Sermon Tone Analysis

providencial guidance

 

Gen 37:18-28 18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

19 "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other.

20 "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him.

Then we'll see what comes of his dreams."

21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands.

"Let's not take his life," he said.

22 "Don't shed any blood.

Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don't lay a hand on him."

Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe-- the richly ornamented robe he was wearing-- 24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern.

Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

25 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.

26 Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

27 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."

His brothers agreed.

28 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.

(NIV)

 

The title of my sermon this morning provendencial guidance.

Maybe I'm hoping with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we can find some clue about God's leading in our lives individually and collectively by looking at the providential leading of God in Joseph's life.

As intelligent people who live in this world.

We can become overwhelmed by the assumption of how a loving God should respond and act towards His beings,  especially towards His own people.

We can hold our own beliefs about how God should work and guide lives in a certain way.

But I suggest to you today that our Bible records those words spoken by our God He Says " My thoughts are not your thoughts and my ways .

.  ."

So we need to be reminded ourselves every now and then about how God works in our lives,

 

Lest we become discouraged as individuals also as a collective body.

Lest we become tempted to give up and lost sight and like Sister Job stated curse God and die.

Lest we become careless,  we ought to go back to the Bible and let the Holy Ghost speak to our hearts about our God's  providential guidance.

Let us pray .

.  .  .

Let us go back in time somewhere in the land of Canaan, and find a home.

A Christian God fearing home.

But there was trouble in this professed house of faith.

Anytime there is insurmountable strife between members of a family.

Anytime there is an abundance of problems in a home.

Something or someone is going contrary to the plan of God.

Polygamy had wrought controversy,  envy and strife in Jacob's home.

Several mothers made the family relation unhealthy.

Children grew up impatient of control and contentious.

(7 children from one mother and 2 each from 3 others).

But even in midst of all that trouble there was one child who remained untainted.

One author put it this way.

She said his character reflected an inward beauty of mind and heart ----- pure, active and joyous.

HE WAS YOUNG AND HE LOVED GOD!!

He was happy right where he was with God.  not restless, but contented, not miserable, but joyful, not idle but rightly occupied,  not bored, but exciting, not lifeless, but energized.

He was 17 and he loved the Lord.

Young people you don't need older folk (baby-sitters) in the church to spoonfeed you programs to keep you in it,  you don't need a guide to tell you where the next social is gonna be,  you don't need to be persuaded by basketball, soccer, gospel rock or fine looking young ladies or young men to keep you close to God’s church.

All you need is a relationship with Him.

You are guaranteed a good time .

.  .

My God says “I come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.

He was 17 and he loved the Lord,  Joseph was his name, whose life will be the focus of our sermon this morning.

Jacob was closely bonded to this child of his old age and Joseph clung to his daddy because his mother was dead.

The Bible tells us that Jacob loved Joseph more than all his children.

He excited their anger and passions by expressing that favoritism openly.

Coat of many colors~/ costly worn by persons of distinction.

Joseph loved God but the lifestyle of his brothers bothered him~/ Father

 

Although his brothers admired Joseph's life they chose not to live right themselves.

They hated the rebuke they received from the clean life Joseph lived in contrast to theirs.

They concealed from their Father a hatred of a malignant kind that captivated they souls toward Joseph.

And the same spirit that accuated Cain was kindling in their hearts.

And you could be as Christian as you are gonna get.

There are some people in the church who just won't like you.

Unmoved by your sincerity, unaffected by your commitment, undaunted by your meekness, and even disgusted by your kindness.

There are people like that in the church!!

They just don't like you.

For whatever reason,  Maybe you just don't match up to their own man made standards of what a church member should be,  maybe you look like a boyfriend or girlfriend who dumped them in the past, maybe you voted to replace them on the board.

I don't know,  but they will hate you some times for no cause and will give you hell.

And make you believe that you don't belong.

Even the Pharisees were convicted that Jesus was the Messiah.

But despite all the love and perfectness Jesus had in Him the Pharisees because of biases and selfish ambitions still had Jesus hung to a tree.

Remember Jesus said the wheat and the tares would grow together as reference to the church.

Tares are plants that in its beginning stages of growth look like wheat and if eaten can make you sick and even cause you to die.

(Devil plants them).

And Jesus gave that parable—who?

Jesus!

He gave it a long time ago.

That's why when you decided to become a Seventh-Day Adventist you got to make up your mine!  aint none of you negr--  gonna make me leave this church.

This is God's church and as long .

.  .

Shepherds -- months

One particular moment some time passed, bringing no tidings from them, and the father began to fear for their safety, on account of their former cruelty toward the Shechemites.

He therefore sent Joseph to find them, and bring him words as to their welfare.

Shechem -        Joseph --     Dothan

50 miles                               15 miles

 

Joseph was happy his search had ended

 

    Dreamer

    threats of malice reveal their intentions

    kill him

    threw him in a pit

 

Travelers~/ a caravan of Israelites traders on route to Egypt.

He pleaded with them.

But his cries for help went in vain.

Off went Joseph taken miles away from his home to a strange land never possibly to see his father again!!

 

Alone and friendless~/ thoughts of despair must have invaded his mind .

.

Where am I going?

what will become of me?

How will they treat me?

How can I cope?

In just one day his life was drastically changed.

From the tenderly cherished son to a dispized and helpless slave.

From the object of love to the object of disdain.