A Life Resurrected

Today is a day about victory over the grave, triumph over death and the power of sin that has been broken over us. We are no longer the forgotten, no longer are we lost, but we now we are the people of freedom, the people of hope and deliverance!

We pick up our story with Joseph now in prison. He is at the red light waiting and once again finding ways to make the most of a desperate situation.

Joseph is 28 years old and has had no contact with his family for 11 years now. How many years did he spend in Potiphar’s service? We aren’t sure, but chapter 40 refers to it being some time later after Joseph arrived in prison that he is assigned to take care of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker.

A Life Resurrected Is A Window into God’s Business 40v8

Have you ever been in a similar situation?

Brenda Martin has been in a Guadalajara prison for over two years and she has been said to be hanging on by a thin thread. She has been charged with money laundering, internet fraud in a case where her boss has bilked American investors for 60 million. She claims she only cooked for the guy and he has gone on record stating that she knew nothing about his criminal activity. It has become a heated issue in our parliament and a case of trying to break Brenda to find out where the money is, if any. Jason Kelley, an MP, has visited and the case goes on….
Maybe you haven’t been in prison, but we all know what it is like to feel like we are in a desperate place. What happens when you are there and it becomes even more desperate.


Pharaoh’s cupbearer forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought 40v23

At some point you either decide to stay there or come to a place of redefinition. Joseph operated on the point of view of windows as opposed to rear view mirrors. He always chose to look ahead as opposed to feeling the weight of unjust circumstances of the past.

Philippians 3:13,14

It has been said that ‘being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent!’

For Jesus, He knew that his death was a temporary condition because He always had a window into God’s Business. Well, you say, but Jack that is unfair, He was the Son of God. Nevertheless when He lived his earthly life He chose to live in such a way that we could follow His example and time after time in the gospels, Jesus spoke of only doing what the Father told Him.

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15

It would be the two Marys who would receive that blessed first window into God’s Business when they showed up that Easter Sunday morning to an empty tomb!


A Life Resurrected Is A Window into the Father’s Timing 41v1-36

Two years later!!! Don’t miss that. How often do you think you have to wait for an answer to prayer. For Joseph, it was more than 2 years. It is now 13 years since he arrived in Egypt and probably at least ½ that time he has been in prison. At the age of 30, you might say he got his big break…

41v9Then the king’s cupbearer spoke up. Today, I have been reminded of my failure, he said…and he begins to tell Pharaoh about Joseph’s ability to seek the Lord and give answers to dreams.

Galatians 4:3 states, “And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were slaves to the spiritual powers of this world. But when the right time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

Understand the significance of timing in your own salvation.
Understand the significance of timing in a move, in a new job opportunity and all that it involves.

Before you can change the world, you must first allow the world with its hurts and needs to change you.

A Life Resurrected Is A Window into the Father’s Power 41v37-57

The qualities of a man who is filled with the Spirit of the Lord becomes an ever present reality in Joseph’s life. He has been shaped and tested for all these years for such a moment as this. Joseph now becomes Pharaoh’s right hand man. He is second to the throne and is given a signet ring, dressed in beautiful clothes and has a royal gold chain about his neck. He also gets the fastest set of wheels in towns next to Pharaoh too.

If he had received all this at 17, he could easily have been the most wreckless driver in the city never giving any thought to who and what got him to where he is today. But it didn’t happen that way. He operated on God’s power and kept a right heart. His perspective could have easily turned turned to worldly things, forgetting his first love, his spiritual stamina.

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

or in the words of Abraham Lincoln….Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character give him power.


The most powerful event of all time is the event of Jesus death, burial and resurrection. It changed followers of Christ forever. It changed the face of religion from the power of man to the power of God. It changed all the rules for who has authority and who is ultimately the God to believe. The power of Satan was destroyed and no longer did death have to be feared because Jesus walked right through it.

And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who will be raised to life again.
1 Corinthians 15:17-20

Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death where is your sting? For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!

1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Powerful Realizations –

God has a purpose for every life, the key is to stick to His gameplan and finish our course with joy.
Discipline is necessary in fulfilling His plan. God will walk us through all the trials and suffering to train us for a divine appointment. He has not promised to make us comfortable but He has determined to make us conformable.
God will finish what He started Philippians 1:6 but we need patience. The answers don’t come right away for the most part, but God doesn’t bury us, forget what we have gone through. He will plant you and in time bring a harvest.
God is given the glory when we faithfully serve others. Times of suffering can be times of birth, a birth of a new way, a new ministry opportunity.
God will prove Himself sovereign to all those who trust Him


The Takeaway

Allow God to resurrect your life so that the pictures you have will not become rear view mirrors but windows into His business, timing and power!

Questions For Discussion and Small Groups:

In what ways has God resurrected your life?
What is the biggest takeaway for you in switching from rear view mirrors to windows?
How can you go about learning more of God’s power in your own life?

Intersections

Last month Sharon had a really close call at Laurier Ave. and Ontario St. The light turned green and as she was about to enter the intersection she took a quick glance and here came a truck barreling through a light that had turned red well before he arrived there. She noticed that he was talking on his cell completely oblivious to the obvious. After that it took her a moment to regroup as she realized how quickly she could have lost her life in that moment. If there is one lesson in driver’s education that you get drilled into you, it is to pay attention at the intersections, but how easily we can forget.

I believe that is the same message God is teaching us today. Pay attention at the intersections of life! It is here that we must keep our eyes open to look at what might be going on and whose path we might be crossing. I can admit that are times that I have gone blazing through the intersections of life focused on my own agenda and missed what I exactly needed to do. The focus for us today is to learn how to see those divine appointments so as that we don’t become so preoccupied and busy that we miss where God is leading us.

Joseph moves through three major intersections very early on in his experience beyond the pit and this morning we will learn about the grace he discovered there.

The 1st Intersection – Potiphar – The grace to go through the green light when you are called to respond in a difficult situation

The 2nd Intersection – Potiphar’s wife – The grace to run the amber light when your heart is on the line.

The 3rd Intersection – Prison – The grace to wait at the red light when things don’t always turn out like they should


The 1st Intersection - The grace to go through the green light when you are called to respond in a difficult situation v1-6a

Live in such a way that others step up and notice.

Joseph moves from son of favor to slave of duty. He is in a foreign land, doesn’t know the language, doesn’t know the culture and basically is treated as an object. However what you have to love about Joseph is his attitude. Where others may have completed resented what happened to them, Joseph continues to live in such a way that Potiphar’s takes notice.


1 Thessalonians 4:11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.


There is a realization going on when others step and notice that God has his hand on your life in such a way that even non-Christians take notice and that is exactly what happened to Joseph.

God will prosper you in His way.

God granted him success. Joseph was a prosperous man in the way that he handled himself in his workplace

Joshua 1:8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from you mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

There have been times on HNIC when Don Cherry would remark about a Christian hockey player and talk about them being the hardest working, competitive players and that is what we need to be all about. Christian should be known for a great work ethic because we know that ultimately whatever we put our hearts and minds too, it is for God’s glory. When we live this out, it takes our work to a whole new level.

I believe God is looking for it to start in the small things. He longs to see faithfulness, perseverance, expectancy and often He rewards that behavior with greater opportunities for influence and impact. How do I know that… look at the parable of the talents…

I have this great quote on my desk by Vince Lombardi…’If you don’t pick up the ball and run with it, somebody else will!’ God is building his team and the green light to step up to the plate is there for you. We need to activate, get set, get ready and be faithful where He has planted us.

It is true that God will bless others because of your involvement, your faithfulness and connection when what is being accomplished is God honoring.

As God entrusts you with places of leadership, He continues to seek our faithfulness, to see us act with God sized confidence, to speak with caution and ultimately to share with love why you are the person you are.

Time magazine did a study in the States at the end of last year and they sought to find out which profession derived the most happiness. You will be interested to know that it is clergy…well, of course, we only work one day a week. It took me some time to absorb it and realize the weight of what it was saying. I think there is the sense of realization that what I did is not a job but a calling and to that degree I serve the Lord. However, no matter what your job is or where you fall on the list when you realize that ultimately it is for God’s honor, it has to change your perspective.

The 2nd Intersection – Potiphar’s wife – The grace to run the amber light when your heart is on the line. v6b-19

Let’s look at the distinctive marks of Joseph’s temptation – he was well built and handsome…He had the charm and the arms!

It has been said that sexual attraction is possibly the strongest lure that we face. Whether it can be controlled will either make or break a person.

In a recent Journey devotional by Crawford Loritts titled, ‘One Act’ it states, ‘it’s a shame how some people are only remembered of the mistakes that they have made whether it be Bill Buckner, Marion Jones, Michael Vick…and then there are the pastors as well who have wonderful years of ministry and lose all credibility in one careless moment.

Learning from temptation:

It can happen totally unexpected. For Joseph things were going well, the source may or may not have been anticipated, but there is no time in that moment to be strengthened against it. The resolve has to already been built up.
It is not always predictable. It can strike like lightening and it is better to have safeguards up at all times. Ephesians 6:11-13
It doesn’t always let up. You start to play with fire and you will get burned. She constantly was at him and there was a continual alluring. We don’t leave temptation a forwarding address. They say opportunity knocks once, but temptation bangs on your door for years! 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 FLEE – run, get away!
I Corinthians 10:13
Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life

Joseph took a strong stand from the start. He recognized the sin as a great wickedness and a sin against God. We must say no by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Satan will always choose the most advantageous times to throw the darts!
In our age of loose morals we need to continue to set high standards for ourselves for purity…that God gets the glory in this body.
We can’t depend on God’s help if we deliberately walk into the area of temptation time and time again.





The 3rd Intersection – Prison – The grace to wait at the red light when things don’t always turn out like they should v20-23

Joseph moves from an attack on his body to an attack on his mind and he is falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife. Again, he must be troubled by the thoughts…does godliness really pay? Here lies the test now of his mind, emotions and will because everything is going against what he knows to be right

1 Peter 2:19,20

Stay the course and see it through

Dennis DeHaan gives the following reasons on why suffering:

- it enables us to glorify God
- it makes us more like Christ
- it makes us more appreciative of what we do have
- it teaches us dependence on God
- it strengthens faith
- it makes us more sympathetic
- it teaches us patience
- it ultimately brings reward
- it makes and keeps us humble
- it silences Satan – we show we are His!


The Takeaway
Joshua 24:14-26

Now fear the LORD and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods you worship and serve the Lord!

You say well Jack I don’t have any idols in my home, but we all have things in our lives that can turn to idols…money, sports, materialism, the affection and applause of others.

We must keep it all in check and recognize the green, amber and red lights in our lives and obey them


Questions for Discussion and Small Groups

What quality or intersection in Joseph’s life do you most admire?

What are the reasons you don’t ‘see’ the people around you?

3. List some of the circumstances or people that have had an impact on your life intersections.
4. What one intersection had God specifically brought into your life in which you have the ability to influence someone else’s story?

Molding Our Priorities

Joseph’s life is an Old Testament demonstration of Romans 8:28. His confidence was not displayed in his ability to understand the circumstances but in the God of all circumstances. Joseph experienced it all, the incredible heights of position and power and the lowest of lows being accused and found guilty of false accusations. He led a life of testing and triumph, suffering and glory. He grew up as a sheep tender and was the 11th of 12 sons. Our culture tells us that we are the product of our heredity and environment; however, today we will learn how to live honorably before God regardless and the power to rise above whatever labels has been branded on us.


Be A Truth Person. v2

You might be thinking well no wonder his brothers don’t like him. The guy is a ‘tattle-tale’ However, he was a truth revealer and he had enough guts to call sin sin. He had a healthy sense of right and wrong and brought light to a situation for the good of the family business. The point is that light exposes darkness and to be honest darkness can’t stand light, its uncomfortable around it and really just wants to make it disappear.

Matthew 5:14-16

How often have you been the one ‘uninvited’ because of the person that you are and the character that you reveal. God notices when you take a stand for righteousness and He will honor you for it.

Love Out the Best In Others v3,4

God’s love is not the love of Jacob. He doesn’t play favorites, in fact we see that he wants nothing to do with partiality when it comes to the place and seat of honor in the church in James2. Now, having said that, He will honor those who honor Him. The fact is that Joseph lived a life of integrity and his father recognized it and while we may question the way he rewarded it, it was the brother’s choice to resent it instead of taking the high road to encourage Joseph. Let’s face it though, it is a humbling thing to celebrate the progress and advancement of others when you yourself feel left behind.

Contextualize it by thinking of someone younger than you, less experience on the job and they get the promotion and what is your first thought? What about me. You either get bitter or get better and the brothers let a root of bitterness grow in them.

Hold On Tight to Your Dreams v5-10

Joseph dreams of authority, submission and obedience on the part of others and it doesn’t go over too well with his brothers as you might imagine. No one really tries to understand him except his father who keeps the matter in mind. I believe there is great sensitivity needed in knowing who is ready to receive what we might share about what God is doing in our life. It is often parents and close family members who are the most resistant to the changes and God given visions in our life. There will always be those who will work to suppress the work of God in your life and you must hold on tightly to the dreams and visions that God has given you. Do not deny His clear leading and be careful with whom you share it. Not everyone is ready to receive, not everyone is going to encourage…your job is to pray for incredible discernment.

Well Joseph’s honest sharing intensified their anger and animosity towards him.

The way up in God’s economy is first down. v12

The next part of the journey for Joseph is to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. He has a pretty good idea that he is being sent into a hostile situation and yet he steps out in obedience. He is willing to go to his brothers to ‘check up on them’ I don’t know about you, but I might have said, you know dad, this didn’t go over too well the last time, maybe you want to check it out for yourself…’ But he doesn’t and he willingly goes and his life begins to take a most dramatic turn. They see him coming and they begin to mock him and plan a cruel death

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Living a life on loan means self sacrifice. Ashok had it right last week when he shared it is in effect taking out a blank sheet of paper signing the bottom and saying to God, you fill in the blank!

Filling in the blank for Joseph meant being confronted, stripped and humiliated. It meant going through rejection, pain, anguish and torture.

When we are faced with trials, how do we respond. Do we ask the question, ‘why me?’ or do we say, ‘why not me’. Do we see that God is trying to mold us and shape us? For Joseph, any dreams of self ambition, self-exaltation died that day in the hopeless pit of despair.

Jesus taught us that the way up is down, the way to greatness is to first learn to serve others. Joseph went through the breaking process that to some degree we all go through it and learn that the path to true greatness is through humility and servanthood.
Matthew 18:4;23:11

Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold for 20 pieces of silver. There was so little value placed on his life and it parallels the same betrayal that Jesus faced at the hands of Judas for 30 pieces of silver.

Do you think Joseph must have been wondering at this point in his life? Does godliness really pay off? Does it really pay to be a person of truth? I have been a cast off from my brothers….will God cast me off as well?

Acts 7:9 Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles…

The difficult realization was that in order to be used by God, Joseph was going to have to die to selfish desire. He was going to have to go through the fire.

The question we have to ask ourselves is this:

What do I need to die to in order for God to fully use me for His purposes? What will it take to break me? Do I take the glory or do I give the glory?

What takes priority in my life?

God overruled the sin of Joseph’s brothers and would accomplish exactly what He purposed and planned.

It is impossible to bring good out of evil, but good can come in spite of evil.

Here is what is evident from his life.

Joseph was a man of integrity, he never lost sight of his dreams and he trusted God regardless.

As the book, ‘Living a Life On Loan’ shares…

Just like Joseph’s life, our lives are a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly and they are all put in the can of our life. Some things we choose to put in like our education, relationships and activities and other things get shoved in there, some of which is good and also the junk like being thrown into a pit and sold into slavery. All of it, the trash and the treasure play a part in shaping our life, defining who we are and become the making of our story.

There are basically two camps of thought on this. One camp says, my life is good, there are definitely things that I don’t like, but overall you still control your destiny. The other camp says I wish I had someone else’s life, I’m angry, I’m stuck, it isn’t fair and I want a different life.

I don’t want to discount anything that anyone has gone through, many of them tragic that have marked and scarred you, but know this that you are more than your past, more than the stuff that have been shoved into your can and God wants to do a work in you.

Are you ready to sign your blank letter to Him?
Ephesians 2:8-10
Romans 8:28-30

You can have a new identity, you can start making different choices. God, our God is in the business of reusing, renewing and restoring what was stolen. There are some thinking patterns that you need to toss and there are things you can recycle.

It starts with living by the whole truth as opposed to the half truths that we have come to live with.

For example…I know I shouldn’t get so angry, but it is the only way to get things done around here. I know I shouldn’t go out with this person because they bring me down, but I don’t want to be alone.

The whole truth is that God wants to be your anchoring point, your compass for living.

The Takeaway

Sign off with God to be a person of integrity, to never lose sight of your dreams and trust God regardless that your story will be used for His glory.


Thirty-three year old truck driver Larry Walters accomplished his dream of flying even if his aircraft was unconventional. Larry had spent a good deal of time dreaming of flying but never had the opportunity until July 2, 1982. It was that afternoon when he and several of his buddies got together. They took an aluminum chair complete with green and white vinyl straps and attached 30 weather balloons to it. Apparently Larry strapped himself on to the chair and took pb and jelly sandwiches with him along with a six pack of beer, a CB radio to report to his friends and a BB gun to shoot the balloons down to control his flight.
Instead of leisurely floating through the air in his California neighbourhood, Larry’s chair when cut loose from its tethers shot more than two miles into the air. He went right through the approach corridor to the Long Beach Airport. Larry started firing his BB gun as fast as he could. When he landed, the emergency workers asked him if he would do it again. He replied, not in a million years. When asked why, he shared “You can’t just sit there, can you?’

We need more people with that kind of attitude. The realization is that I do have a life and more importantly I have a story, experiences, relationships that can be used of God to impact others. No matter how many wrong turns, mess ups or foul ups, none of it is wasted with God. We have the opportunity to bring good in spite of evil and that is what a noble person does. We need to pray that God would give us the opportunity to choose well.

If someone was to give you $525,600 what would you do with it? Would you pay off some debts? Would you build a new home? Would you give money to the church or missions? There are a lot of ways that you could spend that money?

Now you might think that I am going to bring up the landswap, but I’m not. The fact is that every year we have 525,600 minutes. What are you doing with them? What investments are you making? At the end of the day, our life is simply piling up those moments. There are definitely some big moments along the way and the more ordinary for sure. However, they all add up and the little things become a big deal.

My mom has about 70 laying hens. I have asked her mom why do you keep doing it, it is a lot of work to look after these hens, but they do produce. Everyday there are eggs and they are taken to the missions store in Fergus to be sold. The money received for the eggs there has gone often to support missions work in Haiti, to support a pastor, to build wells…A small decision keeps adding up and making a huge difference.

The place to begin our moments of truth, to love the best out in each other, to hold on to dreams starts in the home, starts with our spouses and our children.

We have been saved from something for something.



God gives us leaders to prepare us for good works Ephesians 4:11,12
God gives us the Bible to equip us for good works 2 Timothy 3:16,17
God gives us spiritual gifts to enable us to do good works 1 Peter 4:10
God gives us other Christians to spur us on toward good works. Hebrews 10:24

Rick Rusaw

Jesus did anything that advanced the will of God in the lives of others.

Discover your sweet spot. Find out what makes you passionate and the way God has designed you and then discover your purpose, let Him lead you to the good works He has prepared in advance for you to do.

Ephesians 2:10

Questions For Discussion and Small Groups.

What are the things you sometimes try to fit into the God-shaped vacuum of your life?
Have you ever had an experience in which your passions intersected with God’s purposes and you felt truly alive? What was it like?
What are your passions and skills?
Do you prefer working with people or working with your hands? Why?
As you look around your community, where do you think Jesus would go? What would He do?
How can you use your passions, skills and talents to give hands and feet to what Jesus would do?
Questions By Eric Swanson