Well, we've been going through the life of Joseph here at East Point Church last week we were reminded chapter 41 That God had brought juice Joseph through His time that he was in the prison and now had raised him up to be a governor The governor overall of Egypt Because God had determined That there would be a famine in the land and Joseph was going to administer The grain the food during that time of famine This morning we come to chapter 42 And we see That the famine has hit It is a full blow Now I'm thinking that it's fairly safe to say this morning That none of us have actually experienced a famine in the land There may at times feel like there have been famines in our houses and with us when seminary and five children At times it didn't seem like there was a famine in the land Well, that was not a famine in the land. There was just a famine in our home Beloved, I doubt if any of us have really actually experienced a famine and
Extreme and widespread scarcity of food resulting in massive sickness and disease and the loss of life The interesting thing is that in our day here in the 21st century Famines do not occur like they did in times past and in fact the frequency of such widespread famines Rare on a mass scale and this is largely due Beloved to the fact that our agriculture has been industrialized and there is now the mass production Of food in our countries and therefore today Famines are not simply the result of The changes the drafts shift and changes in weather Whether it's drought or flood but today if we see a famine in certain parts of the world It is not simply due to the weather It is then due to do in large part to political corruption It is due in large part to Financial corruption it is due in large part to wars and Greed and therefore Whenever we do see famine in our time the the world around us the world in which we live usually Moves because there is such an industrialization Industrialization of food and there's such a mass production of agriculture that that we have world relief Organizations we have live in band-aid feed the hungry feed the world In biblical time Famines were dreaded. Famines were dreaded because they were devastating. There was no mass industrialization of agriculture There was not the mass Individual production of food, freight trains full of food, carrying food across the country There were no cargo ships
sailing the seas Full of containers of corn and rice famine hit and Biblical times beloved It usually came without warning and And it lasted a good while and they were devastating with debt you read the scriptures carefully You will see that famine in the Bible is often associated with the judgment of God judgment of God against sin against disobedience See that in 2nd Samuel chapter 24 Verse 15 with David he had sinned against God And God told David that he was going to judge David by judging the nation and what was he gonna do? He was going to bring a famine upon the land You see the promise of this judgment and Jeremiah chapter 14 and in verse 15 when God says through the prophet that he's gonna bring judgment Against the sinfulness and disobedience of people by bringing a famine and pestilence upon the land You see it again in Ezekiel Chapter 5 and the verse 12 whenever there is a famine it is good as you are studying the Scriptures to be asking yourself What is God up to that he would decree a famine to come upon the land? And the famine that is mentioned here in chapter 30 41 and chapter 42 Remember is the famine that God has brought upon the Egypt Remember when Pharaoh has the dream and Joseph comes to Pharaoh and says Pharaoh God has showed you what God is about to do God is bringing a famine upon the land as reminded to us That all things all times Are in the hands of God And like others The famine that we read about here that has come upon Egypt is in one sense the judgment of God It is the judgment of God But not so much upon Pharaoh It is the judgment of God Upon the sons of Jacob this a famine has hit Egypt But it has not just hit Egypt beloved it has spread Throughout all of the countryside so that all of those countries and areas that are influenced by the mighty nation That is Egypt is too going to experience this famine this scarcity of food this devastating natural disaster So it is not Egypt only But now it has spread to Canaan and so now all of Canaan too is experiencing the loss of food and the devastating effects of not having enough To eat so though it starts in Egypt the judgment of God is actually upon Canaan And the sons of Jacob you got to know this is God doing In God's objectives and God's agenda
Always good to remind ourselves and in the midst of whatever is happening to be asking What is God up to what is God doing this morning we'll see and what God is doing Is judging the nation But he's not just judging the nation Because God doesn't it doesn't ever just judge And more importantly than that God is being merciful God is being merciful Because as usual beloved whether you realize it or not The judgment of God is never without mercy. It always is beloved In fact, I like how the songwriter put it where he says behind a frowning providence God hides a smiling face. There is always the mercy of God Even in the midst of The most terrible storms. This is what we'll see this morning It's God's judgment But even more than that behind that judgment is the smiling face of his mercy. I would submit to you At the mercy of God is often disguised it's often disguised God has sent this judgment into all the land and God had prepared Egypt Therefore in the midst of this famine to feed the world And having prepared Egypt to feed the world God raised up Joseph To be the one who was going to rule over the distribution of this food and thus Joseph becoming the most powerful man in all the land Jacob over and came in with his sons Desperate the food has heard and gotten the word that they need not starve because there is actually food in Egypt available And therefore Jacob sends his sons tells his sons to get up from there staring at one another and Twitland and sucking your thumbs and get up and Go and get some food for our family Go to Egypt Jacob sends his sons to get grain Now beloved it has been 20 years since they last said I On Joseph, the Ark of the universe is long somebody said, but it bends for justice. They went The Egypt to get food God brought them to Egypt for judgment and notice that in the midst of the judgment The mercy of God is the sky This is amazing when they get to Egypt and they have to stand before Joseph and They have to bow down to Joseph and an and an ex-Chilsive for food
They bow down Before their younger brother and Joseph the Bible says recognize them and Remembered the dream he remembered the word of God How they would bow down Before him, but you know what the Bible says in verse 8 42 it says but they Don't recognize
They had come to Egypt to get grain Because of the misery of the famine But God had brought them to Egypt Because they needed mercy For the misery of their sin judgment was coming and they would see the judgment But what they couldn't recognize was the mercy There was Joseph standing before them beloved The mercy of God Their salvation their redemption And you know what the Bible says They couldn't Joseph sees who they are And they don't recognize them and naturally so beloved because Joseph was different He was no longer the 17-year-old little brother He was no longer little brat brother running around Speaking of his dreams Wherein is ugly cope that his daddy had given him smelling like sheep He was now the crown prince of Egypt Joseph was different But the brothers were different too They were no longer the bragging of boasting the bully in big brothers But now they were the poor hungry begging humbled big brothers Like with our Lord who said that the first shall be last And the last shall be first
And those who exalt themselves shall be humbled And those who humbled themselves shall be exalt exalt
And so it is beloved the tables have now turned
They have come to Joseph Begging brand because of the family and you know When they come to Joseph That day should have been a day of judgment
That day should have been a day of judgment As Joseph identifies them as Joseph knows who they are That day should have been the day of their judgment But instead of being a day of judgment it becomes a day of mercy
A day of mercy Mercy is the God As a family You ever think about that beloved How yesterday should have been a day of judgment For the multitude of your sins Have you considered this morning That today should be a day of judgment Because of the plethora of your sin
And instead of yesterday being a day of judgment Yesterday was a day of mercy Instead of today being a day of judgment today is a day of mercy
But love it, I know you don't always we don't always see it that way because mercy is the God
Because mercy is the God Joseph could have revealed himself To his brothers at that very moment, but God would not have it so why because sometimes beloved God hides his face so that his people would recognize their ultimate need of him So he hides his face back us with the Bible says the Bible says the judgment in this sense is the hiding of God's face You do the right to me chapter 32 and verse 20 God said I will hide my face from them I will hide my face from them I will see what their ends shall be But they are a perverse generation sons in whom there is no faithfulness You hide this face Micah chapter 3 and verse 4 Then they will cry out to the Lord But he will not answer Instead he will hide his face from them At that time because they have practiced evil these times God hides the face
That comes to judgment but you need to be realizing you need to be looking and seeing And even in a frowning problem the face that is hiding Is a merciful one and sometimes mercy is the God
A young man who is shot and arrested on the streets for selling drugs and gang banging And yet the bullet did not kill him And instead the bullet that would have killed him actually saved him It got him off the streets And got him into the grace and the mercy of God And today he is the pastor preaching the mercy of God Why? Because sometimes mercy comes to the sky
A young lady who is promiscuous and rebellious becomes pregnant Can evict by others not to abort the baby Because understanding that God does not make mistakes And she has the child and the child becomes a sober and reminder to her Need to get her life together and suddenly she decides Because she desires not to be the mother that she had She decides that she's going to be the mother that she didn't have And so she goes to school she gets her degree And she decides to raise her daughter in the fear and the ammunition of the war Because sometimes no matter how much sin it is never only About the judgment of God
Mercy may be the skies but it is still mercy You wait on it You watch for For if God says in 2 Chronicles chapter 30 and verse 9 If you return to the Lord your brothers and your children will find compassion And their captors return to this land for the Lord your God is gracious And merciful and will not turn his face from you if you return To him Yes Sometimes mercy is the sky
Just because it's the sky Does not mean it's not mercy It is never only judgment that proud and prominent It's God merciful son Smiling face The reason why Beloved And it is never only judgment It's because mercy Is always required You and I stand in the need of God's mercy every moment of every day Now listen to me beloved the situation here was dreadful and it was dire When Joseph tells these vortes that he has recognized them as spies Who have come to spy out the land Who have come to steal the grain He is accusing him Of treason the penalty for Is death they insist that they are not they insist that they are honest man They insist that they are not spies and Joseph insist no you are spies you have come to steal our grain you have come to spy out our food The Bible says that he Locks them up They are confused And they are wondering what is going to happen to them as they are confused Beloved as to what Joseph is doing What they are not confused about is the nature of their sin
Now this is very important beloved Well, they reminded each other That the guilt of Joseph's sin was still upon them This is so interesting because after 20 years They still hadn't forgotten and that's what judgment does Judgment sovers you up if you've ever had to go to court
If you ever knew that the day was coming that you were going to have to stand before the judge What did you do in all those days preceding You sobered up you went over your notes You checked the record Sure that you had all your teeth crossed and all your eyes done it. That's what judgment does Makes you examine all of your facts So that when you stand there you want all your ducks to be in a row
Joseph had been out of this site for almost Over 20 years That isn't it interesting At the guilt of their sin Could not be removed from their hands So Joseph sent his brothers in the jail Gave them three days to ponder the situation That's just not fair Three days to ponder what's going to happen the next time that door opens Three days to ponder and beloved when crooks are together pondering their situation The thing that is talked about All the crimes that they have committed
So here they are pondering their condition contemplating their future But before they could contemplate the future they know They're going to have to reconcile with the past David said in Psalm 51 verse 3 Well, I know my sin and I know my transgression And my sin is ever before me
For I recognize my rebellion It hearts me day and night
Isn't that what the brothers say to one another
I don't know why we're here But I know what we've done The Rubin said that not tell you not to sin against Joseph But you wouldn't listen And now we have to answer for his blood Beloved what does one thing have to do with the other What does the blood of Joseph have to do with the famine in the land
What does the sin of Joseph have to do with the fact that they are accused of being spies
On the surface it seems like nothing
On the surface it seems like these two desperate things have nothing to do with one another
But in the grand cosmic realities of God
There is a reckoning may not be guilty Of the thing that I accuse you of But you are guilty Of the things that God accuses you of And for those sins beloved there must be a reckoning They are not guilty of spying no But there are other sins
For which they must give a reckoning why because beloved there is always a reckoning There is no sin that goes unnoticed none None in this sense the brothers are right We may not be guilty of spying But if we perish today it is not because we are not we are without guilt Eyes of the Lord the Proverbs says and Proverbs 15 The eyes of the Lord are in every place He sees the evil and the good Hebrews chapter before verse 13 Nothing in all creations is hidden from God's sight Everything is uncovered and laid Before the eyes of him to whom we all must give an account But the Lord is slow to anger said the name chapter one and verse three Great in power And the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished
There must be a reckoning now beloved
Because this is true There is not a person in here this morning It doesn't stand in the knee of the mercy of God Now you listen to me this morning Get off your cell phones for a second And listen For whatever reason you have come here this morning And whatever you believe or perceive your needs to be And they are various I understand them We all come with different needs And various objectives for coming to church I understand that We are not all here Walking in these doors Thinking the same thing We have all come here with our own different Proceeds needs and notions and ideas Some of us have come hoping that we would be healed And some type of relational matter Others have come hoping that we would be able to leave as soon as possible Others of us have come only because We didn't want anybody to ask us this week Why we didn't come All come for different wants And desires and needs and hopes and dreams And conversations and concerns But I want to be clear This morning
Here reason Let's get it straight Right now To be a reckoning This morning is going to stand Before the judgment seat of God And have to give a reckoning for your sin And at that moment And must be accounted for In the words If you install You don't have to be paid for There's going to be a reckoning I got bad news There is only one way
You can't do it By telling God that you came to church faithfully You're not going to do it By telling him that you kept the Sabbath faithfully You're not going to do it Because you said that you were kind to your neighbor You're not going to do it Because you could tell God that you obeyed your parents You're not going to do it Just because you could tell God that you gave faithfully every Sunday You're not going to do it tell God that you never called in sick when you weren't sick. Only one that is that you must have trusted in Jesus Christ and let His blood speak. On that day of reckoning, you must be able to plead the blood of Christ. I got bad news. There is only one way, but I got good news. There is a way. There is a way, beloved. It is in the mercy of God that is found in the face of Jesus Christ. God is being merciful this morning. Why? Because you and I are sinners. And He has provided a Savior. Joseph and his brothers went to Egypt thinking they needed food. No, they needed a Savior. You have come here this morning thinking you need all types of things. No, beloved. You need a Savior. You need the mercy of God this morning. And here is the good news, beloved. No matter how miserable it has been, how difficult you think the judgment of God is upon you even now. This morning, there is mercy. This morning, there is grace. I love it. I like what Rubin did. Rubin rehearsed the brother's sins for them. Why don't you try doing that this morning? It won't take long. The sins you did this past week. The sins you did this morning. Not your friends, not your enemies, not your brothers or your sisters, not the presidents, not even the pastors, but your own. You know what you find? And not only is mercy so necessary. Mercy is undeserved. It's amazing. What the Bible says when Joseph heard the travail of his brothers, when he heard the travail of their souls and the torment or their sin as they are languishing in that jail, the Bible says he turned from them and he went. He went. Here is the display of a heart that is full of the compassion and the undeserved mercy of God. Joseph has moved to tears. He has moved to tears. And why should he be? Would you be 20 years abandoned? 20 years mistreated, 20 years neglected, 20 years falsely accused, 20 years falsely imprisoned, 20 years forsaken by his brothers and forgotten by his family. He is not angry. He is not bitter. But instead the Bible says he weeks. He weeks with compassion and love for those who transgressed against him. Beloved there is no greater picture of our Savior this morning. The Bible says our Lord is gracious and compassionate. Slow to anger and rich in love. He is full of compassion and he is ready to forgive. He stands on ready of his willingness to be compassionate. Jesus, the Bible says, wept over Jerusalem. He wept over Jerusalem the same reason that he weeps over you and mean because he loved us more than we could ever love our sin. And yet we won't let it go. He weeps because he stands with mercy right in front of you and you won't see. He weeps because you won't let pride and anger go. He weeps because you won't let your stubbornness and your selfishness go. He weeps because he doesn't want to judge you for your sins. He wants to embrace you in his grace. God the mercy is so great and I'm sure and yet you remain in your no reason this morning. If you are here that you don't receive the forgiveness and the mercy of God who refused to acknowledge this weeping thing. Who will all right should be judging you this moment for the sins and the transgressions you have committed. And yet he offers you mercy. He offers you great. He offers you forgiveness such mercy but love it is absolutely undeserved. And yet that is the nature of mercy comes this guy undeserved because it is really inexplicable. We speak a lot about the mercy of God and where we should and describe the mercy of God using a lot of words. But the one that I find myself coming back to again and again and again is this word inexplicable. I mean the mercy of God is just beyond explanation. It is beyond reasonableness. It is beyond comprehension. I mean when you step back and you identify and you look and you understand and you actually see and experience the mercy of God. The only thing you can say is who does that besides that he's not going to keep all his brothers. He's going to send his brothers back. He's going to send his brothers back to his father so that they can see and he could see if they have really repented of their sin. And when they were on their way back the Bible says that they found in their sex not only the grain they had been sit to buy but also the money with which they thought they had bought it. And notice the question they had with fear and trembling they asked one another in verse 28. What is this that God has done to us? What is God doing to us? What is God doing? It's always the question isn't it? At least it should be the question. That should always be the question. Even in the midst of all of their lives, even in the midst of all of their deceit and their conspiracy and the torture and the treachery and the pain they have caused to pause and acknowledge. God is still with us. It reminds me that they still have hope and they understand that they're lost and a hand only good and a gracious God. What's that of judgment? They received mercy. What a great question to ask. This is a question that is going to be asked and we're going to seek the answers from the scriptures in the weeks coming as we continue in the study of the life of Joseph. What a pertinent question to ask every day. What a pertinent question to ask this morning. It's a question that I find myself often asking. What are you up to God? Go down to a sick bed beloved. And as I ask God, God, why am I here? I have you afflicted me. What do you want me to know? What do you want me to see? What should I be examining in my life that I might grow closer to you? Why have you afflicted me, Lord? What are you doing, God? Whatever I find myself frustrated. And at the end of my means, I ask God, what are you doing, Lord? What are you doing, Lord? I'm involved with a question to be asking. The people of God need to be seeking answers for all of the God. What are you doing? Lord, raise up President Trump to the White House and place him in the highest office in the land. And rather than swear and cuss, let me ask the question, Lord, what are you doing? Well, beloved, rather than getting angry with God because you have lost job or loved one or position, relationship, what are you doing? What are you up to? What would you have me? I don't have all the answers to that question, but I have some things I know that he's always doing. What are you doing, God? He is being gracious. That's what he's doing. Even on my thick bed. He is being gracious. Even in the loss of many things he is being gracious. Joseph's brothers should have been left to rot in that jail. And yet not only will they see their father again but they have grain and money to spare. He's doing God. I don't know what God is doing, all that he's doing, but I do know that he is being gracious. He is being gracious to you because of Psalm 103 and verse 10 reminds us he has not treated us as our sins deserve. If he afflicts me and has me on a thousand days of bad sickness, beloved, he still hasn't treated me as my sins deserve. How bad do you think it is? If you have the grace and the mercy of God unto the forgiveness of your sins in Jesus Christ, he has not treated you as your sins deserve. If you are alive today and not experiencing the pains of an eternal damnation away from Christ, then God has not treated you as your sins deserve. What are you doing, God? First thing he's doing is it being gracious. I got said I don't have all the answers, but I know not only is he being gracious, but he has been good. You may not understand it. Joseph's brothers didn't understand all that was going on, but one thing that we can be comforted in, beloved, is no matter what the situation or the circumstances in this world, God is working those out for good. It doesn't always taste good. It doesn't always from my perspective look good, but I do know that whenever I ask the question, God, what are you up to? The answer results. You do know, beloved, what the story says today. God's people never have bad endings. Did you hear what I said? People never have bad endings. Is the point of the resurrection of Christ? Oh, death, where is your state? Oh, grave ways of victory. They have all been swallowed up with Christ, and therefore if Christ had been raised, then you and I who are in him will be raised also. And therefore, God's people never have. He's been gracious. He's been good. Never asked questions. You know the answer that always comes back. Tony, I'm being God. What's up, too? Is God a great reminder to us this morning? Whatever the question is in your life, let's control whatever the question let God find that he's indescribable. And he's uncontainable. If we set the stars in heaven and he knows them by name, you'll find that he is an amazing God. You'll find that he's unchangeable and incomparable. And he sees the depths of your heart and he loves you the same. And you say, oh, he is an amazing God, an amazing God. Let God be.