Text: Genesis 39:15-23

Introduction.

-Joseph ended up in Egypt,sold by his brothers.

-He was bought by Potiphar,serving as a butler in his mansion.

-Potiphar was the captain of Pharaoh's guard.

-And then we have a "sexual harassment."

- II Timothy 2:22. The recipe:run away.

-Do not try to talk,argue,preach,pray.Run away.

- Genesis 39:20, he leaves the mansion and goes to prison.

-What is to do when it happens?

01.Believe in God's sovereignty.

- Genesis 39:21a. "But the Lord was with Joseph."

-What was your mansion?

-Being in Brazil.A good job.A stable family.Many friends.

-All of a sudden you loose everything.And now you feel like being in a prison.

-The circumstances of life are like the waves.They change all the time.

-Our lives are like "boats".

-You can't control the waves,believe that God is at the helm.

-Illustration.A very ugly boy.

- "God is not done with you yet."

-Remember Jesus in the Gethsemane. Luke 22:44

-In a very cold night,his sweat was blood.A deep anguish.

- Luke 22:43. An angel appeared to comfort him.

02.Do not ask : why?

-When we sin and go to a "prison",it's different.

-A "guilty conscience" helps us to understand.

-But when you don't see a reason for"being in prison"....

-Joseph is there because he did everything right.

-See Genesis 39:9. ".....would I sin against God?"

-Maybe we could ask: What for?

-Illustration:Job.He looses his family,his possessions and his health.

-The book of Job is not about suffering.It is about faith.Suffering is in the background.

-Job's witness: Job 19:25 "I know that my Redeemer lives."

-During our moments "in prison"God molds our character.John 16:33

03.Cultivate resignation.

-Let's define resignation.It's patience in the middle of suffering.

- Genesis 37:28 and 39:1 - Joseph was treated like an object.

-Joseph's request: Genesis 40:14-15

- Jeremiah 17:5. Joseph thought he could trust in a man.

- Genesis 40:23. The man forgot him.

- Genesis 40:6-7. In prison he advises,helps.He is an inspiration.

-Like many people nowadays ,inspiration in the middle of suffering.

-I would"wash these men's feet" : Jeremiah,Moses,Paul,Jesus.

-They are for me examples of resignation.

04.Wait for God's time

- Genesis 41: 1 - Two years have passed by.

-In the book Smile again we read: "A happy person is captive to the present."

-God doesn't say I was or I will be.

-God says: I am.Present.Today.

-Past means guilt,frustration.Future means anguish.

-Illustration: John 5:5. A man who's been paralyzed for 38 years.

-Hope's great enemy : the time.

-But one day,Jesus passes by the route of the desperate ones.

Conclusion.

-What is life? It's a routine between the "mansion and the prison."

-What was the difference in Joseph's life?

- Genesis 39:1-5 and Genesis 39: 21-23

-The presence of God.Always.

-Believe in God's sovereignty.Don't ask why.Cultivate resignation.

-Wait for God's time.

- Genesis 41:38-44. An illustration of heaven.

-"Come reign with me.