Defeated or Deepened

Intro

One of the things that I love about PA are the seasons that we have

I joke with my wife, who is originally from Florida, that it is better because Florida only has one season, Hot, Humid, and Mosquitos.

If you have lived here for more than a year, you’ve come to expect the different seasons of weather…we know that it is just a part of life.

When Spring rolls around, no one throws away their winter clothes. Or when winter rolls around we don’t throw away our summer clothes…because we just know that this is a season we are in.

It’s interesting that our lives can be a reflection of these types of seasons

Spring might represent those times in our lives where we see growth and new life

Winter might represent those times where everything seems dead metaphorically speaking

But the temptation that we can have when it comes to the seasons in our life is to narrow our focus

Instead of realizing the cyclical nature of our life circumstances, emotions, events, etc…we can tend to get stuck on the place we are currently at

whether the seasons came as a result of something you did, or even if it was something you had no control over

Instead of viewing our lives as a whole, we get stuck in the season we are living in.

I want to talk this morning about our response in these seasons, and how there can be one of two outcomes

Either we let these seasons define and defeat us....or we let them develop and deepen us.

And I believe that the outcome is greatly determined by our degree of faith and our outlook

Do you believe that God is using every season of your life for your eternal benefit and His glory?

Author, Dr. J. Robert Clinton wrote a book called “the making of a leader” where he talked about the different stages in life that people go through that develops them as a leader

There are two things he said in the book about these stages or seasons, that I believe not only has application to leaders, but to Christians in general.

Effective leaders recognize leadership selection and development as a priority function.

Let me reword this to include all of us here.... you could say:

Effective Christians recognize development as a priority function.

It’s that whole sanctification process:

2 Corinthians 3:18 - But we Christians have no veil over our faces; we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him. The Living Bible

This process is not just for our development and sanctification though…it is about others.

He has to do something in you before he can do something through you

I believe that the degree that you allow God to work in and through you, will determine the amount of eternal, kingdom impact you can have in this life.

The deeper the surrender, the higher the eternal impact.

Effective leaders increasingly perceive their ministries in terms of a lifetime perspective.

Let’s reword that to include all of us:

Effective Christians increasingly perceive their lives in terms of a lifetime perspective.

We have to get outside of our narrowed vision of where we are currently at and realize that there is a lifetime process

Is your current season Defining you or Develop you?

Define and Defeat

Let me take you through one of my favorite stories in Scripture…its the story of Joseph and his brothers in Genesis

For those who might not be super familiar with the story:

Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob

But he wasn’t just the son of Jacob, he was the favorite son

The Bible says he loved Joseph more than all the rest of his brothers

Already the pot is boiling , and there are some family tensions

At the age of 17, Joseph starts to have these dreams that were given to him by God

The dreams involved his brothers and parents bowing down to him.

to make a tense situation worse, Joseph made the mistake of telling this to his brothers about his dream

His brothers despised him to the point where they decided they were going to dispose of him…so they catch him and throw him in a pit, and they deliberated on whether they were going to kill him.

Genesis 37:26-28

Genesis 37:26–28 ESV

26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.

Talk about a new season

Betrayed by family

Blind-sighted by the anger and greed of his brothers

So he ends up as a slave in the house of a man named Potiphar and the question becomes how is he going to respond to this new and unwanted season

He could let it define him

Say “I bet God is just like my brothers…he doesn’t care about me…he could have stopped this, but He didn’t”

I’m sure Joseph grew up hearing about the promise that God made to his fathers and grandfathers…the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…the promise a family line that God would use to bless all of humanity.

I mentioned that when we enter into the spring season, we don’t throw away all our winter clothes simply because that was in the past.

Joseph could have taken this moment and cast off his past clothes

He could have said, forget about the God of my Fathers

Forget about his promise to our family

Forget about my family and my brothers

I’m a slave in a foreign land, this is who I am

But the Bible says that in the midst of that… “The Lord was with Joseph”

I don’t know who needs to hear that this morning, but the Lord is with you

And Joseph didn’t succumb to defeat, but he purposed to serve the Lord even in this new season

And things started to look up from there…Potiphar recognized the hand of God on this man Joseph and put him in charge of all his house. He started to be treated more like a son than a slave

But there was an even darker season ahead of Joseph.

Genesis 39:11-20

Genesis 39:11–20 ESV

11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12 she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” 16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.” 19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.

Betrayed by family, now wrongfully accused and sent to prison.

I wonder if Joseph ever cried to heaven, “God, why are you teasing me?”

It feels like God is rubbing this thing in my face.

He thought he could possibly see the light at the end of the tunnel in this dark season, and then he gets pushed into an even darker season.

Commentaries say that Jospeh would have been in prison anywhere from 10-12 years.

How would that try and define you?

My life is wasted

I’m a prisoner with no purpose or calling

Have you ever felt a prisoner to your season?

Season of health crisis that wants to define you

Season of mourning a passing of a loved one that wants to define you

Season of pain and bitterness from the betrayal of a family member, friend, or even a church

But verse 21 starts off with....But the Lord was with Jospeh.

And even then Joseph served as unto God and found favour with the prison guard.

So Joseph spends a decade in prison, but eventually through an incredible set of events…or maybe you could say “A series of fortunate events”

God made Joseph second in command in the most powerful nation in the world at that time.

God gave him the ability to interpret the dreams that God had given to pharaoh about a famine that coming upon the land

God gave Joseph the wisdom in how to act so that the nation of Egypt and the surrounding nations, could find refuge in a land of plenty during a 7 year famine.

And it all leads us up to this one defining moment, where Jospehs brothers end up before him, not knowing it is him, trying to buy food because they were in a famine.

Develop and Deepen

Genesis 45:4-5

Genesis 45:4–5 ESV

4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

Notice it wasn’t you sold me here, but God sent me here! A little later on he said this:

Genesis 50:20

Genesis 50:20 ESV

20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Everything in Joseph’s life was leading up to this moment, where God was going to put him into a position where he could save his family from destruction, so that the promise of God “that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through the seed of Abraham (Joseph’s great grandfather) could continue

You might ask, “Well, why did Joseph have to go through the torment of spending years unjustly in prison?

Here’s why:

Because if God would have sent Joseph straight to the throne, he would have saved Israel from famine, only to be killed by Joesph.

If Joseph hadn’t gone through the process of being developed and deepened

Instead of standing before his brothers and saying “you meant it for evil, God meant it for good,”

He would have said, “I’m going to do the same thing to you that you did to me!”

He would the power without the character to restrain him. I have the power now to make you slaves, to kill you, to torment you like you did me

This promise ultimately manifested in Jesus who would come to save humanity from sin and death.

Jesus came from the line of Judah, Josephs brother, who is even the one who had the idea to sell Joseph into Egypt in the first place.

So let me ask you this question again: Do you trust God with your life?

Those hard seasons will either define and defeat you, or they will develop and deepen you.

God has never left. God has already provided the grace and the power to get through

Maybe you’ve had narrowed vision....and you need to step back again and say, “I’m not defined by this season, I’m defined by God, and I trust Him to lead my life.”

Let me give you a few things to help fight this spiritual tunnel vision:

Stay in the Word of God!

Prayer

Thanksgiving

Let me close with this:

Conclusion/Salvation Call

I want to clarify what separates this message from a self-help, better yourself, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger ted talk.

There are two levels of Developing and Deepening

One is temporary and the other is eternal, and the only thing that differentiates the two is Jesus

You see, on one level we can grow and develop and deepen as people apart from Christ.

My hard times can grow me as a person, develop my character in some way, or even draw me closer to your loved ones. And that’s fine, but it only has temporary value.

I’m more interested in being developed and deepened in an eternal way, and that only happens with Jesus.

Someone once said, “People can spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall.”

That is what happens apart from Jesus....we may grow as people, we may climb the ladder of self-betterment....but it’s against the wrong wall.

The Bible says what profit is it if I gain the whole world and lose my soul

A relationship with Jesus is the difference between temporary and eternal

So how can I have a relationship with Jesus?

Jesus said we must be born again

How does that happen?

If I can make it as simple as possible, it starts with ABC

Admit

Believe

Confess

Let’s all pray this together:

Salvation Prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus I believe you're the son of God. I believe that on the cross you took my sin, my shame, and my guilt, and you died for it. You faced hell for me so I wouldn't have to go. You rose from the dead to give me a place in heaven, a purpose on earth, and a relationship with your father. Today Lord Jesus I turn from my sin to be born again. God is my father, Jesus is my savior, the Holy Spirit is my helper, and heaven is my home. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, whether here in person or online, we are celebrating with you! And we want to help you in this new journey by giving you some next steps

If you are online you can go to our website tscsummit.org an hit the contact tab to let us know you prayed that prayer

If you are here in this room, we’d love for you to stop by our welcome table so we can connect with you, and see how we can help you in this exciting new journey!

My good seasons don’t define me anymore than my bad seasons do!