Week two of The Dreamer, The Life of Joseph.
This week we are going to continue the narrative,
the story of the life of Joseph, where it takes
its first kind of big turn in a sermon I entitled,
Sold. So, little recap. We have a young Joseph,
we have probably a not fully mature Joseph, we
have a father Jacob, and we have a bunch of brothers.
We have favoritism on display, we have a coat
of many colors, and we have tension, we have
family tension in the room. But the dream that
was given by God to Joseph, multiple dreams,
In a lot of ways, we should look at it and go,
wow, God's given you a dream, that's great. Walk
in that, but what happens when the dream turns
dark? A dream that had come from God, a dream
that seemed to point forward, a dream that hinted
at something bigger than Joseph. We could see,
clearly, he did not understand, right? He maybe
even shared before he was supposed to on certain
things. He took a stance on the dream before
he had fully gotten the details. But this week,
that dream, that continuation of this dream turns
dark. Instead of progress, we're going to see
pain. Instead of clarity, we're going to see
confusion. And instead of favor, we see betrayal.
And friends, today, betrayal is going to take
on a whole new meaning. And for every single
one of us, that betrayal seed that is in all
of us, whether overtly or subvertly in there,
is going to bind. And it's going to get uncomfortable
because we all have betrayed somebody in our
lives. Now, you may go, my slate's pretty clean.
But we have betrayed God when it comes to sin.
So we all sit in that place. Joseph is not rising.
That dream, he's not meeting. No, he's going
to be rejected, thrown into a pit, and sold.
And this is where the story becomes real for
us. Because many of us will be able to resonate
with Genesis 12 -36 more than what we read last
week. Because we know what it feels like when
life doesn't line up with our expectations. Or
what we thought God might be doing. So that question
becomes, what do we do when life doesn't match
this dream? What do we do when what we think
God's calling us to do, it's not going that way?
So I think Genesis 37 is going to give us three
truths. So first, in order to understand why
those are not always the same and why we need
to walk in it, is our first point today is the
depth of human sin. So you might be looking like,
wow, this should be fun. No, it's not. This is
not going to be fun. This is going to be uncomfortable
because this is calling all of us out. Genesis
37, 18 to 28. So Genesis 37, 18 to 22. Genesis
37, 18 to 22. They saw him from afar, and before
he came near to them, they, this is the brothers,
conspired against him to kill him. They said
to one another, here comes this dreamer. Come
now, let us kill him and throw him into one of
the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal
has devoured him, and we will see what will become
of his dreams. But when Reuben heard it, he rescued
him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take
his life. And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood.
Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness.
But do not lay a hand on him, that he might rescue
him out of their hand to restore him to his father.
So we see from the beginning, they saw him from
afar and they conspired against him to kill him.
The first point on your sheet, that sin often
begins with jealousy and grows into hatred and
action. So the uncomfortable part of this, right?
And so I think we have, Mike, if you want to
put that point up there, right? Sin often...
Begins with jealousy and grows into hatred or
action. Because there's a seed of sin. That seed
of sin, what does a seed do? A seed grows. And
it grows into something much bigger. And in a
lot of ways you can't control. You might be able
to direct how that seed, that seedling starts
to grow. But it will take on a life of its own.
It will continue to do what it's going to do.
And unless it is completely removed from its
roots. It will grow. But here we see a sin of
jealousy, which grows into hatred and into action.
This is a damning sin, right? This is something
that grows in each and every one of us, and that's
exactly what we see here. The second point, the
brothers allowed their hearts to be shaped by
jealousy and bitterness instead of truth. Let's
take a, just put yourself in the story for a
minute. You have, yes, these jealous brothers.
They're annoyed by a little brother, right? They
are very upset by the things he said, his pride,
his immaturity, all of these things. But this
is their blood. This is family. And they see
him walking towards them, and they conspire to
kill him. I think we all will agree, this is
not just, oh, so -and -so's coming to the family
party and they can only talk about politics.
Right? This is more than, oh, my heavens, my
in -law or whatever just got a new job and they
won't be quiet about it. This is way deeper than
that. In some ways, like, brothers, just walk
away. But not only do they not rock away because
that seed of jealousy and bitterness is growing,
it's going to call them to an action. And any
action that is called out by sin is not an action
that God's going to be pleased by. That sin begets
sin begets sin begets sin. Hurt people hurt people
hurt people hurt people. Healed people can heal
people heal people. You see where I'm going with
that? It can work it out in our lives. Now the
Hebrew word behind jealousy throughout this narrative
carries an idea of a burning intensity. A kind
of inward fire that doesn't stay contained but
it just consumes. It consumes and it takes more
and it takes more. See how uncomfortable we're
all getting? Because that is exactly what active
sin looks like in my life and in your life. It
distorted how they saw their brother Joseph.
It distorts how they're going to treat their
brother. Why? Because my next point, sin distorts
how we see others and how we treat others. Allow
this to make you very uncomfortable. Because
then you're going to be where I am. Sin distorts
the relationships we have in life. Healthy relationships.
Once active sin, unhealthy. Right? Once beautiful,
now ugly. Sin distorts. And it starts with a
small seed of something. And it continues to
grow. I want to flee just like her. Right? She's
running and I want to flee just like Josie. Right?
We should. That is the right response. She's
fleeing to the Father. Hi, Josie. That is exactly,
I could be done with the sermon. Right? Josie
just gave me my conclusion. No one say amen.
We're not done yet. But sin distorts the beautiful
things in life. That maybe you've had these wonderful
relationships. Relationships that just feed life
into you. And sin takes hold. And it has to be
purged. It has to be stopped. It has to change.
It has to be redeemed. All those things. Because
what do we see here? Joseph is no longer their
brother. He becomes a problem that needs to be
eliminated. You see how bad this got? How evil
it got? They strip him of his robe, the symbol
of favor, and they throw him into the pit. The
Hebrew word used for pit is bor, a cistern, a
deep, empty, waterless hole. Not just inconvenient,
but helpless, isolated, forgotten. Just this
pit in the ground. And then one of the most haunting
things, I stopped writing this and had to pick
it up the next day because of what we see after
this. They throw him in, they strip him, they
probably beat him a bit and they throw him in
the pit. And then what do they do? They sit down
to eat. Life goes on. Joseph's suffering. He's
probably yelling out. He's probably crying out.
That's me looking into the story, right? And
then Reuben steps in. We'll get to that more
toward the end of the series. But they're like,
you know what? Maybe he'll just die in the pit.
Let's just sell him instead. And here's a warning
for us. Key truth for this first point. Sin always
takes us farther than we've ever intended on
going. And friends. Let's pause there for a bit.
This is a haunting truth. Sin always takes us
farther than we intended to go. Look back at
your week, your month, your year, your life.
When you get caught in that act of sin, and friends,
sin is fun, right? Right? Sin meets us where
we think we need it. Sin fills all of those things,
but it always oversells, always under delivers,
and it takes us farther than we intend to go
because it takes us farther and farther from
the Lord. What begins in the heart never stays
in the heart. It moves outward. It grows deeper.
It takes control. So we have to ask. In our life,
where's the jealousy creeping in? Where's the
bitterness shaping your heart? Because this isn't
just their story. It's a condition, right? It's
our condition apart from grace. This definition
is part of total depravity. The Canons of Dort
talks about total depravity. That we are a depraved
people and we love going into sin. We are bent
towards sin against God. And that is the friction
every day. So say you're in this place. And you're
crying out to God because you have that conviction.
It's either a small little Lego brick or an entire
semi -truck in your life. And you get convicted
whether you go down to your knees or something
knocks you down to your knees. And you cry out
to God because that is exactly what we're called
to do. If we confess our sin, he is faithful
and just. Will forgive us our sin and cleanse
us. But not when we just need that forgiveness
lobbed by a grenade as we continue to sin. It
doesn't work that way, cheap grace. Second point,
what happens, though, when there is silence of
God? Something I know we all can't stand. So
Genesis 37, starting with verse 23. So when Jesus
came to his brothers, they stripped him of his
robe, the robe of many colors that he wore, and
they took him and threw him into the pit. The
pit was empty. There was no water in it. Then
they sat down to eat. I still can't believe that.
That's still absolutely insane. And looking up,
they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from
Gilead with their camels bearing gum, balm, and
myrrh on their way to carry it down to Egypt.
Then Judah said to his brothers, What profit
is it if we kill our brother and conceal his
blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites,
and let not our hand be upon him. For he is our
brother, our own flesh, and his brothers listen
to him. Then Midianite traders passed by and
they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the
pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels
of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. When Reuben
returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not
in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned
to his brothers and said, the boy is gone and
I, where shall I go? So right away in this passage,
God does not speak. but he's still working, right?
That's the next point. God does not speak, but
he is still working. We don't see a divine interruption,
right? We go on to that next point on there.
Someone up there, there we go. In this passage,
God does not speak, but he is still working.
No divine interruption, no correction, no rescue,
just silence. The scripture doesn't try to soften
that. Joseph is in the pit. He's alone. He's
crying out. And heaven is quiet. No angel shows
up. No nothing. He is there. And this is where
faith gets stretched. Because silence does not
mean absence, but it feels like it does. Right?
Silence does not mean absence, but it feels like
it does. And if we're honest, this is where many
of us struggle. We expect God to step in immediately.
God, I am hurt. Fix it. God, I don't have this.
I want it. God, I know I shouldn't do it, but
let me keep going. We want things fixed immediately.
We want to make sense of the pain. But instead,
oftentimes, silence. And maybe... You've lived
in that. Maybe you're living in that right now.
Prayers seem to go unanswered. Situations, they
don't seem to change. And in that moment, let's
be honest, it feels like God is miles away. But
friends, we know that's not true. All of our
confessions. The Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons
of Dort, the Belgic Confession, all uphold the
truth of Scripture that, A, we belong to God,
that he is near to the brokenhearted, and he
will never leave us or forsake us. So why do
we do that? When we don't get our way, right,
when it's not Burger King faith, our way right
away from God, when God takes a beat. We don't
think he exists. We struggle with that. It's
because we're foolish people. It's because that's
the act of sin at work. Because faith is often
tested when God feels distant. Right? That's
the next point. Faith is often tested when God
feels different. But here's the truth that we
hold on to, and this is the key truth of point
two. When God seems silent, know he is still
working. And here's a sub -point to that. You
don't always get to know how he's working. You
don't. Just like kids want to know everything
about decisions from their parents, and sometimes
we have to say, hey, I'm the parent, you're the
kid, just trust me. Is that not the same thing
that God says to us? But God, I want it now.
I want to be fixed now. I want this healed. I
want this, this, this, this, or this. And God,
I just, I don't know if God would ever say it.
He says, peace. I go, Jim, chill. I got this.
I'm still here. I am still working. Why do you
forget that I will never leave you nor forsake
you? But for some of us, myself included, we've
gone through a lot. But we're not being honest
that we're doing it to ourselves. And I think
God's up here just kind of sitting going, would
you stop? Please, just stop. That's where faith
gets tested, right? He's working beneath the
surface. And scriptures later tell us an insight
of what's happening in this scene. Psalm 105
tells us that God sent Joseph ahead. Just wouldn't
it be so much easier if Joseph knew that? Wouldn't
it be easier if someone, like, I know this happens
later in the story, and so it doesn't really
make sense, but, like, Daniel got, he got intervention
from the lions. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
There was four in the fire. They got an angel.
Joseph, Mary, they actually were told what was
going on. Joseph wasn't. He had this weird dream
that ended up in a pit, ended up sold, yet Psalm
105 is telling us, no, God's sending him. What?
This is God sending? Well, if we're being honest,
that God don't send me. I'm good. I'm just going
to sit where I'm at, right? I know I'm saved.
I got my church. I'll go. I'll give money. I'll
do the things. I don't want to be sent because
I don't want to go to a pit. I don't want to
get sold. Because that isn't the fickleness of
God's character. That is the fickleness of our
faith. So what looks like betrayal is actually
part of God's sending. There's a part of me,
if I could curse, I would. Because it doesn't
actually make sense in my head that all of this
would happen to a guy. Now, we know the story,
so we can sit in that a little easier. But if
we don't, if you're Joseph, what in the world?
I'm getting mad just, I'm going to stop because
I'm getting mad reliving it, okay? So let's go
to point three, which is the blanket of grace,
the hidden hand of providence. And let's be honest,
we love and hate this. What's the word we hate
most in this? Hidden. What's the second word
we don't like? Ooh, now this one's tricky. Hidden
was easy. What's the second word? Hand. Because
it's not ours. If we, if this was the hand of
providence for Jim's life, praise the Lord. Nope.
Praise Jim. Never going to be the case. God's
hand is the one moving. God's hand is the one
at work. Hidden? Sure. Hand? I want it mine.
Genesis 37, 28 and 36. Then Midianite traders
passed by and they drew Joseph up and lifted
him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites
for 20 shekels of silver. They took Joseph to
Egypt. Remember that. Meanwhile, the Midianites
had sold him to Egypt to Potiphar, an officer
of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. Well, now
we kind of get it, right? Whether it was Donny
Osmond, whether it was the Prince of Egypt, whether
it was the Ten Commandments, all three of those,
pretty much the same story, right? But understanding
like, oh, sorry, that doesn't make any sense.
That was Moses. Nope, never mind. Scratch that.
Just stick with Donny, right? Donny Osmond, all
of those things, or whoever you saw. Those other
two are great, but that's a whole other story.
Understand that now we're like, oh, now we see
some movement here. And here's the thing. We're
kind of okay with it. All right, so he sold,
right, sold the Ishmaelites, sold the Midianites,
20 pieces of silk, great. Now he's in Egypt.
And we're only okay with it because we know the
story. What about when you're in it and you don't
see down the road, you don't see if that relationship's
going to be restored, even to the people you
love the most, that if you've made a mess of
it, you may lose them. And in some ways, rightfully
so. But in some ways, you're on your knees going,
please restore this. I cannot believe I've made
it such a mess. And some of you just went to
three days ago. Because that's where you were.
Or a week ago. Or a month ago. Or a year ago.
Or what feels like your whole life. You're begging
God, please don't allow the hidden hand of province.
I want it right here. But do you? Do I really
want it right here? Where I can't go right or
left, I got to follow what God says in my life?
Yeah, that's kind of the tagline of being a Christian,
right? So what does that mean for our faith?
What does that mean for our identity? What it
means is sometimes we don't want God's providence
in our life because we think we know better.
If you feel comfortable enough to sit in that
today or tomorrow, All the mothers are like,
this is not a Mother's Day sermon. What are you
doing? Sometimes the hidden providence in God
is a wonderful mother. There, there's your sermon.
Take it with you. The hidden hand of providence.
The Midianites, the Midianite traders pass by.
At first glance, totally random. Half of you
are wondering if I said it right. But totally
random, right? A caravan just happens to come
by. Timing just happens to line up. Joseph just
happens to be taken into Egypt. If I read it
like that, I'm an idiot. Because God isn't chance.
This isn't just a rolling of the dice. God wasn't
up there in the cosmos going, oh, I forgot the
Midians were going to be passing by. Look how
that worked out. No. Scripture invites us to
see it deeper. Here's that point of point three.
What looks like a coincidence is actually God's
providence. The Hebrew mindset doesn't separate
everyday events from divine activity. God is
not just present in miracles. He's present in
the movement, in the timing of ordinary moments.
What I love about Hebrew culture, everything
is utterly dependent on Yahweh. Life and breath
and movement. I heard it said by a Hebrew, life
and breath and bowel movements, they put everything
into God's hand. It's a weird way to say that,
probably not going to put that in a card, but
understand that the same holds true. That God
is working through people, through timing, and
through circumstances. The next point, even though
broken people, even though sinful choices, God
is still working. Now, for some of us, we may
feel in a little bit of warmth now. Like, ooh,
I'm not too far gone. Okay. And that's okay to
receive that. That's grace. You're receiving
grace. But it's not just so I can do it again.
And I just described all of us. Myself, most
importantly. Right? Even through broken people,
even through sinful choices, there is a truth
that anchors this entire story. And that is even
when others mean evil, God is working for good.
So the next point. Even when others mean evil,
God is working for good. The word used later
in Genesis will be meant, carry the idea of weaving
and planning. That God is weaving and planning.
The brothers are weaving one story, yet God is
weaving another. Same event, same people, different
purpose. Why? Because God's ways are higher than
our ways. And here is the basic truth for today.
If you learn nothing from this sermon other than
that, don't try to get on God's level. Because
you're not God, and you don't belong there, and
neither do I. Same event, same purpose, different
purpose. So we can say this key truth clearly.
Nothing happens outside of God's sovereignty.
Some of us are like, well, duh, Jim, just say
that and get off the stage. But we struggle with
that. Because we think there are things that
do. We think God's maybe not sovereign because
I don't get my way or I don't get it that quickly
or whatever. Nothing happens outside of God's
sovereignty. Not the pit, not the betrayal, not
the confusion. God's not reacting. God's like,
man, I didn't see that coming. No, God is still
ruling in this. It's all over, Joseph's story.
I cannot wait to get to next, I gotta finish
my Christ connection, then we'll go to the next
week. So the Christ connection here. Joseph was
rejected and sold. Jesus was rejected and betrayed.
Joseph was thrown into a pit and later raised
up. We see Jesus was laid in a tomb and raised
to glory. About the suffering. Joseph's suffering
led to saving many people physically. We'll get
there. Jesus' suffering leads to saving people
eternally. So what does this mean? Even in suffering,
even in my suffering, even in your suffering,
God is not wasting anything. Catch that. Even
in your suffering, even when you go back, as
a dog returns to his vomit, so we return to our
sin. Even though you're returning to that sin
time and time and time again, once, twice, three
times, not a lady in a day, all those things,
we return to our sin. God's not wasting this
time. He's actually redeeming it. Now, before
we get to the conclusion, a point on the redeeming.
The redeeming can come in many ways. The two
over 22 years in this I've seen is someone coming
to that redemption on bended knee in front of
the cross or the cross being revealed in a situation
and the redeeming kind of gets forced in there.
It's the old adage, right? Maybe those parenting
little kids, grandparenting little kids, right?
You ask the first time, did you take the cookie?
They have a choice. They can immediately say
what? Let's call a spade a spade. More times
than not, they say no, just out of reaction.
What Dave Sanders taught me years ago is there's
the tale of two truths. Did you steal the cookie?
No. Did you just lie? about stealing the cookie,
there it becomes premeditated. There it becomes
part of who you are. Friends, let us bring our
junk, our pits, our betrayal, our suffering to
the cross because God is calling you to that
every day. Pastor, how do you know that he's
calling us to do that every day? Because his
mercies are new every morning. We only need mercy
if we're guilty. If we're perfect and sinless,
we don't need God's mercy. We don't need God's
grace. And how many of you fit in that category?
Exactly. Even the three of you that tried to
go like you're funny, like now's not the time
to joke. It's really not. Because we need his
mercy. We need his grace. And here's the hard
teaching right now. We need to trust God in the
pit. Joseph had a dream. But now he's in chains.
And from every visible angle, it looks like the
dream is over. That dream was just something
he ate or drank that night. Nope, God's still
working. But church, we know something Joseph
doesn't see. The pit is not the end. The silence
is not the end. The betrayal is not the end.
So if you are in this place right now, if this
is where you're feeling something in your spirit,
in your walk with the Lord, your relationship
with others. where life feels confusing, where
God seems distant and quiet, where the future
feels very uncertain. Hold on to this. One, sin
is real. Two, God may feel silent, but take heart,
his providence is always working. Trust this,
what others meant for evil, God uses for his
sovereign good. Because next week, Okay, next
week, Joseph does the right thing. We're going
to be on the right track, baby. Here we go. No,
he's going to do the right thing and suffer more.
Joseph is going to be accused next week. Why
not? Put that on the resume of his life, right?
He's prideful. He's arrogant. He gets beat up,
thrown into a pit, rejected, was going to be
murdered, but then sold, then sold again. Now
he's going to be accused. Even for doing the
right thing. And as we journey this together,
we're going to see clearly that even in all of
this, even in everything you're going through,
I'm going through, this church is going through,
God is always still with us. Let's pray.