God Is Powerful.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] All right, go ahead and have a seat. Welcome to Village Church. If this is your first time here, [0:04] my name’s Steve. I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church, and as always, I am thankful and [0:08] grateful to see each and every one of you. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them to [0:12] Genesis chapter 40. By God’s grace, we will make it through chapter 41 this morning and still [0:20] maybe make it to lunchtime. We’ll see. The life of Joseph is something that we’ve been going [0:28] through these past few weeks as we’ve made our way through this really third part of the book of

[0:33] Genesis, as we kind of begin to draw to conclusion, we see the emphasis being on the life of this, [0:41] really at this point, young adult Joseph. And so far in his life, what we’ve seen is that he has [0:48] experienced turmoil, he’s experienced abuse, he experiences slavery, and even false accusations [0:55] of wickedness. And the narrative of his life is popular, but let us not lose sight of the tragedy [1:03] of what he experienced in his life. This is not some movie score that we’re reading, but rather, [1:10] this is a real life that really took place at a point in history. And so when you try to imagine

[1:18] being in the shoes of Joseph, it’s undoubtedly an unpleasant thought. Yet as we encounter [1:26] really these difficult periods of turmoil, these periods of tragedy, or even just discouragement [1:33] and disappointment, we personally in our own lives can look and should often look to the life of [1:41] people like Joseph to actually see God’s hand work throughout history. You know, last week we saw that [1:49] Joseph’s life, really, it must have been at its lowest, or as one of my Old Testament professors [1:55] used to say, things just got worser and worser and worser. They just didn’t seem to be getting any

[2:03] better. I mean, he’s serving as a slave in Egypt, and in that light, he had at least risen to really a valued [2:12] servant in his slave owner’s house, but then Potiphar’s wife accused him of attempted rape [2:18] after he denied her advances. And so Joseph then goes from slavery, which is unjust, to an unjust [2:26] prison sentence. And no one believed the truth. No one believed him. They only believed the lies [2:35] of a wicked woman. And so today, what we’re going to begin to see, though, is how God is going to [2:41] start working these tragic circumstances, these unpleasant events, how he’s going to begin to work

[2:50] to his glory. You know, Genesis chapters 40 through 50 contain one of my favorite narratives of the [2:57] Scriptures because it reveals much about God’s sovereign power, and that it is God’s power that [3:03] gives confidence to believe his promises. You know, Joseph had many reasons to lose heart in his life. [3:11] He had many reasons to despair rather than trust God. But even in light of an unjust prison sentence, [3:18] what we’ll see today in Genesis 40 and 41 is that Joseph keeps trusting. Joseph never loses sight [3:26] of the goodness of God or the promises of God in his life. And that trust changed the way that

[3:33] Joseph looked at every single thing that happened in his life. And things that were discouraging [3:39] are moments that actually Joseph used as opportunities to demonstrate his faith to people [3:44] around him. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, which I don’t think any of us would have blamed [3:50] him for actually doing, he looked for opportunities to show his faith in God. Joseph exhibited an [3:57] enduring patience to see the power of God whom Joseph had placed his faith in, and that changed [4:05] Joseph’s perspective about absolutely everything in his life. Let’s look in Genesis chapter 40 and

[4:10] begin to see Joseph’s life in prison. Some time after this, now we don’t know exactly how long [4:19] it had been that Joseph was in prison that these events happened. We know that between slavery and [4:24] prison, Joseph spends about 13 years between the two of them. And so in that over a decade, which [4:30] is a long time by any standard, a great deal of time to deal with pain, a great deal of time to [4:37] suffering, Joseph’s dealing with it. So we know that in light of the narrative, some time after [4:42] this is not just a couple of days, it’s not just a couple of hours, but he had spent some time in

[4:48] prison. So it looked kind of like if you’ve seen the film The Count of Monte Cristo, it looks a [4:52] little bit like what he looks while he’s on that island. He’s probably got the grizzled beard, [4:56] got the long hair, probably looks terrifying when the cupbearer and the baker actually show up. [5:01] So some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense [5:06] against their lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief [5:11] cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard

[5:16] in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with [5:22] them and he attended them. And so again, Joseph’s not only in prison. I want you to catch sight of [5:30] that. It’s a double whammy. Joseph is having to serve other prisoners while he himself is [5:39] imprisoned. And they continued for some time in custody. And one night they both dreamed, [5:46] the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were both confined in the prison, [5:51] each his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them

[5:56] in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him [6:02] in custody in his master’s house, why are your faces downcast today? They said to him, [6:07] we have had dreams and there is no one to interpret them. And Joseph said to them, [6:12] do not interpretations belong to God. Please tell them to me. [6:18] You know, number one, this morning, God provides opportunities to demonstrate faith. [6:23] God provides opportunities to demonstrate faith. Note just as we saw last week when Joseph is in

[6:30] the midst of temptation to sin, he goes directly with his focus is towards God. I will not sin [6:37] against God is his response. And here in prison, a slave in prison serving other prisoners, [6:45] they come to him, they’re troubled. And Joseph immediately, where does his perspective go? [6:50] Where does his focus go? It immediately goes to God.

[6:58] Friends, so many times in our life, we are going to be tempted to despair. We are going to be [7:03] tempted to want to quit. We’re going to be tempted to want to turn our focus off of God. But what [7:09] you need to understand is that you need to look for opportunities to trust rather than reasons to [7:14] quit. You need to look for opportunities to trust rather than reasons to quit. [7:21] The life that Joseph is living with bad thing after bad thing, with unfortunate circumstance [7:26] after unfortunate circumstance, Joseph has every single reason to not want his focus to be on God.

[7:34] Imagine the landscape of 13 years of suffering that Joseph is currently enduring. And how hard [7:42] it would be to really believe that God is good towards you, to really believe that God loves you. [7:49] I mean, some of you get a ticket and you question the love of God.

[7:54] Some of you, you’re five minutes late for work, you drop your coffee all over your shirt, [7:59] you’re like, thanks, God. So the goodness of God, while an objective fact that I doubt any follower [8:07] of Jesus would deny, in a moment of pain, we are very quick to question whether his goodness is [8:15] towards us personally. And Joseph in this moment is experiencing, I would put forward to you more [8:23] pain than any of you have ever suffered, more discouragement than any of you have ever suffered. [8:29] Now there might be an outlier. I don’t know all of your personal stories, but I don’t know that

[8:33] you’ve ever experienced slavery, then imprisonment, then slavery in imprisonment, you’re sold off by [8:38] your entire family, they all turn their back on you. I mean, Joseph got everything handed to him. [8:45] And yet he says, you’ve got troubles, got something that’s troubling your mind, you’ve had some dreams [8:51] that you need help with, have you considered praying about it? I mean, usually that’s what [8:56] we take to someone who is discouraged. Have you prayed about this? You know, I’m in a place where [9:01] things are great in my life, but I see that you’re really down. Have you prayed about it?

[9:05] That’s what typically happens. But here, it’s the person that should be the most discouraged [9:09] going to people and asking them, hey, what can I bring you for breakfast since I’m your servant [9:13] after all? And he looks to them and says, have you prayed about it? Don’t interpretations belong [9:20] to God? Joseph is in prison with two unbelievers who are looking for answers in life, and where [9:28] does he point them? Where would you point them in that moment? You see, Joseph points them to God. [9:36] He doesn’t tell them that he knows the point of their dreams. He points them to God. This is a

[9:42] place where many would have given up on God’s involvement in his life, but the enduring faith [9:46] of Joseph immediately goes to trusting God. I will tell you that when times get tough, it is [9:55] easier to look for reasons to quit than it is for an opportunity to trust.

[10:02] In discouraging times, we do not naturally say, I need to look for an opportunity to trust God in [10:10] this moment. That is not what we do because of sin, but because we can have faith in God, [10:18] because the Holy Spirit can be given to us through faith in Jesus Christ. When times get hard in [10:24] life, we can actually look at the difficulty, we can look at the discouragement, we can look at the [10:29] pain, we can look at the suffering, and we can, instead of saying, I’m just going to quit it all [10:35] right now, we can actually look at it and say, where is the opportunity to trust God right here?

[10:42] What is God trying to teach me in his discipline, number one? And number two, Joseph goes a step [10:48] past that and he says, how can I give the message of God to these two unbelievers?

[10:56] How can I do that? Because Joseph is looking at suffering not as a great hindrance to his faith, [11:03] but as a catalyzer for his faith. Joseph is looking at his suffering as something that God [11:10] wants to use in his life rather than an abuse from God in his life. How do you look at suffering? [11:19] How do you look at the hard times? You see, sin has caused the human condition to quit rather than [11:26] endure, but you need a faith that will actually build your life. That’s what Joseph had. It’s [11:33] amazing. I mean, think about it. How much adversity does it take you to want to quit? How much

[11:38] adversity does it take for you to look at the things that God brings into your life and say, [11:43] I don’t want them? That’s not what Joseph did. That’s not how Joseph reacted. How much [11:51] discouragement does it take for you to stop looking for ways to demonstrate your faith in [11:57] Christ and your life to other people? How much discouragement does it take? You see, because the [12:04] most significant thing about chapters 40 and 41, I’m convinced we’ve got it all wrong. I did not [12:10] learn the story right in Sunday school. I’ll be honest. The most significant thing about the

[12:15] story is not the interpretation of dreams. The significant thing about the story is not the [12:20] supernatural interpretation of dreams. The most significant part of the story is faith in God. [12:26] The most significant part of this story is an enduring faith that refuses to quit, and that is [12:34] the soil in which the supernatural work of God can actually come in your life. If you immediately go [12:41] to the dreams, if you immediately go there, all you’re going to say is, well, God’s never shown [12:46] himself like that in my life. Well, God’s never shown me the supernatural. Well, God’s never shown

[12:51] me an interpretation of dreams. God’s never worked in my life the way he’s working in Joseph’s life [12:55] and you will begin to despair against God rather than look at the life of Joseph and say, [13:02] how did he till his soil to prepare for the work of God? Because that is where the seed of God’s [13:09] work is actually planted. When you look at Joseph, he looked for an opportunity to demonstrate his [13:20] faith. I mean, you probably don’t like your boss. Who does? Some of you are like, I love my boss. [13:26] None of your coworkers like you. That’s just the way it works. That’s just how it goes.

[13:33] Sometimes you’ll go to your boss and you’ll be like, all right, what do you want? Okay, [13:37] he wants this. Okay, I’m going to go do it and I’m only going to do exactly what he wanted. I’m not [13:41] going to go two steps further like I should do to advance in life. Joseph goes to basically [13:48] employers. That’s rarely looked at in the story. These two guys, he had to serve them and Joseph [13:55] isn’t just looking for an opportunity to say, do you want your egg sunny-side up or scrambled?

[14:03] Joseph actually cares about the person. Joseph actually looks for an opportunity to demonstrate [14:08] faith. Joseph actually looks for an opportunity to bring the life of God into the life of others. [14:16] Joseph wanted to show his faith to unbelievers. This is what built his life. That is how you know [14:25] his life was built on faith. And so what is your life built on? What opportunities do you look for? [14:33] Because too often we think of faith as static. But faith is not static. It is moving. I mean, [14:40] Hebrews 11, 8 shows the objective truth that faith is based on and it moves to change our lives.

[14:46] It says that by faith, Joseph’s great-grandfather Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a [14:54] place that he was to receive an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. Abraham [15:01] moved. Abraham obeyed God. And since that narrative, every person of faith has moved. [15:11] Are you moving? Where in your life right now is faith moving you? Where is it building your life? [15:19] Or do you treat it as a static reality that is just there rather than a force that moves you [15:27] into the story of God? How do you view your faith? It is not a jacket in the closet for a cold day.

[15:36] It is a dynamic force that should move the entirety of your life. Number two, this morning, [15:44] you need to trust God’s timing in seasons of discouragement. Now we talked a little bit about [15:49] this last week. But in this whole narrative, there is no way to get around the reality of looking [15:57] at just the timing at which God did everything that he did. From Joseph’s standpoint, I mean, [16:05] it would have been really nice if God had intervened right before his brothers threw him [16:09] into the pit. I mean, he had given them some kind of theophany in that moment, you know,

[16:14] kind of like the life of Paul. When Paul struck off a horse, he strikes his brothers down and [16:18] he’s like, hey, don’t throw your brother into a pit. He’s going to save all of you. But that’s [16:23] not how God works. I mean, God let him be sold into slavery. God let him go into prison. God [16:27] let him spend a great deal of time in prison. God let him then become the servant of people in prison. [16:32] And over and over and over, we look and we see Joseph’s life getting harder and harder [16:38] and harder. And as Joseph is told the dreams, starting in verse nine, he looked to God,

[16:45] and then God revealed the meaning of the dreams to Joseph. Joseph was then able to explain that [16:53] the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker had significance in their lives. I mean, yes, [17:00] the supernatural aspect of this chapter is the revelation of the dreams to Joseph, [17:05] but don’t get distracted by that. Don’t get distracted just by the mystical that we don’t [17:11] see the enduring faith that you need to put yourself into position for God to do that kind [17:17] of work in your life. No amount of faithfulness, understand this, can force God to do anything.

[17:25] He is God and he is not beholden to us. But there is temptation to look at the Bible and get things [17:32] reversed and say, why hasn’t God done this supernatural event in my life? Because if he did, [17:38] then I would be faithful. So I think everybody’s struggle with that at some time. If God would [17:45] show himself huge in my life, then I would be faithful. No, you wouldn’t. No, you wouldn’t. [17:53] It would just be one more event and a series of un-understood events. See, it is the life that is [18:00] cultivated by faith in what God has already done that God moves to do more and more and more in

[18:06] your life. See, because when we’re looking to God and we’re saying, oh, well, if you would give me [18:11] dreams, oh, if you would give me the interpretation of dreams, oh, if you would just heal me, oh, [18:17] if you would just show me, oh, if you would just speak to me audibly, oh, if you would just give me [18:22] more money, then he would just continue to be the cosmic genie that you look at to get what you want [18:34] in your life. But that’s not what God’s interested in at all.

[18:41] You see, God is interested at you looking at the revelation that he’s already given us [18:46] and deciding by that, I will follow him. And that begins to put in motion a cultivated environment [18:55] for the work of God to actually come through in your life. I mean, God has sufficiently [19:03] proven his goodness. God has sufficiently proven his love, his power, and through the cross of [19:11] Jesus Christ, he has shown every bit of everything that we should ever need to see to trust him for [19:20] all of eternity. And it is about you putting yourself in a lifestyle of faithfulness so that

[19:28] you can see and hear God work. You see, that is what Joseph had done throughout his life. [19:36] I’ll be frank with you. That is why you aren’t hearing God. And that is why you aren’t seeing [19:43] God do anything in your life. Because you are attempting to live a faithless life in which [19:49] you don’t really need God for more than food and shelter and then expecting him to just work at [19:57] your whim. What in the scriptures has shown you that that’s the kind of thing God does?

[20:06] See, he doesn’t. He doesn’t. He looks for those who submit to his grace. He looks to those who [20:14] then in light of his grace, till the soil of their life to see God work. But you see, it’s the tilling [20:22] the soil that’s difficult. I don’t know if any of you have ever actually used a tiller. I have a [20:27] few times. It’s awful. It’s awful. That thing will shake you to death. And some of you are like, [20:33] you just got the wrong one. You didn’t get the super deluxe like 6,000. I ain’t got that kind [20:36] of dough, bro. All right, man. I’m borrowing stuff from friends. I mean, I’m in the backyard.

[20:43] I mean, phew. Felt like I was using a jackhammer. I’ve done this multiple times. And that is [20:49] my least favorite thing about yard work is actually cultivating the soil so that I can then [20:57] make something grow. I mean, I’m trying to get grass to grow right now. And so I got that tiller. [21:01] I mean, I’m like Farmer Man Jack that day. I feel like I’m just the manliest man in the world. I [21:06] mean, when you sit down and read a lot for work, all right, you tend to look for those opportunities. [21:10] And so, you know, I got the tiller. I’m back there. I’m just tilling the soil up. And then I go and

[21:15] get some compost and topsoil mix. And I’m just digging and I’m putting it in my wheelbarrow. [21:20] And I’m taking it down there and I’m dumping. And after about 20 hours digging, and something [21:24] happened, I just dropped the shovel and did this. This may be it. I may die in my driveway. [21:35] I wish I wasn’t this dirty. You know, it’s just like I was worn out.

[21:45] But that’s what it looks like to cultivate soil so that seeds can germinate. And so you can [21:51] actually look at there and say, look at what’s growing. Look at what’s happening. Look at the [21:58] growth. See, too many of you have walked on too many types of turf and just said, I enjoy this [22:06] grass. You didn’t see the work that went into it. You didn’t see the time. You didn’t see the sweat. [22:12] You didn’t see the dirtiness. You didn’t see the times when the person was ready to just pass [22:19] out from exhaustion. See, when you submit to the grace of God, you submit to a life where you say,

[22:27] I’m going to cultivate my soil. I’m going to cultivate my life. I’m going to follow Jesus [22:32] Christ. I’m going to bear my cross. I’m going to deny myself and follow him. And then you’re doing [22:38] it. And there are times when you just drop the shovel in your track. You just put your hands [22:42] on your knees and you say, I can’t follow any further. I can’t go anymore. You’ve asked too [22:48] much. This is too hard. I’m too discouraged. I’m experiencing too much pain. I’m about to despair.

[22:57] And then you remember the cross. You remember the resurrection. You remember what God has already [23:03] told you. You remember what God has already done. And you pick that shovel back up and you say, [23:08] one more wheelbarrow load. I can do one more. I can do one more. That is the life that God wants [23:18] you to have. It’s not the lazy boy life. That’s not what following Jesus is like. [23:26] It’s working out there. It’s striving after something. It’s struggling after something [23:32] and saying, Lord, I don’t know what you’re doing and I don’t know why I’m in this experience,

[23:40] but God, I will follow you. You need to build a resume of faith by remembering the work of God. [23:53] I love the Psalms. I try to go through the Psalms two or three times a year because they’re so [24:02] many. I think if you’re someone like me who tends to be stoic, you read through the Psalms and you [24:06] just see, man, look at the passion for God. Look at the love for God. But so many of the Psalms [24:13] that are a little lesser known are my favorite Psalms, especially the Psalms of Moses, because [24:17] they are Psalms where he simply looks back and says, look at what God did a decade ago. Look at

[24:26] what God did 50 years ago. Look at what God did to people that you didn’t even know in [24:36] centuries ago when you weren’t even there. Trust that God, because God has a resume that you can [24:45] trust. That is how you build faith. It is by remembering what God has done so that you can [24:53] always be positioning yourself and looking for what God is going to do. Look at the record of [24:59] Isaiah 46. The prophet Isaiah says, remember the former things of old. I love just the way it starts [25:09] because it says, yesterday doesn’t define my faith. Two days ago doesn’t define my faith.

[25:17] 2000 years ago defines my faith. And he says, for I am God and there is no other. I am God. There [25:26] is none like me. Have you ever said, you know, I don’t understand God? Well, God explains why right [25:31] there. There is none like him. I got told somebody this week, you don’t have to understand it for it [25:36] to be true. Verse 10, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, things not yet [25:45] done, say, my counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purpose. Where does the faith [25:51] to believe that God will accomplish his purpose in my life come from? It comes from the first few

[25:57] words of verse 9. Remember the former things of old. He says, if you want to trust him for tomorrow, [26:04] you got to remember what he did in the past. If you want to trust him for 10 years from now, [26:08] you got to remember what he did in the past. If you want to trust him for an hour from now, [26:13] you got to remember what he did in the past. Sure. Remember what he did in your life. [26:18] Remember how he’s revealed himself in your life. Remember how he’s moved in your life. [26:22] But do not be so self-indulgent that that’s what you limit it to. Don’t be a navel gazer.

[26:29] Look at what God has done in the lives of all of his people. Look to what God did through God the [26:35] Jesus Christ. Look to the cross of Calvary. Look to the resurrection of Jesus. Look to the life of [26:43] Joseph. Where times are hard, but God still works. But you know, because of sin, let’s be honest, [26:53] life can be very discouraging. I mean, there are times when the promises of God come in, [26:57] Romans 8.31. Who can be against us? Lots of people. That’s my response. Everyone sometimes. [27:09] That’s the way it feels. But Paul wasn’t saying that no one will ever come against you.

[27:17] The apostle Paul is looking to your life and he’s saying that the overarching reality is that [27:24] ultimately no one can stand against the promises of God to his people and be victorious. They will [27:33] try, but they will never be victorious. And we need to build lives that reflect that reality. [27:44] Because when Joseph looks to the cupbearer and he says, [27:49] look, a couple of days, this is what’s going to happen. It looks to the baker. A couple of days, [27:55] this is going to happen. Look what happens in verse 20.

[28:03] This is on the third day,

[28:08] which was Pharaoh’s birthday. I love how the people in the story that you’re really kind of [28:19] about themselves. So Pharaoh’s throwing himself a grand bash, an innocent man suffering in prison. [28:28] He made a feast for all his servants, lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of [28:32] the chief baker among his servants. Verse 21, Joseph looks to the cupbearer, says, [28:40] you’ll be restored in a couple of days. That’s what your dream means. And he restored the [28:44] cupbearer to his position, placed a cup in Pharaoh’s hand. He looked to the baker and God said,

[28:50] Joseph, Baker’s going to die. So he looks to the baker. Now the gospel isn’t good news to everybody.

[28:58] It’s only good news to those who believe. It’s very bad news for everybody else. And the baker [29:02] said, well, Baker, you’re going to die. Verse 22, he hanged the chief baker as Joseph had interpreted [29:08] them. And so we’re like, oh yeah. Joseph’s life immediately got better.

[29:14] Verse 23, yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

[29:20] So we’re like, oh yeah, trust him in times of discouragement and things instantly get better. [29:24] Nope. Trust him in times of discouragement and people will forget you. Sometimes,

[29:31] but that’s why it’s not about today. That’s why you have to remember the things of old. [29:37] You have to remember what God had already done. A few verses previous, but for time, I’ll [29:44] just kind of tell you what happened. Joseph had interpreted the dreams and he looked to the [29:48] cupbearer. He didn’t say this to the baker because he knew the baker was getting bad news. So he’s [29:53] like, I’m just going to leave you alone now. Goes to the cupbearers, I just gave you good news. Hey, [29:58] don’t forget me, man. So that’s how you know Joseph actually understood the pain.

[30:04] I said, don’t forget me, man. When you get out of here, please tell Pharaoh [30:10] I need to get out of this place. And the cupbearer forgot him.

[30:18] All in God’s time. All in God’s time. Number three, this morning, I want you to understand [30:25] that God uses his people to explain his ways. God uses his people to explain his ways. [30:31] You see, at this point in the story, God has used Joseph to interpret a couple of dreams to a [30:38] couple of prisoners who kind of had a place in Pharaoh’s kingdom. The baker has found out [30:43] things were worse than they even thought. So the baker is executed. The chief cupbearer, [30:48] he’s actually put into a better place because I don’t know if you know the cupbearer, but he

[30:52] actually stood by the king, a place of prominence, a place of influence. And so the Lord uses Joseph [30:59] to get in there. But here’s the key. The cupbearer did not just forget. And here’s what I want you [31:05] to understand about the cupbearer. He developed a case of divine amnesia.

[31:14] So what was going to be unpleasant for Joseph, just as it all had been unpleasant for Joseph, [31:19] this was going to be unpleasant for Joseph because God is looking at the life of Joseph [31:23] and he’s saying, I know you want to get out of there, but it’s not time. It’s not time. [31:27] It’s not time. Look in verse 41. Two years later. Man, that stings. [31:39] Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile. And behold, there came up out of the Nile seven [31:44] cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. And behold, seven other cows, ugly

[31:49] and thin, came up out of the Nile after them and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. [31:53] And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive plump cows and Pharaoh awoke. [31:58] And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven years of grain, plump and good were [32:03] growing on one stalk. And behold, after them sprouted seven years thin and blighted by the [32:08] east wind and thin ears swallowed up the seven plump full ears and Pharaoh awoke. And behold, [32:13] it was a dream. So in the morning, a spirit was troubled. We’ve seen that before. And he sent and

[32:20] called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, [32:25] but there was none who could interpret them for Pharaoh. Then, then the chief cupbearer said to [32:35] Pharaoh, Oh yeah, I remember that time you put me in prison by the way. Thanks.

[32:45] He said, when Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker and custody in the [32:49] house, the captain of the guard, we dreamed the same night, two different dreams. And what he [32:55] basically says is there was a man that was in that prison and he was able to interpret both dreams. [33:01] And what he interpreted is what actually happened in our lives. Genesis 41 starts the payoff.

[33:12] There was no pagan demonic influence that could tell Pharaoh what his dreams meant. [33:17] So what does God do? God puts a little bit of memory back in the cupbearer’s mind at the right [33:25] time. Always trust God’s timing. And so in that moment, he’s looking in the life of the [33:32] cupbearer and he’s going to say, remember Joseph. And he remembers Joseph and Pharaoh in verse 14, [33:37] sent for Joseph, the most powerful man in the world sent for Joseph. And here is where we begin [33:47] to see God work things for good. Joseph was going to be put in an opportunity to reveal God

[33:56] to a demonic people. Joseph was going to be put into a position to proclaim the truth of God. [34:06] What if Joseph had despaired? What if he had given up and cursed God? [34:13] What if Joseph had rejected the visions that God had given? Instead, Joseph trusted.

[34:23] And because of his trust, God was able to put him into a position to change the destiny of two [34:31] nations. You see, friends, it’s difficult to proclaim a God you don’t know. [34:38] And that’s where many falter. We have opportunity all the time. We have opportunity [34:44] every single day. I’m convinced of it. You may not see it because you aren’t looking for it and you [34:51] don’t really want it, but it’s there. The opportunity is there, but you don’t know enough about God to [34:57] be confident. You haven’t built a life of faith, so it is hard to talk about faith.

[35:06] You know enough about Jesus. You know enough about the work of spirit, like the back of a [35:11] baseball card. You can tell him God’s batting average, how many home runs he hit last year, [35:15] but you can’t tell him about what’s actually going on in your life because you do not demonstrate [35:21] faith, nor do you look for opportunities to demonstrate faith. Faith has not moved from [35:27] objective fact that I academically know about to something that I’m actually building my life on. [35:34] And when that’s the reality, it is going to be pretty difficult to talk about faith.

[35:43] You see, friends, God gives opportunity for us, but to proclaim him, we need to know him. [35:52] And you may retort, but God hasn’t given me visions. God hasn’t given me dreams, and that’s [35:58] where you’re going wrong. It’s about the gospel of Jesus Christ. See, in Colossians chapter one, [36:06] starting in verse 26, we read a very interesting thing. This is the mystery hidden for ages and [36:13] hidden for generations, has now been revealed to his saints. To his saints, God chose to make no [36:21] known how great among the people of the world, the Gentiles, the Egyptians, everybody outside of

[36:27] Israel, the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [36:35] You see, Joseph didn’t have the Bible. Joseph didn’t have a viewpoint to this is what God did [36:44] on the cross. This is what God did in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But you do.

[36:52] You have that. You can know that. You can know the work of God because that is the purpose of his [37:01] word. Know his word and proclaim his word, and it is more powerful than any dream God could give you. [37:10] It is more powerful than the interpretation of dreams that God gives Joseph. God nowhere in the [37:15] Bible says, and I will give you a dream and it will change someone’s life. But many places in [37:22] the Bible, God promises, I have given you a word and I know it will change your life and the lives [37:28] of others. And you’re sitting there crying about a dream when God’s given you a book.

[37:35] This is you don’t have to guess. There’s no mystery. I’ve revealed it.

[37:45] And so many of us sit there, but I don’t see God do anything. He killed his own son.

[37:53] When’s that going to be enough for you to actually demonstrate some faith with your life?

[38:02] Friends, I want you to understand that God has the power to move nations to accomplish his purpose. [38:11] Nations! Spoiler alert, Joseph interprets the dream. All right. I wasn’t actually going to read [38:20] two whole chapters. God gave Joseph understanding of the vision. He said, look, Pharaoh, you’re

[38:32] going to be high on the hog. But don’t eat it all. Save some. Because after that there’s going to be [38:44] seven years where you’re not going to be able to produce anything. The fields are going to dry up. [38:49] The cows are going to be so skinny they’re going to be consuming each other. They’re not going to [38:52] have any meat for you to eat. So you better come up with a system to get ready for that famine [38:57] those years of harvest. And Pharaoh looks to Joseph and he says, hey, you’re not going to be [39:02] a prisoner anymore. I’m going to, you know, commute your sentence. But can you do something

[39:07] for me? Can you be second in command of the most powerful nation in the world?

[39:13] I will be the only person that has more power than you. God the Father

[39:21] used family turmoil. He used slavery. God the Father used an unjust accusation. God the Father [39:33] used a prison term of probably more than a decade. God the Father used a cup bearer, [39:39] forgetting about the blessing. God the Father waited until the perfect time and then he moved [39:45] an entire nation to accomplish his will. And so in those moments of discouragement, [39:52] in those moments of despair, in those moments of suffering, when we are tempted to look and say, [39:57] God’s not doing anything, you don’t know. God may be waiting to move a nation,

[40:04] but it’s got to be the right time. It’s got to be the right time. Every move of God [40:11] and every work of God has a purpose. But here’s the thing I want you to understand. [40:16] Everything that comes in your life and everything that goes out of your life is a work of God.

[40:23] Everything. Bad times, good times. Everything in between. From my perspective, things can seem [40:31] very arbitrary. Things can seem random. Not so from God’s perspective. Everything that comes [40:38] into the life of God’s people has a purpose for future glory. Every narrative of scripture [40:42] points there. Every single one of them. But your focus must be in on that for two specific reasons. [40:52] The first one is that when things enter your life, both good and bad, you need to keep the [40:59] perspective of faith. You need to keep the perspective of trusting God. You need to keep

[41:04] perspective that he is working. You need to keep the perspective that he has not given up on you [41:09] so that you will not give up on him. And then number two, the people of God must be ready [41:14] to proclaim the power and sovereignty of God to a world that doesn’t trust him, but is accountable [41:20] to him. See, Joseph demonstrated his faith over and over and over. You see, the scriptures build [41:30] the story of God. And it is our responsibility in his mission to proclaim the truth of God to the [41:38] world around us. To do that, though, you need the credibility of someone who’s trusting God

[41:45] and learning the life of God to tell the world about God. So I ask you just a few questions. [41:53] Are you building a life of faith? Are you building a life of faith? [42:01] I believe God has shown his trustworthiness over and over again. We must look to that [42:07] trustworthiness. We must believe in his trustworthiness. We must build a life on [42:14] trusting the God who saves through the cross and resurrection of Jesus.

[42:19] And another question, where does your life show that type of trust?

[42:27] Where does your life show that trust?

[42:31] You see, the reality is that you can just pretend that’s a rhetorical question [42:37] and not worry about it, or you can take inventory right now and you can be changed forever.

[42:44] Demonstrate the trustworthiness of God and look for every opportunity to do it. [42:50] As the band comes forward, we live in a sinful world, in the midst of a sinful people, as Isaiah [43:00] said. And so you will have moments and you will have opportunities to despair, some more so than [43:10] others, but pain is relative. You will have opportunities to say, God just doesn’t work in [43:18] my life right now. You will have the opportunity to say, man, I’ve got so much bad going on in [43:24] my life right now. I just want to quit on God. I just want to lose sight of it. I don’t want to

[43:29] share my faith. I’m not even sure that I have faith. You’ll have that opportunity many, many, [43:33] many times. But what’s interesting is, is that most of the time we have more than one opportunity [43:39] in every moment. You will also have many opportunities in your life to look at what [43:44] God brings into your life, both good and bad, and say, why has God brought this into my life? [43:49] What is the Lord trying to teach me? How is the Lord trying to use me?

[43:58] And then you wait for God’s timing. You endure through life. And there’s coming a day either [44:06] in this world or in the kingdom of God where all things will work together for the glory of God [44:12] and for your good. But you must wait. You must trust God’s timing and you must leave it up to [44:20] him because he’s good. How do you know? I base 100% of it on the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the [44:28] dead. That’s it. That’s enough. Friend, I’ll be honest with you. If that’s not enough for you, [44:37] there’s no gospel for you. You see, if God has the power to die on this earth and then rise from the

[44:45] dead, then that deserves some attention. But secondly, it deserves submission because when [44:52] I die, I’m going to stay that way. He didn’t. He can be trusted and his timing can be trusted. [45:01] If you’re in here and you’ve not trusted in Jesus Christ, I want to give you an opportunity [45:04] right now. Turn from your sin. Trust the saving power of the cross of Jesus Christ. He died for [45:11] your sins, your personal sins. And he rose from the dead to prove that he has power over sin, [45:17] that he has power over death, and he will make a way through life into his kingdom for you.

[45:26] But if you’re in here and you’re a Christian, you can still despair. You can still be discouraged. [45:32] Let’s not pretend. Friends, some of you need to trust God today. You need to stop this not [45:40] listening to God. You need to stop this not looking for opportunities to demonstrate your faith. You [45:45] need to stop this nonsense of really just sitting in discouragement and feeling sorry [45:50] for yourself. And you need to believe the gospel. You need to get up and you need to follow Jesus. [45:55] He doesn’t say, trust me and sit. He says, trust me and follow.

[46:02] Friend, if that’s you, and I think that’s all of us,

[46:06] the cup represents his shed blood. The bread represents his broken body. [46:10] In just a moment, I’m going to call every believer in here to get up, [46:14] come to the tables in the front or the tables in the back. You proclaim the death of Jesus Christ [46:19] and you walk out of this room and you live his resurrection. When you’re ready, come.