WEBVTT

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I am Pastor Nathan, and today we're going to

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be talking about the ups and downs of life. Why

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God allows them, how we are to navigate them.

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And where we're at is in Genesis chapter 39,

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we are returning to the story of Joseph after

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our quick aside to the story of Judah in Genesis

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38 and his moral collapse and restoration. But

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while that story was playing out in Genesis 38,

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we know that Joseph was far from home. He had

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been shackled. stripped, betrayed by his brothers,

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sold into slavery, and was being marched down

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to Egypt with no human support, no family support,

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and really no earthly hope because having been

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sold into slavery, there was not a lot of hope

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for his situation. Now Joseph is a guy who had

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every reason to hate, every reason to distrust,

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to become bitter and upset. He had every reason

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to fantasize about revenge. None of us have done

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that, right? Yeah, we've all had those moments

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where we're like, ooh, if I could just get them

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back, I would do this or that, right? Now, the

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astonishing thing about Joseph's story is despite

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his childhood and his teenage years and all that

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had been done to him by his brothers, finding

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himself now chained possibly to a wagon, possibly

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carrying a heavy load as a slave, walking through

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the dust, rising up through his chains, through

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all of that, he chose to trust God. He chose

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to not give in to the depression or the complaining

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or just the victimhood. He chose to trust God.

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And that's really the example, the story that

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we're called to learn from here in this chapter.

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You know, we had looked at in Genesis 37, Joseph

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was a very young man, very naive in his faith.

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He was 17 years old when he was betrayed by his

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brothers. And although he knew God and had a

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solid understanding of who God was, He was immature

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in his life status. And so although he had this

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really solid faith, it just needed more depth.

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And that applies to all of us. You know, when

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we get saved, regardless of the age we get saved,

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we start out as what is called baby Christians,

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right? And we sound like this to the angels in

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heaven a lot. And that's what we are as baby

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Christians. And then we grow and then we mature.

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But the process of all of that is something God

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takes us through in our lives. And that is every

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good time, every up. and every difficult time

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and every down. It's been said that deep faith

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rarely grows in comfort, that it is something

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that grows in hot water. Somebody once said that

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Christians are like a tea bag where it's not

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worth much. The flavor doesn't come out until

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they've been in hot water. Genesis 39 is Joseph's

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hot water. This is a moment where God is going

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to grow his faith. temper his integrity, and

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prepare him for the calling that God has on his

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life later on, a calling that Joseph has no idea

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of at this point. And so we're gonna be looking

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at how he handles all of this, and it's gonna

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be a great instruction to us on how to handle

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our ups and downs, how to handle the times where

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we feel like God is with us and everything is

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wonderful, and then we... seemingly drop into

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a pit, drop into a prison and wonder, where did

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God go? Where did the blessings go? And the lesson

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for us is that God is ever present with his kids

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no matter where we are. That although our circumstances

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may change in life, God never does. And that

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is our hope. So let's pray and then we're going

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to get into worship because we just love praising

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the Lord. He is so worth it. He is so just, I

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mean, gosh, when you just think of him, he's...

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He's everything, and he's everywhere. I was in

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New York last week for a few days and was visiting

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Times Square like all the tourists do, and they

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have all those gigantic LED screens on every

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building, and I turned around to look at one,

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and it said, Jesus is coming soon. And I was

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like, praise God, you know. You know, I posted

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that, and I said, New York, pay attention. So

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let's pray, and I will get into it. Father, we

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love you. We're so grateful for you and who you

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are, Lord. You are so amazing and almighty. You

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are holy and just and true. You are love and

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light. And God, our world just needs to know

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you because you are hope. And God, I just pray

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today, Lord, as we've come together as your church,

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as your people, that we would continue to be

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people who live knowing that you are coming soon.

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But more than that, God, we would be people who

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live knowing that you are here with us now, that

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you are ever present in our life, God, and Lord,

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that we would learn as your children to be godly

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people, to be godly children, Lord, in every

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circumstance, God, that we wouldn't be swayed

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by whether we're in the good times or the bad

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times, but instead, Lord, we would live by the

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truth that you are there with us. You are watching.

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And that, Lord, although our circumstances do

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change, you do not. And, Lord, although we are

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growing through those circumstances, our convictions

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and our ethics, Lord, that are based in you shouldn't

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change either. And so, Lord, I pray that you

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would speak to all of us this morning, that you

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would bless all of us, Lord, with your presence,

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with your truth, with your hope, and that, God,

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you would bring healing and peace and joy, Lord,

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in this season and in this place, Lord, from

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your presence. God, we want to start by praising

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you. We love you so much, and you are so worthy

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of all of our praise, God. This is something

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we will be doing in eternity forever, God, because,

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Lord, there's not possibly enough praise that

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we can lavish upon you. Again, God, we love you

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so much, and we are so grateful to what you've

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done in our lives. We look forward to what you're

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going to be doing in our lives, and we look forward

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to being with you again one day. We praise you.

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It's in your name we pray. The name of Jesus.

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Amen. We are in Genesis chapter 39, and we're

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going to be continuing this story of Joseph.

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And this story is picking up after his betrayal

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by his brothers, and where he found himself chained.

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He found himself sold into slavery and on his

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way down to Egypt. Now you can imagine what he

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may have been thinking at this time. We do know

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from other scriptures that when his brothers

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threw him down in a cistern, as they were contemplating

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killing him or not killing him, he was crying

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out. He was calling out to his brothers. And

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I'm sure he was scared and all of these other

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emotions that you might experience. And when

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they lifted him out of the pit. I can imagine

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he was like, oh man, this is great. Thank you

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guys. And oh, I knew you loved me. And then they're

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like, yeah, here, we're selling you into slavery.

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Pretty traumatic situation for a young man there.

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And so we pick up the story here in verse one

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of Genesis 39. And it says, now Joseph had been

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taken to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an

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officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards.

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bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought

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him there. So if you remember the caravan that

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Joseph's brothers saw and sold him to was a caravan

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of Ishmaelites. These are... descendants of Abraham,

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but outside of the covenant. And so Joseph is

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sent to them, taken down to Egypt, and then it

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just gets right into it. He was sold to Potiphar,

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this man. Now, you imagine if you're setting

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the scene for Joseph and what he's experiencing

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is he's grown up in a very kind of nomadic society,

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living in tents, shepherding sheep and flocks,

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and traveling from place to place. And so he

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gets, you know, chained up to this wagon, if

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you will, as they take him down. And Then he

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comes into this prosperous place. He had never

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been to Egypt. We know from archeology and stuff

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that Egypt was a very prosperous, wealthy empire

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in its time. very idolatrous culture, you know,

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over the different eras of the Egyptian dynasties.

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There was literally thousands of different gods

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that they worshipped and their gods worked really

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hard. And so when they were sleeping, the population

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would have to do these daily rituals every morning

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to wake their gods up from slumber. And so this

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is the world that Joseph is being led into here,

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a place where Pharaoh, who is the leader of Egypt,

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was considered. divine himself. And again, just

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you can imagine his arrival, you know, coming

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into the very lush and green Nile River Valley.

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You know, he had been living mostly in a desert,

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arid region his whole life. And so there's all

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this green around him now and all this massive

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architecture that just would make someone feel

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so small in its presence. And everybody's speaking

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an unknown language to him. On top of that, he's

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surrounded by these strange customs, the strange

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dress, and just the overwhelming paganism. And

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it's here in this world of just extravagance

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and magnificence that he is then purchased by

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this guy Potiphar. Now it tells us a little bit

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about Potiphar that he was an officer of Pharaoh

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and the captain of the guards. Those two things

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indicate to us that he was a man of great wealth.

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He was a man of great power and authority. A

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man of great influence because he was not just

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an officer in the government, but he was the

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head of the guards. And when it says captain

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of the guards, it's referring to the... the internal,

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the Pharaoh's guards, right? The inner bodyguards,

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if you will. And so he was a very, very influential

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man. And I think those details are there just

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to kind of give us the picture of where Joseph

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landed, right? When he was in the bottom of the

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cistern in Genesis chapter 37, we talked about

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these cisterns are like kind of these big...

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pots, if you will, pot -shaped holes that were

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carved out of the stone to catch rainwater. And

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so when his brothers tossed him in there, there

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was no way out. There was no ladder, no rope,

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no nothing like that. And I'm sure he was thinking

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that. How am I going to get out of this place?

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Brothers, please let me out. Please get me out

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of here. I don't understand why you're doing

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this. And then that rope came down and he's like,

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aha, I'm out. I'm being set free. Boom, sold

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into slavery. And then he now finds himself in

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this place where he is a slave in the house of

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the guy in charge of the bodyguard of the Pharaoh.

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Talk about another situation where there is no

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escape, right? Like if anybody had like the platinum

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package alarm system in his house, it was this

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guy Potiphar, right? He knew security. He knew

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protection. It wasn't like it was a place where

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slaves escaped from very regularly that he was

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now in this very no way I'm getting out of this

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situation. And for Joseph, it was just kind of

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welcome to the rest of your life. And then we

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get on to verse two. In the very, very next breath,

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after setting that scene, it says the Lord was

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with Joseph. That is the central lesson of this

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entire chapter. The Lord was with Joseph. Now

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that word Lord there, that's the word Yahweh

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that we've talked about in previous Bible studies.

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It's the name of God that refers to the close,

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personal. relational God, right? Not the big,

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massive, almighty creator of the universe God,

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but the God who knows your name. who knows how

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many hairs are on your head, who knows everything

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about you, your likes, your dislikes, your personality.

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He knows everything down to the very atoms that

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make you up because he created you. That is who

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Yahweh is, and that word Yahweh is always rendered

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Lord, capital letters, in our Bibles. And so

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this particular name of God is referenced eight

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times in this chapter because, again, it is the

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central theme of the story here in Joseph's life.

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Now, as we're at the very beginning of Joseph's

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life, as God is doing a work to mold and shape

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him into the person he needs him to be for his

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future calling, Yahweh is mentioned more times

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in this chapter than it is in the entire story

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of Joseph. And that tells us that it's an important

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detail to pay attention to. Now, it should remind

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us of a key truth. A truth that Joseph's life

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illuminates for us is that Even though Joseph

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couldn't see God, God was very much present.

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God was there. God was with him. He's now in

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this place where he has no family. There's no

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Yahweh -worshiping community around him. In fact,

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it's replaced with thousands of pagan gods. There's

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no visible encouragement in the situation, but

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Yahweh was with him. Yahweh was with him, actively

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fulfilling his own covenant promises. And we

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as God's people, we need to always remember that.

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We go through ups and downs in life. And it doesn't

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matter if you're in an up or a down. Yahweh is

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with you. When you find yourself in a vulnerable

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situation or a circumstance or something that

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is painful or traumatic, you have to remember

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that God is there. Every time you meet these

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types of crossroads, you have two decisions.

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Focus on your vulnerability, focus on how bad

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it is, focus on what went wrong, or focus on

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God's sovereignty. That God is sovereign, right?

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We believe that as Christians. So when you hit

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the dip, it's like, okay, God, you're sovereign.

00:14:23.700 --> 00:14:26.419
You've allowed this to happen in my life. So

00:14:26.419 --> 00:14:28.799
now, what am I supposed to do here in this circumstance?

00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:30.919
What it is you want me to do and learn and to

00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:33.600
grow and all that? Because many believers, if

00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:36.879
we found ourselves sold into this type of situation,

00:14:36.980 --> 00:14:39.580
slavery, and just in a new country, in a new

00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:42.360
land, with a new language, and surrounded by

00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:45.799
all this, we'd be like, this is unfair. The devil

00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:49.659
is winning. If we were in the situation that

00:14:49.659 --> 00:14:52.620
Joseph is described to us as a godly young man,

00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:55.200
although he's naive and inexperienced, he's still

00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:58.279
a godly young man, we'd be like, God, what are

00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:02.799
you doing? But Joseph, his attitude seems to

00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:04.200
be, and we're going to see this in the verses

00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:08.399
coming up, that his attitude seems to be, God

00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:11.500
is with me. And if God has allowed me to become

00:15:11.500 --> 00:15:14.389
a slave in this man's house, Well, then I'm going

00:15:14.389 --> 00:15:18.000
to be the best slave Egypt has ever seen. I'm

00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:20.279
gonna work hard. I'm gonna hustle. I'm gonna

00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:23.840
do all of this because he knew who it was he

00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:27.519
worked for. He knew who he represented. And so

00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:32.580
this posture that he adopts of surrendered excellence,

00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:35.440
right? I'm in a bad situation. I have a bad boss

00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:39.379
or whatever the situation is. I'm still gonna

00:15:39.379 --> 00:15:41.840
have an excellent work ethic. I'm still gonna

00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:45.700
work hard and be honest and trustworthy. posture

00:15:45.700 --> 00:15:48.620
becomes the foundation of everything that God

00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:51.360
does in his life. And so we continue in verse

00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:54.539
two, the Lord was with him and he became a successful

00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:57.899
man, serving in the household of his Egyptian

00:15:57.899 --> 00:16:00.940
master. When his master saw that the Lord was

00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:02.620
with him and that the Lord made everything he

00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:05.620
did successful, Joseph found favor with his master

00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:08.919
and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also

00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:10.679
put him in charge of his household and placed

00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:13.559
all that he owned under his authority. From the

00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:15.220
time that he put him in charge of the household

00:16:15.220 --> 00:16:17.519
and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the

00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:20.539
Egyptian's house because of Joseph. The Lord's

00:16:20.539 --> 00:16:23.200
blessing was on all that he owned in his house

00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:26.179
and in his fields. He left all that he owned

00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:28.460
under Joseph's authority and he did not concern

00:16:28.460 --> 00:16:31.440
himself with anything except the food he ate.

00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:37.740
So terrible situation. From the pit in the cistern

00:16:37.740 --> 00:16:40.980
to slavery. Oh no. Sold into slavery in this

00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:45.080
foreign pagan country. Oh no. But then Joseph

00:16:45.080 --> 00:16:49.200
has great success. Why? It told us in the beginning

00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:52.379
of the verse. For the Lord was with him. The

00:16:52.379 --> 00:16:55.820
Lord was with him. His success wasn't just luck.

00:16:57.129 --> 00:17:00.629
It was God's faithfulness in his life. And so

00:17:00.629 --> 00:17:03.190
what we see here is Joseph, instead of complaining

00:17:03.190 --> 00:17:06.690
and grumbling and lamenting his fate, instead

00:17:06.690 --> 00:17:09.890
of arguing with God and blaming God, and we go

00:17:09.890 --> 00:17:11.849
through all these emotions and it's natural,

00:17:11.950 --> 00:17:16.849
what he lands on is, okay, this is where I'm

00:17:16.849 --> 00:17:19.410
at. This is my circumstance. So I'm going to

00:17:19.410 --> 00:17:22.190
serve. I'm going to work hard. I'm going to do

00:17:22.190 --> 00:17:25.220
the right thing. It doesn't... tell us exactly

00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:28.440
how Potiphar saw that the Lord was with him,

00:17:28.500 --> 00:17:30.519
right? It just tells us that Potiphar saw the

00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:32.680
Lord was with him and that everything he did

00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:35.559
was successful. But we can speculate on what

00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:39.180
that is, right? Gosh, I bought this Hebrew slave

00:17:39.180 --> 00:17:41.119
and everything he does just works out great.

00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:44.180
And he works so hard and, you know, man, he cleans

00:17:44.180 --> 00:17:46.619
like nobody else and he works the fields like

00:17:46.619 --> 00:17:54.840
nobody else. And Joseph, what's the deal? Speculatively,

00:17:54.840 --> 00:17:58.779
well, I just, I serve the Lord. I'm here to serve

00:17:58.779 --> 00:18:01.759
the Lord, and I want God to be pleased with what

00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:04.539
I do, and I represent him and all that, and so

00:18:04.539 --> 00:18:06.359
that's the answer. Well, I don't know about this

00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:08.039
Lord thing. We got a thousand gods, but then

00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:11.059
more success, more success, more good job, more

00:18:11.059 --> 00:18:15.960
honesty, more, really, Joseph, what is it? I

00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:19.000
told you already, it's the Lord, right? These

00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:21.140
types of situations happen in our lives where

00:18:21.140 --> 00:18:25.099
when we work hard, when we work the way we're

00:18:25.099 --> 00:18:27.279
supposed to, when we conduct ourselves in godly

00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:29.759
ways, those godly ways are very different than

00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:31.720
the world's ways, and often the world will take

00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:34.519
notice and ask, what is the deal? Why won't you

00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:37.240
cheat on the time clock? Why won't you cheat

00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:40.960
on the contract? Why don't you do that? And it

00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:43.119
gives us an opportunity to be a witness of who

00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:47.079
we serve. That by our words and our deeds, we

00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:50.779
proclaim who the Lord is, and we proclaim who

00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:53.519
those who claim to be the Lord's people are,

00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:56.759
right? Not that we're perfect people, but we

00:18:56.759 --> 00:18:58.940
have a witness when we're out there among the

00:18:58.940 --> 00:19:02.579
world serving and working. Now, this in this

00:19:02.579 --> 00:19:07.059
particular instance, it led to favor. Potiphar's

00:19:07.059 --> 00:19:08.799
like, well, he's the only honest worker I got,

00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:12.359
I'm guessing. Let me raise him up. I'm going

00:19:12.359 --> 00:19:14.519
to make him my personal attendant because he

00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:16.640
does a better job than everybody else. And then,

00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:18.460
you know what? He's so honest and responsible.

00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:20.859
I want you to handle everything in my entire

00:19:20.859 --> 00:19:24.960
house. It's all yours. And it gives us that detail

00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:26.460
that he didn't concern himself with anything

00:19:26.460 --> 00:19:29.619
except the food he ate. What that's telling us

00:19:29.619 --> 00:19:33.819
is that he didn't go check to see if the bank

00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:36.180
account was still good. And he didn't check to

00:19:36.180 --> 00:19:38.759
see if the time clocks were good and all that

00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:42.440
thing. He was like, I trust. I don't have to

00:19:42.440 --> 00:19:44.940
check up on him because he's such a trustworthy

00:19:44.940 --> 00:19:48.119
individual. I just need to know when dinner time

00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:52.519
is. That's it. That's a lot of authority. He

00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:57.880
got favor, and that favor led to promotion, and

00:19:57.880 --> 00:20:02.140
that promotion led to authority. And this can

00:20:02.140 --> 00:20:04.480
happen in the life of a believer. Now we're gonna

00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:06.279
see later in the story, the other can happen

00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:10.710
too, but it's God doing the blessing here. God

00:20:10.710 --> 00:20:13.470
is the one that is bringing all of this into

00:20:13.470 --> 00:20:15.650
Joseph's life because we're gonna see later on

00:20:15.650 --> 00:20:19.930
that bad things happen too and it's still the

00:20:19.930 --> 00:20:23.710
Lord. That we always have to know that God is

00:20:23.710 --> 00:20:25.730
the one who blesses, God is the one who gives,

00:20:25.769 --> 00:20:28.470
and God is the one who takes away. But in this

00:20:28.470 --> 00:20:31.390
circumstance here, his work ethic, his witness,

00:20:31.470 --> 00:20:34.809
all of this stuff is being recognized by the

00:20:34.809 --> 00:20:37.369
pagan world and he's getting blessed because

00:20:37.369 --> 00:20:40.880
of it. Now, as Potiphar blessed Joseph, it then

00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:44.160
says the Lord blessed Potiphar. That just echoes

00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:47.960
what God told Abraham back in Genesis 12 .3 when

00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:50.519
he said, I will bless those who bless you, right?

00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:53.799
That's why as a church, we take a stance, we

00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:57.259
support Israel. We support the Jewish people

00:20:57.259 --> 00:21:01.099
and the Jewish nation because they are God's

00:21:01.099 --> 00:21:04.650
people. We're not a church that believes in replacement

00:21:04.650 --> 00:21:06.970
theology where the church has replaced the Jews

00:21:06.970 --> 00:21:08.789
and God has just done with them forever. No,

00:21:08.930 --> 00:21:12.349
that is not what the Bible teaches. Now, does

00:21:12.349 --> 00:21:16.430
God chasten those he loves? Yeah. And is he disciplining

00:21:16.430 --> 00:21:18.029
his people through things he's done throughout

00:21:18.029 --> 00:21:20.609
history just as he disciplines the church? Yes.

00:21:21.509 --> 00:21:26.130
But as a church, we support Israel. Primarily

00:21:26.130 --> 00:21:29.529
because of these words that God said. Those who

00:21:29.529 --> 00:21:34.029
bless Israel, I will bless. It doesn't mean we

00:21:34.029 --> 00:21:35.829
agree with everything. It doesn't mean that they're

00:21:35.829 --> 00:21:38.609
perfect people. That's God's business. And so

00:21:38.609 --> 00:21:43.549
Joseph here, his integrity, who he is as a godly

00:21:43.549 --> 00:21:47.470
person is causing blessing to spill out on those

00:21:47.470 --> 00:21:49.750
who are blessing him. And that's often how it

00:21:49.750 --> 00:21:52.950
works. Now wherever you find yourself in life

00:21:52.950 --> 00:21:55.269
today, even if you're in a place where you feel

00:21:55.269 --> 00:21:59.140
like you've taken a step backwards, The idea

00:21:59.140 --> 00:22:01.660
here is that we are called to work unto the Lord.

00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:05.019
That's what the Bible tells us. To work, no matter

00:22:05.019 --> 00:22:07.460
what we're doing, where we're at, as if God is

00:22:07.460 --> 00:22:12.619
our boss. So when we're going to cheat on the

00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:17.500
time clock, it's the Lord you're robbing. If

00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:20.140
you're going to cheat on that contract, you're

00:22:20.140 --> 00:22:23.839
going to cut corners, it's the Lord you're doing

00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:27.539
that to. Or for. And so, God, you're my boss.

00:22:27.619 --> 00:22:30.059
I want you to be pleased with me. I want to be

00:22:30.059 --> 00:22:32.440
faithful. I want to be honest. I want to have

00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:35.480
integrity in everything. And just because God

00:22:35.480 --> 00:22:36.920
has said, great, I'm going to place you here

00:22:36.920 --> 00:22:39.779
under this really wicked boss, doesn't then give

00:22:39.779 --> 00:22:42.059
us the right, the license to say, well, then

00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:43.960
I don't have to be honest. I don't have to be

00:22:43.960 --> 00:22:49.160
responsible anymore. And so this is what Joseph

00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:53.200
has done here. He's like, this is where God has

00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:57.160
placed me. I'm still a believer, so I'm still

00:22:57.160 --> 00:22:59.240
going to work as a believer here in this place.

00:22:59.420 --> 00:23:02.799
And, you know, if you push a broom, be the best

00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:06.319
broom pusher in your company. If your job is

00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:09.380
to dig holes, well, guess what? Be the best.

00:23:10.539 --> 00:23:12.519
Be the most trustworthy, the most faithful, the

00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:14.319
most honorable, whatever it is, wherever God

00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:17.740
has you. Because when we do those types of things,

00:23:17.859 --> 00:23:20.259
which are often different than the worldly people

00:23:20.259 --> 00:23:23.819
around us, other people will notice. And they'll

00:23:23.819 --> 00:23:25.539
notice that integrity, and they can notice that

00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:27.640
joy, and they can notice that excellence for

00:23:27.640 --> 00:23:29.720
God's glory, and then guess what? Sometimes they'll

00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:32.660
ask about it. And then what a great witnessing

00:23:32.660 --> 00:23:36.480
opportunity that can become. But this is also

00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:39.759
the kind of life that draws the attention of

00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:43.339
the enemy. That if you're a person who has decided

00:23:43.339 --> 00:23:45.700
and said, I'm gonna live with integrity, and

00:23:45.700 --> 00:23:47.619
I'm gonna live with purity and faithfulness and

00:23:47.619 --> 00:23:50.279
purpose, you can expect the enemy to attack.

00:23:50.519 --> 00:23:53.880
And one of the ways the enemy attacks us It's

00:23:53.880 --> 00:23:57.359
by crafting temptations that are tailored to

00:23:57.359 --> 00:24:02.319
you. Did you know the devil knows you? He's been

00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:05.559
studying you for a long time. And he knows your

00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:08.839
buttons and he knows your weak points. And temptations

00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:10.980
are often tailored just for you. Like all of

00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:14.559
us are, we struggle with temptation with different

00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:17.640
things in different ways. Right, and so here

00:24:17.640 --> 00:24:19.519
with Joseph, we're gonna see how this temptation

00:24:19.519 --> 00:24:22.980
that comes to Joseph is tailored to him and his

00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:26.799
experiences in his life. And so verse six, it

00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:28.980
says, now Joseph was well built and handsome.

00:24:30.299 --> 00:24:33.240
He's a good looking dude. Physically, appealing

00:24:33.240 --> 00:24:39.289
to the eye, right? He's just handsome. He's what

00:24:39.289 --> 00:24:41.950
the ladies would like. You know, that's the words

00:24:41.950 --> 00:24:43.730
that are being used here. Verse seven, it says,

00:24:43.809 --> 00:24:46.730
after some time, his master's wife looked longingly

00:24:46.730 --> 00:24:50.130
at Joseph and said, sleep with me. But he refused.

00:24:50.950 --> 00:24:55.809
Look, he said to his master's wife, with me here,

00:24:55.910 --> 00:24:58.109
my master does not concern himself with anything

00:24:58.109 --> 00:25:01.190
in this house. And he has put all that he owns

00:25:01.190 --> 00:25:04.130
under my authority. No one in this house is greater

00:25:04.130 --> 00:25:06.819
than I am. And that wasn't a boastful thing.

00:25:06.900 --> 00:25:08.940
He was talking about in a position of authority

00:25:08.940 --> 00:25:13.160
and decision making. He's like, I'm number two

00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:15.839
to Potiphar who is the master of this house.

00:25:16.299 --> 00:25:20.480
He has withheld nothing from me except you because

00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:25.720
you are his wife. So how could I do this immense

00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:29.960
evil and how could I sin against God? Although

00:25:29.960 --> 00:25:33.160
she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused

00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:38.000
to go to bed with her. So again, Joseph has gone

00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:42.279
from the pit, the cistern, and now he's in the

00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:45.480
penthouse. And now he has the greatest authority

00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:49.380
running this very wealthy man's house. Authority,

00:25:49.539 --> 00:25:52.700
influence, all has been given to him. But obviously,

00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:57.019
yeah, the man's wife doesn't belong to him. She's

00:25:57.019 --> 00:25:59.619
off limits. But then she comes and she starts

00:25:59.619 --> 00:26:04.690
to proposition him. Now again, when we put ourselves

00:26:04.690 --> 00:26:07.470
in Joseph's place, being in this pagan country,

00:26:07.849 --> 00:26:11.569
there's a lot of opportunity for him to give

00:26:11.569 --> 00:26:15.089
in and justify that. For one, there's no other

00:26:15.089 --> 00:26:17.210
believers there, so there's no one to hold him

00:26:17.210 --> 00:26:20.650
accountable. Nobody's watching. Nobody back home

00:26:20.650 --> 00:26:22.490
is going to know if he did this wrong thing.

00:26:24.569 --> 00:26:28.109
Potiphar's wife. She was obviously used to getting

00:26:28.109 --> 00:26:30.670
what she wanted, and that kind of explains her

00:26:30.670 --> 00:26:32.630
brazenness. Sleep with me, right? You're just

00:26:32.630 --> 00:26:34.630
one of the slaves, so do what I'm telling you

00:26:34.630 --> 00:26:38.569
to do. And she just fixates on him, and he had

00:26:38.569 --> 00:26:42.569
all opportunity. He could have just given in,

00:26:42.670 --> 00:26:46.390
and who knows if she'd done this before. I kind

00:26:46.390 --> 00:26:48.490
of think she did with how brazen she is with

00:26:48.490 --> 00:26:52.609
this. And like I said, nobody would know. If

00:26:52.609 --> 00:26:55.809
you think of his experiences in his family that

00:26:55.809 --> 00:26:59.329
he had been neglected in his family. He was the

00:26:59.329 --> 00:27:01.009
youngest brother. His other brothers didn't want

00:27:01.009 --> 00:27:02.690
him around. They didn't like him. They grew to

00:27:02.690 --> 00:27:06.549
hate him. So he had been a cast off, sold into

00:27:06.549 --> 00:27:09.210
slavery, unwanted. And now this very powerful

00:27:09.210 --> 00:27:12.410
woman wants him. That's tempting, especially

00:27:12.410 --> 00:27:16.470
for guys. It was culturally acceptable. Slaves

00:27:16.470 --> 00:27:19.380
in those days as they were just property. The

00:27:19.380 --> 00:27:21.940
masters can do whatever they wanted with them,

00:27:22.059 --> 00:27:25.240
including sexually exploit them. So he wouldn't

00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:27.500
be doing anything wrong culturally if he gave

00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:30.900
in. And then, I mean, it could be very advantageous

00:27:30.900 --> 00:27:34.140
to his career. Because like Potiphar was a very

00:27:34.140 --> 00:27:36.779
powerful and influential man, she was also likely

00:27:36.779 --> 00:27:39.900
influential among the, you know, the elite of

00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:42.099
the society there. And, you know, it could have

00:27:42.099 --> 00:27:44.640
been very good for his job if he gave in to this.

00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:48.289
And it could have been, you know, Good for him

00:27:48.289 --> 00:27:51.190
in that way, but I mean, when we look at Joseph,

00:27:51.230 --> 00:27:54.390
he had every human reason to give in to this

00:27:54.390 --> 00:27:57.190
temptation. He had every human reason to just

00:27:57.190 --> 00:28:02.309
say, sure, I'll get away with it, whatever. But

00:28:02.309 --> 00:28:07.009
he refused. He said no, and why? It's because

00:28:07.009 --> 00:28:09.349
he had convictions that were woven into his very

00:28:09.349 --> 00:28:13.200
nature. convictions that were born of his relationship

00:28:13.200 --> 00:28:15.740
with God and his understanding of who God was

00:28:15.740 --> 00:28:19.099
and what he wanted. He had, one, ethical convictions,

00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:23.420
right? God's word is the manual of what is right

00:28:23.420 --> 00:28:27.380
and what is wrong. It is. If you want to know

00:28:27.380 --> 00:28:30.319
right and wrong, read God's word. If you want

00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:33.440
to know what is good and what is bad, read God's

00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:36.779
word. Why do so many Christians in today's world

00:28:36.779 --> 00:28:40.259
get mixed up and confused on ethical considerations

00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:44.539
regarding things like LGBTQ and gay marriage

00:28:44.539 --> 00:28:47.900
and issues of our day? And they go, well, no,

00:28:48.019 --> 00:28:50.799
it's got to be okay because God is love. The

00:28:50.799 --> 00:28:53.059
reason they will come to conclusions that are

00:28:53.059 --> 00:28:54.740
contrary to God's word is because they don't

00:28:54.740 --> 00:28:58.819
read it. They don't know. And so people will

00:28:58.819 --> 00:29:01.559
play emotions and go, well, you know. We know

00:29:01.559 --> 00:29:04.859
right from wrong by studying God's word. That's

00:29:04.859 --> 00:29:06.980
why we here at Hosanna, we go verse by verse

00:29:06.980 --> 00:29:09.779
from Genesis to Revelation. And even if it's

00:29:09.779 --> 00:29:13.039
gonna take us 450 years to do that, we're gonna

00:29:13.039 --> 00:29:18.319
get there, right? Because we wanna study all

00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:20.460
of God's word that we know God's character, that

00:29:20.460 --> 00:29:23.420
we know God's will, we know the principles that

00:29:23.420 --> 00:29:26.119
are the basis of making decisions on what is

00:29:26.119 --> 00:29:28.680
right and what is wrong, and he had that conviction.

00:29:29.259 --> 00:29:32.900
Now, his ethical conviction was this is just

00:29:32.900 --> 00:29:39.079
wrong. Potiphar trusts me. He's my boss. He trusts

00:29:39.079 --> 00:29:41.160
me so much he's given me authority over his whole

00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:44.779
household. To violate that trust is just plain

00:29:44.779 --> 00:29:48.519
wrong. And he knew that. He's like, I can't do

00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:52.819
that. That would be so bad to do that. And, you

00:29:52.819 --> 00:29:56.220
know, we have people in our lives that count

00:29:56.220 --> 00:30:01.470
on our faithfulness. Don't let them down, right?

00:30:01.589 --> 00:30:05.250
If you're married, you're counting on your spouse's

00:30:05.250 --> 00:30:07.930
faithfulness, and they're counting on your faithfulness.

00:30:07.950 --> 00:30:11.269
Don't violate these things. It's wrong. You're

00:30:11.269 --> 00:30:15.470
employed. Your employer is counting on your faithfulness.

00:30:15.509 --> 00:30:17.410
They're hoping you're honest, and they're hoping

00:30:17.410 --> 00:30:21.630
you're trustworthy. Be that, because it's a part

00:30:21.630 --> 00:30:26.470
of your witness. Now, he also had spiritual devotion,

00:30:26.609 --> 00:30:29.799
right? How could I sin against God and do this

00:30:29.799 --> 00:30:32.900
immense evil? It was just like, it was boggling

00:30:32.900 --> 00:30:34.940
to him. Like, how is that even a possibility

00:30:34.940 --> 00:30:37.859
you could think of? And this really was the pinnacle

00:30:37.859 --> 00:30:44.039
of his refusal. No one would know. No one would

00:30:44.039 --> 00:30:47.160
say it is wrong. No one would be there to say,

00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:53.339
hey, you did a bad thing, right? God was. God

00:30:53.339 --> 00:30:57.069
was there. God was watching. God was present.

00:30:58.069 --> 00:31:01.670
You see, this reality, this truth, this understanding

00:31:01.670 --> 00:31:04.930
of fear of the Lord, it's meant to give us an

00:31:04.930 --> 00:31:07.410
awareness, a conscious awareness of the presence

00:31:07.410 --> 00:31:10.369
of God in our lives. Proverbs 8 .13 says, to

00:31:10.369 --> 00:31:13.730
fear the Lord is to hate evil. Fear is that idea

00:31:13.730 --> 00:31:16.849
of I respect you, God. I revere you. You are

00:31:16.849 --> 00:31:21.549
so holy. How could I sin against you knowing

00:31:21.549 --> 00:31:26.059
you're here watching? For those that struggle

00:31:26.059 --> 00:31:29.359
with pornography, right? Pornography is such

00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:32.200
a pervasive sin because there's such secrecy

00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:36.980
to it, right? You're on your phone. You're hidden

00:31:36.980 --> 00:31:39.400
in the bathroom or your office or you're on the,

00:31:39.480 --> 00:31:45.980
nobody can see and oh, it's, oh man. And I'll

00:31:45.980 --> 00:31:48.160
confess, I've struggled with that in my life

00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:50.880
too. And one of the things that has helped build

00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:54.039
that barrier is one, knowing God is present.

00:31:54.200 --> 00:31:55.759
And I don't just mean like, oh, God is here.

00:31:55.920 --> 00:31:58.319
That literally when the temptation presents itself,

00:31:58.480 --> 00:32:00.400
you drive down the street and there's a billboard

00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:02.400
and I want to keep looking when I shouldn't be.

00:32:03.420 --> 00:32:05.900
The habit is I'll turn to the empty seat next

00:32:05.900 --> 00:32:09.559
to me and I go, God, should I look at that? Right?

00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:11.920
It just brings a reality to the situation that

00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:16.109
he's there watching me. And then I could just

00:32:16.109 --> 00:32:20.910
imagine my head, him going, no. And then I'm

00:32:20.910 --> 00:32:22.930
like, now I feel guilty because if I glance back

00:32:22.930 --> 00:32:26.990
up, I'm like, oh, he's staring right at me. Now

00:32:26.990 --> 00:32:30.609
God is everywhere. But if that helps you do that,

00:32:30.750 --> 00:32:34.269
should I click on that? Turn, I mean, literally,

00:32:34.309 --> 00:32:38.309
physically turn. That's just something God has

00:32:38.309 --> 00:32:41.089
used in my life to help me go, no, you're here,

00:32:41.269 --> 00:32:43.710
you're watching, you're present. How can I do

00:32:43.710 --> 00:32:47.690
this? And then the understanding that when we

00:32:47.690 --> 00:32:50.170
sin, it's ultimately against the God who loves

00:32:50.170 --> 00:32:52.869
us and died for us. Psalm 51 .4 says, against

00:32:52.869 --> 00:32:54.869
you, you alone I have sinned and done this evil

00:32:54.869 --> 00:33:00.029
in your sight. Yes, we hurt people, but these

00:33:00.029 --> 00:33:02.029
secret sins that we think, oh, I'm not hurting

00:33:02.029 --> 00:33:05.450
anybody, they hurt the Lord. They grieve his

00:33:05.450 --> 00:33:09.789
heart. And so I believe Joseph had this awareness.

00:33:10.289 --> 00:33:13.329
God's here. How can I do this? Are you crazy,

00:33:13.410 --> 00:33:16.809
lady? But she persisted. She wouldn't give up,

00:33:16.809 --> 00:33:19.250
and neither does the devil. Neither does the

00:33:19.250 --> 00:33:24.109
devil. Her first proposition was direct and bold,

00:33:24.230 --> 00:33:26.650
right? Sleep with me. It's kind of like a command.

00:33:26.890 --> 00:33:28.950
Slave, sleep with me. And he's like, uh -uh.

00:33:29.829 --> 00:33:33.650
And she's like, well? And it says then, she spoke

00:33:33.650 --> 00:33:35.910
to him day after day. That word spoke there in

00:33:35.910 --> 00:33:39.289
the Hebrew is kind of implying the pleading,

00:33:39.289 --> 00:33:44.150
the coercing. Come on, Joseph. You know you want

00:33:44.150 --> 00:33:46.690
to. No one's going to know, right? It implies

00:33:46.690 --> 00:33:49.589
that kind of day after day after day after day.

00:33:49.730 --> 00:33:52.089
She would see him. She would make comments. She

00:33:52.089 --> 00:33:54.809
would drop hints. I mean, total sexual harassment,

00:33:55.049 --> 00:33:58.049
right? But no laws in this day. And so she was

00:33:58.049 --> 00:34:00.490
just like on and on and on. And he kept saying

00:34:00.490 --> 00:34:04.569
no and kept saying no. And then it says that

00:34:04.569 --> 00:34:06.930
he refused to go to bed with her. In the Hebrew,

00:34:07.170 --> 00:34:09.590
it literally reads this way. He did not listen

00:34:09.590 --> 00:34:14.619
to her to lie beside her or to be with her. What

00:34:14.619 --> 00:34:18.599
that means is he refused persistently in the

00:34:18.599 --> 00:34:21.159
conversation and the flirting and the comments,

00:34:21.380 --> 00:34:24.539
but then he also did everything he could to not

00:34:24.539 --> 00:34:30.280
be around her. Very good tactic in dealing with

00:34:30.280 --> 00:34:36.480
temptation. Right? Some of us, we fall into this

00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:39.300
thought that we're strong enough to resist temptation.

00:34:39.960 --> 00:34:42.659
on our own, and so we'll sit right next to temptation,

00:34:42.960 --> 00:34:44.280
and we'll have a conversation with temptation.

00:34:44.900 --> 00:34:47.480
Hey, temptation, yeah, I'm not gonna give in,

00:34:47.539 --> 00:34:51.480
because I'm strong, you know, yeah, enough. And

00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:53.760
temptation's like, sure, let's just keep talking,

00:34:53.960 --> 00:35:00.820
because I'll wear you down. No, you won't. Our

00:35:00.820 --> 00:35:04.820
eyes and our ears are like windows. They're like

00:35:04.820 --> 00:35:08.159
city gates, and we're to close them to impurity.

00:35:09.429 --> 00:35:11.809
Not let sin stand at the gate and have a conversation

00:35:11.809 --> 00:35:14.809
with it or a negotiation. Close the gates. Don't

00:35:14.809 --> 00:35:16.989
let it in. Don't negotiate with sin. Don't hang

00:35:16.989 --> 00:35:19.710
out near it. Don't look. Don't even entertain

00:35:19.710 --> 00:35:23.969
the temptation. It's going to wear you down.

00:35:24.030 --> 00:35:28.829
You will give in. I think the biggest lie of

00:35:28.829 --> 00:35:30.369
the devil is you're strong enough to resist.

00:35:32.190 --> 00:35:34.550
You won't give in. You've been a Christian for

00:35:34.550 --> 00:35:37.489
how long? You read your Bible how many times

00:35:37.489 --> 00:35:40.710
this week? You went to church? Oh, yeah, no,

00:35:40.829 --> 00:35:44.110
you're fine. And the devil will whisper that

00:35:44.110 --> 00:35:46.210
into your ear all day long and make us think,

00:35:46.250 --> 00:35:50.929
yeah, I'm good. And it will trickle all the way

00:35:50.929 --> 00:35:52.969
down to things where we'll lie to ourselves and

00:35:52.969 --> 00:35:55.650
tell ourselves, oh, I just don't have a conviction

00:35:55.650 --> 00:35:59.849
about that. And then deep down inside, you're

00:35:59.849 --> 00:36:02.409
like, no, I really do, and I just kind of like

00:36:02.409 --> 00:36:05.539
watching it. seeing it, listening to it, whatever

00:36:05.539 --> 00:36:10.679
it may be. I'm strong enough to resist. No, you

00:36:10.679 --> 00:36:16.659
are not. Well, God is with me. I belong to the

00:36:16.659 --> 00:36:18.900
Lord. Yes, you do. And you know what he was saying

00:36:18.900 --> 00:36:22.980
to you and is saying to you? Get out. Run. Flee.

00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:29.159
Get away. Make distance. Refuse and make distance

00:36:29.159 --> 00:36:31.880
because you're going to fall if you stay close.

00:36:33.800 --> 00:36:35.599
And that's incidentally what happens right here

00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:38.360
in verse 11. Now one day he went into the house

00:36:38.360 --> 00:36:41.280
to do his work and none of the household servants

00:36:41.280 --> 00:36:44.639
were there. That's the dun -dun -dun moment,

00:36:44.679 --> 00:36:48.800
right? Where'd all the servants go? She grabbed

00:36:48.800 --> 00:36:51.739
him by his garment and said, sleep with me. But

00:36:51.739 --> 00:36:53.840
leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and

00:36:53.840 --> 00:36:57.119
ran outside. When she saw that he had left his

00:36:57.119 --> 00:36:58.940
garment with her and ran outside, she called

00:36:58.940 --> 00:37:03.030
to her household servants. Look, she said to

00:37:03.030 --> 00:37:05.070
them, my husband brought a Hebrew man to make

00:37:05.070 --> 00:37:07.610
fools of us. He came to me so he could sleep

00:37:07.610 --> 00:37:11.809
with me and I screamed as loud as I could. And

00:37:11.809 --> 00:37:13.530
I'm thinking everybody's like, yeah, but we heard

00:37:13.530 --> 00:37:16.130
sleep with me in a female voice. That's what

00:37:16.130 --> 00:37:18.989
we heard screamed. I don't know. But verse 15,

00:37:19.110 --> 00:37:20.750
when he heard me screaming for help, he left

00:37:20.750 --> 00:37:23.559
his garment beside me and ran outside. She put

00:37:23.559 --> 00:37:25.659
Joseph's garment beside her until his master

00:37:25.659 --> 00:37:27.980
came home. Then she told him the same story.

00:37:28.099 --> 00:37:31.039
The Hebrew slave you brought to us came to make

00:37:31.039 --> 00:37:33.559
a fool of me. But when I screamed for help, he

00:37:33.559 --> 00:37:36.719
left his garment beside me and ran outside. When

00:37:36.719 --> 00:37:38.760
his master heard the story his wife told him,

00:37:38.900 --> 00:37:41.539
these are the things your slave did to me, he

00:37:41.539 --> 00:37:44.460
was furious and had him thrown into prison where

00:37:44.460 --> 00:37:47.119
the king's prisoners were confined. So Joseph

00:37:47.119 --> 00:37:52.719
was there in prison. Right, a lot of details

00:37:52.719 --> 00:37:54.900
here that are suspicious. You know, one day there's

00:37:54.900 --> 00:37:59.400
no servants around. Where'd all the servants

00:37:59.400 --> 00:38:03.059
go? Did she perhaps, because it says they were

00:38:03.059 --> 00:38:07.800
her servants, send them away? Speculatively,

00:38:07.880 --> 00:38:11.579
I think she did. But then she grabs him and she

00:38:11.579 --> 00:38:14.599
demands him sleep with her. And so it goes from

00:38:14.599 --> 00:38:17.210
this just kind of. Come on, sleep with me, slave.

00:38:17.369 --> 00:38:20.909
No. Come on, come on, come on, come on. No. To

00:38:20.909 --> 00:38:24.230
now she's physically aggressive, trying to restrain

00:38:24.230 --> 00:38:27.429
him and force him into the sin. And he did exactly

00:38:27.429 --> 00:38:29.610
what we should all do when sin gets aggressive.

00:38:29.750 --> 00:38:34.289
Run. Oh, but that jacket cost me so much money.

00:38:34.349 --> 00:38:44.760
Run. Run. Flee. Everybody say that. Run. What

00:38:44.760 --> 00:38:47.539
do you do when sin comes? What do you do when

00:38:47.539 --> 00:38:50.519
the temptation comes? Right, you see how I got

00:38:50.519 --> 00:38:52.900
a little less enthusiastic as we went on? Run,

00:38:52.980 --> 00:38:58.340
I know. We run, we flee. We don't stop, we don't

00:38:58.340 --> 00:39:00.599
talk, we don't negotiate. We get out of there

00:39:00.599 --> 00:39:02.079
because it's better to lose your coat than to

00:39:02.079 --> 00:39:06.159
lose your character. It's better to lose your

00:39:06.159 --> 00:39:08.119
position than your integrity. It's better to

00:39:08.119 --> 00:39:11.300
lose that job, that contract, that business deal

00:39:11.300 --> 00:39:14.940
than it is to lose your reputation. As a godly

00:39:14.940 --> 00:39:20.820
individual. So she's humiliated. She makes up

00:39:20.820 --> 00:39:24.159
this lie. She calls back her servants. And it's

00:39:24.159 --> 00:39:25.980
interesting. She starts with playing the race

00:39:25.980 --> 00:39:29.679
card. Nothing's new, people. Nothing is new.

00:39:30.519 --> 00:39:35.539
This Hebrew man that my husband brought in. Like

00:39:35.539 --> 00:39:38.780
Hebrew man had this reputation or something.

00:39:39.920 --> 00:39:44.199
And that's what. sinful humanity does. We try

00:39:44.199 --> 00:39:46.820
and find the difference in somebody and pin a

00:39:46.820 --> 00:39:52.739
racial cause to them doing evil. All those Hebrews

00:39:52.739 --> 00:39:56.400
are this, and in our day it's all blacks do this,

00:39:56.400 --> 00:39:59.139
or whites do this, and it's just down the line.

00:39:59.280 --> 00:40:03.539
Sin is pervasive and affects every person, regardless

00:40:03.539 --> 00:40:09.260
of the color of their skin. Now, she Blames this

00:40:09.260 --> 00:40:11.639
on this. She blames it on her husband. She alters

00:40:11.639 --> 00:40:14.280
the details. And then, of course, her husband

00:40:14.280 --> 00:40:16.179
gets home. She says the same story, and he gets

00:40:16.179 --> 00:40:20.139
mad, rightfully so. If you're married, and you

00:40:20.139 --> 00:40:22.440
had someone working in the house, and you get

00:40:22.440 --> 00:40:24.219
home, and your spouse tells you, oh, they tried

00:40:24.219 --> 00:40:27.320
to seduce me. You're like, what? How dare they?

00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:31.659
And this is an anger here that is rightfully

00:40:31.659 --> 00:40:34.159
placed even though it's based on a lie. He's

00:40:34.159 --> 00:40:36.539
rightfully upset that something may have been

00:40:36.539 --> 00:40:39.179
done to his wife. And so it tells us that he

00:40:39.179 --> 00:40:41.519
throws Joseph into prison. Now that's an interesting

00:40:41.519 --> 00:40:47.760
detail here because the penalty for attempted

00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:50.539
rape in this culture as we understand it historically

00:40:50.539 --> 00:40:55.119
was the death penalty. Now Potiphar being the

00:40:55.119 --> 00:41:00.380
official captain of the guard, he likely had

00:41:00.380 --> 00:41:02.480
the authority to right there on the spot have

00:41:02.480 --> 00:41:05.909
Joseph executed. And would have been completely

00:41:05.909 --> 00:41:09.889
justified in his culture and society by doing

00:41:09.889 --> 00:41:12.210
so. But he doesn't. And that's an interesting

00:41:12.210 --> 00:41:15.050
detail here. He throws him into prison. Now,

00:41:15.110 --> 00:41:17.570
it's not just any prison. It says this is where

00:41:17.570 --> 00:41:20.269
the king's prisoners were held. So this was the

00:41:20.269 --> 00:41:24.389
special prison for the special political dissidents

00:41:24.389 --> 00:41:27.909
and those who came against Pharaoh and all that.

00:41:27.989 --> 00:41:30.190
So you might call this the high security prison.

00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:34.000
And so now you have Joseph who is in the cistern

00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:35.420
going, there's no way I'm getting out of this.

00:41:36.920 --> 00:41:39.059
And then gets sold to Potiphar and goes, wow,

00:41:39.119 --> 00:41:41.800
there's no way I'm getting out of this. And now

00:41:41.800 --> 00:41:45.400
finds himself in the king's prison. Wow, there's

00:41:45.400 --> 00:41:49.019
no way I'm getting out of this. And that's how

00:41:49.019 --> 00:41:51.699
we can sometimes think as God moves us through

00:41:51.699 --> 00:41:54.579
these situations in our life. Now, yeah, it's

00:41:54.579 --> 00:41:58.050
interesting that Joseph wasn't executed. It doesn't

00:41:58.050 --> 00:42:00.869
tell us why. I just personally think that it's

00:42:00.869 --> 00:42:05.849
because two reasons. Potiphar knew Joseph's character.

00:42:06.489 --> 00:42:09.409
He had worked with him for a while at this point.

00:42:09.650 --> 00:42:13.750
This was the guy that was so honest and had such

00:42:13.750 --> 00:42:17.170
high integrity that he raised him up to oversee

00:42:17.170 --> 00:42:20.440
everything. I don't even check the bank. I trust

00:42:20.440 --> 00:42:24.260
him so much. And then this audacious story and

00:42:24.260 --> 00:42:26.920
accusation comes from his wife. I personally

00:42:26.920 --> 00:42:29.639
think that although Potiphar was mad, there was

00:42:29.639 --> 00:42:33.199
this doubt in his heart. And I think the other

00:42:33.199 --> 00:42:35.000
reason is that if this was the first time she

00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:37.400
did this, it's highly likely this wasn't the

00:42:37.400 --> 00:42:39.980
first time she did this. And he knew his wife's

00:42:39.980 --> 00:42:45.699
character too. Prison was a mercy that would

00:42:45.699 --> 00:42:49.510
allow Potiphar to maintain his outward dignity,

00:42:49.690 --> 00:42:51.829
right? That everybody would see that he took

00:42:51.829 --> 00:42:55.110
it serious while still addressing potential inward

00:42:55.110 --> 00:42:57.409
doubts that he had about whether this was true

00:42:57.409 --> 00:43:01.510
or not. Now, earlier we looked at Joseph and

00:43:01.510 --> 00:43:03.309
we're like, oh wow, you know, your godly heart,

00:43:03.510 --> 00:43:05.789
work hard, godly work ethic and stuff and look

00:43:05.789 --> 00:43:07.750
all the success he had and look how God raised

00:43:07.750 --> 00:43:09.429
him up and he got promoted and all this stuff

00:43:09.429 --> 00:43:13.070
and yeah, but sometimes righteousness will cost

00:43:13.070 --> 00:43:17.050
you. Sometimes doing and saying the right thing,

00:43:17.519 --> 00:43:19.639
doesn't lead to the promotion and doesn't lead

00:43:19.639 --> 00:43:24.599
to that, it leads to the prison. But that prison

00:43:24.599 --> 00:43:28.199
may be the exact place God needs you to be for

00:43:28.199 --> 00:43:34.480
what's next in his plan for your life. So Joseph

00:43:34.480 --> 00:43:37.480
has now risen from the pit to the penthouse,

00:43:37.519 --> 00:43:41.559
back down into prison. Now, Egyptian dungeons

00:43:41.559 --> 00:43:45.940
were historically dark, unsanitary. Just very

00:43:45.940 --> 00:43:50.239
terrible places to be. And Psalms 105 gives us

00:43:50.239 --> 00:43:52.360
a little glimpse into what his conditions were

00:43:52.360 --> 00:43:54.420
there, lest anybody think, oh no, that was the

00:43:54.420 --> 00:43:57.099
king's prison. That was the one where they had

00:43:57.099 --> 00:43:59.860
cushy beds and they had internet and TV. This

00:43:59.860 --> 00:44:03.880
is what it says in Psalm 105, verse 17. He had

00:44:03.880 --> 00:44:05.679
sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, so we know

00:44:05.679 --> 00:44:08.119
it's Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They hurt

00:44:08.119 --> 00:44:10.119
his feet with shackles and his neck was put in

00:44:10.119 --> 00:44:13.090
an iron collar. So it wasn't a comfortable experience

00:44:13.090 --> 00:44:16.909
for him, and we might go, God, why would you

00:44:16.909 --> 00:44:20.769
allow this? Why? I mean, he had this terrible

00:44:20.769 --> 00:44:23.070
life, and his brothers mistreated him, and all

00:44:23.070 --> 00:44:25.210
this stuff, and then you raised him up, and yes,

00:44:25.289 --> 00:44:27.929
he's a slave, but wow, all this authority and

00:44:27.929 --> 00:44:31.429
respect, and yay, God is blessing him, and then

00:44:31.429 --> 00:44:34.010
you let him fall into this prison. Lord, why

00:44:34.010 --> 00:44:37.869
would you do that? And those are the questions

00:44:37.869 --> 00:44:41.440
we ask. Verse 19 in Psalm 105 gives us the answer.

00:44:42.380 --> 00:44:44.820
Until the time of his prediction came true, the

00:44:44.820 --> 00:44:49.400
word of the Lord tested him. Why did God allow

00:44:49.400 --> 00:44:51.659
Joseph to go from the penthouse now down to the

00:44:51.659 --> 00:44:54.920
prison? Because the word of the Lord was testing

00:44:54.920 --> 00:44:58.719
him. And that word tested means to refine, to

00:44:58.719 --> 00:45:03.800
purify, to make stronger. It wasn't that God

00:45:03.800 --> 00:45:06.260
was going, well, let's see if Joseph passes this

00:45:06.260 --> 00:45:09.139
test. That's not the idea here. The idea is God

00:45:09.139 --> 00:45:12.099
knew who Joseph was, God knew Joseph's heart,

00:45:12.219 --> 00:45:15.460
and God was needed to refine him. There was a

00:45:15.460 --> 00:45:17.840
calling on Joseph's life that God was going to

00:45:17.840 --> 00:45:20.820
use him for. But at this point in time in Joseph's

00:45:20.820 --> 00:45:24.239
life, he wasn't mature enough, strong enough,

00:45:24.400 --> 00:45:27.599
to deal with what was going to happen in this

00:45:27.599 --> 00:45:32.789
next phase. So God had to refine him through

00:45:32.789 --> 00:45:37.670
this. You see, Joseph apparently had the faith

00:45:37.670 --> 00:45:40.750
and the maturity to handle the temptations in

00:45:40.750 --> 00:45:43.829
Potiphar's house, and we saw that, that he handled

00:45:43.829 --> 00:45:46.309
them rightly and accurately. But what's coming

00:45:46.309 --> 00:45:50.250
next, you see, what's coming next for Joseph

00:45:50.250 --> 00:45:52.250
is he's going to be number two, not in someone's

00:45:52.250 --> 00:45:55.989
house, number two in the entire kingdom, the

00:45:55.989 --> 00:45:59.409
entire nation of Egypt. He's going to be over

00:45:59.409 --> 00:46:01.849
everything in Egypt the way he was over everything

00:46:01.849 --> 00:46:05.309
in Potiphar's house, but he wasn't yet able to

00:46:05.309 --> 00:46:07.750
handle the temptations that would come with that.

00:46:09.230 --> 00:46:11.630
And so God let him go from the penthouse where

00:46:11.630 --> 00:46:14.230
he learned how to be faithful in managing what

00:46:14.230 --> 00:46:18.110
is given to him. He let him go from that to prison

00:46:18.110 --> 00:46:20.630
so that he could continue to refine him, refine

00:46:20.630 --> 00:46:23.909
his character, refine who he was and how he would

00:46:23.909 --> 00:46:29.860
respond to situations. Verse 21, but the Lord

00:46:29.860 --> 00:46:33.039
was with Joseph and extended kindness to him.

00:46:33.219 --> 00:46:35.480
He granted him favor with the prison warden.

00:46:35.500 --> 00:46:37.559
The warden put all the prisoners who were in

00:46:37.559 --> 00:46:39.380
the prison under Joseph's authority and he was

00:46:39.380 --> 00:46:41.280
responsible for everything that was done there.

00:46:41.880 --> 00:46:44.199
The warden did not bother with anything under

00:46:44.199 --> 00:46:46.079
Joseph's authority because the Lord was with

00:46:46.079 --> 00:46:47.900
him and the Lord made everything that he did

00:46:47.900 --> 00:46:53.750
successful. Sound familiar? Right? Didn't he

00:46:53.750 --> 00:46:56.489
just go through this circumstance and the same

00:46:56.489 --> 00:46:59.570
things happened? Yeah, instead of depression

00:46:59.570 --> 00:47:03.070
and anger and temper tantrum, Joseph shines brighter

00:47:03.070 --> 00:47:05.469
here in the prison than he has anywhere else

00:47:05.469 --> 00:47:08.489
yet. He's just a light of the Lord. And why?

00:47:08.670 --> 00:47:13.230
It tells us the Lord was with him. That the truth

00:47:13.230 --> 00:47:15.610
was is regardless whether Joseph could see the

00:47:15.610 --> 00:47:18.489
Lord or was conscious of he's here, and I believe

00:47:18.489 --> 00:47:20.889
he was conscious of that, the reality was the

00:47:20.889 --> 00:47:24.000
Lord was with him. And because the Lord was with

00:47:24.000 --> 00:47:26.539
him now in the prison, Joseph continued to be

00:47:26.539 --> 00:47:30.440
responsible and trustworthy and faithful and

00:47:30.440 --> 00:47:33.800
honest. He continued to work as unto the Lord

00:47:33.800 --> 00:47:37.679
even though he was now in the prison. And all

00:47:37.679 --> 00:47:40.000
of that combined, God's presence granted him

00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:42.699
favor with the warden who then promoted him and

00:47:42.699 --> 00:47:46.400
gave him leadership opportunity. And again, yeah,

00:47:46.539 --> 00:47:49.260
it looks exactly like what happened in Potiphar's

00:47:49.260 --> 00:47:52.320
house. Favor, success, promotion, authority,

00:47:52.519 --> 00:47:59.019
same results, different circumstance. Why? Because

00:47:59.019 --> 00:48:01.440
the same God that was with him in the cistern,

00:48:01.440 --> 00:48:04.639
that was with him in Potiphar's house, was with

00:48:04.639 --> 00:48:09.639
him in prison. And Joseph knew that as a child

00:48:09.639 --> 00:48:14.280
of God, The expectations of him as a child of

00:48:14.280 --> 00:48:16.699
God were the same when he was in the cistern,

00:48:16.699 --> 00:48:19.599
were the same when he was in the penthouse, and

00:48:19.599 --> 00:48:24.199
are the same now that he's in prison. Circumstances

00:48:24.199 --> 00:48:27.380
didn't change who he was. Circumstances didn't

00:48:27.380 --> 00:48:30.960
change how he acted, and we call that character.

00:48:33.940 --> 00:48:38.239
Character is foundational. Character is critical.

00:48:39.369 --> 00:48:41.809
Character is who you are despite the circumstances.

00:48:41.869 --> 00:48:43.690
And I believe Joseph never stopped believing

00:48:43.690 --> 00:48:49.510
this one important truth. God is with me. God

00:48:49.510 --> 00:48:54.489
is watching. God is here now. And so whether

00:48:54.489 --> 00:48:56.409
it was in the pit or the penthouse, whether it

00:48:56.409 --> 00:48:58.630
was during seduction and temptation, whether

00:48:58.630 --> 00:49:01.150
it was in the midst of lies and injustice and

00:49:01.150 --> 00:49:04.929
iron collars, Joseph conducted himself the same

00:49:04.929 --> 00:49:10.679
because his God was the same. Even though his

00:49:10.679 --> 00:49:15.500
circumstances were different. And it was like,

00:49:15.679 --> 00:49:18.480
again, like he saw his circumstances as just

00:49:18.480 --> 00:49:22.579
a new ministry opportunity. Right? He gets to

00:49:22.579 --> 00:49:24.099
Egypt. There's all this stuff. And he's like,

00:49:24.159 --> 00:49:26.719
well, I guess I'm a slave now. I'm going to be

00:49:26.719 --> 00:49:31.300
the best slave Egypt has ever seen. Then he gets

00:49:31.300 --> 00:49:35.619
lied about and thrown into prison. Oh, man. Joseph's

00:49:35.619 --> 00:49:38.679
response, well, I guess I have a prison ministry

00:49:38.679 --> 00:49:43.280
now. And that's the response God wants from our

00:49:43.280 --> 00:49:45.500
heart. God, you're with me. The circumstances

00:49:45.500 --> 00:49:48.639
may have changed, but circumstances do not determine

00:49:48.639 --> 00:49:52.679
your faithfulness. God's presence determines

00:49:52.679 --> 00:49:56.340
your faithfulness. And so when you're in the

00:49:56.340 --> 00:49:57.940
high, this is like, oh, this is awesome, this

00:49:57.940 --> 00:50:00.360
is cushy, this is great. It doesn't mean temptation

00:50:00.360 --> 00:50:04.320
ain't gonna come. In fact, it might come even

00:50:04.320 --> 00:50:08.480
stronger there. But who you are as a child of

00:50:08.480 --> 00:50:12.679
God is what's gonna make the difference. And

00:50:12.679 --> 00:50:18.539
then, boom, crashing down into the prison. Well,

00:50:18.619 --> 00:50:20.380
God is still God, and he's still with me, and

00:50:20.380 --> 00:50:22.280
I'm still his child, so I'm still gonna be the

00:50:22.280 --> 00:50:25.780
same person. I'm not gonna change my attitude.

00:50:25.900 --> 00:50:28.480
I'm not gonna change my heart. I'm gonna just

00:50:28.480 --> 00:50:31.980
be who God has called me to be. Now, Joseph's

00:50:31.980 --> 00:50:35.360
life, it offers us all kinds of practical and

00:50:35.360 --> 00:50:39.539
urgent instructions, right? Recapping here, one.

00:50:40.199 --> 00:50:43.760
Run from sin. Don't walk from sin. Don't talk

00:50:43.760 --> 00:50:46.059
with sin. When temptation chases you, don't stroll.

00:50:47.320 --> 00:50:53.760
Sprint. Sprint. Run for your life. You know,

00:50:53.780 --> 00:50:56.480
the devil uses this type of ideas of getting

00:50:56.480 --> 00:50:59.500
away from bad things numerous times, like when

00:50:59.500 --> 00:51:04.820
it comes to debt. Proverbs says, And I forget

00:51:04.820 --> 00:51:07.380
the exact wording, but it says you run from debt

00:51:07.380 --> 00:51:11.840
the way the gazelle runs from the cheetah. Right?

00:51:12.840 --> 00:51:15.960
You ever seen a gazelle run from a cheetah? It's

00:51:15.960 --> 00:51:20.539
not like, hey, what's up, cheetah? You know?

00:51:21.099 --> 00:51:23.119
They don't run alongside together. How was your

00:51:23.119 --> 00:51:27.300
day? Great. Oh, was Starbucks busy? No. That

00:51:27.300 --> 00:51:30.500
gazelle's like, I'm out of here. And so you think

00:51:30.500 --> 00:51:33.530
of that same thing with sin. And the cheetah

00:51:33.530 --> 00:51:35.030
is sin and it's trying to get you and eat you

00:51:35.030 --> 00:51:36.949
and destroy you. And you run with everything

00:51:36.949 --> 00:51:43.070
you got. Run to the Savior. Because he's the

00:51:43.070 --> 00:51:45.710
only one that can keep you and hold you and give

00:51:45.710 --> 00:51:47.309
you the strength. You run to him. You don't run

00:51:47.309 --> 00:51:49.210
from sin and try and stand on your own strength

00:51:49.210 --> 00:51:51.730
because you will fall. If you guys have ever

00:51:51.730 --> 00:51:55.539
read Pilgrim's Progress. There's this point in

00:51:55.539 --> 00:51:59.039
that story as the guy's going through his journey

00:51:59.039 --> 00:52:01.679
to salvation and to the Lord, he puts his fingers

00:52:01.679 --> 00:52:04.800
in his ears and he cries out, life, life, eternal

00:52:04.800 --> 00:52:10.619
life. Plug your ears to the whispers of sin and

00:52:10.619 --> 00:52:13.679
temptation and it's Jesus, it's Jesus, you're

00:52:13.679 --> 00:52:17.199
all I need. Don't focus on what you've lost.

00:52:17.380 --> 00:52:19.500
You know, if God's taken you from the penthouse

00:52:19.500 --> 00:52:21.860
situation and dropped you in what is the prison

00:52:21.860 --> 00:52:25.579
situation, don't focus on the circumstance. Focus

00:52:25.579 --> 00:52:30.360
on who is with you. Because when the story of

00:52:30.360 --> 00:52:33.300
your life reads, and then this terrible thing

00:52:33.300 --> 00:52:37.599
happened, God loves to come right into the next

00:52:37.599 --> 00:52:40.360
sentence and say, but the Lord was with you.

00:52:41.679 --> 00:52:44.400
And the Lord was there. He loves to do that.

00:52:46.150 --> 00:52:48.489
Like Joseph, I would say cherish the fear of

00:52:48.489 --> 00:52:51.389
the Lord. Cherish it. The greatest deterrent

00:52:51.389 --> 00:52:54.510
to sin, as I said, is living in constant awareness

00:52:54.510 --> 00:52:56.190
of his presence because he's right there with

00:52:56.190 --> 00:53:01.429
you always. And then see every season of life

00:53:01.429 --> 00:53:04.269
as an assignment from Jesus. Are you in the pit?

00:53:04.809 --> 00:53:06.909
Are you in the penthouse? Are you in the prison?

00:53:09.030 --> 00:53:13.039
All that matters is his presence. All that matters

00:53:13.039 --> 00:53:15.460
is who is with you because it's the same God

00:53:15.460 --> 00:53:18.519
with the same presence and the same purpose and

00:53:18.519 --> 00:53:20.460
the same calling on your life to look to him,

00:53:20.599 --> 00:53:23.579
to follow him, to obey him. And he'll take care

00:53:23.579 --> 00:53:29.260
of all the other details. In Joseph's life with

00:53:29.260 --> 00:53:32.800
all of these twists and injustices and temptations

00:53:32.800 --> 00:53:35.059
and all of it, he knew that truth. And I think

00:53:35.059 --> 00:53:37.420
it's that truth that allowed him to not become

00:53:37.420 --> 00:53:39.920
bitter. I mean, he refused bitterness. He resisted

00:53:39.920 --> 00:53:42.820
temptation and he endured injustice. He rose

00:53:42.820 --> 00:53:46.099
up in every environment he was in. Why? Because

00:53:46.099 --> 00:53:49.860
it wasn't the environment that mattered. It was

00:53:49.860 --> 00:53:52.420
who he was and who his God was that made all

00:53:52.420 --> 00:53:56.630
the difference. And so, you know, All of us as

00:53:56.630 --> 00:53:59.030
believers, as Christians, it's the same for us.

00:53:59.329 --> 00:54:01.849
It is the same for us. Circumstances change,

00:54:02.070 --> 00:54:07.809
but God does not. And neither does what he calls

00:54:07.809 --> 00:54:12.449
us to do. So run from sin and run to him and

00:54:12.449 --> 00:54:14.849
live in whatever circumstance you find yourself

00:54:14.849 --> 00:54:17.530
today. Say, this is the assignment God has given

00:54:17.530 --> 00:54:21.050
me today. And then live like someone who knows

00:54:21.050 --> 00:54:25.860
that God is right there looking at you. You want

00:54:25.860 --> 00:54:30.519
me to help? I'll help. I'm right here. You ask

00:54:30.519 --> 00:54:33.739
me if you should do that bad thing? Don't do

00:54:33.739 --> 00:54:37.920
it. And watch what God does in your life, right?

00:54:38.719 --> 00:54:41.500
Now, the story of Joseph, as I've mentioned before,

00:54:41.639 --> 00:54:43.800
it's one that ultimately points to Jesus. He

00:54:43.800 --> 00:54:46.519
is a type of Jesus in the Old Testament, and

00:54:46.519 --> 00:54:48.840
everything that he's gone through, we see these

00:54:48.840 --> 00:54:51.960
parallels to who Jesus Christ is, you know, him

00:54:51.960 --> 00:54:55.409
being betrayed and sold. happened to Jesus. Joseph

00:54:55.409 --> 00:54:58.170
forgave his brothers. Jesus forgives his executioners.

00:54:58.369 --> 00:55:01.409
Joseph becomes a savior to his family and people

00:55:01.409 --> 00:55:04.329
as the number two in the kingdom. And Jesus is

00:55:04.329 --> 00:55:08.489
the one who becomes a savior of the world. But

00:55:08.489 --> 00:55:11.190
as we come to communion, to celebrate communion,

00:55:11.829 --> 00:55:14.289
you know, we do this in remembrance of him. Jesus

00:55:14.289 --> 00:55:16.869
said, do this in remembrance of me. And, you

00:55:16.869 --> 00:55:19.190
know, all scripture is to point us back to Jesus

00:55:19.190 --> 00:55:22.030
and who he is. But specifically, the lesson today

00:55:23.000 --> 00:55:26.000
That God is with him. That the Lord was with

00:55:26.000 --> 00:55:28.139
him. I want to share this announcement from the

00:55:28.139 --> 00:55:30.599
birth of Christ in Matthew chapter 1 verse 21.

00:55:30.920 --> 00:55:33.739
This is what the angel said when he was announcing

00:55:33.739 --> 00:55:35.920
the birth of Jesus. He said, she will give birth

00:55:35.920 --> 00:55:39.659
to a son and you are to name him Jesus. So they

00:55:39.659 --> 00:55:42.079
were told very specifically what his name was

00:55:42.079 --> 00:55:44.920
going to be. Because he will save his people

00:55:44.920 --> 00:55:48.039
from their sins. Now all of this took place to

00:55:48.039 --> 00:55:49.800
fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the

00:55:49.800 --> 00:55:52.139
prophet. See, the virgin will become pregnant,

00:55:52.239 --> 00:55:54.579
give birth to a son, and they will name him Emmanuel,

00:55:54.619 --> 00:56:00.739
which is translated, God is with us. Did you

00:56:00.739 --> 00:56:07.260
catch all that? The name Jesus means Yahweh is

00:56:07.260 --> 00:56:12.460
salvation. Or Yahweh saves. And you might hear

00:56:12.460 --> 00:56:16.300
it as God saves, right? But specifically, Jesus

00:56:16.300 --> 00:56:19.139
means Yahweh is salvation. Who is the one that

00:56:19.139 --> 00:56:23.119
was with Joseph through this entire story? The

00:56:23.119 --> 00:56:27.320
Lord was with him. Yahweh was with him. So the

00:56:27.320 --> 00:56:29.800
God who was with Joseph in Egypt is the same

00:56:29.800 --> 00:56:32.019
God who is with you today in your pit or your

00:56:32.019 --> 00:56:34.420
penthouse or your prison, whatever it may be.

00:56:34.559 --> 00:56:38.619
The same God. Jesus' last words to his disciples

00:56:38.619 --> 00:56:43.179
in Matthew was, I am with you always. Low even

00:56:43.179 --> 00:56:47.860
to the end of the age. Joseph had Yahweh with

00:56:47.860 --> 00:56:53.440
him. We have Yahweh with us. We have something

00:56:53.440 --> 00:56:55.500
that's even a little bit better is that God lives

00:56:55.500 --> 00:57:00.260
within us in the Holy Spirit. Communion is about

00:57:00.260 --> 00:57:05.900
reminding us of this truth. That because of what

00:57:05.900 --> 00:57:09.900
Jesus did on the cross for us and our faith in

00:57:09.900 --> 00:57:13.179
what he did on the cross for us, And our faith

00:57:13.179 --> 00:57:15.219
in the fact that he was in the grave for three

00:57:15.219 --> 00:57:19.099
days and rose again. That he is with us now and

00:57:19.099 --> 00:57:21.280
forever. That he is with us in every circumstance.

00:57:21.679 --> 00:57:23.960
That is what communion reminds us of. And so

00:57:23.960 --> 00:57:29.139
as we are here to partake together, it's a reminder

00:57:29.139 --> 00:57:31.840
that the God who sustained Joseph is the God

00:57:31.840 --> 00:57:34.840
who promised you and me that I will never leave

00:57:34.840 --> 00:57:40.900
you nor forsake you. So if you came into church

00:57:40.900 --> 00:57:44.199
this morning and you've been wrestling because

00:57:44.199 --> 00:57:47.639
you're in the prison right now, God, what happened?

00:57:47.760 --> 00:57:49.300
There was such blessing and I don't understand.

00:57:49.780 --> 00:57:54.440
Know this, God is still with you. And whatever

00:57:54.440 --> 00:57:58.760
is next in your life, God needs you in that prison

00:57:58.760 --> 00:58:01.920
right now to prepare you for what's next in your

00:58:01.920 --> 00:58:05.480
life. If God has you in the penthouse, don't

00:58:05.480 --> 00:58:08.900
forget about the Lord. You need him just as much.

00:58:09.519 --> 00:58:13.579
As you did when you were in the pit. So work

00:58:13.579 --> 00:58:15.679
unto the Lord. Be the godly person he's called

00:58:15.679 --> 00:58:18.960
you to be. And remember, he is with me in whatever

00:58:18.960 --> 00:58:23.539
circumstance I'm in. Why? Because he came to

00:58:23.539 --> 00:58:26.579
this earth and he lived a perfect life and he

00:58:26.579 --> 00:58:31.199
died in your place. And through faith, through

00:58:31.199 --> 00:58:32.980
your belief that he died for you and paid the

00:58:32.980 --> 00:58:35.820
price for your sins, that you have a restored

00:58:35.820 --> 00:58:37.679
relationship with God and that he is with you

00:58:37.679 --> 00:58:43.860
forever. In every circumstance. And so as we

00:58:43.860 --> 00:58:46.980
partake in a moment, as I call up the communion

00:58:46.980 --> 00:58:50.579
team, we're doing this all in remembrance of

00:58:50.579 --> 00:58:53.820
Jesus, who is Yahweh, who saves. We are doing

00:58:53.820 --> 00:58:55.719
this in remembrance that he is also Emmanuel,

00:58:55.920 --> 00:58:59.780
God with us, and that he is present right here,

00:58:59.880 --> 00:59:06.780
right now, in this place. That truth is so critical

00:59:06.780 --> 00:59:08.840
and transformative. We need to remind ourselves

00:59:08.840 --> 00:59:16.500
every day that he's with us. In your hurt right

00:59:16.500 --> 00:59:19.920
now, he's with you. And there's a reason he's

00:59:19.920 --> 00:59:21.480
allowing you to go through it to mold you and

00:59:21.480 --> 00:59:25.420
to shape you and refine you. In your success

00:59:25.420 --> 00:59:29.619
today, he's with you. In your trauma, he's with

00:59:29.619 --> 00:59:34.219
you. In the tragedy, he's with you. Don't forget

00:59:34.219 --> 00:59:39.880
that. In the marital problems, he's with you

00:59:39.880 --> 00:59:45.679
and he's with your spouse. In the hurt of loss

00:59:45.679 --> 00:59:48.019
of loved ones and maybe you're facing a Christmas

00:59:48.019 --> 00:59:50.940
season for the first time without them, he's

00:59:50.940 --> 00:59:57.579
with you. Maybe there's still family drama going

00:59:57.579 --> 01:00:01.360
on. And you're like, I don't know how this is

01:00:01.360 --> 01:00:03.119
gonna resolve itself and we're supposed to have

01:00:03.119 --> 01:00:08.440
Christmas in a few weeks. God's with you. He's

01:00:08.440 --> 01:00:10.179
with every single one of us and we wanna remember

01:00:10.179 --> 01:00:14.360
that this morning as we remember his death and

01:00:14.360 --> 01:00:18.800
all that that made possible for us in him. Father,

01:00:18.900 --> 01:00:21.920
we thank you. We trust you, Lord, for everything,

01:00:22.139 --> 01:00:26.920
in every circumstance, Lord. Help us, God, to

01:00:26.920 --> 01:00:30.809
remember all that you've done for us. Lord, that

01:00:30.809 --> 01:00:33.730
we would be people that can thank you that your

01:00:33.730 --> 01:00:38.550
presence is not conditional or seasonal or circumstantial.

01:00:39.650 --> 01:00:42.329
Instead, your presence is secured forever by

01:00:42.329 --> 01:00:48.130
the cross. And it was you who secured it. You

01:00:48.130 --> 01:00:54.610
who went as a lamb to the slaughter. You who

01:00:54.610 --> 01:00:56.750
even had a moment in the garden, Lord, where

01:00:56.750 --> 01:00:59.230
you were like, if there's any other way. yet

01:00:59.230 --> 01:01:03.170
I will submit myself to the circumstances that

01:01:03.170 --> 01:01:07.489
my Father is leading me to. God, we need that

01:01:07.489 --> 01:01:09.550
strength. We want that strength. And Lord, we

01:01:09.550 --> 01:01:12.110
know it's from your presence. Help us to be ever

01:01:12.110 --> 01:01:18.070
mindful. Help us to be ever aware. And help us,

01:01:18.070 --> 01:01:22.190
Lord, to glorify you in the world around us as

01:01:22.190 --> 01:01:26.030
we understand that this whole life is but a vapor.

01:01:27.119 --> 01:01:29.000
And that while we're here, Lord, we're to work

01:01:29.000 --> 01:01:31.079
hard, we're to work as unto you, we're to be

01:01:31.079 --> 01:01:32.739
a witness to the world around us. But at the

01:01:32.739 --> 01:01:36.599
end of the day, whether we're in the pit or the

01:01:36.599 --> 01:01:40.159
penthouse or the prison, God, what is most important

01:01:40.159 --> 01:01:47.059
is you. We love you. We thank you. It's in Jesus'

01:01:47.159 --> 01:01:48.599
name we pray. Amen.