Messianic Perspectives

Guest (Male): In spite of human weakness, God vindicates His servants. Join us, won't you, as Pastor Al Runge uses God's word to discuss the life of Joseph, today, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Liz Aiello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinct first-century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Aiello. Today, we'll look into the life of Joseph from a distinctly Messianic Jewish point of view. Our Bible teacher is Pastor Al Runge. I'll be back at the end of the message with a special offer. And now, here's Pastor Runge.

Al Runge: Shalom Aleichem. Peace be unto you. We have been looking together at Joseph's life to investigate how God can accomplish His plan for our lives in spite of our human imperfections. We've seen in our last few messages Joseph's family was dysfunctional. For example, Jacob his father played favorites with his children and thereby causing internal strife.

Since I am a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I would like to think that they were perfect fathers with perfect children. However, that wasn't true. They were just like the rest of malfunctioning humanity. In our second message, we discovered the depravity of human nature in Joseph's brothers and their attitudes of envy and hatred and greed against Joseph.

They believed Joseph's dreams were prophetic and from God. They even understood the meaning of his dreams, that in the future, they would bow down to him. So they decided to negate God's plan. When they had the opportunity, they grabbed Joseph, tied him up, threw him into a pit where there was no water, and planned to kill him until they found a way to make a profit by selling him to slave traders.

Joseph was chained and taken to Egypt to be sold to the highest bidder. It appeared that God's plan for Joseph's future was undone. For how could a slave ever become an honored leader? I want to talk today about human desperation, human suffering. It's human depravity that causes most of the suffering of this world.

A Jewish victim of a Nazi death camp was asked if he had lost his faith in God. He replied, "No, I've not lost my faith in God. I've lost my faith in humanity." You see, a victim understands injustice when he suffers it. Can you imagine the terror in the heart of Joseph that night that he was taken away from his brothers? Can you imagine how he felt? Chained, hungry, powerless, miserable.

Joseph could not have imagined at that moment how God would fulfill his dreams. Joseph may not have known that God told his grandfather about the future of his descendants in Egypt. We find this in Genesis 15:13. God said to Abraham, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed 400 years. But I will judge the nation whom they serve and afterward they will come out with many possessions."

If the children of Israel did not go to Egypt to form a separate people, most likely they would have been assimilated into the pagan and wicked culture of Canaan. Now, in a time of despair, a person can make one of two decisions. He can choose either to draw closer to God or he can choose to draw away from God. He could become angry and bitter and reject God.

There is a choice to make in suffering times as well as good times. Joseph trusted God and made the best of every day even as a slave. He understood we live in a fallen world and especially in difficult times we need the Lord. As a pastor, I have seen many suffer deeply, and I've found that bad things can happen even to good people.

I received an email from a young woman who had done some research for me a number of years ago. She graduated with the highest honors from college. She earned a master's degree at Cambridge University in England. She married a brilliant and godly student who earned a PhD in theoretical physics at Cambridge. He became a professor of philosophy at a secular university. He was an excellent witness for Christ.

He had colon cancer that spread throughout his body. Certainly, his physician should have given him the proper test in time when Ron first complained about his pain. The test would have revealed the cancer in time to be operated on. Instead, the physician told him it wasn't anything to worry about or be concerned about until it was too late to operate.

In spite of the earnest prayers of many Christians, this brilliant young man died, leaving behind his grieving wife and his young children. This certainly is a time for grief, and I could not understand such a great loss for the kingdom of God. I wanted to write something encouraging to my young friend. I didn't really know what I could say in a time of a tragedy except that my wife and I love her and pray for her.

But she wrote me an email and here's what she said: "The light of the bright and the morning star of Jesus was present with Rob, me, and our children during that very dark time. In more ways than I can say or probably even know, over and above all other things, I'm deeply confident that through God's grace, Rob finished well. When he died, he was in right relationship with the living God, and ultimately that is what it's all about."

Marilyn had a secret comforter, as I believe Joseph had that night of his despair. God speaks to all of us who are His children in Isaiah 43:2: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the fire scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior."

Marilyn's faith is being tested as was Joseph's faith tested during those years of captivity. But in the end, God fulfilled His plan for Joseph and for his brothers. I know people who decide to be angry with God because of some illness or death of a loved one or some personal loss. They blame God for their misfortune.

What they do not know is that we live in a fallen and rebellious world with evil and a real devil. The word of God tells us in 1 John 5:19: "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one." The wicked one is known by many names in the Bible. He is called the serpent, the devil, and Satan. He is an enemy. He is a liar. He is a slanderer.

He works evil against us and then whispers in our ear and says, "If there is a God and He is good and claims to love you, why did He let this happen to you?" Everyone goes through this temptation one time or another. We all will suffer some injustice in life. I suspect that many people become bitter and angry with God by blaming Him for their misfortune.

Out of personal revenge, they deny His existence. But in reality, they are believers. They believe in the existence of God because no one gets angry with a non-existent person. No one gets bitter at a myth. You only get bitter and angry against a person. Their problem is that they do not know God.

A student once told me that he was an atheist and did not believe in God, and I asked him to tell me about the God he did not believe in. Most likely, I don't believe in him either. I introduced him to the true God revealed in the loving character of Jesus. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 1:1-3: "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power."

Think of that fact, that Jesus is the very express image, the precise image of the Heavenly Father. If you want to know what God the Father is like, look at Jesus, the one who was moved with compassion, the one who went around healing people and raising the dead, the one who fed the hungry. This is what's in God's heart.

I remember reading about a pagan who said to a missionary, "I believe your God is the true one, but I fear Him too much to worship Him." The missionary replied, "Would you fear a God with the face of Jesus?" "No," she said, and she became a believer. There is a promise in God's word found in Isaiah 49:23: "Then you will know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for me."

So what happened to Joseph once he got to Egypt? Genesis 39:1 tells us: "Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man; and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian."

Potiphar was a wise man with insight. When he saw that the Lord was with him, how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand, he made him the overseer of all his assets. So God was with him even there in the time of his slavery. Now, you have a choice to make. Either you will decide to believe in God and trust Him, or you will decide not to believe Him.

Those who believe God as Joseph did will find that the Lord will be with them through the difficulties of life and that God will fulfill His plan for their lives. God had a plan for Joseph's life, and the devil thought that he could hinder it by having him sold into slavery and sent to Egypt. Yet that is exactly how God fulfilled His plan in Joseph's life and in Israel's future.

If you want the comfort and presence of God through difficulties of life, invite Jesus to be your savior. Well, we have investigated the dysfunctioning of the human family, human depravity, human suffering. In our next message, we're going to look at human injustice and how God can even use that to further His plan for His children. Until you listen in again, my prayer is that God will comfort your heart with the reality that Jesus is the Lord and that He loves you and cares for you and has a plan for your life. That's my prayer for you.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Pastor Runge, and thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. Now, let me tell you about our special offer. It's the compact disc which includes all of the programs in this current series of studies on God's Plan for Your Life. It can be yours for a gift of just $6 or more to Messianic Perspectives. Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order.

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As always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Pastor Al Runge continues our series of studies on God's Plan for Your Life, right here on Messianic Perspectives.