(Read Gen 45:9-11)
This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing with our mini-series entitled, “Grace Based Success (Prosperity)”, by continuing in the story of Joseph. After Joseph revealed himself to his brothers he was ready to see his father. Joseph said to his brothers, “Hurry back to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: I’m master of all of Egypt. Come as fast as you can and join me here. I’ll give you a place to live in Goshen where you’ll be close to me – you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and anything else you can think of. I will take care of you there during the next five years of famine. But if you don’t come, you and your family and your animals will starve to death.”
God gave Joseph the wisdom, favor and power to be in a position where he could be used to save millions of lives. The grain Joseph saved during the seven years of plenty prepared Egypt to be the only nation with food during the seven years of famine. His God-given plan made an impact in the world during a time of severe lack, but it also made Pharaoh and Egypt very wealthy and Joseph very powerful. Joseph was blessed and as God promised his great-grandfather (Abraham). Joseph was so blessed that he was in a position TO BE a blessing. Like everyone else, his father and brothers were being affected by the famine. What Joseph’s family needed was food, and Joseph had plenty of it. Joseph also had access to the best land in all of Egypt. Because of what he had and where he was, he was able to offer his father an alternative.
Goshen was a pasture land on the borders of Egypt and Arabia, not far from the Nile river. The word Goshen means “drawing water.” It was so named because it was one of the only areas in Egypt where it routinely rained. It was said to be watered by the showers of heaven. The land was very fertile. Goshen was where Joseph lived. He was enjoying the best Egypt had to offer and he did not hesitate to offer this choice land to his family. They could either stay where they were, where they would endure the famine and die, or they could come to Goshen and enjoy abundance in the midst of famine. The choice was theirs to make, but the point is that Joseph was blessed to at least offer them an alternative. Far too many believers live their lives with expectations that are so low that they live beneath God’s best. When you live beneath God’s best you cannot offer an alternative to those in need.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. God first works IN you. The dream God placed inside of Joseph first worked on Joseph, the person. Joseph had to see himself fulfilling the dream, he had to accept it as God’s will, and he had to believe it would come to pass in the fulness of God’s timing. By doing so Joseph experienced his first change on the inside. For you to walk in God’s best you must be changed from the inside-out, first, before God can use you externally for His glory.
2. After working IN you, God seeks to work THROUGH you. The dream God placed inside of Joseph first produced results in his life, as an individual. Joseph believed the dream, he received favor from God, and the hand of God upon his life produced positive results, even while he was a slave and a prisoner. But then after working inside of Joseph, God was then able to use Joseph to extend His blessing to others. God used Joseph to save millions of lives. Stop putting limits on what God can do through you.
3. People are looking for an alternative to their mundane and powerless lives. The Blessing of the Lord on the life of Joseph was so obvious, so plain, so profuse, that he could clearly offer an alternative to the world. To the millions of starving people in the region, Egypt offered food. To his family back at home, dealing with a barren season, Joseph was able to offer the land of Goshen, a land that was prospering in the time of famine. When you say you are a Christian, and people look at you, they want to see an alternative to the life they are living. When people look at you, what do they see? If they don’t see anything different from what they see in the world, then I don’t believe you are living in God’s best for your life.
4. The Kingdom of God is supposed to be different. God works in you, as an individual, first. As you die to self God changes the way you see yourself, the way you see Him, and the way you see your future. God does this so you can then become a tool through which He can influence the world. The Kingdom of God is supposed to affect (with effects and influence), the people of the world and the systems of the world. This is what God did through Joseph and He will looking to do it through you. Not by your power, but by His grace.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. By Your grace You made plans to use me for Your glory. When You look at me, You see the plans You made for me before the world began. You see my divine assignment, You see all the people You want to reach through me, and You see the Kingdom impact I was born to make. But in order for me to make that impact, I must first be changed. I declare by faith that I die to self to the point where I become the person I was born to be. I accept my assignment and I am ready to make a change. The change must first start IN me. I see myself the way You see me. I line up my thinking with Your Word. I decrease, that You may increase in me. And as You work a change IN me, I am then in position for You to work a change THROUGH me. You want to extend Your Kingdom influence to the people of the world and the systems of the world. I declare that You shall do it through me. In me the world will see an alternative to their mundane and powerless lives. I am blessed TO BE a blessing. I am able to offer people a better way, not because I am so good, but because You are… only because of Your grace. So Father, I enter this day and every day determined to extend Kingdom influence to all those I am called to reach. You change the world through me! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
