Family Matters - Titles

Family Matters

In this latest series we have been talking about family. We have been discussing some common issues that we face within the family. We kicked off this series by talking about the one thing every family needs, God. God is the creator of family and He cares about family. Your family is important to Him and He wants to be important to your family. Every family needs God and needs more and more of Him each day. Successful families start with God.

In part two we looked at the high cost of not caring. When we aren’t focused on growing and strengthening our family we can put ourselves on autopilot. To fight that we need to develop healthy habits. Habits that involve selflessness, encouragement, and respect. Last week we looked at the broken family. The aftermath of a family torn apart by tragedy.

Specifically we looked at Jesus’ family. From their example we see that with God brokenness isn’t the end, but instead it is just the beginning. Even though life was turned upside down for Joseph and Mary, they got to be a part of the most life changing story the world has ever known. In the middle of their brokenness, Joseph made decisions that would shape the future for his family. He was respectful, he had faith in God’s promises, he made sacrifices, and he had patience.

To finish up this series, we are going to look at another family in scripture. If you want to follow along, we will be in the book of Genesis starting in chapter 37. In fact, we won’t be reading the story of this family in it’s entirety, so you may want to bookmark it and read the whole thing in your own time. But first, I want to begin by asking you a question to ponder. Today we will be talking about “titles”, so think about the title you hold in your family…

What is your family title?

If you had to give yourself a title, what would it be? Mom. Dad. Brother. Sister. Grandma. Grandpa.

What does your family call you? Ma. Pa. Papa. Gigi. Memaw. When my cousin, Forest, was little my Grandpa asked him if he was his buddy and Forest replied by saying, “Buddy!” So from that moment on, to all of us grandchildren he was forever “Buddy.”

Maybe your title is something else? Homemaker. Breadwinner. Any Judge Dredd fans here who call yourself “The Law?” “I AM THE LAW!” Maybe you have had some titles that were less flattering? Chapter 37 of Genesis begins the story of Joseph and his family. Joseph was no stranger to titles. In fact, if you turn back a few pages you can see how important titles were to his family. As his parents had children, they named them based on their circumstances.

How would you like to be named after your mother’s misery? Especially if your brother was named after her joy! Joseph’s name comes from his mother’s celebration for God adding to her family. That wasn’t the only title Joseph would have in his life. He is known for being a dreamer and an interpreter of dreams. Something that was very important to people in his time.

He was loved. He was hated. He was a slave. A servant. A prisoner. Then a ruler. Second-in-command. Joseph pretty much experienced it all. At one point he was at rock bottom then at another he ruled all of Egypt. His family life was no exception. At one point he was at rock bottom with his family when they tried to kill him and at another moment he was very close to them.

So what was family life like for Joseph. When he was a teenager he worked for his half brothers tending to his father’s flocks, but he would report to his father when his brother’s did bad things. In other words, like every good brother, Joseph was a tattle tale!

Genesis 37:3–8 NLT

3 Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. 4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him. 5 One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. 6 “Listen to this dream,” he said. 7 “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!” 8 His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.

This passage is riddled with titles for Joseph. Some are given and some are chosen. They are also conflicting. He is both loved and hated. He has the title of employee to his brothers, yet he tells of his vision of being their king. As his story continues things appear to get worse and worse for him. His brothers decide to kill him, but then sell him into slavery. Later he is falsely accused and put into prison. We have no way of knowing exactly how long Joseph spent in prison, but it is possible that he was there for up to 12 years!

This is where Joseph’s story gets very interesting. While he was in prison he interpreted the dreams of a couple of Pharaoh’s servants. In short, one servant would be restored and the other would be brutally punished. To the one who would be restored, Joseph asked for him to remember him and help him get out of prison. This didn’t happen. The guy forgot all about Joseph!

Two years later, the Pharaoh had some freaky dreams and then his servant suddenly remembered Joseph. That would lead to him getting out of prison and becoming the Pharaoh’s second-in-command. My question to you is, which of Joseph’s titles took him from captivity to command? What title lead him from being imprisoned to being a ruler of a large country? Was it Dream Interpreter? Servant? Hard worker? The warden had Joseph in charge of everything that happened in the prison, so maybe he had some sort of title for that position.

This is a trick question because the answer is none of those. This story makes it very clear that nothing Joseph did lead to him getting out of prison. Joseph landed in slavery by serving his father and going out to help his brothers. He landed in jail by being a good, hard working servant for his master. After he interpreted the dreams in prison, the good servant completely forgot about him. Joseph was summoned after God gave the Pharaoh dreams that he didn’t understand.

Whatever titles we may have will never bring us success…

True success can only come from God.

I can try to live up to the title of “world’s best dad” every single day, but if I am not relying on God it will just be a neat coffee mug slogan. Think about how different Joseph’s life would have been if he let his many titles define him. He thought he would rule as his family bowed down to him, but suddenly they are trying to kill him. That can’t be right! At least things started looking up when he dodged murder and became a slave, but he’s still no ruler. Then a prisoner.

If he was comparing his life to the title he should have had, he would have been in a constant state of depression and regret. When we constantly try to live up to a title, we will more often than not feel like we are failing. I’ll never be that “world’s best dad.” I am a horrible husband. I will never (insert title here)!

Our title’s don’t define us, God does. Throughout Josephs low points there is a phrase that is repeated in the story. It simply says, “The LORD was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.” When Joseph was a slave, he didn’t let slavery define him. God defined him, so he worked hard for God. His master noticed and put him in charge of his entire household and property.

When he was in prison, he didn’t let the title of prisoner define him. He was defined by God so he worked hard for God. God brought him more success. The warden noticed and put him in charge of the prison. Why? Because Joseph refused to let anything but God define him and God made him successful. He was still in prison for a long time, but it didn’t define him.

Chapter 31 of Proverbs describes a woman who finds her worth in God. It says, who can find a virtuous wife? She can be trusted, she brings good, she works hard, she is energetic, she is clothed with dignity, her words are wise, and on and on. Then it closes by saying…

Proverbs 31:31 NLT

31 Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

She’s working for God and her deeds show it. Her actions praise God. Guys, before you start elbowing your wives you should pause and think about this for a minute. This scripture is talking about you too. Think about it, Christ’s church is described as being His bride. This scripture is talking about all of us in relation to God. Not our titles, but God’s, right? Who does God say we are? His bride. We are also called His children...

John 1:12–13 NLT

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

Proverbs says that “A wise child brings joy to a father...” (10:1) These are titles that God has given us out of love. He wants us to see Him as our Father. To honor Him as such and bring joy to Him. Also to see ourselves as His bride with our deeds declaring praise to Him.

He loves to be a father to the fatherless. He loves bringing us into His family. He loves setting us free, like He did for Joseph. Looking past the titles we give ourselves to how God sees us makes scripture like Psalm 68:5-6 even more beautiful and encouraging...

Psalm 68:5–6 NIV

5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. 6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

True success only comes from God. He is the true father. He cares the most about family. He wants to set us free with great celebration. This is how Joseph lived. He didn’t let titles define him and it is pretty obvious with the way the people around him treated him with great respect and appreciation. Joseph’s faith in God was so apparent to the Pharaoh that when he gave Joseph an Egyptian name it’s meaning was something like, “God speaks and lives.”

Let that sink in for a second. Joseph’s nickname to a stranger was essentially, “God is alive.” I had silly nicknames growing up. When people looked at me they saw a big guy that couldn’t be moved on the basketball court, so I had nicknames like “Diesel” and “Autobus.” They looked at Joseph and said, “God speaks and lives.”

I want to close early this morning so we can play that last worship song one more time. Before we do I want to read the words together so we can really get an idea of what we are singing because I want to encourage you to sing this from the bottom of your heart. I don’t care if you scream it at the top of your lungs or if you whisper sing it, as long as you see how much God loves you and has brought you into His huge family full of His love.

The song is called, “Who You Say I Am” and these are the words…

Who am I that the highest King would welcome me

I was lost but He brought me in

Oh His love for me, oh His love for me

Who the Son sets free, oh is free indeed

I’m a child of God, Yes I am

Free at last He has ransomed me, His grace runs deep

While I was a slave to sin Jesus died for me, Yes He died for me

Who the Son sets free, Oh is free indeed

I’m a child of God, Yes I am

In my Father’s house, There’s a place for me

I’m a child of God, Yes I am

I am chosen, Not forsaken, I am who You say I am

You are for me, Not against me, I am who You say I am

Let’s sing that song and then we will close in prayer.

** Play Song

** Pray to Close