Turning Our Crisis into an Opportunity - Part 1

Welcome to the intensified gastric time for Thursday, November 11 I think of opportunities in plant and wrapping can also arrive in pain and heart. Today's podcast looks at the Old Testament story of Joseph to show how God's gifts can take an unexpected shape how we respond we are facing a crisis in life, role, prices sometimes the painful sometimes are costly sometimes arose surprisingly come upon us. How do you respond if you respond the right way, you can profit by respond the wrong way you find yourself paying a big price will the message that they should be very, very encouraging because there is a proper way to respond and was the basis of a right response will in this passage of Scripture the life of Joseph is a perfect example of the right kind of responses in time of crisis, and the fact instead of focusing on the crisis itself.

The issue is what is my opportunity in the middle of this crisis in the later probably more people facing a crisis in our country than ever before in many many years. So how do we face it, how we respond to it. We could be angry and bitter and hostile we could blame God or blame someone else. Is there a better way. Yes. Is there a way to profit in the midst of a painful crisis. Yes, there is someone you determine if you will the 37th chapter of the book of Genesis, because this is the beginning of the life of Joseph as recorded in the Scripture and the truth is not going to read much of this because if you read all of it. It would go all the way to the 50th chapter because that last section of Genesis is all about the life of Joseph the lumberman. The people in the Bible that the nothing is said negative about them. But Joseph is certainly one of those leaders that but about which there is nothing negative said I just want to begin reading about a few verses in this 37 chapter that Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned in the land of Canaan. These are the records of the generations of Jacob Josie when 17 years of age was pastoring the flock with his brothers while they were still you along with the sons of Bill and the sounds of silk while his father's wives and Josie brought back a bad report about them to their father that Israel loved Joseph more than all the sons because he was a son of his old age, and he made about their colored coat tunic. His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all the brothers and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms that I will simply begin by saying I want us to look at seven major crises in Joseph's life.

And then I want you to see how he responded and how each one of these crisis prepared him for some area and his future life because God still doing the same thing when it allows a crisis in our life. He allows it for a purpose and we respond properly than what I experienced a day in a crisis. If I respond correctly will prepare me for an another crisis it's coming along and what happens is that each one builds upon the other, and the natural response to be that FA should grow our confidence in God should grow in our confidence in ourselves as far as the way to respond.

So as we look at these prices, I want to begin with the first one which is the fact that he grew up in a family where in that 37 chapter 3 times. It says they hated him. They hated him. They hated him he can do anything right. He was always the subject of ridicule of rejection and so that was a kind of family. He grew up and not just society that was his close, intimate family absolutely hated by his brothers because they said were the father has been prejudiced or him and made in this coat of many colors as we would say so. He'd had this dream in this dream indicated that one day all of them would bear down to him will there's enough turmoil in this fanfare already in enough hatred and then he says one of these days is where it's going to be all the sheaves my sheaves in the middle always ring a bell down Montana stand up straight. Well, that just made them hate him that much more.

So the issue is how did he respond highly respond to living in a close family with 11 brothers and all of them hated. Well, he could've said it's your fault, he could blame them. He got been resentful, hostile, angry, told his dad and a whole lot of things he could've done.

But here's what happened. He responded rightly, which means that he took the opportunity to learn how to live in the care of the situation where there was no love, no admiration and no encouragement.

He took the opportunity to learn how to respond to that and to respond to them without going bitter, resentful, hostile, angry and taken at vengeance upon no indication that it all that important thing about that was this that was very, very important to what was going to happen to him later on when he found himself in a situation where normally that's the kind of thing he would've felt so his first prices were just growing up in that kind of a family and learning how to respond to that situation or the second crisis he face was that his father send them over to Shechem to check on the brothers and see how the flock was going and so forth and so when they saw that he was coming. They just decided this is a good time to take care of him so will just kill it. So they stripped him of his garments and they remember they killed animal and put the blood on the garment and to get back to the father and said, you know, Paul, Josie, he's been killed by some animal and so forth and so anyway they throw him in the pit they driven the pit to leave and that the die was deep and that he couldn't get out. And so here he was helpless and hopeless, leaving him to die, but he had a dream and the dream was that one day all his brothers would bow down to him and what was happening in that period of time while he was in the pit. He was learning something and he found himself absolutely totally dependent upon God only God could get him out of that will because he had the right attitude about it because he took advantage of the opportunity to trust God in this helpless, hopeless situation. What he did know was that God was preparing him for a time when he would be in a similar situation much worse. And yet God would be there to rescue him no matter what is the oftentimes we forget that one crisis in our life is oftentimes preparation for enabling us to go through something worse. And the truth is, if you think about how to regrow. We grow in the Christian life by facing one trial after the other one Hardy one hardship and oftentimes if you think about it.

We don't think it's fair but God does that. It seems it will if I survived this one. Why should this and be so much more difficult than ever survived this and got it only get easier and easier.

How many of you have asked you not to tell me how many you said to God, why doesn't get easier. Somewhere along the way, because what makes us grow is the testing and the trial and you see, the greater the test, the greater the trial is like we just keep pushing and pushing her. He doesn't we just grow up and up and up and we don't like it the same time something good is going on. So now he's throwing the pit, so his brother comes alliances know where it is no way we going to kill him. Let's cylinder these caravans that you unbind so they decide to sell and as a slave into Egypt so this is not a crisis. Here is going further and further away from his family in Canaan. He's going to be sold as a slave.

That means he's a nobody and that that he'll be lost in the civilization that was absolutely foreign, totally foreign to them.

So think about it.

He could've fought against his captors.

He could've gotten very belligerent and blaming them and wondering why God was all take the opportunity. I'm going to Egypt I'm gonna learn what Egypt's about. I'm a lipoma slave I'm gonna learn the language I'm gonna learn their ways. I will learn how they operate. That is going take advantage of this opportunity. Somehow, in some way Godzilla worked me out of this, which was also preparation for another event that was coming in his life.

So when he gets to Egypt, they put them on the block, the selling in of all the people that Woodbine would be the man who is the chief bodyguard. He was captain of the bodyguard of Pharaoh himself, and so he buys purchases of Joseph and the witch in his household, but to see his argument. Learning mobility is coming along, and now he could see himself as a slave, or he could see himself with a tremendous opportunity he could learn the language of the Egyptians. He can learn how the upper class in Egypt operate live he can learn about their wealth.

He also learned how to be a leader. He learned how to manage because finally part of the said you've done so well. I'm in a put you in charge of the whole household.

So he comes as a slave is a nobody and now he's the number one person in the family apart from the intimate family themselves and he's oversee all of Papa's businesses brought everything is in charge. So what was God doing God once again was preparing him for something that was ahead. And if we can get that in there thinking that whatever I'm going through today is preparation for something, I'm going to face tomorrow if you get that attitude and you begin to operate on that basis, then things begin to change in the way you see them so he so this is a wonderful opportunity and watch this every time he took advantage of the opportunity.

He came out when it became as a slave, but his attitude was right because you don't is no indication that it wasn't. And so what happens. It was an accident that the captain of the bodyguard of Pharaoh happened to be the man who purchased them.

So now he is in the part of his household. Everything is going better and then what happens the next crisis he meets is out of his wife and so she began to woo him in the try to seduce him every way possible. She could have destroyed into the secret of the sort himself, but his what he saw. He saw this as an opportunity to discover about himself, his weaknesses and his strengths and he said to her dear husband has placed everything in this household in my possession. He said he has given me everything in this house so but you and I cannot prove to be unfaithful to God and disobey him. That crisis was an awesome opportunity for him to discover his own strength. His own faithfulness, his own loyalty his own devotion, no matter what the price would be any new they had to be a price because she of course accused him and he got thrown in jail cc every time you and I are tempted by something. It is also an opportunity for us to find out something about ourselves whether it is a moral temptation or financial temptation or temptation about some relationship or whatever it might be. There's also an opportunity and the opportunity for him was that he could demonstrate to her that his allegiance and loyalty to God superseded every other desire in his life. He had all a part of his household. He didn't have her more important than having everything was to have his relationship to God, to be right have very important it was because that to provide basis for something else that was going to happen in his life. So following that, of course, he gets thrown into prison, so now we're into the next phase of his star crisis and restoring the prison.

He could've said will God at this point my life had to be in his 20s by now. At this point have done exactly what you said.

Do I been obedient to you, he could've blamed God. He could've blamed everybody but you know what, wasn't very long before he was in charge. The prison while watch the skipper because he had the right attitude. There was God has allowed me here. What is my opportunity now what was my opportunity and part of his household to learn and and to be submissive to those in authority over me in the learn how to manage learn how to rule and now in prison. What what kind of opportunity. Can that be, well, they put all the prisoners under his church, and so now he's learning how to be authoritative but is also learning how watch this treat other people right because you see, he grew up in a family that intrigued him right.

He knew what rejection and pain and suffering and heartache and feeling like you're a nobody that you don't count. In fact, I'm not too sure that there are many emotions in life.

If any that has the depth of pain that rejection has every divorce, every separation every separation of kids and their family. Whatever it might be the feelings of being rejected especially by somebody that you love or somebody that is meaningful to you and somebody. Very importantly, it is a very very painful, indescribable, painful emotion and so he knows that and so when he's head of the prison. I am sure that all those experiences he'd had back home the way he was treated in the way they just absolutely totally tried to destroy him. How would he respond in prison he would take the opportunity to do what to express genuine caring because you see he was there not because of something he had done, but because he was falsely accused. Have you been really falsely accused of something, it's a very painful feeling when you know that you've done what's right and somebody else accuse you doing something wrong. So how did he respond he respond that I believe in a caring way those prisoners because you see his past crisis had made it possible for him to respond in the right way then of course he's in prison and you remember the two gentlemen who work for Pharaoh. The Baker and the cupbearer both of them had dreams and one of them was restored and the other was not the Baker act was hanged and so you know it's is one crisis after another.

Then one morning he wakes up and they come to him and they say you need to get a shower and get dressed up here you're going before Pharaoh himself was all that out what that meant his death or what whatever it meant and so they dress them up in what's happened is that there was had this dream remember the dream about the carols. The lien carols in the fetid carols under lien stalks and the heavy stalks of corn and so he's had this dream and all of his soothsayers and civil they can interpret it so at the Butler says there was a man in prison when I was he was a Hebrew and that he interpreted my dream. So Pharaoh calls for well what that means you have an idea what that meant but it was a wonderful opportunity to watch this because Joseph had the awesome privilege and opportunity to present his God is Hebrew God Jehovah to confront all the heathen gods of Egypt because he said my God is Jehovah. I'm not an interpreter but he will. He can interpret your dream and so he told them the dream and Joseph interpreted the dream said they'll be seven years of awesome bounty seven years of absolute nothing, nothing is going to grow in the wisest thing to do is the in these first seven years planned for the next seven years and so when he got through talking to Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Esther? What man is there in all of Egypt is wise is this man so what is he do.

He made in second only to himself. He said he rot in the second carrier and he said no one will lift a hand in all of Egypt without Joseph's permission to think about this when he was at home. He did not have a ruling anything except to be ruled in every circumstance in every crisis of his life. God was preparing him for something else. He served faithfully part of.

He learned how to manage and now he has a very awesome position of being able to rule over all of those. Rule over him was his attitude and this time, looking to the father trusting him. He had a dream and he was believing that what God had shown him would be true. One day, what you have to decide is this. Do I believe that God is who he says he is. Do I believe that God works the way he says he does do I believe that God loves me enough to personally involve himself in my life. Do I believe when I don't understand. He understands me. Do I believe it with all my heart that God has a plan and the will of my life.

Yes. Do I believe with all my heart that in every circumstance, there is an opportunity for me to grow in my Christian life.

All to prosper in other ways. It all boils down to your faith almost down to the fact do I believe what is true is really true because that's the way we can respond. Thank you for listening to turning our Christ into an opportunity.

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