Go back to Genesis 48, title of the message, God Almighty
hath appeared unto me and blessed me. Those were Jacob's dying
words, a part of them. He has more to say in 149, but
God hath appeared unto me and he blessed me. Jacob has been
living in Goshen for some time now. He lived there 17 years. You remember when Pharaoh asked
Jacob how old he was, he said, I'm 130 years old. You and evil
have been my days. But he lived another 17 years
after that. He was 147 years old when he
died. But this is just before he passes
away. He's getting ready to die. He's
getting ready to go home to the real promised land. He's getting ready to go to the
real promised land. But before he dies, he gives
a blessed testimony of God's grace and promise to him before
his son Joseph and his two grandsons. Three people there that he thought
he'd never see. He never thought he would see
Joseph again, but he is now looking at Joseph, talking to Joseph,
and he says, not only did I get to see you, but I get to see
my grandchildren from you. God works in wondrous ways. his wonders to perform. So he gives this testimony to
them. And I thought, what a blessing
to be able to die with such a witness to the grace
of God to one's family. Wouldn't you like this to be
your deathbed? Would you like this to be your
testimony to your grandchildren or your great-grandchildren? Now, Jacob was sick, and it's
told to Joseph, and he takes his two sons and he goes and
visits his father, Jacob. He knows this is serious. And
one told Jacob and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee."
And Israel strengthened himself. Here he is sick, lying in his
bed, but he hears that Joseph is coming. And he musters up
all the strength that he can so he can sit up in the bed.
And he sat up, he says here, he sat up in the bed. Any news
about Joseph was good news to Jacob. Any time he heard that
Joseph was coming, it strengthened his heart. And that made me think
of this. Any news about Christ, our Joseph,
any news about him is good news to the believer. It's good news.
Tell me. Tell me that he cometh one more
time. Tell me that He's coming one
more time. Tell me He's on His way one more
time. We sing that song, Tell Me the
Story, that old, old story. It never gets old, does it? Oh,
it strengthens us when we hear of Christ, and especially when
we hear of Him coming. It strengthens us. Now here's Jacob's testimony
to his family. And Jacob said unto Joseph, God
Almighty, that's the name he called him, because that's the
name that God appeared unto him back earlier in Genesis. I think
it's back over in Genesis 28 in that area. God Almighty appeared
unto me in Luz, that is Bethel. Bethel, the house of God, in
the land of Canaan, the promised land. And he blessed me. He blessed
me. God Almighty. The other name is El Shaddai,
which means the all-sufficient God. Here is a man around 147
years of age, and he says, God, and this is what he's going to
tell Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim, God is all-sufficient. Son, God
is all-sufficient. Wouldn't you like to be able
to say that when you're dying bed to your children, your grandchildren? Just look them in the face and
say, God is all-sufficient. Christ is all-sufficient. Christ
is all you need. And that's what he's saying to
them. God Almighty. God Omnipotent. God All-Sufficient. This is something
that a believer takes comfort in. The power of God to keep me. To keep me. Take comfort in that. The power of God to save and to deliver out of trouble.
How many times did God deliver Jacob out of trouble? How many times? How many times
has He delivered us out of trouble? I don't need a helper. God gave
me a helpmate in Vicki. But I need I need a deliverer. You need one? I need a deliverer. I need one who's mighty. I need
one who's able, who's able to subdue all my enemies. I need one who's able to save
me from the curse of the law, which is a very, very real curse. I need one who can save me from
the power of Satan. The Lord said to Peter, Satan
hath desired thee to sift thee as wheat, but I prayed for him. I prayed for you. I prayed for
you that your faith fell not. That's who I need. That's who
I need. And I need one to save me, I mean save me, from myself. I have learned over the years
that I am my worst enemy. I need one who can save me from
myself. And I have this in God Almighty. I have this in El Shaddai. I have it. You remember when
the Lord was speaking to Abraham. They were going to go down there
to Sodom and Gomorrah. And the Lord stopped there. There
was three of them. One of them was the Lord. And He was telling
Abraham about it. But He was telling Abraham at that time
also about them having a child. And Sarah laughed. She was behind
the tent and she laughed. She said, I didn't laugh. Well,
you did laugh. If the Lord said you laughed,
you laughed. And she laughed and listened. And the Lord said
in Genesis 18, 14, Is anything too hard for the Lord? Is anything? And the older I
get, the more things get harder for me. I learned that. I'm learning
that. But nothing, nothing is too hard
for the Lord. It says in Matthew 19, 26, But
Jesus beheld them and said unto them, With men it is impossible. Salvation with men is impossible. But with God, all things are
possible. That's our God. This God with
whom all things are possible is our God, is our God. Now God has made and makes, even
to this day, His power known in many ways. He said over in
one Psalm, Psalm 46, Come and behold the works of the Lord,
what desolations He hath made in the earth. What desolations He hath made.
What power He has. But God has made His power known. in creation. What an amazing
thing that we look at every day and don't really think about
it. Really, do we? We really don't think about the
marvel of what we are walking on, what we see, what goes on
and what has to go on in creation every day. His power is displayed
every day in creation. When He created the world, He
created it out of nothing. Man has never created anything
out of nothing. We have to take something and
put it together. But not God. He spoke, and it
stood forth. Listen to Psalm 33, verse 9.
For He spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. Almighty God did not mix Part
A with Part B. There were no parts until He
commanded their being. By what we behold every day,
and we see it I guess so often, we really don't give much thought
to it. Really don't give much thought to the wisdom of God. Someone said one time, let's
see if I can remember how he quoted it. He said, it took divine
wisdom to make such variety work in such harmony. Stephen Sharmock
said that. That's who said it. Every day
we see this, we see it, we behold it. And the world, this world
is without excuse concerning the power and being of God. Listen to Romans 1.20. For the
invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,
even His eternal power. The world looks and beholds this
every day. Scientists, they take these telescopes
and look way, way, way, way out there. They see and behold the
eternal power and Godhead every day. And the Scripture says,
and they are without excuse. Listen. Turn over to Psalm 19.
Let's turn to a few of these. Psalm 19. The heavens, in verse 1, the
heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth
his handy work. Day unto day uttereth speech,
and night unto night showeth knowledge. Knowledge of what? You can write this out beside
this verse. Knowledge that God is, that God is. There is no speech nor language
where their voice of creation is not heard. It declares the
power of God every day, the being of God every day, every day. And there's no excuse not to
believe that God is and that we ought to seek Him. We ought
to seek Him. We see His power daily in creation,
daily. then God's power is seen in providence. You know, of course, I was studying
this, but I know that it's the same way like with creation.
We just get up, we go through the day, and we really never
give a lot of thought that everything that happens to the very minutest
of things is providential It's providential. God is making everything,
everything, absolutely everything work together. It works together. Providence is the execution by
God of His eternal decree in time. God guides. He governs. He controls all things. I mean to the atoms that float
in the air, and I can't even see. He controls all things in
order to bring to pass His eternal purpose, which He purposed in
Christ before the world began. I'm glad He's doing that. I'm
glad there is a purpose to this. And that purpose is in Christ. It has to do with Christ. over in Romans 8.28. Look over
here again. It's such a familiar verse. But
this shows the providence of God. Romans 8.28. And we know that
all things, that includes everything that exists, seen and unseen. that all things right now work
together for good. Everything that went on today,
absolutely everything, was for the good of God's elect.
Our good here and across the world. Everything that's decided
in government, everything that goes on in creation, every storm,
every wind. It says he hath his way in the
wind, whirlwind and in the storm. Everything. Works together, not
against each other. I tell you what now, I've worked
against myself probably most of my life. I've been out in
that shop so many times and been working and working and I know
you've probably done this. Work and work and work and you're
not getting anywhere. and just quit. I've done that
so many times, I just quit and go home. Frustrated. Everything, he says here, is
worked together for good. Now listen to them that love
God. It's not working together for
everybody's good, but it is for you who believe God. To them
who are called according to His purpose. We see His power today,
even this day. working in providence. We see it. Somebody quoted this. The king's heart is in the hand
of the Lord as the rivers of water. He turneth it whithersoever
he will. Old Joseph was a good example
of God's providence. You meant it for evil. God meant
it for good. God meant it for good. When the children of Israel
were in Egypt. God foretold that long before
it happened, didn't He? And then what happened? God providentially
sent Joseph down there. Then He sent a famine. And then
Israel followed. And they ended up in Egypt like
God said they would. He told that to Abraham. Years
and years before it happened. And God made it happen. And He
controlled the heart of Pharaoh in Egypt. It says Pharaoh hardened
his heart, but it also says God hardened his heart. God works in providence. Listen to Isaiah 46.11, calling
a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel. From a far country. You think
that man in a far country was thinking about this? You think
he was thinking about God's providence? No. God's providence moved this
person to come. Yea, I have spoken it. I will
also bring it to pass. How? By his providential working. I'll bring it to pass. I have
purposed it. I will also do it. Listen to Isaiah 46.10. Declaring
the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done. Saying my counsel shall stand
and I will do all my pleasure. How are you going to do that?
By His power in providence. Nothing in this life ever in
any way, shape, or form happens accidentally. Never. Teach that to your children.
God's in control of it. And then God's power, though,
it is really seen in salvation. Man by nature, and that includes
us, at one time or another, anyway, we were enmity in our minds. and in our hearts against God. Now how can that be overcome?
How can you take someone who absolutely hates you, despises
you, would love to take a gun and blow you off the throne? How are you going to overcome that? I'm not, and you're not. No amount of education in the
world will do that. It says in Psalm 110, verse 3,
thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. In the day of his power. In the
day that the Holy Spirit arrests you. In the day that the stronger
man takes over the house. and rules the house. And He brings
you to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ and beg for mercy. When
He regenerates you, gives you a new birth, that's how. That's
how an enemy, a person who is not at enmity, a person who is
enmity against God, God takes over. Gives them a new heart. Gives them a new nature. And
one day you find yourself in love with Him instead of hate. That's of God. That's of God. A sinner is not a challenge to
the power of God. You and I, we're not a challenge
to God. It's not a matter of power, it's
a matter of His will. It's a matter of His will. When
the Holy Spirit comes and takes over, He will regenerate and
He will complete the work. Listen to Philippians 1.6, being
confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it. Not try to, hope to, struggle
to. He will perform it until the
day of Jesus Christ. He will not give up. I'm no challenge to his power. But now if we really want to
see the power of God and salvation, we must look to Christ. We must look to the Lord Jesus
Christ who is the power of God to save. Listen to these scriptures. 1 Corinthians 1.24. But unto
them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power
of God and the wisdom of God. It says in Romans 1.16, For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Why are you not ashamed,
Paul? For it is the power of God unto
salvation. You know what that other translation
is? It is the dynamite of God. Christ, the preaching of Christ
and Him crucified is the dynamite of God unto salvation to everyone
that believe it, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. But let's
consider God's power in these things here. First of all, His
incarnation. Think of the power of God in
the incarnation of the Son of God. That man. That man, Christ
Jesus. Adam was created from the dust
of the ground. But the man, the human nature,
the body of Christ was created by the Word of God. Created by
the power of... He just spoke. He spoke His body
into existence. Listen to Luke chapter 1 verse
35. And the angel answered and said unto her, said unto Mary,
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest
shall overshadow thee. This woman knew no man, and she
turns up pregnant. It turns up pregnant. How's that? The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. He created that body and that
human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ in her womb, just spoken
into existence. She didn't contribute to it.
None of Adam's seed entered into him. That's why he knew no sin. He said, therefore, since, therefore,
since he is begotten by the Holy Spirit, therefore, also that holy thing,
that holy thing, he couldn't even get a name that would describe
him. That holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God. No human sin entered into his
being. He was begotten by God. And then his whole life was a
demonstration of the power of God. This man knew no sin. He was tried by Satan in the
wilderness. He was tried by those Pharisees.
He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. That took the power of God. When he was in the garden of
Gethsemane, getting ready to be made sin,
suffer the wrath of God, he cries out, if it be possible, let this
cup pass from me. He sweat blood. No ordinary man could handle
that. No ordinary man could do that.
That's the power of God. That's the power of God. Then we come here to this promise. Here's the promise that Jacob
repeats. He says, I will make thee fruitful. God said to Jacob,
I'm going to make something out of you. I'm going to make something out
of you. You're going to be fruitful.
Jacob left home. He didn't have anything. He went
out by himself. He didn't have anything. And he says, God said to Jacob,
I'm going to make you fruitful. What is God making out of us? What is he making out of us? Well, the scripture says that
we are made the righteousness of God in Christ. Fruitful. God takes a vile wretch,
that's what he does, and he makes him righteous. Righteous. He takes a rebel and
makes him a son and makes him be fruitful. In good works. Turn over to Ephesians chapter
2. In Ephesians chapter 2, listen
to this. In Ephesians chapter 2 verse
1. And you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sin. This is speaking of us. Wherein
in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air. the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also
we all had our conversation in times past, in the lust of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others, no
exclusion." You know, Paul doesn't say here, some of you were like
this. He said, no, this is the way
we all were. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace
ye are saved, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages
to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through
faith, and that is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of
works. lest any man should boast. We are His workmanship. We are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works. God said, I'm going to make you
fruitful. We've been made the righteousness of God in Christ, and He has enabled us in Christ
Do good works. You're going to be fruitful.
Which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Walk in them. And then He not only says, I
will make you fruitful, I will give you something. I'm going to give you something.
He says where Jacob is telling what God said, and will give
this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. An everlasting possession. God
gives Jacob that which he did not deserve. He did not earn. He didn't even
ask for it. He gave him the promised land.
Jacob, I'm going to give you something that you don't deserve. You didn't earn it. You haven't even asked for it. I am sought of them that ask
not after me. God has given to every believer
that which he does not deserve, Did not earn, didn't ask for. And what are those things? That's
everything that belongs to Christ. Everything that belongs to the
Lord Jesus Christ. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
redemption, Himself. God has given us Himself in Christ. All things are yours in Christ
for an everlasting possession. Everything I have in Christ I
will not lose. It's an everlasting possession. Everlasting. And there's something else God
gave to Jacob. Look over in verse 5. I'll start
winding this up. Be glad I don't preach like Pink.
I've been reading Pink's biography an hour and a half, an hour and
fifteen minutes. I thought, wow. But look over
here in verse 5. And now thy two sons, Ephraim
and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt
before I came unto thee into Egypt. are mine. Are mine. As Reuben and Simeon, they shall
be mine. Now, he says the rest of them,
you notice there in verse, I think it's six, and thy issue which
thou begettest after them shall be thine. They're yours, but
Ephraim and Manasseh are mine. They're going to be a part of
Israel. They are going to be a part of Israel. And they're
mine. They're a blessing to me. How's that? How's that? The old man's about ready to
die. About ready to die. Look over in Genesis 41. Genesis
chapter 41. Okay, look in verse 50. And unto
Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which
Ashenath, the daughter of Potipharah, priest of Onn, barren to him.
And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for God
said he hath made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. And then the name of the second
called he Ephraim, for God has called me to be fruitful in the
land of my affliction." Jacob says to Joseph, he said, Manasseh,
Ephraim are mine. They're mine. Manasseh means forgetting. Ephraim
means fruitful. God has forgotten all my sins. He has forgotten them. And you
know why he's forgotten them? Because they don't exist. They're
gone. They are gone. Through, in, and
by the Lord Jesus Christ, my sins are gone. I don't have any. His name means forgetting. I
may not be able to forget these things, but God forgets them.
He'll not remember them anymore. And He's made me fruitful. Eat for Him. Fruitful. Righteous. He's made me righteous in the
Lord Jesus Christ. He put away my sins. They're
gone. I'm telling you, in God's sight,
I am righteous. Not just looked upon as righteous.
I'm telling you the truth. Righteous. Righteous. Now I want
you to turn over to Isaiah 54. Isaiah 54. I'll tell you what verse when
I get there. I don't want you to get ahead of me. There are some benefits to standing
here. Verse 17, no weapon that is formed against
thee shall prosper. And every tongue that shall rise
against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage
of the servants of the Lord. Now listen, and their righteousness is of me, but it's theirs. It's of me, but it's theirs. It's not pasted on. They're righteous. I cannot be any more righteous
in God's sight than I am right now. Their righteousness is of
me. It's of me. Now in closing, I want you to
notice how Jacob gives God Almighty the glory for his whole life
in verse 15 and 16. And he blessed Joseph And he
said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac, listen, did
walk. That means they knew more than
facts. They knew God. They walked with
God. They walked with Him. The God
which fed me all my life long unto this day. Note the words, fed me all my
life long. Turn over to Psalm 23, and I'll
show you the interpretation of that word, those two words, fed
me. I like what Spurgeon, I read
something on Spurgeon some time ago, He said, we need to read
every now and then, read this in the past tense. The Lord's
my shepherd, I have not want. I have not wanted. He has made
me to lie down in green pastures. He has led me beside the still
water. I thought that was pretty good. Read it in the past tense
sometimes. But here's what this means. Fed me. Here's the translation
of it. This is what it means. I looked it up. The Lord is my
shepherd. Jacob is saying to Joseph and
to his two grandsons, and they're not little fellers. Somebody
I was reading today said he was like 20 years old. Around 2021. He's saying this
then. The Lord has shepherded me all
my life long. Even before I knew Him. That's
what he's saying. He's saying here that he has
He said, I have been fed and led and about ready to be put to
bed by the Lord, by the shepherd. He has shepherded. You write
that down. He has shepherded me. The great changes of his
life have been wisely ordered by the chief shepherd. That's
good. And the angel, he speaks here of redemptive
mercies. The angel, which here is the Lord Jesus Christ, the
messenger of the covenant. The angel which redeemed me.
Now, who's the redeemer? It's the kinsman. It's someone
that is your closest kin. That's what redeemer means. Your
closest kin had the right to redeem you. And Jacob is saying,
now listen, past tense. He didn't say he's going to redeem
me. He says, the angel which redeemed me. This matter is settled
and done. That's what he's saying. The
angel which redeemed me from all evil. Past tense. Jacob, like Job, knew that his
Redeemer lived. As far as Jacob was concerned,
it's done. It's done. Bless the lads. Oh, my. Bless the lads. And let
my name, no, let my name be named on them. Not Jacob, Israel. Israel, which means Prince with God.
Let that name fall on my grandsons. What a blessing. What a deathbed
blessing. What a way to go. In the name
of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, let him grow into a multitude
in the midst of the earth. I hope, I hope that we can give
such a testimony to our families in the end of our lives when
it comes time to die. I hope I can do this. I hope
I can. We will if God Almighty is our
God. If God Almighty is our God, we
will.