The blessing of a life that trusts in only God
Notes
Transcript
Joseph Rises to Power
Joseph Rises to Power
INTRO:
good morning Church Family! I hope you have your bibles with you today… if so, please take them out and turn with me to Genesis 41
The Bible is so important for us as humans… we are God’s precious, favorite even… creation and the Bible is His way of revealing Himself to us… his teaching us about Himself.... it is His way of directing us in how to live here on earth
and so… in my opinion… being able to read and understand the Bible is one of the most incredible gifts God has given us
now, outside of the Bible, we really can’t trust in any other source when it comes to information about God
if you want to know about God… read the book that God wrote
be very careful when anyone says… “God told me....” “I was laying there and God said.....”
we have to be careful with that because there’s not always a way to test what that person is saying. the Bible.... true… it’s been tested over and over again for thousands of years
and when God speaks… that’s called revelation.... this is His book of Him REVEALING Himself to us.
and when God speaks… it’s ALWAYS revelation… he doesn’t sometimes speak and it’s good enough to be called revelation and other times he just speaks kind of jokingly...
God’s not like a preacher where we look back and go… “man.... you killed it today..” and other times he speaks and we say, “um.... ok???? i kind of see where he was going with that today??”
God speaks… it’s revelation… and it is true.... and it is good… and it is consistent with His character....
NOW.... with all of that said.... I do believe that God sometimes speaks to us in other ways… I do believe THIS is His #1 chosen way… but like in the narrative of Joseph God might speak through dreams.... or sometimes in prayer.... sometimes He uses other people to speak into our lives… and sometimes He will even use a donkey....
there have been a few times in my life when I felt like God spoke to me in a very clear way. it hasn’t happened often… I can’t make it happen whenever i want… i’ve tried! and i can’t even explain it very well....
but in the summer of 1999, i was serving that summer with centrifuge camps, spending every day in prayer, study and worship… and in the middle of one night, laying on the floor somewhere in new jersey.. trying to fall asleep with no air conditioning, i felt like God spoke to me while i was praying...
He gave me 2 directions 1. to marry brooke and 2. he was going to use Brooke and I to help plant a church
summer of 2007 when we planted heritage with sidney and merideth
8 yrs later!
now that’s a long time for someone like me to wait for something… but we were serving in ministry all that time… we were making relationships in churches.... it wasn’t ever really out of the realm of possibility
now, Joseph on the other hand was 17 yrs old when God gave him the dreams that his family would bow down to him
we haven’t even gotten to that point in the story yet, but he was 39 yrs old when this actually happens
22 yrs later!
and to this point… in chapter 41.... joseph is 30 years old… it’s been 13 years… and since the dreams.... he’s been sold into slavery.... shipped off to Egypt.... and thrown into prison....
he’s no closer to his family bowing down to him than he was the night he had the dream....
but joseph never stopped believing in His God
let’s pick up where we left off last week in Genesis 41
remember, Pharoah had the weird dreams about cows and grain… and Joseph was summoned out of prison to come and interpret them for Pharaoh.... not only did he interpret them and tell Pharaoh about the 7 years of plenty that would be followed by 7 years of famine.... but he gave Pharaoh an action plan for how he should prepare for this
so there’s the prisoner/slave Joseph… yanked out of prison and standing before the Pharaoh of Egypt… he’s laid it all out there
how does Pharaoh respond????
let’s look at verse 37....
BODY:
37 This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. 38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?”
WHAT???
Pharaoh did not know God. However, Joseph repeatedly told Pharaoh that “ God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do” and “ God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do” and “the thing is fixed by God , and God will shortly bring it about” — and these assertions were beginning to inform Pharaoh.
Pharaoh, the man who thought himself to be a god, was giving praise to the one true God. He was worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
And along with this, he saw that God’s faithful man, Joseph… who had been a slave for all his grown years, was incomparable.
Pharaoh was so overwhelmed that he asks in amazement, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” (v. 38). Unwittingly Pharaoh had lifted God’s name up over the gods of Egypt.
And with that he exalted Joseph.
verse 39...
39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
There are 2 parts to JOSEPH’S INVESTITURE....
the first is Empowerment.... Pharaoh says “you are now in charge of all my people..... 2nd in command… 2nd in authority… not going to give you the throne… but other than that… you are the most important person in Egypt… this Hebrew… slave… prison boy
so what does Pharaoh give him??
Genesis 41:42–45 (ESV)
42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43 And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”
Signet Ring
Royal linen clothes
Gold chain
parade!!!
i told you There were 2 parts to JOSEPH’S INVESTITURE.... not only empowerment… but also connection to the Egyptian people and culture
45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah
(za fuh nath - puh nee uh). [pharaoh gave Joseph an Egyptian name]
And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
So Joseph gets an Egyptian name and a very well connected Egyptian wife
It is evident that Pharaoh was intent on Egyptianizing Joseph.... “Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah” (v. 45a), check this out… this name means “God speaks and lives.”4
Despite the fact that the name was Egyptian, it was an ongoing testimony to the superiority of Joseph’s living, speaking God.
We see how thoroughly Pharaoh intended Joseph to become identified with Egypt.
HIs new wife… Asenath was of aristocratic blood, “the daughter of Potiphera priest of On” (v. 45b).
The city of On, known as the (“Sun City”), was the center of worship of the sun-god Re.
As priest of On, Asenath’s father presided over the temple and the worship festivals for the sun-god.. Joseph is marrying into a very important family lineage in Egypt...
Joseph’s clothing was Egyptian, his name was Egyptian, his language would become Egyptian, his wife was Egyptian, and his father-in- law was the leading Egyptian sun-worshiper.
Joseph’s soul was in greater danger than at any other time in his short life.
you see... it’s one thing to remain God-centered and faithful when you’re at the bottom; it is quite another to be faithful at the top.
The bottom instills dependence upon God. Days, months, and years in slavery and prison gave Joseph a sense of need and dependence upon God. There was only one way to look while in the pit, and that was up — to God.
On the other hand, the pinnacle of Egyptian life could have inclined Joseph toward pride and independence.
the fact that Joseph’s name, speech, clothing, and wife were Egyptian all encouraged him to forget where he came from.
Also, the brilliance of his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams and his plan to spare Egypt could well have begun to give him a sense of superiority.
That is so true. Life at the top can make people imagine themselves so original and so wise — someone who deserves all that he or she has.
you’ve seen it happen… you’ ve read the news stories… the overnight success in entertainment or pro sports… or someone who wins the lottery… it doesn’t always bring out the best in people!!!
so how would Joseph respond to all of this?
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. 47 During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, 48 and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. 49 And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured.
Joseph responded well. He did not assume the rich and famous lifestyle.
brother went to work!!!
Rather he responded with the kind of obedience that characterizes true faith.
he believed that Egypt had seven years of plenty to gather up grain for seven years of famine.
So we see that his rise to power did not dull his response to God’s word — because he gave himself wholly to hard work.
how faithful was Joseph??? how deep was his trust in God???
all these years… Joseph trusted that God was with him… Joseph trusted that God was in charge of all things… Joseph trusted God’s word to be true
but to be honest… just humanly speaking… other than just still being alive… things hadn’t gone so great for Joseph for the last 13 years
what if he had given up on God? what if he had taken his own life in prison? what if he took credit for the interpretations of the dreams and the plan that he gave Pharaoh and said… “i’ll just do this on my own… trust in my new Egyptian riches and fame instead of in God?”
3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Joseph knew God
he knew his character
he knew his promises
he knew his love
he was also about to know a new blessing from God.... look at vs 50....
50 Before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore them to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” 52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
Manasseh means “he who causes to forget” — and the birth of that little boy helped Joseph to forget the incredible hardship of his first thirteen years in Egypt. And it also eased his longing for his father and siblings. Baby Manasseh brightened his life.
Ephraim means “fertile” and celebrated not only the birth of his second son but the blessing Joseph was experiencing in Egypt and in all of life. Joseph celebrated his blessings and was filled with gratitude, optimism, and hope.
But here is the great thing (and you must not miss it):
Joseph declared his allegiance to God and his faith in God’s word by giving his boys Hebrew names!
Remember, Joseph had been renamed with an Egyptian name and his wife was Asenath, which means “she who belongs to the goddess Neit,” referencing her idolatrous Egyptian ancestry.
But the names of the sons of their sons were Hebrew! Any other foreigner seeking refuge in Egypt would have welcomed assimilation and Egyptianization, but not Joseph
in fact, he doubled down with his ethnic, spiritual origin.
Joseph believed in God unlike any other person on earth....
3 aspects of Joseph’s belief:
Joseph believed in....
1. God’s Greatness
God is great, i don’t have to be in control… remember that?
At the base he had a transcending belief in the greatness of God. Joseph’s understanding of God was that he controlled all of life, including the day-in, day-out events of life.
He believed that God was at work even in sinful life.
Joseph maintained the greatest concept and understanding of God of anybody else in his time. And he declared that to Pharaoh (the pseudo-god man) — telling the king that God, not Pharaoh, controlled the destiny of Egypt.
WOW! do you believe in God like that? do you believe in his greatness like that? how big is your God?
Joseph believed in God’s Greatness!
He also believed in....
2. God’s Word
Joseph believed God’s word that had been revealed to him through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He believed in God’s covenant promises. He also believed in his God-given dreams.
And he believed all this without exception as he stood alone in Egypt.
That is how, later, Moses would stand before Pharaoh, that is how Daniel would stand before the King of Babylon, and that is how the Apostle Paul stood before the courts of Rome.
They all believed in God’s word. it was and should be our FIRM FOUNDATION!
Joseph believed in God’s Word
finally, Joseph believed in....
3. God’s Presence
Joseph believed that God was with him both in the pit and at the pinnacle.
That is why — in the face of every political, social, and spiritual force in Egypt — he gave his boys Hebrew names.
God was with him in slavery,
in Potiphar’s house,
in prison,
in front of Pharaoh,
and God was with him in his work to provide for the nation of Egypt
Pharaoh himself recognized God’s presence in Joseph which is why he exalted him to such a high position
do people recognize God’s presence in your life?
Joseph believed in God’s presence!
CLOSING:
let’s finish the chapter.... verse 53
53 The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, 54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55 When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.”
56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. 57 Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.
the whole earth came to Joseph for rescue.... the famine was so severe… it stretched over all the land.... and there was only one place to find rescue
this humble man… full of the spirit of God.... trusting in God’s greatness, His Word, and His presence… provided bread for everyone in need
you can imagine, the question in every town of that day… “have you gone to Joseph yet? have you gotten the bread that he has to give?”
do you see it????
do you know your need????
because the famine of sin and death in our time has stretched over all the earth… and there is only one place to find rescue
Jesus, this humble man, arrives on the scene.... working to bless the world through healing, forgiveness of sins and love
He comes full of the spirit of God... trusting in God’s greatness, His Word, and His presence… provides the bread of life and living water for everyone in need, so that they will never hunger or thirst again
the question for us today is, “have you gone to Jesus yet?” “have you gotten bread… the life that he has to give?”
INVITATION: