Joseph Sermon 3 Genesis 41: 14-16, 39-41
July 21, 2002
“I feel used. I’ve been living away from my family for a long time. I’m in a far off land. I’ve been mistreated, worked like a slave, and just when I thought things were going well, I get knocked down again by some false accusations. I feel used.” Yes, I’m sure Joseph felt that way while he was in Egypt. But if he felt used, I’m also sure it was a good feeling for him. God is the one who had been using him, for God’s own purpose.
You didn’t think I was talking about me, did you? Well, I guess I have been away from my family and living far from home for some time now. But I certainly haven’t been mistreated and I haven’t been working like a slave. Nor have I heard about any false accusations. And yet, I also feel used. It’s a good feeling. It’s good to be used by the Lord to further the cause of the gospel. That’s what I came here to do, after all. That’s what Joseph was used for in Egypt. And that’s what you are used for right here at Beautiful Savior of Topeka, Kansas. God uses us, for his purposes. Let’s give that some more thought this morning as we consider together:
God Uses Us on Purpose
–We may not always know how
–We may however know why
Our text is just one small part of a very detailed and very famous chapter in the life of Joseph. In this chapter we are told about the dreams that Pharaoh had and how Joseph was called upon to interpret them. They certainly were what we’d call “wild” dreams, the kind that prompted a man like Pharaoh to get help from others with their meaning. The wise men and magicians of Egypt were not up to that task, however. But when the cupbearer remembered how Joseph had interpreted his dream two years ago and that Joseph’s interpretation was exactly right, he thought that Joseph might be able to help his master with these dreams as well.
We can’t help noticing how Joseph, on the spot as he was before Pharaoh, gave credit to God for the ability to interpret the dreams and said that God would indeed fulfill the meaning of the dreams. Joseph could easily have been carried away by all the sudden changes and the opportunity to advance his own position, but he doesn’t seek to do that. He preferred to be used!
God had been using Joseph all along, ever since he came to the land of Egypt. It’s fair to say that He even used the hatred of Joseph’s brothers to get Joseph to Egypt in the first place. God used Joseph on purpose, the purpose that would become most evident in the years, even centuries, to come. By rising to the position of second in command in Egypt, and by overseeing the project of storing up grain during the good years, Joseph would be able to preserve his own family from ruin and, therefore, the line from which the Savior would come was also preserved. Was Joseph aware that he was being used by God this way? It seems that he was indeed, for he not only gives credit to God when he is talking before Pharaoh, but he says this about God when naming his first two children: “God has made me forget all my trouble,” and “God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” Joseph was being used. It felt good. And God wasn’t through with him yet! Soon those dreams of long ago that he had as a boy would come to reality.
You just never know how God may use you. That was very evident in Joseph’s life. It becomes evident in our lives, too. At least I know it has become evident in my life. I never would have thought I’d end up in Topeka, KS, for a month in the summer. Why would I have ended up there, unless perhaps I was on an exotic summer vacation with my family or something. I’m teasing, of course. I certainly have seen some wonderful sights, but that’s not the real reason I ended up here. An opportunity arose for me to free up time for your pastor so that he could spend more time in outreach endeavors, especially among the Hispanic in the area. For me personally it was an opportunity to work more closely in a congregation. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I believe that God arranged for it on purpose. I’m glad I came. I pray that the efforts of the past month will bear fruit. As I talked about that with Pastor Pankow earlier in the week he even said what I’m saying to you this morning, “You never know.”
But my experience here is just one of many that have convinced me that you never know how God may use you. Let me add some more testimony to the fact. After graduating from our seminary in Mequon I have been in the teaching ministry ever since. That’s not the usual course of events you know. I’ve taught all four years of Latin, three different levels of religion class; speech, and journalism; I’ve coached football, basketball and track; I’ve been a vacancy dean of students twice; driven school bus; directed one-act plays; been an athletic director; I’ve been able to preach in many different churches and lately have taught Bible classes at my home congregation. I can confidently say as I’m sure most ministers could say, “You never know how God may use you.” I don’t think God is through with me yet.
What about you? What about you personally and you as a congregation? Can you likewise say that you never know how God may use you? Sure you can. God already has used you to serve his purpose. You have established a congregation here that is committed to the pure teachings of Scripture and faithfully administers the means of grace. You’ve been instrumental in starting another congregation nearby. Those are two hugely useful endeavors right there. Don’t ever take for granted the wonderful blessing of having a congregation that is centered on the pure word of God. Not everyone has that!
And God isn’t through with you yet, either. You never know how he may use you in the future. For instance, God may bless the outreach efforts of Pastor Pankow beyond all expectations. You never know. He’ll need your help with that work, by the way. Or how about the chance meetings you may have with someone who doesn’t know Jesus. Maybe you’ll bring comfort to a fellow Christian who is experiencing tough times. Maybe your son or daughter or grandchild will enter the ministry thanks to your encouragement. Maybe one of them will rise to be a ruler in the government and be able to witness like Joseph did. You just never know!
Because we never know, we want to be ready to make the most of the opportunities God gives us. That’s what Joseph did. At a time when he could have reveled in his own new-found position and forgotten about God, he first and foremost used the opportunity before him to tell one of the most powerful men in the world about the true God. He told all of Egypt about the true God in how he named his sons. He exercised wisdom and diligence that earned the respect of a nation. He trusted the one who had been with him all along. He would see to it that the lives of his people would be saved from destruction. He preserved the line from which his Savior and ours would come. That’s a Savior that we don’t deserve to have, a Savior whom God chose to give us, a Savior for whom we now have the chance to share with others.
I often use Latin sayings to begin the week of class with my students. Many of them would fit real nicely with the sermon today: “Is qui timuit ne non succederet, sedit-- He who feared he would not succeed sat still.” Don’t let fear of failure deprive you of doing some work for the Lord. “Mus uni antro non fidit-- A mouse doesn’t rely on just one hole.” Have several plans in mind for the work. “Ad astra per aspera–To the stars through hardships.” The work may not be easy, but the blessings are glorious. Perhaps the most famous Latin saying is this one, “Carpe diem–Seize the day.” Be ready when the opportunity comes to make the most of it, like Joseph.
You just never know how the Lord may use you.
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Three weeks from now, God willing, you will get to the part of the Joseph story when he makes himself known to his family after they come to Egypt for help. What a great moment that was when he told his brothers how God had used their evil deed to accomplish good, yes, to save lives! Joseph certainly didn’t realize the truth of that for the first time at that moment. This is something he had learned long before. Already now at the time of our text he saw the hand of the Lord in what had taken place in his life. He knew why God had been using him this way.
God’s purpose was being fulfilled, in his way and at his time.
We, too, may know why God uses us today. He uses us to carry out his purpose, in his way, at his time. Due to our sinfulness and our human weakness we may often fail to remember this truth. We may grow impatient when we don’t see the results of our labors. We may become lazy and expect that someone else do the work instead. We may lose our zeal for the gospel because we let too many distractions dominate our lives. We may get cynical and think that things won’t work for one reason or another. We may become fearful of what others will think of us if we confess out there what we confess in here. We may get so comfortable with what we’ve always done that we may not be willing to give something that’s new and positive a chance. We may doubt our abilities or think that we’re not pious enough to represent our Lord to others. We may be all of the above. Why would God use someone like us, we wonder? It’s easy to see why he’d use a man like Joseph, such an outstanding person as he was. But us? We’re not like Joseph.
Joseph wasn’t born the outstanding person that he came to be. He was born a sinner with sinful weaknesses. God equipped him. He shaped him. He blessed him. Joseph himself recognized that when he told Pharaoh, “I cannot do it, but God will give the answer.” The Apostle Paul wasn’t born the outstanding person that he came to be. He was born a sinner with sinful weaknesses. God equipped him, after first calling him to faith later in life. He shaped him. He blessed him. Paul himself acknowledged that when he wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst.”
So, in a way, we are like Joseph and Paul. Maybe we can’t “preach like Paul,” but we can do other things, like tell the love of Jesus. God will equip us. He will shape us. He will bless us. He will especially bless us with the gospel that reminds us again and again that we are forgiven of all of our sins. That gospel is what will move us, as it moved Joseph and Paul and many others before us whose names we’ll never know, to be useful in the kingdom in whatever way we can. Those men trusted their God because they had seen how God guided them and blessed them. Even though they suffered setbacks far greater than what most or all of us will ever suffer, they still trusted. They trusted the gospel of a Savior from sin because more than anything else that’s the power that they felt in their lives.
Trust the gospel. It works. Use the gospel. It’s the power of God for salvation. Use it with yourself, to find comfort and strength. Use it with your fellow members, to give them comfort and strength. Use it with anyone the Lord may bring your way, to give them their Savior. Even if those strangers never join your church, they may join you in heaven some day because you used the gospel with them. Use it with your children and grandchildren, so that the church will continue to cherish the gospel. Use it in your community. The world in which we live needs more of it. And don’t worry about using it all up. It will always be there in word and sacrament. Use it because we have it as we do, by God’s grace. This is why the Lord uses us. We may be confident of that now with all our heart.
When I first came to Topeka Pastor Pankow showed me around town. That was nice. We once drove by a subdivision where some beautiful big homes had been going up recently. I joked with him that he should do some canvassing in that neighborhood. Across the street from this subdivision is a big cemetery. I joked with him that as he talked to the people in those big beautiful homes he could point across the street and remind them that that’s where we all end up some day. You know, it’s really no joke at all when you think about it. No matter what kind of homes people live in or what their social status is or color of skin or anything else that makes us different from one another, we all end up in the grave. Then we go on to eternity. But where, for eternity? You and I know where. The gospel assures where we will spend our eternity–in heaven. Because we know that, God uses US, on purpose!
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I’ve really benefitted from studying the Joseph story to do my work here this past month. He is such a good example of someone who was privileged to serve his God faithfully. But more than that, he is such a good example of someone that the Lord guided and blessed. It’s a story of God’s love and protection for a sinner who loved his God. It’s the story of how God used that sinner on purpose, for God’s own purpose.
It’s been a privilege for me to be here and to serve you in this small way. I pray that God will bring blessing to you and your pastor through the efforts made–not just mine, but all of ours. I know I’ve been blessed by it. I look forward to hearing more about how God will use you in the days to come. Will we see each other again? I suppose what I could say is, “You never know!” But what I’d rather say is this, that since we all know who our Savior is, we will see each other again. On purpose. Amen.
