A Savior Came: Joseph

Victories: 1. 55 Operation Christmas Child Boxes 2. En Gedi - You are missing out

Prayer: Exit Church Forrest Brown & Tyler Shirley

Missionary Prayer: Tim & Sandy Hewitt / BEM - Pray for more missionary pastors to join the team

Bible Reading: Acts 7:9-18

Intro

As we prepare our hearts, our homes and our lives for this upcoming holiday season we easily get caught up in all the busyness of the season. Parties, shopping, cooking, planning, all of these things and more tend to cloud this season and make it more about the season and less about our savior for whom the season is for. That is why I want to take the next 4 weeks and remind us of this savior by looking at three types of saviors that pointed us to the only true savior. This week I want to focus on the person of Joseph in the Old Testament. To do so let me give you just a few examples of how Joseph’s life mirrors imperfectly the life of Jesus.

Joseph was a Shepherd - Jesus is the Good Shepherd

Joseph was hated by his brothers - Jesus was denied by His own people

Joseph was sent to Egypt to save his people - Jesus sent to Egypt to be saved from Herod and then called out of Egypt to save humanity.

Joseph was stripped of his cloak and sold into slavery for 20 pieces of silver- Jesus was stripped of His cloak and sold for 30 pieces of silver

Joseph was obedient to His calling - Jesus never disobey His Father

What Joseph’s brothers planned for Evil God meant for good to save many - Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was awful but it’s completion brought and continues to bring many sons to glory

This is just a few of the ways Joseph foreshadowed the coming of Christ. It is the life of Joseph as an imperfect Savior that we look at today and how we can learn from Joseph to be a picture of the savior to others and be apart of the work that God is doing in bringing many sons to glory.

I need a savior who: Understands his role.

Read Gen. 37:1-11

Listen

Joseph listened to God and was given his leadership role by God. Right from the very start we are told that Joseph was special. His is the firstborn son of Jacob and Rachel and as such was so loved that he gave Joseph a special coat that Jacob did not give any of his other sons. But that is not the end of Joseph’s specialness. What we see is that Joseph is not only loved by his earthly father but also his Heavenly Father. Joseph was given a series of dreams that point out that he would not only lead the family but he will even lead over his father Jacob. We know how the story ends and we know that the dreams ultimately come true, but it all started when Joseph listened to what God was saying. Joseph was special and chosen by God.

We can look at the account of Joseph and feel like his brother, jealous and angry at this smug upstart, or we can see ourselves in the character of Joseph and realize that we too are chosen by God. Let me prove this to you with a verse I used last week. 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” Now I can’t promise you a cool dream to prove to you that God loves you but this scripture says it more clearly than any dream. The question is: Are we listening? Or better yet: Do we believe and put our trust in the fact that we are special in God’s eyes? Joseph told his family about it and was mocked and we as believers in Jesus Christ are guaranteed that the world does not love us. John 15:19 says, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” Isn’t it great? We will be hated if we listen to the Lord and believe that He has made us special. The truth is it is great despite the hardship that following Christ will inevitably will cause it is worth it. Because as James tells us it is the working through of our hardships and testings that produces in us a deeper more resilient faith. A faith that can move mountains, a faith that can endure, a faith that believes we are special.

Believe

It is this kind of belief that Joseph was also really good at. Let’s take a flight through Joseph’s life. Follow along as I read the exact scriptures are listed on the screen.

Genesis 37:13 “And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.””

Genesis 37:18 “Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.”

Genesis 37:24 “Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.”

Genesis 37:28 “Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.”

Genesis 37:36 “Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.”

Genesis 39:1 “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.”

Genesis 39:7 “And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.””

Genesis 39:12 “that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.”

Genesis 39:16–17 “So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me;”

Genesis 39:20 “Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.”

Genesis 39:23 “The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.”

We’re going to stop there for now. Despite all of the horrible situations that Joseph kept falling into he kept his sight on the goal that God had for him. We are going to get into how Joseph patiently endured a bit later but just look at how he never lost hope in the plan that God set before him. My brother threw me into a pit and then sold me to traders. No matter God’s got this. My masters wife just lied and had me thrown into prison, no matter God is going to do something good. We don’t have a single reference in scripture to Joseph throwing himself a pity party. Now maybe he did and it just isn’t recorded but we see other pity parties being thrown and God records those, Elijah, Jonah, Moses, even Job. I have no idea if Joseph complained but I know that people that believe and put their faith into the fact that God has called them usually have an almost otherworldly outlook on hardships.

Are we willing to do what God has called us to even if we don’t know how we are going to get there? Are we willing to take God at His world when he calls us a royal priesthood a special people? If we will truly believe and put our trust in that truth then we will look at our hardships differently. We will look past them to the goal of serving God for the greater good of the Gospel. Have you ever seen one of those cop shows where they pull over some entitled person and they are quick to say, “Do you have any idea who I am? Do you know who my father is? You are going to be in so much trouble.” While the act of immaturity shouldn’t play a part in our reaction to others the idea that we are special and important should. We should cry out to the world around us, “Do you have any idea who I am? Do you know who my father is? Do you know that He loves me and calls me His own? Do you know that he wants the same for you?” When we ditch the immaturity and embrace the grace given in order to be a child of God then we will use our belief and trust in God to change the world, starting within those who know us best.

I need a savior who: Endures Hardships

Joseph endured. The pit, the prison, the position. As we look at the life of Joseph we see endurance front and center. It is not as if we have the words of great faith given to us as Joseph sat in the pit awaiting his fate at the hands of his brothers and yet we know that he endured that hardship. Likewise, we do not have a song or a poem written by Joseph as he awaited the slave sale in Egypt to determine who he would serve there, and yet we know he endured. We don’t have a word written down from Joseph as he languished in the prison day after day awaiting justice that he was never completely certain would come and yet we know he endured. And even as we see Joseph finally get the promised role of leader that God had given so many years prior we don’t see any words of rejoicing written down by Joseph and yet we know that he rejoiced after all that he had to endure. What was it all about? Why did Joseph have to go through it all? The answer is of course the same for Joseph as it is for us. God causes us to endure hardship in order to make us and mold us into the person He’s making us into.

We may have to go through hardship to get accomplish the tasks laid out by God but they are a refining process to get us ready for the job God has set aside for us. I look at what Joseph had to go through and I can be extremely thankful that my trials and refinement have not been to that extent. James 1:2–4 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” These verses are hard, they hold in the the hard truth that we will have to learn endurance in order to live our lives for Christ. But it is that endurance under fire that must happen so that faith will produce in us the patience we need to accomplish the tasks God has for us. We have a picture of enduring patience here in Genesis with Joseph and we have countless other examples of this throughout scripture but none so vibrant as the picture of quiet patience as Jesus at his three trials and then even more enduring patience on the cross. He was GOD, the almighty. Not only did Jesus not deserve the sentence of death He was given He could have at any time chosen to come down from that cross and yet Jesus endured it all so that He could save us. Quiet Endurance, the kind we need to share with the world.

I need a savior who: Prepares for Salvation

Joseph prepared to lead. He first made others aware of his calling, he served obediently, he did the work to prepare, and he left a legacy. Right from the start we see Joseph speaking out and declaring that God had set his life up as special. There is nothing wrong in this as long as it doesn’t lead us to pride. We are a chosen people and a holy priesthood, that is what God calls us we should let the world know that our Heavenly Father has set us aside for something special.

Joseph as we just said, endured the trials of his life with patience and faith and in doing so he served God by serving others. May the world say the same about our lives. How do we show this to the world? We serve the Lord with all that we are. We give of our time our talents and our money because God is worthy of it all. Also I have mentioned this before but I want to mention it again. Many times when you are in the midst of the greatest trials of your life, when this is your constant struggle you are likely at a point where you are blaming God for it all. There is a point where all is grey, nothing is good, and the world is out to get you and you just Eeyore your way through your days. What should you do? Serve God and serve others. Nothing will bring you out of your depression and pity party and bring you more hope and joy than when you serve someone other than yourself.

Joseph did the work to prepare for what God was doing. This meant that when his father told him to go and serve his brothers he was obedient to go. Genesis 37:13 “And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”” It meant that when Potiphar left him in charge of his household he was diligent to oversee everything. Genesis 39:4 “So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.” When in prison he was found doing the tasks set before him. Genesis 39:22 “And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.” And when Pharaoh put him in charge Joseph got the job done. Genesis 41:46–49 “Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly. So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.” What Joseph was found doing was what God had prepared him to do but likewise he was faithful to be doing the work.

It is our job to be faithfully doing what God has asked us to do. We should be found at every point in our lives to be faithfully accomplishing the tasks set before us so that we too are preparing for what God is doing in our lives. This means being faithful in service, being faithful in Bible reading, being faithful in prayer, being faithful in church attendance, being faithful in discipleship, in everything we do we are to be faithful to God. Preparation is how Joseph saved his family from famine and from being separated by their hatred. Preparation is what we do as we lean on the promises of God for our own salvation. There a famine of faith in our world and the world hates all those who call on the name of the Lord so it is up to us to be ready for the task at hand. 2 Timothy 4:1–2 “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” This is to be our calling, to be ready for our Lord has made a way for all the world to be saved if only they will call upon His name and turn from their sin. Are you PREPARED?

We need a savior and we received that Savior in Jesus. Now get out there and tell the world about Him.

Gospel

‌If you are here today and you know that you are not a believer, you have never asked Jesus into your heart, or maybe you did but haven’t ever allowed God to change you, then let me tell you how you can change that today. Your sin and your brokenness are there to point you to Jesus because only He can provide you with a real solution. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that solution. Here is the Gospel: Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and because He did, we can ask for our sins to be forgiven, and the Bible says He will forgive them. Jesus is the Lamb of God who died for your sins. God sent Jesus so that Jesus might take the punishment we deserve so that we might return to God and be called His own. Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” ‌It is just that easy. You can confess Him as your savior. If that is your desire today, you can say this prayer with me. Bow your heads. God holds out His outstretched hand for you. Are you going to continue in your sin, or are you going to take His Hand? He is calling, and all you have to do is believe.

‌It is just that easy. You can confess Him as your savior. If that is your desire today, you can say this prayer with me. Bow your heads.

‌Dear Lord, ‌I know that I’m a sinner. I’m sorry for my sin, and I ask you to forgive me. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I repent of my sins, and I ask you to come into my life and take control. I make a commitment to follow you, and I trust you as my Lord and Savior.

‌Friend, if you prayed that prayer today, I ask that you come and speak to me after the service.

‌Benediction: Philippians 4:7 “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”