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!!!!!
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
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
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.
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
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.
JOSEPH –given a name - two possible
meanings Consider both
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 ?
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
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 ;
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
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 !!!!!