>> All right, I have the pleasure of introducing our guest speaker today. This is Pastor John Kim. Yes, you can be seated, sorry. He's from Lighthouse Bible Church in LA. He graduated from UCLA and then Master's Seminary. He went on to plant Lighthouse Bible Church San Diego in 1998, eventually planting also in San Jose and later in LA.

He has been shepherding the congregation and also developing and training pastors for church ministry. Pastor John has been married to his wife, Angela, for 35 years. And he's a father to four daughters, Jenna, Kara, Alyssa, and Olivia. So why don't we give him a warm welcome as he comes on stage.

Thank you. >> Thank you, Nathan. Well, it's good to be here with all of you here at Berean. I think I spoke at a retreat like in the early 2000s. So some of you might not have been quite yet born or alive yet long. But it is good to be here.

I bring greetings from Lighthouse Bible Church LA. As Nathan mentioned, I've been serving there now for about ten years, been in church planting. And I think that's one thing I learned about church planting. It's hard. And Pastor Peter, he told me when we were gonna go plant in San Jose, he's like, are you crazy?

What are you doing? But somehow God has truly been gracious and provided many, many opportunities for his work to be done. I have a slide of my family. Not only do I have four daughters. Yes, I just celebrated my 35th anniversary with my wife, Angela. We have a son-in-law, our second daughter, married a guy from the Czech Republic, Vasek.

And they have two little boys. So we are grandparents. And it's still kind of weird. When I hear grandparent, I think really old. And then I guess I'm old. So they're not able to be here with me today. Actually, Benny, my oldest grandson, last night he got sick. You could be praying for him.

Pastor Peter has really been a wonderful friend for many years. Great encouragement. We actually were in Korea a few weeks ago during the same time. I think you guys had a team out there. We were trying to connect and get together. But it was a little too hectic. So we're actually having lunch this Thursday.

So I'm looking forward to that. I also know Pastor Nathaniel and Keziah. They were in college when I was pastoring in San Diego. And so I got to see them when they were very young. And we actually just had dinner with them a couple weeks ago. And seeing them now married with their children, seeing the faithful ministry that they're doing here has been a great encouragement.

I also know Pastor Mark and Bia. They have family members at Lighthouse San Diego. So I got to know them during their many visits. I don't know if she's here at this service, but I have a niece here, Annabelle. And so I'm excited to see her at this service or next service.

And I know a number of you as well. Or I think I know your parents. That's kind of strange now. But how it works now, I know many of them are at the retreat. So it's really a privilege to be here. And I do want to give a shout-out to Chester and Nathan.

I don't know if they're here. Oh, right there? Okay. Yeah, I saw them last Sunday. They were visiting Lighthouse LA. And so good to see you two weeks in a row. Well, something I like to do to remember churches that I have preached at is I'd like to take a picture of you.

So if you could just stay still, I'm going to take a panorama shot. Okay, here we go. Smile. Don't move. All right. Thank you. I'm going to be reading from Genesis chapter 50 from verses 15 to 21 to start off our time. The title is "God-Mented for Good." We're going to be looking at the story of Joseph.

Genesis 50, starting from verse 15. "Then Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead. And they said, 'What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and returns back to us all the evil which we dealt against him?' So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, 'Your father commanded before he died, saying, "Thus you shall say to Joseph, 'Please forgive.

I beg you the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they dealt evil against you. So now please forgive the transgression of the slaves of the God of your father.' And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, 'Behold, we are your slaves.' But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place?

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to do what has happened on this day, to keep many people alive. So now do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones.' And he comforted them and spoke to their heart." Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we ask you now as we come to your word, may you cleanse our hearts from sin, may you fill us with your Holy Spirit, and may you bring conviction to our hearts and minds to learn what your truth has for us this morning. May we consider how great you are and how gracious you are that you might give us this time together.

So may you help each person here in this room to receive your truth so that each of us might be changed to become more like Christ, to your glory, in Jesus' name, amen. I would like to ask you a maybe somewhat controversial question that might challenge you. Are you a closet prosperity gospel supporter?

Now I think you guys are a pretty solid church. You have very wonderful pastors who are committed to teaching you God's word, and I would assume you know your stuff. But I ask this because even with all those things, and as a pastor, one thing I always wonder is, so how do people actually live?

How do you take God's truth and how do you actually apply it? You might affirm it. You might agree with it. You might say, "Yes, I go to Berean. I believe in God, the authority of God's word. I believe in the gospel." But then when you look at your everyday life, do you fit the profile of what some call the typical SoCal Christian?

Now what's the SoCal Christian? The SoCal Christian is--and I'm one of them. I'm here. I'm in SoCal too. We're kind of used to the nice life. We're used to nice weather. We're used to having plenty of things to do. There's always good food to eat. There are people to meet.

I mean I don't think there's really maybe any better place in the world to really live and enjoy the good things of life, at least as the world considers it, compared to SoCal. But when it comes to Christianity, there's a perception that SoCal Christians are kind of soft. Why?

Because we like the comfortable life. We like the convenient life. We like a life with no problems. We like a life with a lot of conveniences. Could it be that there is a not-so-subtle rejection of the call to suffer for the sake of Christ? Or maybe at least we think that the good life that we think God will give us is a life that is actually prosperous.

I mean think about the things that many people pray for. God, help me get into a good school. God, help me to get a good job. God, help me to find a spouse. God, help me this. God, help me that. But for what end? Do we realize that God has actually called us to a life of suffering?

Philippians 1:29-30 says, "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same struggle which you saw in me and now hear to be in me." The Apostle Paul makes it very clear that to believe in Jesus, you are not only granted the gift of salvation, but you are granted the privilege to suffer for the sake of Jesus.

Now, how many of us think that that's a privilege? We like to read stories of other people suffering. Ooh, that's tough. But God, thank you, I'm not the example. I'd rather have other people be that example. Jesus states it clearly himself in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5.

Matthew 5.10, he says, "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." So there's something very distinctive.

A confessing Christian should be able to show in his life that you know that there will be suffering, persecution, hardships, and you also have been shown how to respond. Later on in Matthew 5, verse 43, Jesus says, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.

For he causes his son to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?

Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" In other words, Jesus is saying your life's supposed to be different. There should be something that really stands out, especially in light of suffering. Life brings many tests and challenges. There are challenges that come with prosperity. There are challenges that come with suffering.

Now, I don't think we mind necessarily the prosperity part. I mean, at the least we get something out of it. I mean, I just went to Korea, like I said, a few weeks ago, and the thing I was really starting to think about during that trip was the Korean food is great.

I love Korean food. But I was dying for a burger, a very specific burger, In-N-Out burger. I was also dying for a burrito. And my daughters very kindly, when my wife and I returned, they got both. And so I was so thankful. Thank you, God, for letting us live in Southern California where we have wonderful Mexican food and wonderful In-N-Out.

When there are the tests of suffering, though, I think there's something about suffering that reveals the true character of people. You might have gone through some hardships, maybe growing up. Maybe you are even going through some hardships even now. And it's always interesting to watch how people respond to hard times.

I think if you're like most people, including myself, it's very easy to complain, to grumble, to maybe even start blaming God. "God, why? Why? Why are you letting me go through these things?" Then there are sinful responses, getting angry, showing hatred toward people, refusing to forgive, and justifying it all by saying, "Well, you know, it's just hard.

You don't understand what I'm going through." When you read a story like Joseph in the Bible, we might think that while there's obviously the possibility of suffering in life, injustice, hatred, envy, all the ways in which others can hurt you, people can definitely make your life miserable. But in the end, do we have an expectation that God's going to just make all the problems get resolved?

That it's all going to turn good? I mean, we love those kind of stories, don't we? We like the rags to riches story. Someone who starts off poor, ends up a king. You know, I watched a lot of princess movies with my daughters growing up. In fact, every one.

I watched the entire Barbie series. You know, I grew up with just brothers. It was a whole different world. But watching all the Disney movies and so forth, there's a common theme in many of them, right? There's someone who's in hardship, but then they attain to prosperity at the end.

And maybe, and that's what I'm talking about, maybe we're closet prosperity gospel people, because deep down inside, we kind of just want the story to end well. Okay, maybe there's some suffering, maybe there's some hardship, but it's all going to end up well, right? And it's not that God cannot provide blessings in that way.

But are you going to really get the happily ever after? How about the Apostle Paul? Did he get a happily ever after? He ended up in jail and martyred. I mean, I thought if anyone needed a sabbatical, it was Apostle Paul. If anyone deserved to go to a retirement home and end up getting some rest, the Apostle Paul.

But no, to the end, he is suffering. Now, I really like the story of Joseph. It's one of my favorites because his life is an example of how one responds to suffering, how one trusts in the providence of God amidst hardship after hardship. Now, this is going to be a little hard to do.

I'm going to try to do a quick overview of his life, and quick is hard. But I was getting really hung up all week on this, getting stuck. My notes got longer and longer and longer, so I will try to go through this quick. But I have some slides.

So the slide after, yeah, first one. You all start there. Starting in Genesis 37, we see that Jacob has 12 sons that are mentioned. Four wives, Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah. Leah has the following, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah. Rachel has Joseph and Benjamin.

Bilhah is Rachel's maidservant, has Dan and Naphtali. And Zilpah, who is Leah's maidservant, has Gad and Asher. Four wives, 12 sons, one daughter. I've been watching a lot of Korean dramas lately. And, you know, for those of you who watch Korean dramas, there's a reason why Koreans are very dramatic, you know.

Very, very, you know, there's a lot of emotion going on, because there's always drama. There's always crazy drama. For me, like, this story is like Korean drama on steroids. Four wives. I mean, what was Jacob thinking? Well, part of it, he was kind of messed up himself. He was a deceiver.

He stole his brother's birthright. He stole his brother's blessing. He ends up having to leave home. He ends up with his uncle, Laban, who is also a deceitful man. He falls in love with Rachel, so he wants to marry her. So Laban says, "Work for me seven years." And after seven years, they're having their wedding ceremony, and he finds out the next morning he's married to Leah.

I mean, for those of you who are single, imagine that happening. I mean, they did things a little differently. You didn't see her face, I guess, until the next morning. And you wake up, and you're like, "Hey, hey, you're not the right one." Leah is unloved. But Jacob agrees to work seven more years so he can marry Rachel.

Rachel is loved, but she is barren. Because she is barren, she gives her maidservant to Jacob so that she could have children through her. Leah ends up doing the same thing. This is a messy family. I mean, some of you who think your family life is messy, compare it to this.

Imagine growing up in that household. Rachel ends up having Joseph, but when she gives birth to Benjamin, she dies. And so these 12 brothers and one sister are growing up in this family, this very dysfunctional family. On top of that, Jacob plays favorites. Genesis 37.3, "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a very colored tunic.

And his father saw that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, so they hated him and could not speak to him in peace." Parents showing favoritism to one of the children, bad. Maybe some of you come from a family, no one will admit it, right? Parents will always say, "No, we love you all equally." But you secretly wonder, "No, I think you favor someone." Maybe there are three girls and one boy, at least in Korean culture.

It's like the boy is always supposed to be the favorite one, so the girls might think, "Dad obviously loves the son more." Jacob actually didn't hide it. He gets him this--we don't know exactly what it looked like. I can only imagine it was very fancy and different from what his brothers had.

They didn't have a lot of choices back then, too. They didn't have any colors. I have a daughter who goes to FIT in New York, and I'm learning more about fashion than I have ever cared to know because there's so much involved. So imagine Joseph walking around in this coat, this bright, colorful coat that stands out.

It's almost as if it's being rubbed in every day. "I am the chosen one." Well, the anti-bills--go to the next slide. Joseph has a dream of sheaves. He says, "Hey, I had a dream of sheaves." He was referring to his brothers. "And your sheaves bowed down to mine." This is really just stoking the anger in his brothers.

In Genesis 37 and 8, his brother said to him, "Are you really going to reign over us, or are you really going to rule over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Now, we don't have a lot of detail. Some commentators say Joseph was a brat.

In fact, there was one book I found that said, "From brat to something." It's like, wow, that's kind of a harsh judgment. He was young for sure, definitely not wise. But who gave him the dream? God gave him the dream. Who knows? Maybe God asked him to share it.

But as a 17-year-old--I don't know if there are any 17-year-olds. I don't know if you have all the wisdom in the world to know how to handle this in this kind of family dynamic. But he shouldn't have been surprised. They already hated him. They hated him now even more.

He has another dream--next slide--dream of the sun, moon, and stars bowing down to him. And now even Jacob, his father, says, "Rebuked him." Are we all going to bow down to you, Joseph? But it says that he kind of kept these things in his mind. Jacob's like, "What's going on here?

Why is Joseph having these dreams?" But his brothers, in Genesis 37, 11, it says his brothers were jealous of him. So this relationship is bad. It's really bad. Now what were his brothers jealous about? They were probably jealous about his coat. They were probably jealous about these dreams too because there's something about them.

Is Joseph really going to be the one who rules over us? He's a young guy. Who is he to think that he has any kind of position like this? But was it Joseph's fault? Or was it that the brothers' hearts were evil, full of envy, jealousy, reflecting their lack of fearing God?

You know, I'm sure that Jacob had shared with all of his children the covenant promises that had been passed down from Abraham to Isaac to him. They surely must have heard all the stories. They had all the information, the same information that Joseph had. But what was their response?

They were hateful. They were jealous. In fact, they were murderous. They ended up selling their own brother into slavery. You know, there's kind of a big clue you can see from two of them at least, Simeon and Levi. In Genesis 34, there's the story of Shechem who falls in love with Dinah, the daughter of Jacob.

He lies with her, but he loves her. He wants to marry her. So long story short, the sons of Jacob make a deal and say, "Well, okay, if you want your people to marry our people, there's one condition. All the men need to be circumcised." Now, that's an awkward topic to talk about at church.

But think about this. These are grown men who are going to be subjected to this process. They agree to it. And in Genesis 34, it says, "On the third day, while they were in pain, Simeon and Levi went and slaughtered all the men." They killed them all. James Boyce writes this regarding the misuse of appealing to the issue of circumcision.

"The dreadful misuse of the holy. The sign of the covenant of God was appropriated by Shechem to gratify his lust, by Hamer, the father of Shechem, to increase his cattle, and by the sons of Jacob as a cover for murder. All had sinful motives, but of all the evil that of the sons of Jacob was worse, they used the pledge of God's favor, circumcision, to cloak their murderous intentions." That's how evil these guys were.

They used God's covenant symbol to kill all the men. That's why later on in Genesis 49, when Jacob is giving the blessing to all his sons, he doesn't give a blessing to Simeon and Levi. He says this, "Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are implements of violence. Let my soul not enter into their council.

Let not my glory be united with their assembly, because in their anger they killed men, and in their self-will they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel. I will divide them amongst Jacob and scatter them in Israel." It's interesting that later on in the story, when Joseph chooses one of the brothers to stay behind in Egypt, he chose Simeon.

Now, there's not much more information. We don't know if Simeon did anything particularly direct toward Joseph, but he was an example of how evil a brother he was. Next slide. There's a reversal of fortune. Joseph goes from becoming the favored son, with dreams of ruling over his family, to now being cast in a pit.

One day, Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers. They're shepherds. They're quite far away. He ends up locating them in Delphin. They see him from afar, and as he is approaching, they see him and they discuss killing him. Now, Reuben, who is the oldest, he tries to save Joseph's life by suggesting they just throw him in a pit, as he would have the intention to rescue Joseph later.

But, while he is gone sometime in the interval, his brothers see an opportunity to make money. So, they sell Joseph to traders on their way to Egypt. So, Joseph has now literally gone from being the favored one, to now being sold into slavery. This is quite a turn of events.

This is not what Joseph had planned for his life. It would be the equivalent of, if you're 17, you're getting ready to go to college, and instead of going to college, you get sold into slavery. So, Joseph is sold to Potiphar in Egypt. He's captain of the guard for Pharaoh.

Joseph is a gifted and talented man. It shows that he really had the gift of administration and managing. He becomes a steward of Potiphar's estate. In fact, he takes care of everything so well, that all Potiphar had to care about was what he ate. But, Potiphar had a wife.

Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph. She tries to seduce him daily. And, at one point, when everyone is outside of the house, she corners him, grabs him by his coat, says, "Lie with me." And, Joseph flees, leaving his coat behind. She falsely accuses him of rape, so he is thrown into prison.

And so, there's the next slide where he is tempted. And, he had done nothing wrong. He was a righteous man. It's interesting that he was thrown into prison. Potiphar could have easily had Joseph executed, even just if there was the accusation. Joseph was a slave. And, again, we don't have enough information here, but maybe Potiphar knew his wife.

Maybe he knew her character. So, he saw the integrity of Joseph. So, instead of having him executed, he put him in jail. But, even in jail. And so, from a human standpoint, there's a fall from grace. You can go to the next slide. This false accusation takes Joseph, who has now kind of gone up the ladder.

He's the overseer of Potiphar's estates. He's now a prisoner in jail. Just when you think Joseph gets a break, it goes bad again. But, even when he is in jail, he shows his integrity. He shows his skills. He ends up taking care of the entire prison. And, what's interesting is, both in Potiphar's estate and in prison, Joseph is preparing for what he will be doing later.

And, that is to manage all of Egypt. Maybe God is using these situations to teach him how to deal with people, how to deal with situations, as he is given the great task. While he is in jail, next slide, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, Topher, were thrown out of the prison.

They both have dreams. Joseph interprets both their dreams, and they come to pass. The cupbearer is restored, and the baker is executed. He implores the cupbearer to remember him, to say, "I was unjustly put in prison. Please advocate for me." But, it says that the cupbearer forgot him. So, he is in prison for two more years.

But, then Pharaoh has two dreams. Next slide. No one can interpret them. And, the chief cupbearer remembers and tells Pharaoh about Joseph. Joseph tells him that the dreams are one and the same. Seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of famine. And so, because of this, Joseph is raised up to be prime minister of Egypt.

As time goes by, the seven years of plenty pass, and then the famine comes. And, because of the famine, his brothers come. Next slide. And, in Genesis 42, verse 6, it says this, "Now Joseph was the one in power over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land.

And, Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground." What has just happened? It must have been such a surreal moment. The brothers don't recognize Joseph because he's an Egyptian garb. He looks like an Egyptian. They think he's dead. But, Joseph recognizes them. But, what happens is his dream is fulfilled.

His brothers are face down on the ground. And, it says there that Joseph remembered his dreams. But, he doesn't reveal himself immediately. Why? Because he's going to test them to see if they've changed. They tell about their brother Benjamin. They say that there is one who is no more.

That's referring to Joseph. He accuses them of being spies. And, he says, "Well, this is what we'll do. I'm going to keep nine of you. I'm sorry, ten of you. And, we'll have you go. Nine of you. And, we'll send one." He was testing them to see who would go get Benjamin.

And, it's interesting to know. Wadi Bakr, in his message on this, says, "No one volunteered to go get Benjamin." Three days later, he changes his mind. He says, "Okay, I'll keep one of you and send the rest." Who will stay? No one volunteers to stay either. This is something that's revealing the heart of the brothers.

Because, after they leave, the test is, would they come back for Simeon? He keeps Simeon. These brothers are messed up. They don't care for Benjamin. They don't care for Simeon. They only care for themselves. They go back. And, there's so much more to the story here. They run out of food.

They have to go back again. But, they tell Jacob, "We need to take Benjamin." So, Jacob agrees. And, finally, when he comes, and again, more to the story, Joseph reveals himself. And, he ends up bringing Jacob and his family, all of them, to Egypt. So, that they would be cared for during the years of famine.

If you look at Genesis chapter 50, there are just two points I want to really draw you to. First, the brothers meant evil. The brothers meant evil. You know, if there's anything that you can be sure about, evil is real. And, you know what? Evil can happen even in your family.

You know, as a pastor, that's one of the things I have to do a lot of counseling. You know, family issues. There can be hatred and jealousy. Even murder. I mean, think about Cain and Abel. I mean, there are only four human beings on the planet. And, Cain hated Abel.

He was envious of him because God accepted his sacrifice. So, what does he do? He kills him. How do you do that? I mean, how many of you have siblings? So, at least you have siblings. Don't raise your hand on this though. Have you ever had thoughts of maybe at least hitting them?

Yeah, maybe take a shot at them. But, how about killing them? Those were the brothers of Joseph. They hated him. They were envious. They sold him into slavery. You know, in Genesis chapter 3, when Adam and Eve, they're still in the garden. And, Satan tempts Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

She eats it. Adam eats it. And, now they know evil. It's not just they know it. They are it. There's now evil in their hearts. Sin has enslaved them. And, when sin enslaves you, evil words, evil thoughts, evil deeds all come out. Why? Because of an evil heart. You know, Joseph's brothers, they never fully dealt with the evil in their hearts until the very end.

Genesis 50. Because, when Jacob dies, they're afraid that Joseph is going to take revenge. They know that Joseph loved Jacob. And, they thought maybe he didn't do anything because dad was here. But, now that dad is gone, what if he takes revenge? What it reveals is that they had fear in their hearts.

Joseph had already forgiven them. He had already restored them. In Genesis 45, it says when he revealed himself, he wept. He wept on their necks. He welcomed them. He talked to each one of them. He forgave them. And yet, 17 years later, they're still scared. Why? They had never themselves fully confessed their sin toward Joseph.

In fact, in Genesis 50, when their father is dead, they send a message to Joseph. They still can't even tell him directly. In Genesis 50.17, in the message, it says, "This is what our father has commanded. Thus, you shall say to Joseph, 'Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin.

For they dealt evil against you.'" Now, they are actually communicating. They're owning up to their evil. They knew they were evil. And, they knew Joseph had shown them grace. Joseph wept when he heard these words. Why? Because his heart must have been broken. He had already forgiven them. But, it was the right time for them now to finally confess.

So, that's why in Genesis 50.20, he says, "As for you, you meant evil against me." He recognizes it. They were indeed evil. They were truly evil. There was nothing positive about them. But still, he forgave them. He restored them. To me, that's such an amazing picture. I have extended family.

We have quite a lot of drama in my family. It's a large family. There's enough drama there. But, then becoming a pastor, I wish you could do a TV series on Korean church drama. Because, it's even better than what's there. Like, reality is stranger than fiction. There's been so much pain and hurt.

I mean, in church planting, it's been difficult. Because, in every church, there's been betrayal. And, betrayal only happens when they're your close friend. There are times where I just could not understand why. I could not understand why. But, here's the reality. As man is doing evil, God is working out good.

Somehow, in God's mysterious providence, he exercises his sovereignty. So, in ways that we cannot see, God's goodness is going to prevail. Next slide. This is called the doctrine of concurrence. God is working. And, I am working. I don't see everything that God is doing. Because, I'm limited by my humanity.

I'm finite. I'm linear. I can only see from this point on. I can't see the future. But, God has the whole picture in mind. And, he has good in store. Do you think Joseph knew where he was heading with all this? When he got sold into slavery? When he went into prison?

He had no idea. But, God did. God had something good. Joseph literally becomes a savior for Egypt. But, he's especially a savior for his family. Small S savior. There's only one big S savior. So, even though all this evil is happening, God is accomplishing good. Next slide. In verses 19 to 21, there's such perspective.

Verse 19 of Genesis 50, "But Joseph said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place?'" That's something so important to understand. Joseph himself knew he was not in control. He was not the one in power. He didn't have the authority. I'm not God. So, don't be afraid.

Brothers, do not be afraid. I know I am not in God's place. Yes, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. You know, there's so many times people question the goodness of God. Maybe you even question the goodness of God. I've questioned the goodness of God.

There are times I would just be in despair, because I couldn't understand. I couldn't understand what was going on. If God is so good, why does he let these things happen? You know, for an unbeliever, they will question God's goodness when there are hard times. But, that's understandable. They don't know God.

They don't know his heart. They don't know his plan. They don't understand his character. But, how about you? If you're a Christian, could you say these words? "God means good." God always means good. Even through the suffering, the injustice, the false accusations, the disappointment, the loneliness. What do you think kept Joseph going?

You know, he didn't have a theology book. He didn't even have a Bible then. 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. But, they didn't have things like that back then, like we do.

But, he had been taught the truth. And, what was the one truth that he really understood? God is good. And, that sustained him through all of it. I mean, even as you could imagine Joseph pondering the question, "God, why?" What sustained him? He trusted in God's goodness. He trusted in his providential directing.

Genesis 45, "For God sent me before you." You didn't send me. God sent me. Verse 7, "God sent me before you to establish for you a remnant." There was a greater purpose. He didn't know it at the time, but as he looks back. And, see, that's when you can look back and see God's providential leading in your life.

He is the one taking you down the path that you have gone. He was taken 300 miles away from his home into slavery to serve Potter for languish in prison. Forgotten by those he had helped. Now, he is 30 years old. And, for about 14 years, as he went through all the hardships, he was sustained by the truth that God always means good.

James Boyce writes this, "What gave Joseph the grace to make this remarkable reply? There is only one answer. Joseph knew God. In particular, he knew two things about God. He knew that God is sovereign, that nothing ever comes into the life of any one of his children that he has not approved first.

There are no accidents. He knew that God is good, therefore the things that come into our lives by God's sovereignty are for our benefit, and for others, and not for our harm." Romans wasn't written yet, but if there is one verse that Joseph could have said he stood on, it was Romans 8:28.

"And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." And what was that purpose in verse 29? That they would become conformed to the image of his son. That's something I want to really encourage you to consider.

You want to know why? Well, you're not going to know all the answers to that, but there is one answer you can know. God wants to conform you into the image of his son. So everything, it is not accidental, everything you go through is meant to point you to Christ, to trust him, to love him, to follow him, and to be like him.

That is the good. Now, of course, we're still humans, and we struggle. Well, real quickly, let's look at the third point, the last point, the example of Joseph. I'm going to highlight four things about him. And overall, Joseph ultimately showed he lived a life of faith. He trusted God.

That's what kept him going all that time. And this is how he showed it. First, Joseph truly lived a God-centered life. He lived a God-centered life. There are so many verses here where I could reference, but I'll just mention a few. When he's talking to Potiphar's wife, as she's trying to tempt him, his response is, "How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?" He didn't care so much about her.

He didn't care about Potiphar. He cared about God. And when the cupbearer and the baker come, and they tell him his dreams in Genesis 40, he says, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" It wasn't him. God was the one who gave him the interpretations. And even when he faces Pharaoh in Genesis 41, 16, he says, "It is not in me.

God will answer." You see, everything about Joseph was about God. It wasn't about his own ability. It wasn't about his own skills, talents. It was about God. Even when he named his children, God gives him a wife and two sons. The first one is Manasseh. And it means, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." And every time he looked at Manasseh, he probably couldn't imagine, "I can't believe I'm here.

God has blessed me so much. I have forgotten my troubles." His second son is Ephraim. "God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." You see, even in his children, he recognizes God's hand at work. Second, Joseph had God's providence at the center of his perspective. That phrase, "God meant it for good." I've already talked a little bit about it.

But imagine if you wake up each day and start off with this commitment. "God, I know you mean today for good, no matter what happens. No matter what happens, good or bad. Even if someone treats me with evil, even with murderous intentions." You know, that's the sad thing in this life.

You never know who's going to stab you in the back. It could be a family member, a friend. It could be a fellow church member. You have no control over that. But what you do have control over is this. "I will see God's providential hand at work, that he is working out good." You know, when I was in Korea a few weeks ago, there were certain friends that messaged me.

And they said, "What are you doing in Korea? I thought you hated Koreans." Because I did. I was at a church in Maryland, and that church destroyed me. And because of that church, I didn't want to be a pastor anymore. And because of that church, I hated Koreans. I wanted Koreans to go to hell.

Then I thought planting a second-generation church would be better. And I found out it's not. Same problems. But I had to work out this bitterness and resentment in my heart. To say I'm racist against only one race, Koreans. It was true. Then I read Romans 9 and saw Paul's heart for his own people.

And I was so ashamed. How could I wish people to go to hell? Paul wished he could go to hell for his own people. But you know what? God used all of it. He used the crushing of my life during that time to help me see his grace and mercy in even a greater way.

Several years ago, I had several herniated discs. I was bedridden for about a year. I'm still kind of recovering. That was humbling. I couldn't do anything. I felt completely useless. But God used that for good, too. My oldest daughter walked away from the faith. Lives in rebellion toward God.

It is the most heartbreaking thing in my life. I would trade everything in the world. I'd be willing to die for her. So that she would just know Jesus. And even in that, I have to trust God is intending good. It makes all the difference in the world. If you can wake up each day and end each day, say, "God, I trust that you are working out good." Thirdly, Joseph had a love of God continually expressed.

In Genesis 50-21, he tells them, "So now do not be afraid, for I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke to their heart. Joseph was amazing. Not only did he forgive them, he reassured them. "Do not be afraid." He mentions that twice.

And he says, "Not only am I going to take care of you, I'm going to take care of your children." And it says that he spoke to their heart. There's something about the love of Christ being expressed in such a way that you speak to someone's heart, even to the ones that hurt you the most.

My father was not a Christian growing up. He was a typical Korean man, first generation, only cared about school. I talked to him twice a year, report car time. I got beaten often. He was not a kind man. And then God saved him. I used to think, "God, I'm not going to pray for my dad anymore because he seems like he's getting worse.

So maybe if I stop praying, he won't get worse." No, you don't do that. But even through that, God provided such perspective. My father changed so much. He passed away a few years ago, but God changed his life. He was such a gentle person, so kind, taught me so much.

He showed me, "How do you love those?" He had three brothers who made his life miserable, but he showed such grace and kindness to them. Lastly, Joseph lived with God's presence always in mind. There are a number of times, Genesis 39.2, it says this, "Yahweh was with Joseph." Genesis 39.3, "Now his master saw that Yahweh was with him." Genesis 39.5, "Yahweh blessed the Egyptians' house on account of Joseph." Genesis 39.21, "But Yahweh was with Joseph." I'm quoting from the LSB.

I appreciate that the covenant name of God is used here when it says that Yahweh was with Joseph. Joseph had something that brought complete confidence and assurance to him. The covenant name of God, the name that was given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that was passed down, that he had cut a covenant with Abraham unilaterally, and he promised, and he would fulfill.

So Joseph knew God as Immanuel, God with us. These are the ways in which Joseph was able to face all the hardships of his life. I want to close with Romans 8.28 again. You can show the last slide--next slide, sorry. God was working out good through the whole process.

So if you look at the arc of his life, the pit, prison, and then becoming prime minister of Egypt, Romans 8.28 was the truth that he banked on. The Scottish minister, Andrew Bonar, in his Bible, he wrote on Romans 8.28 this phrase, "A pillow upon which the troubled believer may rest his head." A couple years ago, I was listening to the sermon by another pastor and was given this thought.

I don't sleep so well, and I've tried many pillows. I don't know if any of you have problems with pillows. I've tried so many pillows. No pillow works. But there is one pillow that actually does. It's the Romans 8.28 pillow. When you lie your head down at night, you can put your head down.

You can actually sleep in peace because you know that God is working out all things for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Let's bow in prayer. And as we pray, I want to just share, if there's anyone here who does not know Christ as Savior and Lord, it is hard to make sense of the hardships of life.

And apart from Christ, there actually is no answer. But in Christ, we know that we have forgiveness of sins. Even those as evil as Joseph's brothers could be saved from their sins. Joseph was still a sinner. He needed to be saved too. In fact, we're all sinners. We've all sinned against a holy God.

We all deserve condemnation. That's why Jesus Christ came. Joseph, in many ways, is a picture of Christ as a Savior. But there's a greater Savior. There's a greater Joseph. Jesus. He died the death that we deserved. He rose again. He has conquered sin and death. And he presents the free gift of eternal life.

If we come and repent, trust in him alone, and follow him. And for you, believer, be assured that in the midst of maybe all the things you're going through in life now, look to Christ. Fix your eyes on him. Trust him. Trust in the goodness of God to sustain you.

Because it will prevail. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much that we have been given this time. Thank you for the life of Joseph, which is such a beautiful picture of one who ultimately did trust you. He trusted in your providential hand, even though he couldn't see. We thank you for the great example that Joseph knew that you were with him every step of the way.

He feared you. He loved you. He trusted you. And he did that to show an example to us so that we, too, might be like him. That we would know that you always mean good, even though people mean evil. May we trust you as we face the challenges of life and know that it is enough.

You are enough. You will sustain us to the very end. So may we look to the great truth that all things do work together for a good, for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. May you imprint that on our hearts and minds. May we live that out to your glory.

In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for the closing song. O my waking breath, O my daily breath, I depend on you, I depend on you. For the sun to rise, for my sleep at night, I depend on you, I depend on you. You're the way, the truth, and the light.

You're the well that never runs dry. I'm the bridge and you are the vine. Draw me close and teach me to apply. You're sweet as a flower. I depend on you, oh I depend on you. You're sweet as every flower. I depend on you, oh I depend on you.

You're the way, the truth, and the light. You're the well that never runs dry. I'm the bridge and you are the vine. Draw me close and teach me to apply. Be my strength, strong in the night. Be my all, my treasure, my pride. I am yours forever, you're mine.

Draw me close and teach me to apply. When I pass through death, as I enter Christ, I depend on you, I depend on you. You're eternal, to be raised with pride. I depend on you, oh I depend on you. You're the way, the truth, and the light. You're the well that never runs dry.

I'm the bridge and you are the vine. Draw me close and teach me to apply. Be my strength, strong in the night. Be my all, my treasure, my pride. I am yours forever, you're mine. Draw me close and teach me to apply. I depend on you. Oh, I depend on you.

Oh, I depend on you. And I depend on you. I depend on you. And I depend on you. I depend on you. Oh, I depend on you. You're the way, the truth, and the light. You're the well that never runs dry. I'm the bridge and you are the vine.

Draw me close and teach me to apply. Be my strength, strong in the night. Be my all, my treasure, my pride. I am yours forever, you're mine. Draw me close and teach me to apply. I close with a benediction. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or understand, according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.

Amen. God sent his son. They called him Jesus. He came to love. Heal and forgive. He wept and died. To buy my body, an empty grave, is there to prove my Savior lives. Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, all fear is gone. Because I know he holds the future.

And life is worth living just because he lives. (upbeat music)