January 26, 2021 – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Chapters: Genesis 40-42
Message: God’s Dream Revealed

Hello My Friend,

Yesterday we talked about how God has big dreams for us, today we are going to talk about how we can know what His dreams for us are. Sometimes we may think that we are in God’s will when we are not, or we may think we are failing Him when we are not. Well, God does teach us how to interpret His dream for us, [Luke 12:29-31 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.]

[But rather seek ye the kingdom of God;] God’s dream for us is not for us to go after what the world has to offer, rather the things He has to offer. When we seek the kingdom of God first we actually become witnesses for Him, and in turn, He will give us the very things we need to live a good and prosperous life. Joseph had big dreams from God, he was going to be a ruler somewhere, one in which his own brothers and father would reverence him. At this point, it sure did not look like his dream was going to come true, he had been sold to by his own brothers, than into slavery, falsely accused of being an attempted rapist, and now is in prison. Two more men would join him in the prison, a butler and a baker from the kings staff, they both had dreams the same night and were distraught, Joseph offered to help them figure out what they meant.

[Genesis 40:1,3,5–8 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt. And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly to day? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.]

[Do not interpretations belong to God?] Okay, sometimes life is not at all what we expect it to be, and let me tell you, it takes a lot of trial and error to learn what God is telling us through those dreams. I swear, every other day I am asking God if I made a right or wrong decision, but I cannot keep dwelling on what was, I must look at now, and keep pressing toward the dream that He has for me, [Philippians 3:14-15 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.]

[God shall reveal even this unto you.] God does not change, and speaks to us in many ways, including in our sleep, which is not our subconscious thinking them, rather the Holy Spirit. And God’s dreams are not those nightmares that we get in our sleep, they are His revealing to us the things we need to know. And yes, it is His Word that helps us interpret what it is that those dreams for us are. First, the butler tells Joseph his dream,

[Genesis 40:9-14 And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: And Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:]

[behold, a vine was before me;] Jesus is the vine that every believer gets grafted into once they receive Him as their Saviour. That vine is what restores our soul from death, and we actually stand before our Father as though we have never sinned, [John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.]

[for without me ye can do nothing.] There is no doubt that God forgives and even forgets all our sins the second we receive Christ as our Saviour, but many are led to believe that salvation is an instant fix of all their problems, and when they discover it is not they bolt. Salvation is the key that opens the door to God, but just because we are saved and walking with Him that does not mean we will never have anything bad happen to us again. It does mean that we are a branch on that vine, and Jesus will always be there to see us through. If we have believed in vain or never never accepted Him, then our dream will become a nightmare. Now, when the baker heard that the butler’s dream was good, he eagerly told Joseph his dream, only, it was not good news.

[Genesis 40:16-23 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, I had three white baskets on my head: And in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand: But he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.]

[and shall hang thee on a tree;] No one wants to hear that they are going to die and end up in hell for their sin, but we must tell them. The one amazing thing is that unlike the baker, we can be saved from death, and that is Jesus Christ. Jesus, in fact, hung on a tree to save us from that horrible death, and is the only one who can restore our relationship with God, [Romans 5:8-10 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.]

The butler actually did remember Joseph, but it was not for two years, this was when the Pharaoh had some bad dreams himself. [Genesis 41:1,5,8-10,12,14 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river. And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker: And there was there with us a young man, an Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.]

[and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment,] Did you know that you do not need to come to Christ all cleaned up? Since we are, but filthy rags, we come to Him just as we are, and guess what? He actually cleans us up and changes our clothes for us, we are no longer filthy rags, but brand new, as though we have just come off the sewing machine, [Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.]

Why did it take two years for God to plant that dream into the Pharaoh’s head? It is all about His timing. This was Joseph’s dream in the making, perhaps God was preparing Joseph for being a ruler in a strange country. Pharaoh called for Joseph, and he immediately cleaned himself up so that he could stand before him honorable.

[Genesis 41:25,29-33 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous. And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.]

[it is because the thing is established by God,] Remember, God always knows what we are headed for, even His faithful must face some famines in life, but He lets us know ahead of time so that we can be prepared. Jesus will return, and we must be prepared, if we are not, then we are not going to know what hit us, [I Thessalonians 5:2-4 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.]

Let me tell you, while the world will never accept Christ, they have no problem putting Christ’s people in charge of their goods as they know they can be trusted. After twenty years as a servant and prisoner since he told his brothers and father his dreams they were coming true. [Genesis 41:37-40,45,50-52 And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.]

[a man in whom the Spirit of God is?] Do not let the world fool you, they may not follow God themselves, but they will trust one who is godly over one who is not to oversee their business. Zaph’nath-pa-ane’ah, means; the preserver of the age. God used Joseph to preserve life not only for the people of Egypt, but nations surrounding them, including Canaan. The famine was great there as well, when Jacob learned that there was food in Egypt, he sent his sons, except for Benjamin to buy some.

[Genesis 41:56-57 And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands. Genesis 42:1-4,8 Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another? And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die. And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.]

[And Joseph knew his brethren,] From their view, Joseph was an Egyptian, not to mention he spoke the language so they really had no way of recognizing him. Joseph saw this as an opportunity to find out about them after all these years, and he actually called them spies, [Genesis 42:13-17 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies: Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them all together into ward three days.]

[And he put them all together into ward three days.] Remember, these are adults in their thirties and forties, Benjamin, was maybe twenty-eight. They knew that Joseph was not dead, or they had hoped he was not, which was why they said one was not with any of them, meaning Joseph. Those three days gave them something to talk about, [Genesis 42:21-25 And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way: and thus did he unto them.]

[and to restore every man’s money into his sack,] Our money is no good to God, but our souls are, there is not one soul that He does not provide the only way for them to be saved. And should we accept Christ as our Saviour, we are restored, and able to stand before God as though we never sinned, [1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.]

Jesus Christ Magnified: [Genesis 41:14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.]

Today’s Prayer: God, You do have a dream for all of us, if we seek You first, we will never need to worry about food, shelter, or where we will be when our souls leave this earth. We may not always see You working in our lives or that Your presence is even with us, but that is when You are preparing to fulfill those dreams. Lord, When I am discouraged, and have no clue what is going on, lift up my spirit, and remind me of the hope of Your kingdom that I know is awaiting me. You are my strength and guide, without You, I am, but filthy rags, by faith, I am white as snow and as wool. I pray these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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