- [Narrator] Just as God has designed nature, our lives occur in seasons. Seasons of fire, winter, forgiveness, desert, questioning, doubt, life, celebration, sickness, separation, joy, change, and uncertainty. God uses each one to grow us and teach us what a life of faith truly is. When Christ became one of us, he was called Emmanuel, God with us. He showed us how to live and how to die by faith in him.

- Well welcome, it's good to see all of you here in this room, and also for those of you that are worshiping downstairs in our gathering area, it's a great time to be here at Rockpoint, and especially as we begin to take a look at this season. Well, today is a new season in someone's life, and he's obviously not gonna want me to tell you this, but I'm gonna do it anyway, 'cause ultimately I'm his boss. Steve Caskey is our Director of Men's Ministry, and today is his wedding day, all right. So this evening, he will be married to Julie, soon to be Julie Caskey. You'll get to see them around if you haven't already. They're like typically newlyweds, holding hands and all that fun stuff. So it's a great, great day, and we're excited for them. You know, we do go through seasons in our world. We experience spring in nature, right, and it's a time of growing. We end up into summer, and some of us really, really like summer, but then in certain places, it gets really, really hot, and we kind of get tired of it a little bit. It stretches us, and then we move into fall, it has its ups and downs, and then winter, which for some of you is a really great season, and for others, not so great. But it really serves as a wonderful metaphor of life, 'cause life is like that. We have times where we grow, like spring, we have times of desert, where our soul is thirsting. We have mountaintop experiences, we have valleys, we have times where God stretches us with fire and ice and we wonder, "God, where you are, are you really in control?" It's in those moments that we need to remember why we have Christmas. The past several months, we've been in a wonderful series called The Unshakable Truth, and we're dealing with the essentials of our faith, and one of the big ones is what is called the incarnation of Jesus Christ, where he wrapped himself in flesh, he became one of us, fully God, fully man, but he came to earth, and it's why we have Christmas, not just to celebrate that a baby was born, but to look at why he came. It was Jesus who lived in our world and experienced what we went through in order to teach us how to live, to teach us those lessons of faith, but not just how to live, but how to die, how to die with hope. In Hebrews chapter 11 verse one it says that "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, "and the conviction of things not seen." In other words, faith is a confident trust, a reliance upon God and his promises based on the truth that he has given to us. It's fascinating, when you get into Hebrews chapter 11 and you finally end up, in the very next verse it says that there were people that have gone before us who were people of faith, who had confident trust in the promises of God, in his character, in who he was, in the truth that he gives us. They were commended because of that. There are several individuals, you can read it on your own, but we're gonna look at three of those individuals over the next couple of weeks. The first is Joseph. Next week it's Moses, and then David. Each and every one of us point to greater individual to come. Today, we begin with Joseph. Joseph, finding hope and forgiveness and endurance in life. If you'll just listen to one verse that's found in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 22, we read of Joseph, an individual who teaches us how to live with faith, but also die, who points to a greater one to come. It says in verse 22, "By faith Joseph, "at the end of his life, "made mention of the Exodus of the Israelites, "and gave directions concerning his bones." And that's it. What was being communicated there? Well see, Joseph had heard from his father, Isaac, who had heard, or Jacob, who had heard from his father, Isaac, who had heard from his father, Abraham, Joseph's great grandfather, Jacob's his dad, Isaac is Grandpa, Abraham is Great Grandpa, that God had given him a promise whereby through his descendants, God would form this great nation, give them a wonderful land, the promised land that David is, or that Joseph is asking for his bones to be buried in, and that God's gonna bless the world through him. Joseph remembers that story, and he acted in faith knowing that the nation that is now formed in Egypt would return. We'll come back to that one next week with Moses. But before we do that, now that you know the end of Joseph's story, let's go back to the beginning. So now I want you to go to the first book of the Bible, and I want you to go, open your Bibles up, grab the one in front of you, your electronic version. You can easily find Genesis because it's the first book in your Bible, and I want you to locate chapter 37, verse one, and then grab your notes and a pen, it's a very simple outline this morning, as we take a look at Joseph and his life, this man of faith, the lessons that he gives us, and how he points to the coming of Jesus Christ. It's a remarkable story, because faith is the tool that God uses to stretch us and grow us as we learn to depend upon him. So now let's begin reading the story. "Jacob," that's Joseph's dad, "lived in the land of his father's sojournings, "in the land of Canaan. "These are the generations of Jacob. "Joseph, being 17 years old, "was pastoring the flock with his brothers, "he was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, "his father's wives, "and Joseph brought a bad report of them," his brothers, "to their father. "Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his sons, "because he was the son of his old age, "and he made him a robe of many colors, "but when his brothers saw that their father "loved him more than all his brothers, "they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him." Stop there for a minute, let me unpack the story a little bit. Jacob had actually a couple of wives, okay, and we won't get into the dynamics of that one, but just so that you can understand what's happening here, two of 'em are mentioned, these are actually servants who became his wives because his first two wives were Leah and Rachel, and the story is unpacked prior to Genesis 37, so you can go back there and take a look at everything that happened. However, Rachel was Jacob's favorite wife, all right. You can only imagine four wives in one home with multiple kids, half brothers. Yeah, you're shaking your head 'cause you know, what's the word, dysfunction, right? That's what's going on. This was a blended family, and let me just say this. If you go back into the story, prior to this, you are going to read a story that will probably cause most of you to blush. It is unbelievable. The injustice, the murder, the rape, the, I mean, it is just amazing. And in all of this is the home whereby this young boy, 17, Joseph, grows up, and all of a sudden, Dad says, "Because you're the oldest son of my favorite wife, "you are my favorite, "so now I'm gonna tell everybody you're my favorite "by giving you this special robe, right." You know it because you've probably seen the musical, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. He has the wonderful coat, and I did some research on this a couple years ago. It was probably a long coat, they would never work in a long coat, 'cause you didn't have freedom to move. It probably had long sleeves and it was multicolored. It was bright. Basically, when he put this thing on, you know what it said? "I'm better than you. "Dad loves me, not you. "I don't have to work like you." They absolutely hated him for it. I got to this part of the story when I read it again to put this whole thing together and I stopped and I thought to myself, wow, Joseph is hated, what a pathetic world, and I'll tell you what. Don't you love the fact that God is real and God's Word records real life. Do you ever think about that? Blended family, dysfunction, everything you could possibly imagine goin' on. All of a sudden, in the midst of this messed up world with a messed up family and messed up lives, we have a story that reminds us of one who entered into this world. You have a messed up family, whether you admit it or not. You have a messed up life, and we live in a messed up world, and it's in this messed up world that we have a savior that came to help us out. Well, in verse five, "Now Joseph had a dream, "and when he told it to his brothers, "they hated him even more." Wow, imagine that. "He said to them, 'Hear this dream that I have dreamed. "'Behold, we were binding sheaves,'" which are stocks of grain, "'in the field, "'and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. "'And behold, your sheaves gathered around it "'and bowed down to my sheaf.'" Great news, thanks buddy. "His brothers said to him, "'Are you indeed to reign over us? "'Or are you indeed to rule over us?' "So they hated him even more "for the dreams and his words." Well, there's no indication he was being arrogant, prideful or anything. I mean, God was working in his life. He was fairly innocent. I mean, yes, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but look what happens in verse nine. "Then he dreamed another dream," he made a mistake here, though, "and told it to his brothers and said, "'Behold, I have dreamed another dream. "'Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars "'were bowing down to me.' "But when he told it to brothers, "to his father and his brothers, "his father rebuked him and said to him, "'What is this dream that you have dreamed? "'Shall I and your mother and your brothers "'indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?' "And his brothers were jealous of him, "but his father kept the saying in mind." Why, because he knew how God worked through dreams. He had experienced the same thing in his life. Well, eventually, Jacob's other sons went off to find some places for the cattle to find grain to eat, et cetera, and wandered off into the hillside, and Joseph, as was custom, would oftentimes go off to find out what on earth these guys were doing. Now he wasn't tattling, and that's what happened in verse four, it's gonna happen again now. I think the deal was his brothers were trouble, all right. Again, you just read prior to 37 and you'll see what was goin' on. Jacob knew this. The problem was Jacob set Joseph up for a fall because of the dysfunction, the passiveness of his fathering. I mean, the story is just unbelievable. We go everywhere today and cover everybody's bases, but in this situation, once again, he says, "Joseph, come mere, you need to go off, "figure out what these guys are doing, "and come back and tell me if everything's okay." So now we pick up the story again. If you'll look down at verse 18, same chapter. "They saw him from afar," now why did that happen? Because he had a coat of, all right. He had the multicolored coat. If you go to Africa, for instance, you'll look way off in the distance, you'll see, in Kenya, you'll see Maasai warriors. You can spot 'em way out there, why? 'Cause they got this robe on, this blanket that you can see where everywhere. Matter of fact, if you go to the Middle East, oftentimes, you'll see individuals who live out in the desert, and they will specifically put brightly colored clothes on a female, and the reason they do that is because you can see them miles out into the desert to make sure that they're safe. So this guy shows up with this unbelievable glittered jacket or whatever, "and before he came near to them, "they conspired against him to kill him. "They said to one another, "'Here comes this dreamer. "'Come now, let us kill him "'and throw him into one of the pits. "'Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, "'and we will see that, "'we will see what becomes of his dreams.'" "But when Reuben," he's the firstborn, "heard it, he rescued him out of their hands saying, "'Let us not take his life.' "And Reuben said to them, 'Shed no blood. "'Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, "'but do not lay a hand on him,' "that he might rescue him out of their hand "to restore him to his father. "So when Joseph came to his brothers, "they stripped him of his robe," they hated that thing, "the robe of many colors that he wore, "and they took him and threw him into a pit. "The pit was empty and there was no water in it." So he wouldn't drown. "Then they sat down to eat." Imagine that. They just throw his brother in a pit. "Hey, let's have Portillos for lunch," or whatever. "And looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites "coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing "gum, balm, and myrrh, "on their way to carry it down to Egypt. "Then Judah," he's really important in our story here, for those of you that are not familiar, "then Judah said to his brothers, "'What profit is it if we kill our brother "'and conceal his blood? "'Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, "'and let not our hand be upon him, "'for he is our brother, our own flesh.'" Well, that's really nice of you, Judah. "He's our brother." "And his brothers listened to him. "Then Midianite traders passed by "and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, "and sold him to the Ishmaelites "for twenty shekels of silver. "Then they took Joseph to Egypt. "When Reuben returned to the pit "he saw that Joseph was not in the pit, "and he tore his clothes, "he returned to his brothers and said, "'The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?'" 'Cause he was the firstborn, he was supposed to ensure his safety. "Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat, "dipped the robe in blood. "And they sent the robe of many colors "and brought it to their father and said, "'This we have found, "'please identify whether it's your son's robe or not.' "And he identified it and said, "'It is my son's robe. "'A fierce animal has devoured him. "'Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.'" Thus begins, what we're gonna see, 27 plus years of a secret. "Then Joseph, or Jacob tore his garment, garments, "and put sackcloth and, on his loins "and he mourned for many days," and he wept. Then finally in verse 36, "Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him," or Joseph, "in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, "the captain of the guard." Can you imagine what Joseph was going through? I mean, the 50 miles, approximately, to Egypt would have been unbelievable. Slow, didn't know what to do, what to think. I'm sure it was incredible. I mean, it was unbelievable that they would concoct a story with false evidence, hoping they could keep it a secret. Today you can't keep a secret at all, why? 'Cause most kids put it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever the social media thing is, right? Well eventually he shows up in Potiphar's house. He's probably the chief executioner, captain of the guard. We pick up the story in verse 39. Let me summarize it. While he's there, God begins to show up in his life. If you'll look at verse two of chapter 39, "The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, "and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. "His master saw that the Lord was with him." Now Potiphar saw that God was blessing him, Joseph began to see that God was blessing him, and even though he had been sold into Egypt, God is beginning to work. Now remember I told you, he had been told a story, and I believe it was probably prior to him being sold, because he was 17, okay, he was a young adult at this point. He was told a story by Jacob, who was told a story by Isaac, who was told a story by his great grandfather, Abraham of what God was doing. Now a sign of God's presence to them was God's blessing, and sure enough, Potiphar saw it. He put his entire household under Joseph's charge. Joseph was brilliant. He was a brilliant tactician. But before long, he's handsome, it says in chapter 39, and so Potiphar's wife decides, they didn't have the same ethics and morals that Joseph probably was, well, at least partly raised in, because his family was dysfunctional, hard to make sense of all of it. But the bottom line is Joseph knew it was not a good thing for his master's wife to be trying to entice him, and so he said no over and over and over again. Finally she grabs his coat, he runs out of the house, and she takes the coat to Potiphar and says, "Look this guy tried to attack me," frames him, and before you know it, Joseph lands in prison because of it. What an injustice. Poor guy, from pit to Potiphar's house to prison. I mean, oftentimes we follow God, we do everything that God tells us to do, but it doesn't get better. Sometimes, it actually gets worse, and we wonder why. Verse 21 of chapter 39. "But the Lord was with Joseph "and showed him steadfast love "and gave him favor in the sight "of the keeper of the prison." I wanted to stop there for a second 'cause I wanted you to see that word, we translate the Hebrew word steadfast love, it's the word loyal love. That's why they translated it steadfast love. Loyal to what? Loyal to the promise that Joseph knew, specifically that we read about in chapter 11 of Hebrews verse 22, that Jacob told 'em that Isaac told him that Abraham told him that God made a covenant loyal promise, and that God was working behind the scenes. In the midst of this experience, when life is not going well, it's actually getting worse for Joseph. Yet God was blessing him. Well, in chapter 40, we read of how God blessed him again, and he was put in charge of everything in prison, and all of a sudden, the story is, I'm gonna summarize it, give you the CliffsNotes, two individuals show up in prison, the baker and the cup bearer for Pharaoh. Now the cup bearer, he's the guy who would always taste the wine or whatever was poured in a cup before Pharaoh would drink it, and the reason is because if somebody would poison it, then the cup bearer would die, kind of a tough call in life, the cup bearer would die, and not the Pharaoh or the king. The baker, he just liked making goods and stuff that they could eat. They're in jail because somehow they offended Pharaoh, and the long and short of it they have dreams, they can't figure it out. Joseph's in charge. He sees that they're struggling with something, they're depressed or whatever, and he says, "Look, what's up?" They say, "We have these dreams, we can't figure it out." He says, right at the end of verse eight, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" So they tell him, cup bearers says, "Look, there's three branches, "grapes on it, I squeeze the grapes, "it goes into the cup, "and then all of a sudden, I'm in Pharaoh's presence again." Jacob says, "Well, you know, that's simply this. "In three days, you're gonna go back "and serve Pharaoh again, so it's good news for you." Well, the cup bearer I'm sure thought, man, I need some good news. Well, it's not gonna be good. So he says, "Look, there were three baskets on my head, "but the top basket had bread in it, "and the birds were coming and eating it." Joseph said, "This is not gonna be good." He says, "Look, in three days, Pharaoh's gonna hang you, "you're gone." Sure enough, it all comes true, and Joseph, right before the cup bearer leaves, he says, "Look, you have to make sure "that you tell Pharaoh about me, don't forget me." When it all comes true, we read right at the end of chapter 40, verse 23, "Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph." Can you imagine that? I mean, if I had time, which I don't, I would just like to stop and think about that right now, because that's the moment where emotionally, we really get engaged in this, because here he is, you know, stuck in prison, doin' everything God told him to do. I mean, the guy's even interpreting dreams and he's not taking any credit for it. Well eventually, Pharaoh has some dreams in chapter 41, and the long and short of that, just for those of you that aren't familiar with it, he goes to sleep and he has a dream about fat cows coming out of the Nile, and then he has some dreams about some ugly, skinny cows coming out of the Nile and eatin' up the fat cows. Then he wakes up. He can't understand what's goin' on. Have you ever had a dream you don't understand? They happen all the time. I think it's God's wastebasket. Don't think about 'em, just let 'em go. Then he has another one, though. All of a sudden, he starts dreamin' about heads of grain, and got a lot of food on one of 'em, or seven of them, and he thinks that's pretty good, but then all of a sudden, there's seven ugly heads of grain that show up, and then they eat the healthy heads of grain. He wakes up and he has no idea what this means. The magicians can't figure it out, and then the cup bearer remembers Joseph. He said, "Look, there was a guy in prison, he's a Hebrew, "he interprets dreams. "You need to get him in here, he's really good. "I made a mistake, I should have told him, told you "about him a long time ago." So he comes in, and once again, he gives honor to God. "It's God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer," he actually says, and he says, "Look, they're one and the same. "You're gonna have seven wonderful years "where God's gonna bless you with plenty of grain, "but then there's gonna be seven years of famine "that are gonna be so severe, "you're gonna forget the seven years "where God provided all this food for you. "So what you need to do is prepare." Now remember, Joseph was a brilliant tactician. He says, "Look, you gotta get somebody in charge, "you gotta store up the grain, "you gotta set this thing up "so that we can survive the seven years of famine. "You gotta find somebody to do this." Pharaoh looks at him and says, "You're the guy," and all of a sudden, Joseph is elevated to Prime Minister in Egypt, second in command. Nobody's greater but Pharaoh. I mean from pit, right, to Potiphar's house, to prison, to Prime Minister. Can you imagine this? He's 30 years of age it says in 46, 20 years after his brothers did this to him in the, and then seven years of plenty take place and then all of a sudden, we find ourselves in the time of famine. 27 plus years after he was sold into Egypt, then all of a sudden, the famine hits the land of Canaan. Jacob says, "You've gotta go to Egypt and buy food." He sends his sons there, and that's where we pick up the story in chapter 42, verse six. "Now Joseph was governor over the land "and he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. "And Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him "with their faces to the ground. "Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, "but he treated them like strangers "and spoke roughly to them. "'Where do you come from,'" he said. "They said, 'From the land of Canaan, to buy food.' "And Joseph recognized his brothers, "but they did not recognize him, "and Joseph remembered the dreams "that he had dreamed of them. "And he said to them, 'You are spies. "'You have come to see the nakedness of the land.' "They said to him, 'No, my lord, "'your servants have come to buy food. "'We're all sons of one man. "'We're honest men. "'Your servants have never been spies.'" Well, they weren't really honest men, okay. They can't stop from telling fibs. In verse 12, "He said to them, "'No, it is the nakedness of the land "'that you have come and see.' "And they said, "'We are your servants, "'are twelve brothers, the sons of one man "'in the land of Canaan, and behold, "'the youngest is this day with our father, "'and one is no more.'" Now that's the first time Joseph hears that they think he's dead. "But Joseph said to them, 'It is as I said to you. "'You are spies. "'But this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh. "'You shall not go from this place "'unless your youngest brother comes here. "'Send one of you, and let him bring your brother,'" this is, by the way, Benjamin, we'll see that in just a second, "'while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, "'whether there is truth in you. "'Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.' "And he put them all together in custody for three days. "On the third day Joseph said to them, "'Do this and you'll live, for I fear God. "'If you are honest men, "'let one of your brothers remain,'" so he switches, "'confined where you are in custody, '"and let the rest go and carry grain "'for the famine of your household, "'and bring your youngest brother to me. "'So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.'" Joseph wants to see his younger brother of Jacob's favorite wife, his mom, Rachel, and he's setting up a test here. "And they did so. "Then they said to one another, "'In truth we are guilty concerning our brother,'" they're speaking of Joseph, "'in that we saw the distress of his soul "'when he begged us and we did not listen. "'That is why this distress has come upon us.' "And Reuben answered them," such a firstborn, right? "'Did I not tell you not to sin against the boys?'" Isn't that so typical? "I told you so." "'But you did not listen.' "'So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.' "They did not know that Joseph understood them." He heard the whole conversation. "For there was an interpreter between them. "Then he turned away from them and he wept. "And he returned to them and spoke to them, "and he took Simeon from them "and bound him before their eyes. "And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, "and to replace every man's money in his sack." Here he is, givin' 'em grace, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them. Joseph had a plan. Remember, he was a statistician. He wanted to ensure that he saw his dad, he saw his other natural brother from Jacob and his mom, Rachel, Benjamin, and he also wanted to begin to process of seeing, would these guys sell out their brother Simeon? That was the first phase of the plan. So they loaded up their donkeys, they traveled out. All of a sudden, they get to a certain place, and one of 'em opens up his sack, and he finds all this money. "He said to his brothers, "'My money has been put back. "'Here it is in the mouth of the sack.' "At," and "their hearts," it says, "failed them," in verse 28, "and they turned trembling to one another, "saying, 'What is this that God has done to us?'" They are feeling so much guilt and shame at this point, because 27 plus years of a secret is beginning to come out, and they're giving every evidence that they are experiencing the guilt and the shame of all that they have done. Have you ever been there, where you've done something, and you are hoping beyond hope that no one ever finds out what you did? You've kept it between you, and you've kept it between God. Well, eventually they get to Jacob and they explain what has happened. They tell him that we gotta bring Benjamin back. Jacob says, "Absolutely not, not gonna happen." He says in verse 35, "As they emptied their sacks, "behold, every man's bundle of money was in the sack. "And when they and their father saw their bundles of money, "they were afraid." Why, because they had no idea what was goin' on, and they knew that there was guilt, and they knew that there was shame, and every time they turned around, they thought God was after them. "And Jacob their father said to them, "'You have betrayed me of my children "'Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, "'you keep losing your brothers, guys, "'and now you would take Benjamin.'" Okay, again, he's the youngest son of his favorite wife. He's not gonna give him up. "All this has come against me. "Then Reuben," really bright guy, "said to his father, 'Kill my two sons "'if I do not bring him back to you.'" Can you imagine the callousness? That's the level of dysfunction that was going on in this house. "'Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.' "But he said, 'My son shall not go down to you,'" and he refused to let it happen. We eventually, the famine got so bad that he had to send him back. So in chapter 43, Judah comes along and he says, "Look, we gotta go back and find some find some food. "If we had done this earlier, "we wouldn't be in the place we're in." So Judah comes along and he says to his father, "Look, I'll make a pledge." It's verse nine of chapter 43. "I'll pledge for his safety." Finally he gives in and he says, "Take the money that came back with you, "double the money, bring back some gifts. "We're gonna really please this guy "so that you all can come home again." So we pick up the story in verse 16. "When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, "he said to the steward of his house, "'Bring the men into the house, "'and slaughter an animal and make ready, "'for the men are to dine with me at noon.' "The man said as Joseph told him "and brought the men to Joseph's house. "And the men were afraid," Joseph's brothers were afraid. Again, it's guilt, it's eatin' 'em up, "because they were brought to Joseph's house, "and they said, 'It is because of the money "'which was replaced in our sacks the first time, "'that we are brought in, "'so that he may assault us and fall upon us "'and make us servants and seize our donkeys.'" You know, guilt just follows you around. I mean, it's like Peter Pan's shadow. "So they went up to the steward in Joseph's house "and spoke with him at the door of the house," and explained what had happened. Finally he says finally, down in verse 23, "'Peace be to we, to be with you, "'don't be afraid. "'Your God, the God of your father "'has put treasure in your sacks.'" He gives a little theology lesson on grace. Well, they end up back at the house, verse 26. "When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him "the present that they had with them "and bowed down to him to the ground." Imagine, all of the dreams are coming back. "And he inquired about their welfare "and said, 'Is your father well, "'the old man of whom you spoke? "'Is he still alive?' "They said, 'Your servant, our father, is well. "'He is still alive.' "And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. "And he lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, "his mother's son, and said, "'Is this your youngest brother,'" he hadn't seem him in years, remember, "'of whom you spoke to me? "'God be gracious to you, my son.' "Then Joseph hurried out, "for his compassion grew warm for his brother, "and he sought a place to weep. "And he entered his chamber and he wept there. "Then he washed his face, came out. "And controlling himself he said, 'Serve the food.' "They served him by himself, and them by themselves, "and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves," they all sat at separate tables, "because the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, "for that is an abomination to the Hebrews. "And they sat before him," notice this, "the firstborn," Reuben, right, "according to his birthright "and the youngest according to his youth," that's Benjamin. Now let me stop there just for a second, 'cause it sets up the next phrase that's here. When you look at all the brothers and all the combinations, somebody ran the math on this. There is 39 million, 917 seating options with this many brothers. And Joseph nails it, from oldest to youngest. So what happens? "And the men looked at one another in amazement." "This is really weird. "How on earth did this guy get this right?" "Portions were taken to them from Joseph's table, "but Benjamin's portion was five times "as much as any of theirs." They're lookin' around thinkin', "This is crazy." "And they drank and were merry with him." They couldn't believe it. Well eventually in chapter 44, Joseph commanded the steward, he says, "'Fill the men's sack with food, as much as they can carry, "'and put each man's money in the mouth of his sack, "'and put my cup, my silver cup, "'in the mouth of the sack of the youngest,'" that's Benjamin, "'with his money for the grain,' "and he did as Joseph told him." Long and short is this. He did this to test them. He wanted to see if they were gonna give up on Simeon. They passed that one, they came back eventually. But now he's gonna see, are they going to sell out the youngest, Benjamin, the other one that Father loved. He's got this whole thing planned. Sure enough, they get a short distance away, Joseph sends the steward out, he says, "I want you to go back "and ask 'em what on earth they did to steal this cup," and they start sayin', "We didn't do this. "There's just no way, whoever," and these guys were, you know, they just always spoke and thought later. "We'll kill him, all right, we're just gonna kill him, "'cause we know this is not true." They start carving through their sacks, and they end up going to Benjamin's and they find the cup and they can't believe it. They tear their clothes, they get back on whatever they were riding. They head back in to see Joseph. Pick up the story in verse 14, "When Judah and his brothers," notice Judah is now the leader, not Reuben, "came to Joseph's house, he was still there. "They fell before him to the ground "and Joseph said to them, "'What deed is this that you have done? "'Do you not know that a man like me "'can indeed practice divination?'" Joseph is playing the play, okay. They have no idea who he is. They think he's an Egyptian, they think he worships a false God. They have no idea. He's just playin' it out as far as he can to see what their response is. "And Judah said, 'What shall we say to my lord? "'What shall we speak? "'Or how can we clear ourselves? "'God has found out the guilt of your servants.'" What do you think he's talkin' about there? He's talkin' about the guilt of the secret that happened 27 plus years ago. It's finally coming up. So he goes through and he meets privately with him and he explains the whole situation. Finally he says, you know, "We argued with you," or, "we didn't argue, actually sir, you know, whatever, "but we said, hey, we can't bring "our younger brother back here." Joseph says, "No, you have to. "You gotta bring him back." In verse 20, "And we said to my lord," and he recounts the whole story we've been through. "'We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, "'the child of his old age. "'His brother is dead.'" Joseph once again hears that he's supposed to be dead, but he's the guy. He goes through and he explains to him everything that we've talked about. He finally comes to the point. "We argued with our dad, "Dad actually says this." You'll read it in verse 27. "Then your servant my father said to us, "'You know that my wife bore me two sons, "'One left me, and I said, "'Surely he has been torn to pieces, "'and I have never seen him since.'" Do you realize that when Judah recounts the story about what Jacob said way back over in the land of Canaan, and he quotes his father, this is the first time Joseph hears of how they explained away his death, brought false evidence, concocted the lie. He says, "If you take this one also from me "and harm happens to him, "you'll bring down my gray hairs to evil, "in evil to Sheol." Eventually Judah comes forward and says, "It can't happen, he made a pledge with his life." So he says in verse 33, "Now therefore please let your servant remain "instead of the boy." Joseph says, "Okay, you guys pass." We'll pull the story together here. So in chapter 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. "Then 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?'" Notice this. "But his brothers could not answer him, "for they were dismayed at his presence." They were like. "So Joseph said to his brothers, "'Come near to me, please.' "And they came near." I'm sure they were reluctant. "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.'" He didn't ignore their sin, "'for God sent me before you to preserve life.'" But he focused somewhere else. "'For the famine has been in the land these two years,'" so now we're lookin' at 39 years, "'and there are yet five years "'in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. "'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.'" What a story. A story of forgiveness, a story of faith, a story that displays how Joseph points to a greater one who would come and reminds us of just a couple quick points. They just flow right out, it's not complicated. God sent Jesus to show us that he's not forgotten us, because Joseph points to the greater one who would come. Joseph points to the fact that Jesus came to help us understand, and as we read through Hebrews 11, as we read through this story and countless stories that are found in the Old Testament, it reminds us over and over and over again, and it's why I wanted you to see the verses that are found in chapter 39. God did not forget Joseph. He made a covenant promise, and when God makes covenant promises, he always keeps his promises, always. I'm sure Joseph had some doubts along the way, wondered, "God, I didn't deserve "this goofy family that you placed me in. "I don't understand what is happening here." Usually two questions come up. God, are you in control, and then the second one, When is this going to end, and to remind ourselves that God is control, that's where we've gotta go back to stories like Joseph. That's where we have to go back and we go back into the Word that remind us of the character of God and the truth of God, and why God came at Christmas, born into a messed up world with messed up people and messed up lives, so that we could learn how to live by faith and die by faith. That's why, in Isaiah 40, I love the setup to this verse, the question actually comes up, do you think God actually forgot you? Then eventually, Isaiah says in, at the end of that great chapter, he says, "But they who wait for the Lord "shall renew their strength." In other words, God hasn't forgotten you. "They shall mount up with wings like eagles, "they shall run and not be weary, "they shall walk and not faint." Because, is God in control? The answer is yes. Then, how long is this gonna be? Well, it's gonna keep goin' until God continues to form you and fashion you into his likeness. So when we come to Christmas, we are reminded that God sent Jesus to show us how to endure the trials and difficulties of life. That's why in, you don't need to turn there, but in Hebrews chapter 11, is a chapter faith, but then in chapter 12, all of a sudden, it's these individuals of faith that point to Jesus Christ. Because it says, "Therefore," in chapter 12, verse, 1, just listen to these words, "since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, "let us also lay aside every weight "and the sin which clings so closely, "and let us run with endurance "the race that is set before us, "the race that is set before us, "looking to Jesus," there it is, "the founder and perfecter of our faith, "who for the joy that was set before him, "endured the cross, despising the shame, "and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. "Consider him who endured from sinners "such hostility against himself "so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted "in your struggle against sin. "You've not yet resisted to the point "of shedding your blood." He lived with the injustices of life. He lived with the temptations of life. He came to a messed up world made up of messed up people with messed up lives and families and dysfunction, but he came to teach us how to live in dependence, and to trust him all along the way, and to provide everything that we need. We're reminded of it through the Word, we're reminded of it through prayer and dependence, we're reminded of it by community. We talked about getting into a life group where others can remind you when you're in the pit, when you're in prison and you're wondering, has God forgotten me? Don't you need somebody to come into your life and say, "He hasn't"? Have you ever been there? Yeah, many of us have. But he's provided everything we need. II Peter 1:3 says, "His divine power has granted to us "all things that pertain to life and godliness "through the knowledge of him "who called us to his own glory and excellence." And ultimately, Joseph points to this, that God sent Jesus to show us how much we needed a Savior and forgiveness. It's amazing to me, by the time you get to chapter 50, at the end of this whole story, Jacob dies, and all of a sudden, the brothers still haven't really accepted the forgiveness and grace yet, because they start gettin' nervous, and it comes out that they think Joseph's gonna turn 'em into slaves. He's comin' after 'em. He's gonna get revengeful and vindictive. You know what it does? If you read it, you go there, chapter 50, verse 19, you see this story where Joseph actually weeps because the brothers just don't get the grace. Now, he doesn't ignore the sin. He says, "Yeah, what you did was wrong, it was sinful. "You meant it to harm me. "But God ultimately is in charge of everything." All of a sudden we're reminded, how many times do we go through our life, looking at the rear view mirror, at the bad road behind us, wondering when God is gonna show up. Because we have all this guilt and all of this shame, and when are we gonna come to that point in our life when we finally say, "He paid for all of it." The reason why we have Christmas is not for trees, it's not for decorations. It's not for ornaments, it's not for Hallmark Christmas cards. The reason why we have Christmas is to remind us, by Joseph, by Moses, by David, that a greater one would come who would finally go to a cross and take the price for our sin and pay for it completely so that he gives us grace over and over and over so that you can finally stop looking over your shoulder at all of the junk back there, and all of the junk that's gonna happen into the future, and finally come to a point where you will surrender your life and accept the grace and forgiveness that he wants to give you, and that can happen this morning. For those of you that have received it, and you've sinned again, and you wonder, with the lies that come into your head over and over and over again, can he really forgive me, can he really let this go? Oh yes, he can. You remind yourself that even in the midst of the trials and the difficulties, it was this Jesus who forgave you, that will sustain you and walk with you, even through some of the most difficult seasons of your life, because he's stretching you. When we come to the manger and we look at this child, we need to remember that he was given to pay for your sin and mine, to teach us how to live by faith and to die with a conviction and a hope that we are forgiven and set free. Would you close your eyes and bow your heads. Lord, you've been moving through a powerful story, an epic story, really, of grace and forgiveness, of love and restoration and hope, and all that is wrapped up in a baby, the Lord Jesus placed in a manger, to let us know that we needed a Savior because we live in this messed up world. That if we can come to that point in our life, and all of us have to make this decision where we acknowledge our sin and we turn to you, Lord Jesus, as Savior and Lord, and we trust in you and your death and your payment for my sin, so that we live lives by faith, trusting you each and every day. Lord, maybe we need to forgive someone today. Maybe there's someone that came to mind, and we need to start walking by trusting obedience. Maybe we need to forgive them verbally some time today, write a letter, whatever that may be. Lord, teach us to live by grace and faith as we walk with you through the seasons of life, and we thank you for the hope that we have through Christ and Christ alone. It's in his name we pray, amen.