Would you turn in your Bibles
to Genesis Chapter 50? Well, we're delighted to have
my pastor here with us tonight and his wife, Doris. It's such
a great having you here with us. Genesis Chapter 50. And this is the last message I'll
be bringing out of Genesis for now, at any rate. Let's begin
reading in verse 22. I've entitled this message, God
will surely visit you. I covet that, don't you? I want
him to visit me. And I want him to visit you. Verse 22, And Joseph dwelt in
Egypt, he in his father's house. And Joseph lived an hundred and
ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children
of the third generation, the children also of Nachor, the
son of Manasseh, were brought up upon Joseph's knees. And Joseph
said unto his brethren, I die. And God will surely visit you,
and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 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. If you were going to pick out
the part of Joseph's life that most clearly sets forth his faith,
there's a lot to choose from, isn't there? This was a very
remarkable, remarkable man. One of the most eminent types
of Christ in all of the Word of God. You remember the dreams
that he had. How even the sun and the stars
would bow down before him. That was remarkable. You remember
him refusing to give in to the temptation of Potiphar's wife,
that continual temptation, he refused to give in. That was
remarkable. You think of his exemplary conduct
while he was in prison. That was remarkable. You think
of his interpretation of the dreams of Pharaoh. That was very
remarkable. You think of the way he forgave
his brothers, and how he loved his brothers after all they had
done to him. That was remarkable. What a remarkable
man he was. But when the Holy Spirit speaks
of his faith. What does he speak of? Would
you turn with me for a moment to Hebrews chapter 11? Hold your
finger there in Genesis 50 and turn to Hebrews chapter 11. Now
of all these amazing events of Joseph's life, here's what God
the Holy Spirit Uses to demonstrate Joseph's faith beginning in verse
22 of Hebrews chapter 11. By faith. Joseph. When he died. Made mention of
the departing. And the Greek word actually is
the Exodus. That's how it's pronounced. He
made mention of the Exodus of the children of Israel. and gave
commandment concerning his bones. Now that is the event that God
the Holy Spirit was pleased to use to tell us of his faith. Now, he gave commandment concerning
his bones. And he talked about an event
that wasn't going to take place for another 430 years. That's
how long it would be before this exodus took place. He told them
before it ever took place, you're going to depart. And when you
depart, I want you to take my bones with you. He wanted to
have no connection with Egypt. I don't want my bones left in
Egypt. I want them brought into the promised land. Now, Egypt
in scriptures is typical. it represents something. I want
to read a scripture from Revelation 11, verse 8. After God's two
witnesses are killed, we read, and their dead bodies shall lie
in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom
and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Egypt typically
is bondage. That's what it represents. Bondage,
man's religion, human religion, salvation by works. And Joseph
says, I don't want my bones left in Egypt. I don't want to have
any connection with Egypt. When you all leave, and you will
leave in 430 years, when you leave, I want you to take my
bones with you. Hebrews 1122 is a reference to
that passage I just read in Genesis chapter 50. And the writer of
the Hebrew says it was by faith that Joseph made this statement. Now, I'm going to ask a real
simple question. What is faith? And don't just let that pass
by. This is so important. What is
faith? How would you define that? What
is faith? Let me tell you exactly what
it is according to the Word of God. Faith is believing God. It's believing what God says
in His Word. It's not so much believing in
what God can do. Somebody says, my God can do
anything. He can get me out of this mess. He can save me from
this trouble. He can make things easy for me. He can deliver me. Now that,
He can, no doubt about it. But that's not really so much
what faith is. It's not believing what God can do. It's believing
He will do what He said He would do in His Word. Now that's what
faith is. Faith is believing He has done
what He said He has done in His Word. Now, why did Joseph know
there would be an exodus? He foretells it 400 years before
it takes place. How did he know it would take
place? When he made this statement, it hadn't taken place yet. Well,
he knew this the same way you or I would know it. He knew it
because God had already said it would happen. This actually
begins over in Genesis 15. God had already said this would
happen. He said this to Abraham. Joseph
knew it because God said it. That's faith, isn't it? Turn
with me for a moment to Genesis chapter 15. Verse 12. And when the sun was going down,
a deep sleep fell upon Abraham. This is Joseph's great-grandfather.
And lo and horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he, the Lord,
said unto Abram, Know of a surety, know this for sure, that thy
seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall
serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation whom they
shall serve will I judge, and afterward shall they come out
with great substance." Now, no doubt, Joseph knew of this. He believed this because God
said it. That's how he knew. The same way you and I know.
How is it that we know? How is it that we believe? We
believe what God said. God said this would take place
in His Word. And Joseph believed it would
take place. You know, Genesis 15 is the great
chapter of faith. If you want to understand something
about faith, read Genesis chapter 15. As a matter of fact, the
first time the word believed is used in the scriptures found
here in Genesis 15. Look in verse 6. And he believed in the Lord. Talking about Abraham. And he
counted it to him for righteousness. Now, what did he believe? Well,
look in verse 4 of Genesis 15. And behold, The word of the Lord
came unto him, saying, It shall not be thine heir, but he that
shall come forth out of thine own bow shall be thine heir.
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven,
and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said
unto him, So shall thy seed be. Now, when God said this to Abraham,
did he have any kids? He didn't have a one, did he?
Did he have any physical evidence whatsoever that this was going
to take place? No, he didn't. He was barren.
Sarah's womb was barren. He had no physical evidence at
all that it would take place, but God said it would. And he
believed what God said. Is anything else needed? If God said it in His Word, is
anything else needed? Here's an example. Faith is so
simple. Scripture says in Romans 6, 11,
reckon yourselves, talking to every believer, you reckon yourself
to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God. Now, do I feel
like I'm dead to sin? As far as the way I feel. Do
I feel like I'm dead to sin? No. Do I believe I am dead to
sin? Yes, I believe it all together
because God says I am. If He says I'm dead to sin, I'm
dead to sin. Colossians 2, verse 10 says,
In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you
are complete. Complete in Him. You lack nothing. You're complete in Him. Do I
feel complete? No. Do I believe I am complete? Absolutely. I believe it with
all my heart, because the Scripture says you are completed in faith
is believing what God said. Now, how is it that Joseph knows
this exodus is going to take place? Because God said it would. And look in verse 12 again of
Genesis 15. He says, And when the sun was
going down, and deep sleep fell upon Abram, and low and horror
of great darkness fell upon him, and he said unto Abram, Know
of a surety. Know this for sure, it's going
to take place. Now, this was said 400 years before it took
place, but God said it will for sure take place. Why? Because
He said it would. You know, this absolute predestination,
the predetermination of everything he's in control of. He said,
no, this was a surety. This is going to take place.
That thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that's not theirs and
shall serve them and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation whom they
shall serve will I judge. This is talking about the ten
plagues and afterwards they shall come out with great substance.
And what a wonderful type of the gospel we have here. You
know, The Lord brings me out. He brings you out. He brings
us out of Egypt. This is a work of His grace. And we're brought
out with great substance. I'm looking at some infinitely
wealthy people right now. I'm talking about great... I have the very righteousness
of God. I am in my beloved. the very
righteousness of God. Is that great substance? I am complete, lacking nothing. I have my heavenly Father who
owns all things. I have the peace of God that
passes all understanding. I have the grace of God, the
free, unmerited favor of God. I've got faith. I've got repentance.
I've got a new heart. I've got Christ in me, the hope
of glory. I have great substance. Every
believer has great substance. The Lord brings us out with great
substance. We have all spiritual blessings
and heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now, Joseph heard all
of this and he believed. Do you believe that God will
do what he said he would do in his word? Do you believe he has done what
he said he would do in his word? Are you relying on what God says
in His Word? Are you? And my friends, that
is faith. That simple. Believing God. Now go back to Genesis 50. Joseph
tells them about this because God said it would happen. That's
why he knew. Now verse 22. And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he
in his father's house. And Joseph lived 110 years. And evidently, all of his brethren
outlived him. And Joseph saw Ephraim, his children
of the third generation, the children also of Makar, the son
of Banesse, were brought up on Joseph's knees. And Joseph said
to his brethren, I die. And God will surely Visit you. And bring you out. Of the land and to the land which
you swear to Abraham to Isaac and Jacob. Now he knew they were
going to be afflicted in this land. You're there looking at
this chapter one. Look beginning verse 12. Verse 11. Therefore, they could sit over
them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they
built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Python and Ramses. But the more
they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And
they were grieved because of the children of Israel. And the
Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor. And
they made their lives bitter with hard bondage and mortar
and brick and an all manner of service in the field. And all
their service wherein they made them serve was with rigor. Now,
when this took place, this was 400 years after Joseph said,
you're going to be brought out. But he said, you're going to
be in this strange land for 400 years. And after that, the Lord
will surely visit you a divine visitation. Now, isn't that exactly
what I need? What do you need? A divine visitation. He says, I will surely visit
you. And the reason he will surely
visit us is because he said he would. He said, I will surely
visit you and bring you out. Now, I want to I want to think
about this thought, this this thing of the Lord visiting me. Don't you want the Lord to visit
you? Well, if you do. He already has. He already has. You know, even
the desire, this true desire for a divine visitation is the
work of His grace. He already has. Now, I want you
to think about how He's visited you. I'm speaking to every believer. This is the heritage of every
believer. You've had this divine visitation. He said, I'll surely
visit you. And you've got it. Now, first,
didn't He visit you when He gave you to His Son to be your surety
before time began? before you had any physical existence,
what a divine visitation you had. He gave you to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Is that a divine visitation?
When He gave you to the Son and the Son agreed to be your surety
and covenanted to be completely responsible for your salvation?
Is that not a divine visitation? What could be more glorious than
that? God the Father looked to Christ
for everything He requires of you. Quite often, this word visitation
is used in reference to judgment and punishment of sin. How many
times are we reading the Scriptures where He'll visit and punish
iniquity? He'll visit And punish the iniquity
of the fathers and the children's and the children's children,
the third and fourth generations. As a matter of fact, that's used
throughout the scriptures, the visitation like this. It's used
as a way of punishment. Well, on the cross, we received
a divine visitation for our sins. When the Lord Jesus Christ was
nailed to that cross, I was too. I was I was in him. My sins became
His, and I received a divine visitation against my sins. My
sins were punished. God will never let sin go unpunished. My sins were punished at that
time, and He put them away. But what a divine visitation
that was when I went to the cross with Him. I love that song. In
the Beloved, I went to the tree. That's exactly what took place.
And what a divine visitation that is. And what a divine visitation
We've had in his providence. Now, he visited me on the cross,
I was in Christ. He visited my sins and he took
Christ's righteousness and gave it to me. And you know, what
about providence? Providence is everything that happens in
time. Do you know everything that has ever taken place with
you, the Lord's hands been on you? From the time you split
the womb, everything that has taken place has been a divine
visitation. You can't take that too far.
Everything that happens, he's in absolute control of. It's
been a divine visitation. What a divine visitation we had
when he gave a spiritual life. You know, there was a time when
I didn't know the Lord. There was a time when I didn't
know what it meant to believe. There was a time when repentance
was a complete mystery to me. There was a time when I had no
love for the Lord Jesus Christ. And I say that to my shame. I
actually had no love for Him. And He, in His mercy, visited
me. with almighty, invincible, irresistible
grace. And He gave me a new heart. He
gave me a heart to love Him. He gave me a heart to believe
Him. He gave me repentance. He gave me a view of His Son.
What a divine visitation. The power of the highest overshadowed
me. And He gave me life. What a divine
visitation that is. And how He has continually visited
us and preserving us and keeping us from falling away and causing
us to continually look to His Son. Surely we can say, surely
goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life and I'll
dwell in the house of the Lord forever. What a divine visitation. And I want to say this carefully. When I sin, When I sin, He doesn't cast me
off. He visits me in mercy and love
and grace. You can't sin away His grace. If you could, it wouldn't be
grace. Thank God for this divine visitation that we always have. He never stops visiting. You know, the time is going to
come, just like Joseph, when it's time for me to die and it's
time for you to die. But you know, at that time, he
will visit you in a remarkable way. And he'll carry you into
Abraham's bosom. What a visit that will be. And
on Judgment Day, When my name is called, I'll have a divine
visitation. He'll say for me, present and
accounted for. What kind of visit is that? And we will spend eternity experiencing
this divine visitation. And you know, even right now,
he says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear
my voice and open the door, I'll come to him and sup with him. And he with me. Don't you want
that visit? Oh, I want to sup with him. And this visit is sure
because it's the promise of his grace. Now, notice how he doesn't
merely say God will visit you. He says he will surely visit
you and bring you out of this land and to the land to which
he swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. And Joseph took
an oath of the children of Israel saying God will surely, surely
visit you. You know what that means? That
means for sure. That means it's absolute certain. That means
it can't be miscarried. God will surely visit you. Now, you can take this promise
to yourself. It's for sure. Why? David put it this way. Although my house be not so with
God, yet the Lord hath made with me an everlasting covenant ordered
in all things. And what's the next word? Sure. And this is all my salvation
and all my desire, because salvation is by grace. And that means unmerited
favor. Absolutely unmerited. It doesn't
have anything to do with me. Because of that, he is surely
going to visit me. A divine visitation is absolutely
for sure. Look what he says here in verse
24. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die and God will
surely visit you and bring you out of this land, unto the land
which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." The word
bring out means to ascend or to set on high. He will set you
on high. In this divine visitation, he'll
set you on high. Now turn with me to Colossians
chapter 1. Colossians chapter one. Now, when he visits you, he will
and he already has set you on high. I suppose that there's
hardly a day that goes by when I don't think about this passage
of Scripture is just one of my favorites. And, you know, I was
thinking about it. I wrote it down in my notes again
and I thought, well, I wonder if I wonder if they get tired
of me reading the Scripture. And I thought, well, I don't.
So if you all do, that's your problem. I still, I love, I love
hearing it over and over again. I mean, this is, this is wonderful.
And listen to what it says here in Colossians chapter one. And
having made peace through the blood of his cross by him. to reconcile all things unto
Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be things on earth or things
in heaven, and you that were sometimes alienated and enemies
in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in
the body of His flesh through death to present you." Now here's
this ascension he's talking about. To present you. Having presented
you wholly and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight. Now,
I ascended when He ascended. When He left this earth and went
back to the Father, you know who else did? I did. In the person of my representative,
united to Him, I went right there with Him, just as truly as I
went with Him to the tree. I went with Him into the tomb.
I went with Him out of the tomb, my sins being gone. I ascended
back with Him to the Father, and He made this glorious presentation
having presented every one of his people, ascending on high,
presenting every one of his people holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in his sight. He says he'll bring you out,
back to our text in Genesis 50. He'll bring you out of this land
unto the land which he swears to Abraham To Isaac and to Jacob,
the land of promise. And Joseph, verse 25, took an
oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit
you. And you shall carry up my bones
from hence. No doubt about this, he's promised
he'll do it. Therefore, it must happen. And
you'll carry my bones back to that land of promise. Now, this
is interesting to think about. Joseph's existence began where? In Egypt? No. His existence began in the land
of promise. That's where he started. Not
in Egypt. In the land of promise. My existence began in heaven. My existence really never had
a beginning. I've always been united to Christ. Now, Joseph, for a time, was in Egypt for a temporary
time. I'm here for a while. You're
here for a while, passing through. But I'm going back to my homeland. I'm headed back there. Joseph
said, take my bones and carry them there to my true home. That's
where I want to be. Now, this is what the Holy Spirit
refers to when he speaks of the faith of this remarkable man.
And there isn't anybody's life who's more exemplary than Joseph's. You know, he's such a wonderful
type of Christ. But yet, when God the Holy Spirit speaks of
the faith of this man, he refers to it in faith in its simplest
form. He simply believed what God already
said. And I pray that the Lord will
give you and I the grace to do just that, to believe what he
says in his Word. May God bless this to our hearts.
Let's pray together.