Take Charge! INTRODUCTION: New Series Called Charge Churchwide Fast: January 14 Baptism Service: January 28

Transcription

1 Take Charge! 1 INTRODUCTION: New Series Called Charge Churchwide Fast: January 14 Baptism Service: January 28 Read 2 Timothy My personal charge: Preach Word 1. Keep on my watch 2. Challenge, warn, and urge your people 3. Don t Ever Quit 4. Keep it simple 4 New Year Charges: 2 Timothy Paraphrased: 3-5 You re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you keep your eye on what you re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God s servant. Four Charges (Four Sermons): 1. Keep your eyes on what you are doing 2. Keep the Good with the Bad 3. Keep the Message Alive 4. Keep Going for God s Glory Stand and Read Genesis and Pray Two brands of brothers: Cedar Tree picture and work ethic- get in there! Why do you just keep looking at eachother--10 brothers There is grain in Egypt--as a result of their brother--joseph

2 MESSAGE: Keep Your Eyes On What You Are Doing 2 Joseph was 17 years old when his life would change forever. He d be known as the golden child--how many of you may be the golden child? Better yet, who of you have been accused of being the golden child? Yeah I have too by my siblings. Joseph wasn t quite the youngest of 12 boys, but he did have a hard case of 10th child syndrome. Not only did his Dad favor him the most, he was also a dreamer! Being a dreamer is more than having random dreams of greatness about yourself in your future. As dreams often go for me anyways, I dream about what my mind often eterntains. Angie and I have been doing a Star Wars Marathon, so I dream of being a jedi knight fighting with the rebellion to take down the Empire. Joseph had dreams that his brothers and parents bowed down to him in greatness. You don t have dreams like that unless you already think you have some level of greatness. And being raised in a family of 12 boys, you certainly don t invite your bothers into your fantasy world by boasting of such a dream. As a seventeen year old dreamer, he may have lacked maturity, but the circumstances that change this boy s life will mature him quicker than he d probably like or dreamed. Israel, Joseph s father, gave him a job to do, Read Genesis Notice Joseph s response to his father s task: Very Well! I like the sound of that don t you? How many parents, if after giving your teenager a task, they responded with Very Well every time you asked them to do something, wouldn t buy your son or daughter a lamborghini? The Bible didn t have to write his response, because it is not necessary to completing the story. It just has a tone of, I ll not only do what you ask me to do, but It will be my pleasure dad-mom. In fact I can t wait! Think about something else i can do for you after I return from my two day scavenger hunt. It tells us something of this young man that is about to be revealed in the rest of this story-- Joseph knows how to keeps his eyes on what he is doing. Read Genesis When his brother s saw him coming they said to each other, Here Comes That Dreamer. I can think of a lot of worst things older brothers could say about their despised little brother, but it s easy to despise a dreamer if you re the one who can t see beyond your own mundane reality today. Nonetheless, a great injustice would be done to Joseph that day. Had it not been for one brother Reuben, who intervened, his brother s evil hatred would have destroyed his life entirely. Instead, his brothers sold Joseph as a slave to a passing Caravan of Ishmaelites in route to Egypt. Suddenly, his brother s fantasies would come true, not Joseph's dreams. So they thought.

3 Let this be a lesson before we move forward: The injustices you face this very day--they can serve to make you the instrument of Justice Tomorrow. I don t think Joseph s dream in life ever included him becoming a slave. But remember, when Joseph is given a task, he doesn t say, I don t deserve this! I m better than this! This isn t fair. Do you know who I am? Those entitled words can t be found in the mouth of a man who when given a task only says, Very Well. Read Genesis Here is the result of His work: 1) The Lord Was With Him, And 2) He Prospered 3) And He lived in the house of the Egyptian Master. First: The Lord was with him--come on, who would thought that the Lord would be with him in his injustice. Most of us would pray, Lord deliver me from being a slave, but how about the Lord being with you? Second: He Prospered. It is in fact because the Lord was with him. The Lord was with Potiphar too, because Joseph was there. He must have carried the ministry of presence. Third: I m not sure if culturally slaves lived with their master s home or in their own neighborhoods, but again the and here implies that Joseph is enjoying the benefits and amenities of his master s home. Potiphar put him in charge of his entire household, and entrusted in his care everything he owned. How can a 18 year old, an Israelite (not Egyptian and a slave) be entrusted with so much? Especially The captain of the Guard of Egypt? And this is our charge: Keep your eyes on what you are doing! You see every young person is tasked with some ownership. It may start with a cell phone. It may begin with a clunker of a junker car at 16 years old: Homework, part-time job, and my clunker junker. That was my story. My first car was an 1985 Nissan pickup passed down to me by my older brother. I watched how he took pride in his truck- put chrome wheels and wide tires on it-- a cd play- got rid of the 8 track. By the time i got it, it was my job, my field to tend. I had to have a job to pay the gas, insurance, and take my sister to school. That was my field to tend--that was my task to say: Very Well. After a thousand more miles, the truck started dying around corners, forcing me to pop the clutch mid roll. I even used a squeegee on the inside of the windshield just to see. It was time to expand my field a bit. I bought a newer used truck: a Red 1995 Mazda B2300. This included a car payment now, making double payments. I put a CB radio in it, a tool box in the bed, and of course an ooga horn. Now my field included my truck, my job, and my college education (which was also funded by me). One day my brother Joe went for a ride with me and prophesied, Someday you are going to meet your wife in this truck. My field would expand again. My first date in the truck, was a gorgeous blue eyed brunette down the street from my apartment in Kirkland. Now my field was getting bigger. Not only did I have a responsibility of driving myself around Seattle safely, now I was taking someone s daughter with me. 3

4 I had to clean and wax my B2300, got the oil changed and the fluids full. Tires were full of air. I also put a fresh air freshener in there. And one last thing, I had to make sure to open the passenger door for her. And so my brother s prophecy came true, I married the girl from my trucks first date. And guess what happened, my field got bigger, and became more responsible. Now I had a wife, a youth pastor job, a house to rent. And then twin girls came along. Then my field expanded again with a new church to pastor in a new town with a new baby boy. And my field expanded again and limited out once I acquired a chocolate lab puppy. Keep your eyes on what you are doing! This charge is important because you always dream for more, but there will always be something vying for your attention, something to get your eyes off your field and focused on someone else s field, as Joseph was tested. Read Genesis Here in this statement, Joeseph does not waver in with his expanded field. As flattered and as tempted as he might be by this woman's wicked persistence, Joseph knows the limits of his own field. As he says, My master has withheld nothing from me except you. Had Adam and Eve had the same restraint with the apple... Promiscuity and Infidelity are no new problems, they are as real then as they are today. It has always been in someone else's field for thousands of years. It s all about access. Joseph had access to prosperity, ownership in the household, what was one thing more? Today we have just as much access to temptation with our cell phones, tablets, and computers. In the past few months we ve seen many allegations come to light of rich and powerful PROSPEROUS people who went beyond their field and found themselves in someones elses. No one caught in the consequences of promiscuity or infidelity, considered the cost of their actions before they jumped over their property line. When you become prominent in your own eyes, you begin to believe the world sees you the same way. Consequences quickly bring you back them into sober judgment. Consequences are not motivators for Joseph to do right however- his Lord is his motivator. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? He keeps his eyes on what he is doing! Here is the truth: You are no more weaker or stronger than the men and women who have walked or are currently walking the consequences of broken trust, broken hearts, broken families and broken marriages. No one, no matter how spiritually strong, emotionally intact, or happily married is exempt from sexual temptation. Thank goodness temptation isn t a sin, but rather it's a stop light that says: Danger- Don t go any further! What is a sure sign you may be going in that direction? When your own field begins to look neglected. Your own home, your own kids, your own spouse, your own job, your own gutters or your own lawn. Now don t look across the street at your neighbors growing yard and automatically assume he must be having an affair. Here is the point: You can t serve two fields and 1) Have the Lord With you 2) Be Prosperous and 3) live in a happy home. Or as scripture says, you can t serve two masters 4

5 Charge: Keep your eyes on what YOU are doing! Tend to your own responsibilities, not someone else's. 5 Unfortunately for Joseph, in keeping his field so well intact landed him in the misfortune of injustice once again. This wicked women was going to have him and grabbed his cloak. Joseph left his cloak in her arms and ran away out of the house. Paul must have reflected on this story as he wrote: Flee from sexual immorality. Having his cloak, she formulated a story to explain the incident and throwing Joseph under the bus. Read Genesis I don t think Joseph s dream in life ever included being falsely accused and landing in prison. But remember, when Joseph is given a task, he doesn t say, I don t deserve this! I m better than this! This isn t fair! Do you know who I am? Those entitled words can t be found in the mouth of a man who when given a task only says, Very Well. Let this be a lesson before we move forward: The injustices you face this very day--they can serve to make you the instrument of Justice Tomorrow. Read Genesis The Warden paid no attention to anything under his care, why? The Lord was with him and gave him success in whatever he did. Joseph s field just changed and the Warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison. Joseph found a new field to own and maintain. Some today might say, Life hasn t exactly worked out for me the way I ve hoped. I had a set-back in my life that took all my dreams away. Maybe a medical condition, perhaps you were fired from a job, maybe you lost your place in your family or your self-respect. Perhaps you ve fallen to substance abuse. Maybe you're stuck in depression, or are still grieving the loss of a loved one. Perhaps you are gripped by debt or bankruptcy. Maybe one of these great injustices has stolen your dreams and laid waste your expectations of life. Let me encourage you with Joseph-- what is your field right now? Joseph never dreamed his own brothers would sell him into slavery, but he tended what he had anyway. He kept his eyes on what he was doing and he prospered because the Lord was with him and became incharge of his master s household. Joseph never dreamed he d not only be fired from his job but sent to prison because he was a handsome strapping young man. One false accusation doomed him. Yet he found a new field in his own dyer circumstances. But the Lord was with him, and he prospered and was entrusted with more. Jesus gave us this principle in Luke 16.10: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will be dishonest with much. Are you trustworthy? As you continue to read the story in Genesis you ll discover how God can take someone who has been faithful with little and will be given more. Joseph foresaw seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt followed by seven years of famine by interpreting Pharaoh's dream. Joseph s dreams were coming true. Read Genesis 41.41, 46 He was qualified because he says, very well when given a task. He was qualified because doesn t fall victim to injustices of his past. He s managed an Offiacls house, and an entire prison.

6 Charge: He was qualified because he kept his eyes on what he was doing. 6 CONCLUSION As we read at the beginning of this sermon, Joseph brothers went to Egypt to buy grain from the overseer of the land, who they had no idea was their brother Joseph. Joseph had every right to be biter and this was the moment he had been waiting for over 20 years: the great revealing of his justice. As you read the ending of this story you ll discover how Joseph takes his time revealing who he is now. Bitterness in the heart can rip your dreams out of your hands faster than you realize. Bitterness paralyzes us and keeps us from greater dreams and responsibilities. It immobilizes us and destroys our imagination because the only thing we can entertain in our minds is the replay of injustices that have occured in our lives. Countless times I ve seen bitterness played out in a family member who has to finally deal with it at a funeral. Grieving is already hard enough, yet people make it harder on themselves because of their long lasting grudges. Now it's too late to fix it. Sooner or later, bitterness begins define our identity and forms our motives. When Joseph's ten brothers finally get off their hands and go to Egypt to and buy grain from their brother who they thought was a slave somewhere in the far reaches of Egypt, they bow down before Joseph. His dream came true. The men who caused him some much injustice in his life were face down pleading for his mercy. Talk about coming full circle. Now we know the meaning of his original dream, right? And this is what Joseph says in Genesis 45.5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. Now that s a dream come true of someone who kept his eyes on what he was doing, said Very Well at every given task, and who prospered because the Lord was with him. Thousands died during that great famine, but Joseph, through suggestion of Pharaoh, moved his family to the best land in Egypt to wait out the famine. Let this be a lesson before we move forward: The injustices you face this very day--they can serve to make you the instrument of Justice Tomorrow. GOSPEL RESPONSE: Friends, I believe Joseph story is important for us today because it reflects Jesus Christ before he even came--that Jesus kept his eyes on his field: the cross, his mission to endure the greatest injustices of the world, took them upon his broken body and died for you and me.three days later he rose again, because the injustices he faced that very day--served to make him the instrument of Justice on the throne of justice forevermore. How do we respond to this message today? Three Responses: 1. I want the Lord to be with me 2. I want 2018 to be the year I tend to my field-- keep my eyes on what I am doing.

7 3. I want God to take my setbacks and bitterness and turn them into God sized dreams. 7