The Joseph Journey (7)

Sean Heuer

The Joseph Journey • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Medaling in God’s Affairs

There are two times we see Joseph falter in his faith. This morning’s scripture is the first time, the second times is when he tried to switch Jacob’s hands during the blessing of the grandchildren in . It hard, through this historical recount, to really see the pain, angst, and anguish Joseph must have been going through. When I read this I read blessings. Yes he is in jail, but it’s far from a dank prison. He is staying at the captain of the guards house. He is put in charge and things seem to flow smoothly from one event to another. We don’t know the years he put in. We don’t know how long Joseph was in jail. We do know that a baker and a cupbearer cross into Joseph’s path. Joseph has been used to interpret his own dreams and now he is interpreting theirs. But he states this:

Gensis 40:14

Genesis 40:14 ESV

Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house.

In other words:

If God isn’t going to get me out of here then I’ll pull strings to get myself released.

Oh how many times I know I have felt this way. Think back and ask yourself:

Have I ever attempted to rush God?

So what happened?

Genesis 40:23 ESV

Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

If it’s one thing I have learned over time is that even my closest of friends have failed me and I have failed even my closest of friends, but I was never and they were never meant to be unfailing in their ways. To think of someone in that light is to give them status of God in your life.

Psalm 146:3 ESV

Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

Psalm

However it states this in Vv 5

Psalm 146:5 ESV

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,

We know Jacob was a schemer. This sin passed down to Joseph where we find him trying to scheme his way out. Using God to catapult himself out of his current situation.

There are so many names of God in the bible, but catapult isn’t one of them. We cannot use God’s power to raise ourselves. If you read Joseph doesn’t mention God in the interpretation of the dreams. Joseph receives the interpretation through God, but ays remember me. This resulted in more jail time, more time in waiting. It isn’t stated buut I wonder:

Did Joseph prolong his stay because he tried to steal God’s glory?

We know that God does things to His glory and purpose.

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Commands us to do all to glorify God. I wonder if God had to put more space in Joseph’s asention as to not allow Joseph the ability to think it was buy his own hand that he was saved.

Because later when interpreting Pharaoh’s dream we see a major change in Joseph’s proclamation. No longer was self promotion a concern because he started out by saying

Genesis 41:16 ESV

Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

Only when we submit to the will of God can God act on our behalf.

So how do we Submit to God?

Learn God’s Truth

Colossians 1:9–10 ESV

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Notice the connection of walking and knowing which then leads to bearing fruit. You simply cannot walk without knowing whom you are following and you can’t bear fruit if you don’t walk out his will. Many Christians have tried and still try to bypass this. You can walk into any library and pick up a book on knowing God’s will, but if you don’t first know God you cannot know His will because they are divinely connected.

This is a key part in salvation. Many Christians stop at asking God to forgive our past sins and believe then we are saved, but if you scower the bible salvtion isn’t a one and done deal it’s a two part process of Justification and Sanctification. Justificaiton covers our past sin Sanctification makes more like God so that we won’t continue in our sin.

Secondly, Obedience in the small things

Luke 16:10 ESV

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

If you cannot be faithful in the little things of life there is no way you will be faithful in bigger aspects of life. Some of us wonder why we aren’t promoted or why we aren’t given higher position of authority in God’s kingdom and for the most part it boils down to obedience. Jacob was a schemer, but at the end of the day he always submitted to God’s authority. Joseph was the same way. David was a major screwup but was known as a man after God’s own heart.

It doesn’t matter how many times you fail as long as the end result is that you are faithful.

none of us is meant to succeed all the time. If we were we would be Jesus, but two things need to happen 1) you need to surrender and repent and 2) you need to follow.

Song of Solomon 2:15 ESV

Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.”

:!5

This is an amazing warning of what little things can do. I remember in college we went on a minsitry trip. We spent the night at a friends house and her father prepared for us an amazing bowl of chili. Now I love hot sauce and my kids state I ruin everything by putting hot sauce on just about everything so I found their hot sauce and I put three shakes into it. I didn’t use a large amount by any means

. Just before my first bite her father came out to make a warning about the hot sauce. Apparently this sauce was imported from Mexico and contained Ghost peppers. he stated that if you wanted some just put a tooth pick into the sauce and then swirl it around your bowl. Well I had already dumped much into my bowl and figured I was man enough to handle it. I still to this day remember the pain of that first bite and it stands as a constant reminder that the little things can make a huge impact.

most of my biggest mistakes in life started with a phrase like this:

It’s just a little lie. It’s just one test. It’s just one video. Disobedience all starts with one.

Lastly, It brings us to

Surrender

Joseph learned surrender and I believe it is evident in the way he starts his second interpretation. Right off the bat he gives God the glory. He removes himself before he can get in his own way.

Proverbs 3:5

Proverbs 3:5 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

The word trust here is

Bth

(betuh) Which means to lie helpless, facedown.

It pictures a servant waiting for the master’s command in readiness to obey, or a defeated soldier yielding himself to the conquring general.

We see this in animals. When I yell at our dalmation she will immediately flip over on her backexposing her soft belly. This contrary to nature because it’s a sign of surrender and trust. To expose ones soft parts that are easily damaged.

Have you exposed your soft parts to God? Do you trust that he will care for you?