Living and Finishing Well

Living and Finishing Well
Genesis 50:14-26
October 19-20, 2024

     One of my favorite characters in the bible is Joseph. There are so many life lessons you can learn from the example of his life. Perhaps the greatest lesson of all is how to live well and how to finish well. How you live matters and how you finish matters. Those who learn what it means to live well – according to the way and the heart of God -will also finish well.

     As for me, I want to do both; I want to live well – to the glory of God – and I want to finish well. I want to hear those words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master.”

     There are many examples in the scriptures of those who lived and finished well. When Abraham died, it says of him in Genesis 25:8, Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life.  What a great description of a life well lived. Abraham finished well. 

     Then there is Moses. We read in Deuteronomy 34:10 that, “Since that day no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” I believe that would still be true today, with the exception of Jesus, who was more than a prophet, he was also a king.

     A tombstone often gives a sense of how a person lived their life.  I’ve noticed that tombstones have become much simpler in recent years.  Probably because they have become much smaller.  But tombstones can give insight in how that person lived.  Here are some words written on actual tombstones: “Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, lies stingy Jimmy Wyatt, who died one morning just at ten, and saved a dinner by it.” Then there’s, “Jedidiah Goodwin, Auctioneer, Born 1828, Going! Going! Gone!! 1876. I like this one, “John Goembel, Attorney, The Defense Rests.” This one is sad, “Here lies an Atheist, all dressed up and no place to go.” But my favorite is, “See, I told you I was sick!”

     Someone once said that the most important part of a tombstone is what lies behind the dash between the date of birth and the date of death. Very true.

     I want to show you a picture of one of the most amazing tombstones ever made. The picture says it all. It was part of the slide show they played at the memorial service for Kyle Davidson. Kyle was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice. The result was brain damage that left him dependent on others’ care for the almost 15 years of his life. He had an irrepressible spirit and indomitable perseverance in facing a life filled with difficulty.

     Then there’s Mike and Laura, Kyle’s parents. Want an example of a life well lived? Here it is. Such faithful love, such loving servant hearts that gave God glory all along the way. There is something truly inspiring about seeing authentic genuine faith lived through such relentless difficulty. Well lived. Well done. What truly beautiful souls.

     We turn now to Joseph in Genesis 50. He had many troubles and a very difficult life. He was his father’s favorite son which made the brothers jealous. But more than that, Joseph had a dream that God gave him a place of great position and authority so that even his brothers would bow down to him.

     The brothers didn’t take kindly to Joseph’s dream and when an opportunity came to betray him, they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. Even there the favor of God was on Joseph. But his troubles continued. He was falsely accused by the wife of the master and found himself thrown into prison. Yet there again, the favor of God was upon him as he helped other prisoners through his gift of interpreting dreams.

     Later, when the Pharoah had a dream no one could interpret, Joseph was called. Not only did Joseph interpret the dream, but he gave Pharoah wisdom to prepare for the coming famine which the dream indicated. Pharaoh gave Joseph the position and responsibility to prepare Egypt for the great famine which was to come.

     God’s favor was seen not despite the troubles Joseph endured; God’s favor was seen through the troubles. The valley of trouble was the doorway of hope.

     It was that terrible famine which brought Joseph’s brothers to Egypt, seeking grain to keep their families alive. But instead of carrying a grudge and seeking revenge, Joseph blessed his brothers.

     Joseph’s life and character strengthens faith and makes us want to hold onto our integrity the same way. Joseph is a man of faith and steadfastness of godly character. Seeing the life of Joseph makes you want to run your race with endurance and to finish your race well.

I. God’s Way is the Excellent Way

• When the brothers came back to Egypt from burying their father in the land of Canaan, they said to themselves, “What if Joseph should bear a grudge against us and pay us back in full?”
• They expected Joseph to be like so many others, full of hurt and wounds that they hold on to and never let go of; bitter and unforgiving.
• But that wasn’t Joseph. There is a more excellent way — God’s way.

1 Corinthians 12:31, Earnestly desire the greater gifts, but I will show you a still more excellent way… Love is patient, love is kind…

A. Set your course by God’s more excellent way

• It’s one thing to say that God’s way is a more excellent way, it’s another thing to say that that is the way you want to live your life. Set your course by God’s more excellent way.
•  There is a common way to live. It’s common because many people live that way, but it’s not God’s way. God’s ways are higher …

Isaiah 55:7-9, Let the unrighteous man forsake his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord… “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

• No one would have blamed Joseph for bearing a grudge and paying the brothers back for all the wrong they did to him. They deserved it. But Joseph lived differently. There is a more excellent way.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3, I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?

• You see the efforts of the brothers to manipulate even here; they came up with a story of how their father gave this direction before he died.
• What a contrast in how they approach this. They try, by efforts of their own manipulation, to seek forgiveness, rather than choosing God’s way.
• Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 13 to show them that more excellent way. It’s love.

1 Corinthians 13:2, If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

B. Those who live well have a sensitive heart

• Verse 17 – Joseph wept when they said this to him. He was stirred with compassion when they asked for forgiveness.
• Joseph wept many times. It makes us respect him even more when we see how tender and sensitive his heart was.
• When the famine became severe and the brothers first came to Egypt, they didn’t recognize Joseph, but he recognized them, and he used an interpreter, so they didn’t know he understood what they said. Later, when Joseph held Simeon in prison until they brought Benjamin, Joseph’s closest brother, from Canaan, the brothers said to each other, “We saw the distress of our brother when he pleaded with us, and we would not listen. Now comes the reckoning for his blood.” When Joseph heard his brothers say these things, he turned away and wept.
• When the brothers brought Benjamin to Egypt, Joseph said, “Is this the boy of whom you spoke? God have mercy on you, my son.” And he was so moved, he found a private place and wept.
• When Joseph set a trap so that Benjamin would stay in Egypt as his servant and the remaining brothers were free to leave, Judah responded, “Please, sir, I will be a servant to you in place of the lad, but please let the lad go or it will bring the gray hairs of his father to the grave.” Hearing Judah offer himself as a slave instead of Benjamin was too much. Joseph could control himself no longer, he ordered the Egyptians out of the room and wept so loudly that even Pharaoh heard of it.
• When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he fell on Benjamin’s neck and wept. He then held each of his brothers, kissed them and wept.
• When Joseph met his father Jacob after so many long years, he embraced him and wept. When his father died, he wept deeply.
• It’s good for a man to be able to weep. It comes from a sensitive heart. Jesus also wept.

Illus – In the past, I used to hold my emotions and didn’t cry at all. My wife thought I was a bit too much like Spock. I thought it might me to live long and prosper. But in my early 20’s, when I had one of my first opportunities to preach a sermon in church. I did so poorly I closed the message early, took Jordi’s hand and found a private room and wept.

      When our daughter was murdered, I cried more than I had ever known. Since then, my heart is easily broken. God has made me more sensitive to the hurts and pain of others.

• Joseph’s tears came out of the compassion and love he felt for those around them. He could see the burden of others; he had a sensitive heart.
• The opposite would be a hard heart. A hard heart feels nothing for those around him; and feels nothing for God.

Nehemiah 9:17, They refused to listen, and did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them; so they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness; and You did not forsake them.

• Joseph’s heart was sensitive to God as well as to others; and he couldn’t bear the thought of doing something that would harm his relationship to God.

Illus – When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him, he said, “How can I do this thing and sin against God?”

II. Seek God’s Perspective as Your Own

• When Joseph’s brothers fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants,” Joseph responded, “Do not be afraid, am I in the place of God?”
• “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result and keep many people alive.”
• He knew God’s perspective and he took God’s perspective as his own. He chose to see it as God saw it.

A. Never give up on God

• Verse 20 is one of the most important verses in this whole book. Joseph clearly saw that the intent of God is greater than the intent of man.
• There is great comfort in this principle. There is a lot of evil in this world, and to know that God’s sovereignty is over all encourages us in our faith.

App – But this requires looking beyond what we see with our eyes.  The scripture tells us that we must walk by faith and not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:5-7, He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident; … for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Illus – Joseph’s father Jacob thought everything was against him. He couldn’t see that God was orchestrating everything and that God was working all things together for good. Those things he thought were against him, were the very things God was using for him.

• This is trusting God’s perspective. We may not be able to see everything as God sees, but it is enough to know that God does see – and works all things together.
• The key is this — don’t give up on God. Don’t judge God’s love by your outward circumstances.

Lamentations 3:21-26, This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope.  The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions, they fail not.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I have hope in Him.”  The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the one who seeks Him.  It is good to wait silently for the salvation of the Lord.

B. See what God would do through you

• Your life will not be remembered for what you did for yourself, your life will be remembered for what you did for others.
• Verse 21 – Joseph told them not to be afraid; that he would provide for them and their little ones.
• This is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Jacob that Joseph would be a “fruitful bough by a spring whose branches would run over a wall.”
• This is another secret of finishing well; what God would do through you.

Colossians 1:10, Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

• The key to bearing fruit is being grafted into the tree of life. It’s God sap, God’s life moving through you which gives your life significance and power.

Illus – You can graft many different fruit trees onto the same tree and the sap will flow into every branch, producing many types of fruit from the same tree.

Psalm 92:13-14, Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green,

• Believe in God; and believe that God would work through you, that He wants to do great things through you.

Illus – In the movie Count of Monte Cristo, the injured and weak Abbe Faria tells young Edmond Dantes from their barren prison that when Edmond finds the treasure of Sparta, he must use it for good, only for good. “No!” says Dantes, “I will surely use it for my revenge.” Faria, breathing his last, says, “Here now is your last lesson. Do not commit the crime for which you now serve the sentence. God has said, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay.’ “I don’t believe in God,” says Dantes. “It doesn’t matter,” says Faria, “He believes in you.”

            At the end, Dantes stands on the island that was once his prison and says, “You were right, priest, you were right. This I promise you… and God. That which I once used for vengeance I will now use for good. So rest in peace, my friend, rest in peace.”

• When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, He believed that Jesus could do this, but could he believe that Jesus could do this through him? “Lord, if it is You, command me to come out to you.” Later when Peter saw the wind and the waves and began to sink, Jesus took hold of him and said, “Oh ye of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Mark 9:24, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.”

C. Believe that God will surely take care of you

• Verse 24, as Joseph was about to die, he said to his brothers, “God will surely take care of you, and will bring you up from this land to the land which He promised.”
• Joseph then gave a charge to his brothers, saying, “You shall carry my bones up from here.”
• He knew that God would fulfill his promise, that He would take care of them, and bring them back home.

Illus – God took care of Israel by providing for them in Egypt, but it also kept them from intermarrying with the Canaanites so they could be kept separate and could grow into a great nation.

            The story of Joseph and his brothers is a story of God caring for them even despite their failure.

• The words of Jesus encourage us when He said…

Luke 12:6-7, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.”

• This is a key to finishing well; keeping the faith, believing that God gives you a future and a hope.

2 Timothy 4:7-8, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.