Living In The Light

Welcome to Living in the Light.

So, in one day's time, Joseph went from the pit to the palace, and he was second in command of all of Egypt. And God put him there. That was a plan all along. God put him there to save his family from famine so that the nation of Israel would not die out. Welcome to Living in the Light, the Bible teaching ministry of Anne Graham Lotz.

Today we'll join Anne's daughter, Rachel Ruth Lotz Wright, as she continues with her study in the life of Joseph.

Now, you'll recall that Joseph had spent many years in slavery, in prison, forgotten and alone. until the day that he interpreted two fellow prisoners' dreams. And that led, at last, an opportunity to explain Pharaoh's troubling dream and what it meant. Today, Rachel Ruth continues her message, Living for God in a Wicked World, and that includes Jacob's blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh in the land of Egypt. Let's join Rachel Ruth now to discover more from the book of Genesis.

So, a couple years ago, I teach an online Bible study, and I took them through Genesis, Exodus, and I had been teaching over at the University of North Carolina. Coach Sylvia Hatchell was the head women's basketball coach there for 33 years, and she called me. And asked me to come and start teaching her Bible study. It was just for some of her staff and some donors and people like that, some women that would come. And in Kenan Stadium, I'm up in one of those boxes.

I taught Bible study until COVID hit, and then we had to go online. And then God just blew it up. We've got people from all over the world on that Bible study, and it's been such a treasure for me. But when I was going through Genesis and I got to this particular message in Genesis chapter 48, I was preparing, I had already prepared it, but I didn't have an introduction. And so it was the morning of Bible study, and I was praying.

I was like, Lord, how do you want me to introduce this? And as I was praying, this alarm in our house started going off. And we moved into this house. And I didn't, I saw it on the wall. I didn't know it worked.

It was an older house, and it worked, and it was just blaring. And I didn't know what to do. And I was like, I've got to teach a Bible study. And I just left. I just got in the car and left there running.

And it somehow stopped, and we got it working, you know, so it works now. But driving over, I was like, that's it. That's what the Lord was wanting to show me. And an alarm goes off to warn you about something, to get your attention, to wake you up. And I felt like the Lord was saying, Rachel, that's it.

The Lord said he's got alarms going off in our world and just all the signs that we're to look for at the end of the age, you know, right when judgment is about to fall and Jesus is going to come back, and we see all these things unfolding and frequency and intensity, and we know he's coming. But the alarm that I want to talk about, the alarm that he put heavy on my heart, is the alarm. Of what's happening to this young generation coming up and how the enemy has just pounced on them and done everything he can to pull them down, to discourage them. There's this spirit of fear, anxiety that has hit them. Suicide rates are skyrocketing with this young generation.

And you've got, I think COVID really did a number on kids. And my daughters, my oldest was a senior in high school. My second was a junior in high school. And it was really tough on especially my senior that year. And just the difficulty that that did for them and the fear that that brought in.

And then you've got all the gender confusion and all the things that's been thrown at them on social media and from some teachers, from other people, and making them be confused about something that's so black and white about their gender. And then they're mutilating their bodies and doing these surgeries, and they're young, and they don't even know exactly what they're doing. There's probably pain in their hearts. And then we've got all these other things that are happening to go after these kids and to. to make them angry and rageful and they're lost and they're hurting.

And they need us to be there for them. They need us to set the example. They need us to be bold about Jesus and talk to them. And the alarms are going off. Have you noticed what's happening to this young generation?

Are you just leaving it up to other people? You know, I don't know how to read some, I'm going to leave it up to somebody else. And I think if I talked to them, they wouldn't even want to hear what I have to say. When actually, I think they're dying to hear what you have to say, and they may put on an angry front, but I think they want to know. And so, in Genesis chapter 48.

And the alarms were going off in Joseph's life. And Joseph, at this point, I skipped a lot of his story, but Joseph, you know, served in prison all those years, and then through interpreting two guys' dreams and You know, two years later, then one guy don't live. But anyhow, he remembered the dream and told the Pharaoh, because Pharaoh had a dream and nobody could interpret it. And so Pharaoh asked all the magicians and all these people, you know, the important people of all of Egypt to come in, and they're all like. You know, I don't know.

I don't know what your dream means, Pharaoh. And so that's when the cupbearer says, ah, but I remember this guy in prison. He interpreted my dream correctly, and his name is Joseph. And Pharaoh's like, get him up here, you know. And so from one second to the next, Joseph's life completely changed.

And you can imagine, I mean, he may have had this long beard and he would have had these grungy, you know, prison clothes. And maybe he was scrubbing the floor at the time or going through whatever supplies they had. And someone he hears walking down the corridor and hears his name called. And they say, Joseph, Pharaoh wants you right now. And so they go and clean him up.

He shaves, and you just wonder if he looked in like a plate or something and saw his. face as a man for the first time without a beard and And his hair trimmed and nice clothes on, and he goes in front of the Pharaoh. And Pharaoh says, I hear you can interpret dreams, and he says, I can't. But God can. I mean, right there, give the glory to God.

He could have said, I'm getting off on a tangent, I need to get to the message, but anyhow, he could have said. To Pharaoh, he could have thought, well, this is my big break. I haven't heard from God. I'm still stuck in prison. It's been 10 years being in prison.

And this is my break. And I'll make a deal with you, Pharaoh. I'll interpret the dream if you give me a wad of cash and let me go back to Canaan. But all he said was, God can interpret your dream. And it was because he then interpreted the dream correctly, because God gave it to him, Pharaoh said, Because you're a man of God.

And whom the Spirit of God rests on, I'm going to raise you up to second in command of all of Egypt.

So, in one day's time, he went from the pit to the palace, and he was second in command of all of Egypt. And God put him there. That was a plan all along. God put him there to save his family from famine, so that the nation of Israel would not die out. And God used him to save not just his family, but all of Egypt and the world at the time.

And so, Skipping over more story, he ends up getting reunited with his family, with his brothers. He forgives his brothers in just a dramatic scene of events. And then his father is informed that Joseph is alive. I won't know till heaven if Jacob ever knew what his sons had done to Joseph. You know, it doesn't really say that clearly in scripture.

But anyhow, Jacob comes to Egypt and is reunited with Joseph, and they have years together. I think it was maybe 17 years that they had together there in Egypt. And then the alarm goes off in Joseph's life. And so in verse 1, it says, Sometime later, Joseph was told, Your father is ill.

So he immediately says, So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, along with him. When Jacob was told, your son Joseph has come to you, Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed. And so, when we're thinking of reaching this next generation for the Lord, and how do we do that? How do we pass on this love for Jesus? These are simple, simple ways to do it.

And the first is it involves your time. And so, Joseph was a very busy man. He was the second, you know, most powerful man in the whole world at the time. He would have had appointments, he would have had things to meetings he had to be in, and people he had to govern. And when he heard Jacob was sick, he knew the most important thing at that time was to go spend time with his father and bring his boys.

He wanted his two sons to be around his father, to receive any kind of blessing, to talk to him, to spend time with him, to have that influence on his sons. And so he went to see Jacob. And when he walks in the room with his boys, it says Jacob rallied. You know, he's dying on the bed. And just being around his grandsons and his son made him rally, made him sit up a little bit, you know.

And that's what spending time with family can do. When you're around, you take your kids, you know, to see the grandparents and And they get excited, and it's so important to spend time because that's time that we can influence this young generation. And so if you're a mom, Of kids, are you so busy in your work or busy in your house duties or busy meeting with friends and doing other things? And your kids are just kind of going through life and they've got these games they go to, or they're in sports or they're at school, and you take them from one thing to the next, and you just send them off, and then you go do your stuff. But are you embracing the time that God's given you with your kids in your house?

And I'm an empty nester now, and oh, it's just killing me. And I just loved having the girls home. And I started staying up till midnight every night, at least midnight, just talking to the girls. We sit on the couch. I'm talking, talking, talking.

And it's so important to have that time where you just listen to them. And they want to know that you're not in a rush, not looking at your watch, like, okay, okay, what is it you're wanting to ask me? And instead, giving them genuine time just to sit and talk and listen to them, and also with grandparents. And the impact that the time I spent with my grandparents had on me is just, I came and explained to y'all. It was life-changing for me.

And just to go through some of the stories, my Daddy Bill, just spending time with him, you know, as he got older and he wasn't going around the world as much. I mean, I remember, you know, growing up, seeing him pack, seeing him studying in his study, and Getting his messages together, and then as he got older and he was at home more, we would go up there and sit next to his bed and just read. I would just read scripture with him, and we would discuss it. And he would ask me how Bible study was going, or how this or that, and he would pray immediately. And I saw that the Bible was important to him, not just because of what everybody else saw, you know, when he was preaching, but he had, when his eyes weren't good, he had scripture blown up in huge block letters and put on poster boards all over his house.

And so, in his bathroom, on his walls, down the hall, so everywhere he went, he could see God's word and he would read it and he would ingest it. He didn't get to a point where he had enough. You know, I know this, I've been teaching this, you know. He always, always. Always read God's word, and that was what was most important to him.

And I saw that, and I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't spent time with him. And my grandmother, like I said, you know, she was suffering from so much pain, but she was always reading her Bible. And my mom describes when my mom was growing up, Teta would always have all these translations of scripture out on her bed, like 13 translations, and she would just compare them and read them and study them. And she would have her Bible in her lap, and I would go up there and spend weekends with her when she was hurting. And I would just sit there and we would just discuss God's word.

And I wouldn't know that unless I had spent time with him. And my other grandfather, on my dad's side, they were a crazy mix.

So he was German and his wife, my grandmother, was Italian. And in New York City, and he was one of those street corner preachers that would just go preach on the corners, and he had a church in the worst part of the Bronx. Just a tough man that loved God's word. And he would come down to our house in North Carolina and he had a magnifying glass. And I would see him in the mornings when I would leave for school.

When I'd come home, he'd be sitting over his Bible with a magnifying glass, just reading and reading and reading. And he would have me sit down and read the Bible. And I'd think he'd fallen asleep. I'd try to sneak out. He'd be like, sit down, I'm still listening.

But I knew God's word was everything to him because I had spent time with him. And the same with my dad and my mom. My dad, I had trouble sleeping at night. You know, this hyper kid. And I had trouble.

And I would come downstairs and I would find my dad, who was six, seven, big man, and he would be on his knees. And he had this tiny little closet study. And he would be on his knees praying. And I'd walk down. He's like, Rage, how you doing?

What's wrong, kid? You know, and he would talk to me and encourage me in the Lord. And my mom, always, always in the Word. No one's had a greater influence on my life than my mom. And she has just lived it out, not just, you know, all of them, but not just out in public, but in private, and is just completely focused on the Lord and His Word.

And the impact that that has had on me. And one last, my grandmother, my dad's mom, the Italian, was a hygienist on Fifth Avenue in New York. And so back in the, I guess it would have been in the 30s, you know, she was going to school. For hygiene, you know, to be a hygienist, and that's pretty amazing. I'm so proud of her.

But, but on Fifth Avenue, she had one of her patients was Danny Kaye, you know, from White Christmas. And she would share the gospel with everybody that came in, so she'd have her hand in their mouth and they couldn't do anything, you know. And she would share God's word with them. And she was such a servant of the Lord and served in my grandpa's church in the Bronx. And those were the examples.

And I wouldn't know all that unless I'd spent time with them. And So much of the time is what your kids see, what your grandkids are seeing in you, and what do they see you doing? Are you in your Bible? Do they catch you reading your Bible in the mornings, or do they catch you on your knees praying? And what do they hear you talking about?

And so spend time with this young generation. And not only does it involve your time, it involves your testimony. In verse 3, as Jacob's lying there dying, he says, Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me and said to me, I'm going to make you fruitful and will increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you. And what that shows me is Jacob didn't spend any time in frivolous talk.

He's lying there dying. And what did he talk about? He talked about his testimony, what God had done in his life, the promises God had given him in his life. And he didn't sit there and say, hey, let me tell you about all the sheep I, you know, have and all this loot, the treasure, and the places I've been and the people I know. And he didn't spend time on frivolous talk because he knew time was short.

And it was time for him to share his testimony, what God had done in his life, and the promises God had given him, and how important it is for us to just share our testimony with your kids, with your grandkids, with your neighbor's kids, with this next generation, with people around you. And people cannot argue with your testimony. It's your testimony. It's your story. And so when's the last time you just shared what God has done in your life?

And it could be when God changed your life and you committed your life to him, you surrendered your life to him, or it can be what God's done in your life just. this week. And just share with him what God's done. And I learned so much from stories. I think it's why I love the Old Testament so much, because it's just how I picture things.

I love to hear the stories and get the lessons from it. And so I love stories of my dad. Used to tell me this story when he was growing up. My dad was an athlete. I mean, there wasn't a sport he couldn't play.

And my dad picked basketball and he went after it and he played hard up in Northport, Long Island. And so when it came his freshman year, going into high school, he tried out for the varsity team and he made it. And the varsity coach came up to him and said, you know, lots you're gonna start on Friday night. And my dad was like, oh, this is awesome. And he ran across the street to the house that they lived in.

Told my grandparents, I'm starting on Friday night. I made the team, I'm starting on Friday night. And my grandpa said, You're not gonna play on Friday night. You gotta go with me to the Bowery Mission. You're playing the trumpet because I'm preaching on Friday night.

And dad was like, But he did not argue with his dad. His dad was a big man. And so, my dad, on that Friday night when the basketball game was playing and he wasn't there to start, I can't imagine the conversation he had with his coach, but He went to the Bowery Mission downtown where there's a lot of homeless men and alcoholics that show up. And grandpa preached while my dad played the trumpet. And my dad saw men go forward to receive Christ that night.

And in the car, when they were driving back, my grandpa looked at my dad and said, Danny, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. And my dad went on to start all four years. He got a full scholarship to UNC to play basketball. And he even played football his fifth year. And he got drafted to play in the NFL.

He didn't. He just chose to go to dental school. And so God blessed him. God blessed his athletics. He won a national championship at UNC, 1957 national championship.

And grandpa Through that story of dad sharing that, taught me, you put Jesus first in everything, you know, over all the things in your life, you put him first. And I wouldn't have known that. Unless my dad had shared that part of his testimony with me. And have you been kind of quiet? You think, oh, they don't want to hear about me.

I grew up a long time ago and they don't want to know, you know, the things that happened to me or the experiences I've had. They do, they do. I mean, kids love a story. And so just share what it is that God's done in your life. And maybe you could even share this week.

Be honest. Nobody, nobody wants a fake person. Everybody, you want to be authentic. Have it be real in your heart. Don't say some flowery story.

You tell them how it is. And just say, you know what? I had a terrible week this week. I had a bad attitude. And God spoke to me through this passage.

I was reading my devotions and I felt convicted and then God gave me peace. And it could be something like that. And just always talk about the Lord. And I try to do that with my girls, whether we are in the car and car line or driving somewhere or sitting at a ball game. I was always trying to apply something to scripture.

And we have to just keep talking about Jesus. Keep talking. Don't let anybody shut you up. You know, you keep telling people what Jesus has done in your life and share your testimony. You know, maybe we've got the holidays coming up and Thanksgiving, Christmas, and maybe family will be gathered around, and you just say, Hey, we're doing something new this year.

I want to stand up and I want to testify to what God's done in my life. And you share your testimony with your family. And even if you get dirty looks and people are like, oh, what in the world? Just do it. Just do it and see what God does by using your testimony.

And so, not just does it involve your time and your testimony, but it involves your treasure. And this next part in verses 5 through 11, this is where Jacob tells Joseph, Now then, your two sons who were born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. Any children born to you after them will be yours. In the territory they inherit, they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers.

As I was returning from Padden to my sorrow, Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephra.

So I buried her there beside the road to Ephra. What I got from this was Jacob, what his thought was, he's thinking about Ephraim and Manasseh, you know, Joseph, beloved Joseph, and these are Joseph's two sons. His grandkids, and they're basically like princes in Egypt. I mean, they would have been wealthy. We know they're probably handsome because Joseph was.

They had everything going for them. They were probably in their late teens, early 20s, and they had it all. They were it in Egypt. And so Jacob would have known, I can't give them anything of the world. You know, they've got it all.

What is it that I could give them? And what he gave them was the greatest treasure he could have given them. It was an eternal blessing to be grafted in his family as one of his sons, in almost replacement of his two older sons that were rejecting the teachings Jacob taught. And here, Ephraim and Manasseh now can be considered sons of Jacob, which was a high, high honor. And Jacob knew it was a high honor.

And he was giving something that was eternal. And so, what our treasure is, is the gospel. Our treasure is something eternal. And maybe you can't give a great inheritance to your kids, or you can't do this or that. But what we give our kids is something far.

Far greater, and it's the gospel. And have you shared your testimony? Have you shared the gospel with your kids? It doesn't even have to be your kids or your grandkids. It could be a Sunday school class, it could be your neighbor's kids or a team that you go and volunteer for or whatever.

And share the gospel. Don't be ashamed. Don't be afraid to speak up for Jesus. And I feel like even everything that happened with Charlie Kirk, people are being so much more bold in talking about Jesus. And be bold, speak up about Jesus, share your testimony, and share the gospel with people around you.

And we need to do that. And I was thinking about My daughter, my middle daughter, Sophia, when she was in high school, she had one great friend, and her name was Grace. And she was not a believer, came from a very broken home. And she would spend a lot of weekends with us at our house and was with us a lot. And one morning, I had to go to a tile shop.

I was looking at some tile, and so she was in the car with us. And it was, as the Lord would have it, it was all the way across town.

So we had a long drive, and we were driving. I was looking in my rearview mirror, and I just saw Grace's face was down. And I was like, Grace, I was like, Are you okay? Is everything all right? And she was like, No, she was like, It's just, it's not been easy.

I'm going through a hard time. And I just automatically, I was like, Grace, I want to tell you something. I've been through some tough things, and I couldn't have made it without Jesus. And I went into the gospel, I shared with what Jesus did on the cross. My daughter had been talking to her about it, but I shared again what Jesus did on the cross and that He loved her, He had a plan for her.

And so we pull into the parking lot, and I said, Grace, I said, Do you want to ask Jesus in your heart today, He can be your Lord and Savior and walk with you through these hard things? And she said, Yes, I want to. And so, right there in the parking lot, I prayed, and she prayed after me, and she was just crying, and she was so excited. And it can be just like that, just driving. And in a car where you just start talking with somebody and just look at people as the people that they are.

They're broken, they're hurting, they're desperate, and we've got the answer, and we can't hold that back. We've got the treasure that we want to share, and it's a treasure that's lasting, that's eternal. And so, who is it that you can share the gospel with? Is it your children? Is it your grandkids?

Is it your neighbors? Is it the people, your co-workers, whoever it is? Share the gospel with them. Uh Living in the Light is a weekly study in God's Word with teacher and author Ann Graham Lotz. Learn to listen to His voice.

Then start making the choice to keep on going and believing and trusting who God is. Go to anngrahamlots.org. Take advantage of the many helpful free resources to get you started. Join us again for Living in the Light.