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– Good morning, and welcome to Worship on the Hill. Our pastor is at Life 101, where over 70 are learning how to become members of Harmony Hill today. So, anyway, if, I had intended on doing this while I was talking, but I’m afraid I would fall down. But, if you’re wondering what I’m doing, it looks like I’m old, and it’s probably because I am. I am getting the steps up here on my Fitbit. So, for those of you that may not be familiar with Fitbits, Fitbits are little electronic devices that you can purchase and attach to your wrists, and at any point during the day, you can tap on it, or some of the more expensive ones, you can actually look and find out how much exercise you’re getting. I don’t know why people necessarily want to do this. This isn’t actually mine, it’s my son’s, and he asked me to wear it while I was preaching today to get his step count up. So, just see if you can add to them. He brought his Fitbit home one day, and we synced it, and he had 16,000 steps, so you can, these things you can sync them to your phone, and it will tell you how much exercise you’re getting. You can set up an exercise program, you can set a diet on it. You can sync it to a scale and track your weight loss. Or mediocrity gain. And the purpose is so you can get fit. Well, what I’ve learned about the Fitbit is, if my son wears it too loosely or too tightly, it can affect the results of the Fitbit. Or, if he does what he’s doing here and cheats, and gives it to someone else, it will affect the results of the Fitbit. The Fitbit is only as reliable as the person that is using it. It’s not very trustworthy because its outcome can be affected by the one who chooses to use it. But there is someone that we can trust today who can’t be manipulated, who can’t be bribed, who is faithful and who is solid in all of his ways and doing, and that’s Jesus Christ. In Genesis, chapter40, I want us to answer this question today: why should you trust God? This is a question that’s come up, and it’s very applicable to us today. Many people doubt even the existence of God. Yet, on our currency, does anyone have any folding money down here? That’s what we used to call it when I was growing up, folding money, like a dollar, I ain’t going to do nothing. Anybody got any folding money? A dollar, anyone? Okay, let’s go over here. You have a dollar? Thank you, even on our currency it says that, you know we have a, Oh, I’m just kidding, I’m just kidding. Yes, here you go, I was just joking. Even on our currency, it says, “In God we trust,” right? Why should we trust in God? In Genesis, chapter 40, we see Joseph. Joseph was a dreamer. He dreamed dreams, but not only did he dream dreams, he interpreted them. He had the ability to know what they meant. But yet, these dreams got him in trouble because his ability to interpret them went straight to his head, much like some talents of young men and women when they could do things really good, they lift it, “Look what I can do!” It went to his head so much that his brothers hated him. His dad, though, loved him. He was his favorite son, and that made his brothers hate him even more. So they kind of ganged up on him and threw him in a pit and sold him off into slavery. It’s kind of a bummer for a guy that has dreams. A young guy, “I’ve got dreams, and one day, “I’m going to be somebody.” And yet, here he is, sold off to slavery by his family: the ones who were supposed to love him the most. He winds up in Egypt, and he winds up in a pretty good position. He winds up the slave of a high ranking official there. Joseph, though, he was good-looking. Must have been a Miller. Joseph Miller. That’s not in the Word, I’ve taken liberties, there, okay? I want you to know that. But, he was very good-looking, and Potiphar’s wife took notice of him, and wanted to get involved with him, but Joseph wouldn’t have it because he said, “If I do this, I’ll be sinning against God.” So, Joseph ran away from her, and she didn’t like that. She, being scorned, went to Potiphar and said, “He tried to do some things here.” So then, they cast him into prison, and that’s where we find ourselves in Genesis, chapter 40. In verse one it says: Then it came about after these things, these things that I just told you about, that the cup-bearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their master. Pharaoh was furious with these two officials. And so, he put them into confinement, and this is where we find the first reason why, in this passage, that we should trust God. See, this passage, this is a unique passage that we should even use it today to talk about trusting God because we find Joseph, in the very first part of this passage, in jail. And at the end of this chapter, which is all we’re going to look at, in verse 23, we find Joseph in jail. Why should I trust God? I started off in jail, and at the end, I’m still in jail! That doesn’t make for a very good movie, today, would it? Certainly not a sitcom. But, this story here, so sitcoms don’t do that now, you resolve everything in 30 minutes. Well, this story here starts off with Joseph. He’s in prison, and it ends with him in prison. Verse three, we find the very first reason why we should trust God. So he put them in confinement, the cup-bearer and the baker, in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, in the same place where Joseph was imprisoned. Coincidence, the very same place. No coincidence. See, because with God, there are no coincidences. The first reason we find in today’s passage that we should trust God is because God controls the events of our lives. And I’m not talking about the things that you can do intentionally with your own free will to move down a certain path of your life. See, you could get in the car on a rainy day, and go 100, and drive into a ditch and control the direction of an individual event in your life. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the overall events in your life, over which you have no control. God controls the events in your life. There are no coincidences. Those two men were not by coincidence put into prison at that time and at that place by coincidence. God orchestrated that. And he put them there. See, a lot of times we may feel like our life is out of control. “My laundry is scattered all over my yard, “and everybody can see it. “And I don’t have any control over this.” I have counseled with those who have had a loss in their family, and it has shaken them to the point where they feel like, “You know, I don’t even know if God exists. “Where is God in this? “How could he be in this?” And the answer comes with this: where is God? God is in the same place he was when he lost his son. His son. God is sitting on his throne, and he is in control now, just as he was then. Because he’s in control of all the events of our lives. That’s why we should trust him. I have four children. My oldest just got his driver’s license. If you’re getting near that point, make an appointment with your doctor. Meds are fine. They calm you. Texas now does this thing called Parent Taught Drivers Ed. They did not know me, or they wouldn’t have passed this. They don’t want me teaching my own child how to drive. So I did. The past six months, I’ve been in the car with my son, but I wanted him to have real life, the experience, the whole environment. Because when he gets on the road, I want him to know what it’s like to drive under stressful situations. So I took my two youngest and got in the truck with him. I’m convinced that’s why God made our elbows not bend backwards, because if they did, you know, if I could bend my elbow back. So we got in the truck with my ten year old and my seven year old, and in the DMV, they have this space for parallel parking, right? Where you can go parallel park, so we went out there, and I would make him do the parallel parking. And then I would have Locran in the back, and Loxley in the back, and they would just give it to him. Just like they do us, right? No, you guys are so holy, I’m glad that, man, just take this. So Loxley would be in the back, “Dad, we’re going to die, we’re going to die! “He’s going to” And Locran’s like, “You don’t know how to drive. “You can’t drive. “Turn the radio up, I’m hot. “I need to go to the bathroom. “Roll the window down.” Just the same things, you’re just feeding it to him. It’s a different feeling when you cede control of your vehicle to someone else, especially a 16 year old. Because you know the toilet seat’s standing up at home. And you just gave them control of a 4,000 pound vehicle. When you’re sitting in the passenger seat, you’re not in control. And all you can do is offer advice, and try to influence. Lots of times, that’s how we feel. “I don’t have control over what’s going on in my life “and it stinks.” But God says, “I control every event in your life, “and I do things with intentionality. “That’s why you need to trust me.” So these two men, they had dreams, and Joseph came in and he saw them, and they were, the Bible says, distraught. They were sad. And the word there kind of gives you the impression that they were, not just sad, but they were consumed by these dreams. And the reason they were consumed is, the Bible just says it there in verse seven: not just they had dreams, they were distraught because no one could interpret them. I can see Joseph, “You had dreams, what’s wrong?” “We had dreams, and no one can interpret them.” “Really, you know what, I’ve had dreams. “And look where they got me. “You got dreams, I have dreams.” But that’s not what he did. Joseph looks at them, and this gives us a picture into his heart, Joseph had a good outlook. No matter where he was, he was concerned about others around him. He had the heart of God. He looked at them, and he said this, and this is very interesting, and this is the second reason why that we should trust God. He said, this is funny, “Don’t all interpretations belong to God?” And then he said, “Tell them to me.” When I first looked at that, I said This doesn’t make sense because it sounds like to him he’s saying, “Don’t all interpretations belong to God, so tell them to me.” “Well, why should I tell you, you’re not God? He’s still that cocky young man his brothers hated. That’s not what he’s saying, though. There’s a new movie out called Creed. I hear it’s pretty good. Joe went the other day and didn’t call me, or I would have went with him to see it. I know, I know, I’m going to shame you until you tell me to go with you next time. But, I like Rocky, love Rocky. I love Rocky films. If you’re not familiar with Rocky, the Rocky films are about an underdog, he’s the Italian Stallion, he’s smaller than his opponents, and after the first Rocky movie, that kind of sets him up as the perennial underdog that can beat whoever the upper, upper dog? Upper dog is. After that, you kind of know how the rest of the movies are going to go. You pay your ten dollars, but you know how it’s going to end. Rocky II, you have Apollo Creed, undisputed champion of the world, and he goes in and Apollo Creed’s not going to win. Why? He’s not Rocky. So he beats him, but then you get to Rocky III. And, I’m going to have to explain this, because a lot of you may be too young. I’m not despising your youth, I’m going to let you be an example of the believer, but I’m going to tell you about Rocky III, okay? Because Rocky III had somebody that was just the meanest, baddest dude in America at the time: Mr. T, I pity the fool. I pity the fool that don’t go to McDonald’s. I pity the fool that don’t eat at Burger King. I pity the fool that don’t eat at Chick-Fil-A. I pity the, he made money. It’s the original mohawk guy. Mr. T, he was the baddest; Clubber Lang. But, when you went to the show, you knew how it was going to end, right? He might get beat down. Adrian was not going to believe in him, right? And then the dude was going to say, “You can do it, Rocky, you can do it!” And then, by the end, Clubber Lang wasn’t going to win, right? Who was going to win? Rocky. And then, my favorite. See, he had beaten the baddest dude in America, so they had to get bigger than that, right? They had to go international, we got to go countries against countries, now. It hadn’t got quite too outlandish, yet. I’m waiting for the one, Rocky’s going to beat the alien from Mars, but we didn’t get there, yet. So he went against Dolph Lundgren, right? Ivan Drago. And so, there in the ring, “I must break you.” But it’s the same, Ivan Drago’s not going to win. Why? Not Rocky. He wasn’t the one, Ivan Drago’s not the one with a plan. Rocky’s the one with a plan. It’s the same plan every movie. He’d wait till the last round in the fight, always the 15th round, and he goes out, and there’s Paulie in the corner, “What’s he doing out there?” “He’s winning!” Everybody’s wondering, I don’t know, I didn’t see the last four movies! I don’t know what he’s doing! He’s going out there, and he’s getting beat to a pulp! Put your dukes up, Rocky, come on! And he’s just getting beaten, and all of a sudden, you know when the music is turned up, And he wins, why? Thank you; he’s Rocky. We’re not Rocky. We don’t have the plan that can solve everything. Because we’re not God. The reason that we should trust God is because he is God. He is the one that has the interpretation of everything, and he is the one that can make sense out of the things that are going on in our life. The reason we can trust God is because he’s the one that orchestrates everything in our life. He knows what the plan is, and so he can make sense out of it when we cannot. The two men tell him, Joseph, their dream. Joseph says, “Tell it to me,” so he does. What was Joseph saying there? Was he saying, “You know, God can make sense out of all this “so tell it to me.” Was he saying, “I’m God?” No. Joseph was saying, “God can make sense out of all this. “I’m not God, but I know the one “that can make sense of it all because I’ve walked with him. “And even though I’m not where I thought I would be, “I know that God is watching after me.” So the two men tell him their dreams. And Joseph said, “All right, I will, “by the power of God, I will help interpret your dreams.” He interprets the cup-bearer’s dream, and tells him what it is, and the baker says, “That sounds good, we’re going to get out of here!” So he says, “Interpret mine, too.” And his wasn’t so good. He says, “All right, I’m going to do this, “but there’s one condition: “Cup-bearer, when you get out.” When you get out, not if. If this happens, no, no, when you get out. Why? Because he knows who’s in control of the event. He walks what he talks. “I know you’re going to get out. “When you get out, remember me. “Remember me.” A lot of times, we take Christianity passively. Passively. If God does what he says, then… “I am in the worst shape I’ve have ever been in my life. “I don’t understand what got it, “and I’m going to pray that he will deliver me. “God, deliver me. “Okay, go ahead, knock yourself out, deliver me. “Why am I not delivered? “God, aren’t you doing something?” Is that what Joseph, that’s not what he did. Joseph said, “Lord, I am going to wait “for you to deliver me, but now, “I am also going to use the talents and gifts “that you have given me “to try to make my situation better.” Then he said, “Look, I’m going to do this, “but when you get out, remember me. “And perhaps God will use you to be the one “that gets me out of this. “Because he’s given me the talents and the abilities “to do something about my situation.” And so he does, and we find the third reason why we should trust God. It’s in verse 23. He told them this; everything came about just as God had said, and in verse 23, Yet, uh-oh. Yet, the chief cup-bearer did not remember Joseph. Not only did he not remember him, they even put it in there twice, but he forgot him. Not only did he not remember, “I just didn’t remember.” “No, you actively forgot me.” I don’t know if he got up and was restored, and was like, “I’m not pressing my luck. “I just barely got here, I’m not going to remember another “prisoner, it might get me back into a bad situation.” Don’t know. But he left him there to rot. The third reason we should trust God is because people will let us down. People will let you down. Family will let you down. Christians will let you down. Church members will let you down. Leaders in churches will let you down. Leaders in this church will let you down. Our pastors will let you down. Because we’re not perfect. Some of you may be there today, and what God is saying to you is: do not let the shortcomings and the imperfections of a Christian or a life-group leader or a staff member or a pastor, don’t project those shortcomings onto me. Just because they’re perfect, doesn’t mean that I am imperfect. You don’t serve a staff member. You don’t serve a life-group leader. You don’t serve a church, you serve me. And instead, what God says is this, he says: use that disillusionment that you have with that person, and use it to turn yourself away from them, knowing that they’re imperfect, and use it to turn away from them to me, to my faithfulness, to my perfectness, to my love because I will never, ever let you down. See, we’re different. People are going to let you down. But when you rely on me, I will never fail you. I control everything in your life. I’m God, I can tell you what’s going on. I can help you sort out these events that are going on that you can’t understand, and I’ve been here forever, and I will always be, and I will never drop you. When I was going to college, I worked a job, a full-time job. I was married at the time, as well. I worked at the Lufkin State School, and I was a service assistant. What that meant was, whatever the clients needed, that’s what I would do. I had a floating group of anywhere between eight and ten individuals. Sundays were always a great day at the State School. They still are. Sundays was called Home Day. You got to call your family. So after lunch, we would go and, by group, we would take our groups to a cubicle, and we would dial zero for the operator, and we’d place collect calls to their families. Many times, it would be a good thing. We’d call them, and they’d answer, and hand the phone to the person, and they would have a good conversation. More times than not, though, what you would hear is on the other end, they would say, “Stop calling me. “I told you, I don’t want to talk to them. “I don’t want to have anything to do with them. “If you call again, I’m going to block this line.” And there would be this person, who was just smiling, eager to talk to their family, and they’re looking at you, and they’re saying, “What are they saying? “Are they coming next week? “They’re coming next week, right? “What do they want to tell me? “Is Mama going to talk to me today?” And I just, to be honest with you, I lied. And I would say, “Mom loves you. “She wants to wish you a happy birthday. “She hopes you’re doing good.” And I was talking to a dial tone. People will let you down. God will never let you down. I don’t know where you are today. You may be in a place where you feel like, “I don’t understand all these events “that are going on here. “I’ve just done my best, and I’ve had dreams, “and I’m not where I thought I would be “at this time in my life. “And there’s a lot of things I can’t control.” And God says: you’re right, I am the one that controls the events in your life. Or, you may be at the place where you say, “You know what, I have had some things “that I really would want to do, “but I just can’t seem to get past this. “It just seems like I try, but really, “I’m just kind of going in a circle, “waiting for the next thing to happen, “waiting for the next blow up, “and I just can’t get past that.” God says: I won’t fight you; there’s only going to be one driver, and it’s going to be me. Or, you may feel hurt. You may be in the place where someone has hurt you so bad, where you’re saying, “You know what, I really don’t care about church.” You may be listening to this over the internet. “I don’t care about things of God, I’m shutting that off.” Because someone hurt you that was in leadership, or was a Christian or your family member, and you don’t even know that there is a God because, you know what, if that’s the way people that believe in God act, there can’t be a God. And God says: don’t do that; I am perfect, don’t project their actions onto me.
