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Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (2-8-1998 Guisborough Evangelical Church)
We noticed last time that
Joseph’s character was enlarged during times of adversity. Amid his troubles,
he was busy and active in God’s service. This needs to be seen against the
background of God’s sovereignty. Time and again in this story we see divine
overruling of men’s lives to achieve His purposes. The treatment of the
brothers, being sold into slavery, imprisonment, meeting the butler and baker,
promotion to Prime Minister, saving his family from starvation, were the
outworking of the divine plan. God sent me to preserve life (Genesis
45:5). God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20). God permitted or ordained
all that happened to Joseph.
Here is the great truth of
God’s sovereignty and rule in the affairs of men to accomplish His purposes in
history. The same truth applies in the lives of believers. Salvation is no
accident. It is the outworking of an eternal plan. For he chose us in him
before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight (Ephesians
1:4). For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
likeness of his Son (Romans 8:29).
The sovereignty of God is seen
in history and in salvation. He is central. This fact is very comforting and
strengthening. God is no idle or helpless spectator on events or the world or
individual lives. Yet we still need to have a balanced attitude. We are not
meant to fold our arms and do nothing. Men are responsible for their own
actions, and accountable to God. God is in control, but it is man’s
responsibility to trust Him, walk in His way, believe on His Son, consecrate
lives to Him, preach the Gospel and pray. We may find it difficult to reconcile
these truths in our minds – they appear contradictory - but they are both in
the Bible. One the one hand, God is King, ordering and controlling. Yet everyone
is responsible for the choices they make and actions they pursue. It is a
mystery we cannot solve, but we must hold both together and teach both.
So with Joseph. God was in control, but Joseph was responsible to live a life pleasing to Him and responding to His guidance. We find three very important aspects of the believer’s life in Genesis 40 and 41. The believer must learn patience in adversity, must consecrate his gifts to the Lord’s service, and maintain an attitude of humility before God.
Joseph was a prisoner for 13 years – he was 17 when we
first hear of him in Genesis 37, and he was 30 when he became Prime Minister
(Genesis 41:46). During those 13 years, many times he must have been tempted to
give way to despair - the hatred of his brothers, and the way they got rid of
him, the false accusations of Potiphar’s wife which landed him in prison. Then
just when there was hope of a better day and release, he was forgotten by the
butler (Genesis 40:14), and stayed in prison two more years. That prison would
have been an awful place, with over-crowding, the stench, darkness, clanking of
chains every time he moved. He must have been tempted to think those dreams he
had as a lad, of him being honoured and bowed to, were just illusions. He must
have been tempted to think that his refusal to be seduced by Potiphar’s wife,
his refusal to sin against God, was misjudged, for look where it had got him.
What was the point in believing in God, doing what was right, keeping a clear
conscience, when he just ended up in an awful prison with no prospect of
release? Where was God in all this? What of His love, power, promises and care?
But God’s purposes were being
worked out. The service Joseph rendered in jail was preparing him for greater
service when he became Prime Minister of Egypt. The integrity, hard work and
sympathy he showed laid the foundation for wider sphere later on, though he did
not know it at the time. When we are faithful in small things, then we are fit
for service in a wider sphere.
The way Joseph’s path crossed
the butler and the baker was all part of God’s plan for Joseph meeting Pharaoh
– even if the butler had a lapse of memory for two years. So Joseph’s
character was being shaped and moulded, and without realizing it, his work was
being advanced and he was being prepared for greater things. The years spent as
a slave and a prisoner were not wasted, but were a vital element in his training
and testing. He learned in these years patience in adversity.
It takes time for character to
be shaped. God’s purposes are brought to maturity in His time, and prayers are
answered in His time. Patience is not easy to exercise, especially when weeks
become months and months become years. The trouble is God’s clock is not
synchronized with ours – it is usually far too slow for us. Take courage: Can
a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she
has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! (Isaiah 49:15). Be
still before the Lord and wait patiently for him (Psalm 37:7).
Do you feel you are in a prison, with four walls hemming you in? Frustrated? Losing patience? Do not avenge yourself. Do not take matters into your own hands. Do not act like a man of the world. Take your case to a higher court. Lay the matter before the Lord. Wait His time. Rest in the Lord. Wait patiently for Him. I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry (Psalm 40:1). He will remain faithful (2 Timothy 2:13). He is working His purpose out. If we take care of our relationship with the Lord, He will take care of our interests and life and work. God’s way is wisest, His time is best, and His grace is sufficient.
During his years in prison, Joseph did not waste his time
as he waited for the next step in God’s plan. In Potiphar’s house Joseph’s
gifts had been recognized and he was made overseer of the household. Everything
in the house and field prospered with Joseph in charge. In prison the keeper
committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisons. The keeper did not have to
supervise him, and as before everything prospered under Joseph.
The butler and baker were put in
Joseph’s care. God raises up friends in unlikely places. After their dreams,
Joseph sympathetically enquired why they were so sad. He was a good listener,
and he put it into practice. Then, in dependence on God, he gave an accurate
interpretation of their dreams. These small things were preparing him for a
great future when he would interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, and be Prime Minister
in charge of harvesting, storing and distributing grain. He proved himself
faithful in small matters, and therefore suitable to undertake greater
responsibilities.
Whatever your hand finds to
do, do it with all your might (Ecclesiastes 9:10). When a person belongs to
God, every part of their life is affected, including their intellectual life. It
has an enlarging effect. The Spirit of God does cleanse and refine our mental as
well as moral facilities, whereas sin just dulls them. The Spirit imparts
clearness, mental perception, balance and far-sightedness. He does not add
faculties and skills and abilities that were not there in the first place, but
increases their capacity and improves our gifts.
There are undoubtedly changes in the personality when the Holy Spirit has unrestrained access to the personality. The peace which the Holy Spirit brings affects looks, voice, expression, touch, carriage, though the one changed is rarely conscious of it. Though mental faculties are the same, there is a marked development of natural gifts because of a new motivation which is very powerful. We discover endowments we did not know we possessed. And all our faculties are developed to their highest normal pitch. The brain is sharper, our logic is keener, our will is steadier, and our imagination is fired. From the shallow comes an intense desire to study. The superficial become deeper. The hasty becomes more careful. The lazy have new energy. The civil engineer becomes more accurate; the lawyer more thorough; the businessman more sharp; the student has a better grasp of his studies. Man was created to be animated and dominated by the Holy Spirit. A machine works best when under the inventor’s direction. It is true that there are many non-Christians who are skilful and accurate, the best in their business, but less than they would be if they were under the sway of the Holy Spirit. [Some of this paragraph comes from S.D.Gordon’s Quiet Talks on Power, but it is unclear which parts are direct quotation.]
Joseph made remarkable
achievements. The capacity he showed, the skill in his work, the ability to
interpret dreams – they could have gone to his head, but instead he was quick
to acknowledge, even before heathen idolaters, that these gifts came from God.
He told the butler and the baker, Do not interpretations belong to God? (Genesis
40:8), and he told Pharaoh, "I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh
the answer he desires." (Genesis 41:16). The reason the dream was
given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God,
and God will do it soon (Genesis 41:32). As a result, Pharaoh recognised
that the Spirit of God possessed Joseph: "Can we find anyone like this
man, one in whom is the spirit of God?" (Genesis 41:38).
God was the source, and Joseph
was only the channel. Joseph maintained this habit of depending on God and
deflecting glory to God, even after his dramatic rise to power. From jail he was
catapulted into the position of Prime Minister. He oversaw Pharaoh’s
household, wore Pharaoh’s signet ring, fine clothing, gold chain, rode in the
second chariot, had utter reverence shown to him, and was given a wife from an
important family. Still it did not go to Joseph’s head. He named one of his
sons Manasseh because it means, “God has made me forget my toil” (Genesis
41:51), and the other son Ephraim because it means “God has caused me to be
fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Genesis 41:52).
Amidst the power and wealth and
station, Joseph still maintained a humble dependence on God. And this is a
challenge to us. Sadly, many are like King Uzziah. He sought God…. As long
as he sought the Lord, God gave him success… But after Uzziah became powerful,
his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God (2
Chronicles 26:5,16). It is easy to forget God when we get to the top, and forget
that we have nothing that we did not receive from Him in the first place. We
have no grounds to glory in ourselves.
The Lord confides in those who fear him (Psalm 25:14). He makes their lives strong, sweet and blessed. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Psalm 16:8,11). The essence of true Bible humility (which is a key element in true usefulness to God) is having God at the centre of life instead of self. Fruitful Christian service is costly in time and energy, but especially because self, pride, self-glory and self-interest must be cast down in the dust so that God can be everything. God owes us nothing. We owe Him everything.
We have a glorious picture of God in the grand sweep of His purposes and work in a man’s soul and character. The challenge comes to Christians to yield selves without reserve to God. We rob ourselves of so much by going so far with God and no further. Only when we are completely consecrated to Him do we find true life. A grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die before it can be fruitful. Wait patiently for the Lord. His clocks keep perfect time. Open your eyes and see the hand of God in everything. Life is meaningful and glorious. Keep God in the foremost place. Live in Him and live for Him.
