Feast & Famine

Well. Good morning. It’s good to see you all this morning. All you brave Michiganders, for getting your cars and braving the snow and the ice that’s out there. So we’re so glad to have you here. we figured we’d be a little bit lighter today, so we’re so thankful that we have incredible volunteers that get here early and run the cameras and all the stuff that goes on into our tech room, because we know a lot of you are in the comfort of your homes and you’re streaming in today. So can we give all of them a hand this morning? Because they’re just such awesome people. If you’re if this is your first time here, we’re glad that you’re here. My name is Tim. I get the privilege of being one of the pastors here, and one of the easiest ways to stay up to date on all things Shepherd’s Gate is actually to download our app. not only does it have everything that you need for our Sunday morning worship experience, it has all of the other incredible ministry that goes on here at Shepherd’s Gate. From kids to students to adults to our care program. you can even sign up for what Ben talked about earlier, with going and helping at the homeless shelter in just a few weeks. if you haven’t been here, this is actually week seven of what we’re calling Genesis part five and what we do as a church when we do a book of the Bible, is we go through every single word.

And so whether the preacher reads every single, word that’s in the scriptures or we have someone do it through a video reading, or we even have live readers at time, which I know we’re going to have that coming up here in a few weeks. if you haven’t been with us, let me just catch you up. Genesis part five. Joseph is kind of our central character. he’s a young man. He’s 17 years old. when we learn about him in Scripture and he’s his dad’s favorite, and he ends up, getting sold by his brothers. So his brothers first thought that they should murder him, and then they said, no, no, no, let’s take pity on him. So they sell him as a slave. He goes on this insane journey from his hometown all the way to Egypt, where immediately he gets sold again to this guy named Potter for. And, while he’s there, he rises through the ranks. And wouldn’t you know, that Potiphar’s wife, makes this lie up about him. So, Potter, for trusting his wife over trusting his slave throws him in prison. And so last week, what we learned is that Pharaoh, who’s the ruler of Egypt, also took his chief cupbearer and baker, and he threw them into the same prison where Joseph was. So Joseph has already been in this prison for some time. These two get added to the prison. they both have dreams on the same night.

And Joseph, because of God, is able to interpret them. the cupbearer ends up restored and the baker ends up dead. But the point of the story is, is that whenever God gives Joseph something, he’s truthful to tell them till the very end, even if it’s uncomfortable news. And so if you were with us last week, you might remember, one of the things that Joseph asked the cupbearer, since he knew he was going to be restored, is when you’re restored and you have a moment with Pharaoh, if you could just do me this one favor, if you could just tell him about me that I’m in this dungeon and that I’m the one that interpreted your dream, and that maybe then that would help get me out of this place. And what did the cupbearer do? What do you remember about last week, the last verse? Those of you that were here, he forgot somehow he just got busy, went, went about his normal duties and completely forgot about Joseph. And then last week I did something that we normally don’t do. I went into chapter 41, the next chapter and remember how long, that had that it transpired. The Bible tells us how long was it? Two years. Now, remember again, Joseph has already been in prison for an unknown, under, identifiable amount of time. So this is in addition, it’s like having an extra two years slapped on your prison sentence.

And so here he is trying to figure out his next step, trying to figure out is this the end for him or does God have more for his life? I was thinking about this. Two years is a fairly long time, two years plus, but at least two years of when he told somebody else and thought that maybe he could go through somebody else as his way out. Have you in your life ever been forgotten? Anybody in here? Maybe as a kid, your parents left you at a restaurant. Those of you with multiple children, any of you ever left a child anywhere. And you look back in the minivan and you go, oh, I have four kids, but only three of them are in the vehicle right now. We’ve had that happen with our family, not with our family, but with extended family. It’s usually the people that have just a ton of kids, where they forget one of the kids at somebody else’s house. And then all of a sudden they’re like, well, you actually don’t have a bed here. And they’re like, yeah, my parents forgot me here. And then we had to figure out either if they spend the night or how we get them back. But one of the worst feelings in life is being forgotten, isn’t it? Whether it’s by your boss or maybe you’re just working hard and and you’re, you know, you’re trying to do a good job and you’re supervisor doesn’t take notice of how hard you’re working. And everyone else around you seems to get a promotion instead of you. Or maybe it’s even in your family.

It seems like everybody else is just so busy, and they’re all doing their own things that nobody ever asks you how you’re doing. Or maybe even sometimes at your church. Maybe you submit a prayer request and then nobody calls or nobody follows up. Or you see people the next Sunday in church, and you assume that people know, and sometimes you even know that they know, but then they have so many things going on that nobody checks in or even ask how you’re doing. And it hurts, doesn’t it? You know, here at Shepherds Gate we’re so paranoid that someone’s going to fall through the cracks. Like Pastor Ben is the one who oversees our pastoral care. And you heard him pray this morning for those who are who are sick or those who were in the hospital, those who are just struggling. And it is a lot of work to keep track of people. I mean, it’s an immense amount of work, and our heart’s desire is to make sure that that that doesn’t ever happen. But to be honest with you, sometimes it it does, and sometimes it can feel like your church has let you down or your pastors have let you down. And I want you to know that’s never, ever our intention. In fact, we want the exact opposite for our community of faith here that when you submit a prayer request or you text in, or you call in, or you let somebody know that you’re struggling, that there is somebody, whether it’s a pastor or someone from our pastoral care team or even a fellow member who will come alongside you, who will love you enough to check in on you and and to make sure that you’re okay, and to make sure that you know that you are loved and that you’re a valued.

Is that true, church? Is that who we want to be as a church? So think about this. Two full years is past and then what now is going to start having dreams. And of course, he’s standing by this big body of water called the Nile. And then all of a sudden there’s these seven cows that are plump and fat and they’re grazing among the reefs. Then all of a sudden he sees these other seven cows that are ugly and gaunt, which is, if there’s an ugly cow, is there such thing as a good looking cow? Aren’t they all ugly? But this one. Oh, there’s beautiful cows. I’m sorry. There’s beautiful cows. Award winning cows. And so here, these things are just bones. I mean, there’s nothing to them. And the sickly cows, the ugly cows eat the fat cows. That’s weird. That’s bizarre. Can you even in your head right now, even picture that? Even those of you that are obsessed with the Animal Channel or the Discovery Channel, where you watch other animals, you know, circle of life, I guess that’s all that is all weird. Like, why would God give him such a bizarre dream unless he’s really wanting to drive home his point? Unless he really wants him to know that this is supernatural. Because after he has this dream, of course he wakes up. And when you’re sitting there scratching your head and you don’t know what to do and you’re trying to make sense of it, what what is the next logical thing to do when you wake up from a bad dream?

That’s go back to sleep and then what does God do? All right, then I’m going to give you another bizarre one. There’s going to be these heads of grain. There’s going to be good and healthy, but there’s also going to be these thin and scorched grains. And oh, by the way, the thin and scorched grains are going to eat the healthy grains. How does, how does a corn stalk eat a corn stalk? What what part of the corn stalk or the crop is the head? I this is weird stuff in the Bible. Can we just say that again? Why does it have to be so outrageous? Unless God’s up to something, unless God’s trying to teach us something. And of course, he has this second dream and then he wakes up from it as well. And so, just like the chief, cupbearer and baker, he’s trouble. The next morning, he sends word to his staff, which are the magicians and wise men, which these people would not have been followers of God. They would have done all sorts of things in the spiritual realm, entertaining demons and all sorts of witchcraft. And he tells them his dream. And of course, none of them know how to interpret it. Or some people even believe that maybe they did or have some semblance of it, but they didn’t want to tell Pharaoh because they knew that it included bad news. And so if they told them bad news and then it would risk their own lives and all of a sudden, isn’t this convenient in the next verse, as all of this is taking place and the chief cupbearer is within earshot, he says to Pharaoh,

Funny that you should say that, because today I am reminded of my shortcomings. What a moment to be vulnerable. What a moment to be humble. Oh yeah. There was this guy, like two years ago when I was in prison, and he actually interpreted the dreams for myself and for the guy that you already killed. Oh, yeah. And he goes through and he tells Pharaoh the whole story. And so after Pharaoh, here’s the story, of course, he sends word for Joseph, and he was quickly brought out of the dungeon. I mean, in one moment of time, it says he had shaved and changed his clothes. Why is that detail important? I mean, I want you for a moment to picture Tom Hanks in the movie castaway. I mean, that’s the image you should have of Joseph. He’s uncapped the prison, the dungeon, and as Joseph referred to, it wasn’t some, you know, easy going federal prison like what we would think of today. I mean, this was a pit. This was a terrible place to be. And of course, he had to be presentable. So they shower him, they shave him, they change him, and he goes before Pharaoh. And Pharaoh says to Joseph, hey, I had this dream. No one can interpret it. I heard that you kind of have this gift of doing it. And think of this. The first thing Joseph says when he has the ear of Pharaoh, the very first thing recorded for us, of all the things that he could say to him in this moment, these are the first words out of his mouth.

I cannot do it. He says the same exact thing that is magicians and his wise men said. But he goes on to say, God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires. That’s incredible, isn’t it? Wow. Everything that Joseph has been through and the first words out of his mouth are reminding Pharaoh, who is God is. And that there’s no power within him. There’s no ability within him. In fact, Joseph lives and moves and has his being because of who God is and what God can do in this situation, just as he has over and over again in Joseph’s life. So what happens? Joseph or Pharaoh begins to tell Joseph the whole dream. Scripture repeats itself and he goes back to the Nile and he says, these cows eat these cows, and these corn stalks eat these corn stalks. And it was crazy, and I was troubled, and I don’t know what to think and why. I have these dreams, and I want to pause for a moment on this, because really, what is also happening in this text is you really see humanity and the and the fact that all of us endure into a certain regard, end up on the same plane. What happens so often in life when trouble comes or hardship comes or a diagnosis comes as you find people in desperate situations and desperate people will do desperate things regardless of their social or economic status. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, it doesn’t matter how much influence you have or the position that you have. When hardship comes into your life, it has a way of humbling us as humans, doesn’t it?

And it levels the playing field and it once again reminds us how frail life really is. This life that we have is a gift nobody is guaranteed. Tomorrow. Nobody is guaranteed next week or next month, or even to make it to the end of this year. We live and breathe and move because of a sovereign God. That’s in control of all of the aspects that happen on this earth, including our human lives. Amen. Now, what’s so amazing is that after Joseph is sitting here listening to Pharaoh tell his dream, Joseph just says because he’s receiving it from God. The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. Hey, this is going to be easy. The two dreams, they’re connected together. They mean the same thing. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. yet he goes back to God again. He puts God in his rightful place, even though he’s talking to Pharaoh, who thinks he’s God in a pagan culture, in a pagan society, he’s the only Hebrew found within hundreds of miles. Nobody is worshiping the one true God but Joseph. And here he is, boldly standing before the ruler who has the power to take his life. And again he gives glory to God, and he recognizes God is the sovereign God of all and so interprets this dream very easily. He says, seven years, this place is going to be busting at the seams. You’re crops. All of the things that you have Pharaoh under your kingdom are going to are just going to be incredible throughout this land.

It’s going to be an incredible time for your kingdom. But listen to me, Pharaoh, because after those seven years are going to be seven years of difficulty, seven years when we’re going to have to buckle down, seven years, we’re we’re going to have to be responsible if you want to save the people that are in your kingdom. And this is the verse that I find so fascinating. There’s a little queue in this whole thing when it comes to verse 31, because Joseph goes on to say, the abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows will be so severe. That is such an important point for us this morning, and I would submit to you today that so often when things are going well in our lives, whether it’s relationally or financially, socially, whatever metrics we use to define success in living in success, we often forget to appreciate the times when things are going well.

I would suggest to you that our human nature often focuses more on the negative and the bad times and the difficult times than we do the good times. And I’m sure some of you are counselors and your psychiatrist, and there’s probably parts of our brain that you can, you know, articulate this and unpack this even more than I can, that there’s something within our human nature that when someone hurts us or we go through a difficulty, that somehow our memories are razor sharp, that we can go back to those times and we and we know even even intimate details about conversations that took place and what happened in retelling those stories over and over and over again. Why is that? Why is that just part of our human nature? And yet here even Joseph is saying, look, that famine is going to be so bad. That valley that this whole nation is about to walk through is going to be so severe and so painful that you’re not going to even remember the good times. And how do we guard our lives from that when we’re going through the valleys, when we’re going through difficulties, when there’s relationships that are being broken or financial hardships or things in the world are not what we want it to be, how do we, like Joseph, keep our eyes fixed on God?

How do we continue to lean into him and trust him to get us through every moment of our life, whether it’s feast or famine? Now, what’s so incredible is after Joseph interprets his dream, Joseph is the one that’s got to put the plan in place. So not only does he give him the interpretation, he tells them how they’re going to survive these next 14 years. And he says that we should put discerning and wise men in charge. Doesn’t that make sense? Probably a good thing to start. Find the smart people. Find the accountants. Find the people that you know are good business people. Set aside a fifth of the harvest 20% for the first seven years. This is how we’re going to store up. This is how we’re going to make sure think of this. Lives are at stake because if they don’t do this, people are going to die. And so they’re going to store the food up and they’re going to make sure that they have enough to get them through the famine. And very quickly, at least according to the timeline that we have in Scripture. Pharaoh says these words to Joseph. This is crazy. He acknowledges that something supernatural, something bigger than Joseph, is at work. And he actually is able to say, since God has made all this known to you, now again, those of you that have been with us through Genesis know this is not the first time that God has spoken to somebody who doesn’t believe in him. It’s not the first time that God has shown up in a dream to someone who doesn’t believe in him. And so here Pharaoh is saying, God has made all this known to you. There is no one so discerning and as wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all the people are to submit to your orders.

Does that seem crazy to you? The guy just got a shower and a shave. Guy’s been managing a prison. That’s his resume up to this point. Other than, you know, all the time that he spent managing Pharaoh’s household, you get Pharaoh’s household, you get a prison. Now all of a sudden you’re going to get an entire kingdom. Oh, by the way, Joseph, the only thing that you’re not going to be over is me. Because I’m Pharaoh and there’s no way you’ll ever be over me. Because I’m the ruler and I’m the god of this land. Fascinating, isn’t it? And now that this is not the first time. Second time. This is now the third time that Joseph has risen in the ranks, starting with Potiphar’s house and then becoming in charge of the prison and over all of the other prisoners. And now here. I mean, this is a pretty sweet gig that this guy is being given by Pharaoh. And not only. So let’s just add on some more stuff. And what a weekend to have this on Valentine’s weekend when I know so many of you exchanged gifts. Correct. He’s getting a ring. Anybody get a ring this weekend? He’s getting robes of fine linen gold chain around his neck. Anybody get a gold chain this weekend, a chariot? Anybody get a new car? Nobody at the first service either, to signify he’s second in command. I mean, what kind of vehicle do you gotta get so that everybody else on the road knows that you are significant? It reminds me one of those Mary Kay pink things that drive around.

You know what I mean? People shouting get out of his way! Bow down to, how he does nuts. He gets a new name. He gets a wife. Beryl gives him a wife who then births for him two sons. And so obviously there’s some time that transpires in this part of the text. Now, is this a foreshadowing of when Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal Son? You can kind of see some similarities in there. If you’re familiar with that parable. And remember, Jesus made up that story. A parable is a made up story, and so was part of that story. Jesus telling, because he was connecting back to Joseph, because he knew his audience would have known this text, possibly. But I want us again to go back to Joseph. I want us to just process this for a moment, this insane journey that he’s actually bannered. He’s 17 years old. He’s living the dream at his parents house. He’s his dad’s favorite. He’s got this incredible coat of many colors. And in one moment of time, he finds himself thrown into a pit and he can hear his brothers plotting to kill him. And then he can see as his brothers hand them over to slave traders, only to end up in that guy’s house where he literally is a slave and yet worked his way up that household, only to be thrown back down into a pit, this time into a prison because of one person in a moment of time. And now, after waiting, who knows how long? Because nobody really knows how long he was actually in that prison, to be brought up into Pharaoh’s palace and to be placed in the position that he’s being placed in. And now seeing the blessings of God, at least from a material earthly standpoint, all of a sudden come into his life. Here’s what I find fascinating. When you study this guy’s life and you’re going to see this in the weeks to come as well, is that somehow he is able to display humble leadership regardless of his life circumstances, no matter where he is at, no matter what he is facing, somehow, every single time he makes the best of the situation, somehow he has the ability

and the clarity to figure out ways to earn other people’s favor, to build relationships, to earn other people’s trust. So much so that he would continue to grow as a human being and as a as a person that would be entrusted with other people’s estates. I got me thinking about this as well. Because we live in a society where oftentimes it can become difficult to tell the truth. We talked a little bit about this last week, and when you rewind Joseph’s life and you look at all of the opportunities that he would have had to stretch the truth or to get revenge, he never does. You go all the way back to the beginning, when his dad sent him out to to look over the family estate, and he came back and he gave his dad a bad report. He told his dad the truth. And this is what started his brothers being angry with him and plotting against him. When it came to interpreting the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker, one was positive, one was negative, one left to life, the other one led to death. He still in that moment told them the truth. And now here he was, face to face with Pharaoh, where he could have just given him half the dream, but instead gave him the full dream and interpretation, and was willing to risk his own life, willing to risk it and say, here is the full explanation of what is going on in your life. I tell you this, it’s always better to tell the truth that is always more profitable. To tell the truth. But what about this? What about when it comes to hearing the truth? How are we at receiving feedback from others? Even if it hurts? Why is it also in our human nature that if someone comes to you and they speak truth to us, and sometimes it is calling us out because we need to be called out, the instant human reaction is to get defensive and to deny it in the fight back.

Why is that? Because we are prideful, fallen, sinful human beings. Now, I know some of you were here last week and you’re still perplexed and you’re scratching your head because you want to know why I came out this door over here like Mr. Rogers last week. That’s not his normal protocol. You always come over here. Do anybody think that I know you did? Because you asked my wife after the service. Why did he come out that door? And the reason that I came out that door is because I was insanely sick last Sunday morning when fighting a cold over the weekend, I felt terrible. And I already given Ben a heads up. I may have to call in a favor and I woke up Sunday morning. I was completely congested and snot pouring out of every you know, and I’m trying to blow it all out of my nose and my throat. And I said to my wife, I said, I’m in no shape to preach, honey, I can’t do this. There’s no way I can go to church and preach. Do you know what she said to me? She said, honey, what you have is called a cold. And people go to work all the time and do their job with a cold. Amen. And Lisa. And my feelings were hurt because I didn’t feel she was very compassionate in that moment. And I had to put my phone down because I already had been on speed dial and I was about to call him. And here at Shepherds Gate, we preach our our sermons on Thursday to each other. If you don’t know, then he’s already done this three times for me.

He did it when I had Covid two years ago. He did it last year when Henry went into the hospital, had surgery Sunday morning, and he did it last November when I was sick and I literally you did not want me here with the sickness that I had back in November. I was like, Ben’s got this. He’s great. He already knows what I’m going to say. Anyways, you can say it like we’re one and the same. It’s awesome. It’s how it works here at Shepherd’s Gate. Sometimes the truth hurts. What about when it’s a little tougher to hear when someone says, I’m worried about your drinking? Or I’m worried about this habit, or I’m really concerned about your attitude or the way that you’re treating people. And it’s all of a sudden gets even harder to hear. And in that moment, somehow we need the Holy Spirit to well up inside us to remind us that whoever is saying that has the courage and strength to say that because they love us and because they want the best for us, maybe, just maybe, we need more Joseph’s in our lives. Maybe, just maybe, as a church community, we need to get comfortable in the uncomfortable because at the end of the day, it’s not about calling each other out. It’s about calling each other up into the fullness of what Jesus has for us. Amen. Amen. I also thought this would be a fun project for us. You know, this week is going to be really cold. We’re not going to really be able to do much other than hunker down in our houses. And I thought, wouldn’t it be fun if we wrote out our journeys? Like, I want to challenge you all this week as you’ve looked at Joseph’s journey, write out your journey, specifically the locations of where God has moved you throughout all of your life.

And I did this and I was kind of fascinated. Obviously, I’m told stories about my life and how God is miraculously moved, but when you write it out, it’s kind of fascinating because I too like Joseph, started off in my parents house and our 900 square foot house in Saint Clair Shores. Two parents, four kids, one bathroom. I’m going to say it again 900 square foot house, two parents, four kids. Some of you kids don’t even know this one bathroom. My brothers and I spent more time peeing outside than we did inside our house. And we wouldn’t have known any different. I had a wonderful childhood. There was no issues with how I was raised. 18 years old. I went to college, which if you saw the college, I went to the college dorms were a pit. I’m just going to tell you, I used to be a mental hospital. They they bought and converted into dorm rooms from college, going to a parsonage. If you don’t know, a parsonage is where a house where they let pastors live. And the beautiful part of living in a parsonage is you live right next door to the church. So if anyone needs to get in the church, they just come to your house and knock on your door like you can just be married to the church.

It’s an incredible experience. And while I was at this parsonage, the pastor and I were not very compatible. In fact, we were at such odds that I did something you shouldn’t do. Some of you know this I quit without having another church to go to. And so I went and moved in with my sister, who was a nurse down in Detroit. Thanks be to God. She had a condo, and for four months I was unemployed for the first time in my life, at 27 years old, since I was ten years old and had my first paper out for months, I didn’t do anything for months of depression, four months of trying to figure out my next step until all of a sudden this church in Shelby Township took pity on me and said, yeah, we’ll hire you to be the student director. And here I am 21 years later. Now don’t clap, don’t clap, because I had absolutely nothing to do with that other than applying for a job that I didn’t think I would ever get. I came here thinking I would only be here for five years, because that was the agreement at the beginning. And somehow, in some way, when I look back now and I can see the incredible blessing of God in my life, that would lead me to hear that two years later, I would meet Lisa, that we would get married, that God would bless us with two boys. Is he blessed Joseph with two boys that just a few years later that Covid would break out? And I thought the whole world was was going to close and I was going to lose my job and have to find something else to do that we would move during that time and in a time when nobody was buying houses, so we didn’t have to deal with any of the stuff that other people dealt with.

And we live in a house now that we’re so insanely blessed to be and raise our children in, and it’s insane to look back and go where those all easy times? Absolutely not. And I could dig in deeper in some of these areas of my life. But yet I know for a fact God never left us. He never abandoned me. He always had a purpose and a plan. Even if I couldn’t see it, I couldn’t see in front of me, let alone a month in front of me, or six months in front of me, or a year, or three years, or five years, or ten years. We all go through seasons of feast and famine. Write out your list, write out your physical locations and see what it is that God speaks to you. Remember, Joseph is only 30 years old when all of this is taking place. 3013 years had passed since he was sold by his brothers. Imagine if God showed you 13 years from now. Would you want to see it? What if God could show you 13 years from now and you’re going to be in a season of famine? What if God showed you 13 years from now and it would be a season of abundance? I don’t think he shows us the future on purpose. I think he’s very intentional to get us to lean on to him and to trust him and to rely on him every hour of every day of our lives. So as we close this morning, what is it that God’s teaching Joseph? And likewise, what is it that God is teaching us? And it’s simply this God is the sovereign ruler over this earth. Make no mistake, no matter what is taking place, he is the ruler. He is King Jesus, God has not forgotten you. Did you know that if you find yourself in the valley, if you’re going through a famine, God sees you. He knows you, he weeps with you, he mourns with you and he loves you.

And listen to this. He will ultimately work out his plan for your life. It may not be what you want, but it will be what he wants. Even if you’ve brought sin into the equation, even if you’ve purposely turned your back on him and gone the other direction. He’s so full of grace and mercy that he runs after you. He chases after you, and he works deeply in your heart, in your life to bring you back to where he wants you to be in order to fulfill his will and his purpose for you.