10/25/15 Great Peace Text: Genesis 45:1-9 Opening: Read text. Pray. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. Horatio Spaffored penned those words after having been ruined financially in the great Chicago Fire of October, 1871, as well as after the death of his four daughters in a tragic shipping accident on the Atlantic Ocean. What is it that enable an individual to write such words in the face of such tragedy? Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 Quote: Peace is not the absence of storms; it is calm in the midst of those storms. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. (vs. 3) If there was anyone who should have been troubled it should have been Joseph. For the past 20+ years Joseph had endured trials and afflictions that should make anything that we have endured seem like a walk in the park. Yet, in these verses, we see none of the emotions that we would expect to see: anger, frustration, questioning, turmoil, or revenge. Instead, we see joy, elation, relief, and above all peace and contentment. (I debated whether to add the word, contentment, there yet, as I thought about it I realized that you can t have one without the other. You can t be content unless you are also at peace; you can t be at peace unless you are also content.) Allow me to give you five reasons why Joseph was able to be at peace: 1. It wasn t about Joseph; it was about God. a. God did send me (vs. 5) b....god sent me (vs. 7)
c. but God (vs. 8) d. God hath made me (vs. 9) e. None of Joseph s focus was on himself. It was all about God. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified. Psalm 40:16 He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:20-21 Application: Too often, we make peace all about ourselves. It must be all about God! 2. It wasn t about sugar coating the situation; it was about God. I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. (vs. 4) a. Joseph in no way discounted or tried to downplay what his brothers had done. What they had done was terrible. What Joseph went through for 20+ years was not right! You might even say, It was unfair. Quote: Life s not fair. Get over it. b. If you are waiting for life to all of the sudden get fair you re going to be waiting a long time. Life will never be fair because we live in a sin cursed world! c. But Joseph wasn t focused or fixated on their treatment of him or what he had undergone. In fact, he had already let go of that as we saw in how he named his two sons. Application: Acting like it never happened doesn t equate to peace; it must be about God!
3. It wasn t about getting even; it was about God. And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. (vs. 7) a. Do you see anything in that verse that seems like Joseph was trying to get even with his brothers? No! b. In fact, you see the exact opposite. He wanted to take care of them as you see in this verse and in the remaining verses in chapter 45. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-21 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32 Application: As long as you are seeking to get even you ll never be at peace. It must be all about God! 4. It wasn t about getting out; it was about God. "... God did send me before you to preserve life. (vs. 5) a. Do you know what I find interesting? It is the fact that Joseph never again went home. b. Do you realize that, during the previous 20+ years, that, had Joseph been able to get out and go back home that he would have never
experienced God s plan for his life? He would have never been blessed and he never would have been a blessing to others. c. Some Christians want to get out of their present situation falsely thinking that they can find peace elsewhere. Unfortunately, if you can t find peace where you re at, you never will. Application: Peace isn t in a location; peace it s a person. It has to be all about God! 5. It wasn t about finding answers; it was about God. a. I m not going to give a verse to go along with this point because there isn t one. You find this point in the absence of something. b. In these verses and in the rest of the story you never find Joseph asking the question, Why? He didn t ask his brothers and he didn t ask God. He never asked, Why did you do this? or Why did you allow this to happen? c. Some of you are probably thinking, Joseph didn t need to ask. He already knew the answer. They hated him. Still, the question could have been asked, Why did you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you? d. Why? that is always the first question that comes into our minds. In fact, there are individuals in this auditorium this morning that have asked and are asking that very same question Why? and they have yet to get an answer. e. Can I be brutally honest with you? You ll probably never have that question answered. Even if someone could answer the question for you, you d probably not like the answer! f. The thing I love the most about the story of Job is the fact that the one question the only question - he had was the one that was never answered, Why. Job came to the point where he didn t need that question answered: I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Job 42:5 Application: Peace has nothing to do with knowing all the answers. It s all about God!
Closing: Christian author and counsellor, Dr. Jim Berg, wrote and asked the question, Are you trying to get peace the same way the world tries to get it? The world tries to get peace by filling life with distractions, possessions, adventures, and people. They try all sorts of things as anesthesia to dull the pain of their emptiness. But the master says, Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. All this self-imposed agitation all this noise is a sign of spiritual dysfunction and sinful responses. God-centered souls are not noisy. God-centered souls are at rest. They are at peace! Peace It s not about ourselves. It s not about sugar coating the situation. It s not about getting even. It s not about getting out. It s not about finding answers. It s all about God!