Read B’resheet/Genesis 41:1-45

 Have you ever had to work for someone who was difficult to work for?

The following is a list of principles from the story of Yosef and Pharaoh that can help us in such situations and prepare us for future situations.

1.      Exercise your faith even when you think it doesn’t count. This lays the foundation for the future, when it does count.

David said to Sha'ul, "No one should lose heart because of him; your servant will go and fight this P'lishti." Sha'ul said to David, "You can't go to fight this P'lishti — you're just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth!" David answered Sha'ul, "Your servant used to guard his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear would come and grab a lamb from the flock, I would go after it, hit it, and snatch the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned on me, I would catch it by the jaw, smack it and kill it. Your servant has defeated both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised P'lishti will be like one of them, because he has challenged the armies of the living God." Then David said, "Adonai, who rescued me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will rescue me from the paw of this P'lishti!" Sha'ul said to David, "Go; may Adonai be with you." [Sh’mu’el Alef/1 Samuel 17:32-37]

As Yeshua walked by Lake Kinneret, he saw two brothers who were fishermen — Shim`on, known as Kefa, and his brother Andrew — throwing their net into the lake. Yeshua said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!" [Mattityahu/Matthew 4:18-19]

Does any of you have an experience of doing something which at first was unpleasant or mundane, but then God used it later to perform His will?

Perhaps there is something you are doing or going through now which God will use in the future. He is preparing you for greatness, so do all to His glory and the best of your ability.

2.      Do not be shy about your faith. This gives credit where credit is due and gives God the opportunity to shine through you.

But Dani'el resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food or the wine he drank, so he asked the chief officer to be excused from defiling himself. [Dani’el/Daniel 1:8]

"Whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others I will also acknowledge in the presence of my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others I will disown before my Father in heaven. [Mattityahu/Matthew 10:32-33]

There are many ways in which Jews and Christians who have watered down, changed, or neglected certain aspects of God’s Word in the name of survival. Is this justifiable or a lack of trust in God?

3.      Be respectful of authority. This creates camaraderie with the authority figure.

Keep the king's command because of the oath before God. Don't be quick to leave his presence, and don't persist in doing what is wrong, for he does whatever he pleases. After all, his word is final; who can challenge him, "Why are you doing that?" Whoever obeys his command will never come to harm, and the wise person will know the right time and judgment. [Kohelet/Ecclesiastes 8:2-5]

They came and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you tell the truth and are not concerned with what people think about you, since you pay no attention to a person's status but really teach what God's way is. Does Torah say that taxes are to be paid to the Roman Emperor, or not?" But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a denarius so I can look at it." They brought one; and he asked them, "Whose name and picture are these?" "The Emperor's," they replied. Yeshua said, "Give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor. And give to God what belongs to God!" And they were amazed at him. [Mark 12:14-17]

How does this differ from the prohibition in Psalms 1 to not sit in the council of the ungodly?

4.      Be honest, even if you are providing bad news. Being wishy-washy will ruin credibility and lose respect from the authority figure.

The word of Adonai came to Yonah a second time: "Set out for the great city of Ninveh, and proclaim to it the message I will give you." So Yonah set out and went to Ninveh, as Adonai had said. Now Ninveh was such a large city that it took three days just to cross it. Yonah began his entry into the city and had finished only his first day of proclaiming, 'In forty days Ninveh will be overthrown,' when the people of Ninveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. When the news reached the king of Ninveh, he got up from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth and sat in ashes. [Yonah/Johah 3:1-6]

Sha'ul stood up in the Council meeting and said, "Men of Athens: I see how very religious you are in every way! For as I was walking around, looking at your shrines, I even found an altar which had been inscribed, 'To An Unknown God.' So, the one whom you are already worshipping in ignorance — this is the one I proclaim to you. "The God who made the universe and everything in it, and who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in man-made temples; nor is he served by human hands, as if he lacked something; since it is he himself who gives life and breath and everything to everyone. [Acts 17:22-25]

What are some ways you can be truthful, but with respect?

5.       If you are delivering bad news or criticism, always have a solution. This saves the authority figure from doing it himself, if he sees your point.

" 'This is the interpretation, your majesty; and it is the decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king: " 'You will be driven from human society to live with the wild animals. You will be made to eat grass like an ox and be drenched with dew from the sky, as seven seasons pass over you; until you learn that the Most High rules in the human kingdom and gives it to whomever he pleases. " 'But since it was ordered to leave the stump of the tree with its roots, your kingdom will be kept for you until you have learned that Heaven rules everything. Therefore, your majesty, please take my advice: break with your sins by replacing them with acts of charity, and break with your crimes by showing mercy to the poor; this may extend the time of your prosperity.' [Dani’el/Daniel 4:24-27 (4:21-24]

If we claim not to have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing. [1Yochanan/1John 1:8-9]

How can this relate to sharing our faith?

6.      Be prepared to carry out the solution. This is where you get exalted, even if it is hard work.

Moshe said to Adonai, "Oh, Adonai, I'm a terrible speaker. I always have been, and I'm no better now, even after you've spoken to your servant! My words come slowly, my tongue moves slowly." Adonai answered him, "Who gives a person a mouth? Who makes a person dumb or deaf, keen-sighted or blind? Isn't it I, Adonai? Now, therefore, go; and I will be with your mouth and will teach you what to say." But he replied, "Please, Lord, send someone else — anyone you want!" At this, Adonai's anger blazed up against Moshe; he said, "Don't you have a brother, Aharon the Levi? I know that he's a good speaker. In fact, here he is now, coming out to meet you; and he'll be happy to see you. You will speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and his, teaching you both what to do. Thus he will be your spokesman to the people, in effect; for you, he will be a mouth; and for him, you will be like God. [Sh’mot/Exodus 4:10-16]

So when he came ashore, he saw a huge crowd; and, filled with compassion for them, he healed those of them who were sick. As evening approached, the talmidim came to him and said, "This is a remote place and it's getting late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go and buy food for themselves in the villages." But Yeshua replied, "They don't need to go away. Give them something to eat, yourselves!"  [Mattityahu/Matthew 14:14-16]

Has any of you ever had the experience of recognizing a problem, then being part of the solution?

7.      Continue to rely on God for direction and provision. This keeps pride from setting in, and keeps you on the path that got you where you are.

"When Adonai your God has brought you into the land he swore to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya`akov that he would give you - cities great and prosperous, which you didn't build; houses full of all sorts of good things, which you didn't fill; water cisterns dug out, which you didn't dig; vineyards and olive trees, which you didn't plant - and you have eaten your fill; then be careful not to forget Adonai, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves. [D’varim/Deuteronomy 6:10-12]

"I am the vine and you are the branches. Those who stay united with me, and I with them, are the ones who bear much fruit; because apart from me you can't do a thing. Unless a person remains united with me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Such branches are gathered and thrown into the fire, where they are burned up. "If you remain united with me, and my words with you, then ask whatever you want, and it will happen for you. [Yochanan/John 15:5-7]

What are some practical ways we can accomplish this?