The Potter's House of Camdenton
Beginnings Part 32 The Beginning of a Great Nation Genesis 46-47
good morning oh how we need him every second of every minute every minute of every hour hour every hour of every day we need the Lord he is so good to never leave us a forsake us and to empower us encourage us means where we are well you want to welcome you again here and trust you're already having a great morning of worship and we'll continue now to worship together through his word for those visiting my name is Brian McKenzie I serve as one of the elders here and have the privilege to teach a couple times a month and we are glad you've joined us to look in God's word together so this morning as you can see we're continuing our study in the book of Genesis in a series entitled Beginnings and this morning we're gonna be doing Genesis 46 through 47 in a message title the beginning of a great nation beginning of a great nation so if you have a copy of God's word and I hope you do have a copy of God's word I want encourage you to take that out turn to Genesis chapter 46 and we'll be looking at that here in just a few minutes minutes but before we do that we want to review as we always do just make sure we're in context and if you were here last week you'll hopefully remember this if you don't remember that don't tell me okay you make me feel bad if you don't remember it I'm kidding but if you weren't here last week if at all it's just a reminder where we're coming from so we covered verse chapter 44 and 45 last week and examined forgiveness that was extended by Joseph to his brothers now I believe that this is the high point of what we call the Joseph narrative I mean it all builds up to that 22 years worth of of stuff going on it all builds this point of Joseph forgiving his brothers after all the things that Joseph had been through as a result of his brother's sinful actions against him they now stood or should I say knelt before him and now he's the second most powerful man in the world many people at this point would have brought the hammer down on his brothers for what they've done to him 22 years earlier but instead as we saw last week in a dramatic fashion Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and forgives them when we saw the motivation of Joseph's forgiveness toward his brothers it was his love for his brothers and for his father that was his motivation to forgive them and that reminded us and point us to a greater reality of God's great love by which he forgave us that he was motivated by his love for us but we also clearly saw the foundation by which Joseph forgave his brothers although his brothers we mentioned this and spent some time on this had sinfully sold him to Egypt Joseph knew that it was ultimately God who sent him to Egypt and was in control of the whole thing and we were reminded this and in verses 7 and 8 when Joseph said this God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth to keep you alive by great deliverance now therefore it was not you who sent me here but God and the foundation of Joseph's forgiveness rested firm in the fact that he knew God was an absolute control and we've been over the last few weeks kind of building up to that you begin to see those clues that God was in control the whole thing and Joseph we really believe from the text that he understood kind of what was going on he saw God doing this so he was ready for it and in order for us to forgive like Joseph forgave we too must rest our forgiveness the foundation of forgiveness on the fact that God is in control even when someone hurts us God wants to use that and the forgiveness that should take place to bring much glory to him and a blessing to others well finally we saw the demonstration of Joseph's forgiveness by the way he sends his brothers back to Canaan to tell their father that he's alive and then encourage him to come back to Egypt with them and he does this he demonstrates he truly forgiven them but by the fact that his message to their father through them is not about their sin he didn't say hey go home and tell dad what terrible people you are after what you did to me 22 years ago did you are a bunch of liars he didn't say that he didn't emphasize that at all he said go back and tell dad that I'm in Egypt and God has placed me here to save our family that was emphasis and it demonstrated that he was not bitter and and just held this grudge getting him he had truly forgiven him and my hope it forgiven them and my hope is that by God's grace that we left here last week and we went and maybe sought the forgiveness of someone we need to have forgiveness from or maybe extended forgiveness to in relationships where we need to extend forgiveness so that God could use that in our life in the lives of others my that's my hope that that's what happened as we left here we we always want to walk out of here not just filled up with the information but information that brings about transformation in our lives right that's what we want to do that's what God's Word does for us well with that review we're going to move on and turn our attention to our text for this morning and once again we have a large chunk of scripture this morning and I want to encourage you sometime today to go home and read an entire the entirety chapters 46 and 47 we're gonna cover some of it we're gonna hit the high points and get a big picture I think if you go back you'll see some other things in those two chapters to support and what we're gonna be talking about here this morning for the sake of context is important to note that the second half of chapter 45 tells us how when Pharaoh heard that Joseph's brothers had come that he was pleased to hear that so he loads them up Joseph's brothers all with all kinds of generous gifts and resources to go back to Canaan and get their father Jacob and rest the family and bring him back to Egypt so the brothers go home and they deliver this amazing news that Joseph is alive they delivered that news to Jacob and that Joseph once of all to come back to Egypt well the text I love this the text says that Joseph's I mean Jacob's heart was revived it was revived and Jacob says this it is enough my son Joseph is still alive I will go and see him before I die well that brings us up to chapter 46 and if you would stand with me we're gonna read the first seven verses together of chapter 46 for our time here this morning so Genesis 46 1 through 7 read this with me so Israel set out with all that he had and came to bear sheba and offered sacrifices to God of his father Isaac God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said Jacob Jacob and he said here I am he said I am God the God of your father do not be afraid to go down to Egypt for I will make you a great nation I will go down with you to Egypt and I will also surely bring you up again and Joseph will close your eyes then Jacob arose from bear sheba and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry them they took their livestock and their property which they had acquired the land of Canaan and came to Egypt Jacob and all his descendants with him his sons and his grandsons with him his daughters and his granddaughters and all his descendants he brought him with Egypt before we sit down and continue I just want to ask all this to bow our hearts and our heads and his ask the Lord to open our heart to understand his word this morning Father we do trust you to open our hearts and our minds the truth before us this morning and we do pray that it would not just merely be more acquiring of information but you would bring about transformation through your word you pray this in Jesus name man well let's now begin unpacking the big idea the major theme in these two chapters in title the beginning of a great nation and to help us think about this big idea here in these two chapters I want you to consider falling we hear people make promises all the time don't we promises promises promises and it's that time of year getting around election time right and lots of people are making lots of promises aren't they if we're not if you haven't been listening people make promises during election right that's kind of how they get elected they make promises well one of the most publicly and and publicized presidential campaign promises was bade back in 1988 now yes I realized some of you weren't born in 1988 but we'll we'll catch you up those of us who were all right I was born in 1987 maybe a few years for that but it was made by Texan you know Texans they like to throw in promise big things I live there for 14 years I mean everything's bigger in Texas even the promises okay it was made by Texan who was running for presidency it was made by a man I greatly respected former president George H.W. Bush first president Bush and he boldly promised during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention listen to what he said the congress will push me to raise taxes and I'll say no and they'll push again and I'll say no and they'll push again and I'll say to them read my lips you all finish with me no new taxes see we remember that we remember that promise that president H.W. Bush made and unfortunately we all understand that he was unable to keep his promise not now I'm sure he was well intended I don't think he was lying he really wanted that to happen but things happened that prevented him from making sure that we had no new taxes well the great thing about God is that when he makes a promise he has the power to fulfill his promise and he always fulfills his promise isn't that good news if he said there's no new taxes there wouldn't be no new new taxes because he's God and we mix a promise is the power and the ability to keep it and he keeps everyone up and our passage this morning is about God keeping his promise okay well what promise what what specific promise am I referring to I'm referring to the Abraham and covenant even specifically a certain line in the Abraham and the covenant it really covers all the Abraham and covenant if you remember this back in Genesis 12 six years ago when we started Genesis 12 just kidding may feel like that hopefully not but look what it says in verses 2 and 3 and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great and so you shall be a blessing and I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse and in you all the families of earth will be blessed the Lord promised promised Abraham he would make him a great nation the Lord reiterated this promise to Abraham in Genesis 15 then in Genesis 26 the Lord reiterated to Abraham's son Isaac and then again to Isaac son Jacob in Genesis 28 he just kept her mind of this promise and from Jacob's perspective where we are now up to this point how are the prospects of being a great nation coming along well not too great up until Jacob's sons come home with the news that Joseph's alive things were looking pretty bleak Jacob and his family were hardly a great nation and we're just languishing and barely making it through the famine would God keep his promise to make the descendants of Abraham which now Jacob was the leader a great nation what do you think you think God will come through on his promise well let's find out in chapters 46 and 47 so as we examine these two chapters I want to get just as to be encouraged by two main truths about God's promise of a great nation that will hopefully lead us to trust God for all his promises in our lives and I'll bring those up for you the reassurance of a great nation and the preservation of a great nation the reassurance of a great nation and the preservation of a great nation so let's begin by examining Genesis 46 verses 1 through 4 and we're discovered that the first truth about God's promise of a great nation the reassurance of a great nation no notice me there notice with me there in verse 1 they're coming out Jacob set the go out of Israel he comes to a place called Beersheba and Beersheba was a very significant place for Jacob's family Beersheba was a place that Jacob's grandfather Abraham had worship Yahweh the everlasting God after his treaty with Abimalek it was the place where Abraham returned to live after he had been willing to offer Isaac for the sake of his devotion to the Lord and also consider the fact that Jacob's father Isaac so Abraham and then Isaac had received God's word and worshiped at the same place called Beersheba and it was from Beersheba that Jacob had fled from Iran many years before because of his deceit and anger of his brother Esau I mean Beersheba was important they their family had gone there over and over again the Lord had met them there over and over again so Jacob again comes to Beersheba and look what it says that he does he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac so Jacob worships God here on his way from Canaan and he's going now down to the south part of the land of Beersheba and in this worship must have included inquiring of God asking God a question and I say that as Jacob's words in verses 2 through 4 or God's words to Jacob and verses 2 and 4 seem to be the fact that God is answering a question that Jacob asks I mean when you see this I think you'll understand what I'm saying the question was whether or not he should go to Egypt that was the question I think that Jacob proposed to God it's also significant that Beersheba was at the southern tip of the land so he's traveling south all right in the land of Canaan to go to Egypt and this is where Beersheba is right before he takes the last step into Egypt he wants to make sure this is what God wants him to do after all Jacob was living in the land of promise already why would he want to leave the land of promise and go to Egypt earlier James grandfather Abraham once again had gone to Egypt during a famine without consulting God and ended up in trouble and he brought back Hagar who bore Ishmael and they're still having problems from that decision the Lord had told Jacob's father Isaac not to go to Egypt when there was a family in his time and now there's a famine again in Jacob's day and it sure seemed like God was telling him to go to Egypt which would have been the exact opposite of what God wanted Abraham and Isaac to do Jacob needed some reassurance from God that this was his will to go to Egypt and that's exactly what God does in verses 2 and 4 of Genesis 46 God spoke to Jacob and gave him a word of assurance the first thing we want to notice about God's word of assurance is that Jacob is ready to receive it look with me there in verse 2 God calls out to Jacob Jacob Jacob and knows Jacob's response he says here I am I'm ready to listen I'm ready to obey what do you want me to do God I need to know for sure I'm ready and now notice in verses 3 and 4 the great reassurance God gives to Jacob to go to Egypt he says I am God the God of your father God's word is reassuring him that he is the same God who called out his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham this is the reason not to fear going to Egypt that I'm going to be with you I am there you're God well then look at the end of verse 3 and all what he says here we go I will make you a great nation there here it is God's word of reassurance of a great nation this is again a reiteration right of Abrahamic covenant which we just read in in Genesis 12 this would reassure Jacob that God was going to preserve his people and keep his covenant and then God tells him in verse 4 I will go down with you to Egypt and I will also surely bring you up again God promises his personal presence to be with him and to fulfill his promise as he had told his grandfather Abraham and on multiple occasions but look what he says to Abraham in Genesis 15 verses 13 and 14 God said to Abraham now know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs where they will be enslaved no press 400 years but I will also judge the nation whom they will serve and afterwards they will come out with many possessions and that's exactly what's going to happen and God was reassuring Jacob go go I've got I'm in control I've got this taken care of God reassured Jacob by reminding him of all that he had promised concerning them being a great nation and assured him that he would definitely fulfill this promise and be there with him through it now look at the last reassurance God gives Jacob in verse 4 he says and Joseph will close your eyes Jacob had worried for 22 years that he would go down to his grave in mourning for his son for 22 years he held this he said I will go to my grave or I will go to shield the place of the dead in mourning for my son yet God here processed that if Jacob goes to Egypt he will die a peaceful death in the presence of his son all these things would reassure Jacob to obey and go to Egypt and that God would surely keep his promise of making him in descendants a great nation we must remember that Jacob's going to Egypt was part of God's plan a preservation for his people and it was God's word all right God's word that got Jacob to go to Egypt in order to preserve his people the people from whom he would fulfill his plan of redemption through this great nation which would come ultimately in the person of Jesus the Messiah well maybe you're here this morning and need God to speak to you with a word of reassurance that he will keep his promises it's like Jacob he needed that word of reassurance and maybe you hear this morning maybe most of us are here this morning we need God's reassurance that he will keep his promises let me assure you he will consider this truth in Proverbs 30 verse 5 I actually read that this week in reading through Proverbs and I'm not going like every day like with the 30th through the 30th I'm reading like a different plan but I read Proverbs 30 verse 5 it said every word of God proves true he is a shield to those who take refuge at him every word of God proves true he's the only one we can say that about every word every promise just as God reassured we reassured Jacob by his word that he would keep his promise of a great nation he will reassure us by his word as well consider some of these amazing I just want to let God's word wash over you let these promises wash over you wherever you are this morning as we consider that for those who are right with God through faith in Jesus these promises that God has made with me a john 14 16 and 17 I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper that he may be with you forever that is the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it did not see him or know him but you know him because he abides with you and will be in you I promise the Holy Spirit if you know Christ is in you he's with you then consider this promise in Philippians 1 6 where I am confident it's very a thing that he who began a good work and you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus I promise how about Romans 8 38 and 39 from convinced that neither death their life or angels or principalities nor things present or things that come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord what a promise nothing can separate us from his love let me also remind all of us that the reassurance of the promise of a great nation the Lord made to Jacob in our passage this morning is very applicable to us and I'll remind you that throughout our time together this morning it's very it's not about he made a great promise they're going to be a great nation that's great great for them you know it's it's about us too if the Lord would not have kept this promise there would be no salvation from sin because the ultimate fulfillment of that promise was realized through the life death burial resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ so it has everything to do with us God's promise of a great nation everything well let's consider the second truth about God's promise of a great nation the preservation that was the reassurance of a great nation this is the preservation of a great nation as we keep studying our passage this morning we're definitely going to see the Lord accurately preserve his people to make them a great nation and how did God do this how did he preserve them well in verses two through four um God told Jacob and his family to go to each and in verses five to 27 that's exactly what he did they they went to Egypt he said go he went they responded listen they responded in faith we've seen this all the way through Genesis that people who respond in faith to God's word are right where God wants them and when we don't respond in faith to God's word we get in trouble things don't go well the consequences are great well here we see that they responded in faith to God's word and he got they got to Egypt and it be and this is part of God's preserving plan for his people the first way God preserved his people to make them a great nation was by a response of faith this is a way that God used to preserve his people to make him a great nation a response of faith yes God has saw when we talked about this last week and he will bring about his plan period he will but remember he always uses means to accomplish his preordained ends here it is he often does he use the obedience of his people to accomplish his plan to preserving his people through this famine to all new fill his promise of a great nation through which the promised Messiah would come notice that the phrase which appears two times in these verses verse six he says all your descendants verse seven he says all your descendants and then in verses eight through 27 there's a list representing all of his descendants you can go read that later as much as names you know this grandfather and our daughters and sons and grandsons and all that kind of stuff is there and notice at the last then notice after this list look at verse 27 I love this all the persons of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were 70 I noticed that number seven you can go back add it up 66 plus Joseph two sons in Jacob that equals 70 the number is 70 stands for completion in scripture as there's a word seven this emphasize the complete nation coming down to Egypt God was completely preserving his people he didn't lose one sound familiar it's interesting to note that there were 70 nations in battle when God spread out because he were rebelling his god he spread him there 70 nations and here he's going to use 70 people he's starting over in a sense with 70 people when in excess we reread how they came back to promise land as hundreds of thousands possibly millions they would be reminded that it was God who made them great it was God who preserved them to make them great look what what this was God's point in Deuteronomy 10 23 22 you shall fear the Lord your God you so serve him and cling to him and you shall swear by his name he is your praise and he is your God who has done these great and awesome things for you what your eyes have seen your fathers went down to Egypt he's talking about what's happening right now in chapter 46 all right your fathers went down to Egypt 70 persons in all and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the heaven the great nation yes God had done this and deserves all the glory for preserving his people and making them into this great nation to remember he used their response of faith to his word to get them there here's a question for all of us this morning do we respond in faith to God's word it's not enough to say oh yeah God I agree with that that sounds like a great idea and then do nothing we must respond in faith our response in faith to God's world really shows that we believe what he said right we can say we believe all we want we deal with this in James and you may really believe but until you obey we don't really know if you believe until I obey I don't really know if I believe remember God preserved his people to make them a great nation by a response of faith and he is still preserving his people and his plan of redemption by our response of faith he uses means to an end he's using us to continue this promise of a great nation and what it ultimately will come to every tribe tongue people and nation before the throne of God well not only do God preserve his people to make them a great nation by a response of faith but consider the second way in which he preserved his people to make a great nation now through protection right this is evident by what takes place in Genesis 46 31 through chapter 47 verse 6 now we're not going to read all those but we'll give you an overview here so once the family all right arrives in Egypt here they come 70 of them well some of them are already there Joseph and his sons but we're there this is recorded in verses 31 through 34 chapter 46 all right um and and and uh it also records a conversation Joseph had with his brothers and in verses 31 and 32 Joseph tells his brothers of his plan to tell Pharaoh and his that his family were shepherds he makes a big point of this I'm going to tell him you are shepherds and that they work with animals and they and that they're bringing their animals with them makes a big deal about that then in verses 33 and 34 Joseph instructs his brothers as to what to say when they're brought before the Pharaoh tell them that you're your shepherds he just says reiterate what I just said to you to Pharaoh well the main part being summarized by the words and in verses in verse 34 of chapter 46 says your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even to now both we and our fathers why does Joseph want them to make of such a big deal about the fact that they were shepherds well I love this verse because it answers this question all right look at the next phrase that you may live in the land of Goshen well why would they announce that they were shepherds leading the living in the land of Goshen well I'm God just knew somebody who'd been hitting the head a lot or was going to need to have this so he just put it right one two three in a row for me right what's it said for every shepherd is loathsome or detestable or despised or an abomination to Egyptians the Egyptians obviously didn't think too highly of those who worked with animals shepherds and when Pharaoh would hear of this occupation he would gladly give them the land of Goshen to have him set up camp and Goshen obviously was a place in the Egyptian Empire that had good land suitable for shepherding well then in in chapter 47 verses 1 through 4 Joseph does just as he has said he got going to Pharaoh he tells him his family is coming their shepherds and and that they should probably live in the land of Goshen his brothers do just as they're instructed they said we're shepherds and then after Joseph his brothers make this appeal to Pharaoh Pharaoh basically says great sounds like a great idea you go you got you all set up camp and Goshen that's where your family can live well a significant thing to notice in these verses is that the Lord is using Joseph's wisdom to preserve their family that would become a great nation through this protection well how does the Lord use Joseph wisdom to protect his family or from what is he protecting them from what what's the protection here well Joseph knew that the Egyptians detested shepherds so he made it a point to tell Pharaoh make sure you know he knew that they my brothers are shepherds and the brothers reiterate that and verse 34 said that the reason Joseph stressed this was his family could end up in Goshen living in Goshen this is where we understand what he's protecting them from living in Goshen would make sure that the nation of Israel will be separated from the Egyptian culture if they would have lived in Egypt proper they would have been engulfed by the pagan culture and the family would have most likely intermarried with the Egyptians this would put an end to the nation of Israel and therefore God's plan that would come through them if they intermarried all this is all intermarried we'll just dilute the nation but Joseph knew God's plan and made sure his family was separated from the Egyptian culture instead of being assimilated into it this would be a great challenge to the original recipients of Genesis they prepared to enter the promised land the first time in over 400 years so the first five books of the bible we call the pititude or out of the Torah they were given to the the second generation of wilderness wandering Israelites they're out in the wilderness wondering this is after they were in Jeter Jeter 400 years and now they're getting ready to go into the promised land again and as they read this for the first time and we're reminded of these truths it would have encouraged them or challenged them they would be there would be many pagan cultures living in the land that they were getting ready to go back into and they too like Joseph would need to be used by God to protect God's people from the influences of those pagan cultures now I'm sure I don't have to remind you that you and I live in a culture that hates the things of God that hates the gospel that hates Jesus just look around us and God is still about preserving his people through the protection from the influence of this evil world and he uses the church to do this the church not meaning this building but all those here and around the world who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord that's the church it's the people it's God's people he uses the church to protect us from being assimilate yes we're going to be in it we need to be in it we need to be sharing the gospel in it we don't want to be like it we read a quote by what God once said to reach the world we don't become like the world we're called out of the world and we call them to the Savior what was our culture infiltrating the church and causing us to compromise our message in our lives when I say our I'm talking about the body of Christ as a whole around the world sad to say in some cases the answer is yes sometimes we can't tell the difference between the church and the world the Lord God wants to use us to preserve his people by protecting them from the evils of the culture therefore by God's grace let's not compromise in any way his message to the gospel and how it's lived out in our lives in our world but let's not compromise there's one true gospel one true gospel and this is what Paul will see when we study Romans next year all right and it's it's the power of the gospel that saves that's why he's not ashamed of it because he knows it's in the gospel that God brings about salvation and if we mess with the gospel there's no power for salvation that's how important it is when not only did God preserve his people to make them a great nation by response of faith and and through protection from the world I consider the third way in which he preserved his people to make them a great nation he did it through provision and we see this in specifically in verses 7 through 12 of chapter 47 and so the first way in which we see God provide to keep his promise of a great nation is through Jacob in Genesis 4 7 through 12 7 through 10 in what way did God use Jacob to provide in verses 7 and 10 well look here says Jacob appears before Pharaoh and knows the first thing he does in verse 7 says God oh God Jacob blessed Pharaoh which is interesting there's a lot in here we don't have time to go in but Jacob blessed Pharaoh Pharaoh is the the ruler of the world at the time and then in verse 10 at the end of this Jacob blessed Pharaoh all right same thing remember that the covenant from Genesis 12 2 and 3 that God made with Abraham that would be passed on to and through his ascends including Jacob and Israel remember that covenant we talked about but let's be reminded of it notice one of the promises in that covenant in verse 3 and I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed Pharaoh had been a blessing to Abraham's descendants Jacob and his family so Lord bless Pharaoh through Jacob so in what way does God use Jacob to provide well God uses Jacob to provide as a channel or a conduit fulfill an aspect of the Abrahamic covenant which we ultimately even though he was blessing Pharaoh ultimately be a blessing we'll see here in a second to God's people God uses Jacob to provide a channel of blessing by which he blesses Pharaoh so here's a question for us do you and I provide a channel for God to bless others do we do that are we a channel or are we a channel of blessing to which God can extend his blessing to all the families of the earth as Jacob does here and maybe this reminds you of a song that reminds me of an old song make me a channel of blessing today make me a channel of blessing I pray my life possessing my service blessing make me a channel of blessing today may that be our prayer the ultimate fulfillment of providing or being a channel of blessing is by passing on the gospel of Christ to others to other nations that's the ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant this is the at the core and heart of the blessing promised through God to Abraham well let's now look at the second way in which God provides to keep his promise of a great nation look at verses 11 and 12 and specifically in verse 12 Joseph provided his father and his for his brothers and all his father's household with food according to their little ones here we see God using Joseph as the means to provide for his people who would become a great nation here he's providing for their physical needs please understand it providing for physical needs was not unspiritual that's not unspiritual this we this is we this is spiritual and do we do this with our life all the time and this is unspiritual guess what it's all spiritual to his people all of it is when we start dividing it we get messed up and then we forget we forget what's important all of it is God's using all of it for his glory and for his plan in providing for his family with food Joseph was helping his family live and eventually become the great nation through which the promise redeemer Jesus would come if they'd all died off because it was no food for him guess what Aaron you're right we're in trouble we're toast it's important it is important so how are we doing at being used by God to provide the physical needs of his people this is important because God is currently using his people who are alive to care at his sovereign eternal plan of redemption people need food to live still it's happened back then since we've been created and we still need food to live it's been my privilege since we've been here um and three and a half almost going on four years come up soon to to watch so many people in this body be used by by God to provide for the physical needs of the others in our body so they could keep on living and keep on serving the Lord and keep on taking the gospel to their neighbors what a privilege to see that happen right here I see it happen almost every week what a blessing this is this is an attaboy potter's house way to go wait because we know it's important and he's using us to do that so as by God's grace let him use each of us to keep providing for the needs of others so that message may continue to go out through everyone who's part of our body well in in Genesis 47 verses 13 through 26 we're told of how God used Joseph to provide for not only his own people but also those of Egypt which would ultimately help sustain and provide for God to fulfill the promise of a great nation and then in verse 27 of chapter 47 look what it says now Israel lived in the land of Egypt in Goshen and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous we see that God used Joseph to provide for his chosen people and therefore keep his promise of a great nation in providing for the Egyptians too he was ultimately providing for his people that would continue to make this great nation to be the fulfillment of God's promise of a great nation well notice what happened to the nation of Israel and Egypt even after Joseph died man I love this but the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly and multiplied and became exceedingly mighty so that the land was filled with them sound like a great nation to you sounds like a great nation to me in fact they grew to be so large that became a threat to the new Pharaoh who came on the scene and led their led to their persecution and ultimately to their exodus from Egypt back to the land of Canaan I love what man one man says about this the time in Egypt is not an interruption of the covenant but an incubation of the covenant people he said again it's an interruption of the covenant but an incubation for the covenant people they just grew and grew and grew the Lord used Joseph's leadership here to provide for the fulfillment of his promise of a great nation which found its ultimate fulfillment right in his plan to redeem a multitude from every tribe tongue people and nation through the promise see that would come through this great nation namely Jesus it's important for us to be reminded that God keeps his promises of great nation directly impacts you and me and through the truth we find in the New Testament in Galatians 3 7 through 9 therefore be sure there's those who are faith who are of faith who are sons of Abraham the scripture for seeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith now the Gentiles it's other people who aren't Jews right that would justify and they were justified by faith in Jesus too the Jews but justified the Gentiles by faith preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying all the nations will be blessed in you so that those who are faith are blessed with Abraham the believer this is important that God promised a great nation he made sure there was a great nation for which to bring the Messiah and the Lord used each of us to fulfill his plan as we take his gospel to those who need to hear it so that they too can be blessed through this promise well so what what's the big deal about all this there's a lot there i get it how can we respond to God's word to us this morning well there's multiple ways i've suggested already we can but but just remind us maybe a couple take God at his word take God at his word and know he will fulfill all of his promises just as he did who making them a great nation he will fulfill all those promises i'll be careful when you look for God's promises make sure you're doing it in context don't take promises out of his word that aren't for you there are some in there a lot of them but there's a lot to us and there's enough that will never exhaust them but take him at his word and then secondly be used by God to provide his good news to others which is the culmination of him making a great nation from which the Savior Jesus came we can apply this does it make this is make a difference in our life today you bet it does it sure does before we're just missed i just want to remind you again there's going to be a couple down over here and a couple down over here if you want to pray with somebody you got questions what got uh just want to talk with somebody um they'll be down here for the minister to you but with that i would ask you all to please stand and we're going to pray and then we'll end with a charge from God's word father thank you that in a world uh where promises are not kept you are the ultimate promise keeper in the word you promised you were going to make a great nation and you made a great nation and from that nation you brought our great Savior Jesus would i pray we'd never get over that in the word if there's here those here this morning who don't know you who've never embraced the Savior would pray that you would move them convict them show them their sin and need for a Savior and they would trust in Jesus as their Savior this morning and for all of us though may we take that good news to the world around us that they too may receive the blessing that came through this nation through your son in Jesus name we pray amen i want to read this to go to together um i think you'll see why i don't think it's going to be a new verse and say man where'd you come up with that one this is a great reminder what what are we about but what this whole thing about what we gather here on sunday morning we go we gather all right sent we gather to go and here's our words right here all right Matthew 28 19 and 20 would you read this with me go therefore and make disciples of all the nations badtizing the name the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching to deserve all that i command you and low i'm with you always even to the end of the age bye's grace let's go bye [ Silence ]