Genesis-140 – Facts and Truth

The word of God is from Genesis 45:4-11:

 

“Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing or harvesting. God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. You can settle in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. I will provide for you there, because the famine will last another five years. Otherwise you and your household and all that belongs to you will become destitute.’” Amen.

 

Joseph's Tears and the Beginning of Reconciliation- Judah's Plea Brings Forth Harmony

As we read last week, Judah made a truly earnest appeal. Hearing the words, “I will be a slave instead of my brother,” Joseph dismissed everyone around him. He shouted for all the officials and Egyptians nearby to leave.

 

Why did Joseph send everyone away? Was he trying to hide something? However, the Bible records that he wept so loudly that everyone in Pharaoh’s palace was informed of the matter. Therefore, Joseph was not trying to conceal anything.

 

Nevertheless, he sent the others away, keeping only his brothers. This seems to be connected to the content of Genesis 43. Do you remember the story of the feast Joseph hosted at the end of Chapter 43? At that time, Joseph invited all his brothers to a feast. The characteristic feature then was that Joseph, the brothers, and the Egyptians sat and ate separately, and Benjamin was given five times the gift portion of the others. The defining feature of that event was that they were separated.

 

The Boundary Between Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Joseph had already forgiven his brothers. He had no intention of avenging himself or retaliating against them, which is why he had given them extra grain and sent them back to Canaan. However, he had not revealed his identity, nor did he intend to be fully reconciled with them. Joseph's plan was simply to keep Benjamin by his side.

 

Examining his heart, the extent of his forgiveness is revealed: “I will forgive up to the point where I am no longer hurt, up to the point where I am no longer disappointed.” In the end, the brothers did not even know who Joseph was.

 

But finally, the moment of reconciliation arrived. Joseph broke down. He cried out loudly before his brothers, revealing his heart. Judah's action was clearly at the center of it. Judah’s action was that confession, “I will stay here as a slave instead of my youngest brother.” We saw the shadow of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Judah in that act. It was that very Gospel that broke Joseph's heart.

 

Fruit in Keeping with Repentance

When Judah, who had plotted to sell him, now said he would become a slave for his younger brother, Joseph's heart was moved. He finally began to break his hardened heart and prepare to accept his brothers. Joseph likely felt a conviction at that moment that Judah and his brothers, who were repenting, were finally bearing the fruit of that repentance.

 

The Principle of Repentance, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation

While we cannot treat this event as an absolute principle, we can see that events involving repentance and forgiveness usually follow this sequence: A person realizes their wrong through repentance, and forgiveness begins through seeing their genuine remorse. And usually, reconciliation, the completion of forgiveness, comes with the fruit in keeping with repentance. Therefore, we look for that fruit. This principle is similar in both the Old and New Testaments.

 

The Solemn Command to Bear the Fruit of Repentance

Of course, it can be difficult to apply this principle in every case. This is because sometimes it is hard to see the fruit of repentance, such as when the person who needs to be forgiven is no longer on this earth.

 

Though Jesus might have wanted to see more fruit of repentance, the thief on one side of Jesus had no time to bear the fruit in keeping with repentance, other than his final confession of faith in Jesus. Therefore, while this principle is not absolute, we also see from the Bible that the Lord's command to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” is very solemn.

 

God is the One Who Sent Me

Seeing Judah offer himself, Joseph was also able to speak about his painful wound. This is because, through the Gospel, he understood much more deeply “why I came to be in this position.”

 

“I am Joseph, Whom You Sold into Egypt”

He introduced himself this way: “I am Joseph, the one you sold.” This might sound like a very spiteful remark. It would have been better if he had embraced them and wept, saying, “I am your brother Joseph. I'm so glad to see you,” but there he made them remember it once more. “I am the Joseph whom you sold into Egypt.”

 

It may seem like holding a grudge, but in fact, it has a deeper meaning. We can understand this by listening to his words that follow. “Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” You thought you sold me, but Joseph says, “God sent me.” Joseph now definitely realized and confessed that God was behind all these events, and the Lord's work was taking place.

 

Following the Example of Christ

This is clearly found in the example of Jesus Christ, who brought about true repentance and reconciliation. You will remember the incident when Jesus sought out Paul. When Paul was called Saul, Jesus appeared on the road to Damascus and said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” This is very similar to Joseph's words. Just as Joseph said, “I am Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt,” Jesus said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

 

Just as Christ revealed who He was to Paul when delivering the message of reconciliation and forgiveness, Joseph is now confessing. “By the hand of God, I am now standing before you, and to save my brothers—to save their lives—the hand of God has reached this far.” This is Joseph's confession. His brothers are no longer guests at a distant table; they have been invited to one table.

 

Not Just My Own Salvation, But the Salvation of My Family

At first, Joseph must have thought that only he was saved. He probably thought only he was rescued from prison, and only he was raised to a high position by God's grace. But then he realized, “Ah, I, as a shadow of Jesus Christ, am not standing here only for my own salvation. There was a message God wished to accomplish through me.” What was that message? It was that God was using Joseph to bring about a work of salvation to save his brothers and family.

 

The Purpose of God’s Calling for Us

Friends, this fact is far more important than what we know historically. We might think we came to faith in Jesus very personally. You might have testified that God led you to meet Jesus through such and such events. Sometimes you might confess, “Yes, this happened then, and that's why I met Jesus.” But friends, was that the end? Did the event where God graciously called you in your particular situation end there? It was not.

 

Not Just My Own Salvation, But the Salvation of All

God's work of salvation did not end there; it did not end with you, nor did it end with those around you. It is highly likely that you were called by the Lord for the sake of those around you. So, many people may have met the Lord for the first time because of you. More importantly, you realize that your salvation did not just end at that spot, but was actually continuing until God's purpose and will for you were fulfilled.

 

Just as Joseph first thought he was saved only for himself and stayed at his own table, he eventually realized that his brothers, too, would receive salvation through him, and they came to sit at the same table.

 

To Fulfill God’s Will for the World

God's will for you and me does not stop at “Ah, I finally met Jesus, and God chose me.” God chose us so that through us, this world may receive blessing, God's will may be accomplished, and the benevolent power of God may be revealed on this earth. How amazing is that?

 

You and I were not merely called to suffer and struggle on this earth, meet Jesus, and gain the hope of heaven at the end of our lives. We have been called to a life of walking with God, listening to His voice, and accompanying Him, until we reach the full measure of the stature of Jesus Christ, and God does not let go of us until then.

 

How to Remember the Purpose of Our Calling

But we often forget that calling. That purpose has become vague. Some are busy making a living, some are too comfortable with too many things, some are satisfied thinking, “It was a good thing I believed in Jesus during my life,” and some might be rejoicing that they have finally found a community and church to accompany them until the end of their lives, thinking they will just enjoy their faith happily here.

 

No. God's will in calling you to this church community is not for you to believe in Jesus comfortably. It is to establish God's Kingdom through you.

 

You are here to learn forgiveness and love, you are here to participate in God's work, you are here to take an interest in how the Gospel of God is being spread, and you are here to consider what you will do for that Kingdom. And whether you are outside or inside, the Lord called you to think about how you will show God's goodness to the people of God near you and to live for that purpose.

 

The Unceasing Hand of God

You are within God's salvation, and even when we ourselves—including me—become lazy, forget that work, and merely manage our own lives, God's hand never changed. Even when Joseph was so upset about his own situation, shouting in prison, and asking, “God, why…,” God's hand did not change and continued to shape him.

 

God Working Even in Moments We Miss

Just as God worked through things we could never imagine at every moment of Joseph's life, and through things we never expected—just as it took more time than we thought for the cupbearer to be released—God brings about His work in His amazing timing. Similarly, even when you and I miss many things or don't even think about it, God's work is still happening within us. I want you to fear this fact and not forget it.

 

God does not forget. We can forget the promise that He will bring us to the full stature of Christ; we can become lazy, weak, and sometimes we may want to avoid and run away from doing it because it is hard. But God does not forget. Because God desires you to walk that path.

 

Discovering the Hand of God in Our Lives

Therefore, as we look at Joseph's process, Joseph's life, it is not merely to realize, “Ah, Joseph was a truly great person.” Rather, God wants you to discover and see at every moment, in every single verse, how God's hand dealt with one person's life, how it builds God's Kingdom, and how it shows the image of Jesus Christ, and to see that in your own life as well.

 

Above all, the most important thing for Joseph was that he realized the hand of God in his life.

 

“God sent me ahead of you to save lives.”

 

Joseph does not say his brothers “sold” him; he says God “sent me” (v. 5). Verse 8 is even more astonishing: “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.”

 

Joseph already knew his life was in God's hand. How much grace did he receive? How did he get out of prison? How did he live in Potiphar's house? He knew that God was showing him favor.

 

The True Purpose Beyond Success

There is a truly astonishing meaning in this confession of Joseph. It is not just that God rescued him from suffering, but that the success he experienced was not the whole story, and that God's hand was present even in moments he did not expect, and that hand worked tirelessly, so that God was working even in things he could not have imagined or thought of as a blessing.

 

The place where Joseph sat at the highest position as Prime Minister, feeling that God had blessed him, was not the end. That entire process was the place of true life-saving.

 

Perhaps Joseph, when he became Prime Minister, wanted to forget his past, including Canaan, as we know. That is why he named his son Manasseh (forgetting). He said, “I will forget everything.” But God did not forget. Therefore, we remember the word of Proverbs again.

 

“A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way?”

 

Truly, God knows.

 

The Difference Between Fact and Truth

God will wish to remind all of you, too, that even in things you could not have imagined, and even when you think, “What have I ever done in my life?”, God says, “No, through you, God is still working His work.”

 

The Truth Revealed When We Surrender to God

Look at Joseph's reconciliation. Clearly, there was the brothers' repentance for their sin. But at the same time, the real reason Joseph was able to forgive them was that, at the moment of surrender to God—realizing that God was ruling his life and accomplishing things he had not foreseen—he finally knew what his life was about and why he was there. That is why he forgave his brothers. “It was not you who sent me here. It was God.” God had an even more astonishing benevolent purpose for his life, and God was fulfilling that purpose.

 

A Mission That Continues Until the Last Breath

Why is this only Joseph's story? As years and time pass, as we all know, our bodies become weak. And many people lose what they call their dreams. Now they mostly think, “I just hope to live the rest of my life without making major mistakes.” I challenge those people once more. Your mission never ends until the very moment you see the Lord again.

 

God will complete that work until you go to the place where you resemble Jesus Christ—until your last breath, until your last prayer, until your last hymn. That is your blessing, and that is your true hope.

 

I am no longer a meaningless person in this world. I am not a person whom people say, “You are retired now. What can you do?” You are not someone who has nothing left but time in this world. And even now, when you are working hard, you are not someone whose heart is entirely consumed by the concern of making a living.

 

You and I must not forget that God is doing the astonishing work that we see in Joseph's life—the work of making us His children through all those things, using us for His eternal Kingdom, and molding us for that Kingdom—and that you are that valuable and precious to God.

 

God's Sovereignty, the Most Astonishing Comfort

As we know, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9). Acknowledging the hand of God is perhaps the most astonishing thing in your faith. This is what many spiritual ancestors called “The Sovereignty of God.”

 

The Sovereignty of God. What greater comfort could there be than knowing that God does not let go of my life, that He rules over me even in things I cannot understand, and even in moments that seem too painful and difficult to me, God is ruling me, and He is accomplishing His will without letting go of me? That the Lord is walking with me on that path, a path that sometimes makes me want to ask, “God, is there no other way?” As with the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism, my entire comfort is in that: that the Lord is with you.

 

Friends, because God extends His hand, the prophets could very boldly proclaim that God's zeal would accomplish it. “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” We know who God is through this work. Your desires being fulfilled is not the whole story. Your journey to the full stature of Jesus Christ is not the end either. Rather, the most crucial part of being in the full stature of Christ is that, as you walk that path, you are learning who God is, what His love is, how He loves me, and what He considers me to be. That is the full stature of Christ.

 

Do not think that the most mature state in Jesus Christ is only humility, gentleness, patience, and self-control, as we think. The truly full stature in Christ is the complete knowledge of God in perfect communion and intimacy with Him. We are learning and walking that path. We walk that path, even though it hurts and is difficult. We do not stop. Because God does not stop.

 

The Difference Between Fact (Fact) and Truth (Truth)

However, Joseph does not merely stop at knowing the hand of God here; he makes a truly bold statement. What does he say? “It was God who sent me, not my brothers.”

 

The moment we hear those words, we might assume, “Ah, Joseph received grace, and now he thinks that God did everything.” But think about it for a moment. Which one can we call the Fact? Is the fact that the brothers sold Joseph? Or is the fact that God sent him?

 

The brothers sold him. Before the Bible states that God sent him, the brothers' action is the fact. The Bible does not contain an interpretation that says, “God did all these things behind the scenes.” The brothers sold him, and he suffered greatly because he was sold by them. He did not go to prison falsely; he went to prison for real and suffered.

 

But what does Joseph say about it? He says, “God sent me.”

 

The fact is painful. It does not cease to exist. Even if we say it's not real, “No, no, that is not a fact, it doesn't hurt, I'm okay,” the fact itself does not disappear. Because it is a fact. If you and I have failed, that failure hurts. Because it is a fact. If my child is going through a very difficult moment right now, the child's difficulty is a fact. What can we do? Because it is a fact, it hurts. We cannot help but cry out. If we are sick and our bodies are tired, it hurts. It is difficult. It is a fact.

 

But is that truly the Truth? Even at the moment Joseph was sold, we often think, “He was sold, but somehow God oversaw everything and made it all good later.” I don't think so. Even at the moment Joseph was being sold, God was definitely at work, God was with him in that situation, and God was working even within those events according to His plan and will. That is what the Bible intends to convey.

 

It is not that God later says, “All those things were good.” It is that when I was shedding tears, when I was crying out in prison, when we were so distressed and struggling, lamenting, “Why did my brothers do this to me?”—when he was crying out, as the Bible says—God was with him even then. Isn't that Joseph's confession?

 

The Joy of Knowing the Truth

That is what is astonishing. We call what we see with our eyes the fact. We can believe what we see with our eyes, and we easily accept what we have confirmed with our eyes. But is that truly the Truth?

 

Friends, it is a fact that life is inconvenient without wealth. But is that the Truth? It is a fact that a person's words or actions cause pain in our hearts. But is that truly the Truth? It is a fact that the brothers sold Joseph. But what was the Truth? The Truth was that God worked within it and sent me to save lives.

 

This is clearly evident in Jesus as well. Jesus wore the crown of thorns, was scourged, and endured mockery and insult. That is a fact. Did Jesus not feel pain? He did. Did He not shed blood? He did. There must have been tremendous pain when the crown of thorns was placed on Him. But friends, despite that being a clear fact, we know the Truth. By his wounds, we are healed. This was the Truth. Even His death—it was a fact that He died cursed on the cross—but what was the Truth? The Truth was our eternal life and our resurrection.

 

A Life That Leaves Behind Jesus

Friends, this world tells us that it is rugged. It is not an easy world. You have come this far by deceiving and being deceived, and by hurting and being hurt. Aren't you immigrants, too? Immigrants have many more difficulties in many ways. How many decisions did you have to make, and how much did you worry to leave your homeland and come here? That is a fact. Why would there have been no difficult moments? You have had successes, but you have also suffered from failure, and tears and sighs were as many as joys on your face.

 

Our Truth: The Path of the Saint

But friends, are all those facts truly the Truth?

 

The Truth is this: The Truth about your life is that God has adopted you as His child, and so He is with you from the beginning to the end in the work of saving you.

 

You are now not only walking with Jesus Christ, but you are walking the path of Jesus Christ. You are standing on the path of walking toward the full stature of Christ with Him. That is why your path can be called the path of the Saint. A Saint is one whom God calls holy, or a holy person. It is a difficult word to bear, but it is the fact.

 

Why is it a fact? Because God sees you not only in the past and present but in all time, and He knows the very moment He will lead you from glory to glory. Naturally, He sees the glory He will accomplish through you. That is why He can say to you, “Be My glory. You are the praise of My glory. You are My joy.” Because He is God.

 

But that is not all. The truly astonishing thing is that the path of the 'Saint' is not just the path of a holy person, but, as the name suggests, it is also the 'Path of the Holy Son.' It is the path of Jesus Christ. Because you walk that path, though it seems like suffering, the Bible calls it the path of glory. It calls it the narrow path, but it calls it the path of life.

 

What Our Life Leaves Behind

The Truth of a believer's life lies here. The purpose of your life, through the countless things you experience on this earth, does not end at, “Use the talents you have on this earth to accomplish this many amazing things.” The reason why the countless things you do on this earth are precious is that through all of them, God makes you walk the path of Jesus.

 

The reason your life is valuable is not all the things you have done. The things that will pass and fade away with time are things you cannot gather up or change again. Aren't most of the things that will happen in your life also things that will eventually pass away?

 

What will remain? We know well. But your life is leaving behind many things right now. Enormous things. What is it leaving behind? It is leaving behind Jesus. You are leaving Christ in the path you walk. When you believe you are sharing in the suffering of Christ and cling to God's word in that suffering, you leave behind Christ. When you repent and pray, “Lord, break this wicked and arrogant heart,” you leave behind Jesus. When you say, “Lord, let me rejoice in the work You delight in. Let me rejoice with my beloved saints when they receive this joy,” you leave behind Jesus.

 

Your life leaves behind heaven. It has begun to leave behind what is eternal. This is amazing grace.

 

I Shall Lack Nothing

Joseph also walked that path. Joseph's original plan must have been different. Perhaps he would have sent grain whenever they needed it for about five years. But I don't think he would have revealed himself until the end. But how is God's plan different from having virtually overturned everything he had planned? In fact, what Joseph did alone was incredible. Is it easy to forgive someone who tried to kill you and even give them grain? “Take this and eat and live.”

 

Be Near Me

But the Lord wanted to accomplish His Kingdom and His work through them, and He made them realize that they were no longer people to stay separated from, but people to be with him, people who would be flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone.

 

So Joseph said this: “You can settle in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have.” That was the first thing. Be near me.

 

See how similar this is to what the Lord said: “Let them be in Me.”

 

The Lord Who Fills All Insufficiency

And one more important word comes out. “The famine will last another five years. I will provide for you there. I will provide for you there, because the famine will last another five years. Otherwise you and your household and all that belongs to you will become destitute.” It is the declaration, “I shall lack nothing.”

 

What did Jesus Christ desire when He called us? Did the Lord stay up high and tell us, “Work hard and climb the ladder to where I am, and then I will give you a great blessing”? No. He said, “I will be with you forever,” and not only that, “Remain in Me. Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. Abide in My word, and I will abide in you. Be near Me. I will fill all this insufficiency.”

 

All their insufficiency, the insufficiency of stumbling over the law, the insufficiency of stumbling over greed, the weakness of still falling due to the inertia of sin, and the weakness of still trying to pursue their own desires and go their own way rather than God amidst all those things, “Father, I will fill their insufficiency.”

 

Even Pharaoh said, “I will give you all the best things of the land of Egypt.” The reason Joseph was exalted was to fill that insufficiency, and the reason Jesus Christ was exalted was also to save us and fill our insufficiency.

 

That is why the Lord promised to become a tabernacle for us, to embrace us within it, so that the sun and moon would not strike us, and no scorching heat would harm us, and we would neither hunger nor thirst again. That is not something that will happen only when we go to heaven or only at the end of history; as we know, it is not only in Revelation 22, but it is a story that appears in Revelation 7:

 

“The one seated on the throne will shelter them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

 

It is Chapter 7. Not Chapter 22.

 

The Fullness of Satisfaction in Christ- “This Is My Father's World”

There is a hymn we sometimes sing, ‘참 아름다워라’ (How Beautiful). I remember singing it often during picnics, outings, or outdoor services when I was young. I used to remember the verse numbers, but now they are vague from singing it so much.

 

“This is my Father's world, the birds their carols raise, The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker's praise. This is my Father's world, He shines in all that's fair; In the rustling grass I hear Him pass, He speaks to me everywhere.”

 

This is the third verse we know in the hymnal. I believe this third verse was drawn from the original second verse and slightly expanded. There is a genuine third verse. You might recall it when we sing it sometimes, but I will read it to you. The original name of the hymn is ‘This Is My Father’s World.’

 

“This is my Father’s world, O let me ne'er forget That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet. This is my Father’s world, why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! God reigns; let earth be glad!”

 

In fact, that was not the end of the poem. There is one more part that we should read together. Let’s read it together. Start!

 

“This is my Father’s world, when I alone wander through the wilderness, I see God’s glory revealed in the burning bush. This is my Father’s world, even though I wander like a sojourner, Whatever my situation, what could I lack? My heart is now walking in its true home, my heart is now in heaven.”

 

The word “Home” is written in the original. “I shall lack nothing.” Friends, Christ became our flesh and bone. The Lord is speaking: “I will ensure that they lack nothing.”

 

Eternal and Unending Satisfaction

Everything is so insufficient for us. We are the kind of people who, no matter how many good things are given to us, always think of something better. If we are allowed to sit and rest for a little while, we ask if we can’t lie down too. That is us. When I first came to the United States, I worked at night. My deepest desire at night was to eat ramen once. There was a Japanese cup ramen (Nissin) at that store. The moment I found it, I was so grateful, saying, “Thank you, God,” and I ate it. But after about a month of eating it, I was so sick of it that I couldn’t even look at it. Then a co-worker came up to me and said, “Pastor, why are you always eating only that?” So I said, “Ah, there’s nothing else here.” He said, “If you call, jjampong (spicy seafood noodle soup) will come.” The feeling of eating Jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) that time is something I can never forget. It was more delicious than the Jajangmyeon I had in the military. Yes.

 

Friends, “I shall lack nothing.” But we cannot find satisfaction. Was I satisfied after eating Jajangmyeon? No. After that, I wanted to eat meat. Isn't that true for everyone? To us, who always want to gain more, the Lord is saying: “No matter how much you have, even if what you desire is held in your hand right now, you will continue to be thirsty and hungry. But now, I will be your bread. I will be your water. You will not be hungry again, and you will not be thirsty again.”

 

Friends, so that we may never thirst again, the Lord said on the cross, “I thirst.” Through the Lord’s thirst, we can now drink of the Lord who satisfies us eternally.

 

Friends, why do you keep seeking from elsewhere, asking for something that the Lord has, something in His hand? “Lord, please place happiness in my hand. Lord, please give me material wealth. Lord, please give me time. Lord, please give me the health you hold in your hand. Lord, out of the many things you possess, which are all Yours, please give me just a little bit. I will use it well.”

 

No. The Lord is saying: “Drink of Me. Know Me. Learn, know, feel, and experience who God is, who Christ is, and what His love is. Rejoice in who He is. Draw and drink from Jesus. I will satisfy you.” The Lord is the only one who can truly satisfy you, yet you keep demanding things from Him that cannot satisfy you.

 

“Lord, I want this problem to be solved somehow.” You can pray. You should pray. But if you fail to reach the Lord who solves it, and are satisfied merely because your problem is solved, and you are praising the Lord for that, friends, you are content with a lump of dirt while having a lump of gold next to you. You are rejoicing while touching a piece of glass, with a diamond right in front of you.

 

My beloved friends, do not miss this. The more you know Christ, it is not, “Lord, just show me how much money you have. Then I will know your love for sure.” You must know the Lord. That is the Lord Joseph learned, and that is the Lord you must know. “I will be your satisfaction.”

 

Let Us Pray

To drink of the Lord, to eat of the Lord, still feels like a distant cloud. We still do not grasp the command to ‘press on to know the Lord.’ What more of what the Lord possesses should I acquire? What of what the Lord holds should I drink? What of what the Lord will give should I enjoy?

 

Lord, help us to know You. Help us truly hear Your word. Help us realize who You are. Lord, teach us the true satisfaction that comes from knowing You.

 

I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.