Happy Sunday, Rhema Community Church. Happy Sunday, Rhema Community Church. This is a little bit different Sunday, obviously, on a lot of different angles and a lot of different ways than most of our Sundays.

In the midst of COVID-19, we are having to meet in different places. We are having to meet in small groups. We're meeting in homes. We're meeting, gathering together with each other.

And so, in that, let's open with prayer.

Father, we just come before you in the name of Jesus and we trust in your sovereignty.

With all that's going on in the world and all that's going on in our nation and in our community, we know that none of this has caught you by surprise.

And we know that you work all things good, all things together, good for those who love you, Lord, and called accordingly to your purposes, Lord.

And so, we're trusting in that, Lord. We don't understand where maybe some of the good is going to come from in this, Lord God, but we are trusting completely in your hand.

We know that while a lot of things are spinning out of control and a lot of things seem like they're very chaotic, you continue to be on the throne.

And so, Father, we love you, and it's in Jesus' name we give thanks and praise. Amen.

Good morning, good morning, good morning, church.

Again, this is a little bit different Sunday for a lot of different reasons, but one of the things that we're going to keep the same is we are going to study the Word.

We are taking a break from our normal church services, our normal gatherings in response to what our leadership is asking us to do.

And hopefully, we need to keep this curve from not peaking so high as it has in some of the areas of the world.

There are some challenges I want to give you at the end of the service today and some things I want to put on your heart.

But today, I worked a lot early in the week thinking about where I wanted to go with a message.

And I began to work on a message, the difference between worry and concern, dealing with what's going on in the world today and in the nation today.

But then the more I thought about it, the more I thought, I just want some semblance of normalcy.

I need something that seems normal right now, and everything else just seems to be spinning out of control.

And so, therefore, we are going to study Genesis 44.

We're going to jump right back into Genesis 44 because that seems normal.

That seems what we would normally be doing in our study through the book of Genesis.

And because of that, also, I can see we're almost toward the finish line when we're going to finish Genesis.

And I know throughout the community of Glynn County now, there's a collective hallelujah in that as well, too, because we'll finally get finished with that.

But we get into chapter 44 today, and we left off on chapter 43 when Joseph was greeting his brothers.

His brothers had come back for more grain.

The famine had gotten really bad.

We said there was a predicament in Canaan.

The famine got worse and worse, and so they're having to come back.

They tell their dad, Jacob, look, we can't come back and get more grain.

The man said we are not, the man being Joseph.

We are not going to get an appointment with him unless we bring Benjamin.

And dad tries to put his foot down.

That's not going to happen.

But Judah makes a pledge.

He says, I will be the pledge.

And the word that he uses there is a legal term.

It's usually someone who guarantees a loan or guarantees payment on something.

But Judah says, I'll be the pledge on this.

He doesn't accept Reuben's offer of his two sons.

I'll take my two sons' life if I don't bring Benjamin back.

But he listens to Judah.

It's very intriguing in this.

And we'll see kind of this unfold a little bit.

But there's a party going on because the boys almost feel this great collective sigh of relief

because now they're in Joseph's house.

There's a party.

They're eating and drinking as if there's not a famine in the land.

But in actuality, there's still some things that God has to do and work through these guys first.

These guys are going to be part of the pillars of a nation.

We have the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And we have the twelve sons of Jacob that will make up the pillars of this nation.

And these boys, as sideways as they are, they're going to be the pillars of a nation.

And so God is going to work in them before he works through them.

A pattern that we see in our lives over and over.

I know in my life specifically, God always has to do a work in me before he'll ever do a work through me.

And we talked about that last week.

But they breathe this collective sigh of relief thinking that's okay.

And they're thinking, Benjamin, he's taking a liking to Benjamin, so things are okay.

But things are not okay because they still, these brothers still owe Joseph an apology.

They still have yet to come clean.

They still have yet to come clean.

to the party in Egypt. And now we're going to see the repentance. I guess if I was a good Baptist preacher, I'd come up with another P in there. They, the, the, uh, uh, penitence. There you go. There you go. How about, how about that? But the, uh, the repentance of the, of these men, these, these boys. And we pick things up right in, uh, right in verse, verse one. I've gone over the first few verses already once and just in practice, I guess, because we had no sound. So there we go. So I should get this right.

Uh, verse one of chapter 44. Then he be, uh, being Joseph commanded the steward of his house, fill these men's sacks with, with food as much as they can carry and put each man's money in the mouth of the sack and put my cup, the silver cup in the mouth of the sack of the youngest with his money for the grain. And he did as Joseph told him. Now, again, this cup is just a prop. It's part of the test. He's, it's, it's, it's a test of, uh,

of love that Joseph is doing a test of charity. If you will, as we're going to call it today. Um, we've got some notes and you guys can follow along with this on your screen, hopefully as well too. But in ancient days, most of these cups are made out of clay and, um, you didn't really have a silver cup or silver goblet unless you were someone of great prominence. And obviously Joseph is because Joseph is the prime minister. So he gives them the cup that he drinks out of and he, and he stashes it away in Benjamin's sack. Verse three,

As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now, Joseph said to his steward up, follow after the men. When you have overtaken them, say to them, why have you repaid evil for good? Is it, is it not from this that my Lord drinks? And by this, he practices divination. Have you, have you done evil?

Um, you have done evil in doing this. When he overtook them, he spoke to them, these words. And they said to him, why does my Lord speak with such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing. Behold, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from the Lord's house? And this is true. They didn't steal it. They haven't stole it, but they don't know what's up.

They don't know what's going on. But then they make this really foolish statement in verse nine. Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, shall die. And we also will be my Lord's servant.

They make this brash statement. If you find it in anyone's sack, you can, you can kill that person and take everybody else as a slave. And it just, it just reminds me of the book of James. When James says, let every man be slow to speak. Let every man be slow to anger and quick to listen.

You know, think before you speak. Think before you make these promises. Think before you do these things. Proverbs tells us, Proverbs tells us that death and life are in the power of the tongue.

And as I like to say that a closed mouth gathers no foot. So sometimes think before you say these things.

But they make this ridiculous, ridiculous statement that let this person die and the rest of us will be slaves.

Verse 10.

He said, let it be as you say. He was found with it shall be my servant and the rest of you shall be innocent.

Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground and each man opened his sack and he searched, beginning with the eldest and any with the youngest.

And the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

This is, this is crazy. So he starts with the, he starts with the oldest and he goes to the next.

Now, why does he do this? To heighten the tension. To heighten the tension of what's going on.

So each time they're going through one of the sacks, these guys are feeling pretty good about themselves.

These guys are thinking, well, we told you, we told you nothing was there.

And, you know, give it up. You know, we haven't done anything. We're clean. Let it go.

But so they're looking into the sacks and they're getting more relieved and more relieved as each sack until it comes to the last sack.

And the scripture says, and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.

Now, why does Joseph do that? Why does he plant it in Benjamin's sacks?

He.

changed in the last 21 years? Has there been any, any real change? You know, this is, this is what you did the last time. You know, uh, they sold, they, they, they, they sell Joseph off and now he's going to be a slave in Egypt. So are, are these guys going to react and say, well, you know, sorry, Benjamin, that's, that's, that's a tough luck. And, uh, and they're going to go back, back, uh, back to their dad and say, dad, you know, it's a, it's a weirdest thing. It's a weirdest thing. We made this trip back down there and you won't believe it, but another beast,

got ahold of Benjamin. And so he's not going to be coming back home again. This is all part of a test that Joseph is giving them. But verse 13 shows us, it indicates that these guys are passing the test. And verse 13 says,

then they tore their clothes and every man loaded his donkey and returned to the city. This is the first sign that these guys have really changed because to tear one's clothes or to rend your garments is a sign of deep remorse. It's a sign of deep regret. Okay. Um, so,

I mean, when, when Jacob heard that he had lost Joseph, remember, he tears his clothing. When Job hears that he's lost his, his family, his children were killed by the Chaldeans. It says that he rendered his robe. He tears his robe. And still in Israel today, they do this. It's a sign of great respect. It's a sign of great grief. But to me, it's a sign that these guys are changing, that they're changing. Verse 14.

When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. Again, again, prophetic coming true. The, the, the vision, the dream that he had earlier, Joseph said to them, what deed is this that you have done? Did you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination? Now, I think I need to explain that just, just a little bit.

In certain ancient cultures, okay, there was a practice called hydromancy. And hydromancy was the prediction of the future by using fluid, okay, inside of a cup. The ancient Orientals would put tea leaves in there and they would have the, they would swish it around. They would read the tea leaves.

The Greeks, the Greeks, the Greeks would have melted wax and they would pour melted wax into a cup of water and it would make these designs and they would read it.

Well, in ancient Egypt as well, inside the cups were these engravings and they would have also these magical inscriptions and some of their gods would be depicted inside of the cups.

And so the light would reflect on some of these gods. And so the fluid would be dancing around and have certain patterns in the fluid. And that's what, that's what it's talking about in divination here.

But listen, there is no scripture. There is no scripture present that tells us that Joseph actually even practiced this himself. Okay.

There's never, there's never an indication or an experience that says that Joseph did that. He's simply asking him, them the question, did you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?

I don't think he did. I don't think in the, in the, in the first place, he doesn't have to. He's a prophet of God and God allows him to interpret these dreams.

He's given him this supernatural gift, so he doesn't have to do this. But again, asking them, do you not know that a man like me could practice divination?

That continues to lay the groundwork to where these boys think he's a true Egyptian as well, too. Again, masking his true identity until the right time.

But now we get into verse 16 to the rest of the chapter. And I want you to pay close attention to this, because this is some of the most heartwarming, touching, intercessory speeches in all of literature, actually.

Sir Walter Scott, who is a great Scottish poet and novelist, said in all of literature that this one section is one of the most beautiful examples of the, of natural eloquence to be found anywhere.

The last portion of this chapter. In this last portion, it's a speech by one of Joseph's brothers, the second born Judah.

And Judah is given this intercessory speech. And, you know, you need to know that some of the authors have even ditched this speech, or at least the last part of this chapter.

Even Martin Luther.

Even Martin Luther.

Even Martin Luther.

couldn't understand why the Holy Spirit would preserve these words. Such a trivial part. These 34 verses. And he called them trivial. And why would God waste so much time describing this? Well, you know, they may have been trivial to Martin Luther, but these were certain things that were trivial. And he called them trivial. And why would God waste so much time describing this?

It was certainly not trivial to Joseph, these words. These words certainly were not trivial to his brothers. In fact, many, many people have marveled at this section of Scripture as, as literature, as one of the most eloquent pieces ever, ever, ever written. But I always find it interesting. I find it interesting how, how the Spirit of God seems to hover over certain sections of Scripture that he would consider important that the rest

most of us would not really deem that important. Most of us would not really deem that important. It's always fascinating. Like, for instance, God didn't spend a whole lot of time depicting creation. The creation of the heavens and the earth. There's a very short amount of real estate given for that. We would wish he would give a lot more. Okay? Scientists would wish he would give a lot more. But he spends 14 chapters of Genesis talking about Abraham. A fourth of the entire book of Genesis.

It takes, it takes, it takes, it takes over Joseph. It's about Joseph. So this is not trivial. This is not trivial. God knew what he needed to preserve as we study the life of Joseph. And in this, we find some of the most excellent lessons, listen, on how to forgive people who have wronged us. This is important for us. It's important for us to understand this.

Let's begin in verse 16.

But he said,

He's really mad at us, you know, but in reality, he loves them. He loves them. You know, he knew how to put on a good act and it's working. It's working. Okay? But they're begging him, please don't be angry. Please don't, you know, be merciful. Please be merciful. But Joseph wasn't angry. Joseph was filled with compassion. And we're going to see that here.

Verse 19.

So this is interesting.

So they're talking, so they're talking, they're talking to Joseph about Joseph. It always, it always cracks me up.

Um, they're kind of, they're kind of saying, um, yeah, yeah, one of our brothers is dead. Okay? One of our brothers is dead.

And so the one that they're talking about is the one that they're talking to. It kind of reminds me of Hebrews chapter 11.

And those of you who are watching live, I just want to, uh, just say, I forgot to mention this time. I'm not just, uh, when I look around, I'm not just, uh, looking around just to make sure I'm feel like I'm talking to people.

We have a couple of staff here who have been trying to help us get some things organized and situated. So grateful for that. So, uh, but this, this right here, this passage reminds me of Hebrews 11, when the writer of Hebrews, he's talking about Abel and Cain and he talks about how Cain kills Abel, but he says that Abel's blood was crying out from the ground.

And the writer of Hebrews says, although he's dead, he still speaks. He still speaks. So they think Joseph is dead, but he still speaks. You're talking about Joseph to Joseph. Okay? And so it just, it just seems very ironic.

Verse 21. Then you said to your servants, bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him. We said to my Lord, the boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die. Then you said to your servants, unless your youngest brother is dead, he still speaks.

If your brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again. When we went back to your servant, my father, we told him the words of my Lord. And when my father, when our father said, go again, buy us a little food, we said we cannot go down. If our younger brother goes with us, then we will go down for we cannot see the man's face unless our younger brother is with us. Just remember what's taking place here. You've got Jacob and Rachel. Okay, you remember, uh,

Jacob has Jacob has Jacob had two wives and he had two concubines. So really four ladies bring about all these boys that we're talking about here. But it was, um, it was, um, his, his favorite wife, the wife that he really loved. Uh, it was the love at first sight with Rachel. Okay. And with Rachel, Rachel, Jacob had two boys. And that's what these, that's what Judah is trying to get across to Joseph or the ruler,

or Zephaniah as he knows him at this point. Look, my dad loved this woman. And he had two boys. And these two boys are really special. Okay. Joe, uh, Joseph and Benjamin.

And as he's telling this, you have to remember, Joseph, Joseph is listening to Judah, tell the story. And remember, Joseph has two boys of his own. So it's got to tug on his heartstrings just from a parental point of view. I get it. I get it. When you got two boys that, that, that you love so very much. Verse 27.

Then your servant, my father said to us, you know, that my wife bore me two sons. One left me. And I said, surely he has been torn to pieces. And I, and I have never seen him since. Now stop right there. You need, you need to get that. Judah is saying what his father said, because this is what his father has always believed.

This is what his dad has always believed. His father has always believed that because that's the lie that Judah and the rest of the brothers have, have told him. And this is the very first time that Joseph, Joseph hears what his father has been told about his disappearance. Now Joseph gets it. So that's what you told dad, that I was torn apart by a wild animal. That's the story that dad believes. That's why dad never came and looked for me.

That's why none of this ever came about. Now all this is, is, is, is making sense. When in reality, you sold me off to make a few bucks with the Ishmaelites because you despise me.

It just amazes me. It just amazes me. The, the, the, the integrity that Joseph continues to maintain. I wouldn't have acted this way. I would have been like, there it is. There it is, man.

What do you mean you told dad that? Do you not know that that had to break dad's heart, but Joseph maintains and he continues. Verse 29.

Judy continues in the speech as he's relaying what Jacob had said, if you take this one from, from also from me and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in, in evil to shield.

Now, therefore, as soon as I come to your servant, my father, and the boy is not with us, then as his life is bound up in the boy's life, as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die.

You know, I want you to not bypass that descriptive phrase right there in the relationship between Jacob and Benjamin.

He says right there, his life is bound up in that boy's life. The Amplified Bible puts it this way. It says, and his soul is knit with the lad's soul.

They're inseparable. They're inseparable. They're inseparable. Because of the loss of one, because of the loss with Joseph, okay, the only one to remind Jacob of that great love that he had with Rachel, that relationship that he had with that love at first sight, wife of his, is Benjamin.

He's the only one that is a reminder for that. And that's that link of that love.

The way he talks about Joseph after 21 years, okay? Absolutely, you would miss your son. I'm not diminishing that whatsoever, okay? I have many people who have been very, very close to me in my life that have died, that have passed on. But I can talk about them, though. I can have good memories of those times that we have. But every time Joseph was brought up, Jacob makes everyone else feel.

feel miserable in the whole process. That's how he treated it, okay? I have watched people who don't recover from the loss of a loved one. And I've seen the torment and the pain in their lives.

And you could talk with them, you could counsel them, you could pray with them, and it seems that they never get through all the right stages of grief that take place. And maybe they've just stuffed it down or something, and they refused at the time that they weren't going to grieve, and they've never shed a tear, and I'm trying to be strong, and they never fully grieve.

That's a mistake. That's a mistake. God has given us, there's a natural grieving process. Typically, there are a few stages of grief, and there is something called good grief as well.

It has nothing to do with Charlie Brown, okay? But there's such a thing called good grief, okay? Usually when somebody's informed that they have lost a loved one, a loved one has died,

the first step, the first stage, I should say, in grief, typically is denial. It's denial, you know? No, it couldn't have happened. It couldn't have happened that you must be talking about someone else, that can't be true, surely this doesn't happen to me.

That's a normal response. But then the next, the next stage in that is shock, you know, because you realize it, and they're shocked.

Then there comes anger, you know? Anger at God, you know? God, how could you let this happen? Maybe even anger towards that person. I told them not to do this.

I told them that they didn't change their ways, that this wasn't going to happen, you know? Or maybe anger at yourself. I wish I could have been there.

I could have prevented this, you know? Like, like you're God, and you can prevent all things from happening. But then there's another stage, typically, and that's deep depression.

A deep depression. And that's when a person comes to grip with what's going on, and there's this utter despair at the loss of life.

And they don't know how, but eventually they're able to move on as they follow through these stages, and they learn how to cope with what's going on.

Now, this is all normal. It's typical human emotion. And this is how we are wired. And I don't know what stage Jacob skipped, but Jacob skipped one of the stages of grief, somewhere along the line.

And he's not handling things well right now. He's not handling things in a healthy manner. And now Jacob's entire life is wrapped up and bound up in Benjamin.

Benjamin. He's put all of his cards in Benjamin right now. And I'm telling you, the other brothers would see it as well, too. The other brothers would see it.

And so, Judah lays this out.

Verse 32.

For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying,

If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.

Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my Lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers.

For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me?

I fear to see the evil that would find my father.

Guys, this is a huge, you have to see the huge switch from chapter 37 in these brothers, in these men.

When Judah had the idea, I got an idea, let's not kill him, let's sell him off to the Ishmaelites and make a few bucks.

This little twerp, we don't have to deal with him anymore.

But now, here is Judah pleading for the life of Joseph's younger brother, the favored son now, Benjamin.

This is a huge change. That's why I said last week, we need to see Judah starting to have that change in relationships. The change in how he deals with the relationships.

And not only is it a change, but I see a prefiguring, we touched on this briefly last week, but a prefiguring of somebody else doing that. Someone else giving a substitution of his life so that everyone else could go free.

Everyone else could be. It's very interesting. And at the very end of Jacob's life, he's given his blessings. When we get to chapter 49, if we ever get there, I know it's going to seem like common ground. Bobby made the comment to me last week. We don't have to read the rest of Genesis because Curtis tells us how it's going to end and all of that. But it'd be familiar ground.

But Jacob says to his son, Judah, his second born, Judah is a lion's cub or a whelp, whatever version you're reading from. But a lion's cub, that's how he describes him.

And now it's because of that, that Judah and the tribe of Judah will be typified in the wilderness wanderings. When you get to Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and all that stuff, he'll be depicted as a lion.

As the lion of the tribe of Judah. And here we have Judah, the forefather of the tribe of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving himself, offering himself up as a substitute, foreshadowing what Jesus Christ, the lion of the tribe of Judah, would do for the entire world.

It's a beautiful picture. It's a beautiful picture. Judah giving himself, Jesus giving himself as a substitutionary atonement.

The theologians like to use those $50 words, it's vicarious atonement, if you will, okay? But as a substitute atonement, okay? It's a beautiful picture.

So I look at chapter 44 as we finish it, and there's a lesson to be learned. And I suppose the law and what we've all studied here is be careful how you handle your relationships.

We all have them. Some of them are really good relationships. Some of them are really stinky relationships. Some of them are just kind of relationships we endure.

But I say be careful because relationships are precious, and yet relationships are very, very fragile at the same time. We've all experienced that.

And you see how these relationships are growing in here. But in a relationship, one incident, one word spoken in anger, one word in wrath, one action, one pressing of the sin button, okay, can sever a relationship, and the consequences can last for generations and generations.

I hope you understand the concept and the principle that relationships are incredibly precious, and relationships are incredibly fragile.

And that's what God is doing in the midst of this. He is restoring these relationships. He is restoring what should be within these relationships.

And so for us, I think if we would think before we act, if we would think before we speak, if we would think, again, before we post, you know, James said that every man should be quick to hear and slow to speak.

And, you know, God gave us two ears and one mouth, and I really wish that a lot of us would function in that equation a lot more often.

You know, listening twice as much as you talk.

If we would think through what will this action, what will these harsh words, or what will what's being said do in this relationship in the long run, I think it would change a lot of things.

Think of this relationship. Think of Judah.

that they have. They're dealing with the guilt. They're dealing with the pain, and the cover-up, and the lies, and all this stuff. All these things have to be dealt with. So, again, relationships are precious, and relationships are very, very fragile. I remember years and years ago, I was doing a study. It was a couple book study in a small class that I was teaching maybe 30 young adults, and we had, I think we went through the books of 1st and 2nd Timothy. I think that's what it was. But at the end of the study,

I told them that they could write down whatever questions that they wanted answered, that we didn't get to, we didn't get to cover within the study, write whatever questions down. I'd love to be able to deal with these things from a spiritual perspective. And I was expecting things like, they were going to ask me all these eschatological, yeah, eschological, yeah, all these things on eschatology. How's that? These questions on that. But I was shocked.

That 90% or more of the questions were about, how do I fix this relationship? And how do I deal with this relationship? I was moved by that, and I discovered, boy, there's a lot of God, there's a lot of people in God's family that aren't handling those relationships very responsibly.

And therefore, because we don't handle them very responsibly, they get severed. They get wounded. Division comes up, and walls come up. We've seen this in the story here.

But I want to give you, real quickly, just three R's. And we're not going to go in depth, so don't think this is going to be really long.

But I want to give you what I see as the three R's of relationships, right, real quickly. And that is repentance, responsibility, and results.

Repentance. Repentance, responsibility, and results. If you repent, if you repent for what you have done wrong, not what they have done wrong, okay, or ask them to repent for whatever.

No, you. You. You. Just you. If you humble yourself, and you repent for what you have done wrong in the relationship, and you take responsibility, you take responsibility for your part in what has been done wrong, it will yield results.

It will yield results. It will yield results. You cannot be responsible for them not fulfilling their end of the deal and the part of the relationship. You can't do that.

You just can't. You, you, you know, I often get the question, well, how do I, how do I get so-and-so to understand? How do I get so-and-so to, to really see?

You can't. It's not your responsibility in the, in the whole mix of relationships.

But you can do what only you can do, and that is take responsibility for your part of the mess.

Your responsibility. Repent of it. Humble yourself, and you will see results.

Repentance, responsibility, and results.

You know, I've spoken to people so many times over this as well, too, and they say,

well, you don't understand, you don't understand, you don't understand, uh, uh, my situation is so bad.

My situation is so dire.

And the term that they use is, man, it's, it's such a can of worms.

You just don't understand, Brother Curtis, it's such a can of worms.

Well, you know what? I, I get it. I get it.

But if you have a can of worms, if you will simply take one worm at a time out of that can,

over time, what you're left with is an empty can.

You know, I, uh, I told, uh, Jill the other day that I was going to, I had a, in Jess,

that I had a lawsuit against Disney because we sat down and we watched, uh, because we're,

we're under sequest, we're, we're, we're homebound just like everybody else.

And so Disney Plus has come out with Frozen 2 on there so you can get Frozen 2 so you can keep your kids occupied.

And so we got to watch Frozen 2 with, uh, with Caroline.

And that was great, but I told them I was, I had a lawsuit against Disney because Caitlin can tell you for years and years and years,

ever since she was a little girl, I would always tell her just in this, in this situation, in this instance,

just do the next right thing.

yourself in a change in these relationships. Relationships are precious, but relationships are fragile. Fragile. The power of the tongue is great. The power of the tongue is great. I want to remind you of a couple things here as we close here this morning. I want to remind you that while we are away from each other, I miss being with you. I miss gathering with you. I miss the face-to-face. But the church is about much more than just what's the accruciation.

mitraintments inside this and the walls here. The church is the people. And so, as the people of God, we need to continue to be the people of God and be salt and light. One of the things I'm going to ask you to do is continue to be faithful in your giving. And you can go to our website, and there's an option there for PayPal, and there's an option there on the website for, you can do credit card or whatever. Just contact the church. But be faithful because we are still doing ministry in these critical times right now.

we are providing a lot of meals

our church is providing a lot of meals

for I think over 31 students

in Golden Owls Elementary School right now

who are not getting free breakfast and free lunch

that the school normally provides

we just brought enough for 140

to feed Friday

at his ministries as well too

this takes resources

and it takes your faithfulness

in continuing to give to allow us

because we're not going to stop being the church

and we're not going to stop serving

although we can't

we've had to pause some things for a week or two

so I want to encourage you

to please be faithful in that

and my prayer through all of this

my prayer as all this has taken place

is that

many people not just in our church

and in our community but yes here

Lord let it begin here

but all over people will have

a renewed desire

to be involved in the body of Christ

and the things of Christ

things will not

people will not put off gathering

and be so flippant about not coming

on Sunday

and being a part of what God is doing

on Sunday mornings

yes it's about much more

than just gathering here

in this place

but there's something to be said

when we all come together

and we read God's word

we study God's word

we encourage each other

as a body of believers

then we go out

and make disciples

being disciples

there's

this is the equipping place

to go and be

to go and do

and so

I pray that there's a renewed energy

and a renewed desire in that

and I was talking with a friend of mine recently

and the last thing I'm going to do

is give you a challenge

and

Romans 12 12

Romans 12 12

the verse in Romans 12 12 says

rejoice in hope

be patient in tribulation

be constant in prayer

rejoice in hope

be patient in tribulation

be constant in prayer

Romans 12 12

and so

what I want to challenge us

and we'll put this out in our group meeting

and social media as well too

what I want to challenge us

us with

over the next few weeks

is

set an alarm on your phone

set an alarm on your phone

that at 12 12

every day

12 12

no matter where you are

when that alarm goes off

we may not be able to gather together

face to face

as Ramah Community Church

in this place right now

but at 12 12

every day

we can pray

we can rejoice in hope

we can be patient in tribulation

and we can be constant in prayer

and I pray that you would join me in this

and

no matter where you are

just have a few moments of prayer

pray for the world at large

pray for our nation

pray for the leadership

pray for our community

pray for all those

who are making decisions

pray for our first responders

pray for the nurses

pray for the doctors

people trying to find answers

to what's going on

and

I promise you

ultimately

what

each of them are going to find

in the long run

is the answer lies in Christ

the answer lies in Christ

because while all of this is crazy

none of this has caught God

by surprise

and we don't know

what he's doing

or how he's using it

for his good

and for his glory

but

but we're calling for the church

to rise up

and be a light in this

let's close

and be a light in this

and be a light in this

and be a light in this

ask you today Lord God to be in the midst of our gatherings no matter where that is that your spirit would be would be discerned by all

would be experienced by all we we thank you Lord God for just the reading of your word and the study of your word we thank you Lord God for just the life of Joseph and how he showed us

what a man of integrity looks like lives like

and we thank you Lord that we can find ourselves in the midst of this story because I see myself in the life of the brothers and

I thank you Lord that you you were not finished with them you did not leave them in a place of despair

you did not leave them in a place where they would be broken and and and and live in guilt the rest of their lives and remorse

and have to worry about what story did I tell what lie did I embrace

Lord you you bring all things to light for your good and for your glory

and I thank you Lord that that takes place in our lives as well too if we will trust in the good shepherd

and while the thief may come to steal kill and destroy you sweet Jesus have come to give us abundant life

abundant life and we bless your holy name for that and it's in the sweet name of Jesus we give thanks and praise today

and all God's people said amen

God bless you