back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday 8/18/2024
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>> All right, I have the pleasure of introducing our guest speaker today. 00:17:14.000 |
He graduated from UCLA and then Master's Seminary. 00:17:17.000 |
He went on to plant Lighthouse Bible Church San Diego in 1998, 00:17:22.000 |
eventually planting also in San Jose and later in LA. 00:17:26.000 |
He has been shepherding the congregation and also developing and 00:17:32.000 |
Pastor John has been married to his wife, Angela, for 35 years. 00:17:35.000 |
And he's a father to four daughters, Jenna, Kara, Alyssa, and Olivia. 00:17:40.000 |
So why don't we give him a warm welcome as he comes on stage. 00:17:54.000 |
Well, it's good to be here with all of you here at Berean. 00:17:58.000 |
I think I spoke at a retreat like in the early 2000s. 00:18:03.000 |
So some of you might not have been quite yet born or alive yet long. 00:18:11.000 |
I bring greetings from Lighthouse Bible Church LA. 00:18:15.000 |
As Nathan mentioned, I've been serving there now for about ten years, 00:18:20.000 |
And I think that's one thing I learned about church planting. 00:18:25.000 |
And Pastor Peter, he told me when we were gonna go plant in San Jose, 00:18:37.000 |
provided many, many opportunities for his work to be done. 00:18:47.000 |
Yes, I just celebrated my 35th anniversary with my wife, Angela. 00:18:56.000 |
married a guy from the Czech Republic, Vasek. 00:19:10.000 |
So they're not able to be here with me today. 00:19:16.000 |
Actually, Benny, my oldest grandson, last night he got sick. 00:19:23.000 |
Pastor Peter has really been a wonderful friend for many years. 00:19:30.000 |
We actually were in Korea a few weeks ago during the same time. 00:19:39.000 |
So we're actually having lunch this Thursday. 00:19:47.000 |
They were in college when I was pastoring in San Diego. 00:19:51.000 |
And so I got to see them when they were very young. 00:19:55.000 |
And we actually just had dinner with them a couple weeks ago. 00:19:58.000 |
And seeing them now married with their children, 00:20:01.000 |
seeing the faithful ministry that they're doing here has been a great encouragement. 00:20:10.000 |
They have family members at Lighthouse San Diego. 00:20:12.000 |
So I got to know them during their many visits. 00:20:16.000 |
I don't know if she's here at this service, but I have a niece here, Annabelle. 00:20:20.000 |
And so I'm excited to see her at this service or next service. 00:20:31.000 |
But how it works now, I know many of them are at the retreat. 00:20:37.000 |
And I do want to give a shout-out to Chester and Nathan. 00:20:54.000 |
Well, something I like to do to remember churches that I have preached at 00:21:03.000 |
So if you could just stay still, I'm going to take a panorama shot. 00:21:19.000 |
I'm going to be reading from Genesis chapter 50 from verses 15 to 21 to start off our time. 00:21:33.000 |
We're going to be looking at the story of Joseph. 00:21:40.000 |
"Then Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead. 00:21:44.000 |
And they said, 'What if Joseph bears a grudge against us 00:21:48.000 |
and returns back to us all the evil which we dealt against him?' 00:21:53.000 |
So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, 'Your father commanded before he died, 00:21:57.000 |
saying, "Thus you shall say to Joseph, 'Please forgive. 00:22:02.000 |
I beg you the transgression of your brothers and their sin, 00:22:09.000 |
So now please forgive the transgression of the slaves of the God of your father.' 00:22:18.000 |
Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, 00:22:24.000 |
But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? 00:22:30.000 |
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, 00:22:36.000 |
in order to do what has happened on this day, to keep many people alive. 00:22:44.000 |
I will provide for you and your little ones.' 00:22:47.000 |
And he comforted them and spoke to their heart." 00:22:53.000 |
Heavenly Father, we ask you now as we come to your word, 00:23:04.000 |
and may you bring conviction to our hearts and minds 00:23:07.000 |
to learn what your truth has for us this morning. 00:23:15.000 |
and how gracious you are that you might give us this time together. 00:23:20.000 |
So may you help each person here in this room to receive your truth 00:23:26.000 |
so that each of us might be changed to become more like Christ, 00:23:38.000 |
I would like to ask you a maybe somewhat controversial question 00:23:44.000 |
Are you a closet prosperity gospel supporter? 00:23:50.000 |
Now I think you guys are a pretty solid church. 00:23:53.000 |
You have very wonderful pastors who are committed to teaching you God's word, 00:24:02.000 |
But I ask this because even with all those things, 00:24:07.000 |
and as a pastor, one thing I always wonder is, 00:24:14.000 |
How do you take God's truth and how do you actually apply it? 00:24:25.000 |
I believe in God, the authority of God's word. 00:24:30.000 |
But then when you look at your everyday life, 00:24:33.000 |
do you fit the profile of what some call the typical SoCal Christian? 00:25:02.000 |
I mean I don't think there's really maybe any better place in the world 00:25:07.000 |
to really live and enjoy the good things of life, 00:25:10.000 |
at least as the world considers it, compared to SoCal. 00:25:16.000 |
there's a perception that SoCal Christians are kind of soft. 00:25:35.000 |
Could it be that there is a not-so-subtle rejection 00:25:39.000 |
of the call to suffer for the sake of Christ? 00:25:43.000 |
Or maybe at least we think that the good life that we think God will give us 00:25:52.000 |
I mean think about the things that many people pray for. 00:26:07.000 |
Do we realize that God has actually called us to a life of suffering? 00:26:13.000 |
"For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, 00:26:16.000 |
not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, 00:26:19.000 |
having the same struggle which you saw in me and now hear to be in me." 00:26:25.000 |
The Apostle Paul makes it very clear that to believe in Jesus, 00:26:29.000 |
you are not only granted the gift of salvation, 00:26:31.000 |
but you are granted the privilege to suffer for the sake of Jesus. 00:26:37.000 |
Now, how many of us think that that's a privilege? 00:26:40.000 |
We like to read stories of other people suffering. 00:26:48.000 |
I'd rather have other people be that example. 00:26:51.000 |
Jesus states it clearly himself in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5. 00:26:56.000 |
Matthew 5.10, he says, "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, 00:27:03.000 |
Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you 00:27:06.000 |
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 00:27:10.000 |
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, 00:27:13.000 |
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." 00:27:22.000 |
A confessing Christian should be able to show in his life 00:27:28.000 |
that you know that there will be suffering, persecution, hardships, 00:27:37.000 |
Later on in Matthew 5, verse 43, Jesus says, "But I say to you, 00:27:41.000 |
love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you 00:27:44.000 |
so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. 00:27:47.000 |
For he causes his son to rise on the evil and the good 00:27:51.000 |
and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 00:27:55.000 |
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? 00:28:01.000 |
And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? 00:28:07.000 |
In other words, Jesus is saying your life's supposed to be different. 00:28:12.000 |
There should be something that really stands out, especially in light of suffering. 00:28:21.000 |
There are challenges that come with prosperity. 00:28:24.000 |
There are challenges that come with suffering. 00:28:27.000 |
Now, I don't think we mind necessarily the prosperity part. 00:28:32.000 |
I mean, at the least we get something out of it. 00:28:37.000 |
I mean, I just went to Korea, like I said, a few weeks ago, 00:28:41.000 |
and the thing I was really starting to think about during that trip 00:28:45.000 |
was the Korean food is great. I love Korean food. 00:28:47.000 |
But I was dying for a burger, a very specific burger, In-N-Out burger. 00:28:58.000 |
And my daughters very kindly, when my wife and I returned, they got both. 00:29:07.000 |
Thank you, God, for letting us live in Southern California 00:29:11.000 |
where we have wonderful Mexican food and wonderful In-N-Out. 00:29:21.000 |
When there are the tests of suffering, though, 00:29:24.000 |
I think there's something about suffering that reveals the true character of people. 00:29:28.000 |
You might have gone through some hardships, maybe growing up. 00:29:34.000 |
Maybe you are even going through some hardships even now. 00:29:40.000 |
And it's always interesting to watch how people respond to hard times. 00:29:45.000 |
I think if you're like most people, including myself, 00:29:48.000 |
it's very easy to complain, to grumble, to maybe even start blaming God. 00:29:56.000 |
"God, why? Why? Why are you letting me go through these things?" 00:30:03.000 |
Then there are sinful responses, getting angry, showing hatred toward people, 00:30:10.000 |
refusing to forgive, and justifying it all by saying, 00:30:14.000 |
"Well, you know, it's just hard. You don't understand what I'm going through." 00:30:21.000 |
When you read a story like Joseph in the Bible, 00:30:25.000 |
we might think that while there's obviously the possibility of suffering in life, 00:30:29.000 |
injustice, hatred, envy, all the ways in which others can hurt you, 00:30:33.000 |
people can definitely make your life miserable. 00:30:37.000 |
But in the end, do we have an expectation that God's going to just make all the problems get resolved? 00:30:47.000 |
I mean, we love those kind of stories, don't we? 00:30:57.000 |
You know, I watched a lot of princess movies with my daughters growing up. 00:31:07.000 |
You know, I grew up with just brothers. It was a whole different world. 00:31:11.000 |
But watching all the Disney movies and so forth, there's a common theme in many of them, right? 00:31:16.000 |
There's someone who's in hardship, but then they attain to prosperity at the end. 00:31:23.000 |
And maybe, and that's what I'm talking about, maybe we're closet prosperity gospel people, 00:31:27.000 |
because deep down inside, we kind of just want the story to end well. 00:31:31.000 |
Okay, maybe there's some suffering, maybe there's some hardship, but it's all going to end up well, right? 00:31:37.000 |
And it's not that God cannot provide blessings in that way. 00:31:43.000 |
But are you going to really get the happily ever after? 00:31:49.000 |
How about the Apostle Paul? Did he get a happily ever after? 00:31:55.000 |
I mean, I thought if anyone needed a sabbatical, it was Apostle Paul. 00:32:00.000 |
If anyone deserved to go to a retirement home and end up getting some rest, the Apostle Paul. 00:32:13.000 |
It's one of my favorites because his life is an example of how one responds to suffering, 00:32:19.000 |
how one trusts in the providence of God amidst hardship after hardship. 00:32:24.000 |
Now, this is going to be a little hard to do. 00:32:26.000 |
I'm going to try to do a quick overview of his life, and quick is hard. 00:32:31.000 |
But I was getting really hung up all week on this, getting stuck. 00:32:35.000 |
My notes got longer and longer and longer, so I will try to go through this quick. 00:32:48.000 |
Starting in Genesis 37, we see that Jacob has 12 sons that are mentioned. 00:32:55.000 |
Four wives, Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah. 00:32:59.000 |
Leah has the following, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah. 00:33:09.000 |
Bilhah is Rachel's maidservant, has Dan and Naphtali. 00:33:13.000 |
And Zilpah, who is Leah's maidservant, has Gad and Asher. 00:33:21.000 |
I've been watching a lot of Korean dramas lately. 00:33:24.000 |
And, you know, for those of you who watch Korean dramas, 00:33:27.000 |
there's a reason why Koreans are very dramatic, you know. 00:33:31.000 |
Very, very, you know, there's a lot of emotion going on, because there's always drama. 00:33:39.000 |
For me, like, this story is like Korean drama on steroids. 00:33:46.000 |
Well, part of it, he was kind of messed up himself. 00:33:57.000 |
He ends up with his uncle, Laban, who is also a deceitful man. 00:34:01.000 |
He falls in love with Rachel, so he wants to marry her. 00:34:07.000 |
And after seven years, they're having their wedding ceremony, 00:34:10.000 |
and he finds out the next morning he's married to Leah. 00:34:15.000 |
I mean, for those of you who are single, imagine that happening. 00:34:19.000 |
I mean, they did things a little differently. 00:34:21.000 |
You didn't see her face, I guess, until the next morning. 00:34:24.000 |
And you wake up, and you're like, "Hey, hey, you're not the right one." 00:34:32.000 |
But Jacob agrees to work seven more years so he can marry Rachel. 00:34:41.000 |
Because she is barren, she gives her maidservant to Jacob 00:34:53.000 |
I mean, some of you who think your family life is messy, compare it to this. 00:35:02.000 |
Rachel ends up having Joseph, but when she gives birth to Benjamin, she dies. 00:35:07.000 |
And so these 12 brothers and one sister are growing up in this family, 00:35:20.000 |
Genesis 37.3, "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, 00:35:25.000 |
because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a very colored tunic. 00:35:30.000 |
And his father saw that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, 00:35:35.000 |
so they hated him and could not speak to him in peace." 00:35:41.000 |
Parents showing favoritism to one of the children, bad. 00:35:47.000 |
Maybe some of you come from a family, no one will admit it, right? 00:35:50.000 |
Parents will always say, "No, we love you all equally." 00:35:53.000 |
But you secretly wonder, "No, I think you favor someone." 00:35:58.000 |
Maybe there are three girls and one boy, at least in Korean culture. 00:36:04.000 |
It's like the boy is always supposed to be the favorite one, 00:36:07.000 |
so the girls might think, "Dad obviously loves the son more." 00:36:19.000 |
He gets him this--we don't know exactly what it looked like. 00:36:23.000 |
I can only imagine it was very fancy and different from what his brothers had. 00:36:28.000 |
They didn't have a lot of choices back then, too. 00:36:32.000 |
I have a daughter who goes to FIT in New York, 00:36:35.000 |
and I'm learning more about fashion than I have ever cared to know 00:36:44.000 |
So imagine Joseph walking around in this coat, 00:36:51.000 |
It's almost as if it's being rubbed in every day. 00:37:19.000 |
This is really just stoking the anger in his brothers. 00:37:24.000 |
In Genesis 37 and 8, his brother said to him, 00:37:27.000 |
"Are you really going to reign over us, or are you really going to rule over us?" 00:37:32.000 |
So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 00:37:43.000 |
In fact, there was one book I found that said, "From brat to something." 00:37:47.000 |
It's like, wow, that's kind of a harsh judgment. 00:38:04.000 |
But as a 17-year-old--I don't know if there are any 17-year-olds. 00:38:07.000 |
I don't know if you have all the wisdom in the world to know how to handle this 00:38:21.000 |
He has another dream--next slide--dream of the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him. 00:38:26.000 |
And now even Jacob, his father, says, "Rebuked him." 00:38:33.000 |
But it says that he kind of kept these things in his mind. 00:38:44.000 |
But his brothers, in Genesis 37, 11, it says his brothers were jealous of him. 00:39:03.000 |
They were probably jealous about these dreams too 00:39:10.000 |
Is Joseph really going to be the one who rules over us? 00:39:15.000 |
Who is he to think that he has any kind of position like this? 00:39:23.000 |
Or was it that the brothers' hearts were evil, 00:39:26.000 |
full of envy, jealousy, reflecting their lack of fearing God? 00:39:31.000 |
You know, I'm sure that Jacob had shared with all of his children 00:39:34.000 |
the covenant promises that had been passed down from Abraham to Isaac to him. 00:39:47.000 |
They had all the information, the same information that Joseph had. 00:40:03.000 |
They ended up selling their own brother into slavery. 00:40:07.000 |
You know, there's kind of a big clue you can see from two of them at least, 00:40:12.000 |
In Genesis 34, there's the story of Shechem who falls in love with Dinah, 00:40:24.000 |
So long story short, the sons of Jacob make a deal and say, 00:40:28.000 |
"Well, okay, if you want your people to marry our people, 00:40:38.000 |
Now, that's an awkward topic to talk about at church. 00:40:44.000 |
These are grown men who are going to be subjected to this process. 00:40:53.000 |
And in Genesis 34, it says, "On the third day, while they were in pain, 00:41:04.000 |
Simeon and Levi went and slaughtered all the men." 00:41:14.000 |
James Boyce writes this regarding the misuse of appealing to the issue of circumcision. 00:41:24.000 |
The sign of the covenant of God was appropriated by Shechem to gratify his lust, 00:41:29.000 |
by Hamer, the father of Shechem, to increase his cattle, 00:41:32.000 |
and by the sons of Jacob as a cover for murder. 00:41:36.000 |
All had sinful motives, but of all the evil that of the sons of Jacob was worse, 00:41:41.000 |
they used the pledge of God's favor, circumcision, 00:41:52.000 |
They used God's covenant symbol to kill all the men. 00:41:59.000 |
That's why later on in Genesis 49, when Jacob is giving the blessing to all his sons, 00:42:04.000 |
he doesn't give a blessing to Simeon and Levi. 00:42:16.000 |
Let not my glory be united with their assembly, 00:42:31.000 |
I will divide them amongst Jacob and scatter them in Israel." 00:42:37.000 |
when Joseph chooses one of the brothers to stay behind in Egypt, 00:42:46.000 |
We don't know if Simeon did anything particularly direct toward Joseph, 00:42:52.000 |
but he was an example of how evil a brother he was. 00:43:08.000 |
One day, Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers. 00:43:32.000 |
he tries to save Joseph's life by suggesting they just throw him in a pit, 00:43:36.000 |
as he would have the intention to rescue Joseph later. 00:43:39.000 |
But, while he is gone sometime in the interval, 00:43:42.000 |
his brothers see an opportunity to make money. 00:43:45.000 |
So, they sell Joseph to traders on their way to Egypt. 00:43:49.000 |
So, Joseph has now literally gone from being the favored one, 00:43:59.000 |
This is not what Joseph had planned for his life. 00:44:05.000 |
if you're 17, you're getting ready to go to college, 00:44:24.000 |
It shows that he really had the gift of administration and managing. 00:44:30.000 |
In fact, he takes care of everything so well, 00:44:32.000 |
that all Potiphar had to care about was what he ate. 00:44:48.000 |
And, at one point, when everyone is outside of the house, 00:45:07.000 |
And so, there's the next slide where he is tempted. 00:45:19.000 |
It's interesting that he was thrown into prison. 00:45:22.000 |
Potiphar could have easily had Joseph executed, 00:45:30.000 |
And, again, we don't have enough information here, 00:46:17.000 |
Joseph is preparing for what he will be doing later. 00:46:27.000 |
Maybe God is using these situations to teach him 00:47:16.000 |
Joseph tells him that the dreams are one and the same. 00:47:23.000 |
Joseph is raised up to be prime minister of Egypt. 00:47:43.000 |
"Now Joseph was the one in power over the land. 00:47:45.000 |
He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. 00:47:48.000 |
And, Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him 00:48:17.000 |
And, it says there that Joseph remembered his dreams. 00:48:55.000 |
He was testing them to see who would go get Benjamin. 00:49:09.000 |
He says, "Okay, I'll keep one of you and send the rest." 00:49:20.000 |
This is something that's revealing the heart of the brothers. 00:49:46.000 |
But, they tell Jacob, "We need to take Benjamin." 00:49:50.000 |
And, finally, when he comes, and again, more to the story, 00:49:57.000 |
And, he ends up bringing Jacob and his family, all of them, to Egypt. 00:50:01.000 |
So, that they would be cared for during the years of famine. 00:50:08.000 |
If you look at Genesis chapter 50, there are just two points I want to really draw you to. 00:50:19.000 |
You know, if there's anything that you can be sure about, evil is real. 00:50:30.000 |
You know, as a pastor, that's one of the things I have to do a lot of counseling. 00:50:46.000 |
I mean, there are only four human beings on the planet. 00:50:53.000 |
He was envious of him because God accepted his sacrifice. 00:51:11.000 |
Have you ever had thoughts of maybe at least hitting them? 00:51:34.000 |
You know, in Genesis chapter 3, when Adam and Eve, they're still in the garden. 00:51:40.000 |
And, Satan tempts Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:52:06.000 |
And, when sin enslaves you, evil words, evil thoughts, evil deeds all come out. 00:52:17.000 |
You know, Joseph's brothers, they never fully dealt with the evil in their hearts until the very end. 00:52:26.000 |
Because, when Jacob dies, they're afraid that Joseph is going to take revenge. 00:52:34.000 |
And, they thought maybe he didn't do anything because dad was here. 00:52:39.000 |
But, now that dad is gone, what if he takes revenge? 00:52:45.000 |
What it reveals is that they had fear in their hearts. 00:52:54.000 |
In Genesis 45, it says when he revealed himself, he wept. 00:53:07.000 |
And yet, 17 years later, they're still scared. 00:53:13.000 |
Why? They had never themselves fully confessed their sin toward Joseph. 00:53:20.000 |
In fact, in Genesis 50, when their father is dead, they send a message to Joseph. 00:53:31.000 |
In Genesis 50.17, in the message, it says, "This is what our father has commanded. 00:53:36.000 |
Thus, you shall say to Joseph, 'Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin. 00:54:09.000 |
But, it was the right time for them now to finally confess. 00:54:14.000 |
So, that's why in Genesis 50.20, he says, "As for you, you meant evil against me." 00:54:53.000 |
But, then becoming a pastor, I wish you could do a TV series on Korean church drama. 00:55:11.000 |
I mean, in church planting, it's been difficult. 00:55:14.000 |
Because, in every church, there's been betrayal. 00:55:18.000 |
And, betrayal only happens when they're your close friend. 00:55:26.000 |
There are times where I just could not understand why. 00:55:33.000 |
As man is doing evil, God is working out good. 00:55:39.000 |
Somehow, in God's mysterious providence, he exercises his sovereignty. 00:55:44.000 |
So, in ways that we cannot see, God's goodness is going to prevail. 00:56:18.000 |
Do you think Joseph knew where he was heading with all this? 00:56:39.000 |
But, he's especially a savior for his family. 00:56:51.000 |
So, even though all this evil is happening, God is accomplishing good. 00:57:00.000 |
In verses 19 to 21, there's such perspective. 00:57:07.000 |
Verse 19 of Genesis 50, "But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place?'" 00:57:36.000 |
Yes, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. 00:57:41.000 |
You know, there's so many times people question the goodness of God. 00:57:50.000 |
There are times I would just be in despair, because I couldn't understand. 00:57:57.000 |
If God is so good, why does he let these things happen? 00:58:02.000 |
You know, for an unbeliever, they will question God's goodness when there are hard times. 00:58:21.000 |
If you're a Christian, could you say these words? 00:58:34.000 |
Even through the suffering, the injustice, the false accusations, the disappointment, the loneliness. 00:58:49.000 |
I think it was Joel Beakey who said that even if they had a Bible, it would only have gone up to Genesis chapter 36. 00:58:55.000 |
But, they didn't have things like that back then, like we do. 00:59:02.000 |
And, what was the one truth that he really understood? 00:59:13.000 |
I mean, even as you could imagine Joseph pondering the question, "God, why?" 00:59:35.000 |
Verse 7, "God sent me before you to establish for you a remnant." 00:59:41.000 |
He didn't know it at the time, but as he looks back. 00:59:44.000 |
And, see, that's when you can look back and see God's providential leading in your life. 00:59:48.000 |
He is the one taking you down the path that you have gone. 00:59:54.000 |
He was taken 300 miles away from his home into slavery to serve Potter for languish in prison. 01:00:05.000 |
And, for about 14 years, as he went through all the hardships, 01:00:10.000 |
he was sustained by the truth that God always means good. 01:00:18.000 |
James Boyce writes this, "What gave Joseph the grace to make this remarkable reply? 01:00:28.000 |
He knew that God is sovereign, that nothing ever comes into the life of any one of his children 01:00:37.000 |
He knew that God is good, therefore the things that come into our lives by God's sovereignty 01:00:41.000 |
are for our benefit, and for others, and not for our harm." 01:00:49.000 |
Romans wasn't written yet, but if there is one verse that Joseph could have said he stood on, 01:01:02.000 |
"And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, 01:01:05.000 |
for those who are called according to his purpose." 01:01:12.000 |
That they would become conformed to the image of his son. 01:01:17.000 |
That's something I want to really encourage you to consider. 01:01:21.000 |
Well, you're not going to know all the answers to that, 01:01:27.000 |
God wants to conform you into the image of his son. 01:01:32.000 |
So everything, it is not accidental, everything you go through is meant to point you to Christ, 01:01:40.000 |
to trust him, to love him, to follow him, and to be like him. 01:01:49.000 |
Now, of course, we're still humans, and we struggle. 01:01:55.000 |
Well, real quickly, let's look at the third point, the last point, the example of Joseph. 01:02:01.000 |
I'm going to highlight four things about him. 01:02:04.000 |
And overall, Joseph ultimately showed he lived a life of faith. 01:02:15.000 |
First, Joseph truly lived a God-centered life. 01:02:20.000 |
There are so many verses here where I could reference, but I'll just mention a few. 01:02:23.000 |
When he's talking to Potiphar's wife, as she's trying to tempt him, his response is, 01:02:28.000 |
"How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?" 01:02:38.000 |
And when the cupbearer and the baker come, and they tell him his dreams in Genesis 40, 01:02:43.000 |
he says, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" 01:02:49.000 |
God was the one who gave him the interpretations. 01:02:53.000 |
And even when he faces Pharaoh in Genesis 41, 16, he says, "It is not in me. 01:03:00.000 |
You see, everything about Joseph was about God. 01:03:11.000 |
Even when he named his children, God gives him a wife and two sons. 01:03:19.000 |
And it means, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." 01:03:25.000 |
And every time he looked at Manasseh, he probably couldn't imagine, "I can't believe I'm here. 01:03:37.000 |
"God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." 01:03:41.000 |
You see, even in his children, he recognizes God's hand at work. 01:03:50.000 |
Second, Joseph had God's providence at the center of his perspective. 01:04:00.000 |
But imagine if you wake up each day and start off with this commitment. 01:04:06.000 |
"God, I know you mean today for good, no matter what happens. 01:04:16.000 |
Even if someone treats me with evil, even with murderous intentions." 01:04:25.000 |
You never know who's going to stab you in the back. 01:04:38.000 |
"I will see God's providential hand at work, that he is working out good." 01:04:45.000 |
You know, when I was in Korea a few weeks ago, 01:04:56.000 |
I was at a church in Maryland, and that church destroyed me. 01:05:02.000 |
And because of that church, I didn't want to be a pastor anymore. 01:05:13.000 |
Then I thought planting a second-generation church would be better. 01:05:22.000 |
But I had to work out this bitterness and resentment in my heart. 01:05:27.000 |
To say I'm racist against only one race, Koreans. 01:05:35.000 |
Then I read Romans 9 and saw Paul's heart for his own people. 01:05:46.000 |
Paul wished he could go to hell for his own people. 01:05:55.000 |
He used the crushing of my life during that time 01:05:59.000 |
to help me see his grace and mercy in even a greater way. 01:06:04.000 |
Several years ago, I had several herniated discs. 01:06:21.000 |
My oldest daughter walked away from the faith. 01:06:26.000 |
It is the most heartbreaking thing in my life. 01:06:40.000 |
And even in that, I have to trust God is intending good. 01:06:54.000 |
If you can wake up each day and end each day, 01:06:58.000 |
say, "God, I trust that you are working out good." 01:07:04.000 |
Thirdly, Joseph had a love of God continually expressed. 01:07:11.000 |
"So now do not be afraid, for I will provide for you and your little ones." 01:07:15.000 |
And he comforted them and spoke to their heart. 01:07:24.000 |
Not only did he forgive them, he reassured them. 01:07:31.000 |
And he says, "Not only am I going to take care of you, 01:07:41.000 |
There's something about the love of Christ being expressed 01:07:44.000 |
in such a way that you speak to someone's heart, 01:08:01.000 |
He was a typical Korean man, first generation, only cared about school. 01:08:04.000 |
I talked to him twice a year, report car time. 01:08:18.000 |
I used to think, "God, I'm not going to pray for my dad anymore 01:08:24.000 |
So maybe if I stop praying, he won't get worse." 01:08:31.000 |
But even through that, God provided such perspective. 01:08:36.000 |
He passed away a few years ago, but God changed his life. 01:08:41.000 |
He was such a gentle person, so kind, taught me so much. 01:08:52.000 |
He had three brothers who made his life miserable, 01:08:55.000 |
but he showed such grace and kindness to them. 01:08:58.000 |
Lastly, Joseph lived with God's presence always in mind. 01:09:03.000 |
There are a number of times, Genesis 39.2, it says this, 01:09:09.000 |
Genesis 39.3, "Now his master saw that Yahweh was with him." 01:09:13.000 |
Genesis 39.5, "Yahweh blessed the Egyptians' house on account of Joseph." 01:09:27.000 |
I appreciate that the covenant name of God is used here 01:09:35.000 |
Joseph had something that brought complete confidence and assurance to him. 01:09:42.000 |
The covenant name of God, the name that was given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 01:09:49.000 |
that was passed down, that he had cut a covenant with Abraham unilaterally, 01:10:08.000 |
These are the ways in which Joseph was able to face all the hardships of his life. 01:10:23.000 |
You can show the last slide--next slide, sorry. 01:10:31.000 |
God was working out good through the whole process. 01:10:35.000 |
So if you look at the arc of his life, the pit, prison, 01:10:52.000 |
The Scottish minister, Andrew Bonar, in his Bible, 01:11:00.000 |
"A pillow upon which the troubled believer may rest his head." 01:11:07.000 |
A couple years ago, I was listening to the sermon by another pastor 01:11:16.000 |
I don't sleep so well, and I've tried many pillows. 01:11:19.000 |
I don't know if any of you have problems with pillows. 01:11:31.000 |
When you lie your head down at night, you can put your head down. 01:11:39.000 |
because you know that God is working out all things for good 01:11:43.000 |
to those who love him and are called according to his purpose. 01:11:58.000 |
if there's anyone here who does not know Christ as Savior and Lord, 01:12:02.000 |
it is hard to make sense of the hardships of life. 01:12:06.000 |
And apart from Christ, there actually is no answer. 01:12:13.000 |
But in Christ, we know that we have forgiveness of sins. 01:12:21.000 |
Even those as evil as Joseph's brothers could be saved from their sins. 01:12:28.000 |
Joseph was still a sinner. He needed to be saved too. 01:12:42.000 |
Joseph, in many ways, is a picture of Christ as a Savior. 01:13:03.000 |
And he presents the free gift of eternal life. 01:13:07.000 |
If we come and repent, trust in him alone, and follow him. 01:13:16.000 |
And for you, believer, be assured that in the midst of maybe all the things you're going through in life now, 01:13:35.000 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you so much that we have been given this time. 01:13:38.000 |
Thank you for the life of Joseph, which is such a beautiful picture of one who ultimately did trust you. 01:13:45.000 |
He trusted in your providential hand, even though he couldn't see. 01:13:52.000 |
We thank you for the great example that Joseph knew that you were with him every step of the way. 01:14:09.000 |
And he did that to show an example to us so that we, too, might be like him. 01:14:15.000 |
That we would know that you always mean good, even though people mean evil. 01:14:22.000 |
May we trust you as we face the challenges of life and know that it is enough. 01:14:35.000 |
So may we look to the great truth that all things do work together for a good, 01:14:41.000 |
for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. 01:14:45.000 |
May you imprint that on our hearts and minds. 01:17:36.000 |
When I pass through death, as I enter Christ, 01:20:30.000 |
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly 01:20:41.000 |
to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus 01:21:46.000 |
And life is worth living just because he lives.