Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11. I'd like for us to look at verse
22 this evening. I'll tell you a lot of the verses
in this particular chapter. You just take one verse. There's
a message in that one verse, but this is one right here. Hebrews 11.22, by faith, Joseph,
when he died, made mention of the departing of the children
of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. Let's ask our Lord to bless him. Our glorious Father, God of heaven
and earth, you who rule and reign and order all things well, thank
you. Thank you that we can rest in
you tonight. Thank you that we can call on
you and bless your holy name and know that, Lord, you are
Governing in the hearts of your people. Teaching. Comforting. Lord, would you bless this word
to our hearts tonight. Cause us to hear. Lord, may we
worship, blessed by the Holy Spirit, for Christ's sake. Amen. The scripture sets forth as often
it does with different ones that we've looked at in this particular
chapter. But the scripture sets forth
much about Joseph. Joseph was age 17 and was carried
away into Egypt because his brothers were jealous of him. His daddy
loved him. His daddy gave him a coat of
many colors. And when they got an opportunity,
instead of killing him, which they thought about, they sold
him to a traveling band of travelers going to Egypt. And there he
was sold into bondage. He became Potiphar's
trusted friend. Potiphar had him in his home
and Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him when she wasn't successful. She changed the story and tried
to make it appear as though that he had tried to advance on her. So they had him thrown in prison.
And then the scripture says that while he was in prison, the Lord
gave him great wisdom. And he found favor in the eyes
of the keeper of the prison. And then the Lord elevated him
to second in command, second only to Pharaoh. And Joseph was the one that people
would come to him. Egypt. The Lord had told him,
He said, Now you plant and raise corn, and it's going to be some
prosperous years. And you set it aside, because
I'm going to send a famine. And Almighty God worked the weather
of that part of the world, all part of the world, all over. We read about that part of the
world where God sent a famine. He sent prosperity for years
and just had bumper crop, bumper crop, bumper crops. And then
God sent a famine, told Him they were going to send a famine.
And then God would hail the rain. And his family, Almighty God
did all of that so that he could make himself known and show himself
to be mighty and powerful. And he caused Joseph's family
to have to come over. You know the story. They came
over and finally Joseph revealed himself to them. He sent everybody
else out. And oh, they were so scared when
they found out, this is Joseph. Oh, no. This is our brother that
we sold into bondage the way we mistreated him. He's going
to just, oh, what's going to happen? And he revealed himself
to them. He just wept. And he told them,
he said, you know, when they were trying to apologize and
everything, and he said, you meant it for evil, but God meant
it for good. And you know, when I think about
the wonder of our God that works all these things, I mean the
weather, the environment, everything, Almighty God. Romans 8.28 says
this, All things work together for good to them that love God. To them who are called according
to His purpose. And now here's Joseph. He's in Egypt. I told you some
of this when his dad blessed him and his sons. There he was. He's living in Egypt. And now, of all those things
that happened to Joseph, the Spirit of God was pleased to
pass by all these things that we just talked about. Those marvelous
things. And this is what the Holy Spirit
was pleased to record in this great chapter concerning faith. And this is what the scripture
says concerning the faith of Joseph, Jacob's son. By faith, Joseph, when he died,
he made mention, he remembered, that's what that word means,
he remembered of the departing of the children of Israel, and
gave commandment concerning his bones." Now, the Lord brought
back to his memory, and this is what God recorded, this is
what the Holy Spirit recorded concerning the faith of this
man, Joseph. He brought back to his memory
God's promise that was given to his grandfather, Abraham. I want you to turn with me to
Genesis 15. This is what happened. Genesis
15, verse 13-14. Genesis 15. God Almighty, Said Genesis 15, verse 13 and
14, And he that is the Lord said unto Abram, Know of a surety
that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs. He's talking about God's people,
a picture. of the true Israel of God. But
he's talking about the Hebrews that were going to be put into
Egypt. God was telling Abraham, this is what's going to happen
now. He said unto Abram, Know with surety that thy seed shall
be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve
them. And they shall afflict them 400 years. They're going to be in Egypt
400 years. And also that nation They shall
serve, will I judge. And afterward shall they come
out with great substance." Now here the Lord of glory told Abraham,
now this is what's going to happen. I'm going to send you, I'm going
to put you in Egypt. You're going to be there 400
years. And you're going to have to serve them. God Almighty,
ordained that they would be put in bondage. And there's Egypt,
a picture of the bondage of sin. God was going to bring them out.
A picture of type of deliverance and salvation brought out of
the bondage of sin. And God told him, He said, I'm
going to put you there. I'm going to use that nation,
that evil nation, I'm going to raise up He told Pharaoh, he
said, for this reason I raised you up, that I might show my
glory. Almighty God raises up men. God puts them there. And Almighty
God is going to use them for one purpose, in magnifying His
Son and for the good of His people. And then He's going to judge
the evil of this world. Now you write that down. He said,
I'm going to send you there. You're going to serve them. And
he said, then I'm going to judge them for what they did under
the direction of Almighty God. And he said, then I'm going to
bring you out. Well, the Lord promised Abraham. And Abraham told Isaac. And Isaac told Jacob. And Jacob
told Joseph. The promise of Almighty God. They knew. They knew what was
going to happen. Joseph knew. God's going to put us in Egypt. We're
going to be there 400 years. And Joseph died before the 400
years were up. But he made a promise that he
would take his bones with him. Deliverance. You know that deliverance,
that spiritual deliverance, which was a type, a picture, that Almighty
God was going to remove His people out of the clutches of death.
And we see that right now. That's a picture of regeneration.
That's faith. Faith believes God's Word. Faith has an object. It's the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's His Word. It's His promise. By faith, we read God's Word. And we believe Him. We trust
Him. We know. And here is this man,
Joseph. It says when he died, he was
dying. He would be soon leaving this
world physically. His spirit was going to depart. He knew that. And by faith, More
what faith in that day. Faith to die by. Faith to leave this world. Faith that will keep a man, keep
a woman until that day in which they depart. Now that's the point
right there that a believer takes hold of concerning God's promise,
and he risks right there. David said in 2 Samuel 23.5,
Although my house be not so with God. Oh, he just had so many
troubles. Oh, his son just hated him. His absolute tried to kill him. It was just war and war and war. He went through after he had
gone into Bathsheba. God forgave him. That's what
Nathan told him. He said, Lord's forgiven you.
But I'm telling you, the sword never left his house. God told
him that. He went through the rest of his
life. having to struggle, struggle,
struggle. Here He is. Although my house
be not so with God, yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things, ensured. This is all my salvation, all
my desire, although He make it not to grow. I want to be reminded
Just like David, just like Joseph. Joseph, the Scripture says, Joseph,
he made mention. He remembered. He remembered
God's promise. And I think in that day in which
the Lord has chosen for each one of His people to depart,
in that day, that Almighty God would bring back to our memory
by His Holy Spirit. I don't know. I don't know the
Scriptures that He might bring back to our memory. But just
think of the comfort of being able to just rest in God's Word. To rest in God's promise. He
remembered. That's what He said. By faith
when He died, He made mention of the departing of the children
of Israel. Now, I want us to look. at the
Lord's Word to preserve Abraham. I want you to turn back. Turn
back and hold your place there in Hebrews. Go back to Genesis
15. I'd like to read verses 1-6. Genesis 15. Now, here's the promise
now. Genesis 15 verses 1-6. We just
read verses 13-14 in this chapter. But this is what the Lord told
Abraham. This is your foundation. Abraham, this is where you can
rest. I'm going to send your seed into Egypt. They're going
to be there 400 years. But Abraham, to you, to your
seed, and I'm going to show you in just a minute who he's actually
talking about, those in Christ, This is what he promised, Genesis
15, 1-6, after these things. The word of the Lord came unto
Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and
thy exceeding great reward. And Abram said, Lord God, what
wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless? and the steward of
my house is this Eleazar of Damascus. And Abram said, Behold, to me
thou hast given no seed, and lo, one born in my house is mine
heir. And behold, the word of the Lord
came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that
shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad,
and he said, Look, now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if
thou art able to number them.' And he said unto him, So shall
thy seed be.' And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it
to him for righteousness." Now, let me show you what the Lord
told him. He promised Abraham that there
was going to be a people in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn to Galatians
3.16. He had told him, he said, I want
you to look up and see if you can number. And he said unto
him, if you can count the stars, so shall thy seed be. Galatians
3.16. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds as
of many, but as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ. Look at verse 29. If ye be Christ's,
then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Through your loins, through your
natural generation, the Messiah was going to come. Through your
seed, the seed Himself, and all that were chosen in Him, God
has a people. And all of the people that Almighty
God has everlastingly loved, God is going to have them. God
is going to call them. Look at these stars. Can you
number those stars? So shall thy seed be. A number
that no man can number. I heard something on the radio
yesterday, the day before, and it was talking about how many
babies are murdered, murdered every day. And I thought to myself, I wonder
how many of these blessed children, and I'm convinced that the majority,
if I could say that, of heaven is going to be made up of children
that were aborted. God Almighty, merciful, merciful. There's not many, comparatively
speaking, that God calls out of darkness that grow up into
adolescence, adulthood. But how many children die? Being
aboard is what this was talking about. But how many die in starvation? Just how many thousands and thousands
and thousands it was per day. We're talking about per day.
And I thought, you know, there is no telling concerning the
mercy of our God Almighty God promised, gave His Word to Abraham,
to Isaac, to Jacob, Joseph, and all of His people. And Joseph
remembered that. He remembered that God was going
to take him out of Egypt. And he told him, he said, now
when you come out, you take me. Boy, in those dying hours, how
the Lord is honored when God's people are kept and they believe
Him. Here they are, they're confronted,
encouraged, find a place of worship in their hearts just like Joseph. And how we're made to contemplate
the divine wisdom and good pleasure of God's Spirit to pass over
so many particulars of any man's life, and to bring it down to
something like this, in just talking about the remembering
of his bones. And he died. The Scripture says
that he died. And they buried him. And somebody
says, well, what difference does it make? If you died and you buried them,
and they're there, their spirit went to be with the Lord, what
difference would it make to record that He made mention of His bones? Now, I want us to look in just
a couple more Scriptures, and we'll look at the heart of these
things. Two points on it, but turn back
to Genesis 50. Genesis 50 verse 24-26, And Joseph
said unto his brethren, I die, and God will surely visit you. and bring you out of the land
unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the
children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye
shall carry up my bones from hence." So Joseph died being
110 years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin
in Egypt. Almighty God is going to surely
take you out of this place. I know He is. And when He does,
don't you leave me here. I began to contemplate on that,
and I thought to myself, one of the things that I saw,
one thing that I saw concerning taking His bones with Him. I see a glorious picture of the
union of our Lord with His people. John 19.36, the gospel according
to John. I'll just read this to you. John
19.36 speaks of the bones of our Lord. John 19.36. But these things were done that
the Scripture should be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken."
Now, you know what that was written for. That was concerning our
Lord when He was crucified. All those soldiers, they crucified
those two thieves and the Lord Jesus Christ, a thief on each
side. And the soldiers would come and
they were going to break their legs so they couldn't hold themselves
up anymore and breathe. But when they came to the Lord,
He was already dead. He had given up the ghost. He
had committed His Spirit into the Father's hands. That didn't
break His bones. It didn't break His legs. Because
not one of His bones would be broken. Those bones, His bones,
a picture of His body, His church, His bride, not one of them would
be broken. He gave His beard to those men. They plucked it off. You have
my beard. He gave His back to the spiders. You can have my back. He gave
His head to that crown of thorns. He said, you can have my head,
but you can't have my bones. You don't have my people. Not
one bone of His body was going to be broken. And Joseph, a picture
first of the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, when you come out of
this place, You take my bones with you." That's a picture of
the unity of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I'll tell you these two things
that I was telling you about, about Joseph and his bones being
taken. Here's the first thing I know.
Joseph believed God. He believed God. He said, I die
and God will surely visit you. We believe tonight that Almighty
God is coming back. We believe tonight that He is
in this place. Two or three are gathered together
in my name. I am in the midst of you. God
will surely visit you and bring you out. We believe that God
is going to bring His people out of bondage He's going to
bring you out of this land into or unto the land which He swore
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph believed God to be the
covenant God of all mercy. The God that chose to show mercy
to him and his daddy and his daddy. Joseph believed that Almighty
God shows compassion to whomsoever He will. And he knew what Egypt
was a picture of. He knew that it was a type of
the bondage of sin. He knew that Canaan was a type,
a picture of a believer's presence with Almighty God, their inheritance
in grace, And he knew that he was a sinner. He said, I'm going
to die. But Almighty God has had mercy
on me. You can bury me right here. Put
my bones, put my body in the ground. But when you go, you
take my bones with you. Joseph, by faith, resolved his
everlasting, eternal soul. into the hands of the only one
that could be trusted. Almighty God. God's going to
visit you. God's coming back. And when the
Lord comes back and takes all of His people out of this place,
I don't want to stay here. I don't want to be here. He submitted
Himself into the hands of Him who promises and who does. He submitted himself into the
timing of Almighty God. He knew that when it pleased
God, the Lord was going to deliver Israel. And we do too. We know when it pleases God.
I know that God is going to call His people out of darkness. I know when it pleases God, He
is going to come back and receive them unto Himself. And then lastly,
Joseph. In talking about taking his bones
out of this place, Joseph was obedient to follow Christ. I made mention a little while
ago that some might say that it really would make no difference
where Joseph's bones were laid. You know that whenever the Lord
comes back and wherever his people are, Wherever they are, they're
going to rise from the dead. Wherever they are. I know that.
And somebody would say, yeah, but Joseph... And I do, I know,
I understand. God's people in this world, physically
speaking, they're buried all over the place. I understand
that. But the Spirit of God was setting forth and preaching,
teaching, The gospel of God's grace in this man's request or
command, let me say it like that. Don't you leave my bones here.
You take my bones with you. Joseph was obedient in following
Christ. Joseph, just like all regenerated
sinners, saw by faith the necessity of following after our Lord.
If you want to know the evidence of true faith, true faith. True faith does produce a conviction
of heart. I know that. True faith produces
a conviction. And the believer knows it. They
know it. They're convinced in themselves. They believe God. But James says,
Faith without works is dead faith. Where you don't find the evidence
of faith, only you know whether you believe God. Well, God knows.
But the way others know is by the evidence of faith. God's
people react. They do. They follow. And this
man right here, when he died, knowing that he was going to
be in that place in Egypt, when he told them to take his bones
out of Egypt, though this man had been exalted
to the second in command, Though he spoke and answered to only,
humanly speaking, Pharaoh. He was, by the grace of God,
he was a loyal man. I'm not saying that. He was a
loyal man where God placed him. But when it came concerning his
true spiritual state, he was an Israelite. He was a believer. And he would not be identified
with the Egyptians that had, by the grace of God, exalted
him and placed him. God put him there. The Egyptians
thought they did it. They're just pawns, like all
men. All unbelievers, just pawns. Nothing. Nothing. Worms of this
earth. Almighty God raises up and God
puts down. Men think there's something.
He said, I exalted nations. I put down nations for you. And here, this man was placed
second in command. But he would not identify himself
with the Egyptians. He said, you take me out of this
place. 1 John. I'll read this and we'll
close. 1 John 2, verses 15 to 17. Concerning God's people. 1 John 2, 15. Love not the world. Neither of
the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that's in the world,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life,
not of the Father, it's of the world. And the world passeth
away in the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God
abideth forever. When I die, you take me out of
that place, 2 Corinthians 6, Verse 14, be not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? What communion hath light with
darkness? What concord hath Christ with
Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth
with an infidel? What agreement hath the temple
of God with idols? For you are the temple of the
living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk
in them. I will be their God. They shall be my people. Wherefore,
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,
and touch not the unclean thing. I will receive you and be a father
unto you. You shall be my sons and my daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises,
dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
Those that love Christ Must be where He is. Must be where He's
preached. Where He's honored. Where He's
chosen to magnify Himself. Honor Himself. And then in Exodus
chapter 13, I'll read this and we'll close. We really will close
now. Exodus 13. I just had a couple
of extra verses in there I wanted to read. Exodus 13, verse 17.
Here's what happened. Joseph who believed God, Joseph
who was going to follow God, he was not even going to let
his bones, didn't want to even leave his bones in that place
where God had no witness anymore. I don't even want my bones there.
You take them with you. Exodus 13 verse 17, it came to
pass, and as Brother Scott used to say, and it always does, It
came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, God led them
not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although
that was near. For God said, lest, poor adventure,
the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.
But God led the people about through the way of the wilderness
of the Red Sea, and the children of Israel went up, harnessed.
Five in a unit. Five deep, I guess you'd say.
God led them up a harness out of the land of Egypt, and Moses
took the bones of Joseph with him, for he has straightly sworn
the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and
you shall carry up my bones away hence with you. By faith, Joseph,
when he died, He made mention, he remembered of God's promise
to take his people out. You take my bones with you. Oh,
the glory of Almighty God that will give a man a heart to believe
Him and want to be with Him, associated with Him. A beautiful
picture of deliverance by our blessed Savior. Lord bless these
words to our heart for Christ's sake.