Don't have a cow
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Genesis 41:1–7 (HCSB)
1 Two years later Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile, 2 when seven healthy-looking, well-fed cows came up from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds. 3 After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside those cows along the bank of the Nile. 4 The sickly, thin cows ate the healthy, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 He fell asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, came up on one stalk. 6 After them, seven heads of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, ripe ones. Then Pharaoh woke up, and it was only a dream.
How the Term Don’t Have a Cow Originated
The phrase “don’t have a cow” has been around for decades, as far back as the 1950s. While the exact origin isn’t clear, it appears that there was a British saying along the same line, however it referenced “having kittens” rather than a cow. This cow catchphrase is certainly a descriptive one that doesn’t conjure up the best imagery.
In general the term means ‘don’t flip out’ or ‘calm down’. It’s usually reserved for someone who is overreacting to a situation that isn’t serious. It definitely isn’t the most sensitive way to address an upset individual, but that’s probably why a lot of teens use it when talking to one another.
Famous Uses of “Don’t Have a Cow”
Though it had already been a catchphrase for years, it wasn’t until the 1980s when the term began to pop up frequently in TV shows and movies. One of the earliest known uses was on the 1982 The Facts of Life episode “Mind Your Own Business”.
Some back story into Joseph that led to this moment:
Joseph was favored by his father Jacob, to the point that his brothers hated him. That hate soon became a desire to kill him. An action they almost took out, but Reuben, the oldest brother persuaded them to not shed any blood. So instead, when Joseph came along to where his brothers were tending to their fathers flock, they stripped him of what he was wearing, and they through him into a cistern, or a deep pit. Likely a pit used for collecting water.
From here, Joseph’s brothers sold him to some passing by merchants, who brought him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar. Now Joseph was a hard worker, and quickly rose the ranks to become the second in command of Potiphar’s household, but yet again Joseph runs into an issue.
Potiphars wife finds Joseph to be pleasing to the eye, and she seeks after him, but Joseph refuses to dishonor God and Potiphar, so she falsely accuses him, and Joseph is now thrown into the same prison that the kings prisoners were placed.
But yet again, Joseph becomes an authority even in prison, and the warden puts him in charge of all the prisoners. Still, he is in prison, and really he should be back home, instead his brothers sell him, his new master wrongfully imprisons him, and now he’s stuck in prison. While in prison, he meets two other prisoners, both of which had dreams, Joseph interprets their dreams, and he was right! He tells the cup bearer to remember him when he is back in his high position for the Pharoah, but the cup bearer quickly forgets him, and then we get to today's passage.
2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him. He granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.
1. The Lord is with you, so don’t go without Him.
Illustration: Marine Corps Alpha uniform inspection, forgot my EGA emblems.
Now Genesis 39 tells us that the Lord was with Joseph, it was because of the divine plan that God had to bless His people, that He worked out the details of Josephs life and blessed him with success.
Some of you are thinking, ya but I’m not called to rescue the Israelites from a famine, how does Joseph’s circumstances apply to me.
Remember Jeremiah 29:11 , God has plans for you too friends, His plan for you is a good plan, its a plan that brings hope.
and Guess what, just like Joseph, the Lord promises to be with you
So how do I bring Jesus with me? Prayer
Now there is so much more I could go into on Jeremiah 29:11, and just frankly the context of when this prophet is writing, but let me just point this out, a lack of prayer is a lack of understanding who God is. Our prayer life is our communion with God, take Him with you.
20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The Great Commission Passage
God has a perfect plan, and a perfect Will that He is working out, and He wants you to join in and be a part of that. But if we are forgetting the Lord at home, or leaving Him out, then we aren’t walking within the plan and path He has for us.
38 Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone like this, a man who has God’s spirit in him?” 39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as intelligent and wise as you are. 40 You will be over my house, and all my people will obey your commands. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”
not everything in this life will work out the way you want it to, but I can promise you that everything will work out better for you if you bring Jesus with you, then if you leave Him at home.
Every step in Joseph’s journey led to a crummier result, He was a cherished son in the House of Jacob, then he became a slave, but he was a slave with the highest authority in his masters house, but then he became a prisoner, but then he was a prisoner with the highest authority, and finally became second only to the Pharoah over Egypt in the end, and through his position, was able to help God’s people during the famine.
2. It’s all in God’s Timing, not ours
our passage says it was 2!!!! years later that the Pharoah has a dream, that’s a long time to be in a depressing dungeon wrongfully imprisoned.
Some of you may feel like your in a dark depressing dungeon right now, your wrongfully imprisoned waiting for justice, or waiting for your moment, waiting for God to ride in on His noble steed and save you from your circumstances. I get it, I do, but be patient, trust God, His timing is not ours, His ways and His thoughts are not ours. His methods and His answers to our petitions are not ours.
3. Don’t have a cow (flip out) instead trust In God’s ways and plans.
losing our cool over things out of our control never helps the situation, it only makes it worse.
Illustration: broken glass
6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
As we close out today, lets meditate on what Paul is saying here in Philippians. He says don’t worry, or be anxious about anything. This is an all encompassing message here, not don’t worry about certain things, but all things.
instead replace that worry with prayer, again here is the importance of praying through our circumstances, or communion with God.
But know this, this passage isn’t saying, and then all your problems will go away, no, it doesn’t say that, what it says is you’ll have peace, and it will guard your heart and your mind.
Listen:
what starts in the heart leads to the mind, and from their it leads to your hands, and your feet and the rest of your body.
It leads to action. It is easy to flip out on a circumstance when we aren’t praying over it, it’s easy to lose our cool, or do something we shouldn’t have when we aren’t guarding our hearts.
You may be dealing with a circumstance that like Joseph left him imprisoned for 2 years, it may be even longer, but if we don’t guard our hearts and minds, we will make a bigger mess of things.
You might be dealing with some hard times now, but God can bring a beautiful conclusion to that story if we hold on to Him, and let Him be our vindicator, AMEN!
So let us commit ourselves to take Jesus with us wherever we go, through prayer, patience, and trust. That He may do His work in us and through us, Amen.