Salt + Light Fort Worth

And before I get going, I'm just
gonna pray for us as well, um,

and we will jump into Genesis.

God, I thank you for your word.

I thank you for how much it, um.

How much it administers to us, how
you use it, um, to reveal yourself

to us, to reveal your character
and your love and, uh, Lord.

So I just pray that we would always
approach it with humility, um, and that

you would help us to, um, just to listen
to your spirit and to be open to the

work that you're doing in our lives.

So right now, I just pray that as
we look at the Indi Genesis, um,

that whatever work you're wanting
to do in us, that we are just

present and paying attention to it.

Uh, I just ask that in your name.

Amen.

Amen.

Okay.

So, um, one of my favorite
books growing up was called, um.

From the mixed up files of Miss Basil E.

Frank Weiler, anybody?

Yeah.

Yes.

Okay.

Uh, if you're not familiar with it,
it's a story of two kids who live in

Connecticut and they run away from home,
uh, and they run away to the Metropolitan

Museum of Art in New York City.

And I think it takes place in the sixties.

And so they get to runaway
and live there for a while.

And uh, and it was just such
a fun, exciting book to me.

Like, just to imagine what that was
like, you know, to sneak away and

get to the big city and then like run
around this museum and hide in the

bathroom stalls and all, you know, and
it was such a fun book for me to read.

Well, a couple years ago I read it
again, uh, with one of my children.

Who did not find it nearly
as exciting as I did.

And I think the reason why is because
when I read it, it was pre cell phones,

um, pre, you know, cameras, uh, you
know, access to like being able to

text quickly and send pictures and
seeing things on the news right away.

And, and so like when we were reading
the book, when I was reading as a

kid, um, I could actually imagine.

The possibility of hiding
away in the museum, you know?

But when my children read it,
they're like, this would never fly.

This would, they would
immediately be found out.

You know, like, this is just
such an impossible story.

Um, and so they just didn't really care
for it, and they didn't really get it.

Um, there was no wondering,
you know, it was just such

an impossible story for them.

And so it made me realize, okay, so
this is not in fact a timeless book.

You know, this book does not
withstand, it does not hold up.

Um, which was disappointing,
but you know, that's.

We, we live and learn.

Um, but this is why I
love the book of Genesis.

I really love the book of
Genesis because it is timeless.

Which might sound silly because you
think this was thousands of years ago.

How is this story still timeless?

But truly, if you think about
it, the stories that are found

in Genesis are really the same
stories that we find today.

We're dealing with the same heart issues,
uh, that they dealt with back then.

And I hope that over the past year
as we have, um, rooted ourselves in

Genesis, that if you have seen yourself
on the pages, that you've also seen

God, that you've not only identified
yourself in somebody's story, but then

you've also seen the character of God.

You've seen his great and
rescuing love for you.

You've seen his faithful presence,
you've seen his creativity, his

forgiveness, his mercy, and his goodness.

I hope that has risen
off the page for you.

And so we've been studying Genesis
since January, and we've looked at

the story of creation in the fall.

And I'm gonna do like a, uh, very quick
overview of what we've looked at before.

Okay.

So we looked at the creation in the
fall and how sin came on the scene.

And then we saw the impact of
sin immediately by Adam and Eve,

um, being removed from God's
physical presence in the garden.

And then right after that happens, uh,
the story of Cain and Abel follows, and

we see the first murder in scripture,
and then there is Noah and the flood that

God sent to bring judgment upon the world
because it was so overcome with sin.

And then there was a Tower of Babel, uh,
where God scattered people by giving them

different languages because they were
trying to build a tower, uh, to heaven,

to put themselves in the place of God.

And then there's a story of Abraham, uh,
where the covenant of God is introduced,

where God promises Abraham, that he would
be the father of many nations to numerous

account more than the stars in the sky.

And God promises to bless him so
that he can be a blessing to others.

And then we go from Abraham's story
to his son Isaac, and then from Isaac

to the birth of his son, the brothers,
Jacob and Esau, where we read about

a lot of turmoil and bad blood.

And Jacob gets a lot of
attention in scripture, and

his story has highs and lows.

Um, but there's this redemptive arc
that we notice as God renames Jacob.

He calls him Israel, and he repairs
the relationship between brothers,

um, between Jacob and Esau.

And then from Jacob.

The last bit of scripture, the last
like 13 chapters or so of Genesis

moves into the story of Jacob's son
Joseph, which is how Genesis wraps up.

And Joseph is his father's favorite, which
if there's like a side note to Genesis,

it's that we've learned that having
favorites is not a good thing, right?

This continues to become an issue.

So, um, it's Joseph is his
father's favorite though, and

his 11 brothers hate him for it.

So what they do, we've studied
is they sell him into slavery.

They get rid of him.

And so Joseph Moves goes
away from his home in Canaan.

Oh, sorry.

I'm supposed to do the
toss tots with my hair.

Um, okay, so they sell him into slavery.

He is then, so he's relocated from his
home that he knew in Canaan to the foreign

land of Egypt, where he is then falsely
accused and he's put in prison for years.

And then after years of being
overlooked in prison, Joseph is

suddenly remembered and he's elevated
to Pharaoh's right hand after he

helpfully interprets Pharaoh's dreams.

And this sets Joseph up to be well
prepared for the coming famine.

So things are looking up for Joseph
as he then becomes a very powerful

and influential leader in Egypt.

But the heartache isn't over because
there's still pain from his past.

His brothers then show up in Egypt,
and they don't recognize Joseph.

They're desperate for food because
of a famine in their land, and

they're seeking help unaware that
the person they're seeking help from

is their brother, the same brother
that they rejected and abandoned.

But what Joseph does is he reveals himself
to them and rather than seeking revenge.

He weeps.

He forgives, he helps them,
and he declares that only God

could have orchestrated this.

And so then Jacob finds out
that his son is still alive,

his favorite son is still alive.

And this is where we pick up the story.

And we wrap up Genesis today,
and we're starting in chapter 46.

So read along with me, uh,
46, starting with verse two.

And God spoke to Israel
in a vision at night.

And said, Jacob.

Jacob, here I am.

He replied, I am God
the God of your father.

He said, do not be afraid to go
down to Egypt for I will make

you into a great nation there.

I'll go down to Egypt with you and
I will surely bring you back again.

And Joseph says, own hand
will close your eyes.

And then Jacob left.

Be Sheva And Israel's sons took their
father, Jacob and their children

and their wives in the carts that
Pharaoh had sent to transport him.

So Jacob, Jacob and all his offspring
went to Egypt, taken with them

their livestock in the possessions
they had acquired in Canaan.

Jacob brought with him to Egypt, his
sons and grandsons and his daughters

and granddaughters, all his offspring.

So what's interesting is to
remember God once wrestled with,

uh, Jacob at night, and now he
comes again to Jacob in a vision.

And in both of those instances, God
speaks directly to Jacob's fear and

he calls him to faith to trust him.

The first thing that God
does is he calls him by name.

It says, Jacob, there's this awareness
here that the God of the universe knows

him by name, that God understands his
fear to leave his homeland, that God

understands and sees his long suffering.

But in this exchange, God is
also assuring him, this is good.

You're going to Egypt.

It's good.

Don't be afraid.

I'm keeping my promise.

I'm with you, trust me.

And so Jacob continues on, he gets
to Egypt and he reunites with his

lost son whom he thought had died.

Can you even imagine the reunion?

I, I can, I honestly can barely
think about it without just

feeling so moved to tears.

Um, scripture doesn't give us
dialogue here about what happened.

I wish it did.

Uh, but what it does
give us is this image.

Scripture says that they threw
their arms around each other

and wept for a long time.

I, I, I see that image and I just
get overwhelmed with the kindness

of the Lord in that moment.

Jacob was so content, he says that
he, he could now die in peace.

But the beautiful thing is
that he actually got to live an

additional 17 years with his family.

And then at the end of chapter
49, this is when Jacob dies.

At the end, uh, verse 33, it says,
uh, when Jacob had finished giving

charges to his sons, he had just
blessed them all of his sons.

He drew his feet into the
bed, took his last breath, and

was gathered to his people.

And then Joseph leaning over his
father's face, wept and kissed him.

Jacob has died and his sons take
him back to the land of Canaan to be

buried, just as Jacob had requested.

And here's what happens next.

In chapter 50, starting in verse 15, when
Joseph's brother saw that their father

was dead, they said to one another,
if Joseph is holding a grudge against

us, he will certainly repay us for
all the suffering we have caused him.

So they sent this message to Joseph before
he died, your father gave a command.

Say this to Joseph.

Please forgive your brother's
transgression and their sin,

the suffering they caused you.

Therefore, please forgive the
transgression of the servants

of the God of your father.

Joseph wept when their message
came to him, his brothers also

came to him, bowed down before
him and said, we are your slaves.

Okay?

So to me it's unclear in scripture
whether Jacob, Jacob really said this,

or if the brothers are trying to make up
a story here to kind of help their case.

But what is clear is this, Joseph's
brothers are now scared that Joseph

is going to get revenge on him.

You know, they're thinking, okay, now
that dad's gone, he's gonna come after us.

They can't even face this
conversation in person.

They send a message, but this message that
they send is also a very clear confession

of something that they now understand.

We send, we send against
you, we treated you wrongly.

And Joseph responds with these
powerful words, verse 19.

But Joseph said to them, don't be afraid.

Am I in the place of God?

You planned evil against me.

God planned it for good to
bring about the present result,

the survival of many people.

So there are three phrases to
notice in what, uh, Joseph just

said, am I in the place of God?

You planned evil against me.

God planned it for good.

Am I in the place of God?

You planned evil against me.

God planned it for good.

So first there's this question,
am I in the place of God?

Joseph has been very clear about
his relationship to the Lord.

He knows he hasn't just been lucky that
he hasn't done all of this himself.

God has given him the ability to interpret
dreams, which has quite literally been

the thing that has saved his life.

Even through injustice and suffering
and abandonment and false accusations

and a broken family, Joseph
still has a right view of self.

He remains faithful to God and he
submits himself to him, which is

not how the Book of Genesis began.

We had Adam and Eve who did not submit
to God, but rather they wanted to

be in the place of God themselves.

They didn't ask the question, who are we?

They said we want to be.

They wanted to determine for
themselves right from wrong.

They chose to trust in
themselves over trust in God.

And that's tempting for us more
often than we like to admit.

Um, when I was reading this week, Tim
Keller put it this way, he says, putting

ourselves in the place of God is at the
heart of almost all of our problems.

Putting ourselves in the place
of God is at the heart of

almost all of our problems.

We want to be our own authority.

We want to be the one that determines
what's best to decide what's right from

wrong, to say what's good and what's bad.

We want to be the judge over others.

We want to stand in the place of
God, but who are we to understand,

submit to God that we
don't know what's best.

We don't know the future.

We don't know the hearts of others.

We are limited in our understanding,
but God is limitless and Joseph

seems to get that and his brothers
benefit from his godly understanding.

Having a right view of God is
not only best for ourselves,

but it's best for others too.

And he goes on to say, Joseph goes on
to say, you planned evil against me.

God planned it for good.

So if you're familiar with scripture,
that might sound like another verse

to you from the New Testament where
Paul says in Romans eight, and we know

that in all things, God works for the
good of those who love him, who have

been called according to his purpose.

Now, this is a great verse, and it's true,
and it can be really comforting and it

can also sound trite and it can have an
air of toxic positivity around it, right?

You can find it on wooden signs and
coffee mugs at Hobby Lobby, um, can kind

of just fall flat for us sometimes, but
we know that in all things, God works

for the good of those who love him.

Has anyone ever been hurt or is hurting
and you've been told this is for the

best, or, don't worry, God's in control.

It's all fine.

It'll all be okay.

That's not always helpful,

but also scripture is true.

God's word is the authority
that we submit ourselves to.

God does work things for good,

but we have to also understand that God
is mysterious and we don't always get

how things work, how this will turn good.

Joseph didn't understand
his pain and his suffering.

The good that would
come from it for years.

I read earlier about Jacob Jacob's death.

Um, Jacob didn't know that
Joseph wept on his body and that

he was returned to his land.

He didn't know that.

Sometimes we never understand.

There are things that I wrestle with from
years ago that I still don't understand.

What good will ever come from it.

I don't know if I ever will.

There is a mystery to God that
we cannot grasp, and that's okay.

But we know that in all things, God
works for the good of those who love him.

I wanna use scripture to
interpret scripture here.

So I wanna go back to Joseph's quote where
he says, you've planned evil against me.

God planned it for good to
bring about the present result,

the survival of many people.

Okay, here's what is so important.

Before Joseph says anything
about God, catch what he

first says, you planned evil.

Other versions say you met evil.

You intended to harm me.

Before we jump to the good news, we
have to first acknowledge the bad news.

We have to first acknowledge
the evil and suffering.

Joseph is not telling them it's okay.

Your actions were justified
because it led to you and so many

others being spared from death.

Um, it all worked out.

Everything's fine.

No, his brothers wanted him gone.

They wanted him dead.

They did not care if he suffered.

They tore him away from his family.

They sinned against Joseph.

And so what's happening here is Joseph
is reminding them you plan to hurt me.

He does not act as if
everything they did is okay.

And that's so important because the
Bible doesn't want us to just say,

it's all okay, everything's good.

God will work this all out.

It's not a big deal.

It's fine.

Move forward.

No, we also have to call out sin.

We have to call out the suffering.

We have to be able to recognize that
things are broken, that this is not

how God intended the world to be.

Not everything that has
happened to you is good.

We can call stuff wicked
or wrong, or sin or evil.

We are allowed to do that.

Because as Christians, we believe in sin.

We believe that evil exists.

We believe that bad things happen.

We've seen it.

Everybody understands that the beginning
of Genesis explains the broken world.

For us, evil tries to prevail
in chapter three, but it doesn't

get the final word in chapter 50.

And that last phrase,
God planned for good.

God planned for good.

God is not responsible for evil or for
sin, and God does not require bad things

to happen, to get good things done.

And yet somehow in his mystery and
by his authority and through his

creativity, God recycles the bad.

To work for the good of his
people and his purposes.

Nothing is wasted in God's economy,
and that's really good news.

Sometimes life will feel against you,
but the pro, the promise is this, sin

and suffering and brokenness do not win.

God works all things for the
good of those who love him.

So here's my point.

If I had to sum up Genesis,
here's what I would say.

It's a book about trust.

It's a story after story after
story of people facing the dilemma

of who are you going to trust?

And among other reasons, this is why
Genesis is such a timeless book for us.

If God has you in a place of ongoing
hardship or a season of famine.

Will you trust that he will make a way?

Will you trust that God
will provide for you?

Things that are unknown to you or new
to you are absolutely known to God.

So will you trust God to be God?

Will you trust God with
the wounds that you carry?

Will you trust God to redeem the sin?

And pain that you've caused.

We trust God to redeem the sin
and pain that others caused.

Will you trust God to recycle your
pain for your good and for his purpose?

Our trust in God cannot rest
alone on our comfort levels or our

happy circumstances, or only when
things are going well and right.

Our trust gets to rest on the
goodness of God, the faithfulness

of God, his unwavering presence,
and his unconditional love.

That is where our trust rests.

We can trust God because God has
proven that He keeps his word.

You can trust God because he is
the one who created the universe

and knit you together with purpose.

You can trust God because he pursues
you and because he defends you, you can

trust God because he hates sin and he
hates evil and he hates the brokenness.

You can trust God because God loves you.

You are loved beyond measure by a
God who sees you, who knows you,

who loves you, and is working
all things out for your good.

So what does it look like
for you to trust God?

Where do you find yourself today?

What does your life look like today?

What situations are you in where
God is asking you to trust him?

Does your land feel barren?

Okay.

Are you experiencing some sort of famine?

Is there a bunch of unexpected
responsibility that has now fallen to you?

Do you find yourself in a
new place or a new situation?

What pain or anxiety or worry or
fear are you carrying right now?

Wherever you find
yourself that is with you.

And you can trust him
because you are loved by him,

that no matter what happens, we
trust that God is working all things

out for us because of his unending
faithful love for his people.

So the hope that we have
as Christians is this.

That our stories don't end in
pain, that they end with purpose,

but we do have to be okay if we
never understand the purpose.

God weaves it all together.

Even our worst failures, our
deepest hurts, our wounds.

God weaves it together into
something good, and God wants

us to trust him in that.

And communion is the ultimate reminder for
us that God can bring good even from evil.

The cross of Christ represents mankind's
worse sin and God's greatest, and it's

the work of the cross that we get to
experience our own redemptive story.

It's the work of the cross that invites
us into a loving intimacy with the Lord

that no matter what has happened or what
may come, we can say, I trust you God.