WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:01.720 We are in Genesis chapter 33. 00:02.300 --> 00:04.700 If you remember from last week in Genesis 32, 00:05.340 --> 00:08.400 you have Jacob, of course, wrestling with the angel, 00:08.780 --> 00:10.800 which is a pre-incarnate Christ. 00:11.040 --> 00:13.000 And God is working on Jacob at this point 00:13.520 --> 00:15.440 because of the fact that he's going back to confront 00:15.440 --> 00:18.120 or to meet his brother, Esau. 00:18.200 --> 00:20.480 And obviously he's afraid of what's gonna happen 00:20.480 --> 00:21.960 when he meets his brother. 00:22.060 --> 00:23.960 His brother had threatened him 20 years before 00:24.340 --> 00:25.300 that he was gonna kill him. 00:25.680 --> 00:27.700 And Jacob obviously understands that 00:27.700 --> 00:29.360 to a certain degree on a practical level, 00:29.360 --> 00:30.880 he kind of deserves this, right? 00:30.980 --> 00:32.400 He was a very cunning person. 00:32.840 --> 00:33.980 He was very deceptive. 00:34.480 --> 00:36.340 And earlier in Genesis 32, 00:37.060 --> 00:39.440 the servants of Jacob had reported 00:39.900 --> 00:41.480 that they had seen Esau 00:41.480 --> 00:44.020 and that Esau was coming with 400 men. 00:44.420 --> 00:47.320 So the idea here that Jacob has in his mind 00:47.320 --> 00:49.900 is that Esau is coming to make war with him. 00:50.220 --> 00:51.440 He's gonna come fight him. 00:51.760 --> 00:54.380 He's gonna fulfill that which he said he's gonna do 00:54.380 --> 00:56.340 20 years prior to this. 00:56.700 --> 00:58.640 And you know, God is working on Esau. 00:58.640 --> 01:01.760 We have him being left alone in chapter 32. 01:02.440 --> 01:04.120 And of course he wrestles with the Lord 01:04.560 --> 01:08.420 and he does not let him go until he gets blessed by God, right? 01:08.720 --> 01:10.560 And this is essentially where we have Jacob 01:10.560 --> 01:12.520 being renamed Israel. 01:13.280 --> 01:15.320 And both of these names are significant to him 01:15.320 --> 01:17.620 because it kind of pictures his old man 01:17.620 --> 01:19.580 and the new man, right? 01:20.020 --> 01:22.700 Jacob is characterized by being a liar, 01:23.160 --> 01:25.540 being deceptive, a heel catcher. 01:25.780 --> 01:27.840 That's basically like the old man. 01:28.220 --> 01:30.660 But when he wrestles with the Lord, 01:31.060 --> 01:32.840 he ends up being renamed Israel 01:33.220 --> 01:35.420 as a prince he has power with God and with men. 01:35.720 --> 01:38.260 This is essentially the picture of that new man. 01:38.660 --> 01:41.040 So now he has essentially from a spiritual perspective, 01:41.400 --> 01:42.520 these two natures. 01:42.880 --> 01:45.180 And from here on out, we'll kind of see him go back 01:45.180 --> 01:46.720 and forth between these two natures. 01:47.140 --> 01:50.120 So even though he has this new name, 01:50.560 --> 01:52.900 he has this quote unquote new nature, 01:53.320 --> 01:55.620 he still has a tendency to revert back 01:55.620 --> 01:57.980 to the old Jacob as well. 01:58.460 --> 01:59.620 You know what, that's an important principle 01:59.620 --> 02:02.840 because we as Christians, if we're saved, 02:03.060 --> 02:04.180 we have a new nature, amen. 02:04.720 --> 02:07.580 We have that new name written in glory. 02:08.060 --> 02:10.140 It's embedded within the registry of the book of life. 02:10.500 --> 02:11.840 We have the Holy Spirit of God, 02:11.900 --> 02:13.300 but we have that new man. 02:13.780 --> 02:15.820 But it's not at the exclusion of the old. 02:16.020 --> 02:19.180 We still have Jacob dwelling within us, so to speak. 02:19.480 --> 02:21.960 Meaning that we are still susceptible 02:21.960 --> 02:25.180 to the weaknesses of our old man. 02:25.600 --> 02:28.140 And if we feed Jacob and we've given 02:28.140 --> 02:29.680 to the desires of that old man, 02:30.120 --> 02:32.160 we're gonna fulfill the desires of the luster of, 02:32.540 --> 02:33.500 we're gonna be weak Christians. 02:33.980 --> 02:35.980 And so just because God gave us a new nature, 02:36.260 --> 02:37.980 doesn't mean that we don't have the propensity 02:38.340 --> 02:41.680 to give in to the old as we see clearly with Jacob. 02:42.020 --> 02:43.180 When he's wrestling with him, 02:43.220 --> 02:44.740 he ends up touching the hollow of his thigh, 02:45.060 --> 02:47.040 causing him to have somewhat of a limp 02:47.040 --> 02:48.460 for the rest of his life, okay? 02:48.940 --> 02:51.540 So he injures him and it's an indication 02:51.540 --> 02:53.000 that he's met with God, 02:53.440 --> 02:55.200 that he's been broken, so to speak. 02:55.660 --> 02:58.820 And it's that which has caused him to become humbled. 02:59.400 --> 03:02.920 And it's for that reason that he's no longer prideful, right? 03:03.040 --> 03:04.840 He doesn't have that same arrogancey, 03:05.200 --> 03:07.680 pride, deceptive nature about himself 03:07.680 --> 03:10.120 when he's gonna go meet his brother Esau. 03:10.240 --> 03:11.900 Now look at chapter 33 and verse one. 03:12.300 --> 03:12.580 It says, 03:37.420 --> 03:40.220 Now, this is pretty messed up and, you know, obviously, 03:40.480 --> 03:42.540 we gotta address this because, you know, 03:42.760 --> 03:44.980 Jacob, though he cares for his family, 03:45.360 --> 03:46.440 there's obviously certain people 03:46.440 --> 03:48.680 that he favors a little more than others. 03:49.000 --> 03:49.920 So what's going on here? 03:49.920 --> 03:52.680 Well, he knows he's about to confront Esau. 03:52.940 --> 03:54.860 He knows there's potential for war. 03:55.160 --> 03:58.100 He knows that Esau 20 years prior to this wants him to die. 03:58.420 --> 03:58.880 So what does he do? 03:59.180 --> 04:01.120 Well, on a practical level, we saw in chapter 32 04:01.120 --> 04:02.440 that he prayed unto the Lord. 04:02.860 --> 04:04.800 He has faith in God that God's gonna deliver him, 04:05.000 --> 04:07.660 but then he still has somewhat some doubt in him, right? 04:08.300 --> 04:11.420 And so what he ends up doing is he puts the people 04:11.420 --> 04:15.000 that he doesn't care as much for at the front, okay? 04:15.700 --> 04:17.880 You know, he has all these wives and all these kids 04:17.880 --> 04:22.360 and we know that he favors Rachel over everyone else, okay? 04:22.740 --> 04:24.500 He loves Rachel more than Leah. 04:24.920 --> 04:27.060 And of course, he loves them more than the handmaids. 04:27.260 --> 04:28.020 So what does he do? 04:28.300 --> 04:30.500 He puts the handmaids first, okay? 04:31.040 --> 04:33.900 He puts the handmaids first, then he puts Leah 04:34.320 --> 04:37.920 and then you have him and Rachel and their children. 04:38.280 --> 04:40.100 So this is kind of showing us that Jacob 04:40.100 --> 04:41.720 still has not changed in that manner. 04:42.360 --> 04:44.180 He's not, you know, the hollow of his thigh being 04:44.180 --> 04:46.240 shrunken hasn't really changed his perspective 04:46.240 --> 04:47.820 on his wives, okay? 04:48.160 --> 04:50.000 He's not like, well, you know, now I'm Israel. 04:50.300 --> 04:51.720 I'm just gonna treat everyone equally. 04:52.240 --> 04:54.220 No, he still has favoritism. 04:55.240 --> 04:57.100 And it's kind of messed up because if he really thinks 04:57.100 --> 04:59.520 that Esau's gonna come kill him, in his mind, 04:59.580 --> 05:00.980 he's like, well, let them take the handmaids first. 05:01.880 --> 05:03.520 And once he gets through the handmaids, 05:03.620 --> 05:05.060 let them take Leah after that. 05:05.400 --> 05:07.460 And then after he takes Leah, let them take, 05:07.680 --> 05:09.760 you know, Rachel and me thereafter, 05:09.920 --> 05:11.900 but at least they spare Leah, you know, 05:12.000 --> 05:13.560 at least he gets to the handmaids 05:13.560 --> 05:15.820 and Leah before they actually get to Rachel. 05:16.540 --> 05:18.320 And so this is obviously demonstrating here 05:18.320 --> 05:21.120 that though Jacob is a new man, so to speak, 05:21.240 --> 05:24.700 he still has that cowardice nature about himself 05:25.140 --> 05:26.400 where he's showing favoritism. 05:26.780 --> 05:29.280 Now, again, this kind of flies in the face of 05:29.820 --> 05:32.420 the fact that people think that polygamy is okay today, 05:32.580 --> 05:32.780 right? 05:33.300 --> 05:34.480 Oh man, oh, it's wonderful. 05:34.920 --> 05:36.080 This is God's order. 05:36.220 --> 05:37.240 This is how God wants it. 05:37.420 --> 05:40.000 Oh yeah, let's go ahead and ask Leah about that. 05:40.420 --> 05:42.540 You know, let's go ahead and ask the handmaids 05:42.540 --> 05:46.680 about that, how they felt about being second class citizens, 05:47.060 --> 05:49.740 being, you know, Jacob willing to sacrifice them first 05:50.300 --> 05:51.640 before they got to Rachel. 05:51.800 --> 05:55.220 Obviously that does not work and that's not God's will, 05:55.620 --> 05:58.160 but Jacob is somewhat, he's fearful 05:58.160 --> 05:59.940 and so he's not willing to lose that, 05:59.980 --> 06:01.460 which is most precious to him. 06:01.940 --> 06:03.520 And obviously the principle that we can learn there 06:03.520 --> 06:06.520 is that that which we highly esteem 06:06.520 --> 06:08.740 is what we keep close to us, right? 06:09.400 --> 06:11.720 Rachel is highly esteemed in the eyes of Jacob, 06:11.720 --> 06:15.500 therefore he keeps Rachel close to him, 06:15.740 --> 06:18.420 whereas Leah and the handmaids, 06:18.440 --> 06:20.320 he's kind of got them on the outskirts. 06:21.020 --> 06:22.420 And you know what, the biblical principle there 06:22.420 --> 06:25.740 is that we need to make sure that, you know, 06:25.920 --> 06:28.700 when we're going into spiritual battle, so to speak, 06:29.860 --> 06:32.960 against an adversary, we need to keep that 06:32.960 --> 06:34.640 which is most important close to us. 06:35.240 --> 06:35.960 What do I mean by that? 06:36.160 --> 06:37.540 Well, you know, when you're going through 06:37.540 --> 06:39.200 a spiritual battle, when you're confronted 06:39.200 --> 06:41.980 with an adversary, some sort of spiritual warfare, 06:42.480 --> 06:44.380 you need to make sure that you keep the Bible 06:44.380 --> 06:45.800 nice and close to you, right? 06:46.320 --> 06:47.140 In close proximity. 06:47.440 --> 06:49.000 Your church attendance needs to stay 06:49.000 --> 06:50.300 in close proximity to you. 06:50.780 --> 06:53.200 Your prayer life needs to stay in close proximity to you. 06:53.540 --> 06:54.040 And you know what? 06:54.180 --> 06:55.660 The other stuff can go on the back burner. 06:55.900 --> 06:57.100 You know, I'm sorry that we're using Leah 06:57.100 --> 06:58.280 and the handmaids as an illustration 06:58.840 --> 07:00.220 of that which is lightly esteemed, 07:00.480 --> 07:02.660 but that's basically the principle there, right? 07:03.120 --> 07:04.700 Obviously what you care about less 07:04.700 --> 07:06.060 goes on the outskirts 07:06.060 --> 07:07.880 because you're willing to sacrifice those things, 07:07.880 --> 07:09.620 but that which you care about the most 07:09.620 --> 07:11.680 needs to remain nice and close to you. 07:12.100 --> 07:13.240 Look at verse number four. 07:13.400 --> 07:15.720 It says, an Esau ran. 07:17.180 --> 07:19.480 Now, considering how fearful Jacob is, 07:19.540 --> 07:20.880 I'm sure that scared him, right? 07:21.560 --> 07:24.460 He ran to meet him and embraced him 07:24.460 --> 07:26.680 and fell on his neck and kissed him 07:27.300 --> 07:28.860 and they wept. 07:29.620 --> 07:31.220 So keep in mind, Jacob has this idea 07:31.220 --> 07:32.620 that Esau wants to kill him. 07:33.060 --> 07:34.560 Esau comes with four under men, 07:34.560 --> 07:36.940 but instead of spearing him, 07:37.580 --> 07:40.140 killing him, stabbing him, going to war with him, 07:40.460 --> 07:42.260 he actually runs up to him and embraces him, 07:42.580 --> 07:44.140 he kisses him, he's happy to see him. 07:44.460 --> 07:45.520 Now, what does this tell us? 07:45.600 --> 07:46.280 What does this teach us? 07:46.340 --> 07:47.980 What can we learn from this particular encounter? 07:48.800 --> 07:50.460 Well, it shows us that sometimes 07:50.460 --> 07:53.200 we have a tendency to overreact, okay? 07:54.100 --> 07:56.720 Sometimes people don't wanna reconcile relationships. 07:57.300 --> 07:59.400 Sometimes they don't wanna confront a situation 07:59.880 --> 08:02.300 because they really think it's gonna turn out really bad, 08:02.440 --> 08:02.700 right? 08:03.180 --> 08:04.840 And I think all of us to a certain degree 08:04.840 --> 08:06.080 have experienced something like this 08:06.080 --> 08:07.440 where we're like, well, you know, 08:07.460 --> 08:08.800 I don't wanna talk to this person 08:08.800 --> 08:12.140 or I don't want to try to reconcile with my family member 08:12.140 --> 08:14.460 or I don't wanna talk this situation out 08:14.460 --> 08:17.420 because of all the possible outcomes 08:18.040 --> 08:19.400 that can stem from this, right? 08:20.400 --> 08:22.120 And quite frankly, our imagination 08:22.640 --> 08:24.980 can run absolutely wild with us 08:24.980 --> 08:26.680 where we think to ourselves, well, 08:26.760 --> 08:29.380 if I put myself in a vulnerable situation like this 08:29.380 --> 08:30.920 where I'm talking to this person, 08:30.920 --> 08:32.520 this is how it's gonna end up. 08:32.940 --> 08:34.040 You know, they're gonna get mad. 08:34.320 --> 08:35.840 They're gonna say all kinds of things. 08:36.080 --> 08:37.100 They're gonna get me upset 08:37.100 --> 08:38.840 and it's gonna end up being worse. 08:39.040 --> 08:42.240 But often, you're just kind of overreacting, right? 08:42.860 --> 08:44.860 You're kind of just allowing your fears 08:44.860 --> 08:47.660 to conjure up a situation or an outcome 08:47.660 --> 08:49.700 that's not really realistic. 08:50.180 --> 08:51.260 It's not really gonna happen. 08:51.740 --> 08:53.100 You think like your greatest fears 08:53.100 --> 08:54.080 are gonna come upon you, 08:54.220 --> 08:55.100 but then what happens 08:55.100 --> 08:57.340 when you actually try to reconcile this situation? 08:57.780 --> 08:58.520 What happens? 08:58.620 --> 09:00.580 Esau actually ends up embracing you, 09:01.080 --> 09:02.940 kissing you, ends up being good. 09:03.440 --> 09:05.620 And I'm sure Jacob felt relieved. 09:06.880 --> 09:09.080 He's thinking the worst possible case scenario. 09:09.640 --> 09:12.600 He's trying to soften the blow by sending gifts 09:13.140 --> 09:14.700 and then he gets to that point and he's just like, 09:14.780 --> 09:18.720 man, this is not as bad as what I thought it was gonna be. 09:19.480 --> 09:19.860 And you know what? 09:19.900 --> 09:22.540 When it comes to the subject of reconciliation 09:22.540 --> 09:24.320 because that's really what we're looking at here, right? 09:24.680 --> 09:26.780 The reconciliation between two brothers 09:27.240 --> 09:29.040 who are at odds against one another. 09:29.640 --> 09:30.840 They're adversaries. 09:31.300 --> 09:34.760 One is threatening the other 20 years prior. 09:35.240 --> 09:36.520 The other one is running for his life. 09:36.620 --> 09:38.920 I mean, he's literally in a foreign land for 20 years 09:38.920 --> 09:41.340 because he's afraid that his brother's gonna kill him. 09:41.880 --> 09:44.860 What we have here is what exactly what we should do 09:44.860 --> 09:48.800 and not allow our imaginations to just cause us 09:48.800 --> 09:50.580 to make a bad decision 09:50.580 --> 09:55.540 or to avoid confrontation or reconciliation, right? 09:56.640 --> 09:59.360 We need to make sure that we don't just allow 09:59.360 --> 10:02.040 our imagination to cause us to think, 10:02.140 --> 10:04.960 well, I know exactly how this is gonna turn out. 10:05.340 --> 10:06.680 Therefore I'm just gonna avoid it. 10:06.860 --> 10:08.100 I know what they're gonna say. 10:08.400 --> 10:09.660 This is what's gonna happen. 10:09.940 --> 10:11.000 And that's not even the case. 10:11.920 --> 10:13.760 What if Jacob just decided not to do this? 10:13.800 --> 10:14.640 What if he just said, well, 10:15.100 --> 10:16.420 no, I know my brother you saw. 10:16.580 --> 10:17.460 Bro's a hairy man. 10:17.820 --> 10:18.860 He's extremely angry. 10:19.320 --> 10:19.840 He's upset. 10:20.100 --> 10:20.440 He's bitter. 10:20.740 --> 10:22.320 Last time I saw him, he said he was gonna kill me. 10:22.520 --> 10:24.100 So we're just gonna go a different route. 10:24.320 --> 10:25.560 I'm gonna avoid him altogether. 10:25.960 --> 10:28.040 Well, he wouldn't have reconciled with his brother 10:28.040 --> 10:31.060 and had this wonderful encounter with him, right? 10:31.780 --> 10:34.580 And so we as Christians, we're called, 10:34.940 --> 10:36.560 and I've mentioned this already in Times Pass, 10:36.660 --> 10:38.600 but we're called to reconciliation. 10:39.520 --> 10:42.720 We're called to reconcile with others 10:43.180 --> 10:45.640 if there's ought between us, okay? 10:46.300 --> 10:50.500 And you can't allow what you think the outcome is gonna be 10:50.500 --> 10:53.400 that imagination that you're conjuring up 10:53.400 --> 10:55.840 to hinder you from actually confronting that person 10:55.840 --> 10:57.540 and getting it right, okay? 10:58.060 --> 10:59.180 And let's just say, for example, 10:59.340 --> 11:01.780 that the worst possible case scenario 11:01.780 --> 11:02.860 actually does take place. 11:03.040 --> 11:04.780 You're still called to try to reconcile, though. 11:06.220 --> 11:07.740 You're still called to do so. 11:08.100 --> 11:10.820 And look, Christians have a tendency 11:10.820 --> 11:13.140 to just come up with an entire storyline 11:13.880 --> 11:17.580 of what can possibly happen if I go talk to this person 11:17.580 --> 11:21.420 and they're just, you know, they got the storyboard, 11:21.880 --> 11:23.680 every single word that's gonna be said 11:23.680 --> 11:25.420 and this is what's gonna happen 11:25.420 --> 11:27.680 and therefore I'm not gonna go talk to this person. 11:28.020 --> 11:28.560 You know what that is? 11:28.620 --> 11:29.660 It's often just Satan. 11:30.640 --> 11:32.640 Just trying to whisper in your ear, 11:33.100 --> 11:35.500 trying to hinder you from being at peace 11:35.500 --> 11:38.300 amongst each other and being reconciled 11:38.300 --> 11:39.560 using your imagination. 11:40.080 --> 11:41.960 I mean, it reminds me of David, right? 11:42.460 --> 11:44.840 You know, obviously David is running from Saul. 11:45.400 --> 11:47.120 He saw us threatening to kill him 11:47.120 --> 11:49.400 and on multiple occasions, Saul said like, 11:49.460 --> 11:50.480 hey, I'm not gonna pursue you, 11:50.540 --> 11:51.740 but then he ends up pursuing it. 11:52.700 --> 11:53.920 And then finally at the end, 11:54.380 --> 11:56.380 Saul just comes to his senses and says, you know what? 11:57.460 --> 11:58.780 I'm not gonna pursue you. 11:59.160 --> 12:01.020 You have spared my life 12:01.020 --> 12:02.700 and therefore I'm not gonna try to kill you. 12:02.940 --> 12:04.060 And then David's like, all right, cool. 12:04.180 --> 12:05.140 But then in his mind, 12:05.280 --> 12:06.740 the Bible says that David said in his heart, 12:07.220 --> 12:10.200 I shall one day die by the hand of Saul. 12:10.940 --> 12:11.520 You know what he does? 12:11.660 --> 12:14.540 He ends up going to live in the land of the Philistines 12:14.540 --> 12:17.540 for over a year based upon that imagination. 12:18.120 --> 12:19.000 Wasn't true though. 12:19.720 --> 12:21.600 Saul was done pursuing David. 12:22.140 --> 12:23.620 Obviously he didn't have a good track record 12:23.620 --> 12:26.220 in that regard, but that one little thought, 12:26.580 --> 12:30.220 that one little judgment that he made caused him 12:30.220 --> 12:31.740 to go into a foreign land. 12:31.940 --> 12:35.300 I mean, literally the enemy's camp for an entire year, 12:35.340 --> 12:37.720 just because he said in where his heart, 12:38.220 --> 12:39.940 I shall one day die by the hand of Saul. 12:40.940 --> 12:41.320 You know what? 12:41.400 --> 12:42.800 We need to make sure that, yeah, 12:43.060 --> 12:44.340 obviously we need to plan ahead. 12:44.860 --> 12:46.160 Obviously we need to be prudent. 12:46.800 --> 12:49.400 Obviously we need to think about the worst case scenario, 12:49.760 --> 12:51.740 but don't allow that to hinder you 12:51.740 --> 12:54.380 from actually carrying out the reconciliation, okay? 12:55.140 --> 12:56.940 And you know, we live in a day and age 12:56.940 --> 12:59.100 where a lot of people are just like anxiety driven. 12:59.980 --> 13:01.820 They're just very anxious about everything. 13:02.340 --> 13:04.080 Super nervous, they're anxious. 13:04.420 --> 13:06.920 They just have like these mental breakdowns 13:06.920 --> 13:08.340 where they're just afraid of what's gonna happen. 13:08.620 --> 13:11.560 And often that's due to just imaginations. 13:12.340 --> 13:14.060 Things that are just not really gonna happen. 13:14.700 --> 13:17.580 Just not, it comes as a result 13:17.580 --> 13:19.420 of not casting down imaginations 13:19.420 --> 13:21.100 and every guy I think that exalted himself 13:21.100 --> 13:21.980 against the knowledge of God. 13:22.280 --> 13:23.860 Oh, I just can't do it, because what if this happens? 13:24.340 --> 13:25.540 But you don't know if that's gonna happen. 13:26.400 --> 13:28.560 You have no idea what's gonna take place. 13:28.940 --> 13:31.680 All you know is that you should go 13:31.680 --> 13:33.820 and reconcile with your brother or sister in Christ, 13:34.140 --> 13:34.720 make it right. 13:34.720 --> 13:36.760 No, but they're gonna think this of me. 13:36.840 --> 13:37.840 You don't know that. 13:38.760 --> 13:40.420 No, but they're gonna yell at me. 13:40.620 --> 13:41.600 You don't know that. 13:42.320 --> 13:43.960 No, but this is what's gonna happen. 13:44.200 --> 13:44.980 You don't know that. 13:45.180 --> 13:45.780 But let me say this. 13:46.020 --> 13:48.180 If you're the type of person that is overly anxious 13:48.180 --> 13:50.500 over these confrontations and reconciliations, 13:50.960 --> 13:53.360 let me just give you a tip that'll help you 13:54.000 --> 13:56.060 to just overcome that, okay? 13:57.300 --> 13:59.240 And it's very uncomfortable, okay? 14:00.020 --> 14:02.260 It's not, it doesn't make the situation easier. 14:02.260 --> 14:05.740 It just makes it a lot easier going forward 14:06.240 --> 14:07.820 with reconciliations in the future. 14:08.500 --> 14:10.540 So let's say you have to reconcile with someone 14:10.540 --> 14:11.940 and you're just like, I'm just scared. 14:12.300 --> 14:14.260 Like I'm afraid of what's gonna happen if I do. 14:15.220 --> 14:16.060 Well, this is what you do. 14:16.380 --> 14:21.400 You think of the absolute worst possible case scenario. 14:22.380 --> 14:22.600 Okay? 14:23.360 --> 14:26.740 Let's just say brother Marcos, you know, 14:27.480 --> 14:30.080 he's at war with, let's just pick someone here. 14:30.720 --> 14:33.200 Who's easy to pick on right here? 14:33.420 --> 14:33.560 Who? 14:34.120 --> 14:35.620 Hi, that's too easy though. 14:36.480 --> 14:37.340 That's too easy. 14:37.560 --> 14:38.660 That's too close to the truth. 14:40.080 --> 14:42.540 Let's say Adam, because he just walked in, all right? 14:44.120 --> 14:47.240 So Marcos is at enmity with Adam 14:48.860 --> 14:51.900 and Marcos has this social anxiety about himself 14:51.900 --> 14:55.200 and he does, he has to like reconcile with Adam 14:55.200 --> 14:57.160 but he's just afraid of what Adam's gonna say. 14:57.220 --> 14:58.380 He's afraid of what he's gonna do. 14:58.860 --> 15:00.380 Adam is a high-tempered fellow. 15:00.880 --> 15:02.300 He's not, but we're just imagining here. 15:03.100 --> 15:04.460 You know, he's a high-tempered fellow. 15:04.740 --> 15:05.900 He's extremely angry. 15:06.300 --> 15:07.140 He has a short fuse. 15:07.520 --> 15:09.900 And so Marcos knows his responsibility to reconcile 15:09.900 --> 15:11.920 but he's just like, I just don't want you 15:11.920 --> 15:12.860 because I don't know what's gonna happen. 15:13.200 --> 15:15.400 Well, what do you think is the worst possible case scenario 15:15.400 --> 15:16.300 that can happen for the Marcos? 15:16.740 --> 15:18.360 I just feel as if it's gonna punch me in the mouth. 15:19.140 --> 15:20.420 And it's like, Adam, you know. 15:21.620 --> 15:22.980 You know, he's just like, you think is it? 15:23.080 --> 15:25.220 Yeah, I really think based upon my offense 15:25.760 --> 15:27.440 that he's just gonna punch me in the throat. 15:28.940 --> 15:29.340 Okay? 15:30.400 --> 15:35.020 And this is all in illustration, can never happen, okay? 15:35.680 --> 15:36.940 It's not gonna happen between these guys. 15:37.080 --> 15:37.900 These guys get along great. 15:38.760 --> 15:39.640 So what should Marcos do? 15:39.720 --> 15:40.660 So he's just avoided it altogether? 15:40.900 --> 15:43.560 No, what he has to do is just make peace with that. 15:45.080 --> 15:48.340 The possibility that Adam can just sock him in the throat. 15:49.620 --> 15:50.020 Okay? 15:50.340 --> 15:52.080 And I'm not kidding you, this literally helps. 15:52.420 --> 15:54.080 So Marcos has to say, you know what? 15:54.500 --> 15:56.240 The worst possible thing that can happen 15:56.240 --> 15:57.620 is that he chops me in my throat. 15:59.020 --> 16:00.840 And then what you do is you make peace with that 16:00.840 --> 16:01.420 and say, you know what? 16:01.860 --> 16:02.900 I'm expecting that. 16:03.060 --> 16:05.040 If that's the case, I've already made peace with it. 16:05.300 --> 16:07.980 Put it in God's hands and whatever happens, 16:08.380 --> 16:09.440 I'm in God's hands. 16:09.680 --> 16:10.800 I just know what I'm doing is right. 16:11.180 --> 16:12.840 This is the worst possible case scenario. 16:13.260 --> 16:16.500 And I would say 90% of the time, 16:16.860 --> 16:18.560 Adam ends up not chopping him in the throat. 16:20.360 --> 16:21.320 And you know what that does? 16:21.320 --> 16:25.920 It causes the person who is putting the effort 16:25.920 --> 16:28.360 into reconciling, to have faith 16:28.360 --> 16:30.240 in reconciling future relationships, 16:30.840 --> 16:32.380 because it causes them to have doubt 16:32.380 --> 16:33.940 in their own judgment for the future. 16:34.420 --> 16:36.700 They're just like, whoa, I actually overreacted. 16:36.920 --> 16:38.420 Like, that was just an imagined, 16:38.600 --> 16:39.940 nothing was even close to that. 16:40.140 --> 16:41.680 In fact, Adam was even mad. 16:42.600 --> 16:44.780 In fact, Adam forgot about the offense. 16:45.800 --> 16:47.920 In fact, Adam doesn't even remember 16:48.480 --> 16:50.160 when he said that, you know, 16:50.160 --> 16:51.820 when Marco said that to him or whatever maybe. 16:52.540 --> 16:55.420 And so then you start deconstructing 16:55.420 --> 16:58.320 all of these narratives that your mind 16:58.320 --> 17:01.200 is coming up with against your adversary. 17:01.720 --> 17:02.960 And then you realize like, man, 17:03.360 --> 17:05.580 like I overreacted in my mind. 17:06.220 --> 17:10.360 So folks, if you are forced to reconcile a situation, 17:10.520 --> 17:12.540 a relationship with a friend, family member, 17:13.040 --> 17:16.300 whoever, just think of the worst possible case scenario 17:16.300 --> 17:17.100 and make peace with it. 17:17.300 --> 17:18.880 You're like, yeah, but what if it does happen though? 17:18.880 --> 17:21.600 What if Adam does chop him in the throat? 17:22.320 --> 17:23.260 Well, at least you called it. 17:26.520 --> 17:27.800 At least you called it. 17:28.520 --> 17:30.420 And now you know, like, okay, I kind of, 17:30.600 --> 17:33.480 and it will soften the blow, no pun intended. 17:34.560 --> 17:36.760 Because then you're like, well, I kind of expected that. 17:37.100 --> 17:38.180 That's what I thought was gonna happen. 17:38.340 --> 17:39.320 You know, it wasn't even that bad. 17:39.460 --> 17:41.640 Adam didn't even chop me that hard, you know? 17:42.340 --> 17:43.280 You know, it's okay. 17:43.380 --> 17:44.380 And now we're friends now, 17:44.500 --> 17:45.500 because we talked it out or whatever. 17:45.760 --> 17:46.900 But I'm just gonna tell you right now, 17:46.900 --> 17:49.920 90% of the time, the worst possible case scenario 17:49.920 --> 17:52.800 that you can think of, most of the time does not happen. 17:53.400 --> 17:56.480 And it ends up helping you to, you know, 17:56.800 --> 17:59.280 essentially reconcile future relationships 17:59.280 --> 18:01.520 because if you're not the reconciling type, 18:01.820 --> 18:03.240 you're gonna always have problems 18:03.880 --> 18:05.660 throughout your life with other people. 18:06.060 --> 18:07.500 Because you're always avoiding reconciliation. 18:08.420 --> 18:10.320 You're always avoiding, you know, 18:10.940 --> 18:13.340 reconciling with others and confronting others. 18:13.720 --> 18:14.980 Now, let me also say this is that 18:14.980 --> 18:16.720 there needs to be a balance to this as well, right? 18:17.300 --> 18:18.980 Meaning that we don't need to confront each other 18:18.980 --> 18:20.480 for every single little thing 18:20.480 --> 18:22.880 that we say against each other, you understand? 18:23.200 --> 18:26.380 Like, you know, I don't want Adam confronted me afterwards 18:26.380 --> 18:27.640 and say, hey, I didn't really appreciate you 18:27.640 --> 18:28.420 using me as an illustration. 18:29.180 --> 18:30.820 You know, I kind of didn't like that. 18:30.920 --> 18:31.720 I'm just gonna ignore him. 18:33.320 --> 18:35.980 I'm just gonna walk away, okay? 18:36.460 --> 18:38.400 Because that's not an offensive thing. 18:38.680 --> 18:39.860 You know, obviously I'm referring to like 18:40.600 --> 18:43.740 grievous offenses where it's really 18:43.740 --> 18:45.100 affecting a relationship. 18:45.600 --> 18:48.160 It's really affecting you, you know, 18:48.380 --> 18:51.780 where maybe money's involved or something like that, right? 18:52.360 --> 18:55.760 Some sort of situation that's really affecting 18:55.760 --> 18:57.200 both parties spiritually, 18:57.340 --> 18:59.260 or there's just a really grievous offense 18:59.260 --> 19:00.760 that is just very blatant 19:00.760 --> 19:02.380 that maybe even someone can potentially 19:02.380 --> 19:04.300 get thrown out for of the church. 19:05.260 --> 19:06.560 The point that I'm making here 19:06.560 --> 19:08.000 is that we need to make sure 19:08.480 --> 19:11.000 that we develop the discipline 19:11.450 --> 19:15.360 of learning how to talk things out when necessary. 19:16.000 --> 19:17.180 You know, it begins in the home. 19:17.360 --> 19:19.240 I mean, this is literally Jacob and Esau, 19:20.060 --> 19:21.700 brothers, twin brothers at that. 19:22.160 --> 19:23.380 Twin brothers, amen, we got it, you know? 19:23.900 --> 19:25.580 Twin brothers, you know, he's not even, 19:26.880 --> 19:28.640 he's cool with his brother, you know? 19:29.420 --> 19:30.700 But these are literally twin brothers. 19:30.820 --> 19:32.940 These are family members having to reconcile. 19:33.320 --> 19:33.740 And you know what? 19:34.640 --> 19:37.080 It'll help you to learn how to reconcile situations 19:37.080 --> 19:39.260 in church when you do it at home first. 19:41.660 --> 19:44.200 It'll help you to learn how to reconcile situations 19:44.200 --> 19:46.100 when you know how to reconcile with your spouse. 19:47.620 --> 19:48.820 And let me say this, you know, 19:49.400 --> 19:51.920 when you're married, you will have instances 19:52.560 --> 19:54.480 where there will be conflict between you and your wife. 19:55.180 --> 19:57.320 You're gonna be like Esau and she's gonna be like Jacob. 19:57.800 --> 19:59.160 Or you're gonna be like Jacob 19:59.160 --> 20:00.820 and she's gonna be like Esau. 20:01.820 --> 20:03.400 You know, where there's like conflict. 20:04.100 --> 20:06.500 That's not a crazy thing to say. 20:06.580 --> 20:08.720 That's literally reality, my friends. 20:09.680 --> 20:10.480 And you know what? 20:10.600 --> 20:12.420 I'll be honest with you, to be transparent with you, 20:12.560 --> 20:14.780 I grew up in a home where reconciliation 20:14.780 --> 20:15.880 wasn't really a thing. 20:16.680 --> 20:17.600 You don't really reconcile. 20:18.120 --> 20:18.880 That's not even a word. 20:19.660 --> 20:22.060 Like in our growing up, it just wasn't a thing. 20:22.660 --> 20:26.360 If there was some sort of conflict with, you know, 20:26.760 --> 20:28.740 my siblings or my parents or whatever, 20:29.040 --> 20:30.280 we just wouldn't talk about it. 20:31.020 --> 20:33.740 It would just, we'd fight and then, you know, 20:34.180 --> 20:35.800 you just kind of waited out a couple of days. 20:36.820 --> 20:37.880 You guys know what I'm talking about? 20:38.480 --> 20:40.180 You know, you just waited out a couple of days 20:40.180 --> 20:43.240 and then, you know, if they made you a meal or something, 20:43.440 --> 20:45.020 that was like their peace offering. 20:46.100 --> 20:47.620 Like a week later, it was just like, come eat. 20:47.820 --> 20:49.440 It was just like, all right, I think we're cool now, you know? 20:50.100 --> 20:50.900 Same thing with my brother. 20:51.100 --> 20:52.900 You know, I remember like, for example, my brother, 20:53.120 --> 20:54.420 when we would have fights, 20:54.520 --> 20:56.080 because we would fight all the time, 20:57.260 --> 20:58.840 it was just common for us to fight. 20:58.940 --> 21:00.840 And he was like, he's 13 years older than me. 21:01.360 --> 21:02.940 But like, we would fight a lot. 21:02.940 --> 21:05.940 Sometimes physically fight, sometimes verbally. 21:06.720 --> 21:09.380 And, you know, I remember there'd be instances where like, 21:09.560 --> 21:11.100 we just wouldn't talk for days. 21:12.420 --> 21:14.540 Just, and we lived in the same house. 21:15.400 --> 21:18.480 We'd see each other and just absolutely avoid each other. 21:18.680 --> 21:19.860 Now, if you're like, whoa, that's crazy, 21:19.980 --> 21:21.380 is that, that's a real thing. 21:22.060 --> 21:23.280 Okay, and I'm sure a lot of you know 21:23.280 --> 21:24.000 what I'm talking about. 21:24.700 --> 21:26.340 We would literally avoid each other. 21:26.700 --> 21:29.520 And the only time I knew that we were cool, 21:29.720 --> 21:31.060 because my brother used to love drawing, 21:31.060 --> 21:32.820 is that he would draw me something. 21:33.800 --> 21:35.600 And then he would leave it on the table. 21:35.820 --> 21:36.640 He would even be there. 21:37.400 --> 21:38.680 He'd just leave it on the table 21:38.680 --> 21:40.180 and they would say like four bars or something. 21:41.020 --> 21:42.420 And I get there, I'm like, okay, cool, 21:42.520 --> 21:43.680 Melvin's cool with me again, you know? 21:44.100 --> 21:45.720 Like, we're cool, you know? 21:46.000 --> 21:47.440 And then we'd see each other and everything would be good. 21:47.680 --> 21:48.820 And you're like, oh, that's so nice. 21:48.960 --> 21:49.540 No, not really. 21:52.100 --> 21:54.320 The tension, the conflict, 21:55.240 --> 21:58.420 the uncomfortable feeling of just being at odds 21:58.420 --> 22:00.060 against someone, that's not a good thing. 22:00.060 --> 22:01.100 But you know, that's what happens 22:01.100 --> 22:02.680 when you don't really grow up in a Christian home 22:02.680 --> 22:03.760 around Christian principles. 22:04.720 --> 22:06.340 Whereas, you know, the Bible teaches us 22:06.340 --> 22:08.080 to just reconcile it, okay? 22:09.700 --> 22:13.280 And so, you know, learn how to be 22:13.840 --> 22:16.380 a reconciling type of a Christian at home. 22:16.560 --> 22:19.420 Start with your marriage, you know? 22:20.160 --> 22:21.860 I've had conflicts with my wife. 22:22.240 --> 22:25.060 Yes, we don't have a perfect marriage, you know? 22:25.740 --> 22:27.720 I've had instances where, you know, 22:28.200 --> 22:32.780 we argue and we don't get along for whatever reason. 22:33.380 --> 22:34.920 You know, maybe we're not sleeping enough 22:34.920 --> 22:36.420 and we're just both cranky 22:36.420 --> 22:38.600 and we're both acting a little bratty. 22:38.860 --> 22:39.500 And you know what? 22:39.660 --> 22:41.940 There's conflict, okay? 22:43.280 --> 22:45.200 We're not swinging at each other or anything like that, 22:45.480 --> 22:47.240 you know, because she would just lose. 22:48.620 --> 22:51.580 She's just, that's super easy, you know? 22:52.260 --> 22:54.720 But you know, there's times when we would just like 22:54.720 --> 22:56.880 have a lot of conflict and you know what? 22:58.280 --> 23:01.320 Sometimes it's just you're married 23:01.320 --> 23:02.340 for a certain amount of time 23:02.840 --> 23:05.500 and you know, you have personality conflicts. 23:06.200 --> 23:07.800 There's things that you don't agree upon 23:07.800 --> 23:09.880 and then you're both snappy at each other. 23:10.520 --> 23:12.400 That's literally what's happened in my marriage. 23:12.500 --> 23:14.160 I've had that happen multiple times. 23:14.640 --> 23:16.160 In fact, we had one this week. 23:18.920 --> 23:20.400 Yeah, that's why she's not in church. 23:20.700 --> 23:21.700 She's just mad at me right now. 23:21.760 --> 23:22.040 I'm just kidding. 23:22.560 --> 23:23.600 My daughter's sick right now. 23:24.980 --> 23:26.080 We've literally had time. 23:26.220 --> 23:27.340 That's why she's not over there, you know? 23:27.420 --> 23:28.740 She's being a rebellious woman, I'm just kidding. 23:30.140 --> 23:33.100 We, even this week, we had a conflict, you know? 23:33.760 --> 23:34.380 You know, what'd you do? 23:34.520 --> 23:35.760 We just, you know, we just apologized 23:35.760 --> 23:39.040 to each other, what we do, you know? 23:39.480 --> 23:41.160 I'm like, you know, do you have something 23:41.160 --> 23:41.820 you want to tell me? 23:42.620 --> 23:42.880 You know? 23:43.920 --> 23:45.640 Because you know, here's the thing folks, 23:45.860 --> 23:48.160 is that life is filled with conflict 23:48.160 --> 23:50.360 and it's just not worth having conflict at home 23:50.360 --> 23:51.580 because we have it everywhere else. 23:52.900 --> 23:54.120 You just have it everywhere else. 23:54.240 --> 23:55.500 You want your home to be peaceful. 23:56.000 --> 23:57.880 Well, then you have to participate in reconciliation. 24:00.260 --> 24:02.180 And I have this conviction 24:02.600 --> 24:05.120 that you don't let the sun go down upon your wrath. 24:06.580 --> 24:07.700 Because it sucks. 24:08.600 --> 24:10.260 And look, I'll be the first one to tell you 24:10.260 --> 24:12.320 that I've done that, okay? 24:12.920 --> 24:15.760 I'm telling you this because I want you to understand 24:15.760 --> 24:18.060 that like, you know, your pastor's not perfect. 24:18.060 --> 24:21.160 Yeah, you know, I have an awesome marriage, a great marriage. 24:21.400 --> 24:23.380 And then I know when I share these illustrations with you, 24:23.400 --> 24:26.380 you're like, Ms. Sarah, she really? 24:26.580 --> 24:27.580 I can't even picture that. 24:27.820 --> 24:31.620 Yeah, you know, she's a sinner like everyone else. 24:32.480 --> 24:34.620 And you'll never catch us fighting in public 24:34.620 --> 24:35.940 or anything like that, you know what I mean? 24:36.040 --> 24:36.960 Because I'll just give her the eye. 24:38.180 --> 24:39.900 You know, we're not gonna yell at each other 24:39.900 --> 24:42.680 in public or anything, but we've had conflicts for sure. 24:43.880 --> 24:45.220 But you know, we live by the principle 24:45.220 --> 24:47.020 of we need to reconcile this 24:47.500 --> 24:48.280 and I'm sorry. 24:48.920 --> 24:51.280 Like, even this morning, this morning, 24:51.740 --> 24:54.180 I text my wife over something and I just told her, 24:54.640 --> 24:58.660 hey, I just wanna apologize to you for X, Y, and Z. 24:59.320 --> 25:00.080 I'm really sorry. 25:01.000 --> 25:02.600 And you know, I've shouldn't have said that 25:02.600 --> 25:03.880 and so please forgive me. 25:04.220 --> 25:07.260 And she doesn't leave me on red, okay? 25:08.300 --> 25:11.640 Or put some bubbles and then go back, you know? 25:13.860 --> 25:14.640 You know what I mean? 25:14.640 --> 25:16.100 She's just like, well, let them grovel. 25:17.020 --> 25:19.120 Let them grovel a little bit, you know? 25:19.600 --> 25:20.960 You know what I'm talking about? 25:21.380 --> 25:24.120 Where you text someone and then they're typing 25:24.120 --> 25:25.360 and then it goes away 25:25.740 --> 25:27.460 and then the bubbles come back and it goes away. 25:27.600 --> 25:28.400 Just like, just say it! 25:31.100 --> 25:32.560 My phone died, you know? 25:35.180 --> 25:36.520 And she forgives me right away. 25:37.240 --> 25:37.540 You know what? 25:37.560 --> 25:38.140 I do the same. 25:39.960 --> 25:42.400 Because you know, I married a sinner and so does she. 25:43.100 --> 25:44.600 And so we're always gonna have conflict. 25:45.060 --> 25:46.960 But here's the thing is that, you know, 25:47.020 --> 25:48.560 if we didn't practice reconciliation, 25:50.300 --> 25:52.180 my imagination can run wild. 25:53.580 --> 25:55.680 You know, my imagination can be like, oh man, 25:56.060 --> 25:58.840 my wife is becoming a rebellious feminist! 26:01.360 --> 26:02.020 She's a feminist. 26:04.120 --> 26:04.860 She's a, you know, 26:04.900 --> 26:06.260 and then just come up with all kinds of crazy, 26:06.700 --> 26:08.180 you know, and I'm sure she can come up 26:08.180 --> 26:09.940 with all kinds of crazy imaginations too. 26:11.120 --> 26:14.600 So to avoid all that nonsense, just go talk to Esau. 26:15.760 --> 26:18.040 Think of the worst possible case scenario 26:18.500 --> 26:21.460 that can come about this whole situation and you know what? 26:21.740 --> 26:23.260 And I personally think one of the reasons 26:23.260 --> 26:25.160 why we're so quick to just squash, 26:25.480 --> 26:26.880 you know, whatever conflict we have, 26:26.940 --> 26:27.880 I'm talking about my wife and I, 26:28.140 --> 26:30.180 it's because we have experience in reconciliating, 26:30.620 --> 26:32.000 or reconciling one with another. 26:33.220 --> 26:35.280 She has experience with me forgiving her 26:35.280 --> 26:36.780 and I have experience with her forgiving me. 26:37.780 --> 26:41.000 And so it just makes reconciliation that much more sweeter. 26:41.780 --> 26:42.020 Understand? 26:42.940 --> 26:45.920 But you know, people who don't like to reconcile 26:45.920 --> 26:47.680 or they just leave things on the table 26:47.680 --> 26:48.720 for a long period of time, 26:49.080 --> 26:50.980 they have a hard time reconciling 26:50.980 --> 26:52.040 because of the fact that 26:52.480 --> 26:53.980 they've never really put it into practice. 26:55.040 --> 26:58.620 And you know, we can't blame ourselves per se 26:58.620 --> 27:00.640 or anybody else if that's how we were 27:00.640 --> 27:02.740 because if it wasn't modeled to us, 27:02.960 --> 27:04.720 then it's hard to do those things, right? 27:05.200 --> 27:07.080 So we have to take what the Bible says 27:07.080 --> 27:08.260 and just put it into practice. 27:08.640 --> 27:09.540 Like where does it say? 27:09.640 --> 27:10.820 Well, we're looking at a story right now. 27:11.920 --> 27:15.600 Jacob literally going as cowardice as he is, 27:16.420 --> 27:18.020 as cunning as he is, 27:18.480 --> 27:19.700 he's just like, you know what? 27:20.200 --> 27:21.640 Talking to him, my brother Esau 27:21.640 --> 27:23.320 is a lot better than staying with Laban at least. 27:24.100 --> 27:25.920 And we just have to do this. 27:26.400 --> 27:27.680 And it ended up being great. 27:28.640 --> 27:31.060 He won his brother over, you know, 27:31.140 --> 27:32.900 his brother was excited to meet him. 27:33.260 --> 27:33.760 It was great. 27:33.760 --> 27:36.040 You know, practice in your marriage. 27:36.400 --> 27:38.320 Make sure you practice with your kids. 27:39.180 --> 27:40.500 And kids, you need to make sure 27:40.500 --> 27:41.820 you practice this with your parents. 27:43.000 --> 27:46.240 If you're resentful towards mom and dad 27:46.240 --> 27:48.000 because of some offense 27:48.000 --> 27:49.740 or because you feel like you've done something 27:49.740 --> 27:50.840 and you're like, man, 27:50.920 --> 27:52.580 I don't wanna go tell my mom and dad this 27:52.580 --> 27:54.380 because they might be even more mad. 27:54.700 --> 27:55.680 You'd be surprised. 27:56.960 --> 27:59.240 You'd be surprised if you go talk to Esau 27:59.240 --> 28:00.420 that it's not that way. 28:00.660 --> 28:02.460 And in fact, you know what mom and dad are gonna do? 28:02.460 --> 28:04.920 They're gonna run up to you, embrace you and kiss you 28:05.500 --> 28:06.740 just like Esau did. 28:08.660 --> 28:09.760 And you know what, children? 28:09.980 --> 28:10.780 Let me just tell you this. 28:11.620 --> 28:14.220 Is that Satan is gonna work overtime 28:14.820 --> 28:16.000 throughout these years 28:16.620 --> 28:18.940 while you're under your parents' roof 28:19.480 --> 28:20.840 to try to convince you 28:20.840 --> 28:22.440 that going to mom and dad 28:22.440 --> 28:23.740 and talking to them about these things 28:23.740 --> 28:25.280 is just not the best idea. 28:26.340 --> 28:28.140 Oh man, if you go talk to mom and dad 28:28.140 --> 28:29.360 they're gonna be so mad. 28:29.640 --> 28:30.700 They're gonna spank you. 28:30.820 --> 28:31.600 They're gonna do this. 28:31.600 --> 28:32.320 They're gonna do that. 28:32.600 --> 28:33.760 And then you just, you have all these 28:33.760 --> 28:35.400 and you're like, oh, I'm just gonna not say anything. 28:35.700 --> 28:37.380 I'm gonna just keep this from mom and dad. 28:37.640 --> 28:38.960 I'm just gonna lie to them. 28:39.120 --> 28:41.240 And then you end up making the situation a lot worse. 28:42.600 --> 28:44.560 Whereas if you actually put into practice, 28:45.020 --> 28:46.620 let me just go reconcile with mom and dad. 28:46.680 --> 28:48.040 Let me just go tell them the truth. 28:48.660 --> 28:49.740 Explain to them what happened. 28:49.860 --> 28:50.480 You know what's gonna happen? 28:50.820 --> 28:52.580 They're gonna have mercy on you. 28:52.860 --> 28:54.260 Yeah, they may be a little upset. 28:55.080 --> 28:55.940 But let me tell you this. 28:56.260 --> 28:58.300 If you are humbly going to them 28:58.980 --> 29:01.940 and confessing whatever fault you have, 29:02.480 --> 29:03.500 whatever sin you committed, 29:03.860 --> 29:04.900 whatever offense you did, 29:05.280 --> 29:06.660 the punishment is a lot less. 29:07.220 --> 29:09.640 And in fact, in many cases there's no punishment at all. 29:11.300 --> 29:12.720 Not 100% of the time, 29:12.820 --> 29:14.120 but you know a large percent of the time 29:14.120 --> 29:16.800 there's no punishment because parents appreciate, 29:17.020 --> 29:18.320 listen to me, parents appreciate 29:18.320 --> 29:19.860 when you just come clean. 29:20.560 --> 29:20.800 Understand? 29:22.120 --> 29:26.180 Hey kids, learn how to reconcile with your parents. 29:27.320 --> 29:29.780 Learn how to apologize to mom and dad. 29:31.000 --> 29:33.220 Learn how to just say, I'm sorry, mom. 29:33.620 --> 29:34.480 I'm sorry, dad. 29:34.920 --> 29:36.400 I did this and I was wrong. 29:36.860 --> 29:37.420 And you know what? 29:37.580 --> 29:38.780 Mom and dad will appreciate it. 29:39.660 --> 29:40.520 And you know what they're gonna do? 29:40.620 --> 29:41.540 They're gonna be like Esau. 29:41.780 --> 29:42.620 They're gonna run to you. 29:42.740 --> 29:43.560 They're gonna embrace you. 29:43.640 --> 29:44.420 They're gonna kiss you. 29:44.760 --> 29:47.380 And then all those imaginations just melt away. 29:48.060 --> 29:49.040 You're like, wow, it wasn't as bad 29:49.040 --> 29:49.860 as I thought it was gonna be. 29:50.260 --> 29:51.420 And let me just tell you this. 29:51.420 --> 29:55.900 One of the most satisfying things to feel 29:56.620 --> 29:58.100 when you reconcile with someone 29:58.780 --> 30:01.840 is this imaginary burden that comes off of you. 30:02.820 --> 30:03.960 You guys know what I'm talking about? 30:04.300 --> 30:05.400 Like when you reconcile with someone 30:05.400 --> 30:06.260 and then it's all good, 30:06.640 --> 30:08.360 it's just like, man, I feel like, 30:08.680 --> 30:10.260 I feel like a load has been taken off. 30:11.520 --> 30:12.800 You know what that's called? 30:13.020 --> 30:13.920 You're not guilty anymore. 30:14.820 --> 30:16.480 You've been forgiven, right? 30:17.580 --> 30:21.200 And often that load is loaded with, 30:21.800 --> 30:22.960 along with your offense, 30:23.360 --> 30:25.480 all the imaginations of the conclusions 30:25.480 --> 30:27.720 that can come about if you were to reconcile. 30:28.440 --> 30:31.060 So you're just loading that bag, loading that backpack. 30:31.480 --> 30:32.760 But you know what happens when you go reconcile, 30:32.900 --> 30:33.820 you take the backpack off 30:34.420 --> 30:36.240 and it's not as bad as you thought it was gonna be. 30:36.720 --> 30:37.980 Learn how to reconcile with your spouse. 30:38.280 --> 30:40.380 Learn how to reconcile with your children. 30:40.560 --> 30:42.140 Learn how to reconcile with mom and dad. 30:43.000 --> 30:45.620 Hey, learn how to reconcile with other church members as well. 30:46.060 --> 30:47.200 And I know I talked about this, 30:47.320 --> 30:48.220 I don't know, a couple of weeks ago, 30:48.240 --> 30:49.440 but the chapter's talking about it, 30:49.460 --> 30:50.420 so I'm here to talk about it too. 30:51.360 --> 30:53.340 You know, if there's beef with you 30:53.340 --> 30:54.380 and another church member, 30:54.800 --> 30:56.620 don't be this person who just avoids 30:56.620 --> 30:57.820 the conflict altogether 30:57.820 --> 30:59.300 when you know that there's just 30:59.300 --> 31:00.800 some sort of glaring offense 31:00.800 --> 31:03.100 or you're just feeling guilty about something, 31:03.200 --> 31:03.740 go get it right. 31:05.760 --> 31:06.580 Go get it right. 31:07.020 --> 31:08.340 If you've offended someone, 31:08.820 --> 31:10.480 if you are just grievously, 31:10.860 --> 31:13.860 you know, if you've just grievously offended someone, 31:13.860 --> 31:15.980 go get that right and just go apologize to them. 31:16.700 --> 31:17.720 Just go get it right. 31:17.920 --> 31:18.700 This is a church. 31:19.000 --> 31:19.880 This is what we do. 31:20.280 --> 31:21.000 These are Christians. 31:21.640 --> 31:23.060 This is how we're supposed to operate. 31:23.580 --> 31:25.480 And you're like, yeah, but I just feel like, 31:25.680 --> 31:28.900 I feel like the relationship's just beyond recognition. 31:29.200 --> 31:29.660 No, it's not. 31:30.340 --> 31:31.500 It's not beyond recognition. 31:31.940 --> 31:33.420 You're just allowing your imaginations 31:33.420 --> 31:34.780 to get the best of you is what you're doing. 31:36.000 --> 31:36.340 Okay? 31:36.680 --> 31:38.380 You need to learn the discipline. 31:38.880 --> 31:40.080 And look, as far as I know, 31:40.220 --> 31:42.420 everyone here, I could be wrong. 31:42.960 --> 31:45.240 Everyone here wants to stay at this church 31:45.240 --> 31:46.260 for the rest of their lives. 31:47.180 --> 31:47.200 Okay? 31:47.940 --> 31:49.340 You know, as far as I know. 31:49.920 --> 31:51.700 So that means that you're gonna have to see these people 31:51.700 --> 31:52.720 for the rest of your lives. 31:53.980 --> 31:54.420 Okay? 31:55.280 --> 31:58.200 So you better learn how to reconcile them. 31:58.740 --> 32:00.920 Because if you're just gonna see them every service, 32:01.060 --> 32:02.180 this is your church family, 32:02.580 --> 32:05.680 it's not worth carrying this burden of guilt, 32:06.100 --> 32:07.740 carrying this burden of bitterness, 32:08.080 --> 32:09.780 carrying this burden of resentment. 32:10.060 --> 32:10.980 Just go get it right. 32:11.900 --> 32:12.580 Go get it right. 32:12.680 --> 32:13.540 Go talk to Adam. 32:14.520 --> 32:15.600 Go talk to Marcos. 32:16.380 --> 32:17.540 Just go talk to them. 32:17.700 --> 32:18.140 Adam's gone. 32:18.260 --> 32:19.860 I don't even know where he got offended at the illustration. 32:20.580 --> 32:22.440 I gotta go get that right with him later on. 32:23.120 --> 32:24.860 What's the worst that can happen, you know? 32:27.080 --> 32:28.380 Go talk to Esau. 32:29.440 --> 32:30.840 And I'm just telling you right now, 32:31.600 --> 32:33.580 and look, you say, well, I'm the type 32:33.580 --> 32:35.560 that I like to reconcile things immediately, 32:36.060 --> 32:37.680 but it seems as though the people around me 32:37.680 --> 32:38.460 don't like to do so. 32:38.460 --> 32:41.620 Well, just give them some space for a little bit, you know? 32:42.620 --> 32:44.860 I'll tell you this, you know, if I'm really upset, 32:45.300 --> 32:47.720 I'm not really necessarily ready to reconcile 32:48.160 --> 32:49.700 just at the drop of a hat. 32:50.560 --> 32:52.080 I kinda wanna be pissed off for a little bit. 32:54.700 --> 32:55.380 You know what I mean? 32:56.240 --> 32:58.160 Like, the anger needs to run its course. 32:59.560 --> 32:59.920 Okay? 33:00.960 --> 33:01.580 You know what I'm saying? 33:02.120 --> 33:02.980 Sometimes it's just like, 33:03.080 --> 33:04.400 I just wanna be mad for a little bit. 33:05.120 --> 33:07.540 I just wanna be upset for a while, okay? 33:08.880 --> 33:11.100 And often that's necessary. 33:11.380 --> 33:13.200 Let me explain to you why it's necessary for me, 33:14.220 --> 33:16.480 because if I'm angry about something, 33:16.680 --> 33:18.160 and I'm super mad about something, 33:18.240 --> 33:19.660 because I do get mad about things. 33:21.040 --> 33:24.520 My flesh, I have a temper, I can become wrathful, 33:24.620 --> 33:25.860 that's just my weakness. 33:26.620 --> 33:28.020 If I'm angry about something, 33:28.300 --> 33:29.660 I wanna let it run its course, 33:29.940 --> 33:31.260 so then I come to my senses. 33:32.880 --> 33:34.760 Because then there's a cooling period, right? 33:35.620 --> 33:36.180 There's a cooling period, 33:36.180 --> 33:37.600 and then it's just like, man, I've overreacted. 33:37.680 --> 33:41.620 I need to stop being such a bitter person. 33:42.220 --> 33:44.320 I need to stop being such an angry individual 33:44.320 --> 33:46.020 and just go talk to this person, 33:46.340 --> 33:48.600 go talk to my wife, go talk to whatever, 33:49.020 --> 33:51.220 and just go get it right, you know? 33:51.860 --> 33:52.860 And look, there's been instances 33:52.860 --> 33:55.200 where I felt like I offended someone in our church, 33:56.340 --> 33:59.440 and you know, Monday mornings are just like, 33:59.500 --> 34:01.740 I feel like an 18-wheeler hit me, 34:02.780 --> 34:04.340 and so I'm just like, man, 34:04.460 --> 34:05.320 and then I'm carrying these, 34:05.320 --> 34:06.500 like I remember, I don't know, 34:06.640 --> 34:07.840 it was like a couple months ago or something, 34:08.100 --> 34:09.580 I felt like I offended someone, 34:10.720 --> 34:12.640 and it was just bothering me, 34:13.160 --> 34:14.580 like Sunday night I went home, 34:14.640 --> 34:15.940 and it was just on my mind. 34:16.820 --> 34:17.900 And I'm not thinking of stuff like, 34:17.980 --> 34:20.100 man, this is really bothering me. 34:20.260 --> 34:21.400 And there's part of me that's just like, 34:21.460 --> 34:22.600 maybe I shouldn't say anything 34:22.600 --> 34:23.740 because maybe it's just my imagination, 34:24.340 --> 34:26.440 but then it's just like, if I keep thinking about it, 34:26.540 --> 34:28.040 I need to just clear myself of this. 34:28.800 --> 34:30.500 So then the next morning, I text this person, 34:30.620 --> 34:31.700 I said, hey, I wanna let you know, 34:32.100 --> 34:33.600 I just wanna apologize to you 34:34.760 --> 34:37.180 for X, Y, and Z wasn't my place, 34:37.300 --> 34:38.400 I'm really sorry about this, 34:38.720 --> 34:40.100 and they're like, no, it's really cool, thank you, 34:40.140 --> 34:40.820 I appreciate it. 34:42.260 --> 34:42.920 And that was it. 34:44.180 --> 34:45.220 And you say, well, how was your 34:45.220 --> 34:45.900 Monday morning after that? 34:45.960 --> 34:46.240 It was great. 34:47.660 --> 34:50.500 I was just like, well, I moved on from that. 34:51.160 --> 34:53.120 You see, I'm not above being someone 34:53.120 --> 34:54.200 who offends someone as well, 34:54.300 --> 34:55.320 like it happens to me too. 34:56.180 --> 34:57.640 Sometimes I feel like I offend someone, 34:58.180 --> 34:59.740 now obviously I'm not gonna apologize 34:59.740 --> 35:01.100 for anything I say behind the pulpit. 35:02.280 --> 35:03.500 If I offend you behind here, 35:04.020 --> 35:06.240 you take that up with God, okay? 35:06.680 --> 35:08.140 I don't really care if you're offended 35:08.140 --> 35:09.420 of whatever I say behind the pulpit, 35:09.740 --> 35:12.340 how specific I get, or what kind of sin I call out. 35:12.800 --> 35:15.560 If you take it personally, then you take it good, 35:15.660 --> 35:16.240 I'm glad you did. 35:17.540 --> 35:19.520 I'm talking about things that maybe we talk about 35:19.520 --> 35:20.620 on a one-on-one, 35:20.740 --> 35:22.540 or maybe I feel like I go too far on something, 35:22.900 --> 35:24.440 I take a joke too far or something 35:24.440 --> 35:25.500 because I have a tendency of doing that. 35:26.300 --> 35:28.180 If I say something, and then later I'm thinking, 35:28.320 --> 35:28.840 I'm like, you know what? 35:28.920 --> 35:29.820 I probably shouldn't have said that. 35:30.300 --> 35:32.760 I was wrong of me to do, and I need to go, 35:33.140 --> 35:36.600 but what if I just allow my imaginations to run wild 35:36.600 --> 35:38.240 and just think to myself, nah, I can't do that 35:38.240 --> 35:40.020 because they're gonna lose respect for me if I do that? 35:40.640 --> 35:42.540 What are they gonna think of me as the pastor 35:43.180 --> 35:45.000 telling them that I was wrong about this? 35:45.180 --> 35:46.200 That's a stupid thought. 35:47.160 --> 35:48.700 And people might think like, oh man, 35:49.600 --> 35:51.500 yeah that's the reason I don't go and talk to people 35:51.920 --> 35:53.820 is because I feel like they're gonna lose respect for me. 35:53.900 --> 35:55.880 No, they're probably gonna get more respect for you 35:56.440 --> 35:57.940 because you're willing to humble yourself 35:58.460 --> 36:00.740 and go talk to them, okay? 36:02.140 --> 36:04.360 And so, you know, we need to endeavor 36:04.800 --> 36:09.520 to keep the spirit of unity in the bond of peace. 36:10.320 --> 36:11.380 What does it mean to endeavor? 36:11.600 --> 36:13.300 That means you gotta put in all this effort. 36:14.320 --> 36:16.380 God expects for us to be in unity. 36:16.860 --> 36:19.460 He wants us to be tightly knit together, 36:19.540 --> 36:22.660 to be of one mind, but that doesn't happen on accident. 36:23.900 --> 36:26.520 You have to endeavor to do so, okay? 36:26.520 --> 36:28.600 Meaning you ask for forgiveness, 36:28.760 --> 36:30.040 but you're also willing to forgive 36:30.040 --> 36:32.140 when people ask you to forgive them. 36:33.040 --> 36:34.120 Make sure you do that. 36:34.500 --> 36:36.500 And don't run away from problems in our church. 36:37.400 --> 36:38.720 Don't run away from these conflicts. 36:38.920 --> 36:39.780 Don't run away from it. 36:40.000 --> 36:41.020 Don't just avoid it. 36:41.360 --> 36:43.640 Just deal with it and be done with it. 36:44.360 --> 36:47.040 And then you'll realize when you meet Esau, 36:47.620 --> 36:49.020 man, I guess it wasn't even that bad. 36:49.160 --> 36:50.320 Esau was actually happy to see me. 36:51.840 --> 36:53.440 Goes on to say in verse five, 36:53.520 --> 36:54.500 and he lifted up his eyes 36:54.500 --> 36:55.700 and saw the women and the children 36:55.700 --> 36:57.620 and said, who are those with thee? 36:58.220 --> 36:59.920 And he said, the children which God 36:59.920 --> 37:01.620 hath graciously given thy servant. 37:01.720 --> 37:04.760 So we see a hint of humility in the voice of Jacob 37:06.120 --> 37:08.580 because when he's deceiving his father, Isaac, 37:09.440 --> 37:11.420 he's like, oh, where did you get this so fast? 37:11.580 --> 37:13.380 He's like, the Lord provided it. 37:13.500 --> 37:15.000 It's just like you're lying, right? 37:15.340 --> 37:17.420 But this time he's actually being very humble 37:17.800 --> 37:21.060 and he's giving God credit for the family, 37:21.280 --> 37:23.180 the children, the possessions that he has. 37:23.520 --> 37:26.380 Verse six says, then the handmaidens came near, 37:26.820 --> 37:28.660 they and their children, and they bowed themselves. 37:29.300 --> 37:30.940 And Leah also with her children came near 37:30.940 --> 37:31.820 and bowed themselves. 37:32.320 --> 37:35.220 And after came Joseph near and Rachel 37:35.220 --> 37:36.640 and they bowed themselves. 37:36.940 --> 37:39.500 And he said, what meanest thou by all this drove 37:39.500 --> 37:40.500 which I met? 37:40.800 --> 37:43.500 And he said, these are to find grace 37:43.500 --> 37:46.160 in the sight of my Lord. 37:46.700 --> 37:48.900 So it was essentially a sign of humility. 37:49.140 --> 37:51.360 He's just like, it's kind of like forgive us. 37:51.360 --> 37:53.380 Forgive me, these are my wives. 37:53.580 --> 37:54.000 These are my children. 37:54.220 --> 37:55.780 We're all kind of just like your humble servants. 37:56.760 --> 37:58.980 And obviously Esau is humbled at this. 37:59.440 --> 38:02.660 It says in verse, our first number nine. 38:04.320 --> 38:07.060 And Esau said, I have enough, my brother. 38:07.660 --> 38:09.920 Keep that thou hast unto thyself. 38:10.060 --> 38:12.140 Now I love this statement here that's made by Esau 38:12.720 --> 38:16.640 because not only is Jacob coming with humility 38:16.640 --> 38:17.900 with his wives and his children, 38:18.140 --> 38:20.340 he's bringing gifts, possessions. 38:21.220 --> 38:23.260 Because Jacob is a very wealthy person. 38:23.380 --> 38:24.260 He has a lot of possessions. 38:24.720 --> 38:26.180 He's accumulated a lot of wealth 38:26.180 --> 38:27.740 and he wants to distribute that. 38:27.800 --> 38:29.400 He wants to give that to his brother Esau 38:29.400 --> 38:31.120 as a peace offering, so to speak. 38:31.500 --> 38:32.200 But what does Esau say? 38:32.300 --> 38:33.200 He's like, I have enough. 38:35.100 --> 38:35.800 I have enough. 38:36.580 --> 38:37.340 Now there's a couple of things 38:37.340 --> 38:37.980 that we can learn from this. 38:38.100 --> 38:41.620 Number one is that Esau has been blessed by God too. 38:43.420 --> 38:44.180 Because keep in mind, 38:44.440 --> 38:45.860 he didn't get the Abrahamic blessing 38:46.260 --> 38:49.040 but he still was blessed of the Lord, right? 38:49.800 --> 38:52.180 He was not blessed to be a part of the lineage 38:52.180 --> 38:53.000 but that's okay. 38:53.340 --> 38:56.240 He was still blessed of God. 38:57.040 --> 38:58.180 And you know what he says? 38:58.700 --> 38:59.440 I have enough. 38:59.900 --> 39:01.960 Now another thing that we can learn from this 39:01.960 --> 39:02.760 is that you know what? 39:03.020 --> 39:05.060 You may not be blessed like someone else is blessed 39:05.060 --> 39:07.420 but you're blessed though, right? 39:08.340 --> 39:09.520 You may think to yourself, 39:09.660 --> 39:11.980 well I don't have what this person has. 39:12.380 --> 39:14.620 I don't have the type of marriage this person has. 39:15.000 --> 39:16.940 The children these people have. 39:17.340 --> 39:18.300 I don't have the possessions, 39:18.300 --> 39:19.320 the wealth or whatever. 39:19.680 --> 39:21.100 Yeah, but you are blessed though 39:21.100 --> 39:22.960 and the attitude that you should have is, 39:23.140 --> 39:23.740 I have enough. 39:24.880 --> 39:26.120 Be content, right? 39:27.360 --> 39:28.520 Because Esau's not bitter. 39:28.680 --> 39:29.280 He's not upset. 39:29.760 --> 39:31.420 You would think that he would be but he's not. 39:32.380 --> 39:34.140 Yeah, he saw it carefully with tears 39:34.140 --> 39:35.420 when it initially happened 39:35.420 --> 39:37.400 and he found no place of repentance 39:37.860 --> 39:40.840 but obviously not only has God been working on Jacob, 39:41.200 --> 39:43.200 he's also been working on Esau as well. 39:43.920 --> 39:46.760 To the point where 20 years later Esau comes 39:46.760 --> 39:48.300 and he says, I have enough. 39:48.900 --> 39:50.260 You don't have to give me anything. 39:50.500 --> 39:51.840 I have been blessed of the Lord. 39:52.220 --> 39:53.160 I have sufficient. 39:53.600 --> 39:54.360 What does this tell us? 39:54.580 --> 39:57.960 It tells us that godliness with contentment is great gain. 39:59.900 --> 40:00.680 I have enough. 40:02.140 --> 40:05.500 And what I've learned from my personal life 40:05.500 --> 40:07.540 and the lives of other successful Christians, 40:08.040 --> 40:09.880 other pastors, other church members 40:10.520 --> 40:12.400 is people who feel like they've had enough 40:12.400 --> 40:13.700 are often given more. 40:14.720 --> 40:16.540 They're often blessed with more 40:17.100 --> 40:18.260 because they feel like I got enough. 40:18.500 --> 40:20.500 I have everything to fulfill my needs. 40:20.780 --> 40:22.340 I have everything that I need. 40:22.520 --> 40:26.140 Like God has provided for me in a substantial way. 40:26.320 --> 40:27.860 I have nothing to complain about. 40:28.140 --> 40:28.940 You know what God ends up doing? 40:29.200 --> 40:30.420 He ends up giving you more 40:31.440 --> 40:32.740 because he's not gonna give you more 40:32.740 --> 40:34.220 if you're a greedy, covetous person. 40:34.380 --> 40:34.780 And you know what? 40:34.860 --> 40:36.260 Esau's not a covetous person. 40:36.460 --> 40:37.680 He's not a greedy individual. 40:37.880 --> 40:40.180 He's not a lustful individual in this regard. 40:40.180 --> 40:43.360 He's a person who feels like he has enough. 40:43.700 --> 40:44.340 And you know what? 40:44.460 --> 40:47.020 We all, as God's people, need to learn 40:47.840 --> 40:49.720 to say I have enough. 40:50.340 --> 40:51.320 God's blessed me enough. 40:51.740 --> 40:52.880 I have everything that I need. 40:53.220 --> 40:54.040 And you think to yourself, 40:54.120 --> 40:55.640 well, you know, I feel like I don't have enough. 40:57.040 --> 40:57.660 Well, you know what? 40:57.700 --> 40:58.520 You need to sing that song, 40:58.660 --> 41:00.460 count your blessings, name them one by one, amen. 41:01.760 --> 41:04.000 Count your blessings, see what God has done. 41:04.280 --> 41:04.720 Because you know what? 41:04.740 --> 41:05.540 I've not seen the righteous 41:05.540 --> 41:07.000 forsaken nor seed-begging bread. 41:07.820 --> 41:10.520 I know that when God is blessing an individual, 41:10.620 --> 41:12.520 you say, well, I feel like God's not blessing me. 41:12.840 --> 41:16.420 I don't have the financial means. 41:16.800 --> 41:19.140 Well, you know, then you need to take inventory 41:19.140 --> 41:20.200 of your spiritual life then. 41:21.940 --> 41:23.880 First of all, is there sin in your life? 41:24.800 --> 41:26.360 If there's some glaring sin, 41:26.640 --> 41:28.320 then obviously that's probably the reason why 41:28.320 --> 41:30.380 your needs are not being provided for 41:30.380 --> 41:31.780 because of the fact that sometimes 41:31.780 --> 41:33.220 God just hits you where it hurts 41:33.220 --> 41:34.580 and that is your resources 41:34.580 --> 41:35.780 if you're not right with God. 41:37.000 --> 41:39.040 But let's just say you looked at that 41:39.040 --> 41:41.120 and you say, well, I don't have sin in my life. 41:41.180 --> 41:43.740 I'm not perfect, but I don't have sin in my life. 41:43.840 --> 41:44.720 I'm reading my Bible. 41:44.940 --> 41:45.560 I'm in church. 41:45.900 --> 41:47.740 Well, it might be that God has just taken you 41:47.740 --> 41:51.460 through a season of leanness to teach you contentment, 41:52.120 --> 41:55.580 to teach you what it's like to have enough, 41:55.820 --> 42:00.060 to teach you to live below your means, okay? 42:01.180 --> 42:03.740 The point being here is that we need to learn 42:03.740 --> 42:05.300 and whatever state we're in, 42:05.300 --> 42:06.960 they're with to be content. 42:08.100 --> 42:09.160 Because here's the thing, folks, 42:09.380 --> 42:10.340 we think to ourselves, 42:10.420 --> 42:11.680 what can take a person out of church? 42:12.100 --> 42:13.080 Isn't it alcohol? 42:13.620 --> 42:14.820 Isn't it fornication? 42:15.400 --> 42:17.760 Isn't it just some sexual sins? 42:18.300 --> 42:19.480 Isn't it just railing? 42:19.720 --> 42:21.580 Well, you know, sometimes one of the things 42:21.580 --> 42:23.520 that takes people out the most is just covetousness. 42:25.200 --> 42:26.000 Say, how so? 42:26.320 --> 42:30.140 Well, they start working extra jobs missing church 42:30.780 --> 42:33.080 because they feel like they don't have enough. 42:34.380 --> 42:37.620 They feel like, oh, I just don't have enough. 42:37.840 --> 42:38.880 No, you might just have enough. 42:39.000 --> 42:40.680 You just might be a greedy, covetous person 42:41.980 --> 42:43.980 willing to sacrifice church services 42:43.980 --> 42:46.640 in order to make more money to buy yourself a helipad. 42:48.460 --> 42:49.800 Because you want a yacht. 42:50.000 --> 42:50.880 You want a helipad. 42:51.000 --> 42:52.480 You want this, that, and the other, you know, 42:52.540 --> 42:54.760 and you're willing to sacrifice spiritual things 42:55.260 --> 42:56.480 in order to have those things. 42:56.860 --> 42:58.960 You know, you're not a person who knows what enough is 42:59.680 --> 43:01.040 because once you get the helipad, 43:01.040 --> 43:02.560 you're not going to be happy with that. 43:03.980 --> 43:06.880 Godliness with contentment is great gain. 43:06.980 --> 43:08.500 We brought nothing into this world 43:08.500 --> 43:10.100 and it is certain that we can carry, 43:10.220 --> 43:11.500 we will carry nothing out. 43:12.720 --> 43:14.900 You know, we need to make sure that as God's people, 43:15.020 --> 43:17.840 we protect ourselves from having the love of money, 43:17.860 --> 43:20.320 which is the root of all evil, okay? 43:21.820 --> 43:22.720 So it's like, I've had enough. 43:22.860 --> 43:23.420 Enough is enough. 43:24.060 --> 43:28.380 My brother, keep that thou hast unto thyself. 43:28.850 --> 43:29.500 And Jacob said, 43:29.620 --> 43:32.680 Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, 43:32.920 --> 43:35.000 then receive my present at my hand, 43:35.160 --> 43:36.880 for therefore I have seen thy face, 43:37.020 --> 43:38.520 as though I have seen the face of God, 43:38.960 --> 43:40.640 and thou was pleased with me. 43:40.980 --> 43:43.000 And look, you know, don't always think that 43:43.000 --> 43:46.300 when you don't have enough, and maybe it's true, 43:46.840 --> 43:48.260 that somehow that means that God 43:48.260 --> 43:51.680 is just cursing you or something, okay? 43:52.140 --> 43:53.220 And this, we need, you know, 43:53.260 --> 43:56.660 there's like a thin line that we walk 43:56.660 --> 43:59.280 between like being blessed of God equates 43:59.280 --> 44:00.580 to having money and possessions 44:01.120 --> 44:03.120 with having like scarcity at times. 44:03.560 --> 44:05.920 Because sometimes we need to go through seasons of scarcity. 44:07.440 --> 44:08.040 We need to go through, 44:08.140 --> 44:11.780 some people just need to experience what leanness is, right? 44:12.620 --> 44:14.100 Some people need to know what it's like 44:14.100 --> 44:15.640 to not have a whole lot of money. 44:16.300 --> 44:17.440 Because they've never struggled 44:17.440 --> 44:18.600 ever in their entire life. 44:19.820 --> 44:22.020 They don't know what it's like to just struggle 44:22.440 --> 44:23.740 to barely make ends meet. 44:24.200 --> 44:24.780 They don't know what it, 44:24.780 --> 44:26.960 maybe you've just been given a silver spoon, 44:27.020 --> 44:28.460 born with a silver spoon in your mouth. 44:29.140 --> 44:32.380 You don't know what it's like to like work hard 44:32.380 --> 44:36.620 and earn money and pay bills 44:36.620 --> 44:39.980 and be behind sometimes and have to pray things down. 44:40.260 --> 44:41.240 You don't know what that's like. 44:41.320 --> 44:41.680 So you know what? 44:41.780 --> 44:45.320 You might need to experience a little scarcity in your life. 44:45.520 --> 44:48.620 A little bit of leanness to toughen you up a little bit. 44:48.880 --> 44:50.200 Maybe make you pray a lot more. 44:50.480 --> 44:50.880 And you know what? 44:50.980 --> 44:53.180 When people have too much, they don't pray a lot. 44:54.780 --> 44:55.740 They have a tendency not to pray. 44:56.580 --> 44:58.460 They have a tendency not to rely upon the Lord. 44:59.380 --> 45:00.880 They have a tendency to just what? 45:01.360 --> 45:04.080 Expect it because it's there, right? 45:04.820 --> 45:09.200 Whereas, you know, people who have experienced seasons 45:09.200 --> 45:12.700 of leanness of quote unquote poverty, scarcity. 45:13.420 --> 45:16.520 When they get something, first of all, they appreciate it. 45:17.420 --> 45:19.380 But number two, you know what? 45:19.500 --> 45:20.020 You know what they do? 45:20.220 --> 45:22.180 They don't just expect it all the time. 45:22.600 --> 45:23.500 And they realize like, 45:23.500 --> 45:25.160 this can be taken away at any given moment. 45:26.720 --> 45:28.120 And if it is taken away, they're like, 45:28.160 --> 45:28.860 well, I've been here before. 45:29.440 --> 45:30.440 I know what it's like to be broke. 45:32.420 --> 45:34.740 You know, I know what it's like to not have enough money. 45:34.980 --> 45:37.480 I know what it's like to just barely get by. 45:38.240 --> 45:40.660 You're like, no, man, I'm going through a tough time. 45:40.740 --> 45:41.900 I can't buy any Starbucks. 45:43.940 --> 45:44.960 I can't get this. 45:45.160 --> 45:46.920 And you know, it's so hard. 45:47.120 --> 45:49.540 We're just barely making it. 45:50.300 --> 45:53.500 We're just barely, you know, we just, we get steak and stuff. 45:53.680 --> 45:55.700 It's just, but we can't have any size or so. 45:57.940 --> 45:59.580 You probably don't know what it's like to struggle. 46:02.860 --> 46:05.680 You know, you may not even know what it's like to be hungry. 46:08.880 --> 46:09.720 That's a real thing. 46:10.980 --> 46:13.000 You know, you may not know what it's like 46:13.000 --> 46:15.380 to actually be hungry, to not eat three meals. 46:16.900 --> 46:19.760 And so, you know, it's important for us to recognize 46:19.760 --> 46:20.700 what enough is. 46:20.840 --> 46:22.480 And if you're going through a season of scarcity, 46:23.160 --> 46:25.340 don't automatically view it as God punishing you. 46:25.560 --> 46:26.800 Maybe he's just training you, 46:26.880 --> 46:29.400 because you're just really soft as a Christian. 46:30.100 --> 46:31.300 You don't really know what that's like. 46:31.700 --> 46:33.220 And you need to be toughened up a little bit. 46:34.100 --> 46:35.960 Emotionally, physically, spiritually. 46:36.480 --> 46:36.960 And you know what? 46:37.060 --> 46:39.480 Maybe a moment of scarcity is good for you, 46:39.560 --> 46:42.360 so that you learn how to pray things down from God too. 46:43.400 --> 46:44.860 Now I will say this, you know, right now, 46:44.860 --> 46:47.360 I'm experiencing a season of abundance. 46:48.620 --> 46:50.340 And to the point where I feel like I can be a blessing 46:50.340 --> 46:53.580 to others, I can, you know, help my dad, 46:54.080 --> 46:57.920 I can support my family, my mom if she needs help, 46:58.220 --> 47:01.540 my wife, my children, my dad gets to live with me, 47:01.860 --> 47:04.140 I get to just help him to just, you know, 47:04.500 --> 47:06.860 live a normal life, I can give to the building, 47:07.060 --> 47:07.980 I can give to others. 47:08.300 --> 47:11.660 I have like an abundance, and I'm thankful for it. 47:12.520 --> 47:14.100 But I also know this stuff can be taken away 47:14.100 --> 47:14.800 at any given moment. 47:15.840 --> 47:17.560 But it's okay, because I know what it's like to be broke. 47:19.000 --> 47:20.640 I know what it's like not to make a whole lot of money. 47:21.620 --> 47:23.800 My wife and I both know what it's like to just, 47:23.900 --> 47:26.720 you know, split fries as a date. 47:28.720 --> 47:29.040 Okay? 47:30.100 --> 47:31.420 You like split fries. 47:32.840 --> 47:33.160 Yeah. 47:33.840 --> 47:34.820 I remember that's how it was like 47:34.820 --> 47:35.660 when we first got married. 47:37.180 --> 47:38.580 You're like, oh man, that's not, 47:38.700 --> 47:40.500 no, no, no, I'm talking about different poverty. 47:42.420 --> 47:43.700 I'm talking about like, I gotta cancel 47:43.700 --> 47:47.080 my memberships, you know, we're broke right now. 47:47.160 --> 47:47.960 We gotta cancel Netflix. 47:48.360 --> 47:52.880 Oh, we're so broke, we can't afford crime. 47:55.120 --> 47:56.640 We just don't know what we're gonna do. 47:56.800 --> 47:58.140 You probably don't know what leanness is then. 47:59.280 --> 47:59.580 Okay? 48:00.380 --> 48:03.260 Learn what it's like to be able to legitimately say, 48:03.440 --> 48:05.420 I've had enough, I have enough. 48:06.060 --> 48:07.580 Now, obviously, Jacob is imparting this gift 48:07.580 --> 48:09.200 to his brother, not because he needs it, 48:09.200 --> 48:10.980 but because he wants to be a blessing to him. 48:11.540 --> 48:12.520 And it says in verse 11, 48:12.520 --> 48:13.820 even take I pray thee my blessings, 48:14.400 --> 48:15.740 my blessing that is brought to thee 48:15.740 --> 48:17.860 because God had dealt graciously with me 48:17.860 --> 48:18.860 because I have enough. 48:19.460 --> 48:20.840 And he urged him and he took it. 48:21.160 --> 48:23.240 So I like what it says here that he takes it 48:23.240 --> 48:27.460 because, you know, Esau is very gracious, 48:27.900 --> 48:30.400 but he also graciously receives as well. 48:31.180 --> 48:31.420 Okay? 48:32.200 --> 48:32.960 So what do you mean by that? 48:33.280 --> 48:35.540 Well, we have to learn how to receive gifts as well. 48:36.840 --> 48:38.600 You know, if someone wants to be a blessing to you, 48:38.720 --> 48:39.760 someone wants to be a blessing to you, 48:39.840 --> 48:40.540 let them be a blessing. 48:41.040 --> 48:42.840 Because it is more blessed to give than to receive. 48:44.000 --> 48:45.820 And so you're like, well, I don't need it, 48:45.880 --> 48:47.820 but you know, sometimes you just gotta accept the gift 48:47.820 --> 48:50.540 just because someone wants to give to you, 48:50.920 --> 48:52.460 someone wants to be a blessing to you, 48:52.720 --> 48:54.480 be a humble person by just saying, 48:54.480 --> 48:56.640 thank you so much for this, I really appreciate it. 48:56.860 --> 48:57.120 Okay? 48:57.660 --> 48:59.440 So he takes it, not because he needs it, 48:59.440 --> 49:00.980 but because he knows that his brother, 49:01.200 --> 49:02.540 it means a lot to his brother. 49:03.200 --> 49:03.760 Verse 12 says, 49:03.840 --> 49:05.160 and he said, let us take our journey 49:05.160 --> 49:07.120 and let us go and I will be before thee. 49:07.620 --> 49:08.920 And he said unto him, my Lord knoweth 49:08.920 --> 49:10.520 that the children are tender in the flocks 49:10.520 --> 49:12.220 and the herds with young are with me 49:12.220 --> 49:13.920 and if men should overdrive them one day, 49:14.240 --> 49:15.120 all the flock will die. 49:15.200 --> 49:17.000 So basically he tells them like, you know, 49:17.440 --> 49:19.580 let me catch up, I'm gonna be going this way. 49:19.660 --> 49:21.960 Now keep in mind that in chapter 31, 49:22.880 --> 49:26.280 God had told Jacob that he wanted him to come back 49:26.280 --> 49:29.320 or he eventually come back to Bethel, okay? 49:29.880 --> 49:31.320 But he actually does not do that. 49:32.180 --> 49:35.580 Skip down to verse number 16. 49:35.580 --> 49:35.980 It says, 49:36.140 --> 49:38.760 so Esau returned that day on his way unto Seer 49:39.300 --> 49:41.140 and Jacob journeyed to Sukkoth 49:41.700 --> 49:45.220 and built him in house and made booths for his cattle. 49:45.680 --> 49:47.680 Therefore the name of the place is called Sukkoth 49:48.240 --> 49:52.100 and Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, 49:52.440 --> 49:54.080 which is in the land of Canaan 49:54.080 --> 49:56.220 when he came from Pandanarum 49:56.220 --> 49:57.380 and pitched his tent before the city. 49:57.580 --> 49:58.660 So we have a problem here 49:59.000 --> 50:00.320 because he's supposed to go to Bethel 50:00.320 --> 50:02.520 but then he ends up going to Sukkoth instead. 50:03.320 --> 50:05.120 And we see that he's planning to be here 50:05.120 --> 50:07.140 for quite some time because he's building a house there. 50:07.640 --> 50:09.060 He's making booths for his cattle. 50:09.620 --> 50:10.940 So it's one of those things where it's just like 50:10.940 --> 50:15.080 he's obeying God by leaving Laban 50:15.720 --> 50:17.740 and going in the direction of his home 50:17.740 --> 50:20.120 but he's kind of only halfway obeying 50:20.120 --> 50:22.900 because he's actually going to Sukkoth instead 50:22.900 --> 50:25.760 and remaining there for quite some time. 50:26.120 --> 50:27.580 Now he said, what's the significance of that? 50:27.940 --> 50:29.380 Well, the next chapter, 50:29.520 --> 50:31.260 you'll see why that plays an important role 50:31.260 --> 50:32.560 and why he shouldn't have done that. 50:33.060 --> 50:33.820 Cause what happens, 50:34.220 --> 50:37.680 Dianna goes to see the daughters of the land, okay? 50:37.920 --> 50:39.120 And we're going to visit that next week. 50:39.780 --> 50:41.380 A major issue comes about that 50:41.380 --> 50:43.320 but you know what, this shows us 50:43.920 --> 50:46.420 that God expects for us to fully obey, 50:47.960 --> 50:49.380 not halfway, amen? 50:51.060 --> 50:53.560 And sometimes when we only halfway obey, 50:53.780 --> 50:56.740 you know, half obedience is disobedience. 50:57.840 --> 51:00.360 Delayed obedience is disobedience, right? 51:01.000 --> 51:01.820 That's what we teach our kids. 51:01.820 --> 51:03.680 Delayed obedience is disobedience. 51:05.860 --> 51:07.020 And when they did that, 51:07.140 --> 51:09.560 they ended up suffering the consequences of it, okay? 51:10.340 --> 51:12.720 And so we'll visit that next week. 51:12.880 --> 51:14.180 What is the primary principle 51:14.180 --> 51:15.600 that we can learn from chapter 33? 51:16.200 --> 51:17.500 Well, if you learn anything, learn this. 51:17.860 --> 51:19.720 You know, don't be afraid to go talk to Esau. 51:21.040 --> 51:23.880 Don't be afraid to go reconcile with Esau. 51:24.500 --> 51:26.140 There's a problem that you have 51:26.140 --> 51:27.220 with the brother in Christ, 51:28.240 --> 51:29.600 what's the worst that can happen? 51:29.600 --> 51:32.640 And look, no one's going to punch you here, okay? 51:33.460 --> 51:35.580 You know, no one's going to chop you in the throat. 51:36.360 --> 51:38.960 You know, no one's going to harm you or anything. 51:39.360 --> 51:40.860 You're like, wow, I just don't know what they're going to say. 51:41.180 --> 51:43.140 Think of the worst possible insult 51:43.140 --> 51:45.700 they can dish out at you and make peace with it. 51:46.640 --> 51:48.540 Think of just the worst possible thing 51:48.540 --> 51:49.480 that they can say to you, 51:49.860 --> 51:51.640 the worst possible, you know, 51:51.880 --> 51:53.460 receipt that they can have on you, 51:53.780 --> 51:56.520 make peace with it and just go do it. 51:57.180 --> 52:00.820 But learn how to practice reconciliation. 52:01.660 --> 52:04.960 Do not avoid situations, confront them, 52:05.640 --> 52:07.280 especially if they're keeping you up at night. 52:08.220 --> 52:09.480 Especially if you're just like, 52:09.560 --> 52:11.980 if you can't, just like, man, it's destroying your life, 52:12.380 --> 52:13.840 just go talk, come talk to me. 52:14.140 --> 52:16.920 If you're mad at me, come talk to me, 52:16.960 --> 52:17.780 what's the worst that can happen? 52:18.740 --> 52:21.420 You know, one of them, you might throw me out. 52:21.520 --> 52:22.300 Well, that is true. 52:23.580 --> 52:27.560 That is true if you don't repent of a particular sin, right? 52:28.280 --> 52:30.160 You know, according to the first Corinthians chapter five, 52:30.220 --> 52:31.880 but let's just be honest, 52:32.040 --> 52:33.020 that's probably not going to happen 52:33.020 --> 52:34.020 because if you're coming to talk to me, 52:34.060 --> 52:35.340 you're coming to reconcile. 52:36.480 --> 52:36.980 Let's pray. 52:37.080 --> 52:38.300 Father, we thank you so much for your word. 52:38.820 --> 52:41.340 Help us as your people, Lord, to be peacemakers. 52:41.940 --> 52:43.000 Help us to desire reconciliation. 52:43.460 --> 52:45.060 It's very uncomfortable at times 52:45.060 --> 52:46.640 when you have to reconcile with someone, 52:47.520 --> 52:49.180 but Lord, it's your will. 52:49.820 --> 52:51.060 And it's the way we can endeavor 52:51.060 --> 52:52.940 to keep the spirit of unity in the bottom of peace, 52:53.040 --> 52:54.520 not just in church, but in our families, 52:54.660 --> 52:57.060 in our marriages, with our children, with our parents, 52:57.940 --> 52:58.540 and with loved ones. 52:58.620 --> 53:00.680 I pray that you help us, Lord, to keep that in mind 53:01.280 --> 53:03.800 and to make this a part of our Christian life 53:03.800 --> 53:05.980 just as much as Bible reading is, 53:06.040 --> 53:08.120 as much as prayer is, as much as souling is, 53:08.220 --> 53:09.700 that we would make reconciliation 53:10.220 --> 53:12.200 a spiritual discipline in our lives. 53:12.300 --> 53:12.940 We love you and we thank you. 53:13.060 --> 53:14.260 Pray the sins in Jesus' name, amen.