1 00:00:30,579 --> 00:00:34,539 If you in your Bibles tonight, turn to Genesis chapter 40. Genesis, 2 00:00:34,539 --> 00:00:39,459 chapter 40. And again, picking up from our series on the on the 3 00:00:39,459 --> 00:00:44,099 life of Joseph from last year. And we have several, maybe three 4 00:00:44,099 --> 00:00:48,179 more messages to go. And we preached on Joseph before, but really 5 00:00:48,179 --> 00:00:53,099 haven't divided it up quite like I've done on this series. A 6 00:00:53,099 --> 00:00:56,659 little more calling this actually Lessons from the Life of 7 00:00:56,659 --> 00:01:01,419 Joseph. Lessons from the life of Joseph. So many things that we 8 00:01:01,419 --> 00:01:05,539 can learn from his example. And I'm thankful that as we look 9 00:01:05,539 --> 00:01:09,579 at New Testament doctrine, New Testament teaching, that the Bible 10 00:01:09,579 --> 00:01:12,459 makes it clear that we have Old Testament to give us examples 11 00:01:12,459 --> 00:01:15,979 and illustrations of those New Testament doctrine. And one of the 12 00:01:15,979 --> 00:01:19,619 great doctrines that we studied on Sunday night is that God 13 00:01:19,619 --> 00:01:24,739 does care. God does care. Cast all your care upon him. He careth 14 00:01:24,739 --> 00:01:28,699 for you. And we went through that on Wednesday night, this last 15 00:01:28,699 --> 00:01:31,379 Sunday night. I'll mention that again here in a moment. And 16 00:01:31,379 --> 00:01:34,299 so look at chapter 40, verse 1. And it came to pass after these 17 00:01:34,299 --> 00:01:38,579 things that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended 18 00:01:38,579 --> 00:01:41,699 their lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against two 19 00:01:41,699 --> 00:01:44,259 of his officers, against the chief of the butlers and against 20 00:01:44,259 --> 00:01:47,859 the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the house 21 00:01:47,859 --> 00:01:53,149 of the captain of the guard. We know that's Potiphar, right? Potiphar 22 00:01:53,149 --> 00:01:56,349 is the captain of the guard. And into the prison, the place where 23 00:01:56,349 --> 00:02:00,669 Joseph was bound. I guess that was just coincidence, wasn't it? 24 00:02:01,069 --> 00:02:04,029 Aren't you glad there's no coincidence with God? There's no 25 00:02:04,029 --> 00:02:07,789 happenstance with God. God has a plan, a purpose. Verse 4. And the 26 00:02:07,789 --> 00:02:11,269 captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them, 27 00:02:11,269 --> 00:02:15,829 and they continued his season in the ward. And they dreamed a dream, 28 00:02:15,829 --> 00:02:18,829 both of them, each man his dream in one night. And each man 29 00:02:18,829 --> 00:02:20,749 according to his interpretation of his dream, the 30 00:02:20,749 --> 00:02:23,809 butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in 31 00:02:23,809 --> 00:02:27,489 the prison. Verse 6. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning 32 00:02:27,489 --> 00:02:30,929 and looked upon them, and behold, they were sad. And he asked 33 00:02:30,929 --> 00:02:35,369 Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his Lord's 34 00:02:35,369 --> 00:02:41,249 house, saying, wherefore look ye so sadly today? And they said 35 00:02:41,249 --> 00:02:46,249 unto him, we have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter 36 00:02:46,249 --> 00:02:50,459 of it. And Joseph said unto them, do not interpretations belong 37 00:02:50,459 --> 00:02:54,859 to God? Tell me them, I pray you. I'm going to spend a little 38 00:02:54,859 --> 00:02:59,339 time on verse eight tonight. There's a lot there to learn. And 39 00:02:59,339 --> 00:03:02,299 the chief butler told his dream to Joseph and said unto him, 40 00:03:02,299 --> 00:03:06,179 in my dream, behold, a vine was before me, and in the vine were 41 00:03:06,179 --> 00:03:10,579 three branches. And it was as though it budded, and her blossoms 42 00:03:10,579 --> 00:03:15,179 shot forth, and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes. 43 00:03:15,659 --> 00:03:19,499 And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. And I took of the grapes and 44 00:03:19,499 --> 00:03:23,619 pressed them into Pharaoh's cup. And I gave the cup unto Pharaoh's 45 00:03:23,619 --> 00:03:27,659 hand. Verse 12. And Joseph said unto him, this is the interpretation 46 00:03:27,659 --> 00:03:31,059 of it. The three branches are three days. Yet within three days 47 00:03:31,059 --> 00:03:34,859 shall Pharaoh lift up thine head and restore thee unto thy place. 48 00:03:35,259 --> 00:03:38,299 And thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup unto his hand after 49 00:03:38,299 --> 00:03:42,669 the former manner, when thou wast his butler. But think on me 50 00:03:42,749 --> 00:03:46,149 when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness. I pray thee 51 00:03:46,149 --> 00:03:49,509 unto me. Make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of 52 00:03:49,509 --> 00:03:53,429 his house. Of this house. Verse 15. And indeed I was stolen 53 00:03:53,429 --> 00:03:57,069 away out of the land of Hebrews. And here also have I done 54 00:03:57,229 --> 00:04:01,949 nothing that should put me into the dungeon. And when the chief 55 00:04:01,949 --> 00:04:04,069 baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said 56 00:04:04,069 --> 00:04:09,079 unto Joseph, I also was in my dream. And behold, I had three white 57 00:04:09,159 --> 00:04:14,599 baskets on my head. And in the utmost basket there was of all manner 58 00:04:14,599 --> 00:04:18,639 of baked meats for Pharaoh. And the birds did eat them out of 59 00:04:18,639 --> 00:04:21,919 the basket upon my head. And Joseph answered and said, this is 60 00:04:21,919 --> 00:04:25,679 the interpretation thereof. The three baskets are three days. 61 00:04:25,679 --> 00:04:29,239 Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off 62 00:04:29,239 --> 00:04:34,209 thee. That's not good. And shall hang thee on a tree that's 63 00:04:34,209 --> 00:04:37,929 not good. And the bird shall eat thy flesh from off of thee. And 64 00:04:37,929 --> 00:04:42,689 that's not good. Verse 20. And it came to pass the third day which 65 00:04:42,689 --> 00:04:47,649 was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants. 66 00:04:47,969 --> 00:04:51,089 And he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief 67 00:04:51,089 --> 00:04:54,609 baker among his servants, and restored the chief butler unto his 68 00:04:54,609 --> 00:04:59,049 butlership again. And he gave the cup unto Pharaoh's hand. But 69 00:04:59,049 --> 00:05:03,489 he hanged the cheap baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet 70 00:05:03,649 --> 00:05:07,849 did not the cheap butler remember Joseph, but forgot him again. 71 00:05:07,849 --> 00:05:10,809 Let's pray. Lord, bless again the reading of your word. Bless the 72 00:05:10,809 --> 00:05:16,209 message tonight. Lord, help us again to see the wonderful, wonderful 73 00:05:16,209 --> 00:05:21,929 truth that you do care in Jesus name. Amen. As we said Sunday 74 00:05:21,929 --> 00:05:26,429 night, difficulties are a part of life. Every one of us face difficulties 75 00:05:26,989 --> 00:05:31,549 on a daily basis, and some bigger than others. John 16. Jesus 76 00:05:31,549 --> 00:05:36,989 said his words. 33, verse 33. These things have I spoken unto thee, 77 00:05:37,149 --> 00:05:40,749 that in this world you shall have tribulation. But be of good 78 00:05:40,749 --> 00:05:44,389 cheer, I have overcome the world. Jesus said, in this world 79 00:05:44,389 --> 00:05:47,749 you shall have tribulation. And no matter what the TV evangelist 80 00:05:47,749 --> 00:05:52,469 may say or some self help guru or some of the modern day preachers 81 00:05:52,469 --> 00:05:55,189 would say, well, if you get saved, everything's going to be okay. 82 00:05:55,829 --> 00:05:59,789 The Bible never says that. The Bible says that God will be with 83 00:05:59,789 --> 00:06:03,269 you in your problems and in your difficulties. He will carry 84 00:06:03,269 --> 00:06:06,348 you through those problems and difficulties. Just as he was with 85 00:06:06,348 --> 00:06:09,789 the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, so will he be 86 00:06:09,789 --> 00:06:13,189 with us. But he never promises that all our problems will go away. 87 00:06:13,989 --> 00:06:17,949 And as Christians or as unbelievers, we all face difficulties, 88 00:06:18,339 --> 00:06:23,819 all have circumstances that we face every day. But we can see from 89 00:06:23,819 --> 00:06:28,299 here that Joseph believed that God cared. Joseph believed and had 90 00:06:28,299 --> 00:06:33,579 a strong conviction that God cared. Joseph never lost faith. We 91 00:06:33,579 --> 00:06:37,739 need to be convinced of God's care, that no matter what circumstances 92 00:06:37,739 --> 00:06:42,659 we're facing, that God cares for us. As Joseph never lost faith, 93 00:06:42,659 --> 00:06:47,689 so should we never lose faith. We should trust in God's care. As 94 00:06:47,689 --> 00:06:50,929 we said Sunday night, 1st Peter 5:7, casting all your care 95 00:06:50,929 --> 00:06:55,609 upon him, for he careth for you. That word careth when it describes 96 00:06:55,609 --> 00:07:00,128 what God is doing is singular and it on the end, which means he's 97 00:07:00,128 --> 00:07:03,609 continually caring. Not for the crowd, not for the world, but 98 00:07:03,609 --> 00:07:06,849 he does that as well. But the individual, each individual, as if 99 00:07:06,849 --> 00:07:12,939 you were the only one alive. He cares for you. By the way, it's 100 00:07:12,939 --> 00:07:17,219 the same thing with John 3:16. For God so loved the world. He loves 101 00:07:17,219 --> 00:07:23,579 us individually. We see that as a as in the big picture. And God 102 00:07:23,579 --> 00:07:28,579 sees the individual. God cares for you. We talked about Sunday night. 103 00:07:28,579 --> 00:07:34,699 How can we cast our care upon him? Well, we can do that by surrendering 104 00:07:34,699 --> 00:07:38,889 and yielding our will to his. We do that by trusting in him. We 105 00:07:38,889 --> 00:07:43,009 do that by rejoicing. Rejoice. What? Always and again I say rejoice. 106 00:07:43,329 --> 00:07:48,089 Hard to rejoice and be depressed and stressed. If you're 107 00:07:48,089 --> 00:07:53,769 rejoicing and thanking God and then patience, well, that's a hard 108 00:07:53,769 --> 00:07:57,849 one for me. And service. Serving others brings joy into our 109 00:07:57,849 --> 00:08:02,759 life. Giving to others and being a blessing to others brings 110 00:08:02,759 --> 00:08:11,919 about joy and care in our life. So that was Sunday night. We 111 00:08:11,919 --> 00:08:16,919 think about again, just a slight review. In chapter 37 we find 112 00:08:16,919 --> 00:08:22,039 that Joseph is loved of his Father. In fact he is preferred above 113 00:08:22,039 --> 00:08:26,599 his brethren, though he's the youngest. And because of that and 114 00:08:26,999 --> 00:08:30,239 the dream that Joseph had, remember, Joseph had a dream. He 115 00:08:30,239 --> 00:08:34,319 had a dream of the sun, moon and stars bowing to him. He had a 116 00:08:34,319 --> 00:08:40,839 dream of the sheaths bowing to his sheaf. And so the brothers were 117 00:08:41,639 --> 00:08:46,199 jealous of that. They thought Joseph was just being prideful. And 118 00:08:46,599 --> 00:08:51,799 they hated him for it. And though his father loved him and loved 119 00:08:51,799 --> 00:08:55,719 him above his brethren, they hated him. His brothers hated him. 120 00:08:58,569 --> 00:09:00,529 By the way, I want to remind you that when Joseph dreamed those 121 00:09:00,529 --> 00:09:06,849 dreams, that was God's word to him in the Old Testament. As I said 122 00:09:06,849 --> 00:09:12,449 to the HCA students this morning in chapel in the Old Testament, 123 00:09:12,449 --> 00:09:15,209 the dreams and visions that they would have are God speaking 124 00:09:15,209 --> 00:09:19,249 to them directly. And we know that God spoke to Abraham directly. 125 00:09:19,249 --> 00:09:22,009 And we could name other patriarchs that God spoke to directly, 126 00:09:22,439 --> 00:09:26,439 audibly. And that's the way in which God spoke in the Old Testament 127 00:09:26,919 --> 00:09:30,319 wasn't just the written word. And there was, of course, Moses written 128 00:09:30,319 --> 00:09:33,879 word, but it was God speaking to them or through visions or through 129 00:09:33,879 --> 00:09:37,799 dreams. So my point to that is, and I've said this before, that 130 00:09:38,199 --> 00:09:43,359 when Joseph dreamed the dream that should have, you know, got the 131 00:09:43,359 --> 00:09:48,359 antennas up, that God had spoke to him and that God's word 132 00:09:48,359 --> 00:09:51,709 was true. And they should have. They should have said, well, 133 00:09:52,109 --> 00:09:55,629 they should have accepted God's word. But Jacob, his father, 134 00:09:55,629 --> 00:09:59,189 rejected it. His brothers especially rejected it. So what were 135 00:09:59,189 --> 00:10:03,709 the dreams saying? The dreams were saying to Joseph and to Jacob, 136 00:10:03,709 --> 00:10:07,949 his father and family, that one day Joseph would lead the family. 137 00:10:08,509 --> 00:10:11,269 And we know in the Old Testament, in that day and age and 138 00:10:11,269 --> 00:10:16,839 in that society that normally the oldest son would lead the family. 139 00:10:17,479 --> 00:10:21,159 But God in the dream to Joseph was saying, no, the oldest isn't 140 00:10:21,159 --> 00:10:23,879 going to lead the family. Joseph's going to lead the family. 141 00:10:24,279 --> 00:10:29,879 But they. The family rejected God's word. They rejected God's promise. 142 00:10:30,919 --> 00:10:36,319 But Joseph accepted it. Joseph believed it, and Joseph trusted. 143 00:10:36,319 --> 00:10:40,119 And I'll show you here in a minute why, I mean, very evidently 144 00:10:40,119 --> 00:10:46,809 why he did, or at least the results of why he did or the evidence 145 00:10:46,809 --> 00:10:53,649 of why he did. And I love this one. When I came across this years 146 00:10:53,649 --> 00:10:58,809 ago, by the way, if Jacob, his father, had believed the word that 147 00:10:58,809 --> 00:11:03,049 was given to Joseph when his brothers came to him, came to dad 148 00:11:03,049 --> 00:11:05,649 and said, hey, look, here's the coat of many colors. Look at 149 00:11:05,649 --> 00:11:10,899 the blood on it. Your son is dead. If Jacob would have believed 150 00:11:10,899 --> 00:11:16,139 God's word, he would have said, no, he's not. No, he's not. 151 00:11:17,019 --> 00:11:19,419 God's promise that Joseph's going to lead our family one day. 152 00:11:19,419 --> 00:11:24,099 So he has to be alive because God always keeps his promises. But 153 00:11:24,099 --> 00:11:29,419 because of Jacob's rejection of God's Word, we know the story. 154 00:11:29,659 --> 00:11:38,149 He was, you know, sad to the point of death. Chapter 39, we have 155 00:11:38,229 --> 00:11:42,309 again, we know that Joseph's brother sold him into slavery and 156 00:11:42,469 --> 00:11:47,029 he's brought down to Egypt and Potiphar purchases him the captain 157 00:11:47,029 --> 00:11:51,429 of the guard. And there in Potiphar's house, God blesses him. 158 00:11:51,429 --> 00:11:54,989 And you know, Potiphar doesn't even know what's on the table. He 159 00:11:54,989 --> 00:11:58,389 doesn't know what he owns. I mean Joseph's handling and administrating 160 00:11:58,389 --> 00:12:04,909 and stewarding all of his stuff. And Potiphar's wife made advances 161 00:12:04,909 --> 00:12:12,629 to Joseph, tempted Joseph and Joseph resisted the temptation. Joseph 162 00:12:12,629 --> 00:12:18,269 had a strong conviction concerning biblical purity, but she 163 00:12:18,589 --> 00:12:24,509 accused him and so Potiphar put him in prison. And so Joseph 164 00:12:24,509 --> 00:12:28,269 went from the pit to that his brothers threw him into to Potiphar's 165 00:12:28,269 --> 00:12:35,589 house. And now we pick it up where he's in prison. He's in some 166 00:12:35,829 --> 00:12:42,229 difficult circumstances, faces some difficult circumstances. He 167 00:12:42,229 --> 00:12:50,149 is surrounded by, encompassed by a big problem. We all face difficult 168 00:12:50,149 --> 00:12:55,879 circumstances. We all face conditions that surround us. By the 169 00:12:55,879 --> 00:13:00,679 way some of those things are out of our control. Probably were 170 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:02,839 there, you've been there and probably were there today. Maybe 171 00:13:02,839 --> 00:13:08,639 at some point. Some things we create ourselves, some circumstances, 172 00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:16,279 circumstances, the way an event happens or the way the result 173 00:13:16,279 --> 00:13:21,609 of event that you have no control over circumstances, maybe 174 00:13:21,609 --> 00:13:25,969 they be a social circumstance or maybe it's a financial circumstance 175 00:13:25,969 --> 00:13:32,409 or a spiritual circumstance you think about and I'm not going 176 00:13:32,409 --> 00:13:34,728 to illustrate it tonight by bringing somebody up here, but if 177 00:13:35,209 --> 00:13:38,929 I was to bring some men up here and surround me and then they 178 00:13:38,929 --> 00:13:43,929 would begin to close in on me, that's being surrounded by your circumstances. 179 00:13:45,609 --> 00:13:49,209 Had some teenagers in here. We'd illustrate it, see if I could 180 00:13:49,209 --> 00:13:53,849 bust out of the circumstances. Again, the circumstances many times 181 00:13:53,849 --> 00:13:57,569 will begin to push in around us. Whether it's work or whether 182 00:13:57,569 --> 00:14:00,809 it's bills or whether it's family, whether it's church or whether 183 00:14:00,809 --> 00:14:04,729 it's friends or health. I mean again, you can go through the list. 184 00:14:04,969 --> 00:14:09,569 The circumstances many times surround us and it begins to squeeze 185 00:14:09,569 --> 00:14:15,809 us. We can feel like the circumstances are closing in around 186 00:14:15,809 --> 00:14:21,209 us. How do we keep the faith in those times? Well, Joseph's a 187 00:14:21,209 --> 00:14:28,209 wonderful example, a wonderful example of how to handle circumstances 188 00:14:28,209 --> 00:14:32,009 that come into our life. And if I was just to cut to the chase 189 00:14:32,009 --> 00:14:35,969 which most of you here know, he was able to handle the circumstances 190 00:14:35,969 --> 00:14:43,829 because he trusted God, pray and be dismissed. What was Joseph's 191 00:14:43,829 --> 00:14:47,509 difficult circumstance? Well, again, context. Hated by his brothers, 192 00:14:47,589 --> 00:14:51,669 sold into slavery, falsely accused, locked up. And now he's 193 00:14:51,669 --> 00:14:59,749 been there 10 years. 10 years he's been in Egypt. And then the 194 00:14:59,749 --> 00:15:05,309 Bible says, and it came to pass after these things, well, that's 195 00:15:05,309 --> 00:15:09,869 a lot of These things, you could probably make a list too, right? 196 00:15:10,029 --> 00:15:16,069 Not probably. We all could make a list after these things this 197 00:15:16,069 --> 00:15:20,349 happened or after these things this occurrence took place. But here 198 00:15:20,349 --> 00:15:24,669 we have the happenstance of the butler and the baker being thrown 199 00:15:24,669 --> 00:15:29,109 into prison with Joseph. And again, there's no information as 200 00:15:29,109 --> 00:15:32,209 to why they were thrown into prison. I've read a bunch of different 201 00:15:32,209 --> 00:15:35,409 commentaries and there's speculation, you know, maybe they 202 00:15:35,409 --> 00:15:39,809 were trying to kill Pharaoh and he found out. Maybe the baker 203 00:15:39,809 --> 00:15:43,489 was the one who eventually found out that maybe he was the spearhead 204 00:15:43,489 --> 00:15:46,529 of that and that's why he was killed. But the Bible doesn't give 205 00:15:46,529 --> 00:15:50,169 us any information to that. By the way, when the Bible doesn't, 206 00:15:50,169 --> 00:15:52,569 when the Bible stays silent about something, we ought to be silent 207 00:15:52,569 --> 00:15:57,049 about it too. So be careful about that. They both dreamed dreams. 208 00:15:58,089 --> 00:16:02,689 But I love verse eight, it said, and he that is, they said unto 209 00:16:02,689 --> 00:16:05,529 him, we have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpretation of 210 00:16:05,529 --> 00:16:09,449 it. And Joseph said unto them, do not interpretations belong to 211 00:16:09,449 --> 00:16:17,449 God? Tell me them, I pray you. I've preached this many, many times. 212 00:16:17,449 --> 00:16:21,969 I have, and so have many of you who've taught in Sunday school 213 00:16:21,969 --> 00:16:25,939 class. One of great Sunday school lessons with kids and whether 214 00:16:25,939 --> 00:16:28,779 you're teaching children's church or whatever the case is. I 215 00:16:28,779 --> 00:16:31,579 don't know how many times I've preached this or at least use it 216 00:16:31,579 --> 00:16:34,179 as an illustration. How many times have I used an illustration? 217 00:16:34,179 --> 00:16:41,099 Probably a thousand times that Joseph again kept the faith. That 218 00:16:41,099 --> 00:16:45,419 Joseph realized that though his brethren sold him into slavery 219 00:16:45,419 --> 00:16:48,259 and did all those things, at the end he says, you know what? You 220 00:16:48,259 --> 00:16:53,439 meant it for evil, but what God meant it for good. And I always 221 00:16:53,439 --> 00:16:56,239 go back to again, that God always has our best interest in mind. 222 00:16:56,239 --> 00:16:58,839 That God works all things together for good to them that love 223 00:16:58,839 --> 00:17:02,039 God, to them who are called according to his purpose. God has 224 00:17:02,039 --> 00:17:04,879 a plan and a purpose for everything that comes into our life. 225 00:17:05,758 --> 00:17:09,799 Maybe it's a test, maybe it's a spanking that we need. By the way, 226 00:17:09,799 --> 00:17:14,959 whom the Lord loveth he what chasteneth so sometimes it is that, 227 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:20,279 but it is God who, conforming us, Romans tells us, conforming us 228 00:17:20,279 --> 00:17:25,279 into the image of his Son. He is chipping away at us. He is burning 229 00:17:25,279 --> 00:17:29,799 the dross. He's burning the impurities off of us. He's chipping 230 00:17:29,799 --> 00:17:34,439 away at that diamond and perfecting us, completing us. Is 231 00:17:34,439 --> 00:17:42,159 the Word completing us. But many times our response to adversity, 232 00:17:42,889 --> 00:17:49,169 Not a proper biblical response. We need to respond as Joseph 233 00:17:49,169 --> 00:17:56,809 has responded. Joseph responded by telling these two men, 234 00:17:59,929 --> 00:18:06,249 isn't it God who interprets dreams, Isn't it God who gives us 235 00:18:07,049 --> 00:18:10,889 what and how? And what about the dreams? I mean, it's God is going 236 00:18:10,889 --> 00:18:15,349 to do it. I'm thankful that Joseph always acknowledged God and 237 00:18:15,349 --> 00:18:19,229 gave glory to God. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean 238 00:18:19,229 --> 00:18:21,549 not into thine own understanding and all thy ways that 239 00:18:21,549 --> 00:18:26,389 what acknowledge him, then he will direct your paths. You acknowledge 240 00:18:26,389 --> 00:18:29,349 that God, you give him the glory, you give him the credit. He'll 241 00:18:29,349 --> 00:18:32,229 direct you, he'll guide you. And that's what he did for Joseph. 242 00:18:32,229 --> 00:18:37,309 He directed and guided him. Because he trusted God, he kept the 243 00:18:37,309 --> 00:18:43,219 faith. He was confident that God knew and would reveal the answer 244 00:18:43,219 --> 00:18:48,059 to these two men. Listen to this. Now, this is where I want to 245 00:18:48,059 --> 00:18:52,579 get to tonight. Joseph's response to them proved that he still 246 00:18:52,579 --> 00:18:59,859 trusted God. Joseph's response proved that he still trusted God 247 00:18:59,859 --> 00:19:03,829 and had faith that his own dream would be fulfilled. You say, 248 00:19:03,829 --> 00:19:08,709 well, preacher, how do you know that? Pretty easy. Take the 249 00:19:08,709 --> 00:19:12,949 scenario again. Two men thrown into prison. There's Joseph in the 250 00:19:13,109 --> 00:19:16,629 ward. He's in the prison he has now been given. You know, he's 251 00:19:16,629 --> 00:19:20,509 the steward of that prison, taking care of the prison underneath 252 00:19:20,509 --> 00:19:24,669 the captain of the guard. And these two men get thrown in. And 253 00:19:24,669 --> 00:19:28,469 the next morning he comes in, the two men are sad. He asks them 254 00:19:28,469 --> 00:19:31,509 why they're sad. And they said, well, we both had dreams and 255 00:19:32,299 --> 00:19:37,659 there's nobody here to interpret it. If Joseph had become 256 00:19:38,619 --> 00:19:42,859 cynical and if Joseph had become a lot like other Christians 257 00:19:42,859 --> 00:19:47,259 and non Christians about God and the circumstances they're in 258 00:19:47,259 --> 00:19:50,659 because of these circumstances, he would have said 259 00:19:50,659 --> 00:19:54,899 something like this, well, doesn't matter anyway. Your dreams 260 00:19:54,899 --> 00:19:59,509 don't mean nothing anyway. His response would have been something 261 00:19:59,509 --> 00:20:04,149 like, well, I had a dream, but you know, but nothing never came 262 00:20:04,149 --> 00:20:06,469 of it. Nothing will ever come of your dream. Don't worry about 263 00:20:06,469 --> 00:20:12,509 it. Wouldn't that have been the response? I mean, again, sold 264 00:20:12,509 --> 00:20:18,269 into slavery by his brothers. He's 17 years old. Imagine 17 years 265 00:20:18,269 --> 00:20:20,789 old and being thrown down in the pit. And your brothers pick you 266 00:20:20,789 --> 00:20:23,379 out of the pit and they sell you to some idiots. And now you're 267 00:20:23,379 --> 00:20:26,019 on your way to Egypt and you come to the captain of the guard 268 00:20:26,019 --> 00:20:34,899 and imagine being that young and going through that. 17. I was 269 00:20:35,699 --> 00:20:40,419 having fun with my Chevrolet truck and dating Tanya and, you know, 270 00:20:41,139 --> 00:20:51,109 having fun going to school. He's a slave. And yet when he's asked, 271 00:20:51,349 --> 00:20:56,949 he's in prison. And yet when he's asked, he says, doesn't interpretations 272 00:20:56,949 --> 00:21:02,789 belong to God? I don't know about You. But I've met many people 273 00:21:02,789 --> 00:21:09,149 who would be like, what I was just illustrating, who would say 274 00:21:09,149 --> 00:21:13,269 things like, well, your dreams don't mean anything anyway. Look 275 00:21:13,269 --> 00:21:17,919 what God's done to me. I had a dream one time, but look where I'm 276 00:21:17,919 --> 00:21:21,679 at. It's foolish to believe. And really the application tonight 277 00:21:21,679 --> 00:21:27,799 would be, it's foolish to believe in the promises of God. That 278 00:21:27,799 --> 00:21:30,879 would have been his response. I'm just saying, had he given up 279 00:21:30,879 --> 00:21:38,559 the faith, had he let his circumstance drag him down. And his 280 00:21:38,559 --> 00:21:42,249 response would have been, well, God doesn't keep his promises. 281 00:21:44,089 --> 00:21:49,889 But that wasn't his response. His response was very positive. God 282 00:21:49,889 --> 00:21:54,809 interprets dreams. How many people have you met who you say to 283 00:21:54,809 --> 00:21:57,609 them, hey man, I'd love to invite you to church. Or maybe you're 284 00:21:57,609 --> 00:22:01,089 trying to minister to them. And they say, well, you know, look 285 00:22:01,089 --> 00:22:04,809 how my life has turned out. God hasn't kept his promises to me. 286 00:22:05,939 --> 00:22:09,379 You know, I don't know that God is what he says he really is. 287 00:22:10,099 --> 00:22:12,179 You've been there. You ever talked to somebody like that? Maybe 288 00:22:12,179 --> 00:22:16,619 that's you, maybe you've been there a time or two. But we need 289 00:22:16,619 --> 00:22:23,659 to be careful, don't we? Joseph trusted God. In spite of the 290 00:22:23,659 --> 00:22:27,379 circumstances, he was in his unwavering faith. And his positive 291 00:22:27,379 --> 00:22:32,949 response ultimately led to his release and the fulfillment of God's 292 00:22:32,949 --> 00:22:38,389 promise to him. Remember we were studying Caleb and we were studying 293 00:22:38,389 --> 00:22:41,629 Joshua, the book of Joshua, and we were reminded of the promise 294 00:22:41,629 --> 00:22:44,269 that God gave Caleb and Joshua, that one day they would go 295 00:22:44,269 --> 00:22:46,669 into the promised land and God would give them the land that they 296 00:22:46,669 --> 00:22:49,869 had promised. And in fact, the land that they had spied out, that 297 00:22:49,869 --> 00:22:52,549 Caleb had spied out and Joshua spied out, that God would give them 298 00:22:52,549 --> 00:22:57,189 that particular area. And that's the Hebron area. And so Caleb 299 00:22:57,189 --> 00:23:01,749 finally does come to. Joshua says, hey, remember back when God 300 00:23:01,749 --> 00:23:06,709 promised you and he promised me that mountain, the place of the 301 00:23:06,709 --> 00:23:12,069 giants, the place, the city of Hebron in that area. Remember that? 302 00:23:14,469 --> 00:23:18,109 I want the mountain, Caleb said, I want what God promised to 303 00:23:18,109 --> 00:23:23,589 me. 45 years later, God kept his promise. Aren't you glad the 304 00:23:23,589 --> 00:23:28,789 promises of God again are not voided by time? That God is never 305 00:23:28,789 --> 00:23:33,349 early, he's never late, he's always on time. And that is hard 306 00:23:33,349 --> 00:23:36,589 for us. As I said Sunday night, patience is difficult for 307 00:23:36,589 --> 00:23:41,229 me, man, I get so frustrated, man, I go through a drive through 308 00:23:41,229 --> 00:23:45,229 and I get so frustrated. The feeling of frustration boils up inside 309 00:23:45,229 --> 00:23:48,269 of me. When my kids were little, I literally, whoever was 310 00:23:48,269 --> 00:23:52,229 in the back seat on the side on the driver's side I would drive 311 00:23:52,229 --> 00:23:55,729 forward and let them take the order. Like I don't want to take 312 00:23:55,729 --> 00:23:59,929 the order through the drive thru. Let you know Caleb or Joshua 313 00:23:59,929 --> 00:24:03,449 do it. Because man, I'd get frustrated. Number one, I couldn't 314 00:24:03,449 --> 00:24:06,489 hear them. Sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher talking, 315 00:24:06,489 --> 00:24:13,729 wa wa wa wa wa wa. Now they, most of the drive thru restaurants 316 00:24:13,729 --> 00:24:16,529 now have improved that greatly. But man, back in the day 317 00:24:16,929 --> 00:24:22,639 it was absolutely frustrating. So many times in our circumstances 318 00:24:22,639 --> 00:24:31,479 we get frustrated, we get frustrated. We began to lose faith 319 00:24:32,439 --> 00:24:38,319 in our trust in God. It's good to be reminded that because Joseph 320 00:24:38,319 --> 00:24:43,959 did not lose faith, it ultimately led to his release and 321 00:24:44,279 --> 00:24:47,389 the fulfillment of the promise that God gave him. What would have 322 00:24:47,389 --> 00:24:53,749 happened had Joseph said, well your dreams really don't mean anything. 323 00:24:56,629 --> 00:25:00,789 God hasn't kept his promise to me. What if he'd have said that? 324 00:25:02,469 --> 00:25:06,949 He would probably have stayed in prison and most likely he would 325 00:25:06,949 --> 00:25:11,189 not have seen ultimately the promise fulfilled that God had given 326 00:25:11,189 --> 00:25:16,879 to him. Can get a witness, right? So your response to your circumstance 327 00:25:17,679 --> 00:25:23,199 is highly important. Highly important to what? To your future. 328 00:25:25,839 --> 00:25:31,479 To your future. What God can do for you and what God will do for 329 00:25:31,479 --> 00:25:37,839 you so many times is dictated by what you do now. Now I'm thankful 330 00:25:38,639 --> 00:25:43,079 there is the grace of God and I'm thankful there are times in which 331 00:25:43,079 --> 00:25:46,639 God does not give us what we deserve and he shows us great grace. 332 00:25:46,959 --> 00:25:52,759 And though we are stubborn and stiff necked like the children of 333 00:25:52,759 --> 00:25:56,479 Israel, God blessed them anyway, didn't He? Provided for them, 334 00:25:56,479 --> 00:25:59,199 did things for them. It's an amazing miracle that God would do 335 00:25:59,199 --> 00:26:03,769 that for us as well. But be careful about predisposition. You 336 00:26:03,769 --> 00:26:09,609 know, presupposing on the grace of God. And I preached a sermon 337 00:26:09,609 --> 00:26:13,929 on that here years ago. Many times we do that, we think, well 338 00:26:13,929 --> 00:26:17,929 the grace of God will cover it. You know what? I'm thankful that 339 00:26:17,929 --> 00:26:22,769 we serve a gracious God. You as a parent. We're gracious with 340 00:26:22,769 --> 00:26:27,609 our kids, aren't we? We really are. There, there is things they 341 00:26:27,609 --> 00:26:32,069 really deserve. We all just knock them out. Knock him out, John. 342 00:26:33,349 --> 00:26:37,229 Who's John? Anyway, we won't go through that. Yeah, I mean, but 343 00:26:37,229 --> 00:26:39,509 we're gracious to our kids. Sometimes we don't give them what 344 00:26:39,509 --> 00:26:43,429 they deserve and many times show mercy to them. And I'm thankful 345 00:26:43,429 --> 00:26:47,429 our Heavenly Father does the same. But sometimes our kids will 346 00:26:47,429 --> 00:26:52,829 get in the habit of pushing us and just supposing that we won't 347 00:26:52,829 --> 00:26:57,329 do nothing. Can I just tell you that God, what you do now affects 348 00:26:57,329 --> 00:27:01,649 the future. Your Trust in God and your faith in the promises of 349 00:27:01,649 --> 00:27:07,209 God may be contingent upon what God can do for you in the future. 350 00:27:07,209 --> 00:27:10,289 Does that make sense? And we see that in the life of Joseph, had 351 00:27:10,289 --> 00:27:15,329 he not had a very strong conviction concerning the promise 352 00:27:15,329 --> 00:27:23,139 that God had given him, underneath the circumstances, he 353 00:27:23,139 --> 00:27:31,179 would have missed out on the great promise. By the way, who else 354 00:27:31,179 --> 00:27:37,258 would have missed out the then known world? Because of Joseph, the 355 00:27:37,258 --> 00:27:42,019 then known world was saved from starvation. Isn't that amazing? 356 00:27:43,459 --> 00:27:47,939 Be careful. We, as Joseph did, should put our trust in God and not 357 00:27:47,939 --> 00:27:51,459 lose faith. And we know the rest of the story. Again, as we think 358 00:27:51,459 --> 00:27:56,459 about, the butler is returned to his position, the baker dies and 359 00:27:56,699 --> 00:28:01,019 so the dreams are fulfilled. But we know that the butler did not 360 00:28:01,019 --> 00:28:04,419 remember Joseph. But that's not the end of the story. We're not 361 00:28:04,419 --> 00:28:07,659 going to go read it. But again, chapter 41, verses 1 and 10 362 00:28:07,819 --> 00:28:11,339 makes it very clear that God was working on behalf of Joseph. 363 00:28:11,739 --> 00:28:15,739 That God was working behind the scenes. And things were about 364 00:28:15,739 --> 00:28:19,729 to change big time for Joseph. Three years later, they did change. 365 00:28:21,649 --> 00:28:24,969 Joseph did not lose faith because he was convinced of God's 366 00:28:24,969 --> 00:28:29,929 care. We need to be convinced of God's care. When circumstances 367 00:28:29,929 --> 00:28:36,849 crowded around us, we need to put our trust in Him. God's presence 368 00:28:37,089 --> 00:28:43,369 is promised in our life. Hard times come to those in God's will. 369 00:28:43,369 --> 00:28:46,699 And hard times come to those who are out of God's will. Remember 370 00:28:46,699 --> 00:28:51,659 that. Who told the disciples to get into the ship and go to the 371 00:28:51,659 --> 00:28:55,179 other side of Galilee? Yet they faced a storm. You can be in 372 00:28:55,179 --> 00:29:00,939 God's will and still face storms. Remember how Jesus came to 373 00:29:00,939 --> 00:29:04,659 them in the midst of their storm? He walked on the Sea of Galilee 374 00:29:05,619 --> 00:29:10,099 and he'll walk to you in the midst of your storm. Hard times will 375 00:29:10,099 --> 00:29:15,549 come. Difficult circumstances will come. And we must be faithful 376 00:29:15,949 --> 00:29:22,949 in our conviction and faith. The circumstances of our life are 377 00:29:22,949 --> 00:29:27,909 simply opportunities for God to work in our lives. The circumstances 378 00:29:27,909 --> 00:29:30,469 in our life are simply opportunities for God to reveal our 379 00:29:30,469 --> 00:29:34,469 true heart. And I used both of those illustrations. Sunday or Sunday 380 00:29:34,469 --> 00:29:38,889 night again? How do we get good tea? Well, it has to go through 381 00:29:38,889 --> 00:29:45,969 the hot process first to get the good stuff, you know. How does 382 00:29:45,969 --> 00:29:49,169 a caterpillar become a butterfly? Well, it has to break 383 00:29:49,169 --> 00:29:51,809 out of the cocoon and you can't help it. It has to do it itself. 384 00:29:54,049 --> 00:29:57,769 God uses circumstances in our life to shape us and conform us and 385 00:29:57,769 --> 00:30:02,369 mold us in the image of His Son. But it is contingent on our 386 00:30:02,369 --> 00:30:09,539 faith, our acceptance and our trust in Him. God cares for you. 387 00:30:09,539 --> 00:30:13,059 Do you believe that no matter what you may face tonight Whatever 388 00:30:13,059 --> 00:30:16,819 you face tomorrow God cares for you he's there in the midst of 389 00:30:16,819 --> 00:30:21,739 the storm he's there in the midst of the fire he's there he will 390 00:30:21,739 --> 00:30:27,779 carry you I could sing lots of songs that illustrate that God is 391 00:30:27,779 --> 00:30:32,119 so good and God is so merciful and kind to us. We must trust in 392 00:30:32,119 --> 00:30:35,199 his care. Let's all stand. We'll have a verse invitation tonight. 393 00:30:35,759 --> 00:30:41,519 Sing a verse of have thine own Way Lord have Thine own way. Very 394 00:30:41,519 --> 00:30:46,399 appropriate in light of the message tonight. After we pray. Heavenly 395 00:30:46,399 --> 00:30:52,959 Father, again we come to you. I realize and know that in the audience 396 00:30:52,959 --> 00:30:56,079 tonight and maybe those watching online there are circumstances 397 00:30:56,399 --> 00:31:00,719 that we all face. Maybe there are some here tonight who are truly 398 00:31:00,719 --> 00:31:03,359 hurting and in a difficult circumstance. And I pray God that 399 00:31:03,359 --> 00:31:07,679 you would encourage them, strengthen them, give them grace 400 00:31:07,679 --> 00:31:11,879 and mercy that you have promised. And Lord I pray that we 401 00:31:11,879 --> 00:31:19,079 would be convinced, thoroughly convinced that you do care. Love 402 00:31:19,079 --> 00:31:21,159 you and thank you. In Jesus name, amen.