Pastor Greg Laurie presents the Amazon Prime hit series The House of David, now on DVD. The House of David, which has been just a smash hit on the Amazon streaming platform, is now available in a box set format. And you can watch it when you want to. We're also including something called Beyond House of David, which is a four-part documentary series.
So order your copy right now, The House of David. Yours for a gift of any amount at harvest.org. It's a time of stress, short tempers, and insecurity. Pastor Greg Laurie points us to Joseph as inspiration for the way we should live. We're in a culture that does not value forgiveness today.
We're uptight, we're angry, we're very prone to sue. We're a very litigious culture. We have road rage, we have cyberbullying, and we prize revenge and payback as virtues. But Joseph shows us a better way: the way of forgiveness. This is the day we.
The lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. A race and grace has squeezed us down. Oh, can you hear all the angels are singing? This is the day, the day when I begin.
Doesn't it seem like some people on social media are just looking for a fight? If something displeases them, they attack. And then someone else attacks right back. Has it come to that? Is that the new norm for human interaction?
Well glad you're along today on a new beginning, as Pastor Greg Laurie shows us a better way, a higher way.
Well, see, God shows us a fresh prescription for life. demonstrated in the lives of some remarkable people who rose above. Yeah. You know, we live in a culture today. in search of real heroes.
I don't even know if we know what a hero is anymore. You know, we use the term very loosely. We have a hero sandwich. You can start there.
Well, I kind of like those, by the way. And if someone can, you know, dunk a basketball, whether a sports hero or play eight chords, maybe only four on an electric guitar, they're a guitar hero.
Now, those are fine things to do, but there's nothing heroic about those things. I think we live in a culture that has a lot of celebrities, but very few heroes. One person summed it up this way. Uh the hero is known for achievements. The celebrity is known for well-knownness.
The hero reveals the possibilities of human nature. The celebrity reveals the possibilities of the press and the media. Celebrities are people who make news, but heroes are people who make history. Time makes heroes, but dissolves celebrities. I like that one line in particular.
Celebrities are people who make news, but heroes are people who make history. That is certainly what we have before us in this particular story. We have a young man named Joseph who was a true hero. and he changed his world. There's a lot of things we can learn from young Joseph.
One of them is how to overcome adversity. He had the deck stacked against him. His life showed very little promise. He was actually the 12th of 13th children. Kind of a spoiled young man.
Given to visions of grandeur, he was a teenager. He liked to sleep in. But God gave to him dreams. And in fact, in the beginning, his dreams got him into trouble, but in the end, other people's dreams got him out of trouble. In the story of Joseph, we discover how we can overcome envy.
How we can face adversity. How we can resist sexual temptation and have faith in the promises of God. But the most significant takeaway, I think, in the life of Joseph is how to forgive those who have horribly wronged you. And you know, we're in a culture that does not value forgiveness today. We're uptight, we're angry.
Uh We're very prone to sue. We're a very litigious culture. We have road rage, we have cyberbullying, and we prize revenge and payback as virtues. But Joseph shows us a better way: the way of forgiveness. And all that he went through.
He was able to say to his brothers who betrayed him, and we'll get to that in a moment: it was not you who sent me here, but God. If Joseph were to have a life verse, this verse hadn't been written when he was alive, because this is the book of Genesis. But if he had a life first, it would have surely been Romans 8, 28. Which says, So we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to his purpose. And by the way, if anyone could have had an excuse for turning out bad, it was Joseph.
I mean, he lived in the middle of a family dominated by lying, deceit, immorality, manipulation, even murder. He could have blamed his mom and dad for all of the problems of his life. He could have played the victim card big time. And for 17 years he put up with this nonsense. Yet amazingly, he turned out to be a very godly young man with a sterling character.
So if you live in a messed up, dysfunctional home, take heart. Because it was really bad for Joseph, and he was able to come through it. You know, I look at my own life and I think, why did I live that life in particular? Why was I dealt this particular hand? But I can look back on my life now as a kid, you know, with an alcoholic mom married and divorced seven times and all these boyfriends in between.
And I think, what an insane life I lived. Actually, it's funny, my friends all envied me. Because I had no restrictions. And my mom did not care about my grades. And I was able to just live as I wanted.
And every night I went out and ate what I wanted to eat. And I happened to go to a restaurant and order the same thing every night. hamburger, french fries, vanilla shake.
Next night, hamburger, french fries, vanilla shake. And after a while, I wanted normalcy. I would go over to my friend's house and eat bad food just to be in a more stable family environment. But the reason I think God let me go through all this stuff is that Gave me a heart for kids and young people. and what they're facing.
I lived in a world I didn't want to live in, but the Lord got hold of me, and my life changed at 17, and Joseph's life changed at 17 as well. There are four. 14 chapters in the book of Genesis dedicated to the story of Joseph. I'm only going to touch on his story. In this message, and I recommend that you go back and read it for yourself.
The fact is, Joseph's story occupies more space in the book of Genesis than any other person. More space in Adam or Noah or Abraham or Isaac or his own father Jacob. You can basically divide Joseph's life up into three sections: his start. His struggle. and a success.
His start was basically birthed at 17 years while he was growing up. He was the son of Jacob's true love, Rachel, and he was hated by his brothers. That antagonism And hostility toward him, fueled by envy, was beginning to brew. Then there was this struggle. from age 17 to 30, where he was elevated and then falsely accused of rape and actually served prison time, but the Lord was preparing him for what was yet ahead and then success, that would be age 30 to death.
And he shines in this section as he was blessed by God in every way and extended undeserved forgiveness to his brothers.
So let's start with. him as a kid.
Okay, so I already told you he had a bunch of brothers. He was favored by his father. His dad doted on him, even giving him a special coat.
Now, maybe you've heard it called the coat of many colors. That's the King James Translation. Actually, what it was was sort of a long-sleeved tunic. If something that you would wear, maybe to a wonderful event, while his brothers probably had. Outfits and cut off sleeves or working in the hot sun.
And old Joseph would show up in his super cool coat and kind of walk around him looking at them. And they were very envious. Why doesn't he have to work out here like the rest of us? And then to make matters worse, he rats out his brothers. He goes home and tells on them to his dad, and they're resenting him more and more every day.
So much so they think. Let's just kill him. Wow, really? Yes. They decided they wanted to kill their young brother.
And they were about to do it, but they changed their mind when a group of Midianite slave traders were traveling by and they sold their brother for 20 pieces of silver.
So now he's purchased by a man named Potiphar. Potiphar was a very powerful man. He was actually the head of sort of the secret service of the Pharaoh. This is a man that could have you executed at will. And Potiphar brought him into his house as a slave.
But Joseph was so responsible, so hardworking, so full of integrity, that as Potiphar gave him more and more responsibilities, he ultimately put him in charge of his entire estate. He said, Boy, you just run it. You're doing such a great job. But Potiphar had a really psycho wife. Her name was Mrs.
Robinson. No, that she, what that's that's a movie. Forget it. It's an old cultural point. But she was like Mrs.
Robinson, if you know the movie I'm talking about. She was older. Probably attractive, I suppose. And I know Joseph was very good looking because the Bible specifically says of him he was well-built and handsome. Comes from the Hebrew studido, which is stud.
No, I'm kidding, not but. He was a good-looking guy. If the Bible says someone was good-looking, you can be sure they were good-looking. And so she looks at this. Very handsome, muscular young man.
And she was far from subtle. She just basically said, why don't you have sex with me right now? And he was like, no way. And he kept his distance from her, but she persisted day in and day out. And then one time, She had all the servants.
leave the house, so it was just her and Joseph. And she grabbed him and pulled him down on the bed. And the Bible says that he ran out of that house as fast as he could. You know, sometimes when you're getting tempted, that's the best thing to do. You know, you're staying there saying, Oh God, just give me strength right now.
I'm in this hotel room with this girl and I'm getting tempted. Get out of the hotel room, you idiot. No, just praying for strength. No, you need to pray that your brain works. And then you need to pray that your hand works and turns the knob and walks out of the door because you shouldn't be there in the first place.
A lot of times you're being, oh Lord, help me in this place. Why are you in that place? And Joseph knew he needed to get out of that place. That's what the Bible says. Flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace.
Or as a New Living Translation puts it, run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. By the way, That verse is not just to young people. It's to all people. It says youthful lusts. You can be old and still have youthful lusts, right?
He ran from her. which was the right thing to do. Because he was a godly young man. And what does she do? She falsely accuses him of rape.
And Potiphar sends him to prison. By the way, I think Potiphar knew Joseph was innocent, but he had to live with this psycho-cougar chick, so he went along with it.
So that brings us to the next stage of Joseph's life as he is in prison. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everybody, you can watch our Sunday services on a special broadcast that we call Harvest at Home. It's streaming on the Harvest Plus platform.
So download that app right away, Harvest Plus, and you can enjoy being a part of our extended church family every Sunday.
Well, Pastor Greg is introducing us to a biblical hero today. Joseph from Genesis chapter 41. We're seeing his integrity in spite of earth-shaking trials and troubles. How easily Joseph could have been so discouraged. How easily he could have said to God, Lord, I can't take this anymore.
First, I'm sold by my brothers into slavery. And then this woman tries to entice me and I resist her enticement and says, your word tells me to. And then she lies about me and now I'm in prison. This isn't fair. And it wasn't fair.
But yet the Bible never tells us that Joseph said anything of the kind. In fact, he just carried on because Joseph had his dream. God gave him a dream. When he was a young man. And in his dream, he knew he was going to be placed in a position of influence and prominence.
And when he told his brothers about it, it just ticked them off even more. Maybe God's given you a dream. Maybe a sense of where you're going to go in your future, and other people laugh at you or. tear you down. And you just you hang on to your dream if God has given you one.
You know, I heard a story about a crab fisherman who had a bucket full of crabs, but no lid. And a friend said to him, Why don't you have a lid on your bucket of crabs? Won't they get out? And he says, Oh, no problem. The moment one crab tries to escape, the others reach up and pull them back down.
There's people like that, aren't there? You know, it's easy maybe to offer a little sympathy to someone who's suffering. But if someone gets something wonderful or has something wonderful happen to them, now envy starts to kick in and you want to pull them down to where you are. And so here's Joseph. It makes no sense.
He kind of felt like God had forgotten him. But the Bible gives us one very important detail. Genesis 39, 21, it says, The Lord was with Joseph.
So sitting there in the dungeon, the Lord was with him. Listen, I'd rather be in a dungeon with God than anywhere else without him. I'd rather be in a lion's den with God than anywhere else without Him. I'd rather be in a storm with Jesus on board my boat than anywhere else without him. Maybe you feel like you're in a dungeon right now.
Maybe it's a bad marriage. Maybe it's a really difficult job. Maybe it's a horrible sermon you're listening to right now. I'm joking, okay. Maybe it's an illness.
Or maybe it's a literal cell, and I know no one's in a prison in the place I'm speaking, but people watch us in all kinds of interesting places. And I get letters from people who are incarcerated.
So it could be someone listening to me right now in a literal cell. I think of my friend Michael Franzes, who served time in prison because he was a member of the Colombo crime family. And he wouldn't rat out his friends. And so they sent him to solitary confinement. And a prison guard gave to him a copy of the scripture, and he had a little radio.
He told me he used to listen to me on the radio when he was in this horrible prison and solitary confinement.
So you never know who you're going to reach with the word of God. But God was preparing Joseph for what was ahead.
Meanwhile, over in Egypt, In the court of the Pharaoh, the most powerful men on the planet had a very unusual dream. Pharaoh dreamt that he was standing by the Nile River. And out of the river came seven healthy fat cows gazing among the reeds. And after that came seven other cows who were ugly and gaunt, and they ate up the seven healthy cows. Pharaoh thought, I knew I shouldn't have had that pizza with pepperoni last night.
But seriously, he was having a dream that was predicting the future of Egypt and he woke up in a panic. What does this dream mean?
So he calls in all of his magicians and people that are supposed to interpret dreams for him and nobody was able to interpret it. They're clueless. And I left one detail up: really important thing. When Joseph was in the dungeon, The king's butler and the king's baker joined him in his cell. They both had troubling dreams and Joseph interpreted them for them.
And then the baker was being released back to serve the king. And Joseph said, remember your old buddy Joseph. Who interpreted your dream when you get out of here? The Beaker said, absolutely. And he forgot all about Joseph.
So suddenly the baker remembers, wait, sir, there is a man I met in a prison cell who was able to interpret my dream.
So now Joseph is brought Up to the court of the Pharaoh. And that's where we start, Genesis 41. That was the introduction, by the way. Genesis 41 verse 14. Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once.
He was brought hastily from the dungeon. After a quick shave and a change of clothes, he went in and stood in Pharaoh's presence. I had a dream last night, Pharaoh told him. And none of these men can tell me what it means, but I heard that you can interpret dreams, and that's why I've called for you. Joseph boldly responds, Genesis 41, 16, it is beyond my power to do this.
But God will tell you what it means, and He will set you at ease. Wow, he was bold, wasn't he? He's going to tell the Pharaoh now what this dream is all about. Not only tell him the meaning of the dream, he's going to tell him the dream. He says, Okay, Pharaoh, this is what's going on.
Those seven cows that are ugly and gaunt, eating the other cows, here's what it means: you're gonna have a time of famine. You're not going to have enough food for your kingdom.
So you need to start setting food aside now for when the famine comes. And if you do this, you'll have enough food to get you through the hard times. And you need to put someone Over the food supply. As you're starting to put it together, all the magicians are saying, me, me, me. And the Pharaoh says, I want you, son.
And all of a sudden, Joseph, who was just the night before in a dungeon, is now the second most powerful man in the world. Ruling over the food supply of Egypt. Unbelievable turn of events. And if the story ended here, it would have been an amazing one. But instead it culminates With one of the most amazing Demonstrations of forgiveness ever extended.
So fast forward many years, time has passed. Joseph looks like a completely different guy. He doesn't have the long hair and the beard of the Hebrew. He looks like an Egyptian. He walks like an Egyptian.
He has cool Egyptian eyeliner and does those little moves. I don't know. At least that's the way they look on the walls. And he didn't look anything like himself anymore. And what happened was the famine came, just as Joseph predicted.
And so meanwhile, back home with the family, They're all Hungry. And they hear that Back in Egypt, or over in Egypt, they have a lot of food.
So the family of Joseph goes to get food from him, and they show up in his court. And he looks at them and recognizes his brothers, but they don't recognize him.
So he starts peppering them with questions about what's going on and asks questions that only a brother would know. And then this amazing scene unfolds, Genesis 45. I'm reading from the New Living Translation, starting in verse 1. Joseph couldn't stand it any longer. Out, all of you, he cries to the attendants.
He wanted to be alone with his brothers. Then he broke down and wept aloud, and his sobs could be heard throughout the palace, and the news was quickly carried to Pharaoh's palace. And then Joseph said, I am Joseph. Is my father still alive? But his brothers were speechless.
I mean, imagine that moment. I am Joseph. And they're thinking, we are dead, dead, dead, dead, dead. You're Joseph? Life is going to end for us right now.
They were rendered speechless. They were stunned to realize Joseph was standing there in front of them. Come over here, he said. They came closer and he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But don't be angry with yourselves that you did this to me.
For God did it. Underline that. Don't be angry with yourself for what you did to me. For God did it. and sent me here ahead to preserve your lives.
We'll stop there. What gave Joseph the grace to make a statement like that? This could have been the ultimate revenge story. If this was a movie, it all would have gone into slow motion as he killed each brother. killing each one in a different way than he killed the one before.
And we would have said, yes. But that's not what happens. Instead, he forgives all of them. Pastor Greg Laurie with a great story of forgiveness today from the life of Joseph. And obviously this study isn't finished.
There's more to come here on a new beginning. Forgiveness is such an important part of living a life of peace. But the greatest peace is found in asking for God's forgiveness. It's so freeing to shed the guilt, the the loneliness, the fear of what lies beyond the grave. Pastor Greg, someone can come to God and make that kind of change today, can't they?
They can, and it's so simple. And I think because it's so simple, people think, oh, it can't be that easy.
Well, look, Jesus did all the heavy lifting. He carried the cross for you. He died on that cross that he carried. This isn't about what you do, it's about what he's done. But here's what the Bible says Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
So let's just say that you're caught in a riptide out in the ocean and you need help and there's a lifeguard at the stand and they see you. You've got to call out to them and let them know you need saving. And the same is true when it comes to eternal life. Jesus is ready to save you. Will you call out to Him?
You say, Well, okay, how do I do that? You do it through prayer. And prayer is just talking to God.
So, listen, I'd like to lead you in a simple prayer. And if you pray this prayer after me. I believe God will hear it and answer it, and Christ will come to live inside of you. Thousands of people have prayed a prayer like this over the years that we've been doing this radio broadcast and have seen their life change. There's no power or magic in a prayer, it's all about your commitment to Christ.
But this is a way to call on the name of the Lord in this prayer.
So, if you want Jesus to come into your life and forgive you of your sin, if you want to know that you'll go to heaven when you die, if you want to fill that big hole in your heart, Just pray this prayer after me. You could pray it out loud if you like. Pray it in the quietness of your heart, but pray these words if you would. Lord Jesus I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the Saviour.
who died on the cross for my sin, I am sorry for my sin, and I turn from it now. and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Be my Saviour and my Lord. be my God and my friend. Thanks for hearing this prayer.
in answering this prayer, In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Listen, if you just prayed that prayer. I want you to know that God has heard you and has answered it. The Bible says, These things we write to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, that you may know.
It's yours now. God has given it to you because it's the gift of eternal life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, congratulations And welcome to the family of God. Yeah, yeah, that's right. And we want to help you get started in this new relationship with the Lord.
Would you let us send you something? It's free of charge. It's Pastor Gregg's New Believers Bible. You know, millions have read this edition of God's Word. New Believers love the study helps written just for them.
and they appreciate that it's in an easy-to-understand translation. We'll send it to you today. Just ask for the New Believer's Bible. when you call 1-800-821-3300. You can call any time, 1-800-821-3300.
or write a new beginning box 4000. Riverside, California, 92514. or go online to harvest.org. Yeah. You know, Pastor Gregg, we hear from people all the time who tell us how these daily studies have impacted their lives.
So many have found the Lord and been encouraged through this teaching. That's right. And we hope our listeners might pray about making an investment so these studies can continue. Yeah, it's really true, Dave. You know, and even a little bit helps.
You know, people need to hear the gospel so badly. They need to hear the teaching of the word of God. It changes everything because it changes us. And I'm so passionate about it, and I'm called to do it, and I'm thankful for it. But I can't do it alone.
So I'm going to ask folks that are listening: if you think more people need to hear the gospel. If you believe more people need to hear the teaching of the Word of God, then Prayerfully consider investing in harvest ministries and maybe even become a harvest partner. Which means you're someone who stands with us every month in your faithful giving. And that opens up a lot of new opportunities for us.
So Thanks for that. Yeah, that's right. And we really are thankful for your partnership. You can reach us any time day or night at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300.
Or write a new beginning box 4000. Riverside, California 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org.
Well, next time, more insight from the life of Joseph and the value and importance of forgiveness. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is a day, the day when life begins.
