Joseph

JOSEPH
Genesis 37:23-27; 39:19-20; 40:14-15, 23

1.  When I was a child often heard people say, “Life isn’t fair”…didn’t really understand that statement at the time, but think have a little better grasp of it now that I’ve lived nearly 70 years…
          --the good guys don’t always win…
          --everyone doesn’t live happily ever after…
          --the prince doesn’t always end up with the princess…
          --right does not always prevail over wrong…
          --truth does not always win over falsehood…
          --good does not always overcome evil…
2.  Harsh reality is that we live in a world in which things happen which seem patently unfair…for example it is unfair when--
          --a baby dies before it has chance to really live…
          --a child is killed in freak accident…
     --a young adult’s life is suddenly snuffed out in a moment of carelessness…
     --an evil, dishonest person steals large sums of money from an honest person…
     --a family is devastated by the brutal acts of lawless people…
     --a good person suffers horribly from a debilitating illness…
3.  What do you do when life deals you an unfair blow?…in the Bible there’s a story of a person who had more than his share of unfair experiences in life…referring to Joseph, the favored son of Jacob…and from his experience want to point out some things about overcoming unfair treatment…story of Joseph encompasses 14 chapters in Bible…told in chapters 37 – 50 of Genesis…it’s an incredible story from which there are many life lessons to be learned…want to focus on just three little pieces of Joseph’s story this morning…
--Genesis 37:23-27 – Joseph had been sent by father to check on his brothers…brothers didn’t think very highly of Joseph… like two young teenage girls talking about new girl at school…”What do you think about her?”“I think she’s sweet and smart and cute.””You’re right.  I can’t stand her, either.”…probably how Joseph’s brothers thought of him…was obviously his father’s favorite son…Joseph delighted in telling brothers of his dreams which seemed to indicate one day he would rule over them…finally they had enough of him and here’s what happened…(text)
--Genesis 39:19-20 – Ended up being sold in Egypt to man named Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s body guard…worked hard, won the trust of Potiphar and was given charge of the entire household…then another unfair thing happened to Jospeh…Potiphar’s wife began to pursue Joseph…though he resisted her advances, she made a false accusation about him…(text)
--Genesis 40:14-15, 23 – In prison Joseph correctly interpreted a dream for the chief cupbearer of Pharaoh…made only one request of the cupbearer…(text)

T.S. – At least three times in his life Joseph was the victim of unfair treatment …want share with you two things can learn from his example about overcoming such times in our lives…

I.  To overcome unfair treatment must resist temptation to become cynical toward people
1.     If anyone ever had reason to be suspicious, cynical, angry, and vengeful toward people it was Joseph…
--betrayed by his own brothers…
--lied about by the wife of a man he faithfully served…
--spending two additional years in prison because a man whom he had helped immensely simply forgot about him…
And all that happened to him before he was thirty years old…those experiences would have been enough to make any person bitter, cynical, suspicious, resentful, and desiring to lash out at others…
2.     But I think it’s significant Joseph didn’t respond that way…he didn’t sit around sulking and plotting at how he could get back at those people who had treated him so badly…instead, he seemed to do just the opposite…he used the unfair treatment he received from others as a springboard to bigger, better things in his life…
--if when brothers sold him into slavery he had been consumed with anger and bitterness toward them and with plotting how to get even with them, would never have reason to head steward in the household of Potiphar…
--if when Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him he would have sat in prison feeling sorry for himself and consumed with hate for her, he would never have become the jailer’s chief assistant…
--if when Pharoah’s cupbearer broke his promise to Joseph and forgot about him for two years he had spent those two years brooding about that, he would not have been ready to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh when that opportunity came…
3.  What want you to see is that Joseph refused to let the mistreatment he received at the hands of some people to make him bitter and cynical toward all people…

1.     A bright, gifted young man who first name was Phillips was on verge of fulfilling life-long dream of being a teacher…having just finished his formal education, was appointed to teach at the Boston Latin School…to say the experience was a total disaster would be an understatement…the students treated this sensitive young man horribly …locked him in closet….spread explosive matches on classroom floor …even threw handful of buckshot in face…before year was over Phillips resigned in disgrace an utter failure at teaching…
2.     But not end of the story…did not let the actions of those students make him cynical about people…went on to become a minister…his last name was Brooks and Phillips Brooks was one of the most famous and effective preachers in American history…he also penned the words to one of our most loved Christmas carols, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” [Brian’s Lines, March/April, 1998, pp.13-14]

1.     All of us, at some time or another, will feel that we have been mistreated by another person…when that time comes, as surely it will, we can respond in one of two ways…
--from that bad experience can make general assumption that all people are untrustworthy, that everyone will let you down, that you can depend on no-one…and that path leads to a lonely, bitter, unproductive life…
--or can recognize that actions of one person not necessarily representative of all people …because one person lies/steals/cheats does not mean that all people lie/steal/cheat…
2.     If you want ability Joseph had to overcome unfair treatment must resist the temptation to let the actions of a few people make you cynical and bitter toward all people…

II. To overcome unfair treatment must resist temptation to become cynical toward God
1.     Joseph had amazing ability to see God’s hand in the difficulties of his life…no matter what happened to him, he never lost faith in God and in his belief that God was at work in his life…
2.     Joseph had long time to think about what his brothers did to him and all that followed in his life because of what they did…and years later, when his brothers came to Egypt to buy grain he revealed his identity to them…their natural response was to be frightened because they assumed that Joseph would punish them for what they did…but look at what Joseph told them in Genesis 45:7-8…he said, in effect, “You did not send me here, God did it!”
3.     One of my favorite passages in the entire Bible is Joseph’s statement to his brothers recorded in Genesis 50:20 – “And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”
4.     And at every step of the way along Joseph’s difficult journey we see evidence of his dependence on God…for example—
--When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him he said, “How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?” (Gen.39:9)
--To the baker and cupbearer in prison who were downcast about the dreams they couldn’t understand he said, “Do not interpretations belong to God?…” (Gen. 40:8)
--To Pharaoh who called Joseph before him to interpret his dreams he said, “It is not me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” (Gen. 41:16)
5.     What want you see in that is Joseph, even when didn’t understand what was going on around him, never lost faith it, confidence in, became cynical toward God…

1.     In midst of experience that we see as grossly unfair, it is important to remember God is at work in our lives in such times…when we grapple with trying to make sense of something which seems from our point of view utterly tragic and totally senseless, we are much better off reaching out to God rather than lashing out at God…
3.     One person put it this way:  “We have a tendency to type-cast God, to decide for ourselves how He should work in our lives.  We determine what we want to do, how we want to live, with whom we want to relate.  Then we take our plan to God for His approval.  And when our plans don’t work out, we cry out in despair, ‘Where is God?’” [Brian’s Lines, March/April, 1998, pp.13]
2.     And from Joseph we can learn God is right along side us…He is constantly at work in our lives…He is ever walking beside us…and to overcome unfair treatment we must not lose sight of that and become cynical toward God…

1.     Perhaps you’ve heard the incredible story of Samuel Mudd…he was a medical doctor in the Washington, D.C. area who received a knock on is door late one night…there was man with a broken leg which needed treating…unknown to Dr. Mudd the man was John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln…Dr. Mudd was later arrested and unjustly convicted of harboring an assassin…he was sentenced to life in prison…sent to Fort Jefferson Florida…but apparently God had a reason for Dr. Mudd to be in that prison at that time…an epidemic of yellow fever swept through the prison…270 of 300 prisoners caught the disease…Dr. Mudd began to treat the prisoners and as a result of his tireless effort only 38 of them died…the surviving prisoners petitioned President Andrew Johnson for Mudd’s release…on March 11, 1869 he received a full presidential pardon…
2.     When unfair treatment comes our way it helps to look for how God can work in our lives in such times…
Conclusion
1.  The name Joseph means “increaser”…if you want your life to increase in meaning and quality, especially in the face of unfair treatment, do what Joseph did…don’t become cynical toward people and don’t become cynical toward God…



Abraham

ABRAHAM
(Genesis 12-25)

1.      As we continue looking at some of the key characters in the Bible, we are going to focus on the life of Abraham.  If you were to ask me to make a list of the most important people in the Bible, Abraham would be toward the very top of the list.  To this day the three main religions of our world – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--trace their roots back to Abraham.  In the middle east where people are bitterly divided over religious convictions, will find that Abraham is the one person highly revered by all the religious group
2.      Even if you knew nothing about biblical history, even a cursory reading of the Bible would indicate that Abraham is a very important character.  His name appears on the pages of Scripture approximately 230 times.  And it may surprise you to know that he is mentioned in all four gospels, Acts, Romans, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Hebrews, James, and 2 Peter.
3.      In the New Testament he is portrayed as:
·      The father of the way of faith.  Paul said of him in Galatians 3:6-7 – “‘Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.’  Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are the sons of Abraham.”
·      A model of obedience.  Hebrews 11:8 says of him, “By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed…”
4.      In the Old Testament, Abraham’s story is told between Genesis 11:26 where his birth is mentioned and Genesis 25:8 where his death is mentioned.  Obviously we cannot cover those 14 chapters in one session.  What I want to do in this session is look at some of the key events in Abraham’s life and since the New Testament points to Abraham as a model of obedience, draw from those events some lessons about obedience to God.

Genesis 12:1-4 – The call to go to the land God promised (see map)

Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-7 – Sordid events in Abraham’s life, pretending that his wife, Sarah, was his sister.  In chapter 12 they were in Egypt and Pharaoh actually made Sarah his wife.  In chapter 20 they were in Gerar, and King Abimelech discovered the treachery before taking Sarah as his wife.

Genesis 22:1-17 – Story of Abraham and Isaac and the sacrifice on Mt. Moriah

Genesis 25:8 – Abraham’s death

Abraham is known as the father of faith.  And one thing we can learn from him is that faith always involves obedience.  I want to point out a few things we can learn about obedience from the example of Abraham.

I. OBEDIENCE TO GOD IS NOT ALWAYS EASY
1.   When God first called Abraham in Genesis 12 He promised if faithful Abraham would be faithful that God would make great nation of his descendants...as time went by and Abraham and wife had no children, began doubt promise...in Genesis 15 God came to Abraham and promised son...finally when Abraham was 100, he and Sarah had Isaac...birth recorded Genesis 21...
2.   But then comes Genesis 22...there God gave Abraham a very difficult command...told Abraham take Isaac to certain mountain and offer him as sacrifice to God...no doubt that command broke Abraham's heart...Isaac was the son for whom had  waited many years...hope of future for nation...boy whose life Abraham loved more than own...and now God saying, "Take boy and offer as burnt offering to me."

1.   Must confess don't understand why God ask Abraham do that...know some say merely testing to see how faithful...know certainly preview of great sacrifice God actually made on our behalf in his son...however, still hard understand why God put Abraham through such emotionally wrenching experience...
2.   However, while don't understand it, can learn from it...one thing can learn is that obedience sometimes difficult...could not have been more difficult thing all world for Abraham to do... as if picked hardest and said, "Abraham, prove faithfulness and obedience to me.."
3.   Need dispel the myth that the easiest all lives is life obedience to God...neither Bible nor life of Christ nor history of church supports that kind thinking...doubt that‑‑
‑‑12 disciples, all whom martyred except Judas and John...
--Apostle Paul who was imprisoned, beaten, and eventually killed for preaching Christ…
‑‑Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, burned at stake for refusing deny Christ...
‑‑William Tyndale, who constantly persecuted for efforts translate Scripture language people..
‑‑John Bunyan, who was cast in prison preaching without license…
      would say that obedience to God easy...
4.   Abraham's experience should remind us that being obedient to God is not always easy...as matter of fact, more often than not being obedient to God is difficult....

II. OBEDIENCE TO GOD IS ALWAYS BEST
1.   In Genesis 25 where Abraham's death recorded, a beautiful thing said about him...25:8 says, "And Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life..."...suggest died satisfied with life because lived life of obedience to God...
2.   Point is God calls to obedience because wants us have good life...knows what's best for us...knows what should avoid and seek after...commands gives us in Scripture and direction give for our lives not for purpose of restricting us or making our lives miserable...designed free us get most out of life...

1.   When I was child parents required me do some things didn't particular want to do...
--sometimes made me stay in and do my homework when I wanted be out playing with friends...
--made me go church on Wednesday nights and Sunday nights, when many friends at school out doing other things...
2.   At time didn't understand why require some of those things of me...but looking back from perspective of today, realize life much better because of those values they instilled in me...
3.   Way is with obedience to God...may not realize it at time, but obedience always makes life better...

III. NO‑ONE IS OBEDIENT ALL THE TIME
1.   May sound like rather strange and dangerous thing to say...want you to understand the spirit in which say it...don't say to encourage disobedience...but want know when make mistake and fail do what God wants, not end of world and God doesn't write us off and forget about us...
2.   Clearly seen life Abraham...here is man recognized as one of outstanding religious leaders in history of world...however, also man not always obedient to God...
3.   As read story in Genesis, several occasions portrayed as weak, fearful, deceptive man...last part Genesis 12 read about famine sweeping across land Canaan...and because Abraham refused trust God provide for him, against God's will took family to Egypt...while in Egypt Abraham deceived Pharaoh into thinking Sarah actually his sister rather than wife...

1.   Point is no‑one is perfect...no‑one always as obedient as should be...when fail in our obedience, need confess failure to God, do what can to undo damage we have done, and go on trying be obedient...
2.   No better illustration of that in Bible than in life Simon Peter...one moment Jesus said, "Blessed are you Simon Barjona" and next say, "Get behind me Satan.."...but Peter kept trying and God blessed him....

IV. OBEDIENCE TO GOD INVOLVES ACTION
1.   When God told Abraham leave his homeland and journey land God show him Bible says, "So Abraham went forth as the Lord had spoken to him..."...when God told Abraham to take Isaac to the land of Moriah and sacrifice him Bible says, "So Abraham rose early in the morning..and went to the place God had told him.."
2.   Abraham didn't just talk about obeying God...did it!...acted!..

1.      Is it possible that we talk more about obedience than we actually obey...for example, we talk about importance of--
‑‑reaching people with gospel...but are we really doing anything to reach them?..
‑‑loving people as Christ loved us...but what do we do to let people know love them in that way?...
‑‑Christians caring for those who have special needs...but do we do anything to meet needs except talk?...

1.   Jesus once told parable about man who had two sons...asked first son work in vineyard and said okay but never went to work...asked second son work in vineyard and said no, but did go work...asked, "Which of the sons did the father's will?"....
2.   Obedience is not talk...it is action...

CONCLUSION

1.      Christianity not so much a religion of head as it is religion of heart...must avoid temptation of thinking Christianity as merely a mental exercise and failing to see it as way of life...while there are many theological and philosophical questions about which we can endlessly speculate, that is not essence of Christian life...

2.      The essence of the Christian life is obedience to God...and from the example of Abraham we can learn that obedience--
‑‑it's not always easy...
‑‑it is always best...
‑‑no‑one is always obedient...
‑‑obedience involves more than talk...involves action
3.   I want to end with a quote from Marriage Partnership magazine (1995): "Trust that God has your best interests in mind and be willing to do what He asks of you, even if you don't understand why.  Obedience starts with having a heart that says yes to God."

4.   May we have the kind of heart which says yes to God! 

Noah

Noah
(Genesis 6:5-8, 13-22)

1.   Everybody knows the story of Noah and the ark and the great flood...if I were to ask any one of you to recite the basic facts of the story, no doubt you could do it...the story has become part of the folklore of human culture...and in one sense, makes it more difficult for us to deal with...
2.   The most difficult Bible passages for us to learn from the ones with which we are most familiar...when we come to a familiar passage or story in the Bible there is a tendency to think, "I've already heard this.  I know what it means.  There's nothing else for me to learn from this part of the Bible."...two problems with that kind of thinking...
--first, we may not know the facts of the story as well as we think we do...kind of like the man whose young son came home from Sunday School and asked, "Dad, do you know the name of Noah's wife?"...father rolled his eyes and said, "Son, I can't believe you don't know that.  Everyone has heard of Joan of Arc!"...sometimes we may have the facts a little confused!
--second, even when we have the facts straight, we may not really understand the theological significance of the story...
3.   And that's especially true when it comes to stories like the story of Noah and the ark which we tend to associate with children... however, the Bible does not treat the story of Noah as a children's story...there are many tremendously important adult lessons to be learned from the example of Noah…
4.   The significance of the story of Noah can be seen in the fact that four full chapters in the Bible are dedicated to him…Genesis 6-9…actually there are two accounts of the flood interwoven throughout Genesis 6-9…Old Testament scholars refer to them as J and P…there are some slight variations in the two accounts, but the essential story is the same…
5.   There are many things we can learn from this story, but the main theme has to do with salvation…the story of the Noah and the ark is a type, sort of a preview, of the salvation God offers us in Jesus…Hebrews 11:7 says that Noah "became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith."...Noah is the first person in the Bible to be called righteous...Genesis 6:9 says, "Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God."  .In Scripture word "righteousness" means "rightness with God"... because of Noah's faith he was made right with or reconciled with God...
6.   The story of Noah and the ark is in reality a preview of our salvation...in giving Noah instructions in building the ark God told him in Genesis 6:14 to "cover it inside and out with pitch."...the Hebrew word for pitch has the same root as the word "atonement" ...John MacArthur points out that just as "...the pitch kept the water of judgment from entering the ark, so Christ's atoning blood keeps judgment from the sinner"...in faith Noah entered the ark and did not perish in the flood...and through faith in Jesus we enter relationship with God and do not perish in our sins...
7.   That is the main lesson of this story, but there are multiple other lessons as well…I want to focus on what we can learn from the story about overcoming what seems to be impossible situations in life… Some times in life we come against things which may literally overwhelm us…maybe it is some task that we think is impossible…maybe it is some relationship that we feel is broken beyond repair…maybe it is a financial crisis from which we see no way out…want you to see from Noah’s example what to do when those times come…

I.  Don’t listen to negative people
1.      Noah was surrounded by negative people…he grew up in an ungodly family…his father, Lamech was characterized by moral perversion… in Genesis 4:23-24 brief description of character of Moses’ father…Lamech was the first recorded bigamist in Bible, having two wives in disregard of God’s standard of monogamy established in Garden of Eden…he was characterized by harsh cruelty…he bragged about killing man for wounding him and a boy for striking him…
2.      Not only did Noah live in negative home environment, lived in one of worst societies world has ever known…Genesis 6:5-7 gives brief, graphic glimpse of world in which Noah lived…
“…wickedness of man was great upon the earth…” (v.5)
“…thoughts of his [man’s] heart was only evil continually…”(v.5)
“…the Lord was sorry that He had made man…” (v.6)
3.      Noah was surrounded by a horrible family and horrible society…social psychologists would say he didn’t have a chance…that he was destined to be like everyone around him…but look at v.8…”But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”…he didn’t let his negative environment drag him down…and that quality put him in a position of being selected by God to do something which seemed impossible…

1.      Whenever you are faced with a seemingly impossible situation in your life, one thing you can be sure of is that there will be some people around giving you bad advice…and to make it through those difficult times we must learn not to let the negative people drag us down…doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek advice and counsel of wise people…but does mean that we shouldn’t take at face value everything anyone tells us…
2.  When Charles Kettering was president of General Motors would sometimes call a group of engineers together to solve a problem…said would place a table at door with sign instructing engineers to “Leave slide rule here”…some you don’t know what slide rule is…just substitute calculator or IPAD for slide rule…said if didn’t, some time during presentation some engineer would be working on slide rule and then stand and say, “Boss, what you are asking can’t be done!” [Charles F. Kettering in Bits and Pieces, December, 1991, p. 24]
2.      And from Noah can learn in face of seemingly impossible situation we must not let negative people discourage us…

II.  Do listen to what God is saying to you
1.      When God spoke to Noah, He told Noah an amazing thing…said going to send great flood to destroy the earth…and he told Noah to build an ark to save himself, his family, and two of every kind of animal…
2.      When God gave that information to Noah, Noah was faced with a clear-cut choice...he could do what God said or easily found a reason for not doing what God said…for example he could have said—
--this makes no sense to me…God’s instructions went against everything he had ever experienced… Noah had never seen such a flood...some contend that Noah had never even seen rain...Noah could have said, “Lord, I don’t understand your instructions so I am not going to follow them.”

--this task is too big for me...Noah probably lived in Mesopotamia, a long way from any ocean or even sizable lake...while at some point in his life he may have seen some kind of small boat, he'd never seen anything like the boat God wanted built...it was to be 450' long, 75' wide, 45' high with three decks, one window, and one door...to construct such a boat would be an enormous task...Noah could have said, "Lord, I don't think I'm capable of doing what you ask."

--this is embarrassing...no doubt Noah was viewed by his contemporaries of something of an eccentric...he was not the kind of person you'd want buying the house next door to you...people laughed at him...made jokes about him...he was probably known as "Crazy Noah"...I read this week an interesting comment about people like Noah...one person wrote, "Every [person] who takes God seriously is considered mad by those who take Him lightly." [BBC, p.81]...Noah could have said, "Lord, I just can't do what you ask because it's too embarrassing."

--I don’t have time for...after all, in his world it was a full-time job just to produce food for the family...no doubt Noah's life was already full before God gave him this task...he could have said, "Lord, I just can't fit it into my schedule."
  1. But Noah didn’t do any of those things…to his credit, he took God at His word and did what God told him to do…and because of that, he was able to do what seemed to be impossible…

  1. One key to dealing with situations that seem to be impossible is to listen to and obey God…and when God speaks to us we are faced with the same decision Noah faced…
--are we going to believe God or not believe God?
--are we going to trust ourselves or trust God?
--are we going to follow our instincts, intuition, thoughts, or follow God’s instructions…
      These are questions we constantly face...one writer put it this way:  "The choice come to every [person], either to listen to, or to disregard the message of God.  [We] may live as if the message of God was of no importance, or [we] may live as if the message of God was the most important thing in the world ... Noah was the man who heeded the warning of God.  And it was because he heeded it that he was saved from disaster.  God's warning comes to us in many ways.  It may come from conscience; it may come from some direct word of God to our souls; it may come from the advice or the rebuke of some good and godly [person]; it may leap out at us from God's Book, or challenge us in some sermon.  Wherever it comes from, we neglect the warning of God at our peril." [Barclay, p.159]
2.      Remembering to listen to God and to do what God says to do is one key to dealing with situations which seem to be impossible…

1.      When Japanese invaded Yangcheng during WWII missionary Gladys Aylward was forced to flee with more than 100 orphans for whom she had been caring… during the terrible journey across a war-torn countryside, the missionary was overcome with fear and despair…one of young girls came up beside her and said, “Don’t be afraid.  Remember how God took care of Moses and the Israelites.”…in her despair Gladys said, “Well, I’m not Moses!”…and little girl said, “Of course you aren’t.  But God is still God!”
2.      One key to dealing with impossible situations is simply remembering that God is still God…and as Jesus said, “All things are possible with God!”
Conclusion
1.      Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who was executed in a prison camp in Naz1 Germany just before the end of WW II wrote a poem entitle "Stations on the Way to Freedom"...one of the stations or steps to freedom Bonhoeffer calls "action"... want you to hear what Bonhoeffer said about action or obedience...think it sums up well the example of Noah…
Do and dare what is right, not swayed by the whim of the moment.
Bravely take hold of the real, not dallying now with what might be.
Not in the flight of ideas but only in action is freedom.
Make up your mind and come out into the tempest of living.
God's command is enough and your faith in him to sustain you.
Then at last freedom will welcome your spirit amid great rejoicing.
2.   When you are faced with a seemingly impossible situation, do what Noah did…don’t listen to negative people…instead listen to and obey God…