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Today we continue our series entitled, “Faith and Patience Volume IV — The Wonder Twins”. I am using Joseph as a good example of our need for patience. We are seeking to learn from the different phases of Joseph’s life. Each phase (paternal, pit, Potiphar, prison, and palace/Prime Minister) has significance to this series and to our lives. There are lessons to be learned in every season.
(James 1:2-4 TPT)
2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!
3 For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things.
4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
(Ecc 3:1 ERV)
There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time.
(Gen 41:49 ERV)
49 Joseph stored so much grain that it was like the sands of the sea. He stored so much grain that it could not be measured.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. God’s Blessing is not just Reserved for Church Services.
God’s wisdom was operating through Joseph and as a result, the nation of Egypt was prepared, like no other nation, for the impending famine. They had so much grain in their reserves that it could not be measured. Come what may, they were prepared.
What is interesting to note is the blessing of God was operating on Joseph for his life’s work. When you first read that last sentence you don’t think much of it, but let me explain.
Many believers today think of God, His blessing, and His favor to be for things like church, Bible study, Missions work, charitable projects, and etc. They think God’s wisdom is only released for preachers or teachers that need to interpret Bible scriptures for sermons or classes. Or they think of God’s favor upon them for things like being an usher, singing in the choir, or helping out in the church. God is much bigger than that.
Unfortunately, many believers limit their faith to Sunday mornings. The church building may be where you go to worship, but what you learn there must be applied in your daily living, in real life.
God blessed Abraham with material wealth and a physical child at the point where he and his wife were past the childbearing stage. God blessed Isaac to reap a hundredfold harvest on his seed sown, in one year, in the midst of a famine. God blessed Jacob to make more money in one year, once he started operating by faith, than he had made in the previous 20 years working for Laban.
God blessed Joseph to prosper as a slave and as a prisoner. He was living better as a slave and later as a prisoner than many who live as free men. God then gave Joseph favor with Pharaoh so that he was elevated to second in command in all of Egypt. With the favor of God upon his life, Joseph made Pharaoh and Egypt exceeding wealthy.
None of the aforementioned has anything to do with signing praise and worship, church services, choir robes, or potluck gatherings. This was God dealing with real people, in the real world, with real issues, and releasing a real blessing. This is the blessing of Abraham and it is now ours through Christ Jesus (Gal 3:29).
2. You must learn that God is Your Source — You must Switch Systems!
Pharaoh switched systems.
The king had a system he normally relied on. His system included sorcerers, soothsayers, and magicians to provide him counsel. Whenever he needed wisdom and guidance he sought them out. However, when they could not interpret his dreams, their failure opened a door for Joseph [and God] to step in.
Joseph came in the name of his God, Jehovah, and interpreted the dreams. This is when Pharaoh had a choice to make. He could have ignored Joseph’s God and sent him back to prison or he could have accepted what God had said through Joseph. Accepting Joseph meant that he would be switching systems. He would no longer rely on his former advisors; those who used witchcraft to get answers. Pharaoh made his choice, he switched systems, and his nation became the richest nation in the world (at the time).
3. Joseph’s Great-grandfather, Abraham, switched systems.
Abram was 75 yrs. old when God called him. He was accustomed to living a certain way. He lived amongst idol worshippers. But an invisible God called him to go a place he did not know. This invisible God promised to bless him in ways he could see. Abram had a choice to make. He could either continue living with his family, in the midst of the worship of many/false gods, or he could leave everything he knew to go to a place he had never been and to serve a single and invisible God. Abram made his choice, he switched systems and the rest is history. God made Abraham name great. He blessed him abundantly. Abraham became rich in cattle, silver, and gold. More importantly, he went down in history as the father of faith.
4. Joseph’s Grandfather, Isaac, switched systems.
Abraham’s son, Isaac, had to deal with a famine. He knew the Lord blessed his father (Abraham) in the middle of the famine. He was learning to trust God for himself and to develop his own relationship with God. God told him to stay in Gerar during the famine and not to go to Egypt as his father had done. Isaac operated in faith and stayed put. He believed the Lord would keep him through the time of famine, although I am sure that he did not know how.
Everyone was facing a famine. The land was not producing. It was not raining. No one was receiving a harvest on planted crops. It was a time of barrenness. So what did Isaac do? Did he give up hope because the economy was down? Did he wait in his tent and expect God to drop blessings out of the sky? No. Isaac was led of God to plant a crop in the middle of a famine. He planted a crop when NO FIELDS WERE PRODUCING. He was not relying on the ground. He was relying on His God, the God of his father, Abraham. He switched systems. As a result, God caused Isaac to receive a hundredfold harvest on the seed sown, even through his region was in the midst of a famine. The next verses say that Isaac continued to be successful in that land and became very rich. He owned so many flocks, herds, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him. This happened because he switched systems. This happened because he knew God was His source!
5. Joseph’s father, Jacob, switched systems.
Jacob worked for his father-in-law, Laban, for 20 years. Laban took advantage of Jacob and changed his wages 10 times over that time span. Jacob received a dream from God about spotted and speckled animals. He had a choice to make. He could either continue working for a paycheck under Laban or he could take a leap of faith to a system of working for strange and rare animals. Jacob made his choice. He switched systems and made more money in the 21st year than he had made in the previous 20 combined.
6. Have you switched systems?
a) When you switch systems your total reliance is on God and His grace.
b) When you switch systems you move from relying on Your ability to God’s ability.
c) When you switch systems you no longer see limits, because God’s ability is limitless.
d) When you switch systems you go from relying on the system of this world (buying and selling) to relying on God’s system (sowing and reaping).
*** My point today is that none of what I talked about in the message (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph), had to do with the church. None of them laid hands on the sick. None of them sang in the choir. None of them performed miracles. They were blessed to do WORK. Guess what? The Blessing of Abraham (natural blessing) and the Blessing of Jesus (spiritual blessing) are on you. Open up your heart to God and believe Him to bless the WORK of your hands today and every day!
That is enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, You are my source and my supply. You protect me from events that cripple others, and as You do, I declare that I will use my strength to be a blessing and not a burden. As the world gets darker, Your light IN me gets brighter, and people who used to laugh at me now come to ask me for help. When the world is struggling I am winning, because Your grace empowers me to prosper in a way that is not reliant on the systems of this world. I AM success in the midst of failure! I AM light in the midst of darkness! I AM hope in the midst of despair! Not because I am so good, but only because of Your grace, only because I was willing to SWITCH SYSTEMS! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
