All right, well, we're there in Genesis, chapter number 37.
And we started last week a series entitled
When Bad Things Happen to Good People.
And this series is important for a couple of reasons.
Number one, you may be going through a trial in your life
right now.
You may be going through some heartache or some
difficulties and maybe even things that the rest of us
don't know about, things that you're struggling with
or struggling through privately.
But here's what I know.
In the Christian life, you're either
going through a storm, you're either coming out of a storm,
or you're going into a storm.
Because the Christian life is a life of valleys and mountain
peaks.
And I know this, that whether you're
going through a trial or not, you
will go through a trial at some point in your life.
So maybe you say, everything is fine right now.
Things are great.
I'm not really struggling with any major tribulation in my life
but the things that we're learning last week
and this week and next week, I would
encourage you to pay attention, write them down,
tuck them away for a time when you may need them.
And if you remember, last week we
started by learning about Job.
And of course, if you weren't here last week
or you didn't hear the sermon,
I'd encourage you to go on our website, our YouTube page,
and listen to that.
Because these sermons are kind of building
on each other a little bit.
So it would help you.
But last week, we learned from Job
that when we're going through trials,
we must keep the proper perspective.
Job understood who he was and who God was.
And he understood that if God was allowing him to go through
the trial, then God had a plan.
And God had a reason for doing that.
Today, we're going to look at the story of Joseph.
Now, on Wednesday night, Brother Psyche
preached a great sermon on the life of Reuben.
And it overlapped a little bit with the life of Joseph.
Totally different sermon.
We're not even going to look at Reuben or anything like that.
But it's good if you're here on Wednesday night
to prime you for this morning's sermon in regards
to the story of Joseph.
Joseph's a very famous character in scripture.
And one of the reasons is because Joseph is,
I would say this, few people have endured trials
like Joseph has.
I mean, one that maybe could say
I've endured trials like Joseph or worse than Joseph
is Job, who we looked at last week.
But I think it would be hard for us
to be able to match our trials against Joseph's trials.
He went through some very difficult things in his life.
Let me just point them out to you quickly just
by way of introduction.
You're there in Genesis 37.
Look down at verse number 18.
Genesis 37.
Verse number 18.
Genesis 37, 18 says this.
And when they, that's Joseph's brothers, saw him,
that's Joseph, of course, afar off,
even before he came near unto them,
they conspired against him to slay him.
Now, you've got to understand that that's pretty extreme,
that the brothers of Joseph, the guys that he grew up with
here hate him so much they want to kill him.
And when they have the opportunity,
when they see Joseph coming afar off,
and they're far away from mom and dad,
and they're far away from anyone
that might put a stop to them, they actually conspired
to slay him.
Look at verse 23.
And it came to pass when Joseph was coming unto his brethren
that they stripped Joseph out of his coat.
And of course, it says there, his coat of many colors.
That was a coat that caused a lot of envy, the fact
that his father preferred Joseph above the brethren
and gave him the coat of many colors that was on him.
Look at verse 24.
And they took him and cast him into a pit.
And the pit was empty.
And there was no water in it.
And they sat down to eat bread.
And they lifted up their eyes and looked.
And behold, a company of Israelites
came from Gili with their camels bearing spicery and balm
and myrrh going to carry it down to Egypt.
Verse 26 says this.
And Judah said unto his brethren,
what profit is it if we slay our brother
and conceal his blood?
Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites.
And let not our hand be upon him,
for he is our brother and our flesh.
And his brethren were content.
Then there passed by Midianites, merchant men.
And they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit
and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites
for 20 pieces of silver.
And they brought Joseph into Egypt.
I want you to notice that the first major trial that Joseph
went through in his life was the fact
that he was sold into slavery by his own brothers.
Now, you may have been stabbed in the back by someone
that you trusted or loved.
I've been stabbed in the back by someone
that I trusted or loved.
But I've never been sold into slavery by my brother.
And hopefully, you haven't been sold into slavery
by your brother.
And this is a major thing.
I mean, imagine how Joseph must have felt.
He didn't get kidnapped from his home.
He was taken by his own siblings, who wanted to kill him
and decided not to.
You know, they decided to show mercy
by selling him into slavery into a foreign country.
And you say, man, that's quite a trial.
And look, if that was it, if that was all we knew of Joseph,
we would say, that's enough for a man
to go through a hard trial.
But Joseph's life gets even worse.
You're there in Genesis 37.
Go a couple of chapters over to Genesis 39.
Genesis chapter 39.
Not only was Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers,
but then, while in slavery, he was lied about
and thrown into prison.
Notice Genesis 39, verse 7.
Bible says this, and it came to pass after these things.
And we're, of course, fast forwarding
in the life of Joseph.
He's now been sold into slavery,
sold into the household of Potiphar.
The Bible says this, that his master's wife,
that's Potiphar's wife, cast her eyes upon Joseph.
And she said, lie with me.
But he refused and said unto his master's wife,
behold, my master wadeth not what is with me in the house.
And he hath committed all that he had to my hand.
We're going to look at this later on.
But Joseph was such a great employee,
was such a good worker, that he got promoted even while
in slavery.
And he basically ran the entire household for Potiphar.
Look at verse 9.
There is none greater in this house than I.
Neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee.
Joseph's saying, look, I can have
whatever I want in this house.
Potiphar has kept back nothing from me.
He said, the only thing that he's kept back from me
is you, is his wife, because thou art his wife.
How, then, can I do this great wickedness?
And don't miss this.
This shows you the Christianity, or the spirituality,
the authenticity, and the integrity of Joseph here,
not only after he's been sold into slavery,
after he's miles away from home,
after he has no one with him to keep him accountable,
to help him.
And here, he could have committed adultery
with this woman, and nobody would have known it.
But he said, how, then, can I do this great wickedness
and sin against God?
And oftentimes, what we don't understand
is that our sins are not just a sin against men,
but they're a sin against God.
And oftentimes, we sin, and we think, well,
we can get away with it.
Nobody will know it won't hurt anybody.
But God knows.
And Joseph understood this.
Look at verse 10.
And it came to pass that she spake to Joseph day by day
that he hearkened not unto her to lie by her,
or to be with her.
And it came to pass about this time
that Joseph went into the house to do his business,
and there was none of the men of the house there within.
Now, whenever I go through this story,
I always want to highlight this, because if there was a mistake
that Joseph made in the story, this is it.
We find it in verse number 11.
Here's the mistake that was made by Joseph.
He went into the house where the woman was
that he wasn't married to, and he
went in there by himself.
There was none of the men of the house there within.
And let me tell you something, guys.
And I realize when I say this, it's old-fashioned,
and people think, oh, you're strict, or oh, you know.
But let me tell you something.
You ought not be in a room by yourself with a woman
you're not married to.
You know, you shouldn't be driving in vehicles
with a woman you're not married to.
In my office, I never meet with a woman, just
her and I by myself.
I always have my wife with me.
I always have somebody with me.
You say, why?
Because look, exactly what happens here.
He's there by himself with this woman, verse 12.
And she caught him by his garment, staying light with me.
And he left his garment in her hand
and fled and got him out.
Now, he made a mistake in the sense
that he was in there with her by himself.
But when she basically caught him and tried to force him,
he did exactly what.
And you don't have to turn here, but 1 Corinthians 618
says, flee fornication.
And he ran out the door.
And young people, that's what you ought to do.
You know, if you find yourself in a situation
where you're with a member of the opposite sex
that you're not married to and things are getting
a little out of control, you say, what do I do?
You do what Joseph did, and you flee.
You flee fornication.
You say, what does that mean?
That means you literally get up and run.
You run away.
You say, why?
So you won't end up with a disease.
So you won't end up with a child out of wedlock.
But you say, but even more than that,
just don't be with someone that you're not married to alone.
And I realize that's old fashioned, and people think,
oh, that's kind of strict.
But look, men, married, single, women, single,
whatever, you will do yourself a favor if you just
make it a rule in your life that you will never be,
look, I'll never be in a vehicle with a woman
that I'm not married to or related to.
You know, I'll ride with my niece.
I'll ride with my mom.
I'll ride with my sister.
I'll ride with my wife, of course.
But you say, Pastor Mendez, what would you do?
If you're driving down the road,
and you saw one of these ladies here,
and she was stranded on the side of the road,
you wouldn't stop and pick her up?
No, I'd call her an Uber.
I'd call her a taxi.
So what if you, I'd give her the keys to the car
and tell her to get herself home, I'll walk.
And people always, they always want to make these excuses
why you can't, well, you wouldn't pick up somebody on the side of the road.
Look, where there's a will, there's a way.
And there's always an excuse why you can't do this,
and you can't do that, and you can't.
But listen to me, Joseph could have saved himself
a lot of trouble here if he had just made sure,
I better have someone with me all the time
when I'm around this lady.
Anyway, I'm not preaching about that.
That doesn't go over as well as when bad things happen
to good people.
Look at verse 13.
Genesis 39, verse 13, and it came to pass
when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand
and was fled forth, that she called unto the men of her house
and spake unto them, saying, see, he has brought in
in Hebrew unto us to mock us.
He came in unto me to lie with me,
and I cried with a loud voice.
Now look, she's lying.
That's not what happened.
Joseph did nothing wrong in the sense he didn't sin,
but he put himself in a position
where he could be accused of sin.
This is what the Bible talks about for pastors,
that they be blameless.
One thing, a decision my wife and I
made at the beginning of our ministry
is that we don't allow people to stay with us in our house.
You say, pastor, you meant it, but sometimes people
are struggling, and they do.
You know, we've paid a lot of money
to put people up in hotels over the years.
You say, well, you never open up your house.
You never open up our house.
You say, why?
Because I don't need some lady in my house
that one day is going to accuse me of something
that never actually happened.
And you say, well, you're a little paranoid.
No, no, no.
It's called protecting your testimony.
It's called making no provision for the flesh.
You say, well, yeah, that sounds so old-fashioned.
You know, you might save your marriage
if you just maintained a little old-fashioned standards
and separation in your life.
Notice verse 19, Genesis 39, verse 19.
And it came to pass, when his master heard
the words of his wife, which he
spake unto him, saying, after this manner did thy servant to
me, that his wrath was kindled.
Verse 20, and Joseph's master took him and put him
into the prison.
I want you to notice in the life of Joseph,
not only was he sold into slavery by his brothers,
by his own brothers, his own flesh and blood,
but then while he is in slavery,
he's lied about and thrown into prison.
That's quite a trial.
But it gets worse.
Chapter 40, look at verse 1.
Genesis chapter 40 and verse 1, the Bible says this,
and it came to pass after these things.
And again, we're fast forwarding
in the life of Joseph.
He's now in prison.
And the Bible says this, 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 butler
and against the chief of the bakers.
Verse 3, 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 to seize him in ward.
And they dreamed the dream, both of them,
each man his dream.
In one night, each man according
to the interpretation of the dream,
the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt,
which were bound in the prison.
So he gets to prison.
There eventually come the butler and the baker.
You know the story.
They have a dream.
They're upset.
They can't understand the dream.
They can't get an interpretation of the dream.
Look at verse 8.
And they, talking about the butler and the baker,
said unto him, talking about Joseph,
we have dreamed the 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.
And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph and said to him,
in my dream, behold, a vine was before me.
And in the vine were three branches.
And it was as though it budded,
and her blossom shot forth.
And the cluster thereof brought forth ripe grapes.
And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand,
and took the grapes, and I pressed them into Pharaoh's cup.
And I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
Verse 12, and Joseph said unto him,
this is the interpretation of it.
The three branches are three days.
Yet within three days, shall Pharaoh lift up thine head
and restore thee unto thy place.
And thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand
after the former manner, when thou was a butler.
Now, I want you to understand this.
Here, you have these two men have these two dreams.
And Joseph interprets the dream.
Now, we looked at the good dream there.
There's a bad dream that we're not going to look at.
But the interpretation of that dream
is in three days, Pharaoh is going to put you to death.
He's going to hang you.
But for the butler, he said, look,
the interpretation of your dream
is that in three days, you're going to get restored,
and you're going to get put back into your old position.
Now, notice, now look, these men
were sad that they had this dream.
They were bothered by these dreams
and did not understand them.
Joseph comes in and says, I can help you.
Let me help you.
Tell me the dream.
Joseph gives them the interpretation.
You know, they owe him at this point.
He's helped them.
He's thought on them when he didn't have to.
He's given them time when he didn't have to.
And after this, he makes one request.
It's there in verse 14, Genesis 40, verse 14.
Notice what he says.
He says, but think on me.
Now look, sometimes we read the Bible, and we just read it.
And you know, I remember one of the things that has helped
me as I study scripture and even helped me with preaching
sermons and things like that,
somebody told me a long time ago,
you've got to put skin on the Bible.
And you've got to put yourself into that story.
And you've got to read these words of Joseph in Genesis
chapter 40 and verse 14, not just as a story that we read,
but read them coming from a man, a man that
was betrayed by his brothers, that was sold into slavery,
that was betrayed by those who should have protected him.
I mean, it should have been his brothers
who should have been protecting him
from the bullies and from those that would hurt him.
And instead, they were the ones that hurt him and sold
them into slavery.
Then there, in slavery, he done nothing wrong.
All he'd done was work hard and try
to be a blessing to his master.
And his wicked wife lies about him
and gets him thrown into prison just
to be spiteful and vengeful.
And that's the man that we're going to hear right now.
Get that concept in your mind of this man who's
done nothing wrong and gone through these trials
and gone through this heartache.
And in verse 14, he tells the butler,
and he pleads with the butler, but think on me!
When it shall be well with thee, and show kindness,
I pray thee unto me.
You know what Joseph was thinking?
There's few people in this world that have been kind to me.
There's been a few people in this world
that have thought about me.
There's been a few people in this world that
have really looked out for me.
He said, but I'm just pleading with you, butler.
I'm pleading with you.
I know you don't know me.
I know that we're strangers, but I'm
asking that you would show kindness to me.
I said, what do you want, Joseph?
Here's what I want.
And make mention of me unto Pharaoh,
and bring me out of this house.
Notice verse 15.
It's ought to break your heart.
For indeed, I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews.
And here also have I done nothing that they should
put me into the dungeon.
And Joseph here pours out his heart
to this butler who just helped, and says,
would you do me a favor?
Would you do me a favor?
When it is well with thee, would you just
mention me to Pharaoh?
I was kidnapped from home.
I'm not from Egypt, and I got thrown into prison,
and I've done nothing wrong.
Look at verse 23, chapter 40.
Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot
him.
Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph,
but forget him.
The third trial here is that he went through this trial
where he was just forgotten.
Even by the people he helped refused to help him.
And notice in verse 1 of the next chapter,
the Bible says this.
And it came to pass at the end of two full years.
And you say, well, that's kind of a minor trial.
And maybe it is, but if Joseph is anything like me,
I'll tell you, I'm a very impatient person.
You're going to ask my wife.
I get something in my head, and I've got to deal.
I get some idea of some new ministry
that we want to do, or some new thing.
And it can be like midnight, and I'm telling my wife,
let's go check it out on the internet,
or let's go do some research, or let's go do this,
or let's go do that.
I just get things stuck in my head,
and I just got to deal with them right then and there.
I just get excited about that.
And if I were Joseph, if I were Joseph,
those two years would have been a nightmare.
Because I just got done helping this butler,
and I said, but think on me when it is well with thee.
Don't forget me.
Mention me to Pharaoh.
And you know, if I were Joseph,
every time I heard footsteps coming down the hall,
I would think, the butler's coming.
They're going to get me.
He came through for me.
He must have told them.
He must have told them about me.
Every time I heard the clinging of the keys,
I would have thought, someone's coming to help.
Every day I would have woke up thinking,
maybe today's the day, maybe today.
But two full years went by.
And we'll learn as we look at Joseph
that he's a pretty positive guy.
I wonder how long it took for Joseph to realize
no one's coming.
The butler forgot.
And again, no one has helped.
I just want to draw this picture for you
of Joseph who went through some pretty major trials
in his life.
He was sold into slavery by his brothers.
He was lied about by a wicked woman
and thrown into prison.
And then he's forgotten by those who he helped.
But Joseph is an amazing character.
You know the story of Joseph.
You know what ends up happening with him.
Go to Genesis chapter 50.
I want you to notice something that Joseph understood.
Now when we get to Genesis 50,
we get to the end of Joseph's life.
And what we're going to see is that he understood
something very clearly after his trials.
He understood something very clearly
at the end of his trial.
You say, what did he understand?
What was it that Joseph understood
that helped him get through these trials?
Genesis chapter 50 and verse 15.
Notice what the Bible says.
And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead,
we fast forward years into the future now.
Jacob is dead and his brothers said,
they said Joseph will prevent or hate us
and will certainly require us all the evil
which we did unto him.
Joseph's brothers are thinking,
you know, Joseph hasn't taken revenge upon us
because dad's been alive, but now that dad's dead,
he might, you know, he probably hates us
and who would blame him?
And he's probably going to get revenge now.
He's going to require us all the evil which we did.
And they go to him and they say,
and they basically lie
because we don't have this in scripture,
but they say, hey, Joseph,
dad said before he died that you're supposed to forgive us.
And in verse 18, notice the response from Joseph.
Genesis 15 and verse 18, the Bible says this.
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 am I in the place of God?
And again, we see kind of that hint
of what we learned from Job.
Joseph understood the same thing Job did.
He had proper perspective.
He understood who God was and who he was.
But then he says this in verse 20,
but as for you, he's looking at the men
that ruined his life, but as for you,
he's looking at the men that wanted to kill him.
But as for you, he's looking at the men
that sold him into slavery, that ruined his childhood,
that ruined his teenage years,
that got him thrown into slavery,
which got him thrown into prison,
which wasted many years of his life.
He says, but as for you, he thought evil against me.
And here's the key, but God meant it unto good.
See, there's one thing that Joseph understood.
He understood that God had a plan.
He understood that he not only had right perspective
like Job and understood who God was and who he was,
but Joseph understood that God had a plan
through all of this.
He says, but God meant it unto good.
You say, notice what it says, to bring to pass
as it is this day to save much people alive.
And you know, if you know the story of Joseph
that the butler eventually does remember him
after two years.
Pharaoh has a dream and they bring Joseph out.
He interprets the dream and he's able to help Egypt
prepare for a great famine that's coming.
And many people's lives are saved as a result.
And the children of Israel,
their nation is preserved as a result.
And Joseph understood this.
Joseph understood very clearly that God had a plan.
And you would say, here's what you and I would want to say.
Well, yeah, of course Joseph understood that.
You know, once you're the second most powerful man
in the world, once you're second only to Pharaoh,
once you're living in the lap of luxury,
once you're in the palace, yes, of course,
he understood that God had a plan.
But I will submit to you this morning
that Joseph understood that God had a plan,
not only at the end of his trial.
At the end of his trial, he could clearly see by sight
that God had a plan, but I will submit to you this morning
that Joseph understood that God had a plan
even before his trials.
And maybe he couldn't see it as clearly.
And maybe he saw it vaguely, but he understood it.
And it's what got him through it.
You say, prove that.
Okay, go to Genesis 37.
Genesis 37, let's back up,
rewind in the life of Joseph.
He's back at home, 17-year-old teenager,
no problems, no issues, no trials.
Notice what the Bible says, Genesis 37 verse six.
And he, that's Joseph, said unto them,
here I pray you this dream which I have dreamed.
Joseph had a dream, verse seven.
For behold, we were binding sheaves in the field,
and lo, my sheaf arose and also stood upright.
And behold, your sheaves stood round about
and made obeisance, that word obeisance
means they bowed themselves to my sheaf.
Look at verse eight.
And his brethren said unto him,
shall thou indeed reign over us?
This is 17-year-old Joseph living at home
with his brothers.
Or shall thou indeed have dominion over us?
And they hated him yet the more for his dreams
and for his words, look at verse nine.
And he dreamed yet another dream,
and told it to his brethren and said,
behold, I have dreamed the dream more,
and behold, the sun and the moon
and the 11 stars made obeisance to me.
And he told it to his father, and to his brethren,
and his father rebuked him and said unto him,
what is this dream that thou has dreamed?
Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed,
notice what he says, come down,
come to bow down ourselves to thee, to the earth.
And his brethren envied him.
But his father observed the same.
Say, Pastor Perez, what do you think was the secret
to the strength of Joseph, where he could go
through these trials, through the slavery
and through the prison and through the being forgotten?
And what was it that got him through that?
I will submit to you this morning
that what got Joseph through that is the understanding,
the vague understanding.
He did not see it clearly by sight,
but he understood it by faith, that God had a plan.
See, Joseph had these dreams where his sheaves stood up
to the right and his brother's sheaves bowed themselves down
or where they bowed himself in the stars
and the moons and the sun, bowed himself unto him.
And he understood, here's what he understood.
And I'm not saying he knew all the details
and he understood how it was all gonna work,
but he understood that God had a plan.
And that understanding, I believe,
got Joseph through his trials.
Hey Pastor Jimenez, what are you trying to say?
Here's what I'm trying to say to you.
If God has a plan for you and if God has a plan for me,
then we can make it through the trial.
See, not only do we understand perspective, like Job,
understanding who I am and who God is
and that the thing created cannot reply against the thing,
the creator, and say, what has thou made?
Not only do we understand, like Job,
that God is God and I am who I am
and all I need to do is just worship
and respond properly to the trials of God,
but I must also understand that God has a plan
for my life and for your life.
And if our plan includes trials, then God is good.
See, if God has a plan for your trials,
then you may find, there's a couple things,
all of that, again, I realize I said this last week
and some of these summaries are gonna be like this
because there's so much story to give you,
but all of that was kind of build up introduction.
Let me give you three points real quickly about Joseph.
We'll do it as quickly as we can.
If God has a plan for you through your trials,
then you may find several things.
There's a couple things, there's several things
I want you to notice from the life of Joseph.
If God has a plan, if God has a plan for you and for me
then there's some things we can learn
through the trials of Joseph.
Number one, if God has a plan,
go to Genesis 39 in verse two.
Genesis 39, verse two.
In fact, let's look at the verse,
and I'll give you the point here in a second.
I want you to notice something that's emphasized
throughout the life of Joseph.
Genesis 39 in verse two.
The introduction was long, the points will be quick.
We'll go through them fast.
Genesis 39, verse two.
Notice what the Bible says.
And I want you to notice this phrase.
The Lord was with Joseph.
And the Lord was with Joseph.
And he was a prosperous man,
and he was in the house of his,
don't miss this, of his master, the Egyptian.
When Joseph was sold into slavery,
the Bible tells us the Lord was with Joseph.
In verse three it says this,
and his master saw that the Lord was with him,
and that the Lord made all that he did
to prosper in his hand.
And Joseph found grace in his side and served him,
and made him overseer over his house,
and all that he had he put into his hand.
Verse five.
And it came to pass from the time
that he had made him overseer in the house,
and over all that he had, don't miss this,
that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house.
Why?
For Joseph's sake.
And the blessing of the Lord was upon all
that he had in the house and in the field.
You say Joseph was in slavery,
and yet the Bible says the Lord was with him.
But I want you to notice in chapter 39 and verse 21,
who knows what it says?
But the Lord was with Joseph, you see that again.
But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy
and gave him favor in the sight
of the keeper of the prison.
Now Joseph is not in slavery, now he's in prison.
Now he's been lied about.
Now he's been thrown into prison innocently.
And he's there in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
But I want you to notice again that the Bible says
the Lord was with Joseph.
Look at verse 23.
And the keeper of the prison looked not on anything
that was under his hand because, don't miss it,
the Lord was with him.
And that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.
So Pastor Jimenez, what can we learn
from the life of Joseph?
Here's point number one.
If God has a plan for you,
then you may find that God may not take us
around the trials.
See, that's what we want.
We want to never suffer, we want to never have heartache,
we want to never have anything bad go wrong in our lives
and what you find, look, in the prosperity gospel
teaches that, that God will make you healthy
and wealthy and strong and look,
you can listen to a whole lot of TV preachers
are gonna tell you, you know, send in a check
and we'll send you a hankie
or put your hand on the screen
and you know, so $1,000 in our ministry
and you'll get a 10,000,
you can find all sorts of preachers are gonna tell you that
but when you actually read and study the Bible,
you find that God does not always
deliver you from the trial.
You may find that God will not take us around trials
but here's what you will always find
that God will go through the trials with us.
You may find that God may not take us around the trials
but God will always go with us through the trials.
See, Joseph got sold into slavery
but the Lord was with Joseph.
Joseph got thrown into prison
but the Lord was with Joseph.
Joseph went through these times of trial
and God did not take him around the trials
but God did go through the trial with him.
Does not the Bible say,
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee?
You say, what can we learn?
What can we learn from Joseph?
Here's what we can learn.
Here's what I need you to understand
and some of you may be going through something
and you need to understand this and get to,
some of you, everything's fine, that's great.
Write these notes down, tuck them away,
put them in a drawer some more
because one day you're gonna be going through some trials
and some heartache.
Someday someone's gonna lie about you
and you're gonna suffer consequences.
Someday someone you love is gonna stab you in the back.
Someday someone's gonna forget about you
and you're gonna go through some of these things
and realize this, that if God has a plan,
he's with you.
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
So we learn from the life of Joseph
that if God has a plan, you may find that God
may not always take us around the trials
but will always go with us through the trials.
Here's point number two.
If God has a plan, if God has a plan,
we're assuming that God has a plan.
I mean, we know that God has a plan
but I'm saying if we believe in God
and we believe that God has a plan,
here's point number two.
You may find that every trial in your life
is a stepping stone.
I realize these points are a little long and I apologize.
You may find that every trial in your life
is a stepping stone towards the direction
that God wants you to go,
a direction you may not have otherwise gone.
Let me say that again.
If God has a plan for you,
you may find that every trial in your life
is a stepping stone.
Towards the direction that God wants you to go,
a direction you may not have otherwise gone.
See, here's what we know.
We know that a famine was coming
and that God needed to rescue people,
specifically the children of Israel.
And we know that God needed Joseph
to be the second in command of the most powerful nation,
the nation of Egypt,
so that he could prepare for the famine
and so that he could save much people alive.
And what Joseph did not see at first,
all Joseph understood is God has a plan,
but what Joseph did not see,
but what we can see now clearly,
what Joseph could see clearly at the end of his life,
and what we can see clearly at the end of his life
is that every single trial was a step in the direction
that God needed Joseph to go,
a direction Joseph would have not gone on his own.
See, if Joseph's brethren,
go back to Genesis 37, look at verse 36.
If Joseph's brethren had not sold him into slavery,
he would have never got to Egypt, isn't that true?
Joseph would have spent the rest of his time in Canaan
with his father, who he loved.
Genesis 37 and verse 36 says this,
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt,
unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh
and captain of the guard.
See, if Joseph's brethren had not sold him into slavery,
Joseph would have never ended up in Egypt.
But there's more.
Look at Genesis 39, verse one.
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt.
Let me give you another thought.
If Joseph hadn't been brought to Egypt,
see, if Joseph hadn't been sold by his brothers,
he would have never came to Egypt.
But if Joseph hadn't been brought to Egypt,
then he would have never been sold
to one of Pharaoh's officers.
Look at verse one, Genesis 39, verse one.
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt and Potiphar,
an officer of Pharaoh, notice what it says,
captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him.
See, not just any Egyptian bought Joseph,
but an officer of Pharaoh bought Joseph,
a captain of the guard.
See, not just any Egyptian purchased Joseph,
Potiphar, who worked for Pharaoh, purchased Joseph.
You say, well, if he would have never got sold
into slavery, he would have never ended up in Egypt.
And if he would have never ended up in Egypt,
he would have never been purchased by an officer of Pharaoh.
Look, if he would have ended up anywhere else,
if they would have taken him to Midian,
if they would have taken him to Edom,
if they would have taken him to whatever other country,
sold him there as a slave, this wouldn't have worked.
But the fact that he was sold into Egypt
allowed him to be purchased by not just anyone,
but by an officer, an employee, a worker of Pharaoh,
the most powerful man on earth.
And see, if Joseph hadn't been sold to Potiphar,
he wouldn't have been lied about by Potiphar's wife.
And if Joseph hadn't been lied about by Potiphar's wife,
he would have never been thrown into prison.
But listen, not any prison, a special prison.
Look at verse 20, Genesis 39, verse 20.
Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison,
but not any prison, not just any common prison.
He put him into the prison,
a place where the king's prisoners were bound,
and he was there in the prison.
See, Joseph got himself thrown into a special prison.
You know, we have different prisons today.
You have local prisons and state prisons
and federal prisons.
Joseph got himself thrown into a special prison.
He got thrown himself into a prison,
a place where the king's prisoners were bound.
See, well, how did Joseph get himself in there?
Because Joseph was not an officer, a servant of Pharaoh.
How did he get thrown into the prison of Pharaoh?
Well, he got thrown into the prison of Pharaoh
because he got sold into the house of Potiphar.
He got sold into the house of Potiphar
because he got sold into Egypt.
He got sold into Egypt because his brothers betrayed him
and sold him into slavery.
You say, well, what's the big deal about Pharaoh,
about Joseph being thrown into this special prison,
not just a normal prison,
but a place where the king's prisoners were bound,
according to verse 20.
Here's what's special about that.
Chapter 40, verse one.
If Joseph had not been thrown into the king's prison,
he would have never met the butler and the baker.
Genesis 40, verse one,
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 robbed against two of his officers,
against the chief of the butlers
and against the chief of the bakers,
and he put them, put who?
Who put the butler and the baker?
Who were officers of Pharaoh, who worked for Pharaoh?
He put them in a ward in the house of the captain
of the guard into the prison.
Notice, don't miss this, the place where Joseph was bound.
See, if you would have heard the story,
if Joseph would have sat down
and told you the story of Joseph,
you would have said, Joseph,
how did you get to the place you were in your life?
How did you get to be the second most powerful man
in Egypt?
He would have told you, well, Pharaoh had a dream,
and no one could interpret it,
and I interpreted the dream for Pharaoh.
And then you would have asked,
how did you get the job
of interpreting the dream for Pharaoh?
And he would have said, well, the butler,
I interpreted a dream for the butler two years earlier,
and he forgot me at first,
but remembered eventually that I could interpret dreams,
and he's the one that got me connected to Pharaoh.
And then you would have asked,
well, how did you know the butler?
And you said, well, it's a funny story,
but I met him in prison.
Well, you met the butler in prison?
Well, I was in the prison of,
the prison that held the servants of Pharaoh.
Well, how did you end up there, Joseph?
Well, Potiphar's wife lied.
How did you end up there, Joseph?
Well, I got sold into slavery in Egypt.
Well, how did you end up there, Joseph?
Well, my brethren sold me.
See, and you say, Pastor, what are you trying to tell?
Here's what I'm trying to tell you.
Every trial in Joseph's life
was directed and laud by God.
You say, why?
Because it was one step in a direction
that God needed Joseph to go,
that he might have not gone on his own.
If Joseph hadn't met the butler and the baker,
he would have never met Pharaoh.
If Joseph hadn't been thrown into the king's prison,
he would have never met the butler.
If Joseph hadn't been lied about by Potiphar's wife,
he would have never got thrown into the king's prison.
If Joseph hadn't been sold into Egypt,
he would have never been bought by Potiphar.
And if Joseph's brethren hadn't sold him into slavery,
he would have never been brought down to Egypt.
And see, you may be going through something right now.
You may be going through a trial or a heartache.
I don't know what it is.
It may be a health issue.
It may be a financial issue.
It may be a relational issue,
having issues with your children
or issues with your spouse.
It may be something at work,
or it could be something, I don't know,
but here's what I know,
is that if God has a plan,
not only will he go through those trials with you,
but you can be assured
that those trials are probably a step
in a direction that God is trying to get you to go,
that you might not have otherwise.
Gone.
There's a third thing we can learn from Joseph.
Let me give it to you quickly.
Genesis 39.
I said, number one, you may find
that God may not take us around the trials,
but will always go with us through the trials.
I said, number two, you may find
that every trial in your life is a stepping stone
toward the direction that God wants you to go,
a direction that you may not have otherwise gone.
Here's point number three.
If God has a plan for you,
you may find that your attitude
through those trials is extremely important.
It may determine the result of those trials in your life.
See, I want you to notice that God did his part
and got Joseph where he needed to be,
but Joseph did his part and maintained a proper attitude
through those trials, and that attitude
is what got him where he needed to go.
Let's look at it, Genesis 39, look at verse four.
And Joseph found grace in his sight.
This is Potiphar.
And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him.
Joseph served Potiphar.
You know what we see from Joseph?
Is that when Joseph got sold into slavery,
he didn't do what I would do.
He didn't do what most of you would do.
He didn't sit there and just have a bad attitude
and get mad at God and get angry with God
and say, well, why does this happen to me?
See, if I would've got sold into slavery by my brothers,
I would've been the worst slave Potiphar had.
I mean, I would've got up every day
just to, what can I break today?
What can I destroy today?
How can I mess up today?
And even if they beat me into this objection,
I wouldn't have been happy about it.
I mean, I would've just been angry and mad.
My face would've, some of the looks
you guys have right now, that's how I would've looked.
Mad and upset and angry.
I want you to notice, not Joseph, not Joseph.
Look at verse four.
Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him.
And because of that, he made him overseer over his house.
And all that he had, he put into his hand.
Notice verse six.
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, notice these words,
and well favored.
You know what well favored means?
It means he was liked.
You know how you get people to like you?
A man that had friends must show himself friendly.
Is that what the Bible says?
You know how you don't get people to like you?
By sitting there the whole time.
Yes, you knew what I was going through.
Joseph would say, you knew what I was going through.
You knew the trials I've had, problems I've had.
And I'm not mocking your trials, I'm not mocking your,
I'm just telling you this, every trial is a stepping stone
in the direction God wants you to go.
But your attitude through those trials
is extremely important.
Because Joseph decided, Joseph said, you know what?
If I'm here, let's make the best out of it.
If I'm here, might as well be happy.
If I'm here, might as well get to work.
If I'm here, and then he got sold into slavery.
He got lied about and sold into prison,
and he was put into prison.
And you say, well, did Joseph maintain
a good attitude in prison?
Well, let's look at it.
Look at Genesis 39, verse 21.
And the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy,
and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper
of the prison.
And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph
hand all the prisoners that were in the prison,
and whatsoever they did there,
he was the doer of it.
See, Joseph didn't get depressed,
he didn't get discouraged.
What do people do when they're depressed?
Who knows?
I've counseled a lot of people.
You know what I've learned
through the last eight years of ministry?
When people get depressed, you know a lot of what they do
is they sleep and sit around and do nothing.
Not Joseph.
The Bible says, the Bible says
that whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.
He just stayed busy, he just kept busy.
He just kept going.
He just said, you know what?
I'm in prison, I don't deserve to be here.
I've been lied about.
That wicked woman did not tell the truth.
But if I'm here, let's have a good attitude about it.
You say, I don't know if he really had a good attitude.
Okay, well look at verse four.
Genesis chapter 40, verse four.
And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them.
Because remember, Joseph has a good attitude,
so he's getting promoted.
By the way, you want to get promoted at work,
have a good attitude.
Don't be down in the mouth all the time.
Negative, and always talking about why the boss
doesn't know if I ran this place and if I did that.
But the Lord was with Joseph.
Genesis 40, verse four.
And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them.
With who?
With the butler and the baker.
Remember, this is his key eventually to the palace.
And he served them.
Not only did he serve Potiphar in slavery,
but he served the butler and the baker in prison.
And they continued to seize and reward.
Look at verse six.
And Joseph came unto them in the morning
and looked upon them and behold, they were sad.
Remember, because they had that dream.
And they couldn't interpret it, and they were sad.
And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were with him
in the ward of his lord's house saying,
don't miss this, don't miss this.
Wherefore, look ye so sadly today?
Now look, do you think Joseph walked into their cell,
saw them sad,
and he walked in like this?
Why do you, what's wrong with you?
Look, I promise you, Joseph walked in like this.
Hey, what's wrong, guys?
What's going on, guys?
Why look ye so sadly today?
Here's what I'm trying to tell you.
Joseph, not only did he understand
that God had a plan for him,
but he maintained the proper attitude.
See, look, you say, I've gone through a trial,
but when you go through a trial with a bad attitude,
you failed.
When you go through a trial through a bad attitude,
you have not showed people that you believe in God,
that God has a plan, that God has a purpose,
that God has a reason.
And here's what I want you to understand.
It was Joseph's good attitude
that got him in charge of the butler and the baker.
And it was his good attitude, why look ye so sadly,
that allowed him to interpret the dream.
And it was his good attitude
that eventually got him out of prison.
So not only is every trial in your life a stepping stone
in the direction that God wants you to go,
a direction you might not go on your own,
but your attitude through those trials
may be the key that unlocks the door
to get you where God wants you to be.
See, Joseph understood there was a plan.
He kept a good attitude as a slave.
He kept a good attitude as a prisoner.
Go to Acts chapter 16, just real quickly.
We'll come back to Genesis here in a minute,
but go to Acts 16, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts.
Acts chapter 16.
Let me just give you an illustration of this,
of a good attitude.
Because if I get thrown into prison being lied about,
I'm mad, right?
I'm angry, I'm depressed, I'm discouraged,
I'm sleeping all day, I'm not doing anything.
That wasn't Joseph, that wasn't Joseph.
Joseph said, I don't understand why God is allowing this.
I don't comprehend what God's plan.
He said, I know that God has a plan,
but I don't understand it.
I know that God has a plan, but I can't see it clearly.
But if I'm here, the joy of the Lord will be my strength.
If I'm here, I'm going to maintain a good attitude.
I'm going to work hard.
I'm going to serve people.
Are you there in Acts 16?
Look at verse number 20.
This is a well-known story, you know it.
Acts chapter 16, verse 20 says this,
and brought them to the magistrates.
This is Paul and Silas on a missionary journey.
Preachers serving God, saying, these men,
being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive,
neither to have served, being Romans.
And the multitude rose up together against them,
and the magistrates rent off their clothes,
and commanded to beat them.
And when they had laid many stripes upon them,
they cast them into prison, charging the jailer
to keep them safely.
Paul and Silas are not robbing banks.
They're not selling drugs.
They're not living a terrible life.
They are missionaries planting churches,
preaching the gospel, and they get beaten
and thrown into prison.
Now, if it were me, I might be mad.
God, I'm serving you.
You're going to let them do that to me?
I've given my life to reach people with your gospel,
and you're going to let them throw me into prison?
Not Paul, not Silas.
You say, what was their attitude in prison?
Look at verse 25.
And at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed
and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them.
I wonder if that's how you would react
if you got thrown into prison.
I wonder how you would react
if your brother sold you into slavery.
I wonder how you would react
if you got thrown into prison, lied about innocently.
I wonder how you would react if the butler forgot you.
Because Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God,
and the prisoners heard them,
and suddenly there was a great earthquake
so that the foundation of prison were shaken,
and immediately all the doors were open
and everyone's bands were loose,
and the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep
and seeing the prison doors open,
he drew out his sword and would have killed himself,
supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying,
do thyself no harm, for we are all here.
And he called for a light, and he sprang in
and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
and brought them out, and said,
sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved in thy house.
And they spake unto him the word of the Lord
and to all that were in the house.
I wonder if the Philippian jailer,
I wonder if the Philippian jailer
would have not ever gotten saved
if Paul and Silas had not been beaten
and thrown into prison.
See, God needed to get Paul to the Philippian jailer,
and the only way that he could do it
is by getting him thrown into prison.
You say, here's what I'm trying to illustrate.
Every trial in your life is a stepping stone
to where God needs to get you.
And the only reason that Paul had access
to the Philippian jailer is because he was in prison.
But I would submit to you
that Paul's attitude went a long way.
Because when the Philippian jailer
heard them singing and praising God,
that made an impact.
And when they could have gone away and didn't,
that made an impact
to the point where he would ask,
what must I do to be saved?
And all I'm trying to tell you,
all I'm trying to tell you
is if God has a plan,
if God has a plan for your life,
then you must acknowledge the fact
that God will go with you through those trials.
He may not take you around them
because he needs you to go through them.
You say, why?
Because every trial in your life
is a stepping stone to get you to the place
where God needs you to be.
But your attitude may mess it all up.
Because unless you learn to sing praises,
to pray and sing praises to God through your trials,
you may unlock,
you may lock the doors
that God is trying to unlock.
Go back to Genesis chapter 40.
Genesis chapter 40.
We'll finish up.
Just by way of conclusion,
let me give you a couple of thoughts.
Genesis chapter 40.
Just by way of conclusion,
let me give you these thoughts.
If God has a plan,
I hope you believe that God has a plan for you.
I hope you believe that we serve an almighty
and omnipotent God
that has a plan for your life.
And we're gonna look at it here in a minute.
We're gonna look at a couple of verses
just to show you that.
But here's what I want you to understand.
Because God has a plan,
we need to remember a couple of things.
Let me just give you these,
kind of as conclusion.
If God has a plan,
you must remember that God is working on the other side.
See, at the beginning, before the trial,
Joseph looked and said,
I don't really understand it,
I don't get it,
but I had a dream,
I had two dreams,
and when you have two dreams,
it's confirmed it's what God's gonna do.
And I had this dream that my sheep rose up,
and I had a dream that they bowed down themselves to me.
I had another dream where we were stars,
and the suns, and the moon,
they bowed down themselves to me.
I don't really understand it,
but I believe that God has a plan.
I just understand it by faith.
I see it vaguely,
but I understand it by faith.
At the end, at the end,
Joseph could clearly see and tell you,
man, every trial was a step in the direction
that I would have otherwise not gone.
He meant it for evil,
but God meant it for good.
But see, through that trial,
through that time,
Joseph had to believe this,
that if God has a plan,
he must be working on the other side,
even while I'm in the dark.
See, some of you are going through something right now,
you're saying, I don't understand what God is doing.
I don't get it.
I don't see it.
But you just have to believe by faith.
See, every time when the butler had a dream,
God was working on the other side.
When the baker had a dream,
God was working on the other side.
When Pharaoh had a dream,
God was working on the other side.
Joseph was just kind of in limbo.
We see this in Joseph's life,
we'll see it in a couple of weeks in Elijah's life.
Waiting time does not have to be wasted time.
And we might find ourselves at times and places,
you say, right now, I'm just kind of in prison
for two years, kind of just waiting to see what happens.
But we have to believe that if God has a plan,
he's working, he's working on the other side.
Not only that, but we have to believe this.
Go to Genesis chapter 50, verse 20.
We saw this verse at the beginning,
we'll see it again.
And we're gonna look at this,
and we're gonna look at a couple more verses
in the New Testament, and we'll be done.
Genesis chapter 50, verse 20.
But as for you, is what Joseph said.
You thought it evil against me,
but God meant it unto good
to bring to pass as it is this day
to save much people alive.
This is a wonderful verse in the Old Testament
where Joseph is saying, what you meant for bad,
God meant for good.
What you meant to hurt me, God worked it out for good
in my life and in the life of others.
You know, there's an equivalent to this verse
in the New Testament.
In Genesis 15, verse 20, we have this great verse,
but there's an equivalent to this verse
in the New Testament.
Let's look at it together real quickly, and we'll be done.
Romans chapter number eight.
In the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans.
Chapter eight, look at verse number 28.
Joseph would say, you meant it for evil,
God meant it for good.
Paul would basically state the same thing,
but he says it a little different.
Romans eight and verse 28 says this, and we know that.
He doesn't say we think that, we hope that.
I really hope, he says, and we know that.
Paul would say, if there's something I know,
I know this, that all things work together for good.
Now, notice what he didn't say.
He didn't say all things were good,
but he said all things can work together to produce good.
See, God can take all the bad in your life.
What they meant for evil, he can turn it into good.
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, verse 29.
You say, Pastor Jimenez, here's the problem
with your sermon.
I always love it, everybody's always trying
to find a problem with my sermons.
And if you're trying to find problems with my sermons,
you can find them.
Here's the problem with your sermon, Pastor Jimenez,
I've never had a dream.
I've never had a dream that my sheaf stood up
and others bowed themselves to it.
I've never had a dream that the sun and the moon
and the stars bowed themselves to me.
I've never had a dream that I could maybe
kind of look at, and by the way,
be careful with having too many dreams,
and looking too much into dreams.
Sometimes your dreams are just,
you had tacos last night.
I've never had a dream, but you know,
you have something better than a dream.
Peter would say, we have a more sure word of prophecy.
See, when Joseph was living,
the written word of God was not yet written.
When Joseph was, the reason God revealed himself
in dreams in those times is because the word of God
was not yet written.
Joseph's story would go into the first book of the Bible,
the book of Genesis.
We in the New Testament have a more sure word of prophecy.
We have the word of God, and the word of God says this,
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.
Verse 29, for whom he did foreknow.
Now the confidence like to take this verse
and twist it into God, you know,
forces people to get saved
and condemns other people to hell.
That's not what this verse is saying.
Here's what he says, for whom he did foreknow.
It doesn't say who God forced,
but it just says who God knew, because God is omniscient.
God knows the beginning from the end.
God knows everything.
He knows what our options are,
and he knows which option we're gonna take.
And God, the Bible says this, for whom he did foreknow.
God says, I know who's going to get saved.
That doesn't mean God made them get saved
or forced them to be saved.
The Bible teaches free will, whosoever will may come.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved.
But here's what the Bible is saying,
for whom he did foreknow.
God says, who I already know is gonna get saved,
those people, he also did predestinate.
Pastor, did he predestinate them to be saved?
No.
The ones that he knew were gonna get saved,
he predestinated them to be conformed
to the image of his son.
That he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Say, Pastor Mendez, I didn't have a dream like Joseph.
You have something better than a dream.
You've got Romans chapter eight, verse 28, verse 29.
Where God tells you that God can take anything in your life,
anything that's bad, anything that's evil,
anything that was meant to hurt you,
to destroy you, to cast you down,
anything that people have done to try to bring you down.
God says, I can take that, I won't make it good.
I won't make the trials go away.
I won't go around the trial.
I'll go with you through the trial.
But I can take those trials
and turn them into stepping stones
and make something good come out of it.
Say, why that you might be conformed
to the image of his son.
See, it's what Job said.
When I am tried, I shall come forth as gold.
See, I don't know what the plan is.
The plan is this, God wants you to be more like his son.
God wants to conform you to his son.
God wants to make you more like his son.
So he might put trials in your life
to take you in a direction
that you might not otherwise go.
So that you could say, so that you could say,
ye thought evil against me.
But God meant it for good.
That's why I hit the number one prayer.
Heavenly Father.