Walking in the Covenant, Building the Kingdom

Thanksgiving! Lutheran Church

Pastor Bruce L Kotila

February 28, 2010

Joseph and the Dream Giver

Genesis 39       Prosperity in the Midst of Adversity

Outline

Genesis 39:1-6a           Joseph prospers under Potiphar

Genesis 39:6b-18         Joseph suffers for righteousness

Genesis 39:19-23         Joseph prospers in prison

Key Verses

• “And the Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man” (Genesis 39:2)

• “Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand” (Genesis 39:3)

• “on account of Joseph…the Lord’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field” (Genesis 39:5)

• “But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer” (Genesis 39:21)

• “The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper” (Genesis 39:23)

Key Words

• Favor
• Successful
• Prosper
• Blessing
• Kindness

Observations from Genesis 39

1. Evidence of God’s call emerges before the fullness of time (Genesis 39:4; 39:22-23)

2. Biblical favor is not dependent upon (defined by) circumstances

3. Temptation, whatever its form, looks and waits for a point of vulnerability (Genesis 4:7; Luke 4:13; Psalm 119:9-11)

In our members there is a slumbering inclination towards desire which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power desire seizes mastery over the flesh. All at once a secret, smouldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in flames. It makes no difference whether it is sexual desire, or ambition, or vanity, or desire for revenge, or love of fame and power, or greed for money, or, finally, that strange desire for the beauty of the world, of nature. Joy in God is in course of being extinguished in us and we seek all our joy in the creature. At this moment God is quite unreal to us, he loses all reality, and only desire for the creature is real; the only reality is the devil. Satan does not fill us here with hatred of God but with forgetfulness of God…The lust thus aroused envelops the mind and will of man in deepest darkness. The powers of clear discrimination and of decision are taken from us…It is here that everything within me rises up against the Word of God. Bolding mine (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Temptation, pp 116-117)

4. The experience of betrayal is common to the human experience

5. Suffering for righteousness is to be expected (2 Timothy 3:12)

Application

1. As you look back on your life do you find evidence of God using you in ways that are consistent with the dream that you currently hold for life and ministry?

2. Have you ever suffered for doing what is right? What emotions did you experience? How did it impact your relationship with God?