DECIDE WHAT DEFINES YOU

DECIDE WHAT DEFINES YOU

May 12, 2024

Everyone is defined by something. This is what makes a character study of Joseph so interesting. We know Joseph as the Hebrew dreamer who went from a pit to a prison to a prince in Egypt. A close look at his life reveals he came from a dysfunctional family and had everything working against him.

IT BEGAN WITH HIS GREAT GRANDPARENT

In Genesis 17, God promised Abraham would have a son, and his decedents would become a great nation.

Because Abraham and Sarah were old, she doubted she could have children. Becoming impatient she suggested he sleep with her maidservant, Hagar.

Abraham and Sarah teach us that

God can be very costly.
They remind us God doesn’t need our

ideas to

his will.

IT CONTINUED WITH HIS GRANDPARENTS

Genesis 25:23 NLT
And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”

Genesis 27:2-4 NLT
“I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.”

V. 5 - Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to Esau.
V. 7-13 Rebekah devised a scheme to help Jacob deceive her husband.

1. Nothing good happens when parents show

with their children.
2. Refusing to

can be disastrous in a family.
3. God doesn’t need

and

to accomplish His will.

IT CONTINUED WITH HIS FATHER JACOB

Genesis 27:36 NLT
Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice. First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”

1. Because he didn’t believe he would get God’s

.
2. Jacob spent his life

everyone around him.
3. Jacob reminds us how deception

and

a family.

6 observations about Joseph
1. His mother died when he was young, yet Joseph chose to be

not

.
2. When his brothers sold him and he ended up in Egypt, he chose to

in the

of God.
3. Joseph chose not to

anyone or

against anyone.
4. When Joseph was tempted, he chose

over

.
5. Joseph refused to be defined by

or

.
6. Joseph chose to

it all and

God!