Part One- Charles Stanley
A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel with my husband to Branson with 14 senior adults to the Jubilee Conference. We had a wonderful time getting to know the people in our group (most of them from our church). What a blessing they were to us! And the conference was fantastic…great singing, preaching, and entertainment. We got to hear Dr. Charles Stanley and Dr. Johnny Hunt preach the Word, Mark Lowry entertained us and made us laugh so hard until our eyes watered, and we got to listen to Dino, The Inspirations, and The Perrys.
On the way home from Branson, the group dropped me off in Little Rock to join my sister & her church group at the Living Proof Live Beth Moore Conference. Wow! What another blessing!
I don’t want to forget the lessons I learned from any of these Godly teachers, so I’m going to summarize my notes. I hope some of the lessons will speak to you as well.
Dr. Charles Stanley
“Walk Wisely” from Genesis 37
If you had the power to change one thing in your life, what would it be?
He talked about JOSEPH and SEVEN CRISES that he faced in life.
CRISIS—A Moment of Opportunity…
1. In the family—his brothers were very negative, rejected him, jealous
2. In the well—Joseph was desperate but took advantage of those terrifying moments to renew his faith
3. In slavery—Again, Joseph responded by increasing his faith and being full of integrity
4. At the Egyptian slave lot—Remember, God is always AHEAD of your CRISIS
5. As an Egyptian slave owner bought him—He took the opportunity to learn how to be a servant
6. With Potiphar’s wife—Joseph RESISTED temptation! He took the opportunity to obey God in the midst of a crisis
7. In Prison—For nearly 10 years, Joseph lived in prison but he was respected and the jailor put everyone under his authority
Joseph always responded by using the crises as learning opportunities. Each crisis prepared him for the next one.
How can we respond to crises in our lives?
- · Remember Romans 8:28—God works ALL things together for our GOOD!
- · Remember Psalm 103:19—God controls all things!
- · Remember Isaiah 55:8-9—God says that HIS thoughts are not OUR thoughts…we can’t even fathom how to think like He does!
- · Don’t focus on the pain because that takes your eyes off of God!
- · Be in the Word DAILY!
- · Recall your past crises and reflect on how God brought you through those hard times.
- · Submit yourself to the will of God & trust Him!
- · Demonstrate gratitude even though you don’t feel like it!
- · Determine to look for an opportunity to LEARN from your crisis!
- · Refuse to listen to the misinterpretations of others’ reactions to your situation! Only talk to God!
- · Remember Isaiah 64:4—God “acts on behalf of those who wait for Him”
- · Pray without ceasing!
