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Think Happy Thoughts?

Words of Faith Final

Think Happy Thoughts?
Words of Faith 7-13-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 40
Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. [2] Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, [3] and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. [4] The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them.
After they had been in custody for some time, [5] each of the two men--the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison--had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.
[6] When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. [7] So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody with him in his master's house, "Why are your faces so sad today?"
[8] "We both had dreams," they answered, "but there is no one to interpret them."
Then Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams."
[9] So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, "In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, [10] and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. [11] Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in his hand."
[12] "This is what it means," Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days. [13] Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. [14] But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. [15] For I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon."
[16] When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to Joseph, "I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. [17] In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head."
[18] "This is what it means," Joseph said. "The three baskets are three days. [19] Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh."
[20] Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: [21] He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand, [22] but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.
[23] The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

The dreams of the cupbearer and the baker are a familiar and colorful part of the story of Joseph. It is a difficult passage to meaningfully break into pieces, so we will look at the whole.
The passage is primarily a movement in the story in which we see Joseph serving faithfully. His brothers and his master, Potiphar, forget him in prison. Joseph is even ignored by the cupbearer after giving him hope. But he is not forgotten by God.
This chapter gives us an interesting insight into life and ministry. Joseph continued to faithfully serve the Lord right where he was. When the opportunity presented itself, Joseph ministered to those in prison by interpreting their dreams. Dream interpretation is not a common ministry today, but clearly, it was a gift that God had given him, and it was a very important prophetic tool in the ancient world.
Joseph interpreted a message of hope to one prisoner but a dire message to another. One is tempted to ask: "Couldn't you have been a little more positive with both these fellows? Couldn't you tell them to think happy thoughts?" But that was not an option.
Their own actions and the decree of Pharaoh had determined the destiny of both the cupbearer and the baker. One was pardoned while the other was not. One died, and the other was restored. Sadly, there was no Gospel yet to share with either one. Their fate concerned the conclusion of their earthly life.
Our life in the ministry of the Gospel is often much like this. The difference is that we can share the Good News of Jesus because we live on this side of the cross. But some of the implications are similar.
We share the Word with everyone, but there are clearly times when we will share a message of hope with a person. When a person receives the message of Christ, we can confidently communicate hope and restoration for those who receive the Word of Truth.
But there are times when, though we proclaim the truth, we will not share a message of hope. For the person who is rejecting the message of Christ's love all the way to the end, there is no data from which we can give hope.
Someone may ask: Couldn't you be a little more positive?" But to do so would be to construct a lie. Just as Joseph could not build a lie for the baker, we cannot create a lie for someone who is lost.
Paul noted, "We are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life" (2 Cor. 2:15-16). We will deal with both situations.
Jesus taught in the Parable of the soils (Luke 8:4-15) that the Word of God will fall like seed upon different hearts like differing types of soil. Some hearts are hard, and the devil steals away the Word. Other hearts are shallow or crowded by weeds and are not fruitful over time. But some hearts are noble and receive the Word of God, which flourishes in their lives.
We cannot really tell what type of soil a person is. We may suspect that we know, but the Holy Spirit may soften what appears hard, as was the case with Saul. We are never told that we can change the type of soil a person is. We are simply to scatter the seed as the sower did, knowing that some will take root and some will not. Trying to change the truth to "be more positive" is futile.
So what do we take away devotionally today? We are called, like Joseph, to work where we are placed. We are to respond to those God puts in our path. As New Testament believers, we are to share the Good News of Christ without discrimination to all who cross our paths. We are to trust that God knows what He is doing. We are to tell the truth. We cannot distort the truth to try and make people happy. We remember that God is with us.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:33-36)

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.