CIRCUMSTANCES
Genesis 39:23
- Two of the great laws of life we must eventually learn are
1) Many circumstances we have in life are uncontrollable
2) Things don't always go as planned
- Life just doesn't always go the way we want it to go.
- Many things in life are beyond our control.
- These are the cards that you're dealt in life – How you play them is your choice.
- We're going to look at a guy named Joseph who really made his life count.
- He went from the pit to the palace – He was a success story.
- He showed that what counts in life are not your circumstances but your character.
- There are two facts we learn from Joseph’s life that I believe will help us to drive this truth home and apply it to our lives, allowing us to be a success in God’s eyes.
I. LIFE CAN STINK
A. The last 14 chapters of Genesis tell the story of Joseph.
B. This story has it all
1. Revenge,
2. deceit,
3. lust,
4. seduction,
5. attempted murder,
6. violence,
7. an accusation of rape,
8. life in prison –
C. For the first thirty years of Joseph’s life, nothing went right.
II. JOSEPH WAS…
A. OUSTED AT HOME
1. He was the second to last of eleven children –
a. There was a lot of rivalry, competition and bitterness.
2. Genesis 37:4
a. One day they plotted against him:
3. Gen. 37:21-22
a. Now that's real brotherly love! What great guys!
4. Some slave merchants happened by and offered to buy Joseph.
a. Genesis 37:26-27
5. He was taken to Egypt and sold to a man named Potiphar and became his slave.
a. Overnight he went from pampered son to slave –
b. Now that's rejection by your family!
c. Some of you think you've been rejected – Joseph knew rejection.
B. SEDUCED AND SMEARED
1. Joseph started working for Potiphar and he was very successful.
a. He was put in charge of everything in the home.
2. Potiphar's wife had eyes for Joseph – She tried to seduce him and the Bible says…
a. Genesis 39:7-8a,10
b. Sexual harassment in the work place is about 4000 years old.
c. It works both ways: men to women and women to men.
3. Joseph refused and holds onto his moral values.
a. At one point in a fit of passion, Potiphar’s wife grabbed him by the robe and he slithered out of it – he lost his coat but he kept his character.
b. But she framed him: When "big daddy Potiphar" came home she told him
c. Genesis 39:17
d. - The guy just can’t win, can he?
C. OVERLOOKED
1. Joseph is thrown into prison for a crime he didn't commit – He's falsely accused.
a. Things are going from bad to worse.
b. He gets into prison and there he's forgotten by his friends.
2. He had befriended two of Pharaoh's staff members and helped them out by interpreting their dreams and said, “By the way, if you ever get out of this dump, remember me.” He had helped them out.
a. But once one of them got out, he promptly forgot Joseph.
b. Genesis 40:14, 23
3. Sometimes jealous people will try to hurt you and immoral people will try to tempt you and ambitious people will try to use you, but you can still succeed if you have the Lord in your life.
4. Genesis 39:23b
III. FACT #2 – WE CAN RISE ABOVE OUR CIRCUMSTANCES
A. Three times in Genesis it says, "The Lord was with Joseph."
1. 1 + God = a majority -
2. Why was God with Joseph?
a. Because of his character.
b. Joseph understood better than anyone that he could rise above his circumstances.
B. Throughout his entire ordeal he had an unwavering faith in God.
1. How did he do it?
a. How did he rise above his circumstances?
b. What was it about him that made him a success?
IV. JOSEPH TEACHES US TO…
A. FULFILL OUR RESPONSIBILITIES
1. He was dependable, reliable – He always gave his best no matter what.
a. As a result, he was always recognized as a leader wherever he went and was promoted to a leadership position.
b. Genesis 39:6
c. Potiphar had no worries with Joseph in charge– Can your boss say that about you? - The Bible says Potiphar prospered because of Joseph – Does your boss prosper because of you?
2. Genesis 39:22-23
a. He gets thrown into prison and the next thing you know he's assistant warden!
b. Joseph’s attitude was, "I don't know why these things are happening to me, but I do know how I'm supposed to act. I don't know why these circumstances have been caused in my life, but I do know who the Lord of my life is."
3. Whenever anybody turned any responsibility over to Joseph, there were no concerns – he was completely reliable.
a. Do you do your best with your job, even when you hate it?
b. Joseph is in prison on false charges and he's rising to the top.
4. Gen 41:38b
a. The quality of your work reveals the quality of your spiritual life.
b. The Holy Spirit was obvious in Joseph's life – Is that true in your life?
5. Pharaoh said, Look at Joseph! It's obvious he's filled with the Spirit. Look at what great work he does.
a. Christian, you ought to be the best you can be at work no matter what you do.
b. You're not called to be better than other people but you are called to be the best you can be.
B. Law of Success:
1. Luke 16:10
2. People say, When I make it big then I'm going to be faithful! But what are you doing about the day by day responsibilities right now? Are you being faithful in the little things?
3. When I get out of debt I'm going to start tithing." Who are you kidding?
4. When everything gets settled down, I'll start reading my Bible."
a. If you're not faithful with little responsibility, He's not going to give you great responsibility – If you're not faithful with a little amount of money, He's not going to bless you with a great amount of money.
5. You need to fulfill your responsibility and whatever you're doing, do the best you can.
C. MAINTAIN OUR INTEGRITY
1. Joseph was a man of absolute moral purity – He was so spotless they had to make up stuff about him.
a. I pray that we’ll live in such a way that people have to make up stuff in order to accuse and attack us.
b. Genesis 39:10
2. Can you imagine the internal battle going on in this guy's mind?
a. "I'm a slave against my will in a foreign country.
b. Life hasn’t gone as I've planned it.
c. I've lost my dream; I might as well lose my morals too! Who cares? What's God done for me?"
3. But he wouldn’t give in!
a. What gives with this kind of guy who maintains his standard of purity and moral integrity even when his world is falling apart? What motivated a guy like that?
4. Genesis 39:8-9
5. What motivated Joseph’s purity?
a. His loyalty to others and his love for God.
6. He said, “My master's put me in charge of all this. How could I do it to him?"
a. Whenever you lower your integrity, you hurt other people.
D. TRUST GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY
1. When Joseph was a young man God planted a dream in his mind that all of his brothers would bow down to him, that he would be a great leader.
a. For 30 years, Joseph's life went downhill – And during that entire 30 years, God never explained to him what was going on – He had every reason to doubt God's love.
2. He had every reason to be bitter: "Why me, God? You give me a dream that I would be a great leader as a young man and now I end up a slave, falsely accused of rape, and in prison in a foreign country." Things are not going good.
3. The Bible tells us that Joseph was eventually promoted to be second in command under Pharaoh.
4. He interpreted Pharaoh's dream –
a. He said, "We're going to have seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine."
b. Pharaoh said, "What should we do?"
c. Pharaoh said, "You're in charge! You do it!" And he did it.
5. Genesis 45:7-8a
V. Conclusion
A. LIFE LESSONS
1. Pain sometimes has a hidden purpose.
2. God often redirects our lives.
a. Joseph said, "God sent me ahead of you."
3. Notice his reaction to his brothers who tried to murder him.
a. Genesis 50:20
4. Many of you have been harmed by other people – a former spouse, a parent, a brother or sister, a teacher, a boss, a former girlfriend – they meant to harm you, but God can use it for good.
B. One of the most popular words around today is the word "victim."
1. We're all victimized now – But in Christ, you don't have to stay a victim – You can be a victor!
2. Those people may mean it for bad but God means it for good.
3. The good news is that God can turn it around.
4. God can use the worst things you’ve experienced in life for good to develop you into the person who He wants you to be.
a. You see, it's not so much what happens to you, but what happens through you.
C. It's not your circumstances, it's your character that matters.
