When Jack quit farming and moved, he discovered he was the only Baptist in his new town of all Catholics. That was okay, but the neighbors had a problem with his barbecuing beef every Friday. They were not allowed to eat red meat on Fridays, but the tempting aroma was getting the best of them, so they got together and confronted Jack.
“Jack,” they said, “since you are the only Baptist in this whole town and there's not a Baptist church for many miles, we think you should join our church and become a Catholic.” Jack thought about it for a minute and decided they were right. Jack talked to the priest, and they arranged it.
The big day came, and the priest had Jack kneel. He put his hand on Jack’s head and said, “Jack, you were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, and now,” he said as he sprinkled some water on Jack’s head, “you are a Catholic!”
Both Jack and the neighbors were happy. But the following Friday evening, the aroma of grilled beef still drifted from Jack’s yard. The neighbors went to talk to him about this, and as they approached the fence they heard Jack saying something strangely familiar to the steak: “You were born a beef, you were raised a beef, and now” he said as he sprinkled salt over the meat, “you are a fish!” (Debi Zahn, Sandwich, IL; www.PreachingToday.com)
This silly little story raises the question: How does real change happen in my life? If I don’t like what’s going on in my life today, how can I be truly different tomorrow? If change doesn’t come through religious ritual or the declaration that I am different, how can I experience genuine transformation?
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis 44, Genesis 44, where we see Joseph’s brothers undergoing some very real change in their own lives. They have been jealous and bitter for most of their lives. Their families are starving, and now for the 2nd time, they have gone to Egypt to buy food from a very powerful Egyptian ruler.
They don’t know that this Egyptian ruler is their brother, Joseph, whom they betrayed and sold into slavery more than 20 years previously, and they don’t know what he’s up to. He has accused them of being spies, but he fed them from his own table. Now he sends them away with some very unusual instructions for his steward.
Genesis 44:1 Then he commanded the steward of his house, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack… (ESV)
This is the silver they used to buy food.
Genesis 44:2-12 and put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph told him. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away with their donkeys. They had gone only a short distance from the city. Now Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? Is it not from this that my lord drinks, and by this that he practices divination? You have done evil in doing this.’ ” When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words. They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! Behold, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house? Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord’s servants.” He said, “Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent.” Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. And he searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. (ESV)
Benjamin was their father’s new favorite son since Joseph had disappeared. Are they going to betray him too and go free at Benjamin’s expense? No.
Genesis 44:13 Then they tore their clothes [a sign of extreme distress]. And every man loaded his donkey and they returned to the city.
Instead of returning home with another lie for their father, they ALL returned to the city with Benjamin to face the music together.
Genesis 44:14-16 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?” And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” (ESV)
They are innocent of stealing Joseph’s cup, but they are not innocent of stealing his freedom more than 20 years previously. In fact, Judah himself was the one who suggested that they sell Joseph into slavery. Now, it is Judah himself who, on behalf of his brothers, admits their guilt and accepts the consequences of their own sinful behavior. They had sold their brother into slavery. Now, it’s only right that they all serve as slaves. Judah didn’t protest being treated “unfairly.” Rather he admitted, “We are only getting what we deserve.”
Wow! What a difference in attitude compared to 20 years ago. These brothers are experiencing real change, and they show us how to change our lives as well. My dear friends, if you don’t like the life you are living now, then real change begins when you, like Judah…
SUBMIT TO GOD’S DISCIPLINE.
If you want your life to be different, then stop resisting and start accepting God’s loving correction. Stop crying “fowl” every time hardships come. Instead, welcome the change God is working in you through the hard times.
Hebrews 12 says, “In your struggle against sin… do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for Discipline that you have to endure (Hebrews 12:4-6).
Then Hebrews 12 goes on to say. “Be subject to the Father of spirits and live. For… [God] disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:9-11).
That’s God’s promise to us as his children, so when the hard times come, don’t resist them. Instead, submit to their purifying influence in your life.
John Beckett, in his book Mastering Monday, describes the time when he was in a dental chair being prepped for the replacement of a filling. Just as his mouth was filled with dental hardware so he could only mumble, the dental technician said, out of the blue, “You're Mr. Beckett, aren't you?” He grunted assent.
“Well,” she said, “I want to thank you for firing my husband.”
John was stuck. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He could only listen.
“It happened ten years ago,” the technician said. “A few days after your company hired my husband, he was notified he had failed a drug test. You may not recall,” she continued, “but you called him into your office before he left. You said, ‘I realize I don't have any choice but to terminate you, but I want to tell you something. You're at a crossroads. You can keep going the way you are, and the results are very predictable. Or you can take this as a wake-up call. You can decide you're going to turn your life around.’”
Becket says, “I'm sure the technician couldn't see the beads of perspiration on my forehead under all the paraphernalia as she continued: ‘I want you to know, my husband took your advice. Today, he's a good father, a good husband, and he has a fine job. Thank you for firing my husband!’” (John D. Beckett, Mastering Monday, Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2006, pp. 157-158; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s what God’s discipline is designed to do! When hard times come, you can use it as a wake-up call and decide to make some changes. The pain will produce “the peaceful fruit of righteousness,” but you must not resist it; you must not continue on in your rebellion, no! If you want to change your life, then submit to God’s discipline just like Judah did. Then like Judah…
ADMIT YOUR SIN.
Acknowledge that you have indeed done wrong. Confess your own wickedness and depravity.
Judah could have protested his innocence. He certainly did not steal the Egyptian ruler’s cup. Instead, he remembers stealing Joseph’s freedom and says (vs.16), “God has found out the guilt of your servants.” We are sinners, all of us.
Judah admits it, and that’s what you must do if you want to see real change for the better in your own life. The problem is most people think, “I’m not that bad.” In fact, most people think they’re way above average at almost everything, at least in their own minds.
Psychologists call this the state of “illusory superiority.” It simply means that we tend to inflate our positive qualities and abilities, especially in comparison to other people.
Numerous research studies have revealed this tendency to overestimate ourselves. For example, when researches asked a million high school students how well they got along with their peers, none of the students rated themselves below average. As a matter of fact, 60 percent of students believed they were in the top 10 percent, and 25 percent rated themselves in the top one percent.
The same thing happened with college professors. Just two percent rated themselves below average; 10 percent were average and 63 were above average; while 25 percent rated themselves as truly exceptional.
Of course, this is statistically impossible. One researcher summarized the data this way: “It's the great contradiction – the average person believes he is a better person than the average person.” (“Study: Self-Images Often Erroneously Inflate,” ABC News, 11-9-05; www.PreachingToday.com)
But that’s not the way to get better. That’s not the way to experience real change in your life. Rather, it starts when you admit your own sinfulness; it starts when you admit that you have failed. True change for the better begins when you admit that you are going in the wrong direction.
In January 2013, Sabine Moreau, a 67-year-old Belgian woman, was driving to pick up a friend in Brussels, about 90 miles from her home. But based on the faulty directions she got from her GPS, she drove all the way to Croatia – nearly 1,000 miles away. The journey took the woman across five international borders. She stopped several times to get gas and take naps, but she kept pressing onward until she hit Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.
After a few days her son got worried and called the police, who located Sabine by following her bank statements. She told a Belgian reporter, “I was distracted, so I kept going. I saw all kinds of signs, first in French, then in German, and finally in Croatian, but I continued driving because I was distracted. When I passed Zagreb, I told myself I should turn around.” (Ryan Grenoble, “Sabine Moreau, Belgian Woman, Drives 900 Miles Off 90-Mile Route Because of GPS Error,” The Huffington Post, 1-15-13; www.PreachingToday.com)
You’d have thought Sabine would have figured that out a long time before she was 1,000 miles away! But until she was willing to admit that she was going in the wrong direction, there was no turning around.
You see, you have to admit that you’re going in the wrong direction before you can begin to head in the right direction. You have to admit your own sin before there can be any real change for the better. If your marriage is going in the wrong direction, don’t be distracted by what your mate is doing. Own up to your own part in the disfunction of that relationship. If your life is going in the wrong direction, don’t be distracted by what others are doing and blame them. Instead, acknowledge your own misdirection. If God seems far away these days, don’t blame Him for moving away. He didn’t go anywhere. You’re the one who moved, so confess your own drifting away and admit to yourself and God, “I have sinned.”
For God has promised, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). That’s because Jesus “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Jesus death on the cross satisfied the punishment our sin deserves. Now, God can forgive you your sins if you just admit them to Him. And that’s where real change for the better starts. It starts when you admit your sin. Then with God’s help…
QUIT YOUR SIN.
Turn around from going in the wrong direction and start heading in the right direction. To use a good biblical term, REPENT. In total and complete dependence upon Christ, who died for you and rose again, change your ways.
That’s what Judah and his brothers did. They have offered to become Joseph’s slaves.
Genesis 44:17 But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.” (ESV)
Joseph gives his brothers an opportunity to go free at the expense of their younger brother, but Judah won’t allow it. Look at him as he pleads for the release of his brother – one of the finest and most moving petitions in all of Scripture.
Genesis 44:18-34 Then Judah went up to him and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not your anger burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?’ And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young brother, the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’ Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ Then you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not see my face again.’ “When we went back to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. And when our father said, ‘Go again, buy us a little food,’ we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother goes with us, then we will go down. For we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have never seen him since. If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs in evil to Sheol.’ “Now therefore, as soon as I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us, then, as his life is bound up in the boy’s life, as soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol. For your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life.’ Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.” (ESV)
More than 20 years previous, Judah sold his younger brother into slavery. Now, he pleads to be enslaved himself, so another younger brother can go free. Judah is a different man. By God’s grace and work in his life, he is no longer jealous and bitter; he is no longer selfish and self-centered. Instead, he is willing to give up his own freedom to preserve the freedom of another favored son.
Judah has changed his ways, and that’s what you must do if you want to see real change in your own life for the better. You must not only admit your sin; with God’s help, you must quit your sin.
But that won’t happen through sheer will-power alone. You cannot in your own flesh overcome the flesh.
That’s been proven time and time again, most recently with the Fitness Trackers that many are wearing. I’m sure you’ve seen them – those colorful, wristwatch-like trackers that seem to be everywhere. Maybe there’s one on your wrist right now! They count your steps, give you stats on your sleeping habits, and more.
Sounds like a great way to get healthier and lose weight, right? Well, maybe not. A recent study (2016) claims that the wearers of these popular fitness trackers lost significantly less weight than the people who didn't wear them (7.7 lbs. as compared to 13 lbs.).
And, even more surprising, it turns out the problem might be the wearers themselves. The lead author of the study put it this way: “These technologies are focused on physical activity, like taking steps and getting your heart rate up. [But then the wearers of these devices] would say, ‘Oh, I exercised a lot today, now I can eat more.’ And they might eat more than they otherwise would have.” As a result, the researcher concluded, “It doesn't look like assigning someone wearable technology will make that big of a difference.” (“Weight Loss On Your Wrist? Fitness Trackers May Not Help,” NPR, Sept. 20, 2016; www.PreachingToday.com)
If you want to truly change, don’t depend on yourself, or some gadget, or even some religious ritual. Depend on Christ, who not only delivers you from the penalty of sin; He delivers you from the power of sin in your every-day life.
In October 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed much of the city of Chicago. It started in a barn outside the city, but amazingly crossed the Chicago River into the city where it caused a lot of damage. How did that happen?
Experts explain that while high winds spread the fire to wooden ships moored in the river, the most important factor was the river itself. In those days, the Chicago River was a shallow, sluggish sewer for the entire city. The Union Stock Yards in Chicago dumped all their animal waste into the river. People called it “The Stinking River” or the “Bubbly Creek.” It was so bad that the waste was actually combustible.
To make matters worse, all that raw sewage flowed into Lake Michigan, where there were drinking-water intakes for the city. This led to all kinds of waterborne diseases in the 1880’s and 1890’s, killing at least 10,000 people every year. In 1885, fourteen years after the Great Chicago Fire, nearly 100,000 people died from cholera and typhoid fever or other waterborne diseases carried by the river's putrid waters.
Finally, city engineers took action. First, they started digging 28 miles of canal. They moved more earth and rocks than were moved building the Panama Canal. They set in locks and gates. Then, on January 2, 1900, a worker opened a sluice gate at Lake Michigan, and the entire Great Lakes flowed into the Chicago River, pushing it a direction it had never flowed. They reversed the flow of the Chicago River. It now flowed the opposite way—into the canal, into the Des Plaines River, into the Illinois River, and into the Mississippi.
This brought a huge flow of fresh water. Instead of shallow, sluggish, diseased water, making the community sick, the river now brought the city life. Some writers argue that Chicago would not even be around today, had the flow of the Chicago River not been reversed. The American Society of Civil Engineers named it one of the engineering projects of the millennium. (“The Reversal of the Chicago River in 1900”; “January 2, 1900: Reversing the Chicago River” by John R. Schmidt; “The Reversal of the Chicago River,” American Public Works Association)
That’s a picture of what Christ can do for you if you let Him. He can reverse the flow of your heart, bringing new and living water into your life. Please, trust Christ to do it for you, and don’t put up with the raw sewage of sin anymore. Just SUBMIT to God’s discipline. Then in dependence upon Christ, ADMIT and QUIT your sin.
