and and so

that's why the Exodus is spoken so much about is is being delivered from the

world or from this from sin and so Jacob he he hears the Lord speak loud and

clear Jacob Jacob and we see this throughout scripture when the Lord

calls somebody's name twice he did it to Abraham Abraham Abraham remember the

young Samuel the Lord said Samuel Samuel or how about Martha you're worried about

many things Martha good I got you Martha's mouse thinking I do sorry my

colors talking to me here with this but or how about this one Saul Saul why are

you persecuting me and so the Lord gets people's attention when he calls their

name twice it's encouraging to know that the Lord knows our name amen he knows

your name God knows your name but the scary thing is so to Satan right and

Satan asks for you by name because really if you belong to Jesus Satan has

no power over you unless God kind of pulls back the hedge kind of like he

what he did with job and he Jesus told Peter Satan's asked to sift you as wheat

but I have prayed for you Oh Lord please pray for me so he knows our names he

knows our personal needs right John 10 27 my sheep hear my voice and I know

them and they follow me you following the Lord God wanted to remind Jacob that

he wasn't limited to Canaan I'm not just gonna be with you if you're if you're in

the land I'm with you always no matter where you go for he's the Lord of all

the earth including Egypt God would go with Jacob to Egypt and be with him to

bless him just as he had been with Joseph and blessed him Jacob had nothing

to fear because the Lord would keep the promises he had made to him at Bethel

and you remember there in in Genesis 28 when when Jacob's on his way to get his

bride and the Lord shows up and says behold I'm with you and will keep you

wherever you go and will bring you back to this land for I will not leave you

until I have done what I have spoken to you and so the Lord speaks to him again

and Jacob Jacob and he says here I am and so he goes okay now that I've got

your attention I'm God the word there for God is L and it's it can be

translated helpless in other words the one who needs no help that God don't

need no help right God doesn't need your help I've heard people tell me that well

God needs my help God doesn't need your help please please spare me right no we

need his help right God does not need us God wants us there's a big difference

between needing and wanting God wants us God doesn't need us he needs absolutely

nothing and so I am God I am the help the one who needs no help is is who he

first identifies himself and and and so he says I am God the God of your father

the word the second word for God is different it's it's it's it's Elohim and

it means the exceedingly great one so the one who needs no help the exceedingly

great one is the one talking to you Jacob is reminded by God who God is we

all need reminded who God is you need reminded today I need reminded today who

God is that's why I got up and I I read my Bible this morning I have a lot of

times on Sunday morning I don't read my Bible but I'm thinking God I need to be

reminded who you are and you know what every single time I pick my Bible up and

read it I'm reminded of who God is right and not only that but I'm reminded of

who I am who that's scary right and so when that don't happen and I know I've

shared this with you I feel like a broken record sometimes that my job as a

pastor is to remind remind remind remind right is when I read God's Word right

God stays in his place and I stay in my place but when I do not read God's Word

when I don't put it in my heart and I'm not reminded of who God is right and I'm

not reminded of who I am it starts to go like this right oh no now I'm God and I

don't even I forgot about him and that's the problem that's the problem with our

world mankind believes that he is God that's his problem I can't help but when

I hear these people speak and some of them are just brilliant but I'm

reminded of the verse in Romans 1 that says professing to be wise they have

become fools fools professing to be wise they have become fools and I just

retinat rovick and I were just talking about this and so be reminded today of

who God is it's why we can't have church you know I I try to harp on the issue

all the times people just come to church once a week or maybe that's the only

time they open their Bible but hopefully they'll be reminded of who God is

though it's pretty weak but something's better than nothing don't you think so

God makes Jacob three promises here number one he says I will make you a

great nation there and so God's gonna you're gonna go into Egypt I'm gonna

make you a great nation there God told Israel what his purpose was to in

bringing the large family or clan down to Egypt because of the exclusive

segregated nature of the Egyptian life Israel's descendants could grow as large

as a large distinct nation there and they did right one commentator says

Egypt became like a mother's womb to Israel as a nation and there they grew

from something small to something full-size not really that really

happened so he says that's where I'm gonna make Israel Jacob a nation there

and we still have him today right you're not amazing the nation of Israel is fast

absolutely fascinating number two he says I also surely will bring you up

again in other words I'm gonna bring you back into the Promised Land and he did

he brought the bones of Jacob back into the Promised Land because he dies in

Egypt Jacob dies but he says I'm gonna bring you up again so not only did he

bring Jacob up to the Promised Land he brought Jacob up to heaven right Jacob

was in the presence of the Lord when he took his last breath I'm wondering if he

heard those words well done now good and faithful servant enter into the joy of

the Lord fascinating stuff the reason that that Jacob didn't need to fear the

journey to Egypt was because of God's promise no I'm gonna bring you back I

got you I got you are you fearful right now just know that that God's got you in

the palm of his hand there's nothing can happen without his permission you know

just doing these funerals for these kids these last couple weeks just it's

fascinating to me and yet when I talk to the parents and I I talked to people

close to them the Lord's right in the middle of it nothing happens right that

he doesn't know about oh this was an accident this shit didn't happen maybe

not it from our perspective from God's perspective that was an appointment they

weren't gonna miss because it's appointed for man wants to die right and

then the judgment both the families of these young people honestly believe in

their heart well I mean when they spoke to me it was just like there was such a

confidence in that God was protecting them from some stuff in this world that

lied ahead of them God was like no I don't think so you just come with me and

they're just fine right they're just fine nobody else is but they are they're

just fine so the promise of a great nation the promise of God bringing him

back up not only that but bringing him to himself I just read that today when

when Saul freaks out King Saul freaks out and goes and and summons the the

spirit of Samuel to come up from the dead you remember what Samuel tells him

tomorrow you're gonna be with me now that that I realized that opens up a big

can of worms you can ask me about it later but that what so what was was

it's all go to heaven I have no idea Bible says he was an enemy of God I

don't know if God lets his enemies into heaven or not but God makes that call

right something that Sam was just talking about you're gonna be in the

grave dude you're gonna die tomorrow you're gonna be in the same condition

that I am right now in the grave as far as his body goes so God rescued him and

brought him up brought his bones back when they came back to the Promised Land

and then thirdly he says Joseph will put his hand on your eyes right that Joseph

is gonna be there in other words you are gonna see your boy the final assurance

was for God himself to tell Jacob that Joseph lived and would care for him

until his dying day no doubt this was a sweet assurance right I kid see my boy

talking to a few fathers over the years that have lost sons that's just like

right there all the time they think about it all the time can't wait to see

my boy right especially as they get older they know it's coming it's coming

soon and so God reassures him he says you're gonna you're gonna see Joseph

Joseph Joseph's alive so this is all Jacob needed was to proceed with

confidence he said okay we can cross the border now we're going man after the

vision they're off no doubt it was slow going they were in carts and they had

everything and everyone in the family with them as they go verses 8 through 27

I'm not gonna read them but it lists the children and the grandchildren of the

women right Jacob's wives so you got Leah with Reuben Simeon Levi Judah

is a car and Zebulun Dinah is also mentioned there then you have Zilpah the

mother of Gad and Asher and then you have Rachel the mother of Joseph and

Benjamin and Bilhah the mother of Dan and Naphtali 70 persons and it took his

it took this family 215 years to grow to 70 people but in the next 430 years they

grew to over 2 million people right and it's what we see today they they

maintained their identity as a nation throughout the world even when they were

scattered during the times of the Kings and so some pretty pretty fascinating

stuff there so we'll jump to verse 28 and it says 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 Israel and he presented himself to him and fell on his neck and

wept on his neck a good while and Israel said to Joseph now let me die since I

have seen your face because you are still alive right you ever feel like

that sometimes your your cuffs just running over just like I could die now

this has just been great happened to me yeah here a while back I had all four of

my kids and all eight of my grandkids in my house I'm just like what else do I

need right I can just go be with Jesus you know they can write a little pamphlet

this is your life Scottie Brown

totally satisfied are you there it's good to be there to to be ready right to

be ready for that that day when we we close our eyes maybe I'm super

hypersensitive to it cuz because of so many funerals in my life I'm going to

one right after service by the way it's just like no be ready the living take it

to heart when they when they come to these services and and so it's just just

so important and Jacob's like I'm good I've seen Joseph all that morning for

nothing do you realize the statistics on worry that's why Jesus said don't worry

like way over half of what we were worried about never happens we give

ourselves ulcers for nothing least earn them so it's interesting

Jacob sends Judah so it's like his relationship with his boys that are it

kind of settled in and everybody's cool Judah to lead the way which is fitting

for Judah for because he's the messianic line obviously Jesus is a the lion of

the tribe of Judah that he he just as Judah went before Israel so Jesus went

before us and made a way for us and so it's kind of sweet to see this this

peace between in this family you know it reminds me of Psalm 133 one where it

says behold how good and how pleasant it is it is for brethren to dwell together

in unity and that and obviously no doubt all of them are probably pretty excited

to see their dad's heart when he sees his boy who he's thought was dead so

the reunion of Israel and Joseph was more than he had ever before dreamed

obviously he had heard the news that the favored son lived and now it was

fulfilled this was a dramatic change from the attitude that said before all

things are against you remember that he said all things are against me that's

why he was hanging on to Benjamin like he did no doubt Jacob is reminded that

God that God truly uses everything together for good for those who love him

and that's that's the whole issue folks that's the the issue is on us everything

will work together for good for you I promise you I can promise you that

because God's Word promises you that everything you go through in this life

will work together for good for you if there's a big ol if if you love God

because sometimes we wonder when that dad called me here a couple weeks ago

about doing his daughter's funeral I was I was just impressed I'm just going my

gosh how can you even talk and he talked and he he joked and and and he told me

Friday you know he says we don't we don't mourn like those who have no hope

I got plenty of hope God's gonna see us through that confidence was just it was

it was really overwhelming because I can't imagine right I don't want to

imagine what that's like and so but it was very very powerful and they

recognized it as God doing something good or turning what seemed to be tragic

and hard and maybe even evil into something that was good so Jacob's

Jacob's statement in verse 30 reminds us of Simeon right Simeon statement when he

held the infant Jesus and where he says Lord now you you are letting your

servant depart in peace according to your word for my eyes have seen your

salvation and Jacob is kind of in that same vein here as he as he sees Joseph

and and the sorrow and and the the the weight of the whole death thing is is is

lifted and he says now I can die I can die I'm fulfilled all of Joseph's dreams

have come true now right all of them had come true now it was it was time to

share the joys and sorrows of life with his extended family right it's they're

all together God's God's done an amazing work God's brought about restoration and

healing verse 31 says then Joseph said to his brothers and his father's

household I will go up and tell Pharaoh and say to him my brothers and those of

my father's house who were in the land of Canaan have come to me and the men

are shepherds for their occupation and for their occupation has been to feed

livestock and they have brought their flocks their herds and all that they

have and so it shall be when Pharaoh calls you and says what is your

occupation that you shall say your servants occupation has been with

livestock from our youth even till now both we and also our fathers that you

may dwell in the land of Goshen for every shepherd is an abomination to the

Egyptians right this is this is kind of interesting that that God made all the

Jacobs boys cowboys their stockman right people that have livestock have have

kind of a different sense of humor

because you know you just never when you have livestock you never know what's

gonna happen right it can be wild well especially if you have cattle and or

wild horses they tear everything up they destroy your facilities right my cousin

used to have bucking bulls he finally had to make everything out of pipe

because I don't know how many fences they tore down they just they just

demolish them right there there's there's a it's you're always in

construction mode when you're a stockman because they they they take so much care

but but Joseph wanted Pharaoh to know that his family had a distinction about

them they were different and and that there would be there would maintain this

separation between the Egyptians and the Israelites and and obviously this is God

used this to to to grow his nation and to keep them separate and and and it's

it's really a picture of us being in the world they were in Egypt but they were

not of Egypt you and I we are in this world God forbid that we be of this

world right we're in the world yes and we're sojourners and we're we're just

getting by and because the difference between the children of Israel the

Egyptians the Egyptians picturesque of the people of the world considered this

is the people of Israel an abomination right it means abomination means object

of loathing they loathe them because they were stockman right they worked with

cattle and sheep and goats and and that was a that was disgusting to the

Egyptians disgusting and that's good because that kept a separation and that

God could grow his people are are you an object of loathing to the worldly people

around you right because they do loathe us right you know we just think they're

wrong and we disagree with them but they they despise the people of faith they

despise them they have murder in their heart for them if they could kill us and

get away with it they would do it oh wait maybe that's gonna happen right

that's that's what the believer in the God of heaven is to the world a object

of loathing Jesus said listen they hated me do not expect anything different

towards you they hated me first and so we we are this this object of loathing

and so God reminds Jacob and in in fixing all this what seems to be a mess

in all these previous chapters God has brought it together for good and God

reminds Jacob hey I'm God I don't need any help I'm I'm Elohim right that I I'm

the all-powerful one and and I've got your life in my hands and you can rest

in that God is sovereign and God is good a lot of people don't kind of marry

those two things up they believe God's sovereign but not good or they believe

God's good but he's not sovereign no he's sovereign and he's good that's what

makes him God right what has the Lord reminded you of today what do you need to

be reminded of do you need you need to be reminded of God's goodness do you

need to be reminded of God's sovereignty maybe you need to be reminded that God

sees your pain God knows your pain he knows what you're going through he knows

what you're struggling with maybe maybe you're struggling with with with your

health or or with your your mental health we hear that a lot today set your

mind on things above the Bible says I've got a lot of a lot of advice for the

mental health people it's all found in God's Word but you know we have church

service on Sundays to remind each other you know kind of rubber shoulders with

each other we can share our troubles with each other but we can also the most

the sweetest thing we can do is he encourage one another in our faith right

keep going man don't weaken now you know I've seen people in these last years

last two or three years wanting to throw in the towel I mean like where are you

gonna go well you're so you're done with the Christian life because it gots gets

hard and you don't understand you know Peter nailed it well Lord where are we

gonna go you're the you're the one that has the words of eternal life in fact I

want to close this morning just with with some words of Peter first he tells

us in 2nd Peter chapter 1 verse 13 he says um yes I think it right as long as

I am in this tent to stir you up by reminding you reminding you that God's

good that God's sovereign that God has requirements for us he says this in

verse 5 of the same chapter he says but also for the very reason giving all

diligence add your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge to knowledge self

control to self control perseverance to perseverance godliness to godliness

brotherly kindness to brotherly kindness love for if these things are yours and

abound you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord

Jesus Christ for who he who lacks these things is short-sighted even to

blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins therefore

brethren be even more diligent to make your calling election sure for if you do

these things you will never stumble for so an entrance will be supplied to you

abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ he

said that's why I'm reminding you right add to these things faith virtue press

in put the word in your heart like that's almost said that we might not sin

against him because he's not he knows he knows your life he knows what's ahead of

you tomorrow and he's got all the grace sufficient for you and I right isn't

that what he tells Paul when he's he's he's having a thorn in the flesh that

this life is not easy and this life isn't easy but we got a God who's big

enough and will give us enough grace to survive every single day we just have to

be reminded of that amen let's pray father we thank you thank you for your

word thank you for your encouragement Lord Jesus that though Jacob thought it

was all over it wasn't all over Lord you have plans and purposes and you're doing

things that we don't understand Lord that it's it's so much bigger than our

measly little lives you're you're you're you're using us Lord we're we're like a

or like a tool in your hand Lord I pray that you would help us be in that place

of being yielded Lord that you're sovereign and that you're good and that

those those plans of yours are to remind us remind us of that Lord no matter how

bad or how dark the days seem and it almost feels like there might be dark

days ahead of all of us Lord in our country and in our world Lord that that

has truly seemed to have lost its way that has trusted in their own

understanding and not acknowledged you in all their ways and and Lord's

therefore their their paths are amiss and so Lord I just pray that we would

remind ourselves that we there is a God in heaven that rules and the affairs of

men Lord that you truly are sovereign and that you've you've given us a a good

way to go and you've even whispered in our ear telling us this is the way walk

in it and so Lord as we put your word in our hearts in these days Lord that our

love wouldn't grow cold Lord but that you would fan out with the flame of your

Holy Spirit realizing Lord that this this love that you call us to it it has

to come from you because we don't have it and so Lord may we be a people who

are humbled before our God and and realize Lord that you're drawn to that

and you're willing to fill our cup with your goodness and your truth and your

love also courage Lord in these days and full of faith and so Lord we love you we

praise you may you and inhabit our worship right now Lord as we just close

this service in a song of adoration to our King Lord we love you and praise you

Lord I pray that you would minister to hearts Lord maybe you've reminded

somebody today Lord that that they need you Lord that they need to be surrendered

to you and give you all that is left of their life Lord that they like Jacob at

the end of their lives would be totally fulfilled and completed in Jesus Holy

Name amen amen if you need prayer the prayer team will be here to the right

let's worship the Lord