Starvation to Surrender

Good morning, everyone! Whether you're here with us in the room or joining online—listening live or later—we’re truly glad you're here. You're part of our extended spiritual family, and we're thankful for you.

Hey, if you’ve got kids with you this morning—now’s a great time for them to head to class. We’ve got an amazing team ready to welcome them and help them know Jesus in a way that makes sense to them

For the rest of us, grab your Bible, get comfortable, and get ready for what God has for you today.

It’s been a couple of weeks, but we will just pick up where we last left off.

Remember Joseph was sold into slavery and left for dead, but God wasn’t finished with him. Then Joseph went through all sorts of stuff that was hard, including being jailed, but God wasn’t finished with him yet. Finally Joseph became the 2nd most important person in Egypt and his brothers had come to him to get food, but they didn’t recognize him. Well, last time we talked about Joseph, we saw that Josephwelcomed back Jacob, his father, to live in Egypt with him. Of course, later, as Joseph continues to talk to his brothers, eventually he tells them…”As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose." —(Joseph) . In other words. What man means for evil…God means for good!

While I was in Ireland this past week, I learned about a deep wound of what they call ‘The Troubles’—a long, painful conflict. It’s often presented as Catholics vs. Protestants, but as I studied it a little bit this week, and talked to some who lived through it , I learned it was more about sovereignty than theology.

Who gets to rule this land? Who owns it? Who decides the future—us, or someone else?

That war—though political—echoes a spiritual war within every human heart. A quieter, deeper war that rages every day in us. The war of independence vs. surrender, of self-rule vs. trusting God's rule.

In Genesis 47, we read about a famine—not just of food, but of control. People who thought they ruled their land are brought to their knees. They lose everything. And then—shockingly—they thank Joseph. They rejoice.

It’s crazy…What kind of surrender leads to joy? What kind of ownership brings life? That’s what this passage—and this morning—are all about.

This morning, let’s step into the story. It begins in famine—not just physical hunger, but a total collapse of self-sufficiency. Listen to how the Scripture describes the depth of the crisis…

Genesis 47:13–15 ESV

Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought. And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.”

What a haunting picture. Money has failed. People are desperate. Now the strongest nation in the region—Egypt—is brought to its knees. The thing is, this is exactly where God begins to work. In this moment, crisis becomes a tool—not to destroy, but to expose. When everything runs dry, we finally see the truth: we’re not enough.

That’s our first truth we’re going to learn about today: crisis reveals our emptiness.”

Crisis Reveals Our Emptiness (vv. 13–15)

There was no food in all the land...

Do you realize what this means. Ok, Egypt is a country, at this time (around 1800 BC), of around 1.5-3 million people. To put that into perspective Chicago has a population of around 2.7 million people today. Imagine if in Chicago, all of the food was gone. There was no way to grow food, or to feed your family. That is the nightmare that Egypt is experiencing at this time. There is nothing that they can do to create food for themselves.

There is something that history doesn’t tell us, but history and life experience tells us. What do people do when there is no food? Violence breaks out…crime increases. People are trying to feed their families and if that means your family doesn’t eat…well that’s not my problem. We’ve all seen or read various dystopian movies . When the sustenance is gone…so is civility. That is what Egypt, and Canaan are experiencing right now.

So what is going on here? Well, think back to the recent Covid situation. Think about how all of our systems and processes as a society frankly failed. I mean, all of our protections against health scares, or against tyranny failed. What we learn through this is that…

Human systems fail under pressure.

First of all we need to remember that nothing happens that God has not ordained, and use. That means that this famine that we read about is within God’s sovereignty, God’s control. Now…think about that for a moment. You see, frequently God allows famine in your life…literal or spiritual to remove your illusion of control. You are not in control, and when you attempt to take control, you realize that human systems fail over and over again. You’ve seen this time and time again. Egypt learned this. Your economy, your strength, your stratagies eventually run dry and nothing works the way it’s supposed to work.

So this morning I’m going to ask you several questions. These aren’t on your notesheet specifically, but I would encourage you to write them down. Here is your first question, “Where have you placed confidence in systems that cannot save you?” or “What have you been trusting in that keeps failing?”

That’s when desperation sets in.

Desperation strips us of self-reliance.

Yeah, desperate people will try anything. Joseph gave them a way out…The people of Egypt had no food…no answers…they only had true need. They were helpless and they were finally realizing that. That is when they came to Joseph. I would imagine some went to Joseph while others were unsure…then when they told about how Joseph saved them, others went to Joseph. You see, they came to Joseph in the same way that we must come to Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:9 ESV

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Here is your second question this morning. What is it that God is stripping away in your life so that you will finally trust him?

So, now, with nothing left to give—no money, no options—the people take the next step. They don’t just ask for bread. They offer themselves. Let’s keep reading this story…”

Genesis 47:16–22 ESV

And Joseph answered, “Give your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.” So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. He supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. And when that year was ended, they came to him the following year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent. The herds of livestock are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we with our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.” So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for all the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe on them. The land became Pharaoh’s. As for the people, he made servants of them from one end of Egypt to the other. Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.

Now, at first glance, this looks like slavery. They give their land. They give their lives. But look closely. This isn’t exploitation—it’s order in the midst of collapse. Joseph isn’t hoarding power—he’s administering mercy. And this moment gives us a deeper question to ask: If we’re all going to serve someone… who should it be?

Here’s the second truth:

God’s Rule Is Better Than Self-Rule (vv. 16–22)

The people came to Joseph and said…“Buy us and our land… we will be slaves to Pharaoh.”

Ok…let’s ne honest here…the Egyptians are in a bit of a bind here. There is likely violence and crime and things are very difficult in a region with a large number of people that all have the same needs.

Surrender brings order, under righteous rule.

What is happening here is not exploitation—it’s salvation through wise stewardship. Now, in our modern times we hear the term slave, and we consider the realities of the 1800’s chattel slavery. However, that is not the picture that we see here. First of all, Joseph did not take land by force. The Egyptians voluntarily gave it in exchange for life-saving food. Secondly, their enslavement was not brutal or dehumanizing but structured around survival and state service. In other words, they worked and for their wages they received food.

Additionally, the structure that Joseph set up was life giving…The people stayed on their own land and received seed to plant and harvest. You see, Joseph is not a tyrant, he is a shepherd to a broken people, who live under a broken system of Pharaoh rule. Joseph is saving them from what could have come of them had he not spoken to Pharaoh. There may have been some who did not trust Joseph and so they resisted giving in by continuing to make things work themselves…however it never did, and eventually they went to Joseph for salvation.

So, here’s your third question this morning…What part of your life is resisting God’s rule?

Here’s what we learn here.

True ownership belongs to the one who gives life.

The Egyptians gave their lives to Pharaoh becuase he sustained them in the crisis. This is a model of how the Gospel reclaims and sustains us for God.

1 Cor 6:19-20 tells us that “You are not your own…you were bought with a price.”

Joseph was offering life in the midst of hardship. He was offering salvation in the midst of starvation. Some likely considered it a loss to sell off to Pharaoh, while others realized this was the only path to true life. The same is true about Christ today…

So, here’s your forth question: Do you view surrender to Christ as loss—or gain?

So, the people have given everything—land, livestock, even their own freedom. And now we come to the most surprising part of the story. What do they say? Are they bitter? Angry? Humiliated? Let’s read…”

Genesis 47:23–26 ESV

Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land. And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.” And they said, “You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh.” So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.

That was amazing…did you catch that? ‘You have saved our lives.’ What began as desperation ends in devotion. What looked like loss becomes life.

And that’s our final truth today: Gratitude becomes a way of life.

Gratitude Becomes a Way of Life (vv. 23–26)

The kind of surrender that saves your life, also transforms your heart. Did you catch what the Egyptians said to Joseph. They said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor…”

You see, what happens when you experience salvation from certain death is that you are so grateful for that salvation that you have a heart of gratitude. Really we see that…

Mercy produces cheerful submission.

They have nothing…then Joseph gives them seed. Joseph gives them a symbol of hope and a symbol of future harvest that will come. This is more than simply survival.

You see, even though the citizens gave up ownership of their land, Joseph permitted them to continue living on and working their fields. The requirement was simply to give 20% to Pharaoh. Now, to us that sounds like a high tax. However, in similar situations other leaders have required 50%-65% of the harvest. Instead, Joseph is still allowing them to feed their families and prosper. The Egyptians gratefully accepted that deal. These policies actually produced such a stable society that they remained in effect for hundreds of years.

The citizens of Egypt were so grateful for the grace and salvation of Joseph, that they joyfully served Pharaoh. They didn’t serve disgruntled or out of a sense of duty. They served joyfully because they were grateful.

So, here’s your fifth question of they day. Do I submit out of duty…or out of gratitude?

Of course…what really happens is that

Gospel gratitude leads to gospel living.

That’s right…when you realize that your life has been saved, then you will do anything and everything you can in order to attempt to in some way show your gratitude. Joseph offered the people of Egypt everything they needed throughout the famine, for only 20% of their crops. That is nothing…a 20% return isn’t tyranny—it’s a reminder of redemption. Think of it as if Pharaoh now has a 20% stake in all of the farms in Egypt. But the cost of that 20% stake is that no one will starve during this famine.

This created such a joy in the hearts of the people that they obeyed…not because they had too…but because they wanted to. This is a picture of the covenantal joy that God offers you and I. You see, there is a joy in submission that comes from the heart.

Paul writes to the Christians in Roman, and he talks about the differences that have been made in their hearts. Here is what he says in

Romans 6:17 ESV

But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,

That leads me to my final question for you in your notes this morning…What practical obedience can you offer as a “thank you” to God?

This is where the gospel meets us. This story is not just about Egypt…it’s about you and me.

Pause for 2–3 seconds, make eye contact

We, too, were starving—spiritually bankrupt, empty-handed, clinging to control. But a greater Joseph came—not to tax us, but to give Himself as the bread of life.

Pause for 2–3 seconds

And like the Egyptians, we should respond not by clinging to your own independence, but by making this personal and saying, ‘You have saved my live. Let me find favor.’

And so now, we respond. Before we come to the table this morning, I want to ask every single one of you—not just some of you—to take these cards in your hands.

Here are the questions to help you reflect:

What do you need to surrender?

Where have you been living self-reliant?

What do you need to thank Him for?

I’m going to give you a moment to just sit with those questions. Look at the screen and let the Spirit speak to you. I’m going to give you a full minute before I come back.

Pause for 60 seconds—look at my card as if I am filling out also

Now…I know what happens many weeks—about a quarter of you will write something down. Maybe you think, ‘I don’t really need to.’ Or ‘This isn’t for me today.’ Or maybe you just don’t want to put something on paper.

But here’s the thing: this is not paperwork. This is worship.

Pause for a second. Let the weight of that reframing sink in.

The people in Genesis 47 didn’t just think in their hearts, ‘We surrender.’ They said it out loud: ‘You have saved our lives. We belong to you.’

Today, this card is your way of saying that—of naming your surrender, or naming your gratitude. It’s a physical way to match your words and your heart.

Maybe for you it’s surrendering control. Maybe it’s letting go of fear. Maybe it’s simply writing, ‘Thank you, Jesus.’

Don’t miss this chance. Even those of you who have been walking with Christ for decades, you should still meet Him in this moment.

And here’s what will happen: when you walk forward, you’ll lay your card in the basket—as if to say, ‘Lord, I’m Yours.’ And then, with empty hands, you’ll receive the bread and cup—the symbols of His life given for you.

Let’s not be content with a quarter of the church responding to the voice of God. Let’s be a people who listen, who respond, who move when the Spirit calls.

So right now, take the card. Take the pen. And write your surrender, your gratitude, your prayer. Let’s each come to the table with our hearts and our hands open to Him.” So…

What do you need to surrender?

Where have you been living self-reliant?

What do you need to thank Him for?

In a moment, you’ll bring your card forward and lay it in the basket as your act of surrender and gratitude. Then, with empty hands, you’ll receive the bread and cup.

If you are a follower of Jesus—if you’ve placed your faith in Him alone for salvation—this table is for you. It’s not about having it all together; it’s about coming in humility, remembering that His body was broken and His blood was shed for you.

If you’re not yet a believer, I’d encourage you to use this time to consider what Christ has done and what it would mean to surrender to Him. The invitation is open, but this table is scred for those who belong to Him.

So, when you’re ready, bring your card, lay it down, and come to the table—not to pay for His grace, but to receive it freely. Let’s each come with our hearts and our hands open to Him.

Take a 2-second pause before saying the final phrase.

As you come forward for Communion—the table of grace and provision—I invite you to bring your card with you. Drop it in the basket as a visible act of surrender and gratitude, and then receive the bread and cup as a reminder: Christ has not just sustained you—He has saved you.