Let's turn today to Genesis chapter 41.
In our last study we considered how God
in his sovereignty allowed Pharaoh's chief cupbearer to
forget the request that Joseph had made to
him to please speak to Pharaoh on his
behalf.
And these things are written for our instruction,
as we considered.
People promise to do something for us and
they forget.
We shouldn't get upset.
If we have learnt the lesson that the
Holy Spirit wants us to learn from a
passage of scripture like this, then we can
believe in the sovereignty of God that all
things indeed work together for good.
Very few really live believing that even when
someone has forgotten to do something he has
promised to do for me, that God in
his sovereignty is in control even there.
Think what rest can come to our lives,
brothers and sisters, if we can just believe
that God in his sovereignty has allowed him
to forget.
All complaining will be eliminated from our lives
completely, if that were the case.
What can evil brothers who are jealous of
us do, even if they sell us to
the Ishmaelites?
Only fulfill God's purpose.
Evil women who accuse us falsely and get
us put into jail, what can they do?
Only fulfill God's purpose.
Nothing else.
If the cupbearer had remembered as soon as
he had got out of prison, if God
had not allowed him to forget, what would
have happened?
Have you thought of that?
Pharaoh would have probably released Joseph, and Joseph
would have gone back to Canaan to his
father's house.
And that would have been completely against God's
plan for him.
God didn't want him in Canaan, God wanted
him in Egypt.
You see there that it is all sitting
into God's plan, even when someone forgets.
Thus we come to chapter 41 and verse
1.
It happened at the end of two full
years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold,
he was standing by the Nile.
This was the appointed time, and God knows
when to give Pharaoh that dream.
God's got everything worked out.
And from the Nile there came up seven
cows, sleek and fat, and seven other cows
came up which ate up these.
The thin ones came up and ate up
the fat ones.
Then he dreamed a second time, and seven
years of grain came up, plump and good.
And seven thin years came up and ate
up the plump grain.
And in the morning his spirit was troubled,
and he sent and called for all the
magicians of Egypt, and told his dreams, but
there was no one who could interpret it
for Pharaoh.
Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying,
I will make mention today of my offenses.
You see, this is the time that God
is appointed, and that is the time that
God allows him to remember.
It was not that he deliberately did not
tell Pharaoh.
He had just plain forgotten.
God had allowed him to forget, because God
had something better for Joseph.
Because God wanted Joseph to be two more
years in jail.
Does that sound like something better?
In God's perfect plan it is.
Just like it says in the book of
Job, chapter 23, verse 10, Job 23, 10,
the living Bible says, He knows every detail
of what is happening to me.
Job lived before Joseph, and if those words
were written before Joseph's time, it was certainly
true in Joseph's case, that every detail of
what he was going through in prison, God
knew.
He hadn't forgotten it, and now God reminds
the cupbearer.
And then we see in chapter 41, verse
9 onwards, he explains how Joseph had interpreted
the dream to him in prison, and in
chapter 41, verse 14, we see Pharaoh sent
and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought
him out of the dungeon, and when he
had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he
came to Pharaoh.
And now we see the beginning of the
unfolding of God's purposes for Joseph, perfectly according
to God's timetable.
He was 17 years old in chapter 37.
Here we read he was 30 years old,
as we read later in the chapter.
Thirteen years he had been through discipline.
God had disciplined him in 13 years.
Many a time he may have wondered during
those years whether God had forgotten him, but
God hadn't.
God had a plan for Joseph's life, which
was made long before he was born.
And no evil brothers, no evil Mrs. Potiphar,
no forgetful cupbearer could frustrate God's purpose for
Joseph.
Only one person could frustrate that.
That was Joseph himself.
If he had gone and fooled around with
Potiphar's wife, God's plan would have been frustrated.
That's an encouragement to us, brothers and sisters.
Other people, evil people, good people, nobody can
frustrate God's plan for our lives, but we
ourselves can.
And so we see 13 years of discipline,
and finally he comes to the place where
God had planned for him right from the
beginning.
In Ephesians 2.10, we read that God
has a plan for our lives too.
Just like he had for Joseph.
It says in Ephesians 2.10, we are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand that we should
walk in them.
Therefore remember, and he goes on, beforehand, when
did God make a blueprint for your life?
Before you and I were born, he made
a plan for our lives.
Before our parents were born, before Adam was
created, before the worlds were created, he made
a plan.
There's a blueprint, a perfect one.
You couldn't better that.
There's no better plan that you can make
than the one God's already made for you.
And there are good works that he has
planned in that plan, like he did for
Joseph.
Those good works include, be good to your
jealous evil brothers, be good to those who
accuse you falsely and put you in jail,
be good to forgetful cupbearers, because they are
all fulfilling God's plan for your life.
Good works.
It's only for such people, that, it's only
through such people that God can fulfill his
plan and purpose.
I want you to turn to Psalm 105
and see something there.
In verse 16 and 19, we saw this
earlier too.
It says here he called for a famine
upon the land, and he broke the whole
stuff of bread.
He sent a man before them.
Joseph was sold as a slave.
The thing I want you to notice here
is that before the famine came, God had
already prepared a man who was going to
be the solution to that problem.
One man.
God sent a man, it says.
Now keeping that in mind, we can look
at Amos chapter 8 and verses 11 and
12 and see what it says there about
the days coming, says the Lord God, when
I will send a famine on the land.
Not a famine for bread or thirst for
water, but rather for hearing the words of
the Lord.
And people will stagger from sea to sea,
from the north even to the east.
They will go to and fro to seek
the word of the Lord, but they will
not find it.
You see what it says?
That there will be a famine of the
words of the Lord.
Not a famine of the word of God,
for the Bible will be distributed freely and
in abundance.
Millions of copies are given out all over
the world every year.
But of the words of the Lord, and
the words of the Lord refer to the
prophetic word, not just to an academic knowledge
of scripture.
The prophetic word is that word which God
speaks through his servants to a particular people
at a particular time, according to their need.
There will be a famine of that, just
like there was in the days of Eli,
when it says in 1 Samuel 3, 1,
the word of the Lord was rare and
scarce.
Eli knew what was written in the law,
he knew God's word, but he didn't have
the prophetic word of the Lord, and that's
what it says here.
There will be a famine of the words
of the Lord, and people will travel from
one church to another, from one conference to
another, and they will not hear the prophetic
word of the Lord.
So there's going to be a famine, and
those days are already begun, I believe, as
we have approached the end of time.
What's God's solution to this?
Men.
In Eli's day, God sent Samuel, and he
spoke forth the prophetic word of the Lord.
And in our day, God wants to send
forth men.
That is the function of the church, to
have men who have the prophetic word, men
who are educated in the school of discipline
and affliction, who've encountered evil, jealous brothers, and
being falsely accused, and being forgotten about by
good, kind cupbearers, and who've loved all of
them, been good to all of them, and
who've gotten education through it all.
Many are unwilling to go this way, and
that's why they can't have the prophetic word
of God.
I believe that the importance that we offer
ourselves to God, to be men like Joseph,
whom he can send into such a needy
situation as we're going to face in the
days to come.
Let's turn back now to Psalm 105.
It says here that God sent a man,
verse 17.
Joseph was sold as a slave.
They afflicted his feet with fetters.
He himself was laid in iron.
That's how he became the man God wanted
him to be.
We're not talking here about dried-up old
sermons and the ramblings of preachers who get
up who don't know God.
Not people who've just gone and studied the
scriptures in some Bible school academically, but those
who've had their feet in fetters, those who've
had their mobility restricted, those who've been unjustly
treated, and those who've kept their mouth shut
in injustice.
Like Joseph, he didn't complain about his brothers
or about Potiphar's wife.
That is an education.
If we can get that education, then it
says here, until verse 19, the time that
his word came to pass, the word of
the Lord tested him.
See, before we can give the word of
the Lord to others, it's the word of
the Lord here, not God's word.
It's the word of the Lord, the same
thing we saw in Amos.
Before we can give the prophetic word to
others, and I don't mean just publicly.
Even the sons and daughters, it says, can
prophesy.
Women can prophesy in the New Covenant.
In ordinary sharing in our homes, God can
give us a prophetic word to others, brothers
and sisters.
But the word of the Lord has to
first test us.
Then we can have it to give it
to others.
And it says here in verse 18, in
the margin of my Bible, it says, his
soul came into iron, or put another way,
iron came into his soul.
This is the whole purpose of affliction, that
iron may come into our soul.
The people could only put irons on Joseph's
legs and tie him up in jail.
But God used it to bring iron into
his soul.
You see, it is impossible to give the
prophetic word of God if, first of all,
iron has not come into our soul.
Our soul is initially like clay, easily impressed
by worldly people and by worldly influences.
But God has to make us strong to
resist these worldly influences.
Strong for him.
Iron has to enter into our soul.
The same experience that Joseph had, and it
comes only through affliction, false accusation, misunderstanding, injustice,
being forgotten about, and years going by.
It doesn't happen overnight.
It didn't happen to any man whom God
trained in the scriptures overnight.
It took time.
It took time for Joseph.
It took time for David.
It took time for Jesus Christ himself.
Thirty years in the carpenter shop before he
went forth into his ministry.
That's really something for us to think about,
dear brothers and sisters.
None of us have suffered perhaps even ten
percent of what Joseph went through.
Think of ten brothers turning against you.
All your ten older brothers.
Not one of the elder brothers is for
you.
And selling you off, jealous of you, and
God uses it for his glory.
Or somebody falsely accuses you, unjustly, tells a
lie about you, and you're locked up in
jail for years.
And you have no influence.
And all of it unjustly.
And he never opened his mouth, as far
as he knows.
Scripture doesn't say that he complained.
And iron came into his soul.
If you want iron to come into your
soul, you've got to keep your mouth shut.
When your mouth is open, iron never comes
into your soul.
We go through afflictions, and all that affliction
is wasted because I opened my mouth and
justified myself.
Because I opened my mouth and sought human
sympathy and self-pity.
Because I opened my mouth and accused the
others who hurt me.
Instead of keeping my mouth shut and let
iron enter into my soul.
Think how much iron would have got into
our soul through all the years and experiences
we've gone through if we had kept our
mouth shut a little more.
If we had humbled ourselves a little more.
And stopped looking at Judah and Reuben and
Simeon and Levi and Mrs. Potiphar and Pharaoh's
cupbearer.
Instead of looking at all of them, look
at God and say, Lord, this is your
perfect will.
If we had done that, there would have
been some iron in our soul today.
There would have been some backbone in our
spiritual life.
That we could have stood up because we'd
have known God in the school of affliction.
And there would have been the word of
the Lord in our mouth.
Instead of the husks that usually come forth
from most believers.
Dear brothers and sisters, take it seriously.
If you haven't taken it seriously till now,
take it at least now seriously.
That we shall really learn in God's school
of affliction and keep our mouth shut and
get iron into our souls.
And then, there is a time limit.
God doesn't allow it to go on forever
and ever and ever.
And when the time was completed, God's timetable,
He's working according to a timetable.
He's got a graduation day for Joseph to
come out of prison.
And at the age of 30, Joseph graduates.
That's a tremendous challenge.
As I mentioned before, David was ready at
the age of 30.
Jesus was ready at the age of 30.
But we know that all of them went
through a period of affliction.
But the thing that stands out to me
and encourages me and should encourage all of
us is that God chose a young man
to rule Egypt.
He chose a young man, David, to rule
Israel.
Called when they were about 17 or 18.
Trained for 13 years in all types of
difficult situations and submission.
Unjustly treated.
And then raised up at the young age
of 30.
Think of some 30 year old brother.
And you know what, when Joseph and David
and Jesus were ready.
30 years, they were ready to enter into
their ministry.
They didn't just drift along.
So many people drift.
They are 40, 50, 60.
They are just drifting.
They haven't taken seriously the word of God.
If God called you when you are young.
If God called you when you were 16
or 17, my brother, I just want to
tell you this.
The chances are that God probably wanted to
give you a ministry by the time you
are 30.
Or certainly 35.
These people, when they were 30, they came
into a ministry.
It's interesting to see that.
But it was the result of iron entering
into their soul.
There we can see what trials and afflictions
there are in God's people.
Things that could have made them rich have
left them poor.
They are 60 years old and they are
poverty stricken.
Instead of being wealthy.
So, let's learn a lesson from these examples.
Iron entered into his soul and one day
in God's appointed time he is brought.
We can think of influence.
What influence can you have to get the
job that Joseph got in Egypt?
It's not influence.
It's contact with God.
It's a question of being humble.
It's not influence that gets us a ministry
in the church.
That's for Babylon and for Babylonians.
In Jerusalem, it's God's anointing.
That's all.
And you can't keep a good man down
if God is on his side.
Impossible.
God will open doors that no man can
shut.
God opened doors for Joseph.
Nobody could stand in his way.
He didn't have any influence.
He didn't have any secretary to Pharaoh who
would speak to him.
In fact, the one who said he would
speak to him completely forgot.
It was God who had a plan for
that man and fulfilled it.
This is a tremendous encouragement to us that
you can be in the deepest dungeons thinking
that everybody has forgotten about you and if
you're hopeful there in the deepest dungeons at
the appointed time it will bring you into
a particular ministry.
But if you sit there and you complain
and grumble and criticize you'll probably sit there
forever.
And that dungeon need not be a physical
dungeon.
It's a dungeon that we make for ourselves
of complaining and criticism and self-justification and
sympathy and self-pity that makes this dark
dungeon in which we live and we never
come forth to fulfill that ministry in the
body of Christ that God wants us to
have.
Take it seriously.
So finally he stands before Pharaoh and I
mention this and I want to repeat it
that those who come into a ministry easily
like Solomon, Rehoboam, King Saul without any affliction
and difficulty usually have ended up as failures.
And those who've gone through trial and submission
to God's hand over them like Joseph and
David and Jesus those who've been through the
mill they are the ones we see in
Scripture who really have, who've had iron in
their soul.
So it's good like the book of Lamentations
says, when we are young instead of trying
to be a law unto ourselves, to humble
ourselves and put our neck under the yoke
and wait for God to bring us into
a place.
The world is full of people who are
trying to push themselves into a place.
And the church is full of people who
are trying to push themselves into a ministry.
They want to push themselves here and push
themselves there.
Get everybody to accept them.
What folly!
Why not humble ourselves and say, Lord, I
don't want to push myself anywhere.
Let God push you.
Don't push yourself.
Let God push you somewhere instead of pushing
yourself forward.
There's a tremendous lust in the flesh to
push ourselves forward.
Let God push you forward.
Meanwhile, keep small thoughts about yourself.
Tremendous lessons we can learn from these examples
in Scripture of how to be faithful so
that in God's appointed time, He can do
something for us, in us and through us
for other people.
Just like it was written about Joseph, He
sent a man.
It can be said about you and me.
God sent a man because He knew there
was a famine coming.
And that is where we find the word
of the Lord fulfilled that I sought for
a man and I could not find one.
They were all full of complaints and criticisms
and wouldn't take that seriously and they sought
their own gain and their own profit.
We can't send such people.
Finally, Joseph stood before Pharaoh and Pharaoh told
a dream.
And Joseph verse 16 of Genesis 41 says,
It is not in me.
God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.
Think of that.
Think of that attitude of humility.
He could have said, Oh yeah, sure, I
have a lot of experience in this area.
From last 13 years I have been interpreting
dreams, my own and other people's.
Think if he had come with that attitude
like we find sometimes in some people.
They don't say it because if you say
it you look proud and then you lose
your honor.
But it's an attitude.
It's an attitude.
I remember one brother who came here, wrote
to me and said, that I know all
about the problems that young churches have.
I said, thank you brother.
We don't want any specialists here who know
all the problems about young churches and how
they can set them straight.
We want brothers.
You can know the theory and think that
Joseph had an attitude which said, It is
not in me.
It's not what we say, my brothers.
It's an attitude.
I'm not a specialist in anything.
He's been interpreting dreams for 13 years I
know, but he's got a humility about him.
That's the mark of a man of God.
He's got low thoughts about himself.
God will give Pharaoh an answer.
He gives the glory to God.
That's the type of man whom God sends.
Not specialists and experts who know how to,
like Uzzah, to stop the ark from falling.
And people come to you for advice.
And maybe you have given advice.
Not for 13 years, maybe once or twice.
And it's turned out well.
What is your attitude when you give advice
now?
It's not what you say, my brother, sister.
It's the attitude.
You feel, I'm quite a spiritual man.
That I can give advice.
There's a certain lust in our flesh that
is satisfied when somebody comes and says, brother,
I want your advice.
And though we act very humble, there's a
certain lust that is being fed there if
you're not careful at that time.
Oh, yeah.
Maybe he was blessed the last time I
gave him advice.
Garbage.
Garbage that we accumulate.
Thoughts about ourselves.
That's why God can't send a man.
If God sends a man, it'll be someone
like Joseph whose attitude is, it is not
in need.
So what if I said something to you
last time that helped you?
Doesn't mean that what I said this time
will help you.
It's running in me.
Keep that attitude, my brothers, till the end
of your days.
Never become a specialist.
Never become an expert in anything.
Bringing up children.
Any experts here?
Or some other area?
Or any other area?
Perfect husband?
No.
Be careful that you don't become a self
-appointed expert and specialist to younger people.
There's a lust for brothers to be specialists
and experts who advise the younger ones and
sisters to be specialists and advisors to the
younger ones.
Those are not the people whom God will
send.
And you need to if you are young,
you need to discern that you don't go
to such people for advice or help.
Because God will not give wisdom to such
people.
God doesn't send such people.
He sends people who got a really well
-rooted and grounded in low thoughts about themselves.
It is not in me.
God will give an answer.
And that's the type of person to whom
God gives wisdom.
And you remember, we saw how Daniel said
similar words to Nebuchadnezzar.
God will give.
No doubt, he had learned from Joseph.
And we can learn from Joseph and Daniel.
And so Pharaoh explained his dream to Joseph.
And Joseph said to Pharaoh in Genesis 41
.25 Pharaoh's dreams are one and the same.
God has told Pharaoh what he is about
to do.
But all the magicians in Egypt could not
explain.
Here is a man.
The magicians didn't go through false accusations and
through being locked up in jail.
They didn't go through the school of affliction.
The magicians came out of the Bible school.
They couldn't explain anything.
But this man who had gone through affliction,
he was the man who could interpret the
word of God.
And Pharaoh says, I told these magicians, but
they couldn't explain it.
Verse 24.
Joseph says, alright.
Pharaoh's dreams.
God has told Pharaoh what to do.
Both the dreams have the same message.
He says, God, there is going to be
seven years, verse 29, of great abundance in
the land of Egypt and seven years of
famine.
Famine will ravage the land and the abundance
will be unknown.
In those days of famine, it will be
very severe.
And as for the repeating of the dream
to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter
is determined by God, verse 32, and God
will quickly bring it about.
And now let Pharaoh look for a man
discerning and wise and set him over the
land of Egypt.
And let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers
in charge of the land.
Let him exact twenty percent of the produce
of the land in seven years of abundance
and let him gather all the food in
the good years.
Stir up the grain for the food in
the cities and let them guard it.
And the food will become a reserve for
the land for the seven years of famine
which occur in the land of Egypt.
So the land may not perish during the
famine.
There we see Joseph not only having contact
with God concerning interpreting God's word, but also
having wisdom concerning the practical application of what
shall we do if this is the word
of God.
So we see he not only interprets the
dream, he says, Pharaoh, now you should appoint
a man to save up when you get
plenty so that in the time of famine
you can fall back on that reserve that
you have.
And we can apply that in two ways,
spiritually and physically, for we are spiritual beings
and physical beings also.
We are not angels, only spirits.
We have got a body too, so we
must apply it spiritually and physically.
First of all, spiritually.
What shall we do in times of great
abundance?
Store up.
Because the time will come when there will
not be abundance.
That's why I always tell young people, before
you're married, you have an abundance of free
time.
After marriage and after you have children, you'll
have a famine of spare time.
Go and ask any married person with a
few children if that's not true.
What should you do then, in the times
of abundance?
Most young believers have no time to seriously
study the word of God and store up
so that in the time of famine they
can take out of that reserve that they
have stored up in the days of abundance.
They are poverty stricken in the time of
famine.
If you were saved as a single person
and God gave you seven years before you
were married, my dear brothers and sisters, if
you did not use those seven years, those
seven years of abundance here in Egypt, to
store up God's word, you should just feel
ashamed of yourself.
Really, you should feel ashamed of yourself.
Then you can look out for days of
tremendous scarcity and struggle and difficulty.
You won't have a reserve.
Those who have already gone past the seven
years of abundance and who are living in
years of famine, you've just got to make
the best of it now.
But I can speak to those who are
still in the years of abundance, who still
have plenty of spare time.
What do you do with that spare time?
Do you get to know the word in
a way that will make you rich spiritually?
That has an application.
Jesus said, the night comes when no man
can work.
Work when it is day, for the night
comes when no man can work.
And so we need to take that seriously.
It has a secondary application also.
Here we read in the book of Proverbs
chapter 6, Proverbs 6 and verses 6
to 9 Go to the aunt, O sluggard,
O lazy man.
Observe her ways and be wise.
Who does not have any chief, that means
he doesn't have an elder brother or anyone
to exhort him, exhort her, but prepares her
food in the summer when there is abundance,
knowing that the winter will come when there
will be a famine of food.
Gathers the provision in the harvest.
But what do you do?
You lie down and you sleep, a little
more sleep, a little slumber, a little folding
of the hands to rest and your poverty
will come like a vagabond.
And your need like an armed man that
will overpower you.
There it says spiritually we need to make
use of the days of abundance to store
up spiritual wealth.
Physically too, materially, I have always advised people
who when I say, learn to save a
little money every month instead of spending everything
that you get.
Here is where this word is really applicable.
Go to the aunt.
Not only you lazy man, but you stupid
man.
You say, Oh, I will trust God.
God will provide my needs.
And what happens to such brothers who say
they trust God when their hour of need
comes?
They have to go and beg and borrow.
It's not trust in God.
It's trust in good and kind brothers who
will help me out of a tight spot.
Now, we can take a lesson for the
future.
When you get an abundance, suddenly you get
some extra money that you didn't anticipate.
What is your attitude?
Oh, let's enjoy ourselves now.
Ten years of abundance Let's eat, drink and
enjoy ourselves.
The word of God is, go to the
aunt, you foolish man.
Go to the aunt.
I find a lot of brothers.
And I say brothers because they are responsible
for family finances who need to go to
the aunt.
Sit down at home and watch the aunt
for a little while.
Learn something.
That's what God's saying.
And learn not to waste when you have
an abundance.
And you say, oh, I can now spend
it all.
And then end up begging and borrowing later
on.
No, my brothers.
Learn to save a little.
Be disciplined in your finances so that when
a time of need comes.
Seven years of famine will always follow the
seven years of abundance.
There will be times of abundance and there
will be times of pressure.
That's the time when you need to have,
when you discover whether you've been really wise
in your times of abundance.
It's very difficult to be wise in our
times of abundance.
Very few have wisdom there.
He who has ears to hear, let him
hear.
And we read further.
The proposal seemed good to Pharaoh, verse 37,
and to all his servants.
And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we
find a man like this in whom there
is a divine spirit or a spirit of
God?
What a testimony!
It's amazing, this man Joseph.
Though people hated him, falsely accused him, did
all types of things.
Like we say, you can't keep a good
man down.
You press cork or wood under the water,
it keeps coming up.
And his brothers and Potiphar's wife all tried
to get rid of him.
They couldn't get rid of him.
Because God was with him.
And he's in Potiphar's house.
Potiphar recognizes God is with this man.
They put him in jail.
The jailer recognizes God is with this man.
He stands before Pharaoh.
Pharaoh recognizes that God is with this man.
What a testimony!
It's a tremendous challenge at the age of
30, at the age of 20, at the
age of 25, that heathen people could recognize
that God is with this young man.
That is the challenge that comes to us
in your place of work.
What is the use of people in your
place of work thinking that you're a very
humorous chap who can crack jokes and make
them laugh?
You might as well join the circus.
No.
Is that our testimony?
Or that people around us can recognize that
God is with this young man?
Most of us are much older than 30.
That God is with this man.
That they see there's something which is, cannot
be explained humanly speaking.
People try to oppose Him, but they don't
succeed.
That's always the case.
If God is with you, the whole world
can oppose you.
You come out triumphant.
There was a man way back in the
2nd or 3rd century, who was a God
-fearing man, who stood up for some particular
truth of Scripture, Christian.
And it wasn't a very popular doctrine, and
he stood up for the truth.
A lot of other half-hearted, lukewarm Christians
around him came and told him, Do you
know?
I think his name was Athanasius.
Do you know, brother Athanasius, that the whole
world of Christians are against you?
He said, That's fine.
Well, I'm against the whole world then.
Didn't make a difference.
He stood for the truth.
The whole world's on the other side.
We're welcome to be on the other side.
I stand for the truth.
And God was with him.
That's the type of man and woman God's
looking for.
Not these wishy-washy people, who will just
go with whichever is popular.
No.
Those who will stand for the truth.
And who others will gradually recognize, God is
with this man.
You can't oppose him.
No matter how much you oppose him, he
just seems to come through.
That's how our testimony must be.
And we don't seek anybody's honor or approval
or any such thing.
And so Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God
has informed you all this, there is no
one so discerning and wise as you are.
See how God can move says the king's
heart.
It's in the hand of the Lord.
He can turn it whichever way he likes.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I set you
over all the land of Egypt.
And he took off his ring and put
it on Joseph's hand and clothed him in
garments of fine linen and put a gold
necklace round his neck.
Made him ride in the second chariot and
they proclaimed before him, Bow the knee.
And he set him over all the land
of Egypt.
It's a very beautiful picture of how you
know, the life of Joseph is a picture
of Jesus Christ.
Rejected by his brothers, the Jews.
Sold for 30 pieces of silver.
Falsely accused.
Crucified.
And it's like Joseph being put in prison.
Raised up from the dead.
Brought out of prison.
Exalted to be, Pharaoh was the second ruler
in Egypt.
Exalted to be second to the father over
all the universe.
And that if, at the name of Jesus,
every knee should bow, it says here.
Bow the knee.
Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord to the glory of God the Father.
It's a very beautiful picture of Jesus Christ.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, it's in this
connection I want you to see this beautiful
verse.
Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission,
no one shall raise his hand or foot
in all the land of Egypt.
I'll give a little testimony here.
Way back in 1963, I had a very
big problem.
And that was to stand out in the
street and preach.
Because I thought with all my dignity and
my position, it's so humiliating to stand in
the street and preach the gospel.
To stand there like a vegetable vendor shouting
out gospel verses.
I used to go 10 miles away from
the naval base, where nobody knew me, and
I'd stand there and preach in the street.
I used to come back home to my
room and say, Lord, I'm a coward.
I don't have the guts to stand outside
the naval base and preach where all these
people know me.
I'm ashamed of Jesus.
I talk about Jesus in the meeting hall
with great loudness and sing the choruses and
all.
But out in the street, I'm ashamed to
confess Jesus where it's not popular.
I want to confess Jesus in the meeting
hall where it's popular to share the word
and to sing a chorus.
I remember once in a meeting way back
at that time when I was about to
start a chorus in the brethren assembly I
used to go to.
And suddenly the Lord said to me, Are
you willing to sing that chorus out in
the street?
Or only here, where it's popular?
And I really saw my need.
I saw how my all this so-called
confession of Jesus is like Peter before the
disciples.
He'd say, Oh, even if all deny you,
I won't deny you.
But before the maidservant, he's a different person.
And I was afraid of people mocking me
on the street or laughing at me or
perhaps throwing stones at me if I stood
there and preached the gospel.
And then God opened my eyes to the
sovereignty and the authority of Jesus Christ.
And this was the verse through which God
spoke to me at that time.
That Jesus said in Matthew 28 verse 18.
Then only I saw the connection.
I never saw it before.
The connection between Matthew 28 verse 18 and
19.
Matthew 28 verse 18, Jesus said, All authority
in heaven and on earth is given to
me.
Just like Pharaoh put the ring on Joseph's
finger and said, Nobody can now lift up
his hand or foot without your permission.
Jesus said, All authority in heaven and earth
is given to me.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations.
Then I understood that that's why I had
to go and stand in the street and
preach the gospel.
Because Jesus Christ had all authority.
And then I saw this verse.
God opened my eyes to see this.
Genesis 41 verse 44.
That without, this is the way I read
it.
That the Father said to Jesus, Without your
permission, no one will be able to raise
his hand.
That is to pick up a stone to
throw it at me.
Or move.
The doctors say you got to move about
number of muscles in your face before you
can smile or frown.
And the man cannot move those muscles on
his face without God permitting him to smile
or frown at me when I stand there
preaching the gospel.
Amazing.
I said praise God.
And I was seeking for the baptism of
the Holy Spirit also.
And then God really anointed me.
And opened my eyes to see the authority
of Jesus Christ.
Then I could stand outside the naval base.
And all types of things.
It didn't make any difference after that.
Because I had seen that without the permission
of Jesus, nobody could raise a hand.
Or a foot.
Or move the muscles of his face to
frown or smile or talk or curse or
anything.
Amazing.
Have you seen the authority of Jesus Christ?
All authority in heaven and on earth is
given to me.
Nobody can lift a hand.
Or a foot.
Or move his tongue.
You know I read that verse in Exodus
which says that when the children of Israel
went out of Egypt.
I think it's Exodus chapter 12.
It's an amazing verse.
Exodus chapter 11 verse 7.
Against the sons of Israel, even a dog
shall not move its tongue.
Amazing.
The authority of God that's working on behalf
of his people.
If we can see it in these days.
Particularly living in a heathen country like ours.
If you're scared of difficult bosses.
Of people who may make life difficult for
us in our neighborhood or somewhere else.
What we need to see is this verse.
Without your permission nobody can lift a hand
or a foot.
God has told Jesus that.
I praise God that I can live under
that authority.
Nobody can raise a hand or a foot.
Or wag their tongue.
At me.
Without God permitting him.
He's permitting him.
That's ok.
Wonderful verse.
The authority of Christ.
The picture of Christ's authority.
And so Joseph had all authority.
Do you think he had authority over Potiphar
also?
Of course.
But no revenge.
That is the type of man whom God
sent.
The man who gets authority over the people
who have done him harm.
And he will not take revenge but he
will give them food in the time of
famine.
I'm sure Joseph sent food too in the
time of the famine.
That is the type of man whom God
sent.
Not the man who withholds food from Potiphar's
wife's house in the time of famine.
God will never send such a man.
That is the education we need to get.
To send food to Potiphar's wife also.
When we have an abundance and she doesn't
have anything.
Think about it.
And we read then Pharaoh names Joseph 45,
Zaphinath Penea.
Or God speaks.
The man who speaks on God's behalf.
And gave him Aphinath, the daughter of Potiphar,
the wife, the priest of honour, his wife.
That's the picture of Christ again.
Rejected by his brothers, the Jews.
And finding a bride among the Gentiles.
The church.
And Joseph was 46.
Was 30 years old when he stood before
Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
And Joseph went out from the presence of
Pharaoh.
Was over all the land of Egypt.
And they brought the food in abundantly in
the time of abundance.
And they gathered the food like we said
we are to do in the time of
famine.
And Joseph was like a wise man.
Stored up grain in great abundance.
Verse 49.
And he had two sons born to him.
We read about their names.
Verse 51.
Firstborn was Manasseh.
He said God has made me to forget
all my trouble and all my father's also.
And the second was Ephraim.
For he said God has made me fruitful.
Notice the order.
You have to first forget something before you
can be fruitful.
The first son is to forget and the
second son is to be fruitful.
What do we have to forget?
You have to forget all the evil that
all your 10 or 10,000 brothers have
done against you.
That's number one.
You have to forget all the evil that
45 wives or 10,000 other people's wives
have done against you.
You have to forget all the mistakes that
Pharaoh's cupbearers and other people have done.
Then we can be fruitful also.
Many never come to fruitfulness.
They never come to that second son because
they haven't got a first one.
They haven't come to fruitfulness because they haven't
come to forgetting.
God has made me forget all my trouble.
Take that attitude.
That is the type of man whom God
sends in the time of famine.
One who has learned to forget and forgive
and not to remember or hold against another
person anything that he has done.
And then the 7 years of plenty came
after the 7 years of famine and then
the 7 years of famine came and after
the 7 years of plenty came to an
end and then Pharaoh said to all the
Egyptians, go to Joseph, verse 55.
And the people, verse 57, of all the
earth came to Egypt to buy grain from
Joseph and Egypt became the center of the
earth just like a day will come when
Jesus will set up his throne in Jerusalem
in the millennium and from all over the
earth people will come to him whom they
rejected.
He became we can say the savior Joseph
of the whole earth at that time.
A picture of Jesus who has become the
savior of the world.
And what we learn from Joseph's life is
what God can do for millions through one
man.
In the world they say we must be
large number they say we are only 2
% Christians in India.
That is the complaint you hear in so
many evangelistic conferences only 2%.
What's God looking for?
You see a verse in the Bible where
it says God is looking for 90%
and he says I'm looking for a man.
Ezekiel 22-30.
God I look for one man.
You know in the time of Elijah there
were 7000 people who had not bowed the
knee to Baal.
But what were they doing?
But one man Elijah did lot more than
all those 7000.
What's God looking for today?
One man.
You can be that.
Why not?
Why can't you be that?
If we go through the school of affliction
and humble ourselves and trust him and don't
seek our own he can fulfill something even
through you.
If you are not ashamed of Jesus Christ
not ashamed to confess him in your office
on the street.
Don't confess Jesus only where you are popular
in the church.
Out to your unconverted friends.
Confess him.
Be bold.
And God will take note of that.
And then Jacob saw now we come back
to Jacob and his family while God raised
up Joseph to fulfill his purpose.
The one who was rejected.
These other 10 brothers we read here verse
1 they were just staring at one another.
And that's what lot of believers are doing
while God is doing a work in some
other believers and they are just staring at
one another.
And not letting God accomplish his purpose.
And Jacob said why are you staring at
one another?
I heard there is grain in Egypt go
down and buy some for us.
And so the 10 brothers of Joseph went
and they came before Joseph and we read
in verse 6 Joseph was ruler of the
land he was the one who sold to
all the people in the land.
Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him
with their faces to the ground 13 years
later the prophecy is fulfilled.
The dream which Joseph had God is never
slack to fulfill his promise.
He may take time people may despise us
and laugh at us they say you got
the devil 13 years will go by and
then if you can endure during those 13
years then don't fight with them and don't
ruin yourself.
But the word of God will be fulfilled
if you can be faithful.
And Joseph saw them and he spoke harshly
he wanted to see whether they had really
repented of all the evil they had done.
They did not recognize him.
He said where do you come from?
They said from the land of Canaan.
He said you are spies.
He said no we are not spies.
And they tried to defend themselves and they
tell their story we are 12 brothers one
is no more Joseph said no you are
spies.
He said alright send one of your people
and go and bring your one brother who
is still at home.
You say you got one more bring him.
Then we will find out whether you are
spies.
He said do this for I fear God
if you are honest men let one of
your brothers be confined in your prison bring
your youngest brother to me and then immediately
after 13 years these 10 people their conscience
begins to trouble them after 13 years verse
21 then they said to one another truly
we are guilty concerning our brother Joseph they
didn't know this was Joseph they said this
is God after 13 years we are reaping
what we have sown we treated 13 years
ago I treated that fellow badly now it
is coming back to me has conscience ever
reminded you many years later when you have
a rough time of the way you treated
somebody else some years earlier then it is
good to bow down and say Lord I
deserve that I deserve it because I treated
somebody else like that some years ago when
I had power over him today somebody else
has power over me yeah conscience troubling him
we saw the distress of his soul when
he pleaded with us and we would not
listen we hardened our hearts against Joseph at
that time when he said please don't sell
me to these Ishmaelites I don't know where
they will take me and they said no
they were hard and now they find somebody
being hard towards them we reap what we
sow there is an exactness to the same
measure Jesus said the same size of spoon
with which you give it to somebody it
will come back to you one day it
will come back more be careful how we
give to others be careful when you have
power over someone how you treat that person
because one day somebody else will have power
over you and then you will see what
will happen then conscience will remind you after
13 years that is why it is good
to keep ourselves in goodness and kindness to
all people particularly over those over whom we
have some power be good, be kind God
is merciful to the merciful and Reuben said
didn't I tell you, don't sin against the
boy you wouldn't listen now comes the reckoning
for his blood it is very easy to
blame one another at that time, but they
were all to blame Joseph heard all this
and he wept and Joseph gave orders to
fill their bags to see his goodness, verse
25 and to give back their money and
they loaded their donkeys and went away and
they discovered the money in their sack on
the way back and they wondered how that
came and they came to their father Jacob,
verse 29 and said the man of the
Lord spoke harshly and they described all the
events to their father meanwhile we read in
verse 24 that Joseph had kept Simeon back
bound in Egypt as a surety that he
would bring in Benjamin and Jacob look at
Jacob's negative attitude in verse 36 he says
you bereaved me of my children Joseph is
no more, Simeon is no more now you
are going to take Benjamin all things work
together for my good this is the opposite
of Romans 8.28 all things are against
me Jacob said I believe that all believers
are either living in Genesis 42.36 or
Romans 8.28 remember the opposite of Romans
8.28 Genesis 42.36 all things are
against me oh poor me and gather all
my friends around me and say all things
are against me my friend and all ten
of my friends oh poor you that's the
negative attitude of Jacob not the triumphant attitude
of one who is a king in Christ
all things are for my good not only
for my good sorry my very best because
I love God if only he could have
seen into the future God was working everything
for his very best and then Reuben spoke
to his father and said you can put
my two sons to death if I don't
bring Benjamin back to you Jacob said no
I will not send Benjamin there are a
lot of lessons we can learn there the
attitude of Joseph the attitude of his brothers
if you can learn those lessons these things
are written for our instruction it is the
will of God that we live follow the
example of these men like Joseph so God
can fulfill a purpose through our lives as
well