In this sermon, the speaker discusses the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis and draws parallels between Joseph and Jesus. The speaker highlights how Joseph made the years count by using the opportunity he had been given. The sermon emphasizes the importance of following God's instructions, as seen in Genesis 41:55, where the people were told to do whatever Joseph said. The speaker also mentions the wedding in Cana of Galilee and how Mary wanted Jesus to manifest himself as the great one. The sermon concludes by urging listeners to live with eternity's values in view and not be distracted by trivial things.

completely predictable, and I think this will be one. I'm going to ask John Waddell to come up and read a page from a letter that he has received this last week, and I think your heart will rejoice as mine did when I heard it. John. I don't speak very good in front of crowds, and I'll try to speak from there. John, you may not believe this, because I know I don't believe it. This is from Dale, my son, who's a Marine Corps, and when I read this, I cried, and as you may know that Janet, my wife, doesn't believe it either, but she's seen God's work in Dale's life, and it really makes my heart happy and sad at the same time. I know how each and every one of us have been praying so diligently for my family and for Dale and Janet. When I read this, I thought how happy to think Sir Sam Lorenzo would be to hear Dale in his new role in the Marine Corps. John, you may not believe it, because I don't believe it either, but I think God has finally come into my heart, because I not only go to church on Sundays, but I also am the platoon partisan lay reader, which conducts a little meeting before bed. I also pray out loud for the whole platoon before we go to sleep every night. I really look forward to Sundays now, not because it is only a little intermission of the week, but because I really have come to love God. So this is an answer to our prayer that we've been praying so diligently, how faithful God is to us. Thank you. Thank you, John. I don't think we should stop praying for Dale. I think we should pray with renewed energy for him. Now, our boys and girls mean a lot to us in this fellowship, don't they? I've been having a little quiz for them. We've been going over the material that we had last week to see if they were listening. Of course, they were listening, as you will tell in a moment. So this is just for the boys and the girls. What did Joseph tell the baker would happen to him? That he would be hanged? Everybody agree? Adults? Okay. What did he tell the butler or cupbearer would happen to him? Anybody? I'm going to go on if you don't get him. What request did Joseph make of the one who was released? It's hard, isn't it? He said, when it goes well with you. Anybody? Adults. Remember me. How many years after this did Joseph spend in prison? Oh, these are hard. Whoever made this quiz up? Yeah, I think so. Anybody know the answer to that one? Two more years. What kind of animals did Pharaoh dream about? Cows. That's good. What interpretation did Joseph give of his dream? What did he say was going to happen? Well, you're right. You're on the right track, Dave. But, pardon? That's right. Seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. What did Joseph advise Pharaoh? What did he tell him to do? That's right. To lay aside some of the good crops so that when the famine came, people would have something to eat. How did Pharaoh honor Joseph? A lot of ways, actually. That's very good, Mike. He made him the overseer, didn't he? Put him in charge. Said, okay, you work out the program. All right, would you turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 41, and we're going to read beginning in verse 37. Genesis 41-37. So, the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh. That is the advice that Joseph gave to Pharaoh in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God? Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word. Only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. So, he was really second in command, wasn't he? He was the vice president, or the vice pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and he clothed him in garments of fine linen, put a gold chain around his neck, and he had him ride in the second chariot which he had, and they cried out before him, Bow the knee. So, he sent him over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh also said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without your consent, no man may lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Daphnath-Paneah, and he gave him a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potipharah, priest of On. So, Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. Now, in the seven plentiful years, the ground brought forth abundantly. So, he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities. He laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. Joseph gathered very much grain as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting for as without number. And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potipharah, priest of On, bore to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. In the name of the second, he called Ephraim, for God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, and the seven years of famine began to come. As Joseph had said, the famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. So, when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, Go to Joseph, whatever he says to you, do. The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. The famine became severe in the land of Egypt, so all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was so severe in all the lands. Now, last week we saw how, first of all I'll just review a few things, how Joseph had been in prison and his feet were hurt by fetters of iron. And all through this we've been saying how Joseph reminds us of Jesus, and how the Lord Jesus' feet were hurt with fetters of iron, weren't they? I'm speaking about the nails by which he was nailed to the cross, nails in his hands and in his feet. But Joseph rose to be a wonderful counselor. He goes before Pharaoh and he interprets his dreams. And that's one of the names that is given to the Lord Jesus in Isaiah chapter 9. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor. And many of us have proved that through in our lives. The king set him over all the realm. He was, well, prime minister. It's an interesting word, prime minister. Do you know what prime minister means? Well, minister means servant and prime means first. So, leadership in God's kingdom is by serving. It's not a question of dignity. It's a question of lowly service. And all of the treasures of Egypt were his. If anybody wanted food, go to Joseph. You know, that's true of all that God has for the human race. It all comes to us through Jesus. It really does. Turn just for a second to Romans chapter 5, and I think you see that some of the blessings of salvation and how everything is linked with the Lord Jesus. Romans chapter 5 and verse 1. Romans 5 1 says, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God, notice, through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Joseph. Through whom, that is through the Lord Jesus also, we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And as you go through the New Testament, you'll find all of the treasures that God has for people are found in the Savior. And when you get the Savior, you get all the treasures. One of the wonderful things about being born again, about being saved by the grace of God, God just opens his treasure house and gives them to his people through the Savior. And that brings us to where we start today. All were told to bow to him. Did you notice that? All were told to bow to him. Verse 43 of Genesis 41. We'll go back to Genesis 41 and hold our finger there. It says in verse 43, He had him ride in the second chariot which he had, and they cried out before him, bow the knees. So he set him over all the land of Egypt. You remember at the very beginning of our story, Joseph had dreams, and in those dreams, he saw his brothers bowing to him. And he told them. And he saw his mother and his father bowing to him, and they were angry. Who are you that we should ever bow to you? But it came to pass, didn't it? Here is the edict of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, they bow the knee to Joseph, his dream. He had to wait a long time for it to happen, but it happened. You know, God has made a decree that every knee in the universe is going to bow to Jesus Christ. You say the only sure things in the world are death and taxes. Well, there's something more sure than that, and that's that every knee will bow to Jesus Christ, and every tongue and text him to be Lord to the glory of God the Father. And we either do it voluntarily in this life, or we'll do it involuntarily in the next. But it's going to take place. It's the decree of God, and nothing can ever stop it. Not only that, but he was given a new name, kind of an unpronounceable name, but we'll just have to forgive him for that. It's called Zaphnathania. Wow. I don't know what the margin of your Bible says, but one translation of that name is Savior of the World. How very wonderful, huh? Savior of the World. It's an Egyptian name. How was Joseph the Savior of the World? Because there was a worldwide famine, and if people wanted food, they had to come to Joseph. And how this points forward to the Lord Jesus, who said, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth in me shall never thirst. It really is true that the Lord Jesus Christ satisfies the longing heart. He satisfies the deepest desires of the human heart. But we have to come, and we have to accept him as our Lord and Savior. Of course, it says in Philippians chapter 2, verse 9, that God has given him the name which is above every name. I don't know what you think that name is. I think it's the name Jesus. I really do. It's the name Jesus, a name that's above every name, that the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess him Lord to the glory of God the Father. And then in addition to that, he was given a Gentile bride. This is very, very interesting. He was given a Gentile bride. Well, you say, what has that got to do with the similarity between Joseph and Jesus? Well, it has a lot to do. 1900 years ago, 2000 years ago, the Lord Jesus came down to this world, and he came primarily to the house of Israel. He came for the Gentiles as well, but he came primarily. He said, I am not come but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Israel refused the Savior. They said, we will not have this man to reign over us. That's a strange thing, isn't it? That one particular nation, and he was of that nation, and he came to that nation. They said, no, we don't want him. He was their Messiah, their anointed one. He said, no, we want him. And they nailed him to a cross of wood. But you know, even after that in long-suffering mercy, God brooded over the people of Israel. It was to Jerusalem that he sent the Holy Spirit. Amazing grace, isn't it? It wasn't to Chicago, it wasn't to London, it was to Jerusalem, headquarters of the people that had crucified him that he sent his Holy Spirit. And all during the book of Acts, you see the Spirit of God still pleading with the nation of Israel to accept the Lord Jesus. And what was the answer? The answer was no. And so in the very last chapter of the book of Acts, you have the Apostle Paul saying, since you consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. You have that movement all through the book of Acts, God moving away from Israel and the gospel going out to the Gentiles. Actually, you had foretaste of it in the ministry of the Lord Jesus when he would go out and the Jewish people were resolutely rejecting him and some Gentile would come along and put real faith in him. And he'd say, I haven't found such faith in all of Israel. He found more faith in the Gentiles than he did in the Jews. So from that time on, the church has been largely made up of Gentile people. Not exclusively, individual Jews can trust the Savior and be saved, but largely the nation has rejected him. Actually, one of the most despised words in Israel today is Jesus. I think I've told you before, the Jewish people won't say the word. The word in Hebrew for Jesus is Yeshua. They won't say Yeshua. They won't even say it. They say Yeshu, which means, may his name be banished from the earth. It's a curse. Well, the result of that is that the gospel is going out to the Gentiles. God isn't through with Israel, don't misunderstand me. But at the present time, the Holy Spirit is going throughout the world to get a bride for God's son. And the bride is largely made up of Gentile people. Most of the people in the room today, saved by the grace of God, are from Gentile backgrounds, not Jewish backgrounds. So what a beautiful picture Joseph is of this. Joseph was given a Gentile bride, Athena, the daughter of Potiphar. The Lord Jesus has been given a Gentile bride to share his glory for all eternity. Some from every tribe and tongue and nation make up that bride. It's interesting that Joseph's pathway led from suffering to glory. The poor fellow really went through a great deal of suffering. And much of the suffering was from the hands of his own people. Well, that's exactly what happened in the case of the Lord Jesus. Turn to 1 Peter 1. It's speaking about the prophets of the Old Testament. I'll go back to verse 10. The prophets of the Old Testament, those who wrote the Old Testament scriptures, says, Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what or on what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. That's exactly the pathway that the Lord Jesus took. He left the highest courts above, adored by all the sons of flame. Yet such is self-denying love. He laid aside his crown and came to seek the law. At the cost of earthly rank and heavenly fame he sought us, blessed be his name. He came down, down, down, down, down to the death of the cross even. Wherefore God has highly exalted him. The suffering preceded the glory. That's what happened in the case of Joseph, isn't it? The suffering preceded the glory. All through the earthly life of the Lord Jesus, people wanted him to be their king. They wanted him to deliver them from the oppression, from the yoke of Rome. The Lord Jesus steadfastly refused that. He would not ascend the throne till first he had gone to the cross. Some of his people today want the throne without the suffering. But that's not the way it works. That's not the way it works. God allows his people even today to go through suffering. And Paul says, I know that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. You may be going through a time of suffering right now. Maybe suffering for the namesake of the Lord Jesus. It's a pattern laid out in scripture. You know, dear Joseph passed the test of adversity with flying colors. Now he's going to face the test of prosperity. Everything had been against him up until now. From now on, everything seems to be in his favor. Do you know that prosperity is a harder trial for God's people than adversity? Christian people can stand trial and tribulation better than they can stand prosperity. That's why the Lord loves most of us too much to let us ever get rich in this world. The day I ceased trying to be rich, I became fabulously wealthy. It's good to store up your riches in Christ. Soul prosperity is the best prosperity. And Joseph passed the test of prosperity as well. I think it's very interesting. He was given two sons. Did you notice that? It says to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came. Joseph called the name of the first Manasseh. God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. And the name of the second he called Ephraim for God has called me to be fruitful in the land of my two sons. The name of one of them was forgetful. And the other was fruitful. It's a strange name. Yeah, but all the names of scripture have spiritual meaning, don't they? What do you get out of that? What did he forget? He forgot the way his brothers had treated him. That's what he forgot. What does it mean? It means Joseph didn't hold a grudge. I think there's a very strong suggestion here that people who hold grudges and develop cynical, bitter spirit aren't fruitful for God. I wonder if somebody here today has nursed a lifelong grudge against somebody else. And when you think of that person, your gastric juices turn to sulphuric acid. It's hurting you more than it's hurting the other person. He doesn't even know about it. He doesn't know about your fitful sleep at night and your Mylanta cocktails every night before you go to bed. He doesn't know anything about that. But it's eating you. Joseph didn't hold a grudge. If anybody might have had justification to hold a grudge, it was Joseph. I mean, his brothers threw him in a pit. They were going to kill him. And then they sold him for 20 pieces of silver to a Midianite caravan. God, by his grace, enabled him to forget. It's a wonderful thing, isn't it? Somebody said to Clara Barton, who founded the American Red Cross, don't you remember that mean thing she said about you? And Clara Barton said, not only don't I remember, I distinctly remember forgetting. That was Joseph. Not only he didn't remember, he distinctly remembered forgetting. George Washington Carver was an illustrious black man. I think it was he who invented the many uses for peanuts, including peanut butter. When he was a young man, he was refused admission to a university because of the color of his skin. Years later, somebody said to him, Mr. Carver, what was the name of that university? And he said, it doesn't matter. They wouldn't even mention it. Forgetful. That's what Manasseh means. And Ephraim, fruitful. You want a fruitful life for God, do you? Don't hold grudges. Get before the Lord and get it settled. I remember reading a story about Kari Ten Boom, and she was talking about, she was telling somebody about a way she had been so mistreated. This dear woman went through a lot. I remember she was in the concentration camp during the war. And she was telling about a terrible way that she had been treated. And the man she was talking to said, are you sure that happened? He said, sure. She said, I've forgotten it all. I've forgiven it all. And the man said, well, are you sure it happened? She said, I have a letter to prove it. Well, he said, if you have a letter to prove it, you haven't forgotten. You haven't forgiven it. You know, I read that and I was so convicted because that had happened to me in life. I had really gone through a very rough patch and I couldn't believe the way I had been treated. And I had a letter in my files to prove it. I hadn't forgotten. I wasn't Manasseh, was I? You know, I went to the files. I took out that letter. I destroyed the letter. And I've never had occasion to refer to it since. But I probably never would have had anyway. But I think it's wonderful to come to the word of God and see things like that. Manasseh, and Ephraim. I'll never forget that. It's because Joseph didn't hold a grudge, because he didn't allow himself to develop a bitter, harsh, cynical spirit. God was able to make him fruitful in days to come. Oh, what else do we see? He was 30 when he began his public ministry. That's an interesting thing. How old was the Lord Jesus when he entered his public ministry? 30. Wonderful how the Spirit of God who wrote the book of Genesis was superintending the life of Joseph so that he would be such a wonderful type of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it says, isn't it, in Luke chapter 3, verse 23. Luke chapter 3. I'll just read it to you. Verse 23. Now, Jesus himself began his ministry at about 30 years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Haley. A crucial year. I'll never forget when I passed 30. That was about a hundred years ago. But it came to me very powerfully. Look, this is the year Jesus Christ went with your life. It shook me. It really shook me. That's a good thing. That's a good thing it shook me. I think we should stop every once in a while and say, look, what is my life amounting to anyway? Hmm? Am I making history for God or will all my plans end at the grave? A fool is a person all of whose plans end at the grave. A wise man or a woman is one who lives with eternity's values in view. The devil is so clever he can occupy our minds with all the dumb trivial things of this world and we forget about what's really important. And life has a way of slipping by. Whatever else you want to say about Joseph, he sure made the years count, didn't he? He made the years count while he had the opportunity. People were told to do what he said. That's what it says in Genesis 41, 55. Let me just go back to that briefly. Genesis 41, 55. So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, go to Joseph. Whatever he says to you, do. Well, what does that make you think of? Well, makes me think of the wedding in Cana of Galilee in John chapter 2. They ran out of wine and Mary kind of interfered. Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, interfered and he said that they don't have any wine. And I think she really wanted him to manifest himself as the great one at that time. And he said to her, what have I, woman, what have I to do with thee? Which sounds kind of harsh to us. It wasn't really harsh the way he said it. But what he was saying really was that it wasn't her place to order him around. A lot of people today think if you pray to Mary, you'll get your prayers answered because she'll go to Jesus. It's not the right order. You don't go to Jesus through Mary. You go to God the Father through Jesus. But finally, Mary said, whatever he says to you, do it. Mary's golden rule. And that's exactly what happened here in Egypt. People were told to do what he said. And what happened? Joseph provided abundantly for all who were in need. Makes you think of the Lord Jesus. Makes you think of him during his earthly ministry. The people were hungry up there in the north rim of the Sea of Galilee. One day he took them, there were 5,000 men plus women and children, and he seated them there on the grass and with loaves and fishes. He fed, must have been 15,000 people, 5,000 men plus women and children. Joseph is a picture of that. People went to Joseph for food, and he provided abundantly for them all. Did Joseph engage in politics? A lot of people use Joseph today as an illustration of why Christians should become deeply involved in politics. Joseph wasn't in politics. Joseph was what we would call a civil servant. He was an employee of the government. He didn't run for office. He was in Egypt, but he wasn't of Egypt. He was not isolated from Egypt, but he was insulated from it. That's what God wants his people to be today. We're in the world, but we're not to be of the world. We're not to be isolated from unbelievers, but we're to be insulated from all of the evil around us. Separation is not a popular word. You don't hear it very often in the evangelical church today, do you? Separation. We used to hear it all the time. From the time we were kids, we heard the importance of separation. I want to tell you something today, God is a God of separation. For instance, he told his people back in the Old Testament, don't sow your fields with mixed seed. Why did he tell them that? Because he's a God of separation. He was trying to teach them that. He said don't wear garments of woolen and linen mixed. Garments speak of your outward life, the righteousnesses of the saints, white garments. He said don't wear woolen and linen mixed together. Why did he say that? Because God is a God of separation. He said that when you plow your field, don't plow with an ox and an ass yoked together. Why did he say that? Service, huh? That speaks of service. Because God is a God of separation, and he doesn't want his people to be mingled with the ungodly world. That's why it says in 2 Corinthians 6, don't be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, but fellowship has light with darkness. I think you see a good illustration of that in Joseph. Even when he died, he commanded that his his body be taken out of Egypt and back to the land. Shows you that his heart was never there all the time he was there, and all the time he was serving God there. Let me say this this morning. The strength of a Christian's life is found in the measure of his separation to God. I think you see it very clearly in Samson in the Old Testament. You know how you remember how Delilah tried to find out the secret of his strength, and he kept kidding her that it was in his long hair. His strength wasn't in his hair. His hair was a symbol of his separation to God. And what it really means is you can break down my separation to God, you can destroy my strength. So you see it in Lot in the Old Testament. Lot was down there in Sodom. Lot actually became one of the leaders in Sodom, believe it or not. Incredible. He was lucky to get out with his life. Lost his wife, he lost his testimony, he lost the respect of his friends. He lost everything but his life down there in Sodom. What? No separation. Say, just a minute, brother. Didn't Jesus eat with publicans and sinners? Yes, he did, and we should too. But just remember this. When he ate with publicans and sinners, he never compromised his testimony, and he never compromised his loyalty to God, his Father. He was always witnessing for the Lord in it all. He never went in with them in their evil. In fact, he spoke rather bluntly to them about their sin, and that's exactly what we should be. We should be in the world, we should be testifying to the world that its deeds are evil, and telling the world there's a way out, the way of redemption. So, don't use Joseph as an illustration of how we should be engaged in the politics of this world. It's in separation from the world that our strength is. Archimedes says if he could just get a fulcrum outside the world, he could move the world. Suppose he met with a crowbar, you know, get a fulcrum. But there's a good point there. He could never move the world as long as he was in the world. Had to get outside the world to move it. When our distinct testimony as Christians is blurred, our power with the world is gone. Come out from among them and be separate, God says, and touch not the unclean thing. Now, when we get to chapter 42 of Genesis, it's a real break. Something new is happening. By the time you get to chapter 42, verse 1, you're back in Canaan, and Jacob, Joseph's father, and Joseph's brothers are hungry. About 25 years have passed since Joseph was thrown into the pit. Let's get this. About 25 years have passed since Joseph was thrown into the pit. His brothers had rejected him. He was taken from them, went through sufferings to glory, and now he's going to deal with his brothers in love and in grace. And I just want to pause here so that you'll see the connection. Remember, our title is, Joseph Makes Me Think of Jesus. This is exactly what happened to the Lord Jesus Christ. Back here at the beginning of our little chart, if the page were larger, we could have had a cross there, Calvary, where the Lord Jesus was rejected by the nation of Israel. He came unto his own people, his own things, and his own people received him not. He was rejected. He was taken from them, and no unbeliever ever saw the Lord Jesus after his resurrection. And he's been away from them quite a few years now, unseen by the human eye, but exalted at the right hand of God in heaven. Now, that's what we have here. This is the present age, and at the end of the present age is the rapture, when the Lord Jesus is going to come back into the air, and he's going to receive his Gentile bride. All true believers in the Lord Jesus will be swept up to meet him in the air. The dead in Christ will rise first. Living believers will be changed and go up to meet the Lord in the air. That's known as the rapture. The word rapture means there a catching away, a snatching away. It's going to take place in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, the last trump. The trumpet shall sound, the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. The rapture could take place at any moment. This is the next step in God's program, and this is not for Israel, this is for the Gentile bride, which includes saved Israelites as well. Following the rapture, you have a seven-year period known as the tribulation. The last three years are also known, interestingly enough, as the time of Jacob's trouble, when the Jewish people, plus the Gentiles, are going to go through a time of unparalleled trial. Now, there's a purpose for that trial, and there's a purpose for that tribulation, because at the end of it, a saved remnant of Jewish people will look upon him whom they pierced and mourn for him as one mourns for an only son. And at the end of that tribulation period, the Lord Jesus is going to come back to earth and reveal himself visibly to his Jewish brethren. The second coming, that's what we call the second coming, when he comes in power and great glory. Since the cross, unbelieving Israel has not seen Jesus. But at the end of the tribulation period, he's going to come back visibly in power and grace. It says that, it says, every eye shall see him. Every eye shall see him. And those, that guilty nation of Israel will look upon him, and believing Israel, will bow the knees and acknowledge him as their rightful Messiah. Now, in the chapter, the reason you say, well, you're really getting pretty far afield, what's that got to do with Joseph? In the chapters that we're going to take up now, we find Joseph putting his Jewish brethren through all kinds of testings and trials. He's jiggling their consciences. And we'll see that as we go along. How the test he put them through were designed to awaken them to what they had done, and to the acknowledgement of the fact that they had rejected their own brother and as much as given him up to death. And at the end of that time, we're going to see how Joseph, in one of the most moving chapters in the Bible, reveals himself to his brothers again. It's really wonderful. What a wonderful story. And really, it's all a pre-picture of what has happened in God's program and what's going to happen very soon. As soon as the Gentile bride is taken up to heaven, God resumes his dealings with Israel nationally. It's rather thrilling to be living in the day in which we're living, when Israel is back in the land. It wasn't true a hundred years ago, but the stage is all set. The stage is all set. And God's prophetic clock is going to start ticking again for the nation of Israel. And what we see happening with Joseph and his brothers in type is going to happen with Jesus and his brothers during the tribulation period, and at that wonderful moment when he says to them, I am Joseph. I'll tell you, it must have been a shock to them. It must have been a shock to them to find out that the one who was their best friend was the one they had rejected. The one who was Zasnaphania, the savior of the world, was the one they didn't want to have anything to do with him. What a wonderful story it is. Come back next week if you can, and we'll start through what is comparable to the tribulation period and see the wonderful way in which Joseph deals with his brothers. Shall we pray, and then Don's going to lead us in opposing him. Father, we thank you for everything in the scripture that points us to the Lord Jesus and to his wonderful life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to your right hand. Thoughts of his sojourn in this veil of tears, the tale of love unfolded in those years of sinless suffering and patient grace we love again and yet again to trace. We thank you for the Lord Jesus, our Joseph, through whom all your treasures come to us. We pray today for those who are still resisting him, for those who have no place in their plans for the savior of the world. We do thank you for Dale and for the way he has, in measure at least, acknowledged you and stated his love for you, and we just pray, Lord, that you will lead him on, ground him in the truth, we pray, and may he be a vital testimony for you in the marines. We give you our thanks as we close now in the worthy name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.