As most of you know, we're working
through the book of the Acts, and last week we commenced chapter
7. Chapter 7 is where Stephen gives
his statement with regard to his faith. And last week we commented
on the first 8 verses. So tonight we'll look at from
verse 9 to verse 16, and we'll just read those. and read him
from verse 9 to verse 16. And the patriarchs moved with
envy, sold Joseph into Egypt, but God was with him and delivered
him out of all his afflictions and gave him favour and wisdom
in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And he made him governor
over Egypt and all his house. Now there came a dearth over
all the land of Egypt, and Canaan, and great affliction. And our
fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there
was court in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And at the
second time, Joseph was made known to his brethren. And Joseph's
kindred was made known to the Pharaoh. Then said Joseph, and
then sent Joseph and called his father Jacob to him and all his
kindred, three scorned, fifteen souls. So Jacob went down into
Egypt and died he and our fathers and were carried over into Sychem
and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money
of the sons of Emor, the father of Sychem. You will no doubt remember that
this man Stephen, when he commenced speaking before the Sanhedrin,
this was of course all the learned people in the land, they gathered
together and they gathered together to criticise and to condemn what
Stephen had been saying. And you remember they brought
false witnesses and we read and they suborned men which said
we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against
God and they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes
and came upon him and caught him and brought him to the council
and set up false witnesses which said this man ceases not to speak
blasphemous words against this holy place and the Lord. For
we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy
this place and shall change the customs which Moses delivered
us." So that was the criticism that they brought and then we
read what they observed. And all that sat in the council
looked steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face
of an angel. So then the high priest asked
him very simply, are these things so? Stephen then immediately
commenced and he addressed the men and brethren and Father's
Harkon. And he went back, as we spoke,
right back to Abraham, really the beginning of the Jewish nation.
He went back to that commencement and he spoke how Abraham came
out of Mesopotamia and in fact all his life he didn't actually
own his own property as it were, he didn't own any land. And when
he came to bury his wife, he had to purchase that land. So
he was, as the Bible tells us, a stranger and a sojourner in
that land. But God had promised that his
seed should inherit the land and of course it came to pass. Now in following this sequence,
Stephen comes down to this wonderful case of Joseph. And we read in
the Patriarchs, that was the 11 brothers, they were moved
with envy. They were envious of Joseph for
several reasons. First of all, he was a very favoured
son of Jacob. He was the son of his old age
and Jacob had given him a coat of many colours to distinguish
him and so that was a case for being envious of him. And then
we know that Joseph had those two dreams, those dreams which
pictured his brethren bowing down to him, and indeed also
his father and his mother. And this produced envy in their
minds. Here was this younger brother
having these dreams and how perhaps annoying it was to them But we
need to notice here that, first of all, Joseph, he spoke of those
things which God had revealed to him. And it's good, I believe,
sometimes, if we are able to speak of those things which God
has revealed to us. He didn't speak these things
for any pride or any arrogance. He just recalled Very simply,
those things that God had revealed to him in a dream. And so we
have an example and a testimony here of Joseph. Well, what happened
to him? We know that he was sent out
to look for his brethren. They'd gone with their flocks
and he'd gone, his father, and sent him out to find out how
they did. while they saw him coming. And
they thought now was an opportunity to get rid of him, to destroy
him. And it was their determination
really to kill him, so that he would no longer be about. But we see God's wonderful providence,
because while they were thinking on this, there was that number,
that group of people, those Ishmaelites, they came along, they were merchants,
And as a result, the brethren, apart from Reuben, they sold
Joseph to the Ishmaelites. Now, what had Joseph done? What
was his sin? Well, nothing really. Nothing
really. And yet we see how harshly he
was dealt with. Most unkind, wasn't it? Most
wrong. And yet, you see, the Lord permitted
it. And we should always think that
in our lives. We may be called to endure things
which are very unfair, very harsh, very difficult. We must realise
that God sometimes permits these things and it was in this case
for his honour and for his glory. So these patriarchs, they moved
with envy. They were good men, they were
godly men, but you see they were left to themselves and they were
moved with envy. It's a warning to us not to be
moved with envy. You know, it's very easy to become
envious of people. When people prosper, perhaps
more than we do, perhaps they have more things than we do,
perhaps they're blessed more than we do, and we can very easily
become envious. We're told to be content with
such things as we have. The Lord says, for He said, I
would never leave thee, nor forsake thee. And so, they sold Joseph
into Egypt. And then we have these wonderful
words, but God was with him. It's a most amazing word, and
a most powerful word, and a most essential word, but God was with
him. Now God was with him throughout
his life. God is with his people throughout
their lives. We don't always realise it, but
to have it made over in perhaps a special way when things are
going wrong in an opposite way, to have that confidence that
God is with us. It's a wonderful support, you
know. It enabled us to press on against all the evils, against
all the enemies that come to us perhaps in our lives, but
God was with him. Now then, he was then delivered
and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him
favour and wisdom in the Cypher Fair of the King of Egypt. Well,
that wasn't, of course, the only person he received favour from. He did from Potiphar, as you
know, initially. As we read in that 39th of Genesis,
initially he received favour. But then we see how, again, things
turned against him. Again, because he was honourable
and because he was upright. And these times are very hard.
And very difficult when we do that which is right. And we find
those right things bring us into difficulty, bring us into opposition. So we see how the evil wife of
Potiphar, who desired to lie with Joseph, and because he refused,
she then pretended that he had. He had attempted to lie with
her. And her husband believed her. Obviously, he probably may have
asked Joseph. He may not even have asked Joseph.
He may have just taken her word. And as a result, Joseph was put
into prison. Now you may think, well, that
must have been quite an easy situation there in that prison,
because we know he prospered. We know that the jailer of the
prison let him have liberty and gave him charge over the other
prisoners. And we may think, well then,
perhaps it wasn't quite so difficult. But we do read in the Psalms,
105th Psalm, we read this. He sent a man before him, even
Joseph, who was sold for a servant, now note this, whose feet they
hurt with fetters. He was laid in iron. So it wasn't
easy, physically. A poor man had a physical problem,
and again not because of his sin. And that's hard to bear,
isn't it? When we have to find we have
to suffer physically for not doing wrong things, for being
honourable. And then we read also, which
was perhaps more testing for him, until the time that his
word came, the word of the Lord tried him. Now just imagine,
Joseph had those two dreams. He told his brethren, as it were,
he nailed his colours to the mast, he told them what the Lord
had done and spoken to him. And now, where is he? He's in
prison. He's in iron. How are those promises
from God going to be fulfilled? It was a very testing time and
I believe today we still have testing times of our faith. His faith was tested greatly
and God's people's faith are still tested and the reason our
faith is tested so that we lose everything which is not from
God but that which is from God and that which is That, for God,
stays firm. That which is of the flesh, indeed,
is burnt up. Peter tells us something about
faith. Now, Peter knew a lot about this. Remember, Peter had denied his
Lord and Master. He thought he was very strong.
He thought he was an able man. He said he would never deny his
Lord and Master. But he did very quickly after,
saying he wouldn't. Not once, not twice, but three
times. So therefore he knew the need
of faith. And in his first epistle, in
the first chapter of 7th verse we read, that the trial of your
faith be much more precious than a gold that perisheth, though
it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. And we see the
analogy here of earthly things and spiritual things. The earthly
things, you see, are gold. And he used the analogy, gold
that perishes. But faith given by God does not
perish. It is an eternal gift. See how
wonderful it is to be blessed with true living faith. It's more precious then gold
that perisheth. And then in the same epistle,
in the fourth chapter, the Apostle Peter tells us this. Beloved,
he uses that phrase a number of occasions. It's a very endearing
term. Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which shall try you as though some
strange thing happened unto you. What does he tell us to do then?
To mope? To go in a corner? but rejoice
inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that
when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding
joy." So the evidence of our faith being tested is an evidence
of sonship and we should therefore be encouraged by it and bless
God for it. Now that's a situation that Joseph
was found in. He was found here in this situation,
in the prison, with irons around him. And what was his greatest
test, the test of his faith, was whether what God had told
him was from God or whether it was just from man, his own imagination. And so it was a time of great
testing. But the blessing was, as we read,
but God was with him. I can do all things, said the
Apostle Paul, through Christ that strengtheneth me. And the
Apostle Paul knew the truth of that. We know that Luke wrote
these, the Acts of the Apostles. And Luke obviously realised the
truth of these words. But the Apostle Paul knew the
truth of them as well. Especially when we think of that
occasion when he went into Macedonia by the instruction of God. He
came into Macedonia. He preached the word at Philippi.
What was the result? He and Silas, they were taken
captive for fulfilling what God had told them to do. And not
only were they taken captive, they were beaten and they were
put in a prison. All because they were doing God's
will. But God was with them. And it's very wonderful to read
that at midnight, Paul and Silas, in the prison, with lashes on
their backs, sang praises to God and the prisoners heard them. What a God-glorifying situation
that was. No doubt what a God-glorifying
situation it was here of Joseph in this prison, setting such
a good example before those prisoners. And what was the great secret
in both those cases? But God was with them. And so today, surely we can bless
God. If we face difficult situations,
which I believe we must do, because the Bible tells us it's through
much tribulation we should enter the kingdom. The Christian's
life is never an easy life. The true Christian's life is
never an easy life. A false Christian's life can
be an easy life because there's no opposition. But there is a
testing of a true Christian's life. And so we read about Joseph
here. But then when Jacob heard that
they was caught in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And the second time Joseph was
made known to his brethren. Again, we see now how the Lord
wonderfully appeared. Joseph was a young man, 17 years
of age, when he was taken captive. And he was well over 30 when
he was brought before Pharaoh. And again, you see, even in that
prison, there was that testing time, you may remember. He was
able to give the the reason and the results of those dreams that
Butler and Baker had. And he said to the butler, when
you're restored, remember me. What did the butler do? Forgot
all about him. Two years later, Pharaoh has
a dream. The butler remembers his sins,
remembers his omissions, and says, tell us the king, hey,
there was a man that can interpret dreams. He interpreted mine. Joseph's call before Pharaoh
and in a very short time is elevated from a prisoner to next to Pharaoh
in the kingdom. Wonderful isn't it to see how
God works in an amazing way. and how then Joseph's dreams
came to be fulfilled and God was with him. So we know that
God indeed was with him, enabled him to do that which was right
and corn was gathered in those seven years of prosperity and
then He delivered it and dished it out in those seven years of
famine. And in that time, Joseph's brethren
were brought into Egypt and his father, his old father Jacob. And Jacob came, you may remember,
before Pharaoh. And Pharaoh asked him how old
he was. And he gave a very interesting answer. He said, few and evil
have been my days. He didn't say, well, I'm a hundred
and something years old, I lived a wonderful life. Few and evil
have been my days. When you think of Jacob's life,
well, he did wrong things, didn't he? But the Lord also blessed
him, and that was his response before Pharaoh. So, we then read,
so Joseph went down into Egypt and died, he and our fathers,
and were carried over into Sycam and made him the sepulcher that
Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emor, the father
of Sycam. And so as we continue with this
statement by Stephen, we pick up so many wonderful strands
of God's favour and blessing and may we today be encouraged
to know that we have the same God. Now Joseph, he was caused
to suffer we may be caused to suffer. And I believe it brings
us into this situation. Fellowship with the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Apostle Peter knew that.
The Apostle Paul knew that. Good God's people do know that.
Fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ and indeed fellowship
in his sufferings so that we have a little understanding of
the enormous cost of our salvation. To know that the Saviour, he
died upon Calvary's cross to redeem our souls. He shed his
precious blood to atone for all our sins. So when things perhaps
don't go according to plan and go in the opposite direction,
may we know two things. First of all, that God is indeed
with us and that we are being blessed for that fellowship with
his sufferings, for his praise and for his glory. Amen.