GENESIS 41-46 GOD IS WORKING OUT HIS PLANS2018 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Genesis 41-46 God Is Working Out His Plans

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2018. As we are working our way through the Bible in three years, we've read this past week, Genesis chapters 41 through 46, and we're looking at the life story

of Joseph. And we'll be looking at a few different passages here from what we read this past week here in Genesis to get a glimpse of some of the things that Joseph encountered and how the Lord was working in his life. But as we get started here in Genesis chapter 41, I want to begin the message this morning by introducing you to someone. And you probably don't know who he is, but perhaps you do. His name is Magnus Carlsen.

And if you're not a big fan of chess, you probably have never heard of him. But he is the current world chess champion. He is the best in the world and has been for the past five years. He's defended his title a few times. And he's somewhat of a chess progeny in that he earned the title of Grand Master in

at 13 years old. And so he is, you know, really smart as far as chess is concerned. And so since 2013, he has been the world champion. He's the first person to hold all three titles of world champion and

world rapid champion and world blitz champion, different kinds of chess competitions that they have. And he's the first person ever to hold all three titles at the same time because he is incredibly good at chess. Now, back when he was kind of rising through the ranks and becoming well-known back in 2009, he was interviewed by Time Magazine. And as he was interviewed, they asked him the question, how many moves ahead is

Do you calculate as you're playing chess? And he responded that he...

Well, he says sometimes 15 to 20 moves ahead. But then he adds on, the trick is evaluating the position at the end of those calculations. So he says, you know, 15 to 20 moves ahead, that's pretty normal, but that's not the hard part. The hard part is then at the end of that, then being able to evaluate the different pieces on the board and how they should interact and should go forward. And so we see here, I don't know how familiar you are with chess, but

I know how to play chess and that I know like what the different pieces are and I know which directions they're allowed to move and I used to think of myself as a pretty good chess player back when I was a teenager until I met a nine-year-old kid who could beat me and then I was like, okay, well never mind, you know, it's like not not quite the guy that I thought that I was but I could maybe think two to three moves ahead and

But here the world champion says, I think about 15 to 20 moves ahead. Now, if you understand the complexities, and please don't get distressed, okay? You don't have to know how to play chess in order to enjoy today's message. I was sharing the illustration with Kim yesterday, and she's like, is this going to get complicated? No, I'm not going to get into the rules.

It's not about that, but it's about understanding how amazing it is for him to be able to think that far ahead in the game with the complexities of all the different pieces and how they move. It is an amazing thing to understand, and that is why he is the world master. How many moves ahead can you calculate? Now, maybe you don't play chess, but maybe you play checkers.

Can you think 15 to 20 moves ahead in checkers, which is a much more simple but similar game? And you could understand how difficult that would be, but then I would ask you to consider how many moves ahead could God calculate? How many moves ahead could God think if he were to sit down with you at the checkerboard and play a game with you? How many ways could he understand how things could go throughout the game? And that's something to think about as we look at the life of Joseph.

I've titled the message this morning, God is working out his plans.

And as we think about God this morning, one thing that is clearly demonstrated through the life of Joseph is the sovereignty of God. And it's amazing to look at the life of Joseph and understand the sovereignty of God because in that, this incredibly complex doctrine, the sovereignty of God, is like clearly portrayed before us in the man Joseph and the way that God worked in

And so as we look at this account, we have some really good reminders about who God is and how he works. And it can bring us great comfort and encouragement to know that God is sovereign. Or another way of saying that is God is working out his plans. He's at work. He has a plan. And he is on the move to make those things come together according to his will.

And so there's three points that we'll look at this morning as we look at different aspects of what we read this week in the life of Joseph. The first point is found here in chapter 41 in the passage that we read. And the point is that God is planning ahead. As we think about the sovereignty of God and the working of God,

You need to know that God is thinking in advance. He's planning in advance. He's not just reacting. Now, again, sitting down to a game of chess, the normal game that I would play, I'm not the strategic master at it. I would just be reacting to whatever your last move was. But that's not how God is. He doesn't just react to whatever is happening at the moment. He's planned out things in advance.

in anticipation of what is to come, and he sets things in motion according to what he knows is going to take place. Look again at verse 25. Joseph now is brought before Pharaoh, and he says, the dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Here in Genesis chapter 41, we

We have Pharaoh, the leader of all of Egypt, who's had a troubling dream. And he's called together all his wise men, everybody he can, but nobody can figure out what the dreams mean. Until one guy remembers, oh yeah, there was this guy Joseph. I met him in prison, but he was able to interpret dreams.

And so they bring Joseph before Pharaoh and he hears the dreams and Joseph tells Pharaoh, God has shown you, notice what he is about to do. Pharaoh, God is revealing to you

His plan. And he's planning in advance. He has a thing set up here. Some events that are set up to happen. And he's about to do them. He's about to set this plan into motion. And God has shown you that plan. What he is about to do. In verse 26 it says, The seven good cows are seven years. And the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams are dreams.

So here describing the dreams, there was a dream of seven good cows and a dream of seven good heads of grain. And he says those represent years. Years.

There's some good years to come. Seven good years to be exact. And after those seven good years, there's going to be seven bad years in verse 27. The seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years. The seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. So there's going to be seven years that are really good and abundance and productive and everybody's just going to be loving life. And then after that, there's going to be seven years of

of famine, difficulty. And it will be such a difficulty that the good years will be forgotten because the bad years are so bad. And so here Joseph is interpreting the dream. And I'm not so much focusing on the details of the dream, but to consider that what God is showing to Pharaoh is the next 14 years of history.

It's history to us now. We're looking back. It hasn't happened for them. Here's what the next 14 years are going to be like. And God lays out for them the next 14 years for their nation and what they're going to encounter. And again, in verse 28, he says, this is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.

God has shown Pharaoh the things that he is about to accomplish, his plans that he has set, which are for the things that are yet to come, the things that you don't know anything about yet. It's a common thing, and perhaps you have done this, and you put together a five-year plan.

And you, okay, here's where I am and here's where I want to be in five years. And whether you're looking at that financially or spiritually or emotionally or whatever the case may be, you know, in my career, in this path, I want to be here in five years and I'm working towards that goal, right? And sometimes people have those five years or 10 year plans. Here, God says, I have a 14 year plan.

Here's what's going to happen for the next 14 years. But I would ask you to consider, when did God start this plan? When did he start putting all of this together? And perhaps you might say, well, it kind of goes back to two years before this event. Because if you go back to verse 1 here in chapter 41, it says, then it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he stood by the river.

So Joseph is standing here at this moment in time telling Pharaoh, here's what the next 14 years look like. But two years before that, Joseph was in prison. He had an exchange with two other prisoners who had dreams. And the Lord gave Joseph the interpretation of those dreams. And one of them was that the guy was going to be put to death. And the other guy had a dream. And the interpretation was that he would be restored to his position serving the Pharaoh.

So Joseph said to him, hey, when you get out, when you're next to Pharaoh, would you remember me? Remember that I was here with you and I helped you out and interpreted your dream for you? And it tells us that for two years, this guy forgot about Joseph. But two years after his own dream was interpreted and Pharaoh's dream is there and nobody can figure it out, he remembers, oh yeah, there was this guy, Joseph.

It wasn't coincidence that two years prior to this, Joseph was there. These guys had dreams. Joseph interprets the dreams. This was all preparation. So here you have Joseph at this point in history. Two years prior, God was already preparing Joseph for this moment, which is preparing Joseph in Egypt for the next 14 years. God is planning ahead.

And I would suggest you could go back further than the two years prior. In fact, let's just back up a little bit and look at Joseph in his life as a whole. In Genesis chapter 37, we find that Joseph himself has a couple of dreams. He's 17 years old at that point. And as a 17-year-old boy, he has dreams about his brothers bowing down before him.

His brothers aren't big fans of these dreams of his, but they're dreams that God has given to him. They're prophetic dreams that God has given. He has a dream then of the sun, the moon, and 12 stars bowing down before him, speaking of his mom, his dad, and his brothers bowing down before him.

And as he has this dream, nobody thinks much of it. And we don't know how much Joseph thought of it and what he thought about it. But we understand these dreams are prophetic and they are fulfilled in what takes place and the things that happen after Genesis chapter 41. So God gave Joseph these dreams back when he was 17 years old. But because of the

turmoil that that brought within the family and the brothers of Joseph were not big fans. They actually sold him into slavery into Egypt. As a slave in Egypt, he started doing pretty well in Potiphar's household, but then Potiphar's wife falsely accused him of trying to take advantage of her. And so he was put in prison. He was in prison for at least two years, more than that, but we don't know exactly how

Here's what we know. For a total of 13 years, from the time that Joseph was 17 until he stood before Pharaoh was 13 years. He's been enslaved and imprisoned for that amount of time. But God was preparing the way. God was planning back in when he was 17 and gave, when he gave Joseph the dreams, it was part of God's preparation, part of God's plan for the things that were about to transpire. And now we're at the point where

Joseph is standing before Pharaoh. He's 30 years old. We're just kind of in the middle of this plan, right? 13 years have passed. 14 more years are to come. God has planned out 30 years of Joseph's life. He's planned out all of these events for 30 years. God knew what was going to happen. And he was...

working out and figuring and accomplishing his purposes and his will through the midst of that time. In verse 32 here in Genesis 41, Joseph says to Pharaoh, the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God and God will shortly bring it to pass. God is not just the strategist who could think about all the possibilities and figure out the best route.

But he's also the one who is, again, he's sovereign. He's on the throne. He is bringing it to pass. He is bringing these things together. He is accomplishing these things, not just foreseeing them, not just anticipating them, but accomplishing them as he thinks ahead, as he knows what is to come, as he sees the things that are way beyond what we are able to see or anticipate.

God reveals himself in a particular way through the prophet Isaiah in regards to this. In Isaiah chapter 46, verse 9 and 10, God says, Remember the former things of old. For I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning. And from ancient times, things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.

God says, I want you to take note of this. I am God and there is no one else like me. There is no being, no creature. There is no God like me. What makes me different? What makes God unique? He says, I declare the end from the beginning. Have you ever had a movie spoiled by the person sitting next to you and say, oh, that's the bad guy.

Oh, that guy's going to die. Someone watching a movie, and there's some people who are quite good at this, right? You're kind of watching the movie. You're picking up on cues like, oh, that's going to be important later. And you're guessing the end from the beginning, right? Maybe you could do that with a movie. Perhaps you could do that with a good book or a show or some kind of thing like that. God says, I do that with life. And from the very beginning, I'm able to tell you exactly how it's going to end.

I know all the details. I know all the possibilities. I know all the what-ifs. And if you think about, you know, on a chessboard, I'm impressed at the 15 to 20 moves ahead that this guy plays. But God's got a much larger chessboard, right? With many more pieces. With all of us, you know, all of humanity. And God is at work making a plan.

From the very beginning, he's able to say, I know how the end is for this, and I know how the end is for that, and I know how the end is for that. I'm able to declare the end from the beginning. From ancient times, I can say what is not yet done, he says. And not only that, God says, but my counsel shall stand. So, you know, there's a lot of people who could predict things,

There's a lot of people who could, you know, say, I foresee that, you know, there is going to be this kind of thing. You know, somebody here is going to have a headache sometime this week. You know, like, you know, we could all predict things, but God says, my counsel shall stand. The things that I say, the things that I declare, they will be fulfilled. It will happen because I know, not only that, but he says, I will do all my pleasure.

God is planning ahead, but he's also able to bring those plans to fruition. He's also able to accomplish those plans because he is sovereign. And we see that in the life of Joseph. God has a plan and it's a long bumpy road as far as Joseph is concerned. But God is at work in the midst of that long bumpy road and working out all the details to bring about the right conclusion.

He's planning ahead. How many moves ahead can you calculate? How many years ahead do you have planned out for your life? Well, God has much more, much more in mind for you. Now, some people, as we think about the sovereignty of God, as we think about God's position, his ability to bring about his will, his knowledge of all things that are to come, some people come to a bad conclusion.

And the conclusion that they come to is, well, I don't need to do anything because God's planning ahead and he's able to bring it all to pass. And so I don't have to participate. I don't have to be involved. I don't have to do anything. I'll just do whatever I want because God's will is going to be done anyways. And that's not a good conclusion to come to. And you can see that demonstrated right here in the passage in Genesis chapter 41. The next verse beyond what we read in verse 33, here's what it says.

Joseph says, You should just do whatever you want because God's going to do what he wants. No, he doesn't say that. He says instead, here's what you need to do. Find someone who is wise and give him authority in your life. Give him authority in your kingdom.

And then take action in verse 34. Verse 36. Verse 36.

that the land may not perish during the famine. Joseph says, God's got a plan. He's got it all worked out. He's about to bring it all to pass. So here's what you need to do. Find someone wise and get to work. Start preparing.

During these next good years, the seven good years, store up and build up a savings account and have a good reserve so that the following seven years that are so bad, you won't be wiped out completely. You'll have those reserves to be able to pull from.

See, the bad conclusion is to say, God's sovereign, he has a plan, he's going to work out his will, so I'm just going to do whatever I want and not care about anything and not pay attention. No, that's not the right conclusion. That's a misunderstanding of the sovereignty of God. No, instead, knowing that God is sovereign, knowing that God is a plan, he's planning ahead and he has it all worked out, he's able to bring it to pass, that should call us then, well, to set someone wise over God.

all of our land, over all of us. And so I nominate myself to be, no, I'm just kidding. No, we need to look to the Lord and give him that position in our lives.

He is the wisest one. He is the one that is able to direct. And we need to bring ourselves to God in such a way that we allow him to give us direction and instruction because he knows what the plan is and he knows how best to handle the situations over the next 14 years that we don't even know are coming yet. God has a plan. And so it should inspire us and encourage us to, well, to get to work.

to give God that place of authority in our lives, and then to be about doing the things that he calls us to do and instructs us to do, that we are prepared for the things that he knows are going to come to pass. Well, we're going to jump now to Genesis chapter 45 for point number two. And point number two is God plans for your good. As you think about this idea and understand that God is planning ahead, you need to understand that God's plans for you

are for your good. In this consideration of the sovereignty of God and thinking about this doctrine, sometimes this idea, this concept can kind of make people feel like pawns. In the game of chess, the pawn is the expendable piece. They're valuable. They have a role to play. But yeah, if you got to lose a piece, lose the pawn. They're expendable.

And sometimes people can have that kind of feeling themselves or have that kind of impression as far as, you know, they think that God looks at them and says, yeah, that's just a pawn. You know, I have big things to do. And, you know, that person, if they can serve a purpose, great. If not, you know, I can get rid of them. No problem. No big loss. But here's what you need to know. God plans for your good. You're not a pawn in God's plan.

You're not just a piece on the board that, you know, give or take, or it doesn't matter if keep it or lose it, it doesn't matter. That's not how God feels about you. In fact, if we're thinking about the pieces on a chessboard, I would say you're not the pawn, you're the king. You're the king. Now, in the game of chess, there is a queen. So you girls might say, well, I'm the queen. No, no, no. Even the queen is expendable in chess. You can lose the queen and still win the game.

But the king is the object of the game. It's the point. And I would suggest to you that that's the way that God looks at you. You're the king. You're the point. You're not expendable. Every other piece on the board can be sacrificed and will be sacrificed to save the king. And God looks at you and says, every other piece on the board, I'll even send my own son to be sacrificed to save you. But you're the king. I can't lose you. God is planning for your future.

Good. You're not the pawn. In fact, I would suggest to you that the only pawn in God's plan is Satan. Everyone else. We're valuable to God. So much so that he plans for our good. Now, the things that happen between Genesis 41 and Genesis chapter 45 is Joseph is set in this position of power over all Egypt.

And they have the seven good years and they collect the food during those seven good years. And now they're in the time of famine in Genesis chapter 45. The famine has hit the land severely. And so all of Egypt is coming to Joseph and receiving rations of food. And the famine is not just affecting Egypt, but affecting all the area around them, even the land of Canaan, back where Joseph's father and brothers live. And they're out of food. And so they come to Egypt and

to buy food and bring it back for the family. And as they come to Egypt in Genesis chapter 42, Joseph recognizes them and he begins to relate to them in some interesting ways, which we can't get into this morning. But because of his insight, because of the dreams that God gave him originally, he understands this is part of the plan of God. And so he relates to his brothers harshly, not because he's mean or vindictive, but because it's part of the work that God wanted to do.

He ends up keeping Simeon, the oldest brother in prison, and sends the rest of the sons home, the rest of his brothers home, with strict instructions. You cannot come back here unless you bring the youngest son, Benjamin. Then in Genesis chapter 43, after the family runs out of food again, they finally talk their dad into letting Benjamin go, and the brothers return with Benjamin to Egypt to face Joseph.

And there, as Joseph encounters Benjamin, he doesn't reveal himself quite yet, but he sets up another situation. In Genesis chapter 44, Benjamin is framed as a thief. And they are brought before Joseph. And there, Judah, the eldest brother, offers himself in Benjamin's place. And this whole thing demonstrates that the brothers, this is now 20 years later, but they've come to a place of peace.

repentance and confession and recognizing how they treated Joseph before was wrong. And it's at that point that Joseph is now ready to reveal himself to them. And that's where we find it in Genesis chapter 45. And I want to read for you verses one through eight. We'll dig into it. Genesis chapter 45 verse one, it says, then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him.

And he cried out, make everyone go out from me. So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud and the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Does my father still live? But his brothers could not answer him for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, please come near to me.

So they came near. Then he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years, the famine has been in the land and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth.

and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Here is Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. He gives them a very strong message. He says, guys, this has been a work of God from the beginning. God has been at work in this whole situation.

And Joseph here is recognizing the plan of God, which is for good. Joseph here is saying, I'm not the pawn, I'm the king. And not because of my position here in Egypt, but God has been at work. He says in verse five, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me. But notice he goes on to say, but God sent me. You sold me. Now, he's not saying,

pretending like they didn't do wrong. And the whole idea and understanding of the doctrine of the sovereignty is not that, you know, it doesn't matter what you do and you can just do wrong. There's not a removal of the wrong of what they did, but the sovereignty of God and the work of God in the midst of that means that God is able to use the wrong that they did in Joseph's life to bring about something good. You sold me, but God sent me.

And what you meant for evil, he'll say to them at the end of Genesis, what you meant for evil, God meant for good. And God was able to use this 13 years of difficulty in my life. Joseph went into slavery. He went into prison. After that, for 13 years, he was in prison and enslaved. And Joseph looks at his brothers and says, you guys did that to me. But God was doing something else.

And in the midst of that, God sent me. And God has used this situation to bring about salvation. He's used this situation to bring about something good. You could think about Joseph and look and see, well, this is the worst experiences of his life, the worst events of his life. And Joseph says, I look back at that and I acknowledge you hurt me and that was really wrong, but God has used it for something good.

But you could also look at this from the perspective of the brothers. Looking again at verse 7, Joseph says, Here's the thing that we need to consider. God's plans are so masterful that the worst events in your life can be turned around for your good. But also, God's plans are so masterful

that even your worst mistakes can be turned around for your own good. Not just the things that were done to you or afflicted upon you, but Joseph looks at the brothers and says, the brothers, hey, you guys, you made the worst mistake of your lives. You did the worst thing you've ever done, but that worst mistake you've ever done, listen, God worked in that to save your lives.

The worst mistake you've ever made, God used that to save your life. God plans for your good. And he's able to use the worst events that happen to us and the worst things that we do and to miraculously, supernaturally, beyond our ability to comprehend, bring forth good from it. Again, you're not the pawn. You're the king.

And all the sacrifices that had to be made, all of the consequences, all of the things that were lost, it was for your sake, for your benefit, for your good. And the verse we all know and love, Romans 8, 28, we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. We have a promise here from God through the Apostle Paul in Romans 8, 28.

Something that we can know, something that we can rest in, something that we can be assured of. All things work together for good. Now, it's not a universal promise. There is a condition here. And the condition is it's to those who love God.

If you want everything to work together for good, if you want God's plans for your good to be fulfilled in your life, there is a responsibility that we have. Again, going back to the first point, you know, God's sovereignty doesn't mean that just do whatever you want because God's going to do what he wants anyways. No, God is sovereign. So therefore, seek God and walk with him. And when you walk with God, he works all things together. You have this promise that you can rest on. If you will love God,

If you will put God first in your life, the worst events that have ever transpired, the worst things that you've ever endured, the biggest harms that have ever been done to you, and the worst of your own mistakes, and those things that you've done that you regret for 20 years. Now, listen, if you read through these chapters that we read this week, you can see that the brothers for 20 years, what they did to Joseph is just eating them up.

And every event that happens, they are just loaded with guilt and fighting with each other. You see, this is what happened because of what we did. And for 20 years, this has laid heavy upon them. And sometimes we walk around with those kinds of weights, bearing this guilt, this burden of the mistakes that we made. They were the worst mistakes of our lives a long time ago, perhaps, or maybe just yesterday. But

But here's a promise that we can have, that we can hold on to. God's plans are for your good. And he will work and he will use these events and these decisions to accomplish good in your life. Now, it doesn't always feel like it's for good when you're in the midst of it.

In fact, I would encourage you to turn back a couple pages to Genesis chapter 42 for just a moment. In Genesis chapter 42, it's at the point in the story where Joseph's brothers return from Egypt with Simeon in prison with the strict instruction, you cannot come back without Benjamin. And so the brothers return pretty freaked out. They go back to their dad. They tell their dad what happened.

In Genesis chapter 42 verse 36, here's Jacob's response. Their father says, Jacob, their dad, looks at them and says, He was under the impression that Joseph had been eaten by wild animals.

I lost Joseph a long time ago. And now you're telling me I've just lost Simeon. He's in prison in Egypt. And now you're telling me you want me to risk Benjamin, the youngest, the one that I love the most after losing Joseph. You want me to risk losing him and he goes back with you to Egypt? He says, there's no way. All these things are against me. I've lost three sons.

Joseph and Simeon and Benjamin. All these things are against me. This is too much for me to handle, too difficult for me to face. The commentator Adam Clark kind of does a translation slash interpretation of what Jacob says here. He says, these things lie upon me as heavy loads, hastening my death. They are more than I can bear.

And I think you and I probably can relate to that at different points in our lives where we've had those heavy loads upon us and it feels like it's hastening our death. It's bringing us right to the brink of destruction and it's more than we can bear. And so Jacob says, all these things are against me. He doesn't feel like God's plans are for his good at that moment. He doesn't have that impression. He feels like this is all against me.

But actually, this is part of the plan for them to be reunited. And Jacob's going to get to see Joseph again. And there's going to be a reunion. There's going to be a rejoicing. There's going to be time lived together. There's going to be a blessing for the family. There is much that God has in store. The plans are for good, but we don't always see that. And in the moment, it doesn't always feel that way.

And we can testify like Jacob as we look at the events and the things happening in our life and we can say, all these things are against me. But to that I would ask you to consider back in Romans chapter 8, a few verses down, Paul says, what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

If the sovereign God who sits on the throne, who reigns over all, who is the creator of the heavens and the earth, if he is working all things together for your good, who can be against you? Paul says. Who can fight against God and win? Who can defeat God's plans and purposes? Who can stop God from what he wants to do? If God is for you, who can be against you? When you feel like all these things are against me, stop and think, stop and remember.

If God is for you, who can be against you? And God plans for your good. You know those times when we make those horrible mistakes that we regret for the next 20 years. We can walk around with the impression that God is out to get us. We can walk around with the idea that, you know, well, God is, you know, seeking to make me pay for all that I've done. And God's not after your destruction.

You're not the pawn. You're the king. You're not the enemy. You're his king. You're precious to him. He plans for your good. And so he's planning ahead. He's thinking ahead. He's understanding the things that are to come that you have no idea about yet. And he is already in the process of bringing together those things for your good.

His plans are so masterful that the worst events of your life can be turned around for your good. And the worst mistakes that you'll ever make can be turned around for your good. Because God plans for your benefit. You might have a five-year plan. God has a 5,000-year plan for you. And that's not just a quick jump to the end, but all the details in between. Every moment he sees, he knows, he knows what's best. And he is working out what's best for you for the next 5,000 years.

and then beyond. God plans for your good. We're going to finish up in Genesis chapter 46 with point number three, and that is God's plan is bigger than you can see. God plans for your good, but you also need to know there is so much more to God's plan than you're able to grasp hold of at this point. Maybe in eternity we'll have a better grasp of God's plan for us and see much better how his plans are for good, but

It's much more than we can see. Verse 1 here in Genesis chapter 46. It says,

I will go down with you to Egypt and I will also surely bring you up again. And Joseph will put his hand on your eyes. Here in Genesis chapter 46, we have Jacob now hearing about Joseph being alive. With the invitation from Joseph to move to Egypt, he packs up his family, puts it all in the U-Haul. They hit the road. But before they go all the way to Egypt, they do a first pit stop in a place called Beersheba.

This was a place where God had met with Jacob earlier in his life. And there in Beersheba, Jacob pauses to check in with God and say, God, I love you. I want to do what's right. I want to walk with you. He offers a sacrifice to God and God gives him a vision. He speaks to his heart and he says, Jacob, Jacob. Yeah, I'm here. What do you want, Lord? He says, look, I'm God. I'm the God of your father, Isaac. And I want you to know you don't need to fear to go down to Egypt.

There was perhaps some good reason for Jacob to fear. You might remember his grandfather, Abraham, he went down to Egypt. It was a bad move. There was a lot of consequences as a result of that. God rebuked Abraham sharply. And so perhaps Jacob was there thinking, I mean, I have the invitation. Joseph's there, but maybe I shouldn't go. I don't know. It wasn't good for Abraham. In fact, Isaac, my dad, when there was a famine in his time, God specifically told him, don't go to Egypt. Don't go to Egypt.

And so I don't want to go if it's in disobedience. I don't want to go in contrary to God's will. And so there could be fear in his mind for that. There could be fear because he's an old man and it's a long trip. And so there could be fear in that. He could have feared a lot of things. But here God shows up and says, don't fear. Make this journey. This is part of what I want for you. Go down to Egypt. And notice what God says there in verse 3. For I will make you a great nation there.

God says, this is part of my plan. And here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make you into a great nation. We saw just a few moments ago what Joseph told his brothers. Joseph told his brothers, God did this to save you to the brothers. But here we find out as God shows up and starts talking to Jacob, God says, you know, it's good for Joseph. He's got a good glimpse, a little insight on what my plan is. But that's just a little piece of the plan.

I wasn't just trying to save those 11 guys. I'm in the process of building a nation. Remember, God told Abraham, I'm going to make you into a multitude. Nations will come from you. And Abraham had a few children. Started really late, but he had a few children. Not a nation. Then through Isaac, we see, well, Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Not a nation. Now Jacob has 12 sons. Still not a nation. Family's growing quite a bit, though.

God says, this is how I'm going to fulfill that promise to Abraham. I'm going to take you into Egypt and there I'm going to establish you as a nation. That is where the fulfillment of that promise is going to really begin to take place. I will make you a great nation there. Pastor Dave Guzik explains this a little bit. He says in...

In his commentary, because of the exclusive segregated nature of Egyptian life, Israel's descendants could grow as a large distinct nation there. Egypt will become a mother's womb to Israel as a nation. There in Egypt, there would be a separation between the family of Jacob, the family of Joseph, and the Egyptians.

And it would be kind of like an incubator. It was kind of like, as Guzik describes it, a mother's womb where they're protected. And in this protected environment, their family grows. And later on, even as Egypt turns and starts to afflict them, they grow and they grow. And they become a nation so that a few hundred years later, when they leave Egypt under the leadership of Moses...

There's 600,000 men. They enter in with like 70 men, but they leave with 600,000 men. They've become a nation. It's part of God's plan. It's part of the way that God was working all of these things together. And it was a bigger plan than Joseph understood. Joseph looked at the situation and said, God wanted to save my brothers. He wanted to save my family so that they would survive these seven years of famine. And God said, those seven years that you're looking at, Joseph, actually,

I mean, it's good. You trust God. You're believing in me. You're walking with me. I mean, to your credit, Joseph, good job in seeing that this was my plan and my work. But also, you don't understand there's so much even more to the picture than that. I'm not just planning these seven years. I'm planning the next 400 years as I build the nation in Egypt. But then I'm even planning the next couple thousand years after that.

As they take Israel out of Egypt and into the promised land. And God would say, I'm even planning more than that. As I bring forth the Messiah, the Savior from the nation of Israel to bring salvation for all of humanity. In fact, you could trace this back. And I know you might think this is a little bit exaggerated, but I'm really not exaggerating. To God reaching you with the gospel. Goes back to this work in Joseph's life. Establishing God.

the nation of Israel, to bring forth the Messiah, to bring the gospel to you. God's plan is bigger than you understand. And it's a plan for good. It's a plan for your peace and not for evil. So many times in our lives, we are trying to figure out why God is doing what he's doing, why God's allowing what he's allowing. And, you know, sometimes two weeks go by and we go, I got it. See, the Lord allowed me to get fired from that job so I could get this better job.

And our scope is so limited many times. Like Joseph, like, hey, it's good that you're believing in God. It's good that you're seeing God work. You're looking for God to work. You're trusting that God is at work. Great. But also I would encourage you, expand your vision a little bit. Because God is doing much more than just, well, these two weeks or these couple months or these seven years. Again, God has a 5,000 year plan for your life. And the things that are going on, the things that he is doing, the things that he is working on,

They're much more impacting than you probably realize. Paul puts it this way in Ephesians chapter 3 as he's praying for the Ephesians. He says,

Paul reminds us God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Now think about that in God's plans for your life. I could think about and ask for, Lord, would you use this difficult situation in my life? I could ask for God to use that in some good way in the next 10 years. I could imagine that. I could understand that.

Yeah, I can think about that. And I can say, oh yeah, that's worth it. Yeah, yeah. Okay, Lord. So yes, use. It's a difficult situation. It's hardship. But Lord, would you use that for good, you know, over these next 10 years? But Paul says, hey, God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think. You're probably not going to figure out all the good that God is doing for you in the next 10 years or in the next 20 years or in the next 50 years. In fact, it's going to require the perspective from eternity, right?

to really understand how much God is doing for your good and how much God is using the things that he's allowing and working and doing in your life for the good of others around you. God is at work in an incredible way at a level that we, it's exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think. Much greater than a chess grandmaster who can do 15 to 20 moves ahead. It's that times millions of millions of millions.

That's the level that God works at. It's bigger than you can see. You might have a glimpse of it, and good for you that you do. That's good to look for those things and understand, wow, God is at work. But also recognize there's so much more. God is doing things at a huge level that you will be blessed and benefit for the rest of eternity. God is working out his plans for

He's planning ahead for your good. And it's much more than you know. This demonstrates to us as we look at the life of Joseph, the sovereignty of God. God is on the throne. And it's an important doctrine. It's an important thing. And it's a great picture in the life of Joseph so that we grasp hold of this truth. Because the sovereignty of God will help us handle difficulty. So like Jacob, when we feel like everything is against me,

We can come back to this truth, come back to this reality and remember that no, God is planning ahead. This hasn't taken him by surprise. He hasn't been caught off guard and he's able to work this situation for good. It helps us to handle difficulty. It also helps us to handle forgiveness. When people have hurt us and wronged us and things have been done to us, that there is this very difficult situation

forgiveness that needs to be given. But oh man, it's so difficult to forgive because the hurt has been so great. But as we look at Joseph, as we look at the sovereignty of God and remember, yes, what they did was wrong and it doesn't take away from the sin that was committed. But at the same time, we are able to look and see that God is able to work good in the midst of that. And it can help us to let go

of those things that have bound us, that bitterness that has held us. Because if we will allow God to work, he can bring forth good. If we will love God, he can bring forth good. The sovereignty of God helps us to handle those difficulties, helps us to handle forgiveness, but it also helps us to be set free from guilt. And maybe like Joseph's brothers, you've been just hung up for 20 years on that mistake that you made. And the thing that you did was terrible.

But the Lord would say to you, just like Joseph said to his brothers, don't be grieved or angry about it anymore. Because God is able to work. God is able to work and bring forth good, even from the worst mistake of your life. Again, the main thing for us, the sovereignty of God. Our response then is to put God in charge, to love God, to put him first in our lives. And if we will do that, God says, I'll take care of everything else. I'll tell you where to go. I'll encourage you to walk. I'll help you to walk. I'll take you down the path.

I'm planning ahead. It's for your good. You want to experience all of that? Walk with me. Receive what I've done for you and love me with all your heart. Let's pray. Lord, as we are here this morning considering the life of Joseph and considering your sovereignty, God, I pray that you would help us to come to the right understanding of who you are. Lord, that it would lead us to a place where we fully entrust ourselves, where we put you in charge of

Just as Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt, Lord, I pray that you would help us to put you in charge of all of our lives, every aspect. Lord, Pharaoh even said that nothing should happen in Egypt without Joseph's approval. Lord, I pray that we would give you that kind of reign in our lives, Lord, that nothing would happen without us checking in with you. Lord, what do you want? What do you desire? What's your plans?

God, I pray that you would help us to trust you in the midst of difficulties that we face, in the midst of difficulties or afflictions that are brought upon us, in the midst of mistakes that we make. Help us, Lord, to trust you, to rest in the reality of who you are, to love you, Lord, that you might work all these things together for good. And so, Lord, we invite you to work out your plans.

We know that they're for our good. We know, Lord, that you love us, that we're not the pawns, but we're your kings. And so, Lord, we invite you to rule and to reign. Help us to love you and draw near to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.