together to Hebrews chapter 11
verse 22. This chapter is written, given
to us by divine inspiration to encourage us as believers to
faithfulness. Faithfulness in all things. Not
only that we be faithful, but that we encourage one another
in faithfulness. I want, by the grace of God,
to be faithful to my God in every aspect of my life. I fail miserably, but I want
with all my heart to faithfully serve him in my family, in my
heart, in my life, in this assembly, in the work to which he's called
me, which is trusted to my hands and to our hands together. I
have endeavored, since God was pleased to save me by his grace,
conscientiously to faithfully set before those who were influenced
by me an example of faithfulness. And I want to do that. I want
to do that. for you, for my daughter, son-in-law,
my wife, my grandchildren. I want to show by example that
we who are washed in the blood of Christ, my soul, bought at such a price, belong
to God, a lock, stock, and barrel. I'm determined not to allow my
daughter, my granddaughter, grandson, son-in-law, my wife, or anybody
else in any way to find themselves ranked superior to Christ and
his gospel, his worship. And certainly not my pleasure,
not my desires. I'm here tonight because I want
to be. I'm here tonight because I ought to be. I'm here tonight
to worship God because I want to show you how to worship him.
I want to lead you. in worshiping him. And we have
before us an example of a man who was faithful. And he sets
before his brethren in their weakness at the time when he
was leaving this world an example of what it is to believe God
and be faithful to him. Hebrews 11 verse 22. Brother
Rex Bartley has asked me a couple of times about this text of scripture,
and I've said to him, do you want me to give you the abbreviated
version? Do you want to wait for the full
version? Well, this is the full version.
By faith, Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing
of the children of Israel and gave commandment concerning his
bones. Now, you can hold your hands
here and turn back to Genesis chapter 50. This is what the
text is referring to. Let me give you some comments,
give you a little background. When Joseph was just 17 years
old, just 17 years old, that's a pretty young fella. He was
carried away into a foreign, heathen land because he believed
God. His brothers despised him. because
he believed God. His brothers sought to kill him
and they were prevented in God's providence and sold him into
slavery because he believed God. He remained in that land all
his life. And for many, many years he remained
in that land surrounded by idolaters. And until the Lord God in his
providence and goodness brought Israel down to Egypt, there is
no indication anywhere in scripture that Joseph ever again had any
contact with anyone who knew God, who worshiped God, who believed
God. That's tough time. That's tough
time. How he must have recalled and
longed for those days again when he walked in sweet fellowship
with his family in the worship of God. For all those years,
no indication he ever met another person who knew God. And yet
this lone believer dwelt in the land of these idolaters faithful. He was in the land of those people.
who worship the ancient moon god called Sihon, whom the Muslims
now call Allah. Whenever you hear the news media
talking to you about Allah and God and the Muslims calling Allah
God and referring to God the same way we do, don't pay attention
to that nonsense. Allah is but a modern derivative
in the Arabic language of the name for the Sihon god of the
ancient pagans among the Egyptians and Babylonians. And yet in those
days, Joseph was kept faithful. There was no Bible to read. No part of God's word had yet
been written down. He had no companions. He had
no friends to help him along the way. But he was steadfast
in faith. A faithful man without the aid
of anyone except him, whose aid alone he could not do without.
He found the Lord God to be his strength, his refuge, and his
shield throughout those days. Thirteen years of imprisonment
didn't make him bitter. I'll be honest with you, I expect
it would have me. Being made Lord over Egypt didn't spoil
him. It would most. The evil examples
around him for all those years had absolutely no corrupting
influence on him. What a remarkable testimony to
the grace of God. The Lord God who promised my
grace is sufficient for thee proved his grace sufficient. Through many dangers, toils and
snares he had already come. It was grace that kept him safe
thus far and grace at last would bring him home. You see, in his
earliest days, Joseph was taught the worship of God. He was taught
who God is. He was taught the promises of
God in his covenant to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph
believed God. Before ever he was sold into
slavery as an Egyptian boy, 17 years old, he was already a believer. He was convinced in his heart
of the testimony of God given him by his father. Oh, let us
be encouraged to train our children by word and by example in the
faith of Christ, in the worship of our God. Seems strange to me that Joseph's
extraordinary faith is set before us in this passage of scripture
here in Hebrews 11. that his extraordinary faith
is set before us in this particular incident. If I had been looking
at Joseph's life as an example of great faith, I would have
done what so many preachers in the past have done when they
select Joseph and point to his examples of faith. I would have
pointed to him fleeing from Potiphar's wife and willing to suffer whatever
he had to and loyalty to that man who was his master. I would
have pointed to him being loyal and faithful in prison. I would
have pointed to him and pointed to his brothers and saying, you
meant for evil, but God meant it for good. I'm in the place
of God. But I'm not the Holy Spirit and I recognize I never
did know much about such things. The Holy Spirit chooses rather
to bring us to the very last revealed act in this man's life
when he was dying. He passes over Joseph's acts
of charity. He passes over his his benevolence
to his brethren, he passes over his contentment with God's providence,
he passes over how Joseph ruled wisely in Egypt, how Joseph interpreted
Pharaoh's dreams, how he was exalted and how he cared for
the people and provided for Israel in their time of need. And he
brings us to this one, one event in his life. You see, the great
purpose of this chapter is to encourage us to believe God. to encourage us to remain faithful,
to encourage us to be steadfast in the faith of Christ our Redeemer. And in doing so, the way the
Holy Spirit would encourage us to such steadfastness, the way
he would encourage us to such faithfulness, is by assuring
us that if we're God's, it's ours. Isn't that remarkable? Isn't that remarkable? I told
you to hold your hands in Genesis 50 and here in Hebrews 11, but
let me give you a couple of other texts. Turn with me, if you will,
to 1 Thessalonians. 1 Thessalonians. I'm going to read a couple of
other passages to you. In 1 Corinthians 10, the Holy Spirit is encouraging
us to be faithful. He's encouraging us to resist
temptation. He's encouraging us to endure
trial, and he promises us that if we're God's, he'll fix us,
so we will. He says, there has no temptation
taken you, but such as is common to man. We all think our troubles
are peculiar to ourselves, and God says no. No trouble will
ever come your way that's not common to men. But God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted, above that you are able,
but will with the temptation whatever it is, make a way to
escape. And that way is Christ. That
you may be able to bear it. Oh, preacher, how can I endure
this? Look to Christ. How can I bear this? Look to
Christ. How can I overcome this? Look
to Christ. Would to God I could put every
psychologist and psychoanalyst and religious counselor and The
idiots who pass in the name of religion out of business forever.
Look to Christ. That's the answer. That's the
answer. The Lord God promises the Philippians,
being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. If God put his hand in your heart,
he'll keep it there till he brings you to glory. That's what he
says. If God has worked in you His mighty work of grace, He
will continue working in you His mighty work of grace until
He brings you to glory at last. The Apostle Paul urges us by
inspiration to steadfastness and faithfulness, and he says
the foundation of God stands sure. It has this seal. The Lord knows them that are
here. Therefore, everyone that names the name of Christ depart
from iniquity. Now look here at 1 Thessalonians
5, verse 18. In everything give thanks. Now wait a minute, preacher.
Surely that's not how that ought to read. Surely that's exactly
how it ought to read. In everything give thanks. For
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Now you
can interpret that either of these two ways. You ought to
interpret both these ways. Whatever it is that you presently
experience, that's God's will, Bob Duff, for you. Whatever it
is, I don't care how sweet it is or how bitter it is, that's
God's will. The will wouldn't happen. And
it's God's will for you to give him thanks. That's what his essence is. In
everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus specifically concerning you. Quench not the spirit. Despise not prophesies. Don't
despise the word of God, the preaching of the gospel, the
work of his spirit. Prove all things. Hold fast to
that which is good. Abstain from every appearance
of evil. I know fellows refer to that 22nd verse and they talk
about, you know, If something looks evil, then you stay away
from it. And they say, you know, you ought
not go to this place or that, where this or that, because it
looks bad. That's not what he's talking about. He's talking in
the context about that which you hear. The preaching you hear,
the doctrine you hear. If it appears evil, abstain from
it. If it appears to exalt men, if
it appears to pamper your flesh, if it appears to lift you up,
if it appears to make you feel good about yourself, you mark
it down, it's evil. and the very God of peace, sanctify
you fully. And I pray God your whole spirit,
soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And I'm so thankful he didn't
stop at that. Read the next line. Faithful
is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Now here's a question. It's a
question I'm sure you've asked yourself more than once. It's
a question that vexes the minds and hearts of God's people in
every age. Do I have a faith that will support
me amid the frailties of age and the pains of decaying nature?
Do I have a faith that will give me peace when it comes time for
me to leave this world? Most of us profess faith in Christ.
The hour is rapidly approaching when we're going to find out
whether or not we believe God. God alone knows when. But I assure
you of this, nothing will sustain your soul in peace except faith
in Jesus Christ, which God alone can give when you're about to
meet God. Nothing will sustain your soul
in peace except faith in Christ, which God alone can give when
you're about to meet God. A little religious profession
won't be of any help to you. Your good works will not sustain
your soul. Your religious experiences will
be of no value to you in that day. Your refuge of lies will
be to you a miserable tormentor rather than a comforter. Only
faith, God-given faith, faith in Christ will sustain your soul
in peace when you're about to meet God. Now let's look here
at the example that's given us in this text. In Hebrews 11.22, by faith Joseph,
when he died, made mention of the departing of the children
of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. Now back
in Genesis chapter 50, verse 22. Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and
his father's house. And Joseph lived a hundred and
ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children
of the third generation. The children also of Macca the
son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees. And Joseph
said to his brothers, I die, and God will surely visit you
and bring you out of this land unto the land which you swear
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Verse 25, And Joseph took
an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit
you, and you shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died
being 110 years old. And they embalmed him and he
was put in a coffin in Egypt. Let me show you three things.
First, Joseph believed God amid severe trials and temptations. Persistent trials, persistent
temptations. Our text passes over the other
events of his life, so I will. But Joseph was brought down to
Egypt by his brother's betrayal. Brought down to Egypt by the
hands of wicked men. Brought down to Egypt at the
hands of men who ought to have honored him. And so in all things,
he was surely a picture and type of our Lord Jesus Christ, imminently
so. But the Holy Spirit passes over
so much that happened with this man. And it points us to just
this one thing about Joseph. His faith, in the midst of great
trial, right up to the end, he believed God. This man, Joseph,
was a man in possession of great power and great property. He was a wealthy man, a wealthy
man. Most likely, most likely, not
even Abraham or Job would have compared to Joseph in wealth.
You see, God does call some men in high positions. Some of his
servants are found in Caesar's court. Some are found in Josiah's
court. Some are found in Pilate's court.
And there was at least one found in Pharaoh's court. Don't ever
imagine that just because a man is in a high position, that he's
given power and influence, he cannot possibly know God. Not
many serve God in such places, but here's one who did. Here's
one who did. That in itself is a great trial
of faith, because he walks among folks who use religion and use
God, but never think about knowing him and worshiping him. was the highest ranking official
in a land of idolaters, serving a mighty king who was himself
a base idolater. You think you had trials? Try
that way. He was wealthy beyond imagination. The riches of themselves do not
injure a person. Whether we're rich or poor, we
simply must not set our hearts upon material things. That's
the danger of riches. We need to learn in whatsoever
state we are therewith to be content. Serving God where we
are with what God's put in our hands. Oh God, teach me that. Teach me to use what you have
put in my hands today for you. And don't concern myself with
what's not in my hands. The wise prayer of Lemuel was
this. Deny me not these two things. Remove far from me vanity and
lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food convenient
for me, lest I be full and deny thee. And say, who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal?
and take the name of my God in vain. Listen to what our Lord
said, no do better than that, turn there if you will, Matthew
chapter six. So many times we read scriptures
and we read them in the context of how they have been quoted
and presented to us all our lives and never pay any attention to
the context in which they're given. In Matthew chapter six,
verse 31, Our Lord says take no thought saying what shall
we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we be clothed.
Now he is not saying don't think about what you're going to wear
tomorrow. He is not saying don't think about where you're going
to get your next meal. That's not what he's saying. He says take
no anxious thought. Don't let these things fret you.
Don't let these things vex you. Don't let these things cause
you to bite your nails and paste the floor. For after all these
things," do you see that, verse 32? After all these things do
the Gentiles, the heathen, the unbelieving, seek. That's what
all, everybody who works in your office, Lindsay, works for those
things right there. Everybody down there. Everybody down there.
Everybody in your neighborhood works for those things right
there. That's what they live for. That's what, that's how they,
that's how they set their goals in life. What should we eat?
What should we drink? Where are we going to live? How
are we going to live? Not God's people. For your Heavenly Father knows
that you have need of these things. Is that enough for you? Your father knows what you need.
Your father knows what you need. But seek ye first. That is what
he's saying. Seek this and nothing else. the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And your father will take care
of everything you need. All these things shall be added unto you. Take no thought therefore for
the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of
itself. You'll have enough to worry about
tomorrow when tomorrow comes. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. If he be risen with Christ, seek
those things which are above. Oh, Don Fortner, hear what God
says. Set your affection on things
above. Set your affection. Set the affection of your soul
on Christ, not on things down here. When Joseph knew that he was
dying, he believed God. He said to his brethren, he said,
I'm dying. I'm dying. And he spoke to them about God's
promises, God's gospel, God's grace, and God's salvation. He said, now fellows, I'm dying.
And I know you didn't pay any attention to me when I came out
and told you what God revealed to me. I know you haven't been
hearing me all these years, but I'm telling you, the Lord God
told our father Abraham that he's going to send Israel down
to Egypt for 400 years. And the Lord God said, I'm going
to visit them and I'm going to bring them out and I'm going
to put them in a land that I'll tell you about. He said, God's
going to bring you out of this place. God's going to fulfill
his covenant. And when he does, You promise
me now, you swear by the name of our God that you won't leave
me down here, but you'll carry my bones out yonder to Canaan
and bury them in the place of God's promise." How on earth could he be so confident? Everything that he spoke of on
his deathbed, if I faith, was totally contrary to reason. Totally
contrary to everything he could see. Totally contrary to everything
he had thus far experienced. Israel was in Goshen. They had
everything good in Goshen. Why on earth would they even
think about leaving? They never had it so good as
they had it now. Joseph knew that they were soon to become
slaves. They didn't know it, but he did. Why on earth would
he expect that they should be delivered if they were brought
into utter bondage? You see, faith doesn't reason. Faith doesn't calculate. Faith
doesn't say, can I? Faith doesn't say, do you reckon
I can do this? Faith believes God. Faith believes
God. Let me show you something else.
Because he believed God, Joseph refused to become are even to
be regarded as an Egyptian. His faith in Christ compelled
him to identify himself with Christ and with his people, with
his gospel and his worship, and he did so publicly, he did so
before his brethren, and he did so before the Egyptians. Now
remember, Joseph was not asked merely to be an Egyptian. He
was not even asked merely to be a noble Egyptian. Joseph was
called by Pharaoh and given the name in Egypt of prime minister,
one who was second to none but Pharaoh in the land of Egypt,
in the greatest empire the world knew. And Joseph refused to take
the title. Now listen to me, he took all
the initiative and did all that Pharaoh told him to do. He acted
out the part of prime minister. He was governor over Egypt in
the name of Pharaoh. He gave corn to the folks who
were hungry, sold it exactly as he promised he would. He was
the most loyal, faithful citizen there was in Egypt, but he refused
to take the title Pharaoh gave him. Let me give you some evidence
of it. There is a pyramid in the land of the Pharaohs Pyramid
of Pharaoh Apophis, I'm not sure I'm pronouncing it correctly.
Right next to it, there's the tomb of a prince. His names and
titles are given in hieroglyphics. The name given, one of them means
director of the king's granaries. The other means bow the knee. But nobody's buried in that tomb. That tomb, I don't have any question
at all, was made for Joseph. But Joseph refused to be an Egyptian. He refused to take the honors
of Egypt. He refused to be put in the category
of those who would not worship our God. If we would follow Christ,
we must constantly We refuse to align ourselves with this
world, the religion of this world, and the people of this world.
Our Lord tells us by the Apostle John, love not the world. And preachers all the time telling
us, you know, you don't love this, you don't love that thing
in the world. That's not what he's saying. In fact, he says,
love not the world. neither the things that are of
the world. Don't love this world, its system,
or its people. Don't set your heart on this
world. Don't set your heart on the things that are in this world.
If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. Never was there a man who served
his generation more faithfully in this world than Joseph. And
never was there a man who had greater opportunity to use this
world and seize this world and get this world for himself and
for his family than Joseph. And he said, I won't do it. I
won't do it. Something more important than
me, something more important than what I want, something more
important than my pleasure. And that's my God and my Savior. Faith manifests itself by love
to God's people. And Joseph demonstrated his love
for his brethren, both in his actions and in his words, in
the most public way possible. At the very time of his death,
his heart was engaged in the future happiness and prosperity
of God's people, Israel. You say, well, but they were
his physical brothers. Let me tell you something. If
that's all the connection they had, those fellas probably wouldn't
have lasted long down there. Because those fellas fully deserved
to die. They fully deserved to die. Joseph
saw them as representatives of God's people. And his heart was
for them. His heart was set upon them.
And in his dying act, his heart was upon the welfare of God's
church and kingdom. Like Eli's daughter-in-law, who
cried in her dying breath, the Lord is departed from Israel.
Joseph's heart was with Israel when he was leaving this world.
Like our Savior, who having loved his own, loved them to the end.
Joseph's heart was with God's church to the end. Oh, God give
me such a heart. As Joseph believed God, in and through everything that
seemed to contradict his word. Let us believe God, though everything
seems to contradict his word. God's going to do his church
good. God's going to sustain his people. When the enemy comes
in like a flood, God promises he will lift up the standard
and he will pour out his spirit. The Lord God promises the gates
of hell will not prevail against his church. I have in recent
days had so many telephone calls, notes from different fellows
who seem to just be in despair about what's going on. Oh, what
does this mean? What does this mean? What does
this mean? I don't know what all the stuff going on around
this means. I don't know what it means. I
don't pretend to. But I know what it doesn't mean.
It doesn't mean God's abandoned his purpose. It doesn't mean
God's abandoned his church. It doesn't mean God's abandoned
his grace. The Lord God has made this day
and he made it for us and we will rejoice in his goodness. Joseph's faith was faith in Christ. When he said the Lord's going
to visit you, he spoke of God visiting his people. and bringing
them into the land of promise, but he wasn't just talking about
that earth to Cain. I had no question about that.
He's spoken of his being a great example of faith, of faith as
a believer, one who follows Christ. And he was speaking of that faith
in such a manner as to give an indication to his brothers that
listen to me. When God spoke to Abraham, he
was saying more than you've ever dreamed. God's going to visit
you. And God's going to bring you
up out of this place and he's going to plant you in the land,
he promised Abraham. Now I want you to promise me.
He gave commandment to his servants. I think it's in verses one and
two of chapter 50 in Genesis. He said, you fellas take me and
embalm me after the custom of the Egyptians. And he adapted
the custom of a bunch of pagans and made it to be a symbol of
faith believing in the resurrection. He said, you fellas take me and
fill me full of that abominable blood like you do the Egyptians.
Because one of these days this body's coming out of this grave.
And my brothers are going to take me and bury me in the land
of promise. And you know when they buried
him there? He was buried with Joshua in Joshua chapter 24,
after Joshua had declared to Israel, the Lord God, has fulfilled
every promise he swore to your father Abraham concerning this
land to give it to you for possession. And thus Joseph was buried in
the land of Egypt in hope of the resurrection, the resurrection
of these bodies. was intended, his act of faith,
his final words of faith, his final instructions were thirdly
intended to give instruction to his brethren about believing
God. Let us make it our business to
believe God. To set our hearts upon the promises
of God in Christ in covenant grace and not upon the things
we see around us. And let us take comfort as Joseph
did. For God has promised he's going
to visit us. And he's going to bring us up
out of this place. And he's going to plant us in
the land of the living. in the glory of His Son. And with that, God give us grace
to live and give us grace to die for the glory of His name. Amen.