BECOMING A FRIEND OF GOD – Part 5
“The example of Joseph”
Pastor Mike Barnett
Hebrews 12:1 says (pg.
852)
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that
so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for
us.
Genesis 37:3-10,19 (pg. 28) says:
3 Now
5 Joseph had
a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when
suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around
mine and bowed down to it."
8 His
brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually
rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he
had said.
9 Then he
had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said,
"I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were
bowing down to me."
10 When he
told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said,
"What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers
actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" 11
His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
19
"Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other. 20
"Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say
that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his
dreams."
·
Joseph was
the youngest son of Jacob.
·
When Joseph
was seventeen, Jacob made him a coat of many colors.
·
His brothers
knew their father loved Joseph more than them and they began to hate Joseph.
·
They hatred
for Joseph grew when Joseph told them about two dreams he had about his
brothers and family someday bowing down to him.
·
When Joseph’s
brothers went to feed their flock in Shechem, Jacob sent Joseph to see how they
were doing.
·
When Joseph
arrived, his brothers threw him into a pit and then sold him a slave to passing
caravan of merchants on their way to
·
They took
Joseph’s coat, dipped it in the blood of a goat, and returned home to show the
coat to their father.
·
Jacob assumed
that Joseph had been killed by a beast and wept.
·
Joseph was
purchased by Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh.
·
Joseph worked
hard, doing his best for his master.
·
The Lord was
with Joseph, and everything Joseph did turned out
well.
·
So Potiphar
made Joseph the overseer of his house.
·
But
Potiphar’s wife found Joseph attractive, and tried to seduce him.
·
Joseph
refused to go to bed with her or even be with her.
·
One day, when
everyone else was away from the house, she grabbed him by his garment and
pulled him toward her.
·
To get away
from her, Joseph left his garment in her hand and then fled.
·
She cried out
falsely accusing him of mocking her and trying to seduce her. So Potiphar put
Joseph in Prison.
·
Joseph
continued to be faithful and give his best.
·
The keeper of
the prison found favor in him, and gave him responsibility for all the other
prisoners.
·
Again, the
Lord was with Joseph, and he was successful in everything he did.
·
While in
prison, Joseph interpreted dreams of the chief butler and the chief baker, who
had both been imprisoned for offending the Pharaoh.
·
The Chief
Butler promised Joseph he would try to get Joseph out of prison, by putting in
a good word for him to Pharaoh, but forgot his promise…So Joseph remained in
prison.
·
Two years
later, when the Pharaoh had troubling dreams, he sought someone who could
interpret them.
·
The magicians
and the wise men of
·
So the
Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who interpreted the Pharaoh’s dreams.
·
Joseph told
the Pharaoh that there would be seven years of plenty, followed by seven years
of famine.
·
He urged the
Pharaoh to find a discreet and wise man and put him in charge of gathering up
food during the years of plenty, so it could be stored and then eaten during
the years of famine.
·
The Pharaoh
decided to appoint Joseph to do the Job – to be ruler, second only to the
Pharaoh himself.
·
When the
famine came, the Pharaoh told the people to go to Joseph, who opened the
storehouses.
·
People from
other lands came to
·
Jacob sent
his sons to Egypt, where they came to Joseph, and bowed down to him, Joseph
recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him.
·
Joseph’s
brothers were afraid that Joseph would take revenge against them for what they
had done to him so many years before.
·
The brothers
went to Joseph, fell down before him, and said they were his slaves Just like Joseph dreamed about 23 years earlier.
·
Joseph told
his brothers not to be afraid, because God wanted him to go to
·
Joseph kissed
them, and wept with them, and sent them back to Jacob with wagons full of grain
and bread and meat.
·
The Pharaoh
invited Joseph’s family to reside in
·
Jacob went to
·
They became
shepherds in Geshen
·
Joseph lived
to be 110 years old, and saw three generations of his own children.
OBSERVATIONS FROM JOSEPH DREAM STORY:
1) Friends of God have __________________(dreams).
·
Dreams are _______________________(conceived) long before they are ____________________(achieved).
·
The period of
time between the birth of a dream and its realization is always a
___________________(process).
·
This period
is filled with doubts, adversity, changes, and surprises.
·
During the
process of realizing your dreams you will experience good days and bad days.
·
And when
pursuing God’s desires for you, frequently you will be faced with a dilemma: Do
you ___________ ______(give up), or _______ _____(go
on)?
2) Friends of God don’t _______________
________(give up) on the God given dream even they if
they didn’t ________________(start) off _____________(well).
·
Joseph’s
dream came to him early – when he was seventeen years old.
·
That’s when
he received visions from God that one day his brothers and even his father
would bow down to him.
·
Joseph
immediately shared that information with his family, and it got him into
trouble – but it didn’t stop him.
·
The beginning
of the dream often generates more ________________________(enthusiasm)
than _________________(wisdom) - We say things we shouldn’t say and do things
we shouldn’t do.
·
Like Joseph,
we sometimes do not start off well, but unlike Joseph, too often we give up on
our dreams in the ____________________(early) stages
when the dream is the most ____________________(fragile).
3) Friends of God don’t
give up on your dream even if their family doesn’t ________________________(support) it.
·
Clearly
Joseph was not going to get any support from anyone in his family.
·
It is very
difficult to retain your dream when your family wants you to release it.
·
But when your
dream comes from God, the dream _________________ _____________(holds you) steady even when you feel unable to hold the dream.
4) Friends of God don’t give up on God’s desire
for them even if the journey is full of ________________________(surprises).
·
Just because
things don’t go as planned, that’s no reason to give up.
·
Look at the
surprises Joseph lived through and how he reacted.
·
Joseph was misunderstood
by his family. (GIVE UP?)
·
Joseph was
sold into slavery by his brothers. (GIVE UP?)
·
Joseph was
living is a strange country far from home
as slave in Potiphar’s house. (GIVE UP?)
·
Joseph was
then given favor in Potiphar’s house. (GO ON!)
·
Joseph
resisted temptation by Potiphar’s wife who tried to seduce him.
·
Joseph was
wrongly accused by Potiphar’s wife – She lied when she told her husband that
Joseph raped her. (GIVE UP?)
·
Joseph was
thrown in prison even though he was innocent of the charges. (GIVE UP?)
·
Joseph was
them put in charge of all the prisoners.
(GO ON?)
·
Joseph was
forgotten by the chief butler after he interpreted his dream. (GIVE UP?)
·
Joseph
remained in prison for two years. (GIVE UP?)
·
Joseph
interpreted Pharaoh’s dream. (GO ON!)
·
Joseph became
second in command of
·
Why didn’t
Joseph give up? After all, like you and me, he had twice as many “give ups as
go-ons”.
·
Every dream
contains ___________________(negative) surprises that
can greatly ______________(discourage) you.
·
How did
Joseph have the strength not to give up on God’s desire for him?
·
Every time
Joseph found himself in a give-up time of life, he realized that the Lord was
with him and that’s what mattered the most.
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·
God is too _______________(good) to be ___________________(unkind).
·
God is too _________________(wise) to be ______________________(confused).
·
When I cannot
trace God’s ________________(hand), I can always trace
his ____________________(heart).
·
Even when
life made no sense to Joseph, it made sense to God.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5) Friends of God realize
that God is _______________________(always) with them
even when it does not look or feel like it.
·
When Joseph
was lying in the pit, he didn’t give up hope because He knew God was watching
over him even in his darkest times.
·
When Joseph
was tempted by Potiphar’s wife, He knew God was with him and gave him the
strength to say no.
·
When Joseph was
wrongly accused of raping Potiphar’s wife and he was thrown in prison, He knew
God was there too.
·
Jesus said,
“I will never leave you nor forsake you”.
6) Friends of God _____________________(develop) themselves Spiritually in their _______________
_____________(down times).
·
When you
suffer injustice or hard times, realize __________________________(complaining) doesn’t do any ___________________(good).
Philippians 2:12-16 Says:
14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God
without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like
stars in the universe.
·
Joseph never _______________________(blamed)
his brothers for selling him into slavery – he realized that he made a ________________________(choice)
to tell them of the dream and he had to ___________________(suffer) the ____________________________(consequences)
as God allowed, for His glory and _________________________(purposes).
·
Sometimes,
the person we are blaming for our misery in life is just the _____________________(scapegoat) – We must learn to take ____________________(responsibility)
for our own choices.
·
We must
realize that some of our _______________________(suffering)
is caused by own indiscretion and bad ____________________(choices).
·
The choices
you made five years ago lead you to where you are today and the choices you
make today where determine who you are and where you are five years from now.
7) Friends of God
eventually learn that they need to ____________ (live) the dream before
they____________________(speak) about it.
·
Every time
Joseph tried to promote myself, it worked against him.
·
Look what
happened when he told his brothers about the dream – he call thrown in a hole,
left for dead.
·
The Bible
says that when we __________________(exalt) ourselves,
we will be brought ____________(low), but when we __________________(humble)
ourselves we will be __________________(lifted) up.
·
By the time
Joseph was presented to Pharaoh, he finally learned his lesson – He learned
that his success came from God and he gave him credit.
8) Friends of God don’t
give up on their dreams even if it takes a _________________ _______________(long time) to realize them.
·
Twenty three
years passed from the time Joseph had the dream until it was fulfilled.
·
In the end
Joseph rules his family, was reconciled with his brothers, and saved the nation
of
·
You never
know what God’s timetable will look like.
·
When you’re
in the middle of the journey, never give up on your dream.
Let’s look at the end of the
story:
Genesis 50:15-21 (pg. 40)
15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was
dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us
back for all the wrongs we did to him?" 16 So they
sent word to Joseph, saying, "Your father left these instructions before
he died: 17 'This is what you
are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the
wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of
the servants of the God of your father." When their message came to him,
Joseph wept.
18 His
brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your
slaves," they said.
19 But Joseph said
to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to
harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the
saving of many lives. 21 So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and
your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
9) Friends of God choose
not to hold on to _____________(grudges) from the
_______________(past) but instead trust God’s __________________(sovereignty)
that He is in control.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15:
14For if you forgive men when they sin against you,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you
do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
·
Joseph
suffered when his brothers sold him into slavery, and again when he was sent to
prison though he did nothing wrong.
·
If fact, he
did everything right in God’s eyes and in man’s and still went to prison.
·
Joseph
continued to serve God faithfully and the Lord made him prosper.
·
The
Israelites were preserved from the famine, and grew into a great nation.
·
You will
never reach your ____________(potential) for Christ
when you hold on the ___________(resentment) and the hurt of the _________________(past).
·
When you do
not forgive others, you are hurting yourself more than you hurt others.
·
When people
knock you down, the best thing you can do is allow it to make you
________________(better) and not
___________________(bitter).
·
Every time
you find yourself in trouble choose not to blame your family for hurting you
but instead, _________________(learn) something
____________(new) from it – that’s what Joseph did.
James 1:2-4 says:
2Consider
it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that
you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
·
God uses
suffering to ____________________(mature) our
____________________(faith) and make us more like Jesus and less like the
world.
·
When you
pursue God’s desires for you, you will _____________________(suffer) – there
is always a price to be paid for following Jesus.
1 Peter 4:12-16 (pg. 859)
says:
12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful
trial you are suffering, as though something strange were
happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in
the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is
revealed. 14If you are insulted because of the name of
Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or
any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16However,
if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but
praise God that you bear that name.
Jesus said in Matthew
5:10-12 says:
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of
righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
·
If living
according to God’s will leads to suffering, then we should not flinch.
·
Suffering is
not the goal, the goal is to be faithful even it involves suffering!
·
As we live
our faith, each of us will have days of discomfort, pain and suffering; days
when we are under attack; days when we feel defeated.
·
This is when
we have the best opportunity to show the world who we are and what we believe –
that we are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ!
·
That is when
we have the best opportunity to follow the example of Christ, loving and
forgiving those who hurt us.
·
In our
darkest hour, we can quietly and simply carry our own crosses just like Jesus
did!
James 1:12 says:
12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial,
because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God
has promised to those who love him.
10) Friends of God
realize that the only advancement that _____________________(matters)
is the kind that God gives in His ________________________(timing).
·
As a boy
Joseph only dreamed of power for his own gain, but by God’s grace, he was able
to save his family, live on prime land, lead the most powerful government of
earth, and help preserve God’s people for his greater purpose.
·
God has in mind
for us more than we can imagine – even in our suffering.
·
God is the
giver of every good gift and the fulfiller of every dream he gives.
James
17Every good and perfect
gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who
does not change like shifting shadows.
·
When the
dream is realized, it is sweater than ever imagined.
·
When the
dream is God-given, its fulfillment is worth the wait.
·
How do you
think Joseph felt when he was reconciled with his family and told his brothers,
“What you meant for harm against me, God meant for good, in order to save many
peoples lives”.