God Sized Faithfulness

God-Sized Faithfulness

Genesis 41:39-57

JOSEPH

Genesis 41:39-57

39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40You 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.”

Genesis 41:39-57

Joseph in Charge of Egypt

41So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

Genesis 41:39-57

43He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and people shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:39-57

44Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt.” 45Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. And Joseph went throughout the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:39-57

46Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout Egypt. 47During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully.

Genesis 41:39-57

48Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it. 49Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.

Genesis 41:39-57

50Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. 51Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household.” 52The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”

Genesis 41:39-57

53The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, 54and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all the other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food. 55When all Egypt began to feel the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.”

Genesis 41:39-57

56When the famine had spread over the whole country, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe throughout Egypt. 57And all the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe everywhere.

Experiencing God

1. God is always at work around you.

2. God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.

1God’s God’s WorkWork

GOD2. Relationship2. Relationship

3. Invitation3. Invitation

4. God Speaks4. God Speaks

5. Crisis of 5. Crisis of BeliefBelief

6. 6. AdjustAdjust

7. Obey 7. Obey & & ExperienExperiencece

Experiencing God

3. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.

4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.






6. 6. AdjustAdjust


Experiencing God

5. God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.

6. You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.






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Experiencing God

7. You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.






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Experiencing God

An encounter with God requires faith

Encounters with God are God-sized

Reality #5 Crisis of Reality #5 Crisis of BeliefBelief

Experiencing God

What you do in response to God’s revelation (invitation) reveals what you believe about God

True faith requires action

Reality #5 Crisis of Reality #5 Crisis of BeliefBelief

SOMETHING ONLY GOD CAN DO

Something only God can do

Moses could not deliver the children of Israel from Pharaoh’s army, cross the Red Sea on dry land, provide water from a rock, or provide bread and meat for food. Moses had to have faith that the God who called him would do the things He said He would do. Joshua could not take the Israelites across the Jordan River on dry land, bring down walled cities, defeat enemies, or make the sun stand still. Only God could have done these things. Joshua had to have faith in God.

Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God, p. 113


In the New Testament this also was true for the disciples. On their own, they could not feed the multitudes, heal the sick, still a storm, or raise the dead. Only God could do these things. But God called servants to let Him do these things through them.



When God lets you know what He wants to do through you, it will be something only God can do. What you believe about Him will determine what you do. If you have faith in the God who called you, you will obey Him; and He will bring to pass what He has purposed to do. If you lack faith, you will not do what He wants. That is disobedience.



Jesus questioned those around Him, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46) Jesus frequently rebuked His disciples for their lack of faith and unbelief. Their unbelief revealed that they really had not come to know who He was. Thus, they did not know what He could do.


THE TASK

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Matthew 17:20-21

The Task

We face the same crisis Bible characters faced. When God speaks, what He asks of us requires faith. Our major problem, however, is our self-centeredness. We think we have to accomplish the assignment on our own power and with our current resources. We think, “I can’t do that. That is not possible.”

We forget that when God speaks He always reveals what He is going to do – not what He wants us to do for Him.


My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power.

1 Corinthians 2:4-5

HUMAN WISDOM OR GOD’S POWER?My Experience

HUMAN WISDOM OR GOD’S POWER?The Church’s Experience

YOUR LIFEHuman wisdom or God’s power?

12 Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

John 14:12

God-Sized Faithfulness

Genesis 41:39-57

Spiritual

God Sized Faithfulness