I am Pastor Nathan, and this morning we're gonna
be looking at how in God's economy, long delays
can often lead to the most wonderful resolutions.
See, this week, obviously, is Christmas week.
We're gonna be celebrating together here as a
church on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And,
you know, Christmas has been on everybody's mind.
You know, for most of the sane people, it's been
about a month. And for those other crazy people
who decorate in June, it's been a while, right?
And, you know, it's just, it's all over the place.
You drive around, you see the lights, you know,
we're counting down the days, wrapping presents,
you know, kids are waiting. Christmas for me
as a kid was always exciting because I would
ninja crawl from my room out to the tree. And
I got really good at using an X -Acto blade to
cut the tape on the present so I could open it
up and go, whoa! Then I would tape it back. I'm
sure my parents knew, but they never told me.
There's a lot of anticipation, right? But before
the shepherds harked the herald angels singing,
there was 400 years of silence. Before the first
Christmas, it was a time of absolutely no prophetic
word from the Lord. And as we're entering Christmas
season, we should be reminded that anticipation
often comes after long, long times of silence.
At the time of the first Christmas, you know,
before the Savior was born, Israel was... living
under Roman rule. There was a lot of oppression,
a lot of frustration, a lot of spiritual dryness
in the nation where their worship of God had
become so legalistic that it was a difficult
time all around for people. But most importantly,
the word hadn't spoken in 400 years. No prophet,
no revelation. And you can imagine during those
400 years that that meant there was a lot of
unanswered prayers. People had been seeking the
Lord and no word. People had been asking about
this or that and God seemed silent. But the Bible
repeatedly tells us that although silence may
be the situation we find ourselves in, that never
means that heaven is idle. And this morning,
as we continue our teaching through Genesis,
in Genesis chapter 41, we're going to see that
Joseph's story mirrors that reality perfectly.
After God had clearly spoken through dreams,
not only to Joseph himself as a young man at
17 years of age, but then years later in speaking
through him to interpret the dreams of the cupbearer
and the baker in the prison he found himself
in, Joseph just had found himself in a difficult
spot. He had been faithful. He had been a good
worker. He had been just a reliable dude and
just served and helped others. But after what
had happened in chapter 41 where he stepped in
to interpret these dreams, and for one of them
it was a very positive interpretation. You're
going to get out of jail, dude. And Pharaoh's
going to raise you back up to your position.
Everything's going to be good. But remember me
when you get out. Talk to Pharaoh. Tell him about
my plight. I shouldn't be here. I've done nothing
to deserve to be in prison. We read that the
cupbearer forgot about him, and then it's two
full years of nothing. No word. No revelation.
No answered prayer in that sense. No rescue.
No explanations. Just waiting. And you know,
Christmas is a fantastic time to be reminded
that God often does his greatest works while
his people are waiting. While the world hears
silence. While we may be looking around and feeling
like God's not listening. What's really happened
is he's arranging kings and he's arranging dreams.
He's arranging census decrees and prison doors
and people's hearts. Joseph didn't know it yet,
but God was already moving in Pharaoh's spirit
to accomplish his plan and Joseph's redemption.
And then as we think about Christmas, we should
be reminded that Mary didn't know it yet, but
God was already at work moving Caesar's pen.
To declare that census that would cause everything
to fall into motion to fulfill his plan exactly
as he decreed it to be. And this morning, we
should be reminded that just as surely, God is
still working at the waiting places in our lives.
I titled today's message, The Timing of Silent
Nights. And it's important for us to be encouraged
and reminded that God's timing in our silent
nights is exactly the right timing. Let's pray.
Father, we love you. God, as we're entering into
Christmas, we wanna just say thank you. Thank
you for our salvation. Thank you for sending
your son to live a perfect life and then to die
for all our faults and failures and sins. And
God, when we look at your plan of redemption
from the very beginning to the end, some might...
about your timing of things and why this and
why then and why did Jesus come exactly when
he came? Why not sooner? Why not later? Lord,
maybe there's some in this room today or watching
that that are wondering when you're gonna show
up in their situation. Lord, help us to understand
that your timing is perfect. Help us, Lord, as
we look at this man, Joseph, and his life, which
is such a a type of who you are, Jesus, that
we would be reminded, reminded of what you're
doing and why. Encouraged and strengthened to
wait in the silent nights. Because God, when
you move, it is perfect. Perfect in effect, perfect
in timing, perfect in everything. And so Lord,
speak to us today, encourage us today. Give us
a message today, Lord, that we can share with
our friends and families this week as we celebrate
Christmas together. But most importantly, God,
be glorified. Be magnified. Be lifted up, Lord.
It is your glory that matters, and you are the
only one deserving. And so we want to glorify
you, God, in worship. We want to praise your
holy name. We want to sing thanks and gratitude
to you because, God, you are awesome. Lord, bless
us today. and be blessed as your people praise
you. We love you so much. It's in Jesus' name
we pray. Amen. All right, we are in Genesis chapter
41 this morning, and we're continuing with the
story of Joseph. You know, his... continued imprisonment
after all that he had experienced in finding
himself in jail, falsely accused of a sexual
assault. He had been the same person he had always
been. He was serving faithfully, he had good
work ethic, and yet it was still a very difficult
time. The scripture describes his experience
there as having an iron collar around his neck
and shackles. You know, you look at that, and
sometimes we can look at the situations that
happen in our lives and maybe think, well, gosh,
that was an accident. It shouldn't have gone
that way, or, you know, it was supposed to go
a different way. But his continued two years
after the cupbearer got out of prison and was
restored to his position, the two years that
he spent in prison after the cupbearer completely
forgot. to say, oh yeah, Pharaoh, great birthday.
By the way, my buddy in the prison, he asked
me to tell you that he shouldn't be there because
he's falsely imprisoned. After all of that not
happening, it might have been easy for Joseph
to look at his situation as just terrible, but
we get the benefit of seeing it not as an accident
and not as a result of human forgetfulness. Joseph's
continued time, these two years that he spends
in prison after the cupbearer's release, it's
strongly implied in scripture that God was the
one who orchestrated the cupbearer's forgetfulness.
That although the cupbearer made his own decision
to not say anything, that God's hand was in that
because God had a purpose and plan in keeping
Joseph in prison for another two years. And what
Joseph experienced was not the accidents of destiny
or this selfish cupbearer. Ultimately, what he
experienced was divine restraint, that God was
holding him in the place he was in until the
right time. right moment arrived. And we talked
about this a little bit last week, that if God
had let Joseph get out of prison right there
when the cupbearer got out and went and restored
to his position in Pharaoh's court, that Joseph
might have gone home. which would have been completely
understandable considering his experience so
far. But if he had gone home at that point, where
we're picking up the story here in 41, he wouldn't
have been in the right position to be used of
the Lord to do a specific thing that all ties
together to bringing God's perfect plan to fruition.
And so God's redemptive plan The big picture
plan, as well as God's specific plan for Joseph's
life, required that he stayed right where he
was, in prison, with an iron collar and shackles
on his feet, even though it was painful, even
though it was confusing. And so we pick up the
story here in Genesis 41, where it says, at the
end of two years, Pharaoh had a dream. So between
chapter 40 and chapter 41, we have two years.
Two years of nothing. Two years of silence. Two
years where God didn't seem to do anything. Two
years of continued difficult existence. And yet,
we're going to see that God was working. Now,
if you're taking notes, I want you to write this
down. God's delays are not God's denials. That's
a very important truth to understand. God's delays
are not God's denials. God often withholds what
we might call lesser deliverances because there's
a greater deliverance that he is working to affect
in our lives. And this is a deeply personal truth
for all of us because when we have been Let down
by people, right? Somebody, maybe they made a
promise and they didn't follow through. Maybe
they said they were gonna do something and they
didn't. Maybe we find ourselves forgotten, you
know, or just disappointed in some major way.
It's tempting to look at those people who let
us down as betrayers, right? You said you were
gonna do a thing and you didn't, betrayer. You
were gonna take care of this or handle this or
you made these promises, betrayer. You know,
and they must pay, right? Different things that
we come up with, but we have to understand as
believers, we trust in a sovereign God. We profess
to believe that he knows all things, the future,
every moment, every thought, every detail. And
that means that then we need to believe and accept
and acknowledge that sometimes God allows or
even causes these disappointments in our lives
for a purpose. For a reason. And oftentimes it's
because he's positioning us for something greater
that we can't see yet. And so Joseph interprets
the cupbearer's dream. It's very positive. The
cupbearer gets out. He's restored to his position
as the cupbearer of Pharaoh. Everything's great.
Two years of silence. And then two years later,
Pharaoh has a dream. Read with me in verse 41,
verse 1. He was standing besides the Nile when
seven healthy -looking, well -fed cows came up
from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds.
After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin,
came up from the Nile and stood beside those
cows along the bank of the Nile. The sickly,
thin cows ate the healthy, well -fed cows. Then
Pharaoh woke up. The whole intent and idea there
is that it was a startling dream. You could say
these were zombie cows, right? Healthy cows and
then zombie cows come up and they eat them up.
Pretty scary. Verse five, he fell asleep and
dreamed a second time. Seven heads of grain,
plump and good, came up on one stalk. After them,
seven heads of grain, thin and scorched by the
east wind, sprouted up. The thin heads of grain
swallowed up the seven plump, full ones and then
Pharaoh woke up and it was only a dream. When
morning came, he was troubled, so he summoned
all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men.
Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could
interpret them for him. What this chapter is
opening up for us, it's opening up with showing
us where God is working. Joseph is in the prison,
iron collar, shackles, hasn't heard anything
from God in two years. No revelation, no prophecy,
nothing. No dreams. And yet, as Joseph is sitting
there, who knows what he's thinking? But if he's
human like us, I'm sure he's probably gone through
the emotional roller coaster and the ups and
downs. God, you've been silent so long, I don't
understand. And yet, when the time was right
for God to move, God doesn't start moving, whoa,
in Joseph's cell. He doesn't go to Joseph and
say, okay, Joseph, it's time. I'm moving. We're
ready. Here's a dream. Here's a word. No, he
starts in Pharaoh's bedroom, in Pharaoh's dreams.
Joseph is still over here in the silence wondering
what's going on, but God is working. God has
started laying the foundation, and so Pharaoh
has these two disturbing dreams. it's meant for
us to understand that they were grotesque, unnatural,
shocking, deeply troubling for Pharaoh, right?
Seven healthy cows. Seven zombie cows come and
eat them. Then there's seven full heads of grain.
And then seven thin, rotten, dry ones come up
and consume the full heads of grain. And again,
we talked about that in our last study a little
bit, that dreams were hugely important in Egypt.
They were kind of over -spiritualized. The Egyptian
culture, they looked at dreams as windows into
the supernatural, windows into the world of the
gods. And so every time you had a dream, it must
mean something. Significant. And so he has these
dreams and of course he's like, oh my gosh, this
is disturbing. What does this mean? The fact
that he had two dreams back to back the same
night just made the significance all that more
apparent to him that this was a big deal. And
so he called in his wise men. He called in the
dream interpreters. The wise men would include
priests of the other gods to come in and tell
me what these dreams mean. Now it's interesting.
is that in Egypt, Pharaoh was considered a god.
He was worshipped as a god in the culture amongst
all the other gods that they had. And I find
it very interesting that great Pharaoh, the god
king, is powerless to understand what has been
revealed to him in his own dreams. All his priests,
all his professionals, all his musicians, magicians.
I guess musicians can be pretty magical. Nobody
can interpret the dreams. He's God, as far as
their culture is concerned, and he has no idea.
All the other gods, their followers have no idea.
What is God doing here before Joseph even gets
in front of him? God is helping Pharaoh understand
that he's not God. He's helping Pharaoh understand
that all the gods of your land aren't really
gods. He's planting the seeds in Pharaoh's life
that are gonna lead to Pharaoh's response to
Joseph later on. But the point is here is that
the king who believes himself to be God wakes
up scared. I had a scary dream. Please interpret.
And he doesn't know. How would that shake the
confidence of someone who is allegedly, I'm divine,
I'm God. I had a scary dream. I don't know what
it means. Before Joseph is even involved in the
story here, God is dismantling Pharaoh's illusion
of power and control. God is assaulting the belief
that I am God of this land and I am ultimately
all powerful and control of everything. God is
assaulting that and before Joseph ever even speaks
a word to Pharaoh, God is establishing to Pharaoh,
you're not God, I am. All your false gods, they
have no power because they're not real. And so,
we get to verse nine. Then the chief cupbearer
said to Pharaoh, today I remember my faults.
Pharaoh was angry with the servants and he put
me and the chief baker in the custody of the
captain of the guards. He and I had dreams on
the same night. Each dream had its own meaning.
Now a young Hebrew, a slave of the captain of
the guards, was there with us. And we told him
our dreams and he interpreted our dreams for
us. And each had its own interpretation. It turned
out just the way he interpreted them to us. I
was restored to my position and the other man
was hanged. Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and
they quickly brought him from the dungeon. He
shaved, changed his clothes, and went to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, and
no one can interpret it, but I have heard it
said about you that you can hear a dream and
interpret it. I am not able to, Joseph answered
Pharaoh. It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable
answer. Do you think Pharaoh might have been
a little more prepared to contemplate that truth
after not having anybody interpret it than he
might have before? Yeah. Here's this Hebrew slave
from a land coming up and, you know, I don't
know anything about him, but hey, it just was
told he can interpret dreams and he comes up
and Pharaoh's desperate. You see, the idea is
the cupbearer remembering. It wasn't like the
cupbearer, well, this is the speculative thought.
It wasn't the cupbearer going, oh shoot, I forgot.
It's been two years. The idea is that as Pharaoh
was trying to get this dream interpreted, and
nobody can interpret it, he was getting a little
more difficult to be around. Starting to get
a little frantic. Because these dreams, they
were grotesque. They were frightening. They were
startling for him. And the fact that he didn't
know the answer, and the fact that nobody in
the land knew the answer, most commentators,
they think he was getting just, very difficult.
And so Cupbearer, he was one of the closest guys
to Pharaoh. And maybe his life, maybe his job
was getting a little more difficult. Maybe he
was like, man, Pharaoh's getting let out of control
about this dream thing. And then, oh yeah, I
remember that guy in prison. His motivation,
probably selfish. His motivation, I need my life
to be easier because Pharaoh almost punched me
in the face the other day. But yeah, I remember
this guy in prison. I remember what he could
do. And so when Pharaoh was desperate, the cupbearer
remembers Joseph is called, but he's not called
because he's valued. He's not called because
like, oh yeah, he's this great man and great
character. He's simply called because he's useful
both to the cupbearer and to Pharaoh in that
moment. But regardless, God uses that moment.
God uses that cupbearer's self -serving memory
to bring about his purposes. You see, sometimes
we could get hung up on motivation behind things
and use that to interpret whether or not God
is doing something. Let me give you an example.
How many of you, single, married, friends, whatever
it may be, you've been in a situation where you've
been wronged by somebody and then that somebody
is seemingly not taking it seriously or not understanding
the gravity and you get in an argument with that
somebody. And then that somebody goes, well,
what is it you want? And you're just like, I
just want you to say sorry. And they go, fine,
I'm sorry. And then you go, I don't want you
to be sorry because you have to be. I want you
to say sorry because you want to. Right? Anybody
been there? The rest of you are liars. Okay.
I won't receive it because. Kind of the situation
here where you go, well, did the cup bear? Is
he going, oh, Joseph's my friend? It doesn't
matter. God is working in and through this, right?
And so Joseph is rushed out of the dungeon, and
he's put on Pharaoh's makeover reality show,
shaved, new clothes, presented to the king. But
think about Joseph's life. At this point, it's
been about 13 years, roughly, and we'll see that
later. Joseph's living in Canaan, living with
his brothers. He's a favorite of dad. Things
seem to be going good for him. He gets these
wonderful dreams from God. He excitedly, but
maybe naively, shares them with his brothers,
gets in trouble. They want to kill him, throw
him into a pit. They lower down the rope. Oh,
they're letting me out. Oh, sold into prison,
or sold into slavery. Gets to Egypt. Oh, man.
I don't want to build a pyramid. That's a lot.
He gets bought by Potiphar. Oh, well, that's
kind of a rich dude's house and maybe a good
place to work. Yay. Gets raised up in charge
of the whole house. Yay. Gets falsely accused
by Potiphar's wife. In prison. In prison, just
works, labors, gets raised up into authority
again. Still a difficult place. One day the cupbearer
shows up. Cupbearer has a dream. I interpret
it. This is my out. Remember me. Yeah, I'm getting
out of prison. Yay. Cupbearer forgets about him.
It's been tough. It's been really tough for Joseph.
Finally, he's out. Now, on one hand, I want you
guys to know to this, that if you're in that
season of silence, look how quickly God changes
his fortunes. Like that. He goes from filth to
finery. He goes from chains to the throne room
instantaneously. If God could change your situation
that fast, raise you from the lowest of the low
to the highest of the high, if God can do that
and yet he hasn't yet, what does that tell you
about your current situation? Maybe he still
wants you there. Maybe it's exactly the place
he wants you because there's a purpose and a
plan. It doesn't mean it's not hard. It doesn't
mean it's not difficult. It doesn't mean it's
not, you know, we would rather be anywhere else.
But for the Christian, there's peace to be found
in the truth of going, this is where God has
me. Because if we believe God is sovereign, we
believe he is all powerful, we believe he knows
the future, we believe he knows every thought,
we believe that he could change our circumstances
like that, and they haven't been changed yet.
Maybe it's where he wants us. Now, on the other
hand, I believe God is also doing something in
Joseph's life here because everything about the
setting he now finds himself in, I believe, is
a temptation for him to soften his convictions.
He's always stood strong for the Lord and been
stuff and been pointing to God and all that,
and now he's finally out of prison. 13 years
since he was tossed into the pit back in his
homeland, and now he's finally standing before
the guy who could change everything for him,
and the temptation would be, well, let me not
offend him, and maybe I should back off my faith
a little bit, because after all, he's the king,
he's the president, he's the CEO, he's the congressman,
he's the whatever. Maybe I should grovel a little
bit. Maybe I should kind of, you know, brag a
little bit about, you know, hey, I heard you
can interpret dreams. Oh, I sure can. I'm your
man, Pharaoh. I'm the guy. I want to ingratiate
myself to him as best I can, but that's not at
all what he does. I heard you can interpret dreams.
What's the first thing he says? I can't interpret
dreams. How bold of him to say that because Pharaoh
would go, oh, what, cupbearer? I'm hanging you
now back to prison. I can't interpret dreams.
It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.
Joseph, when he finally speaks here, he doesn't
boast of himself. He's still pointing to God
at great risk to his freedom, great risk to him
finally getting out of this pit, this prison,
finally getting free, and he's still like, nope,
I can't do anything. It's God. And imagine the
boldness to say that standing in front of the
guy who is worshiped as God in the kingdom. Hi,
I'm God Pharaoh. I can't interpret my dream.
I hear you can. I can't do anything. But the
real God can. Real God? What did you just say?
Do you know who you're speaking to? I am God
King Pharaoh. Yeah, how's that going for you,
God King Pharaoh? I mean, bold of him, risking
everything. I mean, one, I can't do it. Two,
directly assaulting his identity. Now, he's not
doing it in a rude way, but he's going, I mean,
the real God will give you an answer. Very bold.
And, you know, we find ourselves in positions,
you know, we understand the Bible says that God
is no respecter of man. That doesn't mean that
we should be disrespectful to everybody. The
idea is if God puts us in front of people that
the world might go, ooh, powerful, ooh, influential
and all of that, they're nothing compared to
God Almighty. And so if God gives you a place
to be there, it's not don't back off your convictions,
don't fear what they can do to your life. You
stand in your convictions and you stand in your
righteousness and you stand in the truth. You
know, someone's like, I can do all things. Well,
respectfully, you can only do what God allows
you to do. How dare you? God's going to take
care of you. But we find Joseph doing this exact
thing. I can't interpret anything. It's God who's
going to speak to you. I'm not an interpreter.
This isn't my ability. This is a gift of God.
It's from him. It's for him. It's about him.
And so we just notice again that although Joseph's
circumstances have changed in an instant, his
character still has not. He's still this God
-fearing man that we saw in the beginning as
a 17 -year -old boy. One who believes God's word,
believes God's power, believes God's will. One
who isn't up here, you know, Pharaoh said, I
heard you can interpret dreams. Hold on, Pharaoh,
I need to tell on Potiphar's wife. Nope, doesn't
do that either. And so verse 17, so Pharaoh said
to Joseph, in my dream I was standing on the
bank of the Nile when seven well -fed, healthy
-looking cows came up from the Nile and grazed
among the reeds. After them, seven other cows,
weak, very sickly, and thin, came up. I've never
seen such sickly ones as these in all the land
of Egypt. Then the thin, sickly cows ate the
first seven well -fed cows. When they had devoured
them, this is a detail we didn't read earlier,
you could not tell that they had devoured them.
Their appearance was as bad as it had been before,
and then I woke up. Zombie cows. Scary dream.
Verse 22, in my dream I also saw the seven heads
of grain full and good coming up on one stalk.
After them, seven heads of grain withered thin
and scorched by the east wind sprouted up. The
thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good
ones. And I told this to the magicians, but no
one can tell me what it means. Then Joseph said
to Pharaoh, Pharaoh's dreams mean the same thing.
But look what he says. God has revealed to Pharaoh
what he's about to do. God has revealed to you
who think you are God what he is about to do.
The seven good cows are seven years and the seven
good heads are seven years. The dreams mean the
same thing. The seven thin sickly cows that came
up after them are seven years and the seven worthless
heads of grain scorched by the east wind are
seven years of famine. It is just as I told Pharaoh,
God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.
Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout
the land of Egypt. After them, seven years of
famine will take place and all the abundance
in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine
will devastate the land. The abundance in the
land will not be remembered because of the famine
that follows it for the famine will be very severe.
Since the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, it
means that the matter has been determined by
God and he will carry it out soon. Now Joseph,
I think, is being very clear here that these
dreams, And all of this, this isn't about Pharaoh.
This isn't about Joseph. This whole situation
here is about God. It's God demonstrating who
he is to a pagan king, head of a pagan nation.
It is God using someone who has trusted him and
have been through the ups and the downs and yet
is still going, it's not me. God gets the glory
who is proclaiming this. And he says it three
times through this section here, right? God has
revealed this. God has shown you these things.
Again, what he is saying is the one true God
is determining the future that only he knows.
And he is determining what is about to come to
pass. Big deal. Again, he's risking his freedom.
He's even risking his very life for to come against
Pharaoh and say, you're not God. Boop, off with
your head. And yet what's more important to Joseph
than this is the glory of God and the witness
of who God is than his own personal freedom.
That's a step of faith that we're all called
to be able to walk in. to trust God that much.
I've been in two years of just misery, and the
moment has finally come. And I have the opportunity
to back away from my faith, to maintain my opportunity
of freedom and release, or, well, I'm gonna say
the truth, even if it lands me back in jail.
Seven years of abundance followed by seven years
of devastating famine. And he tells him, and
he goes, just the repetition is just simply this.
The one true God is guaranteeing that it's going
to happen. This is a true word. You see, Joseph
here, he's exercising a gift that God has given
him, a gift of interpretation, a gift of speaking
forth this truth, and he's just speaking with
prophetic clarity. telling the divine Pharaoh,
you don't control Egypt's future. God does. Very
radical, very bold thing to declare. And then
Joseph, he continues on. He doesn't stop at Revelation.
He just continues on moving into wise action.
Verse 33. So now let Pharaoh look for a discerning
and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.
Let Pharaoh do this. Let him appoint overseers
over the land and take a fifth of the harvest
of the land of Egypt during the seven years of
abundance. Let them gather all the excess food
during these good years that are coming, and
under Pharaoh's authority, store the grain in
the city so that they may preserve it as food.
The food will be a reserve for the land during
the seven years of famine that will take place
in the land of Egypt, and then the country will
not be wiped out by the famine. Wisdom. Now,
do you guys know the difference between wisdom
and knowledge? Right? Knowledge is facts. Wisdom
is what do you do about the facts, the application.
Now, we know biblically that wisdom ultimately
belongs to God, and I believe it is God speaking
through Joseph here, and yet it is also Joseph's
life and his experience and everything God has
done in his life that God is speaking through
and working through to proclaim forth the wisdom
here, and this is a very wise plan. Joseph doesn't
say, here's the interpretation of the dreams,
and if it turns out that way, here's a good thing
you might do. He's just like, God has said so.
It's going to happen. And so here's this plan.
Now, it's very important for us to seek wisdom
from the Lord because God is the source of all
wisdom. God is wisdom. We have books of the Bible,
Proverbs, that speak wisdom and tell us that
wisdom is far more valuable than riches and rubies
and all this stuff. We have the story of Solomon,
right? Who, when God said, what do you want?
I'll give you anything. And he said, I'd like
to be wise. And God said, wow, you asked for
the right thing. I'll give you everything else
too. We also see from Solomon's story is that
you'd be the wisest person in the world and the
most stupid. And make so many mistakes, right?
Because that's Solomon's life. But the idea is
that when we go to the Lord for wisdom, the Lord
will speak. Now, we have to understand that...
Here in the Old Testament, right, they didn't
have the Bible. But today, you know, we're people
to say, you know, just as we go about our day,
just, hey, if God said so, it's going to happen.
And so, you know, God, what do you want me to
do about it? And we have God's word and we have
God's counsel from others. And we need to seek
these things that God has given us to find out
who to be, how to be, and how to act. But God
also works through our experiences and our life
experiences and just what we've learned through
our jobs and everything that this all comes together
to help us be people who say, God, I'm just gonna
trust you. I'm just gonna move as you call me
to move, but I'm gonna go to you for the answers.
You see, when it comes to wisdom, sometimes we
all get hung up on, God, just tell me what to
do. Have you ever said that? God, just tell me
what to do and I'll do it. That'd be great. But
I've learned many times in my life, although
God can and does do that, how many times have
you ever been in a place where you're like, God,
I have these decisions before me. Which one do
you want me to do? And the answer is, I don't
care. Well, Lord, that doesn't help me at all.
So let's try this again. I had a situation once
in my life. coming out of the biggest depression
episode of my life early on. And I was broke
and all this stuff. And then just seemingly overnight,
these five opportunities presented themselves
for me to start working again and getting back.
And I was like, wow, five opportunities. This
is beautiful. And I said, God, which one do you
want me to do? Because, Lord, I want to follow
you and your will. And I'm trying to get away
from all the bad decisions I was making. And
so, God, which one? And I don't care. Well, Lord,
I'm trying to follow you. Can you at least point
me in the direction? And that was the first time
I experienced the Lord speaking to me and saying,
I don't care which one you do. I care who you
are in whichever one you decide to go do. And
that happens. And that happens a lot of times.
We get so hung up on just waiting and stopping
and not moving and doing nothing. And God's saying,
step. Step in faith. Move forward. Well, God,
I don't know. I will guide you. I will give you
wisdom. I will talk to you. I will direct your
path. But we have to understand that it means
that we move. Joseph speaking forth this knowledge
of what's to come is one thing, but then he starts
to speak about what to do about it. You know,
because believing God is sovereign doesn't mean
we're to be people who just sit back and do nothing.
Right? God, give me prophecy of my life. Tell
me what's going to happen next week. And, you
know, sometimes God knows. He goes, I'll reveal
it to you and you'll still do the stupid thing.
I mean, it's just, right? Sometimes we're just
knuckleheads. Well, God, you're sovereign. You're
in control of all things. You know the future.
You know exactly what's going to happen tomorrow.
So just tell me what to do. No, I've given you
my word. I've given you wise counsel. I've given
you the principles. Now go live your life and
live the principles that I'm teaching you to
live. Well, should I go left or right? I don't
care. I care that you're godly whether you go
left or right. I care that you represent me whether
you go left or right. Should I do this business
or that business? Now, does that mean God doesn't
sometimes forcibly direct us? No, he does. But
when you go through the Old Testament, we see
these stories of Abraham and Jacob, and we see
these big gaps. After two years, Pharaoh had
a dream. What was Joseph doing for the two years?
It doesn't tell us. But we know he was living.
We know he was eating and drinking and serving.
But he had no revelation. So how did he know
what to do? He lived off of what he already knew.
God gives us so many principles for the type
of people he wants us to be in living and serving
for him. And all of that is wisdom. And the problem
is we say, yeah, that's cool, Lord. I'm going
to do it my own way. And then we fall on our
face. And then we go, see, God, if you had just
told me which way to go. And he's like, no, if
you had just done what I had already told you
to do, you wouldn't have fallen on your face.
And that's all character, that's all behavior,
that's all decision -making that comes from knowing
who God is and knowing his word, and that's where
wisdom comes from. God wants us to help people.
God wants us to love people. God wants us to
stand for the gospel boldly. God wants us to
proclaim truth, even if it costs us, right? And
sometimes we're just like, no, God is sovereign,
I'll wait. Joseph doesn't sit back. Rather, instead,
knowing God knows the future, knowing God holds
everything, knowing God is there, he goes, I'm
gonna just, let's step forward. Let's employ
just a wise, practical plan for how to move forward
knowing what God has shown us. And because Joseph
believes God's word, he just acts decisively.
God said seven years of plenty are coming and
seven years of famine are coming. God said that.
I believe it without doubt. So therefore. Let's
take action. You see, God's foreknowledge is
not an excuse for inaction. It's always a faithful
call to stewardship. God reveals to us what he
reveals to us so that we then live our lives
according to his word and his wisdom. God tells
husbands how to be. God tells wives how to be,
parents how to be. He tells us how to live, how
to act, how to treat each other, how to interact.
and we're just supposed to do it and live. Abraham,
how many years of his life is like, okay, this
happened, and God spoke to Abraham, and then
big long gap, and then God spoke to him. It's
like, was Abraham just sitting in his tent in
the interim? No, he was living his life according
to the principles and things he knew, and that's
wisdom. True faith, I just believe, prepares
and plans and works diligently in light of what
God has revealed, trusting that God is already
in tomorrow and if God needs to reveal something
to me tomorrow, he will. Otherwise, I'm gonna
go on what I know to do. So, verse 37. The proposal
pleased Pharaoh and all his servants and he said
to them, can we find anyone like this? A man
who has God's spirit in him? Notice Joseph didn't
go, hey, Pharaoh, you should look for a discerning
and wise man to point over all of this. Maybe
someone that kind of is Hebrew. Joseph just humbly
was like, hey, this is what God is telling me
to share with you, and you should find someone.
Pharaoh's like, who can we, can we find anyone
like this? So Pharaoh said to Joseph, verse 39,
since God has made all of this known to you,
there's no one as discerning and wise as you
are. You will be over my house and all my people
will obey your commands. Only I as king will
be greater than you. Pharaoh also said to Joseph,
see, I'm placing you over all the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand
and put it on Joseph's hand, clothed him with
fine linen garments and placed a gold chain around
his neck. He had Joseph ride in his second chariot
and his servants called out before him, make
way. So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and no
one will be able to raise his hand or foot in
all the land without your permission. Pharaoh
gave Joseph the name Zaphonath -Paneah, or Zaphonath
-Paneah, and gave him a wife, Asenath, daughter
of Potiphar, a priest of On. And Joseph went
through the land of Egypt. Wow. And one day from
the prison, the shackles and the iron collar
to prime minister of the country. In one day.
going from you eat when we tell you to eat to
nobody can even lift their foot without your
permission. That's a pretty radical shift. I
believe Pharaoh recognized what everybody else
missed along the way, that Joseph possessed a
wisdom that cannot be explained naturally. He
says, God has made this known to you. I mean,
that's, again, an incredibly surprising admission
from the guy who says, I am God and must be worshiped.
But God was already laying that groundwork before
Joseph even got involved. Now, I did look up
the word. I go, what does Pharaoh mean by God?
The word in the Hebrew is Elohim. That word Elohim
means mighty one. It is a word used of God Almighty,
the one true God. but the word in the Hebrew
doesn't necessarily mean the one true God. It
means mighty one, someone or something that is
mighty or powerful. And so this doesn't indicate
that Pharaoh was believing that the one true
God was the only one true God, but he was believing
that Joseph worshipped a mighty being that gave
him supernatural wisdom and saw that that would
benefit the country. I mean, spiritual power
of any kind was taken very seriously in Egypt
at the time. And so here we see that Joseph is
exalted to the highest possible position in the
land, second to Pharaoh only. The signet ring,
that was a sign of authority, right? If you had
the ring with the Pharaoh's symbol on it, you
basically could do anything you want. The fine
linen and the gold collar, right? We've all seen
the cartoons of the movies, right? The white
Egyptian robe with the white gold thing around
the neck. That was a symbol of honor and prestige.
And then riding in the second chariot, that was
power. That meant power and influence. And he
was publicly recognized as so. This person who
had just momentarily before been in iron collars
now is wearing these gold collars of honor. And
one day, Joseph went from this prisoner to political
power. Yet, what we don't have listed here is
any self -congratulation, no boasting, not even
a personal celebration on Joseph's part. I believe
Joseph knew that promotion comes from the Lord,
and he knew this was the Lord. Because that's
the character of this man we've seen through
his whole life. That it was God who was doing
what he was doing here. It wasn't based on him.
It wasn't based on his ability. It wasn't based
on, it was just, it was God did something mighty.
And those who wait on the Lord don't need to
worry about promoting themselves. Don't need
to worry about any of that. That's God's business.
Our job is to be faithful. That's it. God gives
us an opportunity to serve. If we're going, yeah,
I'm going to do that because I hope God raises
me up to this other thing, don't do it. I'm going
to work hard at my job because I want the promotion.
Now, it's not wrong to say, hey, I want a better
position. I want better pay and all that. But
the better thing is to say, I'm going to work
hard at my job because I work as unto the Lord
and I serve him. And if God wants to promote
me, God will promote me. But I want God to be
blessed. I want to be able to end each day with,
hey God, are you pleased with who I was today?
And we should be looking forward to that response.
Yeah, I'm so blessed. Well done. God is the one
who raises up. God is the one who takes down.
And here in the story, we see this amazing transformation.
This amazing transformation of Joseph's life.
Just be faithful to the Lord and trust him with
all the other stuff. Just be faithful to what
God is calling you to do and do it. Well, we
just talked about that. He won't tell me. He's
already told you what he wants to tell you in
his word. Live it. Do it. God speaks into relationships.
God speaks into finances. God speaks into service.
God speaks into how to handle conflict and difficulty,
how to handle trauma, how to handle all of it.
Just be faithful. And sometimes when we find
ourselves in the long, silent nights, what is
he doing? What is he doing? You see, well, let's
read the next part and I'll get into that. Verse
41. Joseph was 30 years old when he entered the
service of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And that's
where we get the time frame that it's been 13
years. Joseph left Pharaoh's presence and traveled
throughout the land of Egypt. During the seven
years of abundance, the land produced outstanding
harvests. Joseph gathered all the excess food
in the land of Egypt during the seven years and
put it in the cities. He put the food in every
city from the fields around it. So Joseph stored
up grain in such abundance, like the sand of
the sea, that he stopped measuring it because
it was beyond measure. God, you're just showing
off now. Come on. How much grain do we got, Joseph?
A lot. How much is a lot? It's a bunch, just
trust me. Just overflowing. Then it says in verse
50, two sons were born to Joseph before the years
of famine arrived. Asenath, daughter of Potipharah,
priested on, bore them to him. Joseph named the
firstborn Manasseh and said, God has made me
forget all my hardship and my whole family. And
the second son he named Ephraim and said, God
has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.
Then the seven years of abundance in the land
of Egypt came to an end and the seven years of
famine began just as Joseph had said. There was
famine in every land, but in the whole land of
Egypt there was food. When the whole land of
Egypt was stricken with famine, the people cried
out to Pharaoh for food, and Pharaoh told all
of Egypt, go to Joseph and do whatever he tells
you. Now the famine had spread across the whole
region, and so Joseph opened up all the storehouses
and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine
was severe in the land of Egypt. Every land came
to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, for the famine
was severe in every land. God did this amazing
thing, raised Joseph up from the lowest to the
highest position. And wow, that's amazing. And
we all pray for things like that in our lives,
right? It's like, God, raise me up out of my
affliction and take me to this place. And why
am I languishing in poverty? And why don't I
have enough for this or that or whatever the
situation is? And we're like, God, give me redemption.
God, set me free. But in Joseph's story here,
we learn something that we have to be very careful
with success. The greatest threat to Joseph's
life and his faith was not the suffering, it
was the success. You see, in his success, he
was given an Egyptian name, he was given an Egyptian
wife, he was fully immersed into Egyptian culture,
had the robe, had the gold collar, maybe had
the cool Egyptian hat. Rode in the second chariot.
Authority. People can't even lift their hand
without your permission. Incredible power. Incredible
responsibility. Incredible temptation. Why did
God wait an additional two years? Why did that
silent night seem to go on and on and on? Because
in the prison, Joseph wasn't ready yet. Joseph
wasn't ready to deal with the temptations and
all that would come with this type of power.
I mean, think about it. He was number two in
the land. He could have said, you know what?
Army, go kill my brothers. They're punks. He
had the authority to do that. And yet instead
of being immersed and assimilated into the culture,
he remained anchored to God because he had been
shaped and molded and matured and his character
was such that God said, now you're ready to handle
what I'm about to give you. How do we know that?
We see it in the names of his kids. His first
kid, Manessa, says, God has made me forget all
my hardship and my whole family. Now, that's
not him going, peace out, family, forget about
you guys. That is him saying, I have finally
come to the place of fully accepting this is
where God has me. I have my own wife now and
my own kids, and we'll talk about that in a moment.
But the longing to go back and the longing to
see them again or the longing to go like, how
dare you guys? He's finally, he's at the place
where he says, God, this is where you have me.
I'm not gonna worry about the past anymore. I'm
not gonna focus on the past. I'm not gonna dwell
on that. You have made me forget all my hardship.
It's not him denying that any of it happened.
It's his expression that he is healed from the
bitterness. And has grown into that place of
saying, God, just my trust and faith in you has
grown. And I'm good. This is him consciously
refusing to let his past poison his future. And
gosh, we all got stuff. We all got stuff. It
happened. Right? It happened. We can't deny that
it happened. And we can't change it. But who
are you today in the Lord? Who are you today
in Christ? Where is your faith and your trust?
You're in that place of saying, look, that happened
and it was real and it hurt and it was difficult,
but I'm gonna leave that with the Lord. I'm not
gonna let it define me today and change who I
am today and poison me today. I'm gonna let that
go and we see him naming his kids with these
Hebrew names in the midst of this Egyptian culture.
Their names are declarations and sermons and
testimonies. Ephraim means God had made me fruitful
in the land of my affliction. He's not saying,
I'm gonna pretend affliction didn't happen, and
look, God's blessing me now, yay. He's saying,
through all of that, God is blessing me. He's
acknowledging it happened. But it's not defining
me because I recognize that God was there through
every single step. And he's with me now. These
names speak to the fact that Joseph has forgiven
and healed and learned to trust and rest in God
fully. And then the story tells us, abundance
flowed just as God had spoken. And then the famine
comes just as God had spoken. And the whole world
comes to him for grain. God's long, silent preparation
is now set to save the nations and to preserve
the line through which the Messiah would come.
You see, his whole story is a story of growth
and all of that, but his story of personal growth,
it culminates here in his exaltation. Sustenance
for the world, authority in his hands, nations
coming to him for life. But all of that points
to the Lord. All of it. Joseph's life is such
a beautiful picture pointing to the Lord. It's
one of the reasons why he said, hey, it's a week
before Christmas, and yet I'm going to stay here
in Genesis 41. Why? Because this story is a story
that points to the Lord that we're going to celebrate
in just a few days. As we move towards Christmas,
we should be reminded that Joseph's story points
beyond itself. Joseph, as a type of Christ, we've
talked about this, he was rejected by his own
brother. Jesus was rejected by his own people.
Joseph was unjustly condemned. Jesus was falsely
accused. Joseph went into a pit long before being
exalted. Jesus came down into a manger. clothed
himself in the frailty of humanity long before
the resurrection and his ascension back to the
right hand of the Father in glory. Joseph became
the savior of the known world by God's design,
and Jesus became the savior of the world by God's
eternal plan. Another detail that's interesting
is Joseph ends up with a Gentile bride. What
is the church today? It's a mix, but it's not
that purely Jewish group. How many of us are
Gentiles in this room? If you're not a Jew, you're
a Gentile. And yet, we're the bride of Christ.
You know, here's another wonder of Christmas,
that God didn't send Jesus into the world when
the world expected him. God sent him into the
world when the world needed him most. God didn't
release Joseph into the world in that sense when
Joseph wanted it, when it was God's timing. When
it was God's timing. Jesus came not in power,
but in humility. He didn't come with fanfare,
but he came in faithfulness. He didn't come to
avoid suffering, but to redeem it. To make it
make sense. To show us that there's life past
those things, that those things that happen,
they have a purpose in God's plan in our lives.
If you're in a season of waiting and you're in
that silent night, that long silent night, Christmas
tells you God hasn't forgotten about you. He's
just over here working on details. that you don't
know about yet. That's meant to help you endure.
Not that it's, oh, hey, I'm full of joy. It's
super easy now. No, but it's meant to help you
endure. It's meant to help you hang on. It's
meant to help you find peace in the chaos. If
you're in a season of pain, Christmas tells you
that God has entered it with you. He's right
there, just like with Joseph in this confusion
and this hurt. God was there the whole time.
If you're in a season of blessing, well, Christmas
reminds you where all the glory belongs, right?
It's about him. Just as Pharaoh told Egypt, everybody
came seeking salvation because we're starving
to death. Pharaoh said, go to Joseph and do what
he tells you to do. And the father says to us
now, to the entire world, go to my son and do
what he tells you to do. Whatever it is God says
to you, do it. His ways are the right ways. His
ways are the only ways. His ways are the perfect
ways. His timing is the perfect timing. I know
God knows what's going to happen tomorrow. I
don't need to worry about it. If he wants to
let me know, that's his business. If he doesn't,
I know he's there anyways. So I'll be okay. I
may experience trauma and suffering, but I'll
be okay because God is there and God is gonna
direct me as I trust him and lean on him. Christ
is the spiritual food for the hungry and the
hope for the weary and the life for the world,
right? And so this Christmas, as we're moving
into it, through this story, I pray that we would
grow and learn more to trust God who works in
the silence. To be able to say, okay, God's doing
something. I don't know what it is yet, but he's
doing something. Why? Because he's my dad. How
can I trust that he is working because he has
redeemed me? How do I know he has redeemed me?
Because he died on the cross and rose from the
dead. How do I know that happened? Because he
lived a whole perfect life. And then how do I
know that? Because he was born into this world
to live the life. that we live to experience
it all. So that when we're waiting in the two
years of silence, we could say, he knows what
it's like to wait. He's working. He's doing something.
And then in his perfect time, we'll see him redeem
all the suffering and keep his promises and all
of that. And it's all for his glory. It's all
for his glory. And so in the timing of every
silent night, It all points to the anticipation
of the arrival of your Savior. He's coming. He'll
give you the strength to keep waiting. He can
deal with your doubts. He can deal with your
worries. Bring Him to Him, but have faith. That's
the hope of Christmas. It's unto us a Savior
is born. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we love you.
We thank you, God, for everything. Lord, I pray
for those that may be in this room or listening
to this message, God, that are in the silent
night. I pray, God, that as if they've... As
we've heard your word today that they'd be encouraged,
God, is look at all the details you had laid
out and all the things you had planned that Joseph
couldn't even imagine. That, Lord, the truth
that you are working behind the scenes for them
right now, even when it seems and feels like
you're silent, it is a holy silence because you
are there and you are doing what you need to
do so that we could get to the next. Lord, God,
if Joseph wasn't ready in his spirit and his
character for what you had next for him, Lord,
he would have been destroyed, wrecked. And God,
it's the same with us. And so I pray for those
who are in the waiting right now, Lord, that
you'd give them peace and hope and strength.
I pray, God, that the gift of your arrival The
life you lived and everything that is in the
gospel, God, would give them everything they
need to persevere. One more day. And one more
day after that. And one more day after that.
I pray for those who are hurting in this season,
God, that they would be reminded that you're
there with them. That even that hurting might
be something you're allowing in their lives to
form them and to mold them and to shape them
into a person you're gonna use for whatever's
next. And sometimes, God, we say, I don't even
want it. But Lord, help us to rest in your wisdom.
Knowing that everything, everything you allow,
every point, every purpose, it's perfect because
you're perfect. I pray for those of us, Lord,
that are in time of blessing, that we would not
be swayed by that, Lord, as Joseph found himself
in power and authority and wealth and riches
and just blessing beyond. That, God, he never
forgot who he was and who you were, who you are.
And that, Lord, he was in that place. to be used
by you to affect change in the whole world, God.
And Lord, I ask for each one of us, Lord, that
you would use us for that. I pray for every single
person in this church, Lord, that you would use
them to bring true and lasting effect into the
lives of those that are hurting. That, God, we
wouldn't be silent about our faith and about
Christmas, but, Lord, we would just share the
love and the hope. That, God, we wouldn't stand
before people and be afraid to invite them to
church or whatever, Lord, because, God, you're
no respecter of men. But you love men. You died
for men. And so, Lord, let us be a part of bringing
those that are in our lives that don't know you
to a place where maybe they would come to know
you as their own Lord and Savior. God, use us
and bless us. Speak through us. Help us to stand
boldly. Help us to humbly proclaim truth, to
be ready to serve, to be ready to put into action
the things you've revealed to us, Lord, that
our lives would be examples of trusting you.
We love you. We thank you, Lord. We look forward
to celebrating your birthday. It's in Jesus'
name we pray. Amen. God bless you, church. Let's
worship.