International Gospel Hour

Guest (Male): From a pit to prison to palace, from shackles to a steward, the life of Joseph is an exceptional study of Scripture. And that's coming up today from the International Gospel Hour. Please join us.

Host (Jeff Archey): It's time for our broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. I'm Jay Webb, and welcome to our study today as we embrace God's word to help us meet the challenges of today. Let's open our Bibles and open our heart for this time of Bible study with our speaker, Jeff Archey, of International Gospel Hour, a broadcast of the churches of Christ. Here's Jeff.

Well, thank you always to our Jay Webb, and greetings and hello everyone. We appreciate our audience here on the International Gospel Hour radio broadcast, and we appreciate you tuning in.

In Acts chapter seven, Stephen begins a passionate declaration of Christ by presenting an inspired history of God's care and impact for His chosen, His people. Early in that discourse, we note verses nine and 10 from Acts seven, "And the patriarchs becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house."

Now friends, these two verses alone could very well serve as a broadcast by themselves. How God was with Joseph, and we keep that in mind while we read Genesis 37 and chapters 39 through 50. How God delivered Joseph out of his troubles, and how God will deliver us and guide us as well if we will humble ourselves as Joseph did. And how God gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, and how such God-given favor delivered a nation from famine and delivered Jacob's family, also known as Israel.

Now let's note the words of Pharaoh after Joseph, through God, or by God through Joseph, interpreted Pharaoh's dreams correctly. In Genesis 41, verses 38 through 41, "Pharaoh said to his servants, 'Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?' Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.' And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.'"

From shackles to a steward. Now that's a promotion, friends. And today, using the life of Joseph, let's study stewardship. We'll be back in about 30 seconds.

Guest (Male): World Video Bible School is at wvbs.org. That's wvbs.org. You can check out over 2400 videos on a number of biblical subjects, and you can also enroll in their online school and work at your pace. And friends, it's absolutely free. That's wvbs.org. Again, that's wvbs.org.

Host (Jeff Archey): And friends, we have another great study from our friends at World Video Bible School that we will share with you at the end of this broadcast. Now friends, studying stewardship, let's define the word. A steward is primarily denoted as the manager of a household or estate, one who looks after something that belongs to someone else. So if you will, Joseph was becoming the, or became the governor over Egypt, or the steward of what Pharaoh was in charge of, if you will.

In first Corinthians 4:1 and 2, Paul said, "Let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." So when we think about Joseph and from our lesson text, consider some things that we can apply. First of all, Joseph was a steward of godly faith. For again, Pharaoh acknowledged in verse 38 of Genesis 41, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?" And simply put, Joseph was faithful to God and God's will first. And so in like manner, Christians should be faithful to God first.

When Pharaoh asked that question, he knew the answer. Why, even his own magicians, even they could not properly interpret his dreams, but Joseph could. And written to the church in first Corinthians 4 and verse 1 concerning the mysteries of God, well, the word mystery, or that which is revealed, is entrusted to all Christians as workers, teachers, and servants.

For in Ephesians 3, verses 2 through 6, "If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery as I have briefly written already, by which when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel."

Simply put, when one is obedient to God and faithful to God and His will, one can give an account unto God of his life, his stewardship, what God has granted unto him. First and foremost, friends, the question is, are we faithful to God with our lives? When we hear the gospel message or when we hear what we should do to be saved, we move on that faith. We believe in God. We believe in the teaching of repentance, and that is commanded. We believe in the teaching of confessing our faith, and yes, in the confession and, or rather the commandment of being baptized into Christ.

And that's how we become a Christian and a steward of godly faith. In Matthew 6:33, we are individuals who will seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. So friends, are we stewards of godly faith? God has provided this to us. What are we doing with it?

Let's notice second, Joseph was a steward of godly knowledge. That's in verse 39 when Pharaoh said, "There is no one as discerning and wise as you." Well, Joseph had vast knowledge and insight, and he always gave the credit to God. We see that in Genesis 41 earlier in verse 16 and 25 and 28 and 32. He gave the credit to God for what all he was able to do.

And oh, the blessing of knowledge in the word of God. "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God," Romans 11:33. And how one should be enriched in the knowledge of God, first Corinthians 1 and verse 5. That's how Paul commended the church there of what they should be about. One should increase in the knowledge of God, second Peter 1 and verse 8. How one continues to grow from an obedient faith.

In second Timothy 3:16 and 17, the Bible says, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, or complete, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." You see, the Bible is sufficient. All scripture, it's sufficient to accomplish and for us to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. After all, second Peter 3:18 says, "But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen."

So friends, are we growing in our knowledge? There is no substitute for the knowledge of God's word. Now in our brief discussion of this characteristic of Joseph as a steward, we are reminded that we are to give an account of our lives. "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God," Romans 14:12. We will give an account of what we believe and what we learn and the application therein.

And with that said, friends, we have an excellent online tool from our friends at the World Video Bible School. I mentioned this a little earlier. Now you can go there and peruse their website as we mentioned, but we'd like to share with you a free online study. Our Jay Webb has the details of how you can receive the link for this study called "Does It Matter?"

Guest (Male): "Does It Matter?" is a free online video study. The most important question in all the world is where will you go when you die? This question and others are addressed from God's word. May we send you the link and you give it a try? Just call toll free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, email, and just say, "Does It Matter?" Again, call toll free at 855-444-6988 and please leave your name, email, and just say, "Does It Matter?" You may also go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the contact tab, and leave us the same information: name, email, and type "Does It Matter" in the message blank. We will send the link to you.

Host (Jeff Archey): And friends, that "Does It Matter?" Bible study is a great tool, and we can send you the link. All we need is your email address, and then you can study that video on your own time. You know, video viewing is continuously a growing tool in the study of God's word. When we think about the power of streaming, how many of you watch your television through streaming? You can do so through World Video Bible School, even through a YouTube channel where we have the International Gospel Hour as its standalone channel.

We want to help you in your study of God's word. We're grateful that you tune in to the platform or station of which you are hearing our broadcast today. I'd like to ask a little favor of you if you haven't made your call yet. When you call, let us know where you listen to our broadcast from: radio station, podcast platform, wherever the case might be. This gives us a chance to gauge where our listeners are and to make certain we continue pressing onward in that way.

Again, we'll be glad to help you with your studies, and we hope that these online tools will be of help to you. We will always make available our Bible studies by mail, and you can call the same number, 855-444-6988, leave your name and email or name and address and just say "home study," and we'll gladly send you the Bible study by mail.

We use a number of different options for people to study the word of God in between our broadcast. We want to help you every way in the world in your study of the things that be of God. We do appreciate each and every listener to our broadcast. And with that being said, friends, we're going to wrap up our broadcast today by simply saying thank you for tuning in, thank you for encouraging us with you listening to our study today. We'll continue these studies together at another time. Thank you for joining me on the International Gospel Hour. I'm Jeff Archey, and friends, keep listening.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening today. To God be the glory, and we hope that our study today will draw you closer to His word to walk in His way. Feel free to listen to our other programs at our website at internationalgospelhour.com and join us next time.