Trusting God when life goes dark (abridged)

This morning we will be reading from . but before we begin I want to remind us of what has been happening in the story of genesis so far. God promised Abraham that he would be his God and that his descendants would become a great nation that would bless all of the families in the whole world, and that they would inherit the land of Canaan. This promise was passed down from father to son until we get to Jacob and his twelve sons. Jacob’s favorite son was Joseph and he let everyone know it. Not only was Joseph his father’s favorite son, but he appeared to be God’s favorite as well. He had several prophetic dreams where all eleven of his brothers and even his parents bowed down before him. His brothers were jealous of him, and rejected God’s plan to make him ruler over them. They sold him into slavery in Egypt saying “let’s see what comes from his dreams now.” They told their father that their brother was dead, and he refused to be comforted in his grief. But though the sons of Israel rejected the one God chose to lead them, God’s plan was not so easily thwarted.

Joseph served faithfully in Egypt knowing that the Lord had not abandoned him. Eventually God lifted him out of slavery by revealing to Joseph his plan to bring about a worldwide famine. In response, Pharoah made him the governor of all Egypt so that through him God could save many lives and make Egypt a superpower of the ancient world. Joseph became rich and powerful and even married the daughter of an Egyptian priest. Joseph lived in Egypt for more than 20 years and had no word from his family. Would he ever be reunited with them? Does the promise that God made to Abraham still apply to him? Or did his brothers’ evil actions cut his off from God’s promises? What about the dreams that Joseph had? this is a very long passage this morning, so we are going to do something different than normal. rather than reading it all at once at the beginning, we will read it in parts and discuss it as we go. As we read it I want you to ask yourself this question:

What does faith look like when the future is uncertain?

Let’s start to answer this question by reading ,18-24

read passage

What does faith look like when the future is uncertain? Let’s answer this question by looking at Joseph’s faith. The famine that we talked about last Sunday affected Jacob’s family as well. he was forced to send ten of his sons to Egypt to buy food, keeping back only Benjamin because he didn’t trust his sons to keep him safe.

was not limited to Egypt but covered all of the inhabited world. People from all over Mesopotamia were starving and desperate for food. Jacob heard the rumor that food could be bought in Egypt and so he sent his ten of his sons to buy some. But Jacob made his most beloved son Benjamin stay with him in order to keep him safe from all harm. He still remembered when he sent his son Joseph to check on his brothers and he was apparently torn to pieces by wild animals. he would not risk the death of Benjamin, it would be too much for him to handle.

The ten brothers came into the presence of the governor of the land, who took a special interest in them. For all they knew, their brother Joseph was dead, they would not have ever dreamed that in reality the Egyptian who was questioning them was really the one they tried to destroy. Joseph recognized them, however, and had to choose what he would do. His first option was to kill them and he would have been completely justified to do so. the penalty for man stealing is death and almost all present were guilty of this terrible crime. No one would have blamed him if he did. With his family gone, he could be completely integrated in Egyptian society. He would be part of the ruling elite of the most powerful nation on earth! And yet, Joseph does not do this, but instead contrives to reunite with his family. Why is that? It’s because, even though he looks, acts, and speaks like an Egyptian, Joseph is not an Egyptian. Joseph is a Hebrew and an heir of the promises of Abraham!

God promised Abraham that he would be his God forever, and that he would protect him and make him into a great nation. These promises were fulfilled in Christ, and so they worked a little differently back then than they do today. It was focused on Abraham’s family and if Joseph left that family, he would not be an heir of the promise made to Abraham. Joseph would never throw away those promises for something so cheap as earthly wealth and power. God promised him something so much better than that, and he trusted that God will keep his promises.

How does Joseph regain access to these promises? God was giving him a way to do so in this passage, but the cost was high. it could only be done by being reconciled with his brothers who hated him, beat him, destroyed his life, and sold him into slavery away from the father he loved. Joseph can only be brought back into God’s special family by forgiving the ones who effectively killed him.

Faith looks like forgivenessEven today, our salvation is tied to our forgiveness of our brothers and sisters. We don’t have time this morning to talk about how we should work together as a church to discipline serious sin. but i want to talk about what’s going on in our hearts when our brothers and sisters hurt us. When we don’t forgive our brothers and sisters who wrong us, we are not casting them out of the family of God, that judgement belongs to God and to God alone. But Jesus says in we are casting ourselves out of God’s family and therefore cutting ourselves off from God’s promises. Is nurturing your resentment worth being cut off from the promise of eternal life? It was not worth it for Joseph, and if you want to be a part of God’s family it should not be worth it for you. When our brothers and sisters wound us, we must realize that we need forgiveness just as much as they do and humbly let go of bitterness by letting God be their judge. God has empowered you to do this today by giving us the Spirit of reconciliation. let him work in your hearts.

So what does faith look like when the future is uncertain?

Even today, our salvation is tied to our forgiveness of our brothers and sisters. We don’t have time this morning to talk about how we should work together as a church to discipline serious sin. but i want to talk about what’s going on in our hearts when our brothers and sisters hurt us. When we don’t forgive our brothers and sisters who wrong us, we are not casting them out of the family of God, that judgement belongs to God and to God alone. But Jesus says in we are casting ourselves out of God’s family and therefore cutting ourselves off from God’s promises. Is nurturing your resentment worth being cut off from the promise of eternal life? It was not worth it for Joseph, and if you want to be a part of God’s family it should not be worth it for you. When our brothers and sisters wound us, we must realize that we need forgiveness just as much as they do and humbly let go of bitterness by letting God be their judge. God has empowered you to do this today by giving us the Spirit of reconciliation. let him work in your hearts.

Faith Looks like forgiveness

Forgiveness is not easy. forgiveness feels like death sometimes. Often it is not so easy a matter as to just say the words “I forgive you.” there’s a lot of hard work that has to be done in order for it to be real in your heart. We don’t get to see how Joseph worked through the pain of the betrayal of his brothers, but we do see the end result of it.

Ten of Joseph’s brothers bowed before him in humble submission begging for help. Joseph remembered the dreams he had more than 20 years before. but something was missing! in his dreams all 11 brothers bowed before him, and his parents as well. Was his father still alive? What about his brother Benjamin? Had they destroyed him too? Joseph in his heart had begun to reconcile himself to his family but steps had to be taken to complete the work. He was in a place of power over them, he could not trust an honest answer if he were to reveal himself right away. Thus he contrived to create a crisis and reveal their hearts in a stressful situation. He accused them of being spies and demanded that they prove their honesty by bringing the last brother to him

So what does faith look like when the future is uncertain?

but Joseph is not the only character in this story who exercised faith, what did faith look like for Jacob?

let’s read

Jacob does not seem much like a good model for faith in this chapter. When the brothers come home and reveal how they were treated by the ruler of the land, he cried out in despair that Joseph is dead and now Simeon is as good as dead. Jacob is certain that the power hungry Egyptian despot his sons told him about killed his son. Jacob refused to put Benjamin in harms way to save Simeon, even with Rueben’s guarantee of safety. Simeon was probably dead, there was no point in sacrificing Benjamin to save him.

You can see where Jacob is coming from when he cries out “all this has come against me.” It seemed like even God was out to get him. His daughter had been raped, his most beloved wife died in childbirth, his most beloved son was torn apart by wild animals, and now another of his sons was probably dead in Egypt. he had the promises of God that he would be blessed, but what good are these promises if they can’t save his family! He had to protect Benjamin at all costs, because it didn’t seem like God was interested in keeping the people he loved alive. Jacob was willing to trust the promises of God enough to move wherever God told him to go, but for all he could tell, God’s blessing stopped at the grave. They didn’t really apply to his broken heart. Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac because he was so certain that God’s promises were true that he believed God would raise Isaac from the dead. Jacob was not willing to risk Benjamin because he didn’t think God’s promises extended that far. He decided to leave Simeon to die in Egypt and wait out the famine. Hopefully they would never have to visit that tyrant in Egypt again.

Jacob did not yet trust in the God of life who can even raise the dead. He wanted to protect Benjamin himself. But God would not leave Jacob with such a small faith, He had too many wonderful things in store for him and he loved Jacob too much for that. God forced him to trust him with his son by the threat of starvation. and even then it was only with the promise of Judah that he was willing to send him.

Why did Jacob trust Judah and not Reuben? Reuben gave an extravagant promise that he would let Jacob kill his two sons if he didn’t bring Benjamin back. But what grandfather would kill his grandsons? Jacob would be forced to forgive Reuben even if he failed because Jacob could never carry out such a terrible retribution. Though reuben gave a grand promise, in reality he was promising nothing. But Judah on the other hand. he promised that if he did not bring Benjamin back no matter what, he would bear the blame forever. Remember that so far in the book of Genesis, the patriarchs passed the covenant blessing of God down from father to son at the end of their lives. Judah is saying that if he does not bring Benjamin back, he will not expect the covenant blessing but the curse of God on him and his descendants forever. Judah was willing to be cursed by Jacob and by God to protect his brother. With this as the stakes, Jacob knew that Judah would do whatever it took to bring Benjamin back.

In response, Jacob does whatever he can to make sure their journey is a success. He prepares a gift to placate this crazy Egyptian despot who had kidnapped his son. Finally, he surrenders all the power he thought he had by praying a desperate prayer of faith from the pits of despair. “may God almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. and as for me, if i am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” He had given up Simeon for dead, but maybe, just maybe, the God of Abraham can raise his son from the dead. Sometimes this desperate prayer is the only prayer we can offer. But little did Jacob know how fully God can answer his prayer, because Simeon would not be the only brother raised from the dead by this act of desperate faith.

Jesus said that if we have faith like a mustard seed we can say to the mountains be moved and they will be tossed into the sea. Jacob’s faith barely counted as a mustard seed at this point. But God does not answer our prayers based on how strong our faith is, but on who we place our faith in. Jacob was forced by his circumstances to surrender control of his son’s life and he called out to God to protect him and his family. God heard his prayer and he answered Jacob more abundantly than he could ever imagine. And God hears your desperate prayers. Even the prayers you make when you have no where else to turn! Don’t hold on to your own power, but trust the promises of God, that his blessings for his people are more real than the grave. Though Jacob and his family had experienced tremendous suffering as a result of their own sin and the sins of those around them, God had not rejected them. He was still working to keep the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But he does not tell us how he will keep these promises. Cry out to God, and trust that he hears you

This trust may look like being bold enough to pray and hope for a new job you applied for, or about a relationship you are pursuing, or that maybe this month you will experience the joy of a positive pregnancy test. It may look like continuing to pray for the family member who has rejected God. Don’t be too afraid of disappointment to take a risk! Paul teaches us in to not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. God invites us to pray to him about everything that we care about; even the small things, even the impossible things. Don’t let fear of disappointment keep you from the giver of all good gifts. However, does not teach us that God will give us whatever we want. Instead it teaches us something better. That when we bring our anxieties to God, the mystical peace of God which surpasses any comfort we could ever gain by knowledge or power will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.

This looks like continuing to pray and pursue God even when it feels like nothing is happening. Do not give up on your son who has rejected God, he can humble even the hardest hearts, even when our words and clever arguments make no difference. Even your family can’t be saved by your power, but only by the grace of God. It took 20 years for Jacob’s prayers to be answered, but God answered him more abundantly than he could imagine.

This looks like continuing to pray and pursue God even when it feels like nothing is happening. Do not give up on your son who has rejected God, he can humble even the hardest hearts, even when our words and clever arguments make no difference. Even your family can’t be saved by your power, but only by the grace of God. It took 20 years for Jacob’s prayers to be answered, but he was answered more abundantly than he could imagine.

So what does faith look like when the future is uncertain?

I’m not teaching that you will get everything you want if you believe hard enough. I’m teaching that if you are a child of God you don’t need to protect yourself from disappointment because we believe in a God who’s promises are so sure that they he will even raise us from the dead to keep them. What are his promises? He promises that he will love you forever, he will forgive you when you repent, he will comfort you when you grieve, he will protect you, he will discipline you, and that he will make every thing that is wrong with the world right one day. Our hope is not found in protecting ourselves from grief and pain, these will come whether we protect ourselves or not. Our hope is that in the end all of our deepest desires will be met in Christ when he raises us from the dead. Let God be your shield, and live in his freedom.

you will experience sorrow and disappointment, the world is still broken, and God doesn’t promise that everything will work out how you want it to. But he does promise that he loves you, and he will comfort you when you grieve and that he will make every thing that is wrong with the world right one day. Our hope is not in protecting ourselves from grief and pain, these will come whether we protect ourselves or not. Our hope is that in the end all of our deepest desires will be met in Christ when he raises us from the dead. Let God be your shield, and live in his freedom.

So what does faith look like when the future is uncertain?

Faith looks like surrendering control

Genesis 37:7–8 ESV

Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

How do we know that God keeps his promises? Remember Gen 37?

Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold we were binding sheaves in the field and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. and behold your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” The brothers said among themselves: Let us kill him and then we will see what becomes of his dreams!”

הִנֵּהand so all of Jacob’s sons went back to Egypt and were ushered into presence ofJoseph, lord of Egypt. All 11 of Joseph’s brothers prostrated themselves Joseph, fulfilling the prophecy made twenty years before. The brothers said among themselves: let us kill him, and then we will see what becomes of his dreams. Does God keep his promises? Even death can’t stop the plans of God!

Let’s read Gen 43:26-30

Even death can’t stop the plans of God!

Gen 37:

and so all of Jacob’s sons went back to Egypt and were ushered into presence of Joseph, lord of Egypt. All 11 of Joseph’s brothers prostrated themselves before Joseph, fulfilling the prophecy made twenty years before. The brothers said among themselves: let us kill him, and then we will see what becomes of his dreams. Does God keep his promises? Even death can’t stop the plans of God!

and so all of Jacob’s sons went back to Egypt and were ushered into presence ofJoseph, lord of Egypt. All 11 of Joseph’s brothers prostrated themselves before Joseph, fulfilling the prophecy made twenty years before. The brothers said among themselves: let us kill him, and then we will see what becomes of his dreams. Does God keep his promises? Even death can’t stop the plans of God!

What does faith look like when the future is uncertain?

Faith Looks like forgiving each other.

Faith looks like surrendering control.

but most of all

Faith looks like trusting God’s promises, even through death.

Christ himself was prophesied to rule over God’s people, just like Joseph over his brothers. Yet he was rejected by God’s people, they beat him, mocked him, and hung him on the cross to die. Even his father forsook him in that moment. Unlike Joseph, he did nothing to deserve their abuse, but suffered quietly, trusting that God would keep his promise to him. And through his death, many people were saved, and through his resurrection, we can be part of the family of God and recieve his inheritance. God’s promises are so sure, that they even transcend death! Will you be a part of God’s family?

Jesus Christ was prophesied to rule over God’s people, like Joseph was over his brothers. Yet he was rejected by God’s people. They beat him, mocked him, and hung him on the cross to die. Even his father forsook him in that moment. He did nothing to deserve their abuse, but suffered quietly, even praying that his murderers would be forgiven. He accepted the curse of God to save his people, trusting that God would keep his promise to him that all the nations would be blessed through him. And through his death, many people were saved, and through his resurrection, we can be part of the family of God and receive his inheritance. God’s promises are so sure, that they even transcend death! Will you be a part of God’s family? You can join his family this morning by repenting of your sins and believing in Jesus whom God sent to save you. We aren’t a perfect family, but God loves us just the same. Will you be an heir to God’s promises with us?

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Trusting God when life goes dark (abridged)

What does faith look like when the future is uncertain?

Faith Looks like forgiveness

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Faith looks like surrendering control

Faith Looks like forgiving each other.

Faith looks like surrendering control.

Faith looks like trusting God’s promises, even through death.