Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nybert. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. In 2 Timothy 3, verse 16, we
read these words, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Literally, all scripture is God-breathed. God says it exactly as he would
have it said. Beginning in Genesis 1, verse
1, all the way through Revelation, 22 verse 21, all scripture is
given by inspiration of God. Now, that's talking about the
Old Testament and the New Testament. Now, somebody once made this
statement about the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings. Genesis
is the seed plot of the Bible. Every doctrine contained in the
New Testament is illustrated in the book of Genesis. And you
and I were just geared to learn things by illustration. We can
hear something, and then we can hear an illustration, and it
makes it plainer to us. And these are the illustrations
of God. I realize preachers try to come
up with brilliant illustrations, and usually they're far, far
short, but oh, the illustrations of God are perfect. And in the
book of Genesis, we have a beautiful illustration of faith, what it
is in Genesis chapter 39, verses one through six. I've entitled
this message, What is Faith? and I'm going to be preaching
from Genesis 39, the first six verses, but let me first quote
some scriptures from the New Testament. The writer to the
Hebrews said in Hebrews 11, verse six, without faith, it is impossible
to please God. Notice he doesn't say it's improbable. He doesn't say it's very difficult,
But he says, without faith it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must
believe that he is. He must believe in his isness. He is as he says he is in the
Bible. And that he is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him. Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8
and 9 says, for by grace are you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, that
faith. It's not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Romans 3, 28 says, therefore
we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of
the law. There are several times in the
gospels where the Lord said to someone, thy faith has saved
thee. Go in peace. Now with those scriptures in
mind, what is faith? I want to know, don't you? Now
in Genesis chapter 39 we're given a story of Joseph when he's brought
into Egypt. I want to read these verses to
you and I want you to think of Potiphar as being a type of the
believer and Joseph being a type of Christ. And I want us to see
how Joseph was trusted by this man Potiphar. Now, let me give
you the background before I read this passage of scripture. Joseph
was Jacob's favorite son. You'll remember that he made
him a coat of many colors and all of his brothers were insanely
jealous of Joseph because of this. And Joseph had some dreams. And he dreamed that all of his
brothers would be bowing in the dust at his feet, and this infuriated
them. So when Joseph came to seek out
their welfare, his father sent him to them while they were watching
the sheep. They said, here comes this dreamer,
let's kill him. and Judah delivered him and said
let's just sell him and make some money off of him and so
they sold him into Egypt and a man by the name of Potiphar
bought this young man as a slave. Now Joseph was only 17 years
old when he went into Egypt, and he was in Potiphar's house
for 11 years. And these six verses are going
to tell of the first 11 years that Joseph spent in Egypt. Now, remember, he was a young
17-year-old boy, not knowing the language, but the Lord was
with Joseph. We read in verse 1 of Genesis
chapter 39, and Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar,
an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, a high-ranking officer of Pharaoh, An Egyptian
bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites, which had brought
him down thither. Now a man by the name of Potiphar
buys this 17-year-old young man who did not know the language
of the Egyptians, but I suppose he thought, well, he can work
in the fields. I don't really need him to understand
the language. I can tell him this is what you
do. But look what the scripture says in verse two, and the Lord
was with Joseph. Now that says everything, doesn't
it? The Lord was with Joseph. The songwriter said, when blessed
with a sense of his love, a palace, a toy would appear, but prisons
would palaces prove if Jesus would dwell with me there. The
Lord was with Joseph. Now Joseph is a remarkable man. He was a remarkable young man
at this time. He didn't know why the Lord sent him into Egypt,
but he knew who sent him into Egypt and the Lord was with him. And the Lord was with Joseph
and he was a prosperous man. He began by learning the Egyptian
language And he became prosperous in Potiphar's house. Everything
he did prospered. Everything he did was successful
because the Lord was with him. What an unusual young man Joseph
was. The Lord was with him and he
was a prosperous man and he was in the house of his master, the
Egyptian. Verse three, and his master, Saul, that the Lord was
with him. Now, the thing that comes to
my mind is how did this heathen Egyptian know who the Lord was
when he heard that the Lord, or when he saw that the Lord
was with Joseph? I have no doubt Joseph told it. Joseph had learned the language
of the Egyptians, and his master Potiphar saw that everything
he did prospered, and I'm sure Potiphar was grateful. He was
the beneficiary of Joseph's labor. He complimented Joseph for what
he'd done. He was grateful for what Joseph
had done. And Joseph said, here is why
everything I do prospers. The Lord is with me. That is
the only reason. The Lord is with me. I have no
doubt that Joseph told Potiphar who the Lord was. You see, Jehovah,
the Lord, is the creator. He is the Lord of heaven and
earth. Potiphar, you're in His hands.
He is Lord, not in name, but in deed and in truth. He's God
over all, blessed forever. He controls everybody and everything. He's the sovereign of the universe.
And I have no doubt Joseph believed the gospel. He's mentioned in
the hall of faith. And he told Potiphar, I have no doubt that
this God can only be approached through the coming sacrifice
that was to come. He had the same faith Abel did.
Abel only came into God's presence through the blood of Christ.
When he brought that blood of the lamb, he knew it wasn't that
blood that saved him, but what that blood represented, the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He told Potiphar, here's the
one reason for my success, the Lord is with me. Verse four, and Joseph found
grace in his sight. Potiphar favored Joseph. Well, he had every reason to
favor Joseph. Everything Joseph did turned to gold, and he was
the beneficiary of it. He was the one who prospered
from it. He favored Joseph because he saw the Lord's hand was upon
Joseph, and everything Joseph did was successful, and Joseph
found grace in his sight, and he, Joseph, served him, Potiphar,
And here's what Potiphar did as he, I don't know how many
years it took him to do this. It could have been two or three,
could have been seven or eight. I don't know. This covers an
11 year period of Joseph's life, but it says that Potiphar made
him overseer over his house and all that he had, he put in his
hand. Now, Our employers ought to be
benefited by us working for them. Somebody that's a believer, they
ought to be the hardest worker. They ought to be the most successful
worker with God's blessing on what they're doing. And their
employer ought to be happy that they have them as their employee.
And I'm sure that Potiphar was, but this is so interesting. Potiphar
entrusted everything he had to Joseph. Joseph became the one
who did everything, who made every decision. Potiphar entrusted
all that he had into Joseph's hand in verse five says, and
it came to pass from that time, from the time that he'd made
him overseer in his house and over all that he had, that the
Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake. I mean Potiphar had everything
good happen to him. And he realized that this was
for Joseph's sake, not because of him, but because of Joseph. He understood that as soon as
he entrusted everything in Joseph's hand, everything was successful. Everything prospered 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 aught he
had save the bread which he did eat. What do you have Potiphar? You have to ask Joseph. It's
all in his hand. All I know of is the bread he gives me to eat. It's all in Joseph's hand. And Joseph was a goodly person
and well favored. Now what a beautiful character
Joseph demonstrated at this time, what unwavering faith in his
God, what exemplary service to Potiphar. And we would all do
well to imitate Joseph in his life, in his conduct. Let me
say this as well. If that's all I get out of this
story, I've missed the point. This story is given to teach
us what faith in Jesus Christ is. Potiphar is the type of the
believer. Joseph is a type of Christ. Potiphar
trusted Joseph completely with everything he had. The believer
trusts Christ completely with everything he has. Now, the first
thing that I would notice Potiphar knew something. He knew something. What he knew is because of what
he heard. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. And you can be sure of this,
Joseph told Potiphar in no uncertain terms why he was a prosperous
man. The Lord was with him. Potiphar
heard something. You know, Hebrews 11 says Joseph
was in the hall of faith. Hebrews 11 22 says, by faith,
Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children
of Israel and gave commandment concerning his bones. Now, Joseph
knew of the prophecy of Genesis 15, where God told Abraham, your
seed is going to go into a strange land, speaking of Egypt. They're
400 years, they're going to be afflicted, and afterwards, I'm
going to bring them out. They'll become a nation of slaves,
but I'm going to bring them out. Joseph had heard of that, and
he believed that, and he said, when you leave, take my bones
and bring them back to the land of promise. Now, he told Potiphar
who the Lord was. Now, I think of this scripture.
Peter said in 1 Peter 3, 15, always be ready to give an answer
to every man that asks you. a reason for the hope that is
in you. Now, I have no doubt that Potiphar
asked Joseph about this. Joseph gave him the reason. I'm
just going to imagine that somebody listening to me right now, you're
asking, give me a reason for the hope that's in you. Now,
I have a hope. I have a hope that on judgment
day, I'll be accepted. I have a hope that everything
that happens between now and then is for my good. What a hope
that is. Don't you want to have that hope?
That on judgment day you'll be without fault before God and
that everything that happens between now and then is for your
good and his glory. Somebody says, give me a reason
for that hope. Well, let me quote a scripture.
Romans 8 31 says, if God be for us, Who can be against us? Now, who's he speaking of when
he says, if God be for us? Is he talking about all men without
exception? No. In the context, and we know,
Romans 8, 28. 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. For whom he did foreknow, He
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
He did predestinate, them He also called. And whom He called,
them He also justified. And whom He justified, them He
also glorified. What shall we say to these things
if God be for us? The us is those He foreknew. those He predestinated, those
He called, those He justified, those He glorified. If God be
for us, who can be against us? There's my hope. He that spared
not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall
He not? What could possibly prevent Him
from giving us freely all things, all the things of salvation?
Who is He that condemneth? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? God justified them, that's my
hope. Who is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea rather
that's risen again, who's even at the right hand of God. There's
my hope. Christ died, rose again, and is even right now at the
right hand of God. Now, verse three. And his master
saw that the Lord was with him, and the Lord had made all he
did to prosper in his hand. Now Potiphar saw something. His faith was not blind faith.
He knew that it was because of the Lord that Joseph prospered,
and he saw that everything Joseph did prospered. This was not blind
faith. It was faith from something that
he saw very clearly. Now, there is such a thing as
blind faith. The atheist, he As a type of faith, he believes
something, he believes there's no God. But it's a blind faith. You have to take a leap into
the dark to believe something that foolish, and that irrational,
and that illogical, and that unreasonable. It's a blind faith. This man Potiphar saw something. He saw that Joseph was successful. Now you can only have true faith
in a Christ who is successful. Now this is so important. Listen
to me real carefully. The true Jesus, there's a lot
of Jesus's preached. The true Jesus is the one who
is successful. the one who cannot fail. He's successful because of who
he is. He's God. He's man. He's the perfect man. He's the
God-man. He is incapable of failure. The scripture says, he shall
not fail, nor be discouraged. Now, if you believe in a Christ
whose intentions can be thwarted, whose will can be thwarted, If
you believe in a Christ that intends to save all men but cannot
save men unless men do their part to enable him to do his
part, the Christ you believe in is no different than the Easter
Bunny or Peter Rabbit. That Christ can't save you. A
Christ who wants to do things but can't without your permission,
that is a non-existent Christ. That is another Jesus. You see, Potter saw a man who
prospered, who was successful in everything he did. Hebrews 1.3 says, when He had
by Himself purged our sins. He did this with no contribution
from any man. He did this by Himself. When
He said, it is finished, the salvation of everybody He died
for was accomplished. He's successful. Hebrews 10 14
says by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are
sanctified. Now the only Christ that can
save me or you is a Christ who can save us without any contribution
on our part. He does it all. Now this is what
Potiphar saw. He saw one who could do everything. The Lord made all that he did
to prosper in his hands. And Joseph, verse four, found
grace in his sight. You know, if you ever see who
Christ is, you will favor him. You'll want to be saved by him
and not by your works. He will be favored by you if
you see who he is. And Joseph found grace in his
sight and he served him. And here's what Potiphar did.
He made him overseer. He committed He entrusted everything
that he owned into Joseph's hand. Now, would you entrust everything
you own to me? Well, the answer is no, you don't
know me. You wouldn't entrust everything you own into my hand.
And even if you knew that I would seek your best interests, if
you knew me, you'd know I don't have the understanding to make
sure that your money is safe and that your security is safe.
I would end up losing it all. I don't have the wisdom to do
anything like that. You would be foolish to entrust
everything into my hand. But Potiphar was not foolish
to entrust everything into Joseph's hand because everything Joseph
did was successful. And how wise it is to entrust
everything into Christ's hand. He can't fail. He's perfect. He's the perfect Savior. Whatever
you entrust into his hand, You're secure. You're safe because of
who He is. You can entrust all the concerns
of the salvation of your soul to Him. Now here's the New Testament
commentary, 2 Timothy 1.12, Paul said, I know whom I have believed.
I know who He is. And He's incapable of failure.
He doesn't try to do anything. He doesn't make anybody redeemable,
He redeems. He doesn't put anybody in the
position to be saved, He saves. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. I know whom I have believed and
I'm persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed
to Him. Now here's what faith is, it's
a commitment of all the concerns of your soul to Him. Hands off, you don't have a plan
B. Here's your only hope. I'm complete in Him. He finished
my salvation. He did it all. All that God requires
of me, He looks to Christ for. I trust Him only. If that's not enough, I won't
be saved. And that's what Paul meant by
that. I know whom I have believed. I'm persuaded he is able to keep
that which I've committed to him against that day. That's what Potiphar did with
Joseph. And this is what faith is. He
made him overseer over his house and all that he had, he put in
his hand. All the hopes of my salvation
are in Christ's hand. I'm not looking anywhere else.
Verse five, And it came to pass from the time that he made him
overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord
blessed the Egyptians' house for Joseph's sake. And listen
to this. All of God's blessing is on every
believer for Christ's sake. Ephesians 4.32 says, Be ye kind,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's
sake, hath forgiven you. God does not respond to anything
you do for your salvation. His response is to who His Son
is and what He did. Now, why would I be one of God's
elect? Because I'm in Christ. Why am
I justified? He justified me by His righteousness.
Why am I redeemed? He redeemed me. Why do I have
the new birth? Because Christ died for me and
God the Holy Spirit gives me the new birth for Christ's sake.
Why do I persevere? Because He preserves me. Why
will I be glorified? Because He glorifies me. Every
aspect of salvation is for Christ's sake. You can't take that too
far. And it came to pass from the
time that he'd made him overseer in his house and over all that
he had that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's 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 aught he had
save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person."
Now, this is what faith is. When you believe the gospel,
All you have is in Christ's hand. You're completely, totally dependent
and reliant upon Him. You're not looking to your works.
You're not looking to your duties. You're not looking to efforts.
You're not looking to yesterday, what took place, or tomorrow,
what you will do. All your salvation is in His
hand, and all you have is the daily food He gives you. That's
faith in Christ, the manna for today. And it's pointed out that
Joseph was a goodly person and well-favored. Christ is a goodly
person and well-favored. And if I'm in him, I'm a goodly
person and well-favored. Because 1 John 4, 17 says, as
he is, oh, he's goodly and well-favored. As he is, so are we in this world. Faith is putting everything in
Christ's hand, leaving it there, trusting him only. To receive
a copy of the sermon you have just heard, send your request
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