Reconciling the Past

Setting: Contemporary Worship
Length: 27:23

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Title: 4 Perspectives on God’s Work in My Life, part 1 of 4

Main Scripture: Genesis 45:1-8
Main Topics: Past, Joseph, God's sovereighty and providence, forgiveness, meaning of life, year in review

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-Well, it has become a tradition for me preach to you on the last Sunday of each year.
-after 3 straight years of standing before you on the last Sunday, I have embraced this tradition and want to make the most of it
-so, I thought it would be fun and meaningful for us to go on a little journey together
-a spiritual journey that involves looking at how God works in our lives
-I am thinking of a time of reflection…something we all seem to do at the end of a year and the beginning of the next
-in fact, so many of you are good about that….you write those long letters…those “year in review” letters that summarize all that has happened in your lives and you insert them along with your Christmas cards.
-well, allow me to do that very thing…but on a corporate level…that is, on the level of all believers here and throughout all times and situations…as we consider how God is involved in all of our lives
-and as we embark on this journey, we will discover that there are at least FOUR basic perspectives on God’s relationship with us.
-Today…on the last Sunday of 2008, we will consider the first of those four perspectives, then on the last Sunday of 2009, we will consider the second perspective, and so on…
-now, I am not prophesying that I will preach on every last Sunday of the year ‘til Jesus comes…I’m sure others will stand before you…but as long as I asked to do so, I want to make it meaningful
-so, today let’s focus on the first perspective which involves looking into our PAST and seeing God’s involvement in our lives
-and…now that you know the first perspective, you can quickly predict the following perspectives….the second one is on our…present life, the third will be on our…future and the fourth will be on our…is there one more perspective? Past, present, future….one more? Yes there is…and to add a little bit of suspense, I am not going to tell you what that fourth one is and don’t try to get it out of me after the worship, I ain’t talking!…you’ll have to come back on 2011 to find out

-well, it will be worthwhile for us to look back as our first perspective
-in fact, it’s actually biblical to look back
-meaning, God has given us a glimpse into his workings in our lives
-and so, it is quite proper to look back and see His involvement
-and it’s true…that when we look back, we often see His involvement in a way that we did not see when we’re going through an experience at the time
-often times in the present, we think we see things clearly, but after the present becomes the past and we look back at it….and we see things that we did not see before
-and that is the meaningful experience we all have
-and that is the spiritually profitable experience that God wants us to have

-especially when our experiences have been negative
-especially IF 2008 has been an assortment of unexpected twists and turns that has left us down and discouraged
…some of you might be so discouraged and tired that you don’t want the new year to roll around
-some of you might have many unresolved issues from the past that you find it difficult to function in the present let alone think about the future
-in fact, the past can be like a dark cloud that hangs over us wherever we go
-or like an emotional chain that binds us and keeps us from moving on
-or like a brick wall between us and our friends and family
-whatever the analogy, it is clear that the past is not really just the past
          -something that is no longer here
          -something that can be easily forgotten
          -but is ever present
                   -still hanging over us
                   -still binding us
                   -still acting as a barrier in our relationships

-as you can see, I will focus on the negative experiences of our past and not the positive ones
-of course, we ought to look back and see the positive ones as well
-God does bless us with so many good things that we ought not forget all his benefits (Psalm 103:2)
-but we don’t seem to have trouble accepting those
-it’s the negative ones that catch us
-so, let’s look back…this will be our first perspective…and see how God involves himself in our lives
-and when we see it, it will help us reconcile the negative experiences of our past and find inspiration to move on into our present and future

-the clearest example in the Bible of reconciling the past is that of Joseph
-so many of you know his story in the book of Genesis…I won’t take the time to tell it in its entirety
-but a summary of it will show God’s self involvement in a situation where Joseph probably wondered if God was really there at all

-for his life seemed to be a great example of man’s work and decisions and not God’s
-from raging jealousy from his brothers to murderous thoughts to spontaneous business transactions that took him away from his home to a land of slavery…his life seemed to be in everyone else’s hands but God’s
….much can be learned from Joseph’s handling of his challenges and complications:
-his integrity, his faithfulness, his work ethic, his perseverance
-but I won’t talk about any of those
-instead, I want to focus on his perspective of his past
-his own personal reconciliation of his past

….this resolution is most evident and dramatic when he meets his brothers again after many years of separation
-in fact, 13 years have passed since he was thrown down into a pit by his brothers and suddenly sold into slavery
-since then, his life has now been marked by betrayal, dishonesty, false accusations, neglect, and confusion
-gone are the innocent days of growing up in Canaan
-gone are the good feelings and thoughts about his siblings he once had growing up
-now he stands before his brothers with a lot of history between them
-but he offers up this historical perspective in Genesis 45:4ff

…"Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

-Joseph offers up perspective
-this is what Joseph saw
-and what an amazing revelation this is…for a man who spent half his life as a slave!
          -living among unbelievers
          -no formal education…didn’t go to seminary
          -didn’t get a theological degree
                   -but expounds one of the most profound doctrines of God
                   -namely, the doctrine of God’s Providence
-not the doctrine of Diesm that proposes that God created the world and then stands aloof
-nor the doctrine of fatalism which proposes that things are determined by an impersonal force
-nor the doctrine of chance…that the universe is a collection of random acts with no meaning
-but the doctrine of God’s providence
-that God is sovereign over all creation and life and that He works within and through the details of our lives along with the course of all nations and all times…to his own glory

-there was a time when he was blind to all this, but now he sees…
-that to be thrown into a pit and sold to a caravan heading south was not a random and spontaneous act…in the middle of nowhere.
-that false accusations by Potiphar’s wife that landed him in jail were not about being a victim of an angry woman
-that the famine in the land was not just the result of natural causes
-that the national agenda for Egypt during a time of social and economic difficulty was not just their own plan
-that his brothers searching for food and help in Egypt was not just a desperate act by hungry people
-but that somehow all these separate events that seem so random and unexplainable are now seen as one cohesive plan by God to carry out his plan on earth as it is in heaven
-and so by faith, he offers up a profound perspective about his life as testament to God’s provision

-And this is what helped him rescue his past from a deep pit of randomness where he once laid…to a higher place of meaning where he now stands

-and so now, he appears before his brothers as a man of peace
          -peace on the inside …manifested now on the outside
          -this is who he is now
-he wasn’t this way when he was tied to a caravan heading to Egypt…he was just a kid then
-but now, he is a man…a man of faith
-this is Joseph…this is who he is now…

-and by the way…if I may add a side-note
-what we find here….the words of Joseph are how we come to understand Joseph as a person
-this is how the OT describes a person
-as opposed to any other way of describing a person
-for example….have you noticed that the OT rarely gives a description of a person’s outer appearance?
          -Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph….
          -we don’t know how tall, dark, or handsome they were
                   -and that’s because…THAT…was not the OT style of describing a person
-so unlike us today who want to know what a person looked like….so much so that today’s writers acquiesce to our demands for visualization by telling us that a cowboy was 6 feet tall with salt and pepper hair, dirty mustache, and a leathery face
          [you do you have that picture in your mind?]
          -well, the OT does not give us such pictures

-the Bible does not say….for example, “There he stood before his brothers…with broad shoulders, standing a confident 6 ft. 2 inches…wearing a white robe with gold trimming. His skin was golden brown, and his hair was neatly trimmed….the Bible does not say that.
-because what he looked like was not as important as what he said…
-because what he looked like…on the outside…had nothing to do with his character…on the inside
-and so, we come to understand people…not based on their looks, but by their…conversation….what comes out of their mouths…because their words reflect the condition of their heart
                   Jesus said, [Luke 6:45] “…out of the overflow of the heart a man speaks
-in other words, we find out a lot about a person by what he says…his words

-and so, the words of Joseph say a lot about the kind of man he has now become
-he says to his brothers….7 “God sent me ahead of you…to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.
-and so as a man of faith, he offers up a profound perspective about his life and God

-but we cannot stop here because we have more than the story of Joseph.
-in fact, we have the story of his entire family as well as that of the nation of Israel as well as the story of all nations and even our very lives
-meaning…the Scriptures offer even a more profound perspective than what Joseph saw in Genesis 45.
-what Joseph saw was profoundly important, but having the complete Scriptures, we know that Joseph’s life and situation was part of a greater plan
-Joseph saw the deliverance of his extended family
-but God’s deliverance extends farther than his family
          -sure, it starts with his family…in fact, it goes back to Abraham
-and from that one man, it extends to a great nation…and then to all nations in Christ
          -Joseph did not see all that, but that’s alright…it’s always like that
-God’s plan involves us, but is always greater than us
-and that’s what makes Him truly great
-that His sovereign provision involves all things and all lives throughout all times in a greater way that we can fathom…

-so, we look to God to find greater meaning and purpose
-we look to him for a deeper perspective
-lest we conclude that the road we travelled has no meaning
-no true purpose
-if that’s the case, then all the negatives in our past would lead to us to conclude such things as…
-being at the wrong place at the wrong time
-or born into the wrong family
-or growing up on the wrong side of the tracks
-life would become just…
          -arbitrary acts and incidences
          -haphazard situations
          -meaningless events
-a conglomeration of the unexplainable, the indescribable, a complete confusion of events
                   -and that would be painful
                   -that would leave scars
                   -that would create regrets
          -that would cause confusion
-what is this in my life?
-and…what is that?
-and…where did that come from?

-for example…our past can be like strange sounds

-as God masterfully conducts the sounds of our lives…
-furthermore, in His infinite wisdom, He pulls together even the national affairs and developments
                    -the rise and fall of all nations
                    -social and economic developments in places
-and somehow connect all of that back into our lives in a way that only God can!

-that’s the first perspective we must have
-and…it’s all about perspective, is it not?
          -it’s all about how you look at your past
-now, I’m not talking about mind manipulation…mental gymnastics… emotional games…or positive thinking…or just trying to forget it all
-but with the eye of faith, you can see God working in your life
-and THAT faith…is what reconciles the pains of the past
-in fact, it’s not about forgetting the past
          -but reconciling the past
                   It’s not….forgive and forget…
                                      -besides…does that really work?
                                       -forgive and forget?
                                      -who came up with that?
                                                -that doesn’t work….cause all of us have pretty good memories
                                       -vivid memories that make it impossible to forget
-Joseph didn’t forget…he processed it…and humbly accepted it

Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course,
                   but the LORD determines his steps.

-yes, his life turned out a little different than what he thought growing up in Canaan, but that’s ok now…
-the past is not something we forget
                                      -it’s something we reconcile
                                                -and not by our own strength

For, true reconciliation is something only God can do
          -on a personal level
          -on a church level
          -on a national level
          -reconciling issues that once appeared irreconcilable
          -only God can do this
          -for what seems impossible for man is not impossible for God
          -Jesus said, “…with God, all things are possible…” (Mark 10)

-and so, in the life of Joseph
          -some might think, there is too much to reconcile here
          -too much has happened…
          -too much history
          -too much betrayal
          -too much evil
          -too much manipulation and bad intentions
-but Joseph….inspired by God’s work…would later confirm to his brothers in chapter 50:20

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

-man’s intentions….God’s intentions
-man’s manipulation…God’s coordination
-God has the masterful ability to take the evil intentions of man and use them for his purposes

-something that was ultimately seen in the life of Jesus Himself
          -from the ongoing tension between Jesus and the teachers of the law
          -to the disillusionment of Judas which lead him towards betrayal
          -to the false witnesses who testified against him after his arrest
-to the delirious crowd that shouted for Barrabus to be released instead of Jesus
-to Pontius Pilate washing his hands of the matter
-to the soldiers beating him and crucifying him
…somehow all the intentions of man…
were masterfully organized to carry out the one divine plan that was laid before the foundations of the world
-and if God can reconcile the evil intentions of man and the death of his own son, how much more can God bring reconciliation to our past events and pull them together for his good purposes?
-how much more?
-so much more!…for, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. [Romans 8:28]

-so, in our year in review….in this place of corporate worship…on this last Sunday of the year….we ought to take time and consider our historical perspective
-to remember all His benefits
-to consider His grace and mercy
-to confirm a more biblical perspective of our past that involves God’s personal involvement in our lives

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