Foundational faith #3

Northside Church

Aug 7, 2022

Foundational faith #2

Good morning… My name is Jamey and I’m the lead pastor here at Northside.

It’s always great to be with you all…

We are in the 3rd week of a new sermon series that we are calling

“Foundational Faith” … (PIC)

Sort of asking the question… What role, if any, does faith play in the way I actually live my life…

And we are using Heb. 11 as a bit of a guide.

It starts off by defining faith like this…

It isn’t wishful thinking or reckless optimism, but a deep belief and conviction in who God is and what God says that impacts the way we think and live our life…

Faith changes things… it leads to impact and action…

Heb 11 then goes on to illustrate what that sort of looks like by sort of highlighting this life changing and outrageous faith of everyday, ordinary people that didn't always get it right.

Last week we talked about Moses… and how his faith helps us to see how

Faith…

Helps us deal with fear

Grounds us in who we really are

Reminds us of what holds real value

Helps keep our eyes on the right things

And inspires faith in those around us…

Today are going to talk about Joseph…

I have family that lives in Jackson hole WY… has anyone been there?

It’s such a beautiful place…

Arch of antlers Pic

Grand Tetons PIC

Alpine slides PIC

Yellowstone and all the animals

Mud pots… and how stinky they are PIC

And who knows what this is (pic of old faithful).

This was probably the thing that stood out to me more than any other…

Not only that it shoots over 180 ft. in the air, or because it is 204 degrees at the vent, or that it shoots between 4000-8000 gallons every time it erupts…

I remember as a little guy thinking how cool it would be to put a giant cork in it…

But the thing that really stood out to me was the little sign that told you the next time it was going to erupt… I remember as a little guy sitting there and thinking… now, how do they know that?

And then in all of my genius, it finally hit me… that's actually probably how it got its name… years and years and years of proving itself, literally to the point of being known as… old faithful.

Two things I wouldn't mind being on my tombstone… I died old and I was faithful…

Faithfulness is an incredible virtue that seems to have lost a bit of his value in our eyes… we don't see it the way we once did. Is there anything that's ever been named… old unfaithful? Or captain unpredictable? Or…

Here is what Hebrews 11 says about the OT person of Joseph…

Hebrews 11:22 NLT

It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.

(NLT)

22 It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.

Yup, that's it.

But don't worry… there are 14 chapters in Genesis that help us with that…

Which means… a lot of paraphrasing today… Genesis (37-50)...

Joseph’s father was Jacob, also known as Israel.

He is the great grandson of Abraham.

He was the 11th of 12 sons… these 11 sons… that became the 12 tribes of israel…

And for a lot of reasons… one of them was character… Joseph became his father’s favorite… (37:3) and so Jacob had this special robe made for Joseph… It was a status symbol. BY trade they were shepherds.. And many believe this robe was a sign of promotion… the second youngest… sort of above and leading the other brothers… and in that day and age… that sort of thing just wasn't done… although, Jacob himself has an odd story about that sort of thing…

And so His brothers became jealous… and hated him. It says they couldn't even speak a kind word to him. (37:4-5)

And Joseph may have made a pretty large mistake… by telling his brothers about two dreams that he’d had that basically pointed to a day when his brothers would literally bow before him…

Which made things go from bad to worse… Their jealousy was turning into bitterness… and they began scheming.

It says that his brothers were out working in the field and saw him coming… and began scheming… They made a plan to kill him…

But it was Ruben, the oldest, and the one who lost the most from Joseph’s promotion that intervened… and said let's not kill him… but let's throw him in this old empty cistern… it says that Ruben actually planned on going back later and letting him out.

But thats what they did, they took his fancy robe and threw him in this hole… and about that time it says they noticed this group of Ishmaelite traders nearby…

It was Judah’s idea… let's not kill him, no one gains anything from that, but lets sell him to these traders…

And so, the pulled Joseph out of the hole, and for 20 PS they sold him into slavery… and went home leading his dad to believe he was attacked and killed by wild animals.

And each step of the way… with every scheme… his brothers sort of echoed this idea of… let’s see what happens to his dreams now…

It was a 30 day trek through the desert to Egypt… but once they got there they sold Joseph to the captain of the guard, it was a man named Potiphar…

Right away he noticed that God was with Joseph… and that everything he did succeeded… and so Potiphar put all that he had under the care of Joseph, everything but his own wife… and Potiphar prospered greatly…

Genesis 39:6 NLT

So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat! Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man,

says that Joseph was a handsome and well built young man… I didn't say it… the bible did…

It wasn’t long before Potiphar’s wife began to notice… and come on to him… a lot.

This is how Joseph replied…

Genesis 39:8–9 NLT

But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

(NLT)

8 But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. 9 No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

But she kept at it… he continued to go out of his way to avoid her until one day she cornered him… she literally grabbed him by his robe and demanded that he sleep with her, and when he turned and ran, she was left standing there with his robe in her hands… awkward… but she began to tell everyone that he was trying to rape her…

And when the Potiphar heard of this… he was enraged and sent Joseph to jail.

But even there it says that God continued to show His love and faithfulness to Joseph…

It says that

God was with Joseph

… and I say this a lot, because I think it's that important… did you know that God being with you, is the #1 repeated promise in all of scripture?

It’s obviously something He wants you to know…

Joseph was a man of incredible integrity.

It really feels like he fought to do the right thing by God… no matter where he was, who was watching, or what consequence it might bring. Part of that, I believe… was his faith in the very presence of God. He knew that God was always with him… and he lived that way.

God’s presence isn't dictated by our circumstances, our location, or by what others think or say.

And so one question would be this… How would your life be different right now, if by faith, you believed that God was really with you wherever you went? What would change?

Two things come to mind for me…

I’d probably think a lot more about what I’m doing and not doing…

I’d probably be more purposeful and courageous… which… to me sounds like the fruit that faith brings into our lives.

It’s a little interesting… part of me almost hears that as a threat… almost like this… oh now when you realize your parents are coming home early…

It might be a sign you realize there are things that need to change.

Integrity is one of the major lessons we learn from Joseph.

In times where it would have been easy to give up or give in… It was Joseph’s faith in God… in His promises and in His presence… that drove him to do the right thing regardless where he was, what was happening or who was watching.

It was a combination of Joseph’s faith/integrity and God’s faithful presence that allowed Joseph to continually rise above the situation…

So Joseph was sent off to jail… and evidently the kings CB and Baker were too. They’d somehow offended the king… so… jail time.

It says on one particular night, they both had dreams, and had no idea what they meant.

Joseph could see they were troubled… and told them that God could tell them what their dreams meant…

The CB went first… and when he was done, Joseph told him that his dream meant that he’d be restored to his position beside the king in three days…

Feeling far more confident after that positive report, The baker went… and Joseph told him his dream meant in three days, he’d be executed… impaled on a pole… how do you tell somebody that kind of thing…

Joseph told the CB to remember him when he was with the Pharaoh… but he didn't.

Another two years passed… and it wasn't until the Pharaoh had two troubling dreams that no one could interpret… and it wasn't until that moment that the CB remembered Joseph.

Pharaoh sent for him right away and told him both of the dreams… God revealed to Joseph the both meant the same thing…

The land would experience 7 years of exceptional crops and prosperity… that would be followed by 7 years of some of the worst famine the world has ever known…

Pharaoh was so impressed that he made Joseph 2nd in command over all of Egypt.

Joseph was 30 years old at that time (Gen 41:6).

Joseph was in charge of stockpiling things during the 7 fruitful years… and of managing it all through the 7 years of famine…

It was so bad that people from all over came and tried to buy grain from Egypt… each one of them having to go through Joseph…

And I cannot even imagine the shock… or surprise… when this happened…

Genesis 42:6 NLT

Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground.

(NLT)

6 Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground.

Jacob had heard that there was grain in Egypt… and told his sons to take the 30 day trip… it was a desperate situation.

It says that Joseph recognized them… but living almost 1\2 of his life away from them, they didn’t recognize him. So Joseph played the part… and it almost sounds like hes testing them… to see if their hearts had changed at all…

And at one point, Joseph loses it… he turns away from them and breaks down…

He’d been through so much.

What his brothers did

Accusations

Thrown in jail

People forgetting about him

And at what point do you give up… or give in… get tired of doing the right thing… At what point do you get angry?

He was emotional because of all that he’d been through, but I also think because of God’s jaw dropping, dumbfounding, how could this really happen… faithfulness.

It was at least 30 years… since God told him it would happen… and I can almost certainly promise you… this is not how or even when Joseph saw this all going down…

Eventually… Joseph’s father and brothers moved to Egypt… and that's how they became honored guests of a king… in a land that was not their own.

Joseph could have dropped the hammer on his brothers for what they did… but this was his attitude…

Genesis 50:20–21 NLT

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.

(NLT)

20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.

We learn a ton about faith from Joseph. This… belief in who God is and in his promises… that impacts the way we live and think…

We learn that faith helps us get through really tough situations.

That faith helps us navigate times when people are awful to us.

To me, these are the ones that really stood out.

Faith… our deep belief in God and in His promises… leads us toward integrity.

Faith leads us toward integrity.

Consistency in godly character regardless of where we are, who we are around or the situations we are in.

Faith… means believing what God says… and investing in it… regardless of His timeline.

Faith means believing and investing in what God says regardless of His timeline.

This was the promise that was made to Joseph's great grandfather…

Genesis 15:13–14 NLT

Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.

(NLT)

13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. 14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.

It didn't happen in Abraham's lifetime… or Issac’s or Jacob’s… 4 generations later… it came to be. It was passed down from generation to generation…

Which leads me to the next point…

Faith is deeply rooted in the faithfulness of God.

Because God is a good that is always faithful… they believed in a God that was always faithful… Joseph’s deep faith… came from knowing, experiencing, recognizing, celebrating, being thankful for… the amazing… dumbfounding… jaw dropping faithfulness of God.

Sometimes it's easy to question or confuse God’s faithfulness with all kinds of things.

…

His timing

With the fall of man and the crappy things they do

When hard things happen to good people…

When hard things happen to me…

When it seems like I am not the center of the universe…

When I don't “feel” God

With the crazy things that are happening in our culture…

Joseph was a man who had faith in the unseen, in part, because of what he had seen.

I do think that faith requires us to acknowledge, look back at, celebrate with gratitude and amazement the faithfulness of God in the past and present…

And let those things influence the way that we see God… and life… and the things we face in life.

I do think that is some of the point in

Philippians 4:6–7 NLT

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

(NLT)

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Recognizing and leaning into God’s great faithfulness in your life gives us confidence, perspective, strength and endurance.

Joseph teaches us the value of living in view of God’s great faithfulness…

How has God been faithful to you? How has He guided you, directed you, provided for you, stood with you, protected you, taught you, disciplined you? How will that impact the way you do today?

…

And how will that impact the way you do today?

Pray… Jen will share a communion thought…