Joseph - A Blameless, Blessed, Christ-like Life

 As I look at Joseph’s life, he seems so perfect.  I really can't see any sin in his life or any glaring flaws in his character.  As a teenager he receives a vision / dream that one day he would be placed in a powerful position.  I am not sure if he even completely understood his dream at the time.  He must have had a true God-experience at that young age which kept him strong in his faith in the Lord.

Imagine being hated by your own brothers because of their jealousy; being sold into slavery and then accused of something that he didn't do; then having to serve time in jail;  helping others get out of jail that then forget about you and leave you in jail.  He had reason to be angry, bitter, retaliatory and unforgiving but he remained blameless. He didn't sin and act like we may have done given the same circumstances.  He displays Christ-likeness throughout his entire life!  Obviously he is a great example for all of us especially those who have a role in leadership (i.e serving others).

Vision and Dreams – God gave Joseph a dream / vision that ultimately comes to pass.  I believe God still has plans and things that He wants to accomplish through us.  One vision or dream that I believe God gives all of us is to make disciples … its part of Jesus’ great commission to us all.  I know I am seeking to serve Him in ways that allow this vision for my life to come to fruition.  What do I want to be when I grow up?  Answer: First and foremost a disciple maker, helping others to get to know Him personally and also helping them become true Christ-like followers who also have a passion for making disciples.

Gifts and Talents – It seems that God blessed Joseph with the gift of administration and leadership.  We are also told that the Lord was with Joseph and he prospered and gave him success in everything he did and he found favour in the eyes of those he served (Potiphar, Prison Warden and Pharaoh).  As leaders, we can pray for this kind of favour as we work and serve others.  I am sure Paul was thinking about men and women like Joseph when he penned Colossians 3:23 (ref. Memory Verse tab). As leaders, I pray that we may have this kind of work ethic – seeing ourselves working for the Lord regardless of our job or who we are employed by or what ministry we are serving in. Use your gifts and talents for His purposes and make sure He gets the glory. 

Complete Trust and Forgiveness – Despite the hurts that Joseph endures, somehow he remains positive and keeps on trusting God.  He never complains about his circumstances and forgives those who caused him to be placed into the difficult and trying circumstances.  His relationship with God was strong and solid.  He knew that God was in control and Sovereign. Joseph’s brothers meant to harm him but Joseph knew that God intended everything he went through was for good.  Joseph could see the dream / vision that God gave him unfolding and how God was putting him in the various situations, circumstances and roles even though some of them were very hard and difficult. Joseph seems to understand what Paul tells us in Romans 8:28.  “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”

Our goal is to be like Christ.  If you want to know what Christ-likeness looks like, we can certainly learn a great deal from Joseph's life and how he handled difficult life circumstances.  

(By the way, notice how he handled temptation when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him!  

Abraham - What a man of Faith!

I just finished reading chapter 2 of The Story - all about Abraham. What a guy!  There are a number of things from his life that we should continuously work on and build into our own lives - Obeying, Trusting, Waiting, and and Expecting (God to keep his promises) - which all take humongous faith so it seems.  Wait - that's not true!  We are told by Jesus that we only need faith the size of a mustard seed.  Let's see what that kind of faith includes and look at four aspects of simple faith from Abraham's life.

Obeying - We are told that at the age of 75, Abraham was called by God to go to a place where he didn't even know where that was going to be and that he obeyed the call and went.  I am not 75 yet but I am trusting that I will be willing to go or do whatever God is calling me to do (without question).  Are you willing to obey when God gives you instructions?  He still speaks to us by His Word and by His Spirit and some will even have visions and dreams. Model this kind of faith that obeys to those in your small group and to others that you have influence over. Abraham believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.  God will do the same for us.

Trusting - God promised Abraham that he was going to be the Father of many nations.  That is almost laughable considering His age.  He was very old.  Sarah was very old.  It would take a miracle to have just one child let alone become the Father of nations. But it says "against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the Father of many nations ... without weakening in his faith".  Will you trust and keep on believing despite the odds against you? With God all things are possible ... only believe.  We can model this kind of faith in front of those who are watching us.

Waiting - 25 years go by before the promise of the "child of promise" is fulfilled. Abraham was 100 years old now and he has one son.  That's a long time to wait!  Are you willing to wait that long (if necessary) to see God's answer to a prayer or to see God's promises fulfilled in your life.  Guess what, we have no choice unless we decide to run ahead of God and do it our way. We must wait, we must persevere, we must continue to cry out to God, we must believe, we must keep on walking with Him and trusting Him to direct our paths.  He promises to provide and promises to bless our lives as we become a blessing to others. Encourage others with these principles of faith.

Expecting - When Abraham was tested ... and we will be too be tested when we step out in faith and trust and obey...God instructs Abraham to sacrifice (kill) his son, Isaac. Can you believe it! ... without argument, Abraham simply obeys, trusts and expects God to show up and provide.  God did provide a lamb so that he didn't have to sacrifice his only son.  God was very pleased with Abraham's response and says to him, "I will surely bless you" and He did.  Abraham never saw the result of all the nations and peoples that came from his seed but we see the results of his faith to God's promise as hundreds of millions have become a part of God's kingdom today.

If you have time, Read Hebrews 11 again and see how much space is given to Abraham and his life of faith. We can be like Abraham in our faith as we seek to obey, trust, wait, and expect God to come through at just the right time! Let your light shine before others in these practical ways of demonstrating your faith!
                     

Lessons from Adam and Eve's Mistakes

I am hoping that as we do the The Story we can extract a few lessons and principles and truths that will help us all grow spiritually and become great leaders and disciple makers together. Here are few (of the potentially many) that I will share from this week's lesson.
Remember Who is in control.
In the beginning ...God.  He created everything.  He created you and I.  He loves us so much and knows the plans that He has for us.  He knows everything about You and knows the influence you will have on others. If we choose well and obey Him and trust Him he will direct our paths because He wants you to live a blessed life ... a life that others will want to have too.  If we sin there are consequences but we don't have to remain in sin.  We can be thankful that we know the end of the story and that we have a redeemer who is Jesus Christ, who is able to forgive all our sins and who cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

Remember to Walk and Talk with Him Before Adam and Eve committed the original sin in the garden, God came down to have fellowship with His kids daily.  He loved to talk with them, play with them, listen to them, teach them.  Everyday God would set aside time to have "quality" time with His kids.  Someday this kind of relationship with God will be perfectly restored.  In the meantime, we should still take time to spend time with Him each and every day.  By His Holy Spirit and as we read His Word, He speaks to us very plainly.  We can rest in Him and simply listen to His voice as His Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit.  As sheep of our Shepherd (Jesus), we will know His voice.  And of course we can talk to Him the same way that you and I can talk with one another.  We can be honest with Him and tell Him anything.  He hears our prayers.  He listens. He understands.  And as required and at just the right time He acts, He answers, He makes things happen on our behalf so that He can receive all the glory as He works things out.  Spend time daily with Him!
Remember we all mess up and make mistakes Some of you remember PBPGIFWMY (Please Be Patient God Isn't Finished With Me Yet). That is so true!  Don't be like Adam and Eve and Cain ... blaming someone else for their mistake or sin or bad attitude.  We need to be honest, be genuine, be humble, be willing to confess our sin, say we are sorry and make things right when necessary. Let's not hide and be ashamed and become hypocrites (pretending to be someone we are not).  We can be washed clean and continually seek to become like Him.  O To Be Like Thee!
Don't Take "Short Cuts"  As you lead make sure you take enough time to prepare for the weekly study and don't leave it to the last minute.  Spend time with Him.  Pray.  Study to show yourself approved.  And then let Him have control over what happens in your small group as you let Him take the lead..  You do your part and He will do His part in your life and the lives of others. Pray for those who are in your group, pray for one another (leaders) and if time permits, pray for me.

In the beginning ...OK... I have never done this before ...

Here I am creating my first blog and first blog entry ... now what!  What does one say? What are people interested in reading about? I know I want to help leaders of small groups be good leaders ... no, ... I want them to become great leaders!  Jesus would say that to be a great leader, you must be a great servant.  Lord help me to be a great servant.  Show me how I can serve others so that we can become great leaders like you Lord Jesus.

Lord, I also want those in our small groups to grow spiritually. I want us all to become more and more Christ-like.  You know ... filled with the Holy Spirit, walking in the Spirit, and displaying the fruit of the Spirit. We can only do this by prayer, reading your word, studying it, memorizing it, meditating on it and obeying it as we listen to Your voice by the Holy Spirit. Make us good learners and good "obeyers" ... I know this isn't a word. I know this takes discipline and being disciplined is difficult.  It is one of the toughest thing to be / do as one of your disciples.

Help us to simply follow you.  Help us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to you daily.  May you be our teacher, our guide, our encourager, our problem solver, our strength, our health, our wisdom. Jesus live your life in us.  We are your representatives, your ambassadors, your hands and feet, your eyes and ears and mouth.  Help us to see what You see and hear what You hear and speak what You want to say at just the right time. May we go where You want to take us and be Your helping hands as we see the needs you show us and want us to meet.  Its amazing the impact that we will all have as individuals and as a small group as we learn to trust and obey You and rest in You and walk in You.  Thank you heavenly Father, thank you Jesus and thank you Holy Spirit for what You are going to do in us and through us as we go on this journey together and learn to truly follow You.

Lord, as we obey you and learn to love one another, may our love for our extended family, neighbours, friends, and coworkers increase and may we have the boldness and courage to reach out to those who do not know You yet and may many come to know you as we know you and experience what we have in You. May we see much fruit!

Thank you Lord for helping me share my hearts desire with others and we know You love giving us our hearts desires especially when aligned with Your hearts desire.