“Achieving Your Assignment”

Introduction

One of the most common questions that we ask ourselves is “Why am I here?” What was God up to when he was creating me? Sometimes as Christians, we don’t know why we are here. We don’t know why God put us on this earth and what for, but what I want to let you know is that you are here on divine assignment. That means that you have a unique purpose and task that is given to you by God that you have a responsibility to fulfill.

In fact, the other day, we celebrated something called Good Friday, which is the day where Jesus died on Calvary, and what you have to understand is that that is what Jesus was supposed to do. That was his divine assignment. And that is just like us. We have a divine assignment and we need to achieve it.

The word achieve means to successfully bring about or reach by effort, skill, or courage. To achieve an assignment mean completing all aspects of a task or piece of work given to you, and I stop by to let you know that you and I as young Christians have a divine assignment and we need to achieve that assignment.

Text Context

In this text, we are dealing with one of the most well-known biblical characters. Joseph and his story show us a prime example that sometimes God has to break you before he can bless you. His story shows us that sometimes, before God can elevate you, he has to bring you down a little bit.

Joseph has been through a lot before this point. Joseph is the son of Jacob, and Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son because he was the son of his favorite wife, Rachel. Jacob loved Joseph so much that he made him a coat of many colors, but because of the jealousy of his brothers, Joseph thrown into a pit and was sold into slavery.

When Joseph got to Egypt, one of Pharaoh's officials named Potiphar took Joseph in and Joseph started working for him, but when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him and failed, Joseph was thrown in jail based off of a false accusation. He has been through a lot.

But when we get to Genesis 41, we see that Joseph has been made ruler of Egypt, but while in Egypt, a famine starts There is absolutely no food. And the Bible tells us that this is the start of a seven-year famine. And because of this Joseph opened up the storehouse and gave out grain to everybody, and so everybody would come to Egypt to get grain.

In chapter 47, we see that Joseph takes leadership in this famine. In the early years of this famine, money starts to pour into the finance department of Egypt, which is the only place to buy food.

See, you have to understand that this famine went far beyond Egypt, and it was very severe. Normally, many people would die in such an extended time of famine. But see, Joseph collected money and he brought it to Pharoah, but when the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money and food, they went to Joseph, begging him to give them food or else they would die.

But Joseph came up with a plan. He told them to bring him their livestock, so that he could give them food in exchange for their livestock, and when they did this, Joseph provided them with food for a whole year. Later on in this text, Joseph will come up with a plan for the people to buy food with whatever they have and Joseph’s father, Jacob will pass away.

Body of Message

Joseph is a great example of a man who accepted and wanted to achieve his God-given assignment, and I believe that this text shows us three main lessons that we oughta consider on why Joseph achieved his Kingdom assignment and was blessed by the Lord.

Joseph understood the assignment.

The text lets us know that the famine became so severe, that all of the food was used up and everybody throughout Egypt and Canaan was starving.

This statement “understand the assignment” or “understood the assignment” is not new to us. This statement can at times be used as a compliment, when somebody wants to say that you are dressed very well. This statement is saying that the person has got it, they performed something well, they knew what they needed to do. They understood the assignment. Understanding your God-given assignment involves recognizing the unique tasks and responsibilities that God has given you to fulfill.

But I’d like to suggest that in order for us to truly understand our assignment, we have to stay close and connected to the giver of the assignment. In order for us to have that fulfillment and understanding of your assignment, we have to have that relationship with God and align ourselves with God’s will. The Lord had communicated this crucial assignment to Joseph.

Joseph had a dream that there was a huge famine coming and he was the solution. He chose to listen to the Lord’s instructions and as a result, all the nations including Egypt, came under his authority. Joseph had chosen to listen to the Lord’s instructions and align himself and his decisions with God’s will. But see, sometimes, we don’t do that. If we can be honest, sometimes we think that we’ve got it on our own.

Sometimes we think that we can understand our assignment on our own term, on our own knowledge, but see that can make us prideful and make us think that we don’t need God and we can do anything without him, and if truth be told, we need God, especially in a time like this, because if it had not been for the Lord who was on our side, we don’t know where we would be. The thing is brothers and sisters, staying close to the savior is how we stay connected to our calling.

EX: Yesterday, my parents went to Sam’s Club while I was in the barbershop, and my mom picked up some sunflowers, and when I saw them in the back of my mom’s car, I was wondering in my head: “Why are they called sunflowers?” Is that just a name that someone came up with or does that name have a meaning?? So what did I do…I went to Google. I looked up “Why are sunflowers called sun-flowers”, and I found out that they are called sunflowers because they follow the sun’s path. If the sun rises in the East, sunflowers will point east. If the sun sets in the West, sunflowers will point west. These flowers are very productive and they throw off a lot of seeds, because they are always looking for the sun. They locate the sun, and because they are always looking for the sun, they’re always growing. Sunflowers look for the s-u-n, but when we look for the S-o-n, just like the sunflower, you and I will find light and new life, and we will grow. Abiding in your relationship with the S-o-n will result in the transformation and understanding that many of us are looking for.

All I want you to know is that we ask God for understanding and clarity of what we’re supposed to do, but the thing is, if we really want that understanding and clarity, we have to stay close to the Savior. Joseph understood the assignment.

Joseph was prepared for the task.

There is a famine, and Joseph sells grain to the people and collects the money in Egypt and Canaan he makes and gives it to Pharoah, and so when everybody is looking at Joseph for the solution, Joseph comes up with a plan for the people to bring them their livestock, and he will give them food in exchange, and because of this plan, Joseph was able to feed them for another year.

See, this famine was not unexpected. This was not a rare and uncommon phenomenon. This famine was expected. See, I already told you that Joseph had the special ability to interpret dreams. Joseph had already known that this famine was going to happen. See, when you know that you are called by God, when you know that you have the anointing and favor of God, you should already know that God is going to present challenges your way.

Knowing God and knowing that God is within you does not exempt you from challenges, but instead it prepares you to face them with strength and purpose. This famine was expected. Joseph knew that it was going to happen and he knew that time would come. This was something that Joseph had to face. Everybody was looking at Joseph and he knew exactly what to do. Joseph was built for this. All of the challenges that Joseph has faced have been leading up and preparing him for this moment. His life experiences were all preparing him to one day rule the nation of Egypt. God puts us through challenges not to punish us, but to prepare us.

But, sometimes we don’t know our assignment as young Christians. We sometimes don’t know what we’re supposed to do, but we have to understand that whatever it is that God calls you to do, you’ll know that it is the real deal, because the Lord has already prepared you for it. God has already prepared you with the necessary skills that you need and he has already given you the capacity to do what he is calling you to do.

But I need to tell you that that doesn’t mean that we won’t have challenges. That doesn’t mean that the road will be easy, but we know that when that click comes in our minds, we will know that God has already prepared you for it. That is why we cannot let that spirit of fear control us, but instead we have to put faith over fear and believe that we are built for this. Sometimes, when we are faced with an opportunity, we can get overwhelmed or kinda nervous, but we have to have faith that we can handle whatever is put in our path, because God has prepared us for it.

EX: There is a story of a blind girl, one day, was caught in a fire on the tenth floor of a building. She could make her way to a window, but she couldn’t see anything. She felt the heat and smelled the smoke of the fire. She then heard a fireman yell, “Jump, jump!” She said, “I’m scared to jump. I can’t see.” The fireman said, “If you don’t jump, you’re going to die. Take the risk, and jump.” It’s bad enough to jump from ten stories high, but to jump when you can’t see where you’re jumping—that’s terror. In the midst of the chaos and confusion, she heard another voice, “Darling, jump, I’ve got you.” She smiled and said, “Okay, I’ll jump.”

May I suggest to you Jesus Christ is inviting us to jump. He knows we’re nervous, but just jumps. He knows you’re scared, but just jumps. Remember, we’re talking about somebody you know. You’ve seen what He can do. You can put faith over fear and jump because God has already prepared you for it.

Joseph knew he couldn’t fail.

All throughout Joseph’s life, there has been evidence of God’s grace. God has been with Joseph all throughout the challenges he has faced. The Lord was with Joseph through it all, and I believe that because of this, Joseph knew that he could handle this assignment and he couldn’t fail. The Lord wouldn’t bring Joseph this far, just to leave him, but he was with him. Since we have a divine assignment, we have divine assistance. We have somebody who is with us. If you and I are going to achieve our assignment, we’ve got to know where our help comes from. Since we have God, we can’t fail. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.

But brothers sisters, If we can be honest friends, sometimes we take credit for the things that we actually had nothing to do with, because it was God all along. Friends, I’d like to suggest to you today that the reason why we are where we are, and the reason why we can do all things is because God is with us. The fact of the matter is that we can handle and achieve our assignment, not by of our own knowledge and intelligence. Not by of our popularity or our social status, but by the fact that there is somebody who is with us. The reason why Joseph was prospering in the midst of his situations was because of the Lord. It was because in every situation, the Lord was there. We oughta be grateful that it was God all along.

But sometimes, we can get confused. We think that our main help can come from people or social media, which is why we run and rely on those things, but the Psalmist said it best: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD. Our help and our power to achieve our assignment comes from the Lord.

EX: Years ago, there was a power outage in New York City. Nobody had any lights. It didn’t matter where you were, what you did, or what side of the city you lived on, nobody had any lights. So people began to leave their homes and get out of their cars and they began to walk around the city, and they began to realize that even though there were no lights on in the city, the Statue of Liberty still had lights, and someone said “Why in the world are we enduring a power outage, when the Statue of Liberty, that’s positioned in New York, is still lit up. And then someone discovered that although the Statue of Liberty was positioned in New York, its power came all the way from Virginia.

All I’m trying to tell you is that you have to understand where your power comes from. Joseph knew he couldn’t fail.

Conclusion

You and I are here on earth for a purpose. God has given us a divine assignment, and it is our job to complete that assignment. Joseph shows that we can achieve our God-given assignment because Joseph understood the assignment. That means that knew what was expected of him and he knew that in order to truly understand the task that God had given him, he had to align himself with God’s will. Joseph was prepared for the task. That means that all of the challenges that Joseph had been through, were not for punishment, but they were for preparation for this moment. And even though we may not know right now what assignment God has for us, when it clicks, we will know that it is the real deal, because the Lord has already prepared us for it. But then, Joseph knew he couldn’t fail. The Lord had been through Joseph all throughout his challenges, so when it came up to this situation, he knew he couldn’t fail because the Lord didn’t bring him this far to leave him.