Joseph Pt 2

Q: What does the Bible say about Joseph's rise to power?

The Bible reveals Joseph's rise to power as a divine orchestration where he was taken from prison to become the ruler of Egypt. Joseph's rise to power, as recounted in Genesis 41, is a testament to God's sovereign will. Pharaoh exalted Joseph after he interpreted Pharaoh's dream, proclaiming him ruler over all the land of Egypt. This swift elevation from the dungeon to authority illustrates a profound biblical principle: God often uses humble and challenging circumstances to prepare and exalt His chosen servants. Joseph's journey, filled with betrayal and suffering, not only reflects his personal faith but also foreshadows the greater narrative of Christ’s suffering followed by exaltation. Just as Joseph was lifted up at the right time by God's providence, so too is Christ exalted to the highest place in heaven after His sacrificial death.

Q: How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

God's sovereignty is confirmed through scriptural revelations and historical narratives that illustrate His control over all events. The sovereignty of God is a foundational doctrine in Reformed theology, affirmed by various scripture passages and historical accounts within the Bible. God's sovereign rule over creation is illustrated through His orchestrating events, such as Joseph's rise from prison to power and the subsequent famine that led to his family's reunion. Psalms 105 emphasizes that God sent Joseph ahead of His people to preserve life during the famine, demonstrating His active governance in human history. Moreover, passages in Ephesians and Acts reinforce that Christ's lordship and authority extend throughout creation, illustrating that even in difficult circumstances, God's plans are ultimately fulfilled according to His perfect will. Understanding and trusting in God's sovereignty comforts believers by assuring them that nothing occurs outside of His divine purpose.

Q: Why is humility important for Christians?

Humility is essential for Christians as it aligns with Christ's example and opens the path for divine exaltation. Humility holds a significant place in the Christian life, rooted in the example of Jesus Christ who humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross. This concept is mirrored in Joseph's life, where his journey from a lowly position to exaltation exemplifies the biblical principle that those who are humbled will ultimately be exalted by God. Psalm 105 indicates that before Joseph was raised to power, he endured humiliation and suffering, paralleling Christ's own path. Therefore, humility not only reflects a proper understanding of one's place before God but also invites God’s grace. As James 4:10 states, 'Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up,' reinforcing the truth that God favors the humble and works through them for His glory.

Q: What can we learn from Joseph's story in relation to Jesus?

Joseph's life foreshadows Jesus, highlighting themes of suffering, betrayal, and ultimate redemption. The narrative of Joseph serves as a profound typological foreshadowing of Jesus Christ. Joseph, who suffered betrayal, false accusations, and imprisonment, ultimately became the deliverer of his family and the ruler of Egypt, reflecting how Christ, through His suffering and sacrifice, became the Savior of humanity. Just as Joseph was elevated from a lowly position to a place of authority to save many lives during a famine, Jesus was exalted after His resurrection to reign over all creation. The story encapsulates the Christian theme of redemption where suffering precedes glory—an essential aspect of the gospel message. Both figures exemplify God's sovereign plan to use trials and tribulations for His purposes, demonstrating that true redemption often comes through suffering.

That's where we began last week,
and I want us to begin there this week in Psalms 105. You young people that's got your
few Bibles, that's on page 694. If you want to turn your Bibles
there. Psalms 105, page 694. I want
us to look again at the life of Joseph. We've got one more lesson on
this next week. I was going to look at it this
week, but next time we get together, we will look at Joseph's brethren
coming, being brought to Joseph. And Joseph reveals himself to
his brother. I wanted to go there this week,
but I want to go back again this week and not so much review. I hope it's just not a review.
Reiterate some things that we said last week. But I want to
emphasize some things we said last week and go to some different
passages of Scriptures to look at what we saw last week, for
us to look at different Scriptures. It's the life of Joseph, and
I may have said this last week, it's so thrilling. It's one of
the most thrilling and exciting things to look at this man's
life. And one of the reasons that is, because like we said,
he was in such a low estate. He was brought so low. He was
put in a pit. He was betrayed. He was falsely
accused. He was put in a dungeon in jail.
There he was mistreated. He was in a strange land. And
by all intents and purposes, that man was to be left in that
dungeon to be forgotten. Nobody basically cared. Nobody
knew who he was or where he was at. Everybody and everything
seemed to be against him. But all of a sudden, the Bible
says hastily, this man was lifted up, set upon the throne in Egypt
and become the ruler there. To me, that's just something
you make movies out of, a good movie out of. I wish they'd make
a movie out of that. But that's why I love this story
and one of the reasons why I want to go look at it again this afternoon
and maybe we'll say some things we didn't say last week. In Psalm
105, and let's read this text again in verse 16 through verse
22. Moreover the Lord called for
a famine upon the land. He break the whole staff of bread. They ran out of bread. The famine
came. He sent a man. God sent a man
before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant. You'd think if God sent a man,
He'd just put him on the throne. He don't usually work that way,
does He? But for honor comes humility. That was so in the
life of our dear Savior. It was so in this man's life.
Whose feet they hurt with fetters, He was laid in iron. Until the
time that His Word, the Word of the Lord, came, the Word of
the Lord tried Him. The King sent and loosed Him,
even the ruler of the people, and let him go free. He made
him Lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance, to bind
his princes at his pleasure, and teach his senators wisdom."
Now, some of those things I'll refer back to, but I want you
to turn over in Genesis now, chapter 41, and look here in
verse 39. You kids, with a few Bibles,
that's page 51. Okay? Turn to page 51 in your pew Bible.
That's Genesis chapter 41. And look here in verse 39. This is where Pharaoh brought Joseph
in out of prison. He interpreted the dream. And
here, after Joseph had interpreted the dream, look in Genesis chapter
41 and look in verse 39. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none
so discreet and wise as thou art." Now verse 40, here's the
first thing he does for you, "...thou shalt be over my house,
and according to thy word shall all my people be ruled." Only
in the throne will I be greater than thou. He made Joseph ruler
over all his house, and he said, According to your word shall
all my people be ruled. He made him ruler over all the
people of Egypt. He ruled the whole nation of
Egypt. Everybody, this man ruled. Ain't that amazing? And then
verse 41, here's what else he did. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. First he says
you're over all my house. You're over all my people. All
the citizens of this great nation, you rule them all. Now he says
you're over all the land. He ruled all the land. He went
through all the cities and all the counties and all the principalities. He ruled over all the laws. He
ruled everything. He ruled over all the land. This was a powerful man, wasn't
he? A powerful man. And in verse 42, look at this.
And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's
hand. That ring was the seal of authority. Sometimes they would put it in
hot wax. Then they'd use that wax to take
it and seal letters. and things like that. If you
have the king's ring on, you have the authority. All you did
was show that ring, and that gives you the authority in all
the land. The king took off his ring and put it on Joseph. He
was just like Pharaoh. I mean, he was a Pharaoh, wasn't
he? This is what he did. And he arrayed
him in garments of fine linen. I mean, the prison clothes were
gone. No more prison clothes for this man. He bathed this
man, he shaved him and put on fine linen. And then he says
he put a gold chain about his neck. Now can you imagine what
a handsome man Joseph was? With this chain of gold and this
beautiful white linen on. He was a handsome man anyway.
And now he was docked out. And here's what he did with him
when he put that gold on and the garments on him. He made
him to ride in the second chariot which he had. And they cried
before him, Thou the Knee! Thou the Knee! Now can you get
a picture of this in your mind? As he's going down the streets
of the city. Ramses and these big cities.
He's going down the street. And all these soldiers riding
before him. and the two in front blowing
the bugles, and those coming behind him, bow the knee! Bow
the knee! And here comes Joseph, and everybody's
bowing the knee on both sides. Everybody's come out of their
shops, everybody's come out of their houses, the streets lined
with people, and everybody's getting down on both knees. And
they're looking up at Joseph as he goes by. Bow the knee. Bow the knee. And he made him
ruler over all the land of Egypt. In verse 44, look at this. Nobody
could do anything. Nobody could do anything without
this man's permission. You did nothing that he knew
about that was contrary to his will or his pleasure. Nobody
did anything against the good will of this man chosen. Look
what Pharaoh tells him in verse 44. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
I am Pharaoh, and without you shall no man lift up his hand
or his foot in all the land of Egypt. I mean, that's authority,
ain't it? That's power, bud. When this
man come by, you bowed. He was the Lord. He was the governor. of this place. He had the king's
reign, all authority, all authority. His brother, when his brother
finally went down, and we'll see this next week, when they
finally went down and met him, and they didn't know who he was,
you know what they kept saying? There's a little phrase they
kept saying. When they came back after they had met him and didn't
know who he was, they come back to his father, and the father's
asking him, you know how they describe Joseph? They said, he's
the Lord of the land. That's what they said. He's the
Lord of the country. And that's what he was. That's
what Pharaoh made him. And that verse in Psalms 105
that I read to you, Pharaoh gave him the authority to bind his
princes. at his pleasure. I just read
that verse to you, Psalm 105. He gave Joseph the authority
to bind his princes. Now those were men that ruled
in all these cities. They were really next to King
Pharaoh in authority. They ruled the country for Pharaoh. And when he exalted Joseph, he
sent him over these princes. They ruled people themselves.
But he sent Joseph over them. And Joseph had the authority
to arrest these men and put them in jail and bind them at his
pleasure. They served at his pleasure. Whatever they did, whatever decisions
they made, they checked with him first. These fellows used
to brag about the power they had. Now they go home bragging
to their wives about Joseph. We got a captain. We got a governor. We've got a man we answer to. Now, that shows you. Now look
in Acts chapter 5 with me. Look in Acts chapter 5. Here's
some of the scriptures I want us to look at this week. Look
in Acts chapter 5. You young people got your Bibles.
Turn to page 1186. That's where you'll find Acts
chapter 5. I want you to look here in verse 29. Look here in
verse 29. Everything that's said of this
man's Joseph, everything that's said of Joseph, everything that
Pharaoh did to him, is just a dim picture of what God has done
for His son. and to His Son, concerning His
Son. We find this all the way through,
and the Old Testament predicted this. The New Testament reveals
this, that God has exalted His Son. Now, let's see that. I want
you to see that. You're in Acts chapter 5, and
look here in verse 29. Here's where Peter was preaching
to the Jews. In verse 29 of Acts chapter 5,
Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, it was answered
in the Sanhedrin, these men that brought them there was going
to whip them. We ought to obey God rather than man. The God
of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you slew and hanged on a
tree. Now think about that for just
a minute. Think of how low The Lord Jesus Christ was. Think
how He condescended. Think how He suffered. Think
how He was betrayed. Think how every man's hand was
against Him. Think how He was shamed. He was
sold. All forsook Him. Even on the
cross, the angels left Him. God left Him. All that was there
were devils to torment him. Just about the time it seemed
like hell was ready to open up its mouth and swallow him up,
justice says, I'm satisfied. And he died. And they put him
in a tomb, and for all intents and purposes, everybody thought,
that's the end of him. Even his disciples said, let's
go home. That's the end of him. There
He lay dead, dead, dead. But what did God His Father do?
Look what He says. Verse 30, The God of our fathers
raised up Jesus. I mean, suddenly, hastily, that
third and appointed morning, life came back into that body
and He raised in a glorified body Stone was rolled away, out
He came, and He was seen of many witnesses." God raised Him from
the dead. What did God do with Him then?
What did God do with Him then? Look in verse 31. "...Him hath God exalted with
His right hand." God exalted Him with His right hand. to be a Prince and a Savior. To give repentance to Israel
and forgiveness of sin. God exalted him. Now look over
in Ephesians. I don't know which of you are
right. Look in Ephesians chapter 1. You young people, that will be
page 1,273 in your Bibles. Ephesians chapter 1. Look at this. Look
in verse 19. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 19. Paul was praying for these Ephesians
that they might know what is the exceeding greatness of God's
power to us, were to believe. And we believe according to the
working of His mighty power, that power which He wrought in
Christ when He raised Him from the dead. Now these are two things
you'll often see in the New Testament. One, that Christ was dead. There
he lay in the tomb. Then secondly, right on the heels
of that, how high God is exalted. That's why Joseph is such a beautiful
picture of Christ coming out of the dungeon, up on the throne. God hath raised him from the
dead, and look at this, set him at his own right hand in the
heavenly place. God did it by His right hand,
and He said it on His right hand. But look how high. Look how high. You think Joseph had some authority?
Look at the authority that's been given to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Verse 21, far above. Not just above, but far above. The Holy Spirit uses this language
to impress upon us Just how high Jesus Christ is. He could have
said above, but He wants to impress upon us how highly God has exalted
Him. So He says far above, far above
all principalities, all power, all might, and dominion, and
every name that's named, not only in this world, but in that
world which is to come. And look in verse 22. He hath
put all things under his feet, and gave him to behead over all
things to the church, which is his body." The Old Testament
predicted this. David said, set at my right hand.
That's the Father said to the Son, till I make your enemies
your footstool. Well, here he has raised his
Son from the dead. set Him at His own right hand,
and Jesus Christ has all authority, all power, all angels, all principalities
under His control. He is reigning while you and
I are here this afternoon studying about Him. He is reigning in
Heaven. The Man, Christ Jesus. Now that's
wonderful, isn't it? That's wonderful. All principalities. Peter said He went up into Heaven. and set on the right hand of
God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to
Him. Just as those princes could be
bound at the good pleasure of Joseph, there's not a king, there's
not anyone in authority, old or young, rich or poor, that
cannot be bound and rule at the pleasure of the Son of God, Jesus
Christ. Now that's how high, brothers
and sisters, He is. I told you about that sign David
pledged us all down by his church. The big sign outside the church
sign said, God is sovereign, let him have his way. It's not
so with this man. It's not so. You don't let a
sovereign have his way, do you? That's what it means to be sovereign.
He's the Lord of heaven. That country, he's the Lord of
this country too. And he's reigning right now.
And he has no rivals. Oh, he has some enemies, don't
he? He has no rivals. He has some
enemies. There are people out here that
are still his enemies. But you know something? He's
going to reign. He's going to reign until he's
put all his enemies under his feet. And here's what he says.
He said, I swear by myself, the word is going out of my mouth
in righteousness and will not return void, that unto me, Every
knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear. Even those that
are incensed against me." He said, they're coming, and they're
going to bow. They're going to bow. Now it
takes the Lord, it takes the Lord to swear to that. And He'll
bring it to pass. He'll bring it to pass. Pharaoh
made this man, took him out of the dungeon, and made him Lord
of the land. God took His Son from the tomb
and sent Him on His right hand, on the right hand of majesty,
on the right hand of power, and He is the ruler, the governor
of the nation. He rules. Jesus does as He pleases. Now, I have no quorums about
saying that. Do you? That's how high He is. He's the King. He's the Lord.
Look back now in our text again in Genesis Chapter 41. Turn your
Bibles over to Genesis Chapter 41. We went over this last week,
but I wanted to emphasize that again and show you two or three
scriptures, and there's an abundance of scriptures. You young people,
turn your Bibles back over to page 52, Genesis Chapter 41. Are you following me? Everybody's
following me? Genesis 52. Genesis 41, page 52. Here's a couple of things in
verse 45 and verse 46. Look what's said of Joseph. Look
what's said of him in verse 45. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name,
I'm not for sure even how to pronounce this Egyptian name,
Zaphnath-paneah. And he gave him to wife Asenath,
the daughter of Potipharah, priest of on, And Joseph went out over
all the land of Egypt. In verse 46, Joseph was 30 years
old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went
out from the presence of Pharaoh and went throughout all the land
of Egypt. Now these two verses tell us
two things. In verse 45, he went out over. Did you notice? Read Scripture, brothers and
sisters. Very carefully, read it slowly,
and notice the distinction the Holy Spirit makes in these words. In verse 45, He went out over
all the land. And then in verse 46, He went
out through. He went throughout the land.
So the Scripture is teaching us here, as Joseph went throughout
all the land, He carried His authority with Him. He was over
the land. Everywhere He was, He was the
authority. Isn't that a beautiful, beautiful
picture of the Lord Jesus Christ? He's in heaven, and we know He
has all authority there, but you know He's in this earth?
He's in this earth by His Spirit, and He says, I'll go with you
always. even to the end of the world.
But you remember what He said just before He said, I'll go
with you always, in Matthew 28. He said, all power is given to
Me. In heaven and in earth, I'll
go with you always. No matter where you're at, dear
child of God, let this be a comfort to you. No matter what situation
you find yourself in, whatever the circumstances of your life
is, Jesus Christ is with you. And He's not with you in weakness. He's with you in His full authority. He rules and reigns in you, over
you, and over all your circumstances. All power. He is just as powerful
in you as He is on the right hand of the Father. Now, you
believe that, don't you? He surely is. He went out through all the
land. But everywhere He went, He was
Joseph, the Lord. of the land. And Jesus Christ
is Lord, and there's no place He is not. He's everywhere. David said that, didn't he? David
said He's everywhere. In Psalms 105, let me read this
verse to you. I read this verse to you. When
He said that He gave Him the authority to bind His princes
at His pleasure, the last portion of that verse said this about
Joseph, and to teach his senator's wisdom. To teach his senator's
wisdom. You know, it's amazing to me
when you begin to think about it, how Joseph could have even
accomplished all that Pharaoh gave him to do. I mean, he went
throughout all the land. He bound those princes as it
pleased him. He ruled everything. He started
storing up this corn. But now, we find out in Psalm
105, that another one of his tasks was to teach those Senators
wisdom. Now those Senators were the smartest
men in Pharaoh's realm. And what these Senators did,
they were over the provinces. The provinces, they were over
the counties, they were over the cities. What they did was
they were political men. They were social men. They kept
social and political unrest down. You get political unrest and
social unrest in the country. Look at our country. Our country's
coming apart, ain't it? Look in Syria, what's going on
in Syria. That's political unrest. Look what took place in the Arab
Spring. Look at all those countries that
fell. And how did they fall? Political unrest. Social unrest. That's what these senators did.
They kept that in check. They were brilliant politicians. They knew something about how
to lead society. Joseph was so smart that he sent
him over these senators to teach them wisdom. Can you imagine,
after they sat under a few sessions, can you imagine those fellows
going home or getting together saying, man, I never realized
I was so stupid. Here I thought I had some sense.
I knew nothing until I sat at his feet. He's taught me how
to think. He's taught me how to do. I never
dreamed, I never dreamed that it was this way. He taught his
senators wisdom. And brothers and sisters, I tell
you this much, and you know this as well as I do, there's no man,
I don't care who he is, I don't care if he's a lawyer, I don't
care if he's a banker, I don't care how many degrees he's got
behind his name, rich or poor, young or old, I don't care who
he is, none of us have any spiritual understanding until the Lord
Jesus Christ teaches us Himself. Now, we don't do it. We may have
a lot of wisdom about some things, but I tell you, we don't know
the way of life. We don't know God's way of salvation. until
the Lord Jesus Christ brings us and sets us down at His feet
and begins to teach us. Listen to this in Ephesians chapter
4 verse 20. You have not so learned Christ,
if so be that you have heard Him and have been taught by Him
as the truth is in Jesus. If we ever know God, brothers
and sisters, if we ever know we are lost, And if we ever know
we're found, it's going to be Him that teaches. I don't care
who we are. That ruler, remember the ruler
they called Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, he came to the Lord
Jesus by night, and boy did the Lord teach him something. The Lord said, Nicodemus, except
you're born again, you cannot see, you cannot enter the Kingdom
of God. And he said, how in the world
can this be? How in the world can this be? Well, let's be honest
about it. We didn't know either, did we?
We were in the same boat he was in. Everybody's in that boat. Nobody knows any more than Nicodemus.
I don't care if he's a ruler, a teacher, or somebody being
taught until the Lord Jesus Christ brings us to His feet and teaches
us and gives us wisdom, gives us understanding. We don't know. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God. That's where Mary wound up at,
sitting at Jesus' feet and hearing His Word. That's where the Gadarean
maniac wound up at, sitting at His feet, hearing His Word. That's
where Nicodemus wound up at, and if a man ever knows God,
if a man ever knows himself and the way of salvation, that's
where we're going to come. That's where we must be brought,
to be taught. The Lord Jesus Christ. Remember
what Moses said of the Lord Jesus? He said, A prophet shall the
Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me. Him shall you hear
in all things. What does a prophet do? He teaches,
doesn't he? God sent him to teach the people.
God raised up His Son to teach us. To teach us. And he said
it comes to pass, it's going to come to pass, that whosoever
will not hear of that prophet, a man that will not come and
set at his feet to hear his word and to be taught of him is going
to be destroyed. Ain't that what he said? He's
going to be destroyed. Look over in Psalms right quickly. Look in Psalms chapter 2. Hold
Genesis chapter 41 and look in Psalms chapter 2. You young people with your Bibles,
that's page 637. Look at Psalms chapter 2 and
look here in verse 6. This is the Father, God in heaven,
speaking of His Son, the Lord Jesus. Look what He says about
it. Psalms chapter 2 and verse 6.
Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare
the decree Here's what Christ said, The Lord hath said unto
me, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And here's
what the Father says to him, Ask of me, and I will give you
the heathen for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth for your possession. Thou shalt break them with a
rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces as a potter's
vessel. Now that sounds like somebody
with authority, doesn't it? That's not like somebody that's
not up in heaven praying and hoping that somebody's going
to do something. That's somebody with some authority. He can kill
people. He can dash you in pieces. He
can crush the blood from your body. He's the Lord. He's the Almighty. He's the Sovereign
Christ of God. Now, in the light of that, look
what he says in verse 10. Be wise now, therefore, O ye
kings. Be instructed, ye judges of the
earth. Serve the Lord with fear. and
rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son. Come close to the
Lord Jesus Christ and kiss Him lest He be angry and you perish
from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little. Be instructed. Be instructed. Come, come to the Lord Jesus
Christ. And say of him what no doubt
those senators said after they sat down at his feet and saw
his wisdom, Lord, teach me. Lord, here I sit. I'm a fool. I don't know anything. Lord,
teach me. Open my heart. Let me see the
way of salvation. Let me know I'm accepted in you. Teach me. Teach me. Ain't that
the thing to do? If he's the teacher, if he's
the prophet, just come and set at his feet. You know what the beginning of
wisdom is? To fear. To fear. I tell you, if you leave
this building tonight, you're without the Son of God, and you
don't come to Him, come to His feet and beg mercy at His hands
and ask Him to show you Himself and show you the way, you better
be afraid. You better be afraid. Kiss the
Son. Kiss Him. Be instructed. Be wise. The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge. I tell you, Jesus Christ is nobody
to mess around with. They didn't mess around with
Joseph. Those powerful men. They didn't mess around with
Joseph. Man, those princes bowed. Those governors sat at His feet
and said, Teach us. We want to know. I want to sit
at Christ's feet, brothers. I want to know. I want to know
myself. I want to know God. I want to
know Christ. I want to know the way of salvation. I want to know
the way of forgiveness. Be instructed. Be instructed. I was coming back, looking back
over Genesis again. Any man seen to be wise, Look here in Genesis chapter
41. And look in verse 55. Look at
this. It goes right along with this.
Look at this. Back page 52, young people. 41,
55. And when all the land of Egypt
was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. And look
at this. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians,
Go unto Joseph. What he saith unto you, do it. What he saith unto you, do it. Do it. I was coming back from Alabama. I was listening to the radio
and this preacher was on preaching. And he finished preaching. I
don't even remember what he preached about. It didn't amount to much.
He said, you know, if you're out there radioing, I want you
to pray this prayer with me. And he prayed this sinner's prayer,
and then you know how the sinner's prayer goes. I know I'm a sinner,
and I now receive Jesus as my personal Savior, and I believe
that You've saved me. Then he said, if you prayed this
prayer, if you prayed this prayer, then write in and tell me. You
know, the Lord has saved you. If you prayed this prayer, you're
saved, he said. You know, we got baptismal regeneration. That's
what the Tamalites tell us. Many of the Baptists now have
the decisional regeneration. You make a decision for Jesus
and you're regenerated. Now we've got some kind of a
prayer regeneration. Because you prayed the prayer,
this prayer has miraculously regenerated you. Brothers and
sisters, you know this. I'm preaching to the choir. You
know this. I tell you, no man is saved, and no man can be saved
until the Lord Jesus Christ teaches him. And no man can be saved
without obeying the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, it's
impossible. It's impossible. We have this
thing today that we're told that you can Take Him as your Savior,
and sometime down the road, if you're so pleased, you may decide
to receive Him as your Lord. That's not so. That's not so. When He teaches us of our awful
state of misery and the danger we're in, He shows us Himself
that He's the Lord, the only Savior, and we bow down to Him
and we become obedient unto Him. Whatever He says, You do it. You do it. And we can't be saved
without obeying Him. We just can't. Can't you see
somebody here? Can't you see somebody about
twilight, sneaking around behind the warehouse, trying to crawl
over the fence? Going to break into the warehouse
and steal him some corn to live off of? Man, they catch you,
they're going to hang you. They're going to hang you. You've
got to go to Joseph. You've got to go to Joseph. He's
put this storehouse in his hand. If you want to be revived, if
you want to be sustained, you've got to go to Joseph. Whatever he says unto you, do
it. And then here, and lastly, we'll look at this and we'll
close. The last one is this. Here in verse 55 and verse 56. Look in verse 56. And the famine
was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all
the storehouses. Isn't that wonderful? See, Joseph
was the mediator between starving sinners and Pharaoh who had all
these warehouses full of food. Joseph was the mediator. between
starving sinners and Pharaoh who had all these warehouses
full of riches and full of favor. And he sent Joseph over it to
feed those people who were perishing. He didn't send him over it to
hoard it up. He sent him over it to give the
people nourishment and sustain them. And what does the Scripture
say about the Lord Jesus Christ? That he's the mediator between
God and man. You know what? In God, there's
a storehouse of riches. Everything a poor, perishing
sinner needs. Do you know it? The Bible says
that he's abundant in mercy. He's rich in grace. He's great
in love. Everything that you and I need,
Everything is in the storehouse of God. And He sent His Son over
this storehouse, not to hoard it up, not to hide it away, but
to give it to poor, needy sinners who come to Him for it. He said
in Philippians 4.19, My God shall supply all your needs. I remember
when you taught on that. My God shall supply all your
need. Can He do that? What if you need
mercy tomorrow? What if you need mercy? What
if you need grace to help you? What if you're needed? What if
you need strength? What do you need? What do you
need? He'll supply all your needs. How can He do that? According
to His riches in glory. How does He do it? by the Lord
Jesus Christ. Everything, brothers and sisters,
God has, He's put in His Son to dispense to you and to me. And I never read of one place,
as far as I can tell by reading here, I never read of one place
where anybody, any person sold, I don't care who they were, I
don't care what their reputation was, I never read where one poor,
hungry sinner came to Joseph for corn that was turned away. And I never read one passage
where any poor, hungry sinner came to God in the name of His
Son and on the merits of His Son that God turned him away. Have you? No, and we never will. God's put it in him. Look in
a couple of more Scriptures. Just read these Scriptures. Look
in Genesis 45 and look in 4 and 5. We'll look at this next time.
But look here in Genesis 45. And Joseph said unto his brother,
this is after he made himself known to him, Come near to me,
I pray you. And they came near and he said,
I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold Egypt. Now therefore,
be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that you sold Me hither. For God did send Me before you."
To do what? Preserve life. Look what He said
in chapter 50 and verse 20. Look in verse 20 of chapter 50. But
as for you, you thought evil against Me. That's why you sold
Me, betrayed Me. But God meant it for good, to
bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive. I tell you, Joseph couldn't have
done anything if he hadn't been set on the throne. He couldn't
have done a thing. But how did God purpose to get
him to that throne? By that pit. And by that dungeon. And Jesus Christ is on the throne
today. And because He's there, He's
preserving a great host of people alive. He's populating heaven. He saved people all over this
world. But how did He get on that throne? By the cross, didn't
He? By the cross. Some man said,
I heard a man say this one time, he said, if I'd have been there,
I'd have stopped it. Yeah, you don't know yourself. You'd have
stopped. You'd have been one saying, crucify,
crucify. I heard another fellow say one
time, he said, God had purposed the Lord Jesus to set up His
kingdom on this earth. His purpose was for the Jews
to receive Him as a King and establish His kingdom, but because
they rejected Him, God had to revert to Plan B. Brothers and sisters, God don't
have any plan B's or C's. Plan A, when you're sovereign,
you don't have to divert your plans. The cross, the cross was
His purpose. And through the cross to the
throne. And on that throne, He's preserving
much people alive. You'll never perish. If He's
bought you, you'll never perish. Dismissed.

Joseph Pt 2

What does the Bible say about Joseph's rise to power?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Why is humility important for Christians?

What can we learn from Joseph's story in relation to Jesus?

Sermon Transcript

About Bruce Crabtree

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Joseph Pt 2

What does the Bible say about Joseph's rise to power?

How do we know God's sovereignty is true?

Why is humility important for Christians?

What can we learn from Joseph's story in relation to Jesus?

Sermon Transcript

About Bruce Crabtree

Comments

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