Joseph's life demonstrates how to remain content, confident, and controlled by God's purpose amidst suffering and setbacks. The sermon highlights Joseph's faithfulness in prison, his interpretation of dreams for the butler and baker, and his subsequent forgetting, emphasizing that God's presence compensated for his difficulties. The core lesson is that true contentment comes from recognizing God's presence, confidence from acknowledging His power, and steadfastness from trusting His overarching purpose, even when circumstances are difficult. Ultimately, Joseph's life serves as an example of how God can use even the most challenging situations for good, urging listeners to trust in His unfailing plan.
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And, hey, we're all organized, and I can see you anyway if you can't see me. I hope I don't speak too quickly in my English accent. I do have to think about the pressure of the delectable collectibles, but I know somebody said this morning I was going a little fast for them in my English accent. That reminded me of the story of those American tourists who were in the native country that I come from, England. And they were rushing around very quickly from place to place, and they came to the site of the signing of the Magna Carta. And a U.S. tourist said, now when was the Magna Carta signed?
And the guide said, well, it was twelve, fifteen. And he said, imagine that, Agnes, we missed it by twenty minutes. So if I just, I won't go over time by more than five minutes. But I hope you don't miss it by twenty minutes. We're going to continue. You know what we're doing in the mornings from Tuesday through Friday, we'll be looking through the early books of Exodus. I certainly don't remember doing those at Guelph. And in the evenings, well, since I'm a scientist, I want to just get into the early chapters of Genesis. The only thing I remember doing at Guelph Ed that I'm doing this time is the same jokes and cartoons and experiments, but different message, although we're dealing with the life of Joseph, and I often have included him in series of characters.
And what we did this morning, and let's get on with this now, because perhaps some of you don't even remember, we talked about, we'll just focus the overhead as we review this morning, Joseph, the victory, but a victory through faithfulness. Victim of injustice, but a victor through fidelity. A victim of imprisonment, but a victor through forgiveness. We learned this morning that whatever our roots, we can be transformed from victims to victors by making a response to our circumstances like Joseph did to his. Now, what we want to do tonight is see more of Joseph's recognition and reward.
Hey, things panned out for Joseph. And what we want to see is that this is really one of the most dramatic success stories in the whole of Scripture, and it should be a great encouragement to us. And our aim tonight is to focus on three more of Joseph's characteristics so that we can emulate them, and in so doing we can please the Lord. And of course, that's the secret of finding real satisfaction in our lives. So what we want to do tonight is to see how Joseph was contenting God's presence. Our text there is Genesis thirty-nine twenty-one. Joseph was there in prison, but the Lord was with him.
We want to see how Joseph was confident in God's power. And our text is Genesis forty-one sixteen. I cannot do it, but God will. Tremendous statement. And we're going to see how Joseph was Thirdly, controlled by God's purpose. Our text there is Genesis fifty-twenty. God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done. So let's pick up our story from this morning that just before Joseph was recognized and rewarded, we want to see how Joseph was content in God's presence.
The presence of God that made all the difference. I hope you don't mind me telling you a little story, and I've got this microphone on a little wire here so I can move a bit tonight. I was thinking of God's presence, and it's a story of two little guys. Little fellows about my height, but they were only eight or nine years age. They lived in a small village in Ontario, and they were rascals. They were blamed for almost everything that happened, and usually with good cause. Now, a new pastor came to town about the size of last week's speaker, and he said, hey, send them to me. I'll sort them out. So they sent these little guys in.
And in the old-fashioned way, he made one way outside his study, and the first little fellow came in, and he towered over him, and he said, my boy, where is God? This little guy went red and looked terrified, and he looked up, and he didn't answer. Sort of pastor being down again at, or didn't be me, looked down at him, and he said, My boy, where is God? This, the little boy, turned on his heels. He ran out of the study. He grabbed his friend, and he said, Hey, run. God's missing, and they're trying to pin the blame on us.
But you know, the tragedy of so many people's lives is that God is missing. I mean, it's important as we look at Joseph's life before vindication, before success came his way, when life was not easy, that he was contenting God's presence. You see, it is easy when we have good health, when all we need physically is there, when things are going well in our family, perhaps we have a position of prestige, Sure, it's easy to be content and talk about God's goodness. But what about those times when we're sidelined, when we're abandoned, when we're sick, when things aren't going so well?
We have to remember that by his mid-twenties, Joseph had known largely setbacks, largely discouragement. Even in prison, he faced yet more setbacks and difficulties. We saw that. I'm using a few cartoons this week and I thought I'd warm you up tonight. There's Ziggy in his little setting there and he said, if opportunity ever did knock, I was probably down in the laundry room with the washer and dryer running. I mean, that's where Joseph fell. I mean, he, you know, by the time we get to chapter forty, there unfolds a story where really every opportunity seems to have passed him by.
Two of his cellmates, who with God's help, Joseph, of course, had interpreted those dreams. It was good news for the buckler. He was released from prison within three days, just as the dream indicated. And Joseph saw another disappointment. He made that personal request in verse fourteen of chapter forty that the buckler would put in a good word for him with Pharaoh. And then we get to one of those sad buts in Scripture. In verse twenty-three it says, But the chief butler did not remember Joseph but forgot him. You see, that's it. He's forgotten. Two years more lingering in prison, facing more discouragement, more disappointment.
Opportunities passing him by. Little did Joseph realize that the very modest position that the chief butler in Pharaoh's court could have perhaps provided, it was trivial compared with the position that in God's purpose was to be given Joseph by Pharaoh himself. But you see, Joseph had to wait. And how was Joseph able to cope with this further setback, with this disappointment? disguisement. I believe the secret of his contentment during this period of his life is made very clear in chapter thirty nine, that verse twenty one, while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was with him.
You see, Joseph was content in God's presence. That's a wonderful thing. You know, I think it's talking to Liz about Barrow and England that's got me sentimental and nostalgic because I came from England the same year as Liz did. And I was talking about Britain and remembering those early days, when I first got married, I lived in, we used to call it the flat in those days, it was a very damp apartment in England and it was actually, there was mold on the wall and it was a very small place and I was bothered because I was bringing my new bride to this very modest place. and I kind of apologized for it and said, hey, we'll do better someday. You know, and what encouraged me most was the way Vivian said to me, hey, I'm quite happy as long as I'm with you.
Now, what more could a bridegroom wish to hear from his bride that I'm quite happy as long as I'm with you? These days, of course, I worry a bit because Vivian showed me the calendar recently with this cartoon on. It said, hey, let's reverse things today. You'd be grouchy at church and charming at home. You know, somebody once said to Vivian, I asked Vivian if she woke up grumpy in the morning and she said, oh, no, I just let him sleep. But that aside, you see, contentment in somebody's presence is a mark of real affection.
You see, and the point here more seriously is, of course, that that's just where Joseph was, contenting God's presence. You know, earlier in Genesis thirty-nine, Joseph had been going through trial after trial, and this is what you read over and over again, but the Lord was with Joseph. I mean, it was God's presence that proved to be such a compensation for Joseph in all the different circumstances in which he found himself. So we read, after being dragged from the pit and sold into slavery, in Genesis thirty-nine, verse two, we read, now Joseph was taken down to Egypt and the Lord was with Joseph. And then in Potiphar's house, in verse three of thirty-nine, The master saw what?
That the Lord was with him. Then a third time in verse twenty-one of Genesis thirty-nine, he was there in prison and this is our verse, but the Lord was with Joseph. And finally at the end of the chapter, as the backdrop to all this further two-year period of waiting, this period we read this tremendous statement, the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success. in all that he did. So in Egypt, in Potiphar's house, in prison, and in all that he did, the Lord was with Joseph. There was no place, there was no situation where he didn't feel God's presence.
Now you might have said, is this success? I mean, Joseph was left two more years, forgotten, neglected in prison. You might say, I could live without that kind of success. But I made the point this morning, and I do want to say it again, because I know we are all in different places in life, that success in God's plan doesn't necessarily mean freedom from difficulty and discouragement. You see, clearly the Lord was not ready yet to take Joseph out of his difficulties. But as he was in that prison experience, he would be with Joseph in them. And that's a very important distinction.
or we pray that God would take us out of our difficulties, but His promise is always to be with us in them. Now, I promised I'd do some little science experiments as I taught this week, and since I have the overhead here, I'll just do a very simple thing. I want to illustrate this point. I'm just putting some acid in this dish, and I have some metal here, and if you remember any chemistry at all, you know that acid has a capacity to dissolve metals and with the overhead you can see this I just got some base metal zinc in there and we'll drop it in and you'll see as I put these pieces of zinc in there bubbles of hydrogen begin to appear and the zinc's being attached and it's dissolving it's responding not very well to that now I told you about my wonderful bride in England I have to tell you that when we got married Actually, it was a little bit later.
We couldn't afford the ring at the time, but I got this gold wedding ring. Vivian assures me this is real gold. If it's brass, I'm in trouble tonight because what I want to do is show the difference between those metals, that metal, and how it responds to the acid and this real gold ring. Let's hope it works, Vivian, or you'll have some explaining to do. So let's drop into the acid my wedding ring. Now nothing is happening. There are no bubbles. It's not attacking it. Hey, the boat's in the same acid. The base metal's almost gone, and this acid's strong, so I'm going to have to use the water on the platform, I think.
Yes, there's some water here. That's good, or else my fingers will be dissolving. Thank you very much, brother, for bringing that. But the ring could have sat there all night. You see, they responded in very different ways to the same attack. And that's the point we were making this morning. Are we attacked so easily that we fall apart or do we stand because of the presence of the Lord? You see, I believe the enjoyment of God's presence is a vital resource that helps us in all circumstances. And Joseph avoided that most natural response to the discouragement in which he found himself, the temptation to indulge in self-pity.
This will be gone in a moment, so we'll take that down. And we'll make sure your overhead is nice and clean. But as I think about this, I think about the difference God's presence makes. I think of So much in Scripture. Paul and Silas singing in prison. I think about the night before my bypass, Sergio, and Vivian said, I couldn't understand it, but I was singing. And I said, so was I. The nurse didn't know it was singing. She called it something else, but it was. And why was that? It was because of God's presence. You see, and it's the first key to dealing with discouragement. It's to grasp the promise of the presence of God.
You say, well, how can I be short about that? I mean, God's invisible. How do I know He's present? Well, we'll talk more about that next week. But listen, you can be sure because the final promise of the Lord Jesus after His resurrection prior to His ascension was simply this. I am with you always. To when? Even to the end of the age. You know, the most comforting words Jesus spoke in John chapter, well, I won't leave you orphans. I'll come to you. And it was that promise that was fulfilled by the sending of the Holy Spirit, the helper who he said will be with us. And Scripture is full of this. Hebrews verse thirteen, eight, I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you.
And we need to grasp that this week. And every believer here who's feeling a little bit disguised or trapped should hear the gracious invitation of the Lord Jesus that if we labor and are heavy laden, We just come to him and he gives rest. And what that means is inner peace of mind. And in Joseph's case, it was the realization that God's presence would enable him to handle his discouragements. And you know the interesting thing, it did more than that. It enabled Joseph to immerse himself in the affairs of others who were also unfortunate. Joseph learned to share. Now, I've got a little cartoon here that comes in the Canadian papers.
It's a pirate in his little nest there, and it's raining, and he says, hey, is there anything you'd like to share? Because he's eyeing his friend's umbrella. And his friend said, share? He said, yeah, you know, share. Is there anything you'd like to share? Well, of course, the dear fellow there with the umbrella looks at him and he starts saying, I was very unhappy as a child. But he hangs on to that umbrella. Hey, share. Joseph learned to be immersed in the difficulties of others. And this is a very important key to his prison experiences. You know, His care of the prisoners around him, his willingness to respond to the needs of the butler and the baker, show a man that was prepared to be immersed in other people's problems and not just wallow in his own.
And that's a very important key to life. You know, as I told you about going into Manila and seeing the poor there, I remember that trip because there was so little water that when I put that shampoo on my hair and I had a little plastic bowl, I realized there was nothing to rinse it off with. Villian wondered, I told you I'm a bit grumpy in the morning, well, that's a little bum, but she was surprised when we came back that I would flush the toilets and say, praise the Lord, because I'd learned to be appreciative for water. You see, I'd learned the simple technique that Joseph knew, and that was to count one's blessings, a great resource for dealing with discouragement.
You know, it's a great thing to remember that. Little Ziggy statement here is we should appreciate what we have instead of worrying about what we haven't and enjoy what is before it isn't. Hey, of course for the Christian it's a different story because the best is yet to be. Those cartoons don't have the full biblical impact, you see, but we can only undertake to think about those things if we're girded by that deep realization. that were compensated for everything by the tremendous blessing of knowing God's presence. And that's why we can sing in adversity.
You know, the great turnaround in Joseph's fortunes came not till chapter forty-one. And we talked about it this morning. Joseph's rapid rise from the prison cell to Pharaoh's right hand, and it's all described there. And it's very interesting that it turned out that it was Joseph's willingness to be involved in the lives of the prisoners that was going to have its reward. Not immediately. But you see, the dream of the butler did play an important role in Joseph's life. That's something God used later. And it was according to God's timetable, of course, and that's always the problem.
We set our own timetable. but God had a different timetable. And God's timetable is always better than ours. And so it was by verse fourteen of Genesis forty-one. From that point onwards, Joseph finds himself standing before Pharaoh in a way we talked about this morning, and that's when he showed the second characteristic. At this point, he was confident in God's power. And he made that great statement in forty-one sixteen. I cannot do it, but God will. You see, Joseph, it's very interesting, he was now in a new and strong position to negotiate his release from Potiphar's prison.
Pharaoh made it clear in his opening words to Joseph that he thought Joseph was his only hope. Verse fifteen of chapter forty-one, he made that clear. And it must have been very tempting for Joseph at this point to look after his own needs, to kind of wheel and deal, to say to Pharaoh, look, I want to get out of prison, you want your dream interpreted, I mean, let's do some business here. It would have been easy for him to think about cooperating in exchange for his liberty. But Joseph was a remarkable man, and immediately... He first of all disclaimed any ability on his part to interpret the dream.
He made that clear in verse sixteen. I mean, this seemed like a fool. He started to say, I can't do it. But you see, he insisted on giving the credit and the glory to God. He said, it's not in me, but God will give the answer. Oh, what an important principle that is. You see, Joseph was not self-centered. That's why he was content. He wasn't even self-confident. Now, this didn't mean he wouldn't speak out with confidence. Joseph was no wimp. He was confident, but he wasn't self-confidence. He was confident in God's power. I mean, he's past experience to rely on.
And there'd been a growth in trust in Joseph's life. Of course, these are very, very important principles. We can't talk about them in detail tonight, but if we're to move out of our difficulties to the place where God can bless and use us, we've got to remember this principle, that of ourselves we possess nothing except what the Lord gives us. You know what? One Corinthians four, seven reminds us, what it says in this verse, what do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you did not? Very important principle.
Apart from me, you can do nothing, you see, said the Lord Jesus. And so what we're calling for tonight is not self-confidence. Joseph had this remarkable ability to see, to turn attention away from himself, to turn attention to God. to turn attention and to concentrate on the needs of others and act in God's power. And that's such a challenge. I mean, that's the real secret. Joseph had a confidence that had brought him to the point where he actually found freedom from the tyranny of self-interest. And that's a tremendous freedom.
and he knew from experience and he knew from scripture that when it comes to power it depended entirely upon God and that's why he made this assessment I can't but God can and brethren and sisters tonight there's a tremendous need for us today to put the doctrine of the omnipotence of God that we believe in into action in our lives we need to say that God can do it. In a popular way we need to put our money where our mouth is. You see, and of course this philosophy that we see weakness in ourselves and strength in God, it runs counter to the ethos of our age.
People don't accept that today. You know about the teachings of the New Age movement. This teaching, which has permeated so much of modern life, really has as one of its underlying ideas that power resides in humans. The New Age movement abandons any idea of a personal, powerful God whose presence in our lives transforms them. And they essentially deify human beings. They say that, well, mankind's part of the universe, and the universe is God, and therefore, really in blasphemy, they say man must be God.
Those awful books of Shirley MacLean, which brought this movement to prominence, talk about loving self as loving God. Everything contrary to what Scripture says. Let's be absolutely clear what the Bible teaches about these things. We're going to talk this week about the way we're created in God's image. But let's be clear, humanity is not God. And we are dependent upon the power of a real omnipotent God. And of course, the reason that mankind is in crisis is that we're alienated from God, and that's brought about by rebellion.
And we're going to talk about that in Genesis three. You know, these new ages are right when they talk about humanity needing to be transformed. But they wrongly claim that that's, you know, they say it's by self-actualization, whatever that means. You have to activate your divine nature. What the Bible makes clear is that transformations made possible by the renewing work of the Holy Spirit. And it begins when we recognize Jesus Christ, who by his death and resurrection, reconciles us to God. That's what the Bible says. You see, and in Joseph, we have an example of someone who knew where to place his confidence.
Not in himself, but in his God. And that was the transformation, of course, that was brought about. What the New Ages talk about is something that Joseph knew, and that was success beyond his wildest dreams. No business seminar put on by New Age principles could bring this kind of success. We talked about Genesis forty-one, forty-one. I put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Now that's a promotion. And why was Joseph promoted? Well, as he outlined his plans, He gave the credit to God. And God so obviously empowered him.
And it's very interesting to see this in the Old Testament. He was so obviously filled by God's Spirit that Pharaoh said in verse twenty-eight of Genesis forty-one, he said to his officials, Can we find anyone like this man? Listen to this, one in whom is the Spirit of God. What a statement in the Old Testament. And you know, we live such poverty-stricken lives when the Spirit of God wants to take us and use us. I had in my pocket a little cotton glove. Vivian makes me use this when I do the dusting. No, I'm just kidding. But, hey, I've been doing all kinds of chemistry, and you might think that I could do tricks with this, so I'm going to try.
There it is. There's a little glove. I'm just going to ask it if it can pick up my Bible. I mean, gloves pick up the Bible. Only the out of Montgomery expects anything to happen here. Of course nothing happens. But I'm going to show you something different now. Because I'm going to put some living power into this love. Now I'm going to say, Glove, pick up the Bible. And there's all the difference in the world. You see, and what we're talking about is Joseph, in whom was the Spirit of God? And that was the secret of power. That was the thing that made all the difference. It was confidence in a sovereign, almighty, and personal God whose presence is promised us and whose power is available to us.
And as Paul said, I can do everything. How? Through him who gives me strength. And now quickly, because, man, I just noticed those delectable desserts are only ten minutes away, we've got to get to that third characteristic of Joseph, which we need to emulate, because thirdly, he was controlled by God's Genesis fifty verse twenty. God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done. You know, once Joseph got to a place of power and prestige, he might have been tempted at this point maybe to take a little credit for himself. Maybe he could take matters into his own hands.
But you see, the great thing about Joseph, whether it was there in prison or whether it was in power, Joseph had this abiding confidence in God's purpose, and he unwaveringly stayed with that. It was the foundation on which he built his life. And he's a great example and challenge to us in that regard. He was always conscious that his eminence in Egypt was an enduring testimony to what? The certain working of God's purpose. And we're going to talk more about that this week. and we've seen a little of it this morning but I just want you to get that you know as you read down chapter forty five when Joseph makes himself known to his brothers what a beautiful chapter you know what he stressed all the way through that chapter he stressed the way God has brought him to where he was he said it in verse five and verse seven and verse eight he says God's made me Lord of all Egypt again in verse Nine is saying the same thing.
So he says, so then. It was not you who sent me here, but God who made me ruler of Egypt. You see, whatever links there had been in that complex chain of events that established Joseph to be the ruler of Egypt, underneath all of them was what? The controlling hand of God. He was controlled by God's purpose. You know, God accomplishes His purpose through many human agents. Often they don't have any knowledge of what's going on. It's often even against their wishes. I mean, God overruled Rubin's attempt to save Joseph. The forgetfulness of the buckle, all that was overruled.
The lust and spite of Potiphar's wife, the hatred of his family, all that was overruled. And so it's no wonder that Joseph could say, as he stood there and surveyed the providential hand of God in his life, he could say, you meant it for evil, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done. Oh, what a testimony. And brothers and sisters tonight, it's so important that we recognize not only the power of God, that that's very real, but the purposes of God, they go together. Ephesians one, verse eleven, according to the plan of him who worketh everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.
I mean, that's our God. That's something Joseph knew in a fantastic way. I don't know how you feel tonight. Perhaps you feel a little bit like Ziggy. He says, there seems no plot to the story of my life. We get to the end of Joseph's life. We reach a remarkable point. As he looked back over his life, one of the amazing things is he still looked forward. And when we get to the end of Genesis, as we see the end of the story, there's an amazing thing that Joseph still looks forward and he rests on what? God's unfailing purpose for the future.
And he says in verse twenty-four of Genesis fifty, he says, I die, but God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land. And brothers and sisters, as we get older, let's understand the control of God's hand means what? A future. And in his dying words, Joseph showed clearly where his heart had been all those years in Egypt. Consistently God had been first. in everything in his life, it had been dominated by this simple but important principle. He allowed himself to be controlled by God's providence and purpose. And it's very significant.
that in the epistle of the Hebrews, in that great chapter eleven, in verse twenty-two, the writer of Hebrews selects only one event in Joseph's exemplary life. I've told you the story of Joseph today. What would the writer of Hebrews pick as an example of this great man? You know what it was? It was his attitude to death. And we read these great words in Hebrews eleven, by faith Joseph When his end was near, talked of the departure of the children of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. Oh, what a verse. You see, his faith in God's purpose, his openness to God, and his recognition of God's control enabled him to leave the children of Israel with that symbol of hope for the future.
And it's very ironical to the worldly man that the symbol of hope was a coffin. But every time they saw it, those succeeding generations in the succeeding years remembered Joseph's vision. And they realized that that coughing was only sitting there until the day of deliverance dawned. Here's a little, little moment here. Snoopy, sleeping again, she said. I don't see why you need so much rest. He said, hey, I need plenty of rest in case tomorrow's a great day. It probably won't be. But if it is, I'm ready. Hey, listen. Joseph knew it was going to be a great day.
And I want you to remember what Joseph meant by that, as he thought about the day of deliverance. And in these closing moments, let us remember this too, that our symbol of hope is also one associated with death. It's a cross. It's a cross endured by a Savior who himself was totally controlled by the Father's purpose. And as we look at that cross now empty, we realize that we can live in hope because the one who died on that cross rose again. And in his victory, he overcame everything that could ever defeat a human being, and that included sin.
And so tonight, I'm just giving you this assurance. that the day of deliverance will dawn. Look at our symbol of hope, the cross. It will be a great day. Now, I'm not calling you to rest while you're waiting. We'll see that. But I want you to go forward, trusting his purpose, being controlled by his presence and step out, content because of that presence, confident because of his power, and controlled by his purpose. May God help us to be that and learn from Joseph. And this week as we go now into Exodus and Genesis, see the beginning of the great story that finishes with the triumph of Revelation.
May God bless us as we focus on that. And now let's just pray. Father... We just want to praise you tonight for your working in a life of this great patriarch. We ask you in the name of the Lord Jesus that as we see our symbol of hope, you will help us to be totally content because you're with us. Give us confidence, Lord, to live in your power. And Father, whatever happens in our life, will you control us by your good purpose? We recognize that I have not seen nor ear heard, neither has it entered into our hearts the good things you've prepared for those of us that love you.
And we praise you for this as we give our evening worship in the name of the Lord Jesus.