* God’s direction is often through the dungeon!

* God puts you through a tight spot to lead you to a spacious place.

* While in the tight spot, pay attention to the people He brings your way.

* Backstory - God wanted Joseph to be in a position of power in Egypt to protect His people during a famine and to prepare them for life in the Promised Land.

* To make this happen, God had to give Joseph a few key relationships.

* So he was sold into slavery, bought by Potiphar, and thrown into prison.

* Everywhere he went he rose to the top.

* His reward? Relationships! He made key connections in the midst of his painful experience.

* God is in the relationship building business - He uses people to get you where He wants you (and vice versa).

* Vs 1-4a - Joseph was being faithful with where God placed him, so he was in a position of authority over these guys when they showed up.

* Vs 4b-5 - These men had a problem and they needed a solution.

* An entrepreneur goes in between a person and a problem with a solution.

* Vs 6-7 - Joseph paid attention to this around him.

* He was Emotionally Intelligent.

* He was more concerned with others than himself.

* Vs 8 - He shifted their focus to God, then he represented God to them.

* Joseph removed himself from the equation so the transaction could be between God and these men.

* Vs 14 - he told the chief cupbearer that he’d get his position back.

* “Remember me when you do,” he said.

* Vs 20-23 - when God promotes you don’t forget those who helped get you there!

* Vs 4:1a - two years later, Pharaoh had a dream!

* Vs 4:8 - same situation as in the prison.

* Vs 4:9-16 - same situation as in the prison - he removed himself from the equation…

* Vs 39-40 - Joseph elevated because he mastered relationships.

- Praise in the midst of Pain is spiritual dynamite! 

- It pleases God’s heart in a powerful way. 

- Paul & Silas in jail - they praised God and He responded by shaking the earth and setting them free. 

- Thief on the cross - stuck in his situation but ended up in paradise. 

- Backstory: 

- Living Among Lions - all about the Lion inside of us. 

- Jesus is knows as “The Lion of the Tribe of Judah.” 

- Judah was the fourth son of Isaac of the 12 sons he had who became the 12 tribes of Israel. 

- King David came through the line of Judah, so did Jesus. 

- Why not the first three sons? 

- Rueben hooked up with his dad’s concubine. 

- Simeon and Levi murdered a whole community of men. 

- Judah slept with a prostitute. 

- He was the only brother, however, who was willing to take the place of his youngest brother, Benjamin, in Egyptian prison. 

- But another aspect of Judah’s royalty comes from his mom, Leah. 

- Vs 31 - she was unloved, but God gave her the ability to conceive. 

- Imagine being Leah: 

- Married to your sister’s sweetheart, caught in an evil love triangle, no longer friends with the girl you grew up with. 

- She was constantly rejected and only appreciated for her ability to reproduce. 

- Yet she had to live in the same house!

- The names she gave her first three boys showed her spiritual state. 

- Vs 32-34 - she was consumed with her plight, and her prayers were focused on trying to get God to end her pain. 

- She sought acceptance and approval from a human (Jacob). 

- Vs 35 - finally, she praised God in the midst of the pain. 

- Voluntary praise in the midst of agony blesses God’s heart more than just about anything. 

- Leah’s heart change while in great pain was so powerful and pleasing to God that He gave her the honor of His scepter to the one whose very name means “praise.” 

- Judah will now be talked about FOREVER!

* All hard work brings a profit.

* But there’s a specific type of worker who’s rewarded above the rest.

* Backstory - Abraham wanted to find a wife for his son, Isaac.

* He sent one of his managers to do the job (marriage broker).

* Vs 10-11 - he went to look for a wife in the place of work (not a bar).

* Vs 12 - he saw his job as a conduit through which God could bless his boss.

* Vs 13-14 - he was looking for a specific type of girl.

* He wanted one who was willing to serve.

* Vs 15a - “Before he was finished praying…” God wants to partner with you in your work.

* Vs 15b-16 - she was a hard worker.

* Vs 17-18 - she was also a servant.

* Vs 19-21 - she proved to be the right type.

* In our business we have found there are four types of workers:

* 1) They see what needs to be done and do it without needing to be asked.

* 2) They ask what needs to be done and they do it.

* 3) They will do what you ask them to do.

* 4) They don’t want to be asked what to do.

* #1 workers own and manage businesses.

* #2 workers supervise people in businesses.

* #3 workers are employees.

* #4 workers live off the government.

* Vs 22 - she was rewarded for being a #1 worker.

* We’re still talking about her thousands of years later!

* The most powerful force on the earth is love.

* God is love.

* Huey Lewis & Celine Dion both sang about it - “The Power of Love!”

* Backstory - it was time for Jacob to find a wife (no marriage broker needed).

* His father, Isaac, told him where to go - and Jacob obeyed.

* Vs 1-6 - he met his girl in the place of business. She was a hard worker.

* Vs 7 - Jacob gave them business advice - “get to work!”

* Vs 8 - The presented the problem - the stone is too heavy.

* Vs 9 - When you are in the place of your duty you’re in a position for God’s divine meetings.

* Vs 10 - the minute he saw Rachel something came over him.

* He moved a stone that took three men to move.

* Then he watered the sheep.

* When you couple love with purpose it becomes a force that cannot be defeated.

* One of the first things to go when your love grows cold is your sense of mission and purpose.

* This is why Jesus rebuked the Church of Ephesus - they had lost their first love and therefore could not win the battle at the gates.

* Some of us are powerless because we’re loveless.

* We can’t say no to our appetite (Frankie when he had surgery).

* We can’t say no to that extra meeting and make our kid’s game.

* Vs 11 - just because you have love doesn’t mean everything is going to go well - she cried (bad breath)!

* Vs 12 - she knew what this meant.

* ** she went and told her dad, Laban.

* He made a deal - serve for 7 years to have my daughter.

* Vs 18-20 - he was able to do it “because of his love for her.”

* We need to get our love back. How?

* The same way Jesus told the Church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:

* 1) Remember

* 2) Repent

* 3) Redo

* Are those around you nourished?

* Both professionally and personally.

* How to nourish others:

* 1) Whatcha got?

* 2) Thank God.

* 3) Break it down.

* 4) Give it out.

* 5) Nourish others.

* 6) Plenty left over.

* Ambition is a great follower, but a terrible leader.

* When ambition stays in the passenger’s seat, it’s the best co-pilot you could ever have.

* But the minute you let it jump into the driver’s seat you’ll certainly head the wrong direction - right toward disaster.

* Enter NIMROD! He was the mastermind behind the Tower of Babel (wanted to build a name for himself).

* It turned into Babylon, that became representative of the world system of Satan (political, cultural, economic).

* Vs 8 - He started out as a great man of his day - a mighty warrior who accomplished great feats.

* Vs 9 - He was a warrior turned “hunter.”

* The Septuagint says he was a mighty hunter “against” the Lord.

* He didn’t just hunt animals, but of men - lording his power over them to build his own kingdom.

* His aspiring mind was never at rest - he was resolved to build something bigger and better and to use people to do it.

* The spirit of competition was on him - he wanted to build a tower, not so he could live in it, but so that he could rule over others by it - even God.

* Vs 10 - He started Babylon - he wanted one world order!

* Applications - Nationally and Personally.

* Nationally - the spirit of Nimrod is now in control of the US.

* Matthew Henry - “He was a mighty hunter, that is, he was a violent invader of his neighbors’ rights and properties, and a persecutor of innocent men, carrying all before him, and endeavoring to make all his own by force and violence.”

* Personally - Matthew Henry said that Nimrod represented the “spirit of ambition.”

* God will have to confuse their plans (He will do it!).

* 1) It is boundless (always wants more).

* 2) It is restless (never content).

* 3) It is expensive (the spirit of building is the common effect of a spirit of pride”).

* 4) It is rebellious.

* Nimrod’s ambition opened the door for others to move way from God (in Babylon).

* Do NOT let your ambition spin out of control! Keep it at bay - you don’t want to build a tower God has to destroy.

* An entrepreneur starts with a dream, not knowing how it will end up.

* This was Abe’s story.

* Vs 1-3 - it all starts with a dream.

* God didn’t give him much information.

* So what made Abe act without having all the information?

* Faith in God that He’s in charge of the destination.

* That faith manifested itself in action - obedience in moving toward the goal.

* One commentator said of Abe’s journey - ““ …Abe’s story is he process of journeying to a destination unspecified. The effect of deferring essential information is—strangely—to make [Abraham’s] destination more precious. He will travel without the support of prior knowledge, in a sense without solid ground under his feet. The land that God will show him will first live in his imagination.”

* Vs 4 - he brought Lot (partial obedience).

* This cost him later on.

* Vs 5-6 - Abe obeyed, clinging in faith to God.

* Vs 7a - God “shows it to you” in your imagination. Then, if you’re faithful like Abe, He “gives it to you.”

* Vs 7b - He responded in worship.

* You know your motive is pure by how you respond when the thing comes to pass (or doesn’t come to pass).

* All of this makes a great story - a “God” story that becomes a testimony in your life.

* The best movies are stories that show a person’s journey.

* Two elements of a great story:

* 1) An external goal.

* 2) Internal transformation.

* The journey toward the external goal leads, whether you achieved it or not, must lead to internal transformation.

* For Abraham, “the place I will show you” was not just about a specific destination, but an internal transformation.

* Genesis 17:1-5 - 13 years passed since the covenant had been given - in that time it was nothing but silence.

* In Abe’s waiting, he got a new name.

* He was made into the person who could handle the place where God wanted him to be.

* The reward for waiting - God “gives” us what He wanted to “show” us.

* Vs 8 - God originally told Abe “Go to the land I’ll SHOW you…”

* Now He says “I’m going to GIVE it to you…”

* God blessed man with the ability to procreate and cultivate.

* Both of these involve seed, which is the potential for life.

* He blessed man so he could participate in bringing about life - both human life and plant life.

* Just as there are boundaries in procreation (in marriage) there are boundaries for cultivation.

* Vs 5-7 - We come from what we were intended to cultivate.

* God puts us in the environment we were meant to influence.

* Cultivate = “to improve or develop by careful attention.”

* We don't have to try to cultivate someone else's ground.

* We don't need to try to influence someone else's environment.

* He wants stay put right where we are and be His hands and feet to cultivate the very place He put us and people He put us around!

* Acts 17:26 - “From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.”

* God determined your boundaries before you were made.

* This is why social media is so dangerous - it takes you out of your ground and engulfs you in someone else’s. (Bloom where you’re planted)

* So what do we do?

* We WORK “our” ground!

* 1) Vs 8 - We plant, just as God planted. He’s a worker.

* He took the seed (potential for life) and brought about life!

* 2) Vs 15-17 - We stay on “our” ground.

* We stay inside the boundaries created for us.

* Stay in your lane - you don’t have the grace to handle someone else’s lane!

* EX: I am not a ra-ra business coach - I am a Biblical thinker!

* My entire upbringing points to that.

* WARNING - if you don’t give God your best you won’t be able to cultivate that in which you are intended to cultivate.

* Genesis 4:12 - Cain’s curse.

* He didn’t attach WORSHIP to his WORK.

* Moses wrote the book of Genesis to prepare the Israelites for life outside Egypt inside the Promised Land.

* They would experience some dark times, but their history proved God would be faithful.

* Here in this story, a flood was coming, but Noah and his family were spared. Why?

* Because he was 1) Righteous, 2) Blameless, and 3) Faithful.

* Righteous is being in “right relationship” with God (make Him Lord).

* Blameless is innocent of evil, forgiven.

* Faithful is loyal and steadfast, no competing affections.

* Matthew Henry - "Those that keep themselves pure in times of common iniquity God will keep safe in times of common calamity; those that partake not with others in their sins shall not partake with them in their plagues.”

* Vs 11-13 - The earth was corrupt, and then violent.

* Corruption is the process whereby something changes from good to bad, from its original purpose to a debased purpose.

* * Like cutting an apple in half - it begins to corrupt. If you ate a corrupt (rotten) apple you’ll get sick. Eat a healthy apple and you get health.

* In our lives, the removal of God is like the removing of the skin of an apple - it’s the protective covering against corruption.

* Violence is the use of force to fulfill a selfish desire.

* * A bully uses violence to gain control over people so they can get what they want.

* When God is removed (corruption) violence always fills the void.

* Vs 14 - God was going to save Noah from it.

* Vs 17-18 - the first mention of covenant (but God didn’t explain it to him until he got off the ark, 120 years later!)

* Noah’s whole family was saved because of his righteousness and obedience.

* There’s nothing said up to this point about his family’s righteousness.

* God blessed them because of Noah!

* Vs 22 - Noah obeyed without explanation.

* 120 years later he built the ark, and God told him to go into it, along with all the animals.