It's begun, day or day, and I look
for tomorrow. There'll be no man in town to
be found, great in the big world, great in the big world. He certainly is, isn't he? Romans eight thirty two says
he that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him, with
that great or unspeakable gift, freely, how shall he not with
him also freely give us all things? Did you hear that? How shall he not with that he
gave the highest price? How shall he not with him with
that sacrifice of his son also freely give us all things? And the story tonight and the
subject is God our provider, our great provider, the Lord
God being Christ himself. Let me quote something from Thomas
Brooks. one of the old great preachers years ago. It's going
to be in Sunday's bulletin. Listen carefully, OK? He says
on that verse that I just quoted you, Oh, that Christians would
learn to reason themselves out of their fears and out of their
distress, as the Apostle does. Oh, that they would no longer
rend and wrack their precious souls with fears and cares, but
rest satisfied in this. that he who has been so kind
to us in spiritual. Will not be wanting to us and
several. And our story. Tonight is a picture
of God's good and gracious providence. How he provides all things to
his people who are sent. I mean sinners sons of Jacob. Unworthy though they be. Yet,
God is so good. He's so good to us because He
is merciful, full of mercy. He is love. He is grace. He is compassion. He is kindness. I just love it. It goes so well with Him. Come
buy corn without money, without profit. And he went on to say,
he will abundantly pardon me. He said, my thoughts are not
your thoughts. God's not like us. Joseph was
not like his brethren, was he? He was above them as a picture of Christ. And that's
what this is all about. And God is so good to us that
we be sinners, sons of Jacob though we be. And because he
made a covenant with his son, concerning that save up, keep
up, provide all things for us, forever. And that should have elicited
an amen, at least in your heart. In spite of God's word, listen
to me, in spite of God's word and all the promises, Peter said,
how God has given us promise after promise after promise We
still are filled with doubts and fears and worries and distress
and so forth. Because, number one, the thing
that plagues us the most is our own sinfulness and we think God
is going to quit being merciful. And because of temporal circumstances,
we get in temporal strife, troubles and so forth. We've been looking
at Psalm 37, Psalm 73. By and large, most of God's people
have a tough go of, or that is, at least they live from check
to check. They're not rich people. Most
of God's people are just common, ordinary, laboring people who,
from month to month, they have to skimp. And they worry. Anybody here? So, you know, we worry because
of temporal straits that we get in, troubles. We see the bleak
outlook in the world and the suggestion of the world and the
flesh. You know, we just don't see. We just don't see things as they
really are. We see with the eye of pleasure. And we don't see things as they
really are. So these things cause us to be
filled with doubts and fears. And yet there's somebody on the
front. Always has been. Always will
be. He knows us. He knows everything
about us. He's providing for us. It has
been ordained. that all go well with that. All
right, let's look at no more. Intro in verse twenty five. Pick it up there, verse twenty
five says, Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with coal. And
to restore every man's money into his hand. To give them provision for the
way. And what do you think Joseph
gave them when he talked about provision for the way? A bologna
sandwich? I mean, we're talking about he
just lavished that thing. And thus, now here's
the line that just jumped out at me. Thus did he unto them. Who's them? I've already told you don't feel
sorry for these fellas when you hear their talk over there. We'd be true men. We're not.
Yeah, right. You're a munchkin. Joseph knew
him. He said, you're spies. Spoke
roughly to him. You know, this is how God speaks
to every sinner that he's saving. Roughly. And I don't mean one
time. And if you go ahead and read
the whole story of these sons of Jacob, after this fact, they
still were sons of Jacob. They were still sinners. But
Joseph was their salvation. But he spoke roughly to them.
Now these fellows, them, who are them? As I told you, these
fellows hated him. They hated him. Go back there
and just look at it real quickly. Genesis 37. Look at what they
said. They hated him without a cause.
You know what? Joseph was a fine, from a boy,
Joseph was a fine, fine young man. Joseph is such a beautiful
picture of Christ. That's why, you know, you don't
see any fault. God does not reveal any fault
in Joseph throughout the Scripture. Not one fault. That's by design. Joseph, as a man, was just a
man. He was a sinner, like everybody
else. But he's a type of Christ, a beautiful type of Christ. And
so God did not reveal any faults of him as the type of Christ.
From his youth up, he was a fine man. He did nothing to deserve their
anger. But look at verse 4. It says,
when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all
his brethren, Jacob loved Joseph more than all his brethren. Why? Because he was more lovely than
they were. He was altogether lovely. He was a lovely young man. They
weren't. But they were jealous. And they hated him, they said.
Could not speak peaceably of him. They couldn't even say a
kind word to him. Look at verse 8. It says his
brethren said to him, after that he told them the dreams he had.
Shalt thou indeed reign over us? Shall you indeed have dominion
over us? And they hated him more than
ever for that. And what a picture that is of
the Lord Jesus Christ and man by nature, when he hears that
Christ reigns. Oh, they'll take a Jesus who's
their equal and who loves them and this and that and the other,
but who reigns and rules? No, we will not have this man
reign over us. Look at verse 20. It says, Come
now, therefore, let us slay him, cast him into some pit, and we'll
tell lies about him, and you with wicked hands have taken
and crucified the Lord of love. Why? We did it. We all did it. We all did it. You say, I wasn't
there. Before you heard the gospel, before you made any profession
of faith, what did you think of Jesus Christ? Did you worship
God? Did you love Jesus Christ? Did you get down on your knees
and beg God for forgiveness, for thanking nothing of Jesus
Christ, for not giving Him a thought all those years He's provided
for you? Did you? None of us did. That means we
hated Him. Is it nothing to you, Scripture
says, all ye that pass by? Passed by the house of worship
for years, not interested. They hated him, his sons of Jacob. And God says, I am the Lord,
I change not. God is angry with the sons of
Jacob, sons of men. God is angry with the wicked
every day. Why is God angry with this world? Because of what they
did with his son. And what they're still doing
with his son. Religion is the worst. But God said, but God says to
the sons of Jacob, not everybody, but the sons of Jacob, I am the
Lord, I change not. Therefore, who? You sons of Jacob. Elect Jacob have I loved. Why? Tell me about Jacob. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not concerned." Why? Because he set his love upon
them. They were still sinners. All right. These are wicked,
violent men. They hated and despised Joseph.
They wanted to kill him. They sold him. These fellows
are unworthy. Their children are of wrath,
even as others. They're sons of Abraham, they'll
use them. They're still a bunch of rotten,
no-good sinners. They don't deserve, Barbara,
they don't deserve anything but Joseph. Their salvation is in two words,
but Joseph is not like them. His thoughts are not their thoughts.
Sammy, even to the end and all the way over in chapter 50, when
Jacob dies, all these sons of Jacob say, he's going to kill
us now. Surely Joseph's going to kill us now because we're
because we're guilty. That's what we did. Joseph's
not like that. Apparently, his thoughts were
as high above them as the heavens are. He's better than they are as
a picture of Christ. He doesn't treat them like they
treated him, because he loves them. He's going
to spare them. And more than that, if you want
to see the rest of the story some day, he exalts them to his
very throne. He's a great man. Now look at
it again. Verse 25 is really my whole text. to fill their sacks with corn,
restore their money, and give them permission. Joseph commanded.
So here are these no good brethren of his come to Egypt. Joseph's
the governor of the land, all right? He's out. Pharaoh has
given all things into Joseph's hand. Pharaoh, that is, he's the king
of the whole earth at that time. gave all authority, power over
all flesh, to Joseph. And Joseph had all things, and
whoever needed anything had to come to Joseph. He's governor. And Pharaoh said the end of his
government, there's no end. He reigns, he rules. Anybody
needs anything, got to go to Joseph. Don't come to me, go
to Joseph. So he didn't call him by that name. All right,
here comes these no-good sorry sons of Jacob, Joseph's brethren. And they come to Egypt like everybody
else. All they are is a bunch of hungry
sinners. And they're coming to Egypt,
and there's a whole line of people. I mean, there's people from all
over the world coming to Egypt to get corn. Everybody needs
corn, and Joseph gives it to everybody that comes. He's merciful
to all that come unto him. And every son of Adam gets what
he gets from Jesus Christ. It says God has given him power
over all flesh. Everything human beings get,
they get it from the hands of Jesus Christ, whether they know
him or not. That's a fact. All right, here come these sons
of Jacob. They don't know Joseph. They're not thinking about Joseph.
They don't care about Joseph. They just want something in their
belly. But Joseph sees them. Joseph knows them better than
they know themselves. They don't know him. But bless
God, he's out there reigning and ruling
and an issue in order and so forth and forth and forth and
forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and
forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and
forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and
forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth
and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and
forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and
forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and
forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and
forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth
and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and
forth and forth and forth and forth and forth and forth And. After we read all that after
this dialogue and so forth takes place. With them through an interpreter. You understand that. He's not
speaking to them directly. They don't deserve. He's not going to. They're going
to have before he speaks to them and reveals himself and speaks
one on one and communes with them personally. They've got they've got to realize
who they are and what they've done, they've got to be brought
guilty at his feet and they've got to beg for forgiveness. Is
that bad? What should he have done to them? Well. But he's trying. It says he spoke roughly. As we say, that's how God speaks
through his word, and it's totally contrary to what religion is
doing. God doesn't. The message is not
to the sons of Adam who hate God and hate Christ. The message
is not God loves you. It's a hard message. When Christ
came and preached, they said, these are hard things, didn't
they? When Christ preached, they said,
these are hard things. We can't take them. What did
Stephen, what did his apostles say? No, this is life. They may be hard, but we deserve
hard. We were hard. It's going to take
something hard to break these hard hearts. No, this is life. It was hard at first, Nancy,
but the Spirit of God began to prick their hearts and break
their old hard hearts and make them realize what they were and
what they'd done to their brother. And brought them guilty at his
feet, broke their hard hearts. Look with me over at Ezekiel
36. Ezekiel 36. This is absolutely amazing. When I read this in conjunction
with this story, this is amazing. Ezekiel 36. Look at this. You got it? Hurry
up. I got so much I want to show
you. Verse 28, he says, You shall dwell in the land that I gave
to your father. You shall be my people. I will
be your God. I will save you from all your
uncleanness, and I will call for the corn. Fill our sight, and we'll increase
it, and lay no famine upon you. I will mark the face of the field,
that you shall receive no more reproach of famine among the
heathen. Then shall you own evil ways, and your doings that were
not good, and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight
for your iniquities and for your abomination." That's a good thing. Salvation's come to your house
if you hate yourself. You know, the only man that really loves God
hates himself. That's a fact. Well, so this
dialogue takes place through an interpreter, go back to the
text, to Joseph's brethren, and they're convicted of what they've
done. to their brother, and Joseph
hears all of this, and it touches him. It touches him. You know, the scripture says
that there's joy in heaven over one sinner that repents. That's
what it says. That heaven shouts when God grants
repentance to one who's unobjected. There's another one. Isn't God
good? Well, then Joseph commended. See, a great governor doesn't
ask things. And I want you to notice, when
he's doing all, giving all these commands, he's not asking them,
I mean, how much do you want or will you have? They're over
on the sidelines. Joseph's giving all these orders
concerning them. He's already decided what he's
going to do. The minute he saw them, he had purposed what he
was going to do. He purposed the whole thing. And all this was going to work
together for their good. Well, he commanded to fill their
sacks. Now, this is a great man here. I wish I could paint this picture
as it really is. I wish I could paint this picture
of this great governor of the land I mean you would die if
he said kill you or leave or be whatever he's this is sovereignty
at its highest. Great man second only to Pharaoh. Actually thought it not robbery
to be equal. And he has a great many servants. Everyone is at his disposal. Everybody in Egypt is at his
disposal. A great many servants. Now, and
all these people coming before him. And all of a sudden, he
says to his servants concerning these ten vagabond Jews, these
ten scraggly, common, ordinary, no different than anybody else,
just a bunch of hungry schnapps. He says concerning them, nobody
else. Then he says, feel their sacks. I mean, fill them up. Fill them up. Now. And then he says, and don't take
any money. Put their money back in their
sacks, give you money, but put it back in every penny. This
is going to be without money. and without pride. Put it back
in a sack. And I tell you what else, go
get the best bread, the best milk, the best wine, the best
honey, raisins, grapes, anything you can think of, load their
ass. Load them down. And these servants are thinking, why is he doing
it? Who are these people? Why is
he doing this for them? Nobody. Why is he doing it? You know, the scripture says
in 1 Peter 1, 12, which things the angels desire to look into. I remember studying a message
on that years ago. how that the angels who were
in the beginning with God, or well, after he created the heavens
and the earth, and they saw Adam and Eve rebel against God. Well,
before that, the angels saw their brothers, their angel brothers,
rebel against God, and what did God do? Bind them in chains and
cast them into everlasting darkness. No mercy. And then these creatures
were made. by God Adam and Eve, they saw
this. They saw these creatures who
were the benefactors, or they were benefited from God, their
benefactor, God who gave them all things, everything they could
desire. And they rebelled against them. And you know, Kelly, I know the
angels were thinking, well, he's going to bind them like he did
the angels. Surely God's going to them in the same pit. He didn't. He went walking in
the garden and talking to them. And the angels are thinking,
why is he doing this for them? Who are they? Why bother with these worms?
Oh, great Pharaoh, why bother with these men? They're no different
than anybody else, because I chose them. He gave the command. Scripture
says, Thou hast given commandment to save me. That's why God saves
anybody, through the praise of the glory of his praise. We didn't
read the next verse there in Ezekiel 36. He said, I didn't
do this for your sake, but for my sake. Why is Joseph doing
this for these fellows? Because he's Joseph, and he has
the right. And he's going to show glory
that they've never seen before. His servants are going to see
a side of him they've never seen before. He said, fill their sacks. And
something, some one of the servants made an objective, just give
them some crumbs. They don't need, don't fill their
sacks. Fill their sacks. And maybe one, somebody, this
could have happened. Maybe somebody wasn't filling
them up enough. Joseph's a hands-on He's hands on he. He rules with
his own hand. And maybe somebody wasn't filling
him up enough. And so he took him himself and says, I want
them pressed down. Shake it together. Run it over. I said, fill them. Fill their sacks. And I said
that God's people are generally, you know, common poor people. We're far from being poor. Oh,
we're far from poor. Every one of us are rich and
increased with good. Every single person in this room,
I don't care who it is, is rich and increased with good and had
need of nothing. And everything we have, we received
at God's hand. And it's been our cup running
over. Doesn't it? How good our brother
has been to us. Why? Because he's Jesus Christ,
that's why. He said, fill their sacks. Fill
their lives with goodness and mercy. Fill their sacks. Fill their minds and hearts with
love, joy, and peace. Fill them with the truth. Fill
their sacks. And look at the next thing. He
said, restore every man's money into his sack. Maybe one of those servants said
this. Joseph, sir, this is precious
corn. It costs a lot. There's not much
of it. It's rare. It's precious. It
costs a lot. Make them pay for it. Make them pay for it. Of. The absolute. Absolute. But the accounts got to be made
the books have to be written every. Everything should be received
a just recommend who's going to fight for. That part got to be faithful
that give an account for. Who's going to fight for. Joseph says, put it on my hand. I'm faithful. They're not going
to be faithful. Not one dime. Not one dime. Corn
is free to family. And salvation, which is a precious
thing, a costly thing, is free to God's people. Free. Come by
wine and milk, without money and without time. And then look
what he said. And give them provision for the way. As if it was not enough, Joseph
commanded his servants to give choice food, extra special rations
of the delicacies, all the delicacies, all the good things. And our Lord has given his angels
charge over us and commanded them to provide our every need
all the way to glory. Does that line mean anything
to you now? And thus did he, a great governor, unto them. And thus did our God unto us. See why you need to be a sinner?
So as to appreciate the gospel. Just a few more things, OK? And
closing, it says, verse 26, he laid their asses with corn, departed. They departed thence, and as
one of them opened his sack to give his ass, provident, or knee,
and he saw his money. It was in the sack's mouth. He
said, my money is restored. It's in my sack, and their hearts
failed them. And it says they were afraid.
They said, why has God done this to us? See, they're both delighted
and afraid. I mean, they're both overjoyed. They've got stacks full of food. And the ass is loaded with delicacies
and things. And then they see all their money.
And they're at one and the same time, they're both afraid and
full of joy. Now, is that anybody in here? The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. This is when they began to understand themselves,
what they've done. Joseph's making them understand
things through his word, through an interpreter. Commands things for them, provides
them with everything. They're on their way home to
tell their father all about it. And they're thinking, this is
too good to be true. They're both fearful, and yet they think,
this is, how can this be? How can this be? They finally realize, Kevin,
they finally realize what they are. Before they thought they
were pretty good fellows. And now they finally realize
what they are. And what they really deserve. And yet they
get all these lessons. God hath not dealt with us according
to our iniquity, nor rewarded us according to our iniquity.
And when we hear this message of the gospel, after we hear
rough things, we hear the message, and it opens our mouths and fills
our hearts. And we say, it's just too good
to be true. Why has God done this to me?
Because he's God, that's why. Doesn't that give God the glory
now? That gives Christ. Why did Christ do this for me?
Because he's Christ. That gives him all the glory.
He's a great man. Every man's sack, verse 35 says,
every man's sack had his money in it. My boy. Why is God doing this? And they thought, as I said in
the last part of the story, they thought in the end, surely he's
going to take it all away. Surely he's going to kill us. No as old. I know his wife said. You remember
what I know is why I said to him that I know I thought I was
going to die. But my knows why I said honey. No God wouldn't have showed us
all. He wouldn't have accepted the
sacrifice. He would have done. If the brethren
who would have said come now let's reason together. Though
our sins have been scarlet. Joseph's much greater than that.
He's much he's too kind. To be hard. He's too true to
lie. And what he's promised he will
most surely do. To the sons of Jacob. OK, Stanley. Our father, thank you for this
story. And so clearly speaks of your
son. Altogether, lovely son of the
Most High God, Lord, forgive us. All those years. We thought nothing of him. Forgive
us, but truly. The blood of Jesus Christ. We're
guilty of his blood. Forgive. Life is not our job. But for Christ's sake forgive
us we're yet guilty. We thank you though that our
mercy and gracious and love. And ever live. And forgive and pardon ready
to pardon ready to forgive thank you. And in Christ. This. Come our. Lord and our governor. Thank
you for this beautiful story concerning thy son. May it bring
glory to yourself, and may we worship Christ forever for who
he is and what he's done. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
You're dismissed. We're going to go ahead and get
started. We're going to go ahead and get
started. Thank you. You're welcome. you Thank you. you Thank you very much. I'm going to go ahead and close
this out. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Bye. Okay. Okay.