Awakened to Grace

Chad Roberts: Welcome to Awakened to Grace. Thanks so much for listening today. My name is Pastor Chad Roberts, and I believe God has connected us for a great purpose. You're about to hear a powerful sermon that I know is going to encourage you. If you like what you hear, share it with a friend and download our free mobile app, Awakened to Grace, wherever you get your favorite apps. My prayer for you is that this year is the best yet.

He is writing to Hebrews. He is writing to Israelites who have come to know Jesus. Now they are no longer in the Hebrew Judaism; they are now in the Christian church. They now follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know what he's signifying when he says that Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph? They were Egyptian. They were of a different culture. They no doubt spoke a different language.

What I love about this is that it is such a beautiful picture of the church coming into covenant with God. It is a beautiful picture of the church being welcomed into the very promises of God Almighty. Amen. We who were without hope and without God in this world. Can we say amen to that?

Think about Joseph, who had 13 years of severe trial and 13 years of severe testing. But now he has risen, and he is blessed. He has come up out of the ashes. Now he is number two in the land. He is the Prime Minister of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He is royalty and a diplomat of Egypt. He is set for the rest of his life, and so are his children.

His children would grow up in the wealth of Egypt. His children would grow up in the education of the Egyptians. His children would grow up with every benefit of Egypt that the most powerful nation of that day had to offer. But Joseph chose instead the blessings of Zion. What does that say to us as parents today? Would you rather your children be educated? Would you rather your children be wealthy? Would you rather your children be prosperous? Would you rather your children go on and live good and comfortable lives, or would you rather your children know the Lord Jesus Christ?

Which would you rather choose? It is our responsibility to bring our children to the things of God. Amen. Yesterday morning, I was stunned. I was shocked. I was going downstairs and my boys, who are six and eight, were watching television in the living room. I felt for the banister as I was getting ready to take two steps downstairs. I hear the television program they're watching.

I know that cartoons are supposed to be entertaining, but have some cartoons not just lost their mind? My kids will put something on and I can just feel their IQs dropping. I took two steps going downstairs and I hear this little girl on the TV ask, "Are you a witch?" That stopped me in my tracks. I thought, "What is that?"

I stopped, and the woman said, "Yes, I am a witch." The little girl said, "Then come with me. We have to make it to the cemetery before sunset if the magic is going to work and if they're going to be raised from the dead." That is evil. That is divination. That is witchcraft. That parent voice came up out of me. I said, "Boys, what are you watching?" They told me whatever it was. I said, "Turn it off."

You know how kids are. They asked, "Why?" That parent in me came out: "Because I said so!" I did. That is what I said. The Holy Spirit convicted me right there. I was still on the second step. The Holy Spirit told me that saying "because I said so" is not an answer. I needed to explain.

I asked the boys if they knew what witches were. John Mark, my six-year-old who knows everything, said, "Dad, witches aren't real." Yes, they are, and it is called witchcraft. I told them that witchcraft is in direct opposition to God, and God hates it. I told them to turn it off and that I didn't want them to watch it again. They said okay.

By the time I get to the bottom of the steps, Hudson said, "Dad, witches—it is witchcraft, right?" I said yes. He said okay. It is our job to instruct, teach, and navigate. Amen. I have had parents before tell me that they are not going to force their children to come to church. You make them go to school. They say they're not going to push religion down their throats. You make them take baths.

Are you going to let your kids decide if they want to take a bath or not? Good luck. Are you going to let your kids decide if they're going to start school this year? It is our responsibility to bring them around the things of God. Amen. Now, you might say, "Chad, what if my children are grown? What if I didn't know the Lord back then? What if I wasn't serious about my faith and I missed my window of opportunity? Now my children are adults and they're not following Jesus. Now they're raising my grandchildren and they're not following Jesus. I missed my opportunity."

No, you didn't. Because what did we say? It is not how you start; it is how you finish. Amen. Hallelujah. I am telling you the same God that redeemed your soul can redeem your past. The same God that forgave all of your sins can forgive all of your mistakes. The same God that brings redemption can save your children, even though they're adults. He can save your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren. Amen.

You cannot lose sight of this. You cannot forget, Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa. Don't forget the power of a blessing. Think of the spiritual authority that you have over your children and your grandchildren. You have tremendous authority in the spirit realm. Amen. That is why you can pull down every lying spirit, every deceptive spirit, every lustful spirit, every addictive spirit, and everything that opposes God in your family's life.

You take authority over it and you pull it down in the name of the Lord. Amen. Because our prayers are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. Amen. Don't you lose hope and don't you lose sight. Your children are grown. Here is what I love. Say amen if you're hearing me today. Jacob, Esau, and Joseph didn't do these things when their children were little. This was at the end of their lives.

For everyone of you hearing Satan saying you blew it years ago, no, you didn't. There is still time. God is still working. You bless your children and your grandchildren because there is spiritual power and authority when you speak over them. Amen. Jacob is at the end of his life. He blesses the two sons of Joseph, which represents the church who is going to come into covenant.

Why does he have a staff? There are two quick reasons. It says that he bowed over the head of his staff and he worshipped. Here is Jacob, who was a liar, but at the end of his life, he is worshipping God. There are some of you who have that same testimony. Your past is filled with manipulation, rebellion, and selfishness. But do you know how you're going to end? You're going to end worshipping God Almighty. Amen.

He took his staff and he bowed. These are the last moments of his life. It says of Jacob in Genesis that when he died, he was gathered unto his people. What a beautiful way to die. Amen. In the last moments of his life, he worshipped God. But why did he have a staff? Number one, remember, he was crippled by God. What it says is that Jacob never lost his dependence. He never lost his reliance upon God. God forever marked and changed his life. Can we say amen to that?

Number two is because what has been the thread of all of Chapter 11? This world is not our home. We're strangers, pilgrims, and exiles. This staff speaks of the pilgrimage of Jacob. Jacob was brought down to Egypt, but Canaan was his home. Next is verse 22. Are you getting anything out of this today? Verse 22: By faith Joseph, when he came to the end of his life... think of all the twists and turns, all the blessings and victories. Why does the author mention the end of his life alone?

Well, there is a great lesson here. He remembered the Exodus of the Israelites. He mentioned the Exodus. Remember, where did Israel come from? They came from Abraham, who left his country seeking God. His son, Isaac, who was the promise, then had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob received the birthright and the inheritance. Then Jacob went on to have 12 sons, one of which was Joseph, the 11th. You remember Joseph's brothers betrayed him and sold him into slavery in Egypt.

At the age of 17, Joseph was ripped from his father and everything familiar and brought to Egypt. Through extraordinary circumstances and false accusations, he ends up in prison. After 13 long years, God raises him up to be Prime Minister of Egypt. It is a remarkable story. But how did Israel ever even end up in Egypt? When Joseph came to prominence, he brought all of his brothers, their families, and Jacob to Egypt.

The Bible records 70 of his family came to Egypt. When they get to Egypt, God's favor was all over them. Even when Jacob died, the Egyptians mourned for 70 days. They were such a witness and testimony to the living God. God favored them so much that God even gave them Goshen, which was the best portion of the land of Egypt.

Not Goshen Valley in Church Hill, though that is nice land too, but this is Goshen in Egypt. God gave them the best of the land. But even though they enjoyed the best of the land, it was never home. It wasn't Canaan. You know what it speaks of to us? There are many of us that God blesses in this life. There are many of us that have more than what we need. God has blessed us with provisions, a home, health, and family. He has blessed us with everything that we need. Amen.

My boys asked me a couple of months ago if we were rich. I told them that we were rich. They asked how much money we had. I said we are rich because there is a roof over our heads. We are rich because we have everything we need, like all the food we need. God's blessed us. We're rich, aren't we? There are many of us that are going to enjoy the Goshen of this world, but we're never to forget it is not our home.

Joseph, even though he was a dignitary and his children would have all the wealth of Egypt, he wanted them to know there's a better country. 70 people come to Egypt, but over the course of time, 400 years later, there would be an Exodus out of Egypt. They believe up to a million Israelites at that point had grown out of those 70.

The point is that Israel never forgot Egypt was not their home. That is the point of Hebrews 11. When he remembered the Exodus, Joseph remembered this was not his home. The final point here is he gave direction regarding concerning his bones. One commentator wrote, "Why did Joseph give direction regarding his bones and not his body?" Because Joseph knew it would be hundreds of years before God's promise was fulfilled.

He died in faith, knowing God's promises would be fulfilled. Do you have that same knowing? Do you believe there is an inheritance awaiting you in heaven? Do you live like that? Joseph, it says, when he came to the end of his life... it was Henry Martyn, centuries ago, who said, "It should be the business of every day to get prepared for your final day."

As all of you know, my final day nearly was February 22nd. I coded and literally died. They told me, medically, I died. People ask if I saw a light. No, and that kind of concerns me now that I think about it. I am kidding. It doesn't concern me because it wasn't my time. But let me tell you what I am so grateful for.

Had that been my time, had that been the appointed day for my life, I would have walked onto the shores of heaven and everything would have been right. Everything would have been right between me and the Lord. Everything would have been right between me and my family. I have people who get mad at me; that is just part of leadership. But I would have died not being mad at anybody. There is no unforgiveness in my heart. I could have walked onto the shores of heaven right with God because for years I have believed the business of every day is to be prepared for your final day. Amen.

So what are you living for? Are you living for this world alone? Are you living to be as comfortable as you can, or are you living for eternity? Live for the things that are unseen because that is what is eternal. Don't live for the things that are seen; they're only temporary. Can we say amen today? Why don't we bow our heads.

Maybe today you're that person filled with regret because you've not started well. Why don't you let God pour His grace into you right now? Why don't you receive the grace of God and realize you may not have started well, but brother, sister, you're going to finish well in Jesus' name.

You may have a past like Jacob had a past, but do you know what your future is? You're going to go from this world into the next worshipping God because you've encountered the Lord Jesus Christ. You're going to pass your faith down to your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. Because of you, there is going to be generational transformation in your family tree. Amen.

How you started is not how you're going to finish in Jesus' name. Maybe today you're living to be comfortable. Because of that, you may be upset with God today because you've not been given this or you've never had that. This doesn't work out, and you have this attitude that God's just not doing anything for you. No, my friend.

Don't live for this life. If you live for comfort, you're going to be hurt by God. Don't live for that. Live for God to be glorified. That means even if you have to dwell in tents, you're fine with that. Because remember what we said: it is not what you live in; it is what you live for. Live for eternity.

Lord, I thank You for the patriarchs. I thank You for their lives and their mistakes. I thank You, God, that we can learn from their example. Even though they had tremendous failure and were plagued with horrible decisions and dysfunction in their families, they were people of faith and they died in faith. They teach us how to live, but far more important, God, they teach us how to die. To die finishing well, die worshipping God, and die handing our faith down to the next generation.

Did you know that I am a pastor, husband, and father of four who suddenly went blind in 2018? Today I teach people how life is not random, but it is actually orchestrated by God for a great purpose. Learn more about my story and Awakened to Grace at chadroberts.org.