Hope Series
Joseph's Journey: From the Pit to the Palace
Sunday July 14, 2024 - Pastor Wungreiso Valui
Genesis 50:20
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Genesis 50:20
Genesis 37:5-7 (NKJV): "Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more. So he said to them, 'Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf."
Genesis 37:9 (NKJV): "Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, 'Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me."
Q. How do Joseph's initial dreams set the stage for his life's journey?
1. JOSEPH WAS HATED FOR HIS DREAM (ENVIOUS): Genesis 37:5 (NKJV)
"Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more."
Q. Have you ever faced opposition or criticism for something you believed in or wanted to achieve? How did you respond?
2. JOSEPH WAS CAST INTO A PIT FOR HIS DREAM: Genesis 37:18-24 (NKJV):
...'Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, "Some wild beast has devoured him." We shall see what will become of his dreams!... So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it."
Q. Share a personal experience of going through a "pit" moment in your life. How did you find hope and strength to move forward? Or Are you still in the pit?
3. JOSEPH WAS SOLD INTO SLAVERY FOR HIS DREAM: Genesis 37:25-28 (NKJV)
:..Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.".
Q. How have you seen God's providence at work in your life or the lives of others around you?
4. JOSEPH, THE DREAMER, WENT TO PRISON: Genesis 37:21 (NKJV)
But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Q. How can we cultivate our gifts and remain faithful in challenging times?
5. JOSEPH BECAME A RULER OF EGYPT: Genesis 41:39-41 (NKJV)
"Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.' And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt."
God's purpose is to save lives, as demonstrated through Joseph, whom God used to save many lives.
Q. What can we learn from Joseph's story about trusting God's overall plan for our lives?