He lived in a time and a place far removed from our own. Yet Joseph remains relevant to our culture with perspectives on purity, prosperity, and more. Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah shares the qualities from Joseph's life. that we would do well to apply in our own.
From the series God Meant It for Good, The Story of Joseph. Here's David to introduce the conclusion of his message, the life of Joseph. Thank you for joining us. You know, anybody's life has certain things that stick out about it. If I knew you as a friend, I would be able to say, you know, he's a courageous person or he's a compassionate person.
When you see the life of Joseph and you read the story of Joseph, some things stick out about Joseph that are very powerful. And we're talking about those on Turning Point, starting yesterday and completing it today. Tomorrow, we're going to begin this incredible story with the betrayal of Joseph by his brothers in chapter 37 of Genesis.
So you can read ahead if you want to, but we'll tell the story tomorrow and going forward as we study his life together from beginning to end.
So many incredible lessons to learn from this Old Testament patriarch. And by the way, you can get the study guide. And you can get all of the C D's for this series. You can do that by getting in touch with us or by going to our website, which is davidjeremiah.org. We love to provide resources for the study of the Bible, for small groups, for Sunday school classes, for all the things that we do.
I hope you'll give us the opportunity to do that by getting in touch with us today.
So here we go with part two of the life of Joseph in the series God Meant It for Good. Joseph's life was pivotal and it was providential. God was at work in the life of Joseph. But Joseph's life was also prosperous. And I like this part of the story because So often over the years as a pastor, I have heard successful men and women who are Christians.
apologize for their success. as if perhaps Being a Christian, you shouldn't be successful.
Well, let me tell you about Joseph. Joseph is one of the few truly successful men mentioned in the Bible. God records His success for us so that we might study the principles of His prosperity. To really understand his prosperity, you have to examine the fact that Joseph was a dreamer. Got any dreamers here today?
People who I don't mean sleeping in church, I mean I mean having a vision for the future. The Bible records six different dreams in the story of Joseph. The first two were his own dreams about the future. which he shared with his father and his brothers. And while in prison, Joseph interpreted two more dreams, one for the butler, the other for the baker.
And the last two dreams were Pharaoh's dreams, which Joseph interpreted, leading to his rise in prominence.
Now in the first dream Joseph was out in the field. harvesting and his sheaf was upright. but the sheaves of his brothers bowed down to him. In Joseph's second dream, he saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to him.
Now, Joseph, I could give you a little advice. That might not be the kind of thing you want to share with your brothers and your father. But he shared it with them and they hated him for it. Joseph knew that this was a promise from God. We know from reading the whole story that it actually happened.
But his brothers didn't know that, and they hated him because of his dream. about his future success. God had a plan for Joseph's life. A plan that would ultimately put him in prominence. It was God's way of saying, you are going to be prosperous.
You will one day be a successful man. Under the hand of God. And that's why the story of Joseph is filled with phrases. describing him as a success. Genesis 39.
The Lord was with Joseph, And he was a successful man. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord had made. all he did to prosper. And the blessing of the Lord. was on Joseph's life.
and all that he had in the house and in the field. Even when Joseph was thrown into prison. I don't know how you're successful in prison, but Joseph figured out a way. He didn't stop being successful. When he was thrown in prison because he resisted the advances of Potiphar's wife, The Bible says the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, it was his doing. And the keeper of the prison did not look at anything that was under Joseph's authority. Because the Lord was with Joseph, and whatever he did. The Lord made it prosper.
Joseph Everywhere he went, He became the person in charge. like cream rising to the top. God made him successful. Joseph didn't make himself prosper. He followed God and God made him prosper.
And that's the whole key to it, isn't it? It isn't for us to make ourselves successful. Oh, we should follow the principles and practices that we know. But we should ask God. To lead us into the pastures where He wants us to be, and to the places of influence where we can make a difference in His behalf.
And we should never apologize. for that when he does it. We should be thankful and grateful and lift up our hands in praise to the Lord that He has been so good to us and trusted us with such influence and blessing.
So it was with Joseph. There was nothing wrong with Joseph's dreams. They were God's way of telling him about his future. And God promised Joseph that he would be successful.
So this man Joseph's life was pivotal. And it was providential. And it was prosperous. Joseph's life was pure. Joseph had some tough times along the way.
But he always seemed to learn from them. And whenever God put him in a pressure situation, Joseph sought for what it was and he survived it. There were basically three major challenges in Joseph's life. We'll get to them in more detail later, but let me just tell you what they were. First of all, he had to pass the test of self-pity.
Now What do we do when we involve ourselves in self-pity. Here's another word for it. We pout. We feel sorry for ourselves. We end up feeling like we're the only ones who are going through what we're going through, and it's not fair.
And God shouldn't be doing this to us. He's picking on us. As one author says, the problem of self-pity is a problem of sight. Self-pitying people have not set the Lord before them as He really is, glorious, kind, sovereign and just. They mainly have set themselves and their circumstances in their field of vision.
And rather than crying out to God in our big and small moments of distress. Self-pity would have us whimper. in the misery of our own hearts. I have to tell you. When I first came here now, All those years ago, back in 1981, was when I showed up here as a pastor.
There were some difficult things going on in our church. Gone into three congregations. We had a church downtown. We had this church which had just been started. We had a church up in the North County.
And I was the pastor of all of them.
Now, you know, it's hard enough to be pastor of one church, but to be pastor of three churches is impossible because everybody. thought they deserved more attention from the pastor than they were getting. If I was down there, I should have been here. If I was here, I should have been up there. If I was up there, And we had a lot of issues.
And people were mad at us a lot. Don and I used to talk about it. There was one month in particular, I don't know what year it was, but one of the early years, and we called it Black May. Because during that month we didn't know if we were going to survive or not. And I got into this issue of Feeling sorry for myself.
I had started a church in Fort Wayne. It was going great. People loved me back there. Everything I touched, God was blessing me. And I come out here and all these people are after me.
Some of them wanted to run me out of here. Here's what I did. I had an old blue van. That I got 'cause it was fun taking my family around on vacation in it and When I get discouraged or Full of self-pity, I'd take my van and I'd get off the freeway and there was a building I kind of parked behind that building and I'd pout. It was my pouting place.
I got up there more than once, I promise you. And I'd go up there and I'd argue with God and I'd say, What are you doing, man? I don't want to live like this. I don't want people mad at me. I want people trying to run me out of here.
Lord, what's going on? And I Got pretty good at pouting. Until one day I was sitting up there, and somebody from the church drove up there, drove up beside my van, rolled down the window, and said, What are you doing up here? And I took that as from God. What was I doing up there?
Joseph was dumped into a pit by his own brothers. Then he was sold as a slave, And after working his way up from slavery, he was thrown into prison for telling the truth. He correctly interpreted the dreams of his fellow prisoners so that they got out of prison, but they forgot about him for two whole years. Nevertheless, listen to me: there is not one word of self-pity or grumbling by Joseph recorded in the Bible. Not one.
He always seemed to view his situation as an opportunity to glorify God. That's what we need to learn from Joseph. He demonstrates that it's possible to face life's challenges. without internalizing them or feeling as though God is singling us out for hardship. Let me assure you of something, my friend.
God is not picking on you. And he's not picking on me. He is instead entrusting you and me with certain trials to help us grow and learn and be stronger than we were. And self-pity is never productive and does not lead to anything good in our lives. And I I want to advise you if you're a powder to give it up.
Because it's not going to take you anywhere.
Somebody said it's kind of like jealousy. You know what jealousy is? It's swallowing poison and expecting somebody else to die. That's kinda like what self-pity is.
So he passed the test of self-pity. Through all of his problems, Joseph never complained. Then he passed the test of sexual enticement. In Genesis 39, we are told that Joseph was tempted by his boss's wife to commit adultery. And Joseph ran out of the house.
The Bible says she had tried to grab his coat, and he left his coat in her hands. I wrote in my notes, he knew he was better off without his coat than without his character. Rather than succumb to temptation, Joseph chose to obey God. He knew how much he owed his boss.
So he couldn't do such an evil thing as to sleep with his boss's wife. He knew how much he owed God, and Joseph was not willing to sin against the Lord. And he survived Victoriously over that temptation, and you know what happened to him because of that? He was thrown in prison. And he was there for at least two years.
Because he did the right thing. And then Thirdly, I think Joseph had another test, which I will call the test of self-indulgence. Just think about this now. Joseph comes to power. He has every opportunity to use his wealth and his power to take revenge on his brothers or simply to grant his every whim.
Instead, He chooses to use his power for the benefit of others. saving his family, helping to feed many nations of the world. I've seen people pass the test of adversity. only to fail the test of prosperity.
Now Joseph He refused to be sucked in by adversity, allurement, or advancement. And Pharaoh Told us what the secret of his life was. Have you ever read this verse? Pharaoh said, can we find such a one as Joseph? A man in whom is the Spirit of God.
How did Pharaoh figure that out? By watching Joseph deal with life. not being full of self-pity. not succumbing to the sexual temptations of his life. and not being willing to get revenge on his brothers for what they did to him.
His life was pivotal and providential and prosperous and pure, and finally. Joseph's life is prophetic. I told you before in that Joseph's life Is signaled to us as important just by the press it gets in the Bible. Genesis 37 to Genesis 50. That's a lot of space.
But Joseph was a pivotal picture in the Old Testament of Jesus Christ. And I want to prove that to you in a very interesting way. Joseph is an Old Testament picture. of the New Testament Jesus. Joseph and Jesus.
are names that come from a kind of similar root word. They mean salvation. Joseph became the savior of the people of Israel. Jesus is the Savior of the world. A.W.
Peinku has written on the book of Genesis. List A hundred comparisons between Joseph and Christ. I'm going to give you a few, but they're amazing when you think about them. For instance, Joseph was a shepherd feeding his sheep. Jesus said, I am the Good Shepherd.
Joseph was beloved of his father. And God said of Jesus, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Joseph was hated by his brothers. And we read of Jesus, they hated me without a cause. Joseph was not believed by his brothers, and the scripture says, Neither did Jesus' brothers believe in him.
Joseph was envied by his brothers, and we read of Jesus. The chief priest delivered him for envy. Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver. Jesus was sold for 30 pieces of silver. Joseph was sold into Egypt.
And of our Lord we read, Out of Egypt I have called my Son. Joseph was a man in whom the Spirit of God was, and we read that God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power. Joseph was put into a pit. Jesus was put into the grave. Joseph was taken out of the pit three days later.
Jesus came out of the grave. After three days, Are those all coincidences? I don't think so. Those are reminders to us that as we study the life of Joseph, we see the life of Jesus. A portrait.
A portrayal of the Jesus who is to come. Over and over again, the similarities between Joseph and Christ. Just jump off the page.
So what can we learn for ourselves? that we can take away from this. Let me just go back. Um Look over my shoulder for a moment. and remind you that Joseph's life was pivotal.
But so is yours. You may not even realize it. It really is. For instance, when I moved to California back in 1981. My sister moved down here.
She became the athletic director at Cal State Fullerton and the women's basketball coach up there. She did a marvelous job. became very much a part of women's athletics. My brother moved out here. For a while, my parents moved out here.
I just came to California and look at all that changed. My children were all young. They came out here. Guess what? They met people from out here.
And before you know it, that decision you made Under the providence of God to take a move to another place is so pivotal, it changes everything about the rest of your life. Have you ever gone back and said, if I hadn't done that, I wonder what my life would have looked like. Your life is pivotal.
Somebody's counting on you to do the right thing. God has a plan for your life. And when you make the right decision, it won't just be for you. You'll infect your family. And you're Extended family and your friends, and only God knows what He's going to do.
Don't ever say your life is not important. Your life is pivotal.
Joseph's life was also providential. And ours is too. God is making all things work together for good. I could give you so many illustrations about in my own life, but You have your own illustrations. You see the hand of God.
After he has done something to show you his way, maybe you look up and you say, Lord God, thank you that I didn't marry that woman. Or thank you that I didn't marry that man. Because you had somebody for me who was better for me. And for my future. The Bible says all things work together for good.
to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. God is working in your life. He's working in my life. And He's working toward a good end, not a difficult or bad one. God has a purpose for you and He's preparing you providentially for that purpose.
And then Joseph's life was pure. In our day, That's more and more difficult. We bring the filth of the world right into our homes in a little thing called the phone. You cannot be pure today. unless you make the decision to be pure.
You will not normally Be that way. You have to determine to be that way, as Joseph did. One day you will be tested. I used to tell young people, when I was a youth pastor years ago. The back seat of an automobile is no place to decide what you believe about purity.
You better make up your mind before you get in that situation. And that's true for us. We can be men and women of purity, men and women who stand out above. all of the garbage that's going on around us today. And God, we use our purity as a testimony to others.
Joseph will teach us how to live life. He's already taught us a few things today. And I hope that as we study his life, We will ask God to help us. See in Joseph. our own lives.
to see in what God was doing in him. what he wants to do with us. God has a plan for you and it is beyond anything you can imagine. You stay where you are and do what you want to do. You beat the Carson Fremont who didn't go to the field but stayed home and married his sweetheart.
And you will miss everything God has for you. The Bible tells us That if we commit our way to the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. What does that mean? It means two things. First of all, what it says.
If you commit your way to the Lord, the Lord isn't going to put you in a place where you don't have any joy in what you do. When I came here as a pastor, I walked away from a church that I had started, that I loved, people that I knew intimately. who had come to Christ because of what we were doing. And that church grew and became a major church in the Fort Wayne area. And God let me come here to this great church and see what he was going to do here.
I had a little radio program called I can't even remember what it's called. It was so little. It was 15 minutes live. I had to drive to the radio station every morning at 7 o'clock. to be there in the winter, in the snow.
I came here and God opened the door for me to be on the radio all over the world. I committed my way to the Lord. And he gave me the desires of my heart. But here's the other part of that. When you commit your way to the Lord, God gives you His desires.
So you no longer just have your desires, you have his desires. You want to do his will, his work. And live life his way. And God has done that in my life as well, and he will do that in yours. Give your heart to God as Joseph did.
Turn your back on the things that you think are so important for yourself. Make God number one. Watch what he does. you will be surprised.
Well, that's a true true statement. The life of Joseph is a study in how to live life through the good times and the bad. And we would love to have you with us through the whole study as we've started it this week. Hey, our resource for the month of September is. Our brand new calendar called Following in His Footsteps.
This beautiful calendar, which is one of the most Sought after resources we have during the year is available now for you to receive for a gift of any size. Just send your gift to Turning Point, whatever size that you are able to do, and say, please send me the calendar, and it will get there in plenty of time for you to start on the 1st of November, filling in all the blanks and get your schedule squared away for the new year. I love this calendar. You will too, and I delight to send it to you when you help us with your investment in Turning Point. I'm David Jeremiah.
It's my privilege to be with you every day. Thank you for joining me today. And please show up tomorrow, will you? And we'll have a good time studying Joseph. Today's message originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church and Dr.
David Jeremiah, the senior pastor. We love hearing how you're encouraged by this ministry.
So please write to us at Turning Point, PO Box3838. San Diego, California, 92163. Visit our website at davidjeremiah.org/slash radio or call 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of our new 14-month calendar. Following in His footsteps and deepen your faith daily in 2026.
It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also download the free Turning Point mobile app to instantly access our content. or search in your app store for the keywords Turning Point Ministries. Visit davidjeremiah.org slash radio for details. This is David Michael Jeremiah.
Join us tomorrow as we continue the series God Meant It for Good: The Story of Joseph on Turning Point.
