Humbled & Exalted

0:40And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them, and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody. And one night they both dreamed, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation.

1:07When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, Why are your faces downcast today? They said to him, We've had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them. And Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to the world? So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, In my dream there was a vine before me, and on the vine there were three branches.

1:43As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and the clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. Then Joseph said to him, This is its interpretation. The three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formerly when you were his cupbearer. Only remember me when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house.

2:22For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit. When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, I also had a dream. There were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh. But the birds were eating out of it, out of the basket on my head.

2:46And Joseph answered and said, This is its interpretation. The three baskets are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you, and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh from eat the flesh. From you. On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.

3:11He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. The Masters tournament is one of the greatest events in all of sports. And each winner of the Masters has a great story. Sergio Garcia was born in Spain in 1980. He grew up with his hero being Sevi Baesteros, the man in the background of that picture behind me.

3:55And in 1999, Sergio Garcia turned pro, and everybody, including himself, expected him to win and win often. And heading into 2017, Sergio Garcia had been very successful. He spent 400 weeks ranked in the top 10 in the world golf rankings. He won 30 tournaments internationally and nine on the PGA Tour. And yet, despite all of that success in golf's four major championships, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship, he was 0 for 73. in 18 years. He never won one time. 18 years on the tour, all of that talent, it really humbled him.

4:39In fact, back in 2012, he said this to a reporter, I'm not good enough. I don't have the thing I need to have. In 13 years, I've come to the conclusion that I need to play for second or third place in a major. Well, sometimes you have to be humbled before you can be exalted. And this past April at the Masters Tournament, Sergio Garcia finally broke through. He won the tournament in a playoff against Justin Rose, and all of the disappointments, all of the heartache, all of the hard times that he went through and not winning a major helped to form his character and his resolve to finally be able to break through this last month.

5:18Friends, as we look at Genesis 40 and 41 today, Joseph is still in prison after Potiphar's wife lied about him. And keep in mind, this was a man who had such great expectations for his life after God gave him these dreams of him being a leader one day. But since then, he's been sold into slavery, he's been lied about, had his character and reputation ruined, and he finds himself in prison. He's certainly been humbled, and it does not seem that any time soon he's going to be exalted.

5:51When we look at our own lives, I think many times they take unexpected turns, and things don't turn out the way that we expected them to. Those are humbling times for us. They can leave us disoriented, even embittered toward God. But my hope is that as we go through Genesis 40 and 41 today, we will learn through Joseph that if God humbles us, it is only to exalt us in his perfect timing. So let's take a look at the text together here in chapter 40.

6:27You see here mentioned right at the outset the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. These are trusted men. Not only were they responsible for bringing Pharaoh his food and preparing that for him, or preparing and bringing him his drinks, but they were actually there to ensure that Pharaoh was not poisoned by his enemies. So these were highly trusted men that he kept close to him at all times. And so the question is, why would these two guys, of all people, be in prison? Well, it could have been for some small, minor offense. It may have been that Pharaoh simply didn't like the wine, or that he didn't like the food that the chief baker had prepared for him.

7:05I think more than likely it was something more serious than that. Perhaps Pharaoh had become ill. And because he became ill, they were suspected of trying to assassinate him by poisoning him. And so no matter what the explanation is, they find themselves thrown into prison providentially with Joseph being in charge of them. And Joseph comes and sees that they're upset one day, and he asks them why. And they note that they've had these dreams and that there's no one there to interpret them. Now, this is significant because you have to keep in mind, the Egyptians had no specific revelation from God.

7:42God had not appeared to any of the Egyptians at this point to reveal himself specifically. And so they viewed dreams as one of the primary means that the God or gods of the world would speak to them. And so they were very concerned because they had no access in prison to the magicians and the wise men who would be expected to interpret those dreams. Well, the good news that Joseph brings to them is that interpretations belong to God.

8:08And the further good news is that Joseph himself belongs to God. Now, I want you to note that even though Joseph has been through many difficult trials at this point in his life, many difficult circumstances, he still trusts in the Lord. I mean, remember, Joseph himself had dreamed some fairly significant dreams as a teenager. And do you remember this from Genesis 37? Now, Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, Hear this dream that I have dreamed. Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.

8:52How's that working out for Joe? Not too good so far, right? These dreams that he had. And that he was able to interpret, it hasn't worked out the way that he would have hoped. Instead, he's been sold into slavery by his brothers. He's been lied about by his master's wife. He finds himself in prison. And yet, Joseph still has full confidence in the Lord, full trust in God, that dreams and their interpretation belong to him. He still trusts that there seems to be a purpose that God is working toward in his life, even though there's no reason for him to conclude that. And, friends, when we think about our own lives, I think many of us seem to think that if God has called us to do something, earn a degree, pursue a certain vocation, get married, have children, I think many of us assume that if God has called us to do something, that the road is always going to be smooth and easy.

9:52And many times people think to themselves, well, if the road is not smooth, for example, if my marriage isn't always smooth, if everything in my marriage isn't always perfect, I must have missed God's will. It must not be God's will for me to be married to this person any longer. Friends, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, even when God calls us to do things, many times the road is bumpy. There are many trials, difficult circumstances, because those are the things that God uses to increase our faith. Those are the things God is using. God uses to sanctify us and make us more like Christ. Those are the things God uses that we'll see even here through Joseph to open doors for ministry opportunities to share the good news of Jesus with others. And so, friends, in trials, remember, if God humbles us, it's only to exalt us in his perfect timing.

10:52And so, the chief cupbearer, he tells his dream first. He recounts for Joseph that he had this dream where there was a vine with three branches, and the branches budded, they produced grapes, and he pressed those grapes into Pharaoh's cup to deliver to him. And Joseph says, well, the meaning is simple. In three days, Pharaoh is going to restore you to your office. And so Joseph just makes a simple request. He says, do me this kindness. In exchange for my kindness, remember me to Pharaoh. Get me out of here. I've done nothing wrong that I deserve to be imprisoned. You notice he doesn't want revenge on anyone. He doesn't blame anyone for his situation. He just asks for kindness. He just wants justice to be done.

11:36Well, the chief baker hears Joseph's interpretation of the cupbearer's dream, and he thinks, I love this guy. I can't wait to hear what he has to say about my dream. So he shares that in his dream, there's three baskets of food on his head, but the birds keep descending and eating out of the top basket. And Joseph tells him, in three days, Pharaoh is going to lift up your head, like literally. By hanging you on a tree.

12:03Sorry, bro. I don't know if you've seen the this is fine meme. It goes goes around on the internet a lot, but you know, this is what this guy has got to be thinking. I mean, this is fine. No problem. Not what I was hoping to hear, but this is fine. Joseph is not a false prophet. And so Joseph doesn't just go around telling people what they want to hear. He didn't promise this guy health and wealth and prosperity. He said, no, this is what's going to happen to you. He was committed to telling the truth, even when the truth was hard to tell people. And sure enough, three days later, everything that he said came to pass. The cupbearer is restored, and the chief baker is hanged. But the cupbearer totally forgets about Joseph. And we read that and we think, how could you forget Joseph? I mean, not only did you promise to remember him to Pharaoh, but he did this great kindness for you. How could you forget him? He seems to have only used him.

12:58And friends, I think when we consider our own lives, we realize that many times we use other people as well. We see people as useful to us. They can do something for us or they can give something to us. And so, because of that, we treat them kindly, we make promises, we do all these things. But once we have what we want, we forget them. We have a very what's in it for me kind of mindset. And, friends, in the Gospels, Jesus is very clear. He calls us to repent of that kind of mindset. He says, If you're only greeting your brothers, if you're only inviting to dinner those who can pay you back, you're not acting any differently than non-believers.

13:39He says, We have to turn away from the attitude of using others, seeing them only as useful for what they can do for us, and instead seeing them as men and women, children who are created in the image of God, who have inherent worth and dignity, not because they can do something for us, but just because of who they are. We're called to repent of using others. Now, the cupbearer, it would have been very truthful and kind of him to do what he promised, but we also have to consider that this is not the only thing at work here. And we have to consider that Pharaoh probably wouldn't have listened to him at this point anyway. I mean, the reality is he had some kind of grievance against the cupbearer. And so it's pretty unlikely that right out of prison, Pharaoh is going to give a real care about this guy that he met in prison who told him the future. All of this is happening because God intended to keep Joseph in prison, to do things through that trial that could not have been accomplished in any other way, and to keep him there until the timing was perfect. If God humbles us, it's to exalt us in his perfect timing. And unfortunately for Joseph, God's perfect timing was still a long ways off. Look with me now at chapter 41, verse 1.

15:03After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile. And behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows, attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind. And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. So in the morning, his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

16:06The author notes that two whole years have passed. I mean, you feel in those words how long, how difficult this was. Two whole years, day after day, in the prison. Well, Pharaoh finally, at this point, dreams, and his spirit is troubled, and so he calls the magicians and the wise men to help interpret the dream. But they can't do it. Well, why not? We already know the answer from chapter 40. It's because interpretations belong to God. And these magicians, these wise men, they don't belong to God.

16:47Pharaoh ends up disappointed. And friends, anytime we look to anyone or anything other than God to do what only God can do, we end up disappointed. That's how it works. That's why so many people in our country are walking around day after day disappointed. Because they were so sure that finally meeting that right person, finally owning the right possessions, finally having the right experiences would give them lasting satisfaction and joy. In every one of those cases and many more, they're looking to things and people to do what only God can do for them. And so they end up disappointed, just like Pharaoh. Pharaoh was looking to people to do something that only God could do. Look now at verse 9.

17:44Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, I remember my offenses today. When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own. Interpretation. A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.

18:23At this point, Pharaoh is wondering: isn't there anybody out there who can interpret these dreams for me? And the cupbearer is like, oh, yeah, I know a guy. Finally, remembers him. Now, humanly speaking, Joseph has been in prison for the past two years because the cupbearer forgot him. But when we consider things from God's perspective, Joseph has been in prison for two extra years because that was God's will for his life. God is in control of what happens to us. He is ultimately responsible for Joseph's longer stay in the prison. He had a purpose in leaving him there. And friends, it's critical for every one of us to learn to trust God's wisdom and God's timing.

19:09I can think of so many different times in my life where I have been disappointed because what I wanted didn't happen. Or what I wanted didn't happen when I wanted it to happen. And in hindsight, in most of these cases, I can now see very clearly God's timing was better. Or God's purpose in withholding that thing from me was better. But that's the benefit of hindsight. Being able to look back and see how God has been at work and why he's been at work in those ways. I came across this great quote from Baldwin this week. Look at this on the screen. Abraham and Sarah had to wait until old age for the birth of Isaac. Moses was exiled for much of his life in an inhospitable desert. David lived under threat of death at the hand of Saul and was on the run for months, if not years. Yet in every case, the purpose of God was being worked out and in due course came to fruition. Indeed, it has been said that only those with faith in God experience his testing, for it is designed to put steel into faith so that it becomes steadfast and mature and can testify to the tender love of the Lord in designing the suffering.

20:36Friends, learning to trust God's wisdom and God's timing is a very difficult thing. And that's why it's so important for us to visit the scriptures often and to familiarize ourselves with these great historical accounts that we find in Genesis and elsewhere in Scripture. Because we see that the men and women who were used mightily by God all went through these very difficult trials, all went through the trial. Through very difficult suffering. And in God's perfect timing, he exalted them, whatever that looked like. It was different for some than others. It was a greater exaltation for some than others. It didn't happen in this life for some.

21:14But in his perfect timing, he exalted every one of them. Look now at verse 14. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it. Joseph answered Pharaoh, It is not in me. God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.

21:54We see here that Joseph is brought out of what is described as the pit. It makes you wonder about the conditions of that prison that he had been kept in for years at this point. And after all that time, Joseph is brought out. He finally has the opportunity to shave and to wash and to change clothes before he's presented to Pharaoh. How do you think that felt? I mean, if I had been in prison for a couple of years, I would finally need to shave.

22:22And I know how great that would feel for me after being in prison for years. We see again. Here, if God humbles us, it's only to exalt us in his perfect timing. And you notice here, Pharaoh tries to give credit to Joseph. He tries to say, I heard that you can do this. And what does Joseph do? Immediately, he gives credit to God. He says, I can't do this. God can do this, and God will do this. You see what tremendous faith that he has. He doesn't only give credit to God after interpreting the dreams, although that would have been appropriate, that would have been just fine. But Joseph puts all the cards on the table beforehand, so to speak, and he says, God is going to do this. He is going to reveal the interpretation of the dream. He has such great faith in the Lord. And so at this point, Pharaoh recounts the dreams about the cows and the grain in verses 17 through 24. So let's pick up in verse 25.

23:22Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dreams of Pharaoh are one. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years. The dreams are one. The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. It is as I told Pharaoh. God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be for God. In the land of Egypt, the famine will consume the land, and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. Now, therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.

24:52So, Joseph tells Pharaoh, it's through these dreams that God is revealing his will to you. Joseph is careful to explain this. God is revealing what he intends to do. And I think for so many people today, the assumption is that God is hiding himself. God is very difficult to find. God is purposely concealing himself from people. But friends, God has revealed himself in so many different ways. He's revealed himself through creation, which points to His eternal power and divine nature. He's revealed himself through the conscience, which testifies about what is right and wrong, what is righteous and sinful. He's revealed himself through Jesus, who is the exact imprint of the divine nature. He's revealed himself through his people who are filled with his Holy Spirit. He's revealed himself through scripture, which reveals everything that we need to know about him and his will for our lives. And he's revealed himself through other means, including dreams and visions. You see, so many people today, both Christians and non-Christians, seem to think that God is hiding himself, that he's difficult to find. But, friends, what we learn in Scripture is that the problem, according to Romans 1, is not that God is hiding himself, but that men have suppressed the truth in unrighteousness. It's not that God is difficult to find. He's revealed himself in so many different ways. Rather, it's that unrighteous men have suppressed the truth in unrighteousness. That's the problem. People know that God exists. Even those who profess to be atheists know that God exists, but they suppress that knowledge because that knowledge requires repentance. It requires a change in belief and a change in behavior. And so they suppress that knowledge. Friends, our job as Christians is not to argue people into believing that God exists or into believing the gospel. Our job as Christians is to be another means of revelation as we share the good news of Jesus with them and as they are able to observe our holy lives, which according to Jesus and Peter then point them to the one true God. That's our task as Christians, is to be another means of revelation for people to see who God is.

27:21And so Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams and he explains that there will be seven years of great harvest followed by seven years of great famine. And so he recommends that they set aside 20% of the crops in those good years so that there will be enough left over during the famine. I think it's also funny that he points out, you should choose a discerning and wise man and appoint him over all of this. He's like, I know a guy looking for a job. His situation is less than ideal.

27:50So what's Pharaoh going to think about this? Look at verse 37. This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find a man like this in whom is the Spirit of God? Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine. Linen and put a gold chain about his neck. And he made him ride in a second chariot. And they called out before him, bow the knee. Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without your consent, no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphanoth Panea.

28:56And he gave him in marriage to Asanath, the daughter of Potipharah, priest of On. So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. So at this point, Pharaoh sees that the Spirit of God is clearly at work in Joseph, and he promotes him to the second most important position in all of the land. Joseph has gone from being essentially the prisoner with the most privileges to being the second in command in the most powerful nation on the earth.

29:27And what an amazing turn of events this is. Pharaoh wants to be sure that Joseph is going to be integrated fully into Egyptian life, that he will have the people's respect, and so he marries him off to an Egyptian woman, and he changes his name to Zaphonoth Panea. I think we can all agree that was a big step backward from his previous name. But what about this turn of events? And what a precipitous fall, and what a meteoric rise that Joseph enjoyed. I mean, he would have never thought as a cocky teenager, wearing this beautiful robe, the favorite of all of his dad's children, having the dreams that he had that his life would turn out like it did. In fact, we'll learn in the next few verses next week that Joseph has been in slavery or in prison from age 17 to age 30, the prime of his life, gone, enslaved and imprisoned. But, friends, nothing would have prepared Joseph for this moment in the same way that trials and suffering prepared him for this moment. I mean, at times, I'm sure it all felt so hopeless, so pointless, so unfair.

30:45But God humbled Joseph to exalt him in his perfect timing. And I think many times we look at people, men and women, who are used greatly by God, and we think to ourselves, that must be nice. I would love to be used in those ways. And we forget, or we never knew, all of the trials, all of the suffering, all of the difficult circumstances that those men and women went through before they were used by God.

31:19I think of a couple of contemporary examples. Johnny Erickson Tata is a great example. She's an internationally renowned writer and speaker, and she has been famous. For about 50 years at this point, she was used greatly by God. She came to Christ at age 15, had great plans for her life, and then at age 18, she had a terrible diving accident, which left her paralyzed from the neck down. That's certainly not what Johnny Erickson Tata had planned for her life. And she's very upfront in her testimony that she was tempted towards bitterness, tempted to lose faith in God.

31:59And yet, all these years later, five decades later, she can look back and see thousands and thousands of people who have come to faith in Christ through her testimony. Thousands of people who have been instructed in God's word through her teaching. And yet, she would have never had those opportunities had God not first humbled her in the way that he did. Chuck Coulson is another great example. He has quite a different testimony than Johnny's. He was a top aide to Richard Nixon, who went to prison for his part in obstructing justice during the Watergate scandal. And shortly before Chuck Coulson went to prison, he became a Christian. And so as he sat there in the prison day after day, he began to pray and ask God, what do you want me to do with my life? How do you want to use me? And as soon as he got out of prison, he started Prison Fellowship, which became an internationally known and renowned ministry all around the world that has impacted thousands, if not millions, of people. Thousands have come to faith in Christ through prison fellowship.

33:00Many great doors for ministry have opened up for Chuck Coulson until his death a few years ago. This is not the path that Chuck Coulson would have chosen for his life. And to be sure, unlike Joseph, it was his own sin, it was his own crime that landed him in prison. And yet God used that to humble him before he exalted him to use him for his glory. And friends, of course, the greatest example is Jesus himself, who existed from all eternity with the Father and the Holy Spirit in perfect union and glory.

33:36And yet Jesus humbled himself. He took on flesh. He was born of a virgin as a baby, helpless, needing in every way the care of his parents in order to even become an adult. And as an adult, he humbled himself day after day, serving, doing the menial things, being reduced to the support of others for his well-being. He didn't have a place to lay his head. He humbled himself and did all of the things that we were supposed to do, obey God perfectly, honor him fully every day of his life. And he offered himself in our place and for our sins.

34:13God says that because Jesus humbled himself, he exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name. And he identifies with us in every way. I love what Hebrews 2 says. Look on the screen. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom, All things exist in bringing many sons to glory should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.

34:48Friends, the only way for us to be saved was for Jesus to be perfect in our place. God is very clear in His word that Jesus humbled himself and God exalted him so that we could be saved. God opposes the proud. For any person who pridefully refuses to acknowledge their sin, to confess it before the Lord, and to receive Jesus as Savior, there is no forgiveness of sin. But for every person who will humble himself, who will humble herself before the Lord, confess their sin, and receive Jesus as Savior, every one of them is forgiven. Every one of them is adopted into God's family. Everyone who humbles himself or herself will be exalted. That's the promise of the gospel. So I want to urge you, especially those of you who have been considering the claims of Jesus for some time, not to put off repentance and faith any longer, but today to confess your sin and to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. There is no other way for you to be saved.

35:51And friends, for those of us who are already believers in Jesus, my hope is that this passage in Joseph's story of his humbling and exalted. Exaltation has encouraged you today. Because I know that all of us, in some respect, have been humbled, as Joseph was. God's plans for our lives turned out to be different than our plans for our lives. Maybe with respect to our careers, relationships, children, health, finances. For many of us, life has thrown us some curveballs. We've not received what we expected to receive. And my hope is that as you consider those things, you would consider Joseph, who had deep and abiding faith in God. Joseph's faith was stretched at times, I'm sure, to the point where it nearly broke sometimes. And that's true for us as well. And so, in those times that we feel that way, we feel abandoned by God, we feel as though He's forgotten us, we feel as though we're not getting what we deserve, that we would remember the gospel and remember that if God humbles us, it is only to exalt us in His perfect timing. Let's pray.

37:12Father, I know this morning that there are many here who have been humbled greatly and others who are in the process of being humbled. Facing difficult circumstances and turns of events that they just did not expect. Maybe like Joseph, that at some level they didn't deserve. And yet, Lord, we learn from Joseph's story that if you humble us, it is to exalt us in your perfect timing. And so I pray that you would help us in those dark moments where we're feeling unsure about your presence with us, about your favor, that we would remember the good news of the gospel.

38:10That Jesus has done everything and secured for us the favor of God by his life and death and resurrection. And that we would remember that no matter what, you will never leave us, you will never forsake us. That every single thing that happens to us, even when it happens at the hands of people who are ungodly, or even people who are godly and they had good intentions, but they still hurt us. I pray that we would remember that your intention and your purpose that will come to pass is our exaltation. Maybe in this life, maybe not until eternity. But either way, our exaltation is certain.

38:58So we pray for faith. I pray especially, God, for those who are struggling this morning. They feel like their faith has been stretched to the limit because of the difficulties that they're going through. I pray that you would grant them great faith. Give them peace, joy. May they display the fruit of the Spirit. I pray that we as a church would do a good job and a better job always of loving those who are going through hard times. Help us to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.

39:43We thank you, God, for your word that instructs us, challenges us, rebukes us, corrects us. We need you, and we need to be reminded of your word daily. Thank you, God, for speaking to us through it. In Jesus' name, amen.