God's Presence with Joseph

It won't be long....

While the bright sun is busy burning off the crisp morning chill, Brad greeted us with his usual greeting, "I'm grateful you're here this morning." Today's message is designed to underscore once again that God's blessing is available to each one of us.

Announcements
-- Next Sunday is our Spring Rummage Sale at Grand Lake Comunity Center/Twig Town Hall & Fire Hall. Sale will run from 9:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. But don't be afraid to come early as there will also be a Car Wash and Bake Sale as a fundraiser for the CHIC Youth Conference.
-- Men will meet Saturday night May 9 to prepare next weekend's Mother's Day breakfast

Chuck introduced our time of worship with a few words about home, followed by a passage from the book of John. "I am the bread of life." The trio then sang a Gaither song about feeling at home in the presence of Jesus, followed by the easy-listening tune "Jesus we just want to thank you." Then we all joined in singing a few pieces from the silver songbook.

The offering taken we turned to the Lord in prayer.

God's Presence with Joseph

Brad began by reading from Genesis 48:10-22, a story about the blessing of Joseph's sons. Why did Israel bless the younger rather than the older? What is God's blessing about?

The sermon today was a series of insights taken from the story of Joseph, and though the message was easy yo listen to and nourishing to the soul, it was not as easy to write about today, and these notes are but a pale shadow of the real thing.

Birth order continues to have relevance in some ways, but in the ancient world it was even more significant. It was an agricultural world, and the firstborn got the land because it was important to keep the land together for future generations.

Yet over and over in the Old Testament, things didn't work that way. For some reason it seems the youngest got the blessing. Abel and Cain, Jacob and Esau, etc. The stories continue to have surprising twists.

In our modern world who seems to be the ones with the blessing today? Athletes who make 12 million a year. Smart ones, attractive ones, wealthy ones are the ones who seem "blessed" in our current culture.

But God's ways are not our ways. And Joseph spends a lifetime learning about the meaning of God's blessing. He began at the top of heap, being his father's favorite son. Joseph had a beautiful coat of many colors that set him apart from his brothers, and it only made his brothers jealous. But it gets worse. He tells his brothers about a dream his had in which his brother's sheaves of wheat bowed down to his. And another dream in which even his parents bowed down to him. They were more than indignant. The brothers so hated him they threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery where he ended up in Egypt.

Despite no evidence of Joseph's character being humble and worthy of blessing, God is with him. Joseph did not earn God's blessing. Yet God did not abandon him there. In fact, everything Joseph put his hand to in Potiphar's house was blessed.

Unfortunately, in a turn of events in which he kept his virtue, he ends up in prison. It would appear not to be a blessing, yet God is at work in him, and present even there.

Brad then interjected: This week I want you to ask God to reveal Himself in your hard place.

While in the prison Joseph notices others there and is no longer self-absorbed as in his youth. He has softened, become more sensitive.

We picked up the story in Genesis 39 and 40. Joseph was given a wife in Egypt. Joseph's wife was Egyptian so that Joseph's sons were half pagan. But when Israel blesses Joseph's sons in Genesis 48, the meaning is this... everyone is available to blessing. Old, young, insider or outcast.... it makes no difference to God.

Brad noted that when the Promised Land was split amongst the twelve tribes of Israel, Joseph was not one so allotted. Instead land was split for his two sons, Ephraim and Manassah, parcels for the half-tribes.

The blessing is for everyone, and at any time. Brad closed with the story of Jesus on the cross, blessing one of the thieves on the other cross. God was there. And Jesus was in the tomb, He went in confidence that God would be there to bring Him back.

* * * *
After the service we had a semi-annual meeting in which we discussed status of the new church building, budget matters, and elected new officers. The most exciting news was that we are ready to transition into the new building at the end of May. are you ready?

Lessons from the Life of Joseph

Pastor Brad will be back Tuesday evening, so Chuck greeted us and led the service today. Our guest speaker was Pastor David Eaton, a chaplain and Covenant pastor who has been with us before and becoming a friend of the New Life Covenant family.

Announcements
1) Gwen shared II Peter 3:18 with us as an intro to her theme about Sunday School. We're called to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." GROW as an acronym means
God's Word
Relationships
Obedience
Worship

2) Cheryl B. noted that our community of believers sent 28 kids to camp this year, a real achievement and a life changing experience for many.

While Darlene played Worthy of Worship, Chuck read Psalm 29, which in itself is rich, but especially enhanced against the backdrop of Darlene's accompaniment. After a time of worship, Chuck and Gwen sang a duet during the offering.

Our Scripture reading was from Romans 9:1-5. After a time of prayer, Gwen took the pulpit to minister in song, sharing with us The Solid Rock.

David Eaton then stepped up to deliver the message.

Lessons from the Life of Joseph

Pastor Eaton shared how much he enjoys the stories from the Old Testament, and that today he would be bringing us way back to one of its earliest books, the Book of Genesis. He then challenged us with a series of questions beginning with, "Do you believe God is good? Do you believe God is good in every situation?"

Our response is often filtered through our own experience and we often re-phrase this. "Is God good for me?" We also ask other questions like, "How could you let this happen to me?"

How do we handle it when life treats us unfairly? The variety of ways we can be wounded are innumerable. Terrible things can happen to people. How do we deal with it? Pastor Eaton noted that, "It's all about grace."

At this point he interjected the conclusion of his sermon, Genesis 50:20, noting that it's all about perspective. Joseph, speaking to his brothers, said, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

The story of Joseph is a familiar one. He was the "golden boy" of the Jacob's twelve sons. The first ten were born three of Jacob's wives while his favorite wife remained barren. Eventually she gave him two sons, Joseph the first. And Jacob was elated. Joseph got special treatment, not the least of which was the coat of many colors his father bestowed upon him. All this caused a jealousy to fester between he and his brothers. This is the background for today's sermon, and the rest of the story.

Grace Unknown

In Genesis 37 Joseph tells his brothers about a dream he had.

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

This and a subsequent dream caused the brothers' jealousy and rage shoot through the roof. Some of the brothers were so angry they actually wanted to kill him, but Reuben prevailed and instead they sold him into slavery, faking his death so that their father believed he'd been eaten by a wild animal.

God's hand was on Joseph, and while in the service of Potiphar, a land owner in Egypt, good things happened for Potiphar and Joseph's value increased. Unfortunately, Potiphar's wife took a hankering for Joseph. When he refused her advances, she told her husband he was putting the moves on her, attempted to violate her, and Joseph was unjustly sent to prison.

But even in prison it was apparent that God was with him, and as time crept forward, Joseph eventually was able to assist in the interpretation of the king's dream. This giftedness led to his ultimate release, after the longest time, to become 2nd in command in Egypt.

Meanwhile, the brothers may have been free of Joseph's dreamings, but they were in no way free of the guilt over what they had done to him. As "luck" would have it, a drought forced Jacob to send his sons to Egypt for food in a time of need.

In Genesis 42 the brothers show up in Egypt to get food for Canaan and it is Joseph to whom they must apply for assistance. Though he recognizes them immediately, they do not recognize him. And since he has been talking with them through an imterpreter, they do not realize he can understand them when they lament over their guilt from their behavior years earlier.

21 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.”

They had done wrong and they knew it, but they did not have the power in themselves to fix it.

Grace Extended

In Genesis 45 Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers and extends his grace to them. The revelation must have been an incredible moment, as they undoubtedly never expected to see Joseph again. Though they deserved harsh justice, they received from their brother mercy.

So it is with us. God loves us. Regardless of our checkered past, His grace is extended to all.

Grace Received

Perhaps the most incredible insight from today's message comes from this passage in Genesis 50:15...

¹⁵ 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?”

It's 17 years later and even though Joseph had forgiven them long ago, they still lived in fear of him. When Jacob died, the brothers connived a plan to make sure they would be safe. They did not understand that Joseph had extended mercy and it was not based on anything but love for them.

The brothers had presumed that Joseph was being kind to them out of deference for Jacob. Jacob was a safety net. Once the net was gone, their old fears returned. Now, they believed, Joseph would do what he's always wanted to do. They still did not understand the extent of his grace and unconditional mercy.

So it is with God, who loves us and desires that we accept -- fully -- His unconditional mercy.

Pastor Eaton said that throughout his life experience, especially in chaplaincy, he has encountered people who believe in God but still do not believe and receive his grace. I you are one of these, in that space between believing and receiving, the time to settle it is now.

Top right: David and Shawnee Eaton

Breath of Life

What a beautiful sunny morning. It may be that summer is finally sneaking into this corner of the world, like a breath of fresh air. And inside the sanctuary we were greeted warmly as well, Pastor Brad reminding us of our current theme: the Holy Spirit, who strengthens and gifts us to do God's work.

Chief among the announcements was that this week is VBS. A time of worship was followed by today's Scripture readings.
I Sam. 15:34 to 16:13
Mark 4:26-34

After a time of prayer the congregation sang Be Thou My Vision and then Brad stepped to the pulpit.

Breath of Life

Brad began the message by asking us to indulge him a moment. Sit up straight and take a deep breath, then just let it out. "It's funny how something that simple can help you relax and make you feel more alive."

Whereas breathing is something we all do without giving much thought to it, there are actually some people who have studied it extensively and are experts in breathing. Singers, divers, and many athletes devote a lot of time to learning how to breathe better.

Breathe out, breathe in. Exhale the bad things, take in the good and the necessary.

It's interesting, Brad noted, that in both Hebrew and in Greek, the word for breath that is used in each language is also the same word for spirit. In Hebrew the word is "ruha" and the first time it appears in the Bible is in Genesis 2:7.

7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Why did God create us this way? God breathed in us the breath of life and man became a living soul. Why didn't God just snap his fingers or say a word. No, God breathed into the man. God's ruha.

In the Old Testament, where the spirit is present there is life. For example, in Psalm 104 the writer said, When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.

An interesting turn of phrase. When you take away their breath they die. That is what sin does to people. It makes them forget how to breathe.

The manner in which the Spirit worked in peoples' lives in the old Testament was different from today. The Spirit of God would come upon people and work in exceptional ways through them for specific purposes. David was granted empowered and also given wisdom. In the same manner Gideon likewise led Israel like a mighty warrior when the Spirit rested on him. When the Spirit came upon Samson in the book of Judges, he had extraordinary strength. It is written that on one occasion he struck down a thousand men. King Saul, when he began ruling there are evidences he felt dependent on God to rule.

Pastor Brad cited another interesting passage, this one in Exodus 31:1-5. It was interesting because it shows how the Spirit not only gave supernatural strength, God's Spirit gifted men to be craftsmen.

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship.

Gifted by God's spirit to build a new tent of meeting. Craftsmen, breathed on by God... empowered to design, and build by His Spirit.

Brad took this opportunity to go sideways and remind us of our own building project, that we should seek God's spiritual empowerment, should pray for his wisdom to produce a "tent of meeting" that bears witness to something bigger than ourselves. This may be our moment... a way to remind people in out community of God's presence here.

God was not AWOL in the Old Testament. He just manifest Himself differently. In the Wilderness God led Israel in the form of a pillar of fire. God ministered through the priesthood. There were a few people who prophesied, too, but Moses expressed a bigger vision when he said, "I wish all the Lord's people were prophets." I wish everyone had the Spirit he was saying. Moses knew God's heart.

And in Joel 2:28 we see this theme projected to a future day as the Lord said through Joel, "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." This became the great dream of God's people... and ultimately, this is what happened. Unlike the Old Testament where there was a single pillar of fire, on the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit rushed in that fire separated, split apart and rested on every individual.

There are other stories of the power of God's breath. Brad then cited the passage where Ezekiel was shown the valley of dry bones. God asked Ezekiel, "Son of man, can these bones live?"

God's breath has power. If God can make life from a lump of clay, and make dead bones live, He can do it for you.

Breathing matters. This is the whole reason Jesus came, to usher in the era of the Spirit. And to breathe on us God's air. John the Baptist said, "I baptize with water, He will baptize you with the Spirit."

Breathe... We must breathe out the bad stuff, rid ourselves of judgementalism, guilt, anxiety, and breathe in life. Breathe in the Holy Spirit. Carbon dioxide isn't the only toxic substance inside of us. Self-preoccupation, fear, guilt over unconfessed sin... breathe it out. Breathe in the breath of life. Breathe in His grace, mercy and healing.

Brad closed by leading us to consider Ephesians 6:18 where Paul wrote, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."The Spirit of God is with us, in us, when we pray. On all occasions, stop and breathe.