In thy words, in thy believing
I see the Lord. Okay, Genesis forty-one again. I started to entitle this message
Zaphnath Paonea, but I didn't want Terry to have to type that
on all the labels, tape labels from here on out. He would have
had to look up a spelling like I did when I wrote it down very
carefully. Zaphnath Paonea means Revealer
of Secrets. So I entitled it instead, Joseph,
a man discreet and wise. A man discreet and wise. Once again, we're going to see
a marvelous, marvelous type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Marvelous. You're going to marvel, I believe,
if your hearts are here tonight. You're going to marvel. Every
verse is just amazing. Absolutely amazing. Verses 1 through 9, Pharaoh gives the account of
Pharaoh's dream. He dreamed of seven fat cattle
and seven lean cattle, and seven fat ears of corn and seven lean
ears of corn. The lean cattle ate up the fat
ones, and the lean ears of corn devoured the fat ears of corn. And that's a dream that Joseph
is about to interpret. But let me first draw your attention
to verse 9. Verse 9 then speaks, "'Upon hearing
this dream, the chief butler spake unto Pharaoh, saying, I
do remember my thoughts this day.'" Do you remember one of the last
things we asked in our last message on this was, can a believer forget
the Lord? Back in chapter 40, you remember,
verse 23, Joseph told the butler to remember him. It says in verse
23, yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph. He forgot
him. He forgot him, and that's a picture,
but later on, now, he remembers Joseph, and he confesses his
own error here, his own sinfulness here, as it were. And this is
a picture, I believe, of the believer. Every believer, at
some time, at some point, gets into a state like this man. I
believe this man, after he was restored back into the palace
with all of the material goods, he was restored back to a favorable
place with Pharaoh and had all that he could eat and drink and
a good place to stay and all that materialism. He forgot all his troubles. He
sure wanted some help back then, didn't he, when he was in prison? But when he got in a good state,
he forgot his troubles and forgot Joseph, too. And that's the way
a believer gets at times. That's the reason I say I believe
materialism is not a blessing necessary, it may be a curse.
That's what Solomon said, keep me from riches, lest I what? Forget thee. Remember that? Keep me from riches. He said,
I've asked two things. Keep me from poverty, lest I
steal. Keep me from riches, lest I forget the Lord. And that's
what happened. I believe this man, he forgot.
But he says, I do remember my faults. And that's a believer.
God's not going to allow a believer to forget him or stay in a forgetful
fashion. He's not. He's not going to allow
it. Thank God the Holy Spirit, the scripture says, brings to
remembrance the things of Christ. And we all get in this sad state.
taken, carried about with this and that and the other, and taken
up with this and that and the other, and the Holy Spirit, we
come back in and hear the gospel and the Holy Spirit graciously.
He ought to forget us, shouldn't he? He ought to just forget us,
but he doesn't. Graciously, mercifully, he says,
now, you've forgotten and you've left your first love. And the
gospel is preached and you remember. I do confess my faults this day. I remember such a want. I remember. Now, verses 10 through 13. Let's
read these again. The butler says, "'Pharaoh was
wroth with his servants to put me in ward in the captain of
the guard's house, both me and the chief baker. We dreamed a
dream in one night, I and he, and we dreamed each man according
to the interpretation of his dream,' and I'm reading fast
to get through it. And there was there with us a
young man, a of the captain of the guard, and we told him, and
he interpreted us our dream. To each man according to his
dream he did interpret. And it came to pass as he interpreted
us. Just what he said would happen,
happened. He prophesied, and it came to
pass. Do you know what the test of
a true prophet is? Turn over to Deuteronomy 13. Our Lord said, many false prophets
shall arise, didn't he? As it was in the days of the
Old Testament, there were many false prophets back then, too,
weren't there, Victor? Isaiah, Jeremiah speak much of
false prophets. Many. Without the word of God,
a man could just say, hey, I'm a prophet. Couldn't he? And how would anybody know? How
would anybody know? There's a sure way to know now. And I'm getting ahead of myself,
but here's the rule. But back then, how would you
know? Well, look at Deuteronomy 13. It says in verse, and this
is interesting. If there arise among you a prophet,
or a dreamer of dreams, and give it thee a sign or a wonder, and
the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee,
say ye." In other words, this is what he adds to this sign
or wonder that he does. Let us go after other gods, which
thou hast not known. Let us serve them. Thou shalt
not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer
of dreams. Your God is proving you to know
whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul." So, Stan, that tells me that a false prophet
can actually do some signs and wonders, doesn't he? And isn't
that what Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2? Didn't he say, God shall send
them strong delusion? If you want to look up at your
own leisure sometime, Ezekiel 14. Write that down, that's interesting,
Ezekiel 14. Talks about people having idols
in their hearts, so God put a lie in the heart of the prophet.
You want to read something interesting, I read that today. Ezekiel 14,
read it for yourself. At any rate, this tells me, are
you with me? This tells me that a false prophet,
every now and then, can do a sign of wonder and prophesy something,
and it happens, doesn't it? But the key here is, if he adds
to that another God that you don't know, right? If he's preaching,
if his message that he's declaring is a God you don't know, a God
other than the Lord your God, then I don't care what he's doing,
I don't care how great the sign or wonder, don't follow him. God didn't send him. Chapter
18. If a man prophesies something,
he's got to hit it right every time to be a prophet. Look at this. Deuteronomy 18. Here's what the Lord says. He
continues this. Deuteronomy 18. Verse 21, If
thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which
the Lord hath not spoken? When the prophet speaketh in
the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to
pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken." The
prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Don't be afraid of him. In other
words, Teresa, every time he speaks, he's got to be right.
If he prophesies something, it's got to happen every time, not
9 out of 10, not 99 out of 100, 100 out of 100 times. He's got to hit it right every
time. And that lays them all on the
dust, doesn't it? That reveals them all for what
they are. I remember a fellow, oh, what was his name? Something
or another. But he had this cute little Every year he'd rhyme something,
1985, God's going to burn us all alive, and then that didn't
work, and then 1986 come along and he'd say something, 1986,
we're all going to get sick, or something. Every year, it
never came to pass, and he'd make up something different.
And he's got a following. It's on worldwide TV. It's got to come to pass every
time. Isaiah didn't say, well, this
is going to happen, and it didn't happen. It happened every time.
That's part of the reason that Jonah got mad. Jonah said, I'm
going to be, what's the word, discredited here. I've told them
you're going to destroy them. Then you didn't destroy them.
And he got mad at God, didn't he? But God said, if you repent,
see, if you repent. All right, let's go on. So there's
the test of a true prophet in the Old Testament. New Testament
prophets, the scriptures tell us to triumph, and it's the same
way with the Old. Isaiah 820. To the law and to
the testimony. Isaiah 8.20 is a good verse to
write down and remember. To the law and to the testimony. What's that? That's the Old and
New Testament. That's the law and the gospel.
To the law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to
my word, there's no light in them. God's not in them. God
didn't send them. How much of the time? How much
of the time are they to speak according to the word? Nine out
of ten? Ten out of ten. And more specifically,
let's keep breaking it down, narrowing it down. John said,
try the Spirit, didn't he, John? Didn't he, John? John? He said,
try the Spirit. How? The testimony of Jesus is
the spirit of prophecy. Man's going to get up and talk
about prophecy? Christ better be in it. Huh? Because that's the spirit of
prophecy. If he's not, God didn't send it, man. I don't care how
fantastical his story is about the revelation and whatever.
If Christ is not in it, turn your TV off. They are they which testify of
me. If he's preaching the word, if Christ is not the central
figure in it, God didn't send it. Right? Am I right, Stan? Yes. And that's what all the
prophets do, or God didn't send them. All right. Joseph represents
that prophet. That prophet whom the Lord said,
I'll sin, and you better harken unto him. That prophet, or Christ,
who is truth personified. Verse 14, Pharaoh sent and called
Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. Oh,
that's, you can, that just says a thousand things. That speaks
of Christ being brought out of the grave, doesn't it? God speaking
and telling him to bring forth his son. It says there that he
shaved himself and changed his raiment. Christ changed his raiment,
didn't he, in the tomb when he left that dungeon? He left it
laying there in the tomb. And changed his face. Well, they
didn't recognize him, but he changed his face and changed
his raiment. and came in on the payroll. Christ
went to the father. He said, I haven't yet ascended
unto the father. Don't touch me. He went back to the father, presented
blood. That's that. That's that. And then this is
also a show of humanly speaking, or in the context here, Joseph
was a God-fearing and respectful man. and he made himself presentable
before such a one as we should in the presence of infinite dignity.
Joseph dressed himself in such a way as to make himself presentable
in the presence of whom he was being run up. And so should we. We claim to be coming in here
in the presence of God Almighty. We should conduct ourselves and
dress ourselves in that manner. I don't look like this just to
impress you. All right, look at verse 15 and 16. Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
I have dreamed a dream, there is none that can interpret I've
heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dream, to interpret
it. And Joseph said, It is not in me. God shall give Pharaoh
an answer of peace. There's another mark of a true
prophet in it. I've heard that you can interpret dreams. Why,
yes, God has anointed me, and I'm sent by God. I'm God's man.
Or as Jimmy Swagger said, I'm the only one. That's what God told Jimmy. That's what he said. He said,
you're the only one, Jimmy, that I'm using, that I'm sending out.
That's not what John said, did he? The greatest man to ever
live, John the Baptist, what did he say? Now, he could have
said something, couldn't he? Joseph? Joseph could have told
his dream, couldn't he? Joseph could have said, well,
you really want to know the truth about it? Everybody's going to
bow to me before long. That's what God told me. Joseph
was a self-effacing man. And there's another test of a
true prophet. He's a self-effacing man. He's a God-honoring man,
a self-effacing man. He's an humble man. He says with
John the Baptist, I must decrease. Let's put your name here. Let's
put your picture. No. Don't put my name up there. Let's put your picture, this
will really impress people, the picture of you praying. And you
know, people get shocked when I make, poke fun at somebody
like Billy Graham. Oh, he's such a nice man, such
a sweet man, such a seemingly good man, isn't he? He's a false
prophet. He's so close, he's one of those
that's so close that it's impossible, how do I know that? He allows
his name and his face to be plastered everywhere. Billy Graham ministries? Paul didn't say that. Paul said,
see, and therefore we have this ministry, didn't we? He had his picture put in one
of the leading magazines one time, kneeling beside his bed
in prayer, in his pajamas. That's sickening. That man's
not of God. He wouldn't allow it. Stan, could
he allow that? Could he allow anybody to take
his picture at all praying? That is the very sign of the
Pharisees. That's what Christ said. The
Pharisees, they love to be seen praying on the street corner,
or in their pajamas in bed. I didn't mean to be funny, but
I guess it is. It's beautiful is what it is. I wish the world could see it
for what it is, see him for what he is. You reckon the Apostle
Paul would allow a highway to be named after him? The Apostle
Paul Freeway? It tells you how apostate North
Carolina is, doesn't it? Well, where am I? Got off on
that. See that fellow? He'll drag us
down just thinking about it. But Joseph said, it's not me. It's not me. It's God. It's all of God. It's all of
grace. This is remarkable. You know,
Christ said this very same thing. He said, the son can do nothing
of himself, but that which he seeeth the father do, that's
what he doeth. Isn't that remarkable? He said it twice, Terry, in John
5. He said that same thing twice. Son can do nothing of himself.
Christ didn't come to even glorify himself, he came to glorify the
Father. The Holy Spirit comes to glorify Christ. The Father
glorifies Christ, but Christ, the servant of God in whom God
is wealthy, glorified the Father, not himself. Humbled himself,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation. And that's what Joseph did here,
who was to be ruler. Verse 17 and following. Pharaoh
said unto Joseph and told his dream. Verse 24. He said in verse 24, I told this
unto the magicians, but there was none that could declare it
to me. I told my magicians, but they couldn't declare it. And
neither can these tricksters today. Again, tricksters, that's
what magician is. Listen to this, over in Isaiah
29. If you want to turn, you can.
Isaiah 29, verse 11, says, The vision of
all is become unto you, this is the Lord speaking through
Isaiah, to the false prophets. The vision of all is become unto
you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men delivered,
one that is learned, Dr. So-and-so. Saying, read this,
I pray thee, and he says, I can't, it's sealed. Come on, magician. You know what MDiv stands for
behind your name? Magical Diviner. Read it. There was one old puritan,
I wish I could remember who that was, I'd read more of him. But
he said Isaiah 56 is where they came up with that DD degree. Dumb dogs. I said, that's where
they came in from. Talking about false prophets,
Isaiah 56, it says there in verse 10, those fellows are blind,
they're ignorant, they're dumb dogs. D.D. I'll find out who
that is, Rick, and we'll buy everything he's written. Magicians couldn't declare it.
How many men do you reckon preach from Genesis 41 at all? would even mention Christ's name
in it. I told you about that so-called grace preacher that
preached from the smitten rock and never mentioned Christ's
name. Now, if a so-called grace preacher
would do that, how much less these werewolves? You see, Christ
won't hold the attention of those that don't know him. But nothing
else will hold the attention of those that do. Right? That's another voice they won't
hear. As a matter of fact, they'll get antsy. Come on now, get,
get, get. All right, all of that, but where's Christ in that? Verse 25, Joseph said unto Pharaoh,
The dream of Pharaoh is one. The dream of Pharaoh is one.
The word of God is one. Right? The word of God is one,
one message, one Lord, and one faith, and one salvation. And it's in one person, one way,
one truth, one life, one way to God. This whole Bible, this
whole Bible, men call it a fanciful dream. Well, it's God's dream,
it's God's truth, and it's one. It's of Christ, it's all of Christ. Scriptures are all of one, one
truth, one person, one great work, Christ and him crucified. And look here, it says in verse
25, it says, and God has showed Pharaoh what he's about to do. Oh my, what is God going to do
with this? What is God going to do? What's the mystery of
the temple doors? What's the mystery of the the
gray horse and the white horse. What's the mystery of this plague
and that plague, the seven plagues? What's the mystery of all that?
Well, I don't know so much about all that, but I'll tell you what
God's going to do. I know the whole story. I don't know every
little jot and tittle, but I do know the revealed things belonging
to God's people, and I'll show it to you. Ephesians, and you
know it, you can quote it, but I want you to look at it in light
of what we're talking about. Steve, this whole thing is warned
about it. And the world out there, like Joseph Terrell said, the
Antichrist is leading the search for the Antichrist. The Holy Spirit is leading his
people to search for the Christ. They're looking for the Antichrist
in the scriptures. But the Holy Spirit is taking
the things of Christ and showing up the things of the Antichrist. The whole mystery of God's will.
You know that? You do too, Terry. We know the
whole story. Look at it. Ephesians 1, verse
9, God's made known unto us the mystery, the mystery, not mysteries,
the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure where he
hath purposed in himself as one thing in a dispensation of the
fullness of time, he's going to gather together in what? All
things in Christ. Know that know him, and love
him, and worship him, and looking for him on every hand, and know
that don't. That's it. That's it in a nutshell. In the
stand. That's it. Pharaoh's dream is
one. God's word is about one. And
if you dug and searched and put before us any passage of scripture,
and we'll see, if God's pleased, if the Holy Spirit's pleased,
we'll see Christ down. The world won't see him at all.
Why? Their minds are blinded. Right,
Brother Henry? Blessed are your eyes. All right,
read on. Verse 26 and 27. Joseph revealed a dream. He said
seven good years, seven cattle, seven years of corn. Good ones are seven good years,
years of plenty. ill-favored kind, seven blasted
years of corn or seven years of famine? Seven years of famine,
seven lean years. All right, verse 28, he said,
This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh. What God
is about to do he shows unto Pharaoh. And he told him that. Seven good years and then seven
lean years, verse 32. And for that dream, Read with me, verse 32. For that,
the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice. It's because the thing is established
by God. God will shortly bring it to
pass. Now, what does that tell you? The thing is doubled. What
does that tell you? Well, we just quoted it in Isaiah
8.20, didn't we, John? The law, the testimony. to old
and to new. Two different Bibles? No. No. But God hath established, at
the mouth of two or three witnesses, a thing is established. The scripture
says, God hath spoken once, doesn't it? Yea, twice. God hath spoken
once, when? In times past, in divers manners,
unto the fathers, by the prophets. But in these last days, twice,
hath he spoken unto us by his Son. Right? Old and new. Things established. These things
established. I don't know the significance.
I'm sure, I know there's significance to these seven years and all
that, and like Daniel's seventy weeks and all that, and maybe
it'd be good to look into those at some point in time. But I
do know this, in reference to that, and make it relevant to our day. I do know that there has been
gospel plenty in years gone by. I know that. There has been gospel
plenty. I don't know who was talking
with me about this, but the gospel—and I can't go into it. At any rate,
in this country alone, In the years gone by, the gospel was
in many places. The gospel. I mean the gospel
of Sovereign Grace. Asa Hill Nettleton, people like
Jonathan Edwards that went all over this country, and David
Brainerd, people like that. And then Barnard swept the South,
and men influenced by his ministry. I remember in my lifetime, in
the fifties and sixties, a huge revival of sorts. Churches being
established, and this is a result of that. This one. Well, now, it's just famine. We're hitting famine. We've hit
on hard times, haven't we? We haven't, thank God, but the
world has. This country has. There have
been plenty of years of gospel preaching. And that's what he
said over in Amos 8, verse 11. He said, you know, come in a
time when there'll be a famine, but not of bread. There'll be a famine, but not
of bread, but of the hearing of the Word. And doesn't it say,
Jeanette, that they'll have to go to the far corners to find
it? They'll have to go a long way
to find it. And they'll be begging, would
you please preach to me the truth? Because it's so hard. It's failed
in the streets, as is it. It's fallen in the street. Equity can't enter. Turn their
ears away from the truth unto fables. Alright, let's go on. But we have it here. Oh, let's do everything by God's
grace. Everything within our means to
keep it. To grieve is famine. Storehouses filling full of food
for the needy. Psalm 72. Oh, people, we could just go
on and on. But he says, Let Pharaoh lay
up, or find a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land.
Verse 38, Pharaoh says, Can we find such a man as this? Is there such a One as this,
in whom the capital S stands, the Holy Spirit of God is? Can
we find such a One as this? Is there One that can help us? Yes, there's One, only One. The blessed Lord and Savior,
He's the One. When afflictions press the soul
and ways of trouble roll, And you need someone to help you. He's the one. He's just one. Our Joseph, discreet and wise. And that's what Pharaoh concluded.
He said, hmm, where are we going to find such a one? Well, look
not to the left hand or to the right. Look straight on. There
he stands, looking unto Joseph. The author and the finisher of
this plan. Everything suggests Christ, doesn't it? Pharaoh said,
where can we find it? Well, huh. Read verse 39. Pharaoh said, for as much as
God has showed thee all this, there's none so discreet and
wise as you are. You're the one, aren't you? That
kind of reminds me of Christ standing before Pilate, too.
What is truth? He's standing right in front
of him. The Pharisees asking about the kingdom. He said, The
kingdom of God doesn't come by observation. Over here, over
there. He said, It's right in front
of you. Another rich, young ruler. Christ said, You're not far from
the kingdom of heaven. Standing right in front of them. Oh my. Discreet and wise. Is there such a one, discreet
and wise, in whom the Spirit of God is without measure? Yes. Whom God has said over all things,
the Savior of all men, the Scripture says, especially them that believe. The Lord Jesus Christ, Scripture
says, has been given authority over all flesh, in whose hands
we are, our elder brother, whom we're going to have to meet,
who's seated on the throne, who's in charge of the storehouses.
And I can't wait for Sunday, because we're going to talk about
that. But let me just quote you a couple of verses, so you won't
have to turn. It says here in Isaiah 42, Behold
my servant, whom I have called mine elect. mind, intellect,
I have called thee in righteousness." Listen to this. He says, surely,
he says, I have sworn, in Isaiah 45, he said, I have sworn that unto me every knee shall
bow, every tongue shall swear, Surely shall one say, And the
Lord have our righteousness and strength, even to him shall men
come." Psalm 2, you know that? The Lord, He said, I set the
decree. I set the decree. I've set my
king on my holy hill of Zion. Kiss the son lest he be angry.
Now let's read these verses here. Pharaoh said to Joseph, verse
40, Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word,
shall all my people be ruled." What do you say? I'm giving you
authority over my people. Isn't that amazing? Christ said,
this is the Father's will, that of everyone which he hath given
me, I should lose nothing. And this is his will, that of
all which he hath given me, I should raise them up. He says, only in the throne,
verse 40, will I be greater than thou. Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
I have set you over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh took off his
ring from his hand, put it on Joseph's hand, arrayed him in
vestures of fine linen, put a gold chain about his neck, made him
to ride in a second chariot which he had, and they cried before
Joseph, bow the knee." Well, isn't that Joseph that
was down in prison? Oh, we know him, that lonely
fellow. Not anymore. He's King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. Bow the knee. Bow the knee. He's ruler. He made him ruler
over all the land of Egypt. Marvelous. Marvelous. The Lord hath done marvelous
things. Marvelous in showing them to us right now. In verse
44, Pharaoh said unto Joseph, You see how I'm having a hard
time cutting this thing down, people? And Pharaoh said unto
Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee can nobody do anything. Without you, nobody can do anything. Can't lift a hand or a foot.
Isn't that what Christ said in John 15, 5? Without me, you can
do nothing. Nothing. Nothing. And Pharaoh
called Joseph's name Zephniah, And he gave him a wife. He gave
him a wife. Oh, my. And it says two sons
were born, and I'm quitting. I'm quitting. Verse 50 and following. Joseph, two sons were born before
the years of famine came. And the first one, verse 51,
his name was Manasseh. For God, said he, hath made me
forget all my toil and all my father's house. Forget it, and
I want to get some. Kind of sons, this Christ bear
what kind of son does God have other centers? And no, God says,
forget that. Then. But they're sinners, not
Vanessa. Vanessa. Their sins in the neck,
which I'll remember no more. I've forgotten that. No, they're
not. They're not sinners. Well, there's a second one, a
name of the second called he from. God has caused me to be
fruitful in the land of my affliction. Why, they're worthless. No, no,
no they're not. No, they're going to bear fruit
unto my glory. They're a fruitful people, a
fruitful people. By my Holy Spirit, they'll bear
the fruit of the Spirit. All right, Sunday morning, we're
going to look at corn in Egypt. Joseph has it, and he opened
the storehouses. All right, stand with me. Our Heavenly Father, we thank
you for eyes to see and ears to hear, those who are blind and seeing
out of obscurity. We thank you for opening these
dark passages, these mysteries, and revealing them unto us. Lord,
we don't pretend to know half. We preach in part, we know in
part, but we sure do thank you for that part which you've given
unto us, those crumbs. from the bountiful table which
is your word. Lord, how we do thank you for
that which you have given to us. And we pray for more. We pray for more. Be with your
people. Watch over them throughout this
week. Give them something to go on from this word here tonight. Let them appeal throughout this
week. Let them appeal unto our Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Let them appeal unto him for
their every need. Until we meet again in His name,
amen. you