Senior Pastor
* Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound
* More powerful than a locomotive
* Faster than a speeding bullet
* Walks on water
* Gives policies to God
Associate Pastor
* Able to leap short buildings in a single bound
* Almost as powerful as a locomotive
* Just as fast as a speeding bullet
* Walks on the water (if the sea is calm)
* Talks with God
Minister of Children
* Leaps short buildings with a running start
* Prefers toy trains to locomotives
* Faster than a speeding B-B
* Walks on water (if he knows where the rocks are)
* Talks with God if special request is approved
Minister of Music
* Can climb over a small building
* Falls off of locomotives
* Can fire a speeding bullet
* Swims well
* Is occasionally addressed by God
Youth Minister
* Runs into small buildings
* Recognizes a locomotive two out of three times
* Owns a squirt gun
* Knows how to use the water fountain
* Mumbles to himself
Church Secretary
* Picks up buildings and walks under them
* Knocks locomotives off of the tracks
* Catches speeding bullets in her teeth
* Freezes water with a single glance
* When God speaks, says, "May I ask who’s calling?"
Okay, maybe it wasn't so subtle. I completely understand the comedy. I even find it funny. But I also see that in someone's mind, the youth pastors are less that capable and have little to offer — talk about being undervalued!
I think everyone of us knows exactly how it feels to be undervalued. At some point or another in live, we have people look at us and see all our faults and failures and nothing else. They see us incapable, unqualified, and perhaps beyond useless, even by God.
No matter what we feel God speak to us, we are challenged by these individuals. They tell us all the reasons we can’t do this or that. They let us know that we are too immature, too young, too unfocused. You pick the the critique.
Welcome to Joseph’s world.
Genesis 37:
1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. 5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." 8 His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. 9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." 10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Here we have a young man who has received a God given vision for his life. Not only does this vision for his life seem impossible, his family is totally against him. His brothers literally hate him because of the vision he has for his life.
If we look at Joseph from his brothers perspective, it is easy to see why they would be angry — after all this is their younger brother. He is only about 17 years old. Some of his brothers have kids of their own. When they hear his vision, all they can think is you can’t even take care of yourself, and you are going to rule over us?
So when they look at him, they see a kid.
Not only is he young, only 17 years old. But man is he tattle tail.
Look at verse 2. Joseph sees his brothers out in the fields, when they are supposed to be doing their chores, and he sees that they were not doing what they were supposed to be doing. Maybe they were sleeping on the job… Maybe they were juggling with the lambs… whatever it was, he went and told daddy.
So his brothers look at him and they don’t just see a kid. They see a tattling kid.
Whats more, dear God he is spoiled. Their father gives him everything he wants…
For no reason at all, he is given this incredible coat… that is like your dad giving your youngest brother a brand new mustang… and you get nothing…
You gotta know that Jacob (Joseph’s father) has been doting on him his whole life. He has met every need Joseph has had for him. Not only that, he has supplied most of his wants as well.
So when his brothers look at him,they don’t just see a kid, they don’t just see a tattling kid, they see a spoiled, tattling kid.
To make it worse, he is arrogant. Can you imagine the gall it takes to look at your older brothers and tell them, “I had a dream that one day I am going to rule over you. I had a dream that one day, you are going to bow down to me.” But Joseph’s arrogance does not stop there. He even tells his parents, one day, you are going to bow down to me.
So when his family sees him, he is not just a kid. He is not just a tattling kid. He is not just a spoiled kid. He is an arrogant, tattling, spoiled brat, punk kid.
God looks down at Joseph and sees something different.
He recognizes Joseph’s age and says, you see a young kid. I see a heart that I can mold and change. I see a heart that I can form. I see a young man that I can position, not just within a family, not just within a country, but within history. I see a young man whose ministry will rescue and sustain the people of God for generations.
God recognizes that Joseph has been given so much. While his family sees a spoiled child, God sees a young man that has been well educated in the school of generosity. God sees a young man that will learn to give his gifts, talents, abilities — his very heart and soul — to save thousands if not millions of people.
God recognizes Joseph’s tattling and says, you see a young man selling out his brothers. I see the makings of a man of integrity. I see a young man who above all will honor me with his life because he refuses to back away from the principles and morales I have called him to.
God recognizes Joseph’s arrogance, but through it, he sees the confidence it takes to lead an entire area of the world through both the greatest season of abundance and the through the greatest hardship it would know for a long time.
You and I can sometimes have a bit of the older brother syndrome. We look at each other and we look at ourselves and we only see the surface things. We see each others short comings. We easily see how imperfect we are. We see the rough spots in each others personality. We see the character flaws.
We look into our own hearts and lives and see all the imperfections. We see all the things we are not and all the things we shouldn’t be.
But I challenge you to begin to see what God sees. God doesn’t look at you and just see what you are. He sees all that you could be. He sees everything you were meant to be. He sees what he has called you to do. Too often, we want to try and do only the things that we know we can do. We are afraid of the vision God puts in our hearts because it seems so impossible. It seems not us. It seems like it takes a better, stronger version of who we are. Or maybe it seems like the vision God puts in our hearts takes a whole different kind of person than who we are.
We for got that God tells us:
2 Corinthians 12:9
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.”
Look into your own life and the lives of those around you and see what God sees. See all the potential God has placed inside. How do you realize all the potential? How do we help others realize that potential? It begins by seeing what God sees.
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