The Making Of A Hero

Genesis 41:1-57

 

Intro: The Story of Joseph would make for a great movie today

A)   First scene introduced to our main Character HERO – 17 yr old 

     young man Handsome & good form – ( Well Built )

 

 

B) Modern day teenager HEART THROB -  Teenage girls – oh Joseph so CUTE -   Cover of teen Mag. Etc.

 

We find out in the next scene that he is his father's Favorite Son – Son of his old age – son of his favorite wife .

1)                 Joseph is given a position of authority over his older Brothers – represented by this COAT OF SLEAVES

 

C)    HIS BROTHERS REPRESENT THE VILLIANS – BAD GUYS

1)               Like any good movie there is this GROWING TENSION / Between the Bad Brothers & Our HERO JOSEPH .

 

 

Also Mystery :  Dreams – Binding Sheaves / bow down / Sun, Moon & Stars – What do theses dreams represent - 

A)   Brothers seem to understand what Joseph is implying

 

B)   So got Hero / Villains / Mounting Tension / Mystery – DREAMS / then like most movies –you have a TRAGEDY / there is a MURDER PLOT .

 

C)   Joseph gets ambushed by his brothers & thrown into a pit / when we are told that they are planning to kill him.

1)                 We are thinking – No this can’t end like this too soon – teenage girls are crying & biting their finger nails /    TOO CUTE TO DIE

 

A)    If my wife is watching – she is asking 100 questions What do you think is going to happen? They really are not going to kill him are they ?

1) I KNOW THIS IS ALL A DREAM – WAKE UP ANY MINUTE!!!!!

And just when you think that things are over for the hero / the plot Changes / brothers have a Change of heart / dollar signs

A)    LETS SELL HIM AS A SLAVE

 

B)    We are yelling at the screen JOSEPH A SLAVE – NO WAY !!!!

 

C)    Suddenly the scene Changes from the Rural hills of Canaan to an Enormous city – Egypt – greatest in the world at this time

1)                 There we find Joseph – serving as a Slave in the home of a very important man / Potiphar – Captain of the Guard – ( Special forces)

 

A)    Reminded by the NARORATOR THAT GOD WAS W/ JOSPEH

1)                 Things look like they are going well – Joseph we find out is so trusted

& is doing such a good Job – Put over the whole house / all the servants

 

 

Right away we start imagining what might happen / Joseph is somehow going to save Potiphar's life / he will be promoted / (Special forces guy)

A)   He will unravel a plot to assassinate the King & He will be rewarded again to the Kings Special Assistant – ( that is how it is going to happen)

 

B)   Suddenly – Enters the SEDUCTRESS – Potiphar's wife – she wants Joseph & Bad – but he resist her temptation

1)                 Daily she tries to Trap him / subtle approach / direct approach / she doesn’t give up easy –

 

A)    Inside we are cheering Joseph on Don’t do it – don’t give in / stand your ground –

1)                 When we here Joseph say those powerful words I cannot do this sin against God”  WE ARE  EVEN MORE IMPRESSED

 

A)   Teenage girls – THIS GUY IS INCREDIBLE -  Such a man of Integrity

Rest of us / What a Hero / Dads to daughters find one like him.

 

W/ out warning the scene Changes again Potiphar & his wife / she has Joseph’s coat in her hand & – Joseph is Falsely accused

A)   We yell at the Screen – She is a liar, a sleaze bag / don’t believe her

 

B) Scene Changes one more time – JOSEPH IS NOW IN PRISON

1)                           Falsely accused / wrongly imprisoned / OUR EMOTIONS ARE STIRRED – when is this going to end - & what about those dreams

 

A)    Just then the Narrator reminds us again that God was w/ Joseph in the Prison .

1)                 W/ him in the Pit / W/ him in Potiphar’s house / W/ him in the Prison

 

A)    Our hearts are filled w/ COURAGE / something is going on here/ I think our hero has is going to be ok –

1)                 BECAUSE God has his hand on HIM!!!!

 

A)    Hearts are filled w/ Hope as the Butler & Baker enter the scene / They Dream Joseph has interpretation/ they come true 3 days butler released

1)                 And the Baker is HANGED !!!

 

E) Joseph tells the Butler – When you are released – Remember me !   Yes

      we say Yes / remember him / He doesn’t belong there

1)                           Discouraged once again when we see the Butler Released but that He also forgot about Joseph .

 

A)    But as the Camera zooms into the prison cell – we notice that Joseph has Changed – He is not that 17 yr. Old young man / grown / not brash

1)                 He has matured / reminded that 11yrs have passed since he was first thrown into that pit by brothers / now 28 yr old man

 

A)    Our Hearts are reminded of the Narrators words / GOD WAS W/ JOSEPH - 

1)                 Inside we find ourselves thinking / saying HANG IN THERE JOE / IT

    IS GOING TO BE OK -   GOD IS GOING TO DO SOMETHING

 

Yes it is true this story has all the ingredients for a good movie / But most movies are fictional – not real / no reality / this is real true story

A)   And that is right where we left Joseph in our last study / the butler is released – Joseph says Please don’t forget me

 

B)    But then We read in v. 23 of Ch. 40:23  Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

 

C)   Can you Picture Joseph the first few days when those prison doors would open -  here he comes …. Free / shaved showered

1)                 Next day same / one week goes by / then 2 then three / 2 months / 6 months / eventually 2 yrs would pass by

 

A)   I have often wondered in looking at the life of Joseph why at this point he didn’t just give up – ( throw in the towel / quit / lose his zeal for living?

1)                 Why He didn’t begin to question / GOD WHERE ARE YOU / WHEN IS THIS GOING TO END !!!!

 

A)   There is no indication that He did any of that Why ?  I think Joseph knew in his heart what we read in the Beg. Of Ch. 41 Then it came to pass

 

 

Those words are a glorious Herald of Hope / for all who are in the mist of a heavy Trial – IT WILL COME TO PASS

A)   Right now however God is using that trial / that tribulation in your life as a TOOL  to TEMPER & to TEST you – make sure STRONG

 

B) He is using the FAILURES in your Life to FORGE & FASHION YOU

1)                           He is Using the MISERY in your life to MELT & MOLD you into the person that HE  wants you to be .

 

A)   The trials the failures the problems the tough times are all a part of the process to make you into the person that He wants you to be.

1)                 MAX LUCADO – Intro Just like Jesus

So God was in the middle of this remodeling project in Joseph’s life to make Joseph look a little more like Jesus .

A)   Here we see that The Father was Building to more Key ingredients into his life .

 

B)   FIRST WAS TRUST – Although the Butler forgot Joseph / Joseph had to trust that God had not .

1)                 Joseph would find out that his DELIVERANCE was not going to come from a DEAL from the Butler / but a DREAM from Pharaoh

 

A)   The thing that we see here in Ch. 41 is even when it might have appeared to Joseph that nothing was going on –

1)                 God had a plan He was working / behind the scenes Read V. 1-8

 

Prov. 21:1  The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

A)    It was no accident that Pharaoh dreamed the Dream that he did & when he did / the Dream was from God .

 

B)    He calls for his magicians / sorcerers / the Spiritist of that day – but know of them can help him out

1)                 Imagine the Parallel happening today in our Society / President Clinton has a Dream calls for Jean Dixon / Shirley McLaine / Dianne Warwick / David Copperfield w/ Claudia Schiffer Close by

 

 

In actuality the term magicians used here is a word that was originally translated in ancient Hebrew writings “men versed in sacred writings”

A)   The significance of this is that these guys were very intelligent men / they were considered the wisest men in the Land

 

B)   They were men who spent their time deciphering  everything from ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic text to studying the movement of the stars

1)                 Yet despite all of their great intellect they were unable to tell the interpretation of the dream – WHY ?

C) Because the Dream was from God -

 

1Cor.2: 14  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15  But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

16     For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

 

A)   God had a plan that for special time He was going to take this Jewish boy – now a man in prison & make him into an instrument of Salvation

 

Now the whole time that this is going on & for the two yrs leading up to this Joseph has no idea what is happening / what God is doing

A)   He is just learning to trust in the Lord – not man /

 

B)    Obvious the Butler isn’t going to come through – so Lord I know this is going to come to pass & I am going to wait & trust you.

1)                 TURN TO PROV. 3      Familiar passage

 

5       Trust in the LORD / OBJECT OF OUR TRUST / with all your heart, CORE OF YOUR BEING – ALL THAT YOU HAVE / ARE

 

And lean not on your own understanding;   YOUR INSIGTHS / RATIONAL

6  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

7  Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.

8       It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

 

KJV – HEALTH TO YOUR NAVEL -  HEALTHY NAVEL

 

A)   Understand in ancient culture they believed that the NAVEL was the center of all your nerves .

 

B)   Like saying that trusting in the Lord will cause your life to have an overwhelming Peace – calmness to your nerves / strength to bones

1)                 That sounds good – Doesn’t it .

 

C) 1Peter 5: 7  casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

 

D)Our Problem – picture – casting  think fishing pole / cast out real it back

      in /  Peter fished w/ net out leave it there –

1)                 Come back later – when it is filled w/ fish

 

A)   There in the Prison cell as two more yrs went by Joseph learning what it meant to Trust the Lord.

 

 

2nd thing learning was in regards to God’s time -  Never late / timing is always perfect – READ V.9-13

A)   Now consider for a moment if Joseph would have been released two yrs earlier when Butler was released

 

B) Goes off to some foreign land - / some obscure part of Egypt where he just fades out of the picture & misses out on being available for this moment

1)             Sometimes we want to get out the fire / we want our situation to change – God whispers Hang in there – Don’t know what I am doing

 

A)   That early release could mean missing out on great Blessing / finished work -  ( early days in Oregon – Pack it up come home)

1)                 Instead I was able to see God Work some miracles & do some molding & melting in my Heart /   God a Chef   Well Done my Child

 

A)   Some people spend all their energy running from the Lord & what He is seeking to accomplish in their lives

 

Pink :  Be of Good cheer, faint heart sorrow my endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning

Joseph was right where God wanted him to be learning Patience because God had a bigger plan & purpose for Joseph

A)   And God’s perfect TIMING was needed to fulfill that PLAN

Joseph becomes the man of the hour!!!!

 

B)   Been said that Fruitful Ministry is having the right guy at the right

      place at the right time   That is what God is doing here!!!

 

v.14   Then Pharaoh sent & called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.

 

C)   Note – Joseph prepares himself to meet the king

1)                 Side note – worship – prepare our hearts to meet the King

 

15  And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it."

16     So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace."

 

 

Here we note another thing that Joseph had learned in Prison – He learned that He needed to be DEPENDENT ON THE LORD

A)   Joseph’s dependency is marked by his humility / there is an absence of PRIDE

 

B)    He doesn’t say to Pharaoh – yea I have interpreted a few dreams in my day

 

C)   No Joseph says God can give it !!!!

 

D)   Joseph’s humility & Dependency are Also scene in  that Joseph doesn’t try to prop himself up by coming  down on the Butler / or Potiphar’s wife

1)                 No mention of his wrongful imprisonment /or the Butlers forgetfulness

Notice also – Joseph’s Dependency – in that He doesn’t play – lets make a deal – If I interpret your dream – what is in it for me.

A)NO – I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine – mentality

 

A)   For all that Joseph’s knows he could end up right back in Prison.

 

v.17-24 Pharaoh reiterates his dream -  skip to v. 25 / read v.25-32

 

A)   Joseph receives from the Lord a Word of Knowledge

1)                 Knowledge that he wouldn’t normally possess

 

A)   And then proceeds to give a WORD OF WISDOM  V. 33-36

 

B)   GREAT PLAN – GOD ORDAINED

 

V.37-44    SO JOSEPH IS EXALTED –

A)   2nd in command

 

B)   From Pit / Potiphar’s house / Prison & now to the Palace !!!

 

v.45 –57    Note two things before we go

1st is something we have talked about before Joseph is a good picture of Jesus  Review

 

Fathers favorite Son. - / Jesus is the Beloved Son

1) DEPSISED BY HIS BROTHERS/    He came to his own & his own received him not

 

Joseph's bros. plotted at how they might get rid of him/ So too Jesus' bros./ the house of Israel plotted at how they might get rid of him

 

Joseph was sold to Foreigners for 20 pieces of silver / Jesus was betrayed into the hands of Foreigners Romans for 30 pieces

 

Joseph was tempted and w/ stood / So too Jesus tempted in all ways as we are yet w/ out sin

 

D)    Joseph was falsely accused & wrongly imprisoned / So too Jesus

 

JOSEPH warns of coming Danger & urges his hearers to make suitable provision for it

 

JESUS also warned of coming danger / heart that would die w/ out God / of the problem of trusting in earthly possession / of a 7 yr. Not famine but/Trib.

A)    Instructions on how to avoid it

 

JOSEPH –given a name -  two possible meanings Consider both

REVEALER OF SECRETS –

 

Jesus is the Revealer of The Mystery – Musterion – that which was once hidden now has been revealed

 

Eph.1: 9  having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

10  that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; in Him.

 

Col.1: 27  To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

 

Heb 1:1  God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

2       has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,

 

Col 2:3 In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge

 

2nd Meaning of the name is Savior of the World -  All who would come to Joseph would get bread / relief from famine

A)   Jesus is the Bread of Life / Savior of the World – all who come to him

 

B) Notice – v. 55 Joseph is put over the storehouse – Pharaoh tells his servants whatever he says to you do it ?

 

C)Who else said that ?  Mary – wedding -  Jn.2

1) Whether your need is Wine – speaks of Joy / Bread which speaks of satisfaction & substance the answer is the same – JESUS

 

A)   He is the answer for all those who are experiencing a famine in their hearts

 

 

Joseph was highly exalted – everyone bow

 

JESUS Phil .2: 9  Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,

10  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,

10 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

MANY MORE ;

 

 

CONSIDER ONE MORE THING – JOSEPH’S KIDS & THEIR NAMES

51  Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: FORGETTING  "For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house."

52  And the name of the second he called Ephraim :FRUITFUL  "For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction."

 

 

Notice the order – Forgetting comes before fruitful – Reason : You will never be fruitful until you willing to put the past behind you

1)                 Joseph Chooses not to be DYSFUNCTIONAL

 

E)    Going to forget the past / all the wrong / all the hurt/ the sting  / forget it /

 

F)    Paul says this one thing I do – forgetting what lies behind …..

 

G)    Not crippled by the past –

 

 

2nd Son Ephraim – Fruit in the land of my affliction

A)   Not fruitful out of it – God allowed me to be fruitful in it – in the mist of it

 

B)   Sometimes the Lord seeks to take us out / other times seeks to keep us through / his goal is always the same – fruitfulness

 

 

 

Close : The reward for our toil is not what we get for it / but what we become by it !!!!!