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Alrighty, if you've got a Bible, we'll be in the 41st chapter of the book of Genesis.

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And the title would be "Looking for a Savior."

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Some people are looking for a Savior and they don't even know it.

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They're looking for something.

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Maybe a better job or a nicer house or a better good-looking, or a better wife or husband.

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But really, the bottom line is the only one that can truly satisfy your soul is the one who created you

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and knows you better even than you know yourself.

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And so, I was impressed with the fast and pray thing.

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I'd heard it a few, maybe a week or so back, and then got an encouragement from a sister to see if we wanted to do it.

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And I think it's just something to be doing in these times in which we live,

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especially after the freak show on Thursday night.

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And it was a freak show.

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So, we're in trouble.

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I mean, I agree with what Lindsey Graham said.

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He said, "We can't have another one of these because the world cannot see the condition of our administration."

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And so, I'm sure the enemies of America are licking their chops right now.

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So, we definitely need to be praying for our Commander-in-Chief that he would do what is best for his country.

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And maybe even have an influence on the whole world.

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So, pretty crazy times we live in.

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But exciting, amen?

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Jesus is coming, right?

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And He's coming soon and very soon.

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And so, we're going to see the King, as the old song says.

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So, let's pray and we'll get it right into this chapter.

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There's 53 verses. I'm going to try to get through them all.

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Lord, we love You. We love Your Word that speaks to us.

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It gives us direction and it gives us power for our lives, Lord.

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It gives us wisdom in knowing what to do, Lord, especially in these days in which we live.

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And so, as we commit this month to just seeking You and spending some time fasting and in prayer,

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Lord, I pray that by Your Spirit, You would truly direct us, Lord.

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That we would hear, Lord.

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And Lord, that You would hear us as we humble ourselves before You, realizing that we all need to be forgiven, Lord.

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That we've sinned and fallen short of Your glory.

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So, would You wash us clean as we confess our sin.

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And that You would lead us in the way everlasting, Lord.

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And God, that You would stir up a hunger in our hearts as men and women who claim You as Lord.

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To get into Your Word and to be in it and to be instant in season and out of season, Lord.

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And write it upon the pages of our heart, Lord, that we might not sin against You, Lord.

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So, we just pray that You would bless this time now in Jesus' holy name.

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Amen. Amen.

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So, looking at Joseph and his life track, and it hasn't been easy to say the least.

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And yet, God is on the move and God is doing things.

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And I just want to encourage you today, if you're going through it, if you're going through hard things,

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the Lord's not going to waste it. I promise you, He won't waste it.

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He's going to use it. He's going to use it for His glory.

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He's going to use it in your life.

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But it's all predicated upon those who love Him, right?

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That He works everything together for good for those who love Him.

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And so, just find yourself loving the Lord and seeking Him and let the chips fall where they may.

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And so, I'm just going to start here in chapter 41, verse 1.

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We're going to read the first eight verses.

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And it says, "Then it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream.

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Behold, he stood by the river, and suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows,

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fine-looking and fat, and they fed in the meadow.

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And behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt,

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and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river.

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And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine-looking cows."

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Bovine carnivores.

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"So Pharaoh awoke. He slept and dreamed a second time.

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And suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good.

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Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.

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And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads.

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And so Pharaoh awoke, and indeed it was a dream.

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Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled,

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and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men.

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And Pharaoh told them the dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh."

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So this sounds like one of those bad pizza dreams.

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And no doubt he probably just shook the first one off,

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but goes back to sleep, and here it comes again in a little different form.

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And so he's extremely troubled.

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It's been some time, two full years it says,

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since the butler was restored and the baker was killed.

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And so Joseph has actually had to wait here, two full years.

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You remember his last request to the butler, right?

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"Hey, remember, right? Remember me when you're free,

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and maybe tell someone that has some clout.

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You have Pharaoh's ear, maybe you could help me out here."

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And so a lot of lessons come, and a lot of answers to prayer, right?

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Somebody have rightly said there's three answers to prayer.

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Yes, no, and wait. Right?

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We love yes to our prayers.

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No is not always good in our thinking, but God can see the future.

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So if he says no, he means no.

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The wait is the tough one, right?

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Because who wants to wait? Really?

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We live in a fast world. I want it, and I want it now.

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I want a faster phone. I want it faster. I want a faster car.

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I want a faster horse.

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But so he has to wait these two full years.

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Many lessons come from waiting,

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and sometimes the good that we do seems to be unrewarded, no doubt.

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Joseph maybe looks back over his life and thinks, "Wow, all this stuff.

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My brother's chucking me in the pit, and Potiphar's wife throwing me under the bus,

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and doing this jail time, and it's been 13 years.

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It's been 13 years of hard things, and he's wondering,

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"I'm wondering, is my life, does it mean anything?"

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Do you ever wonder that? Does your life mean anything?

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I can guarantee your life means something, right?

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It means something to some people, maybe a lot of people,

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and whether we like it or not, we're leading people.

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I don't care who you are.

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I used to get in this conversation with the kids at the school all the time.

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The third graders are following the fourth graders, right?

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The first graders are following the second graders.

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The kindergartners are following the first graders, right?

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And they used to always tell me, the kids would always tell me,

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"Well, I don't want to lead." I said, "I'm sorry."

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Whether you don't want to lead or not, you're leading,

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and when you lead them awry, then you have to deal with me, right?

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And so it is with us. When we lead people awry,

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we're going to have to deal with the God of heaven.

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God says, "I put these people in your life. How did you lead them?

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Did you lead them to me? Did you?"

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I went and had dinner with one of my sons last night and talking to him,

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and he's an adult now. He's a man.

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And he was telling me how I just didn't get things when I was younger.

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I didn't get it. I get it now.

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I'm going, "Ka-ching! Thank you, Jesus, that you didn't have to kill him."

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Or worse yet, that I killed him, because believe me, there were times.

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But it just takes time.

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Sometimes we're just in a holding pattern.

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I feel like we're in a holding pattern now, don't you?

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We're waiting and waiting and waiting.

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It's a common theme in the Christian life, waiting, right?

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Isaiah, you know that song? We sing that song.

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Everybody knows Isaiah 31. "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.

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They shall mount up with wings like eagles.

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They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint."

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Joseph's in that place, and he's going to mount up in a big way.

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In Acts 1, verse 4, Jesus told the disciples, he says,

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"And being assembled together with them, he," Jesus, "commanded them

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not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father,

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which he said, 'You have heard of me.'"

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Go, remember? They had to go wait.

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Now, they didn't have to wait, no two years, ten days.

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Ten days they were in the upper room. Some think they were really fearful.

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What was going on there? And here comes the Holy Spirit.

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So, waiting is good. Being patient with what God's doing is a good thing.

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Why? Because his timing is perfect.

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God's timing, I don't know if you recognize that, but his timing is perfect.

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And so, I don't get too wadded up about things,

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because I know that God is going to do what he's going to do, with me or without me.

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And, you know, the Bible encourages us, "Don't be like the horse that lurches ahead,

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or be like the mule that lags back, but let the Lord guide you with his eye."

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Just have a ready ear, and wait.

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And he will bring everything to pass that needs to be according to his will,

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and not our own.

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God often appoints us to wait much longer than we would like.

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Right? God appoints our stops and our starts in life.

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You had those things that just brought you to a screeching halt?

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One of those life-changing events?

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And as I look out across this room, I see several faces where you've had life-changing events.

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It's changed your life radically, these things that happen.

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And yet, as you look back at those things that happen, that have changed your life,

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you realize that God was with you.

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Though at the time, you probably identified with David,

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which I think Joseph, many times throughout the last 13 years, probably had,

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where it says in Psalm 13, 1-2, "How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever?

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How long will you hide your face from me?

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How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?

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How long will my enemy be exalted over me?"

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Ever feel like that? "How much longer?"

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I was thinking that Thursday night. "Oh, Lord, how much longer this craziness, right?

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This insanity that seems to be going on in our country."

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Or we identify with the saints in Revelation 6, right?

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And I think that we might be closer to these guys, because this appears to be in the future.

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Maybe this is going to be our cry in the future.

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And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true,

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until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

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How long?

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God's hand was in this, and so when the time was right,

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the butler knew exactly where to find Joseph.

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If he had been released earlier, who knows what would have happened,

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if Joseph would have been let out of prison.

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So, verse 9, it says, right?

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The waiting is over for Joseph.

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"But when the butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying,

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'I remember my faults this day, when Pharaoh was angry with his servants

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and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard,

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both me and the chief baker, we each had a dream in one night,

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he and I, each one of us dreamed according to the interpretations of his own dream.

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Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there,

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a servant of the captain of the guard, and we told him,

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and he interpreted our dreams for us, to each man he interpreted according to his own dream.

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And it came to pass, just as he interpreted it for us,

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so what happened, he restored me to my office, and he hanged him.'"

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And he goes on, he says, "Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph,

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and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon,

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and he shaved and changed his clothing and came to Pharaoh.

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And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I have had a dream,

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and there is no one who can interpret it,

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but I have heard it said that you can understand a dream to interpret it.'

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So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, 'It is not in me.

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God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.'"

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And so his time has come. The waiting is over.

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And so that appointed time was when God gave Pharaoh a dream.

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God can control our dreams. Do you believe that?

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I sometimes wonder, because I don't know about you,

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you wake up in a panic going, "Oh, God, thank you, that was a dream."

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Right? You know, you've had those dreams.

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Am I the only one? I've done some wicked things in my dreams.

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So wicked. I've killed people, I've committed adultery,

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I've abused children, I've...

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Maybe they deserved it, I don't know.

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I've done some wild things in my dreams. And then you wake up, "Ah."

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I don't believe we're necessarily accountable for our dreams,

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but sometimes a dream can be a warning.

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I believe the dream here of Pharaoh was God-inspired.

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It was God's timing that he put this dream in Pharaoh's mind.

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And Pharaoh, excuse me, did I say Harrow?

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I'm slipping. I am slipping.

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Harrow's what you drag in your pasture.

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So God puts this dream in Pharaoh's mind,

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and he's troubled, and he's seeking an interpretation,

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and he can't do it.

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And so all of a sudden the butler, "I've got it!"

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Right? Notice, it's interesting what happened here,

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how this all came about.

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Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying,

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"I remember my faults this day."

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And all of a sudden, when you remember your sin,

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and you're convicted by it, and you're burdened by it,

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you have to do one of two things.

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Either have to ignore it, or you have to act on it.

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And I think as we get older, too,

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we are more aware of this fallen nature of ours

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and our corruption in our own heart

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and how desperately we've fallen as we get older.

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But he remembered his faults this day.

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The faults actually, literally, can be interpreted sin.

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He remembered his sin, and what did he do?

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He felt guilty. Why? He'd forgot.

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He had forgot Joseph. Joseph had asked him,

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"Don't forget me! What'd he do?"

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He forgot him. Kind of like us, you know?

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When you hear somebody's trouble,

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and you go, "Well, I'll pray for you."

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And then you never pray for them.

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Is that wicked? That's wicked.

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I love what Greg Laurie does.

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Greg Laurie says, "When I tell him I pray for him,

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"I turn around as I'm walking away, I'm praying for him."

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Right? So I'm just making sure I'm praying for him.

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Because how terrible! I mean, you're such a liar!

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We're such liars!

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"Oh, I'll pray for you." And then it slips your mind!

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Out of sight, out of mind.

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Or not on the phone, out of mind. You forget.

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And so he's burdened by his own sin.

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And I think, many times,

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coming to church brings that out.

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You come to church and you hear something read

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out of the Word of God, and you're like,

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it's like a fiery dart that goes right into your heart,

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and you go, "Oh! That hurts! I'm convicted!"

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You really, conviction's good. Do you understand that?

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It's good for us to be convicted.

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I'm convicted all the time. I was convicted this morning.

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I was convicted last night.

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In fact, I got approached at this wedding by a guy

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that me and him had had some of this going on.

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And he was thanking me,

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because I had approached him before we parted ways,

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and saying that, "Hey, I'm praying for you. I love you.

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"You're a good man." Though we disagreed on quite a few things.

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And he come to me and he says,

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"You know, I have to talk to you now."

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He says, "I'm really convicted too."

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I said, "I was too." So we had a little conviction party.

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You know, we kissed and made up.

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It was glorious.

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So it's really good when the Lord convicts you, please act on it.

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Just humble yourself. Whatever He wants you to do.

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He might have you go to somebody and talk to them,

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and say, "Man, I've just been convicted,

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"and I don't feel right about this, and I want to be right with you."

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And it's never easy, but it's always--

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most of the time it's fruitful when you humble yourself and do that.

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So if you're convicted today,

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like it tells us in Hebrews 3 and 4,

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it says it several times about the nation of Israel.

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Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your heart.

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The Lord's talking to you about something.

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Don't harden your heart.

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Don't put it behind you.

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Keep it out in front of you and deal with it.

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Because that was all about entering His rest.

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When the Lord brings something to mind,

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and you don't deal with it, and your heart becomes hard,

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you're not going to enter Him to His rest.

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I'm not totally saying you're not saved,

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but you're going to be tormented

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because you didn't yield to the conviction that God brought your way.

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Because of his sin, this guy remembers his encounter with Joseph.

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It was pretty impressive, wasn't it?

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I mean, he was spot on when he interpreted those two guys' dreams.

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And so his encounter with Joseph was not just to deliver him.

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As you look back on this, this is pretty impressive.

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His encounter with Joseph was not to just deliver him from Pharaoh's hand

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and restore him to Pharaoh, but it was to lead Pharaoh to Joseph.

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A type of Jesus.

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That when you and I have an encounter with Jesus,

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it's not just to deliver us from the condemnation that we deserve.

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It's not just to lift the burden off of your heart and my heart of our own sin.

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I don't know if you remember, I remember at nine years old crying out to Jesus,

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and it was like somebody picked this half a ton pack off my back.

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Now I don't know how wicked I was at nine, probably pretty.

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But I was forgiven.

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It wasn't just for me.

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It was for others.

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It isn't just for you when the Lord delivers you,

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or you have this encounter with the God of heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Right? It was to lead him, lead Pharaoh to Joseph, and also to lead others.

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And it's for us to lead others to him. Right?

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That we would lead others, that others would see our lives and be provoked.

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Right? Paul said that he would love to see the Jews provoked to know and to love God.

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And so in verse 13, he tells Pharaoh, right,

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that this guy, this Joseph, told us exactly what was to happen.

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So Pharaoh was excited to have his dream told to him,

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and here comes Joseph before Pharaoh.

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And I think of that verse in Proverbs that says,

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"Do you see a man who excels in his work?"

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And as we look at Joseph's life, he excelled in everything he did. Right?

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He excelled in his father's house. He excelled in Potiphar's house.

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He excelled in the jail.

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It says, "You see a man who excels in his work.

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He will stand before kings. He will not stand before unknown men."

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And that's Joseph.

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And so in verse 16, Pharaoh's excited, saying,

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"This guy's going to interpret, but Joseph gives credit where credit is due." Right?

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"God will tell you an answer," notice, "of peace."

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An answer of peace, that word can also be translated "completeness."

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God is going to completely give you an answer of what you saw in your dream.

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No more worries.

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If you go back to verse 8, it says that Pharaoh's spirit was troubled.

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He was extremely troubled after he had seen the second part of the dream,

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realizing that it had significance.

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And I usually tell people that, you know, in dreams,

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it's not that God doesn't--God primarily speaks to us from His Word.

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I think we established that last week.

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But there may be times in these days in which we live where you may have a recurring dream.

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And sometimes maybe the Lord is speaking to you.

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So it's not that we ignore all of them, but we sift all of them through God's Word.

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And so his spirit being very troubled,

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he comes before Pharaoh and tells him that God is going to give him the interpretation

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that kind of has rumblings of what Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar.

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Verse 17, "Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank.'"

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In fact, I'm not going to read that because I'm going to run out of time if I don't get through this.

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So from verses 17 through 24, he reiterates the dream to Joseph.

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And then in verse 25, it says, "Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, 'The dreams of Pharaoh are one.

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God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.

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The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years.

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The dreams are one.

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And the seven thin and ugly cows came up after them are seven years,

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and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine.

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This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh.

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God has shown Pharaoh that he is about to, what he is about to do.

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Indeed, seven years of great plenty will come through all the land of Egypt,

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but after them seven years of famine will arise,

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and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will deplete the land.

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And so the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following,

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for it will be very severe.

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And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice,

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because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.'"

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And so Joseph interprets and tells him what's going to happen.

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As he listens to Pharaoh, describes these dreams,

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and he tells him that it's established.

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"It was a serious matter, for God had shown the ruler of Egypt

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what he planned to do for the next 14 years."

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Wouldn't it be cool if the Lord just said,

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"Okay, this is what's going to happen in the next 14 years."

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Right? Are you ready?

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I don't know. Sounds scary, right?

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The first seven sound good, right?

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And so...

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The dream is a two-fold witness, the reason God did it in twos, right?

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00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:58,000
2 Corinthians 13, verse 1 says, "By the mouth of two or three witnesses,

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let every word be established."

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00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,000
God gave him the two dreams.

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That's why in the law, you were never condemned on one witness account.

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It had to be two witnesses against you, two or three to condemn you.

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And so Pharaoh is on the hook for responding to this dream,

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because it came by way of two dreams,

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witnessing to him what God was going to do over the next 14 years.

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Now that he knew God's plan, Pharaoh was obligated

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to do what God wanted him to do.

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Knowing this, Joseph went beyond giving the interpretation

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and making suggestions to Pharaoh.

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And this took a great deal of faith and courage,

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but the Lord was using Joseph and Pharaoh accepted his suggestions.

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And those are found, his suggestions are found there in verse 33,

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where it says, "Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man

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and set him over the land of Egypt.

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Let Pharaoh do this and let him appoint officers over the land

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to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years

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and let them gather all the good of those good years

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that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh

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and let them keep food in the cities.

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Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine,

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which shall be in the land of Egypt and that the land may not perish during the famine."

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00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,000
And so then he gives him some instruction.

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He said, "Hey, you should just set some aside.

403
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,000
We know that seven years of plenty bumper crops is coming."

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00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:51,000
I was looking at the land of Egypt there and their growing seasons are pretty incredible.

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They could possibly get two, even more crops a year there in Egypt.

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00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:03,000
And because they knew this, I'm sure their planting and harvesting program

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00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:08,000
was pretty aggressive, wouldn't you think, if you knew that?

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00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,000
If you knew that they were going to shut pumps off

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00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:13,000
and you weren't going to be able to water anything?

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That was funny.

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[laughter]

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Everybody's saying, "No, it's not."

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[laughter]

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00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,000
You would be pretty aggressive, right?

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00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:32,000
Get everything you can because hard times are coming.

416
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,000
It reminds me of my grandparents.

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They lived through the Great Depression.

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My grandma was born in '12 and my grandpa was born in '13.

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And they were born in the Midwest.

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They knew what the Dust Bowl was all about.

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They saw it with their own eyes.

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And they almost became hoarders.

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My other grandma, when we got in her basement after she died,

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she kept every plastic bag she had ever gotten in her life.

425
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:05,000
You never know when you might need these.

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00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:07,000
And for good reason.

427
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:10,000
When they migrated over here from Oklahoma to Idaho,

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00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,000
they had a flat tire in Wyoming.

429
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:17,000
My grandpa walked across the street from the gas station

430
00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,000
where they were broke down because the guy goes,

431
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:23,000
"There ain't no tires here, boy. Don't you know there's a war going on?"

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He worked for a farmer for two weeks until some tires came in.

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And he could get his tire changed and come on to Idaho.

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00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:36,000
That was in the late '30s, early '40s.

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00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,000
For good reason.

436
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:44,000
I'm sure these guys were pretty serious about putting things aside.

437
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:49,000
And Joseph offered his wisdom.

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00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:55,000
It just seems to be so spot on, so perfect from the Lord.

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00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:59,000
And so, three things.

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First, he tells Pharaoh that he must appoint an intelligent, wise man

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00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,000
to oversee the land and its harvest.

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00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:10,000
Secondly, that he must give this man several commissioners

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00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:15,000
who would cover different parts of the land

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and take one-fifth of each harvest for Pharaoh.

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00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:22,000
Notice it was under Pharaoh's authority for the next seven years.

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And thirdly, all this food must be put in storage to use

447
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:32,000
when the years of famine arrived.

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00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,000
And we know that this happened.

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00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:40,000
And I remember hearing my grandpa's brothers talking about

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00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:42,000
when they came out here, and they came out here and checked it out

451
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,000
after the Dust Bowl.

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00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:47,000
They said, "We got to move to Idaho."

453
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:50,000
And they were writing letters back and forth.

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00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,000
So they were here for a while, right?

455
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:54,000
And they go, "We got to move to Idaho."

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00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,000
Because in Idaho, they don't have Dust Bowls.

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00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:02,000
In Idaho, they divert the water out of the rivers and irrigate.

458
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:03,000
Right?

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00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,000
Because where they were all from, it was all dry farm.

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00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:12,000
And they'd had some pretty hideous crop seasons.

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00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:16,000
And so, man, they were so excited to come to Idaho

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00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:21,000
and actually be able to, at will, put water on their crops.

463
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:26,000
And so, this Joseph seems to just have this wisdom.

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And he gives this instruction to Pharaoh.

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00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,000
And then in verse 37, it says,

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"So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh

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00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,000
and in the eyes of all his servants.

468
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:39,000
And Pharaoh said to his servants,

469
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,000
'Can we find such a one as this,

470
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:48,000
a man in whom is the Spirit of God?'"

471
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:53,000
Wouldn't that be an awesome thing to be accused of?

472
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:58,000
Here's a man who has the Spirit of God.

473
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:01,000
I believe there's a lot of men in this room that have the Spirit of God.

474
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:05,000
I also believe there's several men in this room that don't have the Spirit of God.

475
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,000
You want it?

476
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:11,000
You should want it.

477
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:14,000
And so, Pharaoh's recognizing, this guy's giving us this instruction,

478
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:20,000
but it's almost like he's the only one qualified to do what he's instructing us to do.

479
00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:23,000
So, verse 39 says, "Then Pharaoh said to Joseph,

480
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:27,000
'Inasmuch as God has shown you all this,

481
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,000
there is no one as discerning and wise as you.

482
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,000
You shall be over my house,

483
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,000
and all my people shall be ruled according to your word.

484
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,000
Only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.'

485
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:49,000
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.'"

486
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,000
Wow.

487
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:58,000
Talk about climbing to the top on steroids.

488
00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:03,000
This is the first mention in the Bible here, in verse 37,

489
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:08,000
where it says, "Of the Holy Spirit coming upon a man."

490
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:14,000
It is interesting to note that it was in regard to more practical things.

491
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:19,000
Joseph didn't have to preach a sermon or lead a prayer

492
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:25,000
for Pharaoh to see the Spirit of God upon him.

493
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:29,000
And I think this right here is a great argument

494
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:34,000
for Christians getting involved in the whole political realm.

495
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,000
Do we like it? No.

496
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:38,000
It stinks.

497
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:42,000
In fact, the one dude, I'm not even going to say his name,

498
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,000
the one dude at the debate the other night says,

499
00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,000
"I shouldn't have to be here.

500
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,000
I wanted you to be a good president.

501
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,000
But now I feel like I have to be here.

502
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:54,000
I just want to be at one of my places, kicking back,

503
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:58,000
you know, with a little umbrella in his cup,

504
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:04,000
taking it easy."

505
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:07,000
Because if there were more men and more women

506
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:11,000
with the Spirit of God upon them in our leadership,

507
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:16,000
in our cities, in our counties, in our states,

508
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,000
we wouldn't be in the pickle we're in.

509
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:23,000
I don't think we would be in the mess that we're in.

510
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:27,000
And it's interesting, the word "spirit" is there as "ruach,"

511
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:30,000
and it means "wind."

512
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:33,000
And so it was on him, and he could see it.

513
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:36,000
Pharaoh could see it in his character, in his message,

514
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:40,000
in his knowledge, in his wisdom, and in his family.

515
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,000
The presence and power of the Holy Spirit can be seen

516
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:48,000
in very practical ways in our character, in our humility,

517
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:53,000
in our ability to just have the answer for what's right.

518
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:55,000
And that's what Jesus said, right?

519
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:57,000
When you come before people, you don't have to rehearse

520
00:36:57,000 --> 00:36:59,000
what you're going to say.

521
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,000
I'm going to fill your mouth when you're filled

522
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:03,000
with the Holy Spirit.

523
00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:06,000
And maybe you feel like you need that today.

524
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:07,000
I know I do.

525
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:09,000
I want to be filled with God's Holy Spirit,

526
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:17,000
and I want to know what to do in the times in which we live.

527
00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:24,000
And so Pharaoh starts transferring all this authority, right?

528
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:28,000
He says, "Only in regard to the throne

529
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:30,000
will I be greater than you."

530
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:33,000
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you

531
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:37,000
over all the land of Egypt."

532
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:40,000
As we go through this comparing, I don't know

533
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,000
if there's a greater comparison in all of Scripture

534
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:49,000
than Joseph to Jesus, right?

535
00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:53,000
You know, this is the third time he changed garments.

536
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:56,000
And you remember the robe that they put on Jesus?

537
00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:58,000
There's symbolisms there.

538
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,000
I won't go into it.

539
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:04,000
But this, with the authority, Jesus said of himself

540
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:08,000
in Matthew 28, "All authority has been given to me

541
00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:13,000
in heaven and on earth."

542
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:18,000
Joseph is a type of Jesus.

543
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:21,000
And so he goes on there in verse 42,

544
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:24,000
"Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand

545
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,000
and put it on Joseph's hand, and he clothed him

546
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:32,000
in garments of linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

547
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:38,000
And he had him ride in the second chariot, which he had,

548
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:43,000
and he cried out before them, 'Bow the knee!'

549
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:47,000
So he set him over all the land of Egypt.

550
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:51,000
And Pharaoh also said to Joseph, 'I am Pharaoh,

551
00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:56,000
and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot

552
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,000
in all the land of Egypt.'

553
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:03,000
And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath, Penaiah,

554
00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:09,000
and he gave him a wife, Asenath, and the daughter of Potipharah,

555
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:10,000
a priest of Aon.

556
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:15,000
So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt."

557
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:21,000
And so here he is from the dungeon to the throne, right?

558
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,000
Don't we all like stories like that?

559
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:26,000
We love rags to riches stories, you know.

560
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:28,000
And years ago, I remember when I was a kid,

561
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:33,000
I watched the movie "The Jerk."

562
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:36,000
I think that was rags to riches to rags.

563
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:40,000
It's Steve Martin, so go figure, pretty weird.

564
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:46,000
But the types of Jesus here are powerful, right?

565
00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:48,000
"I am the vine, you are the branches.

566
00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:52,000
He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit.

567
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,000
For without me you can do nothing."

568
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:57,000
And that's exactly what Pharaoh says of Joseph here, right?

569
00:39:57,000 --> 00:40:01,000
"Without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot at all."

570
00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:06,000
They can't do anything.

571
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:08,000
Jesus says, "Without me you can do nothing."

572
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:11,000
Then he receives a name.

573
00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:14,000
There's all kinds of conjecture of what this means,

574
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,000
but most believe that it means,

575
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:22,000
Zaphnath means God speak, and Paneah means he lives.

576
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:25,000
God speaks and he lives.

577
00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:29,000
And then he receives a Gentile bride.

578
00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:31,000
What does Jesus receive?

579
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:32,000
A Gentile bride.

580
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:34,000
God tells us in the Old Testament,

581
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:40,000
"And I will give you the Gentiles as your inheritance."

582
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:41,000
Incredible.

583
00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:45,000
As you read through this, and as you read through God's word,

584
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:46,000
and I think I've shared it before,

585
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:48,000
and I'll share it over and over again.

586
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:53,000
As you read through God's word, you're always thinking Jesus.

587
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:54,000
Jesus.

588
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:57,000
Jesus is on every page.

589
00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:03,000
This Bible is themed with a person.

590
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:04,000
Chuck Mischel used to say,

591
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:09,000
"In the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed.

592
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:16,000
In the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed."

593
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:18,000
And so many people go,

594
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:23,000
"Well, I don't understand the Bible, so I don't read it."

595
00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:26,000
If you don't consistently read God's word,

596
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:32,000
please just hear this.

597
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,000
If you don't consistently read God's word,

598
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:38,000
you are lost.

599
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:41,000
I don't mean lost from salvation.

600
00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:46,000
I mean you are lost in your way in how to navigate this life.

601
00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:50,000
Because it is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart.

602
00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:52,000
It directs your path.

603
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:54,000
You hide it in your heart,

604
00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:59,000
and you have a heightened sensitivity to what sin is.

605
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:03,000
You don't, you become dull.

606
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:05,000
That's why it's so important.

607
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:08,000
It's so important to read this, to dig,

608
00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:14,000
because there's treasures here that will change your life forever.

609
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:18,000
And the truth, just the truth,

610
00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:22,000
looking at comparing Joseph's life to the life of Jesus,

611
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:23,000
super powerful.

612
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:24,000
Verse 46,

613
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:29,000
"Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh."

614
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:33,000
Remember somebody else that started their ministry at 30?

615
00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:35,000
"He stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

616
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:37,000
And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh

617
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:40,000
and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

618
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,000
Now in the seven plentiful years,

619
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:44,000
the ground brought forth abundantly.

620
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:47,000
And so he gathered up all the food of the seven years

621
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:49,000
which were in the land of Egypt

622
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:51,000
and laid up the food in the cities.

623
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:54,000
He laid up in every city the food of the fields

624
00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:55,000
which surrounded them.

625
00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:58,000
And Joseph gathered very much grain

626
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:01,000
as the sand of the sea

627
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:07,000
until he stopped counting for it was immeasurable.

628
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:10,000
And to Joseph were born two sons

629
00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:12,000
before the years of famine came,

630
00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:16,000
whom Osaneth, the daughter of Potiphar,

631
00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:18,000
priest of on, bore to him.

632
00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:22,000
Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh

633
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:25,000
for God had made me forget all my toil

634
00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:26,000
and all my father's house.

635
00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:29,000
And the name of the second he called Ephraim

636
00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:31,000
for God caused me to be fruitful

637
00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:35,000
in the land of my affliction."

638
00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:37,000
And so he's doing the work of the Lord.

639
00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:39,000
He's married a woman.

640
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:43,000
He's having babies.

641
00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:47,000
He had been through the refiner's fire for 13 years.

642
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:50,000
And all of a sudden he finds himself at the throne.

643
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:56,000
And before the seven years of plenty were over,

644
00:43:56,000 --> 00:44:02,000
he has two boys.

645
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:05,000
Jesus had truly, excuse me, Joseph,

646
00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:09,000
Joseph had truly become the bread of life

647
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:12,000
to the whole world.

648
00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:14,000
Didn't Jesus say that about himself?

649
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:18,000
I am the bread.

650
00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:22,000
And so it pictures him here.

651
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:25,000
The boys were born,

652
00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:27,000
the first one he names him Manasseh

653
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:32,000
for God has made me forget all his toil.

654
00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:33,000
It's interesting.

655
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:35,000
He did not give Egyptian names,

656
00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:38,000
but Hebrew names.

657
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:43,000
He didn't forget where he from come.

658
00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:45,000
Isn't that important?

659
00:44:45,000 --> 00:44:48,000
Don't forget where you've come from.

660
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:52,000
Don't forget what God has delivered you from.

661
00:44:52,000 --> 00:44:54,000
He doesn't forget.

662
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:56,000
In fact, he names his boy Manasseh.

663
00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:58,000
And we see Manasseh later,

664
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:00,000
he's got both sides of the Jordan.

665
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:03,000
And then the next one is named Ephraim.

666
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:04,000
Notice what his name means.

667
00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:08,000
It means fruitful.

668
00:45:08,000 --> 00:45:11,000
Ephraim was the biggest tribe,

669
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:17,000
the biggest tribe of Israel was Ephraim.

670
00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:22,000
All these things God seems to fulfill.

671
00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:25,000
Names mean something, numbers mean something.

672
00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:32,000
It's all significant.

673
00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:37,000
So he's remembering his Hebrew roots.

674
00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:42,000
And obviously the God of his father, Jacob.

675
00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:44,000
The God of his grandfather, Isaac.

676
00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:50,000
The God of his great grandfather, Abraham.

677
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:51,000
Verse 53, it says,

678
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:53,000
"Then the seven years of plenty,

679
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:56,000
which were in the land,"

680
00:45:56,000 --> 00:46:00,000
good things always come to an end,

681
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:03,000
"ended, and the seven years of famine began to come,

682
00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:04,000
as Joseph had said,

683
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:06,000
and the famine was in all the lands.

684
00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:09,000
But in all the land of Egypt, there was bread.

685
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:12,000
So when all the land of Egypt was famished,

686
00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:14,000
the people cried to Pharaoh for bread.

687
00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:17,000
And then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians,

688
00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:22,000
'Go to Joseph, whatever he says to you, do.'"

689
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:23,000
Ring a bell.

690
00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:25,000
"The famine was over all the face of the earth,

691
00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:27,000
and Joseph opened all the storehouses

692
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:29,000
and sold to the Egyptians.

693
00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:31,000
And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt,

694
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:35,000
so all the countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain,

695
00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:41,000
because the famine was severe in all the lands."

696
00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:44,000
Last couple things pointing to Jesus here

697
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:50,000
as we close up today.

698
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:54,000
"So they came to the king, he sends them to Joseph,

699
00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:59,000
and he says, 'Whatever he says to you, do it.'"

700
00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:01,000
Whatever he says.

701
00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:05,000
Remember John chapter 2, when Jesus is at the wedding,

702
00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:07,000
Mary comes to him, his mom.

703
00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:10,000
"Hey, they ran out of wine."

704
00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:12,000
And Jesus goes, "Whoa, whoa, what's up?

705
00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:14,000
My time's not yet."

706
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:17,000
"Though he honors his mama, a question came to me this week,

707
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:21,000
why did Jesus make wine?"

708
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:28,000
"'Cause his mama wanted him to.'"

709
00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:31,000
And he told the servants, remember what she told the servants,

710
00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:34,000
"Hey, whatever this guy says to you, do it."

711
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:37,000
"Can I tell you, whatever Jesus says to you,

712
00:47:37,000 --> 00:47:40,000
would you just do it? Just do it."

713
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:42,000
He might be telling you to repent.

714
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:43,000
He might be telling you to move.

715
00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:46,000
He might be telling you to go this way or that way.

716
00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:50,000
Whatever he says to you, do it.

717
00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:56,000
You'll never go wrong letting the Lord direct and lead your life.

718
00:47:56,000 --> 00:48:02,000
So then this famine comes, and it's horrendous, this famine.

719
00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:06,000
And so all of Egypt has to come to Joseph to get food.

720
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:10,000
Not only that, but all the surrounding countries have to come.

721
00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:20,000
Joseph truly becomes the savior of the whole world.

722
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:26,000
Where it says in 1 John that Jesus just didn't come

723
00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:29,000
to die for my sins and your sins,

724
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:33,000
but the sins of the whole world.

725
00:48:33,000 --> 00:48:44,000
Jesus came to save Egyptian, Hebrew, and every Gentile in the world.

726
00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:48,000
Jews and Gentiles alike.

727
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:55,000
And so I guess with that last verse is kind of where I want to just end today.

728
00:48:55,000 --> 00:49:00,000
Is we must be willing to do whatever God tells us to do.

729
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:02,000
And so people are asking me all the time,

730
00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:03,000
"Well, what's God telling you to do?"

731
00:49:03,000 --> 00:49:05,000
I don't know.

732
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:08,000
But when he tells me to do something in my past,

733
00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:10,000
he's always been really clear.

734
00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:13,000
Because I'm too thick-headed, right?

735
00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:16,000
He has to make it really clear.

736
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:21,000
And so when he says it, I get this, I don't know what it is.

737
00:49:21,000 --> 00:49:26,000
It's an angst in my spirit, and he won't let me not do it.

738
00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:30,000
And so that's what I pray for you.

739
00:49:30,000 --> 00:49:33,000
Maybe you need some angst.

740
00:49:33,000 --> 00:49:36,000
Maybe I need some angst.

741
00:49:36,000 --> 00:49:39,000
And have the Spirit of the Lord come upon me and move me

742
00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:42,000
in a way that would fulfill his will,

743
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:46,000
that the world would be fed the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

744
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:47,000
Amen?

745
00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:50,000
The Savior truly came.

746
00:49:50,000 --> 00:49:53,000
Though they didn't even know they was looking for one.

747
00:49:53,000 --> 00:49:54,000
Right?

748
00:49:54,000 --> 00:49:57,000
Maybe today you don't even know what you were looking for.

749
00:49:57,000 --> 00:50:00,000
You don't even know why you're sitting maybe in this room.

750
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:02,000
Just know that God loves you.

751
00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:05,000
He's got a plan for your life.

752
00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:07,000
You just have to do what he says.

753
00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:10,000
And it's his way, it's not our way.

754
00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:12,000
People want to come to God on their own terms.

755
00:50:12,000 --> 00:50:15,000
God doesn't work that way.

756
00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:18,000
Jesus told us in the beginning of his ministry,

757
00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:20,000
and John the Baptist did as well,

758
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:26,000
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

759
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:28,000
Just do what he says. Let's pray.

760
00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:33,000
Father, thank you so much for telling us what to do.

761
00:50:33,000 --> 00:50:37,000
Lord, we've got your word that it encourages us,

762
00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:43,000
and Lord, it directs our steps.

763
00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:46,000
It even tells us whether we're thinking right.

764
00:50:46,000 --> 00:50:50,000
And so, Lord, I just ask that you would move on us, Lord,

765
00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:52,000
in these times in which we live.

766
00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:55,000
We truly need you leading us.

767
00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:59,000
You at the helm, the one who has all the sustenance

768
00:50:59,000 --> 00:51:02,000
that everyone in this room needs.

769
00:51:02,000 --> 00:51:07,000
We've got storehouses, Lord, that never run dry.

770
00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:09,000
And so, Lord, we just praise you for that.

771
00:51:09,000 --> 00:51:12,000
I want to find myself in the center of your will.

772
00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:15,000
I know that's the heart of many here today, Lord.

773
00:51:15,000 --> 00:51:17,000
So would you move?

774
00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:22,000
Would you show us, Lord, in these last days

775
00:51:22,000 --> 00:51:24,000
in which we're living, Lord?

776
00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:29,000
There just seems to be an urgency to share the gospel, Lord,

777
00:51:29,000 --> 00:51:32,000
the good news with the world around us

778
00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:37,000
that is so full of darkness and bad news, Lord.

779
00:51:37,000 --> 00:51:40,000
And you've given us all the resources.

780
00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:46,000
So may we be those who distribute, just as we see in this man, Joseph's life, Lord,

781
00:51:46,000 --> 00:51:51,000
was willing to give food to those who would come to him, Lord.

782
00:51:51,000 --> 00:51:53,000
And so you're going to put people in our lives this week

783
00:51:53,000 --> 00:51:55,000
that need to hear this truth,

784
00:51:55,000 --> 00:51:59,000
that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, Lord,

785
00:51:59,000 --> 00:52:05,000
and that not just this sinner, but all sinners who would say yes to you.

786
00:52:05,000 --> 00:52:09,000
So, Lord, would you just motivate us, Lord,

787
00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:15,000
and, Lord, that you would activate us as well, Lord, get us moving,

788
00:52:15,000 --> 00:52:19,000
that we would be salt and light in these days.

789
00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:21,000
In Jesus' name, amen.

790
00:52:21,000 --> 00:52:23,000
All righty, let's all stand.