Well, if you would, go back with
me to the book of Genesis and we'll go to chapter 46 this evening. And I'll read a couple of verses
out of Genesis 45 in just a minute. But Jacob and his family, they're
in serious trouble. Jacob dwells in a land that is
no longer fruitful. It isn't at this time a land
of plenty, a land that was once so full of life, now everything
is dead or dying. It hasn't rained in two years.
They're in the midst of a seven-year famine, five more years were
yet to be tacked on to the two that they had already experienced,
though Jacob doesn't understand that it's going to be seven years.
But he's suffering, his family's suffering, and the only hope
he's got is that the governor of Egypt, whoever that man was
that was at the reins of the granaries of Pharaoh, that he
would provide food for a starving family over in the land of Canaan. They needed nourishment. They
needed bread. They didn't have it. They didn't
have it. That's very much a parallel to
our natural condition. We're a Nene people. And we're
in a bad way spiritually. And the only one who can meet
our needs is the governor of the universe. Oh, he gives us physical food
and nourishment and we're thankful for that. But our great need,
our greater need is a spiritual need. We need that bread that
came down from heaven. We need Him to be revealed to
us. We need an appetite to feed on
our Lord Jesus Christ who is the bread of life. The only one
who can meet our needs is, of course, one who has all things.
He has absolute authority over all things if He is pleased to
come to our aid and rescue us. Oh, He can provide the bread
of life if He's pleased to do so. Why, He even has the authority
and the power to cause there to be showers of blessings if
He's pleased to send them. You can't force His hand There's
nothing we can do to make him be merciful to us. But as we consider Jacob's situation
once again, he had no idea, not at this time, not before his
sons come back and tell him who's in charge. He has no idea who
the governor is. He has no idea of who the man
is who has all authority to distribute this bread, grain, to whoever
he wants to. He has no idea. In other words,
he has no understanding that back behind the scenes, unseen
by him, unknown by him. There was one in Egypt who not
only had all authority over the greeneries of Egypt, but there
was one in Egypt who's the governor of those things who loved Jacob
and who cared about him. And all along, back behind the
scenes, in an unseen way by Jacob or his sons, his other sons,
there was one who was looking out for their welfare, for their
interests. And you see, that's the way it
is with us. Before our conversion, we had no interest in the things
of God, and then we found out that there was One who had all
authority over all things, and He has always been looking out
for our welfare. He has always been moving things
and working things in such a way that we would be saved by His
grace, we would be redeemed by His bloody sacrifice, we would
stand righteous before a holy God. He Himself is that Bread
of Life and He gives Himself to us and gives us the will to
feed upon Him. It's a wonderful thought. He's
always cared for you. He's always been manipulating
everything for the good of His people. And that's what Joseph
was doing for his family. Well, Joseph's other sons had
come home, and of course, they'd given him the news. And I'll
read to you now from chapter 45 and verse 25. 45, 25. They went up out of Egypt and
came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father. And
they told him saying, Joseph is yet alive. What good news? Joseph is yet alive. But more than that, he is governor
over all the land of Egypt. Dad, not only is he alive and
well, but he's the man in charge. And Jacob's heart fainted, for
he believed them not. This is too good to be true.
Well, he's been a brokenhearted father for many years because
Joseph, the darling, the darling of the household, He assumed he was dead because
he had seen that coat of many colors covered with blood. In
verse 27, they told him all the words of Joseph which he had
said unto them. And then, then he saw the wagons
which Joseph had sent to carry him. He saw these wagons loaded. loaded full of supplies. Wagons
which Joseph had sent, had sent to carry him. And the spirit
of Jacob, their father, revived. And Israel said, it's enough.
Joseph, my son, is yet alive. I will go and see him before
I die. He saw the wagons. You who are
the people of God, you who are gathered here, you who are watching
by way of the internet, oh, may God give to each of us eyes of
faith to see wagons loaded with all spiritual blessings God sends
to us in Christ Jesus. More than you could ever know. Our God is our Father. He chose
us unto salvation. He predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ Himself. In an old eternity,
He accepted us. God the Father did. And God the
Son has redeemed us. He's a brother born for adversity. And he bore all the adversity
on behalf of his other brethren. He himself was the man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief. That we will never be men and
women of sorrows and acquainted with everlasting grief. He bore
the wrath of God for us. The wrath of God will never lay
a finger upon us. The rod of God's justice, it
took out its vengeance upon him. There's no vengeance in the heart
of God for his people. Only love, kindness, tender mercies. The wagons are loaded. The Spirit
of God comes to us. He's the one who sealed us into
the day of redemption. He's the quickener of God's people. He's the revealer of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And God has given us all grace,
all mercy. We're justified. And the scripture
says, freely by His grace. We're sanctified. We're not waiting
to be sanctified. That's not a growth in grace. Our Lord Jesus is our holiness. He's our righteousness. And the
scripture says, we are complete in Him. We have all spiritual
blessings in Him. Oh, may God give you the eye
of faith to see the wagons of God loaded. Loaded with benefits
for you. Loaded with benefits for me. But more than that, note what
Jacob said in verse 28. He didn't say, Mahi, look at
the wagons. Now that was very impressive. But he said, Joseph, my son,
is yet alive. He's focusing in on somebody. And that's what we do. We focus
in on somebody. That's our Lord Jesus Christ.
the blessed Savior who's always been working, as it were, behind
the scenes for our salvation. Well, notice just a couple of
things I'll give you this evening. Number one, Jacob leaves Canaan. All right, chapter 46, verse
1. And Israel took his journey with all that he had. He came
to Beersheba. And that's a place where Worship
has taken place by Abraham and by Isaac. Jacob stops there and
it says he offered sacrifices unto the God of his father, Isaac. Jacob leaves the land of Canaan. Joseph has sent for his father
and all of his family. because Joseph has more spiritual
maturity than anybody in the family. And Joseph knows it isn't
good for them to be in the land of Canaan with all the Canaanite
idols, pagan worship. And perhaps the thought that
comes to you is, well, the Egyptians were also pagans, they were also
idolaters, but in the land of Egypt, they're going to be separated
from the Egyptians and live in the land of Goshen. That's going
to be the area designated for them. And Joseph will look after
their welfare and he will keep them and he will teach them again
of the grace of God, the same God that Abraham believed, the
same God that Isaac believed. He's going to make sure that
they stay under his tutelage. He will instruct them. He will
lead them. He will govern them. He will
watch after them. He can't watch after them in
the land of Canaan, but He can when they're living in His backyard.
So this is a good thing. It's a good thing that Jacob
leaves. And the very first thing that
he does when he takes a break is to worship God by offering
sacrifices to the God of his fathers. What a blessing it was
for Jacob to look back and remember he worshipped the same God Abraham
did. And that was 215 years before
this. And he worshipped the same God
that his father Isaac did. Now, we know grace does not run
in the natural lineage. But oftentimes, God's pleased
to shower families with His grace and keep His gospel living, keep
His gospel very much alive within families. Jacob is offering sacrifices
to God. To the God of his father Isaac.
He's remembering the covenant that God made with his grandfather
Abraham. A covenant of grace. And we're
reminded tonight of the covenant of which Abraham's covenant with
God or God's covenant with Abraham was a picture of the everlasting
covenant of grace. We're constantly reminded of
that and of the One who represented us and represented our interests
in that covenant. Even one greater than Joseph,
our Lord Jesus Christ. How sweet to remember covenant
mercies. And then notice the second thing.
Not only Jacob leaves the land of Canaan, but then God speaks
to Jacob. Look at verses 2-4. God's speaking
to Israel in the visions of the mind. And He said, Jacob, Jacob. By the way, that's the name of
the message. That's the title of the message.
Jacob, Jacob. You'll notice He speaks unto
Israel, Israel. That's His name given Him by
the grace of God. That's who He is by grace. That's
who He is by God's revelation of mercy. Jacob, Jacob. That's who He is
according to the flesh. And each of us here this evening,
and those of you who are known of God, who are watching tonight,
you're both Israel and Jacob. Israel and Jacob. Jacob is a
reminder of that which we are by nature. Israel, oh, a prince
with God. Royalty, that's a reminder of
who we are in Christ Jesus. So the Lord spoken to Israel
in visions of the night and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, here
I am. I believe that when Jacob had
stopped, took his journey, got to Beersheba, offered sacrifices
to God, I'm sure that his sacrifices were offered indicating thanksgiving
and worship with the great desire that the Lord would lead him.
I don't think there's any stretch of the imagination at all to
think and believe that Jacob said, Lord, lead me as we go
now on our journey to Egypt to see my son, to see Joseph. And now the Lord says to him,
I'm going to be with you. And it reminds me of that passage
of Scripture, and I often put this when I write letters. I
wrote a letter just the day before yesterday to somebody who had
sent some money to our ministry here. And when I sign my name,
I put Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart. Lean not upon thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him. and he shall direct thy paths."
Here is Jacob. He worships God. He's seeking
the face of God as he leaves the land of Canaan. And the Lord
says, in essence, since you have acknowledged
that you need me, I will direct your paths, because let's keep
on reading. He says, look at verse 3 again,
I am God, the God of thy father. Fear not to go down into Egypt,
for I will there make of thee a great nation. I will go down
with thee into Egypt, and I will also surely bring thee up again. In other words, the children
of Israel are going to have a round trip. They're going to go into
Egypt, and then they're coming back to the land of Canaan. And
you know who's making the round trip with them? The Lord says,
I'll go with you going into Egypt. I'll surely bring thee up again. He makes the round trip too.
And I'll tell you, He's on the journey of life.
He's with you in your journey of life. and he will never leave
you and he'll never forsake you. No matter where his path leads
you, you may rest assured that your omnipotent, omniscient,
omnipresent God will be with you. I wanna go back and visit though
his words to Jacob Jacob, Jacob, which I believe were words of
remembrance. This is somewhat of a, I don't
know, I guess you could call it a climactic point in the life
of Jacob. Because in fulfillment of what
God told Abraham 215 years before this, Jacob is now leaving the land
of Canaan and going into Egypt. And that's exactly what the Lord
told Abraham way back in the book of Genesis. And it's of interest to note
this, over 215 years. That's how long it's been. Right
up to this point. Over the course of 215 years,
you know how big the whole nation of Israel was? Look further into
this chapter. Chapter 46. And look at verse 27. Well, 26 and 27, all the souls
that came with Jacob into Egypt, chapter 46, verse 26, all the
souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his
loins besides Jacob's sons, wives, all the souls were threescore
and six, And the sons of Joseph, which were born him in Egypt,
were two souls. All the souls in the house of
Jacob, which came into Egypt, were three score and ten, 70
people. Well, it hasn't, you know, the
Lord told Abraham, I'm gonna make of you a great nation. 215 years goes by, and the great
nation is all of 70 people. but that constituted the church
of our Lord. Now here's the amazing thing. They go into Egypt. 215 years later, they leave Egypt. How fast was the growth in Egypt? Oh, It was vastly multiplied
because they had 600,000 footmen. in addition to the elderly folks
and the children who had to be carried in wagons or literally
carried on perhaps horseback or in the arms of moms and dads
and grandparents, about two and a half million people, that's
the growth in the next 215 years. Isn't that amazing? And that's God's church in this
world. Because you see, God's church
grows according to His purpose. And as it says in the book of
Acts chapter 2, the Lord added to the church daily, such as
should be saved. There are times for sowing. There
are times for reaping. but it's all according to the
times of God. But again, he says, Jacob, Jacob. When I think of this, I think
of remembrance. Remember where you came from,
Israel. Remember where you were when
I found you. You weren't seeking me. I sought
you. That's true of all of us. The
Lord said in Isaiah, I'm found of them that sought me not. This
is free and sovereign grace here. Jacob, Jacob, this is a very
important time. Remember who you are. Remember
where you came from. Remember your origin. But you
know something? This is not the first time that
the Lord has repeated somebody's name. Back in Genesis chapter
22, after the Lord had given instructions to Abraham to take
Isaac up on the mount and offer him as a burnt offering, and
Abraham was prepared and ready to execute the command of God,
the Lord said, stop! I see that you fear me. But in
saying that, the Lord said, Abraham, Abraham, behold, there's a ram
caught in the thicket. He repeated the name of Abraham
when he would teach him the gospel doctrine of substitution. He says, Jacob, Jacob, as a word
of remembrance. He says to Abraham, Abraham,
Abraham. That's a word of substitution.
But those are not the only two times. In the book of Exodus
chapter 3, the Lord spoke to Moses out of a burning bush. And the Lord said, Moses, Moses. And he identified himself to
Moses. He taught Moses who He is. Oh, that God would identify Himself
to us, that He would make Himself known to us, that we would see
He's the God who changes not. He is Jehovah. He is the eternal
covenant God of His people. But there's another time in 1
Samuel chapter 3 and verse 10, You remember that Samuel was
a young man and his mother, Hannah, had given him to the Lord and
he was serving there at the tabernacle, serving Eli. And the Lord called
Samuel and said, And he said, here am I. And of course Samuel
ran to the bedside of Eli, thinking Eli was calling him. And Eli said, I'm not calling
you. Go back to bed. And then the
boy said, Samuel! And he got up and went to Eli's
bed. And Eli perceived that it was
the Lord calling him. Then the Lord called him a third
time. And it said, Samuel, Samuel. Before that, it says that Samuel,
the word of the Lord had not come to Samuel yet. But at the
end of the chapter, it had, because this was a time of revelation. The Lord revealed Himself. Samuel,
Samuel. It was a time of revelation.
You get to the New Testament. Martha and Mary, our Lord left
to visit with them. He was visiting with them one
day and Mary was sitting at His feet. and Martha's just busy
doing this and that, just like you ladies, if you have company,
you want to make sure everybody's served, everybody's taken care
of, I know how you are, eating in some of your homes, you're
just, you know, you're real persnickety about, this has got to be done
right, are you okay, you got enough to eat, need anything,
can I fill your water glass or whatever the case may be? And
the Savior said, Martha, Martha, got something important to say.
Every time he repeated somebody's name, and it isn't that all the
other times that he just, when he talked to, called people once
by their name, it wasn't that those were unimportant, but these
are very, very much important. Martha, Martha, your comrade
about with many things. Mary's chosen the good part.
Worship. Worship. There's a time to labor. There's a time to work. But the
most vital thing you can do is sit at the feet of the Lord Jesus
and worship Him. Martha, Martha. That's worship. Shortly before our Lord was to
be crucified, Simon Peter, he always had something to say.
Always boastful. Our Lord looked at him right
in the eyes and said, Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you
to sift you like wheat, but I pray for you. that your faith failed
not. Oh, what a warning against self-confidence. Don't be arrogant. Don't be cocky.
The Lord leaves you to yourself. You couldn't stand any more than
Simon Peter. He could. The Lord just gave
him enough rope to virtually hang himself. Well, let's see
what you're made out of. Okay? You're not going to deny
me? Though others deny me, you're
not going to deny me? Let's see what you do. Simon,
Simon. Word of warning. But then in Luke, The Lord had
something to say to a city. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou
that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent to
you. How often I would have gathered thy children together as a hen
gathereth her brood under her wings, but ye would not. He said, behold, your house. That's what he called the temple.
Your house. Earlier he called it my father's
house. But no, he's talking about desolation
now. Your doom is sealed. Jerusalem,
Jerusalem. Your doom is sealed. Your house
is left unto you desolate. Beware of neglecting the privileges
of mercy. The disciples of our Lord in
a boat, great storm comes up. Master! Master. Oh, that's a word of a call out
of neediness. In time of need, to whom shall
we go? Nobody else can help us, but
he who controls the winds and the waves, master, master. But there's another time he used
a repetition. And he used it the way men would
use it in the end. Men who would say, Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Thy name? In Thy name cast out devils?
In Thy name done many wonderful works. Then while I profess unto
them, I never knew you. Learn the deadliness, the deadliness
of a Christless religion. A works-based, Christless religion. And very quickly, I'll give you
two more. Saul of Tarsus was on his way
to Damascus. His intention was to arrest and
imprison or murder anybody who believed in that way, the way
of grace, the way of Christ. The way of salvation by Jesus
of Nazareth, crucified, buried, risen, exalted. He's going to
take care of them. He got authority from the high
priest. Bring them back to Jerusalem,
the high priest said. I'll deal with them. And there's Saul riding toward
Damascus, and suddenly a bright light shined round about him
from heaven, blinded him, He fell to the earth and he heard
a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul. Repetition. Oh, something important's gonna
happen now. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? That's the effectual call of
our Lord. Oh, God called me. Call me twice! Jim! Jim! Get my attention! Oh, may the light of the glorious
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ shine on all of us as He calls
us. I've got one more for you. Our Lord hanging on the cross. He said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And
that's a word of really satisfaction. Why did God forsake him? Because
he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. And he was forsaken
so that we'll never be forsaken. And the Lord says, I'll never
leave you. I'll never forsake you. Because
He forsook our Savior when He died the death of all deaths,
the death of the cross of Calvary, by which He made satisfaction
to the offended law of God. The Lord said to Israel, Jacob,
Jacob, I'm reminding you of your own unworthiness. And all that
you have, and all that you are, and all that you hope to be according
to the very promises of God, are due not to your worthiness,
because you're just sons of Jacob. It's due to who our great, benevolent
Lord is. And we bless His name and honor
Him.