["Pomp and Circumstance"]
Chapter 49
Genesis 49 the Bible reads
Jacob called into his sons and said gather yourselves together that I may tell you that
We shall befall you in the last days gather yourselves together and hear you sons of Jacob and hearken unto Israel your father
Ruben thou art my firstborn my might and the beginning of my strength the excellency of dignity the excellency of power
Unstable is water thou shalt not excel because thou went us up to thy father's bed then defile us thou it
He went up to my couch
Simeon and Levi are brethren instruments of cruelty are in their habitations
Oh my soul come not thou into their secret unto their assembly mine honor be not thou united
For in their anger they slew a man and in their self-will they dig down a wall
Curse be their anger for it was fierce and their wrath for it was cruel
I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel
Judah thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies thy father's children shall bow down
before thee
Judah is a lion's whelp from the prey my son thou art gone up
He stooped down he couched as a lion and as an old lion who shall rouse him up
The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come
And unto him shall be the gathering of people be
Binding his foal unto the vine and his ass is cold unto the choice vine
He washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes
His eyes shall be red with wine and his teeth white with milk
Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea and he shall be for an haven of ships
And his border shall be unto Zidon
Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens
And he saw that rest was good and the land that was it was pleasant
And bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant on a tribute
Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel
Dan shall be a serpent by the way an adder in the path that biteth the horse's heel
So that has healed so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation. Oh lord
Gad a troop shall overcome him
But he shall overcome at the last out of asher his bread shall be fat and he shall yield royal dainties
If tali is in hind let loose he giveth goodly words
Joseph is a fruitful bow
Even a fruitful bow by a well whose branches run run over the wall
The archers have surely grieved him and shot at him and hated him
But his bow abode in strength and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty god of jacob
From thence is the shepherd the stone of israel even by the god of thy father who shall help thee
And by the almighty who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above blessings of the deep that lieth under
Blessings of the breast and of the womb the blessings of thy father have revealed above the blessings of thy progenitors
Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills
They shall be on the head of joseph and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren
Benjamin shall raven as a wolf
In the morning, he shall devour the prey and at night he shall divide the spoil
All these are the 12 tribes of israel and this is it
That their father spake unto them and blessed them everyone according to his blessing
He blessed them and he charged them and said unto them I am to be gathered unto my people
Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of ephron the hitite
In the cave that is in the field of makpila
Which is before mamre in the land of canin which abraham bought with the field of ephron the hitsite for possession of a burying place
There they buried abraham and seraph's wife there
They buried isaac and rebecca his wife and their eye buried leia the purchase of the field and of the cave
That is therein was from the children of heth
When jacob had made an end of commanding his sons
He gathered up his feet unto the bed and yielded up the ghost and was gathered unto his people
Let's pray dear lord god just thank you for your word lord. Thank you for this church. You've given us lord
We thank you for pastor
We pray that you bless them right now and fill them with your holy spirit lord as he preaches unto us your word lord and
Just pray that us in the congregation are edified by the preaching lord. We pray this all in jesus name. Amen
Amen
I am losing my voice a little bit. So if I crack or if I have to pop a
Cough drop, please forgive me. And so it's been like that since the morning, but we are in genesis chapter 49 look at verse 22
It says joseph is a fruitful bough even a fruitful bough by a well whose branches run over the wall
The archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him
But his bow abode in strength and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty god of jacob
From thence is the shepherd the stone of israel and what i'm going to preach on this evening are the temptations
Of joseph the temptations of joseph
I want to chronicle the story the life of joseph and just talk about the betrayal that he experienced
Some of his temptations and then ultimately how he forgave his brothers and this is quite honestly
One of my favorite stories to read through when i'm reading through genesis very emotional
And I kind of get emotionally really into it when i'm reading it. I feel for joseph and you know
He's such a young man going through such trials and difficulties
And what an incredible example he is to us as christians and we see here that he is that fruitful bow
That in spite of hardships in spite of hindrances he was able to overcome
Those things and still please god serve god obey the lord and ultimately be used in a great way
In the land of egypt now go to genesis chapter 37 if you would
Genesis chapter 37 let me say this is that when you're studying a particular person in the bible, you know
The bible is very deep. There's many layers and it's important when you study a person
There's all types of applications that we can make to our personal lives
We obviously know that there's no temptation taking you such as is common to man
In other words, whatever people experience in the bible
The bible tells us that those things are written afford time for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come
So these testimonies in the bible are there so that we can relate to them, right?
We can see that these men were of like passions with us and we can also learn from some of their mistakes
But also from some of the good decisions they made some of the things that they did in order to overcome
Their trials and difficulties, so that's obviously important but it's also important that when you're studying a particular person in the bible
You're related to jesus christ, right?
It's important for us to look at look for jesus christ in the old testament look for jesus christ in each person that you study
Because at the end of the day the bible tells us jesus said in the new testament beginning at moses and all the prophets
He expounded into them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself and obviously there are many
Uh, you know verses in the old testament about the messiah prophetic statements, but there's also a lot of people
That actually
Symbolically represent him as well. And of course his ministry his death his resurrection things of that nature
And I believe joseph is one of them and we're going to look tonight. We're going to see tonight
How he represents jesus christ in many ways. So let's start at the beginning here in genesis chapter 37
With the life of joseph first and foremost, let's talk about the fact that he was favored
Envied conspired against and sold. Okay. It says here in genesis chapter 37 verse number three
Now israel referring to jacob loved joseph more than all his children
Because he was the son of his old age and he made him a coat of many colors
Now the first thing I want to mention here is the fact that israel or jacob is playing favorites with his sons, right?
He likes joseph above all his sons and we see here that he's basically doing
What his mother had done to him because if you remember jacob was also the favored and so he kind of did that also
With joseph look at verse four and when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren they hated him
Could not speak peaceably unto him and joseph dreamed the dream and he told that his brethren and they hated him yet the more so
He comes and of course his brothers obviously see that their father likes joseph above them
And they hate him they have envy towards him
They are very much envious of his position
But then they hate him even more when he dreams this dream meaning a vision of the future
And then he begins to talk about it with them. They begin to hate him even more
They despise him for it. Look at verse six and he said unto them here. I pray you this dream which I have dreamed
For behold, we were binding sheaves in the field and lo my sheaf arose and also stood upright behold your sheaves
Stood around about and made obeisance to my sheaf now you can kind of tell
You kind of understand why his brothers didn't really like that
He's like let me tell you about a vision that I had that vision is that you guys were all serving me
Making obeisance to my sheaf
You know, obviously that's not going to sit well with the older brothers, right?
Verse eight says and his brethren said to him shout thou indeed reign over us
Or shout thou indeed have dominion over us and they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words
And he dreamed yet another dream and told it his brethren and said behold
I have dreamed up dream more so you would have thought that joseph would have learned his lesson
This is like hey, you know, they didn't really like that first dream
Maybe I should cut back on you know
Kind of talking to my brothers about these visions that god has given to me
But he dreams another dream and he's like maybe they'll like this one instead
He says and behold the sun and the moon and the 11 stars made obeisance to me
And they told it to his father and to his brother and his father rebuked him
So all so jacob doesn't even like this and said and said what is this dream that thou has dreamed
Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth and his brethren listen to this
Envied him but his father observed the saying so right off the bat
We see that joseph's brothers did not like him. They hated him for being the favored child
They envied and hated him for his dreams
They didn't like the fact that he's kind of expressing to them the vision that god is giving to them
And even to the point where his father also was bothered by his preaching as well, right?
Now joseph here pictures jesus christ in a few ways first and foremost
He pictures jesus christ in that he was favored of his father
Just as jesus was favored of his father as well. Jesus did all those things which pleased the lord
God favored the lord jesus christ because that was his only begotten son. Not only that but we see that
Jacob gives joseph a coat of many colors
To distinguish him as the favored firstborn because joseph is not necessarily the firstborn among all the children
But he is the firstborn with his mother, right?
So he gives him this coat of many colors in order to distinguish him as the favored firstborn
Let me read you from hebrews chapter 1 verse 8
Speaking of jesus it says but unto the son he saith thy throne
Oh god is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom
Thou has love righteousness and hated iniquity
Therefore god even thy god hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness. Listen to this above thy fellows
So just as joseph was coated with that coat of many colors to distinguish him as the favored son in like manner
Jesus christ is coded so to speak with the anointing of the holy ghost
the anointing of gladness above his his
Contemporaries above his fellows and we can say above his brethren. Okay, not only that but we see that he was envied of his brethren
Just as jesus christ was envied of the jews
For the masses of crowds that followed him you see when jesus christ was delivered up to pilot to be crucified
Even pilot knew that they had delivered him for envy the bible says it's not because the jews thought. Oh, man
He's preaching a false gospel. He's preaching false doctrine. This guy is wicked
No, they the reason they're delivering him is because they don't want him to take their subscribers
They don't want him to take their followers
You know, jesus christ comes on the scene. All the masters are following him. Everyone is listening to his preaching
They're being changed by him and they are slowly transitioning out of the religion of the pharisees what we know to be to be
Judaism and they're following the lord jesus christ and because of that they envied him and by the way this envy
Transferred over into the book of acts
Because even after jesus christ ascends his disciples are going out preaching the word of god
And the pharisees and the jews envied them as well because the work of god continued
And so joseph just as joseph was envied of his brothers
For his the favor that he received of the father in like manner
Uh, jesus christ was envied of the jews as well not only that but he was hated of his brethren
for his visions
Just as jesus was hated for his preaching
You know a dream in the old testament is obviously a vision. It's the word of god that's being given to someone in a dream
And this is not something that's applicable today, by the way, okay
The reason this was done in the old testament is because they didn't have a canonized bible
And so god would essentially reveal himself. He would speak in dreams and in visions
But now we have the written word of god that we can
Read and memorize and know what god's will is and the bible says in proverbs 29, you don't have to turn to verse 18
Where there is no vision
the people perish
But he that keepeth the law
Happy as he essentially showing us that the law is synonymous with the vision now
Isn't it true with joseph that because of his vision the people in egypt did not perish because god gave him that particular vision
And so we can almost relate his dreams or his vision as being
His preaching right preaching what god had placed on his heart. Well in like manner it says in the new testament of jesus christ
Then they took excuse me
Then took they stones to cast at him
But jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by and of course
We also know that his brothers hated him because he reported of their evil deeds, right?
They're wicked deeds and in like manner it was the same thing with jesus christ
Not only that but we see that his father after he received this word of god after he received the vision
The bible says that his father observed these saints so he rebukes him
He's just like who do you think you are like mom and dad are going to rule over you
You know, I wiped your bottom and you know, we raised you and we're you're going to rule over us or whatever
But then later on it says but he observed those things
Meaning that like after he's done rebuking him. He's like man. I wonder if there's some truth to that
Like I gotta watch out what I say. He observed he thought about them
Well, this is very similar to what we see in luke chapter two
because when jesus christ, uh, you know when when he is talking to his parents because he is
You know with the doctors he's asking questions
And when they came to him, they're like we sought these sorrowing and jesus said, you know
What's he not that I must be about my father's business?
He kind of rebukes them he corrects them
For not understanding those things and it says in verse 50 and they understood not the same what she spake unto them
This is from luke chapter 2
And he referring to jesus went down with them and came to nazareth and was subject unto them
Listen to this, but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. So just as jacob observed the sayings of joseph
In like man or mary kept the sayings of jesus christ in her heart of what he was saying
Not only that but we see that joseph came into his own
And his own received him not in like manner. Jesus christ came into his own and his own received him not look at verse 18
Skip down to verse 18. It says and when they saw him afar off, so at this point joseph is looking for his brethren
He sent of his father to go to the brethren right to see what they were doing
And to report back it says in verse 18 and when they saw him afar off referring to his brother seeing him joseph
Even before he came near into them. They conspired against him to slay him
And they said one to another behold this dreamer cometh now
This is very sad, you know joseph is just doing what his father told him to do
To just go over and report to see where the where the brothers are he comes and he has no nefarious agenda behind it
He doesn't have any envy or anger or malice against his brothers
But right off the bat when they see him afar off, what do they want to do? They conspire it says to slay him
Meaning they're like, you know what? We got to kill this guy
I mean, that's a very wicked imagination to have especially against your own blood brother
And of course they're mocking him saying behold the dreamer cometh look at verse 20 says come now therefore and let us slay him
And cast them into some pit and we will say some evil beast had devoured him and we shall see what will become of his
Dreams, so they're conspiring to kill him. They're conspiring to throw him in a pit and they're conspiring to lie about it, right?
Now obviously this happened to jesus
Because when jesus was here, they also conspired to kill him
He was also in a spiritual manner thrown into a pit known as hell
And the jews also wanted to lie about it
right
They created this narrative that you know, oh the disciples came and they took him away and really it was the romans who did
It wasn't us or whatever
Verse 21 and rubin heard it and he delivered him out of their hands and said let us not kill him
Rubin said unto them shed no blood but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness and lay no hand upon him
That he might rid him out of their hands to deliver him to his father again
It came to pass when joseph was coming to his brethren that they stripped joseph out of his coat
And his coat of many colors was on him and they took him
And cast him into a pit and the pit was empty and there was no water in it
So he comes looking for his brothers. They grab him. They seize him
They take the coat of many colors off of him and they throw him alive into a pit
No water in it. Obviously, they have evil intentions now
How does joseph picture jesus christ in this story why i've already mentioned?
That he was conspired against just as jesus christ was conspired against of the jews
But they also stripped joseph of his coat just as they parted jesus's garments, right?
He was also cast into a pit just as jesus was cast into the pit of hell. Look at verse 27 if you would
It says in verse 27 verse 27 come let us sell him to the ishmaelites
And let not our hand be upon him for he is our brother in our flesh. Oh, wow, you guys are just so noble
Honorable and his brethren were content then they're passed by media night merchant merchant men
And they drew lifted up joseph out of the pit and sold joseph to the ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver
And it brought joseph into egypt
So, you know rubin doesn't want him to die and they end up coming with a better plan in their minds then instead of killing him
Why don't we just sell him and then we'll tell dad hey some evil beast slew him and therefore we will we you know
They're not going to be held responsible
For the evil that came upon him. So joseph pictures jesus christ in this particular portion
Because of the fact that joseph's brothers sought to slay him by proxy just as the jews did to jesus
They sent jesus to pilot to the romans right to kill him because they could not stone him
Not only that but he was sold by his brothers
Just as jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. So just as jesus was handed over to the romans
For 30 pieces of silver in like manner we have joseph his brother is doing the same look at verse 36
And the media knights sold him into egypt unto potiphar an officer of pharaoh and captain of the guard
So we see here that his fate was placed in the hands of potiphar
Who's an officer of egypt just as jesus was placed in the hands of pilot
So joseph was placed in the hands of potiphar jesus into the hands of pilot now right off the bat first chapter
Chronicling the life of joseph a lot of evil that came upon this guy. I mean he's not
He's probably about 17 years of age at this point
He's suffering, you know at the hands of his blood brothers albeit their half brothers, but they're still his brothers
He's being conspired against they hate him. They envy him. They throw him into the pit
They end up selling him into sleep. They're they're using him for human trafficking
and he goes into the land of egypt just
Never to see his parents again until the very end and in fact, he you know, he doesn't see his family
For many years to come. I mean, this is a very sad thing that takes place here now
Before we get into how else he pictures jesus christ, let's give some application here. Okay, because although this is an extreme example
Of what we see happening to joseph to a lesser extent things like this can happen to us, right?
How so well, you know family can become foes
Blood relatives can be your worst enemies at times
people who don't like you
In your family because of your quote-unquote dreams your quote-unquote vision or should we say the law of god, right?
You expound into them the law of god and quite frankly you might be like joseph
Where you brought that dream to your family members, they hate you for it
And then you come back with another dream. You're like, well, maybe they'll accept the reparate doctrine
Maybe they'll accept replacement theology
Maybe they'll accept fill in the blank and then they just hate you that much the more for the law of god for the preaching of god
You know, they have that
Animosity towards you because of the preaching. Let me read you from matthew chapter 10 verse 17
Actually, i'm gonna skip some verses here i'm gonna reach you from verse 34
It says think not that i'm come to send peace on earth
I came not to send peace but a sword
Now this is jesus speaking
And jesus is saying hey, you know, i'm not necessarily trying to reconcile the world with themselves
You know, his job is to reconcile the world back to god
Not necessarily between each other and in fact, he specifically says i'm not sending peace. I'm sending a sword
What does the sword do it divides?
What does it divide it divides family members it divides friends. It divides acquaintances
Because doctrine divides
It says in verse 35 for i'm come to set a man
at variance against his father
And the daughter against her mother
Now those that's painful, right if you think about your children coming against you
Speaking out against you being at variance against you your daughter being against you that is very painful and that requires
Some sort of strong division that the sword which is the word of god can bring
Right differences between you and your blood relatives
But then it says in the daughter law against your mother mother-in-law and you know what?
That's not really, you know, I don't know if you need a sword for that
Sometimes it's just marriage can do that. Amen
I'm getting a law look so obviously, you know, you know, can I get a witness and i'm just kidding
Got a lot of witnesses in here that agree
It's true. But you know what you say why get along with my daughter-in-law? Well, you know what sometimes there are instances in this world
Where doctrine can divide you from your daughter-in-law or son-in-law
And I want you to notice this in a man's foes meaning enemies
Shall be they of his own household
Meaning that there the bible itself can create such tension between you and family members
You and relatives that it it kind of separates you guys
You know and I could attest to this that
You know, I have family members that I was very close to that I grew up with but once I became a christian
There's a major divide there
And you know
When I first got saved I kind of tried to keep that relationship
I tried to just get along with those family members
But I knew that there's already the sword had already come through
And they weren't happy that I was a christian. They weren't happy that I believed in the bible
They weren't happy about my beliefs. They weren't happy about those things. We were at what variants?
And believe it or not. We be they became my foes
And you know, sometimes this can happen on a very extreme level other instances
Maybe it's not not as extreme what the bible is trying to teach us here
Is that at the end of the day our loyalty should always be to the lord jesus christ even over our blood relatives
Over your parents over your children over the people that you grew up with why because of the fact that he's our god
right
He says he that loveth father or mother more than me
Is not worthy of me
And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me
He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me
So what the bible is telling us here is that if you're truly going to take up the cross of christ
To be crucified unto the world be crucified with christ part of that
Part of the result of that the consequence of that is that there might be some differences between you
And those closest to you whom you love
The the sword of the word of god might come and divide you
Okay, just as it did with joseph and his brothers go to genesis chapter 39 if you would genesis chapter 39
And you know, there's a tendency amongst christians
To compromise a little bit in this area
To compromise because they love their family members. They love their children. They love their parents. They love their aunts. They love their uncles
They love their cousins
And they want to compromise the word of god
They want to compromise the sword because they want to maintain those relationships
Now, let me just say this is that obviously we need to be a christian
And we need to make sure we have a good testimony
And we need to make sure that we don't give people a reason to hate us
And we're not obnoxious to our relatives and we don't just give people a reason to just think we're just despicable, right?
Obviously if you want to win your family to christ be a good ambassador for christ
Be a good testimony don't be a jerk
Don't be annoying don't be a nuisance
Make sure that you bring life into your family, right?
But there comes a point that even when you do that
It's just not enough, you know, it's not enough. They don't like it. They don't like the beliefs
Plain and simple i've had people tell me i've had p i've had family members tell me christianity took you away from me
That's what they said family members close family members like
Church took you away from me christianity took you away from me christianity took my brother away
You know and you know what? It's 100 true
It's 100 true because the alternative to uh christianity is just living a sinful life
Doing things that i'm not supposed to be doing doing things that are not pleasing unto god. I have to choose jesus. Amen
Okay
And so and by the way, so do you
Okay, sometimes there's going to come a time when you're presented with that option
And you know a lot of times people are just like well, I just love my friends though, you know
These are my friends and yeah, but have you tried to win them to christ though?
Well, yeah, I have and have they gotten saved. No, they have not then it's time to uh, kick rocks
It's time to move on with your life. It's time to get some christian friends
It's time to actually move on and allow that sword to divide you guys as far as possible
Okay
So one we see that he was favored. He was envy. He was conspired against he was uh,
He was lied against actually death number two. He was falsely accused. Look at genesis 39 verse one
So before we get into so now joseph, he's sold into egypt
And we don't necessarily know what's going on in his mind, but obviously he feels betrayed. He's lonely
Probably scared
But he sold into potiphar's house
And look at verse one. It says joseph was brought down to egypt and potiphar an officer of pharaoh captain of the garden egyptian
Bought him of the hands of the ishmaelites
Which had brought him down thither
And the lord was with joseph and he was a prosperous man
He was in the house of his master the egyptian
So in spite of the fact that he was completely removed geographically from his home into another place. God was still with him
And you know what that shows us as christians no matter what happens to you
No matter how many people betray you no matter how many hardships you go through
You just got to make sure that the lord is with you
Because if god is with you who can be against you
You know god can prosper your way. And in fact, we're so focused on sometimes making sure that god prospers our way
We don't realize that god wants to use us to prosper everyone else's way
Because he he's not prospering joseph necessarily
But he is prospering those who come in contact with joseph
You know, sometimes we're so concerned of turning everything into gold or making sure god turns everything into gold for us
Not realizing that maybe god wants us to turn things into gold
Be a blessing to your boss be a blessing to your family be a blessing to your surroundings
And that's what's happening with joseph. He's enslaved
He's employed by potiphar but god is causing everything that potiphar has to prosper because of joseph
And one thing you need to realize is that let me just let me just remind you you're here to be a blessing
Will you be blessed? Absolutely as a christian. Will you be blessed? Will god favor you? Yes, but you know more important
He wants you to be a blessing to someone else
And so joseph goes there. He's a prosperous man, and he's in the house of his master the egyptian
And by the way, this is joseph pictures jesus christ in this manner
Because jesus everywhere he went
He went about doing good
Healing people benefiting others even to the point where virtue is going out of his body people could just grab onto
His his coat and then virtue will come out and just heal them automatically
He causes the people around him to prosper and heal look at verse number six
So everything's going good. He's probably assimilating to the new life in egypt. He's got a new job
misses his dad
Miss his home
But this is the lot he has right
It says he left all that he had in joseph's hand and he knew not ought he had
Saved the bread which he did eat and joseph was a goodly person and well favored. So what's going on here?
You know potiphar really trusts joseph
Joseph is like the accountant. He manages all of potiphar's possessions and resources
You know, he's an important person in his household. So everything's going good verse seven and it came to pass after these things
That his master's wife cast her eyes upon joseph and she said lie with me
So he's doing well. Everything's going great. But then the whore comes into the picture
potiphar's wife
And she wants to have she wants to commit adultery with joseph. Okay, that's what lie with me means verse eight
but he refused
And sent it to his master's wife behold my master wadith not what is with me in the house
And he had committed all that he had to my hand
There was none greater in this house than I
Neither hath he kept back anything from me, but thee because thou art his wife
How then can I do this great wickedness and I want you to notice this and sin against potiphar no against god
So one thing I want you to notice here is that basically joseph is telling it's like your husband trusts me
You know, he's trusted me with everything except, you know, he's not giving me you because you're his wife
How can I do this great wickedness and sin against god?
And by the way, one of the greatest ways
To overcome temptation was when you realize that if you sin you're sinning against god
Not just against your fellow brethren not just against yourself, but more importantly against god
His perspective is good
And you know, he's probably a young guy
You know, he's a young guy. He's away from home. He's lonely
And i'm gonna assume that potiphar's wife is not ugly
Right
You know potiphar is an important man, he probably has a lot of money
So he probably can get himself a really beautiful woman
He said why bring that up? Well, probably because it's probably tempting to joseph to commit that wicked act
It's true
You know
He wouldn't be tempted if she was ugly or something, you know
Can I just be real honest with you here i'm trying to help you here understand this situation
You know, he he's probably tempted because of the fact that she is very attractive
Look at verse 10 and it came to pass as she spanked joseph day by day
That he hearkened not into her to lie by her to be with her
So it's not like she's just coming to him once like every day. She's trying to tempt him every day
She's saying lie with me and every day. He's like no no, no, no, no
Now the bible says resist the devil he will flee from you
But the opposite is true as well
That if you resist the devil sometimes you have to flee
And it came to pass verse 11 about this time that joseph went into the house to do his business
And there was none of the men of the house there within there therein and she caught him by his garment saying lie with me
And he left his garment in her hand and fled and got him out now. I don't know if this means that like, you know
He's just naked like it's possible though, but she's grabbing onto his garment and
He's so determined
Not to commit fornication not to commit adultery that he just wiggles out of his coat
And just runs
Now if he's naked that's commitment
Right, it's commitment. He's like, I don't care if i'm going naked. I'm this is not going to happen
Good man
And it came to pass when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand
And was fled forth that she called to the men of the house and speaking to him saying see
He hath brought in in hebrew unto us to mock us
He came in unto unto me to lie with me and I cried with a lot of voice obviously she's embarrassed
because this slave
Is not willing
to adhere to her demands
Even to the point where he's willing to run away from her
So she's obviously very embarrassed
And so what did she do? She implies basically like oh this guy tried to come in and take advantage of me
Verse 15 it came to pass when he heard that
I lifted up my voice and cried that he left his garment with me and fled and got him out
Now, how does this picture jesus christ because it does
Well think about this
you know
The bible says of jesus christ that he was tempted in all points like as we are yet without sin
You know, what's interesting about that word temptation is that it actually means two things
Temptation means trial
Or temptation as in you're enticed
to sin
And you know what joseph was tempted in all points, too
He's being tried
By his brothers as in he's going through a trial
But we also see him literally
Being tempted with sin here with potiphar's wife and in both instances. He was without sin
Now this is not saying that joseph is perfect or anything
But obviously this is a clear picture of jesus christ that he's going through these different temptations
And he's essentially passing with flying colors. No pun intended. Okay
So he was tempted at all points just as jesus was he was tempted as in tried but also tempted to sin
And he did not give in
Now, what are some things we can learn from this? Well, you know one thing we can learn go with me to the new testament
To first corinthians chapter 6. We're going to look at a couple verses here. Hold your place there in genesis
First of all, one thing we can learn from joseph is that sometimes you just got to run from temptation
You know, sometimes people give in to sin when they are tempted
Only because they're constantly trying to exercise their will not to sin
Like I just got to will myself not to sin will myself not to sin
But really the way you gain victor over temptation is that you don't put yourself in the presence of temptation
you understand
If you're constantly before temptation then you got a problem if you're constantly placing yourself in that position whereby you're tempted
Eventually your will will be weak and eventually you will give in you see our will is like a spare tire
right
What is the spare tire for well?
You know when you have a flat tire
You just grab that spare and it's only meant to take you only so far until you can get the tire replaced
Right, you're not supposed to drive around all around the city with it for a week
Okay
It was just like well, you know, it looks funny, but hey, it'll do
That's only for emergencies
A spare tire is only supposed to be used for emergency cases only
You're not supposed to just use it to just go to work
Go do grocery shopping go run your errands
It's only to take you from point a to point b until you can replace the tire
Well, you know in like manner that's how our will is
You see our will should only be used in emergency instances only
In general keep airing the tire
You understand what i'm saying
You know in in general keep yourself away from temptation
In general stay away from people that are tempting you to sin
In general stay away from that woman who's tempting you at work
In general stay away from that dude in your dms
In general stay away from whatever tempted, you know, if you struggle with alcohol stay away from bars
That's pretty simple
I'm gonna exercise my will
I got a lot of friends in the bars. I'm gonna witness to them. Jesus sat with sinners
Well, here's the thing though. Jesus is not tempted with alcohol though
And if you are
You shouldn't be at the bar
Well, I drink diet coke and i'm fine or whatever
Yeah, you're gonna exercise that spare tire until it blows out and then you give in to sin
You know stay away from your friends that tempt you to smoke marijuana attempt you to vape
Attempt you to do any drugs you used to do in times past attempt you to watch things that you shouldn't watch
Say things you shouldn't say listen to things you shouldn't listen to cause you to sin
Stay away from temptation
And if temptation comes to you and you can't control it this is what you do run
You run
You leave your garment and run
Look at first corinthians chapter 6 verse 18. It says meats for the belly
And belly for meats, but god shall destroy both it and them
Meaning that god made the belly for food
And made food for the belly
Right, that's what they're for
They have this relationship
Food goes into the belly the belly is made to consume food first corinthian 6
Now he says in verse 13 now the body is not for fornication
But for the lord and the lord for the body, so yes meat is for the belly bellies for the meats, but guess what?
Fornication is not for the body
Neither is the body for fornication
These don't go hand in hand verse 14 and god
Had and god shall have both raised up the lord and will also raise up us by his own power
Knowing that your bodies are the members of christ
Shall I then take the members of christ and make them the members of an harlot god forbid
What know you not that he which is joined to in harlot is one body for to say he shall be one flesh
But he that is joining to the lord is one spirit flee
fornication it says
like joseph
Every sin that a man doeth is without the body but he that committed fornication sin it
Excuse me against his own
Body go to first corinthians. I'm, sorry
second timothy chapter 2 second timothy chapter 2
I'm going to continue reading in first corinthians chapter 6. It says what know you not that your body is the temple of the holy ghost
Which is in you which you have of god and ye are not your own
For you are bought with the prize therefore glorify god in your body and your spirit which are gods
So the bible literally gives the command
To flee from fornication. What does it mean to free flee means run get away from it as fast as possible?
Don't just stay there and try to exercise your will
See how strong you are. Let me see how much I can handle. Let me just see if I can just take it
Let me see if I can just resist it as much as possible
No, the bible says flee from it get away from it and this is applicable not just to fornication. It's applicable to any sin
Whatever sin that you're tempted with flee from it, okay
Now you can't necessarily flee from food
If you're if you're if the sin that you struggle with is gluttony
You can't necessarily run away from it. But you know what? You don't have to drive down the street where the mcdonk's is all the time
You don't have to drive by the restaurant that you're always tempted to go by all the time, you know
flee
Second timothy chapter 2
verse 20 says
Or verse 21 if a man therefore purge himself from these he shall be a vessel to honor
Sanctify and meet for the master's use and prepared into every good work. Listen to this flee also
youthful lusts
But follow righteousness faith charity peace within the call on the lord out of a pure heart
So aside from the fact that god wants us to flee from temptation
He actually wants us to go towards the people who are going in the same direction that you are
In other words, it's not enough that you flee from sin and temptation
You got to be around the right people as well
All right. Here's a good way to explain it flee from temptation
flee to the house of god
Be around godly strong christians that will exhort you strengthen you
Let you know how to overcome temptation because let's just be honest. There's strength in numbers
When you have people around you just you know strengthening you in the lord exhorting you to resist temptation
Exhorting you to do the right thing to be around the right people to have the right disciplines that helps
Because it says they're with them. They're calling the lord out of a pure heart go back to genesis if you would
So joseph gets an a plus. Amen
And he suffers because of it, but you know what it doesn't matter
Because he loves the lord he's doing that which is right in his sight look at verse 19
And it came to pass when his master heard the words of his wife
Which he spake unto him saying after this man who did thy servant to me that his wrath was kindled
And joseph's master took him and put him into the prison
A place where the king's prisoners were bound and he was there in the prison
so just as uh
Joseph was falsely accused in like manner. Jesus christ was also falsely accused of the jews verse 21
I love this phrase, but the lord was with joseph
And showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison
And the keeper of the prison committed to joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison and whatsoever
They did there
He was the doer of it the keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand because the lord was with
Him and that which he did the lord made it to prosper
So again, just as we saw with potiphar and joseph
Even though he's in prison. What is he doing? He's prospering now. What is the principle here? You know prosper where you're plotted?
You may not be in the best of circumstances. You can still succeed
You may not be have the best situation. It's okay. You can still prosper
You can still be a blessing. You can still please god. You can still serve the lord
You know, you think to yourself well, you know, I don't have a family you can still be a blessing
Well, i'm not married. You can still be a blessing
Oh, I don't have what other people have. I feel like i'm in a prison. You can still be a blessing
You can still cause others to prosper and in fact you yourself can prosper as well
It doesn't matter where you are in life. Whatever lot is given to you. You can still prosper just as joseph did
Joseph wasn't like well i'm in prison so I can't really you know, god was with me at potiphar's house
But here I mean it's prison
No, he just took it as well. This is where I am. I'm gonna grow
Wherever i'm planted
I'm gonna try to succeed. I'm gonna obey god no matter what
Go to genesis 40
So just when you thought things couldn't get worse for joseph
Man, it's just like he's sold into slavery. His brothers hate him
Now he's in egypt
He was doing so good with potiphar gets lied about
Gets thrown into prison
But all right, you know things are now looking up again
He's in charge in the prison, you know
he
Anytime I read that story i'm like what kind of responsibilities are there in the prison though?
You know clean the latrines or what like what do you got to do exactly?
But in either case he's prospering there god's blessing him giving him favor
well
Two other prisoners come in there a butler and a baker and this is not a joke
Okay, a butler and a baker going to a prison
And you know the principle that we're going to learn here is that sometimes the good that you do will go unnoticed
Let me just give you a little bit of reality check
Sometimes the good that you do
Will absolutely go unnoticed at your job. Sometimes it'll go unnoticed
With your family sometimes it'll go on. Hey moms, sometimes all the work that you put in
Unfortunately, sometimes it goes not sometimes a lot of times goes unnoticed. Maybe your husband's not going to thank you all the time
Maybe your kids are sometimes being a mom is just a thankless job
You know in church, you know what sometimes what you do will go unnoticed
Now, let me rephrase that sometimes it'll go unnoticed by the people
But god will notice it all the time. Okay
Okay
But with that being said a butler and a baker they get thrown into prison
The both of them basically disrespected to a certain degree
pharaoh and they're thrown into prison and you know
They're just in the same situation as joseph, but then god gives
The butler and the baker a particular dream
Instead of giving the dream to joseph
But the reason he's giving the dream to the butler and the baker is because it's going to trouble them
And thereby allowing joseph the opportunity to interpret that dream
thereby confirming
That joseph is this divine interpreter sent by god. Of course. God already has a plan with this and what is the dream?
they have this dream of you know, the the the
The butler has a dream about you know, essentially becoming pharaoh's cup bearer again
And you know squeezing the grapes into the cup and essentially being reestablished once again in in pharaoh's presence
And then the baker has like a worst dream where you know, basically interpretation of his day. He's going to die in a couple days
And they come to joseph and joseph interprets that he says hey
Butler, you're going to be reinstated to your former position
You're going to be able to give pharaoh's cup to his hand once again squeeze grapes into his cups again
Baker I got some bad news for you, you know
How do I say this you're going to die? Okay
And look at verse number 20
He says and it came to pass the third day
Which was pharaoh's birthday that he made a feast into all servants and he lifted up the head of the chief butler
And of the chief baker among his servants
And he restored the chief butler unto his butler ship again, and he gave the cup into pharaoh's hand
But he hanged the chief baker as joseph had interpreted to them
Yet did not the chief butler remember joseph, but forgot him
So joseph had told him hey once you're reinstated
Don't forget me
Just remember me
Because he obviously knows like this is my way out of this. This is like
You're my only chance to get out of this prison. This is why god's allowing me to interpret this. Please
Don't forget me and what does the butler do just forgets him? I mean, that's sad
I read that i'm just like my heart goes out to joseph
Because you know
That happens and what happens with joseph day one passes
Day two passes day three passes after a while. You just start losing hope you're like dan the guy forgot about me
You know
And so he forgot him. He just kind of went about his life
You know what? Sometimes you will go and notice you won't be thanked and you will be forgotten about him
I hate to tell you that
But it is true
in this life
People will forget you
They'll forget to say happy birthday to you
Don't forget to say thank you
Don't forget the works that you do
They'll forget you and you know what? That's the harsh reality
But i'm glad it's a reality because it kind of exalts the fact that god never forgets you
I'm, not saying that god will never forget your birthday. He's not he's not going to say like happy birthday or anything like that
But here's the thing god will remember you and in fact the bible says in hebrew 6 verse 10 for god is not unrighteous
to forget your work and labor of love
Which he has showed toward his name and that you have ministered to the saints and do minister isn't that comforting to know?
That maybe you may not be thanked today
But god will always remember what you did
When everything's said and done
God's going to remind you of what you did. It's called the judgment seat of christ and I guarantee you
At the judgment seat of christ, we're going to be rewarded for things that we forgot we did
Like oh, yeah, I did do that
Like we'll even forget what we did for god, but god's not going to forget
You know, he keeps good. He keeps good records
He's like you walked the lady across the street, you know
Then you gave her the gospel
You know you prayed for this person you did these things why because he's not unrighteous to forget your labor of love
Okay
And so keep that in mind that when others forget god will not
Go to genesis 41. We're almost done
So we see that he was lied about
We see that he was forgotten
But we also see that he was prepared
So what happens here pharaoh gets a dream?
It's two dreams. They trouble him and obviously the dreams are about what's going to happen to egypt
A great famine is going to come upon the land in egypt that essentially is going to destroy the land and ruin the resources and crops
But prior to that there's going to be seven years of plenty
So there's seven years of plenty seven years of famine and this is given to him in a very cryptic enigmatic dream
That he himself can interpret
So he's like really troubled about this. He's asking the magicians the sorcerers to interpret and no one's there
you know the cupbearer is just kind of like
And he's like, oh man
Hey, I forgot something. Um, you know
There's actually a guy in the prison who actually knows how to interpret this, you know
So finally he remembers it's like god had to just kind of throw that memory in there for him
Because the guy's so absent-minded
And he remembers him and of course
joseph comes
He gives the interpretation
and he
Gains credibility with pharaoh
He ends up saving egypt from this great famine
And becoming a manager of the resources of egypt to essentially help them throughout this seven-year period of famine verse 38
Pharaoh said unto his servants. Can we find such a one as this?
Is a man whom the spirit of god is?
And pharaoh said unto joseph for as much as god has showed thee all this there is none so discreet and wise as thou are
Thou shall be over my house and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled only in the throne
Will I be greater than thou and pharaoh said unto joseph see I have set thee over all the land of egypt
And pharaoh took off his ring from his hand
Put it upon joseph's hand and arrayed himself investors of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck
And he made him to ride in the second chariot, which he had and they cried before him bow the knee
And he made him ruler over all the land of egypt
And pharaoh said unto joseph, I am pharaoh and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of egypt
So this is pretty incredible. Now. The only downside to this is that he's renamed some weird egyptian name
zaphnath panaya
I would have been like
Can can we choose a different name, you know, like what is zaphnath panaya?
But you know, he is promoted to essentially be the vice pharaoh of egypt
Which leads me to my next point go to chapter 45 if you would
chapter 45
So the seven years of plenty come
He's able to manage the resources that they have in order to prepare for the great famine
And then everyone essentially depends on egypt during those seven years to feed the people of the land
And of course through joseph's wisdom his knowledge
He's able to distribute resources onto the people all the while maintaining an abundance and plenty of resources
For egypt themselves. So all these nations are actually coming
To egypt to receive grain and food
In order to be safe, so what do we see here we see that joseph ends up being a preserver of life
Okay
Now here's where the fun starts
Why well joseph's married now, he's got kids the man is the vice pharaoh
He's he has all kinds of money
He's you know, he's he's an important man
And look who comes crawling back, right?
Okay
His brothers because obviously the famine is not just in egypt it's even in canan land
So jacob tells his sons. Hey go to egypt take money and go purchase grain so we can survive this so they all come
And joseph recognizes his brothers
His brothers do not recognize him because the dude looks like an egyptian
Not only that, but he's speaking through an interpreter. Okay, so he has obviously learned the language of the egyptians
So he speaks to the interpreter in egyptian. The interpreter speaks to them in hebrew, okay
So they come from canan joseph recognizes them and then he accuses them of being spies
He's like no you're spies. You're like, oh no, we're just here to buy food and he's just like
No, you're a spy
He's like to spy out the good of the land or you come
You are and they're just they're just trying to be honest. They're like no we're we're the sons of one man
And you know, we just came here from canan land and he hears the whole dissertation he's like you're spies
So then what does he do he basically tells them okay if you're telling the truth
I want you to go back home and go bring your youngest brother which is by the way his youngest brother benjamin
And he says i'm gonna keep simian
Obviously he doesn't name him but he's like i'm gonna keep that guy put him in prison. Okay?
So they go back
And he sends them back packing
You know, but obviously, you know the first time they go back
Obviously he puts money in there and they go back and then they come back and that's what he does the thing with simian
And everything's going great
But then he sends them back again
that second time
But the only problem is is that he tells his people put my cup of divination in their sacks
Okay
with benjamin and benjamin's sacks, okay
He puts it in the sack and then he's like, all right now go after them
So they go and they're like you guys stole the cup of divination and they're like no way whoever's you know sack
It's in you know, let them whatever and so and then they cut the sack of benjamin and the cup falls out
And keep in mind. Jacob's like you cannot take benjamin. I've already lost joseph
And then are you gonna bereave me of benjamin too? And it just so happens that the couple's in benjamin's sack
So now the guys are like, oh like we're losing benjamin like man and then throughout this whole time
They're like, you know why this is happening to us, right?
It's because of what we did to joseph
So they know they're like man. This is happening just because of what we did to joseph
I told you not to do that to joseph. I told you when that guy was crying out for his life
We shouldn't have done this to him. So they're just going back and forth
And obviously joseph, you know, he's he's doing all this stuff
So they come back
He gives him a hard time about it
He's like getting on them and they're just like no we didn't even know and the money
The money was in our sack and so was that we don't know how the cup got there
And quite frankly when i'm reading this i'm like, yes
Get him
Yes, do it again joseph do it again
Get another brother, you know
And you know
Here's the thing with this story
As I feel like I feel like god didn't really condemn joseph for it
Does anybody get that feeling when you read it like he just kind of lets him
Do it
He kind of he kind of winks at it
Go kind of give them a taste of their own medicine
I mean joseph, you know, he he loves his brothers, but he's just you got to put yourself in his sandals
He's like man these guys sold me
They took me away from my homeland
for my dad
They they hated me they envied me and all I was trying to do was save them get where i'm coming where i'm going here
So obviously once he gives them a hard time he eventually does what he reveals himself, okay
And I skipped a lot of the story
But i'm just kind of giving you a synopsis verse one says then joseph could not refrain himself
Before all them that stood by him
And he cried caused every man to go out from me and there stood no man with him while joseph made himself known into his brother
And he wept out loud and the egyptians in the house of pharaoh heard
And joseph said unto his brethren. I am joseph
That's my father yet live
And his brethren could not answer him for they were troubled at his presence
So, you know, he's like
Takes off that little pharaoh thing takes off the little chin the little chin strap
And he's like i'm joking. I mean just think about how his brothers felt
They're just like troubled at his presence meaning they're just like this is this I can't believe this
Because they're all thought they all thought like he's just probably died. He's a slave somewhere
joseph said verse four
Joseph said unto his brother and come near to me. I pray you and they came near and he said I am joseph your brother
whom ye sold into egypt
Now therefore be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that you sold me hither
And I want you to notice this powerful phrase for god did send me before you to preserve life
Now that puts a gulp in my throat right there
Because joseph is basically saying like you thought evil against me
but
I know why this all happened to me and it's just like it's to save everyone
So he was like allowed to go through such trials and difficulties
loneliness betrayal
sorrow
you know, uh false witnesses
And he understood why he's like it did it like my pain was for a purpose. That's what he was saying, you know, it's to preserve life
It's a powerful conclusion to come to
you know
At the end of all this because you know, joseph could have easily just been bitter and just be like
And by the way, you guys are all dying today
Like, you know, i'm killing all you guys because you guys did me wrong
Obviously we see that joseph's not really bitter. Did he mess with his brothers a little bit? Yeah, but they deserved it
But he even said there be not angry with yourselves
Because they were angry with themselves
They're like this has happened to us because of what we did to joseph
Go to genesis 50
So
You know, he ends up revealing himself. They have a great reunion
And you know, he tells the pharaoh of this pharaoh is just ecstatic for joseph
He commands him to go get his father and all of israel. They end up coming to stay in the best of the land
And man, they just they end up getting
Saved physically speaking from the famine because of joseph and of course jacob is really happy
He's like he's thinking this whole time his son died
right
That he was torn in pieces of a beast
And he's like wow, i'm gonna be able to see my son before I die
Like it's just a very powerful story in that regard
So they come and they meet pharaoh and you know, they end up living there for years
and of course
Jacob ends up dying because he's already old he dies
And when he dies the brothers are really scared now
Because they're thinking to themselves
Dad was the only one keeping joseph
from like killing us
Right, so they're fearful that after the death of jacob joseph's gonna be like, all right now no one's here to protect you
You're on my turf, right?
But look at verse 15 and when joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead they said joseph will prevent or hate us
It will certainly require us all the evil which which we did unto him
And they sent a messenger to joseph saying thy father did command before he died saying
So shall he say unto joseph forgive I pray thee the trespass of thy brethren and their sin
For they did evil unto the evil and now we pray thee
Forgive the trespass of the servants of the god of thy father and joseph wept when they spake unto him now
I don't really know if jacob actually said this
We don't really know he might have made it up, but it's possible
regardless joseph
Felt a great amount of compassion for his brothers
When he heard that because he says that he wept
When they spake unto him because he realizes how fearful they are
Verse 18 and his brother also went and fell down before his face and said behold we be thy servants
And joseph said unto them fear not
For am I in the place of god, but as for you in other words, like I can't judge you for what you've done
I'm, not god. I can't destroy you
He says but as for you ye thought evil against me but god meant it unto good
To bring to pass as it is this day to save much people alive
He says now therefore fear ye not I will nourish you and your little ones and he comforted them and spake kindly unto them
And joseph dolt in egypt. He and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. So we see here that he was willing to pardon
Now before I get into the application
Of this last point I want to show you how joseph pictures jesus here
Because egypt in the bible is a picture of the world
right
Joseph was sent to egypt to preserve life and to save much people alive
And the bible says in john 3 17 for god sent not his son into the world to condemn the world
But that the world through him might be saved
So just as joseph was sent to egypt which is a picture of the world to preserve life in like manner
God the father sent his son jesus christ to the world
Right to essentially give everlasting life to save much people alive through his death baron resurrection
But the application that we can learn from this is that
learn to forgive
It's important to learn how to pardon people
For the wrong that they've done unto you
And I think all of us could attest to someone who wronged us greatly
But can you really say that they wronged you as much as they wronged joseph?
I mean joe this took up a chunk. I mean basically his childhood is just gone
His teenage years into his early adult years were all spent just surviving
away from his family
being forgotten
right
And in spite of the accumulation of trials that he went through what was his final what was his final attitude?
Don't be angry with yourselves
I'm here to preserve you i'm here to bless you
Because I know that all things work together for good to them to love god
You know why you should forgive your offender
Because all things work together for good to them to love god
And the evil that was done unto you
The wickedness that was done unto you
God can take those ingredients of wickedness and evil and just make something good out of it
But you got to forgive
That's why the bible says be kind tenderhearted forgiving one another even as god for christ's sake has forgiven you
Here we find a very powerful story
Of a young man and his temptations and you know what he did pass with flying colors
In spite of the fact that he was envy conspired against sold
lied about
Forgotten about he came out on top
At the very end and you know what what if joseph didn't respond the right way
What if joseph just became bitter and angry and malicious?
He probably never would have been able to save his dad
He probably wouldn't have been able to save his brothers
He would just wouldn't have been able to save egypt period but because he responded well
God used him in a great way not just to save egypt, but to be a wonderful picture of the lord. Jesus christ
Amen, let's pray father. We thank you so much for your word and thank you for joseph lord
We look forward to meeting him one day
And I pray that you'd help us all to have that same
disposition that joseph had
Help us to view all things in life, especially the hurts and the sorrows through the lens of
How you can use it in the future for something good and obviously our uh perspective can be limited
We can often look at the trials that we're experiencing
And come to the conclusion that no good can come out of it
but quite frankly
We know for a fact based upon the bible and the testimonies of the lord
That you can do abundantly above all that we can ask or think and I pray you help us as we go on our way
Lord, thank you for the wonderful pictures in the old testament of our savior. Jesus christ, and may you bless us as we go on our way
We love you. We thank you. Pray these things in jesus name. Amen