WEBVTT

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I am Pastor Nathan, and today we're gonna be

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talking about how God uses disappointment, delay,

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and silence to sharpen us. So yes, this is gonna

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be a happy study today. We're gonna be looking

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at Genesis chapter 40. You know, some of the

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greatest work that God does in our lives happens

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in places that we would have never chosen for

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ourselves, right? we'll find ourselves in circumstances

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that not in a million years would we have signed

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up and said, please, I would love to be in that

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circumstance. And yet, those are the places that

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God does great work in our lives. And it's kind

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of like a sword, you know, if you've ever looked

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into any of that, you know, before a sword can

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be trusted in battle. That sword has to be heated

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and hammered and shaped by forces much stronger

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than it. And what we're looking at today in Genesis

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40 is Joseph is that sword. He is a young man

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who started as a very gifted, godly man, naive

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and inexperienced, but one who was receiving

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dreams from God. And as we've been moving through

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his story, God is forging him into a man who

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could save nations. Well, Genesis chapter 40

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is the hammer. and the fire of his forging. This

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is not the chapter of his rise. This is not the

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chapter of his excellence in activity. This is

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the place where he is just hammered down. Now,

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in the dungeon, Joseph learns a number of things

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that are very important to his future leadership.

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He's going to learn to notice sorrow on the faces

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of those around him and to have compassion and

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empathy for their situations despite the difficulty

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that he himself finds himself in. He's going

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to learn to speak the truth of God very boldly

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and with courage despite whether or not that

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is a positive message or a negative message.

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He's going to learn to serve others in their

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hurt, in the midst of his own hurt. And he's

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really going to be a man who remains God -centered,

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God -focused, even while his own prayers go unanswered.

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And then at the end of this chapter, he's going

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to experience the most painful hammer strike

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of all, to be forgotten and abandoned and left

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to rot in a prison. But the important lesson

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here is the God who seemed silent was not absent.

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That God was with him. That God was laboring

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at the forge, swinging the hammer, keeping the

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fire hot, doing the work to craft Joseph into

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a man who would be strong enough and mature enough

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and humble enough to handle the calling that

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God had for his life. And so this chapter, as

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we study it, it invites us into the same reality,

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that we would learn to have the same perspective

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as Joseph, that we would learn to be the same

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godly individuals when we find ourselves in the

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middle of those very, very difficult situations

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where it seems that hammer blow after hammer

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blow after hammer blow is falling upon us. But

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it shows us and teaches us how God uses disappointment.

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delay, and silence, not to destroy us, but to

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strengthen us and to sharpen us for what he has

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next in our lives. But before we get into that

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happy message, and it truly is a happy message,

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we want to praise God. You know, praising God

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in the midst of everything is one of the strongest

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tools we have to endure, to have joy and peace,

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even in the midst of suffering. Praising the

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Lord for who he is and what he's done. It's a

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foundation of what we do. This isn't just something

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we do to open Bible study. This isn't something

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we just do to start the service. This is worship.

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This is worship of Almighty God. This is us coming

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to him, glorifying his name, expressing our gratitude,

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our love to him. as we then expect him to speak

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to us through his word. And so let's pray and

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let's do exactly that. Father, we love you. We

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thank you so much for your word and for the truth

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of it, everything it teaches us, Lord. God, in

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your glory and your almighty justice and holiness,

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Lord, sometimes we might find ourselves asking

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why. Lord, not understanding that how even in

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our obedience, even when we're doing the right

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thing, even when we're following you, that sometimes

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things seem to get worse. And yet, God, you include

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the story of this man, Joseph, and specifically

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this chapter we're studying today to teach us,

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to show us, Lord, what you're doing when we find

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ourselves in disappointment. Lord, what you're

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doing during the long delays and silence where,

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Lord, we're tempted to believe you've abandoned

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us or you're not listening anymore, and yet,

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God, the truth couldn't be farther from that.

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That, Lord, even in those delays and silence,

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you're laboring to forge us into the instruments

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that you will use to fulfill your will in this

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world. And every single one of us, God, have

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a call. to affect this world for the gospel of

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Jesus Christ. So Lord, encourage us today. God,

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I pray for those who are today living in their

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own Genesis 40 moments where maybe they've been

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tempted to doubt you. Maybe where the enemy has

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stepped in and started to challenge their belief

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to tell them things like you've left and you

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don't care and you don't love them. And Lord,

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I pray for those today specifically that they

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would see how much you do love them. That they

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would find the strength through the Holy Spirit

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to trust in you in the midst of the forging.

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That God, they would trust in what you're doing

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and how you're doing it. That they would look

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forward to the time, God, when your work is accomplished

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and fully accomplished, that they would just

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get past the prison and into the calling, God.

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But Lord, that we would know that even in the

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prison, we have a calling. And that's to trust

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you and to know you and to live for you. So God,

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bless this time. God, we worship you. We praise

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your name. We ask that you would be blessed by

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your people, God, coming together, this one congregation

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to lift up our voices in the midst of this world,

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to lift up our voices to you. Almighty God. the

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lover of our souls. We thank you. It's in Jesus'

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name we pray. Amen. We are going to be in Genesis

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chapter 40. And we're continuing in the story

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of this young man, Joseph. He's not such a young

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man anymore. About 10 years have passed since

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he was sent away from his homeland and sold into

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slavery. And as a young man, we read in his age

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of 17, he had received these really vivid dreams

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from God about his future. And we read there

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how his brothers and his family weren't real

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enthusiastic about those dreams because those

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dreams were like, hey, others. You're all going

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to bow down to me. Yeah, right, Joseph. And then,

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no, I had another dream, and mom, dad, and the

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whole family, you're all going to bow down to

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me too. And, you know, he didn't quite say it

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that way, but they weren't real happy about that

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because it was just a little insulting to them.

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And so what ended up happening was Joseph got

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sold into slavery by his brothers. And since

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that point in Joseph's life, you know, Instead

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of going from like, wow, God is speaking to me

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and I'm having these dreams from the Lord and

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wow, this is awesome. Instead of his life like

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raising up, it seemed that his life just kept

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collapsing over and over and over again. And,

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you know, after being betrayed by his brothers

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and then sold into slavery and then accused,

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falsely accused of rape and now finding himself

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thrown into prison. The banner over his life

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that scripture wants us to pay attention to was

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in Genesis 39, 21, and 23. And the banner is

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this. It says, but the Lord was with Joseph and

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extended kindness to him, and the Lord made everything

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that he did successful. You see, this chapter,

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as we're going to go through all these just repeated

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difficulties and hammer blows of the forging

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of his character, it shows us what it looks like

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to live under the truth and the promises that

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the Lord is with us. It looks like, or it shows

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us what it looks like for a Christian who's going

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through repeated difficulty and suffering and

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it seems like nothing's going right and it seems

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like your prayers aren't being answered and it

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seems like God has abandoned you. It shows us

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what it looks like for that Christian to live

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with the faith that God is with me. That God

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is with me in this circumstance. Even though

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he's silent, he's with me. that God is working,

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God is doing something. And so pick it up here

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with me in chapter 40, verse one. It says, after

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this, the king of Egypt's cupbearer and baker

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offended their master, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh

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was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer

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and the chief baker, and put them in custody

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in the house of the captain of the guards in

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the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain

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of the guards assigned Joseph to them as their

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personal attendant, and they were in custody

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for some time. Now, we had looked at in the previous

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chapter that when Joseph landed in prison, although

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it was a very difficult circumstance, even though

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it was unjust, unjust, unjust, he was falsely

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accused, he still went there and just lived the

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same godly character that he had. He was still

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of service. He was still honest. He was still

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trustworthy. And that led to him being kind of

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raised up in the prison as someone with influence

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and authority, someone that could be trusted,

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someone that was given. Just given a place of

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respect, even though he was in chains. And that

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integrity and that reputation led to him just

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being recognized as a responsible authority there

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in the prison. Now, time passes since he was

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thrown in, and two new inmates arrive, and it

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tells us it's the cupbearer and the baker. Now,

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these aren't low -level servants in Pharaoh's...

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Pharaoh's household, these aren't just kitchen

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staff because it tells us that they were two

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officers. To understand the importance of these

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two individuals, in those days the cup bearer

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was the person who oversaw everything that Pharaoh

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drank. The idea was that people were constantly

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trying to assassinate the Pharaoh and assassinate

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the leader and so before he drank anything, there

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was someone else whose job was to make sure it

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wasn't poisoned. Well, do you know how he made

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sure it wasn't poisoned? He would take a drink,

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right? So every day he would wake up going to

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work saying, well, I might die today, right?

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And I know a lot of us feel that way with work

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today anyways, but you know. His job was one

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of great authority and respect. He was a close

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advisor to the Pharaoh. He was a trusted confidant.

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And really, he was trusted with Pharaoh's life.

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So he was a very, very important and powerful

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person there in the kingdom. And then the baker,

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he had the same job when it came to the Pharaoh's

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food and the stuff that Pharaoh would eat, the

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menu and all of that. His job was to make sure

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that the food was quality. that the food was

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safe and all of that. And so what it tells us

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here is that these two officials, these two very

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important people trusted with the life of Pharaoh,

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offended Pharaoh in some way. It doesn't tell

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us exactly what the offense was, but we can imagine

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that it had something to do with their job, right?

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Maybe Pharaoh drank something or ate something,

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had a meal and got sick. And now they're like,

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oh no, one of you were trying to kill the Pharaoh,

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they didn't know which, and so they throw them

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both into prison. And this is not just the common

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prison for the criminals. This is where the high

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-risk prisoners are kept. This is the place that

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was overseen by Potiphar, who was the captain

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of the guard. This is where political prisoners

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went. This is where people who were considered

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directly enemies of Pharaoh would end up. And

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so it was a high -security place. And this is

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where Joseph was, because that's where he got

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thrown into prison when he was accused of trying

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to rape Potiphar's wife. Potiphar, we looked

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at in the last chapter, could have had Joseph

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executed when his wife falsely accused him because

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that was the penalty for attempted rape or rape

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is that you'd be killed. Instead of having him

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executed, Potiphar put Joseph in prison, which

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seemed to indicate that Potiphar may have not

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fully believed his wife's story. And a part of

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that was because of Joseph's character, his integrity.

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It was hard to believe that he would do something

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of that nature. And now that same kind of respect,

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if you will, for who Joseph was is seen here

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as these two very high -value prisoners are thrown

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in, and they're immediately put into the care

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of Joseph. That tells us, to continue to tell

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us, that Potiphar didn't really believe that

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Joseph was some dangerous predator, that he was

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somebody that was going to, you know, pounce

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and take advantage and kill, that he was somebody

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that could be trusted. And so even in the dungeon,

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Joseph's integrity, Joseph's reliability are

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obvious. It's part of that Christian work ethic

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we were talking about. But the more important

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thing to understand in this story here is that

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it's these two exact specific individuals who

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had these two exact specific jobs didn't land

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here in this exact prison where Joseph was by

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accident. God is working. God is orchestrating.

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God is doing what he does behind the scenes.

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And so, you know, humanly, from Joseph's perspective,

00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:44.659
it could have been like, man, this is just more

00:14:44.659 --> 00:14:47.620
responsibility. that I don't really want in a

00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:51.019
place I shouldn't be in anyways. But from God's

00:14:51.019 --> 00:14:54.299
perspective is he's starting the process by which

00:14:54.299 --> 00:14:56.740
he's gonna move Joseph up to the calling that

00:14:56.740 --> 00:14:59.139
he has on his life. So God is at work in the

00:14:59.139 --> 00:15:01.440
background. And you have to understand that.

00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:05.440
It's a truth to know. Yesterday was my grandson's

00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:08.679
third birthday party. And one of the couples

00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:11.220
here from the church, Paul Larson and his wife

00:15:11.220 --> 00:15:13.799
were there with their kids. And his kid Simon

00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:15.879
was sitting at the table right next to us. us

00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:17.980
and Paul got some food for him and handed it

00:15:17.980 --> 00:15:20.379
there and I had a bottle of water and little

00:15:20.379 --> 00:15:23.700
Simon looks at my water and he goes, water? I'm

00:15:23.700 --> 00:15:26.379
like, yeah. And then I hear his dad behind me

00:15:26.379 --> 00:15:28.600
go, Simon, do you want some water? And Simon

00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:31.100
goes, yeah. And it was like instantaneously,

00:15:31.100 --> 00:15:33.120
yeah, boom, the cup of water was already there.

00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:36.120
And I looked at that and I go, Simon, did you

00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:38.019
see what your dad just did there? The water was

00:15:38.019 --> 00:15:41.059
on the way before you even asked for it. And

00:15:41.059 --> 00:15:43.240
I thought, isn't that what God does? You know,

00:15:43.259 --> 00:15:46.639
he's already bringing the answers and the stuff

00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:48.779
he wants to do in our lives before we've even

00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:51.580
known to ask for it. And so this is what's happening

00:15:51.580 --> 00:15:54.519
here. Now, verse five, it tells us the king of

00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:56.779
Egypt's cupbearer and baker who were confined

00:15:56.779 --> 00:15:59.860
in the prison each had a dream. Both had a dream

00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:01.799
on the same night and each dream had its own

00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:04.580
meaning. When Joseph came to them in the morning,

00:16:04.659 --> 00:16:06.820
he saw that they looked distraught, and so he

00:16:06.820 --> 00:16:08.720
asked Pharaoh's officers who were in custody

00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:11.759
with him in his master's house, why do you look

00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:16.539
so sad today? So one night, both men have disturbing

00:16:16.539 --> 00:16:19.740
dreams, and there's a really huge detail here

00:16:19.740 --> 00:16:22.820
that tells us a lot about Joseph. He noticed

00:16:22.820 --> 00:16:26.080
that they were upset. And you think, well, that's

00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:28.519
just a simple detail, right? That's a small detail,

00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:32.200
but we have to remember, Joseph is unjustly imprisoned.

00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:36.960
Joseph has been betrayed and slandered and forgotten,

00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:42.059
and he has every reason to be self -absorbed,

00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:45.799
right? Every reason to be focused on himself,

00:16:45.899 --> 00:16:48.240
but instead of just, you know, this is terrible,

00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:49.919
and my life's terrible, and I can't believe this

00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:54.990
is happening, he's in a place behaviorally, mentally,

00:16:55.190 --> 00:16:58.330
in a place, prison, where he's still able to

00:16:58.330 --> 00:17:00.409
have empathy and go, hey, why do you guys look

00:17:00.409 --> 00:17:04.430
so sad? Are you okay? It's a big deal. Most people

00:17:04.430 --> 00:17:08.109
in pain, we have a tendency to turn inward, right?

00:17:08.190 --> 00:17:12.369
Because pain hurts. We turn inward. We become

00:17:12.369 --> 00:17:15.329
self -absorbed. We become focused on our own

00:17:15.329 --> 00:17:18.029
issues. Our world shrinks to encompass only ourselves,

00:17:18.210 --> 00:17:22.000
and all we can focus on is our own pain. Our

00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:26.000
own circumstances, our problems are the biggest

00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:28.380
thing in our world, and so they're the only thing

00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:32.259
that matters. And sometimes believers who have

00:17:32.259 --> 00:17:35.619
this infinitely almighty God who orchestrates

00:17:35.619 --> 00:17:37.740
and is sovereign, and we profess to believe these

00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:39.940
things, we find ourselves in this place where

00:17:39.940 --> 00:17:41.440
we go, you know, look, I'll start caring about

00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:43.700
other people's problems when God fixes mine.

00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:47.470
Have you ever been there? I don't have the mental

00:17:47.470 --> 00:17:50.450
ability right now to worry about you. I've got

00:17:50.450 --> 00:17:56.150
issues. And at the end of the day, it's a selfish

00:17:56.150 --> 00:17:59.309
attitude. That doesn't mean the pain's not real.

00:17:59.470 --> 00:18:03.269
It doesn't mean the trauma doesn't hurt. It doesn't

00:18:03.269 --> 00:18:06.930
mean that it's wrong to acknowledge I have wounds

00:18:06.930 --> 00:18:08.750
and hurt. We talked a little bit about this last

00:18:08.750 --> 00:18:14.150
week. But the issue here is that Joseph notices.

00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:17.609
Even if he's in the midst of his own pain, he's

00:18:17.609 --> 00:18:19.549
in the midst of his own disappointment, he's

00:18:19.549 --> 00:18:22.089
in the midst of his own just things being done

00:18:22.089 --> 00:18:25.849
to him, wrong being done to him, and yet he still

00:18:25.849 --> 00:18:30.269
has a compassionate heart that notices and then

00:18:30.269 --> 00:18:33.869
says something about someone else's pain. See,

00:18:33.890 --> 00:18:35.890
I believe one of the keys to enduring our own

00:18:35.890 --> 00:18:39.509
hardship is really to kind of pause our pain

00:18:39.509 --> 00:18:43.190
long enough to serve someone who's hurting more

00:18:43.190 --> 00:18:46.720
than us. And that's really kind of where the

00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:49.140
rubber meets the road because oftentimes in our

00:18:49.140 --> 00:18:51.420
pain, we're like, nobody is hurting worse than

00:18:51.420 --> 00:18:55.460
me right now. And the reality is there probably

00:18:55.460 --> 00:19:00.539
is. Or we have to understand that as much as

00:19:00.539 --> 00:19:02.559
we feel like our pain is the worst pain in the

00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:05.160
world, that other person thinks that their pain

00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:08.559
is the worst pain in the world. And a part of

00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:12.539
healing a part of enduring, right? Because it's

00:19:12.539 --> 00:19:14.660
like, I can't go one more day. I can't go one

00:19:14.660 --> 00:19:16.839
more day. But a part of enduring through that

00:19:16.839 --> 00:19:19.640
is just to pause long enough and say, okay, God,

00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:22.660
I'm hurting. I have all this doubt, this disappointment,

00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:26.660
but I trust you. So I'm going to give it to you

00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:30.359
and just say, you're working on it so that I

00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:32.980
could be free to look around and notice someone

00:19:32.980 --> 00:19:36.000
else is hurting. and to have the empathy and

00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.839
the compassion to step up to be a part of their

00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:41.740
healing. And, you know, sometimes we find ourselves

00:19:41.740 --> 00:19:45.759
emotionally drained, and I just can't. Well,

00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:48.119
if you're emotionally drained, go visit a hospital

00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:51.619
or a nursing home and find yourself just sitting

00:19:51.619 --> 00:19:54.240
and praying and talking with people who are probably

00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:57.900
more emotionally drained than you are. Ask someone

00:19:57.900 --> 00:20:01.400
at church, are you okay? Can I pray with you?

00:20:03.020 --> 00:20:05.160
Right? This is the family. We are here to support

00:20:05.160 --> 00:20:07.880
one another. And, you know, we need to not have

00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:10.220
the habit where we come to church, we listen,

00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:12.140
and then pew, we bolt out the door as fast as

00:20:12.140 --> 00:20:14.619
we can because lunch is waiting for us, right?

00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:18.980
You know, a part of this is we worship. A part

00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:22.779
of this is we study God's word together. But

00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:25.859
a big part of this, too, is you ministering to

00:20:25.859 --> 00:20:28.059
one another. That's what the family of God is

00:20:28.059 --> 00:20:31.630
called to do. This is why the Bible says that

00:20:31.630 --> 00:20:34.869
we all have gifts. So that you're able to not

00:20:34.869 --> 00:20:38.210
just be like, hi, but hi, how are you doing?

00:20:38.390 --> 00:20:41.450
How are things going? Can I pray for you? Do

00:20:41.450 --> 00:20:43.450
you have prayer requests? Here's my needs. Let

00:20:43.450 --> 00:20:46.369
me share my praise reports with you. Right? Because

00:20:46.369 --> 00:20:48.529
we're to celebrate together. We're to cry together.

00:20:48.849 --> 00:20:52.230
That's what this is. And so I encourage you guys.

00:20:52.329 --> 00:20:54.150
One of the reasons we have the coffee shop open

00:20:54.150 --> 00:20:57.049
half hour, an hour early. What do we do right

00:20:57.049 --> 00:20:59.529
now? It's an hour early, right? We open our coffee

00:20:59.529 --> 00:21:02.089
shop next door at 9 a .m. That's there so you

00:21:02.089 --> 00:21:04.069
guys can come and not just get some coffee, but

00:21:04.069 --> 00:21:06.630
just spend some time together before we come

00:21:06.630 --> 00:21:09.190
into our official moment of congregational worship.

00:21:09.710 --> 00:21:12.009
It's why we keep it open after church so that

00:21:12.009 --> 00:21:14.589
you guys can stop and get some coffee, yeah,

00:21:14.690 --> 00:21:17.470
but then have that opportunity to pray with one

00:21:17.470 --> 00:21:19.730
another, to support one another, to encourage

00:21:19.730 --> 00:21:22.549
one another. That's a part of what this congregal...

00:21:23.589 --> 00:21:25.750
congregational gathering is all about. And I

00:21:25.750 --> 00:21:27.589
just encourage you guys to take advantage of

00:21:27.589 --> 00:21:30.269
that, you know? It's not really hard for us to

00:21:30.269 --> 00:21:32.190
walk by somebody and see that look on their face

00:21:32.190 --> 00:21:35.750
and go, wow, they're not okay. Now, some of us

00:21:35.750 --> 00:21:37.829
have faces that look like that all the time.

00:21:37.849 --> 00:21:43.269
I get it. But ask. Ask. Are you okay? I'm perfectly

00:21:43.269 --> 00:21:46.950
fine. All right, cool, you know? But more often

00:21:46.950 --> 00:21:49.690
than not, somebody that's hurting, you could

00:21:49.690 --> 00:21:51.839
see it. You could see it in their countenance

00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:54.960
and take the opportunity as family in Christ

00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:57.259
to, you know, hey, can I pray with you? Can I

00:21:57.259 --> 00:22:00.740
sit with you? Can I, whatever that might be,

00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:04.720
you know, send a text, send a call. You know,

00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:08.119
it's like. Some of us are good and some of us

00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:09.799
are not good with these things, you know. And

00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:12.500
I've been trying to get better because I'm not

00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:16.200
great at reaching out, you know. And, you know,

00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:17.920
the Lord's like, hey, you have a phone in your

00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:19.940
hand, use it. And so, you know, it's like if

00:22:19.940 --> 00:22:22.319
you struggle with sitting next to a buddy or

00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:25.059
asking somebody or sending calls, God, help me

00:22:25.059 --> 00:22:28.700
get better at that. I want to be actively connecting.

00:22:30.119 --> 00:22:33.140
You know, this matters spiritually because when

00:22:33.140 --> 00:22:37.500
we do these things in the midst of our own pain,

00:22:37.819 --> 00:22:41.660
it helps us break the idol of self -focus that

00:22:41.660 --> 00:22:44.859
often forms in the midst of our difficulty. That

00:22:44.859 --> 00:22:46.900
idol that my problems are the most important

00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:50.359
problems, that my hurt is the most important

00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:52.740
hurt, that it becomes an idol that we can worship.

00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:55.440
And when we say, no, no, no, I'm gonna give that

00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:59.480
to God and trust him, and it's real. But let

00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:02.420
me focus on some others. That's when we break

00:23:02.420 --> 00:23:05.500
that idol in our lives. And so it's just an open

00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:07.920
channel for God's comfort to flow through you,

00:23:08.019 --> 00:23:12.099
not just to you, okay? Because you're not the

00:23:12.099 --> 00:23:17.640
only one that's in a dungeon. More than you think

00:23:17.640 --> 00:23:21.519
are also in a dungeon. And they need you to stand

00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:24.420
alongside them. They need you to say, are you

00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:26.500
okay? You look like you're hurting. Is there

00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:29.319
anything I could do? And so, Joseph's model for

00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:35.039
us, what he doesn't do is he doesn't go up to

00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:38.359
these guys that are hurting and say, you think

00:23:38.359 --> 00:23:40.359
you've had a rough night? Let me tell you about

00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:45.480
my last 11 years. He doesn't do that. Don't do

00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:47.599
that. Sometimes that's what we want to do. Oh,

00:23:47.619 --> 00:23:50.240
you're hurting? My method of helping you is to

00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:55.900
unload all my stuff. There's time for that. He

00:23:55.900 --> 00:23:57.859
doesn't do that. He asks them. He sets aside

00:23:57.859 --> 00:24:01.819
his own hurts. He asks what's wrong with them,

00:24:01.859 --> 00:24:04.039
and he truly listens. And so verse 8, they say,

00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:08.500
we had dreams. But there's no one to interpret

00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:12.380
them. That's the issue. Then Joseph said to them,

00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:14.380
don't interpretations belong to God? Tell me

00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:17.420
your dreams. You see, the reason they were so

00:24:17.420 --> 00:24:20.359
distraught is in Egypt, and there's a lot of

00:24:20.359 --> 00:24:21.980
places around the world today, but dreams were

00:24:21.980 --> 00:24:25.380
a big deal, right? They considered dreams were

00:24:25.380 --> 00:24:29.279
windows to another world, that every dream was

00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:31.839
the gods trying to talk to you or something,

00:24:31.940 --> 00:24:34.819
and so they must all have meaning, you know?

00:24:34.839 --> 00:24:37.299
And so in their culture, there was professional

00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:39.420
dream interpreters, and they would carry around

00:24:39.420 --> 00:24:42.720
these dream books to decode the symbols. And

00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:45.420
when I was in South Sudan a couple months ago,

00:24:46.059 --> 00:24:48.980
One of the questions that would get asked in

00:24:48.980 --> 00:24:51.480
this specific individual was saying, hey, my

00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:55.160
friend had a dream that a snake crossed his path,

00:24:55.460 --> 00:24:59.759
and then the next day he saw a snake. What's

00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:04.140
it mean? And I was like, what do you mean? He

00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:07.839
goes, well, all dreams have meaning. And I was

00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:12.420
like, no, some dreams have meaning. Yeah, but

00:25:12.420 --> 00:25:15.210
God speaks through dreams. God. can speak through

00:25:15.210 --> 00:25:19.269
dreams. But, well, the snake isn't the, the snake

00:25:19.269 --> 00:25:22.069
is the serpent, and yeah, there's symbolism to

00:25:22.069 --> 00:25:25.730
things, but, and I told him this, and he just

00:25:25.730 --> 00:25:27.549
laughed out loud. It was the funniest thing to

00:25:27.549 --> 00:25:30.250
him. I said, you know, there could be dreams,

00:25:30.269 --> 00:25:32.890
and God could be speaking, and you could dream

00:25:32.890 --> 00:25:34.910
of a snake and then see a snake, but sometimes

00:25:34.910 --> 00:25:41.640
a snake is just a snake. And he just thought

00:25:41.640 --> 00:25:43.240
that was the greatest truth he had ever heard

00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:46.279
in his life. Sometimes a snake is just a snake.

00:25:47.059 --> 00:25:51.240
I'm like, yeah. You don't want to over -spiritualize

00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:54.420
things and get so caught up in everything has

00:25:54.420 --> 00:25:57.539
a meaning. Oh no, the light was red and the devil's

00:25:57.539 --> 00:26:01.200
red. No, it's a red light. You know, Jesus even

00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:02.619
said this to some people and they were like,

00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:05.480
the tower fell on some dudes. Who sinned that

00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:08.279
the tower fell on the dudes? And Jesus' answer

00:26:08.279 --> 00:26:12.819
in my own vernacular is, the tower fell down

00:26:12.819 --> 00:26:19.920
because it fell down. Tower fell down because

00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:22.619
it wasn't built right and there's gravity. It

00:26:22.619 --> 00:26:26.190
doesn't mean more than that, right? So the whole

00:26:26.190 --> 00:26:29.990
idea with this interpreting these dreams is,

00:26:30.150 --> 00:26:34.150
you know, sometimes God will speak through dreams,

00:26:34.250 --> 00:26:37.130
yes. In the Bible, he does that with both believers

00:26:37.130 --> 00:26:40.549
and unbelievers. But at the same time, the book

00:26:40.549 --> 00:26:43.170
of Ecclesiastes warns us that many dreams are

00:26:43.170 --> 00:26:46.410
just the overflow of a busy mind, it says. Right?

00:26:47.769 --> 00:26:50.410
God in Scripture warns against false prophets

00:26:50.410 --> 00:26:53.150
using dreams to legitimize their false messages.

00:26:53.910 --> 00:26:56.930
When it comes to all that kind of dream stuff,

00:26:57.269 --> 00:27:02.190
God's Word is the final authority. Always. God's

00:27:02.190 --> 00:27:06.089
Word. So if you have a dream and you're like,

00:27:06.210 --> 00:27:09.009
oh, is there meaning to that? Go to God's Word.

00:27:09.790 --> 00:27:12.470
Follow God's word. Search God's word. Get counsel.

00:27:12.750 --> 00:27:14.589
You know, as God's word says, there's safety

00:27:14.589 --> 00:27:16.829
in a multitude of counselors. And sometimes there's

00:27:16.829 --> 00:27:18.670
no meaning to the dream. It's just a dream because

00:27:18.670 --> 00:27:21.950
you're stressed out about something. I had a

00:27:21.950 --> 00:27:23.990
dream. I killed my boss. God wants me to kill

00:27:23.990 --> 00:27:27.069
my boss. No, maybe you just had a bad day with

00:27:27.069 --> 00:27:31.470
your boss, you know? So anyways, dreams were

00:27:31.470 --> 00:27:35.190
a big deal in Egypt. And so Having two dreams

00:27:35.190 --> 00:27:36.849
on the same night, you know, it's like, ooh,

00:27:36.930 --> 00:27:40.430
this is an ominous thing. And so they're bummed.

00:27:40.430 --> 00:27:42.609
They don't have access to the experts. How are

00:27:42.609 --> 00:27:44.589
we going to possibly know what these dreams mean?

00:27:45.069 --> 00:27:47.309
And, you know, it turns out that these dreams

00:27:47.309 --> 00:27:51.150
were indeed prophetic, right? And we see what

00:27:51.150 --> 00:27:53.609
Joseph does here. He immediately says, don't

00:27:53.609 --> 00:27:57.329
interpretations belong to God? That's his reflex.

00:27:58.119 --> 00:28:01.319
His reflex is to turn to God. He doesn't start

00:28:01.319 --> 00:28:03.740
saying, well, let's talk about those dream interpreters.

00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:05.619
That's all wrong and everything. And, you know,

00:28:05.660 --> 00:28:07.920
their books aren't accurate. He just turns immediately

00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:11.319
to God. He points them to God. And that's a great

00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:15.240
reflex to have. We're bummed because we had dreams

00:28:15.240 --> 00:28:17.579
and there's no interpreter. And he goes, you

00:28:17.579 --> 00:28:19.519
don't need an interpreter. God has all the answers.

00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:23.319
Don't dreams belong to God? Dreams are his arena,

00:28:23.400 --> 00:28:25.880
not man's. You don't need magicians. You just

00:28:25.880 --> 00:28:28.119
need God. And that's a reflex we should all have

00:28:28.119 --> 00:28:30.700
as Christians, right? People around us we talk

00:28:30.700 --> 00:28:32.039
to, they're having challenges, they're having

00:28:32.039 --> 00:28:34.640
issues, they're having struggles. Our reflex

00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:39.680
should be to point them to God immediately. Oh,

00:28:39.700 --> 00:28:42.380
you know, I mean, God is aware of all things.

00:28:42.500 --> 00:28:44.279
Have you prayed? I don't pray. I don't believe

00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:46.079
in God. Now there's a conversation about the

00:28:46.079 --> 00:28:49.200
Lord, you know? It's a great reflex to have.

00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:52.119
It's a great reflex to pray, you know? Things

00:28:52.119 --> 00:28:54.059
go bad in our life, how many of us immediately,

00:28:54.279 --> 00:28:55.740
first thing that comes to your mind is, wow,

00:28:55.779 --> 00:28:57.380
I need to go pray, I need to inquire of the Lord.

00:28:58.500 --> 00:29:01.779
Some of us, yes, some of us, no. Some of us may

00:29:01.779 --> 00:29:03.819
have been walking with the Lord for a long time

00:29:03.819 --> 00:29:06.160
and we still have the reflex of bad happens,

00:29:06.339 --> 00:29:10.380
freak out, then pray. And we don't need to freak

00:29:10.380 --> 00:29:14.160
out. Maybe freak out after, but go to God first,

00:29:14.440 --> 00:29:17.430
right? Say, God, help me to not freak out and

00:29:17.430 --> 00:29:20.430
just trust you in these things. So anyways, his

00:29:20.430 --> 00:29:23.049
reflex is to point them to God, and we just see

00:29:23.049 --> 00:29:26.390
this wonderfully God -centered attitude and life

00:29:26.390 --> 00:29:30.170
that Joseph has. He's very pastoral in his response

00:29:30.170 --> 00:29:33.150
to them, not superstitious. What I mean by that

00:29:33.150 --> 00:29:37.690
is he's genuinely seeing their distress and genuinely

00:29:37.690 --> 00:29:40.369
wanting to help, and he wants to bring God's

00:29:40.369 --> 00:29:45.529
word to help them in their distress. I believe

00:29:45.529 --> 00:29:48.990
that indicates that he still believes the dreams

00:29:48.990 --> 00:29:52.890
that God gave him as a teenager, right? Like,

00:29:52.890 --> 00:29:54.789
don't dreams belong to God? You know, if he was

00:29:54.789 --> 00:29:56.869
like, oh, I had these God dreams, and they landed

00:29:56.869 --> 00:29:58.769
me in slavery, and now they land me in prison,

00:29:58.849 --> 00:30:00.650
and, you know, God doesn't speak through dreams

00:30:00.650 --> 00:30:02.410
at all, I don't think he would have said what

00:30:02.410 --> 00:30:04.230
he just said right here to these guys about dreams.

00:30:05.849 --> 00:30:07.890
If he had given up on the dreams, I think he

00:30:07.890 --> 00:30:11.069
would have been like, oh, bro, dreams are dangerous.

00:30:12.190 --> 00:30:14.589
Don't even trust him. Don't mention him to anybody

00:30:14.589 --> 00:30:16.430
because look where I ended up. But he doesn't

00:30:16.430 --> 00:30:19.650
say that at all. He instead says they belong

00:30:19.650 --> 00:30:22.529
to God. And so after more than 10 years far from

00:30:22.529 --> 00:30:25.710
home in slavery and in prison, he still believes

00:30:25.710 --> 00:30:28.490
in God. He still believes that God's revelation

00:30:28.490 --> 00:30:32.670
is reigning over his life. And so he steps in

00:30:32.670 --> 00:30:35.109
to then give them the interpretation. Verse 9.

00:30:36.710 --> 00:30:39.089
So the chief cupbearer told his dreams to Joseph.

00:30:39.849 --> 00:30:41.950
In my dream, there was a vine in front of me

00:30:41.950 --> 00:30:44.230
and on the vine were three branches. As soon

00:30:44.230 --> 00:30:46.470
as it budded, its blossoms came out and its clusters

00:30:46.470 --> 00:30:49.390
ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my

00:30:49.390 --> 00:30:52.269
hand and I took the grapes. I squeezed them into

00:30:52.269 --> 00:30:54.210
Pharaoh's cup and I placed the cup in Pharaoh's

00:30:54.210 --> 00:30:57.410
hand. This is the interpretation Joseph said

00:30:57.410 --> 00:31:01.349
to him. The three branches are three days. In

00:31:01.349 --> 00:31:03.690
just three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head

00:31:03.690 --> 00:31:06.920
and restore you to your position. You will put

00:31:06.920 --> 00:31:09.000
Pharaoh's cup in his hand the way you used to

00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:11.680
when you were his cupbearer. But when all goes

00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:14.839
well for you, remember that I was with you. Please

00:31:14.839 --> 00:31:17.339
show kindness to me by mentioning me to Pharaoh

00:31:17.339 --> 00:31:20.400
and get me out of this prison. For I was kidnapped

00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:22.339
from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I've

00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:24.859
done nothing that they should put me in a dungeon.

00:31:25.819 --> 00:31:27.880
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation

00:31:27.880 --> 00:31:30.900
was positive, he said to Joseph, I also had a

00:31:30.900 --> 00:31:33.400
dream. Three baskets of white bread were on my

00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:35.599
head, and in the top basket were all sorts of

00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:38.339
baked goods for Pharaoh. But the birds were eating

00:31:38.339 --> 00:31:41.200
them out of the basket on my head. This is the

00:31:41.200 --> 00:31:43.559
interpretation, Joseph replied. The three baskets

00:31:43.559 --> 00:31:46.460
are three days. In just three days, Pharaoh will

00:31:46.460 --> 00:31:49.200
lift up your head from off of you and hang you

00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:51.740
on a tree. Then the birds will eat the flesh

00:31:51.740 --> 00:31:56.920
from your body. Wow. Cupbearer's dream, right?

00:31:57.660 --> 00:32:02.119
Gives him the details. Basically, the details

00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:04.180
are like he's going to be restored to his position,

00:32:04.299 --> 00:32:07.200
and Joseph speaks that interpretation out. So

00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:09.279
don't dreams belong to God? Share your dream

00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:11.579
with me. He's trusting God for the interpretation

00:32:11.579 --> 00:32:14.180
in this moment. He's trusting God to give him

00:32:14.180 --> 00:32:16.279
insight, and it really is supernatural insight

00:32:16.279 --> 00:32:19.000
because there's nothing in the dream itself that

00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:22.259
would say, oh, the three vines are three days,

00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:25.619
right? There's no... detail there for him to,

00:32:25.619 --> 00:32:27.759
you know, divine it that way. I believe it was

00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:29.980
just he trusted the Lord for the interpretation

00:32:29.980 --> 00:32:33.559
and God gave him this interpretation. Three days

00:32:33.559 --> 00:32:37.640
you'll be restored to your position. Now, think

00:32:37.640 --> 00:32:40.720
of where Joseph's at. This is a interpretation,

00:32:40.940 --> 00:32:44.640
a prophecy that will be determined true or false

00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:48.680
in 72 days. Right? Or 72 days. 72 hours. Three

00:32:48.680 --> 00:32:52.180
days. you're going to be restored to your position.

00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:55.799
Three days later, his credibility is either affirmed

00:32:55.799 --> 00:33:00.099
or he's a charlatan. So it's a big step of faith

00:33:00.099 --> 00:33:02.019
for him to even step out and say this because

00:33:02.019 --> 00:33:04.859
it's not like it's one of those interpretations

00:33:04.859 --> 00:33:07.640
like in 400 years this is going to happen and

00:33:07.640 --> 00:33:09.240
yeah, nobody's going to be around to prove whether

00:33:09.240 --> 00:33:12.519
that's true or not. And so he steps out, he gives

00:33:12.519 --> 00:33:14.680
this, but he still speaks it anyways. He speaks

00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:17.079
it boldly, he speaks it confidently, and then

00:33:17.079 --> 00:33:21.130
he adds this humble request. That shows how confident

00:33:21.130 --> 00:33:24.750
he is in this interpretation. This is going to

00:33:24.750 --> 00:33:26.309
happen, and so please, when you get out there,

00:33:26.369 --> 00:33:29.789
remember me. I shouldn't be here. I'm here unjustly.

00:33:29.849 --> 00:33:32.369
You know, just please talk to Pharaoh and let

00:33:32.369 --> 00:33:35.589
me get out of here. What he doesn't do is say,

00:33:36.360 --> 00:33:39.259
So I could go beat up my stupid brothers. So

00:33:39.259 --> 00:33:42.680
I could hire someone to take out Potiphar's wife,

00:33:42.779 --> 00:33:45.480
that whatever, whatever, right? He doesn't get

00:33:45.480 --> 00:33:47.740
into that. He just says, look, this is my situation,

00:33:47.859 --> 00:33:50.839
and I want to get out of here. Now, it's important

00:33:50.839 --> 00:33:54.799
to note that Joseph isn't bitter. He isn't angry.

00:33:55.119 --> 00:33:58.200
He's not seemingly holding a grudge against his

00:33:58.200 --> 00:33:59.980
brothers and stuff. He's just like, okay, this

00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:02.299
is where I'm at, but I know I shouldn't be here.

00:34:03.339 --> 00:34:06.240
But neither is he passively doing nothing. He

00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:09.019
fully trusts God, but he's still knocking on

00:34:09.019 --> 00:34:11.360
the doors in front of him. That's an important

00:34:11.360 --> 00:34:14.519
thing for us. Faith doesn't mean I'm gonna sit

00:34:14.519 --> 00:34:16.639
here and do nothing with my arms crossed until

00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:20.980
God forces me. Unless that's what God is telling

00:34:20.980 --> 00:34:24.340
you to do, okay? Faith says I fully trust that

00:34:24.340 --> 00:34:28.639
God is leading me, guiding me, and in the process,

00:34:28.659 --> 00:34:30.480
I'm gonna knock on every door in front of me.

00:34:31.559 --> 00:34:34.219
You see, in Proverbs, we have the proverb where

00:34:34.219 --> 00:34:35.679
it says, you know, trust in the Lord with all

00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:37.420
your heart, lean not on your own understanding,

00:34:37.739 --> 00:34:39.539
acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will

00:34:39.539 --> 00:34:44.039
make your paths straight. The word paths, that

00:34:44.039 --> 00:34:47.599
phrase in the original language, indicates forward

00:34:47.599 --> 00:34:52.119
motion. It's not standing here until God lights

00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:55.699
up the step, and then you'll step on it. It's

00:34:55.699 --> 00:34:57.800
stepping out when you don't even see what the

00:34:57.800 --> 00:34:59.679
step is or where it's at. You're stepping out

00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:02.500
into the darkness in faith, and you trust that

00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:04.659
when you put your foot down, God is guiding you.

00:35:04.699 --> 00:35:06.679
God is leading you. Do you understand the difference?

00:35:08.860 --> 00:35:12.280
So the idea here is I'm going to trust God, but

00:35:12.280 --> 00:35:13.619
that doesn't mean I'm going to sit around and

00:35:13.619 --> 00:35:18.380
do nothing. So, hey, here's an opportunity. Bro,

00:35:18.500 --> 00:35:22.539
please remember me when you get out. The baker

00:35:22.539 --> 00:35:25.440
then has this dream. Joseph, you know, gave this

00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:27.820
really positive interpretation to the cupbearer.

00:35:27.860 --> 00:35:30.599
And so the baker's like, bro, I had a dream too.

00:35:31.599 --> 00:35:34.179
I want some of that good news. And here's my

00:35:34.179 --> 00:35:37.179
dream, three baskets of bread. The top is full

00:35:37.179 --> 00:35:38.960
of stuff for Pharaoh, but the birds are eating

00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:42.320
it. And so the interpretation he gives them is,

00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:44.219
wow, bro, the three baskets are three days and

00:35:44.219 --> 00:35:48.980
then you're going to die. Hey, Joseph, how about

00:35:48.980 --> 00:35:51.920
we do the first interpretation? I like that one

00:35:51.920 --> 00:35:54.480
better. I'm going to be restored, right? No,

00:35:54.500 --> 00:35:57.119
you're going to die. I mean, that's a hard thing

00:35:57.119 --> 00:36:00.139
to say. That's a hard thing to say to this guy.

00:36:01.449 --> 00:36:05.309
In scripture, birds often symbolize evil and

00:36:05.309 --> 00:36:07.650
judgment. You know, Jesus shared the parable,

00:36:07.650 --> 00:36:09.989
the four soils, and he said that as the seed

00:36:09.989 --> 00:36:11.610
went out, which is the word of God, the birds

00:36:11.610 --> 00:36:15.329
came and snatched it away. We have revelation,

00:36:15.429 --> 00:36:18.530
there's unclean birds that are dwelling over

00:36:18.530 --> 00:36:21.570
fallen Babylon. And here we see these birds that

00:36:21.570 --> 00:36:24.070
are devouring what was meant for the king. And

00:36:24.070 --> 00:36:26.650
so he interprets it for him and says, this means

00:36:26.650 --> 00:36:29.239
that you're going to die. Not a fun interpretation.

00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:34.119
Who likes to give bad news? There's some people

00:36:34.119 --> 00:36:35.579
out there who like to give bad news and they're

00:36:35.579 --> 00:36:37.659
kind of annoying, right? It's like, wow, you

00:36:37.659 --> 00:36:39.579
just like bumming people out. But in general,

00:36:39.719 --> 00:36:44.079
right? Nobody likes to give bad news. But love

00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:50.920
doesn't mean avoiding hard truths. Love delivers

00:36:50.920 --> 00:36:56.300
hard truths with a soft heart. You see, Joseph,

00:36:57.070 --> 00:37:00.030
isn't the type of guy sharing God's word who

00:37:00.030 --> 00:37:03.489
only focuses on the cupbearer sermons but avoids

00:37:03.489 --> 00:37:06.849
all of the baker sermons. That's not who Joseph

00:37:06.849 --> 00:37:11.210
is. He confidently, boldly speaks forth God's

00:37:11.210 --> 00:37:15.269
word no matter what the message is. Faithfulness

00:37:15.269 --> 00:37:18.630
in sharing, faithfulness in teaching, faithfulness

00:37:18.630 --> 00:37:22.510
in preaching is speaking all of God's message,

00:37:22.809 --> 00:37:25.949
whether it's comfort or warning, grace or judgment.

00:37:26.960 --> 00:37:29.219
No, that's why we here at our church, it's verse

00:37:29.219 --> 00:37:33.619
by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book. We

00:37:33.619 --> 00:37:35.460
get to the end of Revelation, we start in Genesis

00:37:35.460 --> 00:37:38.980
again, and we go through, right? We don't go

00:37:38.980 --> 00:37:41.760
through fast, I get that, but we go through.

00:37:42.579 --> 00:37:44.940
Because we're going to teach everything God's

00:37:44.940 --> 00:37:46.679
Word says, even the hard stuff. We don't avoid

00:37:46.679 --> 00:37:49.929
the hard stuff. because the hard stuff is there

00:37:49.929 --> 00:37:52.210
for our benefit and for our growth. And so this

00:37:52.210 --> 00:37:54.630
is what Joseph is exampling here, where he's

00:37:54.630 --> 00:37:56.309
like, look, I got a really positive message,

00:37:56.349 --> 00:37:57.809
and those are the easy ones to share. You're

00:37:57.809 --> 00:37:59.349
going to be restored. Everything's great. Woo

00:37:59.349 --> 00:38:02.570
-hoo. Wow, can you interpret mine too? Yeah,

00:38:02.710 --> 00:38:08.550
you're going to die in three days. What? But

00:38:08.550 --> 00:38:10.889
he shared it, and he shared it confidently. So

00:38:10.889 --> 00:38:13.860
verse 20 on the third day. which was Pharaoh's

00:38:13.860 --> 00:38:15.679
birthday, he gave a feast for all his servants.

00:38:16.280 --> 00:38:18.539
He elevated the chief cupbearer and the chief

00:38:18.539 --> 00:38:21.159
baker among his servants. Pharaoh restored the

00:38:21.159 --> 00:38:23.579
chief cupbearer to his position as cupbearer,

00:38:23.579 --> 00:38:25.699
and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. But

00:38:25.699 --> 00:38:28.659
Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph

00:38:28.659 --> 00:38:33.280
had explained to them. So three days come by.

00:38:33.480 --> 00:38:35.840
I imagine the cupbearer's like, ooh, three days,

00:38:35.840 --> 00:38:37.840
I'm gonna get out of here. Baker's like, Joseph,

00:38:38.059 --> 00:38:41.320
you're a liar. Joseph's like, that's what God

00:38:41.320 --> 00:38:44.449
said. So three days come, it's Pharaoh's birthday.

00:38:45.190 --> 00:38:49.590
And just as Joseph had said, just as he was given

00:38:49.590 --> 00:38:52.449
the word, the interpretation by God, the cupbearer

00:38:52.449 --> 00:38:54.869
was restored to his office and the baker was

00:38:54.869 --> 00:38:58.909
executed. Apparently over those three days, you

00:38:58.909 --> 00:39:01.570
know, or during the time that they were in prison,

00:39:01.650 --> 00:39:03.050
because it says they were in prison for some

00:39:03.050 --> 00:39:07.829
time, they had deduced who was responsible for

00:39:07.829 --> 00:39:10.190
Pharaoh getting sick, right, whatever. So it's

00:39:10.190 --> 00:39:13.630
the baker. In the library with the candlestick.

00:39:15.570 --> 00:39:18.130
Imagine how encouraging this was for Joseph.

00:39:20.050 --> 00:39:26.769
After years of silence, right? After years of

00:39:26.769 --> 00:39:31.250
the hammer blows. After things going from bad

00:39:31.250 --> 00:39:37.769
to worse. Finally has this moment, this experience

00:39:37.769 --> 00:39:40.860
where Although he believed in God and although

00:39:40.860 --> 00:39:43.840
he knew God, that God spoke to him and it was

00:39:43.840 --> 00:39:46.579
100 % true. And that's just encouraging, right?

00:39:47.539 --> 00:39:50.000
We've all, most of us, I think, have experienced

00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:52.860
that situation where we're like, I believe God

00:39:52.860 --> 00:39:54.579
and I believe in the gifts and I believe what

00:39:54.579 --> 00:39:56.840
God's doing. But then when that gift actually

00:39:56.840 --> 00:39:59.039
operates through you, it's just like, wow, it's

00:39:59.039 --> 00:40:01.500
just this exciting thing. Almost like we're shocked

00:40:01.500 --> 00:40:03.719
that God did what he said he would do, right?

00:40:04.500 --> 00:40:06.440
And that's just a part of us and our immaturity.

00:40:07.559 --> 00:40:09.980
Imagine how excited he was that the cupbearer

00:40:09.980 --> 00:40:13.239
got out and he was restored. And wow, that just

00:40:13.239 --> 00:40:15.639
had to boost his faith in his own dreams that

00:40:15.639 --> 00:40:18.400
he got 17 years earlier. You know, just, oh my

00:40:18.400 --> 00:40:21.179
gosh. And wow, what God told me, I mean, I've

00:40:21.179 --> 00:40:23.519
always believed it, but wow, now I'm like extra

00:40:23.519 --> 00:40:27.179
sure it's gonna happen. And imagine him watching

00:40:27.179 --> 00:40:31.579
the cupbearer leave. Bro, congratulations. I'm

00:40:31.579 --> 00:40:35.420
so excited for you, Baker. But cupbearer, yeah.

00:40:36.339 --> 00:40:38.639
Remember me, man. Don't forget me, my friend.

00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:41.380
And you can almost see the cupbearer turning

00:40:41.380 --> 00:40:43.739
back with two thumbs up. Yeah, Joseph, right

00:40:43.739 --> 00:40:46.280
on, man. This is exciting. This is awesome. And

00:40:46.280 --> 00:40:50.860
you see the picture that night, Joseph rolling

00:40:50.860 --> 00:40:52.519
up his mat. I'm making all this up right now,

00:40:52.539 --> 00:40:56.550
but Joseph rolling up his mat. smiling, just

00:40:56.550 --> 00:40:59.250
excited. At any moment now, those keys, I'm going

00:40:59.250 --> 00:41:01.409
to hear the rattle of those keys and the door's

00:41:01.409 --> 00:41:03.309
going to be unlocked and this iron collar's going

00:41:03.309 --> 00:41:07.429
to be taken off and I'll be free. But it didn't

00:41:07.429 --> 00:41:12.110
happen. A day goes by and well, I mean, it was

00:41:12.110 --> 00:41:14.969
Pharaoh's birthday after all. Cupbearer was probably

00:41:14.969 --> 00:41:17.070
really busy so he didn't have time. That's cool,

00:41:17.110 --> 00:41:22.550
I get it. Day two goes by. Well, It was Pharaoh's

00:41:22.550 --> 00:41:24.449
birthday after all, and those parties are pretty

00:41:24.449 --> 00:41:26.090
lavish, so there's probably a lot of cleanup.

00:41:26.150 --> 00:41:28.349
There's a lot to do. I get it. You know, maybe

00:41:28.349 --> 00:41:31.530
tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the day. And then

00:41:31.530 --> 00:41:35.889
a week goes by. Well, I mean, it is Pharaoh after

00:41:35.889 --> 00:41:38.110
all, so it's pretty hard to get an audience with

00:41:38.110 --> 00:41:40.090
Pharaoh, so maybe he just hasn't had a chance

00:41:40.090 --> 00:41:47.570
in week two. Lord, I'm not quite sure what the

00:41:47.570 --> 00:41:49.469
delay is, but can you, like, nudge him or something?

00:41:51.440 --> 00:41:56.260
Then a month, then two months, then 12 months.

00:41:59.920 --> 00:42:04.219
Verse 23. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember

00:42:04.219 --> 00:42:13.340
Joseph. He forgot him. Ouch. Ouch. I just had

00:42:13.340 --> 00:42:15.440
this moment, Lord. I've been waiting so long.

00:42:15.539 --> 00:42:20.929
You just showed yourself on my behalf. Why am

00:42:20.929 --> 00:42:26.349
I still here? Why is this difficulty, this hard

00:42:26.349 --> 00:42:29.550
circumstance, why is this, why is it still happening,

00:42:29.730 --> 00:42:35.349
God? From Joseph's perspective, I'm doing everything

00:42:35.349 --> 00:42:38.110
right. I've been obedient. I've maintained my

00:42:38.110 --> 00:42:44.989
witness. I've worked hard. This was it. This

00:42:44.989 --> 00:42:48.909
was the opportunity. I mean, how else am I ever

00:42:48.909 --> 00:42:50.670
going to imagine getting out of this prison?

00:42:50.750 --> 00:42:55.750
This was it. What are the odds that the cupbearer

00:42:55.750 --> 00:42:58.889
and the baker would be sent here and put in my,

00:42:59.010 --> 00:43:01.590
what are the odds of that? That is too perfect.

00:43:01.670 --> 00:43:05.550
That is too supernaturally ordained. And yet,

00:43:05.670 --> 00:43:14.340
I'm still here in this prison. Ouch. The very

00:43:14.340 --> 00:43:16.659
next verse of the next chapter starts out this

00:43:16.659 --> 00:43:20.659
way. At the end of two years, Pharaoh had a dream.

00:43:23.320 --> 00:43:26.659
Now in our Bibles, you've got a paper Bible or

00:43:26.659 --> 00:43:28.360
an app or something that you're reading through.

00:43:28.860 --> 00:43:32.840
Verse 23 to verse one of chapter 41, it's just

00:43:32.840 --> 00:43:36.679
a gap, just a small gap. Just a small space there,

00:43:36.800 --> 00:43:42.039
but that space for Joseph was 730 long days of

00:43:42.039 --> 00:43:46.389
silence. No confirmation, no answered prayer,

00:43:46.550 --> 00:43:50.909
no word from the Lord, nothing. Silence. Delay.

00:43:50.969 --> 00:43:54.690
What is God doing in the delay? What is the point?

00:43:55.210 --> 00:43:58.869
From Joseph's perspective, it's crushed hope.

00:43:59.809 --> 00:44:06.869
It's deep disappointment. It's why, Lord? Lord,

00:44:06.949 --> 00:44:09.949
how can things keep getting worse when I do the

00:44:09.949 --> 00:44:13.420
right thing? When I do the obedient thing, when

00:44:13.420 --> 00:44:17.440
I do the godly thing, it just keeps getting worse.

00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:21.420
But from God's side, not a single second of those

00:44:21.420 --> 00:44:26.960
730 days were wasted. Not a single second. There

00:44:26.960 --> 00:44:28.880
was a point and purpose for every second. There

00:44:28.880 --> 00:44:31.639
was no cruelty here. It was preparation. It was

00:44:31.639 --> 00:44:35.679
refining. It was honing. It was forging. You

00:44:35.679 --> 00:44:39.659
see, Psalm 105, we looked at this last week,

00:44:39.719 --> 00:44:42.179
it describes Joseph's prison years this way.

00:44:42.320 --> 00:44:45.699
They hurt his feet with shackles and his neck

00:44:45.699 --> 00:44:51.920
was put in an iron collar. It wasn't comfortable.

00:44:52.619 --> 00:44:56.039
He had responsibility, he had respect, but he

00:44:56.039 --> 00:44:58.820
was still a prisoner. And he still had to wear

00:44:58.820 --> 00:45:02.239
this iron collar and be shackled and chained.

00:45:05.960 --> 00:45:09.320
But the whole time, the whole delay was the Lord

00:45:09.320 --> 00:45:14.599
refining him. That's what God is doing with you

00:45:14.599 --> 00:45:18.159
and me in the delay. That's what he is doing

00:45:18.159 --> 00:45:22.760
with us in the disappointment. That is what he's

00:45:22.760 --> 00:45:27.539
doing with us in the silence. He's honing us.

00:45:28.079 --> 00:45:32.340
He's refining. He's forging us for what's next.

00:45:32.340 --> 00:45:36.809
Because what's next? needs a certain character,

00:45:37.030 --> 00:45:40.130
a certain maturity from you. And guess what?

00:45:40.230 --> 00:45:42.730
If next isn't happening yet, it's because you're

00:45:42.730 --> 00:45:47.929
not ready. Now, why the silence? Why the delay?

00:45:48.969 --> 00:45:51.269
Personally, I think this is what kind of was

00:45:51.269 --> 00:45:56.269
going on. I'm out of here. Week goes by. Two

00:45:56.269 --> 00:46:01.119
weeks go by. Month goes by. Joseph is now starting

00:46:01.119 --> 00:46:03.139
to worry and doubt, and I believe it was the

00:46:03.139 --> 00:46:05.300
opportunity for the Spirit to be like, do you

00:46:05.300 --> 00:46:09.679
still believe my word? Do you still believe that

00:46:09.679 --> 00:46:14.239
I'm God? I mean, you were very excited when you

00:46:14.239 --> 00:46:16.139
interpreted the dream, and the dream came true,

00:46:16.239 --> 00:46:18.079
and you were just like, oh, wow, my gosh, those

00:46:18.079 --> 00:46:20.380
dreams God gave me 17 years ago, I'm so excited.

00:46:20.980 --> 00:46:25.880
Do you still believe? Do you still believe six

00:46:25.880 --> 00:46:28.340
months later when you're still sitting in prison?

00:46:28.460 --> 00:46:32.139
How about now? A year goes by. How about now?

00:46:33.219 --> 00:46:37.219
Do you still believe? Do you still have the faith

00:46:37.219 --> 00:46:40.260
you had the day the cupbearer was raised up and

00:46:40.260 --> 00:46:42.619
the baker was hanged? Do you still have that

00:46:42.619 --> 00:46:48.599
same vibrance of faith 18 months later? That's

00:46:48.599 --> 00:46:54.940
what God's asking us in our delays. Have I changed,

00:46:55.139 --> 00:46:58.139
God might say? Has my word changed? You see,

00:46:58.730 --> 00:47:03.570
God was tempering Joseph like a fine sword. Heeding

00:47:03.570 --> 00:47:06.809
him in the furnace of injustice, hammering him

00:47:06.809 --> 00:47:09.329
through repeated disappointment, cooling and

00:47:09.329 --> 00:47:12.130
sharpening and strengthening him in the dark

00:47:12.130 --> 00:47:18.170
years. Delay never thwarts God's purpose. It

00:47:18.170 --> 00:47:22.110
simply polishes his instrument. That's what delay

00:47:22.110 --> 00:47:26.440
is. That's what it's all about in those two silent

00:47:26.440 --> 00:47:32.800
years. I believe Joseph was fully purged of blaming

00:47:32.800 --> 00:47:37.519
his brothers. Because when we see Joseph later

00:47:37.519 --> 00:47:41.480
when he's raised up, there's no blame. He learned

00:47:41.480 --> 00:47:44.380
to instead just trust and believe that God's

00:47:44.380 --> 00:47:46.400
hand is behind everything. Why? How do we know

00:47:46.400 --> 00:47:47.960
that? Because later on he says what you guys

00:47:47.960 --> 00:47:56.150
planned for evil, God planned for good. I believe

00:47:56.150 --> 00:47:59.289
it was in this two years that Joseph fully came

00:47:59.289 --> 00:48:01.869
to terms with the reality that even obedience

00:48:01.869 --> 00:48:04.630
could lead you into deeper suffering. That's

00:48:04.630 --> 00:48:08.269
a tough one, isn't it? We kind of can find ourselves

00:48:08.269 --> 00:48:10.170
living in a culture where you do good, you get

00:48:10.170 --> 00:48:14.110
good. You do bad, you get bad. How about do good,

00:48:14.150 --> 00:48:16.710
get bad? No, that's not how it's supposed to

00:48:16.710 --> 00:48:22.369
work. But if that's God's plan, is it the perfect

00:48:22.369 --> 00:48:28.840
thing? Yes, it is. Do you believe that? Do you

00:48:28.840 --> 00:48:32.940
believe that yet? Because if you don't, and you're

00:48:32.940 --> 00:48:35.659
in the midst of having to learn, I've been doing

00:48:35.659 --> 00:48:38.639
the right thing and it keeps getting worse, God

00:48:38.639 --> 00:48:41.760
is forging that truth in your heart. Because

00:48:41.760 --> 00:48:44.719
you need to believe that without a shadow of

00:48:44.719 --> 00:48:49.800
doubt for whatever's next. He doesn't turn from

00:48:49.800 --> 00:48:53.000
God. He doesn't stop serving God. He's still

00:48:53.000 --> 00:48:56.940
Joseph. Now, by the time God opens the door for

00:48:56.940 --> 00:49:01.519
him in chapter 41, Joseph is now just humble.

00:49:01.659 --> 00:49:04.420
No arrogance at all. He's God -centered, not

00:49:04.420 --> 00:49:08.420
self -promoting. He's ready to handle the enormous

00:49:08.420 --> 00:49:11.260
power and authority that he was about to be given

00:49:11.260 --> 00:49:14.320
without being destroyed by that authority and

00:49:14.320 --> 00:49:18.639
power. You might be in a Genesis 40 moment of

00:49:18.639 --> 00:49:23.460
your life right now, today, this morning. Maybe

00:49:23.460 --> 00:49:26.320
you're like, I had high hopes for something and

00:49:26.320 --> 00:49:30.320
nothing's happened. Maybe there's a person that

00:49:30.320 --> 00:49:35.179
you were trusting or counting on and they didn't

00:49:35.179 --> 00:49:38.519
come through, they let me down. Maybe there was

00:49:38.519 --> 00:49:41.880
an answer that you were expecting and it never

00:49:41.880 --> 00:49:46.340
came. Maybe you're staring at the space between

00:49:46.340 --> 00:49:50.199
verse 23 of chapter 40 and verse 1 of chapter

00:49:50.199 --> 00:49:54.400
41 and that space, seems to be going on and on

00:49:54.400 --> 00:50:00.860
and on and on forever. We learn some things from

00:50:00.860 --> 00:50:04.519
Joseph's story about all of that. Some biblical

00:50:04.519 --> 00:50:06.639
truths we're to hang on to. One, God is sovereign

00:50:06.639 --> 00:50:09.400
in the details. Even when you feel forgotten,

00:50:09.639 --> 00:50:11.360
even when you feel abandoned, even when you're

00:50:11.360 --> 00:50:13.659
like, God, where are you? He's there, he's sovereign

00:50:13.659 --> 00:50:17.510
in all the details. These two officials happen

00:50:17.510 --> 00:50:20.170
to land in the prison where Joseph's at. These

00:50:20.170 --> 00:50:23.469
two officials who have the ear of Pharaoh, these

00:50:23.469 --> 00:50:28.349
two officials, God orchestrated that. I believe

00:50:28.349 --> 00:50:30.190
God's the one that sent the dreams. Why? Because

00:50:30.190 --> 00:50:31.989
the dreams are what allowed Joseph to interpret.

00:50:32.730 --> 00:50:35.989
I believe God allowed the cupbearer's amnesia

00:50:35.989 --> 00:50:40.260
to forget about Joseph. God timed it two years

00:50:40.260 --> 00:50:42.800
later for Pharaoh to have a dream, and we're

00:50:42.800 --> 00:50:45.119
going to see that in the next chapter. Your delay

00:50:45.119 --> 00:50:52.880
is not random. Your delay is not God winging

00:50:52.880 --> 00:50:57.679
it, right? God, what's going on? I'm not sure,

00:50:57.760 --> 00:51:03.679
but I'm figuring it out. No, that's us. God's

00:51:03.679 --> 00:51:06.400
like, I know every detail, front to back. Just

00:51:06.400 --> 00:51:11.039
hang on. Trust me. God isn't cruel even when

00:51:11.039 --> 00:51:16.239
the silence hurts. Sometimes we're tempted to

00:51:16.239 --> 00:51:19.059
think that, but it's not cruelty. There's a purpose,

00:51:19.159 --> 00:51:21.719
right? The psalmist was taunted by people. Where

00:51:21.719 --> 00:51:25.019
is your God? And what he responded with is, why

00:51:25.019 --> 00:51:27.440
are you cast down, O my soul? Hope in God, for

00:51:27.440 --> 00:51:32.159
I shall again praise him. You may not feel like

00:51:32.159 --> 00:51:36.219
praising him. You may not feel all warm and fuzzy,

00:51:36.360 --> 00:51:38.659
but that's why we have verses like this to preach

00:51:38.659 --> 00:51:43.840
back to ourselves. Where is your God? I'm gonna

00:51:43.840 --> 00:51:47.159
hope in him, and I'm gonna again praise him.

00:51:48.280 --> 00:51:50.639
God's promises ripen in his time, not yours.

00:51:51.000 --> 00:51:55.579
Think about it. If Joseph was remembered by the

00:51:55.579 --> 00:51:57.400
cupbearer immediately, right, everything happened

00:51:57.400 --> 00:51:59.139
the way he thought it was gonna happen, the cupbearer

00:51:59.139 --> 00:52:02.219
said, hey, Pharaoh, bro told me a dream, it happened.

00:52:03.150 --> 00:52:05.389
Get him out. Okay, Pharaoh gets him out. Then,

00:52:05.489 --> 00:52:07.010
I mean, who knows what would have happened? Maybe

00:52:07.010 --> 00:52:09.150
Joseph would have been like, I'm done with Egypt.

00:52:09.210 --> 00:52:13.710
I'm going home. If he had gone home, would he

00:52:13.710 --> 00:52:16.429
have ever been in the position to interpret Pharaoh's

00:52:16.429 --> 00:52:21.150
dream two years later? Probably not. If that

00:52:21.150 --> 00:52:22.789
didn't happen, Joseph would have been raised

00:52:22.789 --> 00:52:24.730
up. Egypt would have had no plan for the famine.

00:52:26.210 --> 00:52:28.150
And if there's no plan for the famine, Joseph

00:52:28.150 --> 00:52:30.469
and his entire family would have starved in Canaan.

00:52:33.579 --> 00:52:36.820
What feels like a frustrating delay might simply

00:52:36.820 --> 00:52:39.940
be God staging something larger that you can't

00:52:39.940 --> 00:52:44.539
see yet. And so trust him. And then the last

00:52:44.539 --> 00:52:46.699
thing I think we learn here is you can't control

00:52:46.699 --> 00:52:49.639
other people's failures. But you can control

00:52:49.639 --> 00:52:54.119
your response. Right? The cupbearer totally dropped

00:52:54.119 --> 00:52:57.039
the ball. Or dropped the cup, if you want to

00:52:57.039 --> 00:53:00.989
say that, right? Completely failed Joseph. He

00:53:00.989 --> 00:53:03.489
benefited from Joseph's gift of interpretation.

00:53:04.929 --> 00:53:08.309
Right? He told Joseph, you know, I mean, Joseph's

00:53:08.309 --> 00:53:10.329
like, please remember me. And he totally forgot.

00:53:11.489 --> 00:53:15.829
I mean, in a way, he owed Joseph his life. But

00:53:15.829 --> 00:53:18.309
he still failed to speak up. And we're going

00:53:18.309 --> 00:53:20.130
to see in the next chapter that he doesn't speak

00:53:20.130 --> 00:53:22.989
up until it benefits him. But we don't see Joseph

00:53:22.989 --> 00:53:25.789
ever, you know, hunting him down for revenge.

00:53:27.019 --> 00:53:29.659
We don't see Joseph nursing bitterness. We don't

00:53:29.659 --> 00:53:32.719
see Joseph letting that man's selfishness define

00:53:32.719 --> 00:53:37.579
his identity. We can't stop people from being

00:53:37.579 --> 00:53:41.719
flaky, selfish, cowardly, forgetful, but we can,

00:53:41.760 --> 00:53:45.119
by God's grace, choose to respond the way Joseph

00:53:45.119 --> 00:53:52.099
did. And what we see here is, okay, this is where

00:53:52.099 --> 00:53:54.780
I'm at still. I'm still gonna be the same person

00:53:54.780 --> 00:53:58.730
I was the whole time. And then God's grace is

00:53:58.730 --> 00:54:01.250
sufficient even in the dungeon. You see, I don't

00:54:01.250 --> 00:54:04.809
believe Joseph's success is measured by the success

00:54:04.809 --> 00:54:07.210
he had in Pharaoh's court. It's measured by his

00:54:07.210 --> 00:54:10.210
faithfulness in Pharaoh's prison. Because that's

00:54:10.210 --> 00:54:14.170
the foundation that God was able to build upon

00:54:14.170 --> 00:54:16.829
to do everything he did in Joseph's life after

00:54:16.829 --> 00:54:21.190
this. And so, yeah, you might, in your prison

00:54:21.190 --> 00:54:23.650
Genesis 40 moment, feel like I'm wasting the

00:54:23.650 --> 00:54:28.440
best years of my life. I'm sitting here and nothing

00:54:28.440 --> 00:54:30.639
is happening and my prayers are bouncing off

00:54:30.639 --> 00:54:33.260
the ceiling and I don't hear from God and I don't

00:54:33.260 --> 00:54:36.219
feel his presence. Yet, if you are in Christ,

00:54:36.280 --> 00:54:39.960
God is as present with you today, right now,

00:54:40.019 --> 00:54:43.780
as he is with Joseph. In the scripture we read,

00:54:44.000 --> 00:54:48.530
he is with you. Not only that, he is laboring.

00:54:48.630 --> 00:54:52.070
His strong arms are striking the anvil of your

00:54:52.070 --> 00:54:54.570
life. He is putting you in the fire and cooling

00:54:54.570 --> 00:54:57.269
you down and folding the metal and he is doing

00:54:57.269 --> 00:55:00.929
all of his hard labor to forge you into the instrument

00:55:00.929 --> 00:55:06.670
he wants you to be. For the calling you can't

00:55:06.670 --> 00:55:11.130
even see yet. So, trust in him. He's trying to

00:55:11.130 --> 00:55:17.289
teach you that. Trust in him alone. Be... Hope

00:55:17.289 --> 00:55:22.309
in him alone. Rest in him fully, even if you're

00:55:22.309 --> 00:55:26.030
in the prison. So serve faithfully where you

00:55:26.030 --> 00:55:29.869
are, not only where you wish you were. Okay,

00:55:29.949 --> 00:55:31.329
this is where I'm at. I'm going to serve. I'm

00:55:31.329 --> 00:55:34.750
going to be faithful. Fight the idol of self

00:55:34.750 --> 00:55:36.889
-pity by actively noticing and caring for others.

00:55:37.090 --> 00:55:39.969
That's how you fight it. Open your eyes. Go about

00:55:39.969 --> 00:55:42.690
serving others and praying and supporting them.

00:55:42.769 --> 00:55:44.550
Keep God at the center of your conversations,

00:55:44.670 --> 00:55:48.780
just like Joseph did. As you go out to just,

00:55:48.920 --> 00:55:50.460
you know, hey, how you doing? Can I pray for

00:55:50.460 --> 00:55:52.119
you? If you do that with a non -believer, keep

00:55:52.119 --> 00:55:54.579
God in the center of the conversation. Bring

00:55:54.579 --> 00:55:57.519
it back to the Lord that you believe in. Let

00:55:57.519 --> 00:56:00.119
God refine you in the delays instead of letting

00:56:00.119 --> 00:56:05.519
the delays define who you are. Then lastly, if

00:56:05.519 --> 00:56:09.559
you're in a Genesis 40 season, you're not alone,

00:56:09.820 --> 00:56:15.139
you're not crazy, and you're not wasting your

00:56:15.139 --> 00:56:20.929
life. God already knows what your chapter 41

00:56:20.929 --> 00:56:25.650
looks like. He knows every detail. He knows every

00:56:25.650 --> 00:56:31.489
moment, every period, every letter. But you're

00:56:31.489 --> 00:56:34.590
not there yet. And he is just as much at work

00:56:34.590 --> 00:56:38.429
in your Genesis 40 as he was in Joseph's life.

00:56:38.550 --> 00:56:41.829
And so trust him in the process. Get ready for

00:56:41.829 --> 00:56:44.309
what's coming and be who God wants you to be.

00:56:44.610 --> 00:56:52.019
Amen? Let's pray. Father, we love you. We thank

00:56:52.019 --> 00:56:57.139
you, God. We thank you for the fire. We thank

00:56:57.139 --> 00:57:01.440
you for the forging. We thank you for what feels

00:57:01.440 --> 00:57:10.300
like hammer blows. God, you came to this earth.

00:57:10.380 --> 00:57:14.239
You were born and lived and died. Lord, to be

00:57:14.239 --> 00:57:19.230
the atonement for our sin. But God, that's not

00:57:19.230 --> 00:57:24.289
where the relationship ends. Because Lord, as

00:57:24.289 --> 00:57:26.769
children in your family, you care more deeply

00:57:26.769 --> 00:57:32.369
for us than we could even imagine. And that means

00:57:32.369 --> 00:57:35.110
that you will do the hard thing and say the hard

00:57:35.110 --> 00:57:37.590
thing in our lives if that is what is best for

00:57:37.590 --> 00:57:40.829
us. And Lord, that includes these prison moments.

00:57:41.769 --> 00:57:45.289
These moments where we have hope and yet, Lord,

00:57:45.349 --> 00:57:48.989
that wasn't... What you were doing, what we expected,

00:57:49.110 --> 00:57:51.750
Lord, is Joseph expected to be let out of this

00:57:51.750 --> 00:57:54.710
prison in three days and yet, Lord, that's not

00:57:54.710 --> 00:57:59.170
at all what happened. But instead of seeing him

00:57:59.170 --> 00:58:03.530
succumb to doubt and frustration, he continued

00:58:03.530 --> 00:58:09.110
to live that faith of knowing God is still with

00:58:09.110 --> 00:58:11.170
me even though the cupbearer forgot about me.

00:58:13.150 --> 00:58:16.349
God is still true. He is still God. He is still

00:58:16.349 --> 00:58:19.389
who he says he is and his word is still true.

00:58:19.510 --> 00:58:22.909
So I will trust in that regardless of the circumstance

00:58:22.909 --> 00:58:27.389
I find myself in. And Lord, when we do that,

00:58:27.510 --> 00:58:32.590
there's hope. There's patience. There's healing.

00:58:32.690 --> 00:58:37.590
There's even joy in the peace. That surpasses

00:58:37.590 --> 00:58:39.929
all understanding. And God, I pray that for all

00:58:39.929 --> 00:58:42.429
of us, Lord, for this church and every believer

00:58:42.429 --> 00:58:47.130
in this world. God, some of us are coming into

00:58:47.130 --> 00:58:49.210
this Christmas season and we're hurting in ways

00:58:49.210 --> 00:58:54.769
we've never hurt before. I pray, God, that your

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peace and healing would fall upon them. Lord,

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that even though they may not feel it, they would

00:59:00.809 --> 00:59:05.210
take that step of faith to trust your word. to

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trust you in what you're doing and what you're

00:59:07.489 --> 00:59:12.969
allowing, knowing that you love them so much,

00:59:13.110 --> 00:59:17.349
that you care about them so much, that there's

00:59:17.349 --> 00:59:19.530
a purpose and plan you have for their life and

00:59:19.530 --> 00:59:25.269
their testimony that is glorious, and that God,

00:59:25.309 --> 00:59:29.130
in recognition of you, just saving their soul,

00:59:29.230 --> 00:59:32.369
Lord, forgiving them of all of their sin, that

00:59:32.369 --> 00:59:37.409
there would be a an ability to be grateful, to

00:59:37.409 --> 00:59:39.369
say thank you for that, and Lord, I just want

00:59:39.369 --> 00:59:43.949
to live for you even when it hurts. And God,

00:59:43.989 --> 00:59:46.190
all of that might seem impossible to us, but

00:59:46.190 --> 00:59:50.190
what's impossible to us is possible for you,

00:59:50.289 --> 00:59:55.289
and so God, do your work. We love you. We thank

00:59:55.289 --> 00:59:59.769
you. We pray, God, that we would follow, learn

00:59:59.769 --> 01:00:05.119
from Joseph's example. To be like him in the

01:00:05.119 --> 01:00:08.519
prison. To be like him in the disappointment,

01:00:08.639 --> 01:00:14.460
in the delay, in the silence. Because God, even

01:00:14.460 --> 01:00:17.760
if we can't hear your voice, Lord, I think if

01:00:17.760 --> 01:00:19.619
we listen hard enough, we could hear the strike

01:00:19.619 --> 01:00:24.059
of the hammer on the anvil. And to know that

01:00:24.059 --> 01:00:28.679
you're laboring on our behalf. We love you. We

01:00:28.679 --> 01:00:31.059
thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray.

01:00:32.739 --> 01:00:34.380
Amen. Well, God bless you guys. Let's worship.