1 September 6, 2009 From the Outhouse to the Penthouse Genesis 41:39-40 Please turn to Genesis 41. Every ten years the federal government undertakes a massive data collection called the Census. The last Census occurred in 2000. The 2000 Census reported that 670,000 households were still using outhouses. That s 0.6 percent of our homes or six homes in every thousand. Palm Bay has about 40,000 households. If we met the average, there would be 240 Palm Bay homes with outhouses. The use of outhouses goes back to Colonial times. In our country s foundation years, there was no real plumbing. Wooden outhouses provided basic restrooms. Almost no one could read, so a cut out crescent moon marked the women s room and a cut out star marked the men s room. Those cutouts at the top of the doors let light in. It appears that the use of outhouses is declining, because AOL ranks outhouses among the Top 25 Things Vanishing in America. We ll get an update on this important statistic next year from the 2010 Census. Canada feels a little different about outhouses. A group in Nova Scotia has formed the Outhouse Preservation Society to keep outhouses from becoming extinct. You can become a member for $10 per year. I joined for one year, but it s all behind me now. The group also constructed the Outhouse Museum at the Rossingnol Cultural Center in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. To visit the museum, you don t have to be flush with cash because adult admission is only $4. Now, that we ve raised the lid on this topic, let s move on to more serious things. Let's look at an individual who went from the outhouse to the penthouse. When we think of an outhouse, nothing good comes to mind. When we think of the penthouse suite of a hotel or condominium, only good things come to mind. The life transition of today s Bible character is as significant as the difference between an outhouse and a penthouse or a prison and a palace. Let s look at the life of Joseph. Joseph had eleven brothers. His father, Jacob, showed favoritism to Joseph, so his brothers hated him. Joseph was a dreamer. He had a couple of dreams, where his family
2 bowed down to him. Joseph revealed the dreams, and his brothers hated him even more. One day Jacob sent Joseph to see how things were going for the brothers and the flocks they were tending. When his brothers saw Joseph coming, they plotted to kill the dreamer. They threw Joseph in a pit. They changed their minds about killing Joseph and sold him to some traders who were going to Egypt. The brothers faked Joseph s death by putting goat blood on Joseph s fancy robe. Jacob assumed that a wild animal had killed him. While Jacob was mourning Joseph s death, Joseph was sold to Potiphar. Potiphar was Pharaoh s captain of the guard. Things went great for Joseph in Potiphar s house for a while. Potiphar saw that God was with Joseph. That made Joseph an important asset. Potiphar appointed Joseph over everything he owned. Potiphar prospered with Joseph in charge. In time, Potiphar s wife noticed and began to seduce Joseph. Joe said, No! Potiphar s wife lied to Potiphar, saying Joseph tried to sleep with her, so Potiphar threw Joseph into Pharaoh s prison. Prison wasn t a good place. It was like a locked, secure outhouse that had no way of escape. Despite Joseph s confinement, God was with him. God is with us too, when we face problems in life. The warden put Joseph in charge of all of the inmates. Some time later, Pharaoh s cupbearer and baker offended him. Pharaoh confined them to Potiphar s house, which was inside the prison where Joseph was held. Joseph was in charge of the cupbearer and baker. After a long time, the cupbearer and the baker each had a dream on the same night. Joseph interpreted the dreams. Pharaoh restored the cupbearer to his position in three days, as Joseph interpreted. Pharaoh hanged the baker in three days as predicted. Joseph asked the cupbearer to put in a good word for him with Pharaoh, but the cupbearer was self-absorbed and forgot Joseph. Joseph stayed in the outhouse of prison for two more years. That brings us to Genesis 41. After two full years, Pharaoh had a dream involving cows. First, there were seven perfect cows. Then, seven scrawny cows ate the perfect cows. Pharaoh had a second, similar dream. Seven scorched heads of grain ate seven healthy heads of grain. The pattern of sevens was clear. Bad swallowing up good was obvious. But, what was the precise meaning of the dreams.
3 Pharaoh called his best advisers together. No one could interpret the dreams. The dreams stumped the wisest men in Egypt. Then, the cupbearer remembered there was a man in prison who interpreted dreams. The man was Joseph. God hadn't forgotten Joseph in the outhouse, and God doesn't forget us when we're in the outhouse of life. Joseph was 17 when his brothers put him in a pit and sold him to traders headed for Egypt. He had been in Egypt 13 years. He was in the outhouse of prison due to a false accusation. His life had been very different from his teenage dreams about his family bowing down to him, but things were about to change for Joseph. Over the next 30 minutes, God would take Joseph from the outhouse to the penthouse. Genesis 41:14 tells us that Pharaoh called for Joseph. Joseph quickly shaved and changed his clothes. The guards brought Joseph from the prison to the palace. Joseph stood before Pharaoh, waiting to see what would happen to him. Pharaoh described the dreams and said, "Hey, I heard you can interpret dreams." Joseph, in humility, replied, "I can't, but God can." God gave the interpretation to Joseph. There would be seven prosperous farming years followed by seven years of crop failure. There would be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. Joseph advised Pharaoh to find a discerning and wise person to manage the food supply. The survival of Egypt would depend on this man. Then, Joseph laid out a plan to establish a food reserve and survive the famine. Pharaoh liked the plan. Earlier, you turned to Genesis 41. Let's read Genesis 41:39-40. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you." Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of everything except being king on the throne. In 30 minutes, Joseph had gone from the outhouse to the penthouse, because that was God's next step toward fulfilling Joseph's teenage dreams. Soon, his family would bow to him as he had dreamed long ago. What is your outhouse? Do you need a job? Is it hard to pay your bills? Is there friction in your marriage? Are you addicted to something? Are you chained to selfishness? Are you bound by worry? Are you exhausted? Are you hung by your tongue? Are you spiritually stagnant? Is there famine in your prayer life?
4 To escape your outhouse, dream a little. I'm not talking about selfish dreams. I mean dreams from God for our service in his kingdom. God can give those dreams and make those dreams come true. Regardless of how long it takes or how difficult it is to achieve those dreams, remember this: God wants to fulfill his dreams for our lives. Will we let him work in us? Will we cooperate with God's design for our lives? Will we remain faithful to God when we're in the outhouse? Will we live in a manner that allows God to promote us from the outhouse to the spiritual penthouse, from our prison to his palace? We can be lazy, or we can serve God in his kingdom. We can fight God every step of the way, or we can submit to God's perfect transformation. We can complain about the hard work or rejoice in God's miraculous work. We can demand our own way and forfeit the dreams, or we can let God be boss and see every spiritual dream fulfilled. We can choose to stay in the outhouse or let God lead us to the penthouse. Will we really pray about God's dreams for us? Will we really commit to pursue those dreams? Will we exercise the perseverance needed to finish the race to our dreams? God is ready and dependable. Are we? Just off the path to our dreams are the potholes of selfishness, laziness, lack of discipline, and temptations. Avoid the potholes. Stay on God's path to your dreams. The path to our dreams is surrounded by enticing detours and off-road opportunities like educational attainment, career pursuits, hobbies, and chasing wealth. Avoid the detours. Stay on God's path to your dreams. God can make your spiritual dreams come true. Beware; there is a danger when our dreams come true. Here's the danger. It is easier to forget God in the good times than it is to remember God in the bad times. Alternately stated, it is easier to forget God in the penthouse than it is to remember God in the outhouse. Avoid the danger. Remember God's role in your dreams coming true. Joseph stayed focused on God in the pit, in Potiphar's house, in prison, and in the penthouse of the palace. Joseph refused to forget God when his dreams came true. Let's let God lead us to the penthouse, but let's remember three things once we arrive. 1. I am who I am because of the providence of God. Providence means God is in control to accomplish what he wants to happen. Pharaoh had a dream about fat and skinny cows because of the providence of
5 God. The cupbearer remembered Joseph because of the providence of God. The guards released Joseph from prison because of the providence of God. Joseph received the interpretation of Pharaoh's dream because of the providence of God. In 30 minutes, Joseph went from the outhouse to the penthouse, from the prison to the palace, from Alcatraz to the Oval Office because of the providence of God. Joseph's submission to God allowed God to fulfill his dreams. Joseph was promoted, because God gave Joseph the ability to interpret dreams. Joseph acknowledged that his ability came from God. Joseph gave the credit to God. Joseph is our model. Here is his model to us: Submit to God. Allow God to work. Give the credit to God. When our dreams come true, we should tell ourselves, "I am who I am because of the providence of God." There is a second thing we should remember when our dreams come true. 2. I am where I am because of the promotion of God. After revealing the meaning of Pharaoh's dreams, Joseph shifted from dream interpretation to real life application. Joseph laid out a plan to survive the famine. Joseph said, "Pharaoh, choose a wise man to implement a wise plan. Here's the plan. Appoint managers over regions of the land. Store one fifth of the harvest during the seven years of abundance. Use that surplus during the famine." Then, God promoted Joseph by influencing Pharaoh to promote Joseph. All of Pharaoh's best men were present, but Pharaoh made Joseph second in command. Earlier that day, Joseph was in the outhouse. Now, Joseph was in charge of the entire kingdom of Egypt. He was the man. He was the Chief Operating Officer. People bowed when he passed by. People did whatever he said. Pharaoh may have issued the order, but God promoted Joseph. Psalm 75:7 says, "It is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. Joseph's dreams came true. The God who let Joseph go into the pit and the prison was the same God who promoted Joseph to the palace. When your dreams come true, tell yourself, "I am where I am because of the promotion of God." There is a third thing we should remember when our dreams come true. 3. I have what I have because of the provision of God. Pharaoh gave his signet ring to Joseph. He gave him a royal wardrobe, a gold necklace, and a chariot. He gave
6 him a wife. He gave him authority and status. Because of God's provision, Joseph had all the resources of Egypt for his use. Joseph had it all. That's a dangerous place to be. It would have been easy for Joseph to think, "I have the big job, the 401K, the chauffer, the trophy wife, two sons, power, and prestige. I'm set for life. I can handle this on my own now." Genesis 41:51-52 reads, "Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. For, he said, 'God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house.' "The name of the second he called Ephraim, 'For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.'" Part of God's provision to Joseph was two sons. Joseph gave Hebrew names to them. The first son he named Manasseh, because God made him forget the pain of the past. Joseph didn't forsake God because of his problems. The second son he named Ephraim, because God made him fruitful in Egypt. Joseph didn't forget God because of his prosperity. Joseph gave the credit to God. What provision has God given to us? Do we have a place to live? Will we enjoy food today? Did we have transportation to church? Did our eyes behold the beauty of creation this morning? Did our ears enjoy the music we just sang? Do we have family and friends who care about us? Do we have peace and eternal life? Has God trusted us with responsibility in his kingdom? Don't let God's provision make you think you don't need him. When your dreams come true, don't go solo in your own strength. Don't take the credit. Don't forget God. Instead, be grateful and acknowledge the source of all you have. When your dreams come true, tell yourself, "I have what I have because of the provision of God." God has dreams for your life. He wants to reveal those dreams to you and make those dreams come true. When you submit to God and the dreams come true, tell yourself three things. I am who I am because of the providence of God. I am where I am because of the promotion of God. And, I have what I have because of the provision of God. Always remember, When dreams come true, it isn't because of us; it's because of God. Let's pray.