1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:03,880 We are thankful for everybody who has made it here this 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:07,160 morning to worship with us today, to worship together as 3 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:11,520 just a few of just believing servants for God. 4 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,600 We're so thankful for each and everyone that is here this 5 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,720 morning. We've been singing about Jesus 6 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,760 and how he helps us and how what he does for us and all the 7 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:25,000 blessings that we have in him. And those are true words, and 8 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,240 we're going to study a little bit about that and how He helps 9 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:31,080 us this morning. If you haven't been with us, 10 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:35,320 I've been going through some sermons on the story of Joseph 11 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,560 in the Old Testament in Genesis. We covered a little bit of his 12 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:45,120 early life before he really came into the picture, and we studied 13 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:48,040 through chapter 37. We're going to skip chapter 38 14 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:49,680 because it really doesn't deal with him much. 15 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,560 And we're going to dive right into chapter 39 of Genesis. 16 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:56,600 So if you want to have your Bibles open at that place, we're 17 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:01,720 just going to be in the 1st 6 verses of chapter 39. 18 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,720 And up to this point, Joseph really has had a fairly decent 19 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:08,040 life. If you want to say. 20 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,960 He was, of course, shown favouritism by his father. 21 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:16,800 He was the object of his father's favourable love, giving 22 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,440 gifts from his father, treated differently than his other 23 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,960 siblings. And at the end of chapter 37, we 24 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:25,440 saw some despicable things happened that his brothers did 25 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:30,480 to him, sold him into slavery and treated him very unkindly, 26 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:32,920 tried to kill him. And at this point, here in 27 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:37,560 chapter 39, we are really introduced to a new chapter in 28 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:41,920 his life. And at this point in his life, 29 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:48,160 Joseph is now experiencing quite the downfall in his life, quite 30 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,800 the change of events, quite the the difference in lifestyle that 31 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,280 he has been used to. And some of our circumstances 32 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,800 have maybe changed in our life, you know, that we may not look 33 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:02,880 very kindly upon, you know, maybe we're going through this 34 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:05,680 hard time, but or we're dealing with this, we're dealing with 35 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:07,400 that. But I can guarantee that none of 36 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,280 us has ever gone through the type of experience of Joseph has 37 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,320 gone through at this moment. Joseph is in the is in the 38 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:18,280 depths of something that he never asked for, never expected. 39 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,360 And without a doubt, the things that he dealt with were 40 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:26,240 distasteful, humiliating and of course, cruel. 41 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:31,960 And it opens this chapter with kind of like an auction of 42 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,880 slaves, if you want to say. And I just kind of pictured in 43 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,280 my mind, you know, maybe a cattle auction is what I have in 44 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:41,480 my mind is an auction of slaves. You know, it's a pretty 45 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:44,920 despicable scene. You know, you have the cow come 46 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:47,400 in, you have a group of people sitting kind of in a tiered 47 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:53,880 seating animal comes in, people nod, wave, say they want to bid 48 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,000 on this animal. And then that's done off to the 49 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:57,760 next one. Just kind of move the cattle 50 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:04,080 through as quickly as possible. And I think that's the picture 51 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,720 here for Joseph. You know, the dreamer is really, 52 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:09,440 he's a dreamer. He's hit a low part in his life. 53 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,880 He's far removed from the security of his family home. 54 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:15,360 He's been placed probably on a platform, maybe, maybe chained 55 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:17,520 to a stump if you want to say or think about it. 56 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,200 You know, he is not in the position that he would like to 57 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,040 be. And here he is, a teenager, 17 58 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:29,680 years old, on the auction block, subjected to maybe 59 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,320 investigations or prodding or, or people asking questions of 60 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:35,360 who is this guy Joseph? What can he offer me? 61 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:36,960 What am I going to get out of him? 62 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,280 What is the purpose of this guy? How can he benefit me? 63 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,800 And I think of Joseph, they're standing as a boy, as a 17 year 64 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:50,120 old, just kind of maybe stripped of his clothes and just 65 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:54,480 thinking, how did I end up at this spot in my life? 66 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:59,800 How did I get here? Humiliating and I hope it to try 67 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,160 to help us understand the pain and the confusion that he 68 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:07,080 understood and or he was experiencing happening to him in 69 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:09,800 the course of these events. Of course, he couldn't 70 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:11,440 understand what was being said to him. 71 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:13,800 He was in Egypt now. He didn't understand the 72 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:15,560 language. He couldn't figure out what 73 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:17,600 people asking of him. He couldn't figure out what was 74 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:19,360 being said of him. Maybe good, maybe bad. 75 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,000 He didn't know, had no clue what was being said. 76 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,040 So maybe he just kind of looked at the eyes, looked at people's 77 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:26,800 body language. Maybe he was trying to figure 78 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,440 out, is this going to be the guy that maybe gets me? 79 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:33,240 Is he going to be the one that finally bids high enough for me 80 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,160 to serve him? You're not understanding what's 81 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,240 going on there and trying to figure out. 82 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:43,440 And then the ordeal would have been over and would have been 83 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:47,560 escorted probably by some kind of guard, if you want to say, 84 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:51,520 and into the servant ship of this man called Potiphar that 85 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:56,120 were introduced to here. And Potiphar, we're told here in 86 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:58,040 the verse, was the captain of the guard. 87 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:03,240 And if we want to put that in today's terms, he was basically 88 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,440 the commander of the US Army. If you want to say he was the 89 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:11,840 top dog before Pharaoh. He was in control of everything 90 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:16,120 that happened before it got to Pharaoh's table. 91 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,200 If you want to say, Potiphar was a very powerful man. 92 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,120 He was an officer of Pharaoh and a captain of the guard. 93 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:28,040 You know, those who may be sought to be an insurrectionist 94 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,400 to Pharaoh, they would have to deal with Potiphar at that 95 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,920 point. My understanding is, is he 96 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,480 basically had the last word before it got to before it got 97 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,040 to the Pharaoh of Egypt. So very powerful man. 98 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,040 He was a powerful man. He probably had the potential 99 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:48,240 potential to be cruel, but he was able to maybe subdue that 100 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,200 and control it to. He was very in control of his 101 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:54,960 own feelings, of his own power, and he didn't abuse it, from 102 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,200 what we're understanding. So it's underestimated to say 103 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:02,600 that the circumstances in which Joseph found himself are less 104 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:06,760 than ideal. And I want to say that there is 105 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:12,000 no ideal place to serve God except for the place that God 106 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:16,280 has put us. Exactly where we're at is the 107 00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:19,400 exact place that we are to serve God regardless of our 108 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:21,840 circumstances of life, regardless of where we're at. 109 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:26,640 So years later when his father was reflect, reflecting upon the 110 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,240 circumstances of Joseph, his life, and we see in Genesis 111 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:34,280 chapter 4923, Jacob was reflecting on what all had 112 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:36,040 happened. He says with bitterness. 113 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:39,840 Archers attacked him. They shot at him with hostility. 114 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,600 It's a very graphic picture that Jacob mentions about Joseph, of 115 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,360 how vulnerable Joseph was at that time. 116 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,120 Basically given the picture of, you know, Joseph was in a 117 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:52,360 position where Archers were basically shooting at him or 118 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,080 taking potshots at him, you know, as best as they could, 119 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:00,000 leaving him exposed and alone, disappointed, fearful, kind of 120 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:01,360 wondering what was going to happen. 121 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,800 And we discover here again and on oftenly, we discover 122 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:12,520 frequently in the Bible, an essential, a vital simple truth 123 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:15,720 that has something to say in which our lives with with our 124 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:17,440 lives this morning that we're experiencing. 125 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:24,080 And that is there's no ideal place to serve God except the 126 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:29,720 place that we are at. There's no ideal job, there's no 127 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:32,200 ideal location, there's no ideal office. 128 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:36,280 And those who may be constantly searching for the perfect, for 129 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:41,600 the, for the ideal place, for the ideal situation, you know, 130 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:45,000 that's only left for one place. That perfect place is heaven. 131 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:47,920 That's the only place that we're going to find perfection. 132 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,840 And here we discover again the essential truth that for Joseph, 133 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:57,080 his situation was not ideal. And yet he would have had all 134 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:00,560 kinds of emotions. Maybe the emotions he wanted to 135 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:04,920 run away, to hide, maybe to be problematic to his servants, 136 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,520 maybe to just fight everything that was in front of him there 137 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:12,080 in Egypt. And somehow another God, as we 138 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:15,240 will see, takes him through the valleys as well as over the 139 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:20,000 mountaintops during his life. The psalmist responding to 140 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,600 similar circumstances in his life and Psalm 11/1 says to 141 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:28,120 himself, he says in the Lord, I take refuge. 142 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:32,240 Then how then can you say to me flee like a bird to the 143 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:36,120 mountain? You know, maybe we've had a bad 144 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:39,559 week. Maybe we've had terrible week to 145 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,480 where we're thinking, you know, man, it's been such a heavy week 146 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:45,760 at the office or whatever we're doing. 147 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:48,120 Man, I just I can't wait to get to the weekend to. 148 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:49,640 I need to get up to the mountains. 149 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:51,240 I need to get out and some fresh air. 150 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:52,920 I need to get to the beach. I want to get on the golf 151 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:54,680 course. I need I need that little bit of 152 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:59,640 break from the heavy week. If I could only get to that 153 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:02,360 place. And while all these things may 154 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:05,600 be temporary and soothing to us, in the matter of fact is the 155 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:11,400 psalmist says in the Lord, I take my refuge in the Lord. 156 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:17,560 That's where the refuge is AT. And then he says, how can you 157 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:20,040 say to me flee like a bird to the mountain? 158 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:24,040 You know, we can go to those places, we can flee to those 159 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:26,800 locations, we can go there. But the problem is we take 160 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:30,640 ourselves and I don't know about you, but I'm my biggest problem 161 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,720 most the time. So when we create our own 162 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:38,880 problems, we want to get away, but we take ourselves with us. 163 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:46,800 We can flee to those places and we still have ourselves, you 164 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:51,480 know, not our circumstances, not our colleagues, not our bosses, 165 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:54,880 not our, not our, you know, anybody else that we're 166 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:56,360 associated with. Those aren't the problems. 167 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:58,280 We are our own problem most of the time. 168 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:02,640 And Joseph looks at his environment and we look at his 169 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,640 environment and we look at our own, and we might find ourselves 170 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:07,760 saying, you know, I never signed up for this. 171 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:11,120 This is what's happened to me. I didn't ask for this situation. 172 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:15,200 I didn't ask for this problem. I never would have thought he 173 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,560 would ever become like this. And presumably that's a little 174 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:22,320 of how Joseph was feeling. So I want to work through these 175 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:27,440 first few verses of chapter 39. I want to notice 4 things about 176 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,840 Joseph. Joseph, number one was 177 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,480 protected. He was protected by God's 178 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:35,360 presence in all, of course, of this. 179 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:40,160 The protecting hand of God was upon him in a very, very 180 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,560 remarkable way. We saw last time in a way which 181 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:45,520 we was, he was almost dead. He was in a pit. 182 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:47,040 His brothers were trying to kill him. 183 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:49,600 Then he got out of the pit, but then, you know, find himself on 184 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:53,880 his way, chained, going to Egypt to be sold as a slave, but he's 185 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:56,520 still alive. He's been protected. 186 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:01,800 Now, He hasn't been protected from the circumstances. 187 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:07,000 However, He has been protected in the circumstances. 188 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,400 And that's a big difference. And so often we make it sad, 189 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,040 make it a sad thing for ourselves by asking God 190 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,560 constantly to change the circumstances, remove the 191 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:20,040 circumstances, remove this from us, get it, get it out of my 192 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,600 life. When in fact, most of the time 193 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:26,760 God seems to do with His children is that he doesn't 194 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:31,440 change the circumstances for us, but most of the time he changes 195 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:33,600 our attitude toward the circumstances. 196 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:39,760 And when we start to pray for somebody who maybe is a Burr 197 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:42,880 under our saddle, if you want to say for somebody who just gets 198 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:45,360 on our nerves, we start to pray for that person. 199 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:48,920 Or or when we start to be kind to one who maybe has been a 200 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:52,440 disappointment in the past, we start changing our attitude 201 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:54,880 towards the way the circumstances are. 202 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:58,000 We're finding ourselves making that change. 203 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:02,840 You know, God could have done things very differently in the 204 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:08,320 life of Joseph, but God allowed these events to happen and God 205 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:11,280 purpose that it would be through many dangers, toils and snares 206 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:14,080 that he would bring his servant in order that he may fashion him 207 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:16,080 and deal with the blemishes in his character. 208 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:19,320 God deals with our blemishes and our character. 209 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:22,080 And I think he was maybe dealing with a potential pride here in 210 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,080 in Joseph's because Joseph could have been a could have been a 211 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,840 proud person. He could have pride dealing with 212 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:30,480 that thing. I think God was kind of dealing 213 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:34,040 with that. So we find Joseph protective 214 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,440 first of all, by God's presence. He's protected by the presence 215 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:41,360 of God. Joseph left his earthly father 216 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:45,480 back in Canaan, but his heavenly father accompanied him to Egypt. 217 00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:49,080 His presence with him was a source of his protection. 218 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,280 I think Joseph would have been happy with the words of Psalmist 219 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:56,840 says, and I just want to quote a few for you, few for you. 220 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,280 We can turn them if you want. I'll put them up here on the 221 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:00,880 board. Psalms 99. 222 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:05,120 It says the Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in 223 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:07,760 times of trouble. Those who know your name will 224 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:13,120 trust in you, for you Lord, have never forsaken those who seek 225 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:17,000 you. Psalms 27 five says, For in the 226 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,240 day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling, He will 227 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,000 hide me in the shelter of his Tabernacle, and set me on high 228 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:29,160 rock. Chapter 46 verse one says, God 229 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,520 is our refuge and our strength and ever present help in 230 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:36,840 trouble. Psalm 138, verse 7, Though I 231 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:40,360 walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. 232 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:45,560 And sometimes when we're going through our days, when we find 233 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:50,520 ourselves disappointed, maybe unslaved, enslaved or or broken, 234 00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:53,040 I am unable to change the circumstances that we're in. 235 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,840 We do ourselves a very good justice to go to the book of 236 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,760 Psalms and read some of the what the psalmist says about his 237 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,120 situations. It's kind of a kind of an 238 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,480 uplifting scriptures that we can read in the Psalms. 239 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:10,760 It's a very good thing to do In the book of Exodus, when Moses 240 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:14,200 was talking to God about the prospect of leading the the 241 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,960 children of Israel, Moses was afraid. 242 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:21,360 He was fearful to do so. He was not happy about the 243 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:23,320 situation, about leading all these people. 244 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:29,280 And it says in Exodus 32 or 33, beginning in verse 12, Moses 245 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:33,160 said to the Lord, See, you say to me, bring up these this 246 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:36,120 people, but you have not let me know whom you're going to send 247 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,320 with me yet. You have said, I know you by 248 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:42,040 name, and you have also found favor in my sight. 249 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:44,720 Now, therefore I have found favor in your sight. 250 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:48,440 Please show me now your ways that I may know, that I may know 251 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:50,640 you in order to find favor in your sight. 252 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:54,120 Consider too that this nation is your people. 253 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:58,000 And he said, my presence will go with you and I will give you 254 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,520 rest. Moses was afraid. 255 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:02,240 He didn't want to do this on his own. 256 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:06,680 He didn't want to go try to lead people on his own. 257 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:08,600 He was asking for some help. You're going to give me some 258 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:10,840 help, right, God? God says, no, you're going to go 259 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:12,160 ahead and do it. I'll be with you. 260 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:14,840 And look at how Moses replies in verse 15 here. 261 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:20,200 And he said to him, if your presence will not go with me, do 262 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:23,320 not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I 263 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:27,320 have found favor in your sight, I and your people, is it not? 264 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:31,440 You're going with us so that we are distinct, I and your people 265 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:33,840 from every other people on the face of this earth. 266 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:40,520 In other words, it was the accompanying presence of God in 267 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:44,400 the life of a servant that made the servant distinctive and 268 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:50,280 identifiable and purposeful. It was not ultimately the 269 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:55,960 servants ability to articulate theology or it's not ultimately 270 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:59,720 our ability pronounced certain things about the way the world 271 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:02,320 works and all that stuff. No, it's it's the presence of 272 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,880 God in our lives that help us, helps us to do so. 273 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:09,840 In some strange way. It becomes apparent to people 274 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:15,920 that there is a an effect on the life of a child of God in which 275 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:22,800 is evident that God is with us in some way, some way that maybe 276 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:28,840 we can't explain, maybe we're not able to explain and we get 277 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,160 the same thing. God speaks through his servant, 278 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,680 the prophet. In Isaiah 43 verse two, he says 279 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:37,840 when you pass through the waters, I will be with you. 280 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:44,080 Matthew 28 and verse 20, the words of Jesus telling his 281 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:46,920 disciples, if I'm going to heaven, you're staying here. 282 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:50,520 Jesus says, go into all the world, preach the gospel, making 283 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,280 disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and 284 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:56,960 the Holy Spirit. And as he's telling his 285 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:58,880 disciples, you know, I'm going to leave this place, but you're 286 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:01,360 going to go ahead and do this. I can just imagine the disciples 287 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:03,040 kind of going, well, wait a minute, how are we going to do 288 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:06,560 this without you, Jesus? Maybe their eyes are widening 289 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,680 and widening a little bit and kind of wondering what are we 290 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:14,119 going to do? And Jesus responds to them and 291 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:18,280 says, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the 292 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:21,400 age, protected by God's presence. 293 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:26,400 Secondly, he was protected from the protection of God was not 294 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:29,720 only made clear to him in his presence with him, but was also 295 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:34,160 clear, as we see Joseph was actually protected for some from 296 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:37,960 some certain things. It may not be evident or obvious 297 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,680 here in the text, but I think there's some underlying 298 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:43,320 circumstances here that we can really pull out of the story 299 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:47,240 these first few verses here. And I think we can understand 300 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:51,600 that God protected Joseph from what I would call maybe some 301 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:55,200 silent killers, some silent killers, three of which are 302 00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:00,040 resentment, self pity and bitterness. 303 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:07,600 If there was ever a candidate for any one of these, I think 304 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:12,480 Joseph was a prime candidate. I think he maybe he would have 305 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:15,040 been justified in having one of these characteristics in his 306 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:21,880 life, maybe feeling sorry for himself, being coming resentful 307 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:24,160 to what others had done to him or becoming bitter about the 308 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,840 whole deal. Joseph was a number one 309 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:31,120 candidate for any one of these and in those early days, maybe 310 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:35,240 in under the House of Potiphar, maybe as he was a dreaming, you 311 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,840 know, he was a dreamer. Maybe he would dream of all the 312 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:39,960 things that had happened to him. Maybe he would dream of his 313 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:41,760 father's home, wanted to be back home. 314 00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:44,240 Maybe he was dreaming of the bad things that his brothers did to 315 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,600 him. Maybe nightmares, maybe dreams 316 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,680 of wanting to go back home and having a meal with his family. 317 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,600 Dreams of his dad, no doubt. Maybe dreams of his brother 318 00:18:54,600 --> 00:18:57,400 Benjamin. All these things he would have 319 00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:59,680 dreams about. And then suddenly he would have 320 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:04,280 wake up and realize, hey, I'm still on this imprisonment with 321 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:06,960 Potiphar, not where I want to be. 322 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:13,760 And then maybe in his mind or all the temptations to maybe 323 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:17,520 have resentment or self pity or bitterness. 324 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:22,280 And I think some of us can kind of feel that same situation this 325 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:24,240 morning. Maybe we've maybe that this 326 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:27,160 period in our lives or in the past, you know, we've realized 327 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,520 that the circumstances are not what we like physically. 328 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:34,760 We're not where we want to be. Maybe we've we're unsettled 329 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:36,640 about a medical prognosis that we've had. 330 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:38,000 Maybe we're not happy about that. 331 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,240 Maybe our personal or family relationships are not what we 332 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,120 would like them to be employment wise. 333 00:19:44,120 --> 00:19:45,480 We don't have the job that we want. 334 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:48,720 We're not getting paid what we think we ought to get paid. 335 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,800 And it's though there's these strong temptations maybe in our 336 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,520 life that we just, you know, man, I just don't want to deal 337 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,320 with this anymore. I don't want this job anymore. 338 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:01,000 I'm just sick of the circumstances. 339 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,840 You know, I'm just going to bury myself in self pity. 340 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:05,480 I'm going to be mad about the whole thing. 341 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:07,320 I'm going to be bitter about the whole experience. 342 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,560 Those are temptations that I think all of us have faced or 343 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:16,880 are facing. And what do we do? 344 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:20,440 Well, we need the protection of God, not only the protection 345 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,200 that comes by way of his presence, but also protection 346 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,760 from those things, from those temptations. 347 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,400 And Joseph did not allow himself to become imprisoned by the 348 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,720 walls of bitterness that he very well could have. 349 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:39,560 And in the circumstances that each one of us face, not only to 350 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:43,720 us and of course known to God as well, we need to ask God to 351 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:46,960 enable us that we might not, that we can resolve that we're 352 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:51,240 not going to have these types of feelings no matter what is 353 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:55,240 thrown in front of us. We have to have that resolve 354 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,160 that no matter what, we're going to have a a different spirit of 355 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:01,560 bitterness, self pity and resentment. 356 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:09,400 Ephesians kind of deals with this in Ephesians 4, 29 and 30, 357 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:12,480 where Paul says to the believers there in Ephesus, he says, let 358 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:16,720 no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for 359 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:20,560 necessary of edification that it might, it may impart grace to 360 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:23,080 the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy 361 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:26,560 Spirit by whom you were sealed for in that for the day of 362 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:28,920 redemption. Well, how do we do that? 363 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:31,120 Paul says. He says get rid of all 364 00:21:31,120 --> 00:21:34,120 bitterness, rage, anger, brawling and slander. 365 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:39,000 Just get rid of them. OK, Just as easy as that, Paul. 366 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:45,400 No, not that easy, but just very clear, very straightforward as 367 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,480 that. He said, well, I can't get rid 368 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:49,880 of this thing. Well, it can't. 369 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:53,360 Kind of a scapegoat for us, that word can't. 370 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:55,560 Most of the time it's the word won't. 371 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,160 We won't get rid of it. We, we won't. 372 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:02,040 The problem is that we can't. The problem is that we won't. 373 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,040 And there's never a commandment in the Word of God that we are 374 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:08,120 unable to answer. I can't. 375 00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:11,960 If there's a commandment that God gives, I can't is not an 376 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:17,320 answer. It's always I won't because he 377 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:20,120 never calls us to an action that he does not enable us to 378 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:23,120 complete that action. So if he says get rid of 379 00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:27,680 something, we can absolutely count and be certain that 380 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,720 however he does it, he applies the spirit, spirit in our lives 381 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:35,760 to be able to do so. We are able to overcome whatever 382 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:40,520 God tells us in the scriptures. And so when we live with 383 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:45,560 bitterness, resentment, self pity, usually I or we make that 384 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:50,280 choice for ourselves. It's not that we can't, it's 385 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:55,040 that we won't get rid of them. We cannot lay that charge to God 386 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:00,640 because God enables us to do so. And that's why we wonder of 387 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:02,760 Joseph here. It's so marvellous how he 388 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:04,960 responds. He was protected by God's 389 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:06,680 presence. He was protected from the silent 390 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,880 killers. And he is and protected from for 391 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:14,480 a unique purpose. Because we've seen before that 392 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,080 God is at work in the life of Joseph's planning him, preparing 393 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:21,880 him for something yet to come, preparing him for the future. 394 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:30,680 Somehow or another in his mind, the dreams plus the disasters 395 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,160 were leading somewhere in Joseph's life. 396 00:23:33,680 --> 00:23:36,760 I think maybe he had a little bit of inkling to maybe what 397 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:40,000 Solomon said tells us in Proverbs 3 verses 11 and 12. 398 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,920 It says, my son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be wary 399 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:48,720 of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves as a 400 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:51,160 father, the son, and whom he delights. 401 00:23:53,120 --> 00:23:55,800 I think any parent here can agree that one of the greatest 402 00:23:55,800 --> 00:24:00,720 tragedies is for a parent to not discipline their child because 403 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:05,240 they love them. It is a great responsibility. 404 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:10,320 It is a tough responsibility, but it's out of love. 405 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:15,160 You know, if if one of our kids is is playing in the front yard 406 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,040 young and doesn't know any better and they run into the 407 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:20,480 street, we tell them no, stop. Do not do that. 408 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:23,680 Not because I don't want you to have fun, but because I know the 409 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:29,640 dangers that are out there. That's a great tragedy for for 410 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:31,400 parents to not discipline their children. 411 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,240 You know, when the kids get to maybe teenage life and they know 412 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,480 that whatever they're choosing to do is going to be wrong. 413 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:40,080 And maybe they're thinking, well, if I know this is wrong, 414 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,560 my parents know this is wrong. And my parents don't step in to 415 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:45,720 stop me. Maybe they'll resent the father 416 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:48,560 or the mother in that point, but they're going to respect it at 417 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:56,440 some point in the future. Great responsibility so he was 418 00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:02,000 protected by God's presence. Joseph thirdly was prospered. 419 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,360 He was prospered in verse 2 it says the Lord was with Joseph 420 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:10,160 and he prospered simple clear little phrase. 421 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:15,640 He prospered in less than favorable circumstances. 422 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:19,200 Joseph was discovering that God was caring for him. 423 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:23,600 You know, the Lord could have obviously returned Joseph to 424 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:25,560 back to his home in Canaan with his father. 425 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:27,320 God could have done whatever you want to do God. 426 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:30,360 He could have had Jacob cut a deal with Potiphar and Joseph 427 00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:32,480 could have returned back to his family. 428 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:35,000 There's a number of ways that could have happened, but the 429 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,320 Lord chose not to do that. He chose not to. 430 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:43,440 Joseph had lessons to learn. He had discoveries to make, and 431 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:46,360 there was discoveries that only could be made in the 432 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:48,280 circumstances that Joseph was in. 433 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:53,480 In Egypt. Joseph had lost his coat, as we 434 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,640 mentioned before, but he had not lost his character. 435 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:01,120 And if that's all he had was a coat, then he would be done. 436 00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:03,920 If his coat was his identity, he'd be finished. 437 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:08,600 But Joseph had character. His character was inside that 438 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,400 coat, and his character was being formed. 439 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,120 It was being framed under the watch of Potiphar's control. 440 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:21,160 And somewhere along the line, I would assume, sooner rather than 441 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:25,560 later, that Joseph may have sat down and made a resolve with 442 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,440 himself. I think Joseph maybe just kind 443 00:26:28,440 --> 00:26:31,920 of came to grips with where he was at, where what was out 444 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:34,360 looking for him, and maybe he came to himself. 445 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:37,280 He goes, you know what? I'm going to make the most of 446 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,960 this situation. I'm going to make the most of 447 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:45,360 it. And when we say that to 448 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:49,160 ourselves, I think it's a great day when we save that to 449 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:53,640 ourselves, make the most of it. I think it's a day of 450 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:55,320 liberation. If you want to say a huge 451 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:56,440 turning point in somebody's life. 452 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,840 When we say that, we say, OK, this is where I'm at. 453 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:01,760 This is what I do. These are the these are the the 454 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:04,200 things in front of me. This is the job that I'm at. 455 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,840 This is the face I have. You know, the job that I have. 456 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:09,280 This is what's coming in front of me. 457 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:14,160 I don't have any options. I don't have, I can hardly say 458 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:17,040 any any good things, but guess what? 459 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:18,120 I'm going to make the most of it. 460 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:21,840 I'm going to make the most of it because I think it's right to do 461 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,120 so. And I'm going to make the most 462 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:27,520 of it because I believe this is what God will help me and enable 463 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:35,640 me to do. And so Joseph probably and would 464 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:37,600 have gone against most of what else would probably do when we 465 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:40,200 were in this situation. You know, Joseph didn't speak 466 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,280 Egyptian. He didn't understand what was 467 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:45,520 being said back and forth. Like we mentioned already, he 468 00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:47,640 couldn't answer any questions that may have been asked to him. 469 00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:50,880 He couldn't and be involved in in a conversation with anybody. 470 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:53,040 So maybe he said, you know what, OK, fine. 471 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,240 I'm going to learn Egyptian. I'm going to make the most of 472 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:57,640 it. I'm going to do the best I can 473 00:27:57,640 --> 00:27:59,720 with the situation I have. I'm going to learn how to speak 474 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:01,920 Egyptian. And that's exactly what he did. 475 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,240 And so he says, you know what? This is what I've got. 476 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:09,640 I'm Potiphar's slave. That's who I am. 477 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,120 I used to be Jacob's son. I'm still Jacob's son, but 478 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:15,440 nobody cares. I'm Jacob's son, but I'm going 479 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:18,720 to make the most of it. Everybody knows me. 480 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:20,320 And now only as Potiphar's slave. 481 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:25,560 And although I'm Potiphar's slave, I'm actually God's slave. 482 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:30,080 And since I'm God's slaves serving Potiphar, I'm going to 483 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,600 be the best slave Potiphar ever had. 484 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,080 And I think that's what Joseph resolved in his mind. 485 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:42,160 There's no other way he had that resolve in his mind to do so. 486 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:47,160 Potter's not an ideal boss, not a perfect place. 487 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:49,080 This is not what I was looking for. 488 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:51,920 I didn't ask for any of this. Nothing along the lines of what 489 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:54,120 I was planning, but here I am. I'm going to make the most of 490 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:55,760 it. And the same discipline 491 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:59,920 commitment, when we look at him when he went to go search out 492 00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:02,000 for his brothers, I think he's having that same discipline here 493 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:03,800 and now moving forward as Potiphar Slate. 494 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:08,160 There's a ton, there's a ton of stuff to be learned from this, 495 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,560 just as these few verses that we're studying this morning. 496 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:17,440 It is in the place of most undesirable circumstances, not 497 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:21,240 in protesting the paganism of Egypt, not in resenting the 498 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:26,520 mastership of Potiphar, not in to reorient the whole court 499 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:28,840 culture of which he was leaving or living. 500 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:34,080 None of that was open to him as a potential, you know, he wasn't 501 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:37,520 about to do all those things. The only opportunity he had for 502 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:44,400 himself was to display the glory of God, and the only way for him 503 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,040 to do that was to be a good slave. 504 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:51,720 That was the only way for him to display the goodness of God in 505 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:55,000 his life because that's what he was, He said. 506 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,120 So OK, that's what I'm going to be. 507 00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:59,360 I'm going to be the best slave. I'm going to be diligent, I'm 508 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,440 going to be obedient, I'm going to be industrious, and I'm being 509 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:05,680 conscientious of everything going around me. 510 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:08,960 And if any of us have the responsibility of being an 511 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:13,520 employer, those are 4 qualities that we look for in every single 512 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:19,400 potential applicant. Diligent, obedient, reliable, 513 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:23,400 industrious and conscientious. Those are the people that we can 514 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:25,760 rely on. If there's every time, oh man, 515 00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:27,640 we got to put in some extra hours, you guess what? 516 00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:30,240 I'm going to that guy first because I know he's going to say 517 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:33,120 yes to work extra hours every time. 518 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:36,520 Those are the people that we want working for us. 519 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:41,520 And that's exactly what Potiphar starts to get from Joseph. 520 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:44,840 He starts picking up upon these little characteristics like 521 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:49,480 Joseph has in his life. And you see, all of a sudden 522 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:53,840 Potiphar is recognizing that there's a measure of favor, that 523 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:57,400 there's a measure of favor upon Joseph, and there's a blessing, 524 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:01,760 which is on this young teenage boy, 17 year old boy. 525 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:06,680 And we want to notice that Joseph didn't tell Potiphar that 526 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:10,240 there was a blessing on him. Potiphar saw that there was a 527 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,920 blessing on him. Potiphar saw that there was 528 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,320 something happening. And in verse 3 it says when his 529 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:22,520 master saw that the Lord was with him, when his master saw 530 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:26,200 that the Lord was with him. See, Joseph wasn't going around 531 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:29,720 saying, hey, the Lord's with me. Potiphar, you better be careful. 532 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:34,080 I got the Lord on my side. So watch what you say. 533 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:35,760 Watch what you do, Potiphar, because the Lords are not. 534 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:38,840 No, Joseph did not do that. He didn't have to. 535 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:42,360 That would have been actually insurrection. 536 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:45,840 He probably would have got taken out for saying stuff like that 537 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:49,880 to his boss, to his master. No, he's doing it. 538 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:52,000 What the slave does. He's sweeping, he's mopping, 539 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,960 he's taking out the trash. He's he's doing what needs to be 540 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:56,120 done. Maybe with the animals that 541 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:58,400 Potiphar maybe they had. He's just doing the things that 542 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:03,400 a slave does. And then Potiphar says himself, 543 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:06,400 you know what? There's something about this 544 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,280 guy. There's something about this 545 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:13,880 kid, there's something different maybe he says, you know, I've 546 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:16,520 had a lot of slaves in my life, but nothing like this guy 547 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:18,720 Joseph, Something different about him. 548 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:26,000 I came across these little 4 lines that express it kind of 549 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:30,880 fairly well. It says it isn't the style nor 550 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:35,280 the stuff in the coat, nor is it the length of the tailor's bill. 551 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,680 It's just it's the stuff inside the chap inside the coat that 552 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:44,680 counts for good. Or I'll so you can dress up, you 553 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:46,080 know, if you want to say, OK, let's say this. 554 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:50,160 We dress up like John the Baptist being wearing a big 555 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:53,560 hairy coat, eating locusts and wild honey, trying to grow 556 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:56,600 beard, walk up and down. We can yell roar like a lion. 557 00:32:56,600 --> 00:33:00,160 We can dress up like him without any influence of God coming 558 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:04,960 through us. But we cannot speak like him 559 00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:08,240 without the hand of God or the help of God or the presence of 560 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:15,040 God. And some of us have rely on the 561 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:22,280 outward looks that we have to present a good image of what we 562 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:27,560 think God wants us to be. We rely on the clothes. 563 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:30,000 We rely on the length of the bill if you want to say, as the 564 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:34,240 quote says, and we're missing the fact that it's the man or 565 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:36,360 the woman inside the clothes that matters. 566 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:43,800 Not the outward appearance, not how sharp we can look on a 567 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:47,120 particular day of the week. Do we give our best for God? 568 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:50,800 Absolutely, 100% of the time. But it's the person inside the 569 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:55,600 clothes, whether they look rugged, whether they come in the 570 00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:59,160 back door looking for just a place to sit for a while. 571 00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:01,400 We had a guy come in last week who just wanted to charge his 572 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:02,640 phone for a few minutes. Fine. 573 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:09,600 You know, we're accepting to those people regardless of what 574 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:17,120 they look like, good or bad. And Potiphar was smart enough to 575 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:22,639 pick up that it was somebody, this character of Joseph that 576 00:34:22,639 --> 00:34:25,400 was more important than what he looked like on the outside. 577 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:28,600 So we can ask ourselves this morning, are we making the most 578 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:31,560 of our situations? Are we making the most of it? 579 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,600 Are we making the most of what? Well are we making the most of? 580 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:39,159 Are we making the most of our singleness? 581 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:42,360 If you're single, are you know you weren't probably planning on 582 00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:44,760 being single for as long as you are, but I we understand that. 583 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:47,480 Are you making the most of it? Are you making the most of your 584 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:48,760 job? Are you making the most of your 585 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:50,880 employment? Are you making the most of your 586 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:53,600 schooling? Are you making the most of 587 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:56,960 retirement? Whatever it may be, are you 588 00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:01,120 making the most of it? There's a story told of two 589 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:04,320 grasshoppers which were thrown into a pail of milk. 2 590 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:09,200 grasshoppers and a pail of milk. The first one just gets thrown 591 00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:12,920 in there, sulks in it, ends up drowning. 592 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:19,840 The second grasshopper gets in there, fights like he could his 593 00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:23,200 life depending on it. Keeps kicking and and and moving 594 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:25,520 his legs back and forth and before he knows it he turns the 595 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:27,000 milk into butter and he walks out of there. 596 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:32,360 Are you making the most of it? Two guys in jail behind the same 597 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:33,960 bars. One guy looks out and says, man, 598 00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:34,880 I'm never going to get out of here. 599 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:36,880 I'm never going to see the the light of day anymore. 600 00:35:37,240 --> 00:35:39,720 The other guy says, man, I can't wait to get out so I can sleep 601 00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:43,640 under these stars one more time. Your glass half empty or is it 602 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:46,560 half full? Are you making the most of your 603 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:51,320 situation? When Anthony was younger, he 604 00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:55,880 played baseball in a little Youth League. 605 00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:59,320 I think it was 12 or 14. I can't remember the age, but I 606 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:02,640 had the privilege of coaching these boys and man, I thought, 607 00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:05,040 you know, I didn't want to coach these kids at all. 608 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:10,800 Like it was not I'm not a coach. Well, guess who got elected to 609 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:16,240 be the coach I did. Well, I've had OK, we're going 610 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:18,520 to win every game. That's what our goal is. 611 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:20,040 We're going to win every single game. 612 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:27,800 Well, we went O and six out of a 12 game season and it was like 613 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:32,760 the bad news Bears kids were terrible and they were called 614 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:34,560 the Giants. What a terrible name for a 615 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:36,600 baseball team. I'm sure all you guys here could 616 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:42,720 agree being Dodger fans. But these kids, we realized how 617 00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:46,880 bad we were and these kids and and the coaches and myself made 618 00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:48,920 a resolve. You know, maybe it's not about 619 00:36:48,920 --> 00:36:52,040 winning every single game. Maybe we got to focus 620 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:55,320 differently. These kids taught me that it's 621 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:58,160 not about winning every game. Let's work on personal 622 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:02,040 development, personal skill development, knowing each and 623 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:05,040 every position in the game of baseball. 624 00:37:05,240 --> 00:37:08,200 We started rotating kids around. You're going to learn this 625 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:10,200 position, you're going to learn every single position in 626 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:14,720 baseball. And then we made a run 627 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:18,560 undefeated through the rest of the season and won the 628 00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:21,720 championship. We didn't. 629 00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:24,400 We were not planning on that, but it was the way that we had 630 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:27,880 the outlook on the on the game. We made the best of the 631 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:29,800 circumstances. We didn't expect to win every 632 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:31,320 game from that point on, but we did. 633 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:33,640 That was a bonus. But the kids learned baseball. 634 00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:35,480 That was the most important thing. 635 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:39,920 It helped me tremendously in understanding where my thought 636 00:37:39,920 --> 00:37:44,800 process should have been. Joseph prospered on the account 637 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:48,000 of God's goodness. Indeed, Joseph experienced the 638 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:49,840 daily grind. You know, the daily grind. 639 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:52,800 Everybody's got a daily grind. I mean, it doesn't matter what 640 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:58,280 you do, there's a daily grind. Get up, get ready, go to work, 641 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:04,240 come home, do the chores, make dinner, go to sleep, get up, do 642 00:38:04,240 --> 00:38:07,920 it again, on and on and on. The daily grind, we all know 643 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:09,600 what that is. We all experience it. 644 00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:11,040 Everybody has a routine to their days. 645 00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:14,520 And the key to life that I believe a really key to 646 00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:17,080 fulfillment of life is not managing to work ourselves into 647 00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:18,960 position where we have that financial. 648 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:22,560 You know, we work so hard, we want to be financially stable to 649 00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:25,880 maybe we can take ourselves get a little bit of relief, take 650 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:29,440 that vacation. We want to take that little 651 00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:34,760 time. You know, those aren't bad, but 652 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:36,320 we shouldn't be working for those moments. 653 00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:39,160 Those vacations are downtimes. They're good. 654 00:38:39,160 --> 00:38:42,520 But we've have all seen that the most successful people in life 655 00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:45,720 are those who are are who are able to take the routine 656 00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:49,720 experiences of life, the daily grind, if you want to say the 657 00:38:49,720 --> 00:38:53,320 potential for monotony and all that things. 658 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:57,600 Those people who can take those things and see the shining and 659 00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:02,320 blessing of God upon themselves and where they are at from the 660 00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:04,680 day-to-day experiences and circumstances. 661 00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:07,960 And they just make them great. They make them great. 662 00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:11,480 You know, Frank has given us the example and the story of Bob 663 00:39:11,480 --> 00:39:13,960 Smith. You know, when they were 664 00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:17,200 painting at A at a job site one day painting baseboard. 665 00:39:18,240 --> 00:39:20,680 If you've ever painted baseboard on your knees, it is not a fun 666 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:23,480 time. And they were doing it for I 667 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:25,800 don't know how many hours. And Bob Smith was just singing 668 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:29,600 about Jesus all day long. He was making the most of it. 669 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:32,320 He wasn't happy about painting baseboard. 670 00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:33,920 I can almost guarantee I know Bob. 671 00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:35,960 He wasn't happy about painting baseboard on his knees, but he 672 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:38,880 was singing about Jesus while doing so, making the best of it. 673 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:46,160 George Herbert, writing in the 16th century a poem entitled The 674 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:49,520 Elixir deals with this in a very helpful way that I found. 675 00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:53,360 It actually became an old hymn in England if I understand 676 00:39:53,360 --> 00:39:56,000 right. It addresses the issue of seeing 677 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,560 our responsibilities and opportunities to reveal our 678 00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:04,480 dependence upon God and the evidence of God's shining upon 679 00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:07,120 us. Herbert writes Teach me my God 680 00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:12,800 and King in all things the to see and what I do with anything. 681 00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:17,280 To do it. As for the a servant with his 682 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:21,040 clause makes drudgery divine who sweeps a room. 683 00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:25,560 As for thy laws makes that and the action fine. 684 00:40:32,130 --> 00:40:38,130 Maybe we need to be reminded today that do we realize that we 685 00:40:38,130 --> 00:40:45,320 are created for God's pleasure. We are created to serve Him, to 686 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:49,080 do His will to please Him were made for His glory. 687 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:53,120 We need to realize that every matter we deal with, every 688 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:56,160 moment that we spend, every move that we make, every breath that 689 00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:59,920 we take is mattered and done for Him. 690 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:05,360 It's an all an opportunity to bring praise and glory to our 691 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:10,080 God. Joseph was promoted, protected, 692 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:12,880 prospered, and fourthly, he was promoted. 693 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:15,400 We see in verse 4, we're not surprised at this. 694 00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:18,640 We're not surprised by Joseph being promoted. 695 00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:21,080 Joseph found favour in his sight. 696 00:41:22,400 --> 00:41:24,480 You know, in the same way that he didn't tell Potiphar that the 697 00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:27,640 Lord was with him, but Potiphar saw that the Lord was with him. 698 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:31,320 He didn't ask for Potiphar's favours. 699 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:38,640 He found favours in Potiphar. Every person that would find 700 00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:41,160 themselves in Potiphar situation would look to for the 701 00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:44,760 opportunity to have some, someone he could delegate from 702 00:41:44,760 --> 00:41:45,760 day-to-day. You know, if you're in a 703 00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:48,400 position of Potiphar, you have that a position of authority. 704 00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:51,040 You know, you want, you need and want somebody to delegate some 705 00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:53,440 responsibilities to. And it's exactly what Potiphar 706 00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:55,360 did to Joseph. He delegated some 707 00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:58,800 responsibilities to him. And it's in my understanding 708 00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:02,160 that archaeologists have found that on the tombs of prominent 709 00:42:02,160 --> 00:42:05,480 people in the Egyptian culture, you know, on the when they 710 00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:08,880 entombed the Egyptians, they would put the course, the name 711 00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:12,480 of the one who's in tomb, but also they would put next to or 712 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:17,360 in the same area the servant of that one who is in tomb. 713 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:20,920 Because it was so important of who that person was, who 714 00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:25,800 assisted, who dealt with who, who, who was helping that 715 00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:27,360 prominent person be who they were. 716 00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:31,960 They're very important people. To be that steward or that 717 00:42:31,960 --> 00:42:35,000 intended was a vital development to the great person. 718 00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:38,520 And I think that's exactly what Joseph became here, because 719 00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:42,000 Potiphar recognized that a good servant or bad servant could 720 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:45,160 either make him or break him. And Joseph was a very good 721 00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:48,920 servant and Potiphar realized that he had a very good one. 722 00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:53,720 And so Potiphar very quickly expresses his confidence in in 723 00:42:53,720 --> 00:42:57,520 Joseph as a young man, puts everything into his care, 724 00:42:58,040 --> 00:43:00,360 everything into his care. He entrusts him with everything. 725 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:03,520 He only kept for himself the decision making as it related to 726 00:43:03,720 --> 00:43:06,160 his food. Everything else, he let it go on 727 00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:10,200 to Joseph. And he was delighted to do so 728 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:14,160 because actually the more that Potiphar delegated to Joseph, 729 00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:21,960 the more Potiphar gained from that, the more blessing if you 730 00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:26,720 want to say Potiphar, Saul. So Potiphar gave Joseph, if you 731 00:43:26,720 --> 00:43:29,720 want to say gave him his portfolio, he said, Joseph, you 732 00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:32,000 take My Portfolio, you do whatever you want to do with it 733 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:38,800 and you handle my investments and the way and his investments 734 00:43:38,800 --> 00:43:41,120 and everything that he had just started going up in a way that 735 00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:46,200 he'd never experienced before. Popper said you know, Joseph, I 736 00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:48,320 want you to look after the fields and suddenly there were 737 00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:50,000 more prosperous than they've ever been. 738 00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:54,000 Why? Because God determined it for to 739 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:58,520 be so of his sovereign purpose that he would take this young 740 00:43:58,520 --> 00:43:59,960 man Joseph and he would bless him. 741 00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:03,560 And God does that. And it was because God 742 00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:06,600 determined that this young fellow, Joseph, in responding 743 00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:09,320 correctly to the most awful circumstances, would be the 744 00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:12,200 recipient of God's favour and of God's blessings. 745 00:44:12,760 --> 00:44:16,160 And as a result of that, Potiphar's eyes would be made to 746 00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:19,000 see what could happen when a, when a life is given over to 747 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:20,880 God. You know, Potiphar was 748 00:44:20,880 --> 00:44:24,080 recognizing that God was on Joseph's side. 749 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:29,240 He was seeing that. And it opens the possibility for 750 00:44:29,240 --> 00:44:31,920 Potiphar to sit down with Joseph and to say, Joseph, can you 751 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:35,840 explain to me why this is Joseph? 752 00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:38,400 Why am I seeing all these blessings come? 753 00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:40,360 Because I'm putting you in charge. 754 00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:42,080 I think there may be a conversation like that. 755 00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:45,760 Potiphar would have asked him, You know, Matthew deals with 756 00:44:45,760 --> 00:44:49,200 this a little bit. He says, let your light so shine 757 00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:53,480 before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your 758 00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:59,960 Father who is in heaven. So the story of Joseph, you know 759 00:44:59,960 --> 00:45:02,320 what? Well, when we see, when they 760 00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:07,760 see, when people see us and what we're doing, and if we're living 761 00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:10,000 for Christ and for God, people are going to start asking. 762 00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:15,920 People start asking. And when they don't see, then 763 00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:20,000 there's nothing to ask. So the story of Joseph is saying 764 00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:23,160 these, at least these three things to me #1 the story 765 00:45:23,160 --> 00:45:27,040 reminds me that when we shun trials, we miss potential 766 00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:30,200 blessings. That when you have, all you have 767 00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:33,480 is sunshine, you have desert. And the more spiritual progress 768 00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:35,560 is made through failure and tears, and is made through 769 00:45:35,560 --> 00:45:39,720 success and laughter. I know I came across another 770 00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:42,320 good quote that I thought was really, really good. 771 00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:47,680 It says I walked a mile with pleasure and she chattered all 772 00:45:47,680 --> 00:45:51,400 the way, but left me none the wiser for all she had to say. 773 00:45:52,440 --> 00:45:56,680 And I walked a mile with sorrow and narrow word, said she. 774 00:45:57,280 --> 00:46:01,080 But all the things I learned from her when sorrow walked with 775 00:46:01,080 --> 00:46:04,040 me. Not that we're going out and 776 00:46:04,040 --> 00:46:05,640 we're looking for sorrowful situations. 777 00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:08,520 It's not what we're saying. We don't go looking for those 778 00:46:08,520 --> 00:46:10,480 positions. We don't look for those 779 00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:13,640 circumstances, but we want to recognize that in the progress 780 00:46:13,640 --> 00:46:18,880 of life that that the inevitable human pain that we may go 781 00:46:18,880 --> 00:46:21,920 through at some point of our lives, our experiences, our 782 00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:26,720 relationships, that God is working in it, working on us, 783 00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:29,760 putting us through fire, refining the fire, if you want 784 00:46:29,760 --> 00:46:33,560 to say, and helping us be a better person for his glory. 785 00:46:34,200 --> 00:46:36,800 So do we don't want to wrestle and fight and try to manipulate 786 00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:39,080 the hand of God or even our circumstances. 787 00:46:39,880 --> 00:46:43,120 You know, it's not stay awake at night trying to make it all work 788 00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:49,360 for for differently. We want to take the question of 789 00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:51,760 our hearts and not allow them to destroy our faith. 790 00:46:51,760 --> 00:46:53,840 You know, we have those doubts. We don't want to let those 791 00:46:53,840 --> 00:46:57,200 doubts destroy our faith. You know, why are we here? 792 00:46:57,200 --> 00:46:59,920 What am I doing here? I just am in a miserable spot. 793 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:04,480 Don't let it destroy your faith. Look to God for the answers. 794 00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:10,880 So how are you dealing with your circumstances this morning? 795 00:47:12,640 --> 00:47:16,920 How are you dealing with them? Do you let your circumstances 796 00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:19,360 determine how you view and approach God? 797 00:47:20,320 --> 00:47:23,320 Or do you let your view and faith in God determine on how 798 00:47:23,320 --> 00:47:28,200 you approach your circumstances? And when we have that mindset, 799 00:47:28,200 --> 00:47:32,480 it makes it a lot clearer the decisions that we need to make 800 00:47:32,480 --> 00:47:36,440 in our life, how we look about things, how we approach things, 801 00:47:36,440 --> 00:47:38,960 how we approach people, how we approach problems. 802 00:47:40,760 --> 00:47:45,240 Because when we view God and how we ought to live, it makes a 803 00:47:45,240 --> 00:47:47,720 huge difference on how we view our life. 804 00:47:49,720 --> 00:47:52,880 That's as far as we're going to make it this morning and next 805 00:47:52,880 --> 00:47:55,120 week. Next month, Lord willing, we are 806 00:47:55,120 --> 00:47:59,120 going to deal with the age-old temptation of sexual sin.