Genesis 38-40
Genesis 39:2-3
2 The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.
Have you ever known someone whom everything they touch seems to turn to gold? Their business is thriving in a tough economy. Their marriage is thriving when ½ of marriages end in divorce. Like Will Smith in Men In Black – “You know what the difference between me and you is… I make this look good!"
I love that line… It’s one of my all time favorites! This brings me back to Joseph… Here is a man that got sold into slavery by his brothers, wrongfully accused by his master’s wife, and thrown into a prison while being an upstanding man of God. At least when bad things happen to me, it’s usually my fault… right!
But no matter what happened to Joseph, no matter where he ended up or who he ended up with the Lord gave him success in EVERYTHING he did… EVERYTHING…? Yes EVERYTHING he did… God gave him favor with his father at home. He gave him success and put him over all things at Potiphar’s house. While in jail as a prisoner Joseph was put in charge of all the King’s prisoners by the warden…
Why was Joseph successful everywhere he went with everyone he met to the point that everyone put EVERYTHING in his care? I believe there are three reasons…
· He was a child of God (Genesis 39:2) The Lord was with Joseph
· He showed the character of God (Genesis 39:8) He would not sleep with Potiphar’s wife…
· He had the capacity and competence to win favor with man (Genesis 39:4 and 39:21)
If you are a follower of Christ you already have the most powerful asset for success… God does not want you to be unsuccessful… Would you want your child to fail? Of course not!
If you are like me the things I must constantly work on are working on my character – which takes accountability from other godly men in my case… You would not want someone who has a worse character than yours, holding you accountable…
I also have to work on my ability to win favor with men!
Well I don’t need man’s favor – I got God’s favor…
You very well may have God’s favor, but if you have NO FAVOR from MAN, you have NO INFLUENCE with MAN either.
-Well I’m just not willing to compromise any of my convictions in order to win any man’s favor…
God does not ask us to compromise… HE asks us to show people HIS love! LOVE GOD and LOVE PEOPLE… Summary of the 2 greatest commandments in the words of Jesus himself! You know what the next question I’m going to ask is?
Are we doing that?
- Does the gay community know that I love them, or do they hear me say awful things about them as I condemn their lifestyle…?
- Does the homeless people know that I love them, or do they see me complain about not having enough while they have nothing…?
- Does the fatherless know that I love them, or do they see me barely spending enough time investing in the lives of my own children – much less someone else’s?
These are just 3 of the communities of people the church of America has lost influence with. Unless we change something quick and drastically we will lose even more than these…
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