{"id":16765,"date":"2021-07-19T22:00:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T05:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_45_14-28-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-07-16T22:14:06","modified_gmt":"2021-07-17T05:14:06","slug":"genesis_46_1-34","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_46_1-34\/","title":{"rendered":"The Activating Power of Faith + Your Inside Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

Genesis 46:1-34\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 46:1-34.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 46:1-4 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0Notice this: Did God speak to Jacob before or after Jacob went in faith and headed for Egypt (Hint: see Genesis 45:48)?\u00a0\u00a0Did God speak to Jacob before or after Jacob offered sacrifices to God (see verses 1-2)?\u00a0\u00a0In both cases, the answer is: after.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes people will refuse to move forward unless God first gives them some incredible sign or wonder.\u00a0\u00a0I believe that is a recipe for a stagnant, immature, irresponsible faith.\u00a0\u00a0While it is important to make time and room for God to speak into your life every day, don\u2019t place the burden on God to have to give you sign after sign before you will move forward in faith, especially when God has already given you everything you need to take that next step.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0When you know the next step God wants you to take, take it without delay and without making any more excuses.\u00a0\u00a0After you take it, that\u2019s when God will speak to you.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s the activating power of faith.<\/p>\n

Genesis 46:5-27 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Jacob left Beersheba, and Israel’s sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport him.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They also took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He took with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters–all his offspring.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0These are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben the firstborn of Jacob.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon and Jahleel.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, besides his daughter Dinah. These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The sons of Gad: Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malkiel.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah–sixteen in all.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob–fourteen in all.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The son of Dan: Hushim.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Rachel–seven in all.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0All those who went to Egypt with Jacob–those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives–numbered sixty-six persons.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventy in all.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-27:\u00a0\u00a0Jacob and his family were a small group of 66 people when they arrived in Egypt.\u00a0\u00a0But over time this group would expand and multiply tremendously while living in Egypt (Exodus 1:6-7).\u00a0\u00a0God would eventually fulfill His promise to Jacob to make Jacob\u2019s descendants like the dust of the earth (Genesis 28:14) and like the sand of the sea which cannot be counted (Genesis 32:12).\u00a0\u00a0But it would all start from humble beginnings.\u00a0\u00a0So\u00a0don\u2019t despise small beginnings, especially when you have God\u2019s promises.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 46:28-30 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When they arrived in the region of Goshen,
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time.
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 28-30:\u00a0\u00a0What a joy for a father and son to be reunited after decades of being apart.\u00a0\u00a0Reunion is a huge theme in the Bible and a huge theme in God\u2019s heart.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>That\u2019s why the business God is in is called \u201cthe ministry of reconciliation\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:18).<\/p>\n

Genesis 46:31-34 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were living in the land of Canaan, have come to me.
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The men are shepherds; they tend livestock, and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0you should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the region of Goshen, for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 31-34:\u00a0\u00a0Because Joseph worked on the inside of Egypt\u2019s government, he could advise his father Jacob on how best to answer Pharaoh.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God.\u00a0\u00a0Just as Jacob had Joseph as his inside man, you and I have someone on the inside of heaven: Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus sends His Holy Spirit to tell us what we need to know.\u00a0\u00a0May you take time to listen closely to the Holy Spirit every day.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, may I not delay in taking the next step You want me to take, especially when You have already given me everything I need to take it.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You that when I go in faith that way, miracles will follow me and Your Holy Spirit will speak to me.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 46:1-34.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 46:1-4 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0“I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.
\n4\u00a0\u00a0I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.”<\/p>\n

On verses 1-4:\u00a0\u00a0Notice this: Did God speak to Jacob before or after Jacob went in faith and headed for Egypt (Hint: see Genesis 45:48)?\u00a0\u00a0Did God speak to Jacob before or after Jacob offered sacrifices to God (see verses 1-2)?\u00a0\u00a0In both cases, the answer is: after.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes people will refuse to move forward unless God first gives them some incredible sign or wonder.\u00a0\u00a0I believe that is a recipe for a stagnant, immature, irresponsible faith.\u00a0\u00a0While it is important to make time and room for God to speak into your life every day, don\u2019t place the burden on God to have to give you sign after sign before you will move forward in faith, especially when God has already given you everything you need to take that next step.\u00a0\u00a0When you know the next step God wants you to take, take it without delay and without making any more excuses.\u00a0\u00a0After you take it, that\u2019s when God will speak to you.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s the activating power of faith.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16765"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16766,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16765\/revisions\/16766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}