Joseph was one of the 12 sons of Jacob. He was Jacob’s favorite son because he was born in Jacob’s old age. He was also a 17-year-old tattle tale. Once when he saw the older 10 brothers do something they were not supposed to do he told dad. On top of that, dad had made him a “Coat of Many Colors.”

As a result, the older brothers hated him.

One day as Joseph walked across a large field to check on his brothers they decided to kill him. Reuben talked them into throwing him into a cistern instead. The plan was to rescue him and take him home to Dad. However, before he could do that, the brothers sold Joseph into slavery.

The traders that bought him sold him to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of his guard.

Joseph didn’t blame God for his misfortune; rather he set about serving the Lord as best as he could. After a time Potiphar put Joseph was in charge of his household. This worked out real well until Potiphar’s wife decided she wanted to go to bed with Joseph. After he refused her several times she took things into her own hands and grabbed him by the coat. He left in a hurry, leaving the coat in her hands.

This made her mad, so she called out, accusing Joseph of trying to harm her. Potiphar was upset and tossed Joseph into prison. Rather than feeling sorry for himself Joseph continued serving God to the best of his ability and soon was in charge of the prisoners. You just can’t keep a good man down!

Eventually, through the providence of God, Joseph was let out of prison to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. Because he understood the dream Pharaoh put him in charge of implementing the plan, which made Joseph the number two man in Egypt.

Notice… Joseph did not promote himself. He let God do that! And God can put us into places that we would never dream of!

Joseph went from the pits to the palace simply through faith, because his faith led him to be obedient to God!

Now comes the time for revenge! Fast forward about 8 years and go back to Canaan. There we find Jacob and his family facing starvation because of a major drought.

Genesis 42:1-2: When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you just keep looking at each other?" He continued, "I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die."

It’s a great story!  You should read it in Genesis 42:1 through Genesis 45:28 when you go home. Somehow Joseph kept his sense of humor… but eventually he told the brothers who he was. He assured them that even though they meant the deed for harm, God was behind it, so they were forgiven.

However, they were not able to receive forgiveness from Joseph because they would not forgive themselves. They did not need to be punished, for they had punished themselves for the 20 years of so since they sold their brother into slavery. That’s a lot of misery!

When their dad died many years later they were still full of fear that Joseph would get even with them.

The obvious question: Do we have things in our lives that we need to forgive and forget? Or are we content with making ourselves miserable!

This morning we will look briefly at 4 major points:

1.     What is faith?

2.     How do we pray?

3.     How do we know God’s will?

4.     What should we do when everything falls apart?

  What is faith?

          First, it is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

          Secondly, faith is a quiet confidence that no matter what happens, God is on your side and He is taking care of you. If you are full of fear and not confidence, you are not walking in faith.

          This is NOT self confidence. Sometimes it is almost 180 degrees away from self-confidence. A new born baby has no fear… he knows that mom will take care of him. He does not know he knows that… he is born with that confidence.

          However, that confidence can be lost if the baby is dropped, is ignored, or not comforted. Babies who do not get loving care often die from lack of human touch.

          If we are full of God’s faith we simply understand that He will take care of us. You will still be tempted to fear, but you will learn to ignore the fear and begin to praise God.

When things do not work, a faith-filled person does not blame God. Instead he goes to God and the Bible to determine where he missed God’s will.

          The kind of faith that receives greatly from God is not humanly generated. It is God-given. The song writer penned, “Fill my cup, Lord, I lift it up Lord, Come and cleanse this thirsting of my soul!

  How does One Pray?

          Prayer is a spiritual communion with God. In most cases we start out using the intellect. First, we simply make a decision to pray. As we visit the Lord we become aware of His presence, and then we begin to speak with God from the heart… or from our spirit. The KJV says, “Our innermost being.” The prayer may be out loud, whispered, or simply thoughts directed to God.

          In reality, prayer is being sensitive to God… and listening with the heart. God speaking out loud is a rare thing… usually He communicates with us spirit to Spirit.

          In 1^st Samuel 18:1 the writer states, “Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.”

          In true prayer, you and I are “One in Spirit with God.”  (Awesome!)

  How can we know God’s Will?

The chance of being one in spirit with God increases as we bring ourselves in line with God’s Word.

Psalm 99:5-7 Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy. Moses and Aaron were among His priests, Samuel was among those who called on His name; they called on the LORD and He answered them.  He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His statutes and the decrees He gave them.

The question is not, “How far can I get from God and still go to heaven?”  Rather the question is “How much can I give up so I can be in line with God’s will for my life?”

  What should I do when everything falls apart?

          I think all of us have experienced the terrible disappointment of unanswered prayer. You believe with all your heart. You fast and pray. You promise God the sun, the moon and the stars. You quote scriptures… you do all you know to do and it still does not work out. Now what!

First, ask God to reveal any unconfessed sin.

We all sin… we all make mistakes. If the Holy Spirit reminds you of something, just repent and ask for forgiveness.

Refusal to repent of a sin when the Holy Spirit reminds you of it makes communication with God something like talking on a phone with a poor connection. You simply cannot understand what is being said.

Second, line yourself up with God’s Word.

Refusal to repent of sin or to do what God asks us to do is like getting water through a frozen pipe. You may get a little water, but not much comes out. God does not withhold all blessings, but the flow is sure cut down.

Third, be persistent.

          Matthew 7:7-8 states, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

          Ask for what you want… “And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:15

          Seek – diligently search God’s Word. Find scriptures that promise what you need, then discuss it with God.

          Knock – be persistent.

Illustration:  Have a child come up; show him a $1 bill, have him ask for it, then ask him to take it.

           There are some things that God expects us to do for ourselves! He helps, he provides… but we have to “receive” it. The Greek implies “take it.”

Finally, release your fears.

          Joseph’s brothers spent many years walking in fear… they probably spent a lot of time talking about how the ways Joseph could use to get even with them. By the time their dad died they were consumed with fear.

God really wants us to build up our faith.  Please God today by seeking Him diligently… by searching the scriptures diligently!

Sincerely,

Pastor Leon