As many of you guys know, before coming back to Borean, we spent about five and a half years working in Korea. And during my time in Korea, I attended about a half dozen funerals. And funerals in Korea are done a little differently from how they're done in the States.

After the service, which is often held at the chapel in one of the wings of the hospital, the body is transported in a casket to a crematorium about an hour or so away. And the mourners, they will ride a special bus with a casket underneath, and then they will go.

And one thing I found extremely traumatic about the way Koreans send off their dead is that immediate family members have to stand in front of this window. And as a casket is being put into the cremation chamber, the immediate family actually has to observe and watch that. And that was such an unpleasant experience for me, watching the families watch the box go in.

After the body is cremated, the ashes are placed in a small box, and then they're carried to a place called a columbarium. I never heard that word before, but that's where urns and stuff are kept because Korea land is sparse, and so usually most of the dead are cremated.

And they're placed in urns and then housed in viewing cases and shelves. So from the time the body is transported from the hospital to the time it is placed in an urn in the columbarium, every single person is fully aware at all times where that body is or where the box with the ashes is.

And every person there probably has the deceased person heavily on their minds. And if someone's bones or ashes travel with you, you're gonna wonder who that person is. So you would ask, "Who was he?" or "Who was she?" And the person would have to be of significance if we were to carry around these bones.

So wherever the bones were moved, the people would be aware. Well throughout the entire wilderness wandering, Joseph's bones traveled with the Israelites. I'm not sure if you knew that. So everyone was aware of where his bones were. Every young child was likely made aware of the person of Joseph the moment he or she asked about those bones.

And we often call Hebrews 11 the Hall of Faith, as many of the Hebrew heroes are commended in it for their act of faith. Joseph's bones were very symbolic and they were very important in the wilderness wandering. So in fact, they were so important that they're just about all that is mentioned about Joseph in Hebrews 11.

It says, "By faith, Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave orders concerning his bones." And allow me to walk you briefly through the biblical record of Joseph's bones. You've probably never heard a sermon introduced this way in your life, but just allow me to go through this.

Genesis 50, 25 to 26. "Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, 'God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.' So Joseph died at the age of 110 years, and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt." So Joseph makes it clear that he does not want his bones to be buried in Egypt long term.

Exodus 13, 19. "Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, 'God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.'" These bones were of such importance that Moses, even in haste to lead the people in the exodus from Egypt, made sure he got Joseph's bones out of the coffin and took them with him.

And if you read Joshua 24, 32, which is about 50 years after the exodus from Egypt, "Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt." So these are significant. So we see from the time of exodus all the way to the conquest and the settling in of the promised land, Joseph's bones were always with this ginormous caravan.

So in fact, the book of Joshua, which details all of Israel's conquests, pretty much closes with the Israelites' burial of the bones. So this begs the question, this is not in any of the children's Bibles, right? But this begs the question, why were Joseph's bones so important to the Israelites in the wilderness wandering?

Why were Joseph's bones so important? As you guys know, Joseph, the son of Jacob, perhaps, is the most celebrated, one of the most celebrated in all of the scriptures. And there are very few individuals found in the scriptures like Joseph. He's got so much written about him, and yet it's amazing that there is almost no mention of a glaring character flaw, a sin, or a lapse in judgment.

And I'm not sure if you guys just were ever aware of this, but Joseph's story takes up more than a quarter of the book of Genesis. And if you've been here at Berean with us for a length of time, you know that the more ink or detail something gets in the Old Testament, usually the more important it is to the original audience, 25%.

So when most people think of the book of Genesis, they think of creation, of Adam and Eve, and perhaps of the flood in Babel. But the book of Genesis is more about God's selection of the Hebrew race than it is about creation. And that is why more than a quarter of the book is devoted to Joseph, and just two chapters are devoted to the creation account.

So remember, the original recipients of the book of Genesis were the second generation Israelites wandering in the wilderness. So Joseph is very much the person of interest for them. So to this generation of Israelites, he may actually be much more important to them than even Abraham. So I'd like for us to read today's text, which is a very important section of Scripture, Genesis 50, verses 15 to 21.

It'll be up on the screen for you. When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him?" So they sent a message to Joseph saying, "Your father charged before he died, saying, 'Thus you shall say to Joseph, 'Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.

And now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.' And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, 'Behold, we are your servants.' But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place?

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore do not be afraid, I will provide for you and your little ones.' So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." I want to give you a visual timeline of Joseph's life.

So if you look on the screen, Joseph is 56 years old when Jacob dies. And Joseph lives another 54 years after the text that we just read together. And between Genesis 50 verse 21 and the rest of the chapter, the rest of the book, 54 years pass before Joseph gives instructions concerning his bones.

So only five verses are devoted to the rest of, the half of Joseph's life. So the book of Genesis pretty much ends with Joseph still having half his life to live. So why is the story of Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers just about the last major thing mentioned in the book of Genesis?

Because it's of supreme importance to the original audience. There's something about this event that God wants them to remember at all times, every time they saw the bones. The book of Genesis is more descriptive than prescriptive. And it was written primarily to remind the Israelites of something. So the book of Genesis is actually more informational than it is instructional.

So when you're doing your quiet time, you got to be careful not to misapply some of the things that we see in the book of Genesis. So the second generation of wanderers, they're about to enter the promised land. And what is it that God wants them to remember about this famous patriarch?

What is it that they want them to learn? The first thing, Joseph's forgiveness demonstrated absolute trust in God's goodness and sovereignty. And if you guys have your app, all of the stuff that's on the slides are already on there for you, so you don't have to do a mad scramble to write.

First point, Joseph's forgiveness demonstrated absolute trust in God's goodness and sovereignty. Verse 20 to 21, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive, so therefore do not be afraid." So what was this evil that the brothers meant?

If you guys have grown up in the church, you've heard a lot of Joseph. But for the sake of those who haven't, let me walk you through Joseph's evil brothers. Joseph had 10 older brothers who were jealous of him because he was daddy's favorite. These 10 brothers actually are a bunch of irresponsible, spoiled brats.

If you don't believe me, go read for yourself. Okay, the 10 brothers, they're disobedient to their father and they actually go to Dothan, very far away from where their father had told them to go, and where they're partying it up. And Jacob sends Joseph to crash this party, to check up on his brothers.

And Joseph goes there and they put him in a pit to kill him. But then they decide, "You know, we can make some money off this guy." So they decide to sell him off instead. And they rip up Joseph's coat of many colors. You guys may have heard Technicolor, but that's actually not the case.

Joseph had a coat of many colors. They rip it up, they lather it with animal blood, and then they tell their father at home, even though they know it's going to break his heart, they tell him, "Perhaps your son was killed by a wild beast." These guys are evil.

So this is the evil that Joseph acknowledges his brothers have done. But in a sense, when you read this passage, Joseph is saying, "God did this. He purposed this. He deliberated this." Joseph does not say, "God caused you to devise evil against me." But what he is saying here is, "God ultimately purposed this." God willed Joseph's being sold off into slavery.

God willed the brothers lying to their father. God willed Joseph's being approached by Potiphar's wife. God willed Joseph's being wrongfully put in prison for 13 years. God willed Joseph's rise to power. God willed all of this, yet he did not cause sin. Now if you are a normal person, nod your heads if you are a normal—okay, good, most of you nodded.

If you are a normal person, if you're paying attention, there should be some tension rising in your heart. Whenever the topic of God's perfect will and sovereignty versus man's free will is brought up, our finite minds start spinning in circles. It's nearly humanly impossible to fully grasp an all-powerful, sovereign God who hates sin and yet allows for sin.

And if you let your theologically finite minds run a little bit, you will hit this tension if you're thinking. Why? Because God's sovereignty means this for you and me. Every single horrible thing that has happened in our lives, God has allowed. God has purposed. And in effect, God has ordained.

Every single difficult, horrible thing, he's allowed. And yet, God is love. His will is perfect. He is perfectly good. And yet, he's not the one responsible for the evil that befell you. So like I said, it would be very strange if you didn't have any tension in your brain over these truths.

Here in Genesis 50 and much of the rest of the first five books of Moses, Moses doesn't even try to explain this tension away. In fact, this tension is all over the first five books. Did God create Adam good? Yes. Did God give Adam free will? Yes. Did God foreknow that Adam would sin?

Yes. Did God set him up to sin? No. Did God harden Pharaoh's heart? Yes. Did Pharaoh harden his own heart? Yes. Even the root of why the Israelites are wandering in the wilderness, there's this tension. If you only read through the book of Numbers, if you get past Genesis, Exodus, and you get to, past Leviticus, and you get to Numbers, if you read only the book of Numbers, you'll conclude that the Israelites are in the wilderness because of their sin, their disobedience, and their rebellion.

That's what you would conclude, and you would not be incorrect. But if the only source of your information was the book of Deuteronomy, you would conclude that the Hebrews were wandering in the wilderness because God deliberately sent them there, and he sent them in there to protect them from their enemies.

And that conclusion would not be incorrect. Numbers, they're in the wilderness because they sinned. They're in the wilderness because they disobeyed. Deuteronomy, they're in the wilderness because God set them there. They're in the wilderness because God put them there for their protection. He ordained this. God put them there for their good.

So for the first five books of Moses, this tension is all over the place. And though you may want to, and though the unbelieving world may demand that you do, you don't need to explain this tension away. Does this make sense? We don't need to explain this tension away because we cannot.

What we see in Joseph's response here in Genesis 50 is that he fully trusts in the goodness of God, and that trust enables him to forgive and repay with kindness and generosity. Now Joseph does acknowledge that his brothers meant evil, and his brothers, they did an evil, horrible thing.

Okay? So he was 17 years old when he was sold off as a slave, and he's basically either a slave or a prisoner until he's 30. So he is robbed of 13 years at the prime of his life. But more than the physical hardship of the imprisonment, I'm sure it took an emotional toll on him as well because he loved his father and he loved his full brother Benjamin, and he couldn't see them anymore.

And he was probably worried about them worrying about him. If I were to be taken away somewhere, my mind would immediately go to my wife, my kids, and my dad. I wouldn't want them to worry. And just imagining my wife and my kids not knowing what became of me is enough to make me kind of cringe, and even tear up a little bit.

If I were to be taken away somewhere, or if I was killed and one of you had to go to my wife to tell her what had happened, just thinking about that would break my heart. And Joseph had all the time in the world to imagine and to think and to wonder and to grieve.

13 years in prison. And one thing that we don't get in the book of Genesis is the conversation that he may have had in those 13 years with God. I can't but imagine that there were times where I'm sure he was upset, he was bitter, he was confused, but cool thing is we don't have those prayers at our access.

But what we do have is Joseph's trust in God's goodness and sovereignty in the face of evil. And this trust frees him to forgive. So first thing that we are to learn, Joseph's forgiveness demonstrated his absolute trust in God's goodness and sovereignty. Joseph's forgiveness puts God's faithfulness to his covenant promises on display.

Joseph's forgiveness put God's faithfulness to his covenant promises on display. In Genesis 12, two to three, a lot of you guys already know this because this is the blessing toward Abraham. And I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so you shall be a blessing.

And I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. So we see throughout the book of Genesis the beginning of God making good on his promises. So the promises here in Genesis 12, two to three, will ultimately be fulfilled in the person of Christ in the future.

But we get a little snapshot here through Joseph's rise to power in Egypt. But God meant it for good. Joseph is handpicked by God to practically save the world from hunger. Joseph rises to power and uses his wisdom and skill to prepare for the seven years of famine that would come on the Mediterranean world.

All the nations were coming to Egypt to buy food. Many lives were preserved. Millions were preserved. So the nations were indeed saved from death because of Joseph, the man of God. And Joseph proved to be exceptionally wise and the entire Mediterranean world benefited from his wisdom. And he's only 30.

But think for a moment with me. Imagine the scene with his brothers. Would Joseph have been in the wrong if he paid his brothers back in full? Would he have been in the wrong to bear a grudge as they had feared? No. Joseph had every human right to be vindictive and no one would have blamed him since everyone in Egypt saw him second only to Pharaoh who they saw as a god.

So justice would have been served if he just kicked them out. But here in Genesis 50, we see that Joseph could have single-handedly rebelled against God's plan by exacting justice. He could have just kicked them all out. Every extended member of his family, if he kicked them out of Egypt and focused solely on his two sons because there would be less competition, right?

If he focused only on his two sons. But he didn't do that and God only knows why. So Joseph's forgiveness proved faithful, the declaration of God to Abraham in Genesis 15, 13 to 14. I'm going to read that for you. God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years.

But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve and afterward they will come out with many possessions." Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers displayed God's faithfulness to his covenant promises and later the Israelite slaves walk out of Egypt with most of their wealth. They plundered the Egyptians. Third, Joseph's forgiveness gave testimony to the benevolent character of the Messiah to come.

Joseph's forgiveness gave testimony to the benevolent character of the Messiah to come. In Genesis 50, if you read closely what comes out of Joseph's mouth, Joseph closely resembles the person of Jesus Christ. His compassion, love, mercy, and kindness here, they mirror the character of Jesus Christ. And I noticed five parallels between Joseph and Jesus the Messiah, and I'm going to have them up there for you.

First, like the Messiah, Joseph was the sovereign with all authority given to him. He was a sovereign in the land, second only to Pharaoh himself. See I have set you over all the land of Egypt. When Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hands and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the necklace around his neck, he had him ride in a second chariot and they proclaimed before him, "Bow the knee," and he set him over all the land of Egypt.

So every Egyptian bowed the knee to Joseph. So any attack, any slight, any offense given to Joseph was akin to the attack on Pharaoh himself. And I'm sure that during the 17 years prior to their father's death, Joseph's brothers watched every knee bow to their brother. So they were right to be fearful of him.

Second, like Jesus the coming Messiah, Joseph learned humility and he learned to submit to God the Father through hardship and suffering. We read in Hebrews chapter five, verse eight, "Although he was a son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered." Third, Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, by his kinsmen, by his own, and still like the Messiah who would come about 1800 years later, he did not cast them out and he was not ashamed to call them brothers.

For both he who sanctifies, Hebrews 2, 11 to 12, and those who are sanctified are all from one father for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren. I will proclaim your name to my brethren. Fourth, he suffered as a criminal though he was innocent. He suffered as a criminal though he was innocent.

And fifth, he was indeed wronged, but he repaid the wrong with kindness, provision, and protection. Joseph choosing not to exact vengeance or retribution would have been an incredible act of mercy in and of itself. But for 54 future years, he provides. And his provision and kindness and encouragement for the next 54 years is an act of pure and baffling, mind-boggling grace.

So there are five parallels that you see between Joseph and Jesus the Christ. The only difference perhaps is verse 19. When his brothers come and bow down before him, Joseph says, "Do not be afraid for am I in God's place?" In the Egyptian context, actually he could have said, "Yes, I am in God's place." But Joseph does not because he understood that Yahweh alone is God.

So I asked in the beginning, why are Joseph's bones so important? Because the person of Joseph represented the perfect sovereignty of God and the preservation of his people through mercy. The people of God in the wilderness needed this symbol of God's sovereignty and preservation of mercy everywhere they went.

The people of Israel would not be who they were and where they were had it not been for the kindness of Joseph. If there ever was a man who could have messed up God's plan, it was him. Imagine if he said, "Dad's dead. Off with you guys." It would have been it.

But praise God that that did not happen. Joseph submitted himself to the sovereign purposes of God. So God was pleased to let Joseph suffer as an innocent man to preserve many people alive. Hallelujah. Jesus submitted himself to the sovereign purposes of God and God was pleased to crush him and to let him suffer as an innocent man, Isaiah 53.10, also to preserve many people alive.

Hallelujah. Joseph's forgiveness demonstrated his absolute trust in God's goodness and sovereignty. Joseph's forgiveness put God's faithfulness to his covenant promises on display. Third, Joseph's forgiveness gave testimony to the benevolent character of the Messiah to come. So what is it when you read through Genesis and you're learning, okay, this is more informational than instructional, but what is it then that we can learn from Joseph's life, especially from this episode in chapter 50?

What is it that we can learn and apply into our lives? First, God is sovereign. He is good. He is working out every single detail of your life, either for good or for your good. Amen? In Genesis 8.28, God is sovereign and he is working out every detail for the good of those who love him.

So you can trust him. No matter how bleak the circumstance, no matter how long the hardship, you can trust him. First thing we learn from Joseph's life. Second thing we can learn, God's plan has always been to bless his people in order to bless through his people. God's plan has always been to bless his people in order to bless through his people.

And more often than not, we see the means by which he blesses, it's sacrifice and suffering. The ultimate vehicle of blessing would be the cross of Christ. And you and I are invited that if we would follow after him to deny ourselves, to take up our cross and to follow because he will bless through our suffering.

And one other lesson that we can glean, forgiveness naturally lends itself to the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Were you guys not blessed in recent weeks watching the video of 18-year-old Brent Jean forgiving and extending the love of Jesus toward his brother's killer? Pastor Peter mentioned this two weeks ago, but I'm gonna bring it up again.

I doubt that Brent Jean foresaw his act of forgiveness, his request for a hug, and his tears will be broadcast to the world. He was hoping primarily to give hope to the cop who killed his brother, but he ended up blessing millions. And the internet trolls, they were stunned and they had nothing to say.

Scroll through all those videos. There aren't many trolls that can say anything. And I will not be surprised if Amber Geiger puts her faith in Christ if she hasn't done so already. Forgiveness naturally lends itself to the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You're here because of someone's forgiveness.

So for the original recipients of the book of Genesis, this account of Joseph's story, again, is more descriptive than prescriptive. It's not telling you to go do something. So there is no "therefore, go and do likewise" in Genesis 50. Does that make sense? The application here is not to go forgive.

So I'm not going to go beyond the text to exhort you to forgive those who've wronged you. To be sure, forgiveness in other parts of scripture is absolutely commanded. Just read the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 to see what Jesus has to say about those who are unwilling to forgive.

In fact, there are many places in scripture that lead me to conclude that no genuine Christian can hold a lifelong grudge. I'll say this again. If you read the scriptures, you will conclude that no genuine Christian could ever bear a lifelong grudge. Genuine Christians cannot but forgive because that is the fruit of the Spirit of God working in the life of the saints of God.

So this text, forgiving those who have sinned against us, is not our main application from here. The 12 tribes hearing this story of Joseph did not think, "Huh, maybe I should forgive my neighbor." They wouldn't dare to think that because the 12 tribes, when they hear the story of Joseph, they're like, "We are here because of Joseph's forgiveness." They would not put themselves in the place of Joseph ever.

So when we read the scriptures, we want to first think, how would the original audience have applied this text that we just read? So forgiveness is not the main point in this passage. When you read this passage of Joseph's forgiveness, here's a litmus test. Do you see yourself as Joseph or do you put yourself in the brother's position?

As you're hearing this story and you naturally put yourself in the place of Joseph, there is an arrogance in your heart. We are more all like his brothers. So as I get older and as I mature in my faith, I realize that I am just like Joseph's brothers in Genesis 50.

There are many things that I've regretted over the years. There are many people that I've hurt. There are many impetuous, selfish, and rash things that I've done out of jealousy or selfish ambition or self-interest. I am way more like his brothers than I am like Joseph. And like his brothers, whenever I fall into a failure or I find myself with regret, I too fear the sovereign.

And I cannot help but say, "I have no right to be here." "Behold, I am your servant. Do with me what you will." And I cannot help but feel utterly helpless because I know the wrong that I've done. But I know that I'm in good company because most of the heroes that I read about in the Bible also resemble Joseph's brothers more than they do Joseph.

And I am comforted by this. Most of the heroes that I read about in the Scripture are deeply flawed like me. They have betrayed like me. They have tripped over themselves just like me. And one thing that I notice in Joseph's brothers is they have a hard time fully embracing forgiveness because they have so much fear.

They doubt the benevolence of Joseph and are fearful of judgment and wrath. I mean, there's nothing they could have done to make amends. Genesis 50 is not the first exchange like this between Joseph and his brothers. A very similar exchange took place about 17 years before in Genesis 45.

"Now, do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here for God sent me before you to preserve life. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Now therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God.

Do not concern yourselves with your goods for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours." So perhaps this forgiveness felt too good to be true. Perhaps the brothers couldn't move past their shame and their regret. I can relate to this. What I see here is that even though Joseph had been nothing but kind to them for 17 years, they're worried that the kindness is now going to stop because their protection, their father is gone.

The brothers of Joseph are normal human beings and as normal human beings, they are deeply flawed. And praise God that the scriptures are filled with examples of God using deeply flawed people to carry out his plan of salvation. So if you see a Joseph's brother in your life, take heart.

And I will give you one example of a deeply flawed person that comes up in the scriptures and we will wrap up on that note. Apostle Peter. At the last supper, Apostle Peter arrogantly pledges to never abandon Jesus even to the point of death. You guys are familiar with this, right?

But Peter said to him, "Even though all may fall away because of you, I will never fall away." Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you that this very night before a rooster crows, you will deny me three times. Here's the first time, Peter, but he denied it before them all second time.

And again, he denied it with an oath third time. Then he began to curse and swear, 'I do not know the man.' And immediately a rooster crowed." So in the span of about 16 hours or so, Peter goes from pledging his life to fight for Jesus to denying Jesus even to the point of swearing curses upon himself out of fear and confusion.

And don't you think that Peter felt that he committed an unforgivable sin? Do you not think he feels absolute shame and regret? He has betrayed the sovereign. He has betrayed the son of God. He has abandoned his beloved brother and teacher in time of need. And knowing that Jesus was going to go to trial and be executed as an innocent man, and knowing that he did nothing except deny him three times, probably messed Peter up.

And that's why it says he bawls, he weeps. He denies him the third time and then the rooster crows. In Luke 22, 61, you actually, Luke writes, "And then Jesus looked at him right when the rooster crowed." I mean, imagine if you're Peter. You hear the rooster and at the same time you hear the rooster, you see Jesus' eyes just looking at you.

That would kill you. I wonder what was going through his mind when he made eye contact with Christ. He had denied the son of God and in his moment of truth, proved himself a coward and a liar. So after Jesus' resurrection, he appears to his disciples several times, but you don't see Peter excited, okay, except the first time.

But we find that initially, so they've all gone back to fishing as I would. If I had abandoned my Savior in time of need, I wouldn't go back to fishing because I didn't believe in him. I would go back because I feel like such a loser. I would be ashamed, I would be broken, I would be embarrassed and humbled and that betrayal would be on my mind at all times.

So when Peter finds Jesus cooking breakfast for them at the seaside, Peter's probably more sad than he is excited. And I want to show you this account in John chapter 21. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon, "Peter, Simon's son of John, do you love me more than these?" And he said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my lambs." And he said to him a second time, "Simon's son of John, do you love me?" And he said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Shepherd my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon's son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know all things.

You know that I love you." And Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." Peter's hurt the third time Jesus asks him about his love and commitment. And I've highlighted the word love on there for you on the screen. In Greek, love that is unconditional, a love that a mother has for a child, the love that God has for the world is usually written agape love.

And you guys who've grown up in the church have heard this word before, agape love, unconditional love. The Greek word for love that is more conditional, perhaps similar in warmth, but definitely not as loyal or fierce is the word phileo, brotherly love. And I want to show you something about this exchange between the Lord and Peter.

First time, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon's son of John, do you agape me?" And Peter says, "Yes, Lord, you know that I, phileo, love you." And Jesus says to him, "Tend my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon's son of John, do you agape me?" And he said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I, phileo, love you." And he said to him, "Shepherd my sheep." And Jesus says to him the third time, "Simon's son of John, do you even phileo me?" And Peter's grieved because he said to him this third time, "Do you phileo love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know all things.

You know that I, phileo, love you." And Jesus says to him, "Tend my sheep." Do you notice why Peter gets hurt? It's not because Jesus asks more than once. It's because the third time Jesus asks, it almost seems like he's questioning Peter. Do you really think you even phileo love me?

And at this, Peter is broken. You see, before the arrest of Jesus, Peter in his mind had an agape love for Jesus Christ. But you see through this exchange that Peter no longer has confidence in his own heart. His love for the Son of God had to be first and foremost founded on the Son of God's love for him.

The Holy Spirit does a lot through the life of Peter. But why did Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in his sovereignty allow Peter to deny him? To remind Peter as he did the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, that there was nothing good in and of themselves. The twelve tribes in the wilderness had to learn that every single aspect of their relationship to Yahweh was all grace.

And none of it was by their merit or their loyalty. So Peter, like the Israelites, needed to be humbled. But humility is a good thing. As A.W. Tozer writes, "Before God will use a man greatly, he will hurt him deeply." Before God will use a man greatly, he will hurt him deeply.

What did Peter hear upon his denial? He heard a rooster. I find this ironic because there are roosters everywhere. That was probably Peter's alarm clock every single morning he woke up for the rest of his life. Maybe when he was being crucified upside down, he heard a rooster. Oh, the irony.

Every single morning the Apostle Peter woke up, he woke up with the reminder of his betrayal. He woke up with the reminder of the surpassing goodness of this gracious God. And I'm sure that upon that rooster call, he was reminded of his charge to agape love the sheep. And Peter can now agape love the flock of God because the agape love of God the Father has both broken and restored him.

So you see, humbled people, broken people tend to be a more grateful people and a more loving people. Would you guys agree with that? Humbled and broken people naturally tend to be more thankful, appreciative, and more loving. And being broken of our pride and being released from our fears and our guilt is a process and perhaps with each passing year, God is showing you more and more of the sin and frailty that is in your heart and in your flesh.

And some of you, because of this process of seeing your failure again and again, may feel so just defeated and discouraged. Some of you are living your lives filled with shame. It doesn't mean that you're not believing in Jesus Christ, it just means that you feel like you're useless to an all-powerful God.

Some of you may be feeling this way. And when you hear your spiritual rooster crow every day, one thing I want to remind you of is you're in very good company in the scriptures. God uses broken, messed up, flawed people to bring about his plan of salvation. Hallelujah to that.

God knows our weaknesses, he knows our frame, he knows our limitations, he knows the offenses that we have already committed in the past, he knows the offenses that we will commit in the future, he knows the offenses that we're committing now, and yet he extends kindness upon kindness and grace upon grace.

And like the song that we're going to sing in a little bit, "My sins, they are many, but his mercy is more." And God is the one who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure, as we're learning in Philippians. So as God is working in you, one thing you'll look back in your life and just see progress and growth.

You will see forgiveness. You will see trust developing. And you will see just a hatred, a healthy hatred toward yourself. God will use you in your brokenness. So what is the word of God teaching us today? I read up to Genesis 50, 21, but the chapter goes on for five more verses, and we learn that the next 54 years of Joseph's life, he's extending grace and showing kindness to his undeserving brothers.

Jesus, who is exponentially more gracious, who is eternally unashamed, calls us brothers. What does it promise in Ephesians 2, 7? That he is going to spend eternity lavishing upon us kindness. And I'd like to close with both an invitation and a charge. First John 1, 9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And later we'll read that there is no fear in love.

And as we are being made righteous, 1 John 3, 23, this is his commandment that we believe in the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and God pay love to one another, just as he commanded us. Brothers and sisters, this morning, for you guys who belong to the Lord Jesus, I just wanted to remind you that you've been forgiven.

And as forgiven people, let's worship in spirit and in truth the one who's forgiven us. And as we've been forgiven, let us live lives of forgiveness. Let us press on. Let us love one another. For by loving one another, what happens? By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

May we worship the Lord because he is worthy. And may we grow in love for one another. That's the purpose of our life, to give glory to God and to build his kingdom. Amen? Let's pray.