Worship service for Sunday, October 3, 2021

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​How to respond when people hurt you
Genesis 45:1-8
Introduction
Suffering for doing what is right tests our faith in God
 
 
Suffering can make us bitter or better
-We can dwell on the negative situation, look inward,
-We can look beyond the negative situation, look outward
-We may switch between both reactions over time!
 
Joseph suffered many injustices
(son of Jacob/Israel, grandpa Isaac, great-grandpa Abraham)
-Treated as the “favorite son”-  Gen 37:3-4  family disfunction
-Hated by his brothers- they sold him into slavery  Gen 37:12-36
    -major family disfunction!!
-Falsely accused of sexual misconduct  Gen 39:6-20
   -Did the right thing!  Gen 39:8-9
   -Potiphar believed his wife, threw Joseph in prison
-Forgotten in prison- after helping a prisoner who could have
    rescued him  Gen 40:1-23
 
Genesis 45:1-8 begins after…
-Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream of the coming famine
-Joseph was second in command in Egypt- oversaw harvesting
-Joseph’s brothers came to buy food during the famine
-Joseph tested his brothers to see if their hearts had changed
-Now, Joseph’s final test assured him they were sorry for
   mistreating him (Genesis 44:18-34)
 
How to remain faithful to God and forgiving of others
1.  Stay honest  -we cannot ignore real injustice!
-vs 4  “the one you sold into slavery”
-Joseph proved he really was their brother
-He didn’t ignore the real reason they had been separated
-Acts 16:37-40  Paul pointed out he had been beaten illegally
-Injustice is always injustice!  We have the right to say so
 
 
2.  Offer forgiveness
-vs 5  “And now don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves for
   for selling me here”
-Joseph’s faith in God empowered him to forgive
-Matthew 5:44  …love your enemies, pray for those who
    persecute you
-Matt 6:12  “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”
-Luke 23:34  “Then Jesus said [while being crucified], “Father,
   forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.”
-We have the power to release people from their shame
   -Jesus gave us undeserved forgiveness
   -We have the privilege of offering undeserved forgiveness too!
 
3.  Trust in God’s Plan
-vs 5  “God sent me ahead of you to preserve life”
-You sold me…God sent me-  
-Gen 50:20  “You planned evil against me; God planned it for
   good to bring about the present result—the survival of many
   people.”
-1 Peter 4:19  “So then, let those who suffer according to God’s
   will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator while doing what is
   good.” 
-2 Timothy 3:12  godly people should expect persecution
-TGC Article:  An Afghan Christian On Suffering
-Our faith in God’s ultimate plan to bring salvation to people enables us to participate with Him in this plan, especially when we are enduring persecution.
 
How will you respond to people who hurt you?
(of course, if you deserve it, take it!)
Identify the offense, forgive the offender, trust God’s plan
 
If you aren’t facing resistance for following Jesus Christ…
-you may be in a very blessed season of life, or…
-you may not really be following Jesus Christ!
   -“If you don’t meet the devil on your way to work, you may be
      going in the wrong direction.”
 
What must you do now to demonstrate your trust in God?
An Afghan Christian on Suffering
The Gospel Coalition online article, September 18, 2021
Suffering sanctifies the church and separates the true believers from the false. Facing suffering, people with wrong intentions and motives will often run away. In the emerging Afghan church when persecution and hardship came, many thieves, spies, and liars left. Under persecution and hardship, some people stopped coming to the church.
 
But it is encouraging to see that true believers continue to grow in their faith and number to bring glory to Jesus and advance his kingdom. Believers will be afraid, but they will not abandon Christ.
 
As an Afghan Christian, I have been imprisoned and exiled for following Christ and preaching his gospel. Sometimes, I questioned God’s purposes in my hardship and in being tortured in prison, but God’s grace strengthened me. The world will hate us because we follow Jesus. We need to be ready to respond to persecution.
 
The world will hate us because we follow Jesus. We need to be ready to respond to persecution.
 
 Three Responses to Suffering
Christians respond to suffering in three God-honoring ways.
 
First, Christians respond by trusting God as they submit to suffering. The life of Joseph is an example of righteous suffering. Joseph wrongfully suffered when his brothers sold him into slavery, and he was accused of a sin in Potiphar’s house. Joseph trusted God’s good purposes in his hardship (Gen. 50:20).
 
Second, Christians respond by proclaiming the gospel. If we are to flee our hometown or country as result of persecution, we need to remember that our purpose in life is Jesus and we are to serve him and preach his good news wherever we land. We learn from the lives of early believers that when under persecution they fled from Jerusalem. As a result, the gospel spread to many other places. For example, the church in Antioch—one of the first churches outside of Jerusalem—became the sending church of Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles (Acts 14:26).
 
Third, Christians persevere in suffering. In Acts 4:17–22 we see the boldness and courage of Peter and John in front of the Jewish council. Faced with the threat of further suffering, they testified about Jesus. By the help of the Spirit, we too can testify about Jesus and stand firm for the glory of God. We also have confidence that God will bring justice and punish the wrongdoers. Jesus is the victorious God.
 
What We Learn from Scripture
Peter says, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). We learn from the Bible that Christ is our example in suffering.
 
Christian persecution in the first few centuries after Christ was very common. The Bible itself, especially the book of Acts, shows what kind of suffering the church would go through until Christ’s return.
 
The consequences of worshiping Christ are also addressed by Peter in his first epistle. In this epistle, Peter writes to the persecuted church and telling them to rejoice and be glad for suffering, for the sake of their savior. He assures them that hardship is fleeting and glory is waiting for them in the presence of their Lord: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:6–7).
 
God allows Christians to endure persecution as part of his plan for salvation and reconciliation. God’s purpose in persecution is for his glory, to build the church, and to sanctify the church. God teaches believers how to endure persecution by following the example of Jesus, trusting the promises of the Bible, and looking forward to the day when we will meet Jesus on his throne. And in every circumstance, we are not to deny our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but to proclaim the gospel to the world.
 
Luke Anwari, living in exile from Afghanistan, is a leader of the Afghan House Church Network.
 
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/afghan-christian-suffering/
 

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