chapter 40 of Genesis as he's already read chapter 41 so that was not the intent we'll be covering both chapters 40 and 41 but we'll read them in reverse order so if you'll please turn in your copies of God's Word to Genesis chapter 40 we'll read that in its entirety and Genesis 40 and 41 will be our sermon text this morning Genesis chapter 40. Again, we'll read it in its entirety this morning. People of God, hear the word of the Lord. It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them. And he served them, so they were in custody for a while. Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them. Each man's dream in one night, and each man's dream with its own interpretation. And Joseph came in to them in the morning, and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. So he asked Pharaoh's officers, who were with him in the custody of his lord's house, saying, why do you look so sad today? And they said to him, we each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. So Joseph said to them, do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please. Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph and said to him, behold, in my dream a vine was before me. And in the vine there were three branches. It was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. Then Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. And Joseph said to him, This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three days. Now within three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand according to the former manner when you were his butler. But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me, make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews, and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon." When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, I also was in my dream and there were three white baskets on my head. And the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh. And the birds ate them out of the basket on my head. So Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation of it. The three baskets are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you from a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh from you. Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants. And he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him. Thus far, the reading of God's holy word this morning. Well, as we come to Genesis chapter 40 and Genesis chapter 41, we are picking up again after a brief interlude in the life of Judah, picking up with the Joseph narrative. And of course, as we've already heard, as it was read, we are going to see Joseph go from the prison to the palace. Thus the clever title of the sermon this morning. We'll see Joseph in a position of humiliation. Really, he's been in a position of humiliation ever since he was sold into slavery and went down into Egypt for an entirely different reason than Judah went down into Canaan. He goes down into Egypt, not of his own volition or of his own desire, but because his his brothers sell him into slavery. And so he's removed from the covenant community and goes down into slavery in Egypt, where there he will suffer the humiliation of being a slave separated from his family. And though he'll serve the Lord faithfully and the Lord will be with him and the Lord will bless him and the Lord will prosper him. Yet he'll then suffer the indignity, the humiliation of the, of the false accusation of the attempt to assault Potiphar's wife. And so then he'll find himself no longer in Potiphar's household as the head of the house, but in prison, even greater humiliation than even being sold into slavery to begin with, unjustly in prison. And there the Lord will be with him. The Lord will bless him and prosper him in the midst of his humiliation and his suffering. And then we find after the matter of these dreams before us, four dreams in total, we'll see Joseph go from that position of humiliation to a position of exaltation. And that whole arc of Joseph, beginning with his humiliation and ending here with his exaltation, served to teach us something. Because his humiliation and his exaltation weren't intended for us to walk away with happy feelings about Joseph, though indeed we should have good feelings about Joseph and his faithful service in the midst of his suffering, but rather to put before us God's providence and the way in which he takes Joseph and turns him into a blessing both for the covenant people of God in later chapters, but also for the nations themselves. In other words, Joseph becomes a means of God's faithfulness in doing exactly what he promised Abraham all those years ago. To be a blessing to the nations. To be a blessing to the covenant people of God. And as we watch Joseph go from that humiliation to that exaltation, there's a blessing for us to be learned as well. that we also are called to bless the nations. And just like Joseph, we are called to bless the nations sometimes through humble, faithful service in the midst of suffering. Whatever that suffering might happen to be. And so thus, the thrust of the sermon text this morning is that we, as the people of God, when we experience suffering, Or to seek to bless the nations through our humble service in the midst of that suffering. We'll follow it along the two lines of the introduction this morning. That is, we'll look at Joseph's humiliation, or rather the continuation of his humiliation, for we pick up the story right in the middle of it. And then we'll look at Joseph's exaltation. Joseph's humiliation and Joseph's exaltation. And so then we turn to our text this morning and look there at Joseph's humiliation. We've already seen the first elements of his humiliation, his being betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, accused wrongly of assaulting Potiphar's wife, and now we pick up the narrative in prison itself in chapter 40. And there are a couple of things that we are meant to see in both of these chapters, chapter 40 and chapter 41. One of them being something that we're supposed to see in the entirety of Genesis itself, but one that comes to greater fore here in the Joseph narrators, which that is, that is God's providence, God's behind-the-scenes action in Guiding the course of redemptive history for his purpose. We've seen that both with with Genesis and the way that he has carried forth that promise of the seed. That's why where we are, we are where we are with Jacob. He is the promised seed and the line of the seed of the woman will go through him. Joseph being the representative here and we've seen it in the life of Joseph. We know that God has been providentially directing Joseph even in the midst of his suffering. and the circumstance he finds himself in. And we see that God's providentially with Judah as well. Judah and Joseph present us both sides of the providential coin, don't they? We see God's providence in the way in which he works through Joseph's humiliation but also Joseph's humble, faithful service in order to accomplish his purpose, and the way he works through Judah's sin, Judah's wickedness, Judah's worldliness, to still yet keep his covenantal promise of that son who is to come, the seed of the woman who will crush the serpent's head. In other words, we see in Judah and in Joseph the inevitability of God's promise coming to pass. regardless of those who are contributing to it from the human side. And in Joseph, we see particularly his humility, his integrity, and his faithfulness, even in the midst of the hard providence that we've already examined back when he was sold into slavery. He is a stark contrast to Judah. The two brothers who went down couldn't be any more different. Note, however, that God will accomplish providentially his purposes through both, one through his worldliness and one through his godliness. And Joseph's character has really already been presented to us as he served in Potiphar's house after being sold into slavery. Joseph has been faithful in his service. Every time that we see Joseph speaking, we always see him speaking in a God-referential manner. We don't find him complaining about his circumstances. We're not presented with a negative side of Joseph here. It's not to say perhaps there never was, but the point of the narrative is to emphasize his actual faithfulness. Remember what happens when Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph. What does he say? He says, how can I do this thing and sin against God? Even in the midst of his suffering, he is still there faithful to his God. serving in the place that he has been put in whatever position he finds himself in and the same thing is true as far as his position in the prison we've already seen in genesis thirty nine that he's been read by god's blessing in god's providential care for him he's been placed in charge of the prison doesn't mean that the dungeon is any anymore fun to be in as he as he tells the chief baker or uh... the chief baker the butler to please please tell pharaoh so he can get me out of here He's not really enjoying himself to be the head of the prison. Isn't like the best thing in the world, right? Nonetheless, he's there, he's in prison and he's faithfully serving. He's serving the keeper of the prison. He's serving the guard and the, and the capacities in which the has placed them. And he's doing it. Well, he's doing it faithfully, but ultimately it is his God that he is serving. And that character continues. to come out even there in prison is without recapping all of the dreams that are there we know that when it comes to it we have the butler and the baker having offended pharaoh finding themselves in prison put under joseph's care by the captain of the guard and both of them have a dream and joseph will interpret the dream but you'll notice the premise by which he convinces them in order to Have him interpret the dream for them. They tell him we've had these dreams and we're troubled because there's no one to interpret it. He says to them in verse 8. Do not interpretations belong to God. Tell them to me. Joseph understands that he should understand he's had his own dreams. Joseph understands that the interpretation of these dreams belongs to his God. And so once again, consistently, we see God at the forefront of Joseph's mind, God at the forefront of Joseph's thoughts. But it's not just interpreting the dreams of the butler and of the baker that we see this, this God-centered mindset of Joseph. His humble faithfulness is seen in his interpretation of their dreams, but that continues on into Pharaoh's dreams as well. As you'll notice, what's the thing that he says to Pharaoh in verse 16 of chapter 41? So Joseph answered to Pharaoh saying, it is not in me. I'm not the one who has somehow in myself the ability, the wisdom, the foresight to be able to tell you what your dream means, but rather God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace. And so once again, he's not seeking to elevate himself. He's not seeking to be someone who's demonstrating his own power, his own strength, his own wisdom. Still yet, in the midst of the suffering that he finds himself in, in the midst of his humiliation, he's not seeking to exalt himself, but to exalt his God to to take the eyes of Pharaoh and his household and turn them directly to the one who will give them both the interpretation of the dream but the wisdom and the peace that will flow from the way in which the message of the dream is to be handled God will give you an answer of peace not me God will give you an answer of peace and And then we'll notice as he as he works through the interpretation of Pharaoh's two dreams in verse 25, he says the dreams of Pharaoh one. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do in verse 28. He says it again. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. In verse 32, because the thing the two dreams are that that idea of God establishing the firm reality of what's about to come to pass, The thing is established by God, and God will bring it to pass. Continually, throughout the arc of this portion of Joseph's narrative, Joseph's mind is always upon his God. He's always seeking to testify to his God, to faithfully serve his God, even in the midst of his humiliation. Humble, faithful service through humiliation and suffering. And there's never a time through these events where Joseph elevates himself, exalts himself, praises himself, serves himself. But rather, he's faithful in his service to his God and even in his service to those who have given him charge over the many things that they have given him charge over. Course, the lesson to be learned there is that we ourselves walking in Joseph's footsteps as an example to us. But we when we undergo our own suffering, though the tendency is always to to look sideways at God. to look at him and ask him why. And it's not to say that God never encourages us to ask Him why. Look at the Psalms. There's an appropriate place for that. But rather, we should be looking to God even in the midst of our suffering, being humbly faithful to continue our service, understanding that even in our suffering and our humiliation itself, God uses for His purposes not just to grow us in our own sanctification, but to bless others as well. And it is through humble, faithful service in suffering and humiliation that we call attention to God, turn others' eyes to God just as ours are there, and thus become, as we'll see in just a moment, a blessing to those around us, a blessing to the nations, just like Joseph. Joseph could have spent all of his time rebelling against Potiphar. I don't think it would have worked out really well for him But he could have done that He could have cursed his God and rebelled against Potiphar He could have done the same thing when he was put in prison unjustly cursed God and rebelled against the prisoner the keeper of the prison He could have refused to appear before Pharaoh, although at that point in time he was glad to be out, so I don't think he was of a mind to do that. But he never does that. He never curses his god, and he faithfully serves those he's serving, even though his position under them is entirely unjust. He keeps his trust in his God, faithfully serves, and as we'll see in the second element of our text this morning, becomes a blessing to the nations, both in his humiliation, as we see in there of itself, the way the prison prospers, the way the Potiphar's house prospers. but also in his exaltation. Because Joseph's humble, faithful service will result in his exaltation. That's how the chapter ends. With people bowing the knee to Joseph, just like his dream all the way in Genesis chapter 37. Just like his dream said would be the case. But as we consider his exaltation, it's a good thing to kind of get a sense for the time that's passed here. Now, we don't have a perfect, a perfect giving of what the time is from when he goes down into Egypt and what it is he's actually elevated to be second in command of all of Egypt. We have some time markers. We do know that the time that he that he gets done interpreting the dream so the time that he stands before Pharaoh is two years and we'll get that in just a moment but we also know that in Genesis chapter 38 we have the sordid tale of Judah and that's gotta be at least a decade as we wait for his son to come of age to marry Tamar so Joseph has been in Egypt for at least a decade Before ever he appears before Pharaoh. He's been in Potiphar's house and he's been in prison for at least 10 years. That's a long time to suffer. That's a long time to be unjustly in humiliation like Joseph is, and so it really highlights his character and his faithful service in the midst of his humiliation and suffering. And then as the text is going to emphasize for us in verse 1 of chapter 41, the last couple of years of his humiliation and service are going to be even more excruciating, even more agonizing. Then it came to pass at the end of two full years." That's really two years of days. If someone told you that they just endured something for two years of days, what do you think that they're telling you? That they endured every single one of those days for two years. They're telling you the fullness. They're emphasizing the fullness of the time. Two years of days. There's a reason why it's like that, because he he had asked the chief butler what that that when you are exalted once again to the right hand of Pharaoh and you're putting the wine in his cup in the cup in his hand. Tell him about me and Joseph is there for those two years wondering if whenever the chief butler will tell Pharaoh. And so he has added not just his humiliation and his suffering, but now that agonizing weight that perhaps the chief butler might remember, that he's there languishing in the dungeon after two full years, after two years of days. Finally, Pharaoh has a dream, two dreams. And these dreams will stir up the chief butler's memory and provide opportunity for joseph to be exalted through the interpretation of the dreams and in his exaltation To not just be a blessing to the coveted community, which we'll see in the following chapters, but to egypt and to the nations And we know the dreams many of us are familiar with that, but we'll go through them briefly just to call them to mind He has the first dream, right? In the first dream, there are these cows by the river. Nice, fat, juicy, plump cows. The kind of cows that would give you wonderful steak if you like steak, right? Nice, fat, juicy, plump cows ready to be turned into steaks for Pharaoh's table. Seven of them. And then all of a sudden, seven ugly cows, seven gaunt cows, and that is little children, that is their ribs were showing. So malnourished, so starved were they that their skin sticks to their ribs and you can basically count every one of their ribs. And these seven ugly, gaunt, rib-showing cows that certainly wouldn't make good steak for anybody's table come along in this dream and they gobble up and they eat the big, fat, juicy, plump cows. Weird, right? And then there's the second dream, which is a lot like the first one, just with wheat instead of with cows. Nice, healthy ears of grain that would make wonderful bread in order to be eaten alongside the juicy steak. And then those wonderful seven ears of grain full of fruit. And then alongside them come these seven other unhealthy, blighted ears of grain. Look like they've been out in the sun too long and are shriveled up and certainly aren't producing any fruit. And those blighted grains swallow up and take care of the seven plump, full grains. And to others, nothing left. And if you have these kinds of dreams, if we didn't live in a modern age that discounts dreams, if you have these kinds of dreams, I guarantee you, you would be thinking to yourself, what in the world was that? And that's precisely what Pharaoh thinks. What in the world was that? And so, because he desires to see the dreams interpreted, because he wants to know what in the world was that, he asks all of his magicians and his sorcerers, and none of them are able to give him an answer at all. They aren't able to interpret the dream for him. And because they could not interpret the dream for Pharaoh, all of a sudden the lights go off after two full years of days in the chief butler's head, and he's like, oh yeah, by the way farrell any yield to give the butler credit he does say that um... that he is at fault for this in verse nine then the chief butler spoke to farrell saying i remember my faults this day he understands what he's done and he's he's not being light-hearted about it but he says farrell while i was in prison This man, Joseph, interpreted my dream and the baker's dream, and his interpretation came true. You should have him come and interpret your dream, and that's just what Pharaoh does. Pharaoh has Joseph cleaned up, washed up, brought into the palace, and puts the two dreams before them. And it is in his his interpreting as well as his carrying out the advice of the interpreter that's associated with the interpretation that Joseph will become a blessing to Pharaoh to all of Egypt and to the nations. First and foremost through his testimony to Egypt itself and to Pharaoh himself. As he says in verses 38 and 39, the reaction of Pharaoh. Remember, when he's interpreting that dream, before he interprets that dream, what's Joseph's disposition? He says this is not in me. God will give you an answer of peace. God is showing you what he's about to do. God is showing you what he's about to do. God will surely bring this to pass constantly throughout the entire course of the dream and the dispensing of the advice associated with the dream. Joseph's disposition is to constantly draw attention to God as he faithfully serves his covenant God. And thus you have the response, verses 38 and 39 of Pharaoh, that they will acknowledge exactly what it is that Joseph has been saying. And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God? then pharaoh said to joseph in as much as god has shown you all of this there is no one as wise and discerning as you so while in in one sense pharaoh is indeed exalting joseph he's really exalting the one behind joseph Surely the Spirit of God is in you, and that's an important thing. Surely you will. There will be no one as wise and discerning you as you to carry out the steps that you have laid out to preserve Egypt. Because God is with you. Joseph's testimony to God results in Pharaoh, a pagan himself, witnessing to God's power. To God's strength and his wisdom seen in Joseph. And so Joseph is a testimony to Pharaoh and to all of his house through his faithful, humble service in suffering and humiliation. And in exaltation. That's not to say that that Pharaoh would have repented and and and profess the one true God. We don't know. The text doesn't let us know if this Pharaoh goes that direction, but what is unmistakable is that he knows who Joseph serves. And he knows why Joseph will be wise and discerning enough to lift up to that exalted place, why he will put everything in his hand, and why he will task Joseph with enacting the plan that Joseph put before him in the spirit and the wisdom of God. And so Joseph's Exaltation at the second hand of fair at the right hand of Pharaoh and his enacting of that plan is a testimony to all of Egypt to God himself So he is a blessing to the nations and to Egypt through his testimony his very rule of at the right hand of Pharaoh, is a testimony to the God that he has so faithfully served. Likewise, through his life-saving wisdom he will be a blessing. Because we know what happens at the end of the dreams, right? What's the interpretation of the dreams, right? The 7 fat, juicy, plump, steak bearing cows are 7 good years. The 7 full heads of grain for the bread to go alongside the steak are 7 good years. Both of those correspond to 7 good years of plenty. There will be an abundance of food. You can have all that you would ever eat and certainly more given Joseph's plan. But after those seven years of all the food that you can eat, there's going to be seven years of famine where you won't be able to find any food at all for seven years. That's the interpretation of the dream. And then Joseph lays out the plan of exactly what should happen. And he says this, verse 33, Now therefore, let Pharaoh select discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this and let him appoint officers over the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine. So what does Joseph say he ought to do? Joseph tells Pharaoh that you should collect one fifth of the produce, that overabundant produce, so much food you can't even eat it all, so much food that you can give up a fifth of it and put it into the storehouses to cover seven years of famine. Take one-fifth of that produce, store it up so that when those seven years of plenty are over, you'll have the granaries full, and people might be preserved through those seven years of famine. And that's exactly what we find happening in verses 56 and 57. We'll see it again in verses 42 through 44. It's the very reason why Jacob will send his sons to Egypt to get some of that stored food. Because it's not just Egypt that will benefit. from the plan here. It's the covenant people of God, but it's the nations surrounding them as well. V. 56, the famine was over all the face of the earth and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. The Egyptians benefited from the wisdom of God and Joseph. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. But then, V. 57, so all of the countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe in all the land. So Joseph serves the nations as a blessing, testifying to God's wisdom and strength and providence just by his rule, but also through the working out of that rule. So that in those seven years of family, not only will Egypt survive, Not only will the covenant community, the people of God survive, but all of those countries, those nations surrounding him will survive as well. So through his God given life saving wisdom in that humble, faithful service, Joseph is a blessing to the nations. Almost like God promised that that would be the case because he did. And in the midst of his exaltation, Joseph himself will continue to experience the blessing of God. And even in all of his blessing, he will still continue to attribute everything to God. Because after all that he has suffered, We find that Joseph will be provided with two children. That just as as Judah you through sin and wickedness, we will have two children that will carry on the Covenant line, eventually producing the Messiah. So Joseph in the middle of his humiliation and his suffering when it comes to an end. And now he's exalted over all of Egypt. God will bless him with his own two children that that he might be a fruitful branch. In his father's house, as it were, We're told in verse 50 and to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphar, a priest of own, bore to him. Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh for God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. Manasseh literally means forgetful. What's Joseph saying there? Because of now the blessing of these two sons and having been lifted out of the dungeon and placed in this position that I'm in, God has continued to bless me. He's made me forget all of that trouble. The idea here is not that he has forgotten the covenant or the covenant's promise or the covenant community. Rather, what he has forgotten, what has been assuaged and relieved is the betrayal of his father's house. and the hurt and the suffering that came as a result for all of those long years of faithful service in the midst of suffering. Through his son and his position, he will be able to forget that suffering. In verse 52, in the name of the second, he called Ephraim. For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. He's there to be to be fruitful, though he suffered as much as he did. Now he has this wonderful opportunity to be fruitful in the land of his affliction. He couldn't be fruitful in his father's house because of the hatred of his brothers, and so God has blessed him and allowed him to be fruitful. In the land of Egypt. So that Joseph now, as we come to the end of verse 41, stands as a wonderful testimony to God's providential faithfulness. And of God's using the humble, faithful service of his suffering saints to accomplish his providential purpose. To bless not just us, not just the community of God, but to bless the nations as well. So then what do we do with this text in closing? Well, first and foremost, it's really hard not to see Jesus in Joseph, isn't it? It's really hard not to see it. Joseph goes down into Egypt and there he suffers and is afflicted unjustly. And in the midst of that humiliation, in the midst of his suffering unjustly, he remains humbly faithful to his God, serving his God and serving others as an element of that service. And through that faithful, humble service, God will providentially guide and direct him and he will then place him in that position of exaltation at the right hand of the most powerful ruler in that sphere of the world at that time, Pharaoh. from humiliation to exaltation. And that's exactly Jesus Christ's own narrative arc, isn't it? That He takes on the form of a servant being made in the likeness of man, rejected by His own, yes? That's what John tells us, that His own people reject Him. And he serves a life of humble, faithful service even in the midst of suffering, that rejection, the persecution that will follow, the suffering of laying out his head in the wide open spaces of the wilderness. Remember, he found no place to lay his head. He knew all of the suffering of life and the greatest humiliation that humanity has ever known as he left the glory of heaven to become a man. as a result of his faithful humble service to his God in that humiliation and suffering God has highly exalted him and given him name that is above every other name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord Of course, Joseph's service pales in comparison to Jesus', doesn't it? Joseph provides a blessing to the nation. He saves the lives of Egyptians. He saves the lives of those in other countries. He saves the lives of his brothers and their families through his humble, faithful service. But Jesus saves your soul. through His humble, faithful service. A salvation that even Joseph at the right hand of Pharaoh couldn't procure, couldn't produce. But Jesus Christ, ruling and reigning at the right hand of God, even right now, has saved, is saving, will continue to save you to the uttermost so that you will have not just bread that sustains physical life, but the bread of life that grants eternal life. So through Jesus' faithful, humble service, everyone who puts their faith in Him can be saved not from the famine of physical bread, but the famine of sin-sick, weary, parched, thirsty souls for all of eternity through the bread of life. Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ, trusting God's promise to you that if you will trust in His Son's humble, faithful service, you will have life eternal and life abundantly? If you have not, now is the time. Put your trust in Christ and have His salvation. Secondly, for those of us who have put our trust in God's promise in Jesus Christ, the call is what it's been through the whole of the text, and one that I don't need to spend a whole lot of time with, and that is we ourselves are to live that life of faithful, humble, patient service, even in the midst of suffering, even in the midst of humiliation. We do so informed by God's promises and God's providence. We're not talking about a stoic, just go ahead and pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, grin and bear it, and drive through the suffering like it's not even there. That's not the point. The point is you can do that as hard as it is, as difficult as it is, if you keep your eyes on God, His providence throughout the whole of human history that has gotten you to where you are. that has saved your soul, set you free from sin, that is in the lives of those around you, that is in the arc of history itself. You can look at God's providence and in His providence know that in His strength and His power, His wisdom, He will accomplish His good purpose even in the midst of your suffering, even in the midst of your humiliation. And He will do so because of His promises. God's providence in service of his promises. He's made promises to you saints. And he says that you can tell him you promised. You promised God. And so we suffer patiently, faithfully, because we know that the God of providence is the God of promise, and that He has promised that this will work together for our good, and for the good of those around us in the covenant community, and for the good of the nations as well. And don't forget that element, saints. So often when we suffer, the focus is on what am I to learn here? How am I to be sanctified? How am I to be conformed to the image of Christ? How am I to look more like God through this suffering? And that's a good question to ask, one that you should, but you should also ask, how can I, in the middle of my suffering, be a blessing to the nations around me, to be a blessing to the people all around me? as a testament to God's power to cause me to endure in the middle of suffering so that people can do what Pharaoh did and say, truly, the Spirit of God is in this man or in this woman. Truly, God is with them. Look at the way He sustains them. And so perhaps in the midst of your suffering and your humiliation, you might have the opportunity to testify to God and offer, as Joseph did, but in a much more profound way, bread to the starving. Bless the nations with your suffering, saints. And find real joy and fruitfulness as Joseph did, as your Savior did, and does, and calls you to do. Then finally, we do all of that in the hope of our own exaltation. 1 Peter, chapter 5, Peter is talking about the suffering of persecution. I'm telling the saints there to suffer faithfully in the midst of that persecution. Knowing full well that as they suffer humbly in the middle of that persecution, they have the promise of exaltation awaiting them in eternity. But that promise counts towards more than just the suffering of persecution, but just the suffering of life. That we suffer here, but we have the promise of exaltation. That if we faithfully endure in the power of the Spirit, there will come a time when all of this suffering is done, all of our humiliation is gone, and we rule and we reign with our Savior. There are no more tears. There is no more suffering. There is no more pain. There is no more sin. There is no more death. There is no more anything. A perfect fellowship with God and with His people in glory. Ruling and reigning in the new heavens and the new earth alongside our Savior. So then we look past the suffering of this world because of the glory that is to come. And it is the promise of God that is ours. So death just becomes a portal to glory saints. And the end of the world itself is the beginning of a better one. And so then, with your eyes firmly set on Christ, holding fast to that promise of exaltation, seek along with Joseph, seek along with Jesus, through whatever suffering saints. And all of us here are suffering in some way, some of us more profoundly, more deeply than others. All of us are suffering saints. But in the midst of your suffering, laying hold of the promises of God, Seek in that suffering to bless the nations, to bless your brothers and sisters, to look like your Savior. Let's pray together. Our Heavenly Father, how thankful we are that You have given us yet another day in which we as Your people can come together to lift up our voices in praise, to, by your Spirit, sit with open ears and hear you speak from your word, to fellowship with one another in the common bond of the Spirit. Father, all of these things are possible because of the faithful suffering of your Son, who in obedience to your will through his faithful, humble service and suffering, wrought eternal life for us. So Father, then, knowing what you have accomplished in your Son, we ask that you would grant us strength and desire to reveal and to hallow your name. Father, we pray that your kingdom would come and your will would be done on earth here as it is in heaven. We pray that for all of those for whom you have ordained the faithful suffering service of your son to be brought into this kingdom, and that you would grant us the strength to both live and to proclaim with our mouths this kingdom. We ask, Father, that as we suffer here on earth in a fallen world where death and sickness, where pain and suffering and tears are a thing, that through these things you would enable us to be vessels proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and your kingdom. So that as we suffer, the nations around us would be brought in and receive the bread of life and join us in that day when your kingdom has come in its fullness, when your will is done here on earth as it is in heaven in perfection. And all of that suffering is gone because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Strengthen us by your Spirit then, to endure our suffering, trusting in your promises, and using our suffering as an opportunity to bless the nations through the gospel. Father, we ask that you would give us this day our daily bread. How often we lose sight of the One who is our Provider. We don't live day to day, hand to mouth. The idea of famine is so far from us, Father, and because you have blessed us in that sense, because you have given us abundant food, we often forget that it is you who gives it. We've been in the seven years of plenty for so long that we have forgotten that it is your hands that made them plenteous. Perhaps become more of a judgment than a blessing. But Father, as you provide for us, may that not be the case for us, but rather may we remember always that we depend upon you for our sustenance and that trusting in you to give us what we need, then we can do the work that you have set out for us to do, to seek not after food and not after raiment and not after shelter, but to seek the advancement of your kingdom, to seek your righteousness, Father, we ask that you would forgive us for our sin. Forgive us, Father, for how often, when we are in the midst of suffering, we falter and we fall. For how often, rather than proclaiming the name of Christ and the name of our God through faithful service, we turn inward, we hide from the world, and perhaps even blame you Father, forgive us for these things and grant us the strength that we need to press on, for only Your Spirit indwelling can give us the strength to press on through suffering, all the while reminding us of the pardon that is ours in Jesus Christ. We falter, we fall, we fail, yet His blood still covers. Assure us of the pardon of Your Son. Father, teach us to forgive as we have been forgiven. and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and from the evil one, from the suffering of this world, that we might know that day we are exalted, ruling and reigning with our King. We ask all of these things in His name, our Lord, Savior, and King, Jesus Christ. And we ask them of you. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.