THROUGH THE BIBLE - Genesis..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to church. What a great privilege is to have you worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ with us.

Would you please open up your Bible to Genesis chapter forty five. Genesis chapter forty five. This is the time of our service in which we are going to be doing corporate reading of a scripture. We read a scripture Chapter by chapter together and we give a brief Christological overview of each one of the chapters from Genesis 1 all the way until Revelation Genesis 45 That's a lot of time, right? He may come before that Genesis chapter 45.

Let's read together, paying much attention with reverent hearts to each one of the words of the scripture. I'm reading from the English Standard Version of the Bible, Genesis 45. Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, make everyone go out from me. So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

And he wept aloud so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Is my father still alive? But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. So Joseph said to his brothers, come near to me, please.

And they came near, and he said, I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. The famine has been in the land for these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth. and to keep alive for you many survivors.

So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and said to him, that says your son Joseph. God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me, do not tarry.

You shall dwell in the land of Goshen. And you shall be near me, you and your children, and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household and all that you have do not come to poverty. And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt and of all that you have seen.

Hurry and bring my father down here." Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept. And Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that, his brothers talked with him.

When the report was heard in Pharaoh's house, Joseph's brother have come. It pleased Pharaoh and his servants. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Say to your brothers, do this. Load your your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan and take your father and your households and come to me and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you shall eat the fat of the land. And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, do this, take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives and bring your father and come.

Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours. The sons of Israel did so. And Joseph gave them wagons according to the command of Pharaoh and gave them provisions for the journey. To each and all of them, he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin, he gave 300 shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. To his father, he sent as follows, 10 donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt and 10 female donkeys loaded with grain, bread and provision for his father on the journey.

Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, do not quarrel on the way. So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father, Jacob. And they told him, Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them.

And when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, It is enough, Joseph. My son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die. The words of the Lord.

Amen. Brothers and sisters, this is the narrative. This is the testimony that the Holy Spirit has given us, the church, through the writings of Moses, who is the author of Genesis. This is the narratives of this story of Joseph and his father, his brothers, his coming to Egypt and everything that happened to him. That is the writings given to us by the Holy Spirit through this Old Testament prophet under the Old Covenant.

Under the New Covenant, the same Holy Spirit speaks to us about the story that we have before us through the lips of Stephen. In Acts chapter 7, him filled with the Spirit, filled with faith and with the illumination that only gives the Holy Spirit, he is going to remember and he's going to narrate again this story that we have before us. And he's going to give us two very important points. When he's speaking to the fathers, when he's speaking to the brothers of Israel, he says, and he remembers that what we have here In front of us, this story of Joseph, the brothers, and being there in Egypt, that this started with a promise that was given to Abraham. The covenant of the circumcision is what Stephen says in chapter 7 verse 9.

the covenant of the circumcision was given to Abraham and that covenant of the circumcision is that in Abraham all the nations that includes the Gentiles and Israel of course that all the nations of the earth were going to be blessed through that promise that was given to Abraham and that we started from chapter 12 through chapter 17 in the book of Genesis. that there is going to be a blessing, a preservation of the people of God through the offspring of Abraham. And after Abraham, Isaac will come. And from Isaac, Jacob will come. And from Jacob, the 12 patriarchs.

And are the patriarchs the ones that have sold, Stephen will say, filled with envy or with jealousy, they sold this Joseph into the land of Egypt. Then Stephen will continue with this narrative of these events, and he will conclude speaking of the events that we have here in chapter 45. He speaks of the first coming of his brothers to Joseph, to Egypt, and then he will say that on the second visit, beloved brethren, that on the second visit of his brothers to Joseph, that Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and also that Joseph's family was made known to Pharaoh. Those are the words of Stephen, and these are the same words that the author of Genesis uses here, that Joseph was, he made himself known to his brothers. This is new covenant.

This is New Testament expounding or revealing that which we have in chapter 45. And because it is through the Holy Spirit, this is profound, beloved brothers and sisters, because in fact, what we have here It is the revelation of the identity of Joseph to his brothers. So what we see here, it is a sanctified heart, the heart of a Christian, sanctified through tribulations and difficulties and trials and sorrows that go over years and years and years that he had been departed or removed from the presence of his family in the flesh. We see the heart of these sanctified men. in this world, exploding in emotions, requesting people to leave the room because he's about to reveal himself to his brothers.

He says, I am Joseph, your brother. think about the emotions that his brothers would have felt and perceived or have in their hearts. These men who had been speaking to them probably in Egyptian language, who needed an interpreter between him and his brothers. Now he has requested these people to be taken out of the room and now he's speaking in Hebrew language. And he says, not only in a familiar language, but he says, I am Joseph.

your brother, the one who you sold into Egypt, he's making himself known to his brothers. This is this revelation of who he is, but brothers and sisters. there is a deeper and more profound revelation than that of Joseph revealing himself to his brothers. Because even in that revelation of Joseph of revealing himself to his brothers, there's many eschatological or end of times points that we could speak about that. But brothers and sisters, there's a deeper revelation through the testimony of the things that Joseph is going to say to his brothers.

It is the revelation of the plan of God in keeping and preserving His people. And the revelation of the workings of God in keeping and preserving His people do not only have impact and influence in the whole story of redemption as we know it, but also in the personal life of each one of those who, by grace through faith, are united to Christ. Pay attention to what the author says in verse 7. He says, God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors." Verse 8, So it was not you who sent me here, but God.

He has made me a father to Pharaoh. And then he will continue saying the rest of the things that God did with him. Stephen says of these men, beloved brethren, that God was with him throughout this whole time. That the things that happened to Joseph were in the hands of God. That God was controlling everything that happened in the life of Joseph.

All the trials and all the afflictions. Stephen, in chapter 7 of the book of Acts, he says that God rescued him from all of those things because God was with him. Brothers and sisters, I want you to see the glorious implications of the providential power of God in the life of Joseph and how the providence of God was now that which ruled the emotions of Joseph and not the circumstances. Think about what I have just said. It was the providential power of God.

When I say providential power, what I mean is that God is in control of everything that happens in this world. When that providence of God was that which was ruling the emotions of Joseph and not the immediate circumstances. It was the fact that by faith he knew that everything that had happened was in the hands of God and that everything that happens was not only in the control of God, but that God intended that with a redemptive purpose, which moved Joseph to react towards his brothers in love and in forgiveness and in acceptance. Brothers and sisters, it is the providential power, or better, it is the awareness by faith, not only an intellectual awareness, but a real conviction in our hearts that it is God, the one who indeed rules everything that happens, not only in the immediate life of the believer, but in the whole story of redemption, that we should govern the internal emotions of the heart of the believer, so that when we react or when we respond in our relationships, one with the other, we do it in light of this providential power, this sovereign control of God. I don't know about you, but this gives rest and peace to the heart.

It makes easier to love our enemies. It makes easier to forgive our enemies. It makes it easier to accept those who have offended us, because we know that in the hands of God, that everything it is in the hands of God. What we are witnessing here, brothers and sisters, It is not only this made known of himself towards his brothers, but it's also from chapter 45, and we'll see it all the way until chapter 50, it is how these providential workings of God are bringing everything into order. And the thing that this conviction or the understanding of this should bring to the heart of the believer, it is not only peace and rest, but it should determine the way that we relate one to the other.

Even when a brother or a sister in Christ come and offend us, just having a perception of the sovereign power and the mighty sovereign decree of God over all of these things should fill the heart of the Christian with the peace that if those things are happening, they have a purpose not only in the individual life of the person in conformity to Jesus Christ, but also a redemptive purpose. Why, brothers and sisters? Because this Joseph here is a shadow of Christ. He's a type of Jesus Christ, the one who said, not my will, but your will be done. Why?

Because the will of the father on this overarching redemptive purpose was that which was giving him the comfort that he was going to that cross and that he was going to die upon that cross and that the outcome of the going to that cross would bring a better outcome. That is the preservation of a remnant. The life of Joseph was chosen to suffer, to be removed from his people, so that a people, the people of God, will be preserved. Because just remember, just as the promise was given to Abraham, also this covenantal promise will then be given to Moses through the people who was preserved through the life of Joseph. And this Joseph foreshadowing our Jesus Christ.

It is the one that teaches us that just as Jesus Christ admitted to the will of the Father, those who by grace through faith are in Him are also, as just Peter says in chapter 3 of Ephesians first letter, to follow the example of the Savior through trials and tribulations. Now, brothers and sisters, when we speak of trials and tribulations and persecution in a Western church, in a Western church that it is protected providentially and kept from all the sufferings that many other brothers and sisters go in other parts of the world. Sometimes your heart might be dull and cold and indifferent to these words or these exhortations about tribulations and difficulties. But don't make mistake and do not be deceived with the things that you see outside in this world, brethren and sisters, because there is going to come a time in which each one of us, in one way or another, is going to have to stand for the truth and in which our faith is going to be tested, in which our profession of faith is going to be tested. And the only thing that is going to help us to go through that testing It is rooted in the truth that has been given to us through the Word of God.

Knowing that His providential power is that which governs absolutely everything, and that He has promised that He is going to keep for Himself a remnant, a people for Himself, and by grace through faith we are united to Christ. We are that people. We are that church. Just as Christ suffered, those who are in Christ will suffer. If you decide to live or if you wish to live a godly life in Christ, you will be persecuted.

1 Timothy chapter 2. That God may give us, brothers and sisters, the grace not only to hear to these things which are preached from this pulpit, but also to make them true in our heart. Because there's going to be a time in which each one of you individually is going to have to present your faith And it's going to be tested with fire, as Peter says in chapter 1. And the genuineness of your faith is going to be tested by the circumstances, by this scheme of evil, as Paul calls it in Galatians. So this evil age.

And the only proof of a genuine faith, as we've said before, it is endurance and it's perseverance until the end. just as Joseph, removed from his family, years of suffering, years of difficulties, but then it was God who exalted him onto this final plan of redemption. Amen.