Out of Hardship Opportunity

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat Out of Hardship Opportunity Joseph s route: from prison to promotion Genesis 41:14-16 Pastor Brian Messler July 13, 2014 Prayer: God, we thank you for your son, Jesus, who was broken for our sins, whose blood was shed for our sins. We are undeserving of this, yet, we humbly accept this gracious gift of abundant life in you. May our minds be focused now on your word, as read through the scripture. May our hearts and lives reflect your glory. And empower us with your spirit of peace and hope so that we will take advantage of the opportunities presented to us to glorify and honor your name, no matter what our lives may bring. For we ask and pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Sermon: Think of the most difficult thing that you have ever needed to endure in your life. I know it is a painful thing to think about, most items that have rocked our world are. They are the moments that tend to define you throughout life a lost loved one, abuse that has occurred, major health issues, or losing everything. These moments are ones that while in the midst of them, we struggle to see the good, in fact, and we struggle to see God in the midst of them. While at Annual Conference, I had a chance to sit and talk with Rebecca Dali. Rebecca is the wife of the president of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. This woman, strong, peaceful, passionate is in the worst days of her life. Many of you know that there is a crisis in Nigeria. Over 300 girls, almost all of whom belong to the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria have been taken from their families homes and made to be slaves, war wives, and worse. Since 2006 more than 1,500 EYN Church of the Brethren in Nigeria members have been killed including pastors and their family members, more than 100 churches have been burned, five district church councils in the Gwoza area have been closed because of the violence, more than 8,500 homes of church members have been burned, and more than 150,000 people have been displaced. As she and I sat in the room, in between some of the business items the Mission and Ministry Board was working on, I looked at her, tears running down her eyes, weeping for her church s children. During that conversation, imagery of what happened began to be keenly focused in my heart and mind as I am sure it had others throughout the week as she shared about the girls from Chibok. Uncertainty, questions, hopelessness, fear racked my heart as it ravaged hers. I cannot begin to draw parallels to our hurts and pains in life to those of our brothers and sisters in Nigeria; however, I can imagine this is what Jacob, Joseph s father felt like, having had his son taken from him, sold into slavery, without the hope of being able to see his boy again, thinking all along that he were dead. As we continue to dissect the amazing story of Joseph we come to a turning point in the story. It is a point where Joseph, from the depths of despair, from a perspective in life that

seemed bleak and hopeless, because of God, becomes redeemed, renewed. We have a shortened time here today, so I want to get right into a few things for us to consider. We will only honor God when we understand that there is a direction in our lives even when it takes us through difficult circumstances. Yogi Bera, the famous catcher for the New York Yankees once said: If you don t know where you re going, you re likely to end up someplace else. Joseph was a man who knew where he was going. He may not have known how he would get there, but he knew where he was headed. While a teenager, God had given him a vision. A vision, that he would be a man of great importance. And even though he had faced the rage and rejection of his brothers, the insult of slavery and the hardship of imprisonment (for over 13 years) - he kept his eyes on God and never gave up hope in the dream God had placed in his heart. This hope is not a life of everything we want, or think we need. God wants us to have an abundant life why did Jesus come? I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 Abundant living is not living a life with spectacular days all of the time, it is living a life knowing that we are in Christ, and then taking that peace and knowing our future, knowing that whatever we face, God will be with us, Jesus teaching us, and being undergirded by the power and authority of the holy Spirit. In that, we know where we are going we know whose we are, we know that in the end, God has the victory. Joseph knew where he was going and he had no intention of going anyplace else and neither should we. How did Joseph know where he was going? God told him. In the same way, you and I have a destination. You and I have a place to go. Ephesians 2:10 tells us we are God s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Friends, you have a destiny. You have a dream set before you. Like Joseph you may not know exactly what that destiny entails. I mean, Joseph didn t realize he was to become the 2nd in Egypt, but he knew that God had something planned. Likewise, you may not know the details, but you do know there is a destiny laid before you. Joseph attained his destiny because he knew and understood the power of God. Notice the 1st thing he tells the cupbearer and the baker when they mention their dreams: "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams." Gen. 40:8 Later, when he stands before Pharaoh to interpret his dreams, Joseph says: "I cannot do it but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." (Genesis 41:16) Did you catch that? The interpretations belonged to God (they did not Joseph). And when he stands before Pharaoh, Joseph says he can t interpret Pharaoh s dream, but he knew God would give him the answer. Joseph realized that whatever skills he had, whatever potential lay within him his abilities and his skills and his potential were solely reliant upon the power of God. God can make the best use of us and our circumstances when we are willing to get out of the way and let Him work through us. Not only are we to recognize that we have a direction or destiny to honor God in our lives, we also will honor God when we realize that God can and will use us while in the valley. Where is Joseph in this text we re reading this morning? Joseph is in prison. He s there because Potiphar (his master) had a wife that wanted him to go to bed and he wasn t going to do it. So, his master s wife falsely accuses him of raping her, and now he s in the King s jail. And (if Potiphar has anything to do with it) he wasn t ever getting out of there. Joseph is in prison. It s kind of hard to do much of any value while you re sitting in prison. Or at least that is what many people might say.

There was a preacher by the name of Owen Crouch. Like many preachers, he wasn t paid a lot of money, and so when he was in his 60 s he was approached by a group of business men who were starting a company. And they said wanted a man of his integrity to handle the books. He took the job, kept the books, wrote the checks, signed the contracts and when the company was hauled into court for fraud and shut down because of its illegal business practices, this preacher s name was the only one on any of the paper work. He hadn t realized the business was a sham. He hadn t realized the business men he had worked beside were crooks. But - he went to prison all the same. Those business men even got lighter sentences than he did. It wasn t fair. It wasn t right. And he was left holding the bag and sitting in prison. But Owen Crouch was a man who d learned to lean on God. He was a man who realized that wherever he was, God could use him. So he began ministering to the other prisoners, leading them to Christ and discipling them to be strong Christians when they left those prison walls. And when he left prison, he wrote a book about his experiences and ministered to even more people because of his faithfulness. My point is this: God can use you no matter what your circumstances. No matter how unfair life may seem to you, No matter how imprisoned you may feel in the life you lead, No matter how useless you might feel your efforts would be, God can, and God will use you. Finally, not only do we have a destiny to honor God, not only will God use us in the midst of all our circumstances, we will honor God when we actively use the most of every opportunity to serve God and share the gospel of Jesus, standing on God s promises. This is a principle that is repeated throughout the New Testament: Eph. 5:16 says we need to (make) the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Col. 4:5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Galatians 6:10 as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. While Joseph was in prison, he made the most of every opportunity to serve God. Because he was God s man, Joseph always found an opportunity to do good to those around him. For Example: When Joseph was thrown into prison, we re told the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did. (Genesis 39:21-23) In other words, while in prison, Joseph served God by serving the prison Warden. And because he was willing to do this, the Warden entrusted him with everything in the prison. Joseph made the most of that opportunity to serve God by serving the warden. Later, when the King s cupbearer and baker were imprisoned, notice how Joseph dealt with them When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh s officials who were in custody with him in his master s house, Why are your faces so sad today? We both had dreams, they answered, but there is no one to interpret them. Then Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams. (Genesis 40:6-8) Did you notice, Joseph took a sincere interest in these two men. He wanted to know why they were sad. He wanted to listen to their stories. And when they had a need that he could help meet (the interpretation of their dreams) he met it. There was no road sign saying Hey, Joseph these guys are your ticket out of here! No divine voice, No angelic appearance

to tell Joseph these men were important to his future, Joseph had NO IDEA what these men meant to his life. All Joseph knew these were men who had needs, and because Joseph was God s man, he intended to make the most of this opportunity to do good for these men. Remember in the beginning of the message, I spoke to you about Rebecca Dali? She had every right, in the world s eyes, to go against those who would persecute her and her family, her church. She could have turned her back on everyone, but she knew her direction, she knew God would use her, and she knew that here laid an opportunity for God to be glorified. While I talked with her, something amazing happened. She began to speak of God in ways that utterly amazed me for someone who is going through something far worse that I can ever imagine going through. She spoke of how God is being glorified in the midst of this turmoil. She spoke of how dialogue with Muslims have increased a sense a peace, where Muslims have come to the aid of Christians, making circles around camps where Christians live. She has shared stories of how churches, in a desire for peace and unity, have formed tighter bonds with one another. She shared how God has been working in people here in the US, to send support, financial and other resources to help rebuild churches and homes. There were people who stood at conference willing to exchange their lives for the girls lives in Chibok if the church there thought it would help free at least one of the girls. God s people have been given an opportunity to show God s love, and it is happening in the midst of horrible acts, God s people are stepping up, taking this opportunity to reflect God s love with the world. God understands what it is like to go through the valley, to be in situations where all seems hopeless and lost, and so He stresses the importance of loving others, no matter what our circumstances, no matter their circumstances. He stresses the value of feeding the poor, helping the needy, watching out for the widow and the orphan. Because it is this type of person that God can use: the person who makes the most of every opportunity to do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Gal. 6:10) Joseph was able to do this, Rebecca Dali and the Nigerian brothers and sisters are able to do this and so are we, when we learn to stand on God s promises in the midst of everything we go through the bad times and the good times, we have a responsibility to be people of God standing on his promises. Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit s call. Resting in my Savior, as my all in all and standing on the promises of God. Are you standing on the promises of God today in the midst of what you are going through? Is God your all in all, when everything else seems to falter? Are you listening to 2 Peter 1:4, And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world s corruption caused by human desires. Jeremiah 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Matthew 11:28-29, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Isaiah 40:29-31, He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Philippians 4:19, And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:37-39, No, despite all these things, overwhelming

victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow not even the powers of hell can separate us from God s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Proverbs 1:33, But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm. John 14:27, I am leaving you with a gift peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don t be troubled or afraid. Romans 10:9, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. No matter where we are in life we have an opportunity to serve God to glorify Christ to lift up one another. These are the promises of God, while we are in the valley, while we are on the mountaintops, while we are uncertain of what tomorrow will bring, these promises are always true. Brothers and sisters in Christ, Joseph honored God honored God in the midst of his circumstances. He knew God had destined him for something great, he knew that God would use him, no matter where he was, and he realized that he needed to make the most of every opportunity to glorify God, no matter what. Today, we have a destiny that is in Christ. Jesus had a destiny to save the world from its sinful nature, to save us, each of us from being separated from God. In the midst of the darkness, Jesus came. In the midst of our brokenness, Jesus comes, right now, to make all things new. Friends, his shed blood on the cross, his broken body on the cross is what allows us to stand before the throne of God, nothing else. In our weakness, Jesus is strong, in our hopelessness, Jesus brings peace, and in our trials, Jesus brings perseverance. Can you believe that this morning? Can you get to the point of understanding that Jesus, in his worst moments, was being used by God to do something miraculous cleansing us, redeeming us, renewing us so that we too can be lifted from the pit of despair into a life everlasting out of the hardship of life comes the opportunity to honor and praise God. All glory, honor, and praise be given to him to walks with us, Jesus the Christ. Amen.