Trusted: Lessons from the Life of Joseph
Week 5: “Trusted with a Heritage”
After final song, go to Video [Word on the Street interviews asking, “How do you want to be remembered?”]
INTRO: Regardless of what you think about those answers (and there were some pretty crazy ones, eh?), it is evident that in the heart of everyone is a desire to do more than simply exist. People really want to be remembered after the grave; they want to leave a heritage.
Truth is, I’m no different. I, too, want to extend my influence beyond just the few years I have on this earth. And I bet you do as well.
To show you what I mean, I brought a couple of items with me this morning that help me in my own quest for living what I call a “beyond the horizon” kind of life. Let me show them to you briefly, okay?
First, I want to show you our family crest. Understand, however, the motivation behind this is not primarily the symbol, although I do appreciate it and understand it. What really strikes me about this crest each time I see it as it hangs in my home office is not the “what” of the crest but the “who” of the crest – the man who passed it on to me! You see, this family emblem – the symbol of our heritage – wasn’t purchased at a store or bought online at familytree.com. No, it was passed down to me by my great grandfather, Rufus Theodore Stiles, whom I named after (RT, get it?). My parents were able to bring this back from the Stiles homestead in Blue Ridge, Georgia a few years ago, and they so graciously gave it to me as a reminder of the people who passed on to me my last name. Essentially, they entrusted me with a visible witness to my heritage.
I also want to show you another symbol of my heritage that means a great deal to me: my grandfather’s Bible. We called him Pop. What a man (and funny, too)! He is the son of the man I was named after, and the father of my dad. Whenever I leaf through it or scan its pages, I’m reminded of my grandfather’s deepest passion and most valuable relationship: the one he had with God through Jesus Christ. Pop was God’s man for his family, his church, and his community. And whenever I see his Bible, that heritage jumps out at me. In fact, according to my wife, sometimes it jumps out of me, for I have been wonderfully accused on numerous occasions of what our family calls “Pop-age.” What’s “Pop-age? It’s when the traits of my grandfather – and father no doubt – start oozing out of me unknowingly and almost uncontrollably. We usually start laughing together, but inside I’m thanking God for the mystery of heritage.
You see, both these items speak to something bigger than me. They speak to a heritage or name that I have been left with: Stiles. These symbols tell of something bigger than my place (where I live), my position (what I do), my pride (what I’ve accomplished), my prestige (what I’m called) or my philosophy (what I think). They speak to my heritage. They speak to my great grandfather, RT; my grandfather, Pop; my dad, Roger. Yes, they tell me about people. For that’s what a heritage is all about – people!
TRANSITION: Similarly, the word heritage is the best word to describe how Joseph looked at his life. It really sums up how he pieced together the many different events of his existence. Take your Bible and locate Genesis 45, would you? This is the key chapter in the saga of Joseph, for it’s the missing piece to the puzzle, and links all the other chapters before and after it. We now finally understand the “why” behind all the “what.” Follow along with me as I read the first 11 verses:
(NOTE: I’d like to read chapters 42-44, as well as chapters 46-50, but time won’t allow. I encourage you to read these surrounding chapters to get a feel for the whole scenario of Joseph being trusted with the heritage of the Jewish nation and how he proved faithful to do exactly that!)
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ’This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’
[EXPLAIN TEXT and draw out textual observations and highlights, such as…]
• 45:1-2 – Joseph had held his tongue long enough. Now he used it to bring healing and peace. Again, we see the similarities between Joseph’s life and the book of James (i.e., trials, temptations and the tongue!). When we learn to biblically react and control these three elements, we are on our way to the kind of life James describes in 3:17-18, that of a wise peacemaker.
• 45:4 – An Old Testament example of the New Testament verse, “Perfect love casts out fear!” (1 John ?:?)
• 45:5-7 – This is the meat of the passage – Joseph finally clears away the fog and it all starts making sense. How? By seeing it from God’s perspective! Do you see how many times he points to God and credits the Almighty? That’s the only way to make sense out of life – see it from God’s perspective!
• 45:9-24 – Joseph leveraged all his resources and authority for a cause greater than himself. That’s one of the best signs that you are thinking at a level higher than the physical – when you act and lead unselfishly!
• 45:25-28 – The greatest news Jacob had heard in the last 22 years – Joseph was alive!
From start to finish, this chapter is filled with passion and emotion. Specifically, the first 11 verses describe Joseph, with amazingly deep love, revealing what was really at stake: the Jewish heritage. To be more exact, the line of Christ (though they weren’t aware of that then)! Truly, the saving of many lives, namely the 66 direct descendants whom he brought from Canaan, had to happen in order to keep the line through which Christ would come alive. Check out Matthew 1 and Luke 3 in your small group later. From a human perspective, had Joseph not seen things from God’s perspective and acted unselfishly as a man, then his brothers – namely Judah, who is mentioned in the two genealogies – don’t make it; they would be left “destitute” (Genesis 45:11).
But instead, God kept the line alive through Joseph’s life. And to do that, God had to get Joseph to Egypt. And to get Joseph to Egypt, God had to get him out of Canaan. And to get him out of Canaan, God had to lift him from his family. So for 22 years it all seemed difficult and painful, cloudy and confusing. But in the end we see that so much more was really on the line than people ever knew. What most thought was the shattering of one life – Joseph’s – was actually the saving of many lives – the Jewish nation! Joseph allowed God to build within him the incredible ability to see beyond himself and live for something greater than position, prestige or power. Joseph lived for a heritage!
This is born out again in 50:15-21 at the death of Jacob, Joseph’s father:
“When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" So they sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before he died: ’This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said. But Joseph said to them, "Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
You see, Joseph lived life from a realm/level few ever experience, what I call the level of legacy. He was trusted with something far greater than what is given on earth; he was trusted with what was given to him by God – a heritage! A legacy! And from what we know, Joseph’s life concludes in this way – taking care of his extended family and bringing “salvation” to his kin. In doing this he was more than a vice-president or a “rags to riches” success story. He was God’s person in God’s place for God’s purposes and God’s people!
How did he acquire that kind of trust with God? In a nutshell, he remembered the target! That’s right – he kept the bull’s eye clearly in view (i.e., God’s purpose for his people). You see, our tendency is to see a place, prestige, a position; we see to all of this as if it were the focal point. But God enabled Joseph to see through all of this to the plan – the saving of many lives. And what did God use to accomplish this? A person – Joseph! Sure, there were various platforms – a pit, a household, prison, a country – but those things weren’t the end, only the means. The real vehicle was a person, and the real goal was people. And the Divine Mastermind behind it all? Our Sovereign God!
Let me show you our infamous chart once again (distribute chart on card):
TRANSITION: If you’re curious about what you can do to “remember the target” – what you can do to live on the level of legacy and heritage – I would like to make a single and simple application: Live with God’s target in mind – his purpose for people!
You see, that’s really the essence of a biblical heritage – living in such a way that I focus with God on his purpose(s) for people! For that is always the end target – the saving of many lives! In a word, people! It’s always been about his purpose for people. And when we get on the same page as our Father and make His focus our focus … when we align ourselves with Him and make His priorities our priorities, we then start living on a level far beyond the visible horizon. We then start living on the level of a legacy, and God can then trust us with even more than what is seen. He will trust us to pass on what is unseen: a heritage!
But for that to happen, we have to see people as God sees people: valuable and significant, not expendable and optional. For people have always been the heartbeat of God’s activity. He has always been about redeeming a people to himself, and doing whatever he could to bring himself to those people and those people to himself. For example,
• The garden in Genesis
• The tabernacle in Exodus
• The promised land in Joshua
• The manger in Matthew
• The cross in Luke
• The Holy Spirit in Ephesians
Yes, God has always been seeking to save that which was lost – redeeming to himself a people made up of all nations, tribes, tongues and languages, and then empowering those who have believed to partner with him in the task of making more disciples. It truly is about people and their need of salvation. Why? Because to God, people are valuable, not expendable. Significant, not optional. They encapsulate why he came – because he “so loved the world!”
If you really want to be a person of legacy, a man or woman living for a heritage, you have to make people your priority, and you have to make God’s purpose for them your primary passion. When that happens, our life climbs a few notches, and God sees in us someone he can trust. Just like Joseph.
APPLICATION: There are some people at First Family who live this way – with an eye on the target of people – and I want to introduce them to you. They are the many volunteers who make the second step in our simple process work for so many people every week of various ages. Let me introduce to you…
…our Kid Central volunteers who, in some form or fashion, see the value of little people and love to help them see God’s purposes. Let’s show our appreciation to these people who are involved in the “saving of many lives!”
…our Net leaders, the volunteers in our student ministry who know the value of “puberty people” and hang out with them week after week, modeling what it means to love others like God loves us. Again, let’s show our appreciation to these people who are involved in the “saving of many lives!”
…our Lighthouse leaders and hosts, the volunteers of our primary small groups at First Family who know the value of big people. It’s in these groups that you make your best connection to people and progress, and it wouldn’t happen if it weren’t for our leaders. Once more, let’s show our appreciation to these people who are involved in the “saving of many lives!”
All those volunteers have a “people” mindset; they know the target – God’s purpose for people! That’s why they do what they do – to help people understand God’s purpose(s)! And while our impact may be, in a quantitative way, less than Joseph’s, it is no less important. Because when we focus on Gods priorities – his purpose for people – we are involved in the same type of activity and are leaving a legacy and heritage that will live on beyond us!
In fact, if you’ve ever wondered if you’re making a difference, I want you to watch this simple video clip about a man named Edward Kimball. He was a man who lived with people as his priority, and I want you to see the amazing heritage he passed on.
[VIDEO ILLUSTRATION: From Edward Kimball to DL Moody to Billy Sunday to Billy Graham!]
CLOSING: Would you today start living on the legacy level? Would you make people your priority and remember God’s target – “the saving of many lives?” I call upon every man and woman at First Family to refuse the mundane and avoid the routine; start living to leave a heritage. Start living to leave a legacy of people who, even after you’re gone, will be a trophy of grace and a testimony to God’s glory.
Stand with me, church, and let’s pray. [Response time/invitation] This morning, I invite you to meet me down front and let’s close out our series on Joseph by agreeing with God to live in alignment with him, putting people ahead of possessions, pride, prestige, power, or position. Come and say with me, “I want to live on the level of legacy with a heritage in view.”
Response time.
