God’s Good Keeps Giving

Good morning! My name is Kirk and I serve as one of the pastors here at FCBC. It’s an absolute privilege to gather with our church family this morning, sing, and set our affections on Jesus together. This week in particular I’ve remembered what a privilege I have to get to be employed to serve this church body. And one reason I feel so privileged is that one of my roles in my pastoral calling here is oversight of our Outreach efforts. And as part of that I also serve on our church’s global mission leadership team. Today, when you came in you received a brochure that is our yearly missions report. Hang on to that, because it will be a big part of the application at the end of my sermon today. If you are joining us online, it will be available on the Missions page of our website this coming week for you.With that said, let’s give our attention to God’s word. We are still telling the captivating story of the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis and we’ll find our way through a big portion of that narrative in chapters 46-47. Now, because it’s such a big portion of scripture, I am going to read as I go along and make my points as I go. But just to let you know where we are going, the overall point of this passage for us today is that God's Good Grace Keeps Giving.So, join me as I set the context of this part of the story, by reading from the last section of chapter 45, starting in verse 16.“When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, ‘Joseph’s brothers have come,’ it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, ‘Do not quarrel on the way.’ “So they (Joseph’s brothers) went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. And they told him, ‘Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.’ And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, ‘It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.’” Genesis 45:16–28Joseph, the brothers, and Jacob have all been through a lot! Last week we had the big reveal, the big emotional, God guided, reconciliatory moment in the story of Joseph where he takes off his Egyptian headdress, his brothers peer into his eyes, and he says “I am Joseph!” And man, was that emotional. Joseph and his brothers cried more tears than a teenager who gets broken up with by their first girlfriend or boyfriend. Years of pain, sorrow, betrayal, and forgiveness flowing down the face of Joseph in liquid form. But through that emotional moment, God’s purposes were revealed. God had turned Joseph into the man he was made to be, a reflection of Jesus, the Greater Joseph. God’s purposes providentially overarched the sinful intents of his brothers, and God purposed all this to bring about a story of forgiveness and reconciliation that was to forever mirror how God can forgive people like you and me through Jesus.But as we transition to chapters 46- and 47, we have to ask, how are the brothers feeling? How did Jacob feel when He heard this news of Joseph being alive? We know that the brothers were initially shell shocked. But then we have this picture of them on their journey with the carts loaded with gifts for them and their whole family. It’s like an early Christmas. Pharaoh had told them that the best of all of Egypt was theirs! You can almost see the brothers riding in the desert in new 4 x 4 Toyota Tacomas. Several of them wearing brand new Jordan retro 11’s, and Benjamin with a suave Armani pinstripe suit on. They have special to go boxes with steaks from Chandler’s steak house in their hands, and they roll up to Jacob like this and tell him, “Joseph is alive!”Jacob was now initially shell shocked. But then he sees all the carts and goods and says, “It must be true. Let’s go! I will see my son again!”So we have the brothers, Jacob, the whole family immediately in a completely different position and place than they were before. This mealy little tribe in the desert was angry, grumpy, divided, and a really sad broken messed up people. They were on their last legs and nearing starvation. Now look at them! Overflowing with food, money, resources, and everything they need. I think if you asked this family right at this moment, “How are you doing?”, they should rightfully respond, “Better than we deserve!” And that would be a heart response that would show the beginnings of an understanding of grace. And that’s our first point today, that:This overflowing of blessings on this family isn’t because of anything they have done well. We remember the story, there is immorality, cowardice, betrayal, attempted murder, and deception. This family is here simply because God’s grace keeps giving!So, what if I ask you this morning, “How are you doing?”, what would you say? A friend of mine, one of the most joyful people I have ever met on this planet and also someone who has been through almost as many trials as Joseph, always says “By God’s grace,” when you ask him how he is. And that is an appropriate response!Because, just as the forgiveness of Joseph in chapter 45 revealed the forgiveness of Jesus, this part of the story is another picture for us of what God does when we come to know Jesus Christ. Not only does he forgive you, but he gives you a cart load of spiritual blessings as he makes you a “co-heir” with Jesus. Adopted into the family of God, purposed in his will, and sealed with the Holy Spirit, you are not just forgiven, forgotten, and tolerated, but God’s precious sons and daughters with all his spiritual blessings. In fact, Romans 8:32 says “He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Christ doesn’t just save us and send us on our way, he keeps giving more and more grace.And sometimes, it’s not just the spiritual blessings, but God also provides bountifully all our physical needs as we see here with the family of Joseph. Sometimes our physical reality is experienced in such a way that we can say with the psalmist in Psalm 16, “the lines have fallen to me in pleasant places…”Isn’t it true this morning that for most of us whatever we would want to gripe about and complain about pales in comparison not only to the spiritual reality, but in our context, even the outward benefits of life that God has showered us with? Most of us take for granted the jobs we have, our wife or husband, and even our kids because there are a few things we don’t like about our work, get annoyed by with our spouse, or dislike about our kids or parents. One little thing can be wrong about one of these things and we fall into a slump and a cynical view of our lives. This is a view that later we’ll see Jacob reveal when he says “Few and evil have been the days of my pilgrimage…”But for now, chapter 46 opens and Jacob is experiencing God’s grace even more, as we read in verses 1-7:“So Israel took his journey with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes. Then Jacob set out from Beersheba. The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They also took their livestock and their goods, which they had gained in the land of Canaan, and came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, his sons, and his sons’ sons with him, his daughters, and his sons’ daughters. All his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.” Genesis 46:1–7Even with the abundance of the physical provision that Jacob sees, he is nervous and fearful about heading into Egypt. Both his grandad Abraham (12:10) and his dad Isaac (26:2) made the mistake of leaving the promised land and leaning on the wealth of the world instead of trusting God’s promises. And Jacob knew that Abraham had received a strange and dark prophecy about his descendent going into a land to become servants back in Genesis 15:3. But, there is so much grace here! God graciously draws Jacob to worship, and then graciously speaks to Jacob and assures him it will all be okay. And in doing so, he graciously re-affirms the promises made to Abraham and Isaac that God is working in this to make of him a great nation.In chapter 28, God had spoken to Jacob in a dream, here he speaks to him through a vision at night. There, he had spoken a promise to him, and now God’s last recorded word to him is that same promise. His life is bracketed by God saying, “I will,” to him. Grace doesn’t always look like grace. Sometimes it looks like the thing we fear the most. Jacob feared going into Egypt, but God says all my promises are true to you. To go ‘into Egypt’ seemed so wrong, how could this be God’s will? It shouldn’t happen like this, which is why Jacob went to pray about it. But the answer is God promises more grace. God promises more of the same, “I will,” to Jacob. And beyond the amazing promise that he will be with Jacob, God also promises to Jacob that he will bring him up again and that his dearly longed for son will be the one to lay him to rest. The Hebrew is emphatic that God is giving a personal word of prophecy to Jacob. And then we have the perfect picture of grace as Jacob is literally carried into Egypt by his sons!Fast forward, and as they enter, we get the big reunion and we see Jacob experience a fulfilled grace, as Joseph comes riding out in verses 28-30 of chapter 46:“He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him in Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen. Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while. Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.”The language here is powerful as Joseph comes out all suited and booted in power, glory, and in a show of all that God had done for him and in him. Jacob’s tune is changed and he proclaims complete satisfaction at getting to see the fulfillment of his hopes and dreams restored. This is similar to when the old man Simeon saw the glory of Jesus as a babe in Luke chapter 2 and said, “Now your servant can depart in peace.” Here Jacob sees the glory of Joseph who prefigures a resurrected Jesus and says the same thing. He is now satisfied. God’s grace keeps giving to Jacob until he can say this.What about us this morning? Can we joyfully affirm with Paul in 2 Corinthians that all the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus Christ? Do we realize that because of him, no matter what we are experiencing, we are carried by his grace and we are getting way more than we deserve? I hope so!Our second point today is that God's Good Hand Keeps Blessing.Read with me verses 1 -12 of chapter 47:“So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, as our fathers were.” They said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and stood him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many are the days of the years of your life?” And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning.” And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependents.”This really is a master stroke of diplomacy by Joseph. He gets his family situated in the best of the land of Egypt. And by God’s hand, Pharaoh not only accepts the idea of them being in the land of Goshen, but he promotes the brothers and give them jobs, just like he did with Joseph! God’s good hand just can’t stop blessing his people!So, the brothers are going to work, be blessed, and be a blessing to Pharaoh’s livestock. Joseph later in this chapter is going to continue to bless Egypt and save lives through God given wisdom and leadership.But this chapter centers around this powerful encounter that Jacob has with Pharaoh. It expresses the reality that God’s people are blessed to be a blessing. First, look at the fact that Jacob blesses Pharaoh. In the ancient world the greater would bless the lesser. No doubt here that in the world’s eyes this Pharaoh, who is the embodiment of the sun god on earth in their view, is greater than a wrinkled old nomadic shepherd. But Jacob blesses him twice, as he enters and as he leaves.This is the role of God’s people on earth. Back in Genesis 12, God told Abraham he would bless him, so that he would be a blessing and those that bless him would be blessed and all nations of the earth would be blessed through him. This is the continuation of that here through Jacob. God did not bring Israel into this land only for their own sake. He did not pour out grace upon grace on them just so they could live in the lap of luxury. No, as one author has said, whatever God does to you, he also wants to do through you. You see, grace is not only the forgiveness of sins and blessing overflowed to you in Christ, both spiritual and temporal at times. Grace is the whole package deal. Listen to Ephesians 2 as it describes this in verses 1-10:“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”Listen, I know life is busy, but we need to grasp that this busy life is a good life. It is God’s mater work of art and poetry, his poiema, that he is writing through his people. This chapter is exciting and busy, but that excitement and busyness is God’s grace too. Can I suggest that it is not busyness and activity that is the problem in our lives, it is the type of activities and attitudes we have towards them that make our lives so tedious at times. When we live for the purposes of God, when we live in our identity as blessed people who are to simply go around blessing others at all times, it is invigorating!Second, Jacob is able to bless Pharaoh because his life is viewed as a pilgrimage. One thing he had learned in his old age: life is a journey and he was just passing through. In fact, he is a bit focused on his death, mentioning it over and over, when in fact he will have 17 more years enjoying God’s blessing and the most prosperous part of his life and time with Joseph. But, he had learned this truth. The pain and the suffering of his journey had taught him not to hold on to anything.Christian, this is how we too can be a blessing. What if we didn’t hold onto our view of what the world should be and how we think things should go? What if we dwelled on the reality of our purchase eternal destiny and remembered constantly that our experience right now is just like a hotel room? We might be in a shabby cheap room, or a 5-star spa, but we won’t be held by it. We will use whatever we have to be free to simply go around blessing others.Jacob sees his life as a pilgrimage. This is why he can bless Pharaoh, a world leader who does not hold a Christian worldview. He lifts his hands up in prayer for him, though he things himself a god. And we can do the same as we pray for our leaders in this country right now, whoever ends up being elected, because we are called to be a blessing people. Wouldn’t it be great if Christians weren’t known to be a cantankerous people in the public sphere, but a blessing people like this?So through this hand of blessing on them, and through them being a blessing to Egypt, we see our last point, that God's Purposes Keep Growing.So much happens in verses 13 -26, but you’ll have to read that on your own. To summarize, Joseph saves Egypt again! It may not look like it in one sense because it looks like the biggest government grab of power of all time. He ends up buying and owning the whole land of Egypt and all its inhabitants as employees on behalf Pharaoh, in exchange for providing the food that he had previously stored up.But we can’t let our modern, democratic eyes think that way, because when it’s all over the text tells us that the people of Egypt say in verse 25, “You have saved our lives!” In fact, these Egyptians seem more grateful than Jacob does in this story, despite all the blessings God has given him! And at the end of the day they are only paying 20% tax on their labor, which in some cases could be up to 60-70% in the ancient world. I’m sure even most of us here would be more than happy to only pay 20% tax, right?So let’s read the summary verses at the end of this section as we get ready to transition into some application. Look at verses 23-27:“Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s. 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.”Here is the reality of what is happening. The beginning of chapter 46 shows Jacob’s family as a small tribe 70, and yet God graciously promises again that they will be a nation. And this is the fulfillment of his word to Abraham that in him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. God is going to use Egypt as he used the ark in Noah’s day to preserve, protect, and provide for his people. It doesn’t matter if it is a pagan nation, God will use it for his glory. In 400 years, they will come out of Egypt as a nation of more than 2 million people. That is a staggering growth rate of 6% a year! God uses the fertile borders of Egypt to give them prosperity, protection, and they don’t even have to give up their distinctiveness as a people.As one commentator said, “The removal to Egypt, therefore, was not a hiatus in God’s plan for the nation and for the nations, but it advanced the blessing God forecast for Israel and the nations. The story of Joseph in Genesis never lets the readers forget that the adoption of Israel was for the purpose of offering salvation to ‘all the world.’”Eventually, Jesus Christ would come through the nation of Israel. He would be the greater Joseph that died, was raised to life again, and then in power gives his people grace, blessing, and abundant growth and resources.So, two questions. First, if you don’t know Jesus, are you satisfied? Are you satisfied in this life of pilgrimage? Are you able to celebrate God’s grace in all that happens to you? Second, for anyone here who is a believer in Jesus. Do you realize the grace of God, his blessing, and the multiplication of his purposes in such a way that your heart is moved to be more involved in his global mission of blessing all nations through Jesus Christ?I want you to ask yourself, “Is my view of life entitlement and annoyance that I don’t get all that I want? Or do I recognize that I actually have been given way more than I deserve in Christ?” Because if you see the grace of God in all his blessing, you will also see the grace of God in being a blessing. And you will want to be part of his purposes.Now I want to transition to giving an update and casting some ideas out there about how you can be involved in God’s mission. First, we have a focus as a church of reaching out locally. We are not always good at this, but we want to grow and multiply in the purposes of God here. Recently we did a Serve Day as a church where 3 teams went out in the community and helped folks in our neighborhood with projects around our their houses. Here are some pictures to see what the teams got to do:What a blessing to be able to bless and serve our neighbors! We are hoping to make this a regular part of our yearly rhythm as a church. In the spring we hold a work day here at our own building, but in the fall we can have the blessing of serving others who aren’t yet part of FCBC.Locally, as part of God’s mission we have existing and developing GO Local teams. That stands for Gospel Opportunity Local. One of those is a response team, so if you liked the serve day, you can be a part of that team all year long to bless and serve as needs arise among our neighbors and city. You can go to our website to see all the teams currently listed. But here is the thing, there are more possibilities and many of these teams need leaders to take on responsibility of leading a team. Could you lead a team?It’s broken my heart recently that I have been getting letters from prisoners, for example, and haven’t had time to respond. So it would be great to have a team that focused on ministering to prisoners whether that is through letters or in person.And then one way I want to encourage everyone here at FCBC to be involved in mission coming up is through an event we will have on December 11th. It’s called our Community Christmas Celebration. It will be outdoors, socially distanced, and loads of fun. We’ve bought a ton of lights and a massive 33-foot tree, there will be music and hot chocolate! But the most important part of all this is that we want everyone to simply invite a friend who maybe wouldn’t come to a service, but would come to a festive Christmas celebration. In coming weeks you’ll find how we may need you to serve at this event. But now, for the special focus of today. The application for us as a church to growth and multiplication is global missions. Grab your brochure and we are going to work through it from back to front.First let me introduce our Missions team. We meet monthly to pray and plan and consider how God would have us as a church steward the resources he has given us. All these folks have extensive missions experience and it’s a joy to serve with them. And it is a big joy for me to get to report today about how the Lord has multiplied our resources.Look at our budget from last year, and then our budget for this year. Because of your faithful giving, the work we as a whole church together can do to bless the nations with the gospel and care has grown. So thank you for giving! Each month, 11% of our normal giving goes into our mission account and then it is distributed monthly to our partners and as needs arise.Some of our values in how we use God’s money for his purposes are:Priority on supporting missionaries doing front-line work in unreached areas.Developing vibrant, long-term relationships with the missionaries we support. (Making sure we don't get spread too thin by developing more partnerships than we can support in a personal way.)Praying for our missionaries regularly (and knowing they're praying for us!).Balancing foreign missions and local outreach.Helping give people at FCBC a passion for missions through participating in short term mission trips.Praise God for all the resources he has given us to be a blessing, just like in the story of Joseph! Then just take a look through and you will see all the places we are partnering to extend the gospel to this world:So, as we close, let’s sing and consider and reflect, how does God want us to be involved in his mission, personally locally, globally, at all times! As Psalm 96 says:            “Oh sing to the LORD a new song;                        sing to the LORD, all the earth!            Sing to the LORD, bless his name;                        tell of his salvation from day to day.            Declare his glory among the nations,                        his marvelous works among all the peoples!            For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;                        he is to be feared above all gods.            For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,                        but the LORD made the heavens.            Splendor and majesty are before him;                        strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.             Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,                        ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!            Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;                        bring an offering, and come into his courts!            Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;                        tremble before him, all the earth!             Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!                        Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;                        he will judge the peoples with equity.”