Joseph was basically born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was the son of his father's old age he was the apple of his father's eye. He really didn't have to work, he would just run errands for his father and check up on his brothers. Joseph wore a coat of many colors that identified him as the favored child.
Joseph was chosen by God anointed by God and favored by God and Joseph carried a dream that was given to him by God. Joseph was both loved and hated favored and despised desired and opposed Joseph represents the true believer in Christ. Regardless of our physical or social or economic standing in society we were born into the kingdom with a silver spoon in our mouths.
like Joseph we do not work for what we have it is a free gift of grace, of divine favor.
For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves but it is a gift of God not of works lest any man should boast.
Everything we have ever needed or will need is already provided for us in Christ.
Philippians 4:13 but my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 1:3 who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Like Joseph we are anointed, we are favored, we have a dream, a divine god-given destiny. And like Joseph there are adversaries to your anointing, your dream, and your favor.
The Bible says Joseph's brothers saw the favor of his father on him and they hated him for it.
Then the Bible says they hated Joseph more for his dreams.
Then the Bible says they hated him even more for his words.
It is a sad fact but the greatest adversaries to your favor, your dream, and your destiny. Are not the drug addicts or the homosexuals or prostitutes or fornicators.
The greatest adversaries to your dream, your anointing, your favor and your destiny are in the church.
They are the ones who have no dream, no vision, no passion, no fire, no zeal, no expectation.
They're satisfied where they're at.
They live on status quo Avenue on the corner of average and mediocrity.
Why are they so resentful why do they criticize and persecute you?
Joseph's brothers could not speak peaceably to him.
It's because they recognize the anointing on your life, they recognize the favor, and the power and the life of your dream and it exposes their poverty.
Yes We will absolutely have to fight Devils sickness financial attacks, attacks on our minds, the attacks that are spiritual in nature and originate from hell.
But our greatest attacks will always come from people who can't see what you see or hear what you hear and they resent you and they resent that you are not satisfied where you're at with them and that you are not satisfied to remain the same.
As long as you don't have anything and don't want anything you get along fine.
But when you get a vision of your destiny and you get a dream and you start talking about it, they get angry and critical and resentful.
If Joseph would have kept his mouth shut he could have avoided a lot of hardships.
But there's something about a dream from God, it has a life in it, it starts boiling in your belly, and if you don't let it out you'll blow up.
Joseph words of vision and expectation and desire for a higher life exposed the emptiness in his brothers and they hated him.
They conspired to kill him
(conspire) to plan together to plot to agree to scheme together to act in agreement and in secret towards a deceitful or illegal purpose.
I know it's not what you want to hear but if you're anointed by God if you have the favor of God in your life if you have a God given dream you've also got enemies. And you have enemies that are conspiring against you.
The greater the anointing the greater the favor the greater the dream the greater will be your enemies and your adversaries.
let me remind you no weapon formed against you will prosper and every tongue that rises against you in judgment that shalt condemn.
They threw Joseph in a pit
I don't care how anointed you are how great your dream is or how much favor you have on your life at some time you're going to experience a pit.
A financial pit, the pit of sickness, divorce, depression, betrayal.
the important thing is to know the pit is not your destiny.
Don't settle down there.
Forward your mail to the palace.
You are destined for the palace. They threw Joseph in the pit and it was empty there was no water in it.
Empty no water in it.
No water, no refreshment, nothing to quench the thirst, no physical tangible evidence of better days to come.
Water is the most basic necessary element required to sustain life.
So this tells us that Joseph was in a very dark place meaning there was not a single ray of hope to speak of deliverance or victory over the pit.
Have you ever been there I have.
But there is another reason the Bible tells us there was no water in the pit.
If the pit had been filled with water he would have drowned.
The fact that there was no water in the pit meant (Joseph would not drown) even though he was thirsty.
He wouldn't drown
That sounds like a small consolation but when you're in the pit you learn how to find hope and encouragement in the smallest things.
Before the pit I needed a nice house and a nice car to make me happy.
Before the pit I needed everyone to smile at me and pat me on the back to make me happy.
Before the pit I needed a position in the church with a name tag and my own parking space.
Before the pit I needed money in the bank a good retirement and money in my wallet to make me happy.
Before the pit my praise was weak and sporadic and I didn't really even praise the Lord unless he did something big for me.
But there's something about the pit that causes you to look up and be thankful for little things.
Today Joseph said I'm just thankful that there was no water in this pit yes I'm thirsty, yes it hurt when I hit the bottom but I just praise God that it was empty and I didn't drown.
Somebody I'm talking to you right now you've been murmuring and grumbling and complaining about all the things you don't have.
Running down your list of why you have a right to be hurt, a right to be angry, a right to feel sorry for yourself, and some of you have even had the nerve to tell God he hasn't done anything for you worthy of your praise.
What you need to do is shut up your mumbling grumbling and complaining and start praising God that the pit was empty.
You didn't drown.
You're still here.
You're not dead yet.
Praise him that you still have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Praise him because you have the use of your limbs and you're in your right mind.
Praise him because your heart is still beating and blood is pumping through your body.
Praise him because you didn't die when you hit the bottom.
Praise him because he woke you up this morning.
There's a lot of people that didn't live to see this day.
Praise Him because even in the pit you can feel his presence.
I want to stay right there for a minute:
You may take my car, you may take my house, you may take my money, you may take from me all the comforts and conveniences of this life, you may even strip me of my fine clothes and the shoes i wear. (But) You can't take his presence from me.
You can't take my anointing from me
Put me in the pit (I'm still anointed) put me in the prison (I'm still anointed) put me in the lions den or the fiery furnace (I'm still anointed)
Some of you need to just lift up your head and shout (I'm still anointed)
I may be going through hell but I'm still anointed, i just lost my job but I'm still anointed, sickness has attacked my body but I'm still anointed.
Does anybody know that you're anointed?
You maybe in a tight place right now but you're anointed.
You may be in a dark place right now, but you're anointed.
You may be fighting back tears right now, But you're anointed.
Your heart may be breaking right now, but you're anointed.
The devil intended for you to die in the pit, he thought he pushed you to your death.
but what i want you to know is all he did was push you into your anointing.
The anointing increases under pressure.
The anointing is released by the crushing of the olives.
What Satan sent to crush you is just releasing the anointing in your life to go to the next level.
My marriage is under attack, my character is being assasinated, my kids are on drugs, but I'm still anointed.
I may be in a pit but I'm still anointed.
Even in the pit I can feel his presence and if i can feel his presence i know I'm going to make it.
So instead of sitting here in the ash heaps of disappointment and self pity moaning and groaning and complaining, I'm going to put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
Right here in this pit I'm going to give God the praise that's due his name.
I'm going to give him a Palace praise.
I may be in the pit but there's a palace anointing in me, so right here in this mess, right here in this pain, right here in this dark place this hard place, I'm going to get my praise on.
So I just stopped by to tell somebody you're not going to die in the pit.
It's just a temporary inconvenience.
You're bigger than the pit, your dream is bigger than the pit.
your anointing is bigger than the pit
your destiny is bigger than the pit.
what God is looking for from you and from me is a palace praise from the pit.
Don't wait until everything turns, don't wait until everything looks good, don't wait until everything feels good.
You can't wait until you get to the palace.
You got to give him a palace praise from the pit.
Right there where the devil said it was going to end.
Right there in that hard place, that dark place, that broken place, that place of loneliness and isolation, that place where you can't see anything good.
Right there in that place
Put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
Right there in that place where you cried yourself to sleep, that place where you feel like the life is being squeezed out of you.
Right there in that hard place that dark place right there in the pit.
Give God a palace praise.
God is looking for someone who loves him no matter what they're going through.
God is looking for someone who will praise him in the pit while they're walking through the fire, praise him in the prison in the midnight hour, praise him in the Lions Den.
Someone who will give him a palace praise from the pit.
Praise him like you're already in the palace.
Praise him like you're already walking in your new in anointing
Praise him like your Prodigals are already restored
Praise him like you're the president of the company.
Before Joseph was lifted out of the prison to meet pharaoh he changed his clothes.
in other words Joseph put on a palace praise while he was still in prison.
Somebody tonight: you are on your way from the pit to the palace and your praise is going to take you there.
Shake 3 people by the hand and tell them: There's a prophecy hidden in my praise
Tell them (if you want to know where I'm going just listen to my praise) If you want to know my next level just listen to my praise.
If you want to know whats coming next in my life just listen to my praise.
Gen 41:14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.
(My praise is prophetic) I said prophetic (I don't mean to sound harsh or uncaring but to tell the truth many times our praise is (pathetic) weak, sickly, half hearted, insincere limp wristed, sloppy agape.
But that was before the pit ( Now my praise is the real deal) I'm going somewhere, this pit can't hold me, this prison can't hold me, this sickness can't hold me, this bondage can't hold me, this habit this addiction, it can't hold me.
I got a real praise now.
When Joseph changed his clothes he was still in the prison (in other words he looked crazy, he looked out of place, all dressed up standing in the prison) it didn't make sense (he had palace clothes on but he was still in prison).
Some of the other prisoners probably started joking about it and making fun of him, they probably said (Joseph you're crazy, who do you think you are) but Josephs clothes were prophesying I may be in the prison today but tomorrow I'll be in the palace).
God said to tell somebody today: if you'll give him a crazy praise, if you'll give him a praise that don't make no sense, if you'll praise him like you lost your mind.. if you'll praise him like you're already in the palace
You'll see the glory of God
You'll see that spirit of debt broken
You'll see salvation come to your house
You'll see cancer dry up and die
You'll see the walls fall down
You'll see restoration and healing
You'll see deliverance
Somebody tonight just needs to stand right there in your pit, lift up your hands and open your mouth and give God a palace praise.
