What is a defining Moment? I wonder if I ask you what is the defining moment in the life of George Washington, what you would say? Would you choose when they tried to make him king and he refused. Or would you choose when he refused to run for a third term because he did not believe in career politicians. You might choose when he orchestrated the compromise that allowed the constitution to replace the failing articles of confederation by helping set up the senate and House of Representatives as we now have them. You could choose the little know confrontation between Washington and his officers at what is known as the Newburgh Conspiracy. The army had not been properly paid for their service. The British were leaving and some in the new government felt that they could skip any final payments to the army. The officers were planning to act against their own government and use force if necessary. The only person standing in their way was George Washington. He stood in the gap between the army and the elected officials and saved the struggling revolution and the new nation at a most critical moment. Yet, in my opinion none of these are the defining moment in the life of George Washington. The defining moment came not during the revolutionary war, or in his service as an officer in the British army when he fought against the French and Indians, the defining moment came on June 12, 1747. George Washington was fifteen years old and had received a royal midshipman's warrant from the British navy. This was before we decided to break away and form a new country they were still our friends then. This would fulfill his lifelong dream. He would escape the drudgery of the family farm and his responsibilities as the oldest male child helping his widowed mother. He arrived at the dock side that day pass his bag along to be put on the ship and waited to say goodbye to his mother, Mary Ball Washington. He told his mother goodbye and turned to board the ship when she spoke to him. It was a plea for him to stay. She said they would not make it without him. Imagine, ready to leave, friends have been told goodbye. His bag is on the ship. What he must have felt as a fifteen year old is beyond imagining. He turned and started up the plank toward the ship. His mother called to him, "George, did you hear me? George where are you going?" He looked back and said he had to get his bags that had already been put on the ship. That is the defining moment. Without it there would be no great general to lead a rag tag army against the greatest military force on the planet at that time. There would be no one to stand in the gap between the army and the foolish civilians that thought they could skip paying the soldiers that had won the war. There would not be the leader who refused to be made king or serve a third term. What if someone else had been there? A Fidel Castro or Hugo Chavez or Stalin or any number of men who when faced with power grabbed it and abused it. Washington was a committed man at fifteen and served his mother and his country as a servant of all. Defining moments are usually not great victories or defeats but they are turning points that shape our lives and our destiny.
What does it mean when scripture says, "in all things God works for the good of those who love him?" (Romans 8.28) When we think of all things that covers a lot of ground, it covers good times and some really bad times. What we need to remember is that it says God works. Sometimes we think it is what we do that makes the difference, it is finally and always in God's hands to determine what he considers good. God does this on his time schedule no matter what we may think. He does it for those who love him and who are called according to his purpose. He does not do this for everyone. So two people may have the exact same thing happen to them and the one who is a believer can know that God will be using all things for good. While the non-believer will have just went through an event that carries only personal pain or joy and has no long term use or significance when put in the light of God's eternal plans. This is about God's purpose for our lives and not about our wants or desires. It is about God who sees in both directions forever working in and through our lives.
Are You Ready For IT?
"Everything that we do in life - every battle that we fight and every mountain that we climb, no matter how many times that we may fall - may be for no other purpose than to prepare us for that moment when we are called upon to make a difference.
In fact, every decision that we make, even those that seem small and perhaps irrelevant - may be moving us toward that moment when we can change a life for the better.
We may only get one change to make a difference. But there is no doubt that such a moment in each of our lives is going to come. The only question that really matters is, Will we be ready for it?" Glenn Beck in being George Washington (c) 2011
This is not reserved for great people or famous people or just a selected few. The truth is we all are challenged to make decisions and life choices that make a difference. a difference for us and a difference for others. George Washington made his first such decision at fifteen and made them over and over the rest of his life. This was also true of Joseph the eleventh son of Jacob. He had to make decision over and over and any one could have ruined his life and the lives of so many others. Yet when we look at Joseph's life we see the moment when everything comes to a climax. His brothers are in front of him tears of fear in their eyes. Joseph has the power to destroy them and he says to them, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for Good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50.20 What brought him to this moment? When was Joseph's defining moment?
Joseph's Timeline
When we look at an overview of Joseph's life it give us a glance of the man, but it does not reflect the defining moments clearly. (We will look at them shortly.)
- Born the 11th Son of Jacob and Rachel
- Age 17 receives the coat of many colors from father, beaten up and sold as a slave by his brothers.
- Serve Potiphar and spends time in pharaoh's prison (13 years total)
- Age 30 heads up Pharaoh's save Egypt policy
- Age 37+ his brothers show up to buy food.
- Age 39 Family moves to Egypt to live under his care
- Age 56 his father Jacob dies
- Age 110 Joseph dies
It's Tebow Time
The 2012 Superbowl will be played this coming weekend and Tim Tebow will not be there. He was world famous and for a short time you could not turn on the news or sports without hearing his name. In 2011 he started twelve games for the Denver Broncos. Ten of these were in the regular season. He won eight of these and lost two. People began to discuss his miracle wins and his relationship with God. He moved on to the playoffs and was expected to lose when he beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 29 to 23 in one of the most dramatic overtime wins in football history.
Yet why is he world famous? Is it because of his football abilities? I wonder. I live in Olympia WA just 50 miles south of Seattle WA and the home of the Seattle Seahawks. I quit paying attention to them early in the season and only mildly paid any attention to them. I could not even name the quarterback for the team. He was that impressive yet when I compare him to Tim Tebow it sheds some light on the question of how good a quarterback Tebow is. I looked it up and Travaris Jackson was the Seattle QB for the 2011 season. During this past season Tebow had QB rating of 72.9%, Jackson had a QB rating of 79.2%. Tebow threw for just over 1,700 yards, Jackson threw for over 3,000 yards. Tebow completed 46.5% of his passes; Jackson completed 60.2% of his passes. The record says Jackson is a better quarterback, but no one knows who he is, not even a lot of the Seattle fans.
Again why is Tebow so famous? It could be because he is a committed Christian believer. He was a committed believer in high school, in college where he got in trouble for wearing John 3.16 stickers on those dark strips players put under their eyes. When he started winning games this year he gave God the credit. The week after he beat the Steelers a survey was taken that showed that 43% of the people though that God was helping him win games. I wondered if God is helping him win why had he lost any at all? Now I want to give Tim Tebow credit he gave God credit as the guiding force in his life but he does not think God helps him win or lose football games.
This brings me to what I think is a defining moment for Tim Tebow. The Broncos are playing the New England Patriots with Tom Brady. Brady has a QB rating of 105.6 and threw for over 5200 yards so far this season. It is the third quarter and the Pats are leading Denver by 42 to 3. It was hard to watch, when Tebow fell back to pass. He was hit hard and knocked to the ground. The backup QB for Denver put on his helmet and was ready to go in but Tebow went back to the huddle and called the next play. He finished the game with a final score of Patriots 45 Denver 10. 43% of the people must have been shocked that God could not help Tebow win the game.
The following week a medical report was released on the injury suffered by Tebow in the third quarter. Tebow tore cartilage on his fist rib where it attaches to his sternum, bruised his lung and had fluid buildup in his pleural cavity. When he was asked why he stayed in a game he was losing so badly with his injury he said,
"I just wanted to show character. You just continue to fight and it doesn't change who you are, how you play, how you go out there, you should be the same at all times... It does not matter if it was the first play or the last play or if you were down by 42." (Emphasis added) That makes this a defining moment for Tim Tebow. It was about being consistent in his approach to life no matter what was happening. Anyone can get hurt and play but who plays because "you should be the same at all times." That is the attitude a believer should have about life. Whether Tebow becomes a great QB is will be determine in the future but he has had a defining moment.
Joseph Time (defining moments)
When we look at Joseph we see moments that define him and his relationship with God. Each time he has to determine if he continues with God or quits and becomes bitter.
- There is the day he is thrown into the well. This is not a good day by anyone's standards, but it is one of those all things work for good moments. There is no record what happened at the bottom of the well but the next time we see Joseph he has not stopped serving God. So when he shows up at Potiphar's house he is under the purpose and plans of God. "When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant."
- There is the day he left Potiphar's house. He has to make the decision that no matter what is coming next he will not compromise or give in to evil. Things are bad but he still has God no matter what comes next.
- There is the day he arrives in prison. That morning he was living large and in charge and that night he was in chains completely without any hope. How would he respond? Would he give up, quit? Why should he continue? Talk about getting dealt a bad hand. Where was God anyway? Then again this could be one of those all thing work for good days. "But while Joseph was there in prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden." One thing about Joseph he depended on God and God used him. Things were bad but God was still God and Joseph was going to serve him no matter what happened.
- There is the day his father Jacob dies. (the story page 41) To understand this let me take you to a scene in a famous movie trilogy about the Godfather. It is a mafia family that is run by Don Corleone. His son Michael has become second in command and wants to deal with people who hurt him or the family but his dad the Godfather will not let him. Then the Don dies and Michael becomes the Godfather. He agrees to become the godfather to his sister’s son. While he is in church he has everyone killed who has ever crossed him. Mobsters, politicians, police, even some family members. Right after the babies baptism he has the baby’s father go on an errand. Now remember this is his brother-in-law. This is his sister’s husband. This is the baby’s father. The errand he goes on is a one way trip that ends in his being killed. Now I don't know if Joseph's brothers ever saw the Godfather but I think they knew what could happen now that their father was dead. Would Joseph get even for the well, the slavery, the time in prison? Would he strike with hate in vengeance? So his brothers send him a message asking for forgiveness. They even use the name of their dead father to touch the heart of Joseph. (the story page 41)
"When their message came to him, Joseph wept." This is no small moment. In the book of John there is the account of when Jesus is going to see Lazarus who is very sick. When he arrives he knew that Lazarus was dead. He talks with his sisters and then ask, "Where have you laid him?... Come and see, Lord," they replied. Then it says "Jesus Wept." (John 11.35) He cries his eyes out. His sorrow is so great he weeps. This is no small event. This is not two tears and let’s go raise the guy from the dead. Last year I got a call from my father. My younger brother was in the hospital but it looked like everything was going to be alright. They would run test in the morning and find out why he was feeling so bad. He was in intensive care just as a precaution. I decided it was late and would call him in the morning. Then two hours later my dad called back. He could barely talk. He was weeping. My brother had died. Even as I write this I have tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. I sat down in my chair and I wept. No words, just weeping. No one could comfort me. It hurt too deep. So when Jesus wept it was an intense moment. When Joseph wept it was intense. No words just a man weeping. This was the moment when the last 39 years came to a climax. This was Joseph’s Godfather moment. This was the moment when everything that had been done could be dealt with. His father was dead there was no one to stop him. So how does he respond? He calls his brothers who show up and throw themselves down on the floor. Joseph says, "You intended to harm me." His brothers must have thought here it comes, "but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done the saving of many lives." Joseph understood the all thing principle. He would not have chosen this path himself but he knew that God had chosen it. He would have liked thing to have gone differently but now he could see that the bottom of the well was used by God for a greater purpose. God's purpose and God's plan were all that really mattered.
Jesus understood the all things principle. "When they came to the place called the skull, there they crucified him...." They intended to harm him. but "Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, For they do not know what they are doing."" (Luke 23.33-34) Jesus knew that God intended to use this for good to accomplish his purpose and to make his plans come to fulfillment.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8.28)
Joseph did not allow his circumstances to make him bitter he used them to make him better. George Washington did not become bitter over his early experience and change of direction he became a better man and leader because of it. Tim Tebow was not bitter at losing the big game or even in being injured it appears he is better for the experience and his testimony has not suffered because of it. Except for the 43% of the people who think God is fixing football games.
Are you allowing life and circumstances to define who you are? Or, are you defining your life by the standards and principles of God's word. No matter what happens, that means all things; God has a purpose and plan that includes you. God has defining moments scheduled for your life. These are not usually reported in the news or observed by the majority of the world. Washington defeats British at Trenton is NOT a defining moment. George goes home with his mother and passes up British navy opportunity that is a defining moment. Tebow wins game in NOT a defining moment. Tebow staying in game while injured and losing that is a defining moment. Joseph saves Egypt is not a defining moment. "Joseph's master took him and put him in prison," (The Story page 32) that is a defining moment. Not by what is happening but by the way Joseph responds to that moment. Our response is crucial. Will we live for God no matter what is happening or will we give up and grow bitter, angry?
Remember the definition of faith says, "Whether I live or die, God is my God and Jesus is my savior." It is impossible to please God without faith and it is impossible to make it through defining moments without faith in God and the knowledge he know what is intended for evil he will use for his purpose.
