God Intended it for Good

The “Legendary Lives/Life-Changing Lessons” Series

JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS:
GOD INTENDED IT FOR GOOD

(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)

A. The Legendary Life

1. Joseph’s background…

a. He was by his …

“Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.” (Genesis 37:3)

2. Joseph’s crisis…

a. He was by his …

“When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.” (Genesis 37:4)

b. He was by his …

“…when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe – the ornate robe he was wearing – and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, ‘What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.’ The others agreed. So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.” (Genesis 37:23-28)

c. He was on a …

i. He diligently served his Egyptian master, but was eventually by his master’s wife… (Genesis 39)

ii. He spent years in … (Genesis 40)

iii. He was placed of the entire nation of Egypt… (Genesis 41)

iv. Years later, he the who had betrayed him… (Genesis 42-45)

B. The Life-Changing Lesson

1. Joseph’s on life…

“Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharoah, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.’” (Genesis 45:4-8)

“When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?’… But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.’” (Genesis 50:15, 19-20)

a. Instead of the dots in his life, Joseph the dots in his life…

i. “…it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you…” (Genesis 45:5b)

ii. “…God sent me ahead of you…” (Genesis 45:7a)

iii. “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God…” (Genesis 45:8a)

b. Joseph recognized his brothers’ , along with God’s …

i. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good…” (Genesis 50:20)

c. Joseph stayed , by staying …

i. “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?” (Genesis 50:19)

Today’s “Big Idea”…

God’s in your trials, God’s in your trials.