MESSAGES

Joseph: Going Places Called Hope — Genesis 37-50

Part 1 | Genesis 37, 39
We don't ever fully know the places God will take us, or how God will use us in the places where we go. The journey is full of ups and downs, twists and turns. The direction our lives take is partly due to our decisions, for good or for ill. Much of it we may not understand. Joseph is just like us in this regard. He is spoiled and not very nice. He thinks far too much of himself often. And his brothers sell him off to a nomadic people and he finds himself in prison falsely accused of something he did not do. Through the twists and turns, the ups and downs Joseph changes. Something happens to Joseph in the adversity. And through it all God is always there orchestrating events to lead to good, to bless and to build. Can the same be said of us?

Part 2 | Genesis 40-41
Last week we left Joseph in prison. Yet the adversity he experienced transformed him into someone God could use for God's kingdom purposes. Today, we see how Joseph's transformation equipped him for something much greater that God had in store. Joseph still has a ways to go, like we all do; but he takes another step toward a place called Hope.

Part 3 | Genesis 42
Today we come face to face with God’s providence; the fact that God has truly been at work orchestrating things beyond our comprehension. We’re focused on Joseph. He’s like us, makes mistakes, is self-centered, and learns to deal with adversity well. But there is an overarching narrative beyond Joseph's that we are starting to see more clearly. Joseph’s story is a story within the story of God’s story, and that means that even though we have much to learn from Joseph and his walk with God, we have more to learn about God’s ways in the world and how God encounters and uses us for a larger purpose, a kingdom purpose, for a purpose that we are ourselves very much a part of. What is redemption? What does it mean to say God has been with us through all things? God's story provides the answer!

Joseph – the son of Jacob – was a man who through his hardships came to know and trust God. His journey started at the bottom of a deep well because of the jealousy and hatred of his brothers. Just as he was recovering and climbing to a surprising height of success, he landed in prison because of the false testimony of a spurned woman. While there he held on to the glimmers of light that God provided and resourcefully took advantage of every glimmer of hope. Joseph gets out of prison and rises to the height of success running the nation of Egypt at the request of the Pharaoh. Still, however, he must confront his own worst enemy: Himself. He will have to deal with his brothers and learn to forgive. But through all the twists and turns of his life, God always showed up and Joseph maintained eyes to see God's hand.

Most of us cannot say we have been through Joseph’s extremes, his twists and turns (some of us can perhaps), but stuff happens. Life happens for all of us. We face family dynamics that bring out the worst in us. We encounter dramatic setbacks at the hands of hurtful people. We experience unfair circumstances that knock us down. We get pulled into some of our most human emotions of hatred and what seems like justifiable revenge. It is what it is. It was what it was for Joseph.

The hope that we have comes from the commitments we made to serve God in the Spirit of the risen Jesus. The moment that we rely only on ourselves we narrow all the possibilities. The moment we see only the immediate circumstances we become blind to the future that God wants to create. The moment we raise our hand to strike our enemy we depend on ourselves more than on God. The longest journey that anyone of us will ever take is the one between our head and our heart. It’s often the hardest journey we will ever take. But Joseph shows us the way.

Previous Messages

Questions Jesus Asks

So many times we come to God with loads of questions of our own. That's okay. God can handle our questions of him, questions sometimes born out of tragic, painful experiences. God is even big enough to handle questions born in fear and doubt. Don't worry, if you have tough questions. But have you ever stopped to also think of the questions that Jesus asks us? This series of messages deals with some of those. When you allow yourself to be open to Jesus' questions, you might just come to appreciate the depth and quality of a faith that embraces Jesus as God's son.

July 11 | Life
Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Matthew 6:25

July 18 | Lord, Lord
Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?
Luke 6:46,47

July 25 | Community
Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?
Matthew 12:48

August 1 | Clean
And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
Matthew 15:3

August 8 | Say
Who do you say that I am?
Matthew 16:13-15

August 15 | Watch
Could you not keep watch with me for one hour?
Matthew 26:40

August 29 | Forsaken
My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me?
Matthew 27:46