Title: Trouble or Prosperity?
Contents
Genesis 39:1-6 Prosperity or Prosperity?
Have you ever heard of such a difficult word? 'Gunginjisa Translation Fabi (窮人之事飜亦破鼻)' is a difficult Chinese character, but it means, "Those who can't do it will break their noses even if they fall backwards". In other words, in all things, unlucky and unlucky things happen, far from prosperous. Conversely, there is a saying, "Those who do well fall before the wild ginseng root even if they fall." That means things are going to go smoothly.
We live in this foreign land and we want everything to go smoothly. Students want to prosper in everything they learn, including studying English. Those who have a job or run a business want to prosper in their workplaces and businesses. I want to do well. Furthermore, we all want to have smooth and prosperous relationships with people, and we also want to prosper in cultivating the kingdom of heaven.
Looking at the Korean dictionary, the meaning of 'prosperous' means 'everything goes well and prosper as intended'. And many people think that prosperity is just eating comfortably without worrying about worries. However, the biblical concept of prosperity is fundamentally different. The Bible says that 'God is with you' itself is prosperous.
In today's text, we see a man named Joseph. As the eleventh son of his father Jacob, he was very much loved by his father. The brothers wore normal clothes, but Joseph wore beautiful colored clothes. The brothers worked while tending the sheep, but Joseph was loved and loved by his father. And Joseph also had a dream that he received a special revelation from God and that he was elevated above his brothers.
In short, Joseph was a prosperous man from an early age. Moreover, in today's text, it is said, "Joseph was a good-looking man, and he was modest." In English, it's "Joseph was well-built and handsome." In other words, he had a good-looking face and a very good-looking body.
And in verse 2 of today's text, it says, "He became a prosperous man" and in verse 3, "the master saw that the LORD made him prosper in all things." And in verse 23, it says, “The Lord made him prosper in all things.” In English, “success in everything, success in whatever he did.” means “success in everything, success in whatever he did.” In other words, anything was successful.
However, those who know Joseph through the Bible have serious doubts when it says, "He prospered in all things." No, in a way, he's a man of all things. And he's quite unlucky. He was a man who suffered too much, and he was framed very unfairly.
Think about it. At the age of 17, he went on an errand for his father, and he was hated by his brothers, so he was trafficked and turned into a slave. And while he resisted the sexual temptation of his master Mana, he was falsely accused of being a rapist and was imprisoned for several years. Ladies and gentlemen, after being sold into slavery and being reduced to a prisoner, it is not prosperous, isn't it? Wouldn't it be better to not be sold into slavery and not to be framed as criminals?
In other words, we can see that there is a difference between the point of view of prosperity that people see and the point of view of prosperity that God sees. Humans are said to have prospered if they had a windfall or succeeded in some kind of speculation or accident. In other words, if you win the 649 lottery or the lottery lottery, you will be very lucky and prosperous. However, if the end of the lottery does not match and the result is a bang, that is, nothing in English, it is said that it is unlucky and that it is troubled.
And the prosperity that people see tends to be too attached to the life of the flesh. When you have more money, you are prosperous, and when you have less money, you are poor. Moreover, if they are cut off at a good job, they think that they are in trouble, and they are very worried and sometimes blame God.
If these things are God's point of view of prosperity, then it cannot be said that Joseph was a prosperous man. The prosperity of Joseph in the Bible is not just about a good environment without any hardship or adversity. Rather, it is said that a life that fulfills the work of God that appears in the midst of hardship and adversity is prosperity.
For example, many saints in the early church suffered severe persecution and tribulation, and even suffered severe punishment and were martyred. In view of such things, the people of the world and those who do not believe it are just tribulation. But from God's point of view, it is a great honor and an event of precious prosperity.
Ladies and gentlemen, the prosperity spoken of in the Bible does not just refer to what appears in front of your eyes. Prosperity in the Bible is not just an exemption from suffering, but God is with us in the midst of suffering, and God's will and God's glory come after that suffering. From that point of view, the difficult and difficult process of Joseph's life was a precious and fruitful life, and this was Joseph's prosperous life as described in the Bible.
However, through such troubles, misfortunes, and things that did not go according to my will, I came closer to God, and it became an opportunity for me to receive treatment, salvation, power, and more success in being used by God. In retrospect, the painful days of such a severe illness were all prosperous.
Gentlemen, no matter how difficult ordeal comes, if God's will is contained in that event, it is an event of prosperity. Therefore, those who live by holding on to the will of God can rejoice in seeing it as an event of great prosperity even when trials come. And as the Bible says, "Not only this, but we also rejoice in our tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, patience produces character, and character produces hope" (Romans 5:3-4).
Everyone, I want to ask you. When everything goes according to your will, do you call it prosperous? Or do we say that if God's will is done even if it doesn't go according to my will, it will be prosperous? What on earth is your point of view on prosperity? I pray that you will consider the fulfillment of God's will, not mine, as a success and follow such success in heaven.
Someone immigrated to New York to try to educate their children well. For five years, my wife and I worked diligently for 14 hours a day, no weekends, to expand the store little by little and earn quite a bit of money. Everyone around him said that he had succeeded and became envious of him. But while she was earning so much money, her sophomore high school daughter ran away and could not finish school properly, and her son attending elementary school often misses school.
And as he suffers from insomnia and arthritis, he starts to lose all his money. He said that he immigrated to take care of his children and lived his life hard and doing his best, but in the end he ruined his education and his health, and all that was left was disease. Everyone, just making money doesn't make life prosperous and happy, isn't it? Isn't a good environment not good for children's education? Isn't it the greatest prosperity and the greatest blessing to live according to the Word and serve God well?
Everyone, I hope that you will be able to see the many events that are coming to us, difficult trials, or all the things that do not go according to my will in the light of God's providence. And I pray that you will find God's prosperity with the meaning of my life in it. I pray that you will see the prosperity of God, who works all things together for good, even if it is difficult and difficult right now.
Everyone, Joseph became a prosperous man because God was with him. Even though he became a slave, the Bible says that he was a prosperous man because God was with him. Even though he was falsely accused of being a prisoner, the Bible repeatedly says that he was a prosperous man because God was with him.
Jesus suffered great suffering and died on the cross seemed to be a great misfortune, it seemed to be the most heartbreaking event, and it seemed that he was defeated by Satan, but because God's will was contained in that cross, the cross event was ultimately life for all of us. It was the greatest prosperous event of mankind by giving and giving resurrection.
Ladies and gentlemen, Jesus' definition of success and prosperity was 'doing God's will'. That's right. Success and prosperity are done according to God's will, and God's will is done. This is the prosperity of Christians, the success and prosperity of Christians. In other words, walking the path that pleases God is a prosperous life, a life of success, and a life of the greatest happiness.
Everyone, are you experiencing difficulties in a foreign land here? Do I not get into trouble because things don't go my way, and I get annoyed or resentful because of such things? But don't worry. Don't be so discouraged. If you are praying to God right now, if you are in God right now, it will eventually work together and become an event of prosperity.
Look at the situation of the Israelites who left Egypt. What happened when they entered the wilderness? Did everything go smoothly and prosper without any problems? On the contrary, the water ran out and we became thirsty, we ran out of food, couldn't eat meat, and there were many enemies. When these troubling things happened, the Israelites began to complain to God and Moses.
However, after a while, didn't such troubles, such hardships, and such troubles come to a conclusion as an event that brought out God's blessings, God's miracles, and God's prosperity? In other words, the point of view of prosperity seen by humans and the point of view of prosperity seen by God may be different.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you feel tired right now, you think that you are incapacitated, and you complain and get irritated. But God says that even the difficult things are prosperous because God's will is rather accomplished through it. In that sense, today's text speaks of Joseph as a prosperous man. It is by no means that his path was prosperous simply because it was painless and smooth.
Look at the prosperity of the apostle Paul. He was accused by his fellow Jews. So when he was taken to Rome, he looked like a sinner. However, after a while, that road became a lucky way to evangelize Rome and a way to prosper. And the ship on the way to Rome was wrecked. The boat broke and fell into the water.
However, on the island of Melidera, Chief Boblio's daughter was healed. In other words, what I thought was unhappiness or brokenness became the best opportunity to serve. And although Paul's life was twisted and complicated in many ways, God made him prosper in everything. In other words, prosper is to do better in the midst of suffering. this is greece
It is the prosperity of us as Taoists.
Ladies and gentlemen, don't be envious or fall into temptation when you see the prosperity of the wicked who have departed from God. A life apart from God seems to be prosperous, but in the end it will eventually lead to failure, failure, and unhappiness. However, our life in God may seem to be in trouble, but after a while, we will be prosperous, successful, and happy. I pray that you will live a prosperous life in God even in this foreign land.