Grace II

Servant Grace

Genesis 47:24 And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones. 25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.

Genesis 47 was the culmination of Joseph’s journey to becoming a servant leader.  In Mark 9:35 Jesus says we must become these servant leaders if we wish to walk in God’s most powerful grace.  In Genesis 37 we see Joseph as an immature tattler who took every opportunity to reveal his brother’s flaws.  His poor attitude resulted in his eventual slavery.  Through the experience of slavery and prison he managed to keep a positive example of the servant of God until he became that suffering servant.  Joseph is one of two people in the Old Testament that no bad thing is spoken of, immaturity not being a serious sin.

The Joseph we see in the scripture above has learned his lesson.  He has received grace and offers grace in return.  The road was difficult as is often the case for those who are highly called.  The brilliant and accomplished are often arrogant and rude because they have never had to turn to someone higher than themselves for help.  The church needs these people in ministry and as examples but quite often God will tear them down completely as in Joseph’s case before allowing their natural gifts to merge with their spiritual gifts.  Joseph was a brilliant businessman and gifted seer but once God was done with his education he never forgot to care for others.

The wisdom God filled him with and the way he was brought up saved Egypt from starvation and ruin.  He was second to Pharaoh only in the throne and even Pharaoh recognized his connection to the God of heaven.  Had Egypt respected that legacy and not feared the people of God their future might have been much different.  We ought to remember that God will often bless and increase our enemies so they can be a help to us in time of need.  There is frequently a short sighted blindness in bitter angry men that will cause them to destroy the very bridge of help that God provided for their salvation.

By this portion of scripture the Egyptians had lost their cattle, lands and homes to the terrible famine that had spread across the land.  The suffering servant had become as king and the rulers had become the servants.  I have heard men say they would rather be a ruler in hell than a servant in heaven.  That is a foolish and ignorant statement.  No man can live for God unless he is a servant and surrenders to his Lord and Savior.  God’s love for us is so great that all who surrender are blessed and showered with great power and authority.  It may seem backwards but that is how God works.  Arrogant Christian leaders rarely prosper beyond their own closed little world.  In this case Egypt lived and the world around them died. 

I am reminded of a man who came to our church years ago.  He was an elderly black man who worked in a clothing store during the depression.  His message was a simple one.  The owner of the store, a white man, would ask employees to run errands for him from time to time, picking his clothes up from the cleaners, driving his wife to the store and the like.  Most of the men who worked for him considered those jobs to be beneath them and refused.  As the depression got worse and jobs scarce these men used to mock the gentleman who came and spoke to us calling him an Uncle Tom and the like. 

He said it hurt to hear those things but his Bible had called him to serve.  When the owner could no longer afford a large sales staff he began to let those other men go.  At the end of the depression there were only two men working side by side at that store, the white owner and his single black employee, now a good friend.  It says in Psalm 37:11 and Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”  It’s not the arrogant and cocky business man with the fancy car and corner office who will inherit the earth.  It is the man or woman who have learned to humble themselves and serve in the Name of God who will walk into those positions when pride has caused the other to fall…as it always does.

Honoring Grace

Genesis 47:28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years. 29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt: 30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.

Jacob had lived in Egypt for seventeen long years.  He was grateful for God’s provision and support but he longed for his own place.  He was buried in Machpelah which means ‘double portion’ near Shechem.  God’s place of provision may not be the place of your heart.  We should never become so comfortable with the provisions of God that we forget the work and promises of God.  Those promises are always greater than where you find yourself right now.

Many church leaders have become comfortable in their circumstances and refused to move when the time came.  They never attained the level of ministry God planned because they were satisfied where they were.  This happened to Israel when God carried them away to Babylon.  When King Cyrus freed them to return to Jerusalem only a token number were willing to leave their business and comfortable homes to rebuild the homeland.  Israel never attained her greatness again because her comfort was too important. 

Do you have the grace to honor God by obedience even when it is not comfortable or easy?  I can think of several preachers over the years who failed in that grace; some walked completely away from ministry and some simply stayed in the same rut they have dug in the floor.  To be sure, some of them are still doing the work of God but the fire of excellence and miraculous growth has died out in their lives.  I appreciate Philippians 3:14 which says, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”  Notice it doesn’t say to press toward the mark of the average or ordinary calling.  The word high is translated ‘up to the brim,’ and denotes a cup running over with anointing and power.  That is the grace I want to walk in.

Most Christians today know who TD Jakes is, but did you know he came from a little church where nobody would buy his books and bake sales paid for most of their choir robes or special needs?  While we ought not despise the place of small beginnings we should remember that the place of your greatest struggles is rarely where God intends to leave you.  TD Jakes would have remained a little known preacher in a small Southern town had he not answered God’s gracious offer to move on and move up. 

The truth is, that first step  into the unknown of pure faith can be terrifying and make you doubt you ever heard God but no great work ever came without personal growth and sacrifice.  If you find yourself trying to become a tree planted in a little pot, if your frustration level has exceeded your level of graciousness then perhaps it is time for you to find a bigger pot.  Lot chose the best and greenest plot of land he could find when Abraham offered it to him.  God gave Abraham the rest of the world.  Which will you choose?

Grace Before Kings

Genesis 50:4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again. 6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.

7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.

Royalty have an astonishing ability to be unreasonable and ill mannered.  They are raised from infancy to know their station and that they are somehow better than those around them.  This is not limited to noble houses in Israel or Europe but can be found in the houses of Congress and Parliaments around the world as well.  There is a feeling of entitlement even in the higher offices of corporations and great families.  Scripture is very specific about kings and royalty.  You can write an entire book on what is owed to them and what they owe to their people as voiced in the Bible. 

In the United States we like to say we have no king but in reality we have thousands of kings and dukes and duchesses, counts and viscounts.  We simply call them by other names like Congressman, Senator and President (national and corporate).  These men and women like to think they run this world by their wits and skills, but in reality they rule by the will of God and can be removed just as quickly when it suits his plan.

The knowledge that our authority in the heavenlies may be higher than theirs should not keep you from understanding that their place is set by God and if you disrespect or denigrate what God has established then you disrespect and denigrate God.  We must learn to always be humble servants of the powers that be and trust God to answer our heartfelt prayers on their behalf to keep them reasonable and gracious.  Joseph served the Pharaoh with a pure will and in return the Pharaoh made him the most powerful and connected man in the kingdom.   The next time you feel like disrespecting or speaking against those in leadership and forget God’s admonition to pray for those that have rule over you, remember that you are in effect speaking against God’s plan.

In the scripture above we see that Joseph’s honor was so great before Pharaoh that the entire court of Pharaoh followed him to Canaan to bury his father.  The people of the nations could not fathom what had drawn all those Egyptians to come to this small place in Canaan and bewail the death of a simple shepherd.  They named the place Abelmizraim or the Meadow of Egypt.  If you continue to honor those God has sent you to, God will continue to honor you.

Healing Grace

Exodus 33:12 And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. 13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. 14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. 15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. 16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. 17 And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. 18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

Have you ever been responsible for watching a wayward child or handling a difficult situation and it seems that you are being ignored and disobeyed at every turn?  This is how Moses felt after his short sojourn onto the mountain of God took longer than he had thought and the Children of Israel decided to build a golden calf to worship (Exodus Chapter 32).  That fact was bad enough but his own brother and high priest was the architect of this gilded god.  Unsurprisingly we discover that God is furious and once again Moses must step into position between the living and the dead.  Three thousand people died that day when Moses cleaned camp but it wasn’t enough to soothe God’s anger.

Until now, whenever Israel moved, God went with them in the cloud or pillar of fire.  God’s anger and holy need to cleanse the camp was so great that He proposed to replace His own miraculous presence with an Angel from Heaven rather than be in a position where He might see their sin and strike them dead.  You might say that this was one time where grace failed Israel.  God would no longer look directly upon them or personally lead them.  All Moses knew was that he did not have what it took to lead God’s great people without God’s great grace.

From Genesis 32:1-5 we see our God seething in anger over this stiffnecked people.  Moses wisely set up the tabernacle OUTSIDE of the camp so God would not have to witness the sin hovering over those who had worshipped false gods of silver and gold.  God made them strip off their ornaments and walk softly before Him.  During that time any man who wanted to seek the Lord had to leave the camp and walk to the tabernacle.  God’s presence no longer filled their tents with His life giving power.

If God can be wounded then you could say that this was His time of healing.  Every morning Moses would walk to the Tabernacle and the men would stand at the door of their tents and worship God.  While he was before God the cloud descended to the tabernacle and God would talk to Moses face to face as a friend.  In the evening he would return to his tent in the camp but his servant Joshua would remain before God in the Tabernacle.  One can only wonder at the grace that poured into that young man night after night while he communed with God.  He knew how to press toward the mark.

Eventually even our Lord was healed of his anger and frustration and was willing to graciously submit to Moses’ arguments on Israel’s behalf.  This is the God we serve.  He is not the God of blind rage and utter destruction.  He is the God of second and often times third and fourth chances.  His grace is as precious as water to a man dying of thirst and a mere man, Moses, restored that grace to Israel by those many hours and days of love and worship.  Jesus said we were to forgive seventy times seven.  That is a small token of the grace of God.

Is it any wonder that we look upon Christians who bomb abortion clinics or curse the families of homosexual soldiers as anathema to God?  We are in the dispensation of grace and not judgment.  Soon enough the judgment will come and grace will be no more.  We are required to be vessels of grace and that grace is to be a living growing thing within us.  Christ came to bring us grace and truth and as we will see in future scriptures that grace was made to be built upon and grow.  How dare we denigrate it by denying it to those for whom Christ died…sinners just like us.