Faith that Rests in God's Plan and Purpose

We've got quite a long scripture reading today.

We've got two different readings.

! One's quite long and then one's very short.

The first one's from Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

Near the end of that book, chapter 47, verses 29,

and then into chapter 48 to verse 22.

And then after I've read the big Genesis passage,

I'm going to read a short passage from Hebrews.

So there's Bibles at the back of the church.

If you don't have a Bible,

you're very free to get up and get one whenever you like.

The words will also be on the screen,

and they're in the bulletin.

This is Genesis 47, 29 to 48, 22.

And he said, Swear to me.

And he swore to him.

Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed.

After this, Joseph was told, Behold, your father is ill.

So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

And it was told to Jacob, Your son Joseph has come to you.

Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed.

And Jacob said to Joseph,

God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the battle of Canaan,

in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

and said to me, Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you.

And I will make of you a company of peoples,

and will give this land to your offspring after you

for an everlasting possession.

And now your two sons who were born to you

in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are mine.

Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine,

as Reuben and Simeon are.

And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours.

They shall be called by the name of their brothers

in their inheritance.

As for me, when I came from Paddan,

to my sorrow, Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the way,

when there was still some distance to go to Ephraim.

And I buried her there on the way to Ephraim.

Ephraim, that is Bethlehem.

When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said,

Who are these?

And Joseph said to his father,

They are my sons whom God has given me here.

And he said, Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.

Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age,

so that he could not see.

So Joseph brought them near him,

and kissed him, and embraced them.

And Israel said to Joseph,

I never expected to see your face.

And behold, God has let me see your offspring also.

Then Joseph removed them from his knees,

and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

And Joseph took them both,

Ephraim in his right, towards Israel's left hand,

and Manasseh in his left hand towards Israel's right hand,

and brought them near to him.

And Israel stretched out his right hand

and laid it on the head of Ephraim,

who was the younger,

and his left hand on the head of Manasseh,

crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

And he blessed Joseph and said,

The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day,

the angel who has redeemed me from all evil,

bless the boys,

and in them let my name be carried on,

and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,

and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand

on the head of Ephraim,

it displeased him.

And he took his father's hand

and moved it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.

And Joseph said to his father,

Not this way, my father,

since this one is the firstborn,

but your right hand,

put your right hand on his head.

But his father refused and said,

I know, my son, I know.

He also shall become a people,

and he also shall be great.

Nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he,

and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.

So he blessed them that day,

saying,

By you, Israel,

will pronounce blessings,

saying,

God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

Then Israel said to Joseph,

Behold, I'm about to die,

but your God will be with you

and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.

Moreover, I have given to you,

rather than to your brothers,

one mountain slope that I took

from the hand of the Amorites

with my sword and with my bow.

And in Hebrews chapter 11,

Hebrews 11:20–22

verses 20 to 22.

By faith, Isaac invoked future blessings

on Jacob and Esau.

By faith, Jacob, when dying,

blessed each of the sons of Joseph,

bowing in worship over the head of his staff.

By faith, Joseph, at the end of his life,

made mention of the exodus of the Israelites

and gave direction concerning his bones.

Well, as Chris indicated,

we're working our way through Hebrews chapter 11,

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

and we come this evening to verses 20, 21, and 22.

By faith, Isaac invoked future blessings

on Jacob and Esau.

By faith, Jacob, when dying,

blessed each of the sons of Joseph,

bowing in worship over the head of his staff.

By faith, Joseph, at the end of his life,

made mention of the exodus of the Israelites

and gave directions concerning his bones.

It's been described as one of the most compelling works

of Christian devotion, published in 1650.

The Saints' Everlasting Rest

by the Puritan minister Richard Baxter.

Baxter is a book that has really stood the test of time.

That's not true of all Baxter's writings.

But it was written when Baxter himself was gravely ill

and thought he should die.

He was in his early 30s, I think around 31,

and he began to write his own funeral sermon,

a gathering of his final thoughts

to preach to himself as death approached.

He told his parishioners at Kidderminster,

far from home, cast into extreme languishing

by the sudden loss of about a gallon of blood,

I bent my thoughts on my everlasting rest.

And the book is essentially a reflection

on the text of Hebrews 4 verse 9.

Hebrews 4:9

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

It's a book about the glory of heaven.

Or as it states on the title page,

a treatise of the blessed state of the saints

in their enjoyment of God in glory.

And Baxter encourages his readers

to think and meditate often

on the delights and pleasures

of the new heaven and earth.

Our everlasting comfort is to be found

in the enjoyment and possession

of the living God.

And it's perhaps hard to think

of anything more counter-cultural than that.

For thoughts of heaven and glory

are remarkably rare in the contemporary church.

Bruce Mill, a Scottish Baptist minister,

wrote these words,

This is a serious situation

because Christianity,

as reflected in the foundational documents

of the New Testament,

is consistently orientated

towards its heavenly hope.

If I can put it this way,

the life of faith

is always the life of heavenly hope.

And that's part of what we see

in our text this evening.

Hebrews 11, verses 20 through 22,

Hebrews 11:20–22

our attention is drawn

to the immediate descendants of Abraham,

Isaac, Jacob, and then Joseph.

Indeed, their stories run

in the book of Genesis,

from Genesis 21

to the death of Joseph in Genesis 50,

over half the book.

And yet, surprisingly,

in this great chapter

that's all about faith,

living by faith,

the author of Hebrews

chooses to highlight

not Isaac's willingness,

as Chris reminded us last week,

to be laid on the altar

as a sacrifice,

nor Jacob's wrestling with God

at the Jabbok River,

nor Joseph's resisting of temptation

in the house of Potiphar.

These great dramatic acts of faith

are not his focus.

Instead, to illustrate faith,

our author takes us to three scenes

at the close of these individuals'

earthly lives.

He was wanting to show us

how these men faced death,

how they persevered

in the life of faith

to the very end.

They each continued

to hold on to

the promise of God.

In verse 13 of the chapter,

he says,

these all died in faith,

not having received

the things promised,

but having seen them

and greeted them

from afar,

and having acknowledged

that they were strangers

and exiles on earth.

And so, what we have

in these verses

are three very brief portraits

of mature faith.

Three men looking forward

in faith,

trusting in God's promises

right to the end

of their lives.

Here are these men

looking to the future

with God.

And as we consider

these verses tonight,

let me highlight

three things

about their forward-looking faith.

Their faith in the future

that God had for them

and their descendants.

And the first thing

I want you to notice with me

is that their faith

is faith in the God

of surprising ways.

By faith, we're told,

Isaac invoked future blessings

on Jacob and Esau.

And so, the writer's

taking us back

to Genesis chapter 27,

Genesis 27 · chapter mention

those events surrounding

the blessing of Jacob and Esau.

Both these sons are blessed.

But it's a famous story

because Isaac is deceived

in that story

into giving Jacob

the primary blessing

rather than Isaac's eldest son, Esau.

Back in Genesis 25,

God speaks to Rebekah, Isaac's wife.

Two nations are in your womb.

Two peoples from within you

shall be divided.

The one shall be stronger

than the other.

The older shall serve the younger.

That's Genesis 25-23.

And this is what God

decreed would happen.

That's a kind of reversal

of social and cultural expectation.

It's a reminder

that God Himself

does not conform Himself

to human standards

or conventions.

And as the story unfolds,

Isaac pursues really

his own agenda.

Esau is his firstborn,

his favorite.

Tradition demanded

that he would receive

what was known

as the birthright,

receiving a double portion

of the inheritance,

assuming leadership

of the family

upon the father's death.

But as the story again

is unfolds,

Esau despised that birthright

and sold it to Jacob

for a bowl of stew.

But despite that,

Isaac resolves

to formally bless Esau

before he dies.

And he really acts

in rebellion

against what God

had decreed.

It appears not a very

good example of faith

because his actions

really fly in the face

of what God

has revealed to him.

He chooses to do things

His way.

The blessing must go

to the eldest, Esau.

But God, of course,

has other ideas.

And through a combination

in Genesis 27

of Isaac's poor eyesight,

Rebekah and Jacob's machinations,

Isaac is deceived

into blessing Jacob

rather than Esau.

When Esau eventually

appears on the scene,

it's too late.

We read in Genesis 27, 33,

Isaac trembled

very violently and said,

Who was it then

that hunted game

and brought it to me?

And I ate it all

before you came

and I have blessed him.

Yes, and he shall be blessed.

Isaac's eyes were dim,

but even he could see

the providence of God.

In Genesis 27,

he doesn't revoke

that blessing.

He doesn't renounce Jacob.

He doesn't express

any condemnation.

He makes no actual attempt

to change anything.

He simply accepts

what God has done.

Because he's been outwitted,

not by Rebekah and Jacob,

but by God.

The God of surprising ways.

This is what God

had decreed would happen.

And this is the mysterious

will of God.

Isaac doesn't argue about it.

He simply accepts it.

His accidental blessing

of Jacob is repeated

in a more willing fashion

in the following chapter.

Chapter 28,

God Almighty,

Isaac tells Jacob,

God Almighty,

bless you,

make you fruitful,

multiply you,

that you may become

a company of peoples.

May he give the blessing

of Abraham to you,

to your offspring with you,

that you may take possession

of the land

of your sojournings

that God gave to Abraham.

And so,

against the social convention

of his day,

even against his own

inclinations,

Isaac comes to

willingly bless

the younger

before the older.

And that is faith.

Because it recognizes

that God is God.

That he works

in his own way.

His plans and purposes

cannot be thwarted.

He can be trusted

to accomplish his purposes

even when things

don't go according

to our plans.

And that is something

that we come to learn

in the life of faith.

God fulfills his promises

in his own way.

Abraham is promised

to be the father

of a great nation.

His wife, Sarah,

is barren.

She can have no children.

Well, I don't think

it could be made

any clearer

that the fulfillment

of this promise

lies really

in God's hands alone.

The family line

would be expected,

of course,

to come through

the firstborn male,

but instead it's,

instead of Ishmael,

it's Isaac.

Instead of Esau,

it's Jacob.

Instead of Reuben,

it's Joseph.

Because he is the God

of surprising ways.

And we see this

in the following verse,

which references

and which Chris read for us,

Jacob blessing

the sons of Joseph

in Genesis 48.

By faith,

Jacob,

when dying,

blessed each

of the sons of Joseph.

And in that chapter,

as we read it,

while the act of blessing

was taking place,

Jacob crosses his hands

and blesses Ephraim,

the younger,

before Manasseh,

the older.

And this is God's choice.

This choosing

of the younger brother

is really a pattern,

a motif,

that we see right

throughout Genesis

and indeed

in many other parts

of the Bible.

Because God is not bound

by human convention

and man-made tradition.

He is a God

of surprising ways.

His hands often bless

the most surprising

of people.

He chooses David

above his brothers.

He chooses

a persecutor Saul

to become an apostle

and a missionary

to the Gentiles.

You never know

what God will do

in one sense.

We look to Manasseh,

and God does a greater work

through Ephraim.

We look to the strong,

God chooses the weak.

Remember Paul's words

to the church

in Corinth,

1 Corinthians 1,

Consider your calling,

brothers.

Not many of you

were wise

according to worldly standards.

Not many were powerful.

Not many were of noble birth.

But God chose

what is foolish

in the world

to shame the wise.

God chose

what is weak

in the world

to shame the strong.

God chose

what is low

and despised

in the world,

even things that are not,

to bring to nothing

things that are,

so that no human being

might boast

in the presence

of God.

No human being

can boast

in the presence

of God.

Because here is the God

who overturns

human expectations.

God's blessings

do not come

by right

or privilege

or status

or rank,

but only by grace

and only through faith.

There is never

any place

in the Christian church

for this idea

of Christian celebrity

or status.

That's a lesson

that often can be

a long time

in the learning.

God is always faithful,

but He

is not always

predictable.

And His plans

and purposes

are often,

are always far better

than we can think

or imagine.

Put your faith,

put your future

in the hand

of the God

of surprising ways.

And then secondly,

faith not just

in the God

of surprising ways,

but faith

in the God

of goodness

and grace.

By faith,

Jacob,

when dying,

verse 21,

blessed each

of the sons

of Joseph,

bowing in worship

over the head

of his staff.

And that initial

reference is again

Genesis 48,

Jacob blessing

the sons of Joseph.

And we're told

that when Israel

saw Joseph's sons,

we read in verse 8

of chapter 48

of Genesis,

who are these?

Joseph says,

these are my sons

whom God has given

me here.

Bring them to me

that I may bless them.

The eyes of Israel

were dim with age.

He could not see.

Joseph brought them

near him.

He kissed them.

He embraced them.

And Israel said to Joseph,

I never expected

to see your face.

And behold,

God has let me see

your offspring also.

There's something,

there's a wonderfully

moving scene.

Jacob, this old man,

at the end of his life,

his eyesight diminished.

He kisses and embraces

these grandsons.

It's a scene that Jacob

could not have imagined

in his wildest dreams.

Not only had he been reunited

with his lost son, Joseph,

whom he had thought

had been killed,

he also has this opportunity

to see and to know

Manasseh and Ephraim.

I never expected

to see your face.

And behold,

God has let me see

your offspring also.

These two sons,

a gift of God

to Joseph in Egypt,

are now blessed by Jacob.

They're formally welcomed

into the covenant family.

It's all a wonderful

surprise to Jacob.

It's almost one of these things,

almost feels too good

to be true.

Because for years,

Jacob's life had been marred

by pain and loss and grief,

and now in an unexpected way,

he had received back

not only his son, Joseph,

but his sons also.

It's a reminder

of the goodness of God.

And of course,

God is good all the time.

And He is good

even when things

are not good

in our lives.

I came across

these words of Corrie ten Boom

in her book,

The Hiding Place.

And she writes this,

Often I have heard people say

how good God is.

We prayed that it would not

rain for our church picnic

and look at the lovely weather.

And yes,

God is good

when He sends good weather.

But God was also good

when He allowed

my sister Betsy

to starve to death

before my eyes

in a German concentration camp.

I remember one occasion

I was very discouraged.

Everything around us

was dark.

Darkness in my heart.

I remember telling Betsy

that I thought

God had forgotten us.

No, Corrie, said Betsy.

He's not forgotten us.

Remember His word.

As the heavens

are high above the earth,

so great is His steadfast love

towards those

who fear Him.

There is an ocean

of God's love available.

There's plenty for everyone.

May God grant you

never to doubt

that victorious love

whenever the circumstances.

And sometimes

that goodness

tastes all the sweeter

after a time

of sadness

and sorrow.

Some of you

might know the story

of the poet,

hymn writer

William Cooper.

Throughout his life

he was plagued

by persistent,

devastating,

at times suicidal depression.

And he wrote

these words.

Sometimes a light

surprises

the Christian

while he sings.

It is the Lord

who rises

with healing

in His wings.

When comforts

are declining

He grants

the soul again

a season

of clear shining

to cheer it

after rain.

And friends

we all know

that sometimes

life is full

of dark moments.

Those kind of moments

when God seems

either far away

or absolutely absent.

When we question things.

We wonder

if God is hiding

from us.

And the truth is

we cannot always

see the big picture.

And that is why

the light

sometimes surprises us.

The shadows

of this life

can be so dark

that when God

even for a brief moment

chooses to step out

of the shadows

and to pull back

heaven's curtain

and let us

let a glimpse

of glory shine

into our dark existence.

We blink our eyes

and we strain

at it.

Like somebody

suddenly turning

on the light

when we're fumbling

around in a dark room.

Yes it's welcome

but at the same time

it can be

disorientating.

And our God

delights to surprise us

with His goodness

and grace.

He gives us

unexpected gifts.

Periods of refreshment

and encouragement

to lift our spirits.

To generate a deep

sense of love

and gratitude

in our hearts.

Here is Jacob

the schemer

the deceiver

the grabber.

Spent a lifetime

manipulating things

to his own advantage.

Usually with

disastrous results.

grace.

And he's humbled

and he's bowed down

in thankfulness

to God

for all His goodness

and grace to Him.

What wonderful words

of blessing

he utters.

The God

before whom

my fathers

Abraham and Isaac

walked.

The God

who has been

my shepherd

all my life

long to this day.

The angels

who redeemed me

from all evil

bless the boys

and in them

let my name

be carried on.

It is a scene

full of wonder

and gratitude.

Jacob's heart

is full of faith

in God's goodness

and grace.

His name

his family

his faith

will carry on

long after

he is gone.

He confesses

the Lord

as his shepherd.

Here is the one

who can restore

our souls.

Lead us in paths

of righteousness

for His name's sake.

The one who

in the dark valleys

of life

presences

Himself with us

and comforts us.

The one who

makes our cup

to overflow

and pursues us

with goodness

and mercy

all our days.

The one who

will take us

to dwell with Him

in His house

forever.

And that's why

Jacob is found

worshipping over

the head of his staff

the end of his life.

He's leaning

upon the Lord

his shepherd.

The reference there

Genesis 47-31

Israel bowed

himself upon

the head of his bed.

The slightly

different translation

of the Hebrew.

But the point

is the same.

At the end

of his life

Jacob rejoices

in God

and in all

his goodness

and grace.

May that be true

of us also.

It's a wonderful

thing

to see Christian

men and women

who through grace

become more

thankful over

the years.

Not grumpy

but full of

gratitude.

Not cynical

critical

negative

but full of

love and mercy.

Not full of

themselves

but always

striving to

bless others.

Not full of

pride

but humility.

Not full of

worry

but worship.

Faith in the

God of surprising

ways.

Faith in the

God of goodness

grace.

And then

faith

quickly and

briefly here

in the God

of covenant

promise.

By faith

Joseph at

the end

of his

life

made mention

of the

exodus

of the

Israelites

and gave

directions

concerning

his bones.

These are

the reference

to the

closing

verses

of the

book of

Genesis.

And Joseph

said to his

brothers

I'm about

to die

but God

will visit

you

and bring

you up

out of

this land

to the

land

that he

swore

to

Abraham

Isaac

and

Jacob.

Joseph

made the

sons of

Israel

swear

God

will

surely

visit

you

and

you

shall

carry

up

my

bones

from

here.

Joseph

faced

death

believing

in the

promise

of God.

When

everything

else

in life

was

disappearing

from

view

he

held

on

to

God's

promise.

He

knew

that

God

would

keep

his

promise.

He

knew

that

God

would

not

let

his

people

down.

He

knew

that

nothing

could

stop

the

plan

and

purpose

of

God.

God

will

surely

visit

you.

You

shall

carry

up

my

bones

from

here.

Of course

at the

time

none of

that

looked

very

likely.

But

Joseph

refused

to be

conformed

to the

pattern

of

Egypt

and

this

world.

He

was

sure

of what

he

hoped

!

He

was

certain

of

what

he

could

not

see.

And

to

him

the

promises

of

God

were

more

real

than

all

the

treasures

of

Egypt.

Because

Egypt

was

not

his

home.

His

home lay

elsewhere

in the

land of

promise.

It lay

in that

better

country.

And

yes,

surrounded

by the

wealth

of

Egypt,

perhaps

he could

have

erected

some

great

monument,

a

pyramid

to

rival

Pharaohs.

But

instead

he

says

to

his

brothers,

take

my

bones

with

you.

Because

his

hope

lay

in

God's

word.

And

he

knew

that

God

would

never

abandon

his

people.

Because

when

God

starts

something,

he

is

absolutely

guaranteed

to carry

it

through.

He's

absolutely

guaranteed

to finish

it.

I

recall

those

words

David

Niven,

the

actor,

about

his

good

friend,

Errol

Flynn.

He

said,

you

can

count

on

Errol

Flynn.

He'll

always

let

you

down.

And

that

is

humanity

in a

nutshell.

But

not so

with

God.

He

cannot

break

his

word.

He's

utterly

faithful

and

dependable.

And

Joseph

believed

that God

would

keep

his

promise.

That

God

would

deliver

his

people

from

Egypt.

Take

them to

the

land

he had

promised

to

them.

Joseph

in a

sense

believed

that his

very

bones

had a

future.

He

had

in a

sense

a

resurrection

faith.

Long

after the

pyramids

of Egypt

had

crumbled

to dust,

he knew

his

very

bones

would

rise

from

the

soil

of

the

promised

land

and be

welcomed

into

that

city

with

foundations

whose

architect

and

builder

is

God.

His

words

are

a

reminder

that

this

world

is not

our

home.

And that

we are

pilgrims

here

destined

for a

better

country.

I wonder,

are you

living a

life of

heavenly

hope?

Where is

your

faith and

hope

anchored?

in the

comforts

of a

passing

world

or in

the

promises

of

God?

As

Joseph

looked

beyond

the

palaces

of

Egypt

to

that

city

with

foundations,

friends,

surely

so must

we.

Our

bank

accounts,

our

pension

pot,

our

careers,

our

plans,

they're

all

going to

turn to

dust.

Only

what God

has

promised

will

stand.

And that's

really all we

have to

hold on

to.

Remember

Jesus'

words,

John 14,

let not

your hearts

be troubled,

believe in

God,

believe also

in me.

In my

Father's

house are

many

rooms,

if it

were not

so,

would I

have told

you that

I go to

prepare a

place for

you?

And if

I go and

prepare a

place for

you,

I will

come again

and take

you to

myself,

that where

I am,

you may

be also.

I wonder

if we

believe that

this evening,

that God's

word is

surer than

the ground

beneath our

feet.

Do we

believe in

the one

in whom

all the

promises of

God are

yes and

amen?

Do we

believe in

the surprising

way of a

crucified

Savior,

in the

transforming

goodness and

grace of

Jesus?

Because,

of course,

it's not

Isaac and

Jacob and

Joseph that

are the

hero of

this text.

It's the

God in

whom they

trusted,

a God of

surprising

ways,

of goodness

and grace,

and of

sure and

certain

promise.

And he's

the only

one who

can bring

us comfort

and hope

in the

face of

death.

The good

news for

this broken

world,

enveloped in

darkness and

death,

is that

great enemy

death has

been

defeated.

And Jesus,

now clothed in

resurrection power,

is reconciling

sinners to

God.

He is the

only one who

can bring us

eternal

comfort.

We have

only one

hope in

life and

death,

Jesus Christ

crucified,

risen,

and coming

again.

And he

changes

everything,

even death.

The Christian

hope rests

on the

unshakable

ground of

Christ's

resurrection.

And yes,

we can

tremble at

death's

approach,

but the

sting is

gone.

The venom

drained from

the serpent's

bite.

And in

Jesus Christ,

death is no

longer a

doorway to

judgment,

but a

portal to

glory and

everlasting

rest.

Richard

Baxter

writes,

let us

never look

at the

grave,

except to

see the

resurrection

beyond it.

Faith is

quick-sighted

and can

see as

far as

that.

Yes,

even as

far as

eternity.

I wonder,

does your

faith see

that far?

What is

our hope

in life and

death?

Christ alone,

Christ alone.

What is

our only

confidence that

our souls to

Him belong?

Come to

Christ and

find rest,

eternal rest

for both

body and

soul.

Come to

Christ and

in Him and

by faith live

a life full

of heavenly

hope.

Let's

pray.

Lord, we

ask that our

faith might

rest not in

ourselves,

our confidence

not in

ourselves,

but in

you and

in the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Lord, may

you strengthen

us by your

Holy Spirit.

May you

grant us

faith that

trusts your

ways even

though we

don't always

understand them,

that trusts that

you are indeed a

God of goodness

and grace,

and that trusts

your promises

above all

else.

Lord,

grant us

living faith

in the living

Lord Jesus

Christ, in

whose name we

pray these

things.

Amen.