July 16, 2006
Scripture:
Let us we go back to Hebrews 1 for a moment to take another glimpse of the glorious and precious Saviour. We know these verses well, and as we read them, they bring out a series of the glories of the Lord. That Blessed One is shown arrayed in glories seven-fold: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things …” This is looking forward; the One who hung on the cross is the One who will someday be the heir. Is not all already his? In the world today, so much is in the hands of Satan. But there will come a time when all power and riches and wisdom will be His and in His control. The next glory looks back: “by whom also he made the worlds.” Such a brief statement, but it contains so much. John tells us that not anything was made but by Him and for Him. God made everything by His Son. Before anything was, He was there. But between creation and His inheritance, we must skip a few glories to get to: “upholding all things by the word of his power.” That’s present, for right now. He upholds all things. He loves us and “purged our sins” and He is now in control; this should touch our hearts. Not only does He control our world, but everything. As the earth rotates, He upholds it. As it orbits the sun, He upholds it. As our solar system moves, as our galaxy crosses the universe, He upholds it all. It’s all in His hands. Oh, the majesty of these things! He is the One who died for us. One day the universe will be folded up and put away, having done its work. Yet we will still be with Him; we will have a portion in Heaven. He not only upholds the world, but He upholds you and me. May we go on until that day when He will be heir and we, his co-heirs.
EG Hymn 312, vv. 1, 2, & 5 – Jesus loves me! This I know, Prayer Genesis 45:1–15 • This part of the story of Joseph shows the evil hearts his brothers had and the love he had for them. He is just bursting to tell them who he actually is, but he had to bring them to repentance first. When the brothers found out who Joseph really was, they were filled with fear. When the Lord comes back to reign during the millennium, the Jews will realize that He is the One they killed. But they will repent and love Him. Joseph’s brothers were afraid because they had told their father a lie about Joseph, and now here he was in front of them. What will he do with them? He says, “Come near unto me.” We sometimes read this verse on Lord’s Day morning, to remember that the Lord, despite the fact that we are sinners, wants us near Him, because he loves us. Now Joseph told his brothers that it was God who sent him to Egypt so that he could save people during the famine. If God can take care of people that way, how much more will He do so for us today? V. 8, Joseph had become a great person in Egypt, he was in charge of everything. He told his brothers to hurry and bring his father down to Egypt so that they could all live together in the land of Goshen, around the Nile River Delta. Joseph wanted his family near to him so he could nourish them, v. 11, just as the Lord will do for us. They had seen and heard Joseph in his glory. Now he wanted them to go and tell Jacob. When we see the Lord, he will be in his glory. And when He comes at the Millennium, we will be with Him in His glory. Finally, we see how Joseph wept and kissed all his brothers—how much he loved them! As a result of looking at this, may it deepen our love for the Lord.
Hebrews 11:8–13 • Last week we looked at Abraham, who not only had the faith to come out of his country, but also had the faith to stay out and walk with God. “By grace are ye saved, through faith,” but there is also faith needed to look to the Lord and walk for Him. V. 8, we find that Abraham had a promised inheritance in the land of Canaan, but he was still a stranger there, dwelling in tents. (If we read in Genesis, we find Abraham’s faith was not always perfect, because he went to Egypt once during a famine.) We can see the same requirement of faith for us. We are in a world where we feel more and more like strangers. God’s path for us is not what we see around us. Through faith we can live for Him. It is remarkable to realize that this land that Abraham was dwelling on was the same place the Lord was born, lived and died. It is where He will come to again. This is a very important land indeed. Right now we may look over there and wonder if anyone will live until then, but God has promised it. Many times we see how Satan tried to stop God from fulfilling His prophesies, but God has always kept His word. As Abraham dwelt in Canaan, he “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” As far as we know, God never promised Him anything like that. But by faith, Abraham had a glimpse of something wonderful. He probably knew about Enoch, whom God had taken to glory. Abraham might have said, “All that God has promised here is wonderful, but I’m looking for somewhere where God is.” Abraham is an Old Testament saint, so he will have a place in heaven, but it will not be as part of the bride. Abraham was a stranger in the land, but he was also a pilgrim who lived in a tent. When Cain was rejected, he built a city. After the flood the people built Babel. When Lot saw Sodom, he went and joined them. But Abraham continued in tents, waiting for God’s promises. In Acts 7, Stephen says that “the God of glory” spoke to Abraham. After that, Abraham looked for that glory. That is faith that goes beyond the ordinary. So Abraham had faith that brought him out, faith that brought him through, and faith that made him look forward. But when you read the story of Sarah in Genesis, do you think she had faith? Not really, but God, oblivious to her laughter, saw the faith that was needed. We sometimes have a hard time believing even when things are improbable. Abraham and Sarah believed even when it was impossible. They hoped, when there was no sense in hoping, Romans 4:18–22. Because of this, Abraham was counted righteous. This happened to us, not in respect to our offspring, but that is was impossible for us to get to Heaven, but by faith in the Lord, we are counted righteous, Romans 4:23–5:1. EG Hymn 29 – Come every soul by sin oppressed, Prayer