{Introduction – after a short clip on Sport Fest promotion}
Thank you Hieu for capturing those fine moments on tape. Every summer we participate in the Sport Fest for the last two weekends in July, where we compete with the other churches in the region many different sports. Many people practice for months to compete in this event, this year we started back in April. I got to be the coach this year for the girl volleyball team, so I have been trying hard to be a decent coach.
One of the advices I received is that good athletes analyze tape of other great players so that they can learn their skills and techniques for the game.
Similarly, as followers of God, we can also analyze the life of other hero in the faith so that we can learn their skills and techniques. We are in the third of a five-week series called “Dream Maker”, a study from the life of Joseph. Let’s pray and ask God to point out what He wants us to learn from the life of Joseph.
[Prayer]
{Tell the Story}
Our verse for this week is “Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh King of Egypt” (41:46a). But what happened before this?
Last week, Pastor Sam Yun told us that Joseph overcame the Dream Breakers, the temptations he faced, and ended up in prison.
“But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” (39:20b-23)
Do you see a similar pattern here? (Compare it with the beginning of chapter 39), the phrase “the Lord was with him” was repeated through out, Joseph once again got in management even at a smaller scale of his own prison. And under his management, his supervisor wouldn’t need to worry about a thing, just like with his old boss Potiphar.
“Some time later,” how much later? We don’t know for sure but time passed. “The cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt.” What is a cupbearer? Does king-sized cup that big to require someone to carry them? [jokingly brought out the trophy cup]. No, cupbearer is a trustworthy official, a confidant of the king to taste everything the king about to eat and drink first to ensure that no one was trying to poison him.
But even as close as he was to the King, somehow he got on the wrong side of the King “2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined.” Wait a minute; was the term “captain of the guard” sound familiar to you? Oh yes, Gen.39:1 introduced Potiphar as “one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard”! So now we know that Joseph was imprisoned in the dungeon right in his old master’s backyard. Hhhm, interesting! Perhaps Potiphar trust that Joseph didn’t attempt to rape his wife, otherwise he would have Joseph executed already. But he also afraid of his wife too, otherwise he would have freed Joseph already.[i] So Potiphar “4 the captain of the guard assigned them [the two personal staffers of the King] to Joseph, and he attended them”. Joseph was to serve these two as part of his prison duty.
“After they had been in custody for some time,” how long? We don’t know for sure but more time passed. “5 Each of the two men… had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. 6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected [down-cast / crushed]. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?”” Note that Joseph genuinely cared for these guys; he didn’t just serve them because he had to, but he also put his heart into his service.
“8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” 9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.” 12“This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.”
At this point, Joseph interjecting in a request for favor: “14 But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. 15 For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.” As cupbearer to Pharaoh the King, this guy had personal connection! If anyone can get Joseph out of prison, this guy could!
The other guy saw the good news from Joseph’s interpretation so he scurried over: ““I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” 18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh.”” Ouch! What a bad news. But Joseph communicate the truth, he could not tamper with God’s revelation!
Everything happened exactly the way Joseph explained. Three days later “was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand, 22 but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.”
At this point I have no doubt that Joseph would be full of anticipation! Everything happened exactly the way he explained. Now his friend the cupbearer is back in high place, for sure the guy would remember his humble request. If the guy won’t care much about justice, at least Joseph excellent service to him would count for something. Joseph was very excited with expectation, “Yes! I am getting out of this dump! Finally! Any day now!” And days turn to weeks, and weeks turn to months. No news. No changes. Nothing. Not even a thank you card! Because “23 the chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.”
Have you ever wanted to give up? This is the spot where dreams die! Look at it, what might start out as a dream had ended up like a nightmare! Back when Joseph was seventeen, he believed the dreams God had for him. He believed and so he talked about it: that got him into slavery. He believed and resisted temptation: that got him into prison. He still believed in the dreams of God, so he explained them to a couple of friends: and that got him forgotten in a corner of the dungeon.
The dungeon of discouragement is the spot where dreams die, where dream makers are crushed! Are you discouraged? Recently I am hearing a lot of discouragements from all of us. A widow struggled through her loss and finally was able to establish a new relationship two years afterward, only to have her boyfriend passed away suddenly, again. A leader I know lamented that he is entering the 7th years of hard labor to his church without seeing any discernable results from his people. A girl caught up with her childhood “Christian” friends last week and found that now most of them are alcoholics, even a few hardcore druggies. And then there were a few who would committed spiritual suicide, knowingly reject the faith that have sustained them since childhood.
In sport tournament, usually there are some very formidable teams. These formidable teams often consistently crushed their opponents in the play off, yet if even one team can withstand their attacks, you will no doubt observe and analyze them well to know “what’s the secret to overcome these formidable foes too in the future”. Similarly, if we see many Dream Makers got drown in the dungeon of discouragement, we need to focus on the one who actually made it through to learn “what’s the secret that got them through”!
Would Joseph make it through? “When two full years had passed, [more time had passed in the dungeon for Joseph.] Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, 2 when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and… ate up the seven sleek, fat cows… 5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. 6 After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched… swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up… 8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.” By now the cupbearer remembered Joseph, so he told the King. “14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes [probably after a shower also], he came before Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.””
Earlier we wondered, “Would Joseph make it through?” If Joseph didn’t make it through, and allow for the weight of discouragement crushed him in the dungeon, he would have answered, “Why bother with dreams, they are just nightmares! Look at what happened to me!” But Joseph answered, “O yes, I’ve learned a few things or so about dreams, it would be my privilege to serve the King in anyway I can!” Did he say that? Nope! If he had said that, he might have passed the discouragement at the bottom of the pit, but he failed in facing the distractions at the top of the world.
Think of the moat and wall surrounding a castle. Next to the moat of discouragement stand the wall of distractions. Some warriors won’t drown in the moat, but they are killed on top of the wall. At the bottom of the pit you face discouragements, and at the top of the world you face distractions. No wonder Jesus had to fence off temptations not only in the dessert but on top of the mountain as well.
Some people might survive the moat, but fewer still would survive the wall. We all know people who cling on to God at the bottom of the pit of discouragement but let go of Him when they reach the top of the world to follow some other distractions: Prideful leaders, corrupted officials, ambitious prodigy, pleasure seekers, etc. These are the cheap imitations of Dream Makers. They might made it to the top, but God’s Dream no longer in them. Authentic Dream Makers are also the Dream Keepers, who continue to follow God’s vision for them regardless of whether they are at the bottom of the pit or on top of the world.
I have seen people came to faith in the refugee camps. They were devoted to God despite the terrible circumstances that they were in. Then they came to the US, started on welfare but and started going to church here. They pray for educations, God granted them educations; they pray for jobs, God granted them jobs; they pray for happy families, God granted them happy families; they pray for success, God granted them success. But at each step on the way up, they got more and more distracted from God. Let’s skip a Sunday worship here and there to succeed at educations. Let’s forsake ministry to succeed at the jobs. Let’s drop out from fellowshipping with other Christians to succeed at raising a family. And by the time they were successful, on top of the world, they became the dream makers of their own dreams and no longer achieving the Dream God had for them. They fail to be Dream Keepers!
Joseph was not only a Dream Maker, he’s also a Dream Keeper. What was his secret to overcome both the moat and the wall; both the discouragements and the distractions; to be true to God’s Dream both in the bottom of the pit as well as the top of the world?
As I told you before, in sport when you see an athlete who performs real well against all sort of opponents, you want to learn their secret. Often people video tape them, watch them repeatedly, slow-mo and analyze their every move. Eventually you will see a pattern of a few core components that emerge from every game they play, no matter what opponent they face. This core components is the like a “fundamental rhythm”, a “mental-edge” as coaches like to speak about.
{Show the Secrets}
So what is the secret of a Dream Keeper? What are Joseph’s core components which helped him at the bottom of the pit as well as at the top of the world?
I am going to do a play-by-play slow-motion comparison between the dream sequences of Pharaoh in this chapter when Joseph on top of the world and the previous chapter when Joseph at the bottom of the pit, then we can learn about his secret core components.
* The first secret is this: Acknowledge God’s capability and NOT your ability. Joseph knows what God can do first, and in that light then he know what he can do. It can be observed in his answer when “15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”” Joseph replied: “16 “I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”” Compare it with the last episode, Joseph gave a similar answer: “39:8b Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
Acknowledging God’s capability and NOT your ability will keep us in humility before God. The Bible said: ““God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Pet.5:5-6). Self-confidence might make you a Dream Maker, but only God-confidence will make you a Dream Keeper.
Then Pharaoh told his dream to Joseph and he explained the meaning to the King: “26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. 28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe.”[ii]
But the next sentence caught my attention: “32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.” Surely Joseph was referring to the cows and the grains in Pharaoh’s dream. But was there another dream which has two forms, of the sheaf of grains and the stars, sun and moon? Yes, it was his own dreams back when he was seventeen years old[iii]. So, through out these years Joseph had keep on believing that his own “matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.” No wonder in the previous episode Joseph had the courage to interpret dreams for the cupbearer and the baker.
I mean how could you tell others that God’s dreams will come true for them while it’s not happening in your life? Well friends, that’s what unshakeable faith looks like; a faith that’s grounded in God Himself and not depend on the circumstances that you see. Aren’t we always amazed at the Godly elderly people in our church who could comfort others while they themselves are still dealing with so much pain?
* Therefore, the second secret is this: Trust in God and trust NOT in His blessing. Joseph trusted in God no matter if he was at the bottom of the pit or on top of the world.
Often, when we think of following God, we think of all of the blessings that will be added to our life. We often have a consumer mindset when we believe in God. We’ve already had this, and this, and this; so believe in Jesus Christ so we will have more: blessings, peace, joy, happy marriage, successful life, etc. And eternal salvation too!
But that’s the biggest misconception.
Following God is not just for the added blessing. Following God is a trade off according to the Bible. Matthew 13:44 said, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold-all-he-had and bought-that-field". The apostle Paul compared all of his accomplishment and success on the one side and considered all of them as trash in comparison to the possession of Christ Jesus on the other side (Philippians 3:4-11).
Many people today might start following God as a way to seek blessings: to find inner peace, to establish a happy family, to achieve their dreams. There is nothing wrong with that since following God does have its benefits. However, the problem is if they stop there, then when one day their lives ended up in the shamble pits, God will not be as attractive as they thought He would be. By then, discouragements will set in and the Dream Maker will die within them.
Joseph not only just trusts in God, but he also cares for others as well. He could have just stop there after explaining what the dreams mean, after all he had finished what the King asked of him, now it’s time for Joseph to obtain his freedom and trying to get back to his family. No, Joseph went on to offer a solution for the pending disaster: “33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.””
* Therefore, the third secret of the Dream Keeper is this: Concern for others and not just yourselves. Philippians 2:4 said, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Joseph shows his concerns for other back when he was in the dungeon by paying attention and asked “What’s wrong, why are your faces so sad today?” Two different contexts, but he had always faithful to care for people. When God entrusted him with just a few fellow cellmates, he cared for them. When God entrusted him with the whole nation, he also cared for them.
God also gives us gifts and talents today, everyone had something. Some are good with planning, some with arts, some with making money, etc. No matter what gifts and talents God gave you, He gave you not to just enjoy yourself but to care for others.[iv] Caring for a few will help us to care for the many.
When we are faithful in following God, our caring skills will also increase. God told us that when "You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things" (Matt.25:21). Notice that when Joseph had the two dreams as a teen, he didn’t care enough about his brothers feeling so he yapped about them and made matter worse. But when he interpreted the two dreams in prison, he care for the cupbearer and the baker, but couldn’t help them much. And now with the two dreams of Pharaoh, not only he understood what God’s about to do, but also the solution of how to respond.[v]
Pharaoh was impressed with Joseph’s proposal, the King told him: “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you… 41 I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” From that moment on, Joseph entered the King’s service (as a vizier, second-in-command) and diligently work on the tasks which was entrusted to him. He “traveled throughout Egypt” and for 7 years “48 Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt” to prepare for the famine. He was so responsible for it that Pharaoh didn’t have to deal with any problem at all. By the time the famine come, all Pharaoh had to do is to point people to Joseph: “55 …“Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.””
* So, the last secret of Joseph is this: Work as is for God and not for men. The Bible said, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Col. 3:23). Joseph was consistently doing this not only here but also in the previous employments as well. We see that when he was working in the household of Potiphar, he didn’t have to worry about a thing with Joseph in control. Same thing happened when he was managing his own prison; the warden didn’t need to worry about a thing.
If we were working to please men, then our performance would varied from boss to boss, because we seek to please them. But if we work to please God, we will always diligently working the best we could. And God will reward us for that attitude.
{Call for Response}
“Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt” We know that when he was sold into slavery he was 17 years old, and when he got out of prison, he was 30 years old. God took thirteen-years of his life, of a slave and a prisoner, to prepare for Joseph to be where he is, and to keep him there for the rest of his life.
Thirteen-years are a long time. In those thirteen-years, we see a basic patterns of four components emerged in his life, which we could apply in our lives too:
- Acknowledge God’s capability and NOT your ability.
- Trust in God and NOT in His blessing
- Concern for others and NOT just yourselves
- Work as it is for God and NOT as for men
All of the above could be summarized in one word: faithfulness. Faithfulness first mean full-of-faith, then it also has a second sense of loyalty and diligent, regardless of what happened. And the third meaning is being true to a standard. All could be seen from the patterns in Joseph life.
But faithfulness is actually easier said than done.
Faithfulness is the decision to continue to trust God and follow him regardless of what happened.
I believe there was a dark corner of the dungeon. There Joseph sat quietly and look at the last gleam of daylight disappearing before night fall. He saw his last hope dashed away after the another day waiting for any news of the cupbearer. At that moment, he decided to abandon all hope from himself, from men and their circumstances. At that moment, he decided to trust God even though nothing else is making sense. And at that moment, God knew that His preparation was nearly complete on Joseph: He had gotten not only a Dream Maker, but a Dream Keeper as well.
However, Joseph’s faithfulness was just a response to God’s faithfulness to him. “The Lord was with Joseph”, the Bible said, in his pit, in the prison, and even now in the palace. And the Lord is faithful with you today too; will you be faithful to Him?
Will that be your decision today? Regardless of where you are in life right now - whether you are facing discouragement at the bottom of the pit, or you are facing distractions at the top of the world - will you decided to trust in God, regardless of what is going now and what will be later?
As the worship team leads us in a song, I invite you all to stand for a time of prayer to respond to God. (Call for an outward expression of decisions…)
For reference notes, formatted text and comments, please go to
http://i12know1stdraft.blogspot.com/2005/06/secrets-of-dream-keepers.html
You can also leave a message there to request for the accompanied PowerPoint slide.
