GENESIS 39-40 THE LORD IS WITH YOU2015 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Genesis 39-40 The Lord Is With You

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2015. Well, this morning we get to look at the life of Joseph and some amazing events that happened. And we'll be looking at chapters 39 and 40 this morning and some of the things that took place in Joseph's life.

But as I was preparing for the message this morning and looking at the life of Joseph, it reminded me of something that took place in 2 Kings chapter 6. And you don't have to turn there, but you might remember the account. It was when the prophet Elisha was ministering to the nation of Israel, and he walks outside one day and sits down on his porch. He's just enjoying the morning, and it's a beautiful day, and he's sitting there, he's

sipping his coffee and just enjoying the day. Well, his servant comes out a little bit after him. In 2 Kings 6, verse 15, it tells us that the servant comes out and he begins to really freak out.

He is really stressed. He is incredibly afraid because as he walks out, he sees Elisha there sipping his coffee enjoying the morning. But then he looks up and all around them has, well, the Assyrian army has camped around their city and is out to get Elisha. And so the servant says, alas, my master, what shall we do? And he looks over at Elisha and Elisha just takes another sip.

Just calm, just kicking back, just enjoying the morning, enjoying his coffee. Meanwhile, the servant is freaking out. Why is one freaking out? Why is Elisha so calm? Well, Elisha responds and he says, do not fear for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. The servant sees the army. He's freaked out. But Elisha says, there's more with us

than that are with them. And then he prays in the next verse and he asked God to open the servant's eyes. And when the servant's eyes are open, he sees that the mountainside is full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And so the servant was freaking out because he didn't see what Elisha saw.

And so he was relaxed. He was comfortable. He was enjoying his coffee that morning because...

God was with him. And that's why it reminded me of this story because what we see in Genesis chapter 39 is that the Lord was with Joseph. And so I titled the message this morning, The Lord is with you. As we look at Joseph and consider that the Lord was with him, of course, it's not just that Joseph that God was with.

but that God is with you as well. Repeatedly here in Genesis chapter 39, we'll see it stated that the Lord is with Joseph. And that's really interesting because of the circumstances that Joseph was in.

Joseph wasn't in good circumstances. He'd had a difficult time thus far. His brothers hated him and were jealous, and so they sold him into slavery. He was taken by the Ishmaelites as a slave to Egypt, where he was sold as a slave to Potiphar. Later on, he's going to be falsely accused and put in prison. And all the while, it tells us that the Lord is with Joseph. Amen.

Pastor Chuck said one time that if anyone had a right to challenge the goodness of God, it was Joseph. Because he endured all these things, but he didn't deserve these things in the sense that he had not provoked his brothers. He wasn't out to get his brothers, and so they were paying him back. But they hated him. They were jealous of their father's love for Joseph.

He is put in prison, but it's a false accusation. He's not put in prison for something that he had done wrong. And so these things that are happening to him that don't really live up to his lifestyle and the things that he's done, and yet it tells us that the Lord is with Joseph. And it teaches us an important lesson.

If you try to use your current circumstances to determine if God is with you or not, well, you will often come to the conclusion that God is not with you. It's one thing for us to read through the account of Joseph here in the book of Genesis, but it's another thing to live it out.

Because we can read through these couple chapters and then keep on reading. And we know the story. We know it works out. We know how God uses all of these things to accomplish something great. But when Joseph is going through this, he doesn't get the privilege of reading the next couple chapters to find out how it ends. And so Joseph could easily come to the conclusion in the midst of this that God is not with him.

Just like you and I in the midst of difficult circumstances or hardships or heartache or whatever we might be going through, it's very easy for us to look at our present circumstances and conclude, maybe God's not with me. Maybe God is not good. Maybe God does not love me. And we can come to those conclusions if we're just basing it on our current circumstances. But something we learn from the life of Joseph is to not do that.

Because we see later on, all is revealed and what God does is amazing. So God is with you, just as he was with Joseph. And knowing that, knowing that he is with you and that he is working out his plans behind the scenes, well, this should modify or impact the way that we behave. I'd like to give you an example of that from Hebrews chapter 13, verses 5 and 6.

The author of Hebrews says, let your conduct be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have. And then notice, for he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. The author of Hebrews says, here's how you ought to behave because...

The Lord has promised that he will not leave you nor forsake you. Knowing that the Lord is with you should impact, should influence the way that you behave so that you are, you know, living without covetousness, that you're content. And then in verse 6, he says that we could boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Because the Lord is with you, this is how you should live. This is how you ought to be. So knowing that the Lord is with us impacts or changes the way that we behave. And so what we learn as we look at the example of Joseph here in Genesis chapter 39 and 40 is

As the Lord is with him, we learn five lessons from Joseph, five lessons from his example about how we should behave, about how this knowledge, about knowing that the Lord is with us, should impact and change the things that we do and the way that we live. And so let's look at the first example that Joseph sets for us here in Genesis 39, verses 1 through 6. Here we learn we need to serve authorities.

Serve those who are in authority over us because the Lord is with us. Looking again at verse 1, it says, Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. So this is the transaction taking place. The brothers had sold Joseph into slavery.

They took him down to Egypt and now Potiphar, this captain of the guard in Egypt, purchases Joseph and he becomes a slave in Potiphar's household. Verse 2, the Lord was with Joseph and he was a successful man and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.

So here in verse 2 and 3, we see twice, the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph. Now, again, as we read this, it's not too difficult for us to accept that. But imagine yourself in Joseph's spot at this time. I'm pretty confident that Joseph did not feel like God was with him.

Who would? Who would feel like God was with them if your siblings hated you, were jealous of you, betrayed you, sold you into slavery, and shipped you off to Egypt? I don't think any one of us, if that took place in our lives, would think, all right, the Lord's with me. Look what's going on. No, the circumstances would make us think, where is God? And why would God allow this? What's going on? And yet it tells us here in verse 2 and 3, the Lord was with Joseph.

The Lord was with Joseph. That's the truth. And the truth is the truth, even if we don't feel it. Even if we can't recognize it, the Lord was with Joseph. This phrase, or the idea of the Lord being with Joseph, it means that God was caring for Joseph, that God was protecting Joseph, and that God was blessing Joseph. Now, Joseph could not

feel all of that taking place. He couldn't recognize all that was taking place. But it's interesting that Potiphar could see it. It says in verse 3, his master saw that the Lord was with him. Potiphar observes Joseph's life and he recognizes, wow, the Lord is with that man. Oftentimes, things that we can't perceive ourselves, others around us are able to see.

They're able to spot and they're able to say, wow, God is with you. And you're like, are you sure? Because I can't tell. I can't see it. It doesn't look that way to me. And that's why it's important for us as believers to minister to one another and encourage one another. Sometimes we think, oh, I don't need to tell them about the work that God is doing in their life. I mean, I can see it and it's so obvious. So I don't need to encourage them in it. I don't need to tell them about it. I don't need to share that with them because it's obvious.

The master, Potiphar, thought, it's obvious the Lord is with Joseph. But for Joseph, it probably did not seem that way. And in the same way, sometimes you see a God doing a work in somebody's life and you think, it's obvious. I don't need to encourage them in that.

But I would encourage you to encourage them in that. Because a lot of times, even in the midst of these things that seem so obvious from the outside internally, we can't recognize them. And so encourage one another as you see God working, as you see God doing something, as you see that the Lord is with somebody. It's good because a lot of times we can't tell from the inside. Well, going on in verse four, it says, so Joseph found favor in his sight and served him.

And so here's where we get the example from Joseph. To serve those in authority over us. Here's Joseph, a slave. The Lord is with him and he is serving Potiphar faithfully. He's a faithful servant.

And he proved as he served Potiphar that he could be trusted. And so Potiphar gives him more responsibility. He gives him a higher position in his home. And so he ends up putting all that he has under Joseph's authority. Now this did not happen overnight. This happened through the process of time as Joseph continued to serve his authority.

to serve his master. And he proved himself over this period of time. And I like what David Guzik pointed out about this. He says, you have to picture Joseph as a hard worker because when he came to Egypt, he had a great disadvantage. He knew nothing of the language, of the culture, the customs, or the ways of doing business. And so Guzik says he had to get up early and stay up late to do his job and learn the Egyptian ways.

I hadn't thought about that before, but that is interesting to consider. Remember later on when Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to buy food, they have to use an interpreter because they don't know the language. Joseph had to learn the language. He had to develop himself and work hard and be faithful as a servant there in Potiphar's house. And over the course of time,

Potiphar observes this work that God is doing through him and gives him more responsibility. And then after Joseph is promoted, he remains faithful.

He doesn't, you know, get sloppy. He doesn't kind of like kick back now that he got the promotion and now he's in charge of everything. But he continues to remain faithful. It goes on in verse 5 and 6 to say, Potiphar gave so much to Joseph that he didn't know about anything that he had. He wasn't checking his bank account balance. He wasn't, you know, paying attention to what was coming in or going out. The only thing he paid attention to is, what do I want to have for dinner tonight?

And that's the life, right? I mean, if that's all you had to think about, if that's your only concern, like, hmm, what should I have them make me for dinner tonight? That's the life. And so that's what Potiphar has. He's not concerned about anything because he's learned that Joseph is a faithful servant. It's a good example for us to serve those who are in authority over us. Listen, the Lord is with you.

Just as he was with Joseph. And that should impact your behavior. That should influence what you do and the way that you do it. And just as God was with Joseph, God is with you. Now, that will look different in your life. The details will look different. You might not be hated by your family.

You might not be betrayed and sold into slavery by your brothers. You might be blessed in the workplace or you might not be blessed in the workplace. Those are the details that are specific to Joseph's life, but the principle is the same. The Lord is with you and just as he was faithful to serve his master, his employer, his, well, those who had authority in his life, you and I

are to do the same. Serve those authorities in your life. Now, sometimes we might not like those authorities in our life. Sometimes we might not be so excited about them, and maybe they're a cruel master, or maybe they're a good master, but either way, we're instructed to serve those authorities. Paul tells us in Romans chapter 13, verse 1, that there is no authority except from God.

The only authorities that exist, Paul says, are appointed by God. And so when you serve those authorities, you're serving the Lord.

Paul gives us another example in Colossians chapter 3, where he's talking about bond servants and masters and how they're to relate. And we translate that into our culture as bosses and employees, because that was a very similar situation. And so he tells the bond servants, he tells the employees, obey in all things your bosses, your masters, according to the flesh.

But then he goes on to say in verse 23, he says, "'Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord "'and not to men, knowing that from the Lord "'you will receive the reward of the inheritance "'for you serve the Lord Christ.'" Sometimes when we have difficult situations, those in authority over us that we're not that excited about, we wonder why should we serve them faithfully? And here's what Paul says, "'Do it heartily as to the Lord.'"

And know this, that you receive reward from the Lord. Your boss ultimately isn't the one who rewards you. It's the Lord. And so serve the Lord because all authority is from God. He says there at the end of verse 24, you serve the Lord Christ. That's who you're serving.

So serve authorities, serve faithfully because the Lord is with you and he will reward you according to your faithfulness in serving him and those that he has allowed to be an authority over you. Well, the next example that we see from the life of Joseph is found in verses seven through 20 here in Genesis 39. And here we see that we need to resist temptation because the Lord is with us. Resist temptation. Resist temptation.

You know, as you look at this account, you recognize that the enemy, Satan, is not a gentleman and he does not play fair. And he often uses times of difficulty and discouragement to bring temptation to us. Verse 7, And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph and she said, lie with me.

Potiphar's wife begins to long for Joseph, and she begins to throw herself at Joseph, and she's very upfront about her intentions and what she desires. She says, lie with me. Now, as we read this account, of course, I think for the most part, we're familiar with this story, and we know what happens, and so we know, you know, what's about to take place, but

If we were reading this for the first time and didn't know the whole story ahead of time, I think that we would not be too surprised if Joseph had given in to this temptation to be with Potiphar's wife. I mean, there's things that we can think about, right? Joseph was young. He was a young man. This would be a powerful temptation for him. Not only that, but he had it pretty rough.

I mean, you know, being sold into slavery and treated that way and then rising up, you know, to have all this authority and for that power to go to his head, like it makes sense. We could easily be sympathetic for the difficulty of his life or the weakness of his immaturity or his flesh. We could easily be sympathetic if he had given in to this temptation.

But goes on in verse 8 to say, but he refused and said to his master's wife, look, my master does not know what is with me in the house and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you because you are his wife. And then notice, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Joseph refused God.

to give in. He resisted temptation and he gives two reasons to Potiphar's wife. Number one is faithfulness to his master. I think this is a good example for us. Joseph is honoring not only his master, but he's honoring marriage.

He's honoring the vows. He's honoring that commitment to one another. And he says, look, this is not to be done. I cannot do this to my master. He's given me everything else, but he hasn't given you to me because you're his wife. And then secondly, he says, I can't do this because I need to be faithful to God. He says, how can I do this great wickedness against God?

And so Joseph resisted the temptation. He refused to give in. He was conscious of the presence of God. The Lord is with him. God will see this. This is a sin against God. How can I do this wickedness against God? And we could read this and say, all right, good job, Joseph. Way to be victorious. Now do it 100 more times. Look at verse 10. So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day,

that he did not heed her to lie with her or to be with her. This wasn't a one time, you know, all you got to do is just be victorious this one time and then you're set for life. That's not the way the temptation works. He had to be victorious that day and then the next day and then the next day and then the next day and then the next day. It was daily that he had to fight this battle, daily that he had to continue to refuse. And once again, I would suggest that

We would not be surprised if Joseph had given in and maybe we could sympathize with him. Well, that would be really difficult to have that daily temptation, that daily presence, that daily opportunity. And we could be sympathetic. We could understand. It wouldn't be that big of a surprise. But Joseph maintained his faithfulness to God, continued in his heart, how can I do this great wickedness against God?

God. Knowing that the Lord is with you should influence your behavior, should impact your behavior, so that you begin to think in the same way, how can I do this great wickedness against God? Well, as Joseph continues to refuse, finally Potiphar's wife thinks of a plan to try to trap him, and she gets rid of everybody in the house, and so Joseph comes in, it's just him and her, and she grabs hold of his cloak and

And she says, all right, now lie with me. And he leaves his cloak in her hands and he runs out the door. He takes off. He flees the temptation. Well, she's upset by that.

And so she accuses then Joseph of trying to force himself upon her. And she uses the cloak that he left behind and accuses him to his master. It tells us in verse 19, So it was when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, Your servant did to me after this manner that his anger was aroused."

Then Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in the prison. And so Joseph now is falsely accused and imprisoned. Now, on the one hand, you could think, you know, things might have been better for Joseph if he had given in to the temptation, because then he wouldn't be in prison at this point.

And that's one of the things that the enemy will often try to bring to us. These lies, these manipulations, you know, well, it'd be better for me if I give into this temptation, things will go better. But even if that was the case, that it would have been better, it would have been temporary because, well, it could not last. And you have to also consider the light sentence that Joseph received. Of course, we think it's not a light sentence because we know Joseph is innocent. But for a slave...

a foreign slave to be accused of forcing himself on his master's wife, the reasonable penalty would be death. But Potiphar doesn't put him to death. He puts him in prison. It's a light sentence for this kind of accusation. It's possible that Potiphar had suspicions about his wife's involvement. And so maybe it was for that. Maybe it was because of Joseph's reputation. We don't know.

But if Joseph had given into the temptation and then she accused him or and then they were found out, then the penalty would have been much more severe. And so we could think, yeah, it would be better because Joseph wouldn't be in prison. But that's just one of the games that the enemy plays with our minds. No, resist temptation. It's always going to be better. It's never going to be better to give in to sin. The Lord is with you. And because the Lord is with you, flee from temptation.

Have this same mentality, this same heart against sin. How can I do this great wickedness against God? Remember, though, that the enemy doesn't play fair. And he's going to try to take advantage of your difficult circumstances. He's going to mess with your mind. Yes, you lost your job. God's probably not with you. You might as well just give in to God.

what you want to do and this opportunity that is there. You got that bad news. You're feeling really bad about yourself. Why don't you go make yourself feel better and do that thing that you're tempted to do? You're injured in that way. You have this situation. You have this condition. The enemy does not play fair. He takes advantage of our weak points, of our weak moments, but he also does it in this perpetual way where he's hounding us day after day with these temptations.

And his goal is to make you feel like you have no choice. But the Lord is with you. And that means you have a choice. Consider what Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13. He says,

But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Don't fall for the lie from the enemy that you have to give in to temptation. Don't fall from the lie from your own flesh that you have to give in to the temptation. Because Paul tells us God is faithful.

He's with you, he's faithful, and he's providing a way out that you may be able to bear it. You don't have to give in. The Lord is with you. Let that reality, let that truth impact the way that you behave and what you do so that you do not pursue avenues of sin.

Well, going on now in verse 21 of Genesis chapter 39, we see the third way that Joseph is a good example for us. Knowing that God is with you, here's what we ought to do. We ought to serve others. Not just those in authority over us, but those who are around us, we also are to serve. Verse 21, it says, "'But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and he gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.'"

So now Joseph is in prison, but God reminds us as he enters into this new season of difficulty, he probably thought he was already at the bottom of, you know, what he could experience. But now things get worse. And here God reminds us, even when things get worse, you thought they couldn't get worse. And then they got worse. The Lord was with Joseph. And Joseph probably did not feel like God was with him. Who would? Who would feel like God was with them when they are dead?

betrayed, sold into slavery, then falsely accused and put into prison. Who would feel like God was with them? But it's the truth. And the truth is the truth even if we don't feel it. The Lord was with Joseph and the Lord is with you. Verse 22, it says, the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, it was his doing.

The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority. Notice, because the Lord was with him and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

And so we see the same scenario kind of rebuilt now in the prison, just like it happened in Potiphar's household. Joseph is there in prison. As he is, he's serving people around him. The prison keeper sees it and watches what's unfolding. And so he gives him some responsibility and God blesses it. And Joseph is faithful with it. And so he gives him more responsibility. And over the process of time,

All the prisoners are committed into Joseph's hand and whatever they do, it's Joseph's doing. He didn't have to look into it. He didn't have to think about it and notice because the Lord was with him. Again, Joseph may not feel like the Lord is with him, but the prison guard can tell. He notices. He can see what's going on and it's obvious to him that the Lord is with him.

Then going on into verse 1 of chapter 40, it came to pass after these things that the butler and 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. It seems at this time there was some kind of plot to poison Pharaoh.

And they are not sure who's at fault or who is involved in the plot. And so they're going to do an investigation and figure out who's at fault in this. And in the meantime, they put their primary suspects in prison, the butler and the baker. And so now they're there with Joseph. And then notice in verse four, it says, "'The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them "'and he served them. "'So they were in custody for a while.'"

Joseph now begins to serve his fellow inmates, his fellow prisoners. He's ministering to them. He's meeting their needs, paying attention to them. And this is important because his ministry to them, his serving them, paves the way for him to be able to minister to these guys in the next few verses. And we'll see that in just a moment. But the Lord is with Joseph.

And so he is serving the people around him. In the same way, I would encourage you and remind you, the Lord is with you. And it may look different in your life. It doesn't mean that you have to go to prison. And it doesn't mean necessarily that everything you touch is going to turn to gold and be blessed. The details are going to look different. But the reality is the Lord is with you. So serve the people around you. Understand that God is the one who puts people in your life.

He's the one who connects you to people and gives you opportunity to minister to people, to influence people. These two guys are not random guys. They're not just, you know, any two guys that just happened to get thrown in prison and Joseph is serving them. He is serving all the people in the prison. But here comes these two specific guys that are part of God's plan.

Because through these guys and Joseph serving these guys, well, then God is going to use that to bring Joseph to second in command of all Egypt. And so it's an amazing part of God's work. He designs it. He places these two guys there. And I would suggest to you that in the same way, God is placing people in your life for the very same purpose, for the very same reason, that you would serve them

to then have the opportunity to represent him. And that's the next point as we go on in verses 5 through 8 here, and that is to represent God. Because Joseph serves these guys, then he has the opportunity to represent God to these guys. Check out verse 5.

Verse 7. Verse 8.

recognizes something's different today. How come you're sad today? He says to these guys. Now, they were probably sad the day before too, because they woke up and they were in chains. And the day before that, they woke up and they were in chains. And the day before that, they woke up and they were in chains. They were probably sad most days. But Joseph is paying attention.

He's observant and he sees there's something different. You're sad in a way that you weren't yesterday. Why are you extra sad today? Why are you especially sad today? And then they go on in verse 8 to tell him, hey, we've had this dream or we've each had our own dreams and there's no interpreter. We don't know what they mean. But because we don't know what they mean, this makes us extra sad. And Joseph says in verse 8, do not interpretations belong to God. He says, tell them to me, please. Tell me your dreams.

Because interpretations belong to God. Joseph, in serving these guys, in caring for them and paying attention to them, he was able to recognize and identify when they were sad in a different way than they were before. And as he asked them what's up, as he invites them to share what's going on, he gets the opportunity to then speak for God, to minister to them, to represent God in their lives. This is a great example for us.

These two points, point three and four, they're linked together. They work hand in hand. We are to serve others because the Lord is with us, knowing that God has placed these people in our lives so that later on, at some point, we get the opportunity to represent God, to speak on behalf of God into their lives.

Going back to verse 4 here in Genesis 40, notice it says, the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them and he served them. So they were in custody for a while. This wasn't that, you know, they got put in prison. That night they had a dream. The next day Joseph interprets the dream. No, they're in custody for a while. And over the process of time, Joseph is serving them. He's ministering to them. He's earning the right to serve them.

to be able to speak on behalf of God into their lives by his faithfulness in serving for a while over the process of time. There's a saying we often quote, people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Sometimes we get frustrated that people don't listen to us. But a lot of times, not every time, but a lot of times, people don't listen to us because they don't know that we care.

We haven't earned that right by serving for a while, by putting their needs ahead of ours, by ministering to them, by paying attention. And Joseph here is doing that. And so he earns the right. He gets the opportunity because he's paying attention. He knows something's different today. Why are you sad? And so as I encourage you this morning to know that the Lord is with you and let that influence you to serve others and represent God,

Think about it in a long-term scope. This is a long-term vision that we serve people for a while. There will be the opportunities, maybe like Philip, where you're walking down the road and God says, hey, there's an Ethiopian eunuch. Go share the gospel. He hears the gospel. He receives the gospel. You baptize him right there. Boom. You're in. You're out. He gets saved. God does a great work. There will be those divine appointments.

But I would suggest much more. There's going to be those that you serve for a while. And because you serve them for a while, because they know that you care, because they know that you love them and want what's best for them, you'll get an opportunity when they're sad, when they're stressed, when they're anxious, when they need help, when they're concerned, when they're confused, you'll get an opportunity to represent God.

and to speak on behalf of God into their lives. Represent God because the Lord is with you. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 28 as he gave us the great commission. He says, "'Go therefore and make disciples, "'baptize them in the name of the Father, "'the Son, the Holy Spirit. "'Teach them to observe all things "'that I have commanded you.'" And notice he says, "'And lo, I am with you always, "'even to the end of the age.'"

Jesus says, you're going to go represent me. You're going to go make disciples because I am with you. It's part of who we are as believers. The Lord is with you. So serve others with the understanding, looking for the opportunity to represent God as they have these times of sadness or needs that arise in their hearts. Well, the final example we see in Joseph found in verse 23 and then in verse 1 of chapter 41 says,

is that we need to persevere. Joseph persevered. It says in verse 23 that the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. When Joseph interpreted his dream, and it was a favorable interpretation, he said, you're going to be restored back to your place in Pharaoh's house. And he says, hey butler, when that happens, would you please remember me? I'm not here because of some evil I've done. I'm falsely accused.

Can you use your position? Once you're back in that place, can you do something to get me out of here? I don't belong here. And the butler says, sure thing, dude. You got it. Yes, for sure. I won't forget. I'll remember. I'll get you out of here. But then in verse 23, it tells us the chief butler did not remember, but forgot him. And then as you go on into chapter 41, verse 1, it says, then it came to pass at the end of two full years that

So now two years later, Pharaoh has a dream. And then the butler remembers, oh yeah, I met a guy who interpreted my dream. That was two years ago. And that's when they bring Joseph out and Pharaoh appoints him to be second in command of all of Egypt. And God fulfills the plan for Joseph's life as a result. But until that took place,

Joseph had to persevere. He had to endure. Let me give you an idea of the scope of what this was like, the amount of time that passed. Joseph was about 17 when he had these dreams about his family bowing down to him. His family wasn't super excited about the dream. It was one of the things that they hated him for and so sold him into slavery later on. But he had these dreams at about 17 years old.

Those dreams are not fulfilled until he's about 37 years old after the famine begins in Egypt. And so it's 20 years later that these dreams that God gave him are fulfilled. About halfway to that 20 years, 10 years after his dreams, is when Joseph is here with these prisoners in prison, hearing their dreams and telling the interpretations of

He's about 28 years old at the time. 10 years have passed. He's been in Egypt for about 10 years as a slave, as a prisoner. We don't know exactly how long, you know, in each one, but let's split it. Five years as a slave, five years as a prisoner. He's there in prison interpreting these dreams, persevering. The Lord's still with him. He hasn't given up and Joseph is continuing to be faithful to serve.

And then it's two years after that, he's about 30 years old when he gets to stand in front of Pharaoh to interpret his dreams and then be given authority over all Egypt. It's 20 years until the promise that God gave him is fulfilled. 10 years of just misery, being a slave and being falsely accused and imprisoned. He had to persevere. In the same way, you and I, well, the Lord is with us and we must persevere.

Not really much different than Joseph. The details of our circumstances might be different, but the call for us is the same, to persevere. Later on, at the end of Genesis, in Genesis chapter 50 verse 20, Joseph is able to tell his brothers, hey guys, you meant what you did for evil. You sold me into slavery. You meant it for evil. But he says, God meant it for good.

in order to bring about this day and to save many people alive. God designed this. God worked this out and he used it for good, even though you meant it for evil. He had to persevere. He probably couldn't see it at this time in prison, but at the end of his life, looking back, he's able to say, God was at work. God did something amazing through the midst of that.

The author of Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 10 encourages us in a similar way. He says, Joseph modeled this. He didn't cast away his confidence. He had endurance. He did the will of God. He served faithfully.

Whether he was a slave, whether he was in prison, or whether he was given authority over all Egypt, he was faithful to serve. He was faithful to the will of God. And then he received the promise. His family came from Egypt and bowed down before him because he was in charge of all Egypt. God fulfilled the dreams. God fulfilled the promises. Sure, it was 20 years later.

But Joseph persevered. He endured and received the promise. In a similar way, you and I, we've been given great promises of God. Some for this life and some for eternity. In the midst of the situations of life and the difficulties of life, it's easy to look around and think, God's not with me. God's not good. God doesn't love me. It's easy to think that. But the Lord is with you. Persevere. Don't give up. Don't give in. Don't quit. One verse that we quote,

Quite a bit. It's Romans chapter 8, verse 28. God works all things together for good to those who love Him. Persevere. God will use the worst things in your life for good. And you'll be able to say, looking back like Joseph, you might not be able to say it now, but you'll be able to look back like Joseph and say,

That was meant for evil. The enemy was trying to destroy me. You guys were hating on me, but God meant it for good. God did something good through the midst of that. You have need of endurance so that after you've done the will of God, serving authorities, serving others, resisting temptation, representing God, after you've done the will of God, you will receive the promise. This promise is for the children of God.

This promise is for those who believe in Jesus. It's for you. The Lord is with you. And so I encourage you, let that knowledge, let that truth impact and influence the way that you behave so that you serve those who are in authority over you. There is no authority except what God has appointed. Serve them, be faithful.

Resist temptation. Oh yeah, there's gonna be all kinds of mind games and all kinds of good reasons why you could justify giving in to that temptation. Resist, run, flee, because God's with you and he's providing a way of escape. Serve others, knowing that as you serve them, as you put their needs first, you're gonna have an opportunity to represent God for them, to speak on behalf of God into their lives. And because God is with you, persevere.

You're going to receive the promise. God's going to be faithful. He's going to work it all out for good because the Lord's with you. So persevere. Don't give up. Don't quit, but carry on. Let's pray. Lord, as we consider these things, I pray that you would help us to know that you are with us. I pray, Lord, that you would allow that truth to sink deep into our hearts.

Lord, that we would live accordingly, that we would wake up tomorrow with that understanding and live knowing that you are with us. And the next day and the next day, day after day, just as temptation comes day after day, Lord, I pray that you would help us to know that you're with us day after day. Lord, that we might fulfill your will and do what you've called us to do in serving those in authority around us, the people that you've strategically placed around us,

Lord, help us to be faithful to you in that, faithful to you in resisting temptation and faithful to you in representing you with the people that you've placed around us. And God, I pray that you would give us endurance, give us perseverance, encourage us, remind us of who you are, remind us of your plans, your promises, Lord, that we would persevere and not give up, but that we would be faithful to you because you are faithful to us. It's in your name we pray, amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.