Am I in the Place of God? Genesis 50:15-21, NIV When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.”And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Hallelujah! I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “Am I in the Place of God?” based on Genesis 50:15-21. Please repeat after me, “Am I in the Place of God? Am I in the Place of God?” Many people are confined by their past. As long as they dread their past, they cannot expect change in their lives. The scars and wounds of their past frustrate and weaken them, bringing them failure. Even after we believe in Jesus, these wounds persistently cause serious difficulties and problems. We should lay down all the scars and wounds of the past in Jesus Christ and be healed from them. As the changed children of God, we must march forward with faith. Only the grace of the cross of Jesus Christ can heal all our scars and wounds and restore us. Christianity never asks about the past. I pray that you will live according to your changed identity in Jesus Christ in the name of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” The old has gone, behold the new has come! We have become new creations in the Lord. We are changed to be the blessed children of God. Therefore, we must march forward with faith, without looking back, but fixing our eyes on Jesus Christ, who is the author and the perfecter of our faith. Then we will experience great blessings and the grace of the Lord Jesus. There was an Old Testament figure who symbolized the image of Jesus. He was Joseph. He was a man of God. I would like to share the grace of God by speaking about the life of Joseph. 1. The wounded past. First, I want to talk about Joseph’s wounded past. Everybody experiences some kind of shadow of darkness in their childhood. Joseph had such an experience. Jacob, Joseph’s father, worked in Laban’s house for more than 20 years. Laban was Jacob’s uncle. One night Jacob hurriedly took all his family and possessions and left Laban’s house as if he were driven away. Laban discovered this and pursued them for a few days. Then Laban confronted and rebuked Jacob for doing so. Joseph, still a little child, saw all of this, hiding and trembling. They arrived at the entrance to Canaan after a long journey. Jacob told everybody to cross the river, while he stayed behind alone. So everybody else crossed the river, only to encounter furious Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, and his 400 armed men. Little Joseph must have been shocked, hiding behind his mother. Morning came and Jacob approached them. Jacob was not the same father any more. Jacob looked extremely haggard, sweating, with messy hair and torn clothing. In addition, he was limping. Jacob had completely changed overnight. His son, Joseph, must have been badly shocked to see his father. On top of this, his mother died during childbirth. We can understand how Joseph had experienced some terrifying incidents, and consequently, that he had shadows of darkness in his past. Jacob loved Joseph very much?more than any of his sons? because he was born to him in his old age and because he was a son of his beloved wife Rachel. Joseph was his favorite son. Jacob made a richly ornamented robe for Joseph, just as Koreans make colorful clothes for precious children. Genesis 37:3 says, “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him.” Joseph had ten older brothers. They hated him, being jealous of him because he was the favorite son. However, Joseph was an innocent boy who was full of dreams. God always works with people who are pure with great dreams. I pray that you will have great dreams in the Lord every day. One night Joseph had a dream. He said to his brothers, “Brothers, I had a dream last night. We were out in the field binding bundles of grain. Suddenly, my bundles stood upright, while your bundles gathered around mine and bowed down to mine.” His brothers hated him even more because of his dream. Genesis 37:8 says, “His brothers said to him, ‘Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?’ And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.” Then he had another dream. This time the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down before Joseph and he told this to his brothers. His brothers were jealous of him. However, the Scripture says that his father, Jacob, kept the matter in mind. Joseph was always obedient to his father. God takes delight in those who are obedient and blesses them. I pray that you will be obedient dreamers in the Lord. One day his father, Jacob, said to Joseph, “Your brothers are grazing the flocks at Shechem. Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Joseph obeyed and set out for Shechem. Genesis 37:13 says, “And Israel said to Joseph, ‘As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.’ ‘Very well,’ he replied.” Joseph set out on a long journey without complaining. Joseph arrived at Shechem only to find out that his brothers had gone to some other place. So he went after his brothers. Genesis 37:17 says, “‘They have moved on from here,’ the man answered. ‘I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.” He went on a long journey to see his brothers. When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. When he approached them, they made a plot to get rid of him. Genesis 37:18-19 says, “But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. ‘Here comes that dreamer!’ they said to each other.” They hated Joseph so much that they plotted to kill him. However, no one can stop or destroy the dream of God and its fulfillment. Have great and holy dreams in the Lord. They will come true according to God’s timetable. When we march forward with faith, God will be with us, performing wonderful works for us. When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe and threw him into a cistern where there was no water. They saw the Midianite merchants come by and sold Joseph to the merchants as a slave. Joseph must have begged, saying, “Brothers! Brothers! Save me, please.” However, they were so coldhearted that they sold their own brother as a slave. At that time, being sold as a slave was not much different from being dead. Slaves were supposed to work 365 days a year. When they got weak and ill, they were deserted in the desert, and wild animals ate them. Their life expectancy was very low. Joseph was full of dreams, and he was obedient. However, it was because of his dreams that he was forsaken by his brothers and was sold as a slave. It must have left a huge wound in his heart. His own brothers, the people closest to him, sold him as a slave. An ordinary person would have wanted revenge, being overwhelmed by vengeance and hatred. However, Joseph, a man of God, did not carry a grudge against his brothers. The Bible does not record anywhere that Joseph wept or gnashed his teeth. There is no record of his desire for revenge. Joseph was a man of faith and obedience. He was a dreamer. General Wallace wrote the novel Ben-Hur. It was later made into a film. Judah Ben-Hur’s childhood friend, Messala, hated him so much that he charged the Ben-Hur family with treason. Judah became a slave, while his mother and sister were put into prison, and later they contracted leprosy. Judah was ablaze with vengeance. He could not think about anything but revenge. Even though he was a galley slave, he determined to survive and take revenge. Many other galley slaves collapsed and died hopelessly, but Judah’s vengeance helped him to survive and to be adopted by a Roman commander. At last, Judah Ben-Hur accomplished his goal of revenge on Messala. However, his soul remained tormented. His mind still harbored the sword of vengeance and hatred. When did he get rid of them? He said he could only remove them before the cross of the Lord Jesus. Only Jesus can heal our past wounds. Only Jesus can remove the sword of revenge from our hearts. Only Jesus can heal us from hatred. The devil has control over our past. However, God, in whom we trust and serve, controls the past, the present, and the future. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. When we believe in Jesus, He will heal our past and give us holy dreams. He will make us run toward the future of blessing. I pray that you will march forward with faith, dreaming holy dreams in the Lord. 2. God is with us in times of suffering (Ge 39:2-3). Second, I want to speak about God who is with us in times of suffering. Even though Joseph’s life was a life of suffering, God was with him. He became a slave who was abused and mistreated. Slaves were treated like animals. There was not enough shelter or food for them. They were beaten up for no reason. Even in such a devastating situation, God was with Joseph and made him prosper. Genesis 39:2-3 says, “The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did.” Hallelujah! His master saw Joseph and knew that God was with him. He found out that Joseph prospered in everything he did. If God is with us, no matter what the circumstances, we will be prosperous. God raised him higher than any other slave, blessing him with prosperity. His master recognized this and promoted him to the highest position. Genesis 39:4 says, “Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.” After Joseph took charge of his master’s household, Potiphar was also blessed through him. God’s grace was with Potiphar because of Joseph. Genesis 39:5 says, “From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.” Amen. When we trust in God, marching forward with faith, we can receive this blessing of prosperity. Our dwelling place will be blessed. Our homes, work places, businesses, schools, and neighbors will be blessed because of us. All the people around one Christian will be blessed because of that one Christian. The 28th chapter of Deuteronomy speaks about the blessings given to those who obey the Lord. I want to introduce verses 2 and 6. Deuteronomy 28:2 says, “All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God.” Verse 6 says, “You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.” God blesses those who keep God’s commands. They will be blessed when they come in and blessed when they go out. They will stay on the top, not at the bottom. They will lend to others but never borrow. Joseph encountered yet another trial after a short while. He was put into prison because of the false accusation of Potiphar’s wife. But God was with him even in prison. When God is with us, even the prison of fear and hopelessness cannot confine us. Because of an economic crisis, many people fear. They keep saying, “We are in trouble.” However, we do not have to fear anything. No prison of economic crisis can confine Christians. Genesis 39:21 says, “The LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” This was true. Since God was with Joseph even when he was in prison, Joseph won favor and recognition from the prison warden and the prison guards. They trusted Joseph and put him in charge of the prison affairs. Genesis 39:22-23 says, “So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” Amen. Nothing like this had happened in history. How could a prison warden put a prisoner in charge of the keys and affairs of the prison? Joseph was also in charge of all the administrative work in the prison. Since God was with Joseph, the warden trusted him and put him in charge of all things in the prison. God’s chosen people will prosper?no matter what they do or where they are. Suffering will turn into blessing. Romans 5:3-4 says, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Suffering will change into hope, miracles, and blessings. We may have temporary problems, difficulty, and sorrow, but they are only a process. When we endure them well, God will bless us with prosperity so that all things will work out for our good. We will receive enormous grace and blessings from God. Mr. Im-Taek Lim lost his sight in one eye when he was in the fifth grade, and he lost his sight in the other eye when he was 21. He suffered from dermatitis, arthritis, high blood pressure, and various complications. He was suffering from Behcet’s disease. He could not eat or drink, vomiting everything he had taken. Doctors and his family gave up on him. However, someone took him to a revival meeting, and he met Jesus there. Jesus changed his life. Even though almost all people had given up on him, God had not. He cried out to the Lord in prayer, and God restored his life and gave him health. He went to church every morning for early morning prayer meetings. He found out that nobody was playing the piano. Even though he could not see and even though he was about thirty at that time, he wanted to learn how to play the piano to serve the Lord. So he learned how to play the piano and started playing the piano in the prayer meetings. He practiced and practiced very hard every day. He played the piano in the worship services. For seven years, he went to early morning prayer meetings, with the aid of a walking stick for the blind, and played the piano. Later, he learned musical compositions, arrangements, and piano tuning. He also learned how to use a computer when he was in his forties. Now in his fifties, Mr. Im-Taek Lim still studies very hard to become a world renowned media-musician. He said, “Do not cling to what you have lost. Remember what is still there with you, even though it may be smaller than before. Give thanks for your dreams. This is one condition for happiness.” Do you have great dreams? When we march forward with faith, enduring even suffering and pain, our dreams will come true. 3. God’s providence. Third, I want to speak about God’s providence. The prison in which Joseph was confined was not an ordinary prison. It was only for the king’s prisoners. Potiphar hated Joseph so much that he put Joseph in this prison, intending for Joseph to stay there until he died. No prisoner could be released from the king’s prison without the king’s permission. Since the king did not even know Joseph, it seemed that Joseph would have to stay in prison for the rest of his life. However, the place of utmost hopelessness turned out to be the place of God’s providence. It changed into the place of a miracle, opportunity, hope, and blessing. Everything happens according to God’s providence. Do not be dismayed because you seem forsaken or are all alone. God’s providence is at work. He is right there. God works there. A person’s hopelessness marks the starting point of God’s providence. Suffering is blessing in disguise. In that prison, Joseph interpreted the dreams for two officials of the king. On the third day, the king of Egypt restored one official to his position, but he hanged the other, just as Joseph had interpreted the dream. Before the official was restored to his position, he promised Joseph that he would remember him and try to get him out of prison. As soon as the official was restored to his position, Joseph anticipated that he would finally be released from prison. However, the official completely forgot about Joseph, just as people easily change their minds after their needs are met. The official must have been so happy to serve the king again, forgetting Joseph who had interpreted his dreams. Two years later, however, Pharaoh had two strange dreams, but there was no one who could interpret his dreams. Then the cup barrier official remembered Joseph. Even though Joseph had spent two more years of hopelessness in prison, it was a time of preparation during which God prepared Joseph for great work. If Joseph had been released from prison two years earlier, he may have been lost or forgotten. But God lifted up Joseph after his final stage of trial. The cupbearer introduced him to Pharaoh. Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams quite impressively. Genesis 41:39-41 says, “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.’ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.’” After being degraded from a slave to a prisoner, Joseph was promoted to prime minister of Egypt. He became the prime minister of Egypt, the strongest country at the time. God lowered Joseph until he could go no lower and then He raised him high enough to be in charge of the whole land of Egypt. God’s work is highly dramatic like this. Our God is the God of reversal. He does not push us from the top of a cliff without providing wings for us, so that we may fly high over a canyon. Even though things may not seem to go well now, God will make them go well in the end. There was a little black girl who was so poor that she often wore dresses made of potato sacks, which gave her the nickname, “potato sack girl.” Her name was Oprah Winfrey. She is now the queen of talk shows, media mogul, and the queen of charitable donations. Her early life was very difficult. She was born to a single mother and raised in a poor neighborhood. She became pregnant at 14 and used drugs. Even though she had the right to live happily with her parents, she was living miserably with wounds and scars from the past. Her whole life and destiny changed when she met Jesus Christ. She overcame her weakness and shameful wounds through the Lord Jesus. She overcame them through faith, focusing on a better future. She never looked back but proclaimed, “I only have the future that the Lord has prepared for me.” She did not look at the scars of her past. She confessed, “My future will be bright. God will make it bright.” She marched forward with faith and with an absolutely positive attitude. More than 100 million people watch her show. She is called “the queen of talk shows”. As an actress, a film producer, a philanthropist, and a business woman, she has set a fine example of a successful person after overcoming the difficulties of life. In 2004, Forbes, an American business magazine, listed Oprah as the first black billionaire woman. She says, “Change your wounds into wisdom.” Oprah is telling us to create a brilliant future by transforming our wounds into wisdom. She actively supported President Obama in the election, which was a big help to Obama. If Oprah had confined herself to the past, clinging to her wounds from the past, she might now be living hopelessly in a miserable condition. But after believing in Jesus, she put down all her past scars and wounds and marched toward the future that God prepared. God worked in her according to His providence, making her the most influential woman in the world. Therefore, we must march forward with absolutely positive faith in the Lord. We should never look back. 4. A life of absolute positivity. Fourth, I want to speak about a life of absolute positivity. After Joseph became the prime minister of Egypt, the seven years of abundance came just as Joseph had interpreted, followed by the seven years of famine. Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy some food, and they did not recognize Joseph, since he was standing before them as the prime minister. They bowed down to him, which reminded him of his dream 22 years before. God-given dreams never disappear. They will come true according to God’s timetable. When Joseph’s dream came true, he did not take revenge on his brothers but invited their whole household to Egypt. God sent Joseph to Egypt ahead of them to save Israel’s family. Joseph proclaimed his positive faith to his brothers. Genesis 45:7-8 says, “But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 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 was confessing that God changed hopelessness into hope and suffering into blessing. What a confession of great faith! I urge you to proceed with such absolutely positive faith. When we proceed with absolutely positive faith, God will change our future into a bright future filled with God’s blessing and grace. As long as we are tied to the past and the scars from the past, our future will never change. After their father died, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that Joseph might take revenge on them. They were trembling in fear because Joseph might put them into prison or kill them. That is why they came to him and asked for his forgiveness. Joseph made a great declaration in his reply. Genesis 50:19-21 says, “But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.” Am I in the place of God? Am I in the place of God? We must keep these words in our mind. After doing a great thing, we should not say, “I did this.” Instead, we should say, “God did this for me.” When our business prospers, when we are promoted, when we are praised at church, we must say, “The Lord has done it. I give glory to Him.” Let us never intercept glory from the Lord. Am I in the place of God? Am I in the place of God? Hallelujah! Joseph was a man of absolutely positive faith. Absolutely positive faith will bear the fruit of love and forgiveness. He loved and forgave his brothers. We do not forgive easily. When we are hurt, we are likely to be obsessed by it and we remain restless until we pay it back. Even though Joseph had great power, he never took revenge on those who had harmed him. He forgave his brothers who had sold him as a slave. He did not put Potiphar’s wife into prison even though she had made false accusations against him. The Bible shows no record of Joseph’s revenge. He forgave Potiphar and his wife. I urge you to be a person of love and forgiveness. I want you to bear the fruit of love and forgiveness, being overwhelmed by the love of the Lord Jesus. When we are filled with love, forgiveness, and absolutely positive faith, God will perform great miracles and will bring us a bright future. God will help us to give glory to Him for the wonderful grace and blessings that He has prepared for us. No matter what suffering or fear may come upon us, no matter what kind of wounds and scars we may have, let us leave them all under the Cross, marching forward with love, forgiveness, and absolutely positive faith. This is my earnest prayer for you. Let us pray. Our Father of infinite love, grace, and mercy, Joseph practiced love and forgiveness with absolutely positive faith even though he had a past filled with scars, wounds, and pain. Our Father, we have suffered from scars and wounds from the past. We cannot forget those who have harmed us. We want to leave all our wounds at the Cross now. We want to be healed, forgiving those who hurt us. Pour Your grace upon us so that we may live with love, forgiveness, and absolutely positive faith. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.