I think you'll, or I hope you'll
understand why I entitled this message, by the end of this message,
That Wagons. Now, you may remember from last
week that Joseph had made himself known to his brethren. They had
been thinking he was somebody else all along, and they finally
found out that the ruler of all of Egypt is the same one they
had betrayed, their little brother. And he makes himself known. And in verse 16, And the fame
thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren
are come, and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. Pharaoh
loved and highly esteemed Joseph. Look what all Joseph had done
for Egypt. And he was excited and pleased
to hear about this amazing event taking place. And, you know,
it really is quite a human interest story. You know, they even made
a Broadway play out of this. Joseph and his amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat. I mean, this is just a real interesting
story. His brothers betray him and sell
him into slavery. And through an amazing series
of events, he becomes the most powerful man In all the world,
he goes from the depths to the heights. And he is then reunited
with his brothers who had betrayed him. He has forgiven them and
received them, and Pharaoh hears of all this, and Pharaoh is well
pleased. He's happy this has taken place.
So Pharaoh says to Joseph in verse 17, saying to Joseph, Pharaoh said
unto Joseph, Say ye unto your brethren, this do ye, that you
laid up your beasts, you load them down with all the food and
all the goods you can, and go and get into the land of Canaan,
and take your father and your households and come unto me.
Joseph is to tell them to go get your dad and come to me,
and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you
shall eat the fat of it. You will be provided for royally."
And look in verse 19, "...now thou art commanded." Now, this
thing of coming back to Joseph, he doesn't give him an option.
He doesn't give him good advice. He doesn't say, you're invited
to do this. Pharaoh says you are commanded
to do this. Now you are commanded to come
to Joseph. Now this new you take you wagons
out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives
and bring your father and come. Now remember Jacob was an old
man. Jacob would have a very difficult time making this journey. And he is provided a wagon. to
get him where he needs to go. He couldn't make it on his own.
He's 130 years old at this time. He's an old man. And they provide
him with a wagon to bring him into the land of Egypt. He said,
take you wagons out of the land of Egypt, not your wagons, wagons
that I provide for your little ones, for your wives, and bring
your father and come. And look what he says next. He says, regard
not your stuff. All the stuff that you've worked
for all your life. all your goods, all the stuff
that is important to you. He said, don't regard it. And
that means don't let your eye pity it. Don't even look with
favor on it. Just forget it. Wouldn't that
be a blessing if we could just forget everything right now?
Forget your stuff. You've got something a whole
lot better, the good of all the land in Egypt is yours. And the children of Israel did
so. And Joseph gave them wagons according
to the commandment of Pharaoh, and he gave them provision for
the way. Oh, it was a good trip on these
wagons with the provision in the wagons. And to all of them
he gave each man changes of raiment, gave them new clothes. But to
Benjamin, his blood brother, the one who had the same mother.
He had a special gift for him. He gave him 300 pieces of silver
and five changes of raiment. You've probably heard of Benjamin's
mess, the special mess for Benjamin. Verse 23, and to his father,
he sent after this manor. He's going to entice his father
to come. He's going to give him things
that he's going to be impressed with. Ten asses laden down with
the good things of Egypt. I don't know what all those good
things were, but I mean it was the best that you could find
in Egypt. That's what he brought, the good
things of Egypt. Laden with corn and bread and
meat for his father by the way. So he sent his brethren away
and they departed and he said unto them, and I think this is
interesting, He said, see that you fall not out by the way.
Now, he knew that these fellows would start finger pointing.
You know, Reuben had already started it. You remember when Reuben
said, I told you we shouldn't have sold him into Egypt. He
gave an I told you so a long time ago. And Joseph knew his
brothers and he knew that they would start finger pointing.
He knew the stuff that they would do. He said, see that you fall
not out by the way. You guys forgive each other the
way I forgive you. Be forgiving and kind and gracious
one toward another. Verse 25, And they went up out
of Egypt and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father. Now, remember, this is 20 some
years after Jacob had thought Joseph was dead. He had no idea. The brethren had found out about
Joseph, but Jacob hadn't. And they told him, saying, Joseph
is yet alive. And not only is he alive, he
is the head man over all of Egypt. He is the most powerful man on
earth. If you're going to eat, you're
totally dependent upon him giving up your food. That's how powerful
your son Joseph is. And Jacob's heart fainted. You
can understand that, can't you? He didn't believe He didn't believe
him. I can understand that. I wouldn't
have believed him either. And they told him all the words
of Joseph, which he had said unto them. And remember what Joseph told
them to say. Look up in verse 13. And you
should tell my father of all my glory in Egypt. and of all
that you've seen. And you shall hasten and bring
down my father hither." And they started telling him of all his
glory and so on. They told him of all the words
of Joseph which he had said unto them. And when he saw the wagons
which Joseph had said to carry, and they told him about these
wagons, and there they are. He'd never seen wagons like this.
But this encouraged him to get in the wagon and go to Egypt. As a matter of fact, it says
the spirit of Jacob their father revived. And Israel said, it
is enough. I don't need anything else. I'm
completely satisfied. Joseph, my son, is yet alive. And because of that, I'm ready
to die. And I'll go and see him before
I die. Now, as we've seen so many times
in recent weeks, what an incredibly wonderful story. May God give us grace to see
his gospel in this. Now, in this story, Pharaoh represents
God the Father. Joseph is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jacob and his sons represent
the believer. And the wagons represent how
we get to where there's food, how we get into Egypt, how we
get into heaven. Those wagons represent the work
of God, the Holy Spirit in a man. Those wagons represent faith. That's what those wagons are.
That's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. How is Jacob going to
be removed from the land of Canaan into the land of Egypt? He's
going to have to get in the wagon. And the wagon is going to bring
him there. That wagon represents faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we've read this passage
of scripture two times, we're going to go through it again
and look at the gospel in it. We've looked at it as a story
and a beautiful and wonderful story it is, but the gospel is
so clearly presented in this passage of scripture. Now, the
first thing that I notice in verse 16 is how that Pharaoh
was well pleased with all of this. He heard this story, and
I mean it is a great story. He heard about how Joseph's brothers
had betrayed him and sent him off into Egypt. And they were a wicked bunch
of people. He knew that. And then he knew
how he had been in prison. And through this amazing series
of events, he became the head of all of Israel. And I know
he heard about the dreams Joseph had had and how he dreamed about
how the brothers would bow before him. And he heard about the brothers
bowing before him. And Joseph didn't make himself
known yet. Finally, Joseph does make himself known. They're scared
to death. They can't even speak. But he
speaks kindly to them. He said, you meant it for evil,
but God meant it for good. Nothing but intentions of mercy.
And when Pharaoh heard this story, the Scripture says he was well
pleased. You see, Pharaoh loved Joseph. Pharaoh highly esteemed Joseph. Look what all Joseph had done
for Pharaoh. He'd saved Egypt through the Lord's mercy. And
he highly esteemed him. And he was happy about this.
But you know what I learned about this? Do you know God the Father
is very well-pleased regarding the restoration of wicked people
like these brothers. Now, I want you to listen to
this statement. I've made this statement many times before, but maybe
somebody will hear it this time. Do you know that God is more
willing to give you mercy than you are to receive it? The Scripture says He delights
in mercy. He delights in mercy. Oh, he was well pleased that
Joseph had restored these wicked brethren. And so, Pharaoh speaks
to Joseph. Pharaoh, verse 17, said unto
Joseph, God says unto Christ, say unto thy brethren, Now, I
love the way he refers to them as his brethren. Say to your
brethren. Now, these fellows didn't deserve to be called Joseph's
brethren, did they? I mean, look what they've done
to him. They've sold him as his slave. Yet he says, say to your
brethren. And you know the Lord Jesus Christ
calls his people his brethren. You remember when Mary came up
to him and he said, don't touch me right now. He said, go to
my God and your God, my father and your father. You know what
brethren have in common? They have the same father. You
know, the amazing scripture to me is where our Lord is teaching
his disciples to pray. He says, when you pray, say to
your father. Christ Jesus is our. Brother, we're his brethren. Both he that sanctifyeth, Hebrews
2, I think it's 11 and 12, both he that sanctifyeth and they
who are sanctified are all of one, for the which cause he's
not ashamed to call them his brethren. You know, the Lord
is not ashamed to say regarding this sinner talking to you, he's
my brother. I'm one with him. Both he that sanctify, and they
who are sanctified are all of one. This is talking about union
with Christ. So I am his brother. What an elder brother we have
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Go on reading verse 17. Pharaoh
said unto Joseph, Say unto your brethren, This do ye. Laid your
beasts and go and get you into the land of Canaan. I mean, they
were laden down with provision. Verse 18. And take your father
and your households. This is what Joseph is to say
to his brethren. Pharaoh, which represents God
the Father, is telling Joseph, who represents the Lord Jesus
Christ, here is what I want you to tell your brethren that have
betrayed you, that don't deserve any mercy from you. But here's
what I want you to do. I want you to tell them this.
You take your father, verse 18, and your households and come
unto me. And I will give you the good
of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat of the fat of the land."
Now, what is the message? Come to me. I read that passage
of Scripture in Revelation chapter 22, verse 17. The Spirit, that's
God the Holy Spirit, and the bride saying, this is what His
Word is to you right now and to me. You know what it is? Come. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, how do I get there? You do it by faith. You come
in your heart. You don't move to get there,
but you come. His message to you is come to
me and I will give you the good of the land, the fat of the land.
Everything you have is what I'm going to give you. You see, every
aspect of salvation is what he gives freely. He says, come to
me and I'll give you the fat of the land. Now, I want to do
that, don't you? Whatever it means to come to the Lord Jesus
Christ, I want to do that right now. And I want him to give me
the fat of the land. Now, every aspect of salvation,
you listen to this and you listen carefully. Every aspect of whatever
salvation is, is a free gift. That means there's nothing you
have to pay for it. Now, what if there was something you did
have to pay for? Could you come up with the goods? Could you come up
with a payment? Thank God He said, I'll give
you the good of the land and it's free. The wages of sin is
death, but the gift, the free, absolute free gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, that ought to
interest every single one of us. He says, come to me and I
will give you. I will freely give you. the good
of the land and the fat of the land. Now, look at verse 19, and I'm
so thankful for this. He says in verse 19, now thou
art commanded. You're commanded. You need not worry whether or
not you're invited. Or if you really mean you. How many in
here, when I say, come to Christ, and you ask yourself the question,
well, how can I know if that's a reference to me? Am I supposed
to come? I mean, I hear, come to Christ,
but am I the one that's supposed to come? Is He talking to me? Have I been invited? Is He sincerely
inviting me? What if I'm not one of the elect?
How can I know if I'm one of the elect? I mean, I can't come
unless I know for sure I'm one of the elect. How am I to go
about this? Does he mean me? And he dispels
all that with this statement, you are commanded. God himself commands you to come
to the Lord Jesus Christ, and your right to come is because
he told you to. You don't need any other reason,
do you? Now, if he commands you to come, you can come, can't
you? God commandeth. All men, everywhere
to repent. Now, are you in that group? Well, sure you are. You are commanded
to come. Now, you make a real mistake when
you first try to figure out whether or not you're one of the elect.
Well, I'm afraid maybe I'm not one of the elect and I can't
come. Election is true. Thank God for election, but you
don't need to worry about that. You are commanded by God himself
to come to Christ and to not do so is disobedience. You are commanded to come. That's God's word to me. That's
God's word to you to come to the Lord Jesus Christ in your
heart right now out of my bondage, sorrow, and knife. Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come. Into the glorious
freedom of life, Jesus, I come to Thee. Just as I am without
one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou
bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come. You are commanded to come. Now verse 19 says, Thou art commanded
this, do ye take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your
little ones and for your wives and bring your father and come. Now these wagons, a wagon is
a vehicle to get you from one place to another. That's what
a wagon is. It'll carry you. And he says,
these are not wagons that you made, but wagons that will be
provided for you. Wagons out of the land of Egypt. Now, how do we come to Christ?
We come to Christ by faith. May God give me the grace and
the wisdom to say exactly what that means. How do I come to
Christ? I mean, I can't see him physically. How do I come to
Him? You talk about coming to Christ.
How do I get there? What steps do I take? How in
the world does a sinner come to the Lord Jesus Christ? A sinner
comes to the Lord Jesus Christ by believing on Him. Now, if you believe on Him, you've
come. Well, what does it mean to believe
on Him? What do you mean by that, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?
Well, I believe in His existence. I believe He died on the cross.
I believe He was raised from the dead. I believe He's the
Son of God. But what do you mean by believing on Him? Or what,
more importantly, what does the Bible mean by believing on Him?
I can answer that question. I know the answer to that. You
know, that excites me. I really do know the answer to that question,
what it means to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, what it means
to come to Christ. I believe, very simply, I believe
what He says in His Word. Do you believe the Bible is the
Word of God? Do you believe it's the divinely inspired, inerrant
Word of God? And the Word of God says, I can
name so many scriptures, but here's one, having been or being
justified freely. There's that word again, freely.
That means God doesn't have to look for a reason in you to justify
you. Is that good news? He doesn't have to find a reason
in you to do anything for you. Having been justified freely
by His grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. Now, I believe I have been justified
by what Christ did. I believe that when God looks
at me right now, now you listen to me, when God looks at me right
now, he sees one without sin. Holy, unblameable, and unreprovable
in the very sight of God. I believe that when God sees
me, now I really believe this. I'm not just blowing smoke. I
really believe this. When God looks at this sinner,
talking to you right now, he doesn't see any sin. He sees
one who is perfect without sin. I believe that what Christ Jesus
did on the cross actually put away my sin to where I don't
have any. I don't. It's God. I don't have
any. I believe that. But I don't see it. I don't see
it. I can't look at myself and say,
well, you're seamless there. Well, you're not. No, at all times, when I look
at myself, I look at my actions, I look at my works, I look at
my preaching, I look at my prayers, I look at my desires. See, I
don't see myself as seamless. But I don't need to see myself
as seamless. I believe it because God says
it. He was manifested, 1 John 3,
verse 5 says, to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin. I believe that I'm... I don't say it, but I believe
it. Isn't that what faith is? We walk by faith and not by sight. If you could see it, you wouldn't
need to believe it, would you? We walk by faith and not by sight. Now, I believe it's the wagon
that's going to get me. That's the wagon of faith. That's
the vehicle of communion. The way I'm going to be carried
into glory is by faith. For by grace, he is saved through
faith. And that's not in yourselves.
It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
That wagon is faith that brings me into the promised land. What
is faith? Well, it's believing. So simple. It's believing that what Jesus
Christ did is enough. to bring me into glory. You know,
that's the only hope I have. But when I'm saying that, I'm
not saying that like, well, that's the only hope I need. It's the
only hope I want. I feel good about this. I feel good about
the fact that what Christ Jesus did is enough. I need no other
argument. I need no other plea. It is enough
that Jesus died and that he died for me. That's the wagon that's
going to bring me into the place of eating. I'm not looking for
anything else. Now, if you don't get in the
wagon, you're going to starve to death. This wagon is brought
to bring him into the promised land, to bring him into the place
where he can get something to eat. And that is faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Take wagons and come. This is
a command. It is the wagon that will bring
you there. How do I know? that Jesus Christ
died for me. I don't believe for a second
that He died for everybody. He only died for those people. You know that. Well, how can
I know He died for me? I believe. That is the evidence. I do believe on Christ. And that
is the evidence that He died for me. I don't need any other
reason. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The fact that I believe
the gospel, that tells me that Christ died for me. If he didn't
die for me, I wouldn't believe the gospel. Now, look what it
says next in verse 20. Now, you're commanded. I don't
want to leave that. You're commanded to believe.
Quit looking for a reason to believe. God says believe. Quit. That's God's command to you.
Believe the gospel right now. You're commanded. You're commanded.
Quit looking for anything else. You're commanded. Then he says
in verse 20, Also, regard not your stuff for the good of the
land of Egypt is yours. That means let not your eyes
spare your stuff. Have no compassion for your stuff.
Have no sentimental attachment for your stuff. Leave it all
behind. Everything that is contrary to
the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, even every religious
experience that you've had, if it's contrary to the Gospel,
leave it. Regard not your stuff. Don't
spare your stuff. Don't think, well, I want to
keep this. I want to keep that. Don't have any sentimental attachment
to it. Don't spare it. Regard not your stuff. And here's
why we shouldn't spare it. He says also, regard not your
stuff for the good. of all the land of Egypt is yours." Wow. Now, he says, the good of all
the land of Egypt is yours. It is. Not it will be if. Not
if you do this or that. He says, the good of all the
land of Egypt, right now, present tense, is yours. You have, now
listen to me, you have right now all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus. All you need to bring you into
heaven, you have right now. You are fit for the inheritance
of the saints and light right now. You don't need anything
else. Why would you want to regard
your stuff when you've got that? All the good of the land. You
want to get rid of your stuff. Oh, that when Christ can be found
in him, just get rid of that other stuff. It's done. All the
good of the land of Egypt is yours. Every blessing God has,
you already have. That's so hard to believe. Believe
it by faith. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, half-blessed us. It means you
already got it. With all spiritual blessings
and heavenly blesses in Christ Jesus. We're complete in Him. Why would we want that stuff?
What He gives is infinitely better. And when somebody does regard
their stuff, evidently they don't believe the good of the land.
The things of Christ are better than theirs. I remember the Scripture
says you're joint heirs with Christ. You all know that Scripture,
but I wonder if any of us really know what it means. joint heirs
with Christ. Everything he has is mine. I'm a joint heir with him. Verse
21. And the children of Israel did
so. They did what Joseph told them to do. And Joseph gave them
wagons according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and he gave them
provision for the way. Now this thing about faith. It's
what Joseph gives. It's what the Lord Jesus Christ
gives. Does faith seem out of your reach? You know, it is out
of your reach unless He gives it to you. It is out of your
reach. But ask Him to give it to you. You know, I don't... Listen to me real carefully.
I don't come to Christ with my faith. I come to Christ for faith. I come to Him, give me the faith.
I can't even muster up the faith. Give me the faith. He'll give
it to you. He'll give you these wagons that
will bring you in. The children of Israel did so,
and Joseph gave them wagons according to the commandment of Pharaoh,
according to the commandment of God, and he gave them provision
for the way. And to all of them, to every
single one of them, he gave each man a change of raiment. Now, why does it make that detail? You know, he gave them all a
new set of clothes. Well, you know what that represents. That represents
that glorious wedding garment that every Believer is given
that fine linen, clean and white. This is the righteousness of
the saints, the righteousness of Jesus Christ covering me and
making me perfect. He gave them all changes of raiment. But to Benjamin, he gave 300
pieces of silver and five changes of raiment because of this special
relationship he had with Benjamin, his physical fleshly brother.
Verse 23. And to his father, he sent after
this manor, Ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and
ten she-asses laden with the corn and bread and meat for his
father by the way. He sends abundant proof to his
father, so his father will be encouraged to come. And listen,
what encouragement you and I have from the Lord Himself to get
in the wagon. He shows us all the good of the land, and He
says, now listen, everybody in here, listen real carefully.
He says, him that cometh to me. What's the rest of the verse? I will in no wise. For no reason whatsoever cast
out. If you come to Christ, he will
receive you. That's the promise of the word
of God. Now, here's the wagon laden with the good things, laden
with provision, all you could possibly need. Come on. Come
and welcome. The Spirit and the bride say,
Come. And let him that heareth say,
Come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. Oh, I love that word freely.
That encourages me so much. I can come right now and I'll
be received. Verse 24, So he sent his brethren away,
and they departed. I think this is almost funny.
He said, and didn't see that you fall not out by the way.
You see, he knew these fellas. He knew they'd be finger pointing.
And he says, make sure you don't fall out by the way. Love one
another and forgive one another as I have forgiven you. Isn't
it wonderful when God gives you grace just to forgive and to love? It's such a blessing. Verse 25, And they went up out of Egypt,
and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father, and
they told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive. Now, can you imagine
how shocked he was? He had grieved for all these
years. He's the only one who really
thought Joseph was dead. His brothers didn't know. They
didn't know what had happened to him, but they didn't know
for sure he's dead. But Joseph thought his brother was dead. Or Jacob
thought his son Joseph was dead. And then he hears he's alive. He is utterly shocked by this. They told him St. Joseph is yet
alive and he's governor over all the land of Egypt. He's the
absolute Lord of all. And Jacob's heart fainted. For
he believed them not. He just couldn't believe them.
And I understand that. And so here's what they did to
convince him in verse 27. And they told him all the words
of Joseph, which he'd said unto them. That's the preaching of
the gospel, isn't it? He told them all of the words
of Joseph. Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I've commanded. Though I'm with you always. Now,
remember this. Everything he says is important. There's no
doctrines of secondary importance in the Word of God. Everything
he said is important and must be heard and must be believed.
I might not understand. Well, I might not. I will not
understand, completely comprehend any of it. But I believe it.
I believe everything God says. He gave him all his words. They told him all the words of
Joseph, which he had said unto them. And when he saw the wagons
which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob, their
father, revived. When he was made to understand
the way of faith, his spirit lived. You know when you live?
When you believe. That's when you're alive, when
you believe the gospel. He was revived. He was made to live when he saw
the wagons, when he saw the way of faith, when he saw the way
I can be accepted is not by my works, but by the faith of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, he wanted to get on that
wagon, didn't he? When he saw the wagons, his spirit revived. That's when he lived, when he
saw and understood the gospel. Now, Jacob now believed. Now,
look what he says in verse 28. And Israel said, it is enough. It is enough. Jacob now believes and he is
now ready to die. It is enough. Joseph lives. I need nothing else. If he lives,
it is enough. Now, if Jesus Christ lives, it's enough. I am satisfied. I'm not looking for anything
else. If what he did, when he was raised
from the dead, and he was, and he ascended back to the father,
the father accepted what he did. You know what the father said
when he raised him from the dead? He said, it's enough. My law is
satisfied. My justice is satisfied. My purpose
is completed. It is enough. That's what the
father says. You know what I say? Not with
the power he says it offers, but I say, it's enough. I need
no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough
that Jesus died and that he died for me. Is that enough for you?
He died. He was raised from the dead.
God accepted what he did. That is enough. Jacob said, I'm
ready to die now. It's enough. I don't need anything
else. I'm ready to die. Since he lives,
I'm ready to die. And while I live here, look at
the final statement, verse 28. Israel said it's enough. Joseph,
my son, is yet alive. I will go and see him before
I die. One desire that I have. It's to see him. That's it. All this other stuff is the stuff
that I don't regard. Throw it away. The one desire
that I have is to see Him. Nothing else. It is enough. Now, can you say it is enough? I'm not asking you obviously
to aim for me, but in your heart, do you believe if He lives, it's
enough? Think the same thing the thief
did. Remember me when you come into your kingdom. If you just
remember me, everything's fine. It is enough. Everybody, get on the wagon.
Plenty of provisions. It'll take you straight into
the land where you have all that you need. It is enough. Let's pray together. you