Do You Have Commitment Like the Patriarch Joseph?

Whoops, I had the wrong thing. I got thrown a little bit. I saw Marissa and Joy give themselves the knuckle bump. When it was over, it kind of threw me off my stride here. Well, happy Sabbath to all of you again. Do I have this on? I do. A great battle occurred in southwest Asia in the 14th century. The army of an Asian conqueror, who's known in history as Emperor Tamberlain, he was the descendant of a gingous Khan, had been defeated, and his troops were dispersed by a powerful enemy. Tamberlain himself trembled because he was in hiding, his army had been defeated, he lay in a hidden, deserted manger while enemy troops scoured the countryside looking for him. Obviously, if they would have found him, they would have hacked him to pieces. He would have been dead. So there he was, laying there in a tent, desperate, feeling defeated and dejected. He watched a single little ant. And what this ant tried to do is this ant tried to carry one little corn grain that was much bigger than he was up about a 10-foot wall. And obviously, since he had nothing else to do, he watched that little single ant try to carry a grain of corn up that wall. Again, the colonel was bigger than the ant himself. And as he watched, and he had a lot of time in his hands, he watched it start up the wall and fall backward. He saw that little ant do that once and twice and ten times. I want you to think of the time going. This is a little ant carrying this up a big wall. So there's a lot of time going by. He saw it happen 25 times. 50 times. Over and over again, that little ant tried to carry that large colonel over the wall, and it would fall backward and fall back onto the ground. The single little ant, that little creature was committed to carry that colonel over the wall. And he continued counting until 69 times the ant tried to carry it up the wall, and 69 times that ant fell backward. Had to start all over again. And on the 70th try, he pushed the grain of corn over the top of the wall. And history records that because of the commitment of that ant, that he was so inspired that he leapt to his feet, and he escaped, and he shouted as he escaped, and he reorganized his troops and fought another battle and won. And he eventually put his enemy to flight because he was so inspired by the commitment of that little ant. You know, the last three years we have had a number of brethren make a commitment to live their lives for Jesus Christ. And I'd like to mention who they are. In the last three years we have had Frank Dillingham, Autumn Dillingham, Nancy Kraft, Sheri Agapadis, Daniel Wright, Joe Mango, Cliff Wagner, Fred Barkley, and Maria Raspovic make a commitment to Jesus Christ. That's nine people in the last three years. God willing, we'll have two more baptisms this afternoon, giving us 11 in the last three years. That's about 25 percent of the adults in this congregation have been baptized the last three years.

Well, for those of those recently baptized and are here today, for those of you who will soon be baptized, God willing, later today, and for the youth and for those of us who are older than dirt, those of us who used to play with Methuselah when we were children, I have a very special sermon for you today. I'd like to give you one simple word that will serve you well throughout your spiritual walk, and that single word is commitment. It's the same thing that little aunt had, and if you truly understand the rich meaning of this important trait that I might add is so rare today, it will make you wiser. It will provide spiritual stability in your life, because in your spiritual life you'll have ups and downs. I like the like in our calling to being on a roller coaster. There are times in our calling of extreme exhilaration as we are climbing up. Right, you can hear it ratcheting. Life's going good. I just got the new job, right? I just got a raise. You know, things are going good, and then you reach the top, and it's, whoa! Then we go down into a valley, and our lives are like being on a roller coaster, but if you understand the importance of this trait called commitment, it will provide spiritual stability in your life, and it will enrich your personal relationships.

The characteristic of commitment is one of the most valuable qualities any human being can possess, particularly because in our 21st century it's so rare. I'd like to give you the definition from the American Heritage Dictionary. Here's what it says commitment is, quote, the state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of action or to another person or persons. Let me read this again. The state of being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of action or to another person or persons.

My brethren, almost every good thing that has ever occurred in human civilization occurred because a person or a group of people were committed to a cause. Committed, even to the point of death, were committed to a great cause. Anything worthwhile in this life requires great personal commitment, whether it's our commitment to God, our commitment to the church of God, our commitment to our marriage, our commitment to our family, and our commitment to our spiritual family. All of these things are important commitments that we make. I'd like to give you an example. Let me mention a few words from a typical marriage ceremony that'll help us to realize the importance of commitment. We know, of course, that marriage is a type of the spiritual relationship between God and the church. Here's what our marriage ceremony says. It has a phrase like this, and this is regarding commitment. It says, marriage is for richer or for poorer. Well, it's quite a contrast, right? When you got money, when you don't have it, you know what in. So it's for richer or for poorer. It's in sickness and in health. Again, too tremendous contrast. It's in good times and in difficult times. The times when you're on the top of that roller coaster and the times when your relationship is struggling. These words in a marriage ceremony remind us how important commitment really is. Those of us who have been around for a while, who played with Methuselah as children, we realize that God instituted the annual festivals for many reasons, and one of them is to remind us of our lifelong commitment to God. Because as we go through the Holy Days every year, we can see the important principles replayed in our heads, the importance of repentance, forgiveness, God's grace, and the importance of spiritual growth and development. And this is reminded in our heads and in our minds over and over again each year. It's replayed, focused, once again, emphasized, once again, beginning with the Passover, which is an actual reminder of the commitment that we made at baptism. So that being said, today I'd like to emphasize three important areas of commitment. We're going to get a little background before I get into those three areas, which happen to be commitment to God. That's number one. Number two is commitment to family, physical family, spiritual family. And number three is a commitment to your spiritual growth and maturity. And I think the best way to do this today is to look at the life and the example of a young person whom God began to call and work with about 3,500 years ago. So if you're a young person, you can realize that God is calling and wants to work with you as well. We're going to look at a 22-year period in this young man's life. He was a Hebrew and his name was Joseph. And we're going to see the events that shaped his life from about age 17 to 39, and see how his commitment towards God grew, how he came to love his family in spite of tremendous obstacles and animosity from them, and how he grew personally, spiritually. And that is what led him to success and fulfillment and the kind of greatness where 3,500 years later we're all reading about his life. Now that's an example of what greatness is, is after that period of time people still turn and read about his life. So let's go to Genesis chapter 37 beginning in verse 1. And we'll see, beginning now with this 17-year-old boy, still a little raw, still a little rough around the edges. God wants to work with him. God is calling him, and like many teenagers, he's a little bit self-absorbed, and he's going to bring some problems on himself because he doesn't handle things with the maturity of someone who's much older. Genesis chapter 37 in verse 1.

It says, now Jacob dwelled in the land where his father was a stranger in the land of Canaan.

This is the history of Jacob, Joseph, his son, being 17 years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah. Remember, his father had relationship with four different women, which I might add is not a recipe for a happy family life. Okay? I don't recommend that. Anyway, he was hanging out with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. No one likes a family member who, nah nah nah nah nah, right, is always trying to get their brothers or sisters in trouble. So that's problem number one with this young man. Now, number verse three. Now, Israel loved Joseph more than all his children because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a tunic of many colors, and when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. All right, part of this is the problem with dad. He's showing obvious favoritism to one of the children, and that also is not a healthy recipe to having a good family life. It was so bad they couldn't even speak civilly to each other. The word here is peaceably, but there obviously are a lot of arguments. There's a lot of animosity between all the children of these various women in this family. Now, Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more. So he said to them, please, wait a minute, wait a minute, hear this dream, which I have dreamed. Now, get this, I want you to understand this. There were binding sheaves, all of us in the field, then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright, and indeed your sheaves stood all around, and, get this, they bowed to my sheaf. And his brothers said to him, shall you indeed reign over us, or shall you indeed have dominion over us? So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. So again, we're seeing here Joseph is a part of what we today call a dysfunctional family. That's the term we use in the 21st century due to, in this case, polygamy existing within the family. His father should not have showed such obvious favoritism to Joseph. That didn't help.

And Joseph also understood things that he should have kept to himself. To his brothers who hear him saying these kind of things, he appears to them as if he thinks he's superior. He comes across as conceited, as arrogant, and this creates even more anger and resentment in the family. But in spite of this, what I think we need to understand is God can and does work with people from very troubled families. God can work with anyone who yields to him no matter what their problems, no matter what their background are. And I want you to notice here that he doesn't mention God at all in these dreams. He doesn't say, God inspired me to see this. He doesn't say, God revealed this to me. No, he says, cool, listen to this dream. I get the rule over you and be in dominion over you. Isn't that neat? And unfortunately, they didn't see it the same way that he did. Let's drop down to verse 9. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers and said, look, I dreamed another dream at this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me. So he told it to his father and his brothers and his father rebuked him and said to him, what is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you and his brothers envied him? But his father kept the matter in mind. He just kind of filed it away. Now, the first dream that we read about in verses one through five will indeed come to pass in his lifetime. There will come a time in Egypt when his brothers are hungry enough that they will all come and they literally will bow down to the second in command in Egypt, to buy to buy food and save their lives. So that will exactly be fulfilled. This second dream he had is actually a prophecy. God revealed to Jacob the future resurrection of the dead. And how do you know that? You know that because Jacob refers to the mother of Joseph and Rachel had died years earlier giving birth to Benjamin in chapter 35 verse 19 before this even occurs. So basically this is a prophecy that in the future after the resurrection of the dead, like Mr. Mango talked about today, that the entire family will look up to the accomplishments and the greatness of Joseph. And why? Because of what he will do will save their posterity. Because of what he does will save the family from starving and literally the whole lineage of Abraham dying off of the face of the earth because of what Joseph achieves.

So a couple of other things I want to mention regarding this second dream that he had when he saw the sun and the moon and the 11 stars bowing down to him. Again, he should have kept this to himself. And here's a wise bit of advice, particularly for you young people, and that is not everything that enters your mind should come out of your mouth. And he allowed something that he saw to come out of his mouth. We have something in our heads called a brain, and that brain is supposed to filter much, much of the thoughts that we have should be filtered before they come out of our mouths. Again, I want you to also notice in this second dream that he has that he doesn't give God credit. He basically, again, he's just 17 years old. That is very young. He's got a lot of life to live. He's got a lot of experiences, some painful that he's going to go through. He's only 17 years old at this time. Let's drop down. Now, Genesis 37 verse 18. They have decided that they've had it with their brother. They perceive him as arrogant, self-righteous, feeling like he's superior. So they're going to take matters in his own their own hand. Verse 18. Now, when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired again to kill him. They're afraid he's going to come and take another bad report about them back to Daddy.

And they're not pleased about that. Then they said to one another, look, the dreamer, dream boy, is coming. He already has a nickname. Hey, dreamer babe, he's already coming. Now, therefore, let us kill him and cast him into some pit. And we shall say some wild beast devoured him. We shall see what becomes of his dreams. But Reuben, firstborn, firstborns are usually the most responsible ones. In the family. But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said to them, shed no blood, but cast him into the pit, which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him. That, this little commentary, that he might deliver him out of their hands and bring him back to his father. So Reuben wanted to get him out of this situation. Verse 23. So it came to pass when Joseph had come to his brothers that they stripped Joseph of his tunic. That's sending a strong message to him. Okay, dream boy, the first thing that you lose is this silly garment that daddy gave you. The tunic of many colors that was on him. When they took him and cast him into a pit, the pit was empty, there was no water in it, and they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes, and behold, there was a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. Verse 26. So Judah said to his brothers, What prophet is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites. And of course, it's Judah saying this, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brothers, listen, the Midianite traders, passed by, so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver, and they took Joseph to Egypt. So we see here that his angry brothers took vengeance. They had had enough. They stripped him of his royal coat. They sold him as a slave to the Midianite traders, thinking we will never see or hear from him again. So do you think he was discouraged? Yes, he absolutely was discouraged, but as we're going to see, he never gave up his principles. He never ceased with his commitment to follow the ways of God. He didn't quite understand God yet. He didn't give God the credit that he should have, but he was raised in a household that respected God. And as we will see, he came to grow in a deeper relationship with God. He was a 17-year-old young man, and one thing he had was a commitment to be successful and follow God's way.

Joseph was not like a lot of people that I have known over 40 years. Many people whom God desires to work with are like a skyrocket. A skyrocket is lovely to watch, but its beauty doesn't last very long. There are some people who have Christian experiences that are as dazzling as skyrockets. They're like giant Roman candles, and their enthusiasm may dazzle your eyes for a while, but in one year or 10 years or 20 years, they sputter and go out, and their lives become unfruitful. They stop moving forward, and they fall backward. The genuineness of Christianity is revealed in people who maintain their spiritual glow through the years, and they keep going forward. In spite of what happens to them, and we'll see some difficult things that happen to Joseph. In spite of what happens to them, they keep moving forward. Their devotion is deep, and their devotion is constant because their commitment towards God is real. It's genuine.

Genesis chapter 39 and verse 1. Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, and Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there, and the Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man.

And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him, and he made him an overseer of his house, and all that he had put under his authority. I'm going to read verse 4 from the Amplified Bible. And his master made him supervisor over his house, and he put all things that he had in his charge.

So I want you to look at Joseph candidly here. He grew up in a dysfunctional family. He had just experienced the terrible trial of literally being abandoned by his own family, his own brothers, sold after contemplating killing him, maybe. That would make you feel loved, wouldn't it? Decide to sell him into some strange land where they do not expect to ever see him again. But in spite of that, God helped him make the best of it, because he was committed to God. And again, he's only 17. We can't expect great things from him at this point in his life.

God became Joseph's private partner. God was with him, and he created the breaks for him in his life.

And God will do the same thing for you. If you have been recently baptized, if you are considering baptism, if you've been baptized 40 years, you should consider God as your private partner. And it's God that creates the breaks for us. It's God that intervenes and creates opportunities for us, if we do what's right, if we stay faithful to him. Now, in his case, though the situation was not ideal, things seem to be getting better. And I want you to realize that he's beginning to take advantage of opportunities to develop himself. At age 18, he's learning to be a supervisor in a household of Potiphar, and he's an administrator. He's gone from a nobody kid because God intervened and gave him favor in the eyes of Potiphar. Now he's running the entire household. But you know what? Things are going too good for this young man. The roller coaster is about to stop now that it's at the top, and it's time for a severe trial. Genesis chapter 39 and verse 7. And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph. And she said, lie with me, but he refused and said to his master's wife, look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. Verse 9. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he held back anything from me but you, because you are his wife.

How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? So it was, as she spoke to Joseph, day by day. So she's relentless. She is what we call a predator. Day by day, this woman who is monogamously challenged tries to tempt him into committing adultery with her. It says she spoke to him day by day. He did not heed her to lie with her or to even be with her. Verse 11. But it happened about this time when Joseph went into the house to do his work and none of the men in the house was inside that she caught him by the garment saying lie with me but he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside and so it was when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside that she called to the men of the house and spoke to them saying see he has brought into us a Hebrew to mock us he came to me to lie with me and I cried out with a loud voice.

And one thing I want to point out very strongly here. Some will foolishly, some ministers, some churches will foolishly tell you a lie. They will foolishly tell you that God's commandments weren't in force until hundreds of years later when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. Hundreds of years after this event they're simply wrong and they're ignorant of Scripture.

The Ten Commandments are part of God's value system. They have always been in existence.

If you ask a pastor, any pastor, if the Ten Commandments were done away and that pastor tells you yes do yourself a favor turn around and walk out the door and don't ever go back because you are being told a lie. Now if that pastor says yes we do believe in the Ten Commandments and say then why don't you keep the fourth? Which is remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy and see what kind of dancing, what kind of fancy footwork you see as a response to that. Joseph knew adultery was a sin against God hundreds of years before it was ever codified and written in the Ten Commandments.

Cain sinned by killing his brother Abel at the very first family many many many many many years before they were ever written thou shalt not kill in the Ten Commandments. So Joseph knew adultery was a sin against God. I want you to notice he even avoided being with her alone. He even avoided the possibility of temptation which is a great way to avoid making mistakes in your life. For example, and I'll just tell it to you candidly, if I had a problem of using alcohol you would not find alcohol in my home because I would be avoiding temptation. If I had a problem smoking, knowing that cigarette smoke destroys me, will kill me, will rot out my lungs, will make my family grieve prematurely, that it'll cost me to die before my time, that the secondhand smoke will destroy my family who have to breathe in those toxins. If I had a problem with smoking, you know what? Cigarettes would not be found in my home because I would avoid temptation, not welcome it, not invite it into the four walls of my home. And he understood that he needed to avoid even the possibility of temptation. He knew that sex outside of marriage was wrong. He was determined, committed to preserving his values and waiting for his own marriage to have sexual relations with one special woman. His values were not established by Hollywood movies, his values were not established by celebrities, his values were not established by political leaders, including a former president who said at the penance of what the meaning of is is. It's not really adultery, I was standing on one foot, I had one eye closed. Now that is not how Joseph established his value system. He knew God's definition of adultery, and he's about to suffer for a crime that he's innocent of.

Again, things seem to go wrong. He's discouraged. The whole world may have seemed to be against against him. That's how he felt. He felt like he was on a roller coaster. First, he's got the coat of many colors. He's prestigious. Daddy loves him best going up. Then his brothers kind of sell him into slavery. Whoa! Roller coaster going down. Of all the places he could have been sold to, some pretty lousy places, like maybe a salt mine or something where he would have died young. No, he sold to a captain of the guard of Pharaoh's house, a man named Potiphar, where he receives favor. Roller coaster going up again. Life is good. He's got control of the whole household. He's only 18 years old.

Then Potiphar's wife comes into the picture. The roller coaster goes down again. Genesis 39. Verse 20. I want you to notice that he never gives up his principles. He never gives up his values towards God. He accepts emotion, and he's put back in the prison for maintaining his values and his beliefs. He doesn't make himself out to be a victim. He doesn't blame God. God, where are you? Hello! I'm suffering. God, where are you? God says, I'm right here. And when you've learned your lesson and when the time is right, I will intervene and make everything okay on my time.

Because you are a human being, and to you, each second is precious. But I inhabit eternity.

I have patience. I have a plan. I know what you'll be doing a thousand years from now. And whatever you have to go through, I'm going to get you there. Painful or joyful, I am going to get you to where you need to be, no matter what you have to go through. Chapter 20, 39, verse 20. The Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, not a pleasant place, a place where the king's prisoners were confined.

And here he was there in prison, but the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison, and the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison, whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the Lord was with him, and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

So once again, he's in a bad situation. Who intervenes? His partner. His silent partner. His private partner intervenes and grants him favor in the eyes of those who are running this prison. God creates the breaks and opportunities for life. And I want you to understand that Joseph is still taking the opportunity to learn various skills to better himself through these experiences. He isn't wallowing in pity.

He's not making excuses for a situation. He's learning from it. Through this situation, he learns more about management and administration. He learns tact. He learns negotiating skills and dealing with both prisoners and guards and those who control the prison. So he's using even the difficult things in life to learn from those situations. Chapter 40, verse 1. And it came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord the king of Egypt.

And Pharaoh was angry at his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. Now, reading between the lines here, there was an assassination attempt on Pharaoh, probably, to poison him.

So Pharaoh naturally says, well, there are two culprits. There's either the guy who's cooking the food or the butler whose job is to taste the drink and to eat a little bit of the food before he gives it to me. There perhaps is a conspiracy going on between the two of them. Somebody's guilty. Somebody's going to pay a price. Verse 4. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them and he served them.

So they were in custody for a while. Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream. Both of them, each man's dream in one night and each man's dream with its own interpretation. So Joseph came into them in the morning, looked at them and saw that they were sad. So they had a sad countenance. And he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in the custody of his lord's house, saying, why do you look so sad today? And they said to him, we have each had a dream.

And there is no interpreter of it. So Joseph said to them, I want you to notice this breakthrough in his life. Do not interpretations belong to God? What? He's come a long way already! This 17-year-old kid, the dream boy, who saw these dreams and would never give credit to God before, would just tell everybody how much he knew, how smart he was, the dreams that he saw.

And now he's admitting that interpretations belong to God. Tell them to me, please, he says to them. So Joseph's gift of interpreting dreams served him well. And he used this special gift that God gave him. We're going to see here, particularly when Pharaoh calls him in to interpret a dream, his spiritual gift was the interpretation of dreams. What's yours? Are you using it? History would have been different if Joseph would have taken this gift and not used it. He would have said, oh, you're so sad today, oh, we're sad because we had a dream and we don't know what it means.

Oh, that's too bad. Grow up and get a life. See you tomorrow. No, he didn't say it. He didn't say, oh, I'll pray for you. No, he had a talent. He had a gift he could help, and he used that talent and that gift to help.

How about us brothers and sisters? It's Christ. Now, I realize that none of us, at least that I'm aware of, including yours truly, can interpret dreams, but some of you have been given the spiritual gift of encouragement. You're using it to encourage others when they're down. Some of us have been given the spiritual gift of praying for others and they're healed. Some of us have a spiritual gift of music. Some have the spiritual gift of speaking. Whatever your spiritual gift is, are you using it? Or, as I like to say, and the analogy I've used before, has someone given you a gift and you put it away in the closet unopened? An unopened gift is useless. It isn't helping anybody, is it? Well, he realizes that he's given a gift and that he needs to use that gift.

He told the Chief Butler that he would be restored to Pharaoh's service, and he tells the Chief Baker to go ahead and make funeral arrangements, because the decision isn't going to be in his favor.

But he asked a favor of the Chief Butler in verse 14. By now, he's in his early 20s, and he's learned a lot in life. He's a lot more humble than he used to be, and he's beginning to give God credit for the dreams that he sees. He says in verse 14, but remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me. Make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.

For indeed, I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews, and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into this dungeon. He says I'm an innocent man, I've been framed.

Before I forget, just as a sidebar, the punishment for attempted rape in Egypt was death.

So why do you think Potiphar put him in prison instead of having him killed? He was a Hebrew, he was dispensable, disposable. Why do you think it was? Well, it's because Potiphar knew.

That something about the story did not pass the smell test, and Potiphar was showing mercy on him because something did not fit regarding what his own wife had said against this young man.

Let's take a look now in verse 20. Now it came to pass in a third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants, and he lifted up the head of the chief butler, and of the chief baker among his servants. Then he restored the chief butler to his butler ship again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. So again, the job of the chief butler would be, anytime he got a drink from the kitchen, do a little bit of this, probably pour it in a separate container. And if he dropped dead in 30 seconds, he would hand it to Pharaoh. He did the same thing with all the food that Pharaoh ate. Verse 22, but he hanged the chief baker. So when he did a little investigation, he found out that the assassination attempt was in the food being prepared by the chief baker. As Joseph had interpreted to them, yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. For all the coasters going down, Joseph was forgotten by the chief butler, and he literally, through this, encouraged the chief butler, gladdened his heart with the interpretation of the dream and expects a little bit of kindness in return, and he totally forgets about Joseph. He could have allowed himself to become bitter. He could have allowed himself to blame God for all of his troubles, but he doesn't do that. He remained committed to God and God's values. Two more long years go by as he rots in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

Remember what Jesus Christ himself said in Luke chapter 21 and verse 19. He said, by your patience, possess your souls. You want to have eternal life? You're going to have to learn to be very patient. You want to be in the kingdom of God? You want to be in the family of God? You're going to have to learn the value of waiting for God's time to work things out. Not your time, not when I want it, not when we want it, when God says the time for intervention is right. Genesis chapter 41 and verse 9. Then it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he stood by the river. Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat, and they fed into meadow. Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river, and the ugly and gaunt cows ate up, the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke, and he slept and he dreamed the second time, and suddenly seven heads of grain came up, one stalk plump and good, and behold, seven thin heads blighted by the east wind sprang up after them, and the seven thin heads devoured to seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed it was a dream. Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men, and Pharaoh told him his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh. Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying, I remember my faults this day. Oh, that's right! That kid, that Hebrew boy in prison, he asked me to remember him when I got back to my station, and I totally forgot about him. Pharaoh, let me tell you about this Hebrew boy that I met in prison. So once again, Joseph's private partner creates an opportunity, and he is summoned before Pharaoh to interpret the two dreams. This didn't occur just for Joseph. The fact that God intervened at the right time, that didn't occur just for Joseph. I'm here to assure you that your invisible partner will intervene for you, too, when he sees the need and the timing is right. And again, his timing isn't always the same as our timing. I'm physical. I'm growing old. The clock is ticking. I'm in a hurry to do everything. I want it, and I want it now. Like the old saying, God grant me patience. Hurry. But God works in a different time frame. He inhabits a different universe. He sees everything long-term and in the future. He's not interested in the right now. He's interested in getting us what we need to be. To be part of his family a thousand years from now, ten thousand years from now, a hundred thousand years from now. So let's continue here in chapter 41 verse 20. Chapter 41 verse 25. Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, the dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. I want you to again notice the difference between him and that 17-year-old kid who told his brothers that it was all about me, how great I will be. And now he's saying dreams, the interpretation and understanding come from, it's not me.

Comes from God. I'm just a tool. I'm just a vessel. These things come from God. The seven cows are seven years and the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams are one. It's the same dream, just parallel objects. And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Verse 29, indeed, seven years of great plenty will come upon or come throughout all the land of Egypt. But after them seven years of famine will arise and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt and the famine will deplete from the land. So the plenty will not be known in the land because the famine following it for it will be very severe. It's going to get so desperate everyone's going to forget about how abundant those seven years were. So Joseph reveals to Pharaoh the meaning of the dreams and he gives the credit to God. Unlike when he was 17 and he thought of himself as superior to everyone else, his trials have humbled him. He's come to understand that he was nothing without God in his life. And my brothers and sisters in Christ, we are nothing without God in our lives. We have no hope. We have lives of desperation. There is nothing beautiful about a life without God. It is hopeless. It is meaningless. It is empty. So let's continue now in verse 37 of chapter 41. So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God? Pretty profound remark. And Joseph did have God's Spirit. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, inasmuch as God has shown you all of this, there is no one as discerning and as wise as you. You shall be over my house and all my people shall be ruled according to your word. Only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, see, I have set you over the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and he put it on Joseph's hand that was a symbol of authority that you are number two in my empire. And he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride in the second chariot, which he had right behind Pharaoh. And they cried out before him, bow the knee. So he sat over him all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh also said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh and without your consent no one may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. That's a lot of authority. Verse 45, and Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath Penaiah and he gave him a wife Essenath, the daughter of Pateer Parakh, priest of An. And obviously she was came from a pagan religion, came from a pagan culture.

So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went throughout all the land of Egypt. So we've seen him from age 17 to age 30, up to this point. Zaphnath Penaiah is thought to mean an Egyptian interpreter through whom God speaks. That was the Egyptian name that Pharaoh gave him. So with this background in mind, let's now discuss the trait of commitment. Remember there were three qualities, commitment to God, commitment to family, and commitment to our spiritual growth. Turn with me with you with the James chapter 1 and verse 22. James chapter 1 and verse 22, we're going to talk about commitment to God in the remaining time that we have left today. Now I'm going to read this from a different translation. I'm going to read this from the translation God's Word for today. So follow with me with whatever translation you have in front of you. James chapter 1 verse 22, do what God's Word says. Don't merely listen to it, or you will fool yourselves. If someone listens to God's Word but doesn't do what it says, he is like a person who looks at his face in a mirror. He studies his features, goes away, and immediately forgets what he looks like. So the average person, they look into the mirror, and they either say that depending on their ego, the average person looks in the mirror and either says, what a hunk! And they turn around and they leave. Probably delusional, but that's what they say to themselves. And other people, depending on their level of esteem, and they might look in the mirror and say, man, am I ugly? I am one ugly person. After they study their features and they turn around and they walk away.

Their mind gets on other things. Verse 25, however, the person who continues to study God's perfect teachings that make people free and who remains committed to them. Again, this is the translation God's Word for today. I'll read this again. The person who continues to study God's perfect teachings that make people free and who remains committed to them will be blessed. People like that don't merely listen and forget. They actually do what God's teachings say. Brethren, God wants to be your private partner. He called you and he's offering you an amazing opportunity to have the awesome power of the universe by your side within your hands for eternity. Now, we can't act stupid and expect positive results. In our lives, we can't make poor decisions and expect great things to happen. Every time Joseph made a poor decision, he suffered for it. Sometimes when he was even innocent, he suffered for it. And then after a while, when he learned the lesson, God would intervene and he would be in that roller coaster again going up. We need to make right decisions and we still need to learn wisdom. And if we don't make the right decisions and if we don't use wisdom, then God, because he's so graceful and merciful, will allow us to learn the hard lessons of life by our mistakes and our circumstances. We can either learn the easy way through obedience or we can learn the hard way.

And God says, I'll work with you either way. It's your choice. I'm there by your side. I'm going to get you from here to where you need to be. You can either do it easy or you can do it hard.

Just let me know which path you choose. But no matter what we go through, God will silently, invisibly be by our side, giving us direction and providing the opportunities, the breaks in life. If only we will listen to him and if only we will yield to him. Most of the time, God will intervene and God intervenes in our lives without us even realizing it. Someday, each and every one of us will know how many waves and how many times God literally intervened in our lives and we just pass it off as an event or serendipity or a coincidence. When God says, no, I did that. I intervened. I caused that event to happen. God wants to do this for you by giving you his most powerful tool. By giving you the greatest thing that he can give you when you live a physical life, that is his very presence, the power of the Holy Spirit, which nine of you have received in the last three years and God willing, two more will receive yet today. The second area is commitment to family. We saw earlier that Joseph didn't come from a perfect family. In fact, he was, as I've said before, he came from what we call a dysfunctional family. Yet, that doesn't mean Joseph gave up on his brothers or on his father, and neither should we. No matter what your family members are going through, no matter what they've said to you, no matter how they've treated you, please don't give up on them. You know, Joseph could have allowed himself to become very bitter towards his brothers or his father, especially his brothers. He could have hated them because they sold him in the slavery, because they dramatically changed his life and wrenched him away from his mother, or not his mother was dead, from his father and his extended family. He could have cut himself off from them, but he forgave them. He was committed to his family in spite of their flaws and weaknesses. Let's go to Genesis chapter 45 if you'll turn there. Because after he became governor, his brothers traveled to Egypt to buy grain because they were ready to starve. This is Genesis chapter 45 and verse 1.

And at first they don't recognize him. It's been 20 years now since they last saw Joseph, and he looked different in Egyptian dress and Egyptian culture. He also has makeup on. Yes, I said it. I'm sorry. He also has eyeliner in his eyes because he's a prominent official in the Egyptian culture, and that's what they did. Now, the interesting thing, and we don't have the time to go through the story today, the first time his brothers come, he's struggling with how to treat them. He treats them harshly. He does a few things to intimidate them. The poet, if you can, please forgive my expression, the fear of God in them. Do you remember that? He holds one brother as hostage. He has people put vessels inside their saddles so they can claim that they stole those vessels. He left some sweat bullets for a little while. I think he's still struggling with overcoming a little bit of animosity towards his brothers and what they did to him. But let's see eventually what he does because he does the right thing. Genesis 45 verse 1, Then Joseph could not restrain himself. This is like the third time they've come to see him, before all those who stood by him and he cried out, make everyone go out from me.

So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. Now, Pharaoh didn't live in his house. He wails so loudly as all of this pent-up emotion comes out, facing his brothers, and all that he's been through, and all that he's experienced. His wailing is so loud even Pharaoh hears it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph, does my father still live? But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. They're saying to themselves, we are toast. Our brother, whom we sold into slavery, who we thought we would never, ever, ever see again, is now fulfilling his first dream, because now we are all here, begging him, bowing down in his presence, asking for food, asking for mercy. And Joseph said to his brothers, please come near to me, so they came near. Then he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom he sold into Egypt. But now do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here.

For God sent me before you to preserve life.

Now I want you to notice this attitude. God made this happen. God is my private partner.

God wanted me to be here. I didn't understand why. It hurt when I was sold into slavery. It hurt when someone's wife accused me of attempting to rape her. It hurt when I helped someone in prison and they forgot all about me and I rotted there for two extra years. But you know what? I've come to see that it was all part of a plan that God had for me. He said, and that plan was to save you, to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. And he has made me a father to Pharaoh and the Lord of all his house and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. I want to draw a parallel here.

Whatever you're going through in life, financial challenges, relationship challenges, health challenges, I want you to understand that you have been called in this lifetime to preserve life.

Jesus Christ is going to return at his earth someday. He's going to need committed saints to rule with him for a thousand years. He's going to need people who had been there, done that. People who experienced the painful events in life. People who know what it's like to suffer. Who know what it's like to feel disappointment and discouragement and who were able to rise above it because they believe in a great deliverance. And that deliverance is the shed blood of Jesus Christ. And they want to be there and they want to be part of the team that God is calling to rule the world tomorrow as kings and priests and saints in that wonderful kingdom. Again, verse 80 said, so now it was not you who sent me here but God. So Joseph was committed to love and care for his family in spite of their problems. He struggled at first but forgave them. In spite of their own personal problems, he loved them and he wanted to help them. And the same should be true of us, brethren. Our families are not perfect. Some of our family members are not very happy. Some of our family members are not very healthy because of their lifestyles. But don't give up on your parents or your siblings or your children. Love them. Look beyond their flaws. Be like God and see the best in them. Try to look at the long term because God is working with them too in just a different way. He has chosen not to call them yet at this time. Try to be a peacemaker and be patient with your family. Try to make your relationships better. Be the first one to show love and concern until you break through a barrier if that barrier exists with a family member. And the same holds true for your church family. God's church is not perfect. It never has been.

It never will be. God, for his own reasons, chose to have his church composed of flawed, struggling human beings. The church has never been perfect. And if at one time it was when they allowed me to join it, it became imperfect. But in spite of that, in spite of those things, in spite of the fact that your brothers and sisters in Christ are not perfect, and some of the brethren have major problems they're struggling with at this very time, don't give up on each other. Don't give up on the church of God. We're all here to help and support one another. God needs you because he once committed and loyal and faithful saints to serve with Jesus Christ. God wants you, he wants many of you to be part of the next generation. It will someday fall upon your soldiers that carry the torch of God's truth to the world. There are many of us in this congregation who are 60 years old or older, including myself. And the reality is, is that we are in the checkout lane of life.

The only difference is we get up every morning and pray that it's not the express lane, okay?

But God is creating a new generation to take over, to continue the mission of the church, to take over preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God to the world and nurturing the disciples that God calls to his way of life. Many of you are part of the next generation. It's going to fall on your shoulders to carry the torch of God's word to the world. And now the final area is commitment to spiritual growth, commitment to spiritual growth. I read an article, a woman named Patsy Claremont said following a true story about her son Jason. When he was seven, she sent him off to school one day and a little later there was a knock at the door.

Patsy opened the door and it was Jason. And she said, Jason, what are you doing here? He said, I've quit school. She said, Jason, you're only seven years old. Why did you quit school? He said, well, it's too long, it's too hard, and it's boring. And she said, Jason, you've just described life. Now get back on the bus.

Brethren, don't be quitters. Don't sell yourself short. With God by your side, there's nothing you can't achieve. Make learning and self-improvement and spiritual growth a lifetime process. We saw how Joseph grew through the painful experiences that he had. He went from being an arrogant kid who gave no credit to God for this wonderful talent he had to interpret dreams, the one who gave all the credit to God and had matured abundantly. The apostle Peter says in 2nd Peter 3 18, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Joseph was committed to learning about God and learning about life through its experiences. He learned the art of diplomacy. Think of the things that he went through and what it prepared him for. He learned the art of diplomacy and supervision skills when he was a servant in a prison. He learned the art of people skills and he was generally liked by most people. There was something about his personality, outgoing and energetic, enthusiastic that everyone virtually favored him. During his time with Potiphar later in prison, he learned management organizational skills. As governor, he learned as an administrator to store grain for seven years in preparation of great famine. During the famine, he learned accounting functions. He also learned about the importance of investing because they had to take all of that grain for seven years and store it up. And then as people came and sold their goods to him to buy grain from him, he was reaping the investment of being the only one in town, we would call it a monopoly today, who had food. You know, you've heard the golden rule, haven't you? He who has the gold makes the rules. Maybe a little different than the one you were taught in church. But he understood that golden rule as well.

God gave you different skills and talents, whatever they are. Use them for the glory of God. Give back to the world. Give back to your brothers and sisters in Christ.

There's another type of continuous spiritual knowledge you need, and that is to learn who and what God is. To get to know your private partner. Know what he wants from you. Know what pleases him. Know what your value should be by emulating his values. You can learn this by doing a number of things. Develop a daily relationship with him. Prayer, study, singing psalms to him, talking to him throughout the day, in your self-talk.

You can do this by respecting God's laws. We saw today that Joseph respected the Ten Commandments long before they were ever written, because they're God's value system. Go to Sabbath services every week. You need to be encouraged. We need you here.

Other people are encouraged by seeing you come. You have a spiritual gift that you can give when you're here, and if you're not here, that gift isn't available to the congregation. Respect God's Sabbath. You know, we live in a world today when those who are even religious, and that's becoming a minority, believe in a two-hour, an hour token religious service, and then they're off to Walmart, or they're off to cutting their lawn, or they're off to doing what they want to do. Very few people observe a Sabbath day, even among Sunday keepers. Very few people observe a Sabbath day. It is so important for our minds to be refreshed and energized by connecting with God on His Sabbath. Study the Bible. Serve other people. Give back. It's so important. One final scripture today, 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 14. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 14.

For those of you who have been baptized the last three years, very powerful words provided by Paul to Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 14. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of. That's commitment. Continuing to stay on the right path, knowing from whom you have learned them. God opened your eyes and revealed to Him your truth. There was a time when you stumbled through life, when you didn't understand spiritual things. It sounded like people, when they would talk about the Bible, were speaking in Greek. Then there came a time when our Father let the scales fall from our eyes and we began at a little bit at first to grasp spiritual things and spiritual understanding. Give God the credit. Something that Joseph finally learned to do. Verse 15. And that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures, which were able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for proof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. And now verse 17. That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. So in closing, brethren, never give up on God. Never give up on yourself. God is doing a great work in you. And I know right now, I used to sell products to construction sites. Right now your life may look like there's a lot of garbage and debris laying all over your personal construction site. There may seem to be stuff floating everywhere and it just may seem to be in chaos. But God is building a great building in you. And before your grand opening, he'll clean it up. He will make you ready. He will prepare you for the job that he asked for you to do for all eternity. God is looking for a committed people. He's looking for those determined to endure the most difficult situations in life and remain true to their calling, no matter what they go through. If we are committed to God's way of life, he promises to always be our private partner. So will you heed God's calling? Will you ask that God's Spirit be a greater influence in your life? All we need to do is ask and then respond. God loves you and he hopes that all of us will have a commitment and an endurance to the end. The end either being our physical lives or the end being the very time when Jesus Christ returns into this earth. And at the sound of that great trump, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall be changed from this imperfect mortal physical flesh that we have now and literally transformed incorruptible into a literal member of the family of God.

May God give us that day soon. Have a wonderful Sabbath.