Several years ago a movie came out called Bruce Almighty staring Jim Carrey. It’s a good movie about a guy who is frustrated at the way his life is going, so he blames God and tells Him he could do a better job if he were in charge. God, played by Morgan Freeman, grants Bruce all of His powers. Bruce is overwhelmed with the responsibility and, despite his best intentions, makes life for himself and everyone else much worse. I think there are two morals to the movie: 1) We shouldn’t blame God for things that are our responsibility; 2) Only God can handle absolute power and knowledge. In other words, we shouldn’t play God, as we’re often told.
The funny thing I find in the Bible is that we are supposed to play God. In fact, the first chapter of the first book of the Bible tells us that we were created in God’s image to rule on earth in His place. He did not give us omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience to do this. This leads to the conclusion that each human being was created to have dominion over a particular realm of influence. Our task on earth, aside from knowing and loving God, is to faithfully steward and transform our particular area as if we were God over that realm.
The reason the entire world has not been transformed for the glory of God is because His image bearers fail to play their part. Sin entered into humanity through the fall and rather than renovate our realm of influence for the glory of God we tend to consume for our own pleasure and glory. But occasionally we meet exceptions to this rule.
Joseph is one of those few people who exercised dominion over the realm God had given him. He successfully “played God,” thereby saving lives, transforming his family, healing broken relationships, and bringing much honor to God in the process. As I’ve studied these chapters this week, I could not get over the fact that Joseph acted as God in the story. At several different places Joseph’s actions were attributed to God. In other words, Joseph did it, but God got the credit for it. If you want to know what God is like, examine how Joseph conducted himself in this story. He played God extremely well.
I am just naïve enough to believe that this is God’s plan for each of His children. He grants every one of us a realm of influence. He wants us to renovate our realm of influence. The purpose of your life as a follower of Jesus Christ is to bring transformation to the people, institutions, culture, customs, and perspectives of your particular realm of influence whether great or small. You are God’s catalyst for change.
This morning I want to share some of the ways Joseph accomplished this. If you want to have dominion as you were created to do, here are some practical steps toward that end.
How to Renovate Your Realm of Influence
I’ll begin by saying that this is not an easy five-step program. Most of us never get past the prerequisite.
Prerequisite: A long obedience in the same direction
Joseph was trained by God 21 to 22 years before he was ready to meet his brothers again. In that time, Joseph practiced a long obedience in the same direction. He learned to depend on God as a slave in the prison and as part of Pharaoh’s government. He had been so obedient for so long that God’s desires became Joseph’s desires. Joseph not only did God’s will he was God’s will. Joseph was so in tune with the Lord from his long obedience in the same direction that we find him not once asking for instruction in this story. Somehow he instinctively did just what God wanted him to do.
I see a parallel with military training. When you enlist your main task is to obey your superiors. You don’t question the orders of your drill sergeant, not if you’re smart. Commanding officers need not explain their rationale to you. You just do what you’re told. If you’ve obeyed and been trained by someone who is competent you’ll instinctively respond properly under battle conditions. Obedience prepares the soldier for action.
Such was the case with Joseph. He had a long obedience in the same direction and it enabled him to renovate his realm of influence.
If you’re the type of person who neglects God’s commands and lives in partial obedience, you can be sure that you won’t make much of a difference for Him. If your goal is to get through life with your golden ticket to heaven, but you don’t mind abusing God’s grace every once in a while you won’t take dominion because you won’t be ready. If, on the other hand, you strive to please God and follow His commands and walk with Him and know Him and listen for His voice, in other words a long obedience in the same direction, you put yourself in a place to be used mightily of the Lord. When your desires are like His desires, you’re ready.
The second lesson we can derive from Joseph’s life:
Appropriately use spiritual power
Joseph was second in command over Egypt. He had the power of life and death over his brothers. He also had the power of knowledge. He knew who they were. They had no clue about his true identity. That gave him a big advantage over them. Joseph was like God in his knowledge and position over his brothers. But he used his power appropriately.
When his ten brothers arrived he could have rounded them up at the point of a spear, revealed his identity, vented his spleen, and forced them to bow down before locking them up and throwing away the key. After what they did to him, he had a perfect right to pursue this kind of justice. Joseph chose another course.
Instead, he used his power to take his brothers through a series of tests. Maybe a better way of saying it is that through his position and knowledge he led his brothers to repentance. First, he accused them of being spies and tossed them in jail for a few days so they could get a little empathy training. They were able to feel the fear and discomfort Joseph faced many years before. They understood what it was like to be wrongly imprisoned. Then Joseph released them and challenged them to bring their youngest brother to clear their good name and bail poor old Simeon the hostage out of prison. At this point, they were repentant men. Although they could not see the big picture, the brothers were certain God was enacting justice on them and they were sorry for their earlier crimes against Joseph:
They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come upon us. …Now we must give an accounting for his blood.” Genesis 42:21, 22b
Joseph used his spiritual power to lead them to conviction and confession. Did you notice that he didn’t nag them? He didn’t beat them up with Bible passages. He didn’t lay a bunch of rules or dos and don’ts on them. He wisely followed the dream from years earlier to get them to bring Benjamin to Egypt. All 11 were to bow down before him, not just 10. He used his power to follow the God-given vision.
It’s difficult to make the application leap with this point, but it’s still possible. Whatever power God has given you over people, use it wisely. Don’t use them for your personal benefit. Love them and seek their best as Joseph did for his brothers. Use your power to gently, respectfully bring them to Jesus Christ. Find your spiritual gifts and use them to serve people within your realm of influence. Whatever God has given you, refrain from its selfish use. Employ that power for the good of others.
A third way to renovate your realm of influence is:
Provide a verbal witness
Joseph accomplished this masterfully without fanfare or fuss. He brought up God in his conversation with his brothers:
And he put them all in custody for three days. On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God …” Genesis 42:17-18
It was immediately after Joseph said this that his brothers confessed their earlier sin. He pointed them to the One who they’d obviously forgotten. He did this effectively. It was not a canned witnessing approach. God was in his conversation. But this wasn’t the last time.
After revealing his identity and the brothers were thoroughly horrified, Joseph made this sweeping theological statement three times:
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. Genesis 45:5 (also see verses 7 & 9)
Joseph provided 4 verbal witnesses to God in this portion of the story alone. This is what his brothers needed more than anything. They didn’t need to know that Joseph was a swell guy. They needed to know that the God of the universe loved then and had orchestrated all of this through Joseph to save their sorry hides.
We desperately need to follow Joseph’s example. When was the last time you named the name of Jesus before nonbelievers? I’m sorry to say that more Christians have probably named the name of Jesus after hitting their hand with a hammer or in disgust or in fright than as a verbal witness to His goodness and grace. Saying “God” is not enough. Everybody believes in God, but the name of Jesus is an entirely different matter. That name brings a response one way or the other.
I think that as a church we need to be more diligent about our verbal witness too. When we do acts of love for people in the community and they ask why, let’s stop saying, “Because Antioch is a loving church.” Although it’s true, it’s not the whole truth. The reason were doing it is because we’re earning our salvation. That was just a test. Here’s the answer: We love because Christ loved us first. If He gave His body and blood on that cross, our natural response is to give all of ourselves back to Him. He tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. We’re simply following our leader. A verbal witness is essential. We must do the deed, but never forget to name the name. What begins the transformation process is salvation. And the book of Acts tells us:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
That name is Jesus. We must say it to renovate our realm of influence.
Next on our list:
Supply opportunities to demonstrate life change
After the brothers confessed their sorrow over previous sin, Joseph began to test their sincerity. It’s easy to speak a confession, especially under duress, but would they live it out? He gave them opportunities to prove the genuineness of their life change.
The first opportunity came with Simeon. Joseph put their silver back into their sacks to see if they loved money more than their brother. Would they do the right thing by returning the money or would they spend it and forget about that poor old slob in jail? They came back with the silver. They came back for Simeon.
The next opportunity concerned Benjamin. He was the favored son of Jacob. Do you remember what the brothers did to Joseph when he was the favored son? Joseph wanted to make sure that the brothers no longer had a problem with envy, so what did he do? He treated Benjamin with extreme favoritism. First, he astounded them by seating them in order from oldest to youngest at the dinner table. There would have been no mistaking who should receive highest honor. In that culture it should have been Reuben, the oldest brother. Instead, favor was heaped on Benjamin, the youngest, and the child of Rachel, Joseph’s mother. Joseph gave Benjamin 5 times the food of his brothers. In ancient cultures that was the way you honored one guest above all the others. Joseph wanted to see how his brothers would respond. They passed the test.
When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drank freely with him. Genesis 43:34
They partied. That was a good sign. Just to ensure they’d reformed, Joseph made it even easier for them to act on envy. He ordered his silver cup to be placed in Benjamin’s sack to make it appear that the 23 year old had stolen it. When confronted with the theft, the brothers trusted the honesty of each other to such a great degree that they said the thief would die and the rest of them would be enslaved. They were crushed when Benjamin was found to be the thief. This was the test. Joseph said that only the thief would become his slave. If their envy was greater than their love they could have ditched Benjamin and gone home with a clear conscience. But something remarkable happened. Judah stepped up and offered himself:
"Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come upon my father.” Genesis 44:33-34
Do you see the dramatic transformation? When Joseph was the favored son, the brothers’ envy led them to first drop him in an empty cistern to die of starvation and then decided to sell him for a few bucks. They cared not a lick about how this would devastate their father. This time around was completely different. These men had radically changed. Joseph gave them opportunities to demonstrate their life change.
We can do this too with people who claim to have repented and come to faith in Christ. Inviting them to consistently worship the God who saved them, encouraging them to commit to the responsibility of membership, teaching them the blessings of generosity and giving, finding ways for them to meaningfully serve, holding them accountable for what they’ve learned in Sunday school, the sermon, or in a small group these are some of the ways we can supply opportunities to demonstrate life change. I’m sure that you could think of more. We must get past thinking people need to serve to maintain the church. They serve to demonstrate the genuineness of their faith in Jesus Christ and their willingness to follow Him.
And finally …
Distance makes an impression, but closeness makes an impact
At the climax of the story, Joseph pulled aside the veil of his Egyptian identity. He was 39, clean shaven, and wearing the royal garments of an Egyptian nobleman. The last time the brothers saw him he was a 17 year old teenager with a scraggly beard, and homemade robe. When Joseph revealed his true identity he was able to get close once more. He gave up the power of his secret knowledge and became one of them again. At first his brothers stepped back out of terror. Joseph called them forward, forgave them, and offered reassurance. He wept over his brothers demonstrating the depth of his love for them. Genesis sums it up this way:
And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him. Genesis 45:15
The family was restored. Broken relationships were healed. Forgiveness was extended. Joseph had to step in close to make this kind of impact.
If you’re going to renovate your realm of influence you’re going to have to get close to people who do not know Jesus Christ. They are not going to arise one day and step into this building. We must go to them. We must build the relationships of friendship and love. You’ve got them unless you live in a cave and never come out. You don’t have to make a special effort to go and do evangelism or ministry, just make friends right where you are. Then follow the other things that we’ve talked about. This is how God made His biggest impact on us. He stepped up close:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. John 1:1-3, 14a
The great thing is that the closer we get to other Christians the more of an impact we make as well. When we speak the truth in love, when we hold one another accountable, when we stir one another up to love and good deeds, when we pursue a common mission it transforms us. When we get up close and live as Christ’s followers it also impacts the watching world.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21
You are God’s catalyst for change. This is what you were created for. Renovate your realm of influence. Follow Joseph’s lead and play God. You are God’s catalyst for change.
