D - Joseph Pt. 5 (Genesis 40)
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7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
In the same way that God is always with us, God was also with Joseph as we have seen in the story. Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery. Joseph was thrown into jail for something he didn’t do. And now, he’s in jail. I wonder what’s gonna happen next. Well, Joseph is in charge of keeping order in the jail itself, because God took care of him everywhere he went.
Well, one day while Joseph was in jail a cupbearer and a baker offended the king of Egypt. So they got thrown into jail with Joseph. While they were there, Joseph noticed they were upset and this is what he said:
7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”
8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
So the cupbearer told Joseph his dream. he dreamed that:
9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me,
10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes.
11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”
12 “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days.
Then the Baker told Joseph his dream:
16 When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread.
17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
Doesn’t seem too bad right? well, This is what Joseph said:
18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days.
19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and impale your body on a pole. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”
You know what happened 3 days later? The Pharoah has a birthday and he killed the baker but, the cupbearer was given his job back just like Joseph said.
How does this apply to me today? Well, I see that for Joseph, this is a time of preparation. Joseph is about to do something amazing for the people of Egypt and through him, a lot of people are going to be blessed someday. But before that happens, God allowed Joseph to be in a difficult place, that helped prepare Joseph for what was coming next.
See, God has given all Christians something we like to call Spiritual Gifts. Now, interpreting dreams isn’t something we see very much today. Mostly because if we need to hear something from God, He will send someone with God’s Word in hand. But what is your gift?
There are a bunch of gifts:
The gift of service, Giving, Teaching, Discernment, Mercy, Help, Wisdom, Knowledge, Evangelism. And this a small list, there are more out there. What’s yours? Maybe you don’t know yours. That’s ok. Do you know what you can know for certain right now?
You can know for certain if you want to serve Jesus. And that’s what Joseph had. I bet if you would’ve asked Joseph in jail what his gift was, there’s a chance he wouldn’t have been able to tell you. But he knew who God was, and he knew he wanted to serve God. Do you want to serve God?
If you do, know that God will prepare you to serve Him. And with time, and conversations with me and other adults in the room we can figure out what your spiritual gift is.
Discussion Questions:
Have you ever heard of the term ‘Practice makes perfect’? What does this mean to you?
Next time we will see that God will use Joseph to interpret Pharaoh's dreams. If you notice, we see how God had given Joseph a gift, and allowed Joseph to practice it. what do you think could happen if you don’t use your gift?
Notice how God gave Joseph his gift since he was young, in the same way God has given us each gifts as soon as we become Christians. What do you Think your gift could be? (It is perfectly okay if you don’t know)
Pray in your group: That God will help you discover your gift or practice your gift for His honor and His glory.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?