Covenant and Kingdom

Hey, I'm so glad that you're joining us this morning.

My name's Nathan, and it's gonna be a great morning as we finish out our series called Renew.

Now, I've been thinking about this a lot recently because uh last year we went on vacation as a family, and I was actually at camp for part of the week, and so I was hanging out with our teenagers, and Caitlin was in a store with her mom and our our son Sam, who at the time was three, and so they're hanging out in the store, they're shopping and stuff, and Sam gets away from my mother-in-law, and he begins to go and hide in between the racks of clothes.

And so he's hiding and he's giggling because he knows that he's not supposed to hide.

And my wife and my mother-in-law, they start freaking out because they can't find him anywhere.

They're imagining the worst case scenario, and so they are searching everywhere, they're trying to talk to the store people about where they can find him, and no one can find him until my wife comes up on a rack of clothes where he's hiding in between the clothes rack and he's giggling and she hears his little laugh.

Now, the first thing that comes into her mind is so thankful that nothing bad has happened.

It's all about this relationship.

It's a big hug and kiss.

I'm so glad that you're okay.

And then the next thing that comes out of her mouth is, you will never do this again.

It's a it's about doing what he's never going to do again.

And that's ultimately what our relationship with Jesus is a lot like.

Not that we're hiding and being disobedient and hiding in the clothes rags, but ultimately it's about this covenant and kingdom.

It's about a relationship, but then it's also about us doing things for the Lord.

Now we can't confuse these things because ultimately the covenant always has to become before the kingdom.

We always have to pour into the relationship aspect of things before we can start working and doing things for the Lord.

And so that's why it's so important for us as we've gone through this series for us to understand that we primarily have talked about the covenant aspect of things.

We've talked about the relationship that we have.

But then over here on the other side, it's about the kingdom.

It's about doing, it's about representing our God to the world around us.

And so this morning, we're going to talk more specifically about how we can not just have the covenant relationship, but that we can also represent our God well in the community where we live.

Russ is going to share an incredible story out of God's word this morning and just sharing the truth about not only having a relationship and being founded in the identity we have in Christ, but also living that out on a daily basis and working for the king in the kingdom and making his will here on earth a reality.

So take a listen to what Russ has to share with us this morning.

As Nathan shared, there's these two strands of DNA that run throughout Scripture.

And he explained the covenant strand.

And we have emphasized that over the last several weeks.

We've had our feet taken out from under us.

We've been asking, where is God?

Where is our heavenly daddy?

And we have wanted you to be safe and secure and know that he's right with you and he hasn't forsaken you.

But there's this other strand of DNA that runs throughout Scripture, and it's this strand called kingdom.

And it's this idea that God wants to use us as his representatives on this earth.

And you know what I think God's preparing us for?

I think God's getting us positioned and getting us prepared to move out and to have more influence for him and to see the kingdom advanced more than we've ever seen in the life of Church at the Grove and maybe even throughout the whole church on the planet.

And so there's no better place, I think, than to take a look at that than the story of Joseph.

And we're going to start in chapter 37, where we see Joseph introduced.

And even though he's the youngest, um, he is the favorite, and he's given this special coat.

Many of you have heard the story, Joseph and the coat of many colors.

And this coat is a representative of the fact that he's the favorite of the father.

It says in Genesis 37, verses 3 and 4, it says, Now Israel, which is Jacob, loved Joseph more than any other, than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a robe of many colors.

Genesis 37:3

But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

You see, the coat was a symbol of favoritism.

It was this, it was a coat given to the supervisor in the field.

It was meant to say that Joseph was not expected to do any manual labor.

And he was a supervisor of sorts over his brothers, even though they were all older than him.

And they felt overlooked, they felt belittled, they were upset, they felt undervalued.

And so, and it's not to say that Joseph wasn't gifted or talented.

As a matter of fact, the story tells us he's he's he's extremely gifted.

He's very talented, he's good looking, is what the scripture says.

It even refers to the fact that he's tanned.

And then it uses these two words to say that he's ruddy and handsome.

Which is interesting because later in the Old Testament we see another character by the name of David, who's referred to as ruddy and handsome in the same way.

The interesting thing about Joseph is he had this prophetic nature about him.

As a matter of fact, that's how God spoke in those days, is God would give dreams and visions to his leaders.

And so Joseph would have these dreams.

And rather than keeping them to themself, he would share it openly with his brothers.

He had this dream where they're binding sheaves in a field, and Joseph's sheave is standing in the center, and all of his brothers' sheaves are bowing down to him.

He says that out loud to his brothers.

They didn't like it too much.

He also shares another dream where there's the sun and the moon and the eleven stars, and and and all of them are bowing down and circling around Joseph.

And Joseph shares that dream and it makes his brothers even more angry.

But here's what you need to know about Joseph.

Joseph felt extremely secure in who he was.

His identity was strong.

He knew that his father loved him.

He knew that he was accepted, and it gave him this extra confidence and it's this idea of covenant.

He knew where he stood.

He knew how he was gifted.

But there was a negative aspect that was brought with that.

He felt like he was the center of the universe.

He felt like, man, he was everything.

And so it forced others to be angry toward him and to dislike him.

But God was going to use Joseph to advance his kingdom.

And so Joseph is sent out.

We see in the next part of the story where he is sent to see his brothers out in the field.

He's wearing his coat, and maybe he's delivering orders or he's delivering supplies or he's taking food to his brothers, and his brothers see him coming from a distance.

And they begin to talk about conspiring to kill him.

And so his brother Reuben steps in and says, Hey, let's not kill him.

Let's just take him, let's seize him, let's take his coat, and let's throw him in a pit.

And while they're doing this, a caravan of Ishmaelites are coming by on their way to Egypt, and the brothers come up with this plan, and they sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites.

And then he's taken to Egypt to be a slave.

They take his coat, they dip it in animal's blood, and they take it back to his father, Jacob.

And they said, Father, he's been killed by a wild animal, and your son is no longer with us.

And Jacob was absolutely brokenhearted and utterly inconsolable.

And so Joseph's taking Egypt.

And the scripture says this amazing thing right here, Genesis 39, verse 2.

Genesis 39:2

And I want you to get this.

This is so important.

You've got to get this.

This is so central to the story.

The first part of verse 2, it says this the Lord was with Joseph.

What?

He's just been sold into slavery.

He's been neglected by his brothers.

He's been forsaken.

But it says the Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.

And here's what this assures us about Joseph.

And you need to know this, especially in the midst of what we're going through with COVID-19, in the midst of maybe feeling fear or anxiety or insecurity, is this is the covenant didn't change despite the circumstances.

It didn't change with Joseph and it doesn't change with us.

It doesn't matter if the world's falling apart.

The covenant relationship that we have with God through Jesus Christ, it never changes despite the circumstances.

God was with Joseph.

And he sold into Potiphar's house.

And even though Joseph was taken to another land, he's in captivity, he's in chains as a slave, it says the Lord was with him, and it says he began to prosper.

And let me help you understand what it means right here.

That word prosperity is so misunderstood often, especially in church circles.

It has nothing to do with money or resources.

Here's literally what it means: it means that there is a smooth road opening up before you that God blesses you with.

It's not about resources.

You know what's about?

It's about access, it's about opportunity, it's about favor, and it's about grace.

Let me say those four words again because that's where God's taking us.

Access, opportunity, favor, and grace.

God wants to deliver us from this spirit of poverty.

And the poverty is not about money or resources.

The poverty is this idea that we're enslaved to fear and anxiety.

God wants to take us to this idea out of this covenant relationship where God is our heavenly daddy, He wants to move us into a kingdom position where we can be pushed out to the edge to represent Him more than ever, to share and advance the gospel of Jesus.

And it all comes from the security that we have in Jesus.

You know, Jesus said, Blessed are the poor in spirit.

And he's not talking about poor in spirit from a resource standpoint.

He's saying, Blessed are the brokenhearted, blessed are those that recognize that we can't accomplish what God wants to accomplish unless God does it through us, through his grace and through his empowerment.

The Lord was with Joseph.

The Lord is with you.

So Joseph is in the Potiphar's house, and you've heard the story.

She makes an advancement toward him, and he rejects her.

He runs away, and then she accuses him of trying to rape her.

And it says that Potiphar takes Joseph and puts him in jail.

Now, one of my mentors says this.

He says, there's no way that Potiphar believed the accusation about Joseph from his wife.

Because if he did, he would have killed Joseph.

He didn't kill Joseph.

He put Joseph in prison.

And even while in prison, he gives Joseph responsibility.

He puts him in charge.

He is the head trustee in Potiphar's jail.

And his influence continues to grow.

God continues to bless him exponentially.

And God continues to move Joseph into a position where he can be used exponentially to advance the kingdom of God.

And that's what God will do.

He will bring discomfort, he will allow pain, he will allow suffering in our lives.

Not because he doesn't love us, he's with us, just like he was with Joseph.

But so he can push us to a place out to the edge where we can see the kingdom of God advanced.

And if God is able to do that, that Joseph will see the fulfillment of his future.

He'll see the plan that God has for him.

And the plan was for the kingdom of God to come to this earth as it is in heaven.

For us, it's for the kingdom to be advanced through the gospel.

It's to see more people come to know Jesus.

It's for you.

Listen.

It's for you to be used as an influence and as a representative with your neighbors, your coworkers, the people that you cross paths with every day of your life.

It's for us to be agents of healing in a world of pain and suffering.

It's for us to be able to be agents of joy in a world full of sadness and hurt and pain.

And so God is still working on Joseph while he's in prison.

The king eats something that doesn't sit well with him, and so he doesn't know who to blame, so he puts the butler and the baker in prison.

And while they're in prison, they're with Joseph, and it says that they both have dreams, and they ask this question who can interpret these dreams?

And here's what it says in Genesis 4.8.

It says, They said to him, We've had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.

And Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God?

Please tell them to me.

Now here's what I want you to see is this language is changing in Joseph's life.

Do you remember when he was in the field with his brothers?

Where he was the center of everything?

Where all the dreams were about him?

Well, now he's no longer the center.

He is saying, I don't have an answer, but God has an interpretation.

And so Joseph is beginning to change, and they share the dreams with Joseph.

And Joseph interprets the dreams.

He says, Hey, good news for you, butler.

You're getting out of jail.

Baker, bad news for you, your head's getting chopped off.

You're dead.

And so the dreams came true, and the butler got out of prison, and Joseph pleads with the butler.

Please remember me to Pharaoh when you get out.

Please remember me.

And so it says that the butler got out of prison, and of course, we know the butler forgets about Joseph.

And we fast forward to chapter 41 of Genesis, and Pharaoh himself has two dreams.

He has two dreams, and one of the dreams he sees seven fat cows coming out of the Nile River, and he watches as they are devoured by seven skinny, mangy, scrawny cows.

He sees another dream.

He says the he sees these wonderfully luscious heads of grain that are devoured by skinny, withered, windblown grain.

And all of the counselors, all of the wizards, and all the assistants cannot interpret the dreams for Pharaoh.

And then all of a sudden the butler remembers, hey, there's this guy named Joseph in prison.

He can interpret dreams.

And so the Pharaoh says, go get him, bring him to me.

And so they bring Joseph, they clean him up, they shave him, they give him a new set of clothes, and they bring him before the Pharaoh.

Now here's what you need to know: is at this point in Joseph's life, he's probably about 30 years old.

In Jewish culture, at 30 years old, a man is considered mature foregrown.

Now, to me, it's a little bit interesting that there's another character in the New Testament that goes public with his ministry at the age of 30.

You know who that is, right?

Jesus.

So let's look back at Genesis chapter 41, verses 15 and 16, and it says, And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have had a dream, and there's no one who can interpret it.

Genesis 41:15

I've heard it said of you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.

Joseph answered Pharaoh, it is not in me.

God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.

Here's what I love about Joseph.

He says, I can't do it.

It's not in me.

I am not able.

But here's what he's saying.

He's saying, God is able.

God can give the interpretation.

And let me emphasize again, here's what's happening in Joseph's life.

He is moving where from from where he had been the center of his own universe, and now God is at the center of his universe.

And it means that God can use him the most effectively.

And there's these four words.

He's giving Joseph access.

He's giving Joseph opportunity.

He is giving Joseph favor.

He's given him the grace for him to be able to represent him and to see the kingdom of God become a reality on earth as it is in heaven.

And God wants to use you and God wants to use me to do the same thing to bring the reality of the kingdom into this world, into our relationships, into our family, into our workplace, into our neighborhoods, into our schools, into this broken world.

And so ultimately God uses stories like this to teach us that he is able, that he wants to work, that he wants to make himself known.

And so that's the beautiful part of this story.

It points forward to an even greater story.

Ultimately, we're Jesus, who is enjoying his position in heaven, sitting at the right hand of his heavenly father.

And he steps out of his comfort zone.

He steps out of heaven and he steps into this world.

He steps into the middle of pain and suffering and brokenness.

So he can make the message of the gospel available.

We see this in Philippians chapter 2, where Paul describes exactly what Jesus does.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

It's a similar picture that we see in the story of Joseph, but this time it's the Savior of the world.

And it says, Have this mind among you yourselves in verse 5 of Philippians 2, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped.

But he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, death even on a cross.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed upon him the name that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

And so God will use difficulty, God will use pain, he will use tribulation, he will use difficult circumstances to push us and to position us to advance his kingdom.

We see this in the story of Joseph.

We see the ultimate example in the story of Jesus.

But we also see it in the early church.

Jesus is about to leave this world and He gives what we call the Great Commission.

We find it in Matthew 28.

We find it in Mark 16, Luke 24, Acts 1.8, where he says, hey, go and make disciples of all nations.

Teaching them to observe all that I've commanded them, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

And he says, He'll be with us until the end of the age.

But what does the early church do?

They hang out in Jerusalem.

Man, they're enjoying this covenant time.

They're enjoying the presence of God working in and around them.

They're enjoying the fellowship with one another, but they're failing to take the gospel.

And so God has to step in again.

In Acts chapter 8, we see this where it says, verse 1, and Saul approved of his execution.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

Talking about Stephen.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.

But Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house.

He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

And then look at what verse 4 says.

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

So God uses persecution to position the church, to take the gospel to the entire world.

One reason many of you who are listening and watching, one reason many of you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior is because people have suffered to get the gospel to people like you and me.

And so God uses pain, God uses discomfort, God uses tribulation, God uses difficult circumstances to position us to be his representatives, to push us out where we normally wouldn't go.

And so here's my question, church.

So now what?

So now what?

We're loved by God, we're accepted, we we understand this idea of covenant.

We are his kids.

He is our dad.

He will never leave us nor forsake us.

His promises are true, and we've been emphasizing this over the last several weeks, but I think that God is about to position us for something new.

And it's the vision and the mission he's given us as a church to be his representatives.

One thing about about this period that we're living in is the reality is this the church is not a building.

The church can't be contained to a building.

The church is people.

And God is positioning us and pushing us out to the edge where we can advance the gospel, advance his kingdom, and that we can see his kingdom come to this earth just as it is in heaven.

Now I want to encourage you to think about what your role is in this.

What has God gifted you with?

What has he given you favor for?

What access do you have?

What opportunities are before you?

Where has he given you grace and favor to represent him?

Whether things open up or whether they don't, God wants to use us to advance the name of Jesus.

Are you ready?

I love that story of Joseph.

I love that God not only saved Joseph from something, but he saved him for something as well.

And that's the same as you and myself.

That we are not only saved from something, from our sin and from death, but we're also saved for something.

And so maybe in your life right now, as you hear the story of Joseph, maybe you realize that you've never put your faith and trust in Jesus.

And before you can go and represent the King well and live out his kingdom and his will for your life, you first have to have a relationship with him.

And so the first step that maybe you need to take this morning is to put your faith and your trust in Jesus.

And so if that's the step that you need to take here at Church of the Grove, we just have an easy way that we like to say it's just as simple as the ABCs.

It's admitting that we're sinful, then believing that Jesus died on a cross for our sins and then rose again on the third day.

And then finally, the C is that we confess that He is the Lord and Savior of our life, that we give Him control of our lives.

If that's the decision that you need to make, we want you to text us at 9700.

We want you to text the words, start to follow, all one word to that number.

And we would love to be able to follow up with you this week and give you more information about what it looks like to follow Jesus as your Lord and Savior and to begin that relationship.

But for those of us that are followers of Jesus, what is God calling you to do in this moment, in this season?

What is it that God is wanting you to do to maybe push you out of your comfort zone in order to serve Him and to live for Him on mission?

We've got a couple opportunities here at the church that we would love for you to take apart, take place and a part in.

We've got our Fish for Kids lunches.

This is something we do every single summer, and it's an incredible program where we feed a lot of kids that are needy in our community.

And we partner with Fish Ministries in Monroe, and we have kids and families that go down and they actually help make the lunches.

And then we also have families that uh deliver the lunches each and every day.

And so if that is something that you want to be a part of, you can find out more information at church at the grove.com backslash serve, and all that information will be there.

We've got other opportunities for you to serve as well.

We are about to move into uh our buildings and our facilities again in just a few short weeks.

And so we need people to help come alongside and clean and to get the buildings ready to where they need to be so that people can come back in.

Again, you can find all that information at church at the grove.com backslash serve and has all that information there.

There's tons of ways that you can serve, but it doesn't have to be just through our church and what God's doing here.

You're on mission right where you're at.

That God has put you in your workplace, He's put you in your neighborhood, He's put you in the family that you are in for a reason.

And so what is it that you can possibly do to serve your neighbors this week?

What is it that you can possibly do to serve your coworkers this week?

And as a result, represent the king, represent Jesus well right where you are at this week.

Man, if that's a decision and if you got some ideas rolling through your head, and if you are able to serve in a really cool way this week, we would love to be able to see that.

And so if you serve your neighbors or serve your coworkers or serve your family, and as a result, represent Jesus well in your community, we would love for you to send us pictures, post them on Instagram, send us to us on Facebook, whatever it might be.

We would love to cheer you on as you represent Jesus well right where you are at in this season.

Man, God is doing great things in our midst, and He's not done yet.

He's still wanting to do great things in our community and around the world.

And we truly do believe that the best is yet to come.