Alright. Genesis chapter 39. We're gonna be reading some from chapters 39, forty, and forty one this morning as we continue our study in the life of Joseph. I'm gonna start with this verse. It seems particularly pertinent to the life of this young man.

Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. Let's pray. Dearly father, thank you Lord for your word today and for the opportunity we have to look into it together. I pray that you would bless the preaching of it and the holy spirit would open our hearts, give us understanding to receive and to apply it in our lives in a way which would bring glory to our Father which is in heaven. In Jesus' precious name, we do pray.

Amen. Amen. I thought about taking a hiatus from my series this morning, seeing the auditorium so beautifully decorated for Palm Sunday as we don't normally have these many palm branches around the auditorium. If you're visiting this morning, I appreciate those who did all that decorating. But I do believe there is a bit of a tie in between Joseph and Palm Sunday and, of course, Jesus Christ, our savior, and his exaltation ultimately to his place in heaven.

And so we'll we'll get come back to that in just a few minutes. But back back to Joseph this morning. What does God expect of you but to be faithful to him? Nothing more, just to trust and obey his voice throughout our life. The great heroes of the faith we look upon from Noah to Abraham and Job to Joseph and Moses and Esther and Elijah and John and Paul and Timothy in many sense were just ordinary people who trusted and were faithful to an extraordinary God, particularly when times were difficult.

They just, by God's grace and help, did their best and God used them to do incredible things. One who believes the words of God when he says all things work together for them that love the Lord. One who stays the course when things go south be thing because things going south, so to speak, is not evidence that God has failed you, but often that God is trying to do something extraordinary in your life, especially when you're doing your best simply to be faithful. And that was Joseph. Joseph, as we saw in Genesis 37, was a faithful son.

Well, what happened to that faithful son? What what reward did he earn? Well, he was sold as a slave by his brothers after they decided not to kill him but to sell him instead. He was a faithful slave and that indeed is what he was. He was sold to Potiphar as a slave.

We read about that in Genesis chapter 39. He was the best slave that ever was. He was faithful to the Lord and he was faithful to his master. He proved himself trustworthy. The Lord blessed him greatly even as a slave.

Of course, what where did that get him? Well, that got him in prison. When he rebuffed the advances of Potiphar's wife, he was falsely accused and thrown in prison. It seems like the more they Josh Joseph is faithful, the more things go, what, go badly. That's how it seems anyway.

And then at the end last week, we saw Joseph the faithful prisoner. But the sad plight of Joseph did not mean that God had abandoned him. We must never assume that as God's children. We must assume the opposite. For he said he will never leave us nor forsake us.

And one of the key phrases we saw last week in the life of Joseph was the Lord was with him. The Lord was with him. Whether it was when he was at home as a young man, whether it was while his brothers were betraying him, whether it was while he was serving Potiphar or whether it was as he was in jail, now the Lord was with him. And, boy, was the Lord with him. Everywhere he went, he prospered.

Even in jail, he prospered. James reminds us of this in James one when he says, brethren, count it all, what? Joy. When you fall into diverse temptations knowing this, that the trying of your faith work with patience. But let patience have her perfect work that we may be perfect and entire, wanting or lacking what?

Nothing. You need to grow. I need to grow. You need to grow. God allows difficult things in the life of his children because we need to grow to be more like him, to bring glory to his name, to make a difference as salt and light for him in this world.

Like a little child learning to walk. You you stand them up and you got a hold of their little their fingers got a hold their little hands got a hold of your fingers, and then you let them go and what happens? They fall. They fall. And so what did you, as a parent, do?

Well, you say, oh, that's too bad. We'll never try that again. No. You don't do that. You lift them up, then you try again, and they fall again.

But eventually, learn to what? They learn to walk. They do. And is that important? Yes, it is.

And we who are born as babes in Christ, we have to grow too. The good thing is as children of God, he is intimately involved in all of the things we we have to go through. And there are no accidents. There are no coincidences. God knows what he's doing.

So you are suffering from health woes. I I could take a a, you know, show of hands this morning, and I think more than 50% of the congregation would raise their hands on this one. So you are suffering from health woes. Assume God has not abandoned you and has a purpose in your suffering like Paul and his thorn in the flesh. God's grace will see you through, and it will.

So you are suffering from financial woes. I'm sure none of you have any of those. Assume God has not abandoned you and will continue to provide even if it is day by day like the widow who helped Elijah. And every morning, there was just enough oil and just enough flour for the day. So you are suffering from abandonment or betrayal or loss.

Assume God has not abandoned you because he hasn't and will show himself to be there for you in a special way as he was for Naomi and Ruth. So God was with Joseph, still in prison. So prison, first of all, wasn't quite so bad because God was there. And God gave him a ministry. Yes.

Even in prison. And God gave him a purpose. Yes. Even in prison. Until God's next step in Joseph's journey.

And recognizing this, Joseph continued to be faithful to his God. Let's read at the end of Genesis 39 verse 19 again. Our verse we'll start in verse verse 21. Okay? Joseph now in prison, verse 21, but the Lord was with Joseph, showed him mercy, gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison. And whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. And the keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand because the Lord was with him and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. In other words, the jailkeeper had it really nice while Joseph was in the prison because Joseph was faithful. He was trustworthy.

He showed himself to be that quite quickly, And the jailer began to recognize there is something special about this young man and this young man was probably talking about his God a lot. And so he began to put two and two together and he thought, wow, I'm I'm I'm just going to sit back and take it easy and I'm going let Joseph have all the responsibility. And whatever Joseph did, it it it succeeded. It prospered. And the jail was at peace while Joseph was there because Joseph was faithful even where?

Even in prison. Not only that, but when fellow prisoners came into the prison, Joseph wasn't just concerned about himself or the jail keeper. He was also concerned about the new prisoners. Look, if you would in chapter 40 and verse one. It came to pass after these things that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their Lord, the king of Egypt, and Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.

And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them, and they continued a season in the ward. And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night. Each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning and looked upon them and behold, they were sad.

And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his Lord's house saying, wherefore, look ye so sadly today And they said unto him, we have dreamed a dream and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them. Tell me them, I pray you. Now Joseph, well, he he had enough to be concerned about on his own.

I mean, after all, he was a prisoner in jail, and he had been there for a while now. Between the time he was sold as a slave, I think he was 17, and the time he takes becomes a second ruler in Egypt at the age of 30, thirteen years pass. How much of that as Potiphar's slave and how much in prison isn't specifically given, but thirteen years. Okay? And many of those he spent in prison.

But still yet, when new prisoners come in, Joseph looks at them. They've been there a little while. He said, why are you so sad today? What what's what's different? He was concerned, not just about himself.

He was concerned for for them. He was concerned for others. He was sensitive to their condition. He did not ignore them. He wasn't all caught up in himself and his own troubles to notice that somebody else was having troubles.

How about you? Did you notice anyone today that was maybe sad or down? Are we all caught up in our own troubles? Do we look for people that we can share our troubles with because everybody needs to know about our troubles because they're the worst troubles that have ever been on the face of the earth? Or are we looking for someone whom we might listen to to hear about theirs, that we might share a kind word, that we might help them with their struggles?

Our savior is the latter type and so is Joseph. He noticed, he asked them, they told him their dreams must have been out of the ordinary because certainly back in that day as today, people have dreams all the time. And I I, for the most part, don't remember mine. My wife remembers more of hers than I do. Some people remember every detail of their dreams.

Some people not so much but most of our dreams are just a conglomeration of, you know, events of the day or the week. They all get kind of churned into this crazy story while we sleep and we know they don't mean anything but there was something different about this these dreams that they had especially concerning their particular situation. They thought, hey, there might be something to this and it really troubled them. And so Joseph said, well, tell me, you know, don't don't dreams, don't interpretations belong to who? To God.

Certainly, God could be involved here. And so he said, tell me about it. And so they told him their dreams and we won't read all about the dreams this morning for the sake of time. You can read about from verses nine to 19 but if you look in verse 20, after they told Joseph their dreams, he told them the interpretation thereof. For one, the the butler, he would be restored to his position for the baker.

Sadly, his life would be taken. He would be executed. So, I would definitely want to be the butler and not the baker. His interpretation did not go so well. Verse 20 came to pass the third day which was Pharaoh's birthday that he made a feast and all his servants.

He lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief butler into his butlership again. He gave the cup into Pharaoh's hands but he hanged the chief baker as Joseph had interpreted to them yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph but what? But forgot him. Yeah.

But forgot him. Joseph followed the words of Philippians two before they were ever written. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory but in loneliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the what? On the things of others.

So even as a prisoner, Joseph demonstrated compassion. Compassion. Is that something our Lord demonstrated? Compassion. He did.

Compassion for these men. And the butler in particular, he was as his dream was interpreted by God through Joseph. He was exalted back to his position before he lost it. And he forgot who? He forgot Joseph.

Yeah. So what was the reward for Joseph's the seeming reward for Joseph's compassion? He remained in what? He remained in jail. The butler got his position back.

Joseph was still locked behind bars. But we know, if you've read the story of Joseph before, that's not the end of the story. And we do read concerning another person, Jesus Christ, in Philippians two, a somewhat similar story. Look, if you would, hold your place in Genesis. Turn over, if you would, to Philippians chapter two.

I'm gonna read several verses from there. And, of course, those verses tell us about who? They tell us about Jesus. And to have a similar attitude as our savior, a humble attitude because God exalts who? He exalts the humble.

As illustrated by our savior Jesus Christ in Philippians two, and we'll begin in verse five. We just read a couple we were just read three and four a moment ago. Now to verse five. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation, took upon in the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross. Jesus is and was God.

In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and the word was God, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Who is the word? The word is the son of God. The word is Jesus Christ. He was with God.

He was God. He was equal with God, but it was not something to be grasped a hold of that everybody should see that, that everybody should recognize that. He gave that up. He became a what? He became a man.

Now, he didn't give up being God. He meant gave up the glory and he gave up the exaltation. He was still God, but now he was also a what? He was also a little baby in a manger. Yeah.

Who couldn't do anything but lie there and kick and cry. That's the amazing miracle of the incarnation. God became a what? Became a baby. He humbled himself to put himself in the position of one who needed their mother for all of their physical needs.

He gave up the glories of heaven and he was born in a stable and laid in a feeding trough and not in a royal palace because that was all part of the necessary plan, which was for that little baby to grow up and at the age of 33 to die on a cross for the sins of all mankind. God had to become a man that he might be our mediator. There's one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. There's only one God man. There's only one Jesus Christ.

There's only one sinless savior who died on the cross for the sinners of the world, who rose again from the dead, and that is Jesus Christ. And he was willing to humble himself to do that for us, and so he did. But that is not the end of the story. Yes, he died in obedience to the father. Yes, he humbled himself.

Yes, he showed compassion for us as he hung there on that cross and said, father, forgive them for they know not what they do. But he also knew this. Verse nine. Wherefore God also hath, what? Highly exalted him, given him a name which is above every name.

That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. He humbled himself and then he was what? He was exalted. He humbled himself.

He became a man. He humbled himself and he took upon him the sicknesses of of humanity as he healed them and taught them. He humbled himself when he died on the cross and took upon himself our sin as the sin offering to God, as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And then he was exalted. He rose from the grave.

He ascended back up into heaven to the right hand of the father where he ever lives to make intercession for us, where he is crowned king of kings and Lord of lords. And one day, every eye shall see and every knee shall what? Shall bow before Jesus Christ, the son of God, the son of man, and the redeemer of all who come to him in faith. Joseph is a type of Christ and that he too would be exalted. Joseph didn't know that.

I think Jesus did. Back to our our story of Joseph for a moment. Well, back to us really. What are we told God will do to those who humble themselves? Luke fourteen eleven, and whosoever exalted himself shall be, what, abased.

And he that humbles himself shall be exalted. If you wanna be exalted to heaven one day, you have to humble yourself as a sinner at the feet of Jesus Christ. It's the only way to confess who you are and to confess who he is, that you are a sinner who needs a savior and he's the only one who can save your soul. And then place your soul in his hands because he's the only one who can take you there. You must humble yourself.

And as children of God, who have received salvation through Christ, we are, the Bible says, now seated in the heavenlies. That he went home to prepare a place for us. That one day, we will be there with him as though we already are as though we already are. Joseph is a prime example of this principle. God exalts those who humble themselves.

He was faithful, he was humble, and he was exalted. Turn back, if you would, to Genesis chapter 41. Eventually, Pharaoh had a dream. Did God know that? Of course, did.

All part of the what? All part of the plan. Pharaoh had a dream. And then guess who remembered? The butler.

Oh, that's right. There was this man that I kinda forgot about him. Oh, well. And there's this man that that told me a dream when I was in prison and yeah. It's amazing.

You know? So verse 14. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon and he shaved and he shaved himself and he changed his raiment and he came into unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream and there is none that can interpret it and I have heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it and Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, it is not in me. God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

So the first thing we need to see is when pharaoh called Joseph and brought him out of prison, the first thing Joseph did was to give glory to who? Give glory to God. Always giving glory to God. Always giving glory to God. It wasn't me.

It was him. It was God. It wasn't me. He's just a we sing a song in hymn books called channels only. Joseph was just a what?

A channel for God to use. It was God, not him. He needed Pharaoh to know that. And he didn't ask for anything in return for the interpretation. He didn't bargain.

He didn't negotiate. You know? Now, I've been a prisoner. You know, I was I was made a slave, and I was falsely accused. Then I was made a prisoner, then they forgot me.

You know? I'll tell you the interpretation. Here's the cost. But that wasn't Joseph, was it? No.

No. Joseph was truly humble. Joseph was a man of faith. He didn't need promises from Pharaoh. He had promises from who?

From God. He had had his own dreams, remember, back when he was a kid that one day that his brothers would bow before him and they laughed at it. But it's coming. It's coming. He believed in the promises of God.

He didn't bargain. Again, he was just an instrument in the hands of God and he was willing to be what? He was willing to be used. He just left everything else in the Lord's hands. And in verse 17, Pharaoh said unto Joseph, in my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river, and behold, there came up out of the river seven kind cows, fat fleshed, well favored, and they fed in the meadow.

That seems like a pleasant dream. And behold, seven other kine, cattle, came up after them, poor and very ill favored and lean fleshed, such as I never saw in the land of Egypt for badness. And the lean and the ill favored kind did eat up the first seven fat kind. And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ill favored as at the beginning. So I awoke.

So he dreamed. He dreamed about these seven cattle that were, you know, very healthy and well fed. And then he dreamed about the seven that were lean and sickly, and and the seven sickly ones ate up the healthy ones, but they still looked what? They still looked famished and sickly. So he thought that's odd.

Verse 22. Then I saw in my dream and behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good. And behold, seven ears withered thin and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears. And I told this unto the magicians, but there was none that could declare it unto me.

So the thin ears devoured the good ears. So very similar. He thought he'd had the second one. He thought, yeah, there's something going on here because I had two dreams and they both were about the same thing. This is not normal.

And so he really wanted to know the interpretation of the dreams. And so what did Joseph do? Well, with God's help, he interpreted the dreams. Why did God communicate to Pharaoh by dreams? Why symbols like cows and stalks of weed?

So that Pharaoh's interest would be sparked and so that pharaoh would need to go to who? Joseph. See, this is all part of the all part of the plan. So Joseph interpreted the dreams. Verse 28, this is the thing which I have spoken unto pharaoh.

What God is about to do, he showeth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there came up seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt and there shall rise after them seven years of famine and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt and the famine shall consume the land and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that of that famine following for it shall be very grievous. And for that, the dream was doubled under pharaoh twice. It is because the thing is established by God and God will shortly bring it to pass. So he interpreted the dreams for Pharaoh so that he might know what it was that God was declaring unto him because it was important that pharaoh knew what God was declaring.

It's important that we know what God is declaring. Praise the Lord. I don't have to wait for a dream and I don't have to wait for an interpreter because I have the what? The word of God right here in my hands. Praise the Lord.

The prophets were great. The dreams are interesting, but I have the finished word of God and it's even better. And I know the living word of God and he is even better. Praise the Lord. And Joseph gave Pharaoh he didn't just tell him the interpretation.

He gave him wise counsel. Now, did he have to do that? No. But, you know, it was a good thing. You know, it something that he should do with this that he has told him.

Verse 33, now therefore, let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this. Let him appoint officers over the land. Take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years, let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities, and that food shall be for store in the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land perish not through the famine. He gave him wise counsel because he was a wise man.

And why was he a wise man? Because God was with him. And you know if you're a child of God today, God is with you too. He has given you his word. He has given you his spirit.

He has said he will not leave you nor forsake you. In the same wisdom that Joseph had, you can give too. You can get too. How do you get it? Well, it tells us in James.

If any man lack wisdom, let him what? Let him ask of God. God not only gave Joseph the interpretation, God gave him wisdom, wisdom that he can give to us as well. And then what happens in verse 38? And I don't know that Joseph knew this was going to happen.

Maybe I don't know. Maybe Joseph thought maybe, but I don't know. I don't think that's why Joseph did what he did. I think he did it just because he was a man of God, just because he was faithful, just because he was humble, just because he was a man of compassion for the people of Egypt. I think that's why he did it.

But look in verse 38. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, can we find such a one as this is? A man in whom the spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, for as much as God has showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art. Thou shall be over my house and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled.

Only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, see, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand. He put upon Joseph's hand and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. He made him to ride in the second chariot which he had, and they cried before him, bow the knee, and he may he made him ruler ruler over all the land of Egypt.

He humbled himself before the Lord. He was a slave, sold into slavery, several pieces of silver, I think. If I do recall, our savior was betrayed for several pieces of silver also. He was thrown into prison and there for many years. He lived as a prisoner, but he was still what?

He was still faithful. Humble and a man of compassion as our savior was while he walked the dusty streets of this world. And he took care of the hungry, and he healed the sick, and he taught the ignorant. And then Joseph was exalted. Then our savior who ultimately died on that cross and rose again from the dead, he too has been exalted.

And we too, if we are in Christ, will also be what? Exalted. And we too can be used as was Joseph if we will humble ourselves and allow ourselves to be used, if we will see the trials of life as life as opportunities to grow and to be used of the Lord, He will exalt us. He will carry us through. He will use us as salt and light to make a difference in this world.

And though very few people may know your name, the God of heaven does. In Matthew twenty five twenty one, it says this. It was in the bulletin as well this morning. His Lord said unto him, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou has been faithful over a few things.

I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Revelation five ten, it says this, and has made us who is us? The redeemed in Jesus Christ. Has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.

Who is it that shall inherit the earth? The meek shall inherit the earth. Those who put their lives and their will under the control and the service of Jesus Christ who died on the cross for their sins and who was exalted. We too will be exalted with him. The Bible says in Timothy, if we suffer with him, we know we shall also what?

We shall also reign with him. This is not the end of the story. We're simply in the middle. The end is coming. And unlike Joseph, we know the end.

We know where it ends. He has prepared a place for us. Where he is, there we may be also. The question today is, do you know him? Do you know him?

Have you put your trust in him? Are you his child? Only you can make that decision. Choose you this day whom you will what? Serve.

Who you will trust. If it is Jesus, if you put your soul in his hands, will he fail you? No, he will not. I pray that you have. And Christian, how how faithful are we being?

Our God is faithful. Praise the Lord he is. But now I'm asking you, asking us, do we look like Joseph? I don't mean, you know, our face, but does our life reflect a similar attitude of hope, of faithfulness, of trust, as did his? We complain and we gripe about this and that.

Do we forget that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those who are the called according to his purpose? It is our lot and our joy to just be faithful and to trust him. He has got you. Now, what are you doing with what he has given you? Let's pray.

Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, for what you did for us. Thank you, Lord, that you went back to prepare a place for us. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity we've been given to be a Joseph. Lord, to trust you day by day, to do our best to be faithful to the God who was ever faithful to us, to rest in your promises, to find joy and service to others, to think more highly of them than ourselves for you love them too. And to find a way each day to bring glory to our father and to be used as salt and light in this world.

And, Lord, we do pray if there's one who has yet to receive Christ as Lord and savior, that today they would humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, Receive Jesus Christ as Lord and be exalted to be a child of God this day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.