We have been talking about what it would look like for our faith roots to go deeper.
Now it is time to get really practical.
What does BIG faith look like in real life?
For the next three weeks, we are going to focus on an amazing story of faith.
It is the true story of a guy who lived almost 4,000 years ago.
A little context will help set the stage for his story.
Joseph grew up in a very dysfunctional family.
There were many angry, jealous and deceitful people in his life.
Joseph's life was filled with turmoil.
• He was an abandoned by his brothers.
• He became a slave at a very young age.
• He was accused of rape.
• He was imprisoned, forgotten, and alone.
And yet, Joseph handled all these situations with absolute faith in God.
His faith never wavered.
Joseph remained faithful to God against all odds.
He was a man of great character.
Even though life didn’t always go his way,
his loyalty and faithfulness to God was above reproach.
He never gave up.
• When he was hated, he did not retaliate.
• When he was tempted, he did not yield.
• When life fell apart, he did not give up.
• When he was blessed, he did not strut.
Joseph consistently continued to faithfully trust in God.
Joseph didn’t allow his CIRCUMSTANCES to DISTORT his view of God.
How might it change your life,
if in the valleys, and on the mountain tops,
and in the wilderness, and through the storms,
and everywhere in between,
you decided to trust God COMPLETELY?
Joseph is going to show us how to do it.
We’re going to pick up Joseph’s story in Genesis 37,
when he is the ripe old age of 17.
• Joseph is full of life…
• Full of energy…
• Full of strength.
His being downfall starting out was the unfortunate habit of being a tattle tale!
At the time, Joseph was the baby of the family and he fit the stereotype perfectly.
His parents would have another child later.
So, Joseph will be the second to the youngest in a tribe of 12 boys.
Can you even imagine their grocery bill?
Like their father, Joseph and his brothers were shepherds.
Joseph’s secondary job was to report to his father Jacob all the chatter and comings and goings of his older brothers.
As you can imagine, Joseph’s brothers hated when he did that.
Not only did he often rat out his brothers, he was also daddy’s favorite.
And his father, Jacob, did not even attempt to hide his preference.
In fact, he had a beautiful, expensive and rare coat made just for Joseph.
Some playwriters would later call it a technicolor dream coat.
Joseph was spoiled, and his brothers hated him for it.
And the thing that added just a little more fuel to the fire of their hatred –
Joseph was a dreamer.
He told his brothers about a couple of dreams where he was exalted above his brothers.
They already didn’t like him.
But to hear about these dreams that implied that that Joseph would one day be in a position of authority over his brothers, that made matters even worse.
One day Jacob sent Joseph to check up on his brothers.
As Joseph came over the ridge, his brothers spotted him.
Here comes this dreamer with his coat of many colors blowing in the wind.
They couldn’t stand it any longer.
Why should he be their father’s favorite!
They had had enough of the favorite son
and they decided it was time to silence him once and for all!
“‘Here comes the dreamer!’ they said.
‘Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!’” - Genesis 37:19-20 (NLT2)
Older brother, Reuben, had a plan.
He didn’t like what Joseph did, but he didn’t want to kill his brother.
He knew he couldn’t physically stop his brothers plan,
but he thought he could at least divert them.
“But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. ‘Let’s not kill him,’ he said. ‘Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.’ Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.”- Genesis 37:21-22 (NLT2)
I guess at least one of Joseph’s brothers care about him…sort of!
Joseph is ready to do a little Spycraft when his brothers turn into a gang and attack him.
They rip off his beautiful coat…
Each of them probably thinking that coat should have been theirs!
Then they picked him up and tossed him into a well.
They had no regard for his safety.
There wasn’t even any water in it to help break his fall.
Then they just sat down to a picnic as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
And you thought you had a dysfunctional family!
At some point, Reuben headed off with a part of the herd assuming his brothers would follow. That would allow Reuben, the would-be protector, to circle back and rescue Joseph.
But that isn’t what took place.
As the other brothers sat down for the picnic,
something happened that changed their plans.
While chowing down on a little bologna and cheese,
and ignoring the cries of their brother in the well,
the gang of brothers see a caravan of salesmen passing by.
Their camels were loaded down with all kinds of good things to sell.
They were on their way to Egypt.
And one of the brothers, Judah, has an idea.
Their brat brother could help them to line their pockets with a little spending money.
“Judah said to his brothers, ‘What will we gain by killing our brother? His blood would just give us a guilty conscience. Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!’ And his brothers agreed.” - Genesis 37:26-27 (NLT2)
This is a real tear-jerker.
These guys throw their brother in a well.
They were going to leave him there to die.
Then such love, kindness, and compassion is revealed in verse 27.
He is our brother.
Our own flesh and blood.
How can we kill him?
Let’s just sell him as a slave.
Can’t you just feel the love?
So, they hoisted Joseph up out of the well,
sold him for twenty pieces of silver and bid him farewell.
Shortly after Joseph sailed over the horizon,
Reuben returned to discover he was too late.
There was no way to save his brother now.
And Reuben lost it.
But his brothers weren’t upset.
In fact, they began brainstorming how to cunningly conclude the thought of Joseph’s life, so he would never be a bother to them again.
They took Joseph’s coat,
that symbol of a father’s love they would never know,
and dipped it in a vat of goat’s blood to convince Jacob his son had been killed by a wild animal and he was now gone forever.
When their father heard the news and saw the blood-stained coat,
his heart was broken.
Some of the brothers might have been left wondering…
“Would he be heartbroken like this if I was the one who was gone?”
REMEMBER - Joseph had done nothing to deserve any of this.
I know he is a tattle tale.
But if this is what happens to tattle tales,
Where would you be today?
We would all be in trouble.
I told on my brother a time or two.
I am glad this kind of thing never happened to me.
We know Joseph bragged about a few dreams.
It wasn’t Joseph’s fault that Jacob loved him more.
It wasn’t Joseph’s fault that Jacob told the brothers how much he loved Joseph.
Joseph certainly didn’t deserve anything like this.
Nobody does.
Joseph was stripped, thrown in a pit, left for dead and then sold into slavery by the people who were closest to him.
The bottom fell out and Joseph’s future was completely changed in one afternoon.
(It can happen.)
You would be tempted to wonder, where is God in all of this?
This is a train wreck.
Joseph’s life is shattered, or so it would seem.
Could God really use something like this?
You may be wondering the same thing in some area of your life (job, family, health).
When things aren’t going our way, it seems like the same old questions get in the way…
• Where is God in this?
• Does God even care?
• Why doesn’t He answer my prayer?
It appears that God is nowhere to be found at this point in Joseph’s story,
Which is about to get even more interesting.
Joseph was no longer a shepherd or a prized and cherished son.
Now he was merchandise.
A commodity to be traded.
When the caravan arrived in Egypt
Joseph was sold to a very prominent officer in the Egyptian army,
a man named Potiphar,
who was captain of the guard for Pharaoh himself.
And that brings us to a phrase in the text that doesn’t seem to fit in this story at all.
“The Lord was with Joseph…”
Is that what you were thinking as you hear this story?
It doesn’t look like God is with Joseph at all.
If God was with Joseph, wouldn’t he be at home with his family?
If anyone is being sold into slavery, shouldn’t it be the brothers?
Isn’t that the way it is supposed to work?
Good things happen to the good people and bad things happen to the bad people.
Joseph may be a tattle tale, but he is a good guy.
He didn’t do anything to deserve this.
If the Lord is with Joseph,
why are these things happening in the first place?
Why was he abandoned by his family?
Why is he a prisoner?
Why is he now a slave?
“The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.” - Genesis 39:2-3 (NLT)
Two times in two verses we see that phrase – “The Lord was with Joseph.”
Potiphar noticed something was different about Joseph.
So, as a very young man, Joseph got a huge promotion.
He was put in charge of everything in Potiphar’s house and as a result the Lord blessed Potiphar and all who lived there.
Of course, that made Potiphar a happy man.
But poor Joseph.
He is still a slave, far from home, separated from his family.
On the bright side he was progressing through the ranks rather quickly.
Things are going well…
Assuming things can go well when you are sold into slavery.
The Bible tell us that Joseph was a “very handsome and well-built young man.”
Potiphar’s wife noticed this handsome young man who was hanging around the house.
She minced no words about her intentions in pursuing him.
She was looking for an affair and she had set her eyes on Joseph.
Things were going so well for Joseph.
Then, by no fault of his own, he is in another no-win situation.
Potiphar’s wife wants Joseph in bed.
He is in trouble no matter which way he turns through no fault of his own.
Now, I want you to see what happened.
Pay special attention to Joseph’s response.
“But Joseph refused. ‘Look,’ he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.’” - Genesis 39:8-9 (NLT2)
Why would Joseph declare such allegiance and commitment to God in a set of circumstances like this?
It looks like God has abandoned him.
Somehow Joseph understood something we sometimes seem to miss.
Joseph knew that his responsibility wasn’t to have everything figured out.
Joseph’s responsibility was to simply TRUST GOD and do the NEXT RIGHT THING.
And that is exactly what he did.
He said, “I can’t do this.
To do this would be to sin against my God.”
Joseph chose to trust the Lord in the middle of this awkward situation.
He remained faithful to God.
Joseph had given her his answer, but she would not accept it.
Every chance she continued to throw herself at Joseph.
She did everything she could to seduce him.
But Joseph was firm in his commitment not to give in.
In fact, he would go out of his way to avoid being anywhere around Potiphar’s wife.
Until one fateful day.
Potiphar was gone.
Joseph entered the house ready to go about his work.
His mind was set on the task at hand.
Suddenly, he realized there was no one around…no one but her.
And Potiphar’s wife seized her moment.
She cornered Joseph, grabbed him by his cloak and demanded that he sleep with her, but Joseph slipped out of the cloak and ran out the door.
He couldn’t get away fast enough.
Potiphar’s wife was furious.
It has been said, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Potiphar’s wife proves it.
She sought revenge by putting on an Oscar worthy performance when her husband came home.
While she was still holding Joseph’s cloak in her hand, she called out to her servants.
“‘Look!’ she said. ‘My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream, he ran outside and got away, but he left his cloak behind with me.’ She kept the cloak with her until her husband came home. Then she told him her story. ‘That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and fool around with me,’ she said. ‘But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his cloak with me!’ Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story about how Joseph had treated her. So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained.” - Genesis 39:14b-20 (NLT2)
Joseph was punished for the very thing he had the self-control not to do.
Isn’t this about the time you would want to throw up your hands and say, why bother?
Why bother trying to do the right thing?
Why pray?
Why even try?
I do everything I know to do, and it is like God is against me.
I can’t get a break!
And you’ll never guess what the next verse says…
“But the LORD was with Joseph…” - Genesis 39:21a (NLT2)
There it is again!
Wouldn’t it be about now you would want to say,
“God, please stop being with me.
Why don’t you go be with someone else for a while?
I need a break.
Since you have been with me…
• I have been ripped from my family…
• Thrown in a cistern…
• And sold as a slave,
It seems like You have blessed everyone but me.
Now I have been accused of rape, and here I am in prison.
Thank You God, for being with me,
but could you please go be with somebody else for a while?
How about my brothers?
Why don’t you go be with them?
Surely Joseph has some questions?
How could you fully understand why something like this has happened?
If God is going to answer prayer and be with Joseph,
why not keep him out of prison in the first place?
I would think that if God is blessing me, I won’t be in prison in the first place.
If God is with me, none of this should be happening.
How can a God allow this or be a part of something like this?
Wouldn’t you have some questions?
I know I would.
But do you know what Joseph did while he was in prison?
He did what he did in every set of circumstances he faced.
Joseph lived a life of CONFIDENT FAITH.
He had BIG faith in a BIG God.
Look what happened next…
“But the LORD was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the LORD made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden.” - Genesis 39:21 (NLT2)
I am not sure exactly how Joseph won over the warden.
Whatever he did, the warden was impressed.
So much so that he eventually put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners.
The warden was able to lean back, put his feet up on the desk and relax because Joseph was there.
It’s unfortunate to have to press the pause button on this story until next week
because even though Joseph has earned another promotion,
it is a promotion as a prisoner with no benefits.
He is still stuck.
His situation seems hopeless.
Can you relate to Joseph’s story?
If this was your story,
would you have bailed out on God or would you have remained faithful?
We say things like, God, if I don’t see you do something soon,
I am just going to have to assume that you are not there
and I am going to have to take matters into my own hands.
I will have to do something myself.
That’s what gets so many people in trouble.
I want everything done on my timetable.
I want to see things happen.
I can’t wait on God forever.
We act like we have it all figured out.
But Joseph seemed to know something that we seem to easily forget…
It is only when we LOOK FOR GOD in our circumstances that we FIND Him there.
It is only when we EXPECT God that we EXPERIENCE God.
Faith is about TRUSTING GOD regardless of my circumstances.
APPLICATION:
Every day we have a choice to make:
Will I view God through the lens of my CIRCUMSTANCES?
Will I try to define God by my ability to interpret my own circumstances?
OR…
Will I view my circumstances through the lens of my FAITH IN GOD?
Will I respond to God by looking through the lens of what He has promised?
Will I trust God is who He says He is?
A God who loves me unconditionally?
A God who has promised never to leave me or forsake me?
What would happen if you decided to live like this every moment of every day?
That’s what it looks like to have BIG faith in our BIG God...
In every situation, every conversation, regardless of what life brings your way.
We’ll pick up the story right there next week.
PRAYER
