These believers that are mentioned
here in chapter 11, one verse, Hebrews 11, verse 21 says, By
faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph
and worshiped, leaning upon the top of his staff. It says, when
he was dying, Jacob is dying. And back in verse 13, you'll
notice, it says, these all died in faith. These are the testimonies
of some of God's people, all of whom died, except Enoch, of
course. They all died in faith, and it's
important how we live, but it's more important how we die, that
we die in faith. It says these all died in faith,
and Jacob is dying. Interestingly, the Lord put four
old men together, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. These testimonies
are of four old men in their last days, three of whom their
dying testimony. So that ought to make us sit
up and listen to a man's dying words. Dying, Isaac, Jacob, old
men. Someone once said, let me die
the death of the righteous, and that's what I want. You mark
the end of the perfect man. You mark the perfect man. The
end of that man is peace. And that's what I want for myself
and for you, isn't it? By faith, Jacob, it says, when
he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph, his son and his
grandsons, and worshiped, leaning upon the top of his staff. Now, this story is found back
in Genesis 47 and 48. Go back there, Genesis chapter
47 and chapter 48. Oh, how thankful I am that the
Lord God chose a man called Jacob and
wrote his life story in this book. Aren't you? I can relate
to Jacob perhaps more than anybody in God's Word. Jacob's life had
been a troubled one. Jacob had been through a lot
of ups and downs, a lot of good times, a lot of bad times, happiness,
sadness, blessings, chastenings, sin. Such is the life of all
the sons of Jacob. Our Lord said, In this world
ye shall have tribulation. Tribulation, trouble, man is
born of woman. All the sons of Jacob, sons of
Adam are a few days and full of trouble because of sin. But
here's the good news. The God of Jacob never changes. Happy is he. Oh, I love this
part. Happy is he to have the God of
Jacob for his help. He said, I am the Lord, I change
not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. The world's not going to consume
you. Sin's not going to consume you. But if you're His, it's
going to be all right. Look at chapter 47, verse 7. This is, as you know, Joseph
sent for his old dad and brought him back to Egypt where Joseph
was as you know, sitting on the throne. And verse 7, he brought
in Jacob, his father, and set him before Pharaoh, the most
powerful man on earth, Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Wait a minute, that's written
wrong. No, it's not either. What does
Pharaoh have that an old dying man needs? Pharaoh is the richest
man on earth, the most powerful man on earth, a man with more
prestige and more influence and can bestow any earthly favor
upon any man on earth. And here this poor old Jew comes
in named Jacob. Jacob, Pharaoh doesn't have anything
that Jacob needs. I tell you what, though, Jacob
has something Pharaoh needs. Right? I started to say, Obama, my president
has nothing I need. Nothing. I don't need any favors
from him. But I've got a gospel that he
desperately needs. If called before him, I believe,
I would hope, that God could give me something that might
be a blessing to that man. But he has nothing I need. I have all things. I'm full.
I don't need anything. Food. I have arraignment. I don't
need anything. I don't need any favors. I don't
need any favors, especially if I've been favored. by the Lord
God Himself. Well, old Jacob. Look at verse
8. Pharaoh said, How old art thou? Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The
days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years.
Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life. Few? A hundred and thirty? Well, compared
to Mephislah they are. Compared to Enoch even, 365 years.
Well, how few does that make our years? Jacob did live to 147 years,
but just a few more years from this time. But still, he died. It doesn't matter how long a
man lives, he's going to die. He's going to die. But Scripture
says man's secret thought is that he'll live forever. People
really do think that, don't they? Oh, I'm going to live to be 80.
So what? You're going to die. You're going
to die. Few. Man is born a woman is a few. Day. Teach us to number our,
not years, days. Day. Day. So there are few. And he said, full of trouble.
And much of his trouble was his own doing, wasn't it? Jacob,
much of his trouble, if you'd ask him, he'd say, it's all my
fault. All my troubles have been my fault. I didn't blame it on
anybody. That's what psychologists want to teach people, you know.
You blame all your sin, your trouble on everybody else, and
you won't have any guilt. Well, maybe not here, but you
will stand before God, because it's all your fault, except for those things that
God brings on us in His will and purpose. His life, he said, was full of
trouble. Jacob was full of contradictions.
As I said, I'm so thankful the Lord raised up a man named Jacob. Full of contradictions. He's
a contradiction to himself. Contradiction. Spurgeon once
said, I try to be consistent with myself, and I found out
I'm trying to be consistent with a fool. The only one who doesn't change
is God. As the Scripture says, because
they had no change, therefore, people think they're alright. Jacob was full of contradiction
yet, but his heart, that's where the root of the matter is. His
heart was for his God. His heart was on the covenant
of God. Jacob was a sinful man. Oh, my. That's what his name
means, doesn't it? But he loved God. He loved the
truth. He wasn't like Esau. He wasn't
going to sell his birthright. He wasn't. By God's grace. Jacob's old nature came out quite
a bit, didn't it? That old sinful man named Jacob,
Chief, came out quite a bit, didn't it? Well, thank God his
new one showed through, too, in the end, where it counted.
Jacob lived a hard life, but he's dying a peaceful death. Oh my. And here's my hope. It's like Jacob. That he'd have
begun a good work in me. See, my God and my Lord is the
author and the finisher of things. That's the good news of the gospel
we preach. It's not left up to you. Never
has been, never will be. He that hath begun a good work
in his people will perform it until the day of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Isn't that good news? Here's Jacob's dying fate. Number
one, he's fearless of man. He blessed old Pharaoh. He's
fearless of Pharaoh. He's brought before the most
fearful and powerful man on earth, but he doesn't fear this man.
He doesn't fear this man. I hope the older I get, the less
I'll fear man. Don't you? I hope. The Lord is
my light, David said. Of whom shall I be afraid? Jacob was not always so bold,
was he? He ran from Esau, his own brother,
for years. But here and then he is, when
it counts. May God make us all so bold and less fearful of man. He's fearless of man, that's
faith, and he's fearless of death. He's fearless of death. Look
at verse 29, chapter 47. Look at verse 27 and 28. Israel dwelt
in the land of Egypt, that's Jacob, in the country of Goshen. And they had possessions therein
and grew and multiplied exceedingly. Can a believer live in this land? Egypt was a godless land, a godless
nation. They didn't know God, didn't
care about God. God wasn't in their thought. Just like America. This is not New Jerusalem. No, no, no, no. just like Egypt. Romans 1 is
a clear picture of America today. 2 Timothy 4 or 3, I mean. Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt,
and so all God's people dwell in the world, but they're not
of the world. They have possessions. He dwelt and had possessions
there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. He had many possessions. He was rich. If you live here
any length of time, you're going to have a lot of possessions,
a lot of stuff. That's what it is, stuff. It's all of them,
stuff. But you're going to accumulate
a lot of stuff, aren't you? Your attic is. Your attic is
going to accumulate a lot of stuff. But this thing is true. You brought nothing into this
world, and it's certain you can bring nothing out of it. Naked
we came into the world, naked we shall return. So that's why
the Lord said, having food and rain, be content. Set not your
heart on things that go out in the ground, things that you can't,
that wax old, that the moss corrupt and rust corrupt and thieves
break through and steal. Provide yourself bags that wax
not old, riches, unsearchable riches of Christ. Can a believer
live in this world, though, and be rich in this world and still
be a believer and still follow God and walk with God? Absolutely. And before anyone in here says,
I'm not rich, hold on. You've never been to Yucatan,
Mexico, have you? If you've got an automobile,
you're filthy rich. Filthy rich. If you've got more
than one suit of clothes, you are rich. Rich. If there's more than one or two
meals in your cupboard, you're rich. Compared to two-thirds
of this world today. That's right. Can a believer
do that? Yes. Jacob is proof of that.
See, proof of that. Well, he's, look at verse 29. The time came, verse 28, he lived
147 years, 17 years in Israel. 17 years. And the time drew nigh
that Israel must die. All men must. It's appointed
unto man once to die. Who appoints it? God does. God says, I killed. God said
that, Deuteronomy 32, 39, I kill, I make alive. God gives life,
God takes it. The Lord gave, the Lord taketh
away. And God appoints our day of birth,
and appoints our day of new birth, and appoints our day of death,
or going out to sleep, or change. Time drew nigh that Israel must
die, and he called his son Joseph and said unto him, If now I have
found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my
thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Bury me not, I pray
thee, in Egypt." Jacob is dying and he is preparing
for his death. He knows he is dying and he is
not afraid of it, and he is preparing for it, as should I quoted that
a moment ago. Oh, that they were wise, they
would consider their latter end. I didn't quote it, but I just
did. Oh, that they were wise. We need
to be thinking about our death because it's a lot sooner than
we think. We say, I'm young. I carried my best friend's body
fifteen years old. out of a basement room where
you'd fix your head. My brother at 21. My sister at
42. That's young. Younger than me now, 42. We don't
know. Post not thyself of tomorrow.
Don't know. So we need to prepare for it.
And we need to think about it. The more conversant we are with
it, the more we think about death, The more we look at it in God's
Word, the less afraid of it will be.
In fact, the more you'll desire it. That's right. Jacob's looking forward to it,
actually. He's thinking about it. He's
making his plan. He's planning his funeral. Not
funeral, but burial. He's planning his burial. Went
to see Garnet the other day, and she wanted to talk about
her funeral and her burial, and it was like she was talking about
planning the next meal. You know, she's preparing for
it. It's inevitable. Why not? Wouldn't
we be wise to plan for the inevitable? Man is going to his long home,
and he's not coming back. And only a fool would not think
about that. Preparing for a long journey?
I mean, going on a long journey and not making any preparation?
That's foolish. Not coming back. Well, he's preparing. And he's fearless of death. Why?
Because he knows his redigmer. He knows he's God. He believes
God. He said, those that believe in
me will never die. And he's faithful. He's confident.
He said in verse 30, I will lie with my fathers. thou shalt carry
me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place. I will
lie with my fathers. I trust the God of Abraham and
Isaac," he said. That was his fathers. I trust
the living and true God. I trust the Christ whom Abraham
rejoiced to see. He saw him, and I did too. He
wrestled with me one day. That's what Jacob would say.
You mean Jacob knew Christ? Oh, all God's people do. Old and new. Testament. Yes,
they do. Saved one way. Christ. Christ came, revealed
himself to Jacob, wrestled with him, and Jacob followed Christ
from that day forward. Loved him. Looked for him. He
said, He'll carry me out of here. How can you be so sure, Jacob? How can you be so sure? After
all, your name is Jacob, isn't it? How can you be so sure you're
going to be buried and die the death of the righteous, be buried
with your fathers and gathered with Abraham and Isaac with your
God? How can you be so sure? You're
so sinful. Yes, I am, but God is so merciful. If you trust in yourself, you
don't have any hope. If you look to yourself, you
won't have any hope. You don't have faith in your
faith. Jacob didn't have faith in his faith. He had faith in
his God. Lots of people say, I have faith. But their faith's not in the
living and true God. Jacob, but you've been so unfaithful. I know that. But great is his
faithfulness. Jacob, you've lied and you've
cheated and you've acted like, at times, like you didn't even
know God. I know that, but my hope is not in me knowing Him.
My hope is He knows me and can't deny Himself. I'm in it. Jacob, your whole
life has just been this and that, up and down and in and out, and
so much trouble and all that. What's your hope? What makes
you think you're going to die the death of the righteous? Because
God had promised. He that believeth on me hath
everlasting life. My hope is built on nothing less. than Jesus Christ's blood and
righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
prayer, but wholly, my whole soul, lean on the Lord Jesus
Christ." Okay, that's Jacob's faith, you see, because Jacob's
faith is in Jacob's Lord. Here's his confession, carry
me out of Egypt. Take me out of this place. I want out. Jacob was in the
midst of luxuries. He was in the house of Egypt's
prince. He had the best the world had
to offer, just like us. But he says, I want out of here.
I want out of here. And he says
this to Joseph, his son, who is the prince of Israel. He says
in chapter 48, Chapter 48, verse 21, Israel
said to Joseph, Behold, I die, I die, but God shall be with
you and bring you out of here. He's going to bring you out of
here, Joseph. Son, this is not your dwelling place either. This
is what Jacob is saying to his son. Son, we have here no continuing
city, but we look for another. Builder and maker is God. This
is not my home, son. This is not your home. Don't
ever forget that. We're strangers and pilgrims here. That's a good
testimony, isn't it, to your children? Huh? Like you're a
dad. A dying testimony. Well, Jacob blessed, it says
in our text, he blessed both the sons of Joseph, leaning on
his staff. Look at chapter 47, verse 31. The end of that verse is where
we get Hebrews 11, 21. It says, leaning on his staff,
verse 31, it says, He said to Joseph his son, Swear unto me,
that is, that you will take me out of here and bury me in my
land. Swear unto me. And Joseph swore
unto him, and Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head, leaning
on the bed, and it says in Hebrews, leaning on the top of his staff.
Well, there's no mention of a staff here, but it does say that in
Hebrews 11, a staff. I do know this, Jacob was a shepherd. That's what he was, all his life,
wasn't he? And you can't be a shepherd.
without a staff. There's no mention whatsoever
of him ever having a staff. But it goes without saying. You
can't be a shepherd without a staff. You can't drive a truck without
a truck. And so on and so forth. He had
a staff. And the story here is, the illustration
here is, he's leaning on his staff as a shepherd. That is
what supported him all those years. That staff. It was with
him all those years. What could that staff represent? There's one thing. David said
it, didn't he? David was a shepherd. He had
a staff. And he mentions it quite a bit.
But, oh, he's not talking about a piece of wood. He's talking
about the Word of God, the truth of God. Thy rod and thy staff. The Lord is my shepherd. He is
the one we lean upon. We lean upon His staff. Thy rod
and thy staff, they comfort me. He wrote that in Psalm 119. Remember
thy word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to
hope, upon which thou hast caused me to lean my whole soul on. I rest my whole soul on your
word, your promises, your sure promises, the Word of God, the
staff of God. You can't be a believer and not
lean upon the Word. You have to not have staff. Not
lean upon the Word of God. Lean on His staff. This is what
I lean. This is my crutch. I hide behind it. I lean upon
it. God's Word. The living and dying
believers' support. It's all our confession of faith,
isn't it? What God has said. Not what I
think. Not what I feel. But what God
has said. That's my support. in life and
that's going to be my support in death. It was Jacob leaning
on his staff and what caused him to worship. What is worship? Giving glory to God. Thanking
God. Look down at chapter 48. It says,
Jacob said to Joseph, verse 3, God Almighty appeared unto me
at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. What's your confession,
Jacob? God chose me. God sent His love
on me. That's His hope. That's His confession.
What's your profession of faith? That you live the good life?
No. That He lived for me. He chose me. He loved me. He
gave Himself for me. He died for me. That He made
Himself righteous for me. That's my hope. He came to me. I was running. He came to me. Yeah, but you do love him, don't
you, Jake? Yes, I do, but not only because he first loved me. Yeah, but you've been faithful
to the end. No, sir. He's faithful. That's
my hope. He leaned on his rod and his
staff and worshiped the Lord. And we'll keep leaning on God's
promises Until the day we die, hopefully, all God's people do. And look at verse 15. This is his profession. He said,
Bless Joseph and said, God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac
did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
the angel which redeemed me from all evil. What angel? It's a capital A. Whenever you see a capital A,
that's the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. He led me all the way. My Savior
leads me. Redeemed me. He redeemed me.
Who's the Redeemer? There's only one Redeemer. Angels
don't redeem us. Christ did. He's the Redeemer.
He redeemed me. And his last words were blessings
to his sons. He says, verse 16, Let my name
be named on them, the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. Let them grow into a multitude
in the midst of the earth. It does not matter what our children
attain to in this life if they do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. You will have all been in pain.
Right? So what we're doing right here, And I say this all the time,
you know, people in religion, what do you have for our kids?
What are you doing for our children? What kind of program? We don't
have any programs. We're not trying to entertain
our children. We're trying to teach them God's
Word, which is able, the only thing able, to make them wise
unto salvation. There's plenty of recreation
out there. There's very little truth out
there. They're not going to find it except in him. So that's what
we're going to do every time. Our teachers right now down there
are faithfully teaching our children, doing one thing, declaring the
Word of God. He said, May the Lord... And he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh. Now, Ephraim was the youngest
and Manasseh was the oldest. God hasn't changed. Right before
him, Isaac. Remember Isaac, Jacob, came to
bless Jacob and Esau. That's a picture of Jacob have
I loved, Esau have I hated. Elders shall serve the younger.
Doesn't matter who you choose. Doesn't matter who you choose.
It's who God chooses. God says, I will have mercy on
whom I will. Esau was Isaac's favorite. That
doesn't matter. It's only whom the Lord favors.
He said, Jacob have I loved. I've rejected Esau. Esau rejected
him. But God chose Jacob. That's a picture of salvation.
Well, Manasseh and Abram came to be blessed by Jacob. Jacob's
dying. Joseph put Manasseh under Jacob's
right hand. That's the blessing, the right
hand. And he put Ephraim under Jacob's left hand. It says Jacob
was an old man at this time. His eyes were dim. His mind wasn't
dim. He knew what he was doing. He
knew what Joseph would do. This is the way it's supposed to be done.
He remembers God's covenant. He remembers the truth. He remembers
back when he was a boy. The elder shall serve the younger."
And by faith and believing God's Word, it says, he crossed his
arm, a little like that, and blessed Ephraim, the youngest,
over the oldest. Joseph, don't do that. You can't
do that. I just did. I know what I'm doing. Winning
love. It says he knew what he was doing. Both of these are
sons of Joseph. What's the story here? Well,
there's much prophetic. truth in that, that Ephraim and
Manasseh and all that that made Ephraim was a much greater nation
and many more people than Manasseh, as it said. But there's a spiritual
picture here. That not only is salvation of
the Lord, but grace and what God gives to His peoples of the
Lord, to whom He will according to the measure of the gift of
Christ. He's the one. He can give what he will to whom
he will. He can make what he will of whom
he will. Doesn't matter. It's all of the
Lord. Grace. By the grace of God, we
are what we are. And if the Lord makes one over
another, he's the one that did it. They didn't do that. He did
it. Promotion comes from the Lord.
Blessings come from the Lord. It's the Lord. He wittingly,
by his sovereign wisdom and all, he wittingly knows what he's
doing. He knows what he's doing, and
he gives it accordingly. And we bow to that number. We
bow to that. We bow to that. Okay. The Lord
bless everybody.