c. Opener Luther s 95 Theses and the Fallout

Transcription

1 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO GENESIS When God Is For Us, He Is With Us Genesis 39 I. Introduction a. READ TEXT b.pray c. Opener Luther s 95 Theses and the Fallout d.comments. e. Transition statement.

2 f. Main Point of the Text Through the faithfulness and suffering of the blessed righteous son, Joseph, God providentially secures the salvation and blessing of His people. i. Genesis 15:13-14 God said to Abram, Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete. ii. Genesis 45:7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. iii. Genesis 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to

3 preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones. g. Main Point of the Sermon Through the faithfulness and suffering of the blessed righteous son, Jesus, God providentially secures the salvation and blessing of His people. h.purpose When God is for us, nothing can stand in our way. When God is for us, we can accomplish any task He s called us to. We must stand faithful, even in the midst of unbearable suffering, perhaps death, for the sake of the gospel and thusly, the salvation of God s people to the praise of His glory. i. Romans 8:28-39 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might

4 be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that, who was raised who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present n or things to come, nor powers, nor height nor

5 depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. i. Transition statement. Let me give you three assurances from this passage, three assurances from the life of Joseph in this text to help you in your own walk and desire to be faithful. Assurance #1 When God has called you, God will be with you. Assurance #2 When you are faithful, the enemy will attack you. Assurance #3 When the enemy succeeds, the Lord will restore you. II. OBSERVATION #1 WHEN GOD HAS CALLED YOU, GOD WILL BE WITH YOU (vv. 1-6b) a. EXPLANATION i. The Lord prospers Joseph in the midst of suffering. 1. It is the Lord s providence that lands Joseph in slavery. 2. It is the Lord s providence that lands Joseph in the house of Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh s guard.

6 ii. The Lord prospers Joseph for the glory of His name and the good of His people. 1. Potiphar sees Joseph s prosperity. a. The Lord is with Joseph. b.the Lord caused Joseph s prosperity. 2. Potiphar savors Joseph s prosperity. a. He makes Joseph his personal servant. b.he makes him overseer of all of his house. c. He makes him overseer of all that he owned. iii. The Lord prospers Joseph according to His promises 1. The promise is given the nations would be blessed through Abraham and his descendants. a. To Abraham i. Genesis 12:3c ii. Genesis 22:18 b.isaac i. Genesis 26:4

7 c. Jacob i. Genesis 28:14 iv. THE POINT God has a plan for His glory to be known and shown through His chosen people, a plan that includes Joseph, a plan unbeknownst to him and one that at times defies human understanding. Yet, God, who has called Joseph to this task, is with Joseph in that task, positioning him, prospering him according to His sovereign purposes for the good of His people and the glory of His name. b.application i. Individual application God has a plan for His glory to be known and shown through His chosen people, a plan that includes you and one that at times in your life will defy human understanding. Yet, God, who has called you to this particular season and place will be with you in the task, positioning you,

8 prospering you according to His sovereign purposes for the good of his people and the glory of His name. 1. Job You have been placed where you work as a part of God s divine plan to see His glory known and shown through His chosen people, some of whom may be your co-workers. Have you shared the gospel with them that they might be saved? Are you engaging the work place with God s glory in mind, knowing that on your toughest day in the toughest job your God has called you, and he will be with you and he is for you? Or have you allowed your employment and a sinful coveting of the ideal to create God-dishonoring habits and behaviors in you? 2. Family You have been given the family you have as a part of God s divine plan to make His glory known and shown through His chosen people, some of whom may be kin to you. Are you sharing the gospel with your spouse and your children and your brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and

9 cousins that they might be saved? Are you engaging your family with God s glory in mind, knowing that on your toughest day in the toughest family your God has called you and he is with you, and he is for you? Or have you allowed your family and a sinful coveting of the ideal to create Goddishonoring habits and behaviors in you? 3. Community You have been placed in your community as a part of God s divine plan to make His glory known and shown through His chosen people, some of whom may live around you. Are you sharing the gospel with your friends and neighbors that they might be saved? Are you engaging them with God s glory in mind, knowing that on your toughest day in the toughest neighborhood your God has called you and he is with you, and he is for you? Or have you allowed your neighbors and a sinful coveting of the ideal to create Goddishonoring habits and behaviors in you?

10 4. Prosperity/Suffering You have been placed in the current season of your life, whether prosperous or painful, as a part of God s divine plan to make His glory known and shown through His chosen people, some of whom may be watching to see how you handle your circumstances. 5. ILLUSTRATION Tim Keller God loves to work in a way that confounds the world s idea of greatness. 6. Are you utilizing the prosperity or suffering in your life to share the gospel with your family, your friends and neighbors that they might be saved? Are you engaging God s provision whether plenty or little with His glory in mind, knowing that on your best day or your worst, in abundance and in want, your God has called you and he is with you, and he is for you? Or have you allowed your suffering and a sinful coveting of

11 the ideal or your prosperity and a sinful self-reliance and selfglory to create God-dishonoring habits and behaviors in you? ii. Corporate application God has a plan for His glory to be known and shown through the Church, a plan that includes Reddicks Grove and one that at times will defy human understanding, sacred traditions and long-held beliefs. Yet, God, who has called us to this task, will be with us, positioning us and prospering us according to His sovereign purposes for the good of His people and the glory of His name. 1. You have been called to partner with this Body 2. This body has been called to engage a. This Community b.this City & those around it c. Beyond, to the very ends of the earth i. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all

12 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I command you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20, NASB). 1. Gavin and Kelsey Lebel (Southern France) 2. Bryan Coble (Chicago) 3. We have been brought together as a part of God s divine plan to see His glory known and shown through His chosen people, some of whom live within walking distance to our church. Are we as a corporate body being diligent to share the gospel with them that they might be saved? Are we engaging this community, this city and beyond, to the ends of the earth, with God s glory in mind, knowing that on our toughest day in the toughest most dangerous places our God has called us, and he will be with us? Or have we allowed personal preferences and petty differences and person vendettas along with a sinful

13 coveting of the ideal to create God-dishonoring habits and behaviors in us? c. ILLUSTRATION Paul David Tripp says, We are called to surrender the plans of our lives to the greater, better plans of our Savior and he gives us the grace we need to do it. d.transition statement. Assurance #1 When God has called you, God will be with you. Assurance #2 When you are faithful, the enemy will attack you. III. ASSURANCE #2 WHEN YOU ARE FAITHFUL, THE ENEMY WILL ATTACK YOU. a. EXPLANATION Two characters, five considerations. i. Motivation 1. Potiphar s wife is motivated by lust. 2. Joseph is motivated by loyalty

14 a. Loyalty to his master b.loyalty to his God ii. Persistence 1. Potiphar s wife is persistent in evil. 2. Joseph is persistent in faithfulness. a. Refusing to listen to her. b.refusing to lie beside her. c. Refusing to be with her. iii. Work 1. Joseph is an honest laborer. 2. Potiphar s wife is a cunning deceiver. a. She ambushes Joseph alone. b.she catches Joseph by his garment. iv. Fallout 1. Potiphar s wife is vindictive. 2. Joseph is silent.

15 b.the Point When Joseph is most faithful he is most vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. This passage is yet another battle in the war between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman of Genesis 3. And while Joseph is not a direct answer to Jesus, the Messiah, God is using Joseph to preserve that line by securing the survival of Jacob and his sons during the famine that lies ahead. By God s grace, Joseph proves faithful. c. APPLICATION i. Stored Conventional wisdom says that we are most vulnerable at our weakest, but the Bible says exactly the opposite. When we are most faithful, we are most vulnerable to attacks by the enemy. 1. I Corinthians 10:12 says, Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 2. Proverbs 16:18 says, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.

16 3. I Peter 5:8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, and the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. ii. Specific I Peter 2:12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. 1. Job 2. Family 3. Community 4. Church

17 d.illustration Jim Stitzinger If you are walking in righteousness before our holy God, do not be surprised when false accusations, unfair criticism and slander flow your way. Don t flinch but endure in the same manner as Christ did with his disciples, Paul did with the early church leaders and countless godly servants of Christ continue today. Press on. i. Friendly fire 1. Be humble. 2. Examine your conscience. 3. Repent. 4. Respond. 5. Confront. 6. Forgive. 7. Pray. 8. Rest in God s defense. If God is for you, who can be against you?

18 e. Transition statement. Assurance #1 When God has called you, God will be with you. Assurance #2 When you are faithful, the enemy will attack you. Assurance #3 When the enemy succeeds, God will restore you. IV. ASSURANCE #3 WHEN THE ENEMY SUCCEEDS, GOD WILL RESTORE YOU a. EXPLANATION Sometimes what seems like defeat is all part of God s plan. i. Potiphar s wife resorts to lies falsely accused 1. She accuses him of the very sin she of which she is guilty. 2. She resorts to racism. 3. She practically blames Potiphar for bringing him there. 4. In every way she wants to shift the blame away from here. ii. Potiphar s wife holds more weight outgunned iii. Joseph, the righteous son pays the price suffering servant

19 iv. But v. The Lord was with him. 1. Restored to Prominence 2. Restored Responsibility 3. Restored Power 4. Restored Prosperity 5. The Point Whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper. Does that sound familiar to you? It should. Psalm 1 says, How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not whither, and in whatever he does, he prospers.

20 a. Through both the faithfulness and suffering of the blessed righteous son, Joseph, God providentially secures the salvation and blessing of His people. And nothing, no nothing can stand in the way of that. In fact, both his faithfulness AND his suffering were a part of that plan. b.jesus is the blessed righteous son. Through his faithfulness and suffering God has providentially secured the salvation and blessing of His people. Both his faithfulness AND his suffering were a part of that plan. Like Joseph, Jesus was betrayed by the very ones he came to serve. Like Joseph, he was falsely accused and imprisoned but in death in a garden tomb. And like Joseph, Jesus was restored. He was rewarded for His faithfulness. He was raised to life and exalted. i. Philippians 2:5-11 Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied

21 Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. b.application i. The question of whether or not the enemy will succeed in attacking your life is not a matter of if but when. Consider II Timothy 3:12 1. Faithfulness means persecution.

22 2. Persecution at the hands of evil men, imposters, deceivers. 3. Faithfulness in the gospel. a. In the gospel that gives wisdom and salvation. All scripture. 4. Faithfulness in your ministry. 5. Faithfulness amidst hardship. a. II Corinthians 6:4 b.ii Corinthians 11 c. II Corinthians 12:10 ii. The Lord will restore, if not in this life, certainly the next. 1. James 1:12 2. II Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

23 c. ILLUSTRATION V. Summation and Response