Now, if we're familiar with the story of Joseph, we would know that Joseph is a very famous
person in the Bible.
He's probably one of the better known characters in scriptures.
And he's really a great example in the scripture.
A lot of times there's different characters in scripture that we look at that we could
say are better examples than others.
And Joseph stands out.
I think Joseph's one of those people, I mean, if we were to sit back and say, well, what
were some of Joseph's shortcomings, it would be a very short list, if any.
In fact, it would be very hard for us to come up with anything at all.
I think Joseph is a great example.
And Joseph, here in this story, shows us that he has an understanding of an element of God's
nature.
That there's an aspect of God's nature that Joseph has a firm grasp on.
And it's that God is faithful to provide.
It says there in verse 16 of chapter 41, And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not
in me, God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
So he understands that it is God who gives the answer, that it is God who will provide.
And this provision of God, this aspect of God's nature, that God is a God of provision
is something that Joseph probably knew well, given his lineage, given those that came before
him.
And if you want, just keep something in Genesis 41, we'll be coming back and forth there,
just keep something bookmarked there for the morning.
Very quickly, turn back to Genesis 24, and we'll begin to see why Joseph in the first
place would have been so familiar with this aspect of God's provision.
It's because Joseph would have been familiar with it because of the fact that his lineage
was very familiar with it.
And that is something that we as Christians today, we need also to understand that God
is a faithful God to provide and to give.
Jesus said, Your father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him.
That's what Jesus told us in the New Testament.
Paul said, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by
Christ Jesus.
So that is something that we as Christians should be familiar with as well, is that God
is a God of provision.
Now in Genesis, you're turning to Genesis 24, but I'll remind us of Joseph's great-grandfather
Abraham when he took his son upon the mount, Isaac, to sacrifice in obedience to God.
Abraham's, and if you recall the story, he's bringing Isaac up and Isaac's wondering where
the sacrifice is and Abraham makes this remark.
He says, And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.
So, God's provision is something that even Joseph's great-grandfather was familiar with.
His grandfather, and also that was his great-grandfather, but his great-grandfather also owed his prosperity
to God's provision.
You're back there in Genesis chapter 24, let me get back there with you real quick.
Genesis chapter 24, we're going to look at verse 12.
Genesis 24 and verse 12 where the Bible reads, Genesis 24, 12, And he said, O Lord God of
my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day and show kindness unto my master
Abraham.
Behold, I stand here by the wall of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come
out to draw.
And if you recall the story here, this is where Abraham sends his servant to find a
wife for Isaac, which would be Joseph's grandfather.
So he sends him out to find his wife.
And it says, And let it come to pass that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy
pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy
camels drink also.
Let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac.
So we see that even Joseph's grandfather was one who owed his prosperity to God's provision,
and it was God that gave him his wife.
Joseph even owes his existence to God.
His father Jacob owed his wealth to God.
We could go over to Genesis 33 real quick.
Genesis chapter 33 and look at verse 10.
Genesis 33 verse 10, this is when Isaac's coming back into the land after being with
his father-in-law Laban, and he's coming back and he's meeting Esau on the way.
He lifted up his eyes and saw the women and the children and said, Who are those that
with thee?
And he said, The children which God had graciously given thy servant.
So we see that his father Jacob owed his wealth to God, and that it was his grandfather owed
his prosperity to God.
Now the point I'm trying to make here is that we need God's care.
That is something that we need to have in our life.
We need God's provision.
We need God to help us.
But the thrust of the sermon is not just that God is faithful to provide.
And that's not something that we should take for granted, that God is one who is faithfully
going to provide for us.
But there's actually a prerequisite on that provision, and that is humility.
If we're going to see God's working in our life, if we're going to see God's hand work
in our life as Joseph did, it's going to require something.
It's going to require humility.
And we could look at Joseph's life, and that's what we're going to do this morning, and look
at some of the aspects of his character and see that Joseph was a very humble man and
that's why Joseph was able to be used so mightily of God and that's why he was able to rely
so heavily upon God and see God's provision in his life as he said, God shall give thee
an answer of peace.
And the title of the sermon this morning is Joseph's Humility.
Joseph's Humility.
That's what I want to look at.
We want to look at Joseph's humility this morning.
As he said there in Genesis 41, he said in Genesis 41, God shall give thee, give Pharaoh,
an answer of peace.
But before that he said it is not in me.
He said it is not in me.
He was very humble.
He could have boasted himself, but he said that it is not in me.
And the reason we want to look at Joseph's humility is because, one, that it is very
noteworthy.
He has a very noteworthy humility in the scriptures when we consider his circumstances.
Now if you would turn over to Philippians, I'll just read it to you, just stay there
in Genesis 41.
But when we consider the circumstances of Joseph, then we begin to really see what a
humble man he was.
I mean, think about the life of Joseph.
He was one that was despised of his own brethren for the love that his father had toward him.
And they sold him into slavery, he was enslaved.
He was slandered by Potiphar's wife and he was lied about.
And he was even imprisoned, he's spending his life in a prison, he's enduring, most
of his youth has been spent in some very hard circumstances.
But he remained faithful to God and that made him a very humble man and one who was able
to rely on God for his provision.
It reminds me of what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4-11, he said, I have learned
in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.
That is a description of Joseph, that's a verse that we can apply to the person of Joseph,
one who had learned that no matter what state he was in, whether he was being sold into
bondage, whether he found himself in a prison, whether he found himself being slanted, that
he had learned to be content.
And that's a display of his humility.
You see, Joseph learned to trust God by his trials.
That's what allowed him to rely on God and be able to say it was God that shall give
back to Pharaoh in answer of peace and to see the provision of God, it was the fact
that he had learned to rely on God through his trials.
Now his humility is noteworthy not only because he considered, when you consider his circumstances,
but also when you consider here he is standing before Pharaoh, that he resisted the temptation
to boast before Pharaoh and say, yeah it is, I do have that ability, I could do that for
you.
And he used that to his advantage, but he didn't do that.
And the thing about Joseph's humility, a few things that I want to look at, first of all,
is that Joseph's humility is a consistent attribute.
It's not something that Joseph had and lost and came back to.
Joseph is a consistently humble individual throughout scripture.
If you would, real quick, just turn back to Genesis chapter 40.
Genesis chapter 40, we'll read beginning of verse 1, we'll see where this isn't the first
time that Joseph has interpreted a dream for somebody, that he's relied on God's provision
to give an answer to those that would be in want of an answer.
But we'll see that Joseph's humility is a consistent attribute in his life.
Genesis chapter 40 and verse 1, And it came to pass after these things, that the butler
of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.
And Pharaoh was wroth against the two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers,
and against the chief of the bakers.
And he put them in a ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison,
the place where Joseph was bound.
And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them.
And they continued in a season in a ward.
And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream, and one night, each man according
to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which
were bound in the prison.
And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and said, And behold,
they were sad.
And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him in the ward of his lord's house,
saying, Wherefore are Luke ye so sadly today?
And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.
And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God?
Tell me them, I pray you.
So we see here that this is a consistent thing for Joseph to rely upon God, for him to say,
to give God the glory, for him to be a humble man, and to show that it is God who gives
the answer.
And to rely on God for the interpretation of these dreams.
You see, Joseph had a very low view of himself and a very high view of God.
We see here in this passage, Joseph's care for others.
And I think that's a sign of a person who's truly humble, is a person who thinks not on
their own things, but a person who cares for the things of others.
Where it says there in verse 7, Wherefore look ye so sadly today?
He didn't walk in and just give them their meal that day and say, Hey, suck it up.
Or you know, Hey, fix your face.
No, he looked on them and saw that they were very sad, and he had compassion on them, and
he asked them, Wherefore look ye so sadly today?
He wanted to know what the problem was.
What's the problem?
And I think that's the sign of somebody who's very humble.
That's a sign of somebody who cares for others.
They don't care just for themselves, but they care for the welfare of others.
We might look at somebody else and see that they're having a hard time in their life.
We might look at them and say, you know, they're very sad today, but we might ask, What is
it that's bothering you?
That's the sign of somebody who's very humble.
If you would turn over, keep a bookmark there, but turn over to Philippians chapter 2.
Philippians chapter 2.
The sign of somebody who's humble is the sign of, is somebody that cares for the well-being
of others.
Philippians chapter 2, beginning in verse 1, If there be therefore any consolation in
Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord,
of one mind.
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem
other better than themselves.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
That's the mind that Joseph had.
He looked not only on his own things, but also on the things of others, in lowliness
of mind.
You see, Joseph knew his lowly position.
He knew that he was somebody that had been despised, somebody that had been sold into
slavery, somebody that had been slandered, and somebody who had found himself in a prison
house.
And it was that lowliness of mind that allowed him to look on the things of others and ask
that question, Why look ye so sadly today?
The Bible says in Romans chapter 12, For I say through the grace that is given unto me
to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.
That's the mind that Joseph had.
He was a man who did not think of himself more highly than he ought to think.
That was an aspect of Joseph's humility.
He was able not to think highly of himself, but to look upon the things of others.
The Bible says there in Philippians, Let each esteem other better than themselves.
See Joseph esteemed these men better than themselves.
That's why in verse 14 of Genesis 40, if you flip back there real quick, Joseph was able
to esteem these men better than themselves.
He said in verse 14, But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness
I pray thee unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house.
So he's trying to get these men to think about him.
He's esteeming them better, saying, Hey you guys are in a better position to help me out.
He's esteeming them better.
He's looking to them for help.
He's esteemed them better.
Now it says, Look also not on the things of others, it said in Romans 12.
And Joseph, he wasn't blinded by his own responsibilities.
He had a lot of things that he had to do.
He was responsible for the prison house, it says that the ward there put all things into
his hand.
And we see that Joseph wasn't blinded by his own responsibilities.
And I think that's something that we need to look out for in our own lives.
Sometimes we can become so busy with the things that we have to do.
You know, there are certain responsibilities that are laid upon us in our life.
Certain things that we have to do as parents, as children, as mothers, as fathers, as husbands,
as wives.
There are certain roles that we have jobs, we have things that we have to do within the
church.
We have a service to God that we have to perform.
And if we're not careful, we can let those things blind us.
We can become so wrapped up in our own responsibilities that we can forget to look upon the things
of others.
But we need to be humble like Joseph was and remember that those around us might need our
help.
We should esteem them better.
But also, you know, Joseph didn't neglect his duties, you know, there was a balance
with Joseph.
It wasn't that he just, you know, left off all the things that he was supposed to be
doing and started to try to help everybody else out.
We got to find that balance.
So we see, first of all, that Joseph's humility is noteworthy because of the fact that he
was consistent, that it was a consistent attribute in his life.
It was something that he was able to show in front of Pharaoh, but it was something
that he was also able to show even when he was in the prison house, when he talked to
those men and looked upon their needs and asked them why they looked so sadly.
Another thing about Joseph's humility that we should take note of here is that Joseph
didn't boast.
Joseph was not a boaster.
I mean, it would be pretty easy to see a person who's boasting and instantly know that that
person is not a humble person.
I mean, if we were to say, what's one attribute of a person who is not humble, well you would
probably come up with the fact that it's somebody who boasts a lot, somebody who brags about
themselves, somebody who tells about how great they are and lifts themselves up, right?
But if we look there in Genesis chapter 41 in verse 15, we'll see that Joseph did not
boast.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret
it, and I have heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.
Now that's, now notice, we started out looking at Joseph's reply, he said, you know, it is
not in me.
But imagine if his reply had been something else.
What would a boastful person have said, he's been like, you know what, you heard right.
You know, you've been told right.
In fact, I can do that for you.
You know, maybe even try to wager with him a little bit, you know, I'll take care of
this for you, I can interpret this dream, but, you know, what am I going to get in return?
That wasn't Joseph's attitude, he was one who didn't boast.
He said, you know, it's not in me.
Now Joseph knew full well that God could give him an answer, that God could interpret those
dreams, but he didn't lift up himself and say, yeah, I've been known to do that from
time to time.
Right, that wasn't Joseph's attitude.
Joseph was a very humble person, he did not boast himself for the gift that God had given
him.
You see, Joseph was not a self-promoter, beware of the self-promoter, the person who just
wants to go out and talk about me, me, me, I, I, I, and tell you about all the great
things that they can do, and all the great things that they have done, and talk about
all the great things that they will do.
We ought to be careful of that person, when you see somebody who's boasting and lifting
themselves up, get out of the way, because they're probably going to fall, and you don't
want them landing on you.
He didn't boast himself, he let others speak well of him, you know, it was, if we looked
there at verse 9, where it says,
Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day.
And he tells him about Joseph, it was the butler who piped up, the one who had been
in the prison house, who had his dream interpreted.
And he gets there, and he's in front of Pharaoh, and he goes, oh yeah, I remember that when
I was in prison, this guy Joseph, and he tells about the great thing that he was able to
do for him, and how he could possibly solve Pharaoh's problem.
And that's a lesson to us, instead of boasting about ourselves, instead of lifting up ourselves
and promoting ourselves, maybe we should just let the butler brag on us.
That's what we need to learn to do, just let the butler brag on you a little bit.
If God sees fit that he needs you to do something, or somebody else needs to know about you and
what you're able to do, well, let somebody else draw that to their attention.
Instead of interjecting yourself in the conversation, saying, hey, I can take care of this.
We ought to let others brag on us, if we're going to let, you know, there's nothing wrong
with somebody giving you a compliment or speaking well of you to others, in fact, the
Bible says in Proverbs 27, let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth, a stranger
and not thine own lips.
There's nothing wrong with another man praising thee, there's nothing wrong with a stranger
praising thee, but it's when it's our own mouth, when it's our own lips, who are praising
ourselves.
Let the butler brag on you.
Joseph was not a bragger, he didn't boast.
That was one aspect of his humility.
And another thing about that would show his humility, that we can learn from Joseph's
humility, was one that, you know, it was notable because of his circumstances, and that he
wasn't a boaster, but also that Joseph had a charitable nature.
If we were to think about somebody who's very humble, we would think about someone who's
very giving, somebody who's very charitable, that's a very humble thing to give of that
which is yours to another, to sacrifice, to give.
Now if you would, turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter 13, 1 Corinthians chapter 13, we'll
see and draw some parallels here with Joseph's nature right out of 1 Corinthians chapter
13.
And we'll see here that Joseph had a very charitable nature.
1 Corinthians 13 and verse 4, the Bible reads, charity suffereth long in its kind, charity
envieth not, charity vonteth not itself, is not puffed up.
Now that verse right there, that's a perfect description of Joseph's nature.
It says there that charity suffereth long.
I mean, could you not describe Joseph's youth as someone who suffered long?
Somebody who suffered, someone who put up with a lot throughout his youth?
I mean, being enslaved, being sold into slavery, being slandered, being imprisoned, I mean
it was pretty bleak.
A lot of us probably would wilt under that kind of persecution.
We would fold and crumble under those kind of difficult circumstances, perhaps.
But not Joseph.
Joseph had a very charitable nature.
He was able to suffer long because he was a humble person.
It says also there that it envieth not.
Joseph was not one that envied others.
Even though he was in the dire circumstances, even though he was in a difficult spot, even
though he went through trials and tribulations, he was not one that envied others.
He envied not.
I mean, think about him being sold into slavery and then going into Potiphar's house, you
know, a young man and then Potiphar's wife coming and tempting him and trying to lay
with him.
He didn't envy his neighbor's wife.
He denied that.
He was one who envied not.
And that's the type of nature that we have to have.
We should be ones that are willing to suffer long through hard circumstances.
And even in those circumstances, you know, we shouldn't be ones that envy others.
It's one thing to, you know, endure an affliction or go through a trial or hardship in your
life, but it's another thing to go through that same affliction or trial with a proper
attitude, with a good attitude.
Sometimes we can go through a difficult circumstance in our life, and people from the outside can
say, wow, you're handling that so well, but inwardly it could be that we're envying others.
Why is it that I have to go through this?
Why can't my life be more like theirs?
Why do I have to have this trial?
Why do I have to have this affliction?
Why can't I have the nice things?
Why can't I have the easier life like that person?
We have to understand that that's a wrong attitude to have.
That even though we suffer long, we have to also make sure that we envy not as Joseph.
And it says also that in 1 Corinthians 13 that charity vonteth not itself.
Vonteth not itself.
It does not boast.
It does not speak lawfully of itself.
It does not promote itself.
It does not vaunt itself.
It vonteth not.
Meaning this, that Joseph, you know, we've already looked at this a little bit, but Joseph
was the one that gave God the glory.
He gave God the glory for anything that God was going to do to him.
And we saw that in his response to Pharaoh where he said, it is not in me, God shall
give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
So we see that it was, he did not vaunt himself.
He didn't say, yeah, I can do it, I got you covered Pharaoh, don't worry, it's in me,
I can handle it.
He was one that gave God the glory.
So we see that Joseph's humility is noteworthy because he didn't boast, because he was not
a self-promoter and that he was also, he had a very charitable nature.
He was one that was able to suffer long.
He was one that was able to envy not and he did not vaunt himself.
Now back there in Genesis chapter 41, we'll see another aspect of his humility and it's
that Joseph's humility exalted him.
There was the effect that it had on him.
Joseph did not, he was humble and he did not exalt himself.
But in time, his humility is what brought him to such great standing.
I mean, it's such an amazing story when we really think about it.
You know, it's one that we've probably read several times or heard preached often is that
Joseph is one, when we read that story about him being lifted up in a second in all of
the land, but we really need to stop and think about what happened.
I mean, that's an amazing story that this man, I mean, I think, and I believe he's just
totally blindsided by it, that he didn't even see it coming.
You know, one day he's in the prison house, you know, had been there for years, probably
thought maybe this is the rest of my life, said this is, you know, and was, it was content
to serve there thinking this is how my life played out.
You know, I'll never have a wife, I'll never have a family, I'll never have nice things,
I'll never be comfortable, I'll always be serving this prison.
I mean, I'm sure not everybody in the prison was as nice as Joseph.
There's probably some pretty, you know, foul characters in there.
There's probably some rough characters running around the prison, and that was his company.
That's who he was going to spend his life with.
And then the next day, within a day's time, Joseph, bam, is the second in all the land.
That's an amazing story.
And it's his humility, it was the humility of Joseph that brought him to that great position.
Because again, Joseph was one that did not exalt himself.
He was not a self-promoter.
As it says there, well, we'll read real quick in Genesis chapter 41, beginning in verse 28,
where it says, this is a thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh.
What God is about to do, he showeth unto Pharaoh.
So he tells him the dream and he shows him, you know, he interprets the dream as we read there,
and tells him all the things that are about to happen.
And then it happens upon him there in 44, and Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh,
and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
So in just a day's time, he's brought from this lowly position to the one where Pharaoh's saying,
hey, you know what, nobody besides me is going to be over you.
It's amazing.
And if you look there in verse 33, it was Pharaoh that brought Joseph to that great position.
As it says there, now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man, discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
He didn't say, now therefore let Pharaoh put me in this position.
He didn't say, let him look out a man, and by the way, I am that man.
You know, he let Pharaoh figure out who that man was.
And I believe when Joseph said this, let him look out a man, in Joseph's mind, he's probably thinking,
you know what, there probably is a man who's suited for this job,
one who can handle what it is I'm proposing to Pharaoh.
He's probably thinking, I bet Pharaoh's got a whole slew of counselors that he could call upon to handle this task.
He says, look out a man.
He didn't say, look out me.
Imagine if Joseph hadn't suggested another.
You know, he suggested another and not himself.
And it reminds me again of that 1 Corinthians 13 where it says charity is not puffed up.
You know, he didn't go into that circumstance thinking, well, I'm the man for the job.
You know, I hope Pharaoh better pick me if he knows what's up.
Imagine Joseph submitting his own resume and just saying, you know, hey, Pharaoh, look out, you know,
let Pharaoh look out a man.
And by the way, here are my references, professional and personal, and my chronological resume laid out.
And I'm sure after you look over this, you will see that I am that man.
I mean, that would have been a very puffed up thing to do.
That's not what Joseph did.
He was a very humble person.
And I believe that even in his own heart and mind, he probably didn't even consider himself.
He probably thought, well, here's what I'm here to do.
Help save Egypt.
Help to show Pharaoh what it is he has to do.
I mean, there's no way Joseph could have known Pharaoh's response.
I mean, Joseph had no idea what Pharaoh was going to say to him next.
He could have just, Pharaoh could have been like, you know, that's a good idea.
I think he'll do that.
Thanks for the tip, kid.
You know, by the way, you got a card in case I have another dream, I can look you up.
You know, just ask for him, you know, just let me make sure I know where you're at so I can find you if I need again.
I mean, that's probably what Pharaoh, or Joseph might have thought was going to happen next.
He probably assumed that his job was done, that he'd shown up, that he did his part, and that it was, you know, back to the prison house with him.
You know, he got a shower and a shave and a change of raiment.
He got to get out of prison for a little bit, but hey, right back in.
I mean, there's no way he could have known that this is what God was going to do.
That is what happened.
And it's an amazing story that Joseph was exalted in such a position.
It was because his humility was what allowed God to exalt him.
And now, without the provision of God, you know, Joseph wouldn't have had that opportunity or the ability.
Without the provision of God, Joseph never would have had that ability.
And I'll read to you from Proverbs chapter 18 verse 16.
So ultimately, Joseph, you know, owes the opportunity and the ability that he had to meet the need of Pharaoh to God.
It was God's provision that allowed him to even meet that need.
It was God that gave him that ability.
The Bible says in Proverbs 18, 16,
A man's gift maketh room for him and bringeth him before great men.
So it was Joseph's gift, his ability to interpret these dreams that made room for him, that brought him before a great man like Pharaoh.
But Joseph's trials are what prepared him to be able to do that.
It was God's working in his life that gave him that ability and that opportunity to be able to be brought before him and show him that gift that God had given.
We read there where it says that it's a man's gift that bringeth him before, a man's gift maketh room for him and bringeth him before great men.
But in verse 12, it says before destruction, the heart of man is haughty and before honor is humility.
So long before Joseph could have ever been brought before Pharaoh and lifted up and exalted into the second of all of Egypt.
Yet before that honor, he had to learn humility and he learned that humility to those things which he suffered.
Now being in prison, being slandered, being enslaved, being sold by his old brethren into slavery.
So we see that Joseph in his humility recognized that it was God that gave him the gift.
It was God that gave him the ability and the opportunity to help Pharaoh.
You see, Joseph did not seek recognition, and that's the attitude that we ought to have.
We should not be going out looking for recognition in our life.
We know we shouldn't be serving God because we want others to know our name or know who we are or what we're about, whatever it might be.
We should be serving God out of a sincere heart and love for the Lord and love for others and to help others and see them live for God.
And see God be able to help them and salvage their lives.
Joseph did not seek recognition, but it came to him, didn't it?
Joseph eventually was recognized for his gift and his ability.
Jesus said in Luke 14,
For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that hungleth himself shall be exalted.
So if we want to be recognized, we're going to be abased.
The exact opposite is what's going to happen.
If we seek to exalt ourselves, if we seek to puff ourselves up or lift ourselves up and make ourselves into something or go off to make a name for ourselves,
God's going to have to abase us.
Now the conclusion on this, the application of the sermon is that we want to see God's working in our lives.
We want to see God do great things. We want God to use us as Joseph did.
We have to understand that if we want to be used like Joseph, we're going to have to be humble.
Humility is a must if we desire to be used of God and see his hand work in our life.
If we're ever going to accomplish anything great for God,
if we're ever going to do a great work for God,
then we have to understand that humility is a must. It's non-optional. You have to have it.
That's why I think Joseph is such a great, great picture of humility.
Now if you turn over to Job real quick.
Turn over to Job.
Because it's easy to say that you need to be humble.
But I think one of the easiest ways to get humble is to understand,
you know, just the severity of what it is to be proud.
You know, the consequences of being proud are pretty extreme.
And that ought to be enough to humble us.
You know, we ought to say, you know what, I don't want to be a proud person.
I don't want to exalt myself. I don't want to lift myself up.
I don't want to think of myself more highly than I ought.
Because the consequences are that God will abase you.
You see, we need to learn to humble ourselves or it just might be that God will do it for us.
If we, as God's people, don't learn to humble ourselves, it might be that God has to humble us for us.
He might take it upon himself to humble us.
The Bible says in Job chapter 40, when God answered,
Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the world would and said,
Gird up thy loins now like a man, I will demand of thee, and declare unto me,
Wilt thou disannoint my judgment?
Wilt thou condemn me that thou mayst be righteous?
Hast thou an arm like God?
Or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency, and array thyself with glory and beauty.
Cast abroad thy rage and thy wrath, and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.
God's saying, you know what, can you do what I do?
And what's one of the great things that God does?
What's one of the things that he's pointing out here and answering Job and saying,
Who is like unto me?
Is in the fact that God can abase the proud.
I mean, that's something that God shows that that's one of his great attributes.
One of his great abilities is the fact that he can abase the proud.
He said, look out, cast abroad thy rage of thy wrath,
and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.
Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low.
He says, if you can do that, then you're like me.
That's what God is saying there.
So we see that God, you know, will abase the proud.
And if you will turn over to James chapter 4.
We have to humble ourselves if we want to use God, we have to learn that humility is a must.
And if we don't learn that lesson, it might mean that God has to teach us that lesson.
Turn over to James chapter 4, I'll read to you from 1 Peter 5.
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder.
Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility.
He says be clothed with humility.
I like that phrasing that he uses there, to be clothed with humility.
Like put it on.
Like we would get up in the morning and we would put on our garments,
we would put on our shirts and our slacks or our dresses, if you're a lady, right?
And we would go out in the world dressed.
We wouldn't go out there undressed.
We wouldn't go out in the world naked, I would hope.
We would want to have some modesty, some dignity about us.
And he's saying here that we ought to be clothed with humility.
I mean, a person ought to wake up in the morning, and if we put both of our feet on the ground,
we ought to thank God that we still have that ability, that we woke up.
And it's something that's easy to take for granted, just the fact that we have the health
that we have.
The fact that we're still sucking air, that we're still getting up in the morning and
able to walk out the door to begin with.
And that ought to humble us that God has given us another name.
And we should never take that for granted.
We should have a meek and quiet and humble spirit and say, you know what, it's God that's
given me these things, the abilities that I have and to go out and to work and to live
another day in my life for Him.
And it ought to be something that we clothe ourselves with.
It ought to be something that we put on daily.
It ought to be a part of who we are.
It ought to be a part of our wardrobe.
We should put on our shirt, our pants, everything that we put on it.
Oh yeah, let's not forget the humility.
Because if we don't clothe ourselves with that humility, we're going to walk around
naked and everyone's going to see, you know, your pride's going to be sticking out.
Why?
Because God resisted the proud and giveth grace to the humble.
God resisted the proud.
That's proactive.
That means that God is proactively coming against somebody.
It's not just that God ignores the proud.
It's not just that God, you know, lets those that aren't humble just slide and, you know,
maybe they won't get the blessings that God has.
Maybe they won't have all the good things that God would want to give them.
No, it's that God actually goes out of His way to resist them, as we read in Job there,
that God goes out of His way to scatter them, to bring them love.
God proactively goes against the proud.
And that ought to be reason enough for us right there to humble ourselves.
Because it just might be that if we don't humble ourselves, that God will do it for us.
The Bible says in James chapter 4, beginning in verse 5,
Do you think the scripture saith in vain?
The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth the envy, but he giveth more grace.
Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Submit yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye devil-minded.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep.
Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Now, that's something that applies right to Joseph, isn't it?
Joseph was one who suffered.
Joseph was one who was afflicted.
Joseph was one who mourned, and he allowed that to humble him.
And that's how Joseph became such a humble man.
And in time, God was able to lift him up.
Now, if you would, go back to Genesis, look at chapter 42.
Genesis chapter 42, beginning of verse 17.
This is after Joseph's been lifted up.
He started to implement the plan that he proposed to Joseph,
and the gathering of the core in the seven good years, gathering all the fifth part.
And the famine has come into the land, and now Joseph's brethren have come into the land to buy corn.
And Joseph recognizes that, they don't recognize him.
And they come before him, and he says unto them, beginning there in verse 17,
And he put them all together into war three days.
So now he's kind of got them where he wants them, right?
He's got them right where he wants them, he can exact vengeance on them,
he can get back at them if he wants, he can stop.
And he put them all together into war, and Joseph said unto them the third day,
This do and live, for I fear God.
If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison.
Go ye carry corn for the famine of your houses, but bring your youngest brethren unto me.
So shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die.
And they did so.
And they said one to another, We are very guilty concerning our brother,
We are very guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul,
when he besought us, and we would not hear.
Therefore this distress is come upon us.
I mean that's a powerful verse.
When you think about, when we allow this to really help us to imagine that moment
when Joseph was sold by his brethren, when they took him and cast him into the pit
and they were going to sell him to those passing through the land.
It says when they did that, when they sold him to the cemetery, they saw
the anguish of his soul, how he besought us and we would not hear.
And can you imagine how Joseph would have just been probably just weeping,
crying out, just dumbfounded, astounded by what his brethren were doing to him.
I mean he got out there to seek their own benefit.
He got out there in obedience to his father's commandment to go out and see how his brethren do.
And he goes out there and what do they do in return?
They sell him into slavery.
I mean the anguish of his soul.
I mean what a horrible thing that happened to him when we let that sink in.
And what we need to learn from that is that our degree of humility
is not relative to our circumstances.
And what I mean by that is Joseph here had an opportunity to avenge himself.
He could have brought anguish to their souls.
I mean at Joseph's command he could have at any moment just said,
off with their head.
These men are spies.
And they would have happened.
Nobody would even question what Joseph had decided to do with his brethren.
He could have avenged himself if he wanted to but he chose not to because he was humble.
And the lesson we can learn from that is that our humility is not dependent on our circumstances.
It's not relative.
We can't justify ourselves by being proud because,
well, so-and-so did wrong to me.
You know, so-and-so caused me this heartache or this pain or they did me wrong.
So now it's okay for me to go ahead and exact vengeance upon them.
That's not a humble spirit.
A humble spirit will suffer the wrong.
That's what Joseph did.
And it says in verse 22,
And Reuben answered and saying,
Spake I not unto you, saying,
Do no sin against the child, and ye would not hear?
Therefore behold also his blood is required.
And they knew not that Joseph understood them,
for he spake unto them by an interpreter.
And he turned himself about from them and wept.
That was Joseph's response.
That when he heard what his brethren had said,
and he saw and remembered,
recalled everything that had happened,
how they, the anguish of his soul,
that he turned and he wept.
He went into the room and it still was something that pained him.
The Bible says in Romans 12 19,
Deverely beloved, avenge not yourselves,
but rather give place unto wrath.
For it is written,
Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.
God said, vengeance is mine.
He didn't say vengeance is fine.
As the old joke goes, vengeance is not fine,
vengeance is mine.
And that's something that Joseph was able to understand
because he was a humble man.
He understood, he left it up to God to repay
if he so chose to do it.
Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him.
And if he thirst, give him drink.
I mean, were these not, could not Joseph have said,
Well, these are my enemies.
These are the men that sold me the slavery.
These are the men that cost me so much of my youth
being spent in a prison house.
These are the men that caused me
to dwell the land of a stranger,
to not partake in the inheritance of my father.
These are the men that robbed me of my life.
Could he have not have said that?
In his flesh, he could have said that.
It would have been very easy to do.
But Joseph was a humble man and left vengeance up to God
and allowed God to choose whether or not he would avenge him.
You see, your humility can make an impact.
We'll turn to Genesis chapter 50.
We ought to be humble and leave these kind of things up to God.
Let God decide how he wants to handle your enemies.
Let God decide how he's going to deal with them.
Because it might just be that God is using our circumstances,
our difficulties, our trials to make a great impact on others.
Genesis chapter 50 verse 14.
After Israel had died, after Jacob had died,
Joseph's brethren, they kind of freak out.
They're like, oh great, now Joseph's definitely going to come down on us.
And when Joseph's brethren saw their father was dead,
they said, Joseph will preadventure hate us
and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
And they sent a messenger unto Joseph saying,
thy father did command before he died, saying,
so shall he say unto Joseph, forgive I pray thee now
the trespass of your brethren and their sin.
For they did unto the evil and now we pray thee,
forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father.
And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
Joseph has such a tender heart.
He's moved even when these guys are imploring him to forgive.
It's like he's already done it in his heart.
And it causes him to weep to think that,
when he realizes that they would even think
that he would take that vengeance on them.
And his brethren also went and fell down before his face.
And they said, behold, we be thy servants.
And Joseph said unto them, fear not,
for I am in the place of God.
But as for you, he thought evil against me,
but God meant it unto good to bring to pass
as it is this day to save much people alive.
You see, we ought to be humble because that humility,
even in our circumstances, no matter how bad they are,
just might be what God is using to save much people alive.
And that's really ought to be our desire.
We ought to see, we ought to desire to see God save many people.
You know, if we're here as far as spiritually speaking,
we ought to desire to see God save much people alive today.
And there's a spiritual famine going on in our land
where people are dying and going to hell without the gospel.
People are not hearing the clear presentation
of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But we ought to have a heart like Joseph that says,
you know what, I'm going to go out and I want to be saved.
You know what, I'm going to go out and I want God to use me
to save much people alive.
And I believe that's the burden of many people.
But we have to understand that if we're going to accomplish that goal
of saving many people alive, that it's going to require humility.
That if we're going to be used to God to accomplish that,
it's going to require humility on our part.
And God just might allow us to go through some circumstances,
some difficulties, some trials to develop that humility in our lives,
just as he did Joseph.
You see, Joseph is a testament of humility.
It took Joseph... Joseph had to go through a lot in his life.
Joseph had to suffer many things, but it was those things that he suffered
that allowed him to be such a humble man.
And it was that humility that allowed him to be used so mightily by God.
I mean, if it wasn't for Joseph, I mean that all of Egypt might have perished.
All of his brethren would have perished of famine, of starvation,
a very horrible death.
I mean, if God hadn't allowed Joseph to be able to have that ability
to interpret that dream.
See, Joseph's life is a testimony of humility.
And he was recognized in his lifetime.
I mean, he was exalted.
God used him mightily and lifted him up and exalted him.
And it might be that in your life, you may or may not be recognized
for the way God uses you.
And I think for most people, they're not going to receive recognition.
Which is fine.
We have to be okay with that.
We should not seek recognition.
We should not vaunt ourselves.
We should not be puffed up.
We should not be doing things to gain the recognition of others.
But if it comes, it comes.
If God uses us in a way that others do recognize it, then so be it.
Let another man praise thee and not thine own lips.
But it might just be that we won't be recognized in this life.
You know, I especially think about this as a case with, you know,
one group of people specifically would be mothers.
Women who are raising children.
I mean, they're doing the menial day in and day out task.
And I'm not just up here trying to earn brown points.
I mean, I really do think about this.
And I've heard other preachers say this too,
and I believe it's very true, that women, mothers,
they're going to go through this life
and they're not going to receive public recognition.
You know, they're never going to see their name in lights.
Mrs. So-and-so, you know, she cooked three squares a day and had babies.
You know, she had babies and she baked biscuits.
And that was great.
But that is a very important work.
And we shouldn't make light of that.
I mean, women are the ones that are raising the next generation of preachers.
They're raising the next generation of Christians, of soul winners.
And they can do great works.
They can go out and go soul-winning.
They can look upon others and the affliction of others
and be a help and a blessing to others.
It just might be that they're probably never going to receive
that recognition in this life.
But he will, but the Bible says in 1 Peter 5,
humble yourselves therefore in the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time.
You see, even the mother, even the woman who is just
dutifully raising your children according to the precepts of God,
and his word, and obeying the commandments of God,
she will be exalted in due time.
It might just be not, perhaps, in this life.
Matthew 5 says,
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain,
and when he was set, his disciples came unto them.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
See, the poor in spirit, the humble,
theirs is the kingdom of heaven, not the kingdom of this earth.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, another word for humble.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
And we know that when we enter eternity,
I believe that there are going to be mothers and women
that are going to be highly exalted above many men in that kingdom.
And they're going to receive great rewards for the works that they've done.
But it requires a spirit of humility now,
in the circumstances that we find ourselves in now,
to be exalted in due time.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, again, thank you for the preaching of your word.
Thank you for the Bible.
Thank you that we can go to it, and Lord, learn these great truths.
Thank you for the example of Joseph that we have in scripture,
that Joseph was a humble man in spite of his circumstances,
and Lord, that he looked upon the things of others,
he cared for the things of others,
Lord, that he had a soft and tender heart for those that even did him wrong, Lord.
That he was one that was quick to forgive,
and Father, because of that, you were able to use him in a mighty way.
Father, I pray that you would help us to have that same spirit,
that same attitude that we would go out of here.
We're not looking for recognition,
not looking to be lifted up by a man,
but, Lord, to be exalted by you in due time,
whether it be in this life or the next, Lord.
I pray that you'd help us to be faithful throughout the week
and throughout our lives.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.