Commitment to Christ is essential, especially in challenging times, as exemplified by Paul's encouragement to Timothy. Despite the temptation to be ashamed of the gospel or its persecuted proponents, believers are called to endure afflictions with the power of God, not by their own strength. The sermon highlights that suffering for righteousness is a consequence of living godly, and a lack of suffering may indicate a lack of godly living. Ultimately, true commitment, as demonstrated by Paul and exemplified by Joseph's life, involves total surrender to Christ, perseverance through trials, and anticipation of eternal reward.
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packs full of instruction to us in these last days. As a matter of fact, it characterizes the falling away. But it is my conviction tonight and my firm opinion that God is still looking for people that are committed, people who are committed to the person of Christ. How better could we have a series of meetings come to an end when each of us as blood-washed believers have personally and intimately committed ourselves to the Lord Jesus for whatever he wants us to do. Reading, if you will, in verse seven, for God has, this is chapter one, second Timothy, second epistle to Timothy, and the first chapter and the seventh verse, for God has not given unto us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Be not thou, therefore, ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. Now, you know, I'm absolutely convinced that there was, within the bosom of Timothy, the great possibility of being ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. And some of you young people tonight are going to be faced with that very situation, that very temptation to be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. But I'll tell you something. You're going to be the loser. If you're saved, if you're saved by grace, and that's the only way we can be saved, you're going to miss some real blessing and the joy that the Lord will give you and afford you in a difficult situation when you're going to be tempted to deny the Lord or be ashamed of that testimony.
But I'm pleading with you tonight. Don't be ashamed of that testimony. And that's what Paul is saying to Timothy here. Be not thou, therefore, ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. You see, the Apostle Paul was bound for his testimony of Jesus Christ, having died for him, and then being raised out from among the dead ones. The Jews would not accept it, and therefore Paul went to prison. Now he says, but be thou a partaker of the affliction of the gospel according to the power of God. So, you see, surrounding the gospel of Christ and the ministry of the gospel, there are going to be afflictions. And if you'll hold your place there, looking over into the third chapter of this same epistle, notice verse twelve carefully.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. You see, it's contrary to our natural flesh and our natural mind. to endure afflictions and suffer persecutions. But we find if we live godly, we're going to suffer. And one of the great reasons tonight that most of us are not suffering is because we're not living godly. Now that's a statement that I'm making, and I'm confident that the Lord's Word is making it clear to us all. I say it not in ugliness, but I say it in factual statement and factual declaration that God is making it clear that the indicative mood here indicates if we live godly we're going to suffer and if we don't suffer it's a good indication that we're not living godly as we ought now notice what he said in verse eight chapter one same epistle but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of god who has saved us and called us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to His own purpose in grace, notice the word grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of
our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to life through the gospel, where unto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. Notice a preacher, apostle, and a teacher. Verse twelve, for the which cause... I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed. Now, Paul makes this same declaration, in part at least, in the first chapter of that Epistle to the Romans and the sixteenth verse. He said, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. And I wonder tonight how many are really ashamed of the gospel. He says, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed.
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. You see, the commitment that the Apostle Paul had made was the commitment of himself totally, body, soul, and spirit, to the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said, I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. Now, someone might think, well, that's just his faith that he committed. All you have to do is begin at chapter nine of the book of Acts, and begin to read and turn to the right, if you will, as you read in God's Word, and you're going to find that Paul committed himself, body, soul, and spirit to Christ. He sold out to Christ, and so he was persuaded that Christ was able to keep that which he had committed unto him against that day.
Then he says, Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. Now notice verse fifteen, and this is the grievous part that I come to, and actually the takeoff verse that I want to use tonight, to bring the message, This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me. I suppose that the Apostle Paul could have given no more words so sad and solemn as this particular statement. You find that he labored some three years in the city of Ephesus, a banking city, and a city of quite a financial asset, quite a metropolis in the Aegean Sea.
And we find being a seacoastown, it invited the lucrative business of many, many countrymen and many, many people. However, in that city, the Apostle Paul had his life threatened, and Paul was almost killed there. Nonetheless, God's Holy Spirit was upon him in power to disperse the gospel so that, if you hold your place there, and we go back to the Book of Acts, so that everyone in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus. Acts nineteen. Now, I'd like to prove these points. It's something that I think all of us who try to labor publicly, at least in a teaching or preaching fashion, faith constantly, and it's this.
that whatever we say, oftentimes some folks may be tempted to just take what we say and not check up. But you know, it's good to check up and see what God has said in the Word. That's why I've always tried to encourage you to have your Bibles open and turn with me. So in Acts nineteen, notice what the Scripture says. In verse eight, and Paul went into the synagogue. Now this is after twelve men have been saved. Paul went into the synagogue and spake boldly. for the space of three months disputing and persuading the thanks concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened and believed not, but say evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one tyrannus.
Now, holding your thought there, remembering where Paul is. Verse one says that it came to pass that after Paulus was At Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper coast, came to Ephesus, and so on. So in the city of Ephesus, Paul had gone into the synagogue and disputed and persuaded the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believe not, now he had done this the space of three months, when divers were hardened, And believe not, but say evil of that way. That is the way that Christ wants us to live. And the way of salvation. Salvation is first. And then, of course, the sanctification is second. And sanctification there indicating are being set apart daily for the service of Christ.
And so he says, but they say evil of that way before the multitude. Paul departed from them and separated the disciples disputing daily in the school of one's heranus. And this continued by the space of two years, so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. Now tell me tonight, beloved, how many heard the word in Asia? Part of them? All of them. Now that's what God said. That's a fantastic thing. to imagine all in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, hearing the word. And sometimes, beloved, we don't even serve the community around us.
He had no television. He had no radio. He had no newspapers. No automobile. No jet airplane. Not even a bicycle. I guess in those days in that part of the country, about the best you could have for the most part was a donkey. They wanted a horse. Well, a lot of times the horse couldn't walk through the trails they had to go through. He had to use a donkey. That's pretty slow going. I got acquainted with the donkey one time. I was playing a game of donkey baseball. And that stubborn animal and I had a little discussion. And after I got a pretty good hit and I got on my mount and started down the first baseline, he decided he wasn't going to go any farther.
But a fellow had a friendly pepper of her. He had one of these hot shots, and that little donkey and I had a little charge there. I finally got on the first base, but I almost went over the front end of him when we got there. He really could put the brakes on. All right. In those days, about the best you could have in the trails they had to go up those hill sides, and rocky as they were, was a donkey. And yet everyone in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. And what on earth are we doing? We've got so much. And we seem to be doing so little. May the Lord have mercy on us. You say, oh, I thought you said while ago he was there three years, and the Bible said two years. Yes, sir.
And yes, ma'am, that's right. But turn over the page, if you will. Look to chapter twenty. Verse thirty-one, he's still talking to the Ephesians. Now, a lot of time has passed from chapter nineteen to chapter twenty. of Grady Looktime has passed. And he's returned back to the city of Ephesus for a little visit, actually not going into Ephesus, going into a suburb of Ephesus, a little suburb entitled Melitius. And he calls there the elders of the church, and the elders have come. And in verse thirty-one he says, Watch therefore, and remember that by the space of three years, I seek not to warn everyone, night and day with tears. Now back in Second Timothy. night and day with tears. So we're piecing our story together. The Apostle Paul had gone to Ephesus, and chapter nineteen takes up the second time he's there.
If you search out the book of Acts, you'll find he was there one of the times for that. But he didn't say. He said, I've got to go to Jerusalem. I want to be there on the day of the Passover, the feast, or Pentecost. I don't remember which. And so he was in route to Jerusalem when he stopped by Ephesus the first time. And he stayed just a little while with the believers there, and then went right on. And then he later came back. And having come back, he spent some three years and then left there and was gone a long time and then returned and talked to the Ephesian elders and indicated he's been there three years. Now while he was there, everyone in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. And in Second Timothy, chapter one, verse fifteen, Paul writing to Timothy, a personal letter says this.
This thou knowest that all days which are in Asia be turned away from me. I don't know how much longer God's going to give me to live. If the Lord Jesus doesn't come soon, I don't think that we're going to be around very long. I think the Lord is coming very soon. As a matter of fact, I'm looking for the Lord to come in my lifetime, and I'm frankly looking for the Lord to come in the seventies. I don't know. I'm not putting any dates. Don't anyone go out that door and say, no, I put a date on. I didn't. Don't you say that. If you do, you'd be lying, because I didn't. But I say, I'm looking for the Lord to come in the seventies. I believe the Lord's coming is very near. However, if the Lord doesn't come in a normal span of life, which would be three score years and ten, if by reason of strength, four score years, if the Lord doesn't come in a normal span of life in my lifetime, one thing I'm certain of, a lot of folks are going to start falling away.
I wonder who it's going to be tonight. I wonder who in this room that prevents us to be saved is going to start falling away. You say, are you sure about that? Where does it say they're going to fall away? Read the second chapter of Second Thessalonians carefully, and you'll find a graphic, detailed account of what I'm talking about. But taking up more critically our passage here, Paul with a very heavy heart is writing to Timothy. And he says, Timothy, you know that all those which are in Asia be turned away from thee, of whom are the jealous and homogenes. The Lord gave mercy unto the house of Onesiparas, for he also refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain.
When he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day, and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus. Thou knowest very well. Oh, what a joy it is and a refreshment it is to see those young people and adults who go on well. Some of us who travel around in the Lord's Word, a delight to go from place to place on a return trip and find those who profess to be saved still going on. What a joy it was to return to the city of Atlantic and see there the grace of God in a man's life that had been saved. God saves a man that had been lost for many, many, many, many years and needed salvation.
And I'll tell you, when God saved that man, he put something in his life, first of all, Christ. And then, of course, a desire to go on for Christ. And it's just wonderful to see that man going on for the Lord. I had the privilege to go down on the Gulf of Mexico and see a man who had been a Roman Catholic and lost all of his life, never had known the way of salvation, and yet had been a member of a religious organization. for many, many years, and God saved him in a series of gospel meetings down at Manville, Texas. And after having the privilege of going back once again to visit that assembly, I saw that man going on for God. His very job had been threatened. by a religious organization. His very life seemed to be threatened by a religious organization, but you know, he seemed to be prospering and going on well for God.
Well, you see, there are a lot of people that profess, but they don't go on well for God. And one of the reasons is they don't have life. They don't have life. A lot of people profess to be saved that really are not saved. Are you sure of that? Yes, sir, I am. I'm positive. Jesus says in Matthew chapter seven, Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall live in the kingdom. but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, listen to me now, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out demons? And in thy name done many wonderful works. Then Jesus said, I will profess unto them, depart me, ye that work iniquity.
I never knew you. You see, they were professing they knew him. But he's saying, I never knew them. Never knew them. We're living in a time when it's very easy to profess to be a Christian. But there was a time it wasn't so easy. We're told in the book of Acts, and I realize we're getting into a lot of preliminary before I get to the message. The message is going to be in Genesis. But I want us to look at it. That's right. Amen. Let's go to the book of Acts. I want us to look at that. Acts chapter five. The hand of God was among its saints. in a very evident way. A couple of people who probably were saved, Ananias and Sapphira, in my opinion, they were saved.
And yet they lied to the Holy Spirit, and it cost them their life. And verse ten, to make a long story short, verse ten, we find Sapphira dying. Then fell she down straightway at his feet and yielded up the Spirit. And the young men came in and found her dead. and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. You see, both of them lied to the Holy Spirit, and God struck them dead. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people, and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch, and of the rest, notice, and of the rest, that's the outsider, those who weren't safe.
Dirt or dare no man join himself to them. In other words, what he's saying there is simply this. Over here we'll say it's the church. That's the saved people. But in those days they didn't have the people come sort of squishing in and decide they're going to join up. You know, I was going to hear about religion. They're going to join up. You know why they didn't? Because they afraid they had dropped dead. God struck two of them just like that. Now I'll tell you, I wonder how many still be around if God was still exercising that kind of discipline. I'll tell you what. Professions wouldn't be cheap. People wouldn't say, oh yeah, I'm a Christian. And then live like the devil.
Mark it down. Mark it down. But in the rest, there's no man joining except for them. But the people magnified them. And the believers were more added to the Lord. Most of them who spoke with men and women. One of the best ways to have real evangelism and have a good backdoor revival. What do you mean? What do you mean? Well, let's think about it. Get the chaff out. Get the sin out. Get that out that doesn't belong in. Purge out. First thing you know, the power of God is over, see. God's not going to put his power where there's sin. Right. Here was sin creeping into the early church and what did God do? Brought about two funerals.
And both people were trembling. They didn't dare join us. They weren't paid. Of course there's no joining. he that's joined to the Lord. Now let's look at another passage, First Corinthians fifteen. We may and we may not get to the message. I'll tell you, this is good preaching here. I may not get preaching right, but this is good preaching. All right, First Corinthians fifteen. Paul's been talking about the resurrection of Christ, and he's proving that if Christ be not raised, then we're all still dead in our sins, separated from God, and headed for the lake of fire. And then he says in verse twenty nine, else, what shall they do who are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not all?
Why are they then baptized for the dead? And why, notice, look at that verse, why stand we in jeopardy every hour. Beloved, did you know in the day, the first century when the church was early in its days, in its very prime evil days, or it's the Genesis days, its birth days? that when someone was baptized publicly, they jeopardized their life. They might lose their livelihood, which wouldn't be putting too many people on the water, if that was the case, wouldn't it? I don't think we're putting very many under any house. But it seems to me that in those days, it really meant something. When someone says, yes, I've received Jesus, and he's my Savior, my Lord, and they put him on the water, it wasn't long until his life was sought after.
It wasn't long. The devil still had men running around that hated Christians and put them to death. It was said to be a joke, but it was more reality than a joke. It was said of the Christians how that they were persecuted in the days past, many, many hundreds of years ago in the Roman arena. And it said that in those days that the announcement would come out with the criers. You know, it didn't have PA systems in. The criers would go out and give the announcements up through the crowd in the amphitheaters and the arenas. It would say something like this. Lions, fifteen, Christians, zero. Still had fifteen lions and no Christians.
They ate them all up. They said it to be a joke, but it wasn't any joke. It's a reality. The lions ate them up. Those shivering Christians would stand there, and those hungry lions would stalk them until finally one of them would rush in and begin to grab. And then they all just pounced on and had a feast. And all you'd hear was the cry of pain and agony and the fronting of bones and the splashing of blood and away they were gone into eternity. My, it cost something to be a Christian, didn't it? But you say, oh, that sounds like the dark side. Ah, but we're coming to the good side. We're coming to the good side. Don't want to leave that out. All right, let's go to the book of Genesis. And let's turn to chapter thirty-eight and pick up Brother Joseph there.
Chapter thirty-nine. We'll skip over. I was going to get part of thirty-seven and then come into thirty-nine. But let's just, because of the time, let's get right into chapter thirty-nine and see four things about an overcoming Christian. Now, I'm convinced that Joseph was not a Christian in the strictest biblical sense. Joseph was a saved man. He was a saint of God, but not a Christian. You see, a Christian is someone that's distinctive in this age of grace from the time that the Lord Jesus starts the church until the church has been caught out beneath the Lord Jesus in the air. I'm confident of that. However, he's a perfect type of a Christian in our days and a day of decline.
And let us pick up our story, if we will, in chapter thirty-nine and verse one. And Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. You see, Joseph was hated of his brethren. And I'll tell you what, beloved, if you're really saved, if you're really saved and you're among the unsaved, you're going to find that they don't really care for you. Oh, you're going to think that they do. They may shine up to you and act like they do. But the truth of the matter is, there is no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness. No communion with light and darkness. No concord with Christ and Belio. No agreement with the Temple of God and Ireland, you see.
And so really, his brethren, and of course, in the strictest sense, they don't represent saved people. They were conniving, carnal, hating people. And they hated Joseph. And the Scripture tells us that in chapter thirty-seven. They hated. Now, his brother finally sold him off to the Mission of Life, and he's carried down into Egypt, and there he's sold again. He's resold. And here's a beautiful picture. Here's a beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also an application of a Christian. A Christian is really a person that's cast out by the world. And any Christian that begins to coddle the world and begins to love the world, the Bible says the love of the world of the Father is really not any man that loves the world.
And any Christian that begins to sort of join up with the world, he's committed spiritual adultery. According to the book of James, and I believe it's chapter four, where James there is inspired of God to call the people adulterers and adulteresses. He says in verse four of chapter four, ye adulterers and adulteresses. Now what is adultery? Well, it's just faith. It is an illicit sexual act that sins against a commitment between two persons. Now here in the sense of James chapter four, it is a spiritual adultery. If you're saved, you're to be committed to Christ and to begin to be friendly with the world, it's spiritual adultery.
He adulterers and adulteresses. Know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God, whosoever therefore will be the friend of the world is the enemy of God. And even though the world may pull at your dear Christian friend and I, listen, God's got something much better than the world. This old world is headed for the flame and it's all going to burn up. But that's where we're headed for, that place and that marvelous destination in which we're going is a wonderful place where there'll be no suffering, no sorrow, no tears, no pain, no crying, no heartache. So here down in Egypt, Joseph is sold. And he sold because his brothers hated him. He sold because his brothers didn't want to put up with his godly life.
He even prophesied what was going to happen because God showed him through some dreams that he was going to be a leader and his brethren were going to bow down to him and they hated him all the more. So when you and I began to seek for God, folks are not going to like it. Stephen was a man that spoke for God and folks didn't like it, didn't they? As a matter of fact, they sort of set him on trial. And Stephen stands up and says, I'll tell you, this is the message. And they begin to preach, and he preached, and he preached, and he preached. And he told how God had dealt with Israel. Starting with Abraham, bringing right on down to Moses, and then speaking certainly of Christ. And when he brings his message to a close, he looks at him and says, you're stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit, as your Father did, so do ye. And they took him out and stoned him to them.
Stephen said, Lord Jesus, lay not this end of the charge. And that's the first time we find in the Bible. After Jesus was glorified that he was standing up, because there he was standing at the right end of God. And so Stephen just went right on up to be in the hands of the Lord. All his body, they took it out there and buried it. That's right. But Stephen went right on directly, made a beeline to heaven. I imagine he got there just about like that. So what a wonderful thing to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus. And so here is Joseph, rubbed down into Egypt. Now this is going to characterize the overcoming Christian in our day. Look, number one, he had a proper appreciation of the grace of God. Read it with me, verse two and following.
And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and it served him. Dear friends and I have, have you found grace? What is grace? Grace is that unmerited favor of God. Grace is that love of God we don't deserve. Grace is that love that goes out to you and I who are dead in trespasses and sins and says, look, I'm in love with you. I want to save you. I want to pray you out of that mild sin and the indestruction which is going to be the lake of fire. That's grace. All of us have sinned against God and God says, notwithstanding your sin.
I love you. It seems that our love in the normal perspective, that is the love of the human being, we give the Philos level. We sometimes use the word Philadelphia. Adelphos is the word brother. And Philos is fond affection. So you see, we can naturally, from our human heart, unregenerated, unsaved, can produce or offer a love or a fond affection for our brother or our friend around us. However, it is completely impossible for you to be able of yourself to produce the agape love, the kind of love that God has. What kind of love is that? That's the kind of love that love and is never altered by circumstances.
Okay, I say, I love my neighbors. And let's suppose that I really do in some ages. But suddenly my neighbor comes across the property line there, it says, Don. I just don't like you, and he just sits right in my face. How much do you think I love him? How much would you love him to give you that? Moses says, Don, I just don't like you. And he, from the ground up, he draws back and lets me have you. Just feet go up in the air, and down I go. How much love would you have for him? Huh? Suppose he walks over and says, Don, I just don't like you.
And he throws a hand grenade over on my house and blows it up. Love that kind of character? Would you love him? The Lord Jesus does. That's the kind of love that Christians have. The kind of love that doesn't hold. The kind of love that stays the same. The kind of love that will stand there and get a slap in the face. The kind of love says, I'm going to keep on loving you. Not what's saving what you may do or be. Now that's the kind of love that God has for us. It's called grace. God saw us in our greatest need. There we were dying in sin. And he says, I love you.
And he's moved with a heart of compassion. And he sends his only son into the world to go to Calvary's cross. There when he is upon the cross, our ugly, ungodly sins were heaped on him. And he died for our sins, was buried in rose again. Now that's great. So, Joseph found grace in his master's sight. I wonder if you found grace tonight in the master's sight. The scripture says, For by grace are you saved through faith? That's not of yourself. It's the gift of God, not a work that any man should boast. Oh, I'll tell you, most people got religion. The little town that I live in over in the state of Iowa has got lots of religion. I think I mentioned to you, some of you, maybe I didn't mention it in public, but I think I mentioned to some of you.
that I was over there last winter, over a year ago, preaching the gospel. And during that time, and since that time, God has saved several people. And several of those people that God has saved were members of a certain organization of church in that town, and they said that they have never one time heard the gospel there. Now, if God saves anybody there, it's going to be in spite of that religion. By grace are you saved, and yet religionists are trying to climb the ladder to heaven. I'll never forget. One day I went up on the doorstep and knocked on the door that I'd been requested to go to that particular home, and a lady came.
I was looking for a young man about nineteen years of age. I'd met him once. He'd been out to a series of meetings that I was conducting, and I was requested to go and see him and talk to him privately. And when I got there, his mother came to the door. And I asked for a young man, and she said, well, he's not here. He's at such and such a place. But he may be back after a while. And so I felt led of the Lord to open just a little conversation with her. And so I asked her, I said, Mrs. So-and-so, where would you be a million years from today? Oh, well, she said, I hope to be in heaven. I said, well, now that's a wonderful hope. Tell me about it. What's the basis of your hope? Oh, well, I hope to be there. I said, I'm trying to live so I can get there. I said, well, now tell me about that. Does that mean that if a person lives a good life, that they'll get to heaven?
Oh, yes. What do you mean to say, you're going to try to live a good life? Yes. She said, I'm trying to live a good life. She said, as a matter of fact, God knows I'm living a good life. She said, my husband ran out on me, and I've been raising these kids, and that's, I'm going to get to heaven because I'm trying to do a good job with these children. Now, so helped me, that's what the woman said. I went to have a sacred card, and then you could have heard her own word. I said, lady, are you sure that's the way to heaven? Oh, she says, sure is. That's the way. It means doing good, living a good life, doing good things, doing good work. Yes, sir, that's it. I said, you know, I just wondered what this means. And I reached in my pocket. I pulled out a new testament.
And I opened it. She was saying there to the Lord. And I said, would you mind reading this verse with me right here? This is the Bible. And she said, oh, yes, I believe the Bible. And so we read it out there. Not by work of righteousness which we have done. And I'll tell you, you should have seen the look on her face. She didn't have any more words. It stopped her mouth. God stopped her mouth. Listen, dear friend, tonight, if you're trying to get to heaven on any other route than the grace of God, you're going to run into a collision with destruction and hell and misery will be yours for all eternity. God saves on the basis of grace. By grace are you saved through faith? And Joseph found grace in his master's eyes.
And so if you're going to get through in this day, you're first of all going to need a proper appreciation of the grace of God. Grace is that love of God that reaches out to where we are, to bring us to where we're not. Secondly, you're going to need a proper estimation of man's strength. Now once you've been saved by grace through faith, then you're going to need some strength because the devil's going to be testing. And young people, I'll tell you, I don't know of a generation of young people that's ever faced the crisis that you're facing. My heart goes out to you, and I'm for you, and God's for you, but I'll tell you the devil's against you. Listen to what we find in the passage. Joseph found grace, verse four, in his sight. I want you to read it with me in the Bible. I want you to see it. And he served him and made him overseer over his house. And all that he had, he put into his hand.
And it came to pass from that time that he had made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. And the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he knew not all that he had, except the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well-favored. Now, that's what grace does for you. But look at verse seven. It wasn't long until the devil came around. Came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and she said, lie with me. Lie with me. I didn't take a big dictionary to find out what that means.
That's just carnal sin. That's adultery. She is saying, look, Joseph, I've got something you need. Come on, let's have a party. You know what? Beloved, you may not have been tested yet, but you haven't been used yet. You haven't been tested. You see, when the blacksmith goes out there and takes a piece of oxygen steel and soarsen off about this long... and then takes one end of it and puts it on the angle and takes his knife hammer and begins to pound one end of it until it's pounded into a taper. And after a while he's pounded out a cold chisel. He goes through his grindstone.
If it happens to be the old tack, then he has a treadmill. And he's turned that old stone and he's grinding a sharp edge. And he's shaping that cold chisel. And oh, boy, he's waiting the day when he can actually use that cold chisel and begin to pound on that steel and cut that steel. But you know, before he can ever use it, he's got to put it in the fire. And young people, the day's coming when you're going to get in the fire. That's right. God allows him for your good and blessing. And the devil is asking you. And so the devil is the accuser of the brethren. So the devil is walking along and he says, well, what about the, what about the stones over there? He don't really love you. And suppose the Lord says, okay, there he is. About that time, temptation hits real head.
So here's Joseph. And the devil has doubtless said that he's the accused of the brethren. He's doubtless said, well, God, Joseph's really not serving you for nothing. He's just serving you because his master's put him in a good position and he's really well favored and turned everything over to him. And finally, perhaps the Lord would say, well, okay, Satan, there he is. Let's see what he's made out of. And so the devil begins to attack. And so, you know, that old blacksmith, when he's got that coax of him, and he wants to cut that bolt in two. has to first of all put that old cold chisel in the fire. And when the fire is turned up and gets that cold chisel, a cherry red, then he goes over to a bucket of oil, and he takes that cold chisel and he dips her down in there and pulls it back suddenly.
And he watches a little blue-looking coloration move right down toward the end. When he gets near to the end, down he goes in again in the oil and watches it again and then down again. There's a nice spiritual application there. You see, without the power of the Holy Spirit, the oil, the spirit, he will never get the job done. And so when he's got it tempered just right, he goes out there to the bowl that he wants to cut into, and he puts the sharp edge to the bowl, and he begins to put the hammer to the other end of the co-chisel, and he cuts right through the bowl. Why? Because it's been tempered. And here's Joseph. God's getting ready to raise him up to be president of the entire land of Egypt. God's going to exalt him. But he's got to let him go through the fire. So the devil comes along and says, Boy, I know Joseph.
Joseph is just like the rest of the crowd. There's nothing good about Joseph because after all, I'm going to get him all fouled up. But Joseph had a proper estimation of man's strength. He knew good and well that he couldn't take the devil alone. So she cast her eyes upon him and she said to him, Lie with me, but he refused and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master, what if not, what is with me in the house? and is committed all that he has to my hand. And there is none greater in this house than I. Neither has he kept back anything from me but thee. Because thou art his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?
You see, one of the great features of the life of Joseph was this. First of all, he had a proper appreciation of the grace of God. And that told him that all sin was against God. Secondly, he had a proper estimation of men's strength. That told him he couldn't stand up and face the devil alone. He had to have the Lord to help him. Young people, let me warn you. Let me warn you. And adults, let me warn you. It's not just young people. It's adults, too. I was listening just recently to a brother in Christ tell me of an evangelist. I believe it came out of Canada. This was years ago, and of course a lot of evangelists came out of Canada, so you'll not know it was. But an evangelist came out of Canada, came over to this country and preached the gospel in a certain state, and a lot of souls were saved, and God seemed to really bless.
And the day came when that man fell morally and got all tangled up with one of the young ladies in his temple, where he was living, and wiped out his ministry. You see, he didn't have a proper estimation of the strength of man. He got in a wrong position, and the devil drug him under. That's what he'd like to do to some of you and to me. So we better look out. We better estimate properly our own strength. We don't have strength enough to fight the devil. It's only in the power of the Spirit of God and the Lord Jesus Christ that we can face the enemy and be over-numbered. Jesus said, without me, ye can do nothing. Now notice, the devil's going to come along.
He's going to tempt you and he's going to hit you with a sore trial. And you may overcome, but watch out. He's going to hit again. And it came to pass as she spake to Joseph day by day that he hearken not unto her to lie to her or to be with her. All right. Now the devil hits you once. Now he's going to keep hitting you. And he's going to keep pounding. And finally you think, boy, I really got it now. I've overcome. Came to pass about that time that Joseph went into the house to do his business. And there was none of the men of the house there with him. And she caught him by the garment saying, Lie with me. And he left his garment at her hand and fled and got him out.
There's a time to run, Christian. There's a time to run. Here's one of them right here. I mean, and you better run hard. The Scripture said in the New Testament, Please, fornication. Please, fornication. It would have been fornication on Joseph's part. And he ran from it. Yet young people today are throwing themselves away morally. They're being taught in colleges and universities, even in high schools, I suppose, that it's all right that this thing of pre-marital sex is just fine. There's just one problem. God says every sin that a man does is without the body, but he that commits fornication sins against his own body. Mark it down. Better look at it.
I'm warning. God's warning. You better have a proper escalation of your strength. You're not strong enough to face the devil, but with the Lord Jesus. In the power of his spirit, you can overcome, and God will bless you for him. Thirdly, we find that Joseph had a proper evaluation of the trials of life. Now, it would look to me like in this passage of Scripture that God wasn't anywhere around. Because after all, we're going to see here that he gets lied on. And finally, he's thrown in the prison. She caught him by the garment, saying, Lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand and fled and got him out. And it came to pass when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and was fled for it. And she called him to the men of her house and spake unto them, saying, See, brought in a Hebrew unto us.
Tamaka, he came in unto me, to lie with me. And I cried with a loud voice. And that's one of the biggest lies that ever was told. It came to pass when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried that he left his garment with me and fled and got him out. She laid up his garment by her until his Lord came home, which was her husband. And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant which thou hast brought unto us came in unto me to mock me. And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice to Christ, that he left his garment with me and fled out. And it came to pass when his master heard the words of his wife. And she spake unto him, saying, after this manner, did thy servant to me, that his wrath was kindled, and Joseph's master took him and put him into prison.
place where the king's prisons were bound. And he was there in the prison. Now it would look to me. I mean, if you just looked on the surface of it, like God's going to flee. Here's one of God's servants. Here's one of God's faithful servants. Here's one that was doing the will of God. And in doing the will of God, it looked like when he got treated the worst of anybody. Is God asleep? No. God's watching. Listen, beloved. If we're ever going to serve the Lord, like I said, we're going to have to get in the fire and get sentencing. The Lord's temporary food was getting ready for a real high position. So he had a proper evaluation of the trials of life. Notice what happened. He's in the prison. Do you see Joseph down after the campaign and going out and trying to promote some sort of a demonstration and say, well, we're going to demonstrate.
We're going to get our right. You don't see Joseph demonstrating. You don't see him demanding rights. You don't see him complaining and murmuring. What is he doing? Notice. But the Lord was with Joseph. and showed him mercy and gave him favor. And look at that word favor. If you know that the word favor here in the Hebrew is the same Hebrew word as was translated grace while ago. And God gave him grace 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. What's their prison? 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's what he did. The Lord made it to prosper. Listen, young people. You're going to have to learn just a bit, to the trials of life. Here, Joseph has been sold by his brethren. He's been pushed down into Egypt. He's been falsely accused of rape. And he's gone to prison for it. And he didn't do a thing wrong. He's down there. He's not complaining. But what's he doing? He's serving God. And he's finding... that when he has a proper evaluation of the trials of life, God puts his hand on him and gives him grace. And that's what we need in their sustaining grace. You see, they're saving grace to start with and then they're sustaining grace to keep us going. Now the fourth thing and the closing point that I'd like to bring tonight is this.
Joseph had a proper anticipation of the reward of the head. Too often, you know, we want to live just for today and not think about tomorrow. Too often I think we've misunderstood the words of our Savior in the book of Matthew chapter six when he said, there, take no thought for tomorrow. Well, tomorrow is what takes off from the things of itself. Sufficient unto the days, the evil thereof. You see, the Lord is not telling us to properly anticipate what's coming. But he simply thinks, don't worry about tomorrow. That's the teaching of that. And so you and I should have a proper anticipation of the reward that God got for us. Too often we don't take a long look. We just take the short look. We better be remembering that the Lord Jesus is coming and his promised reward for those who are faithful.
And Joseph was one of those kinds. In chapter forty, verse one, it came to pass after these things that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their Lord and the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against the two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers and against the chief of the baker. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. Now Joseph was bound down there, you see. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them and he served them. and they continued a season in wars. And you know the story, most of you, as well as I do, most of the young kids even know this story, the life of Joseph, the wonderful teaching. But you know that they had a dream down there. Each of them had their dream, and the time came when they told their dreams to Joseph, and Joseph interpreted the dream.
And it came to pass exactly like Joseph said. We find that the butler was restored to Pharaoh, and the chief baker was killed. Joseph had said, now look, When you get up there and this dream comes true and this interpretation comes true, said, be sure and mention my name to Pharaoh. Just kind of mention my name. You know what? Of course, one of them couldn't mention it because he was killed and the other one forgot about it. And then the time came when Pharaoh had a dream. Two years later, and Pharaoh had this dream and no one could interpret the dream. One day the brother said, this day I remember my fault. He said, while there was a man down in prison, back when I used to be in prison, He said he interpreted the dream.
I just have an idea that fellow could interpret this dream. And certainly right after that, Pharaoh was encouraged and he said, go get the man. And Joseph was told and he arose out of the prison, washed himself and was presented to the king, the Pharaoh. He interpreted the dream. And after interpreting the dream, Pharaoh knew that he needed one man to run his kingdom that had wisdom. And Pharaoh couldn't think of anybody. that was just like that except Joseph. Verse thirty-seven, chapter forty-one, and the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and the eyes of all his servants. 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 to discreet, and wise as thou art, thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be rude.
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, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vests of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck, and made him to ride in the second chariot which he had. And they cried before him, Bow the knee, and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh. And without thee... shall no man lived of his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zath-Math-Paeonia. And he gave him to his daughter, or gave him to wife, Asinath, the daughter of Potipharia, priest of An, and Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.
And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And you remember, in the life history of our Lord Jesus Christ,