The Life Of Joseph Part 4

Just as a reminder, this is kind of the book that I've introduced as kind of a companion to our study. So I've been trying to keep this in sequence with weeks, so if we're on week number 9, then we're on chapter 9.

So next week we'll be on, actually it's 10 this week, we've got two more chapters to go, two more lessons to go. So let me pray for us and we'll get started.

Lord, we come this morning into your house. We praise you for this high example that Joseph sets for us.

So many things that we have witnessed from his life, so many things that we have seen, and we can just marvel at the God of Joseph. This morning as we look at another important aspect of his life, an example, God, I pray that you would remind us not only of the significance of the truths that we see today, but help us to discover new ways to put them to practice.

God, may this not just be an exercise of accumulating more information, but may this be an exercise of looking more like Jesus day by day. That's our desire.

Our desire is to enjoy the benefit of your presence, to revel in the abundance of the knowledge that you give, and you make accessible to us, and then to seek to reflect back to this world what you are making so visible and evident to us.

So we pray that you would do that for us today. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Well, this is kind of the high point of the story. As you look at the life of Joseph, everything really has kind of been building up to this moment, the moments that we kind of witness in chapters 44 and 45 and 46.

And this is really kind of my favorite part of the story. Of course, it wouldn't be what it is if it weren't for the preceding parts, right? And it wouldn't be what it is if it were not for the evidence of what we're going to see later on.

But really, this is kind of the heart and soul of the story of Joseph. And so as you consider this being kind of the, if you want to say, climax of the story of Joseph, I think in the climax of the story of Joseph, we begin to find some of the more significant truths that we need to begin to, or God needs to begin to shape in our own lives.

So what is it about this part of the story that makes it so tangible, so significant, so important for us?

And I think what we find in this part of the story, and it's kind of all over that little handout that you have, is the significance of faith and forgiveness.

We've been talking about Joseph, the man of faith. But how does faith begin to manifest itself? How does faith show up in this world?

How does faith become visible so that people can see it? What are the effects of faith? How does faith lead to forgiveness? And how does forgiveness show up in your life?

What does forgiveness do for you? And how does forgiveness begin to help and shape the world around you? And that's some of the questions I hope to answer in our time this morning.

The significance of forgiveness. We know that forgiveness is important. Can someone think of a couple of verses that stand out that would say, yeah, forgiveness is significant.

I think about the Lord's Prayer in particular. Remember what Jesus says right after the Lord's Prayer? He says, you know, Father, He says, forgive us our debts as we forgive those who have trespassed against us, right?

And then how does that prayer continue? The prayer ends, but then Jesus makes a statement about forgiveness. What does He say? Can you remember? That's right.

That's important, don't you think? If we cannot learn how to have this heart of forgiveness, then God's just not going to forgive us.

And I think and I hope today we're going to understand why. Is it just because we're not following His example? Is it just because, you know, we've been forgiven, so we need to do what Jesus does and forgive others?

Or is there something more significant about forgiveness that points to something deeper in the heart? Well, I think we're going to find out.

Forgiveness is a telltale sign that faith, authentic, genuine, sincere, and true faith, is working its way out in your heart.

Well, any of you who watched the movie, recent movie, Unbroken, anybody watch that movie, Unbroken? About Louis Zabarini, I think is what his name is.

Zamperini? Okay. The person that interviewed him speaks a little bit about what he got, what he saw from that interview, what came through.

So let me just, I'll just kind of, in a brief nutshell, summarize this story for you and some of the observations of this one who interviewed him and then wrote this book.

It says, he was infectiously cheerful. This is the author talking about Louis Zabarini. It says, speaking of his captor's cruelty without a trace of bitterness.

Now, just to kind of give you some background, Zabarini was in World War II, I believe, and as a result of being a captive, a POW, put into a prison camp, and was relentlessly tortured.

And yet, he's cheerful, infectiously cheerful. I like that. That's going to show up in our lesson today. Speaking of his captor's cruelty without a trace of bitterness.

I asked how he could speak so easily of such vicious men. His answer was simple. I've forgiven them. I was hooked, he says.

My mind began turning on a question. How does a man forgive what is seemingly unforgivable? Now, understand, this author is not a believer, and yet impacted by the example of forgiveness.

In search of the answer, I began a seven-year journey through his life, a journey that culminated in my book, Unbroken. As a boy in California in the 1920s and 30s, Louis was an incorrigible delinquent.

Then he discovered that he had an extraordinary talent for running. He became a world-famous track phenomenon, competing in the 1936 Berlin Olympics when he was still a teenager.

World War II began, and Louis set aside athletics and joined the Army Corps. He was stationed in Hawaii as a bombardier, fighting harrowing air battles against the Japanese. And then he talks about a rescue mission that Louis and some of his friends went on.

And as a result of that rescue mission in a plane that had no business being in the air, that plane went down, which led to 41 days on a raft, where one of his fellow individuals died on the raft.

And just the harrowing story of how God protected them, even though no one was a believer, and there they were exposed and on this raft for 41 days. Well, they drifted, starving.

One man died. Louis and the other crewmen hung on. On the 46th day, they saw a distant island. They rode toward it, and when they were only yards from shore, a Japanese boat intercepted them.

For the next two and a quarter years, Louis was captive of the Japanese military. First, he was held in a filthy cell subjected to medical experiments, starvation, beating, and interrogation.

And the main guy who was responsible for all of this was known as the bird. Not to go into a whole lot of detail or spend a whole lot more time on this, but the relentless beating that Louis experienced from this one, the bird, drove him to the point of almost just saying, I give up.

It'd be better to die. And yet, in the moment, he prayed that God would give him strength, and God did. And he continued, not only to survive, but just to be able to endure the abuse against him.

Well, the war ended, and Louis and his fellow countrymen were released. He comes back, and it led to a life of darkness and despair and bondage, really, to this depression that he felt.

He had been so beaten down by the bird, by this man, that it just totally extinguished any sense of self-satisfaction and the drive that had once been so true of his life was just obliterated.

He was at the brink, and it was affecting his family, at the brink of, again, just wanting to die. But then his wife, in kind of sheer desperation, says, Will you go with me to see Billy Graham?

Just give me a couple of nights. Promise that you'll come for the weekend. And so Louis did. And the first night, he listened, and conviction reigned in his heart, but he just walked away.

The second night was much the same, and he stood up to walk out, but then the conviction of the Spirit landed on his heart, and he realized that he was a sinner, and he turned his life over to Christ.

It says a year later, Louis went to Japan. He was a joyful man. His marriage restored, his nightmares and flashbacks gone, his alcoholism overcome.

He went to Tokyo to find a prisoner of war. A prisoner, excuse me. Where war criminals were serving their sentences. Who do you suppose he went to find? He went to find the bird.

This one who had been so antagonistic towards his life. Louis was struck. Excuse me. He says he hoped to find the bird.

To know for sure if the peace he'd found was resilient. But the bird wasn't there. Louis was told that the guard had killed himself. Louis was struck with emotion.

He was surprised by what he felt. It was not hatred, not relief, but compassion. Louis had found forgiveness. Louis had found forgiveness.

And the seeds of faith and forgiveness not only brought freedom to Louis, but impacted this one's heart who wrote this story and captured this life, and as a result of the movie, has impacted thousands for Christ.

The gospel has triumphed. And only God knows how that story will play out in the lives of the people who've been able to witness the freedom that comes because of forgiveness.

So, open with me, if you would, to Genesis 45. And I think in this story, we will see another great illustration of how faith and forgiveness work hand in hand.

And what it accomplishes in a life. And first, I want to take a look in just the first few verses, beginning in verse 4 of chapter 45. So, we're in Genesis chapter 45.

And I want to look at Joseph in sowing seeds of faith and forgiveness. And I want to follow that up in the later part in talking about showing the fruit of faith and forgiveness.

So, sowing the seeds and showing the fruit. Let me read for us beginning in verse 4. It says, And Joseph said to his brothers, Please come near to me.

Now, remember, he just made it clear to them who he was. I am Joseph, your brother. Here I am. And there they are standing, quaking in their boots.

He says, Come near to me. So they came near. Then he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now do not, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here.

For God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years, the famine has been in the land. And there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God.

And he has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. I want to just camp for a moment on what are some of these marks?

What are the marks of faith and forgiveness working out in Joseph's heart here? And I have four of them here. There may be others.

But I think we see at least four marks of faith and forgiveness here. It's right underneath that first point, words of faith and forgiveness. So we see not only showing the seeds of faith, but we see it playing out.

We see it playing out in words here in these first few verses, and then we're going to see it playing out in actions. So words and actions. First, I want you to notice here the very beginning of this verse four.

It says, I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. What is significant about those words in relationship to forgiveness?

What are your thoughts? And particularly in sharing honestly. Okay, that's the first point here, and that's what I see going on. That's right.

That's good. That's good. Okay, anybody else want to comment? Okay, he still sees them as brothers. He hasn't disowned them. He is honest about what took place in the past.

Anything else? Why is that important for forgiveness? Why is that an important mark of forgiveness? Okay.

Okay. We can't just sweep things under the rug. Anyone else? Why is honesty important for forgiveness? Why is that you're not going to be a good one?

Why is that you're not going to be a good one? I can handle everything. Don't worry about it. Amen. Amen. Amen. That's right. That's good. Any other thoughts?

When Christ gives forgiveness, he is clear about the reasons that forgiveness is required.

the gospel must talk about the need for forgiveness which is a need that we have because of sin. Separation for us, it is important for us to know what we're forgiven for than it is for the individual who's doing the forgiving to absolve or to kind of relinquish this responsibility in terms of owning it and feeling the effects of it as well.

You understand? You understand? It's important to share honestly. We're not talking about forgetfulness here. We're not talking about sweeping it under the rug or glossing over the ugliness of what we have seen and felt.

It's being honest. You can be and must be honest about the reality of the situation. That's where true forgiveness will come. It's how it will come for you and it's how it will come for those that you're talking to.

But notice number two, there is not only this sharing honestly, there is a desiring of proximity. There's a desire for closeness. And so what is the first thing that Joseph says here?

He says, please, come near to me. And this is the word in the Hebrew that not only talks about the spatial proximity, it's talking about intimacy.

I want there to be a restoration of relationship. I want there to be more than just we're kind of hanging out together, we kind of share the same space, but I want this relationship again.

I want what we had before and I actually want it to be better than it has ever been before. It's this term that's occasionally used for coming near for the purpose of embracing or kissing.

There is this intimacy that's desired. That's what forgiveness really looks for. It looks for the full reconciliation. It looks for a desire of restored relationship.

What would have been broken because of the offense, now restored because of this forgiving act. Swindoll puts it this way, he says, he just revealed the best kept secret in Canaan.

Surely none of the brothers had ever told anyone what had happened that day out in the fields near Dothan. How would this man know the truth if he were not their long-last Joseph?

They stared at him unable to blink as he reaffirmed, I am the one you sold into Egypt. I am Joseph. But here's where forgiveness really becomes possible in this third element.

It really becomes possible as one is able to rest in God's sovereignty. So they're sharing honestly, they're desiring proximity, and they're resting in God's sovereignty.

Where does that show up in Joseph's speech to his brothers? Where do you see it? Okay? And how many times does he say that?

Where do you see it? Point out the verse for me. Okay, verse 5, God sent me before you to preserve your life. Verse 7, God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant.

Verse 8, it was not you who sent me here, but God. And then later on in verse 8, God has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

So who was responsible for this act? Who was the real player behind this story? God was the player behind this story.

What does that do for us? What does that do for us when we have that perspective? How does that help? Okay?

Reminds us of God's sovereignty when we're going through hard things? Maybe just for the sake of simplicity, someone describe sovereignty for me.

Let's just take this big theological term and let's make this really easy to understand. How would you describe God's sovereignty? We've talked about this before, but let's just talk about it again.

How would you define it? There's no wrong answer. Okay? He's in control. Good. What else? Might. Okay?

Power and authority over everything. Everyone and everything that happens. His divine authority, his in-controlness, his in-chargeness, to make up a word.

What's that? His divine will is playing out. Okay, now, that's hard, isn't it? Because did God will for his brothers to sin against him?

What do you do with that? Yeah. he's in so in rca you can know God's sovereignty, but it's not always rest in it, to your point. Because sometimes things do happen, and we're in that are not necessarily at the people that do things against us, but we do know that he was sovereign, and so there's a point where we have to rest in that so we do not in that we lip of God.

Okay, sure. so there's two things that play out here not only our approach towards other people but the way we view God himself that when hard things happen and we actually recognize that God is kind of the mover behind these things it'd be very easy for us to store up a measure of bitterness against him how could you let this happen God that could happen maybe the collateral damage as it were the residue of selfishness in our heart towards seeing God is in control but let's talk about and I don't want to get we don't have a whole lot of time for that but we do have to kind of consider that his brothers sinned against him was that God's will?

all right woo! hot dog what a teacher that's right there is this permissive will of God where God does not will for sin to happen but he does step back and allows things to play out as man is involved in exercising his own sinfulness God says you know what I'm just going to let this take place because I have bigger plans in store right that's good good way to describe that amen amen amen that's good amen so it may not be

God's decreed will but he is permitting it to take place for the sake of of working out his his best for us and his best for for others okay good so God Joseph is resting in the sovereignty of God he's resting in that sovereignty I love this he says but God those are glorious words they show up in in Ephesians chapter 2 where Paul is is talking about you were dead and trespasses and sins you you were following the course of this world you were walking after the the prince of the power of the air he says but God God is is the game changer he's the one who's who's working through these things and and working them out for his for his best

I wonder what what did faith in God and forgiveness for his brothers do for Joseph what what did it do for him practically intangibly how did it help Joseph to have faith in God and forgiveness for his brothers here what do you see that's good there's a measure of freedom isn't there he didn't feel like he had to be the one to exact justice on his brothers there's freedom that's a good thing what else that's right amen amen so it not only affected this moment right it affected his time with Potiphar it affected his time in the prison and it just permeated his life and because of it

God was able to just grow him in responsibility and prominence in the land of Egypt and his ability to influence the people around him and we're getting to that it's good thank you yeah it's good it's good it's good so so because of faith in God and forgiveness towards his brothers he wasn't ringing you know God wasn't ringing his hands he wasn't trying to figure out okay what do I do next what's how do I fix this problem God was sovereign in all of that and Joseph could rest in that which led to peace it led to peace in his heart his ability to just to trust the Lord his ability to bless his ability to thrive and not play the victim and he says here at the end of verse 8

God has made me a father to Pharaoh lord of all his house and ruler over the land of Egypt three significant things that God allowed to happen in his life because of faith and forgiveness I call that thriving Joseph thrived because of freedom to forgive freedom to trust that God was in control and his legacy continues in Psalm 105 we kind of read about all the hard things that Joseph went through the psalmist says they hurt his feet with fetters he was laid in irons and then Stephen in his great address in Acts chapter 7 talks about the example of Joseph as well he says but God was with him and delivered him out of all of his troubles and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house why did that happen why is this continuing record of Joseph enduring to this generation we get to benefit from faith and forgiveness in the heart of Joseph what a story imagine imagine what God might do with your life if you were filled with faith and forgiveness what might

God accomplish what story might he write about your life in the annals of heaven to celebrate his work in your life of making you an individual who's full of faith and full of forgiveness it's potent it's powerful it's impactful and that's why we're reading his story we're reading this story of Joseph because he had learned the significance of faith and forgiveness but it not just shows up in words we find that it shows up in actions here in verses 10 to 15 verses 10 to 15 let me read this for us you should dwell in the land of Goshen excuse me let me back up to verse 9 hurry and go up to my father and say to him thus says your son Joseph God has made me

Lord of all of Egypt come down to me and do not tarry that's interesting you shall dwell in the land of Goshen and you shall be near me you and your children and your children's children your flocks your herds and all that you have there I will provide for you for there are yet five years of famine to come so that you and your household and all that you have do not come to poverty and now when your eyes see in the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you you must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt and all that you have seen hurry and bring my father down here then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept and Benjamin wept upon his neck and he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them after that his brothers talked with him there's a there's a story of masculinity a cry fest but there was there was real emotion and joy and desire for union and I think celebrating the work of God in making all this possible it was worship through and through so what sort of actions do you see actions of faith and I think this is maybe one of the fourth marks of true forgiveness okay how does how does his giving generously show up in this passage how does this mark of faith and forgiveness playing out towards his brothers what do you see okay

I'm going to provide for you no no need to worry about the future I'll take care of it that's good what else yeah I'm going to give you the land of Goshen as we're going to find a little bit later it wasn't just the the the leftover land it was the the the the creme de la creme of the land of Egypt he gives them the best of the best okay it's good what else okay so he doesn't just rescue them he elevates them and how does he do that how do you see that okay it's good I I want you to experience the same blessing from God that I'm experiencing I'm not just going to give you the leftovers I'm not just going to give you the the scraps from the king's table

I'm going to give you the absolute best that I have access to it's good do you do you see this interesting again it's it's reiterated this come near this desire for closeness and intimacy this he says it twice he says it in verse 9 come down to me and do not tarry then he says in verse 10 the purpose of this is you shall be near to me I'm not just going to send stuff home I want you to be near to me I want this to be more than just a provision for you that there's not just a giving of stuff there's a giving of self that's important not just a giving of stuff but a giving of self he reassures them of his affection he falls on his brother

Benjamin's neck and weeps and he falls on all his brothers and weeps there's real affection that's there and reassurance of giving his own person his own self to them and Joseph is taking the lead he's taking the lead by setting the example of faith so we talked a lot about Joseph and talked a lot about what God has been working in his life but I want you to kind of notice something okay I want you to notice that faith is working itself out in Joseph's entire person okay his whole being has been transformed by faith right so let's think about some body parts and both emotional and physical okay how is it playing out in his whole person let me give you an example okay so he has a mind at peace okay how about some how about some others

I know it's kind of early in the morning and I'm kind of how about this a heart with no bitterness how about a mouth what is how does how does show up from his mouth he speaks kind words how about his hands what is what is hands doing the embrace and the giving of blessing think of arms that hold near I think of lips that kiss and eyes that weep the whole person is involved in this expression of faith and forgiveness it involves his entire being he is he is dialed in to this so you want to add one it's good that's good appreciate that so let's spend a few minutes applying this okay and we may spend the rest of our time here just depending upon our conversation so don't get stressed out if we don't get to point number two okay if I don't get to point number two because I think this is so important for us to to really see okay so let's talk about this listen to this verse and listen for these clues okay the clues of of how forgiveness shows up in words and actions okay this is a familiar one for you it says in Ephesians chapter 4 30 to 32 it says and do not grieve the Holy

Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice be kind to one another tender hearted forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you okay so I guess before we dig in too deep I want us to what is at stake what is at stake if we fail to obey this verse what's at stake if we fail to forgive what's that relationships with other people that's true okay testimony of what God has done for us that we're forgiving as Christ forgave us grieves!

the Holy Spirit do not grieve the Holy Spirit is that a big deal is that important what might grieving the Holy Spirit lead to in your life well maybe we just make it what does the Holy Spirit do for you in your spiritual life give me some examples helps us understand the Bible and even gives us an affection for the Bible because if we don't understand it it's like what's the point right good what else does the Holy Spirit do convicts us of sin so if we're not convicted of sin we're just going to keep on running down the road of destruction okay what else does the Spirit do gives us the fruit of the Spirit love and joy peace patience kindness goodness okay he helps us look like Christ what else does the Holy Spirit do he guides us in what way okay he brings the word of God to our attention in specific situations and helps us have the wisdom that we need to make good decisions okay good protection what else did the

Holy Spirit do that's right Romans 8 he the groaning of the Spirit on our behalf and interceding for us with groanings too deep for words he's able to put into voice in God's throne what we can't express in our own so he prays for us anything else the Holy Spirit does for us what's that he helps me obey that's right he empowers me he says Paul in praying for the church he says be be in Ephesians chapter 6 be strong in the Lord in the power of his might and then in chapter 3 he says I'm praying for you that you be strengthened with power through the spirit in the inner man okay the spirit gives you power to overcome sin what else that's what you're going to say what's that he reveals the

Lord to us we find that in John chapter 14 and 15 and 16 everything in the spiritual life is given to us through the resource of the Holy Spirit so to grieve the Spirit is to turn your back on all those things that are good so that's a big deal so that's why forgiveness is so important okay because of the connection that it is to the Spirit okay but let's ask the question why okay if we know it's important why is it important why is it important and maybe before we even get there in this verse in Ephesians chapter 4 30 to 32 do you see how speech and action kind of go hand in hand okay it says put off all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking and slander okay those are the words are the words that come out of our mouth and in verse 32 what is it talking about it says to do what and be kind one to another is that a word is that a thought or is that an action you know

I I think so often the reason why we forgive with our lips but never feel forgiveness in our hearts is because we never acted out in kindness we remain a prisoner of hurt because we refuse to act in the spirit's power to go beyond what is fleshly okay and to actually enjoy the process of being kind like Christ so that he can bring healing to our hearts in true forgiveness will reign words and actions that are important to help us enjoy the experience of faith and forgiveness so why is forgiveness important what are some reasons why you think forgiveness is so important we talked about one you know

Jesus talks about if you don't forgive your brother then I'm not going to forgive you that's pretty important but why else might forgiveness be important it releases you in what way so let's talk about that so it leads to freedom as you were saying okay let me back up for a second okay so it releases you and why does it release you what does maybe I'll ask this way why do we not forgive what are some reasons why we refuse to forgive we want justice okay they don't deserve it what's that we dwell on the hurt and because we hurt we want them to hurt too right good any other reasons why we choose not to forgive requires what humility yeah that's a big one okay we have an unhealthy view of ourselves we think we're more important we don't put

God in the picture refuse to put God in the picture okay all these come together under the banner of something else okay how does faith show up in all the things you just talked about because who will deal with the problem who is the just one God is the just one God will bring proper retribution God will vindicate as he sees fit and so by me deciding not to forgive what am I saying what's that well I'm saying I'm God or I'm better than God okay I know better than God knows and anything else what's that okay

I don't need his forgiveness that's a component that's what I'm looking for and that's not necessarily the best answer but that's the one I was thinking about I don't trust God to take care of this issue the right way and at the right time I want it to happen now and I want it to happen good and I want to see it I don't trust you God to do what is right in this situation in the right time it's an issue of faith plain and clear plain and simple now it becomes complicated when it's another believer that has sinned against you okay because how are you forgiven I know this is I'm making this real you gotta try to figure out what's going on in my mind that's right you were forgiven as an enemy of

God what happened in order for you to be forgiven what judgment came on you because of through salvation nothing right the judgment landed squarely on the shoulders of the son the wrath of God poured out in fury on his son Jesus took the wrath the judgment the penalty of sin that you deserved okay so what about another believer who hurts you who's paid for that Jesus is paid for that too that wrath that judgment the hurt the anguish the shame that you feel and you want them to feel it landed on Jesus okay and so you when you choose not to forgive a brother in

Christ what are you saying think of the offense think of the audacity what are you saying what's that you paid for mine and not for theirs I think you saying something else your sacrifice was not enough it was not sufficient it was not painful enough to cover this offense right that's audacious that's offensive you see why forgiveness is so important because not only would you say to an unbeliever God you I don't trust you to take care of the justice that's deserved there but for a believer your payment on the cross was not enough I want something more that's good that's good did you hear that okay and that gets to another aspect of forgiveness and why it's so important and it kind of goes back to what you were talking about

Tom in relationship to following after the example of Christ if we call this the climax of the story in Joseph's life and here at the cross hairs of the climax of Joseph's story is faith and forgiveness would you maybe perhaps find the same things true at the climax of Christ's story what happened on the cross in relationship to forgiveness what did Jesus say while he was hanging there father forgive them they know not what they do the love of Christ the desire of our Lord not to have justice poured out on them but that God the father would allow justice to land on him that should be our heart that's the heart of our savior for those who offend us that should be our heart for them too

God I don't want you to pour out your fury on them I I don't want it to land on them but I want through this experience God for somehow you to let them to come to terms with this offense and what it means to you as an offense to you not as an offense to me and lead them through this to repentance that should be our heart that was the heart of your savior forgiveness is a true expression of love forgiveness is a solid evidence of faith it says we know him who said vengeance is mine I will repay the Lord will judge his people it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God so so what stands in the way of forgiveness for us any number of things but

I hope this morning we understand the significance of forgiveness and what it means what it means for us what it means in our relationship with God and then next week we're going to take a look at how forgiveness plays out what are the ripple effects of forgiveness in the people around us and it is significant it is wonderful we see it show up in Pharaoh we see it show up in Joseph's brothers and we see it show up in Joseph's dad this reemergence of faith that wells up in Jacob's heart that man who'd been in prison to fear for so many years now through the example of Joseph we see the kindling and emergence of faith again and it's spectacular what God can do for us and for others as we nurture faith and forgiveness in our own lives so thanks for coming this week and blessings on you as we go to the service you to

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