Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20090201.htm
THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION Genesis: Explaining The Foundations Of History Part VII: Explaining God's Plan To Bless Men Regardless Of Apostasy CC. Overcoming A Victim Complex By Faith (Genesis 39:1-40:23)
Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

The breadth and depth of unfair trials many people are facing today is great, a fact we can readily document (as follows):

(1) This past week, I read an article that first appeared in the October 8, 2008 issue of The Wall Street Journal, p. A5 by James R. Hagerty and Ruth Simon titled, "Housing Pain Gauge: Nearly 1 in 6 Owners Under Water." The authors noted that due to the credit crisis, many homeowners in America who purchased homes with equity and good credit have seen their home values plummet so far that what they owe the lending institutions exceeds their homes' values, leaving them "under water": they are unable to refinance for a better loan even if they have good credit, and they are locked into not selling lest they be forced to pay many thousands of dollars out-of-pocket to make up the difference between the sale price and what they owe the bank!

Now, 1 in 6 homeowners in our nation suffer this "under water" status crisis, many of whom have done nothing wrong to deserve it!

(2) Star Parker, an African-American who serves as president of the Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education wrote an editorial, "Roe breeding irresponsibility" in the January 26, 2009 issue of the Waterbury Republican-American, p. 6A. The noted how "Christian conservatives" are often charged with caring only about issues like abortion or same-gender marriage while not addressing social issues such as poverty. However, as she added, these problems are all related: (1) 37% of aborted infants are "black babies . . . even though just 12 percent of the population is black." (Ibid.) (2) Also: "Black families with two married parents at home are on approximate economic par with white families" while "The black poverty rate, which has been frozen at twice the national average for decades, is almost exclusively a phenomenon of single-parent homes." (Ibid.) Such social problems would be greatly relieved opposite the unfair charges by their critics if the moral stands of "Christian conservatives" were actually applied!

(3) While I was typing up these notes, I received a call from a Church member who reported how his family was facing a very unfair, difficult trial!



Thus, we may ask, "If facing unfair trials that tempt us to give up hope, how does God expect us to function with blessing?!"

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "If facing unfair trials that tempt us to give up hope, how can we function in life with God's blessing?!"

1. Joseph was tempted to feel victimized by his trials, Gen. 37, 39-40:
1. He was sold as a slave into Egypt by his hateful brothers, Gen. 37:28.
2. He was then unjustly slandered and imprisoned, Genesis 39:1-20:
1. Joseph was sold to Potiphar, head of Pharaoh's bodyguard, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Genesis 39:1.
2. While he was there, Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph, but he declined her advances in obedience to God, Genesis 39:7-10.
3. Angered at his refusal of her, she slandered Joseph, saying he tried to assault her, so Potiphar put him into Pharaoh's prison, 39:11-20.
3. Joseph's cause in prison was mishandled by an inept official, 40:1-23.
1. Once in prison, Joseph graciously interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's imprisoned cupbearer and baker, Genesis 40:1-22 NIV.
2. However, when their dreams were fulfilled so that the cupbearer was restored to his post, contrary to Joseph's request, the cupbearer forgot Joseph's cause, so he was left to dwell in prison for two additional years, Genesis 40:23 with 40:14 and 41:1a.
2. Regardless of these unfair trials, Joseph trusted God's Word, and tried his best to succeed in each circumstance he faced, Gen. 39-40:
1. Though under trial, Joseph had the memory of God's dreams that promised he would yet rule his brothers and family, implying his trials were temporary setbacks to an otherwise great future, Gen. 37:5-11.
2. Thus, after being sold as a slave to Potiphar, Joseph trusted God's promise and functioned well in Potiphar's house, so God gave him oversight there in line with God's plan that Joseph rule, Gen. 39:2-6.
3. Even after being slandered by Potiphar's wife and sent off to prison, Joseph still kept trusting God's Word, so God gave him influence over the other prisoners, including Pharaoh's officials, Genesis 39:20-40:4.
4. Then, we know by Joseph's testimony about God to Pharaoh after his release (Gen. 41:15-16) that, though forgotten by the cupbearer, he still trusted God's promises and did his best, cf. Genesis 39:23; 41:14.
3. God thus USED Joseph's TRIALS to PREPARE him for his ROLE as RULER in FULFILLMENT of God's WORD, Genesis 39-40:
1. Though Joseph faced unjust trials, God planned for him eventually to manage Egypt's grain under Pharaoh (Genesis 41:33-40), and to deal wisely with his brothers who had sold him as a slave (Genesis 42:6-9).
2. Well, each of Joseph's trials gave him the experience he needed to know how to function in all these matters once he came to power:
1. His experience in Potiphar's estate gave Joseph insight into how slaves and the low class functioned, Genesis 39:4-5:
1. Under Potiphar, an official to Pharaoh, Joseph was put in charge of all matters relating to Potiphar's estate (Genesis 39:4-5b).
2. Thus, he came to understand the culture and life of low class slaves and workers who served the upper class in Egypt.
3. Additionally, Joseph ruled the farming enterprise of the estate, being responsible for its crops (Genesis 39:5c), and that gave him the insight later to collect the harvests to be stored locally throughout Egypt where he knew the management of those reserves would most efficiently occur, cf. Genesis 41:35.
2. Then, Pharaoh's prison gave Joseph insight into functioning over royal officials, Genesis 39:22-40:4. He was put in charge of Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker, men who were familiar with Pharaoh and his royal court, equipping Joseph to understand how to function with Egypt's royal officials, Genesis 41:33-34.
3. Then, the trials Joseph faced from corrupt and inept leaders taught him to deal wisely with others, including the wisdom he needed to deal with his brothers who had cruelly sold him into slavery:
1. When sold by his brothers, Joseph had pleaded with them for his release, but to no avail due to their cruel hearts, Gen. 42:21.
2. Thus, in having to deal with corrupt and inept officials, Joseph learned to cease naively trusting others, but to test people before befriending them. This led him to test to learn if his brothers had repented from abusing him prior to exposing his identity and leaving himself emotionally open to them, 42:7; 44:33-34.

Application: If we face unfair trials that tempt us to feel victimized and to give up hope, (1) may we trust in Christ as Savior to come under God's "much more" care, John 1:11-12; Romans 8:32. (2) Then, may we (a) trust that our Good God has a GREAT PLAN in LETTING us face such trials, and (b) trust His Word for insight and (c) function to the peak of our ability in all things. (c) He will encourage us and (d) use the trials to mature us for a great future!

Lesson: Joseph refused to lose heart when exposed to the unfair trials he faced by trusting God's Word and performing his best in all situations! God thus encouraged and matured him in the process for final blessing!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

When Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger took off on US Airways flight 1549 with 154 passengers from New York's LaGuardia airport on January 15th, 2009, he did not ask for a flock of birds to fly into his two jet engines so he would be left without any power only 3,200 feet above a densely populated, skycrapered New York City!

When he gave a "Mayday" by radio back to LaGuardia and he was cleared either to return to the airport or to land at an airfield in New Jersey, Sully did not ask for his plane to be so low and slow that he could not make it to those locations without risking the lives of his passengers along with the lives of many other people on the ground.

However, instead of giving up hope as a helpless victim, Sully did the best he could with his training and experience: " . . . he steered his 100,000-pound glider toward the Hudson [River], deftly seeking a spot near rescue boats. Then he made one of history's most remarkable landings. Once crew and passengers had scrambled out, Sullenberger walked through his aircraft twice to make sure all 154 who'd been aboard were safe. Only then did he leave." (Editorial titled "'Simply' doing their jobs" in the January 26, 2009 issue of USA Today, p. 14A).

In a later interview with a news group, one of the officials of the National Transportation Safety Board involved in examining the accident mentioned that Sully's successful landing would serve to instruct the NTSB on increased safety in future air crises. Similar to Joseph's trials, what began as a seemingly hopeless crisis had turned into an event of great value for other pilots, thanks to Sully's quick decision to do his best with the terrible situation he had been handed!



That is how God expects us to respond to our temptation to feel helplessly victimized by trials. No, God knows such trials are not easy, that they are often unfair -- it wasn't easy or fair for Joseph or for Captain Sullenberger, either! Yet, similar to Sully and like Joseph in their respective trials, instead of wringing our hands in dismay, God calls us to trust His previous training in His Word and do our best in the trials, leaving the outcome with Him!

So, if tempted to feel victimized by the unfair trials we face, may we trust in Christ to become a Christian. Then, may we trust God and His Word, believing His plan to give great blessing in the end, and just do our best in the hope that God will bless in the end!