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Joseph - God's Wise Preparation to Save the World – DR. Warren Wiersbe Sermon | Tamil Christian Sound Doctrine Resources-King of King's Christ Jesus Vision Inscribed InTouch | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Joseph - God's Wise Preparation to Save the World – DR. Warren Wiersbe Sermon
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we open the Word of God to 150 Vande I'm
beginning at verse 16 and we'll read
through verse 23 Psalm 105 verses 16
through 23 speaking about our Lord
moreover he called for a famine upon the
land that's of course the land of Egypt
he broke the whole staff of bread he
sent a man before them that man happened
to be 17 years old when God sent him
even Joseph who was sold for a servant
whose feet they hurt with fetters he
would laid in iron until the time that
his word came the word of the Lord
tested him the king sent and loosed him
even the ruler of the people and let him
go free he made him Lord of his house
and ruler of all his substance to bind
his Prince's at his pleasure and to
teach his elders wisdom Israel also came
into Egypt and Jacob sojourned in the
land of ham and so the psalmist gives us
8 verses to tell us the story of Joseph
in the book of Genesis Moses took 419
verses to tell us the story of Joseph
Joseph is one of the greatest and most
famous prisoners of all history I once
had to testify at a child custody
hearing it so happened that the father
in the case had been in prison
but had gotten saved I believe genuinely
born-again he was doing his utmost with
the Lord's help to live a good life and
I recall sitting on that witness stand
and the attorney on the other side
looked at me and said Reverend do you
believe that you could trust a man who
was a prisoner and no one told me you're
and I said will sir many great men have
been prisoners now begin to tick them
off John Bunyan and add my room Judson
and Joseph and Jesus and at that point I
heard answer the question and I
understood why Jesus said woe unto you lawyers
now you all know the story of Joseph you
learned it in Sunday school the first 17
years of his life he was a pampered son
his aged father Jacob was ruining the
boy by pampering him separating him from
the rest of his brethren and making him
somebody special
and then his brethren who hated him sold
him as a slave and for 10 years in Egypt
he was a faithful servant and then
because of a lying woman he ended up in
prison for three years and at the age of
30 Joseph was exalted to be the second
ruler of the land now all of this is
wrapped up in these few verses in Psalm
105 but from these verses and from the
life of Joseph we can learn at least
four if not more but at least four very
practical lessons to help us in our own
daily living lesson number one God has
his purposes now Joseph didn't
understand these purposes his brothers
didn't understand them what they did
they did because they were envious of
him Joseph himself later said you meant
it for evil but God meant it for good
Joseph is one man in the Old Testament
who lived in Romans 8:28 and we know
that all things are working together for
good to them that love God to them who
are the called according to his purpose
now God has a number of purposes wrapped
up in the life of Joseph for one thing
he wanted to make a man that's the way
God always operates he chooses a man
chooses a woman and then he works in
that person's life I've been a student
of Christian biography for many years
have some old five or six hundred
volumes of Christian biography in my
library and I've noticed this when God
wants to do
a work he called the worker and then God
works on the worker and having worked on
the worker he gets him or her where that
person ought to be then comes the work
and so God has his purposes his first
purpose was to build a man had Joseph
been left in the hands of his pampering
father Jacob Joseph would have ended up
without it much character without much
ministry humanly speaking and so God had
to arrange a rather devious way a rather
circuitous way to get Joseph out from
leadership and put him where life was
difficult God wanted to make a man it's
rather interesting that when the story
comes to an end
Joseph stands there the greatest type of
Jesus Christ anywhere in the Old
Testament Joseph was a beautiful picture
of our Lord Jesus that's what Romans
8:28 and 29 are all about who are called
according to his purpose now what is his
purpose that we might be conformed to
the image of his son and so God has his
purposes and his first purpose is to
build our lives
you see when difficulties come and they
do when there are trials and problems
family problems economic problem job
problems when difficulties come they
will either be weapons to beat us down
or tools to build us up so God has his
purposes and his first purpose was to
build the man his second purpose was to
build a nation you see Israel was made
up of Jacob and his sons and their
families it was kind of a motley crew of
people there were there were inter inter fan
fan
Emily Fighting's you've never had that
experience but they did there were
difficulties and God was looking at
those people and saying I want to build
a nation out of you know how do you do it
it
well you write a constitution you elect
some officers no one day he had to pick
up that family took 70 people and moved
him down to Egypt and for some time they
prospered and then they were persecuted
and God sent a man before them Joseph
that that nation might be built in the
land of Egypt had it not been for Joseph
there would not have been the nation of
Israel and got hit a third purpose he
built a man who helped to build a nation
and through that nation God could save a
world that's what Israel is all about to
begin with when you read the book of
Genesis as you find all of the Gentiles
falling to pieces those of us who are
not of Jewish ancestry have to hang our
heads in shame when we read the book of
Genesis because God started off with
Gentiles Gentiles made a mess of things
God wiped everything clean started off
again and then men began to rebel
against God they built that the Tower of
Babel and God said we can't have this
and he scattered everybody they said
we're gonna make a name for ourselves
that sounds just like the Gentiles and
then God calls Abraham and God says to
Abraham I'm gonna make a great name for
you this crowd back here wanted to make
a great name for themselves but Abraham
I'm gonna make your name great and
through you all of the nations of the
earth are going to be blessed and so God
called Abraham and then Isaac and then
Jacob and now 70 people now a nation and
through this nation Jesus was born God
has his purposes now God has his
purposes for my
for your life he wants to build a person
spirituality courage faithfulness
honesty dependability he wants to build
a person then having built that person
he wants to reach out and save a world
God has his purposes and so you and I
never have to look up to heaven and say
father are you sure you know what you're
doing you didn't consult with me on this
I didn't fill out any application forms
for this place I'm in and the father
looks down and says well you know what I
made the whole universe without your help
help
I didn't have to call any consultation
with you I know what I'm doing God has
his purposes you say even when my own
brethren give me trouble yes even when
people lie about me yeah
even when I'm going through prison yes
God has his purposes that's the first
lesson now the second lesson that Joseph
teaches us is this God has his methods
I think it's Isaiah the prophet who says
now my ways are not your ways my
thoughts are not your thoughts my
thoughts are much higher than yours my
ways are much more profound than yours
as I read my Bible I discover that that
God doesn't do things the way I would
have done it and it's a good thing I
would have made a mess out of it the
Jewish people cried out and said we're
hungry we need something to eat
and so God very graciously very
generously every morning early sent down
the manna first the dew would arrive to
keep the manna clean
and then the little round wafers of
angel food cake would fall down to feed
the nation of Israel I wouldn't have fed
that bunch of rebels that way I would
have made one huge loaf of bread and
dropped it right in the middle of the
camp but God's ways are not my ways when
God wanted to deliver the people of
Israel from the land of Egypt he said a
baby he had he had a Jewish boy fall in
love with a Jewish girl and and they
said you know we really shouldn't get
married because we have any boy babies
they'll kill him they said let's do
God's will and she did give birth to a
baby I wouldn't have done it that way I
would have brought down an army I would
have fixed him but God has better
methods and God has his methods with
Joseph now now here is a 17 year old boy
who's having dreams not because he ate
too much pizza before he went to bed
Joseph went to bed and the only way God
could talk to people in those days or
one of the few ways was through dreams
and he was dreaming and he saw the
sheaves of his father and his brethren
bow down to his sheaf God was saying
Joseph someday you're gonna be a ruler
and Joseph went and told his brethren
the good news and they frowned and said
this blabbermouth then he had another
dream the Sun the Moon the Stars bowed
down to him that was going too far that
was lifting it to a much higher plane
they said oh no and that's when they
decided they were going to kill him now
Joseph was a dreamer and Joseph was a
young man the Bible says there's nothing
wrong with dreaming Thoreau used to say
and this is one of the few things he
said that's worth remembering
Thoreau said that it's good to build
your castles in the air but put a
foundation under them mr. moody used to
say that
some people are so heavenly minded
they're no earthly good Joseph wasn't
like that Joseph heard from God and God
said Joseph you're gonna be a ruler
you're going to be a ruler I can't do it
I'm Johnny I'm just a young boy
seventeen years old
my father's pampering me you see dreams
without disciplines become nightmares
and God had to translate Joseph's dreams
into reality and he had three methods
that are used for doing it three
disciplines that he used number one was
the discipline of service Joseph wasn't
doing much work at home his father gave
him a very special tailored garment
Shepherd's don't wear special tailored
garments when you're working around with
dirty animals you don't dress as though
you're going to visit the Queen and
Joseph was somewhat pampered and Joseph
was somewhat of a special person and the
first thing God did was make him a
servant you know why you can't become a
ruler until first you're a servant
that's God's principle well done thou
good and faithful servant thou has been
faithful over a few things I'll make
thee ruler over many things and God said
to Joseph I can't trust you on the
throne until I can trust you there in
the pantry I can't trust you with a
scepter in your hand until first I can
trust with a broom in your hand this
principle works all through the Bible
God couldn't make Moses a ruler until
Moses was first a servant Nehemiah was
first a servant than a ruler my Lord
Jesus Christ when he came to this earth
came as a servant and now he is exalted
above every name as the ruler in God's
first method was the discipline of
service if Joseph is going to give
orders he has to learn how to take
orders if Joseph is going to share
honor he has to learn how to accept
humility if Joseph is going to exercise
authority he has to be under authority
when a person exercises Authority but
he's not under Authority he's a dictator
not a ruler the discipline of service
well he passed that he God blessed him
in such a wonderful way that that
Potiphar just gave him everything gave
him all the credit cards all the bank
books everything and Joseph was a
faithful servant
then came discipline number two the
discipline of self-control God permitted
Joseph to be tempted the story of course
is given in Genesis chapter 39 were
Potiphar's wife tempted him day after
day and Joseph could have done like some
young man do he'd say well I'm away from
home and they'll never know what I do he
didn't say that
or he could have said well one when in
Egypt do with the Egyptians do when in
Rome do what the Romans do
he didn't say then he didn't say well we
can do it secretly and nobody will know
you know what he said how can I commit
this sin before God my father's not
watching me he's far away and thinks I'm
dead my brothers aren't watching me they
think I'm dead your husband's not
watching and the police aren't watching
and the place is not bugged but God's
watching and one day she got so
desperate she lunged at him and she got
his coke and he did the smart thing he's
took off his cold and he ran one of the
old Puritan preacher says Joseph lost
his coat but he kept his character Paul
May had been thinking of this when he
wrote to young Timothy flee youthful lusts
the discipline of self-control he made
no provision for the flesh and he passed
that but ended up in jail
Potiphar must have suspected something
was wrong with this story or would have
had him killed
he ended up there where the political
prisoners ended up and he gets in jail
and before long he's the assistant
jailer unofficial of course and down
there in that Egyptian prison they put
him in irons and I can see Joseph he
spent three years as a prisoner I can
just see him during those first months
saying old God what's happened to my
dreams you told me I'd be a ruler here
look what I am I'll never make it now
I'm a prisoner and I've lost my
reputation I've kept my character but
I've lost my reputation I'll never make
it God said no you're gonna make it just
be patient about that time he met the
butler and the Baker remember they had
dreams too and he interpreted those
dreams for them and lo and behold they
came true and you'd think that the the
that the that the butler would have
remembered he did he forgot until
Pharaoh began to dream and then Joseph
was delivered and so there was the
discipline of suffering the discipline
of service the discipline of
self-control the discipline of suffering
God has his methods
now Joseph teaches us a third lesson God
has his times the psalmist says he sent
a man before them god knows what he's doing
doing
whose feet they hurt with fetters he was
laid in iron on till
the time that God's Word came during
that waiting period the word of the Lord
tested him God has his times now we
don't have to go into it but this begins
all the way back with with Abraham back
in Genesis chapter 15 when God spoke to
Abraham he gave Abraham a timetable
he said now your seed are going to go
into a land that's not theirs there's
going to be a period of 400 years
there's going to be suffering and he
said then they're going to come out with
great spoil and great victory for the
iniquity of the ammonites is not yet
full it was God watching God was
watching two things the timing of the
birth of Joseph the timing of the
judgment of the nations in Canaan God in
His grace was giving those people in
Canaan land century after century of
patience withholding his judgment that's
why the Lord Jesus Christ hasn't
returned yet
because God is long-suffering to us-ward
not willing that any should perish but
that all should come to repentance so
God had his time and God looked at the
17-year old lad and said well let's see
seven it's gonna take us thirteen years
to get this job done now if he told
Joseph thirteen years from now you're
going to be a man a man of God and a man
of authority Joseph would have said
thirteen year Wow I'll never make it
well if you had to live a year at a time
you never would make it but it was a day
at a time a day at a time the only way
you can live the only way I can live I
think I've told you about my pastor
friend in northern can
Chucky's whose wife died and the church
graciously hired a lady to come into the
house the past aureum the parsonage and
clean it once a week and one day my
friend was talking to this lady and
saying well how are you today oh she
said brother Munroe
the trouble with life is it so daily but
the more I ponder that the more sense it
makes I'm glad life is daily can't live
two days at a time God has his times and
God works out his schedule a day at a
time and if Joseph is faithful today
he's that much closer to the will of God tomorrow
tomorrow
now the butler it only took three days
for the butler's dream to be fulfilled
the people out in the world there's no
schedule there but for God's people it
takes time God can God can grow
poison-ivy overnight God can grow
mushrooms overnight but when he wants to
build himself a sturdy oak that takes
some time some of you students are gonna
get to a certain point in your
preparation for the ministry when
someone's going to make a big mistake
and tell you how good you are what are
you doing sitting in school you ought to
be out preaching the world needs you
well the world's been waiting a long
time for you to come along and you're
going to be tempted to interrupt God's
preparation for your life don't do it
don't do it
being a good student is as much a
preparation for ministry is ministry now
Joseph could have finagled his way in
and out of things Joseph could have said
Lord you're delaying too long let me get
a hold of this for a while we're always doing
when the elsens and my wife and i went
to africa to minister a couple of years
ago we walked into the guest house there
in nairobi the a.i.m guest house and
there on the bulletin board was a sign I
cannot forget it says lord give me
patience and do it now God has his times
would you think me to be strange if I
told you I don't want to know what's
going to happen next week the jury Dan
Landers the other day I'm I never cease
to marvel at the letter she gets the
lady wrote to her and said I went to a
fortune-teller that's the first dumb
thing second dumb thing was to write and
tell people about it I went to a
fortune-teller and she told me and she
just unraveled a whole long list of
tragedies she said I can't sleep at
night what should I do
and Ann Landers gave her the only sane
answer anybody could give her don't
believe in fortune tellers if that woman
could foretell the future she wouldn't
be collecting 10 bucks a head she'd been
wall street I have to chuckle when I
read in the newspapers about a police
about policemen who arrest fortune
tellers how come they didn't know they
I don't want to know the future I go
along with Joseph Parker we'll wrote
that beautiful hymn that ought to be put
back in our hymn book God holds the key
of all unknown and I'm glad for if some
other held the key or if he trusted it
to me I might be sad you say well I just
can't wait
Joseph waited 13 years God has his
purposes God has his methods and God has
his time there's a fourth lesson God has
his resources what is going to keep us
going while we're waiting I confess to
you and my friends know it my family
knows it I get impatient
I have lost my sanctification on damned
lie and more than one I know where I
want to go and I know what I want to do
and I want to get it done and I think
that's one reason the Lord has me going
all over to and fro upon the earth
because nothing can try your patience
like the airlines God has his resources
now what resources do we draw upon while
God's making us while we're suffering
while we're serving what resources do we
draw up on while we're being tempted
well let's look at them in Psalm 105 he
tells us first of all the Word of God
until the time that his word came the
word of the Lord tested him now Joseph
got his word through dreams I wouldn't
trust that today if I were you every
once well in my travels I meet someone
with a rather
strange look in his eye who says God
speaks to me and dream and I want to
back off and say well God doesn't speak
to me in dreams and God doesn't speak to
me in visions I don't hear voices all I
have to do is just open my Bible when I
opened my Bible God opens his mouth God
talks to me the first resource that
Joseph had was the promise of God while
he was in Potiphar's house serving here
he is scrubbing the floor and the devil
says Joseph Joseph remember those dreams
about being a ruler everybody bowing
down now who's on his knees and Joseph
said God promised that and I'm gonna
believe that even though I can't see it
that's the first resource the promise of
God that's why it's important for you to
read your Bible that's why it's
important to mark the promises of God
that's why it's important to saturate
our souls with the Word of God because
this is our first resource as God is
working in our lives the promise of God
now he had a second resource that's the
presence of God over in Genesis chapter
39 and you can check it out at your
leisure in Genesis chapter 39 over and
over again it says the Lord was with
Joseph Potter far discovered the Lord
was with Joseph they did this to him but
the Lord was with Joseph
I love the Gospel of Matthew I I think
it's probably the favorite gospel in my
own life I know many people like John
that's perfectly alright but I like when
I when I walk into the Gospel of Matthew
it says his name is Emmanuel God with us
out of the Gospel of Matthew it says lo
I am with
always so at the beginning of that book
Emmanuelle God with us at the end of
that book law I'm with you always but
you're leaving I'm with you always
you're going to heaven I'm with you
always when Joseph was on that forced
march with the Ishmaelites going down to
Egypt where he was a slave God was with
him when they were buying the slaves and
Potiphar came along and said I could use
a nice young man in my home God was with
him when he was being tempted with the
kind of temptations that would have made
others to fall God was with him when
they shoved him in prison and put his
feet in irons God was with him
the presence of God there's a third
resource that Joseph had and I think we
need this today the grace of God in his
heart you say what are you where do you
find that you just listen if your
brothers had treated you or your sisters
had treated you the way they treated
Joseph what would you do what would you
do I think I know what I might have done
all the way down to Egypt I'd be saying
to myself those brothers of mine I'll
let him that thinks he stands take heed
lest he fall scrubbing the floor and
cleaning off the the garbage and
everything I wouldn't be here if it
weren't for those brothers of mine but
Joseph didn't have that attitude
Joseph had the beautiful gift of the
grace of God to be able to look at the
past and leave it with God he carried no
malice he did not have any hardness of
heart he had no desire for reeve an and
when he did see his brothers he broke
down and wept he knew he couldn't
forgive them until they were forgivable
that's why he put them through all those
tests but all what a joyful occasion it
was when finally he could say I am
Joseph and they were scared I would have
been scared too here is this man with
all of this Authority all Joseph's had
you see the test of a person's real
character is how he treats those who
have heard him over whom he has
Authority that's a test and when Joseph
saw his brothers the past just flooded
into his heart and mind and the devil
was there the devil said there they are
there they are you've got him now and
God's grace said to Joseph they meant it
for evil but God meant it for good and
that's a beautiful grace what are our
resources as we're going through the
difficulties of life well the promises
of God the Word of God it won't change
the presence of God the grace of God and
especially that marvelous grace of
forgiveness to be able to look back and
say I can see it now you're forgiven
I forgive you we read the Old Testament
in the same ayah wonderful God's doing
things like that today yes he is did you
know that when Jesus comes back and I am
raptured up to heaven with all the rest
of God's people and I I stand before the
Lord Jesus he's not going to be
interested in in how many books I wrote
this right now is the 33rd sermon I've
preached in three weeks there's nothing
to impress him he's going to say to me
all of this you've done all of this
you've been through difficulties
blessings responsibilities what has it
done for your character are you standing
before me more like the Lord Jesus God
is still building people God has his
purposes you don't know them I don't
during World War two when the Blitz in
London became so severe they decided to
evacuate the children and the stories
told of a group of children who were
standing at a railroad station waiting
for the Train and a girl was standing
with her little brother and the little
boy was crying I think I would have been
crying too and she said why are you
crying he said I don't know where we're
going and she put her arm around him and
said well don't cry the King knows that
was right there sometimes when I get to
whimpering and I say Lord I don't know
where I'm going
and the answer comes from heaven the
King knows God has his purposes God has
his methods and God has his time and God
has his resources and knowing that we
can face anything because God will never
fail thank you Father
that there is no prison that can hinder
the working out of your purposes there's
no person who can hinder it there is no
circumstance that is so unchanging or
unchangeable that your purposes will be
thwarted we present ourselves to you Father
Father
you have your purposes work them out in
our lives we are not handing you a
contract to sign we are handing you a
blank piece of paper that we have
already signed you write the contract
fulfill your purposes and use whatever
methods are best for us even if they
hurt for we know that though you may
Father give us patience with your
schedule remind us that your delays are
not denials or defeats and most of all
father help us to drop on the spiritual
resources we have in the Word of God and
prayer and the grace of God and the
presence of God that one day you might
be able to put us
in that place prepared for us and for
which we have been prepared may we not
settle for anything less may we do your
will and enjoy it and fulfill it for
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