Life of Joseph: Purpose
Genesis Chapter 41:39-57
Introduction-
We have been looking at the life of Joseph-
We saw that bad things happen to good people.
We saw that things don’t always turn out the way that we would like them too.
Just because we are living a life for God does not mean that on this side of heaven we will not have problems.
We saw last week that there was something different about Joseph, even his enemies noticed the difference.
That does not happen by chance. That is intentional, that is because God is working in and through his life.
If you believe life should be fair and thinking that other people will treat you that same way, you are going to live a disappointed life.
Life is not fair because most people do not play by the same rules as you. They do not live their life under the guidelines of God and God’s Word and some will sell you out for a handful of gold, a quick pleasure, lust or greed.
But the Lord says that he has not forgotten us and He sees what you and I are going through.
One day maybe not on this side of heaven, He will make things right.
It is not our job to justify or take revenge, it is our responsibility to be sanctified and living for God.
Joseph life was a mess! No fault of his own. He never seemed to get a break until God showed up and revealed his purpose.
Sarcastically called a dreamer
Ambushed and wrongly accused by Potiphar wife.
Sent to prison for something he did not do.
Joseph felt like he was forgotten and abandoned by God
17 years of wrong doing done to him before God’s purpose was revealed.
He is in prison for two years because of Potiphar wifes lies and while there Joseph allows God to use him for interpreting two dreams of fellow inmates. One dream the prisoner was restored by the king and one prisoner faced death by the king- the prisoner restored was to tell the king about Joseph and help to have him released. Joseph felt forgotten and it was years later the cup bearer of the king remembers the man who could interpret dreams for the king.
Why did God allow Joseph to go through so much trouble and pain?
Why didn’t he just remove him from all the suffering and difficulties of life?
Why does God allow us to go through pain and suffering?
The answer is the same. In our pain and suffering, we must… learn to depend on God. We must… learn to stay focused on God and not situations of life.
I know some of you have been waiting a long time for answers to some of your deepest questions for God-
I don’t know why some get answers quicker than others.
I know that God works in our lives for our good
He get no enjoyment in our suffering but delights when we fulfill our purpose.
He gets honor and glory when we learn from our trials and are able to move on and help someone else be victorious.
There are so many people that believe that if they only got a break, there life would change.
If only they had that family
If only they had more money
If only they had a better education.
People are always looking at other people with jealousy and with envy.
We do not know what happened to people to get them to where they are. They would be surprised at what story they could tell because we only see the end result.
Most want to take short cuts.
Most want what others have and don’t want to work for it.
Several years ago, they did a study called “Cradles of Eminence.”
They examined the backgrounds of 300 highly successful people.
They discovered that ¾ of them came from broken homes, raised by parents that at some point rejected them.
74 out of the 85 writers of fiction and drama and 16 of the 20 poets looked at experienced abusive drama and parents screaming at them abusively.
¼ of them had handicaps such as blindness, deafness, or dysfunctional limbs
A separate study showed parents of new born children trying to have their kids avoid contact with other people as to not get sick actually found that they were more likely to be sick later in life because their bodies never built up any immunity to common sickness.
They were suggesting that their experiences influenced the people that they became.
Adversity made them who they were and what they accomplished in life.
Yeah if you talk to Joseph during those hard times, he would tell you that he felt like God had abandoned him, and his faith was weak but he knew it was all he could hold unto in those rough and dark times.
13 chapters of trials and suffering and the words of encouragement from the Lord was…the Lord was with Joseph!
No matter what he was going through, the Lord was with him- he never did it alone and even though he had to go through it, the Lord always showed him favor, even to his enemies, even while he was in prison, even while he was waiting on God to change his circumstance.
On the darkest nights when there seems to be no hope-
God can change your world!
God can change your circumstance.
God can answer that long awaited prayer!
Genesis chapter 41:39-57
Joseph had found purpose!
When God reveals purpose, it makes suffering more bearable.
When we learn the lessons so that we can use them to bring purpose to our lives, we reveal the love of God in action.
Joseph was sold as a slave by the people that he loved most.
He has nothing
He was nothing
As a slave, he had no rights, no position.
no value except his muscles.
What he had that no other slave had was God’s anointing!
God’s Amazing favor.
God’s Amazing Grace
He was waiting on God to reveal his purpose and show him why he had to go through what he went through.
Ship doesn’t know if it is sea worthy until it goes through some storms and knows it can float.
A soldier goes through basic training so he will be ready for battle.
How do you know your faith until it is tested?
A.W.Tozer in one of his books talks about the relationship between the nail and the hammer.
To the nail, he feels like he is constantly being beaten by the hammer.
But if you look at both the nail and the hammer as a tool used by the master- you quickly see that the nail is used to hold things together but must go through some pain to do it.
The end result is to please the master by doing the purpose for which you were intended.
God uses the things we go through to shape us- make us who we need to be to accomplish what we are supposed to do.
The only one who can deal with me… is me and God. He knows everything about us and knows everything we have been through.
We cannot all be the same thing-
We cannot all go through the same things-
We are each fearfully and wonderfully made by God and we have purpose!
The keys to finding his purpose
His relationship with God
Despite his circumstance and despite his trials and problems- His relationship with God was rock solid.
God was with him and it showed. It showed in his actions and his character. It was the foundation that his life was built upon. It was not built on the circumstance- that is temporary.
The most precious thing that you need to hold unto or get back is your relationship with God. He is the rudder of our ship and He makes us be battle ready when the enemy comes a knocking.
You are going through good times- give God praise and don’t forget who gave you everything. Going through a tough time? Praise your way to victory and don’t forget He will never leave you nor forsake you at your darkest times. There is light at the end of every battle.
James 4:8- “Come near to God and he will come near to you, wash your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts you double minded.”
We cannot even imagine the blessing that we will miss if we are only calling on God to help us get out of a jam instead of walking into a relationship that has us walking with Jesus and talking to Jesus through prayer and His written Word.
Built Trust
You don’t demand trust, you earn trust. I cannot make you trust me, hopefully it comes as we spend time together that we learn to trust each other. Joseph knew he could trust God. He did not suddenly get in these situations and try to learn about his God. He learned he could trust his God and when he was in these hard times, he just lived out his faith and his relationship.
That trust was built on having the right perspective.
Where in the world did we get an idea that God has to let us know what is going on?
When did we become equals?
Joseph right perspective of God allowed him to not only live his life but finish strong. He believed God is God and had his best interest in mind even if he didn’t understand it or most often, he could not immediately see it.
In his darkest hour, he anticipated and expected God to break through and let him experience his presence.
There are lessons to be learned and the only way we learn them is to go through trials. We make it harder on ourselves when we fight God and we rebel against Him. We go from lesson learned to lesson taught. Ever fight against God- the lesson taught gets tougher the more fight against God and go through things twice or the hard way instead of the easier way.
Closing,
We live in a messed up society but it is all we got.
We are called to live here with all the blemishes of life and walk with God through these times.
We are called to be different and we are called to be an example instead of like everyone else.
It is easy to be the same, no one will blame you, but it is harder to be different.
Joseph was different. No one would have blamed him, but he took the high road.
He took the road that was not willing to give up his relationship with God and he was not willing to jeopardize his character and his name for a moment of pleasure.
He knew that he had purpose- that though he was going through hell on earth, he knew God had a plan for him.
Webster’s definition of purpose - “The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.”
If you would ask God for the answer to that question, would it change your life? Yes, it would!
We each have a different purpose for our lives. But the one thing in our lives of surety is that we should be walking with God. We should be allowing Him to direct our paths. We used to be occupied with our own needs. We used to feel sorry for ourselves and felt defeated, but now know who we are in Christ Jesus.
You may have been born into adversity, but you are not going to live there. Your priorities have changed. You are looking for ways to see God at work in your life and in others. You have hope!
Amen.
