preparing the man of God
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intro
intro
now when I say man- i mean person
man or woman
in this case God has been preparing Joseph
through a life of trials
God will use the ups and downs of our life
transform us into the image of Christ
CHRIST LIKE NESS
how has God been preparing you
How has God worked in your life to prepare you ?
one way we can look at it .
your here tonight to read about Almighty God
most americans do not attend church regularly
20% attend —-according to exaterrated reports
now
what did God do in order to bring you here tonight
God has brought you here to prepare you
What challenges in your life have you faced ?
have those things stirred up your heart to seek after Him ?
God is always moving in your life
He is always preparing you
and what Ive noticed
is that when God uses a man
He usually breaks him first
thats what he is doing to Joseph
sold into slavery——- twice ——— falsely accused , potiphers wife , Thrown in Jail
some people have a bad day, some have a bad year, hes having a bad life
now how often do you here people say
I dont believe in God because these bad things happened to me
God is not the author of evil
sin and satan are the author of evil ...
Josephs brothers sold him into slavery because of their sin
dont get mad at God , Get mad at sin
but God was using all of this in Josephs life
and God ordained what was in mans heart
to bring about his glory
and salvation
so how has sin affected you?
maybe bullies, maybe mean siblings or parents .…
I had a brother that nearly killed me growing up …
He sat on me with an alladin beanbag and I couldnt breathe
even those times in my youth , God was using to bring me to Him
and to create in me a man after his own heart
lets read about how Joseph
was continued to be molded
and prepared to become a major player in the salvation of Israel
from famine,,,,
It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.
Joseph——in JAil for trying to seduce potiphers wife .....A Lie
some time after that - the pharos cup bearer and baker commit an offense .
they are thrown into prison
cup bearer- he was to drink from pharos cup first—- make sure it was not poison
he would handle his cup in a sense
in ancient times it was common to try to kill someone for their throne
baker - He was responsible for baking the bread and handeling the bread for the king
we dont know exactly what offense they commited
but it was likely involving
insurrection or plotting to dethrone the king
isint this all to familiar .… trump getting shot, MLK, JFK
whatever evidence was found, it pointed to the cup and the bread
as they are thrown into prison
as high profile prisoners
lowly Joseph is the servant to them
Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night and each man’s dream with its own interpretation. And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?” And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.”
during the night
both prisoners had seperate dreams
now dreams were considered to be communication with another realm in ancient egypt
they were very important to the egyptians
and they would have different interpretations
according to their culture and custom
but when joseph sees them
and sees they are downcast
He asks why are you downcast?
and here I think to myself
well its because they are in prison
how could a man have a good head on his shoulders in prison?/
well we do see Joseph with a good demenor
in prison
Why? because God was with Him
now these 2 men are more than likely freaking out
I have had a weird dream and I dont know what to do>>>
and joseph has a wonderful reply
do not interpretations belong to God
But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:
Daniel interprets king nebechenezers dream
and we see how God reveals secrets and
how daniel and joseph have interpreted these dreams
also the wisemen were warned in a dream not to go back to herod
as well as jospeh Jesus dad, warned to flee to egypt, and to come back to gallilee
these dreams of communication
have a message and the interpretation is from God
look at how josephs first reaction is to go to God
that should always be our gut reaction
when faced with questions or guidance
Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.
look to God first
because
l the truth belongs to God
the direction of my life belongs to God
the answer to my questions belong to God
in the same way you look at the map to find a chic fila when your out of town
you dont know where chic fila is
you find the answers on the map
and it leads you to the Lords chicken
its the same way you should look to God for wisdom and direction
meaning that He has the answers
you look to Him and His word and HE will provide the way
Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”
Here we get the first interpretation
Joseph reveals the cup bearers dream
means that he will be restored
after 3 days
Joseph gives the request
to the cup bearer
please dont forget me .…
mention me to the king
for I have been stolen from my land ,
and here I am innocent
please, please, please
give good word to the king for me ..…
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head. In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.” So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
the chief baker now tells joseph his dream
and josephs interpretation is bad news for the baker
he will die
as we see in the end of the chapter
what joseph has interpreted has come true
Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.
it was a celebration
and was common on a kings birthday to make a judgment
almost as a spectacle for the festivities
He brings forth the cup bearer and the baker
the fate of the cup barer
He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.
and for the baker
But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.
in the last verse of -the chapter
Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
after all of this
when Joseph thinks he will finally be redeemed
the cup barer forgets him
q. How do you think joseph feels at this point
he must remember who God is and what God showed him
if he could interpret these dreams how much easier it is to interpret
his dreams about his family
the sheves bowing down to him
and the stars bowing down to him
how could God do this with the situation looking this bleak
here we must remember
God is building us up
and sometimes that is through trial
God is preparing a man for His work
we ought to welcome this preperation with open arms
after reading this story we see a few important things about God and Joseph
the first point in preparing the man of God is
the man of God must endure difficult times
the man of God must endure difficult times
we see
tough time
after tough time for Joseph
yet he endures
Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
we see how God has a bigger plan in josephs life, jobs life, and your life
if times are hard for you
its not because God is against you
you may see in the end that it proves God to be compasionate and merciful
God is most concerned about th end result
mainly your maturity in Christ
think about it like this
a man trains for a triathalon
it is hard and gruling
but the motivator is the end result
Let our motivator be the end result of being fully glorified with God in heaven
What else do we learn from this chapter
Gods preperation of a man
includes work during the training
the man of God will be used during difficult times
the man of God will be used during difficult times
Joseph is in a lowly place,
yet he is used by God to interpret the dreams
and bring the news to the two prisoners
and when it comes true
it shows all in the prison
and the cup bearer that this is truly a man of God
find peace in knowing God will use you during the difficult times of training
and lastly
the man of God can trust his savior at all times
the man of God can trust his savior at all times
We see that God was always with Joseph
and even though he didnt understand
he still trusted God
and God proved himself faithful
we can always trust God even when times seem bleek
stay close to Him
and He will use you
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
be content
meaning wether your in jail or in a mansion
be happy wherever you are
because you have God
he wont leave you
He is the treasure
Joseph had his savior
he was able to trust his savior all the way through
and this gave him strength when
the cup barer forgot him
has anyone forgot you
you must gain strength in the fact that God will never forget you
He is the God of the hills and the valleys
when Christ is in you
even if you are wrongfully treated and thrown into jail
you can endure during difficult times
you can be used by God in the midst of your trouble
and you can trust that your savior is always there for you
