As David mentioned, I'm not Jason Churchill. So you'll have to bear with me today. These are his words. I want to make that very clear. Jason labored. very much over taking the Lord's words from the pages and being able to present them to you today. So for any good stuff you get out of this, give Jason a pat on the back. For any errors, omissions, or other things, come and blame on me for having to do this kind of at the last minute. So I think you'll be blessed by this message. I know for me, some of the stuff that's contained in this message, it's a little hard to hear sometimes when you're going through difficult stuff, when you feel like I have been lately, when you're kind of drowning a little bit. As Bill reminded us about remembering Christ this morning during communion, I pray that as we go through these passages that you will remember God's times of faithfulness to you and how even through difficult times you have seen in the past God work through those situations because it's important when we go through those difficult times to remember God's past faithfulness and know that that is with us in the future and in the present. So let's pray. Father God, we thank you that you are a faithful God, that even in the difficult things, you are with us. and we know that they are for a greater purpose than we can see. And Lord, I ask that you would open your word to us this morning, help it to sink deeply into our hearts and minds that we can be changed and that we can glorify you and love those around us better. And we ask that in Jesus's name, amen. So David Brainerd was born on April 20th, 1718. His father died when he was but nine years old and his mother five years later. Though very religious, David could not bring himself to trust in the true saving grace of God until one late July afternoon in 1739, just before sunset, when the Lord revealed himself to David in unspeakable glory. He was immediately transformed and he wrote, thus the Lord brought me to a hearty desire to exalt him, to set him on the throne and to seek first his kingdom, principally and ultimately to aim at his honor and glory as the king and sovereign of the universe, which is the foundation of the religion Jesus Christ has taught. I myself felt myself in a new world. I wondered that all the world did not comply with this way of salvation entirely by the righteousness of Christ. Two months later, he entered Yale to prepare for the ministry so that he could proclaim this wondrous gospel to the multitudes. But just weeks into his first term, he was afflicted with a severe illness and was sent home, delaying his plans. The next year, he reentered the school only to be expelled for a careless comment he made about a professor. David was in shock. He tried time and again over the next several years to make things right, but to no avail. Now, he wouldn't be able to graduate and fulfill his calling to become a pastor. His plan for his life and ministry had crashed and burned. But God, but God had another plan. Through a set of divinely appointed events, David would be ordained as a missionary to the Indians. Though not what he had wanted or expected, he undertook this new calling with fervor. But the sickness he'd had in that first year at Yale soon returned with a vengeance, but he stuck with it, trusting in the Lord's provision. Over the next four years of ministry, he would continue to preach, all the while his physical suffering daily intensified. It was relentless, as was the discouragement and depression that resulted from it. It greatly hindered the ministry he'd envisioned. And yet he did all he could to persevere through the pain so that he could bring the gospel to more Indians. On October 9th, 1747, at the age of 29, David Brainerd died of tuberculosis. This man was serving the Lord with more fervor than just about anyone you'll ever meet. Despite his pain and suffering, Despite adversity upon adversity, he faithfully persevered to see God's kingdom come. And yet, after only eight years as a believer and four years as a missionary, he died. Why? Why all the trials? Why expulsion from school? Why tuberculosis? Why so much suffering? Why did he die so young when he was having such an impact? We often have the same questions about our lives and the lives of our loved ones, don't we? Why did this happen? Why me? Why them? Why? We want to know why. What's the purpose of why things are the way they are or why things have happened the way that they did? Why did this person sin against me? Why did my car break down? Why is my job in jeopardy? Why this sickness? Why does it seem that every plan I make crashes and burns? Why is a great question to ask? It's a great question to ask because in asking we're assuming there's a purpose. We're assuming meaning that this thing was intended to happen and was not a random event in a chaotic universe. And the question of why can often be looked at at two levels. And the first is at the human or secondary level. It's asking someone the reason why they did something. What was their purpose or intention in acting? That's a legitimate question, but it's not sufficient. We must also ask why something occurred in the context of the primary or ultimate meaning. Why has God ordained this thing? This is a question about the providence of God. And let me define that for you. Simply, the providence of God is His sovereign power acting to accomplish His purposes. Let me say that again. The providence of God is His sovereign power acting to accomplish His purposes. As the Lord says in Isaiah chapter 46, my counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose. Now as we progress through Genesis, we found in its pages several foundational theological concepts, truths about who God is and what He is like. Through the record of how the Lord has interacted with His creation, and particularly Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, It's been revealed that the Lord is omnipotent. That is, He's all-powerful, which means that He has the unlimited ability to do whatever He wants, whenever and however He wants to do it. We've learned that the Lord is also omniscient. That is, all-knowing, which means He knows all persons, places, things, and events exhaustively. We also have learned that the Lord loves His people. which means that he is faithful to them and purposes their highest lasting good. Did you catch that? Their highest lasting good. It's important because we often try to settle for just the okay good. And the Lord our God is sovereign, which means he has complete and utter rule over all of creation and all of history. He governs it all. Or to say it another way, He is in control of all things and directs all things. The providence of God is the faithful exercise of His sovereignty to bring about the highest lasting good of His beloved. His works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful, preserving and governing all His creatures, ordering them, and all their actions for the ultimate good of his people to his own glory. It's the providence of God that is on full display in the life of Joseph. As Bill so beautifully elaborated upon it last week, even though Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery, with confidence and conviction, he could say to them, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here for God. sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land 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 the 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. It's from chapter 45 in Genesis. Later on, near the end of the book, after they've laid Jacob to rest, the brothers once again get anxious, thinking Joseph would now avenge himself because of their treachery, because they sold him into slavery, and more than two decades. Did you catch that? More than two decades of suffering and misery. But Joseph said to them, Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God, but God meant it for good to bring about that many people should be kept alive as they are today." There it is. Joseph identifies the why. Yes, on a secondary level, they meant to, his brothers, intended to, planned to harm Joseph by selling him into slavery. Their hearts and their actions were evil. But Joseph doesn't stop there. He also identifies the primary why. God meant it for good. Don't miss this. It doesn't say that God used it for good. It says, but God meant it for good. It's the same word. As his brothers meant and intended evil, so the Lord meant, intended, planned to do good to Joseph by selling him into slavery. The Lord exercised his love and faithfulness to Joseph through orchestrating these events. and to his brothers and father. You see, in these words, not only the faithful providence of God in Joseph's life, but for all of Israel. See, in sending Joseph, the Lord was preserving Israel. He was exercising his faithfulness to them long before Jacob or his descendants would be impacted by a devastating famine. God was at work to preserve them. Now the story of Israel's history is indeed the story of God's faithful providential action. The record of Genesis from the Garden of Eden to a coffin in Egypt is the record of God's faithful providence in creating and sustaining his people. Why do they exist? Because of God's providence in creation. Why is there sin and death and relational conflict in the world? Because of God's providence in the garden. Why are there so many nations and peoples? Because of God's providence at Babel. Why are they, Israel, a nation? Because of God's faithful providence in and through the life of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Why are they in Egypt? Because of God's faithful providence in and through the life of Joseph. And the same is true for us as God's people. Listen to Paul's words in Romans 8, And we know that all things, all things, work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. You can't just take the first part of that scripture without the back part. It has to be together. The Lord in His faithful providence means, designs, intends, purposes all things, all things, not most things, No matter who nor what the secondary cause of that thing may be, whether it's natural, political, satanic, demonic, other people, even you, everything is superintended by the Lord for your and our highest lasting good. This is the faithful providence of God. And that is the answer to the question that I raised at the beginning, why? because the Lord our God means it for our highest lasting good. Moses records Genesis for the encouragement of the people of God in his day and for future generations. He records the providential acts of God in their past so that they might trust him in the present, that they and we might know that no matter what has happened or where we find ourselves, it is meant by God for our good. that they and we would walk in the assurance that God in his faithfulness purposes all things for our highest lasting good. And this is the goal of this morning's message, that we would walk in the assurance that the Lord, because of his faithfulness, purposes all things for our highest lasting good. Sound a lot like what Bill preached on last week? Yeah, uh-huh. And maybe Mike's message of the week before that, and Kurt's the week before that. Well, yeah, uh-huh. It's very similar. Because it really is the theme of the entire book of Genesis. The Lord's faithfulness, His providential actions are foundational for our persistent trust in Him now. Now this morning we're concluding our fast-paced journey through the book of Genesis that we began at the start of the year. It's kind of crazy to think that, you know, we've been in this book for 18 weeks. In some ways it feels like we just started. When we opened, we said that the book was all about foundations. Genesis contains the foundations, the basis or underlying reasons for the existence of the world and its purpose. Of humans, their dignity, identity, and purpose. Of sin, of physical and spiritual death. of marriage and all other human relationships, of the different ethnicities, people, groups, and nations, of ethics, believe it or not, of the gospel, and as we've already seen, the nation of Israel. These foundations are firmly established on the foundation of the providential faithfulness of the Lord. It's this providence that has inexorably led to where we find ourselves this morning, as Joseph sends his brothers to retrieve Jacob and bring him to Egypt. And as we progress through these final chapters, we'll discover some of the ways to walk in this assurance, the assurance that the Lord, because of his faithfulness, purposes all things for our highest lasting good. Now in chapters 45 to 47, we see Joseph's brothers return to Canaan where they tell Jacob that Joseph is alive and that he wants him to come to Egypt. So Jacob gathers his entire family and all of his possessions and heads there where he and Joseph are reunited. Pharaoh then gives Jacob and his descendants the land of Goshen, and it is there that they stay during the remaining years of the famine. Verse 27, thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they gained possessions in it and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. All of this, all of this is by the sovereign faithful providence of the Lord. Psalm 105 beautifully commemorates this. Oh, give thanks to the Lord. Call upon His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him. Sing praises to Him. Tell of all His wondrous works. Glory in His holy name. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. He is the Lord our God. His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever. The word that He commanded for a thousand generations. the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance. When he summoned a famine on the land and broke all supply of bread, he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave, his feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron, until what he had said came to pass. The word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him. The ruler of the peoples set him free. He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions, to bind his princes at his pleasure and teach his elders wisdom. Then Israel came to Egypt, Jacob's sojourn in the land of Ham, and the Lord made his people very fruitful and made them stronger than their foes. That brings us to our first point of application. We can experience and enjoy greater assurance in the Lord's faithful provision by walking in thankfulness for all that he's done. All of our moments of suffering and joy, sadness and happiness, pain and pleasure, fear and satisfaction, of sickness and healing, of famine and provision, of tragedy and deliverance, are all aspects of the Lord's faithful providence. It's all the work of the Lord for our highest lasting good. Church, reflect on all of the good things that the Lord has done throughout your life and on how he has used your adversities for your good. Did you catch that? Reflect on that. I am who I am now because of everything that God has brought me through, the good, the bad, and the ugly. My soul, your soul, is so much the greater because of the faithful providence of God throughout your life. O give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him, tell of all His wondrous works. Glory in His holy name. Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Now returning to the passage in 49 verse 3, sometime later we're told that Jacob's death was drawing near. And so he calls in all of his sons to bless them before he dies. And after blessing Joseph and his sons, Jacob turns to Reuben, his firstborn, the heir apparent, and says this, You are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power, unstable as water. You shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed, then you defiled it. He went up to my couch. Ouch. Rather than speaking a blessing, it's more of a stinging rebuke with an anti-blessing. Jacob first identifies the severe weakness in Reuben's character. followed by pointing out the time when Reuben, as the firstborn, violated his trust and honor, defiling Jacob's bed when he slept with his concubine Bilah. And it seems Reuben is never repentant for the act. So in punishment he will not receive the blessing of the firstborn. He will not be the heir apparent. He will not be preeminent. Then he turns to Simeon and Levi and says, weapons of violence are their swords, let my soul come not into their counsel. Oh my glory, be not joined to their company, for in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and for their wrath, for it is cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. See, Jacob recalls their horrific acts against the men of Shechem. If you remember, in retribution for the rape of their sister by one man, they put every man in the city to death by the sword. And because of this, he dissociates himself from them. In punishment, their tribes would not inherit as the others when the people of Israel come into the promised land. And this provides us with our next point of application. We can experience and enjoy greater assurance in the Lord's faithful provision by realizing that we are still responsible for our actions and that those actions still have consequences. Jacob's parting words to his sons remind us that sin has consequences. We can assume that these brothers were all redeemed through a faith that pointed to Jesus, but even when forgiven, our sins may still have terrible consequences in our lives and in the lives of others. Folks, disobedience is still disobedience, regardless of what God does with it. We are still responsible for our actions and our intentions. Hence why Joseph later says to his brothers, you meant it for evil. See, the intent of their hearts was evil, and they were still accountable for their intentions and actions. The ends never justifies the means. And they cannot try and justify themselves but saying, hey, but look what God did with it, right? It doesn't work that way. Yes, the Lord moved in spite of their actions rather than in accord with them. We ought to never justify sinful behavior based upon the good that God will bring from it. In fact, Paul clearly condemns such attitudes when he argues in Romans hypothetically But if through my life, God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come? As some people slanderously charge us with saying, their condemnation is just. Now in our story here about Joseph, Jacob now turns his attention to Judah, who's probably wincing at this point. Right? He's waiting for the hammer to fall on him because of his sin against Tamar and for hatching the plan to sell Joseph into slavery. Listen to what Jacob says. Your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons shall bow down before you. Wow. Jacob gives Judah the blessing of the firstborn. Despite all of his unrighteousness, he and his descendants would now be preeminent. They would be the ruling clan of Israel. Why? What's the difference between Judah and Reuben, Levi and Simeon? Well, Bill pointed it out last week. Judah, when he was caught in his sin with Tamar, exclaimed, she is more righteous than I. And later, when the brothers were accused by Joseph, it was Judah who answered, How can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants. And when Benjamin was found with Joseph's silver cup, Judah offered himself to suffer the penalty in Benjamin's place. See, we see in the life of Judah repentance and transformation, a life now devoted to walking in accordance with God's will. Big difference between him and Reuben. our response to God's faithful providence ought always to be walking in righteousness and obedience. We should always strive to work in accord with God's will, never against it. And when we do sin, we need to repent of our sin and once again seek to walk uprightly. Yes, the Lord will always bring about His perfect will, yet we are always accountable for our actions regardless of the outcome. Therefore, the intent of our hearts should always be to honor the Lord, to walk in a manner worthy of his calling. After this, we're told that Jacob died and that Joseph and his brothers took Jacob back, starting in verse 13, to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought, just as the Lord had promised Jacob. Now, as I mentioned earlier, after they had laid Jacob to rest, the brothers once again became fearful, thinking Joseph would now avenge himself because of their past treachery. And so they pled for forgiveness, bowing before him and groveling at his feet. But Joseph said to them, Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. So do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones. Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. It's Joseph's persistent trust in the Lord's faithful providence that directs his reaction to and conduct towards his brothers. And this brings us to the final two points of application. You see, we can experience and enjoy greater assurance in the Lord's faithful provision by forgiving others rather than seeking vengeance for ourselves. See, Joseph understands that vengeance is the province of God. And as Paul would later write in 1 Thessalonians, beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Excuse me, that was Romans. And again in Thessalonians, see that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. See, Joseph believes that everything that happened, even the sinful and wicked actions of his brothers, was ultimately God's work for his good. How then could he seek vengeance? Consider this. In February of 1944, Corrie Ten Boom, together with her father and sister Betsy, fell into the hands of the Gestapo. The events that ensued involved appalling suffering. Corrie and Betsy were sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany, where they experienced countless horrors working as slave laborers while their health plummeted. Eventually, Betsy and her father died. In a remarkable intervention that Corrie ascribed to the Lord, She was delivered through an administrative error that released her from prison shortly before her impending execution. After the war, Corrie admitted to struggling with anger and bitterness toward her betrayers and her captors. But she would return to Germany to extol the remarkable providence of God and declare the grace of Christ anyway. While there, she had a Joseph-like encounter. And here's how she tells the story. It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former SS man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly, it was all there, the room full of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsy's pain-blanched face. He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing, how grateful I am for your message, Fraulein. He said, to think that, as you say, he has washed my sins away. Remember, this is a Gestapo SS guy saying this. His hand was thrust out to shake mine, and I would preach so often of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocket book rather than take that hand. He would not remember me, of course. How could he remember one prisoner among the thousands of women? But I remembered him. I was face to face with one of my captors, and my blood seemed to freeze. He went on, I've become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there. But I would like to hear it from your lips as well, Fraulein. Again, the hand came out, will you forgive me? And I stood there, I whose sins had again and again to be forgiven and could not forgive. Betsy had died in that place. Could he erase her slow, terrible death simply for asking? It could have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out. But to me, it seemed like hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I'd ever had to do. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man. Was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile. I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. So again, I prayed a silent prayer, Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness. And so wouldn't we mechanically, I thrust out my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder and raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands, and then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. I forgive you, brother, I cried with all my heart. For a long moment, we grasped each other's hands, the former guard, and the former prisoner. I'd never known God's love so intensely as I did then. This is kind of particularly poignant for me since my family was in Germany during this time. Do you view the actions of others that affect you, even the harmful ones, in the light of divine providence? That they might have meant evil against you, but the Lord meant their evil for your good? If we do believe this, then how can we seek vengeance or vindication for ourselves? Our final application this morning is this. we can experience and enjoy greater assurance in the Lord's faithful provision by recognizing that it's bigger and better than just us. Let's recall Joseph's words here. God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive. See, these words mean much more than we see at first glance. See, yes, in the present, as Joseph is speaking, the providence of God has kept Joseph and all the descendants of Jacob alive. In sending Joseph into slavery, the Lord was preserving Israel through the famine and beyond. This is wondrous in and of itself, but there's far more to it than that. It's far more spectacular. You see, in preserving Joseph's brothers, the Lord preserved Judah that we talked about a few minutes ago. And in preserving Judah, the Lord was doing much more than just preserving his life. See, let's go back and look at Jacob's blessing on Judah. He says to him, your brothers shall praise you. Your hands shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as a lioness, who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until tribute comes to him, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Folks, this is a prophecy about Judah's descendants, particularly one of those descendants in the distant future. For generations, these words were understood to be referring to the coming of the Messiah. with the liver of Israel. As Micah would prophesy, but you, O Bethlehem Ephrata, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. And Isaiah in chapter nine said this, they rejoice before you. as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For to us a child is born, for to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom. Jacob's prophesying about the coming of Jesus through this blessing. Isn't that amazing? Charles Spurgeon explained of Judah's blessing, everything which Jacob says of Judah, the type, he means with regard to our greater Judah, the anti-type, our Lord Jesus Christ. The scepter shall not depart from Judah. And the writer of Hebrews says it this way, for it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah. And Matthew and Luke clearly show the genealogical descent from Judah to King David, of whom was born Jesus, who was called Christ. This is the one for whom the angel declared, You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. This Jesus, says Peter, was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, In other words, by the faithful providence of the Lord, he was crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. They meant it for evil, but God, right? But God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death. But God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive. And you who were dead in your trespasses, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by trying, umphing over them in him. God meant it for good to bring about that many people should be kept alive. Judah is a lion's cub. He stooped down. He crouched as a lion. The Lord God in His faithful providence preserved the line of Judah to bring forth this lion of the tribe of Judah. In Revelation 5, John sees in his vision a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? And no one in heaven or earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. And I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, weep no more. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered so that we can open the scroll and its seven seals. Now I opened with the story about David Brainerd In the eight years of his Christian walk, and in the four years of ministry among the Indians, he saw around 150 Indians turn to Jesus Christ. And that is an amazing glory in itself. But the impact of his life, of his persevering through suffering and disappointment, has had a far greater impact on the world. See, Jonathan Edwards would take David Brainerd's diary and turn it into a book. that has never gone out of print. The story of his life inspired missionary pioneers like Henry Martin, Adoniram Judson, and William Carey, leading to the salvation of millions in India and Burma and China. His life and diary are thought to be one of the most significant tools God has used in the modern missionary movement, inspiring tens of thousands of Christians to become missionaries in foreign lands, leading to millions of salvations worldwide. John Piper says, David Brainerd's life is a vivid, powerful testimony to the truth that God can and does use weak, sick, discouraged, beat down, lonely, struggling saints who cry to Him day and night to accomplish amazing things for His glory. And so we might also say that Joseph's life is a vivid and powerful testimony to the truth that in His perfect providence, God can and does use weak and sick and discouraged and beat down and lonely and struggling saints who cry to Him day and night to accomplish amazing things for His glory. So too with you. The Lord is working His sovereign providence in His life not only for your highest lasting good, but also for all of us and for future generations to come. Hallelujah. So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. And Joseph lived 110 years and Joseph died. Again from John Piper, the message of Genesis, the life of Joseph, the death of Jesus and the whole Bible is that God reigns in sovereign love over His people, bringing us into peril, all the while working our salvation from His own just affliction. Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No. In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. That is the faithful providence of the Lord, and that is our only true foundation. Let's pray. Father God, so many of us here are among those who would count themselves as weak or sick or discouraged, lonely, struggling. Lord, we see in your scripture, your love for us, your providence for us, your faithfulness to us, even in these difficult things. Help us, Holy Spirit, to persevere Give us the grace of seeing Your hand at work in the outcomes, not just for us, but for Your kingdom. For tens and hundreds and thousands and millions saved from their sins, saved to glorify You. Give us glimpses of Your vision that would encourage us in our struggles. We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen.