Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

Today we will conclude our series titled, [Finding Jesus in Joseph].

The subject of today’s message is [Living for Eternity].

I have distinct memories of being in church when I was a child.

When Sunday School teachers remark, “they might not seem like they are listening, but they are.”

That describes me perfectly.

I do not want to paint a picture that I was always perfect, always listening, and never disrupting.

There were times I acted up, there were times I played with toys or colored picture, and there were times I was taken out of the sanctuary for some Biblical discipline!

However, I paid enough attention to remember our pastor talked about heaven and he preached about hell.

My developing brain could comprehend one thing, I did NOT want to go to hell, I needed to go to heaven!

Eternal matters were also discussed at home as well.

My parents and grandparents talked about heaven, and sometimes threatened me with hell.

Once at daycare, I had to be around four years old, I got into trouble.

I know that is surprising, but this was preconversion!

I lied to my teacher, who was also my aunt.

My friend Bryce and I both got into trouble.

Our teacher waited until both our moms were there, and Bryces mom scolded him, but not much else.

My mom looked at my stone cold face, and asked, “Daniel, where do liars go?”

The dam broke, tears rushed down my cheek as I answered, “to the Lake of Fire!” Mom asked, “do you want to burn in the lake of fire forever?” Conviction swept over my sinful four year-old heart, and I mustered the strength to say, “No!”

While that story is humorous, I would not trade it for the world.

My parents instilled in me the fact that eternity is long.

How I live today depends on where I will live for eternity!

I used to sit and think during church, how long is eternity.

Our pastor would say, forever, and forever, and forever.

It is difficult to fully understand the length of eternity.

But if I had to be somewhere forever, I wanted to make sure it was heaven and not hell.

This is something we must understand as Christians.

Eternity is not some day way in the future, we live for eternity today!

One author explained, “Direction, not intention, determines your destination” (Andy Stanley, the Principle of the Path).

In essence, every decision affects the next decision.

The choices we make today affect tomorrow, but they also affect eternity.

Life is not a series of unrelated events.

Everything is connected, from here to eternity.

This is certainly the case in the life of Joseph.

His immature and insecure arrogance caused his brothers to be jealous.

Their jealousy sent Joseph to the pit.

Upon his arrival in Egypt, Joseph assimilated to the culture but he never lost his faith in the God of his ancestors.

His faithfulness in the small jobs landed him a job in the big house, working with Potiphar.

Though he was faithful, even fleeing temptation, the actions of Potiphar’s wife landed Joseph in prison.

However, his faithfulness in prison opened doors for him to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh.

The thread that held Joseph’s life together was faithfulness.

Today, we will see how toward the end of Joseph’s life, his faith gave him the assurance to make it into eternity!

As we look for Jesus in Joseph, I want us to see how we live for eternity TODAY.

Eternal life may begin when we die, but eternal living begins the moment we get saved.

I want to divide this last part of Joseph’s life into three parts, [Reassurance of Forgiveness], [Remembering God’s Faithfulness], and [Return in the Future].

Let’s begin

1.

Reassurance of Forgiveness

After Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers, reconciliation followed.

Then the impossible dream came to pass, Jacob and Joseph were reunited.

What they thought would never happen became a reality.

Jospeh interceded for his family to Pharaoh.

In deep gratitude to Joseph, Pharaoh allowed Joseph’s family to settle the best part of Egypt, the land of Goshen.

Joseph’s entire family, all seventy of them, made the journey from Canaan to Egypt, this time to stay for a long time.

Isn’t it incredible how God fulfills the desires of our heart.

Jacob’s dream of seeing Joseph alive seemed dead, but God brought it back to life.

Imagine the reunion between the two.

However, their time together would not last forever, Jacob was an old man by this point.

Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years before he died at the age of 147.

Joseph’s brothers began to think, Joseph was nice to us when dad was alive, but what will happen now?

Their minds went back seventeen years when Joseph stood before them and revealed, “I am Joseph.”

I am confident that fear gripped their hearts.

They knew they were wrong, and they knew Joseph had power.

He could have had them arrested, imprisoned, or even killed.

Notice their cowardly decision.

Instead of going to Joseph, they sent messengers.

They told Joseph, “Dad asked before he died, you need to be kind and forgive your brothers for the terrible evil they committed against you.”

Interestingly enough, this is the only place this is recorded in scripture.

Perhaps Jacob really said this, perhaps the brothers made it up, it’s their word against Jacob, who was dead at this point.

They wanted reassurance of forgiveness.

Their comments made Joseph weep, why?

Because Joseph understood the importance of...

2. Remembering God’s Faithfulness

As the brothers went to Joseph, bowing before him, fulfilling the dream God gave him decades before, Joseph showed his continued faithfulness to the Lord.

How could Joseph be so compassionate and considerate?

Because he understood he lived for eternity.

Had this happened years before, Joseph might have exacted revenge.

Instead, Joseph had been through enough to know God was the one pulling the strings and leading Joseph’s life.

Unlike the brothers who looked at the temporal, Joseph focused on the eternal.

As a man of wisdom and experience, he remembered how faithful God had been to him.

Sure the brothers meant evil against him.

Notice, Joseph did not diminish or excuse their evil mistakes.

Their actions were nothing short of evil, BUT GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD!

When we live for eternity, learn to keep this in mind.

We understand that God is not discouraged by our circumstances.

When Joseph was a teenager, God was on the throne.

When Joseph was in slavery, God was on the throne.

When Joseph was in prison, God was on the throne.

When Joseph was governor, God was on the throne.

And as the brothers feared for their lives, God was still on the throne.

Joseph’s circumstances, whether good or bad, did not change God’s position.

Sure people meant evil against him, but God never forgot Joseph.

Remember Paul’s promise:

When we choose to live for eternity, we will understand that God has a plan for our lives that He prepared for us when we were nit in our mother’s womb.

Therefore, every step in Joseph’s life led him to this place, “brothers, God took the terrible and turned it around so that He could use me to save our family, and the families of Egypt.”

So do not fret or worry, you may see the terrible, but I remember God’s faithfulness!

Be reassured, you are forgiven.

I am living for eternity, looking forward, not backward.

If he lived today, he might have reminded them the words of the song, “pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide.

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine with ten thousands beside.

Great is Thy faithfulness!”