Opener: When I was in Nova Scotia this past week, I was talking with one of the Youth Directors and he is in the midst of teaching an Adult Sunday School where he is doing an overview of the Bible in a Year….they read a big chunk of the text (ie: this week they’re reading Psalm 1 – 30) and then “parachuting” deeper into a few of the texts each week. One thing you find when you start reading the Bible in big chunks like this is that you start getting a handle on the bigger and broader themes of the Word…some call this the “grid of Biblical History”….
· I) Creation II) Fall III) Redemption IV) Consumation
This is the “big story” that God is trying to work out in the midst of human history…over the past 3 Sunday’s we have been walking with Joseph and learning of his life story. In today’s text, we see the conclusion of his journey….his bright and colorful beginning; his being hated and sold into slavery by his jealous brothers; his time of rise and fall in Potiphar’s household; his dark and isolated years in prison; and then his rise to fame and power in Pharoah’s house. He’s become Prime Minister of the Land in Egypt…it has truly been a “rags to riches” story but the riches are for a reason! Not just to make him fat cat in the house of Pharoah…but to make him a major player in God’s story of REDEMPTION through his people, the remnant in Israel.
Because God has promised that he will carry his people through and in this part of the story we see yet another miracle; another act of deliverance, another “I – don’t – know – what – I’m – gonna – do – where is – God – in all – of this - -” circumstance… and don’t forget that this is a 22 year journey!
So what is happening here, is the culmination of a smaller story of redemption, happening within the bigger story of redemption that God is working through history through his people…and in today’s Joseph’s story the question is this….
Q: HOW does Joseph make this redemption a reality?? Here are 3 lessons for us to learn in the “Joseph Journey”…
1) Joseph shared his identity (vv. 1-4)
This is an emotional chapter…there’s a lot of weeping and wailing going on here! (take a clue, brother & sisters…when was the last time you wept for redemption??) Joseph realizes that God is bringing a redemption to and through him. In order for the remnant in Israel to receive blessing, hope and a future, Joseph would have to reveal his true identity and pursue reconciliation with his brothers. There must have been a spectrum of emotions that Joseph was dealing with here…but he knows that this is not a time for hate, revenge, bitterness or resentment….it is a time for forgiveness and healing.
At the sight of his brothers, Joseph probably didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or kill! Here they were, his brothers…wandering in and looking for help - - - the same brothers that 22 years earlier tried to kill him and then decided to make some $$ off of him by selling him into slavery. These are the brothers who had abandoned him! These were the brothers who didn’t care whether he lived or died. Oh, Joseph’s emotions must have been running wild! So he sends out everyone who is gather in his courts…and he weeps. He wails so loud that Pharoah’s workers can hear him.
And then he tells his brothers the astounding truth… “I am Joseph….Is my father still living?”
And the brothers must have been stupefied…and since Joseph is 20+ years older and is wearing clothes and adornments that hide his identity - - - the brothers don’t get it!
So he has to tell them to come closer…and he has to be more specific… “I am your BROTHER Joseph.” You know the one?? The one you sold into slavery!
And maybe the glimmer of the light starts to go on in the minds and hearts of his brothers…they start to look closer at Joseph, they look at each other…and it’s probably like seeing a ghost - - - this brother of ours who was as good as dead, is now alive…
And in their terrified state…and with their jaws wide open…and their eyes popping out of their skulls in disbelief…
Joseph unfolds lesson 2 in this redemption story…
Because the lights are going on in Joseph’s head too - - - this isn’t just a “shock moment”…this isn’t going to be a simple “random act of kindness” - - NO! Because of God, there is a perfect explanation to how Joseph and his brothers ended up in this encounter…
So after sharing his identity in the midst of this redemption story,
2) Joseph explained his theology (vv. 5-13)
This is where Joseph explains the sovereignty of God and the grace of God and how God is always working to bring good out of evil. So many times he refers to what God was doing…and how he has worked a miracle in preparing a place of refuge and hope during times of insecurity and despair.
This is the part of the story where Joseph attempts to calm his brothers down - - and we see that Joseph doesn’t want to point at the human economy of the situation, instead he points to the divine economy of what is happening. GOD IS AT WORK!! There is no way that this could have happened through the plans of humans - - so Joseph keeps on pointing to the hand of God; the power of God; and the sovereignty of God
Here’s what Joseph has to say:
(v. 5b) “it was to save lives that God sent me ahead”
(v. 7) “But God sent me…to preserve for you a remnant and to save your lives”
(v. 8) “It wasn’t you who sent me…it was God….God made me Lord and ruler”
(v. 9) “Tell Dad, what God has done!”
In a situation where it would be easy to take the credit, Joseph does the right thing and gives credit where credit is due. It’s a God-thing. You and I need to take note here… by recognizing that so much of what God is doing in our lives (good or bad) is a God-thing.
And so when things are happening in lives, for better or for worse, the challenge for us is to remember the bigger picture of God at work.
We are called to explain the normal realities of our lives as a God-thing. Because that is how we share the truth that the story of our lives is a story that is written by God…and the story is being brought to life by the power of his Holy Spirit.
This can show up in practical ways in our language:
· I am blessed VS I am lucky
· What’s God doing here VS Why is this happening to me?
· I am thankful Lord VS I worked hard, I deserve this
· God’s blessings to you VS Good luck, eh?
· I am going to trust/pray to Jesus VS knock on wood/keep fingers crossed
And hopefully we can echo Joseph’s words here…that life doesn’t just happen “because”…but that through our lives, people can see the work of God…
In v. 12 Joseph says, “You can see for yourselves” what’s going on here…
He’s saying, “It’s really me! This is really happening! And God is the author, sustainer, creator and overseer of everything that is unfolding in this amazing story of grace, mercy and redemption.
So……Joseph shares his identity….Joseph explains his theology….in the third lesson of Joseph’s redemption story we see that…
3) Joseph embraced his reality (vv. 14-15)
In order for the plan to come to completion, Joseph initiates the full-circle of reconciliation. Joseph has the power to bless his brothers or to curse them. In light of God’s big picture, Joseph would choose the path of blessings, forgiveness and reconciliation. What a beautiful picture of love and humility. Oh that we would be willing to move forward in our relationships…to pursue confession and forgiveness so that we could get on with the bigger work of God’s big picture!
It is only after Joseph’s embrace and the weeping with Benjamin and the brothers that the conversation starts to flow in a 2-way manner.
In v. 3, the brothers are not able to answer Joseph but in v. 15 we see that “afterwards his brothers talked with him.”
In the days and weeks that follow in this story we read more of the details of the reconciliation and reunion of Joseph with his brothers…but for sake of time, I want us to close with some reflections on what this Bible text teaches to us on a practical level….
WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE AND CALL OF GOD upon our lives this morning?
Or…
WHAT ARE WE DOING to facilitate redemption in the midst of our lives both individually and corporately?
Ø Practical App. #1:
HOW ARE WE SHARING OUR IDENTITIES?
Or….how are we sharing our gifts/talents/personalities?
Some of us are being called to rise up as leaders! (CE teachers, VBS, testimonies, lay preachers, lay leaders)
So identify yourself!!
- Maybe God has pulled you through some wild and wonderful lessons in life…there’s a purpose in it, so share it! Share it with a friend, in your small group, on a Sunday morning…let’s hear other voices…
- ** Talk to me re: Sharing a testimony! **
Ø Practical App. #2:
HOW ARE WE EXPLAINING OUR THEOLOGY?
What is God doing in our midst…in our lives?
Alistair shared this morning….simply and humbly….
Christopher Martin did it last week, taking a step of obedience and getting baptized.
This is not coincidence, this is GOD-incidence.
So explain it, share it….at work, home, with a friend, with a spouse…
How will our unbelieving world learn that God is real unless you and I talk about it??
[Byron and Kath H_________ - - I’m sure you can share many a God story - - sharing what it means to walk with students for 30 years….have you seen the hand of God?? ]
Ø Practial App. #3:
HOW ARE WE EMBRACING REALITY?
There are no solo Christians in the Kingdom of God that Jesus is building here on earth and into the future.
So let’s step out…let’s initiate….and be a part of God’s redemptive plan for his people…
- a lot of this happens through reconciliation
- If / When we pursue reconciliation in a Christ-like manner here, we get glimpses of glory…..and people who are the outside looking in can’t help but pay attention to what is going on here…ie: “My relationship was in the dumps but God redeemed it”
WARNING!!
Before we get too crazy and on a reconciliation bandwagon - - - don’t forget, that this was a 22-year story for Joseph.
Are we willing to be on a 22-year journey?
[nah! We want 22 days…22 hours….22 minutes (the length of a sitcom) ]
We want quick fix! But transformation isn’t quick fix.
If you and I can look at our lives in 22-year segments, then maybe we can better embrace the joys and sorrows that face us in the present….
Think about Joseph’s different “seasons” during this 22-year chunk of his life…
- the seasons of joy: being Dad’s favourite, the power of dreams and being a dream interpreter
- the seasons of sorrow: being a slave to the Ishmaelites, being separated from his family, esp. his father
- the seasons of celebration: Promotion! In Potiphar’s house, the power and influence of being PM in Pharoah’s court
- the seasons of anguish: being in prison, feeling forgotten and abandoned; getting “set up” injustly by Potiphar’s wife
Through every season, God is calling us….he’s forming us….he’s gifting us….
And at different points he’s asking us to boldly speak out on his behalf
And he’s wanting us to constantly poise ourselves as ambassadors of forgiveness and reconciliation
Let’s keep on doing that…and cheering each other on towards the finish line….as Paul writes, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3).
