Learing to be Content in Christ - Daniel Dixon, Guest Preacher 07 21 24 by New Life of Asheville

The story of Joseph is all about God turning what seems bad into good. After great suffering, Joseph was raised up, taken out of prison, and given power. As the famine spreads across the known world, an unlikely reunion with the very brothers who sold him into slavery brings Joseph to tears. Instead of seeking revenge, he shows them grace, and puts them on a path of reconciliation while hiding his identity from them. We see the truth that nobody can thwart the plan of God. We bask in the truth that freedom begins where our hiding ends. And that what the enemy means for our harm, God means it for our good!

Genesis 42

After over a decade of slavery + prison, God pulls Joseph out of the pit & places him in the palace. After interpreting Pharaoh's dreams, Joseph is elevated to the 2nd most powerful man on planet earth. Through this story we can draw almost innumerable applications like: God has a design in delay. We can’t microwave what God intends to crock-pot in our lives. Suffering is a test, but so is success. When things are going well…do we praise God, prepare for harder times ahead, walk in boldness, and step into purpose? Or do we put our lives in cruise-control and forget God?

Read: Genesis 41

What does it mean to follow Jesus? Are there essentials of being a disciple? In Mark 1, Jesus gives us 3 components of becoming a disciple. At its core it's: relational, transformational, and missional. Said another way, it’s being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, & doing what Jesus did. Unfortunately, many of us settle for being Jesus fan-boys/girls, when He’s invited us to experience so much more!

In Genesis 40, Joseph shows us what it looks like to serve others in suffering. He models overcoming evil with good, as he walks with compassion with an eye for those who are hurting around him. He also shows us the importance of speaking truth in love even as he navigates his own disappointment, feeling alone and seemingly forgotten. But as we’ll see as this story continues to unfold, Joseph was anything but forgotten by God!

Life is war. Our spiritual life is a battle, and we have a real, unseen enemy force working overtime to destroy our lives, the people we love, and everything that matters to us. What if so many of us fall to temptation over and over again, because we haven’t mapped out a plan to fight ahead of time? What does the story of Joseph and the teachings of Jesus and His disciples tell us about preparing for and winning the battle we’re engaged in?

Joseph, now a slave in Egypt, finds success because God is with him. Potiphar elevates him to chief of staff and gives him dominion over his land and possessions. Right as things seem to be taking a positive turn for Joseph, Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce him, and Joseph refuses to betray his boss or his God. Consequently, he is falsely accused and imprisoned. And yet, even in the dungeon of life, God’s presence is with Joseph, and favor follows him. This chapter in Joseph’s story has much to teach us about vocation, temptation, and frustration. Through it all, if we have God’s presence, our souls can feast in the penthouse or dungeons of life.

They say honesty is the best policy, so what happens when we get honest about ourself! Discover how your life and life in the body of Christ can become a place filled with honest people. Be reminded how good it is to come clean about your sinfulness and celebrate your forgiveness in God's redemptive plan!

In heaven all the tasks of the church will cease, no more sermons, no more missions, the only thing that will remain is worship. Our worship will bring us as close to heaven as possible until we get there.

Jesus closes with one final section that serves as the climax of His most famous sermon. We all have a choice in life, either we build the house that is our lives on the foundation of the shifting sands of culture, or on the immovable rock that is Jesus Christ. And the truth is that the strong foundation only gets built when we shift from hearing Jesus to applying His teachings to our lives. Let’s build our lives on the only foundation that will never crumble in the storms of this life!