And I enjoy happy, happy times. I enjoy easy times. I'm sure
everybody in here does. But we shouldn't be surprised
when affliction, trouble come our way. David wrote, I believe
we read this last week, many, many are the afflictions You know, I just think many of
our brothers and sisters are suffering under times of heaviness
of heart and trial and sorrow. right down to where we live.
Paul writing, he wrote this to the Corinthians, he said, when
we were coming to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest. He said, but we were troubled
on every side. Within were fears, without were
fighting, just surrounded. just surrounded by it. That word is a trouble on every
side, but when you look that up, it means like squeezing grape
juice out of a grape. And even as God's people, I think
we find our, I know I find myself at times pessimistic And these times in which we live,
no doubt these are, they're often referenced to as the last times. That's what Paul wrote to Timothy. The times from Christ's death
to his return. Look over in the holy place there
in Genesis. Return to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy
3. Look at 2 Timothy 3 beginning
with verse 1. Paul tells Timothy, he said,
This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their
own selves, covetous, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truth-breakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, the despisers of those that are
good, traitors, anti-high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God. form of godliness, but to deny
the power thereof. From such, turn away. For of this sort are they which
creep into houses and leap captive, silly women laden with sins,
led away with diverse lust, ever learning and ever able to come
to the knowledge You know, this was written in
Paul's time. That was a long time ago, but
it could just as easily have been written today, couldn't it? Troubling times. Hard, hard
times. You know, no doubt Christ's disciples
knew something of difficulty. Paul, on that perilous voyage,
he said there was a time when all hope that we should
be saved was taken away. Job, Job certainly knew this. He said, man that's born of loneliness
is a few days full of trouble. David, we know David had his
share of trouble in his parish. He wrote, Lord, how are they
increased? Many, many inscriptions that
we can read up and see. And I want us to look here just
for a little while at Joseph. Joseph inevitably experienced
hard, hard times. Sorrow, pain, suffering. And Paul, Paul told Timothy,
he gave him this instruction. No doubt hardness, no doubt trouble
was coming because he said, endure hardness as a good soldier of
Jesus Christ. Well, look with me here this
evening. Again, Genesis 45. Turn back a few pages if you
look at Genesis 37 verse 2. Give you just a quick introduction
to Joseph here. Here we find him, Genesis 37
verse 2. At the age of 17, we believe
it, Alpha feeding his father's sheep. And we read in verse 3, look
there, it said that, we'll go back to verse 2. These were the
generations of Jacob. Joseph, being 17 years old, was
feeding the flock with his brethren, and Alad was with the sons of
Bilhah, the sons of Zilk, and his father's wives, and Joseph
brought unto his father their evil report. What that was, we
don't know, but look at verse three. Israel loved Joseph more
than all of his children, because he was the son of his own age,
and he made him a king. And this gift for his son, this
coat of many colors, his brothers hated him. That's what we read
here in Scripture. And listen, they could not speak
peaceably to him. They hated him inwardly, and
they couldn't even cover that up when they spoke to him. They couldn't speak peaceably
to him. his father's love for him. They hated Joseph for the gift
that their father had given him. And you know that's still true
today. Men hate God's son. Men hate Jesus Christ. And they hate his people. They
hate his people for that particular love that he has If you don't believe that to
be true, bring it up at lunch with some of your co-workers,
with some of our family, right? God has a people. That's clear
in scripture. It's clear to his people, to
whom he's been pleased to reveal. But they hate them. They hate God's people for the
gift that he's given. He's given his son. He's given
eternal life. And in John 15, our Lord said
this. He said that, know this, that the world hated me before
it hated you. Well, in verse four of Genesis
37, it says, when his brethren saw their father loved him more
than all his brethren, they hated him. And again, they couldn't
speak peaceably to him. Look at verse five. We read that
Joseph, he, He dreamed a dream. He dreamed a dream. He told that
dream to his brother. And he told that dream, he said
that, he said that they were all out working in the field,
binding sheaves. But the sheave that Joseph bound,
it stood up upright. And all their sheaves stood around
Joseph's and made obeisance, made reverence to it. At this point in those latter
years, when Joseph would be exalted, those years coming, when they
would have to go to him for corn and for sustenance, their sheaves
would be empty. They would have nothing. But
they would come to him, and he was full. And his brothers, they
were offended. Shalt thou indeed reign over
us? Is our little brother Joseph
going to reign over us? Is he going to have dominion
over us? And you know by nature, we say
the same. We say the same thing. In Luke
chapter 19, verse 14, it says the citizens of that country
said, will not have this man to reign
over us. And his brother, Joseph's own
brother, listen, as a result of this, they hated him even
more. So they come up with a plan.
They conspired to kill him. They said, let's slay him, and
we'll cast him into a pit, and we'll say an evil beast has devoured
him. And then, after we've done that,
then we'll see what this dreamer has to say. We'll see what comes
of his dreams then. We will not have this man. We
will not have him to reign over us. Isn't it amazing how time
and time again, though, man's will is overruled by God's will? Their desire was to kill him,
to leave him in that, to cast him in that pit. Well, one of
the brothers, Reuben, heard of their plan, and he said, let's
not kill him. Let's not do that. Let's just
cast him into the pit. And we don't know what Reuben's
intention was. Maybe it was to come back and
deliver him at a later time. Maybe it was just to say, we
left him in the pit, and a wild animal came in there and killed
him, and we can just wash our hands of it. We were free of
his blood. You just consider God's providence
in this, in guiding, in directing, in ruling and overruling. We know, we know all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. Almighty God, He has a purpose. it's clear in scripture he has
the purpose. Scripture says this, he has saved
us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given in Christ Jesus before the world began. Now in verse
25, when they sat down to eat bread, They saw some Ishmaelites. They
saw that band of Ishmaelites coming, and they said, what profit
is there if we just kill our brother and then try to conceal
that? How do we benefit from that? And he said, let's sell
him. Let's just sell him to the Ishmaelites.
We'll get rid of him, and we'll also That's his brother. That's his
brother. We'll just sell him off as a
slave, and we'll collect the money. Should anything-it does-but
should anything surprise us, the depravity of man-is there
any limit to our depravity? and they took a kid. They took
a kid of the goat and they killed it and they dipped that goat
in blood. You know, I can't help but think
that that, I can't read that without thinking of our Lord
and Savior. He was, listen, He was sacrificed. His blood was shed and His people
were saved. And Joseph here, he's spared.
That animal's killed, but Joseph is spared. And then they took
that coat and they gave it to Jacob. They gave it to his father.
And they let him believe that an animal had killed him. And we read that Jacob, he mourned. So Joseph would then be sold
to a, later he'd be sold to a man named Potpourri, an officer,
a captain, captain of the guard, turned to a It says Joseph was brought down
to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard,
an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Israelites, which
had brought him down to Egypt. And the Lord was even in all
this. And his master saw that the Lord
was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper
in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his
sight, and he served. And he made him overseer of his
house, and all that he had, he put his hand to. And it came
to pass from the time that he made him overseer of the house,
over all that he had, The Lord, listen, he not only blessed Joseph,
but he blessed Potiphar's house for Joseph's sake. We're blessed
for Christ's sake. And the blessing of the Lord
was upon all that he had in the house and in the field, and he
left all that he had into Joseph's hand, and he knew not all he
had, save the bread which he did eat. You think, well, things are looking
up. Things are looking up for Joseph here. And listen, at the
same time, Potiphar's wife, we know that story, she set her
eyes upon Joseph and attempted to seduce him. But when he refused,
she made those false accusations against him. And Potiphar took
Joseph and cast him in the prison, among where the king's prisoners
were bound. But yet we read this. In spite
of that, the Lord was with Joseph. Look at the beginning of verse
21 of Genesis 39. The Lord was with Joseph and
showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper
of the prison. And the keeper of the prison
committed to Joseph and all the prisoners that were in the prison.
And whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. prison
looked not to anything that was under his hand, because the Lord
was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made to prosper. Paul writing to the Hebrews,
he said, let your conversation be without covetousness. Be content with such things as
you have, for he has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee. Even, listen, in the pit, in
Potiphar's house, in prison, the Lord's still with his people. He's still with Joseph. He said,
I'll never leave thee, nor forsake thee. No matter how dark things
are, no matter how great the trouble, he will not leave. in the prison, and soon, soon
to be elevated to second in Pharaoh's house, God was with Joseph. God is with his people. Aren't we thankful? In Isaiah
43, Almighty God speaks. He said, when you pass through
the waters, you know, I notice that it doesn't say if. When you pass through the waters,
I'll be with thee. And through the rivers, when
you pass through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.
When you walk, He said, for I am the Lord your
God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. That's our hope. He's our hope. We rest, we rest
in him. Now turn to Genesis 45. Genesis
45. After Joseph had interpreted those dreams of the
butler and the baker. And after Joseph had interpreted
Pharaoh's dream, and he caused those storehouses to be filled
in preparation for that great famine. After Joseph was promoted in
the kingdom, he was second After Jacob had sent, remember
that Jacob, his boys were sitting around there and he basically
said, how long are we gonna sit around and stare at each other?
Get down there and buy some corn. There's corn in Egypt. After Jacob's sons had went to
Egypt to buy corn, they had to go there. That's
the only place corn could be found. After all this, Joseph
was pleased to reveal himself to his brothers. Now, I don't
know how they get to this, but it's believed that Joseph was
39 years old when this happened. 22 years had passed. He was 17 when his brothers sold
him into slavery, so think about that, 22 years. had gone by,
and though they didn't know it yet, Joseph's brethren now stand before
him. What was the purpose? What was
the purpose in all this? Look at Genesis 25. Joseph said unto his brethren,
I am Joseph. Does my father yet live? And his brethren, they couldn't
answer him. They were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren,
think about this. He said, come near to me. Come
near to me, I pray you. And they came near, and he said,
I am Joseph, your brother, who you sold into Egypt. Now, therefore,
be not greedy nor angry with yourselves that you sold me The first is this. He says, I'm
Joseph. Can you imagine? I know they
had their suspicions of what was going on, but can you imagine
what raced through their hearts and their minds when they heard
this? It wasn't joy. It says they couldn't
speak because they were troubled. Their wickedness, their sinfulness had been revealed. No doubt, no doubt, whatever
look that was on his face when they cast him in that pit, you
reckon that just kind of raced back to them? Or maybe when they
sat around and they divided those 20 pieces of silver out amongst
themselves and sat around the campfire figuring out Reckon that or what they spent
it on. Reckon that went through their mind. Here we see sin revealed. And this is our condition. This
is our condition by nature, sinners. We're sinners. Has the Lord revealed anything
to you? Listen, of our helplessness,
and even more, listen, not only are they guilty, it's just one
thing to be guilty, but they stand before Joseph. They're
now in his hands. He can do with them as he pleases. This is not little brother Joseph. This is not that 17-year-old
they cast. This is the one who's second
only to King Pharaoh. And whatever he says goes. How easily could he have said
that like Nebuchadnezzar? Remember when he said that to
those fellows at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? He said, bind them
hand and foot and cast them into the furnace. He was in power. They stand before him now, listen,
with no defense, with no excuse. Sinner. The sinner. That's you and I. Sinners. And we stand before Almighty
God. He can do with us as he will. Hebrews 4.13 says, neither is
there any creature that's not manifest in his sight, but all
things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we
have to do. You know when Phil, you know,
That's when we truly see our need for a Savior. My desperate
need for His sovereign grace. That's what Scripture declares,
grace for the guilty, mercy for the miserable, salvation for
the sinner. You know, it wasn't until Peter,
remember that when he walked out there? going to walk with
our Lord. It wasn't until he saw those
winds and those waves that he was afraid. It wasn't until he
began to sink that he cried out, Lord, save me. Has the Lord revealed your sin? Has he revealed my sin to me? Has he revealed Well, second, we see Joseph's
response. He comforts and he reveals God's
purpose. Look at verse four. He said that,
come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. He said,
I am Joseph, your brother. He said, come near to me. I believe
that was said in love and in tenderness to his brothers. I don't know
who it was outside of that room, but he was talking to his brothers. And let there be no doubt who
Joseph is. Assurance of who he is. He says,
I'm Joseph. Never changed. He had always,
he'd always been their brother. Always. Even before he revealed himself. Even before he made it plain
to him. There was never, think about that, there was never a
time when he wasn't their brother. In all this, he loved them. before they knew it. They feared, they were afraid
they couldn't even speak. He loved him. He loved them before
they knew him. And that was evident by what
he had done for them. Every time he gave them corn, he put their
money back in their sacks and sent them home with it. He gave
them corn. He sustained them. Listen, he
could have let them perish long ago. The Lord Jesus Christ, our brother,
consider his love for us. Scripture says this, greater
love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ
did in Calvary. He laid down his life for his
people. Scripture says this, he bore
our sins in his body on the tree. He's that friend which is taken
closer than a brother. He revealed himself in love and
mercy. Joseph revealed himself by his
name. He said, I'm Joseph. your brother, revealed by the name. Consider
the names of our Lord in scripture. Jehovah-Rohi, the Lord is my
shepherd. Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will
provide. Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord that
heals. Jehovah-Shel, the Lord our peace. Jehovah Nissi, the Lord, my banner. Jehovah Siddhenu, the Lord, my
righteousness. Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is present. He's ever, ever present. As the Lord revealed himself
to you. And then third, third, a word
of comfort. He gives him a word of comfort.
He says, don't be greedy with yourselves, nor angry. God sent me before you to preserve
life. He comforts his brethren. The
Lord Jesus Christ comforts his sheep. He comforts God's sheep. He speaks comfort to us. and assurance through his word. Be not greedy. That's what Joseph
said to his brethren. Listen to what the Lord Jesus
Christ said to his people. I have blotted out as a thick
cloud thy transgression. In another place he said, I have
received you unto myself. That's a word of comfort, isn't
it? He's taken away my sins. He's
received us unto himself. This was said in another place.
Your sins, which are many, and oh, they're many, they're forgiven. How about this? Though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be white as the snow. Isn't that comforting? Aren't
we, that's a great deliverance. how he reveals himself, he assures
them of forgiveness, and he gives them a promise of continued provision. Look at, again, Genesis 45, look
again at verse six. For these two years hath the
famine been in the land, and yet there are five years in which
there shall neither be yearning nor harvest, and God hath sent
me before you to preserve you of posterity on the earth, and
to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not
you that sent me thither, but God. God did this. And he hath made me a father
to Pharaoh, a lord over all his house, and a ruler throughout
all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go 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 and tarry not. Thou shalt 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. Judged not of the Lord by feeble
sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind the frowning providence,
he hides a smiling face. His purposes were ripe and fast,
unfolding every hour. Let us take comfort in this.
Almighty God is going to accomplish his purpose. That which he's
promised to do, he'll do it. He's going to save his people. He's going to save us in spite
of ourselves. He's going to deliver his people. We know that all things work
together for good to them that Ah, he reveals his purpose, his
salvation to his people. Look, look at just one more,
one more thing. It turns into Genesis chapter
5. I think about this. We, we hear
these, we hear these words of encouragement. God encourages
us through his word. And boy, it don't take long,
does it? That we, we forgive. Look at Genesis 50, look at verse
15. Read verse 15 through 21. It says, when Joseph's brother,
listen, Jacob passed away. That's what's happened here.
Jacob has passed away. Look at verse 50. When Joseph's
brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, He'll certainly require us all
the evil which we did to him. Is that what Joseph said he was
going to do? And they wouldn't even go
to him face to face. Look at verse 16. They sent a
messenger unto Joseph saying, thy father, I don't even know
if this is true or not, he did command before he died saying,
so shall we say unto Joseph. their sin, for they did unto
the evil. And now we pray thee, forgive the trespass of thy servants
of God thy Father. Joseph wept when they spake unto
him. And his brethren also went and
fell down before his face. And they said, Behold, we be
thy servants. And Joseph said unto him, As for you, you may miss me,
but God meant good to bring the past as it is his day to save
much people alive. Now, therefore, fear ye not.
I'll nourish you. That's what he told the murderer.
I'll nourish you and your little ones, and he comforted them,
and he saved them. You know, I don't read, I don't
read anywhere in the scripture where he ever brought that matter
up again. We remember 20 years ago, people
that brought it up. God's forgiven, God's forgiven
us, God's put away our sin. He said this, there's sin,