Heb 11:22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
Joseph— Of all the characters in the Old Testament, none is more deserving to be called a hero. Strong, handsome, brilliant, and morally pure, Joseph kept the faith under the most difficult circumstances. No matter what struggles he had, Joseph was an example of a good and godly man.
The word that best describes Joseph is resilient. It is the ability to return after setbacks, to adjust to new realities, and to believe in an optimistic outcome. It is the product of true faith in God.
A resilient person resembles the punching clowns we had when we were children. No matter how hard you punched them or kicked them they always came back up with a smile on its face, ready for the next blow. That was Joseph. He sure knew how to take a punch!
Consider Joseph’s story. When he was a boy he had a dream that he was going to rule over his family some day. Then he had a second dream, which told him the same thing. Joseph believed these dreams were the key to his destiny. Even though he was the eleventh of twelve boys, he began preparing himself for that inevitable moment when he would lead his family. His father saw a great potential of leadership in that boy. He even gave him a special coat as a sign of his pleasure in him.
His brothers resented him. Who can blame them? If your dad trusted your little brother more than you, you’d probably resent it, too! But Joseph’s brothers took sibling rivalry to the nth degree!
They were out in the field one day when Joseph was sent home for something. When he returned, they had all moved. When Joseph found them, they tied him up, stole his coat, threw him in a pit, and sold him to a caravan of Egyptian slavers. Then they put blood on his coat and told Dad that he was dead! This was the worst case of picking on a little brother ever!
But Joseph never felt sorry for himself. He knew God had a better plan.
The slavers sold him to rich Egyptian—Potiphar. Potiphar recognized immediately his leadership abilities. He made Joseph the steward of his house—the major domo of a mighty family. Potiphar trusted Joseph with everything he owned. But Potiphar’s wife wanted more from him. The wanted to have an affair with him. When he refused, she claimed that Joseph tried to rape her. Potiphar was furious and had him thrown in jail.
But Joseph did not despair. He never felt sorry for himself. He knew God had a better plan.
Joseph did well in prison—as well as any prisoner can do. The jailor made the head trustee, and gave him the run of the prison. When Pharaoh’s butler and the baker arrested and thrown in with him, Joseph interpreted their dreams for them, and their dreams came true. With the boldness that only comes from an intimate knowledge of God, he told them the truth. The baker would be executed, but the butler would be restored. It happened just as he said. The baker was executed, but the butler was released. The butler promised to remember Joseph when he was back to Pharaoh’s court.
But the butler forgot him. He left Joseph to rot in jail.
Joseph did not despair, though. He never felt sorry for himself. He knew that had a better plan.
Then one night Pharaoh had a dream. He asked his wise men to interpret it, but no one could. Then the butler remembered what Joseph did in jail, and told Pharaoh. Pharaoh took Joseph came out of prison and brought him to the palace. Not did Joseph give him the correct interpretation, but he also gave him a plan to save the country. Pharaoh immediately saw Joseph’s poise and his confidence, and he made him second in command of everything in Egypt.
Then one day, Joseph’s brothers came to town, begging for food. What a perfect opportunity for revenge! For the first time, Joseph had an opportunity to avenge himself on the many people who had abused him—his brothers, the slavers, Potiphar and his wife. He could have them all killed if he wanted to. Or he could make them suffer. But Joseph chose the way of forgiveness instead of revenge, and saved his family, just as his dream told him long ago.
Joseph could have avenged himself. But he didn’t. He knew God had a better plan.
After that, Joseph, his eleven brothers, and his father lived in luxury in Egypt. But Joseph knew it would not last. One day, the imprisonment that happened to him twice before would fall on all his descendants. They would be enslaved in Egypt. So Joseph, when he was an old man, left word to have his bones carried back to the Promised Land, as a sign to them that God always has a plan. There he was, a living symbol, carried on a cart in the heart of that Exodus mob. He was a living symbol of what they had become—one who rises from pison again and again. Even after death, Joseph rose and pointed the way to freedom.
Now that’s resilience!
Joseph’s confidence was not fake. It was real. That is why wherever he went, people made him a leader. There was something about this man that gave other people confidence, too. He exuded faith, and gave confidence to everyone he met. Because Joseph was resilient, then the other people around Joseph could be resilient, too.
Where did Joseph’s resilience come from? It came from his faith—faith in God, himself, and in others.
First, Joseph had an optimistic faith in God. Joseph always knew God was with him, and that he would not forsake him.
I picture Joseph as a little boy, sitting around the fire with his family. His father is telling them stories of the Lord, and how He saved him, his grandfather and his great-grandfather Abraham. Could you imagine what it must have been like to hear these stories from someone who was there?
But just because we tell things to our children does not mean they hear them. Jacob tried to explain to them that they did not have to be afraid or ashamed. God had chosen their family for greatness. As he talked, the older brothers slept or stared out the window. They had heard it all before.
But Joseph listened and believed. Joseph was certain that the same God who rescued his great grandfather, his grandfather, and his father would be with him when he needed it. And God did.
Most of you grew up in church. You went to Sunday School. You’ve logged hours in church listening to sermons. But that doesn’t mean that anything said in Sunday School or church sinks in. We still worry, we still doubt, and we still think that it is only by our efforts we get through in life. In other words, we just don’t get it.
But every so often a Joseph comes along who hears the Word and believes it. That boy is destined for great things, because he will go through life on the shoulders of God.
Joseph also had an optimistic faith in himself. You cannot separate faith in God from faith in yourself. They have to go together. If we have one, we can have the other, if we do not have one, the chances are that we will not have the other.
Last week we heard one of the great promises of the Scriptures--Jeremiah 29; 13. “For I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not for evil, to give you an end and a purpose.” This verse tells us that God has a plan for our success and happiness. God has such a plan for you, then you must have value to Him. That is the link between our own success and God’s success.
We do not always define success the way God does. It may not be in gaining money or fame. Such things are unimportant to God. Real success is about finding happiness and purpose in life. If we are happy, we might be a pauper, but we we better off than a king. We are fulfilling God’s plan and purpose, and enjoying His favor.
But what if we are not happy? What if we doubt ourselves? Then we will eventually come to doubt God Himself. If God made us, and we think we are no good, then either we have to deny that God made us, or God is guilty of shoddy workmanship. If God made you, and God is good, then you are good as well. You have been given the special gift of life.
Because Joseph had confidence in God and confidence in himself, Joseph had faith that he could do the best he could do, and his efforts would be rewarded. Joseph did not work for Potiphar, he did not even work for Pharaoh. Joseph worked for the glory of God. Joseph believed he was capable of great and wonderful things.
Third, because Joseph had confidence in God, he also had confidence in others. One interesting thing about Joseph is that he was likable. Potiphar like him, the jailer liked him, even Pharaoh liked him. You cannot achieve that level of likability without liking others back.
Keep in mind that Joseph had no reason for liking others. Why should he like a man who enslaves him or one who keep him prisoner? Why should he expect that they will treat him fairly?
Joseph could like others because they were made in God’s image. No one can expunge completely the image of God out of their hearts. People no matter how evil they may be, have some vestige of the image of a loving God within them.
Mostly, though Joseph expected the best out of others because he trusted God. Peopl may not have our best interest at heart, but God does. He can turn the human heart for us r against s. God often works through unbelievers to bless His people.
The Bible is full of such people. Joseph’s Pharaoh, Cyrus the Persian, and Publius Paulus in the book of Acts and many others. They were God’s instruments to protect His people. Joseph had people like this around him, too.
Christians today sometimes think that you can love the world without liking it. But if you don’t recognize God’s beauty in the people you are trying to help, they will soon turn on you. God prefers to help us though other people whenever possible. That is why it is so important to be civil and kind to your neighbors, and to work diligently for your employers. Be at peace with everyone, as much as it is possible to do so. This is not out of trust of people, but as an act of faith in a loving God who holds the hearts of all men.
Finally, Joseph was resilient because he knew his sins were forgiven. We spend far too much time being ashamed of our past. But Jesus came to erase the shame in our hearts, an grant us grace to begin anew the blood of Jesus on the Cross paid the price for al our sin, and gave us the gift of forgiveness.
How resilient are you? You can be very resilient if you have faith in God, and through Him faith in yourself and in others, just like Joseph did.
Joseph— Of all the characters in the Old Testament, none is more deserving to be called a hero. Strong, handsome, brilliant, and morally pure, Joseph kept the faith under the most difficult circumstances. No matter what struggles he had, Joseph was an example of a good and godly man.
The word that best describes Joseph is resilient. It is the ability to return after setbacks, to adjust to new realities, and to believe in an optimistic outcome. It is the product of true faith in God.
A resilient person resembles the punching clowns we had when we were children. No matter how hard you punched them or kicked them they always came back up with a smile on its face, ready for the next blow. That was Joseph. He sure knew how to take a punch!
Consider Joseph’s story. When he was a boy he had a dream that he was going to rule over his family some day. Then he had a second dream, which told him the same thing. Joseph believed these dreams were the key to his destiny. Even though he was the eleventh of twelve boys, he began preparing himself for that inevitable moment when he would lead his family. His father saw a great potential of leadership in that boy. He even gave him a special coat as a sign of his pleasure in him.
His brothers resented him. Who can blame them? If your dad trusted your little brother more than you, you’d probably resent it, too! But Joseph’s brothers took sibling rivalry to the nth degree!
They were out in the field one day when Joseph was sent home for something. When he returned, they had all moved. When Joseph found them, they tied him up, stole his coat, threw him in a pit, and sold him to a caravan of Egyptian slavers. Then they put blood on his coat and told Dad that he was dead! This was the worst case of picking on a little brother ever!
But Joseph never felt sorry for himself. He knew God had a better plan.
The slavers sold him to rich Egyptian—Potiphar. Potiphar recognized immediately his leadership abilities. He made Joseph the steward of his house—the major domo of a mighty family. Potiphar trusted Joseph with everything he owned. But Potiphar’s wife wanted more from him. The wanted to have an affair with him. When he refused, she claimed that Joseph tried to rape her. Potiphar was furious and had him thrown in jail.
But Joseph did not despair. He never felt sorry for himself. He knew God had a better plan.
Joseph did well in prison—as well as any prisoner can do. The jailor made the head trustee, and gave him the run of the prison. When Pharaoh’s butler and the baker arrested and thrown in with him, Joseph interpreted their dreams for them, and their dreams came true. With the boldness that only comes from an intimate knowledge of God, he told them the truth. The baker would be executed, but the butler would be restored. It happened just as he said. The baker was executed, but the butler was released. The butler promised to remember Joseph when he was back to Pharaoh’s court.
But the butler forgot him. He left Joseph to rot in jail.
Joseph did not despair, though. He never felt sorry for himself. He knew that had a better plan.
Then one night Pharaoh had a dream. He asked his wise men to interpret it, but no one could. Then the butler remembered what Joseph did in jail, and told Pharaoh. Pharaoh took Joseph came out of prison and brought him to the palace. Not did Joseph give him the correct interpretation, but he also gave him a plan to save the country. Pharaoh immediately saw Joseph’s poise and his confidence, and he made him second in command of everything in Egypt.
Then one day, Joseph’s brothers came to town, begging for food. What a perfect opportunity for revenge! For the first time, Joseph had an opportunity to avenge himself on the many people who had abused him—his brothers, the slavers, Potiphar and his wife. He could have them all killed if he wanted to. Or he could make them suffer. But Joseph chose the way of forgiveness instead of revenge, and saved his family, just as his dream told him long ago.
Joseph could have avenged himself. But he didn’t. He knew God had a better plan.
After that, Joseph, his eleven brothers, and his father lived in luxury in Egypt. But Joseph knew it would not last. One day, the imprisonment that happened to him twice before would fall on all his descendants. They would be enslaved in Egypt. So Joseph, when he was an old man, left word to have his bones carried back to the Promised Land, as a sign to them that God always has a plan. There he was, a living symbol, carried on a cart in the heart of that Exodus mob. He was a living symbol of what they had become—one who rises from pison again and again. Even after death, Joseph rose and pointed the way to freedom.
Now that’s resilience!
Joseph’s confidence was not fake. It was real. That is why wherever he went, people made him a leader. There was something about this man that gave other people confidence, too. He exuded faith, and gave confidence to everyone he met. Because Joseph was resilient, then the other people around Joseph could be resilient, too.
Where did Joseph’s resilience come from? It came from his faith—faith in God, himself, and in others.
First, Joseph had an optimistic faith in God. Joseph always knew God was with him, and that he would not forsake him.
I picture Joseph as a little boy, sitting around the fire with his family. His father is telling them stories of the Lord, and how He saved him, his grandfather and his great-grandfather Abraham. Could you imagine what it must have been like to hear these stories from someone who was there?
But just because we tell things to our children does not mean they hear them. Jacob tried to explain to them that they did not have to be afraid or ashamed. God had chosen their family for greatness. As he talked, the older brothers slept or stared out the window. They had heard it all before.
But Joseph listened and believed. Joseph was certain that the same God who rescued his great grandfather, his grandfather, and his father would be with him when he needed it. And God did.
Most of you grew up in church. You went to Sunday School. You’ve logged hours in church listening to sermons. But that doesn’t mean that anything said in Sunday School or church sinks in. We still worry, we still doubt, and we still think that it is only by our efforts we get through in life. In other words, we just don’t get it.
But every so often a Joseph comes along who hears the Word and believes it. That boy is destined for great things, because he will go through life on the shoulders of God.
Joseph also had an optimistic faith in himself. You cannot separate faith in God from faith in yourself. They have to go together. If we have one, we can have the other, if we do not have one, the chances are that we will not have the other.
Last week we heard one of the great promises of the Scriptures--Jeremiah 29; 13. “For I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not for evil, to give you an end and a purpose.” This verse tells us that God has a plan for our success and happiness. God has such a plan for you, then you must have value to Him. That is the link between our own success and God’s success.
We do not always define success the way God does. It may not be in gaining money or fame. Such things are unimportant to God. Real success is about finding happiness and purpose in life. If we are happy, we might be a pauper, but we we better off than a king. We are fulfilling God’s plan and purpose, and enjoying His favor.
But what if we are not happy? What if we doubt ourselves? Then we will eventually come to doubt God Himself. If God made us, and we think we are no good, then either we have to deny that God made us, or God is guilty of shoddy workmanship. If God made you, and God is good, then you are good as well. You have been given the special gift of life.
Because Joseph had confidence in God and confidence in himself, Joseph had faith that he could do the best he could do, and his efforts would be rewarded. Joseph did not work for Potiphar, he did not even work for Pharaoh. Joseph worked for the glory of God. Joseph believed he was capable of great and wonderful things.
Third, because Joseph had confidence in God, he also had confidence in others. One interesting thing about Joseph is that he was likable. Potiphar like him, the jailer liked him, even Pharaoh liked him. You cannot achieve that level of likability without liking others back.
Keep in mind that Joseph had no reason for liking others. Why should he like a man who enslaves him or one who keep him prisoner? Why should he expect that they will treat him fairly?
Joseph could like others because they were made in God’s image. No one can expunge completely the image of God out of their hearts. People no matter how evil they may be, have some vestige of the image of a loving God within them.
Mostly, though Joseph expected the best out of others because he trusted God. Peopl may not have our best interest at heart, but God does. He can turn the human heart for us r against s. God often works through unbelievers to bless His people.
The Bible is full of such people. Joseph’s Pharaoh, Cyrus the Persian, and Publius Paulus in the book of Acts and many others. They were God’s instruments to protect His people. Joseph had people like this around him, too.
Christians today sometimes think that you can love the world without liking it. But if you don’t recognize God’s beauty in the people you are trying to help, they will soon turn on you. God prefers to help us though other people whenever possible. That is why it is so important to be civil and kind to your neighbors, and to work diligently for your employers. Be at peace with everyone, as much as it is possible to do so. This is not out of trust of people, but as an act of faith in a loving God who holds the hearts of all men.
Finally, Joseph was resilient because he knew his sins were forgiven. We spend far too much time being ashamed of our past. But Jesus came to erase the shame in our hearts, an grant us grace to begin anew the blood of Jesus on the Cross paid the price for al our sin, and gave us the gift of forgiveness.
How resilient are you? You can be very resilient if you have faith in God, and through Him faith in yourself and in others, just like Joseph did.
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