Participants:
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000038A
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00:32 I'd like you to take your Bibles this morning
00:34 and open to Genesis 50. 00:46 And we're going to read the scripture reading 00:48 for this morning. 01:01 The Word of the Lord 01:04 "Joseph said to them..." 01:08 Verse 19 and 20. 01:13 "Joseph said to them, 01:15 do not be afraid," 01:18 for I am... 01:21 "For am I in the place of God?" 01:25 But as for you, you meant evil against me, 01:29 but God meant it for good. 01:33 In order to bring it about as it is this day, 01:38 to save many people alive." 01:44 Let us pray. 01:48 Our loving Father in heaven, 01:49 this morning we open our hearts 01:50 to the wooing of Your Holy Spirit... 01:57 For in the journey that each one of us 01:59 is taking right now if it were not for Your grace, 02:03 our stories would be catastrophic. 02:08 And so, Lord, we pause this morning 02:11 at the fountain of grace to drink afresh again 02:16 as we peer into the life 02:19 of one who is so much like us 02:21 yet in many ways quite different. 02:25 And we pray for You to speak to our hearts 02:29 that the purpose of Jesus may be revealed, 02:34 that Your love may be revealed. 02:39 And that You may be exalted that we might find 02:42 as it were courage to go 02:43 through the trials and difficulties of this life 02:48 that will land us in that place of grace. 02:52 In Jesus' name, amen. 03:00 Our greatest trial 03:04 is the introduction of God's greatest dream. 03:10 Our greatest trial is often the introduction 03:13 of God's greatest dream. 03:17 Said another way, 03:19 our greatest trial will prepare us 03:22 for God's greatest dream. 03:26 Said yet still another way, 03:30 the brightest morning only rises on those 03:34 that endure the darkest night. 03:37 The journey to God's 03:40 greatest dream. 03:44 I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it 03:45 but a number of years ago, 03:49 I bumped into a clean version, 03:53 you got to say that nowadays 03:55 because movies are quite crude of a story 04:00 that someone kept telling me 04:01 about called Shawshank Redemption. 04:06 I hope you saw the clean version 04:10 of a young man by the name of Andy Dufresne 04:13 who had been wrongly accused and had been placed in jail. 04:17 But he knew he shouldn't be there. 04:22 And although incarcerated in an institution 04:25 where very few people find freedom 04:28 and very few get out. 04:29 Matter of fact statistically no one had broken out up 04:31 until that particular point. 04:34 But although he had been incarcerated in body, 04:38 he was free in his mind. 04:41 And as one of the other inmates said, 04:45 "What crime have you committed?" 04:46 He said, "I'm innocent." 04:49 And the other inmate replied, 04:50 "Everybody in here is innocent." 04:54 That's just how it is. 04:58 But the sun would rise and set on Andy Dufresne 05:00 this young mild mannered man 05:02 whose mind was somewhere else 05:05 other than in the Shawshank prison. 05:09 He envisioned freedom. 05:11 He thought about freedom. 05:14 He planned for freedom. 05:16 And 20 years later by his diligent planning, 05:21 by his diligent passion 05:23 through the trials and difficulties 05:26 he went through 05:27 to the many nights spent in isolation, 05:30 to the many beatings he endured, 05:33 to the hardships of the prisoners. 05:36 To the beating that brought him within inches of his life. 05:41 To the shame and embarrassment 05:42 of even those that he worked for, 05:44 the warden who had one moment favored him, 05:46 but at the other moments tormented him. 05:48 He kept his mind free and clear 05:51 until one day through a 500 yard tunnel 05:56 of filth Andy Dufresne broke 06:01 through on a thunder filled rainy night. 06:04 As he stood up and extended his hands 06:07 indicating I am finally free. 06:11 You know many of us don't know 06:12 that the price of freedom 06:14 sometimes require that we go 06:17 through many yards of filth in our lives. 06:21 And only those who determine 06:23 that even the stench of our experiences 06:26 will not prevent us from freedom 06:30 will eventually one day breathe the air of freedom. 06:34 And such was the life of this young man named Joseph. 06:38 The brightest morning rose on him 06:40 because he endured the darkest night. 06:43 And I say again, 06:45 our greatest trial 06:46 is but the introduction of God's greatest dream. 06:49 Very few stories in the Bible grab your attention 06:52 such as the story of Joseph and his 12 brothers. 06:56 And as it were his four mothers 06:58 and his father 06:59 who plopped himself in the midst of confusion. 07:02 All the components 07:04 of one of the greatest blockbusters 07:05 are in this saga 07:08 that extends from Genesis 37 all the way 07:12 to Genesis 50. 07:15 Thirteen chapters, thirteen years. 07:19 How amazing that God orchestrated 07:22 every step of this young man's life. 07:24 Jealousy, deception, hatred, 07:28 envy, contention, lies, anger, 07:32 conspiracy, pain, reconciliation, redemption, 07:37 deliverance, forgiveness, 07:39 and finally joy all the components 07:42 of the journey of the Christian life 07:45 are incased 07:47 in the sermon entitled from "Pits to Palaces". 07:50 Let me say this morning, 07:51 your life may be in a pit but if your God's child, 07:54 if you endure you are on your way to the palace. 07:59 Today you will discover 08:01 that God's dream for us never dies. 08:04 God's promises are always reliable. 08:07 And God is orchestrating 08:10 our future in spite of what comes, 08:13 Paul the Apostle said it so wonderfully. 08:16 And we know that all things, how many things, church? 08:19 All things work together 08:23 for good to those who love God, 08:26 to those who are the called according to God's purpose. 08:29 Not just the good things. 08:33 But the despair, the hatred, 08:35 the contention, the envy, the lies, 08:37 the anger, the conspiracy, the jealousy, 08:39 the deception, all things work together for good. 08:42 You see, for Paul also says, 08:44 if God before us, come on now, who can be against us. 08:48 And when God chooses a person, 08:50 when God chooses a young man or a young woman, 08:53 we must never forget that the highway 08:57 that will shape our dream is named tribulation. 09:04 The highway on which we travel to God's greatest dream for us 09:09 is a highway named tribulation. 09:11 If you have your Bibles, go to Genesis 37 with me. 09:14 And we're going to walk 09:15 through the life of this young man. 09:17 And we are going to see ourselves. 09:20 We're going to see that God's dreams never die, 09:24 and God's promises are reliable. 09:27 And God is in fact 09:28 the orchestrator of our future. 09:33 Genesis 37. 09:42 And I begin in verse 3. 09:46 "Now Israel..." 09:48 who is also Jacob, 09:51 "Loved Joseph more than all his children, 09:56 because he was a son of his old age: 09:59 also he made him a tunic 10:02 of many colors." 10:07 I would not want to be 10:10 in the place of Jacob. 10:14 I got to spend little time developing who Jacob is. 10:16 Jacob is a man 10:19 who not long before 10:21 this had stolen his brother's birthright. 10:25 And his life was pursued by Esau. 10:29 And God met him at a night of wrestling and Jacob said, 10:32 "I refuse to let you go unless you bless me." 10:35 And God blessed him 10:37 and changed his name from Jacob to Israel. 10:42 So Jacob was not unfamiliar with the deception 10:46 because he himself 10:47 had portrayed it in his own life 10:50 stealing the birthright, 10:52 having his brother sell his birthright 10:54 for a bowl of lentils. 11:05 But here he stands amidst the 12 sons that, 11:08 for the most part he orchestrated not God. 11:11 You see, Jacob was a man that was impatient with God. 11:14 But God's dream was more powerful 11:17 than anything that Jacob could do to prevent 11:21 that dream for his life. 11:23 God's dream for Joseph was more powerful 11:27 than any hatred that his brothers 11:30 could extend before him. 11:31 You see to understand 11:33 what happened to Joseph 11:35 we first have to understand the kind of man that Jacob was. 11:39 Jacob's household was contentious 11:41 because Jacob failed to wait on God, 11:44 not only that but Jacob's wife Rachel. 11:47 When you read the story, 11:49 Rachel was such a lovely woman 11:50 that the Bible said in the early days 11:52 when he was seeking a wife, 11:54 Rachel was so beautiful that when he kissed her, 11:57 he lifted up his eyes and cry. 12:02 And no matter what his father-in-law Laban 12:04 put him through, he was willing to go through 12:05 and work for her seven years at a time 12:08 just so that when his labor was done, 12:11 he could embrace this young woman named 12:13 Rachel the woman of his dreams. 12:17 The woman that God desired for him. 12:20 But when God made the promise 12:21 that he would bless Jacob and Rachel, 12:25 and Rachel was unable to bear children, 12:28 she became impatient with God and made suggestions. 12:31 She made proposals to Jacob 12:33 that since I am unable to bear children. 12:37 Since I am as the Asian man said 12:40 who is just becoming familiar with the English language 12:43 he was sitting on an American Airlines jet. 12:45 He was on his way to America. 12:47 And he was on his way to America 12:48 to try to get his wife 12:50 to find a way to have her have children. 12:53 And with his broken English 12:54 he was telling an American why he was coming to America. 12:57 And he says, 12:58 "Why are you on your way to America." 12:59 And he says, "My wife is impregnable. 13:05 My wife is unbearable. 13:09 My wife is inconceivable." 13:13 A disaster on the human language 13:15 but the American man understood what he meant. 13:18 Rachel was unbearable. Rachel was impregnable. 13:23 Rachel was inconceivable. 13:24 But she made suggestions to Jacob 13:27 that were ridiculous 13:28 but even more ridiculous than the suggestions. 13:32 Lord have mercy was the fact that he followed them, 13:36 can somebody say, umm. 13:40 That was approved by the board by the way. 13:42 Jacob followed 13:45 the ridiculous proposals of his wife. 13:48 And when you follow that, 13:51 Rachel had a maid. 13:56 And Rachel said, "Well, my maid is fertile. 14:00 Why don't you have a child with my maid?" 14:02 And Jacob said, "Okay." 14:06 Now I want you to know 14:08 that was a long time ago, come on ladies say, amen. 14:12 That's not going to fly today. 14:14 You got to be out of your God given mind 14:17 to make that suggestion. 14:18 And even more than that your husbands 14:20 got to be insane to follow. 14:26 But if you go back far enough, 14:31 wasn't too different than Abraham. 14:34 It's amazing how family traits go on 14:36 from generation to generation. 14:39 And when you keep on going down the line, 14:40 you begin to see the lineage unfolding 14:42 because in fact 14:44 the pattern continues to repeat itself 14:47 in the context of polygamy. 14:48 She said, "My maid is fertile, 14:51 go ahead and have a child with her." 14:52 And he had a child with her and another child with her. 14:55 And then she pointed to Leah, her sister who Jacob... 14:59 Who Joseph which I can't figure out 15:03 after he married her and spent a night with her, 15:06 he didn't know that she wasn't Rachel. 15:11 Yeah, you know what I mean. 15:13 Joseph, yeah, him too. 15:17 Jacob, 15:20 I wish they had different names. 15:24 So Leah now receives the proposal. 15:29 And Leah now bear sons for Jacob. 15:32 And then Leah's handmaid bears sons for Jacob. 15:36 And God in His patience bears along with this motley crew 15:41 that we now call the 12 tribes of Israel. 15:46 Messed up where the foundation that was messed up. 15:52 But the good news, 15:53 they all are mentioned in Revelation. 15:55 Come on say amen somebody. 15:57 Because each one of them except Dan... 16:04 Was all saved. 16:06 Dan never made it. 16:07 Because Dan was that individual, 16:09 that's why you have to be very careful. 16:11 Dan lived his life focusing on everybody else's sin. 16:16 And when you don't focus on your own sin, 16:18 you cannot be saved from sin. 16:21 The Bible says, Dan shall be a serpent by the way, 16:24 a viper in the path that bites the horse's heel, 16:27 so that the person 16:29 who is the rider always falls back. 16:31 Dan was critical. 16:34 But he never looked at his own life. 16:36 And he was replaced by Manasseh. 16:45 But the problem in the story 16:46 began for Joseph when the sons realized 16:51 that he was favored over all of them 16:54 because he was the firstborn of Rachel, 16:57 the wife that God gave to Jacob. 17:01 And Jacob so excited 17:02 that God came through for his wife 17:05 who had felt the unease of being ostracized, 17:09 barren, no child, 17:11 finally God visits her with a young man named Joseph. 17:15 God smiles on her. 17:18 And Jacob pours his joy 17:22 into that young man name Joseph. 17:26 Buys him a beautiful outfit. 17:28 A coat of many colors. Now look at verse 4. 17:31 And he brags about it. 17:33 He brags about it. 17:34 And because he had a divided household, 17:36 children of contention, impatience and out of control, 17:40 the Bible says 17:41 how his brothers felt about him in verse 4. 17:43 "But when his brothers saw 17:45 that their father loved him more than all his brothers, 17:49 they hated him, 17:50 and could not speak peaceably to him." 17:55 This verse demands a pause to parents. 18:00 There's nothing more dangerous to your household 18:02 than when your children sense 18:05 that you favor one more than you favor the other. 18:10 I know that, I was raised... 18:18 I was raised in a home where I was the last child. 18:23 And to understand my mixed up family, 18:25 you got to follow me carefully. 18:27 I was raised by a man from Barbados 18:29 and a woman from Trinidad, 18:30 Pastor CA has some Barbadian in him. 18:32 Am I right? 18:35 And he was so desirous, 18:37 the man raising us was so desirous. 18:40 He and his wife didn't have children, 18:42 they brought us over from Trinidad 18:43 that they had adopted a young Trinidadian boy 18:46 who was Indian, West Indian. 18:50 And they desired so much to give them a good education 18:52 but he spurned it, he didn't want it. 18:54 They want to give him the best schools, and colleges, 18:56 and every advantage that they could offer him, 18:58 but he didn't want it. 19:00 And he threw it back at them. 19:03 And my sister, the second one that came along. 19:06 She was offered the same advantages. 19:09 We'll pay for your college education. 19:10 We'll put you through school. We'll give you piano lessons. 19:14 And she didn't want it. 19:16 And so when my time came, 19:17 I wanted piano lessons and I didn't get it. 19:20 I wanted my college to be paid for, 19:22 but I didn't get it. 19:24 And the response was, do you see what they did, 19:27 I'm not going to waste my time on you either. 19:30 And I found myself at Oakwood College 19:32 on the promise 19:33 that my tuition would be paid for the first year. 19:36 When I made the phone call at home, 19:38 my dad said, "I'm not giving you anything. 19:40 It's better for you to just come on home." 19:44 So I know what it's like to be in a home 19:49 where child feels the tension of being left out 19:53 and the other two being favored above them. 19:56 But I want to tell you, 19:57 I said to you before, God's blessings, 20:01 the greatest trials are often 20:03 the introduction to God's greatest dream 20:05 because I look back now 20:07 and I am better off than my brother and my sister 20:11 because God had a different dream for my life. 20:13 But He had to shape me through the avenues of tribulation. 20:16 That's why parents, I want to say to you today, 20:18 don't ever let it be said of you 20:20 that your children sense. 20:24 And if you're already on that avenue, 20:25 you can change it, you can turn it around. 20:27 But if you want to have a peaceful household, 20:29 if you want your children to be at peace 20:31 even in blended families, 20:33 show that each one is loved as much as the other. 20:38 Can you say amen to that? 20:42 God allowed Joseph when he was only 17 20:45 for his life to be turned upside down. 20:47 And look at verse 5 and 7. 20:49 Joseph at 17 years old. 20:51 A pivotal age at 17 years old, 20:54 God allowed Joseph's life to be turned inside out. 20:58 The Bible says, "Now Joseph had a dream. 21:03 And he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more." 21:06 You know, sometimes I want to pause and say something 21:08 because I know that is in your mind. 21:10 Sometimes God has given you a dream, 21:12 but there are times you got to know 21:15 when to keep your mouth shut. 21:19 Am I right? 21:20 I mean, you got an extra check in the mail, 21:22 you don't go around saying to people, 21:23 "You know, I know you broke but God sent me a check 21:26 for $2,000 this week." 21:28 And you wave your money in their face 21:30 and they are broke as ever. 21:32 And then the next week God sends you more money, 21:34 and God does this and God does that. 21:36 One of the problems that Joseph had as a young man 21:39 and God straightened this out is that he loved to boast 21:43 because he knew his father favored him. 21:46 But there was another side of that, 21:47 God gave him dreams that it was also imperative 21:51 for his brothers and his father to know about 21:53 because those dreams were but a precursor 21:57 of what God would do for them many years down the road. 22:04 And so while there are those who like to boast 22:05 about their successes at the behest of others. 22:09 I speak to those who are hearing 22:11 about the blessings of God in somebody else's life. 22:14 If you hear that God is blessing somebody, 22:16 don't be jealous, praise God for them 22:21 'cause your blessing is coming. 22:23 But your blessing will never come 22:24 if you hate God's blessings in somebody else's life. 22:28 You've got to praise God that He's blessing you in your life. 22:31 And don't be upset that God is blessing somebody else 22:33 in their life 'cause God blesses each of us 22:35 at different intervals. 22:37 If somebody is being blessed, praise God. 22:39 Rejoice for them. 22:41 The Bible says, now Joseph had a dream, verse 5. 22:45 And he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more. 22:51 So he said to them, 22:53 "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed." 22:56 I can see him now a little young man, 22:59 all the brothers however long it took for them 23:00 all to be born. 23:02 They all are older than him 23:03 and here he is as little lad missing. 23:05 Come on, listen to what I have to say to you. 23:07 And he's about to tell him a dream 23:08 that is not favorable to any one of them. 23:13 "There we were," he says, verse 7. 23:16 "Binding sheaves in the field, then behold, 23:21 my sheaf arose 23:25 and also stood upright. 23:27 And indeed your sheaves stood all around 23:31 and bowed down to my sheaf." 23:36 I can hear it brother, I wish I could just choke him. 23:40 Every time he opens his mouth, my skin crawls. 23:46 What did Jacob do by having a son like him? 23:53 The last thing they wanted to hear 23:55 was that Joseph would succeed 23:57 and that they would amount to very little. 24:00 But that wasn't the end of it. 24:02 Look at verse 9. 24:07 Then he dreamed still another dream 24:13 and told it to his brothers, 24:16 and said, look. 24:20 Bible doesn't say that it happened the next day 24:21 or the next week but he had another dream. 24:23 And I'm sure they were done with his dreams already. 24:26 "Look I have dreamed another dream, 24:28 and at this time, the sun, the moon, 24:34 and the eleven stars," did what? 24:38 "Bow down to me." 24:40 "You might be a star, all eleven of you 24:42 might be a star, 24:44 but your stars are going to bow down to my star." 24:49 Can you see it? 24:51 Can you see the look of discontent in their faces? 24:59 To make it clear, this was not an additional dream 25:01 but just another piece of the many pieces 25:05 that would complete God's dream for him. 25:07 God unfolds our dreams little by little. 25:12 He lets us know at different intervals. 25:13 And let me just say this, 25:15 when God has a dream for your life, 25:16 He chooses at what point to reveal 25:18 the next component for you or the next component to you. 25:22 Only as you embrace 25:23 and are faithful in this component 25:26 where God see fit to reveal the next component. 25:30 And when I look back on our ministry how God led us. 25:35 There are times that 25:36 in our walk after 30 years of ministry, 25:38 and going on 35 years of marriage, 25:40 there are times when I hear God say to me, 25:44 "John, I want you to go back in your relationship with me 25:49 to 1989, to 1992. 25:53 And your dedication to 1995 25:56 when your life was difficult and in trial. 25:59 I want that version of John back." 26:02 And every now and then God calls on us 26:04 to readjust our lives. 26:06 Can I get an amen to that? 26:07 Every now and then God calls on us to remind us 26:10 that you may be successful, 26:12 but don't be so overly successful 26:15 that you forget who you really were. 26:19 So God chooses to reveal pieces and pieces. 26:22 And not only did he tell this to his brothers 26:24 but it says in verse 10, 26:26 "So he told it to his father, and his brothers. 26:28 And his father rebuked him, and said to him, 26:31 'What is this dream that you have dreamed? 26:33 Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come 26:36 to bow down to the earth before you?" 26:39 And when you read 26:40 what Ellen White has to say about it. 26:41 Ellen White says that Joseph's brothers 26:44 were so amazed by his purity, 26:46 by the innocence that he displayed 26:48 that they knew that he was not saying this 26:51 out of self glory, they admired him, 26:54 but they hated him at the very same time. 27:00 But don't miss verse 11. 27:03 "And his brothers envied him, they did," what church? 27:07 "They envied him, 27:09 but his father kept the matter in mind." 27:14 His father said, "Could it be that 27:18 God is revealing the future to us through Joseph? 27:22 Could it be that these dreams that irritate us 27:25 is an indication, a sign from God 27:28 about how our future is going to unfold?" 27:30 So when somebody comes up with something 27:32 that you may not be in agreement of, hear them out 27:35 because sometimes God may speak through somebody 27:38 for our own good. 27:41 But if we reject it, 27:45 then we can place ourselves in the same position 27:49 as Joseph's 11 brothers. 27:53 When you follow the story in the first eight verses 27:55 of the story, the word hate is mentioned three times. 27:59 By the time you get to verse 11, 28:01 a new word is introduced, his brothers envied him. 28:07 As if it couldn't get any worse, 28:09 hate gave birth to envy. 28:12 And then verse 18 reveals the innermost feelings 28:15 about their brother. 28:16 The Bible says, "They conspired against him 28:20 to kill him." 28:22 Now I'm going to fast forward. 28:27 At 17 Joseph is sold for $2,560 to the Ishmaelites. 28:36 As Joseph is 17, Jacob his father has lied 28:39 and told that Joseph is dead. 28:40 They lied to his father and say that Joseph is dead. 28:46 Then the Ishmaelites who bought him 28:48 now sell him to the Egyptians. 28:50 And as an indentured slave in the court of Egypt, 28:54 Joseph serves under the direction of Potiphar. 29:01 And we read 39:2, 3. 29:15 I love this verse. 29:17 The Bible says, "The Lord was with Joseph." 29:19 Come on say amen somebody. The Lord was with Joseph. 29:23 Here's the point, in spite of being sold, 29:26 in spite of being left for dead, 29:28 in spite of being delivered as a slave, 29:30 the Lord was with Joseph. 29:33 And he was a successful man. 29:36 And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. 29:41 And his master saw that the Lord was with him, 29:44 and that the Lord made all he did 29:47 to prosper in his hand. 29:57 But the one thing we have to be assured of 29:59 is when God is prospering you, the devil takes notice of it. 30:03 He takes notice of it, Gloria. 30:05 He looked at Joseph's life and said, 30:07 "I cannot allow this man to be the one 30:09 to experience God's fulfilling dream for his life." 30:11 And so he tries to derail the dream of God. 30:15 And you know the story very well, 30:16 God allowed Joseph to be in charge of all 30:21 that is in Potiphar's house except Potiphar's wife. 30:27 And Potiphar's wife begins to notice 30:30 how stately, and how strong, and how healthy 30:34 a young man that Joseph is, and she makes passes at him, 30:38 and tries to get his attention. 30:40 And Joseph said to her, 30:42 "My master has given me in charge of everything 30:45 in his household, his money, his finances, 30:48 his administration, everything, but you, 30:51 how can I do this great wickedness 30:54 and sin against God." 30:56 He made up his mind not to cross the boundary 30:59 and to philander with Potiphar's wife. 31:04 Potiphar's wife had more intention for Joseph 31:06 than Joseph had for Potiphar's wife. 31:12 And she tore her garment and made it appear as though 31:14 that Joseph tried to rape her, and he got thrown in jail, 31:18 and spent two years in jail at least for a crime 31:23 that he did not commit. 31:25 And while he's in jail, 31:31 he uncovers the plot to kill Pharaoh. 31:33 And he asked his fellow inmates to let Pharaoh know that 31:37 I by God's grace uncover the plot. 31:40 Remember me when you get out and the cup bearer, 31:44 and the baker gets out of prison, 31:46 and doesn't mention a thing about Joseph. 31:49 And he spends two years more in prison. 31:53 Now, I got to pause and ask you a question. 31:56 I don't like to ask questions, but at some point or the other, 31:59 when you go through difficulties in life 32:02 at that stage and that magnitude, 32:05 it sometimes may appear to you that God has left you. 32:08 But I want to let you know, 32:10 no matter how difficult it gets, 32:11 if you keep your relationship with God pure, 32:14 God will never forsake you in spite of the circumstances 32:18 that surround your life. 32:23 And he is eating prison's food now. 32:27 He's in a cell for doing nothing wrong. 32:30 And the Bible says in Genesis 40:23, 32:32 "When the time comes they forget Joseph." 32:35 Two more years passed before the truth is told, 32:37 and Joseph is set free. 32:39 And finally, Pharaoh has a dream 32:41 and God makes known through Joseph 32:43 the interpretation of Pharaoh's dream 32:46 and then he is restored. 32:48 Every trial has a beginning and it has an end. 32:51 Amen? 32:53 Every trial has a beginning and an end. 32:55 The prophet says, "Weeping may endure for the night, 32:58 but joy comes," when? 33:00 "In the morning." Every trial. 33:02 And as I said to you earlier, the road to blessings 33:05 is often the highway of trials. 33:08 But God allows those trials because some of us 33:11 need to be shaped, and some of us are 33:13 so full of ourselves that God has to break us down 33:16 before He builds us up to His glory. 33:21 But it takes a person that really trust God 33:23 to go through difficulty without walking away from God 33:26 because at any point Joseph could have said, 33:28 "This is unfair. 33:30 First I'm in a pit, then I'm sold as a slave, 33:33 now I'm in Egypt as a slave, 33:35 I'm forcefully accused, I'm in prison. 33:37 I'm in prison, they forget me. 33:45 I'm done with this Christianity." 33:49 People leave church for less than that. 33:54 Thank you, Bob. 33:56 Have mercy has been approved by the board. 33:58 Have mercy. 34:00 No, really people walk away from God for less than that. 34:06 Why haven't you been to church? 34:09 "Cause a few months ago, somebody gave me 34:12 a bad look after church on Sabbath. 34:15 If you cannot endure trials among your own brethren, 34:18 you are not ready to endure trials 34:20 when the world turns against you. 34:24 Trial is the method whereby we are shaped 34:28 and molded for God's great purposes. 34:33 And to go to the beginning from the beginning of the story 34:36 to now fast forward toward the end of the story, 34:39 every trial has a beginning, and every trial has an end. 34:45 The blessings that had been delayed finally arrived. 34:50 Wrapped in the blessings of God. 34:52 Wrapped in the favor of God. 34:55 Wrapped in the glory of God. 34:59 So finally, God begins to shine some brighter light 35:03 on Joseph as He pulls him out of prison. 35:05 Finally, the power of God rests upon now 35:08 a more mature man. 35:10 And now he is governor of all the land of Egypt. 35:16 And the vision that Pharaoh had now begins to come to pass. 35:22 And every land except Egypt is going through a famine 35:27 including the land of Canaan. 35:32 Now this is where the plot thickens. 35:40 Our lives are often lives of abundance and of lack. 35:44 What did I say? 35:46 Abundance and what else? Lack. 35:49 God knows where the abundance is coming from, 35:52 and God knows when the days of lack are coming. 35:57 But the Apostle Paul said, "It is not up to us 36:00 to be fearful of the days of lack, 36:03 to enjoy the days of abundance 36:05 because when you trust God, here is the promise. 36:08 And my God," says it with me, "And my God shall supply 36:13 all of my need according to His riches 36:18 in glory by Christ Jesus." 36:25 The plot thickens, 36:28 Jacob finally gets to the place where he accepts the idea 36:31 that Joseph is dead. 36:35 In the midst of the famine he sends his sons 36:37 to look for food. 36:38 And they hear that Egypt has an abundance of food. 36:42 Pharaoh had a dream of fat calves and thin calves. 36:47 And Joseph said, "There's a famine coming 36:49 that's going to last for seven years. 36:50 So what you need to do is store up as much as you can. 36:53 So when the famine comes, 36:54 Egypt is not left without supply." 36:57 And the news gets around, Egypt has food. 36:59 So Jacob sends his sons to Egypt. 37:02 Oh, how God... 37:04 Oh, I want to say this, God, it may take time 37:06 but God sends us back to the ones that offend us 37:10 or that we offend so that we can get things 37:13 right for the glory of God. 37:15 It may take a while. 37:17 But for God to cause us to be His sons 37:20 that live in peace, that live in harmony. 37:22 You may avoid a person as long as you want, 37:25 but God knows in your heart what is there. 37:32 And so they go to Egypt looking for food, 37:36 but God is sending them to Egypt to get repentance. 37:39 They go for something to eat, but God is going 37:42 because of something that's eating them. 37:44 Come on now. 37:46 They're going because their supply is dwindling, 37:50 and they're about to understand 37:52 that God supplies more than enough for those 37:55 seeking God's blessings. 37:57 They're on their way to Egypt. 38:00 God put Joseph in a position not just to provide food. 38:04 But God put Joseph in a position 38:08 to provide forgiveness. 38:14 Can I take a minute or two on forgiveness? 38:23 Forgiveness is not human. 38:28 Forgiveness is not human. 38:33 I'm reading one of the best devotional books 38:35 I've had in many years. 38:39 A man by the name of Oswald Chambers. 38:46 And he points out in such beautiful terms 38:52 about the forgiveness of God. 39:01 And he says that, "God does not forgive us," 39:04 and I want you to hear me carefully. 39:05 I want to unpack this very carefully. 39:07 God does not forgive us 39:10 simply because He's a God of love. 39:13 That's a fact. 39:15 God does not forgive us just because 39:19 He is a God of love. 39:21 People say, "Well, God will forgive me 39:23 because He loves me." 39:25 He loved us before Jesus died. 39:29 So the question is, if He loved us 39:31 before Jesus died, why did Jesus have to die? 39:37 Because it's only by the death of Jesus 39:39 that forgiveness is imparted to us. 39:43 God does not forgive us because He's a loving God. 39:46 He forgives us because Jesus took on Himself us, 39:50 took us to the cross, died in our place. 39:53 And at the moment of His death before He close His eyes, 39:57 Jesus uttered the words, "Father, forgive them, 40:02 for they know not what they do." 40:04 Forgiveness is not something that's human. 40:06 Forgiveness is not something that we do naturally. 40:08 God has to take hold of our hearts 40:10 for any forgiveness to be extended by us, 40:14 and any forgiveness to be permanent 40:16 in the lives of somebody else. 40:18 Can you say amen to that? 40:19 It's not natural. 40:21 You think about it. 40:22 We always add conditions to our forgiveness. 40:24 I'll forgive you but... 40:30 Don't you ever... 40:37 What if God did that to us? 40:39 Mitch, I'm going to forgive you, 40:41 but if you ever step out of line again... 40:51 This is where I want to say 40:52 praise God for His long suffering. 40:59 God suffers long in His kind because God is love. 41:05 He forgives us because of the life of Jesus. 41:07 He does not forgive us because we deserve it. 41:11 He forgives us because the blood of Jesus, 41:14 His Son cleanses us. 41:17 That's why the text is there, "If we confess our sin, 41:20 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin 41:23 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 41:30 That's not human, that's divine. 41:35 But now the sons are there and they are in Egypt. 41:43 And as they go to visit, the now governor of Egypt, 41:47 they have no idea that Joseph is their brother. 41:52 He looks like an Egyptian. 41:53 He walks like an Egyptian. 41:55 He talks like an Egyptian. 42:00 They don't even know him. 42:02 He has learned the language of the Egyptians. 42:04 And to conceal his identity 42:06 he speaks in the tongue of Egypt, 42:08 the Egyptian tongue, 42:10 and an interpreter communicates to them in Hebrew. 42:13 So they had no clue 42:16 that he is who they don't know him to be. 42:21 If I said it right, praise God. 42:24 They don't know who he is. 42:26 And also when you read 42:27 as he does not allow himself to be easily seen by them 42:30 because Hebrews and Egyptians don't sit together. 42:37 He gives them supply 42:39 and he says, "Now go home 42:41 but leave Simeon until you come back." 42:45 And so Simeon is kept in prison. 42:49 And then he says, "Now go home. 42:51 And in a show of favor 42:55 I want you to bring Benjamin back with you." 42:58 What you don't understand 42:59 is when he sits down the brothers 43:01 to feed them in Egypt, 43:02 he sits them down at a table 43:04 and then all of a sudden dawns on them. 43:06 I see you, Karen. 43:08 It dawns on them that they have no clue, 43:10 when he sat them down, he sat them down in age order. 43:17 God begin to, wait a minute, wait a minute. 43:21 How did that happen? 43:23 How could he have known our age? 43:25 They began to talk among themselves, 43:26 and he is overhearing them, 43:28 and they don't have a clue that he's even understanding 43:30 because they think he is an Egyptian. 43:36 Now I want to say this, 43:37 God gave Joseph in the story 43:41 the right to teach his brothers a lesson. 43:47 So he says, when you go home, bring Benjamin. 43:51 And they go back home and said, 43:52 "Dad, we've got food in abundance. 43:54 But here's the caveat, Simeon is still in prison. 43:57 He's back there in Egypt. 43:58 And to get him out, we've got to take Benjamin." 44:00 And the father says, "Benjamin? 44:02 I don't have Joseph 44:04 and now you're going to take Benjamin, 44:05 the only son left from Rachel, the woman that I really love. 44:09 Oh, no. Oh, no. 44:10 There's no way I'm sending Benjamin back." 44:13 But when the famine gets worse, 44:16 Jacob makes a desperate choice to save his family. 44:19 And he relents and sends 44:21 his youngest son Benjamin back to Egypt. 44:32 I wish I could preach long today but I can't. 44:36 Please don't say amen. 44:42 'Cause this sermon... 44:47 when Joseph sees Benjamin... 44:52 he is so moved to see his brother. 44:55 And he weeps so loudly 44:58 that is heard throughout the court of the palace. 45:03 He weeps, he weeps aloud. 45:08 Genesis 43:30. 45:10 "Now his heart yearned for his brother. 45:13 So Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep, 45:17 and he went into his chamber 45:20 and wept, and wept, and wept." 45:32 They released Simeon. 45:35 And they're sending all the food 45:36 back that they need to Canaan. 45:39 And for some unusual reason 45:41 he gives Benjamin five times more food 45:43 than all the other brothers 45:45 and they don't think anything unusual about that. 45:47 And then he did something else, he put a golden cup 45:50 he had one of the suppliers 45:52 put a golden cup in Benjamin's bag. 45:55 And on the way back to Canaan they get stopped along the way 45:59 by those men that were dispatched 46:01 intentionally to fulfill God's plan. 46:06 And they said, "The King's Cup is missing." 46:09 And they said, "Would we do such evil to a man 46:12 who has shown such favor to us?" 46:17 And they begin to search through all the bags 46:18 and they come up to Benjamin and there they find the cup. 46:22 But before that moment they said, 46:23 "We are so grateful to the king. 46:25 If we have stolen it," they were so sure they didn't, 46:28 "if we have stolen it, deal with us unjustly, 46:31 make us a slave, take us back to Egypt, 46:35 kill us if you find us guilty." 46:38 And they find it in the bag of Benjamin. 46:43 And the brothers begin to lament 46:45 that they made the conditions of their own capture, 46:50 "Kill and slave, keep in Egypt. 46:54 How could we do that?" 46:59 And Benjamin is caught 47:02 and commanded to remain in Egypt. 47:09 And his brothers now more mature, 47:12 they go back to Egypt with him. 47:16 And now they're waiting for the governor to come out. 47:19 They're waiting for the governor to come out 47:20 and make the judgment. 47:22 And he comes out. And then he... 47:25 It is so difficult for him to maintain his composure, 47:30 God is tugging on his heart. 47:33 And in 45:2, the Bible says, "And he wept aloud. 47:37 And the Egyptians 47:39 and the house of Pharaoh heard it." 47:40 And the Bible says, "He couldn't even speak, 47:43 he wept so loudly, 47:44 Joseph looking at his brothers." 47:57 And then he said to his brothers 48:01 after he cleared the hall of all the Egyptians, 48:03 he said to his brothers, "Come, come to me. 48:05 Come near to me." 48:06 And so they came near to him and then he said to them, 48:09 "I am Joseph, your brother 48:11 whom you sold in Egypt." 48:16 And instead of hatred, there are hugs, 48:19 instead of rebuke, there is repentance, 48:22 instead of fear, there is forgiveness. 48:25 Come on somebody say amen. 48:27 The reconciliation that took years to accomplish. 48:31 Fear turns to forgiveness, rebuke turns to repentance, 48:37 hatred turns to hug. 48:39 And there they are in the complete embrace 48:42 of God's goodness to them. 48:45 God turns a tragedy of many years into a triumph. 48:50 And we read these words in Genesis 45:5. 48:55 Listen to the words of God. 48:57 "God sent me before you to preserve life. 49:01 God send me but now do not therefore be grieved, 49:04 or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here: 49:08 for God send me before you to preserve life." 49:12 God has a way of working out His dream 49:15 and get this, not just for us, 49:20 but for our families, for our lives. 49:26 But if you would dare go through 49:28 the difficulty of trials 49:29 just so that your family can be blessed. 49:32 That takes a person whose heart is moved by God, 49:35 whose heart is moved by God's compassion, 49:37 whose heart is filled by God's Holy Spirit. 49:39 Forgiveness is not a natural thing. 49:44 And then the verse that we have all heard and have coined, 49:47 Genesis 50:20. 49:51 "But as for you, you meant evil against me, 49:57 but God meant it for good." 50:01 Let's read that together. 50:02 "But as for you, you meant evil against me, 50:06 but God meant it," what? 50:07 "For good. 50:09 In order to bring it about as it is this day, 50:12 to save many people alive." 50:17 Amen? 50:19 Now I want to cap off by saying this. 50:21 The life of Joseph is a life parallel to Jesus. 50:26 Look at the parallels, it's amazing. 50:27 Joseph's life is spared as he is exiled in Egypt. 50:31 Christ is taken to Egypt as a child to spare His life. 50:35 Joseph is 31, 50:37 he is exalted to governor of Pharaoh by Pharaoh. 50:40 Christ was 31 when He began His ministry. 50:43 The Bible says of Jesus, 50:44 the government shall be upon his shoulder. 50:47 Joseph is sold to heathen enemies 50:49 by those closest to him, his family. 50:52 Christ is sold to His bitterest enemy by those closest to Him, 50:56 one of His disciples. 50:58 Joseph is going to condemned to prison by false accusation. 51:01 Christ is condemned to the cross 51:04 by the testimony of false accusation. 51:06 Look at the parallels, it's amazing. 51:08 Joseph is a type of Christ. 51:10 In the hour of Joseph's greatest trial, 51:13 there was no water for him in the pit. 51:16 In the hour of Jesus' greatest trial, 51:19 there was no water for Him on the cross. 51:23 Joseph is released from prison in his third year. 51:28 Jesus is raised from the tomb on the third day. 51:32 Come on say amen somebody. 51:34 Joseph changes his garment 51:36 when he is released from prison. 51:38 Christ changes His garment 51:40 when He is released from the tomb. 51:43 Joseph forgives those who betray him. 51:45 Christ forgives all of us, 51:51 not just the Jews, not just the Romans, 51:53 Christ forgives all of us. 51:54 Can you say amen? 51:56 Because all we like sheep have gone astray. 51:59 Joseph is given all authority 52:01 after he is released from prison. 52:03 And Jesus says, "All authority is given to Me 52:07 after His resurrection." 52:09 Through the trials of Joseph, 52:11 his family is spared in a time of trouble. 52:14 And through the trial of Jesus, 52:16 we will be spared in our time of trouble. 52:20 So what's the purpose of the story? 52:25 If I were to summarize with this closing statement, 52:27 it is this. 52:30 God allows our trials 52:34 to take us from our pit to our palace. 52:39 Our trials will shape us for our blessings. 52:46 But I want you to remember this. 52:48 And you can play softly, Adam, I appreciate it. 52:53 Are you listening? 52:55 Here it is. 52:57 The coin of the entire message, here it is. 53:02 What you become during your trials 53:08 are more important than what you become 53:10 at the end of your trials. 53:14 What you become during your testing 53:18 is more important than what you become 53:21 at the end of your testing, 53:23 for the trial will shape you 53:25 if you allow God's hand to remain upon your life. 53:30 The trials will mold you. 53:31 They'll break you down. 53:33 They'll put you in the pit of your experiences. 53:35 They'll turn the world against your family, friends. 53:37 It will seem as though you're closed in by everything 53:40 that is designed to crush you. 53:41 But if you remain faithful during the trials, 53:47 at the end of your trials 53:51 you will be what God always knew that you were going to be 53:55 a glory to the kingdom of God. 53:58 This morning how many of you, 54:00 I don't want to know about your trials, 54:01 but how many of you want to be all that God wants you to be 54:05 in the midst of your trials, 54:07 not just at the end, in the midst of your trials. 54:11 If that's your desire today, I'd like you to stand with me, 54:15 we want to sing a closing stanza of this song. 54:42 God sent His Son 54:48 They called Him Jesus 54:54 He came to love 55:00 Heal and forgive 55:06 He lived and died 55:13 To buy my pardon 55:19 An empty grave 55:23 Is there to prove 55:27 My Savior lives 55:30 Let's just sing that chorus together. 55:33 Because He lives 55:39 I can face tomorrow 55:46 Because He lives 55:52 All fear is gone 55:59 Because I know 56:06 He holds the future 56:13 And life is worth 56:17 The living just 56:20 Because He lives 56:26 Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. 56:29 My heavenly, Father, today we stand because You live. 56:34 Your trials, Your betrayal, 56:39 Your scourging, 56:42 Your false accusations. 56:46 You bore them all, Father, because You loved us. 56:52 And then You bought a gift 56:53 called forgiveness to extend to each one of us. 56:56 So divine, so devoid of humanity, 57:00 You came to us in the broken down state 57:03 like the 11 brothers of Joseph, 57:06 envious, jealous, contentious, 57:09 liars, deceptive. 57:14 At best our righteousness is like filthy rags 57:17 but You came to us. 57:20 And when You could have condemned us, 57:21 You gave us food to eat. 57:24 When You could have condemned us, 57:26 You embraced us. 57:28 And with Your tears You drew us in as Brother to Brother, 57:33 Savior to saved. 57:37 And, Father, today, we thank You 57:39 that our lives are no longer in the pit, 57:44 but we are on our way to the palace. 57:48 But, Father, this morning there's somebody here 57:49 who may be wrestling with forgiveness. 57:54 They may be recounting all the things 57:56 that have happened to them 57:58 from their betrayers from those who have disliked, 58:03 and have maligned, and have wrongly accused them. 58:08 That may be even something 58:09 that they've done in their own lives 58:11 to bring the displeasure of God upon them. 58:13 And in their pit they wonder 58:15 what tomorrow is going to bring. 58:18 In the moment of their slavery, they wonder whether or not 58:20 God still cares and loves them. 58:22 But today, Lord, I want to thank You for reminding us 58:25 that You love us with an everlasting love. 58:30 And with loving kindness You draw us. 58:33 So, Lord, today as we stand on December 2nd, 58:37 the year is about to close, 58:39 may it close with a reconciliation 58:41 between our brothers and our sisters, 58:44 between member and member alike, 58:48 between those called to represent You Lord, 58:50 may we extend that gift 58:53 through the channels of Christ to one another 58:56 that we may go into the New Year healed and whole 58:58 and one in Jesus. 59:01 That we all together may walk together 59:03 on our way to the palace. 59:05 So we thank You today for Your saving grace. 59:08 May we not take it for granted, 59:10 may we rejoice, and reflect, and reveal. 59:17 Forgiveness is so divine. 59:19 And this we ask that You may be honored 59:23 and that You may be glorified. 59:26 In Jesus' holy and precious name we pray. 59:30 Amen and amen. |
Revised 2018-01-18