Path to Prosper Week 1

Intro to the Life of Joseph

Over the next several weeks we will be taking a look at one of my favorite Old Testament narratives.

The life of Joseph.

Joseph gives us a vivid picture of what it looks like to prosper.

___________ Defining Prosperity

As we delve into this series it is important that we properly define what it is that we are aiming at.

Prosperity gets a bad wrap.

When I start talking about prospering you start hearing me say we are going to have private jets.

Because in the American context...we have equated prosperity with materialism and wealth.

But the term prosper doesn’t necessarily indicate wealth

Prosper = to make successful.

___________ I want us to be a church full of successful people.

As we study Joseph’s life and aim at a life wherein we prosper...

We are not looking to become rich for the sake of being rich

My goal is not a church full of rich people (though I’m not against that.)

THE GOAL OF THIS HOUSE IS A ROOM FULL OF SURRENDERED PEOPLE WHO ARE WALKING IN SUCCESS.

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Success focus keeps the mission in mind.

When we understand prosperity to be success based and not balance based…an important perspective shift happens.

We become mission minded as opposed to money minded.

I will be wealthy…but my wealth will not be the characterization of my success.

When we are truly people who believe in biblical prosperity we view wealth differently.

Wealth is simply an enabler of generosity for the purposes of propagating the gospel.

Wealth seeking for wealth’s sake is only possible through natural means.

Wealth seeking for the sake of the kingdom results in supernatural involvement in the acquisition of that wealth.

God will produce the cash flow for us to promote the kingdom.

Matthew 6:33 NKJV

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

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Transition to Joseph

Now, let’s talk about how all of this applies to and is played out in the story of Joseph.

As we begin this journey through is life and the major events thereof.

We are going to lay the ground work with an origin story.

Because the path to Joseph’s prosperity was predated by the story of delay.

A story of Delay

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The history of Israel

As a family we have been going back into Genesis and studying the history of Israel

All the way back to Abram and his call to leave Haran and follow God to a country that God was going to show him.

Abram gives birth to Isaac on down the road.

Isaac marries Rebekah and they have two sons…Jacob and Esau.

Jacob manipulates the birthright away from Esau and tricks the blessing of the father away soon thereafter.

Esau is ready to kill him.

So Jacob flees to his uncle Laban’s house for his own prorection.

_____________ In love with Rachel

He falls in love with his uncles daughter; Rachel.

She is gorgeous…Jacob is so enamored with her that he commits to working seven years in order to earn her hand in marriage.

He serves well…He prospers his uncle and he is rewarded with a wedding at seven years.

On the wedding night…Jacob turns up so much that when he goes into the honeymoon suite…he doesn’t notice that Rachel isn’t who is in there with him.

Jacob was tricked by Laban to marry the UGLY SISTER…Leah

SOFT EYES..was all Moses could come up with to describe Leah...

_____________ Sidenote: Dark choices lead to light living

Side note here to interlude that if it was daylight Jacob would have clearly been able to determine that Leah was not Rachel.

But he made a life altering commitment in the dark.

What you settle for in the dark you are stuck with in the light.

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Another seven year commitment

Jacob works another seven years in order to be able to marry Rachel.

He does marry her…they do leave Laban and take a good portion of his flocks with them based on a random little nugget of agricultural trickery that Jacob practices.

Jacob becomes a very wealthy man with two wives.

It is that this point in the narrative that I want us to dive into the scripture.

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Fertile Failures

Genesis 29:31–35 NLT

When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.” She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, “The Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.” Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!” Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” And then she stopped having children.

Being married to Leah was one of Jacob’s greatest failures.

It was not what he wanted…but was a situation that he was stuck with based on his poor decision making in the moment.

Rachel was who he loved…Rachel was who he was intended to be with…but Leah was who kept having kids.

Sometimes it feels like our failures are far more fertile than our successes.

It often feels like success has to be meticulously manufactured, while failures multiply with no thought whatsoever.

Prosperity will not take place on accident

Poverty will.

Poverty = the state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount.

Many of us were created for prosperity…but are living in a state of being inferior simply because we are not enacting a plan...

The only way to abort the pattern of failure is to make an intentional decision to do so.

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Intimacy with inferiority

Regardless of how ashamed Jacob was of Leah…he maintained intimacy with her.

It’s amazing how we can be so ashamed of our decisions in the dark and then go right back to them when it gets dark again.

Don’t tell me how much you love Rachel and reject Leah while Leah keeps producing another one of your kids every five minutes.

Intimacy requires interest.

TR: In spite of the bad decisions, in spite of fertile failiures…Jacob was still the product of a promise with the purpose of furthering that promise.

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Promises without productivity

Jacob was the product of a promise

Isaac is miraculous

Isaac’s marriage to Rebekah is miraculous

Rachel is the product of a covenant.

Jacob negotiated his right to marry her.

The product of the promise enters into a marriage that is the product of a promise.

In their culture at this time period…you got married for one reason.

The propulsion of society

The carrying on on of your family lineage.

So Rachel is the means by which Jacob wants to carry on the namesake of the nation of Israel…

It would make sense that after all this work…the promise would come to pass.

But that’s not how the story transpires.

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The story of delay

Genesis 30:1–2 NLT

When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!”

Joseph’s story is a story of delay.

Rachel had a very clear mission…she wanted to carry on the lineage name of Jacob.

She had been long sought after in this regard.

Yet she saw someone else living out the reality of what she felt she was called to do.

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Called…but complacent

One of the hardest things in the world is being called…and sitting on the couch.

Being in Texas to be on pastoral staff.

I didn’t play an instrument

I didn’t preach

I didn’t lead worship...

I just sat there.

It was so frustrating.

We always try to avoid seasons of delay because we feel like seasons of delay are wasted seasons.

Delay almost always equals development.

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Comparison

The reason Rachel’s delay was so painful for her was because she was experiencing barrenness while her sister experienced birth.

When we see someone else experiencing what we want…we begin to fall pray to the cancer of comparison.

Rachel felt like a failure because she was basing her success on Leah’s story.

God doesn’t call you to someone else’s timeline.

_________________ What’s interesting is the fact that while Rachel is jealous of Leah’s children…Leah is jealous of Rachel’s love.

No matter what season you are in…what you lack will keep you from identifying what you have.

How are you handling your season of delay?

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Only two ways to deal with delay

There are really only two ways to deal with delay.

Become jealous of those who are farther along than you

Become a celebrator of those who are further along than you.

We live in such an individualistic society that we allow jealousy to rob us of being good celebrators.

When I understand the fact that we are the body together…I GET TO CELEBRATE YOUR WINS AS THOUGH THEY ARE MINE!

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Rachel stays true to Jacob in spite of not getting what she wants when she wants it…and as a result God blesses her with what she wants so desperately.

Genesis 30:22–24 NLT

Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said. And she named him Joseph, for she said, “May the Lord add yet another son to my family.”

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We are going to be looking at how Joseph’s story shows the faithfulness of God to bring to pass success that seems impossible.

But we must understand that the miracle or prosperity is rarely experienced in a short time frame.

Prosperity requires patience.