WEBVTT 00:00:01.449 --> 00:00:04.549 Week two of The Dreamer, The Life of Joseph. 00:00:04.710 --> 00:00:07.790 This week we are going to continue the narrative, 00:00:07.849 --> 00:00:10.330 the story of the life of Joseph, where it takes 00:00:10.330 --> 00:00:13.470 its first kind of big turn in a sermon I entitled, 00:00:13.789 --> 00:00:20.839 Sold. So, little recap. We have a young Joseph, 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:25.079 we have probably a not fully mature Joseph, we 00:00:25.079 --> 00:00:27.140 have a father Jacob, and we have a bunch of brothers. 00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:30.879 We have favoritism on display, we have a coat 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:34.960 of many colors, and we have tension, we have 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:40.859 family tension in the room. But the dream that 00:00:40.859 --> 00:00:44.520 was given by God to Joseph, multiple dreams, 00:00:45.469 --> 00:00:47.189 In a lot of ways, we should look at it and go, 00:00:47.270 --> 00:00:49.969 wow, God's given you a dream, that's great. Walk 00:00:49.969 --> 00:00:52.670 in that, but what happens when the dream turns 00:00:52.670 --> 00:00:56.229 dark? A dream that had come from God, a dream 00:00:56.229 --> 00:01:00.030 that seemed to point forward, a dream that hinted 00:01:00.030 --> 00:01:03.070 at something bigger than Joseph. We could see, 00:01:03.130 --> 00:01:05.769 clearly, he did not understand, right? He maybe 00:01:05.769 --> 00:01:08.390 even shared before he was supposed to on certain 00:01:08.390 --> 00:01:11.010 things. He took a stance on the dream before 00:01:11.010 --> 00:01:15.500 he had fully gotten the details. But this week, 00:01:15.500 --> 00:01:18.879 that dream, that continuation of this dream turns 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:22.040 dark. Instead of progress, we're going to see 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:24.439 pain. Instead of clarity, we're going to see 00:01:24.439 --> 00:01:29.079 confusion. And instead of favor, we see betrayal. 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:32.159 And friends, today, betrayal is going to take 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:35.540 on a whole new meaning. And for every single 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:38.239 one of us, that betrayal seed that is in all 00:01:38.239 --> 00:01:41.840 of us, whether overtly or subvertly in there, 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:44.700 is going to bind. And it's going to get uncomfortable 00:01:44.700 --> 00:01:49.420 because we all have betrayed somebody in our 00:01:49.420 --> 00:01:54.379 lives. Now, you may go, my slate's pretty clean. 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:57.500 But we have betrayed God when it comes to sin. 00:01:58.060 --> 00:02:03.140 So we all sit in that place. Joseph is not rising. 00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:05.640 That dream, he's not meeting. No, he's going 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:08.099 to be rejected, thrown into a pit, and sold. 00:02:08.340 --> 00:02:10.580 And this is where the story becomes real for 00:02:10.580 --> 00:02:13.680 us. Because many of us will be able to resonate 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:20.400 with Genesis 12 -36 more than what we read last 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:23.379 week. Because we know what it feels like when 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:27.039 life doesn't line up with our expectations. Or 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:31.939 what we thought God might be doing. So that question 00:02:31.939 --> 00:02:35.639 becomes, what do we do when life doesn't match 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:38.639 this dream? What do we do when what we think 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:41.879 God's calling us to do, it's not going that way? 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:46.020 So I think Genesis 37 is going to give us three 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:49.340 truths. So first, in order to understand why 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:51.900 those are not always the same and why we need 00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:54.520 to walk in it, is our first point today is the 00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:57.400 depth of human sin. So you might be looking like, 00:02:57.479 --> 00:02:59.960 wow, this should be fun. No, it's not. This is 00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:01.259 not going to be fun. This is going to be uncomfortable 00:03:01.259 --> 00:03:05.879 because this is calling all of us out. Genesis 00:03:05.879 --> 00:03:13.199 37, 18 to 28. So Genesis 37, 18 to 22. Genesis 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:16.960 37, 18 to 22. They saw him from afar, and before 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:19.020 he came near to them, they, this is the brothers, 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:22.280 conspired against him to kill him. They said 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:25.360 to one another, here comes this dreamer. Come 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:27.340 now, let us kill him and throw him into one of 00:03:27.340 --> 00:03:30.460 the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal 00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:33.919 has devoured him, and we will see what will become 00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:38.419 of his dreams. But when Reuben heard it, he rescued 00:03:38.419 --> 00:03:41.199 him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:44.219 his life. And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood. 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:46.919 Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness. 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:50.500 But do not lay a hand on him, that he might rescue 00:03:50.500 --> 00:03:56.560 him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 00:03:57.550 --> 00:04:00.389 So we see from the beginning, they saw him from 00:04:00.389 --> 00:04:04.110 afar and they conspired against him to kill him. 00:04:04.210 --> 00:04:08.030 The first point on your sheet, that sin often 00:04:08.030 --> 00:04:15.090 begins with jealousy and grows into hatred and 00:04:15.090 --> 00:04:20.290 action. So the uncomfortable part of this, right? 00:04:20.509 --> 00:04:23.189 And so I think we have, Mike, if you want to 00:04:23.189 --> 00:04:26.470 put that point up there, right? Sin often... 00:04:27.829 --> 00:04:32.050 Begins with jealousy and grows into hatred or 00:04:32.050 --> 00:04:36.970 action. Because there's a seed of sin. That seed 00:04:36.970 --> 00:04:41.170 of sin, what does a seed do? A seed grows. And 00:04:41.170 --> 00:04:43.410 it grows into something much bigger. And in a 00:04:43.410 --> 00:04:45.949 lot of ways you can't control. You might be able 00:04:45.949 --> 00:04:48.610 to direct how that seed, that seedling starts 00:04:48.610 --> 00:04:51.329 to grow. But it will take on a life of its own. 00:04:51.389 --> 00:04:53.370 It will continue to do what it's going to do. 00:04:53.410 --> 00:04:56.410 And unless it is completely removed from its 00:04:56.410 --> 00:05:00.160 roots. It will grow. But here we see a sin of 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:04.540 jealousy, which grows into hatred and into action. 00:05:04.740 --> 00:05:08.879 This is a damning sin, right? This is something 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:12.100 that grows in each and every one of us, and that's 00:05:12.100 --> 00:05:14.779 exactly what we see here. The second point, the 00:05:14.779 --> 00:05:17.379 brothers allowed their hearts to be shaped by 00:05:17.379 --> 00:05:22.910 jealousy and bitterness instead of truth. Let's 00:05:22.910 --> 00:05:25.430 take a, just put yourself in the story for a 00:05:25.430 --> 00:05:27.709 minute. You have, yes, these jealous brothers. 00:05:28.050 --> 00:05:31.029 They're annoyed by a little brother, right? They 00:05:31.029 --> 00:05:34.910 are very upset by the things he said, his pride, 00:05:35.110 --> 00:05:38.350 his immaturity, all of these things. But this 00:05:38.350 --> 00:05:42.589 is their blood. This is family. And they see 00:05:42.589 --> 00:05:47.149 him walking towards them, and they conspire to 00:05:47.149 --> 00:05:51.269 kill him. I think we all will agree, this is 00:05:51.269 --> 00:05:53.870 not just, oh, so -and -so's coming to the family 00:05:53.870 --> 00:05:55.810 party and they can only talk about politics. 00:05:57.170 --> 00:06:00.250 Right? This is more than, oh, my heavens, my 00:06:00.250 --> 00:06:03.449 in -law or whatever just got a new job and they 00:06:03.449 --> 00:06:06.689 won't be quiet about it. This is way deeper than 00:06:06.689 --> 00:06:09.750 that. In some ways, like, brothers, just walk 00:06:09.750 --> 00:06:12.939 away. But not only do they not rock away because 00:06:12.939 --> 00:06:15.620 that seed of jealousy and bitterness is growing, 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:19.839 it's going to call them to an action. And any 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:23.339 action that is called out by sin is not an action 00:06:23.339 --> 00:06:26.720 that God's going to be pleased by. That sin begets 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:30.459 sin begets sin begets sin. Hurt people hurt people 00:06:30.459 --> 00:06:33.579 hurt people hurt people. Healed people can heal 00:06:33.579 --> 00:06:35.660 people heal people. You see where I'm going with 00:06:35.660 --> 00:06:39.439 that? It can work it out in our lives. Now the 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:43.439 Hebrew word behind jealousy throughout this narrative 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:48.639 carries an idea of a burning intensity. A kind 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:51.360 of inward fire that doesn't stay contained but 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:56.339 it just consumes. It consumes and it takes more 00:06:56.339 --> 00:06:59.060 and it takes more. See how uncomfortable we're 00:06:59.060 --> 00:07:01.639 all getting? Because that is exactly what active 00:07:01.639 --> 00:07:06.899 sin looks like in my life and in your life. It 00:07:06.899 --> 00:07:09.040 distorted how they saw their brother Joseph. 00:07:09.579 --> 00:07:12.480 It distorts how they're going to treat their 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:15.939 brother. Why? Because my next point, sin distorts 00:07:15.939 --> 00:07:19.360 how we see others and how we treat others. Allow 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:23.939 this to make you very uncomfortable. Because 00:07:23.939 --> 00:07:27.600 then you're going to be where I am. Sin distorts 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:33.220 the relationships we have in life. Healthy relationships. 00:07:33.339 --> 00:07:37.279 Once active sin, unhealthy. Right? Once beautiful, 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:42.120 now ugly. Sin distorts. And it starts with a 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:46.459 small seed of something. And it continues to 00:07:46.459 --> 00:07:49.699 grow. I want to flee just like her. Right? She's 00:07:49.699 --> 00:07:52.459 running and I want to flee just like Josie. Right? 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:54.740 We should. That is the right response. She's 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:58.660 fleeing to the Father. Hi, Josie. That is exactly, 00:07:58.920 --> 00:08:01.180 I could be done with the sermon. Right? Josie 00:08:01.180 --> 00:08:03.199 just gave me my conclusion. No one say amen. 00:08:03.240 --> 00:08:08.389 We're not done yet. But sin distorts the beautiful 00:08:08.389 --> 00:08:11.850 things in life. That maybe you've had these wonderful 00:08:11.850 --> 00:08:14.930 relationships. Relationships that just feed life 00:08:14.930 --> 00:08:19.290 into you. And sin takes hold. And it has to be 00:08:19.290 --> 00:08:22.389 purged. It has to be stopped. It has to change. 00:08:22.670 --> 00:08:28.569 It has to be redeemed. All those things. Because 00:08:28.569 --> 00:08:31.069 what do we see here? Joseph is no longer their 00:08:31.069 --> 00:08:35.039 brother. He becomes a problem that needs to be 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:40.379 eliminated. You see how bad this got? How evil 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:43.720 it got? They strip him of his robe, the symbol 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:47.279 of favor, and they throw him into the pit. The 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:50.700 Hebrew word used for pit is bor, a cistern, a 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:53.860 deep, empty, waterless hole. Not just inconvenient, 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:59.019 but helpless, isolated, forgotten. Just this 00:08:59.019 --> 00:09:01.519 pit in the ground. And then one of the most haunting 00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:04.679 things, I stopped writing this and had to pick 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:09.159 it up the next day because of what we see after 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:12.120 this. They throw him in, they strip him, they 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:14.220 probably beat him a bit and they throw him in 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:16.960 the pit. And then what do they do? They sit down 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:26.009 to eat. Life goes on. Joseph's suffering. He's 00:09:26.009 --> 00:09:28.009 probably yelling out. He's probably crying out. 00:09:28.110 --> 00:09:31.509 That's me looking into the story, right? And 00:09:31.509 --> 00:09:36.669 then Reuben steps in. We'll get to that more 00:09:36.669 --> 00:09:39.149 toward the end of the series. But they're like, 00:09:39.230 --> 00:09:41.149 you know what? Maybe he'll just die in the pit. 00:09:41.269 --> 00:09:44.690 Let's just sell him instead. And here's a warning 00:09:44.690 --> 00:09:47.789 for us. Key truth for this first point. Sin always 00:09:47.789 --> 00:09:51.889 takes us farther than we've ever intended on 00:09:51.889 --> 00:09:55.919 going. And friends. Let's pause there for a bit. 00:09:57.379 --> 00:10:03.580 This is a haunting truth. Sin always takes us 00:10:03.580 --> 00:10:10.539 farther than we intended to go. Look back at 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:12.940 your week, your month, your year, your life. 00:10:13.779 --> 00:10:17.740 When you get caught in that act of sin, and friends, 00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:22.059 sin is fun, right? Right? Sin meets us where 00:10:22.059 --> 00:10:25.419 we think we need it. Sin fills all of those things, 00:10:25.580 --> 00:10:28.860 but it always oversells, always under delivers, 00:10:29.139 --> 00:10:33.340 and it takes us farther than we intend to go 00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:35.860 because it takes us farther and farther from 00:10:35.860 --> 00:10:38.759 the Lord. What begins in the heart never stays 00:10:38.759 --> 00:10:41.519 in the heart. It moves outward. It grows deeper. 00:10:41.620 --> 00:10:47.059 It takes control. So we have to ask. In our life, 00:10:47.059 --> 00:10:49.000 where's the jealousy creeping in? Where's the 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:51.539 bitterness shaping your heart? Because this isn't 00:10:51.539 --> 00:10:54.480 just their story. It's a condition, right? It's 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:57.259 our condition apart from grace. This definition 00:10:57.259 --> 00:11:01.580 is part of total depravity. The Canons of Dort 00:11:01.580 --> 00:11:05.059 talks about total depravity. That we are a depraved 00:11:05.059 --> 00:11:08.480 people and we love going into sin. We are bent 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:11.779 towards sin against God. And that is the friction 00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:16.909 every day. So say you're in this place. And you're 00:11:16.909 --> 00:11:19.070 crying out to God because you have that conviction. 00:11:19.289 --> 00:11:22.129 It's either a small little Lego brick or an entire 00:11:22.129 --> 00:11:25.049 semi -truck in your life. And you get convicted 00:11:25.049 --> 00:11:28.129 whether you go down to your knees or something 00:11:28.129 --> 00:11:30.789 knocks you down to your knees. And you cry out 00:11:30.789 --> 00:11:32.889 to God because that is exactly what we're called 00:11:32.889 --> 00:11:36.009 to do. If we confess our sin, he is faithful 00:11:36.009 --> 00:11:38.870 and just. Will forgive us our sin and cleanse 00:11:38.870 --> 00:11:42.370 us. But not when we just need that forgiveness 00:11:42.370 --> 00:11:45.000 lobbed by a grenade as we continue to sin. It 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:47.179 doesn't work that way, cheap grace. Second point, 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:50.559 what happens, though, when there is silence of 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:55.139 God? Something I know we all can't stand. So 00:11:55.139 --> 00:11:59.399 Genesis 37, starting with verse 23. So when Jesus 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:01.279 came to his brothers, they stripped him of his 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:03.940 robe, the robe of many colors that he wore, and 00:12:03.940 --> 00:12:05.840 they took him and threw him into the pit. The 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:08.340 pit was empty. There was no water in it. Then 00:12:08.340 --> 00:12:10.519 they sat down to eat. I still can't believe that. 00:12:10.539 --> 00:12:13.899 That's still absolutely insane. And looking up, 00:12:13.899 --> 00:12:16.460 they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from 00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:21.059 Gilead with their camels bearing gum, balm, and 00:12:21.059 --> 00:12:23.759 myrrh on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:26.220 Then Judah said to his brothers, What profit 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:28.779 is it if we kill our brother and conceal his 00:12:28.779 --> 00:12:32.899 blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, 00:12:32.980 --> 00:12:35.899 and let not our hand be upon him. For he is our 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:38.399 brother, our own flesh, and his brothers listen 00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:42.000 to him. Then Midianite traders passed by and 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:44.220 they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:47.620 pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels 00:12:47.620 --> 00:12:51.899 of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. When Reuben 00:12:51.899 --> 00:12:54.299 returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not 00:12:54.299 --> 00:12:56.480 in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:59.379 to his brothers and said, the boy is gone and 00:12:59.379 --> 00:13:05.899 I, where shall I go? So right away in this passage, 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:10.240 God does not speak. but he's still working, right? 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:12.960 That's the next point. God does not speak, but 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:17.200 he is still working. We don't see a divine interruption, 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:20.419 right? We go on to that next point on there. 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:23.460 Someone up there, there we go. In this passage, 00:13:23.539 --> 00:13:25.460 God does not speak, but he is still working. 00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:29.620 No divine interruption, no correction, no rescue, 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:35.159 just silence. The scripture doesn't try to soften 00:13:35.159 --> 00:13:38.169 that. Joseph is in the pit. He's alone. He's 00:13:38.169 --> 00:13:42.210 crying out. And heaven is quiet. No angel shows 00:13:42.210 --> 00:13:47.769 up. No nothing. He is there. And this is where 00:13:47.769 --> 00:13:50.610 faith gets stretched. Because silence does not 00:13:50.610 --> 00:13:55.190 mean absence, but it feels like it does. Right? 00:13:55.250 --> 00:13:59.450 Silence does not mean absence, but it feels like 00:13:59.450 --> 00:14:02.730 it does. And if we're honest, this is where many 00:14:02.730 --> 00:14:06.409 of us struggle. We expect God to step in immediately. 00:14:07.269 --> 00:14:12.450 God, I am hurt. Fix it. God, I don't have this. 00:14:12.490 --> 00:14:15.929 I want it. God, I know I shouldn't do it, but 00:14:15.929 --> 00:14:20.330 let me keep going. We want things fixed immediately. 00:14:20.669 --> 00:14:24.389 We want to make sense of the pain. But instead, 00:14:24.649 --> 00:14:30.840 oftentimes, silence. And maybe... You've lived 00:14:30.840 --> 00:14:34.100 in that. Maybe you're living in that right now. 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:40.220 Prayers seem to go unanswered. Situations, they 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:43.500 don't seem to change. And in that moment, let's 00:14:43.500 --> 00:14:48.659 be honest, it feels like God is miles away. But 00:14:48.659 --> 00:14:52.500 friends, we know that's not true. All of our 00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:55.820 confessions. The Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons 00:14:55.820 --> 00:14:58.659 of Dort, the Belgic Confession, all uphold the 00:14:58.659 --> 00:15:02.580 truth of Scripture that, A, we belong to God, 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:06.860 that he is near to the brokenhearted, and he 00:15:06.860 --> 00:15:11.259 will never leave us or forsake us. So why do 00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:14.860 we do that? When we don't get our way, right, 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:17.379 when it's not Burger King faith, our way right 00:15:17.379 --> 00:15:21.929 away from God, when God takes a beat. We don't 00:15:21.929 --> 00:15:25.250 think he exists. We struggle with that. It's 00:15:25.250 --> 00:15:27.870 because we're foolish people. It's because that's 00:15:27.870 --> 00:15:31.830 the act of sin at work. Because faith is often 00:15:31.830 --> 00:15:37.529 tested when God feels distant. Right? That's 00:15:37.529 --> 00:15:41.389 the next point. Faith is often tested when God 00:15:41.389 --> 00:15:44.950 feels different. But here's the truth that we 00:15:44.950 --> 00:15:47.230 hold on to, and this is the key truth of point 00:15:47.230 --> 00:15:51.350 two. When God seems silent, know he is still 00:15:51.350 --> 00:15:55.610 working. And here's a sub -point to that. You 00:15:55.610 --> 00:15:58.389 don't always get to know how he's working. You 00:15:58.389 --> 00:16:02.269 don't. Just like kids want to know everything 00:16:02.269 --> 00:16:05.210 about decisions from their parents, and sometimes 00:16:05.210 --> 00:16:07.789 we have to say, hey, I'm the parent, you're the 00:16:07.789 --> 00:16:11.809 kid, just trust me. Is that not the same thing 00:16:11.809 --> 00:16:14.679 that God says to us? But God, I want it now. 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:16.799 I want to be fixed now. I want this healed. I 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:19.620 want this, this, this, this, or this. And God, 00:16:19.659 --> 00:16:22.059 I just, I don't know if God would ever say it. 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:26.419 He says, peace. I go, Jim, chill. I got this. 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:30.940 I'm still here. I am still working. Why do you 00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:34.580 forget that I will never leave you nor forsake 00:16:34.580 --> 00:16:39.360 you? But for some of us, myself included, we've 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:42.620 gone through a lot. But we're not being honest 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:46.379 that we're doing it to ourselves. And I think 00:16:46.379 --> 00:16:49.120 God's up here just kind of sitting going, would 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:57.100 you stop? Please, just stop. That's where faith 00:16:57.100 --> 00:17:00.519 gets tested, right? He's working beneath the 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:04.059 surface. And scriptures later tell us an insight 00:17:04.059 --> 00:17:06.259 of what's happening in this scene. Psalm 105 00:17:06.259 --> 00:17:13.410 tells us that God sent Joseph ahead. Just wouldn't 00:17:13.410 --> 00:17:17.809 it be so much easier if Joseph knew that? Wouldn't 00:17:17.809 --> 00:17:20.130 it be easier if someone, like, I know this happens 00:17:20.130 --> 00:17:21.950 later in the story, and so it doesn't really 00:17:21.950 --> 00:17:26.069 make sense, but, like, Daniel got, he got intervention 00:17:26.069 --> 00:17:29.130 from the lions. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 00:17:29.250 --> 00:17:31.269 There was four in the fire. They got an angel. 00:17:31.869 --> 00:17:34.490 Joseph, Mary, they actually were told what was 00:17:34.490 --> 00:17:38.799 going on. Joseph wasn't. He had this weird dream 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:42.220 that ended up in a pit, ended up sold, yet Psalm 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:48.039 105 is telling us, no, God's sending him. What? 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:53.140 This is God sending? Well, if we're being honest, 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:55.160 that God don't send me. I'm good. I'm just going 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:57.279 to sit where I'm at, right? I know I'm saved. 00:17:57.380 --> 00:17:59.279 I got my church. I'll go. I'll give money. I'll 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:01.119 do the things. I don't want to be sent because 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:03.019 I don't want to go to a pit. I don't want to 00:18:03.019 --> 00:18:06.339 get sold. Because that isn't the fickleness of 00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:08.660 God's character. That is the fickleness of our 00:18:08.660 --> 00:18:11.339 faith. So what looks like betrayal is actually 00:18:11.339 --> 00:18:16.099 part of God's sending. There's a part of me, 00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:18.680 if I could curse, I would. Because it doesn't 00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:21.680 actually make sense in my head that all of this 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:24.680 would happen to a guy. Now, we know the story, 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:27.220 so we can sit in that a little easier. But if 00:18:27.220 --> 00:18:32.019 we don't, if you're Joseph, what in the world? 00:18:33.579 --> 00:18:35.279 I'm getting mad just, I'm going to stop because 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:37.460 I'm getting mad reliving it, okay? So let's go 00:18:37.460 --> 00:18:40.119 to point three, which is the blanket of grace, 00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:45.440 the hidden hand of providence. And let's be honest, 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:48.440 we love and hate this. What's the word we hate 00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:52.380 most in this? Hidden. What's the second word 00:18:52.380 --> 00:18:57.220 we don't like? Ooh, now this one's tricky. Hidden 00:18:57.220 --> 00:19:02.730 was easy. What's the second word? Hand. Because 00:19:02.730 --> 00:19:08.549 it's not ours. If we, if this was the hand of 00:19:08.549 --> 00:19:11.410 providence for Jim's life, praise the Lord. Nope. 00:19:11.490 --> 00:19:15.890 Praise Jim. Never going to be the case. God's 00:19:15.890 --> 00:19:19.690 hand is the one moving. God's hand is the one 00:19:19.690 --> 00:19:22.829 at work. Hidden? Sure. Hand? I want it mine. 00:19:24.089 --> 00:19:28.759 Genesis 37, 28 and 36. Then Midianite traders 00:19:28.759 --> 00:19:30.920 passed by and they drew Joseph up and lifted 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:33.420 him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites 00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:37.440 for 20 shekels of silver. They took Joseph to 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:39.920 Egypt. Remember that. Meanwhile, the Midianites 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:43.380 had sold him to Egypt to Potiphar, an officer 00:19:43.380 --> 00:19:49.079 of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. Well, now 00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:51.900 we kind of get it, right? Whether it was Donny 00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:53.980 Osmond, whether it was the Prince of Egypt, whether 00:19:53.980 --> 00:19:56.180 it was the Ten Commandments, all three of those, 00:19:56.259 --> 00:19:58.960 pretty much the same story, right? But understanding 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:00.640 like, oh, sorry, that doesn't make any sense. 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:02.680 That was Moses. Nope, never mind. Scratch that. 00:20:02.980 --> 00:20:05.180 Just stick with Donny, right? Donny Osmond, all 00:20:05.180 --> 00:20:07.960 of those things, or whoever you saw. Those other 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:09.500 two are great, but that's a whole other story. 00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:12.279 Understand that now we're like, oh, now we see 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:15.660 some movement here. And here's the thing. We're 00:20:15.660 --> 00:20:18.869 kind of okay with it. All right, so he sold, 00:20:19.009 --> 00:20:20.609 right, sold the Ishmaelites, sold the Midianites, 00:20:20.670 --> 00:20:23.430 20 pieces of silk, great. Now he's in Egypt. 00:20:24.289 --> 00:20:26.009 And we're only okay with it because we know the 00:20:26.009 --> 00:20:28.730 story. What about when you're in it and you don't 00:20:28.730 --> 00:20:31.849 see down the road, you don't see if that relationship's 00:20:31.849 --> 00:20:33.730 going to be restored, even to the people you 00:20:33.730 --> 00:20:37.630 love the most, that if you've made a mess of 00:20:37.630 --> 00:20:42.849 it, you may lose them. And in some ways, rightfully 00:20:42.849 --> 00:20:45.349 so. But in some ways, you're on your knees going, 00:20:45.410 --> 00:20:49.309 please restore this. I cannot believe I've made 00:20:49.309 --> 00:20:53.470 it such a mess. And some of you just went to 00:20:53.470 --> 00:20:55.490 three days ago. Because that's where you were. 00:20:55.569 --> 00:20:57.769 Or a week ago. Or a month ago. Or a year ago. 00:20:57.869 --> 00:21:00.910 Or what feels like your whole life. You're begging 00:21:00.910 --> 00:21:04.569 God, please don't allow the hidden hand of province. 00:21:04.650 --> 00:21:08.890 I want it right here. But do you? Do I really 00:21:08.890 --> 00:21:11.650 want it right here? Where I can't go right or 00:21:11.650 --> 00:21:14.049 left, I got to follow what God says in my life? 00:21:15.390 --> 00:21:17.869 Yeah, that's kind of the tagline of being a Christian, 00:21:18.009 --> 00:21:20.990 right? So what does that mean for our faith? 00:21:21.210 --> 00:21:28.150 What does that mean for our identity? What it 00:21:28.150 --> 00:21:30.930 means is sometimes we don't want God's providence 00:21:30.930 --> 00:21:33.369 in our life because we think we know better. 00:21:35.730 --> 00:21:37.829 If you feel comfortable enough to sit in that 00:21:37.829 --> 00:21:40.980 today or tomorrow, All the mothers are like, 00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:43.619 this is not a Mother's Day sermon. What are you 00:21:43.619 --> 00:21:46.819 doing? Sometimes the hidden providence in God 00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:48.920 is a wonderful mother. There, there's your sermon. 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:52.500 Take it with you. The hidden hand of providence. 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:56.799 The Midianites, the Midianite traders pass by. 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:00.500 At first glance, totally random. Half of you 00:22:00.500 --> 00:22:02.559 are wondering if I said it right. But totally 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:06.200 random, right? A caravan just happens to come 00:22:06.200 --> 00:22:09.819 by. Timing just happens to line up. Joseph just 00:22:09.819 --> 00:22:14.019 happens to be taken into Egypt. If I read it 00:22:14.019 --> 00:22:17.859 like that, I'm an idiot. Because God isn't chance. 00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:23.200 This isn't just a rolling of the dice. God wasn't 00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:25.480 up there in the cosmos going, oh, I forgot the 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:27.460 Midians were going to be passing by. Look how 00:22:27.460 --> 00:22:31.839 that worked out. No. Scripture invites us to 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:34.650 see it deeper. Here's that point of point three. 00:22:34.829 --> 00:22:37.670 What looks like a coincidence is actually God's 00:22:37.670 --> 00:22:40.329 providence. The Hebrew mindset doesn't separate 00:22:40.329 --> 00:22:43.450 everyday events from divine activity. God is 00:22:43.450 --> 00:22:45.950 not just present in miracles. He's present in 00:22:45.950 --> 00:22:48.710 the movement, in the timing of ordinary moments. 00:22:48.809 --> 00:22:51.869 What I love about Hebrew culture, everything 00:22:51.869 --> 00:22:56.609 is utterly dependent on Yahweh. Life and breath 00:22:56.609 --> 00:23:00.250 and movement. I heard it said by a Hebrew, life 00:23:00.250 --> 00:23:02.730 and breath and bowel movements, they put everything 00:23:02.730 --> 00:23:07.170 into God's hand. It's a weird way to say that, 00:23:07.269 --> 00:23:09.109 probably not going to put that in a card, but 00:23:09.109 --> 00:23:13.009 understand that the same holds true. That God 00:23:13.009 --> 00:23:15.589 is working through people, through timing, and 00:23:15.589 --> 00:23:17.970 through circumstances. The next point, even though 00:23:17.970 --> 00:23:23.069 broken people, even though sinful choices, God 00:23:23.069 --> 00:23:27.660 is still working. Now, for some of us, we may 00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:30.740 feel in a little bit of warmth now. Like, ooh, 00:23:30.920 --> 00:23:35.259 I'm not too far gone. Okay. And that's okay to 00:23:35.259 --> 00:23:37.140 receive that. That's grace. You're receiving 00:23:37.140 --> 00:23:40.740 grace. But it's not just so I can do it again. 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:44.700 And I just described all of us. Myself, most 00:23:44.700 --> 00:23:50.079 importantly. Right? Even through broken people, 00:23:50.180 --> 00:23:52.480 even through sinful choices, there is a truth 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:55.359 that anchors this entire story. And that is even 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:58.839 when others mean evil, God is working for good. 00:23:58.900 --> 00:24:01.779 So the next point. Even when others mean evil, 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:06.109 God is working for good. The word used later 00:24:06.109 --> 00:24:10.210 in Genesis will be meant, carry the idea of weaving 00:24:10.210 --> 00:24:13.490 and planning. That God is weaving and planning. 00:24:13.829 --> 00:24:16.789 The brothers are weaving one story, yet God is 00:24:16.789 --> 00:24:20.029 weaving another. Same event, same people, different 00:24:20.029 --> 00:24:23.809 purpose. Why? Because God's ways are higher than 00:24:23.809 --> 00:24:27.109 our ways. And here is the basic truth for today. 00:24:27.289 --> 00:24:30.390 If you learn nothing from this sermon other than 00:24:30.390 --> 00:24:34.599 that, don't try to get on God's level. Because 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:37.220 you're not God, and you don't belong there, and 00:24:37.220 --> 00:24:40.740 neither do I. Same event, same purpose, different 00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:44.619 purpose. So we can say this key truth clearly. 00:24:45.019 --> 00:24:47.460 Nothing happens outside of God's sovereignty. 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:50.380 Some of us are like, well, duh, Jim, just say 00:24:50.380 --> 00:24:54.859 that and get off the stage. But we struggle with 00:24:54.859 --> 00:24:58.400 that. Because we think there are things that 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:01.160 do. We think God's maybe not sovereign because 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:03.259 I don't get my way or I don't get it that quickly 00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:07.339 or whatever. Nothing happens outside of God's 00:25:07.339 --> 00:25:09.740 sovereignty. Not the pit, not the betrayal, not 00:25:09.740 --> 00:25:14.279 the confusion. God's not reacting. God's like, 00:25:14.380 --> 00:25:18.160 man, I didn't see that coming. No, God is still 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:23.440 ruling in this. It's all over, Joseph's story. 00:25:23.740 --> 00:25:26.240 I cannot wait to get to next, I gotta finish 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:28.039 my Christ connection, then we'll go to the next 00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:31.960 week. So the Christ connection here. Joseph was 00:25:31.960 --> 00:25:37.680 rejected and sold. Jesus was rejected and betrayed. 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:41.140 Joseph was thrown into a pit and later raised 00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:43.720 up. We see Jesus was laid in a tomb and raised 00:25:43.720 --> 00:25:46.380 to glory. About the suffering. Joseph's suffering 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:49.339 led to saving many people physically. We'll get 00:25:49.339 --> 00:25:55.339 there. Jesus' suffering leads to saving people 00:25:55.339 --> 00:26:01.759 eternally. So what does this mean? Even in suffering, 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:06.140 even in my suffering, even in your suffering, 00:26:06.359 --> 00:26:13.240 God is not wasting anything. Catch that. Even 00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:15.880 in your suffering, even when you go back, as 00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:18.059 a dog returns to his vomit, so we return to our 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:20.079 sin. Even though you're returning to that sin 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:23.779 time and time and time again, once, twice, three 00:26:23.779 --> 00:26:26.519 times, not a lady in a day, all those things, 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:30.309 we return to our sin. God's not wasting this 00:26:30.309 --> 00:26:36.130 time. He's actually redeeming it. Now, before 00:26:36.130 --> 00:26:38.710 we get to the conclusion, a point on the redeeming. 00:26:39.569 --> 00:26:42.130 The redeeming can come in many ways. The two 00:26:42.130 --> 00:26:46.410 over 22 years in this I've seen is someone coming 00:26:46.410 --> 00:26:49.710 to that redemption on bended knee in front of 00:26:49.710 --> 00:26:54.210 the cross or the cross being revealed in a situation 00:26:54.210 --> 00:26:57.950 and the redeeming kind of gets forced in there. 00:26:59.240 --> 00:27:03.440 It's the old adage, right? Maybe those parenting 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:05.460 little kids, grandparenting little kids, right? 00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:08.680 You ask the first time, did you take the cookie? 00:27:09.819 --> 00:27:12.640 They have a choice. They can immediately say 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:16.160 what? Let's call a spade a spade. More times 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:17.980 than not, they say no, just out of reaction. 00:27:19.220 --> 00:27:21.779 What Dave Sanders taught me years ago is there's 00:27:21.779 --> 00:27:24.960 the tale of two truths. Did you steal the cookie? 00:27:25.019 --> 00:27:29.240 No. Did you just lie? about stealing the cookie, 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:34.440 there it becomes premeditated. There it becomes 00:27:34.440 --> 00:27:39.660 part of who you are. Friends, let us bring our 00:27:39.660 --> 00:27:43.660 junk, our pits, our betrayal, our suffering to 00:27:43.660 --> 00:27:45.940 the cross because God is calling you to that 00:27:45.940 --> 00:27:48.799 every day. Pastor, how do you know that he's 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:50.519 calling us to do that every day? Because his 00:27:50.519 --> 00:27:53.019 mercies are new every morning. We only need mercy 00:27:53.019 --> 00:27:55.960 if we're guilty. If we're perfect and sinless, 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:58.599 we don't need God's mercy. We don't need God's 00:27:58.599 --> 00:28:00.759 grace. And how many of you fit in that category? 00:28:02.900 --> 00:28:05.480 Exactly. Even the three of you that tried to 00:28:05.480 --> 00:28:07.000 go like you're funny, like now's not the time 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:10.759 to joke. It's really not. Because we need his 00:28:10.759 --> 00:28:13.339 mercy. We need his grace. And here's the hard 00:28:13.339 --> 00:28:17.440 teaching right now. We need to trust God in the 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:22.400 pit. Joseph had a dream. But now he's in chains. 00:28:24.359 --> 00:28:28.019 And from every visible angle, it looks like the 00:28:28.019 --> 00:28:31.359 dream is over. That dream was just something 00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:33.859 he ate or drank that night. Nope, God's still 00:28:33.859 --> 00:28:36.799 working. But church, we know something Joseph 00:28:36.799 --> 00:28:39.880 doesn't see. The pit is not the end. The silence 00:28:39.880 --> 00:28:42.160 is not the end. The betrayal is not the end. 00:28:42.299 --> 00:28:45.980 So if you are in this place right now, if this 00:28:45.980 --> 00:28:48.559 is where you're feeling something in your spirit, 00:28:48.680 --> 00:28:50.539 in your walk with the Lord, your relationship 00:28:50.539 --> 00:28:53.930 with others. where life feels confusing, where 00:28:53.930 --> 00:28:56.269 God seems distant and quiet, where the future 00:28:56.269 --> 00:29:03.210 feels very uncertain. Hold on to this. One, sin 00:29:03.210 --> 00:29:10.829 is real. Two, God may feel silent, but take heart, 00:29:10.990 --> 00:29:16.670 his providence is always working. Trust this, 00:29:16.670 --> 00:29:19.109 what others meant for evil, God uses for his 00:29:19.109 --> 00:29:22.619 sovereign good. Because next week, Okay, next 00:29:22.619 --> 00:29:26.279 week, Joseph does the right thing. We're going 00:29:26.279 --> 00:29:28.660 to be on the right track, baby. Here we go. No, 00:29:29.099 --> 00:29:31.880 he's going to do the right thing and suffer more. 00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:36.279 Joseph is going to be accused next week. Why 00:29:36.279 --> 00:29:38.799 not? Put that on the resume of his life, right? 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:41.940 He's prideful. He's arrogant. He gets beat up, 00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:44.700 thrown into a pit, rejected, was going to be 00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:47.400 murdered, but then sold, then sold again. Now 00:29:47.400 --> 00:29:50.950 he's going to be accused. Even for doing the 00:29:50.950 --> 00:29:54.309 right thing. And as we journey this together, 00:29:54.430 --> 00:29:57.430 we're going to see clearly that even in all of 00:29:57.430 --> 00:30:00.890 this, even in everything you're going through, 00:30:01.009 --> 00:30:03.609 I'm going through, this church is going through, 00:30:03.670 --> 00:30:10.869 God is always still with us. Let's pray.