Joseph Makes Himself Known

Q: What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

The Bible teaches that God is sovereign, meaning He reigns over all creation and preordains all events according to His perfect will. Scripture reveals that God’s sovereignty is integral to understanding His nature and His governance of the universe. In Isaiah 46:10, God declares, 'I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.' This asserts that God not only knows but is also the author of all things that come to pass, including the destinies of individuals. In Acts 15:18, it is stated, 'Known to God are all His works from the beginning of the world,' emphasizing that nothing happens outside of His ordained plan. Therefore, God’s sovereignty is not merely a theoretical concept, but a practical reality that assures believers of His control and purpose in all circumstances.

Q: How do we know predestination is true?

Predestination is affirmed in Scripture, notably in Romans 8:29-30, where it describes God's foreknowledge and the predetermined destiny of His elect. The doctrine of predestination is rooted in the biblical narrative where God is described as one who foreknows and elects individuals for salvation. Romans 8:29-30 provides a clear outline of God’s redemptive plan: 'For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.' This indicates that God’s choosing is based on His sovereign will and purpose. Furthermore, Ephesians 1:4-5 articulates that believers are chosen 'in Him before the foundation of the world,' demonstrating that this was not a reactive measure based on human choice, but a divine will established beforehand. The anchor of predestination lies in God’s character, which is faithful and unchanging, assuring believers that their salvation is secure in His plan.

Q: Why is understanding grace important for Christians?

Understanding grace is vital for Christians because it reveals the unmerited favor of God and underscores the foundation of salvation through Jesus Christ. Grace is a central theme in the Christian faith as it represents God's unmerited favor towards sinners. Ephesians 2:8-9 explains, 'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.' This illustrates that salvation is entirely a work of God, free from human effort, and highlights the necessity of God's grace for any relationship with Him. Moreover, recognizing our own unworthiness magnifies the grace of God, making us more thankful and humble in our walk with Him. Grace transforms our lives, enabling us to reflect God’s character, and empowers us to extend grace to others, embodying the love and mercy we have received. Thus, understanding grace shapes both our identity and our interactions with the world.

Q: What does the story of Joseph teach us about Christ?

Joseph's story serves as a type of Christ, illustrating themes of rejection, suffering, and ultimate reconciliation and redemption. The narrative of Joseph in the book of Genesis serves as a profound type that foreshadows the life and work of Jesus Christ. Just as Joseph was despised and rejected by his brothers, so too was Christ rejected by His own people (John 1:11). Joseph’s suffering was not in vain; through it, he ultimately became a source of salvation for his family during famine, prefiguring how Christ's suffering and sacrifice provide salvation for all humanity. Furthermore, Joseph's eventual reconciliation with his brothers mirrors the redemption that Christ offers to sinners. In Joseph's words, 'You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good' (Genesis 50:20), we see the sovereign hand of God orchestrating events for His glory and purpose, affirming that Christ’s death and resurrection were part of God's divine plan for salvation.

Q: How can Christians be assured of their salvation?

Christians can be assured of their salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and the promises of God that affirm their eternal security. The assurance of salvation is a crucial aspect of the Christian faith, grounded in the promises found in Scripture. Romans 8:1 declares, 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,' providing believers with profound comfort regarding their status before God. Furthermore, John 10:28-29 reinforces this assurance with Jesus’ words, 'I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.' This security is rooted in God's unchanging nature and the sufficiency of Christ's atoning work. As believers rest in the truth that their salvation does not depend on their performance but on God's grace, they can live confidently in the hope of eternal life, as articulated in 1 John 5:13, which states, 'I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.'

Captain, we salute the captain,
the captain of our salvation. I like that last line. I like
all of them. All right, Genesis 45. Genesis 45, which I believe we'll see another
glorious—already seen another glorious picture of Christ here,
haven't we? Just a reading of it. I thought about this, though,
as a way of introduction. Our God is Socrates. Our God is omnipotent, omniscient,
all-powerful, all-knowing. Known unto God, Acts 15, 18,
says, Known unto God are all his works from the beginning. He says, I've declared, in Isaiah,
he said, I've declared the end from the beginning. Things that
are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand. He said, I've spoken it, I will
do it. God is sovereign. reigning and
ruling among the armies of heaven, the inhabitants of the earth,
and none can stay his hand or say unto him, You can't do that.
God will work, Isaiah said, and who shall prevent it? Nothing
and no one can stay God's hand from anything. God decides who,
what, when, how, why, where, and so on. He controls everything
from the souls of men, their destinies, down to the very particles
of dust in the sunlight where they land. You believe that? He's not God if that's not so.
There are uncontrollable circumstances at work then. If there's not
God controlling all, then there is no God. Right? God is sovereign, knows all his
works from the beginning. He is sovereign. He preordains. He predestines. The word is used
throughout Scripture. He predetermines, prefixes all
things. That's not fatalism. It's just
the God of the universe. Like those Scriptures I quoted
to you. All right? We should never think of God
as being austere and without emotion. We think of emotion
as a reaction to something that happens, don't we? In other words,
something bad happens and we experience whatever, fear or
anxiety, or something sad happens and we experience grief as a
result of that. But that's not the case with
God, because nothing—because God has ordained all things.
So he doesn't experience, he doesn't react. Things react because
God has already acted. But God does show emotion. And just because, you know, our understanding
is so finite. We can only think in terms of
human beings, right? So God writes this book to condescend
to where we are. But He does say of Himself, He
does attribute to Himself emotions. Joy. Joy. God experienced joy. He said
in Isaiah 65, he said, I will joy and rejoice in my people. I'll create Jerusalem a joy to
me. God's going to laugh. And enjoy his people. Experience
joy. Grief. Is that right? Grieve over anything? How could
he? He knows the end. He says he does. I can't explain
it. It just says he does. It says,
Grieve not the Holy Spirit, which is God. Anger. God shows anger. Then, Psalm
55, he's angry with the wicked every day. Now, we should never
think of God as one who has no emotion. And our Lord himself,
the Lord Jesus Christ, is one who gave the parable of the prodigal
son returning home. And it says that the father saw
him a great way off and ran and fell on his neck
and kissed him. You reckon he showed any emotion? And the Lord Jesus Christ, God
manifest in the flesh, went to the tomb of one of his dear brethren
and wept. And everybody heard him weep,
too. It wasn't low-sobbing, it was weeping. I don't know how to—I like that,
Doug, don't you? I like thinking of my God in
that way, but I don't know how to, what's the word, reconcile
that with his son. I don't know, but he does. He
does. Now, our story tonight, I believe,
is a picture of great love, which Christ has for his own. And this
is the story of Joseph making himself known to his brethren. And I say this all the time,
in case somebody's never heard. The Old Testament. The Old Testament is not just
a history book. The Old Testament is not just
a history of the Jews. It's his story. It's the story of Jesus Christ
from start to finish. Our Lord said this in Luke 24
when he, I was talking about the disciples on the road to
Emmaus. Two disciples were walking along on the road to Emmaus and
our Lord walked with them and they were talking about all things
that went on and it says that beginning And Moses, the books
of Moses, that's Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
and the prophets and the Psalms, that's the Old Testament, isn't
it? He said, he expounded unto them, in them, the things concerning
himself. And later on in that chapter,
Luke 24, he said, they are they. In another play, John, he said,
They are they which testify of me. The Old Testament is of Christ. There are pictures of Christ.
If we had eyes to see, we'd see him on every page. We've been
seeing him, haven't we? The Lord has blessed us here.
Blessed are your eyes. Blessed are your eyes, John Barr-Davis. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
it to you. You're not going to get a story of Christ from most
of the Old Testament from the average preacher. But blessed are your eyes. Flesh
and blood doesn't reveal it to you, but the Heavenly Father
reveals a son to you. As I've said before, it's like
his photo album to his son. I detest and despise these pictures
of so-called Jesus that people have hanging on the wall. There's
never been a description, there's no description of him in the
scripture. That's idolatry. Christ, God said, make no graven
image of me, of anything in heaven or earth. Where's Christ? He's
in heaven. He was on this, there's no description of him. If they
could paint an accurate picture of me, it wouldn't look like
the ones they have hanging on these walls. Because the scripture
says in Isaiah 53, there's no comeliness about him that we
should desire him. Apparently he wasn't a very good-looking
man. He sure wasn't this blue-eyed
Caucasian you see hanging on the wall in Southern Baptist
Church Vacation Bible School. He was a Jew, and he was an ugly
Jew. Right, Terry? Is that what the
scripture said? When we see him, there's no beauty about him that
we should desire him, nor no comfort that's in him. Nobody
was attracted to his physical beauty. There's no descriptions
of him in the scriptures. None. He had long hair. It doesn't say that thing. It
says it's a shame for a man to have long hair. Where am I? Genesis 45, aren't I? Somewhere
I'm going to get to Genesis 45. Why didn't I say all that? Because
this is God's picture book of his Son, not painted pictures,
spiritual pictures. And God's people seeing But not these things, idols,
as Tim James calls them, it looks like Wild Bill Hickok, or Buffalo Bill. Right? And if we really wanted to paint
an accurate picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, let's paint one
that's described in Revelation 1, his eyes as a flame of fire. His feet is the brass that burns
in a furnace. His face is the sun that shineth
in its strength. You can't paint a picture like
that. Just paint a picture, just a
white page, just a white page, and you come closest to painting
him. He dwells in a light which no
man can approach. But this is God. And here we're
going to see another beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's all of Christ. It's all of him. Christ is all,
Colossians 3, 11 says, and in all. He's in all of the Scripture,
if we have eyes to see. but especially in things like
the life of Joseph. All right? And as you'll see
as I make these comments concerning Joseph, you'll see the parallel
between Joseph and the Lord Jesus Christ. Up until this time, these brethren of Joseph's, these
brethren of Joseph's, up until this time they were ignorant
of who this Lord on the throne in Egypt was. They didn't know
who this was. He knew them. They were his brethren. He knew them from the minute
they walked in. He knew them. He foreknew them. They didn't
know him. But he knew them. And he loved
them. He wouldn't, Joe, he wouldn't
have had anything to do with them from the minute they walked
in. They despised and rejected him, didn't they? They hated
him. These brethren of Jesus. They hated him without a cause. And the minute they walked in
that door to get some corn, he said, I know, he could have said
this, I know my thoughts toward you. Y'all, if you knew who I
was, you despised and rejected me. But I know my thoughts toward
you, thoughts of peace, thoughts of love." He loved them, even
though they were, while they were yet, sinners. Isn't that a marvelous picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ, huh? He knew us. He foreknew. For
whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate. Whom he did predestinate,
he called, and he called and he justified. Whom he justified,
he glorified. He foreknew his people, foreloved,
foreordained them to be his people, but they didn't know him. He
knew us long before we knew him, and that's not just knowing about
us. It's more than that. He entered
into a covenant concerning us, set his love on us and affection
upon us. Before I formed thee in the belly,
he said, I knew you. And herein is love, in that while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. These old rotten, no
good brothers. If it had been me, like Barnard
used to say, better be glad I'm not God. I'd have wiped this
whole thing out a long time ago. If it had been me, Stan, tell
the truth now. Those old rotten brothers of
yours, do you have a brother? No? Who has some brothers in there?
Do you have any brothers? Huh? My brothers gave me fits
growing up. Picked on me, something awful.
But both my older brothers. If that wasn't me, oh, I tell you, string them up by
their toes! That's what I would say. Piano
wire, I wouldn't have anything to do with them. But as I said
before, Joseph was above his brethren. Head and shoulders
above them. He's not like them, these gracious
and merciful and tender and kind and compassionate and loving.
He's not like these old rotten brothers of his, is he? Eh? Neither is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He said, I'm from above. You're from beneath. And David
said in one of the Psalms, when God told him of his goodness
toward him, even though he didn't deserve it, David said, is this
the manner of man? No, it's not. Man doesn't do
anything like this. It's of the Lord's mercies that
we're not concerned. He foreknew. Ignorant of him,
but he sure knew us. These brethren of his were needy.
These brethren of Joseph were needy. They needed mercy and
didn't know it. They walked into the presence
of a man that they despised and rejected and should have killed
them on the spot. Right? They walked into the presence,
didn't know who they were approaching. They didn't know who this was
on the throne. And when they walked in, Joseph
should have said, bind them hand and foot and cast them into the
fiery pit. Shouldn't have. He had the power,
didn't he? But they didn't know that they
needed mercy. Didn't know it, but they needed
it from the outset. They were going to realize it.
He's going to make them realize it after a while, isn't he? He's
going to make them realize, you need mercy. I have the power. And they needed grace. They needed
corn. All they thought they needed
was a little cornbread, Joe. But they needed more than that. They
needed their lives spared. And that's man, isn't it? Our Lord said in Isaiah 1, he
said, I've brought up a people I've nourished, a people that
are rebellious to me, from the sole of their feet to the top
of their heads. There's no soundness in them,
nothing but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. He said
I ought to kill them, kill them all. And man, though he doesn't
know it, he's in need of mercy from the minute he's born. He
needs mercy. That's the one thing needful.
Not corn in the belly. Not a job, a wife, a house, a
car, but mercy is the one thing needful. These brethren didn't know him. They were ignorant. They didn't
know they needed mercy. They sure did. And these brethren,
after a while, they began to see some things. In Joseph's
goodness, in Joseph's wisdom, Joseph's discretion, he begins
to slowly, prudently, wisely deal with them in such a way
as to bring them down, and to break them, and convict them,
and grant them repentance. It was Joseph's goodness that
gave them repentance. He should have snuffed them out,
but he said, no, I'm going to bring them down. and break them
and show them their guilty state, and then I'm going to save them,
spare them. They need to see this Lord's
greatness. They need to see, as I said before,
they came walking in to Joseph. I was sure of that. You remember
the story of these brethren back in chapter 34? These were wicked
fellows. They didn't bow down to anybody. They weren't going to bow down
to anybody. They killed people who got in their way, Terry.
Yeah. Was it Reuben? Yeah, Reuben and
Levi. They killed everybody who got
in their way. It was Simeon. Simeon. Simeon and Levi were
the ones. Mean as snakes. Judah's the one
that sold him, sold Joseph. Sold his brother. They were rotten
to the core. They weren't going to bow to
anybody. They came into the presence of Joseph seeking a little corn.
They needed something. And like any, like most human
beings, they'll do anything to get their way, you know. They'll
bow and scrape a little bit, you know. And they came in and
they did their obeisance, but they weren't bowing down. They
were doing what was necessary to get corn. Boy, Joseph's going
to bring them to where they willingly, brokenly, humbly bow down and
start asking for mercy. Huh? They're going to be brought
to that point. And so is every proud son of Adam. When God Almighty saves someone,
and this is the way the gospel approaches mankind. This is the
way God sends the gospel to men. It's not all this talk, like
the world's preachers are saying, God loves you, and Christ died
for you. That won't bring repentance. That won't bring fear, which
is the beginning of wisdom, Proverbs 9, 10 says. Right? That won't bring the fear of
the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. Romans 3 says there's no fear
of God before their eyes. That's a description of this
generation. You know that little slogan that teenagers like to
wear on their t-shirts and all that? No fear? That's indicative of the times,
isn't it? I want to write that across church
houses. There's so much fleshly familiarity, there's so much
absurd nonsense going on in the name of God, when there's no
fear. It's the fear of the Lord. And nowhere in the Bible does
a prophet approach the people and say, smile, God loves you. Not one time did the apostles
go preaching, God loves you, and Christ died for you. Did they? Peter at Pentecost,
and he'd stand up and say, "'Men and brethren, God loves you and
has a wonderful plan for your life, and all you have to do
is accept Jesus as your personal Savior.'" He said, "'This same Jesus whom
you crucified, God's great Lord,' and you're in his hands. He has
the kid inside you. We're in his hands, not vice
versa. And these men are going to be
brought down. of Joseph going to be brought down off their
high horse. Saul of Tarsus was real religious,
thought he was saved. And God brought him down off
his high horse into the dust, saying, Lord. And these disciples didn't know
who this was on the throne. And they didn't feel any guilt
over there what they'd done. And their unworthiness. They've
got to see all these things before they hear Joseph say, I love
you. Huh? And so do men and women. They've got to fear God. They've
got to repent. And that's only by the goodness
of God. And they've got to bow down before
they hear God say, Fear not. I love you. And Christ died for
you. And there is therefore now no
condemnation to being what you are in Christ Jesus. Huh? Isn't that right? Oh yeah. That's Bible salvation. This
thing is so twisted nowadays, it's so far from the truth, that
when people hear this, it's some strange doctrine. Disciples really didn't know
Christ, did they? And listen. And Joseph did not
reveal himself to these brethren until he made Benjamin a curse. He didn't reveal himself to his
brethren until after he made Benjamin the guilty party. Remember
that? The last chapter? 43. After Benjamin, the innocent
one, son, the beloved son, was found with a silver cut in his
side. And it was just too much. These brethren were just broken
then. Oh. And the disciples really didn't
know Christ until after he arose from the grave and revealed himself.
In other words, in light of his death, his burial, his resurrection,
the gospel. He said to them, he said, Oh,
fools and slow to believe all that the prophets have written.
Ought not Christ to have suffered to enter into his glory? They
talked about him restored. Oh, we thought that he would
have been a king and restored Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
Jerusalem. Jews, Jews, Israel, Israel. They
are not Jews which are one outwardly. Circumcision is not of the flesh,
it's of the heart. All Israel will be saved, but
it's not that little nation over in the Middle East. It's God's
Israel, spiritual Israel. Ought not Christ to suffer? He
said, My kingdom's not of this world. If it were, we'd fight.
They'd have never killed me in the first place, he said. But
I must suffer to enter into my glory, to save my kingdom, to
save my people. The captain's got to die to save
his subjects. Explain that. Explain that, you've
got the gospel. Well, in light of his death,
burial, and resurrection, Christ reveals himself. Well, let's
read. Let's just read down through
here. The story tells itself. As we read, I could feel it emanating
from you. I could look up and saw some
smiles at various places. It just tells itself, doesn't
it? I believe any of you, any man
that is, can stand up here and say something on this passage. I ought to be able to say something.
Something, because it tells itself. I'm not going to, so don't worry.
Y'all can stay seated. All right, look at verses 1 and
2. It says that Joseph could not refrain himself before all
in the stood by him. And he cried, cause every man
to go out from me. And there stood no man with him
while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept
out loud. And the Egyptians in the house
of Pharaoh heard it. Surely heaven heard it when the
Lord of Glory cried. Surely they heard it. I know
they heard it when he cried out on the cross, It is finished. I know they heard that. And surely the angels stood still
when he spoke, every time he spoke. But at Lazarus' tomb,
you remember it says, he wept, and the people said, and they
heard him weeping, and the people said, oh, how he loved him. They don't know the half of it.
They don't know how much he loved this man, Lazarus, and all his
people. Just don't know how much. And
when Christ reveals himself, here it says, Joseph said, "'Cause
every man to go out from there.'" Get everybody out of here. Get
everybody out of here. It's me and my brothers now. And when Christ reveals himself
to a sinner, there ain't no soul winner in the way. This thing
of salvation is between God and a person, an individual. That's
the reason Christ said, don't pray like the Pharisees. Don't
go down to the front, the mourner's bench. God's not at the mourner's
bench. God's in heaven. He said, when
you pray, go into your closet. Your heavenly Father, which seeth
in secret, will reward you openly. Decide who we pray unto anyway.
Who we want to hear us anyway. There's only one person I'm interested
in hearing me. It's God. This thing is a personal
thing between God and the sinner. And that's what the, that's what
people need to say with all these soul winners and all that. Get
them out of my way. I'm coming to Christ, not you,
man. I'm coming to Him. Let Him tell
me what to do. Not the soul winner. Let Him
tell me. That's all. Every time when somebody
comes to me, I tell them, you just go home and you call on
the Lord. Don't call on me. Call on the
Lord. He'll answer you. And Christ reveals salvation
between Christ and the sinner. It's like the woman, you remember
the woman caught in the act of adultery? And they brought her
into Christ? And Christ stooped down. All these, we brought you, we
brought you a sinner. And a notch on the belt. That's
what I bet, I bet you if you looked at these fellas' belts,
Henry, I bet they'd have notches. And those Pharisees brought this
woman in, and they all stood there. Not Christ. So he stooped down where she
was. And then he began to write some
things in the sand. I believe it was the Word of
God. I believe he wrote some scriptures that absolutely convicted
them. Somebody said he wrote names
and dates. And they all began, beginning
with the eldest. left, and when they were all
gone, who was left? Christ and the sinner. He said,
Where are your accusers? Doth no man accuse you? She looked
up. No man, Lord, just you and me. Neither do I. Oh, that's what
it's got to be. It's got to be between the Lord
and and the center. Remember when the disciples went
to the Mount of Transfiguration? Moses and Elijah appeared. Oh,
Peter was so, Peter got Pentecostal, didn't he? It's not that kind
of, coin the phrase, Peter got real Pentecostal. Oh, that's
a real time record. He was jumping up and down, I
bet you. And God Almighty spoke out loud, covered that place
in a cloud, and smote Peter and the rest of them to the ground. And when the cloud lifted, it
says they saw nobody but Jesus only. God said, this is my Son. You don't exalt and magnify and
extol and honor man. Moses or Elijah, I don't care
who it is. The only man is the God-man.
That's my Son. You hear Him. and see the God-man. Look at verse 3 and 4. Joseph
said unto his brethren, I am Joseph. I'm Joseph. I'm going to get Pentecostal
before this thing is over with tonight. Does my father yet live? And his brethren couldn't answer
him. Scripture says there's going
to be silence in heaven in the space of thirty minutes. I believe
that's going to be us. Words will fail us, won't they?
We're so wordy. Human beings are so wordy, aren't
they? Many and I met with a woman from
the bank the other day. And when we left that place,
she was talking 180 miles an hour, and, catch that, catch
that, catch that, catch that. And when we left, I was actually
busy. I said, Mindy said to me, did
you catch it? I said, some of it. I hope you
caught the rest. But I tell you, they could be
charging us a hundred percent interest. For all I know, I didn't
catch it. At any rate, people are so wordy,
aren't they? Buddy, every mouth is going to
be stopped. If people ever get a load of
the gospel, if the gospel is ever preached in power from the
Word of God, that's what Romans 3, 19 says, every mouth is going
to be stopped. The scripture says, God is in
heaven, thou art on the earth. Let thy words be few. I'm Joseph, he said. Turn over
to Luke 24 with us. Luke 24. And he said, Come near
to me. Come near, I pray you. Come here. And they came to him. Luke twenty-four,
look over here at this. This is a perfect, that's a perfect
parallel to that. Luke twenty-four, look at verses
thirty-six through forty. Verse thirty, let's see. Luke
twenty-four, verses thirty-six and following. That's the wrong, wrong verse. Let's see. Let me try to find it. If you
see it, tell me. Oh, OK. Verse 36. Yeah, that's right.
Verse 36. As they thus spake, it says,
Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said unto them, Peace
be unto you. And they were terrified and affrighted,
and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them,
Why are you troubled? Why do thoughts arise in your
heart? Behold my hands and my feet. It is I myself. Handle me. See? Spirit hath not flesh and bones,
you see me have. And when he had thus spoken,
he showed them his hands and his feet. And he said, They yet
believe not for joy. It's me. I am. And when Christ reveals himself
to the sinner, I believe he shows them his hands. I believe he shows them his hands.
And if you'll pardon me again for making fun of, making light
of this nonsense today and preaching today, but they say he has no
hands but your hands. That's what every fundamentalist
preacher will say, a stupid little ditty. God has no hands but your
hands, no feet but your feet. He's shown them his hands. When God reveals himself to you,
he shows his hands and you're in on it. Right? He's no quadriplegic. He has
hands and he's got feet. And he made your hands and feet. And he doesn't need your hands
and feet. He doesn't. You speak through
a donkey. Ask Balaam. He has hands, all-powerful hands,
in whose hands we are. That's what Nebuchadnezzar saw,
didn't he, in Daniel? Nebuchadnezzar, he says, when
I was brought to my senses, He said, I saw that most high ruleth in the
kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of men, he giveth it to whomsoever
he will. The writing on the, handwriting on the wall, many,
many take thou. But God in whose hands thy breath
is, and all thy ways, thou hast not glorified. And he has feet He showed them
his feet. I believe God shows a sinner
his feet. That's the first thing a sinner is going to see. Isn't
it? Why? Because he's going to be
brought to bow down before those feet. Psalm 2 says, Kiss the
Son. Where? Not here. That's where
Judas kissed him. Like Mary. You kiss him like
Mary did. On the feet. That's the first
place you're going to see. That's the first thing you're
going to see of the Lord of glory. lovely feet, but all-powerful
feet, feet like brass that burns in the furnace, sacred feet. And you know what? I think we're
going to see scarred feet and hands. He's got to have hands,
Terry, because I'm going to be looking for scars in them up
in heaven, aren't you? He has hands, and that's what
I'm going to be looking for, the one with scars in his hands
and his feet. Thomas said, I won't believe,
I won't believe until I see one. Well, if he doesn't have any
hands, Thomas. He said, reach heavy with your
hand, Thomas. He'll start, lift his shirt open. It's me. I'm not, I live. I live. And he said, come, back in the
text, he said, come nearer to me, I pray you. Come nearer to
me. Christ said, come unto me, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden. Come nearer, I pray you. You know, they may have hesitated,
these brethren may have hesitated and said, wait a minute, but
we sold him, we did this, we did that. One of them should
have said, have him therefore boldness, brethren. Let us draw
near with a true heart full of assurance." Shouldn't they, John? They should have said, "...having
therefore permission, yea, command." He says, come. "...having therefore
boldness to enter in by the blood of Christ." Let us draw near
with a full heart, full of assurance. He said in verse 5, he said,
"...don't be grieved, nor angry with yourselves." People, when God breaks a sinner, the first thing that they experience
is mourning over sin, grief over sin. And again, I see the light. I don't see that today. I see
a God who's just a big sugar daddy. And who doesn't want somebody
like that? Christ came to put away sin by
the sacrifice of himself, and sinners need that Christ, not
a sugar daddy. They need a Christ to put away
their sin. They need blood to wash away
their sin. They need a righteousness wherewith they can be accepted
by a holy God, which only Christ can provide, will provide. And
the first thing we feel is grief over our sin. Christ said, Blessed
are they that mourn. Mourn what? Their sin. Blessed are the poor. Poor what? He said the poor you have with
you always. He's not talking about physically poor. Poor in
spirit. What does that mean? I have no
righteousness. I have no goodness. I have nothing. In my hands, no price I bring.
I have nothing with which to purchase my salvation or make
myself acceptable before you, O holy God. I'm poor. I'm bankrupt."
God says, come, buy without money, without price. Because I found
a ransom. I got the money. It's blood. It's not yours. Priceless blood. The blood of
my son. Not corruptible things such as
silver and gold, but the precious blood of my own son is the only
thing that will purchase your redemption. Poor in spirit, mourning
over sin, and anger. We feel anger. Do you get angry
with yourself? Rebecca, aren't you angry with
yourself over your stupidity? You think, I've played the fool
for forty-some years. Oh, sorry, thirty-nine years. Don't you? You get angry with
yourself. How could I have been such a fool? An ignorant, blind,
wretched, sinful fool sinning against a God who every day loatheth
me with benefits. Like Gomer, Nancy. Huh? Thought it was your lovers, didn't
you? It was your God meeting all your needs. And you
get angry with yourself. How could I be? And you still
get angry with yourself, don't you? You still grieve over your
sin. You quit grieving over your sin, you need to worry about
yourself. And angry with yourself. You
still need to get angry with yourself. How could I sin against
this God who loved me and gave himself for me? How could I?
Well, read on. Read on. I've got to hurry. Be
not grieved or angry that you sold me hither, for God did send
me before you to preserve life." God did send me. They were going
to live now, Terry. Why? Because God sent this man
before them to preserve their life. You've seen it with me before,
all through the book of John and other places, how Christ
that they may know him whom God hath sent." John 17.3. This is life. And you're going
to know him. Life was manifested. In him was
life. And this is life, that you might
know him whom God hath sent. The only true God and him whom
God hath sent, Jesus Christ. You crucified him, yea, but you
did what God determined before to be done. And God did send
him before you to preserve life, to preserve life. Read on, verses
6 and 7. These two years hath the famine
been in the land, there yet five years, and in which there shall
neither be earing," that means ears of corn, earing, nor harvest. And God sent me before you to
preserve you a posterity in the earth. Does your margin say a
remnant? That's good, isn't it? A remnant. That's what Paul said. If God hadn't left us a remnant,
we'd have been in Sodom and Gomorrah. If there were not a remnant,
according to the election of grace he said in Romans 9, we'd
have been in Sodom and Gomorrah. He'd have burned this thing up
a long time ago. But God has elect people. A remnant. which God sent his Son before
to preserve them, to save their lives by a great deliverance,
so great salvation that Christ accomplished on Calvary's cross. Now, verse 8, it wasn't you.
It wasn't you that sent me, hither. And I just quoted that in Acts
2.36, didn't I? We took with wicked hands and
crucified him, but no. It pleased the Lord to believe
so. Who killed Christ? The Romans? The Jews? The Romans and the Jews? Who
killed Christ? God did. He pleased the Lord to bring
us him. When thou, the scripture says,
Isaiah 53, shalt make his soul an offering for sin, when God
makes his soul an offering, God's Lamb, behold the Lamb of God. Men were just instruments. They did what they determined
to do. They hated him, despised him, rejected him, and so would
we. So did we. did what our free
will, so to speak, that's what the free will of man to do with
God, killed him. But they did what God determined
before to be done. God sent me before you, Joseph
said. It wasn't you, it was God. He hath made me, look, he hath
made me a father to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his house, and
a ruler. through all the land of Israel.
You men of Israel, let all the house of Israel," Peter said,
"'know assuredly that God hath made this same Jesus whom you
have crucified, Lord and Christ.'" Oh, my. I wish we had another
hour. Read on. Let's hurry. Verses
10 and 11. He says now, verse 9, Haste ye,
go up to my Father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph,
God made me Lord of all Egypt. Come down unto me, tarry not."
I wanted you to turn to John where our Lord said that my Father and I will come unto
you and we'll make our abode with you. It's a beautiful parallel. But read on, don't have time.
He said, Now thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou
shalt be near unto me, thou and thy children, thy children's
children, thy flocks and herds, and all that thou hast, and there
will I nourish thee, there yet five years of famine, lest thou
and thy household and all that thou hast come to poverty." The
land of Goshen, he said, you'll be near me and I'll nourish you,
you and your household. What is this land of Goshen?
What's this land of Goshen, this dwelling place where Joseph is
with his people and he nourishes his people? What's this land
of Goshen? Huh? Well, the land's of Goshen,
people. Don't you know? It's the church. That's where Christ dwells with
his people. I looked up the name Goshen. It's of Egyptian origin. It's a mystery. But that's what the Church is.
In Ephesians 5, he said, I show you a mystery. I speak of a Church,
Christ and his Church. It's a mystery, really. But it's
a place where Christ dwells with his people, and he nourishes
them and their children. Because there's famine in the
land. Didn't we see that in Amos, the book of Amos? He said that
in chapter 6, verse 11, there is going to be a famine in the
earth, but not of bread, but of hearing of the word. I've
said so many times, they're using the book, but only as a religious
prop. And we need to go verse by verse
and feed on this book, feed on it, and extract. One of the old
writers, Rick, said if we could just sit and suck honey out of
this rock of every verse for hours. See, if we sit and just,
like a cow chewing his cud on one line, we'd get, we still
couldn't exhaust it. You've seen old cows sit there
and chew, and you think, is there anything left in that? It must
be like some of you biker chewers, I guess. There's still something
in it. And buddy, the half has never
been told. Of every verse. Every verse. We're just skimming.
We're just touching a toe in the Atlantic Ocean of God's Word. The land of Goshen, that's the
church, and this is a time of famine, and he feeds great feasting
in the church, God's true church. Well, verses 12 through 15, and
we won't read those verses. We already have. He kissed them,
his brethren, and they wept. Verse 16 says, Fame thereof was
heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come, and
it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servant." What's this picture? Ah, the Scripture says there's
joy in heaven over one sinner that repented. But this, this
really, this makes me think of when Christ is going to present
his people to the Father in heaven. Behold, that great train. You know, Isaiah 6 says his train
filled the temple. I believe that's his church.
coming behind him. He's coming first. He's coming
through the gates. Who is this King? Lift up your
heads, ye gates, ye everlasting doors. Lift up. Who's coming
in? The King of glory. Look behind him. And a multitude
which no man can number. And Christ is going to come before
the Father and say, Behold, I and the children which thou
hast given me. They're all here. I saved them. And it's going to please the
Father well. This is hard. It's hard to get
it in 45 minutes. They gave them wagons. They came
with sacks and went home with wagons. And he says, verse 20,
regard not your stuff. Don't regard your stuff. Take no thought what you should
eat or drink. Good of all the land of Egypt is yours. And they
did so. In verse 22, he, to all of them
he gave changes of raiment. He does it twice, doesn't he,
Barbara? He does it twice. He gives us,
God gives us the righteousness of Christ now. Clothes us in
the righteousness of Christ now. That's the reason we're accepted.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but his righteousness,
works of righteousness which he had done. And he imputes it,
or clothes us with his perfect life, and so God Justifies it. We're holy. But someday, we're
going to shuffle off this mortal coil. This mortality shall put
on immortality. In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, Scripture says what? We'll all be, what's the word? Changed. Change of raiment. And it's not
going to be clothes. It's going to be a new body,
a new person, changes of raiment. It says Benjamin gave three hundred
pieces of silver and five changes of raiment. That speaks of Christ
somehow, I don't know, but that's him. And his father sinned after
this matter, and so forth, asses full of food, and so on and so
forth. And down in verses 25 and following,
it says that They went up out of Egypt and
came into the land of Canaan under Jacob, their father, and
told him, said, Joseph is alive. He's alive. Oh, he's governor. He's governor. My, my, my. Jacob's heart quit
beating. He believed him not. They told
him all the words of Joseph he'd said unto them. We saw the wagons
which Joseph had sent to carry the spirit of their Father Jacob
revived, and Israel said, It's enough. It's enough. Joseph's alive. Now I can die. That reminded me of old Simeon,
didn't it? Old Simeon in the temple, waiting on God's salvation
when he saw Christ. He said, That's enough. Old Jacob
didn't need those wagons, and he didn't need to live in Egypt.
But Joseph was there. And that's all he was interested
in, Joseph. And heaven to the believer is
where Christ is. Somebody said, that's the reason
we'll be walking on streets of gold, to show our utter contempt
for gold. We'd all be digging up bricks
right now, it feels cold, but then we'll walk on it. Oh, but look at that pearl, would
you? Far out shines that gold. All
right, that's a beautiful story. There's more, there's more. All right, stand with me and
we'll be dismissed. Brother Rick Williams, will you
dismiss us in prayer, please? Our Father, how we do, we do
thank you, dear Lord Jesus. Allow us to hear your graciousness,
thy glory, and thy grace. We thank you for Jesus Christ. We thank you for your word, and
seeing thy first magnifying in these Old Testament scriptures. Amen. You're dismissed.

Joseph Makes Himself Known

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

How do we know predestination is true?

Why is understanding grace important for Christians?

What does the story of Joseph teach us about Christ?

How can Christians be assured of their salvation?

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Joseph Makes Himself Known

What does the Bible say about God's sovereignty?

How do we know predestination is true?

Why is understanding grace important for Christians?

What does the story of Joseph teach us about Christ?

How can Christians be assured of their salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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