Making a Way: From Position to Potential

Making a Wa= y: From Position to Potential

Genesis 45:= 1-20

Back on September 7, 2008, we began a journey through = the book of Genesis: “Making Our Way through Troubled Times.” There were already signs of politi= cal unrest and economic distress on the horizon, but these would soon intensify, and since Genesis is filled with stories of people experiencing trouble, it seemed to be a good place to settle in for a while and let God’s word speak to our times.

In recent Sundays we have considered the fascinating l= ife of Joseph, observing how he made the most of all the predicaments he managed to get into as he made his way from Peak to Pit to Prison to Position and now, finally, to Potential—realizing God’s full potential for his li= fe.

This happens to be our goal as well, friends—to = reach the potential that God has entrusted in us—to be good stewards of this gift of life so that we count for something in this world.

There is great potential in each of our lives, yet the= re is so much that gets in the way of reaching our potential. In our text for today, we find Jos= eph overcoming a huge barrier in his life, which cleared the way for God to do great things through him. With that, let&#= 8217;s turn to our Scripture passage:

Genesis 45:1-20 Joseph Makes Himself Known

1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself be= fore all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known = to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I = am Joseph! Is my father still living?" But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they h= ad done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! = 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years th= ere will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve= for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father = to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. = 9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, 'This is what your son Joseph says:= God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don't delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and a= ll you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you w= ill become destitute.'

12 "You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all the honor acco= rded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly." 14 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin = and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping.

15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him. 16 When the news reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's brothers = had come, Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Tell your brothers, 'Do this: Load your animals and return to the land of Canaan, 18 and bring your father a= nd your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you = can enjoy the fat of the land.'

19 "You are also directed to tell them, 'Do this: Take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives, and get your father and come. 20 Never mi= nd about your belongings, because the best of all Egypt will be yours.' "<= /p>

And with that, all the house of Israel moves from Cana= an, where there is drought and famine, to Egypt where Joseph’s wise couns= el to the Pharaoh had led to ample provisions being set aside for the “economic downturn.”

So the Hebrews’ stay in Egypt begins as a blessing, e= ven though, as you recall, it leads eventually to their enslavement--setting up another great chapter in the story of God’s people, the Exodus, and another great leader in a time of crisis, Moses.

So what was it that Joseph had to overcome in order fo= r God to accomplish what He needed to do through his life? Well, you remember how Joseph got started on this difficult journey through years of slavery and prison. His brothers—his own flesh a= nd blood—threw him into a pit and sold him to slave-traders. And now, some fifteen years later,= they have the audacity to show up asking him for help!

Of course, they had no idea they would be going before Joseph with their request. Ha= d they known, do you think they would have even attempted it, given the way they h= ad treated him?

I don’t think so. They would have been too fearful that Joseph would have been more li= kely to kill them or at least enslave them than to help them—right?—= an eye for any eye, tooth for tooth! Is it any wonder they were terrified when he said, “I am Joseph”?<= /p>

So, here’s what it came down to: for Joseph to r= each his potential, for God to use his life to save His people, Joseph had to forgive his brothers. He was = good at so many things, but could he forgive?&n= bsp; There are lots of otherwise talented people who cannot. Joseph would never reach his poten= tial unless he could forgive.

We are going through troubled times, friends—and troubled times cause stress and tension—which have a way of showing u= p in our relationships. Troubled T= IMES can lead to troubled marriages, families, workplaces, schools, churches, communities.

Joseph’s family would not have survived troubled times—and we may not survive them either—without a very healthy dose of forgiveness, along with an ample portion of grace and compassion. Let’s see what we can learn = from Joseph.

1. In ex= tending forgiveness to his brothers, the first thing that impresses me in this pass= age is that JOSEPH WAS DISCREET. = "Have everyone leave my presence!" Joseph said. “So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.” (Genesis 45:1b)

There are good deeds that should be done in full view = of everyone--so that the light of our Christian witness can shine. There are other good deeds, though= , that are best done privately, involving only those persons who must be included. Forgiving others fa= lls into the latter category, so Joseph cleared the room. Only he and his brothers were pres= ent.

Now, Joseph could have made a public spectacle of his brothers. Instead, he was discreet. If anyone heard abo= ut this, it would not be from Joseph. This took a lot of maturity, friends—genuine forgiveness always does.

Think what life would have been like for them had Jose= ph made it known that years before his brothers had thrown him into a pit, sold him as a slave, and then tricked his father into believing his boy was dead= .

Joseph was a popular figure in = Egypt. His leadership in preparing the co= untry for drought had saved many from starvation. Do you think his family could have= ever moved to Egypt= , could relationships have ever been restored, without Joseph’s absolute discretion in these matters?

Has anyone ever truly forgiven another person if they = insist that their words of forgiveness be shared publicly? Has a husband forgiven his wife, o= r vice versa, if he makes sure that family and friends know about the indiscretion before forgiveness is offered.

There are those rare times when an offence should be m= ade public--because of safety issues or whatever--but forgiveness should only be between the parties involved. Anything more is something other than true forgiveness. Joseph was discreet in dealing wit= h his brothers’ sins—we should be too.

2. Somet= hing else we can learn here is that JOSEPH TOOK THE INITIATIVE in restoring these relationships. When his first attempt at breaking the news to them didn’t work, it says in verse 4: “Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, = 216;I am your brother Joseph…’”

A forgiving spirit says a lot about the worth of our relationships. I heard about a woman whose barn had burned down. She called the insurance company and said, “We had that barn insured for a hundred thousand dollars, and I want my money.”

“Just a minute,” the adjuster replied, “that’s not how it works. First, we determine the worth of the old barn and then we provide yo= u a new one of comparable value.”

She thought about that for a moment…then she sai= d, “In that case, I’d like to cancel the policy on my husband.R= 21;

I don’t know--maybe she didn’t value her h= usband highly enough, but the witness of the Bible is that relationships matter and broken ones need to be fixed quickly.

We want the other person to make the first move—= don’t we?--to admit that they were wrong. But even though Joseph was the one offended, he took the initiative to make the relationship between him and h= is brothers right.

This is interesting: Joseph had two sons—we haven’t talked about them, but they are mentioned several times in the last few chapters of Genesis. What Joseph named his sons tells us volumes about Joseph’s heart:

&nb= sp; 1) His first son was named Manasseh. It comes from the Hebrew word mean= ing “forget.”

&nb= sp; 2) His second son was Ephraim, which means “fruitful.”

For Joseph to reach his potential, for God to use him = to save his people, Joseph had to FORGET what his brothers did to him years earlier, and he had to forget all the other problems that came his way as a result.

He forgot those old wounds, he forgave his brothers, a= nd this made possible a truly FRUITFUL life.&= nbsp; Joseph took the initiative in restoring relationships that had been = so terribly broken.

3. Somet= hing else we find here that’s important when we forgive one another: JOSEP= H WAS EMOTIONALLY HONEST. Verse two= tells us that Joseph “wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him (those who had been ordered out of the room!), and Pharaoh’s household heard abo= ut it.” (Genesis 45:2)

I guess Joseph didn’t get the message that ̶= 0;real men don’t cry.” It seems like all the pent-up emotion, all the hurt and anger, feelings of betrayal and the unfairness of life exploded inside of Joseph, and it all c= ame pouring out in this very poignant moment.

We’ll never be able to forgive anyone until firs= t we come to grips with our pain, acknowledging it, recognizing its source, and choosing to express it and deal with it.&n= bsp; It’s okay to be hurt, but not to stay hurt; to be angry, but n= ot to stay that way forever. It = will ruin your life to leave these emotions unresolved.

Joseph didn’t have to tell his brothers how they= had made him feel—it was all too obvious in that moment. So many of our hurts are more subtle. In many cases, they w= ere not intentional. The guilty party= may not even realize that they caused someone pain.

But it does not solve anything to keep all that hurt to ourselves. Be honest. Deal with it. Talk it over, clear it up, and be = done with it. FORGIVE. Be completely honest about the hur= t and pain and anger, and then forgive completely.

4. One t= hing more: JOSEPH COMFORTED AND CARED for his brothers--a pretty good indication= that his forgiveness was sincere. = Joseph tells them, “…do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent = me ahead of you.” (v.5)

And there is that tender scene in verses 14-15: “Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> And he kissed all his brothers and = wept over them. Afterward his brot= hers talked with him.”

The relationships were not only restored, they were much closer now than they h= ad ever been before. Forgiveness can = do that. It is so powerful when it’s done right, friends. It can be life changing! It can = turn a “rocky” relationship into one that is “rock-solid.”=

Forgiveness is so important to Christian living. We find it over and over again in the New Testament--that those who = know God’s forgiveness in Christ are to quickly extend forgiveness to others. Here’s just one example from Colossians:

“Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each othe= r and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossia= ns 3:12-13)

“Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” It’s not a suggestion. It’s a commandment. And like all God’s commandments, it really is for our goodR= 12;so life can be at its best, and we can reach our potential unencumbered by old wounds and bitter emotions.

Well, we’re coming to the close of this journey through Genesis. We’ve encountered the lives = of people who lived a few thousand years before us, and we’ve seen how t= heir faith and commitment to God got them through their troubled times. It will be our faith, our trust in God’s strength and guidance that will get us through ours.

Let’s finish with this: in the frigid waters around Greenl= and, there are many icebergs. Some= are quite small. Others are huge.

There is an interesting phenomenon that people sometimes observe there. The small chunks of ice will move = in one direction, while the huge icebergs move in the opposite direction.

WHY? Because the small chunks of ice are blown around by the surface winds; but those large icebergs that extend far below the water’s surface are moved by the deep ocean currents.

That’s a picture of our lives, friends—one or the other, at least. The challenges and difficulties th= at come our way in life are the surface winds. If we let them, they can control u= s, moving us in lots of different directions, none of which are helpful.

But if we are people of faith, our lives reach deep into the currents of God’s love and grace and His eternal purposes in this world. And this is what moves us, and dir= ects our lives, and keeps us flowing even through the troubled times in the ways= God would have us go.

This is how it was for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. This is how it’s been for pe= ople of faith from the time of Genesis to this moment.

We can be blown about by the world’s whirlwind of doubt and confusion, a= nd by troubles of many kinds. Or our lives can run deep into the currents of God’s love and grace and merc= y. It’s one or the other. So, which is it going to be in your life?