It is essential as well as imperative to know that today we are dealing with a subject that has been misconstrued by many. This subject has derived from the thoughts of those who spend lest time with God and more time with man. In understanding the subject for today, you as a believer must sit back and question your relationship with God. It also leads me to know that this subject will befuddle you if you aren’t walking circumspectly to the word of God.
The word favor derives from the Greek word: chaphets(khaw-fates’) and it means to be: pleased with. The definition we are gained from Webster messes our minds up. Webster says that "favor" is: A gracious, friendly, or obliging act that is freely granted. Here we need to understand some things. God’s favor, what we’re talking about today is never freely granted. I know many of you have missed the point already. When God blesses you and I, many times it’s on an account of what we have done. It is not because of no degrees, no physical apperance, or no other thing that man is compelled too.
When God blesss his people, it is on account of what has transpired from the bedroom of our holy temple to the rooftops of our kingdom vessels. You should never think God’s blessings are a favor to you. There is a difference in favor and doing a favor. Favor is divine appointment from God. We do favors for each other on account of what you have done for me. Favors in the natural are done on accounts of things previously done by the individual in which you are asking the favor from. God is the same way, it’s just in the spiritual arena of this discussion. God’s favor is done by the time that is spent with him and by seeking his face diligently.
Here in Genesis 39, we are dealing with a young man by the name of Joseph. Joseph was a familiar character who experiences God in a different spectrum. Joseph experiences God through hardships and trials. He is allowed the favor of God through his troubles. These things Joseph is enduring are building his character for the blessings he’s about to enter into.
If we go back to Genesis 37, we see God is beginning the process in Joseph’s life by showing him the things he shall do in a dream. In this dream, God is skilling Joseph and maturing/nuturing him into the progress of his present ministry. Here we see two main things happen: (1) Joseph is afraid of how he will be viewed by his family; and (2) Joseph’s family is jealous and his brothers are plotting to kill him.
Here, I need to interject some main thoughts. You cannot see and experience God until you ask God to erase jealousy out of your heart. I don’t understand how christians are always degrading someone else when everything in there life is dirty. The bible lets us to know that we are to rejoice when we see our sister or brother rejoicing. It is funny how we only want people to rejoice with us, but we can’t rejoice with no one else. This is not the will of God. You should be so happy when God blesses me that before I shout, you are shouting. Before I tell the Pastor, you should have already beat me to the pastor so that when I call him, it isn’t new, it is fresh and we can shout together. If you have jealousy in your heart you have a spiritual blockadge and you need a spiritual diagnosis. It is time for the church to grow up and learn how to appreciate my season.
The second thing is: Joseph, all the while is protected by God’s grace. Someone would raise the question: "If God loved Joseph, why would he take Joseph through so much?" That’s a good question! Let me answer it for you.....The reason God allows anyone to go through is so that he can clothed you with his favor and shape you into the character of God. I just want to digress just a little. Job didn’t do anything, but God was allowing the enemey to defeat Job because he was clothing Job with his favor and he was shaping Job. Job didn’t do anything neither did he cause this great destruction. A lot of times you’re going through to get to the blessings of God. Watch this! After Job testing days had reached its completion, Job was given double for his trouble.
Favor ain’t fair because you don’t even know how you got to where you are, all you know, all of sudden you saw yourself from a different place in your life. Things you once did, you don’t do them anymore. Places you once have gone, you stop going to those places. I told someone the other day, I don’t want to be nowhere God isn’t.
Again, I am digressing, but I am trying to make my point. Pastors, your church is not growing because God is not at your church. God is standing outside wanting to come in but you won’t let him. You then have the audacity to say God is moving in here. Pastor, God left your church when you got up! It is sad and the beginning of worse that many christians are operating out of there calling.
Pastors are trying to be prophets, Evangelists are trying to Pastor, Intercessors are trying to teach. Have you read Ephesians 4:12; the bible says "he gave some." We don’t need to read anything else. You and your church, and your church can’t reach no one because you are not operating in the fullness of God and his blessings. Again, I don’t want to be nowhere God isn’t.
As we look back at Joseph, we find that the Lord made a way of escape when his brothers tried to get him killed. I like Joseph, he is calm and collective during this entire cycle. He is not complaining, neither is he is awe of what is transpiring because he knows that God is protecting him. I am glad to know that I have the armor of God on me. I can walk in the fullnes of the favor of God and don’t have to worry about anything.
The second thing that tries to bring Joseph down is: Potiphar’s wife. Potiphar’s wife had a Jezebel spirit. I want you to know believers, when you’re walking with God, a Jezebel spirit will come and attack you. A Jezebel don’t have to be a spirit that is subducing in the sexual arena. A Jezebel spirit of lust is what I am talking about. A lust spirit will cause you to miss the blessings of God and cause you to not see God in the fullness of favor.
I see now why churches can’t grow. The church is full of Jezebel’s spirit and the pastor don’t have no HOLY GHOST with the evidence of TONGUES and that is why he got 20 members and 15 of them is his family. I get so tired of pastors with these little churches talking about, "I don’t want to pastor no big church because I want to know all of my members." That has to be the most foolish thing I have ever in my life heard. How can you stop God’s people from worshipping. I guess when the pastor’s memory is full of names, he stops membership. I will tell you what’s going on, the pastor is comfortable with 20 folk and he say this lame mess because he knows he won’t get ever 20,000 people because he is not in the will of God and God is standing outside his church.
If he believes in the Bible as he preaches it, he will find that Moses had over 80,000 people. That is why Ephesians 4:12 gives us the understanding that all of our churches should be operating in the five-fold ministries. This is so when we begin to pastor 20,000 or more or less, we will have the adequte resources. In most churches, you’re still pulling the light on by the little white string.
Please forgive me for getting off the subject, I am following the Holy Spirit. It is shameful that the church is not seeing no growth. You have to sell cakes and hotdogs on Saturday morning just to pay the church bills. This is ridiculous! Everytime I turn around your church is selling something or begging for money. If you give your tithes, Malachi said, "You won’t have room enough to receive the blessings of God." Stop begging and give God what belongs to him!
I also see these churches falling in and the church looks so bad. I am wandering what most of us wil be doing when God comes back! The church can’t look descent, but the funeral home looks very beautiful. I don’t understand that! Have you ever been to a funeral home? The funeral home is beautiful outside and inside too. The funeral have the best furniture and the most expensive. The church have the hardest pews and the pastor’s furniture is your furniture you threw out ten years ago. The pulpit furniture belongs to the Salvation army. What kind of foolishness is this! We call this favor, though! It’s funny because, no it’s sad that people are blind and don’t see that God is not in there mess. Let’s continue, the funeral home have the nicest limo’s and the finest cadilacs. The church can’t afford one van for the people of God to come and worship.
I don’t understand this, but God is blessing your church. The funeral home people makes sure everything is comfortable and relaxed for you. We get to church and the usher is the meanest hell raiser in the church. It is time for us to experience the blessings of God and the only way were going to do that is by getting into the perfect will of God. It is time out for games, we need to be about our father’s business.
Now, back to Joseph! Potiphar’s wife comes and she tries to subduce him. She throws herself on Joseph because it was a trick of devil to see if he really would stand. Be careful christians, the devil will send you that thing you have desired for the longest just to take your mind off of God! He will use the very weakest thing to bring you down! BE CAREFUL! Anyhow, we found Joseph in a situation. Joseph could have fallen and he could have done as David did, but Joseph thought to himself. He is now thinking of those dreams and visions the Lord showed him. Many times you stop the favor of God because of where you are in God.
Potiphar’s wife throws herself on Joseph and Joseph ran. You, who are in the flesh will call him a punk. How many of you know, there are some things that are not just worthy of wasting time over. How many of you in here know where God brought you from? If you know where God brought you from, you need to look at your neighbor and say, "I am not what I supposed to be, I thank God I am nothing like I use to be..." AMEN! I thank God you’re not like you use to be neither. I would have to cast demons now until Jesus comes back.
Later, we found Joseph is thrown into jail because Potiphar’s wife is holding his garment in her hand. She lies to her husband and says Joseph tried to rape her. Joseph is thrown into jail and he is still keeping his cool. Joseph hasn’t said anything, he is still meditating on the goodness of God.
Now, Joseph is in jail and while in jail, he is given favor. I know the guard didn’t understand what was going on, but God knew and Joseph knew what was about to talk place. While in prison, Joseph reached the lives of those who were lost and the prison guard even began to worship God. When you are in the fullness of God’s favor, man can hold you down and try to make it hard for you: GOD GOT THE LAST WORD! I don’t care what you may be facing right now in your life, God got the last word!
Favor ain’t fair because you know you don’t deserve to be where you are, but somehow God looked beyond your faults and he saw your heart. Isn’t that like God? He will forget what I have done and bless me for what I am doing-{Isaiah 43:25} That why pastors need to wake up and catch the vision of God and stop preaching bible stories and them sermons grandaddy preached 20 years ago. What grandaddy did, worked for grandaddy. This is a new day and we need to hear a rhema word. I don’t want to hear no hooping, unless I have heard a word from the Lord. I don’t want to hear about Jesus hanging there from the third to the ninth hour. If I am having a financial catastrophe, Jesus hanging on the cross won’t be the message I need at that time in my life.
It is time for all of God’s children to experience his favor. Favor only comes by the time you spend with God. It comes through fasting and praying and seeking the throne of God both night and day as Joshua did.-{Joshua 1:8} That’s why God is not obligating to doing nothing for us. We have to meet God and we have to show God our desire to serve him.
I also want you to know. When God bestow his favor upon you, friends drop like birds from the sky. People don’t want to see you prosper, they always want to see you down so that they can dominate you with there materials, and resources. God wants all of us to rise and be prosperous-{3 John 2}. since that is the case and it’s the word of God, learn to serve God and not man.
I hope this sermon has blessed your life. It wasn’t preached like I wanted it to be, but the spirit of God had his way and that’s how it should be. If the spirit of God leads you to call upon me for the opportunity to share at your church, e-mail me: ministershay@yahoo.com or visit my profile and my secretary will contact you immediately.
God bless and remember: FAVOR AIN’T FAIR!
