God Meant it for Good

Introduction

Who is Joseph? What does His bio tell us

The son of Jacob and Rachel (as in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob)

Jacob…a wealthy nomad

Jacob loved Joseph very much because he was born to him in his old age

He lived in the 1600’s or 1700’s B.C.

Education & Career

Received a PH.D. in the advanced school of really hard knocks

Became an expert in dream analysis

Tell the story of the dreams (2 minutes)

Shepherd, left home at 17 to pursue a career in being a slave and a prisoner - he excelled in spite of the odds against him.

His big brothers actually sold him into slavery

His master’s wife falsely accused him of molesting her--he ended up in prison.

God’s gift of dream interpretation eventually brought him to Pharaoh, so that Joseph could interpret his disturbing dreams.

As the newly appointed Director of Egypt’s Global Project to save the world from starvation, Joseph became very powerful.

Philosophy of Life

Love and trust the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob no matter what

Walk closely with God no matter what

Fast-Forward ....when his brothers came to Egypt for food.

When the 7 years of famine began, Jacob sent his sons (except Benjamin) to Egypt to buy food (don’t just stand there looking at each other)

Joseph recognized them but they did not recognize him

He sent them back but kept Simeon in custody until they came back with Benjamin

Jacob didn’t like it, but they were running out of food again, so he had no choice but to send them, with Benjamin, for more food

Finally Joseph revealed himself to his brothers but he comforted them

Genesis 45:4–5 NIV

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

Joseph: “You sold me into Egypt! True enough! But, it was not you who sent me here. It was God. Your intentions were evil, but...”

“God meant it for good!”

Joseph sent them back, with Pharaoh’s blessings, to get their father Jacob and their families

He brought them back to Egypt and Pharaoh gave them the land of Goshen

Years later Jacob died - after they had taken his body back to Canaan for burial and returned to Egypt, Joseph’s brothers became paranoid…it made no sense, after all these years, but it happened.

Genesis 50:15–21 NIV

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

Prayer

In God's hands intended harm ultimately becomes good

Interrogatory: How could Joseph have been so forgiving and kind?

Transitional: Joseph’s experiences had taught Him to trust in God as His shield and defender against very real enemies

THE ENEMY IS REAL BUT OUR DEFENDER IS THE LORD ALMIGHTY

The brothers “meant” it for evil

There is no question about that

The Hebrew word for “meant” use by Joseph traces it’s meaning back to “weave” or “plait”

Joseph said “you wove evil against me, but God rewove it together for good.”

Max Lucado: “God, the Master Weaver. He stretches the yarn and intertwines the colors, the ragged twine with the velvet strings, the pains with the pleasures. Nothing escapes His reach. Every king, despot, weather pattern, and molecule are at His command. He passes the shuttle back and forth across the generations, and as He does, a design emerges.”

Satan weaves — God reweaves

…we indeed have a real enemy...

The enemy designs weapons specifically to use against you

His weapons are meant to steal, kill, and destroy (jealousy, greed, lust, pride, hatred, depression, confusion…)

His weapons also include things like:

betrayal

rejection

lies and false accusations

manipulation

theft of identity and purpose

isolation

temptations that lead to the consequences of sin

but here’s what I know...

The enemy’s weapons cannot stand against your defender, the Lord Almighty

Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke these powerful words to His people:

Isaiah 54:17a NIV “No weapon forged against you will prevail”

NIV, “no weapon FORGED against you will prevail”

In other translations it says FORMED

In other words — these weapons are designed (formed, forged in the blacksmith’s fire) specifically for you

If you want to know what kind of weapon the enemy has formed against you, just look at your area of weakness

The enemy of your soul has a weapon just for that

Fear - insecurity - painful memories of abuse, loss, or failure - sins and failures from your past trying to rear their ugly heads

In other words, we must not forget that we do have an enemy --

We are in a spiritual battle each day

He uses whatever is unique to you (good or bad) to find the chink in your armour so he can try to destroy or incapacitate you

Song by Fred Hammond (based upon Isaiah 54:17):

No weapon formed against me, shall prosper…it won’t work.

My God will do what He said He would do

He’s not a man that He should lie

He will come through

Transitional: True enough…our enemy is very real but this is also true...

THE ENEMY’S EVIL INTENTIONS CANNOT STAND AGAINST GOD’S GOOD PLAN

Genesis 50:20 The Message

Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people.

God’s good plan is not subject to human philosophy

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 NIV

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

God’s plan is about more than just you

If Joseph’s horrible experiences were only about him, it would be hard to find much meaning in his story

God invented multitasking — He is always up to many things all at once

The things you go through as an individual do not only effect you

Family, friends, even strangers are effected by things in your life

Recap

In God's hands intended harm ultimately becomes good

Recap

The enemy is real but our defender is the Lord Almighty

The enemy weaves (forms) special weapons, specifically to destroy your faith and life

The enemy weaves — God reweaves

Recap

What the enemy means for evil cannot stand against God’s plan for good

God’s plan is not subject to human philosophy

God’s plan is about more than just you — there is a great big picture!

CHALLENGE

It can be pretty overwhelming to realize that when you put your trust in Jesus, all of Hell takes up arms against you, intending evil upon your life

Take this truth to heart today...

In God's hands intended harm ultimately becomes good

Think about Joseph’s life..big picture

His life was one long trail of evidence that demonstrates how God uses the worst of times to transform our lives into amazing things that effect many people.

The benefit of Joseph’s suffering can still be seen today

Opening Up Genesis Joseph’s Tombstone

As believers in Jesus, we benefit from the fact that Joseph’s suffering kept the family tree of the Savior alive! “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28)!

Even when others hurt us, God is using it for good

We can forgive them when we realize this

God is in control…no matter what

Don’t judge your circumstances too quickly

If Joseph would have made a judgment of God’s love by what he could see in the situations of each day, he would have lost faith long before he even had a chance to fulfill God’s good plan

Engrave these truths upon your heart:

God meant it for good

No weapon formed against me shall prosper

Sometimes skeptics ask the question, “If God is really all-powerful, and if God is really loving, and if Jesus is really God’s Son…how could He allow His own Son to be murdered so gruesomely?”

The answer is what we see in Genesis 50

Genesis 50:20 NIV

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Jesus died to save your life and the lives of everyone that calls upon Him

Opening Up Genesis Joseph’s Tombstone

The story of Joseph is so much like the story of Jesus! In both cases, God allowed one man to go through tremendous suffering in order, in the end, to bring about rescue for all God’s people! This is simply the way God works. If you are God’s child, and if you suffer, God means it for good! And knowing such should keep us calm when we are the ones experiencing the suffering

Jesus’ suffering was more excruciatingly painful that we can even begin to imagine

That suffering brought about the greatest good the world will ever know - the saving of many lives

Jesus didn’t come just to save many lives…He came to give us abundant, full, and joyful lives

We are able to have lives that overcome what the enemy means for evil

How? Jesus left the Holy Spirit to empower, lead and guide us

How? Jesus called us into His family…we are members of the Body of Christ when we accept Jesus