Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Genesis

Genesis 47:13-31 03/23/03

Intro: With the economy the way it is, Sam Ewing reported in Readers Digest that many companies are implementing new sick leave policies.

1. SICKNESS: No excuse. We will no longer accept your doctor’s statement as proof, as we believe that if you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

2. LEAVE OF ABSENCE (for an operation): We are no longer allowing this practice. We believe that as long as you are employed here, you will need all of whatever you have and should not consider having anything removed.

3. DEATH (other than your own): This is no excuse. There is nothing you can do for them, and we are sure that someone else in a lesser position can attend to the arrangements

4. DEATH (your own): This will be accepted as an excuse, but we would like a two-week notice, as we feel it is your duty to teach someone else your job.

That’s work…from the employers perspective. How about work from the employees perspective?

1. According to the American Almanac of American People what do you think is the percentage of the workday American workers goof off? 32%

2. A sign in the store window read ‘NO HELP WANTED’. As two men passed by, one said to the other, ‘You should apply, you’d be great!’

Many workers today really don’t take their work ethic too seriously. Unfortunately that includes Christian workers as well. Even though God’s Word has much to say about the Christian and work.

Rom. 13:8 ‘Let no debt remain outstanding’

Rom. 12:13 ‘Share with God’s people who are in need.’

1 Tim. 5:8 ‘If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.’

Titus 2:9-10 ‘Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.’

Col. 3:17 ‘And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’

What are all these texts concerned with?

Zig Ziglar once said ‘Every job is a self portrait of the person who did it.’ Think about that one for a moment.

What am I talking about? INTEGRITY. The Christian workers INTEGRITY and how it should relate to their work ethic.

Phil Sackett in Leadership Journal said ‘All God really wants of you in a given day is your best effort.’

Sr. Tomas More said ‘The things, good lord, that we pray for, give us the grace to labor for.’

Your work ethic tells a lot about your character as a Christian.

When hard work is called for many people, even Christians respond one of three ways.
     -some turn up their sleeves,
     -some turn up their noses,
     -some don’t turn up at all.

This morning in our text, we will examine Joseph’s work ethic before Pharaoh, the Egyptian people and his own family. We will see how his faithful diligence to his job, brought about prosperity for his employer and provision for all those who came to him for assistance.

We will also make application to our own lives as Christian workers. We will see how abundantly God provides for us while at the same time we will see the need to be faithful workers so that we can provide for those who count on us.
 
Read: Genesis 47:13-17

Joseph provided his family with a place to live in Egypt. He hadn’t seen his dearly loved father in over 20yrs. Now in vs 13 we read Joseph is back to work. It would have been both easy and enjoyable for Joseph to hang out in Goshen and spend time with his family.

But he didn’t. Why? Integrity. He had a godly work ethic. And he did his work as unto the Lord.

Joseph realized that while the Egyptians money was gone, their wealth wasn’t. So he began to barter with them…livestock for food. This may have seemed too much to bargain for. But, without food, the livestock would have been dead stock, they would not have survived. In this way, Joseph did the people a favor by caring for their livestock when the people weren’t able to.

Read: Genesis 47:18-22

Has Joseph instituted slavery in Egypt? Has he placed the Egyptians under the bondage of slavery against their wills? No.

Once again the people run out of food.

They had given Joseph all their money, all their livestock, now Joseph asked for their land…and their labor in exchange for food and seed for new crops.

Again when you think about it, Joseph didn’t take advantage of them, he was a wise steward of Pharaoh’s interests. Because of the famine, nothing would grow in the land, so the land was no good to the people, why not sell it.

If the people were w/o money, livestock and land they were not able to provide for themselves and their families. So, they would sell themselves to Pharaoh who would provide them with food and seed each year.

Isn’t that what employment is…really. We ‘sell’ ourselves to another who provides us with money to purchase what we need.

Joseph was wise. Rather than just give people food, he allowed them to keep their dignity and made them work for their food. Joseph was showing them the importance of working to provide for their needs.
 
Read: Genesis 47:23-26

How about that? A flat tax rate in Egypt. Who here wouldn’t be happy with paying only 20% in taxes?

Notice however who prospered? Was it Joseph? Did he receive all the Egyptians money, livestock, land and labor? No. It was Pharaoh, Joseph’s boss. Just a thought, but shouldn’t we work so that our boss prospers? Shouldn’t we pray that the company we work for does well? I think so! I believe Joseph did.

The Egyptians had given up everything to be fed and cared for by Joseph. How did they respond? Were they bitter? Were they angered by Josephs demands? No. They said he had saved them.

Read: Genesis 47:27-31

As good as things were in Goshen for Jacob and his family, especially compared to the Egyptians, Jacob realizes that the promise God made to him did not include Egypt as his permanent home. That is why he tells Joseph to bury him in Canaan, besides his forefathers, Abraham and Isaac.

You see, Jacob trusted in God’s promises, even in his death. And, nearing his death, does Jacob become bitter or angry? No. He embraces death. In fact, the last thing he does here in Ch. 47 is worship God.

In life or in death God is to be worshipped. What I am saying is how you die is just as important as how you live. Because it will be your last testimony of your faith in Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

I want you to think about something for a moment. Joseph had announced to all Egypt that 7 yrs of abundance would be followed by 7 yrs of severe famine. Everyone knew what Joseph knew. Yet, it was only Joseph who had the initiative to work hard, to save enough grain during the years of plenty, so that there would be grain in the years of famine.

What I am saying is that any of the Egyptians could have worked hard, harder than normal perhaps, to insure they could provide for themselves and their families when the tough times came. Anyone could have done what Joseph did. But they didn’t. And very often neither do we. We don’t plan ahead, we don’t save well and we live from pay check to paycheck.

Joseph is giving us an example of how to honor God and provide for our family through diligence in labor, and the wisdom of saving.

Does God provide for His children? You Bet? Scripture tells us that God provides even for the birds of the air. But, God doesn’t put the food in the birds nest, they have to hunt for it.

So it is with His children. He will provide from the abundance of His outstretched hand..but we have to be willing to use our hands and work.

God’s Word says that faithful and diligent work is our responsibility.
     -We are responsible to work to provide for our families.
     -We are responsible to work to provide for those who are unable to work.
     -We are responsible to work as unto the Lord, so that He will be glorified and His Gospel will not be stained by those who
        lack diligence in providing for their own needs or the needs of others.

Do you feel that perhaps God is not providing for you as He has promised?
Have you prayed for God to meet your financial needs but the bills still keep piling up?

Then perhaps you might consider praying Sir Thomas More’s prayer.

You see your faithful and diligent labor just may be the method God chooses to provide for you?

Seek God’s face, ask Him to provide for not only the financial need, but to give you the grace and determination to be responsible and godly in your work ethic.

Joseph is our example of a man with integrity in the workplace. He was faithful, honest, diligent, even when I am sure he would have had more fun hanging out with his family in Goshen.

Joseph honored God with his work and provided not only for his immediate but his extended family as well as all of Egypt.

The challenge from God’s Word to you this morning is

     Are you honoring God in your work?
     Are you a man or woman of integrity in the workplace?
     Are you working to provide adequately for your family?
     Are you working and saving so that when hard times come you will be prepared to provide for your familly.
     Are you working and saving so that when hard times comes you will be able to help others in need?