The God Of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob … Joseph … And You Series

2. God’s one requirement is FAITH.

The kind of faith God requires is defined in Hebrews11:6: "Without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. "

This defines the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It’s the kind of faith God requires. But here’s what God does NOT require: God does NOT require perfection … and aren’t we glad!

Last week Ronnie talked about how Abraham tried to fulfill God’s promise of a son his own way and brought nothing but disaster. Isaac fell into a trap that’s common with parents when he gave preference to Esau above his other son, Jacob … and this set off a rivalry that caused all kinds of heartache. Jacob defrauded his brother Esau out of his inheritance, and then ended up having to run for his life to escape Esau’s revenge.

But in spite of their faults, God was able to greatly bless these men. The reason is this: all three had FAITH that God will keep his promises.

Faith is not believing that God will do what I think he should do.

Faith is believing that He will do what He has promised.

Because of the FAITH of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God was able to establish a nation that would bring blessing to the whole world.

3. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob uses difficult circumstances in order to BLESS us and to bless others THROUGH us.

After Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the STORY continues with the 12 sons of Jacob --- who form the foundation for the 12 tribes of Israel. God continued to establish unique relationships with all 12 of Jacob’s sons --- but JOSEPH is the one whose story is told in detail.

You might be surprised to realize that more than half of the book of Genesis is about JOSEPH --- from the birth of Joseph in Genesis chapter 30 to the death of Joseph in chapter 50. In fact, we have more detail about Joseph’s life than Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob combined!

Have you ever known someone who just had it all? They’ve got all kinds of talents, they’re super intelligent, they have a great personality, they’re rich, and on top of that, they’re healthy and good looking. That was Joseph! He was the golden boy --- his father’s favorite out of the 12 sons.

But Joseph wasn’t perfect. His brothers saw him as a spoiled brat. For one thing, he annoyed his brothers by bragging about his dreams of grandeur! His brothers got sick and tired of hearing about dreams where his father and brothers ended up bowing down to him. These turned out to be prophetic dreams --- but telling the bro’s about it was not smart.

They became so murderously jealous of Joseph that they sold him into slavery … and then they told his father, Jacob that his favorite son had been killed by a wild animal. Joseph was sold to an Egyptian named Potiphar, and he rose to the level of the chief administrator of that household.

That’s the beginning of a series of crazy, unpredictable twists and turns that make up Joseph’s “lower story” … But the “lower story” is really just the set-up for the “upper story”