Lessons from Joe pt 4
Summary of previous messages:
1. Joe goes from being a privileged spoiled brat to slave.
2. Joe goes from slave to prison for doing the right thing.
3. Joe serves others in prison and he’s forgotten by others but not God.
4. Joe goes from prison to Prime Minister of Egypt.
Introduction:
Bumper sticker – Make God laugh tell him your future plans!
Thesis: Joe was on the go for God because he was a humble servant leader filled with the spirit of God. He was on the go because he was dispenser of grace and a forgiving individual.
Overcoming success:
Years ago, Erwin Lutzer wrote a very helpful little book titled Failure: The Back Door To Success, it could have been written about Joseph. Many times, it takes years of failures and setbacks to become an “overnight success.”
Abraham Lincoln is a classic example. He had two failed businesses, one nervous breakdown, endured the death of a sweetheart, and was defeated for public office no less than ten times over the space of 30 years. Then, incredibly, he was elected President of the United States. Years of failure had equipped him to deal with the heady air of the heights of power.
Those repeated reversals, apparent failures, and personal tragedies did not defeat Lincoln. They strengthened his character and commitment. So it was with Joseph.
So here we find or hero a man who experienced setbacks and more setbacks but the key was his defeats equipped him and developed him into a man who could handle success. We should never look at setbacks as failure but as a backdoor to success. In reality a person who has gone through the process of loss and recovery is more able to handle the successes in life.
Here is a modern day scenario of a Joseph -
Opening Video Illustration: Joseph is promoted from Blue Fish Tv
Scriptures: Genesis chapters 41-50 (select verses)
I. Genesis 41:14: “So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.”
a. Joe receives his divine opportunity from the head leader to interpret a dream.
i. He takes it serious and cleans up. Egyptians were clean shaven and Joe knew he needed to look desirable and clean to be received.
1. He adapts to their culture and uses it to his benefit.
2. We know that Joseph learned their culture because he also used their cultural beliefs when he goes to pharaoh for land for his family in Goshen.
a. He knew they did not like shepherds or herdsmen work.
i. Genesis 46:31-47:6
ii. He knew that they would not be a threat to Pharaoh or other Egyptians because of their type of work.
iii. Joseph learned their culture and it paid off in dividends for his family.
iv. Joseph was also wise enough to know the importance of others cultural beliefs.
b. Joseph was teachable and this helped to make him a success.
i. It’s important to remember that as you stay teachable you also become a teacher to others.
ii. Quote from Maxwell “When you are through learning you are through.” But a good teacher is one who is always a student.
T.S. – Those who remain teachable through life’s trials and tribulations will be the ones who succeed in their life.
II. Genesis 41:16: ““I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
a. Joe in interpreting the dreams displays the heart of humility.
i. “I cannot but God can!” (verse 16) He knew that to do something like this he would need to tap the resources of God. Joseph told us earlier that God is the one who interprets and gives dreams and visions to people.
1. Andrew Murray said, “We can never have more faith than we have humility.” He continues, “As long as we take glory from another, we do not seek and cannot receive the glory that comes from God.”
2. Murray states, “We need only think for a moment what faith is. Is not the confession of nothingness and helplessness, the surrender and the waiting to let God work? Is it not in itself the most humbling thing there can be-the acceptance of our place as dependents, who can claim or get or do nothing but what grace bestows? Humility is simply the disposition which prepares the soul for living on trust. And every, even the most secret, breathing of pride-in self seeking, self-will, self confidence, or self-exultation-is just the strengthening of that self which cannot enter the kingdom or possess the things of the kingdom, because it refuses to allow God to be what He is and must be-the all in all” (46).
a. Humility releases more of the Spirit of God in our lives – pride drives the Spirit of God out.
b. Sittser notes, “If God is not in control, then we should abandon faith and find our own way through the hard times of life” (38).
T.S. – When we stay teachable and humble whether in Palaces or prisons God promises to lift us up.
III. Genesis 41:37- 40: The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials.
So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”
a. Joe was on the go because he served as a leader filled with the spirit of God which produced in him humility (Genesis 41).
i. Pharaoh himself saw this quality in Joseph (Genesis 41:37, 38)
1. When the world can see the Spirit of God in you they will take notice of you.
2. Do you want to be a man/woman of God –then you need to ask yourself can others see the Spirit of God in me.
a. It starts with humility and the willingness to die to self.
b. The main characteristic of an individual filled with the spirit of God is humility.
c. Murray states it well “We can never have more faith than we have humility” (45).
3. Murray also adds, “The promises made to faith are so free and sure, the invitations and encouragements are so strong, and the mighty power of God on which it may count is so near and free, that only something which hinders faith can hinder blessing from being ours…Jesus discloses to us that it is indeed pride which makes faith impossible” (45).
4. What does it mean to humble – it means that you live at the foot of the cross. It means that you always point the attention to the Lord. You see pride hates the cross and does not even want to be in the shadow of the cross.
5. The key to learn here is do you want to be on the go like Joe then it takes the willingness to allow the spirit of God to grow in you and for it to produce humility.
6. Then you will win over any circumstance in life and receive the blessing of God.
a. Why, because you heart and mind are in the right place!
b. Pharaoh rewards Joe with a lot of authority because he saw Godly – humble character in Joe.
i. Why do you think pharaoh gave him such a position because he saw a man with the Spirit of God and its fruit humility.
1. Humility brings the blessings of God!
2. Humility is the ticket to success in life!
3. Humility is what gave Joseph the leadership ability to lead this nation through a great and horrible natural calamity.
T.S. - Joe had developed his godly character as a slave, as a prisoner and it caused him to become humble instead of spoiled. It’s amazing how humility and being in touch with the Spirit of the Lord propels people into greatness.
IV. Genesis 42:21-22; 42: 28b: “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.” Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.” …“What is this that God has done to us?”
a. Notice how the repercussion of sin eats at these brothers – it’s been 15+ years and they are still impacted by their sinful choices towards their brother.
i. It still eats at them.
1. They lose sleep over their sin, their conscience grinds at them.
2. The guilt of sin and its conviction will relentlessly hound you until you repent.
ii. Illustration from Heartwarming Bible Illustrations Quick Verse:The Sore Spot “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:8). Very often a man will hear a hundred good things in a sermon, but there may be one thing that strikes him as being a little out of place. At such times he will go home and sit down at the table and talk right out before all his children, magnifying that one wrong thing, and forget all the hundred good things his pastor has spoken. That is the way of criticism. But when a man has broken his arm, the surgeon must find out the exact location of the fracture. He feels along the arm and presses gently with his fingers. “Is it there?” “No.” “Is it there?” “No.” Presently when the surgeon does touch one other spot, the patient cries, “Ouch!” He has found the broken part, and it hurts. So it is one thing to hear a man preach about another man’s sin, and to say, “That is splendid; just what those people need to hear!” But let the preacher touch upon some sin in their own life, some sore spot, as it were. Let him declare as did Nathan before David, saying, “Thou art the man!” Then it is they rebel, criticize and blame the preacher for saying the wrong thing, or for speaking out of turn.
iii. Guilt stories from Today’s best illustrations - QuickVerse:
1. Statistic: Regrets Percentage by age group of people who, if they could start over in life, would do things “much differently”:
a. ages
i. 16-31: 59%
ii. 32-50: 71%
iii. 51+ :59%
1. From USA Today (1/4/99) source: Yankelovich Monitor. Leadership, Vol. 20, no. 3. See: Isaiah 1:4; Hosea 5:15; John 16:8.
2. Built-in Alarm System Many of the later-model cars are equipped with theft alarm systems. The more sensitive ones can be annoying to the general public. … But that obnoxious sensitivity is purposefully designed to be protection against unwanted entry. God has built into each of us an alarm system to warn us of the unwanted entry of sin into our lives. The alarm system is called guilt. Guilt is our friend. Without it we would go on in sin until we were dominated and defeated by it. In our pleasure-seeking, anything-goes, feel-good society, guilt is anathema. We run from it … but we can’t rid ourselves of it! … The only thing that can “wash away” our sin and guilt before God is the blood of Jesus Christ. —Anne Graham Lotz in The Glorious Dawn of God’s Story. Christianity Today, Vol. 43, no. 7. See: John 8:46; 1 Corinthians 11:27; Hebrews 10:22.
T.S. – The guilt of sin will eat a person up and it can only be released by forgiveness. Joseph chose to allow his brothers to be forgiven so that they could be set free and so that he could be set free.
V. Genesis 45: 4-7; 9: “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…but God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance…God has made me Lord of all Egypt.”
a. Joseph shows grace and forgiveness to his brothers
i. Grace is defined by Swindoll, “To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and can never earn it. Receiving God’s acceptance by grace always stands in sharp contrast to earning it on the basis of works. Every time the thought of grace appears, there is the idea of its being undeserved. In no way is the recipient getting what he or she deserves. Favor is being extended simply out of the goodness of the heart of the giver “(9).
1. When you dispense grace you get more of God in your life! When you show grace you receive grace.
2. Joe discovered that grace lead to inner happiness and communion with God. He being in touch with the spirit of God – touched grace and it taught him to return the favor to those who did him wrong.
3. Stanley Jones states,” Grace binds you with far stronger cords than the cords of duty or obligation can bind you. Grace is free, but when once you take it you are bound forever to the Giver, and bound to catch the spirit of the Giver. Like produces like. Grace makes you gracious, the Giver makes you give.
ii. Joe dispensed grace wisely like he dispensed grain wisely.
1. He did take his time moving cautiously with his brothers – he did give them grain for no money – they did not deserve it but you see that’s what is so amazing about grace- it gives with no expectation in return.
2. Joseph was emotionally distraught over this reunion – it ripped open those old wounds of abandonment and pain. But he worked through them to forgiveness.
iii. Joe’s dispensing of grace resulted in changed individuals – Brothers
1. Look at how Judah changed – the result of grace
2. Grace from Joe helped his brothers to take responsibility for their sinful choices.
b. Grace is connected, intertwined with Joe’s other character trait “Forgiveness”. Remember Joe was on the go because he forgave (Genesis 45).
i. The definition of forgiveness - McGinniss defines it this way “Forgiveness is not forgetting or denying the pain, it is giving the person who caused you pain permission to forget.”
1. President Lincoln had this same quality.
• He was a man known for issuing many pardons during the civil war – “He granted more pardons, for example, than any president had before him-or has since”(Phillips 59).
ii. Joseph did this with his brothers he gave permission to forget and to forgive themselves -- listen to what he said in 45:4-8:
• 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 the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God…”
• Joseph had such a relationship with the Lord that he knew God was in control during his whole ordeal. You see if you understand God’s sovereignty then forgiveness comes easier.
• Joseph also reaffirms this thought later in chapter 50:19-21 “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.”
• “The doctrine of the sovereignty of God assures us that while men may do the wrong thing for the wrong reasons, God can cause that “evil” to accomplish His good and perfect will.”
• Forgiveness is an act that is not earned by the recipient. If our forgiveness comes with conditions it’s not really forgiveness. One pastor states, “If our forgiveness is the kind that demands that the person “pay for it” before we will forgive, then we are not giving forgiveness. That may be justice, but it is not mercy. It may be law, but not grace. Just as we can in no way contribute to the forgiveness and salvation which Christ has accomplished on the cross of Calvary, so no one we forgive can be forgiven and yet forced to pay for their offense against us.”
iii. The impact of forgiveness
1. Yancey states, “Forgiveness offers a way out. It does not settle all questions of blame and fairness-often it pointedly evades those questions-but it does allow a relationship to start over, to begin anew. In that way said Solzhenitsyn, we differ from animals. Not our capacity to think, but our capacity to repent and to forgive makes us different. Only humans can perform that most unnatural act, which transcends the relentless law of nature. If we do not transcend nature, we remain bound to the people we cannot forgive, held in their vise grip” (98).
iv. The three areas impacted by forgiveness:
1. Yancey also notes, “When we genuinely forgive, we set a prisoner free and then discover that the prisoner we set free was us “(98).
• You will be set free from forgiving. The person you forgive will no longer control you like a puppet on a string.
2. When you forgive you start to heal on the inside then this forgiving attitude produces joy-peace-gentleness.
• McGinniss states, “Doesn’t joy, peace and gentleness sound a lot better than malice, rage and bitterness?”
3. When you forgive you become closer to God and you sense him more.
• His voice becomes clearer
• His face gets brighter
• His touch softer
• His fragrance sweeter
• His taste more delightful
c. The blessing of forgiveness
i. Illustrations from Quick Verse – Illustrations Unlimited
1. Several years ago, Coach Joe Paterno and his Penn State football team were playing for the national championship against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. They probably would have won, but they had a touchdown called back because there was a twelfth man on the field. After the game, Paterno was asked to identify’ the player. “It’s only a game,” he said. “I have no intention of ever identifying the boy. He just made a mistake.”
2. THE COORS TRIUMPH On February 9, 1960, Adolph Coors III was kidnapped and held for ransom. Seven months later his body was found on a remote hillside. He had been shot to death. Adolph Coors IV, then fifteen years old, lost not only his father but his best friend. For years young Coors hated Joseph Corbett, the man who was sentenced to life for the slaying. Then in 1975 Ad Coors became a Christian. While he divested himself of his interest in the family beer business, he could not divest himself of the hatred that consumed him. Resentment seethed within him and blighted his growth in faith. He prayed to God for help because he realized how his hatred for Corbett was alienating him from God and other persons. The day came, however, when claiming the Spirit’s presence, Ad Coors visited the maximum security unit of Colorado’s Canon City penitentiary and tried to talk with Corbett. Corbett refused to see him. Coors left a Bible inscribed with this message: I’m here to see you today and I’m sorry that we could not meet. As a Christian I am summoned by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to forgive. I do forgive you, and I ask you to forgive me for the hatred I’ve held in my heart for you.” Later Coors confessed, “I have a love for that man that only Jesus Christ could have put in my heart.”
d. The Biblical act of forgiveness (info- from Biblical Studies Foundation)
i. Joseph in chapter 45 teaches us that forgiveness should be granted quickly.
1. Joseph’s life and attitude revealed a man who could forgive quickly. He did not hold grudges against those who hurt him.
2. Joseph forgave Mrs. Po and Mr. Po.
• Think about this as second in command of Egypt he had the power to take care of Mrs. PO’s lies and unjust accusations!
• But I never read of him doing this????
3. Joseph forgave the cupbearer for forgetting him.
4. Joseph forgave his brothers long before he ever saw them.
• Somewhere on the caravan as a slave and in slavery and in prison Joseph in his heart forgave his brothers.
i. His emotions ripped at him when they meet but inside God had worked the miracle of forgiveness.
• Joseph had long before his brothers been set free by forgiving his brothers –who by the way still 15+ years later suffered from their action.
i. See 42:21-28
5. The truth of the matter is that the sooner forgiveness is given and reconciliation is embraced, the better for both parties involved.
ii. Joseph also teaches us that Biblical forgiveness is to be done in private (Genesis 45:1).
1. Joseph dealt with his brothers in private. This shows me that he forgave long before the actual verbal acknowledgement.
• He also was prudent in making it a private matter with no guilt, shaming or blaming.
• Matthew 18:15 “And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.”
2. It’s not a public spectacle!
iii. Joseph teaches us in our text that Biblical forgiveness is given with no strings attached.
1. “Forgiveness is free in that the forgiver willingly accepts the loss or pain personally. In brief, forgiveness is a matter of grace, not works, and grace does not make demands upon the one who receives it.”
2. Joseph’s brothers received forgiveness rooted in grace and humility from Joseph.
iv. Joseph shows us that Biblical forgiveness is not easy it’s hard. He demonstrated that it costs –Genuine forgiveness costs the one giving but the reward far outweighs the cost paid to forgive.
v. Joseph forgave permanently it was not based on the condition I forgive you as long as dad is alive it was forever-it was forgotten (Gen. 50:15-21)!
vi. Joseph forgave but he also sought to restore his brothers it took him about a year to unveil his identity-I believe he tested his brothers to see if they would change-they did and repented even Judah took responsibility for Benjamin over the cup. These are different brothers in the end.
1. Forgiveness changes us and it will help facilitate change in others too.
e. Why do we need to forgive?
i. Because the Word made it a command not an option.
1. Ephesians 4:25-32: Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
2. Colossians 3:12-17: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
ii. Because we need to recall how we have been forgiven by Jesus freely with no strings attached and we are expected to do the same to others.
1. Luke 7:40-48: Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.
You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
2. The more aware we are of our own sinfulness and the forgiveness we have received, the easier it is to forgive others.
iii. Because we need to understand that God is in control and he is sovereign. God uses suffering in our lives for our good and for His glory.
iv. Because Jesus forgave on the cross “Father forgive them for they know not what they do!”
v. Because we need to consider that Jesus was a servant leader who modeled this Phil. 2:3-8
1. Usually we find that when others offend us or hurt us we get mad because of pride. We immediately cry foul because our rights have been violated. But this act of forgiveness surfaces from a heart of servant-like attitude.
vi. Because forgiveness is not an emotion – it is a decision based on the will –it is based on Agape love- I Cor. 13 shows us it’s a decision.
Video Illustration: Forgiving His father – Blue Fish TV
Altar: Move right into Praise and Worship – a time to reflect and a time to choose to forgive.
Conclusion:
• Lessons from Joe – The Big 4
• Don’t be a spoiled brat be humble.
• Flee sin and do the right thing even if it lands you in jail.
• Remember you are never alone - God is with you in the palace and in the dungeon.
• Understand that God has a plan for your life and forgiveness is a must to fulfill His plan.
