When we read stories in the Bible, we have to remember these are real people with real lives that we are learning about. And yet we might feel as though they're a bit distant from us. How can we relate to someone who was a slave and then he ascended to become the prime minister of Egypt? It's maybe difficult to relate. And yet the Bible is relatable, it is applicable to all of our lives. And so what does the Lord have for us in this story, this part of Joseph's life? Let us have the ears to hear that. Sometimes we look at great man of faith like Joseph. We also think of leaders in the church and we see how the Lord has raised them up to that place in their ministry. And we might think as though they've never been through any hardships. It seems as though their lives are just so without any trouble, any pain. You ever think that sometimes? Well, we have to remember, as it was in Joseph's life, he didn't all of a sudden become prime minister of Egypt. And all the hardships that we've been seeing in Joseph's life is the same with anyone. We all face trials. We all face these challenges before maybe reaching such positions as Joseph did. So Joseph and his hardships, think of them. The betrayal of his own brothers, how His own brothers sold him into slavery. We can't imagine that. Yeah, that's what happened to Joseph. And then Joseph was so faithful and he was prospering in the house of Potiphar, and then Potiphar's wife betrayed him and had him eventually, ultimately put in prison. So there he was in another pit. So think of the hardships that Joseph went through. We're seeing how God was preparing him for this great leadership that we just heard of in the reading of God's word. The story, the story of Joseph, the story of God's sovereignty in Joseph's life, the story of God's sovereignty and providence over the life of all God's people, because this is also part of our story, the story of Joseph. When we think of God, how he revealed himself, here in this story, we wanna see that there were three sets of dreams. In that time, it was very common, having dreams. And it was a way in which God was revealing himself, his will. And so, if you remember, the first set of dreams, first two dreams, was with Joseph, to show him what was going to be his future. That he was going to be a patriarch. Even his whole family would bow down to him. The second set of dreams, what was it? Remember, children? Second set of dreams? Well, if you heard the reading of God's word, it was the cup bearer and the chief baker, they had dreams, and Joseph was there for God to reveal the interpretation of those dreams when he was in prison. And then we also heard the third set of dreams, and that was where God revealed to Joseph the dreams that Pharaoh had, the two dreams, to show what would come to pass in the years to come. So we're gonna be seeing chapter 40 and chapter 41, the interpretation of these two sets of dreams. But be mindful of that dream that Joseph had, those two dreams that he had, pointing to the future of God's will in his life. The first interpretation of the prisoner's dreams. The scene is in the prison. Remember how in chapter 39, we saw how Joseph was thrown in prison, completely unjust. He'd done nothing wrong, but there he was, languishing in prison. We don't know how long he was there for, but we know that when the chief baker and the cup bearer were put in prison, That was when he was 28 years old. And then he would stay in prison for another two more years after that. Let's look at this story. The scene is in the prison. And when he first, when Joseph first went into the prison, we read in Psalm 105, verse 18, that it didn't start off well with him. It says here that he was bruised by his feet with shackles. and then there was an iron chain around his neck. That's how he spent the first while in prison. Well, we know that he must have been released still in prison, but he must have been given more and more responsibility, more and more charge over the other prisoners, because that's what we saw last week in chapter 39. Well, then in chapter 40, we see that we have the entrance of two prisoners from Pharaoh's palace. They come into prison, And even Joseph's in charge of them. And he finds that one day when he comes to them, he finds that they are troubled. There's something wrong in their countenance. He knows. And so he asks that question in verse six and seven. He sees them troubled, verse seven, he says, why are faces downcast today? Well, we know that they had, the two of them, that night, each of them had a dream. They had a dream. And yet they're troubled because they don't know anyone there in prison who can interpret the dream. If they were in the palace, they would have the magicians, the interpreters that would be able to interpret the dream. But there was no one in the prison who could interpret. Well, there was Joseph there. And he says, do not interpretations belong to God? Isn't this something that is revealed by God? The dream came from God and it's interpretation. And then in verse, that was in verse eight, but then we see him in chapter 40, verse 14 and 15, we see him now, the disappointment of interpreting this dream and then seeing that he was forgotten. Well, he reminds them, he tells them, only remember me when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house, for I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit. He did them the favor of interpreting the dream, but we know that when they were released, the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph. Well, the chief, children, if you remember their dreams, what was the cup bearer's dream? That he was going to squeeze once again, as he used to do, put the wine in the cup of Pharaoh. Do you know what the cup bearer used to do with that cup? He used to first drink the cup to make sure it was not poisonous before he would give it to the Pharaoh. He put his whole life on the line every time he would be drinking the cup of Pharaoh. Well, so he was in charge of the drink for the pharaoh, and the chief baker was in charge of the food. But you know how the dreams went? It was two, the heads were both lifted up. The first head, the head of the cup bearer was lifted up to honor, but the head of the chief baker was lifted off his head. Literally in Hebrew, it was lifted off his head, and he was hung, and the birds were eating at his head as he was hung. Not a very pretty picture, but that's how the two dreams came true. And when the cub bearer was released back to Pharaoh and he was returned back to his former position, he forgot Joseph and that interpretation. So we remember that. Remember that he forgot. We also know that God remembers. Later on, we will see that the cub bearer did remember. Well, we get to chapter 41, and we see now another interpretation of dreams, the interpretation of the dreams of Pharaoh. Now, Pharaoh had a dream. Do you remember the dream as you're hearing it? So out of the Nile comes fat, plump-looking cows, and they come to graze in the reeds. And then, Seven of them. And then another seven come out of the Nile, and they are gaunt, thin, and they eat the plump cows. So that was the first dream. The second dream are ears of grain. And the first are the seven ears of grain, plump and good, growing out of the stalk, and then thin. Years of grain, the seven. So seven and seven, showing what? One message. Foretelling that there will be seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of want. That's what it's showing. Well, Pharaoh had this dream, did not understand it. He calls his magicians. They could not interpret it. And it's at that point, that the cupbearer remembers in verse nine. I remember my offenses today, he says. I remember that there was a man that I met in the prison two years ago. He interpreted my dream and he knows how to interpret perhaps your dream. And so what we have is, Someone from the palace runs to the prison and calls Joseph to come out. He is clean shaven as a custom of the Egyptians. He's put on a garment that he can present himself now to the pharaoh. And the pharaoh retells these two dreams that he had. And what does Joseph say in response? In verse 25 he says, the dreams of pharaoh are one. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he's about to do. In verse 28 he says, God has shown to Pharaoh what he's about to do. You see the pattern? God is the one to show the future. In verse 32, the doubling of Pharaoh's dreams means that the things are fixed by God. These things will come to pass and God will shortly bring it about. Not only was Joseph telling him the interpretation of the dream, but ascribing interpretation, not only the dream from God, but also the interpretation from God, and that he will bring this to pass. But then Joseph, in the wisdom that comes from God, gives a plan of how to respond to the coming seven years of famine. And so we have here, Joseph giving a strategic plan of some kind of centralized coordination with supervisors and local managers of all the farming and the harvest, putting a 20% tax on the grain, one-fifth, in those first seven years of plentiful years, so that they're preparing for the next seven years of famine. And so Pharaoh hears not only the interpretation of the dream, but also this plan, and it says Pharaoh was pleased with what he heard. And so he says to his servants, can we find a man like this in whom is the spirit of God? Pharaoh, the most powerful man on earth, in his kingdom, looks at Joseph, and he says, this man has the spirit of the creator God in him. He has such incredible wisdom to interpret the dream, to know the plan ahead. He is the one. Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning as wise as you. You shall be over my house. Imagine, there's no vetting system, no process to see whether he is qualified or ready. It was so clear that this was the man to have control over my whole kingdom. And how does he demonstrate that? He takes his own signet ring that he uses to authorize official royal documents and he gives it to Joseph. He gives a garment of fine linen to wear and a gold chain around his neck. He's lifting him up to this position of a vizier, this viceroy over the whole land. given to Joseph, this young man. How old was he? 30 years old. And when he is going on the second chariot, and the people would see him, they were to bow down to him. You see what God has done in Joseph's life? And to show that this man was the man for this job, Pharaoh gives him a name, Zephanath-Paneah. gives him a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphar, who was a priest of On. Now, you might wonder, these are pagan names. Marrying the wife, this daughter of a priest, the worship of the son. Well, we know that Daniel was also given a pagan name, but Joseph and Daniel remained faithful to their God. This was to demonstrate that Joseph was elevated to this place where he would have such charge and control and even be seen as an Egyptian with that authority, as second to Pharaoh. So this is the story and we want to take a moment to show some parallels in scripture in the Old Testament of others who have had such a story of being lifted up from humble beginnings to such honor and glory and power. For Joseph, he himself, as that example, he was, you remember, a slave to a manager of Potiphar's house, manager of the prison, now to second in command to Pharaoh. Who else has such humble beginnings and a dramatic rise to honor? Can you think of someone else? What about Moses? As a baby in, floating on that reed basket, Yes, he spent his youth in the palace, but he was in exile for 40 years. How humbling that was as a shepherd. And God called him there in Midian to come back and to call and to bring out the people of God out of the house of slavery. From those humble beginnings in Midian to being the man who would lead his people out of Egypt. What about another one? Think of David, shepherd boy, the youngest of Jesse's sons. He did face the giant Goliath. He did overcome, he defeated Israel's enemies. And finally he did become king. Man after God's own heart, there's David from the humble beginnings to that place of honors, king of Israel. And it says of David, In Acts 13, 36, a commentary on his life, it says, Paul says, for David, after he had served the purpose of God in his generation, then he slept. We wanna talk about the purpose of God in Joseph's life as we parallel with the purpose of God in Jesus' life. Because Joseph, Moses, David were types of Christ, pointing to Christ, humble beginnings, and then exaltation, this from the low to the high. Think of the son of man, the son of God. Think of Jesus and his beginnings. A notable birth, for sure, the wise men coming to bring their gifts, but being born in a manger, in a trough. He was taken by his parents to Egypt. Several years there, hiding from King Herod, those years in obscurity, and then they settled in Nazareth for 30 years of his life, living in obscurity. But you know that throughout Jesus' life, he was burying, in many ways, the sin of his people, and it all culminated at the cross, and his utter humiliation on the cross. He died, and he's buried. That whole aspect of his life is his humiliation. And then it began with his exaltation, with his resurrection. And then his ascension. And then his session at the right hand of God as father. That's his exaltation. Humiliation, exaltation of Jesus. Very much like Joseph, isn't it? The years of humiliation. And you see Jesus. the same honor and glory. Let me read to you Hebrews chapter two, where Jesus was compared with the angels. He says, he was crowned with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. left nothing outside of his control. At present we do not yet see everything subjected to him, but we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death so by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. He suffered, he was humiliated so that he would taste death for all. All His people. And now, what do we expect when He comes again? He's coming in glory and honor. In His return, He's coming and every eye will see Him and every knee will bow before Him. Every tongue will confess that He is Lord to the glory of the Father. That's what we expect. in his state of exaltation when he comes. Everyone will see him as he is, the Lord of glory. And he will be acknowledged as it's declared in Revelation 11, 15. The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of the Lord and his Christ. And he will reign forever and ever. That is what is coming. And since he will reign, and since he does reign now, How should we live our lives? Let's see two points of application. The first is this, trust in God. If he reigns, then trust in God. If he reigns, he's in control. That's why you can trust in him. You are reformed, are you not, in your understanding of scripture? What is the principle teaching of the reformed faith? is that God is sovereign, the sovereignty of God. Do you believe that? Now, when the trials come, do you believe that? Your doctrine is put to the test, isn't it? Do you believe that God is in control when those trials come? Do you believe that he's in charge when those trials come? When Joseph faced those trials, he believed. He believed, and he shows us his faith, God's sovereignty, that whatever God has planned that was revealed in these dreams, it was fixed. He was going to bring it to pass. It's going to happen. That was his confidence, in the sovereignty of God. And so when things seem to be shaking in your life, not going the way you planned, Finding yourself in a pit, as Joseph did. How did I get here? This is not what I was planning. Do you ask yourself, is God really on his throne? Is he in charge in this moment? Well, think of this. Hebrews chapter one, verse two to three, it reminds us that Christ created the whole world, and that he, is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of God's nature, he's God. And as God, the second person of the Trinity, he upholds everything by the word of his power, it says. Every single particle in the universe, he holds by the word of his power. If he has such power, If he's in such charge of the universe, then how much more is he in your life, in what you're experiencing? Controlling everything, including your life, in all the circumstances. So trust in God. And secondly, wait for God. Joseph had to wait, didn't he? He had to wait for years for God's plan to be worked out. You know, in organizations, when they make plans, they sit at their board table and they cast a vision, and that's for a desired future. They wanna see where they want to attain in five, 10 years, their vision. Then they set a mission of how they're going to get there. This is wise planning. And so does God have a vision. And he reveals his vision in times and places to various people as he did to Joseph, saying this is what is going to happen to you in your future, that one day your brothers, your father, and your mother are going to bow down before you. That dream that he had, that vision that God had, the plan And as Joseph could see in this vision, this dream that Pharaoh had of the plan that God had for his kingdom, for Pharaoh's kingdom, that was fixed. It was going to come to pass. And so he would wait for it. Other passages speak of the Lord calling his prophets, his people, to wait, to wait for the vision to come to pass, to wait for his plan to be enacted. Habakkuk 2, verse 3, the vision awaits its appointed time. It hastens to the end. It will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay. And there's a promise in Psalm 37. Those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. Wait for the Lord, keep his way, and he will exalt you in the land. Exalt you to inherit the land. So trust in the Lord. His plan will be worked out. And wait for it. Wait for it. Often of our lives, we're going through seasons of waiting. Waiting for the next thing that God will reveal to us in his plan. That's what our lives are made of. And your life, your story is part of this grand story, this grand narrative of God's story for his glory. And I want to, as we start to wrap things up, seeing God's plan in a timeline. and begin by zooming into the life of Joseph in these 13 years that we see in his life, from the time that he was a slave, sold by his brothers in Dothan, picked up by these slave traders, brought to Egypt, and then his ascendancy eventually in Egypt to be the prime minister. We see that in 13 years, the purpose of God, from bringing this young boy of 17, by the time he's 30, he's in this position, why? To save the world from hunger, from starvation. That was a purpose of God. He's a type of a savior of the world. And this is where we open the timeline, stretching it over 4,000 years, the first promise of one who would come, be sent through a lineage of a seed that would come to crush the head of the serpent, who would be the blessing of the nations. 4,000 years later came the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to deal with sin. As it says in Hebrews 9, that seed was preserved throughout that timeline, through all those generations he was preserved, and he came to be the savior of the world. It's so clear, Joseph saving the people in that day, especially his own people, and Jesus Christ coming to save his people throughout all of history. And then we open the timeline even more. and it's an arrow going to the future, the day that Christ will return. And the date will be, we don't know. The date will be when God has fixed, the Father has fixed the day in which His Son will be sent again to return. In Hebrews 9, verse 28 says, He will not deal with sin this time, but He will come to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him. Those who expect Him to come in the clouds, they will be looking for Him, waiting for Him, longing for Him, and He will come. As God has kept His promises throughout the ages, He will keep His promise that His Son will come again to save His people. So if you are trusting in this Savior who died on the cross and was raised, trusting in the Savior who will come to save you in the end, on the last day, then you can wait for him to work out his plan in your life. You can trust it, trust him to work it out in your life. Whatever your story, can you see that in your little story, comparing your life to Joseph's life, you see it's the same God we worship, same one who is in charge and control. So you can trust him, the Lord who's sovereign. Let's pray. Sovereign Lord, according to your promise, according to your providence, you are working out everything for the good of your people and the glory of your name. We believe that. It's not only doctrine that we teach, but truth that we believe. We are receiving this word for our lives, storing it up in our hearts, so when the day comes when we wonder, God, are you in control? We will know that you are seated, enthroned, and you rule, you reign, now and forevermore. So we will trust you, and we will wait for you, for your plan. So we continue to see you high lifted up on your throne and your kingdom. So we believe you reign and we submit to that reign, bowing the knee, confessing you as Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.