Practicing the Presence of God When Nothing Seems to Make Sense

Sunday morning Message June 1, 2020 [Note: This is an outline with brief remarks gathered from Roger's sermon and from the notes I made as I listened to Pastor Senn's message. This message reminded me of a saying we had when I was in Wisconsin-"When we prepare a sermon, we milk a lot of cows but churn our own butter! That's pretty much what I have done here-some from Adrian Rogers, some from Bro. Senn and some from me. All stirred together!] Title: Practicing the Presence of God When Nothings Seems to Make Sense Text: Gen 39:20-23 20 And Joseph's master took him, and lput him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. Introduction: Sometimes you come across a message by someone else who said exactly what you want to say and that is the case this morning. I am going to use the outline from a message preached by Adrian Rogers, the old-time preacher from Memphis, TN, which he titled, "Practicing the Presence of God When Nothing Seems to Make Sense." Adrian Rogers was probably the best or one of the best preachers of the twentieth century. All of us have probably had experiences which caused us to wonder what in the world is going on. As we examine our life, we confess known sins but it just seems like we are doing everything right. What is happening just doesn't make sense. Roger said notice, "I didn't say 'when nothing makes sense' (but) ' ...when nothing seems to make sense.' " (emphasis added) Today I want to give you five principles which will help you when life just does not "seem to make sense." Most of you know the life of Joseph. His brothers were jealous and hated him so one day, when they were out in the fields, they sold him to a passing band of Midianites who, in turn, sold him to a man named Potipher. Potipher's wife later tried to seduce him but he fled, ended up in prison before eventually becoming second in the kingdom only to Pharaoh himself. In all of this Joseph acquitted himself well. By his attitude and actions, he rose above his circumstances at each stage, demonstrating for us some principles to follow when we find that life doesn't make sense. Principle #1: Don't Demand to Understand We learned that Joseph's master put him in prison, but the Bible tells us in verse 21, "But the Lord was with Joseph." When we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, the old Devil is likely to suggest that your God is not watching over you. Don't believe it. Proverbs 3:5, 6 contain information we should turn to in times like that (and this). Trust in the Lord. AND, forget trying to figure it out yourself. Instead, the verse challenges us to "acknowledge Him." Turn to Him, trust Him, look for direction from Him. God will never let his children down. You may also want to read Isaiah 50. The waning days of Israel and Judah were tough times to live through, but God's eye was still on His people. Great men like Job (Job 9:33) and Habakkuk (Hab 1:2-4) in the Old Testament and John the Baptist in the New (Matt 11:3) each faced situations which cause them to question God. "Where are You" were words likely heard on their lips. Even the Apostle Paul spoke of being "perplexed" (2 Cor 4:8). He was saying, "I don't understand." As with each of these, so we too will have those times. But we must realize there are some things we are not meant to understand. [I heard somewhere lately that God is weaving a beautiful quilt. From underneath, it does not look so pretty but from God's vantage point above, it is the most beautiful thing in the world.] It is our duty to trust Him and put the doubts and questions aside. Rogers said, "Don't demand to understand. Try to understand if you can, but don't demand to understand." Keep trusting and believing, knowing that He has a plan, a perfect plan. Principle #2: Don't Fail to Be Faithful At each stage, despite the fact that Joseph has done nothing wrong, he keeps pushing ahead, serving God, and working hard. No sulking out of him. And, for that God continued to bless him in other ways. First, he was made the head of Potipher's household, then the "keeper of the prison" put everything about the prison in his hands (Gen 39:21-23). Faithfulness brings God's blessings. [Permit me to inject a personal experience. At the first church where I was the pastor, I was, as the saying goes, "wet behind the ears." Some would probably say, "wet all over!" I had no idea how to build a church, but I just did the best I could with what little bit of common sense I had. And God blessed! Blessed in spite of me.] And he will bless you if you are faithful. Maybe not in the way you expect or want but God never fails to bless faithfulness. We see it all through the Bible. God was with Joseph and He will be with you if you are faithful. Principle #3: Don't bow to Bitterness So, don't demand to understand, but be faithful. Then, don't let bitterness take hold of you. As we continue to look at Joseph's prison experience, we come to Gen 40:14, 15. Again, you remember how Pharaoh had thrown both his butler and his baker into prison. But the butler had a dream to which Joseph explained that Pharaoh was going to restore him as his butler. Joseph's only request was that he would mention him to Pharaoh. He could have told him about his sorry brothers who sold into slavery or about Potipher's wife, but he simply left that to God. But sadly, the Butler forgot. Friends will often make promises to you-but forget. Simple things can hurt and let us turn to bitterness if we are not on guard against the tricks of the Devil. But Joseph was steadfast. We never hear of his complaining, bitterness, sulking. No, he kept doing that which was before him to do. But the day came when Pharaoh had a dream and the butler remembered Joseph. Now, suppose Joseph had lost faith, turned bitter and forsaken the Lord. Many Christians follow the Lord faithfully but then one day something devastating (from their vantage point) and they decide to leave the church, quit serving God and turn back, all too often to the ways of the world. 1 Peter 2:20 is a great verse that well describes Joseph's life. It reads, "For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God." It is easy to become bitter when people fail us and, lets face it, people are human and make mistakes. Words don't always come out the way we intend. Sometimes people hurt us, and it seems as if they take pleasure in it. Many men have asked, "How could they do that to me after all I have done for them." But what we should be thinking is, how could they do that after all I have done for God? If your work is simply to please men, you will suffer many defeats in this life. Many times I have heard the expression, "Attitude is everything." Maybe not everything, but sugar beats vinegar in life. Principle #4: Don't Be Unwilling to Wait: Joseph was about seventeen years old when he was sold into slavery and now, standing before Pharaoh, he is thirty years old. That's a long time to wait for freedom. But think for a minute about Joseph's life after prison. Pharaoh, in reward for Joseph interpreting his dream when his astrologers were unable to do it, made him the top man in the kingdom next to him. He now is promoted to be over Pharaoh's house and "over all of the land of Egypt." The Bible even tells us that Pharaoh put a ring on his hand, put fine clothes on him, and caused the people to bow their knee to him! Was that worth the wait? Would you give thirteen years for that kind of a promotion? No doubt, all of us would. That would be like going from ditch digging one day to vice-president of the United States in thirteen years! Ps 37:5-9 speaks to this so well: 5Commit thy way unto the Lord; Trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, And thy judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. Rogers said, "Over and over again in the Bible we're told to wait upon the Lord. When you don't understand, don't be unwilling to wait." Think of 1 Peter 5:6 as well. "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." For the believer, the promises are God are immense. [I remember a lady nearly fifty years ago giving a testimony some months after getting saved. She said, even I I were to die and there was no heaven, what I have experienced in the last few months would still be worth it all. Another lady told me just a few weeks after getting save, "Pastor, I cannot tell you how much my way of thinking has changed since that Sunday."] Friend, when we trust God as our Savior, all may not be roses, but the blessings always makes life better. Don't be unwilling to wait. Don't get bent out of shape. Don't throw it all away. If you do, you may never know how close you were to achieving the greatest victory of your life. In sports it is often the team which fights right down to the clock, who make that touchdown or field goal at the last second and win the game because they fought all the way till the clock read all zeros. But too often, we see teams reach the point where they hang their heads and suffer defeat when they may have won if they had pushed on through the weariness of the battle. Principle #5: Don't Let Dreams Dissolve And now we come to the last principle-don't let your dreams dissolve. Joseph had dreamed as a teen the one day he would be a world ruler, that his brothers would bow to him. He was mocked for it. His brothers hated him when they learn of it. On one level, it was just a foolish dream. But God had a plan-He always does. Joseph's dream was "a God-given dream." But Joseph never forgot. In sports we say, "Keep your eye on the ball." Persevere. Some have said "Don't doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light." Dark times come but let me tell you, God never fails. He keeps His power because He has a plan and the power to see it through. Trust him whatever comes your way. It may not be until you reach heaven that you see you small bit part in His great drama of redemption but how tall you will stand when you realize that you played your part the right way. Rogers, with a bit of humor, said something like this. Joseph has been given this high honor and now Potipher goes home and is eating with his wife. He then asks if she remembers the slave whom she accused of molesting her. She answers "yes." "Well, for your sake, I hope you were telling the truth. I report to him tomorrow." Conclusion: Think of it. One day we will report to God. For your sake, I hope you have been telling the truth. Do you know Him as your Savior? Are you serving Him to the best of your ability? Or, if truth be told, have you just been living your life, your way, sliding along with little worry about the day, that day when you will give an answer for how you did (or, did not) demand answers from God, you did (or, did not) remain faithful, did (or, did not) bow to bitterness, were willing (or, unwilling) to wait on God's time? In Christ's time some followed for a time, then fell away. Will you persevere to the end? Roger said it this way, "Don't you lose your faith when it doesn't make sense to you. Just because it doesn't make sense to you does not mean it will not make sense one day." Amen and Amen! --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------