COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH
SERMON NOTES SUNDAY 9 AUGUST 2026 – PASTOR HENRY CASKEY
GENESIS 49 VERSES 22 TO 26
This is a wee portion of scripture that has been on my mind
for some time concerning Joseph. And I want us to consider something just this
morning in these verses that we find about the life of Joseph himself. Joseph's
life as we go through it is a life that touched many, many people. We think of
the many, many different situations that he found himself in. And Joseph in
those situations as you read through them was a blessing to others. And isn't
it lovely this morning that we can come and compare our lives this morning? And
we ask ourselves the question this morning, is this life of mine, is it a
blessing to others as others look upon it? Do we do something for them? Joseph,
of course, was the second youngest of the family of 12. Jacob his father and
his mother Rachel had died when he was only a young fellow. Jacob himself is
now an old man. He has encountered many trials. He's encountered many problems,
many difficulties. Some things that he encountered, he made them of his own
making. But you know sometimes life can be like that. You know sometimes life
can be turned upside down so very, very quickly. You and I can have burdens
this morning. You and I could be going through a tunnel this morning that seems
to be so dark and so long and there seems to be no end to that tunnel. Isn't it
wonderful this morning to know that God knows all about your situation this
morning? God knows everything about you this morning. Whenever Pharaoh asked
Jacob how old he was, do you remember what his answer was? He says, "The
days of the years of my pilgrimage are 130 years. Few and evil have the days of
the years of my life been." Jacob met many trials. Do you remember what
Job said when he was speaking about his life? "Man is born unto trouble as the sparks
fly upwards." Sometimes we want that that cozy bed of roses, don't we? We
don't want anything to come in sort of to trouble us. But that's not what
life's like. Here's Jacob. He's an old man now. He gathers his family around
about him. He's going to speak to every one of them individually about the days
that lie ahead for them. And it is to this very tribute that he pays to his son
Joseph this morning that I want to look at this morning. What does he say about
Joseph here in verse number 22? He says, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even
a fruitful bough by a well whose branches run over the wall." And of
course, whenever we look at Joseph, we see this picture of Christ. But you
know, this morning as I look at Joseph here, I see him now and he serves for me
as this picture of the child of God. And I want us to think of him this
morning.
I want to think of the subject of Joseph here. As
Jacob sees him, Jacob is looking at his son Joseph he has some fond things to
say. He wants to pay a tribute to him. And he says he's a fruitful bough. The
subject about Joseph this morning is the life that Joseph lived. And you know,
we ask ourselves is the life that I'm living is it glorifying to God? Is it a
blessing to others? I'm not talking about my life here in the pulpit getting up
to stand to preach. I'm talking about my life tomorrow morning and right
through to Friday evening again. Is it a blessing where I go, can people look
at me and say there's a man of God, there's a woman of God, whatever the
situation would be and can someone say when you go into a home or I go into a
home, ‘my it was good to have that person just for those few moments for my
life seemed to be lifted up a wee bit.’ That's the sort of a person Joseph was.
That's why Jacob could say he's a fruitful bough. He's planted in good soil.
He's beside a wall and his fruit is going over the wall. You see, what's Jacob
doing here? He's recounting the 17 years which he missed out on the life of his
son. From that day that Joseph walked away from his father to go out to find
his brethren to take them some victuals and to find out how they were and Jacob
waves farewell to his son and he never sees him again for some 17 years. Here
he is at the end of life now he's looking into the face of his son and he's
recounting all those years that he missed out on him and all those years that
he learned about Joseph and he could now say “you're a fruitful bough.” Jacob
heard nothing of him. In fact he believed the report of his brothers that
Joseph was dead. Is it any wonder he's looking into his son's face here with
amazement? Jacob's heart is so full of praise to God for his son and for the blessing
that he has been. He has learned about the twists and he has learned about the turns
of his son and the suffering that he's had but realizes something very, very
special. The fact that behind all those twists and the fact that behind all those
turns of his son that Jacob could see the hand of God in blessing through it
all. Isn't it wonderful to think this morning that behind our lives, no matter
what happens, God is there. Isn't it wonderful this morning to think that the
times in the past week when we come up against a situation that we didn't fully
understand and we couldn't get to the bottom of it. We didn't know why it was
there. We couldn't know what was happening. God was behind the scenes. And God
was using your life in that situation and using my life in that situation just
to touch others and to bring the blessing of God to others and to other homes. I
think of Esther. Do you remember the story of Esther and how that that little
Jewish girl from nothing grew up to become the queen. You see, God was using
that young girl in a mighty, mighty way. The nation of Israel had to be
delivered at that time. And Esther was the girl that God was going to use. And in
all those little twists and turns in Esther's life, God was behind it all, bringing
it all together. And that's what God is doing here for Joseph. He's going to
bring Joseph to the pinnacle of the Egyptian power and position. But he had to
go through all the turmoils to do that. Jacob likens his life here to a tree
that's been planted. He likens his son's life to a tree that's bringing forth
fruit for the owner. But notice the fruit that's hanging over the wall. You
see, that's for the benefit of others. That's for the weary passer by who isn't
able to afford the fruit that's behind the wall. But over the wall, the fruit
is hanging and he can pluck it and take it and find it for his own nourishment.
Remember in John chapter 15, Jesus said, "I am the vine and ye are the
branches." You see, God not only wants you and me this morning to bear
fruit in our lives. He not only wants us to bear fruit in our lives, but he
wants us to bear fruit in abundance. Jesus here speaks in that portion of you
and me as bearing fruit. And then he speaks of bearing much fruit and then he
speaks of bearing more fruit. That's what he wants this morning. From the
moment that you bowed the knee, from the moment that you took the Lord Jesus
Christ as your Saviour and as your Lord, I wonder what that experience was for
you. Was it in a gospel mission? Was it in a little church service? Was it
sitting at the fireside or whatever the case may be? I have a friend who was
saved at the big wheel of a tractor. He had been out at gospel meetings some 50
odd years ago in a little tent that had been erected by the Faith Mission and
he was there night after night and he'd been hearing the gospel and had been
coming under conviction of sin. But it was one day when he was out in the
tractor ploughing the field and he just got halfway across the field and he
stopped the tractor. He got down by the big wheel of the tractor and he sat
down and he called upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and God
saved him in the middle of that field. I wonder what it was like for you this
morning. For me, it was sitting at a funeral service as the preacher preached
and gave out the invitation "Where would you be if you were in this box
today?" And I realized that. I wonder where it was for you? Have you got
that real genuine conversion this morning? Maybe it was sitting at the fireside.
Maybe there was nobody else around you. Maybe you just came to that point where
you realized you needed to be saved. I was speaking to a man the other day who
I had been visiting from about Christmas time. He had been very ill in
hospital. He's 90 years of age. I remember speaking to him and we read and prayed
and coming away from his house I said to him "Listen, it's a simple task,
but it's a serious task." And I explained how to get saved and never
thought another thing of it. I came back about a week later to speak to him
again. And we sat down. Oh, he says, "But by the way, I forgot to tell
you." He says, "I got saved”. At 90 years of age. He just went to his
bed one night and he put his head in the pillow and he thought to himself,
"I need to be saved." And there and then he sought the Lord Jesus
Christ as his own personal Saviour. I wonder where it was for you. But now that
wasn't the end. Whenever you got up off your knees after trusting the Lord
Jesus Christ as your Saviour and as your Lord, that wasn't it over. That was
only the beginning of your walk with Christ. And God has much more for you. And
he wants you this morning to bear fruit. Joseph's life is like this
fruitbearing life. The tree is planted in the very best soil. I'm sure the person
that planted that tree picked the perfect spot for it and he would plant that
tree in very fertile soil. He would make sure it's watered well because without
the water it would just die. And you see that's the same thing for you and me.
Whenever we trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we were planted into
the life of Christ. We need the water, the water of his word, the water of
communication, the water of seeking his face in prayer because without that we
just shrivel up and we die. Can you imagine the person that planted this
particular tree that Jacob has in his mind? He would come out and he would look
at the tree and he would be delighted at the way that's growing. But it just
didn't stop there because the fruit that was bearing down on the other side of
the wall was used for the benefit of others, for the weary passers by. And
that's what God wants of you and me this morning. Oh yes, our lives need to
glorify God, but they need to be helping others as well. The spotlight is on my
life. The spotlight is on your life to see if it's pleasing to God. Are you and
I where God would have us to be? God plants us to the benefit of others. Are
you and I in that place this morning? Are we there? Are we saying, "Lord,
what about me this morning?" I think of Elisha. Do you remember how Elisha
passed by this this little home and in this little home there was a man and his
wife who invited him in as he passed back and forth. One day the man's wife was
sitting and turned to her husband and she said “I perceive that this is a holy
man of God that's passing by us continually.” You see she saw something in his
life. She maybe heard something in his talk or whatever the case may be. But
she realized that here was someone who was so different from the other people
that she saw around about her. This man stood out. He was a holy man of God.
God was using this man in this situation in this little home just to touch this
little family. Is that what God is doing for you this morning? God's using you
to touch others. Remember the boy with the loaves and the fishes. There he was
sitting amongst the crowd of people on the hill that day. The Lord Jesus Christ
had been preaching and somehow the people had get caught up in this preaching
and they forgot what time of the day it was. But there was a long journey home
and Jesus realized that this is a people that needs to be fed. So he said to
the disciples, "What what have we got? Go out and feed them." Philip
thought to himself, “you know, if we had a man's wages for a full year we could
never feed this amount of people." And yet Andrew is going out through the
crowd and he sees this one little lad and he's opening up his little meal that his
mom had no doubt given to him that morning. And as he opened it up, Andrew
looked at it. He says, "Son," he says, "Would you give that to
the Lord Jesus Christ?" Can you imagine that boy getting up with his
little loaves and his fishes? And he's looking all around and he says to
Andrew, "What for?" And he's thinking about feeding this multitude of
people. He says, "How would this meagre little lunch of mine feed all this
multitude of people? It wouldn't in his own hands. But once he placed them in
the hands of the master, once he placed them into the hands of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the Lord blessed them, he broke the bread and gave it to the
disciples and they passed it around and the multitude of people were fed. That boy
came that morning sitting just amongst the crowd. But what he had he placed in
the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ and it touched the multitude and you know it
is still touching people today because there are still people who are getting
saved through the reading of that portion of scripture with that boy handing
all into the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our lives are still being touched
by it and still being encouraged by it.
Not only do we see the subject of Joseph here, but I want
you to notice the source of Joseph's life as well. We see how he handles
himself in every difficult situation, every situation that he's in. We need to
look closely at the interpretation here because Jacob interprets it like this -
he's a fruitful bough by a well. What was the source of Joseph's life? What was
the source of this tree that Jacob was thinking about? It was the well. It
wasn't so much Joseph, but it was where Joseph was drawing his power from. And
that's such an important feature here. I see this tree as a tree planted, but
where do I see the source of the goodness and the fruit coming from? It's
drawing from this well that is so close. The roots are established. The roots
are going down deep underground. And the drawing from the well is the unseen item
that's providing the growth of the tree. Isn't that amazing? Jacob sees this in
his mind's eye. He's picturing his son Joseph. He's picturing him just as a
tree that's planted there. The roots are going down and drawing the water that
brings forth the source of life to that tree from the well that is near at
hand. If there was no water there would be no fruit. Jacob puts it so well. By
a well, he's like a tree by a well. You know, that speaks to me of the close
proximity of that well. It speaks to me of the nearness of it. It was such an
important feature. The tree wasn't miles away from the well. It was beside it.
You see, the one who planted that tree knew exactly what that tree would need.
And it needed to be beside a well. It needed to draw the water from the well to
provide the fruit that was needed. It speaks to me this morning of the
importance of a close relationship with God. I always remember an old Christian
just shortly after I got saved saying to me one night, he says, "Keep
short accounts with God." I didn't even know what he meant. And it wasn't
until later on whenever you gain a bit more experience that you learn these
things. But now I realize what he did mean. We need a close relationship with
God. You remember how Jesus explained that relationship again in John 13. Says,
"I am the vine." And he says, "Ye are the branches." And it
says, "He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit," and we often pray this, don't we? He says, "For without me,
you can do nothing." Imagine being separated from Christ to try to do the
work that God has for us. I think of that day of Pentecost. Do you remember
whenever there was just a little band of ordinary people that had trusted the
Lord Jesus Christ and they met together? They met together there because the
Lord had said to him, he says, "Ye tarry in Jerusalem until ye be endued
with power from on high." Do you remember how they gathered together and
there they were with those words of the Lord Jesus Christ in their mind, in
their heart, and they were sitting waiting for this promise? Perhaps they just
didn't fully understand the promise, but they were waiting for it. The Lord
said it would come and so they were waiting for it. And then it says in verse
four in Acts chapter 2, it says whenever that Spirit came, it says they were
all filled with the Holy Ghost. Then they went out onto the streets and began
to preach. And they were preaching in such a way that every person, every
nation heard the gospel, heard the good the good news of God in their own
language. But they hadn't the power to do that themselves. It was whilst they
waited and whilst they were filled with the Holy Spirit that whenever they come
out onto the streets, God gave them the power even to do that. They began to
speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. God was using them.
They couldn't do that before. They were drawing from the well of the Holy
Spirit. They were drawing deep from the wells of the Holy Spirit on that
particular day. Remember how in Acts chapter 4 their ministry was called into
question? And there they were. They were standing before the leaders, the
Jewish leaders on that particular day. It says in Acts 4 verse 8, "then
Peter said unto them." But there's a something before that. It says,
"Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost said unto them." He was able
to educate those religious leaders.
He was able to rebuke what they were saying, but he could
only do that under the anointing of God with the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
You see, he was
drawing from the wells that particular day of the Holy
Spirit. Isn't that like you and me this morning? Whenever we get into a
situation, into a debate with someone and they bring up something and you
answer that person but you think to yourself afterwards, “where did I get that
from?” It's the Holy Spirit that just gives you that answer. That's what
happened Peter on this particular day. He's filled with the Holy Spirit and
he's listening to these religious leaders and they're calling into question
their preaching. It tells us that Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, began to
rebuke them and he began to educate them. This is the same Peter that just a
few days before this was in the garden with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible
says that he walked afar off. He hadn't many answers that day. The Bible says
that he went in to that judgment hall and three times he was asked about the
Lord Jesus Christ and he denied ever knowing him. What's the difference now?
He's standing here rebuking these religious leaders. How can he do that? He's
doing it because he's drawing from the wells of God's Holy Spirit, the Holy
Spirit of God. In Acts chapter 13, Paul recognizes the attempts of Satan to
pervert the ways of God. Paul had been preaching that day and the leader of the
local government wanted to know more about the Lord Jesus Christ and the faith
that Paul was preaching about. But there was a man there that tried to keep
that leader of the government away from the faith that Paul was preaching
about. But Paul recognized the situation that day. Acts chapter 13 verse 15 the
Holy Ghost brought joy into the disciples lives that day. We need to be drawing
from that same well this morning. What does Paul say the fruit of the spirit
is? He says it's love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance.
The scope of Joseph's life, Joseph's life was going
to tell in other places. His life was going to be a benefit for others. That's
what Jacob sees here. He's looking back over his life and he knows the benefit
that Joseph was to others. This young man was destined for the throne of Egypt.
That's where he was. But to get there, he must go through a lot of trials. And
maybe the trials and difficulties that you're going through this morning are
because God is bringing you through, to put you into a position that he wants
you into. We might take a shortcut. We might not want to be in that position, that
we don't want the trials that we have to go through first. Do you remember
Joseph had to put up with the hatred of his brothers? They plotted and planned against
him. He had to go through that dark deep well experience. We read in one of the
psalms how he was pleading with his brothers to lift him out of this but they ignored
him and they walked away from him and they left him in that place. A young man
of 17 years of age. His whole world turned upside down in the matter of
moments. But God was using that and God was with him in that dark place. He
must go through that experience. He must go through the degrading situation of
coming into Egypt and being sold in the marketplace. Of Potiphar coming and eyeing
him up and down and putting his hand into his purse and paying a price for him.
That must have been so degrading for him. And then he came in Potiphar’s house
and Potiphar's wife taking a longing for him and telling all sorts of lies
about this young man of 17 years of age, of what he tried to do to her and
getting him imprisoned and put into the prison house. And God was with him. Joseph
had to go through all this to take him to where God would have him to be. There
was no shortcut. There was no easy way for it. These were lessons that this
young man, Joseph, had to learn. And yet all the time his life is bearing
fruit. For two years he was in a prison house waiting. He had spoken to the
butler and the baker to ask them that whenever they went back into the palace
that somehow he would be remembered and they forgot about him. Maybe that's how
you feel this morning. Sometimes we can feel like that. You know, sometimes we
can feel we're set aside and we're forgotten about and nobody really knows
anything about us, but God does. God has you in that situation this morning.
And he's going to bring you through into the position that he would have for
you this morning. He must overcome all these things. He must go through all of
that to get where God would have him to be. Oh, we love the shortcuts. But
there's no shortcuts if we want to go through with God. And all the time, this
young man's life was bearing fruit. God was bringing him into a position to
save a nation, his own nation. That's what God was going to do for him. And the
fruit of his life was touching others. It touched Pharaoh because when he
looked at this young man, he knew that the Lord was with him. And God brought
him through and Joseph was able to sort out that whole governmental problem of that
great famine that came into the land. The scope of Joseph's life. Is that your
scope this morning?
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