Character Study – Joseph and Judah
1.
Choose a person from the Bible, making a list of
desirable traits; select a trait study.
Look in a concordance or topical bible research the person in scripture,
and others, with that trait. See how it
was developed, demonstrated, benefited others, glorified God. Look in the Gospels to see how Jesus
demonstrated that trait. Remember to
ask how you could develop and demonstrate the same trait; begin
to do so.
·
Joseph’s
Desirable Traits
o
Obedience
(to his father’s instructions)
o
Using his God-given gift (dreams)
·
Others with trait
o
Abraham (to sacrifice Isaac)
o
Isaac (to let Abraham sacrifice him)
o
Daniel and friends (didn’t eat defiled food,
wouldn’t bow to an idol, wouldn’t stop praying to God)
o
Jesus (to carry out the will of the Father to
the death)
·
How Jesus demonstrated the trait
o
Jesus demonstrated obedience by walking steadily
toward the cross and loving, teaching and demonstrating for His disciples the
message and the mission to carry on for all generations to come, which would be
their responsibility when He was no longer with them physically.
·
How can I develop that trait?
o
I develop that trait by living my life according
to God’s Word, praying for strength and discipline and ability. By getting right back to it when I
stumble. By relying on God to accomplish
His will in me and through me.
·
Judah’s
Desirable Traits
o
Leaving a sinful situation (left brothers after
selling Joseph)
o
Teachable
(recognizing Tamar was more righteous than he)
·
Others with trait
o
Moses (listened to f-i-l’s advice to delegate responsibility)
– developed through stress/failure
o
Esther (listened to Mordecai’s advice about
rescuing her people) – dev through prayer, fasting, reliance on God
o
The women who went to the tomb and were told
Jesus was raised in Lk 24:1-12 and they ran to remind the Apostles of what
Jesus taught them: that He would be raised from the dead – dev through Jesus
telling them what must happen to Him and it coming true
·
How Jesus demonstrated the trait
o
Jesus demonstrated teachability in how He taught
others and obeyed His Father’s will.
Jesus is God, so I don’t think His deity could be taught anything. Yet, He was also fully human and His humanity
asked God to take the cup of suffering from Him but also declared resolve to
carry out God’s will. He prophetically taught
the disciples what was coming – accountability for the flesh?
·
How can I develop that trait?
o
Pray I would learn from Bible studies,
discussions, sermons, etc. and ask God to help me APPLY what I learn to my life
instead of walking away and forgetting what I learned. I also want to be open to lessons that sting
a little, not just embracing the warm and fuzzy ones.
2.
Study
God’s leaders and how they were trained.
Choose a leader. Note the
specific mission he/she had and ways God prepared him/her to fulfill it. What lessons can you learn about leadership
from that person? What difference did this person make for eternity? Seek to know God’s call for you and
how He has been preparing you to fulfill it.
·
Choose a Leader –
·
What was his/her mission?
·
How did God prepare him/her for that mission?
o
He was a disciple who learned directly from
Jesus
o
He made mistakes but grew from his discipline
o
He was persistent in his desire to make Jesus
known as the Christ/Messiah after His death
§
The Holy Spirit did much to prepare him as did
his time with Jesus Himself
§
His failures taught him a tremendous amount too
·
What lessons do I learn about Leadership from
him/her?
o
Leadership has its costs
o
Obedience is challenging
o
There is no place for pride in the life of a
Christian unless it’s boasting in Christ
o
Failure has a purpose with God’s forgiveness
o
God’s strength is apparent when we let Him lead
·
What Eternal Difference did this person make?
o
Amazing example of God’s grace and mercy, and
what happens when we keep on working in God’s strength and for His purpose
o
Also an example of how when we put aside our
agenda, etc. God not only blesses us and gives us the desires of our heart but
accomplishes His will too
·
What has God called me to do?
·
How is He preparing me to fulfill it?
o
Every single experience in my life has been made
purposeful for His use
o
God has used hills and valleys, triumphs and
failures to teach and prepare me for His leadership
o
BSF- huge training ground- as a leader, parent,
wife, friend, professional
3.
Study those who tried to oppose God. What are their character traits? How could you personally avoid them and
replace them instead with positive traits?
·
Laban
o
He knew of God but didn’t follow Him or have a
personal relationship
·
Character Traits
o
Manipulative
o
Deceitful
o
Shrewd business man
o
Opportunistic
·
How to avoid them and replace them
o
Be in prayer and relationship with God
o
Give permission to trusted others to hold you
accountable
o
Listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit in daily
decisions
o
Know what the Word says
o
Focus on what God calls me to do and ask in
confession how I can replace my ugly traits with those that glorify Him
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