Healing Old Hurts | Dave Stone | Full Service

Well, what's up, Southeast? Happy Sunday. We  are so excited that of all places, you decided   to worship with us here at Southeast Christian  Church. My name is Derek. This is Sarah. Hey,   guys. And we're both part of our SC online team.  Yes, we are. You know, one of the things that we   love as part of our SE online team is connecting  with you. Whether it's your first time watching   or you've been watching for a really long time,  there's a lot of things happening at Southeast   because it's summer and we've got groups coming  up in the fall. A lot of cool things happening.   We would love to get to know you, but also  fill you in on all of those things. And so   you can text that word connect to 733733  and we would love to talk with you and so   reach out. Absolutely. Y'all, we would love  to connect with you this week. And Sarah,   we got to be a part of something pretty cool over  the past couple of weeks. All of our campuses have   been partnered with a mission partner called  Josiah Venture where they have teamed us up   with different countries across Europe. And we  and our online team got to go to Muldova. Yes,   we did. And so we're still a little jetlagged,  a little tired, but we got to spend, you know,   12 days in Malddova. And if you don't know where  Malddova is, that's okay. We really didn't know   either until this trip. But it is south of Romania  on the western side of Ukraine. And so like   Derrick said, Southeast has been partnered with  Josiah Venture for a long time. And so what we've   done is each campus or ministry has been partnered  with a different country in central and eastern   Europe because they specifically partner with  local churches to do English camps, music camps,   um all kinds of camps for youth there just to  get them introduced to the gospel. And it is so  

awesome because we got to see how God is so big  and is working in so many different parts of the   world. And we just had such a great time there.  Yeah, absolutely. And so we got to go help uh put   on a youth camp for kids like 14 to 24 years old,  teach them English, do some sports, and but Sarah,   I was just I was so impressed by the amount  of people a part of the next generation,   not only here but in Muldova, that are on fire  in their faith with Christ. They really are. And   it was just an encouragement to our hearts just to  again see how even in a country that has less than   2% of people who are Christians, it really is a  revival through the youth there. And so just be   praying for Malddova and we're going to have more  information in the next couple of months about how   you can be a part of the trip next year because  the goal is to continue to partner with those   churches there in Muldova. So super excited about  it. It's been a really fun summer, but we've got   something else coming up that's really fun. We are  bringing back a movies. And so this is a really   unique sermon series because just like Jesus did  in the Bible of really going through his messages   with telling stories to people, we do this same  thing through this sermon series by using movie   clips. And so it's super unique. We're starting  this in just a couple of weeks, July 26. And so   Derek, it's a great way to have people um just  have a really easy invite of saying, "Hey, do you   want to come watch a movie with me at church?"  because that you don't hear that every single   day. But if you have friends, family members,  co-workers that are really interested in church,   this is such an easy invite. And so you can text  popcorn, which is really fun, to 733733. But if  

you're texting popcorn and thinking, "Oh, I get  to know what movies are playing." We're not going   to tell you. It's a surprise. You have to come in  person. Yes. And when you text that word popcorn,   it's going to give you a link to a landing page.  And what I want to uh just pinpoint right now is   that there is like an invite button on there  where you can send that to your neighbors,   your friends, families, co-workers, so they can  be a part of service with you over the course of   at the movies here in person. Uh but I would also  challenge you that if you have not invited someone   to watch service with you today, I would go ahead  and do that whether you're on Facebook or online   platform or YouTube because we have somebody  preaching today who is very special to our hearts   here at Southeast. It is our former senior pastor  Dave Stone who is going to be here continuing our   meant for good sermon series walking through  the life of Joseph talking about healing our   old hurts. And Sarah, if if the person at home  watching this today has never heard Dave speak,   never heard him preach, you're probably  going to experience one of three things,   but probably all of them. You're probably going to  laugh a little bit. You're probably going to cry a   little bit. And you are going to learn a lot about  the scripture we're about to walk through. I think   you set up Dave pretty well. That's awesome.  Make sure you grab your serving series guide   online family. There's a link for you in the  chat and we will see you guys after service.

Let's worship together this morning. Come on.  Sometimes you got to dance through the darkness.   See through the fire when it only makes sense.   Sometimes you got to step down  the giant worship from the lion. Sometimes you got to shout it from  the mountain louder in the valley.   Trust is going to get you there.  Sometimes you got to welcome the   world. Wait for the answers. Worship  the air. I'll praise you anywhere. Heat. Heat. Heat.

Sometimes you got to praise in the  prison. Cry out to heaven. Shout to   the door. Swing w. Sometimes you got to  stand on your shackles. Brea in the ble. Heat. Heat. Heat. Come on. For his goodness, for his kindness,   his faithfulness to us. Would  you sing to him this morning?

My blessings day and night. Countless  reasons why. I'll praise you anywhere,   every promise. Goodness, every  step, each and every breath. I end this reason why I'll  praise you anywhere. Every praise I'll praise you anywhere. Praise  praise. Give praise in the highest. Oh, heat, heat.

Heat. Heat. We'll worship you forever. with rocks cry out to worship hard to shine. Perhaps creation longs to have the words to sing. This joy is mine. We sing with   eternity with a thousand hallelujah.  We magnify your name. You alone, thousands, a thous.

will die for our resurrection. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah, heat.

Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. With a thousand high we magnify your name. For  you alone deserve the glory. All the honor,   all our praise. Lord Jesus, our song is forever  yours. A thousand hallelujah and a thousand more that we are we would worship you forever and  ever and ever Lord. Oh fix our eyes on you   high king of heaven. Oh heir of salvation  the cornerstone the reason we sing. Lord,  

let us worship you. Let us sing. Holy,  holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Let   that be our goal that we run to, that  we race towards. Be exalted, Father,   in our lives forever and always. It's in Jesus  name we pray. Amen. Y'all can grab a seat. One of the mantras of our church is catch the  wind. And it's this idea that we want to raise   ourselves and let the Holy Spirit take us as  a church where God wants us to go. And it's an   adventure as we many many months ago began to look  into coming to Franklin. And as part of that, our   recovery ministry that we have here in Southeast  began to look at where could there be partnerships   here in the Nashville area. And that led us to  exactly where God wanted us to be at a place   called the Next Door Recovery Center. Move is all  about us as a church corporately saying, "How can   we move closer to where people are in darkness  and hurting and bring them into the light and   shine with the way that only Jesus can?" My con  personal connection to the mission is I lost my   own mother to an opioid addiction. and it'll be 19  years in September. The coolest part of this story   that I love is I learned about 3 months being  on staff here at the next door that every person  

that comes to the next door, even the woman who  comes here for our care is called here. We truly   need her where she is. There is a lot of church  hurt and pain and what we want her to feel more   than anything is love. 4 and a half years ago, I  came through here as a client. So, this place was   really special to me. Um, I'd been to several  other treatment centers and nothing had worked   out for me. This place was different because I  felt like the people really cared. I would sit   in my room and I would look out and just dream  of the day that I got to come back to work here.   When I came into treatment, um, my relationship  with my 5-year-old daughter was very broken. Um,   she told me that she hated me. to be able to come  through here and learn all of these coping skills,   to learn communication, um to kind of process  my past and what happened and forgive others,   um really sets me up to be a good mother today.  Today, um my 3-year-old is at home with me. Um I   had her when I was sober. Um I get to show up and  be a different parent for her today. I have her in   um a Christian school out in Mount Juliet. Um,  I get to be present with her today. God gave us   this opportunity to say, "Hey, at the Next Door  Recovery Center, they have a mortgage payment   that is preventing them from being able to hire  more staff to be able to serve more women." And  

God just said to us, "I want you to go there and  take care of that and take care of that mortgage."   So, as of about 30 days ago, Southeast paid  off a $1.5 million balance on their mortgage, which is just allowing God to work through the  leadership of that organization to bring more   staff on board and to serve more women. And I  can't think of anything better than that. God,   we can only stand here in gratitude. When we stop  and we think about the lives that are changed,   that's something we can't do. Only you can do.  Father, we are so thankful that you came to heal   the broken. Your word says that the Lord is  spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is,   there is freedom. God, I pray that  there is even more need that's asked   for so that your people can pray and you  can make provision so that more freedom   can come to more individuals. Today we  celebrate and Lord we celebrate you.

I love that. I love that line. Lord, we celebrate you. And  I love seeing and knowing how our gifts to the   Move campaign are making a huge difference. And  uh you know, paying off that mortgage that they   just talked about was not originally part of the  plan for MOVE, but because of your continuing   generosity, uh it made it possible. And now the  Next Door Recovery Center with those additional   hires, they believe they'll be able to reach 156  more people in the coming year because of your   generosity. So, thank you. I'm also excited  next weekend we wrap up the Genesis series.   I've learned so much in the Genesis series. in two  weeks at the movies begins. And let me just tell   you, we've been doing this, this will be the ninth  year, and it is one of the easiest ways for you to   get someone to check out church who is unchurched.  And uh we will have a couple thousand more people   each weekend because of the invitations that you  will make. And for so many people in this church   right now, your very first visit to Southeast was  at an at the movies series event. And I love the   verse that Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter  9 22. He says,"Ive become all things to all   people so that by all possible means I might save  some." And that's what we're trying to do. We're   just trying to scatter seed so that people can  check out the gospel and hear some movie clips,  

but also to hear some biblical scripture that  is woven into the fabric of that. So, I can't   wait for that. My wife has a lot of talents and  skills and she knows me really well and over time   she has learned how to use that to her advantage.  Uh let me illustrate. A couple months ago, I was   on a missions trip and uh about a day and a half  before I got back, I called my wife and I said,   "Bth," I said, "Uh, I hope I have some time from  when I land to get you a gift for Mother's Day,"   which was a day and a half away. And she said,  "Oh, you don't need to worry about me. You   don't need to buy me a Mother's Day gift." I said,  "Yes, I do." She said, "No, no, no." I said, "You   deserve anything that you want." And she said,  "I know how busy you've been lately, baby doll." And then she said, "So perhaps I can just go  and pick something out and you can just say   that's what you gave me for Mother's  Day." And I said, "Oh, wow." I said,   "You would be willing to do that for me? You're  so kind." And unknowingly in that instant,   I had walked right into her trap. And she went on  to say, "Well, in fact, I bought it yesterday."

And I said, "Well, what did you get me?" And she  said, "Well, you spent a little more than you   normally do because you knew that I would love  it." And when I started to object, she started   pointing out how much gasoline money she had saved  me. And she said, "And Dave," she said, "you know,   your time is so valuable." Oh, okay. All right.  Did I just get played right? I'll let you decide.   Evidently, this is what I got her. A rug, some  flowers and plants for the yard, three pair of   athletic shorts, a doormat, and two lamps for the  house. So, you tell me, right? Uh, yeah, that's   female clapping right there. I know that I know  all the ladies are very proud of her. She's good.   She's very good. I want her to mentor me, right?  So, but uh then I find myself this week assigned a   title from Kyle on healing hurts in our lives and  uh I'm find myself wondering how do I get over the   pain of the past? I would never take advantage  of my life like that. I think you know me well   enough, right? But that's usually what happens  in our life when when we wrong someone else. we   tend to downplay it and we're very lenient on our  own mistakes and say, "Well, nobody's perfect."   But when somebody does something to us, all of a  sudden, that's when it's different. And it's the   story that Joseph endured for some 22 years. By  way of review, Joseph was Jacob's favorite son,  

the child of Rachel, Jacob's favorite wife. His  brothers resented the special treatment and gifts   that Joseph received. Over 20 years earlier, they  had thrown Joseph into a dry sistern, intending   to leave him there to die. But when a caravan  of slave traders came by, they decided rather   than kill him, let's make a profit off of him.  So they sold him into slavery. 13 years later,   Joseph somehow had risen to serve an Egyptian  official. But when the official's wife repeatedly   tried to seduce him, Joseph refused, saying, "How  could I do such a wicked thing and sin against   God?" What was a reward for his integrity? Well,  the spurned woman falsely accused him and Joseph   was thrown into prison. But all along, God was  quietly unfolding his plan. Last week, if you   missed Kyle's message, it was a masterpiece. You  need to go back and and check it out. It blended   the 250th anniversary of America with Genesis 41.  And he shared that Joseph is brought out of prison   to interpret Pharaoh's dream. And Joseph said, "I  can't interpret it, but God can." And with God's   help, he explained, "Here's the meaning. There  will be seven years of abundance followed by seven   years of famine." And Pharaoh embraced Joseph's  interpretation and his strategy. And he put Joseph   in charge of storing grain during those good seven  years so that the nation would be able to survive  

the hard ones. And suddenly this former prisoner  had authority over all of Egypt to decide who   it was that received food. What had looked like  Joseph's greatest setback became God's greatest   setup. When seven years of plenty came and went  and then two years into this massive famine,   Egypt had become the bread basket of the world.  People are coming from everywhere to have an   audience with Joseph in hopes that he would give  them grain for their family. But then one day in   Genesis 42 in Canaan, Jacob says to his sons, "I  want you all to go to this guy who's giving out   the grain and see if he'll have mercy on our  family and give us grain." So 10 of Joseph's   brothers went to Egypt. They brought silver that  their dad sent with them. Thought the silver might   butter him up a little bit. And guess who it is  that they appear before? You got it. Joseph and   they find themselves right there and they come  into his presence and they bow down low before   their brother who they had sold into slavery. Now  you'll recall when Joseph was a teenager, he said,   "I saw a vision of all of you all bowing down to  me." That's part of why they wanted to kill him   and sell him into slavery. But they have no idea  that that's who they're bowing down to right now,   22 years later. Can you imagine what's racing  through Joseph's mind? hurt, anger, memories,  

questions. His heart's about to pound out of his  chest because he recognizes them. And now he has   the power to get even. He has the opportunity  for revenge. Or he can respond differently. The   brothers would never suspect that this is Joseph  who they had thrown in the pit. He was 17 then,   he's 39 now. He's wearing the Egyptian clothing  fitting of a highranking official. He has a new   name. He has a new look. He speaks a different  language and he is using an interpreter to talk   with them even though he understands every word  that they're saying. What would you have done to   your brothers? He had 20 years. He had two decades  to plot what it was that he wanted to do to get   even with them. But for some reason, Joseph puts  revenge on the back burner and instead he is going   to go on a covert factf finding mission. And he's  going to put them through a series of tests to   see if they are the same jealous, selfish brothers  from 20 years before. And Joseph shows incredible   wisdom and remarkable restraint. He finds out  through the conversation that their dad is still   alive. But they say there's a younger brother  who stayed at home. That's Joseph's full brother.   That's Joseph's full brother from his mom, Rachel.  And he's never met this younger brother. So,   Joseph wants to determine if they are as jealous  of his full brother Benjamin as they had been of  

him. And he does something unusual. He accuses  them of being spies. And says, "I know why   you're here. You're not here for the grain. You're  here to check out where we are unprotected in our   land." And he keeps getting the lay of the land  and asking them questions and he's putting them   on the defensive to see how they accept it. And  then he says, "I'm going to take one of you into   custody." And he says, "If you bring this younger  brother that you keep talking about back with you,   then I'll know that you aren't spies and I'll give  you even more grain." Then he wants to see how   they treat Benjamin in front of him. Remember,  they don't realize that Joseph can understand   their language. Genesis 42 21 They said to one  another, "Surely we are being punished because   of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when  he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not   listen. That's why this distress has come on us."  Hey, these are not references to the new little   brother Benjamin. These are references to 20 years  before with Joseph when they threw him in the well   and in spite of his begging for mercy, they did  nothing to help him. And now here they stand in   front of this guy who has the power of death  and life over them. Joseph's brothers in this   moment are connecting their present suffering  to how they had treated their longlost brother   years before and they are haunted by the memory.  Have you ever had a moment in your life where the   gravity of your sin overwhelms you and you realize  your selfishness is breaking the heart of God? And  

in that instant, the Holy Spirit convicts you  of sin. Maybe it's that prom that night that   you still think about. Perhaps it was when that  officer said, "You're under arrest for driving   under the influence." Or maybe it's when your boss  said, "That's two strikes. Next time you're out."   Or perhaps it was a moment like this when  you're sitting in this room and a scripture   is read and in that moment God's word pierced  through to your heart and Joseph says, "Okay,   I'm going to keep one of you here as a prisoner  until you bring that youngest brother back with   you. If you don't bring this younger brother back  with you, then no grain, no food, no soup for you.   That's a very loose paraphrase. All right. This is  Joseph's strategy to observe if they are jealous   of Benjamin like they were of him or have they  matured. Now the brothers had brought silver   with them to exchange for grain. But unbeknownst  to them, Joseph had their silver put back in their   bags. Joseph is going to play some mind games with  them. But trust me, his intentions are good. Now,   today I'm covering four chapters in Genesis. All  right? And so, I'm going to give you four words   to summarize 134 verses. We could sum up chapter  42 with this word conviction. They feel convicted.  

The brothers are convicted in their hearts.  Their guilty consciences are awakened. Their   guilt is overwhelming them. And it's the exact  same group of 10 brothers who cold-heartedly sat   and ate their lunch beside a sistern while their  brother was begging from the bottom of the sistern   for them to spare his life. It's been two decades  and I want you to notice that time has not erased   their guilt. You know why? Because they never  owned it. They never confessed it. They concealed   it. Now, Joseph is going to continue to conceal  his identity because he wants to see where this   conviction leads. Over in the New Testament, we  read in 2 Corinthians 7:10, "Godly sorrow brings   repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no  regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." Well,   the brothers return home. They tell their  father, Jacob, everything that has happened,   all about this powerful man. And he says, "Hey,  you're not taking Benjamin back with you." He   said, "I've already lost Joseph. I've already lost  Simeon now, and you want me to send Benjamin with   you? No way. I'm not going to lose the only other  son that I have from Rachel." But in chapter 43,   we learned that starvation has a way of getting  your attention. And the brothers say, "Dad,   we don't have a choice. This man in charge said  we had to bring our youngest with us." Chapter   43:8. Then Judah, that's one of the other  brothers. Judah said to Israel, his father,  

Israel is another name for Jacob. So Judah  says to Jacob, "Send the boy along with me,   and we will go at once so that we and you and  our children may live and not die. I myself will   guarantee his safety. You can hold me personally  responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to   you and set him before you, I will bear the blame  before you all of my life. He's saying, "Dad,   you can personally hold me accountable on this."  And Jacob acquiesces to this request and says,   "Okay, okay, but take some of the best products  that we have here in Canaan and may God grant you   mercy before this man." So they load back up with  the original silver that they were going to give   in order to butter this guy up. But this time  they take the silver and some delicacies from   the area. Jacob is smart. He wants to them to get  on the good side of this powerful man who is now   holding his son Simeon. And so he says, "Grab what  whatever Canaan has to offer and take it." Now,   that got me to thinking this past week. What if  what if as Southeast campuses we we had to send   something as an envoy somewhere to butter somebody  up? What might we send? Maybe our Kentucky   campuses, we might send some honey roasted  almonds from BIES, right? That might be something.   Or those from southern Indiana, maybe some  cinnamon red hots from Shrimp's Confectionary.   For those in Franklin, Tennessee, maybe you  would send chicken and waffles. for those  

uh perhaps from Elizabeth Town, maybe Etown would  send an F-150. I I don't know. All right. But   Jacob's thinking is quite wise in this. And they  make the long journey and they return to Joseph   and he sees them coming and he invites them to  his house for a feast. Whoa. This is very much the   opposite from his first visit where he detained  them and held them in captivity and kept one of   the brothers in prison. So they bring Simeon out  of captivity to join them for the feast. Joseph   begins making small talk and nonchalantly asks  about the family. Tell me, I think he mentioned   you all had a dad. How's how's your dad doing?  And well, he's good. He's good. Genesis 43 29, Joseph looked about and he saw his brother  Benjamin, his own mother's son. He asked,   "Is this your youngest brother? The one you told  me about?" He said, "God be gracious to you,   my son." And deeply moved at the sight of  his brother, Joseph hurried out, looked for   a place to weep. He went into his private room  and he wept there. Hey, it is difficult for us   to imagine the emotions that Joseph is feeling.  It's it's overwhelming and at times he had to   feel so conflicted. And Joseph continues to to  play them. And the meal is assigned seating.   And Joseph has placed them in order from oldest to  youngest. That's another mind game. And get this,  

Joseph had the chef and the servers give Benjamin  five times the food portions that everyone else   received. So Joseph is just observing to see  if favoritism still makes the brother's blood   boil or if they truly love Benjamin and they've  changed. We could sum up chapter 43 with the word   repentance. Joseph is seeing signs that these  guys have changed. That's the actual meaning of   the word repentance. When you repent, you change  directions. You're going one way and now you head   the other way. In the past, you've moved toward  jealousy and envy, but now you're moving toward   mercy and love. Did you notice that the first  time Joseph tested his brothers with adversity,   and now he tests them with prosperity, with this  lavish meal? Joseph is observing how they treat   one another, especially Benjamin. on this visit.  It comes time for them to leave and Joseph loads   his brothers up with grain, but quietly he says  to his steward, he said, "Put each man's silver   back in their sack again in each one of them." And  then he says this, "And hide my special silver cup   in Benjamin's bag." Next morning, brothers head  home. They're on their way home when all of a   sudden Joseph Stewart comes riding up and he says,  "Hey." He says, "Why have you repaid good with  

evil? My master's silver cup is missing." And  the brothers are stunned. They're like, "Well,   why are you looking at us? We we we didn't take  anything." And this is what they say. If any one   of us has the cup, you can put them to death.  That's how certain they were. And the steward   replied, "No, don't need to put all of you all to  death. Only the man who has the cup will become my   master's slave." Now, he said, "Go ahead, search  our stuff. Make yourself at home. Knock yourself   out." The brothers are feeling like, "Man, I  can't believe it. This guy doesn't trust us."   But then the TSA agent comes to the last bag and  it belongs to Benjamin. And in that instant, they   dig into Benjamin's bag and out comes Joseph's  special silver cup. And the Bible says that the   brothers are so overcome with shock and emotion  that they rip their clothes. It's an expression of   utter anguish and in disbelief, they start the  journey back to Joseph's house. And when they   stand before Joseph, they throw their youngest  brother Benjamin down on the ground and say,   "Here's your thief. He fooled us, your excellency,  but he's an embarrassment to the family. Make a   slave out of him. Take his life. We don't care  what you do. No. No. That's not what he says.

He says just the opposite. They fall down  and they bow down before Joseph. And here's   what they say. They know Benjamin's life  is on the line. They don't want him to   have the kind of slavery that they sold their  other brother into. Oh man, I got goosebumps. And somebody steps forward. You know who  it is? Judah. And Judah steps forward and   he speaks. Remember, he's the one who promised his  father. He said, "If anything happens to Benjamin,   I'll bear the blame." He says in verse  16, "What can we say? God has uncovered   our guilt. We are now your slaves." Notice that  he keeps using we language throughout his whole   speech. He doesn't say he or him. Benjamin.  He says we. He lumps himself in. Judah isn't   abandoning Benjamin. He's standing with him.  Then comes one of the greatest speeches in all   of Genesis. He says, "I guaranteed the  boy's safety to my father." So he says,   "Please let your servant remain here  as my lord's slave in place of the boy.   Let the boy return home. What Judah is saying is,  "Don't make my father endure this heartbreak. Take   me instead. Please don't miss this moment." 20  years earlier, Judah had sold one brother into   slavery to save himself. Now he's willing  to become a slave to save his brother.

It's interesting that it's Judah that speaks  up because 1700 years later, one of Judah's   descendants would step forward for us. Jesus,  the spotless lamb of God, would say in effect,   "Hey, I know the wages of sin is death." But he  look at his father and say, "Don't punish them. take me instead. And he went to the cross  and Jesus stayed on the cross because he   loves you. And that's the gospel. The  innocent became the substitute for the   guilty so that the guilty could go free.  That's our story. And in the chapter of 42,   the word was conviction. In 43, it was  repentance. In 44, the word is sacrifice.   If a price needs to be paid, Judah will pay  that price. He says, "You can take my life   instead. I'll be his sacrificial substitute."  And it's quite evident to Joseph that these   brothers are quite different. They're not  throwing Benjamin under the bus. They're   even willing to take his punishment. Sacrifice is  giving up something that you love for something   that you love more. And Judah loved Benjamin  more than himself. Husbands, listen to me.   Husbands, when you chose to get married, you were  saying the same thing. Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands,  

love your wives just as Christ loved the church  and gave himself up for her." That's a sacrificial   love. Christians, when you accepted Jesus as your  Lord and Savior, you made the same commitment   that Jesus would be number one, that he sits on  the throne, that he calls the shots. That means   that you may have to sacrifice some things like  that promotion where they'll expect you to cut   some ethical corners. your popularity with your  friends. You might to sacrifice that relationship   that seems to be heading toward marriage, but  it takes you away from the Lord. You might need   to sacrifice and give up your reputation as the  party animal. Sacrifice is at the heart of being   a believer. Well, Jesus Joseph Joseph is about to  reveal his identity. The moment of truth is about   to drop the jaws of this group of brothers.  Have you ever tried to conceal your identity?   The timing wasn't right to reveal who you were  or or maybe where you work. About a month ago,   I was flying back to Louisville after a speaking  trip. And Beth was picking me up and down at   Baggage Claim, I ran into several Southeast  families who had been traveling together. Saw   a couple that I had married about 25 years ago.  Saw a young young gal who I had baptized. I had   fun catching up with about a dozen of them and  miraculously my suitcase came out quickly and so  

I said goodbye and I headed up the long escalator  to departures because Beth picks me up up at   departures because there's not as much traffic  up there. So, as I'm riding up the escalator,   I'm near the top. I'm texting Beth and just as  I hit send, my suitcase slips off of the step   beside me and instantly this hard shell suitcase  starts heading south, bouncing its way down 24   steps in 3 seconds flat. It sounds like a series  of gunshots. This is not good. At the bottom,   it is catapulted out of the narrow chute like it  had been fired from a cannon. It slides across the   tile floor about 15 ft. Praise the Lord that there  wasn't a World Cup soccer player nearby because if   that that suitcase would have nudged their leg.  Oh, I cannot imagine. I cannot imagine the injury   that would have occurred from that. Well, I ran up  the final two steps of the escalator and I turned   around. And I started running down the dozens of  stairs and I got to a landing about halfway down   and I stopped immediately cuz I realized that  there was a wall shielding me from everyone in   baggage claim. And I realized if I took any more  steps, the dozen Southeast members who were there   would discover the identity of the imbecile who  had launched the suitcase heard around the world.  

Well, as I glanced down right before me, there are  two airport personnel. They have encircled my bag.   I froze on the landing. And I just kind of safely  hollered up and said, "Hey, that's mine. Would you   just just put that on the on the first step of the  escalator and you can just send it back up?" And   in their mind, everything is going off. If you  see any unattended luggage, please inform a law   enforcement officer. So, I'm trying to convince  them that it's okay. And they look at me and say,   "We're not touching that." And so, I'm like,  "Oh, no. I know what's going to happen now. My   identity is about to become public knowledge." So,  I left the safety of the landing and my reputation   descended with me. Everyone was watching and  wondering, "Terrorist or doofus? Terrorist or   doofus?" When the Southeast group saw that it  was me, they collectively gasped and then they   erupted into laughter. Not a polite chuckle, mind  you, but full-blown cackling and mockery. And   I picked up my suitcase and the airport workers  seemed relieved that I was even willing to touch   it. And then I looked over at the the dirty dozen  and with a face as red as a stop sign, I said,   "That's what I get for texting on an escalator."  Huh? And they laughed at me, but not with me. All   right. There are crazy moments of truth when our  identity is revealed. And when the truth comes  

out, in those moments, will we receive mercy or  ridicule? Well, Joseph has watched them pass every   test with flying colors. And as chapter 45 begins,  Joseph is so overwhelmed with emotion. He's just   heard Judas say, "Take me instead." He can't keep  his identity a secret any longer. The Bible says   that he dismisses everyone from the room, and all  of Pharaoh's household can hear him wailing and   crying. This is not a good sign. The brothers have  to be thinking, "Oh no, this does not look good   for us. We're going to be shackled or slaughtered  and maybe both. The draft king odds have started   shifting quickly when Joseph starts crying. The  betting line for either Benjamin or Judah's demise   is skyrocketing. But Joseph has seen the change  in these guys and he wants to remove this burden   of guilt that his brothers had been carrying.  He's choosing to show mercy over malice. And   Joseph is about to step down from the landing  and reveal his identity. How will the 11 respond?

I am Joseph. He says in the same breath, he says,  is dad still alive? I like the next verse. Verse   three. But his brothers were not able to answer  him because they were terrified at his presence.   That's the understatement of the century. There's  this silence rooted in fear. And Joseph wants to   make doubly sure that they haven't been lying  about their dad. Look at the next verses. He   has to go through it all again. Joseph said to his  brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done   so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one  you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed   and do not be angry with yourselves for selling  me here because it was to save lives that God   sent me ahead of you." But God, my two favorite  words in the Bible, but God sent me ahead of you   to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save  your lives by a great deliverance. He's not going   to kill them. He's not going to imprison them.  He's not going to enslave them. Joseph is saying,   "God allowed this to happen." Joseph has taken  the high road and he chooses to interpret the   entire story through God's sovereignty rather than  through his brother's cruelty. God's providence is   greater than human evil. Joseph will later say  what you intended for evil. God worked and meant  

for good. He is choosing to extend forgiveness.  Forgiveness is releasing my right to retaliate.   That's what forgiveness is. And Joseph says,  "I'm going to send you all back home with grain   and food and carts and donkeys because I want  you to bring dad back. I want you to bring your   families back and all of your kids and I'm going  to give you the best of all the land and you can   live here with me." He says, "Don't worry about  bringing any of your belongings back with you   because you will have the best of everything  when you all return." And even though there's   five more years of famine, he says, "I got you  covered, bro." Wow. Just wow. Mercy means the   most when it is deserved the least. Hallelujah.  Think of each chapter. Conviction, repentance,   sacrifice equals grace. Hallelujah. Grace is  the word for chapter 45. anyone that you need   to extend some grace to. Our sinful nature wants  revenge. We plot our plan to retaliate so that   they get what's coming to them. Retaliation  over reconciliation. But Joseph responds so   differently. I mean, think about the whole scene.  When famine strikes the land, Joseph's brothers   make a desperate journey to Egypt, searching  for help and hope. They find both in the most  

unlikely place from the most unlikely person.  And instead of revenge, he chose restoration. Someone said, "We're most like beasts when we  kill. We're most like humans when we judge,   but we're most like God when we forgive." And  in a plot twist, only God could write. family   wounds are healed. What is impossible with man is  possible with God. God is still in the business   of healing old hurts and restoring what has been  broken. Some of you have been so deeply wounded.   Some of you physically, some of you emotionally.  I I I don't minimize that. But Jesus calls us to   forgive. And I know that I am speaking to people  who have endured some some pretty horrific things   in your life. And I'm not discounting that. Trust  me, I I get it. I've I've been there on a smaller   scale, but I've been there. And you're looking  at me and you want to say, "Well, tell me, Dave,   why why should I forgive?" Well, we're commanded  to in scripture. It's emotionally unhealthy for   you. Bitterness raises your stress, your heart  rate. It's like drinking poison and waiting for  

the other person to die. All it does is eat you  up. What was helpful to me in dealing with with   this struggle is something that Dr. Henry Cloud  said. He said, "Control what you can control and   what you can't surrender to God. Life's too short  to let someone else's behavior mess up your life   and affect your present and future. Let go of  that injustice. Can I give you one more reason   to forgive? Matthew 6 14 and 15. Jesus said, "For  if you forgive other people when they sin against   you, your heavenly father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins,   your father will not forgive your sins. Those  are difficult words, but they're Jesus words.   They're not my words. And if Jesus says if you  don't forgive others of their sins, your father   won't forgive your sins, then he means that Jesus  has kept every promise. I'm not saying that you   have to like that person, but you need to try to  love them. doesn't mean that you remove the legal   punishments or the consequences of their actions,  but it begins with asking God to help you start   that process of letting go. I'm certain it was a  long process for Joseph that took years sitting in   a prison, being in slavery. Satan loves to use  unforgiveness and bitterness to his advantage  

because the longer that you hold on to that  resentment, the more difficult it is for you to   let go. You think you're holding the other person  hostage when you withhold forgiveness, but just   the opposite occurs. It's like being imprisoned  and we live behind the bars of bitterness. Let me   put Joseph's words from Genesis 45:7 back on the  screen. I want you to look at them again. This is   Joseph's words. But God sent me ahead of you to  preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save   your lives for a great deliverance. Joseph said  that. But I want you to see Jesus could have said   the very same thing. God sent me ahead of you.  That's the Christmas story. To save your lives.   That's Good Friday on the cross. to come and live  with me at my home. That's the hope of Easter   Sunday. We have hope beyond the grave. We have  an eternal home in heaven with a forgiving God.   Yeah. So the forgiveness that God has extended to  you, will you extend to someone else? Let's pray.

You are the lion of Judah. You are the lamb of God  who takes away the sin of the world. And we say   thank you today for intervening. And we say Jesus,  thank you for taking the punishment for our sin,   for saying take me instead and becoming our  sacrificial substitute. Father, it's it's it's   our prayer that that the example of Joseph and  the sacrifice and example of Jesus would motivate   us to want to extend that same forgiveness to  others. It's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen. Thank you Dave for the message. Well, if there  is something that we can learn from the story   of Joseph, it is that God not only anticipated  the needs of his people during famine, but he   sent Joseph ahead to prepare the way. And isn't it  just like our God and in his nature and character   to do that? that when humanity has sinned and was  separated from him, he prepared a way by sending   Jesus to atone for our sins and to make a way for  us to be reconciled back to him. But Jesus didn't   just atone for our sins on the cross. In Romans  chapter 8, it says that right now Jesus is sitting  

in the place of honor at God's right hand pleading  for us. There's another translation that uses the   word interceding for us, which means that right  now Jesus is seeking you and me out in our daily   struggles and situations. And he wants to meet us  in it. And he wants to walk with us through it.   Jesus is not waiting on the other side of your  valley. He's right by your side. And I think   we need that reminder because just like Joseph's  brothers, each one of us in this room has walked   in with wounds and regrets and disappointments  and relational brokenness. And we hold on to our   offenses. And we allow bitterness to grow. And we  let pride stand in a way of saying, "I'm sorry."   And we settle for relational distance instead  of reconciliation. I don't know your story,   but maybe your next step this morning is to extend  that hand of forgiveness to someone that has hurt   you. Or maybe your situation is so complicated  that this morning you're seeking God's wisdom   and his peace to guide you through it. And if  that's you, this morning we're going to have   our prayer team down front with some of our staff  members and our elders. and we would love to pray   with you and for you. So if that's you, we want to  make your ask you to make your way forward when we  

start our time of worship again and allow your  brothers and sisters plead and intercede with   you. But maybe you're here this morning and you  don't know what it means yet to walk with Jesus.   Maybe you've never experienced his presence. You  don't know his forgiveness and the joy and the   peace that he brings. And if that's you, we want  to meet with you. Out in the lobby to my right,   there's a next steps room and there's a team that  would like to talk to you and answer any questions   that you may have. Church, I don't know your story  this morning, but I do know my God. And I know   that Jesus wants to meet you in whatever you're  facing, and he wants to walk with you through it.   And maybe that's our reminder this morning as  we come to the communion table that this bread   represents the body of Christ broken for us. And  this cup represents his blood that was poured out   for us. But together these elements they remind  us that God didn't send Jesus just to make a way   but that Jesus is the way meeting us wherever we  are and is inviting us to walk with him through   whatever you're facing. So let's take communion  together and then come down and receive prayer.

I could sing your name for all my life  and still find more to love each time.   Jesus be the name ever on my lips. It's sweeter every time that I call on you.  There's just something about your name. There's   just something about your name. There's just  something about your name that makes me cry. There is no other name. There is no other  name. There is no other name. Jesus, no worthy. You have been the friend who never forget. Your faithfulness Jesus be the name ever on my sweeter every time that I call on. There's just  something about your name. There's just something  

about your name. There's just something  about your name. It makes me cry holy. There is no other name I know. There is no  other name. There is no other name. Jesus,   you're worthy. There's just something about  your name. There's just something about your   name. There's just something  about your name. makes me cry. There is no other name of yours. There is  no other day. There is no other day. Jesus,   you're worthy. You are. You are. Just have your way in my life.

Oh, we sacrifice the name of Jesus. Know  the name of you. Know the name of your Jesus. The one time the resurrection and the life Jesus.   Jesus your name can save your name your name  still you never fail you never will Jesus Jesus Jesus Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.

There's just something about your name.  There's just something about your name.   There's just something about your  name that makes me cry. Holy. There is no other name. There is no other name.  There is no other name. Jesus, you're worthy. When did I start to forget all  of the great things you did?   When did I throw away faith for the impossible?

How did I start to believe?  You weren't sufficient for   me. Why do I talk myself out of seeing mirales? Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. You understand what they can do all the time you provide. Thank you.

Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Yeah. Heat. Yeah. Heat.

Heat. Yeah. Heat.

And you are more than able. Come on, we sing and  praise. We declare he is. You are more than able. Lord, you provide. We see. You are more  than able. We sing to our unbelief,   our anxieties, our fears. You are more than able to deny what the Lord can do. Well, online family, welcome back. We hope  that you enjoyed such an awesome service today.   And we've never met before. Maybe this  is your first time with us. My name is   Derek. This is Sarah. We are part of our online  team. And Sarah, we love having Dave Stone here,   but today's message was especially convicting.  It really was. I loved his line where he says,   "Forgiveness is giving up our rights to  retaliation." Because that is so true. You know,   sometimes we have such deep hurts and we feel  the need to want to get even or really justify   how we've been wronged. But forgiveness is  letting that all go and saying, "Okay, like   God can handle it. He's in control." No doubt.  And there's probably a few people today, even   as we're listening to this or as you're watching  us online, that you're thinking, "Man, there's   a couple people in my life that I need to either  forgive and ask for forgiveness for or at the same  

time just be able to seek that reconciliation  because at the end of the day, that's what God   wants. He He does God does not want us to live at  odds with other people and with with that stress   and frustration. But what he wants us to do is  step forward in humility to be able to offer   forgiveness for others to to let go of our of our  need for retaliation to trust him that that hey,   he's called us to forgive and we should forgive  too. And for you at home, if you'd like to talk   about that, all you have to do is text connect to  733733. Uh this week, we would love Sarah, myself,   Brandon, our online team. We are here to be able  to have conversations with you about things like   this. Or maybe you'd like to join a group. Maybe  you'd like to get plugged in here at Southeast.   All you have to do is text that word connect to  733733. Yeah. You know, one thing I love, Derek,   too, about our service is that we got a move  update from the Next Door Center down in Franklin,   Tennessee, really close to our Franklin campus.  And it is so cool that we are able to partner with   different ministries through this move journey  uh that we're doing through financially like   being really generous and being discipled through  our generosity. It's been this journey we've been   taking over the last couple of years starting last  March. And I just think it's so awesome that even   last March when we started this move journey, this  might not have even been on our radar of like, oh,   we get to actually invest in this uh mortgage  payment for the next door. Um, and I just think   it's so cool that we just continue to ask that  question, God, what do you want to do in and  

through me? Because this is the whole point of  that move journey, right? Is ask that question.   How do you want to move in and in and through me  with my finances, with my career, with my job?   And so, if you're thinking, I want to be a part  of this move thing and hear more move updates,   there's a link in the chat, and we would love for  you to partner with us. Yes, please be a part of   the move journey. Again, it's not just about the  financial aspect of it. It is about what God wants   to do in and through each of us. And Sarah, we  are venturing through the summer. We're midway   through July, which means at the movies is coming  up in person. Uh but for those of us online,   we have a very special sermon series for you  coming up. It's going to be four weeks going   to be talking about the unexpected leader, which  specifically refers to Moses. And so you're going   to get to hear from Lucas Dere, from Bryson Cook,  a couple of guys that you are already used to.   You have heard them preached before. You've  seen them preached before. And I promise you,   you're going to enjoy that sermon series,  Sarah, because we are going to be continuing   through this biblical narrative. We're going  to be going from Genesis starting into Exodus,   uh, talking about Moses and what God was doing in  and through his life. And I firmly believe that   you are going to enjoy it. Yeah, it's really cool  how we've really walked through a lot of different   books of the Bible this year. You know, we've gone  all the way through Exodus. We went through Romans   a couple of years ago and now we're going through  walk through Genesis, excuse me, and now we're   going through Exodus. And much like how we've been  doing with our sermon series, we have a brand new   Bible study called From Eden to Eternity. And  what we did, we tried to do in seven episodes  

is go through the entire story of scripture  because sometimes we read different stories   in the Bible and we think, how does this all  relate to one another? But it really is just one   big story of God's redemption for us. And there's  different ways that you can really be engaged with   this study. We're about halfway through, but  our podcast episodes and our YouTube channel   episodes are dropping weekly. And so you can look  on our YouTube channel for those video episodes,   and then we do have the podcast option as well.  But we have a large group coming up on Thursday,   July 23rd with our very own Brandon Braun. Uh he  is a part of our online team and you're going to   love getting to hang out with him. And so a really  easy way for you to really just hear more about   how online groups are about and just meet other  people in our online community. We would love for   you to be a part of this. And so make sure you  text Essie online to 733733 because you do need   the Zoom link to register. And so make sure you do  that and join us on July 23rd. Yes, y'all. We have   some awesome opportunities for you to get involved  even in the midst of summer as you're vacationing,   traveling, doing all the things. We would love  to see you a part of those types of things. The   large group, the the new sermon series we  have coming up. Y'all, before we head out,   I just want to say thank you again for worshiping  with us. We're so glad that you decided of all   places to worship with us here at Southeast.  Y'all, we love you and we will see you next time.

Heat.