1. Mercy’s Mark
Today we want to continue our discussion on Mercy’s Mark. We have come out of a series of messages using Les Miserables as a spring board of discussion. We found grace and the law in conflict and how grace impacted the life of Jean Valjean so much that he found a new identity, purpose and plan for his life. He was impacted by grace. Grace changed him. Last week we came to realize that the grace and mercy of God will take us into situations and places we might not always want to go or be. We used this as our outline.

2. Announcement. We have heard the announcement that God is for us and not against us. We have heard the announcement of the love of God and how He extends grace to us. We have heard the announcement how God has done for us what we cannot do. We love to hear this wonderful news! That is the announcement of God’s wonderful providence in our lives.
Anointing. If the announcement isn’t enough we learned how there is an anointing on our lives when we say yes to the announcement of God over our lives. We read in Acts 2 the empowering of the Holy Spirit over the followers of Christ. Peter tells us this promise of the Holy Spirit is for us to. Acts 2:39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” This promise is for us. Last week we looked closely at the life of Peter and we see the announcement, the anointing and we see…
Attack. We have come to see this pattern in the life of the follower of Jesus. There will be struggles and difficulties. I Peter 4:12-14 – “Beloved do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you: but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” In that passage of scripture we find the truth; in this life you will have struggles. But there is a purpose for the suffering. But we also found in verse 14, there will be a revelation. Which brings us to ….
4. Ascension. We will be lifted up. In this life and the life to come. Do not give up. We have hope.
Today, I want to continue in within this outline but look specifically at a person in the Old Testament by the name of Joseph. Let’s look at his life. I want us to start with Genesis 39:2

3. Genesis 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man
Genesis 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
Did you get that? Joseph was a successful man. How many of you here today want to be successful? (Hands) Look at all the people who want to be successful. What was the secret of Joseph’s success???
GOD WAS WITH HIM! But wait…. Where is Joseph? He is in the house of his MASTER??? The Egyptian!!! What??? How is that successful??? Well let’s look at how Joseph ended up where he is.

4. We find in Genesis 37, at the age of 17, Joseph is favored by his father. His father is Jacob, (Israel). His father loves him the most out of all his brothers. As a result, his brothers are jealous. We also find that Joseph is given a special coat. A coat of many colors which distinguishes him from his brothers. If this isn’t enough we find Joseph has a dream in which he sees his brothers bowing down to him. Pretty great dream, but not sure I would tell my brothers. But, guess what? Joseph tells his brothers of the favor he has, and the result is jealousy.
So in the life of Joseph we see this pattern developing…there is an announcement by his father that he is favored. He is anointed with a covering which sets him apart from the rest and now….
THE ATTACK…. His brothers plot to get rid of him. We read in Genesis 37:18-20

5. Genesis 37: When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer! 20 Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”
Wow! A little side note. Often the dreams we are given by God will try to be squashed by those closest to us. Sad but true. Hang in there. Look at Joseph.
So we see Joseph coming towards his brothers. Wearing his special coat. Feeling good and excited to see his brothers. And all the while, his brothers are plotting on killing him. But Joseph’s brother Ruben encouraged the brothers not to kill him, just throw him in the pit and we can sell him. So they laid hands on their brother and threw him in a pit, and then sold him into slavery. They took their brother’s coat, put blood on it, and told their father, “Joseph is dead”. Can you imagine?
Talk about attack. Here is Joseph, favored by his father, and anointed by a special gift which makes him stand out among all the others. And the result is ATTACK. Attack to the point of being sold out by your own family. Can you imagine the let down and heart ache? I know many of you can.
So here is Joseph sold by his brothers and now brought to Egypt. Egypt in the Bible speaks of bondage, slavery and sin. And here is Joseph. Please understand in the scripture we read a bit ago in Genesis 39:2 –“The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man”, is Joseph after he has been sold by his brothers, and in that time when slaves were sold, he would have been stripped naked and gone over by would be buyers.
Can you imagine the humiliation? The buyer would look at your build, your teeth, and your skin, to make sure you didn’t have a sickness or deformity. And here is Joseph stripped and about to be sold, and the verse reads, “The Lord was with Joseph”.
Don’t miss this my friends. You can be sold out, and stripped naked, BUT THE LORD IS WITH YOU! Don’t miss it! Don’t miss how God sees things. When you know it you will live it and it will change your life. Joseph new it!

6. THE DIFFICULTIES IN LIFE ARE INTENDED TO MAKE US BETTER, NOT BITTER
Joseph didn’t allow circumstance to get him bitter, but he got better. Why? Because the Lord was with Joseph.
Sometimes things don’t go our way and we have a crisis of faith. Stop people. We need to know we are favored by our father, and he has given us the covering of the Holy Spirit. And even in the midst of difficulty The LORD IS WITH US. Don’t forget!
Now I would love to tell you for Joseph the attack stopped and he lived happily ever after. Well this isn’t the end of the story….
Actually we find Joseph in the house of Potiphar his master. In Genesis 39:4

7. Genesis 39:4 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge.
So check this out. Joseph goes from being stripped naked in the market place to being in charge of the whole house of Potiphar. And the reason is….because God was with Joseph. And as a result of the anointing of God in Joseph’s life he was blessed but attack is just around the corner. We find in Genesis 39:7 – Potiphar’s wife wants Joseph. She wants what he has, if you know what I mean.
And Joseph doesn’t respond to her. And she turns up the heat and finally grabs him, and Joseph runs from her. (Ok, another quick side note, no extra charge. People will say you need to teach the law, because if you don’t people will not know the truth. Well folks, Joseph lived before the law, and he knew the TRUTH because he knew he was loved and favored by God.
In fact in Genesis 39:9 Joseph says, “There is no one greater in this house that I, and your husband has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against GOD?” You see that? Joseph knew what to do, because of His great love for God. Love is the best motivator. )
Now in Genesis 39:12 we read that she caught him by his coat and grab him to force him to be with her, and he ran leaving his coat behind. Please don’t miss this. Joseph would rather lose his coat then his character. Keep in mind this is the second coat Joseph has lost. And now as a result of doing the right things, he is thrown into prison. Wow! He is accused by the wife of rape and he is thrown into prison for doing the right thing.
But check this out in Genesis 39:21

8. Genesis 39: But the Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. 22 The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it. 23 The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper.
“But the Lord was with Joseph” Do you see what is happening here? And even in prison, Joseph is put in charge and given responsibility. He is learning through and in the midst of the difficulties, he is learning an important lesson: “When you are down to nothing God is up to something!”

9. When WE are down to nothing God is up to something!
He is learning “The Lord is with him.” No matter circumstances, the Lord is with him.
We read in Genesis 39:23 – “the Lord was with Joseph and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper.”
Did you get that? Whatever he did prospered. Yet, he was sold by his brothers, stripped naked and humiliated, bought by an Egyptian and then falsely accused of rape and now thrown into prison. Tough life, yet God was with him!
Now we read in Genesis 40 that Joseph interprets a dream for the cupbearer of the king and the baker of the king. And the thanks Joseph received for doing this, is found in Genesis 40:23 “Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.”
Ok so here is a great resume of Joseph…
Favored by his dad and given a great coat that sets him apart from all the rest….
The response is he is taken thrown into a pit and sold to a slave runner who strips him naked in the market place and sells him the Potiphar whose wife falsely accusing him of rape. And now he is thrown into prison and forgotten! BUT!!!!! The Lord is with him. Does it look like the Lord is with him? I wonder if at times Joseph might have been tempted to look at circumstances instead of standing in faith. Ever been there? Maybe you are there today.
Two years pass and Joseph has been forgotten. Then Pharaoh has a dream. In Genesis 41 we read Pharaoh has a dream and no one can interpret the dream. Now catch this. Pharaoh is having the dream. Pharaoh is the most powerful man alive. And no one can interpret his dream, and now the cupbearer remembers JOSEPH! Wow, are you kidding me? What are the odds? Listen, if the cupbearer had remembered Joseph two years ago, perhaps Joseph wouldn’t have been around to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. Sometimes we might feel forgotten, but God has a bigger plan.
So we find in Genesis 41 that Joseph is shaved and cleaned up and brought before Pharaoh. Joseph lets Pharaoh know that there is a famine coming and purposes a plan to save the people. Please understand this meeting probably took all of 20 minutes and yet within those 20 minutes Joseph goes from the prison to the palace and is put in charge of all of Egypt and is second only to Pharaoh. Why? Because God was with Joseph. As a result of Joseph’s life, not only did God spare Egypt but also saved the nation of Israel from famine and loss. In a moment God can change your life.
OK so what? What’s the big deal? What is the application for us today?
Well I believe there is something profoundly significant God would speak to us today.
First, see the pattern in Joseph’s life. He had the announcement of blessing and favor over his life by his father. Just like we do. He was anointed and set apart, just life we are. But understand the attacks….
Joseph underwent many gut wrenching heartaches and betrayals. But why?
Can I suggest something? God was removing his coats!

10. JOSEPH’S COATS FROM 1. THE PATRIARCH (JACOB) 2. POTIPHAR 3. PHARAOH
Remember the coat given by Joseph’s father? I can see him wearing it in front of his brother’s. I want to suggest this is the coat of privilege. It is the coat of pride. It is our tendency to become boastful, am I right? I believe God was working things out of Joseph as well as working things into Joseph.
Joseph received another coat from Potiphar. I would like to suggest this is the coat of self. Joseph is a slave and is promoted but it wasn’t what God had willed for him, or planned for him. It needed to be stripped away from him.
The final coat given was by the king which gave him the power to bring life to others. This is ultimately where God wanted Joseph. We read the end of the story and see this triumph. But all too often in our lives, when right in the middle of the attack, we wonder….Is God with me? Is God for me?
Please know He is!
But my question for us today is, what coat is God trying to get off you, so he can get you the coat he has for you?

11. WHAT COAT IS GOD TRYING TO GET OFF YOU?
Maybe today God is trying to remove a coat from you. There are no doubt many, many coats that might need to be removed from our lives.
Maybe it is our reliance of money, or job and career. Maybe we are too reliant on people and relationships and we wonder why we cannot have success with relationships. God might be trying to remove them so He can give what is best.
Maybe we have a coat of addiction. God is trying to remove it from us through the trials; through the attacks. God has called us and has announced his favor for us. He has anointed us and is desirous to prosper all that we do, but he ultimately uses the attacks to rid us of the coats we have, and coats we have been given, so he can give his best coat. Just like Joseph, it is a coat that is life giving and life- saving.

12. EPHESIANS 4: that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
We are instructed to take off the old and put on the new. And the way to put on the new is by being “renewed in the spirit of your mind.” We need to see God is for us. It doesn’t matter the pit you have been thrown in. It doesn’t matter if you threw yourself in that pit or someone else did. It doesn’t matter the prison you have been in or are still residing in, God is with you if you will simply say yes to Him. Hold on and don’t give up. God is at work. Sometimes the stripping away of the coats are a painful process but God has a coat for you today. It is a coat of life and hope for you and for you to share with others. Through the life of Joseph nations were saved.
Today, will you respond to Jesus? Will you allow Him to do all He needs to do, so you can be used to share with others? Let Him have your coat. Persevere in the suffering, in the pit in the prisons of your life. There is a plan. There is a purpose. Because there is a God who loves you and wants to give you what is best.
Psalm 24:3-4 reads, “Who can ascend the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…
We all want to ascend. We all want to get to that place of peace in our lives. Yet, God wants us to have clean hands and a pure heart. The pure heart and clean hands speak of relationships both horizontally and vertically. Because God has cleansed me and given me new life it is manifested in the relationships I have here, horizontally. I believe the process God uses to get us up the hill, is the same process used in the life of Joseph. God uses the attacks, the prisons, the pits, the people to remove coat after coat, so we can become more and more like Him. And throughout life, we ascend to His will, through surrender to His coat.

13. Mercy’s Mark