Greg Laurie - The Amazing Adventures of Joseph (02/08/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie dives into the incredible true story of Joseph from Genesis in his series "The Greatest Stories Ever Told." From being the favored son sold into slavery by jealous brothers, resisting intense sexual temptation in Potiphar's house, facing false accusations and prison time, to rising to become Egypt's second-in-command and eventually forgiving his family, it's a powerful example of how God sovereignly turns evil intentions into ultimate good, teaching lessons on integrity, faithfulness, resisting temptation, and radical forgiveness.
Introduction to Joseph's Amazing Story
Alright, well let's turn in our Bibles to Genesis chapter 37. We are in a series that we are calling The Greatest Stories Ever Told, which is a flyover of the whole Bible. We are still in Genesis because it is a big book and it is action packed. And tonight we are going to look at the amazing adventures of Joseph. It almost seems unfair to deal with this in one message because there are so many twists and turns in his story. But that is what we are going to do. Just as we are doing a flyover of the Bible, we will do a flyover of one of the most amazing lives ever lived. But let's start with a prayer.
Father, now as we read your inspired word, we know it is a history book, Lord. It does record the stories of kingdoms and people and things that happened. But more than a history book, it is your story. And it is our story. Because we see ourselves in these characters and we learn lessons from their lives. But even more than that, it is inspired by you. And you have given these stories to us for a reason. So we pray as we learn from this amazing young man and all that he went through that we will find encouragement in our day and the challenges we face and the temptations that come in our direction. We, Lord, want to be, like Joseph, a man of God. A woman of God. A person that honors you. So speak to us from your word, we would pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Why Joseph's Story Feels Like a Fairy Tale
Okay. How many of you like fairy tales? Raise your hand. You are all embarrassed. I like fairy tales. I have granddaughters. I have to like fairy tales. Especially if they have princesses in them. Or a mermaid. And there is always the prince. And you know there is a lot of wonderful little lessons in fairy tales.
One that you are probably familiar with is the story of Cinderella. She was an unloved girl living with her wicked stepmother and her jealous sisters. And she is invited to go to a ball. But she does not have a dress. And depending on what version of the story you have heard, she was assisted by three little fat fairies and a bunch of mice who put her dress together. And so she goes to the ball. She meets the prince. But she loses her glass slipper. And then she gets lost in a forest and ends up with seven dwarves. Well that is another story. But you know fairy tales often end with this phrase: And they lived happily ever after.
I bring that up because here is a story before it is in the Bible that is a little like a fairy tale. Only in this regard. It starts off in a very happy way. It turns very tragic. It has a beautiful ending. But this is not a fairy tale. This is a true story. In fact it has all the earmarks of a great novel. A real summer sizzler. You know a page turner. You have got it all in this story. You have a doting father. A pampered son. Jealous brothers. An international food crisis. There is intrigue. Attempted murder. A seductress. Accusations of rape. There is a lot more than that.
God's Hand at Work in Every Scene
It is a story where we see God at work. The hand of the Lord is in every scene ruling and overruling the decisions that people make. And in the end God builds a hero. He saves a family and creates a nation that will in turn be a blessing to the whole world.
Joseph's story is truly a rag to riches story as he goes from complete obscurity to becoming one of the most powerful men in all of the world. He was a young man who never seemed to doubt God, at least that we know of, and was unwilling to compromise his principles. And it is a story of how God mightily blessed him as a result.
Now, as we are first introduced to Joseph, his life showed little promise. He was a simple shepherd boy. Twelve of thirteen children. A young man, apparently with visions of grandeur. Like most teenagers, he liked to sleep. But in his case, he put a lot of stock in his dreams that he had, believing they were from God himself.
The Favored Son and Family Jealousy
Now some might look at Joseph initially and think, this young kid has his head in the clouds and he is afraid of hard work. But in reality, Joseph was God's man. We see someone who dared to be a dreamer and was transformed from perhaps somewhat of a pampered, immature, naive teenager into a great world leader. And also in Joseph's story we learn how to overcome envy and face adversity. We also see how to resist sexual temptation and have faith in God's promises even when things are looking very bleak. And the most important message, I think, in the story of Joseph is how to forgive someone who has wronged you.
So let's read a little bit of it together. Let's start in Genesis 37. I am going to read verses 1 to 3 as we are introduced to Joseph. And I am reading from the New Living Translation and I will be throughout this message. "When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father's flocks with his half brothers, the sons of his father's wife, Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing. Now Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day he gave Joseph a special gift. A beautiful robe."
So right away we discover that Jacob favors Joseph. Now the reason for that is this young man came in his later years and he was the son of the only woman that Jacob apparently ever loved. A woman named Rachel. He doted on the boy. He spoiled him. And the other sons could see that.
The Problem with Favoritism in Families
One thing you discover real fast is when you have a lot of children if you give a gift to one you need to give the same gift to the others. I mentioned I have granddaughters. And if I buy a doll for one I have to get the same doll for all the others. Now if I get one doll with different colored hair and the others that suddenly for some unknown reason becomes the most desirable of all the dolls. So I just, I will get four blonde ones or four brunette ones or whatever. It is all the same. Everything is even Stephen because they get into these little tiffs, you know, and start fighting. And so you just have to be very careful to be measured in your demonstration of affection and love and so forth.
But Jacob didn't care about that. He said, I mean, I love Joseph so much. I am going to give him this special coat. Now the King James Version says it was a coat of many colors. So we are thinking that, you know, he is wearing this sort of flamboyant coat with all this color. But actually a better translation of that would be a robe, which basically was a long sleeve garment, sleeves going all the way down.
What the Special Coat Really Meant
Now that doesn't mean a lot to us. But understand in this day most of the people wore, their shirts were cut off, sort of short sleeve style. And their robes, if you will, were cut above the legs so they could get out and do manual labor. What Jacob gave to Joseph was a formal garment. Actually something you would normally give to a royal person. He was like a little prince walking around. And not only that, it was a very formal garment. It would be like showing up on the work site. You know, all your buddies are ready to frame a house and you walk in in your tuxedo, you know. Well, who are you? James Bond? But you know, it is inappropriate. It is not the right kind of clothing.
And so here are his brothers in these work clothes, slaving in the hot sun. And along comes Prince Joseph, you know. And his special coat dad made just for him. And his brothers resented him. And plus to make things worse, he would sort of snitch on his brothers.
Joseph's Dreams That Fueled the Jealousy
Now, we know among kids, there is a code. You don't rat someone else out. You back each other. You have a fight. Mom and dad come in. Who started it? You don't know who started it. You back each other. And then when the parents leave, you go back to the fight again, right? So to rat out a kid, you are going to be called a tattletale. Mafia doesn't like it much either. They will kill you for it. Okay, so. He is ratting out his brothers.
Now, let me say this. Because this almost sounds critical. The fact of the matter is, the Bible has nothing negative to say about Joseph. And as we have seen, the Bible always gives its heroes warts and all. Remember how we looked at Noah and all his great accomplishments and acts of faith. And in the end, he kind of messed up. We see that in many other narratives, but not in the story of Joseph. So if this is the worst thing he ever did, maybe being a little insensitive to his brothers, and maybe tattling on them, he was a pretty good guy. Wasn't he? In fact, he stands as one of the most godly people in all of the Bible.
Well, one day he goes out to see what his brothers are up to, and he gives a report back to his dad. Now he has to make things a little worse. He goes, Guys, I just had a dream. And in my dream, I saw all of you bowing down before me. You too, dad. You were bowing in the dream as well. You know, sometimes it is best to just keep your dreams to yourself.
Now in fact, his dream was from God. Because one day, indeed, his father and his brothers would bow before him. We will get to that a little bit later. But this was a prophetic dream. But he just should have kept it to himself.
So he goes out to see his brothers one day, wearing his ultra-cool coat. And they go, Oh, look. Here comes the dreamer. What's up, Joseph? Oh, just seeing what you guys are up to. And they got really angry at him. And they thought, You know, let's just kill him right now. I mean, let's just cut to the chase and take him out.
Betrayal and the Coat of Blood
And one of the brothers intervened. Let's not kill him. That would be the wrong thing to do. What they end up doing is compromising and selling him to a group of slave traders that happened to be passing by. Hey, you want to buy our little brother? Yeah. Okay. Twenty pieces of silver. He is yours. It is a special. Close that deal. Get him out of here.
And they take Joseph away. But they keep his coat. And they cover it in pig blood. And then they go back to their father, Jacob, and say, Oh, Dad, bad news. Brother Joseph got killed by wild animals. And here is his coat you gave to him. And he is gone. Jacob was devastated. He was shattered. He was inconsolable. What a horrible thing to do to their father. What a wicked act was done by these brothers.
From Slavery to Success in Potiphar's House
So it looks like life is over for Joseph. But in many ways life was just beginning. As it turns out these slave traders sell him to a very important person. A VIP named Potiphar who was the captain of the guard in Egypt. And what that meant was he was effectively the head of the military police and part of the royal bodyguard. He was sort of like the head of the secret service of the day. He was also responsible for the execution of all criminals. He was the chief of the executioners. This was not a man to mess with. He was one super bad dude. Right? He is now the owner of Joseph.
Takes him in. Some Hebrew slave puts him to work. But you see, the Bible tells us the Lord was with Joseph. And he worked hard. As all Christians should. You know, sometimes Christians will use their faith as an excuse for laziness. They will show up late at work and maybe they have a Christian boss. The boss will say, where were you? Why are you late? Well, the Lord led me to sleep in today. No he didn't. You are just lazy.
The Secret to Joseph's Success
Work hard. Be the hardest worker. Do the best work. Whatever you do, do it as if you were doing it for Christ himself. Not for the paycheck. Not for the boss. Not even for the promotion. But here is what I believe. If you will do your best work for God's glory, he will bless you.
And God blessed Joseph because of his hard work and his faithfulness and his honesty and his integrity. And success followed him like a shadow. It is almost like he had some kind of a Midas touch. He kept his priorities straight. And whatever he did, he did it so well that Potiphar said, man, I am putting you in charge of everything. You can run my entire estate. And even Potiphar, who was clearly a non-believing man, recognized the Lord was with Joseph.
Success Brings New Vulnerabilities
Well guess what? The devil wasn't happy about this. He hates it when Christians live godly lives. He despises when believers are making an impact. And now he is going to set the crosshairs of his sights on you or me and say, how can I bring that person down?
Well the devil is not a fool. He knows how to bring a young man down. He knows that young men and women have sexual desires. And he thought, okay, I have got a trap for this kid. Now let us see how he handles success and sexual temptation.
You see when Joseph was sold into slavery he would be dependent upon God. God get me through this. God protect me. But sometimes after we have had a little success, after we have gotten through the adversity, after we have climbed the social ladder, we are more vulnerable than we were before. Because before we trusted in God because we had to. We trusted in God because if He didn't come through we weren't eating tonight. We trusted in God because if He didn't come through the rent was not going to be paid. If God didn't come through you weren't going to make it through the week.
But now maybe you have got yourself a nice amount of money and savings and your investments. And maybe you have done very well where you are working or whatever it is. And maybe you are not as dependent upon God. And maybe you have lowered your guard just a little bit. Listen, greater success leads to greater times of vulnerability.
Facing and Overcoming Sexual Temptation
So here's Joseph. He is a total success. And now here comes the temptation. Let's go over to Genesis 39. So jump ahead. Told you it was an overview. Genesis 39 verse 7. "About this time Potiphar's wife began to desire him and invited him to sleep with her. But Joseph said, No. Look, he says, My master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God."
She kept putting pressure on him day after day. But he refused to sleep with her and he kept out of her way as much as possible. One day, however, when no one was around and he was doing his work inside the house, she grabbed him by a shirt demanding, Sleep with me. Joseph tore himself away. And as he did, his shirt came off. Why are you laughing at that?
Joseph's Vulnerability and Human Reality
You see, he was humanly really vulnerable in this area. He was a good looking guy, by the way. Verse 6 says, Joseph was a very handsome and well built young man. Or the great translation, he was a total fox. The guy was in perfect shape.
And so he had normal desires like any young man would have. And along comes Potiphar's wife and I am sure she was attractive. And it must have been very flattering for her to pay attention to him and talk to him about how attractive he was. This girl was a cougar for sure, right? You know, she was looking for her little boy toy. And she thought Joseph would be the perfect guy.
And so she starts hitting on him. And you know, sleep with me is a nice way of saying. She was saying, have sex with me. She wasn't, you know, being, you know, she wasn't being subtle. It was just like, have sex with me now. And he was resisting her day after day. He is in his twenties. He is a bachelor. And he has now for a time been saturated with Egyptian values. Those old values that came from his parents must have seemed very old and archaic at the time. And besides, no one would ever know. No one knew who he was. Here he is in Egypt. I mean, he is there. I mean, shouldn't he just walk like an Egyptian?
The Real Reason Joseph Said No
But here is what Joseph knew. God was there. And God was watching. He could have rationalized it and said, well, if I give in to her, I will move to the top more quickly. And to cross a woman like this, a woman with that much power, could cause me to lose everything, including my life. But he knew the Lord was watching.
Verse 8 says, he refused. For Joseph recognized temptation is not a sin. It is a call to battle. Let me repeat that. Temptation is not a sin. It is a call to battle. He wasn't made of stone. He was vulnerable in this area. And he resisted her. But this chick was relentless.
Look at verse 10, chapter 39. She kept putting pressure on him. Day after day, he refused to sleep with her. He kept out of her way as much as possible. So you have to give him credit. He goes, I didn't want to be in the same room with her. I don't want to be around her. One day, she just goes for it and grabs him and pulls him down on the bed. And he did what any clear thinking, red-blooded young man would do under such circumstances. He ran like crazy.
Practical Ways to Resist Temptation
You know, sometimes we over-spiritualize how to resist temptation. You know, I was in a tempting situation. I was just saying, Lord, give me the strength. I'm laying here in this bed with my girlfriend, and I'm feeling vulnerable. So Lord, give me the strength. First of all, why are you laying on a bed with your girlfriend? You idiots. Well, I'm just praying, Lord, speak to me. Lord, I'll just speak on behalf of God. Get out of the room. Sometimes it is as simple as that.
First Corinthians 10:13 says, There is no temptation taking you, but such is common to man. And God who is faithful will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but always with the temptation make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it.
Quick poll. How many of you have ever been tempted? Raise your hand up. You have been tempted. Okay. How many of you have not been tempted? Okay. Thank you. I'm glad. There's always one person. Not me. Okay. How many of you have ever given into a temptation and done something sinful? I want all those hands to go, don't. You're in church. Don't lie. Okay.
Four Keys to Overcoming Temptation
Now I want you to go back to a temptation that you gave into, whatever it was. And I want to ask you a question. Was there a way out? Could it have been resisted? Or were you absolutely trapped and there was no way out? Well I know the answer without even knowing you or your circumstances. There was a way out. Because there is always a way out. And for Joseph the way out was the door. So he ran. And that is not a bad thing at all. The Bible even says flee youthful lusts. There is always a way of escape. And Joseph understood that.
He said, I have got to get out of here as quickly as I can. And I love what he says in verse 9. How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? You know there are four keys to overcoming temptation in this story. Let me identify them for you.
Number one. Everyone will be tempted. Everyone will be tempted. Again, temptation is not a sin. It is a call to battle. We may think, oh if you are really spiritual you will not be tempted. The very opposite is true. Listen, temptation will come at the worst times. It will come when you are sitting in church. And you are hearing a message. All of a sudden this impure thought just comes on. You know I just... Okay look. It is not the bait that constitutes temptation. It is the bite. It is not the bait. It does not mean there is something wrong with you. If bait is dangled in front of you. The problem is when you bite it. The problem is when you take it into your mind. And when you embrace it.
If you go, oh temptation. Not good. Wrong. Reject. Or do you take it in and process it. And ponder it. And think about it. Everyone is going to be tempted. Let me take it a step further. Maybe the more spiritual you are the more tempted you will be. That doesn't mean you will fall to it. But it means that attacks will come your way. Even Jesus was tempted. Now we know God cannot be tempted with evil nor does he tempt any man. So there was not the vulnerability in Christ to actually give in to temptation because he was indeed God. But at the same time he felt the presence and pressure of temptation. And it came his way in the wilderness as the devil brought him various temptations.
So this is going to happen all the way to the very end of your life. I heard about an old preacher who was asked by a young man, Preacher, when will I cease to be tempted by the sins of the flesh? The wise old man said, Son, I wouldn't trust myself until I had been dead for three days. You know what that means? It is never going to stop. So just accept that. Everyone will be tempted.
Number two, Joseph understood there were consequences to sin. There were consequences to sin. Genesis 39 verse 8. Joseph refused saying, Look, my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. Amazingly, Joseph was loyal to Potiphar. You know, Potiphar has been a really good owner, a good boss. I wouldn't want to betray him. Well, Potiphar would end up betraying Joseph. But Joseph wouldn't betray Potiphar. It would hurt him. I can't do this.
Thinking About the Consequences of Sin
I wish we would think about things like that before we sin. How will this affect others? You know, when a person goes off and has that affair. I hate that word, by the way, affair. Oh, did you hear about so-and-so? They are having an affair. Well, that sounds like fun. Sounds like they went on a cruise or something. Where have you been? I have been on an affair. Well, hell. It is too pleasant of a word for too ugly of a thing. They are committing adultery. It is a sin.
Well, I do not know if I would call it a sin. Well, I do not know what you would call it. God calls it a sin. It made us top ten. Thou shall not commit adultery. If we would just think about the repercussions. If you think about how it is going to affect your spouse, how it is going to affect your family, your parents, the parents of your spouse. What about the spouse of the person, if they are married, you are having the affair with? What about their kids? You do not think about things like that. You just think about satisfying your desires.
And Joseph actually thought about those things. And what a terrible witness it is. When a believer falls into sexual sin. After David fell into sin with Bathsheba, the prophet Nathan said to him, You have given the enemies of God great opportunity to despise and blaspheme. David, you just gave ammo to the enemy. You see. Because they can say, Oh, yeah, you Christians, you say this and that. What about so and so that just did this and that?
And I want to just tell you, if you are even thinking of this, and I doubt if I said, but how many of you are thinking of having an affair, many would raise their hand. And if there is someone stupid enough, maybe I would have flush you out now. I will take you outside and beat you. No, I won't. You should be beaten, but I won't do it. But it is not going to work out.
Hey, girl, listen to me. That married man you are having the fling with, he is not going to marry you. But he said he would. He is lying. You see, he is getting it all for free right now. Right? So why would he want to marry the woman that has been giving it to him? And then after he is done with you, he is going to move on to someone else. It is not going to end up happily ever after.
According to Lana Stinelli, the author of a book on marital infidelity, she says, quote, Of those who break up their marriage to marry someone else, 80 percent are sorry later. Of those who do marry their lover, which is only about 10 percent, 70 percent of them get a divorce. Of the 25 to 30 percent that stay married, only half of them are happy. She concludes, Having an affair is an invitation to an awful lot of pain and tragedy. End quote.
God's Standards Never Change
Number three, God's standards are absolute. They don't change. Yeah, Joseph could have rationalized it. Hey man, I had a rough childhood. I was sold into slavery by my brothers. I am all alone here in Egypt. It is hard being alone. Well you know Egyptian culture, that is the way it is here. It does not really matter. He could have said a lot of things, but no.
And number four, he realized all sin was against God. And this should be our strongest deterrent. Not merely our fear of what might happen if we do this sin, what the repercussions might be, but really, the greatest deterrent against giving into sin is loving God. Love God. And if you love God, you want to do things that honor Him.
I like the statement of Augustine who said, Love God and do as you please. That sounds insane. But if you think about what it really means, it makes a lot of sense. Because if you really love God as you ought to, with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, you will only want to do what pleases Him, you see. Jesus said, If you love me, you will keep my commandment.
So, Joseph resisted. Fantastic. Well done. Oh, well the cougar didn't think so. Potiphar's wife was ticked off. She was a woman scorned. How dare you? Reject my advances. Who do you think you are? So guess what she does? She cries rape. And she has got his shirt to prove it. And he is running out. It did not look good. You see. He had done nothing wrong. But he is running from her house. She has got his shirt. She says, He tried to rape me.
Potiphar is alerted. Interesting. Potiphar was the chief of the executioners. He could have put Joseph to death. But he did not. And I think that is because he knew his wife was lying. I bet this had happened before. But he said, Son, I have to get you out of the house. I have to go live with her, okay? So sorry buddy. It has been great. You have done a swell job. Bye bye. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. And he sends him to prison, which was really a dungeon. Pretty bleak.
Faithfulness Even in Prison
So now look at Joseph's life so far. He is doted on by his father. Pampered boy. Special kind of coat. Sold by his brothers into slavery. Bought by a man. And he becomes the head of his home. And he is doing a great job. And now falsely accused of rape and thrown in prison. But listen. Genesis 39:21 says, The Lord was with Joseph. Now he is in prison. And in typical Joseph fashion, he is so diligent and hardworking, pretty soon he is running the place.
Enter the Butler and the baker. They worked for the Pharaoh. They were in prison. And you wonder, what did a baker do to be sent to prison? Was the toast cold what? So in this case, the Butler did do it. Right? So he is in prison. And there they are. And Joseph sees them one day. I love the fact that he looks at them and goes, Hey guys. Why are you so sad? Why the long faces? Kind of amazing statement to make to people in a dungeon? By a person in a dungeon? But there was a cheerfulness about Joseph. And he was always thinking of others, not himself.
The Power of Encouraging Others in Hard Times
There is a real key to overcoming hardship and trials. Forget about yourself. And encourage someone else. I have told you before, my ten step strategy or solution to overcoming depression. Do you remember what it is? Number one, do something for someone who has a greater need than you. How to overcome depression. Step number one. Ten steps actually. Step number one, do something for someone who has greater needs than you. Number two, repeat step number one, nine more times.
Now I understand that is not going to deal with every aspect of depression. But I am making a point. Find someone worse off than you and do something for them. That is what Joseph was doing. He was not worried about his situation. And what is wrong with you guys? And well they said, Well we had these dreams. Oh really? Well you know what? I am pretty good at interpreting dreams. You would think you would say, Oh man I do not want to hear about dreams. Dreams have got me into a lot of trouble.
Now he goes, You know I believe the Lord can interpret dreams. Tell me what your dreams are. So the Butler starts first. He goes, Well okay I had this really weird dream. I dreamt of a vine growing up with three branches and a cluster of grapes. And so I took some wine from these grapes and I put it in the king's chalice. What does that even mean? Joseph says, This is good. It means that you are going to be out of this place in three days serving the king.
The baker is like, Yes! I had a dream too! I dreamt of three baskets of white bread on my head and some special treats for the pharaoh. He is thinking, Joseph is saying, And you will be serving bread to the pharaoh in three days. Joseph says, Not so good. You are going to get out of here and you are going to have your head cut off and the birds are going to eat your head. And that is true. That is what I have been doing. I would not want to give that guy the interpretation of his dream. Would you?
But Joseph told the truth. And he asked a favor. He says, Do me a favor, guys. Remember me. Put in a good word for me. Help me get out of this place. And the Butler said, I promise. Next time I see the pharaoh I am going to say, I met this guy in Joseph. He is amazing. But he forgot all about him. But Genesis 40:23 says, Yet the chief Butler did not remember Joseph but forgot him. And guess what? Two years passed. Two years. That is a long time.
Two Years of Waiting in Obscurity
Now can you see how Joseph might see things. Okay things are bad. First they are good. I am with my dad and my brothers one day. Then I am sold to a caravan of slave traders. Then I am bought by this guy named Potiphar. And I am running his house. And then I am falsely accused of rape and thrown in prison. But hey I meet the Butler and the baker that worked with the pharaoh. Things are looking up. I interpret their dreams. Two years have gone by. And I am still sitting in this stinking place.
You feel that way right now? Maybe things are really going your way and all of a sudden you are just laboring away in obscurity. And it seems like you are just spinning your wheels. And you are not going anywhere. How easily Joseph could have felt that way. Yet we never read of him complaining even for a moment.
See sometimes God will sort of take us over to the side because he needs to whip us into shape. Everything you go through in life is preparation for something else. You know it took the Lord 80 years to get Moses ready. You know Moses spent 40 years in Pharaoh's court finding out he was a somebody. And he spent 40 years in the wilderness finding out he was a nobody. Then he spent the next 40 years finding out what God can do with a somebody who finds out they are a nobody. Confused? I am too.
God is preparing you for something. And that is what God was doing with Joseph. He was getting him ready. Now after two years he was ready. And I do not think he even knew it. It is not like the chime of the microwave going up. Bing. Done. He was ready.
From Dungeon to Palace: Interpreting Pharaoh's Dreams
He wakes up. It is a day like any other day. In that stinking dungeon. But meanwhile in the palace. The Pharaoh. The most powerful man on the face of the earth was having a very disturbing dream. In his dream he was standing by the Nile river. And out of the river came seven fat cows grazing among the reeds. And then there were seven other cows that were ugly and gaunt. And they came and ate up the seven healthy cows. Pharaoh wakes up. What was that all about? I knew I should not have had that Egyptian pizza last night.
Now this was not a pizza dream. He knew it meant something. But he did not know what. He falls back to sleep. Now he dreams of seven heads of grain. Strong and healthy. Growing on a single stalk. And now another seven heads of grain sprout up. And they eat the other heads of grain. He wakes up. But this is insane. What do these dreams mean?
So he calls in this wise man who are guys who are schooled in astrology and occultism. And looking to the stars or direction. He goes, Guys, okay. You have to tell me what my dreams were. And what they mean. They are like, We are clueless. We do not know. And meanwhile the Butler is overhearing this. He is going, Ah, I just remembered. I met this guy in prison. He is some Hebrew. And he interprets dreams. He interpreted my dream. Maybe he can interpret yours.
Pharaoh says, I want them brought to me immediately. So here is Joseph. He gets up. You know his hair is all grown out. He has a scraggly beard. He is filthy. They come into his cell. You need to come meet the Pharaoh right now. What? They give him a bath. They shave him. Clean him up. So he looks proper to meet with the Pharaoh.
Joseph's Bold Faith Before Pharaoh
And here is the story. Genesis 41 verse 14. Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once. He was brought hastily from the dungeon. After a quick shave and a change of clothes he went and stood in Pharaoh's presence. And Pharaoh said, I had a dream last night. And none of these men can tell me what it means. But I have heard that you can interpret dreams. And that is what I have called you to do.
I love what Joseph says. It is beyond my power to do this. But God will tell you what it means. And will set you at ease. Well, that is big talk for a guy that was just in prison. You might think you would be very careful. Well, you know what? Hey, the Lord. The Lord is the one who interprets dreams. Not me. And I think immediately Pharaoh was impressed with him. Like, who is this guy? He is not bowing and scraping before me. This guy has conviction. I like him.
He had never met anyone like Joseph before. It reminds us if you kneel before God you can stand before any man. The way that Elijah went into the court of King Ahab who was a wicked and powerful king. And he said, as the Lord God lives before whom I stand, there will not be rain but according to my word. See ya. Walked out. Where did he get courage like that? From God. Because he kneeled before God. You don't have to be afraid of anyone if you kneel before God. And you are speaking his word.
So he speaks boldly to the Pharaoh. And this is a good reminder of when we share the gospel. You know, sometimes we want to edit out the parts that we are uncomfortable with. Oh, we love to tell people about the life changing message of who Jesus is. And if we will turn from our sin, he will forgive us and we will have a peace that passes understanding and this wonderful joy and the hope of heaven. And they may say to us, well, what if I don't believe in Jesus? We will say, well, it won't be so good. But I don't really want to get into that. No, you need to get into that.
You need to tell them, if you don't believe in Jesus, you will be separated from God for all eternity in a place called hell. Oh, I can't say that. If I say that, I will offend them. Check it out. If you don't say it, you will offend God. Because, friend, that is the gospel. And I am not saying that we should only preach messages on hell. But I am saying that if we erase hell, we are changing the essential message.
The word gospel means good news. And the only way I can fully appreciate the good news is if I also know the bad news. And the bad news is we are all separated from God by our sin. And there is nothing we can do to satisfy His righteous demands. But the good news is, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us and will forgive us no matter what we have done. We have to share that message. It is the whole truth.
And Joseph was not ashamed to say the truth to the Pharaoh. So the Pharaoh lays his dream out. Yeah, yeah. Got it. Got it. Lord, give me the interpretation. Here is what is going on. You guys are going to have bumper crops for a number of years. Then a famine is going to come. And so what you need to do is you need to save some of your food, some of your grain, while you are having the bumper crops, put it aside. And then you will have enough to see you through the lean years. So start saving now. You will not even notice it is missing. And then you will have plenty to get you through the hard times.
And I would also suggest, Pharaoh, you put a responsible man over this food supply, someone who has integrity and honesty. All of Pharaoh's magicians are going, me, me, me, me. Pharaoh is like, you know what? I want you, boy. Joseph, is that your name? I want you to do it. Can you imagine? Overnight, he goes from rags to riches, from the dungeon to the presence of the most powerful man on earth.
From Prisoner to Second-in-Command
And Pharaoh says, I want you in charge. And you are the second most powerful man in all of my kingdom. Now, if the story stopped there, it would have been an amazing story. You could say, and they lived happily ever after. But some really significant things happened after this. And that is how we will bring this message to a close.
Reunion and Radical Forgiveness
So now we fast forward many years. Just as Joseph has predicted, the famine has come. They have saved enough grain to see them through. So now, effectively, all of the world is looking to Egypt for relief. Even non-Egyptians are coming. And so Joseph, of course, is in charge of all of the food supply of the planet. He has changed as the years have passed. He looks like an Egyptian. You know, his head would be shaved. He would dress in the clothing of the Egyptian people. He did not look anything like the Jewish boy he was raised as.
And one day, he is sitting there in his throne. And they say, well, there are some Jews here. And he sees his brothers. My brothers. There they are. Look at them. And this is what is so amazing, how he treats them. He starts asking them questions. They do not know who he is. He is just some powerful guy asking them questions who really is going to either feed them or not feed them. And they are a little nervous, or a little unnerved, because some of his questions seem a little personal. In other words, he seems to know things about them. See, he couldn't Google them back then. How did he know this stuff?
So he peppers them with questions. And they are giving cautious answers and getting more and more nervous. Then this amazing scene unfolds. Go over to Genesis 45 verse 1. Joseph could stand it no longer. Out of here all of you, he cried to his attendants. He wanted to be alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. And he broke down and wept aloud. His sobs could be heard throughout the palace. And the news was quickly carried to Pharaoh's palace.
I am Joseph. Can you imagine? I am Joseph. And they are probably all thinking, and we are dead, dead, dead, dead, dead. Is my father still alive? He asked. His brothers were speechless. They were stunned to realize Joseph was standing there in front of them. Come over here, he said. And they came closer. He said again, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
The Power of Saying "God Did It"
Now here is this amazing statement. But don't be angry with yourselves that you did this to me. For God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. What gave Joseph the grace to make a statement like that? Number one, he knew God was sovereign. God was sovereign. What does that mean? When we say God is sovereign, we are simply saying God is in control. We are saying God doesn't make mistakes. We are saying the word oops is not in God's vocabulary.
Would it freak you out if you heard God say oops? Oops? What? You dropped a planet? What? What do you mean oops? Just kidding. Aren't you glad God doesn't kid? I am going to destroy you. Just kidding. No. God is sovereign. Now if I only believe that God is sovereign, that can be a little frightening. Meaning God is in control. God does what He wants. When He wants. When He wants. With who He wants. In any way He wants. Well I don't know if I like that. Kind of doesn't matter what you think. Because God is sovereign.
But here is another thing that helps us to understand that. God is good. God is sovereign. God is good. And Joseph understood that as well. So the things that He allows into our life are for our benefit and for the benefit of others. One cannot read the story of Joseph without thinking of Romans 8:28. For we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose.
Turning Evil Intentions into God's Good Plan
Joseph really summed it up in his way. When he said, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. Because God loved Joseph no matter what came His way, no matter how wicked its origin, God turned it around for good. That verse says, all things work together. Not just the so-called good things.
Here is what you will discover as you get a little bit older like me. That some of the things you thought were good may end up being bad, and some of the things you thought were bad may end up being good. Because I have seen a lot of good things ruin a lot of good people. And by good things I mean maybe they had success. Maybe they have affluence. Maybe they have all the things that others dream of. And I can see sometimes how people become preoccupied with these things. And they destroy their lives. And their marriage is shattered. And their life is in ruin.
And I know other people who maybe didn't have that good success. Who have beautiful marriages and flourishing families. So I am not saying it is a bad thing to be blessed with things. But I am just saying sometimes good things can become bad things if you don't deal with them appropriately. And sometimes bad things can become good things.
I have talked to more than one person who has been diagnosed with cancer. And they have gone through treatments. And thankfully they have come through it. And they are now cancer free. And I have heard more than one person say cancer was the best thing that ever happened to me. You are like what? How could that be? Because it woke them up to the shortness of life. It reminded them of their mortality. It got them thinking of eternal things more. And they readjusted the priorities of life you see.
So that thing that you dread. Oh no no no bad thing, that thing could end up being a good thing. That thing you want so badly. Good thing, good thing, it could turn out to be a bad thing. And then sometimes good things are just good things, and bad things are bad things, right? God helps to sort it all out. And with the passing of time you look at things a little more objectively and a little bit differently.
And there are things that God allows in life that don't make sense. I have had things that have happened to my life. That I don't understand, and that I don't like, and if I could change them, I would. But I believe God is sovereign, and I believe God is good. And I believe ultimately in my life all things will work together for good, and that may not be fully realized until I get to heaven. And I am willing to live by that.
I think when I get there I will go, okay now I get it, now I get it. But in the process it is like, I don't get it, I don't get it. But by faith, I believe you are in control. By faith, I am going to trust you. I don't get it, I don't like it. But by faith, I am going to obey you, and I am going to follow you. That is how you get through it.
The Biscuit Analogy for God's Work
My grandmother, her name was Stella, our granddaughter Stella, obviously named after her. And we called her Mama Stella. She was from the South. And she made the most delicious biscuit you have ever had. Don't even tell me about your biscuits. They don't touch hers. And she would make them from scratch. From buttermilk, and self-rising flour, and all the little ingredients she used.
And as Mama Stella was getting older, she is in heaven now, but as she was getting older, I would say to my wife, Kathy, watch Mama Stella make the biscuit. Don't let the biscuit leave with Mama Stella. And, you know, my grandmother would write out the recipe, but it wasn't the recipe. It was the way she did it. You know, she would have this little thing of flour, and she would open a little thing and pour a little of this oil in it. I don't know. The way she did it. And she put it in the oven. A very hot oven. It had to be super hot. And out came the greatest biscuit you have ever had. I am so hungry just thinking about it. Aren't you?
But if you were to take any of those ingredients, none of them would have tasted good on their own. I am going to have some self-rising flour for a snack. No, it is not so good. And the police pull you over. What is that? Flour? Don't do that. Or how about buttermilk? How many of you like buttermilk? Raise up your hand. Get out now. No, I... I know some people like it. I don't like to drink it, but I love buttermilk, pancakes, biscuits made with buttermilk, but I don't like just... To me it tastes like spoiled milk.
But she put all these things together in her expert way in the hot oven, and out came this wonderful thing. God takes all the elements of life, the so-called good things, the bad things, mixes them together, puts them into the oven of adversity, and when it is all done we say, It is good. And one day you are going to say that, if you are a child of God. Now if you are not a Christian, you don't have this assurance. But if you are, you do.
The Call to Forgive as God Forgives
So he said, You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. What? Aren't you the guy that was sold into slavery by your brothers, for twenty pieces of silver, when you were seventeen years old? Yeah. But they meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Wait. Aren't you the guy who was falsely accused of rape by the wife of Potiphar? Yeah. But God meant that for good too.
Well wait. Aren't you the guy that was in prison, and you interpreted the dream of the Butler and the baker, and they promised to help you, and they forgot about you, and you sat there for two more years? Yeah. But even that. God meant it for good.
And now here is the most amazing thing in all of the story. That he forgave them. He forgave them for the wrong that they had done. And we need to do the same, because we have all been hurt. Maybe someone has wronged you. Maybe someone has mistreated you. They have done a horrible thing to you. They have slandered you. You didn't deserve it. You were innocent. They are guilty. You say, I will never forgive them. Listen. You need to forgive them.
Well I don't want to. But you need to. Why? They don't deserve it. Think about this for a moment. This isn't even about them right now. This is about you. You need to forgive them for your own sake. Why? Because it is tearing you up inside. And it is making you a mean bitter person. And you are no fun to hang around. We don't want to eat biscuits with you. Because all you do is talk about it. All you do is go on and on about these things that have happened to you. How this person hurt you. And one of these days you are going to get even.
You know what? You need to forgive. It is changing you for the worse. Listen to this. When you forgive a person you set a prisoner free. Yourself. Yourself. And the Bible commands us to forgive. Ephesians 4:32. Be kind to one another. Tender hearted. Forgiving one another. Just as God and Christ forgave you. Colossians 3:13. Bearing with one another. Forgiving one another. If you have a complaint against another. Even as Christ forgave you. You must also forgive.
Even in the Lord's prayer. Jesus said, After this manner. Therefore pray. Our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done. On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins. As we forgive those who have sinned against us.
Listen. Forgiving people need to be forgiving people. And if you are not willing to forgive someone else. I have to wonder. Do you understand what God has done for you? Do you think you deserve forgiveness? Well I am a pretty good person. No you aren't. You are a sinner. Just like I am. And you don't deserve forgiveness. But God in His mercy forgave you for all of your sins.
There is no greater example of forgiveness than Christ Himself hanging on the cross. He gave seven statements. Guess what the first one was? Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Did the men who pounded the spikes of the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus Christ deserve forgiveness? Absolutely not. Yet He said, Father forgive them. They don't even realize what they have done. They have committed a sin that is so bad. Lord forgive them. They know not what they do.
Joseph Pointing Us to Jesus
And when we think of Joseph, it can only help us think of Jesus. Joseph sold for 20 pieces of silver. Betrayed by His brothers. Jesus sold for 30 pieces of silver. Betrayed by one of His own disciples. Joseph, though he was wrong, was willing to forgive. Jesus, though he was wrong, was willing to forgive.
And Jesus will forgive us of any sin we have committed. Maybe you are having troubles with some of the things Joseph had troubles with. Maybe you are in adversity. Maybe you are in hardship. Maybe you have been falsely accused. Maybe you have been being tempted a lot. Maybe you have given in to the temptation and now you are sort of hiding it. Hoping no one will find out.
Listen the Bible says your sin will find you out. So better than waiting for that, go to God now. And say, Lord, I have sinned. And I turned from that sin. And I need to be forgiven of that sin. Don't cover it. Confess it. The Bible says, if you will confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
But listen to this. God cannot forgive the sin that we will not confess. You have to say, Lord, I am going to call it what it is. I am tired of making excuses for it. And I am sorry. And Jesus Christ will forgive you. And then as you are forgiven, He will give you the strength to forgive others. And what a wonderful day that will be.
Invitation to Receive Christ
If you have never asked Christ, I will give you an opportunity to do it right now as we close in prayer. Maybe you have never asked Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin. Maybe you do not have the certainty that if you were to die, you would go to heaven. But you would like that certainty. You have this guilt you can't get rid of. You try to mask it with drinking or drugs. And it is always there the next day. God can forgive you and remove that guilt. He can fill that void in your life. No matter what you have done. But you must ask for His forgiveness.
I am going to give you an opportunity to get right with God right now as we close in prayer. Let us all pray. Father, thank You now for Your Word. We thank You for its truth. And I pray, Lord, for any here or that are listening or watching who need to get right with You. I pray, Lord, You will help them to do that right now and receive Your forgiveness.
And while our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed, and we are praying, how many of you would say tonight, Greg, pray for me. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want Him to forgive me of my sin. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. Pray for me. I am ready to say yes to Jesus right now. If that is your desire, if you want Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to go to heaven when you die, would you raise your hand up right now and I will pray for you, wherever you are. Raise your hand up. I will pray for you tonight. God bless you. Lift your hand up. I will pray for you. God bless you. You want to know that you will go to heaven when you die. You want to be ready for the Lord's return. You want that guilt taken away. You are ready to say yes to Jesus. Raise your hand up. I will pray for you. God bless you. God bless you.
Maybe you have fallen away from the Lord. You know it is right but you have been compromising. You have been doing things you know you should not do. But you want to recommit your life to Jesus. Raise your hand up right now. Let me pray for you. God bless you. And you. God bless all of you. God bless you.
Now I am going to ask all of you that have lifted your hands, if you would please, stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer right where you stand. Again, as I pray, again, I want you to stand up. And I am going to pray a prayer that you can pray after me. Even if you did not, lift your hand. But you want to make this commitment or recommitment to Christ. Just stand up. God bless you that are standing. So you won't be the only one standing. Others are standing. So if you need to make this commitment or recommitment to Jesus, Jesus, stand now. God bless you. Anybody else? Stand now. And we are going to pray together. One final moment. If you are going to stand, stand now. God bless you. Anybody else? Stand up. God bless you. Alright.
Now you that are standing, I want you to pray this out loud after me. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me, if you would. Pray this. Lord Jesus, Jesus, I know I'm a sinner, but you died on the cross for me and shed your blood for every sin I have ever committed. I'm sorry for my sin. I turn from it now. I choose to follow you, Jesus, from this night forward. Thank you for calling me and loving me and accepting me and forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.