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THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH

Genesis 39:1-6
MAY 1, 2016
Dr. Danny Forshee

- The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was a

fascinating figure and what a legacy he has left behind. Lincoln had very
humble, inauspicious beginnings and at one time was one time a rail-
splitter. His political career was anything but a bed of political roses. He
was well acquainted with disappointment, defeat, and failure.

1831 – Failed in business 1840 – Defeated for elector

1832 – Defeated for legislature
1833 – Again failed in business
1834 – Elected to legislature
1835 – Sweetheart died
1836 – Had nervous breakdown
President
1838 – Defeated for speaker
1843 – Defeated for Congress
1846 – Elected to Congress
1848 – Defeated for Congress
1855 – Defeated for Senate
1856 – Defeated for Vice
1858 – Defeated for Senate
1860 – Elected President

- The last time we looked at Joseph he was in a plight, a difficult and

desperate situation, and his only hope was to call out to God in prayer for
help. Some prognosticators would say he was doomed in a pit from which
he would never rise or amount to much.
- Joseph has gone from riches to rags. He is no longer in rural Canaan as
the apple of his father’s eye with a beautiful coat of many colors. Talk
about culture shock! He is in a new land where they have a different way
of life and language. At 17 years of age he finds himself a slave dutifully
employed by Potiphar, who is captain of Pharaoh’s bodyguard or chief of
the executioners. Joseph must grow up and he has little time to do so.
- But as we read our text this morning, Genesis 39:1-6, notice the presence
and grace of Almighty God extended to one of His children. Now Joseph
had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh,
captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who
had taken him down there. 2 The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a
successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
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And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made
all he did to prosper in his hand. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and
served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had
he put under his authority. 5 So it was, from the time that he had made him
overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the
Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on
all that he had in the house and in the field. 6 Thus he left all that he had in
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Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread
which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
- When the Lord is with you failure is never final.
- When the Lord is with you, life becomes an incredible journey. He will
take you through the valley and cause you to soar on the mountaintops.
Life is not easy because God is with you, but it is exciting and peaceful.
- I want to investigate four characteristics of a person who God is with.
When God is with you…

I. YOU KNOW GOD

- Verse 2-3, 21 “The Lord was with Joseph”

- God Almighty and Joseph knew each other; they had a close, intimate
relationship. Joseph believed in the LORD even as his father,
grandfather, and great grandfather had believed. Of Abraham the Bible
says, “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for
righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
- It is not an audacious, presumptuous thing to say that Joseph knew God
or to say that today you can know God. I know God. I have a personal
relationship with Him. He speaks to me and I listen. I speak to Him and
He listens. He tells me what to do and when I am wise, I obey Him.
- You may ask, “If Joseph knows God then why is he in a pit then sold in
slavery into Egypt?” Last week we talked about how God allows us to go
through some breaking, difficult moments.
- Payne Stewart, the professional golfer, died at age 42 in a plane crash in
1999. He knew God. He had a personal relationship with the God of the
universe. His relationship with God was manifest not by him wearing the
WWJD bracelet, but by the way he lived his life. He spoke unashamedly
about God; he loved Tracey, his wife, and his daughters and son. On
October 18, one week before his death a story came out in an Orlando
newspaper that told how Payne gave $500,000 to FBC Orlando. Tracey,
his wife, said at the funeral that Payne Steward was the most beautiful
man she had ever seen. I cried.
- Do you know God? Serious, do you really know God, have a personal
relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ? What kind of legacy
will you leave behind? Will your family, church, friends attend your funeral
and say you were a beautiful person who knew God?
- Will your epitaph read – Great businessman, entrepreneur or loving, kind,
gracious, giving individual?
- I’m not talking about a personality alteration but a life-changing
transformation. Some of you do not know God. You need to surrender to
Him. Give Him your life. Repent of your sins; place your faith in Jesus.
When the LORD is with you, you know God and …

II. YOU SERVE OTHERS

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- Verse 4 Hebrew word in verse 4 serve is shawrath – to attend as a

domestic servant, servile, low person. To contribute, to wait on.
- No task was too small for Joseph. He humbled himself and served. He
must have thought, “Lord, I did not envision this, but please help me make
the best of my tough surroundings. Lord, help me do my best.”
- During this lowly, subservient time in Joseph’s life, God was shaping his
character. Far from deserting Joseph, God was especially close—molding,
pruning, building him.
- How is your service today? Do you have the mentality that no task is too
small for you? That you will do whatever it takes in your home, at your
job, at your church? He who does not serve is not fit to lead.
- Colossians 3:22-24 admonishes us to obey those over us and work
diligently.
- “The difference between success and failure is that successful people
make themselves do what they hate to do and failures wait for their
manager to make them do it, or to do it for them.” Charlie “Tremendous”
Jones
- All the truly great men and women in history or in today’s society were or
are people of service. Jesus was the greatest Person to walk on this earth
and He came as a servant. Abraham Lincoln, arguably our greatest
president, was a true servant to our nation. Joseph the patriarch was
great because he knew how to serve.

I was ministering in Fourth Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.

We had a Thursday morning father-son breakfast, six-thirty. It was to
be over by quarter of eight. There were many people from the military,
quite a few people from various government offices, some craftsmen,
laborers of various kind--really quite a mix.
After I had finished speaking and the meeting was dismissed, I looked
over to my right and there was Senator Mark Hatfield, stacking chairs
and picking up napkins that had fallen on the floor. Ladies and
gentlemen, if you are impressed that you are a United States senator,
you don’t stack chairs and pick up napkins. If you are impressed that
you are God’s gift to the body of Christ as the great preacher of this
age, you don’t stoop to serve. If you are impressed that, really, you
are the greatest thing that ever happened to your local church, you do
not serve. You live to be served.
-- Howard Hendricks, “The Problem of Discrimination,” Preaching
Today, Tape No. 76

- GHBC has many servants. I appreciate you who serve faithfully,

consistently, anonymously. The greatness and effectiveness of our RC
are contingent upon the army of God’s soldiers who do their part and
serve. I believe that the effective churches in our society will be those that
serve their communities, I mean go out of their way to really help and love
in such a way as to be missed. Helen Keller said, “I long to accomplish a
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great and noble task, but it is my chief duty and joy to accomplish humble
tasks as though they were great and noble. For the world is moved along,
not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of
tiny pushes of each honest worker.”

III. YOU ARE TRUSTWORTHY

- Verse 4 Joseph served then . . .

- Verses 4 and 5 use the word overseer – paqad – to visit, to inspect –
reminds me of John Maxwell quote, “Not what you expect but what you
inspect that gets accomplished.”
- Verse 6 Potiphar totally, completely trusted Joseph, and delegated great
responsibilities to Joseph. Why? Joseph proved himself loyal and
trustworthy.
- Churches, businesses, organizations and most importantly God Himself
are looking for trustworthy servants!
- Chuck Swindoll says, “Here was a slave who had earned the right to be
respected and trusted. As a result Potiphar turned everything over to him.
I take this to mean that Joseph determined his own schedule, that he
organized all of Potiphar’s estate and administered all his finances.
Potiphar placed everything in Joseph’s hands.”
- A true indicator that God is with a person is he or she is honest and
trustworthy. How honest and trustworthy are you? Does your employer
trust you and therefore entrust power and responsibility and decision
making to you? Young people, do your parents trust you?
- Luke 16:10, Jesus says, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also
in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”
Jesus also said in Matthew 6:18, “; . . . and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you openly.”
- Service leads to trust which leads to success. Don’t forget, “Service
precedes serious promotion.”
- 1986-1989 I worked as a janitor at SWBTS in Fort Worth, TX. I studied
Greek, Hebrew, theology, evangelism, etc. in the day and then donned my
blue shirt in the afternoon and evenings. It was humbling to clean toilets
and vacuum carpet, but God shaped me during those three years and
prepared me to lead. I learned a few things about work and success.
These three principles apply to any occupation. 1. Treat people fairly. 2.
Give attention to details. 3. Do not worry about promotion if it happens, let
it happen.
- Joseph knew God, was a servant, and was a trustworthy man. God was
with Joseph, and God blessed Joseph.

IV. YOU ARE BLESSED

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- Verse 2 - successful man; verse 3 the LORD made him prosper. Same
Hebrew word tsalach is used translated successful and prosper means to
come upon mightily, to advance, and to make successful.
- When God is with you my friend you go over, you are blessed indeed.
- A humble, loving, trustworthy servant who knows God and serves God is a
blessed individual. God is looking for individuals and churches to bless.
And God knows how to prosper and make profitable.
- Also, God will bless those who bless the ones He is blessing. Verse 5
God blessed Potiphar because Potiphar blessed Joseph. Great principle -
- when you give to and bless that which God is blessing you will be
blessed. Invest in what God favors and you will be favored as a result.
- Many people are successful in the eyes of the world and yet complete
failures in the eyes of God. But once and a while we come across men
like Joseph and Drayton McLane, Jr. who are successful by the world’s
standards but more importantly by God’s standards.
- Remember, in order to become a great man or woman for God, study and
emulate great men and women of God.
- Drayton McLane is a Christian businessman that God has favored. I first
heard of him while I was in Kenya in 1999 on a mission trip. The local
missionary told me about him and I went home and did further research on
his life. I learned more about him from Jeff Lemon who went to be with
the Lord in 2015. When Jeff was undergoing treatment for his cancer, it
was the McLane Group that helped him to get in MD Anderson in
Houston. After receiving his Bachelors from Baylor University and MBA
from Michigan State University his father employed him in the family
business as a warehouseman on the night shift. His dad Drayton Sr. told
him, “If you are a natural leader, it will emerge.” McLane Jr.’s leadership
qualities emerged indeed. He “served 27 years as President and CEO of
McLane Company, a multi-billion dollar grocery distribution firm
headquartered in Temple, TX.” Today “he runs a family-owned holding
company, the McLane Group.” Years ago, I called Temple, Texas and
spoke with Donna Dobson who works as an assistant to Mr. McLane. I
asked her for the biographical information and she sent it to me. But in a
cover letter she wrote the following:

I enjoyed visiting with you this morning. Following are several stories
and Drayton McLane’s bio.
Of course, when I shared your request with Drayton, he was in awe
that you were using him in the same sentence with Abraham Lincoln
and Joseph. He won’t tell you this, but he is a very generous, giving
man. Always willing to help others, without ever expecting any
recognition or anything in return. (That is one trait that is most evident
if you spend any time around him.) He would much prefer to put
others in the limelight than himself. A wonderful Christian man, and a
true servant. Now, I will stop preaching! I hope this information helps
with your sermon. May God bless you.
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- Now here is the great part. McLane is an active member of the First
Baptist Church in Temple. He is a Sunday School teacher and deacon,
and past chairman of the Deacons.
- Stories of great men like Abraham Lincoln, Joseph, and Drayton McLane,
Jr. inspire me to serve God deeper and with more passion.

INVITATION

- When God is with you, you know Him, are a servant, are trustworthy, and
are blessed. Now please do not misunderstand what I am saying—God
may not make you the prime minister of Egypt, or the president of the
USA, or a multi billionaire, but He will bless you and favor you if you know
Him, serve Him, and are trustworthy in your relationship with Him.
- Is God with you? If not, please know He desires to know you personally
and manifest His presence through you. If you know God through a
personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ, I challenge you to draw
close to Him and serve Him with all of your strength. He is worthy!
- Some here today do not know Christ. The worldly pleasures and
successes you have only leave you empty. You know there has to be
more to this life. There is! Jesus is the only way to peace, fulfillment, true
joy, and happiness. Ask God to save you today. Turn from your sin,
repent, and invite Jesus in your heart by faith.