God & Success
Sermon Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: The Joseph Stories
Genesis 39 (ESV)
1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. 7 And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master's wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.
11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12 she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” 16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”
19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.
Sermon Outline
Success in life needs to be reframed around God being with us.
1. Going With God
vv2-3 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man… His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.
vv4-6 …the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake
2. Staying With God
vv6-7 Joseph was handsome in form and appearance… his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”
v9 How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?
v12 But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. (garment: v15, 18)
vv19-20 his anger was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison
3. Being With God
v21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
v23…because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.
Prayer of Confession
Father, you formed us to live before you. When your people turned from you, you still made a way to dwell in our midst. We, however, have lived by sight and not by faith. We have loved and hoped in created things: things we see, things we understand, things our world goes after. We have marginalized you. We have misunderstood success. We have sought a successful life apart from you or sought you as a means towards a successful life we have defined for ourselves. We have given in to temptation. Forgive us the offense of our folly. Remove our pride and shame, and fill us with your Spirit. Remain with us as we seek after you, walk with you, and go with you into the world. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
What does a successful life look like?
Should you seek success? Is that a proper goal? Why or why not?
Why is it tempting to see God as irrelevant to the pursuit of success?
What are ways religious people relate to God as if God is primarily a means to success?
Do you expect that if God is at work in your life it will lead to good things? For you? For others? Why?
How can any temptation to sin be understood as a temptation to walk away from God?
What are ways of discerning whether a particular failure is because you have done something that needs correction or if you are being subjected to someone else’s failing? Do you default to assuming most of your failures are because of one of these (you being the problem or others being the problem)?
What are things you can think and do during periods where it does not feel like God is with you?
What habits in your daily life involve seeking God, walking with God, or acting on God’s behalf? How can you build such practices into your life?
How does the gospel of grace create a context for a consistent walk with God, and a life of continual returning to God?