All Christians are called to forgive, but not all fully understand what it means. Do you know the real meaning of forgiveness and all that it involves? Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah concludes his series on Joseph. with an unflinching look at why it's so hard to truly forgive.
Those who have caused us pain. Here's David to introduce the conclusion of his important message, God meant it for good.
Well, the Bible says that Joseph's words were these You meant it for evil. But God meant it for good. All those things that were done to Joseph, from his experience in the pit to being in prison, being accused of things he didn't do, all those things that happened to him, the Bible says those things were meant to hurt him. Those things were meant for evil, but God used them for his good to bring him to this place of leadership and priority in the land of Egypt. And the lesson is powerful.
The conclusion is amazing. And I hope you'll stay with us for these next 30 minutes as we conclude our series. God meant it for good, the story of Joseph. By the way, you can get the CDs and the study guides for this series by going to davidjeremiah.org. There you will find all the material on the life of Joseph.
And you may want to listen to it again or share it in your small group or in Sunday school or maybe just review it with your family. These materials are made available as resources. When we do the series on the air, you can get this from our website. And I hope you will take advantage of that and avail yourself of the work we've done to help you understand the life of Joseph. Don't forget also, this is the last day you can get the calendar for the new year.
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We appreciate your investment, and this is our way of saying thank you. Here's part two of God Minute for Good. When Joseph responded to his brothers, He presented for us a theology of forgiveness. that I think is second to none in the Bible. And I'm so excited to be able to share that with you in these moments before the end of this message.
For when we understand what Joseph understood, We will be able to forgive the Brautmeiers who plague us. as we journey through this life. First thing I want you to remember is that Forgiveness involves a realistic appraisal of sin. Imagine standing face to face with people who once plotted your murder.
Sold you into slavery. This was Joseph's reality when he confronted his brothers. His words in verses 19 and 20 of the 50th chapter. indicate that he did not take his brother's sin against him lightly. Listen again to what he said.
Joseph said to them, Do not be afraid. For am I in the place of God? But as for you, you You meant evil against me. But God made it For good. How many times have we heard or said When someone apologizes for what they've done and seeks forgiveness, oh, don't worry about it, it's no big deal.
Isn't that what we do? And we toss these words around casually. But true forgiveness isn't about minimizing the harm that's been done. It's about facing it head on. Joseph didn't sugarcoat what his brothers did.
He said plainly, you did evil against me. No diplomatic language, no softening the blow. He called evil what it was. It was evil. What they did to him was evil.
And this teaches us our first lesson about forgiveness. Forgiveness always begins with truth. Think about it, when someone wrongs us, why do we rush to say it's okay? Because facing the reality of hurt is very uncomfortable for us. It's easier to sweep it under the rug, but here's the problem: when we minimize sin, we cheapen forgiveness.
It's like trying to heal a wound without cleaning it. If we leave it unaddressed, it just gets worse. But when we confront the hurt, we make space for true forgiveness to work, and this is not about. Holding on to bitterness or grudges, but about letting the truth set us free. Remember, Forgiveness that costs nothing doesn't bring freedom.
Our salvation, after all, was not just a free pass. It required the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus' death on the cross, for us to be reconciled with God. In the same way, When we forgive others, it often requires a sacrifice of our own. We must acknowledge the pain, the wrong done to us. and yet still make the choice to forgive.
This kind of forgiveness doesn't ignore the hurt. but it chooses to release the offender. Just as God chose to forgive us at great cost to Himself. Joseph's story pushes us to go beyond shallow forgiveness. and embrace something deeper.
He shows us that acknowledging the reality of sin Makes room for Yeah. of real reconciliation. Maybe you've done something. Really? hurtful to someone you love.
If you seek forgiveness from that person, Acknowledge what you've done as being hurtful and wrong. Don't sugarcoat it. Don't sweep it under the rug. Don't make it... minimal, make it what it is.
You know, confession. According to the scripture, it is saying the same thing about sin that God says about it. When you confess something, you ask for forgiveness. You have to acknowledge the hurt. I know I've hurt you deeply.
And I was so wrong to do that. Would you please forgive me? That's more like the statement than I know this is no big deal, but I need to be forgiven. How about that? That's the way sometimes we go after it, and it never works, and it leaves the problem open.
and ready to be readdressed at some other time in the future.
So forgiveness involves a realistic appraisal of sin. But forgiveness also involves a realistic appreciation of God's sovereignty. Watch what happens in verse 20. It is often called the Romans 8:28 of the Old Testament, and for good reason. Genesis 50, 20 says, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.
Now, how do we reconcile those two things? That they meant it for evil and God meant it for good? How does that work? On one hand, Joseph's brothers intended harm, selling him into slavery. Causing years of suffering and separation.
On the other hand, God used those same events to fulfill his plan of preservation and blessing for the family of Joseph and for the entire nation of Israel. In this context, it's important to remember something. I want to just insert here before you get the wrong impression. James 1.13 says, let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted by evil.
And God does not himself tempt anyone. God is never involved in the temptation of evil. Although he may be involved in what happens because evil takes place. God is not the author of evil, nor does He have any part in the commission of sin. But neither is he totally outside of or removed from sin.
Sin is not beyond God's control to affect. God can take the evil that is done in this world and conform it to His purposes. He can use it to accomplish something different than what it was intended for when it was committed. And the realistic appreciation for the sovereignty of God is so important. When life seems totally out of control, When circumstances seem to be manipulated by ill-intentioned people.
when only bad things seem to be happening to good people. God is still in control. God is able to take everything and use it for good according to His purposes. One of my favorite Christian writers is a man by the name of Randy Alcorn. He has written some signature books.
of the faith. In one of his books he says that when he was young, His mom would lay out the ingredients for a chocolate cake before baking. And he said one day he decided to taste each ingredient. Baking powder. Baking soda.
raw eggs, flour, and even semi-sweet chocolate. They were awful. But when his mother mixed them together in the right proportions and baked them, The result was a delicious cake. The individual ingredients were terrible, but the final product was amazing. And I think you see the analogy.
The individual ingredients of trials and apparent tragedies that come into our lives are neither delicious nor desirable. In fact, At first taste, they often are very bland and even very bitter. But God is capable of carefully measuring out and mixing up those ingredients. in order to produce a final product that is for our very best. We have noted this before in our study.
Joseph is always about this particular fact. Remember, he's a vertical man. God is everywhere in Joseph's life. He was as near to Joseph as the air that Joseph breathed. And Joseph had this amazing ability to see God in every situation.
He continually made reference to God's presence. When he introduced his sons to Jacob, he said, They are my sons whom God has given me in this place. And when Joseph was about to die, he told his brothers, I am dying, but God will surely visit you and take you to the new land. There was nothing that happened in Joseph's life that he didn't think was part of God's plan. And that included the evil that his brothers had committed against him.
Now notice. that in his appreciation of God's sovereignty, Joseph refuses to do one thing. and he determines to do something else. First of all, He refuses. to replace God in the lives of his brothers.
Joseph could have put himself in God's place and executed judgment upon his brothers. But he said Verse 19. Am I in the place of God? Joseph knew that vengeance belonged to God alone, not to him. Romans 12:19 says, Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.
When we decide to take revenge on somebody, we're usurping God's role in their life. We're saying we can be God to that person because vengeance belongs to God and not to us.
Some of you may know exactly what I mean. I mean, there's that person in your life. that one who's driven you crazy at work every day. Maybe it's something like this. For years your boss has been a thorn in your life, giving you endless unreasonable demands.
And driving you crazy, and then one day the company undergoes this leadership change. A new manager comes in and to your surprise, you're promoted above him.
Now that person who used to control you is working for you. In that moment you might be tempted to get even. to take your revenge. But that's when you discover something important about yourself. You'll find out if you're made of the same stuff as Joseph.
He had every right to do that from the human perspective, but he never did. A refusal to replace God in their lives and then a recognition of God's role in their lives. Joseph had his brothers right where he could have wanted them. He had the power to seek revenge, to take control. To have them at his mercy.
He was the second most powerful man in all of Egypt. Yet in all of this he refused to replace God in their lives. And in doing so, he recognized the role God had played He said, God meant it for good. Notice he didn't stop there. He continued saying, God did this.
In order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Earlier back in Genesis 45, Verses five through eight, Joseph said, but now Do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here. For God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. And he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. When that person who hurt you comes to mind. It's natural to focus on the pain they caused, but What if like Joseph you could take a step back. and look for God's fingerprints in the story.
Maybe that betrayal led you to develop inner strength you didn't know you had. Perhaps that disappointment opened an unexpected door. A new relationship, compassion for others who suffer. Trusting God's bigger plan doesn't mean the hurt isn't real. But it gives us a way to make peace with our past and walk forward with hope.
So forgiveness involves a realistic appraisal of sin. It involves a realistic appreciation of God's sovereignty. And thirdly, it involves a realistic application of sensitivity. I want you to notice how Joseph Forgave. Joseph didn't forgive as a holier than thou superior to his brothers.
He forgave as one who was compassionate for their situation. He remained kind and tenderhearted throughout his dealings with his brothers, even up to this climactic point in their relationship. Genesis 50, 21 says, Now therefore do not be afraid. for I will provide for you and your little ones. There's a spirit that's evident in the forgiver.
That's seen in the tenderness of Joseph's heart. It's easy to forgive with our words. But in our spirit we can still be condemning. Do you know what I mean by that? Here's a little way to express it.
Yeah, I'll forgive you, but I'll never forget what you did. That isn't true forgiveness. Hey, by the way, aren't you glad that isn't the way God forgives us? You know, the Bible tells us that when God forgives, he forgets. He puts our sin as far as the east is from the west.
He puts it behind his back. He tells us we are totally forgiven. we are justified just as if we had not sinned. in the face of God. And that's the way Joseph forgave his brothers.
It's full of love, it's full of sensitivity and tenderness. It's expressed through words of kindness and comfort. I can't help but wonder if his forgiving spirit came from a heart that had been broken over time. He had a lot of bad things happen to him. Joseph had.
a broken, melted, compassionate heart. And it's interesting to me as I say all of this that in the New Testament, Paul, on two occasions, captures this for us in two verses of Scripture. I want you to listen to this very carefully. Ephesians 4.32, be kind to one another. tenderhearted, Forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you.
And Colossians 3, 12 and 13. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, Put on tender mercies. Kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, So you must also do. I think that's a really important analogy.
We're to forgive others. as Christ has forgiven us. out of the reservoir of the forgiveness of Christ for us. We have enough forgiveness for anyone who has done anything to us. How do I forgive that person in the same way that Christ forgave me?
I'm glad I don't have to list all the things he had to forgive. But he forgave me fully and freely. Promise never. To bring it up again, he says, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. He says, old things pass away, behold, all things become new.
He remembers our sin no more. And that's how we are to forgive others. If you want to know how to forgive somebody, just take a moment and review. the forgiveness you have received from Jesus Christ. And out of the reservoir of that forgiveness, You forgive others.
That's exactly. what the scripture is teaching us. Paul Meyer. became a millionaire in his twenties because of his entrepreneurial skills And he wrote a book about forgiveness that I read. And he said he grew up in an interesting family.
He said, my father never forgave anybody. If anybody crossed my dad, he carried it all the way to his grave. He says, I don't know of anybody my father ever forgave. And he said, on the other hand, my mother, she was a forgiver. She forgave everybody, no matter what.
Even it wasn't necessary she forgave. And he said, there I was. stuck in that family. between polar opposites. Myers says, I loved my parents and I'm grateful for what they taught me.
But in this area, I had to make a choice. I could either be like my father. Or I could be like my mother. My father's life was miserable. Always miserable.
had a joyful, fulfilling life. And I chose to be like her. We all have to make choices. The peace and joy that she had came Sidmire from forgiveness. And that forgiveness is available to each of us.
when we choose to forgive. As we Have been. Forgiven. I forgive others as Christ. has forgiven me.
That's the pattern I follow. In his final years, Joseph's life was filled with blessing. He lived to be 110 years old, Joseph did. Surrounded by his growing family in Egypt and Goshen, Unlike his father Jacob, who wanted his bones to be taken to Israel right away. Joseph said, when you all leave, when this nation leaves and goes back to Canaan.
Be sure and get my bones and take them too. I don't want to be buried in this place. As I was preparing this message, I couldn't help but think of a story. about golf from a book called Golf After 40. In this book, The author Shares an experience he had playing at the Glencoe, Illinois Club.
on the eighteenth hole. He describes it like this, for all you golfers, listen up. The hole was five hundred and sixty yards long. running due north. and on that particular day a stiff north wind was blowing directly against the players.
His third shot had a bad pull to the left, leaving him in a tough spot behind a high tree. a drinking fountain and a group of benches.
Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about. These obstacles made it impossible to go directly to the green. It was too close to the tree to go over it, and the ball couldn't go through it.
So the golfer played a high-spin ball directly into the wind. to the side of the tree. He aimed about 25 yards away from and beyond the green. And when the spin wore off, the wind took over, bringing the ball all the way back south to the green, where it stopped three feet from the cup. That has never happened to me ever in all my playing of golf.
The ball traveled in an arc almost like a semicircle. It was an intentional slice.
Now listen. The author made an important point. Such a shot would have been impossible without the wind. He said that good golfers don't fight the wind. They use the wind.
And life is like that too. There are winds that blow against us no matter where we're playing. Certainly, Joseph had more than his share. But good golfers look at the wind and say, How can I use this? Or better yet, how can God use this to get me where I need to be?
Joseph was a master at playing life against the wind. He took every circumstance and somehow. God used it to shape him. And now, at the end of his incredible story, We see this man whose life is sweet. whose life is full of grace.
and whose life has left for us a fragrance we will never forget. Because He was a vertical man and he trusted in God. God blessed him. And Joseph learned how to live in a world where the wind was an enemy for many, But for him it became the friend. Thank you, God.
for Joseph. and for the lessons we have learned. Amen. And I say that again. Thank you, Lord, for Joseph.
for what we've learned over these last weeks from his life. And Lord, help us to make application to our own lives today. If you have a Been blessed by the series on Joseph and would like to receive the C Ds or the study guides for the series, you can go to davidjeremiah.org and there you will see how to do that. And we also want to remind you, this is the last day for you to receive the calendar for the new year. This is the last day of the calendar promotion and it's yours for a gift of any size to Turning Point.
It's a beautiful piece of art and a beautiful tool for the new year. We'd love to send it to you. You can help us do that and help us with what we do on the radio every day. Be sure to ask for your copy of this beautiful calendar. It will be on its way to you right away.
Hey, this has been a great month, and I'm so glad we've been together to study the life of this man. We'll see you next time here on Turning Point. Have a great day today. Today's message originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church and Dr. David Jeremiah, the senior pastor.
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This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as Sheila Walsh and Dr. David Jeremiah discuss his new teaching series, The Promise of Heaven, on Turning Point. I'm going to use the same method to make a business.
