Ordinary People: Joseph

Today, we welcomed guest speaker Carol O'Neil to begin our summer series on ordinary people experiencing God's extraordinary grace by sharing about the life of Joseph. Faith is a long obedience in the same direction, so how should we understand our suffering in light of God's promises?

There is no slide deck for this week's teaching.

Home Church Questions:

1. What stood out to you from this week's teaching?

2. Read Genesis 37-50 (this is a long one! Tip: if you use the BibleGateway or YouVersion apps, they can read it to you). What stands out to you from this story?

3. Have you ever been in a situation where you were punished for making the right choice? How did you handle that? Why do bad things happen to good people?

4. The Lord was with Joseph even through his suffering. How can we see Christ in our lives through the story of Joseph's life?

5. Pray with and for one another, our church community, and our world.

Instagram: @theharbournewmarket
Website: theharbournewmarket.ca
Email: david@theharbournewmarket.ca

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:23

So thank you for inviting uh Mark and myself. It's a pleasure to be here. The music was uh phenomenal, so thank you for that as well. It's it's uplifting and it just makes you glad to be alive on a on a Sunday in July. I always start with a little um quote. Mark, every year gives me a calendar that's quotes for the days, and I use them a lot. And today, and actually, one of the comments you made about gratitude is that the more grateful I am, the more beauty I see. And isn't that what we see? We walk along. Mark and I do a lot of uh walks, hiking, and and bicycling. And uh we did one the other day, and I said, you know, people don't get this enough. They don't get that, you know, you can see the birds, you can feel the warmth, you can smell the flowers, you can feel that war that sun on your body, and we don't take that gratitude. We complain about everything, and so I think it's time that, you know, we just need to stop on these days and think about how lucky we are to see and feel and touch and just be. So I'm gonna start with a prayer. Let us pray. Lord, speak to me in this place, in the calming of our minds and in the longing of our hearts, by the words of my lips, and in the thoughts that we form. Speak, O Lord, as we listen. Amen. So both most of us don't need help in imagining broken plans. Life has a way of undoing the script we carefully wrote. A diagnosis, a relationship that falls apart, a dream that hits the wall. A moment that leaves you thinking, well, that wasn't supposed to happen. The readings from Genesis today that were sent tell us a story of a man who knew this feeling well. God gave Joseph a dream about leadership and influence. A short time later, that same teenager was sitting at the bottom of a dry, dark well, listening to his own brothers negotiate his sale price with a passing caravan of traders. That's a brutal contrast between what God said and what was actually happening. Most of us know that specific kind of whiplash. You receive a promise from Scripture, you pray in faith, you try to live obediently, and then your reality fractures into a million pieces. The marriage fails, the diagnosis comes back positive, or the career you worked so hard for collapses. We want God to bless our plans. We hope He'll walk the road we drew up. When life bends in a direction we didn't ask for, the easy assumption is that God is missing in action. Joseph's journey from prison to promise is one of the most dramatic transformations in all of Scripture. A story spanning 13 years where a favored son became a slave, then a prisoner falsely accused of assault, and finally Egypt's second in command, who saved two nations from famine. What a story. The narrative today reveals how God's sovereignty works through human suffering, betrayal, and injustice to accomplish his redemptive purposes. Joseph was seventeen when his jealous brothers sold him into slavery. Thirty when Pharaoh elevated him to power after interpreting prophetic dreams about seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. And ultimately the instrument through which God preserved both Egypt and the family line that would produce the Messiah. And I've always been drawn to Joseph's story because it doesn't shy away from the messiness of real life. This isn't a sanitized tale where good things happen to only good people. Joseph did everything right and still ended up in an Egyptian dungeon. He refused temptation, he maintained his integrity and trusted God, and his reward was false accusation and imprisonment. How familiar does that sound, only in a little different way, our story bears out. But maybe you've experienced something similar. You made the right choice and still got punished for it. You stayed faithful when no one else was. And instead of blessing, you got betrayed. Faith that endures hardship is courageous faith. It's not defined by the absence of trials, but by unwavering trust in God through them. Joseph's story is a picture of what it means to keep believing when life falls apart. His life teaches us that courage is not the result of confidence in ourselves, but of confidence in God's fullness. Egypt, where Joseph's journey unfolded, was a land of great wealth, military power, and hero worship. Yet even in that foreign land, Joseph held firm to his faith. He trusted that God's promises would prevail, even when circumstances seemed to say otherwise. Courageous faith flourishes in adversity because it's anchored in the character of God. Joseph's life reveals three timeless truths about courageous faith. It stands firm when faith falls apart, perseveres when the wait is long, and forgives when wronged. Each truth challenges us to trust God's purpose even when we cannot see life's plan. The Lord was with Jesus, Joseph, and he became a successful man. Joseph's story begins with favor and ends with fulfillment, but the road between those two points was paved with suffering. As a young man, Joseph had dreams that pointed toward greatness. Those dreams were not born from pride, but were divine glimpses of his destiny. Yet rather than being celebrated, those dreams became the source of betrayal. His brothers sold him into slavery, stripping him of family and freedom and familiarity. But they did not strip him of his faith. When Joseph arrived in Egypt, everything familiar had been taken from him: his homeland, his language, his family, his comfort. But still, his faith in God remained his compass. Genesis 39 repeatedly says, the Lord was with Joseph. That truth is the heartbeat of courageous faith. Even when everything changes, God does not. Joseph's loyalty to God was tested in Potiphar's house when temptation came disguised as opportunity. But his refusal to sin was not an impulsive decision. It was the result of convictions built long before this test. He said, How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? His perspective reveals that courage flows from intimacy with God. He did not see his circumstance as a reason to lower his standards, but as an opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty. Courageous faith does not mean we will avoid injustice. It means we choose righteousness despite it. The measure of our faith is not seen in our comfort, but in our consistency. Joseph's ability to stay faithful under pressure reminds us that faith is a long obedience in the same direction, anchored in the conviction that God's presence is worth more than society's approval. Faith that stands firm chooses trust over reaction. Ask God to strengthen your character before the next test comes. Make it your goal this week to practice obedience in one area where you've been tempted to give in or give up. Because waiting is one of the hardest acts of faith. We often measure God's activity by visible progress. But his greatest work often happens in hidden places. Joseph's time in prison teaches us that waiting seasons are not wasted seasons. They're classrooms of trust. Joseph was forgotten for two years while imprisoned. Imagine the silence, the unanswered prayers, the temptation to question God. Yet Scripture gives no record of bitterness or rebellion in Joseph's heart. Instead, he continued serving and leading and walking with integrity. In those long hidden years, God was doing invisible work within Joseph's heart. The young man who once dreamed of being in charge was being prepared to serve with humility. When the moment finally came, God moved quickly. Joseph went from the prison to the palace in one day. The lesson's clear. God can change your season in a moment. But he often uses waiting to change you first. Faith that perseveres sees purpose in delay. Every season of waiting tests whether we will trust God's timing or try to create our own solutions. Joseph's story shows us that divine promotion always comes through preparation. If we rush the process, we forfeit maturity. The pit in prison became holy places where Joseph learned leadership, empathy, and reliance on God rather than position. I had an individual while I was working in the prison system, and she was a lifer. She had committed murder and she was there for life. She went in at 18. I asked her if she was religious. And she looked at me and she said, Well, I used to be. I was raised Catholic. My grandma took me every Sunday. But I was learnt how bad I was. I was taught how bad I was. It was always I was never good enough. And so she said, and then I did this horrible thing. And I prayed to God every night, every night, that I wouldn't go to prison, that God would forgive me and I wouldn't go to prison. Because that's what I was told. If I pray to God, God will give me what I want and I wouldn't go to prison. And here I am. I'm in prison for life. You tell me where God is. Okay. So we talked, and I kept meeting with her and meeting with her. And she started to come around a little bit. And somebody in her cell block said, let's go to church. And she said, No, let's go to church. No. Do you have anything else to do? No. Then let's go to church. So she went to church. And in those gray cement walls with a window this big at the top. She heard God. And she heard God say to her, wait. And she thought, oh, that's weird. So she waited, and deparl comes up. And so what does she do? Praise to God that she's going to get deep roll. Because now I'm going to church. I've heard God. I'm going to get deep roll. She didn't get day per roll. And so when I talked to her, I said, so what's going on? Well, there it is. Let me down again, this God. Your God. Let me down again.

unknown 14:32

I said, Did he?

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Yeah. I asked. Okay. So I said, let's talk about what we're doing in prayer. Because you know, God isn't a vending machine. You don't just put your quarter in and say, I'll take number A1, and God gives you A1. Because that's not how this works. Let's sit and look at this differently and pray and say, God, where do you want me to be? Let's see how that works. And so a few months later, as we're talking, she said, I need to tell you something. I said, What? She said, I'm right where I'm supposed to be. I said, Oh, okay. Yeah, I know that. She goes, No, no, no, no. I heard God this time. And I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. Because I still have work to do on me, and I still have work to do in here. Because what happened was that she became the voice for God inside and started doing a scripture study herself. That's what this is about, is understanding that we need to listen to what is going on. Because God's silence is not his absence. Even when you cannot trace his hand, you can trust his heart. The same God who remembered Joseph at the right time will also remember you. If you were to say to ourselves every day this week, even if I cannot see the path ahead, I will continue serving faithfully because I trust God's purpose for my life. Repeat it as a daily reminder that waiting is a way to show our faith in God. If standing firm requires integrity and perseverance, requires patience, then finishing well requires forgiveness. When Joseph finally stood before his brothers, the same ones who betrayed him years earlier, he held their fate in his hands. Yet instead of vengeance, he offered grace. His response revealed a heart transformed by God's goodness. Joseph's mercy towards his brothers foreshadowed the heart of Christ, who prayed from the cross. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. True forgiveness reflects the character of the one who forgave us first. Forgiveness is one of the greatest demonstrations of mature faith. It acknowledges the hurt, but refuses to let the wound define the future. When we forgive, we break the cycle of offense and open our heart and our lives to healing. Joseph's forgiveness not only reconciled his family, but preserved an entire nation. As the saying goes, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Courageous faith finishes well because it refuses to carry old chains into new seasons. Take time to pray this week, asking God to help you release resentment and replace it with grace. Remember that forgiveness is not just a gift to others, it's a doorway to your own healing. Courageous faith is not a single act, but a lifelong walk with God. It stands strong in adversity, endures in uncertainty, and extends grace when wronged. Like Joseph, we can trust that God's presence remains constant in every chapter of our story, every patch on our life quilt. Faith that stands firm teaches us obedience. Faith that perseveres teaches us patience. Finally, faith that forgives teaches us freedom. And together, these create a faith that endures every season. No matter where you are. Whether you feel forgotten in a prison, tested in temptation, or standing on the threshold of fulfillment, God is still writing your story. Joseph's story began with dreams and ended with destiny. Between those two points, he experienced betrayal and injustice, delay and heartbreak. Yet through it all, his faith didn't fail. God turned every hardship into preparation for a greater purpose. When we live with courageous faith, we learn that every detour has direction and every trial holds transformation. The God who is faithful to Joseph is faithful to us. His presence is enough. His plan is good. And his promise never fails. If you're looking at the scattered, broken pieces of your own life right now, Joseph's story is a clear message. Your pit is not the end of your story. The false accusations will not have the final say. The years spent waiting in the dark are not wasted. God is quietly doing the math, the providence in the background of your life, taking the very things meant to destroy you, and slowly, deliberately using them for your ultimate good. Let us pray. Creator God, in times of weakness and hour of need, yours is the strength by which we carry on. The shoulder we rest our head on. When our load is heavy and too much to bear, your arms are stretched out to help us. The grace that we depend on. In times of weakness and hour of need, your voice is heard. Come, find rest. This is grace divine. The path we tread to wholeness of body and spirit, the path that leads you, which we offer today. The burdens of your children are great, yet you provide rest for us. As we come weary and heavy laden, needing your divine rest, we are comforted by your words and promises. Your yoke is inviting to us. We have heavy burdens placed on our shoulders daily, but your yoke is easy. Your burden is light. We pray for those in our community who are burdened and heavy laden to speak life into their circumstances. We pray your divine anointing over their lives. And in the week ahead, give us the courage to trust you when life is unfair, the patience to wait when you are silent, and the grace to forgive when I've been wronged. Let my life reflect your faithfulness in every season. Amen.