The Dreamer - Sold

Week two of The Dreamer, The Life of Joseph.

This week we are going to continue the narrative,

the story of the life of Joseph, where it takes

its first kind of big turn in a sermon I entitled,

Sold. So, little recap. We have a young Joseph,

we have probably a not fully mature Joseph, we

have a father Jacob, and we have a bunch of brothers.

We have favoritism on display, we have a coat

of many colors, and we have tension, we have

family tension in the room. But the dream that

was given by God to Joseph, multiple dreams,

In a lot of ways, we should look at it and go,

wow, God's given you a dream, that's great. Walk

in that, but what happens when the dream turns

dark? A dream that had come from God, a dream

that seemed to point forward, a dream that hinted

at something bigger than Joseph. We could see,

clearly, he did not understand, right? He maybe

even shared before he was supposed to on certain

things. He took a stance on the dream before

he had fully gotten the details. But this week,

that dream, that continuation of this dream turns

dark. Instead of progress, we're going to see

pain. Instead of clarity, we're going to see

confusion. And instead of favor, we see betrayal.

And friends, today, betrayal is going to take

on a whole new meaning. And for every single

one of us, that betrayal seed that is in all

of us, whether overtly or subvertly in there,

is going to bind. And it's going to get uncomfortable

because we all have betrayed somebody in our

lives. Now, you may go, my slate's pretty clean.

But we have betrayed God when it comes to sin.

So we all sit in that place. Joseph is not rising.

That dream, he's not meeting. No, he's going

to be rejected, thrown into a pit, and sold.

And this is where the story becomes real for

us. Because many of us will be able to resonate

with Genesis 12 -36 more than what we read last

week. Because we know what it feels like when

life doesn't line up with our expectations. Or

what we thought God might be doing. So that question

becomes, what do we do when life doesn't match

this dream? What do we do when what we think

God's calling us to do, it's not going that way?

So I think Genesis 37 is going to give us three

truths. So first, in order to understand why

those are not always the same and why we need

to walk in it, is our first point today is the

depth of human sin. So you might be looking like,

wow, this should be fun. No, it's not. This is

not going to be fun. This is going to be uncomfortable

because this is calling all of us out. Genesis

37, 18 to 28. So Genesis 37, 18 to 22. Genesis

37, 18 to 22. They saw him from afar, and before

he came near to them, they, this is the brothers,

conspired against him to kill him. They said

to one another, here comes this dreamer. Come

now, let us kill him and throw him into one of

the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal

has devoured him, and we will see what will become

of his dreams. But when Reuben heard it, he rescued

him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take

his life. And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood.

Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness.

But do not lay a hand on him, that he might rescue

him out of their hand to restore him to his father.

So we see from the beginning, they saw him from

afar and they conspired against him to kill him.

The first point on your sheet, that sin often

begins with jealousy and grows into hatred and

action. So the uncomfortable part of this, right?

And so I think we have, Mike, if you want to

put that point up there, right? Sin often...

Begins with jealousy and grows into hatred or

action. Because there's a seed of sin. That seed

of sin, what does a seed do? A seed grows. And

it grows into something much bigger. And in a

lot of ways you can't control. You might be able

to direct how that seed, that seedling starts

to grow. But it will take on a life of its own.

It will continue to do what it's going to do.

And unless it is completely removed from its

roots. It will grow. But here we see a sin of

jealousy, which grows into hatred and into action.

This is a damning sin, right? This is something

that grows in each and every one of us, and that's

exactly what we see here. The second point, the

brothers allowed their hearts to be shaped by

jealousy and bitterness instead of truth. Let's

take a, just put yourself in the story for a

minute. You have, yes, these jealous brothers.

They're annoyed by a little brother, right? They

are very upset by the things he said, his pride,

his immaturity, all of these things. But this

is their blood. This is family. And they see

him walking towards them, and they conspire to

kill him. I think we all will agree, this is

not just, oh, so -and -so's coming to the family

party and they can only talk about politics.

Right? This is more than, oh, my heavens, my

in -law or whatever just got a new job and they

won't be quiet about it. This is way deeper than

that. In some ways, like, brothers, just walk

away. But not only do they not rock away because

that seed of jealousy and bitterness is growing,

it's going to call them to an action. And any

action that is called out by sin is not an action

that God's going to be pleased by. That sin begets

sin begets sin begets sin. Hurt people hurt people

hurt people hurt people. Healed people can heal

people heal people. You see where I'm going with

that? It can work it out in our lives. Now the

Hebrew word behind jealousy throughout this narrative

carries an idea of a burning intensity. A kind

of inward fire that doesn't stay contained but

it just consumes. It consumes and it takes more

and it takes more. See how uncomfortable we're

all getting? Because that is exactly what active

sin looks like in my life and in your life. It

distorted how they saw their brother Joseph.

It distorts how they're going to treat their

brother. Why? Because my next point, sin distorts

how we see others and how we treat others. Allow

this to make you very uncomfortable. Because

then you're going to be where I am. Sin distorts

the relationships we have in life. Healthy relationships.

Once active sin, unhealthy. Right? Once beautiful,

now ugly. Sin distorts. And it starts with a

small seed of something. And it continues to

grow. I want to flee just like her. Right? She's

running and I want to flee just like Josie. Right?

We should. That is the right response. She's

fleeing to the Father. Hi, Josie. That is exactly,

I could be done with the sermon. Right? Josie

just gave me my conclusion. No one say amen.

We're not done yet. But sin distorts the beautiful

things in life. That maybe you've had these wonderful

relationships. Relationships that just feed life

into you. And sin takes hold. And it has to be

purged. It has to be stopped. It has to change.

It has to be redeemed. All those things. Because

what do we see here? Joseph is no longer their

brother. He becomes a problem that needs to be

eliminated. You see how bad this got? How evil

it got? They strip him of his robe, the symbol

of favor, and they throw him into the pit. The

Hebrew word used for pit is bor, a cistern, a

deep, empty, waterless hole. Not just inconvenient,

but helpless, isolated, forgotten. Just this

pit in the ground. And then one of the most haunting

things, I stopped writing this and had to pick

it up the next day because of what we see after

this. They throw him in, they strip him, they

probably beat him a bit and they throw him in

the pit. And then what do they do? They sit down

to eat. Life goes on. Joseph's suffering. He's

probably yelling out. He's probably crying out.

That's me looking into the story, right? And

then Reuben steps in. We'll get to that more

toward the end of the series. But they're like,

you know what? Maybe he'll just die in the pit.

Let's just sell him instead. And here's a warning

for us. Key truth for this first point. Sin always

takes us farther than we've ever intended on

going. And friends. Let's pause there for a bit.

This is a haunting truth. Sin always takes us

farther than we intended to go. Look back at

your week, your month, your year, your life.

When you get caught in that act of sin, and friends,

sin is fun, right? Right? Sin meets us where

we think we need it. Sin fills all of those things,

but it always oversells, always under delivers,

and it takes us farther than we intend to go

because it takes us farther and farther from

the Lord. What begins in the heart never stays

in the heart. It moves outward. It grows deeper.

It takes control. So we have to ask. In our life,

where's the jealousy creeping in? Where's the

bitterness shaping your heart? Because this isn't

just their story. It's a condition, right? It's

our condition apart from grace. This definition

is part of total depravity. The Canons of Dort

talks about total depravity. That we are a depraved

people and we love going into sin. We are bent

towards sin against God. And that is the friction

every day. So say you're in this place. And you're

crying out to God because you have that conviction.

It's either a small little Lego brick or an entire

semi -truck in your life. And you get convicted

whether you go down to your knees or something

knocks you down to your knees. And you cry out

to God because that is exactly what we're called

to do. If we confess our sin, he is faithful

and just. Will forgive us our sin and cleanse

us. But not when we just need that forgiveness

lobbed by a grenade as we continue to sin. It

doesn't work that way, cheap grace. Second point,

what happens, though, when there is silence of

God? Something I know we all can't stand. So

Genesis 37, starting with verse 23. So when Jesus

came to his brothers, they stripped him of his

robe, the robe of many colors that he wore, and

they took him and threw him into the pit. The

pit was empty. There was no water in it. Then

they sat down to eat. I still can't believe that.

That's still absolutely insane. And looking up,

they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from

Gilead with their camels bearing gum, balm, and

myrrh on their way to carry it down to Egypt.

Then Judah said to his brothers, What profit

is it if we kill our brother and conceal his

blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites,

and let not our hand be upon him. For he is our

brother, our own flesh, and his brothers listen

to him. Then Midianite traders passed by and

they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the

pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels

of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt. When Reuben

returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not

in the pit, he tore his clothes and returned

to his brothers and said, the boy is gone and

I, where shall I go? So right away in this passage,

God does not speak. but he's still working, right?

That's the next point. God does not speak, but

he is still working. We don't see a divine interruption,

right? We go on to that next point on there.

Someone up there, there we go. In this passage,

God does not speak, but he is still working.

No divine interruption, no correction, no rescue,

just silence. The scripture doesn't try to soften

that. Joseph is in the pit. He's alone. He's

crying out. And heaven is quiet. No angel shows

up. No nothing. He is there. And this is where

faith gets stretched. Because silence does not

mean absence, but it feels like it does. Right?

Silence does not mean absence, but it feels like

it does. And if we're honest, this is where many

of us struggle. We expect God to step in immediately.

God, I am hurt. Fix it. God, I don't have this.

I want it. God, I know I shouldn't do it, but

let me keep going. We want things fixed immediately.

We want to make sense of the pain. But instead,

oftentimes, silence. And maybe... You've lived

in that. Maybe you're living in that right now.

Prayers seem to go unanswered. Situations, they

don't seem to change. And in that moment, let's

be honest, it feels like God is miles away. But

friends, we know that's not true. All of our

confessions. The Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons

of Dort, the Belgic Confession, all uphold the

truth of Scripture that, A, we belong to God,

that he is near to the brokenhearted, and he

will never leave us or forsake us. So why do

we do that? When we don't get our way, right,

when it's not Burger King faith, our way right

away from God, when God takes a beat. We don't

think he exists. We struggle with that. It's

because we're foolish people. It's because that's

the act of sin at work. Because faith is often

tested when God feels distant. Right? That's

the next point. Faith is often tested when God

feels different. But here's the truth that we

hold on to, and this is the key truth of point

two. When God seems silent, know he is still

working. And here's a sub -point to that. You

don't always get to know how he's working. You

don't. Just like kids want to know everything

about decisions from their parents, and sometimes

we have to say, hey, I'm the parent, you're the

kid, just trust me. Is that not the same thing

that God says to us? But God, I want it now.

I want to be fixed now. I want this healed. I

want this, this, this, this, or this. And God,

I just, I don't know if God would ever say it.

He says, peace. I go, Jim, chill. I got this.

I'm still here. I am still working. Why do you

forget that I will never leave you nor forsake

you? But for some of us, myself included, we've

gone through a lot. But we're not being honest

that we're doing it to ourselves. And I think

God's up here just kind of sitting going, would

you stop? Please, just stop. That's where faith

gets tested, right? He's working beneath the

surface. And scriptures later tell us an insight

of what's happening in this scene. Psalm 105

tells us that God sent Joseph ahead. Just wouldn't

it be so much easier if Joseph knew that? Wouldn't

it be easier if someone, like, I know this happens

later in the story, and so it doesn't really

make sense, but, like, Daniel got, he got intervention

from the lions. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

There was four in the fire. They got an angel.

Joseph, Mary, they actually were told what was

going on. Joseph wasn't. He had this weird dream

that ended up in a pit, ended up sold, yet Psalm

105 is telling us, no, God's sending him. What?

This is God sending? Well, if we're being honest,

that God don't send me. I'm good. I'm just going

to sit where I'm at, right? I know I'm saved.

I got my church. I'll go. I'll give money. I'll

do the things. I don't want to be sent because

I don't want to go to a pit. I don't want to

get sold. Because that isn't the fickleness of

God's character. That is the fickleness of our

faith. So what looks like betrayal is actually

part of God's sending. There's a part of me,

if I could curse, I would. Because it doesn't

actually make sense in my head that all of this

would happen to a guy. Now, we know the story,

so we can sit in that a little easier. But if

we don't, if you're Joseph, what in the world?

I'm getting mad just, I'm going to stop because

I'm getting mad reliving it, okay? So let's go

to point three, which is the blanket of grace,

the hidden hand of providence. And let's be honest,

we love and hate this. What's the word we hate

most in this? Hidden. What's the second word

we don't like? Ooh, now this one's tricky. Hidden

was easy. What's the second word? Hand. Because

it's not ours. If we, if this was the hand of

providence for Jim's life, praise the Lord. Nope.

Praise Jim. Never going to be the case. God's

hand is the one moving. God's hand is the one

at work. Hidden? Sure. Hand? I want it mine.

Genesis 37, 28 and 36. Then Midianite traders

passed by and they drew Joseph up and lifted

him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites

for 20 shekels of silver. They took Joseph to

Egypt. Remember that. Meanwhile, the Midianites

had sold him to Egypt to Potiphar, an officer

of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard. Well, now

we kind of get it, right? Whether it was Donny

Osmond, whether it was the Prince of Egypt, whether

it was the Ten Commandments, all three of those,

pretty much the same story, right? But understanding

like, oh, sorry, that doesn't make any sense.

That was Moses. Nope, never mind. Scratch that.

Just stick with Donny, right? Donny Osmond, all

of those things, or whoever you saw. Those other

two are great, but that's a whole other story.

Understand that now we're like, oh, now we see

some movement here. And here's the thing. We're

kind of okay with it. All right, so he sold,

right, sold the Ishmaelites, sold the Midianites,

20 pieces of silk, great. Now he's in Egypt.

And we're only okay with it because we know the

story. What about when you're in it and you don't

see down the road, you don't see if that relationship's

going to be restored, even to the people you

love the most, that if you've made a mess of

it, you may lose them. And in some ways, rightfully

so. But in some ways, you're on your knees going,

please restore this. I cannot believe I've made

it such a mess. And some of you just went to

three days ago. Because that's where you were.

Or a week ago. Or a month ago. Or a year ago.

Or what feels like your whole life. You're begging

God, please don't allow the hidden hand of province.

I want it right here. But do you? Do I really

want it right here? Where I can't go right or

left, I got to follow what God says in my life?

Yeah, that's kind of the tagline of being a Christian,

right? So what does that mean for our faith?

What does that mean for our identity? What it

means is sometimes we don't want God's providence

in our life because we think we know better.

If you feel comfortable enough to sit in that

today or tomorrow, All the mothers are like,

this is not a Mother's Day sermon. What are you

doing? Sometimes the hidden providence in God

is a wonderful mother. There, there's your sermon.

Take it with you. The hidden hand of providence.

The Midianites, the Midianite traders pass by.

At first glance, totally random. Half of you

are wondering if I said it right. But totally

random, right? A caravan just happens to come

by. Timing just happens to line up. Joseph just

happens to be taken into Egypt. If I read it

like that, I'm an idiot. Because God isn't chance.

This isn't just a rolling of the dice. God wasn't

up there in the cosmos going, oh, I forgot the

Midians were going to be passing by. Look how

that worked out. No. Scripture invites us to

see it deeper. Here's that point of point three.

What looks like a coincidence is actually God's

providence. The Hebrew mindset doesn't separate

everyday events from divine activity. God is

not just present in miracles. He's present in

the movement, in the timing of ordinary moments.

What I love about Hebrew culture, everything

is utterly dependent on Yahweh. Life and breath

and movement. I heard it said by a Hebrew, life

and breath and bowel movements, they put everything

into God's hand. It's a weird way to say that,

probably not going to put that in a card, but

understand that the same holds true. That God

is working through people, through timing, and

through circumstances. The next point, even though

broken people, even though sinful choices, God

is still working. Now, for some of us, we may

feel in a little bit of warmth now. Like, ooh,

I'm not too far gone. Okay. And that's okay to

receive that. That's grace. You're receiving

grace. But it's not just so I can do it again.

And I just described all of us. Myself, most

importantly. Right? Even through broken people,

even through sinful choices, there is a truth

that anchors this entire story. And that is even

when others mean evil, God is working for good.

So the next point. Even when others mean evil,

God is working for good. The word used later

in Genesis will be meant, carry the idea of weaving

and planning. That God is weaving and planning.

The brothers are weaving one story, yet God is

weaving another. Same event, same people, different

purpose. Why? Because God's ways are higher than

our ways. And here is the basic truth for today.

If you learn nothing from this sermon other than

that, don't try to get on God's level. Because

you're not God, and you don't belong there, and

neither do I. Same event, same purpose, different

purpose. So we can say this key truth clearly.

Nothing happens outside of God's sovereignty.

Some of us are like, well, duh, Jim, just say

that and get off the stage. But we struggle with

that. Because we think there are things that

do. We think God's maybe not sovereign because

I don't get my way or I don't get it that quickly

or whatever. Nothing happens outside of God's

sovereignty. Not the pit, not the betrayal, not

the confusion. God's not reacting. God's like,

man, I didn't see that coming. No, God is still

ruling in this. It's all over, Joseph's story.

I cannot wait to get to next, I gotta finish

my Christ connection, then we'll go to the next

week. So the Christ connection here. Joseph was

rejected and sold. Jesus was rejected and betrayed.

Joseph was thrown into a pit and later raised

up. We see Jesus was laid in a tomb and raised

to glory. About the suffering. Joseph's suffering

led to saving many people physically. We'll get

there. Jesus' suffering leads to saving people

eternally. So what does this mean? Even in suffering,

even in my suffering, even in your suffering,

God is not wasting anything. Catch that. Even

in your suffering, even when you go back, as

a dog returns to his vomit, so we return to our

sin. Even though you're returning to that sin

time and time and time again, once, twice, three

times, not a lady in a day, all those things,

we return to our sin. God's not wasting this

time. He's actually redeeming it. Now, before

we get to the conclusion, a point on the redeeming.

The redeeming can come in many ways. The two

over 22 years in this I've seen is someone coming

to that redemption on bended knee in front of

the cross or the cross being revealed in a situation

and the redeeming kind of gets forced in there.

It's the old adage, right? Maybe those parenting

little kids, grandparenting little kids, right?

You ask the first time, did you take the cookie?

They have a choice. They can immediately say

what? Let's call a spade a spade. More times

than not, they say no, just out of reaction.

What Dave Sanders taught me years ago is there's

the tale of two truths. Did you steal the cookie?

No. Did you just lie? about stealing the cookie,

there it becomes premeditated. There it becomes

part of who you are. Friends, let us bring our

junk, our pits, our betrayal, our suffering to

the cross because God is calling you to that

every day. Pastor, how do you know that he's

calling us to do that every day? Because his

mercies are new every morning. We only need mercy

if we're guilty. If we're perfect and sinless,

we don't need God's mercy. We don't need God's

grace. And how many of you fit in that category?

Exactly. Even the three of you that tried to

go like you're funny, like now's not the time

to joke. It's really not. Because we need his

mercy. We need his grace. And here's the hard

teaching right now. We need to trust God in the

pit. Joseph had a dream. But now he's in chains.

And from every visible angle, it looks like the

dream is over. That dream was just something

he ate or drank that night. Nope, God's still

working. But church, we know something Joseph

doesn't see. The pit is not the end. The silence

is not the end. The betrayal is not the end.

So if you are in this place right now, if this

is where you're feeling something in your spirit,

in your walk with the Lord, your relationship

with others. where life feels confusing, where

God seems distant and quiet, where the future

feels very uncertain. Hold on to this. One, sin

is real. Two, God may feel silent, but take heart,

his providence is always working. Trust this,

what others meant for evil, God uses for his

sovereign good. Because next week, Okay, next

week, Joseph does the right thing. We're going

to be on the right track, baby. Here we go. No,

he's going to do the right thing and suffer more.

Joseph is going to be accused next week. Why

not? Put that on the resume of his life, right?

He's prideful. He's arrogant. He gets beat up,

thrown into a pit, rejected, was going to be

murdered, but then sold, then sold again. Now

he's going to be accused. Even for doing the

right thing. And as we journey this together,

we're going to see clearly that even in all of

this, even in everything you're going through,

I'm going through, this church is going through,

God is always still with us. Let's pray.