By Faith Joseph

Q: What does the Bible say about dying in faith?

The Bible emphasizes the importance of dying in faith, stating that those who live by faith will die in faith, as seen in Hebrews 11:13. The Bible teaches that how we die is as important as how we live. In Hebrews 11:13, it states, "These all died in faith," highlighting that the dying words and condition of believers reflect their life of faith. Just as faith defines how one lives, it also shapes the experience of death. Believers face death not with despair but with hope, trusting in God's promises of eternal life through Christ. Moreover, Joseph's example illustrates that dying in faith includes a sense of assurance in God's promises, a theme woven throughout Scripture, such as in Job 14:5 where it is stated that man's days are determined by God.

Q: How do we know that God chooses His people?

The Bible affirms that God chooses his people as seen in verses like Jeremiah 31:3 and Romans 8:29-30 which speak of His everlasting love and predestination. The doctrine of God's election is foundational in Reformed theology. Scriptures such as Jeremiah 31:3 declaring, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love," demonstrate that God's love is specific to His chosen people. Additionally, Romans 8:29-30 illustrates God's foreknowledge and predestination, affirming that those whom He loves are also the ones He justifies and glorifies. This selective love reveals God's sovereign grace, emphasizing that salvation is a result of His will and purpose, not dependent on human merit. Thus, we see God's sovereign choice intentionally woven throughout Scripture, indicating that His people are indeed chosen by Him.

Q: Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

The resurrection is crucial as it signifies victory over death, affirming that believers will also be raised to eternal life. The resurrection of Christ is central to the Christian faith, symbolizing victory over sin and death. As expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept," it reveals that just as Christ was raised, so too will believers be raised. The resurrection provides assurance of eternal life, reinforcing the promise that death for Christians is merely a transition into everlasting life. It reassures believers that their faith is not in vain and exemplifies God's power to fulfill His promises, which directly impacts the Christian's hope and encouragement in facing death.

Q: How do we understand death as Christians?

Christians view death not as the end but as a gateway to eternal life, as exemplified by Scripture that refers to it as 'sleep.' In Christian theology, death is often portrayed as a transformation rather than a terminal event. Jesus taught that death for believers is akin to sleep, indicating a temporary state before the resurrection. For instance, in John 11:11, He referred to Lazarus's death as sleep, showcasing that death does not have the final say. Instead, believers are promised a new life beyond the grave, reinforced by passages such as Revelation 21:4, where it states, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death." This perspective empowers Christians to approach death with confidence and hope, seeing it as a necessary passage to the fullness of life promised in Christ.

All right, let's open our Bibles
now to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11, I hope you marked
Genesis 50. Go back to that in a few minutes,
but Hebrews 11 is our text this morning. Hebrews 11, now we've
been looking at this chapter, at each person mentioned in this
eleventh chapter. And as we saw, God gives three
successive examples of dying men. The three men, Isaac, Jacob,
and now Joseph, they are dying words, and that is according
to God's purpose, and we should take note of that. God writes
down the dying words of three men in succession. Verse 22 in
our text says, By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of
the departing of the children of Israel, and gave commandment
concerning his bones, by faith, Joseph, when he died. And then
he said some things, his dying words. Now, as we stated once
before, it is important how we live. But perhaps it's even more important
how we die. Look at verse 13 of this chapter. Verse 13 says, These all died
in faith. These all died in faith. And
important how we live, important how we die, the fact is, we will
die like we live. Yes, we will. If you live by
faith, you'll die in faith. That is certain. Do you remember
going back to Genesis 5 with me and looking at the generations
of Adam? Do you remember that? Where we
saw that says Adam lives 930 years and he died. Seth lived
912 years and he died. Enos lived nine hundred and,
I think, twelve years, nine hundred and five years, and he died,
and on and on it goes. And he died, and he died, no
matter how long we live. We too shall die. Right? That's what the Scripture
said. found a card one time, a birthday
card, and sent it to, well, I got two or three of them because
it was so good. There were two or three, at least
two or three persons I wanted to send it to. I think I sent
one to Joe Parks and we sent one to your dad and my dad. But it says, it said in that
card, front of it showed a picture of an old cowboy, and on the
inside it said, It's not so important how many years a man lives as
how many people are right glad he did. I thought that was a good card,
and there's some people, I think, that are deserving of that card. It's not so important how many
years a man lives as How many people are right glad he did? That's good. That is good. But in our text here, it's so
important how you die. These all died in faith. Go back with me to Job 14. Job
14. As I said, this thing of how God has given us three successive
examples of dying men, it must behoove us to consider death,
doesn't it? It behooves us to think about
death. That's what the scripture says,
does it not? Oh, that they were wise and would
consider their latter him, doesn't it? wrote this, he said, teach my
heart, teach me to number my days. He said, teach me to number
my days, because they are numbered. Teach me to number my days that
I might apply my heart to wisdom. It's appointed unto man once
to die, Scripture says. In Job 14, and you need to commit
this to memory, at least where it is. Job 14, and this is not
fatalism, this is God's word. Job 14, verse 5, says, See his
days, that is, man's days, are determined. Your days, my days,
are determined. Someone determined them. Read
on. The number of his months are with thee, with God, who
hath, thou hast appointed, his bounds that he cannot pass. The means of our death has been
appointed by God. The time of our death is appointed
by God. Deuteronomy 32, 39, God says,
I kill. Though sickness or whatever,
something is the means of it, yet God determined that means. before the world began. Now,
that's not fatalism. That's God's word. That's Job
14. And like I said, it's God who
determined the end, and it's God who has set the means. And since we face this certain
end, and God has determined this end, and it's God that we must
face and appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment,
that is, to stand before God Almighty. You know that old saying,
prepare to meet thy God? That's not an old, that's scripture. And we need to be wise, consider
our latter in, the number of our day. And God in wisdom, God
in his purpose, put these stories here. given us these examples
of dying believers, and we would be wise to read and consider
them. That's why we're doing it. Go back to Genesis chapter
50, and that's kind of a sermon before the sermon. Oh, that they
were wise and considered their latter end. You see, man, the
Scripture says, acts like he's going to live forever. He makes
his plans and does things as if he's going to live forever,
but he's not. Our days have come from 930 down
to 70. Time is short, is it not? He
says, redeem the time. Now, this right here is the best
way you can redeem the time. The best way. Prepare us to meet
our God. We're going to talk more about
death in a moment. But let's look at Joseph. Joseph was a
man. We want to look at Joseph as
a man, Joseph as a believer. He's dying. He's dying. He really is. And his words,
his dying words. And we want to look at Joseph
as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I wish we had time to really
look at all of it, because this is my favorite story in the scripture. It really is. The story of Joseph.
Genesis 50 verse 22 says, And Joseph dwelt in Egypt. Joseph. Who is Joseph? Joseph,
one of God's elect. Joseph is known and loved by
God, chosen by God, loved by God. There's more space given
to the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis than anyone else. Do you know that? From chapter
37 to chapter 50 is the story of Joseph. Why does God devote
more time in his first book to the story of Joseph? Because
Joseph is such a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, such a clear
type of Christ, and Joseph is the type of every believer. Joseph
is a type of all of God's people, and so God devotes so much time
to this story. Look at chapter 37, verses 3
and 4. Now, Israel loved Joseph more
than all his children, because he was the son of his old age,
and he made him a coat of many color. And when his brethren
saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they
and they could not speak peaceably unto him. As I said, Joseph is
a type of all believers. God Almighty does not love all
human beings, people. He does not. There are many scriptures
which God plainly declares he hates certain persons. Persons. Persons. He named one fellow,
didn't he? Esau. Esau have I hated. I could give you several verses,
but God the Father does love his people. He does love his
chosen people, his elect, whom he set his love upon before the
world began. In Jeremiah 31, which is speaking
of God's people, he said, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, and therefore with lovingkindness I draw you. Everyone whom God
Almighty loves, he saves. Those he doesn't love, he damned. Now, that's just so. But God
loves his chosen people. We don't apologize for this.
We're amazed by it. The thing that's amazing to God's
people is not that he hated Esau. We can see why he hates Esau
and why he would hate many people, and we wonder why he doesn't
hate us. But the thing we're amazed by
and throughout eternity will be singing about is why he loved
us, why he loved his people. He decided to do so. That's why.
There's nothing in them to be learned. But God loves his chosen
people, and the world does not believe that and hates that.
Like Joseph's brethren, they hated the fact that his father
loved him and preferred him. But that's the way it is. And
that story is in there for a reason, as a type of God's people. There's
a scripture that says, God doth put a difference between thee,
between his people and the Egyptian. Right? God doth put a difference. God chose his people, set his
love upon them. The scripture says, Whom he did
foreknow, he did predestinate. And whom he did predestinate,
he called. And whom he called, he justified.
And whom he justified, he glorified. Everyone he foreknew is glorified
in the end. And that glorifies his love,
you see? That glorifies his love. It's not glorifying to God's
love if he loves somebody and sends them to hell. Right? If he loves them and just
lets them go, it doesn't save them. That doesn't glorify God. What does glorify God's love
is if those whom he loves, he saves. And he makes certain that
they're saved in the end. But this especially, now this
verse especially speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. As I said,
this is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you with me? It said
there, Israel loved Joseph more than all his children. God Almighty
loves his son, the Supreme Lord. He's called the son of his love,
isn't he? Son of his love. He's the son,
it says, with a coat of many colors. And as I said, I wish
we had time to look at this. What's this coat of many colors?
None of the other sons had it. This one did. That's that righteousness
of Christ that we spoke of this morning in the Bible study. That
perfect, righteous, multifaceted, glorious personality and character
and attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ. coat of many colors which
God gave his son. And God, in his sovereign purpose
and wisdom," listen to this, in this story of Joseph, God,
in his sovereign purpose and wisdom, put Joseph in Egypt.
It says, Joseph dwelt in Egypt. Then, over there in verse 22,
Joseph dwelt in Egypt. God Almighty, in his sovereign
purpose and goodness and pleasure and will, put Joseph in Egypt. He put him over there. And so
it says, Joseph dwelt in Egypt. God did this in love to Joseph,
and he did it in love to his brother. And we dwell in Egypt. You and
I dwell in Egypt. You know that? Egypt, in the
book of Genesis, represents this world which we live in. Egypt,
just like Babylon represents it. Look, like Rome represents
it. Egypt is a type of this world. Egypt in that day, Joseph's day,
was the seat of luxury and finery and politics and art and so forth. It was the society of the world,
society of unbelievers, mostly. Egypt with all its allurements,
Egypt with all of its temptations, Egypt with all of its pleasures,
Egypt with all of its sins, Joseph dwelt there. Are you with me? It says, Joseph dwelt there for
Joseph's good and for the good of God's people. Joseph dwelt
in Egypt, and so do we. Our Lord said this concerning
his people. Our Christ said this to us. You
must, through much tribulation, enter the kingdom of heaven.
And he said, and in this world you shall have tribulation in
Egypt. need to live in Egypt. He prayed
to the Father concerning his disciple. In John 17, he said,
Father, I pray not that thou should take them out of the world,
but deliver them from the evil. So God's people are put in this
world, just like the world. They're put in this world. Joseph
dwelt in Egypt, and so did we. It's for his good, and it's for
our good. But it says, Joseph dwelt in
Egypt. Now this speaks, more importantly, this speaks
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He represents the Lord Jesus
Christ who came down to this place, to this world. We have
a brother, like those sorry, no good brothers of Joseph, we
have a brother who dwells in Egypt, who dwelled in Egypt,
who came down here. He dwelled in Egypt. Why? Look
at verse 20 and 21. It says, Joseph says, As for
you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good
to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Now, therefore, fear ye not. I will nourish you and your little
one. And he comforted them and spake kindly unto them. See,
that's why Christ came. We have a high priest who's touched
with the feeling of our infirmity. We have an elder brother whom
God sent to this planet, who sent into this world. God was
manifest in the flesh. God took on himself the likeness
of sinful flesh. Our elder brother came to this
world, came to this Egypt, and lived here for the purpose of
saving much people alive. This damned, doomed, and dying
world, Christ came down here to save some out of it. our elder
brother, our Joseph. And men took him and crucified
the Lord of glory, but they meant it for evil, but God meant it
for good. God purposed it for the salvation of his people.
Now, that's not our text, but we have to tell that. That's
what this is all about. That's why this story took place.
That's what this whole story of Joseph's about, the Lord Jesus
Christ. So Joseph dwelt in Egypt. And
so do we. But our Joseph, whom God has
given all things into his hand, he dwelled in Egypt for us, to
save us, to save his people. Oh, I wish we could look at that
mediator. They sent a mediator who said,
The Father said. But we don't have time. Read it for yourself
if you want to bless him. All right, Joseph dwelled in
Egypt. So do we. So did Christ, didn't it? Look
at chapter 39. Joseph was known and loved by
God, and Joseph knew and loved God. Joseph walked with God. Chapter 39. Joseph dwelt in Egypt,
but he walked with God. Can you dwell in Egypt and walk
with God? Can you live in Sodom and still
be one of God's children? Lot did, didn't he? Can you live in Egypt and walk
with God? Joseph did. Yeah, he did. Look at chapter
39, verse 1 through 4. Joseph was brought down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh,
captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him out of the hands of
the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down hither. And the Lord
was with Joseph. The Lord was with him. And he
was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master,
the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord
was with him, and the Lord made all that he did to prosper in
his hand. Joseph found grace in his sight. Joseph found grace. Joseph, the Lord was with him. Joseph was a godly man. Can one
live in Egypt and still walk with God? Yes, Joseph did. He can be in this world, not
out of this world. That's what Christ said of his people. It
says in verse 6, look at verse 6, Joseph was a goodly person.
He left all that was in Joseph's hands, and verse 6 says, Joseph
was a goodly person and well favored. That's Joseph. They're living in Egypt. They're
in the midst of all those allurements and all that materialism and
all that perversion and all those unbelievers. Joseph was a goodly
person and well favored. And that's God's people. That's
you. Yes, it is. You say, I don't
think of myself as... God says so about his people.
Jesus Christ said, my people are the salt of the earth. He
said, my people are the light of this world. He said of his
people, God Almighty wrote in his book, he said of his people,
the world is not worthy of them. Egypt wasn't worthy to have a
man like Joseph there, but God put him there on purpose. And
then later on, they were sure glad he did. Sure glad. Aren't you, Brother Stephen,
aren't you glad God has some people in this world and makes
it livable, doesn't it? It'd be hell on earth if it wasn't
for God's people. There'd be no reason for the
existence of this world except for God's people. And the salt
of the earth? light of this world, of whom
the world is not worthy, God's people are well favored. They're
goodly persons in the image of Christ. Oh, yeah, that's scripture.
They're goodly persons. Don't you think that about your
brethren? Sure you do. But now, wait a
minute. Who's this really speaking of?
Who's this really speaking of? That goodly person, well favored
by God. Jesus Christ. That's who this
is speaking of. God hath highly exalted him,
the scripture says, and given him a name which is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every
tongue confess that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Jesus Christ, the Lord is well
pleased for his righteousness, the well-pleasing Son of God. We'll go back to the text. So
we dwell in Egypt. Joseph dwelt in Egypt. Joseph
walked with God. By God's grace, we can walk with
God in Egypt. Christ came down here, dwelled
here, and walked by faith, lived by faith as our representative.
All right, now look at this. Here's really our text. It says in verse 23, let's read
on. Well, verse 22. in Egypt, and he and his father's
house, and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. A hundred and
ten years. Most in this room will probably
live the allotted number seventy some year. Most of us will. Some do not, but that's according
to God's purpose. But most do. Joseph lived a full
life. Most of us will. Read on. Verse
23. Joseph saw Ephraim's children
of the third generation. He saw his children, his children's
children, and his great-grandchildren. They tell me being a grandparent
is a wonderful thing. Some of you, like Deborah, can
attest to that fact. You know, I'm not old enough
like some of you, but they tell me it's great. They tell me,
they say that it's so wonderful they wish they could have been
a grandparent first, before they were a parent. Not possible,
but. Well, what's being a great grandparent like? And I hear
that's just doubly great. It must be amazing, it must be
amazing to see your children's children, and then your children's
children's children. Well, Joseph did. See, Joseph
started out in that pit, remember? He started out in a pit. And
think of God's great providence throughout his life to bring
him to where he was. And in the end, he got to see
his children, his children's children, his children's children's
children. Oh, God was good to Joseph, wasn't
he? And he's good to us. Yes, he is. Most of us, unless
the Lord returns for all of us, most of us will live a full life
and see our children's children and perhaps even more. God's
good. He's merciful. He's gracious.
All right, verse 24. And Joseph said unto his brethren,
I die. He's 110 years old now. It's
time to die. Isn't it? It's time to die. It
was appointed unto man once to die. It's time to die. Joseph
knew he was dying, and he did not avoid it, but he submitted
to it. He's ready for it. Not Paul knew. The Lord told him. facing death,
and he said, I'm ready. I'm ready to depart, he said.
God gives that grace. We looked at that once before,
didn't we? You don't need dying grace until
you're dying, and then when you are really dying, you'll have
it. Count on it, you'll have it. He said, I'm not ready to
die. Then you must not be dying right now, because when you are,
God will give you that grace. It's always so. Joseph was dying,
he knew it, and he was facing it, he was ready for it. He said,
I die. I die. I die. The way of all flesh. Death,
now listen to me, for our comfort, believer, for your comfort, death
is not death to the believer. Death is not death to the believer.
It's not death in any way, shape, form, or fashion. It's not death.
We don't leave the land of the living to go to the land of the
living. It's the other way around. This is a dead and dying world.
This is a place where people are dead in trespasses and sin. Salvation is to be brought from
death unto life. And the ultimate salvation, the
consummation of it all, is when we're taken from this dying world
into the land of the living. abundant life. Christ never called
death, death for his people. He changed the name of it. It's
not death for his people. He called it sleep. Which one of us despises or dreads
going to sleep tonight? Most of us look forward to a
nap every chance we can get. And the older you get, the more
you love to sleep. Right? And when it doesn't come, you
know, it's a—but death, our Lord changes death to sleep. Death is the entrance into true
life. And the only reason we can't
really enter into this is because we haven't been there, and we're
still afraid of the unknown. But really, now, it's not unknown
because Well, how do we know that's so? How do we know that's
so, that it's not death? Christ said death. Christ said,
he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. You believe
this? He was saying that at the funeral
of one of his dear children, the brother of two of these dear
ladies, Martha and Mary, Lazarus. And they were weeping as you
do when your loved one dies, but Christ said, He that liveth
and believeth in me shall never die. His disciples said, Lazarus,
he's dead. He's not dead, he's sleeping. And they didn't understand. They
just couldn't understand. Do you believe that though? Christ
said that. How do we know it's so? Because he died. Because Jesus Christ died. You
see, he died. Everybody saw him die. They saw
all the blood taken out of his body. The life of the flesh is
in the blood. They saw all, how many pints
of blood come out of his body, spill on the ground. Take him
down from that cross and put him in a grave and throw the
stone over it. No oxygen, no air for three days. He's dead. Isn't he? Is he dead? No doubt
about it. He's dead. Or is he? After the third day, he comes
out of there. He walks out of the grave. He
says, See? I told you. It's not death. It's not death. I wish I believed
that. I wish we really believed that,
don't you? Well, we do. We do. Joseph said,
I die. I die. Christ kept telling his
people that, didn't he? What shall I say? Father, deliver
me from this? What shall we say? Father, deliver
us from this? No! It's appointed, but it's
not there. It's going. Now, look at it here. He said, I die, verse 24, his
dying word. Now, this is a man. Like you
and me. He said, I die, and God will
surely visit you and bring you out of this land unto the land
which you swear unto Abraham, Isaac, and to Jacob. Now, are
you reading between the lines? Are you seeing what this is really
saying? Are you seeing what Joseph is saying? I die, but God lives. And I live and move. In him I
live and move and have my day. I die, yes. this body, I'm going
to lay it down. But God lives. He's the God of
the living. Remember when Christ said this
to the Pharisees? He said, He's the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the living, not the dead. The
living. And Joseph, old Joseph, on his
deathbed, he said, God will surely visit you, just like he said
he would. Just like he said to his father
Israel. Just like he said to his father
Isaac. Just like he said to his father Abraham. Just like he
said all the way back to Abel. The promises of God are yea and
amen to the glory of God the Father. Sure, what God has promised,
he's able to perform, and he will. God will surely visit you. I die, but I'm not going to stay
dead. And you're not going to stay
in Egypt. You're not here to stay. You have here no continuing
city. That's what he's saying to his
children. On his deathbed, as a faithful believer, Joseph is
saying, you're not going to stay here in Egypt. I'm dying. You're going to carry my bones
out of here. And my soul is not going to stay
in this body. I'm going to go back to God again. Now it says, Joseph took an oath,
verse 25, Joseph took an oath, verse 25, of the children of
Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry
up my bones from hence. Now Joseph's God is God. I love
the way the Scripture says, God will, God will surely, God shall,
God will, God will, and you shall. Joseph's God was God. wasn't
his God. Joseph had no God who wanted
to and couldn't, who hoped to and might not, and who depended
on anybody or anything. You know, Joseph, in faith, he
died in faith, believing God's promise was sure to him, to his
seed, and to all his people. His dying words. Don't you hope
your dying words are, God will surely surely visit us." Well, he did. Joseph E. did. God visited this
planet. Jesus Christ was his name. This
is a picture of Christ. Go with me in closing to John
13. John 13. You see, this was This
was our text, and this is what Hebrews 11 said. By faith, Joseph,
when he died, made mention of the departing of the children
of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. I wish I could really bring this
out. This is Christ talking here, people. It was an oath that Christ
made, a covenant between God the Father and God the Son. in
which God the Son made commandment concerning his bone, which God
made commandment concerning his bone, not a bone to be broken.
You see, we're bone of his bones. We're the body of Christ. He's
the head. And bones, wherever he is, wherever his people are,
he's got to be, too. Are you getting it? Christ made
this commandment, this John 13 all the way to the end of John
16 are the dying words of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know that?
From John 13, if you want some good reading, if you don't know
where to begin reading right now, start in John 13. Somebody
said it was the greatest sermon ever preached, followed by the
greatest prayer ever prayed. and then followed by the greatest
work ever done. But this is John 13 through 16
are Christ's dying words to his people, comforting his people.
And they're torn up. He's leaving. I die. That's what
he said. I die. Look at verses, and I don't have
time to deal with all of it, but verse 33. John 13, 33, little children,
yet a little while I'm with you. Just a little while I'm with
you. You shall seek me, as I said unto the Jews, whither I go you
cannot come. So now I say unto you, I die. That's what he said. Verse 34, a new commandment.
He gave concerning his people. I give unto you that ye love
one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
Love one another. Why so much emphasis put on this?
Why did Christ give this dying commandment that you love one
another? Why? Why is the first John so taken
up with that? Because this is a hateful place,
this world is, full of hate. And you're going to need each
other. You're going to need each other. That love, you need the
love of the brethren. And you need to nurture it and
kindle it. You're going to need it until you're dying day. Here
you are. God's people are sheep. They can't live alone. They need
that fellowship with their brethren. And you're going to need love.
You're going to need their love. And they need yours. So he gave
these parting words. In chapter fourteen, all his
disciples were so upset because he's leaving, and understandably,
They depended on him for everything for three years, and now he says
he's leaving. But verse 1 through 3, he says,
Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. I love this. He doesn't say, Do you believe
in God? Does he? He says, You believe in God.
All the Lord knoweth them that are his. He asked Peter, Do you love me?
He knew that Peter loved him. He put that love there. You believe in God, well believe
also in me. Why? I am the father of one. I am God. In my Father's house,"
look at this, "'I die,' he said, "'I die, but in my Father's house
are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again. I die, but surely I'll
visit you. I'll come get you.'" You know,
Peter doesn't meet God's people at the gate. That's hogwash,
that's raspberry. Peter doesn't greet him, Jesus
Christ does. Every one of God's people, Jesus
Christ meets them at the gate of heaven. Says, come in, Bertie! Come in, Ellen! I've sent for
you. I've come to take you. Huh? Yes,
ma'am. Jesus Christ meets his people.
God will surely visit you." He said, I will, I will come and
get you and take you to my place. Huh? You come to my home, I come
to the door and greet you. No, now, if I'm any kind of host
at all, if I want to make you feel special and wanted, I come
to the door and say, well, come on in. It's good to see you.
I've been waiting on you. And so it is with the Lord Jesus
Christ. God will surely visit you. God's going to come to you. Jesus Christ has come for his
people, some of them, early. And it's infinite mercy, infinite
mercy of God and of Christ for him to take one of his own early.
You know that? We don't see it that way. Oh,
but it is to them, isn't it? The younger they are, the less
of this evil world they have to put up with. Jesus Christ
has come in all His glory, to take one of His dear ones to
the glory. We'll miss Him. We don't want
to see Him go. We hang on to Him, but He loves
them more than we do. And He's taken them. We deny them that. No. God will surely visit you. Yes,
He will. He took an oath. He took an oath. Look at chapter 15 with just
a couple more verses. Chapter 16, verse 22, Christ
says, And now, you now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you
again. I will see you again. And we're
going to see those that know Christ again. Yes, we are. We're
going to see Him. We're going to see Christ. And
we're going to see those that know Him. Yes, we are. And verse
twenty-three, or verse twenty-eight, our Lord said, I came from the
Father, and I am come into the world again. I leave the Father
and go to the Father. And verse thirty-three, in closing,
these things have I spoken unto you. that in me ye might have
peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation." If you're not going to stay here,
you're coming out, and I've overcome it, and I'm coming back for you. So, you see, that story of Joseph—there's
a story in the story, isn't there? The story of our Joseph. But
Joseph as a man said, God will surely. Take my bones out of
here. This body is going to be taken
by Christ himself someday. It's going to be raised up, fashioned
like unto his glorious body, put on—this corruptible will
put on incorruption. These bones. These bones. We're
going to see the hands, feet, the bone, the person. God's people
that we knew and loved. Here we are. Just as we're going
to see Christ. God will surely visit. Yes, He
will. And take us out of Egypt. All
right. Let's sing a closing hymn. What number? 297. 297. 297. Let's
sing the first and last verses, okay? First and last verse. Let's stand. Be not dismayed whatever he tries,
God will take care of you. Beat his wings of love on high,
God will take care of you. God will take care of you. Through every day or all the
way, He will take care of you. God will take care of you. No matter what may be the test,
God will take care of you. Laying weary one upon His breast,
God will take care of you. God will take care of you through
every day, so all the way. He will take care of you. God will take care of you. you.

By Faith Joseph

What does the Bible say about dying in faith?

How do we know that God chooses His people?

Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

How do we understand death as Christians?

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By Faith Joseph

What does the Bible say about dying in faith?

How do we know that God chooses His people?

Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

How do we understand death as Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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