1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:05,600 The scripture reading today is going to be found in Genesis 25 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:11,640 verses 19 to 28, and then Genesis 27 verses 1 to 45. 3 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:14,960 If you have the Bible under your seat, that'll be starting in 4 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:20,640 Page 18. So starting in Genesis 25 verses 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,480 19. These are the generations of 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:27,840 Isaac, Abraham's son. Abraham fathered Isaac and Isaac 7 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:31,840 was 40 years old when he took Rebecca, the daughter of Bethel, 8 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:38,360 the army of Padamaran, the sister of Laban, the are man to 9 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,040 be his wife. And Isaac prayed to the Lord for 10 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:42,600 his wife, because she was barren. 11 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,600 And the Lord granted his prayer. And Rebecca his wife conceived. 12 00:00:47,160 --> 00:00:49,240 The children struggled together within her. 13 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:54,240 And she said, If it is, if it is this thus, why is this happening 14 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:56,600 to me? So she went to inquire of the 15 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,040 Lord. And the Lord said to her, Two 16 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,320 nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you 17 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,440 shall be divided. The one shall be stronger than 18 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:07,680 the other. The older shall serve the 19 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,320 younger. When her days to give birth were 20 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:13,280 completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 21 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,960 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak. 22 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:21,240 So they called his name Esau. Afterward his brother came out 23 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,520 with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called 24 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:27,480 Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when she 25 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:31,240 wore them. When the boys grew up, Esau was 26 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:34,960 a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet 27 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:38,640 man dwelling in tents. Isaac loved Esau because he ate 28 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,240 of his game, but Rebecca loved Jacob. 29 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,640 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not 30 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:50,960 see, he called Esau his older son, and said to him, My son, 31 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,840 and he answered, Here I am. He said, Behold, I am old, I do 32 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,320 not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, 33 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,680 your quiver, and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt 34 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,600 game for me, and prepare for me delicious food such as I love, 35 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,280 and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you 36 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,680 before I die. Now Rebecca was listening when 37 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:16,720 Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field 38 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,720 to hunt for game and bring it, Rebecca said to her son Jacob, I 39 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:22,680 heard your father speak to your brother Esau. 40 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,560 Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, so that I may 41 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,320 eat it and bless you before the Lord, before I die. 42 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,120 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you. 43 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:37,240 Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may 44 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,080 prepare for them delicious food for your father, such as he 45 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,800 loves, and you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he 46 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,480 may bless you before he dies. But Jacob said to Rebecca his 47 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,880 mother, Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a 48 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,320 smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel me I 49 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:57,160 and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring curse upon 50 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:01,400 myself, and not a blessing. His mother said to him, Let your 51 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:05,640 curse be on me, my son, only obey my voice, and go bring them 52 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:08,680 to me. So he went and took them and 53 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,120 brought them to his mother. And his mother prepared 54 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:13,280 delicious food such as his father loved. 55 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:17,200 Then Rebecca took the best garments of Esau, her older son, 56 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,360 which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, 57 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,240 her younger son. And the skins of the young goats 58 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:26,600 she put on his hands and and on the smooth part of his neck. 59 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,200 And she put the delicious food and the bread which she had 60 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:32,480 prepared into the hand of her son Jacob. 61 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:36,200 So he went into his father and said, My father. 62 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:38,880 And he said, Here I am. Who are you, my son? 63 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,520 Jacob said to his father, I am Esau, your first form I have 64 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,520 done as you told me. Now sit up and eat of my game, 65 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,840 so that your soul may bless me. But Isaac said to his son, How 66 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:53,120 is it that you have found it so quickly, my son? 67 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:57,120 He answered, Because the Lord your God granted me success. 68 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:01,160 Then Isaac said to Jacob, Please come near, that I might feel 69 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:04,920 you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not. 70 00:04:05,640 --> 00:04:09,240 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him, and said, 71 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:13,120 The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau, 72 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,720 and he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy 73 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,959 like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him. 74 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:22,280 He said, Are you really my son Esau? 75 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,600 He answered, I am. Then he said, Bring it to me 76 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:30,880 near, Bring it near to me, that I may eat in my son's game and 77 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:33,360 bless you. So he brought it near to him, 78 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,160 and he ate, and he brought him wine and he drank. 79 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:40,240 Then his father Isaac said to him, Come near and kiss me, my 80 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:42,520 son. So he came near and kissed him. 81 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:45,760 And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him, 82 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:50,160 and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field 83 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,680 that the Lord has blessed. May God give you of the dew of 84 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,080 heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain 85 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,280 and wine. Let people serve you, and 86 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,520 nations bow down to you. Be Lord over your brothers, and 87 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:05,800 may your mother's sons bow down to you. 88 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,480 Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who 89 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:13,800 blesses you. As soon as Isaac had finished 90 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:16,880 blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the 91 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,360 presence of Isaac's father, Esau, his brother came in from 92 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,160 his hunting. He also prepared delicious food 93 00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:26,880 and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, Let 94 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,040 my father arise and eat up the sun's game, that you may bless 95 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:32,560 me. His father Isaac said to him, 96 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:35,800 Who are you? He answered, I'm your son, your 97 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:39,040 first born, Esau. Then Isaac trembled very 98 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:42,320 violently and said, Who was it then that haunted game, and 99 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,920 brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came. 100 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:47,760 And I've blessed him. Yes, he shall be blessed. 101 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,120 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with 102 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,720 an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, 103 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:58,640 Bless me, even me also my father. 104 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,520 But he said, Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken 105 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:06,400 away your blessing. Esau said, Has he not rightly 106 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:09,120 named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two 107 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,360 times. He took away my birthright, and 108 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,920 behold, now he has taken away my blessing. 109 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:17,240 Then he said, Have you not reserved a blessing for me? 110 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,760 Isaac answered and said to Esau, Behold, I have made him Lord 111 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,840 over you and all his brothers. I have given to him for 112 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:28,200 servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. 113 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:30,480 What then can I do for you, my son? 114 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:35,400 Esau said to his father, Have you but one blessing, my father? 115 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:40,720 Bless me even also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice and 116 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:44,000 wept. Then Isaac his father answered 117 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,280 and said to him, Behold, away from the fatness of the earth 118 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,320 shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high 119 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:55,880 by your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your 120 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,160 brother. But when you grow restless, you 121 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,160 shall break his yoke from your neck. 122 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,200 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his 123 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:08,000 father had blessed him. And Esau said to himself, The 124 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,360 days of mourning from my father are approaching. 125 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:12,840 Then I will kill my brother Jacob. 126 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:17,040 But the words of Esau, her older son, were told to Rebecca. 127 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,040 So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, 128 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:25,480 Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by 129 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:28,600 planning to kill you now. Therefore, my son, obey my 130 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:32,080 voice. Arise, flee to Laban, my brother 131 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:35,880 and Heron, and stay with him a while until your brother's fury 132 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:38,840 turns away. Until your brother's anger turns 133 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,840 away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. 134 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:44,560 Then I will send and bring you from there. 135 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:47,520 Why should I be bereft of you both in one day? 136 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:52,840 This is the word of the Lord. Well, good morning. 137 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,000 My name is John. I'm one of the pastors here at 138 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:57,080 Port City. So glad to be with you. 139 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:00,680 I'm so glad you're here today. We're going to finish up a 140 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:04,720 season in a series called Saints and Scoundrels. 141 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:07,840 Saints and Scoundrels, we're walking through the life of the 142 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:09,960 patriarchs. And in this season, which is the 143 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,920 second season technically, we have looked at the life of Isaac 144 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,560 and no surprise, the Promised Child that was longed for and 145 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,040 given. After much impatience and a lot 146 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,640 of mess, he's here. He's arrived. 147 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,480 OK, yet the Promised Child is not quite a St. 148 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:31,280 In fact, he can be a bit of a scoundrel as well. 149 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:35,440 He plays favorites influenced by his own, you know, family like 150 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,720 dynamic with Ishmael I'm sure. And he's guided by his 151 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:42,480 self-serving appetites with disregard for others. 152 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:46,360 Is he the worst? Nah, the worst is still to come, 153 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,640 but he's not great. But this season ends with really 154 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,640 a most dramatic yet providential ending. 155 00:08:54,560 --> 00:08:58,640 Today, what our hero Antiheri does, Antihero does. 156 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:01,320 He's feels and thinks is something that we all can relate 157 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:02,960 to. We all can relate to this. 158 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:07,840 See, Isaac wants his way. Isaac wants control of his life 159 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:11,240 and the lives of his kids. He wants things his way. 160 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:13,960 Can you relate to that? Absolutely. 161 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:15,720 Have you ever felt thought wanted your way? 162 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,200 Of course you have. Of course this is what we 163 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:20,160 wanted. Ever since we were kids, this is 164 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:22,640 what we wanted. We are convinced that our way 165 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:25,400 would be the best way. And sometimes it's not even that 166 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,120 actually. It's just we wanted our way. 167 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:28,600 It doesn't matter if it's the best way or not. 168 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,320 Just do it my way. See, this is at the heart of 169 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:33,400 Isaac. Isaac's just like us. 170 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:36,720 He wants things in his life to go his way. 171 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:39,840 You may be here and ask what was wrong with that? 172 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:44,640 Well nothing if everything you want all the time is always 173 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:46,800 good. But is it? 174 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:49,440 Is it? Sometimes we want what's best 175 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:51,880 for us and not others. Even when we try to consider 176 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:54,760 others in the equation. We don't even have enough 177 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:59,120 foresight or information to help in in in many ways or to always 178 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,920 be good. The world is plagued by 179 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:06,160 different people vying for their own way and clashing into others 180 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:11,040 lives who want the same thing. And the same is true in this 181 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:15,640 story. But the harsh truth is that we 182 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,560 want control. And the reality is, is that we 183 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:20,720 just can't have it. We just can't have it. 184 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:25,080 But we are tempted to think if we just have enough power, if we 185 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:29,000 just have enough influence or enough charisma, we can take 186 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,440 over the business, we can run the city, we can take over the 187 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,600 Galaxy, as every villain in Star Wars would say. 188 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,840 Well, maybe not the Galaxy, but to the full extent of our 189 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:41,920 desires at very least. And that's basically what Isaac 190 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:44,880 wanted, but it slipped through his fingers. 191 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:47,480 It will slip through yours and mine as well. 192 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:51,440 We can't ever have enough power or influence to always get our 193 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:54,520 way, though many have tried and will continue to do so. 194 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:56,920 But why? Why can't we have that? 195 00:10:57,560 --> 00:11:00,960 Because there is a particular God in heaven and this is his 196 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,400 world. So let's look at what we learned 197 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:07,360 about this God and what what that means for us and our 198 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,600 control within our lives. We'll take things in three turns 199 00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:12,280 today. We'll look at the events of this 200 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:13,520 text. We're going to look at the 201 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:17,480 implications of the text or the events and then why this is 202 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:21,240 great news. OK, so events, implications and 203 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,040 good news. So first let's look at the 204 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:28,440 events. The first thing we see is that 205 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:30,880 yet again, barrenness is an issue. 206 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:35,520 Rebecca cannot get pregnant. We've seen this before, but 207 00:11:35,560 --> 00:11:40,160 Isaac went to the Lord. It says in 25 verse 20 or 208 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:43,920 chapter 25, verse 21. And Isaac prayed to the Lord for 209 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:48,360 his wife because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, 210 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:53,720 and Rebecca, his wife conceived. See, Isaac's impulse is to go to 211 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:55,560 the Lord. This is a good thing. 212 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:58,880 He probably grew up hearing about his miraculous birth, so 213 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,160 much so he knew that the Lord could do something. 214 00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:06,000 So he prayed for his wife. And the Lord granted his prayer. 215 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:10,720 Now side note, husbands, we must pray for our wives. 216 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,280 We must. If we are not praying for them, 217 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:15,400 who is? Who is? 218 00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:18,680 We must be the biggest intercessors for our spouses, 219 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:23,200 just like Isaac did right here. We must but notice a detail 220 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,200 here. The Lord granted his prayer. 221 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:30,040 The Lord heard him. The Lord cared about Rebecca's 222 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:34,640 Baroness and he was listening. He was listening, but he also, 223 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:36,920 he had the power to do something. 224 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,560 See, the God of the Bible hears those that cry out to him and 225 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:44,440 has the power to do something. Isaac has nowhere else to go. 226 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:47,160 He doesn't have the power to change things. 227 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:50,120 He doesn't, but he appeals to the one who does. 228 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,720 The Lord hears and answers prayers. 229 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:56,200 He does. The next thing we see, next 230 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,800 problem, in other words, is that the pregnancy doesn't seem 231 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:00,680 normal. Doesn't seem normal. 232 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:04,520 Something's wrong. So she goes back to the Lord. 233 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,840 Lord, what's happening? I imagine she felt like her 234 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:09,600 hopes of a child would come to an end. 235 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:13,400 She must have been scared. She went to the Lord for 236 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:17,360 answers, but the Lord gives her this really shocking answer. 237 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:22,480 The Lord shares a prophecy about her 2 twin, her twin boys, and 238 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:26,280 it's not clear in the text, not completely, but it it seems like 239 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,240 she may not have actually realized she had twins. 240 00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:33,000 How could she? Now Isaac would have been 241 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:36,560 invested in the Lord's answers, so he would have learned what 242 00:13:36,560 --> 00:13:38,480 the Lord said, which is this is what he said. 243 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:42,600 He's looked back at what in chapter 25 says the two nations 244 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,840 are two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from 245 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,920 within you shall be divided. The one shall be stronger than 246 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,720 the other. The older shall serve the 247 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,120 younger. So here we learn one thing. 248 00:13:56,120 --> 00:14:00,160 The Lord knows the details of those unborn and what their 249 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:03,920 lives will be. He even shares with Rebecca what 250 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,120 will be, which is an interesting detail. 251 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,120 He gives her insight into the future to see. 252 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:11,200 The God of the Bible knows the future. 253 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:14,200 He knows the future. All right, so now let's look at 254 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:19,160 the kids themselves. See, Esau means red and he's 255 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:20,720 hairy. He's a skill. 256 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:22,720 He's a skilled hunter, a man of the field. 257 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:28,440 It says he is strong. Jacob, His name means takes by 258 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:29,880 the heel. He cheats. 259 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:32,720 He is. He's smooth skinned, not hairy. 260 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,600 He is a quiet man and stayed in the tent. 261 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:39,160 And this was kind of the Texas subtle way of saying he was the 262 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:41,160 weaker brother. He's the weaker brother. 263 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:45,440 But the last detail we learned about these two kids is Isaac 264 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:50,600 loved Esau because he liked the food from his hunting and 265 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:54,200 Rebecca loved Jacob probably because he was in the tent with 266 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:55,800 her all the time. It doesn't say that 267 00:14:55,800 --> 00:15:00,320 specifically, but then if we look at the events further, we 268 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:02,440 have a big moment in their lives. 269 00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:07,000 See, Rebecca catches wind that Isaac's about to bless Esau. 270 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:11,760 So Rebecca crafts a plan to fool her husband and have Jacob dress 271 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:15,560 up as Esau, even and even with his fake hairiness, and she 272 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:19,080 prepares a meal. Now, Isaac cannot see very well 273 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:21,440 at this point. He's he's in his, he's older. 274 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:25,440 So this caricature of his son Esau will prove to be quite 275 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:28,560 effective against him. Now, what's interesting is that 276 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:32,880 all of this happens with full knowledge of the prophecy the 277 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,880 Lord gave. See, Rebecca remembers what the 278 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:41,000 Lord said, Isaac remembers what the Lord said, and Jacob no 279 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:43,960 doubt knows what the Lord said. It is no. 280 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:46,800 Yet Isaac still sets out to bless Esau. 281 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:51,520 Isaac is ignoring the prophecy. In other words, he plans to 282 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:56,560 bless his son no matter what. And Rebecca, however, wants her 283 00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:59,760 favorite son to be blessed. She wants the prophecy fulfilled 284 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:01,880 and she sets out to make it happen. 285 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,840 Rebecca instigates the whole thing, but Jacob goes along with 286 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:09,960 it and contributes as well. But notice after the deception 287 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:15,000 is successful, who Isaac blames. Do you notice that Jacob? 288 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,400 He doesn't have a clue about his wife's involvement, nor does he 289 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,720 contribute anything to her. Only Jacob. 290 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:23,800 See, Jacob is left holding the bag. 291 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:26,360 Now, the last thing from the events. 292 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:30,160 What was the big deal about this blessing? 293 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,760 I bless food. If you sneeze, I've got you. 294 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:35,720 But what? What? 295 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:37,360 What? It makes this a different kind 296 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:38,080 of blessing. What's it? 297 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,720 What's different about this? Well, this isn't just simple a 298 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:43,960 simple blessing, OK? This is more like a final will 299 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,440 and testament. It's binding. 300 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,640 See, Isaac is granting his son everything he has. 301 00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,000 It's the passing on of the family wealth and lineage. 302 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,720 And another question after being deceived is why couldn't Isaac 303 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:00,840 just recant and bless Esau? Why couldn't he just been like 304 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:04,119 everything I just said except for that one, you know, why 305 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:06,960 couldn't he do that? This is where things culturally 306 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,800 get different for us. You see, this is a binding 307 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:13,400 blessing and couldn't be taken back because words matter. 308 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,480 Now, regardless of culture, words always matter. 309 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,680 But in this day, words were contracts, words held immense 310 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:22,960 weight. Your word was your bond. 311 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,319 Isaac wasn't going to revoke what he had done, although he 312 00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:30,160 was presented with the option. See, Esau begs his dad, if you 313 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,640 remember, for a blessing, but only gets the opposite of 314 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:37,200 Jacob's blessing. So, but what did Isaac actually 315 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,240 bless him with? Let's look at what he said in 316 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,920 verse 28. He says May God give you of the 317 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:47,400 dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain 318 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,880 and wine. So basically May God give you 319 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,560 all the blessings of heaven and earth and may you be materially 320 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:56,680 prosperous. OK, Verse 29, he says let people 321 00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:58,880 serve you and nations bow down to you. 322 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:02,160 May you be basically may you be politically powerful is what 323 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:05,040 that means. The next he says be Lord over 324 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,160 your brothers and and may your mother's sons bow down to you. 325 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:09,800 May you rule over all the family. 326 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:14,280 In other words, cursed be everyone who curses you, and 327 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,360 blessed be everyone who blesses you. 328 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,920 See, this is reminiscent of God's promise to Abraham 329 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,120 actually has the same language, and it infers the continuation 330 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:26,160 of God's promise to be continued through Jacob. 331 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,120 OK, so the blessing is pretty extensive and makes Jacob the 332 00:18:30,120 --> 00:18:32,760 heir apparent. Basically, it's done. 333 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:36,720 See, Esau's out and Jacob will be the one the promise continues 334 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,720 through. This makes Isaac furious. 335 00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:43,880 He didn't get his way and there is nothing he can do about it. 336 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,240 This makes Isaac so mad he was shaking. 337 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:51,920 Picture this to be so angry that you were trembling, shaking. 338 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:53,920 That was just just being furious. 339 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:58,360 His hopes for his his favorite son just vanished. 340 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:02,640 He desired and what he desired, his desire and his will were 341 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:06,560 swallowed up in a moment. His plans were thwarted. 342 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,960 He had been duped. He lost control of everything. 343 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,560 It slipped right through his fingers. 344 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:16,400 Let Now let's look at the implications of what happened. 345 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:17,680 That's what happened. The events aren't super 346 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,200 complicated, but the implications are pretty 347 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,360 astounding. There's one big, massive 348 00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:26,960 implication, and then there's two questions that arise in its 349 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,560 wake. The implication is this, that 350 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:35,760 God is sovereign. The God, the God revealed in the 351 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:40,440 Bible, has absolute authority and control over everything that 352 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,280 he has made, which is everything in existence. 353 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:47,600 Everything in Genesis points to this reality, whether it be the 354 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:51,240 creation story, the flood, the confusion of languages, the call 355 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,080 of Abraham, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, or the 356 00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:58,400 promised child. All things are his and are under 357 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,560 are under His dominion. Saying God is sovereign 358 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:04,920 basically means He is in control of all things and nothing 359 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,440 happens outside of His control. Nothing. 360 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:10,920 What we learned in this text though is that God sees and 361 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,160 knows the future because He is sovereign over history. 362 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:16,320 See. He peels back the curtain for 363 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:19,960 Rebecca and gives her a glimpse of what will be through the 364 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,680 prophecy. However, he doesn't just see the 365 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:26,240 future, though. He is sovereign over history. 366 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,920 See, all of history is a canvas on which God paints. 367 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:33,120 See, the big picture is something only He sees clearly. 368 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,200 You and I, we only see the immediate context. 369 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:40,120 We see the here and now. It's kind of like those, you 370 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:43,240 know, those paintings that if you're too close to them, you 371 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,080 can't really, like, understand them because they're so big. 372 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:49,840 You have to like step back and then everything seems to make 373 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:53,120 sense and you're like, oh, that's what it is, right? 374 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:56,760 Or it's kind of like those, those movie trilogies where if 375 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,200 you only watch the second movie, you only watch the second movie. 376 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:03,480 Nothing's resolved. So basically Star Wars becomes 377 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,600 this series where the evil empire just takes over, right? 378 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,200 The Lord of the Rings becomes a story about evil overcoming 379 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:12,080 Middle Earth, just being run over. 380 00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:15,240 If you don't see the last movie, you don't see how everything 381 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:20,040 works out and all of history is going somewhere because there's 382 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:24,120 a sovereign God that directs all things to it's end and there is 383 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:28,320 a story unfolding and it's God's story to write. 384 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:32,240 See, in Genesis we are learning the origins of the people of 385 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:34,600 Israel. They are a chosen people that 386 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,600 will bring about the seed of the woman who will crush the head of 387 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,000 the serpent. We saw that early in Genesis. 388 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,680 It's from the line of Jacob that will come, the Savior of the 389 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:47,360 world that is Jesus. See, the story is written. 390 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:50,200 Jesus comes back and makes all things new. 391 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:54,720 The story of Esau and Jacob is a scene from that movie. 392 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,200 It's from that movie. But God isn't just sovereign 393 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:02,240 over the big picture of history. OK, not just the big picture. 394 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:05,240 The God of the Bible is sovereign over human 395 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:07,960 interactions, the details of all of life. 396 00:22:08,360 --> 00:22:11,880 See, we see in this text that the Lord grants Isaac's prayer 397 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:14,520 for a baby without granting the prayer. 398 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,080 There are no twins. There is no baby. 399 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,560 See, the small details of their life are under his control. 400 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,880 See, the desire of Isaac was to bless Esau, but the promise was 401 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:29,120 going to continue through Jacob. So even though Isaac wanted 402 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:32,560 Esau, Jacob was going to be the one who received the blessing. 403 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:37,680 What happens in life will always move towards God's ultimate end, 404 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:39,600 regardless if we wanted to or not. 405 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:44,760 If things were left up to Isaac, then Esau becomes the air of 406 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,080 promise. But that's not the story God was 407 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:49,880 writing, and therefore that's not what happened. 408 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:52,840 See, there are moments throughout the Bible where 409 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,280 different things could have ended the line of Jacob. 410 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:57,760 We're seemingly thwarted the salvation of God. 411 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,560 In fact, the murder of Jesus looked to be just that. 412 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,760 But it turns out that Jesus murder on the cross was actually 413 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:09,120 the means of salvation. But nobody saw that coming. 414 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,320 The leaders literally thought in Jesus day. 415 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:14,400 They thought that they were stamping out the problem. 416 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:16,360 The disciples thought it was over. 417 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,800 It's only in hindsight we can say and see and say what God was 418 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:23,720 doing. To say that God only has control 419 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:27,440 over the big picture and not the details is to miss the way the 420 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:31,680 big picture plays out. Without the small details you 421 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:37,040 don't have the big picture. You may know this, but every 422 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:40,040 electronic screen that you look at is made-up of small little 423 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:43,680 units called pixels. OK, a pixel basically combines 424 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:47,160 red, green, and blue light. That is to create any color 425 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:51,240 needed for any kind of image. The information in an image 426 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,840 tells each pixel what to display. 427 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,120 You are going to be blue. You are going to be this color, 428 00:23:56,120 --> 00:23:57,480 right? It's going to be all those 429 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:00,080 things. Without each little pixel, you 430 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,840 never get the picture. If you had a dead pixel, and 431 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,560 we've seen this from time to time, it that's why you have 432 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:09,160 that little black speck on your screen, the pixel's dead. 433 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:11,560 It doesn't work. But even if you're missing some 434 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,520 pixels, you will get this pic, get the picture, but you need 435 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:17,840 all the pixels to get the picture. 436 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:19,960 That makes sense. The same is true with the 437 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:22,880 details of life. It's hard to know which pieces 438 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:26,040 are critical because in some way they all are. 439 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:30,200 If this happens, it then that means this happens. 440 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:32,040 And then if that happened, then this happens. 441 00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:36,000 They all fit together. Or it's kind of like chess God, 442 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,360 like good chess players, so I'm told. 443 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,760 I'm not one sees a good chess player. 444 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,920 He sees several moves ahead. In fact, the greatest chess 445 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:46,680 players see the whole game in their head. 446 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,360 A great chess player has to anticipate every move and the 447 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:52,920 response to that move. They have to think ahead and 448 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,760 calculate what to do next. Well, God is kind of like a 449 00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:00,000 chess master with infinite more variables. 450 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,160 OK, In fact, it takes an infinite mind to know and 451 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,480 orchestrate all things to their intended end. 452 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:07,920 But this is part of the greatness of God. 453 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:11,360 He can do that. So the big implication is that 454 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:16,240 God is sovereign. But this creates 2 big questions 455 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:20,120 for you and I. And the first question is this. 456 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,600 What about wickedness? What about weakness? 457 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,480 If God is sovereign, what about wickedness? 458 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,600 The options are usually 2 extremes. 459 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:34,160 Since wickedness exists, then God must either not be powerful 460 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:38,920 enough to stop it, or God must not be entirely good and doesn't 461 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,880 want to stop it. So what's it going to be? 462 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,600 Is God all powerful and sovereign, or is he good? 463 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:51,560 The Bible teaches that He is both sovereign and good. 464 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,640 So we are back to the question then, what about evil and 465 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:59,800 wickedness? The short of it is this, that 466 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:04,040 God permits evil in this world, in His world. 467 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:07,600 See, the sovereign Lord of creation permits evil things to 468 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,680 exist in His creation. But why would He do that? 469 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:15,640 Well, first thing we need to know is that wickedness is the 470 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:19,440 result of sin. But sin is not a created thing. 471 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:21,520 God didn't make sin. Here's what I mean. 472 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:25,360 Sin is a distortion or a twisting of a created thing. 473 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,320 So God didn't create sin. God created things, and among 474 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:33,480 them are rebellious creatures such as you and I ourselves. 475 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:35,960 And our rebellion brings wickedness and evil to the 476 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:39,000 world. Wickedness comes from human 477 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,560 rebellion against God, what the Bible calls sin. 478 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:45,880 But there are also dark spiritual forces at work, fallen 479 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:49,760 angels that have also rebelled against God, and they too 480 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:52,640 contribute to the wickedness of the world, probably more than 481 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:57,280 our modern minds would admit. Now, in the context of a 482 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:02,760 rebellious world, God permits wickedness for a time, but it's 483 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:06,640 not always clear why. See, genuinely wicked things 484 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:09,840 happen in the world all the time, but it's not because God 485 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:12,960 wants them to happen or that he is indifferent to them 486 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:16,080 happening. The Lord has his reasons for 487 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:19,320 permitting evil. Now let me give you 1 clear 488 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:24,640 example. 1 clear example. The Lord used human wickedness 489 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:28,640 to bring about salvation. See God took the wickedness of 490 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:33,680 humanity and unleashed it all on Jesus the Son as judgement for 491 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,040 the sins of the world. Think about that for a minute. 492 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:42,520 God took human and angelic rebellion that He permitted and 493 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,360 He used it in the wrath absorbing death of Jesus. 494 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:49,440 See, human rebellion was the instrument used to conquer sin 495 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:51,680 and the punishment for sin, which is death. 496 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:55,080 He permitted those things so they could be undone. 497 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:57,960 He used rebellion to defeat itself. 498 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,800 He has his reasons. It's amazing. 499 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:04,080 Another thing to consider though, in God's permitting of 500 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:07,400 evil, the reality is that it's only for a time. 501 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:10,360 It's only for a time. No one is getting away with 502 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:12,120 anything. Nothing. 503 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:16,400 The accusation that God is not good in permitting evil misses 504 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,320 the fact that he doesn't permit evil indefinitely. 505 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,240 Justice will be served. No one is getting away with 506 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:25,560 anything. When Jesus comes back, He will 507 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:27,600 judge the living and the dead. He will. 508 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:30,400 Everyone will give an account to the risen Christ. 509 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:32,800 They will. Either the punishment for your 510 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:37,400 rebellion falls on Jesus in your place, or it falls on you for 511 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:40,400 all eternity. God does not ignore wickedness. 512 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,680 He judges it. So at some level, the permitting 513 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:48,640 of evil is a mystery. We cannot know what the Lord is 514 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:51,920 up to in permitting evil. We can only trust that He has 515 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:55,480 His reasons. However, it doesn't mean He is 516 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:59,000 not in control of things. We can appeal to the Lord to 517 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,560 restrain evil and ask Him to change things, and He often 518 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:06,160 does. But when He doesn't, we have to 519 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,800 trust that He is up to something and we just don't see the big 520 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:13,520 picture. But know this, know this, Hear 521 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:16,440 me. Your suffering as a result of 522 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:22,560 this wickedness is not wasted. It's not because there is a 523 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:26,840 sovereign God. He can squeeze good out of evil. 524 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,160 He can. Nothing is wasted. 525 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:33,120 Nothing is pointless. But that is only possible. 526 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,960 It's only possible if God is sovereign. 527 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:41,000 It's the only way it's possible. In studying this Passage day, I 528 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,760 learned that over the years, many have tried to excuse what 529 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:48,080 Rebecca and Jacob did. Writers and thinkers would try 530 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,480 to spin it and basically just justify their actions, but in 531 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,520 light of the fact that God permits evil, we must not do 532 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:57,240 that. We should not do that. 533 00:29:57,400 --> 00:29:59,760 What Rebecca and Jacob did was wicked. 534 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,320 It was wicked. The ends do not justify the 535 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:04,040 means. Let's say it again. 536 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,120 The ends do not justify the means. 537 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:09,160 You might be here thinking people keep telling me that I 538 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:12,760 need to live a biblical life. If this is biblical, I'm good. 539 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:16,440 I'm with you on that. See, I assure you the deception 540 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:19,720 of Rebecca and Jacob is not commendable, nor should it be 541 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:22,280 repeated. This wasn't good and and honest 542 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:24,640 and honesty about the wickedness of the characters in the Bible 543 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:26,640 is a must. We got to be honest. 544 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:29,600 Their wickedness isn't a thing to be glossed over. 545 00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:34,160 The Lord used them and brought about His plans to spite them, 546 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:37,800 not because of their deception. The Bible is filled with 547 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:40,360 characters who are broken people, and it's a beautiful 548 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:44,360 thing that God takes these broken people and He carries out 549 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:47,760 His purposes of redemption. Why try to hide their wicked, 550 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:50,080 their wickedness? God is bigger than our 551 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:54,600 wickedness. Now the second question that the 552 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,680 sovereignty of God raises is this. 553 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:02,440 What about human freedom? What about human freedom? 554 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:04,960 When we start talking about the sovereignty of God, we start to 555 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:09,280 wonder if God is sovereign. Does it matter what I do? 556 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:13,960 Do my choices mean anything? Are all things predetermined? 557 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:17,880 These are complicated questions. The short answer to these 558 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:21,120 questions is yes and no. Yes and no. 559 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:24,640 The Bible teaches that God is absolutely sovereign and 560 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:27,440 humanity is responsible for their lives. 561 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:30,800 So God is sovereign, humanity is responsible. 562 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,240 We are not robots that don't make decisions. 563 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:36,720 We are not the masters of our fate. 564 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:39,800 We are not the masters of our own fates or captains of our own 565 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:41,600 souls. What's what? 566 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:44,880 Here's what I mean by that. See, in our culture, in our 567 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:48,280 world, there's an idea that to be free is to have what's called 568 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:50,640 autonomous freedom. Autonomous freedom. 569 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:54,560 This is an absolute freedom that can do whatever one wants, go 570 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:57,360 everyone wants, and nothing can prevent it. 571 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:01,240 It's the idea that you are free from all external influence or 572 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:03,160 control, completely free of those things. 573 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:06,800 And the reality is that is not entirely true. 574 00:32:07,520 --> 00:32:11,160 For humanity to have that kind of freedom would give us, 575 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:14,520 philosophically speaking, God like status. 576 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:18,320 Yet nothing in the Bible seems to indicate that humans are 577 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:21,960 autonomously free. We have limits to what is 578 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:24,520 possible, but that doesn't negate choice. 579 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:28,600 OK, let's go back to our chess example for example again. 580 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:33,480 See, each chess piece has a particular move it can make. 581 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:36,720 OK, take the knight for example. That's the horse. 582 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:40,840 In case you're not familiar, the knight can move anywhere in the 583 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,600 shape of an L SO1 space, then three spaces out. 584 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:48,360 As long as it in that shape it can move to that space. 585 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:51,680 Now I had to look this up all right but the knight can 586 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:55,240 actually touch every square on the board, but it has to do it 587 00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:59,240 so do so in the L shape. Now will a knight touch every 588 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:02,800 square in a game? Nope it but it's possible all 589 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,360 the other pieces are are similar in examples. 590 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:09,280 Now humans were more complicated than chess pieces. 591 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:12,640 OK, we have more than one move we can make, but there are a 592 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:14,680 series of options at our disposal. 593 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:18,440 Just for argument's sake, let's just say each person has 100 594 00:33:18,440 --> 00:33:20,440 different moves that they can make at any one time. 595 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:24,040 OK, we live in the confines of those options. 596 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,840 That's what humans can do. Now, the options are limited 597 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:31,720 because you didn't decide which decade or century you were to be 598 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:33,760 born in. You didn't pick your parents, 599 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:36,560 ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or nationality. 600 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:40,000 All these things. External factors come into play 601 00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:42,920 to shape who we are and what we do with our lives. 602 00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:46,920 It doesn't mean we don't make real choices, though we do. 603 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:50,200 It's just that freedom is defined by on God's terms and 604 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:53,520 not ours. OK, we have real dreams and 605 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:56,200 aspirations. We make real decisions and 606 00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:58,040 choices. We can blow up our lives by 607 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:00,720 making bad decisions. We can be prosperous through 608 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:04,640 stewardship and hard work. We can live mundane and quiet 609 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:07,560 lives if so we so choose. Except. 610 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:11,760 Except when It's just not the out of part of the story God is 611 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:14,239 writing. Let's take our text as an 612 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:16,880 example. Isaac and Rebecca. 613 00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:20,600 They both have plans for their day going into this. 614 00:34:21,239 --> 00:34:25,400 Isaac is going to to bless Esau. Rebecca is going to trick her 615 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,679 husband into blessing Jacob. What governs which way this 616 00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:30,360 goes? Right? 617 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:32,960 The prophecy already tells us that the older will serve the 618 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:35,320 younger. Jacob is the line through which 619 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:39,239 the promise will continue. Isaac made a choice and it was 620 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:42,239 not successful. Rebecca made a choice and it was 621 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:45,440 successful. The one governing all of it is 622 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:48,000 the Lord. But there are consequences to 623 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,920 what happens. Jacob ends up fleeing for his 624 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:55,440 life. In the story Now, was the wicked 625 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:58,840 deception of Rebecca the will of God? 626 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:01,920 Was the wicked deception of Rebecca the will of God? 627 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:05,080 Was it the plan? That's the money question, isn't 628 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:07,880 it? See, the chosenness of Jacob and 629 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:11,680 the continuation of the promise through Jacob was the will of 630 00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:14,920 God. Rebecca's trickery of Isaac was 631 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:17,680 not, was not. How do I know? 632 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:22,600 Because God is not a liar and he does not advocate lying. 633 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:26,400 In fact the whole deception is serpent like. 634 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:29,640 If you remember back in the garden for some today. 635 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:32,760 You need to, you need to repent of your controlling and 636 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:35,320 manipulative ways. You are not pretending. 637 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:38,560 You are pretending to be God and seeking to orchestrate things 638 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:41,800 just like Rebecca was. God is not honored in those 639 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:44,680 things. OK, one commentator pointed out 640 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:46,440 and he made, I thought he made a really great point. 641 00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,960 She could have just left the blessing up to the Lord if he 642 00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:51,680 wanted. He could have just kept Isaac 643 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:56,040 from blessing Esau just like he did with Balaam when Balaam was 644 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:58,600 trying to curse Israel. He wouldn't let him see. 645 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:00,720 Rebecca didn't have to try and make it happen. 646 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:02,960 She took it upon herself to do so. 647 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,760 And often times when we when we look at events and think could 648 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:10,880 that have gone differently? The question we should ask first 649 00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:12,280 is not could have gone differently. 650 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:15,360 The question is, should it have gone differently? 651 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:18,680 If the answer is yes, then it probably could have gone 652 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:23,600 differently, but it didn't. See, there are choices, but God 653 00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:26,600 rules and reigns over those choices even further. 654 00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:29,480 The Lord is like that scene from Star Wars episode 1. 655 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:32,120 I don't know if y'all remember this movie, but you remember 656 00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:34,080 when Qui Gon Jinn, he's basically playing a game of 657 00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:38,400 chance to free Anakin Skywalker and Wado rolls this dice, this 658 00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:43,120 cube, and Qui Gon waves his hand using the force and the thing 659 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:44,920 just like rolls to the color that he needs. 660 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:47,000 That's what we're dealing with here. 661 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:50,840 OK, You may have decided to roll a dice for it, right? 662 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:52,720 But the Lord determines the outcome. 663 00:36:52,720 --> 00:36:56,360 There's no such thing as chance. It is the it's not real. 664 00:36:57,080 --> 00:37:00,040 See, Isaac may have decided to go against the promise, but he 665 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:02,640 cannot. For a sovereign God, he can't. 666 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:06,200 Rebecca may have thought she needed deception to fulfill the 667 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:11,320 promise, but she did not. OK, with that being said, God is 668 00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:14,680 sovereign and the last thing here is that, and that is really 669 00:37:14,680 --> 00:37:16,920 great news, but let me tell you why. 670 00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:21,720 If you understand the doctrine that God is sovereign, it 671 00:37:21,720 --> 00:37:25,720 changes how you relate to everything it does. 672 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:29,360 For example, it changes how we relate to worship itself. 673 00:37:29,360 --> 00:37:34,160 If God is an absolute sovereign, then you have a God big enough 674 00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:37,120 to worship. OK, All of creation is under his 675 00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:39,080 control. The color of the sky, the 676 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:42,120 billions of stars, the 10,000 birds that Tanner's going to 677 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:45,920 look for, You know, the complexity of, of organic life 678 00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:49,240 and the creativity of human culture, all of it is under his 679 00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:50,960 control. That should make that should 680 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:55,840 really make our hearts sing. This is the God of the Bible and 681 00:37:55,840 --> 00:37:59,600 there is no other. This God is worthy of our 682 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:03,600 worship with song, dance, work or anything. 683 00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:07,840 All things are to be done as worship of Him because he is 684 00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:11,200 worthy of it, but he's got to be big enough to worship. 685 00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:17,760 Second thing, a God we have a God we can pray to. 686 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:20,800 If God is sovereign, then prayer matters. 687 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:23,240 If God is not sovereign, don't worry about it. 688 00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:26,640 Don't worry about it. If He doesn't have the any power 689 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:29,320 to do anything anyways, why bother? 690 00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:33,680 Why mess with it? He but He is sovereign and when 691 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:37,560 we pray, we are asking the hand that moves the world to move on 692 00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:42,120 our behalf. And the crazy thing is, is that 693 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:46,080 He does. He hears us and sometimes acts. 694 00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:49,880 See, Isaac prayed to the Lord about Rebecca, and he heard and 695 00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:53,560 granted his prayer, and the hand that moves the world moved to 696 00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:58,600 make a baby possible. But he is a sovereign God, OK? 697 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,480 He is a sovereign God. Just because you ask him for 698 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:03,040 something doesn't mean he's going to give it to you. 699 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,840 See, God is not a genie to grant you your every wish. 700 00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:11,160 God is a good dad and he doesn't give you everything you want. 701 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:15,680 And many times we ask God for something and he says no, like a 702 00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:18,640 good God should. See, we asked for things that 703 00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:22,160 could be really bad for us. We may not realize it would be 704 00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:24,160 bad for us. But consider this. 705 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:28,880 If God did prosper something he gave, he let something succeed 706 00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:30,960 that you've been working on so hard for, right? 707 00:39:31,360 --> 00:39:33,800 But what it? But what if he did it right now, 708 00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:35,640 though that you're not just working on it, you're working on 709 00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:37,280 it now. But what if he did it right now? 710 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:41,080 Are you the kind of person, character wise, that could 711 00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:44,480 handle it? Would success turn you into a 712 00:39:44,480 --> 00:39:47,920 monster? Would success make your ego 713 00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:50,920 swell so much that you were impossible to deal with? 714 00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:55,080 Would you swell with so much pride that you decide that you 715 00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:57,960 no longer need God, or anything else for that matter? 716 00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:00,440 That sounds an awful lot like judgement. 717 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:05,480 Not not a gift, but many times we ask God for something that 718 00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:10,960 will do just that to us, or we or we ask God to move. 719 00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:13,320 Because we are tired of dealing with something. 720 00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:16,560 I've been there, man. Lord, we have learned what we 721 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:19,240 wanted, wanted from this. To learn that we need to learn, 722 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:22,080 you know, like make it end. We're done. 723 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:23,800 We've learned it. But we have to stop. 724 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:27,520 Say have you, have we? You don't get to determine that. 725 00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:31,040 The sovereign Lord of all knows our hearts. 726 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:33,400 It's over when he says it's over. 727 00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:36,920 His timing is perfect. We have to trust that He is a 728 00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:43,920 good God, but He's not a genie. Next, if God is sovereign, then 729 00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:46,920 you and I can be saved from our sins. 730 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:50,760 We can be saved from our sins. There is no salvation for us if 731 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:53,920 God is not sovereign. We need a sovereign God to 732 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:57,200 wisely step in and do what we could not do because of our 733 00:40:57,200 --> 00:41:00,280 rebellion against God. We do not have it within our own 734 00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:03,040 power or choice to remove our wickedness. 735 00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:05,520 We do not. It's like a stain that just 736 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:08,480 cannot be removed. Bleaching a stain stick ain't 737 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:11,960 going to do it right. We need someone to do it for us. 738 00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:15,000 And John one tells us it says this. 739 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:18,600 And in verse 11, he says he came to his own and his own people 740 00:41:18,600 --> 00:41:22,000 did not receive him, meaning salvation is not from a heritage 741 00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:26,280 a a a biological one. But to all who did receive him, 742 00:41:26,280 --> 00:41:30,000 who believed in his name, he gave the right to become 743 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:32,560 children of God, meaning he granted it. 744 00:41:33,600 --> 00:41:36,600 It tells you about how this comes about, He says, who were 745 00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:40,440 born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor the will 746 00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:44,400 of man, but of God. See, a sovereign God is the one 747 00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:48,600 who saves from first to last. Salvation is work of is the work 748 00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:50,600 of God. The repentance and faith in 749 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:54,280 Jesus is granted by God. Human choice cannot thwart A 750 00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:56,800 sovereign God. This means it wasn't you who 751 00:41:56,800 --> 00:42:01,360 saved you and it was God. It also means it's not you and 752 00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:04,720 your obedience that will keep you, it's God who will keep you. 753 00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:07,440 There is a rest that comes from this. 754 00:42:07,600 --> 00:42:10,240 We don't have to worry if God loves us or wants us. 755 00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:13,440 He's the one who saved us. He's the one who brought us 756 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:15,360 near. We don't have to question it, 757 00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:21,600 but only if He's sovereign. Next, if God is sovereign, then 758 00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:25,200 when we come to big life decisions, this changes things 759 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:26,440 for us. It really does. 760 00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:31,200 We have genuine choices to make. We can genuinely get it right or 761 00:42:31,200 --> 00:42:34,440 we can get it wrong. There is such a thing as living 762 00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:37,280 wisely or foolishly in God's world. 763 00:42:37,880 --> 00:42:41,360 But it's not all up to us. Here's what we can do. 764 00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:46,120 See, we can ask the Lord for wisdom, direction, and outright. 765 00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:48,000 What do you want me to do, right? 766 00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:50,080 Here's the thing, though, about the Lord. 767 00:42:50,240 --> 00:42:53,680 If He wants to speak up and make it plain to you, He will. 768 00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:55,720 He will. You don't have to look for 769 00:42:55,720 --> 00:42:57,480 signs. It's not spelled out in your 770 00:42:57,480 --> 00:43:00,040 Cheerios. There is not some secret code in 771 00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:02,480 the Bible to break. There is not some weird feeling 772 00:43:02,480 --> 00:43:04,440 that you were guaranteed to get about something. 773 00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:07,840 Now. God is sovereign, so if He wants 774 00:43:07,840 --> 00:43:10,600 to make the something plain to you in whatever way He sees fit, 775 00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:11,880 He will. He can. 776 00:43:12,240 --> 00:43:16,200 But most of the time you will pray to the Lord for help and he 777 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:21,640 will speak through 4 normative ways, normal, 4 normal ways. 778 00:43:21,680 --> 00:43:26,560 OK, one, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will give you 779 00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:28,840 the confidence and insurance to do something. 780 00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:30,600 I can't tell you exactly what that is. 781 00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:32,400 You just have a confidence and assurance like I'm going to do 782 00:43:32,400 --> 00:43:32,840 it. Why? 783 00:43:33,640 --> 00:43:36,120 I know I can do it. The Spirit will do it. 784 00:43:36,480 --> 00:43:41,280 Second, the Bible, the Bible clearly expresses that God wants 785 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:45,120 us to do some things it's it has his revealed will some some 786 00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:48,000 things God has made very plain. Just pick up the book and read 787 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:49,080 it. It's right there. 788 00:43:49,720 --> 00:43:53,240 Third, community, the people of God will speak in and give 789 00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:55,240 perspective, wisdom and insight to you. 790 00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:57,960 The community won't always get it right, but they're going to 791 00:43:57,960 --> 00:44:00,440 speak in because they also have the spirit. 792 00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:06,560 OK, 4th circumstances. The sovereign Lord orchestrates 793 00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:09,760 all things. If there's an opportunity, take 794 00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:11,880 it and see what the Lord does. Just take it. 795 00:44:13,040 --> 00:44:15,480 So those are our four things, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, 796 00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:19,360 community, and circumstances. But let me give you 2 biblical 797 00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:21,440 examples on how all of this works out. 798 00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:23,040 I think this will make it come together. 799 00:44:23,720 --> 00:44:30,040 First, take an example of Caleb. Caleb was one of the 12 spies 800 00:44:30,040 --> 00:44:32,280 who actually came back with a good report. 801 00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:37,600 But at the age of 85, after the conquest of of the land, Caleb 802 00:44:37,600 --> 00:44:41,080 goes to Joshua and reminds him of what Moses told them after 803 00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:44,840 spying out the land and the land that they were on, that it would 804 00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:48,720 become Caleb's inheritance. So after the conquest, Caleb 805 00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:52,120 recognizes, hey look, I remember being here, this is the land, 806 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:54,640 this is it. And Joshua followed through and 807 00:44:54,640 --> 00:44:59,000 granted him the land, but the Anakim still live there. 808 00:44:59,080 --> 00:45:07,880 That is giants. So Caleb at 8585 moves into Kira 809 00:45:08,040 --> 00:45:10,600 Arba to conquer. And here's what he says. 810 00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:14,600 Joshua 14, he said, verse 12, he says So now give me this Hill 811 00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:17,600 Country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on 812 00:45:17,600 --> 00:45:21,000 that day how the Anakim were there with great fortified 813 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:24,560 cities. It may be that the Lord will be 814 00:45:24,560 --> 00:45:28,680 with me, and I shall drive out, drive them out just as the Lord 815 00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:31,880 said. Now notice Caleb doesn't know 816 00:45:31,880 --> 00:45:34,560 what will happen, he doesn't know what happened, he doesn't 817 00:45:34,560 --> 00:45:37,640 know what the Lord will do, but he runs off the face giants 818 00:45:37,640 --> 00:45:40,440 based on general promise from the Lord through Moses. 819 00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:44,160 Now spoiler, he does defeat them and brings peace to that area, 820 00:45:44,160 --> 00:45:46,520 renames it Hebron. But he didn't know. 821 00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:49,880 Maybe the Lord will do it. Storm the hill, right? 822 00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:54,520 Let me give you another one. It's when it's the decision to 823 00:45:54,520 --> 00:45:57,160 replace Judas. If you remember, Judas Iscariot 824 00:45:57,160 --> 00:45:59,840 betrayed Jesus and ended up taking his own life. 825 00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:03,600 So the apostles decided that they were going to replace him 826 00:46:03,600 --> 00:46:06,560 with one among them. Now it had to be someone who was 827 00:46:06,560 --> 00:46:09,280 there from the beginning. But here's here's what they did. 828 00:46:09,440 --> 00:46:12,240 This is straight out Acts one verse 23. 829 00:46:12,600 --> 00:46:17,360 He said, and they put forward 2 Joseph called Barsabbas, who was 830 00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:21,800 also called justice and Matthias and they prayed and said, you 831 00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:25,240 Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two 832 00:46:25,240 --> 00:46:28,120 you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and 833 00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:31,000 apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go his own 834 00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:34,360 place. And they cast lots for the for 835 00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:38,520 them and the lot fell on Matthias and he was out. 836 00:46:38,520 --> 00:46:40,640 He was numbered with the 11 apostles. 837 00:46:41,120 --> 00:46:45,200 So they prayed and then they cast lots and they accepted 838 00:46:45,200 --> 00:46:47,200 that, that that was the Lord's answer. 839 00:46:47,440 --> 00:46:50,480 That's what they did. Now let me point something out 840 00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:53,760 to you about that. The whole account of Acts subtly 841 00:46:53,760 --> 00:46:56,120 points out that they got it wrong. 842 00:46:56,680 --> 00:46:59,160 They got it wrong. How do I know that? 843 00:46:59,920 --> 00:47:04,480 Jesus chose every apostle in the beginning, So what made them 844 00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:07,520 think he wouldn't pick Judas's replacement? 845 00:47:07,600 --> 00:47:11,360 I didn't think that what follows is actually Jesus picking a 846 00:47:11,360 --> 00:47:13,760 replacement in Acts. If you go back and read it and 847 00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:15,800 his name was Saul, but now it's Paul. 848 00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:18,720 See, they got. Did they get it wrong? 849 00:47:18,880 --> 00:47:21,320 Yeah. Did it ultimately mess up what 850 00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:23,120 God was going to do? No. 851 00:47:23,920 --> 00:47:26,400 What does this mean? Chill out. 852 00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:29,600 It means chill out. Pray and ask the Lord through 853 00:47:29,600 --> 00:47:32,640 His Spirit to guide, read the Bible, consult with the 854 00:47:32,640 --> 00:47:34,480 community of faith, and then do something. 855 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:38,720 And then do something. Your aim, your aim, and my aim 856 00:47:38,920 --> 00:47:41,680 is to avoid foolishness and disobedience. 857 00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:44,840 Everything else is fair game under the gaze of a sovereign 858 00:47:44,840 --> 00:47:47,640 God. Everything else, All right, Last 859 00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:50,400 thing. This means everyday life can be 860 00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:52,480 a lot less stressful for you. It can. 861 00:47:52,840 --> 00:47:55,200 God is sovereign, so you don't need to fret. 862 00:47:55,200 --> 00:47:57,720 God is sovereign, so you don't need to give up trying to. 863 00:47:57,920 --> 00:48:00,000 You need to give up trying to control and manipulate 864 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:02,360 everything towards your own end. You just need to give that up. 865 00:48:03,040 --> 00:48:06,960 My mom used to tell me this as a kid and the Lord just kind of 866 00:48:06,960 --> 00:48:09,440 brought it to remembrance. She used to tell me this. 867 00:48:09,440 --> 00:48:12,560 If it made it to you, it had to go through him first. 868 00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:15,960 If it made it to you, it had to go through him first. 869 00:48:16,160 --> 00:48:19,440 See, God is sovereign. It's not all up to to you and I. 870 00:48:19,720 --> 00:48:22,800 So chill out, do your best and forget the rest. 871 00:48:22,800 --> 00:48:25,480 Stop trying to control everything because you are not 872 00:48:25,480 --> 00:48:28,120 in control. And thank God, thank God. 873 00:48:28,640 --> 00:48:32,440 But on the flip side of that, God is sovereign, but we are 874 00:48:32,440 --> 00:48:35,680 still responsible. Some of us need to hear that. 875 00:48:35,680 --> 00:48:39,240 We need to just do something. You may be tempted to just say 876 00:48:39,240 --> 00:48:42,480 let go and let God, but God is not going to tell you everything 877 00:48:42,480 --> 00:48:45,480 to do. God has a plan and it involves 878 00:48:45,480 --> 00:48:47,240 you and I stepping into the game. 879 00:48:47,240 --> 00:48:49,640 We must move forward in obedience. 880 00:48:49,880 --> 00:48:51,960 We are not. We are responsible to walk in 881 00:48:51,960 --> 00:48:54,600 obedience to the Lord. God is sovereign, but He's not 882 00:48:54,600 --> 00:48:57,520 going to tell you every little detail about what you need to 883 00:48:57,520 --> 00:48:58,480 do. He's not. 884 00:48:58,880 --> 00:49:02,040 He created us in his image and made us in such a way that 885 00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:05,160 creative responsibility is required. 886 00:49:05,600 --> 00:49:08,760 He has good works for us to do, but we have to do them. 887 00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:11,480 It's kind of like this. It's kind of like animal 888 00:49:11,480 --> 00:49:14,480 herding. My family watches the show 889 00:49:14,920 --> 00:49:16,960 Secrets of the Zoo. You should surely check that 890 00:49:16,960 --> 00:49:18,800 out. And they often hurt animals 891 00:49:18,800 --> 00:49:21,880 where they need them to go. And the animals go every which 892 00:49:21,880 --> 00:49:23,720 way. And sometimes they make detours. 893 00:49:23,720 --> 00:49:27,760 They'll stop here and for days. But ultimately they are going in 894 00:49:27,760 --> 00:49:32,040 a certain direction. OK, the same is true with us and 895 00:49:32,040 --> 00:49:34,160 the Lord. We must walk forward, but the 896 00:49:34,160 --> 00:49:37,920 Lord is taking us. We may run into a fence or a 897 00:49:37,920 --> 00:49:41,160 hole, but the Lord is directing us somewhere. 898 00:49:41,280 --> 00:49:45,320 It will feel like we are aim running aimlessly right and and 899 00:49:45,320 --> 00:49:48,280 don't know where to go. But the Lord is guiding us. 900 00:49:48,520 --> 00:49:51,840 We may not know it yet, but we are headed that way. 901 00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:55,000 Well, where is that way? Wherever the Lord wants to take 902 00:49:55,000 --> 00:49:57,880 us. You may be paralyzed here today 903 00:49:58,240 --> 00:50:01,200 by the fear of messing up your kids, your life, or something 904 00:50:01,200 --> 00:50:03,520 else. You need to hear that. 905 00:50:03,520 --> 00:50:06,040 That is not how a sovereign God wants you to live. 906 00:50:06,640 --> 00:50:09,040 It's not. He's got things under control. 907 00:50:09,280 --> 00:50:12,040 You can trust Him. Don't over spirit. 908 00:50:12,240 --> 00:50:15,320 Spiritualize everything. The whole world is the Lord's. 909 00:50:15,640 --> 00:50:18,600 He does stuff through mess all the time. 910 00:50:18,960 --> 00:50:21,680 Just look at our passage today. It was a complete mess. 911 00:50:21,960 --> 00:50:24,520 But God still brings about the Savior of the world through the 912 00:50:24,520 --> 00:50:27,840 mess He does. But don't over spiritualize 913 00:50:27,840 --> 00:50:30,560 everything. He does stuff through ordinary 914 00:50:30,560 --> 00:50:33,520 things all the time. It doesn't have to be 915 00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:36,640 spontaneous or extraordinary for the Lord to be guiding or 916 00:50:36,640 --> 00:50:37,840 moving. It just doesn't. 917 00:50:38,040 --> 00:50:41,320 It's his world. He controls the ordinary just as 918 00:50:41,320 --> 00:50:45,240 much as the extraordinary, to relegate him to only certain 919 00:50:45,240 --> 00:50:47,200 kinds of acts. And this is the sovereignty 920 00:50:47,200 --> 00:50:48,800 part. It's his world. 921 00:50:49,440 --> 00:50:53,480 You're not. Our aim is to avoid foolishness 922 00:50:53,520 --> 00:50:56,680 and disobedience. Everything else is fair game 923 00:50:56,680 --> 00:50:58,520 under the gaze of a sovereign God. 924 00:50:59,080 --> 00:51:02,160 This is really good news for us. Really good news. 925 00:51:02,680 --> 00:51:05,040 So we want control and we just can't have it. 926 00:51:05,720 --> 00:51:09,280 The sovereign God, the sovereignty of God is an 927 00:51:09,280 --> 00:51:13,800 opportunity for us to realize that we don't need control, we 928 00:51:13,800 --> 00:51:17,040 need him. Let's take all that energy that 929 00:51:17,040 --> 00:51:20,480 we give to trying to control things and getting our way and 930 00:51:20,480 --> 00:51:23,400 live accountable to the sovereign God of of heaven and 931 00:51:23,400 --> 00:51:27,800 earth in humility. Let's see our lives as a part of 932 00:51:27,800 --> 00:51:32,040 his story and not him and ours. Let's pray. 933 00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:37,720 Father, I thank you that you are sovereign. 934 00:51:38,040 --> 00:51:41,480 Thank you for holding all things together and causing them to be. 935 00:51:42,000 --> 00:51:44,120 Father, thank you for your goodness. 936 00:51:44,640 --> 00:51:48,720 Thank you that you're so good. Father, we, we trust you with 937 00:51:48,720 --> 00:51:52,360 our very lives. Father, I ask that for those who 938 00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:55,440 wrestle with this truth, would you just help them and show them 939 00:51:55,440 --> 00:51:58,280 the beauty and wonder of your very character and nature. 940 00:51:59,120 --> 00:52:01,360 Father, we love you. It's for your beautiful name. 941 00:52:01,360 --> 00:52:01,520 Amen.