Learning Some Lessons From Joseph

Introduction

Good morning. If you want to open your Bibles with me to Genesis chapter 45. Genesis chapter 45. As you’re turning there, think about the fact that in just this brief first book of the Bible, if you were to open your Bibles, that is the first book of the Bible. As we find ourselves in Genesis 45, man has come a very long way from when God spoke, and all of this world came into creation. There was the time in Genesis chapter 6 where God had declared that he would destroy the earth by way of flood. And Noah was spared because he was righteous. He was found faithful in the eyes of the Lord. But as you go through the book of Genesis, you come to a very important figure.

In Genesis chapter 12, you meet Abraham. In fact, not only is it just this one place per se, but when you think about Genesis chapter 12, what do you think about with Abraham? You think about the three promises that God made to Abraham. If he would go, as it turns out, to a land not knowing where he was going, God promised Abraham three things that he would make of him a great nation, and we know that nation as the Jews, as the kingdom of Israel. He promised them that land that they went to, that was the land of Canaan. But it’s that third promise that was ever so important, the promised seed, that through Abraham all families of the earth shall be blessed. And certainly we are blessed through Jesus Christ.

But when you think about Abraham, to get to that nation, to get to that seed, to inhabit that land, there had to be an heir. And of course, Abraham and Sarah’s way of dealing with that was to do what? Well, they they couldn’t have a child because Sarah was in her eighties, getting close to 90, and Abraham was approaching a hundred. And so they thought, well, we’re just going to do it a different way. So what did Sarah do with Abraham? She gave him her handmaiden, and he had Ishmael. But that wasn’t God’s plan. God promised the seed that would come from Abraham and Sarah. And that turned out to be Isaac. And Isaac begot Esau and Jacob. And again, when you think about Israel’s history or even the world’s history, who is it that generally would inherit most of the land?

1. God Sent Me Before You

Was it the firstborn or the second or third or fourth? Well, it’s the firstborn. Esau was born first, and yet who was it that inherited the promise of Jacob? Well, the promise of Isaac, that would be Jacob. See, you should be listening to that. When you think then about Jacob, though, what did he have? He had the twelve sons. In Genesis chapter 45, you read about kind of this culminating point where his sons, which had been separated, have come together in Egypt. And note Joseph. Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Note his response to his brothers in chapter 45 and verse 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.

And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. 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. And certainly this is a swell time in the life of Joseph. When you look at verse 6, it’s no surprise that Joseph would say the famine was here.

And in verse 7, not really even a surprise that he would say, God sent me here. But if you notice back in Genesis chapter 37, the way we reckon it, did God send Abraham to Egypt? Well, he sent Abraham out. Did he pick Ishmael to be the chosen seed? No, God chose Isaac. Did God choose the firstborn Esau to inherit that promise? No, he chose Isaac. God’s way was known, even though man wouldn’t do it that way, God’s way was clear.

Look in Genesis chapter 37. In Genesis chapter 45, Joseph says, God sent me here to take care of you. We don’t question that. Because we know Joseph’s whole life. But if you look at Genesis chapter 37, how was it that he got to Egypt? In Genesis chapter 37, beginning in verse 1, Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. Then when you come to verse 5, you see that Joseph had a dream. And when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, Hear this dream that I have dreamed. Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheep arose and stood upright.

And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed to my sheaf. His brother said to him, Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us? So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Why would they hate Joseph so much? Well, I’ve got to tell you, if you want to be popular with people, the way to do it is to not go and say, I had this powerful dream, and you all bow down to me.

And in verse 3 tells us that Israel, that is Jacob, loved Joseph the most. But in verse 4, though, when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peacefully to him. You know, when a father loves a child more than the others, that doesn’t sit well. And then what did we just read that Joseph did? Well, he continued to tell of his powerful dream where they all bowed down to him. And yet there’s another example of that in verses 9 through eleven. But note the conclusion of that in verse 11. And his brothers were jealous of him. But his father kept the saying in mind. See, you think about this, this is not a great family dynamic.

And in verse 12 we see the wheels turning on how Joseph ended up in Egypt. Now his brothers went to pasture to their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them. And he said to him, Here I am. So he said to him, Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word. So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a man found him wandering in the fields, and the man asked him, What are you seeking? I am seeking my brothers, he said. Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock. And the man said, They have gone far away, for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan.

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them. Do you see this in verse 18? This is a pivotal moment in the life of Joseph and the plan of God. In verse 18, they saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, Here comes this dreamer, come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams. But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take his life. And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood, throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.

In verse 25, then they sat down to eat. This is what Joseph in the pit. And looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, What prophet is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh. And his brothers listened to him. The Midianite traders passed by, and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. In Genesis chapter 45, we see Joseph clearly sees that God’s plan was to guide him to Egypt, and that in so doing, when the great famine came upon the land of Egypt, that had been prophesied in the dream of Pharaoh that Joseph was able to interpret, that Joseph would provide for the family of God.

He would provide for his brothers. And that’s pretty easy to say to see. But in this moment, in Genesis chapter 37, what do we learn about how Joseph ended up in Egypt? Joseph said God sent him there, but what the text tells us is, well, yes, God was certainly behind in a providential way the life of Joseph. He was sold into slavery by his brothers who wanted to kill him first. Sometimes we have to battle with this thought that God isn’t with me. Where is God? Where is God when my family life is crumbling? Where is God when life is hard? When I don’t have the job I expect to have, when I don’t have the life I thought I should. Where is God when innocent teenagers die because of a drunk driver?

Where is God in my life? This is not certainly God’s plan that I’m living. And we think of God as being God. But I think we make a major flaw, and Joseph teaches us several lessons, but if you take any one lesson from this morning, take this. That when we look at just one piece of our life, it’s easy to say God is here or God isn’t here, because you know what we do. When life is good, when the money’s coming in, the family’s all around, God is good, and we’re excited. But isn’t God good even when we don’t see it? Even when we don’t understand it. Think about Joseph here in chapter 45, as we already read. He said his life was guided by God, that God put him in Egypt, and yet in verse 37, he was thrown in a pit and sold into slavery.

2. The Lord Was With Joseph

Now I have to be honest, I haven’t had a lot of experience being thrown into pits. My family likes me too much. Seriously, you can laugh this morning. And when you think about that, though, do you think Joseph was down in this pit and thinking to himself, boy, life is great. This is so good, this must be God’s doing. Well, we know that Joseph maintained faith in God. That God continued to bless Joseph wherever he went, because as we read, by the time we come to Genesis chapter 39, not only is Joseph in Egypt, but where is he ascended? Look with me there in Genesis chapter 39. After being sold into slavery, thrown into the pit. In Genesis chapter 39, now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.

The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him. And he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of Joseph’s life and say, See, it all that he had. But just remember, just a little bit ago, where was Joseph? Hated by his brothers. They wanted his life in some in some of their cases. Thrown into a pit, sold into slavery. And yet here he is, and by the grace of God, with his faith remaining intact, God was blessing him so much so that he was promoted within the ranks of Egypt.

But verse six, the second part of that leads to the next stunning turn in Joseph’s life. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, Lie with me. But he refused and said to his master’s wife, Behold, because of me, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor is he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her to lie beside her or to be with her.

But one day, when he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me. Do you see what Joseph did here, though? In verse 13. And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came into me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.

Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, and she told him the same story, saying, The Hebrew servant whom you have brought among us came into me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house. In verse 20, and Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in prison. So this Joseph, whose life is great, whose life is grand, the great grandson of Abraham, the great Joseph, who has the two sons who inherit part of the land of the twelve tribes of Israel once they get to the promised land.

This Joseph was thrown into a pit, hated by his brother, sold into slavery. Then, when things were good, how did life go for him? Well, things were going pretty good. And so his master’s wife accused him of something false. And where did Joseph go then? Cast into prison. And again, I’m not asking the question, what would I think in those times? It’s bad enough to be in prison. It’s bad enough to be thrown into a pit, but the circumstances around it will make it all the worse. It is his brothers who threw him into the pit. It is Potiphar’s wife’s false accusation that landed him in prison. And if you’re looking just at the microcosm of the moment, if you’re looking at this one period of time in your life, whether it be months or a year or days, and you say, where is God now?

You see, Joseph had as any right as much right as any of us to do that. Do you think maybe when he was in the pit, he was thinking, why me? Do you think maybe if it was me or you in the prison being falsely accused, that you would at least consider the question, why? Where is God when this happens? Why is he letting this happen to me? But again, we know by Genesis chapter 45 that Joseph understood God’s plan. And so what that teaches me is several things that we’ll go over in a moment. But again, please take this. Judge your life by your willingness to submit to God and take the whole picture in mind. Because God has always been and forever will be.

We like to take this one tough week we have and say, This isn’t right. This isn’t fair. When God says, I have a purpose for you. What’s interesting about being thrown into the pit and being thrown into prison is it is in prison that Joseph is to interpret the dreams of his prison mates. And it is those prisonmates who, when released from prison, go back into service of the Pharaoh that when Pharaoh has a dream that he needs interpreted, guess who remembers that cellmate he had? The one who Joseph interpreted the dream of. It is at that point that Joseph interprets the dream of Pharaoh, recognizing that a famine is coming on the land and that they should prepare for it. And then Joseph ascends into the ranks nearest even to Pharaoh.

3. Don’t Allow Yourself to Be Discouraged by Others

And he’s there to provide for God’s family. We see this was all the providence of God. This worked out. But if you look at that one moment, it wasn’t that way. And so as we continue on this morning, let’s learn a few lessons from Joseph. The first one is don’t allow yourself to be discouraged by others. If you look at me in Romans chapter 8, I think an important thing when we think about where is God, an important consideration is who is determining whether or not God is there with me? Well, oftentimes it’s our snapshot of our life. We say, My boss is unfair. This treatment isn’t working for me, right? My life is hard. But is that the purpose? Is that what God even promised?

In Romans chapter 8 and verse 31. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He does not who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who is indeed interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? So tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger are sword, as it is written, for your sake, we are being killed all the day long.

We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Look closely at these next few verses. Knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor death, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We serve a great God. Amen? If that’s true, if what God has written for those who are true disciples of Christ is revealed here in Romans 8 is so, then we see that not only would we not be dissuaded because God promised us, but we wouldn’t give in because of the way others treat us because it’s not about others.

This life is not about others. It’s about serving God. And if that’s the case, then we see in verse 35 the question to be true. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Of tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger of sword? The answer to that is, of course, no. Because why? Because of God. Because God understands who his people are, and God’s promises to us are on a spiritual level. And that’s the key. Because we don’t need to doubt or blame God because life is tough or unfair. You know, I’d love. Love to be able to preach what some false teachers do, which is that if you send us enough money, that your life will be full of riches. That if you’re a good Christian and you show up to church, at least with some regularity, God is going to bless you with a new car, with a great job.

He’s going to find your perfect soulmate. Everything’s going to be grand. You know, there are people who preach that. The problem is the Bible doesn’t teach that. And if the Bible doesn’t teach that, then I need to say, see, and be able to say. What is it that God does teach? What does God promise? Romans chapter 8 is a beautiful passage. But what’s the point? Well, look at Job. If you look at me at the example of Job in chapter 1, if there’s any biblical man who suffered more than the Christ, or suffered nearest to Christ, I should say, it would be Job. And in Job chapter 1, after most of his life, his physical nature had been struck down. Note Job’s response. Now, this is Job, a faithful servant of God, who the devil himself approaches the Lord and says, I want to be able to come after him.

He only worships you, O God, because of the stuff you’ve given him, because of his great life. And you know, really, that’s kind of what we think, too, isn’t it? We think, oh, God’s really blessing this family because they are super wealthy. This family over here without wealth, though, what do we do there? You see, it’s an interesting dilemma. In Job chapter 1, though, note after all the sufferings that Job went through in chapter 1. Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord is taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Think about it. That’s the attitude to have, is it not? Blessed be the name of the Lord when? When the Lord gives and when the Lord takes away. Because why? Job is committed to God, not to the things of this life that God may have blessed us with. We’ve had numerous lessons over the years over what to do with what God has blessed us with. We need to invest our time in the service of others. We need to love one another as ourselves. We need to give of our money to help those who are in need. Certainly the parable of the Good Samaritan leaps to mind. But when we think about what this life is about, when we make it about things, it’s going to be very easy to doubt or even to take it the next step and blame God.

Because you know what? Why would God want me to have such a tough life? Why is my life so unfair? That’s not about God at all. Might I add a point, not for the whole scope of this lesson, but just a consideration. That when we commit lives of sin, God promises that we can be forgiven of the sin, but that doesn’t remove its consequences. If you become drunk, instruct someone in your car and kill them, as many do each and every day, that guilt is still on your mind in the weight of the criminal justice system. You will still go to prison. Although God can forgive you of your sins if you truly repent and turn your heart over to God. That doesn’t get you out of prison.

4. Why, O Lord, Do You Stand Far Away?

That doesn’t get you out of the consequences of our actions. God is still our Lord, but He promises us a spiritual inheritance. It’s not about gold or good feelings here and now. When you think about David’s point in Psalm chapter 13, we see that not only did Job face a lot from God, but David did. As you’re going towards Psalm 13, stop in Psalm chapter 10. And note with me in verse 1, this is a point that David made. Here is David, who is referred to as a man after God’s own heart. I want to look at a statement that David made, a question that he asked. In Psalm chapter 10 and verse 1, this man after God’s own heart says, Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? First of all, can I make the statement that the reason we don’t seem to find God most frequently in times of trouble is because that’s when we’re looking the most. Maybe if we were constantly engaged with our God, if we constantly serve God to the highest of our abilities and thanked him when times were going good, we wouldn’t think he disappeared when times are going bad. If we remain committed to God, we know where he is. But even David, this great man, had those doubts. But if you look in Psalm chapter 13, note what David also reaches, what conclusion he makes. And in Psalm chapter 13, read with me this sixth verse chapter. How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God. Light up my eyes, lest thy sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say I have prevailed over him, lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me. Do you see it in verse 5? All those questions David has, all these considerations. God, where are you? Where were you when I needed you? Why are my enemies having victory over me?

Are you ever going to help me before the point of death? Should I just die? Look at verse 5. But I have trusted in your steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. David, when it came down to it, understood what God truly offers. And that’s a chance to be with him for all of eternity. It’s not about living here and being happy. If that’s the case, aren’t we to be most pitied? Wouldn’t this life be a gloomy, dark, wasteful thing if we were just here and we just vanished? If this was the best it got? The good news is the same God who created us desires that we be with him. When you think about Joseph, he faced great discouragement from even his brothers, let alone his worker.

5. He’s Not Hiding: God Is Always There

His co-worker, you know, the man he actually worked for, his boss oppressed him greatly, throwing him in prison. You think about doubting or blaming God. Do you think Joseph did? It’s not recorded if he did. But I know if it was me, and I was in the pit, or I was in prison, I might have some thoughts or some doubts. And then you think about where is God when I’m struggling? When my life is so hard, where is he? Well, the truth is he’s not hiding. If you look in Romans chapter 1 and verse 20, know what we should know about God. The atheist struggles with this passage because the idea is clear. In Romans chapter 1 and verse 20, how shall we know God? His invisible attributes, namely what?

His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since when? The creation of the world and the things that have been made, so that they are without excuse. God should be seen in his creation. It is his creation grand. We can see God. We can know him. He is not hiding. If you look in 1 Kings chapter 18, we know that he’s watching. Look at me. This is one of the most interesting, perhaps even comedic scriptures that there are. In 1 Kings chapter 18, when you look at Elijah, and he’s having this great showdown with the prophets of the Baal, the false gods that the Israelites were worshiping. Elijah finally has enough, and there’s this grand challenge. And the idea is whichever God answers the prayers and devours what they have set up, that is the true God to be worshipped.

But you see, the worshippers of Baal had a problem. In first Kings chapter 18, beginning in verse 22, then Elijah said to the people, I even I only am left a prophet of the Lord. But Baal’s prophets are 450 men. In verse 24, and you call upon the name of your God, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God. And all the people answered, It is well spoken. And so the worshippers of Baal were up first. And see what happens in verse 26. And they took the bowl that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, Oh, Baal, answer us. But there was no voice and no one answered.

And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry aloud, for he is a God. Either he is musing or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened. By the way, this is a God that Elijah is mocking them for. And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the ablation. But there was no voice. No one answered. No one paid attention. No one answered because it wasn’t a real God. And when Elijah prayed, even though he had wet the sacrifice, even though he had built a trench that was filled with water around it, God sent fire and devoured it in an instant, because God is watching.

God is always there for us. And the point of this passage in light of this discussion is not to say, call on God and he’ll send fire on whatever you’re aiming for. The point is God is always there. He’s not like some false God. He’s not going to just come if you start cutting yourself or calling out. God is always there. He has not hidden himself from us. He is always watching. And furthermore, it may be that you don’t even feel him there. But my feelings don’t determine whether or not God is. I’ve said it time and again, it doesn’t matter whether I spend my whole life teaching that God exists and is the great creator of this world, or I deny every aspect of that claim.

God exists, whether or not I like it, whether or not I agree with it, and whether or not the world’s majority believes in it. Because God is and forevermore will be. And when you consider the fact that I won’t feel him, I realize that I could share that with David. Even David, the man after God’s own heart, had that question. God, where are you in times of trouble? But sometimes we know from passages like Jeremiah 17 and verse 9, the heart, our feelings can be deceitful. And the truth is, God is there whether we feel his presence or not. God is always there for his people.

In fact, there are numerous warnings in Scripture against that thought that be prepared to be persecuted, be ready for those to mock you, be ready to be ridiculed, stick with God no matter what. Do you think the Christians in the first century who were lit on fire in the kingdom of Rome thought life was peachy? Do you think that when the apostles taught them that you need to go ahead and be a Christian, even though the Romans are persecuting them, it’s okay because they won’t actually put you to death? History records that was not the case. That was not Paul’s message, that was not the message of the Christ, and that is not what God has told us. But what God has promised is that this whole life, sacrificed to him, is worth it.

We’re not living for now, we’re living for eternity. If you believe that God exists, you have just as much expectation as the Lord has for you that he expects to be obeyed. What is the purpose of man in Ecclesiastes chapter 12? To fear God and keep his commandments. Why? For this is the whole duty of man. I think sometimes we don’t feel God’s presence because what we expect from God isn’t coming to pass. Because if we’re honest, even if we know that God hasn’t promised earthly riches or an easy life, the truth is we feel that way. It’s easy, and we still should do this, but it’s easy to thank God when times are good. It’s easy to say, I have a great life. I have a great job.

I have a great church family. Life is good. Praise God. He deserves to be praised. He deserves to be thanked. But God is still there, even when times are tough. And I ask you to go with me on this. Who is it that you think caused the separation between you and God? Whether it be in feelings or in fact. There’s an example that a preacher named Wilson Adams used, and it’s about an elderly couple who was driving in the car along the highway. They had been married for about 55 years. And as they’re driving, the man’s name is Harold, and his wife says, Oh, Harold, look in front of you. And in the car in front of them, there was a newlywed couple, and the wife was sitting just about as close to her husband as she possibly could.

And she says, Oh, Harold, do you remember when we were like that? We used to be so close. We used to be so loving. Do you remember when we were like that, Harold? And the man just he kept driving. And of course, as nature would have it, they stayed behind this car, and she goes, Oh, Harold, why aren’t we like that anymore? Why can’t we be as close as they are? We’ve loved each other for so many years. Why aren’t we like that, Harold? Oh, Harold, why are we so far apart? And he just kept driving. And finally they stopped and they saw him walking around, and the newlywed couple was so close. They were holding hands and hugging and kissing, and they were so tight.

And the wife says to Harold, she says, Harold, why are we not like that? Why are we so far apart? Look at you. You’re all the way on this side of the car, I’m all the way up on this side of the car against the door. What happened, Harold? Where are you? And Harold looks at her and he says, I never moved. See, the truth is that, like a car where the driver’s seat is fixed, and the passenger determines how close or far they will be from the driver, God always lives. God is always there. And if we don’t sense him in our life, if we don’t feel that he’s there, the only reason that we would not be close to God is if I moved from him.

See, that’s a challenging thought because all of a sudden, rather than blaming God when life’s unfair or when life’s hard, or looking at this microcosm of a moment like Joseph could have done and saying, this isn’t right. Am I really a child of yours, though, God? Because this is pretty hard. I realize that God has a plan. And that if I want to be close to God, I need to learn about his will. I need to study his words. If I want to be close to God, I know where he is. The challenge for me to honestly reflect on is, where am I? You know, it’s a strong struggle. And it’s hard and it’s emotional. And it’s just tough when someone has reached a point where they say, I just, I just can’t believe that there is a God because of what I’m facing.

Conclusion

It’s hard to answer that. And the truth is there is no good answer. If you tell them, well, you moved. There’s some story about cars. It’s not super helpful. But the truth is, to the honest seeking heart, to the individual who truly knows that God exists and wants to please him, we will know. I’ll know if I’m pleasing God or not. I’ll know if God is in my life, not because of the riches or the size of my bank account, but based on the way that God has promised to love those who submit their lives to Him. Have you lived close to God? If you were to ask Him this morning, if you were to have some honest reflection and see, are you close to God or is God far from you?

Where are you today? We know God exists. We know that God has blessed us with even this day, but we don’t know if we will have any more days. Frankly, even setting aside the fact that God is going to come again, that the Christ will come. The truth is this life is full of surprises and deaths happen each and every day. Are you ready to meet the Lord? Are you ready to meet your Maker? When it comes to obeying God, it’s easy to blame Him, but it’s hard to take self responsibility for self. Today, choose, just like Joshua did, that as for me and for my house, I, we will serve the Lord. If we can help you do that in any way, come forward now as we stand and sing the invitation song.