Ten lessons from the life of Joseph, from Genesis 37 to 50. Each one takes a season of testing, from the pit to the throne. It aims to form the character a call needs, so a disciple carries the call before he wears the crown.
10 lessonsTen tests
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Pastors, teachers, and small group leadersWho it is for
"Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him."
Psalm 105:19, NKJV
Overview
The Tested Life follows Joseph from a dream at seventeen to a throne at thirty. It teaches that a call from God is an assignment, not a reward, and that the years between the dream and the destiny are where God builds the person He called. Each lesson takes one test: promise, the pit, placement, purity, patience, praise, power, plenty, pardon, and purpose.
The lessons are taught in order. Each one defines its subject first: what it is, and what it is not. It then names the common misunderstanding, gives the Scripture in full, teaches two main points, and ends with personal and leadership application. Every lesson is meant to leave one truth in the heart.
This is a teacher manual. Each lesson opens with a one-page roadmap for a 60 minute session, with prompts for opening, teaching, and closing. It also gives leader notes, five discussion questions, and a short check-in that asks what the student received, how he will respond, what he must let go of, and where he will rest in God. An answer key for the student blanks is at the back.
Use it with a small group, a leaders' class, or a one-to-one discipleship. Read it slowly, look up every verse, answer honestly before God, and then teach it to someone else.
Lessons
01The Test of PromiseA call from God is an assignment, not a reward.In short. God gave Joseph a dream at seventeen, and he did not sit in power until he was thirty. A call is not a crown, and the dream does not make you ready. It shows the destination, and the years between are where God builds the character to hold it.
02The Test of the PitBetrayal is real, but it cannot cancel a call.In short. Joseph's own brothers threw him into a pit and sold him. The pit is not proof that God left, and a wound is not a disqualification. The deepest pit is the bitterness we allow inside, so a disciple learns to forgive early and keep his heart clean.
03The Test of PlacementGod tests us in another man's work first.In short. Joseph served as a slave in Potiphar's house, and the LORD was with him. Faithfulness is not being seen. It is being trustworthy where you are placed. It aims to turn a heart that reaches for the platform into one that serves heartily, as to the Lord.
04The Test of PurityHoliness answers to God, not to the fear of being caught.In short. Joseph refused Potiphar's wife and ran, when no one would ever have known. Character is who you are behind a shut door, and reputation is only who men think you are. The lesson aims at a guarded heart and a hidden life that is clean before God.
05The Test of PatienceMen may forget you, but God never forgets His servant.In short. Joseph did right and went to prison, and the butler forgot him for two more years. The cell is not abandonment. It is the hidden classroom where God prepares you. The lesson aims to keep a disciple serving, and not growing weary, when no one sees.
06The Test of PraiseThe spotlight tests humility, not talent.In short. Brought quickly before Pharaoh, Joseph said, "It is not in me." Humility is not hiding your gift. It is using it fully and giving the credit fully to God. The lesson aims to settle in the heart that everything we have, we received.
07The Test of PowerAuthority is a trust, given so we can serve.In short. Pharaoh set Joseph over Egypt, and the crown proved a heavier test than the cell. Power does not change a man. It reveals him. A disciple learns he is a steward and not an owner, and that he leads as an example and not as a lord.
08The Test of PlentyThe danger in plenty is forgetting the God who gave it.In short. In the seven good years, Joseph had a family, honor, and more grain than he could count. This is not a lesson against blessing. The danger is trusting what you have instead of God. It aims to keep the heart tender, grateful, and dependent when life is good.
09The Test of PardonForgive from the throne, with power in your hands.In short. Joseph held total power over the brothers who sold him, and he chose to weep, forgive, and provide. Forgiveness is not pretending the wrong never happened, and it is not the same as trust. It tells the truth, releases the debt, and sees God's hand above man's evil.
10The Test of PurposeSaved to save others.In short. Looking back, Joseph saw that God sent him ahead to preserve life. A calling is not an arrival or a prize for ourselves. It is an assignment for the sake of others. The lesson aims to turn a disciple outward, to spend what he has received on the people God sends him.
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