“Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, Thus says your son Joseph: God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me... there I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine”. (vs 9-11)
The Lord Jesus bids us to Himself, and we are NEVER to delay (vs9-11). Believe on the Son, right now, receiving all that He gives in grace, and let nothing hinder you, not your past, not your inability, not your fears of tomorrow. Nothing. The Son has said, “Come down to me, do not delay”, and we let NOTHING keep us from Christ. We receive all that He gives freely, and we come to Him for all that we need, which is satisfaction by the Spirit.
Secondly, we have a commission from God (Gen 45:17-24). He tells us, “Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan. Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land. Now you are commanded – Do this... See that you do not become moved along the way”.
Let nothing keep you from Christ's commission to save others, even as you let nothing keep you from Christ Himself.
He is with us, as we do His will, and we're never to be distracted by the past, by the trials, by the persecutions, or anything that might cause us to hide instead of confessing Christ. Don't let a love for this world hide the gospel in you, and keep pressing, though you have many failures. Satan says, “Why preach. You are a sinner and everyone knows it”, but he seeks to distract you from the business of ministry. All have sinned, so we RECEIVE the mercies of God, improve our behavior, and keep pressing. We don't say, “I'm saved, so I don't have to serve. Someone else will do it”, but every believer presses into the kingdom, and then gets grace from God to keep the fire hot, testifying of Christ, as God opens the doors (2 Tim 1:6, 14). We are not to be distracted by family or fun, but we sanctify all things by giving them to Christ, and living that men might be saved... living honorably... whether we eat or drink (1 Cor 10:30-31). Do not be distracted from love.
Thirdly, the word of God is good for us (Gen 46:2-4). God told Jacob, “Jacob, Jacob! And he said, Here I am. So He said, I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. 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”. The same gospel message that wounds will also heal. The same word that reproves us is the same word that will correct us unto salvation (2 Tim 3:16-17). The word of God is good, because God is good. He chose you, taught you the gospel, and gave you life by His gospel (James 1:17-22). How can anything that He says be bad, when love and goodness is the origin of every statement to us? It may not be what we wanted, but it'll give us what we really want – God's peace – if we're obedient.
Hear the word of God as it comes to mind in conscience. Do not put it away. It comes to help.
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