The Steadfast Love of God

0:32Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptians' house for Joseph's sake.

1:22The blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge. And because of him, he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now, Joseph was handsome in form and appearance, and after a time, his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, Lie with me. But he refused and said to his master's wife, Behold, because of me, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife.

2:11How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her, or to be with her. This is God's word, you may be seated. My whole family really enjoys the Star Wars movies, except for the three which shall not be named. All of them feature entertaining plots, characters that you really get to know and enjoy through this series, and the fact that the franchise has only grown in popularity over the last 40 years is a testament to both.

2:52Now, most of you know Rogue One came out this past Christmas, and so far it is my favorite Star Wars movie. The theme of costly sacrifice really pervades the entire film. And the movie is also unique because it explores in the greatest detail of any of the films the nature of the force. And it does this primarily through two of the main characters, Chirit and Bayes, who I love. If you saw it, you probably loved them too.

3:21Chirit is the gentleman here at the front staring off into space. He is blind. And he is a real believer in the Force. He believes that the Force exerts real influence over people and events. Bayes, the man behind him, is a skeptic. He doesn't really believe in the Force, doesn't think it has anything to do with anything or anyone. And it's interesting because by the conclusion of the film, it seems by all appearances that Bayes is convinced that even though the Force can't be seen, it really is exerting influence over people and events. It really is willing good to triumph over evil. Now we turn our attention back to Genesis.

4:04And back in chapter 37, Joseph, as we were reminded at the start of the service, was sold into slavery. He was the 11th of 12 children of Jacob, and he was the favorite son. And he was the favorite son because Joseph's mother, Rachel, was Jacob's favorite wife. And Jacob gave Joseph this beautiful multicolored robe, which Joseph loved, and it set him apart from his brothers. It was a day. Reminder to all of the brothers that Jacob their father had a favorite.

4:36Well, on top of all these things, God showed Joseph that one day he was going to rule over his mother and father and over all of his siblings. And unwisely, Joseph decided to share the content of those visions with his brothers. And so one day, they were thinking about whether or not to kill him, and instead they sold him into slavery. And when they sold him into slavery, they took that beautiful robe and they dipped it into the blood of a goat, and they brought it back to Jacob their father to convince him that he had been killed.

5:06And meanwhile, the Ishmaelites who purchased Joseph sold him to an Egyptian named Potiphar, who was the captain of the Pharaoh's guard. And all of this leads us to wonder: did Joseph lose the favor of God? Is God still with him in any real and meaningful sense? All of us have those same thoughts when we go through trials and difficult circumstances. And our thoughts may be like, perhaps I sinned in some way, and that's why this is happening to me. We may think, you know, maybe I've failed to obey one of God's commands, and that's why this is happening to me.

5:48But our tendency is to think that the reason things are happening to us, the reason that we're going through trials, is because we have failed in some way. And therefore, God is no longer with us. But, friends, what we're going to learn through Genesis 39 is that through every trial, God shows steadfast love to his people. God is always showing love to his people, he is always willing good to come, which will be seen so clearly all through the ark of Joseph's narrative and story.

6:22So, let's turn our attention now to the text. You see, in verse 1, we have a recap of everything that's happened to this point. He's been sold into slavery, bought by a man named Potiphar, and then we have in verse 2 this phrase, the Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. The author really presses this point in the chapter. Twice at the beginning of the chapter, it says the Lord was with Joseph. Twice at the end of the chapter, we are reminded the Lord was with Joseph. Four times in the chapter, the author tells us the Lord was with Joseph.

6:59Now, it's very interesting because all God gave to Joseph was a pair of dreams, a pair of visions. That's all that we know. We don't have any record of God speaking to Joseph as he spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And so, for Joseph and for readers like us, we can look at his story, we see the trials that he's going through, and we can wonder, why is this happening to him? Is God no longer pleased with him? What has he done?

7:25Because our assumption, as I stated before, is that if things aren't going well, we will. Must have done something wrong. We must have done something to seemingly lose God's favor. But friends, that's not what the Bible teaches at all. In fact, all through the scripture, we see that trials don't mean that we've lost God's favor. And our author clearly illustrates this through Joseph's life. I want you to look on the screen at Luke 6:22. We read this just a few minutes ago.

7:56Jesus says, Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For so their fathers did to the prophets. Jesus says that when people hate us, when they revile us and spurn our names as evil, we can rejoice. And I really love this passage because a lot of the time when we're reading about persecution in the Bible, it has to do with suffering beating for the name of the Lord. It has to do with being thrown in prison for the name of the Lord. It has to do with being killed for the name of the Lord. And most of us in America, we read those passages and we think, well, I understand what this is saying, but that's just not my experience.

8:46And I think in this passage, we have something that's a lot closer to our experience. Because when we take a stand for the Lord at school, when we take a stand for the Lord at work, among our relatives, This is more what we feel like. Reviled, spurned, spoken evil of. And Jesus says, when we suffer those things, we can rejoice. We haven't lost the favor of God. In fact, we're getting blessing. Look at James chapter 1, a well-known passage. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

9:26And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. You see, in Joseph's case, God was using trials to produce steadfastness. And he would need that because one day he would be ruling over Egypt. He needed these trials to prepare him for what was coming down the line. God, in his infinite wisdom, always does not just what is best for you and me, but what is best for his ultimate plan and how that is unfolding. All of us have not just a particular story, but a part to play in the grander, redemptive narrative that God is playing out through history. You may not see it at the time, but that's what's happening. Well, we look at the characters in this story, and no matter what other people thought about Joseph and what he was going through, Potiphar saw that the Lord was with Joseph, and he promoted him to become overseer of his entire house. Now, the question is: how did Potiphar see this?

10:30I mean, it's not like he was walking around with a halo over his head. It's not as though he was walking around the house speaking words from the Lord, prophesying. How did Potiphar know that the Lord was with Joseph? It was his character. It was his integrity. It was his personal holiness, coupled with the fact that everything that he did prospered, it succeeded. That's how Potiphar came to this conclusion that God was with him. And when you think about this, how would people know that the Lord is with us?

11:09One of the main answers to that question is how we respond to suffering and trial. Friends, our response to suffering and trial sets us apart like almost nothing else in the Christian life. Our response to suffering and trial sets us apart like almost nothing else in the Christian life. If you've never studied the book of 1 Peter before, let me encourage you to do so, especially if you're going through trials of some kind. 1 Peter was written to Christians going through persecution, going through trial all over the world. And look at what Peter writes in chapter 2.

11:47Beloved, I urge you, as sojourners and exiles, to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct in your soul. The Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 4, he says this: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice, insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evildoer, or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

12:54Friends, you put those two passages together, and what we learn is that trials shouldn't surprise us because they are one of God's primary tools to sanctify us and to give us opportunities to share the gospel. Trials make us more like Jesus, and trials open the door for us to share our faith with other people. That's how God uses them. Well, Joseph has so much favor that Potiphar puts him in charge of the whole house. The only thing he concerns himself is with his, what am I going to eat? Moms, can you imagine?

13:30Having a household manager like this where you were only concerned about what you were going to eat sounds like a pretty good situation, right? Sounds almost too good to be true. In reality, is when situations sound too good to be true, they often are. You look at the second half of verse 6 here, and Joseph is described as handsome in form and appearance. Well, after a little while, Potiphar's wife takes notice and then she propositions him.

14:03And I think this is important. It's significant that it's here in the scripture because it reminds us that neither men nor women have a corner on any particular sin. We tend to think of certain sins as only things that guys commit, certain sins as only things that ladies commit, but in reality, men and women commit all kinds of sins. We're reminded of that here. Now, Joseph is surely tempted, but he refuses her advances. The question is, why? Well, he gives two reasons. First, he says it would dishonor his master who trusted him.

14:43Now, no one just puts a successful person in charge of their house. Right? If someone is going to be running your home, character is critical. That's true for all leadership. And you and I know this. Because time and time again, every two. Years during election cycles, I hear people say, we're electing a congressman, a senator, a president, not a pastor, not a clergyman. Well, I understand the sentiment there, but understand every single time when that politician lies to the people or steals money or commits adultery, we all say they need to resign from office. Why do we say that? It's because we all know that character is critical. If we can't trust people with certain aspects of their lives, why should we trust them to govern us?

15:41Character is critical. Potiphar didn't just promote Joseph because he was skilled. He promoted Joseph because he knew he could trust him with his family, with the affairs of his home. And Joseph didn't want to disappoint him. Now, disappointing others shouldn't be the primary motivation that we avoid sin. But at the same time, disappointing others is one of God's common graces that he gives to us to help us in our pursuit of righteousness. And so Joseph says, I'm not going to do this because it would dishonor my master. But second, and more importantly, he says it would be a sin against God.

16:22It would be a sin against God. You have to keep in mind, this is hundreds of years before God gave his law to Moses. Hundreds of years before God would write, you shall not commit adultery. And yet Joseph knew that that was sinful. He knew that because God's law, friends, is written on every human heart. That's what the Bible teaches in Romans 2 and many other places. God's law is written on our hearts. We know right from wrong. We know righteousness from sin. Joseph knew this would be a sin against God, but think about how many different ways he could have justified this.

17:06He could have said to himself, you know, this is my master's wife. They are in charge of this house. She's commanding me to do this. He could have said, you know, she's lonely and unloved. That's not right. That's not fair. She deserves this. He could have said, I'm not even supposed to be here. I was sold into slavery. I deserve to take revenge. He could have said any number of things to try to justify this, and yet justifying it in any way would have still been sinful.

17:43And so, friends, understand, if you have to spend a lot of time justifying certain behavior to yourself, to other people around you, to the Lord, there's a good chance that you're trying to justify something sinful. Not in every case. But in many cases, there's a good chance you're trying to justify something sinful. Well, Joseph does the right thing and he refuses her advances. But friends, keep in mind, Satan and those who are enslaved to sin, they don't give up very easily. And she doesn't give up easily either. Look at verse 10.

18:20It says that Potiphar's wife kept after him day after day, day after day. She doesn't give up. But look at how Joseph deals with the temptation. This is instructive for us. First, it says, he would not listen to her. He would not listen to her. Friends, the longer we listen to people who are trying to tempt us to sin, the longer we listen to ourselves as we try to justify sin, the harder it becomes to resist that sin.

19:00Look on the screen at Proverbs 5. There's so much wisdom in the Proverbs about this. For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil. But in the end, she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Look at Proverbs 7. With much seductive speech, she persuades him. With her smooth talk, She compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver, as a bird rushes into a snare. He does not know that it will cost him his life.

19:48Friends, the longer we listen to those who are tempting us to sin, the longer we listen to ourselves as we try to justify sin, the harder it becomes to resist that sin. Joseph understood this. So he refused to listen to Potiphar's wife. And we would do well to stop listening to others who are trying to tempt us to sin also. Second thing he does, he would not lie beside her. Now, this seems like common sense, but in these situations, common sense seems to be in short supply.

20:30Joseph knew it would be unwise to put himself in a tempting situation. And more than that, he just wanted to avoid the appearance of evil. Even if nothing ever happened, even if nothing went down, he wanted to avoid the appearance of evil. And I think that all of us sitting here this morning could agree together that lying down with someone that you're not married to is not a good idea. We can agree with that. And yet, During the dating process, it's like all common sense flies out the window.

21:09What do you want to do tonight? I don't know. Why don't you come over about 11:30? We'll lie in the dark next to each other and watch Netflix. I see no holes in this plan. I am literally here all week. Look on the screen at 1 Corinthians 10. Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed, lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it.

22:11Friends, my experience, both personally and pastorally, leads me to believe that most of us think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. We think we're standing firm. We think we will not fall into temptation. But the reality is. We grossly overestimate our own ability to withstand temptation. And we grossly underestimate Satan's ability to tempt us. You and I have been trying to resist sin for as long as we've been Christians. A few weeks, a few months, a few years, a decade. Satan has been tempting people for thousands and thousands of years. He is not a novice. It is not new to him. He knows every trick in the book.

23:09And yet, time and again, we grossly overestimate our ability to withstand temptation and we grossly underestimate his ability to tempt us. Friends, let's learn from Joseph. Not only would he not listen, he wouldn't put himself in a compromising position. And then, third and finally, the text says he would not be with her. So it's not just that he wouldn't listen to her. It's not just that he wouldn't lay beside her. He would not even be with her. He did everything possible to avoid her entirely.

23:45And friends, there are certain people and certain situations that you must avoid entirely. I'm not speaking to all Christians when I say that. I'm speaking to you. There are certain situations that you You must avoid entirely. There are certain people that you must avoid entirely because of your unique temptations, because of the way that you specifically are tempted to sin. Certain people, certain situations are not good for you. But our pride gets in the way. And we don't want to admit to ourselves, we don't want to admit to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that we are tempted in certain ways. We don't want to confess that. We don't want to admit that. It makes us appear weak. But, friends, we are weak. We are weak.

24:34And if you can't admit that you're weak, how will you ever admit that you need Christ, that you need a Savior? We are weak. And that's the starting point for all Christian faith: recognizing that we are weak. So, friends, we can all learn from Joseph and how he handled temptation. He wouldn't listen to her, he wouldn't lie beside her, he wouldn't even be around her. Remember, 1 Corinthians 10. God says that when we are tempted, we will be able to stand up underneath it. And if we can't, he will provide a way of escape so we can get out of there. And that's exactly what God does for Joseph. Look at verse 11.

25:22But one day, when he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him. Him by his garment, saying, Lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, See, he has brought a Hebrew among us to laugh at us. He came into me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house. Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home. And she told him the same story, saying, The Hebrew servant whom you have brought among us came into me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.

26:24What a terrible injustice this is. Joseph is a righteous man. He is falsely accused by a wicked person with evil motives. Potiphar's wife, her pride was badly wounded. She was embarrassed. And so she decides to ruin the one who spurned her advances. And it's interesting to note: this is the second time in the story that Joseph's garment has been used to deceive someone. Now, notice when she tells her story, she plays her. On racial tensions. She says, the Hebrew servant, things were tense between Egypt and the Hebrews.

27:13And she played on that. That's one of the things we're going to be discussing tonight, is our prejudices. So again, let me encourage you to return at 5 o'clock as we talk about those things. She plays on this to her advantage. And then she blames her husband. She says, you're the one who brought this Hebrew among us. And then she blames Joseph. She attributes false motives to him. The whole thing is such a sad situation. And this entire thing is not Joseph's fault. He did nothing wrong. But he did make a critical mistake, didn't he? He did make a critical mistake. Remember, he had determined not to be with her. And so when Joseph saw that none of the men were in the house, he should have either gotten one of the men or left and come back later to do the work when the men were there.

28:06It's not Joseph's fault that that would have been wise. Now, some of you are thinking, maybe, isn't that a little over the top? Isn't that a little paranoid? Well, obviously not. But here's the reality. A reputation takes a lifetime to build and one false accusation to destroy. And you might say, that's not fair, and that's not true. If the accusation is untrue, especially if it's proven to be untrue, then that's not the way it works. But you and I both know better. You see, here in the United States, we pride ourselves on our judicial system that says you are innocent until proven guilty.

28:59But you and I know that in the age of social media, you are innocent until you are publicly accused. Because from that moment on, everybody has that question. Did he really do that? Are they sure she didn't do that? There's always that question. Now, as Christians, we cannot control what people say about us. We can't control whether they falsely accuse us. What we can do is we can do everything in our power to live lives that are above reproach. So that if someone does falsely accuse us, we will get the benefit of the doubt. Because in every other situation, we have acted with integrity. We've acted with character.

29:49That's why here at the church, we don't, none of the pastors meet alone with women in the building. It's not because we don't trust women. It's because we don't even want there to be an appearance of evil where somebody could suggest that maybe something was happening. That's why the pastors and no individual handles the money given to new life. We have an entire finance team that together handles all of the financial transactions for our church, so that there is complete transparency, so there can be no accusations even of mishandled funds. We want to be above reproach in every way because, friends, character takes a lifetime, rather, reputation takes a lifetime to build. But it can all be torn down with one accusation. So look with me now at what happens to Joseph. Look at verse 19.

30:47As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, this is the way your servant treated me, his anger was kindled. And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him steadfast love, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.

31:37Well, Potiphar is understandably angry. He has no choice but to take action against Joseph, and so Joseph is thrown into what is known as the king's prison. This is a vile place. You have to keep in mind, Joseph has no rights as a slave. He has no right to a trial. He has no right to a speedy trial, like here in the United States, for sure. He was completely at the whim of the Pharaoh. He could be in prison forever. The Pharaoh could summon him within the hour and have him executed with no trial. Joseph is now confined to this prison.

32:17And in this moment, it certainly seems that God has deserted Joseph. But he hadn't. Verse 21. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love. I mean, think about this. Joseph has been sold into slavery by his brothers. The one thing that he still has in this whole world is his reputation. And now that has been slandered by an evil woman with evil motives. It would be totally understandable if Joseph grew increasingly bitter towards God, increasingly bitter towards everybody around him.

32:57And yet that's not what happens at all. Joseph continues to worship God. Joseph continues to serve others, even though his circumstances were terrible. But we know because Joseph was a man, a human being, just like you and me, he was not perfect at this. He was not always faithful. He had good days and bad days. We'll see that toward the end of his life with his brothers. And I don't know about you, but I'm not even as faithful as Joseph when it comes to encountering trials.

33:31I tend to lose my joy. I tend to become angry and frustrated. I do tend to become embittered. Maybe you do as well. And yet we are called to perfection. Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 5. You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

34:28Perfect. I have to perfectly love not just my family members and my friends, but I have to perfectly love those who hate me, those who persecute me. I don't do that. Thankfully, Jesus did. Look again at 1 Peter 2. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure. But if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

35:28Okay, well, that sounds just like the very same thing Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. Peter seems to just be saying again, you have to be perfect. Jesus did it. He's your example. But that leaves me, that leaves you in the exact same place, doesn't it? I know that I'm called to be perfect. I know that Jesus did this perfectly. But I don't. So where does that leave me? Thankfully, Peter goes on and looking. At what he says, he doesn't just set us an example, he dies for our failure. Look at verse 22 of 1 Peter 2. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed.

36:38Friends, the good news of the gospel is not just that Jesus left us a perfect example to emulate. He did that. But the good news of the gospel is that not only did he leave us a perfect example, it's that he bore our sins in his body on the tree. It's that he took every one of our failures to love not just our enemies and those who persecute us, but even our failures to love our family members, our friends, perfectly. Jesus took all of that upon himself. He bore our sins in his body on the tree. He died, was buried, and on the third day he rose from the grave, defeating sin and death, every single sin that we have committed or will commit. He bore Them in his body.

37:33And friends, it may not have seemed like it, but God was always with Joseph. He was with him through every single trial. And it may not have seemed in the past when you've gone through trials that God was with you. It may not seem to you today, if you're going through a hard trial, that God is with you. We're all tempted to believe that. But friends, God wastes no trial. He walks with us through every single one. He intends every trial to make us more like Christ, to increase our faith in Him, and to open up doors for evangelism so that we can give an answer for the hope that lies within us when we're going through suffering and trials.

38:21So I hope you see through Joseph's life today, even when it seems otherwise, through every trial, God shows steadfast love to His people. Let's pray. Father, we are told this morning, maybe reminded for many of us, that you have not simply called us to be better than non-Christians. You haven't called us to do a little better than our brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, you haven't called us to compare ourselves with anyone else. You have called us to perfection.

39:21And perfection looks not only like loving our friends, loving our family members, it looks like loving and serving and praying for those who persecute us. And God, we will admit this morning that we do not do that. We do not do that perfectly. But God, we thank you that Jesus did. We thank you that Jesus not only set a perfect example for us, but that he died for every one of our sins and failures. That he bore in his body on the cross all of our sin.

40:13And so, Lord, this morning I want to pray for those who are struggling to love their enemies. Maybe even family members, extended family members. Who revile them, make fun of them, exclude them at holidays, at family get-togethers, at occasions that are supposed to be joyful, and yet they pay a high cost for following you. I pray that you would help them to love and to pray for those who persecute them. I pray for the students. I pray for every employee here or employer here that faces persecution at school or at work because they won't engage in unethical practices, because they won't sin against others or against you.

41:18I pray that you would help them to stand firm, to hope in you. And we pray for those who persecute them this morning. And God, we certainly remember today our brothers and sisters around the world who are not only mocked, not only shunned, but beaten, thrown in prison, even killed for their faith in Jesus. We pray for them that you would comfort them, especially those who have lost moms and dads, sons and daughters, friends. Pray for their persecutors. God, if you can change the heart of Saul of Tarsus, it's no big thing for you to change the heart of a Muslim terrorist or a Hindu terrorist or an atheist terrorist.

42:24And so we ask for that. We pray that you would forgive them as you have forgiven us. And that they would be adopted into your family through faith in Christ, just as we have been. And so, God, we look to you this morning, not only for help in our trials, but for forgiveness when we fail. In Jesus' name, amen.