Introduction

Last week, we spoke about God Remembering Our Family Because of Us. This is absolutely true; our God is a God full of human compassion. Therefore, today, our brothers and sisters must know for certain whether they are people with a Mingding Destiny(命定). If you are a person with a Mingding Destiny(命定), you will become a blessing to your family and to many others. However, people in this world are confused, thinking that once we believe in the Lord, everything will be fine. What is even more perplexing is that people encounter many hardships in their lives and cry out, God, where are you?

Today, I want to share with you the topic, These Light and Momentary Troubles are Achieving for Us an Eternal Glory that Far Outweighs Them All. This title comes from the letters of the Apostle Paul. Today, you need to know for certain that everyone who lives in this world must suffer, either for this or for that.

A very wealthy businessman in Singapore, his young son died of a cerebral hemorrhage. The elderly couple cried bitterly over their son's coffin, which was very sad. Because they are celebrities in Singapore, many dignitaries attended his son's funeral. I think whether you are rich or poor, no matter what kind of person you are, you will have a hard time in this world. But the question arises, why are you suffering? Some suffering is glorious, some people suffer for their Mingding Destiny(命定), and some people suffer for their sins because what they endure is a curse.

So today, we must have a correct concept. This bit of suffering we endure is actually very normal. The key issue is not whether you suffer or not, but why you are suffering. To become a blessing to your family, you have to pay a price. If you want to be a person with a dream, you have to pay a price for your dream. If you are a person with a vision, you have to pay a price for your vision. If you are a person who indulges in the flesh, you will pay the price for indulging in the flesh. If you are a person who loves the world, you will pay the price for loving the world. We, who have chosen to suffer willingly for our vision and dream, so that we can be a blessing to many people and a blessing to our family, because, these light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

I think God knows how we can live well. If a person has no vision or dream, and lives without hope, it will be very uncomfortable. If you have a vision and a dream, your ability to endure suffering is very powerful. If you want to be a strong person, start restoring your dreams and visions. A dream and a vision are not about becoming a millionaire, but about becoming a blessing to many people.

Scripture

But when they saw him in the distance, before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” (Genesis 37:18-20)

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank You for allowing us to see that people cannot destroy our dreams. When we cherish dreams and hopes in Your kingdom, Lord, You will surely lead us to become a blessing to all nations and peoples on earth, and a blessing to our families! Lord, today let us completely offer ourselves, and may You exalt us in our families as You exalted Joseph! Lord, today let each of our brothers and sisters become the Joseph of their families, let us become a blessing to our families! May You personally arise to do this wonderful work, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Scripture Background

There was a man named Jacob who dreamed of becoming the firstborn son, but he was born second. What could he do? He had a dream within him, that he wanted to become the firstborn son, so that he could inherit the blessings his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac had received. Blessing is not just about being blessed oneself, but about becoming a blessing to others, becoming a person who is in a covenant with God. Later, he really got it. His brother Esau was a twin brother, and he tricked his brother out of his birthright with a bowl of red bean soup. Later, Jacob had sons, one of whom was named Joseph.

Joseph was the eleventh in the line, with ten older brothers above him. Joseph was very sad and thought, My father only had one older brother, and a bowl of red bean soup solved the problem. I have ten older brothers above me, what should I do? Joseph began to yearn for a dream, and one day God gave him a dream, saying that he would become the savior of his family. As a result, when he went to find his brothers, his brothers saw him coming from afar, We will kill this kid and throw him into the pit, and say that a wild beast has devoured him. Then we will see what will become of his dreams? Later, Joseph became the prime minister of Egypt and became a blessing to his family, and God remembered his family because of Joseph. This is the origin of this passage.

Living for a Vision is the Greatest Blessing

We must remove our misconceptions, these misconceptions have been mentioned in many people's sermons. For example, people forget that Joseph was a man with a dream. Look at this Joseph, you dream, so you dream, why tell your family? What are you showing off? You shouldn't preach your vision and dreams. Isn't this being harmed? Suffering for nothing, is that how it should be interpreted? When I read the Bible, I don't think it should be interpreted this way. A person who is sold into Egypt and suffers like Joseph is a person who pays the price for his dreams. So don't think that we who have received a vision will be safe and sound, especially those who have dreams in the kingdom of God will be even more persecuted.

Suffering is nothing, it is troublesome to have no vision and dreams. If our dream is a dream of this life, I want to become a billionaire, I want to own a luxury car, this is not a dream from God, nor is it a dream that pleases God. A real dream will become our motivation, these light and momentary troubles are nothing great. All troubles become light and momentary in the presence of God, because God is going to accomplish an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

If our dreams are earthly, God will destroy these worldly dreams. If you observe carefully, you will know that no matter what kind of person you are, if you love the world, you will pay the price for loving the world, and if you love God, you will pay the price for loving God.

When I was checking Romans a few days ago, how did I become a slave of righteousness? Either you are a slave of sin or you are a slave of God. With what kind of heart, obeying what kind of vision, you will get what you want. If there is a vision from heaven, the suffering you experience is a light and momentary trouble, which will become an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Don't think that being safe and sound is a good thing. Today we are not living for peace, we are living for the vision that comes from God. Some people say that I don't have Joseph's good life, we have never had the dreams Joseph had. But you need to know where Joseph's dreams come from. Joseph had a desire to become a blessing to his family. If you have no vision and no ideas in your heart, you will not have dreams from heaven. Dreams are closely related to the spiritual realm, and our thoughts and ideas are also closely related to the spiritual realm. Joseph himself had an idea in his heart, and then he had such a dream. What are our ideas? Our ideas must know that everything in this world is vanity of vanities.

God will bless those who are after His heart, and God will remember your family because of you. If there is a vision from heaven, then there is glory in suffering. The Old Testament takes Jacob and Joseph as prototypes, they both paid a heavy price for their dreams. Once you get a vision, you pay the price for the vision, just like Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

Either you love the world and pay the price for the world, or you love God and pay the price for God. Today, open your spiritual eyes and you will see that your families are all in the destruction of the devil. A classmate of mine's father had kidney cancer. Every time I mention it, I feel sad for his father. Cancer is really torturous. Whether you believe in the Lord or not, we are being corrupted by the devil everywhere.

What people need most in life is a blessing. We desire to receive blessings from heaven. First of all, we must become a blessing to our families. You know, we have a sister whose father is a drug addict. Every time he looks for her, he asks for money. Our sister is heartbroken. However, what her father needs most is a blessing, isn't it?

Bearing the Vision Comes at a Cost

Joseph being sold into Egypt, you might think that with God on your side, everything will go smoothly. But if you read the Bible carefully, you'll find that it wasn't so. Joseph named his first son Manasseh, For God has made me forget all my hardship. Joseph's life as a slave was arduous. When he arrived at his master Potiphar's house, he didn't start as the head of the slaves; he worked his way up from the bottom. Because when you enter someone's home, they have a manager. A seventeen-year-old boy, who had been pampered at home, with no shortage of food or clothing, was sold from Canaan to Egypt as a slave. All the way to Egypt, his hands and feet were bound, while others rode camels, he walked behind. They didn't care if you were thirsty, and he was beaten and scolded all the way to Egypt. That painful feeling surged into his heart; it was hard! Where was the future? Joseph could hold on and forget all his hardships entirely because he had a dream inside. He thought, God will surely save me from all this suffering, and God will surely make my dream come true, to be a blessing to my family.

When we long to be a blessing to our family, our family members will say hurtful things to us. We receive a lot of curses, very harsh words. If you want to be a blessing to your family, you must have the ability to bear injustice. You want to be a blessing to your family, but people don't appreciate it, they call you an ungrateful wretch. It's not that Joseph didn't have any painful feelings, he was still very distressed. Even today, I still hope that my whole family will be saved. I hope that my family can all come before God and receive grace. When pain surges into my heart, it's truly hard! Every time I read the scripture, God has made me forget all my hardship, I am also Joseph. Whose pain do I not feel? Whose fall do I not grieve over? When we have vision and dreams inside, we can manage the painful feelings within us.

No matter how much injustice we suffer, we hold onto the vision from heaven within us. Even if people wrong us, so what? It's not because our family is good to us that we long to be a blessing to them. It's not because Joseph's family was good to Joseph, but he knew there was a dream from heaven, he knew that the momentary and light suffering would achieve an eternal glory beyond comparison.

Joseph had a second son, God has made me prosper in the land of my suffering. We don't prosper in peace and tranquility, but God makes us prosper in the land of our suffering. It's not that Joseph had no feelings. Every time he thought about being sold into Egypt, working his way up from a small slave to a steward, climbing step by step, God would lift us up. God will lift us up in the land of our suffering, constantly raising our position. Joseph's position in the family was the highest. Judah was younger than Joseph. Even Joseph's parents and brothers had to bow down before Joseph. God will exalt Joseph above their family. Those with great faith have a great position in the family. God will lift you up. Even if He doesn't lift you up today, someday He will lift you up above everyone in your family.

Constantly Elevate Influence in Conflict, to Be a Family Blessing

Today, the sister's testimony is so good, becoming a blessing to her family. Her parents followed her into blessing. If your position in the family is very low, it's difficult to preach the gospel. So some people ask me how to preach the gospel to their family? Then constantly elevate your position, become an influential person. Through you constantly practicing vision and dreams in your family, God will make you the greatest in your family. Conflict is inevitable in the family, but conflict can be transformed. Don't be a weak person, conflict can be transformed.

Joseph became the prime minister of Egypt. His brothers went to Egypt to buy grain because of the famine. Joseph designed to put his brother Simeon in prison, to eat prison food. How could Joseph do this? Because his brothers were too bad, with no vision or dreams, only a belly full of bad ideas. Now they are reflecting in prison, remembering the bad things they did in the past, and the retribution in prison will come to mind. Joseph was not considerate of his brothers' flesh. The things Joseph put in his brothers' luggage were to wrong them and then discipline them. They were really suffering in silence, unable to speak of their bitterness. Joseph wanted to edify them, hoping to change their minds.

A few days ago, I received a call from a sister. The father of her child insisted that the child finish the meal, but the child refused. The father then threatened to pry open the child's mouth with a knife, which embarrassed everyone. So, I gave the sister an idea, to create a bigger fire and create a bigger conflict, but don't do things without reason. Just like the testimony I just shared about a brother's wife, not being considerate of her family's flesh, she broke a path, transformed in conflict, and sought opportunities. Conflict cannot destroy our dreams, nor can suffering. The momentary and light dream will achieve incomparable glory. Joseph was a very powerful person, and he only saw his father after being prime minister for nine years, holding his father and brothers in pain. His pain surged out at that moment.

Hold onto the Vision until the Dream is Fulfilled

Why did it take nine years to see his family? Joseph didn't do anything wrong. The ideas we come up with are not too perfect. He held onto his dream, and his brothers and father bowed down before him, completely not following his fleshly feelings, but following the vision within. If we choose to be strong and courageous inside, God will open a way for us, God will lead us to fight difficult battles, trample on the devil and the enemy, God likes this kind of person. God likes those who pay the price for dreams, such a price is a glorious price.

Weakness is not the answer, brothers and sisters must be strong, God makes us forget all our hardships, God makes us prosper in the land of our suffering, God will raise our position, God will constantly raise the strength within you. Not being considerate of their flesh, constantly elevating one's position in the family in conflict, do not be afraid, God is our God, we must strive for this vision. God is looking for such people, to be vessels He can use, may God bless everyone!