Yes, that's exactly what happened to Joseph just prior to getting the call to appear before pharaoh. It had been 2 years of days (kind of an odd way to put it, but a good word-picture when you think about it), two years since the cup bearer was released from prison and had never since that time mentioned a word about Joseph to anyone. And now pharaoh's bad dreams prompted the cup bearer's memory, telling pharaoh of Joseph, the interpreter of dreams. And suddenly Joseph goes from filth and a dungeon to a bath, clean shave and a new wardrobe. There's a lesson here, so let's listen.
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It's an old adage, but true. When something that is very hurtful and very deep occurs, we want it to be made right and we want it right now. It's usually not that way at all. If we do see any restitution, it's typically somewhere way down the road and in a manner in which we didn't anticipate or visualize.
Joseph absolutely experienced that in his life, and experienced it in spades. Life happens, sometimes bad things befall us. Often we don't know why, but there are instances when people do to us or say about us terrible things which we don't deserve and aren't true.
How do we live through it? How do we overcome it? We're continuing in Joseph. There's absolutely nothing wrong with all the techno advancements and the enjoyment of the incredible blessings in this great nation. But it's a slippery slope isn't it? The evil one's methods haven't changed since the very beginning. He takes the good things of life and attempts to pull us into misuse and abuse of those very blessings.
He tried that ancient maneuver on Joseph, but no luck. Recognizing temptation and defeating it; that's our lesson for today. Great corporate managers and can tell you that you can train anybody to do a task, but attitude, it either comes with the package or not. Attitude is the game changer every time. But how do we get there?
When Joseph fell from being his father's favored son to being thrown in a cistern, then dragged off and sold as a slave, there's no mention in that entire chapter about God or any hope of being saved from his circumstances. God is doing so much more in the background of our lives, even in the desolate times, of which we are simply not aware. He is not going to let us go. We've got to begin getting a grasp on this truth.
Whenever attacking any subject matter, the bible or otherwise, there are three questions you should always ask:
What does it say? What does it mean? What does it mean to me? This week's message is concentrating on the first question in the story of Joseph. We can't really answer the last two questions until we lay the foundation concerning the details of story. Uh, that's not it. Isn't it "So heavenly minded, no earthly good"?
C.S. Lewis once stated "If you read history you will find that the Christians that did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the next world that they have become so ineffective in this." Troubles in life come to all of us, and for some there are events that are so horrible that they are unbearable at times. Scripture is real and it dealt with real lives; one in particular, Joseph. We've got to start thinking differently if we're going to get through this life productively rather than remorsefully. Hmmm, that doesn't sound right. But today we're learning about Joseph and his multicolored coat. Let's see how that might apply to us.
There are so many great events in scripture right from the very start. But in this series we're going to begin with Joseph. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that it is the greatest story ever told and in a sense that's exactly right. It is the inflection point where Israel truly begins its growth as the nation which brings us our Savior, the redeemer of all mankind. Today we're beginning that journey over the next several weeks.
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