A Place at the Table | Genesis 43

So faith doesn't eliminate fear, it moves in spite of it. Faith doesn't eliminate fear, not always, it moves in spite of it. We have no reason to believe, even in our story in Genesis chapter 43, that Jacob's fear, magically disappears and goes away. Fear doesn't always go away when we act in faith. We act despite the fear. [00:44:36] (29 seconds)  #FaithMovesDespiteFear

Could I encourage you, to take a step of faith? What does it look like? It looks like open hands and active feet. Open hands. We come before the Lord, and we confess and acknowledge, hey, I'm not calling the shots in my life, I I don't know God what to do, I'm not in control. That's just open hands, I need your help. And then active feet is we confess that and then we move. The Christian life isn't passive. We're not sitting in our lazy boys waiting for life to happen before us. We're trusting in the Lord, and we're moving and acting. [00:51:05] (45 seconds)  #OpenHandsActiveFeet

That's all it is. It's mercy and grace. They don't deserve to be at the table. They haven't done anything to earn their way to the table. As a matter of fact, they've done enough in their life to not be at the table. And yet, we're beginning to see that oftentimes, before reconciliation is ever experienced, grace is extended. It is in God's character to not give people what they truly deserve. That's mercy. [01:08:33] (38 seconds)  #MercyAndGrace

We are the ones who rejected Jesus. We're the ones that sold him out. We're the ones that have taken the role that had already been cast. We we are the ones who turned our backs on the savior of the world. And, we are the ones who, by faith, are invited, to the table of mercy, not to be scolded, although that's what we deserve, but instead to receive grace. [01:11:36] (34 seconds)  #TableOfMercy

So they have options. What do you do? You can keep it close to the vest, you cannot say anything, you can decide, hey, maybe, just maybe, they don't know that we had the money with us, or you can come clean. You can be honest. I call it preemptive honesty. Right? In other words, they can explain to the manager of the home, that the money had returned to Canaan when they did. They can come clean, and they can be honest. Honesty takes guts. Honesty takes guts because up until this point, they were not found out. [00:55:49] (45 seconds)  #PreemptiveHonesty

But as the story unfolds, you begin to realize something. You begin to realize that revenge doesn't just destroy enemies, it begins to consume him, and it begins to consume you. Joseph's brothers find themselves at Joseph's table. They don't know it, but the perpetrators in the story are now the pawns. And we're gonna see how Joseph will respond. If you know God's story, you know that in his story, you and I are like the brothers. We are the guilty party. [01:10:51] (45 seconds)  #RevengeConsumes

I wonder this morning if you are here, if you have ever followed the call of God to sit down at his table. Have you ever been gripped by your own brokenness and by your own sin? Have you ever been washed and overwhelmed by the beauty of his grace and the wonder of his mercy. If you've never come to the table, then I invite you to come this morning. I mean, there is a seat, for you. Let's pray together. [01:12:10] (36 seconds)  #ComeToTheTable

When we do that, we move toward freedom. And so church family, this morning, let me ask you, is there a situation or scenario, where God is calling you to be honest? I mean, he's always calling us to be honest, but is there one that comes to mind? Is there one where you go, yeah, I I mean, I've shared 90% of the truth, or 95, but there's another 5%. Maybe you think about a conversation or a situation, you go, I've been honest ish, and god's going, yeah, want you to close that loop. [01:04:02] (41 seconds)  #CloseTheHonestyLoop