Finding God In the Mess, Part 2.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] All right, go ahead and have a seat. Welcome to Village Church. If this time here, my name’s [0:05] Steve. I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church, and as always, I am thankful and grateful [0:09] to see each and every one of you. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them to Genesis 39. [0:14] We’ll be making our way through that chapter this morning. For the past few weeks, we’ve been [0:19] getting into the life of Joseph, the great-grandson of Abraham. And so what we’ve seen thus far is [0:26] that the text of Scripture draws a stark contrast between Joseph and his older brothers.

[0:32] Joseph is faithful. They are faithless. Joseph is building a life where it’s family-centered and [0:38] where he had received prophecies from God, but his brothers despised the family and the voice of God [0:44] was completely silent in their lives. Joseph’s brothers hated him for everything that he had, [0:51] everything that he was, the way that their father treated Joseph in comparison to the way [0:57] that they felt grave injustice from their father. And so what they did was they sought to bring [1:04] pain into the life of Joseph. And in a desperately wicked move, his brothers kidnapped him and sold

[1:10] Joseph into slavery. The text then reveals Jacob’s brother Judah would go on to live a life marked by [1:18] absence of the work of God in his life. And so Genesis 38 really shows us really the contrast [1:25] between the work of God in Joseph’s life and the work of God really in the lives of his brothers, [1:30] as Judah would stand to kind of be a representative of the rest of the brothers in the way that God [1:35] was not working in their lives. And so Joseph was sold into slavery and then slave traders took him [1:43] and sold him to an officer in Egypt. Now what I want us to really grasp ahold of this morning

[1:49] is that this is a pivotal moment in Joseph’s life. Many people kind of link and think that [1:57] pivotal moments in life are the great moments, the moments that we enjoy, the moments that we [2:02] take pleasure in. But the truth is that the pivotal moments that mark the direction of your life [2:08] are the moments that are often marked by disappointment, they’re marked by pain, [2:12] and they’re even marked by failure. It is our reaction in those moments that show the truth of [2:21] who we are. It is our reaction to those moments that show who we are becoming and can really

[2:28] shed light on the type of person that we are going to be every day. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, [2:36] the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, [2:41] but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. And I personally heard Dr. Jerry [2:49] Falwell say many times, you do not determine a man’s greatness by his talent or his wealth [2:55] as the world does, but rather by what it takes to discourage him. You know, times often get hard [3:03] and it can be very difficult to hear the voice of God and see the work of the hand of God in those

[3:10] moments. But there really are two things that I hope you see this morning that will kind of guide [3:17] you through all of the difficult moments and all of the character defining moments in your life. [3:22] And those are the two things that you can control. And I would say these are two things that will [3:28] mark the path of your life. They are the choices that you make and the response that you make with [3:35] choices of others and how they impact your life. In difficult times, your trust in God and the [3:42] character that trust in God builds will determine your actions and your reactions to the choices

[3:49] of others. So look at Genesis 39 and we are going to see really a narrative of the path that Joseph [3:56] is going to take. Starting in verse 1, it says,

[4:06] And he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and [4:21] that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight [4:27] and attended him. And he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. [4:32] From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, [4:37] the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on all that he [4:44] had in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge. And because of him,

[4:51] he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Pray with me. [4:59] Lord, you are good. And because of that, we are thankful. [5:03] Lord, this morning our prayer is simple. We ask that you would use your word and that you would [5:09] change our lives by it. Lord, build our faith that we may glorify you in worship. And Father, [5:17] we ask that you would be merciful to me, a sinner. In the name of Christ, I pray. Amen. [5:22] Number one, this morning, you need to trust God when you don’t know what he’s doing.

[5:27] You need to trust God when you don’t know what he’s doing. Charles Spurgeon has famously said [5:32] that when you can’t trace the hand of the Lord, you can trust his heart. When you can’t trace the [5:37] hand of the Lord, you can trust his heart. But the only way that you can practically do this [5:43] is if you don’t let your situations define your faithfulness. You know, God knows what the future [5:50] holds, but you don’t. From my perspective, the future is completely unwritten and full of [5:57] potential, full of possibility. But our lives need to be defined by the fact that God is good

[6:03] and that God is loving. And he knows the future even when I don’t. And he can be trusted with [6:10] the future because of his goodness and because of his love. And I know those two things are true [6:15] because of the cross of Jesus Christ. Because no matter what, with faith in God, tomorrow always [6:23] has one great thing from my perspective. It has the potential of the move of God. Tomorrow always [6:32] has the potential of the move of God. That means the situation that I’m dealing with today doesn’t [6:36] necessarily mean I’m going to be dealing with it tomorrow. It doesn’t necessarily mean the situation

[6:41] is going to be the same tomorrow. It doesn’t necessarily mean that my life is going to be [6:45] marked by everything that happened to me yesterday or even everything that happened to me today [6:50] because the word of God tells us that the mercies of the Lord are new every single morning. Therefore, [6:56] it is faith in God that should determine my outlook on every single day. If my faithfulness [7:05] is determined by my situation, I can never truly count myself as faithful. And I think that is why [7:11] so many people struggle with faith. And that’s why our definitions of faith are so bad. Because

[7:18] we would mark ourselves as being faithful yet all of the time despairing in every single thing that [7:26] happens in our lives. Every single situation that comes in my life, if it is not something that I [7:31] prefer to have in my life, it makes me completely despair about the end of today and the beginning [7:36] of tomorrow. Well, if that is you, then you are not faithful. You cannot define yourself as being [7:43] a faithful person to the gospel of Jesus Christ if tomorrow is marked by wretched despair. No, [7:49] it is only when tomorrow is seen in the hands of a loving and good God, therefore the Lord will

[7:55] endure me through every situation. He will ultimately deliver on every single one of his [7:59] promises in my life. I don’t know when, but he will. And I know he will because he is a good [8:05] and he is a loving God. That’s faithfulness. That’s what faith in action actually looks like.

[8:13] Faithfulness is determined by the object of my faith rather than the experience of my life. [8:21] It’s determined by who God is. It’s not determined by what I’m going through. [8:25] It’s not determined by the pain or even the pleasure that I’m experiencing in any moment [8:31] of my life. My faithfulness is based on what God has done and what promises God has made that he [8:38] will do rather than the outcome of each and every moment. For too many, your faithfulness is [8:45] determined by your level of comfort. You question God’s involvement in your life if anything goes

[8:52] wrong. That is not faith. That is viewing God as some sort of cosmic genie who only exists for [9:01] your whims. To have faith in God means to trust the path that God chooses. It does not constrict [9:11] God to the path of my choosing. And so because of that, you need to serve God faithfully [9:18] wherever it is that God has placed you. I mean look at the life of Joseph. He was in just about [9:25] the worst situation he could be in. He was kidnapped, sold into slavery, and now Joseph is [9:33] in a foreign land, told that he’s a slave and must serve the highest bidder. And let’s not mistake

[9:38] it. That’s who Potiphar was. He was the highest bidder. He’s a wicked man. But note how Joseph [9:47] never lost his faith. Verse 2 tells us something very vital to the story. The Lord was with him. [9:57] The Lord was with Joseph. That means that in the midst of his despair, in the midst of the pain, [10:05] in the midst of what anybody would probably say, this is about as bad of a situation as you could [10:10] be in. This is about as painful as it could possibly get. The Lord was with him. And that [10:19] is the reality that marks the life of Joseph. You know Proverbs chapter 3 verse 5 reminds us

[10:26] that there are times when we don’t understand and we are tempted to view everything happening from [10:32] our perspective. You know it’s interesting. I was watching this little documentary about these [10:40] people over in mountainous areas where it’s prone to forest fires and they’ll have these little [10:45] outposts at the top of mountains. And people will have to go live there in isolation for months at [10:52] a time. Sounds like a miserable existence to me. But you’ll go up there and you’ll live in this [10:57] little kind of shack this guy was living in and it was elevated. I mean so high at the top of

[11:10] the mountain. He had a greater perspective simply because of the elevation of his perspective than [11:23] anyone else at the ground level would possibly have. That means that there were people at ground [11:27] level that would think everything’s fine. But from his perspective he would be able to see a raging [11:33] forest fire going right for their town. You see so often we from the ground level, we question [11:39] everything that God’s doing. We despair at the notion that God would bring anything unpleasant [11:44] into our lives. We think that his hand is completely removed from us when we’re in the

[11:48] moment of misery because we’re only viewing things from our perspective. When you look at the life [11:53] of Joseph, you would if I was in that situation I would be like what have I done to make the Lord [11:58] mad at me? I mean what have I done wrong? Clearly God’s not blessing my life. But verse 2 goes [12:06] against every bit of natural inclination that I would have about the situation that Joseph sent [12:11] because verse 2 is clear that in the misery, in the slavery, in the kidnapping, the Lord was with [12:19] Joseph. Do not lean on your own understanding. Do you want to know when anxiety enters your life?

[12:27] Do you want to know when depression is going to enter into your life like you’ve never dealt with [12:32] before? When you lean on your own understanding because you have ceased to trust the perspective [12:42] of the Lord. When you enter into the valley of the shadow of death, do you believe that the Lord is [12:51] still with you? Do you believe that the promises of God are still yours? Do you believe that the [13:02] Lord has the goodness of God in hard moments? See that’s what determines your faithfulness. [13:08] There’s always a greater perspective and friends there is no greater perspective than the perspective

[13:12] of God. He knows how every single moment will turn out. Therefore we can trust that God will [13:19] be with his people. Why? Because God promises to be with his people. Look at Isaiah chapter 41 verse 10. [13:25] The Lord says, he says,

[13:32] I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. God will give strength and help. God will uphold [13:40] you. This is not by my power. This is not by my righteousness, but by God’s righteous hand. [13:46] Will these things happen in the life of his people? This is a promise for the people of God. [13:52] And if you’ve trusted the gospel of Jesus Christ, then you are his people. He will never leave you. [13:57] He will never forsake you. You see friend, the question is how are you responding when things [14:04] don’t go to your liking? How are you responding when times get difficult? You see the thing that

[14:11] sticks out to me about Joseph’s situation is how the hand of God was with him in the worst of [14:16] situations and Joseph knew it. Joseph believed it, but then Joseph excelled in it. That did not mean [14:25] that the road would then turn to a comfortable one for Joseph. And so when we are in those [14:31] difficult situations, we need to understand that something that’s very important. Because everybody [14:37] wants to tell you that everything’s about your passion, that everything’s about your zeal, [14:41] everything’s about you always having a smile on your face and always being excited about

[14:44] every single thing that comes into your life. That’s insanity.

[14:50] If passion defines you and there’s nothing behind that passion, you’ll fail every single time. [14:56] So number two this morning, understand character is a gospel issue. Character is a gospel issue. [15:03] I would rather have one man with character than 20 men with passion.

[15:09] Passion doesn’t endure people for very long when times get hard, but character makes people endure [15:15] for the rest of their lives. So how do you build a life of character like Joseph had? Because I [15:18] want you to see a picture into Joseph’s character. Look in verse six again. And 6b starts out by [15:25] saying, now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. Anytime the Bible starts talking [15:29] about the way someone looks, you know they’re about to be in trouble. So all you pretty people [15:34] out there, look out. All right, luckily I’ve never had to deal with that. Verse seven,

[15:40] And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph. Uh-oh, uh-oh, she thinks Joseph’s pretty.

[15:50] I never want to be called pretty. And said, three words that are the gateway to hell lie with me. [16:02] But Joseph refused and said to his master’s wife, behold, because of me my master has no concern [16:07] about anything in the house and he has put everything that he has in my charge. [16:13] He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, [16:20] because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against who? [16:28] God. Who’s the center of Joseph’s vision? God. And as she spoke to Joseph day after day,

[16:37] he would not listen with her, excuse me, he would not listen to her to lie beside her or to be with [16:43] her. That’s character. You say, why is that character? Maybe she was ugly. Well, the text [16:50] doesn’t tell us what she looked like, but the text tells us about the power that she had over [16:56] Joseph. So I want to put forward to you that Genesis 39 shows that both the sovereignty of [17:01] in light of future events that would happen in Genesis 45 through 50 and the character of Joseph [17:09] are in a divine partnership here. You know, character is an interesting issue that many

[17:14] that trust the grace of God sometimes shy away from. And the reason that some people shy away [17:20] from this is that they fear that it will be confused to overshadow the need for God’s grace [17:25] and that we will somehow think that having a life of character actually earns us the grace of God. [17:30] It doesn’t because that’s getting kind of the cart before the horse. It is the grace of God [17:36] that builds a life of character. So I want you to understand that it is faith in God that will [17:43] build your character. It will build you to be a person marked by integrity. You see, God’s grace

[17:50] finds us in our sin and then builds a new life for us worth living and following Jesus Christ. [17:57] It is faith that’s going to build this character and integrity in his life. It is faith in God’s [18:02] grace that gives us an objective reason to live an honest life built on the principles of God’s [18:10] holiness. Look at the way Proverbs chapter 10 verse 9 writes it. It proclaims to us that if we [18:15] want real security in our lives, we will have integrity. This is whoever walks in integrity, [18:21] walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. You know, people

[18:29] without integrity have to have really long memories. You see, because the crooked have [18:36] to remember what lies they told and what deception they have to use to keep covered so that people [18:42] won’t know the truth of their sin. You see, if you have character and you have integrity, [18:46] you can basically have amnesia about every situation because character and integrity mean [18:52] you don’t have to cover your tracks. You don’t have to hide anything. You can tell the truth [18:58] in every situation. Somebody brings an accusation your way. Okay, bring it. Let’s talk. I got

[19:04] nothing to hide. And if I have done something wrong, I’ve got enough character to be like, [19:08] sorry about that. I’ll try not to do that again. So when you have a life marked by integrity, [19:14] you walk securely because most accusations won’t stick because they’re untrue.

[19:21] See, character needs to be the defining reality of your life. But here’s what I want you to [19:28] understand where the life of Joseph is concerned. The truth of your character is revealed in the [19:33] most difficult of situations. The truth of your character is revealed in the most difficult of [19:40] situations. You see, it would have been extremely easy for Joseph to give into this temptation [19:46] for many reasons. I mean, let’s be frank here. It would have been pleasurable, [19:51] but it also probably would have made his life easier. I mean, Joseph was the victim of grave

[19:58] injustice here. Therefore, many would even go the further mile and they would understand his sinful [20:04] reactions and even excuse his reactions. You see, Potiphar is a wicked man and his wife is wicked. [20:13] And yes, sure, he treated Joseph great, but it was because of the success that Joseph gave him. [20:19] Let’s not forget that he kind of bought people from the Ishmaelites with no questions about [20:24] where those people actually came from. And let me tell you something, sleeping with Potiphar’s [20:29] wife would have been good payback. That’s a good movie right there. It’s a lifetime flick of the

[20:36] week. Who would blame Joseph even in this situation for being weak? I mean, we would ask ourselves, [20:45] isn’t the grace of God big enough to cover Joseph’s lack of character in this situation? [20:51] Well, sure, but it is the grace of God that gives you a new life so that you won’t give [20:57] to temptation in this specific situation. See, Joseph had every reason to disobey God, [21:06] but he had one reason to obey God, the promise that the Lord was with him. Note where Joseph’s [21:14] perspective goes immediately. He doesn’t just say, well, that would be wrong. And you know what?

[21:18] You don’t want to do the right thing. I need to do, excuse me, you don’t want to do the wrong thing. [21:21] You want to do the right thing. Why do you want to do the right thing? Because it’s right. [21:25] Stop saying nonsense like that. If you do right because it’s right, [21:30] did you know that that’s idolatry? Doing right that terminates on itself puts you as the center [21:37] of morality. It puts you as a center of perspective. It puts you at the center of goodness. I don’t do [21:43] right because it’s right. I do right because God defined what’s right. See, my right cannot terminate

[21:52] on itself. It must go further than me. It must go to God. Only then can it be worship. Only then [21:59] can it be true repentance. And Joseph’s perspective immediately goes to God because Joseph had an [22:08] objective reason for doing right. You see, the grace of God does not give us an excuse for sin. [22:15] Rather, it gives us a reason for obedience. It’s not meant to excuse a lack of character. Look [22:21] at Romans chapter 6. Here’s what it says. This is what shall we say then? Are we to continue in [22:27] sin that grace may abound? Because the idea is, well, if grace covers my sin and grace gets

[22:36] more and more and more powerful with the more and more sin that you have, well, let’s sin really big [22:42] so we can get some really big grace. And the apostle Paul says, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve [22:46] ever heard in my life. He says, that cannot be true. Verse 2 begins in the Greek. [22:53] How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized [22:59] into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into [23:04] death. In order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too

[23:11] might walk in newness of life. It is the grace of God that gives you a life of character. [23:20] Too many of us use situations to excuse our wickedness. And so you don’t understand, [23:28] such a hard time in my life and so I’m just so weak and so I can’t have character right now. [23:32] I can’t make good decisions right now. My choices are just kind of, they’re gonna be wrong right now. [23:39] Let me ask you a question because it’s always the scripture that needs to guide your life. [23:43] Have you been kidnapped and sold into slavery?

[23:48] I mean, I’m telling you, I know that some of you, and you’ve brought me some zingers sometimes, [23:52] I mean you’ve got some really difficult situations in your life, but I have not yet come into contact [23:58] with anyone as a pastor that had it as bad as Joseph. Not personally, historically sure, but not [24:03] personally. I mean Joseph’s got it rough. And what is he doing? Looking to God. What is he practicing? [24:11] A life of character. Do not use the pain of the moment to excuse a life, excuse me, [24:19] a choice that can ruin your eternity. Do not use the pain of a moment to excuse a choice that can

[24:25] ruin your eternity. Don’t do it. Build a life of character. Do not be the person that rather than [24:34] looking for reasons to preserve obedience in God, you look for reasons to compromise your integrity. [24:40] Don’t do that. Look for every reason to obey God because that is the life worth living. Why? Because [24:49] it is character that defines you. It is character that defines a person’s life. If Joseph had [24:56] disobeyed God, I truly believe we wouldn’t have the story of Joseph because he would have just [25:01] joined his faithless brothers. Now I believe that there is a divine partnership between God’s

[25:08] sovereignty and the choices that we make in our lives. Both of them propel us to the vision of [25:15] God or the stagnancy of wickedness. Your choices matter. And as I said, passion and zeal do not [25:25] replace character. Other attributes in this life fade while character endures. Passion dwindles in [25:35] unpleasant circumstances. You can put on the public face all you want to, but your passion, [25:41] if things aren’t going your way, it will dwindle in hard moments. Your excitement about the future, [25:48] when you get hit in the face enough times, that look goes off your face

[25:52] every single time. Some people are really excited at the beginning. If they ever watch an MMA match [25:56] and they’re both, they walk into that ring, man, they’re going to bite each other’s faces off. I [26:02] brought a shovel with them to bury them out back afterwards. Gets hit in the face a couple of times, [26:07] the look on his face changes, doesn’t it? He doesn’t look so mean after that.

[26:12] See, the reality is, is that it is character that will endure you to the end because the moments can [26:18] really suck the passion out of your life. And if all you were going on was passion and excitement, [26:26] you will eventually fold under the pressure of hard and uncomfortable moments because you won’t [26:34] be able to adjust. You won’t be able to look forward and say, I’ve got to endure through this [26:40] hard time. No, without passion, you just go wherever it looks like is going to give you the most [26:45] comfort. Wherever it looks like, it’ll give you the most leisure. And I don’t know if you’ve been

[26:48] in some situations like I’ve been in my life, but the things that looked like they would give me the [26:52] comfort, that was a deception in that moment, was it not? That was something that would not have [26:58] given me a life worth having. It would not have built character in my life, but I want you to [27:02] understand it is character that perseveres a man to the end because that is what persevered our [27:08] savior to the end. Many look at the story of Joseph and we must look for typology in the [27:14] Old Testament and they have said that Jesus is the greater Joseph. It is character that is also seen

[27:22] in the life of Christ just as we see it in the life of Joseph. I mean, Joseph is in the toughest [27:26] situation in his life and the excitement of doing a good job and being good at his job will not be [27:35] what defines his future. And it’s the same type of character that took Christ to the cross. [27:41] I mean, if you’ve heard the story of Christ going to the cross, maybe you’ve heard of Christ praying [27:46] in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before the cross. Jesus prays a character driven prayer [27:53] to the Father. He says, not my will, but yours be done. You see, Jesus wasn’t looking forward to the

[28:02] cross. He wasn’t saying, oh goody, they’re going to drive nails through my hands. Fantastic, [28:08] sounds like a good Saturday. No, Jesus was saying, Lord, if there be any other way, [28:16] let the cup of enduring the sins of all humanity on my shoulders, let that cup pass from me. [28:25] Because his excitement about completing the mission in that moment, I want to tell you [28:29] something about Christ. It wasn’t enough. When he says if there be any other way, [28:34] that is his passion waning. That is his zeal struggling. It was Christ’s character that took

[28:44] him to the cross. And in this moment in Joseph’s life, he needed the character of Jesus Christ. [28:52] No matter the cost, integrity matters, friends. I want you to understand that. [28:59] But number three, understand that faithfulness to God is not an easy road. Faithfulness to God [29:06] is not an easy road. There are some times when your integrity won’t have the return that you [29:11] expected. There are times when you’ll be living a life of integrity and the return that you get on [29:17] it isn’t pleasant. I mean, how do I want the story to end? I want the story to end that Joseph did

[29:21] the right thing. Everything worked out for him as soon as he ran away from Potiphar’s wife and [29:26] jumped into the sack with her. No, that was not the outcome. Verse 11, but one day [29:35] when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were there in the [29:41] house, she caught him by his garment saying, again, those three words lie with me. But he [29:51] left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. As soon as she saw that he had left [29:57] his garment in her hand and fled out of the house, she saw an opportunity for payback.

[30:03] That’s what she saw. Men, the wicked woman, run from her. She called to the men of her household [30:10] and said to them, see, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us, speaking of her husband. [30:15] He came into me to lie with me and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that [30:20] I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the [30:25] house. Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home. And she told him the same [30:30] story, saying the Hebrew servant whom you have brought me, brought among us, came into me to laugh

[30:37] at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out [30:43] of the house. As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, this is the [30:48] way your servant treated me, his anger was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him and put him [30:55] into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. [31:02] Verse 21, But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love, gave him favor in the sight [31:12] of the keeper of the prison. Now think about that. Think about the injustice of this story.

[31:18] Think about the fairness of the way that this narrative of scripture ends. The outcome is not [31:24] the one that we want. Joseph accused of rape. Joseph the righteous was being accused of being [31:30] Joseph the wicked. And guess what? Since Joseph was a slave, no one but was going to believe his [31:36] side of the story. And so Joseph was put into prison. Joseph the righteous went from there to [31:44] Joseph the convicted felon. And Joseph was placed in prison for a very long time. Estimates tell us [31:53] greater than 10 years is the amount of time that Joseph would ultimately spend in prison. He’s gone

[32:00] from the favorite son to a valued slave to a convicted prisoner. By any standard, Joseph did [32:09] not deserve this. Things just keep getting worser and worser and worser. Those who had sold him, [32:18] dish mail lights, they walked free. His brothers, walking free. The woman that accused him, [32:26] walking free. Friends, I want you to understand something very important for your life. [32:32] The curse of sin in this world is painful. And it will manifest itself in your life. [32:40] And at times in the reality that you can do things the right way for the right reasons with the

[32:46] right motivations will end up like Joseph. And that is a painful reality. Life isn’t fair. [32:58] So what in the world are we supposed to do with that? Well first, let’s be honest about it. [33:06] I’m not going to tell you some charlatan lie that if you are faithful, everything will work [33:12] out for you, everything will be pleasant for you. Put $5 in the offering plate today and you’ll get [33:17] $50 on your way home this afternoon. Those are lies from the pits of hell. Sometimes you will [33:27] have great character, you will have great integrity, and you will feel like your character

[33:33] and integrity have cost you something. You will feel like your character and integrity have invited [33:38] your life. You will feel like your character and integrity have brought pain into your life. [33:45] But see friends, character doesn’t drive you to lie about the reality of the situations. [33:51] Sometimes things don’t go the way that we want them to. That’s the truth. [33:55] Don’t brush over it. We need Jesus because the world is messed up and messed up things happen.

[34:03] So, second, let’s be honest. The return that Joseph got, it wasn’t pleasant. [34:10] But that doesn’t change the truth of the gospel of Jesus nor does it change the promises of God. [34:16] See verse 21 is vital. The Lord was with Joseph. There it is. God was in the mess. God was walking [34:25] with Joseph. When the Lord is with you, you can be certain of something. You can be certain that the [34:31] Lord is working the mess to His glory. And whether or not that is enough is what defines whether you [34:42] actually have faith in Jesus Christ. Let me be blunt about this. Whether or not the fact that God

[34:50] will get glory from your unpleasant situation, whether or not that is enough for you defines [34:58] whether or not you actually have faith in Jesus Christ. In Matthew chapter 28, [35:04] it’s something we talk about all the time, we have the great commission. We have the command [35:08] to live the mission of God, to make disciples, to see that we observe all that Jesus commands and [35:16] that we get others to observe all that Jesus commands. But we have one more promise in that [35:22] text. It’s not all commands and it’s a promise that we often overlook. We get so driven by the

[35:27] command, we get so driven by the imperative that we ignore the promises that will actually build [35:32] character for the command. The verse ends with Jesus Christ saying, and I will be with you always [35:38] to the end of the age. Is the presence of God in your life enough? Because it is the presence of [35:49] God that commands the glory of God. It is the presence of God that gives you the promises of God. [35:55] It is the presence of God that ensures for you the future of God. It is that promise of presence [36:05] that tells me that the difficult road of faith isn’t a bridge to nowhere. It is a pathway to the

[36:14] glory of God. If you want to talk about the potential of living a life of character, [36:20] what it can build, it can build a life of faith where you actually experience the presence of God [36:29] every day. Why? Because you trust it. Because you live by it. You let it define every moment. You [36:37] let it define every response. You let it define every reaction. You let it define every time you [36:45] have to respond to when it hits the fan. And sometimes it stinks. Let’s be honest.

[36:56] But the Lord was with Joseph in prison. And the Lord was enduring Joseph to deliver on the greatest [37:07] promise ever, and that is the promise of God the Son dying on the cross for our sins. [37:13] You know, sometimes I don’t want to hear about God’s timing. I don’t want to hear, [37:19] oh Steve, it’s all in God’s timing. You just want to kick that person square in the face if you can [37:26] get your foot that high. God’s timing. Oh, thank you so much. I hadn’t thought about that when [37:30] Einstein. Oh, you’re so spiritual. Billy Graham’s here, folks. All in God’s time. All the while,

[37:36] you’re not dealing with what I’m dealing with. And you just don’t want that advice. But here’s [37:42] the key. That doesn’t mean it’s untrue. That is a true statement. Joseph’s journey was not an easy [37:54] road, but faith in God would endure him. Why? Because quite frankly, faith wasn’t the power. [38:02] The object that his faith was in was the power. God. You see, friend, we can trust God’s timing, [38:10] because ultimately everything that took place in Joseph’s life, we’re going to see it as the [38:15] story plays out, but a spoiler alert, it saves his entire family. Everything that happens in

[38:22] Joseph’s life secured the future of the nation of Israel. Everything that happens in Joseph’s life [38:31] ultimately secures the future of that nation, which secures the birth of God the Son, Jesus Christ. [38:39] In Bethlehem over 2000 years ago, and everything that happens in Joseph’s life makes it so that [38:48] Jesus dies on the cross from your sins and rises from the dead to give you an eternity of salvation [38:55] from sin. And because God had a plan for everything that happened in Joseph’s life, [39:04] I can rest securely that God has a plan for everything that comes my way, whether I like

[39:14] what comes my way or whether I don’t like what comes my way. I can be certain of one thing, [39:22] God’s got a plan, but also God’s timing is perfect. I struggle to see it sometimes because [39:29] I’m an impatient person, but it is. You can trust God because he works everything to his power. [39:36] He works everything to his glory. He is walking behind every single moment, and no matter how [39:45] deep the pain, God has the power of resurrection and will work it in my life. Friend, I want you [39:52] to understand your actions matter. Your character counts, and the reason that they matter and the

[39:57] character counts is because Jesus Christ saves and builds us a life worth living that prepares [40:05] us for the kingdom of heaven. He is both our example and he is our hope. Jesus saves. And [40:15] sometimes the witness in my life of the power of Jesus Christ comes from very painful circumstances. [40:25] As the band comes up, friend, there are a lot of reasons to not obey God,

[40:36] but there’s one overarching reason I always find to obey God, and that’s that he is God [40:46] and that he is here. You see, friends, the power of God’s promises are found in everything that [40:53] God has ever done. I’m not going to tell you a lie right now because some people would. Some [40:58] people will tell you a lie that if you trust Jesus, you’ll never question the goodness of God. Some [41:01] people will tell you a lie that if you trust Jesus, you’ll never distrust the promises of God, [41:07] but I’m here to tell you the truth. There’s going to come times when trusting God is very difficult.

[41:12] There’s going to come moments where you look to what’s going on in your life and you’re going to [41:16] have a very hard time tracing the hand of God in your life, and in those moments is when you’re [41:22] going to need faith in Jesus Christ more than you’ve ever needed it before in your life. [41:27] And the moment of pain is what’s going to determine the next day of your life and how [41:32] you respond to it, how you react to it. If you look to the cross and you say, [41:36] I don’t know where God’s going with this, but I know he loves me,

[41:40] and I know he loves me because he sent his Son. I don’t know where God is going with this, [41:45] but I know he’s powerful enough to endure me through it. Why is he powerful enough to endure [41:49] me through it? Because he rose from the dead. That’s how powerful he is, and if he’s powerful [41:53] enough to bring death to life, then he is powerful enough to bring me through any situation, [41:59] even if that situation costs me my life. There’s going to come moments in Joseph’s life where he [42:05] looks at it and he says, I’m just going to die in Egypt separated from my family, but the Lord

[42:10] was with him. Friend, if you’re in here and you’ve never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, [42:16] I want you to know that if you trust Jesus, the Lord will be with you through every single [42:21] moment of your life, no matter what happens. That’s why you need to trust Jesus Christ as [42:29] your Savior. He loved you enough to take the penalty for your sins onto himself so that you [42:33] would never have to endure the wrath of God. Today is the day of salvation. Trust Jesus Christ. [42:41] But secondly in here, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, if you have trusted him,

[42:45] don’t lie. Life stinks sometimes. Life’s difficult sometimes. Things don’t go our way [42:52] many, many, many times. Sometimes it feels like I deal with more bad things than I deal with good [42:57] things. But in those moments, do not lose heart. Christ has overcome the world. His kingdom is [43:07] coming and he is with you. If you believe that this morning there are tables in the front and [43:15] in the back, the bread represents the broken body of Christ, the cup represents his shed blood. [43:21] If you believe Jesus Christ, come, eat, drink, proclaim the death of our King,

[43:26] and then walk trusting him every day. When you’re ready, come.