Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Genesis chapter 39. Genesis 39. I'd like to look at the first
six verses of this chapter tonight. I've entitled this message, Joseph,
the trusted servant. We would all do well to remember
Joseph is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. And everything
that happens to this young son of Jacob sets forth the glory
of the Lord. And if we're looking for the
Lord in this passage, our hearts are blessed. If we see Christ,
then we rejoice. If we see just Joseph, it's just
a history lesson. And I'm not here for a history
lesson, you're not either. We're here to behold the glory
of the one before whom we're all gonna stand. The scripture
begins, and Joseph was brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, an officer
of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the
hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither.
Now you remember how he got there. His brothers hated him, hated
him because two reasons. Number one, they hated him because
his daddy loved him more than any of them. Well, I get it. I mean, you know, there's a certain
amount of jealousy there. I get that. But that's a picture
now. Remember, Joseph being a picture
of the beloved son. This is my beloved son, father
said, in whom I'm well pleased. So the scripture says forth that
Joseph was more loved than the other brothers. You know, normally
speaking, a dad would never reveal that. You know, he got kids and
you know, I don't know, sometimes there's just one that just kind
of sticks out, you know. But he's not gonna say anything,
you know. He's not gonna divulge that,
but the Spirit of God divulged it about this son to the glory
of the Lord Jesus. So they hated him because his
daddy loved him. But they hated him secondly because
of the revelation that the Spirit of God had given through him.
He dreamed those dreams. And they didn't like those dreams.
His dreams said that, speaking of himself, he said, we were
all out in the field there and we had some sheaves that were
all stacked up. My sheave stood up straight and
your sheaves kind of bowed down to me. Not kind of, they didn't.
They didn't like that. But again, that's the Spirit
of God prophesying what was going to happen, not only to Joseph
when he would be elevated to the position in Egypt, but also
the glory that's going to be given to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every knee's going to bow. Every tongue's going to confess.
This side of the grave or that side of the grave, every knee's
going to bow. Every tongue's going to confess.
Well, they hated him, put him in a pit, was gonna kill him,
decided not to. And then Almighty God sent a
caravan of Ishmaelites and his brothers sold him. Sold him to
those Ishmaelites. They brought him into Egypt and
they sold him to Potiphar. That's how he got there. Joseph
was brought down to Egypt. Now, he suffered. He suffered
at the hands of his jealous brothers, and now he's been providentially
brought down to Egypt. Now, you know why. This is where
God's gonna provide for his family, but the way that the Lord got
him there, he got him there by having his brothers sell him. And here he is. He's purchased
as a slave. He's purchased by a man that
was named Potiphar. But this man, Potiphar, providentially
now, he's an officer of Pharaoh. He's gonna have to be put in
a place where he's gonna be instrumentally used of the Lord. He's gonna
have to be Thone in prison, he's gonna have to meet a couple of
fellows in prison there, is a man that were servants of Pharaoh,
and he's gonna have to, they're gonna dream some dreams, and
Joseph's gonna interpret those dreams, and then later, Pharaoh's
gonna dream a dream, and he doesn't know the interpretation, and
these fellows trying to get with Pharaoh, get on his good side
now, they're in jail. They're going to say, well, we
know a guy that's interpreting. It's going to, you know, I'm not getting
too far ahead, but I just want to tell you this. He's got to
get in Potiphar's house. So Potiphar buys him and he's
there now as a servant, a servant to a man named Potiphar. You know how strangely the providence
of God appears? to men. How the Lord, and we
know that the scripture says God is working all things after
the counsel of His own will. All power has been given unto
the Son by the Father to work all things in this world. Everybody
that you meet, every event that happens to you is worked according
to the purpose and will of the Lord Jesus Christ. because he's
gonna cause his people to cross paths with the gospel. They're
gonna have to hear the truth. And so here's Joseph, and he's
in this place. He's got to be sold to a man
named Potiphar, and we can say, I wonder if, did it have to be
like that? Listen, scripture says God's
ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts.
He does as He will, and all things work together. How many times
do we go over that scripture? All things, and we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to His purpose. So the Spirit's
dealing with Joseph is a fit picture and a type of that which
must happen to all God's sheep. Now, he's a picture of Christ,
but he's also a picture. I can see pictures of believers.
Now, I want you to look at something that I was really blessed to
see. It says, and Joseph was brought
down to Egypt. He was brought down. He was brought
down. Now, let me tell you just Just
a little something about that. He was brought down. No man,
no woman, no woman would ever bring themselves down. By nature, I don't want to go
down. I'm pretty satisfied with myself. I'm born thinking that
I'm not that bad. As I've said before, I may not
be as good as everybody, but I'm certainly not as bad as most
of them. in my opinion of myself. Now
that's a selfish opinion. That's an arrogant, selfish,
foolish opinion. But that's the truth. That's
man by nature. I'm doing good. It says Joseph
was brought down. Brought down. We need to be made
to realize what we are. But notice where he was brought
down. The scripture says he was brought
down to Egypt. He was brought down to Egypt.
Now you say, okay, well that, okay. What's the significance
of that? Egypt, throughout the scriptures,
think about how many times in scripture, all through the scriptures,
Egypt is always spoken of as the bondage of the people of
God. Egypt. How many times? You can
go over in the book of Acts. I can read in the book of Acts
where they talk about Egypt. They were in Egypt. They were
in bondage in all the plagues that were there. God brought
them out and brought them through the Red Sea. He was brought down
to Egypt. So I looked the word Egypt up.
I've never looked it up before. It's just a country as far as
I knew. Egypt. It's from a word, it's from a
root word that means a limit. A limit of besieged places. This is the limit. This is the
ultimate bondage. Egypt is a picture of the bondage
of sin. There's no bondage, Fred, like
the bondage of sin. Somebody gets arrested and they're
in handcuffs, well, okay, eventually, eventually they'll take those
cuffs off. I may throw you in jail, but I'll take the cuffs
off. You know, somebody holds you
down, get you arrested or something. Eventually, they're going to
let you go. But there's no bondage like the bondage of sin. You
don't just escape. It's in us. He was brought down. to sin, he was brought down to
that place, he was brought down to, he's a picture now, remember,
he's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here it is, that
Egypt, that type or description of the depth, the ultimate depth
of our bondage, and we must be made to see that. See, the reason
man by nature, he don't believe he's really in bondage. I'm not
in bondage. What do you mean bondage? I'm
free. This is America. As of tonight,
at least, we've got some freedoms. We've still got something we
can do. This is the United States. We're not in bondage. This is
a free country. Oh, but there's a bondage that
man by nature does not realize by birth. He doesn't realize
the bondage of sin. I can't get away from it. It's
me, it's in me, it's in me. I was conceived in sin. I come
forth from my mother's womb speaking lies. I'm a sinner by birth,
I'm a sinner by practice, sinner by nature. He was brought down
to Egypt. Man is born thinking that he's
got a little good in him. Good compared to what? I've said,
you know, you take a maggot and you compare them to another maggot
and they're both still maggots. There's no good compared to God. No, this is it. We're powerless
to release ourselves from the bondage of sin. You say, well, I just, I've got
a free will. No, you don't. I've said this, if I had a free
will, I'd fly. I wouldn't worry about going
to an airport, I'd just fly. If I had a free will, I think
I'm gonna just fly. I can't fly, why? Because my
nature, I can't fly, I'm not a bird. There's things I cannot
do. I cannot choose to not be a sinner. I can't choose to free myself
from the bondage of sin. He was brought down to Egypt
And I just, I can't just name it and claim it. Just, you know,
decide that you don't want to go to hell. Just decide you don't
want to go to hell and press up. I just don't go to hell. What about the justice of God?
What about the law of God being honored? What about righteousness
that is within me that's said to be nothing but filthy rags?
He was brought down to Egypt. All the rebellion against God,
just gonna be swept under the rug and we're just gonna be saved. That's over, no. He was brought
down to Egypt. Here's Joseph now, remember. He's a beautiful picture of our
Lord, the obedient servant of Jehovah. God's beloved Son. God, one with the Father, one
with the Spirit. God Almighty, Jehovah. One God
manifested in three persons. Here, the Lord Jesus Christ. the obedient servant of Jehovah. He made himself of no reputation. He came into this world to seek
and to save his people from their sins. And just as Joseph was
said to be brought down to Egypt, that setting forth the lowest
that you can describe a sinner to be, That place that set forth,
that total bondage. And here the Lord submissively
humbled himself to the good pleasure of Jehovah and was made sin. He was brought down willingly,
willingly. He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep. But he obeyed, submitted himself
to the limit What Egypt means, remember, the limit of besieged
places. And he obeyed and finished the
work of redemption because of the depth of our sin, because
of what we are by nature. That's what he was made to be.
I don't even know, I can't even describe it. I've told you everything
I can tell you about the depth of our depravity. And still,
I can proclaim it. Brother Scott, I can't explain
it, but I can proclaim it. Here's Joseph, the beloved son
of Jacob. Here's Joseph now, a man of God's
love. He was the son of a man that
the scripture said, and God loved Jacob. God loved Jacob. It says he hated his brother.
And when it says, Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated,
You know what we say? Lord, as you say it is, it is.
That's the way it is. Can you explain that? Nope. Can't
explain it. But I can tell you that this
is what it is. And Jacob, the beloved son of Joseph, the beloved
son of Jacob. Here he is. He's sold into Egypt. Jacob is in the bloodline of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph is too. Joseph did. And he's sold as a common criminal,
servant, just a common slave is what he is. And here is all
these trials that he's got to suffer to set forth the truth
of how God Almighty would set his chosen vessels of mercy free
from the bondage of sin through the merit of the broken body
and shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Joseph, God's
gonna use that man and he's gonna really suffer. He's gonna suffer,
he's gonna hurt, gonna be mistreated, gonna be lied on. God's gonna
send that man, truly a historical figure. He's gonna make him go
through the trials and the fires of adversity to glorify his son. God does what he does. He's right. Horribly mistreated. Sold to
a bunch of Midianites for no other reason. It was just a convenient
way to get rid of him. But is that not what Judas did? Judas made some money on it.
Got 30 pieces of silver for selling out the Lord. His brother's got
20 pieces of silver for selling Joseph. Here the Christ sold
as a common criminal, the beloved son of God. So here's Joseph
brought down to Egypt. Potiphar, officer of Pharaoh,
captain of the guard, Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the
Ishmaelites which had brought him down thither. And the Lord
was with Joseph. And he was prosperous man. And
he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now, here's the
amazing thing. You know, he says he prospered.
Joseph was a prosperous man. You know, Proverbs 1.32 says, for the turning away of
the simple, for the turning away of the simple. That is, the ease
by which the simple turn away from Christ. The turning away
of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall
destroy them. Now, the God, the God, the liturgy
God, of this world, the liturgy God of this world, is prosperity. The love of money is the root
of all evil. Money, money, prosperity, power. For the turning away of the simple
shall slay them. The prosperity of fools shall
destroy them. They'll go right to their grave,
seeking after the things of this world, and leave this world without
Christ. But the God of the wicked, the
prosperity of this world, according to Scripture, shall ultimately
prove itself to be their destruction. Because this prosperity, turn
to Luke 12, you know this Scripture, this prosperity has stolen their
heart. Luke 12. Luke 12. Luke 12, verse 16. Luke 12, 16. And he spake a parable unto them,
saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought with himself,
saying, what shall I do? Because I have no room where
to sow my fruits. And he said, this will I do.
I will pull down my barns and build greater, And there will
I bestow all my fruits and my goods, I will say to my soul,
soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine
ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose
shall these be which thou hast provided? I have got so much
stuff. I don't know what to do with
it. I got so much fruit, vegetables, money. I got so much money, what
I'm gonna do is I'm gonna tear all these barns down, I'm gonna
build bigger ones, and I'm gonna take my ease. And God told him,
you're a fool. This night, your soul is gonna
be required of the Lord. It's gonna be required of you. Then what are you gonna do with
all this mess? The prosperity of the fools shall
destroy them. But it says here that the Lord
was with Joseph and he was a prosperous man. But you see, what was prosperous
to Joseph was that the Lord was with him. And that's the prosperity
of a believer, that he knows God. that he's got the Lord as
his Lord. The Lord said, I'm your God,
you're my people, that's prosperity. What else do you want? What else
does a believer want? Here's Joseph, he's prospering,
he's being, he's where the Lord is, he's where the Lord's put
him, and he's there to divinely magnify Christ. Now, I don't
know everything that the Lord's gonna do for every one of us,
but I do know this, that the Lord orders the steps of his
people, steps of a good man, ordered by the Lord. He works
all these things. He's going, whatever we go through,
whatever we suffer, it's going to be for our good and his glory.
I know that. That's prosperity. That's prosperous. He was a prosperous man. Oh,
the comfort assurance that we're with our Lord, our God. We're where his words being preached
tonight. Somebody said, well, I'm just
going to church. No, no, you're not. God is with us. I believe that. Two or three
are gathered together in my name. I'm in the midst of you. That's
prosperity. We're rich people. Rich people. We're rich. We're rich in faith. We're rich. The Lord said, oh,
how Joseph's prosperity glorified Christ. concerning the work that
he was doing. But did not our Lord, did he
not find himself as being the glorious, prosperous son of his
father? And here's what his father said
of him. Isaiah 42, four, he shall not fail. Joseph was prosperous. God was gonna accomplish what
he desired to accomplish, ordained to accomplish through Joseph.
And he's gonna accomplish all that he's purposed through the
Lord Jesus Christ. He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till he have set judgment in the earth. The Lord told his
disciples, these things have I spoken to you that in me you
might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation,
but be a good cheer. I've overcome the world. Remember
when the Lord said to his disciples, when he'd met that woman, the
well there at Sychar, he had to go through Samaria, they went
and got something to eat. And he told them concerning what
he would eat, he said, my meat, my sustenance was to do the will
of the Father that sent me, finish his work. That's the final victory
over sin and Satan and the world. He said, from the cross, it's
finished, it's finished, you prospered. He did not fail, bowed
his head, gave up the ghost. And then the scripture says in
verses three and four, and his master saw that the Lord was
with him, that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in
his hand. Joseph found grace in his sight,
and he served him, and he made him overseer over his house,
and all that he had, he put into his hand. Now, scripture says
his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord
made all that he did to prosper, and Joseph found grace in Potiphar's
sight. Proverbs 16, 7, when a man's
ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace
with him. Joseph was noticed. He was noticed,
he was accepted, he was promoted by Potiphar because Potiphar
trusted Joseph. He trusted him. He trusted him.
Even though Potiphar didn't know God, He was, Lord says, nothing
concerning his spiritual state of knowing him, but he perceived,
that is Potiphar, perceived that the Lord was with him. And everything
that Joseph did prospered. And Joseph, therefore, found
grace in this earthly master's eyes, Potiphar's eyes. Now here's
Joseph, he is a type of God's, he's a type of Christ, God's
servant. And he found grace, Joseph found grace in Potiphar's
eyes. Joseph found grace in Potiphar's eyes. Hold your place, turn over
to Isaiah 42.1, Isaiah 42.1. This is what the Spirit of God
set forth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. spoken as the father
would speak. Behold, Isaiah 42, 1. Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
mine elect, and whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit
upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. Here's Joseph. He found grace in Potiphar's
eyes because of his faithfulness, trustworthiness. And here's the
Lord Jesus Christ. Father says, you behold my servant,
the one in whom my soul delights. Potiphar made him, the scripture
says, in verse four, Joseph found grace in his sight and he served
him. And he, that is Potiphar, made him overseer over all his
house. All that he had, he put into
his hand. Now where do you think I'm going
with this? What do you think of that? What has the father
done for the son? What has the father done for
the son? John 17, warning to these words,
spake Jesus, lifted up his eyes to heaven, said, Father, the
hour has come, glorify thy son, that thy son may also glorify
thee, as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he
should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
Even the unbeliever may perceive something in one of God's own
that causes him to be trusting of Him. Now, I realize that visual
perception of graciousness is not enough to produce conviction
of sin, salvation. Faith cometh by hearing. You
know the only way that a believer is ever going to be converted?
Only what? They're going to have to sit
under the sound of the gospel. That gospel, that message that
honors God Almighty totally in the salvation. It gives man no
glory. It gives man no honor. It doesn't
magnify man in any way. It doesn't beg man to do anything.
I'm not begging you to do anything. I'm telling you that God's going
to do what God wants to do. And if He's pleased to save you,
let me tell you what He's going to do. He's gonna save you. And
then He's gonna tell you about it. I'm not gonna beg you to
come down here. We're not gonna sing 14 verses
of Just As I Am. I'm not gonna ask you to come
down to this piece of carpet here and pray through. I'm gonna
tell you what God says. And I'm gonna wait on God. And
if the Lord's pleased to save you, He's gonna do it. So this
man, he perceived something in Joseph. Perceiving graciousness
in somebody won't save you. You must hear the word of God.
But Potiphar, by the good pleasure of God, saw and was touched with
the exhibition of Joseph's faithfulness, and he trusted Joseph. He trusted
him. He trusted him with everything
he had, but that trust was imparted and instilled into that man to
glorify the Lord Jesus Christ through Joseph. And it came to
pass, verse five and six, and I'll close here. It came to pass
from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and
over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptians' house
for Joseph's sake. And the blessing of the Lord
was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. And he
left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he knew not what he
had, save the bread, which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly
person and well-faithful." Oh, what a beautiful picture of the
trust of the father, the trust that the father has.
for the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn over to Ephesians 1. We've
read this passage many times, but it's very fitting that we
look at it again. The scripture says, while you're
turning there, the scripture declares that everything, everything
that Potiphar had, well, we're going to see there's one thing
that he did forbid Joseph to have. One thing, his wife. We'll see that, Lord willing,
next time. But everything that he had materially. He trusted
Joseph with it, put it all in his hand. Ephesians 1, 3 to 12,
blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who
has blessed us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places
in Christ. According as he has chosen us
in him, before the foundation of the world that we should be
holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated
us into the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath
abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. having made known
unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure,
which he had purposed in himself, that in dispensation of the fullness
of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven, which are in earth, even in him, in
whom also you have obtained an inheritance being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will. that we should be to the praise
of His glory who first trusted in Christ. Now you think of what
we just read. God loved the people for the foundation of the world.
He gave them all to Christ to redeem them. Live for them to
earn an obedience of righteousness for them and impute it to them.
He predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself. He's revealed everything that
he's done for us in these scriptures. He's everything that he's done.
This is this is his purpose. He's going to save his people
from the sins. They're going to be holy and
without blame before them in love. And he's trusted all of
us. to the Lord Jesus Christ to accomplish it. And God trusted
him with it. God's will, God's counsel, God's
purpose. Everything that he has determined
that he's going to do for us as people, he entrusted that
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now you work it out. You live
for him, you die for him. You bring him to me. You bring
him to me. He trusted him. He trusted the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord said, beginning in Proverbs
chapter 8, he is speaking of himself as wisdom. He said, chapter
8, verse 22, he said, the Lord, Jehovah, this is Christ speaking,
he said, he possessed me in the beginning of his way before his
works of old. Verse 25, before the mountains
were settled, before the hills was brought forth, while as yet
he had not made the earth or the fields or the highest part
of the dust of the world, when he prepared the heavens, I was
there. When he set a compass upon the face of the depth, when
he established the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains
of the deep, when he gave to his sea the decree that the water
should not pass the commandment which he appointed under the
foundation. Then I was by him as one brought up with him. I
was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. He saw the
lamb, he saw Christ slain. How far back did he see that
before the foundation of the world? He saw, the father saw
the lamb lay down his life He laid down. He saw the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. In time, it happened. But God
saw it eternally. He trusted Him. He trusted Him. Brother Scott would say, put
all of his eggs in one basket. He trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. So much did the Father trust
the Son. And when He spoke, when He speaks
of salvation, He speaks of all salvation as in the past tense,
past tense. This is how God declares salvation.
Romans 8, 29 and 30 says this, for whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image's son that he might
be the firstborn among many brethren, moreover whom he did predestinate
Them he also called, whom he called, them he also justified,
whom he justified, them he also glorified. You know what that
means? We're already in glory. You say, I don't understand that.
I don't either. But I can tell you this, in the mind, will,
and purpose of Almighty God, it's done deal. It's done. What
about those that have not been called out of darkness yet? It's
a done deal. Done deal. God is the I am. He don't live
in time. He's eternal. Everything with
God is ever, forever, ever. To this world, Joseph, the scripture
says forth that he was a goodly man. He was a handsome, that's
what it means. He was a handsome man. He was
handsome. He was a, he was a strong, young,
handsome man. That's what he was, a goodly
man, good. To this world, the Lord Jesus
Christ, there's nothing about him that's appealing, nothing
appealing about him. The scripture sets forth that
we saw no beauty in him that we should desire him. And that's
the way man sees Christ by nature. Till the Lord gives a man or
woman a heart for Christ, I take him and leave him. Oh, you'll
leave him. If God doesn't do anything for you, you'll leave
him. I see, we saw no beauty in him, but concerning Christ
and the altogether loveliness. That's what the bride said in
Song of Solomon 5. He's altogether lovely, altogether
lovely. and concerning the Lord being
altogether lovely. Let me tell you something that
is unbelievably so, but it's so. We believe it, not unbelievable,
it's believable. But this is the way it is. 1
John 4, 17, you want to know how we, the elect of God, fought
by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, robed in His righteousness. Let me tell you what the scripture
says about us who are sinners by birth, sinners by practice,
sinners by admission, robed in His righteousness, washed white
in His blood. 1 John 4, 17 says, as He is,
so are we in this world. That's where we are. Oh, the
beauty of this young man, Joseph. What a beautiful picture of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Lord willing, next week
we're gonna find a great trial that this young man's gonna go
through. And by the grace of God, you know what it is. By
the grace of God, God's gonna keep him. God's gonna keep him.
In all of that that he went through, picturing the faithfulness of
Christ. Be praying. I want you to read that. Chapter
39, starting verse 7, go to the end of the chapter. And Lord,
that's what we'll look at next week. For the glory of God, for
our good and comfort, amen.