Seeing the Wagons |
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Elder
Phillip N. Conley |
Genesis
45:26-28, "And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and
he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart
fainted, for he believed them not. And they told him all the
words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he
saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the
spirit of Jacob their father revived: And Israel said, It is
enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him
before I die."
This morning, it is common to say that we live in the
"information age." With social media, internet libraries,
etc. there is more information at people's fingertips than
perhaps ever before. However, as I observe the state of
interaction between people and listen to what they
regurgitate from their reading, it makes me think we live in
the "misinformation age." The gossip reported about people
and erroneous factoids that are spoken by people show that
much of what is available to us is not completely accurate.
One of the most egregious problems with misinformation is
that - once swallowed - it can be difficult or almost
impossible to remove. For example, there have been verses
that I have heard misquoted (or been guilty of misquoting
myself) often enough that when I read the actual language,
my first impulse is, "What? It says what?" When it comes to
what we believe about concepts or think about other people,
misinformation can be crippling to our knowledge base or
relationship levels. This is why critical thinking and
astute observation are important traits for a disciple of
the King to have, praying always that He bless us in our
lives to "deal prudently."
The verses before us mark the beginning of one of Jacob's
highest joys that overturned one of his greatest sorrows in
life. For many, many years, Jacob had lived with the false
knowledge that his well-beloved son Joseph was dead.
Misinformation had robbed him of many years of joy. At the
end of Genesis 37, Jacob's other sons brought him news that
Joseph was dead. To effect this, they had presented Joseph's
coat of many colors that Jacob had given him. The coat was
ripped and dipped in goat's blood. The ploy was successful
as Jacob believed it and mourned over it. Notice at the end
of Genesis 37 how Joseph's brethren made their play. They
asked their father a question, "Is this your son's coat?"
The answer to that question was "yes" making Jacob think
that Joseph was dead. The more pertinent question would have
been, "Is this your son's blood?" The answer to that
question would have kept Jacob from much grief. As the old
saying goes, "If you ask the wrong question, you will get
the wrong answer."
So today, many people suffer crippling situations in their
lives due to the wrong question being asked and the wrong
answer believed. Because Jacob had believed a lie for so
long, the truth seemed like a lie to him when it came. In
our verses, Jacob refused to believe the report that the
same sons gave him. Before, they told Jacob that Joseph was
dead, now they tell him that Joseph is alive. Why would
Jacob believe the lie and not believe the truth? Bad
evidence and misinformation allowed him to swallow the lie,
but a true report was not enough to overturn it. Again,
today vast multitudes of God's children believe lies from
misinformation and bad evidence to the point that a true
report is not believed. As Jacob did, they faint in their
heart and believe it not.
What did it take to make a believer out of Jacob? His
refusal to believe the truth did not change until he saw the
wagons that Joseph had sent from Egypt to ease Jacob's
journey to this strange new land. That display proved
sufficient to move Jacob from sorrow of heart and grief of
spirit to belief, relief, and joy. The expression "it is
enough" shows that Jacob was sufficiently convinced now of
the truth to displace the dreadful lie that had been
believed for so long. Let us consider how this lesson should
profoundly affect and move the disciple of Christ today.
As previously mentioned, hordes of God's children are
wandering in the wilderness of ignorance and travelling
through the valley of sorrow and grief. In a theological
way, they have lost hope and had their love wax cold due to
the increase and abundance of iniquity in the world. Recent
immoral acts, decisions, and edicts have robbed many of
God's dear ones from the lively hope that should be enjoined
to our lives. Either bitterness has set in or sorrow has
filled their hearts. Others wander in the ignorance that
stems from believing that some form of obedience or human
display/instrumentality is necessary for their deliverance
to heaven. In both cases, hearing the report of God's
unchanging love and free grace causes them to faint in their
heart and believe it not. The report is not enough to
overturn the years spent in believing lies and sorrowing to
despair.
People have asked me over the years why more people do not
rejoice and hold fast to the good news of God's salvation of
sinners through the free grace and shed blood of Christ
alone. In the past I have answered that question by saying,
"Our gospel has no appeal to the flesh, whereas false
theology makes the flesh feel better as it has done
something to get there." Though that is still true, I feel
now that an addendum should be added as well. People have
believed lies for so long and misinformation has been so
prevalent that hearing the truth sounds wrong as the lie has
sounded right for so long. There have been many times at
work when a religious discussion comes up and someone will
say, "Well, everyone knows you just have to accept Christ.
That's the only way." This bald, unproven statement is met
with approval and assertion by other parties in the
discussion. When you mention the truth as it is in Jesus
that He finished it all with no effort of man, they say,
"I've never heard that. That can't be right." Why is there
an automatic rejection of the truth? The lie is so ingrained
that the truth sounds wrong to them.
In a more practical sense, consider one of the most
crippling behaviors to the life of a disciple: gossip. Have
you ever noticed that gossip is rarely true? There may be
kernels of truth that start the gossip chain, but by the
time it reaches us as 4th hand or worse, it has morphed into
a monster of a lie. What happens when the truth is actually
mentioned? Is it believed? Why not? The monster of a lie has
taken root and entwined into the thought processes of those
that swallowed it and perhaps helped propagate it. Again,
the truth sounds like a lie because the lie has been held to
and festered for so long. Looking at a dreadful theological
state or crippled practical state, what is the hope and
answer to these things? Words probably are not enough to
suffice, so what does it take?
Jacob "changed his tune" when the wagons convinced him.
There was no doubt that Joseph was alive, for no other
answer was feasible. Years ago, I heard a dear man of God
preach a wonderful sermon where towards the close, he said
something to this effect, "When someone is steeped in error,
what can you do? If you have talked to them till you're blue
in the face to no avail, what can you do? If you have tried
to root out gossip that they fiercely hold on to with no
progress, what can you do? Friends, get down on your knees
and beg God, 'Show them the wagons Lord.'" Amen dear
brother! Friends there are wagons everywhere that show the
great display of "our Joseph" that is alive and loves us
still.
When someone is steeped in theological error and robbed of
hope and joy in this world, beg God to show them the wagons
that he has given us. His written word is a wagon loaded
with good and fat things that are a delight to the soul. I
am a big believer that the Scriptures - if read honestly -
will provide clear answer to the question, "How is man
brought into favor with God?" The blood of Christ and that
alone is the only answer. This wagon gives us hope (Romans
15:4). Another wagon is the gracious outpouring of His
Spirit. Now, some do not see it when it happens, but our
prayer should be that they do see it. Have you ever been in
church and seen such a gracious display only to mourn over
those that seemed unaffected by it? Probably every preacher
has had that experience, but our prayer should be that they
see the wagons when the Spirit comes and fills the house
with comfort and joy. Another wagon that He has sent unto
us is His protecting providence upon us. When Elisha's
servant thought they were goners in II Kings 6 while
surrounded by the enemy army, Elisha prayed, "Lord, I pray
thee, open his eyes..." (II Kings 6:17a) The servant then
saw that there were more with them than the enemy. Today,
God's angels still encamp
round
about us and protect us from many evils in this world and
will accompany our departing spirits to heaven when our
travels here are over.
These
wagons sent by God in our lives should convince us that He
is real, He loves, and He lives! When the gospel comes in
power, there is evidence that our Jesus is alive! When the
Spirit comes to comfort us and testify to us, there is
evidence that our Jesus is alive! When His word jumps up to
us and seems to come alive, there is evidence that our Jesus
is alive! Rejoice dear children, for our Saviour is
alive, loves us still, and done all to secure our home with
Him. It is a certainty because He made it so.
On a
practical side, how do we avoid the crippling nature of
gossip? Maybe worse, how do we overcome misinformation and
gossip that has been said about us? I have learned by
experience that when you hear that bad information has gone
around on you, words may not suffice to overcome the evil
report. So how is it overcome? Wagons need to be
seen. Has your integrity been impugned? Keep your feet on
the right path walking a walk that speaks louder than words
do. Has your compassion been charged and accusations of
hard-heartedness been hurled at you? Walk circumspectly
with grace and wisdom so that others will see that those
things being said are false. Most of all, in all these
situations, beg God to show some wagons and try to load up
as many as you can in your life to be a blessing to others.
Joseph was gracious and kind to his brethren though he was
in a position to do with them as he would. If we are in a
position to put someone under our thumb but we rather
embrace them in love and compassion, what a powerful display
that is!
When I
look at the world today, I see such marred existences. We
are handicapped by the sin in the world, and we self-inflict
so many extra wounds upon ourselves and others. But there
are still wagons here friends. God has given us life,
breath, and being. He has poured out spiritual mercies unto
us. He has given us fellow pilgrims to encourage and
strengthen us. Do you see your brethren as wagons in your
lives? Do you see the church, the Bible, and His guidance as
wagons in your lives? Too many times, I believe evil reports
and fail to rejoice in the truth, even when I hear it. Oh
how blessed is the sight to see multitudes of blessings in
my life and have been loaded down by the hand of God and
delivered through the vehicles of wonderful examples of
others. May we seize upon His blessings and load our lives
up like wagons to be blessings to others. "Lord, open their
eyes that they may see. There are more with us than with
them. Open my eyes. Open their eyes. Bless us to see Thy
wagons." Do we see them today?
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