Good morning, let's all stand together and sing hymn number one. Hymn number one. Oh, worship the King, all glorious above. and gratefully sing His power and His love. Our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days, pavilion in splendor and curtain with praise. O tell of His mind! O sing of His grace! Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space, His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form, And dark is His path on the wings of the storm. Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite? It breathes in the air. It shines in the light. It streams from the hills. It descends to the plain. And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain. Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail, in thee do we trust. Please remain standing and we'll sing the hymn of the day in the bulletin. The hymn of the day on the back of the bulletin. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord. Praise his name with one accord. Tell the wonders of His power. Praise His goodness every hour. Let the Ransomed Church begin Who He has redeemed from sin Gathered from the East and West north and south to enter it. Through the wilderness they stray, In a lonely, weary way, Hungry, thirsty, tired and faint, God attends to their complaint. Oh, that men would praise the Lord While His goodness they record ♪ All His wondrous works rehearse ♪ ♪ Who redeemed Him from the curse ♪ Be seated. I'm gonna be reading from 2 Thessalonians. Chapter 2. I think it's familiar to everybody that I am so thankful for the meeting this far. Oh, it's been such a blessing to me, and I'm sure it has to everybody that's been here. Start in verse 13. Verse 13. But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you. Thank God for you, you who are God's children, God's elect, you who believe the gospel, rejoice in the truth, delight in the truth, love the truth, And here's another reason we thank God for you. Brethren, you're beloved of the Lord. God Himself loves you. Beloved of the Lord. Because God, and this is because He loves you, this is what He did. Hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. Just read that, that blesses my heart, just read that. But hath chosen you to salvation, and here's how he did it, through the sanctification of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit set you apart. And then he brought you to believe the truth. And then look what else he did, he called you, called you, called you by our gospel. What for? To the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the tradition which you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ himself And God, even our Father, which hath loved us and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. Our Father, oh, our great glorious God of heaven and earth, Lord, we're so thankful that we can come into your presence. Oh, we're so blessed to be able to come into the holiest of holies by a new and living way through the blood, righteousness, merit of your blessed Son. Lord, we come to thank you this morning, to thank you for your presence you've given us. Oh, how we enjoy your presence. Oh, to have your presence, to have your presence among us, to come dwell among us just for a few moments a day, a few moments in the evening. And Lord, we enjoy your word. Oh, how we enjoy your word. Oh, that one thing that's needful, to hear your word. And oh, Lord, we so enjoy hearing your word. Oh, your word does something for our hearts and souls and understanding and comfort and peace and joy for us in this world that nothing else comes close to even comparing. And Lord, we enjoy your people, oh, your people, people you set apart for yourself, you love from all eternity, called them by the gospel, set them apart by the grace of God. Reveal Christ to them and reveal Christ in them. Oh, how we enjoy your people. How we enjoy their fellowship. How we enjoy their love. How we enjoy them personally. And Lord, and I especially enjoy and love my dear preacher brethren. God bless these brethren today. Lord, use them mightily. Quicken their hearts, quicken their minds. And Lord, give us hearts to believe, ears to hear. And Lord, it may hearts be opened today, may seed be sown that'll bring forth fruit to the glory of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And Lord, please, oh God, come among us again. We ask these things and glorify you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer. our only hope, our only righteousness. We bless you in his holy name. Amen. Amen. Hymn number 204. 204. O soul, are you weary and troubled? O light, in the darkness you see, There's life for a look at the Savior And life for a funded and free Rise upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. He passed and we followed Him there Over us in no more abdomen Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in His wonderful face The kings of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and praise His Word shall not fill you, He promised Then go to a world that is dying His perfect salvation to tell Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace I appreciate Houston so much. He does take care of everything back there and got three things going at one time. And then he leads the singing and plays the guitar. I really appreciate him and love him. And well, I hate to see these days come. I really do. Cody, I love you, appreciate you, and you're a great, great blessing to me and this body of believers. And you come and bring your last message for the—God bless you, and the Lord use you. Good morning. If you will turn with me in your Bible to Genesis chapter 41. I've hinted at and teased a few things as I've been leading up to this message, and I wasn't quite sure how far I would go. And I want to go further than I planned on. So if I'm reading fast, please bear with me. I want to be brief. But I want to get to the part of this that just blesses my heart the most. Up to this point where we left off yesterday, we're in the famine. There's a great famine in the land of Egypt, and Joseph is in charge. Pharaoh's put Joseph in charge, picturing God the Father has placed everything into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the famine came, and everybody needed corn, so they start going to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh said, go to Joseph. Go to Joseph. Go to Christ. You who have a need, go to Christ. That's the gracious command, go to Christ. There are storehouses that Joseph has been preparing for this time. For seven years, he's been filling storehouse after storehouse after storehouse. There's an overabundant sufficient supply. We'll pick up here in verse 56, Genesis 41, verse 56. And the famine was over all the face of the earth, this famine stretched far and wide, and this famine is still here today. It's still here today. Turn with me to Amos chapter 8. I want to show you a verse here. This is the famine. Amos chapter 8. If your Bible's like mine, page 1147 in the Old Testament, Amos chapter 8. This is the famine that applies to you and me in this world. Amos chapter 8, verse 11. If you're not there, just listen. Amos 8, 11 says, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. That's the famine. That's the famine. My confession from experience is a fallen man is far more interested in anything and everything but this. Has that been your experience? No regard for God. Just like Joseph's brothers had no regard for Joseph, no regard for his word, no regard for his glory, you think about false religion. You know what the theme of false religion is? It's self-promotion, self-glory. More interested in their opinion on God's word than God's word itself. Let me tell you what I think. It don't matter what we think. It matters what God said. My opinion and yours is just irrelevant. Just irrelevant. But not only do we have no interest in these things, we don't have the ability to understand these things. It's not in us. Just like Joseph said, to give you an answer of your dream, it's not in me. God alone must speak. We must hear him. In Matthew 11, 25, at that time, Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things. understanding of this book, from the wise and the prudent. You know, we think we got it all figured out. God's hid these things, and he's been pleased to reveal them unto babes. Lord, make me a babe. Show me that I am ignorant and foolish and dependent on you and you alone to understand anything about you. Verse 56 right here again, back in our text. Genesis 41, 56. And the famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses. If you understand that you're in a famine, that will be so, so glorious to you. If God reveals to us we're in a famine, we'll rejoice to know that he opened all the storehouses. There was a great need, and there was a man fit to meet the need. Is anybody here in need? Oh, I pray we're in need. We have nothing. If we don't have Christ, we have nothing. Got a good job, a happy family. We have nothing if we don't have him. I love this verse. Philippians 4 19 says, My God shall supply all your need, not needs, because if we have the one thing needful, we lack nothing. God shall supply all your need. How? according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." There's the one thing they need for. Christ Jesus. And I love thinking about this. Joseph did not keep the storehouses closed. They were his. He prepared them. They belonged to him. He opened them. All of them. All of them. He didn't just open a few of them. He opened all of them. Can't help but think about that word election. You either love it or hate it, don't you? Some say election closes the door. No, it opens it. It opens it. Were it not for God's electing grace, there would be no salvation. Election is unto salvation. God hath chosen you unto salvation. You just read it. You never read in the Bible someone who earnestly, desperately needed to be saved who wasn't. Our Lord said in Psalm 81, this is glorious. Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. Anybody hungry? What a promise. Oh, my soul, what a promise. And yet, let me say this. It's also true what our Lord said to some Jews in John 10 verse 26, he said, ye believe not because ye are not of my sheep. You go read the account. They had no interest in believing him. They said, tell us plainly. He already told them. Then he tells them again, and then right after that, they seek to put him to death. Had no interest. And neither did I. Neither but God. Here's the fact of the matter, but because God from the beginning chose me to be one of his sheep in time, according to God's eternal purpose in the time of love, God caused me to believe. He went right on after that to say, my sheep hear my voice. I know them. They follow me. Who gets the glory here? It's not us. It's the shepherd. It's our Lord. Oh, praise God, Joseph opened the storehouses. Thank God he elected a people unto salvation. We're bound to give thanks. Always. Verse 56 again. The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold unto the Egyptians. And the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. Well, hold on now. What do you mean he sold? He sold it. He sold it. I thought salvation was free. It is. How do you explain that? What's it say in Isaiah 55? Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. Come, buy and eat without money, without price. Why do they have to pay for it? This right here is key to the whole thing. Turn to Exodus chapter 11. If we don't see anything else, I pray God will cause us to see this. Exodus 11 verse 6. The Egyptians are the ones who had to buy. Exodus 11 verse 6. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it anymore. This is talking about when the Lord is going to come and execute judgment, the Passover. Verse 7, But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue against man or beast, that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. The Egyptians represent the wicked, the lost, the reprobate. Israel, the children of Israel, represent God's spiritual Israel, God's elect, those whom he chose, those whom he came to save. Let me say this. Israel was affected by this famine, too. They needed bread. They needed corn, too. But this went very differently for them. You know, the world is still spinning because God has elect on it. All things are for the elect's sake. Look back at our text. We're going to go on into chapter 42 here. Genesis 42, look at verse 1. Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, why do you look one upon another? And he said, behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt. Have you heard? Get you down thither and buy for us from thence that we may live and not die. And Joseph's 10 brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. Joseph sends his sons to Egypt. Why? Because he heard. He heard, faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. He heard that there was corn in Egypt. He knew we're gonna die if we don't get to Egypt, if we don't get corn. We're in a famine, brethren. We need corn, and there's corn in Egypt. Where do we need to go? To Joseph. Go to Joseph. Go to Joseph. You say, well, I thought I thought Jacob had 12 sons. Why'd he only send 10? Verse four tells us, but Benjamin, his brother, he sent not with them. For he said, lest peradventure and mischief befall him. And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came. For the famine was in the land of Canaan, and Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was that sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brethren came and bowed down themselves before him with their face to the earth. That sounds familiar, doesn't it? They had to come to and stand before the one they sinned against. And so will we. So will we. Verse 7, And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly with them. And he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan, to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. That's the way it is, until he reveals himself to us. He knew them, but they didn't know him. Verse nine, And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies, to see the nakedness of the land. Ye are come. And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. He dealt roughly with them. And we're going to read some of this. He continued to deal roughly with them, but he had a heart of love for them. This has been my experience too. And because he had a heart of love for them, he was going to break them. He was going to bring them to the point where they had nothing, I mean nothing, but him. He was going to bring them to the point where they fell helplessly in love with him whom they hated." You know, that's what we need. We need to be broken. If you're going to ride a horse, you're going to have to break it. If we're going to know Christ, he's going to have to break us. He's going to have to break us. They go to Joseph, and Joseph gets them to admit that they have another brother, Benjamin. And he gave them corn, but he sent them on their way, and he said, don't come back without him. If you want to come back for more corn, you're going to have to bring Benjamin. If we're going to come to Christ, it must be on God's terms, not ours. Not ours. Look at verse 19. If ye be true, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison. Go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses, but bring your youngest brother unto me. So shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. You see how serious this is? And they did so. And they said one to another, we are verily guilty concerning our brother in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear. Therefore is this distress come upon us. He said, you're going to leave. One of you is going to stay here with me until you come back with your youngest brother. That's harsh, isn't it? And I love this. They didn't have a clue this was Joseph. But they don't have a clue. And yet, Joseph's making it so that they remember. They feel guilty. First time they ever felt guilty concerning what they did. Verse 22, And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child, and you would not hear? Therefore, behold, also his blood is required. They thought Joseph was dead. They thought Joseph was long gone. Verse 23, and they knew not that Joseph understood them, I love this too, for he spake unto them by an interpreter. He was one of them and he spoke to them in a different language, through an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them and wept. I told you he had a heart of love for them. And he returned to them again and communed with them and took from them Simeon and bound him before their eyes. Simeon stayed behind. Verse 25. Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way. And thus did he unto them. He opened the storehouse unto them. He dealt kindly with them. And here's a key detail I don't want us to miss. He gave their money back. All the Egyptians were having to pay for their corn. Not his brothers. Not the children of Israel. It was free to them. wouldn't take a cent. Look down at verse 35. And it came to pass, as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. And when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto them, Me, have you bereaved of my children? Joseph is not, Simeon is not, and you will take Benjamin away? All these things are against me." Have you ever felt like that? All these things are against me. Do you remember who Jacob is? You remember what Romans 9.13 says about him? Jacob have I loved. Esau have I hate. I've loved you, Jacob. Fear not thou worm, Jacob. All these things are against me. When in reality, all these things were for him. All these things were for him. You know, God does everything for his people. Everything. Jacob have I loved. Salvation's for sinners. The whole reason Joseph came to Egypt, the whole reason for Egypt's existence is for this right here. For Jacob and his sons. For the children of Israel. The whole reason God put Egypt on the face of this earth. All Israel shall be saved. Spiritual Israel. Romans 11, 26. So here in our story, Jacob eventually agrees to let Benjamin go with them, but not before something very important happened. Judah, one of the brothers, agreed to be surety for him. Look here, Genesis 43, verse 8. And Judah said unto Israel, his father, send the lad with me, and we will arise and go that we may live and not die, both we and thou, and also our little ones. I will be surety for him. Of my hand shalt thou require him. If I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever." What a wonderful, beautiful picture of our Savior. If I don't get the job done, you let me bear the blame forever. He's our substitute. So they go. They took double the money, but Joseph wasn't interested in their money. In this chapter, Joseph, when he sees Benjamin, he says to his servants, he said, we're going to have them over for dinner. Can you imagine how terrified they were? They were scared to death. They thought, well, this is because Our money was with us. How'd our money get back to us? He's found us out. Look right here, verse 18. And the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph's house. They said, because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time we're brought in, that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us and take us for bondmen and our asses. And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house and they communed with him at the door of the house and said, oh sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food And it came to pass, when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight, it was all returned. And we have brought it again in our hand, and other money have we brought down in our hands. To buy food, we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks." Verse 23, what an answer. And he said, "'Peace be to you, fear not, your God And the God of your father hath given you treasure in your sacks. I had your money. I had your money. Gave it back to you. We wouldn't take it. Joseph doesn't want your money. God doesn't want anything we have to offer. He's well pleased with his son. That's it. That's it. That's it. I like what that man told him. He said, God hath given you treasure. What's the treasure? Christ. Christ is the treasure. There's no other treasure. There's no other treasure. Wouldn't let them pay one cent, but it gets better. Look at chapter 44, verse 1. They had dinner, and then they went on their way. Chapter 44, verse 1, and he commanded the steward of his house, saying, fill the men's sacks with food as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. How much goodness does God have for us? As much as you can carry. Is that enough for you? How much you need, here you go. You know, it's like if someone gave you a blank check and said, fill it in. Everything you want, everything you could possibly need, here you go. He opened the storehouses unto them, didn't he? Oh my soul, he withheld nothing. He withheld nothing. The God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us. What about God? How has God dealt with us, you and me? We see how Joseph's dealing with his brothers here. How has God dealt with us? I thought of Isaac. You know, on the mountains, God will provide himself a land. That's what his father told him. God told Abraham, thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son. God withheld not his son, his only son, from us. Who said away with this man, crucify him, crucify him. He was hanging there for us. The Egyptians had to pay for corn, but not Joseph's brethren, because the Lord put a difference between them. Salvation costs our Lord everything, but it's free to his people. Joseph was preparing and preparing and preparing, working, working, working, and then his brothers come, here you go. This is all for you. You know, the famine came for them. The Egyptians ended up selling everything they had. They ended up selling themselves. What about Joseph's brothers? It was always free for them. Always. Always free. God hath freely given us all things. What about his love? Do we earn it? Do we have to? Well, now we're gonna earn his love. He said, I will love them freely. Do you like the sound of that? In chapter 44, Joseph has his steward put a silver cup in Benjamin's sack. This is going to be the breaking point. If Benjamin doesn't return home to his father, that's going to be a problem. He puts this cup in Benjamin's sack and tells his servant, you go and you get him. And they're going to find the cup in Benjamin's sack, and they're going to say, first he got Joseph's brothers to say, whoever's sack you find this cup in, let him die. Now we've really got a problem. Because they began at the eldest, even to the youngest, and they found that cup in Benjamin's sack. They turned around and went back. They fell before Joseph. Look at chapter 44, verse 14. Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house, for he was yet there, and they fell before him. on the ground. They were going to bring them to their wits end. Joseph was going to bring them to their wits end. And then Judah, Benjamin Surety spoke up. Verse 16, Judah said, What shall we say unto my Lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants. Behold, we are my Lord's servants, both we and he also, with whom the cup is found. God's gonna make it to where we have nothing to say. He's gonna shut us up to his mercy. That's what we need. That's where we need to be brought. Go on reading verse 17. And he said, God forbid that I should do so, but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant. Not die, he shall be my servant. And as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. Then Judah came near unto him and said, O my Lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my Lord's ears. Let not thine anger burn against thy servant, for thou art even as Pharaoh. And then Judah goes on. I'd love to read it, but for time's sake, I can't, but Judah goes on here and he tells Joseph, whom he still doesn't know, he tells him, he pours his heart out to him, tells him the whole situation and how it's just gonna, how reluctant their father was to send Benjamin, how it was just going to grieve him to the point of death. He tells them how he agreed to be surety for him. Look down at verse 30. Now therefore, when I come to thy servant, my father, and the lad be not with us, seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life, it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die. And thy servant shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, if I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father forever. Now therefore, I pray thee. Let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me, lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father? I hope somebody here doesn't know what happens next. Oh my soul, Joseph's heart is about to burst. Look at chapter 45 verse 1. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him. And he cried, cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. Does that not bless your soul? You remember who they are and you remember who he is. You know, there were a couple times in here leading up to this when Joseph got himself alone and wept. It was all leading up to this. Now he tells his servants, get out. I've got to be alone with them. God gets alone with his people and makes himself known unto them. Has he done it with you? This is how he does it, through his word, through the preaching of it. Verse 2, and he wept aloud. And the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard, and Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph. Doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Our Lord draws us near to his side. We sing this song a lot in Kingsport, near my God to thee, near to thee, even though it be a cross that raiseth thee, even though I put you on a cross. You know, in his final moments, the Lord drew that thief who was just cast in the same in his seat, near to his side. And he's near to his side right now, and he will be forever. Joseph said, come here, and they came here. If God wants you to come near, you're going to come near. You're going to come near. Verse 5, now therefore be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that you sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve life. God sent me here for you. for you. He shows us our sin, and he shows us his goodness to us in spite of our sin, in spite of our sin against him. Verse six, for these two years hath the famine been in the land, and yet there are five years in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest, and God sent me before you to preserve you, a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives. They're the ones that sin, and he said, this is all for you. You think about what you did, and God did this for you. For you. To save your lives by a great deliverance. Tells us in chapter 50, when their father died, they thought, well, Now he's gonna come get us. Our father's not here. It was because of him that he dealt kindly with us. No, he loved them. He loved them. And so he's surely gonna requite us now all the evil we did to him. Oh, they couldn't have been more wrong. He said, fear not. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. God meant it for good. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Verse eight. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God. And he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken. and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. But whose will was that? You know, Pilate delivered Jesus to the will of the people. That was God's will. That was God's will. And I love knowing that some of the very ones who crucified our Lord, he was hanging there for them. Remember those men who were pricked in the heart? Verse nine. Haste ye and go up to my father, say unto him, thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me Lord of all Egypt, come down unto me, tarry not. Thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen. Thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou Is there anywhere you'd rather be than near to our Lord at His feet? Nowhere else I'd rather be. There's nowhere else to be. Verse 11, and there will I nourish thee. That's so loving, isn't it? Oh, truly God is good to Israel. There will I nourish thee, for yet there are five years of famine, lest thou and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. God won't let it be for his people, because Christ took our poverty upon himself. He was made poor to make us rich, made sin to make us righteous. Said it yesterday, beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning. Verse 12. And behold, your eyes see in the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. and you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, of all that you've seen, and you shall haste and bring down my father." Feather. You imagine the joy this is gonna bring Jacob. Let me say this. You see how much Jacob loves Benjamin. You know how much Jacob loved Joseph, you remember? That's his beloved son. Jacob's wife, Rachel, she was barren. It's believed for 26 years. And Jacob had children with others that the Lord had given him children through. Oh, he just wanted a child with Rachel. Wanted a child with Rachel. That was his beautiful bride. That was the one he loved. Then finally the Lord opened her womb. Rachel had told him, give me children, else I die. God opened her womb. You know who he gave her? Joseph. Joseph. All these years, Jacob has thought Joseph was no more. Never going to see him again. You go tell my father. I'm here ruling in Egypt, and you're gonna come be near unto me for the rest of your days, and I'm gonna take care of you. Verse 14. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his brethren, and he wept upon them. And after that, his brethren talked with him, and the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come, and it pleased Pharaoh well. and his servants. What pleases Christ pleases the Father, and it pleases us, doesn't it? Verse 17, And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye, lay your beast, and go get you unto the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households, and come unto me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land. Now thou art commanded. What an offer! What an invitation! This was a command. What a gracious command. God's not waiting for us to decide to believe on him. No, he commands. And we come. Now thou art commanded, verse 19, this do ye, take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives and bring your father and come and I'll leave you here. Also regard not your stuff for the good of All the land of Egypt is yours. What role did they play in this? All they did was sin against him. And then they tried to buy corn. Can't be bought. Can't be bought. Salvation's been bought by Christ. He bought us. That word regard right there means don't look upon with compassion. You don't look upon anything about you or yours with compassion. All the land of Egypt is yours. You have everything because you have me. How'd they have him? He gave himself to them. He loved them in spite of them. We don't deserve it. We never could. It's the free gift of God. It's the free gift of God. And let me say this, it's all to the glory of Joseph. It's all to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's all about Him. It's all about Him. Praise God He opened the storehouses. He opened all the storehouses. Amen. May God bless His Word. Well, John Bunyan said, God had bags of mercy yet not broke. Not broke open yet. And he does. Thank you. Oh, that was such a blessing. Now, listen. A couple of ladies need to go back there to do something. And so come and lead us in a song while they go that yawn way. You know where yawn way is, don't you? John way. All right, they got to fix some stuff back there. Yeah. Yeah, you take a break. Did they never drunk? Yeah. Probably don't need the words. But if you want to look at them number 236. Amazing Grace. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me that once was lost But now have found I was blind, but now I see. T'was grace that taught my heart to fear. And grace my fears relieved How precious did that grace appear we have at first believed. Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come. Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. We've been there a thousand years. Bright shining as the sun. We've no less Hey, man. Hey, man. Sometimes the right hand don't know what the left's doing here. We had it all figured out, boys. You. my soul was astray from the heavenly way. I was wretched and foul as could be, but my Savior in love gave me peace from above. down for me. When he reached way down for me. I was lost and undone without God for his love. When he reached I was near to despair when he came to me there, and he showed me that I could be free. Then He lifted my feet, Gave me gladness complete, Then He reached out His hand, My Savior reached out for me When He reached great depth for me I was lost and undone Without God or His Son When He reaches out His hand for me. Now my heart doth rejoice When I hear His sweet voice In the tempest to Him I've been pleading there to lean on his arm, safe, secure from all harm. Since he reached down his hand, When my Savior reached down for me When He reached way down for me I was lost and undone Without God or His Son when he reached down his hand for me. There to be on his arms safe secure from all harm since he reached down his hand for me. Good, good.