Overview
Victoria Finley examines “Joseph Making the Most of What He Had” through Genesis 45, Genesis 50, showing how joseph, egypt, life shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Transcript
Understanding Joseph Making the Most of What He Had
Well, good evening, everyone. Tonight, Joseph making the most of what he had. In tonight’s expression of the Spirit of God, we heard God tell us to make the most of our life.
We heard him say that he is bigger than anything we will face. And he will help us overcome anything and any struggle and any challenge that comes our way. Because, ladies and gentlemen, God will never leave you and he will never leave me.
When he binds himself to his children, it is unbreakable. And he is with us through thick and through thin. And no matter what this world throws at us, he is with us.
Maybe some of you have heard of a man named Nick Wojcik. V-U-J-I-C-I-C. Nick Wojcik.
Nick is a Christian believer who evangelizes for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Nick, interestingly enough, was born without any limbs. That’s right.
No arms and no legs. In spite of, and in some regards because of his physical disadvantages, Nick decided at some point in his life to make the very most of what he does have. He is one of the most inspiring and thankful people I have ever seen.
And he is my brother in Christ, and from him I derive great spiritual incentive. Somehow or another, Nick has figured out how to realize hope when things look hopeless. We all struggle with something spiritually, physically, emotionally, at very different times in our lives.
God, through his word, he speaks to us and he encourages us and shows us how to overcome and how to realize what and who we really are in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Because it is through his life and his death and his resurrection and his ascension and, yes, the hope of his return that we truly are more than conquerors through him that loved us. If you’ll turn to Genesis, Genesis, chapter 42.
So one of our spiritual ancestors was Joseph. He was one of the 12 sons of Jacob, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob fame. And he had 10 older brothers who really got way off track and began to fester in hatred for him, so much so that they wanted him dead.
And God intervened and protected Joseph’s life. He didn’t die, which was truly a miracle. And the miracle that God gave him was he got sold into slavery.
Now most of us wouldn’t think that’s a good alternative, but it really was. So he got sold into slavery. He ends up in Egypt.
He gets purchased by a guy named Potiphar. And Potiphar recognizes that the Lord is with this young man, Joseph. Joseph was 17 years old when we first get introduced to him in Genesis, chapter 37.
The Biblical Foundation
So we see he lives in this house. He becomes the steward of the house for Potiphar. He has complete run and complete trust by this guy, and God prospers him.
And God makes the statement that Joseph was a goodly person, and he was well favored. So things are going along pretty well for a few years, and then all of a sudden Potiphar’s wife gets interested in seducing Joseph. And Joseph says, I am not going to sin against God with you.
And the woman gets offended, and she cries out sexual assault, and that very day Potiphar could have taken Joseph’s life. Yet another time when his head could have been on the chopping block. Scary, scary days.
He is a foreigner, a slave in a land where he knows and has no one. And here he is. Somebody lies, sets him up, nearly takes him out.
But once again, God intervenes with a rescue plan. And this time, the rescue plan is prison. Which again doesn’t seem like the most ideal rescue plan, but compared to death, it’s pretty good.
So he gets thrown into prison. He’s there for quite some time. Again, he makes the most of what he has.
He’s a slave in a foreign land, and now he’s imprisoned with nobody to bail him out. But that doesn’t stop Joseph, our ancestor Joseph. He rises to the occasion.
He gets in good with the prison ward. He has favor with him. And over several years, along come a couple of guys that got kicked out of Pharaoh’s house, a baker and a butler.
They have a dream. One of the guys dies. God tells Joseph he’s going to die in the interpretation.
The other guys of Butler and Joseph interprets the dream by God’s insight. And he goes back to Pharaoh’s house and he’s going to live happily ever after. Joseph says, hey, don’t forget me.
So the guy Butler goes back into Pharaoh’s house, he forgets all about Joseph, maybe short term or long term memory loss. I don’t know either one. And a couple of years, two years later, Joseph’s still in prison.
And the butler overhears Pharaoh one morning, very disturbed. He had this remarkable dream and nobody in Egypt could interpret the dream. And the butler says, hey, I know a guy that interprets dreams.
Examples and Spiritual Lessons
A few hours later, Joseph’s in front of Pharaoh, an absolute miracle. Who would have ever imagined that this foreign Hebrew guy in prison is a slave standing before Pharaoh. It’s a really big deal.
So he stands before Pharaoh. God gives our wonderful Joseph the insight into the dream. And Pharaoh’s completely blown away with the amazing insight and the Spirit of God that he sees at work in Joseph.
So he makes Joseph right then and there, the governor of Egypt, second only to him. At this point in young Joseph’s life, he’s 30 years old. For 13 years, he’s been bouncing around as a slave, most of the time in prison.
And he kept his chin up because God never left him. So he’s the governor of Egypt, and he handles Egypt’s affairs very well. He really doesn’t have a big clue of why he’s there spiritually from God’s point of view, but he puts his hand to the task.
And seven years of bounty, he takes good care of everything. And now there’s going to be seven years of famine. And so the famine was worldwide.
And back in the land of Canaan, Jacob and his 11 sons, they’re hurting, and they’re hurting bad because nothing’s growing. And Jacob sends his 10 elder sons, he says, you go to Egypt, and you go buy us some food, lest we die. So they do.
And they trek over to Egypt, and they get in the line, and they have to come up to the governor of Egypt to ask to buy for food. And guess whose job that was? It was Joseph’s job, except Joseph doesn’t look like Joseph. Joseph doesn’t sound like Joseph.
Joseph looks like an Egyptian ruler. He looks like an Egyptian, he dresses like an Egyptian, and even walks like an Egyptian. He is totally in the culture.
So the boys in the band, his brothers come up in the queue, and he sees them, and he recognizes them, but he does not reveal himself to them. In fact, he doesn’t know what to do with this sighting. So he interrogates them, it’s kind of like going through the TSA security line at the airport.
Why do a thousand other people before you get to go through, and then they pull you out and do a full body search. That’s how these guys felt, because Joseph really gave him the third degree. And he’s really baffled.
Oh my gosh, 37 years haven’t seen these guys, so he doesn’t reveal himself. And we’re going to pick it up in chapter 42 verse 21. They’re sin against their brother, they’re sin against their father Jacob, and they’re sin against God when they sold their brother into slavery.
They hadn’t forgotten, they’ve been living with that. And Reuben verse 22 answered them saying, I told you guys so. Don’t you love it when somebody tells you you told them so.
Faith in Action
Do not sin against the child Joseph, and you would not listen to me. Therefore, behold, his blood is required. Verse 23, and they knew not that Joseph understood them, for he spake to them by an interpreter.
Joseph refused to reveal himself up until this point. They think he’s an Egyptian somebody with an Egyptian name. Pharaoh renamed him, and they don’t know that he understands their tongue.
And Joseph heard the whole thing. God made sure that Joseph heard their heart and heard their sin consciousness, because look, Joseph was really confused. He didn’t know what to do with these guys when they showed up.
He called them a spy. He thought they were spying on the land of Egypt. He was baffled, didn’t know what to do.
And they knew not Joseph, verse 24, and he Joseph turned himself about from them. And what did he do? He wept. I love that how God shows us how his heart turned from bitterness to compassion.
I would be tempted to be bitter against somebody who tried to kill me and then decided it was a better idea to sell me into slavery. Those guys had to deal with that, and so did Joseph. And here he is.
God knows how to reach us. He knows how to help us to overcome. And what Joseph needed to do was see the heart of his brothers.
Turn with me, please. Over to Genesis, chapter 45. So he still doesn’t reveal himself.
He still is walking with the Father and God is still working with him, gently encouraging Joseph. How do you overcome this lifelong challenge that he has faced emotionally in his life, physically in his life, spiritually in his life. He’s in a land of unbelievers, and now he’s faced with deliverance, and he’s got to figure out how to take it.
So he sends them back home. He says he finds out all about the family. He wants to know about the brother, Benjamin.
He wants to know about the father. He sends them all back to Canaan, and he says, don’t you guys come back here without your younger brother? I want to see your younger brother for sure that you bring him back. He even kept one of the brothers in prison in Egypt and wouldn’t let him go home because he knew they’d come back for him.
Walking in Love and Confidence
And so they come back. It’s been months now, many months, and they come back. And let’s pick it up in Genesis 45, verse 1. Then Joseph, after hearing the plea of Judah, his brother Judah, how they could not leave Benjamin in Egypt.
It would break their father’s heart, and he makes this very impassioned plea in chapter 44. And Joseph just listened, and he’s pining for his father and his family. So chapter 45, verse 1, then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him.
And he cried, everybody get away from me. Leave me alone. And there stood no man with him while Joseph made himself known unto his brother.
He wasn’t even expecting to do that. It wasn’t in his plan. But God moved in his life through the words and the the plea, the spiritual plea that he heard from his brothers.
And God turned that bitterness into compassion and love. Love goes a really long way. And he made himself known unto his brother in verse 2, and he wept aloud.
And he cried so loud that the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard Joseph’s cries. And verse 3, 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.
Joseph made them speechless. Absolutely speechless. They couldn’t even speak.
Joseph, Joseph’s dead. You’re not Joseph. And they were dumbfounded.
And Joseph said unto his brother again, verse 4, come near to me. I pray you. And they came near.
And he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Wow. Now, therefore, listen what he does.
He could not have done this on the first encounter with them. Father knows what we need to overcome, to be all that Jesus Christ made available in our lives today. He is very patient with us, and he’s very tender, and he will help and guide us along.
And so what is he? He’s now ready to minister to these guys. Verse 5, and therefore be not grieved, brothers, nor be angry with yourselves. Wow.
Applying the Teaching in Daily Life
That you sold me here, for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years had the famine been in the land, and yet there are five years more. In the witch there shall be no food anywhere.
And God sent me before you to preserve you, a posterity on the earth, and to save your lives by great deliverance. My goodness. I don’t know that he would have been able to see this amazing light without God’s tender hand guiding him through.
So now it was not you that sent me here, but God. And he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, a guide, and the Lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. So now go back to your father.
You tell him Joseph is alive, and you tell him that God is prepared, deliverance for all of his house. Pack up all your stuff, come across the desert, and you will live in the land of Egypt, which will provide deliverance for you. That’s how the children of Israel first ended up in Egypt.
Egypt was a good thing. They just overstayed their welcome, and Moses had to bail him out some hundreds of years later. Look over to Genesis chapter 50, please.
Genesis chapter 50, and when you go there, I want to read you something. You can just listen. Lamentations chapter three.
I know this truth was deep in the soul of Joseph. When he began to understand that he could truly with God’s help and guidance overcome any disadvantages and adversities in his life, which he had many that I don’t envy any of them. Verse 22 in Lamentations three, it is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.
You bet he escaped death several times, because his compassion, they fail not. In fact, God’s compassion are new every morning and great is his faithfulness. The Lord is my portion set my soul.
Therefore, will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him to the soul that seeks him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
The funny thing about that tremendous section of hope and deliverance and encouragement. It’s written in the book of Lamentations. I think that’s ironic.
Of all places lamenting, but having hope in the midst of our struggles. Chapter 50. Jacob gets to live Joseph’s dad in Egypt and all the family survives and they thrive in the land of Egypt and Joseph made a way for them through the great hand of God.
And so Jacob comes to the end of his life and in verse 15 we read. And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said amongst themselves again, Joseph will peradventure hate us and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did to them. You know, I’ll tell you, sin has a very long shadow.
A Life Shaped by God’s Word
And we need to stand in the light at high noon with our God. These guys had a hard time shaking off this sin. They really did.
And so look what he says, look what they do verse 16 and the brothers sent a messenger unto Joseph saying thy father did command before he died saying so shall you say unto Joseph. Forgive I pray thee now the trespass of thy brethren and their sin for they did unto the evil. And now we pray the forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father and Joseph wept when they speak unto him.
Why, because it wasn’t true. He had already forgiven them and Jacob knew it. They just couldn’t shake the sin and they couldn’t shake the fear.
I want to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, one of the keys to making the most of what we have in light in spite of, and regardless of the circumstances that face us is we have got to forgive ourselves and others, because he is good always. And sin is as far as the east from the west as it forgot. And for Joseph he proved himself.
He wasn’t holding any sin over their head. And that must have broke his heart. But he didn’t get mad at him.
Look what he says. He wept when they speak unto him. He already forgave them.
Verse 18, and his brother and also went and fell down before his face and they said, behold, we are the dye servants and Joseph said unto them, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid of me. I’m not your God.
There is one God Elohim Jehovah. But as for you, you thought evil. This is a really great verse.
It’s one of my favorite verses in all the word of God. But as for you, you thought evil against me. Joseph knew it.
It was it was what they did. But God meant your evil against me. And he turned it into good to bring to pass as it is this day to save much people alive.
Now, therefore, don’t be afraid. I will nourish you and your little ones. And he comforted them and he spake kindly unto them.
Ladies and gentlemen, we can make the most of everything that we have because we have Christ in us. We are more than conquerors to him that loved us.
Key Takeaways
- That’s how these guys felt, because Joseph really gave him the third degree.
- At this point in young Joseph’s life, he’s 30 years old.
- God made sure that Joseph heard their heart and heard their sin consciousness, because look, Joseph was really confused.
- He even kept one of the brothers in prison in Egypt and wouldn’t let him go home because he knew they’d come back for him.
- Then Joseph, after hearing the plea of Judah, his brother Judah, how they could not leave Benjamin in Egypt.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of “Joseph Making the Most of What He Had”?
Victoria Finley examines “Joseph Making the Most of What He Had” through Genesis 45, Genesis 50, showing how joseph, egypt, life shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Which scriptures are central to this teaching?
The teaching draws especially from Genesis 45, Genesis 50.
How can believers apply this teaching?
Believers can receive the truth presented, verify it in Scripture, and put it into practice with faith, humility, love, and consistent action.
Scripture References
Genesis 45; Genesis 50
This text was prepared from the teaching audio or source document. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
