The Author of My Story

ADD GRAPHIC

October 15th 2023

Series:This is My Story – Missions Month 2023

Sermon Title:The Author of My Story

Key Passages:Genesis 37: 2-28, Genesis 39: 1-12, 20-23, Genesis Chapter 41:4,5,8, 37-40

Sermon Blurb: Missions Month 2023 is all about stories. Each week, we will learn from a bible story, a missionary story, and consider our own unique story. The hope of this series is that people will identify their faith story and share it with others!

Green in sermons means illustration, something we are looking for a response from, or a picture that goes on the screens.

Yellow means what is yellow will be on the screens and in the handout.

Sermon:

Hello Family Church!

Welcome to Week 3 of Missions Month 2023!!!!!!!!!

Family Moment –

Dan / Steve we like to try and start our messages with something personal from our family life recently to help people get to know us.

PAUSE

If you’re new to Family Church, we are glad you are with us!

Here at Family Church, we LOVE missions at Family Church…and we have a LOT going on!

So, every year we spend an entire month celebrating what God has done and looking ahead to what is coming up!

PAUSE

And if you have never been on a mission trip OR it’s been a while since you were on one, you should really pray about joining in one of our upcoming opportunities!

Be sure to grab a brochure that lists all the trips we will be taking in 2024.

You can also get these trip details online at www.familychurch.app/missions

PAUSE

Missions Month is all about STORIES this year!

The stories of our missionaries and ministry partners.

Stories from the Bible.

And our faith stories as well!

And we’ve got a lot of ground to cover today, so let’s jump in…

PAUSE

I want to begin with a question… and you don’t have to answer out loud...

Do you believe in coincidence?

Do you believe in coincidence?

In happenstance?

In luck or fortune?

OR…

Do you believe that everything has a purpose, and God oversees that?

Or what some may call a “Divine Appointment.”

Do you think that nothing is by accident or luck…

That God oversees everything…

AND sometimes God even orchestrates events for a purpose.

PAUSE

I want us to take a journey today… a journey through the story of a fellow named Joseph.

Grab your Bibles and turn with me to Genesis 37…..

Today we will be bouncing around a bit through this man’s story in the Bible….

And let’s begin with the start of his story……

Genesis 37: 2-28 This is the account of Jacob’s family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.

4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

So, let’s pause here.

This is a ‘snapshot’ of Joseph’s family dynamic.

And let’s just call it what it is……..

This family is a HOT MESS!

This is a DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY if ever there has been one!

Maybe that will make you feel better about your family! LOL

PAUSE

I mean look at verse 2….

It tells us Dad has more than one wife, which may have been common back then but is NOT ideal.

It tells us Joseph was a brat; an annoying tattle-tell….we all have one of those kids in the family….and if you think your family doesn’t….it is because that person if probably YOU!!!!

Verse 3 tells us that Dad played favorites…

Which is NOT good if your kids know that….

Verse 4 tells us that all the brothers were hateful.

In four short verses, we meet a family consisting of two-timing, snitching, prejudiced, haters!!!!

Not exactly the type of people we would think God could use… or WOULD want to use.

If I’m being honest… this family looks less like a Biblical-family and more like a family on Dr. Phil or when I was a kid a show called Jerry Springer!!!!!

PAUSE

And the story doesn’t get any brighter in the next few verses…

Look at verse 5,

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.

6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:

7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

Pause here.

The tension was obvious.

TWICE it tells us that the brother’s hatred was intensifying.

It sounds as if the tension was palpable.

Have you ever been in one of these moments… where you feel like you could cut the tension with a butter knife?

A moment when you KNEW things were about to explode!

A moment when you KNEW someone was going to lose control!

A moment when you KNEW things were about to turn for the worse…..

PAUSE

Clearly Joseph was not gifted with discernment….

He could NOT read the emotions in the room!

Young Joseph, lacked wisdom!

He lacked emotional intelligence!

In fact, it tells us that he doubles down… showing us he was not the brightest crayon in the crayon box at this point in his life….

Look at verse 9,

9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”

11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.”

WOW…..this is how we are introduced to Joseph’s story.

This is the setup for everything that is going to happen.

But before we move on, I want you to write this point down,

The start of my story does not set the rest of my story.

REPEAT

And you will see this truth come to life for Joseph!

And if there is hope for someone like him…..there is hope for you too!

Drop down to verse 17 because we don’t have time to read everything today….

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other.

20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

You thought YOUR family was dysfunctional?!?

This is the kind of stuff you watch on Jerry Springer or Maury or Criminal Minds!

But I want you to hear me again...

Your story… your future… Your destiny… your identity…

It is NOT predicated on,

…what has happened to you,

…what you have done,

…where you came from,

…how you were raised,

…if you came from a broken/dysfunctional family,

…or anything else!

When God is the Author of your story He begins defining you differently than you could imagine or hope for!

PAUSE

Let’s see this come to life for even someone like Jospeh….… verse 23

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing—

24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

And that ends the chapter.

That wraps up the First Scene…

Act 1 of Joesph’s story.

Joesph’s foolish boasting provoked his hateful brothers to do something horrible.

Things aren’t looking so great for young Joe.

He is in a tough spot.

I mean this guy had a dream that he would rule… instead he has just been sold to slavery.

I imagine that was a little confusing and quite disheartening for Joesph.

And SOME would give up on the dream at this point in life.

But not Joesph.

PAUSE

Now… Joseph is not mentioned in the next chapter of Genesis, but the brothers continue to display wrong behaviors.

The family continues to pattern dysfunction and drama.

Then Joesph comes back on the scene in Genesis 39, so flip there with me… let’s enter Act 2 of Joesph’s story.

Genesis 39: 1-12 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

2 The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.

3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,

4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.

Pause here…

Years have passed… and when we reconnect with Joesph, he seems to be a different person.

He’s showing some maturity.

He seems to have even made the best of his hardships.

He is NOT allowing his past to define him.

He is NOT wallowing in his misfortune or playing the victim card.

He IS making the best of the circumstances he is in.

PAUSE

Joesph’s life is still not great…

He was sold as a slave to a him to a high-ranking Egyptian Guard, named Potiphar.

And notice, it does not indicate that Joesph is a complaining servant…

It says Joesph was a successful servant.

He’s a business owner’s DREAM!

A hard-working employee, who has a great attitude and who is good at everything he does!!!

He had EVERY right to complain and hate life be he CHOOSE the harder path….something a lot of people need to learn today!

PAUSE

And note what the passage says… look back at verse 2 & 3.

Two times it emphasizes that “the LORD was with Joseph!”

The LORD was with Joseph!

What does that mean for him and us????

Write this down:

God is with me through every chapter of my story.

REPEAT

We might not like the circumstances.

We might not understand why this is happening to us.

We might think this is NOT fair….

BUT IF God is the Author of our story, then we can rest assured that He is with us!

PAUSE

And because Joesph is walking with the Lord, God causes him to stand out to Potiphar.

Potiphar notices Joesph’s work ethic and attitude… so, Potiphar promotes Joesph.

PAUSE

BUT… just as things seem to be going well, another setback is about to come into his story.

And this setback isn’t going to be caused by Joseph’s choices but by someone else’s choices…

Look at verse 6,

6 Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

7 and after a while, his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!” 8 But he refused.

NOTE….

Joseph did NOTHING….

Someone ELSE did something…

Some of you have been here…

Someone else said something about you…

Someone else did something to you…

Someone else accuses you of something….

So, the question is how do we react in a situation like that?

What do we do when we are accused of something?

What do we do when someone wrongs us???

Well….let’s see what Joesph did….

Verse 11

11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside.

12 She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

Stop there….

Now, the younger version of Joseph we met seemed to lack wisdom.

He was a bragger, an over-sharer, a snitch, and knew how to press all the wrong buttons.

BUT life experience is a great teacher, Joseph is maturing!

Joseph is learning self-control.

Joseph is relying more on God.

He is learning to make GOOD choices…

PAUSE

Now, this temptress represents something for all of us.

She represents a TRAP!

A distraction to our destiny!

A detour from the dream!

And we need to be discerning of these things in our own lives.

Aware of our weaknesses and always guarding our hearts to maintain pure focus on God!

Write this down,

There will be defining moments in my story.

REPEAT

In your life, you will be faced with temptations, tests, and trials.

Temptations ALWAYS come from Satan.

And that is why it is SOOOOOO important that you know God’s Will and God’s Word.

When temptation comes, and it will, we need to know God to know what we should do!!!

We need to know our Bible to know how to respond!

We need to ask God to steer us from temptation!

PAUSE

So, Joseph remainedfaithful to God even through hard moments.

He maintained his integrity even in times of temptation.

PAUSE

How many of you know that following God does NOT mean life will always go perfect?

Sometimes, we mess up, and have to walk through the consequences of bad choices…

But there are also times when the choices of OTHERS impact us.

Sometimes what we are going through isn’t a test, and it isn’t the result of our bad choices…

Sometimes, our situation is created by other people’s choices.

Other’s choices can have a negative impact on us.

It isn’t fair,

You didn’t deserve it,

You were blindsided

But we live in a sin-cursed world with sin-cursed people… so these moments will happen.

PAUSE

And that’s what we see in this moment of Joesph’s story.

Joseph was doing the right things…

BUT Miss Potiphar lies about Joesph and that leads Mr. Potiphar to throw Joesph into prison!

And that is where Act 2 of Joe’s story leaves us…

Joesph is falsely accused, thrown into prison, and still holding onto this crazy dream God gave him MANY years ago…..

PAUSE

Act 3 of Joe’s story picks up at verse 20,

20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison,

21 the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.

22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.

23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Let’s pause here.

This is one of those “good news / bad news” situations.

The good news – WHO is WITH Joseph? GOD!

The bad news – WHERE Joseph is at? PRISON!

PAUSE

And did you see our phrase again… two more times… verse 21 and 23, that “the LORD was with Joseph”

It says God showed Joseph “kindness… and favor.”

He is in jail for something he didn’t do… which doesn’t seem like kindness and favor to me!

But that’s the thing about following God…

God never promised an easy life…

But God DOES promise to be with us in life!

Go back to the point made earlier… that God is with me through every chapter of my story.

It’s about perspective!

It’s how we perceive things or believe God.

And that makes all the difference!

Are we seeing things through an emotionally driven lens?

Through a circumstance-based filter?

Are we feeding from the wrong source?

OR

Are we seeing things from God’s vantage point?

Through the lens of God’s purpose and God’s promise?

The way we perceive things will impact how we navigate life.

LONG PAUSE

Joseph was sold to servitude but did NOT sell out from following God.

Joseph is thrown into prison but did NOT throw in the towel….

he could’ve given up,

could’ve moped around in his jail-cell,

could’ve blamed others,

could’ve abandoned God’s dream.

But he CHOOSE to hold on to the dream God gave him!

A dream that had NOT YET come to pass…

In other words, Joseph trusted that God was still writing his story!

And I want you to write this down,

My story is not yet completed!

REPEAT

This goes back to the question at the beginning… do I think life is just circumstantial or is God purposeful in all things.

During his time in prison, many inmates come and go.

But there are two inmates who are mentioned in chapter 40…

It tells us that the Pharoah sent his Cupbearer and Baker to jail.

And while these fellas are in jail, they BOTH have a divine dream.

Neither of them understands the meaning of their dreams.

BUT… who is there?

Who is in prison with these guys who had dreams? Joseph

PAUSE

I want you all to pause here and ponder something…..

What began this spiraling series of seemingly unfortunate events in Joseph’s life?

How were we introduced to Joseph 15+ years before this?

What made Joseph’s brothers sell him to slavery?

Who knows????

Joseph as a “DREAMER!!!”

But not just a dreamer… Joseph is also a Dream Interpreter!

PAUSE

So, God had His “secret agent,” who just happened to be around…

Joseph just happened to be there….

And Joseph was able to interpret both dreams with accuracy.

PAUSE

Now, both dreams had a different outcome… one of the two fellas would be reinstated into the King’s service and the other would not.

And that’s where it takes us to next Act of Joesph’s journey…

We will wrap our time up today…. with a final focus… because God’s not done with Joe’s story, God has yet to fulfill the dream he gave Joseph.

Genesis Chapter 41, verse 1

Genesis Chapter 41:4,5,8, 37-40 4 When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream…

Things are about to get real!

The great Pharaoh had a dream… that he did not understand.

Verse 5…

5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream…

So, Pharoah has back-to-back dreams that trouble him.

Verse 8…

8 In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

And here is where it gets fun.

Guess who is there that morning with Pharoah?

Not Joseph, Joe is still in prison… but who was released and is with Pharaoh here?

The CUPBEARER!

And the Cupbearer remembers the Dream Interpreter!

He remembers Joesph, and tells Pharoah all about him.

Verse 14…

14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph…”

And I want to skip ahead to verse 37…

37 The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials.38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

I love how God gets recognition through Joesph’s gift

39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you.

40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

The DREAM came to pass!

God did NOT fail.

God was working in Joseph’s life.

Producing character and maturity… preparing Joseph for the dream he had as a young boy!!!!

So, I want you to write this final point down:

When God is the Author of my story, then my story will be great!

REPEAT

Great doesn’t mean you’ll have a lofty position.

Great doesn’t mean you’ll have a massive platform.

Great doesn’t even mean you will even be appreciated by others.

GREAT means God wrote your story, and you did what He called you to do!

And it will be a wild ride, unlike anything you can imagine!

LONG PAUSE

There are a lot of great ministries all over the world.

There are some right here in our area as well!

One of those is….

HARVEST STAND VIDEO