All right, Genesis chapter 45. Genesis chapter 45. I did text last week, or maybe it was actually,
well, it would have been last week. you a passage to read, that was
Genesis 45 verse 16 all the way through chapter 46 verse 28. The reason I did that is that
this covers my main subject for today. And what's covered in
that passage is this. Pharaoh finds out that Joseph's
brethren had come to Egypt and Joseph Now, mind how I say this. Joseph had united himself again
to his brothers. And Pharaoh then gives a command
to do something. And because Pharaoh is Pharaoh,
the command will be carried out. The command was this. hitch up
the wagons. And Noah said, hitch up the wagons. And we find the wagons mentioned
three times throughout this section. And they're mentioned in light
of this. The wagons were sent from Egypt to Canaan, got the
recipients of this great blessing, all gathered up, and then the
wagons took them all the way back to Egypt. Now, that's the
context of my message this morning. Before I give you an actual text,
I actually have three, I wanna give you two things to consider,
actually three things to consider by way of introduction. Remember, Pharaoh and Joseph were like
one. This Pharaoh loved Joseph. and this Joseph loved this Pharaoh. Now just one lesson for us. Let
us never think that everyone outside the camp is overtly against
us. Let us be careful. Earl was right. There is a naked savage behind
every tree waiting to stick you in the back. But not every naked
savage is gonna be overtly against you. Our God controls everyone
in this universe. And not all are overtly opposed
to God's people. That's the first consideration.
Number two, you'll see this manifested or spoken of in chapter 46 verses
one through four. Those who know God always see
worship as first. Remember, Jacob is told, here's
the command. Pharaoh says, gather it all up.
Come to me in Egypt. What's the first thing Israel
does? Goes to Beersheba and offers
sacrifice unto the God of his father Isaac. You see, those
who truly worship God worship him specifically. There's a specific
God they worship. It's the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. But it's even more specific than
that. Think of it. On that day, you
remember, I think, was it Peter and James, or Peter and John,
there was a blind man there, and he asked for silver and gold,
and silver and gold have I none, Peter said, but what I do give
you, I give you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
it caused a big uproar. And when Peter was called in
question, he could have answered, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob did this. And he'd have been speaking exactly
the truth. But he'd been skirting the truth at the same time. Because
he said, the Lord Jesus Christ, by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, God has done this thing. You see, Jacob, or that is Israel,
worshiped in a specific way. He worshiped with a mind of substitution
and satisfaction. He offered up sacrifice unto
God. I know the salvation of God,
we can't try to pinpoint it as to a certain point in time. Modern day religion tries to
pinpoint it as a certain date and time. The time when you walked
the aisle, prayed the prayer, gave your heart to the Lord.
Do you understand what I'm talking about? God's salvation began
in Christ before the world began. But let me tell you something.
No one can really ever have the assurance that God Almighty has
saved them till they begin to learn a little bit about substitution
and satisfaction. That's when God will really begin
to give you a little bit of assurance. You remember the one blind man
that Christ healed and he could, how do I put it? He could barely
see. He could see men like trees walking around. And he fell into
some trouble because he'd been healed. He'd done nothing wrong. They kicked him out of the synagogue,
started questioning his parents. But let me tell you, Christ didn't
leave him there. did he? He came back to him while David
Wright still had that fuzzy vision. And he said, do you know the
Christ of God? He said, well, who is he, Lord, that I might
believe in him? He says, the one that's speaking to you, the
one that you're looking at with those fuzzy eyes. And he began
to see everything in a whole different light. Whether he could
see very well, Mason, with these physical eyes didn't matter anymore.
You see, I'm telling you, if you're truly worshiping God,
you're worshiping God in Christ concerning him as your substitute
and him as your satisfaction before God. And I have every
reason to believe Israel understood some of that. I'm sure his father
and grandfather had passed down the truth that had been passed
down to them about their parents, Adam and Eve, and then about
their two boys. And two offerings were made,
two offerings. Cain offered sacrifice to God. He believed in God. He was trained
to honor God. He offered the sacrifice to God,
but God wouldn't have it. Because it wasn't about substitution
and satisfaction. Abel's was because it was the
fat of the firstling of the flock. It was in light of that seed
that would come to crush the serpent's head, and God received
that man and his sacrifice. But here's the third thing by
way of introduction. And oh, God help us to get a
hold of this one. Natural ancestry never dictates
God's mercy. Chapter 46 verse eight, look
at the first part. And these are the names of the
children of Israel. And you begin to hear of them
referred to this way, especially when you get into Exodus, Numbers,
the children of Israel. And sometimes they're even called
Israel itself. It may not even be speaking of
the man Jacob, but of his descendants, and they're called Israel, right? We can see that. But I want you
to compare chapter 46 and verse 10. And the sons of Simeon, Jemuel,
and Jaman, and Ohad, and Jacob, and Zohar, and Sheol, the son
of a Canaanitish woman. Do you see it red right there?
The son of a Canaanitish woman. Not only that, look at verse
20, look at what it says. and unto Joseph in the land of
Egypt were born, wait a minute, what, Manasseh and Ephraim. Two
of the tribes of Israel, correct? Two of the tribes of Israel.
They would later become to know, be known as Israel itself. If you spoke of Israel, these
two young boys were included in that, but look at what it
says. Which, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphar, priest of Onn, barren
to him. This was an Egyptian woman. You
see it? What am I talking about? Preacher,
what are you talking about? Consider this. Even natural Jewishness,
and even more importantly, or a stronger word, even being an
Israelite was always determined by the father, not by the mother. Throughout
this, once Israel comes on the scene, that's Jacob, whose name's
changed to Israel. The ancestry of being Israelite
depends solely on who the daddy is. It had nothing to do with
the woman. Come on down the line and see
another one. What was that woman's name? Jericho? Rahab and she was both an outsider
and a whore Come on down the line you hear the name one Ruth
a Moabitess born and raised in idolatry Right now God Almighty
saved that woman But here's the whole point even natural Jewishness
even being a natural Israelite, always depends on the daddy. Now does that ring a bell to
you? He came into the world and the world received, came his
own, and his own received him not. But to as many as, that
means every single one of them. I am a universalist in that sense. I will use that word some more.
I am a universalist in essence, and to as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name, which were born. And what does it matter? The only thing that matters is
the daddy. God. You see it? God. And then we actually come
into the New Testament, and the Apostle Paul actually says it.
And God, thank you, God. Just a few years ago, I really
began to get a hold of this. Now listen to me. He is not a Jew, which is one
outwardly. And you better run from dispensationalism
right here. Dispensationalism says yes, that's
true, but it's only true for the church age. It wasn't true
prior to the church age, and it won't be true after the church
age is over. That is a lie. That is a lie. He is not a Jew which is one
outwardly, and circumcision is not that which is in the flesh.
What's it have to do with? Who is a Jew? Who is a real Israelite? Who's a Hebrew? One that's been
circumcised in heart by God. That's where we must stand. And
that's not dispensationalism. Paul even in Galatians says,
I don't care if you're a man or a woman, I don't care if you're
a Jew or a Greek, I don't care if you're male or rich or poor,
bond or free, if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, You
are the seed of Abraham. So if our doctrine begins to
go astray from that, then we're the ones that's astray. Not the
truth of God. So remember those three things. You see, with this consistent
truth, and it's always been the consistent truth. Salvation depends
on our daddy. Somebody says that's so irreverent.
No it's not. The book says the spirit of God
is sent into his people's heart and we cry, daddy, papa, father. You see, if you don't know God
as your daddy yet, you don't know God yet. It's not a formal relationship. It's an intimate, personal relationship. So with this consistent truth,
let's now engage my main subject. Chapter 45, verse 16. And the fame thereof was heard
in Pharaoh's house. What's that? That the brothers
had been reunited. More importantly, Joseph had
reunited himself to his brethren. Because remember, they weren't
seeking this. This was God doing this. And
the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's
brethren are come. And it pleased Pharaoh well and
his servants. Isn't it amazing when God Almighty
and sovereign power and providence just manifestly just blesses
his people right in front of everybody? And it's not just,
well, there's nothing we can do about it. Some few people
around become happy. They might even know really all
the details of what's going on here. But God Almighty's in charge,
folks. Let us rejoice in those times.
Because, remember, there will come a time when another Pharaoh
will arise that don't know Joseph. There will. But when the Pharaoh
that knows Joseph is around, thank God for it. Bask in it. Be grateful for it. And Pharaoh
said unto Joseph, say unto thy brethren, this do ye. laid your beasts and go. Get
you under the land of Canaan and take your father and your
households and come unto me and I will give you the good of the
land of Egypt and you shall eat the fat of the land. Now thou
art commanded. This do ye. Take you wagons. Did you say that? Take you wagons. And you know the rest of the
context. But then go on down, verse 25. And they went up out
of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
and told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he's governor
over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for
he believed them not. And they told him all the words
of Joseph, which he had said unto them. And when he saw the
wagons, you see that? when he saw the wagons. And then look at this, chapter
46 and verse five, Jacob rose up from Beersheba. The sons of
Israel carried Jacob, their father, their little ones, and their
wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. How many wagons were there? Did
you read the context? Did you really read it? I ask
you if you read it. Did you read the context? How
many wagons were there? Whose wagons were there? Well,
it says Pharaoh sent them. It says Joseph sent them. Does
it not? Did you read it? How many wagons
were there? Well, I could tell you how many
wagons there were. Enough. You see, we are so analytical
in our day, our brains are so swelled with thinking that we're
so apt at taking in knowledge. We think we can take in the knowledge
of God like this too, like we do with math and science and
all these things. I don't have to know the exact
number. All Jacob need to know was what? It's enough. Bless God, it's
enough. And his spirit was revived in
him, and he said, boys, we're heading down to Egypt. Isn't
that what he said? And somebody said, well, preacher
sounds like this is the same message you preached last Sunday.
Yes, it is, because I'm talking about the same God, the same
Christ, and the same people that Christ was sent to save. So,
let's consider the wagons in three specific ways. And of course,
I think it's probably evident enough that the title of my message
is Pharaoh and Joseph's Wagons. Because that's what they were.
They were Pharaoh's and Joseph's wagons. Because it says, and
when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent, wait a minute,
I thought Pharaoh sent them. He did. Well, when Joseph sent
them, he did. So let's consider the wagons
in three specific ways. Now don't think just because
I said three this is going to be short. Three is just a number. First of all, whose wagons were
they? Were they really Pharaoh's or
Joseph's? Have you read that? You know whose wagons they were?
Pharaoh and Joseph's. Pharaoh and Joseph's. But I thought
Pharaoh commanded them to be sent, he did. I thought Joseph
commanded them to be sent. He did. What's this tell us? Our Lord Jesus Christ said these
words, and you're familiar with them, I'm sure, but I will read
them one more time. This is in John 6, and verse
37, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. In other words, I'm gonna send
the wagons out after him. You see what I'm saying? Mac,
there's gonna be enough wagons. That's all there's got to be
is enough wagons. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. Well, wait a minute. These were
sheep herders. They were shepherds. And shepherds
are an abomination to the Egyptians. Let me tell you something. God
will even make your enemies to be at peace with you if that's
what his purpose entails for the moment. And they'll give
you the land of Goshen if need be. Now that's maybe next week's
message, but maybe not. Don't hold me to that one. But
do you see what he's saying? And him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out, for I came down from heaven not to do mine
own will, but the will of him that sent me. Now this doesn't
mean he had a will separate from the Father's, but that his will
was what? One with the Father's. You see, Pharaoh's will and Joseph's
will was what? Both the same. Joyous occasion. Get them down here. Do what it
takes to bring them into the place of safety where they can
live off the what? The fatness of the land. Number two, that one was quick.
Didn't take long, what, three minutes. Here's the second. Something other than self will
have to get us where we need to be, the wagons. You see, Pharaoh didn't say,
well now Joseph, send word back to your daddy, and all them little
ones, all those herds, just send word back, and if they can get
here, if they can make it down here, look what's all there. I offer all this to them. Does
this ring a bell, anybody? All this is there for them if
they'll just wheel and do of my good pleasure and make it
to Egypt, everything will be all right. Is that what took
place? Bless God. Pharaoh and Joseph said, get
the wagons, boys. I command you, go get the wagons,
take the wagons all the way to Canaan land, gather up all that's
necessary and bring it all the way back to Egypt. Is that not
what this teaches? Does that ring a bell to anybody?
I'm not even gonna give you a passage, because I could spend a lot of
time here. But from election, all the way to glorification,
final, ultimate glorification, it's all, always of Jesus Christ
and not us. He is the wagons. He is the wagons. Because he's not just one thing.
Joe, he ain't just one wagon. He's enough wagons. He's enough
wagons. How many wagons does it take?
Enough. Now, Joseph knew how many people
there were because Joseph had been inquiring of his brothers
who all were still living and what was going on. You remember
that? So Joseph said, all right, here's the number. Here's what
we got. Here's what it's gonna take.
You see it? We're not told the numbers. We're
just told it's what? Enough. enough. Somebody said,
I don't know what you're talking about. I pray God one day you
do. I pray God one day you do. But from election, and forgive
me if I miss them, but from election to blood redemption to regeneration
by the spirit to conversion by the preaching of the gospel to
being God working in us both to will and do of his good pleasure. falling dead on our face and
our breath going from us and our bodies going back to corruption
or whether alive when the Lord comes back and we're either raised
from the dead or transformed when he returns, all the way
back to glorification. It's all of Jesus Christ. I used
to hear years ago, well, we believe in election. We just believe
in Bible election. Now that was the phrase I used
to hear. And I thought, okay, why did the Bible need to be
elected? I was dumb, I was being misled by others who some probably
was dumb as I and others weren't quite so dumb. You see they used to say, well
election is God looked into the future and seeing you would believe
and he chose you. That is not the way the book
presents it at all. It says it chose us in Christ
before the world began, not in ourselves. It never says God
looked ahead to see what we would do. God did look down upon us,
and you know what he said about us when he did? There's not one
of you righteous. There's not one of you that's
good. There's not one of you that seeks after God. Your mouths
are an open sepulcher. There is no fear of God before
your eyes. That's what God's seen in us,
Roy Junior. Oh, aren't you glad Pharaoh commanded the wagons
to be sent? And Joseph said, I'm behind this
100%. Now Pharaoh, here's how many
we need. Right here's enough. Here it is. And the wagons march
out. And the wagons march out. And
the wagons keep marching on till they get all the way to where
the people were. And guess what they do? They
load up the wagons and they head back to Egypt. Such a glorious
thing was this that when Jacob died, Did you know that there
was a great massive funeral procession that went all the way from Egypt,
all the way, an Egyptian funeral procession that went all the
way back to Canaan land just to do what? Bury Jacob. Isn't that glorious? So again
I say, something other than ourself. is gonna have to get us to where
we need to be. Whatever your need is at any
given moment in time, Christ alone's gonna be the only way
you get there. Here's number three. I done asked
the question, and I kinda meant to do it so it was no big surprise.
I'm not trying to look cute or whatever. How many wagons were
there? Well, we know the wagons weren't
for some. Because according to chapter 46, the first part of
verse 12, there was at least two old boys that were already
dead by this time. Er and Onan. Mason, there wasn't
no need for wagons for them. Was there? I asked a fellow one
time, I said, who do you believe Jesus Christ died for? He said,
everybody. I knew what he meant, he knew
what he meant. I said, do you believe he died for people who
were already in hell when he came to this world and died?
And he actually said, well, no, that's a good answer. That's
a good answer. It's just the man was totally
confused because he'd probably been lied to all his life. All
you need is enough wagons. If they're Pharaoh and Joseph's
wagons, Joe, they're sufficient. They probably carry the seal
of Pharaoh with them. Now just consider this. How many
wagons were there? They weren't meant for some.
But here's the amazing thing. Did you happen to read these
names and then Ur and Onan possibly stand out? Maybe you did, maybe
you didn't. You know what Ur did? We don't
know exactly what it was. The book of Genesis said he did
that which is evil in the sight of the Lord and God killed him.
Now I can give you one of the reasons why it doesn't tell us
exactly what he did. Because we are so depraved and
self-centered, we'd say, at least I ain't done that. We'd try to
avoid that one at least more than any other one. We'd say,
well, this sin might not be, that's the one that's gonna get
you right there. See what Er did? No, it just said he did
evil in the sight of the Lord and God killed him. Joe, he didn't get
to go down into Egypt. Uh-oh, there's a brother here
named Onan. Now, you remember what Onan did?
I'm gonna just say it and then drop it. He spilled his seed
on the ground and it displeased God. God killed him. You know what it was. Now, remember
who Onan's daddy was, don't you? J-U-D-A-H. The line through which Jesus
Christ of Nazareth would come into this world. And in that
day there was a practice that if a man was married to a woman
and he died, If there was a living brother of that man, that man
took that woman to wife to bring forth seed. What? It was an expectation
of the promise of the Messiah. The seed must go on. Messiah must come. Now God still
brought the Messiah in, even when Onan did what he did. But
you know what God did because of that? What he was doing? He
was mocking the messianic authority and claim of Jesus Christ. God
killed that boy. And we might say, well, at least
I ain't never done something like that, but think about it.
Now, did you read the names and consider the names? Wait a minute,
Judah and Tamar were in this whole mix. Judah's daddy, I mean, Judah,
the dad of all these boys, Er, Onan, all these others, should
have made sure that the practice was followed.
You hear what I'm saying? But he didn't. Tamar knew better
than him, but you know what she did? Come on now, I'm just being
honest with you what this book says. She played the whore. Enticed
her daddy for a trinket, or her daddy-in-law, I'm sorry, by a
trinket and was made pregnant by him. Guess who's in the lineage
of the Lord Jesus Christ? Come on now, who was in the lineage
of the Lord Jesus Christ? A woman named Tamar. But now
God killed two and spared two others. Yes or no? Yes or no? And all were guilty. Do you hear what I said? All
were guilty. Somebody says, what is that then? That's called grace. Nobody deserved to live. But God spared two and killed
two others. That's called grace. Somebody
said, I ain't never heard grace explained that way. Then you
ain't never heard grace explained. The wagons weren't meant for
some. You see, think about it. Man's sin shuts man out. Man's
sin shuts man out. Now listen to me. It is not rejecting
some offer of salvation from Christ for which men are condemned.
Did you know that? But you know that's what's mostly
preached today? Christ died to save you and he offers you that
salvation. Now if you reject him, you'll go to hell. Is that
not what's preached? Am I lying about what people
out here preach everywhere? That's what they're preaching.
Men do not go to hell for rejecting some offer of salvation by Jesus
Christ. Men go to hell because they reject
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. And to believe that he's the
Christ says this, he came to do the Father's will and he did
it. He didn't try to do it. He didn't
try to make it possible for it to be done. He came and did the
will of his Father. You see, grace includes some
sinners and it shuts some out. And that's not, Mason, that's
not unfair. That's called mercy and grace.
For some, and justice for others. And that's God's business. That's why it's called grace.
That's why it's called grace. Again, how many wagons were there?
Enough. Now I want you to turn with me
to Acts chapter 13. We're gonna look at enough. Acts chapter 13. The apostle Paul with his party came
into Antioch of Pisidia in Acts 13. We're told that in verse
14. And I'm gonna hit some highlights here. And they go into the Jewish
synagogue. And the law was read. The prophets
were read, it's the Sabbath day. And after that, the law and the
prophets were read, the ruler said, you men and brethren, do
you have any other word of exhortation to save the people? And Paul
stood up and said, listen to me. That's what he said, backing
him with his hand. Everybody hold up, listen to
me. Boy, didn't that sound awful
bold. Paul knew his sufficiency was not of himself. His sufficiency
was of God. It was the message that held
sway with Paul, not Paul himself. And that's something us pastors
and preachers battle with every day. That's a side note. When you
tell me I love that message, it helps, it does. Believe you
me. But also know that scares me to death. Because I don't
want your eyes to be on me. But I like it when your eyes
are on me. You ever been there? You ever been there? But here's
the thing, just a couple highlights. Paul begins, not as preachers
do today. Look, I want you to, later on,
go back and read this whole account of this. We actually have here
a recorded message of the Apostle Paul in a synagogue of Antioch
in Pisidia. Here it is. Just like I used
to read Spurgeon's messages, wrote down, and Joe would give
me this one, and here it is, and make copies of it. Mac, I
was reading Spurgeon's very message. Right here it is. Now I want
you to read through this message and see how different it is from
the way men preach today. Today they get up and as Earl
used to say, they preach more against a pack of cigarettes
and a can of beer than they do preaching for Jesus Christ. And
he was just barely scratching a couple things. You understand
what he was talking about? Do you see what I'm saying to
you? There are men that get up today and they start preaching
against sins. Right? You say, preacher, ain't
that what you're supposed to do? To a degree, yes. Sins should
be named. They should be called out for
what they are. But our problem's not just our
sins, it's our sin, it's us. And that's what Paul says in
verse 18. He talked about our fathers in
the past, and he said, and about the time of 40 years suffered
he their manners in the wilderness. He didn't have to start naming
details. God had to put up with us. Do you see that? Mason, that
lets me know God's ire was on us. He suffered this. You know another thing he did?
He preached down man's will. What are men doing today? They
preach up man's will. They even call it free will.
They say that's your ticket to heaven. Now do they not? Am I lying on them? Free will
is your ticket to heaven. You use it to make what Jesus
did effectual. You'll be in good shape. What
did Paul say? You know what the people did?
You know what our fathers did? They made their own choice. They exercised
their will. Look at it sometime. They chose
Saul. Look at the way he preached.
He preached against man's choice. Look what man's choice gets you.
It gets you a Saul. God removed him. God raised up
a man of his own choice. Huh? You see how different his
preaching is than preaching today? You know who that man was? Jesus
Christ. Isn't that what he preached? You know all the other messages
that are recorded in the book of the Acts are all consistent
with this theme. Go back and look at it. They're all consistent
with this. And that's why we just keep hammering
on, as someone said, ruin by the fall, redemption, ruin by
the fall, regeneration by the spirit, and redemption by the
blood. That's what every message must entail, or it's not the
gospel of Jesus Christ. It's just a religious message.
And then look at what he says. Verse 38, he is summing up. And
this message evidently didn't last long. You know that? Now, Mason, maybe there were
other things he said that were not pertinent for, I don't know,
but here's what was important, important enough for Luke to
be moved by the Spirit of God to write it down, and look at
what he says in verse 38. Be it known unto you, therefore,
men and brethren. Now, who is this really for?
Well, he's already said over here, those of you that are of
Israel and fear God. He said, this is who this message
is for. Now, you go back and read it. Be it known unto you,
therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins, not offered. Somebody says, well,
what does it really matter how you say it? It matters all in
the world. It's the difference between the gospel of Christ
and a perversion of the gospel of Christ. We are preaching that
Jesus Christ wrought forgiveness when he died on that tree, and
that's what the New Testament teaches. When you get to the
doctrine, the nuts and bolts of the gospel, in the epistles,
you find out this is what is taught. That through this man
is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And look, and by him,
all that believe. He didn't just say, and by believing. You see, faith is not your justifier.
Christ is your justifier. Faith is the means, the tool
God uses to join you to that justification. And that's what
the New Testament epistles teach. But here's Paul not trying to
be doctrinally, oh, if I had to show him how much doctrine
I know. That's what it was about when you go into a place, never
heard the gospel before. You don't have to deal with all
the bolts and nuts of the thing. Just preach Jesus Christ. And
look what he says. And by him, all that belief. And we can say it because what
he says next, and nobody else. And nobody else. and all that
believe are justified from all things by which it could not
be justified by the law of Moses. And then he says, but let me
tell you, this ain't for everybody. Now doesn't he? Beware. Therefore,
now I want to say therefore because this is evident to Paul. Salvation
was purposed by God for believers only. The wagons are intended
to take a specific number to glory, and they will take that
specific number to glory. Go back and look at Romans eight. Huh? Whom he did foreknow? He also did predestinate. And
whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And then he called,
then he also justified. There's no break in this number
of people. Mason, we're not told the exact
number, but we're told how many there were, all of these. Four
known, predestinated, called, justified, glorified. These are
the ones for whom Christ died, Paul said. And these are the
ones for whom he intercedes. And he says, behold ye despisers,
or beware. Therefore lest that come upon
you which is spoken of in the prophets, behold ye despisers
and wonder and perish. For I will work a work in your
days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man
declare it unto you. You see that? Isn't that amazing? Why don't more men preach like
that today? I'll tell you why. Because they
think, their message is different than Paul's, that's why. And
they think their message is better than Paul's. There's no better
way to deliver the gospel than that right there we've just read.
That's a sound gospel preaching evangelical message. Is it not? Right there. And when the Jews
were gone out of the synagogue, here's the glorious thing. There
must have been some people listening in. Maybe there were some Gentile
proselytes that were allowed to come into the synagogue. This
did happen. But look, and when the Jews were gone out of the
synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached
to them. And what'd they say? Gotta have it right now. We might
die and go to hell tomorrow. Is that what they said? Is that
what Paul did? No, the next Sabbath. Let me
tell you something, folks. The wagons are gonna reach Canaan.
They gonna load up everybody and the wagons will make it all
the way back to Egypt and settle in the Goshen land. Do you hear
what I'm saying? That's the gospel. That's how
many wagons there were, enough. And that's enough right there.
You see, only pride or entitlement demands a universal love of God
for all men without exception and a universal offer of salvation
to all men without exception. You either believe you're proud
You think you deserve it or you're entitled to it. And listen, we
don't deserve God's love. We don't deserve Christ's redemption.
Therefore, if God doesn't give it to me, I have no reason to
complain. I deserve hail. Now, do you hear
me? I deserve hail. If God keeps
it from me, Mac, I'll get what I deserve and I'll not have one
just word to say against God. But if he saves me, if he saves
me, Oh, what an act of free reigning grace. There's an exact number, folks.
We don't have to be told their number, just that there are one. That's all it is. I don't have
to know the number. Well, how do you know you're
a part of that? Has he called you? Has he called you by his God? Does
this gospel ring true to your soul? And you say, I've got to
be a part of that one way or another. I gotta rejoice in that. I can't help but believe that.
God, in spite of myself, in spite of my failures, in spite of my
sinfulness and my corruption, even yet today, not back yonder
before he saved me, but even after he saved me, because I
still need saving today. Mac, I need as much saving today
as I did 34 years ago when the gospel first came to me and my
eyes were opened to it. I need that salvation just as
much today as I did back then. And even when I die in faith,
I'll still need that salvation. Do I believe God? Do I believe
he has done and is doing in his son enough? Now let me tell you
something, he's done way more than enough, but all you need
is how much? Enough. Enough. John, somebody
said, I told you, I'm a universalist. I told you, if I can't beat them
at their own game, I'll just confound the devil out of them
while we're playing the game. I'm a universalist, you know
that? I believe God is gonna save all. Well, this is what
Christ said. Here's John 6. This is what he
says. I believe Jesus Christ's gonna
save all. He said these words, John 6, 44, no man can come unto
me. You can't do it. He can't do
it, that's a total lack of ability. It ain't cause God shuts men
out. He's not talking about God shutting men out, he's talking
about what man is by nature. No man can come unto me, but
here's the word of grace, accept. Accept the Father which hath
sent me, draw him. Now if he draws him, he can come. He can come, and I will raise
him up at the last day. It is written, and even the Lord
of glory, Mason, he was God. What he said was God's word,
but he reverted back to what? The scripture. That's what we
deal with, is the scripture, or you don't deal with God at
all, other than in judgment. It is written in the prophets,
and they shall be all taught of God. Who? All of these people
that are drawn by God, you see it? I'm a universalist. I believe
every one of that 70 some folks, whatever they were, 70 whatever,
Mason, I believe they were all going to the, or going down to
Egypt, don't you? Every last one of them. They shall all,
it is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught
of God. Every man therefore that hath
heard and learned of the Father, what's he do? What's he gonna
do? These are Christ's words. I believe
him before I believe any preacher, even myself. You hear what I
said? Even myself. God Almighty teaches
you, what are you gonna do? You will come to Christ. And
you ain't gonna be able to help it. But you'll be glad it's so. Oh, Father, comfort us by these
things. Make it that when we see the
wagons, Our spirits are revived within us, for Christ's name,
amen. Thank you, Joe.