God's Providence Session 30 - When Things Don’t Go Our Way

The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying God's providence or divine providence in the lives of David and Joseph and how we can apply His providence in their lives to our lives today.

The providence of God is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe. He is in control of the physical world. He is in control of the affairs of nations. He is in control of human destiny. He is in control of human successes and failures. He protects His people.

Two weeks ago, we talked how should respond to people who God has blessed tremendously, or who has gone through a challenging time. Last week we looked at how our consciences, which God gave us can, can cause us problems when we try to suppress it.  We also said saw that God will somehow bring some stuff to the surface for us to deal with that will activate and revitalize a conscience that has been seared.  

This week we talked about how not to react when things don't go the way that we want them to.

For our study we are using Great Lives: David: A Man of Passion and Destiny, and Joseph: A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness by Charles R. Swindoll. To study along with us you can purchase the books by clicking the Links here or the images after the notes.

The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe as a whole, He is in control of the physical world, He is in control of the affairs of nations, He’s in control of human destiny, He’s in control of human successes and failures, He protects His people.  Through divine providence God accomplishes His will.

Two weeks ago, we talked how should respond to people who God has blessed tremendously, or who has gone through a challenging time.

Romans 12:15‭-‬21 NIV Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

We do a pretty good job of morning with those who mourn but not so good at rejoycing with those who rejoice 

Yet we may see God bless someone in a tangible way, and we don’t think it’s fair. Maybe God begins to bless and use a certain individual, and we say, “Lord, wait a second. I have faithfully served You all these years. But this Johnny-come-lately pops up, and You’re blessing this person instead of me. It isn’t fair! I’m so much godlier than they are. I’m more committed than they are. And most of all, I’m humbler than they are.”

However, we should rejoice that God is being glorified.  Speaking about the body of Christ, the church, the apostle Paul wrote, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:26–27 NLT).

We need to guard against the petty jealousy and rivalry that we can so easily fall into. If God lifts up one of us and blesses us, we should rejoice. It doesn’t have to be you or me. What’s important is that God is the One who’s receiving the glory.

Last week we looked at how our consciences, which God gave us can, can cause us problems when we try to suppress it.  We also said saw that God will somehow bring some stuff to the surface for us to deal with that will activate and revitalize a conscience that has been seared.   

If the conscience is “seared”—literally “cauterized”—then it has been rendered insensitive. Such a conscience does not work properly; it’s as if “spiritual scar tissue” has dulled the sense of right and wrong. Just as the hide of an animal scarred with a branding iron becomes numb to further pain, so the heart of an individual with a seared conscience is desensitized to moral pangs.

The first step toward activating a seared conscience is taking responsibility for one’s own personal guilt.   When God activates a seared conscience, we begin to gain a different perspective.   God also activates a seared conscience when we are recipients of undeserved expressions of grace. Joseph’s brothers deserved no grain. They deserved no money. They deserved punishment, perhaps even imprisonment, for what they had done to their brother. Instead, they wound up with freedom, a full sack of grain, and all of their money returned.

Today we are going to look at how Jacob, Joseph’s father responds to the report from his sons after they returned from Egypt with the grain that they and their families needed for survival. 

Genesis 42:1‭-‬4 NIV When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.” Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.

 Remember Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him.  He was out of sight, out of mind, so to speak.  

Genesis 42:5‭-‬7 NIV So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also. Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”

They tell Joseph about the family, not knowing that Joseph was the one that they said was no longer.

Genesis 42:11‭-‬15 NIV We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.” “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.” Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

Joseph changes his mind and let’s all but one of them, Simiem, go back to Cannan with the grain and with all their money.

While they were in prison waiting for Joseph’s decision their conscience began to bother them and they thought this was happening because of what they did to Joseph.  It was amplified when they saw that all their money was returned. 

Genesis 42:21‭-‬24 NIV They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.” Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must account for his blood.” They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter. He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.

Genesis 42:25‭-‬28 NIV Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.” Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

So let’s pick up the story.  Everybody but Simeon is back in Cannon, and they have to tell Jacob what happened, and Jacob freaks out.  

Genesis 42:33‭-‬36 NIV “Then the man who is Lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.’ ” As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”

His focus is horizontal not vertical.  Here hs sons come back with food plus all their money.

They had been given grain from Egypt free of charge. All the prime minister had asked was that they prove they were not spies by returning with their youngest brother and claiming Simeon had been left as a hostage. Yet Jacob saw none of this as God’s provision. He froze in fear and focused on a worst-case scenario. His response was negative and horizontal.

Jacob should have been thankful his sons were still alive. They had been accused of being spies and could have been killed on the spot. Besides having their lives spared, they had been given the food they needed and had their money returned.

All they had to do was return and show the prime minister of Egypt that they really did have a younger brother, that they had been telling the truth.  But Jacob not only reacted negatively and horizontally, he overreacted. As soon as he heard they had left their brother in Egypt, he jumped to the conclusion that Someone was dead. “Joseph is dead. Simeon is dead. Everything is against me,” he moaned. Henbegan to sound paranoid and self-pitying. “All these things are against me!”

Ruben, the oldest son, was more levelheaded and told Jacob that if he agreed to let Benjamin go so they could get Simeon out of jail he would sacrifice his own sons if he didn’t bring Benjamin back.  

Genesis 42:37 NIV Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.”

Jacob said no and he again showed favoritism of one son over all the rest and again saying “whoa is me” 

Genesis 42:38 NIV But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”

Jacob, like many of us panic and look at the natural things, that’s a horizontal view, and didn’t consider that God may have other things in mind if we just trust Him.  If Jacob had considered the blessing of the grian being free and the only thing needed was to prove that they were not spies by sending Benjamin back, he may have seen God working.  We miss God often because our view is horizontal.

However, we are studying God’s providence and we said at the beginning and throughout this study that through divine providence God accomplishes His will.  Gos will get His way.

He always does, but it’s a lot more painful when we fight Him and resist His leading, based on negative thinking, horizontal perspective. and resistance to change.  God is never in a hurry, and He can and will wait you out.  

In Jacob's case the food they bought in Egypt was running out and there was still a severe famine in Cannan and there was still grain in Egypt. 

Genesis 41:57 NIV And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

So, Jacob told his boys to go back to Egypt and get some more food, but Judah reminded his of what the prime minister said.

Genesis 43:1‭-‬5 NIV Now the famine was still severe in the land. So when they had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back and buy us a little more food.” But Judah said to him, “The man warned us solemnly, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ If you will send our brother along with us, we will go down and buy food for you. But if you will not send him, we will not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ ”

Jacob still thinking horizontally and selfishly asked how woha is me responds 

Genesis 43:6‭-‬7 NIV Israel asked, “Why did you bring this trouble on me by telling the man you had another brother?” They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our family. ‘Is your father still living?’ he asked us. ‘Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How were we to know he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here’?”

He still didn’t want to send Benjamin to Egypt but Judah, the one who convinced the brothers to sell Joseph, said if you had agreed with us when we got back the first time, we could have gone back to Egypt a couple of times.  I’ll take full responsibility for Benjamin, but we need to get on it right away.

Genesis 43:8‭-‬10 NIV Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the boy along with me and we will go at once, so that we and you and our children may live and not die. I myself will guarantee his safety; you can hold me personally responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. As it is, if we had not delayed, we could have gone and returned twice.”

Jacob finally reluctantly agrees

Genesis 43:11‭-‬14 NIV Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”

Still, he ends with woe is me.  

When our view is horizontal rather than vertical, we tend to be negative rather than positive when things don’t go smoothly.  We resist anything that is unfamiliar, we are not open to new stuff.  We are reluctant, and suspicious, we put up our defenses and sometimes become paranoid.  “They're all against me. They don’t understand.” 

So, what do we do to start to change our focus to a vertical one?  

1. Recognize and admit your negative mentality. So much of the cure is in the confession. Immediate correction begins with honesty admission. Recognize, realize, admit your negative mentality. Don’t hide it. Quit Denying it. It will help if you and I simply say, “I have fallen into the habit of negative thinking.”

 2. Force a vertical focus until it begins to flow freely.  How do you do that?

First, you pray for strength. Then you make a conscious effort to respond, 

“Could God be in this situation?

Is God trying to get through to me?” 

Ask God about it and ask Him how you should react.

Admit that you had been trying to handle it yourself. 

Ask for direction.

Proverbs 3:5‭-‬6 NIV Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

3. Stay open to a new idea for at least five minutes. Don’t just reject it because it’s new or “it wasn’t invented here” or that’s not how we have always done it”.   Just hold off for five minutes or better yet pray about it then respond.  You may still reject the new idea, but you don’t make a snap judgement, based on the past.  

Trust God rather than resist change out of hand.

Bible Study Audio

God's Providence Session 29 - Activating a Seared Conscience

The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying God's providence or divine providence in the lives of David and Joseph and how we can apply His providence in their lives to our lives today.

The providence of God is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe. He is in control of the physical world. He is in control of the affairs of nations. He is in control of human destiny. He is in control of human successes and failures. He protects His people.

Last week in Session 28 we looked at how we should respond when we are rewarded for righteousness. We will learn that lengthy afflictions need not discourage us, bad memories need not defeat us, and great blessings need not disqualify us from service.

This week in Session 29 we are going to see how our consciences, which God gave us can, can cause us problems when we try to suppress it.  We will also see that God will somehow bring some stuff to the surface for us to deal with that will activate and revitalize a conscience that has been seared.   

If the conscience is “seared”—literally “cauterized”—then it has been rendered insensitive. Such a conscience does not work properly; it’s as if “spiritual scar tissue” has dulled the sense of right and wrong. Just as the hide of an animal scarred with a branding iron becomes numb to further pain, so the heart of an individual with a seared conscience is desensitized to moral pangs.

For our study we are using Great Lives: David: A Man of Passion and Destiny, and Joseph: A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness by Charles R. Swindoll. To study along with us you can purchase the books by clicking the Links here or the images after the notes.

The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe as a whole, He is in control of the physical world, He is in control of the affairs of nations, He’s in control of human destiny, He’s in control of human successes and failures, He protects His people.  Through divine providence God accomplishes His will.

Last week we talked about Joseph finally reaping the rewards of his trust of God and how we look at and respond to people who God has blessed tremendously and how a person who has faced undeserved difficulties should respond to show that they trusted God in those difficulties.

Paul was a person who trusted God in all circumstances, good or bad.

Philippians 4:10‭-‬14 NIV I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.

The Bible tells us how we are to respond to people in good or bad times too.

Romans 12:15‭-‬21 NIV Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Joseph is an example of how we should respond when we are super blessed by God, either materially or spiritualy.  Joseph who went from prison to Prime Minister of Egypt in an instant didn’t get all full of himself.  He knew that it wasn’t because he was such a good manager and administrator, and he was, it wasn’t because he was able to interpret Pharaoh's dream and give him good counsel as to how to manager the food supply during a terrible drought and he did.  Joseph gave all the credit for his promotion to God.  

Genesis 41:15‭-‬16‭‬ ‬NIV Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” 

‬25‭ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 

28‭ “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 

32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.

Because he understood that God was in control of everything that had happened to him, Joseph was able to put the bad stuff behind him with God’s help as evidence by the names he gave his two sons.  

Genesis 41:50‭-‬52 NIV Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” The second son was named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

In naming his sons as he did, Joseph proclaimed openly that God had made him forget all his troubles, even those in his father’s household. Above and beyond that, God had made him fruitful in a land and in circumstances that had brought him nothing but trouble. 

 By naming his first son Manasseh, Joseph was saying, “Godhas made me forget.”, all the bad stuff.  By naming his second son, Ephraim, he was saying, “God has blessed me beyond measure in a place that once seemed to bring only suffering.”

He is giving God all the credit.  God has taken away the weight of all the bad stuff and replaced it with joy.  God made him forget the pain, the anguish of what had happened. We know the memories are still there, but the pain and anguish are gone by the grace of God.

Today we are going to see how our consciences which God gave us can, can cause us problems when we try to suppress it.  God will somehow bring some stuff to the surface for us to deal with.  

Ok Joseph is the Prime Minister of Egypt he has gone on with his life and now there is a famine that effects that whole geographic are not only Egypt.

Genesis 41:57 NIV And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

That includes Joseph’s family back in Cannan, his father, Jacob,  and his brothers and their families.  They had heard that there was food in Egypt that they could buy so Jacob sent everybody but the youngest son to buy some food and bring it back.  

Genesis 42:1‭-‬4 NIV When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.” Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him.

Now we are going to see how God has worked this whole thing out.  Remember Joseph is the guy in charge of the grain and who can get it.  

Genesis 41:57 NIV And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

So Joseph’s brothers go to Egypt to buy grain. They went down with no thought of their long lost brother; they just went to buy food.  As for as they, and Jacob, were concerned Joseph was gone and just a memory.  

Joseph knew nothing about his family. Surely, in unguarded moments, alone with his thoughts, he must have wondered about their welfare. Was hisdear father still living? Were the brothers all alive; were they well? Had the famine taken its toll on them? 

His main activity at this time was seeing that the people were qfed, and overseeing the distribution of the food in storage to many outside Egypt who came with hope for relief.  Lo and behold, here come these guys from Cannan and they are sent to the Prime Minister to ask to buy food from their brother.  

Genesis 42:5‭-‬7 NIV So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also. Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”

Joseph recognizes them but they don’t recognize him and he obviously knew they didn’t recognize him and to further Joseph’s hiding his identity from them he spoke harshly to them. 

Now remember from last week with God’s help Joseph had gotten past the pain his brother’s had inflicted on him so he was not bitter however he could play with their emotions.  We know he wasn’t bitter because in his position he could have had the executed, but then he would not have been able to find out about his other brother and his father.  He now remembered the dream that he had more than 20 years prior.

Genesis 42:9 NIV Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”

They may have panicked when Joseph accused them of being spies and they gave him information that really piqued his interest in this family that he had been taken away from.

Then there was this dialogue in which they gave Joseph more information about his family.

Genesis 42:11‭-‬15 NIV We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.” “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.” But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.” Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.

So Joseph proposes that one of the brothers goes back to Cannon and brings the youngest brother while he holds the other nine.  Then he changes his mind and holds only one of them and lets the other nine go but they must bring the youngest back if they want to see their brother and buy more grain.  

Genesis 42:16‭-‬20 NIV Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” And he put them all in custody for three days. On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.

Now we want to get to the key message in this session and that is that memory the stuff we have done in the past never goes away and the way that our conscience works is that we ofen say that “what goes around comes around” some people call it karma but I call it God working through our conscience to bring to us things we need to address head on.   Chuck calls it activating a seared conscience.

Let’s look at what the bible says about a seared conscience.

1 Timothy 4:1‭-‬2 NIV The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

The conscience is the God-given moral consciousness within each of us (Romans 2:15). If the conscience is “seared”—literally “cauterized”—then it has been rendered insensitive. Such a conscience does not work properly; it’s as if “spiritual scar tissue” has dulled the sense of right and wrong. Just as the hide of an animal scarred with a branding iron becomes numb to further pain, so the heart of an individual with a seared conscience is desensitized to moral pangs.

Joseph’s brothers have determined to kill him. Can you imagine how far they must have fallen into sin to simply contemplate killing their brother? Now they have moved past thought and are ready to take action—they are actually going to kill their brother!

But both Reuben and Judah have second thoughts: maybe they shouldn’t actually kill their brother. Instead, Reuben suggests they simply torture him in a pit for awhile before bringing him back home, and Judah suggests that they sell him into slavery so they can at least make some money off of showing mercy to their brother.

Did you catch that? Compared to the rest of Joseph’s brothers, Reuben and Judah actually think that they are showing mercy to Joseph… by throwing him in a pit and selling him into slavery! That’s how badly their consciences have been seared! They are committing horrible atrocities against their own brother, and they see it as mercy!

When we don’t honor God as the Lord of our lives, we too are susceptible to committing sinful acts. The more that we give in to our sinful nature, the less evil these acts appear to us.

And yet, many of us can commit certain sins without even feeling guilty about it. When we don’t see anything wrong with breaking God’s Word, violating His commands, and rebelling against His lordship through sin, we are in trouble. When we think that it was just a quick look at something sexual, it was just a small lie, it was only a little greedy or selfish; when we think that we deserve that new toy, or we’ve earned this or that right; when we give in to pride or vanity or gluttony because everyone else is doing it, we are only demonstrating that our consciences are seared.

When your conscience is seared it has no moral compass and it needs to be activated.  That’s what happened to Joseph’s brothers when they were in jail. They thought that this is happening to us because of what we did to Joseph.  Joseph could understand them because, unbeknown to them he was a Hebrew and could understand them and it broke his heart.  

Genesis 42:21‭-‬24 NIV They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.” Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must account for his blood.” They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter. He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.

So what do we learn about activating and revitalizing a seared conscience?

The first step toward activating a seared conscience is taking responsibility for one’s own personal guilt. The brothers did not blame their father for being passive. They did not blame their brother Joseph for being proud or arrogant or favored. They did not diminish the wrong by saying they were too young to know any better. They used the right pronoun when they  agreed together, “We are responsible! There is no one else we can blame!”

The brothers’ crime was now more than two decades old, but they still felt the distress of it. Time doesn’t erase distress. We have evidence of that in our own lives. We Know from experience the inescapable reminders of our guilt. The emotional entanglements brought about by the consequences of our own sin can be so devastating that we become physically sick, which is precisely what happened with David following his adultery with Bathsheba and his murderous plot to have Uriah, her husband, killed. Remember his heartsick admission?

Psalms 32:3‭-‬4 NIV When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

Often when we are struggling with our own guilty conscience we don’t or can’t take advantage of the grace of God in forgiving us.  Joseph’s brothers weren’t able to accept the grace that Joseph showed them by not only giving them the grain needed for their families but giving it to them free of charge.

Genesis 42:25‭-‬28 NIV Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.” Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

When God activates a seared conscience we begin to gain a different perspective. Sometimes we become victims of the kind of treatment we have meted out to someone else. When the harm, the hurt, or the pain that we brought on someone else is visited upon us, something begins to change inside us. God begins to break through our hardshell and soften our hearts that have become calloused.

The passing of time does not erase a guilty conscience. The ache lingers.

God also activates a seared conscience when we are recipients of undeserved expressions of grace. Joseph’s brothers deserved no grain. They deserved no money. They deserved punishment, perhaps even imprisonment, for what they had done to their brother. Instead, they wound up with freedom, a full sack of grain, and all of their money returned.

How grateful we should be that the tell tale heart is still at work. It is God’s work of convicting us, bringing us to repentance. His Spirit does not stop working with us even when we stop being interested in Him. It represents the central-most placein our lives, where He is leading us back into harmony with Himself. Your response—your choice to obey His voice—will change the rest of your life.

God's Providence Session 28 - Reaping the Rewards of Righteousness

The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is studying God's providence or divine providence in the lives of David and Joseph and how we can apply His providence in their lives to our lives today.

The providence of God is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe. He is in control of the physical world. He is in control of the affairs of nations. He is in control of human destiny. He is in control of human successes and failures. He protects His people.

Last week, in we saw evidence of God's favor toward Joseph although a lot of time had passed. Joseph was still in prison. when Pharoah's cupbearer finally remembered Joseph and his ability to hear God through the interpretation of dreams.

God taught Joseph and taught us;

1. During the waiting period, trust God without panic. Be faithful during the waiting periods of life. God will not forget you or forsake you.

2. When the reward comes, thank God without pride. Only God can bring you through and out of the tough times. Only God can reward you for your faithfulness. Be grateful, not proud.

This week in Session 28 we look at how we should respond when we are rewarded for righteousness. We will learn that lengthy afflictions need not discourage us, bad memories need not defeat us, and great blessings need not disqualify us from service.

For our study we are using Great Lives: David: A Man of Passion and Destiny, and Joseph: A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness by Charles R. Swindoll. To study along with us you can purchase the books by clicking the Links here or the images after the notes.

The providence of God or divine providence is the governance of God by which He, with wisdom and love, cares for and directs all things in the universe. Divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. He is sovereign over the universe, He is in control of the physical world, He is in control of the affairs of nations, He’s in control of human destiny, He’s in control of human successes and failures, He protects His people.  Through divine providence God accomplishes His will.

Time is a part of our lives. It’s inescapable. That is what Solomon was talking about when he wrote, “For everything there is a 

season, a time for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT).

We find two important words in this verse: “season” and “time.” The Hebrew word for “season” refers to a fixed, definite portion of time, while the word for “time” refers to a beginning or a starting period.

When we put those words together, we see that Solomon is telling us that God has appointed everything that comes into our lives for a specific purpose. God knows just when to bring things in, and He knows how long they should last.

The things we experience are not random events that float in and out of our lives. Rather, they are specific events that God has chosen, and they are timely and purposeful. This includes the good times that we experience and the bad times we experience.

And in retrospect, we’ll see that many of the bad times will turn out to be good times. That’s because it is through those so-called bad times that we learn some of life’s most important lessons.

We also will recognize that we’re not in charge of our lives. God is. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we come under His protective care. This means God is fully aware of everything that happens to us.

God is always paying careful attention to the smallest detail of our lives and is in complete control of all circumstances. There’s a season for everything. We’re not victims of fate or dumb luck. God is guiding and directing our steps

Last week in our session we talked about the fact that after being completely forgotten and still in prison he was finally remembered.  The chief butler told Pharoah, who had two very disturbing dreams, which his wise men couldn’t interpret, that he knew someone who could interpret his dream because he a accurately interpreted a dream for him.

Not only did Joseph interpret Pharoh's dream but because he had during the time that he was a slave and then falsely imprisoned developed and grown his God given administrative and management abilities and skills, he advised Pharoah as to how to handle the things that God told him he was going to do in prospering Egypt and then plunging them into a deep famine.

Genesis 39:4‭-‬6‭, ‬20‭-‬23 NIV 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. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Genesis 41:25‭-‬36 NIV Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon. “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

Pharaoh said I think we have found the right man so he promoted him to second only to him in Egypt.

Genesis 41:37‭-‬40 NIV The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his officials. So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Joseph’s Cinderella-like promotion was incredible. But when God determines the time is right, that’s the way He operates. Joseph has been appointed, chosen, selected, prepared, and refined into gold by Almighty God.

In today’s session we will talk about Joseph finally reaping the rewards of his trust of God and how we look at and respond to people who God has blessed tremendously.  Also, we will look at how a person who has faced undeserved difficulties should respond to show that they trusted God in those difficulties.

Let’s first look at another person who faced underserved difficulties and leaned on his relationship with God and the support of of other Christians.

Philippians 4:10‭-‬14 NIV I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.

Let’s look at how we, Christians respond to people when they are down and then when they are super blessed.  

It is easier for us to support people when they are down, perhaps because that’s easy.  When we see that they are blessed we find it tougher to support them because we may be jealous.  

There seems to be something more spiritual about the hurting, weeping days and something almost carnal about the prosperous days. 

Picture him first when he was in the throes of suffering, rejected by his family, sold into slavery, and falsely imprisoned. I’ll guarantee you; his name would be on the church’s prayer list. We care about those who are booted out of their homes. Wecare about those who are mistreated and find themselves in great pain. We are concerned about them. We intercede for them. We often reach out to help them. Yes, Joseph's name would have occupied the top of any prayer list.

Joseph suddenly became powerful and prosperous. Pharaoh promoted Joseph to a very powerful position and with it came tremendous power.

Genesis 41:41‭-‬43 NIV So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

I want to remind us that this whole idea of promotion was Pharoh’s and Joseph had nothing to do with it.  He did not ask for the job.  

Let’s reflect on our response to someone being promoted.  Especially someone we know well.  We may have worked together on projects we may even think our skills are better  would we ask questions like; “How did he get there? What did he have to do to get this kind of influence and power? Who does he think he is, wanting us to listen to him?”

We often really have a problem when that person is a young person.  Joseph was about 30 when he was promoted.  The Bible gives us examples of other young people being promoted, through God’s providence.  

We forget, or don’t consider what someone has gone through before promotion.  Joseph had been thrown in a cave, sold as a slave, falsely accused and imprisoned, then forgotten.  He had led a very hard life.  Yet he never complained, and he worked on improving himself and his skills.

David was not even twenty when he was anointed king by Samuel 

1 Samuel 16:10‭-‬13 NIV Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

1 Samuel 17:33 NIV Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

The term Saul used here to describe David’s age is broad and can refer to anything from an infant to an adolescent. David was a teenager, 16–19 years old. The fact that David was not yet serving in the army tells us he was under twenty.

Numbers 1:3 NIV You and Aaron are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more and able to serve in the army.

 

and only thirty when he took office. 

2 Samuel 5:4‭-‬5 NIV David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

When King Nebuchadnezzar picked Daniel to be one of the top men in his court, Daniel was only a teenager.

Daniel 1:3‭-‬6 NIV Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service. Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

Daniel 1:18‭-‬20 NIV At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign as king

2 Chronicles 34:1‭-‬2 NIV Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.

The Virgin Mary was still in her teen years when she bore the Christ child.

Matthew 1:18 NIV This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

In this passage of Scripture, we are not told Mary’s age, yet we are told she was a virgin and was pledged to be married to Joseph. During this time in history, Jewish girls would have been betrothed (engaged) to their husbands as early as the age of 12-years-old. Scholars believe Mary would have been somewhere between 12-16 years old when she had Jesus

So, Joseph was still a young man, and he is a model of how we should handle the rewards or righteousness.  Make  no mistake Joseph was rewarded for maintaining his integrity despite all he had gone through.  

Joseph was humbled by his promotion and the evidence of God’s favor and so should we when we are promoted because it’s not us being so great it’s God’s favor on us.  

As we said last week When the reward comes, thank God without pride. Only God can bring you through and out of the dungeon. Only God can reward you for your faithfulness. So, be grateful, not proud. Remember, with humility, that it is God who has put you there.

Joseph showed his humility by the names of his sons.  After Pharaoh promoted Joseph, he changed his name and gave him a wife 

Genesis 41:45 NIV Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.

Joseph named.  his sons Manasseh and Ephraim.

Genesis 41:50‭-‬52 NIV Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

The names are significant because in the meaning of the names Joseph gives God all the credit for him being in the position that he is in after all the unfortunate things that have happened to him He takes no credit he gives all the credit to God.

In naming his sons as he did, Joseph proclaimed openly that God had made him forget all his troubles, even those in his father’s household. Beyond that, God had made him fruitful in a land and in circumstances that had brought him nothing but trouble. 

 By naming his first son Manasseh, Joseph was saying, “God has made me forget.”, all the bad stuff.  By naming his second son, Ephraim, he was saying, “God has blessed me beyond measure in a place that once seemed to bring only suffering.”

He is giving God all the credit.  God has taken away the weight of all the bad stuff and replaced it with joy.  God made him forget the pain, the anguish of what had happened. We know the memories are still there, because later he talks about them with his brothers. 

Genesis 50:15‭-‬21 NIV 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?” So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. 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. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

But God made him get beyond the initial hurt of the memory.  We’ve talked about this when we have talked about forgiveness and whether we can ever forget what someone did to us.  I say that you can forgive, still remember, not let that stop you from forgiving.  

Matthew 6:14‭-‬15 NIV For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Refusing to forgive is a sin. If we receive forgiveness from God, we must give it to others who hurt us. We cannot hold grudges or seek revenge. We are to trust God for justice and forgive the person who offended us. That does not mean we must forget the offense, however; usually, that's beyond our power. Forgiveness means releasing the other from blame, leaving the event in God's hands, and moving on.

We may resume a relationship with the person if we had one, or we may not if one did not exist before. Certainly, the victim of a crime has no obligation to become friends with the criminal. We leave it to the courts and to God to judge them.

Nothing compares to the freedom we feel when we learn to forgive others. When we choose not to forgive, we become slaves to bitterness. We are the ones most hurt by holding on to unforgiveness.

"When you release the wrongdoer from the wrong, you cut a malignant tumor out of your inner life. You set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself."

Joseph’s promotion meant that he was super blessed materially.  He was rich and he actually controlled everything in Egypt.  Here’s the point Joseph was now in a position to hoard his blessing or to share the abundance.

Genesis 41:53‭-‬57 NIV The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.” When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

We have been blessed beyond measure in fact Jesus said He came to give us abundance.

John 10:10 NIV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

God is not overly concerned with the physical circumstances of our lives. He assures us that we need not worry about what we will eat or wear. Physical blessings may or may not be part of a God-centered life; neither our wealth nor our poverty is a sure indication of our standing with God. 

Although we are naturally desirous of material things, as Christians our perspective on life must be revolutionized so must our understanding of “abundance” be transformed. True abundant life consists of an abundance of love, joy, peace, and the rest of the fruits of the Spirit not an abundance of “stuff.” This is what we should share as Joseph shared the abundance of Egypt.  

Three other things we learn from Joseph that we can apply to our lives.

First, lengthy afflictions need not discourage us.  Remember from the time that Joseph was seventeen until his promotion at 30 his life had been hell, even though the Lord was with Him, and he was sharpening his skills as an administrator and manager, he was still a slave and a prisoner. Thirteen years since the bottom dropped out of his life. Thirteen years before things changed for the better.   Thirteen years of difficulties, but mostly downs, worsening. Thirteen years of one setback after another.  But during all this time we don’t ever see Joseph complaining or showing any signs of discouragement.  Even when he asked the cupbearer to talk Pharoah, he was just stating facts not indicating discouragement. 

Genesis 40:14‭-‬15 NIV But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”

Second, bad memories need not defeat us.   We all have some bad memories. Some because of things we did, some because of things others did.  Like Joseph did, in naming his sons we have to lean on God to help us get past the bad memories, so we don’t get stuck there and let those bad things defeat us.     You may need help in turning the wound into a stingless scar. You need a friend, a mate, even a professional counselor to come alongside to help you in the process of getting rid of those stings.

Third, great blessings need not disqualify us from service.  Don’t let success go to your head so that you forget others. Remember when we are blessed with success material or spiritual, we are vulnerable to the sin of pride.  we need to humble ourselves before God’s mighty hand and say, “Jesus Christ, I need You. I have all of this to account for.  We are accountable for all that we are blessed with, so with blessing and abundance, if we want to stay out of trouble, we need humility and integrity.  

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