Becoming People God Can Trust
The Story of the Old Testament: Genesis • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
Prayer
What Kind of People?
Part of my experience at West Coast Presbyterians Pastor Conference was being a part of a small group where we shared some of where we are in life, what God is doing in us, our struggles.
One of pastors there expressed his desire to grow in his spiritual life. He was trying to find the words for it, so he talked about it in terms of gears - feels like he’s been stuck in a low gear for a long time, first or second gear. He was wondering what it would be like to hit a higher gear, get to third or fourth gear.
He was articulating a desire to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit, the presence and power of God in his life. God’s timing was good (as usual), as he was able to speak with one of the speakers there described herself as a Presbycostal - she’s a Presbyterian who has nurtured an openness to the leading of the Holy Spirit, what we typically see more in the Pentecostal tradition.
To give you an example, this speaker shared a story about speaking at a conference for the Vineyard church movement, after one of her presentations she was speaking with one of the women there, the wife of a pastor.
She experienced the Spirit nudging her to speak a word to this woman - and she immediately resisted, because the word from the Spirit was to confront this woman about a relationship she had with her tennis instructor that was moving in an inappropriate direction - you are in danger of having an affair.
In spite of her hesitation, she obeyed, shared the word with the woman - who responded defensively, but also with a healthy dose of conviction.
Listen, this may not even be on our radar, as far as our own spiritual life, we may think it’d beyond the pale to experience such a Spirit-filled life - that third or fourth gear, that it’s not for us, or it’s simply not possible.
But if we take Scripture seriously - as we should, this is exactly what is promised - God’s presence and power through the Holy Spirit in us. One thing that’s helpful here is to have a right view of Jesus, a conviction of his full humanity. Why do I say that? Because we often assume that Jesus acted out of his divine power when he performed miracles, the God-side of who he is.
But that’s not what the Bible teaches us. Jesus was absolutely and fully human, with all the limitations and needs and weaknesses we have. Jesus had to grow, learn - he experienced pain, being tired, hungry.
As Paul writes in Philippians, Jesus emptied himself of his divine glory and power (though he retained his Godly nature, he never ceased to be fully God). In Philippians 2:7, we read - rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
In his life Jesus acted out of the fullness of the Holy Spirit - he was filled with the Holy Spirit (at his baptism), and led by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit led him into the wilderness to be tempted. Whenever he performed healings or exorcised demons, he was acting out of the power of the Holy Spirit in him.
And Jesus promised - numerous times - that his people would be likewise empowered though the Holy Spirit (John 14-16 is the prime example). All his disciples receiving the gift of the Spirit is what we celebrate on Pentecost Sunday (May 28).
And this is what this pastor was seeking to discover - how do I become a person who can experience more of the fullness of the Holy Spirit? Dallas Willard expresses it this way - How do we become the type of people whom God is willing to entrust with his power?
Because power is wrought with risk, it can be used for good or for evil. Alfred Nobel learned this the hard way. Nobel is the inventor of dynamite - very useful for mining, blasting through solid rock…but unfortunately was quickly used in warfare - to destroy lives. It bothered him so much that his invention was used to take lives that he used fortune he made to found the Nobel peace prize.
As far as becoming the type of person whom God is willing to entrust with the fullness of the presence and power of God in our lives, we can learn a lot from Joseph.
Joseph’s Story Continued - Growth through Suffering
As usual, we want to take a few minutes to recap the overall story as we make our way through the Old Testament, in particular the book of Genesis - which we’ll be wrapping up over the next two weeks, moving to the book of Exodus.
So, Abraham to Isaac to Jacob / Israel to Joseph. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers - they were deeply jealous of their father’s favoritism towards Joseph and grew to hate him.
Last week we saw Joseph’s experience as a slave in the household of Potiphar, the Egyptian royal official, and Potiphar’s wife trying to seduce Joseph. He resisted the temptation and rejected her, leading her to accuse him of trying to seduce her and because of all that, he was tossed in the royal prison.
Once again, God’s presence was with Joseph and he blessed him so that Joseph is given responsibility and authority in the prison. But, the progression is clear - instead of his situation getting better, it gets worse. As faithful as he’s been been, he’s gone from being the favored son of a wealthy family to being enslaved in a foreign land to then wallowing away in prison. And innocent through it all.
So, why is God allowing all these things to happen to Joseph? This is a key question. I believe it is, in large part, to form his character. To shape who Joseph is - so that he might become more of the type of person whom God can entrust with power.
Take you through story to see how this plays out - we’re covering two chapters this morning, so again, I’ll be summarizing it.
It begins with two of Pharaoh’s royal officials, his cupbearer and baker, angering Pharaoh and being imprisoned in the royal prison, placed under Joseph’s care.
One day Joseph finds them both dejected - they had dreams that clearly meant something but they can’t find anyone to interpret the dreams.
Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.” You have to appreciate Joseph’s faith here in this moment. He himself has had some God-given dreams, the meaning of which were pretty obvious. But as of yet, they have not come true. No one has been bowing down to him, he’s stuck in prison while his brothers are miles away, free to live their lives.
But still, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” Joseph holds to his confidence, he trusts the sovereignty of the Lord, that everything - dreams…his life…what the future holds - they all belong to God.
You can see this foundation that undergirds Joseph’s life: It all belongs to you, Lord. I belong to you. I am in your hands. Whatever you bring into my life - or whatever you allow into my life, I humbly surrender, even if that’s enslavement. Imprisonment. This is not to say these aren’t terribly wrong and unjust - they are. But God is greater. He is the light that they darkness cannot overcome. That’s Joseph’s conviction.
So, Joseph interprets their dreams - it’s good news for the cupbearer, his strange dream of a vine with three branches that bud and blossom and ripen into grapes - which cupbearer takes and squeezes into Pharaoh’s cup and then puts the cup into Pharaoh’s hands means that he will be restored to his royal position as the Pharaoh’s cupbearer in three days.
But it’s not good news for the baker. His dream of three baskets sitting on top of his head, filled with baked goods meant for Pharaoh but being eaten by birds means that in three days he will not be restored, but killed - put to death by Pharaoh by impalement.
And everything happens just as Joseph interpreted (those three days must have been awfully awkward). Now Joseph had asked the cupbearer to remember him when he is released and imprisoned. Vs. 14-15...But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in in a dungeon.
Sadly, Genesis 40 ends on this sad note…The chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.
So Joseph languishes in prison for two more years. Now, we don’t know the breakdown of how long he was in Potiphar’s house and how long he was in prison, but we do know that it was a total of thirteen years. From the age of 17 to 30, the prime years of being a young adult, Joseph was a slave and then a prisoner.
But then comes another dream. Two dreams, actually, dreamt in one night by Pharaoh. And he is deeply disturbed by them - and they are indeed disturbing dreams.
The first dream involves cows - seven of them, sleek and fat, grazing among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. Then up out of the Nile comes seven more cows, but these are ugly and gaunt. Those ugly and gaunt cows devour up the seven sleek, fat cows (that’s not an image you want to have in your head).
Second dream is similar - but instead of cows, it’s heads of grain. Again, seven healthy heads of a grain on a single stalk, but then seven thin and scorched ones sprout up and swallow up the healthy, full ones. Pharaoh wakes up to that.
Like his royal officials, he can’t find anyone to interpret the dreams - amongst all of his magicians and wise men, nothing. It’s at that point that the cupbearer finally remembers Joseph and how he interpreted his and the baker’s dreams correctly. So Pharaoh sends for Joseph, they clean up him, give him a shave and bring him before Pharaoh. I’ve heard you can interpret dreams.
Listen to Joseph’s response - “I cannot do it”, Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” It’s not me. It’s God. God can and God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.
God will. God will give. God will be faithful. God will forgive. God will heal. God will answer prayer. God will restore all things. God will be with us. God will. Virtually every time Joseph speaks, you hear his faith professed.
So God will - and God does - Pharaoh tells Joseph his two dreams and Joseph interprets them. The seven sleek and healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain mean the same thing - seven years of great abundance. God will bless the land with abundance for seven years. But the seven gaunt and thin cows and the seven thin and scorched heads of grain mean that after the seven years of abundance will follow seven years of devastating famine.
And the fact that Pharaoh had two dreams means that God is going to do it, and he’s going to do it soon. Joseph shows great boldness in suggesting to Pharaoh what he should do - appoint a wise and discerning man to take charge of all the land in order to store up excess food during the years of abundance so that they will have food when the years of famine hit.
Pharaoh not only likes the suggestion but the one who gave it, so right then and there he orders that Joseph be put in charge of all of Egypt, second only to him. He asks this officials (listen to this), “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” Just like Potiphar recognized the presence and blessing of God on Joseph, so does Pharaoh - he sees God’s spirit, his power and presence in Joseph.
This Hebrew, this foreigner, slave turned prisoner, is now second in command of the entire empire Egypt. Just like that, from the pit to the palace. Joseph receives Pharaoh’s signet ring, sign of authority, Pharaoh dresses him in robes of fine linen (notice how robes keep showing up in this story - ornate one from his father, cloak Joseph left in Potiphar’s wife’s hand, now royal robes!), has him driven around in a chariot with the people shouting, “make way!”.
Pharaoh gives him an Egyptian wife, daughter from an important priest family. She gives birth to two sons. Pay attention to what Joseph names them (these are Hebrew names) - as we’ve seen names have great significance in the Bible:
The first Joseph names Manasseh, which means “forget”, because “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”
The second son Joseph names Ephraim, which means fruitful, “because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
Think about what this reveals about Joseph’s mindset, where his heart is. God has dealt with my pain and has blessed me - filled my life with good things, here in this place I’ve suffered so greatly. God did this. He’s faithful and good. He did not forget me. He never abandoned me.
What might we learn from God working in Joseph’s life and how he worked in him to shape his heart, to grow him into becoming the kind of person he can entrust with power?
Because if you remember, Joseph had a lot of privilege and entitlement at a young age (17) - though he was second youngest, favored by his father. Got the ornate coat. Got to be the one who checked up on the other brothers. Then he has these dreams that they are all going to bow down to him -not just the brothers but his parents as well.
It had to have gone to his head at least a little bit. So what does God do? He humbles him. He gives him positions of leadership and responsibility, but in increasingly lower status. From his brothers to a master’s household to prison. He’s going further and further down the ladder. That kind of experience will knock you down a few pegs. It’s a little harder to pumped up with pride when you’re just another random slave languishing away, forgotten, in a foreign prison.
And this is where what we believe about God makes all the difference. Because it would be so easy to become embittered at God. Rail away at him. Unfair! Why me! Why not my brothers? Potiphar’s wife? I’m innocent. After all, God gave him the dream of his brothers bowing down to him and now God has allowed all this suffering to come into his life. Thirteen years of his life, seemingly wasted.
Except they weren’t wasted. This was fertile preparation time. This was Joseph, experiencing the presence of God when he was all alone. This was Joseph, knowing that even when everything else was falling apart, he could trust God. This was Joseph, suffering, and through that suffering being shaped, having a heart that is soft to God, surrendered to him - Lord, I need YOU. You are the one I can count on. You are my firm foundation, my anchor.
We wrestled with this passage in James 1…Consider it pure joy (pure joy!), my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Consider it pure joy…that’s an amazing command from James - that when we face trials of all kinds, think about them with a rejoicing heart. This is a perspective that only comes from humility. God, I humbly and gratefully receive what you’re allowing into my life, as difficult as it may be, because I know, Lord, that you will use it for my good.
There’s so many ways God can grow us into maturity, completion. We learn to depend on God - on him above everything else. God might want to nurture compassion within us, a softer heart toward others. To purge pride from my life, so we’re more open to him and to others. To learn mercy. A deeper experience of his goodness so we find ourselves more and more willing to follow and obey him.
There’s so many things God can teach us in these times, nurture in us - especially in times of trial. This is fertile ground for shaping us to be people God can trust with his power and presence. People who live in that third, fourth gear. It’s what he did in Joseph’s life - and it’s what he can and will do in ours.
Spiritual Disciplines - Engage in habits on a daily, weekly basis, that will help put Jesus at the center of our lives, put us in a place where we’re open to whatever he wants to do in us.
Pursue humility as a soul training exercise. Lord, make me the type of person you can entrust with your power.
My experience going to UPS facility to pick up a package that was delivered…then picked back up. So, I’m walking in annoyed. Distribution center, walk into this office, a couple other folks waiting while this guy is helping a woman with her package. We are standing there - “some of you need to go wait outside, there’s too many of you in here.”
I was annoyed - it was clear that we were all ok with standing there, plenty of space. So I just decided I wasn’t going to step outside. It’s cold outside. I think he was getting nervous with that many people in the room. Too much going on.
As it got closer to my time, Spirit starts pricking on my conscience…Rob, you were being a jerk. You need to apologize. Ugh! Really?! But they made me travel up here, they screwed up my delivery, they already wasted a bunch of my time…Ok, Lord.
To ask forgiveness is an of humbling yourself before others, one way to pursue humility (and I need the practice). Philippians 2:3-4: In humility, values others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others. Make that a prayer: Lord, I humble myself before you. Lord, I humble myself before this person.
Invite the Holy Spirit into your life, ask God to fill you with his presence and power. As you begin your day. Before you engage in prayer and scripture. As we begin worship. God wants this for us. He wants us in the second, third, fourth gear. He wants to dwell in us, empower us. This is the resurrection life! Let’s invite the Spirit in!