Suffering and Serving | Genesis 40

The temptation that we have as fallen individuals is to turn inward, to grow bitter, and to shut down. I've been there. I've done that. Instead, the gospel produces a changed, transformed heart. When we know that God's grace has already secured our future, we're free to serve faithfully even when life is unfaithful, unfair, even when you're still in prison. Because write this down, because the gospel doesn't change where we're going, it changes how we live while we're waiting. [00:52:49] (34 seconds)  #ServeWhileWaiting

Not for a few days, not for a few weeks, or three months, but for two more years. Two more years for doing the right thing. But here's what we gotta understand. This is the truth. God's delay is never God's absence. God is never late. God's delay is never his absence. He is never late. God is still working even when Joseph can't see it. And I think there's a question for all of us here. Do you ever feel like you've entered that season? [00:44:34] (38 seconds)  #GodIsNotLate

Many people wanna preach the cup bearer's message, very few wanna preach the baker's sermon. We love sharing good news, but the bible speaks about hard truths. There is a heaven. It's real. There's a hell. It's real. And what we do with Jesus matters eternally. Faithful servants speak all of God's word, not just the comfortable parts. Faithful servants speak all of God's words, not just the comfortable parts. [00:42:39] (30 seconds)  #WholeGospelTruth

Joseph can can explain what god can do. Jesus is what god has done. Jesus is what God has done. In other words, Joseph can interpret dreams, but Jesus fulfills redemption. Joseph could help prisoners in a cell, but Jesus saves sin sinners from death itself. He saves us from death itself. Joseph points to Jesus. In our suffering, we gotta remember that God uses us for the sake of others. God invites us to see others, and God calls us to be faithful. [00:55:32] (34 seconds)  #PointToJesus

Just like Joseph in prison noticed the pain of others, God often uses our hardest seasons to repair us to help someone else in theirs. We aren't Joseph and we aren't Jesus, but you can still do what Joseph did through the power of the holy spirit and god's work in you. You can stay faithful in suffering, and you can serve others while you wait on god. And when you do, you might just discover that God is writing a story through your pain that will one day become someone else's hope. [00:59:38] (39 seconds)  #HopeThroughSuffering

But Joseph doesn't stop serving. Joseph doesn't stop caring about others. Joseph doesn't stop speaking truth about god. Why? Because Joseph knows something. He knows that even if the cup bearer forgets him, god hasn't forgotten. God is still working even in silence, even in the waiting, even in prison. And in many ways, Joseph points us to someone greater, Jesus. [00:48:25] (32 seconds)  #ServeInSilence

So think about this downward path of Joseph. He was once the favored son, and then he was sold into slavery, and then prisoner, and now he's a servant of prisoners. Think about that. Joseph's gone from the top of his family to the lowest possible spot, and yet he continues to serve. Hughes says this downward path is actually God's part of shaping. It's the shaping process. God is in the process of preparing Joseph for something greater, and before God raises Joseph in power, he's got to form his character in obscurity. [00:33:01] (39 seconds)  #ShapedInObscurity

in closing, God can still use you in the middle of your hardest season. He used Joseph. Joseph was suffering, yet he kept serving. He kept noticing people. He kept pointing people to God. He kept speaking truth, and that's the challenge for us today. Will we become inward when life gets hard, or will we continue to serve? Because even when people forget you, God never will. And even if you come to Jesus with your sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Cleanse our guilt, our fears. [01:00:18] (38 seconds)  #KeepServingKeepTrusting