Presbyterian Church, and it's my joy to bring God's word to you this morning. We're continuing our series in the book of Genesis. You'll remember the book of Genesis is the first book in the entire Bible tells the origin story of God's people Israel.
And this summer, we're in the story of Isaac and Jacob, mostly Jacob, found in chapters 25 through 36. If you were here with us last week, you heard the story of the sheep that Laban promised to Jacob.
Jacob would receive every sheep that was striped or spotted or speckled, which turns out to not work out so well for Laban, because suddenly all the healthy sheep, many of the sheep, are striped and spotted and speckled.
So Jacob gains a lot of wealth. Laban loses wealth, which sets us up for the tension of this story that's before us in chapter 31.
Now, we have one whole chapter before us right now, 55 verses. And so, as I say sometimes, I'm going to tell you something, not everything.
We are going to spend more time on the first part of this story, less time on the second part.
And we're not going to talk about the stealing of the household gods.
So we just have to cut here and there to be able to make it through 55 verses.
What we are going to look at is this, how God has used suffering to shape and grow Jacob.
And God using suffering to shape and grow Jacob points to our hope in suffering as well.
And so it's with that, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 31, starting at verse 1, which you'll find on page 6 of your worship guide.
As we come to this story, remember that Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5 tells us,
Every word of God proves true. He's a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Which is why we read now, Genesis chapter 31, starting at verse 1.
Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying,
Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and from what was our father's he has gained all this wealth.
And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before.
Then the Lord said to Jacob,
Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.
So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was,
and said to them,
I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before.
But the God of my father has been with me.
You know that I have served your father with all my strength.
Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times.
But God did not permit him to harm me.
If he said the spotted shall be your wages, then all the flock bore spotted.
And if he said the striped shall be your wages, then all the flock bore striped.
Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
In the breeding season of the flock, I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream that the goats that mated with the flock were striped, spotted, and mottled.
Then the angel of God said to me in the dream,
Jacob, and I said,
Here I am.
And he said,
Lift up your eyes and see all the goats that mate with the flock are striped, spotted, and mottled.
For I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.
I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me.
Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.
Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him,
Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father's house?
Are we not regarded by him as foreigners?
For he has sold us and he has indeed devoured our money.
All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children.
Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.
Verse 17.
So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels.
He drove away all his livestock, all his property that he had gained,
the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan Aram,
to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.
Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father's household gods.
And Jacob tricked Laban the Aram man by not telling him that he intended to flee.
He fled with all that he had and arose and crossed the Euphrates
and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.
When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled,
he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days
and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead.
But God came to Laban the Aram man in a dream by night and said to him,
Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.
Verse 25.
And Laban overtook Jacob.
Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country,
and Laban with his kinsmen pitched tents in the hill country of Gilead.
And Laban said to Jacob,
What have you done that you have tricked me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword?
Why did you flee secretly and trick me, and did not tell me,
so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs with tambourine and lyre?
And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell?
Now you have done foolishly.
It is in my power to do you harm.
But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying,
Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.
And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father's house.
But why did you steal my gods?
Jacob answered and said to Laban,
Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.
Anyone with whom you find your God shall not live.
In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours and take it.
Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two female servants,
but he did not find them.
And he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's.
Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel's saddle and sat on them.
Laban felt all about the tent but did not find them.
And she said to her father,
Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.
So he searched but did not find the household gods.
Verse 36.
Then Jacob became angry and berated Laban.
Jacob said to Laban,
What is my offense?
What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me?
For you have felt through all my goods.
What have you found of all your household goods?
Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen that they may decide between us two.
These twenty years I have been with you.
Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried,
and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks.
What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you.
I bore the loss of it myself.
From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.
There I was.
By day the heat consumed me and the cold by night,
and my sleep fled from my eyes.
These twenty years I have been in your house.
I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock,
and you have changed my wages ten times.
If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had not been on my side,
surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed.
God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.
Verse 43.
Then Laban answered and said to Jacob,
The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children,
the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine.
But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne?
Come now, let us make a covenant you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.
So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.
And Jacob said to his kinsmen,
Gather stones.
And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap.
Laban called it Jechar-Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galid.
Laban said,
This heap is a witness between you and me today.
Therefore he named it Galid and Mizpah, for he said,
The Lord watch between you and me when we are out of one another's sight.
If you oppress my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters,
although no one is with us,
see, God is the witness between you and me.
Verse 51.
Then Laban said to Jacob,
See this heap and the pillar which I have set between you and me.
This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness,
that I will not pass over this heap to you,
and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me to do harm.
The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor,
the God of their father, judge between us.
So Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac,
and Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country
and called his kinsmen to eat bread.
They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.
Early in the morning, Laban arose and kissed his grandchildren
and his daughters and blessed them.
Then Laban departed and returned home.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven, we come again grateful and thankful
that you speak to us in your word,
that you haven't left us to figure things out alone by ourselves.
And so we ask that you would do that again this morning,
that you would use an ordinary man on an ordinary day
and an ordinary time to instruct your people with your words,
to show us the great mercy and grace
that you have offered us, given us in Jesus Christ,
that you grow our love and affection and obedience to him.
And we ask all of these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
I think that many of you, if not most of you,
know that last week the elders of this church
went on a two-night retreat to Florissant, Colorado,
and we had some homework to do.
So one of our sessions,
there were some questions to prepare beforehand,
and this was a session for us to sort of name and celebrate
the ways that we've seen God at work in our church
over the last couple of years.
You know, there's lots of business that we have to do as a church,
but we don't want to forget,
hey, there's all these good things that are happening in the midst of that.
And so one question was this,
list the people in our church that you have seen God really transform
over the last two years.
And it sounded a little bit like this.
Now, I've changed names to protect the innocent,
but this is how the session went.
Okay, Nicholas,
his life has turned around 180 degrees in the last two years.
And someone else says,
yeah, you know, Nicholas actually really went through it the last two years.
He's had a tremendous amount of suffering.
We've noticed in Joseph's life,
he's kinder and gentler with people than he was two years ago.
And then someone else would say,
yeah, Joseph's really been through it the last two years.
Olivia, the joy that she has,
you can see it and you can tell that it's larger than it was two years ago.
Oh yeah, you know, it's been a really tough year,
two years for Olivia.
And so for many of the names,
there's this straight line between suffering
and the image of Christ being formed.
Now, if you're a cynic, you might be thinking,
okay, well, who do these elders think they are?
Kind of looking down their noses to see who's changed.
Don't say that so fast,
because the last question was this.
How has God changed you over the last two years?
And it sounded like this.
Elder one, here's how I suffered.
And God used that to grow me in humility.
Elder two, here's how I suffered.
It led me to have greater trust in God's providence and his plan.
Elder three, here's how I suffered.
Now I have greater focus and clarity in my life.
So on and so forth.
And so almost to a man,
there's this connection between growth and suffering.
And by the way, the question did not include that.
The question was not, how have you suffered?
The question was, how have you grown?
How has God changed you to make you look more like Jesus?
But suffering showed up again and again.
So I walked away from that session thinking,
well, that's so interesting.
God's been using suffering in people's lives
in all sorts of different ways in our lives to change us.
Now, it's not an accident.
If you were with us last year,
you remember we looked at Romans chapter five,
which says this, we rejoice in our sufferings,
knowing that suffering produces endurance
and endurance produces character
and character produces hope.
And hope does not put us to shame
because God's love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
The point is this.
God works through trials and tribulations to change us.
God uses the soil of suffering
to bring out really rich fruit in our lives.
And that is exactly what is going on in Genesis chapter 31.
Jacob, as he says multiple times,
has been suffering under the hand of Laban for 20 years.
Seven of those years were working for Leah.
Seven were working for Rachel.
Six then to work for the flocks.
And those 20 years have brought about this beautiful fruit
in Jacob's life.
You remember last week, God blessed Jacob.
Jacob has Laban's sheep now and he has them fair and square.
He has them the way that the deal was made,
that he would have the spotted, the speckled, and the striped.
And so verses one and two, we're getting into the story now.
Verses one and two, Laban's sons and Laban himself are not happy.
Laban's sons have lost their future,
the great inheritance they were looking forward to.
Laban himself has lost his present.
He's lost the great wealth that he had.
Things are not going well relationally,
which prepares Jacob to hear the command that God has for him.
This is verse three, return to the land of your fathers
and to your kindred and I will be with you.
So Jacob receives that.
His next job is to go to Rachel and Leah
and convince them that it is time to go.
That takes us to verses four through 13,
which is what I'm going to call Jacob's but God speech.
This is his extended speech to Rachel and Leah to say,
look, it is time for us to go.
So track with me.
Verse five, he says,
Laban doesn't like me anymore,
but the God of my father has been with me.
Verses six and seven,
Laban has not treated me well.
He's cheated me and changed my wages 10 times.
Verse seven,
but God did not permit him to harm me.
Now remember the accusation of Laban's sons in verse one.
They say, look, he's taken all of Laban's wealth.
He's taken our father's wealth
and we don't have anything else.
Jacob says, you know what?
That's correct.
I did take all of Laban's wealth.
And you know why I did that?
You know how I took all his good sheep,
all the healthy sheep
and left him with the sick sheep, the weak sheep?
That was God.
Verse eight,
if he said the spotted shall be your wages,
then all the flock bore spotted.
And if he said the stripes shall be your wages,
then all the flock bore striped.
Verse nine,
thus God has taken away the livestock of your father
and given them to me.
God plundered Laban for me.
It is God that caused the strong sheep
to be striped and spotted and speckled,
not the silly trick with the sticks.
No, it was God at work.
It was God who did all of these things.
And so he goes on.
Now I want to go back.
Verse five, remember that.
Go back to verse five for a second.
But the God of my father has been with me.
What does that remind you of?
Remember all the way back to chapter 28.
Chapter 28 was the story of the ladder
that goes from earth to heaven.
And it wasn't just a ladder.
God in that story makes Jacob two promises.
Promise one, he says,
I will be with you.
Okay, and that's what Jacob has just said.
Verse five,
but the God of my father has been with me.
And he makes a second promise.
Back in chapter 28,
I'm going to bring you back home.
Well, that's the rest of the speech.
He's saying, look, I had this dream.
This is verses 11 through 13.
The angel of the Lord appeared to me and said,
it's time to go home.
Verse 13,
I am the God of Bethel,
where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me.
Bethel's talking about the very end of chapter 28.
That anointed pillar,
that was Jacob's response to the blessing
and the promise of God.
So he's reminding him,
look, remember what happened 20 years ago.
I'm that same God.
I've now done
exactly what I promised you that I would do.
And it's time to come back home.
It's not simply or merely or just, though,
that God has kept his promise,
but that Jacob now knows it
deep down in his bones.
Jacob has never,
he has never given God this kind of credit
and praise for the success in his life.
And yet, what do we see now in this speech?
Again and again, he's saying,
look, I've had all the success
and protection and blessing
because and only because of God.
Remember, we've talked before
about the family motto of the Abraham family,
the story that they live in,
this narrative that they tell themselves,
which is this,
it is all up to me.
My schemes, my tricks, my plans,
that's what matters.
I protect and provide for myself,
no one else.
And finally,
finally,
over 20 years,
two decades,
Jacob knows that's not true.
God has used two decades
of Jacob's suffering
under the hand of Laban
for him to finally admit,
no, it's actually God
who is in control.
Jacob knows
the family motto
is a lie.
Jacob finally realizes
God is the one in charge
after years of trickery
and deception.
Jacob finally comes to know
that protection and blessing
come from God
and God alone.
Jacob is finally willing
to give all credit
and honor
and praise
and glory
to God
because he knows it now
deep,
deep down.
He's experienced it
over and over again.
the Jacob that we met
in Genesis chapters 25
and 28
was proud
and arrogant.
The Jacob
of chapter 31
is humble
and grateful
and thankful.
it has taken
two decades
for God
to bring
that humility
about in his life.
It hasn't come easy.
If you've been paying attention,
you know
that this process
for Jacob
has been brutal.
It's been
back-breaking work
but it has come.
Year by year,
month by month,
week by week,
two decades,
God
has been
at work.
He's been at work
using suffering
to transform
the character
of Jacob
from the inside
out.
The point is this.
God uses
our sufferings.
God uses
the consequences
of our sin
to change us.
Now,
the specific change
in this story
is the change
of humility.
It's the change
of Jacob
finally being willing
to give credit
where credit
is due.
How is it
that we learn
that every good
and perfect gift
comes from above?
We learn that
through suffering.
How is it
that we learn
that we are not
as smart
and gifted
and talented
and exceptional
as maybe
we flatter
ourselves
that we are?
We learn it
through suffering.
How is it
that we learn
that God
actually is
in charge
of all things?
We learn it
through suffering.
how do we learn
as we talked
about last week
that God
really does
hold the whole
world
in his hands?
We learn it
as we suffer.
It is when
our legs
are actually
cut out
from under us
that we have
to trust
God.
It is when
the bottom
falls out
that we do
learn
experientially
deeply
all the way
down to the bottom
that God's
promises
are true
and he will
do
exactly
what he said
he would do.
if you're
a Christian
and you're
honest
you are going
to have to
come to a
place in your
life
where you do
give all
credit
to God.
If you really
understand
what it means
that all
gifts come
from God
that God's
the one
who's arranged
circumstances
and events
and relationships
to lead you
to where you
are
if you really
know how
desperate your
need is for
God's grace
and that without
it you have
no hope
there is
no one else
to give the
honor and the
glory to
but God
alone.
1 Corinthians
chapter 4
verse 7
says this
what do you
have that you
did not
receive?
If then you
received it
why do you
boast as if
you did not
receive it?
Christian
what do you
have that you
did not
receive?
Can you
point to
anything in
your life
where you
say yeah
I'm a
self-made
man
I'm a
self-made
woman?
no
that's
God's
grace
and mercy
and provision
in your
life
are you
still
thanking
yourself
congratulating
yourself
for your
skill
and your
wisdom
and your
intelligence
self-congratulation
if you
are
something
is off
something
is deeply
wrong
spiritually
something
in your
heart
is twisted
and pointed
in the
wrong
direction
self-congratulation
reveals our
immaturity
it tells us
spiritually
we are
infants
now you
might be
thinking
well that's
that's
good
I actually
have really
low self-esteem
so I don't
need to worry
about that
got bad
news for
you
the flip
side of
self-congratulation
is anxiety
the anxiety
that drives
poor decisions
because both
of those
things say
God is
not in
charge
self-congratulation
says God's
not in
charge
I'm in
charge
anxiety
says the
same thing
God's
not in
charge
I'm
in
charge
I have
to make
it
happen
both
of those
things
lead to
the same
grasping
for control
the same
belief
that it
is all
up to
me
and since
both of
those things
have the
same
root
they have
the same
solution
which is
this
recognizing
the absolute
sovereignty
and control
of God
over all
things
there is
nothing
outside
of God's
rule
and reign
now if
you've been
in the
church
long enough
you've
learned the
right things
to say
and you
know it's
polite
right
when someone
says to
you wow
you did
such a
great job
you can
say oh
yeah
you know
thank God
and his
grace
that's
what brought
it all
together
right
God
did it
and there
are people
who know
to say
that
and there
are people
who do
say that
and then
what do
we do
the next
moment
we're
thanking
ourself
don't be
a person
who talks
about
God's
care
be a
person
who
believes
it
be a
person
who
believes
it
deep
down
you
know
how
God's
going
to
bring
that
about
in
your
life
suffering
will cause
us to
believe
more
and more
the words
of Jesus
in Luke
chapter
12
are
not
five
sparrows
sold
for
two
pennies
and not
one of
them
is
forgotten
before
God
why
even
the hairs
of your
head
are
all
numbered
fear
not
you
are
of
more
value
than
many
sparrows
do
you
believe
it
do
you
believe
that
you
are
of
more
value
than
many
sparrows
can
you
agree
with
the
psalmist
the last
verse
of
psalm
124
our
help
is
in
the
name
of
the
Lord
who
made
heaven
and
earth
do you
believe
it
or
have
you
just
learned
the
right
words
to
say
Jacob
has
learned
Jacob
has
learned
the
hard
way
that
his
help
is
in
the
name
of
the
Lord
who
made
heaven
and
earth
we're
going to
move on
to the
second
half
of the
story
briefly
but I
just
want to
point
out
one
more
thing
about
the
Jacob
story
which
we've
sort
of already
said
which is
this
God
plays
the
long
game
God
plays
the
long
game
year
after
year
after
year
he
has
shaped
Jacob
he's
worked
over
two
decades
he
hasn't
worked
over
two
months
that's
how
God
brings
his
sanctification
to bear
in our
lives
that's
how
he
makes
us
to
look
more
and
more
like
Jesus
in
other
words
there
is
actually
no
two
day
shipping
on
sanctification
no
there's
a
long
process
God
at
work
slow
steady
persistent
unstoppable
that's
how
God's
been
at
work
in the
life
of
Jacob
that's
the way
God
works
in your
life
as well
month
by
month
year
by
year
decade
by
decade
we're
going to
talk
very
briefly
about
the
second
half
of
the
story
this
is a
long
passage
as I
mentioned
55
verses
part
one
Jacob
recognizes
!
He
celebrates
God's
faithfulness
in the
past
he
finally
realizes
God
is
the
one
who
has
done
all
things
and
man
it
would
be
great
if
we
could
leave
it
there
is
a
problem
which
is
that
Jacob
is
actually
going
to
have
to
keep
trusting
God
he
has
not
arrived
he's
not
finished
he's
going
to
have
to
trust
God's
faithfulness
not
just
see
it
in
the
past
he's
going
to
have
to
trust
it
in
the
present
he
gives
this
speech
as
we've
discussed
and
in
verses
14
they
leave
without
telling
Laban
so
in
modern
parlance
we
would
say
they
ghost
Laban
pursues
them
Laban
is
extremely
upset
that
they
would
leave
without
saying
goodbye
he
doesn't
like
the
Irish
goodbye
apparently
and
there's
this
language
here
of
military
action
it
sounds
like
he's
tracking
them
the way
the
hunter
tracks
an
animal
this
is
verse
23
pursued
we
should
gather
what
we
already
know
since
you
read
the
passage
his
intent
is
not
great
but
God
appears
to
Laban
in a
dream
this
is
verse
24
and
says
you
know
what
Laban
keep
your
mouth
shut
keep
your
mouth
shut
and
say
nothing
either
good
or
bad
so
Laban
comes
in
knowing
this
he
has
this
warning
from
God
he
then
gives
all
these
accusations
against
Jacob
this
is
verses
25
through
32
and
says
you
kidnapped
my
daughters
and
you
took
my
household
gods
and
this
is
the
kicker
verse
29
it
is
in
my
power
to
do
you
harm
but
the
God
of
your
father
spoke
to
me
last
night
saying
be
careful
not
to
say
anything
to
Jacob
either
good
or
bad
don't
miss
it
don't
miss
it
God
is
still
protecting
Jacob
God
is
still
watching
after
him
he
is
still
providing
for
him
his
protection
and
provision
it's
not
just
past
tense
everything
that
Jacob
has
said
up
to
this
point
has
been
past
tense
here's
what
God
did
for
me
God's
protection
continues
God
is
still
doing
for
Jacob
and
what
Laban
here
says
is
correct
Laban
has
Jacob
out
manned
and
he
has
him
out
gunned
there
is
no
trick
that
Jacob
can
run
at
this
point
there
is
nothing
he
can
do
to
save
himself
there's
no
lie
he
can
tell
to
get
himself
out
of
this
problem
but
God
has
told
Laban
in
a
dream
to
keep
his
mouth
shut
and
so
Laban
knows
that
Jacob
cannot
be
touched
and so
he gives
God
praise
again
verse 42
if the
God of my
father
the God of
Abraham
and the
fear of
Isaac
had not
been on
my side
surely
now you
would have
sent me
away
empty
handed
God
saw
my
affliction
and the
labor
of my
hands
and
rebuked
you
last
night
it is
not
just
that
Jacob
sees
everything
that God
has done
in the
past
it is
also
that
Jacob
has to
trust
God
in the
present
the
life
of
faith
never
ends
you
will
never
come
to a
place
as a
Christian
where
you
don't
have
to
keep
trusting
God
and
how
is it
that
you're
able
to
trust
God
and
his
provision
and
protection
and
blessing
and
mercy
and
grace
in the
present
it is
by
remembering
his
provision
and
mercy
and
grace
and
blessing
in
the
past
because
of what
God
has
done
in
Laban's
life
because
of how
the way
he's
protected
Jacob
can
have
that
unshakable
trust
and
confidence
and
belief
are
you
still
trusting
God
or
do
you
believe
you've
arrived
that
you
figured
it
all
out
as
a
Christian
many
years
ago
when
I
was
first
starting
at
this
church
I
think
this
was
probably
2018
I
went
and
I
got
breakfast
some
of
you
all
will
remember
Ken
and
Nancy
O'Connell
who
of
our
church
for
many
years
Ken
and
Nancy
some
of
the
founding
members
of
our
church
and
so
Ken
and
I
got
breakfast
at
Chick-fil-A
on
Nevada
and
I
think
Ken
wasn't
sure
why
I'd
asked
to
meet
with
him
so
at
one
point
he
said
Matthew
what
can
I
do
for
you
and
Ken
had
been
with
our
church
since
1996
and
there
had
been
some
moments
if
you
know
the
history
of
our
church
you
know
that
there
was
times
I
think
our
church
almost
closed
and
Ken
and
Nancy
and
David
and
Paula
Johnson
decided
no
this
church
is
going
to
stay
open
and
so
Ken
said
Matthew
what
can
I
do
for
you
and
I
said
Ken
I
just
need
you
to
tell
me
that
God
has
been
faithful
to
our
church
in
the
past
and
that
he
is
going
to
be
faithful
in
the
future
that
is
what
I
need
for
you
I
need
you
to
help
me
remember
God's
protection
and
provision
so
that
I
know
that
I
can
have
faith
moving
forward
as
we
lead
this
church
now
that
was
back
in
2018
2019
some
of
you
all
were
here
for
our
congregational
meeting
in
2023
and
remember
we
were
up
against
a
loan
renegotiation
our
interest
rate
was
going
to
go
up
and
we
needed
to
raise
money
to
pay
off
our
building
debt
and
while
we're
in
the
middle
of
all
this
conversation
and
questions
and
talk
David
Johnson
stands
up
and
if
you
were
there
hopefully
you've
never
forgotten
this
David
said
look
you
all
need
to
calm
down
David
said
it
nicer
than
that
said
you
all
need
to
calm
down
I've
been
at
this
one
more
time
he
said
we're
going
to
be
amazed
by
how
God
will
work
that's
looking
at
God's
faithfulness
in the
past
and
moving
forward
in the
future
David
was
right
God
was
faithful
Christian
we look
back
more
than
anything
else
to
God's
faithfulness
to us
in
Jesus
Christ
that
he
came
he
lived
the
perfect
life
that
we
should
have
lived
credited
!
If
he
did
that
will
he
not
be
faithful
in
everything
else
we
look
to
what
God
has
done
in
the
past
to
give
us
hope
for
the
future
we
give
him
all
praise
and
honor
and
glory
and
we
remember
not
just
Jesus
death
and
resurrection
the
very
last
sentence
of
Matthew
chapter
28
Jesus
says
this
and
behold
I am
with
you
always
to
the
end
of
the
age
what
does
that
sound
like
sounds
like
God's
promise
to
Jacob
I'll
be
with
you
I'll
protect
you
I'll
care
for
you
I'll
bring
you
back
home
so
that's
why
we
sing
by
faith
we
see
the
hand
of
God
in the
light
of
creation's
grand
design
in the
lives
of those
who
prove
his
faithfulness
people
like
Jacob
people
like
you
who
walk
by
faith
and
not
by
sight
let's
pray
our
father
in
heaven
we
praise
you
and
thank
you
for
the
great
mercy
and
grace
that
you've
shown
us
in
Jesus
Christ
we
ask
that
you
would
remind
us
of
it
again
and
again
that
you'd
stir
up
our
hearts
with
it
that
it
would
cause
us
to
have
an
unshakable
trust
and
confidence
and
belief
in
you
we
ask
all
of
these
things
in
the
mighty
!
name
of
Jesus
Christ
amen
I
invite
you to
stand
for
our
closing
hymn