Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast.
This season of messages takes us through some of the great comeback stories in the Bible.
Pastor John Metter of Cross City Church will show us how God can take any situation in
any life and bring hope and victory out of hardship.
These messages will inspire you to trust God in your own challenging seasons.
Thank you so much for being with us today and if you have your Bibles, take them and
turn to the very first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis.
Genesis chapter 50 today, in our God's Not Done With You series.
By the way, aren't you glad God's not done with you?
I mean, there are times in life where we wonder if God has finished with us, if He's tired
of us, if He's not planning on using us anymore and that's just never true.
God, as long as He gives you breath and life, He's not done with you and He has an incredible
plan for your life.
No matter how challenging life is, God's got a plan for you.
Today, we're going to be looking at something called the 50-20 principle out of Genesis
chapter 50 and also verse 20.
It's called the 50-20 principle and I hope it will be meaningful to you in these days
ahead.
Please stand with me as we read God's word together today.
Now this is about the life of Joseph and really, the life of Joseph encompasses 13 chapters
out of Genesis chapter 37 all the way through chapter 50.
I thought you might appreciate it if I didn't read all 13 chapters today as we stand together,
but I am going to focus on the last few words of Genesis chapter 50, which is kind of the
comics of Joseph's life.
It's a moment where he's facing his 10 stepbrothers that have betrayed him and really wanted him
dead.
Most of you know the story of Joseph, the fact that he was the boy that had the favor
of his father.
He wore a multicolored coat as a result of that.
He was a dreamer.
He was someone that God gave dreams and visions to and he spoke those dreams and visions and
one of those had to do with eventually his brothers would bow down before him and of
course they resented that and they did everything they could to get rid of him out of their
lives.
Joseph's story is a story of a roller coaster, highs and lows in life, comebacks after being
absolutely shut out of certain seasons and now at the end of his life he's looking at
those brothers that have come back to visit him now that he's in a position of power and
he says some very unusual things and these words are words that I hope will help you
see the end goal of your life and what God is going to do with you as well as with Joseph.
So here it is in verse 18.
The Bible says then his brothers also came and as his dreams prophesied they fell down
before him and said behold we are your servants.
They're there because he can feed them as number two in command of all of Egypt and
they are hungry.
But Joseph said to them do not be afraid for am I in God's place.
As for you, you meant evil against me but God meant it for good in order to bring about
this present result to preserve many people alive.
Now I'm going to come back and read that verse again right now.
As for you, they had betrayed Joseph in every way.
They had done unspeakable acts of evil against him but he said as for you, you meant it for
evil but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve
many people alive.
So therefore do not be afraid.
I will provide for you and your little ones and he comforted them and spoke kindly to
them.
Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father's household and Joseph lived 110 years.
Now we're going to stop there and go back and pick up his life but I want you to see
where his life is going to end and how God is going to bring him all the way through
that.
Father in Jesus' name today I pray that you'll speak to us from Genesis chapter 50 verse
20 in a way that will let us see life from a very different perspective.
That perspective would be one that you give us through your eyes, through your plans instead
of our hopes and our wishes and our comfort or lack of it.
Father today bring conviction to our life about our life's journey with you.
I ask this in Jesus' name.
Everyone said amen.
Please be seated if you would.
Now my favorite Super Bowl is the 2017 Super Bowl and most of you will recognize right
away it doesn't involve the Dallas Cowboys.
I mean the Dallas Cowboys haven't won a Super Bowl in 27 years.
They haven't been in a long time.
One of my youngest children doesn't even know the Cowboys were ever in the Super Bowl before.
Hopefully one day they'll be back.
But in 2017 the Atlanta Falcons played the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
It's called one of the greatest Super Bowl comebacks in all of history.
It's called the greatest in history and Tom Brady was the quarterback that engineered
that comeback with the New England Patriots.
The Patriots were down 28 to 3 at the half and 28 to 9 going into the fourth quarter.
Patriots still hadn't scored a touchdown the whole game going into the fourth quarter.
Now this particular day my friend Matt Tyson and I were flying to Alaska and we had a layover
in Seattle.
It was snowing in Seattle and of course in Alaska as well.
And before we were going to take off all this timing of this game and this flight took place
at about the same time.
Now in retrospect I have no idea why I was flying on Super Bowl evening.
I would rather have been watching the Super Bowl game but nonetheless there we were.
And everybody was in the waiting room as we were waiting for the plane to be de-iced to
get on the plane to go to Anchorage as this game went into the fourth quarter.
Now as it went into the fourth quarter the Patriots started scoring one touchdown after
the other and then all of a sudden the loudspeaker came on and we were called to take our flight.
So we all got up dutifully.
Everybody was complaining and grumbling oh no now we have to take off.
Which never happens in an airport and we're standing in line about to go out and just
at that moment a final touchdown was scored and the Patriots tied it up with the Atlanta
Falcons.
And we got another intercom announcement and that is the pilots said we're going to de-ice
the planes one more time just for just for precaution.
I'm fully convinced the pilots were watching the game at the same time and they wanted
to see how it ended.
So nobody complained we all got back to our seats and we sat down and we watched that
final overtime victory where the New England Patriots came back and beat the Atlanta Hawks
in Super Bowl of 2017.
And the suspense was off the charts.
It was off the charts because nobody knew who would win.
Like any great sporting event you just don't know who's going to win the game until the
end.
My heart was beating very quickly.
I loved the game.
But now I can go back and talk about that game and there's no suspense involved.
I can watch that on YouTube video and my heart doesn't beat any faster than it normally does.
And you know why?
Because I already know the outcome of that particular game in Super Bowl history.
It's already a done deal.
In many ways what we're going to look at today helps you look at life from the end result
of what God brings about in Joseph's life and what he can bring about in your life.
Your life will be a whole lot less anxious, a whole lot less panicky, a whole lot less
fearful if you knew the Genesis 50-20 principle where this man Joseph is able to look at those
brothers that hurt him so bad and say, you meant it for evil but God meant it for good
in my life.
And that is the Genesis 50-20 principle.
You know we can face all kinds of adversity in our lives if we know that God is going
to cause it to work together for good in the end and if we can just remember that.
Some people talk about living life looking back in retrospect.
And they say this, they say 20-20 vision is in retrospect.
You look back and you see the different things in your life and how they all fell into place
and now that's 20-20.
But how do you live looking forward?
And today I propose that you live with the 50-20 principle.
Whatever else happens in your life, God will cause it to work together for good.
God will mean it to work together for good.
And at the end of your life you're going to have a testimony like Joseph, God meant it
for good.
Now that's what this text, this life and this text teaches us about living by faith.
In fact that statement in the Genesis 50-20 principle is Joseph's final testimony.
It's his post-game press conference if you will where he talks about his life and all
the ups and downs and he looks at those brothers that by now he has forgotten and he says you
did mean it for evil.
Not you may have meant it for evil.
I know you made a mistake and you did something you shouldn't have done.
He looked at them and said you did mean it for evil but God meant it for good.
And he's brought about this incredible thing that could never have happened unless God
had brought it about.
So if your life ever has some highs and lows, if you ever feel like you're on a roller coaster,
if you ever feel like sometimes God is not working as fast as you want him to work or
as clearly as you want him to work today, the life of Joseph is going to help you walk
by faith in the days ahead in this same God, this God of Joseph.
It's the God of you and I today and I for one am grateful for it.
So as you look at the life of Joseph for just a few moments, keep in mind this is where
it ends.
This is his testimony at the end.
But what about that journey from his beginning and all the things he has to go through?
Well over 13 chapters you'll find a lot of details about this man named Joseph but I
want to point out just a few of them today because his story is remarkable.
First of all, Joseph's story is a story of rejection, a story of rejection.
If you go all the way back to chapter 37 and verse 18, the Bible speaks of his brothers,
his 10 stepbrothers specifically who want to put him to death.
And you find this verse, they plotted against him to put him to death.
I love the Bible because it tells real stories about real lives and this is a real dysfunctional
family.
Joseph has 10 stepbrothers, one natural brother.
His mom dies and given birth to his younger brother.
So all these older 10 stepbrothers are envious of him because of the favor he has with his
father.
You know Joseph is a man with a many colored coat.
His father gave him that as a sign of favor, a sign of love and he wore it everywhere.
He probably as a young boy wore it obnoxiously and he bothered his brothers in so many ways.
This man also was a dreamer.
He had dreams.
Some dreams you ought to keep to yourself and some you ought to tell other people.
And one of the ones he told to his brothers were that they would all bow down before him
someday and all this worked together to create quite a home of dysfunction.
And he was rejected in every way.
He was despised, he was hated, he was rejected and plotted against.
And we read by that verse that we just looked at, chapter 37 verse 18, they plotted against
him to put him to death.
You know rejection is very real.
How many of you have felt rejection in your life at some point, in some way?
Where someone has outright rejected you maybe because they think you're different, maybe
you're not part of the in group, maybe because of something that they see about you, something
you've gone through, the way you talk, the way you dress, words you've said in the past,
maybe you're on the receiving end of a bully's action where you're rejected by people because
of peer pressure and other things.
You've got to keep in mind at this point Joseph is only 17 years of age.
He's not even the age of a high school senior.
He's going through all this as a young boy.
Let me just say something to you about rejection and what ultimately happens.
It doesn't matter how badly you're rejected or by whom you are rejected, God can always
take that rejection and build into your life the special quality that allows you to end
up high, high above what anybody else thinks you can be.
What an incredible encouragement we have in the life of Joseph.
Let me also say something else about rejection.
We rarely know the reasons why we are rejected.
Sometimes we're rejected by people that are wounded themselves.
Sometimes we're rejected because people are weird themselves.
It's not us that are weird, it's they that are weird.
We can rarely do anything about their rejection.
Nothing that you could do would keep them from rejecting you in other words.
You shouldn't try to earn people's favor.
It never works well.
When you try to earn people's favor, that makes them your master.
It'll make you do things and say things and be things that you should never be.
You were not designed to be.
Joseph walked through this rejection in part to show us that we can walk through and get
out on the other side without having caved in to the defeat of rejection.
That's a pretty important principle to have.
By the time these brothers see Joseph come to check on him, sent by his father to check
on them in the field, their rejection for him, their hatred for him is blazing hot and
they want to put him to death.
That's the line we looked at just a moment ago.
And Joseph is about to suffer.
Let me tell you, suffering is not an easy, easy path at all.
But suffering is really a big part of what happens on this planet.
Let me tell you, I wish all suffering were over, but that's not this world.
That's the next world where all suffering is over.
The reason we suffer, the reason we have rejection, the reason we have pain or hardship is not
because of something we did or didn't do, but it's because we live in a sinful, broken
world filled with people that are far from God.
And that's exactly what's happening to Joseph.
So keep in mind today that rejection is painful and suffering happens.
I had my own battle with rejection as a younger man, but God reminded me I was never, ever
rejected by him.
What an important thing to keep in mind.
No matter what people do to you, you are always loved and accepted by your heavenly father.
Here's a principle here in Joseph's life and this story, and here it is.
When all others reject you, God does not, and he is enough.
His acceptance of you, his love for you, his plans for you are enough, I promise.
You do not need to pursue the acceptance of anybody else.
The story of Joseph is first of all a story of rejection, but it moves from rejection
to something else, a story of false accusation.
Shortly after what we read about, his brothers sell him to million traders and he has to
travel walking 12 days behind a group of camels, finally bought by a man named Potiphar, and
here his stock rises when everything he does is blessed and his character is demonstrated
in such a huge way.
The Bible describes this chapter of his life as Joseph was a successful man.
What's happening is God is blessing Joseph in Potiphar's house.
He's a house servant, but he's being blessed.
In fact, everything he touches turns to blessing.
All of a sudden, those bad years of rejection seem to turn a corner for him for just a little
while.
Potiphar sees he's a blessing, and Joseph may even be thinking at this moment there's
hope, my life is changing, but the place of success for Joseph was also a place of temptation
for somebody else, and that is Potiphar's wife.
In fact, if you were to read chapter 39, verse seven and eight, the Bible makes it plain.
His master's wife looked with desire at Joseph and said, lie with me, but he refused.
Here's a man that all of a sudden is finding incredible success, and Potiphar's wife wants
to have sexual relations with him.
And so he's in an unwinnable moment all of a sudden.
He's not going to be in a situation where he can just give his word and everyone will
believe it.
After all, he will not believe Potiphar's wife.
She is part of the leadership of the country.
It's a really unwinnable moment.
It's a moment where he can't really do anything right or wrong in that moment, but it's a
great text that we have here, this scenario with plenty of warning about the immorality.
Joseph does only the right thing, but so many lessons here.
The awareness of danger, for example.
We can learn lessons about the opportunity for accusations.
We learn lessons about the purity of his mind.
Joseph passed all those tests.
His answer was, how could I do this against my God and against my boss, Potiphar, your
husband?
How could I do this thing that you are proposing?
So she makes a false accusation against him, and all of a sudden he is an enslaved foreigner.
Once accused, he has no chance, no trial, no witnesses.
He only has God.
We had to pause and think about this for just a few moments.
Sometimes adversity happens in our life not because of something we've done wrong, but
it happens because we're doing something right, because we're doing the right thing, because
we're obeying God, because we're being honest.
Our sinful culture that we live in will cause all kinds of difficulty and adversity.
And that's where Joseph is.
Joseph is doing the right thing, but it comes with intense pressure that she wanted him
to give in to her.
I have to tell you this, that I wonder a little bit about Joseph during that time of temptation.
After being rejected so much as a young boy, and as a young man, all of a sudden now he's
in the house of Potiphar, and he's being affirmed.
He's being elevated, and all of a sudden Potiphar's wife wants to have relationships with him.
So his first successes in life, his first affirmation, no one's rejecting him now.
And I can imagine in his mind he had to dwell on the thought, will I give in to maintain
this thing that feels so good, or will I do the right thing?
And of course, Joseph chose the right thing.
Keep this in mind, true character is revealed in choices under pressure.
You know, those now or never moments where you have to choose right on the spot.
That's when you show your true character.
And Joseph showed his true character.
He thought about God, he thought about his responsibilities, he wanted to do the right
thing, and he did the right thing.
And I want you to know that you're gonna have plenty of chances to make those now or never
decisions in life.
Make them right no matter what.
No matter what the cost, no matter how hard it is to resist the temptation, do the right
thing.
Always in the world we live in, those others will mean it for evil.
Potiphar's wife meant it for evil in his life.
So when he refuses to do what she wants, she accuses him of assault, and her husband is
forced to agree with him.
And now he is in an unfair, unjust, unethical, but unchangeable circumstance.
He cannot do anything about it.
And the roller coaster goes down and down again.
It's really a dark moment in Joseph's life, but I love this part of Joseph's story because
chapter 39, where he is in prison because of the false accusation, four times it says,
but the Lord was with Joseph.
I want you to say those words with me.
Are you ready?
The Lord was with Joseph.
Let me tell you, it doesn't matter how dark your life gets if the Lord is with you at
the pretty bright moment.
If you know God is with you, if you know God is leading you, God is directing you, if you
realize that the Lord is with you, it'll help brighten the worst kind of season in life.
Because God may let us go through difficult times in life, but he is with us and he reminds
us that he is there, right there with us.
God is with him.
It's a great reminder.
And there's a principle that comes out of that chapter.
When others believe the worst about you, God stands with you.
I'm sure you know what it's like to be falsely accused.
I know what it's like to be falsely accused, to have people lie about you, to say things
about you that are not true.
It's always helpful to know God knows the real story.
Others may not know the real story, but God always knows the real story.
When others believe the worst about you, God stands with you.
Now in this story of Joseph's life, it gets still worse.
The third part of the story is the story of abandonment, of abandonment.
Joseph is now in prison and by chapter 40, he's befriended two people in prison, the
baker and the cupbearer of the king.
Formerly they had been serving the king and now they've been imprisoned.
And if you remember the story, those two prisoners who'd been accused by the king were there.
Each has a dream and Joseph correctly interprets each of those dreams.
For the baker, it was that his head would be lifted, that was he would die.
And for the cupbearer, he would be restored to service.
So God gives Joseph the interpretation of those dreams and it all comes to pass just
like that.
But in Genesis chapter 40 verse 23, there is a line that says, yet the chief cupbearer
did not remember Joseph, but forgotten him.
He forgot him.
The one man that could go and tell Pharaoh, this guy does not need to be in prison.
The one man who could go and appeal for Joseph could not do it because he could not remember
him during that period of time.
And Joseph's life has turned downward by the imprisonment, but now he's forgotten.
And for two years, for two years, the cupbearer can't remember and doesn't bring up the fact
that Joseph is in prison and he's a useful, helpful young man.
Now I read this and I say, that's a story of waiting.
How many of you don't like to wait?
Would you raise your hand if you don't like to wait?
Oh, mercy, it's so hard for us to wait through those periods of time where we want God to
do this, God to do that.
We see the promises of God and we know that they're on their way, that God will be faithful,
but we have to wait and we have to wait and we have to wait.
But not only is he waiting for this long duration of time, but he's also forgotten.
Think about it.
He's forgotten and presumed dead by his father by now.
He's forgotten by his brothers who hope they never hear of him again because of what they
did to him.
He's forgotten by Potiphar's wife who's glad to get rid of him.
He's forgotten by Potiphar who has to move on with his life and now he's forgotten by
the cupbearer, the only one that can represent him humanly speaking before Pharaoh.
In Psalm chapter 13 verse one and two, there's a great Psalm of lament and a Psalm of patience.
It's really a Psalm of impatience if you really want to look at it that way.
And here's what it says.
How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long will I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Here is a writer of scripture under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit going through a time of
waiting and longing for God to answer and impatience that how long, God, will it be
before I hear from you again?
Don't forget me, God.
Have you ever heard that kind of prayer?
Don't forget me.
Know where I am.
Know where I am going through.
I wish I could tell you the hour or the moment.
I wish I could tell you the scenario where God will remind you that you're not forgotten,
but I can't give you a time like that, time like that.
I don't know when God is going to reveal himself to you, but I can tell you that you are never
forgotten by our God, ever.
He knows you.
He loves you.
He's aware of where you are.
He's aware of what you're going through.
You will never, ever, ever be forgotten by our God.
And yet, sometimes we go through those times when we feel like it.
When it seems you are completely forgotten, God knows exactly where you are.
A few years ago, our church in Tennessee, when I was there, was having a conference
where we would invite pastors and wives from the northwest part of the United States to
come to our church, and we would just encourage them for a week.
And these pastors and wives were ministering in some really remote areas.
And I can remember one family who came from the inner parts of Wyoming, a beautiful state,
but very sparsely populated, and they pastored a church in a very, very small community.
And it was a hard-going situation for them.
And I remember they were coming just to be refreshed and be healed just a little bit,
be prayed for, and towards the end of the week, we were talking to them about their
calling and their ministry in Wyoming.
And I remember the woman looked at Kim and I as we were talking, and she said, how did
you even find us?
And quite candidly, she said, sometimes I wonder if God even knows where we are.
It's such like human nature for us to think that.
Sometimes I wonder if God knows where we are.
And I assure you today, God does know where you are.
And while you're waiting and while you're praying and while you feel forgotten, let
me tell you, God is working in your life.
He never stops working.
He's always doing something in your life.
Say, how can you say that, Pastor?
I say that because the God of Joseph is the God of you.
I say that because He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, because God never allows
suffering without redeeming it in some way.
I say that because God declares the end from the beginning.
He knows everything that's going to happen.
I say that because God causes all things to work together for good, for those who love
God, for those who are called according to His purpose.
I say it because He takes evil and He turns it into good redeem.
That's just the God we serve.
And everywhere you see it in the Bible, that's true.
God is not going to let you down.
I promise you.
That God assures me.
He assures you that He will redeem all those things in your life just like He did in Joseph's
life.
Joseph's life is there to encourage you.
That's what the Bible says.
The things written beforehand in the Old Testament were written so they would be examples to
us who live in the later days, the way we live.
Now, this story has got some lows, but it's also got a high.
This is the story of victory, the story of victory.
You know the story, Pharaoh has a dream, the cupbearer finally remembers Joseph who is
called.
He is washed up and prepared for a presence of the Pharaoh.
He listens to Pharaoh describe the dream and then God gives him the interpretation of that
dream.
And the interpretation is you're going to have seven years of plenty and then you're
going to have seven years of famine, so you should get ready for the coming years.
And then something remarkable happens.
Pharaoh speaks to Joseph just fresh out of prison, forgotten, rejected, abandoned, waiting
on God and not seeing God work in any seeable ways.
And Pharaoh speaks to him in Genesis chapter 41 verse 40.
Look at what Pharaoh says.
He says, since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise
as you are.
You shall be over my house and according to your command, all my people should do homage.
Only in the throne I will be greater than you are.
In other words, you're going to become second in command of all of Egypt.
Would you look with me at a moment at how unlikely and impossible that statement really
is?
I mean, let us go through your mind.
This young man is being singled out by Pharaoh.
He is a rejected solitary foreigner in Egypt, previously accused of sexual assault and in
prison and he's placed him as second in command of all of Egypt.
The best resume in the history of the world won't get you that job.
But God takes this young man who he's been preparing through every stage of his life
for this moment where he can lead an entire nation.
I find that fascinating.
It also says that God can take you and put you wherever he wants you, no matter whether
you think you're qualified or not.
God qualifies you for whatever he calls you for.
Man, I look at the life of Joseph and I have waves upon waves of encouragement coming my
way.
And you should have waves and waves of encouragement coming your way.
Joseph is a 17-year-old frightened dreamer boy who now has become a man who could be
trusted with the future of a nation.
And he's been matured through each step of that adversity.
Nikki Gumbel wrote a book in which she said the statement, who you become while you are
waiting is as important as what you are waiting for.
In other words, there's maturing that goes on in the wait while you're waiting.
With his power, Joseph ended up saving during the feast years so they could eat during the
famine years and all of Egypt was rescued as well as Canaan where Israel was, where
his father's family was.
Everything was saved because of that.
And everything that happened to Joseph led him to the ultimate assignment to rescue these
two nations.
Every peace was necessary or God would not have allowed it.
Think about this.
Without the rejection, he would not have been sold to traders.
Without the 12-day journey, as arduous as it was, he would not have arrived in Egypt.
Without the false accusation, he would never have been in prison.
Without the prison, he never would have met the cupbearer.
Without meeting the cupbearer, he never would have been known by Pharaoh.
And without the presence of God, he would have not made through any of these things.
It's all tied together.
And here's what's true.
God's waste no experience of our lives.
He builds us up in every single one of them in order for us to ultimately be what he's
called us to be.
Listen.
You go through tough times in life and God is just taking those and using those in a
way that he will ultimately use in your life and calling.
And now in the last chapter of Joseph's story, chapter 50, where we began, his brothers come
to him once more.
And I wish I could see that moment.
I wish I could just kind of let that unfold visibly to my eyes.
Because these are the ten that meant so much harm to him.
And now they come and they bow down.
I have to tell you, if Joseph was a normal man, then he would have certainly wanted to
have vindication.
He certainly would have wanted to take revenge, you would think.
But he didn't do any of that.
In fact, at this moment, when Joseph speaks to his brothers, I realize the previous four
chapters are a step-by-step process by which he ultimately forgives each one of them for
the evil they've done to him.
And when he finally opens his mouth about all this in Genesis chapter 50, verse 20,
we realize he's forgiven them and he's blessing them and he moves them to be with him in Egypt.
Listen.
As amazing as this story is, this family restoration is also amazing because one man stayed faithful
to God.
He loved in spite of rejection.
He endured false accusation.
He forgave those who wrote him off and abandoned him.
He finished well.
There's only one way to do that.
And that is absolute trust in God in spite of being in a place where nothing makes sense.
I'm just going to tell you today, you're going to be in some places in life where nothing
makes sense to you.
And you're going to have to trust when nothing makes sense.
You don't find that your faith grows when everything makes sense, when you have an easy
life, when you get everything you want.
Nobody comes through those kinds of seasons saying, I learned so much because you didn't.
You learn a lot when things don't go your way, when challenges are bigger than you are,
when the adversity is overwhelming.
That's when you learn to trust in God in a huge way.
So in the end, we just trust.
We trust when it doesn't make sense, when it doesn't look like he's in control.
We have to realize he is.
Christopher Ash writes a great book who in this book talks about the sovereignty of God
and asks the question, where is God's sovereignty when things go so badly?
And he writes a statement that I think is very insightful.
He said, how do we think about the sovereignty of God in a world where Satan and evil exist?
On the one hand, we may neglect Satan altogether and assume that God rules the world in a simple
and direct way.
But if we do that, that means God is responsible for sin and evil.
Let me know that's not true.
On the other hand, we may think that Satan or sin as a second independent autonomous
power of evil, in which case the universe becomes a terrifying, uncertain place.
Since we may never be sure whether God or Satan will win in any particular round of
their contest.
And we know that's not true either.
Neither of those is true.
So here's what is true.
And here's what we can determine from Joseph's life and from the whole of scripture.
Listen carefully.
In the sovereignty of God, even acts of evil serve his ultimate good.
God doesn't create the evil, but God causes the evil to work together for good in your
life.
They may have meant it for evil, but God means it for good.
Evil is subservient to the purposes of God in the story of Joseph.
But just jump over to another book, the book of Job, and you'll see that even Satan is
subservient to the purposes of God in the book of Job.
And here's the key.
Live as though this is true.
And you're living by faith in a God that's greater than our world, greater than our circumstances,
greater than what we can make sense of.
That's the God that we want to serve right there, the God of Joseph, the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, the God who sent his son, Jesus Christ, for us.
So as you filter these things through your mind, go back to Genesis chapter 50-20 where
the principle is.
Eyes for you.
You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present
result to preserve many people alive.
And if you want to get into the New Testament with this, go to Romans 8-28.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love
God to those who are the called according to his purpose.
Kim and I have friends that have been in a roller coaster kind of life.
They're great people.
They love God.
But if you go back and kind of detail the timeline of their life, it goes way above
normal and way below normal and up and down and up and down.
Sometimes they face things that are mind boggling, unexpected, coming out of left field.
And still they stay focused on God.
Today they're living a life that I think is a good life.
That they have peace, they have a future.
But they would say if you ask them, how did you make it through all those roller coaster
periods of life where nothing makes sense?
And they would say, only God, only God could help us.
Only God could get us through an absolute trust in the God of the universe.
That's how you and I make it through as well.
Through good times and tough times, we make it through with an absolute trust in our heavenly
Father.
One of my favorite Olympic events is the 400 meter run.
It's one of my favorites because it's a dead out sprint.
It's all out sprint, but it's a long, long way.
A whole lap around the track, about a quarter of a mile, a little bit more, but 400 meters
requires everything of an athlete.
Back in 1992 in the Barcelona Summer Olympics, a guy named Derek Redmond had had a great
year leading up to that event representing Great Britain.
He was one of the fastest men on the planet, but had a history of injuries.
But now finally he was healthy just in time for the 92 Olympics.
He ran his qualifying rounds and ran at the fastest speed.
So by the time the semifinal round came along, he knew that he had a great chance to win
a gold medal.
And halfway through that 400 meters, he was leading on the back stretch when all of a
sudden his hamstring snapped and he went to the ground.
And I still remember seeing the cameras carry that race all the way around.
Of course, the cameras left the focus off of Derek Redmond and focused on the ones that
were still running and crossing the finish line the way they did.
And then it shifts back to where Derek Redmond is.
And there he is on the track just barely able to get up by himself and very focused on staying
in his lane to finish the race the best he could.
So it's kind of a hop and a limp and a hop and a limp as he makes his way around the
track.
All of a sudden the cameras pick up another man coming out of the stadium and that man
is a very large man and pushes past the security guards on the side of the track and pushes
past the race people and runs to the side of this young man.
And they look at each other and they hug and then they together make their way around to
the home stretch and across the finish line.
Of course, the crowd was watching Derek Redmond at that moment and everybody was so inspired
they stand up and they began to cheer because this young man, in spite of all the adversity,
finished the race well.
And then later on you hear the story.
The man who burst out of the stadium onto the track was none other than Derek Redmond's
father.
He wanted to make sure that his son could finish that race but not by himself.
What a powerful picture of fatherhood.
I think about that sometimes.
And then I remember the fact that I've got someone better than an earthly father and
he's my heavenly father.
When you finish the race well, it'll be because your heavenly father comes down and walks
with you through life to help you finish the race well no matter how difficult life has
been.
So trust your heavenly father that you have through Jesus Christ.
Look at the 50-20 principle.
No matter what happens in your life, if it was meant for evil, sure it was.
But God means it for good to bring about a good result in your life.
Have an absolute trust in the God of Joseph to be your God and to bring out good in the
end.
How do we know that God?
We know that God because He sent His son Jesus to die on a cross to show us His character,
to rise again the third day to show us that He has enough power to do what He promises
He can do.
Today I want to encourage you to put your trust and your faith in that Jesus and to
know that heavenly Father, the same one that Joseph knew.
Just a few moments, we're going to offer an invitation and I want you to respond.
Respond to God's intervening in Joseph's life by asking Him to intervene in your life.
Respond by placing your trust and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
We have a decision station that are either side of our worship center at the back that
are lit up.
As you walk out in just a few moments, you'll see them.
You'll see some people there that would love to talk to you and visit with you about your
decision to put your faith and trust in Jesus.
If you're a guest today, I would love to also invite you to come to our guest reception
center.
There's a little room across the hallway of our lobby and you'll see it's glassed in.
I'll be in there.
I'd love to visit with you about what's going on here at our church and love to invite you
to be a part of it.
Thirdly, I'd love to invite you to invite others to come back because next week we'll
look at still another chapter of God's Not Done With You and another character where
God works in powerful ways in people's lives.
We pray He'll work that way in your life and we know He can and will.
Would you stand with me for a word of prayer?
Father, I want to thank you today that Joseph's story is so real, so powerful, so alive because
you are alive.
Father, today my prayer is that each of us would reach out to you and see you intervene
in our lives.
Give us salvation.
Give us the grace we need to finish the race well, to handle the opposition or adversity
we face.
Lord, through it all, help us to learn to trust you and bring about the fruit in our
lives that comes from walking by faith in you.
I ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.