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WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING,

GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING

Genesis 37:12-36

(Taken from a sermon by Rev. Tony Glass)
Pastor Walt Tyndall

Introduction: How many of you have ever run out of gas? How many have ever looked down at your gas gauge as it went to the left of empty and prayed you would make it to the next gas station? We all know what it means to be out of gas, to be out of our own resources and be down to nothing. We all know what it means to be down to nothing in other areas of our lives whether it is financial or emotional or physical. How many have experienced God’s divine provision at just the right time in just the right way?

You’ve got to do your part. You have to have a personal relationship with Christ. In times of trouble it’s always a good idea to pray yourself, but we have to understand that we don’t have a prayer without Christ. It is good to get other people to pray with you and for you. It’s also important to read God’s word. It is important to have faith that God will do what He says He will do.

It is important to have faith that God will intervene. It is important to heed God’s word and do what it says to do! When you have a true personal relationship with God through Christ, you will withstand all the storms of life, and there will be storms! Remember this - when you’re down to nothing, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!

Genesis 50:20 “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”

Let Us Pray

1. JOSEPH WAS DOWN TO NOTHING. We are given the story of Joseph in Genesis 36 through 50. Do you remember how bad his life was? His own brothers attacked him and sold him into slavery. As a slave, he was wrongfully accused of raping his master’s wife and thrown into jail. He was at the bottom of the barrel - innocent, yet in jail in a foreign country. If that had happened to us, we would be so mad and angry. We would dwell on the injustice done to us. We would feel that life was not fair and we had been given the short end of the stick.

But God was up to something in Joseph’s life. He blessed him in prison so that whatever he did prospered. Soon the warden of the prison put Joseph in charge of the prison. God gave Joseph the gift of dream interpretation and he interpreted the dreams of the Baker and the Cupbearer. Pharaoh needed an interpretation to his dream and Joseph was able to give it. Because of Joseph’s ability, Pharaoh promoted him to the second highest position in the land. He managed Egypt’s vast agricultural resources. Joseph stored grain to prepare for survival during a seven-year famine.

Meanwhile as all of this was going on in Joseph’s life, Jacob, Joseph’s father was down to nothing. His son’s told him that Joseph, the son he loved the most, was dead. Now eight years or so later came a severe famine that threatened to starve and kill the rest of his family.

Jacob was down to nothing, but God was up to something. Genesis 45:1-11 “Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Make everyone go out from me!" So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph; does my father still live?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me." So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. "But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. "For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. "And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. “So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. "Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph: "God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry. "You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children's children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have.

"There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine."' (NKJV) WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!!!!

2. JOB WAS DOWN TO NOTHING. He had lost his livestock, his wealth, and his children. He lost everything but his wife. He was down to nothing, sitting on a dung heap with oozing sores all over his body. But, God was up to something. God had faith in Job and Job’s faith in God defeated Satan in a classic spiritual battle. The result? God restored double-fold what Job lost. Job 42:10-17 “Job 42:10 And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the LORD had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days. (NKJV) WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!!!!

3. GIDEON WAS DOWN TO NOTHING. He had lost his confidence. The Midianites had ravished the land like locusts. Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress - hiding from the Midianites. He had reached the bottom of the barrel - he was down to nothing. It was at this point that God met him and directed him to deliver Israel. With only 100 men he defeated the enemy and freed the land. WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!!!!

4. DAVID WAS DOWN TO NOTHING. King Saul branded him an outlaw - he had to flee the country. He was a fugitive, at the bottom of the barrel. But God was up to something. King Saul was killed in a battle and David was established as king of Israel. WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!!!!

5. IN 2 KINGS 4 WE FIND A WIDOW THAT WAS DOWN TO NOTHING. When her husband died he left behind a debt. The woman told Elisha that her husband’s creditor was coming to take her two boys to sell into slavery to satisfy the debt. She was in despair, she was at the bottom of the barrel, she was a mom horrified at the thought of losing her boys. But God was up to something. Elisha asked her, “What do you have in your house?”

She literally had nothing but a little oil. Elisha told her to go to her neighbors and collect all the empty containers she could get her hands on and then bring them into her house and begin pouring out the oil into them. She obeyed and from one small vessel of oil she filled all the pots in the house. She was able to sell the oil to pay off the debt and had money left over WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!!!!

6. SHADRACH, MESHACK AND ABEDNEGO WERE DOWN TO NOTHING. King Nebuchadnezzar condemned them to death in the fiery furnace because they refused to bow before a graven image. But God was up to something, because when they were thrown into the furnace they were not harmed! Not only that, in Daniel 3:30 the Bible says King Nebuchadnezzar promoted them in the province of Babylon. WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!!!!

NT
6. PETER WAS DOWN TO NOTHING AFTER HE DENIED CHRIST 3 TIMES. He was a miserable failure. He was at the bottom of the barrel. But God was up to something. Jesus met Peter on the shoreline of Lake Galilee and restored his confidence.

He restored Peter’s faith and restored Peter’s position in the Kingdom. The result, on the Day of Pentecost Peter got up and

delivered a powerful sermon then sat down without even giving an altar call. People were convicted on the spot and asked what they must do to be saved. That day 3,000 new believers were baptized in water! WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!!!!

7. PAUL AND SILAS WERE DOWN TO NOTHING. They were severely beaten and thrown into prison for doing God’s work and preaching God’s message. They were down to nothing there in that dark, dank prison. About midnight people were praying and singing hymns to God and the other prisoners were listening to them.

(Christians, people are observing you under pressure - what do they see?) Suddenly, there was a violent earthquake. The prison doors flew open and the chains fell off all the prisoners. The guard was about to take his life when Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer and all his household became believers and were baptized. WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!!!!

8. THE APOSTLE JOHN WAS DOWN TO NOTHING. He was an old man confined to the prison island of Patmos in Greece.

A political prisoner, exiled for practicing his faith and leading the Church He was effectively stopped from teaching and preaching. This is a difficult spot for a preacher to be in. John was at the bottom of the barrel. But, God was up to something. Jesus Christ appeared to John and the result was the fabulous Book of Revelation, the last book in the Bible that has been a comfort and assurance to all Christians throughout the ages. John’s situation looked hopeless, but he was able to influence the Church for all time even from exile. WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!!!!

DOES GOD STILL DO GREAT THINGS FOR HIS CHILDREN WHO ARE DOWN TO NOTHING?

The answer of course is YES! God is for you 100%! In a crowd this size I can guarantee you that there are several folks here today who feel like they are down to nothing. There are people here today that feel like they have lost everything and that the whole world is crashing in on them.

It may a marital nothing or a financial nothing or a psychological nothing or an emotional nothing or a relationship nothing or any other kind of nothing, but you feel like you are down to nothing.
WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!

All of us have been there at some point in our lives. Everyone has had that running out of gas feeling in our real lives. Every one of us here today at some time felt that they couldn’t go on and that the hole they were in was too deep to climb out of. Look at all of these great heroes of the Bible we have looked at today, they were no different than us. They had times when their world was turned upside down as well. You know what we all have in common today? We have a God, our Heavenly Father, Who cares for us and is going to look after us whether it seems that way or not.

When everything is falling apart in our lives, we need something or someone that we can count on. We need one thing or one person that won’t let us down. We need something or someone we can depend on and to be honest with you only God is reliable enough to put our trust in when we can’t trust anyone else.

When we get to those points in our lives, the old devil tries to make us give up and give in and believe that we are all alone and there is no way out. Don’t you believe that for one minute. John 8:44 tells us that the devil is a liar and the father of all lies.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

We have a Father who will not leave us alone – EVER! When everyone around you lets you down you can still count on God to be there for you. In Hebrews 13:5 He said He would never leave us nor forsake us. No matter how bad it gets, He will be there. No matter how dire the circumstances, He will be there. When there is no rhyme or reason to what you are going through, He will be there. Now that ought to make a Presbyterian shout!

God did not begin a relationship with you through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, to walk away from it when things get bad. Philippians 1:6 “ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” God ain’t going nowhere until He gets you to His house.

When the storms of your life begin to blow, He is the One who can calm the storm with just one word! When you are feeling all alone, He is the friend that sticks closer than a brother! When you have run out of resources, He is the God Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the same One who promised He would always meet our needs! If you’ve got a hurt or a problem, He is the answer! WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING!

Let Us Pray

Invitation: I know we are outdoors this morning and we don’t have our usual altar and our usual setup. I know we are not singing an invitational hymn, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to have an invitation.

The one thing you need to be concerned about today above any other thing that may be going on in your life is whether or not you are saved. Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He died for your sins sand paid a debt that you owed but could not pay. He made a way for you to have eternal life with Him in Heaven and He offers that as a free gift. Have you ever invited Him into your heart? If not, you can do that today. See me before you leave.

If you are here today and you fall into that category of folks who are going through a tough time, let me assure you today God is here to help you and to see you through it. I know you have probably tried everything and have found no relief, I know you think you have used up all your options, but let me tell you that until you give it to Jesus, you will never have relief from those burdens. Let God have it and let go of it. Let Him take control of it.

Don’t leave your seat until you have cleared your heart and mind with God. Stay until you have given Him all of your burdens and all of your trials and let Him handle them. I am going to close in prayer and then you are free to leave as you wish.