In that second stanza, we sang, Yea, blessed is he who makes God's law his portion and delight. And as we have already considered with our consideration of Joseph, especially last week as he endured that unsolicited temptation from Mrs. Potiphar, we see, we've been shown that indeed, Joseph did make God's law his portion and his delight. Tonight, we consider what we might call the aftermath of Joseph resisting the temptation of Mrs. Potiphar as we consider in a particular way verses 13 through 23 of Genesis chapter 39. Before we read that portion together I ask that you turn to Psalm 73. Psalm 73 as we are reminded of what Asaph himself struggled with. Remember in adult Sunday school a couple of years ago Dr. Godfrey titling this one the personal crisis of faith. Psalm 73 as we hear now the word of God. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped. I had nearly lost my foothold, for I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles. Their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man. They are not plagued by human ills. Therefore, pride is their necklace. They clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity. The evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff and speak with malice. In their arrogance, they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore, their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. They say, how can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge? This is what the wicked are like. Always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure. In vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued. I have been punished every morning. If I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me. Till I entered the sanctuary of God, then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground, you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors. As a dream, when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before You. Yet I am always with You. You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish. You destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge. I will tell of all your deeds. And turning back to Genesis chapter 39, again the text being verses 13 through 23. We'll just back up to verse 11. We're reminded again that Mrs. Potiphar day after day after day was coming after Joseph. And at verse 11, we pick up, One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, Come to bed with me. But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, she called her household servants, Look, she said to them, This Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came in here to sleep with me. But I screamed. When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house. She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Then she told him this story. That Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house. When his master heard the story, his wife told him, saying, this is how your slave treated me, he burned with anger. Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him. He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, when it comes to living what we call the Christian life, have you ever wondered to yourself, well, what good is it all? What good is it doing? Is it really worth it? Well, of course, in our Christian piety, we would say, uh-uh, I would never think that. And if I thought it, I certainly wouldn't say it. That would be terrible, wouldn't it? But let's be honest, beloved, when it comes to the experience of life, being a Christian in the midst of a world of wickedness, Have you ever thought or said or been tempted to say with Asaph in verse 13, Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure. In vain have I washed my hands in innocence. Have I done all of this for nothing? Is it good for nothing? You see, and we know Asaph, of course, is saying that in response to what he sees. What he witnesses all around him in the world of wickedness around him. The world of wickedness. The wicked are healthy, wealthy, and wise. They curse God. They seem to get by with it. There's no lightning bolt that comes out of the sky and gets them. They're arrogant in their wickedness. And nothing happens to them. Everything is fine. But not for Asaph, apparently. Things aren't fine. Life is troubling for him. And he's wondering, as I've tried to live righteously, has it all been for nothing? In a way, I can't help but to wonder if Joseph wondered the very same thing. Now, we're not told that he did anywhere in Scripture, so he probably didn't. But if anyone had a reason to, you see, it might be Him. You see, beloved, we can understand why we suffer when we sin, or at least we should be able to understand that, right? Boys and girls, you know about this too. When you are punished because you've done something wrong, that's no surprise. It shouldn't be a surprise to you, right? Even though you may not like it very much, it's no surprise. But you see, we have a hard time understanding why we might suffer when we have not sinned. That doesn't seem to make sense to us. Or we have a hard time understanding why there seems to be no justice, especially as those who are openly wicked seem to escape what we think that they deserve. Had God let Joseph down? Well, kind of seems like He had, doesn't it? God promised to be with Joseph and his forefathers and with all believers in joy or in sorrow, in success and in failure, but that doesn't mean He promised us easy street. With Joseph, once again, with this text before us tonight, we have an example of the injustice God's people will and often do meet with at the hands of and by the power of the wicked world. But at the very same time with Joseph, we also have living proof of God's promise to be with His people. And ours is the comfort, as Joseph obviously knew, God holds us by our hand, as it were. And our confession of confidence can and must be with David in Psalm 56. He says, When I am afraid, I will trust in you, in God whose word I praise. In God I trust, I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? As we have seen so far with regard to Genesis 39, God was with Joseph as he prospered, as we might say, in Potiphar's employment. And God was also with him as he faced Satan's unsolicited temptation through Mrs. Potiphar. And now, in the aftermath, in the fallout of that temptation, of resisting that temptation, it's clear that God was with him in undeserved trouble. Joseph found himself in undeserved trouble as a falsely accused predator, as an unfairly condemned criminal, but also as a prosperous and a trusted prisoner. Now, beloved, indeed, this temptation that Joseph faced with Mrs. Potiphar was great. It was a tough, it was a difficult temptation. But in a sense, the temptation that he now faced in the aftermath, in the result of resisting that previous temptation, is almost more difficult. As Satan, as it were, could come to him and say, if you had only given in just once, things would be fine. You would still have your position. You would still be at the top of the heap of all the slaves. Things would still be going well for you, if only once. But now look, you've got nothing. You've got nothing. So what good is it? Joseph found himself in undeserved trouble as a falsely accused predator. Now we know what a predator is. A predator preys on something. It preys on others, boys and girls. A lion is a predator. It preys on smaller animals, other animals, for food, doesn't it? It stalks other animals when it's hungry. We hear a lot, especially in recent days, about sexual predators, those who are praying, stalking children or women, seeking to make them their prey, their victims. Joseph's trouble included being accused of being a predator. But what is ironic is that the real predator was whom? Mrs. Potiphar. Remember the situation. Day after day after day, she came after Joseph saying, go to bed with me. She never stopped. But Joseph continued to say no. He said no with his words. He said no with his actions. He tried to avoid her. Didn't even want to be in the same room with her. And when it came down to it, he ran for his life. And with his words, beloved, he reminded her of a couple of things. He reminded her that she was a married woman. He reminded her of her marriage vows. That she was the wife of another man and she was to be faithful to him. As well, he reminded her with his words that there is a God to whom all people are accountable, even this powerful woman, Mrs. Potiphar. And with his actions, he demonstrated to her that he desired the favor of God more than the favor of man. He desired the favor of God more than Mrs. Potiphar's favor. But also he demonstrated that God's commands were more important to him than her command. And of course, as we would expect, that provoked her fury, her wrath, Her burning lust quickly turned to burning anger. This powerful, this important woman, this woman who was used to getting anything she wanted was stiffed. She was rejected. She was humiliated. And her love wasn't really love. The world would call it love, you know, a form of love. But her love, it was turned to hate, kind of like Amnon and Tamar. You remember David's children? Tamar was the sister of Absalom, and Amnon was their half-brother. Amnon told his buddy that he was in love with Tamar. That wasn't true. He was in lust with her. And once he got her alone and raped her, the moment he was finished raping her, he hated her. He couldn't stand the sight of her. Get out of my sight. The same is true with Mrs. Potiphar. Once she couldn't take her eyes off of Joseph, but now she couldn't stand the sight of him. And therefore she devises a destructive plan. Notice again verse 13, when she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house. Now, that seems like a simple sentence, doesn't it? When she saw. The idea there, when she came to understand. She had an idea. She had a plan. Not only did she get mad, beloved, but she would get even. If Joseph would not satisfy her, she would find satisfaction in ruining him. You see, day after day after day, She tried in vain to turn Joseph into a criminal, which is what he would have been had he given in to her temptation, but now rejected. She couldn't actually turn him into one, so she works to present him as one. She makes him a criminal in name. She would get revenge on him and his virtue as if to say, he may be righteous and pure, but I'll make sure that people don't think that he is. And she devises her slanderous accusation, Her story, her story shows the depth of her evil heart. First of all, notice she works to gain the sympathy of the fellow slaves in the house for herself. This Hebrew, as if to say this foreigner, this outsider, this lowlife, this one who isn't like the rest of us, this one who doesn't belong here. He has been brought in to make sport of us, she says to the slaves. Notice how she, in a sense, lowers herself. She puts herself in the same category as the fellow slaves. We're all together in this. He's come in to make sport of us. There's this powerful position he's been given. He now is arrogant and he has come in to mock us, to ridicule us, to rub our noses in his power. He thinks he can do or he can get whatever he wants. And then she goes on to tell her side of the story. But notice, congregation, her story versus the truth. The narrator, Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us what did happen. And then he recalls what she says, her side of the story. Again, Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says she grabbed Joseph. He ran. He literally tore himself away and ran out of his cloak, out of his outer garment, ran for his life. And when she saw, when she came to understand, aha, I got him now. You see, Mrs. Potiphar, with evidence in hand, she tells her side, he came in to sleep with me. But I screamed. Boys and girls, the idea there is that she is saying, I screamed my head off as loud as I could. Notice though, she says she screamed. And then he ran. I screamed my head off. That's the only reason that I escaped untouched. And he left his cloak and ran away. You see, beloved, these details are important. Number one, she had to say that she screamed. Otherwise, it would have looked consensual. As if she was very much a part of the situation. In Deuteronomy 22, verses 23 and 24, it says, If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married, and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death. The girl, because she was in a town, and did not scream for help. And the man, because he violated another man's wife. She had to say that she screamed. Otherwise, that would be evidence against her that she was guilty. But she also says that he left his cloak beside me. Again, she must shift the blame to Joseph and make it look like it was he who undressed himself in preparation for her. But the truth is, she tried to undress him. His shirt in her hand would accuse her of removing his clothing, and she knew it. That cloak, that outer garment was evidence. Unfortunately, it could be used as evidence in either way. The truth is, it was evidence in her hand that she had seduced him, but it would be used as evidence that he had seduced her. She does all that she can to make Joseph look as bad as possible. And beloved, that is characteristic of wickedness. That is characteristic of the unbelieving world of unbelievers. Unfortunately, we must quickly say, though, that sometimes we too fall into that trap, don't we? But first of all, it's characteristic of unbelievers, those who hate the two great commandments to love God above all and their neighbor as self. She hated God above all. She hated her neighbor, unlike Joseph who loved God and said so. I will not do such a wicked thing and sin against God. And he loved his neighbor as himself, Mr. Potiphar. He said, I will not do that to him either. But this is characteristic of unbelievers when they are backed into a corner to do whatever it takes to get the pressure and to get the attention off of themselves. This is the survival of the fittest mentality. To make every effort to make oneself look good at all costs and make the other one look bad. But it's really hatred for the God who made and gave the rules believers strive to obey. You see, beloved, the world looks for ways to twist the truth in order to make believers look bad. Because when God's people strive to live according to the law of righteousness, that exposes the sin of the world. The truth exposes, uncovers the lie. Right exposes, uncovers what is false. Boys and girls, if you go into a dark room and you've never been in there before, it can be scary because you don't know what's in there. But as soon as you turn on the light, the mystery is gone. The light exposes the darkness. What is in the room? The light of truth exposes, uncover the darkness of the lie. And the world hates that. The world hates that the righteousness of God's people exposes their unrighteousness. But let's be honest, we hate that too, don't we? If there are times when we have done something wrong, and we have sinned, and we know it. We try to keep it silent, secret, yet if another uncovers it, we don't like that. The world works to twist the truth to make believers look bad. Think about abortion. The world will claim that believers have no sympathy for the mother, for her health, for maybe the fact that she had other goals for her life and they didn't include a child. Whatever the case may be. Well, that's not very Christ-like, is it, to not consider the mother and her feelings? Or consider homosexuality? The world would say that believers don't want people to be happy. Well, isn't that what Christ would want? He wants people to be happy, right? They twist the truth to make you and I look bad. But we too, again, when we are backed into a corner, we tend to leave out details in order to strengthen our case and maybe to weaken the case of another. It happens with our children. If one of my children comes to me and is complaining about what another one did and list this and this and this and this, I'll stop them and say, or try to, say, well, what did you do to that one? Well, I didn't do nothing. That's right, that's a double negative. You didn't do nothing. You did something. And when I ask the other one what you did, what are they going to tell me? And usually then that changes the story a little bit. Beloved, as we consider Joseph here, we cannot help but to consider our Lord Jesus Christ, the one to whom Joseph pointed, the one whose line Joseph was being prepared to save. Our Lord Jesus Christ was falsely accused at His trial. Scripture says, I never realized this before, but Scripture says in Matthew 26, it says the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking, they were actively looking for false evidence that they might be able to use against Him in order to put Him to death. They couldn't find the real thing. So they had to look for false evidence. But verse 60 says, But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Our Lord Jesus Christ, One who Himself is the truth, was made out by liars to be a liar. And the same continues today, especially as we consider the big hype about the Da Vinci Code and all the lies about our Lord Jesus Christ and His life on this earth that are told in that. We cannot and must not fall for it, but instead defend against it. Joseph found himself in undeserved trouble as a falsely accused predator, but also as an unfairly condemned criminal. Mrs. Potiphar was successful. Well, her story was compelling. We like to read the stories of Joseph too, don't we? Every bit of it. She was a powerful, she was a prestigious woman, so who would not believe her? And besides, she had all the proof she needed beside her. Notice again the instrument of deceit. Verse 16, she kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. Mrs. Potiphar was not going to let that garment out of her sight. That was her ticket. That was her ace in the hole to giving Joseph what she thought he deserved. And for Joseph, this was the second time that his clothing was used to deceive another. His brothers, using his richly ornamented robe, rolled in the lamb's blood to deceive his father Jacob, but now Mrs. Potiphar using his cloak to deceive his employer, Potiphar. And of course, beloved, this would arouse Potiphar's anger. The text says he burned with anger. But notice something too, how she changes the story from what she told the servants to what she told Potiphar. In verse 17 we read, then she told him this story, that Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me. Of me. She doesn't say us like she did with the servants, the slaves, but me, me, your wife, the one to whom you have committed yourself in marriage, the one whom you love, the one whom you have promised to defend. So what are you going to do about it? Indeed, Potiphar was burning with anger, but notice something. The text doesn't tell us whom he was angry at. Was it Joseph? Makes sense. That's assumed. After all of what she said was true, he broke Potiphar's trust. But could it have been Mrs. Potiphar? That is suggested by many because of the sentence Potiphar handed down. That that sentence in some way hints at the fact that he wasn't totally convinced of her story. This crime deserved death immediately. Joseph is put in prison. But notice also something. He might have been angry at her because she blames him. You brought him here. It's all your fault. But ironically, even if she had been caught red-handed in the act, as we know the Lord caught her, but even if there had been another witness and she was caught red-handed, she could still use this same excuse. It's your fault. You brought this handsome, well-built man here. I couldn't help myself. It's your fault. Famous last words. If only you had. If only you hadn't. Adam said, the woman you gave me. Eve said, the serpent. Or maybe he was angry at the situation because this situation became public, giving his household a bad name. But whatever the case, he was burning with anger. But notice, Joseph doesn't speak out. There's no evidence in the text that Joseph told his side of the story. He might have, but we don't know. We do know that he has no way to prove her story wrong. The evidence that could prove that she tried to undress him was being used against him. There were no security cameras to prove her story wrong. Later in Israel's life, justice demanded more than one witness. In Deuteronomy 17, verse 6, we read, On the testimony of two or three witnesses, a man shall be put to death, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. Here there were no two or three witnesses. It was his word against her word, and she had manipulated all the other slaves to her side of the story. And what other slave in his or her right mind would dare to speak against Mrs. Potiphar? No doubt that would mean a change in position out of the household and maybe even certain death. Joseph's word as well would be meaningless. He was just a slave. He was the head slave to be sure, but he was just a slave. Yet Potiphar should have believed Joseph because he himself, as Genesis 39 tells us earlier, he knew the Lord was with Joseph. Joseph was unfairly condemned as a criminal and the sentence is handed down. And again, maybe Potiphar didn't think his wife's story was, maybe he did think it was questionable because he didn't put him to death. But he put Joseph in Pharaoh's prison. But Potiphar had to do something. He had to do something, possibly in order to avenge his wife, you see. She had been humiliated, kind of like powerful families today, especially in politics, those who cover up the sins of their children, try to make it as if it didn't happen. But for sure, he had to do something to clear himself from her charge that it was his fault, and therefore he punishes the innocent. But we are reminded, beloved, of God's providential hand in that he restrains Potiphar's wrath. in that Joseph is not put to death. As well, the prison of choice, we know, prepares Joseph for his advancement as Pharaoh's right-hand man. But we need to understand that this prison was not a resort. It's hard to tell in Genesis chapter 39 because it makes it seem as if Joseph, the moment he got there, the warden saw there was something about him and gave him a position right away. But that's not the case. This prison was no resort. Today we hear about the privileges of inmates that they receive, even life inmates in the ACLU would call it basic human rights. They get three hot meals a day, they get TV, they get exercise equipment, they can even get an education. The only thing they can't have is they can't walk free in your town and mine. But Joseph did not receive these basic human rights. This prison was so bruising for Joseph, not just physically, but first of all, because it was utterly and completely and without question unjust. It was the exact opposite of what he should have received for refusing to commit adultery with Mrs. Potiphar. It was the exact opposite of what he should have received from Potiphar for trying to protect his interests, his wife, his marriage. But also it was bruising for him because Joseph was treated inhumanely. It doesn't tell us here, but if we go to Psalm 105, we sang an arrangement of that tonight, number 210. That's kind of an overview of the history of the Israelites from the promise made to Abraham all the way to the time when they had been released, exodus'd out of Egypt and fed with manna in the wilderness. And including in that time, it says, He that is the Lord sent a man before them, Joseph sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles. His neck was put in irons. He was leashed up like a dog. He could only go as far as the chains would allow. And again, beloved, we cannot help but to see in this our Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah says, He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment, He was taken away. At His trial, our Lord was mocked and ridiculed and spit on all the more because he refused to defend himself. Pilate said, I find no fault in him, yet turned around and handed him over to be crucified. He was unfairly condemned as a criminal and he was sentenced to death. Yet he is the only one who could truthfully say, I'm not guilty. Even Joseph. Even Joseph was not perfect. But like you and me, Joseph also needed a Savior from his sin. Our Lord had done no wrong. He was afflicted for our iniquities, pierced for our sins. He had done no wrong, yet he received the punishment that our crimes of sin deserved. Yet, beloved God, was with Joseph in undeserved trouble as a falsely accused preacher, as an unfairly condemned criminal, but also as a prosperous and a trusted prisoner. A prisoner, to be sure. In the eyes of men, this Hebrew looked alone and forsaken. He had lost it all. But had he? No. Joseph continued to know that the Lord was with him. The last part of verse 20-23 says, But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him. He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. Now, notice that the contrast between Joseph's dreams many years before and reality, I'm not talking about his promotion by the warden, but being shackled like a dog, the contrast between his dreams and reality was the greatest here. He was at the lowest point here. But Joseph walked by faith, not by sight. Bars and chains and prison cells cannot shut out God's gracious presence. And beloved, sickness and affliction and persecution for righteousness' sake and hardship cannot shut out God's gracious presence from you and me. Even in prison, Joseph knew whom he was truly serving. In Colossians 3, Paul says, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Brothers and sisters, God blesses faithfulness. Not always in the ways that we would like. Not always when we would like, where we would like, how we would like. But God blesses faithfulness. And often when we look back, then we see that His blessing is far greater than you and I could even have asked for or expected. Joseph was not perfect, but he was faithful. He may have been considered as a failure with Potiphar, but he was a success, we might say, with God. And that was worth more to him than any momentary pleasure that Mrs. Potiphar could have given to him. And we, boys and girls, young people, each one of us, we too must be conscious. We must be conscious that when we face temptation to sin and offend God, we must be conscious of the contrast between the momentary pleasure of sin, and it's only momentary, versus the honor and glory of God and the lasting joy that we have in Him. Is that sin really worth it? No, it's not. God and His honor continue to be Joseph's motivation, to be His driving force. We're not told that Joseph ever complained, that he ever compromised, But he worked faithfully as unto the Lord, and the Lord made him a prosperous and a trusted prisoner. The warden also noticed Joseph, just like Mrs. Potiphar. But on the other hand, he noticed him unlike Mrs. Potiphar. She saw a handsome, well-built male specimen to satisfy her lust. But the warden saw a reliable, honest, model prisoner who could be trusted with responsibilities, And he gave Joseph all the responsibilities he was able to give him. God was not with Joseph because Joseph was faithful. But Joseph was faithful because God was with him and he knew it. And we know that all of this was another step for Joseph on the road to becoming the prime minister or as some say, Pharaoh's secretary of agriculture. It's that, in a practical way, as we look at all the events in Joseph's life, we can say, if this hadn't happened, this would have never happened. If this hadn't happened, this would have never happened. If his brothers hadn't sold him, he never would have ended up in Potiphar's house, an official of Pharaoh. If Mrs. Potiphar had not tempted him and he had not rejected, he would have never ended up in Pharaoh's prison. If that hadn't happened, well, you know the rest. He never would have met the cupbearer and the baker and eventually Pharaoh and been used by God to forecast the future. All of this was a part of God preparing Joseph for the fulfillment of his dreams. And even Joseph would not see this clearly until later on. We often say that hindsight is 20-20. When we look back at our life, all the pieces of the puzzle of our life fit very well, don't they? Even the dark pieces. But as we look ahead, it's still fuzzy. It's hard to see. Later, Joseph could truly say that God meant it for good. But this was also a step on that path in that the Lord was molding and shaping Joseph's character. Pastor Donovan mentioned this morning 1 Peter 1, verses 6 and 7, In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Beloved, when we are in the crucible of persecution, and we're talking here, I hope you've sensed, persecution for righteousness' sake, suffering for righteousness' sake. When we're in that crucible, when the heat of persecution is turned up, that's when God is working the hardest on us to refine our faith, to strengthen our faith, to draw us closer to Himself. God was building Joseph's trust in Him. Joseph was being prepared to save the world of that day and later on, these very same current experiences that Joseph faced with the comfort of God with him would give Joseph confidence to know that God would indeed carry out his revelation. He would do what he said. And therefore, during the seven years of plenty, God gave Joseph wisdom to prepare for the seven lean years which would then lead to the preservation of his family. The lying to the Messiah and the ultimate salvation of sinners depended on the salvation of Jacob's 70-plus member family who would join Joseph a bit later on. Again, as we consider Jesus Christ, He was falsely accused. He was sentenced to the punishment of all punishments. Yet, He was prosperous. Our Lord Jesus Christ was prosperous because He is the only one who could save His people from their sins. He alone is the way to the Father. He is our only hope, beloved, and He is to be our heart's desire. In Isaiah 53, verse 10, we read, Yet it was the Lord's will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer. The Lord's will. And through that, the Lord's plan for the salvation of His people prospered. and praise God that our Lord Jesus Christ didn't stop to question whether or not all of His suffering and His death was worth it. It was worth it. Because God is glorified through the salvation of His people. We, as a part of sinful mankind, we meant Christ's death for evil. But God meant it for good, for our good. And as His people, beloved, we are agents of God. Joseph was God's agent of preserving and unfolding redemptive history. Believers, you and me included, are also God's agents in upholding His truth, in demonstrating His righteousness, and in being a showcase to the world of His grace. Sometimes we don't want the world to notice us, do we? We want them to leave us alone. Don't notice that I'm a Christian. But we must be noticed. The world must see our light shining for Jesus Christ. The world must see in us the grace of God through Jesus Christ. And therefore, as His agents, beloved, we will suffer slander and persecution for righteousness' sake. But Jesus says we are blessed for that. Well, that doesn't make sense. How is that a blessing? Because that proves that one belongs to God. That proves that one is not a product of this evil world but is the workmanship of God. It proves that one is a new creation in Christ Jesus. Suffering for righteousness' sake reveals those who are true followers of Jesus and who are heirs of His kingdom. Paul said to young Timothy, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. I don't know about you, but that verse scares me. Will be persecuted. When I look at my life, I have to ask myself, am I being persecuted? Maybe in little ways here and there. I don't know. Maybe I get laughed at once in a while for being a preacher. I really don't know. But it says we will be persecuted. I have to say, no, I'm not persecuted. And then I need to ask myself, is that because the world has become tolerant of me, of Christians? Or is it because I, Christians, have become tolerant of the world? And if we're honest, beloved, we have to admit that the second one is true because the world hates the truth and will never tolerate Christians. We are called to live openly the Christian life in the world. As God's agents, we are molded and shaped by God through suffering in that crucible again and made fit for the glory of heaven. And as God's agents, we are called to demonstrate through persecution the supernatural strength of God. Those with new life in Christ receive His strength to endure the trouble of unjust suffering and persecution from unbelievers and are able to rejoice in that. And that's the key. Able to rejoice in that. Because even unbelievers rejoice when things are going well, don't they? That's what we have in common with unbelievers. We all rejoice when the stock market is up, when my paycheck is sufficient, when I've got plenty of money in the bank and I have all the toys I want. We all rejoice then, but only those whose lives are bound up with Christ are able to rejoice when things are not favorable, when I am being persecuted for righteousness' sake, being content because God's people know that God is with them and therefore they can confess with Paul in Romans 8, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. And as His agents, beloved Christ is our model for suffering, and it is in His suffering and in His victory over sin and suffering that gives value and worth to our suffering for Jesus' sake. Asaph in Psalm 73 was brought to see that God will righteously judge the wicked. The wages of their sin will be eternal death. God says, Vengeance is mine, I will repay. But as Asaph was also brought to see, that no matter what he may be called upon to endure in this life as a believer, there was nothing more wonderful, nothing more precious than to be near to God. Joseph knew that God would handle those who wronged him. As God's people, we too must look forward, look toward the day of judgment. Indeed, as we sang from Psalm 1, The wicked will not stand in the judgment, but God's people, the righteous for Jesus' sake, will stand. God with Joseph was Joseph's salvation. And just as God was with Joseph, especially in his trouble of being falsely accused as a predator, of being unfairly condemned as a criminal, and while he was a prisoner, in the same way all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ receive all the benefits that he earned through his undeserved suffering and death. And we might say the gift wrapping and all those benefits, beloved, is God's presence. God with us. For all those who believe, if you're here tonight and you have never looked to the Lord Jesus Christ, truly looked to the Lord Jesus Christ, maybe tonight's the night. And this is your assurance. This is your guarantee from Christ Jesus. And therefore, with Christ Jesus, when God is with you, when you face persecution and the question, is it worth it? Without a doubt, you can say yes. Because God with me is the greatest blessing I could ever enjoy. When God is with us, beloved, what can man do to me? Nothing. Oh, he can take my money. He can take my house. He can take my possessions. He can take my job. If the Lord wills, he can even take my life. Some would say, well, that sounds like everything. It's nothing. He cannot take my salvation. Beloved, what good does it do to strive to live righteously, especially when the world is out to destroy us? That glorifies God and demonstrates that He alone is our rock and our salvation. And therefore, may our desire be to glorify the Lord and exalt His name together. Amen. Shall we pray? Dear Heavenly Father, Indeed, we know that as those who have been brought to faith in you, that we will suffer at times persecution for righteousness' sake. We will find ourselves in situations when it seems that our back is up against the wall and we don't know which way to turn. We are faced with temptation to sin. We find ourselves in undeserved trouble. And the world of wickedness, through his host, Satan will hurl at us all kinds of accusations, and we might even be condemned at times. But Father, we have the comfort of knowing that you are with us. And all of these things are temporary. Yea, this life is temporary. And help us, Father, to keep our eyes focused on that great day of Christ Jesus when he will come again to judge the living and the dead, to put all of his enemies under his feet and to take his people home, his church home, His bride, forever and ever. Father, indeed, we thank You for the examples of Your Word that You give to lead us and guide us in our life. The situations that You place before us, telling us You will face these as My people. But we thank You for the comfort of our Lord Jesus Christ. That He has suffered everything in our place, and therefore we are safe and secure in Your hand. Father, lead us. Lead us in Your righteousness. And may you, O Lord, be praised. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.