Gen 39:2+3, And the Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. We  come to the reading concerning Joseph being put into prison in Egypt because he was not willing to sin against his master and against God. The key that we want to concentrate upon is the fact that God was with Joseph. 
	It is this truth that is reiterated several times within our morning’s passage and chapter. It was because God was with Joseph that he was put into the place of authority over all that Potiphar owned. Potiphar saw that Joseph was blessed because of the presence of the Lord with Joseph, so he put him the place in which those blessings would serve to bring Potiphar increased benefits as well. And Joseph was very conscientious in his dealings on Potiphar’s behalf because he would not do anything that would bring evil into that position of trust. He honored both God and Potiphar in the service of his master. 
	Then, after being so faithful to his master, because of Potiphar’s wife’s false accusations, Joseph was put into prison. Since he would not succumb to the temptation and bring dishonor upon himself, Joseph suffered for many years in the dungeon of the king. But even in that place of imprisonment and abuse, we read that God was with Joseph and blessed him to the point of gaining the trust of the jailor. Gen 39:21-23, But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. And the chief jailer committed to Joseph's charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's charge because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper. 
Because God was with Joseph, even the chief jailor was blessed in the fact that he did not have to supervise anything that was put into Joseph’s care. Again, despite the ill treatment and the false accusations that landed him in that prison, Joseph was conscientious and trustworthy in all his dealings before man and before God. God’s presence with him sustained and kept him through all those years of hardship and torment.
This is something that we need to recognize with regard to the heart of Joseph. When we consider the facts with which we are presented, we see a young man, probably in his early teens who was thrown into a deep hole by his brothers as they plotted to kill him. Then, when they chose rather to make some money by selling him into slavery to get rid of him, Joseph was forcibly removed from his home and loved ones with the distinct probability that he would never see his father or his homeland again. Then, as a slave who was honoring his master, he was falsely accused and put into the king’s prison. Despite all this ill treatment, at such an early stage of life, as a teenager, Joseph held true to his honorable principles. He did his very best before God and before man. This was no small task for Joseph, yet because God was with him and because he was so honoring to God, he was blessed in all that he did, even in enslavement, and in the midst of his undeserved imprisonment. 
There are several other examples that we will mention this morning, men who knew the presence of God and in whom that presence was seen by others. The first will be the Prophet Samuel as he began his ministry before the Children of Israel. 1 Sam 3:19+20, Thus Samuel grew and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fail. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 
Please note that because God was with him, he was recognized and confirmed as a prophet of God. The Bible is very specific in the fact that because the Lord was with Samuel, the Lord let none of his words fail. Samuel’s credentials as the spokesman for God were seen by all the nation as the Lord went before Samuel and caused all that he said to be true. There was no doubt in any of the people that God was with Samuel in all his actions and his proclamations and his commitment in telling the people all that God desired. They may not have agreed with everything that Samuel declared, but they had to face the truth that what he said was made into reality by the very hand of God in action.
The next example is that of David as the anointed king to replace Saul. 1 Sam 18:12-14, Now Saul was afraid of David, for the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. And David was prospering in all his ways for the Lord was with him. 
It was evident, even to King Saul that the Lord was with David. It was so manifest that Saul removed David from his presence because of the fact that the Lord had removed His presence from Saul. Again, as with Joseph, please note that the evidence of the Lord’s presence with David was the fact that he prospered in all his ways. The Lord went before David and displayed the reality of His presence with David. All that David did was blessed. It wasn’t just Saul who could see that The Lord was with David, it was plainly obvious to all who saw the operation of God in His blessing of David’s efforts and actions.
The final example that we want to consider is that of King Hezekiah, as recounted in 2 Kings 18:1-7. Please turn to it and follow along as we read. 2 Kings 18:1-7, Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. And he did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan. He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went he prospered. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 
Again, we are witness of a relatively young man whose heart was wholly after the Lord. Hezekiah loved the Lord and wanted to please Him in all his ways. As we read, He trusted in the Lord…For he clung to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him… Hezekiah was fully committed to the Lord to do all that God commanded. The Holy Spirit, in His inspiration of the writer of this book made a tremendous declaration about Hezekiah which could be easily overlooked. … so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him. That is a most telling and authoritative assertion and pronouncement from God, Himself, upon this young king who was after God’s heart and companionship. 
Again we read that, as with Joseph and David, And the Lord was with him; wherever he went he prospered. It was even to the point that the Lord delivered Judah from the King of Assyria, through the rule of Hezekiah. What a great example for each of us to so love the Lord that we cling to Him and trust Him in all things for the sake of knowing His presence with us. 
Please realize, as we have so considered each of these examples, we do this not for the sake of getting blessed and becoming prosperous. That was the requisite effect of the presence of God being with each of these men. But that is not why we are to so cling to and desire to know the immediate reality that God is with us. Our heart is to seek knowing the abiding presence of God in our lives for the sake of His pleasure and His glory to be more fully expressed in this whole of creation. We are to want to so please God for His sake that we cannot but know that He is with us in Jesus Christ.
It is an absolute truth that we are in the immediate presence of God as we are in Jesus Christ and He is in us. The sad aspect of this, however, is that we do not always want to know God in this intimate way. As well, we often turn our backs on God because we want other things of this realm rather than to know the obedience and the relationship of honoring God at all times. Unlike Joseph, who would not compromise himself with the tempting seduction of Potiphar’s wife, we often give in and are party to breaking our marriage vow to God as His Bride. We practice dishonor and adultery and all sorts of evil activities before the very door of the House of our Husband. Rather than being fully committed to Him, we are selfishly devoted to anything and everything that seems to please us and our cravings and our habits.
We cannot expect to recognize the presence of God with us when we are not looking after His interests and His pleasure in our lives. Despite our unfaithfulness, many of us are so audacious as to place the blame at the feet of God when things just seem to dissipate into nothingness and we do not receive the blessing and satisfaction in life that we were created to find in Him. 
However, even in this turning from God, He has made every provision to draw us back to Himself. It is in the manifestation of His loving forgiveness as He accomplishes that which He always intended in His Beloved Son, Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. 
Even the Old Testament proclaims this mighty work of God in the lives of His people as recounted by the Prophet Isaiah. Isa 43:1-7, please turn to it and let us read it together. Isa 43:1-7, But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. "For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. "Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. "Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. "I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made." 
…Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made." This is at the heart of why Joseph and Samuel and David and Hezekiah and you and me were in the very heart of God from before even eternity began. We were all created for the glory of God to be manifested in the reality of His grace and mercy in which all of the universe will have to acknowledge and give God honor and praise for the great work that He has done in Jesus Christ. As His beloved saints, we can know, as surely as did Joseph, Samuel, David, Hezekiah, and all the patriarchs of both the Old and New Testament, that God is with us every moment of every day of every year of our earthly lives and throughout all the eternal ages to come. He is the One Who gathers us together and pledges to be with us always.
We may not know the blessing of earthly prosperity, but we do know and have the most important and vital blessing of eternal life in Jesus Christ. Our walk on this earth is to be the clarion proclamation that God is with us and that we want to present before all our loved ones and associates those lives that witness the abiding presence of God Almighty, even in this present day.
There is so much bemoaning in the modern day church that we have lost the blessing of God as was evidenced in both the Old Testament providences of God and the New Testament miracles. Sadly, there are those whose eyes are blinded by self-seeking interests after personal gain and promotion. That was never the intent of the blessing of God upon His people, as we will consider next time, Lord willing, in our study of the presence of God with the saints of the New Testament.
Please stand together in the prayer that we will always seek after that which is the heart of God Alone and not for ourselves. Our lives are a living sacrifice, as evident in the trials and the situations of even those whom we have considered this morning. There is nothing easy about being a Christian. It is all a matter of living before God in the manner in which His interests and His glory and His pleasure is all that our hearts ever desire. So be it!
Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. Amen. 

	This morning’s benediction is 1 Peter 1:6-9. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. Amen.