[0:00] A warm welcome to everyone and good evening. It's good to be back together to worship the Lord on this day. And so we'll begin by worshiping by singing in Gaelic, Psalm 73. Gaelic, Psalm 73, and we'll sing from verse 23, and we'll sing two verses, 23 and 24, and I'll read them in English. The words are probably familiar to us in English. Nevertheless, continually, O Lord, I am with thee. Thou dost me hold by my right hand, and still upholdest me. Thou with thy counsel, while I live, wilt me conduct and guide, and to thy glory afterward receive me to abide. The believer's continual trust on the Lord that will guide him throughout his life and receive him into glory. So we'll remain seated as we sing the words there from
[1:12] Warschmarkt 23. .
[1:26] . CHOIR SINGS .
[2:00] Oh, yeah.
[2:58] Oh, yeah.
[3:28] Oh, yeah.
[3:58] Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
[4:10] Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
[4:22] Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
[4:34] Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. .
[4:57] .NINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNINGNING .
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[7:44] Thank you.
[8:14] Thank you.
[8:44] Thank you. Thank you.
[9:44] Thank you. Thank you.
[10:44] Thank you. Thank you.
[11:44] Thank you. Thank you.
[12:44] Thank you. Thank you.
[13:44] Thank you. So we come together, we pray for Scott, who is going to be preaching over us this evening.
[14:10] We pray that God's word which he is going to preach to us will get a place in the people's hearts and that we shall come on our knees and ask for mercy because he is going to preach the word, the most precious word that ever came into this world.
[14:32] Jesus saves. Jesus is calling sinners to repentance. Bless him in the work he has desired and he desired it in his heart for other people to be converted.
[14:47] We pray for him and remember him in our prayers and Fiona and the girls that will be blessed their time and harvest with us.
[14:59] That they should feel at home and be happy. And the girls, as they make new friends in the school, that they'll grow up and remember when they came to Harris as young girls and they will be happy amongst us and feel homely and wanted.
[15:18] And all these things we ask is in the name of Jesus, our Saviour. Amen. Amen. Thank you for your prayers.
[15:40] We'll continue in our worship of God by singing in Mission Praise 37. Mission Praise 37.
[15:50] So we'll stand to sing these words to God's praise.
[16:19] As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you. As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you.
[16:39] You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship you.
[16:53] You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship you.
[17:24] I want you more than gold or silver. Only you can satisfy.
[17:38] You alone are the real joy-giver and the apple of my eye.
[17:53] You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone may my spirit yield.
[18:09] You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship you.
[18:23] You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship you. You alone are my strength, my friend. You alone are my friend and you're my brother, Even though you are a king.
[18:38] I love you more than any other. So much more than anything.
[18:52] You alone are my strength, my shield. You alone are my strength, my shield. To you alone may my spirit yield.
[19:06] You alone are my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship you.
[19:22] You alone. You alone. You alone. We'll turn now to read a portion of scripture from Genesis chapter 39 and we'll read through into the end of chapter 40.
[19:39] This is an account of Joseph in prison where two prisoners come to him with dreams. Last week we considered Joseph's own dreams where he dreamed that his brothers would bow down before him and there was a deep hatred in their heart towards him and they wanted to kill him.
[20:02] They put him in the pit but along came the Ishmaelites and they sold him into Egypt as a slave and Potiphar bought him as a slave.
[20:14] He succeeded in that household but Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him and she's caught and she makes false accusations against Joseph.
[20:29] And here we see the response of Potiphar to this accusation. So we'll take up our reading at verse 19 in chapter 39.
[20:40] So as soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, that's Potiphar hearing his wife's words to him, this is the way your servant treated me.
[20:56] His anger was kindled and Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined.
[21:07] And he was there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
[21:20] And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him.
[21:38] And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. Sometime after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker committed an offence against their lord, the king of Egypt.
[21:53] 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.
[22:07] The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be with them and he attended them. They continued for some time in his custody. And one night they both dreamed.
[22:22] 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 own interpretation.
[22:34] When Joseph came into them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. So he asked Pharaoh's officer, who were with him in custody in his master's house, why are your faces downcast today?
[22:48] 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.
[23:01] Please tell them to me. So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, in my dream there was a vine before me.
[23:11] And on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms shot forth and the clusters ripened into grapes.
[23:22] Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. And I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. Then Joseph said to him, this is its interpretation.
[23:38] 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 formerly, when you are his cupbearer.
[23:52] 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.
[24:03] For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews. And here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit. When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, I also had a dream.
[24:21] There were three cake baskets on my head. And in the uttermost basket, there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh. But the birds were eating out of the basket on my head.
[24:36] And 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.
[24:51] And the birds will eat the flesh from you. On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants.
[25:03] 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.
[25:17] But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
[25:28] Amen. Amen. May the reading of God's word be a blessing to all who have heard it. Let us continue in praise to God by singing in Psalm 40.
[25:42] Psalm 40, from the beginning of that psalm. I waited for the Lord my God, and patiently did bear. At length to me he did incline my voice and cry to hear.
[25:57] He took me from a fearful pit and from the miry clay. And on a rock he set my feet, establishing my way. And down to the end of the double stanza in verse 5.
[26:11] A psalm where we can see Joseph almost in this psalm. In the pit. But he has established in time, in God's timing.
[26:23] On a new path and in a new way. And maybe we see ourselves in this psalm too. That we have seen ourselves in the pit. And we have seen God's work in us.
[26:35] Establishing us on a new way. So we'll stand to sing these words together. I waited for the Lord my God, and patiently did bear. I waited for the Lord my God, and patiently did bear.
[27:01] But length to me he did incline my voice and cry to hear.
[27:14] He took me from a fearful pit and from the miry clay.
[27:28] And on a rock he set my feet, establishing my way.
[27:42] He put a new song in my mouth. A song in my mouth. Our God to magnify.
[27:56] Many shall see it and shout fear. And on the Lord rely.
[28:10] O blessed is the man whose trust upon the Lord relies.
[28:25] Respecting not the proud nor such. A star must die to lies.
[28:39] O Lord my God, for many are. The wonders of God. The wonders of God.
[28:51] The wonders of God. Thy gracious thoughts to us were found. Above all thoughts are gone.
[29:08] In order none can record them. To thee if them declare.
[29:22] And speak of them I would they more. Than can be numbered on.
[29:36] Amen. Before we come to this passage let us call upon God and pray. Let us pray.
[29:48] Our Father in heaven. As we come to your word. To think about it and consider it. We pray that you would help us. That you would be over us by the power of your spirit.
[30:01] Enabling us to understand. What you are saying to us. What you should teach us and instruct us. And Lord we pray. Acknowledging our own foolishness at times.
[30:15] Our own sinfulness. We call upon you. And often you make us wait. You'll make us wait. And often we feel like we are in the pit.
[30:27] But Lord may we be people who trustingly hold fast to you and your word and your promises that are found out. That we may not doubt what we hear.
[30:41] That give us confidence oh Lord. In you and your word and your promises. That we will not be tossed to and fro by the ways of the world.
[30:52] That we would hold fast to you. And that you would be with us. In all aspects of our lives. So we pray.
[31:04] As we gather together. In your name and under your word. We likewise ask that you would be with us. Open our eyes and ears. If you understand and hear.
[31:16] What you shall speak to us. All these things we ask in Jesus name. In Jesus name. Amen. We come to this passage.
[31:30] This is the second dream scene. In the Joseph narrative. Last week we looked at the first dream scene. We call them dream scenes because there's two dreams.
[31:43] When the dreams appear. They come together. They're paired together. The first one. If you remember. It's the one where. Both dreams showed the family bowing down.
[31:55] And worshipping Joseph as a king. He was this royal figure. That they would bow down to. And although we're not going to follow through the Joseph narrative fully.
[32:08] We're just skipping through the. These dreams. And I hope that in our own time. We can. We can. We can go back through this Joseph story. And we'd be. Encouraged to do so. As we look at these.
[32:19] Dreams. And fill in the links. And. And get to know the story of Joseph. Because it's like. It's a fascinating story. And it's a great story for our kids to know.
[32:31] The boys and girls that are here. To know about Joseph. And to. To see how God works in Joseph's lives. The family.
[32:42] Never. Thought. That they would ever. Worship or bow down. To Joseph. Joseph. And we're taking a leap. Through.
[32:53] From there. He's been cast into the pit. He's been sold into slavery. He's become a slave in Potiphar's house. He's been accused of.
[33:06] Rape. Essentially. By Potiphar's wife. And now he's been thrown. Into prison. Wrongly. He's done nothing wrong. And when he's in prison.
[33:17] We come to the second dream scene. It's not his dreams. It's the dreams of two prisoners. The cup bearer.
[33:28] And the baker. Have their own dreams. Which Joseph then interprets. And as we come to this account. I want to. Set the scene a wee bit.
[33:39] For all of us. And I want to set the scene. By considering. The providence. Of God. In Joseph's life. And when we consider.
[33:50] The providence. We look at. How he has ended up here. And why he has ended up here. He's ended up in prison. With the prisoners. Two prisoners. That have dreams.
[34:03] So we look at the providence. We consider the. Prisoners dreams. And then. Almost take a step back. And then look at the. The plain truth. That is told to us.
[34:13] In this account. Providence. Prisoners. And the plain. Truth. So what of. Joseph's. Providence. Providence.
[34:26] Joseph. Had a dream. His own dream. To become a king. Essentially. And what a dream that is. But supposing.
[34:38] You are to meet with Joseph. Now. In prison. And ask him. How is that dream. Coming along. I wonder. What he would have said. To you. That dream.
[34:50] Where everyone. Was bowing down to you. And you were going to be a king. If only his brother. Could see him now. They'd be laughing at him. They'd be mocking him.
[35:02] When they threw him. When they threw him. Into the pit. And you remember. What they said. Let's see. What becomes. Of his dreams. They'd be looking at him.
[35:13] Now. In prison. Laughing. Look at. What's become. Of your dreams. It was all nonsense. It hasn't come to you. It hasn't come to you.
[35:24] It hasn't come to you. It hasn't come to you. But in many ways. This is the way. The world treats a Christian. They'll mock the Christian. For believing. In the word of God.
[35:36] They'll mock the Christian. For believing. In the resurrected. Jesus Christ. They'll say it's nonsense. They'll say it's rubbish. But time.
[35:48] Will answer. These things. On Joseph's part. Things are looking great. In the situation. That he's in.
[36:02] And it appears. That his dream. To be a king. It's becoming. He's now. On his own.
[36:13] He's abandoned. In Egypt. There's no one there. To support him. There's no one there. To. To speak up. For him.
[36:25] As a slave. He's sold. Into. Potiphar's house. In the beginning. Of chapter. 37. He's gone. From being.
[36:36] This free man. In fact. Being a privileged. Son. He was a spoiled son. We touched on that. In the morning. And he's now. Become a slave. A slave. He's been humbled.
[36:47] To become a slave. But as a slave. In Potiphar's house. He proves himself. He proves his worth. He becomes. Potiphar's. Right hand man. He does everything. For him.
[36:58] Potiphar didn't have to worry. About anything. Potiphar. And. That's not a position. That just landed. In his lap. It's not a position. That he would have. Just received.
[37:09] He would have. Worked hard. He would have. Proved himself. To be someone. To be trusted. To be someone. Hard working. To be someone. Who is earnest. And diligent.
[37:20] But all the time. He trusted in God. And everything. He did. And what a witness. He was. To Potiphar. The heathen Egyptian.
[37:31] Who it says. In chapter 39. Verse 3. Recognized. That the Lord. Was in this man. The Lord. Was with him.
[37:44] And it's almost. As if we get a glimmer. Of hope. When you look at this. Potiphar. Household. Slavery experience. That maybe he will rise. To be king.
[37:55] But. Potiphar's. Wife. Attempts. To seduce him. Which he resists. And in a dramatic.
[38:07] Turn of events. He finds himself. Being falsely accused. Of rape. And being thrown. Into prison. Because of the lies.
[38:18] That Potiphar's wife. Told. So he's. He's on this downward spiral. He's been this privileged son. He's gone to be. In a slave. Almost a bound man.
[38:29] And now he's in prison. He's. Trapped. He's locked in. He said to Joseph. How's that dream of yours. Going to become king.
[38:42] The brother. Would be having a field day. Laughing at him. Not a chance. Joseph. Joseph wasn't meant.
[38:53] To be here. He did nothing wrong. Even to deserve. To be in prison. And it. Was in fact. The only reason. He was there. Because he held. Fast.
[39:04] Principles. And morals. That he had learned. About God. He wouldn't move. On them. He didn't follow the world.
[39:18] In everything he did. He was mindful. That. God was. Seeing it. And that's a good thing. For us to bear in mind. In mind. Regardless.
[39:29] Of how old we are. Even as. As boys and girls. Growing up. It is good. To be mindful. Of what God sees. When he sees. What we do.
[39:40] And how we speak. To one another. It's not the world. That's right. When they tell us. What we should do. It's the word of God.
[39:52] And we should come. To the Bible. And. And learn. How the Bible. Tells us to live. And what is good. And what is right. Not in the world's eyes. Not what. Our friends see.
[40:05] But what is good. And right. As God sees. Joseph. Lived his life. Mindful. That his. His Lord.
[40:16] Was seen. And watching over him. And he would not. Sin. To please the world. Or to please. Daniel. He wanted.
[40:28] To please God. But he's falsely accused. Because of this. He ends. Up in prison. Did you.
[40:41] Pick up. When we were reading through this. Did you pick him up. Pick up. On the complaint. That he made. When he was falsely accused. Did you pick up. On the attempt. He made. To.
[40:52] Defend himself. Did you pick up. On the moans. He made. Did you pick up. On the. Injustice. Did you have any. Cries of injustice. Did you pick up.
[41:04] On his anger. Against God. When he's falsely accused. And thrown into prison. When God's almost. Knocked him down. Again. He didn't.
[41:16] He didn't. Really there. And that's interesting. That he doesn't. It's completely. Injust. The only hint.
[41:29] We have. Of this. Is. When he makes. Really. A sensible. And. Polite. Request. To the cup. Beard.
[41:40] After telling. The dream. Presence of favor. And that's. Remember me. In verse 14. It's not. It's not a. It's not a cry. Or a complaint. It's not an anger.
[41:51] Against God. It's not hostile. It's. It's very civilized. Remember me. It tells us that. He was. In that.
[42:02] Request. That he makes. He tells us that. I was stolen. Out of the land. In verse 15. Of the Hebrews. And I have done nothing. That you should put me.
[42:13] Into the pit. Now. It's interesting to note that. When a commentator says that. To say this. That he was stolen.
[42:24] And if you base it on. The word of God. In Exodus 21. It would have. Led to a death sentence.
[42:35] For the one who kidnapped him. So. You can see that. If. The cup bearer. Had spoken. Then it could have put him.
[42:46] In. Him and his brothers. In a precarious position. If someone was. To be punished. For. Having stolen him. But.
[42:57] That wasn't God's plan. Maybe that was his plan. It wasn't God's plan. That was not his means of. Freedom.
[43:08] It was not the way. But. But the situation. He's in here. It's hard. It must have been hard. For him. He's in this downward spiral.
[43:21] Things are getting worse. And worse. He's getting. Every hit he gets. It's a harder hit. Harder hit. It's a wonder. He doesn't.
[43:32] Cry out. And say. I'm done. With you God. He doesn't. We don't get any of that. The impression. We have. As we read through it.
[43:43] Is that he accepts. God's providence. In his life. He gets up. And gets on. With what is said. Before him. He said.
[43:54] Do that. Do that. When we're in prison. In chapter 39. And verse 22. Tells us that. Whatever was done there. He was the one to do it.
[44:09] He worked hard. Even in the. Position that he was in. Even where God's providence. Had placed him. And he became. A leading figure.
[44:20] Even in that. Prison. But verse 21. Must come first. Where it says. That the Lord. Was with. Joseph.
[44:33] The Lord. Was with. And showed him. Steadfast love. And gave him. Favor. And sight. Of the keeper. Of the prison. It's easy for us.
[44:45] To read this story. But to experience it. Something. Completely different. There's a world. Of difference. Between.
[44:56] Reading this. And experiencing it. It's another. Ten times. The level. To go through it. Day. After day.
[45:08] Month. After month. Year. After year. And nothing's. Changing for him. 13 years. Joseph.
[45:19] Was in slavery. First. And then. Imprisonment. That's hard. When it goes on. For so long. The full effect.
[45:30] Isn't recorded. I don't think. It can be written. I don't know. The extent. Of your providence.
[45:41] Providence. Tonight. I do not know. Truly. What you are. Experiencing. And what difficulties. You have. We all. We all.
[45:52] Experience. Different things. We all react. Differently. To different. Challenges. In our life. What is. What can be dealt. Easily. Other people.
[46:03] Struggled. It's. It's. It's. Entirely. For us. We must be mindful. Of that. But. But where you are. Tonight.
[46:14] When you. When you look at. When you look at. What's happening. In your life. The likelihood. Is. That you would say. Yes. But this.
[46:28] This is. Has taken us. This is. God's. Providence. This is. Where he has. Placed us. Do we say. How do we respond.
[46:39] To that. Do we say. Okay. I'm going to. Deal with this. With. With every good intention. I don't think.
[46:51] That would last too long. If we do it ourselves. What we should be saying is. Lord be with me.
[47:04] Lord be with me. Every single day. Lord direct me. Lord steer me. According. To your will. And whatever. The moment is.
[47:15] Of your life. With. Trials. Sorrows. Hardships. Financial. Relationships. I don't know. The extent. Of what you are.
[47:27] Experiencing. But may your life. In that. Moment. Be one that shows. The glory of God. In some way. Joseph's.
[47:40] Lord was recognized. In him. For me. And I pray. That as. We as believers. In the Lord. We show. In us.
[47:51] In the difficulties. And trials. Of what we experience. In his providence. In his providence. It's God's providence. Not ours. It is God's glory. Not yours.
[48:03] God's glory. And when we have. That mindset. It changes everything. For us. Joseph was able. To say. To his brothers. When they arrived.
[48:15] Into Egypt. That you meant it. For evil. But God. For good. It changes that aspect. When we are struggling.
[48:26] Every single day. And we say. I can't do it anymore. And we think about. God's providence. In our lives.
[48:39] And we think about. Trusting in God. Every single day. That he would be with me. God means it for good.
[48:51] So that you can say. As Paul said. In Romans 8. For all those. That love God. All things. For good. For good. What an example. Joseph is to us.
[49:04] In that. Spiral. That he experienced. In the work. That we do. Maybe we diligent.
[49:16] Trusting in the Lord. Every day. Every morning. That we go to work. Go to school. Whatever we do. We say. Lord be with me. Because we trust in him. And we know.
[49:27] That we need him. To keep us. And to give us. The strength. Because we know. We can't do it ourselves. Lord. Be with me. That is his providence. That he is in prison. And whilst he is in prison.
[49:39] He meets with two. Prisoners. The cup bearer. And. The baker. Two prisoners. You'll notice. They're both chiefs.
[49:50] They're the best. Probably in their field of work. Boyce tells us. That they were. Honorary. Titles. Noblemen. They would have served. In the ceremonies.
[50:01] To the Egyptian gods. They would have been. The men at the front. Sinclair. Ferguson. Tells us. That. The king.
[50:12] Placed his trust. In the ones. That made the food. For him. Because of the risk. Of being poisoned. Those that. Prepared drinks. And prepared his food.
[50:23] Were the closest people. That he could trust. But now they are. In prison. And they have dreams. On the same night.
[50:35] And both different dreams. Whatever. However. It affected them. Joseph. Joseph. Straight away. When he goes in. To see them.
[50:46] They're troubled. And the word. They're. Troubled. Is to the extent. Looking ill. They're. Sick. With worry. Because of the dreams.
[50:57] That they've had. In prison. And. Why are they. So bothered. About this. They were. So vivid. We're not. Told.
[51:08] But again. When him. Tells us. That the. Egyptian. Culture. Was that. They believed. Their dreams. Put them in touch. With.
[51:19] The gods. So whenever. They had a dream. That was clear. It was God. Speaking. While they're in prison. There's no one. To interpret. Access to anyone. So Joseph.
[51:33] Sees. How. Trouble. They are. How sick. With worry. And asks them. What's wrong. And he says. In verse 8.
[51:44] Do interpretations. Not belong. He opposes. The Egyptian. Of any other. God. Of any other. Interpretation. And he says.
[51:55] God. Will interpret. Tell them. To me. To me. We have. Two dreams. And they're.
[52:06] Both. For Pharaoh. In some way. The cup. First. The cup. First. His dream. We have. In verse 9. He has a vine plant.
[52:17] Three branches. The grapes. Almost. On the. On the vine. Presses them. Into the cup. Which so happens. To be Pharaoh's cup. And he places it. In Pharaoh's hand.
[52:29] There seems to be. A little time. Between. Between this. Happening. The dream. And the interpretation. The baker. Stream.
[52:40] We see that. At verse 16. The number. Three. Appears again. He carries. Three. Baskets. Of baking.
[52:51] On his head. The top. One. Was for Pharaoh. We can assume. They are stacked. On top. Of each other. And that. Top. Basket.
[53:02] By the birds. Joseph. Interprets. That dream. And it. Doesn't look good. For the baker. It predicts. It predicts. His death. And.
[53:13] If this. Phrase. And then. Of both. Lifting. Up. Your head. Is. Something. That means. That's.
[53:24] He be honored. But it's used. In a totally. Different way. For the baker. He's lifted. His head. Is lifted. To be. Crucified. To be.
[53:35] Hung. It may be. Decapitation. There's different. Understandings. Of that. But each time. It's. There's three. Three days. And.
[53:46] Three days. Time. Pharaoh. Had a birthday. Party. He lifts. The head. It tells us. In verse 20. Of the two men. You can imagine.
[53:57] Pharaoh. How in his party. As all his servants. And he. Gets the two prisoners. To come in. Before everyone. See these two men. The best. That I have. He's going to make.
[54:09] An example. Of them. The cup. Barrel. The baker. Was. Led away. To be killed. And it sounds harsh. Because we don't have the details.
[54:20] Of what happened. We don't know. What the. Crime was. What they committed. Was there any difference. To the sins. Was it just one. That was caught. We don't know.
[54:31] The. But the interpretation. Of Joseph. Dead on the money. It was. Spot on. And he proves himself. To be the master. Of dreams. Just as his brothers.
[54:43] Had mocked him. He is. The master. Of dreams. But his words. Are simple. And plain. But they're hard. For the providence.
[54:56] For the prisoners. And we've got the plain truth. To conclude. In three days time. They were brought. Into the presence.
[55:07] Of the king. Of Pharaoh. And I wonder. How they felt. After being told. The interpretation. What do you. What do you think.
[55:18] After the interpretation. They've got. Three. Two or three days. To stew on it. Were they scared. Were they worried. Were they saying. Is this man right.
[55:30] Is this man. Telling the truth. Did they dismiss. Everything as lies. We had that. In the morning. That they would doubt.
[55:43] Dismiss. Or disbelieve. Well on day three. It became very true. Very quickly.
[55:54] For them. For them. Joseph here. Like a middle man. He's communicating. What God is saying. To them. That's just what the prophet did.
[56:08] In the Old Testament. He would communicate. God's message. To them. Blessings are courteous. Being good. Or being bad. And the simple bones.
[56:19] Of this message is. One will serve the king. And one will die. One will die. One will die. One will die. One will die. But that's the plain truth. The truth of the gospel.
[56:30] In the Bible. That's the plain truth. Before each of us. This evening. It is a time. To live. And a time. To die. The Bible.
[56:44] The Bible. To us. This evening. As a warning. That you can live. Eternally. Or die. Eternally. But the good news.
[56:55] Of Jesus Christ. Is the plain. Truth. To us. In him. We shall have life. And have it. Eternally. And it was mentioned.
[57:07] In the morning. Is like a prison. To us. Sin. Holds us. Locked in. But Jesus Christ. Sets us free.
[57:19] Holds us in death. But Jesus Christ. Gives us life. Has a message. Asking. To trust. Every day. In everything.
[57:31] You do. Give your life. To him. I will trust in you. Be with me. Lord. The plain.
[57:43] Truth. Of the Bible. Is that Jesus. Loves you. Each and every one of us. That he loves us. That he. Died. For you. But he loved you.
[57:56] Enough. To tell you. That there's only two ways. To die. For me. It's heaven. Not heaven. The one who believes.
[58:08] In him. Will live. And live forever. For me. And everyone. That stands here.
[58:19] And preaches the gospel. Wants you to understand. The seriousness. Of this. The seriousness. of the Bible's message, Jesus' message, the gospel message, that you understand that there's only two ways this goes.
[58:38] It's one or the other. And we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, that you would run to Jesus Christ and cling to him every single day so that you know it's not hell.
[58:53] And you trust in his promises that it'll be heaven. Jesus makes all the difference. Jesus is the one that will judge between men, women, boys and girls.
[59:08] We will be the ones called into his presence. And he will make the difference for eternity for us. Three days, he said, Joseph.
[59:30] What if that is what you heard tonight? Three days? Monday? Tuesday?
[59:40] Wednesday? What does Wednesday mean? What's the options? It's heaven? Or it's hell?
[59:52] We don't need an interpreter for this. It's the plain truth of sin and salvation. And it's not an easy message at times to deliver.
[60:11] But it's the duty of those that preach the gospel. That we preach it simply and plainly to you so that you go running to Christ.
[60:24] Because you don't even have three days. You might not have three days. We don't know. We don't know. We don't know if we have three hours. But we see the urgency of the matter.
[60:37] And we realise how God will judge us. So we run to Christ and we ask him to go with us every day. And that we will cling to him no matter what our providence is in this life.
[60:54] The difficulties and hardships. That we will not leave him. And that he will not leave us. That we will hold fast to what he teaches us in the Bible.
[61:06] And that we honour God with our lives and our work and all that we do. We will profess his name before those who do not believe as Joseph did when he interpreted the dreams.
[61:20] It is the Lord my God to be steadfast and sometimes contrary to the world. If we honour God honour his name honour him with our lives and give him all the glory in whatever providence we are in he is the one that will honour you with eternal life forever and all in the presence of the King.
[61:49] what a thought what a provision he has made for us. Pray that his thoughts will be blessed to us.
[61:59] we will conclude in our worship by singing in Mission Praise 51 Mission Praise 51 Be thy my vision O Lord of my heart not be all else to me save the save that thou art sorry I'm going to hold it we'll stand to sing this hymn to God's praise Be thy my vision O Lord of my heart Be thou my vision O Lord of my heart not be all else to me save that thou art thou my best God by day or by night
[63:06] Waking or sleeping thy presence my light Be thou my wisdom thou my true word I ever with thee thou with me Lord thou my great father I thy true son thou with me clearly and I with thee one Be thou my path to shield sword for the fight Be thou my dignity thou my delight
[64:14] Thou my soul shelter thou my high tower raise thou me heavenward O power of my power richest I heed nor nor man's empty praise thou mine inheritest now and always thou and thou only first in my heart high high King of heaven, my treasure thou art.
[65:13] High King of heaven, after victory won, may I reach heaven's joy so bright and sound.
[65:32] Part of my own heart, whatever before, still be my vision, O ruler of all.
[65:52] Conclude with prayer. Our Father in heaven, we pray that you would be our vision in all aspects of our lives, and that we would cling to you and your promises, and that we would honour you with our lives, holding fast to you as our Saviour, who died on the cross for his account.
[66:10] Watch over us and bless us. We pray for the youth fellowship that meet after them. Bless them likewise. Forgive us our sins. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you.