God's Plan Realized
Notes
Transcript
Key verses
Key verses
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Background .....
Ron Comfort Evangelist - Born in a dysfunctional home, by mother on his own y age of 14 sung in bars and night clubs .. came to know Christ and worked his way to pay for High School and College at BJU academy
Evangelist
This morning we are going to speak on ''Succeeding In Spite Of Your Circumstances.''
Everyone who has ever succeed has had circumstances that were unfavorable to overcome and to deal with.
The story of Joseph shows us that it is our character not our circumstances that determines our success.
It is our character, not our circumstances that determines our success. And no matter how dismal your circumstances may be, no matter how insurmountable they may seem to you, God can cause you to succeed in spite of those negative circumstances.
Illustration - Ron Comfort Evangelist
In chapter 45, Joseph has become the second in command in all the land of Egypt. He is second only to the Pharaoh, he is in charge of all the treasuries of Egypt and his brothers who thirty years before had sold him into slavery have now been brought before him with their hands out asking for help. Now these brothers just now realize who he is because they supposed that he was either dead or gotten somewhere in a slave camp and they have just recognized who he is.
More here
Its awful
Time is hard
People are unfair
Your health is failing
Others dont understand
wrongly accused
wrongly fires
Your spouse is unfaithful
Illustration here -
God has a plan in-spite of your circumstances
I. The Relationship with God
I. The Relationship with God
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.
How did he succeeded in spite of his circumstances. There’s a specific verse in Scripture that says something very important about Joseph.
Joseph succeeded in spite of his circumstances. Joseph’s story found in Genesis 37-50 has everything in it, revenge, lust, attempted murder, deceit, seduction, race, violence, false accusation, and imprisonment.
Joseph was rejected at home.
His first 30 years were no picnic. He grew up in a highly dysfunctional family. There was rivalry, partiality, and hostility. Genesis 37:4 says his brothers hated him so that when the opportunity came they planned to kill him.
But they changed their mind as verse 22 says and put him in a well so he’ll die without their touching him.
But then some traders come along and they realize they can make a few bucks selling Joseph. That’s how Joseph ends up in Egypt in Potiphar’s house.
Yet in spite of the circumstances he became the administrator of Potiphar’s household. This brings us to the second circumstance of Joseph’s life.
Joseph was slandered at work.
Rejected at home, and now slandered at work.
Potiphar’s wife made sexual advances toward Joseph, not once or twice but daily.
Joseph refused. Now that’s sexual harassment in the work place. But one day slander takes the upper hand when Joseph’s running from her caused his coat to be left behind. She uses it saying to her husband “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. When I cried out he ran and left this garment.” Now Potiphar didn’t take kindly to that, firing Joseph and putting him in prison where the king’s prisoners were confined. So, now the third descriptive phrase of Joseph circumstances.
Joseph is forgotten in Prison
Rejected at home, slandered at work, and now forgotten in prison.
While in prison Joseph befriended staff members of Pharaoh.
One of the individual he befriended was the cupbearer, a wine steward, for Pharaoh. Joseph through a series of circumstances helped this person get out of prison telling him don’t forget about me.
In Genesis 40:23 you see what happened, “he did not remember Joseph, he forgot him.”
The circumstance of Joseph’s life:
Rejected at home,
Slandered at work,
Forgotten in prison.
People may hurt you, use you, abuse you, reject you, and forget about you, but when the Lord is in your life you can succeed in spite of your circumstances; no matter what people do?
Well, how did Joseph succeed in spite of his circumstances? Joseph succeeded because by God’s grace he never lost his character.
He might have lost his hope at times, his position, and his reputation, but he never lost his character.
When it comes to success, it’s never a matter of circumstances, but it is always a matter of character.
And you know what, Jesus Christ in in the character building business.
More here about character
II. The Reunion with His Family
II. The Reunion with His Family
1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. 2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. 3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence. 4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
In one of the most moving scenes in all the Bible, Joseph ordered his staff to go out of the room while, with an enormous emotional release, he revealed his identity to his brothers. He told them not to grieve for the way they had treated him, because God had overruled it for good.
With a burst of emotion Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. This (v. 2) was the third of five times he wept over his brothers (42:24; 43:30; 45:14; 50:17; cf. 50:1).
They were stunned by the news, unable to speak for fear that Joseph might kill them.
v1 - could not control himself , sent everyone out
vs 2- wept aloud all outside could hear
vs 3 - I am Joseph
vs 3 brothers were stunned and troubled at his presence
vs 4 - come near means get a closer look
can you imagine what was going through their mind!
This was the last person they wanted to see
At this point the reunion was a one way street
Only Joseph was happy to see them ....
Drama - your sin will find you out
Illustration - this was a moment God had planned for three decades
Illustration - there is a light at the end of the tunnel
III. The Reason for Joseph’s Treatment
III. The Reason for Joseph’s Treatment
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Joseph explained that God had sovereignly brought him to Egypt to prepare for their deliverance from famine.
The certainty that God’s will, not man’s, is the controlling reality in every event shined through as the basis for reconciliation.
No doubt Joseph had consoled himself many times with this principle of faith. He who is spiritual can perceive the hand of God in every event, and therefore is able to forgive those who wrong him.
exegete 5-8
vs 5 - dont be angry with yourselves
God sent me here to preserve your life
we are two years into the famine there are five years left
there will be no plowing or planting for the next five years you will starve
Pharaoh has left me in-charge of distributing and selling gain
God sent me ahead of you and all that I have gone through to was to keep the remnant of our family alive
You did not put me here God did....
Wow !!!!!
Illustration - move to California
Did not work out
Move to NJ from Florida - lonely and wanting
God’s divine plan even through difficult circumstances
Illustration -
Foul ball on at a softball tournament
Tumor on the brain
God uses bad things in His plain for us ......
more here
IV. The Result of Joseph’s Faithfulness
IV. The Result of Joseph’s Faithfulness
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not: 10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children’s children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast: 11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
Its moving time
Go get Jacob tell him that his son Joseph is 2nd only to Pharoah and we are to move to Goshen the well water plain of the nile
Bring the entire nation - there will be no starvation
God in his divine plan put Joseph in charge for this day
All the heartache
All the misery
All the questioning God
all the doubts
Was God’s plan for today
Its a-dream to0 good to be true
A family reunion
No one will come to poverty - no one is going to starve
Joseph then instructed his brothers to hurry back without delay (cf. quickly in v. 13 and cf. 43:15) to Jacob and inform him of Joseph’s power (as “ruler of all Egypt,” 45:8, and lord of all Egypt, v. 9) and honor in all the land of Egypt (vv. 9, 13). The whole family must move to Egypt and live in the region of Goshen, a fertile area in the Nile Delta (cf. comments on 47:1–12), to dwell under Joseph’s rule, because God had prepared the way through all the circumstances
What is God doing behind the scenes ?
What is God allowing that has a purpose we can not see?
Joseph’s character is what brought hi to this point