All right, if you wish to follow
along, turn to Genesis chapter 46. Excuse me. Genesis chapter 46. I will begin
reading in verse 28. Genesis 46 and verse 28. And
he sent Judah before him unto Joseph. That's speaking of Jacob. And he sent Judah before him
unto Joseph to direct his face unto Goshen. And they came into
the land of Goshen. And Joseph made ready his chariot
and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented
himself unto him. And he fell on his neck and wept
on his neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph,
now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art
yet alive. And Joseph said unto his brethren
and unto his father's house, I will go up and shew Pharaoh
and say unto him, my brethren and my father's house which were
in the land of Canaan are come unto me. And the men are shepherds,
for their trade hath been to feed cattle, and they have brought
their flocks and their herds and all that they have. And it
shall come to pass when Pharaoh shall call you and shall say,
what is your occupation, that you shall say, thy servant's
trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now,
both we and also our fathers, that you may dwell in the land
of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians. Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh
and said, my father and my brethren and their flocks and their herds
and all that they have are come out of the land of Canaan, and
behold, they are in the land of Goshen. And he took some of
his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren,
what is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, thy
servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers. They
said moreover unto Pharaoh, for to sojourn in the land are we
come, for thy servants have no pasture for their flocks, for
the famine is sore in the land of Canaan. Now therefore we pray
thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen. And Pharaoh
spake unto Joseph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come
unto thee. The land of Egypt is before thee.
In the best of the land make thy father and brethren to dwell. In the land of Goshen let them
dwell. And if thou knowest any men of
activity among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. And Joseph brought in Jacob his
father, and set him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob,
how old art thou? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh,
the days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years. Few and evil hath
the days of the years of my life been and have not attained unto
the days of the years of the lives of my fathers in the days
of their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and
went out from before Pharaoh. Does anyone here this morning
have a decent neighbor? Do you have a decent neighbor? Do
you live in a decent neighborhood? Do you? I know of one fellow
I worked with many years ago. He had a neighbor and his life
was a living hell. It was so bad he even had one
of those big tape recorders that had the videotapes in it. He
borrowed that from me to set it up in his window of his house
so he could catch the neighbor doing all the things that the
neighbor did. Even some amongst us here today, at a shooting
less than 100 yards from their house where someone shot another
person. Do you have even one decent neighbor? If you do, did
you earn that from God? Did you merit that from God?
No. Now, hold that thought for a
moment, and let's just consider three things before I continue
on with that thought. One thing, this passage begins
with, there must be a mediator. There must be a mediator. Chapter 46 and verse 28, and
he sent Judah before him. There is but one God and one
mediator between God and men. Now, yes, that means that Jesus
Christ stands in the gap. He stands in the gap for his
people and joins his people to God in himself, but he is also
mediator of all men in this sense. He is the one who controls all
things before God the Father. There must be A mediator. Another
thing I want to briefly mention. When Christ is revealed to you,
when Christ is revealed to you, remember what did Jacob say? I've seen your face, I'm ready
to die. Now listen to me. I know we talk
about this, even yesterday some of us were talking, we talked
about God gives me grace when I'm ready to die. If you've seen
Jesus Christ, you're ready to die. Do you understand that? If you've seen Jesus Christ,
you're ready to die. What we generally think about
when we talk about I hope God gives me grace to die, what we're
usually talking about is how am I going to react when I die?
That's what we're talking about. Now let's be honest with it.
How am I going to react when I die? But if you've seen the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, you're ready to die. You need nothing else. You are
complete in him. Mason, what else do I need to
do to die? Not a thing. You remember Simeon, don't you?
And he was holding a little baby. A little baby. And he said, now,
Lord, let thy servant depart, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. I don't mean to belittle. our
concerns, fears, if you want to use the word, about what will
happen to us when we die. But if we've seen Christ, we're
ready. We're ready. Number three, never
fear the Christ-honoring expression of affection one toward another. Do you hear what I'm saying?
Never fear the Christ-honoring expression of affection one toward
another. Joseph fell on Jacob's neck and
wept and hugged him and embraced him and kissed him for a long
time. Why? Because he loved him. Don't
be afraid of showing Christian affection. Don't be afraid of
it. Well, preacher, that's not me.
I'm not made that way. I understand, but let's call
it what it is if we're going to use that. The Lord Jesus Christ
said these words, and it has to do with much more than the
direct context of what he was talking about. He was talking
about the new birth, but he said these words. That which is born
of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit
is spirit. So God enabled me to somehow
operate outside of myself and not be myself, Mac, but be led
of the spirit of God. You understand what I'm saying?
I know, we're not talking about touchy feely. I don't mean that.
I'm not talking about this fake facade. These two, when they
embraced, it was a real embrace. You understand what I'm saying?
And even the apostle Paul told one group of believers, he said,
greet one another with a holy kiss. Now that wasn't some special
kind of kiss. You see what I'm saying? It wasn't
a kiss before you do one of these, or do one of these while you're
doing the kissing. It means it's a kiss that's going to look like
every other kiss, but what lies behind it, what lies underneath
of it, comes from God. That's what he's talking about.
Now, here's, see if I can bring all this together. See, never
fear, I would say, never fear the Christ-honored expression
of affection because even Christ himself, when he spoke of the
parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin of the lost son. What
did he express his father as doing? Running to meet the returning
prodigal son, and Mackett says he fell on his neck and he kissed
him, and in the Greek it implies he kissed him and he kissed him
and he kissed him and he kissed him. Christ embraces us. He embraces us. He's not ashamed
to call us brethren. What a thought. But think about
this. Who wrought all these things
before Pharaoh himself here? God did. God did. All of this is the hand of God
culminating to bring about exactly, down to the minute detail, exactly
what God had ordained to be done before the foundation of the
world. God did. So again, do you have
a decent neighbor? Thank God for it. Not everybody
does. Not everybody does. Now that
neighbor may change tomorrow, but you better be thankful to
God for him or her today. Today. So, let's consider five
thoughts. I would say I'll be brief, but
since Joe's not here, couldn't make it today, I've got hour
and a half to preach. No, I'm just kidding, I'm not
gonna preach that long. Five things. Let's consider all unbelievers
by nature, verse 34 of 46. For every shepherd, is an abomination unto the Egyptians. You know what it says? Consider
all unbelievers by nature. Every shepherd is an abomination
to the Egyptians, and yet what did Pharaoh say? You take care
of my cattle. You know why God Almighty made
Sam Walton so rich? So you as a believer would have
a place to go buy groceries if you're so disposed to go to Walmart
and buy your groceries. That's what it was. I mean, you
know why your boss gave you a job? Because God Almighty ordained
him or her give you a job. Now they may fire you tomorrow,
but what they do is ordained of God Almighty. But when we look at the Egyptians,
every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians. Yes, that is
them. That is them. The whole world
lies in the wicked one, John says. And even Christ himself
taught us that men love darkness, not more than light, but men
love darkness rather than light. Yes, that is them, but let us
not forget about ourselves. I wanna read you a verse, and
you know it, you don't have to turn to it, but let me find it
here. The Apostle Paul reminding Titus
of something. And in Titus chapter three, he
writes these words. For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers' lusts and pleasures,
living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. Do we not see that in the account
of Joseph and his brothers? And yet here is God joining Joseph
and his brothers together in fellowship and union in the presence
of one of the mightiest men of that day, and he says, in the
midst of a drought, Mason, here, you folks, take the best land.
Take the best land. But remember this. You remember
old Gamaliel, spoken of in Acts chapter five? was the one who
taught Saul of Tarsus and taught him well. Saul of Tarsus was
probably his top protege, and Gamaliel, according to inspired
words, was very respected amongst all the Pharisees and the people
of the Jews. He was no friend of Jesus of
Nazareth. He was no friend of the apostles. He was no friend of the church.
He was no friend of the gospel, and yet he was. And yet he was,
because when the apostles persisted in preaching Jesus of Nazareth,
they were told, don't preach this again, you'll be okay. They
didn't obey. They said it's better to obey
God rather than to obey man. So they were ready to what? Kill
him! And Gamaliel stands up and says,
hold on, fellas. Let's give these guys a little
space. Because if this thing's not of
God, it'll come to naught. And he gave examples of how things
had come to naught in the past. He said, just give him some space.
Mason, that was a pharaoh. That was a pharaoh just like
this pharaoh we've read about. Moved in spite of himself to
spare the church. To spare the church. Here's a
second thing to consider. Here's a second thing to consider.
Men treat us in light of God's purpose. You hear me? Men treat
us the way they treat us, whether good or ill, in light of God's
sovereign purpose. They, most of them, probably
don't even know it, but they do. Look again, chapter 47, verse
five. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph,
saying, thy father and thy brethren are coming to me, and the whole
thing was a time of joy, I mean, even Pharaoh, Mason, it indicates
the whole reading of the Hebrew that Pharaoh is excited that
this is taking place. Thy father and thy brethren are
coming to thee. The land of Egypt is before thee. In the best of the land, make
thy father and thy brethren to dwell. You remember what Ecclesiastes,
the writer, says in chapter three? There is a time and a purpose
under everything under heaven. That's a rare Pharaoh. That's
a rare Pharaoh. Here's the third thing. How many
Goshen's has God dropped right in my lap? How many Goshen's has God dropped
right in my lap? Religion today puts the blessing
of God, and that's a very broad word, but religion today puts
the blessing of God based upon my ability to actually honor
God through believing God, but that's not the way it works.
God drops in our laps things we don't deserve. Did these boys
deserve this? No. They did not deserve this. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save who? Sinners. Sinners. Let me find it. Ezra chapter
one. This is so strong. Now in the
first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, here is a heathen king. They worshiped all kinds of gods. Some of these kings even wanted
themselves worshiped. Now in the first year of Cyrus,
king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah
might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus,
king of Persia. Now either God can do that with
whoever he wants to, and if he doesn't do it with anyone, it's
because he doesn't want to, or God is not consistent. Now do
you hear what I'm saying? If he has the power to and really
wants to but just don't, then God is cruel. You hear what I'm
saying? If he has the power to and wants
to but just don't and leaves it up to a man or a woman, then
God is cruel. But if he's absolutely sovereign
and he controls everything, then he brings everything to pass
according to his wise, sovereign, predestinated purpose. The Lord
stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, that he made
a proclamation throughout all of his kingdom and put it also
in writing and say, these people are gonna go back and dwell in
that land. Gonna go back and build their
temple. That was a heathen king. But wait a minute. Do we praise
the pharaohs? No. We praise God Almighty who
holds the king's heart in his hand and turns it whithersoever
he will. Praise God from whom all blessings
flow. Even if that blessing comes when
another pharaoh arises that knows not Joseph. Number four, the
pharaohs, the pharaohs of this world are blessed by God's people's
presence. Do you hear what I said? You
see it. Chapter 47 and Joseph, verse
seven, and Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and set him
before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. This does not mean he
conferred grace upon Pharaoh. Jacob had no ability to confer
grace upon Pharaoh, but he wished him before God, his God, the
God of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac, he wished this man well. He prayed for this man's well-being,
this Pharaoh, this heathen idolatrous king. Somebody says, who do you
pray for? Pray for your enemies, Christ
said. And if we're supposed to pray for our enemies, certainly
we ought to pray for our friends. Wouldn't you think? Christ said
don't love and pray for just those that love and pray for
you. He said every sinner does that kind of thing. The pharaohs
are blessed by God's people. There's no farce here. Jacob
was not playing a farce. He was not kissing up to this
pharaoh. He was truly thankful to God
for this Pharaoh. See some of this. See some of
it. Some people understand that this
world is blessed by the presence of God's people. You remember
Laban, Jacob's daddy-in-law? He didn't want Jacob to leave. You know why? Because he said
the hand of God's on you. the hand of God's on you. Now,
Jacob to Laban was Laban's cash cow. That's what Laban was concerned
about, but it worked for Jacob's benefit and his good, did it
not? Laban was very treacherous, but
so was Jacob. Laban was very conniving, but
so was Jacob. And God blessed them both, but
the blessings have a great gap between them and are not of the
same extent. The pharaohs are blessed by God's
people. Nevertheless, listen to what
the Apostle Paul writes. It's just amazing. I say this
because I don't want us to go around
in this world thinking that we need to be looking over our shoulders.
You know why? Because God Almighty's got your
back. You understand what I'm saying?
I need to know where the enemy's at. No, God knows where the enemy's
at. He put them there. God knows
where the friends are at. He put them there. Did he not
tell the Jews, the Israelites, here they are stuck, and here's
the Red Sea, here's the mountains behind him, and here's Pharaoh's
army bearing down, and God said, I will be your re-reward. You
know what that means, don't you? Your rear guard. That's what
it means. I'll be your rear guard. And
it says that the presence of God removed himself from in front
of the Israelites and he went up over top of them and went
and encamped back behind them. No, God Almighty is telling us
do not be disingenuous toward men and women, even men and women
on the outside. Did Joseph not tell his brother,
be honest with this man when we go before him, even though
you're an abomination unto them? Isn't that what it says? You
see, when a person asks you who you are, be ready to tell them. Be ready to tell, but don't be
disingenuous. Now listen to what the Apostle
Paul says. Romans chapter 12, and I'll begin in verse 14. Bless
them. You see it? Bless them which
persecute you. Bless and curse not. But there's a part of me that
says I will not do that. Oh God conquer that I will not
do that in my soul. Bless them which persecute you.
Bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice. And weep. with them that weep,
and this is not disingenuous. We're to be genuine. If there's
a situation where weeping's going on and you cannot weep, don't
put on a show. But if God breaks your heart
with that other broken heart, then weep to your heart's content. And if someone else is rejoicing,
don't sit back and say, well, God's about ready to bring them
down. Be careful, you may be the one
I may be the one that God's about ready to bring down. Rejoice with them that do rejoice,
and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward
another. Mind not high things, but condescend
to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Oh, how many times have I said
I would do this? Now, I haven't even done it,
but I would do this if God just opens that door. And then I hear
of God possibly opening a very similar door for somebody else
and I begin to complain about them. Oh God help us. Recompense to
no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the
sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as
life, in you, live peaceably with all men. I've just got to
tell people what the truth is. That attitude is not a gracious
attitude. Well, I will set them straight.
You know why we usually want to set people straight? Because
they've embarrassed us. And we've got to make the record clear
that I don't stand with you. But let us remember, we were
once in the same boat they are in. Dearly beloved, avenge not
yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written,
vengeance is mine. And God says, I will repay. I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirsts, give
him to drink, for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire
upon his head. Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good. And I know that's a cliche in
our day, but folks, that's the word of God. And it doesn't say
overcome evil with good and you'll see it. You may never see the
outcome of that. Just overcome evil with good. God will bring the results to
pass, will he not? He will bring the results to
pass. Let us not be, even bow down to the Democrats or the
Republicans, whoever's in charge. You know what that says? Is that
not what the next chapter, the first few verses says? No matter
who's in charge, bow down to it because God put them there.
I don't like what they're doing, doesn't matter. God's having
them do exactly what he purposed to do. Now you can call wrong
wrong, you can talk about this is wrong, but God Almighty has
every man's heart in his hand, not just the king's. That's used
to express, here's a king. We think of him as proud, right? If God Almighty has his heart
in his hand and turns it whithersoever he will, he's got everybody else's
heart in his hand. And he turns it whithersoever
We will. You see, this country is exactly
where it's at today for our good. For our good. I can't tell you
how that's so, I just know that it is so. Because this book says
so. 400 years later, I know that
the Israelites weren't saying, boy, it's great to be in Egypt
now. Huh? But it was great to be in Egypt
then. Exodus is coming. Redemption's
coming, deliverance is coming. They'd have never known the power
and the glory of God and the truth of Christ manifest even
in the Passover had they not been stuck in Egypt as slaves
and under bondage. And that's why the Apostle Paul
even wrote these words and I may not, let me see if I can find
it. I think it's right, it's not. It's Romans chapter eight. Let me look. I'm not gonna be
able to find it. No, it's not Romans chapter eight.
Anyway, I'll have to drop that one. God Almighty is in sovereign
control of everything that happens in this universe. and no one
does anything, even when they do it in spite and hate, no one
does anything without God Almighty purposing it to come to pass.
Look at what Paul read to us about the crucifixion of Jesus
Christ. They tortured him and would have tortured him to death
were it not death being in his own power. That's what they were
doing. In fact, they were torturing
him to death. And the Jews, just so their Sabbath
day wouldn't be defiled according to their own tradition, they
said, well, go up there and crack their legs so that they fall
down and die. Boy, what a liberal crowd they were. But let me tell
you something. No, they weren't liberal folks.
You should laugh, but they were very conservative for their day.
But let me tell you something, everything they did, it's almost
like they were opening the Bible in the Old Testament. So all
right, now what do we do next? All right, now turn over to this
prophet. Now what do we do next? Because Mason, they were doing
exactly, exactly what the Old Testament said they were going
to do. And they were sitting there,
men who knew the scriptures were crying out for things to be done
and had no idea they were doing the very things that the scriptures
had ordained that they do before they'd done them. But, think
about this. You see, the rarity of some pharaohs,
like Joseph's pharaoh, Jacob's pharaoh, the rarity of some pharaohs
never diminishes God's glorious purpose. It's not, well, I'm
just glad there's a couple good pharaohs. No, God's ordained
even the bad pharaohs. You see, rare pharaohs are our
perception. You understand what I'm saying?
A good pharaoh is my perception of that pharaoh. God never calls
him good back here, does he? But Jacob blesses him. Jacob
thanks God for him. Jacob prays to God for his well
being. But a rare pharaoh is only a
rare pharaoh because my perception is so slight. My perception is
so finite. Every pharaoh is ordained of
God, every Pharaoh. Now, fifthly, consider Joseph's
actions. And I want you to look at this
one part. Chapter 46 and verse 29. 46 and 29. And Joseph made ready his chariot
and went up to meet Israel his father to Goshen and presented
himself unto him. Then look at 47 verse one, then
Joseph came and told Pharaoh and said, my father and my brethren
and their flocks and their herds and all that they have are come
out of the land of Canaan and behold they are in the land of
Goshen. Three things here, and I'll begin
to wind this up. If anybody had the right to accuse
somebody before Pharaoh, Joseph did. Yes or no? If anybody had the right to accuse
somebody before Pharaoh, Joseph did. Look at what his at least
nine brothers, Reuben was wanting to try to avoid the whole thing,
they were going to kill him. And I think we read that and
we think, well, they just had a few bad, they wanted him dead. They wanted him dead. Even his father, Jacob, when
he told his God-ordained dream, do you remember what Jacob did?
He rebuked him. You hear me? Remember reading
it before? He rebuked. Now, he looked at
it differently than the other brothers did, yes, but he still
rebuked him. What was he rebuking? The purpose
of God. his own well-being, and how many
times has this corrupt, wretched sinner rebuked what I thought
ought to be rebuked when it was but God's gracious purpose and
mercy and compassion coming down the pike for me? Joseph had the right to accuse,
but he didn't. He runs over to Jacob. And he
didn't say, now, you'll bow down, won't you, Dad? Is that what
he did? He runs over and he rides over
on his chariot, and I can see him probably, he was going at
it. Pulls back on, or at least his
driver, if he had one, pulls back on the reins, lights off
that chariot, runs over and grabs ahold of his dad. Why? Because he'd already been able
to grab ahold of his brothers who wanted him dead. You see,
you can't say you love God if you don't love the brethren.
I don't care how much profession you got. I don't care how doctrinally
accurate you are. I don't care how much you think
yourself to be a sinner. If you don't love God's people,
you can't, John said, love God. But in Christ, but in Christ,
there is absolute freedom. You remember the woman taken
in adultery? I mean, the book says she was
caught in the very act. And this was not an accusation,
merely, or our Lord would have rebuked that lie. She was caught
in the very act, and they wanted her dead. Good man. They wanted to torture her with
rocks to death, and they wanted Jesus to instigate it. And you
know what he did? He refused. He wouldn't even
deal with the issue. Hear me? It says he stooped down
and began to write on the ground. And he said, whoever is among
you that's without sin, you step up and throw the first rock.
And they, beginning at the oldest to the youngest, began to filter
away. And he says he looked up. Now
he knew who was going and exactly when they were going. Mason,
he'd ordained who was the first one who was gonna take the first
step away from that woman, throw all the rocks down and be done
with it. And they walk away and he says, woman, where are those
nine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? That
was a glorious blessing for her. They were about ready to rock
her to death. But then these next words, neither
do I condemn thee. She had been caught in the act. He wasn't condemning her. Is
that the way men preach today? They tell you if God catches
you doing this, you're a goner. No, you got hope. You got hope. Because if Christ says neither
do I condemn thee, He will also tell you this, and I like the
way Tim James put it, then quit that whoring. Then quit that whoring. He said,
go and sin no more. He don't mean go out and be perfect.
Oh, she gonna be holy now. No, she still had, I won't go
there. No, she was caught in the very
act. He said, neither do I condemn
thee, now quit that whoring. You see, in Christ, all God-convinced
sinners. And you know, people are not
preaching that today. They're not preaching that he, the Holy
Spirit, when he's come, he will convince the world of sin, righteousness,
and judgment. They think it's up to the soul
winner to convince men and women that they're sinners. Now, don't
they? That's not what the scripture
teaches. That's why I say, in Christ, all God-convinced sinners
have from God no charge. Who is he that condemneth? It
is God that justifieth. Who is it? Who's gonna lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's Christ that died. Yea, rather
than risen again, who's even at the right hand of God the
Father, now making intercession for us. A rare pharaoh indeed there are,
but all pharaohs are God's tools. When you get to the end of this
book, you will read the first chapter of Exodus, and you will
find out that it says there, it was a long, it was a few hundred
years. But there arose another pharaoh,
which knew not Joseph. But let me tell you, he was still
God's pharaoh. He was still God's tool. Hmm. Do we thank God for those rare
pharaohs? Yes, yes. But let us thank God
for all pharaohs. Because our God reigns over them. Does not the book say, all things
work together for good? To them that love God, to them
that are called according to his purpose. That means whatever
happened in Australia, right now today, it's for your good
sitting right here at Sovereign Grace Chapel in the United States
of America. Is it or not? Well, I don't understand how
that, you remember Lorna Elliott, don't you? God started World
War II to get me out of Australia and send me to the United States
to hear the gospel. And there'll be people that laugh at that.
That wasn't all God had purposed, but God had purposed that. God
had purposed that. See, all things work together
for good. God helped me. God helped me
to believe that. God help me, because I all too
often don't. How about you? God help me, God
help you, God help us. Thank God for God. Thank God
for God. Our Father, bless us. Work in us both the will and
the do of your good pleasure, and may it be to the honor and
glory of Jesus Christ.