Were the people in the
Bible any different to us today?
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Or ordinary
people like you and me?
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What can we find out
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from their lives
that will help us?
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Find out with
Pastor Geoff Youlden
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and Rosemary Malkiewycz
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here on, People Just Like Us.
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Welcome to today's program.
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You've joined us for a
very interesting series
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on Bible characters.
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And, Geoff,
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who are we going
to talk about today?
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The man who forgot.
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Man who forgot.
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Whether he forgot
on purpose is for us
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to discuss in our
program, but actually,
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our stories today
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centers around three individuals
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who were all in prison.
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They had offended their
masters one way or another.
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The third person
we know very well
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by the name of Joseph.
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And he offended his
master by being loyal
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and being very moral.
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And when part of his
wife made sexual advances
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toward him, he refused.
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And as a result, he
finished up in prison.
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But to illustrate, Rosemary,
the character of Joseph,
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it wasn't very long
after he got into prison
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that he was actually in charge
of all the other prisoners.
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Yes, that's right.
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And the two latest prisoners
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called the butler and the baker,
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we don't know their names,
but just called in the Bible,
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the butler and the baker.
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Were very sad one
morning and Joseph saw
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their countenance or
their faces were very upset.
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And so he said to
them, "What's upsetting you?"
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You know, one of
the interesting things
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is that when
someone else is in sorrow,
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and you can appreciate
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that Joseph
himself was in sorrow
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when he was in prison unjustly.
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Maybe the others
were justly in prison.
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But he was certainly unjustly.
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And if there was ever a
cause for feeling unjust
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about the whole situation,
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it would have been Joseph.
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But he didn't.
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In fact, he
encouraged those other two men,
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and they had a dream.
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And Joseph, who
trusted in the Lord said,
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"Look, I know someone who
can interpret your dreams."
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And they
actually found over here
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in the Book of
Genesis Chapter 40.
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And I thought that
we might, Rosemary,
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we might read the section
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down in 40:9,
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where it says,
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"Then the chief butler
told his dream to Joseph,
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and said to him,
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'Behold, in my dream
a vine was before me,
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and in the vine
were three branches,
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it was as though it
budded, its blossoms shot forth,
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and its clusters
brought forth ripe grapes.
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Then Pharaoh's
cup was in my hand,
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and I took the grapes
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and pressed them
into Pharaoh's cup,
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and placed the cup
in Pharaoh's hand.'
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And Joseph said to him,
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'This is the
interpretation of it,
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The three
branches are three days.
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Now within three days
Pharaoh will lift up your head
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and restore you to your place,
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and you will put
Pharaoh's cup in his hand
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according to the former manner,
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when you were his butler."
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And then, of course, the
baker had a dream, as well.
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That's right.
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And Joseph
tells about his dream.
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In fact, in
Genesis 48:16, it says,
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"When the chief baker saw that
the interpretation was good,"
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he was
obviously very encouraged.
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And he thought his
was gonna be good too.
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Yes, "he said to
Joseph, 'I also was in my dream,
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and there were three
white baskets on my head.
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In the uppermost basket
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were all kinds of
baked goods for Pharaoh,
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and the birds ate them
out of the basket on my head.'
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So Joseph answered and said,
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'This is the
interpretation of it,
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The three
baskets are three days.
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Within three days
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Pharaoh will lift
off your head from you
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and hang you on a tree,
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and the birds will
eat your flesh from you.'"
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Oh, that's terrible.
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Well, you can
imagine how depressed
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the poor baker would have felt
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with an
interpretation like that.
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And on the third day,
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it came to pass exactly
as Joseph had said it would.
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And I can just sort
of picture in my mind
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these two men
going out of the prison
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this particular day,
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and he speaks to the butler,
and he's very encouraged,
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of course, he's
got his job back.
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And then the baker I can imagine
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that Joseph would be very sad
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because he would know
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that he was
walking out to his death.
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And it's
interesting in verse 14,
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Joseph makes a
very natural human plea
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to the butler when he says,
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"But remember me
when it is well with you."
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You know, you can
appreciate the fact that
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here is this man who
is unjustly in prison,
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but remember me,
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"and please show kindness to me,
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make mention of me to Pharaoh,
and get me out of this house."
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Yes. No.
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I mean, he'd
been in it for years.
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Yes.
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I mean, and by the way,
the prisons back in those days
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weren't like they are today.
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Well, he says there in verse 15,
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he was actually in the dungeon.
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Yes, well,
there were no windows,
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no toilet facilities,
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no septic tanks running.
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So you can just
imagine the stench of the place
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after they'd been there
for, you know, for a while.
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But unfortunately,
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if you come down to verse 23
of the 40th chapter, it says,
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"Yet the chief butler
did not remember Joseph,
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but forgot him."
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How sad that really is.
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Now, this just
gets back to the fact
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did he have a memory lapse
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while he was in prison
and when he was released,
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or did he do it on purpose.
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I'm gonna suggest that
actually he purposely forgot.
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Oh, that's interesting.
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I hadn't thought of that before.
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Well, I'll give
you a couple of reasons
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why I think that's the case.
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First of all,
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Pharaoh will have had
good days and bad days
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and from what we
read about the Pharaohs,
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the way they ate
and the way they live,
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probably more
bad days than good.
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And I think that
probably the butler realized
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that if he went to
Joseph to Pharaoh and said,
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"Now listen, what about
my friend back in prison?"
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If Pharaoh wasn't
having a good day,
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he felt that maybe he
could have finished up
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back in prison again,
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and he wasn't
willing to do that.
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Not even for Joseph sake.
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And the second
reason is that the Jews
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were not favorites
with the Egyptians.
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And so the butler's
friends would have said,
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"What are you doing
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helping those
despised Hebrews today?"
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And as time went by, I
think that probably Joseph,
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the butler
gradually, gradually forgot.
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You know, went out of his
mind, out of mind, out of sight,
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out of mind, you know.
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He didn't have a
favorable time to say something.
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So he ended up
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forgetting to say anything good.
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Yes, but God hadn't forgotten.
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Two years later,
that's a long time.
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I mean, imagine if you
were Joseph sitting in there
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and you've done the right thing.
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And everything's happening,
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you're doing the
right thing serving God.
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Another two years ago
past, and he's still in prison.
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And one day,
Pharaoh has a dream.
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And suddenly the
butler remembers,
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so he hadn't forgotten, you see,
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he hadn't forgotten at all.
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It was still there but
just not ready to remember.
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But he's not remembering
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because he's
helping Joseph really.
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We would like to think that
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he starts now to
repent of his forgetfulness,
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but I don't
think that's the case.
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Actually, he was
trying to curry favor
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with Pharaoh because, you know,
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if he was to get Joseph
in to tell him the dream
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who would get the
credit for bringing Joseph in
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to interpret Pharaoh's dream.
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So really, once again,
it was a selfish motive
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that the butler had
in remembering Joseph.
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And so here we
find this whole story.
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And I guess too,
Rosemary, by this stage,
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even though
Joseph was not that old,
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he would have been in his 20s,
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perhaps mid 20s by this stage.
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He was beginning
to learn a little bit
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about human nature.
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First of all, he remembered
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about the
jealousy of his brothers.
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So he'd learned about jealousy
in a pretty serious way.
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That's why he
finished up in Egypt.
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That's why he
end up being a slave.
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Yes.
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Then secondly,
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he learned about lust
and lying with Pharaoh's...
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With Potiphar's
wife. Potiphar's wife.
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And...
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End up in jail because she lied.
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Yes. And then...
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And then, of
course, the ingratitude,
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he learned about
ingratitude of the butler.
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So three important
traits of human nature.
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And that for Joseph
learned when he was very young.
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And once again it brings
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the whole point of the
story and the reason why
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I want to talk
about this story today
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is because of ingratitude.
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You know, this is a
perfect illustration
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of human beings
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and the ingratitude
that many people manifest
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in their life.
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You know, God gives
us wonderful blessings.
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Story that's in the
Bible, in the New Testament
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that's full of ingratitude.
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There's a story of...
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Remember the 10 lepers?
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Yes.
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Only one came back. Yes.
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You know, you
would think I mean,
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that was a death sentence
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when you had
leprosy back in those days.
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And you would think
that when you are healed,
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you'd come back and say
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thank you to the
one who healed you,
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you would think that,
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but only one of
those lepers came back.
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And that one was a foreigner.
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He was a hated Samaritan.
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Isn't it interesting?
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The ingratitude that we have.
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I mean, King David also, I
picked up in the Bible there.
00:10:10.64\00:10:15.18
Recently I was
reading the Book of Psalms
00:10:15.21\00:10:17.48
and King David had
done one of his friends
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a great service and helped him
00:10:21.95\00:10:25.22
and he showed
absolute ingratitude to David
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who had risked his life for him.
00:10:30.26\00:10:32.46
And I was reading in Psalm 55,
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with David himself,
00:10:37.97\00:10:39.90
obviously it
worried him and it upset him
00:10:39.93\00:10:42.57
because this is what he
said in the Psalms 55...
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We're down here in verse 12.
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He says, "For it is not an enemy
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who reproaches me.
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Then I could bear it."
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Yes, that's true.
00:11:01.16\00:11:02.49
If someone, you
know he doesn't like you.
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Yes, really upset.
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You can expect that
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they will do something
against you to hurt you.
00:11:07.26\00:11:09.63
They're not very
favorable toward me.
00:11:09.66\00:11:11.97
So I expect them
to treat me badly.
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But he says,
"Then I could bear it
00:11:16.64\00:11:18.97
if I knew it was my enemy.
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Nor is it one who hates me
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who has exalted
himself against me."
00:11:23.71\00:11:27.12
This is what the
stress poking David.
00:11:27.15\00:11:29.98
"Then I could hide from him.
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But it was you, a man my equal,
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my companion
and my acquaintance.
00:11:36.66\00:11:39.46
We took sweet counsel together,
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and walked to the
house of God in the throng."
00:11:41.93\00:11:44.47
So you can see poor
David as he's contemplating
00:11:44.50\00:11:48.57
and then
thinking about this person
00:11:48.60\00:11:50.71
who would let him
down so seriously,
00:11:50.74\00:11:54.01
and, you know, we walked,
we had sweet counsel together,
00:11:54.04\00:11:58.65
which means they were
deeply in a friendship.
00:11:58.68\00:12:02.62
But they went to
church together as companions,
00:12:02.65\00:12:05.92
as friends to worship God.
00:12:05.95\00:12:09.82
You would expect that
you had a good communication
00:12:09.86\00:12:12.09
and good relationship.
00:12:12.13\00:12:13.70
And then he says in verse 16,
00:12:13.73\00:12:15.43
"As for me, I
will call upon God,
00:12:15.46\00:12:19.87
and the Lord shall save me.
00:12:19.90\00:12:22.10
Evening and
morning, at noon I will pray,
00:12:22.14\00:12:24.57
and cry aloud, and
He shall hear my voice.
00:12:24.61\00:12:28.21
He has redeemed my soul in peace
00:12:28.24\00:12:30.35
from the battle
that was against me."
00:12:30.38\00:12:32.38
In other words,
David felt reconciliation
00:12:32.41\00:12:36.32
and he felt
00:12:36.35\00:12:40.06
an emotion of appeasement
00:12:40.09\00:12:42.02
when he thought about God
00:12:42.06\00:12:43.39
that God was his helper and...
00:12:43.43\00:12:48.00
God would stand up
for him in the situation.
00:12:48.03\00:12:50.67
Yes.
00:12:50.70\00:12:52.50
It's really
terrible when you feel like
00:12:52.53\00:12:54.04
a friend has let you down.
00:12:54.07\00:12:56.20
A friend has spoken against you,
00:12:56.24\00:12:58.07
a friend has done
something to hurt you
00:12:58.11\00:13:01.81
when you've trusted that person.
00:13:01.84\00:13:03.21
Correct.
00:13:03.24\00:13:04.58
And then finally find out
00:13:04.61\00:13:05.95
that person
wasn't a friend at all.
00:13:05.98\00:13:07.55
No, that's what poor
David here is expressing and...
00:13:07.58\00:13:11.62
But he knows that
God is his friend.
00:13:11.65\00:13:12.99
That's right.
00:13:13.02\00:13:14.36
That God will
never let him down.
00:13:14.39\00:13:16.32
One of the
charming things, Rosemary,
00:13:16.36\00:13:18.03
that I find about
the Apostle Paul and,
00:13:18.06\00:13:21.83
you know, we
often think about Paul
00:13:21.86\00:13:23.50
as the big preacher, and
the establishing churches
00:13:23.53\00:13:27.64
and doing all
the wonderful things
00:13:27.67\00:13:29.67
that the Apostle Paul did.
00:13:29.70\00:13:31.11
But one of the
things that impresses me
00:13:31.14\00:13:33.07
about the humanity of all
00:13:33.11\00:13:34.91
is the fact that he
was always very grateful
00:13:34.94\00:13:38.98
to those who had helped him.
00:13:39.01\00:13:41.55
Come over to Romans 16
with me, if you wouldn't mind,
00:13:41.58\00:13:44.35
Romans Chapter 16.
00:13:44.39\00:13:47.12
And it's interesting
here in this chapter,
00:13:47.16\00:13:50.69
he records by name
00:13:50.73\00:13:55.00
and he reminds the
Romans of the gratitude
00:13:55.03\00:13:59.83
that he has for
certain individuals,
00:13:59.87\00:14:01.57
like for example,
verse 3, where he says,
00:14:01.60\00:14:06.07
"Greet Priscilla and Aquila,
00:14:06.11\00:14:08.44
my fellow
workers in Christ Jesus."
00:14:08.48\00:14:11.98
You know, he could have
written the Book of Romans
00:14:12.01\00:14:14.22
without mentioning
Aquila and Priscilla.
00:14:14.25\00:14:16.45
Yeah. But he remembers them.
00:14:16.48\00:14:18.65
And then it says in verse 4,
00:14:18.69\00:14:20.09
"Who risked their
own necks for my life,
00:14:20.12\00:14:23.39
to whom not only I give thanks,
00:14:23.43\00:14:25.63
but also all the
churches of the Gentiles."
00:14:25.66\00:14:28.56
So then he says,
00:14:28.60\00:14:29.93
"Why he wants
them to greet him?"
00:14:29.96\00:14:31.73
Because he's grateful
for what they did for him.
00:14:31.77\00:14:33.74
Yes, yes, indeed.
00:14:33.77\00:14:36.24
And verse 8
says, "Greet Amplias,
00:14:36.27\00:14:39.11
my beloved in the Lord."
00:14:39.14\00:14:41.28
So here's another person
00:14:41.31\00:14:42.74
that Paul felt great gratitude
00:14:42.78\00:14:46.78
for helping him.
00:14:46.82\00:14:48.15
And then down in verse 12.
00:14:48.18\00:14:50.32
"Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa,
who have labored in the Lord.
00:14:50.35\00:14:55.09
Greet the beloved Persis,
who labored much in the Lord."
00:14:55.12\00:14:59.79
And then verse 13,
00:14:59.83\00:15:01.16
"Greek Rufus,
chosen in the Lord,
00:15:01.20\00:15:03.26
and his mother and mine."
00:15:03.30\00:15:05.60
So obviously Rufus's mother
00:15:05.63\00:15:07.84
had a very close
connection to Paul,
00:15:07.87\00:15:10.44
whenever he visited in
the area where she lived.
00:15:10.47\00:15:14.84
And so it
impresses me that even though
00:15:14.88\00:15:17.35
Paul was the great evangelist,
he was a great preacher,
00:15:17.38\00:15:20.88
he was the great traveler,
he was the great character,
00:15:20.92\00:15:25.52
and all the things that
we appreciate about Paul.
00:15:25.55\00:15:29.56
Nevertheless, he was
not to be to remember
00:15:29.59\00:15:33.29
and to thank the little
people that affected his life
00:15:33.33\00:15:38.20
in a very positive way.
00:15:38.23\00:15:39.77
In fact, in that
section there, he greets many,
00:15:39.80\00:15:42.10
many different people
for different reasons.
00:15:42.14\00:15:46.01
Some of them we've never heard
00:15:46.04\00:15:47.38
of anywhere else in the Bible...
00:15:47.41\00:15:48.84
But where he mentions them here.
00:15:48.88\00:15:50.31
That's right. But
they were important to him.
00:15:50.35\00:15:51.71
Correct.
00:15:51.75\00:15:53.08
Because he could see in them
the working of God's character
00:15:53.11\00:15:57.52
and they were working for God.
00:15:57.55\00:15:59.19
They were helping
other people and him so.
00:15:59.22\00:16:02.12
Well, I think, Rosemary,
that's a great example for us
00:16:02.16\00:16:05.79
that none of us
should be too busy,
00:16:05.83\00:16:08.10
no matter what, who we are,
00:16:08.13\00:16:09.46
and no matter what
we do to remember those
00:16:09.50\00:16:11.93
and sometimes they
are the little people
00:16:11.97\00:16:14.04
who assist us along the way.
00:16:14.07\00:16:16.77
And I've often
thought how much sweeter
00:16:16.81\00:16:19.44
our homes would be
00:16:19.47\00:16:20.81
if we express to our families.
00:16:20.84\00:16:25.58
How much we
appreciate what they do
00:16:25.61\00:16:28.42
and what they have done.
00:16:28.45\00:16:29.88
You know, our
parents who, you know,
00:16:29.92\00:16:34.06
have labored when we
were naughty children
00:16:34.09\00:16:38.59
did many things that
were not good, but they...
00:16:38.63\00:16:41.53
Okay, adolescence.
00:16:41.56\00:16:42.93
Yes, and through
adolescence. That's right.
00:16:42.96\00:16:44.93
But they stuck by
us and we ought to be
00:16:44.97\00:16:47.67
eternally grateful for them.
00:16:47.70\00:16:49.37
What about even in our churches?
00:16:49.40\00:16:51.71
What about writing an
email to someone perhaps
00:16:51.74\00:16:55.54
and expressing to
them our gratitude
00:16:55.58\00:16:59.81
and our thanks because...
00:16:59.85\00:17:02.88
there's something
that does to a person.
00:17:05.99\00:17:09.12
And I'm sure
00:17:09.16\00:17:10.49
when these people in
Paul's experience here
00:17:10.53\00:17:13.43
got this letter and
they saw their names,
00:17:13.46\00:17:16.40
and Paul was expressing
his gratitude to them.
00:17:16.43\00:17:19.87
There was a warm
feeling in their heart.
00:17:19.90\00:17:21.27
Yes.
00:17:21.30\00:17:22.80
They would have felt
drawn closer to Paul.
00:17:22.84\00:17:25.07
Yes.
00:17:25.11\00:17:26.44
Because he
actually mentioned them
00:17:26.47\00:17:28.28
and he remembered me.
00:17:28.31\00:17:30.25
And so, if we do
that for other people,
00:17:30.28\00:17:32.38
it makes other people feel good.
00:17:32.41\00:17:33.75
Why don't we do that?
00:17:33.78\00:17:35.12
I don't know why we don't do it.
00:17:35.15\00:17:36.55
It's something
that we need to do more
00:17:36.58\00:17:40.22
than we're doing in the mind.
00:17:40.26\00:17:41.76
Of course, there are some people
00:17:41.79\00:17:43.12
who are very good at it,
00:17:43.16\00:17:44.49
but I'm talking
generally in the main,
00:17:44.53\00:17:45.93
you know, get
your phone and SMS.
00:17:45.96\00:17:48.10
Or as I say, have an
attitude of gratitude.
00:17:48.13\00:17:50.73
Yes.
00:17:50.77\00:17:53.84
That's what we need.
00:17:53.87\00:17:55.20
I'm just so very
encouraged as I read here
00:17:55.24\00:17:57.87
in the 16th Chapter of Romans
00:17:57.91\00:18:01.91
to see how the big Paul,
00:18:01.94\00:18:04.11
the great evangelist,
didn't forget those people
00:18:04.15\00:18:07.82
that matter to him in his life.
00:18:07.85\00:18:10.32
And as you said before too
00:18:10.35\00:18:11.95
our parents for ourselves today,
00:18:11.99\00:18:14.76
in every
generation, we all have parents
00:18:14.79\00:18:17.03
and we should always
be ready to thank them.
00:18:17.06\00:18:19.26
Yes.
00:18:19.29\00:18:20.63
And to let them
know while they're alive,
00:18:20.66\00:18:22.76
that we're grateful.
00:18:22.80\00:18:24.13
Yeah, well often, you know,
00:18:24.17\00:18:25.50
we say lovely
things at their funerals.
00:18:25.53\00:18:27.70
It's amazing, isn't it?
00:18:27.74\00:18:29.07
But that's not
very important really,
00:18:29.10\00:18:32.81
that's certainly
satisfying ourselves
00:18:32.84\00:18:35.31
or appeasing our own feelings.
00:18:35.34\00:18:38.28
They can't, the
person who's died can't hear,
00:18:38.31\00:18:40.52
and it's so
important that we express that
00:18:40.55\00:18:43.39
while people are alive.
00:18:43.42\00:18:45.45
And, you know,
I think, Rosemary,
00:18:45.49\00:18:48.29
that ingratitude to
God is a heinous sin.
00:18:48.32\00:18:52.96
In fact, we've got Romans there,
00:18:52.99\00:18:55.36
just come back
to Romans Chapter 1.
00:18:55.40\00:18:58.43
And Romans 1:21
Paul writes this,
00:18:58.47\00:19:04.34
this is pretty
heavy stuff when he says,
00:19:04.37\00:19:06.98
"Because,
although they knew God,
00:19:07.01\00:19:10.45
and did not glorify Him as God,
00:19:10.48\00:19:13.45
nor were thankful,
00:19:13.48\00:19:15.32
but became futile
in their thoughts,
00:19:15.35\00:19:17.72
and their foolish
hearts were darkened."
00:19:17.75\00:19:20.69
So here he's talking at
the beginning of this book
00:19:20.72\00:19:23.83
about those who
00:19:23.86\00:19:25.36
don't have any gratitude to God.
00:19:25.39\00:19:30.37
You know, I
think of the blessings,
00:19:30.40\00:19:32.27
you know, there's a song
00:19:32.30\00:19:33.97
that probably
most people have heard.
00:19:34.00\00:19:38.44
Count your many blessings.
00:19:38.47\00:19:40.58
Yes.
00:19:40.61\00:19:42.28
Name them one by one. That's it.
00:19:42.31\00:19:43.71
Yeah, name them one by one.
00:19:43.75\00:19:45.61
And what does it say next?
00:19:45.65\00:19:46.98
See, and you'll be surprised
at what the Lord has done.
00:19:47.02\00:19:51.22
In other words, one
of the good things to do
00:19:51.25\00:19:54.69
is to put down
on a piece of paper
00:19:54.72\00:19:56.39
all the things that we
should be grateful for.
00:19:56.42\00:20:01.00
That's right.
00:20:01.03\00:20:02.36
All of us have
heard of Robinson Crusoe.
00:20:02.40\00:20:05.13
He is the only man who ever
got all his work done by Friday.
00:20:05.17\00:20:08.74
Yes, that's right.
00:20:08.77\00:20:10.11
Very good, Rosemary.
00:20:10.14\00:20:11.87
But, you know,
00:20:11.91\00:20:13.24
when he got
landed on that island
00:20:13.27\00:20:16.04
or and found
himself all by himself,
00:20:16.08\00:20:18.51
he drew up a
little piece of bark.
00:20:18.55\00:20:21.55
I don't know whether
he wrote it in the sand
00:20:21.58\00:20:23.62
or how he wrote it.
00:20:23.65\00:20:25.69
But he wrote down the fors
and against of the things that
00:20:25.72\00:20:31.29
he felt that were positives
00:20:31.33\00:20:32.79
and the things
that were negatives
00:20:32.83\00:20:34.53
and he wrote those down.
00:20:34.56\00:20:35.90
For example, he wrote
00:20:35.93\00:20:37.77
that he didn't have any clothes.
00:20:37.80\00:20:40.37
That was the negative.
00:20:40.40\00:20:41.90
But the positive was that
00:20:41.94\00:20:43.27
it was a warm
temperature anyway,
00:20:43.30\00:20:44.64
and he hardly needed
them anyway, you see.
00:20:44.67\00:20:48.74
He wrote down that
he'd been shipwrecked.
00:20:48.78\00:20:53.21
But the positive was
that all the other men
00:20:53.25\00:20:55.22
had been killed
drown but he was alive.
00:20:55.25\00:20:57.69
His life, hmm, his life.
00:20:57.72\00:20:59.45
And I think that in
life, we've got to remember
00:20:59.49\00:21:03.22
even though many of us
00:21:03.26\00:21:06.46
have bad things
happen to us in life.
00:21:06.49\00:21:11.83
There's hardly a
human being on the earth.
00:21:11.87\00:21:13.60
In fact, I could probably
say there isn't a human being
00:21:13.64\00:21:16.07
that's ever lived on the earth
00:21:16.10\00:21:17.71
that hasn't had bad
things happen to them.
00:21:17.74\00:21:20.54
But I guess it
relates to the fact of us
00:21:20.58\00:21:23.55
being grateful for what we have.
00:21:23.58\00:21:26.82
And that gives us a
positive attitude in life
00:21:26.85\00:21:28.92
and helps us to be positive.
00:21:28.95\00:21:31.59
That, "Yes, I've
got this difficulty,
00:21:31.62\00:21:33.59
but I've also
got this positive."
00:21:33.62\00:21:36.62
And...
00:21:36.66\00:21:39.23
If someone is having trouble
with a negative attitude...
00:21:39.26\00:21:41.86
Yes.
00:21:41.90\00:21:43.23
The good thing for
them to start doing
00:21:43.26\00:21:45.07
is to start training
themselves to be thankful.
00:21:45.10\00:21:50.51
To thank other
people to be grateful
00:21:50.54\00:21:52.81
for what they do have,
00:21:52.84\00:21:54.51
be grateful for the
things that do happen.
00:21:54.54\00:21:57.31
And that will help
shift a negative attitude
00:21:57.35\00:21:59.91
to a more positive one.
00:21:59.95\00:22:01.28
Yes.
00:22:01.32\00:22:02.65
Well, I think that's a
very important point for us
00:22:02.68\00:22:04.59
all that we ought to
show gratitude to God
00:22:04.62\00:22:07.62
in the deeds and kindnesses.
00:22:07.66\00:22:09.96
Now one of the questions is
how do I show gratitude to God?
00:22:09.99\00:22:12.66
You know, the Bible says
00:22:12.69\00:22:14.03
we ought to show
gratitude to God.
00:22:14.06\00:22:15.40
Well, I mean, what
can I do that would be
00:22:15.43\00:22:18.87
and I can express my
gratitude and praise to Him,
00:22:18.90\00:22:22.24
as the Bible suggests.
00:22:22.27\00:22:24.24
But I think that we
show our gratitude to God
00:22:24.27\00:22:27.01
in a practical
way by helping others
00:22:27.04\00:22:30.21
and being kind to others.
00:22:30.25\00:22:32.31
Because remember,
Jesus made the statement
00:22:32.35\00:22:35.55
there in Matthew 25,
wasn't it where He said,
00:22:35.58\00:22:38.15
"Inasmuch as you've done it
00:22:38.19\00:22:40.86
unto one of the
least of these My brethren,
00:22:40.89\00:22:43.79
you've actually
done it unto Me."
00:22:43.83\00:22:45.16
That's right.
00:22:45.19\00:22:46.53
So we are really
showing gratitude
00:22:46.56\00:22:48.06
to God by helping others
00:22:48.10\00:22:53.30
and like Joseph, you know,
00:22:53.34\00:22:54.67
going back to our
story in the dungeon that...
00:22:54.70\00:22:58.44
He must have been said...
00:23:02.14\00:23:04.25
But he made the
most of wherever he was.
00:23:04.28\00:23:05.98
He did.
00:23:06.01\00:23:07.35
And that's what made
him the man that he was,
00:23:07.38\00:23:10.85
that he could be
sold into slavery.
00:23:10.89\00:23:14.62
And when you think
about all the bad things
00:23:14.66\00:23:16.86
that happened to him,
00:23:16.89\00:23:18.23
I mean, back to his father,
00:23:18.26\00:23:20.10
spoiling him amongst
these other brothers.
00:23:20.13\00:23:22.30
Well, I mean,
that's the most basic law
00:23:22.33\00:23:24.80
of parenthood
00:23:24.83\00:23:26.17
is you don't make
favorites of one child
00:23:26.20\00:23:28.00
over another
unless you wanna create
00:23:28.04\00:23:29.70
major problems in the family.
00:23:29.74\00:23:32.64
And his father wasn't
wise enough to understand that
00:23:32.67\00:23:35.34
or to realize
that and, of course,
00:23:35.38\00:23:37.75
the other brothers got jealous,
00:23:37.78\00:23:39.71
we're going to kill him.
00:23:39.75\00:23:41.08
So none of that was good.
00:23:41.12\00:23:43.52
Then he was sold into Egypt.
00:23:43.55\00:23:44.99
None of that was good.
00:23:45.02\00:23:46.65
Finished up in Potiphar's house.
00:23:46.69\00:23:49.39
And I know, I imagine that house
00:23:49.42\00:23:51.63
was a very nice house.
00:23:51.66\00:23:53.50
Everything that he touched
00:23:53.53\00:23:55.36
probably was of
very high quality.
00:23:55.40\00:23:58.10
And Potiphar
seemed like a good boss.
00:23:58.13\00:23:59.47
Yes.
00:23:59.50\00:24:00.84
I think he was a good man,
00:24:00.87\00:24:02.20
there's nothing
recorded in the Bible
00:24:02.24\00:24:03.57
that would suggest otherwise.
00:24:03.61\00:24:07.34
And probably Mrs.
Potiphar was all right too,
00:24:07.38\00:24:09.44
but Joseph might have been
a good looking young fellow.
00:24:09.48\00:24:14.92
And while Potiphar
was away traveling,
00:24:14.95\00:24:17.69
then her thoughts went
in the wrong direction,
00:24:17.72\00:24:20.12
but and then he
finishes up in prison
00:24:20.16\00:24:24.16
and he's not just in
prison for a little while,
00:24:24.19\00:24:26.33
he stays there
for a long, long time.
00:24:26.36\00:24:29.60
And...
00:24:29.63\00:24:31.70
Then he's forgotten
by them. Forgot him.
00:24:31.73\00:24:34.24
Well, it seems that
the Lord's forgotten him.
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I mean, how would you feel?
00:24:36.44\00:24:38.11
I think I'd feel that
the Lord's forgotten me too.
00:24:38.14\00:24:41.58
No, that he must have known
00:24:41.61\00:24:43.01
that God was with
him just the same.
00:24:43.04\00:24:44.98
Well, he was faithful to God.
00:24:45.01\00:24:46.35
That's the important thing.
00:24:46.38\00:24:47.72
And it reminds me of that text,
00:24:47.75\00:24:49.95
you know, in the Book of Romans,
00:24:49.98\00:24:51.32
where it says, "All
things work together
00:24:51.35\00:24:53.59
for good to those who love God."
00:24:53.62\00:24:57.83
Romans 8:28.
00:24:57.86\00:24:59.19
8:28, yes, which
is a wonderful verse.
00:24:59.23\00:25:00.96
That verse doesn't say that
00:25:01.00\00:25:02.33
everything that
happens to us is good.
00:25:02.36\00:25:04.10
Doesn't... But it
works out for good.
00:25:04.13\00:25:05.63
If we love the Lord,
00:25:05.67\00:25:07.00
He will work it
together for our good.
00:25:07.04\00:25:09.00
And I think that's a
very important differentiation
00:25:09.04\00:25:12.37
because the Bible never says
00:25:12.41\00:25:14.61
that everything that
happens to us as good.
00:25:14.64\00:25:16.48
As it we've all got
very negative things
00:25:16.51\00:25:18.95
that have
happened to us in our life.
00:25:18.98\00:25:21.15
But if we trust the
Lord, and we believe the Lord,
00:25:21.18\00:25:23.59
He will work
things together for good.
00:25:23.62\00:25:26.76
So there's a
verse in Ephesians 5:20
00:25:26.79\00:25:29.72
that talking about
what you were saying before,
00:25:29.76\00:25:33.73
where you said that
00:25:33.76\00:25:35.10
we need to
always be thanking God.
00:25:35.13\00:25:36.80
Yes.
00:25:36.83\00:25:38.17
And it says in Ephesians 5:20,
00:25:38.20\00:25:40.54
"Giving thanks
always for all things to God
00:25:40.57\00:25:44.44
the Father in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ."
00:25:44.47\00:25:47.61
So it says thank
God for everything.
00:25:47.64\00:25:50.18
Even if things are going bad.
00:25:50.21\00:25:51.55
Even the bed reverses in life.
00:25:51.58\00:25:54.02
Thank God because
he has some reason
00:25:54.05\00:25:56.69
like Romans 8:28 says.
00:25:56.72\00:25:58.05
That's right.
00:25:58.09\00:25:59.42
There's one other
verse I just want to finish
00:25:59.45\00:26:00.79
with in our story.
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You know, Paul
had a vast vocabulary,
00:26:02.39\00:26:04.59
but he was lost for
words when he wrote this verse.
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Have a look at this.
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This is 2 Corinthians Chapter 9
00:26:08.13\00:26:11.60
and verse, 2 Corinthians
00:26:11.63\00:26:14.20
where's that, just find it here.
00:26:14.24\00:26:16.30
Second Book of Corinthians
00:26:16.34\00:26:18.11
9:15.
00:26:18.14\00:26:23.65
At the end of the
chapter where Paul says,
00:26:23.68\00:26:26.85
"Thanks be to God
00:26:26.88\00:26:28.82
for His indescribable gift!"
00:26:28.85\00:26:33.92
I think the old
version says unspeakable gift
00:26:33.96\00:26:36.79
if I remember correctly.
00:26:36.83\00:26:38.99
In other words, he
was lost for words,
00:26:39.03\00:26:40.66
as he thought
about the wonderful gifts
00:26:40.70\00:26:42.46
that God has
given to us in Jesus.
00:26:42.50\00:26:45.83
And that's something
that all of us ought to be
00:26:45.87\00:26:49.00
very grateful for the
salvation that He has provided.
00:26:49.04\00:26:52.91
Even though things may
be very bad in our life
00:26:52.94\00:26:56.18
that they may be very
negative, but nevertheless,
00:26:56.21\00:26:59.45
let us never forget
that God has given to us
00:26:59.48\00:27:04.79
an unspeakable gift.
00:27:04.82\00:27:06.55
And that gift is worth
00:27:06.59\00:27:07.92
more than anything in the world.
00:27:07.96\00:27:09.29
Correct.
00:27:09.32\00:27:10.66
No matter what happens to us,
00:27:10.69\00:27:12.03
if we have Christ,
00:27:12.06\00:27:13.40
we have the
power to overcome sin.
00:27:13.43\00:27:16.53
We have the
power to overcome death
00:27:16.56\00:27:18.43
and to have eternity.
00:27:18.47\00:27:20.07
That's worth
everything, isn't it?
00:27:20.10\00:27:21.44
That's right.
00:27:21.47\00:27:22.80
So our story
today, the man who forgot,
00:27:22.84\00:27:25.97
let's not forget,
00:27:26.01\00:27:27.38
let's not forget
all the Lord's benefits.
00:27:27.41\00:27:30.61
And He has
promised as we praise Him,
00:27:30.65\00:27:34.78
and as we
forget not those things
00:27:34.82\00:27:37.12
that He's done for us,
that will change our own hearts
00:27:37.15\00:27:40.02
and give us an
attitude of gratefulness.
00:27:40.06\00:27:42.89
That's right.
00:27:42.92\00:27:44.39
And today as we
finish the program,
00:27:44.43\00:27:46.03
we pray that God will
bless you and help you
00:27:46.06\00:27:48.66
to have an
attitude of gratitude.
00:27:48.70\00:27:51.20
We'll see you next time.
00:27:51.23\00:27:52.57
God bless you.
00:27:52.60\00:27:53.94