This is a series of sermons on the coat of many colors – Free Power point is available through E-Mail retssi@bellsouth.net
Several Illustrations, points, and the main idea for this series of sermons dealing with the coat of many colors was from James May’s sermon, “A Coat Of Many Colors.” Also Several Illustrations and points came from John Earl’s sermon, “Homesick For Heaven,” and many other sources were used to help compile this series!
A Coat of Many Colors #4 Sky or Light Blue
Genesis 37:1-3 (KJV) 1 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. 2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Jacob Loved Joseph And His hopes and concerns I believe were manifested in this special coat that he made for Joseph.
What, have we learned so far about this coat of many colors?
The First week we looked at the color of Amber which represented God’s Presence and Glory in the life of Joseph. We then took a glance at the color Black which could have represented two ideas. The first thought was that there would be days of darkness that he would have to face. The second thought, had to do with the future of the Famine in the land that was still to come into his life.
Last week we learned that it was a possibility that Jacob gave this coat of many colors to Joseph and put Dark Blue into it to signify that he wanted his son to continue to Worship God!
Remember Blue represents both the sky and the sea, and is associated with open spaces, freedom, intuition, imagination, expansiveness, inspiration, and sensitivity. Blue also represents meanings of depth, trust, loyalty, sincerity, wisdom, confidence, stability, faith, heaven, and intelligence.
The color blue has positive affects on the mind and the body. As the color of the spirit, it invokes rest and can cause the body to produce chemicals that are calming and exude feelings of tranquility. Blue helps to slow human metabolism, is cooling in nature, and helps with balance and self-expression. Blue is also an appetite suppressant.
So, The second idea with the color Blue in mind would be that someday Joseph would make Heaven his home. So the color could have been Sky Blue or Light Blue.
In other word’s the idea of what he was saying is, “Son, don’t forget about heaven.”
I believe that Joseph from the day he was born was taught how to Worship God and all about Heaven. Look at his family history, Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob.
His own words tells us, that He knew about Heaven. Here in this passage He was talking to his brothers.
Turn to Genesis 49:25 (KJV) 25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
When you look and study the Bible you will find that there are three different heavens discussed!
First, there is the atmosphere just above the earth…air, clouds, etc.
Second, there is the stellar heaven containing the stars and planets.
Finally, we have what the Bible calls “the third heaven.” The third Heaven is where God’s throne is located. It is the place called Paradise, where the saints of God are waiting for the resurrection of their bodies.
You can hear Jacob say Joseph no matter what happens or where you find yourself in life don’t forget about heaven! Just look up!
Look At His Life! His brothers hated and wanted to kill him! He had been ripped from his home and his friends Sold into slavery, Dragged across the desert to a land that he’d never known And surrounded by a strange people who spoke in a language he couldn’t understand.
Even if he could have gotten away from his slave owner, he probably couldn’t have found his way home!
At 17, he’d lost everything that he’d loved and considered important.
And now he lives at the whim of his master.
He’s the lowest form of life in the nation of Egypt.
He has nothing… He owns nothing… HE IS NOTHING.
Just like all the other slaves of that day he has no rights, no status, no value.
In his mind he was thinking, “My soul, will I ever get out of this quagmire that I am in?”
I mean, what a mess!
Sometimes we can find ourselves thinking the same thing!
I’ve spoken to others who recently have given up on watching the news simply because it is either too frustrating, too depressing or both!!!.
In Psalm 130, the Psalmist begins with: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord hear my voice!”
I think that there are a lot of people who can relate to this plea!
“Hear my voice, O Lord,” as the world appears to plummet further and further into war and violence.
“Hear my voice, O Lord,” as the future comes to feel less and less stable and secure.”
“Hear my voice, O Lord,” as I look for meaning beyond what I read in the newspapers and see on TV!
“Hear my voice, O Lord,” there must be more to life than this!!!
“There must be more to this life than meets the eye!”
“This could of have been the plea of Joseph!”
Some days I find myself feeling like Elijah, you know, when he was under the juniper tree. I get to feeling sorry for myself and want to just go on to heaven.
Yes, I must admit that every once in a while, I get a little homesick for heaven!
Some days I just get to thinking about how it would be to meet Jesus face to face.
I am looking forward to that day! I am looking forward to the time when I can bow before Him and praise His name forever!
D.L. Moody once said, “The thought of Heaven has cheered the soul of many believers. Some say that we are fools to believe in Heaven. But, to deny Heaven is to deny Jesus, for He came from Heaven, it is to place our departed loved ones in the cold dark grave, it is to deprive millions of Christians of the greatest hope they have. To deny Heaven is equal to murder for it kills hope, to thievery for it robs joy, to slander because it calls God a liar.”
Today, I would like to state for the record that I believe in heaven!
We live in a world that does not offer the child of God much hope or encouragement. With sin, crime and ungodliness abounding everywhere, it is easy to become discouraged, disillusioned and disappointed.
That is why it is important for us to remember where we are going!
Allow me to remind you that this world is not our home and that we are just passing through. Philippians 3:20-21 (KJV) 20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Turn to our next text (John 14:1-6). Jesus brings us the good news by telling us that there is much more to this life than meets the eye!
He tells us that there is a hope and that there is a future. And then He tells us where we need to look in order to find this hope, and what we must believe in order to have this future.
And to that, Jesus poses a subliminal question:
“Have you thought about Heaven Lately?”
But maybe some of you are asking, “Is there really a Heaven? What is it like? How do you get there?”
Start Reading John 14:1
I. The Promise of Heaven (v. 1-2)
Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told I go to prepare a place for you.”
Jesus has promised heaven to those who follow Him! Heaven is a reality this morning! Jesus said so, and that is good enough for me!
According to one poll I read recently, 78% of Americans believe in heaven. Well, I am glad to tell you, whether you believe it or not there is a place called heaven for those who are Christians!
Heaven is promised. Here in these verses of Scripture Jesus promises to give peace. He said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
What a powerful promise! Jesus has promised that He can give us peace in life. It is a peace that never falters or fails. It is a peace that we can count on when hard times come. It is a peace that only Christ can provide.
Jesus gives us security in insecure times. The peace of Christ is firm when everything else falls short.
It is a peace that penetrates our deepest pain.
It is a peace that supports us in our greatest grief.
It is a peace that comforts when nothing else can.
It is a peace that brings us back to the state of living.
This is a peace that goes beyond comprehension. Human understanding fails us, but Jesus never fails!
There are times in life when things happen that we just do not understand.
There are times when our human understanding fails us completely.
There are times when we have questions that seemingly have no answers.
But Jesus offers us peace.
There is a greater peace that Christ has promised. It is a perfect peace and one that gives us strength when our strength is completely gone.
This peace is gained by our trust in Christ. You can have this peace by placing your faith in Christ. Because I have placed my faith in Jesus Christ, He is able to give me peace in the midst of a world of trouble.
We have the promise of heaven, and nothing does my heart better than to remember that this world will not last. I may have heart aches, and I may have troubles.
This world can depress one very quickly when we get thinking about all of the evil and wickedness of our day, but we need to remember that heaven has been promised to those who trust in Jesus!
When I see the moral corruption of our day, my heart is troubled. But, I am glad that there is a day that is coming when we shall see Jesus, and no longer will there be the evil and the corruption of this world! We will be in heaven.
We have the promise of heaven. Notice next that Jesus tells us about…
II. The Preparation of Heaven (v. 2-4)
Jesus Christ is right now in heaven preparing a place for us to live with Him forever!
Have you ever wondered just what heaven is going to be like?
There is much about heaven that we don’t know and we can only imagine what it is going to be like.
Imagine the best thing you can think about, the most beautiful place in the world, the most wonderful peace you’ve ever felt – now, that won’t even scratch the surface of what heaven is going to be like.
1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV) 9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
The Bible does give us a little picture of what heaven will be like. One of the most exciting and exhilarating aspects of the description is the realization that there won’t be heavy hearts in heaven.
Revelation 21:4 (KJV) 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
If there was no other verse in Scripture to express to me the beauty of heaven, this verse, in and of itself, is enough to make me want to be there!
Sin will be out of the picture, there can only be eternal bliss. There will be no death there. 1 Corinthians 15:54 (KJV) 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
Heaven will be a place of unparalleled beauty. I am sure many of you have been blessed to see some truly wonderful sites in your lifetime.
I have seen some beautiful places in my lifetime. I have seen the sun set over the ocean. I have seen a lot of places and there are a lot more I would like to see.
Yet in all of this earths splendor and beauty, the beautiful things of this world pale in comparison to Heaven.
When John caught a glimpse of heaven he said, “The street of the city was of pure gold” (Rev. 21:21).
It’s another vivid reminder that what we frequently pursue and what we consider to be of greatest value is nothing more than pocket change to God. Gold is nothing more than asphalt in Heaven!
Heaven is going to be a beautiful place.
Jesus Christ is right now preparing this place for those who have given their hearts and lives to Him!
I don’t know about you but I am looking for to heaven!
As the old saying goes, “Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.” Which lead me to my last point, Jesus next tells us…
III. The Pathway to Heaven (v. 5-12)
What is the pathway to heaven? How do you get there? It is only through Jesus Christ!
There are no other ways there! People will try to tell you that you can follow Buddha or Mohammed or whatever you chose, but Jesus said in verse 6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
You can’t go to heaven without Jesus.
You may say that you can follow your own individual path to heaven, but let me tell you the only path that your own path will take you is straight into hell! Jesus is the only way to heaven.
So, are you on that path? Have you confessed your sins, believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and forsaken your sins? You had better if you want to go to heaven.
Years ago a man was searching his family roots and visited several cemeteries and read many inscriptions on the tombstones.
There was one tombstone on which was engraved "Pause now stranger as you pass by; as you are now, so once was I. as I am now, so soon you will be. Prepare yourself to follow me!”
You must be prepared!
The pathway to heaven is straight and it is narrow, but it leads to life everlasting! In Matthew 7:13-14 (KJV) 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
One of the gates Jesus describes leads to the way of life. He calls it the narrow gate. He says that this gate is small, and the way is narrow.
He also indicates that there will be few people who will find it. But it is the gate that leads to life.
The life of which He speaks is undoubtedly eternal life. So, what He is saying is that the path He describes is the way to Heaven. And this being true, we should understand the characteristics of this way.
One of the characteristics of this gate is that it is small. But it is a gate and while it may be small, we can thank God that it is not shut. You see, this gate leads to a way. When we find the gate we may enter the way.
Another characteristic of this way is that it is narrow. Jesus said that the way is narrow that leads to life.
The fact that the way is narrow could also indicate that we must come alone and bring nothing with us.
There have been commentators who have suggested that a turnstile should represent the idea of the narrow gate. When you come through a turnstile, you come alone and cannot carry baggage with you. This is the way we must enter the Kingdom. We enter, not in groups, but as individuals.
A final characteristic of this way is that it is the way of the few. Jesus said that few are those who find it.
Perhaps there are few who find this gate because there are few who seek this gate. After all, Jesus told us that if we would seek, we would find.
Perhaps it is because there are so many people seeking so many other things that more do not find this way.
But the fact that this way is only found by the minority does not lessen the truth that only those who find this way will be given entrance into Heaven.
Make no mistake about it.
The reason why there are few who enter by this gate is that there are few who are willing to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven and that will live their lives for Him. And this, of course, is why Jesus exhorts us to enter by the narrow gate.
Conclusion:
Are you on your way to heaven? If you are you have reason to rejoice this morning! We are much too quite about the fact that we are soon to be going Home! Jesus Christ is coming, and He is coming soon! Even if He doesn’t come back in my lifetime, I am glad that one day I will meet Him face to face. I want to be ready, don’t you?
