Sermon Notes

KILLJOYS
Genesis 37:4 // Joseph’s Brothers and our Envy & Anger
 
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” -John 15:11
 
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death, the deeds of the body, you will live.” -Romans 8:13
 
 
SERMON IN A SENTENCE:
Our sinful hearts are prone to want what other people have and get angry that we don’t have it.
 
 
“Jacob lived in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brother. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.” -Genesis 37:1-3
 
 
 
1. The Seeds of Envy and Anger
 
“But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.” -Genesis 37:4
 
ENVY:
Resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by someone else.
 
What do you “see” in your life that are seeds of envy that leads to anger?
 
ANGER:
Righteous anger is an emotion that arises when we witness an offense against God or His Word. ­It is an anger that is grieved by sin, death, and any form of evil.
 
Anger derived from our own selfishness, insecurity, envy, or sinful desires is always a sin. Sinful anger is always a killjoy.
 
“More often than not you’ll immediately be embarrassed because many times the thing you’re angrily defending is your ego, your pride, or your self-esteem.” -Tim Keller
 
“Do not say, “I cannot help having a bad temper.’ Friend, you must help it. Pray to God to help you overcome it at once, for either you must kill it, or it will kill you.” -Charles Spurgeon
 
“Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.” -Genesis 37:5
 
 
 
2. The Progression of Envy and Anger
 
“His brothers said to him, ‘Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?’ So they hated him even more for dreams and for his words.” -Genesis 37:8
 
“People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness. A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.” -Proverbs 14:29-30 (NLT)
 
“We own things we don’t need to impress people we don’t know then we go broke trying to look rich.” -Andy Mineo
 
 
 
3. The Consequences of Envy and Anger
 
“They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into on the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.’” -Genesis 37:18-20
 
“So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat…” -Genesis 37:23-25a
 
 
 
HOW DO WE FIGHT?!
 
1. You Begin With Gratitude
 
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” -Colossians 3:15
 
 
2. You Become Content
 
“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have good and clothing, with these we will be content.” -1 Timothy 6:6-8
 
“The cure for the sin of envy and jealousy is to find our contentment in God.” -Jerry Bridges
 
p.a.r.t.
p- pray IN THE Moment
a - ask, "WHY AM I ANGRY?"
r - RESPOND TO THE SPIRIT
t - talk about it
 
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” -Genesis 50:20
 
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Enduring Word
The Genesis Record