10-10-10: Lesson 10 - Problems will come, Don't quit on God

Sermon Theme: Problems will come, Don't quit on God
Bible Verse: Joseph 37
Bible Story:

Point: Joseph had a lot of problems, but he did not quit on God.

Long story short…Joseph has 11 brothers but they were very jealous of him because their father Jacob would show favoritism to Joseph and love him the most. He even gave a special gift to him that his brothers were very very jealous of. He gave him this beautiful robe.

So one day his father sent Joseph to check on him but his brothers had evil plan to kill him…

Problem #1 - they strip him of his clothes and put him into a pit.
Problem #2 – They saw a group of Ismaelites and they decided to sell him instead of killing him
Problem #3 – And then they sold him as a slave to a man name Potiphar.

The Bible says that God was with Joseph and everything he did was a success. If I was Joseph, I would have said “If God was with me, why does He allow me to have all of these problems”? I probably would have quit on God.

Problem #4 - Potiphar’s wife tried to get Joseph to sin against God. Day after day she asked Joseph to sleep with her and Potiphar’s wife was angry and she told Potiphar a lie about Joseph saying he tried to sleep with me.

Problem #5 – Potiphar became angry and he sent Joseph to Pharaoh’s prison.

Problem after problem after problem. If anyone had a reason to quit, it should have been Joseph. Joseph gives us hope. In the midst of all the problem, Joseph did not quit on God. You will have problems. You will go through things that you don’t understand. You will have things happen to you and the only thing you can do is ask God, “Why?” It’s ok to ask God why. But it’s not ok to quit on him. Everyone has problems. Whenever problems come your way, do not quit on God. Learn how to trust him. But watch how the story ends…

Joseph’s problems lasted for 20 years. At the end of the 20 years. The Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream that no one could interpret. God gave Joseph the interpretation of that dream and Pharaoh made Joseph the governor of Egypt. As governor of Egypt, Joseph saved millions of people’s lives. I’m glad that Joseph did not quit on God because he had problems. Problems will come. I will have have problems. You will have problems – but don’t quit on God.

1. People can be a problem – People are going to be a pain to you sometimes but you just have to rise above that and pray for them. When people come against you, you don’t have to quit on God. There is another option – Pray for those people (Jar w/ Water – Rocks and Cork)

2. Circumstances can be a problem – There’s always circumstances that will come into our lives just like how Joseph faced with different circumstances but he continue to trust God. In the bible it encourages us to be thankful throughout every circumstance and every problem we will ever face. What are your circumstance? Are they overwhelming? Do you feel like quitting on God? Here’s some advice for you. Stop thinking about the circumstance and start giving thanks to God. Problems will come. Don’t quit on God


3. You can be a problem - Sometimes people have problems but those problems are not other people. Sometimes those problems are not circumstances. Sometimes the problem
is YOU! YOU have problems. Those problems are like a heavy load you carry.

Maybe one of your problems is YOU are jealous of other people. Maybe one of your problems is YOU can’t forgive your friend for not saving you a seat in class. Maybe one of your problems is YOU don’t have food at home. YOU don’t have money to buy new clothes. YOU don’t feel
love. YOU have all of these problems. YOU are overwhelmed but yet YOU carry these problems around like a heavy load on your back. God never meant for you to carry a load like this. Matthew 11: 28 Jesus says, “If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and
I will give you rest”.

The Bible says, If YOU are tired from YOUR burdens or problems. YOU can give them to Jesus and Jesus will give YOU rest. He didn’t tell YOU to struggle with your problems until YOU eventually quit on God.

If there are problems in your life that makes YOU want to quit on God. Don’t look at the problem, look at YOU. God is asking YOU to bring Him every problem YOU have. The question I have to ask you is, “are you taking God every circumstance, every person and every problem in
your life”? If not, you will eventually quit on God because you are trying to handle your own problems. My friend, what will you do? Sometimes, the problem is not the problem, it’s YOU.
YOU don’t give it to God so YOU quit on Him. Today, I want to tell you that quitting is not your only option. Give your problems to God. Problems will come— Don’t quit on God.