When Elvis Presley died, there were a lot of people who were shocked. In fact, following Elvis’ death, there were a number of young men who idolized him so much that they sought to be like him and to imitate him. One young man, named Dennis Wise, actually had his face surgically altered and had his hair shaped so that he could look exactly like his idol. He learned to play the guitar and even made money appearing onstage as a Presley look-alike. He was interviewed by a newspaper about his desire to be like Elvis, and said this:
“Yes, sir, Presley has been an idol of mine ever since I was five years old. I have every record he ever made -- twice over. I have pictures in the thousands. I have books, magazines, pillows – I even have a couple of books in German and Japanese about him. I even have tree leaves from the front of his house. It was embarrassing to me when I was in school, the kids were always teasing me. When Elvis was wearing white boots, I went out and bought white boots. The kids called them “fruit boots.” Teachers would always send me to the office because my two top buttons (of my shirt) were unbuttoned. I’d button them and then… when no one was looking, I’d UNbutton them again.”
Elvis was his hero. But he says: “I never got to meet Elvis Presley. I saw him on the stage four times. Once I tried to run up to the stage and once I stood on the wall of [the Presley mansion] and tried to see him. For 12 hours I stood there trying to get a glimpse of him. But he had so many people around him that I could never get close to him.” (from a sermon by Ray Stedman April 7, 1985)
The tragic element of Dennis Wise’s story were those words: “I could never get close to him.”
There are people who say the same thing about God. They don’t feel they can get close to Him. God seems distant and uncaring. They feel like He doesn’t care… that He doesn’t understand them. And because of that, there are times when people just want to cry out like David did: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.” Psalm 22:1-2
In that Psalm you can almost hear David saying: “Don’t You care? Don’t I matter to You? Why aren’t You listening to me?”
Almost every Christian has experienced times when they don’t feel like they just can’t get close to God. Times when God seems distant and almost… uncaring. Times when it doesn’t seem we matter to Him.
And the Bible is filled with stories of people who struggled with feelings just like those. People who faced overwhelming odds… or impossible circumstances, and it seemed that God wasn’t there for them. People like David, Moses, Jeremiah, Job, Elijah… and others. They all had times when God seemed distant. They all struggled with feelings that God wasn’t there, or even care. That God didn’t understand them.
And it seems that many Christians face those emotions. It’s at times like that … that we sense our weaknesses and shortcomings. Our need for God. We wish God would… just do something! But when we can’t see Him do that something, many people struggle in their faith.
One of the most intriguing parts of the Bible to me is the story of Joseph. Joseph was one of 12 sons of the Jacob. But his brothers were jealous of Joseph because their dad loved him best and even gave him a beautiful coat as a gift. Not only that, God seemed to love Joseph more as well - and gave Joseph 2 dreams that essentially said that Joseph’s brothers would (one day) all bow down to him.
That didn’t go over real well.
So, when the day came that the brothers could get Joseph off by himself they beat him up, threw him in a pit and intended to murder him. But then some slave traders came by… and so they sold him for 20 shekels silver.
Then we read these words: Joseph ended up as a slave in a land days away from his home, betrayed by his brothers, and being unable to see his family again for the next 13 years. The Bible tells us:
“Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.
His master saw that THE LORD WAS WITH HIM and that THE LORD CAUSED ALL THAT HE DID TO SUCCEED in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, THE LORD BLESSED THE EGYPTIAN’S HOUSE FOR JOSEPH’S SAKE. Genesis 39:1-5
By my count that’s 4 statements declaring how God blessed Joseph when a slave in Egypt. So, Joseph was still a slave, but at least God blessed him while he was there. I mean… it could be worse.
Well (pause) it did get worse.
Potiphar’s wife took a liking to Joseph and tried to get him to sleep with her. But when Joseph repeatedly refused, she became angry, and accused him of trying to rape her. Then we read: “As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, ‘This is the way your servant treated me,’ his anger was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.” Genesis 39:19-20
But then we’re told: “But THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because THE LORD WAS WITH HIM. And WHATEVER HE DID, THE LORD MADE IT SUCCEED. Genesis 39:21-23
So, 3 more times – while Joseph was in prison – we’re told that God was with him. That makes a total 7 times in Genesis 39, where we’re told God was with Joseph. God was with Joseph while he was a slave and He was with Joseph in prison. This is the ONLY time in Scripture that we’re repeatedly told God was with someone.
But why would this show up so often in these 23 verses of Genesis 39?
Well, it shows up that often because you would never have believed it if the Bible hadn’t told you. For all intents and purposes, it looked like God had abandoned Joseph. But in Genesis 39, God wanted to make sure YOU KNEW that wasn’t true. God had always been with Joseph. God had always cared for Joseph.
For about 13 years of his life, Joseph endured the hardship of slavery and prison. AND he survived those difficulties because he knew that God hadn’t abandoned him.
ILLUS: In the midst of his suffering, Joseph decided to focus on that “Truth.” And that “truth” was that God would always be there for him.
Several years ago, there was a powerful song about faith by “Casting Crowns”. It was called “The Voice of Truth.” And that song spoke of a life shaken by doubt. In the 1st verse the singer he wished he had the faith that Peter had when he stepped out of the boat onto the waves… but then the song says: “But the waves are calling out my name - and they laugh at me. Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The waves they keep on telling me time and time again. ‘Boy, you'll never win! You'll never win!’”
In the 2nd verse the singer says he wished he had the faith that David had when he stood before Goliath with just a sling and stone. Then the singer declares: “But the giant's calling out my name - and he laughs at me. Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The giant keeps on telling me time and time again. ‘Boy you'll never win! You'll never win!’”
Then… the chorus says: “But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story. The Voice of Truth says, ‘Do not be afraid!’ And the Voice of Truth says, ‘This is for My glory.’ Out of all the voices calling out to me I will choose to listen and believe. I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth.”
What does “The Voice Of Truth” say? It says, that no matter what situations you face; no matter what you struggle with; no matter what you lose; Jesus will be there to reach out His hand to pull you out of the waves. God will be there to help you face the giant that you’d never be able to handle alone.
And that’s because God has made us a promise: “I will never leave you and I will never forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
Over the next few weeks we’re going to be talking about LIES that many people believe. And the first lie is that God doesn’t care. That He’s not there. And that He just doesn’t understand us.
But the repeated theme in Scripture is that - for God’s people… that’s just not true!
Jesus said “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus is there; Jesus cares; and Jesus understands.
You see, we live in a fallen world. A world damaged by iniquity and sin. And because we live in this fallen world: If we live long enough, we’ll all experience heartache, and disappointment, and sheer helplessness.
Jesus knows that. That’s why He said “Bring your burdens to me. Bring your heartaches and your fears and your failures, because I DO understand, I DO care, and I CAN give you the encouragement and peace you need.
Our problem is that we want to depend on the things of this earth. We want the security that we think the things of this earth can supply. But then we find that we CAN’T depend upon those things of earth, and that we just can’t hang onto them – it’s at times like that that we feel God doesn’t care.
But, Jesus said: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
We live in a fallen world where the things we cling to fail us. And that’s why Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble.” This world is NOT my home, I’m just passing through. And if I’m smart, my treasures will be laid up somewhere beyond the blue. Because you can’t hold onto anything in this life. The things of this earth will slip through your fingers like sand.
But no matter what happens to you; no matter what you may lose; Jesus has promised “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Or, another way of saying that is found in I Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
CLOSE: I want to close with story of a woman who lived in the 1800s. Her name was Charlotte Elliott. Her grandfather had been a preacher and her brother was a preacher. She was raised in a godly home. She loved of poetry and music and was blessed with a strong imagination and a cultured and intellectual mind.
But she struggled with anger and bitterness because she felt that God didn’t care for her. She felt that He didn’t understand her needs. And why was she so bitter and angry? She was an invalid and had been in poor health most of her life.
One day she shared that anger with a visiting preacher to her home. The preacher listened to her … but then he insisted that what she needed most was to turn her life over to God, to come to Him just as she was, with all her bitterness and anger. All that night she struggled with what he’d said. She resented him and considered him to be callous and uncaring because of what he’d said. But she finally turned her life over to God. She came to the Jesus who said “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” And that changed her life. She got to the point where she knew God was always near her and that He would never leave her or forsake her.
She ended up writing 70 or 80 hymns (most of which you wouldn’t know). But she also wrote one you would know. It was a hymn that became one of the powerful invitation songs ever sung. And it was prompted by the words of that preacher: that she should come to Jesus just as she was.
If you know the words… sing them with me. “Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou bid’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come! I come! (verse 2) Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; sight, riches, healing of the mind; yes, all I need, in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!”
INVITATION
