TEXT: GENESIS 37:2-11

Our theme for the year is Choose Life.

We hope everyone will choose life. Not any old life. At OCC we choose the Christ life. It’s the abundant life; it’s fullness of life (cf. John 10:10), and we want everyone to find it. Why? Because we want everyone to win God’s approval. We want everyone to know the favour of the Lord. That’s right. God says, "For whoever finds me finds life and wins approval from the Lord" Proverbs 8:35 (NLT).

Today we begin a new series: From Dream to Destiny [Source: Robert Morris].

It’s about choosing life. It’s about embracing and attaining the abundant life God wants to give you. Through a biblical study of Joseph’s life you’ll learn how to step into the fullness of God’s plan for your life.

God wants the dream He’s given you to become a reality. You have a special destiny. God has big things in store for you. But in order for you to attain your destiny some significant changes have to take place in your life. There are roadblocks to overcome, character issues to be addressed, and sinful actions and attitudes you have to confess.

Or put differently, there are tests you have to go through in order to reach your destiny. Do your God given dreams seem out of reach? This series will help you, through the power of God’s Spirit, find fulness of life.

We begin with the Pride Test.

Genesis 37:2-11 (NLT).

When I graduated from Ontario Theological Seminary in 1994, I was pumped. I really believed I was going to be able to make a significant contribution to the Lord’s work and when I arrived back in South Africa I fully expected to be snapped up by a church or mission agency and pressed into service.

But it never happened - certainly not like I envisioned it. For two and a half years I muddled along in the margins. It was a desert experience. God needed to teach me that I wasn’t as valuable as I presumed. He didn’t need my gifts, passions, training, intelligence, talents or abilities. He could get along fine without me. There was nothing I could give to the church or to God. It was a profound lesson.

Before God could use me, He had to humble me. I had to confess the pride in my life before I could move to God’s destiny for my life.

Pride was a problem for Joseph. He really thought he was the bees knees.

Genesis 37:2 reveals the pride in Joseph’s heart. Joseph was keeping the flock with his brothers and he "reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing." Joseph’s brothers probably deserved correction but that’s not the point.

Joseph had an inaccurate and inflated opinion of himself. He believed he was qualified to judge his brothers. And that’s pride.

Proud people focus on the failures of others. Proud people are self-righteous. Proud people have a critical fault finding spirit. And proud people look down on others.

Joseph certainly saw himself as superior. He knew he was his father’s favourite and had a beautiful robe to prove it (cf. Genesis 37:3). I find it interesting that God knew Joseph was proud yet still gave him a dream.

But that’s how it is with God. God gives good gifts despite our sin. Romans 11:29 says, "For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn" (NLT).

Now you may wonder. Why did God give a big dream to a young man? Why didn’t God wait until Joseph was older, wiser and more humble? Because in order for Joseph to reach his destiny, he had to pass a number of tests. Furthermore, he had to start working on passing the tests as soon as possible. You see, you’ll never reach your destiny until you pass God’s tests.

So what are the tests?

From a study of Joseph’s life, nine tests are evident. There are many tests in life but the tests we’ll be learning about in this series of messages are the pride test, pit test, performance test, purity test, perseverance test, power test, prosperity test, pardon test and purpose test.

A brief time-out. Some of you hear the word ‘test’ and you start freaking out. You say, "Brutal!" You feel intimidated, scared or overwhelmed. Listen. God’s tests aren’t like the world’s tests.

There are two things you need to know about God’s tests: 1. You keep taking them over and over until you pass.  2. If you want to pass the tests God makes sure you pass. ". . . God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished . . ." Philippians 1:6 (NLT).

Let’s continue . . .

Here are three questions:

When a chicken lays an egg, it crows about it, but when a salmon lays ten thousand eggs it doesn’t say a word. Joseph did a lot of crowing. In fact his brothers became sick of his arrogance and as a result "couldn’t say a kind word to him" Genesis 37:4 (NLT).

The Oxford Dictionary says that pride is "elation or satisfaction at one’s achievements, qualities, possessions . . . a high or overbearing opinion of one’s worth or importance."

If you have an inaccurate or inflated view of yourself then you’ve got a pride problem. If we’re truthful - we all struggle with pride. In fact pride is often the first, and probably the most frequent test we face and most of us will have to take the pride test at different levels for as long as we live.

2. What’s the root of my pride?

Joseph’s brothers hated him for his words (cf. Genesis 37:8). Joseph’s problem was his tongue. Here’s a no-brainer: If God gives you a dream - don’t boast about it! Boasting and bragging is a form of pride and nobody likes it. If you want to move from your dream to your destiny . . . keep your mouth shut. But more importantly, if you have a problem with your tongue, the real problem’s in your heart. Matthew 12:34 says, "For whatever is in your heart determines what you say" (NLT).

So if you’re going to move from your dream to your destiny, God has to work in your heart. Which begs a question? What’s in our hearts that make us proud? Insecurity and inferiority. And what’s behind our insecurity and inferiority? Fear. We fear rejection. We boast and brag about ourselves because we want to be accepted.

Which brings us to the third question.

By practising humility.

And what is humility? It’s an accurate view of yourself. Romans 12:3 says, "Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you" (NLT).

And how do you maintain an honest estimate of yourself?

There are three things you must ask God to help you do:

a) Be grateful for everything and everyone. Get the focus off yourself and onto others. Philippians 2:3-4 says, "Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing" (NLT).

b) Beg forgiveness for the sin of pride. You must ask God to break your arrogance, haughtiness, vanity, loftiness, pomposity, superciliousness and any other illusion of vainglory you might have. Ephesians 4:22 says, "Throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception" (NLT).

c) Be conformed to Christ. Philippians 2:5 says, "Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had" (NLT). That means you must learn from Christ, listen to Christ, and live for Christ. If your identity is in what you do or who you are, you’re failing the pride test. Jesus said, ". . . apart from me you can do nothing" John 15:5 (NLT). Listen. Your accomplishments, activities or analytical skills do not make you valuable. It’s being in Christ, it’s being a child of the King - that’s what makes you valuable. This may be the most important thing you hear today. To be victorious over pride, insecurity, inferiority and the need to be accepted, you must be conformed to Christ.

There you have it. Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall" (NLT). And Proverbs 29:23 says, "Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honour" (NLT).

If you don’t want to get stuck between your dream and your destiny, God has to work in your heart. Pride must be put to death. Confess the sin of pride today. Choose life - choose Christ.

Galatians 6:8 says that "Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit" (NLT).

Proverbs 22:4 adds, "True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honour, and long life" (NLT).

God doesn’t want you to settle for a substandard existence. He wants you to go for it. He wants you t)o choose life.

"For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" Romans 8:13 (ESV).

Will you do it? God wants to invite you to know Christ, trust Christ and obey Christ. When it’s all about Him and not about you, then your dream will become your destiny. Amen.

(L. Murray)