Genesis 39:1-6 (KJV)
1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
6 And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
VERY BRIEFLY I WANT TO REASON WITH YOU ON THE THOUGHT
(WHEN GOD SHOWS YOU FAVOR)
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS
I am afraid that many of us take life too casually.
Some of us assume that everyone means right and will treat us right without any reservations.
Some of you believe that as long as we don't bother anyone, then no one will bother us.
If that is the way you feel,
I am afraid you are living in a fantasy world because there are people who will not only harm you, they will even try to destroy you.
Because Misery loves company.
When people are unstable,
unsatisfied and uncomfortable with their lives,
they will do all they can to wreck yours.
Many times they do not care how or who they destroy as long as they can be satisfied.
I was shocked when I read this episode in the life of young Joseph.
Joseph was one of Jacob's sons.
Who was brave enough to share his dreams with his brothers.
I say brave because some people will not rejoice in your dreams.
Sometimes you will do well to keep your dreams to yourself because some people will try to block your dreams.
Joseph's brothers hated him because their father favored him.
In fact, Joseph's father loved him so much that he had a coat of many colors custom tailored made just for him.
The brothers were so angry and jealous that they took Joseph out into the field, beat him up and left him in a pit for dead.
Then, they sold him to the Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt and sold him as a slave to a man named Potiphar
, who was over Pharaoh's security group
Potiphar had one of the top positions in Pharaoh's camp.
And We have to be careful in life because we never know into whose hands we may fall in.
We can joke and fuss that something will never happen to us,
but it can.
Although we are up today, we can easily be down tomorrow.
All may be well now, but a sick day may be on your agenda.
I have known people, who were doing well at one time, but are now living on meager fare.
You don't know how you will function with nothing, if you have been functioning with a lot.
In the text before us
Joseph was accustomed to having plenty.
He lived in royalty.
He was part of lineage of Jesus, the Christ
He came from a good bloodline,
but he was now a slave.
And As I studied Joseph,
I realized that some of us do well when we are up, but we give out when we are down.
Some of us think that God only visits palaces, but I should tell you that He does his best work when we are in the pits of life.
Because when you go to verse 2 in the text it says
"And the Lord was with Joseph."
I KNOW That sounds strange.
Joseph had been sold into slavery by his own brothers.
He was all on his own without his family.
He had lost his identity.
He no longer had servants to prepare his meals but had to eat leftovers.
Yet, the Bible says that the Lord was with him.
And the reason It sounds strange because most of us think that when the Lord is with a person, he or she will be covered with diamonds.
We expect them to ride in the best of cars,
eat the best of food,
sleep in the best of beds and be served by the best of people.
Joseph was a slave,
but verse 2 says that the Lord was with him.
Verse 2 also says that Joseph was a prosperous man.
Here is a man who doesn't have anything,
but he is still prosperous.
Evidently, the Lord doesn't count the way we count.
How many times have you seen a man eating out of a garbage can and said that he was prosperous?
When was the last time you saw a person sleeping on the street and said, "There's a prosperous man"?
We want to see a person riding in a BMW or Lexus before we say she is prosperous.
But the Bible says that Joseph was purchased as a slave by Potiphar, captain of Pharaoh's guard;
yet, the Lord was with him and he prospered while in the house of his Egyptian master.
What made Joseph prosperous?
WELL The first thing that made him prosperous was that he had the presence of the Lord with him.
Most of us count prosperity by material things.
The Lord says, "If you have Me, you're prosperous.
" Romans 8:17 says that we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.
That means you can take everything I have, but I will still have the presence of the Lord.
God has an inexhaustible supply of everything so if you take what I have,
the Lord will say, "Well, you just keep that because I have something even better for him
." Joseph was prosperous because he had the presence of the Lord with him.
When he went down into Egypt, God was with him.
Wherever you are, if you have the presence of the Lord with you, you are really free.
Likewise, if you have everything and don't have the presence of the Lord with you, you are in bondage.
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Well The presence of the Lord was not only with Joseph,
But this text is tailored to teach us it was also a witness for him even while he was enslaved.
Genesis 39:3 says that his master saw that the Lord was with him.
Now, that's good news!
Not only do you need to know that the Lord is with you, but somebody else needs to know it, too.
The people around you need to know that the Lord is with you.
I don't know what Joseph was doing for Potiphar, but it was enough to let Potiphar know that God was with Joseph.
I really believe that if the Lord is with you, you cannot hide Him
. If the Lord is with you, no one should ever have to ask you if you are a Christian
. If you are saved, you should not have to have a cross around your neck or carry a big Bible under your arm.
Because If the Lord is with you,
it will show in your demeanor and conversation.
The way you handle yourself will let everybody know, "God is with YOU."
Genesis 39:3 says, "And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand."
I don't know what happened,
but the Bible says everything his hands touched prospered.
Do you know no one can keep a child of God down?
Someone can rob you, but if you are a child of God, you will prosper again because God's children do not operate on their own. God elevates us.
Genesis 39:5 says, "And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house."
YOU SEE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS
Joseph went to Potiphar's house as a slave and God made him an overseer.
Can you see what God was doing with Joseph?
One day, Joseph was going to be the Prime Minister of Egypt,
but because he loved his father, Jacob, so much he would never have left home on his own.
He would have stayed with his father as a farmer his entire life
. So God allowed Joseph's brothers to get mad enough to beat him up, sell him into slavery and ship him to Egypt.
God brought Joseph to the place where he would one day be second only to the King.
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AND THE 3 THING THIS TEXT IS TAILORED TO TEACH US IS
The Lord will sometimes demote us in order to promote us.
Before I could serve well as a pastor, the Lord had to first ALLOW ME TO GO THROUGH AN ADDICTION
He allowed me to go to prison to show me that I am nothing and nobody so He could elevate me to be what He calls somebody.
God shipped Joseph to a foreign land and said, "Let me see how you handle being pushed around.
Let me see if you can handle sweeping the floor."
AND SOME TIME GOD HAS TO BEND YOU TO MEND YOU
HE HAS TO BREAK YOU TO MAKE YOU
CAN I BORROW A SKINNY MINUTE
AND TELL YOU WHAT I`M TALKING
YOU SEE
Some of you were offered a job sweeping floors
, but you did not take it because it was too low for you.
You did not want a job sweeping floors because you are somebody.
But what you did not know was the Lord might have been preparing you to be the supervisor of the floor sweepers.
AND In order to supervise a floor sweeper, you have to know what it is like to sweep floors.
Most people want to be a boss so they can tell others what to do.
BUT If you want to be a supervisor, learn the job first, and you can learn best through on the job training.
THE BIBLE SAY THAT Joseph was steadfast
AND If you are going to be victorious in the matter of temptation, you have to be steadfast
. You cannot allow circumstances to change your mind.
That means you must be satisfied with Jesus
I MUST admit there are times in life that things may not be the way we think they should be
, but the Lord can make you satisfied with Him.
There are times that your surroundings will steal your joy.
When you look around, you get depressed and feel distressed.
BUT Those are the times when you have to take a stand and say, "I'm going to live for the Lord."
BECAUSE When God places His favor upon you,
He offers you something that no man can give you.
YOU SEE
It happened one Friday on Mt. Calvary.
Jesus was hung up for our hang-ups.
He died for YOUR SINS AND MINES.
They sealed the grave and the devil said, "We finally got him."
But they didn't know who they had down there
BECAUSE On Sunday morning, the devil came back and found the grave empty.
Jesus had gotten up out of the dusty grave.
He raised His hands and told the whole world, "I have all power in my hands."
And that is why you can be satisfied with Jesus alone.
BE ENCOURAGED BETHESDA
The Lord is with you all the time.
You may think, "I'm not going to make it." But if God's favor is upon you,
He will bless you even when it doesn't look like it.
Joseph was a slave when God gave him the keys to everything in Potiphar's house.
God will prosper you in such a way that even your enemy knows that He is with you.
Just be satisfied with whatever He gives you.
Be steadfast like Joseph and honor God in all you do.
If you are about to lose your house,
God can do at least two things:
He can talk to the person you are buying the house from or he will give you the money himself.
If the doctor gives you a bad report, God knows about your body.
He made it so when the doctor can't, God can.
God can just speak a word and that tumor will disappear.
He can speak a word and cancer will flee.
He can speak a word and the arteries in your heart will be clear.
God is a healer and a deliverer.
He will make your enemy leave you alone.
He will open doors that no man can close, and He will close doors that no man can open. Our God is a good God.
You need to know that the Lord is with you and His favor is upon you.
Tell the world, "I got goodness on one side, mercy on the other, God behind me and Jesus ahead of me.
I got the Holy Ghost in me and I can't lose."
