But God...Meant it for good
Notes
Transcript
Handout
(S1)
SERIES—When God Intervenes—2 words that change everything
— No matter what your going through, how you feel about your self, your life, or your circumstances...There is always a BUT God
Last week—Jacob—BUT GOD has seen my hardship—Undeserving
Today—One who is most deserving...
SHEPHERD: confident, favorite, dreamer—PIT: discarded, forgotten, left for dead—SLAVE: captive, abused, oppressed—CONVICT: isolated, chained, hopeless—RULER: status, power, means...
From green pastures, to the valley of the shadow of death, to a place at the finest table in the land
— Joseph’s story is more than that of a man overcoming a difficult life. It is about God’s redemptive work through him.
— The saving of a family, out of whom would come a great deliverer of all people
(S2)
20 You intended to HARM me, BUT God intended it for GOOD
Joseph's words to his brothers, who out of jealousy only meant harm, were the sum of his life of the goodness of God in it—in the worst and the best of times.
Harm/Good—two words that don’t belong in the same sentence, unless there is BUT God!
“Joseph’s words to his brothers reveal his confidence in God sovereignty. Although unsure of the details, he was aware that God was working in and through him to accomplish a greater purpose.” Throughout the Bible
God’s GOODNESS was always the plan
—Why Josephs story resonates with people more than any other…
Going through a difficult time…? Been wronged by someone else—your story?
— How do we get past our past? How do we, like Joseph, find hope and healing...?
4 ways God’s goodness is revealed—The healing that can happen because of it
Focus on Josephs brothers—how their point of pain becomes a place of healing.
— It did for Joseph, and can be for us as well
PRAY—BIBLES—HANDOUTS
(S3)
Jacob’s family—12 Tribes of Israel—Far from perfect (Jacob)—Like father like sons
—God uses them anyway—One in a big way
In ancient times, family lineage was crucial—As the patriarch, Jacob was the glue....
— When he was alive, Josephs brothers felt safe/protected from the one they had inflicted great harm!
FUNERALS/FAMILIES/GLUE
Their father alive was their safety net—Their atrocities against Joseph were awful and inexcusable
— Joseph—payback would be understandable—They deserved it
Payback was not Josephs chosen way, knowing that God...intended it for Good!
Joseph (Egypt) rise to power as governor in Egypt—Famine in the Land—Jacob sends them to Egypt where they come face to face with the one they had discarded and left for dead.
How our past can have a way of coming back to haunt us
Forrest Gump—To find healing Jenny confronts her past
This is as much the brothers story of redemption as it is Josephs—How God intended it for good
— When the point of PAIN becomes a place of HEALING
(S4)—How Gods goodness is revealed in...
I. JACOBS DEATH
I. JACOBS DEATH
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”
How can there be good in death?”
Their fathers death triggers the brothers deep-seated guilt: pain they had carried for some time
For years they were imprisoned by the pain of their past mistakes.
— Until now, they could avoid any consequences of their actions—Covered it up—Jacob...Joseph dead
They feared their past was as much as their future. Their guilt...fear of facing their brother…
— Misplaced fear — Fear of Joseph—Fear of starvation—instead of fear of God
The FEAR of facing our step-father if we did something wrong
Brothers—(TP)Neighbors
Thankfully he taught us to fear God more than himself…
Josephs redirects their fear away from himself
19 Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
(S5)
Through Jacobs death, their pain becomes a place of healing, freed from GUILT in their fear of God
It can for us as well...
Hebrews 10:22 “ let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
Death can have a away of healing hurts…
Funerals/famlies
God’s GOODNESS brings healing from guilt when we have a healthy fear of God
(S6)—Gods GOOD is revealed in...
II. JOSEPHS FORGIVENESS
II. JOSEPHS FORGIVENESS
16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.”
No record of this conversation—Sincerity of their request—Nevertheless they can’t move on from their guilt without Josephs forgiveness.
Something powerful about saying…please forgive me to someone you love
Psalm 32:1 “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.”
(S7)
Their PAIN becomes a place of HEALING...when they SEEK Josephs forgiveness
"From sin’s pollution—He cleanses you. You're not just patched up. You're clean, whiter than snow...How much? All. Don’t believe the devil when he says 'Yeah, but not yours—yours is a biggie.' This is God's triple detergent. You don't need to carry a load of condemning guilt anymore. You can be whiter than snow." Adrian Rogers
Jesus by his words released the guilt of his accusers…father forgive them—he does the same for you and I!
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
God’s goodness is revealed when we seek forgiveness from God who loves us
(S8)—Gods GOOD is revealed in...
III. JOSEPHS MERCY
III. JOSEPHS MERCY
17 When their message came to him, Joseph wept. 18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.”
Was Joseph tempted to inflict the greatest pain...
His weeping a remnant of the emotion he experienced when he earlier revealed himself to his brothers had already forgiven them
14 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. Genesis 45:14 (NIV)
(S9)
The point of their PAIN becomes a place of HEALING...when they SEE Josephs mercy
Mercy is the action of forgiveness…what does that look like to offer mercy to another?
What would your life look life if you offered mercy instead of harboring resentment against someone who has wronged you?
God’s goodness is revealed in his mercy towards us
Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”
(S10)—Gods GOOD is revealed in...
IV. THE SAVING OF LIVES
IV. THE SAVING OF LIVES
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Joseph reassures them that their families would survive the famine and live!
(S11)
Their PAIN becomes a place of HEALING…in the assurance of SALVATION
Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Sometimes I think that's what wrong with us stuffy Christians —we forgot what it means to be saved or worse yet, we don’t live as if we believe we are!
Joseph overcame much because he knew Gods goodness
41:38 (Pharaoh)“Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”
But his faithfulness to God’s goodness is the greater story. Salvation would come to this family…Egypt…a great deliver and an even greater one who would redeem the world
Joesph’s story and his brothers is many of our stories—Why God sent Jesus...to help us get past our past? The same way Joseph and his brothers did
(S12)
Freed from GUILT…by a healthy fear of God
Eph 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Seeking FORGIVENESS from the one they had meant harm
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Seeing MERCY…in God’s forgiveness
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23
Finding SALVATION in the one who offers it
“24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”” 1 Peter 2
Jesus the great redeemer
Free us from Guilt—offer Forgiveness—show us mercy—heals us permanently through his own death and salvation
Joseph is memorable not because he overcame....got through it all…but because he trusted in God’s greater plan purpose for his life
“Your life will never be greater than the purpose you live for.” Rob Renfroe
God Meant it for Good…Jesus through his life, death and resurrection, shows us that you, me, humanity is His Greater Good!
God Meant it for Good…Jesus through his life, death and resurrection, shows us that you, me, humanity is His Greater Good!
2. Withhold judgment
Genesis 50:19 (NIV)
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
3. Trust in Gods’ greater plan
Genesis 50:20 (NIV)
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
“Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love and the future to God’s providence.”
Augustine
I. HEALING from Intended Harm
I. HEALING from Intended Harm
Forest Gump—Its easy to throw rocks, but there just aren’t enough of them
(ESV) Hate—Afflicted by a deep conscience of guilt—Fear of reprisal
— Jospeh would have been right to cast them out and inflict equal harm on them. He certainly could have at least enslaved them to his power. Then every time he saw them…he could thro another shovel of dirt into the pit
When someone harms us, don’t we first want to get them back and avenge their inflicted wrong? The question we have to ask is, “to what end?” To what benefit would it be to respond in the same kind?
“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” Romans 12:19
Their problem was misplaced Fear— of Jospeh rather than of God
Matthew 5:38–41 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.”
The oppression of evil is not limited to the obvious...
C.S. Lewis wrote, "The greatest evil is not done in those sordid ’dens of crime’ that Dickens loved to paint, it is conceived, moved, seconded, carried, and minuted, in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices." Charles Colson, Against the Night, p. 46.
Evil has may have the day, but it does not seize the day
HOPE in God’s Intended Good
HOPE in God’s Intended Good
Genesis 45:4–7 “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. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.”
Reassurance of God’s Blessing
Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Extra
This world we live in is a mixed bag
Good/bad—Kindness/Evil—Compassion/Hate—Healing/suffering
It’s hardest to see the GOOD in the middle of the PAIN
Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
No excuse for the wrong done to Joseph—payback would be understandable
(Pharoah) “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”” Genesis 41:38
NEIGHBORHOOD BULLY
Ever had someone do something really bad to you and want nothing more than to pay them back?
To be hurt by someone is hard…especially when its intended only for harm...
It can be hard to see GOOD when all we can see is BAD—Healing/Suffering—
— If you have not declared Jesus as Lord in your life then do it! If you have…then live as if you were