{"id":3066,"date":"2020-08-30T09:45:40","date_gmt":"2020-08-30T07:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sermons.seetal-chile.ch\/?post_type=wpfc_sermon&p=3066"},"modified":"2020-08-30T16:35:36","modified_gmt":"2020-08-30T14:35:36","slug":"josef-im-brunnen-ausgebremst","status":"publish","type":"wpfc_sermon","link":"https:\/\/sermons.seetal-chile.ch\/en\/sermons\/josef-im-brunnen-ausgebremst\/","title":{"rendered":"Joseph \u2013 thwar\u00adted in the well"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bible Text: Gene\u00adsis 37:12\u201330 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mat\u00adthi\u00adas Alt\u00adwegg | Series: Like you and me | His brot\u00adhers threw Joseph into a well. The\u00adre he sat, full of fear and with no pro\u00ads\u00adpects for the future. But God was alre\u00ada\u00addy pul\u00adling the strings in the back\u00adground. Joseph later says: \u00abGod tur\u00adned all the evil you plan\u00adned into good. In this way he wan\u00adted to save the lives of many peo\u00adp\u00adle\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 50:20 NL<\/span>). We are sim\u00adply no lon\u00adger used to deal\u00ading with pain, suf\u00adfe\u00adring and death. Yet it is the way God shapes us and makes us salt and light in this world. We must learn to embrace suffering.<\/p>\n

A fort\u00adnight ago, the spea\u00adk\u00ader here in his ser\u00admon utte\u00adred the fol\u00adlo\u00adwing sen\u00adtence: \u00abExpect extra dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adties when you are on the road and go new ways! Mira\u00adcles always bring extra dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adties.\u00bb I con\u00adsider it the grea\u00adtest dan\u00adger of Wes\u00adtern Chris\u00adtia\u00adni\u00adty that we are spoi\u00adled by pro\u00adspe\u00adri\u00adty, aver\u00adse to suf\u00adfe\u00adring. Should\u00ader ope\u00adra\u00adti\u00adons are con\u00adside\u00adred very pain\u00adful. In our modern medi\u00adci\u00adne we have rea\u00adched the point whe\u00adre a pain cathe\u00adter can be inser\u00adted direct\u00adly into the ner\u00adve that goes to the should\u00ader with a drug two hundred times stron\u00adger than mor\u00adphi\u00adne. If the pain still beca\u00adme uncom\u00adfor\u00adta\u00adble, I could trig\u00adger a pul\u00adse once an hour that released an extra dose of pain\u00adkil\u00adler. Inge\u00adnious! We are spe\u00adcia\u00adlists in pre\u00adven\u00adting pain \u2013 not just medi\u00adcal\u00adly, but in all of life. And so we lan\u00adgu\u00adish mer\u00adri\u00adly along in our faith com\u00adfort zone \u2013 and trou\u00adble comes, we press the but\u00adton that says \u00abJesus, make the pro\u00adblem go away!\u00bb We are sim\u00adply no lon\u00adger used to deal\u00ading with pain, suf\u00adfe\u00adring and death. The result is a well-beha\u00adved, bor\u00ading life of faith and many dis\u00adap\u00adpoint\u00adments becau\u00adse Jesus does not seem to intervene.
\nJoseph expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced what it meant to sit in the nar\u00adrow cis\u00adtern. We read from his sto\u00adry in Gene\u00adsis 37:12\u201330. Joseph sat in the well. I need this as an image for situa\u00adtions of suf\u00adfe\u00adring, need and hope\u00adl\u00adess situa\u00adtions. In such events, the\u00adre are always tho\u00adse direct\u00adly and indi\u00adrect\u00adly affected.
\nRuben \u2013 indi\u00adrect\u00adly affected
\n\u00abWhen Reu\u00adben heard this, he wan\u00adted to help Joseph. \u00abLet him live,\u00bb he said. \u00abDo not shed blood! Ins\u00adtead, throw him ali\u00adve into this cis\u00adtern here in the desert. But do not harm him.\u00bb Secret\u00adly, howe\u00adver, Reu\u00adben plan\u00adned to save Joseph and bring him back to his father\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 37:21f NL<\/span>).
\nIt is sur\u00adpri\u00adsing that Reu\u00adben, of all peo\u00adp\u00adle, fought for Joseph\u2019s life. He was the first\u00adborn and should have recei\u00adved the most beau\u00adtiful dress and also the inhe\u00adri\u00adtance. Moreo\u00adver, the first-born bles\u00adsing was also in dan\u00adger. In fact, Joseph\u2019s two sons were equal to Reu\u00adben in terms of bles\u00adsing (Gene\u00adsis 48:5). Nevert\u00adhel\u00adess, Reu\u00adben is the only one who stands up for the right and tri\u00ades to save what can be saved. And this is no flash in the pan. Later, when Ben\u00adja\u00admin is in dan\u00adger, he does it again (Gene\u00adsis 42:37).
\nMany years later, someone comes along who is just as com\u00admit\u00adted to hel\u00adping other peo\u00adp\u00adle in trou\u00adble. He would have had every reason not to come into this world and get his hands real\u00adly dir\u00adty. He goes through with it and takes stock: \u00abIt is finis\u00adhed!\u00bb (John 19:30).
\nIt is divi\u00adne to stand up for what is right in the face of the suf\u00adfe\u00adring of others. Reu\u00adben comes back and tears his clo\u00adthes becau\u00adse he can do not\u00adhing more. Often tho\u00adse indi\u00adrect\u00adly affec\u00adted are power\u00adless. Recent\u00adly, I came across a quo\u00adte from Rajesh from India: \u00abIf someone comes and beats or kills me, that\u2019s fine. I am rea\u00addy to bear it for Christ. But what if someone comes and beats my child\u00adren?\u00bb Espe\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly as par\u00adents, it is hard to bear when your child\u00adren suf\u00adfer. One would glad\u00adly die ones\u00adelf if it would keep the child ali\u00adve. Often the\u00adre is not\u00adhing else we can do but sim\u00adply suf\u00adfer in silence. That is dif\u00adfi\u00adcult for us! And so we allow our\u00adsel\u00adves to be sedu\u00adced by state\u00adments that hurt more than they build. For exam\u00adp\u00adle, through opti\u00admi\u00adstic pro\u00adphe\u00adci\u00ades that reflect our hel\u00adp\u00adless\u00adness more than the words of God. Or we pre\u00adtend to under\u00adstand the suf\u00adfe\u00adring per\u00adson. What a pre\u00adsump\u00adti\u00adon. No one can under\u00adstand the suf\u00adfe\u00adring of another!
\nIt is so important that we stand behind not only tho\u00adse direct\u00adly affec\u00adted in suf\u00adfe\u00adring, but also tho\u00adse indi\u00adrect\u00adly affected.
\nJoseph \u2013 direct\u00adly affected
\nAnd how do you think Joseph is doing in the cis\u00adtern? The brot\u00adhers later said to each other: \u00abAll this hap\u00adpen\u00aded only becau\u00adse of what we did to Joseph a long time ago. We saw his fear when he beg\u00adged us for mer\u00adcy, but did not lis\u00adten. Now we must ato\u00adne for it\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 42:21 NL<\/span>). Joseph endu\u00adred panic fear of death. Add to that the con\u00adfi\u00adne\u00adment, the pain, the hope\u00adl\u00adess\u00adness, the loneli\u00adne\u00adss. He could bare\u00adly brea\u00adthe enough to plead for mercy.
\nMay\u00adbe you feel simi\u00adlar right now or know such con\u00adstric\u00adting situa\u00adtions from days gone by. The\u00adre may be a dia\u00adgno\u00adsis with an uncer\u00adtain future, phy\u00adsi\u00adcal or emo\u00adtio\u00adnal pain, the nag\u00adging and unful\u00adfil\u00adled desi\u00adre for mar\u00adria\u00adge or child\u00adren, the rela\u00adti\u00adonship that is brea\u00adking up. A dark night of the soul. What then?
\nPeter descri\u00adbes what mat\u00adters then: \u00abThe\u00adre is gre\u00adat joy ahead of you, even though you will have to endu\u00adre much for a while. This is only to test your faith, to see if it is real\u00adly strong and pure. It is tes\u00adted as gold is tes\u00adted and refi\u00adned in the fire \u2013 and your faith is much more pre\u00adcious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tes\u00adted through gre\u00adat dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adties, it will bring you much prai\u00adse and glo\u00adry and honour on the day when Jesus Christ is reve\u00ada\u00adled to the who\u00adle world\u00bb (1 Peter 1:6f NL<\/span>).
\nThe pivo\u00adtal point is the sen\u00adtence: \u00abSo if your faith remains strong.\u00bb When we are stuck in the well, we are first and fore\u00admost to make sure that our trust in God remains strong. Our inner refle\u00adxes do the oppo\u00adsi\u00adte: they doubt whe\u00adther God exists at all, becau\u00adse we are under the mista\u00adken impres\u00adsi\u00adon that as bap\u00adti\u00adsed Chris\u00adti\u00adans we will no lon\u00adger get caught in the cis\u00adtern and if it should hap\u00adpen, we have a heli\u00adc\u00adop\u00adter God who will imme\u00addia\u00adte\u00adly res\u00adcue us from the pre\u00addi\u00adca\u00adment. That is what he is the\u00adre for! Ima\u00adgi\u00adne a boy who locks hims\u00adelf in the toi\u00adlet and despi\u00adte despe\u00adra\u00adte attempts can no lon\u00adger open the door. He has panic attacks and screams for help. The father hears him and clim\u00adbs in through the win\u00addow into the nar\u00adrow room. The boy is hap\u00adpy and has only one wish: that the father opens the door and he can con\u00adti\u00adnue play\u00ading with his Legos. The father, on the other hand, con\u00adsiders it more important to be with the son in his distress and to spend time with him. In the well, the\u00adre is one ques\u00adti\u00adon: Do we des\u00adpair or can a spark of hope ari\u00adse in us? Do I trust Him to do well?
\nAccor\u00adding to Peter, cri\u00adses have a pur\u00adpo\u00adse. They test our faith so that it beco\u00admes more pre\u00adcious than gold. Don\u2019t was\u00adte a cis\u00adtern expe\u00adri\u00adence! We are then \u00abwork in pro\u00adgress\u00bb from God\u2019s point of view. This reminds me of the sta\u00adtue \u00abDavid\u00bb car\u00adved by Michel\u00adan\u00adge\u00adlo. When asked how he could crea\u00adte such a mar\u00advell\u00adous sta\u00adtue from a block of marb\u00adle, he repli\u00aded, \u00abI just knock away ever\u00ady\u00adthing that does\u00adn\u2019t belong to David.\u00bb We need cri\u00adses if we are to beco\u00adme the per\u00adson God sees in us. Romans 5:3ff descri\u00adbes a cycle: through worries and pro\u00adblems we learn pati\u00adence, pati\u00adence makes us strong insi\u00adde and that in turn makes us con\u00adfi\u00addent in hope and leads to love. The who\u00adle matu\u00adring pro\u00adcess beg\u00adins with the cis\u00adtern. The\u00adre we have to learn to embrace suffering.
\nGod \u2013 whe\u00adre are you?
\nIs God trust\u00adwor\u00adt\u00adhy at all? Whe\u00adre is he in the sto\u00adry of Joseph? The fol\u00adlo\u00adwing obser\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon is my high\u00adlight in this sto\u00adry. At the behest of his father Jacob, Joseph came to the field whe\u00adre the brot\u00adhers were sup\u00adpo\u00adsed to be. \u00abAs Joseph was wan\u00adde\u00adring the\u00adre in the fields, he met a man. \u00abWhat are you loo\u00adking for?\u00bb the man asked him\u00bb (v.15 NL<\/span>). Joseph was wan\u00adde\u00adring, so the\u00adre was a delay. As a result, the well deba\u00adcle also occur\u00adred later. \u00abThen they sat down to eat. All at once they spot\u00adted a cara\u00advan coming toward them from Gilead\u00bb (v.25 NL<\/span>). Thanks to the delay in the field, the timing was now per\u00adfect. If this cara\u00advan had not come, they would have left Joseph in the well. God had long sin\u00adce been pul\u00adling the strings in the back\u00adground. Joseph felt not\u00adhing of this in the cis\u00adtern. When we sit in the well, we can trust that God is pul\u00adling the strings. You can know: God is abo\u00adve all and has a plan for you and me. And if you are wan\u00adde\u00adring around, it may be that the timing is not right yet. In every situa\u00adti\u00adon, you can know that God has a plan and is not too late.
\nMuch later, when Joseph made hims\u00adelf known to his brot\u00adhers, he said: \u00abI am your brot\u00adher Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. But do not reproach your\u00adsel\u00adves for that. God hims\u00adelf sent me befo\u00adre you to save your lives\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 45:4f NL<\/span>). In the well, Joseph was just pure fear. Only much later did he get a new per\u00adspec\u00adti\u00adve. May\u00adbe this will hap\u00adpen to you too at some point through time. A litt\u00adle later still, Joseph said to them: \u00abAs far as I am con\u00adcer\u00adned, God has tur\u00adned all the evil you plan\u00adned to do to good. In this way he wan\u00adted to save the lives of many peo\u00adp\u00adle\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 50:20 NL<\/span>). Joseph came out of the well dif\u00adfer\u00adent\u00adly than when he was thrown in. \u00abThe Lord hel\u00adped Joseph and made ever\u00ady\u00adthing work out for him\u00bb (Gene\u00adsis 39:2 NL<\/span>).
\n 
\nA rab\u00adbi wri\u00adtes: \u00abIn a dream I took part in a stran\u00adge tri\u00adal. Three pious rab\u00adbis had deci\u00added to sit in jud\u00adge\u00adment on God for the car\u00adna\u00adge among his child\u00adren. In hea\u00adted dis\u00adcus\u00adsion, they bit\u00adter\u00adly leve\u00adled char\u00adges against God, who had con\u00adsi\u00adgned his peo\u00adp\u00adle to obli\u00advi\u00adon and thus to mur\u00adde\u00adrers. God was cri\u00admi\u00adnal\u00adly fai\u00adling to ful\u00adfil his coven\u00adant obli\u00adga\u00adti\u00adons towards the Jews. In the cour\u00adse of the tri\u00adal, God was found guil\u00adty on all counts. After the ver\u00addict, one of the rab\u00adbis said, in view of the set\u00adting sun, it was now time for pray\u00ader. And they bowed their heads and pray\u00aded.\u00bb The who\u00adle Bible talks about being allo\u00adwed to accu\u00adse God from the cis\u00adtern. And God as the accu\u00adsed stands up to it, yes, that he defends hims\u00adelf and that he pro\u00adves his omni\u00adpo\u00adtence and love, that he does not let this accu\u00adsa\u00adti\u00adon get him down, but allows hims\u00adelf to be chal\u00adlen\u00adged to act divi\u00adne\u00adly (cf. Isai\u00adah 54:7\u20138). In Hebrew, God is cal\u00adled kabod (holy). Kabod means hea\u00advy with weight. God with\u00adstands this with his power, his weight, when we accu\u00adse him. He is the holy one, not\u00adhing can knock him down. And becau\u00adse he is so weigh\u00adty, at the end of this sto\u00adry the rab\u00adbis rever\u00adent\u00adly bow their heads and wor\u00adship God. They give him the honour and lea\u00adve the last word, the final jud\u00adge\u00adment to him. All they have ser\u00adved up befo\u00adre in the accu\u00adsa\u00adti\u00adon is pre\u00adju\u00addi\u00adce. The Holy One, the Weigh\u00adty One, has the last word. May this holy God bless you even in tho\u00adse moments when you only feel like complaining.
\nA for\u00admer regio\u00adnal mana\u00adger is wai\u00adting to die with pan\u00adcrea\u00adtic can\u00adcer. In an inter\u00adview he tells how he con\u00adfi\u00addent\u00adly awaits his Saviour. His wish is that the song \u00abRuler of Eter\u00adni\u00adty\u00bb be sung at the fun\u00ade\u00adral ser\u00advice. Trus\u00adting God means wor\u00adship\u00adping Him after all hard\u00adships and pre\u00adju\u00addi\u00adces. He is good and does it well!
\n 
\n 
\n 
\n 
\n 
\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead Bible text: Gene\u00adsis 37:12\u201330; Romans 5:3\u20135<\/p>\n

\tHow might Joseph have felt in the well? When and how did you also have such con\u00adstric\u00adting feelings?
\n\tThe\u00adre is a song that says \u00abIn you is joy in all sor\u00adrow\u00bb. How can one rejoice in the well?
\n\tWhat do you think about the state\u00adments in Romans 5:3\u20135? Why might well expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adces be the key to a life of hope and love?
\n\tWhat kind of thin\u00adking is important to trust God in the well?
\n\tWho could you stand by who is in the well right now? What do you need to consider?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bible Text: Gene\u00adsis 37:12\u201330 | Pre\u00ada\u00adcher: Mat\u00adthi\u00adas Alt\u00adwegg | Series: Like you and me | His brot\u00adhers threw Joseph into a well. The\u00adre he sat, full of fear and with no pro\u00ads\u00adpects for the future. But God was alre\u00ada\u00addy pul\u00adling the strings in the back\u00adground. Joseph later says: \u00abGod has tur\u00adned all the evil you plan\u00adned into good. On this\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[23],"wpfc_sermon_series":[63],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":["wpfc_preacher-matthias-altwegg","wpfc_sermon_series-wie-du-und-ich","wpfc-sermon-single","post-3066","wpfc_sermon","type-wpfc_sermon","status-publish","hentry","wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"],"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t

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