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Our scripture reading today is 
Genesis 32, verses 3 through 8. 

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Jacob sent messengers ahead of 
him to his brother Esau and the 

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land of Seer, the country of 
Edom. 

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He instructed them, This is what
you are to say to my Lord Esau, 

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your servant. 
Jacob says I have been staying 

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with Laban and have remained 
there till now. 

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I have cattle and donkeys, sheep
and goats, male and female 

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servants. 
Now I am sending this message to

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my Lord I that I may find favor 
in your eyes. 

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When the messengers returned 
Jacob to Jacob, they said we 

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went to your brother Esau and 
now he is coming to meet you and

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400 men are with him, and great 
fear and distress. 

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Jacob divided the people who 
were with him into two groups, 

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and the flocks and the herds and
camels as well. 

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He thought if Esau comes and 
attacks one group, the group 

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that is left may escape. 
May the Lord add His blessing to

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the reading and hearing of His 
Word. 

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We are in the season of Lent 
now, the 40 days prior to 

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Easter, 40 days not including 
Sundays. 

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Technically, Eva is Eva still, 
she's still there. 

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Technically during Lent. 
You can, you can do on Sunday 

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the thing that you've given up. 
Just just so you know that's, 

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that's always a possibility. 
You don't have to do it that 

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way, but you can, you can 40 
because each Sunday is 

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considered a little Easter And, 
and so, so the fasting that 

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happens during Lent. 
Often people will say that 

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they'll fast on everyday but 
Sunday, but that's all right, No

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pressure, no pressure. 
So during this time, this time 

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of Lent, I, I love Lent because 
unlike, I love, I love Christmas

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too, of course, But unlike 
Christmas, Christmas, the whole 

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world knows it's Christmas, 
right? 

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There's the, the celebration is 
big, it's loud, it's colorful. 

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There are TV shows and songs and
movies, everything that happens 

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and, and, and that, that, that 
you can almost not escape the 

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reality that Christmas time is 
here when Christmas time is 

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here. 
But Lent is very different. 

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Lent is much quieter. 
Lent is something that if you're

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not part of a church that 
celebrates Lent, you probably 

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don't even know about Lent. 
And it's not a big celebration. 

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It's not loud. 
It's more of a quiet, 

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introspective looking at 
ourselves and looking at God. 

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It reminds us of the 40 days 
that Jesus spent in the 

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wilderness before beginning his 
public ministry, that that 40 

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days of testing and temptation 
apart from all resources, 

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including food and water out 
there, just him and God. 

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And so the invitation every year
at Lent is to take this time, 

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often through fasting of some 
sort, but in other ways as well,

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prayer and study and reflection 
to to look at our lives and, and

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see how God is calling us. 
See maybe what are the things 

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that that God is saying. 
It's time to change this. 

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It's time to give that up. 
It's time to take this on. 

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It's time to take a step in this
direction or pull back from that

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direction. 
This this time of Lent, a time 

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of reflection. 
This year during Lent, I'm 

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asking us to reflect on this 
question that what does it mean 

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to be faithful in a system 
that's stacked against you? 

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Because we do live in a system 
that's stacked against us, lots 

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of systems that are stacked 
against us. 

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And if you were here for the Ash
Wednesday service, the beginning

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of the sermon today is going to 
be a little bit of a repeat, 

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repeat from Ash Wednesday. 
But, but just just the beginning

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here. 
But we live in, we live in 

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political systems, economic 
systems, philosophical systems, 

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ideological systems, educational
systems, all sorts of systems 

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that are designed not to help us
be faithful to God, but are in 

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fact designed to help us not be 
faithful to God. 

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One of the easiest ones to see 
in America is the economic 

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system of capitalism. 
Now, I'm not here to trash 

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capitalism. 
I'm not here to sing the praises

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of capitalism. 
Capitalism is the worst economic

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system there is, except for all 
the others. 

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And and capitalism is designed. 
Yeah, thanks for I got a little 

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bit of laugh there, you know, 
and there wasn't even a word 

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that sounds like a cuss word in 
that so. 

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But capitalism is designed to 
foster greed and self-interest. 

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That's the way it works. 
And, and way back in the 1980s 

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when the stock market was 
booming, there were folks like 

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Ivan Boesky and others who 
openly out loud said things like

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greed is good. 
When people behave in, in, in 

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self interested greed within a 
capitalist system, they generate

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wealth for themselves and for 
other people. 

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Greed is good. 
That was the the philosophy 

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behind the movie Wall Street. 
That was sort of loosely based 

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on the lives of some of these 
stock market Wall Street bigwigs

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that were out there. 
That's the opposite of what 

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Jesus says. 
It's the opposite of what Jesus 

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says. 
So how are we in all of these 

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systems that that actively push 
us against being faithful to 

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God? 
How can we stay faithful to God?

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And to do that, I want to talk 
about another thing that I 

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mentioned on Wednesday night, 
which is the difference between 

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strategy and tactics. 
In a lot of churches, as in a 

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lot of large organizations, they
put a great deal of emphasis on 

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strategy and strategic planning.
I I read a book a number of 

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years ago by a man by the name 
of Emmanuel Katangale, a native 

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of Rwanda who grew up and did a 
lot of his growing up in a 

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neighboring country in Africa, 
but now is in the United States 

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and teaches seminary in the 
United States, theology, church 

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history, those kinds of things. 
And and in his book Mirror to 

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the Church is a phenomenal book.
If you ever get a chance to read

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it, I highly recommend it. 
He talks about the difference 

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between strategy and tactics and
he says that Jesus did not give 

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us strategy. 
Jesus gave us tactics. 

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Jesus came to establish the 
Kingdom of God and that process 

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is ongoing, not fully completed 
yet. 

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But Jesus did not give us a 
grand strategy to realize and to

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build the Kingdom of God in this
world. 

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What Jesus gave us was tactics. 
And this is the distinction that

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he makes between strategy and 
tactics. 

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I just want to read a a bit of a
quote from his book. 

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Strategy is how people in power 
plan the way they want things to

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work. 
Strategy is always realistic, 

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even when it's ambitious. 
It lays out a step by step 

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process for moving with 
predictable results from where 

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we are to where we want to be. 
Strategy is the posture of the 

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powerful. 
It sets goals and commits to 

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measurable outcomes. 
It is not comfortable with 

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uncertainties, but always 
accounts for them as a 

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predictable variable. 
Strategy is for people in power.

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Strategy is for boardrooms and 
corporations. 

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Strategy is for government 
organization. 

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Strategy is for teams that are 
controlling as many variables as

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they can when they're trying to 
figure out how to defeat their 

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opponents. 
On the other hand, Katangale 

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says, tactics are tools of the 
week, the wisdom of the week 

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about how to survive in a world 
they do not own. 

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Tactics assume that the system 
we live under cannot be reformed

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or reorganized in its entirety. 
Instead, tactics plot to subvert

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the reigning system at those 
places where it is weak. 

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Tactics are worked out on the 
fly and passed on in the jungle 

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under the cover of night. 
Like strategy, they are 

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realistic. 
But tactics do not pretend to 

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know for certain what will 
happen in the future. 

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Tactics depend on the art of 
improvisation. 

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When situations change, tactics 
change with them. 

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I I think Katangale is right 
that in the vast majority of 

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time, the church and followers 
of Jesus in this world are not 

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in positions of power where 
strategy is the appropriate way 

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forward. 
But we are working within 

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systems that are stacked against
us, where tactics are the best 

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response that we have. 
And that seems to be what Jesus 

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has given us. 
Jesus did not give a grand 

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strategy for establishing the 
Kingdom of God on earth. 

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Jesus gave his followers tactics
for how to be faithful in 

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systems that are stacked against
them, how to be faithful in a 

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world that we do not own, for we
do not own this world. 

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There are way too many things 
beyond our control to say that 

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we own this world. 
And today we're we're looking at

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what is the greatest virtue that
we can have as we are trying to 

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be faithful within a system that
is stacked against us and these 

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systems that are stacked against
us. 

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We already talked about strategy
versus tactics. 

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I hit the wrong button again. 
Jesus gives us tactics, as 

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Katangale says, for attacking 
and undermining weak spots in 

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the world's systems. 
I want to talk about Jacob's 

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tactics and I want to read a 
little bit more of that passage 

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before we get into Jacob's 
tactics. 

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And this is, this is kind of 
the, the, the next chapter, a 

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portion of the next chapter. 
Jacob has divided up his 

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resources, split them in half 
and he has, he sent them across 

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the river. 
First he stayed behind, wrestled

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with God. 
We talked about all of that on 

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Wednesday night. 
And now it's the next day and 

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Jacob is crossing the river 
himself and Esau's band of men, 

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400 men. 
Esau is brought to greet his 

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brother and Jacob has no idea 
whether the last word he heard 

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from Esau was I am going to kill
you. 

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And now Esau is coming at him 
with 400 men and Jacob is 

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scared. 
And this is what happens. 

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This is what happens. 
But Esau ran to meet Jacob and 

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embraced him. 
He threw his arms around his 

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neck and kissed him, and they 
wept. 

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Then Esau looked up and saw the 
women and children. 

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Who are these with you? 
We asked. 

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And Jacob answered that they are
the children God has graciously 

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given your servant. 
Then the female servants and 

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their children approached and 
bowed down. 

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Next Leah and her children came 
and bowed down. 

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Last of all came Joseph and 
Rachel, and they too bowed down.

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Esau asked. 
What's the meaning of all these 

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flocks and herds that I met? 
To find favor in your eyes, my 

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Lord, he said. 
But Esau said, I already have 

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plenty. 
My brother, keep what you have 

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for yourself. 
No, please, said Jacob, if I 

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have found favor in your eyes, 
accept this gift for me. 

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For to see your face is like 
seeing the face of God. 

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Now that you have received me 
favorably, please accept the 

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present that was brought to you,
for God has been gracious to me,

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and I have all that I need. 
And because Jacob insisted, Esau

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accepted it. 
We see Jacob's strategy at work 

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through these two readings from 
the two chaters here. 

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And the first thing, the first 
piece of Jacob's strategy was 

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that he divided his assets. 
This was clearly Plan B. 

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This was clearly the backup plan
for the worst case scenario. 

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Esau is coming with 400 people. 
He's still mad. 

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He's still angry because I 
cheated him and then I stole 

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from him and he is coming to 
seek his vengeance against me. 

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So worst case scenario, he's 
coming to attack. 

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I divide my resources, including
my family, so at least half of 

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us can escape. 
That's that's one of his 

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tactics. 
The second tactic that's very 

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prominent is his generosity. 
He sends gifts ahead of him to 

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Esau, Very extravagant gifts, 
very generous gifts, flocks, 

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herds, sheep, goat, cattle, you 
know, all different sorts of 

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things he's sending as a gift to
give to Esau. 

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So he's dividing his resources 
to protect at least half, and 

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he's giving gifts two of the 
three tactics that that Jacob 

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adopts. 
These two alone are not enough 

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because when you're really angry
with someone, you don't want to 

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be bought off and and being 
bought off as then an insult as 

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much as anything else. 
Oh wow, you think you can do all

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of this to me and then just give
me money and it's going to be 

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OK? 
You got another thing coming 

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here. 
It's going to take more than 

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that. 
Dividing his resources at best 

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was going to save half of his 
resources. 

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Jacob's third tactic was the key
to the whole thing, and that was

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humility. 
Humility that was the greatest 

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of the three. 
All throughout this, he sends 

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his servants. 
Go find my brother Esau. 

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Tell him these are a gift to my 
Lord from your servant Jacob. 

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When they meet face to face, 
it's over and over again. 

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My Lord, I am your servant, my 
Lord, your servant, my Lord, 

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your servant. 
These are your servants. 

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Children, this is your servant's
family. 

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God has blessed your servant, my
Lord. 

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Jacob came to his brother with 
humility, and he was in a system

228
00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:38,920
that was stacked against him. 
Everything culturally put Jacob 

229
00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:41,760
at a disadvantage in his 
encounter with his brother. 

230
00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:48,680
Jacob had dishonored their 
father by lying to him and 

231
00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:51,840
stealing the blessing that their
father intended to give to Esau 

232
00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,680
and honoring the parent, the 
particularly the patriarch of 

233
00:13:55,680 --> 00:13:59,760
the family, which is who Isaac 
was, that the head of the entire

234
00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:01,880
family. 
Honoring that person was the 

235
00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:03,800
highest order value you could 
find. 

236
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:07,360
And Jacob had dishonored his 
father by lying to him and 

237
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stealing from him. 
Jacob was the second born. 

238
00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,280
Every custom and tradition in 
the culture said that the first 

239
00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:17,720
born son inherited the lion's 
share of the father's estate and

240
00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:20,440
the father's wealth and 
inherited the father's authority

241
00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:24,720
over the whole family. 
Now we know and Jacob knew that 

242
00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:28,320
God had already decided to give 
that authority to Jacob himself.

243
00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:33,520
But Jacob didn't come in 
claiming his God-given power and

244
00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,240
authority. 
He didn't come in claiming his 

245
00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:38,720
God-given status over his 
brother. 

246
00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:43,320
He came in with humility and 
said to his brother, You are my 

247
00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:49,600
Lord, I am your servant, and 
that was his greatest asset. 

248
00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:56,360
Without the humility, the gifts 
just look like an arrogant 

249
00:14:56,360 --> 00:15:01,800
person trying to pay off their 
debts without any real cost to 

250
00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:05,040
themselves. 
He's already wealthy, he can 

251
00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:07,480
give a lot away and it doesn't 
really hurt him anyway. 

252
00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:11,480
A fine to a rich man is no 
punishment at all. 

253
00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:18,400
But he came in with humility and
he placed himself at his 

254
00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:22,600
brother's service. 
And because of that humility, 

255
00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,280
there was reconciliation. 
Now, humility doesn't always 

256
00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:29,040
lead to reconciliation, but 
particularly when we have 

257
00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,480
wronged another person, as Jacob
had wronged Esau, Jacob had 

258
00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:36,400
wronged his brother. 
Esau had a genuine, legitimate 

259
00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:40,640
grievance against Jacob. 
When we come into that with 

260
00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:46,720
humility, it at least opens the 
door for the possibility of 

261
00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:51,040
reconciliation, as opposed to 
coming in with arrogance and 

262
00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:55,400
claiming our rights and our 
power and our privileges and our

263
00:15:55,400 --> 00:16:00,280
status and our position, which 
is almost guaranteed to drive 

264
00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:04,200
the wedge even deeper. 
He's reflecting what Jesus said 

265
00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:08,560
hundreds of years later when he 
said, hey, before you go to 

266
00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,840
worship God, before you go to 
the temple to make your 

267
00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:14,200
sacrifices and offer your 
worship to God. 

268
00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:16,840
If you have a brother, if you 
have a neighbor, if there's 

269
00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:20,960
anyone that has anything against
you, you go and be reconciled to

270
00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:24,160
that person before you come and 
try to be reconciled to God. 

271
00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:34,600
The reconciliation was the goal 
and the most important virtue, 

272
00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:42,200
the greatest asset, the best 
tactic that Jacob had for 

273
00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:47,800
reconciliation was humility. 
In a system stacked against you,

274
00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:50,320
humility is your greatest 
virtue. 

275
00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:55,000
Not demanding our rights, not 
shouting, not. 

276
00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:57,640
This is another area where our 
culture pushes us in the 

277
00:16:57,640 --> 00:17:01,080
opposite direction. 
You know, you get on social 

278
00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:04,359
media, you'll turn on the news. 
Clearly the greatest virtue is 

279
00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,720
to be loud. 
Rage baiting is is one of the 

280
00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,119
greatest virtue and the 
strongest tactics. 

281
00:17:11,599 --> 00:17:13,520
See how mad you can get the 
other person. 

282
00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:15,920
See if you can get them to do 
something that will embarrass 

283
00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:17,920
themselves. 
Or even better yet, do something

284
00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,160
that's illegal that will get 
them in trouble with the law. 

285
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,800
See if you can get them to do 
something that will cause them 

286
00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,480
shame, humiliation, 
embarrassment. 

287
00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:30,360
Cut them off, drive them out, 
beat them down with words and 

288
00:17:30,360 --> 00:17:32,960
with actions. 
That's what the world is telling

289
00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:34,360
us to do. 
If you've got a grievance 

290
00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:39,080
against someone, destroy them is
what the world says to do. 

291
00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:45,240
Jesus says if someone's got a 
grievance against you, go to 

292
00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,920
them with humility. 
Humble yourself before them. 

293
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:52,320
So what Paul taught us in his 
letter to the church in 

294
00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:57,440
Philippi, he said think like 
Jesus thought, Have the same 

295
00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:02,480
mind that our Lord has. 
And our Lord, who though he was 

296
00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:07,760
equal with God, did not cling to
that status, but he made himself

297
00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:11,080
nothing, taking on the form and 
nature of a servant. 

298
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:15,360
Literally, it was a slave. 
He humbled himself. 

299
00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,600
Jesus did, and he calls us to do
the same. 

300
00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:22,760
Humility is the greatest virtue 
that we can have living in a 

301
00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,920
world that we do not own, 
dealing with systems that are 

302
00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:30,840
stacked against us. 
Not shame, not shouting, not 

303
00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:34,560
judgment, not condemnation, not 
demanding our God-given rights, 

304
00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:39,000
But humility, humility, humility
is. 

305
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,240
It's good to know if we're going
to talk about humility being the

306
00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:43,400
worst thing, talking about what 
humility actually is is 

307
00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:46,240
important too. 
Humility is not thinking awfully

308
00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:47,800
of ourselves. 
It's not thinking less of 

309
00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,320
ourselves. 
It's not the worm theology. 

310
00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,760
I'm an awful human being. 
I deserve to suffer and 

311
00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:57,680
therefore whatever anybody does 
to me is OK because I'm an awful

312
00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:00,600
person and I deserve to suffer. 
That is not humility. 

313
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:02,920
That is humiliation. 
And those are two different 

314
00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:05,800
things. 
Humility is not thinking of 

315
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,440
ourselves or not. 
Humility is not thinking less of

316
00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:10,760
ourselves. 
Humility is thinking of yourself

317
00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:14,440
less. 
It's it's, it's putting the 

318
00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,880
other person in the spotlight, 
making the other person the 

319
00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:21,840
center, going into a group and 
saying not how can I be the 

320
00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:25,280
center of attention? 
But how can I, how can I bring 

321
00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:27,840
some joy and glory and hope to 
someone else? 

322
00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,200
Not how can I get everything I 
want, but how can I make sure 

323
00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:34,400
other people get what they need 
now? 

324
00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,440
How can I get all the respect 
and all the adoration and all 

325
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:39,640
the praise? 
But who can I find to show 

326
00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:41,960
respect to? 
Who can I find to lift up? 

327
00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:47,760
Who can I find to praise? 
Who can I find to build up in 

328
00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:49,640
this group? 
It's not thinking less of 

329
00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:51,760
ourselves. 
It's thinking of ourselves less.

330
00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,160
We're not the center of our own 
universe. 

331
00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:59,240
God is the center, and other 
people are the objects of our 

332
00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,240
love and our service. 
And it's thinking rightly about 

333
00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,520
yourself too often. 
Again, we think of humility as 

334
00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,800
thinking badly of ourselves. 
But it's really thinking rightly

335
00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,200
of ourselves. 
It means recognizing not only 

336
00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:14,160
your weaknesses, but also your 
strengths. 

337
00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:18,440
Not only your failings, but also
your successes. 

338
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:23,600
What are you good at? 
I mean, that's the way to be a 

339
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:26,160
blessing to other folks of 
finding the ways that we're 

340
00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:29,080
things that we're good at and 
doing those for other people, 

341
00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:31,720
not hiding and pretending that 
we don't have those. 

342
00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,120
Sometimes what we're good at is 
making money and being 

343
00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,960
financially generous is the way 
to be a blessing to other folks.

344
00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:41,360
Sometimes it's fixing cars. 
Sometimes it's tending wounds. 

345
00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:44,280
Sometimes, you know, it's 
teaching or leading all 

346
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:49,560
different kinds of ways. 
The strengths that we have are 

347
00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:53,720
just as important as the 
weaknesses, not to make 

348
00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,640
ourselves the center of 
attention, but to make ourselves

349
00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:00,080
it like Thomas the Tank Engine. 
Remember Thomas the Tank Engine?

350
00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:04,320
I love Thomas the Tank Engine. 
I was knocked off my socks when 

351
00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:05,840
I realized that doesn't make any
sense. 

352
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,880
Knocked out of my socks, knocked
off my feet when I realized that

353
00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,760
was George Carlin voicing Thomas
the Tank Engine. 

354
00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:15,400
It's not George Carlin's normal 
style, but anyway. 

355
00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:19,520
But wonder what Thomas said. 
Thomas wanted to be a really 

356
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:24,800
useful engine, and being useful 
isn't the highest ideal that we 

357
00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:28,840
can have. 
Loving is, but it's good to be 

358
00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:33,440
useful at times. 
It's good to put ourselves, our 

359
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:37,480
skills, and our assets at the 
service of other folks, at the 

360
00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,400
service of our neighbors, our 
family, our church, our 

361
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:45,080
community, our school. 
It's good to do that thinking 

362
00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:48,840
rightly about ourselves, 
thinking of ourselves less. 

363
00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:50,960
This is humility. 
The other flips. 

364
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:53,800
The other part of this, though, 
the other side of this coin, is 

365
00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:57,240
that in a system stacked against
you, relationships are your most

366
00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:01,920
valuable resource. 
Humility is the greatest virtue.

367
00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:05,800
Relationships are the most 
valuable resource. 

368
00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:08,960
See, when you're in a position 
of power, you don't need 

369
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,640
relationships. 
In your position of power, you 

370
00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:16,600
use people to make money, to 
increase wealth for yourself. 

371
00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:20,720
You don't need really, you don't
need people. 

372
00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:25,080
You use people. 
But when we're in a position of 

373
00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:29,360
weakness and the systems around 
us, the relationships become the

374
00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:33,080
most important thing. 
Let's go back and look again at 

375
00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:35,640
what happened with Jacob and 
Esau here. 

376
00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,640
Jacob says, if I have found 
favor in your eyes, accept this 

377
00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:43,720
gift for me from me. 
For to see your face is like 

378
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:48,400
seeing the face of God now that 
you have received me favorably. 

379
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:54,600
Jacob had grown up in his twenty
year absence from home. 

380
00:22:55,600 --> 00:23:00,760
He left home a young knucklehead
who couldn't care less about a 

381
00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:04,320
relationship with his brother, 
Esau, who couldn't care less 

382
00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:06,040
about a relationship with his 
father. 

383
00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,160
The only relationship he seemed 
to care about was the one with 

384
00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:13,000
his mother, and he had to 
abandon that because he had 

385
00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:15,200
ticked off his brother and his 
father so much. 

386
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:22,440
Esau and Isaac were simply 
people to be used by Jacob to 

387
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:26,000
increase his own wealth and his 
own power and his own position. 

388
00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:31,400
Now after 20 years of working 
for Laban, who did the same 

389
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:37,640
thing to him, after 20 years of 
that, Jacob had grown up and he 

390
00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:41,520
realized in this world the 
relationship is more important. 

391
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:44,640
What matters to me is not my 
wealth. 

392
00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:49,280
I'll give my wealth away if will
help me build the relationship 

393
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:53,760
with my brother. 
I'll give my power away if will 

394
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:56,520
help me reconcile in my 
relationship with my brother. 

395
00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:02,560
That's the most important thing.
They were both strangers in a 

396
00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:05,880
strange land. 
They didn't own the real estate.

397
00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:07,720
They were there at the mercy of 
others. 

398
00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:12,160
There were powerful kings and 
kingdoms all around them, and 

399
00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:15,600
the most important resource they
had was each other. 

400
00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:21,240
That bond of friendship, the 
bond of love, the bond of family

401
00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:26,320
that allowed them to face a 
hostile world with someone at 

402
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:30,520
their back. 
This is the most important thing

403
00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:32,720
that we have. 
The greatest resource that we 

404
00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:35,280
have in this world is each 
other. 

405
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,560
It's our family and our friends.
It's our ability to stay 

406
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,200
together in love and in 
humility. 

407
00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,200
Jesus talked about this. 
Jesus said, I tell you what, use

408
00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:49,800
worldly wealth to gain friends 
for yourself so that when it's 

409
00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,200
gone you will be welcomed into 
eternal blessings. 

410
00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,520
Don't use people to gain wealth.
Use wealth to gain 

411
00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:01,320
relationships. 
Don't use people to get rich. 

412
00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:06,000
Use your riches to get people to
build those relationships, to 

413
00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:09,520
establish them so that when the 
money runs out and it all 

414
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:13,560
they're you know what they're. 
I have yet in all of my years of

415
00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:18,120
of going to funerals and 
officiating a Funeral services, 

416
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,560
I have yet to see a hearse 
pulling a U-Haul. 

417
00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:26,680
It just doesn't happen. 
Everyone's stuff at some point 

418
00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:33,880
becomes meaningless to them. 
But I see family gathering and 

419
00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:38,920
love and joy and hope around 
folks who were rich and folks 

420
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,840
who were poor, folks who were 
well known, and folks who were 

421
00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:46,200
known only to a few. 
Those relationships? 

422
00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:49,040
At the end of the day, those are
what matter. 

423
00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,040
Those are what matter. 
Jesus said it this way too. 

424
00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,440
You can't serve 2 masters. 
You'll hate one, you'll love the

425
00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:56,600
other. 
You'll be devoted to the one and

426
00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:59,200
despise the other. 
You cannot serve both God and 

427
00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:01,600
money. 
If our goal is to make money, we

428
00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:05,960
will use people to do that. 
If our goal is to build 

429
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:08,720
relationships, we will use money
to do that. 

430
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:16,760
Jesus said don't use people, 
love people, use money, use 

431
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:20,400
wealth, use riches to bless 
people and build those 

432
00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:23,320
relationships to reconcile with 
others. 

433
00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:30,760
When it is possible, when it is 
possible that I love that line, 

434
00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:35,040
Jacob, when, when? 
Now that you've received me 

435
00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:38,680
favorably, seeing your face is 
like seeing the face of God. 

436
00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:42,040
I don't know if I didn't check 
to see if this was the 

437
00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:47,440
inspiration for it, but the 
musical Les Miserables uses a 

438
00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:50,920
very similar line. 
At the end of the musical, Jean 

439
00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:54,280
Valjean, the main character, 
sings to love another person is 

440
00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,520
to see the face of God. 
I should have checked to see 

441
00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,600
whether the line was inspired by
Jacob's words here or not. 

442
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,480
I kind of think it probably was,
but I don't know for sure. 

443
00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:09,800
But in a world Rick had to 
leave, he was preaching 

444
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:13,520
someplace else this morning. 
In a world where we have to make

445
00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:18,960
a case for Christ and, and, and 
people are are reluctant to put 

446
00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:21,400
their faith in someone or 
something that they can't see. 

447
00:27:22,120 --> 00:27:24,880
You know, Jesus has told us how 
to see the face of God whenever 

448
00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:28,880
we want to remember. 
He said at the end of times, 

449
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:33,280
God's going to divide the world 
up into sheep and goats. 

450
00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:37,120
And to the sheep, he's going to 
say welcome into my Kingdom. 

451
00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:39,480
When I was hungry, you gave me 
food. 

452
00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:41,400
When I was naked, you clothed 
me. 

453
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:43,200
When I was sick or in prison, 
you visited me. 

454
00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:45,080
When I was homeless, you gave me
shelter. 

455
00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,720
He's going to say to the goats 
depart from me forever. 

456
00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:52,040
I never knew you when I was 
hungry. 

457
00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:53,400
You didn't give me anything to 
eat. 

458
00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:55,800
When I was naked, you didn't 
clothe me. 

459
00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:58,400
When I was sick and in prison, 
you didn't visit me. 

460
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:00,520
When I was homeless, you didn't 
give me shelter. 

461
00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:02,200
And they said, when did we do 
these things for you? 

462
00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:04,920
When did we fail to do these 
things for you? 

463
00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:11,640
And Jesus said what you did for 
the least of these sisters and 

464
00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:13,240
brothers of mine, you did for 
me. 

465
00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:17,600
And what you failed to do for 
the least of these brothers and 

466
00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:19,840
sisters of mine, you failed to 
do for me. 

467
00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:24,480
If we want to see the face of 
God, all we have to do is love 

468
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:28,920
someone, particularly someone in
a desperate situation. 

469
00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:34,600
Find someone who doesn't have 
enough and help them have 

470
00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:38,960
enough. 
Find someone desperately wounded

471
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:45,360
in their soul and love them. 
Be there for them. 

472
00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:52,480
Find someone afraid, filled with
anxiety and fear and be a 

473
00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:57,160
reassurance to them. 
Find folks that are in desperate

474
00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:01,080
situations from the least to the
greatest and love them and get 

475
00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:05,880
to see the face of God. 
We get to see God face to face. 

476
00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:09,520
It's the third time Jacob has 
said he's seen God, First time 

477
00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:13,200
when he's had that dream. 
The latter second time was when 

478
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:17,440
he wrestled, and now the third 
time is when he has reconciled 

479
00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:24,000
with his brother and restored a 
relationship that seemed to have

480
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:29,320
been broken forever. 
We live in a system stacked 

481
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:33,360
against us. 
We live among forces that push 

482
00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:39,160
us to rage bait each other, that
push us to greedily use other 

483
00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:43,160
people for our own profit and 
our own gain, that push us to 

484
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:49,600
hate, to divide, to conquer. 
Jesus says, and we're living in 

485
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:51,440
that kind of situation as his 
followers. 

486
00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:54,400
The greatest virtue we can have 
is humility. 

487
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,920
The greatest resource we can 
have is other people, 

488
00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:03,520
relationships. 
And these are the tactics he's 

489
00:30:03,520 --> 00:30:07,600
given us to undermine these 
systems out there that are 

490
00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:10,080
stacked against us in Jesus 
name. 

491
00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:11,800
Amen. 
Amen.