Squeezing Good Out of a Dream Gone Wrong – Part 1

Published Jan 13, 2025, 6:00 AM

Today on BOLD STEPS with Pastor Mark Jobe … be encouraged in knowing that God is actively working in our lives … even when others have bad intentions. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “when life gives you lemons … make lemonade.”  But when faced with unjust situations or circumstances, making lemonade from lemons can be much easier said than done. As we continue our study of the life of Joseph, Mark is going to show us how he was able to trust in God’s plan and purposes … even in the face of injustice. What do we do with the bad news in life?  In the face of harm, God can use it and turn things to good.

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Today on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Be encouraged in knowing that God is actively working in our lives, even when others have bad intentions.

God can take the bad, the evil, the injustice, and God can begin to orchestrate and connect the pieces so that ultimately it works out for good in our lives and the lives of the people that are around us. That's the way God works.

Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, president of Moody Bible Institute and the senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chicago. Well, you've probably heard the old adage, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But when we're faced with unjust situations or circumstances, making lemonade from lemons can be much easier said than done. And Mark, as we continue our study of the life of life of Joseph. You're going to show us how he was able to trust in God's plan and purposes, even in the face of injustice.

Yeah, Wayne, his story is an incredible story. Most people in a situation like Joseph would be bitter, angry, resentful, and wanting vengeance. Yeah. But God does something in Joseph. And Joseph comes to the realization that God even used his toxic, dysfunctional family relationships that were really unjust to bring about his purposes.

Looking forward to this message today. If you have your Bible and you can turn to it. Turn to Genesis chapter 50. Our message from Mark Jobe is titled Squeezing Good out of a dream gone Wrong.

You see, some of us we don't like, we don't want bad news. I mean, none of us like bad news. Uh, but some of us, some of us are like the father who arrived home. And he said to his wife, you know, I've had a terrible day. If you have any bad news, don't tell me. Keep it to yourself. I've had a terrible day. I don't want any bad news. And so she said, okay, honey. She said, let me give you some good news. Do you remember the four boys that we have? She said yes. The good news is that three of them did not break their arms today. You know, pastors have good news and bad news as well. I read recently of a pastor that was bemoaning good news, bad news. This was the good news he received. One day. He baptized seven people. You know, it's good news, bad news. When you baptize seven people in the river, that's the good news. The bad news is you lost two of them in the Swift Current. That's bad news. Good news is the Women's ministry voted to send you a get well card. Bad news is they. The vote passed 21 to 20. Good news, Mrs. Jones is wild about your sermons. Bad news. Mrs. Jones is also wild about soap operas. The operas, The Gong Show, and a lot of other stuff on TV. Good news the women's softball team finally won a game. Bad news they beat the men's softball team. Good news. Church attendance is dramatically up the last three weeks. Bad news. You were on vacation? Well, many of you know about good news and bad news. And Joseph in. In Genesis chapter 50, we are going to summarize what it means to be able to squeeze good out of a dream gone wrong. And I want to read to you, first of all, a couple of verses found in Genesis chapter 50. If we look at verses 15 through 19, this is the very end of the Joseph story and the very end of the Joseph story. Joseph looked, looks back basically at his life, and he summarizes it With some powerful observations and response to his brothers. It tells us in Genesis chapter 50, when Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, what if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him? So they sent word to Joseph, saying, your father left these instructions before he died. This is what you are to say to Joseph. I ask you to forgive your brothers in treating you so badly. Now, please forgive the sins of the servants of God of your father. When their message came to Joseph, Joseph wept. His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. We are your slaves, they said. You understand what's happening, right? Jacob has died, and Jacob was the father of the clan. Joseph's brothers are now concerned that if dad died, the brothers are going to finally take vengeance. And so they throw themselves in front of Joseph and say, please, please. Treat us kindly will be your slaves. Don't take our lives. They're riddled with guilt from what they've done in their past. And I love what Joseph says these powerful, powerful words. He looks at his brothers, prostrate on the floor before him, weeping in agony, trembling before the fact that maybe now he's going to extract vengeance on them. And he says, don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Let me pause right now. We're going to look at Joseph's answer, and we're going to see that through the lens of faith. You will learn several lessons as you interpret life's experiences. You see, my observation is there are some people that have had tragic things happen in their life and they become very bitter, angry, depressed, disappointed, unhappy over what? The wrong things that have happened in their life. And then I see other people and their history almost, almost matches the people that are bitter. But you know what? They have a different disposition. They have a different attitude about life. It's almost as though they have allowed the bad things that have happened in their life to create good in them. And the difference between their past and the way they interpret their past is only one thing. Some have allowed their past to make them negative, bitter, and defeated. And others have allowed their past to be a learning experience because they've seen it through the eyes of faith and have allowed God to use their past to mold their present and help them in their future. Let me say it another way. I have some lemons over here, uh, that, uh, I have brought. I was at a Greek, uh, event the other day and everything had lemons in it. Just just a lot of lemons. But I'd like to illustrate it this way. What I've discovered. Sometimes life throws a lemon at you, and the lemon symbolizes a bad experience in our life. Tough thing. Something that we didn't deserve. We didn't expect. I mean, we didn't ask for it. It just came to us. Maybe we find out we have bad diabetes. And you've been watching your health, and maybe you find out one day that your son is on drugs and it just takes you by surprise. Or you find that note in your husband's coat pocket and you discover it's a note to another woman and you're shocked. Or maybe your business goes under and you're trying to do everything right, and you say, God, where is this coming from? And here's what I've discovered that the people that have faith and interpret their background through the eyes of faith are like this. I've discovered that what faith helps you do is faith is like this. It takes the lemon that's been thrown at you and God is able to squeeze. Good or lemonade out of the lemon that's been thrown at you. Joseph is a prime example of a person that experienced a lot of injustice in his life. But at the end of the life, we see him squeezing good out of it. He sees the good that's being squeezed out of the bad experiences in life. And I want to tell you this morning that you have a choice. You have a choice today. Are you going to squeeze good out of it, or are you going to let your bad experiences dictate a negative future for your life? So here's what we learn from Joseph's story. Are you ready? The first thing I want you to know from Joseph's story, the first lesson that we learn when we look through the eyes of faith is that we will learn not to try and take God's role in bringing justice and judgment to those who have wronged you. His brothers threw himself before Joseph and he said, don't be afraid. Am I in God's place? Well, you know what Joseph Joseph had learned. Joseph had learned that he was not God. Do you know that oftentimes when bad has happened to us, we like to place ourselves in God's place? We want to be the judge. We want to be the justice. We want to make people pay for the wrong that they've done to us. We want to take God's role. How many of you know that? That it's easy for us to play God's role in life? And God says, get in your place. And sometimes you're married to someone that you want to change, and you like to play the the Holy Spirit. You think that the Holy Spirit needs a Holy Spirit aid. And so you become the second Holy Spirit to change your spouse. And it's your job to try to change your spouse. And God says, wait a wait a second, that's my role. Step out. Let me do my thing. How many of you know that someone does you wrong and it really hurts you at job? Maybe at your job. Maybe someone took credit for what you did, and maybe they got the promotion and you didn't. And so it's your design. Now that you're going to take vengeance, you're going to get them back. You're going to make sure things get even. And so you take it upon yourself. I'm going to make sure that they pay for what they did to me. And let me tell you what God says. God says this in Romans chapter 12 verse 19. It says, do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, it is mine to avenge. I will repay, says the Lord. The first thing that I want you to understand is that oftentimes you want to take God's role, and you need to determine right now and right here if you've had bad experiences happen in your life, if people have done you wrong, you need you need to determine I am not God. I am not the judge. I am not the one to make things even. I will give God room to bring about his justice. That's exactly what it says in Romans. It says, Give God, but leave room for God.

You're listening to the Bible teaching of Mark Jobe on bold steps, and we'll continue in a moment. Let me remind you, though, that all of these daily lessons can be found on our website, Bold Steps. You can also hear us on most of the major podcast apps by searching for bold steps with doctor Mark Jobe. Just remember to click subscribe when you get there and leave us a message and maybe a five star review to help others find the program. And for even more content on the go, you'll want to download the Bold Steps app. Watch and listen to an entire sermon series right from your phone, and discover even more teaching videos centered on biblical truths right at your fingertips. Just go to your app store on your phone or mobile device and download the Bold Steps app today. Now let's get back to Mark's study on faith. Our message is titled Squeezing Good out of a dream Gone Wrong. Once again, here's Mark Jobe.

God will ultimately make things right. You say, well, pastor, I've been waiting two, two years and I don't see it happening. Let me tell you, God doesn't always make things right on our timetable. But God ultimately will make every injustice right. He's got a plan. He's got a purpose, and he will make things that are wrong. Make them right. Give room for God, Joseph said to his brothers, lying prostrate before him. He could have said, now is my time for vengeance. Dad is dead, and now I will repay. But he had learned through the hardship of slavery. Through the hardship of prison. Through the hardship of brokenness. He had learned, I am not God, so therefore I won't play God. I won't take God's role. I will let God do what he needs to do. The second lesson you will learn when you interpret your past through the eyes of faith is this. You will learn that the hand of God is active even through the injustice and the bad intentions of others. Here's what you will learn. You will learn that even though people are doing you wrong, that God is squeezing good out of the wrong that people are doing to you, you know? Have you ever been tempted to say, God, where are you? Has something bad happened to your life? And you want to look up at heaven and say, God, where are you when I when I need you? I mean, look at what's happening. I mean, are you too busy in Ethiopia trying to solve the hunger problems? Are you too busy out in Bosnia trying to solve the issues over there? But, God, where are you when I am in the middle of a major, major crisis in my life in justice, and I need you. And here's what I want you to understand. This morning, Joseph learned that God is even in the middle and active in the injustice that is done to us. Look at what Joseph says. You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. I guess what I'm saying is this I want you to I want to make this point very clear. God is not the author of evil. God never, never makes evil happen in your life or anybody else's life. Because God is good and everything that comes from God is good. God is not the author of evil. When evil happens in your life, don't look up and say, God, you made this happen to me. No, God is not the author of evil. He's not the author of violence and murder and rape and injustice and bigotry and slander and curses and infidelity. God is not the author of it. He it doesn't come from God. But what I want you to understand is that in the midst of it, God is active. That God can take the bad, the evil, the injustice, someone's bad intentions. And God can begin to orchestrate and connect the pieces so that ultimately it works out for good in our lives and the lives of the people that are around us. That's the way God works. In fact, I love what it says in Romans chapter eight verse 28. He says, and we know that all things. Say all things. All things. The good, the bad, the ugly. All things work for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. What God is saying is that even the bad things that happen in life, God is able to connect them in such a way so that they turn out for good. My six year old recently is into this little toy called K'Nex. It's kind of like Legos, but their connects, they're a little bit more complicated, and he will take these pieces and connect them together and build a little car, or build a little airplane or something like that. And if he gets just one piece Peace. Wrong. It causes all the other pieces to go wrong. And so I sat down with him, my six year old, and worked through these connects together. And while you're putting the pieces together, it doesn't really look like a car. It just looks like a lot of pieces. But when you put the final pieces together, then it looks like a car. And you see, I believe sometimes God is in the connect business as well. When we're going through a tough time or a difficult time, it looks like a disaster. I mean, it just looks there's no sense to this. There's no pattern. There's no meaning to this. It's just a big mess in our life. But God is there connecting the pieces one to another. And right in the middle of God's connecting process, we look at it and say, God, you've lost control. God, this doesn't make sense. God, I don't understand what you're doing. But when God finally puts the final piece together and connects it together. Then we say, aha! God knew what he was doing all along. And you see, Joseph understood that even what his brothers meant for evil, God was active, turning it around for good so that many lives ultimately would be saved. Now, if you would have asked Joseph in the middle of prison, what is God doing? He would have said, I don't know. But I am convinced that the one thing that was steady in Joseph's life was faith. You see, I asked myself, what kept this guy 17 years old, a dream sold into prison. He was faithful in prison. He was faithful as a slave. He was faithful when he in success. I kept asking myself, God, what kept this guy? I mean, what was the secret that kept Joseph so good. And I think it's all about faith. I think that Joseph believed even in the midst of bad times. I don't think Joseph could explain what God was going to do, but Joseph knew that God is in control. God has a purpose and a plan for my life, and I may not understand it right now, but I know that God is good, and I know that God has a purpose. And I know that God has a plan. And I know that if I keep faithful to him, God will accomplish his purposes and his plans in my life. I love what it says in Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11. It says, for I know the plans you have for, for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. You see, God knows the plans for our life. I want you to know this. I want you to hear me well. God has a purpose and God has a plan for your life. You say, well, my life looks like a like a mess right now. Hey, any construction zone looks like a mess. But the architect has a master plan. He knows how it's going to turn out. And sometimes you got to break things before you build things. I heard that there is a town in Alabama, a town called enterprise. Enterprise, Alabama. That there's a very unusual monument in the center of the town. There's an insect called the boll weevil. And in the center of town, there's a monument to an insect called the boll weevil. That's kind of a strange thing to make a monument to an insect, isn't it? But here's the history. You see, the farmers in southern Alabama were accustomed to planting one crop every year, and that crop was cotton. So year in and year out, they would plow the ground and they would plant as much cotton as they could. Well, one year, the dreaded boll weevil devastated the whole area. So the next year, the farmers mortgaged off their homes and they planted cotton again. And the insect came back and destroyed the whole crop, wiping out almost everything they had. Those few farmers that survived the two years, the boll weevil decided to experiment the third year. So instead of planting cotton that third year, they came up with a hardier plant called peanuts. Well, peanuts proved to be so hardy, and the market proved to be so ravenous for that product that the farmers who survived the first two years reaped profits that third year that enabled them to pay off all their debts. They planted peanuts from then on and prospered greatly. The inscription on the monument reads this in profound appreciation of the boll weevil on what it has done on to herald the prosperity. This monument is erected by the citizens of enterprise. I guess the point I'm making is that some of us have boll weevils in our life right now. You have some insect. Maybe your marriage, maybe your finances. It may be your health. It may be depression that's eaten away at a lot of your life. And you look at it and say, this is really, really bad. But what you don't understand is that God is about to bring something good out of that. That's really, really bad.

This is Bold Steps. You're listening to Mark Jobe to hear today's program again, along with all of Mark's other archived messages. Visit us online at Bold Steps. These daily messages are made available because of our partnership with listeners just like you. We call them bold partners. And here at the beginning of this exciting new year, we're looking for followers of Jesus to join the team, come alongside us, and partner with us as we share the unfiltered truth of the Bible with people across the country and around the world with authenticity and bravado. Signing up is simple and easy when you visit Bold Steps or when you call us at 800 D.L. Moody. Again, 800 356 6639. Our address is bold. Steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. And when you give a gift today to support this ministry, we'll say thanks by sending a book titled Winning the War in Your Mind. Pastor Craig Groeschel exposes the lies that lead to toxic thinking, and he reveals how to experience the peace of mind that comes from Christ. Request this powerful resource today and break free from negative thought patterns and renew your mind in truth. When you visit us online at Bold steps.org or call (800) 356-6639. And before we end today's program, we encourage you to join us on social media and get connected with our growing online community of fellow believers in bold steps. Listeners, you'll find us there on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube by searching for Bold Steps Radio and letting us know that you're there. I'm Wayne Shepard. Be sure to join us again tomorrow for the conclusion of this message called Squeezing Good Out of a Dream Gone Wrong. It's from our series Dare to Dream Again, and we'll learn how to discover the power of a God given dream. That's coming up Tuesday right here on Bold Steps with Mark Jones. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

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