Lives of preparation are revealed in crises. Joseph had the interpretation and the plan to save an empire and his small family. He opened the storehouses to feed the people. We are not tails, we are given headship. We have changed life. We bring peace and kindness. (Deuteronomy 28:13-14; Genesis 41:51-56; Ephesians 4:23-32; Philippians 3:5-7)

Speaker: Thomas Schaller
Sermon 12559
7:00 PM on 08/9/2023

P. Schaller – Wow! That was
beautiful. That was a lot of fun. That was awesome. That was a joy. Wow! So good. Turn to one
verse with me tonight as we worship Jesus Christ as born again believers with the Holy Spirit
dwelling in us. Deuteronomy 28:13, this is the Mosaic covenant. Sometimes it’s called Palestinian
covenant. It’s the covenant of the law that was made with the Jews.

The historical context is that the Jews are given direction, and the Lord is saying if you obey me – good to have people back. Bella is here. Micah Stambovsky. Come on, Micah. Take a stand for just a second. Good to
have you here tonight. Praise the Lord. Wow. That guy’s lived in Romania. How many? Fifteen
years? Twenty? Fifteen? Wow. Did I get that right? Fifteen years in Romania running the school.
Good to have you. In the crowd, I know people just came back from Europe. Maybe if you just
came back from Europe in the last few weeks, would you like to stand up just to recognize you
or actually Indonesia. There’s Darryl. Just stand. There’s P. Gary coming back. There was
Europe, Camp Life Europe. People are in France now. Great to hear reports and see videos and
enjoy that.

So, in this text, very good text. You should all know these chapters. Chapter 28, 29, 30, 31, 32,
and 33. You can do that as a Bible study these coming weeks, and just read these chapters.
The Lord is saying to the Jewish people, if you will obey me, if you will obey me, then I will make
you the head and not the tail. So this is written in 28:13. Before we read it, (prayer). vs. 13-14.
Notice the small “g.” Now, if you take your Bible and you flip a big chunk of Bible over to the
Chronicles and Kings, you see that’s what they did.

They went after the gods, small “g” of Molech, Chemosh, Asherah and these were pagan gods. Fertility gods. The Baal god. The statues and the gods, the idols of sexual connotation. Clear. Fertility was important in their
minds. How to have better crops and more children and better life, and how to be prosperous.
The gods of the Canaanites and the pagan people were around them, but our God is not an
idol. And so, it’s by faith. We live by faith, and do not practice those other practices. So, the Lord
said if you will follow me, I will make you the head and not the tail.

Now, animals have a head and a tail. A snake has a head and a tail. And so, who is leading
who? The head is leading the rest of the body of the animal. If we are the head, if God makes us
the head, then we are those that are, that are determining what happens to others, those that
follow. We are in lead or we are – in Jesus’ life you see him constantly honoring his Father, and
his Father making him the head and not the tail. Even in the worst condition, even on the cross,
he has the authority to say forgive them. They don’t know what they do. Even before Pontius
Pilate, he told him that you really don’t have authority over me. It looks like you do, but it’s God
that is behind this whole thing. What an amazing picture that is.

So, unfortunately in life, it’s so common for us to feel we are the tail. Because my boss doesn’t
like me or the company I work for they are firing me. Or I don’t have money or my girlfriend
doesn’t like me anymore. I feel like I am the tail and I’m not the head. That’s everywhere with us
as people.

So, this will be our message tonight. Turn to one place in Genesis where we see a good
example is when Joseph is before Pharaoh explaining to him his dreams. Pharaoh had two
dreams if you remember. There was the fat cows and the skinny cows. How many remember
the dream? Why don’t you tell your neighbor the dream. The fat cow and the skinny cow dream.
Go ahead.

Okay. First dream, seven fat cows. Seven skinny cows. The seven skinny cows ate the fat cows.
By the way, cows don’t eat cows! But in this case in the dream they did. And the skinny cows
stayed skinny. Remember the dream.

So, Pharaoh was told by the butler – the butler was in prison. And there was a guy there, a
prisoner who interpreted his dream. And he got it right. And Pharaoh wanted to know who this
person is. So, he pulled him out of jail. He shaved. He got cleaned up, and he came before the king. And he had two dreams. The fat cow, skinny cow dream, and then seven ears of corn that
the seven ears and the seven ears. And when Pharaoh said to Joseph what does this mean?
Here comes the headship, the headship that Joseph had. Here it is. He’s the head not the tail.
He’s a prisoner, but God told Joseph what it is. And he said Pharaoh, it’s about abundance
agriculturally. Plenty and famine.

There is first seven years of plenty, seven years of famine. Why is it two dreams? To confirm. They both have the same meaning. The seven ears of corn. The seven ears of corn. And so, Pharaoh heard Joseph. And somehow, he believed him. What should we do? Now comes the second thing about Joseph. He knows what to do. He’s the
head. God had given him a dream that even his brothers and his father would bow down before
him. Remember? It’s a beautiful story, and I say this to encourage us. Because life is more than
just our circumstances. It’s a gift. And that when the Lord said if you follow me, if you follow me,
you will be the head and not the tail.

Okay. Pharaoh says to Joseph, what should we do? And Joseph says in the seven years of
plenty, every year we’ll take 20% of the increase of the agriculture, and we’ll put it in silos. We’ll
store it up. Every year 20%. Then, when the fat years end and the skinny years come, we’ll
have food for people.

Now, notice something about the story, and it’s about you and I. You may not realize it, but when
you and I follow the Lord, we’re living a life of preparation. We’re being prepared. I really believe
that these kind of meetings tonight are kind of lifestyle. You’re personal life at home. Your
personal life with your Bible. Your walk of faith is a preparation. It’s a preparation. It’s a spiritual
connection. It’s a gift that you are the head and not the tail.

Now, when covid came and we had our covid epidemic come and we’re not boasting in anything
here except something important in our hearts. And it is, and I don’t want to overplay it. But I
want to say that when somebody is afraid to die, then the question comes to our mind, are you
the head or are you the tail? When I’m afraid to die. Because like Jesus said at the tomb of
Lazarus, he said didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God? Don’t you
know, Martha, that I am the resurrection and the life? Remember? That doesn’t downplay the
tragedy of the moment. I’m not saying that. Tragedy is tragedy.

But we’re trying to say something deeper and it is Joseph is a good example of somebody
whose God’s hand is on him. And he’s preparing him, actually, Egypt, and actually saving the
Jewish family which is very small over in Canaan. Very small. Sixty-six people. When they
moved to Egypt, they were 70. There’s another number, 75. In any case, it’s a very small
number of people. But Joseph said God sent me ahead to save you. To save you? Yeah.
Seventy people. What’s that got to do with – this whole story is about the hand of God. And this
isn’t any different for you.

Let’s read it. Chapter 40. Let’s see. Where are we. Chapter 41:53-54. I want to repeat it. You
know, years ago I was in Czechoslovakia, 1979. I was with a small group of Bible believing
Christians that were very fervent, and I asked about their history. They said we were from, a part
of our group is from Poland. But before World War II, somebody had a prophesy that we were to
leave Poland, because a crisis was coming. And before World War II broke out, these families,
we moved to a part of Czechoslovakia. And has it turned out, perhaps we were spared from
tragic things in the war in Poland.

And then, I said how did it happen? They said that we were up on a mountain, and this is in the
Czech part up in a ridge. This building up there was a church. But they said this was not a
church. It was a bar room, but God moved in this area, and people, prominent families got
saved. And people got saved, and they stopped going to the bar room. And so, the bar went up
for sale, and the Christian people, we bought it. This is our church up on the mountain. I
remember walking up there one time, and the pastor said to me this is why my people go to
heaven, because they have to walk up here every Sunday! And earn their way.

So, preparation. Preparation. I think it’s a real big part of our faith. We are being prepared. And
so, Joseph has this instruction and it’s actually working now. It says vs. 55. If you were a leader
and you were not prepared; you were a leader and all of the people were crying for bread and
you have no bread, then you would say I am a bad leader. But who is the head inthis situation?
Who is the one that knows? Who is the one that prepared? Who is the one that has some kind
of a sense of authority about what to do and how to execute it. We might know what to do, but
we don’t execute it. I mean, that’s like the story of our lives.

However, when Jesus speaks to us and says you are to hear what I say and do it in Matthew 7:24.
You are like a man building his house on a rock. And when the storms come, it will stand. So,
this is what’s happening here. vs. 55. This is a great thing for us. Do you have somebody in your
life who can help you? And you say where is the bread, and you say go unto Joseph. He is the
guy. Do you have somebody in your life, and of course all of us have. We have Jesus Christ. We
have God the Father. All of us have. He says go unto Joseph and do what he says to you. Do it.
vs. 56. And this is the verse that got my attention this morning or yesterday. “Joseph opened up
all the storehouses.” He opened up the granaries, the silos.

He opened up the food supply. He opened up the food supply. He fed people. He opened up his hand. He opened up his heart. He was the servant who became the head. He became the minister. He was the one who had
something when others didn’t have it. Others didn’t have it, but you have it. You have it.
When others are complaining, you are edifying. When others don’t have a way out, you have a
door. When others are just kind of perplexed by life, then you have this ministry, because that’s
why Jesus came to give it to us so we can open the storehouses.

So, that’s the message for tonight. He has made us to be the head and not the tail. We’ll say a
few more words about it after the offering. But I want you to think about how he made us the
head, not the tail. But what are the things that we do in life that makes us the tail. How easily we
become the tail. How easily we become the victim. How easily we say we have no choice. We
don’t have any options. We’ve been put in a corner. Paul is arrested and put in prison. His life is
over. That’s the end. Paul is the tail. He’s the tail. See. He cannot leave. He cannot travel. He
cannot go anywhere.

See. He’s the tail. But no, he isn’t. He isn’t. He writes letters. He prays for
the brothers and sisters in the churches. No, he’s not the tail. He is the head. That’s something
that God puts in us. If we follow God, believe God, we are not the tail. We are the head. It
doesn’t matter what others say about us or what position we have in society. That’s not the
point. The Lord makes us the head and not the tail.

Joseph is in prison, but he knows what to do. And the king said go see Joseph. He will tell you.
And do whatever he says, because that’s the guy that knows what’s happening. This is why
education is a big part of our lives in America. Education is a big part of finding a job. Education
is a big part of life in general and learning. But learning is also beyond the classroom. Learning
is in the trouble. Learning is when I don’t have a way out, and I turn to God. And I find God. And
God speaks to me and I follow him and obey him. Twelve fishermen or eleven fishermen, and
they turn the world upside down.

Education isn’t only what I remember but is also what I forget. Forgetting the things that are
behind. Some people with regrets and narrow, in a narrow place cornered, cornered and
narrowed, and they live in that and cry and hurt and complain and are angry about it. Some
people stay a tail their whole life. They can’t get out of it, cause they can’t forgive. They can’t
hear. They can’t worship. They’re not Spirit filled. They gossip a lot. They talk a lot. They
complain a lot. And they’re very discouraged in life. They say look at what life gave me. Look at
what life gave me. It’s so easy to say it. I am the tail and not the head. I know you can follow this
with me in your thinking.

I don’t think so. I think I go before the Lord and in my heart just worship him, and say I was
abused as a child. This is theoretical. Very possible with some. I was abused as a child. I bring
that before you Lord. I am not identifying myself as a victim. I am a worshipper. I am a man or a woman of God. I ask for your leading and guidance. And lead me and visit me and show me and
encourage me.

I’ve been in bankruptcy a brother could say four times. Yes, it’s been tough. And I understand.
We’re not downplaying the pain. We’re just saying I can’t live there. I can’t live there. There has
to be something more. There has to be something more. There has to be a promise. There has
to be guidance. There has to be the living God.

Murder. There has to be forgiveness. There has to be forgiveness. There has to be guidance.
There has to be a way out. There has to be something for David who murdered, Moses who
murdered, Paul who murdered. Three men. Yes, I make you the head and not the tail. You see
that? You follow that with me? I know it’s simple, but it’s great to hear it and think about it. It’s so
important. Okay. Amen. Would you pray a prayer with me. (Prayer). Want to talk for a minute to
your neighbor about it. Just for a few minutes. So sweet, huh. Beautiful. Beautiful. Okay.
Two things to say about this being the head and not the tail. Two portions. Turn to Ephesians 4.
This will be seven minutes maybe. Ephesians 4, how can you and I be the head and not the tail in
life? How could it be? I think one is not desiring it for ourselves. Not having to be the leader. Not
having to be respected. Not having to be at the center, but losing our life. Losing our life.
Trusting God in life. Being Spirit-filled.

You know how a church falls apart? Do you know how churches collapse? Do you know how
churches fall apart? By gossiping. By people getting angry with each other. By talking behind
each other’s backs. By being critical and being sensitive. People talking behind my back, talking
about me, and I hear it and I’m sensitive to it. It offends me and it bothers me.

In both cases, the gossiper and the “gossipee” are easily the tail, easily controlled by others. By
the God of the world, by the power or the organization, by the people or the leaders or by
popular opinion. Imagine the craziness on social media platforms where people get depressed
because they are unfriended, is it? Or disliked or what’s the word? Unfriended. Okay. Imagine
that crushes me. I collapse because of popular opinion or what people say or think.

So, how can I not be the tail but the head? Well, Jesus came into the world and told us that this
is actually our place not to be sensitive. It’s 1 Corinthians 13. It says AGAPE love is not easily
provoked. It takes a lot to provoke AGAPE love. It’s not sensitive. It doesn’t hurt or offend. So,
here we have in Eph. 4 these important verses. Because of time, I think just staying on the
theme, we’ll look at this quickly. We have a changed life from vs. 23 down. We have the new
man, vs. 24. We don’t lie anymore, vs. 25. We are angry, vs. 26 but not sinning. That’s another
message. We should be angry. We should be angry.

Have you ever met the common idea in the culture God is love. I don’t want an angry God. God
is love. God doesn’t get angry. He’s not angry. God is love. We have this idea, right? So, no. If
he is love, then he should be angry. He should be angry about that which is not love. If God is
love, he should be angry. If God is righteous, he should be angry about unrighteousness. Think
about it. I have love. I have hatred with a perfect hatred, Psalm 139. This is Jesus being angry in
Mark 3:5. He was so angry, they thought he was insane. That he’d gone mad. The visible
expression of his anger was in their face, and they thought he lost his mind. But he didn’t cause
he’s reality. Reality. There is anger. But it’s not self driven. It’s righteous. It’s God. It’s his mind.
And as we grow in our faith, we should have a feeling of it in our hearts what we should be
angry about. Destruction. Stealing. Murder. Destruction in John 10.

So, here we have a changed life. He doesn’t steal anymore, vs. 28. We have good words, vs.
29. No corrupt communication. We do not grieve the Holy Spirit. vs. 30. And by the way, our
words – usually grieving the Holy Spirit is connected with our words. Really have a skill in your
conversation how you are edifying, how you do not blame people. You’re not accusing. Even the
person that is guilty, don’t talk about it. Deal with it but a different way. You don’t get angry and

blow up over somebody who made a mistake or deliberately did something wrong. This is not
how we live. We live a different way. We are different. So, we have the Holy Spirit, vs. 30.
Then, he explains it even more, vs. 31-32. Really learn how to live in the Spirit. And you know
the phrase, be the Holy Spirit in your family. You are not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in you,
but be, play the role of the Holy Spirit in your family. Love. Forgive. Comfort. Give wisdom. Be
there. Be quiet. Be gentle. Be kind. Don’t think evil. Put it upon the other person that I don’t
believe that about you. I know that this is bad, but I don’t believe that about you. I believe you
have potential. I believe you have a future. I believe. I’m praying for you. You are awesome. I
encourage you. I encourage you.

See how that is. What happens when we are not at the center, but when the Lord is leading us.
Then, we are not the way the world is. The world cannot forgive like we can. And in that, we
actually end up finding the blessing of God, and you find yourself at peace. You are at peace,
and with love in your heart and you actually become the head and not the tail. You actually have
something to give, right? Okay.

Last one is vs. 32. Being kind one to another. Really having kind words before you meet the
person. Having kind words. Think about it. Premeditate. When Paul wrote his letters, he started
them off with grace and peace be unto you. Grace and peace be unto you. That’s how he
started all of his letters. Grace and peace. How about our conversations? Grace and peace be
unto you. It’s already in our hearts. Grace and peace be unto you. Even people you are angry
with or people that are not doing well. It’s like grace and peace be unto you.

What is it? It is God is with us. God uses us for restoration. God uses us to edify our sisters and
brothers. God uses us to be kind to each other. Then what happens? You find yourself in a way
like you don’t have issues. In a way, you’re half a step ahead. Nobody owes you anything.
Nobody owes you anything. Imagine. You don’t owe me anything. Isn’t that amazing? I mean if
that was the case. I’m speaking in general terms. You don’t owe me anything. It’s okay. Jesus,
we owe you an apology. We crucified Jesus and he comes in the midst of the disciples and what
does he do? You owe me an apology. I mean you owe me an apology what you did to me. And
you forsook me. You owe me an apology.

What did he do to them? He said peace be unto you. What is the meaning? You are the head
not the tail. That people’s lives are really thrown around like the tail of a dinosaur or reptile,
snake. Their lives are tossed to and fro by these kinds of things that they can’t get over. And this
is one example, this text.

Let’s go to one other one, Philippians 3. And we’ll finish here. Philippians 3. I like this part, vs. 5. The Apostle
Paul had everything going for him as a Jew. He was in our world we maybe say there’s Bill
Gates, right? Or Warren Buffet. Billionaires. We might say I was in the family of. I was in the
Rockefeller family. I was educated at Harvard. I had an inheritance of great value. I grew up in
the Ivy League schools. I went to prep schools. I went to the best schools. I grew up in a certain
class of people. I was in these country clubs. I had this whole thing going. My education.
Everything about me. My reputation was perfect. This is what he’s saying but in Jewish terms as
a Jew. But it meant nothing to me. It meant nothing to me. It meant nothing to me. Wow. Let’s
look at it.

Philippians 3:5-6, I didn’t even break the laws of Moses. Of course, he did, but he’s saying apparently
if you were to look at my life, I was a perfect Orthodox Jew but it was nothing to me. vs. 7. If
your job means too much to you, if your past education, if your profile before people, if your likes
and dislikes mean too much to you, if who you are is too valuable to you, then you are a tail and
not the head. You are very vulnerable. You are a victim of society. You will be yanked around by
popular opinion. You’ll be either put up or put down. It will be a miserable life.
But if you lose your life, if you lose your life, that means it doesn’t mean that much to you. It’s a
tool. Your education.

Your place in society. It can be a tool. If you’re a free man, use it. If you’re a slave, use it. Whatever tool you have. It’s a tool, but it doesn’t define your life. Your life is defined
by another. That’s why we come to the church and listen, and ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in
understanding it. But it’s a precious thing when it dawns in your heart, and the Spirit says to you,
you are valuable. I am with you. I speak to you. I lead you. I’m asking you to forgive and forgive.
I’m asking you to develop the ability to hear and follow and obey and do and I will make you the
head and not the tail. You’ll be a person that people step back and say, wow! How did that
happen? And you will say there’s no way I could have ever engineered this.

Ask Joseph. How did you do this? He’ll say there’s no way. My brothers sold me down in Egypt. A woman,
seductive woman, lied about me. They threw me in the clinker. They shut the door. And that was
my life. I told the butler when you get out of here, remember me. And it says the butler forgot
about him until two years later. I mean there’s no way that I could be the head, but I became the
head. And Pharaoh said, do what Joseph says and follow him. You know the story.

So, closing. I’m rejoicing with you tonight. I’m thankful that every one of us, every one of us have
something to think about in this regard. And when our life becomes too much, too important to
us, then we become a tail. But when God becomes very important to us, and our life is not that
important and we follow God, and he is very precious to us and we forsake that, the heart for
that and we have a new heart for God; then we find it might not always look so pretty but I got
peace. It doesn’t mean I don’t have problems. It means I’ve got peace. It doesn’t mean I’m in
control of my life in that way. I’m not. He is. Ordering our steps. He’s leading us in life, and
sometimes out of our heart comes kindness and love and forgiveness and faith and prayers and
things that happen. And we just sit with the Body of Christ and say Jesus is real. Amen. Would
you pray with me, please. (Prayer).

 

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