Greg Laurie - The Teenager Who Changed the World (10/11/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares the inspiring story of Joseph from Genesis 37 and Hebrews 11, showing how this teenager overcame betrayal, adversity, and jealousy through faith to become a world changer and forgiver. The key takeaway is that God works all things together for good for those who love Him, turning even the worst circumstances into ultimate blessing and salvation, just as seen in Joseph's life and ultimately in Jesus.
The Teenager Who Changed the World
Father, we are glad to be here today in Your house with Your people to open Your Word and to hear Your voice. And You tell us in Scripture that Your sheep hear Your voice. Well, Lord, we're Your sheep—so much like them. Disobedient, prone to go astray. Don't always listen. We're Your sheep, and You're our Shepherd. And You want to speak to us today. So would You do that? Because, Lord, we want to be world changers. And we want to make a difference. We don't want the world to change us. We want to change the world. So speak to us, we would ask now, in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right. Well, let's grab our Bibles. And we're going to turn to two passages today. Hebrews 11 and Genesis 37. And the title of my message is, The Teenager Who Changed the World. So, if you're a teenager, listen up to this message, especially. If you're older and you shop at Forever 21, please stop now.
Searching for Real Heroes in Our Culture
But, you know, I think we're in a day where we're really looking for real heroes. You know, I just saw that film, Hacksaw Ridge, true story of Desmond Doss. Now, that's a hero. A man that risked his life, saved 75 other men. Some even think it may have been as many as 100. That's a hero. But nowadays, we throw the word hero around a lot. We use it to describe a sandwich. I love a hero sandwich. We use it to describe a video game. Guitar Hero. If you can hit five chords in your electric guitar, you're a guitar hero. If you can sink a ball in a basket, you're a basketball hero or a sports hero.
But really, what is a hero? One definition of a hero goes as follows. And I quote, "A person who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through impressive feats of ingenuity, bravery, or strength, often sacrificing his or her own personal concerns for some greater good." That's a good definition of a hero.
Now, President Obama just gave out the Presidential Medal of Freedom to some recipients. Now, before I tell you who they were, and you may already know, in the past, they've given this out to the Apollo 13 crew, Mother Teresa, Ronald Reagan, and Billy Graham, all worthy recipients. This year, the Presidential Medal of Freedom was given to Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, Lorne Michaels, and others.
Now, I'm not saying that these people are not successful in their field in entertainment, but I'm thinking, could we ever give this Presidential Medal of Freedom to someone like a police officer that risked his life to save our lives? It's not heroic to sing a song. It's not heroic to recite lines for a film. It is heroic when you put your life in danger to save the lives of others. That's heroism.
Could we give this award to a firefighter? I mean, there are so many worthy people out there. The list goes on. They have other awards for those who have served us in the military. I'm talking about civilians primarily. But you know, I think of people who have overcome adversity. How about giving it to Joni Eareckson Tada, who has brought inspiration to millions of people around the world in a wheelchair. She's turned her disability into an ability.
How about giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom to my aunt, Willie Jordan, who has served the homeless for 65 years on L.A. Skid Row. So, just a few thoughts. You know, we're living in a time where you have a lot of celebrities. People who are famous for being famous. Oh, they have more Instagram followers. Or they have more friends on Facebook. Yeah, but what have they done?
The Difference Between Heroes and Celebrities
I mean, is it heroic? One person contrasted a hero and a celebrity as follows. The hero is known for achievements. The celebrity for well-knownness. The hero reveals the possibilities of human nature. The celebrity reveals the possibilities of the press and media. Celebrities are people who make news. Heroes are people who make history. Time makes heroes, but dissolves celebrities.
We need more heroes. There's a song that my friend Dennis Agajanian sometimes sings, written by Steve Kemp, that asks the question, "Where are the heroes now?" When we need them so desperately, who will step out from the crowd and be strong enough to lead? Who will teach our children? Who will show them how? I'm asking you, where are the heroes now?
Listen, you can be a hero. You can be a world changer. That's what we're talking about in this series that we're calling World Changers. Based on Hebrews 11, which is sometimes referred to as the Hero's Hall of Faith. And there are some characters that made it in that, quite frankly, are surprising. From Lot to Jacob and others.
But the young man we're gonna look at now, who is related to Jacob, in fact, it was his son, is more than a worthy recipient of this award, if you will. In fact, he was just a boy when God revealed to him his future. He was the teenager who changed the world. And I'm talking about Joseph.
Joseph: A Classic Story of Faith Overcoming Adversity
I mean, you wanna talk about someone overcoming adversity. Joseph, against all odds, faced the worst circumstances imaginable. And as you look at his life, it has all the earmarks of a real page-turner. You know, a summer read. A great novel. It's a story of an overindulgent father, a somewhat spoiled son, jealous brothers, an international food crisis.
But it's more than that. It's a story that shows the hand of God at work in every scene, ruling and overruling the decisions that people make. And in the end, God builds a hero, He saves a family, and creates a nation that becomes a blessing to all of the earth, the nation Israel.
You see, Joseph wasn't just a world changer. Joseph was quite literally a world saver. Because of the decisions he made, thousands of people had their lives changed and saved. Joseph's story is a classic rags-to-riches tale as he rises from complete obscurity, facing constant setbacks to become the second most powerful man on the face of the earth.
And, you know, the theme of Hebrews 11 is world changers using their faith. Excuse me. I have a cold. Don't you hate colds? And I have one of those colds that hasn't quite engaged yet. You know what I'm talking about? It's like it's always threatening. I'm coming. I'm coming. And I'm fighting back with vitamin C and all those things that don't work.
And so it always hits me in my voice, in my chest whenever I get a cold. And then just about the time I think I'm better, I sneeze five times. It's like, oh, here we are. So this is my adversity. It's pretty small compared to Joseph.
But, you know, this is a man that uses faith. And really, that's the theme of Hebrews 11. The heroes of faith. If you want to be a world changer, you need to be a man or woman of faith. You don't just talk about faith. You use your faith.
As we've told you, faith is like a muscle. It needs to be put into practice and applied. And he certainly did that. In fact, as we look at some of the other world changers, the heroes of faith, we'll see some of them struggled with doubt. Abraham certainly had his doubts when he lied about his wife Sarah, saying she was his sister because he was afraid of what would happen to him if he was discovered.
We know that others had momentary lapses of faith. But from the story of Joseph, we cannot find a single shade of doubt.
The Power of Forgiveness and God's Sovereignty
And, man, you want to talk about a guy with little promise. He was a simple shepherd boy. 12th of 13 children. A spoiled young man in some ways, given visions of grandeur. He didn't seem to really like hard work. And he lived in his mother's basement. He was the first millennial. Relax, it's just a joke, kind of.
Now, actually, he didn't live in his mother's basement. I just threw that in. But like many teenagers, he liked to sleep. And he had dreams. But in the case of Joseph, these dreams came from God. In fact, in the beginning, Joseph's dreams got him into trouble. But 13 years later, other people's dreams would get him out of trouble.
In the story of Joseph, we learn how to overcome adversity, how to face envy from others, how to resist sexual temptation, and how to lay hold of and have faith in the promises of God.
But the most significant lesson of the life of Joseph is how to forgive those who have hurt you. Oh, yes. There's not a better example of forgiveness in all of the Bible except Jesus. He's a sterling example. But apart from our Lord, Joseph shows forgiveness on an epic level.
How many of you have been hurt by people in life? Raise your hand. It's okay. If you don't, raise your hand. I'm wondering, are you human? We're all hurt. We've all been taken advantage of. We've all been insulted. We've all had people wish us ill.
But Joseph faced all of that and actually was able to extend forgiveness to his brothers. And what a unique thought that is in our times in which we're living, in our uptight and angry culture of road rage and cyberbullying and frivolous lawsuits. We prize revenge as a virtue.
When's the last time you saw a movie celebrating forgiveness? I don't know, but I can tell you the last time you saw a movie celebrating payback, because that's a story we like to see. But that's not what we see in the life of Joseph.
Because Joseph shows us a better way, the way of forgiveness. And he was able to say to his brothers later on who had actually sold him into slavery, "It was not you that sent me here, but God." As wicked as you guys were and as horrible as your plan was, God was in it, and He was ultimately in control.
In fact, if Joseph had a theme scripture, it would be this one on the screen right now, Romans 8:28. Let's read it out loud together. "And we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose." Oh, I love that. I hope you've committed that to memory. If you haven't, maybe this will be when you start to.
But that is really the theme of his life. Whatever happened, God used it for His glory.
Growing Up in a Dysfunctional Family
I mean, he lived in the strangest family. He was a part of the strangest family. We just celebrated Thanksgiving. You know, Thanksgiving is a mixed thing, right? I mean, there's certain family members we love to be around, and then we all have weird family members. Am I right? And you spent some time with them, and you were glad when it was over, right?
That was the greatest moment of Thanksgiving when you walked out of the door and said, oh man, we only have to... A year later, we'll deal with this, but thankfully that's over.
Now, when I leave a big gathering, I'm not one to say goodbye to everybody. I'm more of a, hey, good to see everyone. If you're near the door, I'll give you a quick hug. Boom, I'm in the car, ready to go. My wife, Kathy, personally greets every person, and hugs them. An hour later, she's getting in the car, right? But she's much more civil and polite than I am.
But, you know, we all know what this is like to have strange families. Well, he had the strangest family of all, dominated by lying, deceit, immorality, manipulation, even murder. He could have turned out rotten, and he could have blamed it on his mom and dad, and certainly his brothers.
If anyone could have played the victim card, it was Joseph, but he never did. In fact, we read in Psalm 76:10, "Human opposition only enhances Your glory, for You use it as a sword of judgment."
So if you live in a messed up, dysfunctional home, take heart. It can't be any worse than Joseph's home. And God preserved him and blessed him. And God can help you. God can take your setback and turn it into a setup. God can take your mess and turn it into a message. God can put the fun in dysfunction, if you will. He can turn your situation around.
Look, I get tired of people always wanting to blame their bad behavior on their family. I was raised in the strangest family ever, if you even want to call it that. No dad around. And my mom, I would say she did the best she could, but I don't think she really did. But I think she tried, somewhat.
But in many ways, I was just sort of taken along for the ride and sent here and sent there for long periods of time. But as I look at my life, I can see God's hand in it. I wouldn't wish my childhood on anyone, but at the same time, it made me into the person I am, for better and for worse.
I find that I have a compassion for people that come from broken homes. I have a compassion for skeptical people because I was once that person by nature. I still am, somewhat, but not about my faith and not about the Word of God. But I understand how a lot of people think.
And Joseph's life was changed at 17 and my life was changed at 17 as well. That was my... I was 17 when I became a follower of Jesus Christ. But, you know, I'm able to look back on my life and see how God has had His hand in it.
And so whatever you're going through, it's time to stop making excuses and blaming it on mom and blaming it on dad or blaming it on your siblings or blaming it on the dog. I mean, if you're gonna blame anyone, blame the cat, okay? Just blame the cat. They won't care.
You're booing? Kill the cat. Now, I'm taking it... No, I'm just kidding. I love cats. Actually, we have a... I know you think I hate cats. I only say that because people react, actually. We have a cat we've kind of adopted in our neighborhood that comes up to our porch. He's a cool cat because he comes when you call him. That's all I'm talking about. Just come every now and then. And he comes up and... And so I put milk out for him. Kathy says, "What are you doing with that milk? I'm feeding the cat. What are you crazy? That's a waste of milk." No, he likes it. And I sit there and I watch him and I pet him. I'll tell you what. I'll take a video of it and post it to prove it. You see? But that's just because he's a cat that acts like a dog. That's the only reason I like him.
Joseph's Life in Three Stages
But you can take Joseph's life and divide it into three sections. If you're taking notes, number one, start. Number two, struggle. Number three, success. First there's start. That would be birth to 17 years old. That's when Joseph was growing up. He was the son of Jacob's true love, Rachel. And he was hated by his brothers. And we'll look at that in a few moments.
Number two, struggle. We'll look at this next time. From 17 to 30. As he is elevated from obscurity, falsely accused of rape, and then sent to prison, and finally, success, 30 years to death. He shines in this section as he's blessed by God in every way and handles it with unbelievable grace and dignity.
But most significantly, he extends forgiveness to his brothers that have brought these calamities upon him.
Now we're looking at two passages together. Hebrews 11 and Genesis 37. So first let's look at Hebrews 11:22. There's not a lot about Joseph in Hebrews. "By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave instructions concerning his bones."
So we're introduced to Joseph in Hebrews 11 at the end of his life. Here he is in a foreign country and he didn't want to be buried there. He wanted to be buried in the land of Canaan. He had walked in faith. Now he's dying in faith. So he wants to go home again.
But how did Joseph end up in Egypt to start with? That is where our story begins. Turn over to Genesis 37. I'm gonna read verses 2 to 4 from the New Living Translation where we're introduced to Joseph.
"When Joseph was 17 years old, he often tended his father's flocks. He worked for his half-brothers as sons of his father's wives, Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing. Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day, Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph, a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. And they couldn't say a kind word to him."
We'll stop there.
Favoritism and the Coat of Many Colors
So as our story begins, we have Jacob as an older man favoring one son above the others. Jacob had many wives, which is always a bad idea. And this is one of the reasons why. Some of you who have had parents who are divorced multiple times have, you know, your half-brothers, your half-sisters, and all the rest that goes with it. And it makes life difficult many times.
And so Jacob had this same problem. Now you remember that Jacob fell in love with a beautiful girl named Rachel, right? He wanted to marry her, but her father, Laban, was a worse conniver than Jacob was. And he said, "I'll tell you what, man, you worked for me for seven years, you can have Rachel." Jacob's like, game on. I'm ready.
And he worked for seven years, and on his honeymoon night, instead of waking up with Rachel, he woke up with her less attractive sister, Leah. And then they even said, oh, you know, we all know the rights of the firstborn. I hear Leah's the firstborn. Sorry, work seven more years, and you can have Rachel.
Fact is, he worked 14 years to marry this beloved girl, and she was so important to him. And they had the child Joseph. So, he favored this boy.
Now, you would have thought that Jacob would have known it's wrong to show favoritism to one child over another. Why? Because his father favored his brother, Esau, remember? And his mother favored him, and this created a harsh rivalry that continued well into their adult years.
So, if Jacob had learned anything you think you would have learned, don't favor one child over another. You know, when I buy a gift from one of my grandchildren, my wife always says, you have to buy five. So, it seems like a good idea. I'm gonna get this for this grandchild. My wife says, are you ready to buy five? I do the math. No, it's not that nice really.
And you know, you have to be even because kids know. They know. They know when they're the favored one and the siblings know. And sometimes, even in the adult years, an adult sibling will say to their brother or sister, "You were always mom's favorite." Right? "Dad loved you more than the rest of us."
So, really, failure, not for success. And we see the same thing happening today. Kids who were always told they were the best when actually, they weren't. They got participation trophies for just showing up. Their helicopter parents, as they're sometimes called, hovered over them.
The parents drove around with that bumper sticker, "My child is an honor student." Do you have one of those stickers on your car? I mean, really? Isn't that kind of bragging little? Maybe we should have some honest ones. Instead of that, have a sticker that says, "My child is an average student with little ambition." You know, just... Or how about this? "My daughter has no rhythm and dance class is a struggle." That's honest.
All of our kids are not honor students. But in many ways, when you overpraise your kid, and certainly, if you praise him at the expense of your other children, you can create this very hotbed of jealousy and rivalry Joseph found himself in.
And to make matters worse, dad goes out and gets him a special custom designer coat, a multicolored jacket. The more familiar phrase is King James Version, a coat of many colors, right? And what does that mean? It means it was a richly ornamented robe.
Now there's more to this than initially meets the eye. One commentator said this was a tunic that was sleeved and it was extended to the ankles. So here's the idea. The brothers would have work clothes on. They'd be in jeans, right? They might have had their sleeves cut out so they would have freedom of movement to work in the fields.
Dad gave to Joseph the equivalent of like a tuxedo or this super cool designer jacket that would have cost a lot of money which effectively said he did not have to work. The other brothers had to work in the hot sun but Joseph did not have to work.
It'd be like buying your kids clothes at the outlet stores and then taking your favorite child to Yves Saint Laurent on Rodeo Drive. You've heard of Yves Saint Laurent? It's French for too much. Costs too much.
So he gives them this beautiful garment. They're resentful. Why does he get that and we don't get that? What's going on? And it was clear that Jacob was planning on giving firstborn status to Joseph.
Joseph's Dreams and Brothers' Hatred
And so Joseph actually threw fuel on the fire himself. Verse 2: "One day Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things the brothers were doing." The word reported here from the Hebrew is the Hebrew word... snitchito. You've heard of that word? It doesn't exist. I made it up. But it's implied. He was snitching on his brothers. He was a rat. He was an informant. That's how they saw him.
You know when kids fight there's always one child that's a troublemaker and there's always one child that's you know little miss or mister goody two-shoes that rats him out right? So the one child makes trouble the other child rats him out and then you will say to them now stop being bad to the naughty child and that never has any effect on their behavior.
And then we say to the other don't be a tattletale right? Nobody likes a tattletale. Well that's what Joseph was in some ways. He was a tattletale.
But having said that let me also add he really was a godly man. I mean he really was in every way. And here's the bottom line. If you call out sin in the lives of other people they're gonna get upset. Sometimes all you have to do is show up as a follower of Jesus and you're just a light in a dark place.
It's like maybe for Thanksgiving you know some of your family members aren't believers and they're drinking and having fun and catching up in the latest dirty jokes and then you arrive hey everybody how's it going? They're all like... you didn't say anything. You didn't preach a sermon. You didn't even walk in with the Bible. You just say hi how's it going? They're all like here we go. Here we go.
Why? Because you represent Jesus Christ. Now they have to mind their P's and Q's. Now they have to think about what they're gonna say next. In fact the Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:11 "take no part in the worthless deeds of evil but instead expose them."
So that is what Joseph was doing. Maybe he could have been more diplomatic. I'll concede that point but he was a godly man and he was telling the truth.
You know sometimes this is just a trait of youth. You know when you're young especially a teenager you know you're thinking I'm an adult now man I know what's going on you know and you start to form views about different topics and often it's not nuanced often it isn't really completely thought out but you have your views.
And I remember after I became a Christian at 17 you know I had been so radically changed by Christ that when I ran into Christians who were compromising it made no sense to me because I just lived that life I'd lived that life they flirt with I'd done everything they think about And more.
And I saw how empty and miserable it was. And I could not understand why a follower of Christ would want to still try to live in two worlds, okay? So I was a little harsh with people. Some told me, man, you were really critical when you were a brand new Christian. And I said, I disagree. You're so wrong.
But you know how you can be. And I think I lacked diplomacy. And when I was a young pastor at about 22, you should have met me. I was just awesome. I really was. I had the answer to every question. Nothing you could ask me, I wouldn't have an answer to. Every argument, I would try to win the argument.
And you know, as time passes, you learn to be a little more graceful. You learn to realize that actually you don't have all the answers. You know, here's the bottom line. If you want to win some, you need to be winsome. If you want to win some, you need to be winsome.
Maybe Joseph lacked in that area. But now it even gets worse. Look at Genesis 37 again. Drop down to verse 5. "One night, Joseph had a dream. And when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever."
"Listen to the dream," he said. "We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly, my bundle stood up. And your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine."
His brothers said to him, "Do you think you'll be our king now too? Do you actually think you're going to reign over us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.
We'll stop there. You know what? Sometimes it's best to keep your dreams to yourself. Was Joseph's dream from God? Yes, it was. Should he have said it in this way to his brothers? Maybe not. Maybe he should have just kept that between him and God and let the Lord fulfill it in His timing.
And so, you know, he comes to his brothers and they think he's flaunting everything that he has. Then it gets worse. He goes to his dad and says, "Dad, I had a dream. Another dream. And in this dream, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed before me."
And even dad, Jacob, who loved him and favored him said, "Son, what do you think? That you, that my mom, excuse me, your mother and I and your brothers are going to bow before you?" Well, I'm just telling you the dream, Dad.
Well, actually, that dream was true. In time, literally, his father and brothers would bow before him. But again, might have been best kept to himself.
Betrayal and Sale into Slavery
And that brings us now to the climax of this story, Genesis 37, verse 18. One day, Joseph is sent on an errand. Dad says, go check up on the kids. I keep calling them. I text them. They're not answering. Maybe it's because cell phones don't exist yet. But I want you to go find out what they're up to.
So Joseph comes to the brothers. And we pick the story up in verse 18. "When Joseph's brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. And as he approached, they made plans to kill him."
"Here comes the dreamer," they said. "Let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father a wild animal ate him. And we'll see what becomes of his dreams."
Stop there. Reuben was the oldest brother. He should have been the mature one. He should have stood up for Joseph. He knew this was wrong. In fact, it was Reuben that said, "Well, let's not kill him. Let's just throw him into a cistern."
By the way, a cistern is just an empty well. Let's throw him into a pit or a cave, if you will. And he'll just die there. Then we're not responsible for actually killing him. And the scripture tells us Reuben planned on going back later and getting him out of the pit.
Well, how about just standing up for his brother? How about just saying, "You touch him over my dead body. Back off." But Reuben was later described by his father Jacob as unstable as water. And that was his character.
Reuben was the kind of guy that wanted everyone to be happy. He wanted to get along with everyone. He was the kind of guy that would not stand on principle.
But while they're arguing this out, poor Joseph is now in a pit. And they're just talking about his future. And maybe his death. A group of slave traders come along. And one of them has a bright idea. Why don't we sell him to the slave traders? Yeah, let's make some money.
And they sold him for 20 pieces of silver. Now, who does this remind you of? Jesus was sold for what? 30 pieces of silver. And by the way, 20 pieces of silver was the price of a handicapped slave. So they didn't even get full retail for him.
They tear up his designer jacket, cover it in animal blood, and go back to dad and say, "Oh, Dad, bad news. Joseph was killed by a wild animal. Here's his beautiful coat you gave to him."
Poor Jacob is crushed. And he cries out, "My boy is gone. What will I do now?" How heartless these brothers were. Not only to sell their young brother into slavery, but to break the heart of their father who was devastated.
But Joseph was not abandoned by God. Yes, abandoned by his brothers, but not by God.
Key Lessons from Joseph's Early Life
Now let's conclude this message. Here's what we can learn from this story. Number one, never let envy and jealousy get a foothold in your life. Never let envy and jealousy get a foothold in your life.
These are... Jealousy and envy are among the most deadly sins in the satanic arsenal. Left unchecked, envy and jealousy can lead to far worse. James 3:16 says, "Whenever you're trying to look better than the others or get the better of others, things will fall apart and everyone will end up at each other's throats." That's a modern translation, but a very accurate one, I would say.
Envy is what motivated Cain to kill his brother Abel. He was envious that God accepted his brother's offering and not his. Envy is what caused the religious leaders, the Pharisees, to crucify Jesus. Pilate, the Roman governor, accurately diagnosed, according to Matthew 27:18, he knew for envy they had delivered Him.
He knew why they brought Jesus, they envied Him. Why? Jesus was bad for business. Jesus cared about people. They preyed on the people. Jesus prayed for the people. Jesus wanted to open up access to the Father. These religious leaders wanted to drive the people away. They said, let's kill Him. We'll never hear from Him again.
It was envy that motivated them. What a wicked thing envy and jealousy are. Shakespeare called envy the green-eyed monster that mocks. William Penn said the jealous are troublesome to others and a torment to themselves. Isn't that true? The jealous are troublesome to others and a torment to themselves.
You know, when you're jealous of someone, it hurts you more than them. You know, they walk in the room and go, here they are. Here comes the dreamer, like the brothers said. Oh, here comes Mr. So-and-so, Mr. Know-it-all. You have whatever mockery you use and it makes you feel better. It's envy. It's jealousy. That's why you're saying it. You're so critical. But you just wish you were them. So you want to drag them down.
Hey, animals, or excuse me, humans aren't the only ones who are envious. Animals are. Dogs can be jealous. You ever be out walking your dog and you see another dog, your dog lunges at the dog. Get away, it's my owner. Right? Cats, they don't care that much.
But even crabs can be envious. Did you know that? Heard a story about a crab fisherman that was walking along with a pail full of crabs, almost full to the top. Someone said, why don't you put a lid on that? Those crabs will get out. He says, oh no, they won't get out. Well, how's that so? He says, well look, every time one of them tries to climb out, the others reach up and pull them back down.
And it's true. You're not getting out of here. You stay down here with the rest of us and get eaten. Right? So, that's the way it works. It's been said, envy shoots at another and wounds itself. It shoots at another and wounds itself.
I was walking with a friend through a department store while ago and I don't know about you, but I have an allergy to cologne and perfume. And so, even when I open up a magazine, if there's one of those little cologne samples, I kind of have the thing with my throat.
And so, my friend, I thought it would be really funny to spray my friend with women's perfume. It just occurred to me. So, I came out, I grabbed a tester, I came right up behind him and sprayed him with a perfume. And he started to run and I chased him and I sprayed him. Psh, psh, psh.
Guess what happened? When you're running with perfume and spraying it, it comes back at you. So it's like, I'll get you, psh, I'll get you, psh. Afterwards, he smelled a little like a girl and I smelled a lot like one. That plan backfired. That's envy. I'll get you, I'll bring you down. No, you bring yourself down. That's why it's a dangerous sin.
Hey, it can even enter our marriages. You know, we become very jealous. One story you may not know about is a conversation that Adam and Eve had. One day, Eve said to Adam, I think you've been running around with other women. Adam was like, how would that be, Eve? You're the only woman on the face of the earth.
And the next night, Adam was sleeping and he woke up to someone poking him in the chest. And it was Eve. He says, what are you doing? She said, just counting your ribs. See, that's jealousy. It's bad. By the way, that's not in the Bible. So don't look for it.
A Greek myth tells the story of a statue erected in honor of a famous athlete. And a rival athlete was so envious, he wanted to destroy it. So every night, he would come in and chisel at its base to weaken its foundation. And one night, he was successful. The statue came down on him and crushed him. That's how envy and jealousy work. So nip it in the bud before it crushes you.
Point number two, God will work all things together for good to those who love Him. Let's get that verse back on the screen again. Romans 8:28. It says, "For we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose."
Notice that first part of the verse. "And we know." There are no accidents in the life of the Christian. Only Providence. We say it's an accident. No, it was Providence. There's no dumb luck. There's no Karma. There's Christ. We don't believe in fate. We believe in faith. We believe that God is in control.
We know this. You need to know this. Because things happen in life that don't make sense, don't they? You say, why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve such a fate? You ask. Well, I don't know that I have the answer for you, but I know God is in control. I know God is powerful. I know that God is sovereign, which means He's in control of all things.
And so, we know this. What do we know? We know all things work together for good. Notice it says all things. It doesn't say we know that the good things work together for good. No, it says all things, whatever their color or character.
David wrote in Psalm 119:91, "All things are Your servants." Now, this does not necessarily mean that all things are good things. And this is what we maybe misunderstand. A bad thing happens to us and some well-meaning Christian may come up and say, all things work together for good to those who love God are called according to His purpose. Very nice. Just sort of pop it out there.
But wait a second. When someone is suffering, when someone is in pain, maybe that's not the first go-to verse. There might be another one you might choose instead. That will come in time.
But we might almost be saying, well, hey, I know it's horrible you lost someone you deeply love, but all things work together for good. No, wait. What happened to that person is a really bad thing. And you should go and say, I'm so sorry this happened to you. I'm sorry your loved one is gone. And I care and I'm here for you.
Because there are bad things that happen that will remain to be bad things and they will never be anything but bad things. But God doesn't say He'll make every bad thing good. He says, we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose.
He doesn't say bad things become good. He says they work together for good. That means ultimately in God's master plan good things will result. Now we may not have full resolution until we get to heaven on some things. And God explains it. Or maybe just looking in His face will explain it all.
But whatever it is, it'll ultimately work together for good but for who? For everybody. Is this verse true for every person walking the earth right now? No. It's for Christians.
Joseph as a Picture of Jesus Christ
We know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are the called according to His purpose.
Let me just conclude with one brief rapid succession of thoughts if you will. I want to compare Joseph to Jesus because you can't help but see this.
Number one, Joseph was hated and envied by his brothers. And Jesus was rejected by His own. The Bible says He came to His own and His own received Him not.
Jesus and Joseph were effectively both sold. Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver. Judas betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver.
Number three, Jesus and Joseph both forgave their enemies. Jesus forgave them hanging on the cross. "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Joseph extended that same forgiveness to his brothers.
Number four, Jesus and Joseph were both thought dead and they were alive again. Now in the case of Joseph, he never died. He was alive but his brothers thought he had died. And then he came back and forgave them and Jesus was dead. He was killed. He was murdered but He rose again from the dead.
And lastly, what the devil meant for evil, God used for good. Joseph's brothers wished him dead but God used what happened. In the same way, Satan entered the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray Christ. He thought he would silence Jesus once and for all.
But in effect, Satan was a lot like that Greek athlete trying to bring the statue down and he came down on him and crushed and killed him. The crucifixion was part of the plan and purpose of the Father because the Bible says it pleased the Father to bruise Him.
Yes, it's true that the devil was behind the crucifixion. Yes, it's true the devil played a part in the murder of Jesus but yes, it is also true that it was the Father's ultimate will as He laid all the sin of the world upon Jesus who had never sinned.
And listen to this. The greatest injustice in the history of the universe resulted in the greatest good to ever happen. The greatest injustice, the betrayal, the beating, and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ resulted in the greatest good, your salvation, my salvation, so I can hear this message right now and say because of what Jesus did I'm going to heaven. That's right, that's worth clapping for.
But this is only for those who love God. Do you love God? You know, the only way to really know and love God is to have Christ come and live inside of your heart. And then you can have a real love like you've never known.
God loved you so much He sent His Son to die for you and now you can love Him back by following Him. Maybe you've joined us here today and you've never asked Jesus to come into your life and forgive you of your sin.
I've talked about heaven and forgiveness and you're thinking, man, I don't know if I'm going to heaven. I don't know if I'm really forgiven by God. But you can be.
You say, how? By asking Jesus Christ who died on the cross for you and rose again from the dead to come into your life to be your Savior and Lord.
And if you have not done that yet, you can do it right here right now. In a moment we're going to pray and I'm going to extend an invitation for you to believe in Jesus, to ask for His forgiveness. If you've not done that yet, do it now. Let's all bow our heads and pray.
Father, thank You for loving us so much. You sent Jesus to die on the cross in our place. Lord Jesus, thank You for coming and laying Your life down. And now we pray that Your Holy Spirit will convict and convince the folks that are here of their need for You and help them to come to You and believe.
When our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed, we're praying together. How many of you would like Jesus Christ to come into your life and forgive you of your sin? If you would like to go to heaven when you die, if you would like all of your sins forgiven and forgotten, if you would like Christ to come and take residence in your heart, wherever you are, would you lift your hand up? And let me pray for you wherever you are today.
You want Christ to come into your life. Raise your hand up and I'll pray for you wherever you are. God bless you. Raise your hand up high where I can see it, please. God bless you. Anybody else? God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.
There might be a few more. You're watching the screen right now. I can't see you but the Lord sees you. Would you raise your hand up as well? Let me pray for you, wherever you are. You want Jesus Christ to come into your life.
All right, for all of you raised your hand, I want you to pray this prayer. Right where you are, after me. Again, as I pray, pray this prayer after me, right where you sit. Pray this prayer.
Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that You're the Savior who died on the cross for me. I'm sorry for my sin. And I ask You to come into my life. Forgive me, Lord. I choose to follow You from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.