Jumbo sized slices of life

1
Jumbo sized slices of life

• Difficult circumstances are part of life. Like
  death itself, trails and defeat are unavoidable,
  leaving us to wonder where God is and what He's
  doing. Often the snap shots of life leave us
  hurting, puzzled, angry and hopeless.
• Today we will see from the life of Joseph that
  God is always painting on a canvas much larger
  than we can imagine. As a result we can cling to
  faith in the midst of the darkness, believing
  that God is working in every situation to glorify
  His name, bringing redemption to others and doing
  in our lives what is very best.

2

• God is painting on a canvas much larger than we
  can imagine. What we see is mush smaller more
  like a jumbo sized photo. We, more than often do
  not see the big picture and looking at the jumbo
  sized slice of our world we say stuff like we
  don't get it?
• Sometimes we look at these slices of our lives
  and we feel that it is unjust and unfair,
  sometime it is painful and we feel that we've
  been treated wrong. Sometimes it is pitch black
  in the photo we see.
• There are three things we have to know when
  looking at the small slices of our lives the
  jumbo sized snap shots of our lives and hold on
  to.
• God is committed to Himself/His name and His
  glory. See in every situation God is going to
  make sure that His glory is going to be seen.
• God is committed to His people and His family. So
  if your'e in His family He is committed to you no
  matter what forever. In every situation He is
  faithful to you.
• God is committed to the purpose of redemption.
  See that is what started in the garden of Eden
  and came to it's climax at the cross where Jesus
  died for our sins and it is the mission now
  ongoing until Jesus comes again. He is offering
  salvation and restoration to anybody and
  everybody on planet earth.

3

• The reality is that no matter who you are and
  where you at right now there will come times in
  your life where different kinds of storms will
  come. Financial storms relationship storms
  emotional private storms inward storms and
  unexplainable events.
• But just because you are going through some stuff
  right now does not mean that there is something
  wrong with your faith or even your relationship
  with God.
• And then the PRESENCE OF GOD becomes the way that
  God reveals Himself in the storm. It is in the
  storm that we see God in a way that we never had
  seen him before. God shows up in the storm as
  JeHowa SHAMA being present right there at the
  point of your need.
• The disciples see Jesus walking on the water for
  the first time in Matt 1422-32 because they had
  never been in such a big storm before. You will
  see God showing his Glory like never before in
  the middle of the storm you go through. Because
  God is committed to Himself/His name and His
  glory.
• You never needed Him in the way you need Him
  right now and in the darkest moment of the storm
  God is about to reveal a side of Him to you so
  unknown to you that it will leave you amazed and
  bewilderd.

4

• The presence of God alone should then be enough
  for you to deal with the crisis when Jesus
  shows Himself that should calm every fear in you.
  
• When Jesus walked on the water and appeared to
  the disciples saying Do not fear for it is I
  they should have calmed down and knew everything
  is going to be ok.
• In fact Jesus said Be of good cheer ... meanig
  'take courage' or in other words he was saying
  I want you to be encouraged in the middle of your
  storm not because of the realities but because I
  just told you that I was here.
• That should settle it God is saying I should
  not have to send you the money before you feel
  encouraged. All I should have to do is to tell
  you that I'm here. I should not have to change
  the information you've got.
• All I should have to do is tell you I'm here. All
  that you should have to hold on to is that God is
  committed to His glory and in every situation God
  is going to make sure that His glory is going to
  be seen.
• Be off good courage it is I is saying don't
  worry about anything I'm here. You see He's
  presence is the guarantee off the victory.

5

• The Bible says in Rom 831 'What shall we then
  say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
  against us?' What calamity What circumstance
  What sickness What need What disorder ... If
  God be for us. What tumour What cancer What
  emotional thing ... If God be for us. What boss
  What job What credit report .... If God be for
  us. What curse What demon What satanic attack
  What darkness ... If God be for us, who can be
  against us?
• We read in Gen 50 about the story of a man called
  Joseph. At the end of the story we read in Gen
  5018-21 'His brothers also went and fell down
  before his face. And they said, Behold, we are
  your servants. And Joseph said to them, Do not
  fear. For am I in the place of God? And you, you
  intended evil against me, but God meant it for
  good, in order to make it as it is this day, to
  keep a great many people alive. And now do not
  fear I will nourish you and your little ones.
  And he comforted them, and spoke to their
  hearts.'
• Joseph right to the point confronts his brothers
  sayingYou guys tried to kill me your intentions
  for me was evil but all the wile God was bussy
  painting on His big canvas and His purpose turned
  out to be for my good and not only for mine but
  for a great many people.

6

• See what Satan intends for evil in your live, God
  intends for good. This is what Joseph got to
  understand at the age of 39.
• Joseph's story At 17 got thrown in a pit by his
  brothers to be sold as a slave for 20 shacklers
  of silver to passing gipsies. They sold him as a
  slave to a Egyptian named Potiphar. Then he was
  falsely accused for sexual advanceing on
  Potiphars wife and thrown into prison. In prison
  two guys shows up one a baker and the other a cup
  bearer. He interprets both of their dreams and
  asks the cup bearer that if the dream would come
  true if he will remember him down here in prison
  and the answer - Gen 392 was NO.
• Two years goes buy and now the King has a dream
  and he can not figure out what the meaning is and
  the cup bearer now remembers Joseph in prison. So
  the king send for Joseph in Gen chapter 40.
  Joseph interprets the dream saying that there's
  gonna come 7 years of great prosperity over the
  land of Egypt and then 7 years of great famine.
  He then adds that if sort of he was the king that
  I'll get a great leader to plan to get as much as
  he could out of these 7 good years so that there
  would be enough when the famine comes. Pharaoh
  then after not finding anyone wise enough to do
  this job, appointed Joseph as second in the
  kingdom to do this job.
• And at 30 years old he entered into service for
  the king of Egypt. 13 years of pain and a lot of
  small picture storms that he did not understand.

7

• 30 and second only to Pharaoh himself. Joseph
  ruled with great vision and foresight and he
  built storage facilities and he harvested the
  land and stored up so that when the 8th year
  arrived and everything dried up. Not only in
  Egypt but all across the land even to where his
  father and brothers lived there was enough for
  all to survive.
• Two years into the famine the brothers shows up
  in Egypt to buy food from their Egyptian rulers.
  And their they find Joseph their brother. Not
  recognising him at first Joseph reveald himself
  to them at the right moment. They must have had
  the sock of their lives. Joseph now 39 years old
  having left him in the pit when he was only 17
  years old. Joseph now the second in command
  wearing the ring of the king.
• Gen 454-8 'And Joseph said to his brothers, Now
  come near to me. And they came near. And he said,
  I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into
  Egypt. And now do not be grieved, and let no
  anger be in your eyes because you sold me here,
  for God sent me before you to save life. For the
  famine has been in the midst of the land for two
  years. And there are still five years in which no
  plowing and harvest will be. And God sent me
  before you to put a remnant in the land for you,
  and to keep alive for you a great deliverance.
  And now you did not send me here, but God. And He
  has placed me for a father to Pharaoh, and for a
  lord in all his house, and a ruler in all the
  land of Egypt.'

8

• See Joseph's fathers name was Jacob or Isreal and
  God is committed to His people. The promise of a
  great nation was made to Abraham Isaac and Jacob
  and for 7 years the people of God would have died
  in famine if God had not provided through someone
  like Joseph. God is committed to His people and
  His family. So if your'e in His family He is
  committed to you no matter what for ever. In
  every situation He'll be faithful to you.
• Today I don't no what the storm is that you're
  facing. I can not see the jumbo sized picture
  that you are focused on. The struggle or the pain
  or the shame you might be feeling right now. I
  don't know if you feel alone or isolated or
  abandoned right now.
• What I do know is that God paints on a biger
  canvas that your jumbo sized photograph. And
  whatever is happening in your jumbo sized slice
  of live today is not all that God is looking at.
  God is looking at a tapestry of life that is as
  bid as this universe and I can guarantee you that
  in this big picture God is committed to
  Himself/His name and His glory and that God is
  committed to His people and His family and to
  you.
• See maybe you're in the pit so that somebody else
  may be saved. Maybe you got sold out to Egypt
  because God has a message for Egypt. See it is
  settling today at I may not make sense of it
  right now but God is more than making sense of
  what is going on in my life right now.
• So we walk by faith and not by sight like Paul
  taught us.