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JOSEPH, SOVEREIGN FORGIVENESS (5 OF 8)

by Steve Jones

Scripture: Genesis 42:1-38
This content is part of a series.


Joseph, Sovereign Forgiveness (5 of 8)
Series: Joseph, Sovereign God
Steve Jones
Genesis 42-50


SUMMARY: The account of Joseph in Genesis illustrates the doctrine of the sovereignty (control) of God. In this sermon we see that a confidence in God’s sovereignty inspires forgiveness.

INTRODUCTION: In Luke 7:3-5 Jesus taught his disciples that if someone sinned against them seven times in ONE DAY, and seven times came back to say, “I repent,” they were to forgive each time. The response of the disciples was candidly honest: “Increase our faith!” It takes a lot of faith to forgive – especially on that level. It’s a lot easier to quote and follow Gomer Pyle than Jesus Christ: “Fooled me once shame on you. Fooled me twice, shame on me.” In fact, I think a faith in the sovereignty of God is one of the keys to genuine forgiveness. I don’t know if this is going to hit you where you live, but if you have someone in your life that you are struggling to forgive, even with good reason, then Joseph has a lesson for you today.

Faith in the sovereignty of God is one of the keys to genuine forgiveness. We’ve been talking about God’s sovereignty for several weeks now and using Joseph as our model of a man who lives his life in response to God’s sovereignty. To say that God is sovereign is to say that God is in control. God doesn’t cause everything that happens to happen because we have free will just as he does. However, God does maintain CONTROL over the big picture of our lives. As Paul wrote in Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.”

As we scan the last ten chapters of Genesis, I believe there are three sovereign laws that God has built into the fabric of life that enabled Joseph to forgive…and they can do the same for us.

I. THE SOVEREIGN LAW OF REAPING

Genesis 42:21-24 “Speaking among themselves, they said, ‘Clearly we are being punished because of wha ...

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