Dealing With Setbacks
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
Handout
Turned to bring God glory
Move forward
Stepping stone
Setup
Step-up
Bring it up (opportunity)
Comeback (testimony)
A song of ascents.
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
Our mouths were filled with laughter then, and our tongues with shouts of joy. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord had done great things for us; we were joyful.
Restore our fortunes, Lord, like watercourses in the Negev.
Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
Though one goes along weeping, carrying the bag of seed, he will surely come back with shouts of joy, carrying his sheaves.
we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.
struck down but not destroyed…
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel,
so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ.
Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.
Our goal is always to advance the gospel
Keys
Set an immovable anchor (going to get victory out of this)
Use down time to rise up (Joseph).
Focus on your calling your assignment Gods purpose in your life.
In the pit and prison pursue His presence, and don’t allow yourself to become bitter, but better.
Allow God to impact a stronger degree of passion, compassion, and purpose. Gives us empathy for others
Relationships and divine associations are essential
Require payback
Be a worshiper
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead,
(MSG) 12-14 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom:
Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching.
For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.
They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.
But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.
Make every effort to come to me soon,
because Demas has deserted me, since he loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
Only Luke is with me. Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in the ministry.
I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
When you come, bring the cloak I left in Troas with Carpus, as well as the scrolls, especially the parchments.
Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his works.
Watch out for him yourself because he strongly opposed our words.
At my first defense, no one stood by me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be counted against them.
But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.
Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
Erastus has remained at Corinth; I left Trophimus sick at Miletus.
Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers and sisters.
The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.
(MSG) 14-17 But don’t let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—
Psalm 84
(AMP) 4 Blessed and greatly favored are those who dwell in Your house and Your presence;
They will be singing Your praises all the day long. Selah.
5 Blessed and greatly favored is the man whose strength is in You,
In whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 Passing through the Valley of Weeping (Baca), they make it a place of springs;
The early rain also covers it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power];
Each of them appears before God in Zion.
Turning your Setback into a Comeback
Let go of the past and embrace the future. You can learn from the past just don’t stay stuck there. Don’t keep looking back you are not going that way. Lot’s wife, hand to the plow…people, stuff, etc...
Philippians 3:13 “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead,”
Be patient. It does always happen overnight. Seeds have to grow.
James 1:2–7 “Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord,”
Stay Joyful
You know that I did not hesitate to proclaim anything to you that was profitable and to teach you publicly and from house to house.
I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.
“And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there,
except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me.
But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.
20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ac 20:19–24.
Be Led by the Spirit not emotions, feelings, influences that are not from God. You have be open minded and listen to His voice.
Take the SSS Tonic
The New King James Version Chapter 1
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.
Shut your mouth, Open your ears, and don’t lose you cool
Turning Your Testimony
I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you,
always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer,
because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment,
so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel,
so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ.
Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.
To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will.
These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment.
What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice
because I know this will lead to my salvation through your prayers and help from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
This thing...
Paul went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek.
The brothers and sisters at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him.
Paul wanted Timothy to go with him; so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek.
As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for the people to observe.
So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia; they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
Passing by Mysia they went down to Troas.
During the night Paul had a vision in which a Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us!”
After he had seen the vision, we immediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis,
and from there to Philippi, a Roman colony and a leading city of the district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for several days.
On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there.
A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.
After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling.
As she followed Paul and us she cried out, “These men, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.”
She did this for many days. Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away.
When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews
and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.”
The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
After they had severely flogged them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to guard them carefully.
Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.
When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because we’re all here!”
The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
He escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
And they spoke the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house.
He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized.
He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.
When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, “Release those men.”
The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace.”
But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to send us away secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out.”
The police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.
So they came to appease them, and escorting them from prison, they urged them to leave town.
After leaving the jail, they came to Lydia’s house, where they saw and encouraged the brothers and sisters, and departed.
Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them.
Some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead.
After the disciples gathered around him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch,
strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
When they had appointed elders for them in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Shipwrecked...
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 27
21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss. 22 Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. 23 For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me 24 and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. It is necessary for you to appear before Caesar. And indeed, God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me. 26 But we have to run aground on some island.”
27 When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, and about midnight the sailors thought they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found it to be a hundred twenty feet deep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be ninety feet deep. 29 Then, fearing we might run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. 30 Some sailors tried to escape from the ship; they had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow. 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away.
33 When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing. 34 So I urge you to take some food. For this is for your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.” 35 After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat. 36 They all were encouraged and took food themselves. 37 In all there were 276 of us on the ship. 38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.
SHIPWRECK
39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land but sighted a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore if they could. 40 After cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach. 41 But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow jammed fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up by the pounding of the waves.
42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that no one could swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion kept them from carrying out their plan because he wanted to save Paul, and so he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to follow, some on planks and some on debris from the ship. In this way, everyone safely reached the shore.
MALTA’S HOSPITALITY
28 Once safely ashore, we then learned that the island was called Malta. 2 The local people showed us extraordinary kindness. They lit a fire and took us all in, since it was raining and cold. 3 As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the local people saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man, no doubt, is a murderer. Even though he has escaped the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But he shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They expected that he would begin to swell up or suddenly drop dead. After they waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
MINISTRY IN MALTA
7 Now in the area around that place was an estate belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 Publius’s father was in bed suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, and praying and laying his hands on him, he healed him. 9 After this, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. 10 So they heaped many honors on us, and when we sailed, they gave us what we needed.
ROME AT LAST
He was beaten, imprisoned, stoned, left for dead, shipwrecked, snake bit, and jailed...
The Things…writing to the group in Philippi
He he turned tests into testimonies…advancing the gospel.
Led by the Spirit not the want…some test try your faith, calling, and purpose and some are a result of wrong decisions and behaviors. Sometimes we need to stand our ground, and sometimes we need to repent. When we are being led by the Spirit we stand.
Divine associations…support and prayer
Demonic influence stopped in Jesus name not every one praising you is your friend. We need wisdom to discern. Shake the snake of in the fire. Rebuke the devil, don’t fight the person.
Put in jail for the right reason and delivered by supernatural intervention
Prayer and praise that can be seen and heard
People watching
Jailers saved (they are watching) they could have been mad at the jailer and attacked him, but instead led him to the Lord.
Turning You Setback into a Setup (Breakthrough)
Setback doesn’t have to be our downfall...
We can be setup for the Lord to cause a breakthrough in our lives.
Don’t let a setback be a place of breakdown, but let it be a place of breakthrough.
David’s when the Philistines attacked and came back in the Valley of Rephaim
After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to fight against Jehoshaphat.
People came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast number from beyond the Dead Sea and from Edom has come to fight against you; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).
Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved to seek the Lord. Then he proclaimed a fast for all Judah,
who gathered to seek the Lord. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek him.
Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the Lord’s temple before the new courtyard.
He said: Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, and no one can stand against you.
Are you not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and who gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?
They have lived in the land and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name and have said,
“If disaster comes on us—sword or judgment, pestilence or famine—we will stand before this temple and before you, for your name is in this temple. We will cry out to you because of our distress, and you will hear and deliver.”
Now here are the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir. You did not let Israel invade them when Israel came out of the land of Egypt, but Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.
Look how they repay us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you gave us as an inheritance.
Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to you.
All Judah was standing before the Lord with their dependents, their wives, and their children.
In the middle of the congregation, the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel (son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph’s descendants),
and he said, “Listen carefully, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
Tomorrow, go down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel.
You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. He is with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Tomorrow, go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.’ ”
Then Jehoshaphat knelt low with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord to worship him.
Then the Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel shouting loudly.
In the morning they got up early and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were about to go out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”
Then he consulted with the people and appointed some to sing for the Lord and some to praise the splendor of his holiness. When they went out in front of the armed forces, they kept singing: Give thanks to the Lord, for his faithful love endures forever.
The moment they began their shouts and praises, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who came to fight against Judah, and they were defeated.
The Ammonites and Moabites turned against the inhabitants of Mount Seir and completely annihilated them. When they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped destroy each other.
When Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked for the large army, but there were only corpses lying on the ground; nobody had escaped.
Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to gather the plunder. They found among them an abundance of goods on the bodies and valuable items. So they stripped them until nobody could carry any more. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much.
They assembled in the Valley of Beracah on the fourth day, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore, that place is still called the Valley of Beracah today.
Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem turned back with Jehoshaphat their leader, returning joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord enabled them to rejoice over their enemies.
So they came into Jerusalem to the Lord’s temple with harps, lyres, and trumpets.
The terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
Then Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was quiet, for his God gave him rest on every side.
After this…reforms of justice, destroyed Asherah poles, set his heart to seek the Lord
The enemy came against Him…3 fronts or enemies...
Get your act together...
Is it your actions opening the door or is it the devil trying to stop you
Recognize the enemy at work
Determine to seek the Lord, even though your are scared to death and don’t know what to do
Seek the Lord and look to him
Remember and acknowledge what God has done and stand of His promise and covenant
Gather with God’s people
Pray and Fast together
Listen to the Lord
And His prophets. (With proper credentials)
Humble yourself, and bow down
Shout loudly ahead of time
Get up(early) just get up don’t stay down. You can’t sleep your way out of trouble. Ignoring it won’t make it go away.
Do what the Lord said
Praise Him and let the Lord do the work
Gather the results
Don’t Fear
Position yourself
Don’t fight in the battle (not flesh and blood)
Stand
See the salvation of the Lord, for He is with you
How to Turn Your Setback into a Step Up
Exaltation does not come from the east, the west, or the desert,
for God is the Judge: He brings down one and exalts another.
For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
When we encounter setback, we have to allow God to show how He will cause it to be a step up.
Some setbacks are our fault. Like Jonah...
He didn’t want to go to Nineveh. He didn’t like it or the people and He tried to run away from God and His will.
But as he sank into the depths of the Ocean he prayed and repented. And God caused a big fish to swallow him and spit him out on the shore of where He was supposed to be.
Sometimes we have setbacks due to the devil’s attacks on our life
Sometimes it is just life
Sometimes it is people life Joseph
He dreamed and His brothers had it out for him
Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
These are the family records of Jacob. At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended sheep with his brothers. The young man was working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought a bad report about them to their father.
Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was a son born to him in his old age, and he made a long-sleeved robe for him.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him.
Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:
There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”
“Are you really going to reign over us?” his brothers asked him. “Are you really going to rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said.
Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
He told his father and brothers, and his father rebuked him. “What kind of dream is this that you have had?” he said. “Am I and your mother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the ground before you?”
His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem.
Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I’m sending you to them.” “I’m ready,” Joseph replied.
Then Israel said to him, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the Hebron Valley, and he went to Shechem.
A man found him there, wandering in the field, and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph said. “Can you tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”
“They’ve moved on from here,” the man said. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
They saw him in the distance, and before he had reached them, they plotted to kill him.
They said to one another, “Oh, look, here comes that dream expert!
So now, come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal ate him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from them. He said, “Let’s not take his life.”
Reuben also said to them, “Don’t shed blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him”—intending to rescue him from them and return him to his father.
When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off Joseph’s robe, the long-sleeved robe that he had on.
Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty, without water.
They sat down to eat a meal, and when they looked up, there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh,” and his brothers agreed.
When Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt.
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.
He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”
So they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in its blood.
They sent the long-sleeved robe to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it. Is it your son’s robe or not?”
His father recognized it. “It is my son’s robe,” he said. “A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces!”
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” And his father wept for him.
Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guards.
Genesis 37-45
God’s always got a plan.
For this is what the Lord says: “When seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place.
For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Promotion Principles
Always turn to God Jonah
Watch out who you share your dream with. Joseph’s brothers...
Keep your focus on God’s plan, not your own plan (dream)
Don’t compromise when you are up or when you are down. You may lose you coat...
Favor ain’t fair (God was with him in the pit and the prison)
Don’t get bitter at people who let you down and turn on you, because you have a dream. You will lose you focus on the big picture. Jacob and Israel
Don’t quit when it gets tough, people forsake you, forget you, demean you, and leave you behind
Sow in famine and keep sowing
9. Don’t neglect or abandon you gift even though it got you in trouble. Stay faithful to God’s call on your life
10. Stay ready for your due day. It will come to pass.
Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap,
because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.
But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.