Part II: Sacrifice your life unto the Perfect Will of God

 Part II:  Sacrifice your life unto the Perfect Will of God

 

 

 

Part II: Sacrifice your life unto the Perfect Will of God

I’m still talking about sacrificing your life unto the perfect will of God.  Think about Joseph, a young seventeen year old, this is how his life unfolded.  Joseph, dreamed two dreams, was hated by his brothers, was the victim of a murder plot, to see what would become of his dreams, delivered by his brother Reuben by a pit, (pause) (deliverance might not come the way you think or want.  Why? Because God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours, he knows the plans that he has for us... He might use the pit to deliver those plans. 

Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelite’s for twenty pieces of silver, by his brother: Judah.  Then Joseph was sold into Egypt unto Potiphar, captain of the guard, an officer of Pharaoh’s (king of Egypt), and In the midst of Joseph’s enslavement, he prospered, found grace from his master, and was blessed by God.  As time went on, Potiphar’s wife, the queen, lust at Joseph with her eyes and desired to fulfill the lust of her flesh, she asked him daily, “Lie with me.” (Have sex with me.)

*Joseph’s reply to her, “You are another man’s wife, my boss.  “How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”  Now, Jacob had taught Joseph the word of God, from his toddler years, this was normal for the children Israel to learn about the God that they served, they didn’t have bibles as we do today.

Joseph is focused on the fact that this is sin. He is determined to fulfill the will of God by not to sinning against God.  “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

It amazes me how we pray, “The Our Father Prayer” Matthew 6:9-15, but don’t really mean it. We pray the words, …Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven…And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…(Think about it, if you were Joseph, would you want God’s will to be done, or would you want to be able to brag to the other slaves, “I hit that with the queen.” Or would you run from the temptation as we will see Joseph did or would you embrace the temptation?)

Joseph is presenting his body as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto the perfect will of God, which is his reasonable service.  He does not see everything, but his steps are ordered by the Lord. (This is when we are walking by faith and not by sight.)  Nothing looks good to Joseph, he’s a slave, he has no family here, he doesn’t have a wife, he’s in an idol serving country, but he has purposed in his heart he is not going to sin against God with another man’s wife. 

One day, the queen cornered him, grabbed his clothes, saying, “Lie with me” and Joseph fled the youthful lust, leaving his garment behind.  You can’t tell me Joseph, didn’t have a desire, he’s young, he’s a man, but he chose to crucify his flesh and the affections and lust thereof. He is a man of integrity and honor.  He is committed to the will of God.

He left his garment, and then the queen lied on him, saying that Hebrew servant/slave, tried to rape her. (The garment was the lying evidence.)  He was thrown into prison. An injustice was committed against him, but God was still with him, fulfilling his will. (God’s will and plans are not ours.) (It is better to suffer for well doing that for evil.) This is a suffering way.

God showed Joseph favor and mercy and gave him favor with the prison keeper. It came to pass, that the butler and baker offended Pharaoh, king of Egypt and were thrown into prison with Joseph.  One night they both dreamed and Joseph interpreted their dreams and his interpretations came to pass. 

Let me point out, Joseph told them, that God gives interpretations to dreams.  It’s obvious, that God had not told Joseph the interpretation of his own two dreams.  Jacob commented about the meaning of the dream. Joseph had no idea that God’s plans for him were unfolding so he could fulfill the will of God for his life, which were tied to his dreams.  The key here is, Joseph was willing and obedient, and he did eat the good of the land.

Joseph remained in prison, and then Pharaoh dreamed two dreams which no one could interpret.  Suddenly, the chief butler remembered Joseph’s interpretations of his dream and the baker. Pharaoh sent for Joseph and Joseph told Pharaoh that God does the interpreting. (God must always get the glory___) Then Joseph interpreted both of Pharaoh’s dreams as one in the same. 

Joseph: This servant/slave/prisoner of God and of Pharaoh, gave Pharaoh wise counsel on how to prepare for the upcoming famine. Genesis 41:33-41, Pharaoh promotes his servant/prisoner/slave from slavery up to GOVERNOR over all the land of Egypt.

Overtime, Joseph’s ten brothers journey into Egypt to buy corn from the land of Canaan, Jacob, didn’t send young Benjamin, afraid that mischief would befall him as it had with Joseph, so he thought.  Read: Genesis 42:1-9 vs. 9 Joseph remembered the dreams, after his brothers bowed to him.  Then history states, Joseph’s revenge upon his brothers: putting them in prison for three days, keeping Simeon in prison, but he still feared God.  (Sometimes on this Christian journey, you still want to get people back for the injustice that you suffered by their hand.)You are still growing in Christ, as long as you repent, you still have hope in fulfilling the will of God.) Eventually, Joseph stops the revenge; he repents and reveals himself after his brothers bowed the second time: both dreams have now come to pass. 

God filled Joseph with wisdom in the administration of the Egyptian government. The will of God was fulfilled in the life of Joseph, which was to save two nations from famine: Egypt and Israel.

Joseph remembered the dreams and his family did bow down to him.   When we look at Joseph’s history and Jeremiah 29:11 and Isaiah 55:7-9, do you think Joseph’s will was:

·       To be hated by his brothers, to the point they wanted to kill him

·       To be thrown into a pit

·       To be sold into Egypt as a slave, foreign land

·       Separated from his father and his brothers/ his entire family at age seventeen

·       Enslaved in Potiphar’s house

·       Lied on by the queen and thrown into prison

·       Forgotten by the chief butler (How many people forget you when you need them?)

Do you think any of this was Joseph’s will?  No, Joseph, like us would never will such a hard suffering way.  If Joseph knew the interpretation of his dreams: You will be governor of Egypt.  He probably would have desired to take a journey to Egypt around age 21, get to know the land, the culture, learn to fit in, get a good Egyptian education, get a good job in government and work his way up through the ranks like we do in America.  But, those were not God’s plans.

When Jacob died, his brothers feared further retaliation by Joseph.  But, Joseph had been transformed by the renewing of his mind, he had proved what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God for his life. He now discerned, he understood, what it was all about, and he comforted his brothers saying, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Genesis 50:19-20. (It amazes me, his brothers never asked for forgiveness, until after their father died.)

Joseph at some point surrendered himself to the will of God.  That’s where the love for God and the sacrifice of his life comes in.  He could have sinned like king Saul did. But, Joseph loved God from his childhood, and he kept the commandments of God while living in an idol serving country.

Young people, what are you going to do when you go off to college?  Will you hold fast and true to what you have been taught in the Word of God, or will you serve the prince of this world getting caught up in your own will, your own ways, the value systems of the world, and the conduct of the world: which is its life style?

 

• Next week we’ll study: Jesus our sacrificial lamb: who knew the will of God for his life?
• Read one of the gospels (Matthew, (Mark), Luke, or John before next Tuesday.  Pay attention to his birth, life, death and resurrection.)
• Read Acts chapters 1 and 2.

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