WEBVTT 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:05.280 Thank you for joining us on the CCW podcast. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:11.119 Make sure you connect with us on social media to stay up to date on ministries and events happening at CCW. 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:15.039 We hope you're encouraged, inspired, and motivated by today's message. 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:19.199 To find out how to connect with us, keep listening after the message ends. 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:43.359 And so I am so excited to be diving into God's word with all of you. 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:46.000 Is that good? 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:46.960 All right. 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:47.920 Thank you. 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:48.560 Okay. 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:50.719 We're going to dive right in. 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:53.840 We're going to be in Genesis chapter 50. 00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:57.600 We are wrapping up the book of Genesis today. 00:00:57.759 --> 00:01:00.560 We're wrapping up the life of Joseph today. 00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:14.640 And if you want to go ahead and have a finger in another place, or if you are really spiritual and you have two ribbons in your Bible, you can go ahead and get to Hebrews chapter 11 and be ready to read verse 22 later on. 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:17.920 I want to tell you guys a little story. 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:40.879 Beginning in 1889, George Washington Vanderbilt II identified a plot of land in the foothills of Mount Piscah, North Carolina, Asheville, North Carolina, to be specific, and he picked that place to be the destination of his family's estate. 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:43.519 The land was actually nothing that great. 00:01:57.280 --> 00:01:59.599 Just for some scope. 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:07.599 And if that doesn't give you a little hint about what I'm talking about, this is the origin story of the Biltmore estate. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:17.520 The largest privately owned home in the United States, sprawling at over 175,000 square feet. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:33.520 And while the construction on Biltmore estate of the house itself is certainly a feat of engineering, by the home, by the time the home was complete, around six years later, the landscape remained mostly unchanged. 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:40.560 Except there was only the evidence of something new that was just about to begin. 00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:56.080 When Kirby, my wife, and I arrived at the Billmore Estate for our honeymoon, it would have been impossible for you to convince us that where we were standing was once an overworked, overfarmed, desolate, you know, grass patch. 00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:00.479 If you haven't seen any photos or if you haven't been yourself, I highly recommend it. 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:16.319 Biltmore Estate is a sprawling, enchanted forest with trees you can't see the top of, you can't fit your arms around, with bushes of wildflowers of every kind from all over the world, and curated, like European-style gardens. 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:19.039 It's absolutely gorgeous. 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:24.800 And that was just a short, really, 130 years later. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:31.360 The mastermind behind Biltmore's gardens is a man named Frederick Law Olmsted. 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:36.800 And if you've heard that name before, it's probably because of his work that he did in Central Park in New York. 00:03:37.039 --> 00:04:00.000 And as we talk about a legacy today, I couldn't help but think about the words of Frederick Law Olmsted when I was walking through these gardens at the Biltmore, because he's credited with saying this quote I have all my life been considering the distant effects and always sacrificing immediate success and applause to that of the future. 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:08.080 What Frederick Law Olmsted did on Biltmore estates wasn't just plant a bunch of annuals that were gonna die and ultimately have to be replanted and replanted. 00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:13.520 He planted what he did on those grounds with the long term in view. 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:25.519 On the other hand, my dear mother does not have the same knack for greenery as the wonderful, talented Frederick Law Olmstead. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:31.439 Every spring, my mom loves to have ferns on her front porch. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:41.120 And instead of doing the work to keep ferns alive all year round, those things just burn to a crisp over the summer and we buy new ones every spring. 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:44.240 That's kind of how the fern life cycle works in our home. 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:50.399 And I learned, I admit, last year that ferns were not an annual plant. 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:57.439 But in fact, if you just keep it alive, they'll keep coming back every single year. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:11.040 In this example between the difference of immediate and future success, I can't help but notice that we ourselves are often people who prefer immediate success. 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:15.120 Sometimes even at the expense of the future. 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:19.759 But what I want us to see is that that is not the example of Joseph's life. 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:24.160 That's not the example that we see throughout all of Scripture. 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:31.680 God in heaven is concerned with the future, with the legacy of his people. 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:33.600 Let's pray. 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:40.800 Our Father, we thank you for your grace. 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:44.639 We thank you for your word. 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:48.240 We thank you for your Son Jesus Christ. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:06:01.519 Father, as we read your word today, let your spirit be living and active within us so that we might hear and understand what you have to say. 00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:04.000 Hide me behind your cross. 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:06.959 And it's in Jesus' name and for his sake I pray. 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:07.920 Amen. 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:15.199 Our hold the line journey has been nothing short of a roller coaster, right? 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:19.759 The life of Genesis and the life of Joseph is a little bit crazy. 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:28.399 Just for a 9,000 mile an hour uh catch up, if you haven't been joining us, Joseph is the most beloved of his father. 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:31.920 He has dreams that foretell of a great future. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:41.439 But then almost immediately after he is almost killed by his brothers, and then they decide to just do the light punishment of, you know what, let's just sell him off into slavery. 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:49.199 Being forcefully removed from his homeland of Canaan to Egypt, a land full of false gods. 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:52.319 His poor situation looks like it's going to recover. 00:06:52.399 --> 00:07:00.240 He's trending upwards before he is then falsely accused of adultery, and then he's imprisoned and forgotten. 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:08.399 Dramatically and shockingly, Joseph next finds himself interpreting the dreams for none other than Pharaoh. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:14.319 And as a result, he becomes the second man in charge of all of the land of Egypt. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:22.560 Unfortunately, desperate times fall on his father Jacob, who still is in Canaan, with a great famine that is coming. 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:28.720 Jacob still believes the lie that his other sons told him, which is that his son Joseph was dead. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:38.079 But as they flee the famine in Canaan to find food, Joseph has shrewdly been storing up this food for such a famine. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:43.199 And so Jacob's family ultimately reunites with Joseph in the land of Egypt. 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:47.199 Remarkably, Joseph does not repay the evil of his brothers. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:49.600 He chooses to forgive them instead. 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:55.600 And Jacob gets his dying wish to be buried in his native land of Canaan. 00:07:55.839 --> 00:08:02.000 Which brings us to our text today, which is the end of Joseph's life. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:04.079 Read along with me. 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:08.879 Genesis chapter 50, starting in verse 22. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:16.240 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:23.040 Joseph lived one hundred and ten years, and Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:28.560 The children also of Makir, the son of Manasseh, were counted as Joseph's own. 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:36.639 And Joseph said to his brothers, I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land. 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:40.879 To the land that he swore to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob. 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:50.000 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here. 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:53.600 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:59.279 They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:04.960 We're going to talk about first the place of legacy. 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:06.879 The place of a legacy. 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:09.440 What's the destination of Joseph's legacy? 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:14.879 Doing some Bible math, and I'm not a math genius, but I did my best here, I promise. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:21.759 Doing some Bible math tells us that Joseph was in his 50s when his father Jacob passed away. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:36.320 So the first thing that should stand out from this passage as we literally go from Jacob's death and burial to Joseph's death and burial is that there's basically 60 years of silence, of unaccounted for time. 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:45.039 We're going to unpack a little bit about what happens over that time, but we have some details that we can recognize. 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:48.080 First, remember how verse 22 begins. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:52.720 Joseph remained in Egypt. 00:09:53.919 --> 00:10:02.159 Observe in Joseph's legacy that there is both a time to leave and a time to stay. 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:10.799 So, if you are an avid note taker, those are your two subpoints right there: a time to leave and a time to stay. 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:20.000 We're going to discover together today that staying, remaining, or abiding is a preferred posture of God for his people. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:26.799 But we can't just outright say that leaving or relocation is never an option on the table. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:38.000 Now we can look at Joseph's story and gain some clues, but we can't really zoom in on his trip to Egypt as an example of leaving being okay, because we can't exactly say that that trip was voluntary, can we? 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:42.720 He was kind of shipped off as a slave by his brothers. 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:48.720 But what about Jacob and Joseph's brothers? 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:51.759 What about when they choose to leave? 00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:53.679 Notice the irony. 00:10:54.159 --> 00:11:11.039 Jacob, aka Israel, that is his name, and his twelve sons, aka the twelve tribes of Israel, leaving the promised land of Canaan, aka the land of Israel. 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:11.679 Right? 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:15.600 This is like almost a huge big joke. 00:11:15.759 --> 00:11:21.840 Like situations are so bad that Israel has up and left Israel. 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:34.559 When given the choice between going to Egypt to feed his family or staying in his homeland to starve and die, Jacob chose the former. 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:49.919 Husbands and fathers, especially, there is a case being made here for you as the leader of your home to lead in ways that provide for the needs of your household, and that may include leaving something. 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:52.960 That may include leaving a situation. 00:11:53.120 --> 00:12:01.440 It might involve relocating your entire household so that your children may have access to better schooling or the medical attention that they may need. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:07.200 It may look like moving to a particular area so that you can be involved in a healthy community. 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:14.240 It can even look like leaving a job for another that aligns with the needs of your family. 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:17.039 And I want to talk to our American context for a minute. 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:23.440 Normally when we think about moving from one job to another, we want that pay scale to be going up and to the right, right? 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:25.279 That's our immediate temptation. 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:31.120 That certainly can be a reason to leave, to provide for your family what it needs. 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:46.000 But I want to also leave room to say that maybe leaving a job for another gives you the opportunity to be more available to your spouse or to your children more than it affects your bottom line. 00:12:46.720 --> 00:13:05.519 Despite leaving being a valid possibility in your life, I do believe that Joseph's legacy and the testimony of the rest of Scripture points to staying, remaining, or abiding as God's preferred method for his people's legacy. 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:09.519 One more time, remember what it says in verse 22. 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:14.639 Joseph remained in Egypt. 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:20.960 After being enslaved, Joseph remained in Egypt. 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:25.440 After his imprisonment, Joseph remained in Egypt. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:31.360 After his father's death in a foreign land, Joseph remained in Egypt. 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:35.039 After returning to Canaan, he had the perfect out, right? 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:38.159 Jacob wanted to be buried back in his homeland. 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:39.120 Hey, you know what? 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:42.559 Here's my letter of recommend uh resignation, Pharaoh. 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:45.279 I'm just gonna move on back with my family, right? 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:52.000 Even after returning to bury his father in Canaan, Joseph remained in Egypt. 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:57.519 And after the great famine ended, Joseph remained in Egypt. 00:13:57.759 --> 00:13:58.960 Do you get the pattern? 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:08.720 For 60 years, Joseph remained in Egypt after his father's death because he saw it as God's divine purpose for him to be there. 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:15.120 Joseph's life verse gives us a glimpse of his mentality here. 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:27.200 When his brothers fear after their father's death that Joseph will finally get back for, get them back for all that they'd done, he says, Who? 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:28.000 Am I? 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:29.919 Am I in the place of God? 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:33.919 You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:35.120 Why? 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:40.799 So that many people should be kept alive as they are today. 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:49.120 Joseph remained in Egypt in spite of the evil of his brothers and the hardship of his circumstances. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:58.159 He wasn't staying based on how much he loved or hated his circumstances, but on what he knew God intended his circumstances to be. 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:04.559 God intended his circumstances for good, for him and for others. 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:12.080 Think of some common sports illustrations, and we'll get an idea of how much we actually enjoy staying, right? 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:16.320 We were all inspired by Michael Jordan's story, right? 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:20.000 We all love to hear how he didn't make the high school basketball team. 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:22.240 That's something that's so motivational for all of us. 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:29.679 And yet he stayed with it and ultimately became the best basketball player who's ever walked the face of the earth. 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:33.120 On the flip side, we actually kind of hate leaving. 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:35.360 Where are my college football fans at? 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:37.120 Yeah, basically everyone in here. 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:38.080 We're in Alabama. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:43.279 So how much do you hear in conversations about college football? 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:45.600 NIL's ruined the sport. 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:49.200 Players just won't stay in one place anymore, right? 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:57.679 We all generally trend to like staying and not like leaving. 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:05.279 Joseph's legacy, though, isn't just a matter of staying for staying's sake. 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:14.879 You're not going to hear me prescribe you need to just buy a house and stay there and stick there because longevity is the goal in and of itself. 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:16.159 You just need to stick in one spot. 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:18.480 That's not what we see here. 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:22.639 Joseph's legacy isn't just about staying for staying's sake. 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:26.000 It's about what you do in the staying. 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:28.000 It's about what you do in the remaining. 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:32.559 It's what you do in the abiding that makes a legacy. 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:35.519 To keep it with sports, I'll give another example. 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:43.279 I should have been at one of the coolest sporting events in my college football ability. 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:44.080 All right? 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:46.799 Two historical juggernauts meeting. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:49.600 Two historic head coaches meeting. 00:16:49.919 --> 00:17:00.559 Over 300 games coached for one coach, over 400 games coached for the other coach, Coach of the Year awards for both of them, national champions for both of them. 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:04.240 And to make matters even better, Alabama wound up winning at the end. 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:04.720 All right? 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:15.039 It should have been the perfect game for me to be able to say, look at me watching my team, my team won, and on top of all that, look at just the historic greatness surrounding all of it. 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:22.319 But I say it should be one of the most significant sport events that I've ever watched, but it really isn't. 00:17:22.880 --> 00:17:38.559 Because about a year later, news broke that one of the head coaches had been guilty of covering up abuse accusations within his organization, effectively tarnishing his legacy forever. 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:46.480 The fact that he had stayed in this program for over 400 games coached, multiple national champions, right? 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:52.880 Just the fact that he was there for a long period of time doesn't cut it by itself. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:18:06.240 Legacies are built by a series of small, right decisions over time that positively benefit you and others the longer you stick around doing right things. 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:06.799 Alright? 00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:08.880 It's kind of formulaic, but I'll say it again. 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:23.039 Legacies are built by a series of small, right decisions over time that positively benefit you and others around you, the longer you stay around doing the right thing. 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:28.480 We are not perfect people, and neither was Joseph. 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:31.759 We make mistakes just like Joseph did. 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:46.240 The right decisions of Joseph's legacy aren't because he struck gold in the luck mine or because it was a stroke of his own genius, but it's the result of his faith in God. 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:58.880 One picture of faith that comes to mind when I think of great faith in the middle of crazy circumstances is the story of William Carey. 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:05.200 Carey was a Baptist missionary to India and faced unthinkable tragedy in his mission work. 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:14.480 He witnessed the death of one of his children, the death of a spouse, and he famously didn't see a convert until his seventh year of ministry. 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:16.720 Talk about discouraging. 00:19:16.880 --> 00:19:25.200 Think of all of the times that we get to warm up our baptism hot tub, that we get to celebrate that together regularly every month. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:34.720 And William Carey, by himself, losing children, losing spouses, doesn't get the joy of conversion for seven years. 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:41.599 But over the course of his 40-year ministry, Carey saw hundreds baptized. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:45.440 He translated the Bible into multiple local languages. 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:48.240 And he even became influential in social reform. 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:52.079 In the Hindu culture, there was a practice called widow burning. 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:56.000 I'll let you use your mind to put together what that practice is. 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:57.200 It's a horrible practice. 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:08.000 And with his Christian faith, William Carey was a reformer that saw widow banning as a practice removed from parts of India. 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:11.519 Carey's legacy can be summed up in this quote of his. 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:15.759 He's talking to somebody who says, Hey, William Carey, I want to write a book about you. 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:17.839 And he says this in response. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:28.559 He says, If anyone should think it worth his while to write my life, if he will give me credit for being a plotter, he will describe me justly. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:31.039 Anything beyond this will be too much. 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:33.200 I can plod. 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:36.160 I can persevere in any definite pursuit. 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:39.680 To this I owe everything. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:45.440 To plod, P-L-O-D, like an ox or a mule working afield, right? 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:52.720 To slowly and meaningfully walk through your life is the lesson of Joseph's legacy. 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:55.279 Take a moment of self-reflection. 00:20:55.440 --> 00:21:01.599 How much of this legacy-building staying power do we see in the world around us today? 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:10.880 Do you think that we are a people who are marked by going through endless jobs, houses, cars, people, friends, family, relationship? 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:14.400 Is this a constant cycle in the world around us? 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:16.480 What about the church? 00:21:17.119 --> 00:21:20.079 What's easy for our church culture? 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:32.559 Oh, somebody stepped on my toes a little bit, and instead of following the pattern of reconciliation as outlined in the Bible, I've got four wheels and a full tank of gas and another church down the road, and another one down after that, and another one down after that. 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:36.000 We can just endlessly try and try and try again, right? 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:42.559 That tends to be what the culture around us looks like in the year 2026. 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:54.160 But that is not the example of staying, forgiving, reconciling, abiding love from the life of Joseph or the heart of God. 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:59.759 So moving on, once again, a legacy is marked by abiding with people. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:05.440 And staying in a place isn't just about getting the gold star of who can stay in one place the longest. 00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:09.359 There is real fruit that comes from when we remain. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:13.920 So point two is going to be the product of a legacy. 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:17.440 The product of a legacy. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:21.119 Pause right here and think about it for just a moment. 00:22:22.079 --> 00:22:31.920 What would have happened if Joseph got impatient, got fed up with his circumstances, and decided to run away to some other faraway place? 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:39.440 What happened if he would have never became Pharaoh's right-hand man and stored the rations up for the impending famine? 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:47.279 What would have happened to his family, Jacob and Jacob's other sons, if they'd never reunited with Joseph? 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:54.640 God keeps the plan of his sovereign will moving forward through Joseph's abiding. 00:22:54.799 --> 00:23:00.960 It is by Joseph's staying put that God is working amazing things. 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:06.240 In abiding, Joseph gives his father the peace that his beloved son is alive. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:13.359 He ensures his brothers and the rest of Egypt are cared for in the midst of severe famine. 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:21.200 So I want to highlight two products of Joseph's legacy, and the first is going to be his faithful reputation. 00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:24.720 His faithful reputation. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:30.400 Remember back to Genesis chapter 41, verse 45. 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:43.440 After Pharaoh is so impressed with Joseph's interpretation of his dreams, he renames him Zaphanath Penia, meaning God speaks and lives. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:49.119 How about that for a lasting impression and a faithful reputation? 00:23:49.440 --> 00:24:00.640 By the acts of Joseph in front of a pagan worshiper, he gives him the name, Your God speaks and lives. 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:09.759 How wonderful would this world be if all of God's children in the world had that effect on those that they encountered? 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:13.279 Your God speaks and lives. 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:17.920 How else do we see Joseph's reputation is good with the Egyptians? 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:24.160 You can write down or go see Genesis chapter 50 at the beginning of the chapter, verses 3 and then 7 through 9. 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:36.720 Joseph is held in such high esteem with the Egyptian people that it resulted in the most prominent government officials being included in the funeral procession of his father Jacob. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:43.839 The Bible says that only the kids and the barnyard animals were left behind on this march back to Canaan. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:47.839 I imagine this was something like when Billy Graham passed away in 2019. 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:55.119 If you remember, Billy Graham was the only fourth private civil citizen to be laid in honor in the U.S. 00:24:55.359 --> 00:24:56.240 Capitol. 00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:00.160 And then he was only the first Christian figure to have ever done that. 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:17.039 And then as his casket was being carried from the private ceremony with his family to his eternal earthly resting place in North Carolina, the streets were flooded by people who just wanted to honor and revere this man. 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:21.759 Honor his 60 years in Christian ministry. 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:30.960 When our decisions to leave and stay are directed by God, our longevity builds a reputation. 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:38.880 When we choose to live rightly and obey God, our reputation is called one of faithfulness. 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:43.920 I want us to ask ourselves an introspective question. 00:25:44.559 --> 00:25:49.200 What does the reputation I'm building say about me? 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:54.880 What does the reputation I'm building say about me? 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:56.000 Am I doing both? 00:25:56.160 --> 00:26:00.480 Am I abiding where I am and being faithful where I am? 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:10.559 What's so significant about Joseph's reputation, about his legacy, is that it pointed to his God and not to himself. 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:17.039 God used Joseph as his instrument to leave a major mark on the nation of Egypt. 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:22.960 Remember what happens after this if you have maybe a single column Bible like I do. 00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:30.160 I see Genesis 50 end on one page and picks up the next paragraph, Exodus chapter 1. 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:42.160 So I see Joseph getting embalmed in Egypt, and then I look down in verse 8 when I see there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph. 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:47.680 God is using Joseph as his instrument to set up the Exodus. 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:57.279 There is no Moses freeing the people from Egypt without this forerunner in the form of Joseph. 00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:04.400 As God watched down from heaven, he did not see Joseph moping around about his condition. 00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:15.039 He didn't see him in his jail cell bouncing a tennis ball off the wall and floor over and over again, marking the days for 13 years. 00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:25.519 As God watched from heaven, he saw a faithful servant doing God's will, where God put him and others noticed. 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:30.079 This is the mark of a faithful reputation. 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:39.599 The other thing that we see from Joseph's story is a fruitful family, a fruitful family. 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:42.400 Read with me verse 23 again. 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:54.880 It says, And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation, the children also of Makir, the son of Manasseh, were counted as Joseph's own. 00:27:55.200 --> 00:28:07.839 Joseph lives to see the day that he has great, great grandchildren by his son Ephraim, and the great-grandchildren of his son Manasseh. 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:12.960 If you're wondering who this Makir figure is, it is Manasseh's son. 00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:21.599 Alright, so we get to see Joseph's great-great-grandchildren by Ephraim and his great-grandchildren by Manasseh. 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:25.759 Let's just go ahead and get this out of the way about our church. 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:28.720 We love babies. 00:28:29.519 --> 00:28:32.079 We love families. 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:36.480 Babies and families are legacy builders. 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:49.440 The modern secular idea that preaches against marriage and preaches against child rearing is contrary to the will of God from Genesis to the maps. 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:57.920 Young people, it is good to work hard, marry a godly spouse, settle down, have children, and be involved in the local church. 00:28:58.079 --> 00:28:59.839 That is good advice for your life. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:06.000 It is good advice for all of us, and we are good to be a church that welcomes such people. 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:15.920 The world is not overpopulating, and even if it is, we would do well to have more children raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord on this earth. 00:29:16.160 --> 00:29:23.759 Be fruitful and multiply, and let the children come to me are all wrapped up in the Christian message. 00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:33.759 And notice this Joseph lives his life and legacy in a way that life would be better for the next generation. 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:41.440 To apply that to our own lives, that is a responsibility that we should take very seriously. 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:46.000 How do we know that Joseph had his eye on the future things for the next generation? 00:29:46.240 --> 00:29:47.680 Read verse 24. 00:29:47.839 --> 00:30:00.000 It said, And Joseph said to his brothers, I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land, to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:03.599 Joseph seems to be saying here, I know life looks good. 00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:09.359 I know we have things taken care of in Egypt, but don't get too comfortable. 00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:19.440 I provided us with enough food and a high enough position in society for now, but one day, you all are going home. 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:25.200 In true Joseph fashion, he's also not taking credit for this. 00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:28.160 He's not saying, all right, guys, I'm about to die. 00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:32.160 Now I've got I've scraped together enough stuff for you guys to kind of have an inheritance. 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:34.000 You should be able to make it here just fine. 00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:38.400 If you feel like kicking off to Canaan once I kick the bucket, that's fine. 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:40.000 You just do with this what you will. 00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:41.440 I've prepared this for you. 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:47.680 No, he says, God, God will visit you and God will take care of you. 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:53.680 It sounds similar to one of my favorite verses from the sacrifice of Isaac narrative. 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:59.359 When Isaac and Abraham are going to make a sacrifice, and Isaac starts to get curious and say, hold on a minute. 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:04.400 Daddy, what about the animal we're supposed to be sacrificing on this trip? 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:06.240 What does Abraham say? 00:31:06.960 --> 00:31:11.039 He says, God will see to it. 00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:18.559 This text should open our eyes to see the freedom to stay, the freedom to remain and abide. 00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:27.519 It should encourage us to grow deep roots, to settle down, to start and grow families for the sake of advancing the kingdom of God. 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:29.839 Once again, we're not staying to stay. 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:32.240 We're not staying to live the easy life. 00:31:32.319 --> 00:31:37.759 It is to advance the kingdom of God in the cities and churches where God has placed us. 00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:48.319 When we truly believe and trust that God put us where we are, and that he knows what he's doing, and that he will see to it that we have exactly what he determines we need. 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:54.079 That is when we will have faithful reputations and fruitful families. 00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:58.240 That is the product of a legacy. 00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:03.680 Moving on, we're going to talk about the purpose. 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:07.920 The purpose of a legacy. 00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:16.880 This passage isn't only about Joseph remaining in Egypt and pointing us towards staying put in life. 00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:20.319 Joseph's legacy definitely isn't less than that. 00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:25.440 We are definitely encouraged to abide, to stay, to remain. 00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:29.200 But I believe the conclusion of our chapter shows us more. 00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:32.960 It shows us something beautiful. 00:32:33.279 --> 00:32:38.000 Beautifully, Joseph points us to a better future. 00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:41.119 Read verses 24 through 26 again with me. 00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:51.519 It says, And Joseph said to his brothers, I'm about to die, but God will visit you, and he will bring you out of this land, to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob. 00:32:51.759 --> 00:32:57.359 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, God will surely visit you. 00:32:57.599 --> 00:32:59.920 You shall carry up my bones from here. 00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:02.799 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. 00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:07.680 They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. 00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:14.799 Now that we're very familiar with our passage in Genesis, I promised you we were going to Hebrews. 00:33:14.880 --> 00:33:20.559 If you want to flip over and look in Hebrews, it's going to be in chapter 11, verse 22. 00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:29.200 Chapter 11 of Hebrews is called the Hall of Faith, where we see the catalog of church fathers in the Old Testament. 00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:33.200 We hear them talk about Abraham, we hear him talk about Isaac, we hear him talk about Jacob. 00:33:33.359 --> 00:33:39.599 And this is what it has to say about Joseph before talking about Moses. 00:33:55.759 --> 00:34:01.759 The purpose of our legacy is what God intends for it to be. 00:34:02.079 --> 00:34:06.000 And our response to his plan is one of faith. 00:34:06.559 --> 00:34:15.440 The purpose of our legacy is what God intends for it to be, and our response to his plan is faith. 00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:33.920 What this is saying right here, the example that Joseph is giving us is that we are better served by trusting and obeying God and taking him for his word than we are served by trying to lay God down on our counselor's couch and saying, Well, God, why did you do what you did right there? 00:34:34.159 --> 00:34:39.840 Let me just figure out and understand exactly what you're getting at for me in this situation. 00:34:40.639 --> 00:34:48.639 Isaiah 55, 8 and 9 says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 00:34:48.960 --> 00:34:54.880 As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:55.760 Right? 00:34:56.000 --> 00:35:00.639 We aren't well served by trying to dissect the mind of God. 00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:04.480 We are well served by obeying and trusting Him. 00:35:04.880 --> 00:35:07.920 Romans 11, 33 says, Oh the depths. 00:35:08.159 --> 00:35:09.360 Paul hits a O. 00:35:09.679 --> 00:35:11.679 He is he's firing up here. 00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:16.960 He says, Oh the depth of the riches and the wisdom and knowledge of God. 00:35:17.360 --> 00:35:23.360 How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable are his ways. 00:35:23.840 --> 00:35:24.480 Right? 00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:32.239 If someone is so much higher, so much wiser, we are not served by trying to figure every little thing out. 00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:37.360 We are served by obeying and trusting the one who knows it all. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:41.039 And we certainly see this trust in Joseph's life. 00:35:41.280 --> 00:35:44.960 Joseph knows that God knows what he's doing with his life. 00:35:45.280 --> 00:35:54.480 He takes his circumstances as his marching orders from God, and he is faithful where he is placed. 00:35:55.599 --> 00:35:58.320 All the while, remember. 00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:05.199 Joseph trusts that this stint in Egypt is not the end. 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:12.880 All the while, remember, Joseph recognizes that this stint in Egypt is not the end. 00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:17.360 How convinced is Joseph that this is not the end? 00:36:17.519 --> 00:36:28.559 He tells his brothers, he says, Go ahead, be ready, pack your suitcases, because one day God is going to visit you, and he is going to take you back to that land he promised. 00:36:28.719 --> 00:36:30.800 And what does he say in verse 25? 00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:33.679 He says, I'm so convinced by this. 00:36:34.239 --> 00:36:40.960 I'm so convinced that God is going to visit you and that he's going to take you where he promised that I want to come to. 00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:47.440 I'm going to be dead and gone, but I want you to take my bones and take them with you. 00:36:48.159 --> 00:36:54.960 Joseph's trust and faith is so great that he knows that even in death, this promise from God is for me. 00:36:55.360 --> 00:36:57.199 That is incredible. 00:36:57.599 --> 00:37:04.400 Once again, doesn't this free us from being so heavily swayed by the winds of our experiences? 00:37:05.199 --> 00:37:10.880 Joseph certainly experienced a lot that I certainly don't want to experience. 00:37:11.119 --> 00:37:12.880 But he didn't respond rashly. 00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:17.679 He didn't trailblaze his own path or curse or question God. 00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:20.960 We experience a lot too. 00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:27.440 But one of my professors says that we must keep experience in its proper place. 00:37:28.719 --> 00:37:33.119 For example, every year Alabama and Auburn play an Iron Bowl. 00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:37.039 Alabama and Auburn fans everywhere share the same experience. 00:37:37.280 --> 00:37:46.960 But depending on what colors you're wearing that day, the meaning that you derive from that experience is going to be different at the end of the ball game. 00:37:47.679 --> 00:37:51.679 Another example that my professor likes to use, he used it when he wrote about this. 00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:57.119 He said, He said, Imagine three children at their mother's funeral. 00:37:57.519 --> 00:38:03.119 One child had a loving, wonderful maternal relationship with their mother. 00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:09.760 One child kind of indifferent, you know, moved across the country, came back for the funeral because they love their family. 00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.320 And then one child outright went prodigal, left the family. 00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:16.800 It was all mom's fault, right? 00:38:17.039 --> 00:38:20.400 But even the prodigal came back to town for mom's funeral. 00:38:20.559 --> 00:38:30.880 And as the casket is descending into the ground, each of these children are experiencing the same exact thing. 00:38:31.360 --> 00:38:37.840 But the meaning that they are getting from this experience is different for each one. 00:38:39.280 --> 00:38:48.800 The meaning of an experience here, this church, the meaning of an experience, the meaning of what we go through is what God intends for it to be. 00:38:49.440 --> 00:38:50.960 It's what is true. 00:38:51.119 --> 00:38:55.119 That is what God intends for the meaning of an experience to be. 00:38:55.280 --> 00:39:00.000 Joseph holds to the fact that God's promise is true. 00:39:00.239 --> 00:39:04.239 He holds so tightly to God's promise and faith that he says, you know what? 00:39:04.400 --> 00:39:08.880 When y'all leave, go ahead and pack up my bones, and those are going with you too. 00:39:09.199 --> 00:39:14.000 Because I don't want to miss out on what God is going to do. 00:39:15.920 --> 00:39:19.119 We see also our response in faith. 00:39:20.239 --> 00:39:28.880 These instructions concerning his bones will eventually be followed by Moses, as God is true to his promise. 00:39:29.199 --> 00:39:33.760 And I want to pause here and just really focus on why the bones, right? 00:39:34.079 --> 00:39:38.239 If I was Joseph, I'd be a little frustrated if I was in the hall of faith. 00:39:38.400 --> 00:39:44.559 First off, I would, if if you know the author of Hebrews told me, Joseph, hey, I'm putting you in the hall of faith, I'd be like, oh, that's sweet. 00:39:44.639 --> 00:39:48.719 You know, Abraham's gonna be there, Isaac's gonna be there, Moses' gonna be there, I'm gonna be there. 00:39:48.880 --> 00:39:50.159 What are you gonna say about Moses? 00:39:50.559 --> 00:39:52.880 Oh, I'm gonna talk about how he led him out of Egypt. 00:39:53.039 --> 00:39:54.960 I'm gonna talk about that parting of the Red Sea. 00:39:55.119 --> 00:39:59.440 I'm gonna talk about how Abraham will be the father of nations innumerable, right? 00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:02.079 Like sand on the shore or like stars in the sky. 00:40:02.159 --> 00:40:03.760 And Joseph says, Oh, this is great. 00:40:03.920 --> 00:40:05.679 I've got so much cool stuff in my story. 00:40:05.840 --> 00:40:07.679 What are you gonna say about me? 00:40:09.760 --> 00:40:14.639 And the author of Hebrews says, You know that cool bit you wrote about the bones? 00:40:15.440 --> 00:40:17.199 That's what I'm gonna tell him. 00:40:18.079 --> 00:40:26.079 And I know this is kind of just a joke, but the truth is that Joseph's instructions concerning his bones are the best part. 00:40:26.400 --> 00:40:28.000 That's what Joseph's telling you. 00:40:28.159 --> 00:40:31.440 That's what the author of Hebrews is telling you. 00:40:31.760 --> 00:40:43.679