PowerPoint

Jack Graham: Adversity when we are faithful to God, knowing that God is always faithful to us, we can live life without complaining and can live in contentment in whatever circumstance or state of life we find ourselves.

Guest (Female): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about keeping your character even during the tough times. Now here's Dr. Graham with his message, "Advancing Through Adversity."

Jack Graham: Join me in the 39th chapter of the book of Genesis. Our hero of faith, Joseph, was a favorite son but a hated brother. And because of the hostility within his family, his brothers sold him as a slave into Egypt. He found himself on the back of the camel on his way with a band of Midianites into a land that he could never have imagined, a distant place, sold as a slave on the auction block.

Bought by a man by the name of Potiphar, who was an official in the government of Egypt. He was, in effect, the executive of the secret police in Egypt in that day. His name was Potiphar. And because the hand of the Lord was with Joseph, he rose to prominence in the household of this man Potiphar and became the steward of the entire household and all the affairs of the household.

As a result of this, Joseph, who had been given great dreams by God, assumed that he was on his way to the top just as God had promised him. But yet there were some detours and some dark holes ahead as he found himself falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, who sought to seduce him day after day.

And yet Joseph, in his purity and his humility and in his integrity, said no and no and no to the advances of this perverted woman. And because he rejected her, this woman was angry. She accused him of rape. He was falsely accused and falsely convicted and thrown into prison, and he must have wondered what's next. About the time he's on his way, it seems that there's another setback, another problem, another adversity to deal with. And he lives a life so often characterized by shattered dreams and crushing disappointments.

And many that I'm speaking to today have experienced adversity. In fact, if you are a living, breathing human being, you know that tests, problems, pressures, pain, hurt, heartache, however you describe it, is a part of life. We cannot escape it. Even those of us who are believers, there's no immunity from the problems of life. In fact, Jesus said the rain falls upon the just and upon the unjust.

And so if you are alive and alive in Christ, you can expect adversity. And yet adversity when we are faithful to God, knowing that God is always faithful to us, we can live life without complaining, without compromising like Joseph, and can live in contentment in whatever circumstance or state of life we find ourselves.

And that's what this message is about. It's about advancing through adversity because God brought Joseph through all of these trials and he will bring you through as well as you look and listen to him. In the 39th chapter at verse 19, it says, "So it was when the master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying your servant did to me after this manner, his anger was aroused." And then Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, a place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.

But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever they did there, it was his doing. And the keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

And so once again, success, the fulfillment of Joseph's dreams are on the horizon. He can see it. He can taste it, so close. God is blessing him because of his presence in Joseph's life. And then Joseph encounters two men in prison, a baker and a butler. And these two men had very unusual dreams. Joseph was accustomed to knowing about dreams, and God had given him the ability to interpret these dreams. And so these men came to him and offered their dreams, and he interpreted these dreams.

As a result, one of the men, the butler, said, "I will remember you when I get out of this place." Joseph said, "Look, I've done this for you. Would you remember me when you get out of jail?" He said, "Sure I will." But notice what happened down in verse 20. "Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants. And he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among the servants. And then he restored the chief butler," and this is just as Joseph had predicted, "to his butlership again, and he placed a cup in Pharaoh's hand. But he hanged the chief baker, again as Joseph had interpreted to them. And yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him."

Joseph just knew that this was his time, that this butler was his ticket out of there. But the hours turned to days, and the days turned to weeks, and the weeks turned to months, and months turned to a year, and then more months. For two long years, Joseph languished in prison, forgotten by the butler, and maybe some would even say it appears that he is forgotten by God. But he was not forgotten by God, but rather God remembered him when others forgot, just as God will remember you if you will rest and trust in him.

And through this prison experience, God taught Joseph some remarkable lessons that we need to learn as we face adversity in life. One is that problems produce possibilities in life. Problems prepare us for opportunities that we cannot yet see. Joseph was indeed on his way to the top and the pinnacle of power in Egypt, but along the way, he needed to be prepared, and his problems are preparing him for the possibilities ahead.

Maybe you feel abandoned. Maybe you feel forsaken. Maybe you are broken and crushed in that your dreams have died or disappeared. Let me remind you that in God's timing, we are to wait on him, and we must never push the providence of God and start lighting our own fires and trying to get our own way out, but rather to trust in God, because Joseph, even though he was in prison, was in the center of the will of God, and that's the safest place on earth.

Adversity produces possibilities in our lives. And then not only, but these problems and adversities promote maturity in our lives. Maturity in our lives. Joseph is a classic example of suffering for doing not what was wrong, but what was right. We have a sense of justice in our lives, don't we? I mean, we have this innate sense of justice that when we do right, we are rewarded. And if we do wrong or someone does wrong, they are punished. But it doesn't always work that way, does it?

Joseph was in jail, not because of doing something wrong, but for doing something right. He rejected. He was godly at home. He was faithful to his father. He loved his brothers, and yet they sold him. He was faithful in the household of Potiphar to God. He kept his purity, and yet he was cast into jail. He rose to prominence there in the jail, and yet even in that situation, a promise was broken to him. He was forgotten in jail, and he was mistreated, and all of this seems so unfair. Life can be very unfair.

But through it all, Joseph learned that God is good and that God is gracious. You know, there are three reasons for suffering. Some suffer and adversity comes because it is common. The rain falls upon the just and the unjust. We all face trials, tribulations, struggles in life. It's common. Don't think that you're an exception. Don't think that you're going to escape, that you're immune to these things. These things are common in life. Don't think it's strange, Peter said, that the fiery trial would come upon you.

Sometimes we find ourselves in trouble because of the consequences of our own sin. We make stupid decisions. We do dumb things stepping out of bounds, outside of the will of God, and we're in trouble, we're in a crisis, we're facing adversity not because of what God has done, because of what we have done, not even because of what the devil has done, but because of the consequences of our own failures and our own sins.

Sometimes we find ourselves in adversity because of the sins of others, the consequences of the sins of others. People do something to you. You're a victim of someone else's decision or choice, and we have to watch running around trying claiming that we're just victims constantly, but the fact is that some of you are a victim of somebody else's decision. Maybe you didn't want the divorce, but the divorce came because somebody else wanted it. A promise was broken, and you are suffering as a result of the sin of someone else.

And another reason that we suffer is because we're Christians. Jesus said blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, for great is your reward in heaven. Jesus said if you suffer as a Christian, you can count on the fact that you're going to be rewarded, but you will suffer.

And just as Joseph suffered, let me remind you that Joseph is predictive of a greater Joseph, the Lord Jesus Christ, who also was rejected and forsaken and forgotten, abandoned it appears even by God. He said my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He died on the cross. He was mistreated. He was falsely accused. He died on the cross for our sins, to bear our griefs and to carry our sorrows. He knows what you're going through.

Joseph never became bitter. He only got better through all of this. You have a choice in life when you face adversity, and that is to choose bitterness or to choose happiness. You can't choose both. And so many people have bowed to bitterness, and they're living in the bonds of bitterness their entire lives. But when you read the story of Joseph, there's no evidence that he ever complained.

He was content in the will of God. Why? Psalm 105 says of Joseph, "His soul came into iron." He was laid in iron chains, but God was doing something else. He was putting iron in his soul. He was putting steel in his heart. He was maturing him because Joseph, when he would advance to the top of leadership of Egypt, he would need a durable faith. He would need a doable faith, a faith that was strong and vibrant, and there in prison Joseph learned wisdom, he learned endurance, he learned character, he learned persistence. His fetters produced his faith and his chains his character. God is looking for iron-hearted saints today.

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, "Advancing Through Adversity." We are excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting the word CONNECT to 59789. Again, text CONNECT to 59789.

Every gift given to PowerPoint Ministries before June 30th will be doubled through a $200,000 matching grant. This is a crucial moment as we close out the financial year because your support helps ensure that the truth of Jesus continues reaching people who are searching for something real they can trust. And as our thanks for your gift, we'll send you *The Jesus Discoveries* by Dr. Jeremiah Johnston, a resource designed to strengthen your confidence in the truth of the gospel. To give your gift and request your copy, text JUNE to 59789. That's JUNE to 59789. Now let's get back to today's message, "Advancing Through Adversity."

Jack Graham: Thirdly, adversity proves integrity. Character is what you are in the dark. It's different than reputation. Reputation is what people think about you; character is what God knows about you. Reputation is what people will say about you at your funeral; character is what the angels will say about you around the throne of God.

Character grows in the dark, and circumstances cannot change character. Circumstances can change your reputation, but circumstances cannot change character. And God uses circumstances, adversities in our lives, to prove our character so that when others see the power of God in our lives in the integrity of our hearts, they will trust and believe in a God who can do that in us.

Joseph told the truth in prison. Here are these two men, they both had dreams. One had a dream, and Joseph said, "You're getting out of here. God said you're going to go out of here. You're going to be released." The other man, he thought, hey, that's a good thing. I've had a dream too. Maybe I'm getting out of here. He said, "Tell me about this dream." And the baker, his dream was not a good dream. Joseph said, "Well, you're not getting out of here, but you're going to die." A tough message, but he delivered it with integrity.

You know, when we share our faith and talk to people about Christ, we love talking about the good part. And it's all good, but you know what I'm saying? We love to talk about God's love and God's grace and God's mercy and God's forgiveness and all that God can do, the good news, all about heaven. It's so wonderful, isn't it? But then there's that troubling part that we don't like to talk about very much.

That part that we have to tell people that the wages of sin is death. That's a tough message. We must declare the whole counsel of God. And there's a bad news. And that bad news, you see, is that without Jesus Christ, men and women are destined and targeted for judgment and the place called hell. And Jesus spoke more about hell than he spoke about heaven. There is a hell, there is a judgment, there is the bad news. But it's the bad news, you see, that makes the good news so good.

Joseph was a man of integrity. He told the truth, and so should we. Next, his adversity produced his dependency. You read it over and over again in Genesis 39 and chapter 40 and on through it, the Lord was with him. The Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was with him. Everywhere old Joe went, God was with him. And you know, whatever situation you find yourself in, God is with you if you're a believer in Christ.

Sin can separate you from God, but circumstance can't. And God knows and is working creatively, constructively in your life. Joseph lived with the conscious awareness and affirmation that God was with him. This is the secret of his life. You want to know the secret of life? It is the presence of God in your life. That's the secret. And he learned to depend upon God.

And he knew that God was with him no matter what. And again, as a Christian, God is with you. So depend upon him. If you were to list those days, those times in your life that were life-defining for you, most likely on your list would be several occasions when you went through adversity and trouble and strife and trials and the presence of God was so real to you.

It happened to David the shepherd. Have you ever noticed in Psalm 23 when he begins that Psalm, he's talking about the Lord? The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He leads me beside the still waters. He's talking about the Lord. But then when he goes through the valley of the shadow of death, he starts talking to the Lord. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies."

The closest you will ever be to the Lord is when you walk through the deep valleys of life. His presence will be so real to you. And that's why you need to depend upon him. And one final thing: our adversities prepare us for ministry. Joseph was in jail, and yet he was serving others. He saw the faces of these men, the countenance of these two men, the butler and the baker, and he said to them, "Why are you guys so sad?"

He was serving others. He was comforting, he was caring, he was noticing even the faces of others and trying to serve them and share the word of God with them. And God used him because God prepared him for ministry. And God prepares us for increased ministry through the troubles and struggles of life. Paul said the God of all comfort comforts us and with the comfort with which we are comforted, we then comfort others.

If we have never hurt, how could we help others who are hurting? If we have never grieved, how could we help the grieving? If we have never suffered, how could we minister to those who have been suffering? If we've never been comforted by the love and the grace of God, how could we express that love and that grace to others? God breaks us in order to use us. And that is why it is rare, if ever, that God will use us until we are broken because God uses broken people and people who understand.

And God uses the ministry of suffering in order to advance his cause. God allows his pain and problems to better equip us as ministers of his grace. That's exactly what happened to Joseph, and ultimately he advanced through his adversity from the pit to the prison to the pinnacle of power in Egypt, and God used him in a mighty way.

The story of Joseph is the story of a modern-day hero. His name is Sam Johnson. Graduated from SMU and began a 29-year career in the US Air Force. He served as director of the Air Force Fighter Weapons School, Top Gun, and he flew with the Air Force Thunderbirds Precision Flying Demonstration Team. In the Korean War, he flew F-86s and 62 combat missions. In the Vietnam War, he flew F-4s, and during his second tour of duty while flying his 25th combat mission in 1966, he was shot down over North Vietnam, and he spent seven years as a prisoner of war, half of that time in solitary confinement.

He's a decorated war hero, awarded two Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, one Bronze Star with Valor, two Purple Hearts, four air medals, and three outstanding unit awards. After he got back to Texas, by the grace and the hand of God, he began a business, was successful in that, and then he offered himself and his life and his principles in the political arena. He was elected as Congressman for the 3rd Congressional District. Please welcome an American hero, Congressman Sam Johnson.

Sam, you've been sitting here listening to the story of Joseph, and some of these things must really sound familiar. And I was just wondering, when you were shot down in Vietnam and then there in that prison for so many years and you must have felt many times wondered what was going to happen, tell us about the faithfulness of God and how you just sensed the presence of God in your life.

Sam Johnson: You know, when I was first shot down, we both got out of the airplane, they put us in a house. And they came in one night and blindfolded me and said we're going to put you on trial. Took me to a place that was set up like a court like we have here. Through an interpreter, they held a trial. When they got through, they said we're going to kill you.

And they blindfolded me and took me out in the woods, stood me in front of a slit trench, and took the blindfold off, and I was facing five Vietnamese with AK-47 rifles. And they pulled a clip out of their belt, put it in the rifle, charged the guns, and pointed them at me. And the Lord came through, and when he said fire, the guns went click, click, click, click, click.

I heaved a sigh of relief, praised the Lord, and laughed at them. I shouldn't have done that. And they kicked me in the slit trench and left me there for a while. Another story I tell, which I think exemplifies the Lord, was when I was in a small cell with another guy and we were trying to tell the new guys who were being put in cells down the way what was going on and how to act and survive frankly.

Finally, one night, a guard and an officer came running down the hall, popped the door open. Jim was on the floor because he had a broken leg; he was peering underneath the door. And I was up on a concrete bunk talking out the back window. Well, we barely got on the floor and got up, and this guy comes in and Jim decks him right there on the spot, and I thought, boy, we're in trouble now. And we were.

They took him off to some torture, and they put me in a place which was only three cells and they were empty. And I was put in the end one, which had bars on it but it was covered with plywood. And dark, a little 20-watt bulb burned all the time. They put me in leg stocks. They laid me on a bed, put my legs between two cutouts and laid an iron bar over them and locked it from the outside and left me in that situation for 72 days.

I learned a lot about praying and talking to God, and on the 72nd day, a typhoon came through and blew the covers off the window. And I looked outside and saw God in all his glory: the trees, the flowers, the sun, the sky, everything that he's put there for us to take care of for him. And I just knew it was going to be okay. And that day they came and took me out of the irons and carried me to an interrogation because I couldn't walk. And the guy says we're going to kill you. Well, I've been there, done that. I said be my guest. That's my faith in God grew immensely in those concrete bunks and concrete floors and concrete walls. You know, the docs also said since I had a broken back, that concrete bunk was probably the best thing ever happened to me.

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, "Advancing Through Adversity." When you support PowerPoint Ministries, you help share God's word with people around the world through programs just like this one. And as a thank you for your gift this month, we'll send you Dr. Jeremiah Johnston's book, *The Jesus Discoveries*, as our thanks.

This powerful resource walks through real historical evidence that points directly to Jesus, helping strengthen your faith and giving you confidence in the truth of God's word. And right now every gift given before June 30th will be doubled through a $200,000 matching grant. This is a crucial moment as we close out the financial year because your support helps ensure that PowerPoint Ministries continues reaching people with the gospel in the months ahead. To give your gift and request your copy, text JUNE to 59789. That's JUNE to 59789.

We are excited to share that we have a new way to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content. To join, start a new text conversation by texting the word CONNECT to 59789. Again, text CONNECT to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: Whatever the trial, whatever the struggle we face, we need to try to keep in mind that God uses these times in our lives to strengthen us and prepare us for whatever's next. Unfortunately, it's much easier to look back on life and see all the ways and all the times that God has carried us through. But we know that we're truly growing in faith and character when we in the midst of a trial can rest confident that we are in the grip of our God.

Adversity does have a purpose. In fact, it has many purposes as we learned in today's lesson. It produces possibilities and promotes maturity. It proves integrity and produces dependency upon God. And just as all things work together for good, adversity prepares us for a greater ministry.

You know, some of the greatest and most respected men and women in history went through tremendous adversity, and yet they emerged as greater leaders and better teachers and mentors because they went through it. We heard from Sam Johnson today. This is a man who spent over seven years in a Vietnamese prison camp, and through his ordeal, he remained faithful to God as Joseph did. And God has blessed Sam tremendously by using that adversity to produce character and integrity in his life.

So maybe you're listening to us right now and thinking, "Pastor, you're talking about me. I'm going through some impossible stuff right now." Well, remember Isaiah 40:31: "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and walk and not faint." This is God's promise. Live on the promises of God.

Guest (Female): And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Jeremiah Johnston's book, *The Jesus Discoveries*. Just text JUNE to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message that shows you how to receive God's best. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.