The Test of Forgiveness

This week I had the privilege of walking through the life of Joseph in Genesis and what a journey it turned out to be for me.  I always find it refreshing to walk back through stories I think I know so well and end up finding so many new and fresh things to apply and ponder on.  As I sit on the back porch reflecting on the day and watching the approaching storm, my thoughts drift to a man who lived thousands of years ago whose life is still impactful.  That very thought causes me to pause and ask myself if I am living for the things that will last like Joseph.

His life was one of severe testing and one that we should often read and reflect over.  It makes me wonder where are the men and women of today who are like him.  I would like to take a moment and reflect upon the life of testing Joseph and as we read through it, in each one of them God was using them to shape Joseph into the man God wanted him to become - God's man, not anyone else's.

One of the most severe tests he faced was what to do with the hatred his brothers had for him and what they ended up doing to him.  Joseph had a choice in regard to their actions toward him. Here is what Joseph experienced from them...

Genesis 37:23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then they sat down to eat...

Joseph’s response to this action I believe sets the stage for God’s unfolding plan and the success of it.  

            Why This Story Matters Today

This point is why the story of Joseph is so relevant today and needs to be brought back into the church conversation again as he models for us how to not let anger, bitterness, & a bad family background lead to a life of being chained and bound by unforgiveness.       

When I speak with other minister friends of mine, we have come to the conclusion that unforgiveness has become in both our American and Church culture one of the prominent sins we embrace and are okay living with.

This mindset I believe comes from our sense of entitlement that permeates everything around us and it has bled into our relationships where we feel that we have a right to hold onto the pain, nurse it, and because we are entitled, we can let ourselves off the hook by not forgiving others. 

In case you were to think this thinking got cured permanently in the New Testament – you see this philosophy in the older brother in the Prodigal Son story found in Luke 15.  He held onto his anger over his younger brothers sin

I have also come to the conclusion that unforgiveness is the ultimate cause of divorce in our country.  We have lost the practice of forgiving and embraced the posture of watering the seeds of our anger.

There is so much to learn from Joseph in this area.

God has a plan, but we can choose to fight it, ignore it, not learn the lessons from circumstances that come our way, etc.  In the moment, if we are not careful, down in the pit we will “choose poorly”, but we must “choose wisely”. In spite of his brother's actions, Joseph chose to trust God in the moment though it was an extreme circumstance.

   

Though the passage does not speak of it, something got settled down in the dark, empty, & waterless pit that we all could learn from.  It is a lesson from a 17 yr. old.

            Three Decisions Joseph Made

(1) Did not blame God for the pit

For some Christ-followers, an event like this would lead them to wonder:

If God is so Sovereign, why did I end up here?

It is impossible to live in this world and not be hurt by someone else’s sin. It is quite probable that some who are reading this have been physically, verbally, mentally, and sexually abused.  Drugs and alcohol have damaged many a soul.  

It is the reality of living in a broken world, that sin affects us all.  We must though not blame God for the pit and charge Him with wrong.

(2) Did not blame his family in that moment for his troubles

He trusted God down in the pit even though his family put him in it, Joseph embraced God’s sovereignty in that moment. There is something that happens in the darkness of life that is so settle and firm that you know you can get through it no matter what is going to come. I think Joseph sensed it.

Think of it a moment – Joseph had to know as they threw Him down into the pit that what would come next from a human standpoint was not going to go real well.

Again, I think something was already settled in Joseph’s heart - that God is bigger than anything that comes your way and He must be trusted no matter what. 

(3) Chose not to Water the Seeds of Anger

Joseph chose to deal with the moment he was in and over time he chose not to hate his brothers.  If you don't do this, this is what will eventually happen...

A hurt not dealt with leads to…

Prolonged anger è bitterness è unforgiveness grows è results in a hard heart

For the brothers,

their anger, bitterness, unforgiveness and hard heart

led them to desire to murder Joseph,

but instead they choses lies, slavery, and deception instead.

Q:  How do we know he chose not to water the seeds of bitterness?

James 1:20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

When we arrive at 39:2, Joseph is walking with God, God is with Him, He is successful and righteousness is thriving in his life. He is not walking in bitterness!

In Egypt Joseph is thriving in righteousness which can lead us to only conclude that he was not living in anger according to James.

Let's follow his model of properly dealing with our hurt from others and forgiving them.

We need to let go and trust him with our pain from others.

It is time to open the door and forgive.

It All Started at the Lake

When you look at the people of deep faith in the Bible, if it is someone in the New Testament, then it is more often than not the Apostle Paul who we are very impressed and enamored with.  I know that I love and respect Paul much, but now that I have finished teaching the whole book of Revelation over the last 18 months, my love and respect for the Apostle John has immensely grown.

For John, this journey of faith with Christ started at a lake one day when Jesus stepped into His life called him to follow Him.  John immediately took up the offer and off he went on what would be the longest faith walk of the 12.  John alone of the 12 would die of natural causes as everyone else was martyred along the way.  Here is how it started for John... 

Matthew 4:18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

As Jesus hung on the cross, John was the only one of the 12 who stood near and watched Jesus die.  He beheld Jesus last words and breath.  He was also given the great task of taking care of Mary.

John 19:26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

John's life with Jesus led to so much boldness and the thing that made the most difference was that he had been with Jesus - it marked his life until he died.

Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 

            Characteristics

·      Inner Circle of Jesus – He, Peter & James

·      Great Writer – clear, bold, a man of absolutes, loved the local church and the evidence is seen in the 50 Chapters he wrote in the New Testament that have come to the church.

                                    Gospel of John        21 Chapters

                                    1 John                         5 Chapters

                                    2 John                        1 Chapter

                                    3 John                        1 Chapter

                                    Revelation               22 Chapters

John MacArthur – “It is also thought by some scholars that the gospel of John and the epistles of John were written before 95 A.D. because in 95 A.D. there was this massive persecution by Domitian, a massacre of believers. And the reason some scholars believe these were written before that is because there is no reference to that in these epistles”.

John wrote so much on loving God and loving one another and the importance of loving one another enough to forgive one another.  John was moved by love and he naturally wrote much on loving God, one another, and forgiving one another.

            His Ministry in Latter Years

It is most likely that from  AD90-95 most of John’s ministry would have been in the overseeing  and ministering to the churches of Asia Minor.  It is possible had had been in or knew some of the Pastors and members of the churches listed in Revelation 2-3.  There is no doubt those churches would have known of John.  The fact that Revelation came to him makes total sense for he was the last remaining Apostle and would have the most credibility to deliver its' critical message to the churches for he was the most credible man of faith alive at the end of the 1st century.

            Still Effective in Writing and Preaching

Though John would have been very old at that time he wrote Revelation, his influence upon the 1st century church would have still been profound because of who he was as one who knew and literally walked with Jesus.  

His obvious gifts of preaching and writing would have still been profound and that very reason could be why he was exiled to Patmos.  He would have still been a very influential man and Emperor Domitian would have wanted to rid the empire of John's leadership.  If he was just a "used up old man" who was ineffective, he likely would not have been sent to Patmos.

Near 96AD on Patmos, the Revelation of Jesus Christ came to John and he wrote it down..   

It is also likely true that for the last 25-30 years of his life he would have been the sole person still around who knew Jesus in a deeply human to God-Man relationship.  No one alive would have the insight John would have had concerning Jesus. 

He would have been the most unique person to speak with in at least the last 3 decades of the first century.  He would have been around for the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem.  His was an amazing life.

One last thought on John and it takes us all the way to Revelation 21...

21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

As John looked at the 12 foundations of the eternal city, they had names written on them of the 12 Apostles, simply meaning John would have seen his name on one of those 12 foundations.  Can you imagine what he must have felt and thought in that moment? 

He likely thought back in that moment to the lake that day as he sat in his father's boat and Jesus called him to leave it all behind and follow. 

From a boat to his name on one of the foundations of the heavenly city, they "bookended" his life of faith and what a life of faith it absolutely was.  

Jesus does this you know, He often steps into a life and the call radically alters the course of a life and we are never the same.

I am grateful He did it to me all those years ago.

Boasting & the Quiet Life - Thoughts on 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

Over time in our Christian culture today, we have begun to take on more of the world's way of thinking in an area, and this drift is often a slow and subtle one and not seen by us until we are all sucked into it.  Honestly, so many others are doing the exact same thing that it has become a "norm" and we don't recognize it for what it truly is - another way to focus on self.  It is my prayer that for me a change needs to arrive so that I won't get caught up in it as I easily can as well, as I am not naive enough to think I am immune and have not fallen prey to it before.

You can see the clear evidence of it in social media, and just because social media is here to stay culturally, does not mean that as Christ-followers we need to get caught up in it and lose sight of the Biblical counsel screaming at us from the pages of Scripture to deny self and everything connected to it.  

I am writing this for me and maybe it is something that can help you as well.  This post has come out of a sense in my spirit from Christ in regard to several passages of scripture and this focus of self. 

John 3:30 "He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Q: What does this mean for me?  In looking at just the words it is pretty clear as to the meaning- I have got to become smaller compared to Jesus period.  John at one time was the center of a revival in Israel and when Jesus came upon the scene, John had to embrace the disappearance of His ministry.  Did you hear that?  He had to embrace the disappearance of his prominence in the kingdom.  His time had come and his ending would be brutal.

Now in today's ministry world or in our culture we are never encouraged to decrease. This is quite the opposite that you will hear as we need to make sure we are heard & always recognized.

I should ask myself a question always in every activity and in every setting: Q: Am I saying, typing, writing, preaching, serving, etc. so that I get more noticed?  

James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Our American culture teaches us and pushes us toward making sure we have a bright and profitable future where the American dream is realized.  When we get caught up in it, boasting about the temporary things in the world become more prominent in our conversations.  

Sadly, what has at times drifted into our Christian mindset is that the main way we can determine the blessing of God is the ability to have more money, things, recognition, stuff, etc.  Such boasting is arrogant and according to James is a sin.  This is not the sole means of determining God's blessing in our lives.  We should not forget that Jesus did not have a place to lay His head and He was the most blessed person ever.  It is not stuff that matters, but living to honor the glory of His name.

James counsels us to not be so boastful about the "profit" of tomorrow when our life can disappear just like the mist ever so quickly.  

1 Thessalonians 4:11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

This is the verse that has been clanging around in my heart and one that calls me to examine myself and my sinful desire to be "loud" about myself.  It makes me wonder whatever happened to the pursuit of the Biblical calling of aspiring to live quietly.  This verse crushes the mindset of making much of ourselves and boasting of our tomorrow without considering God's will.  Let's break down the verse so we can see the principles...

1.  Aspire to live quietly - We are not to do anything that draws attention to ourselves.  Aspiring to live quietly means that we don't boast about us and our things, but we get lost in living for Him and that choice will make us less loud, yet more godly.  Look what it says..."aspire to live this way".  It is a goal, an intentional choice, etc.

2. Mind our own affairs - Social media in this area does two things - gets others involved in our business or encourages us to get involved in other peoples affairs.  I think life was better when we did not know everything other people did during the day.  Social media has led to the glamorizing of the mundane of life.  

3.  Work hard with our hands - We are to work in such a way that honors Christ and it is to be marked by a God glorifying ethic. This was Paul's instruction to these believers.  Paul says do something that leads to "walking properly". And oh the time we can waste reading about the lives of others when we could be doing something much more productive.

4.  Living this way means we walk properly before outsiders.  This is so necessary today and could be one of the reasons the church has lost some of its influence.  We can be like the world by making much of ourselves and our accomplishments.

5.  Work hard in such a way that are not dependent on others.  We are encouraged to work in such a way where we are able to make our way to meet our family's needs.  This is not saying we don't ever except help, rather that we don't live solely relying on others work to take care of our lives.  We have all been at a place where we needed some help, but that is not to be the consistent practice in our lives.

These are just some things I've been thinking through and ones I am going to make a change with.