I think it's safe to say that when we think about Joseph, that there were many fearful plagues, not sickness and those kinds of plagues, but different kinds of plagues that surrounded him, yet he would confess that he was kept safe under the shelter of God's wing. We continue on with our consideration of Joseph, Genesis 41, Genesis 41, the first 16 verses, which also serves as the text. As you turn there, please also turn to 1 Corinthians 1 as we read a portion of that chapter as well. First of all, we'll read 1 Corinthians 1, verses 18 through 31 first, and then turn back to the text, Genesis 41, 1 through 16. We need to understand now, too, that after all that Joseph has endured up to this point, Genesis chapter 41 marks the turning point for Joseph. And it tells how he came to power. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, beginning at verse 18, as we hear now the Word of God. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards. Not many were influential. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus who has become for us wisdom from God That is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. Genesis chapter 41. The first 16 verses. When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream. He was standing by the Nile, went out of the river. There came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. He fell asleep again and had a second dream. Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted, thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up. It had been a dream. In the morning, his mind was troubled. So he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream, and things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us. I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged. So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it. I cannot do it, Joseph replied to Pharaoh. But God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, I enjoy roller coasters. Maybe many of you do as well. Boys and girls, if you like them, it's probably because they're fast, they're fun, they're thrilling, they're filled with ups and downs and sharp turns and very quick changes in direction. Sounds like life, doesn't it? In fact, life is often described, this life is often described as a roller coaster, most often because of the ups and downs, the good times, the bad times, the easy times, and the hard times. And I think it's safe to say that Joseph's life was like a roller coaster. Not so much because of the ups and downs of life, the good times and the bad times, those were indeed included, but probably more so because of the sharp turns, the quick changes, the radical reversals that Joseph was called upon to endure. For example, he was the favored son of Jacob, really an influential man, no doubt, in his time and where he was at. He was the favored son of this wonderful man. But all of a sudden, he is stripped of his royal jacket. He is thrown in a pit by his brothers and he is sold off to a foreign land. He was Potiphar's number one servant. But all of a sudden, he endures an unjust incarceration in prison. He had the hope that the cupbearer would remember him. But it didn't take long, and he was forgotten like yesterday's news. And here again with this portion of Scripture before us, another change, another radical reversal in his fortunes, we might say. An unexpected summons that would lead to a most wonderful up in life for Joseph. You see, beloved, in God's providence, the time had come for Joseph to be delivered. Now, we know that God uses many unlikely circumstances to carry out His plan. He does it in your life. He's done it in my life. And here with Joseph especially, we can see that. Think back again. Joseph's own dreams, if you think about it, was the beginning of his troubles. He told his brothers the dreams. And after they did what they did, they said, Let's see now what becomes of this dreamer. And then, of course, God used Mrs. Potiphar to put Joseph in prison. And if you will, he used the cupbearer to keep Joseph in prison. Yet the dreams of the cupbearer and baker and now Pharaoh's dreams would be the occasion of the fulfillment of Joseph's dreams. They would all be a part of the magnificent chain of events that would eventually bring Jacob's family to Egypt. And yet through all of this so far, we know that God was with Joseph. God was with Joseph. And God was still with Joseph now as He is remembered before Pharaoh. Boys and girls, two full years had passed. 730 days. Two full years had passed. It might have been around the time of Pharaoh's birthday again, obviously, that he has these dreams. But two full years since the cupbearer and the baker had been released from prison, the cupbearer restored to his position, the baker put to death. And Joseph's appeal to the cupbearer to be remembered before Pharaoh obviously fell on deaf ears. No doubt his sentence was a life sentence. What other explanation could there be? He was going to be in prison for life. And then all of a sudden, unexpectedly, the prison door opens without notice, without expecting it. For him, the cupbearer did remember Joseph. And he remembered him due to a similar circumstance. Now, we can't miss the dream theme that runs throughout these early stories of Joseph. Joseph has the two dreams, he interprets two dreams, and now Pharaoh's two dreams. And it's because of Pharaoh's two dreams that similar circumstance that Joseph is remembered. But notice, Pharaoh doesn't laugh off his dreams. We do, don't we? If we remember them in the morning. So often they're ridiculous. We might tell our spouse or our friends or our children or whoever, and we laugh them off. But Pharaoh did not laugh off his dreams. He didn't realize they were dreams until he woke up. Yet the impression, the impression of the reality of those dreams haunted him. We said last week that when it came to Egyptian culture, there was a strong belief, a strong superstition in the importance of dreams, and that was even more true for someone like Pharaoh. In the ancient Near East, the kings were considered to be the chosen representatives of the gods, and their dreams were particularly significant. Pharaoh himself, we know, was considered to be a god. For his people, he was a god among men. He was incarnated at the same time he was a man among gods. He was a sort of go-between between the people of Egypt and the gods of the universe that they recognized. These dreams of Pharaoh were vivid. Ours are often hazy. They were vivid. The details were clear, and these details were dear to Egypt. And they were important for Egypt. The Nile River was the source of Egypt's fertility. Cows and grain, which Egypt enjoyed much of, pointed to agriculture and productivity. And of course, in their religious system, there were different gods over all these different aspects of life. There was a god of fertility, a god of agriculture, a god of nature, a god of this, a god of that. But because of the Nile River, life in Egypt really wasn't bad at all. The land of Egypt weathered quite well famines. They endured famines quite well. Abraham, we know, brought his family from Canaan to Egypt when there was a famine in Canaan. There was usually grain in Egypt. And if there was grain, then there would be livestock. Everything would flourish. Life would be well. But these dreams of Pharaoh, with these dreams, there's no change in appearance of the ugly and gaunt cows when they devoured the sleek, fat cows. And there's no change in appearance of the thin and scorched heads of grain after they devoured the healthy heads of grain. And therefore, Pharaoh knew this much. He knew that it meant something unfavorable. He didn't know what the dreams meant, but he knew that it wasn't good. He didn't know, as we know, that the same message with these dreams was repeated. that poverty will destroy plenty. It pointed to an attack upon the source of Egypt's economy. He didn't know that this was symbolic revelation of God's control over the life and death cycle of Egypt. He didn't understand that ultimately this pointed to the truth of the world of wickedness, that this life of plenty will come to an end. And for those apart from Christ Jesus who reject Christ Jesus, There will only be poverty. The poverty of eternal destruction. But he knew something was unfavorable. And therefore, it's not hard to understand that Pharaoh was troubled. He was restless. He knew there was an important meaning, but he did not know what, and there was no one to interpret. He called upon the magicians and the wise men of Egypt. These men had a special priestly position in Egypt. These men were entrusted not only with religious duties but also with the science of the land as well as the books of magic, divination. These same kinds of men from the same class of people were called upon by another pharaoh to duplicate the wonders that Moses performed. These men were considered to be the most learned. They were the most experienced in magic. They were respected. They were honored. yet they were powerless here. They were not even able to give a credible guess. No answer whatsoever. And it's at this point that the cupbearer remembers. We can almost see him slap his head as if he had a V8 moment. Today, he says, I remember, I'm reminded of my shortcomings. No doubt his shortcomings against Pharaoh, he says a little bit. You were angry with me. He doesn't remind Pharaoh why. You were angry with me. And he is reminded of his shortcomings against Joseph. His sin of ingratitude against Joseph. His sin of forgetting, even ignoring Joseph. And he doesn't tell Pharaoh that Joseph asked to be remembered before Pharaoh, but that he ignored him. And that's not the point. The point is that every last detail came true. He said things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us. At that point then, of course, Joseph has his first encounter with Pharaoh. Notice, Pharaoh wasn't concerned that this young Hebrew was a foreigner, that he was a prisoner. He didn't care that he was not one of the magicians or wise men of Egypt. He cared that he was able to interpret dreams. And out of respect for Pharaoh and the culture of the land, Joseph has cleaned up, he's shaven before he's brought to Pharaoh. And then Pharaoh says to him literally, I hear that you only need to hear a dream. And you can interpret it. Now if you think about it, Joseph's initial response might have been somewhat disappointing to Pharaoh. I cannot do it. In the Hebrew, it's kind of a strong statement. It's one word. basically say, not I. Certainly that's not what Pharaoh wanted to hear, but Joseph quickly adds, but God. You see, without a second thought, Joseph, as was the habit of his heart, Joseph points to the sovereignty of God. He knew full well that he had been remembered only because of God's sovereignty. You see, beloved, all along we've said that every detail in the episodes of the Joseph story bear the stamp of God's providence. And that's because He is a sovereign God. All power and all authority belongs to Him to carry out His sovereign will as He pleases, as He determines. And we can clearly see His sovereign power and control in the details of this episode as well. Over the dreams. God gave Pharaoh the dreams that he would use to deliver Joseph. But not just any old, unmeaningful, forget-about-it-as-soon-as-you-wake-up-in-the-morning dreams, but dreams with details that hit close to home. Dreams with details that pointed to the future of Egypt. And as well, God in His sovereignty gave Pharaoh a troubled spirit. He would not let Pharaoh ignore the dreams. He would not allow Pharaoh just to let it go. As God challenges through these dreams the gods of Egypt and Pharaoh's trust in those gods. The sovereignty of God is seen over the interpretation of those dreams. Or maybe we should say, with regard to the magicians and the wise men, the lack of interpretation. God rendered them helpless. They were not even allowed to guess. Because even a guest would only darken the truth. See, beloved, God sometimes reveals His will to wicked, unbelieving men, but they can only understand by His power, by His illumination. Apart from that, it's only confusion to the unbeliever. But here, with this episode, God would protect His revelation and He would see to it that the truth would come out undistorted by keeping any false interpretation from even being spoken. Then in His sovereignty, God also challenges the wisdom of man. We read in 1 Corinthians 1, verses 27 to 29, but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are so that no one may boast before him. You see, Joseph is the foolishness here. Joseph is the foolishness, the weakness, the despised thing before man. This Hebrew foreigner, this prisoner, this lowest of the low. Foolishness. Now the magicians and the wise men, they were the most wise in the world. Yet boys and girls, they were the most foolish. Because as the Bible says, the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They were the most learned, yet they were also the most ignorant. Because they did not know true wisdom, they did not know God. They are those described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1.20 when he says, Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? But Joseph was truly wise. Joseph was truly learned, even without the education of the world. Why? Because God was with him. He, not the magicians, not the wise men, but only he could truly boast, as the Lord says in Jeremiah 9, let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man boast of his strength, or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this that he understands and knows me. That I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth for in these I delight, declares the Lord. You see, beloved Egypt, the land of Pharaoh was considered to be the center of learning, the center of culture. It was the proud leader of civilization. But the people were idolaters. They had no light of the truth because they did not know God. And as the Word of God says, only in His light do we see light. In His sovereignty, God rendered the magicians and the wise men of Egypt blind and powerless. They displayed their ignorance. And Pharaoh was made to feel the powerlessness of all human resources and the worthlessness of all human wisdom. That's a blow to mankind. Especially in our age of intellectualism, to hear that all human resources are powerless and all human wisdom is worthless in and of itself. Yet here in this episode, God will bring the light of His will through one who already possessed the light of God and His truth. There's an important lesson for us, beloved, in our quest for education, in our quest for knowledge, which in and of itself is not wrong, We must never forget that apart from true knowledge, the true knowledge of God, the true knowledge of His saving grace, the true knowledge of His sovereignty, apart from that, our education and our knowledge is nothing but foolishness. And it will go to the grave with us. Pharaoh was about to learn that God alone is the giver of every good and perfect gift, not the gods of Egypt. The wicked men of the world don't see this. the unbeliever considers himself to be the captain of his own ship, the master of his own fate. But apart from the Lord Jesus Christ and faith in Him, they will learn the hard way, each one of them, that no matter how successful and how powerful that they might be in this life, their ship will sink. Their fate will be eternal hell. Beloved, behind Joseph's rise to power was the sovereignty of God, demonstrated in the loss of power and initiative by Pharaoh. Pharaoh himself was rendered powerless. He had to rely on this slave, this prisoner, this Hebrew. And God's sovereignty demonstrated in the helplessness of the magicians and the wise men. And this isn't the only time in redemptive history that this happened. A Pharaoh later on, with the Exodus, the same thing. Rendered powerless. His wise men and magicians were rendered helpless. Herod, at the time of the birth of Christ, was not able to stop Christ's birth. Rendered powerless. And ultimately, the cross of Jesus. Satan was rendered powerless to stop the work of Christ. And even today, he's rendered helpless. As he's not able to deceive the nations, he's not able to stop the spread of the Gospel, he's not able to stop the Holy Spirit from transforming hearts and lives to the saving truth of Jesus Christ. And beloved, no matter how powerful and prosperous nations and people are on this earth, they are still subject to God's sovereign control. In our days of war, in our days of difficulty, as we see Satan seem to gain ground even in our own nation, this must be comforting to you and me. As we reflect again in Romans 8.28, For in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. In all things, in all situations, in all people, in all powers, God works for our good. Joseph understood that, you see, better than you and I ever will. And that's why as he is remembered before Pharaoh, at the same time by the work of God's grace in his life, Joseph displays fearless humility. First of all, humility. Think about this. What an opportunity now. What an opportunity for Joseph. The chance finally came for him to shine. Pharaoh needed him. He could have taken advantage of the situation to get free. He could have tried to bargain with Pharaoh. well, let's see now. How bad do you want that interpretation? But no. Joseph knew that the interpretation did not belong to him. It belonged to God. He points away from himself. He points to God. The idea being, in effect, in essence, Joseph says, even without me, God will give. Reminds us again of 1 Corinthians 3, verse 7, where Paul says, so neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. You see, Joseph would not get free by some grand prison break or by some let's make a deal scheme with Pharaoh, but only by God's design. He was humble. He understood who God is. He understood who he is in relation to God. And therefore, at the same time, he was fearless. boys and girls he was fearless you and I might have been scared as we stood before Pharaoh this guy was powerful he was the king he was considered to be a god he was no one to mess with Joseph by this time understood the Egyptian culture he understood the superstitions he understood the gods that they worshipped he understood Pharaoh's position as a god or considered to be a god. Yet he also knew that Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt and the magicians and the wise men were no match for the king of heaven. And therefore, fearlessly, he points Pharaoh, who claimed to be a god who could take Joseph's life at the snap of his fingers, he points Pharaoh to the one and only true God who could and would reveal to Pharaoh the interpretation of his dreams. And Joseph trusted that in this godless land with this godless king, the God of his fathers would continue to be with him. Whether in good times or in bad times. And through Joseph, God would teach Pharaoh that only the servant of the Lord could reveal the Lord's ways to Pharaoh because only the man of God has true wisdom and light. And this because, as Psalm 25.14 says, the secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him. Nebuchadnezzar found that out too. He was rendered powerless. He needed Daniel not only to interpret his dreams, but to remind him of what the dreams were. Beloved, tonight, the Lord willing, we will consider God's call that we are the salt of the earth. That we are the light of the world. That we are called to represent Him without compromise, without shame. You see, Pharaoh lacked true wisdom and knowledge and therefore that made him unsure. It made him insecure. But Joseph owned true wisdom and knowledge and therefore he enjoyed peace. Isaiah 26 verse 3 says, You will keep in perfect peace Him whose mind is steadfast because He trusts in you. Joseph's life indeed was filled with a number of radical reversals, unexpected turns of event, even here. He goes from prison to the throne of a king, and his first word is, God will give. And again, a powerful lesson for you and me, that he who is aware of God and His presence of grace is humble and fearless at the very same time. And therefore, beloved, in all of life, we are not to be afraid to both claim and promote the name of God. And Joseph, we know, points to the one who secured that confidence for us. We know that God prepared Joseph and now delivered Joseph as a part of keeping His covenant promises of grace. To use Joseph as one to preserve, use him to preserve the line leading to the Messiah, the very one himself who would forever preserve God's elect people. And Jesus Christ demonstrated God's sovereign power and will by His cross, taking upon Himself the punishment of God for our sins, conquering sin, death, the grave, and Satan himself, securing for those who trust in Him alone the confidence that if God is for us, who can be against us? You know, that's such a short verse of Scripture. It's so very powerful. Yet how can we doubt at times? There were no doubts for Paul. If God is for us, who can be against us? No one. Nothing. That was Joseph's confidence. Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt were not more powerful than the true God. We have no need to fear the power and the knowledge of this world because even the great of this earth are not too great for God. Paul says God's weakness is stronger than the strongest in the world. God controls the great in this world to accomplish His purpose. God uses the details of this life, including the troubles that we face in our individual lives or the troubles that our churches face. And it seems that Satan is busy in these days. As well, He uses the actions of wicked men, whether those actions are restrained by God or whether they are full-blown sinful actions. He uses them all to bring about His purpose for you and me, the church. And brothers and sisters, even when the world acts deceitfully and wickedly, and even when we face trouble in this life, we are called to praise God that He is at work, even in that, to prepare us for glory. We're going to sing in just a moment these words, His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. We have no need to compromise. We are not to compromise with the world for our protection, for our well-being. We are not to seek our comfort, our safety, and our promotion in the powers of this world. That is to violate the first commandment. God says, you shall have no other gods before me. Do not place your trust in anything else before me. Instead, we are called to stand firm, beloved, on the rock of our salvation who knows the end from the beginning and has promised us in Christ Jesus that the end and the beginning and everything in between is for our good. We have no need to fear the leaders and the powers of this world who are nothing but dust on the scales with God, as he says in Isaiah chapter 40. They're under God's thumb. And most important, God is for us in Christ Jesus. And therefore, whatever rollercoaster effects our lives have, we are safely fastened under the shadow of the wings of our sovereign God. Joseph was remembered before Pharaoh. We are remembered before God because of the work of Jesus. Sometimes, isn't it true that we don't remember God? We forget Him until we find ourselves in trouble. And then we look for Him. But praise God, He doesn't operate that way. He remembers us always because of the work of Jesus. Those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ will not be remembered, but they will enter the eternal pit. But those who look to the only Savior in confession and repentance of their sins, not only will they not be forgotten, but they will also be raised to eternal glory to serve in the very presence of God forever and ever. That's the comfort for you and me who believe. Beloved, there's no greater comfort than to be remembered by God for eternity. For Jesus' sake. Amen. Shall we pray? heavenly father with humble hearts we come before you to thank you for the precious truth that you give us the confidence that all things all powers all leaders all details great and small are in your hands that indeed lord you work even through sinful wicked men even as you work through the troubles that we face in this life You work through all these things for our good. Even as You did for Joseph, to bring him to power. To serve the purpose for which You had called him. Father, You work all these things for our good. For our salvation. And also to serve the purpose that You have for us here in this life. Father, may we not be cowards. Instead, give us courage. May we be fearless. As the Holy Spirit gives us strength to stand firm for our God in every situation of this life with the comfort that because you are for us, nothing and no one can be against us with effect. Thank you for that great comfort, O Lord. Bless us with that comfort more and more each day. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.