The Dead Conscience

Tonight I want to look into a story in Bible / life of Joseph / look at Something maybe not often thought about / where we will pick up in the story / Some 21 years have passed since Joseph was sold by his own brothers into slavery / Much happened since that time.

Many valleys and trials / Many mountain tops and victories / Boy has become a man / Slave has become Prime Minister

The passage today / we see many of the events of his life come full circle / Joseph sees his brothers again after 21 years / The last time he saw them / they treated him roughly / cast him into a pit / This time he has the upper hand / They are treated roughly / thrown into prison

When they see him after for first time / they do not recognize him / But Joseph recognizes them / God uses this encounter to work in the lives of these ten brothers of Joseph / God uses these events to resurrect the conscience they silenced many years ago…

but we also see how God works to bring to life what which they longed to kill / Let’s learn a little more about our own conscience as we consider the thoughts in this passage.

Genesis 41:54–42:8 ...and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.”

When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”

Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.

Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked.

“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”

Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.

I. A Seared Conscience

A. What the conscience is

1. What the conscience is… Dictionary = “the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action.” Greek word means “to know together”

a. The conscience is a gift from God to all men, 

i. It gives mankind the power of moral judgment

Proverbs 20:27 The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord that sheds light on one’s inmost being.

2. The conscience acts as a rudder for the soul / An early warning system / tells us that danger is ahead

a. And When we go against the warnings of our conscience / it punishes us with feelings of guilt / shame /regret

b But When we honor the conscience, it rewards us with feelings of peace / happiness / joy

3. Regardless of how it seems at times / every person has a conscience

a. And if that is true / how can some people do the things they do / have no shame guilt or remorse for their actions?

i. For example / how can some religions destroy innocent life in the name of their god? / How can some women abort a baby with no remorse?

ii. The conscience in some ways / only reacts to what it knows / what it has been taught

a. If the conscience is taught that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is the supreme standard for right and wrong, the conscience will react when there is any deviation from the teachings of the Word of God /

b. If the conscience is taught that Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism, etc., is the truth, it will react when those standards are about to be violated

c. If the conscience is taught that cursing, drinking and wicked living are right, the conscience will have no problem with those things….

b. This is why it can be very dangerous to let your conscience to be your guide / Depends on what you have been taught

B. That having been said / conscience is still a great gift from God / People are born with some sense of what is right and what is wrong / Bible says God has written His Law into the heart of man, 

Romans 2:15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)

i. That is how you can fill a room with non-believers / even inside a jail / amongst criminals / most of them would agree that murder, stealing, are wrong / Things that violate even their conscience

1. Remember back to Gen 37

a. His brothers sold him as a slave / killed an animal / faked his death / lied to their father

1. Father went into mourning 20 years!

2. As he was being led off into slavery / it had to have pulled at their hearts

b. As they lied to father / saw his grief / it had to touch them at some level

1. But something happened / As time passed / feelings of remorse / guilt / were silenced / Probably thought of it less / less

i. Maybe even began to believe their own lies

2. These brothers seared their consciences!

a. Came to a place / heart stopped speaking to them about their guilt / it’s possible!

There could be things in your life / in the past / you’ve not dealt with / time has passed / pretend it’s all okay / dangerous

1 Timothy 4:2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

1. Then maybe / You’ve silenced the warning system so long / it can’t be heard

In 1984 an Avianca Airlines jet / flying over Spain / crashed into a mountain / Everyone on board the jet died instantly. When investigators found the “black box” they were amazed as they listened to the cockpit recording in the minutes just prior to the crash / The plane’s collision avoidance system began to speak to the pilot / warning him of an object that was in the flight path of the plane / A computerized voice of a female speaking English was heard to say, “Pull up. Pull up. Pull up” / over and over again / After a few moments of this / the pilot was heard to say, “Shut up Gringo!” / With that / the pilot turned off the system / He ignored the warning / flipped the switch / moments later, everyone was dead

3. When we ignore the conscience / we start doing what we know is wrong

a. Conscience screaming Pull Up! Pull Up! / If we listen all is well…. / make corrections / save our life

i. If we don’t listen / we being process of searing our conscience

ii. Danger is / next time / voice of conscience will not be as loud or as clear / until we can’t hear it at all

C. Every time we ignore the voice of the conscience / we are retraining the conscience

1. Teaching it / that things it once believed were harmful / are okay now! / Spells disaster!

a. Very dangerous / as this is something that creeps in / so minor at times / we don’t notice it happening

i. Could be things you wouldn’t one time watch / things at one time you wouldn’t do / but over time….

a. Our culture says to silence the voice of guilt / Everything is relative

Story of a family who had an old dog / They kept it in their yard / they used one of those invisible fences to keep the dog in / (work by inflicting an electrical shock through a collar when he gets too close to the fence) Before the dog gets a shock, however, he gets a series of beeps / These beeps are a warning sign that the dog needs to turn around or he is going to get into trouble / Well, this old dog knew what that fence could do / but if he saw something outside that yard that he wanted / he would still go get it / The dog would back up as far away from the fence as he could get / He would bare his teeth / start to run toward the fence / Before he got to it, he would start to howl and he would run right through the pain / He learned that if he ran far enough / he would get beyond the range of the fence. The pain would stop and he could go where he wanted / He ignored the warning signals to escape the fences in his life.

2. We can do the same thing / Dangerous game to play!

D. Conscience must be trained Correctly

1. Some raised in atmosphere of legalism / may believe some things are wrong / even if they are not

a. Which is why we need it to be trained by the Word of God

2. Others raised in grace only / or Calvinism / live recklessly

a. Be Careful / because you can sear your conscience

1. Sear = cauterize = heat is used to seal off blood vessels to stop bleeding

II. Stirring the Conscience

A. God Can Use Problems/Events to stir them

1. God used a worldwide famine / otherwise / they had no reason to go to Egypt / Actually probably tried to avoid it

Know how when you have a beef with someone / you try to avoid the places they “Might” go

a. 42:1When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”

1. They knew that’s where Joseph might be! / Famine began to awaken feelings buried long ago

B. God Can Use People to Stir the Conscience

1. They head to Egypt / without Benjamin / vs 4 shows their father might have had some doubts

a. 4 Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”

1. Maybe their story didn’t make sense to the old man

2. When they arrived / they did not recognize their brother / He used this to tighten the screws on these men

i. 7  …he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. (vs9 Accused of being spies)

C. God Can Use Pain to Stir the Conscience

1. Initially they defend themselves

a. 10 And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men; your servants are not spies.”

i. Joseph makes up a plan to make them sweat / demands them to go / get Benjamin

2. They protest / get thrown in prison 3 days / then all leave except one to get Benjamin / no choice!

D. I went through all that to say this / God will do what it takes to awaken your conscience / when it’s become seared

(Not always pleasant / but it’s God grace at work / whether we like it or not)

1. These men would not have ever thought about Joseph / had it not been for famine / TWO DECADES!

a. God used some harsh measures to get their attention / He has them on the road to repentance and renewal

2. If you are saved / allow your conscience to be hardened /know this / you are going to wander / drift into sin

a. Your conscience scream at first / but ignored too long / it will cease to warn you of evil

1. God will do what it takes to try and awaken you from your deadness / maybe doing that right now

a. Maybe using a situation in your life / But He will try!

3. For David / God used a man willing to confront the king / …. You are the man!

a. Samson – God used a Philistine prison / loss of his eyes / loss of strength / before he came to his senses

1. Who knows what He will have to use in our lives / He will use whatever it takes to get our attention (HIS GRACE)

III. Saving Your Conscience

A. The place where the conscience comes back to life / The brothers conclude their troubles stem back to treatment of Joseph

1. 21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”

a. They confess their sins / not knowing Joseph could understand them

1. 22 Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.” 23 They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.

2. They think God is out to get them / hell bent on their destruction / Really His intent is to bring them back to Self

a. Best part / our conscience can be cleansed / if it’s dirty / damaged / can be restored

B. How to Restore your Conscience

1. Confess all known sin – Consider your life in the Light of the Word of God

a. Not based on what you feel about an issue / but based on how God feels about an issue

Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

Psalm 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

2. Seek Forgiveness / Reconciliation with those we wronged

a. Before we can be completely right with God / we must be right by our fellow man

Matthew 5:23–24 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

3. Make Restitution (if possible) – OT commanded this / NT reaffirmed it

Luke 19:8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

4. Don’t Wait – Deal with this immediately

a. If you allow guilt to remain / it will fester / your spiritual life will deteriorate / depression/ emotional problems

5. Educate / Teach / Your Conscience – Train it in the things of the Lord / Feed it on the pure WOG / more than just a suggestion / live by it

a. Not based on what parents / teachers / or family / friends say / unless it’s based on the WOG

Conclusion – people may try to silence our conscience in this life / but one day it will speak up loud and clear

1. When you stand before God / your conscience will agree with every judgment handed down by God

a. Every person here / needs to look within / examine condition of your conscience

1. Is it pure? Is it helping you live for God? Does it sound alarms like it used to? Is it yelling Pull Up?

2. Maybe it hasn’t spoken to you in a long time / Today is a great day to start the purification process again

a. End of the story of Jospeh is so wonderful / brothers / dad / all reunited / healing / restoration / is what is at the end of the journey of getting things right in our lives

God has my conscince been Seared?

Do you hear from God? Or has it been a while? maybe you’ve been ignoring him / repent /

Ask God to give you sensitivity / keep on the right path

if n