Good, Bad, Best [Part 3]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. If you'd like to have that sort of radical grace of God flowing through you towards people, get this revelation.

God can take something that others have meant for evil and use it for your good. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series called Providence as presented at Granola Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout today's entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries. So as you listen to today's message, go deeper in your study as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org. Or call 877-544-4860.

877-544-4860. More on that later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. So I spent hours and hours watching every Carolina basketball game that would come on TV, sometimes just me and mom. And there was this guy that played for them named Phil Ford. He had the sweetest jump shot of anybody ever seen. I went to Carolina because of Phil Ford's jump shot.

So if you've ever been blessed by anything I've said, thank God, but thank Phil Ford. But then you got this question, why am I spending time alone with my mother watching basketball? It's because my dad left and my older brothers at some point they were gone. Lots of times it was just mom and me watching basketball and Kojak. We watched Kojak. She loved Kojak.

You got to go way back before you know what Kojak is. And when he left, it was the saddest thing in my life. And it was sin that had him leave. But when he did leave, one dark night my mom got down on her knees next to her bed and she crawled out to God. She said, if you're real, I need you to show me because I think I'm going to sink down.

I don't think I'm going to make it. And if I go down, I'll probably take these three boys with me. And that night an acquaintance who lived two or three neighborhoods away was awakened at that hour with mom on her heart to pray for her. And the next day she came and knocked on my mother's door and said, Marianne, I haven't seen you in a long time, but I was awakened in the middle of the night with you on my heart and I've prayed for you.

And I was wondering, do you need something? And my mother said, oh yes, I do. And that lady came in and told her of Jesus. And my mom became wrapped up in the love of God and Jesus Christ. And the lady invited us to her wonderful gospel centered church with this incredible preacher that ended up shaping my life. But she brought my two brothers and I into the den not long thereafter. And she said, I have found out that Jesus is real, that the Bible is true, and God can save us all. And I and my brothers believed her. So Tim Keller might say, thank God for Watergate.

And in that sense, I'd have to say, thank God my dad left home, which was the saddest thing in my life. Who is this God of ours? Who is this God of ours? Who can take Joseph's brother's egregious sin and use it to save the known world? In the middle of Joseph's story, there comes this fascinating series of interactions that Joseph has when the brothers realize that they have to go to Egypt to get grain. And they appear before Joseph and he recognizes them, but they don't recognize him.

And the sheer beauty and pathos and just waves of emotion that follow this. If you would just immerse yourself in this story and let your soul feel it, it shapes you to read the story. And in the middle of all of that, these interactions, Joseph has this strange sort of testing of his brothers, sort of finding out if they've changed. And he begins interacting with them, though they don't know who he is, that he gives them grain and he returns all their money secretly into their sacks of grain.

They don't know that. But he also learns of this brother, Benjamin, that was born after Joseph had been sold into slavery. And Benjamin is the only other brother that is born to Joseph's mother, Rachel. So he has a baby brother born by his own mother that he's never met.

The thought of this is overwhelmingly joyous to him, but also a huge worry because he knows how his brothers treated him. Are they treating Benjamin the same way? So Joseph says to them, he's going to send them back, but he has to keep someone. So he keeps Simeon, and he says to them, when you come back, you have to come back with Benjamin. And when they return and tell Jacob of all of this, and they say that we have to take Benjamin back, Jacob is overwrought with grief and says, I've lost my beloved Joseph, I cannot lose my beloved Benjamin.

They eventually persuade him that they will starve unless they go back and get more grain and get Simeon, and they have to take Benjamin, and so they do. And if you can just imagine when Joseph first sees his baby brother that he never met before, you just got to think about the goodness of God. You know, those days that you never thought that you'd be able to see. I guess heaven will just be like this just one day after the other, after the other, after the other, of revelatory experiences of the goodness of God. Maybe heaven is just one endless experience of seeing the evidences of God's goodness that we hadn't seen before. You get moments like that in life, and here it was, and he sees his brother Benjamin.

He's overcome, but he has a further test for them. This time, he sends them on their way, but he not only returns money in their sacks, but he secretly has his own silver cup put into Benjamin's sack. And then Joseph sends an official after them who comes and accuses them of stealing from Joseph.

Can you imagine it? Genesis chapter 44 verse 6, we pick up the story. When he overtook them, he spoke to them these words about how they'd stolen, and they said to him, the brothers said, why does my Lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing. Behold, the money that we found in our mouths of the sack, talking about the first time we brought it back from the land of Canaan, how then could we steal silver or gold from your Lord's house? Whichever, this is what they say, they make a vow, whichever your servants is found with it shall die, and we also shall be my Lord's servants.

And he said, let it be as you say, he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent. Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, each man opened his sack, and this incredible drama, can you imagine this? And as he searched, beginning with the eldest, and ending with the youngest, the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. And these, these brothers, the ten brothers of Benjamin, Joseph's ten older brothers, they were suddenly stricken with an unspeakable grief, and they tore their clothes. I imagine them wailing as every one of them realized the consequences of this, that they'd made every pledge to Jacob that they would bring Benjamin back. They had, in their minds, killed Joseph, and he was gone, and now they were gonna cost Benjamin his life as well, and they are distraught. They're brought back to Joseph, all of them, and they say, we will all be your servants, but Joseph, verse 17, said, far be it from me that I should do so. Only the man in whose the hand, whose hand the cup was found, shall be my servant.

But as for the rest of you, go in peace to your father. He's saying, only Benjamin. And in a moment that represents a deep, inward transformation, Judah steps in and says, at verse 30, as soon as I come to your servant my father, if I go back to my dad, he says, and the boy, Benjamin, is not with us, then as his life is bound up with the boy's life, as soon as he sees the boy's not with us, he'll die. He's saying, if you send me back without Benjamin, my father's gonna die on the spot of grief. And I think he would.

I think he would have. That's Alan Wright, and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Unlock the power of blessing your life. Discover God's grace-filled vision for your life by signing up for Alan Wright's free daily blessing. If you want to fill your heart with grace and encouragement, get Alan Wright's daily blessing.

It's free and just a click away at PastorAlan.org. God's love. You've heard about it with your ears.

You've believed it in your mind. Now experience it in your heart with Alan Wright's beloved book, Lover of My Soul. The Bible is a love story from beginning to end. You are the spiritual bride of Christ, the perfect bridegroom. The Bible tells about a God who has gone to unimaginable lengths to woo you, to win you, and to walk with you hand in hand. For any man who has fallen in love with a woman, you've tasted the sweetness of what God's love for you is like. For any woman who has searched for true love, what you long for can only be found fully in God. Gary Chapman, renowned author of the five love languages, says, the incredible reality that God pursues us in love comes to life in Lover of My Soul. Ancient biblical accounts explode in the heart. Accept Christ's proposal, enjoy his embrace, revel in his love.

After all, it's a match made in heaven. It's Lover of My Soul by Alan Wright. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.

When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860. That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org.

Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. He said, verse 30, for your servant became a pledge of safety for the boy to my father saying, if I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father all my life. Therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my Lord and let the boy go back with his brothers. Judah, who had been the one brother, said, let's don't kill him. Let's just sell him.

Now steps forward and says, let me be a substitute. Let me be enslaved or executed so that my baby brother can live. And I just want to center your attention on this a moment because, beloved, anytime that you see in the Old Testament drama, a big brother who steps up and says, I'll sacrifice so my little brother can live, pay attention to it. At this gesture, Joseph can no longer contain himself. He is an emotional man and he has been bottled up with grief and gratitude to God and wonder and love bursting in his heart. He, at verse 1 of chapter 45, could not control himself, but for all those who stood by him and he cried, make everyone go out from me. So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud so the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph, who's wailing with them, finally gets out the words and said to his brothers, I am Joseph.

Is my father still alive? His brothers could not answer him. They were dismayed. They were struck with fear and speechless and in awe.

And Joseph said to his brothers, come near to me. He had the power to execute them. He had the power to enslave them. He had the power to imprison them the rest of their lives.

He had the power to punish them and they deserve to be punished. He said, come near. And they came near and he said, I'm your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life.

For the famine has been in the land these two years and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God.

This is the mystery and wonder of Providence. He said, I'm your brother, Joseph, whom you sold. You sent. You sold me. That's how I got here. You sold me. But he said at verse 7, God sent me before you. If there's any question, he reiterates verse 8, it was not you who sent me here, but God.

You sold me, but it wasn't you. This is a mystery. This is extraordinary. And this is our God. That's why after his father's death, after they'd been reunited, and Jacob had blessed Joseph's boys, Ephraim and Manasseh, and had blessed all of the 12 sons and he died, the brothers were still scared. Even though Joseph had been so tender with them and assured them of his kindness, they were worried. And they said, now that our father's died, he may turn on us.

And that's when Joseph assembled them again. And he said, do not fear. Am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring it about that many people should be kept alive. Do not fear.

I'll provide for you and your little ones. He comforted them. He spoke kindly to them. If you'd like to have that sort of radical grace of God flowing through you towards people, get this revelation. God can take something that others have meant for evil and use it for your good.

It'll change everything. What I'm saying is like, if I were to give you the story of my life and my spiritual growth, it was a beginning of forgiving my dad so that I could be healed of a father wound, but that was only the beginning. The real point was for me to love him and one day in the hospital pray a prayer with him to receive Christ and to be there and hold his hand the day he died. You read the story of Joseph chapters 37 through 50 and you think Joseph is the key person in the story so you ought to find him in Jesus's genealogy. We know Jesus is the son of David. If you trace his ancestry it goes back to David and the promise was it would be someone from David's line that would be on the throne, but if you trace the ancestry of David you don't find Joseph, it's Judah. Why Judah? Because God was painting on the portrait of the Old Testament drama a moment where Judah said, let me be taken instead of my little brother.

So that you would understand when the greatest expression of wickedness on the earth in the history of the world took place and religious hypocrites conspired with Roman authorities to nail a sinless man to a cross. In the most diabolical wicked expression of hatred the world's ever known they put Jesus onto a cross and as he bled there he said, my father forgive them, they don't know what they're doing. And the Bible makes it clear that though he was crucified because of the wickedness of people, God so loved the world that he sent Jesus for this express purpose and Jesus said no one takes my life from me I lay it down. So what was it the evil of people or was it the goodness of God? It was both and herein you have been saved. So I invite you not only to let this grace of God cause forgiveness to flow through you but lavish mercy and blessing to be extended from you to those who don't deserve it at all. God can take what others mean for evil and use it for good. The reason Joseph went to Egypt was not so Joseph could be finding out how special he was after all.

He went to Egypt so Judah wouldn't starve so that one day David could be born so that one day Jesus would be born. That's Providence and that's the gospel. Alan Wright, our good news message from the series Providence. It's the message good, bad, best.

They stick with us. Pastor Alan is back in the studio sharing his parting good news thought with all of us in just a moment. Unlock the power of blessing your life. Discover God's grace-filled vision for your life by signing up for Alan Wright's free daily blessing. If you want to fill your heart with grace and encouragement get Alan Wright's daily blessing.

It's free and just a click away at PastorAlan.org. God's love. You've heard about it with your ears.

You've believed it in your mind. Now experience it in your heart with Alan Wright's beloved book, Lover of My Soul. The Bible is a love story from beginning to end. You are the spiritual bride of Christ, the perfect bridegroom. The Bible tells about a God who has gone to unimaginable lengths to woo you, to win you and to walk with you hand in hand. For any man who has fallen in love with a woman, you've tasted the sweetness of what God's love for you is like. For any woman who has searched for true love, what you long for can only be found fully in God. Gary Chapman, renowned author of the five love languages says, the incredible reality that God pursues us in love comes to life in Lover of My Soul. Ancient biblical accounts explode in the heart. Accept Christ's proposal, enjoy his embrace, revel in his love.

After all, it's a match made in heaven. It's Lover of My Soul by Alan Wright. The gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries. This broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support.

When you give today, we will send you today's special offer. We are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries. Call us at 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. Or come to our website, PastorAlan.org. Thank you in the studio to share Pastor Alan's parting good news thought for the day. And maybe on a daily practicality point, you know, I've often been reminded in the midst of being frustrated over traffic or an accident or a detour. Well, maybe the Lord is sparing you from something, you know, and that two minute delay made all the difference. I think that the study of providence will adjust every listener's thinking so that you could at least pause and think to yourself that exact type thing, Daniel. What if God has something providential in mind here?

Let me not just take all these circumstances at face value. And for every bit of your own story, you can begin to find something in a Joseph-like way where God, yes, he might have blessed you, but ultimately it was for the glorification of Christ through you. And so be on the lookout for this.

It makes life far more interesting and joyful. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online at PastorAlan.org or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. If you only caught part of today's teaching, not only can you listen again online, but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources at PastorAlan.org. That's PastorAlan.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production of Alan Wright Ministries.