Podcasts about through joseph

Section Four - Medical Missionary Work "Everything . . . whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live." "Their waters they issued out of the sanctuary." God's Design in Our Sanitariums Every institution established by Seventh-day Adventists is to be to the world what Joseph was in Egypt and what Daniel and his fellows were in Babylon. As in the providence of God these chosen ones were taken captive, it was to carry to heathen nations the blessings that come to humanity through a knowledge of God. They were to be representatives of Jehovah. They were never to compromise with idolaters; their religious faith and their name as worshipers of the living God they were to bear as a special honor. And this they did. In prosperity and adversity they honored God, and God honored them. Called from a dungeon, a servant of captives, a prey of ingratitude and malice, Joseph proved true to his allegiance to the God of heaven. And all Egypt marveled at the wisdom of the man whom God instructed. Pharaoh made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance: to bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom." Psalm 105:21, 22. Not to the people of Egypt alone, but to all the nations connected with that powerful kingdom, God manifested Himself through Joseph. He desired to make him a light bearer to all peoples, and He placed him next the throne of the world's greatest empire, that the heavenly illumination might extend far and near. By his wisdom and justice, -220- by the purity and benevolence of his daily life, by his devotion to the interests of the people,--and that people a nation of idolaters,--Joseph was a representative of Christ. In their benefactor, to whom all Egypt turned with gratitude and praise, that heathen people, and through them all the nations with which they were connected, were to behold the love of their Creator and Redeemer. So in Daniel God placed a light beside the throne of the world's greatest kingdom, that all who would might learn of the true and living God. At the court of Babylon were gathered representatives from all lands, men of the choicest talents, men the most richly endowed with natural gifts and possessed of the highest culture this world could bestow; yet amid them all the Hebrew captives were without a peer. In physical strength and beauty, in mental vigor and literary attainments, and in spiritual power and insight they stood unrivaled. "In all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm." Daniel 1:20. While faithful to his duties in the king's court, Daniel so faithfully maintained his loyalty to God that God could honor him as His messenger to the Babylonian monarch. Through him the mysteries of the future were unfolded, and Nebuchadnezzar himself was constrained to acknowledge the God of Daniel "as a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets." Daniel 2:47. So the institutions established by God's people today are to glorify His name. The only way in which we can fulfill His expectation is by being representatives of the truth for this time. God is to be recognized in the institutions established by Seventh-day Adventists. By them the truth for this time is to be represented before the world with convincing power. -221- We are called to represent to the world the character of God as it was revealed to Moses. In answer to the prayer of Moses, "Show me Thy glory," the Lord promised, "I will make all My goodness pass before thee." "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." Exodus 33:18, 19; 34:6, 7. This is the fruit that God desires from His people. In the purity of their characters, in the holiness of their lives, in their mercy and loving-kindness and compassion, they are to demonstrate that the "law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Psalm 19:7. God's purpose for His institutions today may also be read in the purpose which He sought to accomplish through the Jewish nation. Through Israel it was His design to impart rich blessings to all peoples. Through them the way was to be prepared for the diffusion of His light to the whole world. The nations of the world, through following corrupt practices, had lost a knowledge of God. Yet in His mercy God did not blot them out of existence. He purposed to give them opportunity for becoming acquainted with Him through His church. He designed that the principles revealed through His people should be the means of restoring in man the moral image of God. Christ was their instructor. As He was with them in the wilderness, so after their establishment in the Promised Land He was still their Teacher and Guide. In the tabernacle and the temple His glory dwelt in the holy Shekinah above the mercy seat. In their behalf He constantly manifested the riches of His love and patience. God desired to make of His people Israel a praise and a glory. Every spiritual advantage was given them. God -222- withheld from them nothing favorable to the formation of character that would make them representatives of Himself. Their obedience to the laws of God would make them marvels of prosperity before the nations of the world. He who could give them wisdom and skill in all cunning work would continue to be their teacher and would ennoble and elevate them through obedience to His laws. If obedient, they would be preserved from the diseases that afflicted other nations and would be blessed with vigor of intellect. The glory of God, His majesty and power, were to be revealed in all their prosperity. They were to be a kingdom of priests and princes. God furnished them with every facility for becoming the greatest nation on the earth. In the most definite manner, God through Moses set before them His purpose and made plain the terms of their prosperity. "Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God," He said; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. . . . Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations. . . . It shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which He sware unto thy fathers: and He will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee. . . . Thou shalt be blessed above all people." Deuteronomy 7:6-14. "Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and to hearken unto His voice: and the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee, -223- and that thou shouldest keep all His commandments; and to make thee high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as He hath spoken." Deuteronomy 26:17-19. In these words are set forth the conditions of all true prosperity, conditions with which, if they fulfill the purpose of their establishment, all our institutions must comply. The Lord years ago gave me special light in regard to the establishment of a health institution where the sick could be treated on altogether different lines from those followed in any other institution in our world. It was to be founded and conducted upon Bible principles, as the Lord's instrumentality, and it was to be in His hands one of the most effective agencies for giving light to the world. It was God's purpose that it should stand forth with scientific ability, with moral and spiritual power, and as a faithful sentinel of reform in all its bearings. All who should act a part in it were to be reformers, having respect to its principles, and heeding the light of health reform shining upon us as a people. God designed that the institution which He should establish should stand forth as a beacon of light, of warning and reproof. He would prove to the world that an institution conducted on religious principles, as an asylum for the sick, could be sustained without sacrificing its peculiar, holy character; that it could be kept free from the objectionable features found in other health institutions. It was to be an instrumentality for bringing about great reforms. The Lord revealed that the prosperity of the Sanitarium was not to be dependent alone upon the knowledge and skill of its physicians, but upon the favor of God. It was to be known as an institution where God was -224- acknowledged as the Monarch of the universe, an institution that was under His special supervision. Its managers were to make God first and last and best in everything. And in this was to be its strength. If conducted in a manner that God could approve, it would be highly successful, and would stand in advance of all other institutions of the kind in the world. Great light, great knowledge, and superior privileges were given. And in accordance with the light received would be the responsibility of those to whom the carrying forward of the institution was entrusted. As our work has extended and institutions have multiplied, God's purpose in their establishment remains the same. The conditions of prosperity are unchanged. The human family is suffering because of transgression of the laws of God. The Lord desires that men shall be led to understand the cause of their suffering and the only way to find relief. He desires them to see that their well-being--physical, mental, and moral--depends upon their obedience to His law. It is His purpose that our institutions shall be as object lessons showing the results of obedience to right principles. In the preparation of a people for the Lord's second coming a great work is to be accomplished through the promulgation of health principles. The people are to be instructed in regard to the needs of the physical organism and the value of healthful living as taught in the Scriptures, that the bodies which God has created may be presented to Him a living sacrifice, fitted to render Him acceptable service. There is a great work to be done for suffering humanity in relieving their sufferings by the use of the natural agencies that God has provided and in teaching them how to prevent sickness by the regulation of the appetites and passions. The people -225- should be taught that transgression of the laws of nature is transgression of the laws of God. They should be taught the truth in physical as well as in spiritual lines that "the fear of the Lord tendeth to life." Proverbs 19:23. "If thou wilt enter into life," Christ says, "keep the commandments." Matthew 19:17. Live out My law as the apple of thine eye." Proverbs 7:2. God's commandments, obeyed, are "life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." Proverbs 4:22. Our sanitariums are an educating power to teach the people in these lines. Those who are taught can in turn impart to others a knowledge of health-restoring and health-preserving principles. Thus our sanitariums are to be an instrumentality for reaching the people, an agency for showing them the evil of disregarding the laws of life and health, and for teaching them how to preserve the body in the best condition. Sanitariums are to be established in different countries that are entered by our missionaries and are to be centers from which a work of healing, restoring, and educating shall be carried on. We are to labor both for the health of the body and for the saving of the soul. Our mission is the same as that of our Master, of whom it is written that He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by Satan. Acts 10:38. Of His own work He says: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek." "He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18. As we follow Christ's example of labor for the good of others we shall awaken their interest in the God whom we love and serve. Our sanitariums in all their departments should be -226- memorials for God, His instrumentalities for sowing the seeds of truth in human hearts. This they will be if rightly conducted. The living truth of God is to be made known in our medical institutions. Many persons who come to them are hungering and thirsting for truth, and when it is rightly presented they will receive it with gladness. Our sanitariums have been the means of elevating the truth for this time and bringing it before thousands. The religious influence that pervades these institutions inspires the guests with confidence. The assurance that the Lord presides there, and the many prayers offered for the sick, make an impression upon their hearts. Many who have never before thought of the value of the soul are convicted by the Spirit of God, and not a few are led to change their whole course of life. Impressions that will never be effaced are made upon many who have been self-satisfied, who have thought their own standard of character to be sufficient, and who have felt no need of the righteousness of Christ. When the future test comes, when enlightenment comes to them, not a few of these will take their stand with God's remnant people. God is honored by institutions conducted in this way. In His mercy He has made the sanitariums such a power in the relief of physical suffering that thousands have been drawn to them to be cured of their maladies. And with many, physical healing is accompanied by the healing of the soul. From the Saviour they receive the forgiveness of their sins. They receive the grace of Christ and identify themselves with Him, with His interests, His honor. Many go away from our sanitariums with new hearts. The change is decided. These, returning to their homes, are as lights in the world. The Lord makes them His witnesses. Their testimony is: "I have seen His greatness, I have tasted His goodness. 'Come and hear, -227- all ye that fear God, and I will declare what He hath done for my soul.'" Psalm 66:16. Thus through the prospering hand of our God upon them our sanitariums have been the means of accomplishing great good. And they are to rise still higher. God will work with the people who will honor Him. Wonderful is the work which God designs to accomplish through His servants, that His name may be glorified. God made Joseph a fountain of life to the Egyptian nation. Through Joseph the life of that whole people was preserved. Through Daniel God saved the life of all the wise men of Babylon. And these deliverances were as object lessons; they illustrated to the people the spiritual blessings offered them through connection with the God whom Joseph and Daniel worshiped. So through His people today God desires to bring blessings to the world. Every worker in whose heart Christ abides, everyone who will show forth His love to the world, is a worker together with God for the blessing of humanity. As he receives from the Saviour grace to impart to others, from his whole being flows forth the tide of spiritual life. Christ came as the Great Physician to heal the wounds that sin has made in the human family; and His Spirit, working through His servants, imparts to sin-sick, suffering human beings a mighty healing power that is efficacious for the body and the soul. "In that day," says the Scriptures, "there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness." Zechariah 13:1. The waters of this fountain contain medicinal properties that will heal both physical and spiritual infirmities. From this fountain flows the mighty river seen in Ezekiel's vision. "These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall -228- be healed. And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live. . . . And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine." Ezekiel 47:8-12. Such a river of life and healing God designs that, by His power working through them, our sanitariums shall be. Our sanitariums are to show forth to the world the benevolence of heaven; and though Christ's visible presence is not discerned in the building, yet the workers may claim the promise: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." The promises of God to Israel are also for the institutions established today for the glory of His name: "Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is His name; Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. For thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning . . . this city. Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. . . . And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity. . . . And it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise and an honor before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them." "In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness." Jeremiah 33:2-9, 16. Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 6 pp. 219-228

A Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity Ephesians 4:17-32 by William Klock A couple of weeks ago we had dinner at Atlas Café and while we were there overheard an altercation between a couple and their waitress.  They were angry with her because they weren't checking vaccines cards right.  They were asking to see them and to see photo ID, but they weren't using the verification app to scan the cards.  These people were very upset and were taking it out on the waitress.  I felt bad for the waitress.  Lots of people just doing their jobs are being unfairly hassled—whether it's because they check vaccines cards or they don't, because they require masks or they don't, you name it and someone's going to be unhappy about it these days—they're hassled because they're just following policy that their management has set, and much that to fulfil requirements set by the government.  But it's the people up front who have little or nothing to do with policy that take the abuse.  Maybe someone needs to be challenged about this or that policy, but to be effective those challenges need to be directed to the right people.  We often expend a lot of effort in very ineffective ways.  My wife often reminds me of this. I mention this to illustrate the wrong way we often go about trying to address behaviour.  In our Epistle St. Paul tells us not to act like Gentiles, not to lie, not to steal, not to be angry, not to let unwholesome talk come out of our mouths.  He also talks about how we ought, instead, to be kind and loving and truthful with each other.  And we all know that there are areas of our lives that need to change, that need to be more Christ-like.  Where do we start?  It's easy to try to address our behaviour, our actions first.  How many times have we tried to do that and failed?  This is what Paul's getting at in today's lesson.  Going after the behaviour is like going after the employee when what you really need to address is the management.  In our case it's our sinful and muddled minds.  We've got to address what's in our heads (and in our hearts) first. This is what Paul writes in Ephesians 4:17: Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.   Just like us, the Christians in Ephesus manifested Jesus and the life of the Spirit, while still struggling to overcome the sins of their old lives before Jesus.  Sanctification is a process, but that doesn't mean we should be complacent about it.  And so Paul says, “You've got to stop walking, you've got to stop living the way the Gentiles do.” And we respond, “That's great, Paul, but I keep trying and it's a constant struggle.  I don't seem to be getting anywhere.”  And Paul responds and he says, “That's because you're putting the cart before the horse.  You're getting upset with the employees when the problem is the manager.  You've got to address management.  Fix that and the rest will sort itself out.  And so Paul points to the real problem.  The Gentile behave the way they do because their minds are set on futile things.  The Greek word he uses for “futile” describes something that is empty or that has no value.  When the Gentiles act the way they do, when they live sinful lifestyles, when they look to Caesar or to money or to reputation for security, when they worship false gods and are sold out to the flesh it's because these are the things on which their minds are fixed.  He goes on in verses 18-19: They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.  They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.   Paul writes very nearly the same description of fallen humanity in Romans 1.  They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and chose to worship the creature rather than the Creator.  They claim to be wise, but in reality they're fools with minds fixed on foolish and pointless things.  And the result of rebelling against God with the mind is that one rebels against God in one's actions.  We become callous, no longer driven by kindness and love and mercy.  We give ourselves over to sensuality of any and every sort, seeking not the good of others, but to use others for our own selfish gain.  We become greedy, no longer satisfied with what God has given, no longer trusting in his goodness to provide, but taking and thieving what he's given to others.  We rebel against our holy God and end up in the muck—living in impurity.  All because the mind has rejected God and as a result the heart has become hardened against him. I can't help but think of Pharaoh.  Through Joseph the Lord had blessed Egypt and saved them from starvation during the great famine, but as Exodus begins we're told that there was a new Pharaoh who didn't know Joseph, which meant he didn't know the Lord who had saved his people either.  It's hard to imagine that Pharaoh was accidentally ignorant.  He had to know where all these Hebrews had come from.  No, he chose not to acknowledge the God of Israel.  In his mind he rebelled against God.  And as so often happens when we've believed a lie and are confronted by the truth, when Moses came to him as the Lord's messenger, saying “Let my people go!”, Pharaoh's heart protected his mind from the truth.  His heart hardened.  And then the plagues came, revealing the power and authority of the God of Israel and the powerlessness of Pharaoh and his gods.  But instead of accepting the truth, each time his heart hardened all the more.  He rejected God and look at his actions: he was callous, he was greedy, he was willing to murder babies in order to protect his throne and his pretended divinity. Without Jesus our minds are set on futile things and our hearts are hardened to throw up an emotional wall to protect our minds from confrontation by the truth of God.  And this is why Jesus pours his Spirit into us.  Jesus in his love cracks the wall, he starts knocking bricks out, he climbs over the top and he gets our attention and the Holy Spirit goes to work.  He renews our minds and he regenerates our hearts.  And that's what Paul's getting at here.  The Gentiles, the unbelievers, are still entrenched behind that wall and as Christians we've got no business still living like that.  He writes in verses 20-24: But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.   He's telling the Ephesians—and he's telling you and me—that our minds shouldn't be stuck on futile things anymore, assuming that is, that we've been taught the truth about Jesus.  No, our minds as Christians should be full of Jesus and his truth.  Our minds should be full of the truth that in Jesus the divine Word of God humbled himself and took our flesh upon himself, that Jesus born of Mary died the death that we sinners deserve and that he rose again to unleash his life into the world.  That he ascended to his Father to reign as King and that one day he will return when every enemy has been put under his feet.  On that day he will judge the quick and the dead and we who have believed in him will be resurrected just as he was, we'll be given the life of the age to come—the life that Adam and Eve rejected when they first sinned and were driven from the presence of God and from his life.  In the Lord's Supper we proclaim the mystery of faith: Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.  Those are three basic truths of that message we call the Good News.  Jesus died for our sins.  Jesus rose to give us life.  Jesus will come back to resurrect his people and restore his fallen creation.  Brothers and Sisters, somehow and on some level everything we do in life ought to be driven by this Good News, by these truths.  The knowledge that God's love for us is so great that while we were yet sinners he gave his Son to die for us ought to set our minds marveling at the incredible love of our God for us.  Each time we think of Jesus and the Cross our minds ought to be driven to plumb the great depths of God's love.  And the knowledge of the love of God demonstrated so profoundly in Jesus should naturally drive us to love him in return.  The fact that Jesus has given us life and poured his Spirit into us as a down payment on the life of the age to come ought to motivate us to live that new life here and now.  And the fact that Jesus is one day coming back to consummate his kingdom rule ought to give us a natural motivation to proclaim the good news that he is Lord in the hope that everyone we know might be prepared for that day. Jesus has renewed our minds, Paul says, and not only that, but he's made us new.  In places like Romans and Colossians Paul talks about having been buried with Jesus in our baptism and raised with him to new life.  In Colossians he urges us, since in Jesus we're dead to the old way of life, he urges us to live the new life Jesus has given.  These are all just alternative ways to describe the life of the Spirit who renews our minds and regenerates our hearts.  The old self is dead and the Spirit has made us new.  It's a foretaste of the resurrection that Jesus has promised.  What happened to Jesus on Easter will one day happen to us and we'll be raised to the life of God, but in the meantime he's given his Spirit.  And in the power of the Spirit we have a joyful responsibility to put off the old way of living and put on the new.  We all know that it's not always easy.  If it were easy Paul wouldn't have to tell us so many times and in so many ways that this is what we need to do.  It's just that we're so used to the old way. I was thinking this week that it's time to replace my shoes.  I've got a new pair in the closet that I picked up on sale almost two years ago, because—well—shoes don't last forever.  But they're not broken in.  I put them on, took a few steps, and ended up putting my old, worn-out shoes back on.  They're more comfortable.  I'm used to them.  And just so with life.  As unbelievers we cultivated sinful habits and ways of thinking.  We let our hearts harden and build that wall to protect us from the truth.  It takes time and effort to tear that wall down.  We might now have our minds set on Jesus, but it takes time to retrain our actions to be in accord with that new truth.  But change we must.  Again, we can't keep walking like the Gentiles.  We don't have the excuse of minds set on futility.  Our minds have been confronted with the reality of Jesus, crucified, risen, and coming again.  We need to be walking in the righteousness and holiness he gives. In the rest of the chapter Paul goes on to describe what this looks like with specific examples. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.    If our minds are set on Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life, how can we let lies come from our mouths?  Truth in the mind should manifest as truth in our speech. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.   Anger is natural.  Paul doesn't say not to get angry.  He says not to let anger lead to sin.  Anger can be righteous.  It motivates us to address wrongs and injustices and sin.  But some anger, especially anger we let stew in our hearts gives opportunity for sin to take root.  It leads to things like resentment, bitterness, enmity, and strife.  These are the things that rob us of the joy we have in Christ and they undermine the love we're called to have for each other.  They're the things that tear apart churches and that undermine our witness to the Good News of Jesus.   Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.   Stealing is wrong.  That's a no-brainer.  But Paul goes a step further.  Being diligent in honest work and earning a living gives us the opportunity to share with and care for others.  The world lies and tells us that it's every man for himself.  Jesus reminds us that as he gave himself for us, we ought to give ourselves for others.  The world also lies and tells us that work is bad, but when we go back to the beginning of the story in Genesis one of the things that hits us right between the eyes as truth is that God created us for work, it's our divine calling, it's how we serve God.  In fact, working faithfully in service to him is how we bear his image.  The problem is that our work has been spoiled by sin.  We'll have to wait for Jesus' return before we'll see an end to fighting thistles and weeds with the sweat of our brows, but Jesus nevertheless gives us reason to be diligent in our work, doing everything as unto the Lord.  In Jesus work becomes a means of worship. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.   If our minds have been renewed, there should be nothing corrupt coming out of our mouths.  I know that's often hard, but instead, with minds full of grace, we should be using our mouths to bring that grace into the world in what we say and how we say it.   Finally, Paul writes in verse 30: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.   I think he's pretty well covered all of us here, but just in case you don't struggle with any of these sins, Paul's still got you covered: Don't grieve the Holy Spirit by how you live and act.  That means that we need to live as people on whom God has placed his Spirit as a mark.  I had a friend who said he wouldn't put a fish sticker on his car because he knew he was an offensive driver and he didn't want to discredit Jesus or the Church.  We think that a sticker on our car or maybe a cross hanging around our neck marks us out as God's people.  They might, but what really marks us out is the Holy Spirit.  Jesus has redeemed us and given us a promise of life in the age to come, but until that time comes, he's given us his Spirit to give us the ability to live that future life—or at least some real semblance of it—right now.  The Holy Spirit takes God's future and pulls it into the present for us.  The Holy Spirit gives us reason to trust in the promise of Jesus and because of that we have hope.  Brothers and Sisters, that hope should shape everything about how we live today and it should be the first thing the world notices about us. And so Paul can end saying: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  (Ephesians 4:30-32) We all know people who are bitter and angry.  I remember counselling someone once who was overflowing with bitterness, but he said, “This is just who I am and I'm not going to change!”  He thought that by being bitter he was being free and that I was trying to chain him up by telling him to stop being bitter, but in fact it was bitterness that had him in bondage.  His mind was captive to futility and his bitterness was the evidence.  But the Spirit frees us from that kind of bondage.  The Spirit sets our minds on Jesus and the natural and free outflowing then ought to be an outpouring of Christ-likeness in our lives: things like love and kindness and grace.  The fruit of the Spirit.  And, Friends, in doing that we manifest Jesus and his kingdom, we manifest our hope to the world around us. I think this is part of what St. Paul was getting at when he wrote to the Philippians, telling them to “work out their salvation”.  “Work out your salvation” doesn't mean that we save ourselves through good works.  What Paul's getting at is the practical outworking of the Spirit having renewed our minds.  The Spirit has thrown out the filth, the lies, the rebellion so that we can think straight about the Lord Jesus and so that we can set our minds on the hope of the world and the age to come.  Paul's given this list of dos and don'ts, but his point isn't to put us into some new kind of bondage.  He's trying to show us the mind of Christ so that we are set free to really and truly live out the Good News.  It's like learning the rules of spelling and grammar.  Those rules aren't there to bind us up.  They're there so that once we've learned them we can be free to speak and write and express ourselves.  And so Paul shows us Jesus and he reminds us what Jesus has done for us and what his new world is going to be like and he turns us loose, and says: work out what the salvation Jesus has brought us looks like within the unique particulars of your life and personality and gifts.  What does it look like be faithful to Jesus and to live out the Christian hope for you.  How can you in your life and vocation and with your unique gifts live and think as a day-dweller in the midst of a world still in the dark?  Brothers and Sisters, this is what it means to have the mind of Christ.  In Jesus the Spirit has set our minds on something worthwhile and of value.  Christ has died.  Christ has risen.  Christ will come again.  Now let that truth work out into your actions and in your day to day life.  Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, as we acknowledge in the Collect, on our own can do nothing to please you.  Our minds are set on sin and rebellion, but in our Baptism Jesus has plunged us into the Holy Spirit and changed everything.  By your Spirit, Father, set our hearts and minds on Jesus that we might live our lives in ways pleasing to you, in ways that honour the Lord Jesus, and in ways that manifest his kingdom in the world around us.  Through him we pray.  Amen.

Gary Douglas kicks off our Summer series entitled Faithful by looking at the life of Joseph in the Old Testament. Gary shows us how Joseph encountered many trials throughout his life—including the painful trial of personal betrayal. Gary shows us how Joseph was painfully betrayed by his brothers, but was faithful to forgive them. Through Joseph's faithfulness, we see God's faithfulness to establish a people who would one day produce His long-awaited Messiah.

Genesis 38 - 1:16 .Genesis 39 - 7:17 . Genesis 40 - 10:56 . Genesis 41 - 14:41 . Psalm 13 - 25:23 . Psalm 14 - 26:23 . When Joseph is sold into slavery it seems that he has lost it all, except that Joseph has not lost what is most important: he hasn’t lost God’s divine and unmerited favor. Through Joseph, God divinely orchestrates the salvation of His people, sustaining the entire country of Egypt as well as the surrounding nations during a period of severe drought. His circumstances seem devastating in the short term, but once God’s plan becomes clear, the Scriptures say that Joseph forgets his former trouble. As we’re told in Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”:::Christian Standard Bible translation.All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.Co-produced by Eric Williamson.facebook.com/commuterbibleinstagram.com/commuter_bibletwitter.com/CommuterPodpatreon.com/commuterbibleadmin@commuterbible.org

In part three of this Character Profile series, we will look at the providence of God and how He turns Joseph's misfortune around 180 degrees to the astonishment of Egypt's elites. Through Joseph, God will give a plan that will save Egypt from destruction. In the end, Joseph will be identified by all of Egypt as the savior and sustainer of the world! It is in this that He is identified with the Messiah. From Joseph's life we can better understand God's desire to save, deliver, restore, and sustain life. All that we see in Joseph's life will be brought into its fullness in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua, son of Joseph! For He is the final and ultimate Lord and Savior of the world!

In part three of this Character Profile series, we will look at the providence of God and how He turns Joseph’s misfortune around 180 degrees to the astonishment of Egypt’s elites. Through Joseph, God will give a plan that will save Egypt from destruction. In the end, Joseph will be identified by all of Egypt as the savior and sustainer of the world! It is in this that He is identified with the Messiah. From Joseph’s life we can better understand God’s desire to save, deliver, restore, and sustain life. All that we see in Joseph’s life will be brought into its fullness in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua, son of Joseph! For He is the final and ultimate Lord and Savior of the world!

GREATER GLORY OF GOD Presents Advent Special JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM Twenty-fourth Day - In the company of St. Joseph, the Father of Jesus - He is the Father of Jesus – in the eyes of the Law - It's ok to call him the Foster father of Jesus but not right - Through Joseph, Jesus is the Son of David – Geneology - I'm very sure – Jesus must have called Joseph Father ALWAYS - The husband of the Mother of Jesus – then who is Joseph to Jesus Luke 4:22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” Matthew 13:54-55 He came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue, so that they were astounded and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these deeds of power? Is not this the carpenter's son? Joseph – the silent man - Silence makes him special and great Joseph the dreamer - Obedient - When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him - It was enough for him to be told in a dream! He was a man of faith! Matthew 1:18-25 - According to Matthew - God reveals about the birth of Jesus to Joseph and not Mary - Only in dream Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. - Never speaks o To Mary after Annunciation o To Jesus after finding Him in the Temple - Question about his relationship with Mary and their other children o Joseph & Mary lived in Heaven o No marriage and begetting in Heaven o Both partners have to help each other to fulfil their responsibilities entrusted by God - Joseph had the privilege to be with God from the time he took Mary with him o What a privilege to be with God o Experience of being in heaven o Being at home o Journeys – Nazareth to Bethlehem § Bethlehem to Egypt § Egypt to Nazareth Every year to Jerusalem --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/greatergloryofgod/message

We live in troubling times. Our leaders today face the same challenge that Pharaoh did in our text. They have the impossible task of making decisions. No matter what decision they make, some will criticize and complain. In our text, we learn about Pharaoh’s dreams that troubled him. None of his advisors could explain them. One of his attendants remembers Joseph. Out of desperation, Pharaoh brings Joseph from the prison to interpret his dreams. Joseph explains the dreams, but that explanation was not enough to give Pharaoh peace. Joseph goes on with the wisdom given to him by God; he provides a plan to carry Egypt through the coming hard times. The explanation combined with the wisdom was the answer of peace. God had prepared Joseph to put him in a place to bring glory to Him. God caused Egypt to prosper because of Joseph. Through Joseph, God blessed that entire area of the world during the famine. He stocked the storehouses with supplies that were more than enough to sustain them through the troubled times. In the global situation we now find ourselves, be assured that God has stockpiled the storehouses through His church. God has an answer of peace.

We live in troubling times. Our leaders today face the same challenge that Pharaoh did in our text. They have the impossible task of making decisions. No matter what decision they make, some will criticize and complain. In our text, we learn about Pharaoh’s dreams that troubled him. None of his advisors could explain them. One of his attendants remembers Joseph. Out of desperation, Pharaoh brings Joseph from the prison to interpret his dreams. Joseph explains the dreams, but that explanation was not enough to give Pharaoh peace. Joseph goes on with the wisdom given to him by God; he provides a plan to carry Egypt through the coming hard times. The explanation combined with the wisdom was the answer of peace. God had prepared Joseph to put him in a place to bring glory to Him. God caused Egypt to prosper because of Joseph. Through Joseph, God blessed that entire area of the world during the famine. He stocked the storehouses with supplies that were more than enough to sustain them through the troubled times. In the global situation we now find ourselves, be assured that God has stockpiled the storehouses through His church. God has an answer of peace.

This season might be really hard on you and your family. Satan wants to use it and see it destroy you emotionally, spiritually and see it tear you family apart. Through Joseph’s life we will learn that God will use the difficulties of our lives to bring glory to Him and good for us.

Chapter markers:Genesis || 38 - 1:16 || 39  - 7:17 || 40 - 10:56 || 41 - 14:41 ||Psalms || 13 - 25:23 || 14 - 26:23 ||When Joseph is sold into slavery it seems that he has lost it all, except that Joseph has not lost what is most important: he hasn’t lost God’s divine and unmerited favor. Through Joseph, God divinely orchestrates the salvation of His people, sustaining the entire country of Egypt as well as the surrounding nations during a period of severe drought. His circumstances seem devastating in the short term, but once God’s plan becomes clear, the Scriptures say that Joseph forgets his former trouble. As we’re told in Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” 

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25 | Isaiah 7:11-14. The love of God and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus bring hope to everyone. Through Joseph's story in today's message, hear how to face fear in your life and do the right thing.

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25 | Isaiah 7:11-14. The love of God and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus bring hope to everyone. Through Joseph's story in today's message, hear how to face fear in your life and do the right thing.

Sometimes our lives can feel like a series of unfortunate events. Joseph's life, at times, seemed to go from bad to worse. But through it all, God was working for his glorious purposes. Through Joseph's story, we see three things that God is doing through our suffering: God is cultivating our character, God is forming us to bring Him fame, and God is teaching us to trust. In the pits of life, God is preparing us for his purposes, and shaping us in ways we could never experience without that suffering in our lives.   Genesis 40

Through Joseph, we learn how faith can be revealed in our lives. Hebrews 11 Study

Through Joseph's journey, God has brought him to this point where he is able to save his family despite all the evil done to him.

Matthew 1 & 2:  God puts people in your life for a reason and a season. The post Through Joseph’s Eyes appeared first on Life of Purpose Church.

Through Joseph we can see that God is... 1.  Faithfully moving.     He...       A.  Disturbs the strong.       B.  Directs those around us.       C.  Determines our time. 2.  Mysteriously speaking.     Biblically, dreams could be...       A...

As we continued our series, "The Greatest Story," we looked at God's continued faithfulness to the Patriarchs, particularly in the remarkable life of Joseph. Through Joseph we see that faithfulness requires trusting that God has a good plan & trusting that God will give us the grace to endure whatever challenges we face.

The Line of Christ: Joseph & Mary to Jesus (Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6-9, Micah 5:2-4, Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:48-50) Pastor Tony Felich December 21, 2014 ----more----Through Joseph (by adoption) and Mary (by birth) Jesus was born in the Davidic line as the Seed who would crush Satan.

Through Joseph, God grants "painful" mercy to the brothers so that they may see the reality of their sin.

Through Joseph, God grants "painful" mercy to the brothers so that they may see the reality of their sin.