Survivor: What Am I Doing Here

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Survivor: What Am I Doing Here Series

Contributed by Mark Milioni on Jan 11, 2001 (message contributor)

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Scripture: Genesis 45:5-8

Denomination: Baptist

Summary: Imagine going through life without ever getting it. You think you have an idea, you work and strive but life is hard and things just don’t work. Have you ever thought, what am I doing here?

Imagine going through all the work and effort of Survivor and not winning. Same with Olympics.

Imagine going through life without ever getting it. You think you have an idea, you work and strive but life is hard and things just don’t work. Have you ever thought, what am I doing here? What am I here for? Why is life so bad, so hard and so disappointing?

There are a lot of different views on why things happen the way they do in life. Some of you know some people who have experienced a lot, some of you have been through a lot. Ever wonder why? Let’s notice what some believe. I am going to get real theological and philosophical just for a minute. This is very important stuff so follow along.

Views of the World:

Fatalism: All of life is affected by events that happen in a non-rational cosmic process.

When someone goes through a difficult time they sometimes say, “It’s just my fate in life.” Or, “It must be my fate.” Hitler often used fate when referring to why he did certain things.

Deism: God created the world then withdrew leaving it to run itself.

This says a God got things going and then left it to run like a machine. Deists deny any godly involvement in the affairs of man or Christ or the Holy Spirit.

Pantheism: God is an impersonal force that manifests itself through the material universe.

People worship trees and animals because God is in everything. This is characteristic of the environmental movement.

Dualism: Two opposing forces in the universe are locked in struggle with each other for its control.

Does this remind you of a movie? May the force be with you.

Secularism: Life is to be based on the spirit of the age not on any absolutes from God.

Secularism rejects God and faith and lets society dictate what is right and wrong.

Humanism: Man is the final authority and decider of all absolutes.

Man is the ultimate in all things, the peak of evolution. There is no God or governing power greater than man.

Christianity: God’s will is provident in all His creation.

The Providence of God: God’s faithful and effective care and guidance of everything which He has made toward the purpose which He has chosen.

So, if we believe God is truly in charge of life then we ask a question don’t we? We go through something, we see others hurting and we ask what – Why? Why God, why did this happen.

Who hasn’t asked that question? I have told you before about having a stillborn baby, we had already named him, Mark Lee Milioni, after his daddy. We had a funeral and wept for weeks. Some of you have gone through tragedies and cried out to heaven like we did and asked, Why? It is a normal question and part of us that just can’t understand here on earth.

Joseph’s life was like that. Time after time Joseph had tragedy after tragedy. But Joseph teaches us some great lessons about how God operates, notice.

I. God Is Involved in Your Life

Understand these thoughts first,

· God cares about the tiniest details of life.

Nothing escapes his notice, he is concerned about you more than you are. He knows everything that is going on in your life.

· He uses everything and wastes nothing.

There are no accidents with God, only incidents. This includes events that seem to us to be senseless tragedies.

· God’s ultimate purpose is to shape his children into the image of Jesus Christ.

He often uses difficult moments and human tragedies to accomplish this purpose.

Why is this important? When you understand this you can handle anything in this life. Just like Joseph. He meets his brothers and they feel bad but notice what Joseph does.

Gen. 45:5-8

Remember what Joseph had been through,

Joseph knew that although it took years and years for God’s purposes to be clear, in the end Joseph saw the hand of God behind everything that had happened to him.

Think about the implications of that;

At Just the Right Moment

At just the right moment his brothers threw him into the pit.

At just the right moment the Midianites came along.

At just the right moment he was sold to Potiphar.

At just the right moment Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him.

At just the right moment he met the butler and baker.

At just the right moment the butler remembered Joseph.

At just the right moment Pharaoh called for him.

At just the right moment he was promoted to Prime Minister.

At just the right moment Jacob sent his sons to Egypt.

At just the right moment the brothers met Joseph.

At just the right moment Jacob’s family moved to Egypt.

At just the right moment.

Rom. 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Realize that His purpose is that all things work together for good. No matter what you are going through God can use it.

II. God Gives Us A New Perspective

Realizing God knows and works in all things helps us deal with things.

· Bitterness

If anyone had the right to be bitter and get even it was Joseph. We get bitter because we think someone is getting away with something and nothing is happening to them. We think God has let it go and we get bitter and angry.

But if you believe God is involved and knows then we can turn things over to Him.

· Tragedies

God is involved even in the worst moments of life. We may never understand why babies and loved ones die, why finances disappear and why families divide but we can know that God is there and cares for us through it all.

· Hard Times

It is knowing that God is there that will keep us going through hard times. A recent song sums this up, Life is hard but God is good. No matter what you have been through or are going through God is good and will love you through anything.

III. God Uses the Events of Our Life

Joseph recognized that God had used his life in ways that others couldn’t understand.

Gen. 50:20

The same is true with Jesus, notice these important words.

Acts 2:23

Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death.

I close with a powerful story of how God uses people and situations that don’t make sense to us.

Tony Campolo tells about speaking at a camp and meeting a very special boy named Jerry. Jerry had cerebral palsy. At this Junior and Senior High Camp it was obvious that the other campers rejected Jerry. They were all too sophisticated and selfish to mess around with a cripple, a loser like Jerry. They were rude and mean.

All week Campolo watched Jerry struggle to find his place. It was brutal, the other kids mocked and made fun of him. They mocked the way he walked and talked. They would say, “Whhaaaaaaat . . . . . ttiiiiimmmmmmmme . . . issss. . . ccrrrrraaaaaafffffftttttsss .. . . . cccllllaaaasssss?” They they would all laugh even though Jerry was right there.

Other times they avoided him and lied to him to keep him from coming to where they were. On the final morning of camp the students were invited to come and give a testimony about what Jesus Christ had meant to them. One by one they came, all the superstars, all the popular ones. They gave little canned speeches but there was nothing powerful, moving or special about what they said. Their words were empty.

Then they were all kind of shocked to see Jerry make his way down the aisle from the back. The students began to whisper and giggle. Jerry very slowly and painfully climbed the stairs. Finally he reached a microphone. He stood for a long time and looked at all the others and said with great confidence, “I . . . loooovvve . . . Jeeeeeessssuuussss . . .aannnnnddddd. . . Jeeeeeeeeessssuuuuussss . . . loooooooovvvvvvveesssssss . . .mmmmeeeeeeee.”

He slowly went and sat back down and it felt like a bolt of lightening had struck everyone. His love for God, despite his handicaps and the ridicule he had taken had shown everyone he knew what life was all about. Soon all the other teens were streaming down the aisle to pray and make things right with God.

The Lord used the least capable and the most unlikely to accomplish his purpose. How tough is your faith? Will you allow God to use your life no matter what? Close

Survivor:

What Am I Doing Here?