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The General Assembly Church of the Living God PGT Tyler, TX 75701 Dr. Wheeler L. Jones/Senior Pastor Genesis 50:15-20 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!" 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father charged before he died, saying, 17 'Thus you shall say to Joseph, "Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong."' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also came and) fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants." 19 But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? 20 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. (NASB) For the next several weeks, I will preach a series entitled "What God Has for me." I solicit your prayers as I attempt to offer encouragement and hope to those of you who are presently dealing with the unwelcome misery and mess evildoers place in our path. You do know evil is a present and ugly reality in the world in which we live. For the next few precious minutes, I want to share with you that although we live in the presence of evil, we also live and dwell in the very presence of God. Evil is real, but God is too. As the Word of God speaks to me and through me, I want to lift from the pages of the Holy Writ this thought, "In the Presence of Evil." Evil is real By now, I'm sure you have already had several helpings of evil dealt you by the evil occupants of this world. For some of us our plate is full. You don't have to be here long to be adversely affected and afflicted by evil men. Look around you and you will easily see evil at work. I'm just telling you this morning evil is real. If you doubt its reality, you have not examined the lives of Joseph, Job, Moses, Gideon, Paul, Jones, Jesus and others who will attest first hand to the existence or reality of evil. My brothers and sisters believe me when I say evil is real. Do I have any believers here this morning? Is there anyone who shares my belief that even now evil is amongst us? Oh, I tell you evil is as real as wind and water and Satan is serving it. But let me prepare you for the blessing this series will unveil to you; Look at your neighbor and say, "Where sin did abound, Grace did much more abound." Hallelujah! Joseph Roux stated, "Evil often triumphs, but never conquers." I believe that. In my heart, I believe evil never conquers, love conquers all. Though we live in the presence of evil every day, our lot is not to live in fear. We are conquerors. No! We are more than that. Paul says it best in Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. My sisters and my brothers, It is difficult in times like these, where ideas, dreams, and hopes that rise within us are all too suddenly crushed by evils grim reality to believe in happy endings. It's hard to believe we are conquerors. It's a wonder we are still trudging on with so much evil in our midst. It's a wonder many of us have not given up. With so many diabolical dispositions confronting us, it's a wonder we are still able to worship. With so much evil in the world and with our belief sometimes weighing a feather more than unbelief, it's a wonder we are still praying and praising. Pray on my child! It's because we have a wonder working God. Amen! We live in the very presence of evil. -Evil men doing evil things. -We have evil propensities and tendencies. -Broken promises -Crack houses -Unconfessed sins -Spiritual wickedness in high places. -Peace-breakers and promise forsakers. -People who don't have Heaven on their minds. This world is evil. Author: Oscar Wilde said, "The only difference between saints and sinners is that every saint has a past while every sinner has a future." I am thankful to God this morning I have a past. Grace allows me to put some things behind me. I am not what I ought to be but thanks be to God I am not what I used to be. You ought to be able to say amen to that. And while I'm on the subject many of you ought to be happy you are not what you used to be. I'm not telling your business, but you know many of us have mounds of dirt in our past. Some of you used to be, back in the day, meaner than any Junkyard dog and badder than Old King Cole. No doubt, it will cause your spine to tingle to think about what you used to be and the things you used to do. In a nutshell, we were evil. Max Lucado says, "When others nail you to the cross of your past, God swings open the door to your future." In spite of our evil pasts, we still have a future. Evil is rampant As C.S. Lewis wrote, "The greatest evil is not done in those sordid 'dens of crime' that Dickens loved to paint...it is conceived and...Moved, seconded, carried, and recorded...in clean, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices."� Charles Colson, Against the Night, p. 46. -Evil is everywhere. -It's in the Whitehouse. -In the Church house. -In the schoolhouse. -It's even at my house. It is difficult to escape the tentacles of evil. They are far reaching. Chapter fifty of Genesis opens at the Funeral services of Jacob, a truly sad time. We all know the sorrow death brings as it invades our lives. During this time, families are sometimes torn apart while dealing with the departure of someone near and dear to their hearts. In the best case scenario, provisions are made to preserve peace and prevent quarrels. Jacob had put into place these provisions. Up until this time, Joseph had been surrounded and hounded by evil men; Men who were familiar to him. Men who hated the very ground he walked on. Joseph had lived in the presence of evil. Let's go back and get a glimpse of how Joseph found himself in such dire straits. Why was there so much evil in his life? What caused Joseph to speak the memorable words of Genesis 50:20 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive? (NASB) Joseph was Jacob's eleventh son and the son of his old age. Can you imagine the bond between Jacob and Joseph due to the lateness of his arrival to the family? Can you fathom the love this old man had for this young child? The other boys hated him because his father had singled him out for favoritism. Because of this, a cycle of misunderstanding develops and Joseph becomes an outcast among his own kin. Kin folks can sometimes do you in. They can inflict evil where no one else can. As a matter of fact there were no friendly greetings between Joseph and his brothers. No what's up? No hellos. No good mornings. No how are you? No slalom's. They would not even give him the time of day. All they gave him were headaches and heartbreaks. To make a long story short the brothers became fed up with Joseph, his dreams and his ego and at the first opportunity sold him into slavery. Genesis 37:18And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. �19And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. �20Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. �21And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. �22And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. With evil events unfolding with rapid haste all around him, this brother, Joseph, was in trouble. However, Joseph had a Reuben in his life. We all have Reubens in our lives. Who are they? They are the individuals who are our go betweens when we are in between. They have our backs. They persistently plead our cases. They pray for us when we can't seem to get a prayer through. Behind the scenes, they fight our battles. They are the silent partners who stand sentinel in our lives. In the secret closets, they send up continual prayers on our behalf. Hey! Somebody prayed for me. They had me on their mind. They took the time to pray for me. What are you talking about Jones? "I'm so glad they prayed. I'm so glad they prayed. I'm so glad they prayed for me. Do you know who your Reubens are? So let me just pause momentarily and take advantage of this window of opportunity to tell you that in the presence of evil, God is still good. Look at your neighbor and say, "God is still good." Don't you hear inmate Joseph, jail-bird Joseph, former convict Joseph talking about how God meant it for good? Let me tell you God can flip the script in your life. God can change your situation. God can reverse the curse in your life. God can make a way out of no way. God can make a Deacon out of a Drunk. He can make a Preacher out of Pimp. God can change useless things into useful. Evil is like a shadow - it has no real substance of its own; it is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it, stamp on it, by railing against it, or any other form of emotional or physical resistance. In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it. Shakti Gawain And that's what Jesus said when he charged us in Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Illustration:Living in Darkness One of the greatest tragedies for people would be to live in darkness when they could live in the light. Rose Crawford had been blind for 50 years. Then she had an operation in an Ontario hospital. She said, "I just can't believe it," as the doctor lifted the bandages from her eyes. She wept when, for the first time in her life, a dazzling and beautiful world of form and color greeted her eyes, and she could see The amazing thing about her story, however, was that 20 years of her blindness was unnecessary. She didn't know that surgical techniques had been developed, and that an operation could have restored her vision at the age of 30. The doctor said, "She just figured there was nothing that could be done for her condition. Much of her life could have been different." Oh church, don't live in the darkness. Darkness and evil may be surrounding you, but let your light shine in the world. Evil will be reckoned with -In the presence of evil let your light shine. -In the presence of evil, give God the best of your service. -In the presence of evil, do good to those who despitefully use and persecute you. -In the presence of evil, speak a kind word to and for those who scandalize your name. -In the presence of evil, put prayer on your persecuters. -In the presence of evil, turn your enemies over to Jesus. -Can I encourage you in the presence of evil just stop worrying about it. -Yes, in the presence of evil let God work it out. You do know he will work it out, don't you? Listen to the Psalter. Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Won't he comfort you? Won't he be with you? Won't he lift you out of life's valley? Won't he make your enemies be at peace with you? Illustration Grace Pays the Bill I was having breakfast with my dad and my younger son. As we were finishing our meal, I noticed that the waitress brought our check, then took it away, and then brought it back again. She placed it on the table, smiled, and said: "Somebody in the restaurant paid for your meal. You're all set." And then she walked away. I had the strangest feeling sitting there. The feeling was helplessness. There was nothing I could do. It had been taken care of. To insist on paying would have been pointless. All I could do was trust that what she said was actually true and then live in that-which meant getting up and leaving the restaurant. My acceptance of what she said gave me a choice: to live like it was true or to create my own reality in which the bill was not paid. That is our invitation-to trust that we don't owe anything. To trust that something is already true about us, something has already been done. To trust that grace pays the bill. The Lord asked Joseph, "Do you have a bill?" "Yes." "Give it to me," I'll bear it. Joseph what's wrong with you? Why are you carrying on like that? Why are you crying? Joseph answers. -Lord you know how my family felt about me. -Lord you know all about it. -Lord you know my uprisings and my down sittings. -Lord, you know all I've been through, the many ups and downs. -Lord you know when I've been right and when I've been wrong. Lord, all I can say is: -Amazing Grace how sweet the sound. In the presence of evil, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I'm found. I was blind but now I see. I'm going to take my seat when I tell you that even in the presence of evil, What God has for me it is for me. So long church, join me next week when I share with you through the eyes and experiences of Joseph, what God has for me. -Until then. -Until then in the presence of evil won't he take care of you? Until then in the presence of evil, all night and all day, won't his angels keep watching over you? Turn to your neighbor and say all night and all day the angels keep watching over me. Joseph, do you have any parting words? Do you have anything to say to your eleven brothers? "Yes." I can't close without calling the roll. I can't close without telling you all about yourselves. Asher you meant it for evil Benjamin you meant it for evil Dan you meant it for evil Is that all? No, I'm not through yet! Gad you meant it for evil Issachar you meant it for evil Judah you meant it for evil Levi you meant it for evil Naphtali you meant it for evil Reuben you meant it for evil Simeon you meant it for evil Zebulun you meant it for evil But in the presence of evil, it's not over till God says it's over. I hear Joseph concluding as he looked his brothers in the eye. I see him with all of their fates in his hands. 20 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. (NASB) Do not be afraid?.What God has for me, it is for me.