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Voddie Baucham - Joseph Interprets the Prisoner's Dreams · Voddie Baucham Sermons

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Speaker 1: Well, to come to Genesis chapter 40, we will actually
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Speaker 1: spend the next four weeks in the next three chapters.
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Speaker 1: And we'll, I'm still trying to work out how we
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Speaker 1: will divide those three chapters. Today we were going to
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Speaker 1: look at just chapter 40, but we're going to have
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Speaker 1: to look at chapter 40 and really that first major
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Speaker 1: section today. chapter 41 as well for it to make
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Speaker 1: sense the way it needs to and as we come
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Speaker 1: to Genesis chapter 40 and as we gaze into this
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Speaker 1: portion of the life of Joseph we see some things
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Speaker 1: that are recurring we see some themes of which we
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Speaker 1: desperately need to be reminded for example here as we
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Speaker 1: get to chapter 40 and chapter 41 dreams occur again.
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Speaker 1: And not only do dreams occur again, but dreams occur
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Speaker 1: in pairs again. If you'll remember, when we're introduced to Joseph,
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Speaker 1: there were two dreams. He had two dreams. He interpreted
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Speaker 1: both dreams. Now, in chapter 40, we are introduced to
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Speaker 1: the cupbearer and the baker, two dreams, two interpretations. Chapter 41,
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Speaker 1: we are introduced to Pharaoh, who has two dreams, and
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Speaker 1: there are two interpretations from Joseph. So there is the
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Speaker 1: continuation of this theme of Joseph and the interpretation of
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Speaker 1: dreams and the theme of God communicating, revealing himself to
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Speaker 1: and through Joseph. If you'll remember, as we've pointed to
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Speaker 1: time and time again in Hebrews chapter 1, that famous
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Speaker 1: passage about the doctrine of revelation. God having spoke to
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Speaker 1: us in many portions and many ways through the fathers
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Speaker 1: in these last days, has spoken to us through his son.
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Speaker 1: So we see here the picture of these many portions
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Speaker 1: and many ways in which God has communicated to and
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Speaker 1: through his people. So we see this doctrine of revelation.
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Speaker 1: We also see continued here this theme in Joseph's life
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Speaker 1: that occurs again and again and again, that everywhere Joseph goes...
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Speaker 1: he's put in charge. No matter what happens to him,
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Speaker 1: no matter how terrible his circumstances, he ends up in charge.
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Speaker 1: But we also see this theme recurring here, and we're
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Speaker 1: going to concentrate on it today, this idea that no
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Speaker 1: matter where Joseph goes, he doesn't belong. No matter where
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Speaker 1: he goes, he doesn't belong. He's raised... In Jacob's house.
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Speaker 1: But he doesn't fit. He doesn't belong. He goes to Egypt.
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Speaker 1: And there in Egypt, in general terms, he doesn't fit.
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Speaker 1: He doesn't belong. In Potiphar's house, ultimately, he doesn't fit.
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Speaker 1: He doesn't belong. He's in prison. He doesn't fit. He
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Speaker 1: doesn't belong. He goes to the palace. He still doesn't
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Speaker 1: fit and doesn't belong. And yet, all of those places
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Speaker 1: were necessary. In Joseph's life. Not just for Joseph individually.
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Speaker 1: But as we look at this and back up and
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Speaker 1: take our view from 35,000 feet and look at the
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Speaker 1: picture of redemptive history, we know that all of these
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Speaker 1: things were necessary not just for Joseph, but they were
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Speaker 1: necessary in redemptive history as God is using Joseph to
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Speaker 1: usher in this next phase of redemptive history. we are
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Speaker 1: going to see a major turnaround in the life of Judah.
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Speaker 1: And as we see that major turnaround in the life
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Speaker 1: of Judah, we don't understand it yet in Genesis, but
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Speaker 1: as we continue to move forward, we will understand the
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Speaker 1: significance of the tribe of Judah, therefore the significance of
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Speaker 1: this redemption of Judah in and through the story of
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Speaker 1: the life of Joseph. So this is important because through Genesis, Judah,
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Speaker 1: we get the king about whom we read today. Well,
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Speaker 1: you ask, which king? Because we read about a king
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Speaker 1: in our Old Testament reading. It was King David. Then
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Speaker 1: we read about King Jesus in our New Testament reading. So,
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Speaker 1: which king? The answer is yes. Both kings come to
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Speaker 1: us from Judah. So it's very important for redemptive history
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Speaker 1: that these things happen. Now, if we're not careful, what
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Speaker 1: happens is we get bogged down here, especially in chapter 40,
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Speaker 1: which is why I decided to incorporate at least the beginning,
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Speaker 1: that major section of chapter 41. We sort of get
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Speaker 1: bogged down here in Joseph and what Joseph is doing.
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Speaker 1: And although those things are important, they are important ultimately
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Speaker 1: because of their broader implications. So as we look at this,
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Speaker 1: I want you to Understand this concept that Joseph basically
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Speaker 1: fleshes out for us. There are a number of things
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Speaker 1: that he fleshes out for us, not least of which
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Speaker 1: is this sort of foreshadowing of the life and the
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Speaker 1: ministry of Christ himself. But also there is this picture
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Speaker 1: that Joseph fleshes out for us of the covenant people
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Speaker 1: of God. Always in the world, but not of the world.
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Speaker 1: That's Joseph. God's covenant people in the world, but not
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Speaker 1: of the world. That's him. We see a picture of
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Speaker 1: that in his life. He's in Jacob's family, but really,
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Speaker 1: he's almost not one of them. Now, after God gets
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Speaker 1: a hold of the rest of these boys, he fits.
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Speaker 1: But for now, he doesn't. He goes to Egypt and
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Speaker 1: he doesn't fit. He's in Egypt but not of Egypt.
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Speaker 1: Eventually when the nation is born and rises up, they
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Speaker 1: too will be in Egypt but not of Egypt. They
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Speaker 1: just won't fit. And for those of us who are
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Speaker 1: spiritual Israel, as we read there in Romans, as we
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Speaker 1: started our journey through Romans, we realize that we too
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Speaker 1: are in the world but not of the world. And
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Speaker 1: our life often looks very much like Joseph's experience in
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Speaker 1: many ways, and I want to share those ways. In
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Speaker 1: some ways, our experience looks nothing like Joseph's experience because
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Speaker 1: the Redeemer's experience looks a lot more like that. But
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Speaker 1: here in chapters 40 and 41, I believe there are
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Speaker 1: some parallels that will help us understand how we are
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Speaker 1: to live today. As God's covenant people in this world,
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Speaker 1: but not of this world. It is a difficult balance
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Speaker 1: to strike. And there's a ditch on both sides of
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Speaker 1: the road. On the one side of the road, you
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Speaker 1: can err on the side of in the world. And
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Speaker 1: there's worldliness. On the other side of the road, there's
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Speaker 1: another ditch. That's the not of the world ditch. And
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Speaker 1: there you're completely useless as far as the kingdom is concerned.
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Speaker 1: So how do we strike that balance? Look with me,
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Speaker 1: if you will. And of course, we won't read all
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Speaker 1: of this, but let's read this in order to get
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Speaker 1: these four major themes. The first is that there's four tensions.
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Speaker 1: The first is the tension between the word of God
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Speaker 1: and the word of man. And again, in Joseph's life,
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Speaker 1: that's attention. In our life, that's attention. Being God's covenant
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Speaker 1: people in the world and not of the world, there
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Speaker 1: is a tension between the word of God and the
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Speaker 1: word of man. Look here in chapter 40. Sometime after this,
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Speaker 1: the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker
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Speaker 1: committed an offense against their lord, the king of Egypt.
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Speaker 1: And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief
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Speaker 1: cupbearer and the chief baker. And he put them in
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Speaker 1: custody in the house of the captain of the guard,
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Speaker 1: in prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the
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Speaker 1: guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended
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Speaker 1: to them. They continued for some time in custody. So
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Speaker 1: there's pictures of authority here. There's pictures of the authority
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Speaker 1: of Pharaoh. There's pictures of the authority of the head
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Speaker 1: of the prison. But then, in the midst of this,
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Speaker 1: something else breaks in. Because, remember, here Joseph is, he's
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Speaker 1: a foreigner. Not only is he a foreigner, but he
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Speaker 1: is a foreigner who's in prison. But as a foreigner
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Speaker 1: who's in prison, how on earth can this foreigner who's
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Speaker 1: in prison have any impact whatsoever? The answer? The Word
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Speaker 1: of God. Verse 5. And one night, they both dreamed.
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Speaker 1: The cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt,
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Speaker 1: who were confined in the prison, each his own dream,
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Speaker 1: and each dream with its own interpretation. When Joseph came
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Speaker 1: to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled.
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Speaker 1: So he asked Pharaoh's officers, who were with him in
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Speaker 1: custody in his master's house, why are your faces downcast today?
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Speaker 1: They said to him, we've had dreams, and there is
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Speaker 1: no one to interpret them. Why are you so downcast?
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Speaker 1: Not because we've had dreams, but because we've had dreams
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Speaker 1: and there's no one to interpret the dreams. Not a
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Speaker 1: foreign concept, the interpretation of dreams. Not at all a
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Speaker 1: foreign concept. However, what we see here is different. In fact,
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Speaker 1: this is not just something that's an issue in the ancients. world,
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Speaker 1: where people attempted to interpret dreams. We know, for example,
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Speaker 1: in Daniel's time, that there were individuals who were trained
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Speaker 1: to interpret dreams. Unless we think that that is somehow
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Speaker 1: just far-fetched and way out there... Don't forget that one
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Speaker 1: Sigmund Freud, perhaps the most famous of all psychologists of
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Speaker 1: all times, devoted an entire book to the interpretation of dreams.
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Speaker 1: But there is a difference between the interpretation of dreams
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Speaker 1: as understood by Sigmund Freud and as understood by the
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Speaker 1: Chaldeans and as understood by all sorts of ancient people
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Speaker 1: who have attempted to interpret dreams and the idea that
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Speaker 1: Joseph has here that is directly related to the revelation
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Speaker 1: of Almighty God. Listen to what he says. And Joseph
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Speaker 1: said to them, do not interpretations belong to God? No.
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Speaker 1: Please tell them to me. This is an opportunity for
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Speaker 1: the Word of God to break in in the midst
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Speaker 1: of the Word of men. This is an opportunity for
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Speaker 1: God's covenant people to be distinguished and to be set
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Speaker 1: apart because they hearken to a different voice. God's people
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Speaker 1: do not hearken to the voice of diviners. God's people
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Speaker 1: hearken to the voice of God himself. And here we
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Speaker 1: see a picture of the voice of God himself. Later
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Speaker 1: on in chapter 41, when the king of Egypt has
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Speaker 1: a dream, upon whom does he call? He calls upon
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Speaker 1: the one who has the spirit of God in order
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Speaker 1: to interpret the dream. There is a tension here between
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Speaker 1: the word of God and the word of man. There
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Speaker 1: is a tension in Joseph's life as the representative of
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Speaker 1: God's covenant people Between the Word of God and the
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Speaker 1: Word of man, there is always a tension between the
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Speaker 1: Word of God and the Word of man wherever God's
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Speaker 1: covenant people dwell. And here's why there's a tension. Because
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Speaker 1: when God speaks, everyone else must be silenced. When God speaks,
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Speaker 1: every other voice takes a back seat. When God speaks,
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Speaker 1: there is tension because now we have man in all
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Speaker 1: of his glory who believes that he runs his own universe.
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Speaker 1: And in the midst of his own universe that he
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Speaker 1: believes he controls, in walks God. The cupbearer was more
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Speaker 1: powerful than Joseph. The baker was more powerful than Joseph.
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Speaker 1: But when the word of the Lord came, Joseph was
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Speaker 1: the one on whom they had to depend. The king
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Speaker 1: of Egypt was more powerful than Joseph. However, when the
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Speaker 1: word of the Lord came, he had to bend the
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Speaker 1: ear to Joseph. God's people are in the world and
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Speaker 1: not of the world. And one of the tensions is
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Speaker 1: that we hearken to the word of God and not
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Speaker 1: the word of man. In fact, here's why there is
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Speaker 1: a tension. All truth is God's truth. Amen? So when
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Speaker 1: we say we hearken to the word of God and
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Speaker 1: not to the word of man, do we actually mean
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Speaker 1: that if a man speaks, that we don't listen to
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Speaker 1: the man unless he's quoting a Bible verse? No, that's
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Speaker 1: not what we mean. Again, remember the tension. The tension
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Speaker 1: is we're in the world but not of the world.
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Speaker 1: So even in the world, every man exists by the
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Speaker 1: mercy and grace of Almighty God. Amen? I don't care
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Speaker 1: who you are in here. There are people in this
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Speaker 1: room today who are unregenerate men. There are people in
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Speaker 1: this room today who are not saved, who are not Christian,
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Speaker 1: who do not belong to God. And yet, God just
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Speaker 1: gave you your last breath. And it was purely by
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Speaker 1: His mercy. By the way, He just gave me my
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Speaker 1: last breath and it was purely by His mercy as well. Amen?
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Speaker 1: He causes it to rain on the just and the unjust. Amen?
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Speaker 1: But here's the tension for the believer. When an individual
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Speaker 1: opens his or her mouth and speaks, just because they
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Speaker 1: don't belong to God doesn't mean that everything they say
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Speaker 1: is untrue. But how do we determine what is true
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Speaker 1: and what is not? How do we determine what to
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Speaker 1: hear and what to heed and what not to hear
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Speaker 1: and what not to heed? Here's how we determine it.
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Speaker 1: God has spoken and everything is weighed in the balance.
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Speaker 1: compared to the Word of God. That's the distinction. God
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Speaker 1: has spoken. So, when an individual opens their mouth, our
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Speaker 1: question doesn't even necessarily have to be, is that a
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Speaker 1: Christian or is that not a Christian? Because here's a
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Speaker 1: little news flash. It's not stamped on the forehead. Amen?
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Speaker 1: And there are a lot of people who tell you
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Speaker 1: that they belong to God, but who don't. Amen? Amen.
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Speaker 1: So what do we determine? Let this mind be in you,
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Speaker 1: which was also in Christ Jesus. The very mind of Christ.
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Speaker 1: You learn to think biblically and sift everything through the
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Speaker 1: Word of God. That's why it's so important for us
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Speaker 1: to immerse ourselves in God's Word, so that we think
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Speaker 1: biblically and learn to hearken unto the voice of the
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Speaker 1: Good Shepherd. And whenever we hear something that is not
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Speaker 1: in line with God's truth, we know it is in error. Why?
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Speaker 1: Because of some burning in the bosom? No. Because we've
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Speaker 1: measured it against God's truth. That's the answer. The yardstick
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Speaker 1: is God's truth. What has God revealed? That's what we
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Speaker 1: measure it against. So there is this tension. And it
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Speaker 1: is a constant tension. Because unfortunately, we get used to
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Speaker 1: hearing the word of man and not the Word of God.
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Speaker 1: In fact, for most of us, we prefer the Word
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Speaker 1: of Man to the Word of God. There's also a
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Speaker 1: price to be paid when you have a commitment to
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Speaker 1: the Word of God versus the Word of Man. You
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Speaker 1: don't fit too well in the world of man when
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Speaker 1: you don't hearken to the Word of Man and instead
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Speaker 1: hearken to the Word of God. That's where Joseph finds himself.
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Speaker 1: It's the Word of God. In fact, it's because he
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Speaker 1: hearkens to the Word of God and not to the
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Speaker 1: Word of man, one could argue that that's the very
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Speaker 1: reason that he finds himself in prison right now. Listening
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Speaker 1: to the Word of God as opposed to the Word
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Speaker 1: of man. And there is that tension there between the
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Speaker 1: Word of God and the Word of man. God's Word always, however,
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Speaker 1: is supreme in these two. What are some of those
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Speaker 1: areas in our lives where we have this tension between
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Speaker 1: the Word of God and the Word of man? A
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Speaker 1: great example of this is in our laws. This tension
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Speaker 1: between the Word of God and the Word of man.
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Speaker 1: Over the last several weeks, I've been in my home
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Speaker 1: state of California a number of times, and again, over
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Speaker 1: the last several weeks in the state of California, there's
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Speaker 1: been one thing on everybody's mind. And that one thing
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Speaker 1: on everybody's mind was, what is this homosexual judge going
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Speaker 1: to say about Proposition 8? Again, Proposition 8 was the
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Speaker 1: law established in California a year ago in November that
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Speaker 1: defined marriage between one man and one woman. 52% of
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Speaker 1: the population. razor-thin margin, by the way, determined in the
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Speaker 1: state of California that they would define marriage as between
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Speaker 1: one man and one woman, and they would put a
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Speaker 1: stop to all of these same-sex unions that were taking
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Speaker 1: place in the state of California. Now, a judge, one judge,
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Speaker 1: not a panel of judges, one judge, decided that he
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Speaker 1: would speak to the issue, and surprise, surprise, he disagreed
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Speaker 1: with the people. Now, some think that the state of
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Speaker 1: California is now in the midst of a battle between
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Speaker 1: the majority and the minority. They're in the midst of
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Speaker 1: the battle between the voice of the people and the
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Speaker 1: voice of judges. No, actually, the battle is between the
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Speaker 1: Word of God and the Word of man. And while
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Speaker 1: it's easy for us to say that, here's the question.
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Speaker 1: What do we do and how do we live when
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Speaker 1: the Word of man... confronts and contradicts directly the Word
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Speaker 1: of God? Here's the answer historically. Historically, the church adapts
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Speaker 1: and compromises. Historically, the church adapts and compromises. By the way,
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Speaker 1: when I say the church, I use that term loosely.
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Speaker 1: historically individuals who claim to be the church adapt and
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Speaker 1: compromise however the covenant people of God are marginalized because
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Speaker 1: they heed the Word of God as opposed to the
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Speaker 1: word of man therein lies the tension there's a second
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Speaker 1: tension and that's the tension between the favor of God
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Speaker 1: and the favor of man now interestingly enough throughout the
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Speaker 1: life of Joseph as we've seen thus far, what we've
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Speaker 1: seen is this ironic pattern where his brothers hate him,
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Speaker 1: but his father loves him. Potiphar's wife betrays him, but
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Speaker 1: Potiphar loved him. We see that the cupbearer has his
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Speaker 1: dream interpreted and is supposed to go remember him to Pharaoh. However,
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Speaker 1: he doesn't, and Joseph spends another two years in prison
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Speaker 1: before he's called upon. His brothers put him in a pit.
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Speaker 1: By the way, they were gracious in putting him in
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Speaker 1: the pit because they wanted to put him in a grave.
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Speaker 1: Potiphar puts him in prison. Potiphar was also gracious in
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Speaker 1: putting him in prison. Because had Potiphar believed his wife,
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Speaker 1: he would have had him put to death. Now, you
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Speaker 1: would think if you looked at all of these, just
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Speaker 1: these surface examples, that Joseph was not experiencing the favor
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Speaker 1: of men. However... What happens when his brothers put him
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Speaker 1: in the pit? He comes to Potiphar's house. Potiphar puts
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Speaker 1: him in charge. What happens when he goes to prison?
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Speaker 1: He goes to prison and the head of the prison
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Speaker 1: puts him in charge. What happens when he goes to
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Speaker 1: the palace? He goes to the palace and eventually the
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Speaker 1: king of Egypt will put him in charge. There's this
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Speaker 1: tension between the favor of God and the favor of men.
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Speaker 1: Here's the tension. The favor of God may at times
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Speaker 1: look like the favor of men, but it's different. Let
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Speaker 1: me explain. How could Joseph have experienced the favor of
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Speaker 1: men with his brothers? The only way Joseph could have
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Speaker 1: experienced the favor of men with his brothers is to
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Speaker 1: have compromised, perhaps not tell them about the dream, which
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Speaker 1: would be to not share the word of God with them.
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Speaker 1: Perhaps not obey his father the way he had obeyed
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Speaker 1: his father so that somehow his brothers would like him more.
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Speaker 1: How about in Potiphar's house? Well, in Potiphar's house, one
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Speaker 1: could argue that Joseph could have just compromised himself with
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Speaker 1: Potiphar's wife in order to avoid the whole scenario. Now, ultimately,
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Speaker 1: we know that that would have just ended up in
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Speaker 1: a bigger problem later on, but he could have compromised there.
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Speaker 1: There are a number of ways wherein Joseph could have
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Speaker 1: compromised himself in order to achieve the favor of men. However,
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Speaker 1: he did not compromise himself. And in not compromising himself,
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Speaker 1: at every point, what happens? Men despise him. Men want
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Speaker 1: to kill him. Men put him in a pit. Men
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Speaker 1: put him in a prison. But what does the favor
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Speaker 1: of God do? The favor of God puts him in
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Speaker 1: authority everywhere he goes. If we try to achieve the
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Speaker 1: favor of men, we will not experience the favor of God.
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Speaker 1: If we try to achieve the favor of men, we
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Speaker 1: will not achieve the favor of God. The question is,
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Speaker 1: which do we seek? Joseph did not seek the favor
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Speaker 1: of men. And yet, at every point, he achieved favor
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Speaker 1: with God. And in achieving favor with God, ended up
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Speaker 1: in positions that were favored among men. What's our tendency?
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Speaker 1: Our tendency is to attempt to be liked by men,
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Speaker 1: instead of attempting to be liked by God. Our tendency
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Speaker 1: is to sort of stick a wet finger in the air,
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Speaker 1: find out which way the wind is blowing, But here's
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Speaker 1: how we justify it. We justify it by saying, no, no, no, no, no.
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Speaker 1: What I want to do is I want to represent God.
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Speaker 1: And because I want to represent God and I want
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Speaker 1: people to hear God's word, what I will do is
24:05
Speaker 1: I will become more like the world around me so
24:09
Speaker 1: that when the world around me sees me as one
24:11
Speaker 1: of them, they will be more likely to listen to me.
24:16
Speaker 1: So I will go over here and try to achieve
24:19
Speaker 1: the favor of men so that I can do God
24:24
Speaker 1: a favor and get the word of God to people
24:27
Speaker 1: who otherwise would not listen. Ever heard that one before?
24:31
Speaker 1: You ever heard that one before? We're just trying to
24:37
Speaker 1: get the word of God to people who would not listen.
24:41
Speaker 1: So we are compromising, trying to achieve the favor of
24:44
Speaker 1: men so that men will hear the word of God.
24:48
Speaker 1: Is that what Joseph did? Never. Never. Joseph, why don't
24:54
Speaker 1: you become more like your brothers so that they will
24:57
Speaker 1: maybe listen to you? And in fact, why don't you
24:59
Speaker 1: just sort of change up the interpretation of the dream
25:02
Speaker 1: so that your brothers will like you a little more? No,
25:05
Speaker 1: he didn't do that. He simply opens his mouth and speaks.
25:10
Speaker 1: And some would argue, yeah, and look at what happened.
25:12
Speaker 1: His brothers didn't listen to him. Uh, yet. He goes
25:23
Speaker 1: to Egypt. Does he compromise himself? No. He never does.
25:30
Speaker 1: He continues to be a distinguished and distinct representative of
25:35
Speaker 1: God in the midst of this culture of opposition. Now,
25:41
Speaker 1: does this mean that he sort of, you know, thumbs
25:44
Speaker 1: his nose at the culture? No. In fact, he's a
25:46
Speaker 1: representative of God. And as a representative of God, he
25:49
Speaker 1: comes to Potiphar's house. He doesn't compromise. What does Potiphar do?
25:52
Speaker 1: Potiphar puts him over all of his house. How does
25:54
Speaker 1: he perform? Admirably. Admirably. And Potiphar, the Egyptian, prospers because
26:05
Speaker 1: Joseph is in his house. Is that you? When he
26:13
Speaker 1: gets to prison, how does he perform? Admirably. And the
26:20
Speaker 1: prison runs more smoothly because he's in the prison. When
26:23
Speaker 1: he gets to the palace, how does he perform? Admirably.
26:29
Speaker 1: And Egypt is rescued because he's there. But at any point,
26:38
Speaker 1: if he compromises in order to become like them, He
26:42
Speaker 1: perishes with them. How do we reach people in our
26:48
Speaker 1: community that are hard to reach? The answer, with the gospel. Amen. Yeah,
27:00
Speaker 1: but there are people who won't listen to us. Yeah,
27:03
Speaker 1: there have always been people who won't listen to us.
27:07
Speaker 1: But I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ
27:10
Speaker 1: because it is the power of God unto salvation to
27:13
Speaker 1: all those who believe, the Jew first and also to
27:16
Speaker 1: the Greek. In fact, turn with me if you will.
27:22
Speaker 1: I want you to see something. Turn to Acts chapter 17.
27:39
Speaker 1: Acts chapter 17. This is Paul before the Areopagus. And ironically,
27:47
Speaker 1: this is one of the passages that people go to
27:49
Speaker 1: in order to make an argument for seeking the favor
27:52
Speaker 1: of men. They go here and they say, see, when
27:55
Speaker 1: Paul was there in Athens, he preached on what would
28:00
Speaker 1: in our day be the Oprah Winfrey show, basically. Okay?
28:04
Speaker 1: He made it to the Oprah show. He made it
28:06
Speaker 1: to that place that everybody goes to watch and just
28:08
Speaker 1: listen to people talk about whatever is new. Well, how
28:11
Speaker 1: did he make it to the show? Look at Acts
28:13
Speaker 1: chapter 17. Look at Acts chapter 17. And look beginning
28:20
Speaker 1: at verse 16. Now we know later on that he
28:24
Speaker 1: preaches there and we could say much about his sermon. Which,
28:27
Speaker 1: by the way, was straight between the eyes, not only
28:30
Speaker 1: the gospel, but it was the gospel attacking their worldview
28:34
Speaker 1: at every point. He was not preaching to win friends
28:37
Speaker 1: and influence people. He was attacking their worldview at every point.
28:42
Speaker 1: He was not trying to be cool like them. He
28:45
Speaker 1: was not trying to be accepted by them at any point.
28:48
Speaker 1: But look at what happens here. Beginning verse 16. Now
28:52
Speaker 1: while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit
28:55
Speaker 1: was provoked within him as he saw the city was
28:57
Speaker 1: full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with
29:00
Speaker 1: the Jews and the devout persons and in the marketplace
29:03
Speaker 1: every day with those who happened to be there. Some
29:06
Speaker 1: of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him.
29:09
Speaker 1: And some said, what does this idol babbler wish to say?
29:12
Speaker 1: By the way, that term idol babbler in the Greek
29:15
Speaker 1: is actually an insult. It's an insult. It's a term
29:20
Speaker 1: that is used for one who goes around like a chicken,
29:24
Speaker 1: just sort of bending down, picking things up, and then
29:27
Speaker 1: spitting them out before digesting them properly. The idea is
29:30
Speaker 1: that he's spewing ideas that he doesn't really understand himself.
29:34
Speaker 1: It's an insult. They are not saying, boy, he's cool.
29:38
Speaker 1: He dresses like us. He talks like us. us. This
29:40
Speaker 1: is great. He has favor with us. Now we'll hear him.
29:43
Speaker 1: It's not what he's saying. They insulted him. Some said,
29:47
Speaker 1: what does this out of Babel wish to say? Others
29:49
Speaker 1: said he seems to be preaching some foreign divinities because
29:54
Speaker 1: he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. How about that?
30:00
Speaker 1: Here's the argument that people make. Here's what you need
30:03
Speaker 1: to do. You need to go in the culture and
30:06
Speaker 1: write songs that sound like the culture. And then when
30:09
Speaker 1: you're famous, write songs that talk about Jesus. You need
30:13
Speaker 1: to go in the culture. And write books that sound
30:16
Speaker 1: like the culture. And then when you get on Oprah,
30:19
Speaker 1: you can talk to more people about Jesus. Because after all,
30:22
Speaker 1: isn't that what Paul did? No, actually Paul preached Jesus
30:26
Speaker 1: Christ and the resurrection from day one. And that's in
30:30
Speaker 1: fact how he made it to the Oprah show. Because
30:36
Speaker 1: of the favor of God. Not the favor of men.
30:44
Speaker 1: Here's the beautiful thing about Joseph. When Joseph finally stands
30:48
Speaker 1: in the palace, no one can come to Joseph and say, Joseph,
30:53
Speaker 1: will you write down for us all of the techniques
30:56
Speaker 1: that you used to become so powerful in this culture
31:01
Speaker 1: so that we can reproduce it in the lives of
31:03
Speaker 1: others who want to become famous in their cultures? Because
31:11
Speaker 1: here's what Joseph would have said. God spoke through a
31:15
Speaker 1: dream I interpreted to my brothers and they hated me.
31:21
Speaker 1: They sent me to Egypt. A woman made advances and
31:26
Speaker 1: because of what I believe about God and his truth,
31:28
Speaker 1: I rejected them. My reward? She had me sent to prison.
31:35
Speaker 1: The king's cupbearer and the king's baker came into the prison.
31:39
Speaker 1: They had dreams. I knew something about that. I spoke
31:43
Speaker 1: the word of God to them. Ask the one who
31:46
Speaker 1: was going to live. Amen. Cupbearer had a good dream. Hey,
31:53
Speaker 1: good news. Three days, you're going back to the palace.
31:58
Speaker 1: The baker hadn't shared his dream. But when he heard
32:02
Speaker 1: how good the cupbearer's dream came out, he said, you
32:04
Speaker 1: know what? I need to go ahead and share mine. Joseph,
32:10
Speaker 1: no soft sell at all. Yeah, yours, kind of the same.
32:20
Speaker 1: Three days, both of your heads will be lifted up.
32:25
Speaker 1: He is in one way, yours in another. Joseph, how'd
32:34
Speaker 1: that work for you? Because again, we're taking notes so
32:36
Speaker 1: that we can be powerful in our culture. How'd that
32:38
Speaker 1: work for me? I spent two more years in prison.
32:50
Speaker 1: But that's okay because after that you got out, right,
32:52
Speaker 1: and everything was good. No, after that I got out
32:56
Speaker 1: and I had to be number two in command to
32:58
Speaker 1: a pagan who does not know my God and does
33:02
Speaker 1: not serve my God. And I had to be his
33:04
Speaker 1: number two in command so that I could rescue all
33:08
Speaker 1: of his people who don't know my God and don't
33:12
Speaker 1: serve my God. And for another decade and a half,
33:22
Speaker 1: I wouldn't see my family. That's how it worked for me.
33:32
Speaker 1: You don't get a strategy from Joseph about how to
33:35
Speaker 1: win friends and influence people. You don't get a strategy
33:39
Speaker 1: from Joseph about how to gain political appointment. All you
33:45
Speaker 1: get from Joseph is, God speaks, I echo. I echo.
33:53
Speaker 1: Third tension. Tension between persecution and dominion. There is a
33:59
Speaker 1: tension between persecution and dominion. What do I mean by
34:03
Speaker 1: this tension between persecution and dominion? Well, on the one hand,
34:07
Speaker 1: here's this picture of Joseph who ultimately, go with me
34:09
Speaker 1: to chapter 41. The second dream has been interpreted at
34:16
Speaker 1: the end of chapter 40. He's told each individual what's
34:19
Speaker 1: going to happen. After two years, Pharaoh dreamed that he
34:23
Speaker 1: was standing by the Nile. And behold, there came up
34:26
Speaker 1: out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump. And
34:30
Speaker 1: they fed in the grass. And behold, seven other cows,
34:34
Speaker 1: ugly and thin, came up from the Nile after them
34:37
Speaker 1: and stood by the other cows on the bank of
34:40
Speaker 1: the Nile. And the ugly, thin cows ate up the
34:43
Speaker 1: seven attractive, plump cows. What a terrible dream, by the way. Amen?
34:48
Speaker 1: That's just bad. What happened? I had a dream and
34:52
Speaker 1: some fat cows came out of the Nile and some skinny, ugly,
34:56
Speaker 1: nasty ones came out and then they ate the good ones. Really?
35:05
Speaker 1: You eat very late often? And Pharaoh awoke and fell
35:11
Speaker 1: asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven years
35:15
Speaker 1: of grain, plump and good. were growing on one stalk.
35:19
Speaker 1: And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted
35:23
Speaker 1: by the east wind. And the thin ears swallowed up
35:28
Speaker 1: the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold,
35:31
Speaker 1: it was a dream. So in the morning his spirit
35:34
Speaker 1: was troubled. And he sent and called for all the
35:37
Speaker 1: magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told
35:41
Speaker 1: them his dream, but there was none who could interpret
35:45
Speaker 1: them to Pharaoh. Again, there's that tension. Word of God,
35:50
Speaker 1: word of man. As a result of it, what does
35:52
Speaker 1: God do? God demonstrates to Pharaoh that there is one
35:56
Speaker 1: who speaks for God, and he's not these magicians. And
36:00
Speaker 1: as a result, let's read on. Look at verse 37.
36:10
Speaker 1: We won't go too far into this because we'll look
36:12
Speaker 1: at this on next week. But he interprets Pharaoh's dreams
36:16
Speaker 1: and tells Pharaoh what to do. In verse 37, this
36:21
Speaker 1: proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. And Pharaoh said
36:24
Speaker 1: to his servants, can we find a man like this
36:26
Speaker 1: and whom is the spirit of God? Then Pharaoh said
36:30
Speaker 1: to Joseph, since God has shown you all this, there
36:34
Speaker 1: is none so discerning and wise as you are. You
36:39
Speaker 1: shall be over my house, and all my people shall
36:42
Speaker 1: order themselves as you command. There's this tension between dominion
36:49
Speaker 1: and persecution. What do I mean by that? Well, on
36:52
Speaker 1: the one hand, here we see that God's people, because
36:55
Speaker 1: we're equipped with God's word, it sets us apart in
36:58
Speaker 1: the kingdom of men. And because it sets us apart
37:01
Speaker 1: in the kingdom of heaven, even Pharaoh, and Pharaoh's not
37:04
Speaker 1: the only one through history to recognize this. Pharaoh recognizes
37:07
Speaker 1: there is something about you, Joseph, and he says very clearly,
37:11
Speaker 1: it's God. And because of God working in your life,
37:15
Speaker 1: I need you to be in this position. That has
37:18
Speaker 1: happened to the people of God throughout history in lands
37:21
Speaker 1: everywhere that they've gone. The people of God rise up
37:24
Speaker 1: in a place and that place flourishes. And there have
37:27
Speaker 1: been people of God who have advanced to very high positions.
37:33
Speaker 1: And rightly so. Rightly so. Genesis chapter 1 verse 28 says,
37:39
Speaker 1: God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful
37:42
Speaker 1: and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and
37:45
Speaker 1: have dominion over fish of the sea, over the birds
37:47
Speaker 1: of the heavens and over every living thing that moves
37:50
Speaker 1: on earth. This is what God has called man to do.
37:55
Speaker 1: Even beyond that, look at Matthew chapter 28 verses 18
37:57
Speaker 1: to 20. Jesus came and said to them, all authority
38:01
Speaker 1: in heaven and on earth is given to me. Go
38:04
Speaker 1: therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
38:07
Speaker 1: the name of the Father and the Son and of
38:09
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I
38:11
Speaker 1: have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always
38:16
Speaker 1: to the end of the age. Isn't that good? That
38:21
Speaker 1: we go forth in the power of God with the
38:23
Speaker 1: Word of God, and as a result of going forth
38:25
Speaker 1: in the power of God and with the Word of God,
38:27
Speaker 1: we take this world as we find it, and to
38:30
Speaker 1: the glory of God make it better when we're gone.
38:34
Speaker 1: And as New Covenant believers, here's what's beautiful. We go
38:37
Speaker 1: forth in the power of God and with the Word
38:39
Speaker 1: of God, and we take men as we find them,
38:42
Speaker 1: preach the gospel to them, the kingdom advances, and this
38:46
Speaker 1: world is better for it. However... Turn with me, if
38:51
Speaker 1: you will, to the Gospel of John. John chapter 15.
39:06
Speaker 1: Because here's the great irony. And this is why you
39:12
Speaker 1: need the whole picture of redemptive history. Because oftentimes we
39:16
Speaker 1: go here and we look at this part of Joseph's story.
39:19
Speaker 1: And there's a couple of things that we do. We
39:20
Speaker 1: think that this is actually a lesson on how to
39:24
Speaker 1: win friends and influence people and how we can take
39:26
Speaker 1: over government and be in great positions in government and
39:28
Speaker 1: so on and so forth. And we can change the
39:31
Speaker 1: government for the better. Folks, Joseph did not change the
39:35
Speaker 1: government of Egypt. Let me say that again. Joseph did
39:40
Speaker 1: not change the government of Egypt. In fact, after Genesis
39:44
Speaker 1: there comes another book. It's called Exodus. Exodus. What do
39:50
Speaker 1: we find in Exodus? Egypt, not so nice. God did
39:56
Speaker 1: not send Joseph to Egypt in order to take over
39:58
Speaker 1: the government of Egypt so that Egypt would become more godly.
40:03
Speaker 1: God sent Joseph to Egypt for one reason and one
40:05
Speaker 1: reason alone. That is to rescue his people. After his
40:10
Speaker 1: people are rescued, they are in Egypt in bondage for
40:13
Speaker 1: over 400 years. And so, on the one hand, we
40:19
Speaker 1: have Joseph who has risen to a position of power.
40:21
Speaker 1: But on the other hand, we do not have this
40:24
Speaker 1: picture in the history of God's redemptive plan that his
40:28
Speaker 1: idea is that his people will somehow establish the kingdom
40:32
Speaker 1: here on earth. But what do we have? John 15,
40:39
Speaker 1: beginning of verse 18. Go back to 16. Well, 15, yeah, 15, 18. 15,
40:56
Speaker 1: 18 is good enough. If the world hates you, know
41:03
Speaker 1: that it has hated me before it hated you. If
41:06
Speaker 1: you were of the world, the world would love you
41:08
Speaker 1: as its own. But because you are not of the world,
41:11
Speaker 1: but I chose you out of the world, therefore the
41:14
Speaker 1: world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you.
41:19
Speaker 1: A servant is not greater than his master. If they
41:21
Speaker 1: persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept
41:25
Speaker 1: my word, they will also keep yours. But all these
41:29
Speaker 1: things they will do to you on account of my name,
41:32
Speaker 1: because they do not know him who sent me. Does
41:36
Speaker 1: that sound like God's plan is for the people of
41:40
Speaker 1: Christ to somehow establish the kingdom here on earth? It doesn't.
41:48
Speaker 1: Jesus says, here's a promise, folks. They're going to hate you.
41:52
Speaker 1: That's not the only place. Look at John chapter 17.
42:01
Speaker 1: Look at 13 to 16. But now I am coming
42:06
Speaker 1: to you, and these things I speak in the world,
42:09
Speaker 1: that they may have my joy. Fulfilled in themselves. I
42:13
Speaker 1: have given them your word, and the world has hated
42:16
Speaker 1: them because they are not of the world, just as
42:19
Speaker 1: I am not of the world. I do not ask
42:21
Speaker 1: that you take them out of the world, but that
42:24
Speaker 1: you keep them from the evil one. Verse 16. They
42:27
Speaker 1: are not of the world, just as I am not
42:29
Speaker 1: of the world. Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth.
42:33
Speaker 1: As you sent me into the world, so I have
42:35
Speaker 1: sent them into the world, and for their sake I
42:39
Speaker 1: consecrate myself. that they also may be sanctified in truth.
42:45
Speaker 1: Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians
43:07
Speaker 1: chapter 1. And look beginning in verse 26. Verse 26.
43:14
Speaker 1: For consider your calling, brothers. Not many of you were
43:18
Speaker 1: wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not
43:22
Speaker 1: many were of noble birth. But God chose what is
43:24
Speaker 1: foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose
43:27
Speaker 1: what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
43:30
Speaker 1: God chose what is low and despised in the world,
43:32
Speaker 1: even things that are not, to bring to nothing things
43:35
Speaker 1: that are, so that no human being might boast in
43:38
Speaker 1: the presence of God. And because of Him... You are
43:42
Speaker 1: in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God,
43:45
Speaker 1: righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that as it is written,
43:50
Speaker 1: let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. And
43:53
Speaker 1: how can we forget 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 12?
43:59
Speaker 1: All those who desire to live a godly life in
44:01
Speaker 1: Christ Jesus shall be persecuted. So there's our tension. The
44:09
Speaker 1: tension between dominion and persecution. And we see it right
44:13
Speaker 1: there in the life of Joseph. Is Joseph exercising dominion?
44:17
Speaker 1: Is Joseph in this point a powerful man representing God? Yes.
44:26
Speaker 1: Will Joseph's people continue this on? No. In fact, after
44:34
Speaker 1: a while they're going to leave Egypt. And when they
44:36
Speaker 1: leave Egypt after their wanderings, they're going to establish a nation.
44:40
Speaker 1: And it's going to be a powerful nation. However, what's
44:43
Speaker 1: going to happen to that nation? Well, for a while,
44:45
Speaker 1: they will be on the top of the heap. Then
44:47
Speaker 1: they will be divided. Then they will be defeated. And eventually,
44:52
Speaker 1: we will find them in the New Testament under the
44:54
Speaker 1: thumb of the Roman Empire, never to rise again. Why?
45:01
Speaker 1: His kingdom is not of this world. That's why. His
45:08
Speaker 1: kingdom is not of this world. So what do we
45:13
Speaker 1: do in the meantime? Do we sort of stick our
45:16
Speaker 1: heads in the sand and say, well, since his kingdom
45:18
Speaker 1: is not of this world, let's never do anything. No.
45:23
Speaker 1: His kingdom is not of this world, but we serve
45:26
Speaker 1: a God who uses his people to advance his kingdom.
45:33
Speaker 1: Sometimes that's going to look like us being in the palace,
45:36
Speaker 1: like Joseph. More often than not, it's going to look
45:41
Speaker 1: like the next 400 years. And either way, God be praised.
45:49
Speaker 1: But in the midst of it, here's what we're reminded of.
45:53
Speaker 1: Don't be upset that Joseph didn't establish that kingdom. Because
46:00
Speaker 1: the one who would establish the kingdom was the one
46:02
Speaker 1: who was later to come. It is the Christ himself,
46:06
Speaker 1: whose kingdom is already and not yet. His kingdom is
46:11
Speaker 1: established and moves forward as we proclaim the gospel. But
46:16
Speaker 1: His kingdom is not a kingdom of this world. Do
46:20
Speaker 1: members of His kingdom, through being faithful to the Word
46:24
Speaker 1: of God, serve as a blessing to the kingdom of man? Yes,
46:29
Speaker 1: we serve as a blessing to the kingdom of man.
46:30
Speaker 1: Does that at times mean that we advance within the
46:33
Speaker 1: kingdom of man? Yes, at times it means we advance
46:37
Speaker 1: in the kingdom of man. But there's one kingdom and
46:39
Speaker 1: one kingdom only that we're worried about advancing, and that
46:43
Speaker 1: is the kingdom of Almighty God Himself. We have dual citizenship.
46:48
Speaker 1: And one of our passports always trumps the other. Our
46:55
Speaker 1: kingdom of God passport always trumps our kingdom of man passport.
47:02
Speaker 1: So there is this tension between persecution and dominion. And
47:08
Speaker 1: here's what's unfortunate. What's unfortunate is when we're in the
47:12
Speaker 1: midst of the dominion part of the cycle... and things
47:16
Speaker 1: are well with us, we have a tendency to forget God.
47:21
Speaker 1: When we're in the midst of the persecution part of
47:23
Speaker 1: the cycle, we have a tendency to remember God, but
47:26
Speaker 1: only so that we can get back to the other
47:27
Speaker 1: part of the cycle. Amen. So what does that look like?
47:35
Speaker 1: Here's what it looks like. What it looks like is
47:38
Speaker 1: right now, right here in the United States of America,
47:41
Speaker 1: we have a lot of Christians who are looking forward
47:43
Speaker 1: with more anxious anticipation to November 2nd than they are
47:46
Speaker 1: to the return of the King of Kings. Why? Because
47:51
Speaker 1: we believe that our citizenship is of this world. And
47:55
Speaker 1: it's not. Let me just let you in on a
47:58
Speaker 1: little secret. I'm not a prophet or the son of
48:02
Speaker 1: a prophet. November 2nd is not going to change our plight.
48:08
Speaker 1: I can guarantee you that. I'm not the prophet or
48:10
Speaker 1: the son of a prophet. November 2nd is not going
48:13
Speaker 1: to change our plight. All it's going to do is
48:16
Speaker 1: put us in another situation where we say, wow, I
48:19
Speaker 1: thought that if we got those guys in office, things
48:21
Speaker 1: would be different. Why? We're looking for a city whose
48:31
Speaker 1: builder and maker is God. Does that mean we give
48:35
Speaker 1: up on this place? Absolutely not. We've got work to
48:39
Speaker 1: do here. It's gospel work and it's kingdom work. Does
48:44
Speaker 1: that mean that we just don't ever think that things
48:47
Speaker 1: are going to change? Absolutely not. I believe God can
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Speaker 1: bring revival. I believe God can bring awakening. But what
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Speaker 1: is that? That is the kingdom of God advancing and
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Speaker 1: people's lives being changed and transformed because of the advancement
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Speaker 1: of the kingdom of God, which is precisely what we
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Speaker 1: saw in the life of Joseph. What we saw in
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Speaker 1: the life of Joseph was not a political victory. What
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Speaker 1: we saw in the life of Joseph was the supernatural
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Speaker 1: hand of God preserving his people and for that moment
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Speaker 1: he just happened to use a political position. But lest
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Speaker 1: his people trusted in politics too long, it was over.
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Speaker 1: Just like that. Don't forget this. Because if we forget this,
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Speaker 1: we forget the last tension. And that is the tension
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Speaker 1: between The physical salvation of Israel. And the spiritual salvation
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Speaker 1: of Israel. What's wrong with the kingdom of man? There's
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Speaker 1: nothing inherently wrong with the kingdom of man other than
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Speaker 1: it's made up of men. But what's wrong with the
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Speaker 1: kingdom of man is that the kingdom of man's solution...
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Speaker 1: will only solve problems in the kingdom of man, and
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Speaker 1: man's greatest problem is not a kingdom of man problem.
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Speaker 1: Man's greatest problem is a spiritual problem. And to the
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Speaker 1: degree that the kingdom of man can be useful in
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Speaker 1: advancing God's cause, praise God for that. But to the
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Speaker 1: degree that it takes worship that belongs to God, God forbid.
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Speaker 1: To the degree that it takes allegiance that belongs to God,
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Speaker 1: God forbid. God forbid. To the degree that it causes
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Speaker 1: God's people to bow their knees there rather than here,
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Speaker 1: God forbid. If you think the highlight of Joseph's life
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Speaker 1: is that he ended up in a position of power
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Speaker 1: in a government of pagans, God help you. The highlight
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Speaker 1: of Joseph's life is yet to come. The highlight of
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Speaker 1: Joseph's life is a spiritual redemption. And this little measly
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Speaker 1: position as Pharaoh's right-hand man pales in comparison to what
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Speaker 1: God does spiritually with his real Israel. That's the significance, people.
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Speaker 1: And as you and I exercise our dual citizenship in
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Speaker 1: the kingdom of man and the kingdom of God, let's
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Speaker 1: remember these tensions. There's a tension between the word of
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Speaker 1: man and the word of God. Where do we fall?
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Speaker 1: Always on the side of the Word of God. There
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Speaker 1: is a tension between the favor of man and the
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Speaker 1: favor of God. On what side do we fall? Always
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Speaker 1: on the side of the favor of God. God can
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Speaker 1: take care of whatever favor of man we need. There
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Speaker 1: is a tension between persecution and dominion. Where do we fall?
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Speaker 1: Always on the side of dominion because we're always advancing
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Speaker 1: the kingdom of God. We never allow persecution to get
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Speaker 1: us off message. There is a tension between the spiritual
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Speaker 1: salvation and physical salvation. On what side do we fall?
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Speaker 1: Always on the side of spiritual salvation. That is always
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Speaker 1: what's most important. Does that mean the physical doesn't matter?
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Speaker 1: Absolutely not. But it means that the spiritual is more important.
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Speaker 1: It means that the greatest tool with which we are
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Speaker 1: armed is not the ballot box. It's not the food bank.
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Speaker 1: It's the gospel. Does that mean that the ballot box
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Speaker 1: is unimportant? No. Does that mean that the poor shouldn't
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Speaker 1: be fed? No. But what it means is that if
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Speaker 1: we are to prioritize in something and to be known
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Speaker 1: for something, let it be the same thing that Joseph
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Speaker 1: was known for. Joseph's a man in powerful position. He
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Speaker 1: must be a great politician. Actually, he's no politician at all.
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Speaker 1: He's just a man who speaks for God. And more
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Speaker 1: often than not, he ended up in bad places for it.
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Speaker 1: In the end, he still ended up in a bad place. Why?
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Speaker 1: He's number two in command to a pagan king of
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Speaker 1: a pagan nation. Sparing the lives of his oppressors. Now
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Speaker 1: you think about that for a moment. God used Joseph,
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Speaker 1: not only to save his brothers, but to strengthen the
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Speaker 1: very nation that would crush them for 400 years. Why?
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Speaker 1: Because God's plan is bigger than the city of man.
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Speaker 1: I don't know where you struggle with your allegiance in
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Speaker 1: these areas. But I know you struggle. But as you do,
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Speaker 1: remember these tensions are real. And our responsibilities are certain.
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Speaker 1: Always on the side of the Word of God. Always
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Speaker 1: on the side of the favor of God. Always on
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Speaker 1: the side of the advancement of the kingdom. And always
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Speaker 1: on the side of our greatest need. which is our
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Speaker 1: spiritual need, that is only met with the gospel of
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Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. If we're not holding to that, believing that,
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Speaker 1: communicating that, sharing that, hoping in that, trusting in that,
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Speaker 1: then we are actually trusting and hoping in the wrong
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Speaker 1: kingdom and one that will not abide. That your trust
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Speaker 1: be in Christ. If you learn anything from Joseph... Learn that.
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Speaker 1: His political success happened in spite of his obedience or
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Speaker 1: disobedience to man. Let that be said of us. Would
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Speaker 1: you bow with me?