Today we continue our series entitled, “Pursuing Grace-Based Success!”
Here are our foundational scriptures:
(Ephesians 2:8-10 ERV)
8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.
9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.
10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.
(1 Corinthians 1:30,31 NLT)
30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.
31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
(2 Timothy 1:9 NKJV)
Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
We will talk about Joseph today. We may do a “deep dive” into the life of Joseph later in this series. But for this morning, we will take a quick look at how the Lord blessed Joseph to prosper (succeed) at every stage of his life. Joseph succeeded because the Lord was with him. The Bible says, “The LORD was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.” (Gen 39:2).
I will give you some background. Joseph was the apple of his father’s eye. Jacob loved Joseph so much that he favored Joseph over his brothers. This caused Joseph’s older brothers to dislike him. So the situation at home between Joseph and his brothers was already but. When God gave Joseph a dream (a dream that came completely by grace, by the way, unearned and unmerited), Joseph’s brothers hated him even more. Joseph’s brothers almost killed him, and in their anger, they said, “Let’s see what will become of his dream!” Quick note, when God reveals His dream for your life, the dream is your life’s assignment. Once you know who you are and what you are called to do, the enemy will always attack your assignment. Satan does not care about you. But he does care about the assignment God gave you. The attack is against the assignment, and the greater the assignment, the greater the attack. That may explain why you are facing what you are facing.
Joseph’s brothers threw him in a pit and later sold him as a slave. Because all things work together for our good, Joseph wound up in Potiphar’s home.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Joseph was a prosperous slave. I know that sounds like an oxymoron. But he was. While with Potiphar, living as a slave, Joseph did not have the warmth of his mother’s embrace, the affirmation of his father’s words, the friendship of his little brother Benjamin, or his prized possession, his coat of many colors. Joseph did not have his family or his freedom, but what Joseph did have was God.
Since God was WITH Joseph, the Bible says, “he succeeded in everything he did” (Gen 39:2).
Joseph was a slave, and he prospered as a slave. Why? Because of God’s presence. God’s presence brings with it His peace, power, love, and grace. Thank God for His presence.
2. After being a prosperous slave, Joseph later became a prosperous prisoner.
While working for Potiphar, Joseph was in charge of the entire household, property, and operation. He basically had the run of the place. And since he was running things and God was with him, Mrs. Potiphar wanted to sleep with Joseph (Note: when things are going well for you, the enemy will always come with a temptation that will lead you away from God’s best. Don’t take the bait!”).
Joseph refused to sleep with his boss’s wife. She was furious. She lied to her husband and said Joseph tried to rape her. The Bible says:
“Joseph’s master listened to what his wife said, and he became very angry. So Potiphar put Joseph into the prison where the king’s enemies were held, and that is where Joseph remained.”
That is a terrible situation. However, here comes the grace of God again. The Bible says, “The Lord was with Joseph and continued to show his kindness to him, so the commander of the prison guards began to like Joseph” (Gen 39:19-21 ERV). Another translation of verse 21 reads, “But the Lord was with Joseph, and was good to him, and made the keeper of the prison his friend.”
3. God is always working.
When Joseph was in prison, he probably thought, “Here we go again.” He had not done anything wrong. He was persecuted for doing right, imprisoned for maintaining his integrity, and for not violating God’s Word. But God was still working. Joseph was not incarcerated in just any prison. Because Joseph was working for Potiphar, the head of the king’s Secret Service, Joseph wound up in the prison reserved for enemies of the king. This would prove to be very important later.
My point is that while you may not understand what is happening, God is playing chess (not checkers), and He always has a plan. God has a way of working it out for your good. It might be painful now, but in the end, vision gives pain a purpose.
4. God’s favor can do what your labor cannot.
The favor of the Lord kicked in for Joseph again. Favor is when God moves on the hearts of people to use their power, their ability, and their influence to help you. God gave Joseph favor with the head of the prison (the warden). Before anyone knew it, the warden had placed all the prisoners under Joseph’s control, and he was responsible for the entire operation. The Bible says, “The warden gave no attention to anything which was under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with him; and the Lord made everything Joseph did successful.”
(Gen 39:23).
Did you catch that? The Lord was with Joseph in Potiphar’s house. So he became a prosperous slave. The Lord made everything he did successful. Later, Joseph wound up in prison for doing right. Guess what? The Lord was there too. The Lord was with Joseph in prison, and He made everything Jospeph did to be successful. The point of today’s message is that if you ever want to become a success, you must acknowledge God’s presence and walk with Him. When God is with you, He can make all you do turn out successful!
5. Your goal should be God-centered success.
— God-centered prosperity is prosperity with God at the center of it. It is a dependence on Him and not self.
— Godly success cannot always be measured by the world’s standards: money, fame, cars, homes, etc. God can provide a type of prosperity that far exceeds anything that can be measured in dollars and cents.
— You should not have a limited view of success (or prosperity). God has a way of getting you everything you need to succeed in life, even when the circumstances are less-than-favorable.
— Success cannot be defined simply in terms of WHAT we have. Sometimes success is defined by WHO we have WITH us. The presence of the Lord in our lives is what brings us ultimate and everlasting success.
— God wants you to believe that He will never leave you, nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). Your confidence in His presence will open the door to success.
— Like Joseph, you might have been betrayed by people you loved, but you can find strength in knowing that God will never betray you and He will never let you down.
— It doesn’t matter what’s absent when God is present. God’s presence makes all the difference.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about grace-based success.
You love me so much that it is sometimes hard for me to accept. Your love is unearned, and I often feel like it is undeserved. I did nothing to get you to start loving me, and Your Word teaches me that nothing I do can make you stop.
Your unconditional love is a perfect picture of your amazing grace. You love me despite my flaws, You made plans for me even though You knew all the mistakes I would make, and You tirelessly dedicate Yourself to me, even when I don’t acknowledge Your presence.
You are a good God, and the more I learn of Your grace, the more I understand and embrace Your goodness.
Joseph was betrayed by his family members, but You stuck by Him, and You made him prosperous, even as a slave and a prisoner. Like Joseph, I have been mistreated by some, but I find strength in Your commitment to me.
You will never leave me nor forsake me. You will never turn Your back on me. You will never let me down. You will never relax the grip You have on me.
You have promised to be WITH me, and Your presence makes all the difference in my life. No matter what or who is absent from my life, the fact that You are present changes everything!
I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME because You are with me everywhere I go! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
