Speaker: Ps. Christopher Chan
Date: June 13 2010

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

When the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign is on in a plane it means:

• You are taking off,
• Landing, or
• Experiencing turbulence.

All 3 are critical times during a flight. Why?
Because all 3 are transitions.
In the case of taking off, we know what to expect. Landing, we know what to expect.

In the case of:

• Taking off, we know what to expect.
• Landing, we know what to expect.
• But in mid-flight, when the fasten seatbelt sign comes on, you just don’t know.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the Fasten Seat Belt Sign, and we are in for a bumpy ride.

Facing Uncertain Times
The doctor called; your job is at risk; your marriage is at risk or

• You have just graduated. Prospects of jobs are not very bright! Job outlook for 2010 grads: Still stinks - Hiring for graduates will remain near its lowest level in decades after 40% plunge last year, new survey says (CNN Money.com)

Whatever the case . . . as is the situation in a jet . . . we are out of control.

Scriptures were written in an environment of uncertainty.

• Joseph found himself in a pit while his brothers debated whether to sell him or kill him . . . and we discover that God was with him.
• King David was awakened one morning to the rumor that his own son was conspiring against him, but he had no proof —many of the Psalms reflect the uncertainty of those days.
• The apostle Paul thought God had called him, but found himself bound and dragged to prison—and with the future a blur. He writes to us about what to do when God’s promises don’t seem to be coming true.

The Bible is about how very much God is in control and how very much we are not.

• We don’t like the answer.
• God seems to be much too passive. We become venerable and dependent.
• I don’t want to fasten my seatbelt. I want the turbulence to go away.
• I don’t want to be guided through it. I want to be led around it.
• I want to find something in here that will guarantee my safety, well being and financial security.

Scripture: Genesis 37-47

Idea: The proper response to uncertainty is to FOCUS on him - accept it as from him, look for his hand, and live as people who are confident that God is with us.
Uncertainty leaves us confused as to how to approach God. He’s so quiet. He’s so still. He seems so distant.
God does his greatest, his most significant, and his deepening works individually and corporately during times of uncertainty.

The Story of Joseph…[ "The Lord was with Joseph..."]
A. He was faithful as a slave.

1. Far from home.
2. God didn’t seem to care.
3. Verse 9 “. . . and sin against God.”

The God who abandoned you to your brothers? That God? His reward? Framed for rape.

B. He was faithful as a convicted criminal (20-21).

1. He followed God in that uncertainty.
2. He assumed God’s care and presence.
3. Verse 40:8 “. . . belong to God.” The God that let you be framed?
4. His reward? Forgotten (23).

Two more years go by. For all he knows, he is in prison forever. God is not answering his prayers. No answers appear. No signs. No miracles. No voices. Nothing.

[Read 41:1; then skip to 15]
C. He was faithful as a servant to Pharaoh.

Verses 16, 25, 28 . . . “God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

D. He was faithful as a wounded brother (45:1-9).

• What does a wounded brother do when he is confident God is with him?
• He saw God in the midst of the uncertainty and responded accordingly.
• Verses 50:15-20.
  What Joseph did throughout his 13 years of uncertainty?
  He conducted himself as someone who was confident that God was with him.
  He assumed God’s hand in the uncertainty.
  He accepted the uncertainty as coming from God.

A. Joseph saw God in the transition and so, God was able to work through this transition that lasted over ten years.

• Joseph didn’t see himself as a victim.
• He saw himself as a player.
• He didn’t know it, but he had a leading role.
• He was the point man for a very significant work of God.

B. You don’t have to respond negatively.

• You can get mad at God-”You messed up my life!”
• You can resist and take control.
• And you can miss what he would have done and could have done if you had only surrendered to his unknown purposes and plans.

C. FOCUS on GOD’s Word

• Gen 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
• Rom 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Conclusions:

• Uncertainty is a fact of life. It is not evidence of God’s inactivity.
• This is not the time to doubt. This is the time to follow closer than ever.
• Good news. Your heavenly Father is the master of uncertainty. He is in control. And he has something in mind for you, your family, and his kingdom.
• You can trust him. Live as a person who is confident that God is with you. FOCUS on him rather circumstances.