The Joseph Journey (2)

Growth in the Mud

I read a meme on facebook a while back that stated: People tried to bury me, but when they didn’t they didn’t know I was a seed. I don’t ponder about a lot when it comes to what I read on facebook, but I have found myself reflecting more than a time or two on this statement and what I came out with and continue to try to figure out are several Key factors of being the seed.

I have found that many Christians don’t reach their full potential or any potential at all because we all have this one inherent trait: We fear being buried. We fear being planted. The health, wealth, and security gospel flourishes today because people fear adversity. I have heard many prayers from all different types of people, from pastors to prisioners, from wealthy to poor. from city to country and they all usually contain the same sustenance.

Lord, bless us. Bless the church. Give to us. Meet our needs and then some. Heal us physically. Give us our health. Then we pray Lord have your way—as long as it is a blessing to us.

Before we get into the scripture verse this morning I have to mention two things I come to believe.

Christians shouldn’t live in poverty

That doesn’t mean there won’t be times when you are financially lacking, but again we get buried to grow.

Christians Should Embrace Dark places-not run from them.

BEfore there can be light there has to be darkness. Look at the creation of the universe. God didn’t create darkness, he created light and used it to seperate time for darkness to times of light. He called them day and night. And a proper plant requires both—too much light and it gets burnt. Too much darkness and and it doesn’t have enough light to grow.

I want to open today with our scripture before we get into these key factors because, I believe, what we see in Joseph at this very moment we can see in our own lives.

Genesis 37:18–24 ESV

They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Last week we talked about Rueben and had a motorcycle experience. So I want to drop down to verse 23 and hopefully leave the motorcycle in the garage.

They Stripped Him of His Robe.

They Stripped Him of His Robe.

Most seeds have an outter shell. The part we touch when we pull it out of the fruit or the package isn’t actually the seed. It’s the part of the seed designed to protect the seed. It stops predators from eating it. It can stop big feet from stomping on it. It makes sure the seed doesn’t get harmed during it’s decent from the plant to the ground.

However, even though God created the shell to protect the seed there are times when that shell hinders the seeds growth. There are shells that never crack which, although stops the seed from being hurt externally also hinders the seed from growing internally.

Joseph’s robe was that shell. Joseph in this analogy is the seed. And the pit is the whole in which Joseph gets planted.

Why was the robe the shell? The robe was an internal display of the pride Joseph held on the inside. The robe symbolized a life of elevation and superiority over his brothers. The robe, created as a gift, became the catalyst of his downfall.

Joseph loved God, this is very evident and the basis of all things. It doesn’t matter how many times you are planted and how many times you sprout and bear fruit, the bible tells us if it isn’t done in love it means nothing. Joseph loved God, but Joseph also loved Joseph.

When His brothers removed his robe it was the symbol of the beginning of Joseph’s journey of God removing his pride. The shell had to be removed for the seed to grow. We as people want to avoid adversity and pain so much that we even project that desire onto our children. Jacob did this, by feeding Joseph’s pride. The psychology world has a term for this and it’s called

Enabling.

Enabling happens when the parents take the position of the shell and begin to protect their children from the troubles of this world and in it’s extreme cases and protect them from troubles that the seed itself created. We see this when parents make excuses for their child’s drug problem or behavioral problem. When parents blame other kids for bullying when it’s the kids fault for picking fights or name calling. We protect our kids when we keep paying their rent because they used their money to buy new shoes or a new car. Enabling comes in many forms, but it has the same product. A seed that cannot grow because it doesn’t ever meet adversity.

This is why Christians shouldn’t fear chastisement.

Jeremiah 31:18 NKJV

“I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, For You are the Lord my God.

Jeremiah 31:8 ESV

Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here.

Most Christians and even many non-Christians can quote , What God was telling Israel is yes there is blessing, but understand the chastisement of God’s children was the catalyst for Israel to receive God’s blessing.

Before God blesses His children he puts them in a position not only to be blessed, but to ensure they don’t get burnt out from the blessing. Remember if the sun stays on the flower for too long the flower will wither and die. God putting Joseph in a very low place so that Joseph could be raised up by God, not by Joseph or Jacob his father.

The struggle helps us to grow. A seed that hasn’t struggled to get out of the ground will never survive its first rainstorm.

We have to embrace the process God put in place.

Learn to embrace the struggle

The first key of being a seed is removing the shell

What’s worth obtaining is worth struggling for. Nothing in live worth getting is easy. There are platitudes among platitudes that tell us this same concept.

Another key to growing as a seed is

Growing in the right direction

Many people try to grow up. But if your roots are firm the plant will die.

time spent in the dirt is vital. They are many nutrients that a plant requires for growth comes from the dirt the seed was buried in. Use the time out of the spot light to grow in your relationship with God.

I believe there is a reason God didn’t allow this church and won’t allow this church to experience explosive growth and that’s because statistically churches that receive explosive growth also die with such speed—typically within 5 years of the explosion. Why? Because no one can readily sustain growth they weren’t prepared for. I believe this church will out grow this building, but I believe it will take its time.

You must get rooted in God before you bare fruit in His name. The reality is if we aren’t rooted deep enough into nutrient rich soil we will either be eaten by birds , became burnt by the son or washed away in the rain. The roots help us to stand firm as stronger adversity comes while we continue to sprout. I have watched trees being cut down only to sprout new a new tree in the stump. The only way to stop a tree from growing is to pull it out by its roots.

The third key is

Embrace the Struggle

The biggest struggle of the plant is unseen. After it gets rooted it has to push itself out of the dirt. This is where David learned to battles lions and bears before he fought Goliath. Many people want to be in the spot light, but it takes more time backstage to be ready for the spot light.

Jeremiah 31:18 ESV

I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God.

Jeremiah 31:18 NKJV

“I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, For You are the Lord my God.

Most Christians and even many non-Christians can quote , What God was telling Israel is yes there is blessing, but understand the chastisement of God’s children was the catalyst for Israel to receive God’s blessing.

Before God blesses His children he puts them in a position not only to be blessed, but to ensure they don’t get burnt out from the blessing. Remember if the sun stays on the flower for too long the flower will wither and die. God putting Joseph in a very low place so that Joseph could be raised up by God, not by Joseph or Jacob his father.

The struggle helps us to grow. A seed that hasn’t struggled to get out of the ground will never survive its first rainstorm.

You must be planted before you can grow.

I stated before that I don’t believe Christians should live in poverty, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be times in which we are poor. God will only give you what you can handle. If you want to handle more you first have to be stretched more. The pain you are growing through now will be the pain that projects your forward later. I don’t believe Christians should always struggle, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be times of struggling.

Matthew 3:

Matthew 13:3–9 ESV

And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Matthew 19:3–9 ESV

And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

Don’t let being planted turn into being buried. Don’t let what is temporary become permanent simply because you don’t see the sun. Don’t let a lesson or a test stop you from graduating.