Seek God Defined Success

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Our Heavenly Father, all of us face perplexing situations in our lives, in our youth, in our middle ages and in the challenges of our twilight years. We never know from one day to the next what turns will occur. And so daily, as we face your providence, we're challenged with the challenge of faith. Will we walk by faith or by sight? Lord, I pray that you give us grace to walk by faith even when everything that we see seems counter to good. Yet Lord, we know on the turn of a dime you can redeem any situation. As we consider your providence today in the life of Joseph as he is stuck in a dungeon, Lord, we thank you that you were with him even in the darkest pit.

And Lord, teach us lasting lessons from your scriptures and we pray that your Holy Spirit enables us, not just to understand these lessons, but to embrace them and to love them. Help us experientially know your love and love the fact that you and your good purposes and your wisdom you brought us to where you have brought us and we know that you will lead us from here. Well Lord, in spite of the dark seasons of providence, we do trust in you and we pray that you deepen our trust in you. In Jesus' name, amen.

We're continuing our sermon series that we've entitled Graduate Level Grace: A Study in the Life of Joseph. This is Genesis 37 through 50. Today we find ourselves in Genesis 40 and the title of the sermon is Seek God Defined Success. Among the most prized possessions of men in past centuries was a fine sword. Swords have been immortalized in mythology like King Arthur's Excalibur, the broad sword pulled from a cloven rock. More recently, there's Frodo Baggins' little miniature sword, Sting. Even science fiction boasts of swords like the light sabers of the Jedi Knights. But there's a sword more powerful than any of those, and that's the sword of the word of God, and that's an apt metaphor.

Ephesians 6:17 says, and this is a commandment, "Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." When we take the sword of the Spirit on a daily basis and we first apply it to ourselves, it completely changes us. Why? Because Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." The word of God is like a sword in that it does penetrate through into the depths of our soul. John Bunyan's Pilgrim carries the right true Jerusalem blade, which was a way of saying the Christian is armed with the word of God.

Now, when you study the word of God and you apply it to yourself and you seek to obey the Lord faithfully, and when you disobey, you ask for grace and repent of sin, what happens is that you yourself become a sword, that the human life, when it is presented to God in humility, God use me. Well, what does God do? He shapes us. He hones us. He tempers us by His word and also by the fires of providence, the fires that occur in life until we become a mighty blade in the hands of God. And that's what we're seeing with Joseph, that God is sharpening him, edge after edge, sharpening him until he becomes a singular instrument of redemption in the hands of God.

The story begins with Joseph, just a young guy, naive and sensitive in many ways. Innocently arrogant in his youth and then he's sold into slavery. At that point, he could have turned to bitterness. He could have become a victim. At that point, he could have allowed his spirit to become wounded. No, he doesn't do any of that. The bitterness of Joseph's experience by God's grace seasoned him with sweetness so that the arrogance is deflated. And then ultimately, he is used by God to save his family whom he forgives. Joseph was already shown in the story, signs of spiritual greatness. Last week, we learned about his remaining faithful and not being compromised by Mrs. Potiphar's seductive siege. And Moses has written success in large letters all across Joseph's life at this juncture.

If you remember last chapter ends in Genesis 39:21 through 23 with these words, "But the Lord was with Joseph, showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison and the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. And whatever was done there, he was the one to do it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed." And here you got to pause and ask, is this success? He's in his late twenties, no family, no career, owns nothing. Successful in what category?

Well, he's successful in the eyes of God and that's the only true measure of success. Despite trying circumstances, dark providence where he could have just run from God, run from responsibility. No, his faith actually grows stronger. Though he is far removed from his family, separated by the desolate expanse of the Sinai, immersed in another culture speaking a different language, enduring the living death of a slave. Despite all that, he still holds fast to his God.

And we know in the coming chapters that he will be elevated to the vice regency of Egypt. He becomes number two only after Potiphar. And what we see is before his ascent to power, God gives us one more chapter that shows us where Joseph is in the darkest place in his life. It's a final stint, a final opportunity for God to shape him. And many lessons are enforced by the picture of Joseph in this dungeon, but he understands, come what will, right is right and sin is sin and that consequences are never to deter from duty. And that it's better to live with a clean conscience in prison then to do wickedness and sit at a king's table.

Four points or categories, subheadings with which we'll walk through the text. First we'll look at the prisoners assigned to Joseph, then we'll look at the prisoners troubling dreams. Third, Joseph interprets their dreams. And fourth, the dreams come true. And we'll walk verse by verse through the text. First, prisoners are assigned to Joseph. So if you remember Potiphar who was in charge of the executioners of Pharaoh. Mrs. Potiphar came to him and said, "Joseph, he was trying to rape me." That's what was going on. And then Potiphar didn't really believe her. That's why he didn't have Joseph executed. And so he puts Joseph in this prison that he's in charge of and then he grows in responsibility. So this is Genesis 40 verses one through four.

"Sometime after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offense against their Lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. And he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard in the prison where Joseph was confined. The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them and he attended them. They continued for some time in custody."

So Joseph was sold by his brothers into captivity when he was 17 years old. And we know that 11 years have already passed from that time. We don't know how those 11 years were divided between serving in Potiphar's household and in prison. But we do know that Joseph is now 28 years old because in the next chapter it says two years passed, two whole years passed from the events in this chapter, and then he'll be 30 at which at that age he ascended to the service of Pharaoh. So what happens is we don't know what the chief cupbearer or the chief baker did, but we do know that they are chief in their class. These are people to whom the Pharaoh entrusted his life. The royal cupbearer and the royal baker in a sense held the life of Pharaoh in their hands.

If you wanted to take a king out or Pharaoh out, one of the ways you would do that is you bribe the cupbearer or you bribe the baker to poison the man. That's why the Egyptian cupbearers were sometimes called pure of hands. There were supposed to be people of incredible integrity. So the cupbearer's job was not just to taste the wine, he would oversee the whole process of the wine making and then finally taste it in the presence of Pharaoh before giving him the cup. The baker would do the same with food. So they were put in the custody in the house of the captain of the guard. Potiphar is the captain of the bodyguard. So Potiphar puts Joseph in a position to care for these criminals.

And the thing you got to know about these guys is that they are high ranking officers. Remember, Nehemiah was a cupbearer, so he had incredible influence over the king, over the land. They were confidants, they were advisors. But here, something happened, we don't know what, but Pharaoh suspected them of plotting his demise. Perhaps he grew ill after a meal and he didn't know which one to blame, so he threw both into prison until it was decided. So here's Joseph. He's at the bottom of the bottom. He's 28 years old, been in prison serving prisoners, serving those who are enslaved. And at this point, he could have thrown himself a pity party and also checked out of reality. He could have thought, Lord, why did you give me this lot in life? I didn't sign up for this. Why was it that my mother died in an untimely death? And why was it that my father who loved me so couldn't quell the strife in the family?

And why is it that my family sold me into slavery? And why is that Potiphar believed these false accusations, et cetera, and he's in prison. But instead of doing any of that, he continued to trust in the Lord and the Lord continued to sustain him even in prison. Before Joseph is put in the palace, he's taught by God to walk by faith in the prison. And that brings us to the next verses, and this is the second heading, prisoners troubling dreams. Verse five. "And one night they both dreamed, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, each his own dream and each dream with its interpretation."

So the ancient Egyptians put great stock in dreams because they believe that when they slept, they were put in contact with another world. A pair of dreams, dual dreams shows us that there is certainty of fulfillment. So these guys, they both woke up rattled on the same night. They had these dreams, they're burdened with this inscrutable dream. And we see here, of course, God, in His providence, bringing these two guys together and it's God who gives them these two dreams. And what is God doing? He's furthering His glory. "Yes, Joseph, I do have great plans for you, plans to prosper you and plans to glorify my name through you." And part of the process of glorification is, how will you respond to adversity. How will you respond to dark providence, seasons where the only place to look up is to look up to God from the pit. And that's what's happening here. And even as He's teaching Joseph, God is ultimately concerned about glorifying His name and His might. That's what's happening here.

In verse six, "When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled." He noticed that they were perturbed, something was off. So he says in verse seven, "So he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in custody in his master's house, 'Why are your faces downcast today?'" Why are your faces gloomy today? In this question, what we see is, what do we see, we see kindness. We see interest. We see respect. He noticed things. By the way, this is a man. This is a man noticing the feelings of other men. This is a miracle in and of itself. But it just shows incredible sensitivity. I saw yesterday you were not gloomy, today, you're gloomy. Both of you are gloomy. And it shows this and this is a large measure of Joseph's success. He was present on a daily basis and he inquired of those around him of how they're doing or how they felt. Incredible sympathy, incredible sensitivity.

And also, you can't but notice the growth. Remember when he was 17 years old, he's very good looking, beloved by Jacob. He's a beloved son. He's got the beautiful colored rainbow, the robe, and he knows he's the chosen one. And he didn't have the awareness to keep his dreams to himself. The dreams were it was clear that one day his brother's whole family would bow down before him. No, he decided to share that. Well, of course, how do you think your brothers are going to respond to dreams like that? So when he was younger, he lacked the sensitivity. But now, though he had every reason to ignore the feelings of his fellow inmates, he was tender to be considerate of them. And it's apparent that what Joseph had experienced in the famous ups and downs of his own life, well, those seasons made him sensitive and compassionate toward others.

So he asked the question and verse eight they said to him, "We have had dreams and there is no one to interpret them. And Joseph said to them, 'Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.'" Well, first thing you got to notice is he has this God reflex. As soon as he hears about they have a problem, let's take it to the Lord. And also, there's an implicit declaration of belief here. God sends dreams and God can interpret dreams. And by the way, this shows that he never stopped believing that those dreams that God had sent him early on were from God and they were to come true. Joseph's faith has also demonstrated in the fact that he doesn't take credit. He could have said, I have the skills of being a great interpreter of dreams. He says, no, no, no, let's take it to the Lord.

Well, what has God just done? He has given Joseph the opportunity to testify to his glory. Now no matter what circumstances we're in, in God's providence, we have a choice to make. Will I trust whatever the circumstance I'm in, will I trust God today? Will I trust that God's hand of providence brought me here and God's hand of providence will take me out of here? Will I trust Him today? And part of trusting God is giving glory to Him verbally saying, "God, I praise you for this day. I praise you for this season. Whatever it is, I will give you glory." Joseph meant only God alone can give us the wisdom to understand what's happening here. And he, like Daniel, that's how Daniel approached dreams when he worked in Babylon. He said, "Let's take it to the Lord. I can ask of him and he can reveal it."

So point three is, Joseph interprets their dreams and this is verse nine. "So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, 'In my dream there was a vine before me. And on the vine there were three branches. And as soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth and the clusters ripe ripened with grapes. Pharaoh's cup is was in my hand and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.'" So the cupbearer speaks first, perhaps because he wasn't really worried about his dream, it was kind of a pleasant dream. He didn't understand it, but there wasn't reason for misgivings. And we see here that there is a quick succession of ensuing steps. The blossoms develop into grapes and then all of a sudden there's complete clusters which ripen on the spot and then he takes them and he makes wine out of them. And pharaoh's cup is filled. And obviously a beautiful cup. That's the image.

So what does Joseph say in verse 12? Then Joseph said to him, "This is its interpretation. The three branches are three days. In three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office and you shall place Pharaoh's cup in his hand as formally when you were his cupbearer." Now had Joseph lost faith by this point, faith in God, faith in God's revelations through dreams, we would imagine him to say something like, "Gentlemen, you had dreams. Congratulations. I had dreams. Let me tell you about my dreams. No, you don't want dreams. Forget the dreams. Don't let anyone interpret the dreams for you." Had he lost faith, that's exactly what he would do. No, no. God grants Joseph the power and the wisdom to discern the interpretation of the dream with perfect clearness, partially because he never stopped believing in the Lord.

He walked before the faith of the Lord. He communed with the Lord, he was abiding with the Lord. So there's no wavering or uncertainty on Joseph's part. He seizes upon the essential features of the dream that are now, after the interpretation, clear to us. The expression, lift up your head, is counter to your head was down, you were gloomy. But in three days, your head will be lifted up and you will be restored. And that's precisely what happened. And because of the accuracy of his interpretation, the cupbearer, though he forgot Joseph for two years, he remembered Joseph when Pharaoh needed interpretation. That's next chapter.

We continue in Genesis 40:14. Joseph said, "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 land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit." One commentator says that what we see here is the powerful man born to rule is also a needful one. We must understand that after 11 long years we see that Joseph, he knows he's innocent. And one of the lessons we can learn here is a lot of people, when they talk about God's sovereignty or God's providence, they talk about it in a way where it does nullify the human will. Does Joseph believe in God's providence, God's sovereignty? God has allowed me to be put ... yes. But does Joseph say, therefore, I will resign myself and never try to improve my situation? No, of course not.

He believes that God put him here, put him here for a reason. But at the very first opportunity to get out, he says, "Look, remember me, please remember me." And it's a measured request. He doesn't say, "I want FaceTime with Pharaoh." He just says, "Can you mention me and mention my cause?" In Genesis 40 verse 16, when the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, "I also had a dream. There were three cake baskets on my head, and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head." First thing to point out is Egyptians apparently loved their carbs, they loved bread. The dictionary of Egyptian from this period lists 38 different kinds of cake and 57 varieties of bread. So this is a big deal for them. And that's why, by the way, the famine with the grain is kind of a big deal because they're like, we love our carbs. And imagine, seven years with no carbs and thanks to Joseph that was wasn't as bad as it could have been.

But so the chief baker has a dream and he hears the cupbearers favorable interpretation and he thinks, perhaps my dream was also favorable. The top basket had a variety of some of every sort of pharaoh's food, a handiwork of the baker. And none of this is unusual, butlers of that time, bakers of that time were men who commonly carried the baskets on their head. But one thing the baker failed to notice, which is really the outstanding thing of this dream and really ominous, he wasn't able to drive the birds away. The birds ate unhindered. Have you ever been to Nahant Beach? It's like the seagulls there, just demonic. And that's what's happening here. They really are demonic. And birds, by the way, usually are a sign of something ominous in scripture.

Joseph has a decision to make. How will I interpret this guy's dream? Genesis 40 verse 18. "Joseph answered and said, 'This is its interpretation. The three baskets are three days. In three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and hang you on a tree and the birds will eat the flesh from you.' So he's going to be lifted up too, but quite in a different way. And the same language is used here, your head will be lifted up and then the Hebrew just adds from you, showing he will be decapitated following by hanging on a tree and then the birds of prey would eat his flesh. Judging by Joseph's kindness, he probably broke this unwelcome news as kindly as he could. But he does break the bad news. He doesn't say, "I'm sorry, Mr. Baker, I can't interpret your dreams or I'd rather not interpret your dreams, or I'd rather not ruin your day by talking about something negative."

No, God has a revealed good news to Joseph and bad news. And Joseph isn't the spiritual coward and he doesn't attack the wisdom of God. If God has revealed that this is His word, we are to proclaim that this is His word. And if we as Christians are going to preach heaven, we also must preach hell if we're going to be faithful to the Lord and His word. And also, Joseph didn't make up the interpretation of the dream. He doesn't enhance it in any way. He doesn't make up God's providence. He simply reported it. God gave him a message and he shared that message and he did it as lovingly as he could.

The fourth subheading is, dreams come true. And this is verses 20 through 23. "On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants. He restored the chief cupbearer to his position and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand, but he hanged the chief baker as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him." So every interpretation of Joseph proved to be true. In fact, the specific words and phrases spoken to the cupbearer and to the baker, verses 13, 19, are echoed here, just to underline the precision with which Joseph predicted the future. How encouraging this must have been for Joseph.

For 11 years, he had believed that his dreams would come true. He never wavered in his conviction despite his circumstances. And now, he had solid objective evidence that God's hand is upon him, he still has God's anointing and that God has purposes for him. And he brilliantly interpreted this pair of dreams. So now that he was doubly sure that his own dreams would be fulfilled and he knows that God is with him, what's he thinking? He's thinking that's it. My stint in prison is over. Praise be to God. He thinks he's going to be at the birthday party with Pharaoh. He thinks he's going to be chilling with the cupbearer. That's what he's thinking. He's preparing for the party. And then a month goes by and in the court, the news has circulated that, yeah, everything Joseph said, it happened with the cupbearer, and yet the cupbearer did nothing. The cupbearer forgot.

What we see here is another two long years of disappointment, two whole years. That's what the next chapter says. Joseph experienced disappointment and after disappointment. Throughout the whole story, his brother's murderous rejection of him, evil in return for doing the good and resisting Potiphar's wife, the withering disappointment from the forgetful cupbearer. Joseph's life teaches us that disappointments are essential. They're not just part of our life, they're essential to our spiritual growth because they demand at this moment, Lord, I want this thing. Lord, I'm begging for whatever this is. At that the moment you got to exhibit patience and faith and rest all your hope upon God.

Well, it's those seasons, in particular, of disappointment that refine us. As V Raymond Edman says, "Delay never thwarts God's promises, it only polishes his instrument." And if you take a step back and just meditate, why two more years, Lord? Why two more years? Part of it is, he needed the preparation. In two years, Joseph would go from being an absolute nobody catapulted to the second position in all of Egypt. And Pharaoh, at that moment, when he elevates Joseph, changes Joseph's name to Egyptian and gives Joseph an Egyptian wife. He's trying to Egyptianize Joseph, meaning, you're going to believe what we believe.

And on top of that, the wife that he gives Joseph comes from a family of the highest priests of their religion, of the sun god. So Joseph, as a 30-year old man, will be tossed into this court of idol worship and a life that will be lived amidst a swirl of sensuality with Mrs. Potiphars everywhere. And the intrigues of the court, like happened with the baker, that was just a part of daily life with lying and backbiting, et cetera. So Joseph had to be prepared for the responsibility with which he would be tasked. So God continues to prepare him and He continues to teach him. And his greatest successes were not at the top, but actually here in the pit where he's wrestling with God and God is expanding his soul reflex and instinctively he turns to Lord despite the disappointments. God could have conveyed all of these truths about Joseph's preparation by simply listing them.

As I prepare a sermon on long narratives, I'm like, "Lord, all these lessons that I have to learn from the text, why don't you just list them? That'd be great." Be like, at the end of the ... okay, here's the three lessons and that'd be tremendous. But instead, God has chosen to illustrate these lessons in the fabric and text of a human life so that his life can be pressed and impressed on ours. So in this 40th chapter of Genesis, it records the final living touches upon a man that will be used mightily by God.

There are moments in the Christian walk where it feels like the Lord has forgotten you. It feels like the omniscient God of the universe has turned His back on you. We've all been in seasons like that. Experienced Christians can only too well imagine him in this prison year after year, crying out as the psalmists do. For example, in Psalm 13, "How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord, my God. Lift up my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemies say I have prevailed over him, lest my foes rejoice because I'm shaken." But notice the turn in the text. "But I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me."

Those moments of God's dark providence, when you're walking through the valley of the shadow of death, you got to make a decision. And the decision the psalmist makes is no matter what, "But I have trusted in your steadfast love." That's what walking by faith looks like. God has led me into the valley of the shadow of death and He will lead me out. God is strengthening Joseph's faith by teaching him not to judge his circumstances only by his senses, but to trust God for His grace. Two Corinthians 5:6 through 10 says, "So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."

The passage indicates that God is furthering His glory by delaying Joseph's desire to get out of prison for several reasons. But if God had gotten Joseph out of prison through the cupbearer's initial pleas, then Joseph would've thought that the cupbearer was the rescuer. "Oh Lord, thank you for sending this guy to save me." And God would rather glorify Himself in the life of Joseph by making it absolutely clear it wasn't a cupbearer, it was actually God miraculously intervening. And finally, in this very act of delaying the answer to Joseph's desires, God is establishing His plan to save Israel. And through saving Israel, provides salvation for each one of us.

For example, if Joseph was freed from the prison by the mere appeal of the cupbearer, well, he'd never get appointed to be second in command in the house of Pharaoh. Why? Pharaoh wouldn't even know about it. Okay, you're freed because unjustly, you were sold into captive. What would Joseph have done at that moment? He would've gone home. And then what happens? And then in a few years, the famine starts and then he's in the same situation, helpless as his whole family. No, God says, "You got to wait a couple more years and then Pharaoh will have that dream through which Joseph will be elevated." So God had a better plan than Joseph and a better purpose. And that plan meant waiting, it meant being frustrated. It meant being perplexed. It meant being patient. But also, it meant growing in the Lord and growing in faith.

Many a lesson we can learn from here. I don't know what dreams the Lord has given you, and I'm not here to interpret them, but there is something that I can proclaim, and I can proclaim it with absolute assurance because it's 100% true. I can proclaim the future for each one of us. If you are not in the Lord Jesus Christ, dear friend, you will experience damnation for eternity. If you do not trust in Jesus Christ, then the penalty for your sin is upon you. Galatians 3:13, 14 says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, 'Cursed as everyone who is hanged on a tree', so that in Christ Jesus, the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith."

In the same way that the baker was cursed and he was hanging on a tree, anyone that was crucified by the Roman empire was also considered to be cursed in a theological sense from the Old Testament scriptures that was predicted, cursed is everyone who was hanged on a tree. Well, Jesus Christ hung on a tree and experienced the curse. And you say, "Why? Why does the second person of the trinity, the son of God, why is he hanging on a tree?" Because Jesus knew the bad news. He knew the bad news that faces every single person who was outside of Christ.

If you're here this morning, you've never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, you might have been brought here by the sovereignty of God, for God to proclaim into your heart, into your soul of souls, that you are a sinner. You are under divine condemnation. You are headed for a Christ-less eternity. You are with without hope without God in this world. You are ultimately destined to spend eternity in the lake of fire where it grows hotter and hotter and hotter. And yes, for all of eternity. And yes, I know hell and fire and damnation of preaching, but I didn't invent it, it's God's word. It's in holy scripture. Jesus believed this. You're destined to be in the place of blackness, of darkness forever in which it gets darker and darker and darker.

I'm the Lord's ambassador and I don't add anything to the message and I just proclaim it as it's given to us. And the reason why we start with the bad news and we share the bad news is to get you to a place to see how great the good news is. That there is a message of mercy. While your heart is still beating on this side of eternity, you have a decision to make. Will I accept the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, the second person of the Trinity who took it upon himself to carry out the intention of the Father and to provide atonement for us, for sinners.

He suffered in blood and bled and died on the cross at Calvary and he cried out, "It is finished." The work of atonement is accomplished. The blood was shed, and now salvation is offered to you. Well, dear friend, what are you going to do with it? Will you accept the grace of God? If God, through the Holy Spirit, today is convicting you and you know it, you know it. Deep inside, you're, yes, yes, someone is speaking, someone is stirring. That's the spirit of God. The Spirit of God's bringing conviction upon you. And dear friend, you have a decision to make and I urge you to flee to the cross and accept the salvation of Jesus Christ.

What do you need to do? Well, you need to acknowledge your sin and your iniquity before the Lord. "Lord, I have sinned, I have broken commandments. I have lived as if you don't exist or as if your opinion of me does not matter." Acknowledge your sin, your iniquity before the Lord and receive as a free gift, salvation by grace through faith. God wants to give you all of eternal life. So receive the Lord Jesus as your savior and rest for eternity in the forgiveness that God offers. And then, dear friend, put your trust in the Lord again on a daily basis. And that's what we do. Deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow Him even through the seasons of dark providence, knowing that He will get us through.

With that said, would you please pray with me? Our Heavenly Father, we pray, Lord, that you would teach us to embrace all of the truths in this text. And Lord, I pray, continue to stretch our ability to understand all of your purposes, but even when we don't understand what's happening before us, Lord, we do trust you. We believe in you, and we thank you, Lord, for the example of many saints in this church who have endured much in their walk with you, things that would've crumpled lesser humans, but because of their own trust in you, you've given them joy to endure as Christ did. And Lord, we pray that you continue by the Holy Spirit to forge us, to hone us, to polish us, to refine us, to strengthen us even through the fires of life, so we can be a powerful weapon in your hands against the powers of darkness.

Lord, continue to build up your church and continue to use each one of us. Fill us with the Holy Spirit, protect us from the evil one and continue to glorify your name in and through us. And we pray all this in Christ's holy name. Amen.