Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neiberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. In Genesis 45, verse 4, we read, And 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 you sold into Egypt." Now
some 20 years before this, his brethren had sold him as a slave
into Egypt. You remember that he had these
dreams that all of his brethren were going to bow before him
and they hated him. and they were moved with envy.
Joseph was the favorite of Jacob, and this moved them to envy. And they sold him as a slave. Now while in Egypt, working for
a man, the Lord prospered what he did in the house of Potiphar. And Potiphar's wife accused him
of rape. when he would not go into her. And so she told her husband that
he had come in and done this and he was thrown into prison
unjustly. He was thrown into prison for
something he did not do. Now while he was in prison, there
were two prisoners there, a butler and a baker, who had a dream. And he interpreted those dreams
for that butler and baker. And they said, remember me when
you go back into, he said to the butler who was going to be
restored to his position, remember me. And the butler forgot about
it. So here he is in prison two years
later, there for crimes he did not commit. Now during this time,
the pharaoh of Egypt had the dream about seven skinny cows
eating seven fat cows and seven skinny ears of corn eating seven
fat ears of corn and he didn't know what it meant. And his butler
said, I remember this man in prison who told me my dream,
perhaps he could tell you your dream. So he's brought out and
Joseph tells them seven years of famine are coming, and seven
years of plenty before that. And the seven years of famine
will destroy everything about the seven years of plenty. There's
going to be a famine over all the earth, so here's what you
need to do. You need to save everything you can, these seven
years of plenty, and then you'll be able to survive the seven
years of famine. So the Pharaoh made Joseph head
of Egypt. He made him second in command
to him only. And Joseph was given all this
power, and he was very successful in gathering up corn, and he
became the man who, if you're going to have food, you're going
to have to come to him for it. Now, Two years later, after the
plenty was over and the famine had started, it was going on
with his brethren who had long ago forgotten about Joseph. They
were so cruel in the way they did him. They were cruel with
Jacob, telling him that he probably had been slain by a beast, taking
the coat of many collars, dipping it in blood, and saying, is this
your son's coat? And he said, no doubt a beast
has torn him up. So two years into the famine,
Jacob hears there's corn in Egypt. And he says, go down and get
corn in Egypt. And they come to Egypt, and they
had to go to their brother Joseph. They didn't know he was Joseph.
He spake in the Egyptian language. He was shaved like an Egyptian,
and they had no idea it was their brother. But their brother knew
him. He knew them completely. And I don't have any doubt that
when he saw them bowing down before him, asking for food,
he remembered that dream that he had had, that they would bow
down for him, but he spoke roughly to them. And he said, you're
spies. And they said, no, we're true
men. And he said, you're spies. And they tried to tell him of
their family. No, we're true men. We're 12
brethren. One's dead. They didn't know
they were speaking to him. And the other's back at home with
his dad, Benjamin. He said, well, I'm going to give
you corn. But for you to come back and get more corn, you're
going to have to bring your brother, Benjamin. So they go back to
the land with the corn. And then when they come back
again, they're there with Benjamin. And he says he's going to keep
Benjamin. And they're so upset. Now, that's the setting. They
still don't know that he's Joseph. All they know about this man
is that they're in his hands and he can give them food or
he can have them put to death, whatever he wants to do. And
they are afraid. Joseph has spoken roughly to
them. He's not spoken to them in any language but the Egyptian
language. He had to speak to them through
a translator. Now, we read in chapter 45, verse 1. This is
when Joseph makes himself known to his brethren. And this is
one of the most touching stories in the Bible. We learn something
about forgiveness. We learn something about the
sovereignty of God. But most especially, we learn
the gospel of Jesus Christ through this story. Now, in Genesis chapter
45, verse 1. Then Joseph could not refrain
himself. He'd been refraining himself.
He'd been speaking roughly to them, but his heart yearned over
them. You see, in his heart, he'd already
forgiven. and he loved them. He saw them as his brethren. So there was a time when he could
not refrain himself any longer. Then Joseph could not refrain
himself before all them that stood by him. 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. Can you imagine
how surprised they were when he started speaking in the Hebrew
tongue, and they knew exactly what he was saying, and he's
letting them know, I am your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Verse two, and he wept aloud.
He was so moved. with emotion and seeing his brethren
and loving them. And he had forgiven them. And
he is so happy to see them, even after the horrible way that they
treated him, he has forgiven them. And he loves them. He wept aloud, the Egyptians
in the house of Pharaoh heard, and Joseph said unto his brethren,
I am Joseph. Does my father yet live? You're
talking about the man that's your father? He's my father.
Is he still alive? We have the same father. We're
brethren. And his brethren could not answer
him, for they were troubled at his presence. They were gripped
with fear. They were paralyzed with fear.
This is our brother. This is the one we sold into
Egypt 20 years before, and now he's the ruler of Egypt and we're
in his hands. And they think of the great guilt
they brought upon themselves and they couldn't even speak.
Paralyzed in fear, wondering what was going to take place.
Verse four, and Joseph said unto his brethren, come near to me,
I pray you. I'm sure they were looking for
a place to run. And he said, come near. And they
came near, and he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you
sold into Egypt. Now, somebody says, you don't
really forgive somebody unless you forget what they've done.
Joseph didn't forget. He knew exactly what they had
done. Now, the reason God can forget
is because there's nothing there for him to remember. When he
put away the sins of his people, he doesn't remember them anymore
because they're not there anymore. They're gone, they're canceled,
they're wiped away, they're blotted out. And when God says, there
are sins and iniquities, I remember them no more. It's because there's
nothing there to remember. But Joseph remembered what these
men had done. Perhaps he'd had 20 years to
think about it. When they sold him wickedly,
When he besought them not to, they sold him as a slave, so
heartless and cruel. And he says, I'm Joseph, your
brother, whom you sold into Egypt. He hadn't forgotten what they
had done, but he'd forgiven them. Now look what he says to them.
Now therefore, be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves that
you sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve
life. Now, God had revealed to Joseph
that the reason all this happened was according to his purpose. When he was betrayed, it was
God's purpose for him to be betrayed. When he was sent down to Egypt,
it was God's purpose for him to be sent to Egypt. When he
was thrown into jail, it was God's purpose for him to be thrown
in jail. When he's brought before Pharaoh
to interpret those dreams, it was God's purpose that he be
brought before Pharaoh to interpret those dreams. When he was made
head of Egypt, it was God's purpose for him to be head of Egypt so
he could be the one to save the lives of his brethren. You see,
everything happens according to God's sovereign purpose. There is no such thing as luck.
There's no good luck. There's no bad luck. There's
no chance. There's no happenstance. God is God, and he controls everything. And he says to these boys, be
not grieved nor angry with yourselves that you sold me hither, for
God did send me before you. to preserve life. For these two
years hath the famine been in the land, and yet there are five
years in which there shall be neither earing nor harvest, nothing
but famine, and God sent me before you. You did it wickedly, but
God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth
and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not
you that sent me hither, but God. And he hath made me a father
to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout
all the land of Egypt." You see, Joseph understood. that God is
completely sovereign over the free and uncoerced actions of
men. He really is God. And he had forgiven his brethren,
and he saw that God was the one who really had done all of this. So he tells them, you go back
to Canaan, and he loaded them with all kinds of things to bring
Jacob, and wagons and so on to bring him back. He said, you
go tell my father of my greatness and you tell him to come back
here and I'm going to nourish you in the land of Goshen. Now, the first thing that I would
like for us to consider is how Joseph had completely forgiven
his brethren. Oh, how evil were their actions
toward him. How willful, how malicious, how
heartless, how cruel, how terribly he was treated by his brethren.
They hated him. They envied him. They didn't
care a thing about him. They threw him in a pit. And
then when some, they were going to kill him. And one said, well,
let's, we wouldn't make any money off that. Let's go ahead and
sell him and get down in. And they sold him as a slave.
He forgave these men. before they ever asked for forgiveness.
He completely forgave them. And he had done this long before
he'd seen them. They horribly wronged him because
of their envy of him, but he forgave them completely and he
loved them. Now, if you and I have been forgiven
by God, we will forgive. Now, let me repeat that. If you
and I have been forgiven by God, we will forgive. I love the scripture, Ephesians
432, be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Why did God forgive
you? For Christ's sake. Holy for Christ's
sake. That's the only reason. Not because
you were sorry. Not because you asked him to
forgive you. Not because you promised to never do it again.
Not because you started to straighten up and fly right. He did it for
Christ's sake. And Christ's sake only. Have we ever understood that
salvation does not end in the forgiveness? of sins, it begins
with the complete forgiveness of sins. You don't do this, this,
and this, and believe this, and stop doing that, and then you're
forgiven. No, you find out you've been forgiven. That's understanding
forgiveness. You find out you have been forgiven
for Christ's sake. All your sins were put away by
His blood. And if you've seen how you've
been forgiven, you will be forgiven. You see how God has forgiven
you? And when you pray, you say, forgive us our debts as we forgive
those who are indebted to us. Forgive us our transgressions
as we forgive those who sin against us. We forgive the same way the
Lord does, for Christ's sake. And if somebody is not a forgiving
person, it's because they are not a forgiven person. If you have been forgiven, you
will forgive, and we see that so clearly in this case of Joseph.
The one you need, as far as this, think about this. The most God-like
thing you can ever do is forgive someone. And if God allows you
to be wronged to where you're put in a place where you need
to forgive, you're being allowed to do the most God-like thing
you'd ever do, forgive someone. You see Romans 8, 28 says, and
we know that all things work together for good. to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. And even when somebody wrongs
me, it's all for my good and God's glory, and I'm given the
grace to be able to forgive that person. You know, even when I
say that, I think, is the Lord gonna send me somebody to wrong
me that I'm gonna have to forgive? I hope not, but if I'm wronged,
I wanna forgive as I've been forgiven. Now, the next thing
we see in this story is a beautiful picture of God's sovereignty.
He really is God. He's the one who did all these
things. Joseph said to his brethren, you didn't send me here. God
did. This wasn't you, but it's God. Don't be mad at yourself. Don't
be angry with yourselves. God is the one who did this. Now, I love thinking about the
life of Joseph when he was sold into Egypt, God did it. When
he was falsely accused, God did it. When he's thrown into prison,
God did it. When he's forgotten by the men
who he had interpreted their dreams, that was God doing that.
Everything that happened to Joseph, everything that happens to me,
everything that happens to you, is God doing it. God is sovereign. He is in control of everything. He's sovereign in creation. He's
sovereign in providence. He's sovereign in salvation.
That means the reason there's a created universe is because
He willed it. Everything that happens in time,
He's the first cause of. Everything. That's what this
passage of scripture says. The Lord has made all things
for himself. And God's most especially sovereign in salvation. He, salvation's
of the Lord. If you're saved, it's because
he saved you, not because of something you've done. And we
see this when he says, now therefore be not grieved nor angry with
yourselves that you sold me hither, for God did send me before you
to preserve life. Oh, how beautifully we see the
sovereignty of God. But I want us to see the gospel
in this story, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph
is such a type of Christ in this passage of scripture. In verse
one, then Joseph could not refrain himself before all of them that
stood by. 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. Now, as bad as these men were,
and they were bad men, they were still his brethren. And this is a relationship that
could not be dissolved. Now, with regard to all that
Christ has died for, that he came to save, they are his brethren. Hebrews chapter 2 verse 11 says,
both he that sanctifyeth and they who are sanctified are all
of one, for the which cause he's not ashamed to call them brethren. Now everybody that the Lord has
saved is united to him, one with him, and he counts them all brethren. And this is something that cannot
be taken away. all of the elect, all who are
united to Christ, are his brethren. And he could refrain himself
no longer. He looked at these men and he
loved them. He delighted in them. And this
is his heart yearning after them. And my dear friend, If you're
one of his, this is the way he feels about you. His heart yearns
for you. This is the way the Lord Jesus
feels toward all of his people. You may not know it yet, but
if you're one of his, his heart yearns for you. And he made himself
known unto his brethren. The only way you're gonna know
him is if he makes himself known. You can't figure this out? You're
totally dependent on Revelation, him making himself known. And he wept aloud, verse 2, and
the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard, and Joseph said
unto his brethren, I'm Joseph, I'm your brother. He was speaking
in the Hebrew language now. Before this, he'd been speaking
to an interpreter, and now they know exactly who he is. I am Joseph, your brother. When He reveals Himself, you
know who He is. You know He is the Lord Jesus
Christ. You know He's the Lord. You know
He is the Creator. You know He is the only Savior
of sinners. You know He's God's Christ, God's
prophet, God's priest, God's king. You know He's the altogether
lovely one. You know He's the absolute sovereign
of the universe. When He reveals Himself, you
know Him. Now, none of this makes sense if he hadn't revealed himself
to you, but if he reveals himself to you, you'll know. And notice
that when he made himself known to his brethren, that's when
they were troubled. That's when they couldn't speak.
They were scared to death. They thought, we're in trouble.
They saw their sin. Perhaps they just not thought
about it much before this or just suppressed it. But now they
see their sin and they're so troubled they can't speak. That's
what happens when God makes himself known. Listen to this scripture,
Romans 3, 19. Now we know that what things
soever the law saith, that saith to them that are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world stand guilty
before God. You don't try to justify yourself
or vindicate yourself. You know you're guilty, guilty
as charged, and your mouth is stopped. They could not even
speak. They were so terrified. Verse
four, and Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me. Come near. And that's what the
Lord says. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. I'll give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you and learn of me, for I'm meek and lowly in heart,
and you'll find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy. And my
burden is light. Come near to me." They were afraid,
but you know, the Lord calls sinners to himself. These people
that he said, come near to me, they were people who were guilty
of great sin. I love that scripture. Then all
the publicans and sinners came near for to hear him. This man receiveth sinners and
eateth with them. These men were sinners. And he
says, come near. to me. I pray you." And they
came near and he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into
Egypt. He doesn't say you didn't do
anything wrong. I'm your brother whom you sold
into Egypt. Now, therefore, be not grieved
nor angry with yourself that you sold me hither. You were
guilty of doing this. You did it. There's no question
about that. But don't be grieved nor angry with yourselves that
you sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve
life." I think of that scripture. Both Herod and Pontius Pilate
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together
for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
to be done." God determined the death of his son for his own
glorious holy purposes, and this was all determined by God. This was God's purpose. And then
he says in verses 6 and 7, for these two years hath The famine
been in the land, and yet there are five years in which there
shall neither be earing nor harvest. But God sent me before you to
preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives
by a great deliverance." Now, God sent me. to preserve this
family, this family. You see, this is the nation of
Israel, and it's beginning, and they're going to be preserved.
The promised Messiah is going to come. All of God's people
are spiritually in Israel. This is the true Israel of God. I'm doing this to preserve you,
your posterity, and to save your lives by a great deliverance."
And oh, what a great deliverance the Lord has saved His people
with. I've been saved from my sins. I don't have to give an
account for my sins before God Christ put them away. I've been
made the very righteousness of God. I've been given a holy nature. God is going to spend eternity
revealing himself more and more of his grace to every believer.
What a great deliverance to be justified, to be cleared of all
guilt, to be holy, to stand before God without guilt, to spend eternity
beholding the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, having my sins
actually put away by his death on Calvary's tree. What a great
deliverance. Verse eight, so now it was not
you that sent me hither, but God. And he hath made me a father
to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout
all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, go ye up to my father,
and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made
me lord of all Egypt. Come down unto me, tarry not. Come to me right now. Don't wait
for something to happen. Don't wait till you learn more,
or you understand more, or you're better. Don't tarry. On down
in the chapter, he said, don't regard your stuff. Don't try
to bring anything of your own. And that's the way we come to
Christ. We come right now when we come. We don't wait for something
to happen. We don't wait to get better. We don't wait to improve.
We come right now. And we don't bring anything of
our own. We come empty handed. And he says, thou shalt dwell
in the land of Goshen. That's the land of plenty, that
most fertile place in Egypt, all of Jacob's house. Joseph
said, you're going to dwell in the land of Goshen. Thou shalt
be near unto me, thou and thy children, and thy children's
children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou
hast. Now, this is God's great deliverance
through his son, Joseph being the type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He loved his brothers. He forgave
his brothers. He understood that God is the
cause of all things, and it was God that sent him. And the Lord
Jesus Christ knew God sent him to save the lives of his people
with a great deliverance. Now, this is a beautiful story,
one of the most wonderful stories ever told. but it tells us of
an even more wonderful story, the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. May God give me and you eyes
to see. Now we have this message on DVD
and CD. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Nybert praying that
God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's our prayer. Amen. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at todsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.