WEBVTT - The Power Of Interpretation 0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:05.120 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdik. I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:07.040 and this is our podcast and I wanted to thank 0:00:07.080 --> 0:00:10.399 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.400 --> 0:00:12.480 it builds your faith. Hope it gives you perspective to 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:15.280 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.480 --> 0:00:20.400 Let's go in our bibles now to Genesis chapter forty 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:24.000 for the final week of our series. Trigger at least 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:26.639 I think it's the final week, but we'll preach it 0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:29.880 and see what happens. I had been preaching about taking 0:00:29.920 --> 0:00:32.240 back your mind in the age of anxiety. But looking 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:36.279 at you, you seem to be completely now free of stress, 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:39.559 and it seems as if you have gotten the message, 0:00:39.880 --> 0:00:42.800 and we can call it quits after today. But this 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:45.000 last message that I want to bring to you, I 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.319 hope will be as profound to you hearing it as 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:49.519 it was to me as I studied for it, And 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:51.560 ask that you consider it peerfully, because it's one of 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:54.160 those messages where if you try to understand it with 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:56.840 your mind, you won't get the most out of it. 0:00:57.080 --> 0:00:58.920 But if you'll listen at a different level and see 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:01.200 what God wants to speak to you. I believe that 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:04.160 he will welcome to every single location. I pray that 0:01:04.160 --> 0:01:06.520 you would lean into this word wherever you are and 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:11.040 receive something from the Lord. Genesis, chapter forty, verse five. 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:13.520 Let's jump right into the middle of it. And one 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:15.920 night they both dreamed, the cupbearer and the baker in 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:18.800 the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:24.040 each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation. 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:27.920 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:31.679 that they were trouble. So he asked Pharaoh's officers, who 0:01:31.680 --> 0:01:34.319 were with him in custody in his master's house, why 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:37.880 are your faces downcast today? And they said to him, 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:39.560 we have had dreams and there is no one to 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:44.360 interpret them. And Joseph said to them, do not interpretations 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:48.560 belong to God? That was the question that got me 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:51.280 started on this quest to preach this message today. Do 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:56.320 not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me. 0:01:57.240 --> 0:01:58.840 Now I'm going to do something kind of weird. I'm 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:00.840 going to go to a new Testament scripture, one verse 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:05.160 of scripture that doesn't seem to go together on the 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:07.400 surface with the one I just read, but it does 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:11.400 seem like, you know, peanut, butter and mayonnaise, but it's 0:02:11.440 --> 0:02:16.880 really jelly. So go to First Corinthians fourteen three, and 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:19.800 here Paul is giving some instructions to the Corinthian Church 0:02:20.040 --> 0:02:24.000 about orderly worship, and he says, therefore, one who speaks 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:30.240 in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. Again, therefore, 0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:34.120 one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:37.600 power to interpret. I want to lift that phrase from 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:39.560 my message title today and talk to you about the 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:45.080 power of interpretation. Very very, very good stuff come in 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:47.840 your way today from the word of God, not from me, 0:02:48.480 --> 0:02:51.760 but from God. And that's really the starting point for me. 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:54.400 I realize that you come to church not to hear 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:59.520 my opinion, but to hear a correct interpretation of the 0:02:59.520 --> 0:03:03.240 Word of God for your life and an application so 0:03:03.320 --> 0:03:07.080 that it is not only a historical document, but so 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:10.320 that it becomes flesh, and so that the Spirit of 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:14.520 God would breathe into your situation. Understanding this, I've already 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:18.720 mentioned that many backgrounds attend church. And when I read 0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:24.480 First Corinthians fourteen, verse thirteen, and Paul is talking about 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:29.640 speaking in tongues, you know half the church had flashbacks. 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:33.560 And if you really want to start a good YouTube 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:38.320 food fight, just talk about tongues in the church, because 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:43.200 some people have a private prayer language where they speak 0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:46.160 in tongues, and it is very beautiful and helpful to 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:48.800 many of us who believe in Jesus to pray that way. 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:51.160 But yet other people have been told, well, if you 0:03:51.280 --> 0:03:54.320 don't speak in tongues, you're not full of the Holy Spirit. 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:57.200 Never mind the fact that Paul here is saying that 0:03:57.320 --> 0:04:00.360 every spiritual gift is only given to build others up, 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:04.480 not to showcase your status and how much more spiritual 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:07.680 you are. I mean, spiritual gifts are just that there 0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:11.400 are gifts. And what's far more important to God than 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:15.120 us going around condescending to others because of our spiritual gift, 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:17.760 is that we would cultivate the fruit of the Spirit 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:22.799 in our lives. Things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:25.880 and self control. These are the graces God would have 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:28.919 us to grow in. But right now, if I really 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:34.040 preached on First Corinthians fourteen thirteen, the Elevation Church YouTube 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:37.320 comment section would get busier than it ever has in 0:04:37.360 --> 0:04:40.760 the history. I don't know how you type in tongues 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:43.880 on a YouTube comment. But Paul is saying here what 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:47.720 really matters isn't what is said as much as the 0:04:47.760 --> 0:04:52.599 interpretation of it, because you know what's true here about 0:04:52.640 --> 0:04:55.960 this spiritual gift of speaking in tongues where one person 0:04:56.040 --> 0:04:59.680 may speak in a heavenly language and someone needs to 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:02.800 in turn so that it can be understood. It is 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:07.960 not only true about languages. It is true about life 0:05:08.600 --> 0:05:11.919 to really live successfully, or maybe we could say a 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:17.920 more biblical word faithfully for God, I need the correct interpretation. 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:23.440 Touch somebody next to you and say I need an interpretation. Yeah, 0:05:23.440 --> 0:05:26.080 I need an interpretation to be a good husband, because 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:29.840 men and women are different. And if I don't learn 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:34.679 to interpret, if I don't learn to understand that nothing 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:38.120 is wrong does not mean literally on the surface, nothing 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:41.040 is wrong. And by the way, most people when they 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:46.680 say literally, it doesn't mean literally. I literally died. Think 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:49.960 you mean figuratively. Touch somebody, say I need an interpretation. 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:54.839 I need an interpretation to be able to raise my kids, 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:57.839 you know, because I'll be thinking they're ungrateful when really 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:01.880 they're just adolescent. And if you want to play back 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:05.120 the tape from when I was their age, well let's 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:08.360 don't do that touch somebody say I need an interpretation. 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:12.559 That's what Paul is talking about. And really no one's 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:17.039 life illustrates this more than the Old Testament character Joseph. 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:19.919 I mentioned him, and I read this scripture that I 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:26.080 want to revisit now in Genesis chapter forty, concerning the 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:30.599 power of interpretation. Well, you know, Joseph's life could be 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:37.920 used to illustrate injustice. He was abused and actually survived, 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:44.480 and a near assassination from his brothers, and years later 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:48.719 in his life he was dealing with false allegations of 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:52.960 sexual misconduct and that landed him in prison, which is 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:56.520 what put him in this position in Genesis chapter forty, 0:06:57.400 --> 0:07:00.760 the situation he was in, okay, principle number one and 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:02.920 this is not coming up on the screen, So you know, 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:05.359 write it down if it seems like it's worth writing 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:08.040 down to you, if you just got to write something down, 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:10.360 write this down. My situation is not as important as 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:12.680 my interpretation of my situation. I don't mean to sound 0:07:12.720 --> 0:07:14.440 like doctor SEUs to you, but what I'm trying to 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:17.600 say is a lot of times we want an intervention 0:07:17.760 --> 0:07:22.040 from God in our situation. Instead of that, God will 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:27.080 often give us a different interpretation of the situation, and 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:30.040 he won't necessarily change it. He will change us in 0:07:30.080 --> 0:07:34.600 the way we see our situation. And one of the 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:38.040 reasons we fight in church is because we don't respect 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:41.840 that other believers could read the same scripture that we 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:46.600 read and have a different interpretation, and other people could 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:49.800 watch the same news stories that we watch and have 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:54.600 a different interpretation, because interpretation is based on many different 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:57.440 things and filtered through the lens of your life experiences 0:07:57.480 --> 0:08:01.960 and your cultural background and even your intellectual ability, and 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:03.640 some of us don't have as much to work with, 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:06.240 and so you know, we see things more simple than 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.840 they really are, and they're really complex. And you know, 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:12.600 somebody says this about evolution, and somebody says this about creation. 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:15.880 But we're reading the same story with a different interpretation. 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:18.960 And it doesn't necessarily mean that you're wrong and I'm right, 0:08:19.080 --> 0:08:21.160 and you're going to hell and I'm going to heaven. 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:23.920 And we get so triggered going off on people who 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.080 believe in the same God. But just because I have 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:29.080 a different interpretation doesn't give you the right to be 0:08:29.240 --> 0:08:32.800 God and tell me that my interpretation is not valid. 0:08:33.880 --> 0:08:35.880 Come on, clap like that blessed you, even though I 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:42.120 know its stepped on your toes a little bit. All right, 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:45.520 So Joseph is in prison and he should be in 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:48.960 a bad mood. He should be having pity party, day 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:51.319 number seven hundred and forty three of his pity party, 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:54.559 since Potterphar's wife said, you know that he tried to 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:58.200 rape her, and he should be reflecting on all of 0:08:58.240 --> 0:09:00.800 his brothers trying to kill him, and yet he had 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:03.680 the presence of mine, like Reggie Miller in the thirty 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:06.839 for thirty doc where he says, to these men who 0:09:06.840 --> 0:09:13.600 are in prison with him, what's wrong? You look sad? Now? 0:09:13.600 --> 0:09:17.200 Imagine you've had his life, but you still are looking 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:19.240 at others through the lens of what's wrong with them? 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:24.560 And imagine you have so much resentment and you're in prison. 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:29.480 But yeah, you were able to still release empathy instead 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:33.040 of living in your own resentment. Y'all. I am preaching 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:34.839 so hard right now, and I don't even have to 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:39.080 raise my voice to do it. He said, what's the 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:47.040 matter with you, you man? And they said to him, 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:48.640 we've had dreams and there's no one to interpreted him. 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:51.160 Joseph said, do not interpretations belong to God. Now know 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:54.760 this why he didn't say I have the power of 0:09:54.880 --> 0:10:00.000 grat skul, I have the power of interpretation. He said, 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:06.960 God can make sense of this. I believe deep down 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:09.520 in your soul. That's why you came to church. Because 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:13.320 only God can make sense of some of the things 0:10:14.080 --> 0:10:17.640 that I feel and that I'm going through. And I 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:21.080 need God to make sense of this. So Joseph said, look, 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:24.120 how polite he is. Please tell them to me, please, 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:27.800 I want to help you. And the chief cup bearer 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:30.000 who used to bring pharaoh is wine said, well, it 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:32.160 was weird man. I'm gonna just tell you like I 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:34.200 dreamed it. Because in the Old Testament, you know, they 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:37.240 put a lot more stock in their dreams than we 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:41.240 do today. And I don't think that you should necessarily 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:43.680 think every dream that you have comes from God either. Okay, 0:10:44.520 --> 0:10:46.560 it's pizza. A lot of the times has had nothing 0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:49.000 to do with the Lord or your purpose in life. 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:53.280 But when the man started talking, he said, it was 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:56.240 a vine that I saw in my dream, and then 0:10:56.280 --> 0:10:59.360 there were like three branches coming off the vine, and 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:03.000 then they they were like ripe right away, and all 0:11:03.040 --> 0:11:04.640 three of them we are filled with grapes. I started 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:07.600 squeezing the grapes, and I was holding Pharaoh's cup and 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:10.240 I handed it back to him. What does that mean? 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:23.080 Joseph's like three branches three days. In three days, we 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:25.480 could preach about that, couldn't wait from the perspective of 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:27.880 something else that happened after three days. But we're not 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:32.720 going to do that today. He said, three days, Pharaoh's 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:34.080 going to lift your head, put you back in your 0:11:34.160 --> 0:11:38.120 rightful position. This is the interpretation. And now I remember 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:41.760 there were two men and they both had dreams, and 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:45.120 the other one standing over and he hears the interpretation 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:48.080 that Joseph gave to the cupbearer. But he's the Pharaoh's 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:51.440 chief baker. And apparently Pharaoh is easily triggered because he 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:52.959 threw both of them in prison. But we don't know 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:55.640 what for. Maybe the brought him pumper nickel and he 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:57.720 really wanted rye or something like that, or the East 0:11:57.800 --> 0:12:01.320 rolls weren't hot, and so when he brings it out 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:05.880 the bread, maybe Pharaoh flies off the handle. And Joseph's 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:09.080 life can be understood through many different constructs, but one 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:11.720 way to look at it is there three major interpretations. 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:15.720 This is the first one. He tells the cupbearer three days, 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:18.840 Pharaoh's gonna put you back in your position. The baker 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:21.280 hears this, while Joseph is saying, and when you get 0:12:21.280 --> 0:12:24.400 out of here, mention me to Pharaoh because I don't 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:28.520 deserve to be here. So don't forget your boy who 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:36.040 came through. When you get out. And the baker now 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:39.000 he's waiting his turn in line because he wants out 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:44.400 of Shawshank as well. And so he says, ooh, ooh, ooh, 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:47.200 do mine do my dream? I had a dream too, 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:49.839 Can you do my dream? And Joseph says, tell me 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:53.480 your dream? Do not interpretations belong to God, And so 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:57.000 he's expecting a favorable interpretation, and he has a similar 0:12:57.120 --> 0:12:59.840 dream that's different in just a small, tiny little way. 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:03.000 He says, okay, I had three, not three branches on 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:05.240 a vine, because I don't do the cup beer thing. 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:07.760 I had three baskets of bread and they were all 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:10.800 full of bread. And then some birds came in my dream. 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:13.760 I know it sounds weird, but they started eating the 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:17.960 bread off my head. And Joseph said, oh no, And 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:21.000 he said oh no, he said, yeah, it means this 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:24.400 is this the interpretation, this is what it means. Three 0:13:24.480 --> 0:13:28.560 days Pharaoh's gonna lift up your head, uh huh and 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:31.160 cut it off, and then the birds are going to 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:35.520 eat your flesh. And then Joseph took up an offering. 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.360 But see, he didn't have the power to make the 0:13:41.440 --> 0:13:45.520 dream mean what he wanted it to mean. What he 0:13:45.600 --> 0:13:48.600 had to do was seek God to say, what does 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:52.840 this mean? And one meaning was you're going to be 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:55.600 restored to your position, that's the stuff that preaches good. 0:13:56.400 --> 0:14:00.800 And one meaning is you know you're you're actually you're 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:03.920 actually you're actually gonna be dead three days from now. 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:07.360 But it was the same power that enabled him to 0:14:07.400 --> 0:14:11.280 interpret both dreams, and it happened just like Joseph predicted. 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:16.760 The interpretation was accurate. Three days later, the baker was 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:22.520 dead and the cupbearer was free. Only he forgot about Joseph, 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:26.000 have you ever done something for somebody? Have you ever 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.480 helped somebody move when they moved out of their apartment 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:32.280 into their house, and when it came time for you 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:36.520 to move, their truck was having some issues. Has it 0:14:36.560 --> 0:14:39.680 ever happened to you? Have you ever raised your kids? 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:41.400 And then they got out of the house and acted 0:14:41.440 --> 0:14:43.280 like they were too busy for you and the cats 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:45.840 in the cradle. Well, you can relate to Joseph because 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:50.680 he was forgotten in prison until one day Pharaoh. This 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:54.200 is the second interpretation, and there're three. This one gets 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:56.840 more difficult. It kind of goes in stages of interpretation 0:14:57.720 --> 0:15:01.760 where Pharaoh has a dream and he gathers all of 0:15:01.800 --> 0:15:05.680 the magicians in his court to interpret his dream. Watch 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:08.680 what the Bible says. I believe this Genesis forty one. Yeah, 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:13.440 verse fifteen. Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, 0:15:13.640 --> 0:15:15.760 and there is no one who can interpret it. I 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:18.080 have heard it said of you that when you hear 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:21.000 a dream, you can interpret it. Now, how did Joseph 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:23.200 get in front of Pharaoh? I thought he was in prison. Well, 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:28.960 here's what happened. When Pharaoh had a problem, Joseph had 0:15:28.960 --> 0:15:34.960 an opportunity. I must say that again. When Pharaoh came 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:39.160 upon something that he could not solve with his resources, 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:44.320 it created an opportunity for someone who knew how to 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:50.200 interpret the times, the situation, and to bring forth the solution. 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:54.360 Here's why I pointed that out, because sometimes we run 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:58.640 from stuff that God has introduced in order to bring 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:03.880 us into the opportunity that we were praying for. And 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:06.600 when Pharaoh had a dream, it was a strange dream, 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:09.440 and he brought Joseph and said, man, I heard about you. 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:12.720 And Joseph said, it's about time that dude was supposed 0:16:12.760 --> 0:16:16.120 to tell you about me two years ago. But see, 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:20.160 sometimes God will allow people to forget about you because 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:23.160 he knows where you need to be for the moment 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:25.760 you need to come forth. And if you don't have 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:28.560 a relationship with God, you won't know what to do 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:34.880 with yourself in those times where you feel imprisoned and confined. 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:39.360 All right, So he said, heard about you. There's no 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:41.720 one who can interpret my dream, but I have heard 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:47.480 it said of you that you are really, really brilliant 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:49.840 at this dream interpretation stuff, So give it a shot. 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:54.160 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, it's not in me. What a 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:58.800 way to start your opportunity Go for a job interview 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:06.400 talking about I'm not the one. But he said something 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:08.080 similar to what he said in verse forty, and you 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:10.760 start to see a pattern. He said, it's not in me. 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:15.200 God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer, So let's hear it, 0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:21.320 because the power of interpretation is not in me. I'll 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:24.600 get it wrong. I've learned that about myself. I'll get 0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:28.439 it wrong every time. Even preaching, I will mess the 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:32.040 whole thing up. If I preach from the perspective of 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:36.480 how I interpret that you are receiving the message, I 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:40.520 start getting nervous because really, when you're listening the most 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:42.800 you look angry. I'm gonna tell you that about yourself. 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:47.480 When I'm really doing good, your eyebrows start making a 0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:51.240 queue up there, and you start you start hunching forward. 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:53.639 And even when I'm really preaching good, you cross your 0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:56.200 arms because I just offended something that you've been clinging to, 0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:58.000 that God really wanted to pry out of your heart. 0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:01.879 So when you start leaning back and stuff, start doing 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:07.119 all this. One woman one time looked like she was 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:09.280 sleeping in my sermon. I realized she was praying for me. 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:13.880 He took me twenty minutes into sermon. I was so offended. 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:17.919 And I've learned this about myself. I will interpret it 0:18:17.960 --> 0:18:22.080 wrong every time, because the power of interpretation is to 0:18:22.080 --> 0:18:26.040 get into the presence of God. Watch this and say, God, 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:29.439 what are you saying, what are you doing? What do 0:18:29.520 --> 0:18:33.560 you want to speak? And Joseph from that place of humility. 0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:37.840 Here's Pharaoh's dream. And Pharaoh starts talking about cows. He's like, oh, 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:41.440 there were seven fat cows and seven skinny cows. I 0:18:41.480 --> 0:18:43.520 don't know why Pharaoh's talking like this, it must be 0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:48.160 southern Egypt. But he's like, the fat cows. First came 0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:50.600 the fat cows, then came to skinny cows, and skinny cows. 0:18:50.600 --> 0:18:52.520 Eight the fat cows, and there were fat stalks and 0:18:52.600 --> 0:18:54.720 skinny stalks, and it's a great story you can read sometimes. 0:18:54.800 --> 0:18:58.240 But Joseph's, oh, that's easy. Seven years of plenty. That's 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:00.000 the fat cows, seven years of famine, that skinny caut 0:19:00.840 --> 0:19:03.840 and if you save up during this fat years, you 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:07.359 can make it in the lean years. And Pharaoh said, 0:19:07.440 --> 0:19:09.440 I need somebody smart to put in charge of saving 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:12.320 up during the fat years. I need somebody to manage 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:14.920 my fat cows. And Joseph said, well, hey, if you 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:17.400 need somebody to manage the fat cows, maybe the guy 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:19.439 who told you about the fat cows would be the 0:19:19.440 --> 0:19:22.480 one to manage the fat cows. And Pharaoh said, you're 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:25.400 the man. And he's second in command of all of 0:19:25.440 --> 0:19:32.600 Egypt because of what the power of and if he 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:37.080 would have given his opinion in that moment, or if 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:42.480 he would have interpreted that opportunity through the lens of 0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:46.040 his own pain, he would not have had the clarity 0:19:46.760 --> 0:19:51.919 to see God and see what God is doing. The 0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:55.280 second interpretation, and here's the third one. Okay, there's a pattern. 0:19:55.320 --> 0:20:01.439 Here's three branches on the vinus, three interpretations and joseph life. 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:03.639 And this one, this last one that I want to 0:20:03.680 --> 0:20:06.920 show you, is going to be the most difficult of all, 0:20:07.200 --> 0:20:10.480 because now Joseph has to interpret not the prisoner's dream, 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:13.960 the cup baker, cup baker, it's new things. Cup baker 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:17.200 bakes cups, the cup bearer, and the baker. But the 0:20:18.680 --> 0:20:25.800 second interpretation of Pharaoh's dream was easy in comparison to 0:20:25.960 --> 0:20:30.800 Joseph's final test, when he had to interpret his own dream, 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:34.120 and to do that he had to face his own pain, 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:36.920 because remember I told you when he was seventeen years old, 0:20:36.920 --> 0:20:42.840 he had a dream where he saw all these sheaves 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:45.560 of grain that his brothers were out in the field harvesting, 0:20:46.160 --> 0:20:48.560 and his was at the middle, and they all bowed 0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:53.920 down to him. And perhaps in his immature eagerness to 0:20:53.960 --> 0:20:57.080 be important, he went and told his brothers what he saw, 0:20:57.880 --> 0:20:59.560 and that's one of the reasons they hated him. I 0:20:59.560 --> 0:21:02.600 mean many reasons. His father liked him better because he 0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:06.119 came from the wife Rachel that Jacob really loved, and 0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:09.240 his dad gave him this Gucci coat, and so many 0:21:09.280 --> 0:21:13.320 reasons why he was hated and theirs her from Target. 0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:17.159 But it's crazy because you know now he's standing in 0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:18.919 front of him. I read you the passage, and you 0:21:18.960 --> 0:21:21.840 imagine how emotional this would have been. Because the famine 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:24.000 that Joseph predicted is now in full swing. It's been 0:21:24.040 --> 0:21:26.080 seven years of plenty. Joseph has stored up all the 0:21:26.080 --> 0:21:29.760 supplies and so they're ready for it. But he won't 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:32.040 ready for this because two years into the famine, seven 0:21:32.119 --> 0:21:34.520 years of plenty, and two years into the seven year famine, 0:21:35.160 --> 0:21:39.200 Jacob sends all of his boys, Joseph's brothers, to Egypt 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:41.280 because he heard there was grain there, and Joseph is 0:21:41.320 --> 0:21:43.959 the one who's in control of the pantry. Now. Sometimes 0:21:44.040 --> 0:21:46.360 God will test you by putting you in a position 0:21:46.440 --> 0:21:48.760 to see how you will deal with somebody who hurt you, 0:21:53.600 --> 0:21:56.080 and how you interpret that moment has everything to do 0:21:56.160 --> 0:22:00.159 with what happens next and how much God can trust you, 0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:02.960 and I'm gonna read it to you just like It 0:22:03.000 --> 0:22:06.000 says that in verse one from verse one of Genesis 0:22:06.000 --> 0:22:09.000 forty five, he's been with his brothers. This is the 0:22:09.000 --> 0:22:12.080 second time that he's seen them. He's been dealing with 0:22:13.840 --> 0:22:17.080 a wide array I'm sure of different instincts and impulses 0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:20.679 of how he should deal with them. He hasn't let 0:22:20.760 --> 0:22:23.840 them know yet who he is because he's dressed like 0:22:23.880 --> 0:22:28.119 an Egyptian, and so they don't recognize him. You know, 0:22:28.240 --> 0:22:31.240 some people in your life don't recognize the you that 0:22:31.320 --> 0:22:35.200 you are now, not only because of what you've been 0:22:35.240 --> 0:22:37.080 through in life, but because God has taken you to 0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:41.160 a different place. And what he did this is very interesting. 0:22:41.200 --> 0:22:42.919 In Genesis forty two, it says he spoke to them 0:22:42.920 --> 0:22:47.080 through an interpreter, so he pretended like he couldn't understand them, 0:22:47.320 --> 0:22:49.680 and he played tricks on him. It's an epic story. 0:22:49.720 --> 0:22:51.720 We can't preach it today because this is one principle 0:22:51.760 --> 0:22:54.080 I'm trying to illustrate, but it would be well worth 0:22:54.119 --> 0:22:56.800 your time to invest about forty five minutes and read 0:22:56.840 --> 0:22:59.600 the whole thing. But when he finally decided to reveal 0:22:59.640 --> 0:23:04.359 himself to his brothers, it triggered that trauma of the 0:23:04.440 --> 0:23:07.760 day when he was so hated by them that they 0:23:07.880 --> 0:23:10.240 dipped his robe in animal blood and sold him to 0:23:10.280 --> 0:23:13.879 the Ishmaelit caravan, and he ended up separated from everything 0:23:13.920 --> 0:23:17.680 that he knew. And in the Bible says in verse one, 0:23:17.920 --> 0:23:22.159 Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood 0:23:22.160 --> 0:23:26.400 by him, and so he cried, make everyone go out 0:23:26.440 --> 0:23:30.159 from me, so no one stayed with him. When Joseph 0:23:30.240 --> 0:23:34.800 made himself known to his brothers, he's all alone in 0:23:34.840 --> 0:23:37.480 front of the thing that hurt him, in front of 0:23:37.520 --> 0:23:41.560 the unfair situation that started this whole chain of events 0:23:41.560 --> 0:23:44.440 in his life. And now he has to decide how 0:23:44.440 --> 0:23:49.239 to interpret this encounter. And I'm preaching right to your 0:23:49.240 --> 0:23:52.320 life today, because you're standing in front of something that 0:23:52.440 --> 0:23:55.719 hurt you. You're standing in front of some things that 0:23:56.280 --> 0:23:59.160