Sunday, March 15 2020

Good morning in there. I go now you can hear me.

We're starting a new series today in the series is entitled as you can see behind me on ordinary. I know that's not good grammar. I don't care. We're not supposed to be ordinary are we God did not create you to be ordinary. He created you to be extraordinary. But how do we live in a world where ordinary is often? The wrong thing ordinary is a bad attitude ordinary is immoral ordinary is basically all the things Jesus told us not to be in this seldom the things he told us to be going to look at the life of Joseph. Great character in the in the Old Testament Joseph was the youngest brother most of his life of his father. He went through a lot of ordeals good times bad times all different kinds of time. But one thing you'll see with Joseph by the time we get to hit the end of his life. He definitely lived an ordinary life. In fact, he living in extraordinary life for God to the Book of Genesis and are reading this morning is going to be from Genesis chapter 37 And we're going to read the first four verses. And get my balls on here. Genesis 37 verses 1 to 4 Jacob lived in the land. Where is fatherhood State? The land of Canaan? This is the account of Jacob's family line Joseph a young man of 17 was tending the flocks with his brothers to send the bill on the sons of zuffa his father's wives and he brought it and he brought their father a bad report about them that Israel Love Joseph more than any of his other son because he been born to him in his old age and he made an ornate robe for him. And when his brother saw that their father loved him more than any of them they hated him and could not speak a kind word about him. One thing I love about scripture. It is it's honest. How many of y'all don't raise your hands? This is an internal question be a little embarrassing if you raised your hand how many of y'all think your family is a little messed up.

Yeah, they're big Billy's going to confess.

We all do Ryan family can be hard sometimes all of her family's are a little messed up and you're probably sitting there thinking. Yeah. Well mine's messed up more than most. Well actually so was the person sitting next to you. We all think that families are one. Awesome thing about the Bible is it never shows us a perfect family then you may be saying Kenneth. Why in the world is that off? Because it helps us out and helped us realize God does not expect perfect families. He knows were messed up. He knows they're difficult yet. He gives us examples of how our families can improve take Joseph as an example you hate you start with Abraham and in this part of Genesis God makes promises to Abraham says from your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed with Abraham's an old man doesn't have any kids yet in his old age. He has Isaac and Isaac has basically one child Jacob way as twins actually Jacob and Esau and they hate each other that here's a great one when it comes to josef's Father just as father was raised in a household where mama likes one son daddy like the other imagine how dysfunctional that was. So dysfunctional that eventually Joseph's father long before Joseph is born has to run away because his brother is literally going to kill him not figuratively. I know Brothers use that term a lot. This was literally he's going to kill his brother because his brother stole his inheritance. Well now you get to Jacob going to eventually be known as Israel. He makes the same mistakes his parents made. He has two different wives hold of the story will talk about that some other time. He got one bag student. That's one of the weirdest stories in the Bible. But then his favorite wife only had one son Joseph. So guess who he like the most? His youngest son and in the passage, we just read that cause problems when Joseph was probably at this point in his life to be fair a spoiled brat. How many of y'all have to say blank is a spoiled brat. I want to see a show of hands.

both my boys raised their hands that means

This isn't that passes that his father gave him a coat of many colors is actually what it looks like. We don't know what we do know is this was a very honorific gift. It was to elevate the status of Joseph above all others. It was to declare not just within the family but to the whole world the youngest son was the favorite sign in an ancient Middle Eastern culture. That was not the way it was supposed to work. In fact the oldest son, which I'm one of these I'm a little partial to this the oldest son got two-thirds of The Inheritance everybody else with the last third. Anger sibling. You probably wouldn't like that much. But in Joseph Case, his father was playing favorites. So what happened? Dysfunction a lot of dysfunction. We'll see next week. Just how far that's going to go what I want to do for a minute this week. Talk about the fact parents aren't perfect. How many parents want to say? Amen to that? I got to say Amen to that. I'm not perfect not by a long stretch, but we try I'm not talking to you as a parent this morning, even if your apparent that this is not the conversation. We're having I'm talking to you as a child. When you think about your parents, it's probably very easy for you to think about your parents as they were my parents weren't perfect know. Neither were anybody else's parents? God did not intend to give you perfect parents and I want you to stop and think about that for a second. God chose not to give you perfect parents. Why?

If Perfection was what God wanted, I guess he could have figured it out one way or the other but in the entire history of the world, nobody has been given a perfect parents all parents mess up at sometime. Even Jesus God handpicked who Jesus is pants would be you didn't get to pick your parents. Right Jesus. Did he is the one person who got to say I choose them Joseph and Mary it was a little awkward. They weren't actually married yet. They were engaged. Mary was a virgin and wasn't supposed to be able to have kids and yet boom all the sudden. She's pregnant and it's not supposed to work this way. And Joseph is going to put her away privately. He's a good guy. He didn't want to embarrass her and got his soon-to-be. Mrs. Note. This is me. Y'all figure this out. All right, the one that's coming is my son. Y'all be his parents know what happens to Joseph. We don't know what we do know is by the time Jesus is an adult. Joseph is gone probably dead. Actually. I'm he's probably quite a bit older than Mary to begin with. So Jesus grew up in a house is the oldest sibling. We're one of his parents had passed away. Is that an optimal situation? No, the even God when he came to Earth didn't give himself a perfect family and it actually gets worse. Jesus start his ministry. He's out teaching and healing and Performing Miracles and you get out early on in his ministry and Mark. 33304 fredonair read your Bible you'll find it. We find Jesus's mother and brothers and sisters come down to capernium where Jesus is at and they come to collect him. And how many have you ever had your parents? Come collect you? This isn't pick you up and give you a ride cuz you need it is because you misbehave and they are collecting you and taking you home and locking you up because you deserve it. But Mary was doing intending to do to Jesus and in the crowd says Hey, Jesus your mother and brother and sisters right side in Jesus says who are my mother and brother and sister is the one who does the will of God. They are my mother and brothers and sisters and it sounds like Jesus was not nice to his mama right there. No, Jesus was showing that there's some relationships that come even before parents and that's the relationship of God. Even Mary the lady who gave birth as a virgin. Read an angel visit her and explain to her what was going to happen the lady who would seem Jesus and knew his story better than anybody else his own mom reaches a point. She's not very supportive. And she's embarrassed by him. Even God had messed up parents. When he came to work, so what's the point of this? The point is you have to understand. It's a matter of perspective parents do the best they can do. I've never known a parent and I know some bad ones in my counseling. I'm not going to lie. But I've never known a parent who purposely did the worse, but often times.

It's a matter of perspective. We all feel like people feel like I struggle more than my friend struggled this because you know your story you don't know there's All right, if your perspective Changes Everything Changes also. It's a matter of introspection. too often It's easy for us to blame our family maybe not parents. Maybe it's a sibling an aunt and uncle or grandparent. I don't know who to blame our family for our own shortcomings while I was I was raised this way.

Show me back up a little bit. But let's take Jacob Joseph's father. He had one brother Esau.

Both of them raised in the same family. But they came out two very different kids didn't they? Esau if you don't know who you saw was Esau was a man so hairy that his brother glued sheepskin to his arm to fool his blind father making his father's day gift was Esau. I mean, I thought I had ample arm hair, but nobody's going to mistake me for a sheet. Esau was a rugged Man of the woods hunt fish stay out camp whatever. He was a warrior. In fact, Jacob is described as a smooth man of the tents. He was a homeboy. He was a well in Texas weiner called him a girly man. When he was younger. Both have the same parents.

Both turned out completely different why?

Because it's a matter of perspective and a matter of introspection both reacted to their parents differently. Anybody who has a sibling or any parent who has two kids no still live in the same house. They experienced the same thing, but do they ever turn out the same? No, because they choose to react to different things differently. And here's what all this is bullying down to in our life growing up. We get to choose how we react to our parents who are siblings to our spouses or children. And it's in those choices that we either grow. or we don't so what's the point of this sermon today? What do you need to know what it's it's not dad's fault.

Give me one argue with me. Later. your life and listen to me carefully. Your life if you are an adult today your life whatever it is so influenced by your parents by your siblings by your grandparents by your family by everybody else. The only person you have to blame for your life. issue because God created you. to make your own choices He created you to make your own choices. He has walked with you through your life whether you acknowledge that fact or not.

There's the passage in Proverbs actually shows up a couple of times raise up a child in the way. They should go and when they are old, they will not depart from it. So you may want to see Mom and Dad all my problems. That was you. guess where I ended up with where you put me. No, it's not. In fact, Dave Hurst tells a lot about parenting. It's actually a archery term the archery. I mean bows and arrows if you were to go back into ancient days or find somebody who's really into it today, it still exists and it makes self bows that most of us with a bow and arrow today. We think of this big fiberglass sink compound Wheels, you know you almost with some of you have triggers on them. Very complicated very precise machine ancient days stick string. How many yards kids played Cowboys and Indians stick in the Stream and then shot your brother and got in trouble? Or was that just me? Sorry. Those are called celphos know the real ones like the Indians used. You would take the piece of wood. You would Osage wood. Whatever kind of would you were going to use a new head to carvette Bow Down based on the shape of the wood? Where the know? How does the grain run? How do I straighten it out? How how do I strengthen the weak points and still get the right curvature get the right draw way to text you in our form. Raising a child works the same way when you are teaching a child to become what they are supposed to become. You teach them in their own way. Each child has to have their own approach every child is different. As parents we have to acknowledge that but his children each of us have to acknowledge that there is no rule book for parents. So wait, there's the Bible. Yeah, good luck with that one. We found principles not rules. God never says if your kids 6 a fork in a light socket respond this way.

Does he? No, he says raise up a child in their own way. And if you do it right when they're old, they will stay true to themselves. Even when we fail though. Our parents aren't our only

aren't our only influence. Are they? We also have God walking beside. Parenting is a two-way street parents have their responsibilities kids have theirs. You want to blame somebody for where you are today? The first person you have to talk to is the one in the mirror cuz he's the one God has made ultimately responsible. And like I said already parents often make it up as they go. I hope for the best.

But don't lose heart when it's at its worst.

I'm going to jump ahead a little bit here. Ahead of myself.

Here's what I want to challenge you with today.

Are you the person God wants you to be? Are you living that unordinary life now?

If not, could you blame?

I Blame You Know We have to blame ourselves. Yes, we have those other influences know everybody doesn't treat us right. Yes, we all have baggage. In the baggage can be difficult to handle it time, but we have a god. Personally created each and every one of us. He knows what we're good for literally and I'd only did he create us but he's the one who fixes us whatever baggage you think you have that keeping you from becoming the person. God wants you to be God can help you overcome that but you have to make the right choices and as we move forward in this series, you're going to see Joseph have to do that. He's going to face a lot of bad times starting because of his parents bad choices. It was his father's fault. His brothers hated him. Cuz in a normal family the baby brother in that day and age was not going to go back to Dad and tattle on the older ones because they would know what was coming if they did but Joseph was so protected so spoiled. He thought he could get away with it. He was The Golden Child the one with the nice coach. Even gets worse if you keep reading that passage. God gives Joseph. Vision of what's to come that one day his brothers and even his father and mother's would bow down before him. And he's so sure of himself. He goes and tells his family that story that dream. Now we're going to see that in the course of this story that will be fulfilled. It would not be the way Joseph was expecting. It's going to take a lot of years in a lot of pain and then when they come to bow down before him it's not because he's greater than them is because according to Justice on Words. God sent me here so I could take care of you. Cuz he knew what was coming.

the first step in living an ordinary life is to embrace the idea that God created you to do it and that nothing in your life. Can hold you back? Not your parents, not your siblings. Not your boss. Not your circumstances. Not your bank account. nothing If you will walk with God through whatever is coming in your life. He will bring you out the other side extraordinary. Cuz if nothing else to bring out the other side with him. And trust me, that is extraordinary.

Whatever you're struggling with this morning. Got there for you and more than that. We're there for you as well because he wants us to be one reason you're with all this. Coronavirus Cove in 19 whatever you want to call the stuff one reason. We will not cancel. Our worship Services is we have a function to perform not just to sing in to pray in to do all that God enjoys that yes, but how do we love God?

I presume that's enough. Y'all should know. By loving each other and that's what we want to do this morning. If you're struggling with something in your life that you think is holding you back from being the person God wants you to be then let us pray for you. Let us hurry. Is there a way we can help we're not perfect either and we're not going to always do it, right either. We are going to try and God works to his church. He works to his people he works through his servant to lift everybody up. But for most of us the reason we don't live that life is we choose to sit down and not try because we've come up with Satan has given us excuses. There's a old acapella song. I'm not going to sing it calm down. Got one name in there we go. Dole acapella song you had to sound like a Jamaican to sing it. Everybody said that somebody should do all the important things. Everybody could do. Everybody said that somebody should do all the good things that Nobody did it. Why did nobody do them? Because if that was somebody else to do it, somebody else's job know your life is your job. That's what guys giving you this morning if you're in this morning and your last going good. In your ear becoming the person God told you to be through his grace and his Mercy awesome Rejoice praise God in that and then turn to the person next to you and help them as well. Cuz he doesn't want us to do it alone. He wants us to do it together. If you have any need this morning if we can serve you in any way, they'll be some shepherds in the back to pray with you or if you need to come forward publicly. I'll be here at the front. Let's say anything together.