Joseph - From the Pit to the Palace!
In this message I want to study the life of Joseph. You can learn so much about your life by studying his. There are thirteen chapters written about the life of Joseph and the first eleven chapters of Genesis covers 2,000 years! That how important the life of Joseph is to God. The life of Joseph is so similar to Jesus that it is incredible: Joseph was sent by his father to his brothers who falsely accused him. Jesus was sent to his brethren by the father and He too was rejected. Joseph’s lost his cloak. Jesus lost His robe. Joseph was sold into slavery. Jesus was sold by Judas. Joseph not recognized by his brothers the first time they saw him in Egypt. Jesus was not recognized as to who He really was the first time He came and so much more. The things that Joseph went through you will go through at one time or another; His being mistreated by people close to him. His being accused falsely. His being put in a pit with no hope. His patient waiting for God through his trials.
One thing you have to remember in your struggle is that when you are down to nothing God is up to something. Also, every event in your life has been ordained by God and will contribute to your "palace experience." Think about Joseph; if his brothers never threw him into a pit, if the Midianites who took him to Egypt missed him and were a half of mile off their course, Joseph never would have been sold to Potiphar’s house. Suppose Potiphar’s wife had not made a play for him, he never would have been put in prison and he never would have met the chief butler who recommended him to the Pharaoh. He never would have been called to the Palace where he was instrumental in saving his family and the whole known world from starvation. Your life may be taking some strange twists and turns but the One who holds your tomorrows is in control. You will arrive at your "Palace Experience." Everything was created by Him and for Him and by Him all things consist. (Colossians 1 v. 16-18)
In your "pit" experience please remember that the pit is not your final destination! Again, When you are down to nothing God is up to something! Remember that a rubber band is not usable until it is stretched, a tea kettle sounds best when it is up to its neck in hot water and a wheel barrel doesn’t work unless it is pushed. Please remember these other things while you are in the pit:
1.) The pit is not your potential. Don’t get accustomed to it.
2.) If you are in a pit you are next in line for a promotion. In one day Joseph went from the prison to the Palace. In one day Daniel went from the lions den to promotion. In one day David went from a warrior to taking over Saul’s Palace. You may not like where you are but it could change in one day and today could be the day. This should be your attitude!
3.) Losers focus on what they are going through, champions focus on where they are going to! There is no victory without a battle, no sunrise without a midnight and no tunnel without light at the end.
4.) Your reaction to others in a pit determines God reaction to you in your pit. Help someone else!
5.) Those that control the pain of the now don’t control the pleasure of the future. Your enemies will come bending to you! (Isaiah 60 v. 14)
6.) When in a pit, Satan may use the closest person to you to hurt you. Demas hurt Paul and Judas hurt Jesus.
7.) You can never win a spiritual battle logically. God stripped Joseph of everything to get him to the Palace. I am sure that he couldn’t understand why.
8.) Don’t make it a pit of offence. Don’t be offended. It could open the door for the devil.
Please forgive the person who hurt you, even though you can’t forget. Over time God will cause you to forget. Manasseh, Joseph’s first son means "God will cause me to forget," while Ephraim, his second son means that "God made me fruitful in the land of my affliction." God can’t make you fruitful until you forget; Manasseh came first!
God’s favor was strong on Joseph; every where he was the word said that God was with him; in the Pit, in Potiphar’s house, in the prison and in the Palace. God’s favor is such a strong force. It caused the sun to stand still. It caused God’s people to win at impossible odds. Ruth was left so much grain from Boaz that she never had to gather herself. The grain probably lasted for months. God’s favor on you life is not depended on circumstances and it is so powerful that it can bring you out of the pit you are in and transform you into greatness for Christ! However, God won’t do something great in your life unless you are desperate. Greatness is conceived in the womb of obedience. Just be obedient in the circumstances that you are in to the Spirit of God and He will place you in the Palace! God ultimately wants to give you houses you haven’t built, lands you never seen and it is all covered under His Favor! Don’t give up on your dream, God doesn’t!
When we see Joseph in his position as Prime Minister, there are some very important points to remember:
1.) Joseph was "seed conscious." In Gen. 47 v. 23, Joseph gave seed to the people to plant.
2.) Joseph expected a harvest. He bought all the land in the whole known world for Pharaoh during the famine.
3.) Seed must be planted to grow. You may not understand God’s process but believe! You can’t understand how a black cow can give white milk and eat green grass and give yellow butter but you eat it anyway!
4.) Give back part of the harvest to the source of the harvest. Joseph had everybody give back 20 % to Pharaoh. (Gen. 47 v. 25) Giving of your finances shows God that the cancer of greed has not taking over your life.
5.) Wait for the harvest patiently. (Luke 8 v. 15, Heb. 6 v. 12 and Heb. 10 v. 25) Esau couldn’t wait and gave away his birthright.
6.) Put your seed in anointed hands. Pharaoh told the people to see Joseph about everything. (Gen. 41 v. 55)
So, remember in the life of Joseph that trials will come, that God controls every event in your life, that everything you are going through is leading to the Palace and don’t give up on you dream because GOD NEVER WILL!.