Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
Genesis 45:1-5
March 16th, 2014
I AM JOSEPH
Intro: Every story/climax
• Every book written/every movie made/climax
• One moment/everything comes into focus
• Story begins make sense
• Even biblical stories/climax/story Job
What do you think is the climax of that story?
Does the climax come:
• Job prays/friends/God restores Job/giving him twice
• Chap.38-41/God gives Job/revelation/His power/purposes?
• Job’s story/swelling words found/Job 19:25-27
“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
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A good case/made/any/above.
• me/climax/story comes very early/think/climax/chap. 1.
• Job/just experienced/loss/everything he values/life
• Children/dead/wealth/possessions/all gone
• Very moment/allowed/see/very heart/Job in action.
His response/his calamities sets/tone/rest of the book.
• When the bottom falls out of his life
• Job falls/ground in humble worship/he says
“Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
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studying/life/Joseph/several months now.
• This story/climax/well/we have just read about it
• One/most dramatic moments/all of history
• Moment we have been building towards takes place.
• Joseph reveals/true identity/his astonished brothers.
Don’t want/disservice/text today/like for us/see Jesus in this climactic scene.
• Moment/Joseph reveals/true identity/brothers
• I see/parallel/how Jesus reveals Himself to those He would save by His grace.
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You see/real climax/any life/not/reach/pinnacle of success.
• Not when our children are born/even/become grandparents
Real climax/any life/moment in time/Jesus Christ reveals Himself/lost sinner/saves that sinner’s soul.
Everything/child/God’s life leads up to and flows out from that moment.
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I. THERE IS A PARALLEL IN HIS KNOWLEDGE
Joseph knew his brothers a long time before they ever knew him.
• First arrived/Egypt, Joseph knew who they were.
• He recognized them, but they did not know him
Knew/Benjamin/soon/laid eyes on him/Judah, Reuben, Simeon,
Levi/all the rest.
But they had no idea who he was.
• To them, Joseph/just/mysterious Egyptian ruler.
• Not know who he/until he revealed himself to them.
• When he cried, “I am Joseph”
• Their eyes were finally opened/they saw him/who he was.
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Amazing thing, but lost sinners do not know God.
• Cannot recognize Him even though He is their Creator.
• They do not know Him/cannot know Him
• Until He first opens/eyes. Lost men/dead to Him,Eph. 2:1.
• The Bible is clear, men do not know God.
Even when God robed Himself in humanity and was born in Bethlehem, the people around Him did not recognize Him.
John says it this way, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” John 1:10-11.
Men cannot see Him even though He is all around us.
• He is visible in every blade of grass/every star/heavens
• Drop/rain/every sunrise and sunset/every aspect of nature
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God knows every word we say while it is yet a thought in our minds
Knows:
• us deeply, profoundly and intimately
• What we think, where we go, what we do and how we feel
• Us better than we know even ourselves.
Some people will come to church and hear a preacher preach.
• hit their sins/talk about some secret thing they do
• they will get angry/think someone told/preacher
• No, God knows what is in the heart of man
• He revealed what/sinner thought was a secret.
• There are no secrets/Him; He already knows all about it
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Brother/Joseph/already confessed their sin one to another
• They didn’t know that Joseph knew it too
• Joseph knew what was in their hearts
• He was/process of bringing it all to light.
We may believe our sin is secret.
• God knows where/skeletons/life/mine/hidden
• In/His time/He will expose them all
• Unless/dealt/repentance/confession before Him.
Like Joseph, Jesus knows the sinner long before the sinner ever know Him!
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II. THERE IS A PARALLEL IN HIS LOVE
Joseph loved his brothers long before they ever loved him back.
Last time they saw Joseph/hated him/wanted him dead
• not seen Joseph/twenty years/concerned/gone forever
• There was no love in their hearts for Joseph.
Yet/God worked/hearts/consciences
• Came to a place where they regretted their past actions
• Kept working/them until/reached/place/repent sin against Joseph
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This is a touching story! Joseph, separated/family/over 20 years.
• may have wondered if he would ever see them
• out of the blue, here they are
• must restrain himself/keep his emotions bottled up
• Yes, this is great love
• Pales/comparison/love/Jesus/lost.
• He came to Israel as their Messiah and as their Redeemer
• They refused Him.
• Still, He wept over them and longed to see them saved
Joseph’s love for his brothers was great, but our Savior’s love for His sheep is boundless.
• His love caused Him to die/cross/Rom. 5:8.
• Thank God/His boundless, matchless, eternal, saving love!
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Joseph loved/brother/seemed/he was acting/hate toward them
• Spoke /they harshly/first arrived in Egypt.
• Accused/brothers/being spies/imprisoned them all (3)
• Joseph placed a heavy demand on them
• imprisoned Simeon/told/rest to go home
• bring/youngest brother Benjamin/proof/were telling/truth
• own silver cup placed/Benjamin’s sack/break/last/self-confidence
From our perspective/that/brothers/his actions were anything/loving
• As harsh/his actions seem, Joseph did/these things out/love.
• If he/hated his brothers/would/left them alone/allowed them to go to Hell!
When you are lost and life turns against you it may seem that God is “out to get you”.
• In reality, He is acting in love!
• God uses what He hates, to gain what He loves.
• He may use a death/cancer/tragedy/some other means to awaken your heart to your need.
• If He does this/because He loves you/wants to save you.
Whatever means God uses to drive the sinner away from sin and into the arms of Jesus is an act of love.
I praise His name that He loved me in countless ways before I ever came to know Him!
• I believe He loved me before I was born
• I believe He never started loving me, He just always has
• Thank God for His love for sinners!
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III. THERE IS A PARALLEL IN HIS SALVATION
Here is an amazing parallel: Joseph saved his brothers before they ever knew that he had saved them.
Everything/taken place/lives/brothers up/now was God working to bring them to a place of repentance and salvation.
• They are still filled with fear of judgment.
• They have been saved, but they are unaware of it!
• still afraid as they stand before Joseph
• Sure he is about/act out his vengeance/judgment/their lives.
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Consider/means God used/bring these men/place of salvation.
• He used physical need. He sent a famine
• subjected them to harsh words/hard treatment
• accused of being spies and were thrown into prison
• Joseph/worked/their lives/create/necessity/them/return
Their self-confidence was destroyed when Joseph’s silver cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
• They did not see it at the time
• These were/means God used/bring/place/repentance salvation.
• Even in this text they are saved, but they do not realize it
In fact, they are afraid they are about to face a terrible judgment!
Everything they thought was against them was actually God working to bring them to Him.
• He used all their tragedies to draw them to salvation.
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So it is in our lives………
• I know when I was saved. It was Jan/2004
• Really/time/I became aware of my salvation
• Actually saved a long time before that.
• As far as God is concerned
• I was saved before the foundation/world.
Eph. 1:4 says, “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world…”
• Before I even/existence/world
• I was already in the heart and plan of God.
• He had chosen me/already provided/my salvation,Rev. 13:8.
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At every turn of my life, God was directing my path to bring me to that moment when I would come to understand what He had already accomplished in me.
• Call me what you want to; label as you see fit
• But I was saved before I knew it.
• God merely brought me to the place of understanding!
• Did I have to believe? Yes!
• But, He gave me the faith to believe in Him, Eph. 2:8
• Day you and I got saved, God merely completed in time a process He began in eternity!
All of the tragedies and events in my life that I thought were against me were God’s way of bringing me along to the place of salvation.
• He did in me what He did in Saul of Tarsus.
• God put some goads in my life to stick me
• cause me to come to Him, Acts 9:5.
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Look back over your own life.
• Consider/events/your life before you came to Jesus.
• Can you not see/hand/God/work as He directed your path to bring you to Him?
• Of course you can! That is grace/mercy/love!
• We deserved Hell and we deserved Judgment.
• God/grace/love patiently drew us unto Himself and brought us to the place of salvation.
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IV. THERE IS A PARALLEL IN HIS CALL
Joseph called his brothers to come to him when they would rather have run away!
• He has just revealed his identity to them.
There they stand:
• awash/guilt/what they did to him
• More certain than ever this powerful man, who is apparently their brother, is about to judge them and send them to their deaths.
• Naked of their sins
All they want to do is to get away from Joseph, and he commands them to come to him.
• So they come in fear.trembling.
When they come, they find that Joseph does not react to them in anger/greeted by love.
Greeted by one who:
• understands the plan of God
• loves them in spite of what they have done to him.
This parallels our Lord’s call to sinners.
• God comes/lost sinner/makes him aware/lost condition
• First reaction/sinner has is fear of God.
Lost person:
• Knows he has offended a holy God
• knows he deserves Hell
• Sure God will reject him and turn him away.
Call comes and it cannot be denied!
When sinner comes,:
• he is not cast out, but he is taken in, John 6:37
• Nothing is like he expects it to be
• Jesus does not call us to come so He can judge us.
He calls us to come so He:
• Can forgive us and give us peace
• can restore our fellowship with God
• we can experience His grace, His love and His peace.
Do you remember when the Lord called you?
• Oh, I do! I remember the fear, the guilt, the feelings of dread and apprehension.
• I also remember coming to Him.
• When I came, He did not condemn me, but He forgave me and loved me and adopted me as a son!
Conc: There are many things about my life I have forgotten.
many more things I will forget before I leave this world behind.
• One thing I do not think I will ever forget
• Never forget the day Jesus revealed Himself to me.
• He said, “I am Jesus!”
• moment of time by sins came crashing down on me
• knew I was lost
• I also knew/would be forgiven and forgotten!
He called. I came. He saved my soul.
• I praise His name for that today.
• Have you had a similar experience?
• If so, you should get before Him and thank Him.
• If not, you should come to Him, if He is calling you to come.
