257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105
(262) 763-3021
We have purchased land on Highways A & W and are planning to build soon!
Drive by and take a look at our future home!
Prosperity in Adversity
Genesis 37:36 & 39:1-6
Sermon 04
October 11, 2009
An American businessman was at the pier of a small costal Mexican village when a small boat with just a single fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. The fisherman replied, "Only a little while." The American then asked why he didn’t stay out and catch more fish. The fisherman said that he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, Senor."
The American scoffed, "I have a Harvard MBA and I could help you." You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, with the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats. Eventually, you’d have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you’d sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You’d control the product, processing and distribution. You’d need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But Senor, how long will all this take?" To which the American replied, "15 to 20 years." "But then what, Senor?" The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you’d announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you’d make millions." "Millions, Senor? Then what?"
The American said, "Then you’d retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll into the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."
Everyone wants to succeed in life. But if we want true success, it's vital that we have a biblical definition of the term. Otherwise we'll be like the guy who climbed the ladder of success only to find that it was leaning against the wrong wall. We'll waste our lives pursuing the wrong goals and making wrong decisions. If our target is wrong, we’ll fail even if we hit it.
As Lee Iacocca, former chairman of Chrysler so honestly conceded in his bestselling book, “StraightTalk”: “Here I am in the twilight years of my life, still wondering what it’s all about…I can tell you this, fame and fortune is for the birds.”
Our secular culture defines success primarily in financial terms, throwing in with it the ideas of power, fame and that elusive quality, "happiness." As Christians, we can easily see the fallacy of defining success in those terms, yet we’re frequently contaminated by our culture. We need to bring into sharp focus the biblical answer to the question: What is true success?
After recounting the sordid affair of Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38), the narrator returns the reader to Joseph’s situation. Turn with me to Genesis 37:36; 39:1-6 (p. 29). This is a rags to riches to rags story. We begin with Joseph at the bottom, a slave sold into a foreign culture. God prospers him and he rises to the top in the house of Potiphar, security chief to Pharaoh. Life is about as good as a slave could expect at that point. Then, Potiphar's wife attempts to seduce Joseph (which we’ll study next Sunday), he refuses her demands but she falsely accuses him of rape, and he ends up in the dungeon, seemingly worse off than he ever was before.
Joseph’s story is a success story even as a slave but not as we commonly define it. This is something very powerful that should intrigue us…because it’s where many of us live. Joseph wonderfully demonstrates Prosperity in Adversity. Joseph is just as successful as a slave and a steward of the prison, as he was as a son and later will be as a sovereign in Pharaoh’s court. Joseph is successful whether he’s in Potiphar’s house or in prison. He faithfully serves the Lord in the worst of places. Anyone can be happy, if they have the wealth of a Paris Hilton. Joseph models for us how to be successful where many of us live…in adversity and difficulty. Please mark it down: There is no ideal place to serve God except the place where He has placed you! As Joe Stowell wisely said, “Life is not the dreams that we have but the choices that we make.” To be successful even in difficulty is true success but it’s a choice. If you are taking notes, let me suggest then…
1. True success is to please God. Dan Crawford spent most of his adult life serving as a missionary in Africa. When it was time to return home to Britain, Crawford described to an old Bantu the kind of world he was about to return to. He told him about ships that ran under the water, on the water, and even those that flew above the water. He described English houses with all of their conveniences, such as running water and electric lights. Then, Crawford waited for the old African to register his amazement. "Is that all, Mr. Crawford?" the aged man asked. "Yes, I think it is,” Crawford replied. Very slowly and very gravely, the old Bantu said, "Well, Mr. Crawford, you know that to be better off is not to be better?”
Seven times in Genesis 39 we read: “The LORD was with Joseph...When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did...the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had...the LORD was with him…the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” Who doesn’t want to be successful? We all do. And you can be by God’s grace if “the Lord is with you.” This is available for all of us, not just for a select few. At this point Joseph is a slave, yet he’s a success! If you want to be a successful person, the secret is the presence of the living God daily at work in your life. Is the Lord at work in your life, or is the flesh at work? That’s the vital question. Joseph was successful because “the Lord was with him.” Someone might say, “Well, the Lord is with all of us.” While that’s true, in Scripture this phrase means more than just the presence of God in a general sense. It means that the Lord was with Joseph in a particular way because Joseph was walking with the Lord. In John 15:5 Jesus said, “If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” A fundamental principle is at work here. There must be an exchange. The Lord is with you and you respond to Him. Then, it can be said, “The Lord is with that person, the Lord is at work in his/her life.” Joseph knew that if he served Potiphar well, he was serving God well. While the hatred of his brothers brought him here, he knew that even this evil fell within God’s providential will. So he served with faithfulness and integrity…even though he was a slave.
True success is to have God's blessing on your life. If you have God's blessing, you have everything, even if you're poor and unknown. If you lack God's blessing, you ultimately will have nothing, even if you're rich and famous now. Sadly, when it comes to true success, most believers have had their thinking shaped by a godless world. As a result, we often don't recognize real success when we see it.
When Hamilton College celebrated its centennial, one of its most famous alumni, Alexander Woolcott, was asked to give a major address. He opened his speech this way: "I send my greetings today to all my fellow alumni of Hamilton College, scattered all over the world. Some of you are successes, and some of you are failures—only God knows which are which!” Joseph as a slave was successful because even at this low point of his life, in God’s eyes he was a success. Would he be one in our eyes? True success is to please God…but do we really believe that?
2. Pleasant circumstances have nothing to do with either true success or pleasing God. Once, Lucy, the wannabe psychiatrist from the Peanuts gang, set up a table to offer consultation services to neighborhood kids. Her first patient was Charlie Brown, the eternal pessimist, who came with a heavy heart over a fire that had destroyed the house of Snoopy, his dog. Charlie Brown took a seat, barely said anything, but stared at the ground. Seeing his silence, Lucy raised her right hand, gestured passionately, and offered advice to a dejected Charlie Brown: "There was a real lesson to be learned from seeing Snoopy’s house burned down. Adversity builds character. Without adversity, a person could never mature and face up to all of the things in life!" Immediately Charlie Brown perked up with hope at the wisdom of the statement. He lifted his gaze from the ground, turned to Lucy and asked, "What things?" Lucy turned away from Charlie Brown, thumbed her nose in the air and smugly said, "More adversity!"
Are you open for more adversity in your life? Most of us want a quick escape, some immediate relief. We don’t want pain and certainly don’t want more adversity. Most people don’t go to a counselor so they can learn to cope with pain; they go so they can escape pain. Why is our society one of the most doped up, drunk, addicted of all time? We’re obsessed with escaping pain! Why is suicide the 11th leading cause of death in America? We’ve been taught to avoid pain. Our child has a teacher who’s a little tough; we get them into another class. They start a sport or begin learning a musical instrument…and get bored so we let them bail. Don’t like your job? Quit. Tired of your marriage? Get a divorce.
A little over 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to a friend saying, “The art of life is the avoiding of pain.” Generally speaking that’s true. Only a fool goes looking for pain and suffering. But there is another critical perspective that those who are mature and successful know – without pain there is no gain. So when your life gets hard, what do you do? Give up? Do you swear? Lash out in hostility? Do you look for someone to blame? Do you give in to bitterness? Do you run away? Do you hide behind some illness? Do you drug yourself? Atheistic philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, in this area was more Biblical in his thinking than many Christians. He said, “Whatever doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger.” Someone insightfully said, “A Christian is one who is completely fearless, continually cheerful, and constantly in trouble.”
Joseph is just seventeen when he’s sold as a slave into Egypt. I’m sure that he begged and tried to bargain with his Midianite slave traders. He kept looking back, wondering when his Dad was going to ride in and rescue him. He didn’t know that his brothers had concocted a cover story, dipping the hated ornamental robe in animal blood. Once in Egypt Joseph is herded like an animal into the local slave market. Placed on a platform, bound, probably naked except for a loin cloth, prospective buyers pinch and poke, open his mouth to check his teeth, just like an animal. He doesn’t speak Egyptian so he doesn’t know what they’re saying. Ultimately, he’s bought by one of Pharaoh’s officers, “the captain of the guard.” Jewish historian, Alfred Edersheim suggests that Potiphar was in reality the “chief of the executioners.” No matter what title you give him, Potiphar was not someone to be trifled with. He’s a man with seasoned military experience who knew fully well how to use his power – the power over life and death – to his advantage. Joseph went from being a hero in his father’s house to a zero in Potiphar’s.
He doesn’t know the language. He doesn’t know the culture. So what does he do? He’s one of dozens, maybe hundreds of slaves in Potiphar’s house. Some slaves would have played dumb, reasoning that if they gave the appearance of not understanding or knowing how to do something, they wouldn’t be required to do it. That’s not Joseph. Instead of holding back and doing as little as he could, he plunges in, learning the language, mastering the trades, and acquiring the needed management skills. It took long hours and genuine interest, but Joseph kept at it. He wasn’t a clock-watcher. If he were living in our time, we’d have found him working extra hours and taking college courses at night to improve his situation. He wasn’t the guy who did just enough to get by; he was committed to both diligence and excellence…even though he’s a slave. That’s because Joseph wasn’t working for Potiphar. Though an Old Testament saint, he lived out a New Testament command, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ” (Eph. 6:5).
One of the reasons that the Church of Jesus Christ today is virtually impotent is that for the most part, we’re a bunch of big babies…myself included. Things don’t go our way and we whine and mope. We have a little bit of difficulty…someone doesn’t treat us just right…and we make it a federal case. A. W. Tozer once said, “It is doubtful that God ever used anybody greatly without first hurting him deeply.” God was going to greatly use Joseph but he was going to wound him greatly first. Robert Browning Hamilton insightfully wrote:
I walked a mile with pleasure;
She chattered all the way
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with sorrow
And ne’er a word said she
But, oh, the things I learned from her
When sorrow walked with me!
Years later, reflecting upon Joseph’s life, his father, Jacob said, “With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility” (Gen. 49:23). That’s a graphic picture of Joseph’s vulnerability as hostile forces took potshots at him. He’s alone, exposed, fearful and confused – and yet, he’s in the center of God’s will. We’d understand completely if we’d met Joseph seventy years later and found him to be a bitter old man. With all that he goes through, he could have easily been eaten up by bitterness…but he wasn’t. Joseph chose NOT to be bitter. Mark it down! A bitter believer is not one. I’m not saying that they are not saved. I am saying that they do not really believe that God is in control of the events of their life. You and I are so rich and blessed in Christ and most of us deal with so little, particularly compared to a Joseph. God never promised us our best life now! And adversity is often the father of great things. For the faithful believer, it always is…just not always on this side of eternity. Most of us are going to suffer and not be promoted like Joseph will be. But do you think that after one moment in Heaven, any of us will ask, “Lord, why was it so hard? Why did I have to suffer so much?” As Esther Kerr Rusthoi wrote, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus, Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ; One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase, So bravely run the race till we see Christ.”
Joseph’s example as a slave highlights an essential truth, there is no ideal place to serve the Lord except in the place that He has placed you. There’s no ideal job for you to hold, no ideal family, no ideal marriage, no ideal neighborhood in which to live and no ideal church to join. To be sure, there are good jobs, good neighborhoods and good churches but not ideal ones. Those who search for ideal circumstances forget that all that is ideal and perfect is saved for heaven. They, thus, launch forth on a journey of futility, destined to end in disappointment and resentment. Joseph’s life at this juncture is far from ideal, but here we find him faithfully serving God and making the best of a bad situation. And what better place to prepare him for Pharaoh’s court later, than in the household of one of Pharaoh’s officers?
3. Personal integrity in every area of life is critical to true success and pleasing God. Verse 2 says, “The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.” We like that first part, ““The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered.” We want to be successful. We like prospering but that’s not the end of the verse, “and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.” God placed Joseph into the position as a slave, yet God was with him. But God was with Joseph because Joseph was with God.
While Joseph may have lost his coat, he hadn’t lost his character. If all that he had going for him was some fancy coat, then he’d have been finished as soon as the coat had been torn off of him. But there was character inside that coat. And God was going to refine and shape that character in the crucible of Egypt. Joseph had integrity. Somewhere along the way, Joseph made a decision to make the best of this situation, to be faithful and serve God. That was the day Joseph was set free, even though he was still a slave. When you and I can look around at the place that God has placed us and say, despite the difficulties, “I’m going to be faithful. I’m going to make the most of this for God’s glory.” Then, we’re truly free! When Joseph made that choice, it impacted everything he did. He refused to do what would be expected of a captive in a foreign country, which was just enough to get by. Joseph determined that though everyone thought that he was Potiphar’s slave, he knew in his heart that he was God’s slave. Since he was God’s slave, serving Potiphar, he was going to be the very best slave that Potiphar had ever had.
As Michelangelo painted the magnificent frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel—lying on his back for endless hours to finish every detail with great care—a friend asked him why he took such pains with figures that would be viewed from a considerable distance. “After all,” the friend said, “Who will notice whether it is perfect or not?” “I will,” replied Michelangelo.
One of the lies of our leisure, “is it the weekend yet?” obsessed culture is that real life begins on the weekends but drudgery defines the work week. Such thinking is foreign to a Biblical worldview. Fulfillment comes from using every opportunity to serve and glorify God. That means ladies as you do household chores, do it for God’s glory. Students as you study and write papers, do it for God’s glory. Employees as you work, work for an audience of One. Joy is not having time off or going on vacation – true joy is from serving the Lord in every area of your life. I’m not suggesting that we never take time off, yet if our time off is the only time we find fulfillment, we’ve totally missed what Scripture teaches about our purpose for life.
One more thing, as we read Genesis 39, it’s easy to miss the timetable. It almost appears that Joseph is bought at the slave market one day and the next day, he’s the foreman in Potiphar’s house. What we miss is that there is a considerable amount of time here. God prospers Joseph and eventually after some time passes, he moves out of the slave quarters into Potiphar’s house. Finally, he’s promoted until he’s over the whole household. It probably took a decade for this to happen. We know that he was seventeen when he was sold into Egypt. He spends two years in prison and was thirty when Pharaoh promoted him over all of Egypt. So when Joseph was head of Potiphar’s house, he was around twenty-five.
It takes time to move up the ladder. Often we are so focused on tomorrow that we miss today. Someone wisely wrote that while, “we ponder at God's withholding or bestowing and while we pine for what was never given or what was taken, TODAY slips thru our fingers.” Many young people fail to realize that advancement from the blessing of God usually does not come quickly. Success takes time, some times a long time. Integrity is demonstrated by our faithfulness and patience during the waiting period. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, Joseph doesn’t seek his own advancement. Instead he seeks to prosper his master. Potiphar observes this and he advances Joseph. That's a key principle – whether at work or at home: If you seek to make the one over you prosper, God will see to it that you're advanced. That’s antithetical to the ways of our world, where we’re taught to sabotage the guy ahead of us so that we can grab his spot.
4. God’s blessing is to be used as a witness to the lost around us. Verse 4 says, “Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.” That phrase “put him in charge” is the Hebrew word paqad. It means to number, count; to call into account; or to look after. It suggests a positive action by a superior in relation to his subordinates. When Potiphar made Joseph in charge, it was a positive action. It means Potiphar saw something in Joseph unique from the other servants that he had. What was it that that Potiphar saw in Joseph so that he put everything under Joseph’s care? He saw that the Lord was with Joseph and he was successful in everything that he did. That implies that Joseph was reliable.
When we say a person is reliable, we mean that we completely trust the person to get the job done. It means we’re confident that they’ll do what they’re asked to do without being prodded or constantly checked up on. That’s why this godless Egyptian saw the Lord was with Joseph. God never gives His blessing to be bottled up or squandered on ourselves. Instead, it’s to be channeled through us to others. And the greatest blessing God gives is never material wealth, but the contentment that accompanies godliness. Joseph had something Potiphar didn’t have. While Potiphar is successful by the world’s standards, which Joseph was not at this point, but Joseph, like Paul, had learned the secret of being content whether he was living in splendor or in squalor. That’s far better than worldly success!
John Muir, the famous naturalist, was a Christian. On one occasion he claimed that he was richer than a wealthy business tycoon because, as Muir explained, “I have all the money I want and he hasn't.” Joseph doesn’t hide the source of his attitude, his competence, or his purity. Potiphar knew very well that it was the Lord who prospered him. He recognized God's hand on Joseph because he saw it in his work habits. I doubt if Joseph ever announced his prayer and quiet time to Potiphar but Potiphar was impressed by the results in the workplace. When that was commented on, Joseph was careful to give the glory to God, not to himself.
Too often, we're quick to tell people that we're Christians. But our work ethic doesn’t match. And sadly, our lost employer begins to think, "If that’s a Christian, give me a pagan anytime!" Joseph's life reminds us that we need to be cheerful and diligent in our work, even when we've been mistreated so that others will ask, "How can you be so happy and hardworking when you've been treated as you have?" Then, we have a platform to tell them about our Savior. A pagan employer should want to hire Christians because they’re the best of workers and powerful testimonies for the cause of Christ. And you and I need to view any promotion or job success as a platform for a greater witness, not as a means to gratify ourselves or promote our personal welfare. God blesses us so that we can be a channel for witnessing, to bring His true blessing of salvation to others, not just to make us happy or give us a better lifestyle. If God gives you a promotion or a position of influence, ask Him to show you how to wisely use your position to be a witness for Jesus Christ, both by your character and your words.
True success is to have God's blessing on your life. His blessing is not necessarily related to favorable circumstances. It’s related to personal integrity in every area of life. God's blessing should be used as a witness to others of His grace. As Matthew 5:16 reminds us, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Conclusion: Today many of us are suffering financial, physical, marital and emotional woes. How can we be successful and trust God in the midst of adversity like Joseph? How can we have Prosperity in Adversity? We can start by asking ourselves some questions: Have we invited the Lord along with us on our journey? Are we content and faithfully serving the Lord where He has placed us? Do we want His will, no matter what? Are we where He wants us to be at this moment? Are we willing to be the kind of person that He wants even in the midst of difficulty and adversity? Joseph was.
Joseph prospered as a slave. That doesn’t mean that he became a rich man. God never intended for His church to be filled with millionaires. But what we can expect, like Joseph, is that if we put the Lord first in our lives, if we’re obedient to His Word, then we will be successful and receive His blessings because He will lead us directly into the center of His will. God wants us to be faithful wherever we are at. He wants us to serve Him in adversity as faithfully as we think we would in prosperity. To bring this home, we want to show a clip of a young man who has shared the gospel all around the world. His name is Nick Vujicic (Voichic). It’s a powerful story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DxlJWJ_WfA.
Joseph and Nick Vujicic (Voichic) are the models that we need in the church today. They’re the models that we need here at Grace Church.
Currently, our country is in a period of economic adversity. Rather than being faithful and diligent as Joseph was, the average Christian withdraws, hunkers down in their own world and becomes self-protective and too often self-absorbed. As your pastor who is to watch for your souls, let me challenge you in two areas.
If you pay attention to our finances, then you know that we now are three weeks behind in our budget at Grace. That’s not because we have so many laid off or struggling financially. It’s because we’re trusting ourselves and looking out for ourselves, rather than trusting the Lord. We’re holding on to that which is not ours – it’s God’s. Like Joseph, we’re just stewards of His property. Folks, the only reason that we have not paid off the land and built a building is that too many of us are hoarding that which is not ours.
Then, when it comes to serving the Lord, too many of us convince ourselves that we’re just too busy. Others have more time than we do and later in our lives, when it slows down, we’ll step up. Want some evidence of that? Rarely does anyone volunteer. We all know that there are ministry needs and opportunities to serve the Lord here but we rationalize, “well, if they really needed us, they’d call.” You want to know the insult to the injury with that thinking? Our ministry leaders do call. They leave a message and often find that they are never returned. Can I be real candid as your pastor? It grieves me that I call folk and do not get a returned call…and sometimes have to call two or three times. Yet, if I did not return your call, most of you would be highly offended…and rightfully so. When I or other ministry leaders have to chase people down, it steals away time that we need to be investing in other ministries.
The moral, spiritual, economic health of America is not good. What an opportunity though for us at Grace Church, to like Joseph, step up, reach out, give generously, take on ministry responsibility to please our Lord and advance His Kingdom. God wants us, like Joseph, to experience His prosperity even in adversity – but like Joseph, we must have a passion to please and honor and serve the One Who gave His life for us!
