WEBVTT

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I am Pastor Nathan, and this morning we're gonna

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be looking at how in God's economy, long delays

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can often lead to the most wonderful resolutions.

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See, this week, obviously, is Christmas week.

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We're gonna be celebrating together here as a

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church on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And,

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you know, Christmas has been on everybody's mind.

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You know, for most of the sane people, it's been

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about a month. And for those other crazy people

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who decorate in June, it's been a while, right?

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And, you know, it's just, it's all over the place.

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You drive around, you see the lights, you know,

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we're counting down the days, wrapping presents,

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you know, kids are waiting. Christmas for me

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as a kid was always exciting because I would

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ninja crawl from my room out to the tree. And

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I got really good at using an X -Acto blade to

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cut the tape on the present so I could open it

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up and go, whoa! Then I would tape it back. I'm

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sure my parents knew, but they never told me.

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There's a lot of anticipation, right? But before

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the shepherds harked the herald angels singing,

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there was 400 years of silence. Before the first

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Christmas, it was a time of absolutely no prophetic

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word from the Lord. And as we're entering Christmas

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season, we should be reminded that anticipation

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often comes after long, long times of silence.

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At the time of the first Christmas, you know,

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before the Savior was born, Israel was... living

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under Roman rule. There was a lot of oppression,

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a lot of frustration, a lot of spiritual dryness

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in the nation where their worship of God had

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become so legalistic that it was a difficult

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time all around for people. But most importantly,

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the word hadn't spoken in 400 years. No prophet,

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no revelation. And you can imagine during those

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400 years that that meant there was a lot of

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unanswered prayers. People had been seeking the

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Lord and no word. People had been asking about

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this or that and God seemed silent. But the Bible

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repeatedly tells us that although silence may

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be the situation we find ourselves in, that never

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means that heaven is idle. And this morning,

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as we continue our teaching through Genesis,

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in Genesis chapter 41, we're going to see that

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Joseph's story mirrors that reality perfectly.

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After God had clearly spoken through dreams,

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not only to Joseph himself as a young man at

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17 years of age, but then years later in speaking

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through him to interpret the dreams of the cupbearer

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and the baker in the prison he found himself

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in, Joseph just had found himself in a difficult

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spot. He had been faithful. He had been a good

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worker. He had been just a reliable dude and

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just served and helped others. But after what

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had happened in chapter 41 where he stepped in

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to interpret these dreams, and for one of them

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it was a very positive interpretation. You're

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going to get out of jail, dude. And Pharaoh's

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going to raise you back up to your position.

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Everything's going to be good. But remember me

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when you get out. Talk to Pharaoh. Tell him about

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my plight. I shouldn't be here. I've done nothing

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to deserve to be in prison. We read that the

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cupbearer forgot about him, and then it's two

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full years of nothing. No word. No revelation.

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No answered prayer in that sense. No rescue.

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No explanations. Just waiting. And you know,

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Christmas is a fantastic time to be reminded

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that God often does his greatest works while

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his people are waiting. While the world hears

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silence. While we may be looking around and feeling

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like God's not listening. What's really happened

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is he's arranging kings and he's arranging dreams.

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He's arranging census decrees and prison doors

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and people's hearts. Joseph didn't know it yet,

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but God was already moving in Pharaoh's spirit

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to accomplish his plan and Joseph's redemption.

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And then as we think about Christmas, we should

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be reminded that Mary didn't know it yet, but

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God was already at work moving Caesar's pen.

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To declare that census that would cause everything

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to fall into motion to fulfill his plan exactly

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as he decreed it to be. And this morning, we

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should be reminded that just as surely, God is

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still working at the waiting places in our lives.

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I titled today's message, The Timing of Silent

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Nights. And it's important for us to be encouraged

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and reminded that God's timing in our silent

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nights is exactly the right timing. Let's pray.

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Father, we love you. God, as we're entering into

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Christmas, we wanna just say thank you. Thank

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you for our salvation. Thank you for sending

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your son to live a perfect life and then to die

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for all our faults and failures and sins. And

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God, when we look at your plan of redemption

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from the very beginning to the end, some might...

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about your timing of things and why this and

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why then and why did Jesus come exactly when

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he came? Why not sooner? Why not later? Lord,

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maybe there's some in this room today or watching

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that that are wondering when you're gonna show

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up in their situation. Lord, help us to understand

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that your timing is perfect. Help us, Lord, as

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we look at this man, Joseph, and his life, which

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is such a a type of who you are, Jesus, that

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we would be reminded, reminded of what you're

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doing and why. Encouraged and strengthened to

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wait in the silent nights. Because God, when

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you move, it is perfect. Perfect in effect, perfect

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in timing, perfect in everything. And so Lord,

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speak to us today, encourage us today. Give us

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a message today, Lord, that we can share with

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our friends and families this week as we celebrate

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Christmas together. But most importantly, God,

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be glorified. Be magnified. Be lifted up, Lord.

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It is your glory that matters, and you are the

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only one deserving. And so we want to glorify

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you, God, in worship. We want to praise your

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holy name. We want to sing thanks and gratitude

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to you because, God, you are awesome. Lord, bless

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us today. and be blessed as your people praise

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you. We love you so much. It's in Jesus' name

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we pray. Amen. All right, we are in Genesis chapter

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41 this morning, and we're continuing with the

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story of Joseph. You know, his... continued imprisonment

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after all that he had experienced in finding

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himself in jail, falsely accused of a sexual

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assault. He had been the same person he had always

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been. He was serving faithfully, he had good

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work ethic, and yet it was still a very difficult

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time. The scripture describes his experience

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there as having an iron collar around his neck

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and shackles. You know, you look at that, and

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sometimes we can look at the situations that

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happen in our lives and maybe think, well, gosh,

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that was an accident. It shouldn't have gone

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that way, or, you know, it was supposed to go

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a different way. But his continued two years

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after the cupbearer got out of prison and was

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restored to his position, the two years that

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he spent in prison after the cupbearer completely

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forgot. to say, oh yeah, Pharaoh, great birthday.

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By the way, my buddy in the prison, he asked

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me to tell you that he shouldn't be there because

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he's falsely imprisoned. After all of that not

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happening, it might have been easy for Joseph

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to look at his situation as just terrible, but

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we get the benefit of seeing it not as an accident

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and not as a result of human forgetfulness. Joseph's

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continued time, these two years that he spends

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in prison after the cupbearer's release, it's

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strongly implied in scripture that God was the

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one who orchestrated the cupbearer's forgetfulness.

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That although the cupbearer made his own decision

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to not say anything, that God's hand was in that

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because God had a purpose and plan in keeping

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Joseph in prison for another two years. And what

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Joseph experienced was not the accidents of destiny

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or this selfish cupbearer. Ultimately, what he

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experienced was divine restraint, that God was

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holding him in the place he was in until the

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right time. right moment arrived. And we talked

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about this a little bit last week, that if God

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had let Joseph get out of prison right there

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when the cupbearer got out and went and restored

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to his position in Pharaoh's court, that Joseph

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might have gone home. which would have been completely

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understandable considering his experience so

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far. But if he had gone home at that point, where

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we're picking up the story here in 41, he wouldn't

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have been in the right position to be used of

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the Lord to do a specific thing that all ties

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together to bringing God's perfect plan to fruition.

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And so God's redemptive plan The big picture

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plan, as well as God's specific plan for Joseph's

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life, required that he stayed right where he

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was, in prison, with an iron collar and shackles

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on his feet, even though it was painful, even

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though it was confusing. And so we pick up the

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story here in Genesis 41, where it says, at the

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end of two years, Pharaoh had a dream. So between

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chapter 40 and chapter 41, we have two years.

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Two years of nothing. Two years of silence. Two

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years where God didn't seem to do anything. Two

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years of continued difficult existence. And yet,

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we're going to see that God was working. Now,

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if you're taking notes, I want you to write this

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down. God's delays are not God's denials. That's

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a very important truth to understand. God's delays

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are not God's denials. God often withholds what

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we might call lesser deliverances because there's

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a greater deliverance that he is working to affect

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in our lives. And this is a deeply personal truth

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for all of us because when we have been Let down

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by people, right? Somebody, maybe they made a

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promise and they didn't follow through. Maybe

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they said they were gonna do something and they

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didn't. Maybe we find ourselves forgotten, you

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know, or just disappointed in some major way.

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It's tempting to look at those people who let

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us down as betrayers, right? You said you were

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gonna do a thing and you didn't, betrayer. You

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were gonna take care of this or handle this or

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you made these promises, betrayer. You know,

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and they must pay, right? Different things that

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we come up with, but we have to understand as

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believers, we trust in a sovereign God. We profess

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to believe that he knows all things, the future,

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every moment, every thought, every detail. And

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that means that then we need to believe and accept

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and acknowledge that sometimes God allows or

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even causes these disappointments in our lives

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for a purpose. For a reason. And oftentimes it's

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because he's positioning us for something greater

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that we can't see yet. And so Joseph interprets

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the cupbearer's dream. It's very positive. The

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cupbearer gets out. He's restored to his position

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as the cupbearer of Pharaoh. Everything's great.

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Two years of silence. And then two years later,

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Pharaoh has a dream. Read with me in verse 41,

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verse 1. He was standing besides the Nile when

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seven healthy -looking, well -fed cows came up

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from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds.

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After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin,

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came up from the Nile and stood beside those

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cows along the bank of the Nile. The sickly,

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thin cows ate the healthy, well -fed cows. Then

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Pharaoh woke up. The whole intent and idea there

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is that it was a startling dream. You could say

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these were zombie cows, right? Healthy cows and

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then zombie cows come up and they eat them up.

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Pretty scary. Verse five, he fell asleep and

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dreamed a second time. Seven heads of grain,

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plump and good, came up on one stalk. After them,

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seven heads of grain, thin and scorched by the

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east wind, sprouted up. The thin heads of grain

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swallowed up the seven plump, full ones and then

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Pharaoh woke up and it was only a dream. When

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morning came, he was troubled, so he summoned

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all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men.

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Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could

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interpret them for him. What this chapter is

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opening up for us, it's opening up with showing

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us where God is working. Joseph is in the prison,

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iron collar, shackles, hasn't heard anything

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from God in two years. No revelation, no prophecy,

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nothing. No dreams. And yet, as Joseph is sitting

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there, who knows what he's thinking? But if he's

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human like us, I'm sure he's probably gone through

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the emotional roller coaster and the ups and

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downs. God, you've been silent so long, I don't

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understand. And yet, when the time was right

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for God to move, God doesn't start moving, whoa,

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in Joseph's cell. He doesn't go to Joseph and

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say, okay, Joseph, it's time. I'm moving. We're

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ready. Here's a dream. Here's a word. No, he

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starts in Pharaoh's bedroom, in Pharaoh's dreams.

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Joseph is still over here in the silence wondering

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what's going on, but God is working. God has

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started laying the foundation, and so Pharaoh

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has these two disturbing dreams. it's meant for

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us to understand that they were grotesque, unnatural,

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shocking, deeply troubling for Pharaoh, right?

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Seven healthy cows. Seven zombie cows come and

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eat them. Then there's seven full heads of grain.

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And then seven thin, rotten, dry ones come up

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and consume the full heads of grain. And again,

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we talked about that in our last study a little

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bit, that dreams were hugely important in Egypt.

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They were kind of over -spiritualized. The Egyptian

00:15:45.929 --> 00:15:48.789
culture, they looked at dreams as windows into

00:15:48.789 --> 00:15:51.289
the supernatural, windows into the world of the

00:15:51.289 --> 00:15:53.570
gods. And so every time you had a dream, it must

00:15:53.570 --> 00:15:58.710
mean something. Significant. And so he has these

00:15:58.710 --> 00:16:00.730
dreams and of course he's like, oh my gosh, this

00:16:00.730 --> 00:16:03.029
is disturbing. What does this mean? The fact

00:16:03.029 --> 00:16:05.029
that he had two dreams back to back the same

00:16:05.029 --> 00:16:07.809
night just made the significance all that more

00:16:07.809 --> 00:16:11.429
apparent to him that this was a big deal. And

00:16:11.429 --> 00:16:13.570
so he called in his wise men. He called in the

00:16:13.570 --> 00:16:16.149
dream interpreters. The wise men would include

00:16:16.149 --> 00:16:19.769
priests of the other gods to come in and tell

00:16:19.769 --> 00:16:23.710
me what these dreams mean. Now it's interesting.

00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:31.399
is that in Egypt, Pharaoh was considered a god.

00:16:32.460 --> 00:16:36.399
He was worshipped as a god in the culture amongst

00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:40.580
all the other gods that they had. And I find

00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:45.480
it very interesting that great Pharaoh, the god

00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:50.879
king, is powerless to understand what has been

00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:55.080
revealed to him in his own dreams. All his priests,

00:16:55.340 --> 00:16:59.820
all his professionals, all his musicians, magicians.

00:17:00.159 --> 00:17:04.500
I guess musicians can be pretty magical. Nobody

00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:10.519
can interpret the dreams. He's God, as far as

00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:12.220
their culture is concerned, and he has no idea.

00:17:13.460 --> 00:17:17.259
All the other gods, their followers have no idea.

00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.140
What is God doing here before Joseph even gets

00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:26.680
in front of him? God is helping Pharaoh understand

00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:33.119
that he's not God. He's helping Pharaoh understand

00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:37.319
that all the gods of your land aren't really

00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:42.220
gods. He's planting the seeds in Pharaoh's life

00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:45.039
that are gonna lead to Pharaoh's response to

00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:47.559
Joseph later on. But the point is here is that

00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:50.380
the king who believes himself to be God wakes

00:17:50.380 --> 00:17:56.430
up scared. I had a scary dream. Please interpret.

00:17:56.650 --> 00:18:00.329
And he doesn't know. How would that shake the

00:18:00.329 --> 00:18:02.569
confidence of someone who is allegedly, I'm divine,

00:18:02.769 --> 00:18:06.029
I'm God. I had a scary dream. I don't know what

00:18:06.029 --> 00:18:11.369
it means. Before Joseph is even involved in the

00:18:11.369 --> 00:18:14.910
story here, God is dismantling Pharaoh's illusion

00:18:14.910 --> 00:18:19.390
of power and control. God is assaulting the belief

00:18:19.390 --> 00:18:22.460
that I am God of this land and I am ultimately

00:18:22.460 --> 00:18:25.140
all powerful and control of everything. God is

00:18:25.140 --> 00:18:27.740
assaulting that and before Joseph ever even speaks

00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:32.220
a word to Pharaoh, God is establishing to Pharaoh,

00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:38.980
you're not God, I am. All your false gods, they

00:18:38.980 --> 00:18:40.819
have no power because they're not real. And so,

00:18:40.819 --> 00:18:45.200
we get to verse nine. Then the chief cupbearer

00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:47.200
said to Pharaoh, today I remember my faults.

00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:50.000
Pharaoh was angry with the servants and he put

00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:51.920
me and the chief baker in the custody of the

00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:54.839
captain of the guards. He and I had dreams on

00:18:54.839 --> 00:18:56.940
the same night. Each dream had its own meaning.

00:18:57.940 --> 00:19:00.440
Now a young Hebrew, a slave of the captain of

00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:02.579
the guards, was there with us. And we told him

00:19:02.579 --> 00:19:05.039
our dreams and he interpreted our dreams for

00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:09.640
us. And each had its own interpretation. It turned

00:19:09.640 --> 00:19:13.819
out just the way he interpreted them to us. I

00:19:13.819 --> 00:19:15.799
was restored to my position and the other man

00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:19.099
was hanged. Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and

00:19:19.099 --> 00:19:21.900
they quickly brought him from the dungeon. He

00:19:21.900 --> 00:19:24.519
shaved, changed his clothes, and went to Pharaoh.

00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:27.920
Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, and

00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:29.880
no one can interpret it, but I have heard it

00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:32.920
said about you that you can hear a dream and

00:19:32.920 --> 00:19:36.299
interpret it. I am not able to, Joseph answered

00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:39.660
Pharaoh. It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable

00:19:39.660 --> 00:19:44.509
answer. Do you think Pharaoh might have been

00:19:44.509 --> 00:19:47.349
a little more prepared to contemplate that truth

00:19:47.349 --> 00:19:50.990
after not having anybody interpret it than he

00:19:50.990 --> 00:19:55.210
might have before? Yeah. Here's this Hebrew slave

00:19:55.210 --> 00:19:57.609
from a land coming up and, you know, I don't

00:19:57.609 --> 00:19:59.210
know anything about him, but hey, it just was

00:19:59.210 --> 00:20:01.049
told he can interpret dreams and he comes up

00:20:01.049 --> 00:20:04.430
and Pharaoh's desperate. You see, the idea is

00:20:04.430 --> 00:20:07.109
the cupbearer remembering. It wasn't like the

00:20:07.109 --> 00:20:10.009
cupbearer, well, this is the speculative thought.

00:20:10.859 --> 00:20:12.940
It wasn't the cupbearer going, oh shoot, I forgot.

00:20:13.059 --> 00:20:18.680
It's been two years. The idea is that as Pharaoh

00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:20.440
was trying to get this dream interpreted, and

00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:22.200
nobody can interpret it, he was getting a little

00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:26.779
more difficult to be around. Starting to get

00:20:26.779 --> 00:20:28.980
a little frantic. Because these dreams, they

00:20:28.980 --> 00:20:30.559
were grotesque. They were frightening. They were

00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:33.079
startling for him. And the fact that he didn't

00:20:33.079 --> 00:20:34.680
know the answer, and the fact that nobody in

00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:37.819
the land knew the answer, most commentators,

00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:41.539
they think he was getting just, very difficult.

00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:44.559
And so Cupbearer, he was one of the closest guys

00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:48.500
to Pharaoh. And maybe his life, maybe his job

00:20:48.500 --> 00:20:50.380
was getting a little more difficult. Maybe he

00:20:50.380 --> 00:20:52.680
was like, man, Pharaoh's getting let out of control

00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:56.579
about this dream thing. And then, oh yeah, I

00:20:56.579 --> 00:20:59.759
remember that guy in prison. His motivation,

00:20:59.960 --> 00:21:03.279
probably selfish. His motivation, I need my life

00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:05.880
to be easier because Pharaoh almost punched me

00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:08.619
in the face the other day. But yeah, I remember

00:21:08.619 --> 00:21:11.579
this guy in prison. I remember what he could

00:21:11.579 --> 00:21:14.740
do. And so when Pharaoh was desperate, the cupbearer

00:21:14.740 --> 00:21:17.240
remembers Joseph is called, but he's not called

00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:18.940
because he's valued. He's not called because

00:21:18.940 --> 00:21:21.920
like, oh yeah, he's this great man and great

00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:24.339
character. He's simply called because he's useful

00:21:24.339 --> 00:21:26.039
both to the cupbearer and to Pharaoh in that

00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:32.839
moment. But regardless, God uses that moment.

00:21:33.529 --> 00:21:35.990
God uses that cupbearer's self -serving memory

00:21:35.990 --> 00:21:38.250
to bring about his purposes. You see, sometimes

00:21:38.250 --> 00:21:41.230
we could get hung up on motivation behind things

00:21:41.230 --> 00:21:43.609
and use that to interpret whether or not God

00:21:43.609 --> 00:21:45.430
is doing something. Let me give you an example.

00:21:46.190 --> 00:21:49.170
How many of you, single, married, friends, whatever

00:21:49.170 --> 00:21:51.569
it may be, you've been in a situation where you've

00:21:51.569 --> 00:21:55.269
been wronged by somebody and then that somebody

00:21:55.269 --> 00:21:59.170
is seemingly not taking it seriously or not understanding

00:21:59.170 --> 00:22:00.829
the gravity and you get in an argument with that

00:22:00.829 --> 00:22:03.349
somebody. And then that somebody goes, well,

00:22:03.390 --> 00:22:04.750
what is it you want? And you're just like, I

00:22:04.750 --> 00:22:06.509
just want you to say sorry. And they go, fine,

00:22:06.529 --> 00:22:11.109
I'm sorry. And then you go, I don't want you

00:22:11.109 --> 00:22:14.529
to be sorry because you have to be. I want you

00:22:14.529 --> 00:22:17.609
to say sorry because you want to. Right? Anybody

00:22:17.609 --> 00:22:20.049
been there? The rest of you are liars. Okay.

00:22:23.990 --> 00:22:28.069
I won't receive it because. Kind of the situation

00:22:28.069 --> 00:22:30.490
here where you go, well, did the cup bear? Is

00:22:30.490 --> 00:22:33.130
he going, oh, Joseph's my friend? It doesn't

00:22:33.130 --> 00:22:36.990
matter. God is working in and through this, right?

00:22:37.589 --> 00:22:41.349
And so Joseph is rushed out of the dungeon, and

00:22:41.349 --> 00:22:45.329
he's put on Pharaoh's makeover reality show,

00:22:45.470 --> 00:22:50.390
shaved, new clothes, presented to the king. But

00:22:50.390 --> 00:22:52.990
think about Joseph's life. At this point, it's

00:22:52.990 --> 00:22:55.809
been about 13 years, roughly, and we'll see that

00:22:55.809 --> 00:22:59.500
later. Joseph's living in Canaan, living with

00:22:59.500 --> 00:23:01.319
his brothers. He's a favorite of dad. Things

00:23:01.319 --> 00:23:02.660
seem to be going good for him. He gets these

00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:06.160
wonderful dreams from God. He excitedly, but

00:23:06.160 --> 00:23:07.960
maybe naively, shares them with his brothers,

00:23:08.059 --> 00:23:10.160
gets in trouble. They want to kill him, throw

00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:14.259
him into a pit. They lower down the rope. Oh,

00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:16.180
they're letting me out. Oh, sold into prison,

00:23:16.339 --> 00:23:20.200
or sold into slavery. Gets to Egypt. Oh, man.

00:23:21.180 --> 00:23:23.640
I don't want to build a pyramid. That's a lot.

00:23:24.779 --> 00:23:27.140
He gets bought by Potiphar. Oh, well, that's

00:23:27.140 --> 00:23:29.119
kind of a rich dude's house and maybe a good

00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:31.799
place to work. Yay. Gets raised up in charge

00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:34.299
of the whole house. Yay. Gets falsely accused

00:23:34.299 --> 00:23:39.099
by Potiphar's wife. In prison. In prison, just

00:23:39.099 --> 00:23:41.220
works, labors, gets raised up into authority

00:23:41.220 --> 00:23:43.960
again. Still a difficult place. One day the cupbearer

00:23:43.960 --> 00:23:46.259
shows up. Cupbearer has a dream. I interpret

00:23:46.259 --> 00:23:48.839
it. This is my out. Remember me. Yeah, I'm getting

00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:51.480
out of prison. Yay. Cupbearer forgets about him.

00:23:53.609 --> 00:23:56.910
It's been tough. It's been really tough for Joseph.

00:23:58.789 --> 00:24:03.049
Finally, he's out. Now, on one hand, I want you

00:24:03.049 --> 00:24:05.829
guys to know to this, that if you're in that

00:24:05.829 --> 00:24:10.369
season of silence, look how quickly God changes

00:24:10.369 --> 00:24:15.490
his fortunes. Like that. He goes from filth to

00:24:15.490 --> 00:24:17.470
finery. He goes from chains to the throne room

00:24:17.470 --> 00:24:22.880
instantaneously. If God could change your situation

00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:26.000
that fast, raise you from the lowest of the low

00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:28.400
to the highest of the high, if God can do that

00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:32.000
and yet he hasn't yet, what does that tell you

00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:36.779
about your current situation? Maybe he still

00:24:36.779 --> 00:24:41.599
wants you there. Maybe it's exactly the place

00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:43.799
he wants you because there's a purpose and a

00:24:43.799 --> 00:24:46.109
plan. It doesn't mean it's not hard. It doesn't

00:24:46.109 --> 00:24:48.009
mean it's not difficult. It doesn't mean it's

00:24:48.009 --> 00:24:50.509
not, you know, we would rather be anywhere else.

00:24:50.549 --> 00:24:54.289
But for the Christian, there's peace to be found

00:24:54.289 --> 00:24:57.630
in the truth of going, this is where God has

00:24:57.630 --> 00:25:02.309
me. Because if we believe God is sovereign, we

00:25:02.309 --> 00:25:03.950
believe he is all powerful, we believe he knows

00:25:03.950 --> 00:25:05.569
the future, we believe he knows every thought,

00:25:05.710 --> 00:25:07.509
we believe that he could change our circumstances

00:25:07.509 --> 00:25:11.569
like that, and they haven't been changed yet.

00:25:13.069 --> 00:25:16.410
Maybe it's where he wants us. Now, on the other

00:25:16.410 --> 00:25:20.130
hand, I believe God is also doing something in

00:25:20.130 --> 00:25:22.750
Joseph's life here because everything about the

00:25:22.750 --> 00:25:25.190
setting he now finds himself in, I believe, is

00:25:25.190 --> 00:25:27.470
a temptation for him to soften his convictions.

00:25:28.769 --> 00:25:31.809
He's always stood strong for the Lord and been

00:25:31.809 --> 00:25:35.529
stuff and been pointing to God and all that,

00:25:35.549 --> 00:25:39.079
and now he's finally out of prison. 13 years

00:25:39.079 --> 00:25:41.619
since he was tossed into the pit back in his

00:25:41.619 --> 00:25:44.059
homeland, and now he's finally standing before

00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:46.319
the guy who could change everything for him,

00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:48.319
and the temptation would be, well, let me not

00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:52.859
offend him, and maybe I should back off my faith

00:25:52.859 --> 00:25:54.640
a little bit, because after all, he's the king,

00:25:54.759 --> 00:25:57.279
he's the president, he's the CEO, he's the congressman,

00:25:57.299 --> 00:26:03.299
he's the whatever. Maybe I should grovel a little

00:26:03.299 --> 00:26:06.650
bit. Maybe I should kind of, you know, brag a

00:26:06.650 --> 00:26:08.049
little bit about, you know, hey, I heard you

00:26:08.049 --> 00:26:10.730
can interpret dreams. Oh, I sure can. I'm your

00:26:10.730 --> 00:26:14.089
man, Pharaoh. I'm the guy. I want to ingratiate

00:26:14.089 --> 00:26:17.269
myself to him as best I can, but that's not at

00:26:17.269 --> 00:26:23.089
all what he does. I heard you can interpret dreams.

00:26:23.289 --> 00:26:25.289
What's the first thing he says? I can't interpret

00:26:25.289 --> 00:26:29.750
dreams. How bold of him to say that because Pharaoh

00:26:29.750 --> 00:26:31.930
would go, oh, what, cupbearer? I'm hanging you

00:26:31.930 --> 00:26:36.400
now back to prison. I can't interpret dreams.

00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:40.279
It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.

00:26:41.559 --> 00:26:44.960
Joseph, when he finally speaks here, he doesn't

00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:48.920
boast of himself. He's still pointing to God

00:26:48.920 --> 00:26:53.160
at great risk to his freedom, great risk to him

00:26:53.160 --> 00:26:55.480
finally getting out of this pit, this prison,

00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:58.460
finally getting free, and he's still like, nope,

00:26:58.579 --> 00:27:04.109
I can't do anything. It's God. And imagine the

00:27:04.109 --> 00:27:06.769
boldness to say that standing in front of the

00:27:06.769 --> 00:27:11.170
guy who is worshiped as God in the kingdom. Hi,

00:27:11.410 --> 00:27:15.410
I'm God Pharaoh. I can't interpret my dream.

00:27:15.710 --> 00:27:20.190
I hear you can. I can't do anything. But the

00:27:20.190 --> 00:27:25.789
real God can. Real God? What did you just say?

00:27:27.009 --> 00:27:29.269
Do you know who you're speaking to? I am God

00:27:29.269 --> 00:27:32.940
King Pharaoh. Yeah, how's that going for you,

00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:38.480
God King Pharaoh? I mean, bold of him, risking

00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:42.500
everything. I mean, one, I can't do it. Two,

00:27:42.839 --> 00:27:46.660
directly assaulting his identity. Now, he's not

00:27:46.660 --> 00:27:50.599
doing it in a rude way, but he's going, I mean,

00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:53.960
the real God will give you an answer. Very bold.

00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:57.119
And, you know, we find ourselves in positions,

00:27:57.259 --> 00:27:59.400
you know, we understand the Bible says that God

00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:02.869
is no respecter of man. That doesn't mean that

00:28:02.869 --> 00:28:04.789
we should be disrespectful to everybody. The

00:28:04.789 --> 00:28:08.549
idea is if God puts us in front of people that

00:28:08.549 --> 00:28:11.970
the world might go, ooh, powerful, ooh, influential

00:28:11.970 --> 00:28:17.069
and all of that, they're nothing compared to

00:28:17.069 --> 00:28:20.390
God Almighty. And so if God gives you a place

00:28:20.390 --> 00:28:22.970
to be there, it's not don't back off your convictions,

00:28:23.029 --> 00:28:24.930
don't fear what they can do to your life. You

00:28:24.930 --> 00:28:27.049
stand in your convictions and you stand in your

00:28:27.049 --> 00:28:31.720
righteousness and you stand in the truth. You

00:28:31.720 --> 00:28:34.200
know, someone's like, I can do all things. Well,

00:28:34.299 --> 00:28:36.960
respectfully, you can only do what God allows

00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:40.359
you to do. How dare you? God's going to take

00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:43.819
care of you. But we find Joseph doing this exact

00:28:43.819 --> 00:28:46.240
thing. I can't interpret anything. It's God who's

00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:49.990
going to speak to you. I'm not an interpreter.

00:28:50.069 --> 00:28:53.430
This isn't my ability. This is a gift of God.

00:28:53.470 --> 00:28:56.130
It's from him. It's for him. It's about him.

00:28:56.329 --> 00:28:59.009
And so we just notice again that although Joseph's

00:28:59.009 --> 00:29:02.349
circumstances have changed in an instant, his

00:29:02.349 --> 00:29:07.710
character still has not. He's still this God

00:29:07.710 --> 00:29:11.410
-fearing man that we saw in the beginning as

00:29:11.410 --> 00:29:15.490
a 17 -year -old boy. One who believes God's word,

00:29:15.549 --> 00:29:18.130
believes God's power, believes God's will. One

00:29:18.130 --> 00:29:20.509
who isn't up here, you know, Pharaoh said, I

00:29:20.509 --> 00:29:22.269
heard you can interpret dreams. Hold on, Pharaoh,

00:29:22.349 --> 00:29:24.910
I need to tell on Potiphar's wife. Nope, doesn't

00:29:24.910 --> 00:29:30.910
do that either. And so verse 17, so Pharaoh said

00:29:30.910 --> 00:29:34.250
to Joseph, in my dream I was standing on the

00:29:34.250 --> 00:29:36.450
bank of the Nile when seven well -fed, healthy

00:29:36.450 --> 00:29:38.789
-looking cows came up from the Nile and grazed

00:29:38.789 --> 00:29:42.000
among the reeds. After them, seven other cows,

00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:45.819
weak, very sickly, and thin, came up. I've never

00:29:45.819 --> 00:29:48.420
seen such sickly ones as these in all the land

00:29:48.420 --> 00:29:51.299
of Egypt. Then the thin, sickly cows ate the

00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:54.440
first seven well -fed cows. When they had devoured

00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:56.619
them, this is a detail we didn't read earlier,

00:29:56.900 --> 00:29:59.400
you could not tell that they had devoured them.

00:29:59.940 --> 00:30:02.740
Their appearance was as bad as it had been before,

00:30:02.940 --> 00:30:09.119
and then I woke up. Zombie cows. Scary dream.

00:30:10.899 --> 00:30:13.380
Verse 22, in my dream I also saw the seven heads

00:30:13.380 --> 00:30:15.640
of grain full and good coming up on one stalk.

00:30:16.200 --> 00:30:18.460
After them, seven heads of grain withered thin

00:30:18.460 --> 00:30:21.779
and scorched by the east wind sprouted up. The

00:30:21.779 --> 00:30:23.640
thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good

00:30:23.640 --> 00:30:25.779
ones. And I told this to the magicians, but no

00:30:25.779 --> 00:30:30.059
one can tell me what it means. Then Joseph said

00:30:30.059 --> 00:30:34.000
to Pharaoh, Pharaoh's dreams mean the same thing.

00:30:34.539 --> 00:30:37.519
But look what he says. God has revealed to Pharaoh

00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:42.750
what he's about to do. God has revealed to you

00:30:42.750 --> 00:30:46.309
who think you are God what he is about to do.

00:30:46.670 --> 00:30:49.069
The seven good cows are seven years and the seven

00:30:49.069 --> 00:30:51.829
good heads are seven years. The dreams mean the

00:30:51.829 --> 00:30:54.309
same thing. The seven thin sickly cows that came

00:30:54.309 --> 00:30:57.170
up after them are seven years and the seven worthless

00:30:57.170 --> 00:30:59.250
heads of grain scorched by the east wind are

00:30:59.250 --> 00:31:03.210
seven years of famine. It is just as I told Pharaoh,

00:31:03.329 --> 00:31:06.769
God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.

00:31:08.259 --> 00:31:10.359
Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout

00:31:10.359 --> 00:31:13.119
the land of Egypt. After them, seven years of

00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:15.059
famine will take place and all the abundance

00:31:15.059 --> 00:31:17.880
in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine

00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:19.980
will devastate the land. The abundance in the

00:31:19.980 --> 00:31:22.019
land will not be remembered because of the famine

00:31:22.019 --> 00:31:24.299
that follows it for the famine will be very severe.

00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:26.980
Since the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, it

00:31:26.980 --> 00:31:29.119
means that the matter has been determined by

00:31:29.119 --> 00:31:34.779
God and he will carry it out soon. Now Joseph,

00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:37.000
I think, is being very clear here that these

00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:39.890
dreams, And all of this, this isn't about Pharaoh.

00:31:41.069 --> 00:31:44.470
This isn't about Joseph. This whole situation

00:31:44.470 --> 00:31:48.869
here is about God. It's God demonstrating who

00:31:48.869 --> 00:31:53.990
he is to a pagan king, head of a pagan nation.

00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:58.660
It is God using someone who has trusted him and

00:31:58.660 --> 00:32:01.160
have been through the ups and the downs and yet

00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:04.480
is still going, it's not me. God gets the glory

00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:06.500
who is proclaiming this. And he says it three

00:32:06.500 --> 00:32:08.799
times through this section here, right? God has

00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:11.859
revealed this. God has shown you these things.

00:32:13.019 --> 00:32:15.960
Again, what he is saying is the one true God

00:32:15.960 --> 00:32:19.539
is determining the future that only he knows.

00:32:19.859 --> 00:32:22.599
And he is determining what is about to come to

00:32:22.599 --> 00:32:28.380
pass. Big deal. Again, he's risking his freedom.

00:32:28.539 --> 00:32:31.079
He's even risking his very life for to come against

00:32:31.079 --> 00:32:33.200
Pharaoh and say, you're not God. Boop, off with

00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:38.779
your head. And yet what's more important to Joseph

00:32:38.779 --> 00:32:43.779
than this is the glory of God and the witness

00:32:43.779 --> 00:32:46.519
of who God is than his own personal freedom.

00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:51.000
That's a step of faith that we're all called

00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:54.579
to be able to walk in. to trust God that much.

00:32:55.039 --> 00:32:58.059
I've been in two years of just misery, and the

00:32:58.059 --> 00:33:03.680
moment has finally come. And I have the opportunity

00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:09.619
to back away from my faith, to maintain my opportunity

00:33:09.619 --> 00:33:14.039
of freedom and release, or, well, I'm gonna say

00:33:14.039 --> 00:33:16.180
the truth, even if it lands me back in jail.

00:33:18.019 --> 00:33:20.359
Seven years of abundance followed by seven years

00:33:20.359 --> 00:33:22.839
of devastating famine. And he tells him, and

00:33:22.839 --> 00:33:25.259
he goes, just the repetition is just simply this.

00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:28.819
The one true God is guaranteeing that it's going

00:33:28.819 --> 00:33:32.900
to happen. This is a true word. You see, Joseph

00:33:32.900 --> 00:33:36.700
here, he's exercising a gift that God has given

00:33:36.700 --> 00:33:41.259
him, a gift of interpretation, a gift of speaking

00:33:41.259 --> 00:33:44.019
forth this truth, and he's just speaking with

00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:48.220
prophetic clarity. telling the divine Pharaoh,

00:33:48.460 --> 00:33:55.619
you don't control Egypt's future. God does. Very

00:33:55.619 --> 00:33:59.240
radical, very bold thing to declare. And then

00:33:59.240 --> 00:34:01.660
Joseph, he continues on. He doesn't stop at Revelation.

00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:05.720
He just continues on moving into wise action.

00:34:05.779 --> 00:34:09.800
Verse 33. So now let Pharaoh look for a discerning

00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:12.119
and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt.

00:34:12.780 --> 00:34:15.909
Let Pharaoh do this. Let him appoint overseers

00:34:15.909 --> 00:34:17.650
over the land and take a fifth of the harvest

00:34:17.650 --> 00:34:20.150
of the land of Egypt during the seven years of

00:34:20.150 --> 00:34:23.210
abundance. Let them gather all the excess food

00:34:23.210 --> 00:34:25.630
during these good years that are coming, and

00:34:25.630 --> 00:34:27.489
under Pharaoh's authority, store the grain in

00:34:27.489 --> 00:34:29.349
the city so that they may preserve it as food.

00:34:30.170 --> 00:34:32.829
The food will be a reserve for the land during

00:34:32.829 --> 00:34:34.650
the seven years of famine that will take place

00:34:34.650 --> 00:34:36.969
in the land of Egypt, and then the country will

00:34:36.969 --> 00:34:42.920
not be wiped out by the famine. Wisdom. Now,

00:34:42.940 --> 00:34:44.059
do you guys know the difference between wisdom

00:34:44.059 --> 00:34:49.380
and knowledge? Right? Knowledge is facts. Wisdom

00:34:49.380 --> 00:34:52.380
is what do you do about the facts, the application.

00:34:53.460 --> 00:34:56.059
Now, we know biblically that wisdom ultimately

00:34:56.059 --> 00:34:58.980
belongs to God, and I believe it is God speaking

00:34:58.980 --> 00:35:02.000
through Joseph here, and yet it is also Joseph's

00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:03.920
life and his experience and everything God has

00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:06.619
done in his life that God is speaking through

00:35:06.619 --> 00:35:09.000
and working through to proclaim forth the wisdom

00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:13.340
here, and this is a very wise plan. Joseph doesn't

00:35:13.340 --> 00:35:15.039
say, here's the interpretation of the dreams,

00:35:15.099 --> 00:35:17.239
and if it turns out that way, here's a good thing

00:35:17.239 --> 00:35:20.679
you might do. He's just like, God has said so.

00:35:20.780 --> 00:35:24.159
It's going to happen. And so here's this plan.

00:35:24.280 --> 00:35:26.960
Now, it's very important for us to seek wisdom

00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:30.119
from the Lord because God is the source of all

00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:33.010
wisdom. God is wisdom. We have books of the Bible,

00:35:33.150 --> 00:35:35.789
Proverbs, that speak wisdom and tell us that

00:35:35.789 --> 00:35:39.030
wisdom is far more valuable than riches and rubies

00:35:39.030 --> 00:35:42.110
and all this stuff. We have the story of Solomon,

00:35:42.289 --> 00:35:46.170
right? Who, when God said, what do you want?

00:35:46.269 --> 00:35:48.130
I'll give you anything. And he said, I'd like

00:35:48.130 --> 00:35:50.530
to be wise. And God said, wow, you asked for

00:35:50.530 --> 00:35:53.389
the right thing. I'll give you everything else

00:35:53.389 --> 00:35:57.010
too. We also see from Solomon's story is that

00:35:57.010 --> 00:35:58.829
you'd be the wisest person in the world and the

00:35:58.829 --> 00:36:02.750
most stupid. And make so many mistakes, right?

00:36:02.889 --> 00:36:09.329
Because that's Solomon's life. But the idea is

00:36:09.329 --> 00:36:13.869
that when we go to the Lord for wisdom, the Lord

00:36:13.869 --> 00:36:18.050
will speak. Now, we have to understand that...

00:36:18.300 --> 00:36:19.739
Here in the Old Testament, right, they didn't

00:36:19.739 --> 00:36:22.760
have the Bible. But today, you know, we're people

00:36:22.760 --> 00:36:24.780
to say, you know, just as we go about our day,

00:36:24.860 --> 00:36:26.860
just, hey, if God said so, it's going to happen.

00:36:26.940 --> 00:36:28.780
And so, you know, God, what do you want me to

00:36:28.780 --> 00:36:30.860
do about it? And we have God's word and we have

00:36:30.860 --> 00:36:34.139
God's counsel from others. And we need to seek

00:36:34.139 --> 00:36:37.000
these things that God has given us to find out

00:36:37.000 --> 00:36:40.449
who to be, how to be, and how to act. But God

00:36:40.449 --> 00:36:42.570
also works through our experiences and our life

00:36:42.570 --> 00:36:44.429
experiences and just what we've learned through

00:36:44.429 --> 00:36:47.449
our jobs and everything that this all comes together

00:36:47.449 --> 00:36:50.489
to help us be people who say, God, I'm just gonna

00:36:50.489 --> 00:36:54.570
trust you. I'm just gonna move as you call me

00:36:54.570 --> 00:36:56.530
to move, but I'm gonna go to you for the answers.

00:36:58.489 --> 00:37:01.389
You see, when it comes to wisdom, sometimes we

00:37:01.389 --> 00:37:04.489
all get hung up on, God, just tell me what to

00:37:04.489 --> 00:37:06.289
do. Have you ever said that? God, just tell me

00:37:06.289 --> 00:37:13.150
what to do and I'll do it. That'd be great. But

00:37:13.150 --> 00:37:14.889
I've learned many times in my life, although

00:37:14.889 --> 00:37:18.849
God can and does do that, how many times have

00:37:18.849 --> 00:37:20.409
you ever been in a place where you're like, God,

00:37:20.449 --> 00:37:22.329
I have these decisions before me. Which one do

00:37:22.329 --> 00:37:25.469
you want me to do? And the answer is, I don't

00:37:25.469 --> 00:37:29.849
care. Well, Lord, that doesn't help me at all.

00:37:30.949 --> 00:37:34.670
So let's try this again. I had a situation once

00:37:34.670 --> 00:37:37.840
in my life. coming out of the biggest depression

00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:42.219
episode of my life early on. And I was broke

00:37:42.219 --> 00:37:44.679
and all this stuff. And then just seemingly overnight,

00:37:44.820 --> 00:37:46.780
these five opportunities presented themselves

00:37:46.780 --> 00:37:49.400
for me to start working again and getting back.

00:37:49.579 --> 00:37:51.719
And I was like, wow, five opportunities. This

00:37:51.719 --> 00:37:53.159
is beautiful. And I said, God, which one do you

00:37:53.159 --> 00:37:56.000
want me to do? Because, Lord, I want to follow

00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:58.260
you and your will. And I'm trying to get away

00:37:58.260 --> 00:38:00.500
from all the bad decisions I was making. And

00:38:00.500 --> 00:38:06.389
so, God, which one? And I don't care. Well, Lord,

00:38:06.469 --> 00:38:08.369
I'm trying to follow you. Can you at least point

00:38:08.369 --> 00:38:11.670
me in the direction? And that was the first time

00:38:11.670 --> 00:38:14.329
I experienced the Lord speaking to me and saying,

00:38:14.429 --> 00:38:18.590
I don't care which one you do. I care who you

00:38:18.590 --> 00:38:25.090
are in whichever one you decide to go do. And

00:38:25.090 --> 00:38:27.150
that happens. And that happens a lot of times.

00:38:27.210 --> 00:38:29.309
We get so hung up on just waiting and stopping

00:38:29.309 --> 00:38:33.130
and not moving and doing nothing. And God's saying,

00:38:33.250 --> 00:38:36.980
step. Step in faith. Move forward. Well, God,

00:38:37.019 --> 00:38:39.559
I don't know. I will guide you. I will give you

00:38:39.559 --> 00:38:41.920
wisdom. I will talk to you. I will direct your

00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:44.800
path. But we have to understand that it means

00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:48.219
that we move. Joseph speaking forth this knowledge

00:38:48.219 --> 00:38:51.380
of what's to come is one thing, but then he starts

00:38:51.380 --> 00:38:54.639
to speak about what to do about it. You know,

00:38:54.639 --> 00:38:58.460
because believing God is sovereign doesn't mean

00:38:58.460 --> 00:39:00.760
we're to be people who just sit back and do nothing.

00:39:03.359 --> 00:39:07.280
Right? God, give me prophecy of my life. Tell

00:39:07.280 --> 00:39:09.820
me what's going to happen next week. And, you

00:39:09.820 --> 00:39:11.360
know, sometimes God knows. He goes, I'll reveal

00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:12.940
it to you and you'll still do the stupid thing.

00:39:14.739 --> 00:39:16.880
I mean, it's just, right? Sometimes we're just

00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:21.619
knuckleheads. Well, God, you're sovereign. You're

00:39:21.619 --> 00:39:23.239
in control of all things. You know the future.

00:39:23.320 --> 00:39:25.000
You know exactly what's going to happen tomorrow.

00:39:25.099 --> 00:39:29.500
So just tell me what to do. No, I've given you

00:39:29.500 --> 00:39:35.199
my word. I've given you wise counsel. I've given

00:39:35.199 --> 00:39:40.079
you the principles. Now go live your life and

00:39:40.079 --> 00:39:42.659
live the principles that I'm teaching you to

00:39:42.659 --> 00:39:44.719
live. Well, should I go left or right? I don't

00:39:44.719 --> 00:39:47.840
care. I care that you're godly whether you go

00:39:47.840 --> 00:39:49.840
left or right. I care that you represent me whether

00:39:49.840 --> 00:39:51.920
you go left or right. Should I do this business

00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:53.940
or that business? Now, does that mean God doesn't

00:39:53.940 --> 00:39:58.820
sometimes forcibly direct us? No, he does. But

00:39:58.820 --> 00:40:00.820
when you go through the Old Testament, we see

00:40:00.820 --> 00:40:04.079
these stories of Abraham and Jacob, and we see

00:40:04.079 --> 00:40:08.380
these big gaps. After two years, Pharaoh had

00:40:08.380 --> 00:40:10.639
a dream. What was Joseph doing for the two years?

00:40:10.739 --> 00:40:13.500
It doesn't tell us. But we know he was living.

00:40:13.579 --> 00:40:17.000
We know he was eating and drinking and serving.

00:40:20.219 --> 00:40:24.380
But he had no revelation. So how did he know

00:40:24.380 --> 00:40:27.900
what to do? He lived off of what he already knew.

00:40:30.920 --> 00:40:33.579
God gives us so many principles for the type

00:40:33.579 --> 00:40:35.760
of people he wants us to be in living and serving

00:40:35.760 --> 00:40:38.639
for him. And all of that is wisdom. And the problem

00:40:38.639 --> 00:40:41.400
is we say, yeah, that's cool, Lord. I'm going

00:40:41.400 --> 00:40:43.159
to do it my own way. And then we fall on our

00:40:43.159 --> 00:40:44.719
face. And then we go, see, God, if you had just

00:40:44.719 --> 00:40:49.300
told me which way to go. And he's like, no, if

00:40:49.300 --> 00:40:50.940
you had just done what I had already told you

00:40:50.940 --> 00:40:52.920
to do, you wouldn't have fallen on your face.

00:40:55.469 --> 00:40:58.110
And that's all character, that's all behavior,

00:40:58.349 --> 00:41:00.690
that's all decision -making that comes from knowing

00:41:00.690 --> 00:41:03.590
who God is and knowing his word, and that's where

00:41:03.590 --> 00:41:07.550
wisdom comes from. God wants us to help people.

00:41:07.630 --> 00:41:09.510
God wants us to love people. God wants us to

00:41:09.510 --> 00:41:12.449
stand for the gospel boldly. God wants us to

00:41:12.449 --> 00:41:15.809
proclaim truth, even if it costs us, right? And

00:41:15.809 --> 00:41:20.010
sometimes we're just like, no, God is sovereign,

00:41:20.090 --> 00:41:26.119
I'll wait. Joseph doesn't sit back. Rather, instead,

00:41:26.320 --> 00:41:29.320
knowing God knows the future, knowing God holds

00:41:29.320 --> 00:41:31.159
everything, knowing God is there, he goes, I'm

00:41:31.159 --> 00:41:34.500
gonna just, let's step forward. Let's employ

00:41:34.500 --> 00:41:39.139
just a wise, practical plan for how to move forward

00:41:39.139 --> 00:41:41.579
knowing what God has shown us. And because Joseph

00:41:41.579 --> 00:41:45.840
believes God's word, he just acts decisively.

00:41:46.900 --> 00:41:49.800
God said seven years of plenty are coming and

00:41:49.800 --> 00:41:52.400
seven years of famine are coming. God said that.

00:41:52.440 --> 00:41:56.000
I believe it without doubt. So therefore. Let's

00:41:56.000 --> 00:41:58.860
take action. You see, God's foreknowledge is

00:41:58.860 --> 00:42:01.500
not an excuse for inaction. It's always a faithful

00:42:01.500 --> 00:42:07.780
call to stewardship. God reveals to us what he

00:42:07.780 --> 00:42:10.079
reveals to us so that we then live our lives

00:42:10.079 --> 00:42:16.440
according to his word and his wisdom. God tells

00:42:16.440 --> 00:42:19.980
husbands how to be. God tells wives how to be,

00:42:20.039 --> 00:42:22.239
parents how to be. He tells us how to live, how

00:42:22.239 --> 00:42:24.179
to act, how to treat each other, how to interact.

00:42:27.589 --> 00:42:31.429
and we're just supposed to do it and live. Abraham,

00:42:31.570 --> 00:42:33.590
how many years of his life is like, okay, this

00:42:33.590 --> 00:42:35.070
happened, and God spoke to Abraham, and then

00:42:35.070 --> 00:42:38.349
big long gap, and then God spoke to him. It's

00:42:38.349 --> 00:42:40.769
like, was Abraham just sitting in his tent in

00:42:40.769 --> 00:42:43.909
the interim? No, he was living his life according

00:42:43.909 --> 00:42:46.590
to the principles and things he knew, and that's

00:42:46.590 --> 00:42:50.860
wisdom. True faith, I just believe, prepares

00:42:50.860 --> 00:42:53.440
and plans and works diligently in light of what

00:42:53.440 --> 00:42:55.659
God has revealed, trusting that God is already

00:42:55.659 --> 00:42:57.619
in tomorrow and if God needs to reveal something

00:42:57.619 --> 00:42:59.900
to me tomorrow, he will. Otherwise, I'm gonna

00:42:59.900 --> 00:43:05.719
go on what I know to do. So, verse 37. The proposal

00:43:05.719 --> 00:43:07.900
pleased Pharaoh and all his servants and he said

00:43:07.900 --> 00:43:10.659
to them, can we find anyone like this? A man

00:43:10.659 --> 00:43:15.159
who has God's spirit in him? Notice Joseph didn't

00:43:15.159 --> 00:43:18.420
go, hey, Pharaoh, you should look for a discerning

00:43:18.420 --> 00:43:23.199
and wise man to point over all of this. Maybe

00:43:23.199 --> 00:43:28.500
someone that kind of is Hebrew. Joseph just humbly

00:43:28.500 --> 00:43:31.239
was like, hey, this is what God is telling me

00:43:31.239 --> 00:43:33.099
to share with you, and you should find someone.

00:43:33.199 --> 00:43:35.480
Pharaoh's like, who can we, can we find anyone

00:43:35.480 --> 00:43:38.059
like this? So Pharaoh said to Joseph, verse 39,

00:43:38.360 --> 00:43:40.500
since God has made all of this known to you,

00:43:40.559 --> 00:43:42.380
there's no one as discerning and wise as you

00:43:42.380 --> 00:43:45.119
are. You will be over my house and all my people

00:43:45.119 --> 00:43:47.659
will obey your commands. Only I as king will

00:43:47.659 --> 00:43:50.760
be greater than you. Pharaoh also said to Joseph,

00:43:50.880 --> 00:43:53.019
see, I'm placing you over all the land of Egypt.

00:43:53.840 --> 00:43:56.000
Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand

00:43:56.000 --> 00:43:58.079
and put it on Joseph's hand, clothed him with

00:43:58.079 --> 00:44:00.679
fine linen garments and placed a gold chain around

00:44:00.679 --> 00:44:03.900
his neck. He had Joseph ride in his second chariot

00:44:03.900 --> 00:44:05.659
and his servants called out before him, make

00:44:05.659 --> 00:44:08.960
way. So he placed him over all the land of Egypt.

00:44:09.659 --> 00:44:11.739
Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and no

00:44:11.739 --> 00:44:13.860
one will be able to raise his hand or foot in

00:44:13.860 --> 00:44:16.500
all the land without your permission. Pharaoh

00:44:16.500 --> 00:44:20.960
gave Joseph the name Zaphonath -Paneah, or Zaphonath

00:44:20.960 --> 00:44:23.820
-Paneah, and gave him a wife, Asenath, daughter

00:44:23.820 --> 00:44:26.699
of Potiphar, a priest of On. And Joseph went

00:44:26.699 --> 00:44:32.400
through the land of Egypt. Wow. And one day from

00:44:32.400 --> 00:44:34.300
the prison, the shackles and the iron collar

00:44:34.300 --> 00:44:38.320
to prime minister of the country. In one day.

00:44:38.989 --> 00:44:41.309
going from you eat when we tell you to eat to

00:44:41.309 --> 00:44:43.829
nobody can even lift their foot without your

00:44:43.829 --> 00:44:48.769
permission. That's a pretty radical shift. I

00:44:48.769 --> 00:44:50.849
believe Pharaoh recognized what everybody else

00:44:50.849 --> 00:44:54.349
missed along the way, that Joseph possessed a

00:44:54.349 --> 00:45:00.050
wisdom that cannot be explained naturally. He

00:45:00.050 --> 00:45:02.409
says, God has made this known to you. I mean,

00:45:02.429 --> 00:45:04.750
that's, again, an incredibly surprising admission

00:45:04.750 --> 00:45:08.210
from the guy who says, I am God and must be worshiped.

00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:12.219
But God was already laying that groundwork before

00:45:12.219 --> 00:45:14.760
Joseph even got involved. Now, I did look up

00:45:14.760 --> 00:45:17.480
the word. I go, what does Pharaoh mean by God?

00:45:18.139 --> 00:45:21.840
The word in the Hebrew is Elohim. That word Elohim

00:45:21.840 --> 00:45:25.760
means mighty one. It is a word used of God Almighty,

00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:29.150
the one true God. but the word in the Hebrew

00:45:29.150 --> 00:45:32.610
doesn't necessarily mean the one true God. It

00:45:32.610 --> 00:45:36.289
means mighty one, someone or something that is

00:45:36.289 --> 00:45:39.190
mighty or powerful. And so this doesn't indicate

00:45:39.190 --> 00:45:42.469
that Pharaoh was believing that the one true

00:45:42.469 --> 00:45:45.789
God was the only one true God, but he was believing

00:45:45.789 --> 00:45:51.510
that Joseph worshipped a mighty being that gave

00:45:51.510 --> 00:45:54.969
him supernatural wisdom and saw that that would

00:45:54.969 --> 00:45:58.190
benefit the country. I mean, spiritual power

00:45:58.190 --> 00:46:00.469
of any kind was taken very seriously in Egypt

00:46:00.469 --> 00:46:04.210
at the time. And so here we see that Joseph is

00:46:04.210 --> 00:46:06.849
exalted to the highest possible position in the

00:46:06.849 --> 00:46:10.889
land, second to Pharaoh only. The signet ring,

00:46:11.030 --> 00:46:13.909
that was a sign of authority, right? If you had

00:46:13.909 --> 00:46:15.849
the ring with the Pharaoh's symbol on it, you

00:46:15.849 --> 00:46:19.820
basically could do anything you want. The fine

00:46:19.820 --> 00:46:21.880
linen and the gold collar, right? We've all seen

00:46:21.880 --> 00:46:23.559
the cartoons of the movies, right? The white

00:46:23.559 --> 00:46:26.460
Egyptian robe with the white gold thing around

00:46:26.460 --> 00:46:30.079
the neck. That was a symbol of honor and prestige.

00:46:30.199 --> 00:46:32.639
And then riding in the second chariot, that was

00:46:32.639 --> 00:46:36.639
power. That meant power and influence. And he

00:46:36.639 --> 00:46:39.679
was publicly recognized as so. This person who

00:46:39.679 --> 00:46:43.260
had just momentarily before been in iron collars

00:46:43.260 --> 00:46:47.800
now is wearing these gold collars of honor. And

00:46:47.800 --> 00:46:53.139
one day, Joseph went from this prisoner to political

00:46:53.139 --> 00:46:59.599
power. Yet, what we don't have listed here is

00:46:59.599 --> 00:47:05.199
any self -congratulation, no boasting, not even

00:47:05.199 --> 00:47:12.599
a personal celebration on Joseph's part. I believe

00:47:12.599 --> 00:47:14.400
Joseph knew that promotion comes from the Lord,

00:47:14.539 --> 00:47:17.559
and he knew this was the Lord. Because that's

00:47:17.559 --> 00:47:19.039
the character of this man we've seen through

00:47:19.039 --> 00:47:23.760
his whole life. That it was God who was doing

00:47:23.760 --> 00:47:26.039
what he was doing here. It wasn't based on him.

00:47:26.079 --> 00:47:27.880
It wasn't based on his ability. It wasn't based

00:47:27.880 --> 00:47:30.699
on, it was just, it was God did something mighty.

00:47:32.579 --> 00:47:35.179
And those who wait on the Lord don't need to

00:47:35.179 --> 00:47:38.300
worry about promoting themselves. Don't need

00:47:38.300 --> 00:47:40.880
to worry about any of that. That's God's business.

00:47:41.320 --> 00:47:45.670
Our job is to be faithful. That's it. God gives

00:47:45.670 --> 00:47:47.710
us an opportunity to serve. If we're going, yeah,

00:47:47.730 --> 00:47:49.829
I'm going to do that because I hope God raises

00:47:49.829 --> 00:47:54.889
me up to this other thing, don't do it. I'm going

00:47:54.889 --> 00:47:58.630
to work hard at my job because I want the promotion.

00:47:58.949 --> 00:48:01.070
Now, it's not wrong to say, hey, I want a better

00:48:01.070 --> 00:48:02.570
position. I want better pay and all that. But

00:48:02.570 --> 00:48:04.889
the better thing is to say, I'm going to work

00:48:04.889 --> 00:48:07.349
hard at my job because I work as unto the Lord

00:48:07.349 --> 00:48:11.730
and I serve him. And if God wants to promote

00:48:11.730 --> 00:48:15.289
me, God will promote me. But I want God to be

00:48:15.289 --> 00:48:17.530
blessed. I want to be able to end each day with,

00:48:17.610 --> 00:48:20.449
hey God, are you pleased with who I was today?

00:48:22.250 --> 00:48:24.889
And we should be looking forward to that response.

00:48:24.969 --> 00:48:30.809
Yeah, I'm so blessed. Well done. God is the one

00:48:30.809 --> 00:48:32.889
who raises up. God is the one who takes down.

00:48:33.030 --> 00:48:36.030
And here in the story, we see this amazing transformation.

00:48:38.130 --> 00:48:41.530
This amazing transformation of Joseph's life.

00:48:45.699 --> 00:48:48.280
Just be faithful to the Lord and trust him with

00:48:48.280 --> 00:48:52.340
all the other stuff. Just be faithful to what

00:48:52.340 --> 00:48:55.940
God is calling you to do and do it. Well, we

00:48:55.940 --> 00:49:00.460
just talked about that. He won't tell me. He's

00:49:00.460 --> 00:49:02.940
already told you what he wants to tell you in

00:49:02.940 --> 00:49:08.219
his word. Live it. Do it. God speaks into relationships.

00:49:08.719 --> 00:49:14.079
God speaks into finances. God speaks into service.

00:49:14.300 --> 00:49:17.019
God speaks into how to handle conflict and difficulty,

00:49:17.340 --> 00:49:20.320
how to handle trauma, how to handle all of it.

00:49:26.079 --> 00:49:30.579
Just be faithful. And sometimes when we find

00:49:30.579 --> 00:49:34.820
ourselves in the long, silent nights, what is

00:49:34.820 --> 00:49:37.719
he doing? What is he doing? You see, well, let's

00:49:37.719 --> 00:49:39.019
read the next part and I'll get into that. Verse

00:49:39.019 --> 00:49:42.139
41. Joseph was 30 years old when he entered the

00:49:42.139 --> 00:49:44.340
service of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And that's

00:49:44.340 --> 00:49:46.119
where we get the time frame that it's been 13

00:49:46.119 --> 00:49:49.219
years. Joseph left Pharaoh's presence and traveled

00:49:49.219 --> 00:49:51.800
throughout the land of Egypt. During the seven

00:49:51.800 --> 00:49:53.920
years of abundance, the land produced outstanding

00:49:53.920 --> 00:49:57.199
harvests. Joseph gathered all the excess food

00:49:57.199 --> 00:49:59.059
in the land of Egypt during the seven years and

00:49:59.059 --> 00:50:01.460
put it in the cities. He put the food in every

00:50:01.460 --> 00:50:04.440
city from the fields around it. So Joseph stored

00:50:04.440 --> 00:50:07.099
up grain in such abundance, like the sand of

00:50:07.099 --> 00:50:09.440
the sea, that he stopped measuring it because

00:50:09.440 --> 00:50:13.239
it was beyond measure. God, you're just showing

00:50:13.239 --> 00:50:18.039
off now. Come on. How much grain do we got, Joseph?

00:50:18.219 --> 00:50:22.880
A lot. How much is a lot? It's a bunch, just

00:50:22.880 --> 00:50:28.820
trust me. Just overflowing. Then it says in verse

00:50:28.820 --> 00:50:31.780
50, two sons were born to Joseph before the years

00:50:31.780 --> 00:50:36.409
of famine arrived. Asenath, daughter of Potipharah,

00:50:36.409 --> 00:50:39.610
priested on, bore them to him. Joseph named the

00:50:39.610 --> 00:50:41.789
firstborn Manasseh and said, God has made me

00:50:41.789 --> 00:50:44.909
forget all my hardship and my whole family. And

00:50:44.909 --> 00:50:47.110
the second son he named Ephraim and said, God

00:50:47.110 --> 00:50:49.130
has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.

00:50:49.889 --> 00:50:51.909
Then the seven years of abundance in the land

00:50:51.909 --> 00:50:54.050
of Egypt came to an end and the seven years of

00:50:54.050 --> 00:50:57.949
famine began just as Joseph had said. There was

00:50:57.949 --> 00:51:00.429
famine in every land, but in the whole land of

00:51:00.429 --> 00:51:03.219
Egypt there was food. When the whole land of

00:51:03.219 --> 00:51:05.280
Egypt was stricken with famine, the people cried

00:51:05.280 --> 00:51:07.400
out to Pharaoh for food, and Pharaoh told all

00:51:07.400 --> 00:51:10.320
of Egypt, go to Joseph and do whatever he tells

00:51:10.320 --> 00:51:13.340
you. Now the famine had spread across the whole

00:51:13.340 --> 00:51:15.960
region, and so Joseph opened up all the storehouses

00:51:15.960 --> 00:51:18.699
and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine

00:51:18.699 --> 00:51:22.079
was severe in the land of Egypt. Every land came

00:51:22.079 --> 00:51:25.639
to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, for the famine

00:51:25.639 --> 00:51:30.880
was severe in every land. God did this amazing

00:51:30.880 --> 00:51:33.960
thing, raised Joseph up from the lowest to the

00:51:33.960 --> 00:51:36.579
highest position. And wow, that's amazing. And

00:51:36.579 --> 00:51:39.219
we all pray for things like that in our lives,

00:51:39.300 --> 00:51:40.820
right? It's like, God, raise me up out of my

00:51:40.820 --> 00:51:43.539
affliction and take me to this place. And why

00:51:43.539 --> 00:51:46.820
am I languishing in poverty? And why don't I

00:51:46.820 --> 00:51:48.800
have enough for this or that or whatever the

00:51:48.800 --> 00:51:51.679
situation is? And we're like, God, give me redemption.

00:51:51.860 --> 00:51:57.380
God, set me free. But in Joseph's story here,

00:51:58.000 --> 00:52:01.159
we learn something that we have to be very careful

00:52:01.159 --> 00:52:04.679
with success. The greatest threat to Joseph's

00:52:04.679 --> 00:52:07.079
life and his faith was not the suffering, it

00:52:07.079 --> 00:52:12.780
was the success. You see, in his success, he

00:52:12.780 --> 00:52:15.639
was given an Egyptian name, he was given an Egyptian

00:52:15.639 --> 00:52:18.920
wife, he was fully immersed into Egyptian culture,

00:52:19.179 --> 00:52:23.179
had the robe, had the gold collar, maybe had

00:52:23.179 --> 00:52:26.889
the cool Egyptian hat. Rode in the second chariot.

00:52:27.090 --> 00:52:29.210
Authority. People can't even lift their hand

00:52:29.210 --> 00:52:34.389
without your permission. Incredible power. Incredible

00:52:34.389 --> 00:52:42.409
responsibility. Incredible temptation. Why did

00:52:42.409 --> 00:52:45.010
God wait an additional two years? Why did that

00:52:45.010 --> 00:52:49.769
silent night seem to go on and on and on? Because

00:52:49.769 --> 00:52:53.380
in the prison, Joseph wasn't ready yet. Joseph

00:52:53.380 --> 00:52:58.739
wasn't ready to deal with the temptations and

00:52:58.739 --> 00:53:01.539
all that would come with this type of power.

00:53:01.679 --> 00:53:04.059
I mean, think about it. He was number two in

00:53:04.059 --> 00:53:05.960
the land. He could have said, you know what?

00:53:06.500 --> 00:53:10.460
Army, go kill my brothers. They're punks. He

00:53:10.460 --> 00:53:14.880
had the authority to do that. And yet instead

00:53:14.880 --> 00:53:18.280
of being immersed and assimilated into the culture,

00:53:18.400 --> 00:53:21.980
he remained anchored to God because he had been

00:53:21.980 --> 00:53:25.000
shaped and molded and matured and his character

00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:27.860
was such that God said, now you're ready to handle

00:53:27.860 --> 00:53:32.079
what I'm about to give you. How do we know that?

00:53:32.119 --> 00:53:35.260
We see it in the names of his kids. His first

00:53:35.260 --> 00:53:37.800
kid, Manessa, says, God has made me forget all

00:53:37.800 --> 00:53:41.860
my hardship and my whole family. Now, that's

00:53:41.860 --> 00:53:44.760
not him going, peace out, family, forget about

00:53:44.760 --> 00:53:49.380
you guys. That is him saying, I have finally

00:53:49.380 --> 00:53:54.840
come to the place of fully accepting this is

00:53:54.840 --> 00:54:00.340
where God has me. I have my own wife now and

00:54:00.340 --> 00:54:02.500
my own kids, and we'll talk about that in a moment.

00:54:04.579 --> 00:54:07.460
But the longing to go back and the longing to

00:54:07.460 --> 00:54:10.079
see them again or the longing to go like, how

00:54:10.079 --> 00:54:13.579
dare you guys? He's finally, he's at the place

00:54:13.579 --> 00:54:18.199
where he says, God, this is where you have me.

00:54:19.260 --> 00:54:21.280
I'm not gonna worry about the past anymore. I'm

00:54:21.280 --> 00:54:23.099
not gonna focus on the past. I'm not gonna dwell

00:54:23.099 --> 00:54:25.400
on that. You have made me forget all my hardship.

00:54:25.699 --> 00:54:28.739
It's not him denying that any of it happened.

00:54:29.000 --> 00:54:31.539
It's his expression that he is healed from the

00:54:31.539 --> 00:54:35.199
bitterness. And has grown into that place of

00:54:35.199 --> 00:54:37.400
saying, God, just my trust and faith in you has

00:54:37.400 --> 00:54:42.980
grown. And I'm good. This is him consciously

00:54:42.980 --> 00:54:46.500
refusing to let his past poison his future. And

00:54:46.500 --> 00:54:51.900
gosh, we all got stuff. We all got stuff. It

00:54:51.900 --> 00:54:56.940
happened. Right? It happened. We can't deny that

00:54:56.940 --> 00:55:04.230
it happened. And we can't change it. But who

00:55:04.230 --> 00:55:07.690
are you today in the Lord? Who are you today

00:55:07.690 --> 00:55:09.989
in Christ? Where is your faith and your trust?

00:55:10.090 --> 00:55:12.269
You're in that place of saying, look, that happened

00:55:12.269 --> 00:55:15.789
and it was real and it hurt and it was difficult,

00:55:15.849 --> 00:55:20.050
but I'm gonna leave that with the Lord. I'm not

00:55:20.050 --> 00:55:22.650
gonna let it define me today and change who I

00:55:22.650 --> 00:55:25.829
am today and poison me today. I'm gonna let that

00:55:25.829 --> 00:55:28.369
go and we see him naming his kids with these

00:55:28.369 --> 00:55:30.849
Hebrew names in the midst of this Egyptian culture.

00:55:32.750 --> 00:55:35.130
Their names are declarations and sermons and

00:55:35.130 --> 00:55:39.750
testimonies. Ephraim means God had made me fruitful

00:55:39.750 --> 00:55:43.510
in the land of my affliction. He's not saying,

00:55:43.610 --> 00:55:45.969
I'm gonna pretend affliction didn't happen, and

00:55:45.969 --> 00:55:47.909
look, God's blessing me now, yay. He's saying,

00:55:48.010 --> 00:55:54.650
through all of that, God is blessing me. He's

00:55:54.650 --> 00:55:58.699
acknowledging it happened. But it's not defining

00:55:58.699 --> 00:56:01.059
me because I recognize that God was there through

00:56:01.059 --> 00:56:05.460
every single step. And he's with me now. These

00:56:05.460 --> 00:56:08.079
names speak to the fact that Joseph has forgiven

00:56:08.079 --> 00:56:10.800
and healed and learned to trust and rest in God

00:56:10.800 --> 00:56:13.920
fully. And then the story tells us, abundance

00:56:13.920 --> 00:56:16.880
flowed just as God had spoken. And then the famine

00:56:16.880 --> 00:56:20.820
comes just as God had spoken. And the whole world

00:56:20.820 --> 00:56:26.139
comes to him for grain. God's long, silent preparation

00:56:26.139 --> 00:56:31.619
is now set to save the nations and to preserve

00:56:31.619 --> 00:56:33.460
the line through which the Messiah would come.

00:56:35.239 --> 00:56:39.699
You see, his whole story is a story of growth

00:56:39.699 --> 00:56:42.539
and all of that, but his story of personal growth,

00:56:42.639 --> 00:56:46.920
it culminates here in his exaltation. Sustenance

00:56:46.920 --> 00:56:48.840
for the world, authority in his hands, nations

00:56:48.840 --> 00:56:54.739
coming to him for life. But all of that points

00:56:54.739 --> 00:56:58.599
to the Lord. All of it. Joseph's life is such

00:56:58.599 --> 00:57:00.460
a beautiful picture pointing to the Lord. It's

00:57:00.460 --> 00:57:02.199
one of the reasons why he said, hey, it's a week

00:57:02.199 --> 00:57:04.280
before Christmas, and yet I'm going to stay here

00:57:04.280 --> 00:57:08.119
in Genesis 41. Why? Because this story is a story

00:57:08.119 --> 00:57:10.119
that points to the Lord that we're going to celebrate

00:57:10.119 --> 00:57:16.070
in just a few days. As we move towards Christmas,

00:57:16.170 --> 00:57:18.630
we should be reminded that Joseph's story points

00:57:18.630 --> 00:57:22.750
beyond itself. Joseph, as a type of Christ, we've

00:57:22.750 --> 00:57:25.210
talked about this, he was rejected by his own

00:57:25.210 --> 00:57:27.610
brother. Jesus was rejected by his own people.

00:57:28.329 --> 00:57:31.489
Joseph was unjustly condemned. Jesus was falsely

00:57:31.489 --> 00:57:34.690
accused. Joseph went into a pit long before being

00:57:34.690 --> 00:57:41.659
exalted. Jesus came down into a manger. clothed

00:57:41.659 --> 00:57:45.420
himself in the frailty of humanity long before

00:57:45.420 --> 00:57:47.460
the resurrection and his ascension back to the

00:57:47.460 --> 00:57:50.480
right hand of the Father in glory. Joseph became

00:57:50.480 --> 00:57:53.659
the savior of the known world by God's design,

00:57:53.900 --> 00:57:56.780
and Jesus became the savior of the world by God's

00:57:56.780 --> 00:58:00.860
eternal plan. Another detail that's interesting

00:58:00.860 --> 00:58:08.099
is Joseph ends up with a Gentile bride. What

00:58:08.099 --> 00:58:13.679
is the church today? It's a mix, but it's not

00:58:13.679 --> 00:58:20.159
that purely Jewish group. How many of us are

00:58:20.159 --> 00:58:23.900
Gentiles in this room? If you're not a Jew, you're

00:58:23.900 --> 00:58:28.800
a Gentile. And yet, we're the bride of Christ.

00:58:30.980 --> 00:58:33.460
You know, here's another wonder of Christmas,

00:58:33.619 --> 00:58:37.679
that God didn't send Jesus into the world when

00:58:37.679 --> 00:58:40.969
the world expected him. God sent him into the

00:58:40.969 --> 00:58:46.989
world when the world needed him most. God didn't

00:58:46.989 --> 00:58:50.750
release Joseph into the world in that sense when

00:58:50.750 --> 00:58:56.489
Joseph wanted it, when it was God's timing. When

00:58:56.489 --> 00:59:00.690
it was God's timing. Jesus came not in power,

00:59:00.730 --> 00:59:02.849
but in humility. He didn't come with fanfare,

00:59:02.909 --> 00:59:06.250
but he came in faithfulness. He didn't come to

00:59:06.250 --> 00:59:12.289
avoid suffering, but to redeem it. To make it

00:59:12.289 --> 00:59:16.650
make sense. To show us that there's life past

00:59:16.650 --> 00:59:18.510
those things, that those things that happen,

00:59:18.590 --> 00:59:21.809
they have a purpose in God's plan in our lives.

00:59:23.510 --> 00:59:27.070
If you're in a season of waiting and you're in

00:59:27.070 --> 00:59:31.730
that silent night, that long silent night, Christmas

00:59:31.730 --> 00:59:37.489
tells you God hasn't forgotten about you. He's

00:59:37.489 --> 00:59:40.730
just over here working on details. that you don't

00:59:40.730 --> 00:59:46.429
know about yet. That's meant to help you endure.

00:59:48.289 --> 00:59:50.389
Not that it's, oh, hey, I'm full of joy. It's

00:59:50.389 --> 00:59:52.170
super easy now. No, but it's meant to help you

00:59:52.170 --> 00:59:53.570
endure. It's meant to help you hang on. It's

00:59:53.570 --> 00:59:57.210
meant to help you find peace in the chaos. If

00:59:57.210 --> 00:59:59.329
you're in a season of pain, Christmas tells you

00:59:59.329 --> 01:00:02.090
that God has entered it with you. He's right

01:00:02.090 --> 01:00:04.429
there, just like with Joseph in this confusion

01:00:04.429 --> 01:00:07.389
and this hurt. God was there the whole time.

01:00:08.719 --> 01:00:12.179
If you're in a season of blessing, well, Christmas

01:00:12.179 --> 01:00:14.340
reminds you where all the glory belongs, right?

01:00:15.639 --> 01:00:20.380
It's about him. Just as Pharaoh told Egypt, everybody

01:00:20.380 --> 01:00:23.019
came seeking salvation because we're starving

01:00:23.019 --> 01:00:26.860
to death. Pharaoh said, go to Joseph and do what

01:00:26.860 --> 01:00:31.139
he tells you to do. And the father says to us

01:00:31.139 --> 01:00:35.039
now, to the entire world, go to my son and do

01:00:35.039 --> 01:00:40.360
what he tells you to do. Whatever it is God says

01:00:40.360 --> 01:00:44.380
to you, do it. His ways are the right ways. His

01:00:44.380 --> 01:00:46.239
ways are the only ways. His ways are the perfect

01:00:46.239 --> 01:00:50.119
ways. His timing is the perfect timing. I know

01:00:50.119 --> 01:00:52.119
God knows what's going to happen tomorrow. I

01:00:52.119 --> 01:00:54.239
don't need to worry about it. If he wants to

01:00:54.239 --> 01:00:56.320
let me know, that's his business. If he doesn't,

01:00:56.320 --> 01:01:02.260
I know he's there anyways. So I'll be okay. I

01:01:02.260 --> 01:01:04.440
may experience trauma and suffering, but I'll

01:01:04.440 --> 01:01:07.019
be okay because God is there and God is gonna

01:01:07.019 --> 01:01:12.320
direct me as I trust him and lean on him. Christ

01:01:12.320 --> 01:01:14.300
is the spiritual food for the hungry and the

01:01:14.300 --> 01:01:16.280
hope for the weary and the life for the world,

01:01:16.380 --> 01:01:20.880
right? And so this Christmas, as we're moving

01:01:20.880 --> 01:01:24.719
into it, through this story, I pray that we would

01:01:24.719 --> 01:01:30.059
grow and learn more to trust God who works in

01:01:30.059 --> 01:01:37.079
the silence. To be able to say, okay, God's doing

01:01:37.079 --> 01:01:39.139
something. I don't know what it is yet, but he's

01:01:39.139 --> 01:01:43.460
doing something. Why? Because he's my dad. How

01:01:43.460 --> 01:01:45.579
can I trust that he is working because he has

01:01:45.579 --> 01:01:48.079
redeemed me? How do I know he has redeemed me?

01:01:48.239 --> 01:01:50.300
Because he died on the cross and rose from the

01:01:50.300 --> 01:01:52.260
dead. How do I know that happened? Because he

01:01:52.260 --> 01:01:54.360
lived a whole perfect life. And then how do I

01:01:54.360 --> 01:01:57.260
know that? Because he was born into this world

01:01:57.260 --> 01:02:02.579
to live the life. that we live to experience

01:02:02.579 --> 01:02:08.619
it all. So that when we're waiting in the two

01:02:08.619 --> 01:02:11.539
years of silence, we could say, he knows what

01:02:11.539 --> 01:02:16.599
it's like to wait. He's working. He's doing something.

01:02:16.980 --> 01:02:19.280
And then in his perfect time, we'll see him redeem

01:02:19.280 --> 01:02:22.559
all the suffering and keep his promises and all

01:02:22.559 --> 01:02:24.960
of that. And it's all for his glory. It's all

01:02:24.960 --> 01:02:28.199
for his glory. And so in the timing of every

01:02:28.199 --> 01:02:34.039
silent night, It all points to the anticipation

01:02:34.039 --> 01:02:43.619
of the arrival of your Savior. He's coming. He'll

01:02:43.619 --> 01:02:48.760
give you the strength to keep waiting. He can

01:02:48.760 --> 01:02:51.340
deal with your doubts. He can deal with your

01:02:51.340 --> 01:02:57.260
worries. Bring Him to Him, but have faith. That's

01:02:57.260 --> 01:03:03.340
the hope of Christmas. It's unto us a Savior

01:03:03.340 --> 01:03:07.800
is born. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we love you.

01:03:10.320 --> 01:03:18.039
We thank you, God, for everything. Lord, I pray

01:03:18.039 --> 01:03:20.039
for those that may be in this room or listening

01:03:20.039 --> 01:03:24.480
to this message, God, that are in the silent

01:03:24.480 --> 01:03:29.809
night. I pray, God, that as if they've... As

01:03:29.809 --> 01:03:31.789
we've heard your word today that they'd be encouraged,

01:03:32.030 --> 01:03:34.809
God, is look at all the details you had laid

01:03:34.809 --> 01:03:36.670
out and all the things you had planned that Joseph

01:03:36.670 --> 01:03:42.329
couldn't even imagine. That, Lord, the truth

01:03:42.329 --> 01:03:44.550
that you are working behind the scenes for them

01:03:44.550 --> 01:03:46.829
right now, even when it seems and feels like

01:03:46.829 --> 01:03:52.469
you're silent, it is a holy silence because you

01:03:52.469 --> 01:03:54.730
are there and you are doing what you need to

01:03:54.730 --> 01:03:59.829
do so that we could get to the next. Lord, God,

01:03:59.869 --> 01:04:02.849
if Joseph wasn't ready in his spirit and his

01:04:02.849 --> 01:04:06.250
character for what you had next for him, Lord,

01:04:06.309 --> 01:04:08.710
he would have been destroyed, wrecked. And God,

01:04:08.750 --> 01:04:12.309
it's the same with us. And so I pray for those

01:04:12.309 --> 01:04:14.070
who are in the waiting right now, Lord, that

01:04:14.070 --> 01:04:17.869
you'd give them peace and hope and strength.

01:04:21.429 --> 01:04:26.730
I pray, God, that the gift of your arrival The

01:04:26.730 --> 01:04:28.710
life you lived and everything that is in the

01:04:28.710 --> 01:04:30.969
gospel, God, would give them everything they

01:04:30.969 --> 01:04:36.429
need to persevere. One more day. And one more

01:04:36.429 --> 01:04:38.469
day after that. And one more day after that.

01:04:42.530 --> 01:04:45.449
I pray for those who are hurting in this season,

01:04:45.550 --> 01:04:49.550
God, that they would be reminded that you're

01:04:49.550 --> 01:04:54.599
there with them. That even that hurting might

01:04:54.599 --> 01:04:56.800
be something you're allowing in their lives to

01:04:56.800 --> 01:04:58.940
form them and to mold them and to shape them

01:04:58.940 --> 01:05:02.059
into a person you're gonna use for whatever's

01:05:02.059 --> 01:05:04.480
next. And sometimes, God, we say, I don't even

01:05:04.480 --> 01:05:09.980
want it. But Lord, help us to rest in your wisdom.

01:05:12.840 --> 01:05:14.980
Knowing that everything, everything you allow,

01:05:15.239 --> 01:05:19.300
every point, every purpose, it's perfect because

01:05:19.300 --> 01:05:25.360
you're perfect. I pray for those of us, Lord,

01:05:25.420 --> 01:05:28.880
that are in time of blessing, that we would not

01:05:28.880 --> 01:05:32.619
be swayed by that, Lord, as Joseph found himself

01:05:32.619 --> 01:05:35.219
in power and authority and wealth and riches

01:05:35.219 --> 01:05:40.400
and just blessing beyond. That, God, he never

01:05:40.400 --> 01:05:44.760
forgot who he was and who you were, who you are.

01:05:48.659 --> 01:05:53.300
And that, Lord, he was in that place. to be used

01:05:53.300 --> 01:05:55.980
by you to affect change in the whole world, God.

01:05:56.199 --> 01:05:58.900
And Lord, I ask for each one of us, Lord, that

01:05:58.900 --> 01:06:01.380
you would use us for that. I pray for every single

01:06:01.380 --> 01:06:03.380
person in this church, Lord, that you would use

01:06:03.380 --> 01:06:06.239
them to bring true and lasting effect into the

01:06:06.239 --> 01:06:11.300
lives of those that are hurting. That, God, we

01:06:11.300 --> 01:06:13.139
wouldn't be silent about our faith and about

01:06:13.139 --> 01:06:14.960
Christmas, but, Lord, we would just share the

01:06:14.960 --> 01:06:19.659
love and the hope. That, God, we wouldn't stand

01:06:19.659 --> 01:06:23.320
before people and be afraid to invite them to

01:06:23.320 --> 01:06:25.480
church or whatever, Lord, because, God, you're

01:06:25.480 --> 01:06:29.360
no respecter of men. But you love men. You died

01:06:29.360 --> 01:06:32.260
for men. And so, Lord, let us be a part of bringing

01:06:32.260 --> 01:06:35.179
those that are in our lives that don't know you

01:06:35.179 --> 01:06:38.659
to a place where maybe they would come to know

01:06:38.659 --> 01:06:43.219
you as their own Lord and Savior. God, use us

01:06:43.219 --> 01:06:48.090
and bless us. Speak through us. Help us to stand

01:06:48.090 --> 01:06:53.909
boldly. Help us to humbly proclaim truth, to

01:06:53.909 --> 01:06:57.530
be ready to serve, to be ready to put into action

01:06:57.530 --> 01:06:59.489
the things you've revealed to us, Lord, that

01:06:59.489 --> 01:07:04.110
our lives would be examples of trusting you.

01:07:06.329 --> 01:07:11.349
We love you. We thank you, Lord. We look forward

01:07:11.349 --> 01:07:14.309
to celebrating your birthday. It's in Jesus'

01:07:14.409 --> 01:07:17.510
name we pray. Amen. God bless you, church. Let's

01:07:17.510 --> 01:07:17.670
worship.