WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.219 because we've been doing a thing where we stand 00:00:01.219 --> 00:00:03.720 up and we read a part of the passage and then 00:00:03.720 --> 00:00:05.940 where we go from there. And this morning we're 00:00:05.940 --> 00:00:06.940 going to do it a little bit differently. We're 00:00:06.940 --> 00:00:09.039 not going to do that today. But that's because 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:11.320 I want to take a minute to give us five things 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:12.660 we're going to be looking at this morning as 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:15.099 we walk through Genesis 41. So I actually had 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:16.719 the privilege when I was in seminary of preaching 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:18.940 through the life of Joseph at a church as an 00:00:18.940 --> 00:00:21.059 interim pastor. And when I got to Genesis 41, 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:23.559 you know, I was admittedly probably a little 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:26.010 too short on time and I... Kind of was like Pharaoh 00:00:26.010 --> 00:00:28.269 had a few dreams, and Joseph, you know, was able 00:00:28.269 --> 00:00:29.550 to interpret those dreams, and it was all cool, 00:00:29.710 --> 00:00:31.589 and there's that. And I remember getting to the 00:00:31.589 --> 00:00:33.490 application point and being like, I have no idea 00:00:33.490 --> 00:00:36.630 how this applies to our lives. And I stumbled 00:00:36.630 --> 00:00:38.649 through something, and the people of the church 00:00:38.649 --> 00:00:43.030 were very gracious to me. There was one older 00:00:43.030 --> 00:00:46.390 woman who was 95, and every week she would come 00:00:46.390 --> 00:00:48.090 up to me. This was the middle of the COVID pandemic, 00:00:48.130 --> 00:00:50.750 and she would say, Pastor, could I give you a 00:00:50.750 --> 00:00:53.810 hug? And every week I was like, yes, yes, you 00:00:53.810 --> 00:00:58.450 can. But, you know, I think looking back at that, 00:00:58.590 --> 00:01:02.670 I think I made a fatal mistake with Genesis 41. 00:01:03.929 --> 00:01:05.510 I think it's one that we can make oftentimes 00:01:05.510 --> 00:01:07.329 as we read through Genesis 41. And so we get 00:01:07.329 --> 00:01:09.769 so locked in on the narrative structure. We get 00:01:09.769 --> 00:01:12.609 so locked in on the events going on. And we see 00:01:12.609 --> 00:01:14.530 it all from Pharaoh's perspective and Joseph's 00:01:14.530 --> 00:01:16.489 perspective. We get so locked in on that. And 00:01:16.489 --> 00:01:18.530 we missed it in the middle of all of that. God 00:01:18.530 --> 00:01:22.780 is at work. It's not just a dream. and then a 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:24.959 second dream. It's not just Joseph coming and 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:27.939 interpreting the dream. God is at work in the 00:01:27.939 --> 00:01:29.819 middle of all of that. And so today there's actually 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:31.760 five points that I want to give us that we're 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:34.480 going to learn about God from this passage, from 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:39.200 Genesis 41, verses 1 through 36. And you're going 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:40.760 to hear this phrase from me a few times, that 00:01:40.760 --> 00:01:44.299 theology, or literally knowing God, leads us 00:01:44.299 --> 00:01:48.420 to doxology, or praising God and giving God glory. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:52.950 Our theology leads us to doxology. And this morning's 00:01:52.950 --> 00:01:55.030 passage is a great example of how we need to 00:01:55.030 --> 00:01:57.890 understand theology. And theology is not just 00:01:57.890 --> 00:01:59.689 something we leave in a classroom at a seminary 00:01:59.689 --> 00:02:01.629 building where we just sit down and talk about 00:02:01.629 --> 00:02:04.269 Calvinism and Arminianism and pre -tribulation 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:07.150 or post -tribulationalism. Theology is literally 00:02:07.150 --> 00:02:12.050 knowing God. To love God is to know God. To love 00:02:12.050 --> 00:02:15.129 God more is to know God more. And so I want to 00:02:15.129 --> 00:02:17.669 challenge each of us this morning to be theologians. 00:02:18.270 --> 00:02:20.699 There's a phrase that my theology professor always 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:23.439 used to say constantly, and say, you need to 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:26.580 be a good pastor theologian. I want to take that 00:02:26.580 --> 00:02:29.120 and change that a little bit. You need to be 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:32.599 a good Christian theologian this morning. You 00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:34.400 don't have to be a pastor to be a theologian. 00:02:34.419 --> 00:02:35.699 You don't have to sit in an office and write 00:02:35.699 --> 00:02:38.280 books all day to be a theologian. You should 00:02:38.280 --> 00:02:41.819 be a theologian right now by growing to know 00:02:41.819 --> 00:02:44.580 God more. And so here are the five points. They're 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:46.240 in your bulletin, so you can follow along with 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:47.479 them. There's five things we're learning about 00:02:47.479 --> 00:02:51.159 God today. First, God's plan is bigger than we 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:53.699 know. God's plan is bigger than we know, and 00:02:53.699 --> 00:02:55.620 if you don't get it written down now, that's 00:02:55.620 --> 00:02:57.479 okay. We'll bring these up as we go through them. 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:02.180 Secondly, God works at all times. I don't know 00:03:02.180 --> 00:03:04.099 about you, I have a certain limit of how much 00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:07.060 work I can do during my life and during my day, 00:03:07.139 --> 00:03:09.340 and when I hit that point around five o 'clock, 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:11.680 I'm kind of useless after that. I'm done working. 00:03:12.219 --> 00:03:16.020 God works at all times. Third, God has a purpose 00:03:16.020 --> 00:03:23.590 for trials. God has a purpose for trials. Fourth, 00:03:23.810 --> 00:03:25.849 this is one of my favorite ones we see in this 00:03:25.849 --> 00:03:31.370 passage. God meets us where we are. God meets 00:03:31.370 --> 00:03:35.770 us where we are. It can be kind of easy for us, 00:03:35.810 --> 00:03:38.710 I think, as we look at a passage like this to 00:03:38.710 --> 00:03:40.210 start thinking to ourselves like, well, okay, 00:03:40.370 --> 00:03:42.110 there's Pharaoh, there's Joseph, Joseph's stuck 00:03:42.110 --> 00:03:45.129 in prison. Where is God in all of this? The truth 00:03:45.129 --> 00:03:47.069 is that God meets us where we are. And fifth, 00:03:47.289 --> 00:03:51.610 God makes a way for salvation. God makes a way 00:03:51.610 --> 00:03:57.129 for salvation. There's also one main point. If 00:03:57.129 --> 00:03:58.550 you can go ahead and put that one up on the screen 00:03:58.550 --> 00:04:00.729 real quick. And this is going to be kind of the 00:04:00.729 --> 00:04:03.590 central theme of all five of these. You'll notice 00:04:03.590 --> 00:04:05.870 it's almost identical to the second one. God 00:04:05.870 --> 00:04:09.409 is working at all times. Friends, if you hear 00:04:09.409 --> 00:04:11.409 nothing else this morning as we look at Genesis 00:04:11.409 --> 00:04:14.710 41, I want you to hear that. God is working at 00:04:14.710 --> 00:04:17.310 all times. It is no accident, we say this often 00:04:17.310 --> 00:04:18.730 here, it is no accident that you are here this 00:04:18.730 --> 00:04:20.870 morning. We believe you are here for a reason. 00:04:21.069 --> 00:04:24.370 God is at work to bring you here. God is at work 00:04:24.370 --> 00:04:26.329 when you are in class. God is at work when you 00:04:26.329 --> 00:04:28.709 are at work. God is at work when you are at home. 00:04:28.930 --> 00:04:33.069 God is working at all times. When Joseph is stuck 00:04:33.069 --> 00:04:36.050 in prison for multiple years, God is working. 00:04:38.730 --> 00:04:41.050 When the cupbearer forgets about Joseph for multiple 00:04:41.050 --> 00:04:46.889 years, God is working. When Joseph goes to sleep 00:04:46.889 --> 00:04:51.370 in prison, God is working. At all times, God 00:04:51.370 --> 00:04:55.129 is working. And so as we look at this passage, 00:04:55.189 --> 00:04:57.170 let me encourage you again. Let me plead with 00:04:57.170 --> 00:05:02.029 you again. Let's be actively trying to know God 00:05:02.029 --> 00:05:05.279 more this morning. Let's leave other distractions 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:08.720 at the door, and let's know God more. Let's hold 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:12.339 God closer. So I ask you to look at verses 1 00:05:12.339 --> 00:05:13.980 through 7 with me. I've got them up on the screen. 00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:16.259 And these are where I say God's plan is bigger 00:05:16.259 --> 00:05:19.160 than we know. Let me read the scripture to us, 00:05:19.180 --> 00:05:21.019 and we'll talk about it as we go. It says, at 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:23.980 the end of two years, Pharaoh had a dream. He 00:05:23.980 --> 00:05:26.360 was standing beside the Nile when seven healthy 00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:28.660 -looking, well -fed cows came up from the Nile 00:05:28.660 --> 00:05:32.000 and began to graze among the reeds. After them, 00:05:32.019 --> 00:05:34.680 seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:37.339 the Nile and stood beside those cows along the 00:05:37.339 --> 00:05:41.199 bank of the Nile. The sickly, thin cows ate the 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:45.139 healthy, well -fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:48.060 I'd wake up too if my dreams were cows committing 00:05:48.060 --> 00:05:51.730 cow cannibalism. It says, he fell asleep and 00:05:51.730 --> 00:05:53.910 dreamed a second time. Seven heads of grain, 00:05:54.029 --> 00:05:56.529 plump and good, came up on one stalk. And then 00:05:56.529 --> 00:05:58.709 after them, seven heads of grain, thin and scorched 00:05:58.709 --> 00:06:00.750 by the east wind, that's going to bring a famine 00:06:00.750 --> 00:06:03.990 and a drought to Egypt, sprouted up. The thin 00:06:03.990 --> 00:06:06.350 heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump full 00:06:06.350 --> 00:06:09.029 ones. And then Pharaoh woke up and it was only 00:06:09.029 --> 00:06:12.970 a dream. So chapter 41 picks up two years after 00:06:12.970 --> 00:06:14.769 the end of chapter 40 where Joseph is forgotten 00:06:14.769 --> 00:06:17.660 about in prison. The cupbearer was restored to 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:19.139 his position. If you remember, after he has a 00:06:19.139 --> 00:06:22.480 dream that Joseph interprets, the baker has a 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:26.639 less fortunate outcome and dies. So we pick up 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:28.740 in chapter 41, two years after those events. 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:31.360 For two more years, Joseph has been stuck in 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:35.220 prison, totally forgotten about. But what are 00:06:35.220 --> 00:06:37.259 we going to see today? God is working at all 00:06:37.259 --> 00:06:40.279 times. It's specifically in these seven verses 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:43.079 that God's plan is bigger than we know. And so 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:44.759 the narrative shifts a little bit in verse one. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:47.480 It goes from prison with Joseph to Pharaoh at 00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:50.759 the top of his reign having a dream. And in his 00:06:50.759 --> 00:06:52.079 dream, it's pretty simple. He's standing next 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:53.639 to the Nile River. That's the major river in 00:06:53.639 --> 00:06:55.819 Egypt. I was a geography teacher. If you have 00:06:55.819 --> 00:06:57.279 questions about the Nile, we can talk about that 00:06:57.279 --> 00:07:00.160 later. And he sees seven healthy cows come up 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:01.459 from the Nile River and they begin to graze. 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:03.740 This is pretty normal for them. This is central 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:06.319 actually to Egyptian life and it still is in 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:09.110 many ways. The Nile River was the determining 00:07:09.110 --> 00:07:12.269 factor of how the year was going to go for Egyptians. 00:07:13.269 --> 00:07:15.910 If there was plenty of water, then crops would 00:07:15.910 --> 00:07:17.550 grow. They'd be able to irrigate their fields 00:07:17.550 --> 00:07:20.430 with it. If there wasn't enough water, they'd 00:07:20.430 --> 00:07:22.550 be in a famine. If there was too much water in 00:07:22.550 --> 00:07:24.829 the Nile River, it would flood and there wouldn't 00:07:24.829 --> 00:07:27.649 be crops for people. So Pharaoh's dreaming and 00:07:27.649 --> 00:07:29.910 he sees these seven good -looking cows coming 00:07:29.910 --> 00:07:34.470 up. He's like, yes, this is a win. And then after 00:07:34.470 --> 00:07:36.509 that, he sees seven sick cows come up from the 00:07:36.509 --> 00:07:37.990 Nile and they go stand right next to the healthy 00:07:37.990 --> 00:07:40.490 ones. But instead of grazing, they turn around 00:07:40.490 --> 00:07:44.649 and they eat the healthy cows. I got so curious 00:07:44.649 --> 00:07:46.589 about that this week because some animals are 00:07:46.589 --> 00:07:49.370 pretty typically going to eat other animals and 00:07:49.370 --> 00:07:50.689 their species. And so I looked it up. And we 00:07:50.689 --> 00:07:52.310 also have a number of vet students that come 00:07:52.310 --> 00:07:53.829 to our church. And so I got looking into this. 00:07:54.689 --> 00:07:58.370 Cows do not commit cannibalism. Google was very 00:07:58.370 --> 00:08:00.209 confused by what I was looking up with this, 00:08:00.310 --> 00:08:02.189 and it was giving me some very strange responses, 00:08:02.189 --> 00:08:03.589 but the number one thing it kept saying is, cows 00:08:03.589 --> 00:08:06.329 don't do that. I'm pretty sure if Google was 00:08:06.329 --> 00:08:07.790 a person, he would have been yelling at me by 00:08:07.790 --> 00:08:12.009 the end of this. Cows don't do this. But that's 00:08:12.009 --> 00:08:15.050 why it matters. That's why it stands out as so 00:08:15.050 --> 00:08:18.449 different, because cows don't do this. Sick cows 00:08:18.449 --> 00:08:20.790 don't turn around and eat healthy cows. Healthy 00:08:20.790 --> 00:08:22.490 cows don't get eaten by sick cows. That's not 00:08:22.490 --> 00:08:26.060 how this works. And so Pharaoh, understandably, 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:29.620 wakes up from a dream. Now, I'm not a huge one 00:08:29.620 --> 00:08:31.500 to try and put emotions on people in the Bible, 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:33.120 but I think, understandably, he's a little bit 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:34.820 concerned here. We're going to see that later 00:08:34.820 --> 00:08:36.940 on in the passage. So he calms himself back down. 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:38.159 He goes to sleep. I don't know if you've ever 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:40.120 had that before, where you wake up from a dream. 00:08:40.259 --> 00:08:42.279 It throws you off a little bit. You calm down. 00:08:42.340 --> 00:08:44.500 You go to sleep. Like, okay, just have a nice, 00:08:44.539 --> 00:08:47.460 calm next couple hours of sleep. And he falls 00:08:47.460 --> 00:08:49.940 asleep, and he has another dream that's eerily 00:08:49.940 --> 00:08:52.919 similar to the first one. In this dream, he dreams 00:08:52.919 --> 00:08:57.820 of seven heads of grain. They're super healthy, 00:08:57.879 --> 00:08:59.440 and then there's seven more that are super sickly. 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:04.679 They're dying as they come up. Once again, just 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:08.600 to be quite clear, grain does not eat grain. 00:09:09.500 --> 00:09:12.039 I used to live in the middle of what could best 00:09:12.039 --> 00:09:15.320 be described as farm country. And I went to college 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:17.519 in Laramie, Wyoming. I know a lot of people in 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:19.679 the ag world. I have never once heard of them 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:21.379 being like, yeah, you know what? I was actually 00:09:21.379 --> 00:09:23.659 out back the other day, and this corncob ate 00:09:23.659 --> 00:09:28.259 that corncob. It was pretty wild stuff. It doesn't 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:30.600 happen. It stands out as different because that's 00:09:30.600 --> 00:09:33.539 not how the world works. And yet again, Pharaoh 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:35.759 wakes up, but just yet again, it's been a dream. 00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:39.299 And let me remind us, dreams in this culture 00:09:39.299 --> 00:09:42.190 matter a ton. In the ancient Near East, that's 00:09:42.190 --> 00:09:45.230 going to be Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, places like 00:09:45.230 --> 00:09:49.250 that, dreams were really important. So what do 00:09:49.250 --> 00:09:51.129 all these dreams teach us? I think there's something 00:09:51.129 --> 00:09:53.370 we learn. Well, they teach us that God's plans 00:09:53.370 --> 00:09:56.330 are bigger than we know. See, to Pharaoh, this 00:09:56.330 --> 00:09:57.850 is just a dream that he's had at this point. 00:09:58.110 --> 00:10:00.850 But what we know is that God is actually behind 00:10:00.850 --> 00:10:04.059 this dream, that God is at work right now. So 00:10:04.059 --> 00:10:05.659 often in life, we have a tendency to write things 00:10:05.659 --> 00:10:08.080 off as a coincidence or as unimportant. We just 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:10.120 write it off as luck. It was just luck that got 00:10:10.120 --> 00:10:14.000 us here. But what if it isn't? What if it isn't 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:15.759 coincidence that your brand new neighbors don't 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:18.399 know Jesus? What if it isn't coincidence that 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:26.139 you are right here this morning, right now? Friends, 00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:28.840 there was a good friend that Hope and I made 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:31.679 in a place where we lived previously. I'm not 00:10:31.679 --> 00:10:34.080 sure all the details, but... They came to church, 00:10:34.100 --> 00:10:37.100 and we met them, and then about two weeks later, 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:42.600 they had a child, and it's a great moment, right? 00:10:43.500 --> 00:10:45.080 Except that instead of coming home, that child 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:48.379 got taken to Iowa City to go to NICU for months, 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:51.940 and I don't just mean like a couple weeks or 00:10:51.940 --> 00:10:55.679 five weeks. I mean months, probably four or five, 00:10:55.779 --> 00:11:02.259 six months. Friends, it wasn't just a coincidence, 00:11:02.340 --> 00:11:03.899 though, that we met them right before that happened. 00:11:04.779 --> 00:11:06.600 It wasn't just a coincidence that we've been 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:08.159 able to get in touch with them and start building 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:11.600 a relationship with them. That wasn't just a 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:14.460 coincidence. God was on the move in that in ways 00:11:14.460 --> 00:11:17.019 that we had no idea of in the middle of that 00:11:17.019 --> 00:11:19.419 time. And in this case, it would be easy for 00:11:19.419 --> 00:11:21.019 Pharaoh to say, it's just coincidence that I 00:11:21.019 --> 00:11:24.019 had two dreams just like this. But it's not. 00:11:24.540 --> 00:11:27.039 God is behind this dream. God has a plan, and 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:29.440 it's bigger than Pharaoh, or Joseph for that 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:33.200 matter, ever could have imagined. And please 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.139 hear this. This isn't some name it, claim it, 00:11:35.179 --> 00:11:37.419 prosperity gospel, just ask for it and you'll 00:11:37.419 --> 00:11:39.220 get it because you're owed this by God thing. 00:11:39.440 --> 00:11:42.159 This is real truth that God has a big plan, and 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:45.279 believer, you are a part of it. I want you to 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:47.059 take 30 seconds real quick to give you a glimpse 00:11:47.059 --> 00:11:49.519 into the plan that God has for every single person's 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:51.779 life, for your life right here if you know Jesus. 00:11:52.539 --> 00:11:55.019 We find it in Matthew 5, verses 13 through 16, 00:11:55.100 --> 00:11:57.980 because at all times it is in God's plan for 00:11:57.980 --> 00:12:01.039 us to be light and darkness, for us to be a light 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:03.080 to our neighbors who don't know Jesus, for us 00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:05.480 to be salt of the earth, a city on a hill that 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:08.639 shares its hope with the world, and a lamp in 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:11.320 a dark room. Friends, that is God's plan for 00:12:11.320 --> 00:12:13.580 you today. It is God's plan for you today, whether 00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:15.419 you're one of our young adults going to a volleyball 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:17.519 game in a little bit, or if you're going to go 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:19.399 from here, go to lunch, and then go home and 00:12:19.399 --> 00:12:22.220 take a nap. It is part of God's plan for you 00:12:22.220 --> 00:12:25.080 to be light and darkness. It's not just that. 00:12:25.139 --> 00:12:28.539 God also has specific plans for you. Ephesians 00:12:28.539 --> 00:12:31.820 2 .10 says this, for we are his workmanship, 00:12:31.980 --> 00:12:36.139 created in Christ Jesus for good works. Notice 00:12:36.139 --> 00:12:41.580 this, which God prepared ahead of time for us 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:45.399 to do. It's not, hey, you are God's workmanship 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:47.759 created in Christ Jesus. for good works which 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:49.879 coincidentally will come along periodically and 00:12:49.879 --> 00:12:53.399 hopefully you recognize them. No, it's good works 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:56.799 which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. 00:12:57.700 --> 00:13:00.779 We'll hear this from Titus 2 .14. He gave himself 00:13:00.779 --> 00:13:03.240 for us to redeem us from all lawlessness, that 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:05.919 is all sin, and to cleanse for himself a people, 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:08.759 that's anyone who follows Jesus, for his own 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:14.840 possession, eager to do good works. Friends, 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:18.299 God has a plan and it requires action. God's 00:13:18.299 --> 00:13:21.019 plan is much bigger than you and I may know today 00:13:21.019 --> 00:13:26.539 or tomorrow. And that is great news. And we see 00:13:26.539 --> 00:13:29.799 this at work here in Genesis chapter 41, where 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:31.360 we see that Pharaoh has this dream. He might 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:34.919 write it off as coincidence, but it's not. We 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:36.519 might say that Joseph is still in prison is a 00:13:36.519 --> 00:13:41.899 coincidence, but it's not. God has a big plan 00:13:41.899 --> 00:13:44.200 here. Look at verses 8 through 12 with me. We're 00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:46.679 going to see once again that God works at all 00:13:46.679 --> 00:13:50.240 times. This is what verses 8 through 12 say. 00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:52.700 It says, when morning came, he being Pharaoh 00:13:52.700 --> 00:13:56.460 was troubled. So he summoned all the magicians 00:13:56.460 --> 00:13:58.340 of Egypt and all its wise men, those many people 00:13:58.340 --> 00:14:00.639 who can interpret dreams. And Pharaoh told them 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:03.159 his dreams, but no one could interpret them for 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:07.100 him. Not a single person there can. And then 00:14:07.100 --> 00:14:09.360 from out of nowhere, we read this. Then the chief 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:34.850 cupbearer said to Pharaoh, today, So in verse 00:14:34.850 --> 00:14:36.490 8, we see that Pharaoh is troubled in the morning, 00:14:36.529 --> 00:14:38.509 so he calls out all the magicians, all the wise 00:14:38.509 --> 00:14:40.850 men of Egypt together to come and interpret the 00:14:40.850 --> 00:14:43.980 dream. But they're not able to. And here's the 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:45.500 thing with these wise men and these magicians. 00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:48.940 At times they just made stuff up, you know. Oh, 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:52.240 Pharaoh, you had a dream about running four miles 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:54.320 and winning the battle. Yes, Pharaoh, you are 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:58.779 great. They have no idea. They also had a system, 00:14:58.799 --> 00:15:00.440 though, that they used to interpret dreams, and 00:15:00.440 --> 00:15:01.980 I won't go in depth on it, but it was really 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:05.019 demonic. That's what it was. They would consult 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:08.919 with Satan and they would get into things we 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:10.740 should never get near, okay? That's what they 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:13.559 did. I think it's easy for us a lot of times 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:15.299 as Christians in America maybe to ignore that 00:15:15.299 --> 00:15:17.440 there's a real spiritual conflict going on around 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:20.720 us 24 -7, and I'm not here just to preach on 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:24.919 that today, but please be aware of that. When 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:27.899 you see magicians and wise men in the Old Testament, 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:30.279 with about the single exception of Daniel and 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:34.500 his friends, understand these aren't just people 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:38.220 who are smart or who have a college degree. These 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:40.240 are people who are consulting with Satan to try 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:44.580 and gain interpretation. These are people who 00:15:44.580 --> 00:15:46.799 are, in some ways, the religious backbone of 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:50.000 evil in these countries. But these men, as much 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:51.720 as they try, they try all their techniques, but 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:53.700 they cannot interpret this dream for Pharaoh 00:15:53.700 --> 00:15:58.320 because this is no ordinary dream. And friends, 00:15:58.340 --> 00:16:00.220 once again, if Google can't understand what I 00:16:00.220 --> 00:16:03.080 mean when I Google do cows eat other cows, these 00:16:03.080 --> 00:16:05.299 people have no chance of interpreting this dream. 00:16:05.699 --> 00:16:08.799 because this is a dream from God. And then from 00:16:08.799 --> 00:16:10.860 out of nowhere, the chief cupbearer comes up 00:16:10.860 --> 00:16:12.679 to Pharaoh and he says, listen, I messed this 00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:14.759 up. I dropped the ball. There's this Hebrew guy 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:17.039 who he can interpret dreams. If you remember 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:18.600 back to Genesis 40, he was supposed to go tell 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:20.639 Pharaoh about Joseph. Like, hey, there's this 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.159 guy who's not even from here, but he's imprisoned 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:25.860 here. Let's just send him home. Like, let's just 00:16:25.860 --> 00:16:29.279 get him out of here. But he totally forgot about 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:33.580 Joseph. But God is working at this exact moment 00:16:33.580 --> 00:16:35.899 right now to bring Joseph back up to this chief 00:16:35.899 --> 00:16:38.399 cupbearer's head, to bring him right back to 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:41.840 his mind. Do you ever have that moment maybe 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:43.840 where you're sitting there and you think back 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:45.980 to an old friend or somebody that you used to 00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:48.940 know? It's like you take a minute, you pray, 00:16:49.059 --> 00:16:51.360 or you take a minute, you send them a text. Okay, 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:53.840 just thinking about you, like wondering how you're 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:57.240 doing. Friends, it's not just coincidence that 00:16:57.240 --> 00:17:00.340 that pops into your head. God is at work. And 00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:02.159 so this man who's forgotten about Joseph now 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:04.880 remembers him. And let me challenge this. God 00:17:04.880 --> 00:17:07.559 is using all of this, even Joseph being forgotten 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:10.660 about, for God's greater plan. Something I think 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:13.220 Joseph summarizes really well in Genesis 50 20. 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:15.140 When he's talking to his brothers, his brothers 00:17:15.140 --> 00:17:16.559 are convinced he's gonna have them all thrown 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:18.180 in jail and killed, and their father's dead. 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:21.500 And he says this, you, his brothers, planned 00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:25.950 evil against me. God planned it for good. to 00:17:25.950 --> 00:17:27.970 bring about the present result, the survival 00:17:27.970 --> 00:17:33.029 of many people. God is at work in all of this. 00:17:34.069 --> 00:17:36.150 It may not feel like that when we face a trial. 00:17:36.190 --> 00:17:37.490 We may not be sitting here, if we're honest, 00:17:37.529 --> 00:17:39.529 saying, you know what, you're right, Joseph had 00:17:39.529 --> 00:17:42.029 to go through this for the sake of other people. 00:17:43.029 --> 00:17:46.630 But that is the truth. It is the truth. Joseph 00:17:46.630 --> 00:17:49.730 had to go through this. Think about it like this. 00:17:49.849 --> 00:17:52.049 If Joseph does get released two and a half years 00:17:52.049 --> 00:17:54.140 ahead of time, You know, the cupbearer says, 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:56.420 oh my goodness, there's this guy, and we've got 00:17:56.420 --> 00:17:58.519 to release him. We've got to send him back home 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:02.099 to his dad. And Pharaoh has these dreams, and 00:18:02.099 --> 00:18:05.519 who's there to interpret them? No one. And as 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:09.279 we'll see later on in these chapters, the famine 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:12.619 hits. It's severe across the land. It hits Canaan. 00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:15.519 And there's no food even for Jacob and his sons. 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:19.119 If they hadn't saved the food, where would food 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:21.900 have been coming from? Listen, God is at work 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:24.259 in the middle of this trial. God is working at 00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:27.339 all times. And here in these verses, verses 8 00:18:27.339 --> 00:18:30.180 through 12, we see a very blunt example of God 00:18:30.180 --> 00:18:33.039 being at work, wherein God clearly works in the 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:35.440 chief cupbearer's mind to bring back Joseph to 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:37.759 him, but that does not mean it's the only time 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:40.779 that God works. See, sometimes we find ourselves 00:18:40.779 --> 00:18:43.160 in hard situations in life that we don't want 00:18:43.160 --> 00:18:46.460 to be in. A couple years afterwards, we zoom 00:18:46.460 --> 00:18:49.440 out. And we see that God brought us through that 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:53.480 season for a far greater purpose. It doesn't 00:18:53.480 --> 00:18:55.619 mean every detail makes sense. I'm sure until 00:18:55.619 --> 00:18:57.920 the day Joseph died, Joseph wondered, but God, 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:00.559 did I have to stay in prison? God, did I have 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:03.819 to have the neck iron and the leg iron on? But 00:19:03.819 --> 00:19:05.759 God, did I have to go to Egypt as a slave in 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:10.960 the first place? If you've gone through a hard 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:13.759 season, maybe a health issue for you or your 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:17.250 spouse or Maybe you've lost a job. It can be, 00:19:17.430 --> 00:19:21.369 just if we're honest, difficult, discouraging, 00:19:21.410 --> 00:19:26.670 hard. And you may never fully understand why 00:19:26.670 --> 00:19:30.910 you had to go through that situation. But don't 00:19:30.910 --> 00:19:33.970 lose heart in it. Because listen, God is working 00:19:33.970 --> 00:19:36.769 at all times. It's like what we sang this morning. 00:19:37.410 --> 00:19:42.250 Even when we don't see it, He's working. Look 00:19:42.250 --> 00:19:45.029 at verses 13 through 16 with me. God has a purpose 00:19:45.029 --> 00:19:47.349 for trials. I really want you to hear that this 00:19:47.349 --> 00:19:50.210 morning, that God has a purpose for trials. We 00:19:50.210 --> 00:19:51.769 see that in verses 13 through 16 where it says 00:19:51.769 --> 00:19:54.710 this, it turned out just the way he interpreted 00:19:54.710 --> 00:19:56.069 them to us. So the chief cupbearer is talking, 00:19:56.170 --> 00:19:58.089 he says, listen, not only was this guy who interpreted 00:19:58.089 --> 00:20:01.130 the dreams, he did it perfectly. Listen, I was 00:20:01.130 --> 00:20:03.069 restored to my position, the other man was hanged, 00:20:03.069 --> 00:20:05.789 and that leads right into this, then Pharaoh 00:20:05.789 --> 00:20:08.309 sent for Joseph. And they quickly brought him 00:20:08.309 --> 00:20:10.390 from the dungeon. He shaved. Think about that 00:20:10.390 --> 00:20:12.289 for a minute. Joseph maybe hasn't shaved since 00:20:12.289 --> 00:20:15.930 he's gone to prison. At least two years, but 00:20:15.930 --> 00:20:18.930 it's longer than that. I can't go more than like 00:20:18.930 --> 00:20:20.650 three or four days without shaving before I just 00:20:20.650 --> 00:20:24.430 feel like really bad. Okay, he changes his clothes. 00:20:24.529 --> 00:20:25.849 That's another. Maybe he hasn't changed his clothes 00:20:25.849 --> 00:20:29.009 since then. It's gross. And he goes to Pharaoh. 00:20:29.579 --> 00:20:31.880 And Pharaoh says to Joseph, I have had a dream 00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:34.119 and no one can interpret it, but I've heard it 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:36.359 said about you that you can hear a dream and 00:20:36.359 --> 00:20:42.319 interpret it. Now, if it was you or me, we might 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:45.400 hear that and say, yes, Pharaoh, we can interpret 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:47.960 this dream. Because after all, if you don't interpret 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:51.299 this dream, you're going back to prison at best. 00:20:54.019 --> 00:20:59.799 Look at what Joseph says. I am not able to. Joseph 00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:04.140 answered Pharaoh, but he's not done. It is God 00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:07.460 who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer. So 00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:09.799 Pharaoh sends for Joseph. It's not optional. 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:11.180 Let's be clear. It's not like Joseph's being 00:21:11.180 --> 00:21:12.880 told, like, hey, if you want to go see Pharaoh, 00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:14.519 go see Pharaoh. This is like, you will go see 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:17.240 Pharaoh right now. So he goes. Pharaoh brings 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:18.960 him up to speed. He shares the situation, explains 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:22.240 what he needs, and then Joseph gives his answer. 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:25.819 I am not able to. In that moment, there's this 00:21:25.819 --> 00:21:28.289 sinking feeling in the cupbearer's heart. Like, 00:21:28.289 --> 00:21:30.210 he's worried he'll be killed over this. He just 00:21:30.210 --> 00:21:31.769 told Pharaoh, hey, Pharaoh, there's this prisoner, 00:21:31.809 --> 00:21:33.470 and he's going to interpret your dream for him. 00:21:33.730 --> 00:21:36.430 He just put his life on the line here. And for 00:21:36.430 --> 00:21:38.130 Pharaoh, he's like, there's still no answer for 00:21:38.130 --> 00:21:40.970 my dream. My last hope, my last solution, it's 00:21:40.970 --> 00:21:43.170 failed. Like, what's going on? But the story 00:21:43.170 --> 00:21:45.910 isn't over because Joseph does say he can't interpret 00:21:45.910 --> 00:21:48.250 the dream, but he doesn't stop there. Instead, 00:21:48.349 --> 00:21:51.009 he tells Pharaoh that God will give him the interpretation. 00:21:51.490 --> 00:21:53.930 Again, Joseph stops in the middle of a situation 00:21:53.930 --> 00:21:57.339 like this to give the glory to God. It's just 00:21:57.339 --> 00:21:59.660 like Genesis 40, verse 8, where Joseph does almost 00:21:59.660 --> 00:22:01.859 the exact same thing to the baker and the cupbearer. 00:22:01.900 --> 00:22:04.119 He says, stop. I don't give you the interpretation. 00:22:04.420 --> 00:22:06.940 God gives you the interpretation. It's like in 00:22:06.940 --> 00:22:10.259 Genesis 39, when Potiphar's wife says, you're 00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:12.759 owed this, Joseph. Really, you are owed this. 00:22:12.779 --> 00:22:15.619 Like, let's go do this thing. And Joseph says, 00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:20.819 no, I will not sin against my God. Again, Joseph 00:22:20.819 --> 00:22:23.779 takes advantage of his situation to point people 00:22:23.779 --> 00:22:28.769 to God. Cornerstone, please hear this. God has 00:22:28.769 --> 00:22:31.210 a purpose for the trial that Joseph has gone 00:22:31.210 --> 00:22:34.109 through. There is the part I just mentioned about, 00:22:34.109 --> 00:22:35.490 you know, if he's not even in Egypt anymore, 00:22:35.549 --> 00:22:37.809 what happens with all of this? But there's something 00:22:37.809 --> 00:22:41.309 else. I think if we're honest, we can all agree 00:22:41.309 --> 00:22:44.089 that the Joseph we meet in Genesis chapter 37 00:22:44.089 --> 00:22:48.109 has probably at best a lack of common sense. 00:22:48.730 --> 00:22:50.849 And at worst, maybe a little bit of an ego to 00:22:50.849 --> 00:22:53.890 him. But yeah, he is better than his brothers. 00:22:54.599 --> 00:22:56.140 He does work harder than his brothers. He is 00:22:56.140 --> 00:23:00.619 his dad's favorite. Friends, throughout Genesis 00:23:00.619 --> 00:23:05.180 39 and Genesis 40 and into Genesis 41, can I 00:23:05.180 --> 00:23:07.299 challenge you with something? Joseph, who's 30 00:23:07.299 --> 00:23:09.539 years old at this point, has gone from a cocky 00:23:09.539 --> 00:23:12.319 17 -year -old to a 30 -year -old who trusts God. 00:23:13.299 --> 00:23:15.799 That's a really hard 13 years. It's a 13 years 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:17.900 I hope you never have to go through where you're 00:23:17.900 --> 00:23:20.319 sold to another country as a slave and then thrown 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:24.210 in prison there. But Joseph emerges from this 00:23:24.210 --> 00:23:27.529 trial and this season mature in his walk with 00:23:27.529 --> 00:23:31.589 God. He's mature and reliant on God, understanding 00:23:31.589 --> 00:23:33.509 that the only way he gets through this is God, 00:23:33.569 --> 00:23:35.769 not his own strength. The fact that his father 00:23:35.769 --> 00:23:38.109 has money does him no good right now. The fact 00:23:38.109 --> 00:23:39.849 that he's super talented does him no good. He's 00:23:39.849 --> 00:23:44.049 stuck in a literal pit in the ground. But God, 00:23:44.109 --> 00:23:48.839 God will see him through to the other side. I'd 00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:51.740 also argue that we see this change in Joseph's 00:23:51.740 --> 00:23:53.359 life through the dreams themselves, actually. 00:23:54.460 --> 00:23:56.619 See, in Genesis 37, Joseph has a dream and he 00:23:56.619 --> 00:23:58.200 tells everyone about it. It's very much about 00:23:58.200 --> 00:24:00.579 his role and what he'll do. He doesn't say, God 00:24:00.579 --> 00:24:02.859 gave me a dream and God told me this. He just 00:24:02.859 --> 00:24:04.519 says, I had a dream and this is what it means. 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:09.700 Here, before Joseph interprets any dream, Joseph 00:24:09.700 --> 00:24:14.720 stops and he gives God all of the glory before 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:17.230 doing anything else. Rather than getting any 00:24:17.230 --> 00:24:21.049 glory for himself, this is all about God. That's 00:24:21.049 --> 00:24:22.390 the thing about trials. Trials kind of chisel 00:24:22.390 --> 00:24:25.089 us down. They break us down, and it hurts in 00:24:25.089 --> 00:24:27.329 that moment. But we come out on the other side 00:24:27.329 --> 00:24:30.369 stronger and closer to God, having grown closer 00:24:30.369 --> 00:24:33.029 to God in our sanctification. I think a good 00:24:33.029 --> 00:24:34.690 example of this actually is physical therapy. 00:24:35.390 --> 00:24:37.430 When I was in physical therapy after my car accident 00:24:37.430 --> 00:24:40.130 in college, my physical therapists referred to 00:24:40.130 --> 00:24:43.720 physical therapy as pain and torture. And so 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:44.740 they would look at you and you'd show up like, 00:24:44.819 --> 00:24:47.579 you ready for some pain and torture today? Like, 00:24:47.619 --> 00:24:49.599 no, I'm really not. Like, I did not sign up for 00:24:49.599 --> 00:24:51.119 this. I really would rather be in class right 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:53.920 now. I don't want to be tortured. And listen, 00:24:54.019 --> 00:24:59.400 it was. It was really hard. It was really rough. 00:25:00.859 --> 00:25:02.880 I know Hope remembers some of that because we 00:25:02.880 --> 00:25:04.680 just started dating when I was working on that. 00:25:05.019 --> 00:25:07.839 It was hard. And I'd leave in pain and it struggled. 00:25:09.110 --> 00:25:11.190 And when I started, my shoulder, we didn't even 00:25:11.190 --> 00:25:14.009 know we had a tear up there, but I did. When 00:25:14.009 --> 00:25:15.630 I started, my shoulder would give out when I 00:25:15.630 --> 00:25:17.710 lifted like a little 2 .5, so I'd be over there 00:25:17.710 --> 00:25:20.250 with all of the older ladies, and we'd all be 00:25:20.250 --> 00:25:21.910 lifting their 2 .5s, and we'd be talking to our 00:25:21.910 --> 00:25:23.490 grandkids, and I'm over there, and my shoulder 00:25:23.490 --> 00:25:25.269 would just drop out of socket. Like, what is 00:25:25.269 --> 00:25:28.609 going on? But friends, I came through the other 00:25:28.609 --> 00:25:31.569 side of that, strengthened, with my shoulder 00:25:31.569 --> 00:25:33.990 feeling better, my back was doing better. It 00:25:33.990 --> 00:25:35.950 was worth it in the end, even though the trial 00:25:35.950 --> 00:25:38.960 wasn't fun. The pain and torture was awful. Never 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:40.500 in a million years would I sign up for that again, 00:25:40.660 --> 00:25:43.480 but it was worth it. Friends, that's the same 00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:45.960 thing going on with Joseph's trial here. I promise 00:25:45.960 --> 00:25:47.220 you, if you would have looked at Joseph when 00:25:47.220 --> 00:25:48.839 he was 90 years old and said, Joseph, do you 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:50.859 want to go back to prison for another 13 years? 00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:53.039 Do you want to start at the bottom again? He 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:57.299 said, no, I have no interest in that. But he 00:25:57.299 --> 00:26:00.279 came out of his trials as a more mature believer, 00:26:00.460 --> 00:26:03.839 a more mature follower of God. We could even 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:07.230 use this phrase, a man of God. So let me ask 00:26:07.230 --> 00:26:09.730 you, where in your life do you need to be patient 00:26:09.730 --> 00:26:12.789 right now and have faith to let God work and 00:26:12.789 --> 00:26:16.450 to let God guide you through a trial? And maybe 00:26:16.450 --> 00:26:18.349 it's not here in this exact moment. Maybe you're 00:26:18.349 --> 00:26:19.309 like, hey, I'm not really feeling like I'm in 00:26:19.309 --> 00:26:22.769 a trial right now. That's okay. But let me ask 00:26:22.769 --> 00:26:26.089 it this way then. Look back at another trial 00:26:26.089 --> 00:26:28.009 or another difficult time in life. We've all 00:26:28.009 --> 00:26:33.390 had them. What did you learn from that? What 00:26:33.390 --> 00:26:36.259 lessons did you learn? You know, or maybe stop 00:26:36.259 --> 00:26:39.519 and evaluate your own faith today. Are you as 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:41.720 strong in your walk with God as you want to be? 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:44.740 Let me challenge you that. God has a purpose 00:26:44.740 --> 00:26:47.240 for trials. Don't miss the purpose that God gives. 00:26:48.460 --> 00:26:52.019 Here's our fourth lesson about God today. God 00:26:52.019 --> 00:26:56.319 meets us where we are. God meets us where we 00:26:56.319 --> 00:26:59.599 are. We're going to see in this next section 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:01.519 that God meets Pharaoh in a way that Pharaoh 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:03.900 will listen to. Pharaoh, this man who does not 00:27:03.900 --> 00:27:05.859 worship God, this man who does not know who God 00:27:05.859 --> 00:27:08.180 is, who does not acknowledge God, God is still 00:27:08.180 --> 00:27:10.400 going to take the time to stop and meet Pharaoh 00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:14.019 where Pharaoh is. Listen to verses 17 through 00:27:14.019 --> 00:27:16.559 24. It says this, so Pharaoh said to Joseph, 00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:19.079 in my dream, and you'll notice also this just 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:21.039 gives us more confidence in the text. It's a 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:23.319 little bit different, okay? Pharaoh adds some 00:27:23.319 --> 00:27:26.619 of his own commentary into his dream. So Where 00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:28.619 was I? In my dream, I was standing on the bank 00:27:28.619 --> 00:27:31.380 of the Nile when seven well -fed, healthy -looking 00:27:31.380 --> 00:27:33.779 cows came up from the Nile, and they grazed among 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:36.279 the reeds. And after them, seven other cows, 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:39.720 weak, very sickly, and thin, came up. I've never 00:27:39.720 --> 00:27:42.579 seen such sickly cows as these in all the land 00:27:42.579 --> 00:27:46.299 of Egypt. These are really messed up cows. Vet 00:27:46.299 --> 00:27:47.920 students, I don't think you guys could save these 00:27:47.920 --> 00:27:50.420 cows. I think they're done. I think they're goners. 00:27:51.210 --> 00:27:53.829 And when they devoured them, you could not tell 00:27:53.829 --> 00:27:55.269 that they devoured them. Their appearance was 00:27:55.269 --> 00:27:58.390 as bad as it had been before. That's not normal 00:27:58.390 --> 00:28:00.369 either. If you eat a bunch of food and you're 00:28:00.369 --> 00:28:02.849 underfed and you don't get something like refeeding 00:28:02.849 --> 00:28:05.930 syndrome, you should look healthier, not look 00:28:05.930 --> 00:28:09.170 the exact same. He says, then I woke up. In my 00:28:09.170 --> 00:28:10.930 dream, I also saw seven heads of grain, full 00:28:10.930 --> 00:28:13.250 and good, coming up on one stalk. And after them, 00:28:13.269 --> 00:28:15.650 seven heads of grain withered thin and scorched 00:28:15.650 --> 00:28:18.549 by the east wind, representative of famine, sprouted 00:28:18.549 --> 00:28:21.180 up. The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven 00:28:21.180 --> 00:28:23.480 good ones. I told this to the magicians, but 00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:27.440 no one can tell me what it means. So Pharaoh 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:28.900 explains his dream to Joseph. He has a little 00:28:28.900 --> 00:28:31.000 commentary about how he feels as he sees these 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:32.960 cows, how bad the grain looks, stuff like that. 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:35.000 And it matters, right? Because it's a sign that 00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:37.460 that really happened. That Pharaoh was a real 00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:39.619 man who had real thoughts and real emotions. 00:28:40.519 --> 00:28:43.000 He isn't just a created character so that it 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:45.400 fits the narrative. Pharaoh is a real human being. 00:28:46.579 --> 00:28:49.009 And Pharaoh's really scared of his... dream because 00:28:49.009 --> 00:28:52.430 he doesn't understand what's going on. I think 00:28:52.430 --> 00:28:54.170 that's something we can relate to. A lot of the 00:28:54.170 --> 00:28:56.109 time, and I don't put a percentage on it, but 00:28:56.109 --> 00:28:58.809 I'd say pretty often when we are scared, when 00:28:58.809 --> 00:29:00.210 we're anxious about something, it's because we 00:29:00.210 --> 00:29:01.650 don't really understand what's going on or we 00:29:01.650 --> 00:29:03.450 don't understand how we'll get through that situation. 00:29:04.869 --> 00:29:06.990 Now sometimes we're scared because we know exactly 00:29:06.990 --> 00:29:09.109 what the word terminal means in our doctor's 00:29:09.109 --> 00:29:12.609 office. We're aware of the implications of that, 00:29:12.650 --> 00:29:15.650 but so often our fear and our anxiety comes from 00:29:15.650 --> 00:29:18.569 the unknown. Hey, this thing just happened. What 00:29:18.569 --> 00:29:21.750 happens next? Hey, I just lost my job. What do 00:29:21.750 --> 00:29:27.009 I do next? Hey, I failed that test. How do I 00:29:27.009 --> 00:29:29.829 pass this class? Can I pass this class? I don't 00:29:29.829 --> 00:29:33.430 know anymore. But as much as we might battle 00:29:33.430 --> 00:29:36.670 with the fear of the unknown, there's someone 00:29:36.670 --> 00:29:39.759 who always knows, and that is God. Nothing going 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:43.359 on in Genesis 41 is a mystery to God. Instead, 00:29:43.460 --> 00:29:45.960 God is using a dream to get Pharaoh's attention 00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:48.519 because he knows Pharaoh. He knows that Pharaoh 00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:51.119 will listen to this and uses a dream to communicate 00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:54.019 his message very purposefully because God meets 00:29:54.019 --> 00:29:57.200 us where we are. A few years ago, I went through 00:29:57.200 --> 00:29:59.759 something called Secret Church. It's put out 00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:01.559 by a group called Radical out of Washington, 00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:05.599 D .C. And in it, they were highlighting the underground 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:07.299 church in a country in the Middle East. I won't 00:30:07.299 --> 00:30:09.839 say which country. And they did some interviews. 00:30:09.940 --> 00:30:12.079 It was very powerful to listen to and just to 00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:14.819 hear about some of the struggles that that church 00:30:14.819 --> 00:30:18.859 would face on a weekly basis. Stories of the 00:30:18.859 --> 00:30:20.599 police showing up because the singing had been 00:30:20.599 --> 00:30:25.480 too loud. Stories of businesses being fined every 00:30:25.480 --> 00:30:27.940 day for made -up violations just because they 00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:30.079 knew that the owner of this business was a Christian. 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:34.119 But one of the things that came up in there was 00:30:34.119 --> 00:30:35.440 they would also have people who would come to 00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:37.460 church periodically and say, I had a dream last 00:30:37.460 --> 00:30:40.890 night. that I needed to come to this building 00:30:40.890 --> 00:30:44.730 to hear about a man named Jesus. And I don't 00:30:44.730 --> 00:30:48.710 know why I'm here, but what I do know is this, 00:30:48.750 --> 00:30:52.309 whatever this Jesus has is what I want. My point 00:30:52.309 --> 00:30:54.190 is this, God still uses dreams in places like 00:30:54.190 --> 00:30:55.950 the Middle East because that's how God meets 00:30:55.950 --> 00:30:58.369 people where they are. They'll listen to it. 00:30:58.809 --> 00:31:00.549 If we're just honest with ourselves for a minute 00:31:00.549 --> 00:31:03.529 as Americans, like I had a pretty wild dream 00:31:03.529 --> 00:31:06.380 the other night wherein I became a rancher. I 00:31:06.380 --> 00:31:08.599 did not turn around and tell Hope, let's go buy 00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:11.579 a ranch in Montana, or let's go move to North 00:31:11.579 --> 00:31:13.180 Dakota. I didn't say that. That's just not how 00:31:13.180 --> 00:31:16.640 our culture works. But friends, I want to be 00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:18.259 clear on this. The reason this matters so much 00:31:18.259 --> 00:31:20.259 is because God does meet us where we are, and 00:31:20.259 --> 00:31:23.759 God does meet us how we need to be met, because 00:31:23.759 --> 00:31:26.420 God knows you and God loves you. Let's see what 00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:28.359 Joseph says back to Pharaoh in verse 25. It says, 00:31:28.420 --> 00:31:30.259 then Joseph said to Pharaoh, Pharaoh's dreams 00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:32.930 mean the same thing. God has revealed to Pharaoh 00:31:32.930 --> 00:31:36.130 what he is about to do. The seven good cows are 00:31:36.130 --> 00:31:38.789 seven years, and the seven good heads are seven, 00:31:38.890 --> 00:31:40.890 the seven good cows are seven years, and seven 00:31:40.890 --> 00:31:43.190 good heads are seven years. The dreams mean the 00:31:43.190 --> 00:31:45.970 same thing. The seven thin sickly cows that came 00:31:45.970 --> 00:31:47.490 up after them are seven years, and the seven 00:31:47.490 --> 00:31:49.329 worthless heads of grain scorched by the east 00:31:49.329 --> 00:31:52.930 wind are seven years of famine. It is just as 00:31:52.930 --> 00:31:55.170 I told Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he's 00:31:55.170 --> 00:31:57.849 about to do. Seven years of great abundance are 00:31:57.849 --> 00:31:59.750 coming throughout the land of Egypt. And after 00:31:59.750 --> 00:32:01.910 them, seven years of famine will take place. 00:32:02.210 --> 00:32:04.769 And all the abundance in the land of Egypt will 00:32:04.769 --> 00:32:07.170 be forgotten. Notice that. That's an important 00:32:07.170 --> 00:32:10.630 phrase there. Will be forgotten. Not just there'll 00:32:10.630 --> 00:32:12.410 be seven years of famine. The famine will be 00:32:12.410 --> 00:32:14.869 so bad that they will forget what the seven good 00:32:14.869 --> 00:32:17.289 years looked like. The famine will devastate 00:32:17.289 --> 00:32:19.470 the land. The abundance in the land will not 00:32:19.470 --> 00:32:21.130 be remembered because of the famine that follows 00:32:21.130 --> 00:32:24.019 it, for the famine will be very severe. Since 00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:26.019 the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, it means 00:32:26.019 --> 00:32:27.700 that the matter has been determined by God and 00:32:27.700 --> 00:32:31.559 he will carry it out soon. So Joseph gives Pharaoh 00:32:31.559 --> 00:32:34.859 this long -awaited interpretation. In verse 28, 00:32:35.019 --> 00:32:37.500 Joseph explains that God, notice this isn't Ra, 00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:39.420 this isn't Set, this isn't one of the other Egyptian 00:32:39.420 --> 00:32:42.640 gods, this is God, this is Elohim, the God that 00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:45.400 we are worshiping here this morning, has revealed 00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:49.000 what is about to happen. For seven years, Egypt 00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:50.559 will have lots of good food and they will have 00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:52.809 plenty. And then for seven years, there will 00:32:52.809 --> 00:32:55.529 be famine. That's the sick cows and the bad grain. 00:32:56.289 --> 00:33:00.369 And understand, in a desert -located agricultural 00:33:00.369 --> 00:33:04.529 culture like Egypt, famine meant disaster. Many 00:33:04.529 --> 00:33:06.990 people would die. Typically, famines in Egypt 00:33:06.990 --> 00:33:09.230 were also linked to a pharaoh losing their throne. 00:33:10.009 --> 00:33:12.029 So this isn't just, hey, a bunch of people are 00:33:12.029 --> 00:33:13.349 going to have a hard time. This is, pharaoh, 00:33:13.450 --> 00:33:15.690 your reign's over. Like, if you don't listen 00:33:15.690 --> 00:33:18.029 to this, you're done. You will be replaced. Your 00:33:18.029 --> 00:33:26.079 dynasty will be destroyed. The famine's going 00:33:26.079 --> 00:33:27.920 to be so bad, Joseph says, that the years of 00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:30.160 abundance will be forgotten. That phrase just 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:32.920 struck me over and over and over again this week. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:36.299 Because, friends, sometimes that is trials, where 00:33:36.299 --> 00:33:38.059 the trials feel so bad that it's hard for us 00:33:38.059 --> 00:33:39.599 to even remember the good times we had with God 00:33:39.599 --> 00:33:44.920 before the trial. But that's when we have to 00:33:44.920 --> 00:33:47.839 lean in even closer to God. We have to remember 00:33:47.839 --> 00:33:50.579 God's plan even closer. And that's when we have 00:33:50.579 --> 00:33:52.279 to look at this last point. Remember this last 00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:54.019 point that we have this morning, that God makes 00:33:54.019 --> 00:33:56.799 a way for salvation. See, God's just given a 00:33:56.799 --> 00:33:59.200 very somber message to Pharaoh through Joseph, 00:33:59.400 --> 00:34:01.619 but he doesn't leave him. It just stuck with 00:34:01.619 --> 00:34:04.099 this message. He continues on and Joseph says 00:34:04.099 --> 00:34:07.140 this, so now let Pharaoh look for discerning 00:34:07.140 --> 00:34:09.780 and a wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. 00:34:10.139 --> 00:34:13.199 Let Pharaoh do this. Let him appoint overseers 00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:15.099 over the land and take a fifth or 20 % of the 00:34:15.099 --> 00:34:17.380 harvest of the land of Egypt during the seven 00:34:17.380 --> 00:34:19.980 years of abundance. Let them gather all the excess 00:34:19.980 --> 00:34:21.639 food during these good years that are coming 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:24.019 and under Pharaoh's authority, store the grain 00:34:24.019 --> 00:34:26.059 in the cities so that they may preserve it as 00:34:26.059 --> 00:34:29.000 food. The food will be a reserve for the land 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:30.719 during the seven years of famine that will take 00:34:30.719 --> 00:34:33.619 place in the land of Egypt. And then the country 00:34:33.619 --> 00:34:36.179 will not be wiped out by the famine. Here's our 00:34:36.179 --> 00:34:38.440 last takeaway about God. God makes a way for 00:34:38.440 --> 00:34:41.949 salvation. Not only does Joseph have an interpretation, 00:34:42.210 --> 00:34:44.829 Joseph has an application, so to speak. God has 00:34:44.829 --> 00:34:46.690 given him insight into the next steps that Pharaoh 00:34:46.690 --> 00:34:49.349 needs to take. And here they are. Egypt needs 00:34:49.349 --> 00:34:52.610 to appoint somebody who is wise and discerning 00:34:52.610 --> 00:34:54.409 to make sure that one -fifth of the harvest every 00:34:54.409 --> 00:34:56.289 year is stored. Basically like an investment. 00:34:56.489 --> 00:34:59.230 So the country will not be wiped out by famine. 00:35:02.849 --> 00:35:05.650 It takes wisdom. It takes discernment. It takes 00:35:05.650 --> 00:35:10.429 that Pharaoh listens. Understand that prophesied 00:35:10.429 --> 00:35:12.829 famine is going to be terrible, and God is warning 00:35:12.829 --> 00:35:14.869 Pharaoh that this is the only way to be saved. 00:35:16.050 --> 00:35:19.550 But also notice God is providing salvation. If 00:35:19.550 --> 00:35:20.829 you're sharing the gospel with somebody who grew 00:35:20.829 --> 00:35:23.110 up in church and has walked away from God, you 00:35:23.110 --> 00:35:25.550 might hear something like this. Well, my problem 00:35:25.550 --> 00:35:27.429 with Christianity is that God is so different 00:35:27.429 --> 00:35:29.349 in the Old and the New Testament. You know, in 00:35:29.349 --> 00:35:30.989 the Old Testament, God just runs around killing 00:35:30.989 --> 00:35:33.269 people, and in the New Testament, God's all about 00:35:33.269 --> 00:35:36.219 love. What happened there? Now friends, there's 00:35:36.219 --> 00:35:37.900 a much longer answer to this, but I do want to 00:35:37.900 --> 00:35:40.320 bring up Genesis 41 as an example that this is 00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:43.519 not true. The Egyptians are sinful and they are 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:47.139 deserving of destruction. Egyptian religion involved 00:35:47.139 --> 00:35:50.199 a lot of deplorable practices, at times including 00:35:50.199 --> 00:35:54.179 child sacrifice. But God brings Joseph to Egypt 00:35:54.179 --> 00:35:55.820 and through all these struggles and orchestrates 00:35:55.820 --> 00:36:02.219 so that Egyptian lives can be saved. Understand 00:36:02.219 --> 00:36:05.760 that. God does provide a way for salvation. Even 00:36:05.760 --> 00:36:07.380 to a people who are not deserving of it, God 00:36:07.380 --> 00:36:10.679 provides a way for someone to be saved. And God 00:36:10.679 --> 00:36:15.260 has done that same thing for us. God has done 00:36:15.260 --> 00:36:19.079 that exact same thing for us. Titus 3 says this, 00:36:19.719 --> 00:36:22.280 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, 00:36:22.579 --> 00:36:25.519 enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living 00:36:25.519 --> 00:36:28.420 in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another. 00:36:29.480 --> 00:36:31.860 It's not just my interpretation of what we're 00:36:31.860 --> 00:36:33.860 like before Jesus. That's what God says that 00:36:33.860 --> 00:36:39.940 we are. Then verse 4 says this, but when the 00:36:39.940 --> 00:36:42.719 kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind 00:36:42.719 --> 00:36:47.380 appeared, He saved us, not by works of righteousness 00:36:47.380 --> 00:36:50.199 that we had done, not by our own actions, but 00:36:50.199 --> 00:36:52.960 according to His mercy, through the washing of 00:36:52.960 --> 00:36:55.280 regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 00:36:55.760 --> 00:36:58.739 He poured out His Spirit on us abundantly through 00:36:58.739 --> 00:37:01.099 Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been 00:37:01.099 --> 00:37:03.840 justified by His grace, we may become heirs with 00:37:03.840 --> 00:37:07.710 the hope of eternal life. This saying is trustworthy. 00:37:07.849 --> 00:37:10.250 I want you to insist on these things so those 00:37:10.250 --> 00:37:12.869 who believe God might be careful to devote themselves 00:37:12.869 --> 00:37:15.909 to good works. These are good and profitable 00:37:15.909 --> 00:37:19.769 for everyone. Do you notice that contrast in 00:37:19.769 --> 00:37:24.210 there? I really hope you do because that contrast 00:37:24.210 --> 00:37:26.030 isn't just a New Testament contrast, it's an 00:37:26.030 --> 00:37:30.989 Old Testament contrast too. That before we personally, 00:37:31.130 --> 00:37:33.650 each person in this room, before we know Jesus 00:37:33.650 --> 00:37:37.789 or knew Jesus, We could be described as foolish, 00:37:37.929 --> 00:37:40.510 disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions 00:37:40.510 --> 00:37:42.530 and pleasures, or chasing after what makes us 00:37:42.530 --> 00:37:44.789 happy in the short term, living in malice and 00:37:44.789 --> 00:37:48.170 envy, or hating one another, detesting one another, 00:37:48.230 --> 00:37:50.309 being jealous of each other. You're jealous of 00:37:50.309 --> 00:37:52.170 that classmate that's smarter, jealous of that 00:37:52.170 --> 00:37:53.690 neighbor down the street who has more than you. 00:37:54.510 --> 00:38:00.070 And that rules our lives. But the story doesn't 00:38:00.070 --> 00:38:02.519 end there. Let's sort of end there because like 00:38:02.519 --> 00:38:04.800 we read in verse 4, when the kindness of God, 00:38:04.860 --> 00:38:06.880 our Savior, and his love for mankind appeared, 00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:12.059 he saved us. Friends, just as God provides a 00:38:12.059 --> 00:38:13.980 way for the Egyptians to be saved, God has provided 00:38:13.980 --> 00:38:19.780 a way for you to be saved. It comes not through 00:38:19.780 --> 00:38:24.900 our works, but through God's mercy. If you're 00:38:24.900 --> 00:38:27.699 here this morning and you have not accepted this 00:38:27.699 --> 00:38:34.679 gift of mercy, If you have not gone to God and 00:38:34.679 --> 00:38:38.239 said, God, I'm not enough. I am a sinner. I do 00:38:38.239 --> 00:38:41.920 wrong things. I fall short. But God, through 00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:45.440 your grace, you are enough. Through your grace, 00:38:45.440 --> 00:38:48.699 you can redeem me. Through your grace, you can 00:38:48.699 --> 00:38:52.579 save me because of what Jesus did, his perfect 00:38:52.579 --> 00:38:55.980 life, his death, and his resurrection. I want 00:38:55.980 --> 00:38:59.139 to call you this morning to do that. I want to 00:38:59.139 --> 00:39:04.559 challenge you. to take a minute to do that. Now, 00:39:04.579 --> 00:39:07.019 I'm very intentionally stopping our passage right 00:39:07.019 --> 00:39:09.420 here because I really want us to focus on what 00:39:09.420 --> 00:39:11.900 God does in those 36 verses before next week 00:39:11.900 --> 00:39:14.519 we see what Joseph experiences starting in verse 00:39:14.519 --> 00:39:18.059 37. Because we're going to see a lot more about 00:39:18.059 --> 00:39:19.500 God next week, but we're also going to see a 00:39:19.500 --> 00:39:21.320 lot about what happens when Joseph comes out 00:39:21.320 --> 00:39:23.119 the other side of a trial and how we should respond 00:39:23.119 --> 00:39:26.639 when we go from that desert place into a place 00:39:26.639 --> 00:39:31.639 that's not quite so desert. And friends, I do 00:39:31.639 --> 00:39:33.599 want to just make one more point before we move 00:39:33.599 --> 00:39:38.239 on. I think this really matters. Nowhere in verses 00:39:38.239 --> 00:39:41.340 33 through 36 does Joseph say, Pharaoh, appoint 00:39:41.340 --> 00:39:44.960 me to do this job. Joseph never says, Pharaoh, 00:39:45.019 --> 00:39:47.360 what you need to do is make me the man in charge 00:39:47.360 --> 00:39:50.360 of all of this. There's real humility in Joseph. 00:39:51.159 --> 00:39:54.280 But I do want to read us Genesis 41, 39 through 00:39:54.280 --> 00:39:56.590 40. Where it says, so Pharaoh said to Joseph, 00:39:56.710 --> 00:39:59.010 since God has made all this known to you, there 00:39:59.010 --> 00:40:01.389 is no one as discerning and wise as you are. 00:40:01.949 --> 00:40:05.329 You will be over my house and all my people will 00:40:05.329 --> 00:40:09.469 obey your commands. Only I as king will be greater 00:40:09.469 --> 00:40:12.989 than you. Friends, God has positioned Joseph 00:40:12.989 --> 00:40:15.469 for this exact situation. This has all happened 00:40:15.469 --> 00:40:18.230 according to God's plan. This is no accident. 00:40:20.550 --> 00:40:22.429 So take a minute and let's wrap this up. Let's 00:40:22.429 --> 00:40:25.289 put a bow on this. A point of application for 00:40:25.289 --> 00:40:28.010 ourselves. You know, we've looked at five points 00:40:28.010 --> 00:40:30.610 today. That God's plan is bigger than we know, 00:40:30.769 --> 00:40:33.469 that God works at all times, that God has a purpose 00:40:33.469 --> 00:40:35.670 for trials, that God meets us where we are, and 00:40:35.670 --> 00:40:39.289 that God makes a way for salvation. We've come 00:40:39.289 --> 00:40:41.949 to know God more through those, because we understand 00:40:41.949 --> 00:40:45.590 God more. Like I said earlier, our theology should 00:40:45.590 --> 00:40:48.429 lead us to doxology, which is praise, which is 00:40:48.429 --> 00:40:52.050 literally giving glory to God. But I want to 00:40:52.050 --> 00:40:54.510 go one step further than that. See, if knowing 00:40:54.510 --> 00:40:58.610 God leads us to praising God, our doxology, our 00:40:58.610 --> 00:41:02.929 praise of God should lead us to action. I worry 00:41:02.929 --> 00:41:05.849 that far too often we learn more about God and 00:41:05.849 --> 00:41:08.409 we say, yes, theology leads me to doxology and 00:41:08.409 --> 00:41:10.190 I stand here in church with my arms lifted high 00:41:10.190 --> 00:41:15.070 and I sing praise and then I went to lunch. And 00:41:15.070 --> 00:41:16.730 like, well, I can't stand in the middle of Applebee's 00:41:16.730 --> 00:41:20.710 and sing. I can't go to shawarma joint and, you 00:41:20.710 --> 00:41:23.159 know. Start seeing out you've already won in 00:41:23.159 --> 00:41:25.659 the middle of shawarma joint. That's just not 00:41:25.659 --> 00:41:28.059 how this works. So yeah, okay, great, I've got 00:41:28.059 --> 00:41:30.239 good theology, but it stays right there on the 00:41:30.239 --> 00:41:33.460 weekends or it stays in my apartment. You know, 00:41:33.480 --> 00:41:34.980 I saw this in seminary where we'd be sitting 00:41:34.980 --> 00:41:37.659 around watching like a Nuggets playoff game in 00:41:37.659 --> 00:41:39.699 the bubble, not at all that I'm referencing the 00:41:39.699 --> 00:41:41.420 true story. And then somebody would be like, 00:41:41.480 --> 00:41:43.940 have you read this great theology book yet? And 00:41:43.940 --> 00:41:45.239 then the people go launch into a three -hour 00:41:45.239 --> 00:41:47.920 conversation about it. You'd be left in the dust 00:41:47.920 --> 00:41:49.400 just thinking that was a nice three -pointer. 00:41:50.380 --> 00:41:52.179 And friends, I worry that we can take our theology 00:41:52.179 --> 00:41:55.199 and keep it there. We keep our doxology locked 00:41:55.199 --> 00:41:58.000 up to a place where it's quiet for us, to our 00:41:58.000 --> 00:41:59.920 car ride to work where we're playing some Christian 00:41:59.920 --> 00:42:03.059 worship music. But that shouldn't be the case 00:42:03.059 --> 00:42:05.340 because our doxology should lead us to action. 00:42:05.820 --> 00:42:07.719 Because we really don't just praise God as we 00:42:07.719 --> 00:42:11.300 sing, we praise God every day as we live. We 00:42:11.300 --> 00:42:13.179 praise God every single day with the way that 00:42:13.179 --> 00:42:16.360 we work as we read in 1 Corinthians 10. With 00:42:16.360 --> 00:42:18.159 everything that we're doing like we read in Colossians 00:42:18.159 --> 00:42:22.050 chapter 3. And so there's one more way that I 00:42:22.050 --> 00:42:24.050 really want to challenge us to respond to our 00:42:24.050 --> 00:42:26.670 greater understanding and knowledge of God. And 00:42:26.670 --> 00:42:27.750 it's going to have something to do with action. 00:42:29.730 --> 00:42:31.929 If we really believe that God is working at all 00:42:31.929 --> 00:42:34.909 times, and if we really believe what I referenced 00:42:34.909 --> 00:42:36.809 earlier, that part of God's plan for us at all 00:42:36.809 --> 00:42:39.789 times is Matthew 5, 13 through 16, being salt 00:42:39.789 --> 00:42:42.550 and light, being that city on a hill, being called 00:42:42.550 --> 00:42:44.630 out as different. then we have to understand 00:42:44.630 --> 00:42:46.670 this, that God is at work at all times, opening 00:42:46.670 --> 00:42:49.550 many doors all around us for the gospel to be 00:42:49.550 --> 00:42:52.809 spread. And let me encourage you this morning 00:42:52.809 --> 00:42:55.510 that just like Joseph, we need to wait patiently 00:42:55.510 --> 00:42:58.610 for those moments, but there's something else 00:42:58.610 --> 00:43:00.050 we have to do. See, it's easy for us to wait 00:43:00.050 --> 00:43:02.389 for the moment, right? I'll just wait to tell 00:43:02.389 --> 00:43:04.070 my neighbor about Jesus. I'll wait to talk to 00:43:04.070 --> 00:43:06.530 this person about Jesus until it's the perfect 00:43:06.530 --> 00:43:10.650 time. And when we do that, I worry that sometimes, 00:43:10.909 --> 00:43:12.550 and I worry this because I know it's true for 00:43:12.550 --> 00:43:15.349 me, that we struggle to seize those moments. 00:43:16.730 --> 00:43:18.670 Friends, one of my biggest takeaways from Joseph 00:43:18.670 --> 00:43:21.449 in Genesis 41 is it's not just that he gives 00:43:21.449 --> 00:43:22.989 all the glory to God. It's not just about God's 00:43:22.989 --> 00:43:26.369 plan. It's also when Joseph is given that moment 00:43:26.369 --> 00:43:29.449 to serve the Lord and proclaim his name, he does 00:43:29.449 --> 00:43:31.670 it. It's not me who gives you your interpretation, 00:43:31.969 --> 00:43:35.349 Pharaoh. It's God. How easy would it have been 00:43:35.349 --> 00:43:36.949 for Joseph, the prisoner who's just been pulled 00:43:36.949 --> 00:43:38.449 out of prison, to say, you know what, Pharaoh, 00:43:38.510 --> 00:43:41.269 I think I can help you out with that one. But 00:43:41.269 --> 00:43:43.400 he doesn't. So let me encourage each of us this 00:43:43.400 --> 00:43:45.099 morning to be like Joseph, to patiently wait 00:43:45.099 --> 00:43:47.360 for those moments, but then to seize those moments, 00:43:47.420 --> 00:43:50.320 to seize those opportunities. Don't hold back 00:43:50.320 --> 00:43:57.539 in those opportunities. Don't wait. You know, 00:43:57.539 --> 00:43:59.880 sometimes there's opportunities that we do miss, 00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:03.000 and that can be hard. I know in my life there's 00:44:03.000 --> 00:44:08.610 many that I've missed. I think about one from 00:44:08.610 --> 00:44:10.929 a couple years ago where my neighbor was about 00:44:10.929 --> 00:44:14.349 to have open heart surgery. And in the moment, 00:44:14.369 --> 00:44:17.489 I was just like, well, that really stinks. Like, 00:44:17.489 --> 00:44:19.050 I do know the way he lives. He should probably 00:44:19.050 --> 00:44:20.829 try a diet and he should probably try some exercise. 00:44:21.090 --> 00:44:23.150 Like, that would really help him out. He should 00:44:23.150 --> 00:44:24.769 probably stop shooting fireworks off while holding 00:44:24.769 --> 00:44:30.829 on to them. But in the moment, you know, I thought 00:44:30.829 --> 00:44:32.409 that's really all there is to it. Like, you know, 00:44:32.429 --> 00:44:35.030 thanks for telling me. Old man, which is what 00:44:35.030 --> 00:44:36.510 he went by, which is a weird thing to go by. 00:44:37.329 --> 00:44:39.670 Okay, old man, thanks for telling me that. Then 00:44:39.670 --> 00:44:42.989 I walked away back over to my house, and I sat 00:44:42.989 --> 00:44:47.650 down in my living room, and it hit me. It hit 00:44:47.650 --> 00:44:49.909 me. He just told me, hey, I'm pretty freaked 00:44:49.909 --> 00:44:51.889 out about this because, you know, my sons aren't 00:44:51.889 --> 00:44:53.989 in a great spot, and I'm kind of by myself all 00:44:53.989 --> 00:44:56.869 the time, and, you know, I'm scared about this 00:44:56.869 --> 00:44:58.949 surgery, and I don't know what's going to happen. 00:45:01.590 --> 00:45:03.550 And I just said, okay, I'm sorry to hear that. 00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:05.619 What if I would have stopped and said, hey, listen, 00:45:05.800 --> 00:45:07.280 I don't know what's going to happen to that surgery 00:45:07.280 --> 00:45:09.039 either, but I can tell you the best news ever. 00:45:09.960 --> 00:45:12.440 And then talk to him about Jesus. So friends, 00:45:12.480 --> 00:45:13.940 I share that because it's not like I'm over here 00:45:13.940 --> 00:45:15.639 saying I'm perfect at this and no one else is 00:45:15.639 --> 00:45:18.300 because I'm not perfect at this. But I do want 00:45:18.300 --> 00:45:20.760 to challenge us that if we know God well, and 00:45:20.760 --> 00:45:22.719 if we truly let our theology form our doxology, 00:45:23.039 --> 00:45:25.699 then our doxology should lead us to action. And 00:45:25.699 --> 00:45:27.820 that action should be bringing the best news 00:45:27.820 --> 00:45:31.420 of all time to the world around us. Bringing 00:45:31.420 --> 00:45:33.480 the truth of the gospel to that roommate, that 00:45:33.480 --> 00:45:36.380 friend, that classmate, that co -worker, that 00:45:36.380 --> 00:45:39.820 family member. Because friends, if we really 00:45:39.820 --> 00:45:42.500 believe this, if we really know God, if we really 00:45:42.500 --> 00:45:44.059 believe these five points that we saw today, 00:45:44.280 --> 00:45:46.639 that God's plan is bigger than we know, that 00:45:46.639 --> 00:45:49.079 God works at all times, that God has a purpose 00:45:49.079 --> 00:45:50.920 for trials, that God meets us where we are, and 00:45:50.920 --> 00:45:53.039 that God makes a way for salvation, then we should 00:45:53.039 --> 00:45:55.179 have our eyes open to all of those trials around 00:45:55.179 --> 00:45:59.300 us. Because friends, if we really know that, 00:45:59.340 --> 00:46:01.219 if we know that our God is the God who has a 00:46:01.219 --> 00:46:03.559 purpose for trials, then when we see our neighbor 00:46:03.559 --> 00:46:06.460 hurting, we know that God has a purpose for it. 00:46:06.780 --> 00:46:09.099 And what if God's purpose was to open a door 00:46:09.099 --> 00:46:11.420 and to soften our hearts so we can bring the 00:46:11.420 --> 00:46:15.480 gospel? So let me encourage you. Let's be faithful 00:46:15.480 --> 00:46:20.039 like Joseph, to be bold, to boldly declare the 00:46:20.039 --> 00:46:22.320 message of the gospel and of God when we're given 00:46:22.320 --> 00:46:24.800 that opportunity. God, thank you so much for 00:46:24.800 --> 00:46:32.659 today. God, we just, I'm humbled, God, looking 00:46:32.659 --> 00:46:35.760 at the example of Joseph, God, not by perfection, 00:46:36.059 --> 00:46:40.440 Lord, but by faithfulness. By faithfulness, God, 00:46:40.539 --> 00:46:42.320 that in the middle of a situation where he absolutely 00:46:42.320 --> 00:46:44.159 could have taken the glory and the credit for 00:46:44.159 --> 00:46:45.739 himself, God, that he didn't, and that instead 00:46:45.739 --> 00:46:49.880 he stopped. I said, it's not about me, it's about 00:46:49.880 --> 00:46:53.639 God. Lord, I ask that you would embolden us in 00:46:53.639 --> 00:46:57.159 that this week, God. Lord, embolden us that as 00:46:57.159 --> 00:47:00.539 we face difficult times, God, as we face trials, 00:47:00.840 --> 00:47:04.500 that you have a plan, that you are at work, God. 00:47:05.659 --> 00:47:07.460 God, when we are feeling low and discouraged, 00:47:07.679 --> 00:47:15.280 would you encourage us? God, as we sing these 00:47:15.280 --> 00:47:19.579 songs of response, Lord, I ask that you would 00:47:19.579 --> 00:47:22.840 just even be putting people on our mind right 00:47:22.840 --> 00:47:27.440 now. People in our mind right now that we can 00:47:27.440 --> 00:47:33.139 go to, even today, God, and bring the best news 00:47:33.139 --> 00:47:38.559 ever to. Lord, we pray all this in your name. 00:47:39.400 --> 00:47:39.800 Amen.