Good evening everyone. It's nice to see you all. I just want to read a few verses. Firstly from 2 Peter chapter 1. So the second epistle of Peter, chapter 1, from verse 5. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, and to self-control endurance, and to endurance godliness. add to your self-control endurance. Then in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 3, Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And in 1 Corinthians 13, which as we all know is the great chapter of love in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 13 and in verse 7, the Apostle Paul speaks about love and he says that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. So in the three passages that we read, what was the common word in those three passages? In 2 Peter we read about the importance of adding to our self-control endurance, or in your self-control have endurance. In 2 Timothy we read about enduring hardness, enduring trials. And in 1 Corinthians 13 we read about love enduring all things. So the second question I have is, Apart from the Lord Jesus, of course, who is the perfect example, who can think of an example of a character in the Bible that shows endurance in each of these three areas? Self-control, hardness, and love towards others. Mercy said Joseph, and I think probably that was the first character that came to a lot of people's minds. So tonight I'd like to speak about the endurance of Joseph and particularly his endurance in these three areas. His endurance in his self-control, his endurance through hardness and his endurance in his love towards his brothers. So let's turn to the book of Genesis and we'll read. some beautiful passages. First of all Genesis chapter 39. Genesis 39 and beginning from verse 1. And Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, brought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites that had brought him down hither. And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man, and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hands. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him, and he made him overseer over all his house, and all that he had he put into his hands. And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer of his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptians' house for Joseph's sake, and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in his house and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he knew not all that he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person and well favoured. And it came to pass after these things that his master'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 watteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand. There is none greater in his house than I, neither hath he kept anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And this is in verse 10, this is where we see his endurance. And it came to pass, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her to lie with her or to be with her. And then if we turn to Genesis chapter 45, So in Genesis chapter 44 we read about Joseph's brothers finally being broken and being brought to the place of confession and repentance and Judah's words in verse 16 of chapter 44 are a most honest and genuine confession of sin. Very beautiful words. If we read in verse 16 of 44, And Judah said, What shall we say unto my Lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants. And look at Joseph's response to that great confession in chapter 45. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before them all that stood by him. And he cried, cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph. Doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore, be not grieved nor angry with yourselves that you sold me hither. For God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years has the famine been in the land, and yet there are five years in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve your posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that had sent me hither, but God. And he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all the house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt. Come down unto me, tarry not. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen. And thou shalt be near unto me, thou and my children, and my children's children, and my flocks, and my herds, and all that thou hast. And there will I nourish thee. For yet there are five years of famine, lest thou and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty. And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And ye shall tell of my father, of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen. And ye shall hasten bring down my father hither. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept. And Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them. And after that, his brethren talked with him." Amen. When you read through the book of Genesis, you'll notice that there is more written about Joseph than any other man in that book. There's more written about Joseph than Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. He stands out as a very special character to which God particularly draws our attention to. And though we may not always think of Joseph in this way, it's important for us to remember that Joseph was a young man. We read about him first in chapter 37 at the age of 17. And this faithful, devoted servant of God is an example to us as young people, as teenagers, of how it is that we should live for God in this world. Joseph had many, many reasons not to live for God. If Joseph wanted to find an excuse, he could have found a number of excuses not to live for God. It seemed that everything was against him, that God himself had forgotten him, that every time Joseph did right, he suffered for it. Not only that, but Joseph didn't have many of the privileges that me and you have. He didn't have the Word of God. He didn't have fellow believers to encourage him. He didn't have the story of the cross. He didn't have the epistles. But despite all of these things that Joseph didn't have, despite his circumstances, he lived for God as a young man. And I think that that's very encouraging. The first area of Joseph's life which I'd like to speak about tonight is his self-control. Peter says it's good to have self-control, but make sure that you add to your self-control endurance. Why does Peter say that? Because we may show self-control for a specific time, for a short period in our lives. We may have victory over sin, be able to resist temptation, but the challenge is to have endurance in our self-control. Joseph didn't only face the temptation of sexual immorality on one occasion, but he faced it over and over again. In fact, he faced it day by day. But in his self-control, he showed endurance. Joseph was a very strong man. I don't mean physically strong, but he was strong in a better way than to be physically strong. You know, I think that a lot of young people today, probably more so the guys, would like to be very physically strong. They'd like to be like Samson. Have big muscles and be able to carry gates upon their shoulders. All sounds very interesting and very impressive, doesn't it? But there is a strength which the Bible speaks about which is even stronger than the strength of Samson. The book of Proverbs tells us that he who is able to rule his own spirit is greater and mightier than he that takes the city. Joseph was much stronger than Samson ever was. Because Samson could lift gates and kill thousands of people, but Samson couldn't rule his own spirit. Samson couldn't show any self-control, especially in this area of keeping his body pure, the area of sexual immorality. But Joseph showed a great self-control. We read about Joseph's self-control in Genesis chapter 39. And it's a great contrast to what happens in Genesis chapter 38. If you remember, in Genesis chapter 38, we read about Joseph's brother, Judah. And it's a very sorry, sort of depressing story. It's not even worth... I don't want to speak about it in too much detail. But in Genesis chapter 38, Judah, Joseph's brother, commits adultery, and he commits sexual immorality. And it's as though the Spirit of God draws a very big and great contrast in the very next chapter. He shows us a man, Joseph, who was faced with the same temptation, the temptation of sexual immorality, but he shows self-control. What was it that led to Joseph's self-control in Genesis chapter 39? How is it that in his self-control he was able to endure? The first thing that I noticed is that Joseph had very big thoughts of sin. He thought that sin was the most serious thing. You remember his words to Potiphar's wife, How then shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God? If we want to keep ourselves pure, we have to realise that sin, especially sexual immorality, is a great wickedness. And it's a sin against God. It's not a mistake. It's not a shortcoming. It's not a weakness. It's sin. And sometimes people speak about sin in a very light way. in a very relaxed way. They speak about it as being a mistake. But Joseph didn't think about sin in that way. How then shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God? He was able to have self-control because of that. He didn't take sin as a very light thing. You know David in Psalm 32, He speaks about sin in three ways. He uses three different words for sin. He says, Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord does not impute iniquity. Three words to describe sin as a most serious thing. The first word is sin. Sin speaks about the offence to God's holiness that we commit. We injure God and His holy claims when we sin. It's offensive to him, to his character and to his nature. But the second word he uses is transgression. Transgression means it's a disobedience to a known command of God. It's overstepping the bounds and the marks which God himself has set, very serious things. And then he uses the word iniquity. And iniquity would speak to us about the complete rebellion of our nature and our actions against God. How our whole beings are just that enmity with God. And when you think about sin in that way, it is the most serious thing. Joseph had very big thoughts about sin. And whenever we are confronted by temptation, And whenever we're confronted by the allurements of sexual immorality, we ought to remember that were we to commit that sin, it would be a great wickedness and sin against God. We ought to call it for what it is, for what the Bible describes it. We sung, I'll never know how much it costs to see my sin upon the cross. And when we think about the cross, and all that our sins cost the Lord Jesus, we ought to be afraid of committing sin. And we ought to dread the thought of sin and hate sin with a perfect hatred. Joseph had very big thoughts of sin. But Joseph also had very great thoughts of God. You know, Joseph said to Potiphar's wife, he said, your husband has been very good to me. He's put me in charge over all of his house and he's given me everything that is his except for you. We would have thought that the next thing that Joseph would say is, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against Potiphar? After all that Potiphar has done for me, how can I do this sin against your husband, against Potiphar, my master? But Joseph recognized that there was someone that was greater than Potiphar. There was someone that was higher than Potiphar. And when he sinned, it wouldn't be against Potiphar, but that it would be against God. Just like what David says in Psalm 51. David says, against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this wickedness in your sight. When David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he sinned against Bathsheba, he sinned against her husband Uriah, but David had such great thoughts of God that the sin which he committed in the eyes of God was far greater than the sin which he committed in the eyes of others. And he considered it so that it was only against God that he committed sin. And it's as though Joseph's saying, no matter how great the sin against your husband would be, there is someone in my life which is greater than your husband. Your husband might not see what we're going to do. Your husband might not punish us for what we're going to do, but there is a greater authority in my life, bigger and higher and greater than your husband, and that's God. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? No wonder Joseph says, a few chapters later to his brothers, I fear God. He was a man that feared God. A man who didn't care that as far as his father was concerned, he was dead. He wouldn't have disappointed his father. As far as his family was concerned, they didn't know where he was. He wouldn't have sinned against his family. Potiphar may never have found out. None of these things were a concern to Joseph because he knew that God would see what he was doing and that God would find out. So he had very great thoughts of God. Joseph showed a great self-control. You might say, I have very great thoughts of sin. I think that sin is the most wicked and serious thing. I know that. And when I do sin, I weep. And I regret so much what I've done. And I have very great thoughts of God as well. I love Him, and I honour Him, and I respect Him. But to will with me is present. But how to perform that which is good, I find not. I want to resist temptation, but I just can't find the power to do it. There's one very important verse about self-control, and that's Galatians chapter 5 and verse 22 and 23. For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, and what was the last thing? Meekness and self-control. If me and you are going to exercise self-control, especially in this area, in the area of sexual temptation, we have to rely on the power of the Spirit. You could hate sin, and you could love God, but apart from the power of the Spirit, your strength is nothing compared to the strength of sin. You say, but when I fall, I get up and I say, I'm never going to do it again. Well, you've already fallen. The moment you say, but this time I really mean it. I'll tell you right now. It's only a matter of time before you fall again. The only way to overcome sexual immorality, temptation, is to do it in the power of the Spirit. Not to rely on your own strength. Not to rely on the power of your will. But to rely on the Spirit of God. Therefore we ought to be very careful not to grieve Him. Not to upset Him. My brother, if you grieve the Spirit of God, you are rendering incapable, or you're missing out on the only power that you have to overcome temptation. Don't grieve Him. Don't offend Him. Don't listen to that music. Don't watch those movies. Don't listen to those jokes, because if you grieve the Spirit, it's just you against sin. And sin will always win. But if it's the power of the Spirit against sin, then the power of the Spirit will always overcome sin. If Joseph had committed sexual immorality with this woman, it is very likely that we would never have heard of Joseph again. There would have been a short-term pleasure. but there would have been a long-term pain which far far far outweighed that short-term pleasure. He would never have been able to become the saviour of the world if he fell into this sin. Keep in mind that when you fall into sexual immorality, the long-term pain will always far exceed the short-term pleasure. You lose so much. You lose your joy. You lose your peace. You lose your usefulness for God. You lose your testimony. You lose so much. So the first area which Joseph showed a great endurance in was self-control. He knew how to rule his own spirit. And as men of God often say, Joseph refused to bow to that woman. And one day in the future, every single person in Egypt, including that woman, was told, bow the knee to Joseph. When you refuse sin, one day You will have complete victory over that sin. When I say complete victory, I don't mean sinless perfection. But what I say is that it's a great thing to say no to sin. It's a great thing to resist temptation, just like Joseph did, and it's possible. But the second area which Joseph showed a great endurance in was he endured hardness, just like 2 Timothy 2 says. And I won't be as long with the second two areas as the first. Joseph experienced probably every single kind of trial that a person can experience. Peter speaks about different kinds of trials. He speaks about suffering for righteousness sake. He speaks about suffering as a test of your faith towards God. He speaks about suffering in order to keep a good conscience. When you think about Joseph's life, he suffered in all of those ways. He suffered very different kinds of temptations and trials in his life, but throughout it all, Joseph endured. He endured hardness. You never read of Joseph complaining. You never read of Joseph questioning God and asking Him why. But you always see a lovely submission and faith and confidence in God in Joseph's life. Why else would Joseph serve faithfully in Potiphar's house? Why else would Joseph still think about God and not want to sin against God? It's because despite all that Joseph was going through, Joseph's heart still confided in God. Joseph still trusted in God. When he said, how then shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God, I think that that shows a great faith in God. Even though it seemed as though God had forgotten Joseph, Joseph had not forgotten God. It's as though he was saying with Job, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. No matter how hard things are, I still want to honour God. He endured hardness as a good soldier. But why did Joseph go through the trial that he did? Why is it that God put him through that trial? There are probably more than one reason, but the reason that I'd like to mention tonight is that God had great plans for Joseph. God wanted to do something very big, something very special in Joseph's life. Eventually, Joseph would be called Zanaphania, I think it is, and the translation of that word is the saviour of the world. It's a very big thing, isn't it? Joseph was going to become the saviour of the whole world, but before he could, God had to shape him and mould him and develop him in order to use him to do something very great. Many times when God puts us through trials, it's because he wants to use us in a very special way. But in order for us to be useful to God in the way that he wants us to, certain characteristics need to be developed in us, and those characteristics can only be developed through suffering. The end of Joseph's life was full of glory, it was full of greatness, but before the glory had to come, the sufferings. and in this he is a very beautiful type of the Lord Jesus. The Bible says that in order for the Lord Jesus to become the captain of our salvation, to do the great work of redemption, he had to be made perfect through the things which he suffered. The Lord Jesus was incomplete as the captain of our salvation until he had suffered. Another verse in Hebrews as well says that he learnt obedience through the things which he suffered. And there are many things which we need to learn through suffering. So when you're going through a trial, when you're suffering just like Joseph, just remember that God has a purpose behind it. And God's purposes are often very great, very big, very very glorious. And when you put your eye on the purpose of God, when you put your eye on the goal which you're heading to, it will help you to endure the hardness. Just like the Lord Jesus was able to endure the cross and despise the shame, why? Because of the joy that was set before him. It's hard when you're suffering, it's hard when you're going through a problem in your life, problems with work, family problems, it's hard to think that there's something at the end of this. But when you do, and when you remember that, when you look back at that time, you may not see it now. Joseph may not have seen or been able to understand what was happening to him, but when he looked back at his life, he would have seen how everything was perfectly planned and ordained by God. how God used even the wickedness of man, God used even the elements of nature to work all things together for Joseph's good. He endured hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. I think that it's a very great, well you should take it as a great compliment when God allows a trial in your life. And I'm not now speaking about trials which we bring upon ourselves. I'm speaking about trials which God brings into our lives. Take it as a compliment. When God chose to test his servants, he only chose the best. When he came to prove to Satan that His work in a person was real and lasting. Who did God choose to test? He chose Job, a man who was perfect and upright, a man who feared God and shunned evil. Even in the life of Abraham at the beginning of chapter 22 of Genesis, we read this very lovely expression, we read, and it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham. In other words, Prior to that chapter, Abraham wasn't ready to be tested. Abraham wasn't spiritual enough to be tested. But after these things, after Abraham had become the godly man that he was, it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham. God only refines the gold. You know, if there was a great goldsmith he would only put the true and the precious gold into the fire. He wouldn't put something that he knew was going to be burnt up straight away into the fire. And it's like that with God. It's often the most faithful, the most devoted servants of God that are tested and go through trials. Just like at the beginning of John chapter 11, Before we read about the death of Lazarus, before we read about the trial that Mary and Martha went through, the Bible says now Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus just because they were about to suffer. It didn't mean that the Lord Jesus didn't love them. And then it mentions this incident. It says, it was that Mary which anointed the feet of Jesus with oil and wiped it with her hair. But that didn't happen until chapter 12. But what the Holy Spirit is trying to remind us of is don't think that because Mary and Martha are about to go through a trial that they're not faithful to Christ. Don't think that because they're about to suffer that they must have done something wrong to bring about that suffering. No. In actual fact there was no one more faithful to the Lord Jesus on the earth at that time than Mary and Martha and Lazarus. So take it as a great compliment when God puts you through a trial. and trust in him and have faith and know that he's bringing something wonderful out of it. Peter tells us that after you have suffered a little while, God will establish, perfect, strengthen and settle you. And just like Joseph's suffering was not permanent, it didn't last forever, my suffering and your suffering will never be permanent either. But the last area, and I'll close with this, the last area which Joseph showed a great, great endurance in, was his love. We read about love in 1 Corinthians 13 and it says, love endures all things. It was not a small thing that Joseph's brothers did to him. Even before they threw him into the pit, They hated him. They would not even so much as speak peaceably to him. They rejected him in his own house. And then comes the incident when they threw him into the pit. And they sat down while he was in the pit and they had a meal together. They were so heartless, so cold towards him. Later on, when Reuben and the brothers are speaking about this incident when they're in Egypt, they said, we heard the anguish of his soul. We heard him crying out for help from the bottom of the pit. But we took him and we sold him for 20 pieces of silver. They were so hard, so cold, that not even their father's mourning could move them. You know, if I was one of them, when I went back to the father, to Jacob and told him what had happened, the Bible says that Jacob mourned and wept many days and refused to be comforted. But even that didn't move the hearts of his brothers. What they did to him was no small thing. And now, almost 20 years later, his brothers come to him. And right at the moment when they confess their sin, right at the moment where it all comes out, where the truth of their iniquity is fully told out, and Judah is very plain in his speech and says, we have no excuse. What shall we say? What shall we do? The Lord has found out the iniquity of his servants. At that moment, Joseph responds with love. with kindness. He loved them prior to that. He always loved them. And you see little glimpses of the way that he loved them. By how he didn't take their money. He sent them back with the food that they had and also with the money. How he made a great feast for them and fed them very well. But he wasn't able to express his love to them until they had come to the point of repentance. But when they did, Joseph showed a great forgiveness and a great love. There was no bitterness in Joseph's heart towards his brothers for what they did. Even when he was in the dungeon, you remember when he asked the butler to remember him. He said, when all is well with you, remember me. And he says, because I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews. He doesn't tell him what actually happened. He doesn't tell him, my brothers sold me for 20 pieces of silver. My brothers threw me into a pit and sat and ate a meal while I was just there in anguish. He completely covers their sin. He hides it. Just like Peter told us, love shall cover a multitude of sins. And he says, I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews. And then in chapter 45, a very, very beautiful chapter, Joseph does nothing but comfort and reassure his brothers. He tells them that he will look after them, that he'll feed them. And even after Jacob died, and his brothers thought that now Joseph would take revenge, his brothers came to him and they said, you know, our father said before he died that, please look after us and The Bible tells us that when Joseph heard that he wept, he was wounded by the fact that they questioned and doubted his love. I'm not sure, but I don't think anyone in this room has had something like that happen to them. I don't think any of us have been betrayed and been mistreated in the same way that Joseph has, but Joseph showed a great, great love to his brothers. And in this, again, Joseph is a very lovely type of the Lord Jesus. Joseph's brothers in this story, they represent the Jewish nation. And just like the Lord Jesus suffered at the hands of the Jews, and also suffered at the hands of the Gentiles, Joseph also suffered at the hands of the Jews and of the Gentiles. But the Lord Jesus had a great love in his heart towards his own. Remember on the cross, the first thing which he said was, Father forgive them for they know not what they do. I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but I think that it was that prayer which changed the heart of the thief on the cross. Because when the Lord Jesus was initially on the cross, we read that the thief was casting the same in his teeth. The thief that eventually repented was also swearing at the Lord Jesus. But only in Luke's Gospel do we read the Lord Jesus praying for forgiveness, and only in Luke's Gospel do we read of the thief repenting. And I think that that thief was very touched by the great love which the Lord Jesus had for his own. He pleaded ignorance on their behalf. And then, even after the Lord Jesus rose again from the dead, in Acts chapter 1, he said to his disciples, I want you to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, but make sure you begin in Jerusalem. Great love for the Jews. Make sure you begin where I was treated, so harshly, make sure you begin to share the good news of the Gospel in the place where I was rejected and murdered and crucified. And even one day in the future, when the Lord Jesus comes back to earth to reign, He will be asked a question. And the question which He will be asked is, what are these wounds in your hands? And His answer is very lovely, He says, Those where which I was wounded in the house of my friends. The Lord Jesus had a great love in his heart towards those who treated him so wickedly, so unfairly. Joseph had a great love in his heart towards his brothers. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. So three areas in our life, where we can show endurance, in self-control, in enduring hardness, and in our love towards those who have wronged us. And maybe we'll just close in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it's living, and we thank you that it's profitable, for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. We thank you for the example of this young man Joseph, a man who was subject to like passions like us, but who endured. We confess that we often don't endure, we often don't show self-control, We often doubt and question You when we're going through hardness. And we often don't show love towards our brothers and sisters in the way that we ought to. But we just pray that You would strengthen us to do these things. And we know that all power, in whatever form we need it, can only come from You. And we just pray that You would bless Your Word to our hearts this evening. And we pray that You would be with us for the remainder of the evening. In Jesus' name, Amen.