1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,280 Now let's open our Bibles together to Exodus the first chapter. 2 00:00:06,280 --> 00:00:09,920 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob. 3 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:18,040 They came, each one with his household, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah, Issachar, Zebulun 4 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:23,640 and Benjamin, Dan and Aftali, Gad and Asher. 5 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:28,280 All the persons who came from the loins of Jacob were seventy in number, but Joseph was 6 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:31,280 already in Egypt. 7 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:35,840 And Joseph died and all his brothers and all that generation. 8 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,380 But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly and multiplied and became exceedingly 9 00:00:40,380 --> 00:00:44,880 mighty so that the land was filled with them. 10 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:49,840 Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. 11 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:55,680 And he said to his people, Behold the people of the sons of Israel are more and mightier 12 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:56,680 than we. 13 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:01,480 Come, let us deal wisely with them. 14 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:07,440 Lest they multiply and in the event of war they also join themselves to those who hate 15 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:12,640 us and fight against us and depart from the land. 16 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:18,880 So they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labor. 17 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:24,520 And they built for Pharaoh storage cities, Pitham and Ramses. 18 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:29,120 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out 19 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,920 so that they were in dread of the sons of Israel. 20 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:38,040 And the Egyptians compelled the sons of Israel to labor rigorously and they made their lives 21 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:45,360 bitter with hard labor and mortar and bricks and all kinds of labor in the field. 22 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:49,800 All their labors which they rigorously imposed on them. 23 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:55,960 And the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was Shifra and the other 24 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:56,960 named Puyah. 25 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:03,600 And he said, When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the 26 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:08,280 birth stool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death. 27 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,840 But if it is a daughter, then she shall live. 28 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:18,580 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but 29 00:02:18,580 --> 00:02:20,860 let the boys live. 30 00:02:20,860 --> 00:02:26,440 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this thing 31 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:28,640 and let the boys live? 32 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:34,040 And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women, 33 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:39,980 for they are vigorous and they give birth before the midwife can get to them. 34 00:02:39,980 --> 00:02:44,640 So God was good to the midwives and the people multiplied and became very mighty. 35 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:51,600 And it came about because the midwives feared God that he established households for them. 36 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:56,960 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people saying, Every son who is born, you are to cast into 37 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,440 the Nile and every daughter you are to keep alive. 38 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:06,880 Let's bow together, please, before we come to our study of the word of God. 39 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,280 Would you sing with me the chorus? 40 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,280 Open our eyes, Lord. 41 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:27,680 We want to see Jesus, To reach out and touch him, 42 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:42,560 And say that we love him. 43 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:58,120 Open our ears, Lord, And help us to listen. 44 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:14,040 Open our eyes, Lord, We want to see Jesus. 45 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,960 Lord that is our prayer this morning. 46 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:17,960 Open our eyes. 47 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:26,480 As we come to this text in the Old Testament, we pray that we will see you and be drawn 48 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:28,800 to you. 49 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:34,360 We thank you that you speak to us from this sacred book wherever we open it. 50 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:39,360 Today as we look into that portion which is intended to be an example for all of us in 51 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:47,240 this age, may we learn, give heed, obey, and experience your blessings. 52 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:54,520 In Jesus' name, amen. 53 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:59,760 The man was born the only son of his immigrant parents. 54 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:05,960 In time he entered the family business and became quite successful. 55 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:09,520 Eventually he made the company public and sold stock. 56 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:13,360 It boomed with the influx of new capital. 57 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:22,300 He was prosperous beyond his wildest dreams, and above all of this, he was a Christian. 58 00:05:22,300 --> 00:05:29,880 The control of the company was wrested from him in a power play, and before long he was 59 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:36,400 stripped of his position and then released from the company which his father had begun 60 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,200 and which he had built. 61 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:44,760 In the process of it all, he lost everything. 62 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:54,880 He had prayed, he had sought godly advice, but it all seemed to no avail. 63 00:05:54,880 --> 00:06:00,120 And he wondered, where is God? 64 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:03,640 Why didn't he intervene? 65 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:07,840 I was doing what I thought he wanted. 66 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:17,800 Didn't he promise to spare us from such devastating experiences? 67 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:23,600 A young woman was employed right out of college by a major firm in the city. 68 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:28,440 The job seemed like a perfect fit, but before long she discovered that the business ethics 69 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:35,040 of the company were not consistent with the principles she had grown up with in her home 70 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:36,440 and in her church. 71 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:43,760 In fact, she was told to assist her employer in dishonest records keeping. 72 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:50,600 She had always been taught to obey her superiors and to be honest and truthful. 73 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:56,240 Now she faced a dilemma which could cost her the job. 74 00:06:56,240 --> 00:07:03,200 Should she participate in the cover-up or should she take a stand and risk losing her 75 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:07,720 badly needed positions? 76 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:15,400 Sometimes we wonder why we get into the predicaments we do, and we question God as to why he permits 77 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:19,240 the situation to develop that he does. 78 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:26,000 In a low moment we may even feel that God has somehow let us down, that our relationship 79 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:34,520 to him has proved not very effective in sparing us from potential trouble and even actual 80 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,240 disaster. 81 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:43,240 Perhaps we feel that way because we misunderstand or haven't been taught properly what God 82 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:46,640 is committed to do for us. 83 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:52,760 We sometimes have wrong expectations of God. 84 00:07:52,760 --> 00:08:02,040 Even when these wrong expectations are not realized, we begin to question, to doubt, 85 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,600 and perhaps even to disobey. 86 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:13,620 I believe that when we grasp what God is committed to do for us, our hearts will know how to 87 00:08:13,620 --> 00:08:18,540 respond to life's difficult predicaments. 88 00:08:18,540 --> 00:08:27,320 It is important that you and I respond to God with trusting obedience. 89 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:33,800 When we understand what God has committed to do for us, we will be able to respond that 90 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:35,340 way. 91 00:08:35,340 --> 00:08:39,080 What does God do for those who are his own? 92 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:44,040 Well, I believe that there are three actions that God takes, and we see them in our text 93 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:48,080 today in Exodus 1. 94 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:53,360 In the first place, he lovingly prepares by going ahead. 95 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:57,240 What is it that God does for us who are his? 96 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:03,700 Number one, he lovingly prepares for us by going ahead. 97 00:09:03,700 --> 00:09:07,800 God is not limited to today's activity. 98 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,960 He is already active in tomorrow, isn't he? 99 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,520 He is eternal. 100 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:20,440 We see this principle illustrated in the history that is suggested in verses 1 through 7 of 101 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:22,560 Exodus 1. 102 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:27,960 It is the coming of Jacob and his family to Egypt. 103 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:32,640 Through painful rejection by his brothers, the enslavement to the captain of Pharaoh's 104 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:41,200 bodyguard, and the false accusations leading to unjust imprisonment, God was preparing 105 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:47,160 Joseph for an unusual opportunity. 106 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:53,040 It says in verse 6, Joseph was already in Egypt. 107 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:58,400 He was there by the plan of God. 108 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:08,480 Isn't it encouraging to know that the disasters that we encounter are inevitably God-designed 109 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:15,280 with a view to our personal preparation for God's purpose for us? 110 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:23,640 Did you realize that failure is a word that is not in God's vocabulary? 111 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:31,760 When you and I go through experiences that devastate us, where we feel that we have failed, 112 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:38,440 where our world has collapsed in upon us, isn't it wonderful to know that that whole 113 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:48,640 thing is God-designed with a view to his personal preparation for us to accomplish his purpose 114 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:50,040 in our lives? 115 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:52,200 I think it is. 116 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,160 God planned for Joseph to be in Egypt. 117 00:10:55,160 --> 00:11:01,640 When the famine would come to that region of the world, God placed him, ultimately, 118 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:08,360 in a position as prime minister of Egypt so that he could care for his father and his 119 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:14,800 brothers, the very ones who had sold him into slavery to begin with. 120 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:16,840 Joseph recognizes this himself. 121 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:20,480 That is, that God had gone before Jacob to prepare the way. 122 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:26,760 Would you turn back in Genesis, please, to chapter 45, and let's reiterate just a couple 123 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:31,440 of things perhaps that were said last week so well by Pastor Cramer. 124 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:36,080 Genesis 45, beginning in verse 5. 125 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:42,160 Joseph is speaking now to his brothers, and he says, and now do not be grieved or angry 126 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:46,960 with yourselves, because you sold me here. 127 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:52,560 For God sent me before you to preserve life. 128 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:57,920 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years 129 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:02,760 in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 130 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:09,900 And God sent me before you to preserve you for a remnant in the earth and to keep you 131 00:12:09,900 --> 00:12:11,920 alive by a great deliverance. 132 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:18,800 Now therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God, and he has made me a father 133 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:25,440 to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 134 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:30,920 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, thus says your son Joseph, God has made me 135 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,000 lord of all Egypt. 136 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:34,000 Come down to me. 137 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,680 Do not delay. 138 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:46,280 Four times in our text, Joseph testifies it is God who has arranged my life. 139 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:53,560 Now I remind you again that that life in Egypt included a lot of disappointment. 140 00:12:53,560 --> 00:13:03,080 It included hardship, confinement, disaster from a human standpoint. 141 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:09,960 But Joseph realized the principle we are talking about, that God prepares a way for us. 142 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:20,080 He goes ahead of us, even in our tragedies, so that when we get there, it is all prepared 143 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:21,080 for us. 144 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,520 That is what he did for Jacob. 145 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:27,160 And Joseph was his instrument. 146 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:34,760 God is always out in front of us, going on ahead of us to prepare in ways unknown to 147 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:38,000 us now. 148 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:48,100 Is it any wonder, folks, that Jacob before he dies testifies of Yahweh of the Lord, calling 149 00:13:48,100 --> 00:13:51,760 him his shepherd? 150 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:55,080 Genesis 48.15. 151 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:57,480 Where is the shepherd? 152 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,960 The shepherd is out in front of his sheep. 153 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:07,040 Jacob recognized that God had been out in front of him in ways that he had not known 154 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:14,680 for years and years and years, preparing for that particular instance of the famine. 155 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:19,800 He called Yahweh his shepherd. 156 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:24,200 Perhaps that is the same reason that David picked up on that theme, saying, the Lord 157 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,280 is my shepherd. 158 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:32,080 As he recognized in his own experience that through the hardship and tragedies in his 159 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:38,120 family, through the failures in his own life, through them all, God was working, was even 160 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:45,800 out in front of him preparing the way to bring good out of bad. 161 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:53,440 This principle that God is preparing for us by going ahead is true whether we be in the 162 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:55,800 will of God or out of the will of God. 163 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:56,800 That's right. 164 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:02,160 I can give you an illustration of each. 165 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:09,480 Let's think of Elijah for a moment, who is very much in the will of God. 166 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:15,560 As he proclaimed to the king a drought upon the kingdom, God said to him, Elijah, now 167 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:21,360 you go to the brook Cherith and there you will be cared for. 168 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:23,320 And he did. 169 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:31,120 And the scripture tells us that ravens brought food for Elijah, meat and bread, morning and 170 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:37,720 night, day after day after day, and he had water from the brook. 171 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:45,360 God went before Elijah, prepared those birds, and from whatever source they got the food 172 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,600 so that when Elijah was there he would be cared for. 173 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:51,480 So the brook dried up eventually. 174 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:57,000 And God said to him, now I want you to go over here to Zarephath on the coast. 175 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,920 And there is a widow there and she's going to take care of you. 176 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:03,880 So God directed him to that widow. 177 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:10,280 She was about to prepare the last meal for herself and her son, thinking that that was 178 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:12,320 all that there was for her. 179 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:17,640 And now this prophet comes on the scene and he wants a piece of the pie. 180 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:22,680 And she complains to him that all she has is enough for herself and her son and then 181 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:26,800 they're going to die. 182 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:31,560 And she insists that he get part of it and promises that if he does, God will take care 183 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:33,200 of her. 184 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:42,080 And miraculously the meal and the oil were sustained until the time of trial was passed. 185 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:46,600 There is a prophet in the will of God and God went ahead of him, preparing the way just 186 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,960 like he does for you when you walk in his will. 187 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:56,960 Let's think of those who are out of God's will, who are his children but who are not 188 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:57,960 walking in obedience. 189 00:16:57,960 --> 00:16:58,960 What of them? 190 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:00,600 Does God go before them too? 191 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,240 Yes, he does. 192 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:10,880 And I think of Jonah, who was told by God to go to Nineveh and preach to that great 193 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:18,040 city and he said, no, I will not go and went the other direction, got on board a ship to 194 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:21,080 escape and what did God do? 195 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:24,840 Well, it says he prepared a great fish. 196 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:29,640 Now you don't grow a fish overnight. 197 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:36,280 God had been preparing this fish for years to pick up the prophet. 198 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:43,160 And the time came that the fish did his work and the prophet got turned around. 199 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:48,320 I want you to know that those of us who are the children of God have a loving heavenly 200 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:56,680 father who is out in front of us in our days of disobedience preparing for us too. 201 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:04,600 Preparing means and circumstances intended by him to be as it were a great fish that 202 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:10,240 will bring repentance to our hearts and cause us to turn around and to do what God tells 203 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:12,880 us to do. 204 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:20,600 God lovingly prepares for us by going out ahead. 205 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:25,060 Joseph accepted this truth so beautifully, didn't he? 206 00:18:25,060 --> 00:18:29,920 After Jacob had died, the brothers were concerned that now Joseph would seek his revenge upon 207 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:30,920 them. 208 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:35,040 It would be only human to do that, wouldn't it? 209 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:40,360 We could understand the bitterness that now might come forth from his soul because of 210 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:46,520 the years of which he was robbed in fellowship with his father. 211 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:51,520 Because of the circumstances which might have been bitter to him, would it not seem only 212 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:55,240 appropriate for him now to strike back at them? 213 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:59,680 Jacob would not know, but he does not do that. 214 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:05,080 This principle we're talking about had soaked completely to the bottom of his heart and 215 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:08,640 it brought forth beautiful fruit in his life. 216 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:17,800 In Genesis 50 and verse 20 he says, as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant 217 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:26,800 it for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve many people alive. 218 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:28,560 God was at work. 219 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:36,280 God was going out in front of Jacob, preparing the way for him through his own son to preserve 220 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:37,280 him. 221 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:42,640 I want you to know whatever your circumstances are today, God is already in tomorrow, and 222 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:50,360 He's in Tuesday, and He's in every day of this week and of this month, and He's preparing. 223 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:57,000 He's making the way so that when you get there, the circumstances will be just what you need 224 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:01,640 at that moment, just what you need. 225 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:09,040 Let that soak into your soul so that if there come those disappointments, if the world does 226 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:20,320 collapse, then you recognize that while someone may have meant it for evil, God has been working 227 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:27,960 in that situation for good and give him thanks for it. 228 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:30,800 Do not doubt God's working, beloved. 229 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:35,560 Do not doubt His preparing for you. 230 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:41,680 He's already out there in your future designing what He already knows you will need when you 231 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:42,680 get there. 232 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:49,560 For those of you who have graduated recently from college or perhaps from high school, 233 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:55,040 recognize as you face your future with a lot of question marks at this point, God is already 234 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,960 in your future if you're His child, preparing the way for you. 235 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:04,120 The best thing in the world for you to do is trustingly obey Him every day. 236 00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:08,240 That's the right response. 237 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:12,480 You don't have to be bitter over today's disappointments. 238 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:19,640 You don't have to become anxious over tomorrow's unknowns because God lovingly prepares for 239 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:24,520 us by going ahead. 240 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:30,800 Maybe we see a second thing here in our text that God does for us, a second action of God. 241 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:36,680 It is that He graciously provides by stirring up. 242 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:41,520 Israel's situation became very pleasant in Egypt. 243 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:47,160 There was prosperity for Jacob and his descendants in Goshen. 244 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:53,600 To them was committed the very best of the land of Egypt. 245 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:58,960 Their numbers multiplied as the years passed, being only 70 in number as they came into 246 00:21:58,960 --> 00:21:59,960 the land. 247 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:08,120 They soon grew to 150, 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000. 248 00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:13,840 Over the centuries that they were in Egypt, God so multiplied and prospered this small 249 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:23,440 family of people that coming in as 70, they would eventually go out in excess of 2 million. 250 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:31,040 In the course of some 350 to 400 years, they grew to that extent. 251 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:36,320 Several centuries after the patriarchs had entered the land, there was a change that 252 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:39,720 occurred that we see mentioned in chapter one of Exodus in verse eight. 253 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:46,240 It says, a new king arose and he did not know Joseph. 254 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:51,240 Just a little bit of a sketch of Egyptian history might help here. 255 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:57,800 These dates are not agreed upon by all biblical scholars, but this seems to be the general 256 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:04,640 agreement and it fits well into biblical history. 257 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:13,440 Joseph was prime minister or viceroy of Egypt during what is called the 12th dynasty of 258 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:14,440 Egypt. 259 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:16,360 It was a period of affluence. 260 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:24,600 There were those who called it the golden age of the art and craftsmanship in Egypt. 261 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:32,200 Later though, that golden age was gilded and the culture of Egypt declined. 262 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:38,560 In time to the passage of generations, some outsiders conquered Egypt. 263 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:42,800 They were called the Hyksos peoples. 264 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:49,720 They were Semitic in origin and Asiatic. 265 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:58,600 They subjugated the Egyptian people themselves for about 150 years. 266 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:05,960 But eventually, they were gradually driven out of Egypt so that the Egyptians themselves 267 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:09,800 controlled their country again. 268 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:16,320 After Ahmose I, another great Egyptian period began. 269 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:22,840 It was the 18th and 19th dynasties in Egyptian history. 270 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:28,960 It was at that time that a wave of nationalism overtook the Egyptians. 271 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:35,440 They had a special dislike of course for the Hyksos people who had been driven out, but 272 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:41,400 also for anybody of Semitic origin, of a similar origin as the Hyksos. 273 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:48,120 Of course, that included the Israelites, for they were a Semitic people. 274 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:54,760 That seems to be the historical background for what we see here in verse 8, a new king 275 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,800 who did not know Joseph. 276 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:02,480 That is, he did not have regard or appreciation for Joseph or for his descendants. 277 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,000 Now, of course, he knew history in Egypt. 278 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:10,600 He would have known the name of this man had he looked at the records. 279 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,760 He would have known the deeds of Joseph. 280 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:21,080 But now some three centuries have passed and there is this wave of nationalism and a dislike 281 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:22,800 for Semitic peoples. 282 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:31,440 Therefore, a new dynasty came into place that had little use for Semitic people like the 283 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,400 Israelites. 284 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:39,840 There were two historical reasons for their lack of appreciation for them in addition 285 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,520 to the one that we've mentioned in the first place. 286 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:47,320 There was rapid growth in the population of the Israelites. 287 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:52,520 They did not want to take a chance in Egypt again of a Semitic people overcoming them. 288 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:59,600 And when they saw this population explosion, they began to be very concerned about it. 289 00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,400 In verse 9, it says that. 290 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:07,560 There was a second historical reason in verse 10 and that is that they were concerned that 291 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:12,640 if they could not themselves overcome Egypt, that they might ally themselves with Egypt's 292 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:14,240 enemies. 293 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:21,000 And they did not want to take a chance on that according to verse 10. 294 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:25,680 Beyond these historical reasons, we need to point out a couple of spiritual reasons for 295 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:32,520 what it says happened to the Jews in Egypt. 296 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:36,240 One thing that's important to remember is that Satan from the very beginning desired 297 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:41,940 to destroy the possibility of the seed of the Redeemer. 298 00:26:41,940 --> 00:26:47,040 He was there present in the Garden of Eden when the promise was given to Eve that from 299 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:55,720 her would come the one who would eventually crush the head of the serpent, Satan. 300 00:26:55,720 --> 00:27:02,760 And so from that time on, he sought to interfere with that line of the Messiah, to pollute 301 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:12,000 it if possible, if necessary to destroy it, but by any means to interrupt it so that the 302 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,260 Messiah could not be born. 303 00:27:15,260 --> 00:27:20,560 You must understand as we come to the history of Exodus 1 that that is behind the scenes. 304 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,400 And it's a dominating thing. 305 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,880 It is not small. 306 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:34,360 Never forget that in the history that takes place around us, in the invisible, in the 307 00:27:34,360 --> 00:27:40,080 realm of the Spirit, there are overarching, dominating things that are happening that 308 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:44,520 we may be ignorant of. 309 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:48,440 Here we know that Satan was seeking to destroy the Jewish people. 310 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:54,200 And again, the purpose is that he might keep Messiah from coming. 311 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:58,920 He has always had a special hatred for the Jews. 312 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:03,160 But there's another spiritual reason behind this that may surprise you. 313 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:16,840 And to find that, we need to go to the Psalms, to Psalm 105. 314 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:22,920 We have here a Psalm of Israel's history. 315 00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:27,800 Notice in verse 16, it says, And he, God, called for a famine upon the land. 316 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,960 He broke the whole staff of bread. 317 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:35,840 He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 318 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,040 Then he records some of Joseph's history. 319 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:47,280 Verse 23, Israel also came into Egypt, thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. 320 00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:53,880 And he, God, caused his people to be very fruitful and made them stronger than their 321 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:54,880 adversaries. 322 00:28:54,880 --> 00:29:07,640 Now, look at verse 25, And he, God, turned their heart to hate his people, to deal craftily 323 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:11,520 with his servants. 324 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:16,600 Does that surprise you? 325 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:21,280 Why was there a change of attitude toward the Jews in Egypt? 326 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:28,160 Partly because God ordered it. 327 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,400 God did it. 328 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:35,560 What was God doing? 329 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:45,440 God knew that Israel would be content to remain in Egypt and to enjoy the prosperity there. 330 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:50,600 Therefore, God was doing something. 331 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:58,400 He was graciously providing for his people by stirring up hatred against them. 332 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:03,040 You say providing for them, yes. 333 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:09,280 You see, for them to have stayed in Egypt and to have enjoyed the prosperity in Egypt 334 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:15,080 would have meant they're missing the best that God had for them, which was Canaan, the 335 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:20,800 promised land, as a part of the Abrahamic covenant. 336 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:27,560 So God began to stir up their situation of contentment. 337 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:35,560 He began to turn their conditions so that they were uncomfortable, so that they were 338 00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:40,280 hated, so that pressure came upon them. 339 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:44,400 It was God doing this. 340 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,280 Canaan had his purpose in it. 341 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:51,520 But I want you to notice that God is at work here. 342 00:30:51,520 --> 00:31:00,920 God is at work graciously providing for his people by stirring up their situation. 343 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:02,160 What was God going to provide? 344 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:08,320 Well, we see him here providing discomfort, but we're going to see him provide a deliverer 345 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:09,320 too. 346 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:17,480 On the one hand, God is providing for his people a motivation to get out of Egypt. 347 00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:21,160 If he had not done that, I am convinced that they would have stayed in Egypt and would 348 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:30,360 have eventually mixed with the Egyptians and would no more have been Israelites. 349 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:34,640 And the result of that may well have been the Messiah would not have come, could not 350 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:37,120 have come. 351 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:48,600 So God had to get his people unhappy enough, stirred up enough, enough in discomfort that 352 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:55,280 they would desire a deliverer who would take them out of their bondage into what God had 353 00:31:55,280 --> 00:32:00,760 provided as the best, the promised land. 354 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:05,860 Would you please keep in mind, as I do as well, that God's goal is not to make us happy 355 00:32:05,860 --> 00:32:09,920 and wealthy in this world. 356 00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:20,500 There is a wicked theology that is being taught today in some Christian churches that says 357 00:32:20,500 --> 00:32:27,160 that God has desire to make us prosperous and wealthy and healthy in this world. 358 00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:34,360 And that is not true. 359 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:39,040 If blessing comes, praise God for it. 360 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:43,920 If evil comes, praise God for it. 361 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:50,040 God has not committed himself to make us happy and wealthy in this world. 362 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:55,320 He does not seek to make us content with our earthly situation. 363 00:32:55,320 --> 00:33:05,320 Rather, he is committed to mature us, to stir us up, to prepare us for the blessings of 364 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:10,080 the new heaven and new earth and the new Jerusalem. 365 00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:15,480 Even while he desires for us to make the most of our earthly pilgrimage, God wants us to 366 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:19,840 be pilgrims, not residents. 367 00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:29,760 So God graciously provides by stirring up our circumstances so that we will not become 368 00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:35,320 comfortable in the world. 369 00:33:35,320 --> 00:33:40,480 That may be what's going on in your life today. 370 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:44,840 Consider it, because that's something that God does for us. 371 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:46,840 He does it for all of us. 372 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:52,360 When we get to the point of thinking that we've got it made now and we're self-sufficient 373 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:58,280 and we can do without God, it's at that point that God is going to begin doing this. 374 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:02,360 Not because he dislikes us, but because he loves us so much. 375 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:08,600 He will begin lovingly providing for us by stirring us up, making us uncomfortable so 376 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:16,680 that we will trust in him and look to him for what is best, not merely what is seemingly 377 00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:21,000 good for the moment. 378 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:25,320 There's a third action of God that we have to point out as we go on. 379 00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:30,480 That is that he faithfully preserves by watching over us. 380 00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:37,040 The oppression of the Egyptians culminated with the terrible command of verse 16. 381 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:45,520 God used the midwives who feared him to nullify Pharaoh's murderous edict. 382 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:51,000 The value of life to these midwives was greater than the orders that they received from their 383 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:55,160 ruler, from the government. 384 00:34:55,160 --> 00:35:00,600 In their response to Pharaoh in verse 19, the question must be honestly asked, did they 385 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:05,600 lie? 386 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,120 Well the language here seems to indicate that they did. 387 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:14,440 It can be understood in a different way that they perhaps did not lie, that they evaded 388 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:19,040 him. 389 00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:23,800 If they did in fact lie, please understand that the blessing that came upon them from 390 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:31,920 God, and God did bless them, was not because of that, but because of their saving of lives. 391 00:35:31,920 --> 00:35:39,480 But this whole instance provides an occasion for us to examine biblical ethics. 392 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:49,120 Because what we have here really is a conflict among three moral absolutes. 393 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,720 Number one, God tells us to obey those who are rulers over us. 394 00:35:52,720 --> 00:35:54,440 We are to obey the government. 395 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:58,800 In this case they were to obey Pharaoh. 396 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:01,720 Another absolute is that we're to tell the truth. 397 00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:05,680 We're to be honest. 398 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:09,960 The third absolute is that we're to save human life. 399 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:13,200 Human life is sacred, it's valuable. 400 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:18,720 Three absolutes, but there's conflict here. 401 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:23,300 How do you deal with that? 402 00:36:23,300 --> 00:36:29,280 What do you do when ethical principles are in conflict, such as the young lady in the 403 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:35,540 office who was commanded to do what was wrong, but had always been taught to obey those who 404 00:36:35,540 --> 00:36:40,040 were an authority over her? 405 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:43,360 Well there are three positions that are common in how to resolve this. 406 00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:52,840 There's a position that is called non-conflicting absolution. 407 00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:57,840 Those who take this position would say that what the midwives did was immoral, it was 408 00:36:57,840 --> 00:36:59,320 wrong. 409 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:03,720 They believe that God would have provided, and I'm quoting here from some material in 410 00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:12,520 the study guide that Insight for Living puts out, that God would have provided the midwives 411 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:20,080 a way out of their ethical dilemma, one that would not have involved a violation of God's 412 00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:22,640 moral directives. 413 00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:28,200 These Christians think that there is never any real conflict between absolute norms, 414 00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:33,040 since God will always pave a road that can lead one out of the apparent dilemma. 415 00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:35,360 It's non-conflicting absolutism. 416 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:44,000 If there are conflicts, you simply look to God to provide a way out of it. 417 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:47,440 The problem I have with that is that I've had some situations where God didn't provide 418 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:48,440 a way out. 419 00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:58,800 It's nice and idealistic, but it doesn't fit with the real world, at least in my opinion. 420 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:05,360 There are those who take a position called conflicting absolutism. 421 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:10,600 These believe that the dilemma the midwives faced was a real one, and in such situations, 422 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:14,960 they say, God knows that no matter what a person does, he will have to break one of 423 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:16,400 his laws. 424 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:21,920 So the Lord commands that he violate the directive that will produce the lesser evil, and then 425 00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:25,480 plead for God's forgiveness of his sin. 426 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:30,160 In the case of the midwives, since they chose the lesser evil, God rewarded them. 427 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:36,600 So those who take this position say there will be conflict between absolutes, and what 428 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:42,720 we're to do is to see which violation will produce the lesser evil, go that way, and 429 00:38:42,720 --> 00:38:44,720 then beg God to forgive us. 430 00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:52,080 Frankly, I have a hard time with that one too. 431 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:56,960 You may not, and that's fine if you don't, these aren't something to argue about. 432 00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:02,600 But I believe that there's a third position that is right, it's called graded absolutism, 433 00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:06,720 that when God's laws come into conflict, a person is morally obligated to obey the 434 00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:11,600 higher law, and morally exempt from keeping the lower law. 435 00:39:11,600 --> 00:39:16,920 Thus, when the midwives obeyed the higher command of saving lives, they did not sin, 436 00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:21,640 and that is why God blessed them without rebuking their lie. 437 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:23,880 It's called graded absolutism. 438 00:39:23,880 --> 00:39:30,200 It seems to me that that at least fits best with the text that we have before us in Exodus 439 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:31,680 chapter 1. 440 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:41,320 Now whichever ethical position you take, the thing you must struggle with is to do what 441 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:44,760 God wants you to do, and that's what these midwives did. 442 00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:50,280 And because they did what they did, they were instruments of God to faithfully preserve 443 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:51,880 the Jewish people. 444 00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:55,880 God was watching over this whole thing. 445 00:39:55,880 --> 00:40:03,720 You and I can be assured that in our circumstances, God is committed to our preservation. 446 00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:12,720 Not merely our preservation in this life, but more importantly to His eternal purpose. 447 00:40:12,720 --> 00:40:20,560 Peter tells us in the first chapter of his first epistle that God has caused us to be 448 00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:27,320 born again to a living hope, which is being kept for us in heaven, who he says are being 449 00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:31,000 kept for it on the earth. 450 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:36,160 Is it not wonderful to know that God today is faithfully preserving us by watching over 451 00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:38,800 us? 452 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:43,120 My personal opinion is, and it's only worth an opinion, is that we are headed into tough 453 00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:52,360 days in the not too distant future in our culture, in the lifetime of many of us here. 454 00:40:52,360 --> 00:40:57,840 It is wonderful to know that as we look at the potential of tough days ahead, that God 455 00:40:57,840 --> 00:41:01,080 is committed to faithfully preserve us. 456 00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:10,400 And I repeat, not just to preserve us for three score and ten years. 457 00:41:10,400 --> 00:41:16,360 God is committed to preserve us in this world until His will is done. 458 00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:23,680 But the best thing is that God is committed to preserve us unto His heavenly kingdom, 459 00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:29,660 so that we may enter into that kingdom and rule and reign with Jesus Christ eternally. 460 00:41:29,660 --> 00:41:36,680 God is committed to that, so that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it 461 00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:39,200 at the day of Jesus Christ. 462 00:41:39,200 --> 00:41:42,800 That is a wonderful thing. 463 00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:48,280 God has kept the Jewish people down through the history of the world. 464 00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:54,640 It is absolutely amazing to students of history that the Jewish people could still exist today 465 00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:58,180 as an entity. 466 00:41:58,180 --> 00:42:01,320 It is only done by the preservation of God. 467 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:02,500 Why? 468 00:42:02,500 --> 00:42:05,360 Because God is not finished with them. 469 00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:10,160 Because God still has an end time purpose for the Jewish nation. 470 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:18,400 And they will turn to Him one day and repent of their rejecting Jesus Christ as Messiah. 471 00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:19,400 And be restored. 472 00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:23,560 And the fullness of the Abrahamic covenant will be fulfilled to the Jewish people and 473 00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:27,240 to the nations of the earth. 474 00:42:27,240 --> 00:42:34,920 God faithfully preserves by watching over His own. 475 00:42:34,920 --> 00:42:37,040 We are His today by faith in Christ. 476 00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:38,040 Enjoy that. 477 00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:40,280 What does God do for His people? 478 00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:43,120 Well, He lovingly prepares. 479 00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:45,680 He graciously provides. 480 00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:48,520 He faithfully preserves. 481 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:54,080 Now knowing that, how should I respond if I am like the man whose company was taken 482 00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:58,560 away and I am left with nothing? 483 00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:01,920 What am I to do? 484 00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:07,120 I am to see God at work in all of that somehow. 485 00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:15,380 And I am to trustingly obey Him where I am at today. 486 00:43:15,380 --> 00:43:21,600 I don't know what your security is right now that may be collapsing. 487 00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:27,880 I don't know what the disappointment is that may have come to your family. 488 00:43:27,880 --> 00:43:31,000 I don't know what the heartache is that you have been facing. 489 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:43,000 But I want to ask you today, how have you responded to that child of God? 490 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:48,240 Because God is at work in your circumstances and not for your ill. 491 00:43:48,240 --> 00:43:53,560 And all He wants you to do today is to look up into His face who is your heavenly Father 492 00:43:53,560 --> 00:43:58,240 and say, Father, I don't understand. 493 00:43:58,240 --> 00:44:03,600 I don't see how you are working at this point and may never. 494 00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:14,440 But Father, I will trust you and I will obey you. 495 00:44:14,440 --> 00:44:19,000 You see, the question is not whether we understand the working of God. 496 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:27,440 But it is whether we trustingly obey what we do know. 497 00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:31,300 I asked God for strength that I might achieve. 498 00:44:31,300 --> 00:44:37,500 I was made weak that I might learn to humbly obey. 499 00:44:37,500 --> 00:44:41,180 I asked for health that I might do greater things. 500 00:44:41,180 --> 00:44:45,880 I was given infirmity that I might do better things. 501 00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:49,480 I asked for riches that I might be happy. 502 00:44:49,480 --> 00:44:53,440 I was given poverty that I might be wise. 503 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:57,920 I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. 504 00:44:57,920 --> 00:45:03,220 I was given weakness that I might feel the need for God. 505 00:45:03,220 --> 00:45:07,360 I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. 506 00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:12,500 I was given life that I might enjoy all things. 507 00:45:12,500 --> 00:45:18,520 I got nothing that I asked for but everything that I hoped for. 508 00:45:18,520 --> 00:45:22,760 Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. 509 00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:27,960 I am among all men most richly blessed. 510 00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:31,240 I believe to that statement. 511 00:45:31,240 --> 00:45:38,440 There echoes in heaven an amen for a man by the name of Joseph. 512 00:45:38,440 --> 00:45:39,440 Would you bow with me please. 513 00:45:39,440 --> 00:46:05,320 Dear child of God, have you been struggling with your circumstances, wondering where God 514 00:46:05,320 --> 00:46:08,040 is in all of it? 515 00:46:08,040 --> 00:46:12,800 You too have prayed and nothing seems to happen. 516 00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:21,440 Frankly, as you sit here in church today, you feel like throwing your Christian faith 517 00:46:21,440 --> 00:46:28,480 overboard. 518 00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:31,760 You may be heartbroken. 519 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:45,680 Circumstances have come to you which have been bitter and disappointment. 520 00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:51,600 Whatever your situation today, will you look up to your Heavenly Father and say that you 521 00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:59,040 will trustingly obey in your circumstances? 522 00:46:59,040 --> 00:47:07,480 Do not ask to understand, though He may give you understanding in time, but ask for strength 523 00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:13,600 to trustingly obey Him. 524 00:47:13,600 --> 00:47:18,280 If you are here today without a personal faith in Jesus Christ, I want you to know that 2,000 525 00:47:18,280 --> 00:47:26,760 years ago God went ahead of you and prepared a Savior for you who died on the cross for 526 00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:32,960 your sins and rose again. 527 00:47:32,960 --> 00:47:40,720 How He loves you and wants to come into your life to cleanse it of its sin. 528 00:47:40,720 --> 00:47:44,000 He wants to restore you to Himself. 529 00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:47,600 He wants to begin working in your life. 530 00:47:47,600 --> 00:47:53,760 Will you receive Him today by an act of faith? 531 00:47:53,760 --> 00:48:01,520 Understand that it is the Lord Jesus Christ that you are receiving, the only Savior, that 532 00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:06,400 He loves you and gave Himself for you. 533 00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:10,160 Will you give yourself to Him? 534 00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:18,200 Commit your life to Him? 535 00:48:18,200 --> 00:48:23,800 Consider in the quietness of these moments as the Spirit of God has spoken to us and 536 00:48:23,800 --> 00:48:27,880 applied to our lives what needs to be from this word. 537 00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:37,560 I pray that each one of us will be able to respond in obedience to the Spirit of God. 538 00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:50,440 God deliver any of us from walking out of here having heard but not willing to obey. 539 00:48:50,440 --> 00:49:01,000 Thank you that you are at work, that you are preparing, you are providing, you are preserving. 540 00:49:01,000 --> 00:49:06,880 Help us to see that afresh today by faith. 541 00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:21,480 Help Joseph of old to look at our circumstances in life and say, but God has been at work. 542 00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:24,480 In Jesus' name I pray this. 543 00:49:24,480 --> 00:49:38,000 Amen.