Gen 45:1-15 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, "Make everyone go out from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. (2) And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. (3) And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. (4) So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. (5) And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. (6) For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. (7) And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. (8) So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. (9) Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. (10) You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. (11) There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.' (12) And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. (13) You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here." (14) Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. (15) And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.
The roadmap for the Methodist churches for the next 20 years involves 4 elements: Evangelism, discipleship, society (relationship), missions. Spreading spiritual holiness in the land is the call.
Michael Jackson died in 2009. In the same year, we also saw the passing of Farah Fawcett, Ted Kennedy, etc. There is also one Anthony Yeo who died after fulfilling God’s will.
When we read about Joseph in Gen 37:2, we read about a young and talented teenager. At 17, he stood head and shoulders among others. He could interpret dreams. His brothers, like many of us who saw somebody better than us, were stimulated to act wrongly. They connived to get rid of him, first to kill them and eventually decided to sell him away. His master’s wife was interested in him and he was put into jail. From 17 to 30, he was in no man’s land. At 30, he was made the Prime Minister of Egypt. Pharaoh had a dream which no one could interpret. He is around 39 to 40 (they had passed the 7 years of bountiful harvest and were into the 2nd years of famine.)
Joseph – made time
to be personally aware of divine person, purpose and destiny (v 5-9)We read that Joseph put God first. He refused to compromised sexually. God’s name was constantly upon his lips. In Gen 41, we read about this by the way he named his two children – Manasseh (God made me forgot) and Ephraim (God made me fruitful.)
- He made time for examining his life
- God allowed enough of Himself to be seen by Joseph
- Notice v9 – the subject of his first words to his father
- Key: close, personal relationship with his Father in heaven
Live will pull us forward whether we like it or not.
Joseph is a man who had time for God. He was responsive to God. We must have time for the person we want to relate deeply with, whom we want to grow a good relationship with. He was obedient to God. This made his life transformational.
We must be intentional to make time for God and people we love and care, whom we want to be in deep relationship with.
Joseph – sensitive
Joseph is sensitive to experiences of divine purposes and destiny.He was a man who walked with God, his creator. He recognized that God has a purpose for him.
Definition: Sense of destiny is an inner conviction arising from an experience or a series of experiences in which there is an increasing realization that God’s hand is upon my life in a unique way to accomplish His particular (special) purposes.” (J. Robert Clinton.)
Mrs. Lee Kuan Yew was an accomplished person who could stand toe to toe with her husband. Yet, she chose to play a supporting role to that her husband and her children could be all they could be.
Billy Graham together with John Stott started the Lausanne movement on world evangelization and missions. He became the confidant for American Presidents. At 90+, he has Parkinson’s disease. The man who brought Billy Graham to Christ is Albert McMakin who brought him to a meeting by Mordecai Ham. No many people know Albert McMakin. But it doesn’t matter. Not everyone needs to be Billy Graham. If we think so, then it’s a transference of worldly pride where we all worship people who are good looking and famous.
Jacob wrestled with an angel and he no longer walked the same – in a very picturesque way, his spiritual life was never the same. He was known as Israel from then on.
The series of destiny experience Joseph had
His dreams reveal how God was going to use him. In the midst of adversity for 13 years, he refused to let the world change him.There are many talks about living life pleasantly. There is now an Adversity Quotient, to measure how well people respond to adversities.
You and I should not buy into the health and wealth gospel. For sure we know God wants to bless us, but not this kind.
4 types of destiny experiences
According to Robert Clinton- Awe inspiring
- Indirect (God spoke into Rachel’s life upon the birth of Joseph) God will do that – but we have time to hear.
- Providential – God provided so much that no other answer could be given. This includes deliverance. Joseph’s brothers wanted to kill him. But he was sold. This can also include connections – like what Joseph meeting the cupbearer and the baker. It may include painful ones – Joseph spent 13 years in pain. That’s an essential formation for Joseph where he learn how to suffer as a just man, framed for a crime he did not commit. His faith grew. God doesn’t apologize to us if he need to bring pain into our lives to remove the sharp edges in our lives. Those things are never wasted. God intended them to make us more beautiful in Him. We must learn to do what is right even without getting the desired gain. Providential experiences may include suffering.
- Blessings. Sometimes the people around us may see if more clearly than us. In Gen, we read that Joseph’s master saw that God was with him. In jail, the Lord was with Joseph and he found favour in the eyes of the guards. In Gen 39:41, Pharaoh recognized this. The epitaph for Joseph’s life if found in Acts 7:9.
Overcoming barriers
Joseph – overcoming the INTERNAL brriers to fulfilling divine purpose and destinyThe 3 common but powerful unconscious drive in all of us:
- Self-preservation
- Sex
- Need to shine before others
- Desire of the flesh (v1)
- The course of this world (v4) – worldliness, the worship of materialism / secularism / individualism (talk about rights but not responsibility) / hedonism / relativism. These are the gods of our age around the world
- The Prince of the air (v7) – not talking the devil seriously. We must be aware that he has his devices.
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
It was easy for Joseph to be bitter and be vengeful. His brothers did not bat they eyes when they sold him.
Now he had them in his power. He could easily exact revenge.
Joseph obeyed. (James 4:8). We must admit the fact that we have been hurt instead of trying to make it not real. It is normal to feel injustice.
When a snake bites you and the bite was toxic, the answer is not to kill the snake. You will still die. When we try to kill the snake, the toxic moves in us and eventually engulfs us. The real answer it to look for a doctor to get rid of what is inside us (the toxic.)
If we want to forgive people, we must be real and tell God we let go of the right to get angry.
Sometimes, when we think about forgiving people, we want to wait until we feel better. We cannot be emotion-centric, we must be behavior-centric. Joseph decided to forgive his brothers, give them grains and let them go safely. When we choose to forgive, do not let our feelings affect us.
When we have the toxin in us, we risk the danger of not being able to fulfill God’s purpose.
Transformational impact
The transformational impact of Joseph’s life and leadership in 4 areas.- Gen 41 – the known world was suffering from famine. They came to Egypt for food. The world was ministered.
- He impacted Egypt, his host country. The Egyptians had food on their tables. Joseph was placed in Egypt before the famine so he could make a difference. We cannot impact our host country if we are always looking for greener pastures in Australia, New Zealand, etc.
- Family. His father had good. His brothers had a place to go to. Gen 50:15-18. He brought repentance and reconciliation. He brought back wholesome relationship.
- The Messianic community. Joseph’s act in a way benefited us even though it was distant. The Messiah was born in that family.
Conclusion
To be transformational in life and leadership- Who is the “controlling reality”? Because God is the final reality, the facts remain but out understanding changes.
- Will you be a person of God’s purpose and destiny?
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