January 27, 2008

 Genesis 46:1-47:12 (Read It)
 A Table in the presence of my enemies

We are in a rough world. I have a hard time sometime with weariness and discouragement. I like the song I heard “Stop the world I want to get off this is just too weird for me.” We sit and think of Heaven and what is in store for us in the sweet bye and bye.   But, there is a truth we need here and now, a truth that will hold us until He holds us tightly to himself.

Ps 23 “thou preparest a table IN THE PRESENCE OF mine enemies”

We will note at this juncture that Jacob and company are away from home. They belong in the land of Canaan, this is the promised land, the land of their rest, their final heritage. But now, for a time , they are away from that land and wandering in a land where they are  strangers, sojourners, aliens. Yet note with me that even in this land, away from home, God has provided a measure of safety and provision for a time.

Ps 31:19 [Oh] how great [is] thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; [which] thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!:20 Thou shall hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

We note that these sheep herders from Canaan are also sheep of the pasture of God and therefore under His will and protection. Now His ultimate goal is to make them a great nation and a people called to His name. He knows that there is a process needed to do this and it begins in this far land of Egypt.
 
Egypt often pictures the world in scripture, is an illustration of the secular. In to the middle of this secular God drops a people,  and he sets them apart in the Land of Goshen (later named Ramses) and nurtures them in safety until it is time to thrust them out later as a grown people of God.

May I observe something here? God often has to thrust his people out. In Acts, after he had given the command to scatter into the world,  the people cloistered, and so God sent persecution. The persecution accomplished what the command seemed not to have, they scattered abroad, put it in B for boogie, and carried the gospel as they ran.

Note here with me the care and rest of God in this Egypt, this place of sojourning, this foreign land.  In the midst of the ravages of the world there is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God. So Note with me first:

1. The protector of our Faith:    3&4   And he said, I [am] God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:   I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up [again]: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes.

God tells Jacob it is OK to go because He, God, is not limited by location. He is able to defend in any situation.

I recall Daniel many yrs.  later being a captive in a strange land. Taken to Babylon and because of his faith being thrown into the den of lions. And he slept well I think, but the king did not.

You recall that early the next morning the old King,Darius came to the den and in Daniel 6:20-23- he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: [and] the king spoke and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?   Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocence was found in me; and  also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.

God is not limited by location. You know Daniel stayed a slave many many years and God was honored. Just a thought here, God is not limited by location today either.   Nigeria,Sudan,Iraq

2Sa 22:2 And he said, The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: [he is] my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
2Sa 22:47 The LORD liveth; and blessed [be] my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.
Ps 18:2 The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, [and] my high tower.
Ps 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
Ps 31:3 For thou [art] my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.
Ps 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock [that] is higher than I.
Ps 62:2 &6He only [is] my rock and my salvation; [he is] my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.
Ps 73:26 My flesh and my heart faileth: [but] God [is] the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
In Psalms 78:35 we see a tale of God’s deliverance from Egypt many years later and it tells of how the Israeli’s despair of life And then they remembered that God [was] their rock, and the high God their redeemer

In Isa 31:9 And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire [is] in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.

So we see that even in this unfriendly world, even when we are strangers and aliens, we have  protector. When you have no human ally, no one who seems to care if you win or lose, rise or fall. You do have one who rises firmly and strongly above all else and says, I AM GOD!
It is great to have a protector in a strange land . So we have seen The Protector of our Faith note with me also

2. The Peace of our Faith. The lady is bombarded upon every side. Children demand lunches, the baby is crying, the dog just wet on the carpet, the phone is jangling off the wall and its His mother calling and the JW’s just hit the doorstep guns ablaze. And the next moment you hear the anguished cry “Calgon Take me away” And suddenly the dog is gone, the baby is locked away (probably sent to mom in laws thereby killing 2 birds) the kids evaporate and the phone melts into a sweet bottle of bath oil..and the JW’s were only in a nightmare anyway, and she luxuriates in a bath that removes all the cares and troubles of the world. Likely story huh? But God has something much greater for us, and he did for Jacob as well.

 In 47:11-12 And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses,(or Goshen) as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, according to [their] families.

I want you to note this nourishment here, a place of safety is great, but we need a place of escape and respite and peace as well.

In Mark 6 we see that Jesus had sent the disciples out into the land on a missionary journey proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. Now , after John the Baptist is slain we see them in verse 30, coming together. And as they gather listen to what goes on: 30-32 And the apostles gathered themselves  together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.    And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.   And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.

Did you know that Jesus is concerned with your rest? Your peace of mind is really important to the God who made you did  you know that? Jesus said :
Mt 11:28- 29 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.* Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

In Acts 9 there was a great event that took place, the persecutor, Saul of Tarsus, was converted and in Acts 9:31  Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

 Rest there is (irene),security, safety, prosperity, (because peace and    harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous)

God says it repeatedly through scriptures that he desires us to have peace as much as is possible.
In fact he says the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them who make peace. Peace and respite, Calvary’s calgon, if you will.
 
Paul talks of this in Phil 4: 6-8 as he tells us to fix our minds on Christ and count the goodness of God.

 List the things that  are good and bring our petitions to Christ. Then he says “the peace of God which passes all understanding will rule your hearts and minds by Christ Jesus.”

There is a rest for us IN this troubled world. It comes as we grow in trust and faith. But there is a better rest isn’t there. For the Israelis it was Canaan land. They would one day be rescued from Egypt and brought home.

For us it as Paul says in 2 Thess 1: 1-9  (please read)

There is some respite, retreat peace for us here. But there is coming a day when all heartache is done, not a cloud in the sky, not a tear shall dim the eye, all is peace forever more on that happy golden shore what a day glorious day that will be.

Are you ready for that day? It will be a great day, and a sorrowful one too. If you are self seeking you will not have that rest. If you are God seeking then you will.
 
We have looked at

  The Protector of our Faith then noted The Peace of our Faith
Look with me now if you will at

3. The Pioneer of our Faith
The rock of strength we saw in the first part of this now appears clearly to our eyes.
 
Ro 9:33  As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling-stone and rock of offense: and whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.
 
1 Peter 2:6 -10   (Please Read)

Who is that rock of safety? Who is our rock in a weary Land? Who is the rock that is higher than I am? Who is our  rest in times of trouble? Jesus !   One day they rolled a stone in  front of His door and said “You are done, but that stone, that ponderous stone outside that tomb was  NO MATCH FOR THE ROCK OF AGES inside.

Tired? Weary Heavy Laden? Feel like Jacob? Short troubled life? Come home.  John 10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.

Need that abundant life? Surrender your will to Him. Give up! Say “I am your captive, your servant and I bow to your will.” Find out what he meant when he said “I will give you rest.

Many come here and sit and think and go home unaffected. Listen please because I need to make sure you understand before my time is done here.

I need you to know that sitting in church does not save you, No matter which church. What saves you is when you exchange your old life of sin for His new life of righteousness. If you are only a self servant you cannot have rest. If you are a servant of God then you will find it. Even then sometimes it is a struggle as we forget God’s plan.

But He is able, and today He is still willing. Will you surrender to Him today? Will you say “God of Heaven I am a sinner and have tried to please myself so far, but I surrender. I accept your sacrifice on the cross in my place and accept service in your kingdom.

Take me  and make me yours. Take my life and make it yours. I am yours Lord.” If you will, from your heart, He will take you and kill you and raise you to new life, forgiven of all your sins and acceptable to God. And he really will give you rest.
 
Eph 3:20-21 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,  Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.