NOTE: The following sermon was del;ivered by yours truly in North Bay Ontario in 1982. Due to the length of this sermon I will post it in five parts.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 (NIV).
INTRODUCTION: "Everything seems to go wrong for me. First, my daughter requires major surgery which requires an extented hospital stay in a another city. Then my car experiences major mechanical proiblems and I just got the bill for my previous repairs. Last weekend the plumbing went on a weekend no less, almost flooding my basement and I had to obtain the services of a plumber after I failed to repair the damage myself. My mortgage is up for re-newal just when interest rates are about as high as the CN tower. This week I missed two days of work due to illness, the baby is teething and can't sleep and neither can I. The kids broke a picture window - my neighbour's. What else can go wrong? Does all this sound familiar.
You may may not have had the same problems as those I just shared with you but it is possible you had your share of problems, challenages and other frustrating moments. How did you handle your unpleasant situations? Did you despair? Become discouraged? Depressed even? It is not just the problems and challenages that daily life throws at us that causes us to be discouraged and frustrated . There are those spiritual challenages that we face from time to time that can be a real drag in our life for Christ. Lets take a look at the lives of some of the Biblical heros of faith and see how they dealt with both the daily and spiritual challenages in their lives.
I. Joseph (Genesis 37-46)
As a youth Joseph was the apple of his daddy's eye and he knew it. Not only that but he was one spoiled teenager and his older brothers disliked him for that. The straw that broke "the camel's back" was when Joseph gave his young son a multi-coloured coat. If Joseph thought his brothers were just a bunch of jealous siblings he was in for a surprise for they hated him (37:4). To make a long story short his brothers ambushed him one day and sold him into slavery in Egypt then telling their dad his favourite son had been killed.
One thing we must note here. Joseph was raised to know and love God, to abide by His will in all things. Even though this young man was bathing in his father's love he still was a godly person.
Joseph was sold to Potipher's , Captain of Pharoah's Royal Guard. Here Joseph learned quickly to take care of certain important house hold responsibilities. He became a trusted and loyal slave. One day , after her husband left for the Palace Mrs. Potiphar decided she wanted Joseph to come to bed with her for a little romance. Joseph remebered his religious upbringing and knew if he submitted to Mrs. Potipher he would displease God, so he refused the temptation and ran away from her. Well the end result was that Mrs. Potipher not appreciating the fact that Joseph refused her lustful advances informed her husband that evening that his favourite slave had attempted to sexually assault her but she courgeously fought him off. Joseph is in trouble, more trouble than he had ever experinced. He was hated by his siblings, he had been thrown down a well, sold into slavery and now accussed of sexual assault. If that wasn't enough he was thrown into prison. In 37:9 Joseph tells Potipher's wife "No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" We don't know how long Joseph was in Potipher's house before all this transpired. Note that this seventeen year old youth has not matured physically, intellectually but more importantly he has grown in his relationship with God.
How was Joseph a "conqueror?" Joseph conquered temptation by running away-literally. He was not going to dishonour God, his faith in any way. God gave Joseph that courage and strength to run away because of his faith and trust in Him.
Now Joseph is in prison I am sure feeling discouraged but still hanging onto his faith and trust in God. But why was this allowed to happen? God doesn't wish any bad thing to happen to us but because of sinfulness in this world we know a lot of bad can happen to good people. Joseph did not let grass grow under his feet while in prison. He became so trustworthy that the warden made Joseph sort of like a deputy warden. God uses circumstances like Joseph's to fulfill a purpose in life. This young man had no idea where his life was going but he never gave up on God. After two years certain events that developed that would make Joseph the second most powerful man in all of Egypt. He was appointed Prime Minister and his word was backed by Pharoah himself.
In reading the account of Joseph in slavery, in prison and in power it is recorded repeatly "...because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did." In spite of everything bad that happened to Joseph he remained faithful to God.
Joseph prayed to God daily, he struggled I'm sure many times with discouragement, he was afraid for he must have at times feared for his very life, yet he remaind steadfast in his faith and trust in God never giving up no matter how hopeless the situation appeared to be.
God wants to use us in His service, He has a purpose for each and everyone of us. What that purpose is I don't know but I believe, I have faith, I trust God to show me that purpose, to give me the strength to fullfill that purpose. Yes, God has a purpose for me in this life and I may have to pull a "Joseph" at times where I will need to run away from temptation and in spite of my discouraging experiences, my fears, uncertainties of life, with God's strength and guidance I will cling to Him , trust Him to see me through.
Right now there are those saints of God who are suffering from terminal illnesses, financial problems, unemployment, businness headaches, school problems, home problems, marital problems etc. You may not be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel but rest assurred God is there right beside you. Keep the faith.
Edward K (skypilot)
Next: How was Elijah more than a conqueor?
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