Participants: John Lomacang (Host), Dr. Tomothy Nixon
Series Code: FDOF
Program Code: FDOF000004
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00:16 Hello, friends, welcome to the 3ABN Worship Center.
00:19 My name is John Lomacang. 00:20 Welcome to another Dare To Dream, 00:22 Foundation Of Faith meeting. 00:25 We have been tremendously blessed by the message 00:27 from Dr. Timothy Nixon. 00:30 And I tell you, this morning was a wonderful message 00:33 about marriage. 00:34 Relationships have been the theme of this series. 00:37 Boys To Men was Thursday, Friday was Junk In The Trunk. 00:42 And what was this morning's message title? 00:45 Grounds For Marriage. 00:47 And this afternoon is, Joseph Is Alive. 00:52 Joseph Is Alive. 00:54 Now we're trying to figure out how that fits into relationship. 00:56 But if you stay by, I am sure that God will bring you to 01:00 the place where you understand how great relationships can be 01:04 in the hand of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 01:08 Now I've said this before, but if you're tuning in for the 01:09 first time, Pastor Timothy Nixon and I go way back 01:13 from boys to men, if I could use that connection very well. 01:18 He is presently serving as the associate chaplain 01:24 for Andrews University. 01:25 He has his doctorate degree. 01:28 He's a graduate of Oakwood College, Oakwood University now. 01:31 Also of Andrews University. 01:34 Two wonderful children and a lovely wife. 01:36 She has a very unique name, one I have not heard before; 01:40 Sandria, and her maiden name was Lalasingh. 01:44 Yes, it's of an Indian origin. 01:46 And she's here today. 01:47 Both of them are well educated, both have doctoral degrees. 01:51 But what I've discovered, even more than 01:52 just the educational component, both have a wonderful 01:56 vibrant walking relationship with Jesus Christ. 01:58 Can we all say amen about that? 02:00 And I know that you're going to be blessed this afternoon 02:03 as we go before the Lord and open our hearts once again 02:06 to be able to dare to dream. 02:07 And the reason why this series is called, Foundation Of Faith, 02:10 is there is no other foundation that anyone can lay 02:13 than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. 02:16 Now just before we introduce our music for this afternoon, 02:19 I'd like for you to bow your heads with me 02:21 for us to invite the Lord's presence to continue with us. 02:24 Let us pray. 02:26 Gracious Father in heaven, what a blessing it is. 02:29 We have been reminded about the importance of 02:32 growing up in Christ. 02:35 We have been reminded again of what it means to 02:37 clean out our lives and make room for Jesus. 02:40 We have been brought back to the place where we understand 02:43 how important relationships are in Your sight; 02:46 the marriage relationship and the Christian relationship. 02:50 And now bless us again as once again You visit us 02:53 through Your manservant, Dr. Timothy Nixon. 02:56 We know that You have filled him, now fill us. 02:58 We do pray in Jesus' name, amen. 03:02 Have you been blessed by the music? 03:05 Amen? 03:06 I tell you, I have had the privilege of... 03:09 You know, sometimes when we have our Anchors series, 03:11 we have different singers every night. 03:13 But it's been a blessing to have the same musician 03:16 the minister of music. 03:17 And once again, our hearts are going to be warmed 03:20 by brother Brian Ezra Bates. 03:23 Let's welcome him with a hearty amen. 04:07 I give myself away, 04:14 I give myself away so You can use me. 04:22 I give myself away, 04:30 I give myself away so You can use me. 04:38 I give myself away. 04:45 I give myself away so You can use me. 04:53 I give myself away. 05:01 I give myself away so You can use me. 05:09 Here I am, here I stand; 05:16 Lord, my life is in Your hands. 05:24 Lord, I'm longing to see 05:32 Your desire revealed in me. 05:39 I give myself away, 05:47 I give myself away so You can use me, Lord. 05:55 I give myself away, 06:02 I give myself away so You can use me. 06:10 Take my heart, take my life, 06:18 as a living sacrifice. 06:26 All my dreams, Lord, and all my plans, 06:33 Lord, I place them in Your hands. 06:41 I give myself away, 06:49 I give myself away so You can use me. 06:56 I give myself away, 07:04 I give myself away so You can use me. 07:12 I give myself away, Lord. 07:19 I give it all away so You can use me, yes. 07:27 I give my heart to You, Lord; 07:33 heart and my mind. 07:35 I give myself away so You can use me. 07:45 My life is not my own; 07:49 to You I belong. 07:52 I give myself, I give myself to You. 07:58 Oh, my life is not my own; 08:04 to You I belong. 08:08 I give myself, I give myself to You. 08:13 Yes, my life is not my own, Lord; 08:20 to You I belong. 08:23 I give myself, I give myself to You. 08:29 Oh Lord, I give my will to You, Lord. 08:35 Use me as You please, Lord. 08:38 So I give myself, I give myself to You. 08:44 Oh Lord, I give You my heart, Lord. 08:49 Oh, I give You my mind, Lord. 08:53 Lord, I give You my all. 08:57 I give You my all. 08:59 I give you my all, Lord. 09:02 My life is not my own, Lord; 09:05 oh, to You I belong. 09:10 I give myself, I give myself to You. 09:15 Oh, I just want to be in Your will, Lord. 09:21 I just want to be in Your way, Lord. 09:25 Each and every day, each and every day, 09:29 I give it all to You. 09:32 Oh, my life is not my own; 09:36 to You I belong. 09:40 I give myself, I give myself to You. 09:47 Oh, I give it all to You, Lord. 09:52 I give it all to You, Lord. 09:56 So use me in Your service, Lord, yes. 09:59 I give it all to You. 10:04 My life is not my own, Lord; 10:07 to You I belong. 10:11 I give myself, give myself, I give myself, 10:20 I give myself. 10:28 I give myself away, 10:34 Lord, I give myself away so You can use me. 10:44 I give myself away, 10:52 I give myself away so You can use me. 11:15 Let's give Brian another hearty amen. 11:18 We thank God for that song. 11:20 I give myself away. 11:24 If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Genesis chapter 45. 11:29 And I will read in your hearing verse 26. 11:35 Genesis 45:26. 11:39 I'm reading from the New Living Translation. 11:45 "'Joseph is still alive,' they told him. 11:50 'And he is ruler over all of the land of Egypt.' 11:56 Jacob was stunned at the news. 12:01 He couldn't believe it." 12:05 The title of the message this evening, Joseph Is Alive. 12:09 Let us pray. 12:10 Father, now again we ask You to speak to us through Your Word. 12:16 Let nothing hinder Your message. 12:22 And we pray that we will open our hearts to receive it. 12:26 And give us the hope that comes through Jesus. 12:30 For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. 12:35 It was a tragic moment that took the nation's breath away. 12:42 It brought tears to a sorrowing president's eyes 12:48 as he announced with quivering lips the almost unbearably 12:54 horrid news of another tragic mass murder that rocked 13:00 a small suburban middle-class northeastern community 13:06 in Newtown, Massachusetts. 13:10 This was not south central LA, or the south side of Chicago, 13:17 or Brownsville in Brooklyn, or some other gang laden 13:23 violent ridden community that with callous casual consistency 13:29 we associate such acts of senseless violence. 13:33 No, this was in the serene safe suburban surroundings 13:39 of America. 13:42 Where families go to escape the violence of the urban centers. 13:50 And as the perpetrator, the protagonist, 13:55 of this unseemly act was unveiled and analyzed, 14:00 and his background was revealed, it became apparent 14:06 that his problems all began in his home. 14:12 Home. 14:14 A broken home. 14:18 Family secrets. 14:21 Family dysfunction. 14:24 A word that has become common in our vocabulary 14:27 and vernacular today. 14:29 And family sins. 14:32 Sins that seem to be generational in their 14:35 scope and impact. 14:40 Dysfunctions that cannot be easily shaken 14:44 or overcome. 14:48 What must Jacob have been thinking 14:52 as he waited for his sons to make their 14:55 second return from Egypt. 14:58 Judah had already been held. 15:01 And now Benjamin, his youngest, is gone. 15:05 Taken as collateral for the return of Judah. 15:10 He is fearful, petrified. 15:12 He can only surmise the worse. 15:17 I think we can better understand his anxiety now 15:19 after some years ago during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars 15:25 seeing American civilians taken hostage 15:28 and seeing some of their gruesome beheadings 15:31 televised on internet. 15:34 It is compounded more by the reminder of Joseph, 15:37 his favorite, who he lost 17 years earlier, 15:41 sent on an errand by him to see about his brothers. 15:45 His body never recovered. 15:46 Only the torn bloody remains of the prize possession, 15:51 his coat of many colors. 15:52 And now he sits and waits. 15:56 And then his worst fears are relieved with the 16:00 chorus of voices, "Joseph is alive. 16:03 Joseph is alive." 16:06 The moment of joy and exhilaration 16:10 that are immediate to Jacob. 16:12 And then suddenly, the reality of this joyless message, 16:18 "Joseph is alive? 16:22 How could...? What? Why? How?" 16:30 Thirty years of deception have reached their zenith, 16:35 their apex. 16:39 And what is even more painful is who he sees 16:43 as he looks into the devious eyes of his sons. 16:48 He sees himself. 16:52 And now in a sober moment, he has time to reflect and 16:57 recount the years of deception and intrigue, 17:00 and backroom deals, and midnight escapes, 17:03 and wrestling matches, and a divided home, 17:06 and contending sisters, and a dysfunctional family, 17:09 and sibling rivalry. 17:13 What has all of his deception gotten him but misery, 17:16 and pain, and anxiety, and instability. 17:22 And as he reflects and thinks more deeply, 17:24 he begins to realize that the deception and lies 17:29 did not begin with him. 17:33 It went back two generations to his grandfather, Abraham. 17:40 You see, there are some family secrets 17:43 that haunted Jacob's life. 17:45 And we all have family secrets. 17:51 The family secrets went back to Abraham. 17:54 Abraham, the father of the faithful. 17:56 You know him. 17:58 Abraham, the one who is called the friend of God. 18:02 Abraham, the one who Jesus said saw His day. 18:05 That same Abraham had feet of clay. 18:09 With all of his moral successes, with all of the salvation 18:13 history that he lived, there was one prevailing sin 18:18 that Abraham struggled with. 18:20 His besetting sin. 18:23 It was the sin of deception. 18:27 He had a problem with falsehood, tail bearing, truthlessness. 18:36 Abraham had a problem with telling the truth. 18:40 He was a big time liar. 18:45 Did you know that deception reveals an inability to trust? 18:50 Distrusting people are distrustful. 18:53 Lying undermines relationships. 18:56 Why? 18:57 Because relationships are built on the foundation of 19:00 fidelity, faithfulness, truth. 19:04 But who can trust a liar? 19:07 Who can build a relationship with a liar? 19:09 Who can develop faith with a liar? 19:12 And if you have problems with truthfulness, 19:14 problems with building trust and faith, 19:17 then how can you form a relationship with God? 19:23 The Bible says we are saved by grace through faith. 19:26 The just shall live by faith. 19:28 Without faith, it is impossible to please God. 19:31 No wonder the Bible says lying lips 19:34 are an abomination to the Lord. 19:37 Deception and lying reveals a lack of trust in God. 19:46 People who use deception to get ahead or to preserve their lives 19:50 or to avoid trouble do it because they do not trust God 19:54 to handle the problem. 19:56 And instead, by lying trust themselves. 20:02 So God introduces Himself to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 20:05 and tells him, "I'm going to make you the 20:08 father of many nations. 20:09 I'm going to bless you. 20:11 And I'm going to bless those who bless you 20:14 and curse those who curse you. 20:15 I'm going to make your name great. 20:17 And all the families of the earth will be 20:19 blessed because of you." 20:21 And with this announcement, Abraham leaves his family 20:25 and friends and travels to the land of Canaan. 20:29 And when he gets there, God tells him, "I'm going to 20:32 give this land to your offspring." 20:35 And Abraham worships and praises God 20:38 and offers sacrifices. 20:40 And then a famine strikes. 20:46 Famines are tests of faith. 20:49 The famine came and he had to go to Egypt to find food 20:53 and sustenance for his family. 20:55 And on the way, he suddenly forgot God's promise. 20:59 And he says to his wife, Sarai, "You know, Shorty, 21:05 you so fine." 21:09 And she says, "Oh stop, Abraham." 21:14 Now you know, ladies, you ought to know that when 21:17 a man starts complimenting you, that something's up. 21:24 And so he says to her, "They will kill me 21:29 for a woman as fine as you. 21:34 So I'll tell you what, when we get to Egypt, 21:37 just tell everybody that you're my sister. 21:42 And you know, it's not really a lie. 21:44 After all, we are half brother and sister. 21:47 We're not really lying, 21:49 we're just not telling the whole truth." 21:58 He did not trust God. 22:01 He did not trust God's word. 22:02 Instead, he trusted himself. 22:04 He trusted his deceptive dealings and backroom plotting 22:08 and covert strategies more than God's promises. 22:15 And some of us trust backroom deals and secret handshakes 22:20 and alleyway alliances to advance our careers 22:24 and promote our agendas. 22:26 But God does not use dirty dealings and deceptive devising 22:30 to advance His agenda. 22:32 God does not need the cloak of darkness 22:35 to fulfill His promises. 22:38 Jesus says in John 3:19, "Men love darkness 22:42 because their deeds are evil. 22:44 They hate the light because they want to sin in darkness. 22:48 They stay away from the light for fear their sins 22:51 will be exposed and they will be punished." 22:56 If you're involved in something that requires you 22:59 to sneak around behind people's backs, 23:03 or under the cover of darkness, sneaking into hotels 23:07 or off-road restaurants, that's a tip-off that God is not in it. 23:16 God is not about concealing. 23:19 He's not about hiding, He's not about sneaking around 23:22 and spreading rumors and damaging 23:24 reputations in the darkness. 23:26 God turns on the light. 23:27 Jesus says, "I am the light." 23:30 James 1:17 says, "In Him is no variableness, 23:33 neither shadow of turning." 23:37 1 John 1:5 says, "God is light, and there is no 23:40 darkness in Him at all." 23:45 Abraham had a dark side. 23:47 He had truth problems. 23:50 And his truth problems were symptomatic 23:53 of a deeper trust problem. 23:56 And it kept re-emerging and re-asserting himself. 24:02 You would think that after the Egypt affair 24:04 Abraham would have given up his deceptive ways. 24:07 But years later, in Genesis 20 in the Negev, he again lies 24:12 to King Abimelech and tells him that his wife is his sister. 24:18 He did not trust God's word. 24:23 He didn't trust God's promise. 24:25 He didn't trust God. 24:28 His deception reveals his lack of trust in God. 24:33 And he continued to trust in himself. 24:36 This is why in Genesis 22 God had to test Abraham 24:41 on Mount Moriah with Isaac. 24:45 And when He stopped Abraham's hand from taking Isaac's life, 24:50 He said in verse 12, "And now I know that you truly fear Me." 24:57 This ultimate test stripped from Abraham his 25:01 deceptive dependence upon himself. 25:06 But the tragedy of his deceptive disposition 25:09 is that it outlived him and was passed onto the next generation. 25:17 In Genesis 26, Isaac is confronted with a famine 25:21 like his father when he moved near Abimelech. 25:25 And he used the same deceptive lie as Abraham, 25:30 using the same rational, and getting his wife to say 25:33 she was his sister. 25:36 It's a generational sin passed down from Abraham to Isaac. 25:40 And then from Isaac to Jacob. 25:42 And with every succeeding generation, 25:44 the sin becomes progressively worse. 25:48 Jacob and Esau were fighting in their mother's womb. 25:57 And when Rebekah asked God what this was all about, 26:00 God told her, "You've got two nations in your womb." 26:04 And then the prophecy ended by God telling her 26:07 the elder will serve the younger. 26:10 In other words, trouble was on the way. 26:15 The master trickster. 26:17 The con artist of con artists. 26:20 Jacob would be born. 26:23 And from his birth he was clutching his 26:26 elder brother's heel. 26:28 And his parents named him, "He grasps the heel." 26:32 But figuratively his name meant, "He deceives." 26:40 And immediately, in Genesis 25, we see Jacob's deception 26:44 at work as he swindles his brother out of his birthright 26:48 for a bowl of lentil stew. 26:53 And from that point on, his life becomes a succession 26:57 of deceptions. 26:58 And in each instance he finds a way to justify them, 27:03 to rationalize why he did it and what he did it for. 27:07 When he tricked his father into blessing him 27:10 instead of his brother, he humored himself into believing 27:12 that he was helping to fulfill God's prophecy. 27:16 After all, God said the elder would serve the younger. 27:20 But God doesn't use trickery to triumph. 27:24 He doesn't use deception to deliver. 27:27 He doesn't use pranks to fulfill prophecy. 27:29 God is not man that He should lie. 27:33 He means what He says and says what He means. 27:36 And God does not need our help to fulfill His prophecy. 27:41 And when we attach God's name to our deception, 27:43 God is not pleased. 27:46 Everything we pray over is not blessed. 27:49 Every sermon preached is not always spiritually inspired. 27:56 Jacob had indeed received the birthright and blessing, 27:59 but Galatians 6:7 says, "Be not deceived; 28:02 God is not mocked. 28:03 Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." 28:07 Hosea 8:7 says, "He hath sown the wind, 28:10 and he shall reap the whirlwind." 28:16 Every trick he played on others was eventually meted out 28:19 to him ten times worse. 28:23 He deceived his father and brother out of the 28:25 birthright and blessing, yet he was tricked into marrying Leah 28:30 instead of Rachel, the women he worked for seven years. 28:34 His Uncle Laban changed his wages ten times. 28:40 Then the domestic conflicts with four different women 28:44 under the same roof. 28:46 Lord, have mercy. 28:50 And finally, the next generation is born. 28:52 And Jacob sees the same deception and trickery 28:58 and lies among his children. 29:00 And he could not control them. 29:03 He could not restrain them. 29:07 You know, it's hard to correct the sins of your children 29:14 when you know where they came from. 29:20 No, they didn't pick this up from television. 29:24 No, this did not come from gangster rap or hip-hop. 29:29 It's not the other kids they're hanging around. 29:33 Your granddaddy had a temper, your daddy did, and so did you. 29:38 Lying runs in the family line. 29:41 From auntie, to uncle, to cousins, first and second. 29:45 Stealing is a part of your family culture. 29:49 Sexual promiscuity has a hold on your family. 29:52 Nobody in your family has been able to stay in a relationship. 29:56 Everybody divorces. 29:58 Substance abuse has always had its way 30:00 through your generations. 30:01 Racism has wreaked havoc in your clan. 30:05 Pride and self-ambition has clung to your kinfolk. 30:09 Self-righteous folk have run in your bloodline. 30:14 That need for self-promotion, that spirit of rebellion, 30:18 that negativity, that criticizing spirit, 30:21 that obsession with materialism, 30:22 it's a family trait that will not easily be shaken. 30:26 And the devil wants you to believe that no matter 30:29 how much therapy you get, no matter how much 30:32 counseling you receive, no matter how much 30:35 you fast and pray, how many Bible studies you get, 30:40 no matter how many times you get baptized, 30:42 you will never be set free. 30:47 But I'm here to tell you tonight that the devil is a lie. 30:52 Every yoke can be broken. 30:55 Every chain of sin can be shattered. 30:58 Every generational curse can be erased. 31:04 It may have begun with you, but it can end with you. 31:10 God has the power to set you free. 31:16 I was born the son of Harry and Julie Nixon, 31:18 but when I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ 31:21 I entered into a new bloodline. 31:24 1 John 3:2 says, "Now are we the sons of God." 31:29 Not next week, not next month, not next year, 31:33 but now. 31:36 The yoke of deception that was passed down from Abraham 31:40 to Isaac to Jacob was broken with Joseph. 31:48 When he was born to his mother Rachel, 31:52 she said his birth came to remove her shame. 31:56 His name means, may he add. 32:02 Lord, I've received a lot of subtraction, 32:05 a lot of negativity in my life, but now I need something 32:08 positive, some addition. 32:12 And if you haven't thought about it, God gives Joseph 32:16 essentially the same promise that he gave his father, Jacob. 32:23 And in Joseph God wants to teach Jacob what happens 32:28 when you trust in God and not in self, 32:33 when you trust in God's plan and not your own plans 32:38 and your own trickery. 32:40 God gives Joseph a dream that said his brothers and parents 32:44 would bow and worship him; the elder serving the younger. 32:49 Huh? 32:51 Now we tend to be very hard and unforgiving 32:53 to Joseph's brothers. 32:56 But here's where growing and growing up in a 32:59 dysfunctional family shapes how you respond 33:02 to certain situations. 33:05 Because when they heard of Joseph's dream, 33:08 they could not appreciate it. 33:10 As a matter of fact, they were threatened by it. 33:13 Instead of celebrating with him, they became insecure. 33:18 They despised him and were filled with anger and rage. 33:23 They saw the specter of his advancement 33:26 as a detriment to them, and determined 33:30 that they would do everything in their power to stop it. 33:35 And do you know where they got that from? 33:38 They got it from their father, Jacob. 33:41 They knew the story of how he stole his brother's birthright 33:45 to fulfill God's promise about his life. 33:48 They knew that their father, in order to make his dream 33:52 come true, tricked his brother. 33:55 And so they decided they were not going to be 33:58 out maneuvered by Joseph. 34:01 "He's not going to trick us out of our birthright and blessing 34:03 to fulfill his dream, like our daddy did our Uncle Esau." 34:08 Joseph's brothers were envious of Joseph's dream 34:13 and did not realize that the fulfillment of Joseph's dream 34:18 would be a blessing to them. 34:22 They thought his advancement would be a barrier to them. 34:26 But his advancement would be to their benefit. 34:30 Listen to what I'm saying tonight. 34:33 That's how it always is in God's kingdom. 34:37 When God advances someone, He never advances them 34:42 just for them. 34:47 God advances us so that we can become a blessing 34:52 to someone else. 34:55 If your advancement only benefits you, only blesses you, 35:00 only advances you, then that is an indication 35:03 it did not come from God. 35:06 You didn't hear what I said. 35:09 If you have been advanced somewhere and it only 35:11 benefits you, that blessing did not come from God. 35:16 There are people who want to be wealthy and rich and have 35:19 many possessions for themselves. 35:21 God never makes someone wealthy just to benefit themselves. 35:26 With wealth comes responsibility. 35:29 The Bible says in Acts chapter 4 that Barnabas, one of the 35:33 early believers, received a financial windfall. 35:37 And it says he gave the entire proceeds to the church. 35:43 And the Bible says there was no poverty 35:48 among the early Christian believers. 35:53 Oh, y'all getting real quiet now. 35:57 God never blesses you just for you. 36:03 When God blesses you, He blesses us. 36:09 There are people who obtain leadership positions, 36:12 and when we hear about it some of us get angry. 36:14 You know why? 36:16 Because in our concept of leadership, 36:18 the only person who is advanced is the leader. 36:23 Jesus taught servant leadership. 36:26 He got on His knees and washed all of His disciples' feet, 36:30 and then He told them, "As I have done to you, 36:32 so you must do to one another." 36:34 Huh? 36:36 The reason Joseph's brothers acted the way they did 36:39 and did not celebrate Joseph's dream was because 36:43 they had a dysfunctional example of rivalry 36:46 and deceit and competition that they learned from their father. 36:51 If Jacob had believed God and celebrated Esau's birthright 36:56 and blessing, and waited on God to fulfill His promise, 37:01 his son's would have had their father's example 37:05 of trusting in God and seeing how God does things. 37:09 And when they heard of Joseph's dream, 37:11 they would have celebrated his dream and waited with him 37:16 to see how God was going to fulfill his dream 37:19 just as God fulfilled their father's dream. 37:25 You ought to be happy and celebrate when someone 37:29 has something good happen to them. 37:33 Because if it's God's blessing, it's a shared blessing. 37:39 The reason we don't feel good about someone else's 37:42 good fortune is because we're selfish and 37:44 self-centered beings. 37:46 If it's not our blessing it's not a blessing. 37:50 Huh? 37:52 How we respond to things that happen to us 37:57 not only shapes us, it shapes our families and our children. 38:03 We are creating a legacy in our homes, in our families, 38:09 in our churches, and with our children. 38:13 You ought to be careful about what you do around other people. 38:17 You never know the lessons they are learning from you. 38:23 Joseph's brothers learned from their father's example. 38:27 And they will not wait for Joseph to act. 38:30 Instead, they act. 38:34 They sell him into slavery thinking that is the 38:38 end of the story for him. 38:40 But men's plots cannot overturn God's promises. 38:46 And I want to say something here to someone 38:48 who has gone through some kind of separation. 38:51 Maybe you were given up for adoption, 38:55 or maybe abandoned by your parents, 38:57 or maybe someone walked out on you and left you alone, 39:00 I'm here to tell you today, 39:02 every separation is not a condemnation. 39:06 Some have been ordained by God, not for your evil 39:11 but for your good. 39:13 You thought it was the worse thing that 39:15 could have happened to you. 39:16 But God was trying to preserve you. 39:19 In order to break the yoke of sin, in you or around you, 39:24 God had to separate you from your family or the situation 39:28 or the circumstances that you were in. 39:31 I know it's difficult, I know you've been 39:33 questioning God's justice, but the Bible is true, 39:37 "All things work together for good 39:42 to them that love the Lord." 39:45 It may not seem that way now, but God was working it out 39:50 for your good. 39:52 It didn't seem that way to Joseph at first. 39:56 But that separation from his family was a separation 40:00 from the evil influences and the generational sins 40:04 that bound them. 40:05 He was sold into Potiphar's house not by accident, 40:09 for the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. 40:13 And He delights in every detail of their lives. 40:16 He advances, though a foreigner, until he is placed in charge 40:21 of Potiphar's entire house. 40:24 But then Joseph's famine strikes. 40:27 Joseph's test comes with Potiphar's wife. 40:31 And with the test is the temptation to scheme 40:34 and surmise and use the same deceptive practices 40:38 as his father's did. 40:39 To rationalize his actions, 40:43 to try to justify his sins. 40:46 But the Bible says that when the moment of truth comes, 40:50 Joseph says to her, "My master trusts me 40:54 with everything in his house." 40:57 If he was still a trickster, he would not have been trusted. 41:03 He said, "I will not betray his trust. 41:05 I will not use the deceptive practices of my 41:08 great grandfather, and my grandfather, and my father." 41:13 How was he able to break the curse? 41:15 He goes on to say, "How could I ever do such a wicked thing 41:21 and sin against God?" 41:27 Joseph was able to break the curse of deception 41:31 in his family, because instead of trusting in himself 41:35 he trusted in God. 41:40 And by the way, when he did God's will, 41:44 it did not turn out well for him at first. 41:49 God allowed another deception, the lie of Potiphar's wife, 41:53 to cause him negative consequences. 41:55 You know why? Because Joseph was not ready for the blessing yet. 42:00 And the time wasn't right. 42:03 You see, some of us want to be blessed, 42:06 but we don't want to have to suffer anything 42:08 to receive the blessing. 42:11 Joseph was not ready to receive his dream. 42:14 You see, before God can bless us the way He wants to bless us, 42:18 sometimes He's got to break us. 42:23 The way to the balcony is through the basement. 42:26 Before God can crown you, He's got to convert you. 42:30 Before success comes suffering. 42:32 Before you can be saluted, you've got to be sanctified. 42:35 You've got to be tried in the fire to come out like pure gold. 42:41 Joseph needed seventeen years of breaking and melting 42:45 and molding and mending and shaping and humbling. 42:49 And while in prison waiting on prisoners, 42:53 becoming caring and sensitive enough to notice 42:57 that when they were troubled. 43:01 You see, if he had been into himself, filled with self-pity, 43:05 angry with God for allowing him to be imprisoned 43:09 for something he did not do, he would have never noticed 43:12 the cupbearer and the baker being troubled, 43:16 and would have never asked them about their condition, 43:18 and would have never interpreted their dreams. 43:23 Don't ever think you're too big and too important 43:26 to stop and help out somebody who seems little 43:30 and who's in trouble. 43:32 You never know how it might bless you in the future. 43:38 He stopped and asked them what their problem was. 43:42 When Joseph first began this journey with God, 43:45 God gave him a dream. 43:46 But now God blesses him to be able to interpret dreams. 43:51 And so he interprets their dream. 43:56 And when the cupbearer is released, he asks him 43:59 to remember him when he gets out. 44:01 And the Bible says in Genesis 40:23, 44:04 "The cupbearer promptly forgot all about Joseph, 44:08 never giving him another thought." 44:09 Isn't that how people are? 44:13 But God is going to bless him. 44:16 But he's not going to use human ingenuity 44:18 like his father did. 44:20 When Joseph's dream is fulfilled, he will know 44:23 that, "If it had not been for the Lord on my side, 44:27 where would I be?" 44:30 The Bible says, one day two years later, 44:35 God gives a dream to the right person. 44:40 A dream that nobody else could interpret. 44:43 And suddenly the cupbearer's memory comes back to him. 44:49 He says, "I remember a fellow when I was in prison 44:53 who interpreted my dream." 44:57 And he said, "Go get him. We need him now." 45:01 And suddenly, the prisoner is pulled out of prison. 45:08 You know, God can flip your situation in an instant. 45:10 Come on say amen, somebody. 45:13 And Joseph comes out and he explains the dream, 45:18 that there will be seven years of plenty 45:21 and seven years of famine. 45:23 And he tells the Pharaoh, "Pharaoh, what you need 45:26 to do is you need, during these years of plenty, 45:30 to build up resources for the years of famine. 45:34 You better get ready. It's coming. 45:38 You better find someone to do this for you." 45:42 And so the Pharaoh looks around, "Who shall I get?" 45:45 And the Pharaoh turns and says, "You the man I want." 45:49 And so in an instant, he moves from prisoner to Prime Minister. 45:53 Come on say amen, somebody. 45:56 And God teaches Jacob a valuable lesson through Joseph. 46:05 So as Joseph tells him the story, he begins to 46:09 realize that if he had waited for God, 46:15 God could have done for him what he did for Joseph. 46:20 He wouldn't have had to trick his father, 46:23 lie on his brother. 46:26 He could have waited for God and watched God's hand move, 46:30 just as God's hand moved for Joseph. 46:38 And Joseph becomes the savior of his family. 46:42 And as such, he becomes a type of Christ. 46:47 Have you noticed the Messianic similarities in the life 46:50 of Joseph and Jesus? 46:52 Joseph was despised and rejected by his own family, 46:56 just as Jesus was rejected by his home town. 47:00 John 1 says, "He came to His own people, 47:03 and His own kind received Him not." 47:07 He was lied on by Potiphar's wife and punished, 47:11 and yet he opened not his mouth. 47:12 Isaiah says Jesus was lied upon, yet He opened not His mouth. 47:17 Joseph came into rulership in Egypt through obscurity, 47:21 a foreigner. 47:23 First Potiphar's slave, and then a prisoner. 47:25 Philippians 2 says, "Jesus, though equal with God, 47:28 made Himself of no reputation; took upon Himself 47:31 the form of a servant." 47:33 Joseph, the son that had been rejected by his brothers 47:37 became the foundation of his family's salvation, 47:40 just as Jesus, the Stone rejected by the builders, 47:44 became the head cornerstone. 47:47 Joseph saved Jacob's seed, the children of Israel, 47:50 just as Jesus saved the spiritual Israel. 47:54 "For if we be Christ's, we are Abraham's seed; 47:58 heirs according to the promise." 47:59 But the greatest symbolism is found in the change 48:04 that took place in Joseph's life. 48:07 His life is an example of God's power to break the curses 48:12 and sins that bind you. 48:14 Even inborn family sins. 48:19 As Jacob's sons tell the whole sordid story 48:23 of Joseph's 17 year odyssey and how God fulfilled His promise 48:29 to Joseph in spite of his brother's deceptive ways 48:32 he learns that God's way is the best way. 48:43 Let me illustrate it like this. 48:46 There's a science that organizes living things 48:51 according to families. 48:54 It's called taxonomy. 48:57 Animals are grouped according to likenesses; 49:01 anatomically, behaviorally, physiologically, biochemically. 49:09 Fish swim. 49:11 They do not breath air, they derive oxygen from the water. 49:17 Dolphins swim, but they are not fish. 49:20 They have no gills. 49:22 They are warm-blooded, they grow hair. 49:25 Dolphins are mammals, a different family. 49:29 Many kinds of feline; small, some large. 49:34 Some can be domesticated. 49:37 But let a house cat go outside, around small creatures, 49:42 and immediately they exhibit the same predatory characteristics 49:46 of all felines. 49:48 They belong to the family. 49:50 Birds fly. 49:52 They have feathers. 49:53 And even the birds that you don't recognize, 49:58 all are a part of the family. 50:01 But there is a fixed law of nature; that creatures 50:05 cannot change families. 50:08 You can't cross a fish with a bird. 50:12 A feline can never become a reptile. 50:16 Each creature must remain in their own family, 50:20 for better or for worse. 50:22 Even if it means extinction, the creature cannot 50:26 escape his family. 50:27 Can a leopard change his spots? 50:32 But here is the miracle of the Word that became flesh. 50:36 Jesus comes and combines two families that were divided 50:42 by the insurmountable obstacle of sin. 50:45 He joins Himself to the family headed for extinction 50:50 and reconciles it to the family headed for eternity. 50:54 And a whole new category is created. 50:57 One that taxonomy cannot name. 51:02 The Bible says, "If any man be in Christ, 51:05 he is a new creature. 51:08 Old things are passed away. 51:10 Behold, all things are become new." 51:13 Jesus does more than patch up old human nature. 51:17 He imparts a new divine nature. 51:23 And we can become a part of His divinity. 51:28 Who else can do it but Jesus? 51:31 Who else? 51:33 It's like a mosquito wakes up and becomes an eagle. 51:39 It's like a worm who goes to sleep 51:42 and wakes up to become a lion. 51:46 No wonder the devil trembles when he sees us 51:49 on our knees in prayer. 51:55 And He can do it for us tonight. 51:57 He can do it for you, and He can do it for me. 52:00 He can break the curses that are passed down through our genes 52:08 if we surrender our lives to Him. 52:14 Let's bow our heads and pray together. 52:17 Father, we thank You tonight for the power of grace, 52:23 for the power that You have to break the curse, 52:30 the curse that binds us. 52:32 Generational curses; things that have been passed down to us 52:37 that we had no part in. 52:40 But we are grateful tonight that we have an elder Brother 52:45 who is able to break those curses, those chains 52:49 that bind us, and set us free. 52:53 Tonight, Lord, we pray that You will come into us 52:57 and impart us that saving grace and power. 53:03 Bless us tonight. Keep us. 53:07 And as we surrender our lives to You 53:10 change us, remold us, remake us so that we will become like You. 53:20 For we ask all of these things in Jesus' name, amen. 53:34 Can the church say amen? 53:37 We have learned what it means to become a man 53:41 instead of a boy. 53:43 We have learned what it means to empty the trunk of our past 53:48 and to allow our lives to be the place where 53:50 the Lord abides. 53:51 I want to invite Pastor Nixon to come and just, 53:55 as we are about to close our Dare To Dream, 53:58 Foundation Of Faith series, we have learned so much. 54:03 Have we not, church? Can you say amen to that? 54:05 I know those viewing the program have probably 54:08 said to themselves, "What more could God do to remind us 54:12 that we are more in His sight than we are even 54:15 in our own sight?" 54:16 Pastor Nixon, we are closing out this first Dare To Dream, 54:21 Foundation of Faith series. 54:22 And I want you to give our audience, and even those 54:26 who are gathered here, some words of encouragement. 54:28 You just did so in the sermon, but cap off our weekend for us. 54:31 What can we do to go from this place? 54:33 We just spent the last four meetings listening to 54:36 God remind us of the veracity of a relationship 54:39 that's built on Him. 54:41 Give us some encouraging words as we close out. 54:43 Well I'm reminded of the words of Psalms that says, 54:47 a just man falls down seven times and gets back up again. 54:51 And what it means is, that we must be willing to persevere. 54:57 No one changes overnight. 55:01 And God understands that. 55:04 And what He really wants is for to have an attitude 55:07 that we will be willing to keep fighting and keep persevering. 55:11 Because He says that He will always be with us. 55:14 He'll never leave us nor forsake us. 55:17 He recognizes that He's working on a building with us. 55:21 And it's a process, and it will take time. 55:24 And so if we are willing to stay in the game, 55:29 He's willing to be with us. 55:31 And so that's really what I hope that we will 55:35 all gather from this. 55:36 No one changes overnight. It's a process. 55:39 And God is willing to be with us. 55:41 You made a statement on one of my favorite Scriptures 55:43 in 1 John chapter 3 when you said, 55:46 "Now are we the sons of God." 55:49 I think sometimes people think that one day we are 55:51 going to be the sons of God, or one day we are going to be 55:53 the children of God. 55:54 But we are in the process of becoming the children of God. 55:57 Spend a few moments on that. 55:58 We just have about two minutes. 56:00 Remind us of that, because some people 56:02 don't know who they are in Christ. 56:03 They think they're going to become someone in Christ. 56:05 But talk about that. 56:06 It's interesting that God does something 56:09 very interesting for us. 56:11 He gives us the gift of son-ship, 56:16 or the gift of being sons and daughters of God. 56:20 And then He tells us to act like we are His children. 56:24 It's not something that we earn, it's something that He gives us. 56:28 And then He tells us, "Act like you're My children." 56:32 And so it's an interesting... 56:34 You know, we live in a world where you perform, 56:37 and then you receive rewards. 56:39 God works that process in reverse. 56:41 He says, "I'll reward you, and now I want you to act like 56:44 you've been rewarded." 56:46 And that's what He's saying to us when He says that, 56:49 "Now you're the sons, now you're the daughters of God. 56:52 Now I want you to act like you're My children." 56:54 Okay, we are more than conquerors now. 56:56 We're not going to become more than conquerors. 56:57 That's right. 56:58 Okay, I can embrace that. 56:59 Can you say amen to that? 57:01 And Pastor Nixon, now one more word. 57:03 What do we do from this point on to take hold of that promise? 57:08 It's about each and every day surrendering ourself to Christ. 57:14 It's a daily commitment, a daily commitment to Him, 57:17 and surrendering to Him. 57:18 And recognizing that it's not by might nor by power, 57:21 but by His Spirit. 57:22 Praise the Lord. 57:23 And I want to just pray for you as you are about to depart 57:26 and continue your work at Andrews University. 57:29 Your wife, your children, your family. 57:32 It's imperative that we remember those that labor among us 57:35 and are over us in the Lord, and admonish then. 57:37 Let's bow our heads together. 57:39 Gracious Father, you have called us to accountability. 57:43 You have sent Dr. Nixon here to remind us of 57:45 the stages of our walk with You. 57:47 Lord, cause us by Your indwelling Spirit 57:49 to dare to dream. 57:51 But to do so as we build on the foundation of Christ. 57:55 This we ask for and this we pray. 57:58 In Jesus' precious and holy name, amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17