Thank you. It helps, a lot. Again, I bring greetings from
both the congregation at Crossville, where we've been for many years,
and from Kingsport, where we just moved back in September. Donnie sends his greetings. My parents, particularly, send
their greetings. And all the folks at Kingsport
want me to be sure to tell you hello. Genesis 45 is where I chose to
place my text, but we're going to be in that area. We'll bounce
to 43 through 45. There are men throughout the
scriptures that we seem to have a natural affection for when
we read of them. David, Solomon, John, Daniel,
and of course, Joseph. There's something about what's
recorded of them that we relate to and we enjoy reading. and particularly when we can
see how their lives reflect Christ, how they typify our Lord. And Joseph, when you think of
how much scripture is reserved to Joseph, just his story, those
chapters are devoted to his life. And then if you really want to
look at it, you have to go all the way back to Abraham. All
that Abraham went through, all that Isaac went through, all
that Jacob went through, all of that led up to Joseph being
taken down into Egypt. The title of my message this
morning is Our Mighty Redeemer, and I hope Our prayer is that
God will enable us to see Christ in Joseph. Joseph, as a type of our Redeemer,
and there are conditions that have to be met in order to have
a Redeemer, to need a Redeemer. Look at what that condition is.
Do I need a Redeemer? I personally need to be redeemed. and how God deals with a sinner
in mercy and where our response is. And to begin, let's remind ourselves
of who Joseph was. Joseph was the delight of his
father. Even though he was the next to
the youngest in the family, he was the son of Rachel, the son
of Jacob's beloved wife. And he had a special love. Jacob had a special love for
Joseph and set his favor upon him. And while he was greatly
loved of his father, his brothers held him in disdain. Particularly because of Jacob's
special attention to him, but also because Joseph had the ability
to interpret dreams. And when he shared those dreams
with his brothers, when he was about 17 years old, he shared
those dreams with his brothers. They hated him all the more. And at last, they arrived at
the chance that they had been looking for. They had the chance
to kill their brother. But their greed outweighed their
bloodthirst. And they sold him into slavery.
Joseph went from being the well-beloved son to a slave in Egypt, but
God was with him. He was sold to Potiphar, the
captain of Pharaoh's guard, who kept his eye on Joseph and eventually
saw that God blessed everything that he did. So Joseph became
the overseer of everything in Potiphar's house until Potiphar's
wife falsely accused Joseph. Of course, Potiphar is going
to believe his wife, not some slave. And he threw Joseph into
prison. Even in the dungeon, God was
with Joseph and caused all that he did to prosper. And eventually
the keeper of the dungeon saw the same thing that Potiphar
did. Everything Joseph laid his hands to was blessed. And he
put all the prison under Joseph's charge. During that time, Pharaoh cast
two of his servants into prison, who dreamed dreams in the same
night. And the butler, being one of
those two servants, was restored to Pharaoh. But as soon as he
was restored, he forgot Joseph for two full years. At the end of those years, Pharaoh
dreamed a dream. no one could interpret. That
was when the butler remembered Joseph. Joseph was brought before
Pharaoh and he interpreted the dream. And in doing so, Pharaoh
placed him as governor over all Egypt, second only in power to
Pharaoh himself. Joseph would have every right
to be angry and vengeful towards his brothers. But at the end,
His testimony to his brothers was be not grieved nor angry
with yourselves that you sold me hither for God did send me
before you to preserve life. Many of you probably already
know where this message is going. We've heard it many times, but
just in case we haven't heard it recently, Joseph's life and
all that happened to him is recorded for the single purpose of pointing
us to the true and living God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ
himself says to his brethren, be not grieved nor angry with
yourselves that ye sold me hither, for God did send me before you
to preserve life. Before God laid the foundation
of the world, when, before the beginning, God decreed he would
have mercy upon a race of men who rebelled against him, the
question was asked, before the beginning, the question was asked,
whom shall I send and who will go forth? Jesus Christ, the savior
of sinful men, went forth and declared, Send me. Unlike Joseph,
who was taken against his will and sold into bondage, Christ
came forth free, constrained only by his love to his Father
and his love to his elect children. As Joseph was taken and brought
low from being the delight of his Father to serve as a slave
to an Egyptian So our Lord left the praise of glory to dwell
in the likeness of sinful men. Joseph was falsely accused and
bore an unjust punishment. Our great Savior could only be
justly condemned. Although the Pharisees raised
up false witnesses against him, it wasn't their testimony that
resulted in our Lord's death. Peter, preaching on the day of
Pentecost, said, Jesus of Nazareth, being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. Those Jews and Romans did exactly
what they wanted to do in crucifying our Lord. But they were unable
to do so because God delivered him into our hands. Christ was
silent. He did not argue that they were
sentencing a just man to death because he couldn't argue that
he was a just man at that point. When he said, send me, he essentially
said, send me to live the life that they cannot live. To keep
and honor all that God requires of a man to be in his presence. Send me to pay the debt owed. They cannot pay it, but I will
pay and can pay the sin debt. I will
lay down my life and bear their sin. I will suffer their curse
and bear your wrath that they deserve. I, as man, will honor
God. I as God will provide for their
salvation. He took my sin and the sin of
his elect children, and he paid our debt and became our surety. What evidence do we have that
he became sin? John records he bowed his head
and gave up the ghost. Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
died. Where there is sin, there is
death, and without sin there can be no death. Had he not borne
my sin, he could not have died. But having been made sin in my
stead, he endured the wrath of God, justly poured out upon him
for my sake. Just as Joseph went down into
prison, cut off from the active, productive members of society,
Christ our Lord went to the tomb and made his dwelling among the
dead. He was cut off from the living.
In time, Joseph was raised up to sit upon the throne in Egypt.
On the third day, Jesus Christ arose. and has ascended to sit
at the right hand of the majesty on high. As his death gives evidence
that he was made sin for us, his resurrection provides evidence
that he accomplished the work that he came to do. He has saved
those he loves from their sin and has made us accepted before
God. Joseph suffered much because
God's purpose was to raise him up as a redeemer for his family. Oh, that this message could be
declared more boldly, more confidently, and more clearly. Jesus Christ
is the mighty redeemer of sinful men. That's the good news. The Lord
God has provided a mighty redeemer. But his redeemer did not come
into this world to save everyone without exception. Many say, and I was so thankful
to see the article that Frank put in the bulletin on the available
or accomplished. Gave me some confidence I was
preaching the right message this morning. Many say that God sent
his son to die upon a cross to shed his precious blood so that
if you choose, you can choose to be saved. And they call this
good news. Does anybody really think about
the words that go forth from people's mouths? Have you ever
really considered that statement? Does it make sense? The God of
all creation, the God of all wisdom and power is unable to
perform His will unless you choose to let Him. Who could worship such a God
as that? No one could. Worship belongs
to the greater, not someone of equal power, And certainly not
someone of a lesser power who provides an option for you to
choose. Worship can and will only be
rendered to one that is greater than yourself. Salvation and having a mighty
Redeemer is conditional. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. Do I need to be redeemed? I only need to be redeemed if
I have something to be redeemed from. In college, I changed my
major a few times and ended up with some extra time to take
extra classes that I didn't really need. But I needed to fill up
that 12-hour requirement. So one of my classes was lifeguarding.
And one of the things I remember most from that class was you
don't go and try to save someone who is struggling. They'll take
you down with them. They have to be saved. They've got to be without a means
to save themselves when you go to save them. If you get within
your arms, throw them a light bulb or something like that,
that's good. But you don't go to them while they're still fighting. I don't need redeeming if I can
still do something. If I can pay down my debt that
I owe, then I don't need somebody to come in and pay it for me.
If I'm making payments, everything's good. But if I cannot make a
payment on the debt I owe, I need someone to redeem it. I can't
do it. Only a senator. Sinner made a
sinner by God that's revealed to be a true sinner without hope,
dead in trespasses and sins, needs a redeemer. And we need
a mighty redeemer. In preparing this message and
knowing at least by reputation some of this congregation, realized
how blessed not only this congregation, but many are, but this one has
a longer history than many churches. And there are families here that
have the privilege of worshiping together sometimes up to four
generations, all sitting together under the
sound of the gospel. That's a great blessing. And
us parents, who God has had mercy upon, know the value of keeping
our children under the sound of the gospel. It may be that
the Lord will have mercy upon our children and save them. He
did on this one. And as these children listen,
they hear the same message every week. They hear that they are
sinners in need of a redemption. Christ is everything. Do they
believe us when we tell them this? Do they believe us parents
when we tell them this? Do they believe the teachers,
Sunday school teachers, the preachers? Do they believe this? Most of
them do, particularly when they're young. When I was teaching Sunday
school, I could ask the kids the question, why did Christ
come? And they can tell you to save
sinners. Who are sinners? We are. Everybody is. They knew the answers. They knew the answers in their
head. But they hadn't been made sinners yet. Memorization of
facts will enable us to answer questions doctrinally correct.
But until God deals with a person's heart and reveals that blackness
that dwells in there, that person will continue to rebel against
God's word and will have no need of a redeeming. They can still
make the payments. We know that Joseph is a type
of Christ, and I pointed out several of the similarities between
Joseph's life and the life of our Lord. I'm sure I only scratched
the surface. So if Joseph is a type of Christ,
what can we learn from Benjamin? It surprised me as I was studying
for this to realize how few details are given of Benjamin in Genesis. His birth is recorded, his father's
protection of him, Judah becoming his surety, Joseph's preferential
treatment of him, his involvement on the second trip to Egypt,
and Jacob's final words of him. That's the extent of which God
recorded Benjamin's life. But to me, he's always been one
of the prominent figures, You know, he's a household name.
Everybody knows Benjamin. So with so little details, why
is he always prominent? Why is he always almost like
Joseph? And when I was studying this,
I realized it's his relationship to Joseph that makes him so prominent
in the scriptures. that lifts him above his brothers,
such as Zilpah or Azekiel. Nobody knows those people's names.
It's only in his relationship with Joseph that we know Benjamin's
name so well. Benjamin is a type of those saved
by God's grace, and he stands out because of his relationship
to Joseph. Why does God bless us? Why does He show favor to a bunch
of sinful men? Because of our relationship with
His Son. Christ in you, the hope of glory. So let's consider for a moment
how Benjamin's life reflects the life of a chosen child of
God. Think of how Benjamin must have
been feeling on his way down to Egypt with his brothers to
face Joseph. They left Jacob. Going back,
they need food. Going back down. And Benjamin
wasn't with his brothers on their first visit, but they had told
him how harshly Joseph had treated them. How Simeon has been in
prison while they've been gone. He must have been quite anxious
to be approaching this man. But when they arrived, rather
than being treated harshly, they were greeted with kindness and
as welcome guests. Turn the page over to Genesis
43, 34. And Joseph took and sent messes
unto them from before him, But Benjamin's mess was five times
so much as any of theirs, and they drank and were married with
him. As we sit in services such as
this, particularly when we're lost and undone, and we hear
the speaker declare that the word of God says, God is just
and he will not pass over sin. And the workers of iniquity will
hear the Lord declare, depart from me. And we leave the service,
we go out in the world and we look around us and we see men
who live in outright rebellion to God flourishing in the world. They've got all the comforts,
they've got all the money, they've got all the goods, they're doing
grand. As Benjamin's taken in and this
feast is laid before him, can you think of what he thought
of his brother's representation of Joseph when they came back
from that first trip? This man who is piling food before
us and entertaining us, don't yell harshly. Threw Simeon in
prison? Y'all must have offended him.
This is a good man. He's an easy get along with man.
I like this guy. How often have we heard men and
women making deals with God while enduring a trial? When a sickness
comes upon them or a loved one and they begin bargaining with
God. I'll go to church. I'll clean up my life. If you'll
just do some temporal blessing for me. They soon forget that
bargain whenever that trial passes and go back to living as they
were because they consider God their equal. He thinks as they
think. And they think by doing their
best, they'll be accepted as human. They are willfully ignorant
that those who do not at this moment believe the Son of the
wrath of God abiding on earth. Amen. And that God is angry with
the wicked every day. As they sit at this table having
a feast, Benjamin didn't know that Joseph
knew all about it. Have you, like I have, read Joseph's
account and eliminated Benjamin from being present when Joseph
was sold? Or perhaps you considered that
Benjamin didn't hate Joseph because they had the same mother. It's
not what the scriptures tell us. They don't record exactly
who was there when he was sold, but when Joseph revealed his
star, I mean the dream of the stars, There were 11 stars down
there. That included Benjamin. We don't read that Joseph's brothers,
except Benjamin, hated him all the more. No, we read, and Joseph
dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren, and they hated
him yet the more. Another thing I'm guilty of when
I read these accounts is Benjamin's just a boy. After all, he's called
the lad. Didn't send the lad with him. Glance over to Genesis 46, verse
21. This is where it's recorded the
names of those that went down with Jacob to Egypt. 46, 21, and the sons of Benjamin were
Bela, and Beker, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh,
Mupin, and Hupin, and Ard. This lad had 10 sons when he
was feasting with Joseph. So provided that Benjamin was
present when Joseph was sold, what grace Joseph displayed as
he gave him five times so much as theirs. How merciful God is
to us rebellious sinners, and particularly to those of us who
have been raised in a household who God has saved, who have parents
that love us and keep us under the sound of the gospel. And then those of us who God
has saved and give us the ability and desire to meet with his people
and worship his son together. We certainly don't deserve the
rich blessings that he's bestowed upon us. God will, in His appointed
time, make the man who He intends to show mercy to realize the
great debt that He owes. And Joseph commanded the steward
of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as much
as they can carry. and put every man's money in
his sack's mouth, and put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's
mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according
to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light,
the men were sent away, they and their asses. And when they
were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said
unto his steward, Up, follow after the men, and when thou
dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have you rewarded
evil for good? Is not this it in which my Lord
drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth? Ye have done evil,
and so doeth. And he overtook them, and he
spake unto them these same words. Benjamin must have been living
a pretty good life while Joseph was away in Egypt. He had become
the favored son. Look at the lengths to which
Jacob took to not send Benjamin to Egypt. Best I can guesstimate, there
were at least 11 years that had passed since Joseph was sold,
and probably more than that. We don't know how long he served
with Potiphar, and we don't know how long he was in prison before
those two servants were sent down. And I just imagine that
Benjamin and his brothers during that time had convinced themselves
that Joseph was dead. There's no way he would have
survived being a slave. So they had convinced themselves
that he was dead. And beyond that, they took some
comfort in the fact that, well, at least we didn't murder him.
We just sold him. But before Joseph reveals to
them who he is, he first will let them know who they are. So
Joseph, who doesn't have God's power to look upon the heart,
has his servant plant his cup in Benjamin's sack. And after they leave, Joseph
calls his servant and sends him with full authority to bring
them back to his captives. God, in the person of the Holy
Spirit, sends out his law through the preaching of the gospel. And that law, in which all of
us, by nature, take the light and keep it, we'll find some
way to convince ourselves that we've kept at least a portion
of that law. Something that we can stand and
say, I didn't murder him, I just sold him. I kept the law. But that same law, God sends
and smites us. And we're made to know that we
have transgressed against God. Hold your place here in Genesis
and look over with me at Romans chapter seven. Paul experienced
this same thing. He thought that he kept the law
as a Pharisee, and it wasn't until God met him on the Damascus
road that he experienced becoming a sinner. What shall we say then? Is the
law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known
sin, but by the law. For I had not known lust, except
the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. taking occasion by the commandment
brought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law, sin was
dead. For I was alive without the law
once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment which was
ordained to life I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion
by the commandment, deceived me and by it slew it. God reveals what this heart is. Then we'll know. We need a mighty
redeemer. But oh, how wicked we are. Our
reaction when at first our sins are revealed is most often the
same as these brothers. Back over in Genesis 44 verse
7. And they said unto him, Wherefore
saith my Lord these words? God forbid that thy servants
should do according to this thing. Behold, the money which we found
in our sack's mouths we brought again unto thee out of the land
of Canaan. How then should Should we steal
out of thy Lord's house silver or gold? With whomsoever of thy
servants it be found, both let him die, and we also will be
my Lord's bondsmen. We justify ourselves. Judah said,
we don't have need of your silver or gold or anything else that
you would provide. We brought it all back when you
sent it with us the first time. We'll justify ourselves and cover
for ourselves until the truth is unavoidably revealed and the
silver cup is found in my sacks now. God reveals that I am the
sinner who has rebelled against God and I'm forced to become
as Judah in verse 16. What shall we say unto my Lord? What shall we speak, or how shall
we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity
of thy servants." The Holy Spirit will convict us of sin and of
righteousness and of judgment. We will know that we have sinned.
More than that, we will know that we are nothing but sin. We will know that God is righteous,
holy, and separate from sinners, and we will be made to know judgment
that we deserve God's blessing. If we do not have a mighty redeeming,
then we will receive the just reward of our sin, eternal death. Benjamin, having been fully found
out, and his sins revealed, is returned to Joseph. Let's look
at chapter 45, verse one again. Then Joseph could not refrain
himself before all them that stood by. Can you imagine how
his heart yearned to tell his brothers, I'm Joseph. I'm going to take care of him.
After all those brothers, after what they had put him through,
and yet his heart's burning to reveal himself to them. And he cried, Cause every man
to go out from me, and there stood no man with him, while
Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud,
and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph
said unto his brethren, I am Joseph, doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer
him, for they were troubled at his presence. Joseph said unto
his brethren, come near to me, I pray you. And they came near
and he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now, therefore, be not grieved
nor angry with yourselves that ye sold me hither, for God did
send me before you to preserve life. Christ most often deals
with his people one on one. Joseph had everyone go out while
he made himself known to his brothers. And what fear and dread
had to come over those men standing before him. This is our brother,
who we sold into slavery, who we wanted to kill. And he now
has the power of life and death over us. He's going to extract
his vengeance upon us. when the sinner comes to the
realization that it is for his sins that Jesus Christ hangs
upon that cross, as if it were for his sins alone, as if no
one else in the world existed except for this sinner. You look upon that man on the
cross, and cry out with David, against thee, thee only have
I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest
be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
And we come to the realization that that is the Son of God hanging
upon that tree, suffering my just punishment. Is there any
wonder that we fear in his presence? At the same time, almost instantaneously
as we receive that revelation, we hear God say to us, be not
greedy, nor angry with yourselves that you nailed me to this tree,
for God would send me before you to preserve you. Joseph's family did not go looking
for help until they were in need. We, sons and daughters of Adam,
will not seek redemption until we're made aware that we need
to be redeemed. When God sets to work upon one
of his chosen children, they will be made to know that they
are without, without Christ, having no hope, and without God
in the world. And as Jacob heard that there
was bread in Egypt, they'll hear that the bread of life came down
from heaven, and will seek after Him. Christ took on our likeness,
fulfilled the law, bore our sin, suffered our curse, and rose
to be the Savior of sinful men. Guilty and vile though we be,
come to Christ. Call upon Him for mercy, for
He alone is our mighty Redeemer. Once you see Him as He is and
will find our life wrapped in His, we'll never cease coming. Famine was only two years in
when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. There were five
years of famine to come. From the time they moved to Egypt,
until at least the end of the family, when Jacob or his sons
needed bread, they went to Joseph. And Joseph provided everything
that they needed for as long as he was on call. Oh Lord, keep us coming to Christ. We need His grace and His mercy
in all things for this life and the life to come.