The Alternative

Dr. Tony Evans: Your mama didn't treat you right, your daddy didn't treat you right. Don't think their action was the bottom line. God allows those events so you can save somebody else's life who is abused and broken and in pain.

Even when you weren't saved, God recognized all the good things about you. The things that you had going for you, the stuff you had going on in your life and in your world. Your background, your parental background, your education opportunities that you got, and the jobs that you have taken. The experience that you have learned, the training that you have received.

What he wants to do, or at least have the option to do, now that you are a believer, is sanctify them. That is use them only now for your calling, which means the promotion of his kingdom and not merely doing a job or getting a paycheck, although that could be included.

We could talk about a lot of people in the Bible, but let's talk about my favorite character in the Bible, Peter. Luke chapter 22 verse 31. Simon, Simon. Behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat. Satan has come to me and asked me can he have you. But I have prayed for you.

By the way, it's good to know even when you're not praying, Jesus is praying for you. I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. I'm praying for you that you don't quit on me. And you, when you have turned again—some of your Bible say when you are converted—strengthen your brothers. That's an important line.

Jesus Christ predicts his failure. When you are converted back, turn around again, because you are getting ready to fail me. Then I want you to go help somebody else. Peter says in verse 33, "Lord, with you I am ready to go both to prison and to death. No mess up here. I'm your main man. You can depend on me. I am not going to mess up, especially now that you told me."

"All right, I am so confident. I am so committed. I will die before I mess up." Jesus says to him, "I say to you, verse 34, Peter, the cock will not crow today until you have denied me three times and say you do not know me." Now it gets worse. Not only are you going to mess up, you're going to mess up before tomorrow morning. But when you turn around and get yourself together, then I'll have a ministry for you. Strengthen your brethren.

Listen to me. Some messes we get in, God doesn't keep us from because he wants to use them later. Well, you know the story. The slave girl said, "You were with Jesus." Peter said, "I don't know what you're talking about. Jesus who?" Another girl said, "Yeah, yeah, I know you were with Jesus because you're the dude that cut off my cousin's ear. I ain't going to forget nobody that cut my cousin's ear off." Peter cut the guy's ear off.

Yeah, other folks around said, "Yeah, yeah, you're the man. We saw you with Jesus." Peter said, "I told you somebody's going to get hurt up in here because I told you," and the Bible says he cursed. Cock-a-doodle-doo! Bible says the cock crowed when he denied Jesus the third time, and then it says and he remembered what Jesus had said and ran out, and the Bible says he cried like a baby.

He wept bitterly, the scripture says. Also in Matthew chapter 26, it says he cried like a baby at his failure. Folks, you don't get too much greater failure than this: denying the Lord publicly. He denied the Lord publicly. Jesus knew he was going to deny him publicly, predicted he was going to deny him publicly, didn't stop him from denying him publicly, and told him, "When you get back to your senses, then you'll be usable."

Did you know that God can take the bad when it's repented of and make you more useful? That doesn't excuse the bad, nor does it excuse the consequences of the bad. But it means that God is bigger than failure. The book of Genesis, one-third of the book is given over to one young man. His name is Joseph.

Joseph was born into a dysfunctional family. His father was a shyster. The life of Jacob, Joseph's father, is one conniving after another. Now he has 12 sons. Joseph is number 11. He's got 10 other brothers in front of him, and they are a trip. Some of them are murderers. They'd kill you as quick as look at you.

One of them had an affair with his father's wife. Another one had an affair with his daughter-in-law. I mean, it's all kind of crazy stuff. The story of Joseph centers around a particular event. When he gave him this coat of many colors, that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Let's pick it up there in Genesis chapter 37 verse 3. Now Israel, that is Jacob, loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was the son of his old age. He made him a very colored tunic because it's his favorite son. And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.

We got sibling rivalry. You got brothers that can't get along because of the favoritism of the father. Well, this event led to a plan to kill Joseph. Things got to be bad when your brothers want to wipe you out. So they want to kill him. They decide, "Well, we're not going to kill him. We're going to make it look like an animal killed him."

They put him in a pit. They act like a lion killed him, put blood all over his coat, took his coat back to his father. They then picked up that lying gene from Jacob. So they finally sell him to some, verse 28, Midianite traders who lifted him out of the pit, sold him to the Ishmaelites for 20 shekels of silver.

Now, that's cold. That's cold-blooded. Make your daddy think you're dead. We're going to sell you because we don't like the fact that daddy likes you more. So we got a bad family background. Many of us in here today have come from bad family backgrounds.

We are in pain today because of what mama was like, what daddy was like, what brothers and sisters were like, and we are still enduring the pain. Maybe abuse by a father, maybe neglect, maybe rejection. Well, that's Joseph's situation. He comes out of a bad deal.

How much worse can it get than you get sold as a slave? A nothing. A nobody. You talk about self-image. Now, young favorite boy has become a slave. So that's our scenario. He's now sent to Egypt, having been rejected by his family. When he gets to Egypt, that's chapter 39.

He's now to become the slave boy in a man's house named Potiphar. He is an officer of Pharaoh. Potiphar is a high-ranking guy now. Now, I want you to look at a phrase. Verse 2. And the Lord was with Joseph. Verse 3. Now his master saw the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper. Verse 5. Thus the Lord's blessing was upon all that he owned in the house and in the field.

Now, here's the good news. The first set of good news is this. No matter what your background or how deep your pain caused by the dysfunction of your family or other people's sins that have messed over you, if the Lord is with you, he can take that rejection, pain, hurt, difficulty, psychology, whatever you call it. He can take that thing and still do something with it. No matter how ugly it is, the Lord was with Joseph, and it says he blessed him. It sounds like Jabez, doesn't it? "Bless me indeed."

Guest (Male): It often seems like those who've accomplished the most for God have been through the worst life has to offer. Today Dr. Evans takes a look at how our painful experiences can be used to bless and build up the body of Christ. Let’s join him as he explains.

We'll see how God turned that situation around and discover how he can do the same for us when Dr. Evans returns in a moment. First though, I'd like to tell you about a special resource package we've put together as our way of saying thank you when you make a donation to keep this ministry going. It starts with our current two-volume, 12-message audio collection called Called for a Purpose. It also includes Tony's encouraging Called for a Purpose devotional book, specially written to help you apply these biblical principles day by day.

Together, these resources expand what we've been learning about your one-of-a-kind God-given calling. God has something special he intends for you to do, and these resources will help you discover what it is and faithfully pursue it. There's no greater source of satisfaction and success than finding and fulfilling your purpose. We'd like you to have the Called for a Purpose resource package as our gift when you make a donation to help support the work of The Alternative.

But don't wait. This exclusive offer will only be around for a short while. Details are waiting for you at TonyEvans.org, where you can also sign up for Tony's free weekly email devotional. Again, that's TonyEvans.org or call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our friendly team members help you. That's 1-800-800-3222. We'll continue with more of today's message right after this.

If you're like most Christians, there are people in your life who know you but may not know Jesus. You really want to do something about them, but don't feel equipped to share your faith effectively. In other words, maybe if you knew more, you could do more. Well, that's where the Tony Evans Training Center comes in. It's an online Bible school with classes that'll take you deep into the most important core concepts of the faith.

You can start with our free introductory course on evangelism, then move on to subjects like spiritual warfare, marriage building, maturing in the faith, and many more. The content is challenging, but you can move through it at your own pace anytime you're online. There's also lots of custom content from Tony and an online forum where you can get your specific questions answered. Go to TonyEvans.org and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center. It's like having a seminary on your smartphone.

Dr. Tony Evans: While in jail, there are two other dudes in jail with him. Verse 2 of chapter 40. Pharaoh was furious with two of his officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, so he put them in the confinement with Joseph. So they're in there with Joseph, too. But even in jail, chapter 39 verse 23 says the Lord was with Joseph.

Now watch this now. When things get ugly, the question is not "Why am I going through this?" The question is, "Lord, how do you want to use this ugliness for my calling?" Because we don't ask the right questions, we get frustrated because we dwell on "it's not fair" rather than "God, you up to something."

If in order for this to happen, you had to approve it, because I don't deserve it in terms of anything I've done, so you must be up to something. I don't have time to go through it all, so let me come to a quick conclusion here. Listen to this now. Joseph tells one of the guys in prisons, when you go up to Pharaoh—because they're going to let one of the guys out—would you remember me to him?

Because I shouldn't be in here. He says in verse 14 of chapter 40, "Keep me in mind when it goes well with you." You know how you say your friends, "Well, look, if they're going to help you, don't forget me. Please do me kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh." Verse 23. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

It's getting uglier. You finally think you got a way out, you then found a homeboy in jail, and the homeboy gets his freedom and forgets who he knew when he was back there. So it's now ugly. God, how unfair can this be? Only problem was, Pharaoh had a dream that scared him half to death. He didn't understand it. He needed somebody to interpret it.

Then the chief cupbearer remembered, "Oh, there was this dude in prison named Joseph, and he was good with dreams. I don't know if you want to talk to him, but if you want to talk to him, I know what he look like." He said, "Okay, because none of my guys can do this." The guy comes up, he interprets the dream, and this is what happens.

Now watch this now. Here's where we going to conclude. Chapter 41 verse 38. Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this in whom there is a divine spirit?" So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house. According to your command, all my people shall do homage. Only in the throne will I be greater than you."

You talk about the outhouse to the White House. Boy had then gone from in jail to being the number one ruler in Egypt. Now the question is, what all this got to do with calling? Let me summarize and then read a final passage. Here it is. The text goes on to tell us Jacob and his 12 brothers were starving because the dream talked about a famine that was going to be in the land.

Joseph interpreted the dream, told Pharaoh what to do in the seven good years to save enough for the seven bad years because God said there's a famine coming. He now gets promoted. The father needs to find food. Joseph tells his brothers to come up, but they don't know who Joseph is.

He manipulates them to come back up by keeping one of the sons and saying, "Well, if you want this son, you got to go back and bring the other son, and when you bring the other son, then you all come back here." When they went back to their father, he put some of his goods in their donkey basket and said, "Oh, you stole from me. You got to come back to me."

He works out a series of events that brings them up to where he is, which leads us into chapter 45. Then Joseph could not control himself, because the brothers still don't know who he is. It's been years since he's been sold into slavery by them. Before all who stood by him, he cried, having everyone go out from me, so that there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

So here's the moment he's going to let his brothers know who he is, the guy who's saving their lives and running the whole kingdom of Egypt under Pharaoh. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it. That mean he seriously crying. He's wailing. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive? Jacob?"

But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. In other words, scared to death that he remembered what they did to him when they were little boys. So they're terrified. Verse 4. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come closer." And they came closer, and he said, "I am your brother."

Now, I'm going to tell you something right now that I am sure you have never heard in all of your Christian life. It says he told his brothers, "Come here, come here, come here, come close." He sent everybody else out, it says, except his brothers. "I am your brother, Joseph." Now, why should I believe you're my brother Joseph just because you tell me you're my brother Joseph?

What proof do you have that you're my brother Joseph? There was one sure tell sign of Jewish heritage: circumcision. "Come close. I will show you. I am your Jewish brother." So he demonstrated to them through circumcision he was Jewish and therefore in order for a Jew to be the head in Egypt, he would have had to have been somebody who was promoted there. "I am your brother Joseph."

Now, here is the whole, here's the bottom line. "And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here." Verse 5. This is deep, folks. Don't get upset that you sold me here. Why? "For God sent me." Wait a minute now. How could God send you? You were sold into slavery. Potiphar hired you. You were accused of rape. You were sent to jail. The cupbearer forgot about you.

"Uh-uh. That's human interpretation. Let me tell you the real deal, bro. The problem was not that you sold me into slavery. The issue is God sent me before you to save your life. You thought you were getting rid of me, and God was orchestrating a plan using negative, ugly kind of events because he had something years down the line he had in store that was going to benefit you. He used your evil to promote me in order to save you."

He says for the famine in the land, these two years—he says in verse 7—God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. "Now therefore, it is not you who sent me here, but God, and he made me a father to Pharaoh and lord over all his household and ruler of Egypt."

Brothers and sisters, here's the point. The point is chapter 50 verse 20. "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good." If you got ugliness in your life, your mama didn't treat you right, your daddy didn't treat you right, your brothers didn't treat you right, your boss didn't treat you right, you've been buked and scorned, as sure as you're born, everything is falling apart.

Don't think that their action was the bottom line. God allows those events because somewhere down the line, he's going to use all that ugly stuff to take your life, make your life, so you can save somebody else's life who is abused and broken and in pain. Look at your pain theologically, not socially. Don't just say, "That's not fair." Say, "God, since that's not fair, what you going to do with it so that I can fulfill my calling? I give you the right to take my ugliness and use it for your glory."

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans, encouraging us to let God turn our trials into triumphs. And that's an opportunity God makes available to each of us when we choose to walk with him. If that's something you'd like to do but haven't yet taken the first steps, now's the best time ever to begin. Just visit TonyEvans.org and follow the link at the top of the homepage that says Jesus. There, Tony will explain everything you need to know about what it means to be a real Christian and how to start a brand new lifelong journey with the Lord. You can find out more at TonyEvans.org.

Now today's message is just one part of Dr. Evans' liberating series called Called for a Purpose. This two-volume, 12-message teaching series is designed to help you find and fulfill your unique mission from God. We'd like to send you this complete audio collection along with Tony's inspiring Called for a Purpose devotional.

We're offering this special resource package for a limited time as our thank you gift when you request it at TonyEvans.org and make a contribution to help support the ministry of The Alternative. That's TonyEvans.org or call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help with your request. That's 1-800-800-3222. Everybody hopes to find their dream job. But Dr. Evans says if yours is more like a nightmare, there's hope. Tomorrow he explains how turning your career over to Christ can give you a new vision for your workplace. Be sure to tune in.