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Introduction:
If we were given the chance to spend a half-hour with any Bible
personality, I imagine most of us would pick Jesus. However,
second to Him we all have our various favorites. I have no doubt
some would choose Joseph. If we were able to spend a half-hour
with him, what would he tell us? Discussion: I.
You are able to choose how you react to your circumstances. A.
How many times do we justify our actions based on our
circumstances? How many times do we act as though we just
couldn’t help ourselves because of the way we were treated?
Joseph demonstrates that no matter how we are treated, we can
behave properly. It is our choice. B.
According to Genesis
37:4, his older brothers hated him and could not speak to
him on friendly terms. Eventually their hate led them to sell him
as a slave in Genesis
37:28. He ended up in Potiphar’s house in Egypt (39:1).
Despite his family’s treatment of him and despite his slavery,
Joseph was faithful. But then Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce
him. When he refused, obeying God (39:8-9),
he ended up being framed and put in prison (39:20).
C.
Frankly, I am amazed by Joseph. I can see taking one stand
to serve the Lord no matter how you were treated. However, when
that choice made the whole situation worse, I am afraid I would be
tempted to stop banking on serving the Lord and just trying to get
ahead on my own. But Joseph didn’t. Even after serving the Lord
had landed him in slavery and then further in prison, he kept on
serving the Lord. Here is the great lesson—we choose how we
react to our circumstances. No matter our circumstances, we can
serve the Lord, but we must choose to. II.
Flee immorality. A.
Most of us are familiar with the narrative of Genesis
39:7-18. Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph. She
tried day after day and Joseph repeatedly rebuffed her advances.
His statement was, “How then could I do this great evil and sin
against God?” However, one day she found him in the house alone.
She grabbed his outer garment and commanded him to lie with her.
Joseph did not ponder it, he fled. Such was his haste that he even
left his garment in her hand. B.
I
Corinthians 6:18
commands us to flee immorality. In II
Timothy 2:22, Paul exhorted Timothy to flee youthful
lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. Few people
ever say, “Today, I think I want to commit immorality.” The
problem is too many do not flee it. Some because of ignorance walk
down the path to immorality, others because they think they can go
so far without crossing the line. Too many Christians allow
themselves the lingering looks that spark desire, the mental
dwelling on those to whom they have no right, the flirting with
people who are not their spouses, the fantasies of immorality.
These lower our defenses and lead us into immorality. Instead of
walking these paths, we must flee immorality, avoiding the lustful
looks, the flirtatious relationships, the mental pictures.
Instead, we must pursue righteousness. C.
We are going to look odd when we refuse to take part in the
lust and lasciviousness of the world. We are going to look
old-fashioned and prudish. People will make fun of us as being too
straight-laced and a goodie-two-shoes. Who knows? They might even
throw us in prison. But like Joseph we must flee immorality no
matter what the consequences in our relationships. III.
God keeps His promises. A.
In Genesis
50:24-25, Joseph told his brethren and their descendents
that God would eventually lead them out of Egypt and made them
swear to take his bones out when they left. Hebrews
11:22 he did this through faith. Joseph’s request was
not wishful thinking. It was not “if you ever leave.” It was
“When you leave.” How could Joseph be so sure? Joseph was
aware of the promise God had made to his great-grandfather Abraham
in Genesis
15:13-16. B.
Joseph believed God and His promises. He could have done as
Jacob did and had his bones taken immediately to the cave at
Machpelah. He didn’t. He trusted God that the Israelites would
be heading that way in time and they could bury his remains in the
family tomb then. That is exactly what happened. In Exodus
13:19, Moses took the bones of Joseph with them when they
left Egypt. In Joshua
24:32 Joshua buried Joseph’s as had been promised. IV.
Trust God and wait on Him. A.
How many times do the psalmists exhort us to wait on the
Lord? Consider Psalm
37:7, 9, 34 as one example. This concept of waiting refers
to God’s children who in hard times. However, instead of getting
angry with God and turning against Him, they continue to trust God
waiting on the deliverance they know He will bring on His
timetable. B.
Joseph is a living illustration of this principle. Joseph
was 17 when he had his dreams (Genesis
37:2). Genesis
41:46 says he was 30 when he stood before Pharaoh. Joseph
endured mistreatment from his family, slavery and imprisonment for
13 years before he became ruler. C.
It was at least another 7 years before God brought about
the vision that his family would bow to him (cf. Genesis
41:53-54). God took 20 years to fulfill His promise to
Joseph. Yet, Joseph trusted God and waited on Him to perform His
will on His timetable. D.
We must learn to do the same. God blesses His faithful in
His time, not ours. We must learn to wait on the Lord. I do not
know what kind of hardships you are facing. I do not know how long
you have been facing or how much longer you will have to face
them. I do know, however, that in His time, God blesses all His
faithful servants. While I cannot provide a certain timeframe of
blessing within this life, I can say with absolute certainty that
even if blessing never comes in this life, it will come to God’s
faithful in the next (Romans
8:18). Trust God and wait on Him. V.
Give God the glory. A.
In Genesis
41:15, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have heard it said
about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
What a flattering statement. How easy it would have been for
Joseph to simply accept the praise. But he did not. In 41:16,
Joseph replied, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a
favorable answer.” Joseph did not want the glory. He wanted it
given to God. B.
Psalm
115:1 exemplifies
this mindset saying, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your
name give glory.” According to Matthew
6:1, if we work righteousness to be seen by men, we are
not working righteousness. Rather, we must work in such a way that
people will glorify God because of our good deeds (Matthew
5:16). C.
Our duty is to glorify God and not seek the glory for
ourselves. As Paul did in I
Corinthians 3:5. He pointed out that he and Apollos were
nothing but God’s servants to whom God gave the opportunity to
teach the Corinthians. God is the one who provided the growth and
salvation. Joseph teaches us to give God the glory at all times. VI.
We are not God. A.
In Genesis
50:15-21,
Joseph’s brothers became afraid the only reason he had never
avenged himself on them was because he did not want to grieve
their father. However, Jacob had died. The brothers feared that
Joseph would finally take his vengeance. B.
On the surface, we might be tempted to think the great
lesson here is one of forgiveness or of kindness (certainly we can
learn of these things from Joseph here). However, Joseph’s
statement in vs.
19 drives home the real lesson. “Do not be afraid, for
am I in God’s place?” C.
Joseph had forgiven his brothers and he did treat them with
kindness, but those were merely by-products of the real issue. The
real issue was that Joseph, for all his power as second in command
in Egypt, recognized that God was God and he was not. It was not
Joseph’s place to seek vengeance. That is God’s place. Paul
iterates that point in Romans
12:19-21. D.
How many times do we bear grudges and try to seek some way
to punish and get vengeance on those who have sinned against us?
That is not our place. If vengeance is going to come upon others
for their sins, God is the one who must do it—not us. We must
learn from Joseph that we are not God and we must leave the room
for God to act as He sees fit. Conclusion: Joseph was a great servant of God. He set a high standard of godly living for us. Yet, remember that he was just a man like us. He was not superhuman. He was simply a man whose faith guided him and who, based on his faith, made the choices the glorified God. We can learn a lot from Joseph. May we learn that we are not God, but we must glorify God, trusting Him and waiting on Him to keep His promises as we flee immorality and pursue righteousness, choosing to serve God no matter our circumstances. This is what Joseph would teach us, if we had some time to sit and talk with him.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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