When Men Fail Us

Rather than letting truth shape their view of their circumstances, of their hurts, they allow their hurts and circumstances to determine their truth and shape their view of God.

As we look at Genesis 40 today, there will be one resounding question that hangs over the end of the text that must be considered for us because the question will bring us to a crossroads in our lives spiritually.

Outline

How do we respond when men fail us?

Big Idea: The failures of men are an opportunity strengthen trust in God.

Joseph knows the failure of men - Genesis 40

Give your disappointment and hurt to God (Ps 34)

Refuse the temptation to be angry with and disappointed in God

Reorient wrong desires or expectations. Surrender our perceived rights.

Bask in the Gifts given rather than in the things withheld.

Recognize His grace in the disappointment

Trust His wise and sovereign Plan

Forgive. Extend Grace, the same grace recieved from God.

Submit, obey, and get busy.

Sermon Body

How do we respond when men fail us?

Big Idea: The failures of men are an opportunity strengthen trust in God.

Joseph Knows the Failure of Men - Genesis 40

Setting the stage to answer the questions, how do we respond when men fail us....

Genesis 40:1-4 - The kings chief cupbearer and baker anger him and are placed in prison where they remain for quite some time.

We are not given an exact time but “quite some time” suggests a length of months at least, perhaps a year or more.

Since we do not know how long he was in Potiphar’s house, it is hard to know how long this was here. The only reference to exact time is when we are told the cupbearer forgot about him and he remained in prison for two more years.

But he has some time with them. He gets to know them. Which may be important given his discerning of their mood later on in the text and their willingness to share their dreams with them.

This span of time likely gave them time to develop and establish a relationship to trust that made that exchange possible.

Genesis 40:5-8 - God once more works through dreams, sending them to these two men. In the dreams, a veiled picture of their future but they are not able to understand the meaning of the dream

Note....They knew these dreams in particular were of importance.

Whether from a high emphasis on all dreams in this day and time or whether because there was something significant about these ones, they knew this was different.

They were troubled. Downcast. Anxious, bothered. Enough that Joseph noticed the difference in their countenance.

ALSO of importance…Joseph states in Genesis 40:8 that the meanings of dreams belongs to God alone.

He points the glory back to God, not himself.

He is dependent upon God to interpret the dreams for these two men.

There is a confidence, faith, and certainty in his heart that is obvious.

The truth is this…dreams (especially at this time of history) were God’s tool and God’s means for communicating with his creation in specific and clear ways. Therefore, the interpretation of those dreams comes from him alone.

Interpretation truth — As we seek to interpret scripture (dreams sent by God), it cannot mean something to us that it did not intend to mean from the original author.

Joseph then invites them to share the dreams with him (and by implication that he will seek God with them for an interpretation).

Genesis 40:9-15 - The cupbearer’s dream

His dream revealed that Pharaoh would look favorably upon him once again and restore him to his place of honor as the chief cupbearer.

Joseph’s request - Remember me when you come before the King again.

First time we see Joseph’s discontent (frustration?) at his circumstance. Throughout, we have only ever been given his character, faith, and righteousness.

BUT he is a man, flawed, like us. It only stands to reason that he would be discontent and frustrated by his situation, by the abuse by his brothers, the false accusation and imprisonment by Potiphar’s wife.

AND YES, he would like a change in his circumstance.

I would not view this as a complaint or in a negative light, just one in which his frustration over the circumstance is revealed to a degree.

He is asking the cupbearer to act as intercessor before Pharoah and to get him to release him from his imprisonment.

Genesis 40:16-19 - The Baker’s dream

Less desirable, the baker will die in three days.

Perhaps he tried to poison the king…lol…I don’t know. Whatever the reason, his life will end in three days time.

Genesis 40:20-22 - The Dreams Fulfilled

They are fulfilled just as Joseph interpreted.

Genesis 40:23 - Joseph forgotten

Here we see offense mount upon offense as Joseph is forgotten.

Admittedly, Joseph may not realize that the cupbearer forgot him. He probably never got word at all. For all Joseph knew, the cupbearer did say something and the king refused. Either way, it had to have been a disappointment to Joseph.

Rising out of this text, one resounding question hung in my mind....how do we respond when men disappoint/fail us?

Joseph has known this experience repeatedly....

His brothers

His master’s wife

The cupbearer

Did not remember

Remember - to name, to make mention,

Remember - To call to mind

Word has nuances that could suggest it was not a memory issue but a purposeful not making mention

Perhaps for not wanting to press his luck with the king too soon…feeling he was on precarious group

And perhaps over time, he did legitimately forget (not being mindful of) Joseph

Then two years later, when Pharoah has his dreams, the baker is filled with a combination of remorse, perhaps that he chose NOT to mention back then and/or that he did legit forget a man who treated him well and provided an interpretation for the dream he had.

It is enough to make a person bitter and angry.

We hear people’s angry bitter stories all the time, and at far less at times than these offenses.

He expressed, for the first time that we see, his discontent and frustration when he asked the cupbearer to remember him before the King when he was returned to his position. He is a man, of course this had to be the case.

So Joseph is at a cross roads. He is being presented with an opportunity to trust God.

Big Idea: The failures of men are an opportunity strengthen trust in God.

And so the question that settled upon my heart and mind was, how do (OR SHOULD) we respond to these constant failures of man against us? How do we avoid the ranting bitterness that consumes? How do we respond when that same anger and bitterness threatens to be turned toward God?

Do we see them as an opportunity to strengthen our trust in God? Or do they have the opposite effect upon our lives?

As I pondered this, 8 truths settled out regarding how God desires for us to respond to men’s failures. I will discuss three today and five next week.

In what way(s) have you experienced hurt at the hands of man that has tempted you to question the goodness of God?

Why do the offenses of men and the hurts of our circumstances so often tempt men to question the goodness of God?

Because we feel that if God is good and if God is all powerful, he would prevent the hurt from our lives.

We have erroneously believed that a good God protects from all harm because we bought into the lie that to be good is to not permit harm.

So when harm comes, we conclude that God must not be good or must not be all powerful.

Give your disappointment and hurt to God (Ps 34:15-22)

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

His ears toward their cry

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

He delivers them out of all their troubles

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

He saves the crushed in spirit

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but he delivers them out of them all

The Lord redeems the life of his servants

None who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Big Idea: The failures of men are an opportunity strengthen trust in God.

Listen, I do not need to hang here long. We have spent much time this year considering the nearness of God and the hope that brings to us. But I would be extremely remiss if I did not mention this front and center.

When men disappoint us, hurt us, betray us, neglect us, forget us, forsake us....The first place we ought to run is God.

The first place we run reveals the one whom we trust in, depend upon, and cherish above all else. In deepest pain, we will turn to the one we cherish and trust most.

Talk to God. Tell them to him. In prayer, in song, in writing, in conversation, come to God and honestly communicate where you are at. Share you hurt, your sorrow, your longings, your anger. Run to God to share your struggle with Him.

Is that God in your life?

Do you drop your burdens, hurts, and cares at the feet of Christ? Do you wrap your arms around his ankles, weeping, grief, and feel his tears wet the back of your neck as they fall for you and with you?

Do you cling to him, clutching at his presence, trusting him to hold you and protect you in your grief and hurt, your disappointment and sorrow?

Is he the FIRST instinctual place you run?

If you haven’t gotten it yet, the passion God has laid upon my heart this past year and for this coming year is that we as His bride would return to our first love. That we would reject the false promises of the world, the flesh, the adversary to bring peace and happiness to our hearts and instead trust God.

So, do you give your hurt and disappointment to God?

Well, then we have to ask, what if God is the focus of that hurt and offense? What then?

Therefore, the second thing I must say is this....

What reasons would prevent God from being the first, instinctual place we run to in the face of harm and hurt?

He is not most valuable to us

We do not trust Him

We do not know we should

We do not know he has invited us to come

What does it mean/look like to practically surrender our disappointment to him? What does it look like to take our disappointment and hurt to him?

Praying to him, sharing our hurt and disappointment

Looking to truth of God’s word for promises or truths to cling to in the midst of that hurt.

Choosing to look at our situation for expressions of his deep grace.

Choosing joy and thanksgiving despite the hurt.

Refuse the temptation to be angry with and disappointed in God.

Here is the real danger of our lives....anger with God. For when you are angry with God, what else do you have?

There are two great dangers when men fail us. Anger at man....and worse…anger at God.

Big Idea: The failures of men are an opportunity strengthen trust in God.

How does hurt from the actions of others translate to anger at God? We get angry at God for allowing it and not protecting us from it.

What is wrong with anger towards God you ask?

Perhaps you have heard the thought/philosophy that God understands our anger with him and welcomes us to come to him with it. Maybe you have heard this. Maybe you have believed this. The question is…does scripture support it?

But what is wrong with this?

Anger implies that the person or thing we are angry with has done something wrong, treated us wrongly, or slighted us in some way.

Do you see why this is dangerous with God?

Can God do any wrong? No. His not capable of it.

Deuteronomy 32:4

Context - Song of Moses, praise

To direct our anger at God is to accuse God of wrongdoing.

Tim Challies says it well when he states....

...there would never be an appropriate time for me to be angry with God or at God. Why? Because, ultimately, to be angry at what God does is to be angry at who God is. To be angry with his actions is to be angry with his person. It’s to doubt that his actions were just, that they were wise, that they were right, that they were good. It’s to cast aspersions on his very character.

There is difference between begin angry at a person, at God, and being angry at a circumstance.

John Piper explains further...

“Anger at a thing does not contain indignation at a choice or an act. We simply don’t like the effect of the thing: the broken clutch, or the grain of sand that just blew in our eye, or rain on our picnic. But when we get angry at a person, we are displeased with a choice they made and an act they performed. Anger at a person always implies strong disapproval. If you are angry at me, you think I have done something I should not have done.”

There is never an occasion in which we can rightly or justly be angry with God.

To suggest otherwise is to tread on dangerous ground.

We may be angry with a circumstance, a thing, or even a person....we may be confused, confounded, and struggling to understand the “why” of a thing....but if at anytime that turns into anger at God, we have crossed a deadly and dangerous line.

But this danger of anger at person or at God is a very real danger when we endure the wrongs of others imposed upon us.

The anger at God is usually in the form of why God would permit the wrong against us to be committed at all. Why he didn't stop it.

So…when we sense that we may be getting angry or disillusioned with God, we need to consider something of critical importance.

What is usually boils down is that our “rights” or our perceived rights have been violated. We are angry because we wrongly believed we deserved or desired something that we did not get and therefore become angry at anyone and anything that we believe stood in the way or prevented us from getting what which we believe we were rightfully entitled to.

In your own words, explain why anger with God is never legitimate.

What is so dangerous about accepting that anger with God is legitimate?

We accuse him of wrongdoing, which is blasphemy because it is not true, being against his nature.

Intimacy with God is severed.

If we accept this truth, other errors and lies will be accepted by us as truth as well. It creates a domino affect of lies and distortions.

Reorient wrong desires or expectations. Surrender our perceived rights.

Let me show you want happens when we grab hold of these perceived rights and when we cling to them instead of surrendering them to God.

Show Chart courtesy of CTO ministries.

Desires - Begins here. Can be biblical or unbiblical. Doesn’t matter. (James 4:1-2)

That your wife respect you

That your husband love you

That your children obey you

That your boss recognize and affirm you

Financial Stability

Good health

To have a job, enjoy your job, or advance in your job

To be free from painful circumstances or inconveniences in your life.

Etc

What desires might we have, biblical or otherwise, that could be adopted as perceived rights in our lives?

How ought we to correctly view these desires to prevent leading to wrongly claimed “rights?”

They can be good and right desires being based in righteousness and truth. They can be standards for us to pursue in ourselves and to seek for others and in the outworking of our relationships amongst each other. Many of these desires may be right and good and pursued in the name and honor of His glory.

But we must be careful to not view them as RIGHTS that turn to DEMANDS for them we run into error.

Deserve - When that desire turns into a conviction that you are entitled to or deserving of that desire to be satisfied, then this desire, and conviction that you deserve distorts into sin sinful beliefs. (James 4:1-2)

You deserve to reach our goals, which usually include expectations from God, people, and circumstances

You can control your world to achieve your goals

God and other exist to give you what you believe you need to reach your goals.

The transition from desires to “deserving” mentality happens when we start believing lies.

CTO’s List

Believing God is distant and doesn’t want to be involved in your daily life.

Believing God doesn’t love you just as much when you are sinning as when you are obedient

Believing God doesn’t love you at all

Believing God has rejected, failed, abandoned, forsaken you

Believing you deserve a better life

Believing you must sanctify yourself

Believing God is not working all things for your good, rejecting the concept of God’s goodness. (Rom 8:28; Ps 52:1)

You may equate Gods goodness with making life easy for you and eliminating your suffering

You have lost sight of God’s expression of goodness in the midst of your suffering and his desire to encourage you toward his goals.

Believing you are a “victim” of God-ordained suffering in your life.

Believing he is not sufficient or effective in His ability to minister to your neediness (2 Cor 12:7-10)

**CTO - Called to Obedience www.ctoministries.org

When you have desires that you now believe you are entitled to, deserving of that do not come to fruition, you whole theology begins to shift and change.

You begin to develop a theology, an understanding of who God is from your circumstances instead of from truth.

When men fail us, hurt us....the desire we have that may well be the one being thwarted is the right to a pain free life; a comfortable life. You may believe you deserve this and when you do not get it, you become angry at man and at God.

What other rights might we be falsely holding to?

CTO has a list of 75. Let me look at a few of those for you…(See note in Sermons Notebook)

Many of these “rights” may be held subconsciously and you are not even aware that your thinking is distorted in this way.

But Believing, accepting, embracing these lies leads to those desires and now these entitled, deserving convictions to turn into demands.

Why is the entitlement, deserving mentality so dangerous?

It elevates view of self and diminished our view of God.

It begins to view others as a means to acquire that which we think we are entitled to and the view of that person’s worth as an image bearer of God is lost.

What lies might be start believing when we begin to embrace an entitlement, deserving mentality?

Demand - No longer it is merely a desire. The thinking that you deserve it now forces this to become a demand because it is wrong to withhold something that you deserve.

Your desires become a perceived “need” or “right”

You believe you must have this “need” met to be fulfilled.

You demand that God and others cooperate to meet this “need.”

Our desires, turned entitled deserving convictions, will lead to a sinful, controller behaviors in an attempt to acquire that which we have convinced ourself is our “RIGHT” to have.

Anger and resentment against both man and God will result as we feel that one or both are withholding from us that which we are entitled to, deserving of.

WHEN MEN FAIL US, We are in danger of allowing this process to talk hold in our l ives. And if we allow it to, our thinking is in danger of being distorted.

We will blame others.

We will blame our circumstances.

We will even accuse others and God of not loving us because we do not feel that we are being “loved” (at least not in the way we want to be loved.)

We believe that both God and man exist to provide that which we have foolishly convinced ourselves that we deserve.

We fail to see the truth of Galatians 6:7-8 that our misery, self-pity, and discontentment are the result of our own rebellious attitudes and actions and our rejection of God’s truths.

NO, we may not be guilty of the wrong committed against us. And there is such a thing as righteous anger over sins committed but the focus of that righteous anger is the glory of God that is being attacked NOT my own personal comforts or “rights” being attacked. There is a difference. So, no we may not be guilty of the wrong committed against us and we there might be a legitimate expression (or opportunity for one) of righteous anger.

However, WE MAY well be wrong in our thinking to leads to sinful anger because we are (even unconsciously) holding to sinful thought patterns to result in sinful anger when we face the wrongs of others.

There is no doubt that we will face many wrongs in our lifetime.

But we always have a choice HOW to respond to that wrong.

But if we are allowing sinful thought patterns to consume us, if we are WRONGLY holding to “rights” that we have no right to hold to, then we are in danger of anger and bitterness towards man, life, and God to become our normal world view.

Your view of God begins to be shaped by your circumstances rather than by truth.

Therefore, your attitudes and responses to God begin to be shaped by your new convictions of who God is.

You desires, turned entitled demands distort and twist your view of God, the world, others, and even self. You have determined for yourself what the satisfied, blessed life looks like rather than turning to God for His wisdom on the subject.

“You are primarily seeking a meaningful relationship with God through people and circumstances meeting your self-life goals. When they fail to meet your expectations, then you conclude that God has failed you, doesn’t love you, and doesn’t know what you need to be fulfilled. You are ultimately saying, ‘I will give you permission to closely relate to me when you meet my terms; otherwise, I will not trust you.’” CTO Material

Barriers between you and God have been erected due to your unbelief and their resulting demands.

Ultimately, however, you will eventually find yourself disappointed. You will neither be able to ensure the fulfillment of those desires nor will you be able to find satisfaction in them even if you did.

When these demands do not fulfill, we become disappointed

What are some “truths” the people believe when they look at only their circumstances?

God is not good

God is not all powerful

God does not love me

I am worthless

I am unloved

I must have done something wrong to deserve this negative circumstance

What are some “needs” or “rights” that we claim that are not legitimate?

We need/deserve to be treated fairly

We need/deserve to be free from pain and discomfort

We need/deserve to be loved

We need/deserve to be respected, successful, etc.

See list of perceived rights for more

Disappointment - Your desires, turned into entitlement, thrusted into a demand…will be unmet, unsatisfied and you will now experience....

People fail to meet your demands, you become angry, critical, judgmental.

Circumstances do not cooperate to meet your demands, so you become fearful, negative, and discontent.

You place yourself as judge over your circumstances, other people and even God when your demands are not met

Why will our perceived needs/rights alway end in disappointment?

Because we lack the power and authority to control people and circumstances to ensure that they will come to fruition

Discouragement - You cannot seem to figure out how to supply this “need” or “right” for yourself. Your utter helplessness to supply it will grow into a deeply self-focused martyr/victim mentality. You will begin to blame everyone, including God, for your failure to achieve it, and if let go long enough, will result in deep

You become self-focused

You view yourself as a victim or martyr

You life in self-pity

You blame God and others for your unmet expectations.

How is disappointment different than discouragement?

Discouragement wallows in the lack, the pain, the hurt, the disappointment.

It is a preoccupation with the hurt and negative rather than a giving thanks for both the good and bad in our lives.

Instead of giving thanks, of looking at the disappointment with eyes of faith and seeing God’s hand in it, we become self focused on the lack and choose negatively to allow it to affect us.

Disappointment is not necessarily sin. Allowing it to morph into self focused discouragement is.

Depression - You will lose hope of every having your “need” met, of your “right” respected and satisfied by those you have come to view as the ones who should be supplying it to you. You will become angry with God, disillusioned because you will feel he failed you, let you down, wronged you.

You are not being given what you believe you deserve

You have lost hope of having your perceived needs, rights, and demands met.

Your anger toward God, others, and circumstances continues to compound and is now turned inward as well

Your failure to deal biblically with these sinful attitudes compounds into sinful depression

How is depression different than discouragement?

It is a complete loss of hope, a complete despondency over the “right” that has been withheld.

It is a much deeper self focus, victim mentality that struggles to see any good whatsoever. It will result in anger with God, disillusionment with him and a weakened/destroyed faith.

Thus your relationship with God becomes broken and your heart becomes even more twisted.

See, ungodly sadness/anger is really thus....when I am angry with God’s plan for my life, I am really angry at the planner.

So, when we sense a sinful anger over wrongs and injustices committed against us, when we endure the wrongs of others and feel that resentment towards them, our circumstances or God, REALIZE THAT GOD IS CALLING US TO REORIENT OUR WRONG DESIRES OR EXPECTATIONS, to surrender our perceived rights that have led to the sinful anger.

He is calling us too...

Big Idea: The failures of men are an opportunity strengthen trust in God.

We too easily fall back upon our own wisdom as it flow from our desires that have wrongly been distorted into truth. AND rather than trust God, we trust our own wisdom instead. This lead us into error every time and of this we need to repent.

Review this processing for reorienting desires and expectations, of relinquishing these perceived rights. What is so critical to understand about it?

It is a choice.

None of these change the circumstance or remove the hurt.

They all focus on reorienting our heart and mind to reflect and dwell upon truth rather than focusing on changing others or changing our circumstance.

We must learn to meditate upon and embrace truth

REVIEW SECTION BELOW…it is marked question for the discussion questions but is also part of the sermon body.

When we realize we have bought into our own sinful lies and deceptions, when we have begun demanding “rights” rather than submitting to God, we must...

Recognize the sinful thinking, expectation, right that led to the sinful anger.

Renew your mind (Rm 12:1-2)

Confess them (1 John 1:9)

Come humbly to the word and accept and believe the truth it reveals (Ps 1:1-3; John 8:45-46; James 4:6-10)

Reorient your desires and expectations; Reorientate your understanding of “rights” and claim what scripture teaches about our legitimate rights…which by the way is nothing. We deserve hell. God’s grace has spared us that. We live on grace now. We are not rightfully entitled to anything.

Realize that you are called to suffer for the sake of Christ; that is not negotiable (Phil 1:29)

Relinquish your perceived rights (Mt 16:24; Luke 9:23; Mk 8:34)

Choose to accept the truth of God and embrace both the good and bad from His hand as Job did (Job 2:10)

Thank God repeatedly for the wonderful gifts and attributes of God you appreciate. (1 Th 5:16-18)

Thank God for your forms of suffering, knowing he is using them to build your character (Eph 5:20; Rom 5:3-5)

Realize that you need to come to Him and to worship Him in the truth of who he declares himself to be (Ps 145:18; John 4:24)

Accept His terms of relationship; His ways of loving, sustaining and comforting you, and His ability to satisfy you (Luke 6:21)

Open your mind and heart to receive his forms of blessing, rejoicing in the fact that He gave His life to bring you into an intimate, eternal relationship with Him (Ps 63:1-4; Eph 3:16-19)

Forgive those who have disappointed you (more on this later)

And this doesn’t mean God. You cannot forgive God for there is nothing ever to forgive.

Put your hope in God and trust his sovereign plan and provision for your life.

Listen, if we want to live a life of joy and peace, we have to surrender and relinquish the wrong perceived rights we have come to embrace and accept God’s blueprint for our lives.

When we encounter the wrongs of others in our lives, we need to give our disappointment to God, we need to refuse the temptation to become angry with God, and we must learn to surrender the rights we have claimed that make the offense even greater and that become an obstacle for us to overcome.

Surrendered Life Chart

In giving up our disappointments to God, refusing anger towards God, and surrendering our perceived rights, we also need to basks in the gifts we have been given.

Conclusion

How do we respond when men fail us?

Big Idea: The failures of men are an opportunity strengthen trust in God.

Joseph knows the failure of men - Genesis 40

Give your disappointment and hurt to God (Ps 34)

Refuse the temptation to be angry with and disappointed in God

Reorient wrong desires or expectations. Surrender our perceived rights.

The great danger of our lives when we encounter hurt, repeatedly, is to allow that hurt and disappointment to produce an anger at God, a disillusionment, and create a false belief system of perceived rights that leads to demandingness, disappointment, discouragement, and depression if we do not reject them and choose to accept truth

Next week we will return and discuss five more ways we need to respond to the hurts of man’s failures in our lives.

I pray that as we mediate upon these truths this week that they will be used to help us grow together to become more like Jesus for the glory of God.

Part 2 Introduction

Outline

How do we respond when men fail us?

Big Idea: The failures of men are no reflection upon the faithfulness of God.

Joseph knows the failure of men - Genesis 40

Give your disappointment and hurt to God (Ps 34)

Refuse the temptation to be angry with and disappointed in God

Reorient wrong desires or expectations. Surrender our perceived rights.

Bask in the Gifts given rather than in the things withheld.

Recognize His grace in the disappointment

Trust His wise and sovereign Plan

Forgive. Extend Grace, the same grace recieved from God.

Submit, obey, and get busy.

Sermon Body

How do we respond when men fail us?

Big Idea: The failures of men are an opportunity strengthen trust in God.

Rather than wallow in disappointment, getting angry with God, or clinging to false perceived rights, we need to....

Bask in the Gifts given rather than in the things withheld.

Recognize His grace in the disappointment

Trust His wise and sovereign Plan

Forgive. Extend Grace, the same grace recieved from God.

Submit, obey, and get busy.

Bask in the Gifts given rather than in the things withheld.

When you give up something, you need to replace it with something else. When you give up your perceived rights, you need to take something.

What better to take up than that which God has already supplied for us in our relationship with him.

CTO gives a nice little list

Salvation (Titus 3:5-6)

Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23)

Christ’s Righteousness (2 Cor 5:21)

Forgiveness and Cleansing (1 John 1:9)

Love and Acceptance (Romans 8:38-39; Titus 3:5-6)

Faith to Believe Truth (Heb 11:1)

Power to Overcome Sin and Defeat (Romans 6:18; 1 Cor 15:57; Phil 4:13)

Abundant Life (John 10:10)

Hope, which is not dependent on circumstances (Rom 4:18-21)

Eternal Security (John 10:28-29; 1 Peter 1:3-5)

Fellowship with Him (1 Cor 1:9)

Guidance (Is 42:16; Ps 25:12)

Comfort (2 Cor 1:3-5)

Purpose (John 15:16)

We may have as much of God as we will. Christ puts the key of the treasure-chamber into our hand, and bids us take all that we want. If a man is admitted into the bullion vault of a bank, and told to help himself, and comes out with one cent, whose fault is it that he is poor? Whose fault is it that Christian people generally have such scanty portions of the free riches of God? Unknown.

Recognize His grace in the disappointment

Breaking of idols

Comfort of His presence

Examples of grace and how it looks

Trust His wise and sovereign Plan

our ways are not god’s way

James - if the Lord wills, we will do this or that

Proverbs - Man plans his way but God directs his steps

Forgive. Extend Grace, the same grace recieved from God.

Have I before preached extensively on forgiveness?

Submit, obey, and get busy.

Love your enemy

Serve those who persecute you.

Show examples…scriptural support.

Conclusion

How do we respond when men fail us?

Big Idea: The failures of men are no reflection upon the faithfulness of God.

Joseph knows the failure of men - Genesis 40

Give your disappointment and hurt to God (Ps 34)

Refuse the temptation to be angry with and disappointed in God

Reorient wrong desires or expectations. Surrender our perceived rights.

Bask in the Gifts given rather than in the things withheld.

Recognize His grace in the disappointment

Trust His wise and sovereign Plan

Forgive. Extend Grace, the same grace recieved from God.

Submit, obey, and get busy.

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